The Curse

A/N: Morgana, and Merlin Belong to the BBC, and the Other Characters, (including Ashley) whilst are actors, have all been created by me and belong to me.

Thanks go to Aithion, and to YHLH for the Beta reading I have made changes since they read this so any other errors are all mine. This story will be turning AU very quickly in to the story, be prepared for the impossible to happen!

Thank you go to YouHaveLovelyHair, Mijo54, Rubytronix, Aithion, Prawn Crackers, Auntineenah and MusicGirl97. You are all AWESOME, and this chapter is Dedicated to you.

Chapter 10

Abby awoke slowly to the feeling of someone's hand gently, stroking her face. The movement was smooth, full of tenderness, the hand, extremely soft.

She heard a very gentle voice cooing to her, telling her how much he loved her, for her to wake up, and wondering in his own mind if she could hear him. In the quiet room, his voice was the only one she heard, it was soft, full of emotion, and it was relaxing to listen.

She dosed for a moment just listening to his incessant murmurings. She could tell that he sat next to her on the small bed, his hand still stroking her face with the backs of his fingers. She raised her hand and rested her fingers on his.

Slowly she opened her eyes, gazing into his eyes, noticing the way he began to smile as she looked up at him. He went quiet for a moment and she couldn't hear his thoughts.

Slowly she began to look around the sumptuous room. She realised she lay on a four-poster bed, lush burgundy, velvet, curtains hung from the top, and the mattress was incredibly soft. She moaned softly, the events of the day catching up; her body still ached where Christine had grabbed her.

Sunlight streamed in through the windows that were as high and as tall as the ceiling; the old fashioned glass didn't look out of place in this old building and she gazed around the room. She noticed a portrait on the wall of a familiar gentleman, but she couldn't recall where she had seen the man before. It looked like a bearded version of Connor, only much older, he held a scroll in his hand, and wore the gown of a scholar. It was a painting that she would love to have hanging in her own home.

Then suddenly she heard his voice, even though his lips had not moved. "She's so beautiful, I could kiss her."

Her eyes widened at this and she sat up quickly, and pressed a kiss to his cheek, his reaction gave her butterflies, and she kissed him again this time, on his lips, she pulled him closer enjoying the warmth from his body, her hands reaching around to his back, and she heard him again.

'Oh Abby, I love you so much.' His voice was so full of understanding, love and care.

"I think love you too," she sighed as she pulled away from him.

"Really...?" Connor smiled.

His lips descended upon hers, he kissed her again, much more deeply. She felt his hands as they went around her waist, under her t-shirt, exploring her body.

"Oh God, I want to make love to her, right here, right now, will she let me?" Abby heard him think, her breath hitched for a moment.

Abby could tell he was enjoying this, his thoughts told her so, and she could tell he wanted to explore further, yet she stiffened and pushed him away.

"What? What's going on?" He voiced his concern.

"Connor... I ... I can't..." She stuttered, her feelings a mixture of love and distress.

"Can't what?"

Before Abby could reply to him, they heard footsteps outside the door and the woman who looked like Jenny came in.

"Ah good, you're awake, are you up to receiving visitors?" She asked nonchalantly.

Abby nodded her consent, even though in reality she didn't want to see anyone but the man she had once shared her flat with. Strangely, she had wanted Connor to continue, to find out where those wonderfully supple hands would have ended up, and that had never happened to her before, not since... She wanted him to carry on and make love to her, something she craved, and that scared her.

The simple fact that she yearned for him to make love to her; worried her she had never felt this way before. Normally she fell for the wrong type of men, men who were quite happy with a one night stand, but with Connor she felt different, one night just would not suffice. She wanted him, yet didn't want him both at the same time. She was drawn to him, in a weird way that she couldn't describe, yet something in the back of her mind wanted to push him away and hide.

'Oh God,' she gulped thought, 'I hope he can't hear me think...'

She blushed, a deep crimson, pushed her current thoughts to the back of her mind; she didn't want to think about that right now, and she stood up from the bed. Not knowing what to do with herself, she stuck her hands deep into the back pockets of her jeans.

The door opened again and Cutter, Morgana, Pete, Ash, and an elderly gentleman that Abby didn't recognise came in.

"I think you know everyone here, I'm Claudia," she pointed to each person as she called their name, "This is Merlin, Cutter, Morgana, Pete, and Ash whom you've already met."

Abby looked over to Morgana, and smiled, she knew that Morgana called herself a modern day witch, and she performed magic just like a normal witch. She knew Pete, Ashley and Connor were werewolves and wondered if any of the others had strange abilities that she wasn't aware of; could they read her mind, hear her like she could with animals? Would she hear them too? She began to panic, and hoped that this was not going to be the case; she feared she would go mad if she heard so many all at once.

"How are you?" Claudia asked genuinely concerned for the young lady in front of her. She knew that Abby was Connor's key person; they had met in a previous life, but had failed in their quest because Pete had not approached the quest with the right partner.

"I'm OK, confused, but alright."

"Has Connor not told you of what's going to happen?" Claudia approached Abby cautiously, rubbing her arm as soon as she was able.

"He's told me, but at the time, I didn't believe him. I'm still not sure what's going on? Where I fit in? Weird things are happening that I don't understand."

"Well ... If you tell us what you don't understand, we'll try to answer your questions as best as we can." Claudia encouraged.

Abby huffed, if she told them about her strange abilities what would they think of her?

"Tell us young lady, your ability won't seem weird or strange here, after all the young man standing next to you can change into a wolf... How strange is that?" The man called Merlin croaked.

"Well... I can hear animals talking, I can hear their thoughts ..." Abby paused unsure if she should go on.

"That's nothing strange ... Not there anyway." Claudia spoke softly.

"But..." Abby huffed again, and began to wring her hands, "Since coming back here, to this place... I ... I can ..." She paused to take a deep breath, and then all too quickly, "I-can-hear-people-too!"

"You can hear all of us?" Cutter questioned, raising his eyebrows.

"Well so far... Only Connor, I'm not sure if it's everyone I can hear." Abby clarified.

"Well ... What am I thinking?" Cutter posed.

"Erm..." Abby tried to think about the voices in her head.

'Go on Abby... Tell them what you can hear?' She heard a familiar voice.

"So far the only voice I can hear ... Is ... Connor." She glanced at him.

'Yes!' He cheered in his head, and bounced on his knees, a grin appearing on his face. She immediately heard him say. 'Merlin said that whoever was my key would be able to hear my thoughts. This proves it! Abby is so my key!'

"You can't hear anyone else in the room?" Claudia asked.

"Connor...! Will you hush, I'm trying to concentrate!" Abby admonished, frowning. Abby paused, concentrating on each person in turn. The room became silent and all Abby could hear was the gentle murmuring, "Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up." The words emerging from Connor as he tried to stop his thoughts from reaching her.

Eventually she shook her head. There was only one person whose thoughts she could hear. Why this had suddenly changed was a mystery, and she voiced her thoughts.

"One of the conditions of being a key person is being able to hear your partner's thoughts." Cutter smiled. "This is proof. You are Connor's Key."

"But why now? Why not when we first met?"

Cutter smiled at Claudia who stepped forward.

"You kissed him ... On the lips ..." She whispered, and then sighed. "He loves you so much; we all thought it was so obvious, but clearly not. It seems that you've been betrayed so many times in the past, that you daren't even trust your own instincts anymore."

Abby turned to Connor, and took his hand in her own, he was handsome, his facial features were nice, and his short hair was so much better than when they had first met, his dress sense had improved too.

She smiled as she recalled the many times he had been there for her, through thick and thin. He had been there when Stephen had turned her down, he had been there when Stephen, Cutter and Jenny had died, consoling her as much as he could. It seemed that whenever she had needed someone to turn to, he had been there - standing as solidly as a rock for her to lean on.

The fact that she and Connor were made for each other didn't sound so gross anymore, and she knew that despite everything that had happened in the past to her, in time, her adoration for him would continue to grow.

In that moment she knew she could accept Connor with all his geeky behaviour, his weird abilities. She felt she could love him, no matter what he looked like, no matter which form his body took; and even though she couldn't bear to be touched so intimately, she knew that one day she wanted to overcome her fear of being so close to anyone, she wanted to stop pushing people she cherished away, and she wanted Connor to be the one that she opened her heart to.

"Connor should be able to hear your thoughts too." Cutter told her.

Connor's face dropped.

"But that's the thing... I can't." Abby heard him whimper, even though his lips had not moved.

"What if I can't hear her?" Connor interjected.

"You will ..." Merlin answered smiling, before turning around and walking away muttering under his breath, "In time..."

.

-o-o-o-

.

Later that evening Abby prepared to join the family with dinner. She asked what had happened to her brother and was told that Stephen was looking after him.

"What about the young woman we found, who is she?" Abby asked.

"She's a fairy, her name's Jessica. Shall we go and check on her?" Claudia pondered.

"Yes we should," both Abby and Morgana agreed.

Claudia led them down a few corridors; the fairy had been given a room closer to Claudia and Nick's own quarters where they could keep an eye on the young lady. Soon they met a physician coming from the young woman's quarters.

"How is she?" Claudia questioned the young female doctor.

"She has a broken wing, and the huge bruise on her head, together with the dilated pupils indicates that she has concussion. She'll need a few days if not weeks to recover fully. She should come round in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. But her wing will take weeks to mend."

Claudia became certain that she would not wake for a while, and she thanked the medic for her help and continued to Jessica's bedroom.

Opening the door Claudia was surprised to see Jack, he held a pillow in his hands and for a moment he looked startled by the women's presence.

"I'm adjusting her pillows..." He blushed awkwardly and then he slowly he leaned over the young woman and exchanged her pillow for the plump one in his hands.

"Carry on," Claudia smiled when he had finished. "Stephen will show you your quarters later."

"Thank you..." He mumbled before scampering away with a guilty look on his face. He didn't even stop to ask Abby if she was OK, something she found quite disconcerting. Abby chewed her lip, something wasn't right.

.

-o-o-o-

.

Claudia, led Abby and Morgana to a chamber full of clothes, she pointed to all the outfits she had collected throughout the ages, tonight they would be getting dressed for dinner.

Morgana snapped her fingers, white smoke swirled around her, and in a moment it was gone, the green dress which had been hanging on the rail moments ago, now adorned her body. It looked as if it belonged to a rich lady in the Middle Ages, it was made from a shimmering satin material that shone in the light, whilst the material was very plain, the dress itself made up for the lack of design the long, wide sleeves hung from her elbows, and Morgana chose a thick wide metal belt that hung nicely from her hips, the end trailing down the floor length skirt between her legs.

The dress would have looked ridiculous in this day and age but when Claudia pulled out a similar floor length dress in blue, Abby decided that she didn't want to be the odd one out and she reached for a similar dress in white.

Morgana snapped her fingers twice more, once to aide Claudia, getting dressed and then once more to help Abby. White smoke enveloped them both and Abby felt her jeans disappear and the smooth material of the dress as it covered her body.

The dress Abby chose had golden thread embroidered throughout the bodice, whilst the bodice itself was fitted, the skirt flared out until it reached the floor, and the hem was embroidered up to her knee level. Abby was hesitant about the belt that looked as if it was made of pure gold, but Claudia insisted, saying that the outfit was incomplete without it.

Abby now relaxed enough, sat and allowed Claudia to apply a very natural make-up to her face. She found she enjoyed Morgana and Claudia's easy banter. Having questions of her own regarding Connor's strange heritage, she began to ask the ladies with her about everything.

Claudia was able to tell Abby the whole story, having lived throughout the ages, she had seen Connor grow up and change with each lifetime. She even told Abby how Christina had tried to thwart their plans by getting Connor to fall in love with one of her minions called Caroline. She told her about the time Connor had tried to complete the quest with Caroline and they had all failed miserably.

But this time there would be no mistakes, they knew who they were looking for, and it was down to the individual to accept who they were and to deal with it.

Morgana was able to inform her of her own powers and knowing that Abby had a magical background, she told her that she would be able to teach her all she needed to know to help them complete their quest. She also needed to teach Connor how to converse with her, and to read her mind.

"Remember this spell... Meddyliau atal, this simple incantation will help you, otherwise you'll be constantly reading each other's thoughts and after a while, this could be detrimental to your relationship."

Soon they were ready and one of Claudia's maids came to tell her that the elderly gentleman called Merlin, was feeling very tired, and he had retired for the evening, but, all of the other men were waiting in the dining hall.

Abby worried her lip on the way down to dinner. She wondered what Connor would think of her outfit. But seeing him made her weak at the knees, for Connor, Pete, and Ash had dressed for dinner too.

All the men had chosen fitted trousers in black suede that tied at the waist with a simple leather belt. However each shirt was different, Cutter's simple tunic was pale blue cotton, and he had added a jerkin of a deeper blue that contrasted with his shirt.

Pete wore a simple white tunic with puffed sleeves, he had tucked his shirt into his trousers, and he had also added a long black jerkin made of suede.

Abby looked from Ash to Connor and back again, she was trying to tell the brothers apart and found that she couldn't.

One twin wore a simple tunic in green and he had added a belt similar to the one his sibling was wearing. The other, wore a cream tunic similar to Pete's; he had tucked his tunic into his trousers and he had added a short brown suede jerkin instead. Abby couldn't help thinking that he looked like Hans Solo; and all that was missing was his gun.

She looked down at her own dress, and heard one of the twins think 'Abby - you look like Princess Leia!' She saw his accompanying smile and blushed knowing that he approved.
Hearing his thoughts she smiled, and she turned to face the man she was falling in love with.

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-o-o-o

.

Ash, observant as any policeman could ever be, kept looking around the table; Cutter had told him how he was convinced that they had a traitor amongst them. He noticed Stephen in particular, as he hovered around the table.

"Stephenson," he called.

"Yes sir,"

"I can't help wondering what Jessica means when he says 'Don't Trust Steven's Son'. Do you have any children?"

"No sir, I do not have any offspring at all. I can't recall having fathered any children." Stephen replied, using the correct terminology to address his employer's guests.

"Could there be anyone you have met, a one chance meeting with a woman?"

Stephen glanced at Cutter.
"Well there was Helen, but I have not seen her since my time at the ARC, and I doubt that any children produced from that affair would be old enough to cause serious trouble."

Stephen smiled too briefly for Ash to be entirely comfortable, and he continued to watch him, attend to Cutter's guests, until he excused himself and left the room.

"What's the matter Ash? You look like you have something on your mind. As if you doubt him..." Cutter surmised.

"I don't know enough about him to be sure, but I'm not entirely convinced." Ash paused for a moment, chewing the food in his mouth and swallowing before continuing. "I've read his files, and everything seems to be in order, but I just don't have faith in him."

"He's a good man, saved my life many times in the past. I have no reason NOT to trust him." Cutter informed him.

Ash conceded, there was something about Stephen he couldn't quite put his finger on, but for Cutter's sake he was prepared to overlook it. He continued to watch Cutter's manservant until he left the room, he was sure he had seen him reach for a mobile phone.

"So what about Abby's brother ...? Is he actually related to you?" Ashley questioned.

"No..." Abby shook her head; she had a feeling she was not going to like where Ash's train of thought was taking them.

"So could it be possible that he is our mysterious "Steven's Son?"

Cutter pondered for a moment. Ash's suggestion didn't sound so far-fetched, especially if Jack's birth father was called Steven.

"So, where do we go from here?" Pete questioned.

"The woman you found – She's a Fairy Princess, her name is Jessica. I was talking to the doctor about her. She's been sedated right now, she needs her rest." Cutter informed them. He carried on.

"You have to find Ash's key ... Now my sources tell me that one of Christina's minions have kidnapped her. She has been taken out of this time and she has been locked up. He couldn't tell me where she had been taken, but told me that she had been taken to the 12th century." Cutter paused and looked around the table, then once he had everyone's attention he continued.

"Morgana will be able to open an anomaly, not far from where she is kept. It won't be precise, but it will be close enough. All you have to do is bring her back to the present. Whilst you look for Ash's key, Morgana and Pete will teach the rest of you everything you need to know to complete this quest."

During dinner Abby tried to keep up with the conversation at the table but she kept hearing Connor's thoughts as well as her own and very quickly her head began to throb.

Putting down her cutlery she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Abby – I hope she's OK?"

She noted the concerned look on Connor's face and realised that he had not actually spoken, she was hearing his thoughts again.

"Abby? Are you OK?" He questioned again, this time audibly.

Sadly she shook her head, and she leaned over to Morgana and whispered something in her ear.
Morgana, in turn, turned and whispered something back to her.

Abby muttered something under her breath, and sighed smiling. Now no longer plagued by Connor's thoughts, she could think for herself and she relaxed for the first time during the lavish meal.

.

-o-o-o-

.

Abby knew that Cutter and Claudia were preparing for them to go on some sort of quest, but she was worried.

"I can't go on this mission, what about Rex and the rest of my pets?" Abby voiced her concerns over breakfast.

"You're worried about Rex?" Cutter smiled.

"Well I need someone to feed him don't I?"

"We'll look after him; I'll have him brought here." Nick turned to Stephen, "Can you go to Abby's flat, retrieve all her pets, bring them here."

"Sir," Stephenson nodded and walked away.

Half an hour later Abby was reunited with her beloved pets, Stephenson looking very uncomfortable as he handed the snakes over.

Rex chittered at Abby's feet.

"Morgana, Merlin is not feeling too well, could you do the honours?" Cutter asked the witch.

"Sure..." Morgana walked over to Rex, and holding a hand over him, she muttered an incantation.

Rex began to glow, and grow, his wings disappeared, his colour began to change and his skin turned into a pale white colour. Clothes appeared on his unusual body, and soon a midget about two feet in height stood in front of Abby. He had a dirty but pleasant childlike face looking remarkably like a street urchin from Oliver Twist. He had elongated ears, a cute turned up nose, small smiling lips, and a thick mop of dark hair on his head. He was wearing a smart green tunic and what looked strangely like bottle green tights.

Unable to believe her eyes, Abby stumbled backwards into Connor's arms. Looking at Connor she noticed his mouth had fallen open, and she was sure that he was just as surprised as she was.

The little elf turned towards Cutter.

"I've been watching her, just like you said Sir." He then turned towards Abby. "She's been nice to me; she fed me, kept me warm. Thank you Miss, I won't forget your kindness Miss." The creature Abby had assumed was Rex, spoke in a squeaky childlike voice.

"Is there anything to report?" Cutter smiled at the elf.

"Don't like that boy that moved in, he tried to hurt me, tried to give me away to his friends. They should not have been allowed into the Miss's flat, Sir."

Cutter looked at Abby questioningly.

"I think he means my brother Jack." Abby clarified to Cutter.

"Pardon me Miss, but he's not your bruvver Miss, I don't know who he is, but he ain't your bruvver Miss." The little elf blinked, his bright blue eyes shining in the sunlight that streamed in through the window.

"Why do you say that?" Cutter questioned.

"Because he kept making weird phone calls Sir, I couldn't make out who he was talking to, but it didn't sound right Sir. He kept talking to someone; kept telling them what the young miss was doing sir. Kept telling them about when she was coming and going Sir."

Cutter blinked as he digested this information. He was not happy to hear about Jack, and what he had been doing.

"Christine Johnston! He's been talking to Christine!" Nick spat through gritted teeth, frowning. "Thank you Rex, thank you very much. You can go with Stephenson, he'll show you your quarters and you'll be helping in the kitchens."

"Thank you, sir." The little elf bowed down low, his nose almost brushing the floor. The tiny little boy turned to Abby, saluted to her, and then tottered off behind Stephenson towards the kitchens.

Cutter was furious; having been told that Jack was talking to someone regarding Abby's movements annoyed him. Without hesitation he summoned the young boy.

"What are you going to do?" Abby questioned concerned for her brother's safety.

"He can't stay here; I can't have him telling anyone what we're doing," Cutter informed her.

Abby gasped. "You're going to kill him?" Her eyes became wide and frightened.

"No! Whatever gave you that impression?"

"Where will he go? What will he do?"

"Don't worry; I have someone who can look after him, he'll be looked after." Cutter noticed the questioning look in her eyes and knew he would have to tell her of his plan. "My footman Roger, he's a trusted man, he will take him away from here, they'll live in London, somewhere safe."

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-o-o-o-

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