You know that you're a good teacher and an extremely poor player when you show someone how to play a game and they beat you every single time.

"Checkmate."

"Argh!" I cried, somersaulting backwards until my legs were sticking up against the rocky wall, and my arms were crossed over my face. Between the dragon and myself was a chess board and pieces that I made out of rocks, sticks and paper. For the past week, we'd been playing chess with me moving Kilgharrah's pieces whenever it was his turn. I had even challenged him to play until no pieces were gone.

I had lost every single time.

"Why can't I beat you?" I questioned. "Am I really that bad at this game?"

"It would seem that way."

"I think I keep losing because I can't concentrate due to the guilt of what I did."

"That excuse does not account for you losing."

"It was worth a shot!" I sat back up. "Another game?"

"If you wish."

I started putting the pieces back in their places. "I'll win this time, for sure.'

He laughed. "We shall see."

"You know, I think something bad's going to happen to Uther."

"Why would you say that?" he asked, fully intrigued.

I smiled. 'I saw the Lady Morgana's servant taking lilies to her, and it's a fact that lilies are what you give to people when they die. That, and I saw a hooded person in the courtyard before I came here."

"I see. And you assume that the Lady Morgana is going to be killed?"

"Well, we all die, some sooner than others, but we're all going to die nonetheless. In fact, if she did die, the way that Uther is grieving will probably interest you, am I right?"

"That would matter on his desperation to ensure that she is to survive."

"Well I'll keep tabs on her demise for you just in case. I get the feeling that if she did die it would cause a lot of angst from Uther. How knows, it might drive him mad. Actually that's stretching it. He'd save that for Arthur."

"Do you not see how disturbing you're being?" asked the voice in my head.

"You're one to talk."

As I had predicted, Morgana had not woken up. Everyone close to her was tense and anxious that she wasn't going to survive. I thought that this was tense because I didn't know if she was going to survive except that I knew she was going to be the biggest threat to Camelot.

As I was going down the stairs to the main square, I spotted a light blue hooded man, bent over slightly, talking to Arthur, who looked as disinterested as you could imagine in their conversation and trying to walk away from him. The man was offering his services to help heal the Lady Morgana and boasting that he had a remedy to cure all ills.

I went down the stairs, as silent as I could, before sneaking up on him to make him jump.

"You ever had a rainbow mushroom from Nicaragua?"

"Have I ever what?" he asked me, turning to me. He looked like he was in his thirties or late twenties with messy, light brown hair that almost looked pale red. He had a burn scar on the side of his neck and right cheek that made him look similar to a less ugly, pale Freddy Krueger. When he saw me, he looked completely surprised at the sight of me.

I smiled at the thought. "A rainbow mushroom from Nicaragua," I repeated. "I've never actually had one, but I know that asking someone that usually grabs someone's attention."

"Right," he nodded, looking away for a moment. "Tell me, have we met?"

I thought long and hard. "Nope," I concluded.

"I see..."

"You should consider yourself lucky that no one is questioning that you've just arrived and heard about Morgana's grave illness," I told him in a low voice. "And saying you have a remedy to cure all ills is kind of dangerous."

"Why would you say that?"

I leaned closer to him. "From your demeanour, it's obvious that you're up to something. And by turning up and offering her help when it's highly doubtful that news in this place could spread as far as it has for you to know, it's clear that you had something to do with it."

He smirked. "Is that your way of agreeing with me?" I asked, before whispering in his ear. "Sorcerer."

The smile ran away from his face and settled on mine. "It doesn't bother me of what you're up to," I told him, before running up the stairs and getting as far away from his as possible.

A day after the man had offered his services, Arthur had convinced his father to use him to help. Uther agreed and met the man. He was given Merlin as a servant to aid him, and everyone – really Gaius, Uther and Arthur – gathered in Morgana's room.

"Put my equipment over there," the man told Merlin, who was carrying some boxes. The men turned to the king. "Sire, I would be grateful if you could have everyone leave the room. I require peace and privacy."

"Certainly."

Everyone started leaving the room, except for Gaius who remained where he was watching the man.

"That includes you, Gaius."

"Now is not the time for giving instruction. I will need all my concentration."

"Gaius…" Uther called from outside the door.

Once everyone was gone, Edwin pulled out a box containing big black beetles. As he was preparing to remove the one inside Morgana, Gwen silently opened the door. He stopped and turned to her.

"Why are you spying on me?" he demanded.

"I wasn't. I'm her maidservant."

"Then bring me some water."

"Someone should be with her."

"Do you want to be responsible for hr death?"

"No, but…"

"Then you will bring me some water. Now. Or she may die."

Gwen left and the room fell silent.

The man turned back to Morgana and cast the spell to bring the bug out of her ear. He plucked the bug out of her ear and dabbed a small cloth on her ear, staining it in blood. He then placed the bug back into the box.

He jumped when I slid out from under the bed, right at his feet, with my fingers in my ears.

"Gee, I get the feeling you'll be in a lot of trouble if I did decide to expose you."

"How did nobody see you in here?"

"It's the beauty of hiding under a bed with long bedsheets. Now, are you expecting me to blackmail you or would you like me to stay quiet with no bargaining? Oh, by the way, I went out of my way to write down all over my body that you had a box containing evil bugs, so if you try to plant one in my ears to keep quiet, think again."

He stared at me for a moment, taking in what I said. "You're a clever girl, aren't you? I always considered you to be."

"Thank you. But if I was as clever as you think, I would be informing the king to prevent you from doing the same to anyone else. And I won't," I held up my hand. "I'm Jackie."

He then smiled before holding my hand and shaking it. "Edwin Muirden."

"Pleased to meet you, Edwin Muirden. Now help me up."

He dragged me out from under the bed and helped me to my feet. I smoothed out my dress, before turning back to him. "Thanks," I said. "Well, you better tell everyone downstairs the good news. I suppose I'll see you around, perhaps."

"I think we shall, Jackie," he told me. "And unlike last time, I won't change a bit."

I frowned. "Okay then," I said, before departing from the room.

Later that day, after wandering around the castle out of boredom and in the mood for stealing, I caught Merlin in the same hallway.

"Hey," I said. "Whatcha doing?"

"Oh, I, er, I came to see Edwin."

"What for?"

"He left one of his tools in Morgana's room," he explained, holding out something that looked like a pate knife. "I'm going to give it back to him."

"I'll go with you."

"As long as you don't take or leave anything."

"What are you, a park ranger? And I doubt that I'd find anything that I want in those rooms."

While making our way to Edwin's chamber, Merlin explained to me everything that had happened in order to help cure Morgana, his equipment for alchemy and his diagnosis. When he was discussing the equipment for alchemy, he sounded completely engrossed and seemed excited to see it again.

"Isn't alchemy something that sorcerers would do in their spare time?" I asked him when he finished.

"I'm not sure."

"Where I come from, sorcerers are thought to use it. But that depends on who you are and your exposure to them. Actually, when you think about it, why would he bring that stuff with him?"

"Maybe they hold a sentimental value to him."

We stopped at a pair of double doors, after rounding a corner. "This it?" I asked.

Merlin nodded and knocked on one of the doors. "Edwin?" he called.

"No one's in," I declared after a moment of silence. I took Merlin by the wrist, unlatched the door and slipped inside.

As expected, nobody was in the room. The room felt very empty, with a bed, a fireplace, a couple of corner tables with drawers, some of the boxes that Edwin held some of his equipment and the main table, overcrowded with the equipment used for alchemy. The walls were very army based, with a pair of axes crossing over one another above the fireplace, and shields with silhouetted dragon drawings on them. It kind of felt like entering the room of someone who had just left for a holiday. Then again, it was a guest room so that wasn't a big surprise.

Merlin approached the overcrowded table and placed the pate knife on the table. He started fiddling around with some of the alchemy equipment, making them move, opening and closing them and spinning them around to properly examine them. It was like watching a kid playing with a puzzle box that he wasn't allowed to touch.

Eventually he spotted the bug box and picked it up. I edged closer to him to get a better look as he opened up the box to reveal hundreds of small beetles, black and not moving. Closing the lid, I looked up to see that Edwin had entered the room. I waved to him. He gave me that wave where you lift up your bare hand before putting it down. I think it's called the lazy wave.

While that was happening, Merlin was staring at the inscription on the cover. I couldn't understand the ruins, but Merlin could.

"Bebeode be arisan ealdu."

A rustling sound came from inside the box. Merlin held it close to his ear, lifting the lid a little. Confused, he pulled it away and fully opened the box. Inside, the bugs were crawling over each other, wriggling and squirming as they tried to climb out. This seemed to horrify Merlin, who immediately closed the box.

"Very good."

The boy turned around, knocking over a black vase, and spilling its blue powdered contents onto the table. Edwin was standing on behind us, in front of a stone pillar. Merlin held out the box to him, as he drew nearer, and took it from his grasp. After glancing at us for a moment, he opened the lid.

"Swefn."

The bugs became still as he waved his hand above them.

"You have magic," he told Merlin.

"It wasn't me," he lied, "I didn't do anything."

"Hey, don't go shaking the blame on me," I snapped.

"Then how else did you bring them to life?" Edwin questioned Merlin. "Only magic can do such a thing." For some reason, while he did hold the box out closer to us to take a look, and his head was dipped downward, his eyes would constantly flicker onto me occasionally. It was probably to remind me of what I'd told him.

"These little angles are how I cure Lady Morgana. They repaired the damage to her brain. They saved her life." He closed the box and put it back on the table. "Magic can be a force for good," he declared, walking to the other side of the table.

"I – we – know," Merlin said.

"Then why do you fear it?"

"Uther has banned it, it's not permitted."

"Should I have let Morgana die?"

He shook his head. "No."

"People like us, we have a gift. Do you not think it should be used to make this a better world?"

"Perhaps," he said, before, in an attempt to distract himself, he picked up the black jar and tried to clean up the mess he made.

Edwin made his way towards us, and, seeing how afraid Merlin was, I stood firmly between them. My eyes were fixed on his, and he stopped when he halfway.

"Don't waste your time picking that up," he told him. Merlin stopped and looked up at him.

"Feormian daerst renian."

The powder moved upwards. Gracefully, it split itself in two as it slipped back into the jar. This seemed to lighten Merlin's mood, making him smile at the sight. This pleased Edwin, making him smirk.

"Why waste a talent like that? And I can teach you," he looked at me. "Both of you."

I scowled at him. "Don't you dare make that offer to me again," I snarled making him stunned. I turned to Merlin, and softening my tone. "Why don't you show him what you can do?"

The boy nodded. "Raedan asce geatan."

The jar started to float. It hovered towards a nearby bowl before it emptied itself. It then placed itself back on the table. As this was going on, Edwin approached us with a devious look in his eyes. Plans seemed to be brewing inside his head as he came closer and closer to us. I turned towards him and prepared myself in case the worse happened.

"What do you use this for?" he asked the boy, once the jar was back on the table.

"Gaius doesn't like me to."

"A gift like yours should be nurtured, practised, enjoyed. You need someone to help you, to encourage you."

"Perhaps.'

I felt annoyance with a dash of anger inside me. I knew that Edwin was going to say that and Merlin was going to agree, but that just made it sound like I wasn't making attempts to encourage the young warlock. Sure, I didn't practise magic, but agreeing made me feel like I didn't exist in this world. Oh wait…

"Imagine what we could achieve, if we shared our knowledge," Edwin continued, and the fear that Merlin had removed for a moment had returned, from the simple look in that man's eyes.

"Leave him alone!" I growled. "I'm warning you to back off now before you'll have more scars on your face. I'm not kidding. I really will do it."

He smirked. "If you can't tell how nervous you're making Merlin, then how do you expect him to accept your offer?"

The smile ran away, and for a moment I thought I'd won that argument.

"At least I am offering the chance to help him. You seem to be very reluctant at the thought of using magic yourself, so how could you help the boy? In fact, why are you against it? Did something bad happen to you? It has to be more than fear of being caught if it makes you that angry, so tell us?"

That dash of anger became a wave of sadness. My answer came as an old memory circling through my head. I felt my eyes sting with tears, and turned away to leave the room before I started crying. I waited outside, clutching my pendant, and trying hard to slow my breathing down.

Merlin came out a minute later. He placed his hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Are you friggin' blind?" I snarled, rubbing my eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head. "Kilgharrah and I both agreed to never talk about it ever again, what makes you think that I'll talk about it with you?"

Merlin didn't say anything. "How did you know I was nervous?" he asked, eventually.

"I can sense other people's emotions."

"Really?"

"No, your body language is very easy to read." I wiped my eyes again. "You know, I was bluffing about what I said. I just said that to make him leave you alone."

He nodded again. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine by tomorrow – a little envious and bitter – but fine."

Tomorrow had become today, and I lost three games of chess. I was ready to give up on playing that game. However, being a sore loser was no excuse to stop by at the physician's chambers. Merlin passed me with a bag slung over his shoulder, as I climbed up the stairs the next morning.

"Good morning, Merlin."

"Good morning."

"Whatcha doing?"

"I'm collecting some supplies for Edwin. Would you like to come?"

At the mention of Edwin, the offer was permanently denied. "Is Gaius in there?" I asked.

"Yes, but he's probably going to getting some sleep. He's been up all night. What do you want to see him for?"

"No reason. You better get going. You're wasting time talking to me."

"Oh, er, right. I'll see you later."

I nodded, and slipped inside. Gaius was sitting with his back to me at a table, a big, thick book sat in front of him. He turned to me when I came in, he looked exhausted.

"What have you been reading?" I asked, pulling out a stool and sitting beside him. I leaned towards him to look at the book's cover.

He firmly placed his hands on the book. "These are the court records from the time of the Great Purge," he explained.

"I remember going through that book."

"And how did Geoffrey give you permission to read this?"

"He didn't."

"Then how did you read them?"

"Oh, I didn't. I broke in every day for two years just to tear out the blank pages on all of the books. I used to draw on them, but I stopped when I couldn't tell if I was doing actual sketches or just fanart."

"Sketches or just what?"

"Never mind that. Let's just say that the confusion was too much for my poor little mind to take, so I had no choice but to stop. So, why did you read it?"

"I needed it to prove a hypothesis."

"Oh, an experiment! May I help?"

"Would you happen to know where Edwin's guest room is?"

"Yeah, I know where it is. Shall we go now?"

"Yes."

"Edwin."

At the sound of Gaius' voice, Edwin, who was holding his beetle box, looked up to see us coming inside his room. He placed the box back on the table, his eyes fixed on Gaius as he approached the opposite side of the table. I stood at the side of the table, in between the two men.

"Your scar has healed well. I often wondered what happened to that poor young boy."

"I told you we've never met before," Edwin reminded him, moving around his fingers, and giving an unconvincing smile which is normally present in bad liars.

"I didn't realise who you were until I checked the records," Gaius continued, and the smile ran away from the other's face. "You used your mother's maiden name. You are Gregor and Jaden's son."

"They were friends of yours."

"They were sorcerers."

"They practised magic," he corrected, his tone was a mixture between anger and grief. "So did a lot of people back then, Gaius."

"Uther will be furious when he finds out who you are," Gaius threatened, stepping closer to the young man.

"Fine. Fine. Shall we tell him? Let's go and tell him. Let's tell him everything." Edwin advanced towards the door, and stopped when his hand grasped the door handle. "Ooh, I know…we could also tell him about Merlin."

Gaius, who was following him, stopped at the mention of the boy. "Merlin?"

A smirk appeared on his face. "You didn't know he was a sorcerer? Ah," he went back to the table, followed by the old man, and the pair stopped at the same sides of the table as before. "I wonder what Uther will do. Probably have him burnt."

"You would betray another sorcerer?"

"You did," Edwin said, his voice rising in anger. "When you turned a blind eye and let my parents die at the hands of Uther! At least Merlin doesn't have a son who will try to rescue him from the flames!" At that last sentence, he pointed towards the scars on his face, his voice sounded heavy, like the memory of how he became disfigured had crept into his mind.

Hearing that brought about a series questions in my mind. How much did Edwin love his parents? Could they have been the only family he's ever known? How haunting must it feel to look in the mirror and always be reminded of the only thing that you got out of your rescue attempt, were the scars of failure? More and more of those questions came about, filling up my head so much I was surprised that my brain didn't explode and come leaking out of my eyeballs.

"Ooh, am I sensing sympathy?" that confounded voice snickered. "Yes, I believe I am. Jesus Christ, what the hell is wrong with you? You know what's going to happen in this episode. You know that he is the bad guy. And you know that he is going to die? You shouldn't be feeling anything towards him, and yet you are. He's just a single episode villain and that's all he'll ever be! So get your friggin' emotions in check before they get us harmed."

"I swear to God, if I could, I would lose your head in a cornfield!"

"Give it your best shot."

"You're here to take revenge," Gaius realised, bringing me back to reality.

"And I have waited a long time."

"You think I will sacrifice the King to save Merlin?"

"Well, why not?" I questioned Gaius. "Uther's hurt a lot of people in his kingdom, especially someone who's extremely dear to me (This is NOT a romantic hint!), so why shouldn't he get his comeuppance for it?"

"Think about it, Gaius," Edwin added. "But if I find out that either of you have told one other person, including the boy, I will go straight to Uther."

Speaking of the boy, Merlin came in, with his bag filled with the requested supplies for the sorcerer. "I got your provisions," he declared, handing the bag over.

"Oh, thank you, Merlin. Gaius was just reminiscing about old times to Jackie and myself, weren't we?"

"Yes," Gaius agreed, after the smile on Merlin's face.

"But now, I must get back to work," he slapped Merlin on the shoulder and giving a look to Gaius. He nodded to the old man, and the two stared at one another before leaving the room with the boy.

Once they were gone, Edwin approached the window and stared out of it. His mind was deep in thought, so I don't think he knew I was beside him until I stood beside him and placed one hand on his shoulder.

"Sure is a nice view. I wish I had one, but when you live in an underground cave, it's kind of hard."

"Why are you still here?"

"I'm letting sympathy get the best of me, even though yesterday you brought back a memory that's been occasionally haunting me for the past nineteen years. But hey, I'm not forgiving you for what you said so don't confuse my actions for it."

I paused for a moment. "I'm, truly sorry about what happened to you," I told him in a soft voice. "I mean it, I really do. You must have really loved your parents. I couldn't imagine what it'd be like to go through something like that."

Neither of us said anything for a moment. "So the King has hurt someone dear to you?" Edwin asked eventually.

"He's been imprisoned for twenty years. It's kind of been my main goal in life to make sure that he's freed."

"You two must be really close then. Much more than you were before."

I almost started to question what he was on about but then changed my mind, not wanting to know where it would lead. "Yes, he's the closest friend I've ever had. I'd do anything to free him. Do you think you could help me?"

"Perhaps. But you will need to do something for me."

"I can help you kill Uther. I've been here for twenty years, I know the residents and this place very well. Will that help?"

"It will. Tell me everything you know about the area around Uther's quarters and then you can help me go through the medical records to see if there is anything wrong with the king."

"Alright then…"

"You know this will fail," the voice in my head reminded me. "You've seen this show multiple times, so why do it when you're aware of the outcome?"

"It's worth a shot, so shut up you."

"Hah! This won't amount for anything except disappointment."

That night, Kilgharrah and I were having another game of traditional chess, as I spoke about my day, leaving out the reason why I was helping Edwin. I was hoping that talking would distract him and I would have a chance to win. It was slim, but winning would be all the better.

It was working…sort of.

"And you believe that there will be no consequences for your actions?" the dragon asked when I finished.

"Hey, if there's one thing I've learnt from you, it's that you can do anything so long as you don't think it through properly and rely on luck that it doesn't backfire. For example, you using Merlin to free yourself."

I braced myself as Kilgharrah flicked me with one of his long talons and I went flying back, hitting the rocky wall hard enough to knock the wind out of me. He watched me with an amused look as I lay curled up in a ball, hugging myself, and trying to breathe again.

"Hello?" a voice echoed through the cave, catching the dragon's attention. "It is me, Gaius."

A growl escaped from his lips as Kilgharrah flew up to the giant rock near the entrance. I was still unable to breathe properly so all I could do was roll towards the rock and the path leading up. All that I could see was that lizard's head and the glow of a torch.

"How old a man can become," Kilgharrah said poetically, "and yet change so little."

"You have not changed either," Gaius retorted.

"Twenty years, almost a lifetime to make the short journey to where you began."

"I'm not here for myself."

"The boy?"

"You know about Merlin?"

"You have struggled against his destiny, but you can no more prevent it then he can."

"So, it is true then?"

"Oh yes. He and the young pendragon will unite the land of Albion."

"But he is in danger."

"No. It is my jailer who stands in peril," at the thought of Uther, Kilgharrah turned away from him, as if to hide his anger.

"Must Uther be sacrificed for the boy?"

"Their time cannot come until his is past."

"But is that time now?"

A deep, dark chuckle escaped from the dragon as his amusement began to show. "That is of your choosing."

"I will not choose between them," Gaius declared in a firm voice.

"Then turn a blind eye. That is, after all, your talent."

The silence in the caves almost made me believe that Gaius had left, had it not been for the glow of the torch. "Very well then," Gaius said finally, and the torch light went out.

When Kilgharrah had finally flown down, I was able to breathe again and roll back towards our game.

"I hope you never decide to write a war speech. People would confuse it for poetry."

"And why would you say that?"

"Because your speech pattern is very poetic. I mean, when you talk to other people, I feel like I'm listening to you reading out a poem or a riddle you just wrote and wanted to show it off."

"I see. It is your turn, Jack."

I moved a knight piece sideways, so that the L-shape was towards me. A smile broke out on my face and I started to laugh.

"Oh my stars, I won! Checkmate, Kilgharrah. Checkmate!"

Kilgharrah stared at the board few a few seconds. "I would stop celebrating, Jack," he said finally. "Switch my king and queen around, and I have won."

I stopped laughing and glanced down sharply at the board. Sure enough, by switching, my own king was cornered by a bishop and the queen.

A wail escaped my lips, I roughly started massaging my hair, and fell back. I started massaging my eyes with the bottom of my palms.

"I was so close and I lost again…"

Kilgharrah laughed. "Your melodramatic reactions to losing makes the game more enjoyable."

Mere hours after going down to the caves, Gaius was called upon by Uther at dawn. He was informed of his retirement and the position being filled by Edwin. To make matters worse, Gaius chose to follow the Great Dragon's spiteful remark and was leaving that night. So, when Merlin heard the bad news, it was no surprise that he was running about, trying to convince Arthur to change his Uther's mind, and Gaius not to leave.

Meanwhile, Edwin was having a friendly conversation with the king in order to carry out his plan, using the information he received from looking over the medical records.

"Oh, yes. It is a remedy to cure all ills."

"Then have it prepared for me this evening."

Once the king was gone, I appeared from behind a column. "Is there anything that you'd like me to do this evening?" I asked Edwin in a low voice.

"There is," he replied, leaning forward and whispering into my ear, "I will need you to keep an eye on the king until he has entered his chambers for the night. Then, come and get me, you'll stand guard at the door, and the king will be dead by morning. Can you do that?"

"Course. I guess I'll see you tonight."

"Indeed we shall. And I am grateful that you still want to help after all these years."

I gripped with my hand furthest away from him. What was this guy's deal?

"So," the voice in my head sneered, "it seems that for the first time in your life, you've made plans to meet up with a boy who wasn't cheating on you. How quaint."

"Say something like that again and I'll ask Edwin to put one of those beetles in my ear for an hour. Maybe it'll eat you and I won't have to listen to you again."

"Oh, please, and what if he stabs you in the back and doesn't remove it?"

"Then I'll die happily knowing that you were killed in the process."

"Sure you would."

And so, that evening, I spent three hours hiding in the shadows waiting for Uther to go to bed. When I did see him striding into his bedroom, I didn't know which were in a deeper sleep, my legs or him after taking the drugs. It didn't matter, either way I had to limp back as quickly as possible, all the while feeling like I was walking on stilts.

"He's in bed," I declared, bursting into Edwin's room.

"Good," he said. "By the time we've reached his room, he would have taken the drugs," he took his beetle box from the overcrowded table. "Come on."

"What are you going to do when this is over?"

"Why, I was going to release your friend, of course. It was our agreement, wasn't it?"

I nodded.

The rest of the walk was in silence, until we reached the king's chambers. We waited a minute before Edwin wrapped his knuckles on the door. "Sire?" he called, receiving no answer. He looked back at me for a moment he slipped inside.

The king lay in his bed with a sheet pulled up to his chest. With just a plain shirt on instead of his kingly attire, I almost started to feel sorry for him and what was about to happen to him. I brushed the thought away and watched in silence as Edwin approached the side of the bed.

"My Lord," he called, softly. "My Lord. It seems the drugs I gave you have taken hold. Your body is now paralysed. Now, open your eyes, My Lord," Edwin shook the man. "I want my face to be the last face you ever see. You took my childhood from me. And now finally, I take my parents' revenge." He placed a beetle on the bed. "Within a few hours, the beetle will eat into your brain. And you will suffer, as they suffered."

The man moved to the foot of the bed. "And I long to hear you scream, as they screamed the night you gave the order for the fires to be lit. With your death, magic will return to Camelot. Bebeode be arisan ealdu."

Edwin didn't say anything for a moment, and simply stared at Uther as he helplessly lay there. "Goodbye, Uther Pendragon," he said finally, before closing the lid of the box and walking back towards me.

"My revenge is complete," he told me, smiling and placing an arm around my shoulder. "Let's go."

"You sound French when you cast spells," I told him as we walked back to his chambers.

"I do, do I?"

"I wouldn't have said it if you didn't."

"Of course."

Our way back was as silent as the way there. The only sound we made was from our footsteps along the hard floor. I did stop outside his door though, my legs ached from the activities I had been doing prior.

"You go first, I'll just be a moment."

"You had better be," he warned before going inside.

After a few seconds, I slipped inside without a sound just the still silence of the night was broken.

"I will not allow you to kill Uther," declared Gaius, who was hiding in the shadows.

"You've never had a problem letting people die before," Edwin retorted.

The old man stepped forward. "Your parents were practising dark magic, just like you."

"And how do you propose to stop me?"

Gaius held up his hand. "Wace ierlic," he replied, to which nothing happened.

"Hmm," Edwin said calmly. "I think you meant: vaki ierlt."

As if a strong gust of had stirred, Gaius was thrown back against the wall.

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed, running towards him. "Gaius, are you alright?"

"Jackie, leave, now!" he warned.

Before I could get to him, Edwin stepped forward and seized me by the wrist. "Have you forgotten everything, Gaius?" he mocked. "You're getting too old. I have a cure though." He bent down and waved his free hand. "Forbaerne yfel."

Flames encircled around him, trapping him there as he struggled to stand up.

"Let him go!" I shrieked.

"My parents were burned because of him," he explained. "Now he may die the same way. And despite all that you've done for me, I hope not to do the same for you," he added, giving me a quick glance before looking back at Gaius with a delighted sneer.

As the flames began to bend inwards towards him, Merlin burst into the room.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"He was trying to kill the king," Gaius explained, "I couldn't let him. He now has Jackie and is going to kill him next."

I frowned. When was that decided?

Edwin turned to Merlin. "I can rule the kingdom now," he stated. "And with you two at my side, we can be all-powerful."

"Release them!" the boy ordered.

"It's your loss, Merlin."

One of the axes on the wall began to float. It threw itself at Merlin, who bent backwards, and the axe stopped before it could go any further.

"Swilte, Merlin."

Instead of obeying him, the axe began to hover towards Edwin and myself. I suddenly felt a light pressure touch the top of my head before I was tossed to the ground. Above me, flew the axe. I covered my eyes and flinched as I heard it bury into flesh and Edwin's body collapsed.

Merlin helped me to my feet, while the flames around Gaius disappeared. "Are you alright?" he asked us.

"Yes," Gaius nodded. "Thank you Merlin."

The boy turned to me. I gave a quick nod, with one hand on top of my head where I felt the pressure. "I might slap you later for almost killing me," I gasped.

"I'm sorry," he told me before fetching the beetle box.

"What are you doing?" Gaius asked.

"Uther's ill; the same thing Morgana had," he explained. "Edwin said he used these to cure Morgana, Maybe we can too."

Gaius approached us and peered inside in the box. "Elanthia beetles," he gasped.

"They're magical?" he asked.

"Yes. They can be enchanted to enter the brain, feed on it until they devour the person's very soul. We must go to him."

We raced to Uther's quarters, where we found the king, pale and sickly. Time was running out.

"How do we get the beetle out before it kills him?" Merlin asked.

"It can only be magic," Gaius replied.

"We can't us magic on Uther, he'd kill us."

"We don't have a choice."

"Gaius!"

"There are times when it's necessary," I told the boy. "It's your right."

"I don't know how."

"If you don't, he going to die," Gaius revealed.

Merlin looked at the physician and myself before slowly walking towards the king. He sat down on the bed, before I place my hand on his arm and crouched down. He placed his hands over Uther's ears. Concentrating hard, he closed his eyes and cast the spell.

"Bebeode be arisan ealdu. Ablinnen."

"What's happening?" Gaius asked.

"Shh," I raised a finger to my lips.

Shortly after, Merlin opened his eyes and pulled back his hands. He stood up and showed us the still beetle that lay on its back, in the centre of his palm.

"Has anyone ever told you, you're a genius?" Gaius asked.

"You certainly haven't," Merlin replied.

I gave the boy a friendly nudge on top of his head. "Good job, genius," I smiled at him.

With the king saved, Gaius was reinstated his position as court physician the following day. It was a small ceremony with a few of the noble people and mainly the servants there to applaud. The happiest one there was definitely Merlin.

And as expected, Kilgharrah and I were once again playing a game of chess, this time it was to get rid of every piece on the board. At the time, there were only three pawn pieces left on the board, two were his and one was mine.

"So it would seem that Gaius is capable of not turning a blind eye," I said.

"I suppose he has more than one talent then."

"Gee, that's a very snarky thing to say," without paying much attention, I took out one of his pieces and permanently trapping myself in front of the other piece. "Oh sugar frosted painted nails! Damn it!"

"What have you done now?"

"I just moved my piece in front of yours. Now neither of us can move and finish the game," my eyes widened. "Wait a minute, if neither of us can move, meaning it's a tie, and so that means…"

"It was a draw, Jack, and therefore…"

"Both of us lost and both of us won! I finally won!"

I jumped up and started spinning around Kilgharrah with my arms out wide. I was wary not to step on his chain, but it didn't stop me from singing out at the top of my lung, "I finally won! I finally won! I finally won!"

Hours seemed to go by before I stopped, too giddy to go any further, and I needed to sit down.

"You were lucky not to trip on my chain," the dragon told me.

"I wasn't going to touch it again," I assured him. "I've already had my near brush with death for the week with that axe," I placed my hand on top of my head where I felt that pressure. "I wonder what Edwin did to my head."

I heard a chuckle coming from Kilgharrah. "What?" I said.

He turned away and flew up to top of the cave. "Oh, come on!" I exclaimed. "Is there something that you know, and I don't? Tell me!"