Estelle pt.11

Hello, hope you are having a good day.

"Mother." Merlin exclaimed as he hugged Hunith.

"Merlin, I have missed you." Hunith whispered.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you."

"Come in."

Hunith went in and hugged Freya.

"How are you feeling?" Hunith wondered.

"As good as any pregnant woman can feel." Freya sighed. Merlin brought Hunith's bags in and closed the door.

"I also came to meet Estelle."

"She's sleeping right now or she should be. She's still very emotional."

"I understand."

Estelle woke to her babies kicking. She heard the talking and got up. She put her shawl on and went to the door. Freya saw her.

"Estelle, you should be in bed sleeping." Freya said.

"What's going on?" Estelle asked.

"Mother, meet Estelle. Estelle, this is my mother." Merlin greeted. Estelle nodded and Hunith went to her.

"You look so much like your father. How do you feel?" Hunith wondered.

"Fine. Just a little shaky." Estelle mumbled.

"Come sit down, Estelle." Merlin calmly suggested. Estelle sat down at the table. Merlin gave her a bowl of soup and then handed one to Hunith who sat down next to Estelle. Hunith saw Estelle's forehead.

"What happened to your head?" Hunith questioned.

"I was walking in the lower town and the villagers stoned me. Father managed to help me." Estelle answered.

"Why would they do that?"

"Because of who my mother is."

"Well, they are no better than Morgana. If we hate each other and think evil thoughts then we are no better than someone who has killed or destroyed lives."

"Thanks."

"Your welcome. How do you feel about becoming a mother soon?"

"Pretty good. Better now that I know the truth about my husband and now that soon I won't have to feel horrible marrying a scum."

"You are a very lucky young woman. God is going to use you for great things."

"Maybe."

"He will. Children are a gift from God. You are a gift to your father and your children will be a gift to you."

"Well, I guess my mother didn't consider me a gift. She considered me a curse."

"Well, you're not a curse. You are an amazing gift and I think Freya considers you a gift."

"I sure do. I have loved being with you." Freya replied.

"That goes for me too. You are an amazing gift." Merlin sighed. He went to her and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you." Estelle mumbled.

"Now, eat. You should be resting."

Estelle nodded and finished eating. They talked for a while near the fire. Merlin was hugging Estelle who was starting to fall asleep.

"She's almost asleep." Freya whispered.

"I should get her to bed." Merlin sighed. Merlin picked her up and carried her to bed. He laid her down on the bed and covered her up. He took her shawl and covered her.

"Has she talked at all about what happened?" Hunith wondered.

"Not really and we haven't pushed her to talk. Merlin nearly lost her. He doesn't want to lose her again." Freya replied.

"She's got a heavy burden."

"I know. Merlin tried to talk to her but it's hard for her."

"He loves her so much."

Merlin kissed Estelle's forehead. He gently squeezed her hand.

"I love you." Merlin whispered. He left the room. He sat next to Freya and hugged her.

"Go to bed. You're exhausted." Freya answered.

"When you do."

"Merlin, listen to Freya. You need to rest." Hunith suggested.

"Fine." Merlin sighed. He went to bed. Hunith and Freya talked for an hour before they went to bed. The next morning, Merlin woke up to Freya moving closer. He moaned and pulled her closer.

"How do you feel?" Freya asked.

"Tired."

"Then go to sleep."

"I can't. The executions are today."

"When it's over, get some rest for me."

"Will you help me?"

"Maybe."

"Good."

Merlin sat up and sighed. He got up and got dressed. Freya tried to rest a little more. Merlin checked on Estelle and saw her looking out the window into the citadel where men were preparing for the executions.

"I thought I knew what love was and what it was like to be in love with someone but I guess I was wrong." Estelle said.

"He made you see what you wanted to see. Everyone goes through things like that. It's normal but it means that it will be harder for someone to do it again." Merlin answered.

"I should have realized that he was no good."

"You can't be doing this, Estelle. Not now. We need you and the babies will need you. If you do this anything can happen. You have to be strong. He's going to pay for his crimes but you can't be feeling this guilt."

"How can I not feel guilty?"

"Feeling guilty won't help you but learning from your past will."

Merlin hugged Estelle close.

"I love you and I can't bare to lose you again." Merlin whispered. Estelle didn't answer. "You can stay here. We'll go to the execution. You don't need to."

"No, I'll go. I want to watch him suffer like I suffered." Estelle replied.

"Ok."

Later that day, they went to the execution. The three were tied to the stake.

"Let this serve as a lesson to those who wish to harm others. It will not be tolerated. Cain has destroyed many lives. He paid for people only to treat them like dirt. Margwyn has abused his power and authority. He has also committed treason. Jacob has committed the most unforgivable thing. He has given his wife into the hands of murderers so that he would be free of any harm. Their punishment is death." Gwen explained. Merlin put his hand on Estelle's shoulder as the executioner threw the torch onto the pile of wood. As the screams grew louder, Estelle started to mess with the rings on her necklace. Merlin could feel her heart beat faster.

"I'm going to take her home. She's having an attack." Merlin whispered to Freya. Freya nodded.

"I'll stay with Hunith." Freya replied.

"Ok. Estelle, let's get you home."

"I'm fine." Estelle lied.

"You're having an attack. You need to see Gaius as well. Now, let's go." Merlin sighed. Estelle did as she was told. Merlin took her inside and took her to Gaius. When they went inside, Gaius was at the table. "Sit down." Estelle sat down on the bed.

"Merlin, what are you doing here?" Gaius asked.

"We were watching the execution when Estelle started having an attack."

"Let me take a look."

Gaius checked Estelle over.

"Merlin, get me the vial on end of the table. Get a cup of water." Gaius ordered. Merlin did as he was told. He gave it to Gaius who put a few drops in the cup and gave it to Estelle. "Drink this. It will help you calm down."

Estelle drank all the water.

"Good job." Merlin calmly said.

"How do you feel?" Gaius wondered.

"Better." Estelle panted.

"Lie down and rest while I talk to your father."

Estelle did as she was told. Merlin took the cup and put it on the table. He went to the door where Gaius was standing.

"You know what's going on, don't you?" Gaius asked.

"Yeah. We found burn marks on her and know we are starting to see how bad things are getting. That attack will most likely be the first of many attacks and that's not good." Merlin explained.

"Yes. If she has another attack, she could end up having the babies very early. Try to talk to her. She needs to talk and let this out before it kills her and the babies."

"I will."

"You did the right thing by taking her away from the execution."

"I know."

"I'll make up some medicine for her. I'll have a servant drop it off later today."

"Ok. How often should she take it and how much?"

"Three times a day till she gives birth. Three drops and no more. Make sure that she is resting when you give it to her. Wait half an hour before letting her get up. Her body needs that long for it to take affect."

"I will and if she gets worse, I'll make sure she stays in bed. Then when she gives birth, we can start taking her off of it."

"Yes."

"Ok. Can I carry her home so that she can rest in her bed?"

"Yes."

Merlin picked Estelle up and carried her home. He laid her down on her bed and watched over her. Half an hour later, Merlin sighed.

"You can get up. Just be careful." Merlin sighed. Estelle got up and looked out the window. She looked at the fire and played with her necklace.

"When I was first kidnapped, they were gentle with me. They raped me but it wasn't rough. Cain would take a dagger and would put it in a fire. When he pulled it out, he would cut me and burn me. He pressed it against my skin slowly dragged it across my skin. It hurt so much. He would let me rape me and do whatever they wanted for a certain amount of money. Some men would whip me if I spoke or cried out in pain or did something they didn't like. Some would cut me and make me bleed till I couldn't bleed anymore. Some would make me scream till I was too weak to scream. Day and night, they hurt me. They only let me eat once a day and only a little piece of bread. They let me have a small cup of water once a day. They only gave me enough to live. They did it so that I was too weak to escape but strong enough to fight and scream. they got rougher and rougher. Eventually, I stopped feeling pain. I gave up hope of being found. I tried to kill the babies so that they wouldn't be harmed. It never worked. I was afraid for my babies. They loved taking a burning stick and hitting me with it. I always screamed and cried till a month before you came. They hit me with the burning stick but I didn't react. I felt it but everything was numb. The only reason why I screamed the day you found me was because the man was about to kill the babies. I had tried to escape a few times but it never worked. They dislocated my arms and legs after the first time. They broke my legs after the second time. They stabbed me and chained me after the third time. What they did after that one was the worst. Daily, they would dislocate my legs and burn them. When they saw how hopeless I was, they stopped." Estelle explained. Merlin went her and hugged her. Both were crying. Estelle hugged Merlin back and sobbed. "I realized that I should have stayed with you. When you came, I thought that you would hate me."

"I could never hate you." Merlin cried.

"Margwyn said that you were sick but he said that you were disgusted that you even loved me. Now, I know that he was lying."

"You had the attack because you had been burned so many times."

"Yes."

TBC