A/N: Jej! Another chapter! I'm sorry for the wait, and since I'm sure you're all dying to know what kind of anticlimactic chapter I put in this time, I'll keep it short.
Thanks to my lovely beta, Eilonwyn!
dedication: Hanne: You've been my best friend for close to 16 years now, need I say more? Okay, I do =) we wrote Bill's Bachelor Party together, and we've laughed our asses off. You've yet to read this fic, but I'm confident that you insatiable curiosity will either drive you insane or make you read it =D So as soon as you do; this is for you sweetie!
And now, on with the chapter!
Chapter 12: The Gates of Avalon – part 2
Previously:
~Arthur just stared at me, so I did what I do so often – I didn't think. I leaned forward and kissed him.~
It wasn't at all what I thought it would be, but on the other hand… it was… I wasn't even making sense to myself. I could only be certain of a few things; Arthur's hand was on my neck, his lips were on mine, and I was very much enjoying myself.
A hand closed around my arm like a vice. Aulfric pulled me back forcefully, but I barely felt it. My eyes were on Arthur's. I could've sworn I saw something akin to recognition, but as soon as Sophia spoke, it was gone.
"Arthur…" Though Sophia's voice was soft, it commanded Arthur's attention. Suddenly, it was as if the kiss hadn't happened.
"We can elope together," she whispered, coming closer. "Get away from this place, these people."
"I saw you," I said accusingly, pointing at Aulfric. I turned to Arthur now. "I followed him, they're planning to sacrifice you!"
Aulfric stepped forward menacingly. "You let your servant talk to your guests this way?" he said.
"I know what you're going to do because I followed you to the lake and heard everything!" I yelled back. I turned to Arthur, pleading. "You have to believe me."
He seemed so confused all I wanted was to hold his hand and tell him everything was going to be all right.
"Don't listen to her, Arthur. Let's go, let's leave tonight," Sophia pleaded. I had to admit, she was a great actress.
"She's going to kill you!" I said desperately, taking a step closer to my prince. "She plans to sacrifice you to buy a life of immortality, if you go with her you die!" Somehow, saying it out loud like this made it even more real to me. A pain I couldn't explain shot through my heart.
Arthur shook his head, bewildered. "It doesn't make sense…" he said." We're in love…"
"They're magical beings! Look at the writing on the staff!" I made to grab the old man's staff, but he held it out of my reach, his eyes flashing red.
I flinched and stepped back again. "Look at his eyes! Look at him! Do you believe me now? Arthur, do you see?"
But when Arthur turned back to me his eyes were the same shade of red. "I see everything." His voice was cold, as were his eyes, and he didn't show any sign of recognition.
Realizing I couldn't win like this, I bolted for the door, but was hit with a blast from Aulfric's staff. The last thing I remembered was hitting the wall hard, white-hot pain spreading through my body, before the darkness came.
/
I woke up to Gaius' voice begging me to say something. I cracked open an eye, wincing at the pain.
"What happened?" my uncle asked.
"Aulfric," I sad groggily, "where's Arthur? I have to go after him! What that buzzing noise?" I asked vaguely, as Gaius hoisted me up.
"Careful, Merlynn, you can barely stand up-"
"I have to go," I said, still disoriented, trying to get away from Gaius. I needed to get to Arthur.
"You can't! Not in this state! You owe it to your powers that you survived this at all!" he protested. I looked down at my singed clothes, glad the blast hadn't burnt through the fabric.
"I'll be fine. He needs me."
"Has that buzzing stopped?" he asked suspiciously.
"Yes."
"Liar," he said, still holding on to my arm to keep me upright.
"I have to go, Gaius, he'll die if I don't!" I begged, my eyes pleading.
"The Sidhe are a vicious people, you must be careful."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," I said, trying to smile it off. I still felt dizzy and my body still hurt. I started walking, hoping it was in the general vicinity of the door.
"Merlynn!" Gaius called. I turned towards him. "This way," the man said, pointing in the opposite direction.
"Just testing." I ran out the door and out the castle into the forest, and hopefully toward a still alive Arthur.
/
As I ran through the familiar forest, my head became clearer, though the pain wouldn't go away. 'I really must've hit that wall hard…' I contemplated. But my thoughts didn't linger on that subject too long; all I could think about was Arthur right now…
As I neared the lake, I heard Aulfric chanting some sort of spell, and through the trees, I saw Sophia standing in the water. I bit back a scream; Arthur was already in the water!
I took a few more steps closer and noticed Sophia's staff lying at Aulfric's feet. A simple spell sent it flying to me. I caught it deftly and immediately used it to kill the old man.
"Father! No!" Sophia cried, wading to the shore, but she met the same fate.
I took off my coat as I ran toward the water, diving in as soon as I was close enough. Finding Arthur in the turbid water proved harder than I initially thought, especially since the cold chilled me to the bone. I whispered a spell and dove under water again. This time a tiny light that represented Arthur's life force could be seen a little to my right. I swam to him and somehow managed to get him to the shore. Arthur was very heavy, particularly since he was wearing his armour at the time. I had no idea why that idiot felt the need to wear it every single day.
I lay on my back for a few seconds before getting up and kneeling by the prince's head. He wasn't breathing. A chill went down my spine that had nothing to do with the fact that I was drenched in ice-cold water.
Luckily, Gaius had taught me a little about being a physician – not much, but still enough to get by for now. I covered his mouth with mine, pinching his nose closed while I breathed air into his lungs. I repeated this four times until he coughed out water and breathed on his own. Unfortunately, he didn't wake up.
I was exhausted and cold, so I used some magic to warm myself and Arthur up and to start a fire. I lay down on the damp earth, figuring I could get in an hour's sleep before dawn. I kept Arthur between me and the fire, getting warmth from both sides, so he wouldn't catch pneumonia or something. The last thought I had before drifting off was that Arthur looked so innocent when he slept.
/
A lark's shrill notes woke me a little less than an hour later. I extinguished what was left of the fire with some dirt and thought about how to get Arthur back to Camelot. The easiest way to do that would be to just shimmer (1) him back, but that was a form of magic I still had to research.
'I suppose a spell to make him lighter? Or even make him float?' I thought to myself and searched in my sleep-deprived brain for the correct incantation. It took me a few seconds until I remembered the spell to make him lighter. Fortunately it cost me no trouble at all, and before long I was on my way, carrying Arthur under my arm. Vaguely, I realised what a sight it must've presented: a maidservant hauling her six foot master through the forest and not having trouble with it in the slightest. I couldn't run, obviously, but it didn't take me much longer to reach the castle than it had the last time.
Sneaking Arthur in would be much harder. "You just have to make my life more difficult, don't you?" I whispered to the prince's sleeping form.
I left Arthur under a bush to see if I could find another way into the city besides the front gates.
Luckily, I didn't have to look long. There was a narrow fissure in the outer wall of the castle, hidden from view by some sort of plant. Had I not been searching for it, I definitely wouldn't have found it. A small voice in the back of my mind told me I'd have to hide it with a spell as soon as I had the time.
I went to fetch Arthur and a little while later, I got him into his chambers with no one the wiser.
I lifted the feather-light charm and went to get Gaius.
"He appears to be all right. You did a good job, Merlynn, well done," he praised. I sat up a little straighter at the compliment.
Arthur murmured something and stirred slightly. I glanced at Gaius and turned back to the sleeping prince. "Arthur?"
"What happened?" His words were a little slurred and his eyes were barely open, but he was awake at last. I gave a tiny sigh in relief. "Where am I?" he asked, lifting his head off the pillows.
"Can't you remember anything?" I asked cautiously.
Arthur sat up a little and groaned. "Oh, my head… There was a girl… Sophia, she… I asked my father something about her, I asked…" Suddenly, realization hit and he bolted upright. "What was I thinking?"
"Well, we did wonder… especially when you eloped with her last night," I said casually, trying my best – and miraculously succeeding – to hold back a grin.
"I did what?" the prince asked, his voice getting an octave higher on that last word.
"Merlynn had to bring you back to Camelot," Gaius backed me up.
"I don't recall any of this!" Arthur said, looking around in confusion, as if something in the room might prove what we claimed.
"Must've been some blow," Gaius said, looking at me now. I had to admit, the man knew how to act, and I found it terribly funny. Nonetheless, I didn't let any of my inner mirth show on my face.
"What blow?" the prince demanded.
"Well… When I caught up with you, I couldn't persuade you to return, you were beyond reason… so I had to make you." It was getting extremely hard to keep my laughter in by now, and I felt the corner of my lips twist upward a bit. Luckily, Arthur was still a bit hazy from the spell and near death experience.
"You managed to knock me out?" Arthur asked unbelievingly. I had to admit, it was a bit of a stretch.
"Yes, I snuck up behind you with a lump of wood," I said, slightly smug at the look on the prince's face.
"She only did it to bring you back safely," Gaius explained.
Arthur pointed his finger at me. "No one can know about this!" He switched his finger to Gaius. "Any of it! … Is that understood?"
Gaius and I looked at each other and I felt the laughter bubbling up again; it was so extremely difficult not to laugh, or at least grin when I looked at the old man's face.
We turned back to Arthur slowly and nodded, at which Arthur fell back into the pillows. I carefully hid a grin behind my hand and watched Gaius leave with an equally amused smile on his face.
Of course, not much later a guard came knocking on the door, and we were summoned to the throne room.
/
A long talk ensued in which I caught the blame for Arthur's disappearance again and Uther asked whether or not I had some sort of mental affliction.
"Probably," I replied with a glare in Arthur's general direction.
"I'm looking into it, sire," Gaius said, clearly hiding another smile.
And then Uther actually made a joke! A real, honest to god joke! "I hope for our sake you find a cure… or we'll find ourselves with a food shortage on our hands." Naturally, no one cracked a smile but me, causing Arthur to send me an annoyed look. And then I realized what it meant.
In the stocks again. We really should be worrying about a food shortage soon.
I'd cleaned up and put on a new dress, and sat at the dinner table with Gaius, when Morgana walked in.
"Morgana," Gaius acknowledged.
"I've… had some troubled nights," she said, holding an empty bottle in her hands.
"I've prepared another draft for you," Gaius replied and went to search for the vial. "Have the dreams stopped?"
Morgana shook her head no. "Arthur told me what actually happened," she said, looking at me. "You must've hit him around the head really hard."
"Yeah, I'm stronger than I look. Though I do feel bad about that." Suddenly, and without warning, the kiss popped back into my head. I still hadn't figured out what I was thinking. I had a boyfriend, and Arthur was the crown prince of Camelot and a friend… Though I couldn't bring myself to regret it, or even feel guilty about it.
"Here you are," Gaius said, interrupting my train of thought. "Remember, every night just before you go to sleep."
"Thank you, Gaius," Mergana replied and left.
"She must never find out the truth," Gaius said once the noblewoman's footsteps had died out.
"Why not?" I protested. "She had a premonition that helped save Arthur's life."
"And it could've cost her her own if Uther ever found out, and things would never be the same again. It must remain a secret," Gaius said, leaning on the able I was sitting at.
I looked to the left and pursed my lips, as I always did when I didn't agree on something. "Is she like me? Can she use magic?" I asked softly, still not meeting his gaze.
"No one's like you, Merlynn."
I looked at him then. "But she has the gift?"
Gaius got up and stared at the door, where Morgana had walked through not two minutes ago. "For her sake I hope not."
We set about eating dinner after that and Gaius bade me goodnight as I retreated to my own room. There I took up a piece of parchment and a quill. Honestly, I didn't really know what to write, but it had to be done.
Dear Will, I started, but didn't quite know how to continue. The kiss I'd shared with Arthur had brought up questions and feelings I didn't want to deal with. Feelings I shouldn't have, especially not for Arthur.
I cannot stress enough how hard it is for me to be writing this, but we shouldn't write each other anymore. We both knew that when I moved to Camelot all chances of us being together went out the window. This hurts me more than I can say, and I do love you, but I can't be yours.
I cannot, and I will never just be someone's wife. You more than anyone know that I have to be free, at least for now.
I'm sorry to be breaking your heart, though I'm sure you know it's breaking mine too. I hope you know you'll always be in my heart.
Yours truly,
Merlynn
I wiped a stray tear away and folded the letter. Mother always told me to wait a day before you sent a letter with consequences. Often, you'd change your mind in the morning. So I put the letter on my nightstand, though I knew I'd end up sending it anyway.
That kiss with Arthur had changed everything, even though he couldn't remember it. It had been far too easy, too comfortable.
I sighed; there was no point in thinking about it now. So I lay down in my bed and fell into a restless sleep.
A/N: Did anyone see the Shakespeare reference? If you did, you get to ask three questions about this fic that you're dying to know, and I'll answer them truthfully ^^ (answer will be put up in the next chapter!)
(1) Shimmering (in this fic) is a way of transportation; you disappear here, you turn up there. For the Charmed fans; it's sort of like Cole (or any other daemon for that matter) does.
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