So, I'm really, really sorry about this very long hiatus. Things have been busy and just... hard. End of semester exams are done. But I have been in the biggest Armione mood ever and I decided it was time to get back to the story! I hope you enjoy the update, I'll try to work hard on a few more during these Christmas holidays!
"Gaius, how did this happen?" Arthur pleaded, grasping Hermione's limp hand tightly.
"I'm not entirely sure, Sire," Gaius frowned, hastily examining Hermione. There were no exterior wounds to suggest an attack. He wasn't sure what exactly could have made her start fading as fast as she was. His gaze landed on her lips and he noticed they weren't dry. She'd just drunk something, water it seemed. He peered closer and spotted a tiny grain he'd not seen previously on the corner of her lip. He knew what it was. He had seen it used before in many cases of cursing and magical poisons. Those grains were not difficult to enchant once obtained, and they were known for soaking up a curse well enough to harm the victim horribly. These grains did extreme damage when cursed and consumed by a person.
Gaius worried, firstly, what curse had been used on these grains. And secondly, how long Hermione had been consuming them so he could calculate how much time they had left to find a cure. Merlin was biting his lip, a pained look on his face. If only he hadn't run off to find Gaius! He could have done something! Should he tell Arthur that he suspected Gwen working alongside Morgana? What would he do to retaliate?
Hermione's pulse slowed by the second and Arthur impatiently awaited an answer. Gaius knew there was no more time for lies, and that the king had to know the full truth.
"Sire, I cannot keep this a secret any longer because the Queen hasn't much longer before-"
"Before what?" Arthur demanded sharply, clenching his jaw. He was confused and frightened. No one would explain what was going on and apparently something had been up for a while. He didn't think anything serious like this would happen!
"The Queen is with child, Sire," Gaius told him solemnly.
Merlin's flickered between the pair. Arthur's face fell as Gaius' words registered in his mind. It took a minute for him to speak. He finally regained his composure, pretending as if he hadn't received one of the biggest shocks ever.
"How long?" Arthur inquired.
Gaius and Merlin exchanged looks, something that did not go unnoticed by the King.
"A few weeks or months, I cannot say for sure," Gaius half-lied. Arthur nodded curtly and turned away, thumb against his lips as he thought. Gaius and Merlin said nothing, simply allowing him a moment to take it all in. He faced them again, eyes ablaze.
"I'll deal with you both and this... this secret later," he said hotly. "Right now, however, I am more concerned with my Queen and our unborn child. Gaius, can you cure her?"
Gaius thoughtfully faced Hermione again, sighing.
"She has about two or three days at the most, no more," he replied.
"And the cure?" Arthur pressed.
"I do not have one that I can give her medicinally," Gaius admitted, looking into Arthur's eyes carefully. Merlin's expression flickered as he listened intently. Arthur seemed to catch on.
"Then where can I find this non-medicinal cure?" he continued.
"You must find a Druid," Gaius said quietly, Merlin stiffening as they broached such a sensitive subject. "The Druids can heal almost any magical malady. Find a Druid, Sire, and allow them to heal her. I'm afraid that is the only cure I can suggest."
"Thank you," Arthur replied quietly, "No one need know of.. I will handle it. This is not something that should be spread around for all to know. That would be dangerous. If anyone must know... Only my most trusted knights."
Gaius and Merlin nodded obediently, and Merlin caught Arthur's look. He knew who Arthur meant. Merlin suddenly remembered that he should inform Arthur on how this began, or at least ended.
"Arthur, it was Guinevere," he said quietly, blue eyed gaze on his feet. He couldn't meet Arthur's eyes.
"What?" Arthur frowned, not believing his ears.
"I- we believe she turned traitor, and it must have happened long ago," Merlin continued, looking flustered.
"Traitor for whom?" Arthur demanded, stepping closer, blue eyes storming.
Merlin couldn't stop himself from blurting, "Morgana."
Merlin's stomach twisted at the look on Arthur's face. He'd seen that look before. He know the only thing Arthur was wondering was "Why me? Again?"
"I'm sorry," Merlin murmured, eyes dim. Arthur's face contorted in anger and he took a brief minute to step by the bed. He gazed at Hermione, who moaned and weakly placed her hand over her stomach, eyes shut tight and the REM slightly frightening. Arthur whirled and stormed out, leaving Gaius and Merlin thrown off. They hurried after him to the doorway, peeking their heads out as he hurried off.
"Sire! What about the Queen?" Gaius called after the Arthur.
"Treat her as well as you can for now," Arthur replied in a controlled voice. "I'm going to find Guinevere, and when I do..."
He never finished his sentence as he vanished around the corner.
"Gone? Did ANYONE see where?" Arthur said loudly as Leon reported that there was no trace of the maidservant Guinevere.
"A few maids just saw her near the gates, and they say she was in a great hurry," Leon answered, turning anxious as he witnessed Arthur growing more and more frustrated. It seemed he would explode with all the emotions he was containing.
"We need to find her, now!" Arthur ordered, jogging out of the castle. "Gather the guards and track her down!"
"Sire!" Leon shouted after him. Arthur was not deterred, and Leon did his duty to alarm the guards. Guinevere was long gone from the citadel, and the forest was so dense it would be a difficult task to spot her. Arthur was far ahead of everyone as he sprinted long and hard. Sweat matted his hair to his forehead and he'd been running so long the chain mail he wore had seemingly lost it's weight. Though his energy was fading by the second, his anger was not. First and foremost, he was vexed by the betrayal. Didn't the universe or the the gods or God or whatever was out there see he'd gone through enough? That over the past few years he'd experienced nothing but heartbreak and death, and now this? And the fact Morgana dared try to harm his unborn child and wife... that was a line crossed he could never forgive.
Deep down, however hard Arthur tried to blame Morgana for his emotions, he knew that the biggest reason he was so hurt was that Hermione had been with child- his child - for who knew how long, and hadn't told him. Not to mention she'd bothered to tell Gaius and Merlin. Arthur knew it was pitiful to be jealous of Merlin, especially since Merlin was not the one married to Hermione, and he had abandoned those feelings of jealousy years ago. Yet, it still tugged at his heartstrings at times like this.
A flurry of red. Arthur slowed to a stop and looked around, breathing heavily and squinting. He could swear he'd seen-
Guinevere was running just up ahead in the trees.
"Guinevere! Stop!" Arthur roared, charging for her. The woman glanced behind her and her eyes widened in fright. She kept running without looking and fell over a tree root. She cried out, for it was her weak ankle, that one that Hermione had helped her limp on to get away those years ago... Gwen began pulling herself up when someone literally appeared in front of her out of thin air in a dark blue cloak.
Morgana.
Arthur slowed down, for he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his half-sister. He reminded himself it was her fault his wife and child were dying by the second. He whipped out his sword and ran at her, eyes wet and heart pumping with his rage. Morgana heaved Gwen up and held her hand, palm out, towards Arthur. He was thrown back with such force that when he landed, pain rippled down his spine and he cried out in frustration. Morgana didn't even smirk. She held onto Gwen with an expression of disinterest aimed at Arthur, and they vanished.
The guards eventually showed up and attempted to aid Arthur. Annoyed that he'd missed Morgana and Gwen, he yelled at the men.
"They got away!" Arthur raged, shoving his sword into the soil. "You failed to keep up with me, and now it's too late!"
The guards apologized profusely, and Arthur scoffed and stormed past them. His bones ached and his back still protested. But this wasn't over.
"Why can't I heal her?" Merlin questioned Gaius impatiently. "I'm good with medicines and I have magic. Isn't that enough? Just give me a spell and I'll help her."
"Merlin, I'm afraid in this situation the only answer is a Druid, Merlin," Gaius replied morosely. "I have not the remedy for this curse because it is so old and requires such skill that only the well-trained Druids have. I wish I had something to give you, but this is the only way."
Merlin inhaled sharply, drumming his fingers against his leg as he thought. How could they find the Druids? They were a nomadic people. It would take them a few days to even track down their exact location even if they were given a place. Time was running out, and waiting for no one.
"Mordred," he whispered, the solution dawning upon him.
"The Druid boy," Gaius murmured, thoughts clicking into place.
Merlin looked at Gaius solemnly. "I have to find him. It's the only way to save her."
He left the chambers, his search for Mordred begun. Where could the knight be? Perhaps the armoury? Or maybe the training grounds?
"Percival, have you see Mordred?" Merlin asked urgently after bumping into the knight in the Phoenix corridor. Percival, who towered above the lanky Merlin, racked his brain for his last encounter with Mordred.
"Oh, the courtyard," Percival answered, crossing his muscled arms. "What's going on? People are talking about Arthur running out of the citadel, followed by some guards. Is everything alright?"
"The Queen's not feeling well," Merlin admitted. "Guinevere was working with Morgana to make her sick over the past few months. Arthur's chasing Gwen down as we speak."
Percival frowned, grey-green eyes cloudy. "Is the Queen going to get better?"
"She will," Merlin replied, hoping himself that what he said was true. He brushed past Percival to catch up with Mordred. Oh, how the castle seemed so much bigger as he was in a hurry to find the young warrior! Merlin finally made it outside, where Mordred indeed was.
"Mordred!" Merlin shouted, catching the young man's attention. He jogged over and approached the pleasant Druid.
"Is everything alright, Merlin?" Mordred asked in a puzzled tone.
"No," Merlin answered honestly, "The Queen needs your help. It is a matter of- of life or death."
Mordred seemed alarmed so Merlin said, "Please, come with me."
"So, can you heal her?" Merlin gulped. "You are a Druid..."
Mordred looked apologetically at Gaius and Merlin.
"Unfortunately, I wasn't taught much on the healing skills of my people," he said. Merlin pressed his hand over his eyes, stomach falling.
"The only thing we can do is hope Arthur is successful in tracing a skilled-in-healing Druid," Gaius sighed.
Mordred opened his mouth, evidently finding it hard to speak up. "I can't help her... but I know someone who can."
Merlin dropped his hand and gazed intently at Mordred, whose eyes were thoughtful.
"Kara. An... old friend of mine."
Just then Arthur burst in, walking dejectedly towards the group who had all jumped at the interruption.
"Sire, did you-"
"She got away," Arthur said in a hard voice, eyes a murky blue. "Morgana appeared and rescued her. They simply disappeared into the air."
"Well... there's good news," Merlin jumped in as Arthur walked to the bed, sweaty and limping slightly, to carefully place his hand on Hermione's stomach.
"Do tell," Arthur muttered, reluctantly turning away from his wife.
"Mordred knows someone who can heal Hermione," Merlin stated, eyes a tad brighter. "A Druid girl named Kara. Arthur, she can save them."
Arthur stared at Mordred, who was staring at the floor.
"Do you know where she is?" Arthur asked quietly, heart rising inch by inch.
"Yes, My Lord," Mordred answered cautiously. "The Forest of Ascetir."
"Then we have no time to lose," Arthur said strongly, his strength flowing back in him. "Merlin, prepare the horses. Mordred will lead us to the Druid girl."
"You must hurry, Sire," Gaius warned as he placed a wet rag on Hermione's sheen-covered forehead. "The journey to the forest is about a a day, including a few hours of rest. Without delay, you should return just in time to save her. Remember, not only does the curse affect her, but the child grows weaker as well. Such a weak being cannot withstand much more than the Queen, who is it's source of energy."
Arthur nodded once and the preparations were quickly made. Of all his quests, Arthur felt as if this one was causing the most fear and pressure to build within him. He felt helpless. He had to stay tough, though, while the one person worth living for, and their baby, were in danger.