CHAPTER 12

As soon as she saw the little boy with the red eyes, something changed in Blair. She slowly made her way towards the little boy, stepping over the small fires and dead bodies carefully.

Soon, she got close to him.

"Hello, little guy," she said, using the same voice she had before with little Emiline, "What are you doing?"

The little boy just looked at her.

"You have caused a lot of damage," Blair told him.

The little boy slowly raised his hand as if he were going to touch Blair's cheek, but instead, he pointed it to the knights and Merlin behind her. All of a sudden, they were lifted into the air and hung there, suspended.

"You put them down, now!" Blair yelled, but still the boy just looked at her. "I tell you, little boy, I am very upset. I am very, very cross!"

The knights looked to each other, still hanging in midair, with confused expressions on their faces.

"You are in big trouble!" Blair continued to chastise the little boy, "PUT THEM DOWN!"

Finally the little boy did as he was told and dropped them, but then his red eyes grew brighter and he pointed at the houses around them and one by one, they caught flame.

yelling at you, sweetie, I didn't mean it."

She dropped down on one knee next to him and hugged him.

The knights gasped, expecting the worst.

But then the little boy crumpled on the ground, Blair's dagger sticking out of his stomach.

Blair stood over him as his eyes faded from the glowing red that had so unnerved her to a bright baby blue, that faintly reminded her of Merlin's. Merlin's as well as someone else's. She glided her hand over the boy's eyes and closed them. Then, she clasped his little hands over his chest.

She stood and stepped back from the boy and turned to the knights, a sad, grim expression on her face.

The knights controlled their looks of horror, but reminded themselves that it was that little boy that had done all the damage to this village.

With somber expressions on their faces, they trudged out of town, to the gathered villagers just outside the forest.

"You are safe now," Arthur rose his voice and spoke, "The problem has been dealt with."

"Thank you, Mister Knights, thank you," little Emiline ran up to them and hugged them each in turn.

When she got to Blair, Blair knelt next to her and out both of her hands on the little girl's shoulders. "You know Emiline, we couldn't have done it without you."

"When I grow up, I want to be just like you!" Emiline shouted, grinning, her doe eyes excited.

She raised her hands and pretended to punch the air. She kicked out her leg and slipped on the mud. She laughed and looked up at Blair.

Blair laughed and patted her on the head. "You'll get there, little knight."

They helped the villagers resettle and put out all the fires and then they made their way back to their camp.

They had only been asleep for about and hour when an ear-shattering scream woke the knights.

They all sat up straight in their bedrolls and looked around. Their eyes were immediately drawn to Blair, who was sleeping up in a tree, as usual. Or, rather, had been sleeping.

Now she was sitting straight up on the branch staring at her hands and screaming.

She fell of the branch, but managed to land on her feet.

All of them rushed towards her, Merlin in front.

She kept screaming and rubbing away at her hands.

"What's wrong, Blair?" Merlin asked.

She her answer was more sobbing.

He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "What is wrong?" Merlin asked again.

"My hands," She yanked her head away and kept scrubbing at her hands, "They're dripping. It wont come off!"

"Dripping with what?" Merlin asked

She looked up at him. "Blood. My hands are soaked in blood. And it will never wash off."

The knights stared at her and then looked to her hands. They were clean.

"There's no blood, Blair," Arthur said.

The rest of the knights were in shock seeing her like this.

"I killed a little boy," Blair whispered.

"You had no choice," Merlin tried to assure her, "He was being possessed by dark magic. There was no other way to free his soul. You know that."

"But he was just a little boy! And I killed him!" she shouted, but then her voice quieted again, "He probably had a family somewhere. A mother, a father. Sisters maybe. And I took him away from them."

She looked up at Merlin with tear-filled eyes, "He looked like Cade."

"Who's Cade?" Gwaine asked.

"My little brother. I was ten when he died. He was only four. I could have saved him. I could have stopped him from trying to save the cat and jumping in front of the car, but I wasn't paying attention. I was supposed to be watching him. I killed that little boy, today, just like I killed Cade!"

The knights were silent, surprised at this, but Merlin kept trying to calm her down. "It wasn't your fault about Cade, and you had no choice with the little boy today. Just think of Emeline. What would have happened to her if you hadn't what had to be done?"

Blair smiled a small, watery smile and looked up at him. "I suppose yout right. Thank you, Merlin."

Merlin smiled back at her. "Glad I could help."

The knights slowly crept backward around the tree, and back towards their bedrolls, but still watching Blair and Merlin together.

He sat down next to her, their backs up against the trunk, oblivious to Arthur and the rest watching them intently, from the back.

Merlin put one arm around her shoulders and held her hands with his.

She looked at their entwined fingers and smiled.

"I would have tried to killed myself."

"What?" Merlin asked, not following.

"That's usually what happens after an episode like that. And usually its Aurora that helps me calm down. But, this time, she wouldn't have been able to stop me from grabbing a knife and slitting my own throat. But you were able to do it."

"It must be my charm that kept you sane," Merlin tried to make a joke.

Blair chuckled.

"My point, Merlin, is that-"

Merlin cut her off with his lips.

He let go of her hands and cupped her face with his. The arm around her shoulder pulled her close.

She kissed back.

The knights, who were still watching, grinned and nudged each other. Then they stopped watching and lid down on their bedrolls.

When they finally pulled apart, Blair rested her head on Merlin's chest.

Just before she fell into sleep, she whispered, so softly that Merlin wasn't sure if it was her or just the wind, "You have melted my heart of ice."