A/N: What's up guys? I am back and better than ever! (I hope). I'm really excited about this new chapter. Yes, I know it's a quick update, I told you I was back!
SantaClaws3: I did think I saw some form of sentient life growing in that vegetable drawer...now it makes sense. ;) I'm glad you liked the last chapter! *gulps* As far as this one...well I hope you don't hate it...as I'd like to keep my head. *thinks of all the terrible things I have planned for characters* *hides behind the couch*.
Dmarie1184: Thank you! I had a lot of fun writing her. She's quite the dynamic character. The Merlianne sweetness is what I live for, at the moment. Especially with what I have planned...hope you like this one! :)
NerdGirlAlert: Here's a quick update for you! Sorry to say that I really. Really. Really love cliffhangers. *hides behind couch again*.
MusicalsandMordred: Oh yes. Oh, so much, yes!
As always, please review and let me know what you think. They always make my day! You have no idea how much of an encouragement they are or how much I appreciate them.
And now back to our irregularly scheduled programming. For the love of Camelot!
Merlin stared down at the army positioned before the walls of Camelot. Even with the soldiers his magic had taken out of commission gone, the numbers were greater than any he had seen besiege Camelot.
Drums pounded in time with the shouts of Lot's men. Horns blared in the air as the army shook their swords at Camelot. Merlin swallowed.
"Keep them safe." Arthur's voice whispered in his memory. Merlin squared his jaw. Camelot would not fall. Not while he still stood.
He glanced at Geraint and Percival. They were quietly bolstering the men, clapping the soldiers on the back, nodding reassuringly. He knew he should give some form of rallying speech, inspire the men he led to their deaths. But he was not Arthur; men did not follow him to battle out of love, loyalty, and faith. And he had only ever inspired one man: the one who then inspired others. So he raised his head, and amplifying his voice so that every man, woman, and child could hear, he cried with the roar of a Dragon:
"For the love of Camelot!"
And the first stone flew. Catapults flung their rocky or flaming barrage at the city walls. Merlin's eyes flashed gold. Shields rose, deflecting the stone missiles. They dropped on Lot's own men, eliciting screams. The fiery balls of brush were suddenly doused with water. They skittered harmlessly against the sides of buildings or cobblestone streets.
He exhaled sharply at the rush of magic. He could feel Druid knights and sorcerers raising their magic to stop the missiles. But it was not only the battery of the catapults that they had to fear.
Siege ladders were being raised against the walls. Soldiers hacked away at the wood. Archers fired crossbows down at the climbing attackers. But they kept coming. Lot's own archers fired up at the soldiers defending against the siege ladders. Men scrambled up the ladders, leaping onto the narrow parapets.
Merlin grit his teeth. His eyes burned gold as the ladders suddenly crumbled to dust. He gasped at the energy it took, but not a single ladder still stood.
A wave of magic assaulted him. His eyes glazed over at the sensation. Lot's sorcerers had rebuilt the ladders. Merlin grimaced. It was time like these that he missed Kilgarrah. And Aithusa.
He deflected a wave of crossbow bolts with a flick of his hand.
"Forbaerne!" The ladders burst into flame. Screams rang out as Lot's men fell burning to their deaths. Merlin closed his eyes as a wave of dizziness hit him, his magic sapping his energy. The world dulled into a jarring tune of metal on metal, screams on screams. The scent of blood and ash filled his nostrils. His skin hummed with the sense of the magic soaring between the two forces.
"Merlin!" Merlin's eyes flew open as Geraint shoved him aside. The knight cried out as a crossbow bolt embedded itself into his side. Merlin crawled to his side, eyes assessing the wound. He hissed in displeasure. He didn't trust his healing spells alone on such a wound. Alice would better care for him.
"Get him to hospital!" Merlin ordered. Two soldiers heaved Geraint to his feet. Merlin stood, eyes flaring.
"Astrice!"
Adri ran to Alice's side. Geraint was laying on a cot, eyes clenched tightly shut as he groaned in pain.
"He has a crossbow bolt between his lower ribs," Alice explained stiffly. "Help me take off his armor." Adri moved to the other side of the cot. They gently rotated Geraint to unbuckle the plate armor of his chest and shoulder. He cried out at they moved him. Alice muttered a spell, slipping him into a dreamless sleep. As Adri slid off the armor, Alice unbuckled his sword belt.
"Press here," Alice instructed. Adri did as she asked as Alice broke off the arrow shaft. They slipped the chainmail up to view the wound. Alice sucked in a breath. She glanced up at Adri.
"Get ready to pull it out."
"Me? Pull it out?" Adri's eyes widened briefly.
"As soon as you jerk it out, I need to seal the wound with magic. The head is barbed by the look of it. If I don't heal it immediately, he'll bleed out." Adri nodded tersely.
"Grip here. Don't be afraid to jerk. It won't come smoothly. On three. One. Two. Three!"
Geraint moaned in his sleep as Adri pulled. The arrow came free, splattering blood as Adri yanked it from his side. Alice's eyes flashed as she shouted an incantation. The wound sealed, healing. Alice sagged against the table a moment.
"There's nothing more I can do," she murmured. "We'll have to watch his breathing, make sure it hasn't punctured his lung." Adri nodded. She hissed suddenly with displeasure, a wave of pain rising behind her eyes. She gasped.
"Merlin."
"What?" Alice asked.
"Something's wrong with Merlin," Adri muttered. Alice's eyes widened.
"Go, now. If Emrys falls, we're all doomed." Adri nodded shortly before running from the infirmary. She bolted to the south wall. She tried to ignore the screams and the nauseating scent of blood the closer she got to the wall.
"My lady!" Someone grabbed her arm. She looked up into Percival's eyes.
"Sir Percival?"
"What are you doing out here?" he demanded.
"Merlin's in trouble."
Percival frowned heavily. "He went to defend the eastern wall. Lot's sorcerers...they broke the wall. They...blasted through it or something, I don't know..."
Adri stifled a gasp, turning to run towards the eastern wall.
"Adrianne, you can't!"
"I've got to help Merlin!"
"They've taken the lower town, we've got to go! Merlin will be retreating to the citadel."
Adri gritted her teeth in indecision before nodding. She and Percival moved to run back towards the citadel when a shout of challenge rang out behind them. Five of Lot's men were bearing down on them.
"Scyfe hryog*!" Adri shouted. A shield sprung up, rippling back to force the men back. Three fell to the cobblestones with a sickening crack. As Adri's eyes dimmed back to blue, the shield fell. She sucked in a breath as the two other soldiers charged at them. Percival pushed her behind him as he blocked a sword.
"Astrice!" Adri cried. The soldiers fighting Percival flew backwards. Percival turned to thank her just in time to see a dagger, thrown by one of the previously unconscious soldiers, bury itself in Adri's side.
Percival caught her just as her scream rent the air. He dropped his sword, sweeping her into his arms and running towards the citadel.
A shrill scream sounded in his ears, drowning out the noises of the battle. It knocked the breath out of him as cold dread settled in his stomach.
Adri.
"Forbaerne!" A wall of fire intercepted the path of Lot's men. Merlin turned, running pell-mell towards the citadel.
"Put me...down. Go...find Merlin!" Adri ordered.
"Not a chance, my lady." Percival said grimly.
"Go! I can...walk!" Adri struggled against his hold. "Merlin...needs help. Can't...hold them off."
"Adrianne…"
"Do it...please!"
Percival swore under his breath. Inside the gate of the castle courtyard, he set Adri on her feet. When she nodded reassuringly and took a few steps on her own, he grimaced.
"Find Merlin," Adri panted. He nodded, running back out of the courtyard. Adri staggered towards the castle doors. Knights and soldiers paid her little heed as they ran to defend the citadel wall. She kept a hand pressed against her side, breathing hard.
Merlin.
"Merlin!" Percival shouted.
The warlock was the last through the doors to the citadel, shouting at Lamorak to close them. He turned, an incantation already rolling off his lips to defend the doors. He sagged to his knees. Percival ran to his side, coming down beside him.
"I'm alright," Merlin breathed quickly. "Tired. Tried to...hold them off. They…"
"Adri's hurt." Merlin stopped like Percival had punched him.
"Where?" he asked sharply.
"The courtyard. She sent me to…" But Merlin already gone.
He reached the courtyard at a dead run. He scanned it quickly, looking for a familiar petite figure and chestnut hair. He glimpsed her, collapsed on the steps of the castle. He raced to her side, coming down beside her.
"Adri! Adri, are you alright?" Merlin grasped her shoulders.
"I'm fine...it's just a…" She gasped in pain, hand going to her stomach. It came away bloody. Merlin swallowed hard. Adri was bleeding. Adri was in pain. Adri was injured.
Adri had been stabbed.
Merlin's ears began to ring as he stared at the blood on her hands. She slumped in his arms, and he swept her up in his arms. He carried her just inside the door of the castle, then gently eased to the floor, her still cradled in his lap. She leaned back against his chest, head cradled in the crook of his neck. He laid a hand on her stomach and murmured two spells. With the first one, the knife slipped easily from her side. With the second, he tried to heal the wound. He had to repeat it several times before the wound closed. Adri breathed easier, pain lessening with the healing.
"I can't do more than that, I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair.
"It's alright," she replied breathily. "It already feels much better."
"You could tear it again if you do too much," Merlin warned. "You should rest for a while. A long while."
"It's not that bad, Merlin."
"Adrianne." His love looked up to meet his concern and fear filled eyes. He only called her by her full name when he was angry, upset, worried, or any combination of the three.
"Please," he begged softly. Adri smiled, her hand coming up to rest on his cheek.
"I'm alright, darling," she whispered. "I'm right here, with you. You saved me. Everything is alright."
"Everything is not alright," Merlin retorted, mouth tight with anger. "Who did this to you?"
"We are under siege, Merlin," Adri replied patiently. "Who do you think did this to me?"
"The soldiers have not breached the citadel," Merlin said through gritted teeth. "What were you doing anywhere near the battle?"
"Merlin…"
"Did you go to the wall?"
"...yes, but…"
"Adrianne! I asked you…"
"Merlin, I am a sorceress, and a capable one. Why should I not be able to protect my home just as you or anyone else does?"
"You would have been just as helpful in the infirmary…"
"You know healing is not my strongest ability, shields are. Combat magic."
"I just want you to be safe, Adri, is that too much to ask?"
"Not at all, but don't you think I want the same for you? You charge out without a moment's thought!"
"That's different!"
"How?"
"I'm Emrys, it's my destiny to protect Camelot and her people."
"And I'm Adri, and it's my desire to help the man I love most in all the world!"
"Well you can't."
"Why ever not?"
"Because I can't marry you if you're dead!" Merlin finally shouted. Adri froze in his arms.
"What did you just say?" she whispered, stunned. Merlin swallowed.
"My lady, would you do me the greatest honor of becoming my wife?" Adri looked up at him in shock.
"Yes, yes, my darling, of course," she murmured, pulling his head down to meet her lips. They pulled away when both were gasping for breath. Merlin rested his forehead against hers. He fumbled in his trousers' pocket, pulling out a gold band. He slipped it onto her finger.
"I've been carrying it for weeks, trying to work up the nerve. I knew it had to be sudden and impulsive, because I would get nervous and back out of a big planned romantic gesture," he confessed. Adri smiled, kissing his lips.
"I love you."
"I love you too." He dipped his head to claim her lips once more. "I'm still angry with you for joining the battle."
"I know," she replied. "I'm sorry I worried you."
"You are forgiven." He swept her up in his arms, standing and carrying her bridal style, "but you're still going to be on bed rest for the next few days."
"Rats." Adri clasped her hands about his neck, keeping her forehead pressed against his, "and here I thought I'd be getting out of it."
"Not a chance." Merlin smiled. He carried her through the castle, pace quickening. It wasn't safe to cross the courtyard to the cave, but he could take her to the next best place.
He made his way to the royal chambers. With the exception of the caves, Pippa and Rowan's rooms were the most well protected in the entire palace. Not to mention the most magically fortified.
"Where are you taking me?" Adri murmured.
"Pippa's room. You'll be safe there." He turned the corner into the corridor that ran between the royal chambers.
"Merlin!" Merlin and Adri glanced up in surprise. Gwen was slumped against wall, holding her stomach. Her face was twisted with pain.
"Merlin! Merlin, help! The baby's coming."