Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or any of its characters. I only own the ones that I've made up myself.
A/N- A very Happy New Year to all of you and I hope that it will be amazing and much better than the previous years.
- x Milou Lilly
Chapter 29: The tears of Uther Pendragon pt. 2
Lyanna was looking out of the window in the physician chambers with a damping mug of tea in her hands as she watched the city of Camelot. Nearly an hour had gotten by since Gaius had taken her here and rarely a word had been said for a long while. Gaius was standing near the table, writing some notes on some paper. The sound of his quill scraping on the parchment was the only sound that was being heard and it felt quite peaceful, despite what was going on.
Bang! The door of the physician quarters slammed open and a rather irritated Arthur Pendragon stepped inside. Lyanna was eyeing her brother with a stunned face as she was panting slightly because he had scared her. "Where is that half-wit?" he demanded to know. "I've got no socks, no breeches, and an archery session to go to. Merlin!" he bellowed as he looked around the room to see if he wasn't hiding anywhere. Lyanna was glad that Arthur was trying to do whatever he would do an ordinary day. She now noticed that he was carrying a crossbow.
"I thought he was with you, Sire," Gaius retorted.
Arthur spun around and pointed at Gaius. "Don't try and cover for him," he warned.
"He didn't come home last night," Lyanna butted in. "We can't find him."
Arthur didn't look very convinced. "When you do, you can tell him he's the target." With those words Arthur left the physician chambers. Normally that would've made her laugh, but right now nothing could.
Gaius looked up at Lyanna. "Have you tried using your telepathic gift to find him?" he asked her, suddenly realizing something.
Slowly, she nodded. "I have, but I can't reach him. I think that might be because he's too far away so this way of communicating isn't working. Or it's something else..." Her voice trailed off and she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I don't know what to do, Gaius. So many things are going on right now and I'm mostly worried about where Merlin can be. It's silly isn't it?"
He placed his hands on her shoulders. "No, that's not silly. You love him and it's the real thing. It's only a logical reaction," Gaius assured her. "Ever since Merlin came here I was worried that he was never going to find someone who could make him happy and who would really care about him. I had never dared to dream that the two of you would find love with each other, but every time that I looked at both of you I see why. You two really are destined for each other."
Lyanna had a small smile on her lips. "Do you really think that? I thought you wouldn't approve because I'm the princess and he is a servant."
Gaius nodded. "I did. At first I had my doubts when I saw that you two were growing fond of each other and suddenly were spending all your time together. Titles aren't relevant, my dear. The love that you have, is. It's the real thing and many people can only hope to find it. Don't throw that away."
"I don't plan to, Gaius. I do love him a lot. I don't feel myself when he's not around," she admitted, and it felt nice to get that of her chest. "But I know that we're not allowed to be together because -"
"That really shouldn't be the reason to split you two up. Things will look up for you and I can assure you that things are going to be different," he assured her. "Why don't we go do our rounds now?"
"Yeah. Sure. That will do me some good." She gave him a grateful smile before following him.
The day went by slowly. Lyanna spend most of her time assisting Gaius or checking in with Arthur or her brother. By the time night had fallen over Camelot Lyanna became restless because there was still no sign of Merlin anywhere. Therefor Gaius had pretty much forced her to stay so that she wasn't alone, because he knew that she was going to worry herself sick if she was by herself.
By now it was hours after nightfall and almost everyone in Camelot was sound asleep. The only sound that was being heard in the physician chambers was that of Gaius' steady snoring. Lyanna was snuggled up under a blanket in front of the window and looked at the full moon that stood in the middle of the sky. Her eyelids were becoming heavier, but she was forcing herself to stay awake.
The pit of anxiety inside her stomach was growing with every breath that she took. She had no idea how long she had been sitting there, just looking up at the sky, but she had lost all track of time. She let out a shriek when someone gently placed a hand on her shoulder and whirled around, only to look into a familiar pair of blue eyes. "Merlin!" she cried out, but softly before standing up and practically throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him close. "Where have you been all this time? I thought something dreadful had happened to you since you were gone all day."
"You've been waiting for me to come back all this time?" he asked bewildered.
"Of course I was," Lyanna stated frantic. "I had no idea where you were and I was freaking out. Gaius has been comforting me all day and telling me that you would never leave me."
"I wouldn't," he vowed.
She listened to his heartbeat and felt herself easing down into his embrace as Merlin stroke her back. "Can you please tell me why you're so filthy and smelling like the forest ground?"
"Yesterday evening when I was about to check up on you I saw Morgana sneaking out of the palace by herself so I followed her. She leaded me to the forest for a while until we ended up at some place where she was meeting up with Morgause. There were Bloodguards there and they are conspiring together. You were right. Morgana is responsible for your father losing his mind. Anyway Morgana knew that I had followed her and Morgause captured me with an enchanted chain, which I couldn't free myself out of. I was surrounded by serkets and one of them even stung me. Eventually I called for Kilgharrah and he killed them before taking me away. He healed me before bringing me back."
Lyanna blinked a couple of times as she pulled back and looked up, only to see him staring down at her as he chastely kissed her.. "So my suspicions were right? Morgana hasn't changed at all..." She sighed sadly, feeling all hope fade. "What can we do to stop her now?"
"I know something, but we I need you and Gaius to come with me," he said before walking over to the sleeping physician.
"Wait," Lyanna called after him. "So you flew on Kilgharrah's back?" Merlin grinned sheepishly at that and scratched the back of his head. "What was that like?"
"Amazing. I'll take you with me some day," Merlin said to her before waking Gaius. He told him everything that he had just said to Lyanna while helping Gaius putting on a robe. The three of them quickly made their way through the palace in the death of night. As they entered the King's chamber they noticed that it was topsy-turvy.
They found Uther crouched in the corner of the room and Lyanna rushed over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Father." Uther pawed desperately at Lyanna while he stared at nothing over her shoulder.
Lyanna watched how Merlin rushed to the bed, removed the mandrake-root and threw it into the fireplace. The root let out a piercing scream as it died and Lyanna had to cover her ears.
"It was an enchantment, Sire," Gaius said calmly to the King. "You need to rest." Lyanna and Merlin helped Uther into his bed. As Lyanna tugged him under the covers Gaius drugged a cup. "Please drink this, Sire. It will help you sleep." He gave the King the drink and almost immediately Uther fell asleep.
Lyanna felt so much better to know that this entire ordeal was finished. They left the King's chambers and walked down the corridors.
"Lyanna, you really need to go to your own chambers and get some sleep since you've rarely slept in days," Gaius insisted and Lyanna knew that she couldn't argue with him. "You've been through a lot. We're concerned about you and you need to rest. Please."
Her eyes flicked between Merlin and Gaius and she nodded. "Right. I will try to then. I'll see you in the morning then. Goodnight," Lyanna pushed past them and walked in the opposite direction. She was a bit offended by it because she wanted to help them, but she knew that they were right. Some sleep would do her good.
That night Lyanna had slept better and eventually got awoken by Gwen just after dawn. The two women chatted together for a bit while Gwen helped Lyanna with getting dressed before Lyanna went to check up on her father again, just to make sure that the enchantment had really lifted.
Uther was still sleeping, but was looking more peaceful than he had done the previous days which was a big relief for her. She decided to let him rest a bit more and walked over to the antechamber to get him some clean clothes since she knew that his servant was keeping those there. As she returned she froze when she looked Morgana directly in the eye. The King's ward had been searching for something under the bed and looked as if she had been caught doing something dreadful as she stood up.
"Have you lost something?" Lyanna asked her, crossing her arms defensively.
Morgana flashed her an bright smile, but Lyanna could tell that she didn't mean it. "My earring. I thought I might have dropped it when I was in here yesterday," she lied hardly, before looking at the King. "How is he?"
"Much better," Lyanna enlightened her, pretending to be friendly. "We found the source of his sickness. He was being enchanted."
Morgana's eyes widened. "Enchanted," she repeated.
"You don't need to worry. He'll make a full recovery," she said. "I know that you were responsible for placing that mandrake-root under my father's bed because you're conspiring with Morgause." Lyanna couldn't be silent any longer. She been dying to say something about this ever since she found out about it, and this was her chance.
Morgana smirked. "I had already figured that Merlin would come running back to you like a lost puppy. He has always done so."
"Why are you doing this?" Lyanna wanted to know, swallowing loudly. "I thought that we were friends, close friends, and here you are plotting against my father. I know that you're scared because he doesn't approve of what you are, but that doesn't mean that you should betray him. He took you in when your father died. You should be grateful."
"You have no idea what it's like!" Morgana said through gritted teeth. "Every day I have to live in fear because he might find out the truth about what I am and I can't live with that. It's driving me insane. It is time for Uthers reign to end so that magic can be restored into this kingdom."
Luckily for both of them Uther was a heavy sleeper and heard nothing of their conversation. "I always thought you to be a better person that this, Morgana. You've reached a new low. I may not be able to stop you now, but I will make sure that no harm will come to the people that I love," Lyanna warned her.
Morgana let out a deep chuckle. "You will fail, Lyanna Pendragon! I can assure you that Camelot will burn and Uther's reign will come to an end!" Lyanna watched how Morgana almost stormed out of the room.
She lowered her gaze and realized that her hands were shaking and tears were treating to spill from her eyes. Now that she had just heard Morgana confess she knew what was truly in her heart. Aglain had been right all along and she had done right by listening to the Druid.
Instead of staying here with her sleeping father, she ran out of the room as tears ran down her cheek. Unsure where that she was going Lyanna kept running and running as fast as her feet could carry her. She quickly left the palace and went down the first steps before rapidly running through the main square. Many villagers looked shocked to see the princess in that state but none of them took the effort to stop her.
She past the town's gate, the hem of her dress trailing behind her as she went and into the forest. Not wanting to stop she continued to run for an unknown while, as her feet began to hurt her much with every step that she took. But it wasn't enough to convince her to stop.
After running for nearly twenty minutes she slowed down her pace when she had reached her secluded spot in the woods where no one found here. This was one of the places she always went when the pressure in Camelot was becoming too much for her and she longed for some peace and quiet. She sat down on a fallen log and dipped her feet into the stream to stop the aching.
A thousand thoughts entered her mind, but she tried to push them all away. She hated herself for not realizing what Morgana's plan had been sooner so that she could've prevented all of this. But that was all too late now. Morgana was plotting something together with Morgause and if they didn't do anything Camelot would fall into the wrong hands and more innocent people would die.
"There you are!" a familiar masculine voice said.
Lyanna peered over her shoulders and saw Merlin approaching her. He looked a bit relieved to have found her here and sat down beside her on the log before wrapping his arm around her shoulder, as she placed her head on his shoulder.
"What happened that made you so upset?" Merlin asked her, his fingers running through her hair. "I wanted to check up on you, but no one knew were you were. Then Morgana said that -"
"Don't speak about her!" Lyanna cut him off as more tears escaped from her eyes. "I told her that I knew that she was responsible for enchanting my father and plotting against him with Morgause and she confessed everything! She promised me that Camelot would burn and my father's reign would end! I just can't believe that her anger and wrath are controlling her. She wants revenge."
"I'm sorry, Lyanna. Honestly," Merlin tried to sooth her, placing a light kiss on the top of her head. "She pulled me behind a pillar a few hours ago and told me to keep my mouth shut or that she was going to tell your father that I had to poison her and that I was secretly seeing his daughter."
Lyanna let out a sarcastic laugh. "As if that should matter because my father will be death if she will have her way and I can't let her."
"I... I also wanted to let you know that Cendred is marching this way with an army and that we'll be facing them here in Camelot. Your brother is preparing for war as we speak."
"I'm sure that Morgana must've informed him and Morgause about the illness of my father. They stand a good chance now that Camelot is weak," Lyanna replied grimly. "Oh, Merlin. I don't know what to do or who to trust anymore. I can't lose more people."
"You won't," Merlin vowed. "We will find a way to stop this. You always said that a person should never lose faith, so you shouldn't as well. We have a chance to win this."
From that moment on everyone in Camelot was in an uproar. They were all contributing with preparing for the siege in case the citadel got taken and they were forced to stay here for an unknown while. Lyanna stayed at Arthur's side, spending most of the day instructing all the guards and knights about what their plan was. Her opinion about fighting was very much appreciated, even though she wouldn't be fighting herself.
Around nightfall she dined with Gaius and helped him with preparing everything for when the battle would begin, and making sure that they had enough clean bandages and herbs to tend all the wounded people. Unfortunately there wasn't enough so she set out that evening again to collect some herbs from the forest while she was being escorted by some knights, much to her dismay.
By the time that she had finally returned it was close to midnight and she went to get some sleep straight away. Gwen was the one who woke her up the next morning, as she would during any ordinary day. She helped the princess into a comfortable, but flowing green gown so that she could move around easy.
After she had eaten some breakfast with Gwen she went to assist the villagers that were busy with dragging bags of supplies up the steps into the castle. It was the only form of contributing that she could do right now. Merlin was also there and they were working alongside each other, helping the villagers. It was tiring work, but really necessary in case the battle would go wrong.
She looked out at the courtyard and saw the large line of villagers that was approaching and swallowed loudly. There was still so much work to do. Lyanna hoped that they would finish before Cendred's army would reach Camelot. Together with one of the villagers she was carrying the sacks further up the steps when Arthur suddenly came around the corner, looking a bit stunned to see his sister here.
"Have you been aiding them all this time?" Arthur asked her.
"I have," Lyanna said, wiping the sweat from her brow. "I've also made sure that we have enough medical provisions and collected some extra herbs just in case. It should be enough, but I can't be too certain."
"Thank you, Lee. Your help is much appreciated. You're really outdoing yourself again," Arthur replied gratefully and kissed Lyanna's forehead before whirling around towards his manservant. "Merlin, where have you been? I've been calling for you."
Lyanna looked down at Merlin and gave him a shy smile. "Gathering provisions together with Lyanna. Twenty-five salted cod, fifteen dried capers, and one smoked boar," he enlightened the prince.
"What on earth for?" Arthur wanted to know.
Merlin frowned. "We're preparing for a siege."
"Yes, not a banquet."
"You know what you're like without food. We could be trapped in her for weeks, months even. Look what I've got for your breakfast," Merlin said, picking up a pot. "Your favourite, pickled eggs." Lyanna snorted as Arthur walked away.
"Don't mind him. He really does likes his eggs in the morning," Lyanna said to Merlin before walking down the steps again to collect some new sacks. "I'm just glad that you're helping me doing this because I would've gone crazy without your help here."
"I would do anything for you," Merlin assured her, smiling. "You know that. Besides this is much nicer than to do than polishing Arthur's armour for a change."
"Yeah, I'm not surprised." Lyanna laughed lightly. He even knew how to cheer her up when the entire situation around them was incredibly grim, even when it was only for a brief moment.
Because she wasn't paying attention to where she was going her foot got stuck on the steps and she tumbled down, right on top of Merlin. They rolled down the staircase until they came to a halt on the ground. Merlin was lying spread-eagled and Lyanna was pressed on top of him. Their faces were inches removed from each other and Lyanna felt his hot breath on her skin, and for a second she had forgotten that they weren't alone. A few of the villagers had already helped the princess back onto her feet.
Her legs were wobbling slightly underneath her and her surroundings were becoming a rather blur. Her head was throbbing and there was a ringing in her ears. She felt how someone stood before her. "Lyanna," a familiar voice called out, even though she couldn't place it. "Lyanna, are you alright?"
She didn't respond. Instead she heard someone else answer in her place. "I think that the princess hit her head pretty badly when she tumbled down the stairs."
Before she could process what was going on she was swooped up and carried in someone's arms in bridal style. She couldn't be bothered to open her eyes, instead she nuzzled closer in this person that was carrying her its neck and took in its scent, which was something that she recognized and that made her calm down. It was the scent that she connected with the thought of home.
"What happened?" Another familiar voice almost cried out, and she felt the throbbing inside her head increase because of that. She was being placed on something and was forced to sit up.
"She tripped down the stairs," the person who had carried her clarified. "We fell down together and she hit her head."
Someone gently placed its hand on her head. "She's bleeding," he cried out, his voice softer this time. "Merlin, she might have a concussion." Merlin. That was a name that she knew and she immediately knew who that person was who had carried her here. It was her Merlin. She felt this person tending the wound on the back of her head. "Lyanna, can you open your eye for me?"
"Ithurts," she slurred so softly. She didn't want to open her eye because the light around her was rather painful.
"I know it does, but please Lyanna. It's only for a few seconds." There was something about this voice that soothed her a bit and she couldn't resist it. It cost her some strength to slowly open her eyes as the light nearly blinded her. The person in front of her was no one else than Gaius and he was looking intensely into her eyes for a moment. "It is as I feared. You have a mild concussion."
"What does that mean, Gaius?" Merlin asked, sounding concerned.
"That she needs to rest," Gaius answered simply. "You should take her to her chambers and make sure that her room is completely dark so there will be no pressure on her head. She won't be able to help us."
Help us with what? Lyanna thought to herself. She had no idea what these two were talking about. Before she knew it Merlin lifted her into his arms again. She closed her eyes again and cradled closer against him, in the hope that the pain would fade.
"I don't think Arthur will be pleased to hear about this," Merlin said, sounding rather grim. "He already has so much to worry about and then this."
"I know. He doesn't have it easy, but this is nothing that we can do anything about. All that can help her now is some rest," Gaius retorted.
With that Merlin began to walk out of the room. Lyanna listened to his heartbeat and how the heel of his boots touched the stony ground. She lay there for a unknown while, drifting between being awake and asleep until she felt him carefully placing her on top of a bed. Her eyes fluttered open again and she looked up at him, noticing that he was staring down at her.
He sat down beside her on the bed, without breaking their gaze. Merlin placed his hand on her cheek and she leaned into it, ignoring the pain in her head. It sounded as if someone was smashing on pots and pans next to her ears. "Bedyai Ipedsiu Udariam Indeso."
Like snow in the sun all her pain was beginning to fade and her memories slowly came back to her. Lyanna blinked a few times in confusion as her vision became clear. "Did you just use magic to heal me?" she questioned after a moment of silence.
"Yes, I did. I can't stand it to see you in pain. Besides I figured you would much rather be able to assistance tonight when Cendred's army arrives, then to be asleep," Merlin retorted wisely.
Lyanna smirked. "Thank you, Merlin. I don't know what to say. Didn't you hurt yourself when we fell?"
He shrugged. "I might have some new bruises, but nothing serious. I was more worried about you. I'm glad to see you're alright."
Without replying Lyanna leaned forwards and captured his lips with hers. Merlin eagerly leaned into the kiss. His tongue gently caressed her bottom lip and she opened her mouth to give him access. Their kiss deepened and her arms were wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer. Merlin's hands traveled down her body and rested on her waist. Even after all this time Lyanna wasn't used to kissing him like this and she was convinced that she never would. There was nothing that could describe this. She slightly pulled away. Merlin smiled, his lips gently brushing over hers.
"I'm so addicted to you," Lyanna said as they were both panting heavily from kissing each other like that. "I thought that it would become less within time, but it's only getting worse."
Merlin grinned. "I thought that it was just me, but clearly not. I don't think that this will fade," he replied and she giggled at that. "I don't want it to." Merlin tugged a strand of her golden hair behind her ear. "You're so beautiful."
Lyanna blushed. "As are you," she replied softly and kissed him again. She felt him smiling into it. "Unfortunately we should really continue preparing for the fight. Cendred is almost here," she said when she pulled away. Her green eyes met his blue ones again and they stared intently at each other.
"I know. I wish that it was different," he retorted sadly. "It's going to be a difficult fight, but we can win this."
"Just keep fate," Lyanna almost whispered and Merlin nodded with a small smile on his lips. "Without fate and hope we would have nothing. You're right. We can do this. Although I wish that I was able to fight alongside you and Arthur and -"
"But treating the injured people is also an honorable job," Merlin told her.
"I know it is and I honestly love doing it because every person deserves a second chance and I want to give it to them. But I also want to kill the person who's responsible for this because many innocent people are going to become casualties tonight and I want to prevent that," Lyanna clarified with a soft voice.
Merlin sighed. "I will do whatever is in my power to try and stop them so -"
"You're not going to use magic!" Lyanna cut him of with a frown. "Listen, I care too much about you to see you burn on a pyre so that's not an option. We'll find another way, just no magic. Just fight alongside Arthur in my place while I focus on being a healer tonight."
"Deal," he said, letting out a soft laugh and she dramatically rolled with her eyes.
"I should change into something more comfortable for tonight and let Gaius know that I'm alright," Lyanna suggested and hopped onto her feet.
Merlin nodded. "I need to prepare Arthur and make sure everything is ready. It's all going to be alright. I'll see you when this is all over," he practically vowed before kissing her one last time and bolting out of her room. She blinked a few times before she looked through the pile of clothes in her closet.
After about ten minutes Lyanna was wearing the same outfit as she had worn during the last time Camelot had gotten attacked by Cedric. It existed of a white blouse with long sleeves, and a long purple skirt with brown boots. Her hair was tied together in a messy bun and she wore a grey apron with it and her healing satchel around her waist.
Once she was finished she walked out of her room and down the corridor. As she entered the physician chambers Gaius was looking at her in awe. "No!" he immediately objected, almost shouting at her. "You're suffering from a concussion! You're not supposed to be here! You need to rest! Go back to your room!"
"I'm alright," Lyanna assured him, grinning. "Merlin healed me so that I could still help out."
Gaius frowned as a sigh rolled over his lips. "I've told that boy -"
"Gaius, please. Don't be so melodramatic," she cut him of, smiling. "I'm glad that he healed me because I'm of more use now than I would be while I'm asleep. I feel great, besides what's going on that is. Anyway have I missed much?"
Gaius knew that he could never be angry at both of them because they honestly had the best intentions. "I'm just carrying everything to the infirmary," he enlightened her and she nodded understandingly.
So they began with taking all the supplies to the infirmary where she met up with Gwen. It brought her much relief to know that her friend would also helping her out here during the fight, since Gwen was a wonderful assistant to her. She always did everything without questioning, which was a valued trait.
Lyanna paled when the sounds of screaming outside was being heard, the sign that the battle had started. Her eyes shifted to Gwen, who was looking just as restless as she was. "We're going to be fine, Gwen," Lyanna said, smiling shyly. "Everyone is going to be alright."
As she said that Lyanna noticed that Morgana was watching them from the other side of the infirmary with a small smirk on her lips. Something dreadful was about to happen and she had no idea what, which made her more anxious beyond belief. All that she desired was for everyone to be safe, which was going to be a difficult problem. That was clear.
"I hope so, Milady," Gwen replied softly, trying to sound positive.
Lyanna tilted her head towards her. "They will and I can assure you that Arthur will come back," she said quietly so that no one else heard her. That seem to bring Gwen some relief, which had been her plan.
It didn't took long before the first people were being taking into the infirmary and Lyanna felt a heavy lump inside her stomach, but ignored it when she suddenly had to stop the bleeding of a middle-aged woman. Gwen was the one who handed her everything that she required, which made everything go much faster.
Time dreaded on as Lyanna tended patient after patient. There was blood splattered all over her apron and her blouse, but she couldn't be bothered by it. The safety of the people was much more important.
"We're out of fresh bandages," Gwen noticed after a while.
"I'll get them," Lyanna offered before the maid would fetch them herself. She walked to the other side of the infirmary where Gaius was standing next to the supply table. She looked around when she suddenly saw Merlin approaching them and she felt her heart swell in delight at that. "Merlin! How are things outside?"
"Not good. I need one of us to keep an eye on her," Merlin retorted and glanced over to where Morgana was.
"I'll do it," Lyanna assured him.
"You mustn't let her out of your sight. I need to get back to Arthur."
Lyanna nodded understandingly. "Just be careful." Merlin gave her a small smile before he hurried out of the infirmary again. She drew in a deep breath before she made her way back to Gwen and helped her with tending an injured knight who had gotten stabbed into his side. The man was bathing in sweat as blood dribbled through his chainmail. Gwen took of the man's chainmail and Lyanna quickly figured that his wound was rather deep and that he wasn't going to make it if they did something. Unsure what else to do Lyanna placed her hand on the wound and closed her eyes. "Licsar ge staðol nu." Her voice was barely a whisper, but as she opened her eyes again she saw that the wound was closing. She quickly tied a bandage around the knight's waist before ushering him away.
As Lyanna wanted to help the next person she felt Gwen placing her hand on her shoulder. "You just used magic to save that man's life," she deduced quietly. "That's a very risky thing to do. What if you get caught?"
"I had to help him, Gwen. I couldn't let him die," Lyanna retorted grimly.
"I know that you want to help everyone, Milady. But you need to think of your own safety. I don't want to lose you over something foolish," Gwen replied and Lyanna nodded slowly because she was right.
Lyanna barely used her own magic, simply because she was too scared that she couldn't control it. She knew that had to use it more often so that she could practice with it. Merlin magic was much more powerful than hers, so she mainly let him use it all the time. She her had her healing knowledge, and was very content with that. At least that was something that wasn't illegal here. Maybe one day she would be able to use her own magic to heal more people in the future. She could only hope. They had to survive this fight first.
She helped several more patients without using her magic, much to Gwen's relief. As Lyanna was busy with wrapping a clean bandage around a knight's shoulder she spotted Merlin and a soldier carrying her father into the infirmary. It astonished her beyond believe to see her father here injured. She rushed over to them. "What happened?" she asked as she began to clean out the wound in his leg.
"Your father decided to fight for his kingdom, Milady," the soldier answered. "He got hit by an arrow."
Of course her father had done such a thing. He couldn't sit by and watch his kingdom being taken. She gave her father an angry glare. "Father, you were stupid by risking your life like that. I don't care that you're the King! You've been through a great ordeal the last few days and should be resting instead of pretending to be a knight! You could've gotten yourself killed!" she almost shouted and everyone in the infirmary turned their heads to look at the King and his daughter, who was boiling with anger.
She rubbed some ointment on his wound and Uther flinched, which brought a grin to her lips. "I had to fight," Uther simply objected, keeping calm. Lyanna's smile faded and she frowned at him.
"And what if you got killed? Hmm? Have you thought about that?" Lyanna retorted dryly. "You have a kingdom to rule! And what -"
"Well I can't bloody rule it if it's being taken by Cendred, now can I? I am the King and I need to protect my people!" Uther shouted in return.
"Yes, that's a right that you have. But you can't protect them when you're death. Arthur is in charge of the attacks and already has enough on his mind, and shouldn't be worrying about the safety of his father."
Uther said nothing more and she tended the rest of his wound in silence. Once she had wrapped the bandage around it she stood up again. She whirled around to get some fresh water when she nearly bumped into Merlin.
"Where is Morgana?" he asked her quietly.
Lyanna cursed under her breath. Due to everything that was going on and it being so hectic she had completely forgotten to keep an eye on the King's ward. "I-I forgot," she stammered, embarrassed. "I was busy looking after the soldiers and I simply forgot about her. I'm so sorry."
He gave her a faint smile. "I'll look for her now," he insisted.
"Be careful," she said to him again. "We don't know what she's up to and it could be dangerous."
"I will. You should look after your father then," Merlin supplied before hurrying out of the infirmary. She watched him until he was completely out of sight before she turned around again to check on her father.
"Are you feeling better now?" Lyanna asked him, her voice surprisingly calm.
Uther tried to free himself from her grasp. "I have to get out there."
"No, Sire," Gaius objected sternly, stepping beside them. Lyanna was immensely grateful that the physician was there to help her out. "You're still weak from the medicine I gave you. I told you that..."
"I cannot watch my kingdom fall and do nothing," Uther cut him off.
"Father, I already told you that Arthur will defend it," Lyanna tried to assure him and the King sat down on the cot again. Although he didn't seem too pleased about it. She handed her father a soothing herb so that he might calm down. Apparently it did seem to work and the King stopped arguing with them. Lyanna looked at Gaius. "I can't keep up with this. There are too many people, Gaius."
"I know my dear," he agreed sadly. "We just have to do whatever we can."
She knew that he was right. Lyanna focused on helping Gaius out with a couple of patients as time dreaded one. The screams outside still didn't fade away. Lyanna had no idea how much time had passed when Merlin came back panting, a sign that he had been running to get here.
"Did you find her?" Lyanna asked while pressed a cold cloth against the forehead of one of the knights.
He shook his head. "You two need to seal off the hospital. The castle is under attack from within," he instructed them.
Lyanna frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about?" she asked him.
"Morgana, she summoned an army of the dead. They're everywhere," Merlin informed. Lyanna gasped in horror at that. She had already imagined that Morgana would do something dreadful, but this wasn't what she had thought of.
"Then you two should find a way to stop her," Gaius said to him, eyeing Lyanna. "Don't worry, dear. I'll manage here. Go." Lyanna gave him a small smile before she and Merlin ran out of the infirmary with great haste.
"Do we have any idea where Morgana is exactly?" Merlin questioned as they went down the stairs.
"Not quite," she muttered in return. "But we could use this. Odayias Udiuas." A trail appeared in front of them and they knew that Morgana had taken that not too long ago. "Now we just follow it." She heard Merlin let out a light laugh beside her as they ran down the trail.
Just as Lyanna had imagined the trail led them to the burial vaults. As they entered it they found Morgana standing there. She turned around to face them, a smirk on her lips. "You two love birds should leave now while you still can."
Merlin stepped in front of Lyanna. "Morgana, please. I beg you. Women and children are dying. The city will fall," he tried to plead with her, but it didn't seem to have any effect.
"Good," Morgana replied, sounding very pleased.
Lyanna's eyes widened "You don't mean that," she gasped.
"I have magic. Uther hates me and everyone like me. Why should I feel any different about him?" Morgana retorted.
"You of all people should change Uther's mind, but doing this?" Merlin questioned her instead. "Using magic like this will only harden his heart."
Morgana's anger and bitterness only increased. "You two don't have magic. How could you hope to understand?"
"We do understand, believe me," Merlin said. "If I had your gifts, I would harness them for good. That's what magic should be for. That's why you were born with these powers." Lyanna felt her chest tighten at that. His speech was touching her and her eyes were becoming wetter.
"You two don't know what it's like to be an outsider. To be ashamed of how you were born, to have hide who you are. Do you think I deserve to be executed because of who I am?" Morgana wondered.
"No," Lyanna said as she stepped in front of Merlin who grabbed hold of her hand behind her back. "It doesn't have to be like this. We can find another way."
"There is no other way."
Before Lyanna could process what was going on Merlin backed up. He walked around a pillar and tried to dash around the other side to reach the staff. Morgana knocked the sword out of his hand. Morgana advanced on him and Merlin backed up again.
"What are you going to do?" Merlin asked her. "Kill me?"
"You don't think I can?" Morgana taunted, taking her fighting position.
Lyanna rushed over and picked up the sword that Merlin had dropped before stepping in front of him, her sword raised. "You will have to go through me if you plan to kill him," she threatened her, feeling her anger boiling inside of her.
Morgana let out a low laugh. "Oh, how sweet. Young love," she cooed. "I would gladly kill you Lyanna Pendragon."
"Try me." Morgana slashed at Lyanna, but the princess easily ducked aside. Their swords clashed together and they pretty much danced around the room. Morgana wasn't a very skilled swordsman, but she was still pretty decent and nearly as good as any ordinary knight Lyanna had faced in combat.
Fortunately for Lyanna she had practiced much more and she was taking the upper hand in this fight. Her blows were strong and firm and the edge of her sword slashed against Morgana's shoulder and she heard her cringe.
"Why don't you just give up, Morgana?" Lyanna wanted to know as their swords kept clashing together.
"I can't!" Morgana shouted in return. She let out another scream as her blows became more aggressive, but it wasn't enough to startle Lyanna. Only the tip of Morgana's blade slashed Lyanna's cheek and she cursed under her breath.
"Feoll bu brand," Lyanna heard behind her before she was being pulled away by Merlin who pulled her with him behind a pillar. Because of Merlin's spell the part of the roof began to collapse on top of Morgana and knocked her out. Merlin quickly took his sword from Lyanna before he ran over to the staff.
"Snæde!" Merlin sliced through the staff. There was a bright flash and the staff was broken in half before it fell onto the ground. After a moment of realizing what just happened Lyanna ran over to him and threw her arms around his neck.
"You did it!" she cried out happily.
"No, we did it," Merlin corrected her and returned the embrace. "You fought amazing. I'm very proud of you, Lyanna."
"Well, you were amazing with figuring out how to undo all this," Lyanna returned, beaming with pride as she pulled him in for a kiss.
Cendred and Morgause had surrendered when they had found out that their army of the undead had been defeated and they stood no chance to capture the rest of Camelot, and they had fled back. That morning nearly everyone in Camelot was busy cleaning up everything and it quickly looked as if there hadn't been a bight in the city last night.
"Are you alright?" the voice of Gwen broke Lyanna's thoughts.
The princess turned away from the window and met Gwen's concerned gaze. "Quite alright, Gwen," she assured her. "I'm just glad to see that we've won and everyone is alright."
"Same here because for a moment there I actually believed that we weren't going to make it," Gwen admitted.
"So did I," Lyanna agreed with her. "But that's all in the past now. We're all safe."
Gwen smiled gratefully. "Shall we go then?" Lyanna nodded understandingly and the two women exited her bedroom. They were chatting cheerfully together on their way and entered the throne room only to see that there already was a small crowd gathered. Lyanna took her usual place beside Arthur as the King took a step forwards.
"In my time, we've won many battles, but none so important as this. Every man, every woman and child has performed their heroic best, and I thank you, and I salute you all. Even before the battle we knew that there was a traitor in our midst, one who was almost the undoing of us," Uther said. "However, we have to thank the one person who outwitted them, and who - almost single-handedly - turned the battle. The Lady Morgana." Uther presented Morgana to the court who applauded. Lyanna's eyes only widened in horror. "For it was she who bravely entered the vault, found the magical vessel, and destroyed it. We must be vigilant! We must stand firm against the dark forces of magic and ensure that they never penetrate our walls again."
The court applauded again and this time Lyanna's exchanged a hopeless look with Merlin before noticing that Morgana was glaring at them.
So that was the first chapter of 2015. It sounds odd to say that, but another year has really passed. Also it's Colin Morgan's 29th birthday today which is even more important because he deserves all the happiness in the world.
HPuni101: I know that it has been a rather frantic start for season 3. Luckily there were enough Myanna moments for you and yes it will be tested. Especially because a certain King's ward is aware of their feelings ;) Can they stop her together? There will be more confrontations. And yes I had a good Christmas, I hope that you had one as well, dear! Thank you so much for always reviewing :D
emekaarthur1: Thank you and I will ;)
fmxc17: They're adorable aren't they haha. I'm also very upset that Merlin ended 2 years ago and especially how it ended. I will never accept it though. I still occasionally rewatch the series and then just pretend that it finishes differently haha. Thank you so much for saying that. I just wanted to give all of you a chapter as a Christmas gift ;P I'm glad that it made your morning though haha. Thank you for your sweet review!
MiaR: Morgana is back and is blinded by her hatred against Uther. I also had the same feeling while I watched her the first time on the show. I really love Morgana and I was saddened that I had to darken her character and make her turn against the people she loved, because she believes they don't understand her. But she is going to be an amazing enemy. Oh that's funny indeed :p Maybe it are the small twists that I'm putting in here, even though the story remains pretty much the same as the show. You're not suppose to feel sad :( Although I do understand why you did because Lyanna thought that her father didn't care about her that much. Luckily Gaius is there for her who loves her like she's his own daughter. I love that :) Thank you so much for saying that. I'm so glad that you like Lyanna so much :"D
ArmyWife22079: You're right haha. We all need a companion like that. I would make life so much better ;) Awh, I'm really flattered because you've said that. Thank you so much!
BugsBunny: Merlin knows that Lyanna can't deny him anything. But he finds her happiness and safety the most important things so that's why he asked her to stay at the castle :) He's such a sweetheart haha. Well, yes he's okay :D It's much more exciting when you don't remember much from the show haha. And yes at this moment in the story Lyanna and Arthur are 22 years old and Merlin is 21 ;) Thank you so much for your review though!
Narnian Dreams: I had a wonderful Christmas! I hope you had lovely days as well :D Arthur and Lyanna will always be children and they enjoy messing around with each other like that (Especially Arthur). Ah, It's sweet that you get butterflies in you stomach when Merlin and Lyanna are together :D I can assure you that they stay together and that there will be plenty of Myanna fluff in the future. And you now know how Lyanna reacted when she found out what happened to Merlin and it's upsetting her immensely to know that Morgana was behind all this because she's pretty much a sister to her. There's much more drama to come :p Thank you so much for your review and I wish you a Happy New Year as well! :D
Lady Ravanna: Thank you so much! I'm afraid that they won't get publicly together for a long while. They need to focus on beating several baddies first and a certain law needs to be changed first... Or perhaps they run away together to get married elsewhere? All sorts of things can happen that's for sure ;) I want it to come as a surprise, but it won't be for a while. That's all that I can say. But the amount of fluff between them will remain all throughout the story because they're hopelessly in love haha. Thank you again :)
Guest: Ah, those are just the right mixtures for my story I guess haha. I'm glad that you loved it though haha :D It makes me very happy to hear that you love Lyanna and Merlin so much and that it makes you want to squeal ;) That last part is not my intention though. Just to let you know haha. But they're very adorable indeed and I can't stop grinning while I write their little moments together :D It's very nice when people enjoy those moments as well. There will be more haha. Thank you so much for your review :") and yes I had a good holiday :D I hope you had one as well. And Happy New Year!
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU 3 AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO COLIN MORGAN 3 ;D
