"We caught up with her on the plains of Denaria." Elyan said, standing beside Leon in the thrown room.
"Was she alone?" Arthur asked.
"Morgause was with her." Leon answered.
"Where was she headed?" I asked.
"The Seas of Meredor." He replied.
"The Isle of the Blessed? What could she possibly want there?" I wandered.
"Sahmain is approaching." Gaius suggested.
"What is Samhain?" I asked.
"It's a time when we feel closest to our ancestors. When the veil between worlds is thinnest." He answered.
I was about to ask what this could mean for Morgana, but suddenly beside Gaius, Merlin went rigid and collapsed onto the stone floor. Lancelot rushed forward and Gaius knelt down beside him.
"What happened?" Lancelot asked.
"I'm not sure." Gaius replied, feeling Merlin's forehead. "I've never felt anyone so cold. I'll need hawthorn to improve the blood flow. Bring him to my chambers."
"I saw a woman. Her eyes were…so full of sadness and pain." Merlin said.
Arthur, Lancelot, Gaius and I were all standing in Gaius' chambers. As soon as Merlin had woken he'd started babbling about a woman he'd seen in the middle of the hall, which nobody else had.
"Who is she?" Arthur asked.
"The Cailleach. The gatekeeper to the spirit world." Gaius replied.
"Why was she there?" Merlin asked.
"I said Samhain was approaching, the very moment when the veil between the worlds is at it's thinnest. It cannot be a coincidence." He replied.
"And only Merlin could see her because he has magic." I surmised and Gaius nodded. "So, what does it mean?"
"I'm not sure." He said, shaking his head. "But if Morgana has torn the veil between the worlds, then may the gods help us all."
The room went quiet as Gaius' dooming words set in, the silence only shattered by the door opening.
"Excuse me, sire." Leon said, appearing from the corridor. "But you're needed in the council chambers as a matter of urgency."
We followed Leon through the corridors and into the throne room where a group had formed around a young girl who was sobbing.
"What happened?" I asked Percival as he turned to face us.
"Her village was attacked." He replied.
"By who?" Arthur asked.
"We don't know yet." He shrugged.
Arthur pushed his way through the circle and stopped in front of the frightened girl.
"Who attacked your village?" He asked.
She didn't look up and continued to sob, so he tried again.
"Can you tell me what happened?" He asked, and still no answer.
"Here." I said, placing a hand on Arthur's arm, walking past him and kneeling down in front of the girl.
"What's your name?" I asked, looking up at her.
"D-Drea." She replied shakily.
"Drea, I'm Circa. Don't be afraid, we'll look after you." I said, putting a gentle hand on her arm. She looked down at me and I gave her a warm smile. "Can you tell me what happened? Did someone attack your village?"
"There was no one…just shapes…they…they had no faces." She said quietly, in between shaky breaths. Those who had gathered, gave each other skeptical looks.
"I keep telling you…they were there, but…they weren't there." Drea tried. "They moved so quickly. It was if they weren't real, but… they must have been…They were all…dead." She finished and burst into tears again, wrapping her arms around me neck. Two of the noblemen stepped forward, to pull her away, but I held up my hand to stop them.
"You were very brave to come here, Drea." I said in her ear. "Where is your village?"
"Howden." She choked.
"Howden." I repeated to Arthur.
"East of the White Mountains. No more than half a day's ride." Gwaine added.
"Ready the men." Arthur said to him, looking down at us. "We ride out immediately."
I stayed behind to look after Drea as the others rode for Howden.
"Is she asleep?" I asked Gwen as she quietly closed the door to my chambers behind her.
"Yes. Poor thing. She's lost everyone." Gwen replied.
"She has an aunt and uncle in a nearby village. They're sure to take care of her." I said.
"What do you think she saw?" Gwen asked. I opened my mouth to reply but stopped when there was the sound of a distant, echoing scream.
"What was that?" I said. Then the scream came again, a deathly screech that chilled you right to the core. It seemed to be closer this time and I looked around, trying to work out where it was coming from.
"Look out!" Gwen squeaked and threw herself at me as a loud scream passed by my head. She grabbed my shoulders and pushed me onto the ground. As we sprawled on the stone floor, I looked up just in time to see what looked like a ghost swoop out the window at the end of the hall.
"Oh, di-id you see that?" I asked, breathing heavily.
"It looked like…" Gwen began.
"A ghost." I finished as another scream came from further away.
Suddenly, Camelot's bells began to ring out and shouts came from the depths of the castle.
"Let's go." I said to Gwen and together we ran down to the entrance of the castle where townsfolk were running towards the citadel. They had torches in their hands and carried bundled blankets under their arms.
"Oh my goodness." Gwen breathed, and I followed her gaze up to the darkening sky to see 'ghosts' filling the sky, swooping the people. I watched as one swooped on an elderly man, who went froze and fell to the ground. I rushed forward and turned the man over.
I gasped and leapt back at the sight. The man had gone white and icicles clung to his scraggly beard.
"Use the fire!" A villager yelled at me as they rushed past, dissipating a 'ghost' by waving their flaming torch at it.
"My lady, we have to get back inside." Gwen urged, taking my arm and pulling me back towards the castle. Inside, knights and guards ran past with stretchers and torches.
"We have to provide shelter to all those we can." I said above the cacophony of the crowds.
For the next few hours, I ran back and forth, handing out blankets for those who had been struck by the 'ghosts', scrounging for more torches and every last candle stick I could find.
I turned a corner and ran straight into someone.
"Sorry." I said, looking up at them. "Arthur!"
"Circa!" He cried and wrapped his arms around me. "Are you alright?"
"I am. I can't speak for everyone, though." I replied. "We've closed every window and door, which has stopped most of them, but they can still get in."
"We need to find Gaius. Find out what these are and how to destroy them." He replied. We pushed our way through the castle, eventually finding Gaius in an empty room at the base of the castle.