Disclaimer: I do not own anything :D
A/N: Hi, here's chapter thirty-five! It's somehow disappointingly short, but not exactly uneventful. Thank you to all those who followed, favorited, and reviewed the previous chapter! They were greatly appreciated.
Please do read and review afterwards! Enjoy!
Chapter Thirty-Five: Banishment
Morgana looked up from the potion she was brewing when the door of her hovel was opened. A small, sly smirk appeared on her face upon seeing Lord Agravaine, followed by the handsome Sir Lancelot.
"I believe you both came to tell me some glad tidings, yes?" the young sorceress calmly asked. She had this inkling ever since the start that her plan to use Lancelot to break the strong relationship between Arthur and Guinevere would be successful this time. After so many failed plans, she had placed enough power, time, effort, and faith to know that this time, her plan would finally be a success.
"I have given her the bracelet like what you have ordered me to do, my lady," Lancelot humbly said, inclining his head.
Morgana stood up from her stool and sauntered towards the two. "Very well, good sir," she declared. Her smile widened when Lancelot straightened up and puffed out his chest, pleased with her words. "And what of Guinevere?"
"I think she is already having numerous bouts of doubts," the knight continued. "Recently, she had started to give me secret glances and furtive smiles that I only seem to see."
She nodded her head, already knowing that soon, her plan would succeed.
Morgana then turned to the strangely quiet Agravaine. The king's uncle seemed startled that her attention landed on him this time. "Make sure that Lancelot will be protected," she ordered. "I want him to be as inconspicuous as possible." Her eyes slightly narrowed, remembering all the failed tasks that Agravaine had done. "I am requesting you to do a simple task, Agravaine. I trust that you will be able to do it well this time."
Agravaine, humbled and embarrassed, inclined his head. "Of course, my lady," he quietly answered.
The young sorceress then turned back to Lancelot and smiled. "And you, Sir Lancelot, continue doing your task well," she said.
Lancelot bowed down. "My life is only devoted to you, my lady," he earnestly swore.
Morgana smirked and nodded her head. "That is good to know," she answered back.
Hermione watched with confused eyes as Gwen sauntered from their window, a flustered and worried look on her face.
It had been Day Five of Gwen and Arthur's engagement and things had been going on quite well already. Tomorrow was already their wedding, an event that would be so famous in the history of the whole Wizarding World that up until the present, everybody knew that Arthur married Guinevere.
But then, as the days passed by, Hermione was starting to notice a strange behaviour from the young maidservant. For one, she had been distracted most of the time, gazing somewhere only she knew with a dreamy look on her face. Whenever inquired by Hermione, her friend would merely say that she was awfully tired from all the preparations, which Hermione accepted at first. But since Gwen started to zone out often, Hermione knew something was wrong already.
One time, it had crossed her mind that Guinevere was having doubts. She voiced this concern out to Merlin, but the young sorcerer merely chuckled at her worry and brushed her off.
"They've been fawning all over each other for months now, Hermione," he then had said, smiling fondly at the disgruntled look on her face. "If anyone here should have any doubts, then I believe the whole Kingdom of Camelot should be considered."
It was not really that surprising when there were random protests from the people of Camelot. A few strongly disagreed with the marriage of the King of Camelot to a lowly maidservant. Some had doubts, but still accepted their marriage and a number whole-heartedly embraced the change that was to come to their beloved kingdom.
"Are you all right, Gwen?" Hermione finally asked, starting to get a little dizzy with Gwen's constant fidgeting.
Her friend almost jumped, surprised to hear Hermione's voice. She turned around and flushed. "I-I thought you are already sleeping?" she softly asked.
The brunette knitted her eyebrows. "I was about to, but your constant fidgeting kept me awake," she pointed out, shaking her head.
Gwen licked her lips. "I'm sorry, Hermione," she said. "I promise to stay still this time. Now, go back to sleep."
The sleep that was sweetly beckoning her a while ago was now forgotten. Now that she was looking at Gwen properly, Hermione was positively sure that something was obviously wrong.
"No, I can't sleep now," she said, drawing near her anxious friend. "Is something the matter, Gwen? Why aren't you sleeping?"
The future queen looked away from her. "I'm fine, Hermione," she softly mumbled under her breath. "There's nothing to worry about."
Hermione frowned, growing annoyed of Gwen's obvious lie. "I would love to believe you," she retorted back, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "I very much do, but your tone of voice and actions obviously contradict your reassurance, Gwen." The brunette slightly scowled when Gwen looked away from her. "I know there's something wrong, Gwen. You can tell me, you know. I'm starting to think your worry's becoming unhealthy now."
Gwen rounded at her, her eyes surprisingly narrowed into a glare. "Maybe for once, you can stop sticking your nose into other's business, Hermione," she snapped back. "You can try it. Perhaps, you'd be able to keep your friends close to you."
The brunette's jaw dropped. "I didn't mean to…" She slightly deflated, honestly hurt by Guinevere's words. "I-I'm sorry," she softly said, taking a step back. "I was just concerned, Gwen. I'm sorry."
The maidservant's eyes widened, realizing what she had said to her friend. "Hermione, I - " Her words died down, her arm outstretched as if reaching for her. The village bell then suddenly struck nine times, signalling the start of curfew.
Gwen then turned away from Hermione and grabbed a nearby cloak from her bed.
"Where are you going?" Hermione asked, knitting her eyebrows. "Guinevere, it won't be good for the future queen to be caught dead in the night."
"I'll be quick," the maidservant hastily said.
The brunette expelled a huge sigh and grabbed Gwen's wrist. "Gwen, I'm serious," she said. "You can tell me I stick my nose into others' business for all I care."
Gwen squirmed and tried to pull her hand away. While doing so, Hermione chanced a glance at the bracelet that she saw Lancelot gave Gwen. Once again, this strange feeling, as if the jewellery was of magic, hit her and she tightened her grip on Gwen's wrist.
"That is a beautiful piece of jewellery," Hermione softly said, lifting her eyes to look at Gwen. By then, her friend had stopped squirming.
"Thank you," Gwen said, her cheeks surprisingly flushing into a lovely shade of red. "It was given to me by Lancelot for his wedding gift."
Hermione bit the inside of her cheeks and thought carefully for her next words. "You know, Arthur will see red if he discovered that you are wearing a bracelet that came from the man you used to love," she partly joked, and partly seriously said. After all, King Arthur was still famously known all over the Kingdom of Camelot to have a monumental temper.
The brunette absentmindedly placed her fingers on the bracelet. It was warm, too warm, and she wondered how Gwen could wear it without burning. Hastily, Hermione tried to rip the bracelet away from Gwen's wrist but to her utmost surprise, her friend turned murderous.
"Do not touch it!" she snarled, her eyes glinting dangerously in the night. Gwen then strongly pushed Hermione away from her, successfully making Hermione fall on her bum.
Pain shot up from Hermione's body and she groaned, already massaging her sore bottom. When she looked up, the murderous look had now left Gwen's fair face. Replaced was a look of apology, her features softened and confused.
"I-I'm sorry," Gwen quickly uttered before turning around and bolting out of their house.
"Guinevere!" Hermione called climbing up to her feet.
Why couldn't she shake off the feeling of foreboding?
Hermione urged her legs to bring her faster to the Court Physician's bedroom, already fearing for the worst. After Guinevere had harshly pushed her away and fled to God-knows-where, the brunette already had a hunch of where and who she was to meet.
She silently cursed under her breath, knowing that she could have prevented this event from happening if she just had told it to Merlin and Gaius. But then, for selfish reasons, she knew that if she were to warn them of Gwen and Lancelot's impending tryst, millions of questions would be bombarded towards her and their suspicions would be heightened.
'I'm sorry, Arthur,' she guiltily claimed. 'I'm ardently sorry.' With the amount of love and devotion that Arthur had for Gwen, she was positively sure that his whole world would shatter once he discovered that his future wife was to become unfaithful to him.
She should have seen this coming; after all, this was still the world of Ancient Camelot and King Arthur. Although everything was still different from what she had originally researched about, in one way or another, the legends would soon be unfolding in front of her eyes.
Perhaps, it was probably because Lancelot had already died. Seeing that he was actually not part of this world already, the infamous infidelity of Queen Guinevere that would break King Arthur's heart would not happen at all. But now, here was the Lancelot that she knew, a Shade for goodness' sake, with an obvious intent of breaking Arthur and Gwen apart.
She was now so sure that the bracelet he had given Gwen was bewitched to make her confuse… for her to remember the dead feelings she used to harbour for Lancelot so that her relationship with Arthur would be broken. Thinking about this made her enraged; Gwen had no control of her actions and she knew that once the spell had been broken and she had already betrayed Arthur, she would be destroyed.
With this thought in mind, Hermione ran more quickly towards Gaius' bedchamber. Blast the Patrolling Knights because she knew the reason for being out of bed was far more important than being imprisoned in the dark dungeons underneath the castle.
Hermione then had suddenly burst inside. Her surprised entrance had startled the slumbering Court Physician awake, who them tumbled off his makeshift bed and landed on the cold, hard floor with a dull thud. A soft pained groan escaped from his lips and Hermione immediately went to his aid and helped him up.
"Dear God above, Hermione," Gaius croakily exclaimed, now painstakingly standing up and rubbing his sore bottom. "What brings you here in the middle of the night?"
Unknown tears had already gathered at the corner of her eyes, which formed during her brief journey from the village into the castle. "Oh, Gaius," she softly said, sniffling afterwards.
Before she could even continue her tearful confession, Merlin's bedroom door was thrown open. A grumpy manservant sluggishly descended the steps, glaring slightly at the two. "What was that blasted noise all about?" he growled, his voice still thick with sleep.
Upon seeing Hermione's tearful face, he stopped. His right hand fell limply back to his side and he took the remaining steps in three big strides. "What's wrong?" he asked, sounding alarmed and worried. "Why are you crying?"
"It's G-Gwen," she said, shakily reaching up and clutching Merlin's arm. "Oh, this is bad, Merlin. Really, really bad."
"All right, all right, dear girl," Gaius said, placing a comforting hand at her back. "Calm yourself."
Hermione shook her head. "No, I can't. I can't," she whispered. "It's my fault. My entire fault because I was so selfish and I didn't think about Gwen and Arthur and I just - " She paused and silently swallowed. She lifted a hand and wiped away her tears, leaning towards Merlin who now had wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Gwen's enchanted."
Both Gaius and Merlin nodded, assuring her that they were listening.
"Lancelot gave her this bracelet," she continued, "and now I am very sure that she is under a spell. A love spell."
Merlin's eyes widened at her revelation and he took a sharp intake of breath. "The reason Morgana summoned Lancelot back from the dead," he slowly continued, overwhelmed by the new knowledge that he discovered, "Is because she wanted to break Arthur and Gwen apart."
Hermione tearfully nodded her head, confirming his theory. "Gwen left a while ago," she added. "And she was in a rush." She slightly blanched and nervously bit her bottom lip. "I have a feeling she is to meet Lancelot today."
"You must quickly find her," Gaius gravely said, his furry eyebrows drawn together. "Infidelity is the most painful betrayal a person can ever handle. I believe Arthur would not listen to Gwen's reasoning once he catches her with Lancelot."
Both Hermione and Merlin nodded their head and bolted out of the room. Their search was a silent event, but it was obvious that both of them worry greatly for Guinevere.
"What if we're too late?" Hermione asked one time when they stopped to quickly catch their breaths.
Merlin, at loss of what to say, merely shook his head and looked away.
They finally reached the Council Chamber of Doom and were about to enter inside when two knights walked out, a calm and indifferent Lancelot clutched tightly in their hands. For a moment, the Shade's eyes swept over their form and Hermione felt her blood freeze.
Followed by their exit was Lord Agravaine. Briefly, Hermione saw his upturned lips, strangely satisfied, but when his eyes landed on the couple, he pursed his lips, calmly looked away from them and sauntered away.
Hermione directed her eyes at the almost-closed doors and through the crack, she was able to see Guinevere down on her knees, helplessly crying while in front of her stood Arthur, stoic and furious, the pain of her betrayal clearly etched on his handsome face.
The brunette brought a hand against her mouth as the door finally closed. Her free hand was then tightly enclosed inside Merlin's big, warm one and she helplessly turned to him, her tears increasing.
"We are too late," was all she managed to say.
With a pale face, Hermione watched as Gwen silently packed her things.
It was the day after Arthur discovered Guinevere's infidelity… the day she was banished from Camelot.
Such a sin was punishable to death, but Hermione always knew that Arthur loved Gwen too much. Thus, he opted to send her away so that he would not be able to see her face anymore and be reminded of the pain she had bestowed upon him.
Lancelot, on the other hand, was imprisoned in the dungeons. Gaius had visited him once and told her and Merlin that the Shade was confused. The Court Physician thought that perhaps a part of the old Lancelot was manifesting. After all, Arthur and Gwen were two of the most important people in his life before; if at least one of them were hurt, he would be bound to get concerned of them, too.
The sun had not yet risen up the heavens above, but Gwen was already readying for her departure. Apparently, Arthur had ordered for her to leave before everybody woke up to spare her from the embarrassment and ridicule that she was bound to receive for being unfaithful to their king.
All night long, Hermione could not sleep. The sound of Gwen's muffled cries from her bed, obviously unable to sleep, too, kept her awake. Hermione was tempted to stand up, to comfort her distressed friend… best friend, but she knew that Gwen needed the time alone.
Her eyes were puffy and red, but Gwen had ceased crying. Her silence was deafening and Hermione was only there, helpless as the supposed future queen was to fix her belongings.
The sound of rustling cloths resounded in the awfully silent house as some of Gwen's dresses pooled in front of her.
"Blast," Gwen whispered in annoyance, shakily bending down to gather the fallen garments into her arms. Hermione had stood up by that time, immediately coming to her aid. She grabbed some of Gwen's dresses and folded them neatly before placing them down on Gwen's bad.
"T-thank you," the maidservant softly said, unable to meet Hermione's eyes. Her curly, black hair made a curtain on her face, making the brunette unable to properly see the expression on her friend's face.
"Gwen…" the young sorceress whispered, outstretching an arm, but Gwen shied away from her touch.
Guinevere slowly shook her head and stepped away from Hermione. "I cannot properly look at you, Hermione," she grievously confessed. "I…" – she took a sharp intake of breath – "I… am so embarrassed of myself that I cannot look at you."
Tears now started to roll down from Gwen's beautiful face and she silently wiped them away.
Helplessly, Hermione racked her brain on what to answer the maidservant. In the end, she was only able to manage to say, "It wasn't your fault."
A humorless laugh escaped from Gwen's face, followed by strange, strangled sobs, and vigorously shook her head. "Oh, it was entirely my fault, Hermione," she cried, her tears increasing as she fully turned to her friend. "I…I broke Arthur's heart and I still can't believe I did that to… him."
Gwen paused and took a deep, shuddering breath. "I was supposed to get married to him today," she continued brokenly in a soft whisper. "I waited for him for years, Hermione. Everyday, every night, I dream of the day when finally, finally I can properly say that I am his." A soft sob escaped from Gwen's mouth and she pressed a shaking hand against her mouth.
The maidservant tightly closed her eyes, allowing more tears to flow down from her eyes. Tears had also sprung at the corner of Hermione's eyes but she knew that no words could ease the current pain that Gwen was experiencing.
Gwen suddenly turned furious and she tightly gripped the enchanted bracelet on her wrist. She roughly threw it away and it hit the wall, rolling away until it was unseen by the other two. "How could I have doubts?" Gwen continued, her voice now rising with anger to herself. "How could I waver?"
Hermione wrapped her arms around Gwen and tried her very best to comfort her. Gwen, like a child, tightly gripped the back material of Hermione's dress and earnestly cried on her shoulder.
"A-Arthur is everything to me," Gwen whispered. "I love him and I cannot imagine my life without his side."
Mentally, Hermione cursed the very being of Morgana. She could not believe that she used to be the one of the sweetest and gentlest ladies she had ever met. Her corrupted heart had turned her into this – a conniving, evil sorceress that would not rest until all the people around her become hurt.
"I-I have to go," Gwen silently said after a few minutes, slowly pulling away from Hermione's hug. She turned to her things and blindly dumped them inside, quickly closing it. Gwen then wore her simple cloak above her and drew the hood over her mourning face. "Goodbye, Hermione."
"This isn't goodbye yet," Hermione protested, a small scowl on her face. "I still believe we will see each other, Gwen."
The maidservant gave her a watery smile and a brief hug. "I will never forget you, Hermione of Hogwarts," she softly said. "Please don't forget me, too."
Gwen then turned around and walked out of their house, dragging her huge pack of belongings with her. Hermione followed her close, opting to stand in front of the door while Gwen walked away, choosing not to look back.
From the corner of her eyes, she saw a movement and turned around. Merlin, waiting on his feet, stood watching as his close friend walked away from Camelot and never to return again. Feeling her eyes on him, he shifted his gaze away from Gwen's retreating back and looked at her.
Hermione, overwhelmed with so many emotions, softly cried and ran towards him. Merlin anticipated her arrival and welcomed her into his arms as she threw her arms around him and loudly cried on his shoulder.
"It's going to be all right," he softly assured, placing a loving kiss on her forehead.
Together, in each others' arms, they watched as their supposed once and future queen leave her beloved Camelot.
He and Hermione somberly followed behind two knights carrying the dead body of Sir Lancelot du Lac. They were to go to the Lake of Avalon to give Lancelot the proper burial he deserved but never achieved after bravely sacrificing himself in the Isle of the Blessed.
Silently, the two knights placed Lancelot inside a small boat surrounded by ceremonial flowers and other plants. The two knights inclined their heads at Merlin and Hermione, before turning around and leaving them behind.
Merlin shakily knelt down beside Lancelot and peered at his pale and calm face. They had heard from Gaius that the knight had killed himself in the dungeons. The manservant instantly thought that it was perhaps of guilt and grief, but then, the Court Physician showed a letter. The handwriting was unmistakably Morgana's, with a simple order for Lancelot to end his life jotted down on the parchment.
Fury surged inside his system and Merlin could feel his magic crackling around him. Morgana – funny how that name made his blood boil, his eyes narrow, and his lips twist into a sour scowl. Morgana used to be one of his closest friends and betraying her was one of the worst things he had ever done in his whole life. But doing this? Ruining Arthur and Gwen's relationship? It was too far. Too damn far.
The young manservant then hovered his right hand above Lancelot's forehead. "Grið fæstne mid þisse tintregian sawle! [1]," he softly whispered.
Merlin's eyes momentarily turned gold and behind him, he heard Hermione's soft gasp as Lancelot opened his eyes and took a sharp intake of breath. Immediately, the knight's eyes landed on Merlin's form and he softly smiled. Tears gathered at the corner of Merlin's eyes, knowing that he was looking right now at the true friend he used to have.
"Merlin. Thank you," Lancelot softly said, slowly closing his eyes and taking his very last breath.
The young sorcerer sadly smiled, finally believing that his friend was at peace. Merlin then stood up and took a step back. With his outstretched arm, he enchanted Lancelot's body to burst into flames as what was customary before pushing the burning dead into the water.
Hermione instantly came beside him, her small hand slipping into his. Merlin gave her a sideways glance, fondly smiling upon seeing her own beautiful smile.
Merlin then looked back at Lancelot's burning body and softly sighed. Although his friend was already gone, he was positively sure that the bravest and noblest knight he had ever known would never be forgotten.
[1] Grið fæstne mid þisse tintregian sawle! - Give peace to this tormented soul!
A/N: End of chapter! How'd you like it? Tell me in your reviews!
This episode was actually one of the saddest :( I've always been fond of Lancelot (and he's so damn pleasing the eyes), but I'm a little wary of him because you know, he poses a threat between Arthur and Gwen. If you haven't established it yet, I'm a hardcore Gwen/Arthur shipper. But he's just so sweet and kind and I can't really hate him. His "death" scene in this episode broke my heart and I hope he really was honoured properly and blah.
Anyway, I have good news! I'm writing a new Merlin fanfic, and nope, it won't be a crossover this time. It will be just a short one, with a total of five chapters. I'm already at the middle of finishing the third chapter (and just currently finished typing an interesting scene). I won't give away any clues as to what it is about, if who the pair is, and things like that. I want it to be a surprise, hihi. I'd probably post the first chapter after two or three days, I'm not really sure. So yeah, just do watch out for it.
That's it for now! Again, review!
With love,
WickedlyAwesomeMe