Chapter 51
Gwen sat alone at the desk by the window as she signed the last of the documents in front of her she sighed and leaned back in the chair. She was tired and had not been sleeping well. Every night she dreamt of Arthur's return, she saw him smiling up at her when she opened her eyes or she would turn a corner and he would be walking towards her with his arms out to hold her. Whenever she tried to touch him he vanished and she woke up feeling sick and tired. Rose's replacement was efficient and hard working but she was never early. It was nice to have a moment to think, she poured herself some water and turned her chair to look out of the window. The sky was just beginning to lighten but she looked out unseeing as she thought over all that happened yesterday.
The day before had passed in a flurry of activity. The caves were being prepared to hold not only provisions and livestock but people as well. Iseldir was even confident they could have a garden, it would be useful to grow herbs there as many would be needed to treat the sick and injured. Gwen had put Iseldir in charge of the preparations. She had been surprised and pleased that the knights and most of the court treated him with respect and listened closely to his plans. They carried out his orders without question knowing that he was only trying to help them.
Lord Doran sat quietly when Iseldir spoke looking at the table or the floor but had not spoken out against him openly. He had begged for more time to get his appeal in order and Gwen had agreed. She had been glad for a reprieve she had so much to do she didn't really have time for Lord Doran.
It did worry her though the longer she left it the more time he would have to gather support. The druids were part of life in the city now and could be seen walking the streets, talking to the people and helping them. There had been no trouble, no fights or accusations of enchantments.
She desperately wanted to know what was going on in the minds of the people. Did they accept the druids because she had ordered them to? Were they scared of her and what she might do if they voiced their opinions? If that was the case then she was no better than Uther. She did not want the people to live in fear. How could she find out what the people really wanted?
She sighed again and moved the chair back towards the desk. Being Queen was not easy, many of her old friends treated her differently now and she could understand Arthur a little better. How did you know what people really thought if they only told you what they thought you wanted to hear? She loved Arthur with all her heart and she would have married him whoever he was but sometimes she missed her old life.
Her temporary maidservant arrived with her breakfast. She helped Gwen to dress, and did her chores quietly while Gwen ate. She was young and nervous and Gwen did her best to put her at ease. After she had left Gwen returned to her desk gathering the papers together and making sure everything was in order.
She would soon have to attend the round table meeting and listen to the reports of the knights that were gathering news. She would go into the town later to check on Rose and Walter.
She walked over to her mirror and looked closely at her reflection. She was too pale but most of those present would put that down to grief over Arthur's death. She picked up her papers and left the room.
She listened quietly to the reports. Leon was first knight in Arthur's absence and he was quick and efficient at taking reports. A late patrol arrived as they were discussing the successful attempt at flushing out a group of bandits that had been found just within Camelot's borders. The men had tried to run but had been killed only one surrendered after he was injured. They had the enchanted arrows with them and the prisoner said they worked for King Belin.
"King Belin?" asked Gwen.
"Lott's son," Gaius replied as the late patrol took their seats around the table.
"Did the prisoner say any more?" asked Leon.
"Yes my lord, though we are not sure if he was telling the truth. He was raving like a madman."
"What did he say?" asked Gwen.
"He told us that Belin killed his father and is now working with the Lady Morgana to unite the south. Then he started laughing saying the birds will get us, the birds will come."
"What birds?" asked Gwen feeling the blood drain from her face.
"He called them ravens, my lady," he said sitting down.
"Where is the prisoner now?" asked Gaius.
"He's in the cells but you won't get anything out of him, he just keeps going on about the birds."
Those in the room that had heard the prophecy looked at each other. Leon stayed standing but Gwen could see he was struggling to keep the fear from showing.
"So Morgana has united with young Belin," said Gaius to break the silence.
"Our report may have some bearing on that," said Sir Vidor who was in charge of those that had come in late.
"You were patrolling the high ground along the ridge of Essetir." said Leon looking at his notes.
"Yes my lord," said Sir Vidor standing up. "From that vantage point we could plainly see a dark cloud hanging over the land to the east. At first we thought it was a storm cloud rolling in and we were not happy with the thought of it coming towards us. We watched it for over three hours as we patrolled the entire ridge. It does not move with the wind but slowly creeps outwards getting larger. We are familiar with the area and the cloud hangs directly above Lott's or should I say Belin's fortress."
Leon finished up the meeting quickly. He wanted to speak to Gaius and the others that knew about the prophecy. Ravens and darkness had been mentioned but he couldn't remember it all. As the knights left to continue their duties Gwen turned to look at Leon.
"Can I ask you a favour?" she asked him.
"Anything, my lady," he said.
"Do you know of the village Ealdor?"
"In the valley beyond the white mountains, yes I know it. Isn't that where Merlin grew up?" he asked.
"Yes it is, Merlin's mother, Hunith still lives there," said Gaius.
"You want her brought back to the city?" he asked looking from Gwen to Gaius.
"I know it will be dangerous as it is in Essetir but if the King of that land is working with Morgana, Hunith could be in danger," she said.
"Morgana knows where Merlin's mother lives?" asked Leon.
"Yes she does. The people there took me in when I needed their help I do not want them to suffer just because they live outside our border."
"I'll see to it," he said.
"Thank you," said Gwen and Gaius together.
"These reports sound like things from the prophecy," said Leon quietly so just Gwen and Gaius could hear.
"They do, we can discuss it this evening," said Gaius looking around the large empty room as though there were spies behind every pillar.
"Alright," said Leon taking his leave.
Gwen left to check on Rose and Walter. Rose was so pleased to see her and thanked Gwen over and over for the provisions. They both assured her they wanted for nothing. Walter was recovering and Gaius had said he should be fit for work in a week. Gwen told her what had been bothering her and asked her if she could help. She assured her they would do their best and she would report to Gwen later that evening.
As she left Rose and Walter Gwen saw a woman talking to one of the druids that had arrived with Iseldir. Gwen thought for a moment then remembered his name was Milot. The woman was looking around as she spoke and Milot was listening carefully. Gwen recognised the woman her name was Isabel a seamstress who had worked with Gwen many times before she had become queen. Isabel caught sight of Gwen looking at her and hurried away leaving Milot staring after her. Gwen threaded her way through the crowd and approached him.
"Your highness," he said bowing his head to Gwen.
"What were you talking about?" asked Gwen as they turned to walk back to the palace. "You can speak plainly I trust you to do us no harm but you must trust me as well."
"She believes her sister's child to be cursed," he said. "Cursed?" asked Gwen turning to look at Milot. She didn't really know Isabel's family very well but she had known her sister had a sick child.
"Yes when her sister was still carrying the child within her she saw a woman talking to Morgana in the woods outside the city. Unfortunately the woman saw her and told her not to say a word. She was scared but her loyalty to the King and safety of the city came first so she told the King's uncle what she had seen."
"Agravaine?" asked Gwen with her hand over her mouth.
"Yes," said Milot.
"Agravaine was working with Morgana," said Gwen quietly, realising what must have happened.
"The poor woman did not know that she thought she was doing her duty," said Milot. He stopped walking as they reached the courtyard outside the palace.
"What is wrong with the child" asked Gwen
"When the child was born he was very sick and even now at four years of age he cannot walk or talk. When it became known that Agravaine was a traitor she believed Morgana or the woman she was talking to had cursed her."
"Can you help him?" asked Gwen.
"I was just going to offer to take a look at the child when she ran off. She did not give me her name or tell me where to find her," he said.
"I know her," said Gwen.
"I must now return to my duties in the infirmary," said Milot.
"Can you help the child?" asked Gwen as he turned to leave.
"I do not know until I have seen him. If he is indeed cursed then we may be able to lift it," he replied.
"I will speak to Gaius, he must know of the child's sickness. If he thinks you can help will you go with him and at least have a look?" asked Gwen
"Of course I will My Lady, I will be in the infirmary should you need me," he replied bowing his head and walking away. Gwen turned to see Percival coming down the steps towards her.
"Your highness, you are needed in the council chambers as a matter of urgency," said Percival.
"What has happened?" asked Gwen picking up her skirt to follow Percival up the steps.
"I think it's better for you to see for yourself," he said walking ahead of her. Gwen threw him a worried look and hurried after him.
Gaius was already there with Iseldir, Leon and Robyn. Several other knights and courtiers were also gathered to one side of the room. They parted to let Gwen through. There were two men, one not much more than a boy, and a woman sat on chairs to one side of the room. Gaius was sat in a chair in front of the woman examining her hands. The older man and the woman were obviously sick a bright red rash covered their faces and arms. The woman's eyes were almost shut because of it and the man was not much better. Near their feet was a bag of rotting corn, the smell made Gwen feel sick again. The younger man did not look sick and he stood up as she approached.
"Your highness," he said nervously clutching his hat. "We got here as soon as we could."
"Please sit," said Gwen.
"They come from the north of Camelot. Their village is near the Vale of Denaria," said Leon.
"Gaius?" asked Gwen.
"It's not infectious," he said looking up from his examination of the woman. "They wanted to speak to you before they will accept treatment."
"What is your name?" asked Gwen talking to the young man who had spoken.
"My name is Ben, this is Josef our village elder and his wife Thea," he said with tears in his eyes as he looked at the woman, "She's my sister."
"I'm Gwen. Can you tell me what happened?" she asked smiling at him trying to put him at ease. He did not yet seem ill but Gwen could see the rash starting on his hands and his wrist was already red. Gaius stood up and moved the chair back a little so Gwen could sit down. Ben seemed a little more at ease once she was sitting in front of him.
"Late last night we heard a sound like thunder coming out of the East. There was a horrible croaking and cawing passing straight overhead. Josef being the village elder went out to investigate. Me I was too scared and I'll admit I hid in my bed. Josef, tell them what you saw," he said looking at the man sat next to him.
"My lady," he said it obviously hurt him to talk but she could see the determination in his eyes.
"Take your time," said Gwen smiling as Gaius passed him some water. "What did you see?"
"Birds," he said taking a sip of water and clearing his throat. "Hundreds of birds flying low over the village. I had to duck or they would have knocked me off my feet. They dropped feathers as they passed. Shiny dark feathers cover our village we brought one with us in case it would help."
The woman passed Gwen a wooden box, "Don't touch it with your bare skin we think it carries the sickness," she said.
Gwen took the box from her feeling the heat from the woman's hands. Leon put on his gloves and took the box from Gwen. He opened it carefully making sure he didn't disturb the contents. Inside was a black raven's feather. It was resting on a cushion and Gwen noticed small stitches holding it in place. The poor woman had secured it so it wouldn't move when the box was opened.
"That grain was fine yesterday but this morning there was a feather in the bag and the contents were rotten. The lands around our village are dying, the crops are dead. Animals touched by the feathers are sick, we were lucky to have kept some of our provisions in the barn but it won't last," said Josef.
"Thank you," said Gwen smiling sadly at him and his wife.
"Is this Morgana's doing?" asked one of the courtiers looking at the black feather.
"I'm afraid this appears to be the work of Cornelius Sigan," said Gaius. Several of the older council members gasped and stared at the feather. Many of them had heard the stories of the raven and his curse to ruin Camelot.
"How far away is this village?" asked Gwen looking at Robyn.
"Less than half a day's ride," he replied. "If we leave now we could be back by morning.
"I need to talk to you and Leon this evening but make sure whoever you send does not touch the feathers. Have them take carts to salvage what we can and bring the people back here."
"My lady," said Robyn leaving the room to carry out her orders.
"Thank you, my lady," said Ben.
Gwen smiled at him and touched his hand gently. "Does it hurt?" she asked.
"It burns," he said.
"Can you help them?" she asked looking at Gaius.
"I will take them to the infirmary we have lotions to stop the burning," he replied.
"Iseldir, would you mind taking them to the infirmary? I need to speak with Gaius for a moment."
"Of course, my lady," said Iseldir, helping Thea to her feet. The two men followed him from the room.
All the people in the room were talking over each other. They were all trying to get a look at the feather and some were examining the grain taking care not to touch it. Gwen looked at them and could see the fear in all their faces.
"This isn't Morgana then?" asked Lord Bryant.
"Oh I expect Morgana is involved," said Gaius putting on a pair of gloves he had borrowed from Sir Vidor before taking the box from Leon.
"Will this spread?" someone asked. Gwen wasn't sure who had spoken as everyone was talking at once.
"Yes it will spread," said Gaius speaking to no-one in particular, he was busy examining the feather.
"How do we stop it?" asked Lady Anna, Sir Vidor's wife.
"Sorcery can only be fought with sorcery," said Gaius not looking at any of them.
"Nonsense," said lord Doran.
"I'm afraid it is not nonsense at all," said Gaius closing the wooden box with a loud snap.
"Well as a close confidant of Uther I know we had trouble with this Sigan a few years ago when Uther was still with us. He was defeated then and you can't tell me Uther would have used sorcery," said Doran looking at Gaius.
"No he didn't, but a very powerful sorcerer trapped Sigans soul back in the jewel it came from" said Gauis with a frown, "Uther never knew as he would have executed him. It appears that Morgana has stolen this jewel and released the soul once more," said Gaius.
"Who is this powerful sorcerer?" asked Lord Bryant.
"Is it the same one that helped us at Camlann?" asked Sir Vidor standing next to his wife.
"The one and the same," said Gaius with a small nod.
"Nonsense," cried Doran again. "We don't need the help of sorcery."
"What is nonsense?" asked Vidor looking at Doran. "I saw the sorcerer at Camlann with my own eyes. I would be dead and Morgana would now rule Camelot if he had not turned up when he did. You were not there but at least one of your sons owes him his life."
"Isn't the sorcerer supposed to be Merlin?" asked someone near the back of the crowd. Gwen quickly glanced at Gaius wondering what on earth they should say.
"If it is Merlin then we might stand a chance," said Sir Vidor.
"Utter nonsense!" shouted Lord Doran going red in the face.
The other regarded him with a frown at his outburst.
"Merlin is loyal to Camelot and will follow the queen as he did the King," said Lord Bryant.
"Does anyone know where he is?" asked Sir Merrick.
"If it is Merlin he will be waiting in the shadows to help us when we need him most," said Sir Maynard.
"These are only rumours," said Gaius as everyone started asking questions about Merlin and where he was.
"Nonsense! Utter nonsense. We don't need sorcery to fight this," said Lord Doran loudly.
"Enough," said Gwen firmly. "You will have your chance to speak before the council tomorrow Lord Doran. Everyone will have a chance to speak their mind. If this sickness is going to spread we must move quickly to get people and provisions safely within the caves."
"My lady," said the courtiers and knights bowing and taking their leave. Gwen quickly told Gaius about her conversation with Milot.
"Yes I believe the child is cursed," said Gaius after a while. "His symptoms are not that unusual and sometimes children are born with disabilities. I don't think this is the case with young Tam though."
"Why not?" asked Gwen.
"There is no scientific reason that I can find for his lack of speech or inability to walk," said Gaius.
Gwen sighed and nodded sadly at Gauis who continued; "he should be perfectly healthy but he is often very ill for no reason. I knew what happened to his mother Agnes and I gave her the name of someone who might be able to help her. She refused to even look at it, her son needed her and if she got caught talking to the druids she may have been executed," he said. "I'll take Milot and Iseldir to speak to her after I have treated the villagers."
"Thank you Gaius," said Gwen, Gauis gave her a small bow.
Gwen sat on the throne in the middle of the room and sighed. She wondered what Arthur and Merlin were doing and if they would ever make it home. Would she still have a Kingdom for him to rule if he did return.
"They will return soon," said Gauis guessing her thoughts.
"I hope so Gauis," she replied with a smile, Gauis turned and left for the infirmary.
Later that evening Gaius found Gwen alone in her chambers going over the reports from the patrols. Gaius told her he had taken Milot and Iseldir to look at young Tam and they had found evidence of a curse. Agnes didn't want them to help until she was sure that she wouldn't get into trouble. Gwen promised to put it in writing that she would not be punished for accepting the druids help.
They were going over the prophecy when Rose arrived with her report. Rose wouldn't give names and Gwen didn't ask for any. Although there were a few that were suspicious of the druids and avoided them the majority of women Rose had spoken to were happy they were there.
Rose told Gwen the people felt relief more than anything else that magic was now being tolerated. After all it wasn't as though you chose to have magic you either had it or not. Many of the people lived in fear especially those with young children. Children from a young age would be watched closely for any strange behaviour. Two of the woman Rose had spoken to had children who had been living with the druids and had recently been able to return home because of the change in the law. Even under Arthur's rule they had not felt it safe to allow their children to visit.
The people were scared of the news from the north. They were stories of large birds carrying sickness and disease that would spread across the land. She went rather red as she told Gwen that most people knew you could only fight sorcery with sorcery no matter what the King said. They were hoping that Gwen had more sense since she had been one of them and would ask the great sorcerer for help.
Before she left she told them that Walter would be spending the evening in the tavern with some friends of his. They would talk to the landlord and find out what the men folk were saying.
Gwen thanked her for her honesty and that she would think about everything she had said to help them to get through the evil they faced. Rose was delighted that Gwen took the people's concerns seriously and left to tell her friends what a great Queen she was.
After Rose had left Gaius looked at Gwen with a frown, "What's going on?" he asked.
"I just wanted to know what the people are really thinking," said Gwen moving her papers to the table.
"So you have asked Walter and Rose to spy on them?" he asked not entirely comfortable with the idea.
"They are not spying, they are just being honest about what they have heard. I will not act on what they tell me I just had to know the mood of the people. I do not want to rule as Uther did. I want the people to live without fear of speaking freely. I thought perhaps they only accepted the druids because I had made them," she said leaning against the table. "I do not want to rule them by fear and I know Arthur wouldn't want that either."
"Rose will tell you the truth?" he asked with a raised brow.
"I believe she will. I have known her for many years Gauis she was a close friend of my father, and my mother. She knows she can talk openly to me. I asked her to be my maidservant because I knew I could trust her."
"What if she tells you something you don't want to hear?" he asked.
"I didn't really want to hear that the people have still been living in fear for their children. Those poor children don't choose to have magic," she said quietly.
"Arthur chose well," he said going to her and putting his hands on her shoulders. "You have a wise head on your young shoulders, my lady."
She laughed, and smiled at him. "I wish he was here and Merlin, I don't feel wise at all."
"Well you are and as far as the women are concerned it seems we will have their support. I'm now curious to find out what Walter will report in the morning," he said smiling at her. They took their places at the table once again discussing the prophecy while waiting for the others to arrive.
