Chapter 52: A/N I don't own Merlin. Sorry for such erratic updating schedule, I promise I have a lot written, but I have to catch up to my other story, and also, I have school and guests and like, life, to deal with. Hope you like this.
"Okay, now where do I go?" Cassie mumbled to herself, examining the map and looking around. "Oh! This is ridiculous! Sweotolae mec þære brimlade æt þon breóstcófa ic bió sēċ (show me the way to the caves i am looking for)." she said, feeling her magic rise in her veins and show the path through the trees southeast in a golden mist.
Cassie followed the magical path through the trees until her horse could go no further, panting hard and refusing to continue.
"I know, I'm sorry. But I really need you to keep going. A friend's life depends on it." Cassie said, dismounting and conjuring a bowl to pour some water for him to drink.
"Cassie?"
"Arthur! What are you doing? I thought your father forbade you from coming." Cassie said, her heart racing in fear that he'd seen her do magic.
"He did. I didn't listen." Arthur said, dismounting and pouring some more water into the bowl. "Do you mind?"
"No." Cassie said, handing the bowl over and petting her horse's neck, trying to calm her heart.
"I didn't even know you'd left. How long before I left do you think you did?"
"I don't know, I left quickly after I got the map from Gaius. I'm not entirely sure where I'm going." Cassie admitted, turning around to hide her guilt and mounting her horse again. "Stopped a few times to study the map before continuing."
"Right, just follow me. I know where I'm going." Arthur said, handing her the bowl and mounting, taking off with her trailing after him.
"I should admit, I didn't think you'd disobey the King's orders for Merlin." Cassie said after hours of riding in silence.
"It was Morgana, really. She asked me what kind of King I'd want to be for my people."
"And you decided to be the type to risk life and limb for even the lowliest servant." Cassie said, smiling proudly at his back.
"You think my decision wrong, then?" Arthur asked.
"I think you made the right decision, Arthur. And I know you're growing as a person, as a Prince, and you'll be a great king one day." Cassie replied, going quiet once more as they rode on.
"Can you ride on through the night? We can rest. Gaius said we had five days." Arthur asked, noticing the sweat beading across her forehead as they rode through the countryside side by side.
"I can ride. I'd rather not leave anything to chance." Cassie said, wiping her brow with her free hand and spurring her horse forward, letting her magic flow into both horses for a bit to reinvigorate them.
"Yeah, you're right." Arthur said, following after her, looking at her in admiration. "There's so much about you we don't know, Cassie. I never would have thought you'd ride off into the night towards danger." he said over his horse's panting breaths.
"I've already lost one family, Arthur. I know the pain that brings, and I would do anything to keep from losing another one." Cassie explained as they slowed once they reached the tree line. "These are the Forests of Balor? Creepy." Cassie said when the foliage got denser.
"We should walk from here. We're close to the caves." Arthur said, dismounting and leading his horse forward, making sure Cassie stayed close by.
"You don't feel that?" Cassie asked after a while, her skin prickling.
"Feel what?"
"Like there's someone watching us. Or something."
"The Cockatrice?"
"I don't know. Let's move faster."
"Do you hear that?" Arthur asked, stopping and raising a hand to listen.
"Sounds like crying, right?" Cassie said, straining her ears to hear what he'd heard.
"Come on." he commanded, walking forward and slowing down when he spotted a woman in a tattered dress. "Tether the horses, Cassie."
"Okay." Cassie replied, accepting the reins and tying them to a branch that was sticking up.
"Hello? Are you all right?" Arthur asked her, walking up to her and kneeling in front of the sobbing woman. The pretty brunette looked at him momentarily before movement caught her eye and she let out a scream at the same time the cockatrice roared.
"Stay back, both of you." Arthur said when he stood up to face the creature, Cassie taking his place beside her and looking at him with wide worried eyes, jumping as it roared furiously. Arthur drew his sword, swinging it around to loosen up his limbs and crouching to be battle ready. All the while Cassie eyed them with horror, missing the victorious smile on the other woman's face. She decided to help Arthur out and threw her dagger forcefully into the beast's side, cringing at the infuriated roar that emanated from its throat once it embedded itself to the hilt.
"Sorry!" Cassie called out as it drew nearer, snapping its jaws angrily at Arthur as he swung his sword to keep it away.
"Stay there!" he yelled, not wanting to deal with protecting her against the beast as well.
The Cockatrice stood on its hind legs with a roar, jumping forward forcefully towards Arthur who ducked and rolled expertly under it, twisting the sword as he stood up and throwing it with precision at the roaring creature. The sword hit its chest, piercing the heart and killing the cockatrice with one final roar of pain before it collapsed on its side, dead.
"I don't know if you helped or not, Cassie. But I'm not getting that dagger from under it." Arthur commented, walking towards them and lifting his hands placatingly when the woman grimaced and backed away, shaking in fear. "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you. Who did that to you?" he asked, panting while she looked down at her arm.
"My master." she answered in a frightened voice. "I ran away from him. Please don't leave me." she begged, looking right into his eyes pleadingly.
"I won't. I'm not going to." Arthur replied.
"You can take me away from here?" she asked, the hope clear in her voice.
"Not yet." he said, walking towards her and looking over his shoulder.
"There's something we have to do first." Cassie finished softly, following his line of sight and walking towards the mouth of the cave, grabbing three wooden rods and wrapping them in the cloth she had in her medical bag. "Crush these please, Arthur." Cassie said as she took out the bowl she had previously conjured and handed him yellow clumps of sulfur.
"Where did you possibly get sulfur, Cassie."
"I have my ways." Cassie said vaguely, laughing at his expression. "I came across a quarry on my way here and bought some."
"Oh. Hang on there's no quarry around here." he said, crushing the sulfur in the plate with a rock he'd picked up.
"Which is why you caught up to me, Arthur." Cassie replied, squeezing some lemons and mixing it with the sulfur before dipping the end of the torches in the mixture.
"Shall I light it?"
"Please, do." Cassie said, handing another one to the woman before making her own.
"Why have you come to the caves?" she asked.
"We're looking for something. It can only be found here." Arthur answered.
"What is it? I know this place; I could help you." she offered, missing the look of suspicion that was making its way into Cassie's eyes.
"It's a type of flower that only grows inside the cave. It's very rare." Arthur continued, oblivious to the thoughts flashing through Cassie's mind at the woman's words. Something about her struck Cassie as unnerving and odd, and Cassie wanted her to leave, but refrained from saying anything.
"The Mortaeus flower? I know where they are. I'll show you." she said, stepping in front of Arthur and leading them into the caves, whispering something under her breath as she did so.
"Ahh!" Cassie yelled, stepping into a hole in the ground and falling forward, dropping her torch as she did so.
"Cassie! Are you okay!" Arthur asked, running back and helping her up.
"Y-yes, it's just twisted. You go ahead, I'll stay here. Please Arthur. Merlin's life depends on it." Cassie pleaded, not seeing the impatient woman's smirk.
"You have your sword. If anything, just yell out, I'm sure the echo will reach me." Arthur told her, nodding and turning back around to follow the woman once more, but hesitating a second.
"Just find the flower." Cassie replied, slowly getting up and keeping all her weight on her unaffected leg. "I'm fine, but I'll just slow you down."
"I will." he said, nodding to her and continuing on his way.
"Sweotolae mec mín sāwlunge friónde. (show me my dying friend)" Cassie said after a few minutes alone, taking out the bowl and filling it with water before whispering the words to the spell and letting her magic flow out.
An image appeared in the water after her eyes faded back to blue and the ripples faded away, showing a fitful Merlin on the cot while Gwen and Gaius sat on either side of it, looking down at him.
"Arthur, it...it's a trap. It's a trap." Merlin breathed out, his head moving side to side.
"His fever's getting worse, isn't it?" Gwen asked in a husky voice, her eyes red-rimmed as tears tracked down her milky skin and she caressed Merlin's cheeks.
"The poison's setting in." Gaius replied, looking at her gravely.
"Eft gewunigen wilgesiþas, þonne wig cume." Merlin mumbled, his breathing hard as Gaius put the towel back on his brow.
"Shh. Could you fetch me some more Wolfbane?" he asked Guinevere, hoping she wouldn't question too much what Merlin was saying.
"Yes, of course." she said, the suspicion clear in her expression.
"Merlin, you must fight it." Gaius implored the unconscious boy, praying silently that Cassie and Arthur would get back in time.
"Please fight it, Merlin. Please, live." Cassie whispered, knowing he wouldn't hear her and running her fingers along the surface of the water, watching the ripples distorts Merlin's face outwards. The image broke when the floor of the cave started to shake and the bowl tipped over, releasing the scrying spell. "What the- No!" Cassie breathed, standing up too quickly and forgetting about her ankle, falling to the floor in a cry of pain and desperation as she realized she should have trusted her instincts and insist the woman leave.
Cassie acted on instinct, using her magic to extinguish the torch so she could use it to help herself up to her feet, grimacing as she did so. She reached down carefully to pick up the bowl and left the cave, hiding it in the trees before she returned to the cave mouth, leaning against the wall with her sword raised. She used her magic to flip the dead beast over and summon the dagger, catching it with her other hand and hiding it behind her back, intent on using it should the chance arrive. She called her magic to her once more, using it to bring the bowl to her feet and fill it with water, muttering "Sweotolae mec Arthur." and watching as the woman sneered at him, saying: "The last face you'll ever see." before she left, taking the torch with her and plunging the image into total darkness. "Perra!" Cassie said to herself, shaking her head and tightening her grip on the sword, pushing the bowl aside carefully with her injured foot and straining to hear the footsteps.
"Ah, good to see you up, your friend should be up in a moment." she said with a sickly sweet smile.
"Who are you?" Cassie practically growled, raising the sword to the woman's throat. "What have you done with Arthur?"
"I am someone you do not want to cross. Lower your sword and I'll let you live." she threatened.
"Threaten me again and it will be the last thing you do." Cassie replied, pressing the blade closer to the woman's throat before she dropped it, her hand scorched from the heated hilt.
"Would you like to make it interesting?" she asked with a triumphant smirk, chanting a spell that took the breath out of Cassie's lungs. "Guess not." she said, her eyes still glowing as she turned around and started to walk away.
"You're dead!" Cassie gasped out, throwing the dagger hard enough to stop the magic and taking deep gulping breaths as the woman struggled to take the dagger out from between her shoulder blades.
"Fool! I am a High Priestess of the Old Religion. Mortal blades cannot kill me! You have just made an enemy out of me. I will watch you suffer!" the woman yelled, using her magic to push the dagger out and grabbing Cassie's neck, squeezing forcefully.
"I told you not to threaten me." Cassie gasped out, reaching blindly for her sword and plunging it deep into her stomach, coughing as her neck was released and the woman screamed in pain while she removed the sword from her abdomen, dropping it on the floor of the forest and using the last of her strength to teleport away with the quiet words: "Bedyrne mec! Astýre mec þanonweard!(conceal me! Guide me away from here.)"
"Coward!" Cassie yelled to the forest, falling to the ground and gasping for breath as she moved the bowl closer and looked into it, seeing a blue orb guiding Arthur up. She conjured up another bowl and filled it with water before quickly whispering: "Sweotolae mec mín sāwlunge friónde. Oh thank goodness." Cassie breathed out when she saw the same orb glowing in Merlin's hand and heard him saying: "Fromum feohgiftum on fæder bearme. Fromum feohgiftum. Hine on ylde eft gewunigen wilgesiþas, þonne wig cume."
She kneeled there watching both bowls with bated breath, jumping slightly when she heard a crunch of a twig somewhere behind her and missing if Arthur was able to reach the flower, tears flowing down her face as she turned back and saw the huge spiders climbing closer to him. When she saw him near the small opening, she scrambled to her feet, whispering "Ende." and putting both bowls back in her bag, calling the dagger once more to her and picking up the bloodied sword, using it to limp over to the hole where the blue orb floated out and reaching in to pull Arthur up.
"Arthur! I was so worried! Did you get it?"
"Yes. Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, eying all the blood on her tunic and the bruises forming on her neck.
"The woman, she attacked me and I stabbed her. She magicked away. I'm fine. We have to go. Now!" Cassie cried, letting him help her onto her horse and galloping off with him trailing after her. They rode hard without stopping, Cassie urgeing the horses faster and longer, wiping away the nosebleed as a result of the constant magic. "Give me the flower, Arthur. Your father's bound to have given orders to have you see him the moment you're back. I'll get it to Merlin quickly." Cassie said when they finally saw the white castle.
"Good thinking. Are you sure you can walk?" he asked, noticing her wincing as she reached for the small purse with the flower.
"I'm perfectly fine, Arthur. Gaius will see me once he's done with Merlin." Cassie said dismissively. "I'll gallop ahead, They won't stop me."
"You're covered in blood." he said skeptically as they drew nearer.
"It's not mine, and I have a cloak." Cassie replied, reaching into the saddle bag and taking out Owaine's cloak, fastening it around her shoulders as it flowed backward in the wind.
"Go on, I'll be just behind." Arthur panted, slowing his horse down and letting her rest before continuing at a slower pace.
Cassie galloped into the square, dismounting quickly and ignoring the jolt of pain that shot up her leg when she landed on the floor. She handed the reins to one of the knights that had surrounded her.
"Prince Arthur's right behind me Sir Gregory! I must go up!" she said, not bothering to hear their replies as she ran up the stairs two at a time, yelping in surprise when someone pulled her into an alcove. "Owaine! Please, I have to get this to Merlin! Challenge me later!" she said impatiently, the pain and her fear for her friend souring her mood with him.
"You're hurt!" he said when he noticed the grimace, tightening his grip on her arm and looking at her worriedly as he blocked the only way out.
"I'm fine! Now let me go!" she demanded, shaking out of his grip and panting hard. "I have to go!"
"Fine!" he growled, stepping aside and catching her when she fell as she took a step. "Cassie!"
"Take me to Gaius!" Cassie cried, tears streaming down her face, "Please!"
"What the hell happened?" Owaine growled when he picked her up and made his way up the stairs, seeing the front of her tunic covered in blood.
"I'll explain later! Just get me to Gaius!"
"No, you'll explain now." Owaine demanded, stopping on the stairs and looking at her. "I'm not moving until you do!"
"A man's life is at risk!"
"Cassie." he warned looking at her demandingly.
"Fine! There was a woman-a sorceress, she attacked us and I stabbed her with your sword. Now take me up!" Cassie practically yelled.
"Cassie! Arthur said you had the flower! What happened?!" she asked, her eyes going wide as she saw all the blood.
"It's not mine! Take it to Gaius. He'll know what to do with this!" Cassie said, digging out the drawstring purse Arthur had given her from her medical bag and handing it to Gwen.
"I'll let him know to expect you."
"No! Let him concentrate on Merlin. He can't do that completely if he's worried about me!" Cassie said, stopping her a few steps ahead and begging her with her eyes.
"Okay."
"Put me down, please." Cassie said, refusing to look him in the eye and limping up the stairs.
"Cassie." Owaine said, taking her hand and stopping her.
"Not now, Owaine." Cassie said, refusing to turn around and roughly tugging her hand out of his grip.
"Cassie, I-"
"No! I can't right now. Just leave me alone!" Cassie said, leaving him standing in the stairs with a pained expression.
"His breathing is much worse." Cassie heard Gaius say as she neared the halfway open door, seeing him bending over a table as she leaned against the wall tiredly for a moment. "We'll have to hurry."
"Why have you stopped?" Gwen asked, looking at him when he got nearer.
"The poison was created using magic. We may need magic to make an antidote." Gaius told her, gauging her response.
"But we can't. It's forbidden even if we could." Gwen said, turning slightly in her chair, getting even more worried.
"I'll try and make it work without it. Oh, I need some fresh water." he said hesitatingly, turning around and grabbing a bucket for Gwen to fill following her with his eyes as she left and bending back over the table, his back to the door. "Seópan…" he began, stopping to look around nervously as he was once again using his magic and then looking at his ward and nephew. "Seópan ærest wearð feasceaft funden. Denum æfter dom. Dreamleas gebad he gewann langsum.(Boil first the found potion or it would be useless. If not thoroughly cooked, it will be ruined afterwards. Joyless, protracted, he endured, conquered.)"
Since his back was to the door, he didn't notice when Cassie quietly slipped in, or how she watched him use magic to save his nephew, knowingly defying his friend and King. She watched as he set the mortar down, looking at it in disbelief while it sizzled. Gwen came running in at that moment, closing the door behind her and handing Gaius the water, missing how he spared Cassie a frightened glance before he poured the potion into a vial and went over to the bed.
"Hold his nose." he commanded, leaning over Merlin and pouring the contents down his throat when he opened his mouth. "Swallow, Merlin. Swallow it." he muttered, looking at him expectantly for a moment until his breathing stopped.
"He's stopped breathing. What's happening? Gaius?" she asked, her voice breaking as tears shined in her green eyes.
"His heart has stopped." Gaius said, looking at Cassie who was standing in the back against the wall.
"He's dead?" Gwen breathed out, refusing to believe it as the tears threatened to spill down her milky cheek.
"He can't be." Gaius said in a detached voice. "He can't be. It was his destiny." he repeated, standing up and looking down at him lying on the bed.
"It's my fault. If I'd have got here sooner. If I'd have been quicker." Gwen broke down at this, burying her head into his chest and sobbing while Gaius looked on in abject horror and sadness that he'd lost his nephew and failed his sister.
"No, no. It was me. I should've looked after him better. It's my fault." Gaius said, keeping the tears back and kissing her head.
Cassie couldn't stand it anymore, she slid down the wall from a mixture of sheer exhaustion, physical pain and emotional loss, not bothering to care when someone pulled her up gently and hugged her shaking form, keeping her upright as she shivered with sadness.
"That's disgusting." Merlin said, making Gaius open his eyes. "You should be ashamed of yourself. You're old enough to be her grandfather." Merlin said, pushing himself up and looking up at them in mock disgust.
"You're alive!" Gaius said happily as Gwen smiled tearfully.
"No, I'm a ghost come back to haunt you!" Merlin joked, being caught by surprise as Gwen leaned down and kissed him.
"Sorry, I'm just...I thought you were dead." Gwen said as explanation.
"It's fine. It's more than fine." Merlin replied, breathing heavily as he stared at Gwen. "Erm...what happened? The last thing I remember is drinking the wine." he asked, shaking his head clear and looking at Gaius.
"Cassie saved you. Well, Cassie and Prince Arthur. Speaking of, she's hurt." Owaine said from the doorway, carrying her over to sit in one of the chairs next to Gaius.
"What? What happened?" he asked, looking at the dark bruising along her neck.
"Arthur was the one who got the flower, not me. He would've gotten here with or without me."
"That doesn't explain what happened to you, Cassie." Gwen said worriedly, moving aside as Gaius looked her over.
"There was this woman, a sorceress. She knew we were coming and had a trap for Arthur in the caves, attacked me, but I stabbed her with Owaine's sword. This is her blood, not mine." Cassie said.
"So she's dead?" Gwen asked hopefully.
"No, said she was a High Priestess and that 'mortal blades don't kill her.' Stabbed her twice though, very satisfying. It'll be a while for her to get better. I hope." Cassie said with a smirk, smiling as Merlin let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Who would've thought you had that in you." Merlin said.
"Hey!" Cassie cried, elbowing him gently.
"Ow!"
"Sorry. I didn't think!" Cassie apologized as a few knights walked into the room
"I know." he answered cheekily, flicnching away from her oustretched hand as if she were going to slap him again.
"Sorry, my Lady. King's orders." Sir Gregory said.
"It's fine, Gregory. Can I change first? I have some clothes in my old chambers."
"Yeah, sure." he said with a nod, stepping aside and letting her go to her chambers.
"I'll go and- yeah." Owaine said lamely, following after her.
"Later, Owaine." Cassie said, washing her face of the tears and changing into a clean dress. "I'm still angry with you."
"I know. I was going to apologize actually. Not for stopping or demanding an answer. For putting Merlin's life at risk." he said, walking up to her and giving her a quick kiss. "They're expecting you, to take you down to the dungeons."
"I know."
"Are you okay, can you walk?"
"I can walk." Cassie told him, giving him a quick kiss before she walked out the door. "Ready, Sir Gregory." Cassie said, walking in front of him with her head held high.
"My Lady." he said, complimenting her on her valor as they made their way down. "He said to tell you not to go against him ever again. If you do it won't be the cells."
"Oh. Figured, to be honest. How long am I in here?"
"He didn't say, but probably a week. That's how long Prince Arthur is to be down there."
"Right. See you then, I guess." Cassie said brightly, letting herself be cuffed to the wall and sliding down to the ground, breathing out a sigh of relief as she took the weight off her leg.
"Sorry you're in here." Arthur said from the cell in front of her.
"It was bound to happen sooner or later. Where's King Bayard and his men? I didn't see them on the way down. Are there more cells?" Cassie said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
"Few cells down. How can you be so calm about this?"
"I was thrown into the cells a few times in Hispania. Pranking. Glorious ones. I was only there for a few hours at most, but still…"
"Who'd you prank?" Arthur asked amusedly.
"The King. And the princes and princesses. The pranks were very funny in my opinion. Although, not as good as you getting Merlin to wear that ridiculous hat at the feast. In front of everyone, although it does remind me of this one time I locked my sister in a closet and ran away with her clothes, she was being a complete tool."
"H-how is he? Is he…"
"Alive, Merlin's alive and it's all thanks to you." Cassie said.
"It really isn't. You were there, you helped a lot. You stabbed the witch."
"I called her something else." Cassie replied, her face heating with embarrassment at the praise.
"You're hurt." Arthur noted when she grimaced in pain as she shifted.
"It's nothing, Arthur."
"Guard!"
"Yes, my Lord?"
"Open my cell, and hers." he commanded.
"But my Lord, the King said-"
"I'm not leaving, I just need to see her injury." Arthur explained with a roll of his eyes, annoyed.
"Yes, my Lord." the guard said, opening both cells and stepping aside.
"How the hell did you ride like we did with your ankle broken?!" Arthur asked, looking horrified at the black and blue foot before him. "This is really swollen. It doesn't hurt?"
"It does, but I had to save Merlin. I just pushed the pain aside while I did. I think the urgency kept me going. And not stopping at all."
"So you're saying you've been ignoring the pain for a day and a half?!" he asked incredulously.
"Y-yes. It really didn't hurt that much until I was climbing the stairs." Cassie said.
"And now you're shrugging? I need to go to Hispania and bring back more soldiers like you!" Arthur joked, wrapping her ankle as best he could and calling the guard back while Cassie giggled.
"Tell Gaius she's broken her ankle and it needs to be properly set." he instructed the guard, getting up and going back to his own cell. "I'll get you out as soon as Father lets me out." Arthur promised.
"If I have to wear a cast, I'd rather just stay down here, Arthur." Cassie said, hating that now she had to wear the cast for who knew how long.
"Are all Spaniards like you?" he asked after a few minutes' silence.
"No, just me. I'm one-of-a-kind!" Cassie answered brightly, laughing at the look on Arthur's face.
"Yeah, you certainly are." Arthur answered, eyeing her curiously as Gaius walked in and began berating her for not saying anything before.
"Lighten up, Gaius. I'm fine! I can barely feel the pain anyways."
"That's not necessarily a good thing, my dear." he said, giving her something to bite down on.
"Why are you-"
"Bite down, you'll need it." Gaius commanded, waiting for her to do so before rebreaking her ankle and setting it properly with a loud snap that echoed in the dungeon.
"Gaius, I hate you!" Cassie said once her breathing returned to normal and Gaius carefully re-wrapped her foot.
"Yeah, yeah. I've heard it from you before. All you have to do is not move and stop complaining. I'll have to wait for the swelling to go down before making the cast. If you had told me upstairs, I would have given you something for the pain, alas, I have no more left." Gaius said.
"It doesn't bother me. Pain, I mean."
"One of these days, we'll figure you out." he told her, getting up and backing out of the cell, nodding to Arthur gratefully.
"No you won't!" Cassie called after him, laughing as she leant back against the wall of the dungeon and gathered her hair, braiding it over and over again to have something to do with her hands.
"You know, you're right. We won't ever figure you out. You throw a dagger with deadly precision and you ride, hard, for a day on a broken ankle, yet you've spent the past three hours fussing over your hair." Arthur said, looking at her like she was crazy.
"The better to fool you with, my dear Prince." Cassie replied with a smirk tying off her hair and tossing it over her shoulder.
"That's a dangerous look. It would even scare Morgana." he said with a snort.
"Thank you!" Cassie replied, straightening up when she heard the King's voice.
"You're free, Arthur." Uther said, having a guard open the door and grabbing his arm before he walked out of the cell. "But if you ever disobey me again…"
"Yes, Father. I understand. Lady Cassie hardly deserves to be here, she left before I even spoke to you." Arthur said, nodding toward where Cassie was sitting.
"You're free as well, my Lady." he said, nodding to the guard to open the cell and walking up the stairs, his cloak billowing behind him.
"You really didn't have to, Arthur." Cassie said, accepting his hand up.
"I really did. You have half the knights wrapped around your little finger, and they'd give me hell during our next training session if I hadn't." he said, putting his arm around her waist and helping her out the dungeons.
"Eh, I could've given you hell myself." Cassie said with a smirk, straightening up as she saw Gaius stalking towards them.
"What are you doing walking around?! Your foot's broken!" he demanded.
"I was just going to my chambers and Arthur was helping me." Cassie explained, looking down like a chastened child.
"Of course you were." Gaius said, looking unconvinced.
"I have to go." Arthur said lamely, recognizing the look on Gaius' face and not wanting to be around for the lecture.
"Sire." Gaius said, taking his place and helping Cassie along as he lectured her.
"Cassie! Are you okay? What happened? Gwen said you'd broken your foot." Morgana said, running up to them worriedly, her emerald eyes alight.
"I'm fine, 'Gana." Cassie said reassuringly, taking her friends hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.
"I can't believe you're still standing!" Morgana said, hugging her tightly and moving to Cassie's other side to help her over. "Let's get you to your chambers, you look exhausted.
"I am, a little." Cassie admitted, turning to Gaius and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks, Gaius. I'll be fine."
"I'll be by later tonight, check on that leg of yours." he said, looking pointedly at Morgana and turning back down the corridor.
"How'd you hurt your foot?" she asked as they neared her chambers.
"There was a sorceress, she made a hole in the ground and I stepped in it, breaking my foot." Cassie explained lamely.
"Great explanation, Cass." Morgana said with a roll of her eyes, opening the door and helping her friend over to her bed.
"How's Merlin? I left pretty soon after he woke." Cassie asked.
"Gwen says he's fine. But she was really worried about you. And looking at you, I definitely know why. You look horrible. Have you slept at all?"
"No. I haven't. But I'd rather we speak. I didn't even bother to ask how you felt, Morgana." Cassie said softly, patting the spot next to her on the bed so she'd sit.
"It's fine, Cassie. You were worried for Merlin."
"'Gana." Cassie said softly, reaching up to wipe away the stray tear.
"I admit, I was terrified for him. And seeing Gwen so disconsolable, I thought it would be selfish to do nothing and wallow. I'm just glad I was able to convince Arthur to go. What if that sorceress had killed you?"
"She didn't, Morgana." Cassie told her reassuringly, adjusting herself against the headrest and changing conversation. "Gaius said that Uther's sending Bayard and his men back, what's going to happen with the peace treaty?"
"Bayard's going to honor it. Uther was only reacting to the threat of an attempted poisoning, and the fact that there actually was poison that Bayard knew nothing of means neither party violated the terms and it's still valid." Morgana answered, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
"That's good. Did Gwen tell you she finally kissed Merlin? The doe-eyed look on his face was priceless! And the blush on hers."
"She didn't say anything to me. You don't think she knows, do you. Or suspects." Morgana asked nervously, twisting a strand of hair between her fingers.
"Maybe it just slipped her mind." Cassie said consolingly, "Maybe he's a bad kisser when he's sober." Cassie added with a teasing smile.
"I doubt that." Morgana said, her lips quirking up.
"Maybe she doesn't like him that much anymore, she's been carrying a torch for him for a while now, it's possible it was just that, a crush."
"I'll go get her, we still need to talk about what happened out there." Morgana said, standing up gracefully and walking out the door before Cassie could protest.
"Guess that's what we'll be doing." she mumbled to herself, waiting a few seconds before using her magic to summon the medical bag Owaine had brought back at some point and digging through until she found the vial of pain relief. "At least I thought to pack some, I'd be in agony right now." Cassie said to herself, uncorking it and drinking half the contents of the vial with a grimace of disgust. "Ugh! I hate potions."
"Tell me everything! Why didn't you mention the kiss? Was it bad?" Morgana said after she closed the door and sat back down on the bed beside Cassie.
"Well, he's not a bad kisser. We're just friends, now. I think. Maybe. Well, I haven't actually spoken to him, but I'm sure he'll agree. Unless…" Gwen said, trailing off nervously.
"Unless he feels different?" Cassie asked, watching both their reactions.
"You don't think he feels different, do you?" she asked, standing up and pacing the room.
"Don't know until you talk to him." Cassie said, to both girls.
"Yeah you're right. But for now, tell us everything." Morgana said, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. And so they spent a few hours talking about what happened.
"I thought I told you to rest." Gaius said with a raised eyebrow after he walked into her chambers with a sleeping draught and the mixture for the cast.
"Well, I haven't moved from the bed, I swear!" Cassie said as Morgana and Gwen snickered at the look on her face.
"Morgana. Gwen. I'm afraid you'll have to leave. She won't stop talking if there's someone around." he said, rolling his eyes at her affronted huff and giving her the sleeping draught.
"I'm not drinking that!" Cassie cried, making a face at the potion.
"It's not that bad, you know." Morgana said, recognising the contents of the vial from the door.
"Still not drinking it." Cassie said, taking it from Gaius and putting it on the bedside table.
"How's your foot?" Gaius asked, rolling his eyes and gently prodding to see the swelling.
"Fine, I drank some of this for the pain, still working." Cassie said, handing him the half-full vial.
"Too swollen still, hopefully tomorrow I can cast it." Gaius told her after a few minutes' examining her.
"Won't you lose the mixture? It'll harden by then." Cassie asked, looking worriedly.
"One of the village kids broke his arm. I've already put the cast on him." Gaius said.
"Oh, which one?" Cassie asked, shifting her position and wincing.
"You look tired, take the potion. Get some sleep." Gaius told her, patting her knee gently and standing up to leave.
"Fine." Cassie breathed, already planning on not doing anything of what he said, waiting for him to leave before locking the door and using her magic to bring some of the wood stacked next to the fireplaces to the feet of her bed. "Espero que pueda hacerlo." Cassie muttered to herself, calling her magic to the surface and whispering: "Sċiepe þæs aohangran anbewearp þá cryċċe (mould the wood into crutches). "
She waited with bated breath, but let out a disappointed sigh when all she could do was make two long sticks without an axillary rest.
"Guess I'll just have to make do with this." Cassie ground out, utterly exhausted but needing to speak with Merlin.
"Where do you think you're going?" Leon asked as she hobbled out the door, wincing as the makeshift crutch dug into one of her underarms.
"To see Merlin." Cassie said quickly.
"No you aren't. Gaius gave us specific instructions. Inside, now." Leon said, opening her door and nodding inside.
"But Leon-"
"No buts, Cassie. I'm not getting a lecture from him. Inside."
"Ugh, but I'm so bored! Please?" Cassie asked, smiling hopefully at him and batting her eyelashes.
"No, Cassie. Inside."
"Works with Merlin." Cassie said after a second, trudging back inside, annoyed. "Stay a while?"
"Yeah, well he's not a knight. Just let me change first." he said, waiting for her to go back inside, earning a glare from the small blonde, as he closed the door and walked over to his chambers with a laugh. "It was brave what you did." Leon said after he'd sent for dinner a few hours later. "For Merlin. Didn't think you had it in you."
"Why does everybody keep saying that?" Cassie asked, putting down the book she had been writing in for the past couple of hours and looking at him with a tilted head.
"You generally seem like the 'stay out of danger' type."
"Which is why I spent seven months traveling alone." Cassie answered sarcastically with a light laugh. "I don't go looking for it, but I will protect my family, no matter what. I already failed once and almost every last person in my city paid for that. I won't do it again. Not when I'm finally happy." Cassie told him in a soft voice, looking into his blue eyes.
"Owaine's a lucky man." he replied, not looking away from her. "To find a wife such as yourself. I could only dream."
"I hear Lady Elizabeth is coming to visit. She's very pretty, and tall. Almost as tall as Owaine." Cassie said, blushing slightly and moving on.
"If you're going to play matchmaker, do try to find me someone else, please." Leon replied, dropping his head onto the table. "She does not like me very much."
"Sounds like there's a story there. Tell me." Cassie demanded, crossing her legs gracefully and taking a sip of wine. They were talking and laughing until night fell and he excused himself.
"I should be going, it's late. I'll see you around." he said, lifting her hand to his lips and turning to leave.
"Bye Leon. I'll be sure to drop by with Lady Elizabeth and her darling dog." Cassie said, laughing at the obvious roll of his eyes even if he was facing away.
"I could ask Lady Morgana all of your dirty little secrets." he threatened playfully, turning around when he reached the door. "I'm sure she knows them all."
"No, she doesn't." Owaine said, clapping his shoulder from behind with a smirk.
"He does. And he won't tell." Cassie said pointing at Owaine with a smug smile.
"Yeah, 'cause he's scared of you." he snorted, an amused grin on his lips. "As am I." Leon said quickly at her challenging gaze, turning around and nodding to Owaine. "Gaius said she had to rest. Wouldn't take the sleeping draught."
"So, naturally you stay with her gossiping."
"We were reading, he wouldn't answer when I spoke to him. Bloody ignored me the whole day. At least until I had him tell me about Lady Elizabeth and that incident with her dog." Cassie added underhandedly, smirking at Leon's annoyed look.
"Oh, that was a fun feast, Prince Arthur's birthday." Owaine said, a nostalgic look on his face.
"You certainly had a better time than I did. Elizabeth is pretty, but not pretty enough to put up with her dog."
"Is this where you met the lovely Vanessa?" Cassie asked, her eyebrow quirked dangerously.
"Good luck." Leon said quickly, practically running back to his room.
"I'll get you for that!" Owaine called before his door closed.
"So?" Cassie asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"I met Vanessa after that party. But that was my first kiss. With Lady Genevieve, but I don't remember where." he answered, stepping closer to her and kicking their door closed.
"You don't remember where you kissed her, or you don't remember where you kissed her?" Cassie said in an insinuating tone, looking at him devilishly.
"This is how I kissed her." Owaine said, leaning down and kissing her deeply, hands on either side of her face.
"Hmm. it's a wonder you didn't marry her then and there." Cassie said breathlessly, her cheeks flushing.
"I didn't love her. And her brother found us and broke my arm. End of that relationship." Owaine said, carrying her over to the bed. "I assume you have to sleep with your foot elevated." Owaine asked, grabbing a decorative pillow and propping her leg up with it.
"I wish they hadn't seen it. I could've healed it myself." Cassie said, trying to get comfortable.
"Let's just go to sleep, lambkin." Owaine said, changing into his sleeping clothes and getting under the covers next to her. "Why didn't you just heal it when it happened?"
"I had other things on my mind, and then the sorceress was with me, and then Arthur was with me, and then I was surrounded by knights." Cassie said, counting off all the reasons why on her fingers and laughing lightly when he reached out to take her hands and stop her.
"So why not while you changed? It was just you and me."
"Healing magic requires a lot of energy. I could barely make those crutches over there from the firewood and that's rather simple, to be honest." Cassie said, turning her head to the right to look at him.
"Tell me more." he prompted, turning on his side to look at her.
"Well, every spell is different, requires different intent and concentration. Think of it as sword fighting. You use different muscles for every move. When you thrust, you can feel different muscles in your back and arms than when you parry or block. And every move has different steps, different footing. With magic, the muscle is the intent, the steps are the words, and if you're powerful enough or practiced enough, the words are obsolete for the simpler spells and magic. But, according to Edurne, those who can do some of the harder spells wordlessly are very powerful and very rare. She'd never met one before me."
"I always knew you were powerful, but to hear you confirm it…" Owaine breathed, kissing the hand he was still holding.
"I don't think I'm all that powerful. If I were I might have been able to stop the witch before she did anything. I should have trusted my instincts when it came to her."
"Don't kick yourself. You got a few hits in, she's bound to be in pain right now."
"I should have killed her, it's not the last time I'll see her. I can feel it. It's like- there's something telling me that- I don't know." Cassie said, turning onto her side to face him and wincing in pain. "Right. Foot. Forgot."
"I don't get how you're not writhing in pain right now."
"I don't like writhing in pain." Cassie replied with a teasing smile. "I won't lie, it does hurt, but I took the pain medication earlier and it's really strong. And I'm just trying to ignore it." Cassie said.
"You're too strong for your own good, my love." he told her, with a soft smile. "I almost want to never let you out of my sight again."
"You'll be sick of me within a month, my love. They do say that absence makes the heart grow fonder." Cassie replied with a small laugh.
"No, I will never tire of you, my Queen." Owaine said, pushing himself up and leaning over her, kissing her deeply. "And I will never tire of your kisses."
"So kiss me some more." Cassie replied huskily, her fingers entwining in his hair and pulling him closer to kiss once more.
"Cass. You should get some sleep. I mean it, you look terrible." he said after a few minutes of kissing her passionately.
"Have you ever broken a bone?" Cassie asked, choosing to ignore his comments about her appearance.
"Plenty, I just told you that Genevieve's brother broke my arm after he found us kissing." Owaine replied.
"Then you know it's a bit hard to go to sleep with all the pain."
"Why not take the sleeping draught?"
"Because I hate the way it makes me feel."
"Cassie." Owaine said in a tone that brokered no argument.
"Fine, but you'll have to sleep on this side of the bed until my ankle's better."
"Whatever you need, my love." Owaine said, getting up and walking over to the other side of the bed and laying down after she'd moved over, handing her the vial of potion.
"Thanks." Cassie said, drinking half the vial and handing it back to him. "Half's enough." Cassie said, scooching closer to him on the bed and laying her head down on his chest.
"Why use me as a pillow? We have two very comfortable pillows." Owaine asked, amused as he stroked her hair back gently.
"I like to hear your heartbeat and feel your breaths coming in and out. It makes me feel closer to you." Cassie told him with her right hand over his heart, closing her eyes and letting out a content sigh as he began to massage her scalp gently. "And your stomach growls." she added with a giggle after a particularly loud one.
"Sorry, no dinner." Owaine explained, embarrassed.
"There's still food left over." Cassie said, using her magic to float the plates over to the bedside table.
"You need to rest, my love. That means no magic until you're completely rested." Owaine said, shaking her shoulder gently. "But thank you."
"Yes, well the potion's already beginning to work." Cassie said, stifling a yawn, and taking the hand resting on her shoulder with her left, pushing closer to him and letting herself relax. "I love you."
"I love you too." Owaine whispered back, closing his eyes and listening to her steady breathing.