Am I the only one bothered by how much Merlin does without training? Life and Death magic done easily, saving everyone without effort... just ugh. My Oc, Daphne, has deep training and a vast understanding of magic thanks to Kilgarah and her own training, this allows her to make leaps, guesses and do things that others can't...

"See you in the morning." Gwen, after putting out her candles, said to Morgana making her smile.

"Thank you, Gwen." Laying in her bed, Morgana got comfortable but something stopped her. She wasn't sure what it was, an ill feeling, a foreboding. She had felt it for hours, but could not tell. It was like getting a dream, a vision, but something was stopping it. She knew it wasn't that though, something else was awry she just couldn't focus on what...

Sighing, she turned over and closed her eyes, trying to rest her weary heart... only to feel a vile, dark magic surge through her body and terror overtook her. All at once, all of her magical training kicked in and she let out a mighty scream, with hear and mind and voice working as one in a desperate attempt to save her life, but the magic was too much and darkness snuffed out her light.

Her last words, before she fell into the deepest sleep, were the name of her protector and mentor.

"Daphne... "

''''

Daphne was in the middle of carving a new protective talisman, straight from her new Grimoire designed to protect the hallow space that was her home, when she heard a mental scream of terror and anguish that cascaded across Camelot. The sound, the power, was beyond anything she had ever felt from a mere mortal and without hesitation she threw her arms over her head out of sheer instinct, almost cutting her head with her carving knife. Terror filled her as, after her shock faded, she realized the source of the sound,

"Morgana... what could have happened?"

Hands shaking, she reached out to her beloved student, only to hear a single word... her name, spoken in fear and hope.

"Daphne..."

Her heart imploded in her chest and she knew something horrible had happened, but what was worse was that terrible reality that until she was allowed into Camelot, she had no means to help Morgana.

All she could do was prepare and hope her beloved student survive what was to come.

"""

It took two days before she was summoned to the Castle, and boy was she ready for this. She had a basket filled with all of her herbs, she had been studying for hours to sharpen her magical healing. She dove into her newest grimoire, on Priestess magic, and spent hours mastering her craft to ensure she could save her beloved student. She was ready for anything...

Or so she hoped.

The moment she lay her eyes on Morgana's body, she felt a surge of hate and anger. Someone had attacked her beloved student, a loyal, kind, noble person who had never harmed a soul... and for that Daphne felt murderous. Her eyes moved to the necklace on Morgana's neck, the one she gave her, and she felt it's magic struggling against something powerful.

Gaius was in Morgana's room, alongside Merlin and Uther. and Gwen She knew this illness was magical, that was clear to her. Turning to Uther, she placed a hand on his cheek. "I will neither sleep nor rest until she is safe, my Lord. But this process requires time, go, eat, and ready yourself to embrace her when she awakens."

The man nodded, his eyes filled with pained tenderness. "I will go... but if you cannot save her... " The threat lingered in the air even as he left the room.

Daphne did not focus on Uther, turning to Gaius she snarled. "This is a mystical infliction, I can sense it. Why have you not allowed Merlin access to her?"

Gaius took a step back, he was far smaller and weaker than Daphne and he knew she could tear him apart without effort. " I did not know it was magical."

"How did you not? She has no other symptoms, her aura is almost not existent, and she unleashed a wave of mental power and anguish just two days ago?"

The man snarled right back. "Not all of us are so blessed with magic, my dear, and not all of us are so privileged as to practice the craft. I could not sense her aura as you say you can, nor could I assess her in any magical way. I did not believe someone could curse her from outside of the Castle."

Snarling once more at the man's incompetence, she turned to Gwen. "Did she receive anything, anything at all the day she fell ill?"

Gwen nodded, eyes wide. "Flowers, beautiful but we never knew. She is always getting things from Commoners, she is beloved you know that."

"I do... we need to add more protections to her room... I will craft them myself." Sighing, she turned to her student and kneeled, putting a hand on her forehead. "I can sense powerful magic, whatever it is, it is still in her... What could... wait... if it is not attacking her mind and it is not attacking her body... then it is attacking her soul. I can still feel her mind, barely but... that would mean it is only one of a few things... but only one thing is small enough to get in without being caught, only one thing is living and able to devour souls. My new Grimoire, in it's pages on curses and healing... it warned me of them, they used to be used to harm people or save them... Elanthia beetles..." Smirking, she closed her eyes and whispered a simple phrase in the ancient language, an entirely improvised spell.

"Come forth, ancient ones, and release your grip on this weary soul!"

And just like that, a beetle crawled out from her ear, into Daphne's hand. Morgana groaned, her powerful magic healing her quicker then a typical body. Her eyes opened and her mouth turned into a smile. "I should have known you would heal me."

"Always, my love, always."

"""

"This beetle, it was the cause of harm?" Uther said, looking at the creature now bound in a vial.

Daphne nodded. "Yes, we are lucky that it happened to be coming out when it did, it might have tunneled in and caused worse. Do not blame Gaius, he simply had poor timing, this little bugger is a tool for assassination, it was used in ancient times to kill entire families under the guise of a simple fever. I only know of them by sheer luck, I left the kingdom for a time, to study my craft after I learned by my old teacher, I heard rumors of old maladies, this being one of them. Chance saved your beloved ward, more than my skill I am afraid."

Uther nodded. "Was witchcraft involved?"

"Yes." She loathed saying, hating herself for her words. "They were delivered to Morgana in the form of flowers, hidden within and spelled likely to come out when she was sleeping. This was calculated. I would look for anyone claiming that they could just heal her, they would likely be the one who did this."

Arthur stood. "There was a man, horribly burned, he said that he had the cure for all ills."

Uther frowned. " Find and arrest him."

Shivering, Daphne sent her thoughts to Kilgarah. "If he is worth saving, send him a message, get him to flee... if he is a monster, then allow him death."

"I will, my dear, you were placed in a position without a safe way out... I am glad you saved Morgana, for what it is worth."

"As am I... if this person can be helped, trusted, let them go to a place I will find them. I may loathe them for hurting Morgana, but they may have used her to kill Uther, and that I can understand. They might be a powerful ally in the future."

"I will do what I can."

"Thank you... always."

Daphne would later turn back home, after Uther praised her, only to be pinned to the wall by a powerful spell. A man, covered in burns, frowned at her. "I was told to find you... you saved the Lady Morgana, so clearly you have magic... why?" Taking a deep breath, Daphne let it all out and explained as much as she could to this man. After what felt like an hour, she stopped and the man released her. "Morgana is a witch?"

"A powerful one, but she is more than that. She is compassionate, kind, loving, and warm. She is beyond intelligent and she hates Uther as much as you and I do. The man has been abusing her off and on for years, she has been forced to watch his evil for her whole life. It was my duty to heal her... now, who are you?"

"Edwin Muirden..."

"Why do you seek vengeance?"

"My parents were burned alive for having magic, I tried to save them... hence my burns. Gaius, who I was trying to depose, did nothing but watch despite being one-time friends with my family. He deserves nothing but suffering." The man spat out.

She smiled at him. "He does... now... we have to hide you, I can create a talisman to mask your burn, so you are not found... I need allies. I aim to save those accused of the craft, you can help protect, heal and guide them as I plan too... vengeance is wonderful and deserved but so is salvation for all of those with the craft and those accused without a trace of magic. Please, I beg of you... help me to help them." She hoped, beyond hope, that the notion of saving others when he could not save his family, would be enough to convince the man before her...

It was her only hope...

The man went cold and stoic... then a warm smile crossed his face. "A better use of my time... but one day, we will kill then both, Gaius and Uther?"

"I will hold them down and you will destroy either one yourself. They deserve it, without a doubt."

"Then I will agree... the notion of saving people under Uther's nose, it appeals to me. We need a place to put those we save."

"I am working on protective talismans, I am a new priestess in training, I serve the Callieach herself. I have a grimoire with spells of great protection. We will organize and create a place of protection but for now, a roaming band might be better, as with the Druids. We can discuss the plan as I craft you a talisman to mask your face... oh and you owe Morgana, you will help her one day."

To her shock, the man nodded. "You are right and I will."

"Good...good... now... shall we get started?"

Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.

This was easy to write. Merlin beat the Beetles with no healer training, Daphne is a well-trained Healer so it was easy for her...

Love, your Ninja Overlord,

Mika.