"Every Bit" (Rose)
All three of us wake, and cautiously ready ourselves for the day ahead. "You know," Gwen says with thoughtful concern, "They'll probably be after you, too, Rose."
I feel my face fall, but make an effort to still my fear. "I know. But once we show them Merlin is innocent, there will be no cause to worry."
Gwen nods solemnly, as Merlin says, "We need to force the goblin out of Gaius."
"And how do we do that?" she asks.
Merlin shakes his head. "I don't know … I'll try to sneak back to Gaius's chambers. Maybe I can find something in one of his books."
"I'll help you," I offer.
"What can I do?" Gwen inquires eagerly.
"Well, we need to convince Arthur," Merlin admits with a hint of begging in his tone. "Maybe if you speak to him, he might listen to you."
Her expression changes to exasperation, "No, I can't."
"Why?" Merlin quizzes.
"After what happened in the council yesterday, I'll never be able to look Arthur in the face again," she says, horrified.
"I know," Merlin agrees. "It's embarrassing."
"Not helping," I comment.
"It's more than embarrassing, Merlin," she says in desperation. "I cannot face him ever."
"Come on, Gwen," he says, trying to make light. "It's not that bad. All girls do it, don't they?"
"Not in public!" she protests. "And certainly not in front of the man they have feelings for."
"You still have feelings for Arthur?" he asks coyly, in a low voice.
She pauses. "Not that it matters now, because he will never be able to look at me in the same way again."
"Gwen," Merlin walks over to her. "If Arthur likes you, he likes you, warts and farts and all."
I smile softly at his tenderness. "He's right, you know," I add.
"Merlin, I haven't got any warts," she denies.
"Then … you'll talk to him?" he asks once more with childlike hope.
At first she looks doubtful, and then Merlin scrunches up a silly, pained smile. She huffs out a breath and agrees without saying.
Clearly not wanting to prolong any further conversation on the previous subject, Gwen rushes out the door. "You handled that well," I lightly tease.
Merlin gives a small laugh, "I don't know why girls feel so strangely about perfectly natural things."
"Boys do it, too, you realize." I correct.
"Do we now?" he quizzes.
I nod with a smile. "Think about it. Most men feel funny about not being as strong as the next, or the fact that they may be more sensitive, or most of all…They feel strangely for falling in love."
Merlin's face drops for a split second. "I suppose you're right… I never thought about it that way."
"All the same," I continue, "I truly do think you handled her well. We all need to realize that true love is loving, even when someone makes a mess of things or themselves for that matter."
"My thoughts exactly. When you really love someone, you love every bit of them, from the way they smile to the way they read-" he stops short as our eyes lock, but he quickly looks away and stammers, "Th-things like that."
"Every bit," I repeat softly. "You seem to speak from experience," I trail off, waiting to gain a response of some sort.
"Perhaps," he answers with a quiet and shy smile, never quite making eye contact with me again.
"Come on, mysterious Merlin," I hold out my hand for him to take, and he does without a second thought, "We have another friend to free from a very different kind of prison."
"Once and For All" (Merlin)
You know, keeping secrets from my closest friend in the entire world is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Especially when our talks open so many doors for me to just be honest about what I feel for her. Then I remember that I'm doing what I am to keep her safe.
When we reach the chambers, we are both thankful and worried to find that Gaius, once again, is not home. We locate the bestiary that has yet to be returned to the library and find the pages that describe goblins and their behaviors.
"'Should the host-body perish, so shall the goblin if it fails to leave before death takes its hold.'" Rose reads the passage aloud. She pauses, "Do you think..this would work?"
"I'm not sure," I say. "Let's take the book with us and discuss it in safer quarters."
"Superb idea," she replies, swiftly shutting the book and tucking it under her arm. "We'd better get out of here."
We scurry through the streets and slink back into Gwen's home.
"I feel ridiculous having to sneak around in broad daylight," Rose remarks.
"You get used to it," I comment, and we both laugh.
As our laughter subsides we begin discussing and planning our next move. Shortly after we reach a heavy conclusion, Guinevere slips through the door looking peaked.
"Are you alright, Gwen?" Rose asks, eyes full of concern.
"I have something to tell you two," Gwen begins. "But you absolutely must promise not to make more of it than it is."
Rose and I exchange glances, and she gives me the "go ahead" look. "We promise."
Gwen then launches into her story of what happened when she went to find Arthur.
When her story ends, I can hardly think of how to respond. I gather all my self-control and ask in all seriousness, "Arthur's a donkey?"
"He's got the ears..of a donkey," Gwen says, maintaining her composure, "And the voice."
"Oh, no," Rose's tone cracks ever so slightly. I know she is concerned, but the mental picture is just too much. I almost lose it … Almost.
"He's braying," Gwen continues.
"He's..braying?" I ask, losing a bit of my cool. She nods, trying not to make eye contact. I clear my throat, trying to stall the laughter. As I open my mouth to speak, I have to clamp it shut. Finally my smile breaks through and some laughter escapes.
"It's not funny, Merlin," Gwen says as she lets a small laugh or two slip.
"Oh. No, no, of course not," I say, regaining myself for a split second. "Arthur with the ears of a donkey, what's funny about that?"
Neither of the girls can stand it any longer. We all burst into chuckles. "He just looked so pitiful," Gwen says as she steps over to us. "I've never seen Arthur look like that."
I cover my mouth, removing it to laugh again.
"Did you find anything?" Gwen inquires, trying to get us all back into the correct mindset.
"Yes, actually," Rose answers, looking over to me.
"I think so," I begin leaning over, placing my hands on the table at the sides of the book I brought, which now lies open, turned to the appropriate page. "If the host body dies, the goblin dies with it. So if Gaius is dying, the goblin will be forced to leave him."
Gwen surveys my face for a second, mouth open. "You want to kill Gaius?"
"Of course not," Rose reassures, then falters, "Well …"
"Just briefly," I admit, feeling guilty. I mean, I know this is what I have to do, but I will hold myself accountable forever if something goes wrong. "Once the goblin's out of Gaius, we have to trap it in a box lined with lead," I continue, walking around the table to the nearby window. I peak out of it to see if the coast is clear. I peer back over my shoulder. "It's the only container that will hold it."
"Where do we get a box lined with lead?" Gwen quizzes as Rose crosses over to me.
"Leave that to me," I say, as I open the door and we leave to finish this once and for all. "We'll be back in Gaius's chambers shortly. Meet us there when you can."