"Merlin! Try and keep up," Arthur hissed through clenched teeth.

They had given Sam ample enough time to get things ready for them and were now making their way to the stables and had worked out a good way to try and do so unnoticed.

"this is harder than it looks! they aren't exactly light weight you know."

Using a laundry cart, Edwin had Elaina curled around him with a number of sheets untidily thrown over their forms to hide them better. Unfortunately, merlin was tasked in pushing them around and it wasn't easy with his co-ordination to go around the bends of the castle, and his stowaways were constantly at risk of toppling over.

"can't you help!" he whined, as he felt ready for his arms to drop off with a way to go yet before he could have a rest.

"I can't exactly be seen with dirty laundry now can I!" Arthur snapped, tapping the side of his head, "think, will you merlin!"

He was muffled a little under the sheets, but Edwin had enough of hearing the squabbles between the prince and servant "yes, because you're bickering won't go unnoticed either."

merlin poked what he hoped was Edwin and not Elaina, who Gaius had wrapped up warmly and entrusted to them, saying he wanted them to bring her back alive and well, to argue with and to see smile brightly like she used to. swearing that he would never again see to a daughter of Gorlois on their death bed, most of all Elaina who held so much promise.

"hey, laundry doesn't talk," Merlin warned.

Arthur hushed them as they were coming to the courtyard and suddenly the early morning was already aglow from candlelight without the sun, bathing and casting shadows of the mourners come for Elaina. Some sang songs from their churches, sweet hymns of comfort, while others stood silently in contemplation of the young lady who could not be an exception to the dangers of the world, no matter her title.

There was a little chatter between the people, sharing in stories of the girl and the woman, how wild she had been, kind, the people's princess without a crown. Edwin listened to everything intently, clutching Elaina closer as if he could squeeze her back to life and health. It was an honour to be touching her, to be the one who would risk everything to save her, as he knew that her worth was more than gold and she had a people to return to and continue to be the light of as it wasn't something reserved just for him.

The wheel of the laundry cart squealed and it unfortunately drew some eyes, which widened at the blood stains triggering another wave of tears and loud sobbing. Doubtless they believed that merlin was taking them to be burned, which they had wanted and that was usually done behind the stables.

Arthur had drawn his hood, garbed in some of Gaius's spare clothes to pass as another servant and he looked up without thinking, at Elaina's window. For a moment he was stunned at a figure behind the glass, but as he squinted he made it out to be morgana in her sister's room. It must be her way of coping, to be surrounded by her things. He hadn't contemplated inviting her along on this quest and she will likely be furious when she finds her sister missing, but then if she hadn't visited her at this point, was she ever going to. He stopped in his tracks, with merlin nearly running against his heels he still didn't move.

'just what is it morgana?'

Merlin didn't dare say his name, so he grunted loudly to get the prince's attention.

Arthur finally collected himself and continued on, needing to get the mission underway to this lake like somehow it was his driving force for things getting back to normal in the castle by reconciliation between sisters, with Elaina's recovery a fresh start for her and morgana.

"hurry sirs, hurry."

Sam was looking flushed when peeking out the stable doors, with his whispers resonating like he couldn't quite grasp the concept that lowering the voice was part of the action. However, people were used to his strange behaviour and carried on ignoring him, yet it was clear he was uneasy with the secrecy he was bound to.

Although, when they got inside the stable boy had made good on his promise, make shifting a bed for Elaina to rest in and drawing the wagons canopy close, so that no one could see the three men hiding inside with her. He had also loaded in the supplies Edwin and merlin had prepared.

"merlin, go set a fire like people would expect."

He took the sheets and ran off to do just that, quicker as he had his magic on his side. meanwhile Edwin lay Elaina down and when he did, he could see how her bosom was rising for breath again and another vein had darkened along her neck.

"what is it?" Arthur asked, when he climbed up next to them.

"the spell to freeze her has worn off already, I'll need to repeat it."

Arthur nodded annoying Edwin, like he needed the prince's permission to cast it. His magic was his to wield and he need not be granted someone's blessing to use it, especially the likes of a pendragon who already believed themselves to have so much control over his kind, in their defeat and outlaw of their craft. It was difficult he had to admit to be within Camelot again, thanking his stars he hadn't come across Uther as he did not want that to test his resolve, after working so hard to recover from his childhood trauma. As for Arthur the boy had not done anything to Edwin, only he still could not overlook the sins of his father.

Edwin repeated the same spell he had used earlier with a tiny bit of resistance flashing back, even though it had worked. The poison was fighting him, adapting to his magic to try and evolve so that it could succeed each time he used it. The poison was almost like a living thing.

"fascinating..."

Suddenly a cry was heard and Sam was pointing a shaking finger at Edwin, a witness to what he had just done. His appearance became that of a terrified child, paralyzed without the ability to run from the source of his fear, so he did the only thing he could and just screamed, with the colour draining from his cheeks as his eyes became two widened white marbles in his skull.

Merlin had rushed to get back inside at the onset of the ruckus Sam was creating and muffled it by his hands, which had to hold on with a fierce grip, as he was fighting against him.

He thrashed his head to the side, managing to get out a sentence at last, "my lord that was magic!"

Arthur was coming off the wagon from the side, rather than head on and was avoiding direct eye contact with Sam, like he would approach a scared animal, yet kept him in sight in the corner of his eye. He forgot that Sam had not seen Edwin in the room with Gaius and this wasn't exactly an ample first meeting.

The prince hunched his shoulders to shrink his form to match Sam's height so he wasn't so imposing, holding out a cautious arm that if anything was his readiness to knock the boy unconscious if he screamed again with one blow.

"shhh, yes Sam we know."

Within reach, Arthur opted to gently stroke Sam's arm instead, hoping it to be a reassuring touch to regain his trust for him to listen and moved calmly, knowing if he carried on acting alarmed by his behaviour it would be off putting to Sam, so he softened his exterior.

"Edwin is a sorcerer, but he's a sorcerer who is helping Elaina. He's Gaius's special friend remember?"

By mentioning two people Sam knew were 100% good and were familiar to him, he might be more accepting of Edwin if they were leading him by example of their own tolerance of Edwin, despite his magic.

"you know Elaina?" Sam asked, tipping up on his toes to where she was.

It wasn't of any use for Arthur to do all the talking on Edwin's behalf. Children were always scared of the villain of the stories and Edwin had been depicted as such, not just by his history with Camelot but by his abilities Sam had just seen displayed. For him, he was the monster in the closet or hiding under the bed with no good intentions and that mist needed to be dissipated with careful handling.

"I do. Elaina and I have been friends since we were children. you know there is a field of wildflowers outside the city, with a tree nestled at the centre. We used to meet and play there… hide and seek, chase, some days we would even make flower crowns and I would be the king and she the princess, fighting dragons."

Edwin was humanising himself to Sam from the monster he saw him as. He was showing Sam that he wasn't a threat and that the monster was actually just a man same as him, who had the same enjoyments as the stableboy as well, to help him self-regulate what it is he feared in Edwin, which was just one part of him and that was his magic.

"your right of course some people have done terrible things with their magic. Elaina she too was scared when we met, but then we found an injured bird with a broken wing, it wouldn't last on the ground so I fixed it with a spell and it soared high into the clouds again. After that, when she saw I used my magic for good she never minded. Well Sam, someone has injured Elaina's wings and she can't fly same as that bird. So, I'm here to fix her."

If Edwin had denied his magic or called Sam ridiculous, then it wouldn't have validated his fears to make them feel important and he would remain standoffish, but to address it allowed him to process it, with Edwin's reassurance that he meant well just as the story indicated. It just gave Sam some encouragement to manage his fears and gave him the control to do so and to be inspired by Elaina's acceptance.

"well…any friend of Elaina's is a friend of mine."

The boy couldn't comprehend it, having been taught from birth that those who were sorcerers were bad people and should not be affiliated with. However, he knew that the lady Elaina didn't like people who were mean or had no honour. His mother said that Elaina had a good sense of character and that he should trust what she did. Doing that hadn't led the boy astray thus far, so why would it be any different now he asked himself? Besides if Elaina came back fit and healthy then that would be all the proof he needed.

"ok mister, we better get going then."