Mary pulls the blanket under her chin again and tries to soak up some of the warmth of her bed before she has to get up. She already shivers at the thought of the cold in her cotage. It must have become even colder, because when she exhales, fine clouds form in front of her mouth. It's no use...she has to get up. Many people have colds and she took some herbs like dried balm and eucalyptus from Gaius yesterday to distribute among the people.

Mary sits down at the edge of the bed and pulls the still warm blanket tightly around her shoulders. As quickly as she can, she hurries to the fireplace and lights the wood she has laid out. She hangs the pot of water over it and is already looking forward to a warm cup of tea. Her gaze falls to the window and she is amazed. The world is white. It must have snowed overnight! Smiling, she stands at the window on which ice crystals have formed during the night. It is still dark but the moon lights up the early morning with its blue light. The snow glitters and Mary rejoices in its beauty. The children will enjoy it, she thinks with a smile. She remembers how her brother and she used to play in the snow. It was the season when they could play together the most. Thanks to the cold and the snow, there was not much to do in the small village. And since they were often hungry, having to divide up their grain and supplies for the whole winter, playing together was a welcome distraction. Mary blinks away a tear and sighs. She turns back to the pot where the water is beginning to steam. She puts in some herbs and lets the tea steep. During this time, she gets dressed.

With all the layers she has to put on, time passes and the tea is nice and strong as she takes her first warming sip of it. She closes her eyes and enjoys the warmth that slowly flows through her.

A soft knock on the back door startles Mary half an hour later. When she opens it, Gwen is standing in front of it. Mary smiles at her, "Gwen! Are you all right?"

Gwen shakes her head, "I don't feel so good."

Mary frowns and pulls her friend into her home. She sits her close to the fire and feels for her body temperature. "Gwen, you have a fever. You should be home in your bed."

Gwen shakes her head, "No, it's the winter festival tonight. Morgana is probably waiting for me."

"Gwen, you need to rest. You can't work today."
"You know how important the feast is to Morgana. At the Winter Feast, the people are allowed into the castle courtyard, where there is warm wine and soup for everyone. It's a moment when the royal family is as close to the people as they usually never are."

"I know...but Morgana sure wouldn't want you to catch your death taking care of her today and then standing by the cold all afternoon and evening."

Gwen slumps sadly, "I promised to help her with her hair and any helping hand is needed when serving to the people."

Mary takes her friend by the shoulder and looks at her, "Listen, if I promise to check on Lady Morgana and help her, will you stay in bed and look after yourself?"

"You help Gaius each time with giving out herbal mixtures to people."

"Yes, but I already have some mixtures here with me. I bring them to the people who also have colds and are sick. We won't have to distribute them then already. I'll ask Stefan the stable boy if he can help Gaius with the feast today. But you have to go to bed now. Do you have a fire in your cotage?" Gwen shakes her head and Mary thinks for a moment, "You know what? Lay down here in my bed. My fire is already burning and so maybe I can check on you in between. My home is a little closer to the castle than yours."

Gwen says weakly, "No, Mary, I can't accept that."

"No argument." Mary pulls her sick friend to the bed and helps her lie down. Then she quickly scoops up a cup of tea and sets it on a stool beside the bed. "Here, drink this. I'll make my rounds with the sick and then come back for you. Get some rest. I'll inform Morgana that she'll have to make do with me today." Gwen makes no reply to this and just looks at Mary gratefully.

Mary hurries to the door, takes her thick cloak hanging next to the door and opens it. The air outside is very cold. She quickly waves to Gwen and closes the door again behind her. In front of her little hut, she spots Matthiew, who is playing in the snow with his siblings and some other children. The children are laughing and cheering. They keep throwing snow at each other and playing boisterously. Mary watches them for a brief moment, smiling. Suddenly, she is hit on the shoulder by a snowball. Playfully incensed, she looks around for the culprit. Matthiew guiltily hides behind a barrel. Mary also begins to form snow into a ball and aim it in Matthiew's direction: "Watch carefully, I'm a master at shooting snowballs. Years of training have made me that way." The boy chuckles in amusement. Since the tale of consumption, his affection for the young healer seems to have grown even more. Mary throws and Matthiew rolls in the snow laughing as her ball sails by far from his location. Mary winks at him and says, "I guess I'll have to practice more again." She leaves the kids to their game and goes on her rounds through the lower town.

Barely three hours later, she arrives back at her cotage. All the herbal mixtures have been distributed and she wants to check on Gwen before she goes to the castle to see Gaius.

Quietly she enters her sparse home and is relieved to see that Gwen is breathing deeply and regularly. She has drunk the tea and she is sleeping peacefully. She still feels feverish, however. Mary quickly gets some more wood on the fire and then heads for the castle.

A short time later she opens the door to Gaius' chambers and shakes herself to get rid of the cold. In the castle it is also cold, but much warmer than in her little home. A fire burns invitingly and Mary takes off her cloak and puts it over a nearby chair. Gaius is already sitting at one of his tables, bundling up the herbal mixtures. Mary sees that he has ordered Merlin to help. Both men look up from their work as she enters. Her cheeks are flushed from the cold and she rubs her hands together to get the blood circulation going again. "I've already distributed all the herbal mixtures I took yesterday. A lot of people have colds."

Gaius nods, "Yes, there will probably be fewer at the Winter Festival this year. Well, they already have the mixture. It will serve them well. Come sit down, Merlin here, would like to get out of here as soon as possible."

Merlin smiles in anguish, "I'm just not good at bundling herbs...But I'll go into the Darkling Woods and see if I can find some ribwort."

Mary says, "I have to stop by Morgana's for a bit. Gwen is sick and I'm going to help Lady Morgana instead of her so she'll be ready for the Winter Festival. Gaius, before you can ask, I've already asked Stefan to help you hand out the herb mixes tonight. That way I can be there to serve the people."

Gaius closes his mouth again, because he had opened it for a question, and nods at her with a smile. Then he asks, "What's wrong with Gwen?"

"She's feverish and weak. Probably a winter flu. She's in bed at my house and I'll check on her again later."

Gaius asks, "Good, why don't you bring her something to bring down the fever. Then you will sleep here tonight? Not that you'll catch it."

Mary frowns. She hadn't thought of that at all. "I'll think of something. Depending on how late it gets at the feast today."

Merlin, who is already at the door, puts on his shoulder bag and says goodbye.

Morgana is brushing her hair when there is a knock at her door. "Come on in, Gwen. I'm already waiting for you."

The door opens and Mary comes in, "I'm sorry Lady Morgana, Gwen is ill. If you don't mind, I will help you with your hair and serve today."

Morgana looks kindly at Mary, "Oh I hope it's nothing bad with Gwen?"

"I think just a bad cold. But rest will do her good."
Morgana nods, "Very well. I'm sure you and I can manage." Morgana immediately shows Mary what she had in mind and they set to work together. Mary combs through Morgana's hair and begins to put her hair up. Morgana watches her in the mirror. "You and Gwen are good friends." it's more of a statement than a question.

Mary looks up, "Yeah, she's actually my best friend."

"And your only one."
"I'm not good at making friends."

"I don't think so. You get along with Merlin like no one else. Though Arthur's close there, too." she winks at Mary.

The latter laughs, "Yeah, they like each other more than they'd admit. I like the contact with other people...but until I call them friend, it takes a long time. It has to do with my past."

Morgana realizes Mary doesn't want to talk about it any further, "The people love you. You're fair, helpful, and patient. I'm glad I can count you among my friends."

Mary looks at her in surprise. Morgana smiles, "I consider you a friend. We've been through quite a bit, haven't we? I also have a friendship with Gwen, even though she is my maid. We practically grew up together, and she helped me find my way around here in Camelot back when I came here after my father died." A sadness settles over Morgana.

Mary says, "Thank you, for your friendship." Morgana smiles at her. The two spend the rest in silence.

Final preparations are underway. Servants and soldiers carry tables into the castle courtyard and fill them with glasses, pots and bowls. Today, for once, the castle residents will serve the subjects. The king will open the whole thing at dusk by pouring a glass of warm wine to the oldest of the people. After that, however, the king will retire, as he does every year. But Morgana and Arthur always help energetically.

Mary hurries through the cold castle corridors back to Gaius. Stefan has already arrived at the court physician's and together they put the herbal gifts into boxes, which are then also carried down to the courtyard. Mary greets the stable boy, who is little older than she is. He smiles kindly at her.

Mary looks around: "Where's Merlin?"

Gaius rolls his eyes, "I have no idea what the boy is up to. He returned an hour ago and has been sitting in his room ever since. I suppose he should slowly make his way to the prince. He must be waiting for him. Knock on the door."

Mary walks up the few steps to Merlin's door and knocks softly three times. Since she always knocks like this, the young warlock knows who is at the door. "Mary, come in." It sounds softly from the room. Mary frowns, looks around at Gaius, who is still busy with the herbs, and then goes in to Merlin. At first she can't spot him, until she realizes that he is sitting on the floor behind his bed. His back is turned to her. He says, "Look what I found."

Mary walks up to him and looks over his shoulder. Merlin has a bird about the size of a hand in front of him. He is piping angrily. It is mostly black. Only the tail feathers are silver. He looks at Mary out of round black eyes and chirps helplessly. Mary asks, "Can't he fly?"

"I don't think so, although I couldn't find any damage to his wings. His parents must have left him behind. He was crying so pitifully, I just had to take him. But now I need a place for the little guy. Gaius won't be happy if I let him run loose in here."

Mary looks around and sees a empty basket for herbs in the corner of the room. She quickly retrieves it, puts one of Merlin's many scarves in it as padding, and places it next to Merlin, "Here, if he can't fly, he'll be able to stay in here." When Merlin picks up the bird and puts it in the basket, Mary sees that he has a wound on its hand.

"Merlin, what happened?"

"Oh, nothing bad. I guess the bird was afraid of me and bit me."
"A bird that bites? That's funny."

"He probably felt threatened by me." Merlin laughs at this absurdity.

Mary has to grin. Then she says, "Come, Gaius says you must go to Arthur. Soon the festivities will begin. I think we can leave the bird here like this. I'll bandage you up quickly and check on Gwen again later."

Together they leave the room. The bird looks after them unhappily. Mary pulls Merlin to one of the tables and gets bandages. It doesn't actually take long to bandage, but today Mary can't seem to get anything right. The bandages keep falling out of her hands. Gaius watches her, frowning: "Mary, you're not usually so clumsy. Are you all right? Where did you get that injury, Merlin?"

"In the woods. Wasn't paying attention." Mary frowns at this lie. She turns away, knocking over a chair that comes crashing to the floor. Stefan wants to come to her rescue and knocks over the box with the bound herbal gifts. Merlin watches with amusement: "Usually I'm the one who stumbles and knocks things over."

Gaius just says, "Indeed."

Mary hurries to the door and says, "I really need to check on Gwen before I go help out in the castle courtyard then. Will I see you there?" the three men nod at her.

Just as Mary hurries down the stairs to the main entrance, her foot gets caught on her cloak and she stumbles down the last few steps. She tries to break her fall with her hands, but a soldier standing at the bottom of the stairs holds her before she hits the ground. Quite surprised, she pats the dust off her dress and says, "Thank you!" The soldier nods at her.

"You were in a hurry then...otherwise my servant is the one who stumbles and is clumsy." Mary hears the prince's voice behind her.

Embarrassed, she turns around: "I don't know what's wrong with me today. But it turned out just fine."

Arthur looks at her with a smirk, "Maybe Merlin's character is rubbing off..."

Mary doesn't know what to make of this statement, so she asks, "Do you need anything from me?"

"Oh, no. I heard Gwen was sick? That's why you're helping Morgana serve the people today?"

"Yeah right. I'm just on my way to check on Gwen again."

"Well, make sure you don't trip again. Greetings to Gwen." when he sees Mary's questioning look he appends, "And greetings to anyone else who can't come today, in case you visit anyone else of the sick." He quickly walks past her to oversee the final preparations in the castle courtyard.

Gwen is asleep when Mary enters her small, dark cottage. The candle has burned down and Mary quickly lights a new one. She builds a new fire in the stove and puts the pot of water on it again. Gwen is pale and Mary sees that her friend still has a fever. She shakes her gently by the shoulder and when she opens her eyes, she holds out a small bottle, "Here, Gaius gave me this. It will help with the fever." Gwen drinks the vial dry and sinks back onto the pillow, exhausted.

Quietly she says, "I should get home. I'm blocking your house."

Mary smiles, "Don't worry about that. You'll stay here until you feel better. After all, I keep falling asleep in front of the fire with Gaius. I'm used to it that way. I'll just sleep there tonight. Here, I've made you some fresh tea. You go on resting. I have to go. The Winter Festival starts in an hour."

Gwen just nods wearily. Then Mary remembers something else: "Oh yes, Prince Arthur sends his regards." She anxiously watches her friend's reaction. Although Gwen is sick, she now opens her eyes and looks at Mary in surprise. "Th-th-thank you!" she stammers sheepishly. Mary smiles and then hurries away...Gwen and Arthur actually seem taken with each other. If only he weren't the prince and she a servant, Mary thinks sadly. She will try to take Gwen's mind off the prince again when she is well.

When it is already dark, the people gather tensely in the castle courtyard. The king gives a short speech: "Dear subjects of Camelot. Another year has passed and we have been able to harvest crops, trade, and despite some dark hours, Camelot has continued to flourish. We show how peaceful it is when magic is not needed. I thank you for your loyalty and your faithfulness. In return, today I and my descendants will serve you. The eldest of you shall step forward and I present him with this cup of warm wine."

An old man shakily approaches the king and holds out his hand. The king hands him the cup and then toasts him. While both take a sip, the people cheer. But suddenly it happens and the king pours the rest of the wine over his clothes. Quickly he turns away and so only a few could see it. One of them is Gaius, who frowns in irritation. But he can't think about it any further, as the king retreats and the people now crowd closer to pick up soup, wine and gifts. Stefan helps him distribute the herbs.

Gaius keeps watching Stefan or the people as the gifts fall out of their hands, oras suddenly someone stumbles and some even fall to the ground. As he glides his gaze to Arthur and Merlin, who are handing out soup, and to Morgana and Mary, who are pouring out the wine, he observes the same thing everywhere. Chaos threatens to break out. He turns to Stefan and says, "I'll just go quickly to the others. Just keep passing it out." Stefan nods at him.

Mary watches as the woman in front of her stumbles and knocks the man next to her to the ground with her, just as he was about to accept the wine from Morgana. This must be the third time this has happened and it amazes Mary. She quickly helps the woman up and checks to see if the floor is slippery. However, no ice has formed, which would explain the increasing number of falling accidents. It seems that people have lost all coordination and safety. Morgana, Arthur and Merlin also observe the whole thing. In addition, every now and then, for no reason, the ladle falls out of their hands or they tip the cups and bowls over.

Mary sees Gaius coming closer. He waves her and Merlin over. "What's going on today?"

Merlin shakes his head, "I was about to ask you that. You look like you have a hunch?"

Gaius considers and looks to the ground, "It almost looks like someone brought a wea-raven into the castle. But as far as I know, those animals are extinct." Gaius looks up and into the widened eyes of his charge.

Mary whispers, "An wea-raven? What's that?"

"Usually an inconspicuous little black bird. It seems helpless and injured, so people who find it take it home with them. There the misfortune then takes its course. At first it only affects the house where the bird is kept, but it spreads in a circle. The accidents and injuries start with small things. But they get worse and worse, until in the end people die from collapsing houses or fatal falls. I've only heard of one case where an entire village was wiped out."

Merlin swallows empty: "And how do you get rid of such a raven?"

"Actually, it's simple. If you take it to a place in nature where it feels safe, finds food and water, there it goes from being an wea-raven to a sæl-raven. It brings luck to the environment witch thrives and grows."

Mary looks serious, "Gaius, how do you recognize such a raven? The way you described him, he looks like any other raven."

"Oh no, no. He is black, yes, but his tail feathers are silver. And his feet are the color blue. Actually, he's a cute little fellow. Merlin, what's the matter? You're getting pale."

Merlin looks at Mary and she says, "Quick, we have to get the bird into the forest. I already know a place."

Gaius can't say anything more, Mary is already running towards the castle, closely followed by Merlin. Slowly he turns around and shakes his head. To himself he says, "Why do these two always get into all the trouble!"

Mary keeps stumbling on her way to Gaius' chambers. Merlin is also struggling with his balance and so they are both completely out of breath when they finally arrive at Merlin's room. The bird is still sitting in the basket and looks curiously at both of them. He chirps in greeting. Mary sinks to the floor next to the basket: "Well, you little troublemaker. I'm afraid we'll have to let you back into the wild. I hope you don't bite me when I pick you up now." The Little Bird snuggles into Mary's hands as if he understood every word she said. Merlin puts his scarf over it and so they make their way out of the castle. Significantly slower than before, to avoid any accidents.

A little later they leave the castle through a back exit, so as not to attract the attention of the crowd in the front. Mary stops for a moment, closes her eyes and breathes in the cool air. Merlin watches her and sees her cheeks blushing from the cold. The bird chirps under the scarf and Mary opens her eyes again. She takes the scarf back a bit so the bird can see where they are going.

They have to take pretty big steps because the snow is high and no one walks through here very often. Although the snow falls into their boots from time to time, they don't seem to mind. After a while Merlin asks, "Where are we going?"

"A hidden spot in the woods. I love it there. No one seems to know it. Only Gaius knows where it is and usually finds me there when he's looking for me."

"You like being out in nature, don't you?"

"Yes, don't you?"

"I do...very much...I wish I could get outside more."

Mary nods. Silently, they walk to the edge of the forest and deeper inside. Mary takes paths that aren't paths at all, and so it quickly becomes clear to Merlin why no one has ever found the place. It must be even more difficult in the summer, when everything is overgrown.

Finally the forest opens up again a little and they are in front of a small waterfall that collects in a small pond. At the moment the pond is covered with a layer of ice because of the persistent cold and also the waterfall consists of many icicles. The moonlight reflects blue on the snow and immerses everything in an enchanted play of light and shadow. Merlin sees a hare hopping away and an owl hooting softly. He feels a pulsation under his feet and realizes instantly that this is a place full of magic. The pulsation goes through him and gives him warmth and energy. As he continues to look around, his eyes fall on Mary, who is watching him with interest. "Are you all right?" she asks.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

Mary looks down at his feet and says, "You're standing in the middle of icy water and you don't seem to feel any of it..."

Merlin looks down at himself and notices he is standing in a small stream leading away from the pond. Surprised, he takes a step onto the snow-covered bank. He turns around and says, "It's beautiful here. How did no one else ever notice?"

Mary smiles, "It's pretty hidden. And especially in the spring and summer rather troublesome to find here. That's why I think it's the perfect place for the little pip-squeak." She looks to the bird, which sits quietly in her hand, looking around with interest. "I already know a place where he'll be protected, too. There's an old oak tree back there. It has an abandoned foxhole under its roots."

"Hm, but there he is an easy victim if a fox comes again."

"That's what's so special about this place. There are so many different animals here, but none hurt the other. The strong even seem to protect the weak. I've been able to observe that a few times. I can't put my finger on it, but the only thing that comes to mind about this place is peace, life, and...magic."

Merlin looks at her in amazement. Mary can sense the magic in this place? Cautiously, he asks, "Can you feel all this?"

Mary places the small bird in front of said foxhole and gives it a gentle push, causing the bird to disappear through the hole. "I just notice the peace that reigns here...every living thing has its job, even the plants. The water is always bubbling, even when other streams are dry. And there is a constant hum of life in the air. Oh you must think I'm crazy, but I think sometimes that's what magic must feel like..." Merlin has listened to her wordlessly. Now he says, "Magic is forbidden here in Camelot, after all."

Mary looks around sadly, "Yes. I hope no one ever finds this magical place."

"So you don't think magic is a bad thing?"
"Merlin, you should know me by now. I don't condemn magic. I think, like Gaius, that it is neither bad nor good. I once knew someone with magic...he only used it for good. He was a kind-hearted person."

"What happened?"

Mary turns away, "We should go. Your feet are still freezing after the ice bath and Pieps seems to like it, in his new place." As if he heard her, the little bird hops out of the cave and toward Mary. She bends down to him and strokes his little head, "Well, do you like it?" He chirps and grabs Merlin's scarf, which she still holds in her hand. Slowly, the little raven pulls the scarf to the cave entrance and disappears into it.

Merlin says, "There goes one of my scarves. That way he'll be nice and warm and comfortable."

Together they walk back to the castle. Merlin notices a sadness around Mary that wasn't there before, and he wonders if it's because of the person she had known with magic. She obviously didn't want to talk about it. Silently they walk side by side and the further away they are from the magical place, the more Merlin notices the cold in his feet. Shortly before reaching the castle, he feels so cold that his teeth chatter uncontrollably. He can no longer feel his feet, so he stumbles rather than walks up the stairs. Mary helps him and together they stumble into Gaius' chambers. The physician, who has also returned from the Winter Festival a few minutes ago, turns around in surprise. "Ah, there you are. But now I want to know who brought the bird here and where you were now! Merlin. You look terrible...what happened."

Since Merlin is shivering so much, Mary does the talking while she puts water over the fire for Merlin: "Merlin found the bird in the forest this morning. And since he looked lost, he took him. We both thought he was hurt. But now we've released him at my retreat and he already seems comfortable there. Merlin here, however, landed with his feet in the icy creek, which is why he'll probably catch his death now if we don't warm him up quickly." Gaius nods and comes to Merlin with a blanket, who is sitting shivering in front of the fire.

Mary asks, "How did it go at the Winter Feast? Has the chaos died down?"

The old man smiles with relief, "Yes, once you left with the bird, everything was as usual. The king even showed himself again and the people went home satisfied. It was a nice feast."

Mary pours warm water into a basin and places it in front of Merlin. Gaius helps him take off his boots and ice-cold socks. Slowly, the young sorcerer drops his icy feet into the warm water, which stings him like a thousand fine needles. Mary sits down next to him by the warming fire and so they sit for a long time telling Gaius about the bird, which now bears the name Pieps, and Gaius tells them about the feast. When Merlin stops shivering and the warmth has spread through his body, he gets up and wishes the other two a good night. Mary gets a blanket ready on the bench next to the fireplace and then goes to the door again. Gaius asks, "And where are you going now at such a late hour?"

"I need to check on Gwen again."

"No you don't. I went to see her after the feast and brought her soup and warm wine. My remedy seems to be helping. She was awake and fever free. I think in a day or two she'll be all better." Glancing over to Merlin's room, where the young man can be heard sneezing, he says, "But we'll probably have a new patient by then."

Mary lies down with a tired smile, "I'm glad Gwen is better!" Exhaustet she falls to sleep.