Next chapter for you! I hope you like it. I have a plan for the next chapter that is slightly different to the show, so I hope you like what's coming. Please let me know what you think of this chapter by leaving a review or sending me a PM. I'm loving chatting with a few people over PM
Hanniemango: thank you! This made my day
"Your highness," Juliana greeted, curtsying in the doorway of Amara's room.
"Yes, Juliana?"
"You are scheduled to go for a walk in the lower town today. I'm afraid Lady Morgana was suffering from nightmares last night so she won't be joining you."
"Very well," Amara said standing up and walking out of her chambers. "It's no fun without Morgana," she sighed, "she's so much better with the people."
"It's not difficult my lady."
"No?" Amara asked. "How would you suggest I approach it then?"
"Just be kind. They don't need much to lift their spirits. They adore you and they so rarely get to see you."
"Be kind," Amara nodded. "I can do that."
"Give them a smile, talk to them, ask how their day is. If you try and relate to them they'll appreciate it."
Amara had been walking through the town when she spotted Merlin and Gaius. "Merlin?" Amara asked walking up to him.
"Your highness!" he said in a panic.
"Are you alright?" she asked trying to peer over his shoulder to see what he was trying to block from her view.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine."
"Shouldn't you be tending to my brother?" she smirked.
"Gaius needed my help."
"With what?" Amara asked. Gaius gasped from behind Merlin, as he turned over a body on the ground. Hearing the gasp, Merlin turned to look, giving Amara a view of the man's body. He was terrifyingly pale, with veins protruding from his skin and only the whites of his eyes visible. "Good God!" Amara gasped.
"Merlin!" Gaius chastised as he looked up to see the Princess staring. "Don't get too close," he warned her. Amara turned to look behind her and breathed a sigh of relief that Juliana and her guards were waiting a while back as she had directed and they couldn't see.
"You have to cover him," Amara said walking over to a cart and grabbing a sheet to hand to Merlin. "This will start a panic," she whispered.
"You're right," Gaius agreed as Merlin covered the body. "People mustn't see this, not until we know what caused it."
"Your highness," people greeted as they walked past her. Amara nodded and smiled politely while they passed by.
"You don't know what could have caused this?" Amara asked.
"No," Gaius said with a shake of the head. "You should go back to the castle my Lady, it may not be safe here."
Amara nodded her head before turning around quickly and walking over to Juliana and the guards, "we're going back," she said without stopping.
"Guinevere!" Amara greeted with a smile as the girl walked into her chambers.
"I picked these for you," she smiled as she held out a bunch of flowers.
"Oh, Gwen!" Amara said with a wide smile as she took the flowers and smelt them. "Thank you! I adore them. Juliana," she said handing them to her new servant to go put them in water.
"Right away my lady," she said taking the flowers.
"Amara," Arthur's voice boomed as he stormed into her chambers.
"Excuse you," she snapped at his rudeness.
"Come," Arthur said jerking his head for her to come to him.
"You are so rude!" she hissed as she walked up to him, he softly touched her elbow and guided her to the corner of her room, away from the ears of the two maids. "What is going on?" she asked, now reading the anxiousness of his stance.
"I'm doubling your guards. You'll have two directly outside your chambers and three will follow you around."
"No, what, why?" she asked annoyed.
"Fathers orders."
"What aren't you telling me? Father knows I hate guards following me."
"There's been a death…"
"Yes I know, I saw it in the lower town."
Arthur shook his head, "no, another one. He was found dead in the courtroom this morning."
Amara's eyes widened, "Gaius didn't know what the cause was of the one he found this morning."
Arthur turned and looked behind his shoulders before whispering "father didn't want me to tell you, but Gaius believes the cause is sorcery," he said, making Amara's eyes widen. "I'm conducting door-to-door searches, increasing guard presence everywhere. Father believes the whole city may be wiped out if we do not find the sorcerer."
"Does Gaius know how it is spread yet?" she asked.
"No," Arthur sighed as he pushed his hair back. "Don't be frightened though. I've loaned Gaius the use of my servant to try and speed things up. Just be cautious ok? No more visits to the town," he said as he placed his hand on her arm to comfort her before leaving the room.
Amara was on her way to the courtroom that night to see her father when she walked past a window and froze. There were many dozens of bodies lined up in the square outside, all covered in tarps. Amara quickened her pace, "are all those bodies from the illness?" she asked franticallly as she walked into the room, her guards stopping outside the door to wait for her.
"Yes," Uther replied solemnly with a nod of his head.
"It's spreading too quickly. How is that possible?"
"You mustn't panic Amara. No one who resides in the castle has died yet, it hasn't spread here yet."
"Yet," Amara highlighted. "It could come here still."
"We can only hope Arthur's search has found some evidence or information as to the cause of this."
As soon as he said that, Arthur came through the door and Uther left his daughter's side and walked towards Arthur, "we've searched everywhere, the entire city," Arthur said glumly.
"Nothing?" Uther asked.
Arthur shook his head sadly, "I don't know where else to look."
"Has Gaius made any progress?" Amara asked.
"Not that I'm aware," Arthur replied.
"I want you to impose a curfew," Uther told Arthur. "No one is to be allowed on the streets after the great bell."
"Father," Arthur agreed with a nod.
"And cordon off the lower town."
Both Arthur and Amara frowned at this, "why?" Arthur asked.
"Because that's where most of the victims are," Uther explained. "Let's isolate it. Stop this disease from spreading."
"But they'll all die," Amara said shocked.
"Exactly," Arthur agreed. "What about the people who live there?"
"We can't abandon them. They're our people."
"Don't you think I haven't considered it? What else can I do?" Uther asked at a loss. "I have to protect the rest of the city." Arthur nodded before turning and leaving. "Don't look at me like that Amara. I have no choice."
"I know," Amara sighed, hating to agree. "It's just sad," she said quietly before turning and leaving the room, her guards closing the door behind her and following her to her chambers.
"Gwen?" Amara asked as she spotted her friend running through the castle the next afternoon. "Gwen? Gwen stop," she called, forcing her to freeze. "What's wrong?" she asked as she walked up to her friend, spotting her tear-streaked face.
"It's my father," she cried. "He has the sickness."
Amara moved forward to hug her friend in comfort, when two of her guard crossed their poles in front of her, stopping her from getting to Gwen. "What do you think you're doing?" Amara yelled at them.
"King's orders. She has had contact with an infected person, your highness, the king has ordered us to prevent all contact with infected peoples," he said seriously before looking forward.
"Let me past," Amara ordered, only for the guards to ignore her. "Now!" they still ignored her. "Gwen… I'm…" she tried to apologize as she realized she wasn't going to be allowed to get close enough to Gwen to comfort her.
"It's ok," Gwen cried. "Morgana gave me the day off so I'm going to be with my father," she said hurrying away. As soon as Gwen was out of sight, the guards relaxed and pulled their poles back. Amara could only glare at them before turning and marching back the way she had just come.
Amara was in the dining room with Arthur and her father, they had been told Gaius had an update on the cause of the illness. "Sire," Gaius greeted the king as he came into the room.
"Gaius, I take it you have news."
"I do sire, I have found the cause of the illness," he said, coming forward to put a tube with a dead flower down on the table. "It's being spread in the water." Arthur and Amara both went to pick it up when Gaius quickly interrupted them, "don't touch it," he warned. "I had this in the water for no more than a few hours."
"Where's the water from?" Uther asked.
"The pump from where the people take their daily supply."
"We have to stop the people from using it," Arthur said.
"How? That's impossible," Amara said, looking at her brother wide-eyed as they realized the gravity of the situation.
"The city cannot survive without water," Gaius agreed.
"Then we have to find this sorcerer," Uther growled angrily.
"I don't believe that they're inside Camelot," Arthur told him.
"Then extend the search to the villages," Uther snapped.
Arthur nodded, "we've started. But I can't search the entire kingdom."
"And I can't stand by and watch our people die," Uther argued. Arthur sighed and nodded before walking out. Amara nodded to her father politely before following her brother out.
"Have you heard the news?" Juliana asked as she walked into Amara's chambers to clean.
Amara turned away from looking at the bodies out her windows and asked "what news?"
"About Gwen's father."
"Oh no," she said sadly. "Has he died?"
"No," she said shaking her head with a smile. "I was just talking to Gwen then, he has recovered."
"Recovered?" Amara asked, walking towards her.
"Yes, all better. He's back at work, his skin is clear. It's a miracle."
Amara frowned, no one had survived yet, how was this possible. "I have to go," she said, maybe this was how they'd find a cure. She walked quickly from her room, the guards following right behind, and went around the corner into Arthur's chamber, "Arthur, thank god you're here," she sighed.
"I've just finished my lunch Amara sorry," he said walking past her, "I have to go back out."
"But I have news," she said following him.
"Amara, it's not a good time," he said irritated. "Go back to your chambers, or Morgana's, I can't stay and chat."
"But I have news regarding the illness," she scowled and Arthur stopped walking and turned to look at her, ready to listen. "My servant came in and she told me she heard of someone who has survived the illness."
"Survived?" Arthur asked. "That's not possible."
"That's what I thought. Arthur, it's Guinevere's father. I saw Gwen yesterday she was distraught. Her father's Tom, the blacksmith. Morgana sent her home yesterday, she was so upset, he shouldn't have made it through the night. My servant Juliana told me she just spoke to Gwen. Gwen told her that her father is better, he's back at work, his skin's clear of the veins. He's completely healed overnight."
"How?" Arthur asked perplexed.
"I have no idea, I came straight to you. What if he can help find a cure? You have to go talk to him."
Arthur nodded, "thank you, Amara, I mean it," he said, quickly running away to investigate.
"It's getting worse," Morgana sighed as she and Amara looked out the window.
"It's in the water though," Amara sighed. "How do you stop that? People need water. Arthur will find something. Maybe Gwen's father ate something that counteracted the disease?"
"Seize her," they heard Arthur say as he stormed into Morgana's chambers. Amara and Morgana looked at each other, having no idea what he was talking about.
"No," they heard Gwen whimper, and their eyes widened.
"Guinevere, I am arresting you for crimes in contravention to the laws of Camelot that you did practice enchantments," Arthur said as Amara and Morgana ran to the entrance of the chambers to see Gwen being dragged away by two guards.
"Gwen?" Morgana called out.
"What have I done? I haven't done anything!" Gwen cried. "Help me, please!" she called back to them.
"What are you doing?" Amara yelled at her brother.
"I found a magic poultice in her house," he explained.
"Well that's ridiculous," Morgana dismissed.
"You already checked her house, there was nothing there!" Amara snapped.
"How else do you explain her father's recovery?" he asked them.
"She's innocent," Morgana swore. "I know she's innocent."
"What can I do?" he asked irritated. "I can't turn a blind eye," he snapped before leaving the room.
"No!" Amara yelled as she stormed after him. "Arthur!" she yelled, but he just ignored her and went to walk in front of the guards dragging Gwen. "I told you about Tom so you could have something to investigate to find a cure, not so you could arrest his daughter!"
"I have evidence."
"The evidence is wrong!" she yelled as she ran to keep up with him.
"No, please," Gwen begged. "Listen to me. Please. I haven't done anything wrong. You have to listen to me, please. I'm innocent, I swear. Let me go!"
"Arthur!" Amara yelled as she grabbed his arm to try to slow him down. "We've known Gwen since we were children, she's not an enchantress! You know what father will do to her," she hissed.
"I have to enforce the law," Arthur snapped back at her. "I found the evidence, I have to act."
"I swear to you!" Gwen begged. "Merlin," she yelled seeing him behind her and Amara looked back to see Merlin being stopped by Gaius. "Merlin, please help me," she pleaded desperately. "Why won't you listen to me? Merlin, please."
"Arthur if she practices magic why is she allowing herself to be dragged along the ground? She could escape. Take her to Uther and you're condemning an innocent girl!"
"How do you explain the poultice?" he asked.
"Who's to say it's magic? Maybe she bought it from a stall out of desperation?"
"The poultice glows, Amara. I know magic when I see it."
"It doesn't mean Gwen caused the disease! Why would she allow her father to be infected in the first place? Gwen is a good-hearted girl, you know this. Stop it!"
"It's too late," he said as they approached the courtroom. "Now stay quiet in there," he warned before they entered. "You won't do Guinevere any good if you're yelling at father."
"Please listen to me. I have done nothing. Please," Gwen begged as the guards dragged her into the court behind Arthur and Amara. "I swear, I haven't done anything," she cried as the guards threw her on the floor. Amara immediately went to help her up, when Arthur quickly grabbed her arm and dragged her to his side.
"Well done," Uther congratulated Arthur. Amara went to argue when Arthur gently squeezed her arm to keep her quiet. She'd do no one any good if she started yelling.
"Why will no one believe me?" Gwen asked frantically. "He got better, he just recovered. I didn't do anything."
"I believe you," Morgana said walking into the room.
Amara ripped her arm out of Arthur's grip and stood next to Morgana, "as do I. Gwen is innocent."
"Perhaps this is a disease that is not always fatal," Morgana suggested. "Have you thought of that? Perhaps he recovered naturally."
"He's a blacksmith, he's strong, he's fit, he could recover from illness easily," Amara nodded.
"What of this poultice that was found?" Uther asked, turning to Arthur.
"What poultice?" Gwen asked. "I don't know anything about a poultice."
"It was found in your house," Uther sneered. "Undo this enchantment. Put an end to this contagion," he ordered as he stood up from his chair.
"I can't," Gwen said shaking her head.
"Then I can show you no mercy," Uther said.
"You wouldn't show mercy anyway," Amara argued.
"Amara," Arthur warned quietly, grabbing her arm and pulling her back so their father wouldn't focus on her. There was nothing he hated more than being contradicted in front of the court
"I'm not a witch. I don't know how to stop the illness," Gwen tried to explain.
"If you will not undo your sorcery you force my hand and I must find you guilty," the king declared.
"But I've told you…" Gwen begged.
"It is therefore my duty to pronounce judgment. And under the circumstance, I have no choice but to sentence you to death. I can only hope that when you die, this evil plague dies with you. Take her away," he said and the guards grabbed Gwen and dragged her out as she cried and begged on her way out.
The rest of the court quickly cleared out and Amara turned to Arthur who was looking down in shame, "now you feel guilty?" she hissed, pulling her arm away as she turned to petition her father to spare Gwen.
"I know Gwen," Morgana said stepping up to Uther, "she's my maidservant, not an enchantress."
"Have you ever seen an enchantress?" Uther asked, turning to face them. "Believe me, they bear no sign, no mark. There is no sense of evil in the eye."
"I have seen the way the girl works," Morgana pleaded. "Her fingers are worn, her nails are broken. If she was a sorceress, why would she do this?"
"We've known Gwen's family for years. Her mother was stationed in Sir Leon's household," Amara begged. "We'd have known before if she was a sorceress. Please, she's innocent. The poor girl doesn't have a mean bone in her body."
"Why would she kneel on a cold stone floor morning after morning when she could make these things happen with the snap of her fingers?" Morgana asked before she sneered, "like an idle king."
Amara's eyes immediately widened, Morgana always pushed Uther too far. He immediately went from listening to them quietly to angry as he turned to her and growled, "you have no right!"
"But you have the right to cast judgment on that girl!"
"I have a responsibility to take care of this kingdom."
"Gwen is part of this kingdom," Amara pleaded. "She is not the cause of this plague."
"I take no pleasure in this."
"But you are sentencing the wrong person," Morgana said, on the verge of tears.
"They're right father," Arthur agreed, stepping to stand next to his sister. "You hear the word magic, you no longer listen."
"You saw it for yourself, she used enchantments," Uther countered.
"Yes, maybe," Arthur admitted. "But to save her dying father. That does not make her guilty of creating a plague. One's the act of kindness, of love; the other of evil. I don't believe evil is in this girl's heart."
"The two cannot co-exist in the same heart, father, please," Amara pushed.
"I have witnessed what witchcraft can do," Uther said, scowling at the three of them. "I've suffered at its hand. I cannot take that chance. If there is the slightest doubt about that girl then she must die or the whole kingdom may perish," he lectured as he took a seat.
"I understand that," Arthur conceded before stopping as he caught their father's eye.
"One day you may become king," Uther reprimanded Arthur. "Then you will understand that certain decisions must be made. There are dark forces that threaten this kingdom."
"I know witchcraft is an evil, father," Arthur snapped. "So is injustice."
"And this," Amara said nodding, "is a huge injustice against Gwen."
"Yes, I am yet to become king and I don't know what kind of king I will be," Arthur continued. "But I do have a sense of the kind of Camelot I would wish to live in. It would be where the punishment fits the crime."
Uther stood up, "I fear you are right," he said and Amara began to smile before it quickly fell when he continued with, "she has played with fire and sadly she must die by fire." Morgana gasped and walked out of the courtroom before she could burst into tears in front of the king.
"You are making a mistake," Amara breathed. "If you kill her, Morgana and I will never forgive you," she hissed before storming out, tears falling down her face.
"Amara," Arthur said as he ran after her. "Amara, I'm…"
"It's not your fault," she said wiping her tears.
"I brought her here."
"You had no choice," she sniffled. "You found a poultice. I don't think she's responsible for that either, but I understand, you have a job to do. You know she didn't start this plague though."
"I know."
"Killing her won't help anything. He'll want to kill her first thing tomorrow morning. Arthur, please," she said taking his hand, "please, we have until then to find out who is really responsible, please help her."
"I'll do my best, I promise."
"I'm going to go see her, I'm sorry for yelling at you before," she said removing her hands from his and taking off to grab her coat from her room.
"Gwen!" Amara gasped as she reached her cell.
"Amara," she gasped and stood up before trying to move toward her, only to be stopped by the shackles chaining her to the wall.
"They shackled you," Amara gasped. "Guards!" she yelled, "guards!"
After a moment a guard appeared around the corner, "your highness?"
"Remove these shackles at once."
"She's a prisoner, your highness, we keep them shackled," he tried to explain.
"And I am ordering you to take them off this girl! She is not going anywhere, unshackle her at once!" The guard hesitated before nodding as he moved to open the door to Gwen's cell and unshackle her chains before stepping back out and shutting the door behind him.
"Thank you," Gwen sniffled as she stepped closer to the door so she could sit down and lean against it.
"I'm so sorry Gwen, this is my fault."
"It's not your fault."
"I'm the one who told Arthur about your father getting better. I thought it would help find a cure, not lead to this."
"It's ok, please don't feel bad."
"Just so you know," Amara said, trying to smile, "Arthur, Morgana, and I all screamed at father."
"I wish you hadn't done that," she said sadly.
"I'd do anything for you Gwen, you have to know that."
"Morgana visited me," she said sadly, "so did Merlin."
"Amara," Arthur called out.
"I have to go, I'll be back, it's not over yet Gwen, don't give up."
"Please, do me a favor," she asked.
"Anything."
"Don't forget me."
"Never," she said before running to Arthur. "What is it?" she asked.
Arthur grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the stairs, "I've tried, I can't find anything else. Father's brought forward the execution, it's to happen tonight now."
"What?" Amara asked spinning around. "No."
"He doesn't want to do it, Amara."
"Then he shouldn't. I need to find Morgana," she said running away from her brother.
Morgana and Amara were running to Gaius' chambers, hoping he'd uncovered more about the illness that might be used to clear Gwen's name. Morgana slammed the door open and stormed in, "they're bringing forward the execution. We have to prove Gwen's innocence."
"We're trying," Gaius said hoping to calm the nerves of the two girls in front of him.
"Please anything, we need something. We only have a few hours. My father won't delay the execution, it has to be now," Amara whimpered.
"Please, just tell us what we can do to help," Morgana pleaded.
"We need Arthur," Merlin replied.
"Arthur?" Morgana asked confused.
"There's a monster, an afanc, in the water supply," Merlin said coming up to them.
"An af… what?" Amara asked confused.
"Afanc," Merlin said again. "That's what's causing the plague."
"We must tell Uther," Morgana said.
"No," Amara said, "he will just think Gwen put it there."
"She's right," Gaius agreed. "The afanc's a creature forged by magic. Telling Uther wouldn't save Gwen. He'd just blame her for conjuring it."
"So what are we to do?" Morgana asked.
"We need to destroy it. Then the plague will stop and Uther may see sense," Merlin told them.
"And that's why you need Arthur," Morgana nodded.
"You need Arthur's muscle," Amara understood.
"He's our best chance," Merlin accepted. "But he won't want to disobey the king."
"He will when I'm through with him," Amara said taking off out of Gaius' room.
"I'm coming," Morgana yelled as she ran after her.
"So we wait?" Morgana asked.
Amara nodded, "start crying a bit," she said as she pinched Morgana's cheeks to flush them slightly. "He has a hero complex, he hates seeing women cry, he'll want to help."
Morgana sniffled a bit as they heard Arthur enter his chamber, as soon as he caught sight of the two forlorn-looking girls he asked, "are you two alright?" Both of them just looked down sadly, "I'm sorry about all this," he said filling in the silence as he gestured to the mess on his table, "Merlin's not been in today."
"It's sad that you can't clean up your own mess," Amara said quietly.
"Neither can you," he defended and Amara dropped her head further and sobbed dramatically.
"I'm sorry," he apologized awkwardly.
Amara elbowed Morgana, Arthur was weak, it was the perfect time to strike, "poor, Merlin," Morgana sighed, playing her role in the plan.
"Yeah," Arthur agreed.
"To offer to give up his life to save Gwen's," she continued. Arthur had told Amara what had happened while she'd been in the cells talking to Gwen. Merlin had confessed to being the sorcerer in order to save Gwen from the pyre and of course, Amara told Morgana. "I certainly can't imagine any man loving me so much."
"No, I certainly can't imagine that either," Arthur snarked and Amara looked up to frown at him.
"That's because you're not like Merlin," Morgana snapped back, recovering well from her blunder before as her words made Arthur freeze. "He's a lover."
Arthur shrugged, "yeah, maybe that's because I haven't found the right person to love."
Arthur turned to put some clothes away and Morgana smirked at Amara, they had him, "sadly the age of gallantry seems to be dead. You look around and all you see are small men, not big enough to fill their armor." Arthur rolled his eyes as he walked back over, he realized what the two were doing now. "There's not one of them that's able to stand up for what is right."
Arthur sighed, "what do you two want me to do?"
Amara immediately smiled, "told you it would work," she smiled at Morgana.
"Your idea?" he asked his sister and she nodded. "You have an evil streak about you," he smiled softly.
"We spoke to Merlin, he and Gaius figured out that what's poisoning the water supply is a magical creature called an Afanc. It's in the water supply we just need your muscle to help destroy it," Amara tried to explain quickly. "That will stop the plague and we can only hope that father will listen to reason after that."
Arthur nodded, "so once we destroy it, this will be over?" he asked and they nodded. "That might just work," he agreed as he walked over to grab his coat and sword. "Father was hesitating with calling the execution before I saw it. He's just desperate to save the people," he said as they started walking. "He doesn't want to hurt you two, if this works he might just let her go."
The three of them met Merlin in the square and Amara looked up at the pyre prepared for Gwen in terror and they all picked up the pace, Arthur already withdrawing his sword in anticipation. Merlin unlocked the doors to the water supply and they all stepped through the door. Arthur grabbed three torches and lit them, handing one to Amara, one to Morgana and keeping one himself. They started to walk through the cave system when he finally spoke, "you better be right about this Merlin." As soon as he said that a low growl rumbled through the caves, making the group freeze. Morgana and Amara gasped and reached out for each other's hands. Arthur turned to check on the girls and they immediately released their hold on each other's hand and straightened up, not wanting to appear frightened. Arthur sighed, "you two should stay here."
"We're coming with you," Morgana protested.
"We're not staying here to get picked off by this monster, we're definitely coming," Amara agreed.
"No," Arthur said firmly.
Amara frowned, "you're not the king yet, you don't make our decisions."
"Scared we'll show you up?" Morgana challenged.
"Father will slam us all in chains if he knew I'd endangered either one of you," Arthur tried to reason.
"What father doesn't know won't hurt him, I'd argue we're in more danger standing here than going with you."
"I'm telling you both, turn back. You could get hurt."
"So could you, if you don't get out of our way," Morgana smirked as she jerked her head for Amara and they both smiled as they pushed past him. They heard Arthur sigh before he relented and followed them. "How are we going to find it?"
"Just hope we do before it finds us," Merlin suggested.
"Stop," Arthur ordered and they all spun around to look where he was facing.
"What?" Merlin asked.
"It's just a shadow."
"Jumping at shadows again Arthur?" Amara teased.
"I've never done that," he said rolling his eyes before they continued walking. They reached the water catchment and noticed there were three different paths ahead. "Spread out," Arthur instructed and Morgana and Amara nodded, sticking together as they went down one path.
"Splitting up does not seem like a good idea," Amara whispered. They'd barely left their starting place when they heard a roar and Arthur yell out, "Arthur!" Amara yelled as they ran back towards the water catchment.
As they arrived they saw Arthur standing there with his sword raised in defense, "what is it? Are you alright?" Morgana asked fearfully.
"Yeah," Arthur said quickly to calm them down.
"Did you see it?" Merlin asked as he arrived back.
"Yes," Arthur snapped.
"What did it look like?" Merlin asked.
"It's quick," Arthur replied as he looked around.
"That's not exactly a word to describe what something looks like," Amara snapped.
Morgana then let out a scream and they looked over to see the creature standing just in front of her. Arthur ran forward toward the monster as Merlin moved to stand in front of the two girls. Arthur took a swing at it with his sword but by the time he'd followed through, the creature was already gone.
"Where is it?" Amara asked looking around frantically.
"I don't know," Arthur growled as he circled around trying to catch sight of it.
"I think it's gone this way," Merlin yelled, pinpointing which tunnel the growling from the creature was coming from. Arthur pushed in front of them to take the lead as they marched down the tunnel, as they reached the end, they saw the creature slowly coming out to block the corridor.
"How do you kill that thing?" Amara gasped, it was huge. Arthur moved forward and tried to attack it with his sword but he could get close enough to take a proper swing. "It doesn't like the fire," Amara breathed as she noticed it shrink back whenever Arthur's torch got close. "It doesn't like fire," she said louder and Morgana moved forward and waved her torch in its face to try and force it back. It roared and swipe its arm, knocking the torch out of Morgana's hands. Amara reached forward and grabbed Morgana's cape, holding her torch up as she pulled her friend backward.
Arthur immediately jumped in front of them when it got too close to them and roared. He held his torch as close to it as he could, slowly corralling it back until he got trapped against a wall. Amara went forward to try and help but Morgana yanked her against the wall where it was safe.
"Arthur, use the torch!" Merlin yelled as the creature came up on its hind legs, ready to attack. Arthur held the torch up at the same time a strong wind burst through the tunnels, propelling the flames towards the creature, engulfing it in flames. Morgana and Amara pressed themselves up against the wall, trying to shrink away from the heat as the creature screamed as it died.
"Are you two ok?" Arthur asked, running up to the two girls after the creature had perished.
Amara and Morgana both nodded, "father," Amara said quickly and Arthur nodded.
"Merlin, get Morgana back to the castle, Amara and I are going to stop the execution," he said, and the two took off running to the castle.
"Father! Father!" the two of them yelled as they burst into the courtroom they knew he'd be pacing in.
"You have to call off the execution," Arthur huffed.
"We've been through this, I have no choice," he said sadly.
"It's over, it's over," Amara breathed.
"Sit down, Amara," Uther sighed as he pulled out a chair, "you shouldn't run, it's not proper."
"The plague is over father, you don't have to execute Guinevere," Amara said as her breath began returning.
"What do you mean?"
Arthur went to begin explaining but Amara quickly cut him off, "there was a monster in the water supply, Arthur killed it," she said as she looked pointedly at Arthur. Their father never had to know she and Morgana were down there with him, that would keep them all out of trouble.
"Is this true?" Uther asked, standing up straight.
"It is. I saw it with my own eyes. The creature was causing the disease, not Guinevere," he agreed. "I destroyed it with fire."
"The girl could have been the one who placed the creature in the water, poisoning it, this does not prove her innocence."
"Father, please," Amara begged. "The creature is dead. No one else will be infected with the disease. The people that are sick now just need to recover and without poisoned water that might be possible. We don't have to execute her today. Hold off until the evidence proves Gwen conjured the creature. If it can be proved she is to blame then we will accept that. But there's no need to rush now. Please. We can prove she's innocent if you just give Arthur time to find the true sorcerer."
"Very well," Uther agreed nodding his head.
Amara leaped up from her seat and grabbed his arms, "thank you," she said sincerely. "I have to tell Morgana," she said as she walked out of the room as quickly as she could without getting told off.
The next day, word had spread that Uther had discovered the identity of true sorcerer and Gwen's father, Amara, Morgana and Merlin were all waiting in the jails for Gwen's official release. A guard walked up and handed the prison guard a piece of paper and he nodded, before walking to Gwen's cell and opening the door, "you're free to go, all charges have been dropped," he said walking off.
"Dad," Gwen yelled in relief as her father ran in and pulled her into a hug as Amara, Merlin, and Morgana followed in behind. Amara watched the two embrace with a small amount of jealousy. Yes, Uther and her were closer than Uther and Arthur, but they'd never had the kind of relationship and affection she was seeing between Gwen and her father. Gwen released her father and moved towards the three waiting on the side, "thank you," she cried.
Morgana smiled, she'd come down last night and told Gwen the real story, explaining why her execution had been delayed. "Don't thank us, it was more Merlin," she said with a proud smile.
"Really?" Gwen asked.
"He's the real hero here," Morgana smiled, she was clearly trying to push them together which made Amara giggle.
"I don't know what to say," Gwen laughed.
"I didn't do anything," Merlin chuckled nervously.
"Oh don't be so modest," Amara smiled, "you saved the day."
"I'm grateful to you all," Gwen's father Tom said with a wide smile. "Come on, Gwen," he said as he ushered her out of the cell. "Your highness," he said with a bow towards Amara before he left with Gwen.
"Merlin," Morgana said, pulling his attention to her. "I wanted you to know your secret is safe with us."
"My secret?" he asked confused.
"Come on, don't pretend. I know what you did."
"Arthur told me all about it," Amara smiled.
"Arthur knows?" he asked, his eyes widening.
"Well, of course he does," Amara laughed.
"Please," Morgana smiled, "we both saw it with our own eyes."
"You did?" Merlin asked again as he began smiling.
"I understand why you don't want anyone to know," Morgana said kindly.
"Well, obviously…" he breathed in relief.
"Trust me," Morgana said as she and Amara giggled, "we won't tell anyone."
"We're like vaults," Amara laughed. "We don't reveal secrets."
"You don't mind us talking to you about it?" Morgana asked, looking to Merlin to check this was ok.
Merlin shook his head quickly, "no, it's… you have no idea how hard it is to keep this hidden."
"You don't hide it that well Merlin," Amara said as she touched his arm.
"Well, you can continue to deny it, but I think Gwen's a very lucky woman," Morgana said cheerily.
Merlin's smile fell and his head snapped to them, "Gwen?" he asked confused.
Morgana smirked and placed a finger to her lips, "it's our secret," she smirked before they walked away. As they walking away from Merlin, Amara looked back, Merlin seemed confused when Morgana mentioned Gwen, almost as if he thought they were talking about something different entirely. Perhaps Merlin had a different secret.
