5. In Remembrance Of
Over the following weeks, Aithusa became a treasured member of the royal household. Her injuries and silent disposition made anyone who came across her want to dote on her. From servants, to the knights, to Guinevere and Arthur himself, Aithusa had no shortage of caretakers.
Which is why Arthur found it odd when he came across her small form, standing alone in an empty corridor.
"Aithusa," he called, striding in her direction. "Are you alright?"
She turned to him with beseeching blue eyes as she raised her healed arm and pointed towards the door she stood before. Her other hand remained wrapped and slung to her chest.
"Why do you want to go in there…"
His words abruptly trailed off when he realized, with a pang in his heart, that Aithusa stood before Morgana's vacant chambers.
Aithusa pressed her cheek against the door and rapped her knuckles against it.
"She's not in there, Aithusa," Arthur said gently.
But when she turned to him with tearful eyes, Arthur knew he had no choice.
He reached for the door handle to push open the doors and Aithusa quickly ran inside. Arthur followed her, shutting the door behind him and leaning back against it with a shuddering sigh.
It was cold.
Every piece of furniture was draped in white sheets and sunrays highlighted the dust heavy in the air.
Arthur slowly trailed after Aithusa, the heel of his boots echoing loudly against stone. Everything that had once belonged to Morgana was stored away and hidden. He hardly recognized the chambers he once visited, when she was still his friend.
The old, familiar grief rose in his chest as he watched Aithusa climb onto Morgana's bed. It crushed the air out of him, left him breathless. Being inside her bedchambers, touching her bed, disrupting the layers of dust, felt offensive somehow. Like Arthur was infringing upon her tomb.
Reluctantly, he sat beside Aithusa as she curled up and pressed her cheek against a pillow, tears leaking from her eyes, countenance crumpled with despair.
It was unexpected. Why would she…?
"You loved her," Arthur suddenly realized, overwhelmed by the thought of it.
When Merlin had revealed that Morgana had taken Aithusa, Arthur would not have guessed that Aithusa could've loved her. That Morgana, a cruel and twisted shell of who'd she once been, could have shown any kind of mercy, any kind of tenderness, even to a child.
Perhaps, Morgana hadn't been as lost as he'd previously believed.
Arthur didn't cry, even as something sharp lodged in his throat and his breathing turned ragged.
"I miss her too," Arthur whispered hoarsely.
Aithusa turned to him, wet eyes meeting his.
"She was my friend," Arthur confessed as he recalled his childhood alongside Morgana. "She was opinionated and infuriating. I think we bickered and fought more often than we got along. But…she was also the kindest person I knew. She was my sister. And I loved her."
Aithusa sat up and wrapped her free arm around him.
Arthur held her close.
Sharing his grief with Aithusa was not easy. He felt too vulnerable, like he had cut himself open and he burned hotly with the pain of it.
When at last, they stepped out of Morgana's chambers, Arthur felt the cold, oppressive weight lift, like he was escaping the cruel imprint of her ghost.
"Come along, Aithusa," Arthur said, voice still rough. "It is almost time for the court to assemble."
Obediently, Aithusa slipped her hand into Arthur's and walked beside him. Her small stature slowed his pace significantly, but he didn't mind, even if it would inevitably make him late.
Instead, he took the added time to compose himself, willing the knot in his throat to disperse and vanishing the residue of grief from his features.
By the time they arrived to the throne room, the whole of the court had assembled and Merlin awaited beside Arthur's throne.
Merlin's expression lit up when he caught sight of them and he strode forward to meet them halfway. "There you are," he grinned as he swept Aithusa into his arms.
"Do keep better track of your offspring," Arthur teased.
Merlin rolled his eyes as he walked beside Arthur. "Is that what we're calling her now?"
Arthur stifled a laugh and sat on the throne, adjusting his expression into something more pensive once he faced the court.
"Let us proceed."
Although he knew that holding court was part of his duties as king, Arthur desperately wished he could return to the training fields. Unfortunately, it was not to be.
For the next several hours, Arthur was forced to listen to lords bickering over border disputes, commoners charging one another with theft, complaints over the latest tax increase, and on one occasion, neighbors accusing each other of disturbing the peace.
It appeared that achieving wealth and prosperity for his kingdom granted his subjects plenty of leeway for discontentment over minor and asinine conflicts.
When at last, he cast his final judgment, Arthur watched as the court retreated from the throne room, until only his chief advisor remained standing before him.
Arthur straightened in his seat, gesturing for the guards to shut the doors, once it became clear he had important news to relay. Only Merlin and Aithusa remained at his side.
"My lord, scouts from the north have just returned."
"What is their report?"
"They say that…the kingdom of Amata has fallen. And that King Sarrum was put to death by a sorcerer."
A/N: Would you look at that. Merlin's actions have consequences :)
Also, if I wrote a prequel for this story about Merlin rescuing Atihusa from his point of view, would anyone be interested in reading it?
Please be sure to review! :)