A/N: Thank you SnidgetHex, GuestM, pallysAramisRios, Guest, and Buckhunter for reviewing!
Chapter 4
Lancelot sat in Gaius's darkened room, moonlight streaming through the window and melting into the amber waves of candlelight. He lightly stroked his thumb over the bandages covering Lily's arms, careful to avoid the thorns still protruding up from her skin. It had been a few hours since they had destroyed the weed that had looked like the source of the curse, but it had failed to break the hold this mysterious illness had over her. And so for all that, Lancelot was going to lose his beloved anyway.
He desperately wished she would wake just one more time so he could tell her how much he loved her. But she was deeply unconscious, her heartbeat the faintest flutter of a butterfly's wings as it lay dying. It was probably better for her this way, if she wasn't in pain.
The door creaked open and Merlin poked his head in. Everyone had left earlier, save for Gaius who had retreated behind the screen to his bed to give Lancelot privacy while being close at hand if needed.
Merlin glanced around before coming over and speaking in a low voice. "I have an idea—we take Lily to the Lake of Avalon. The Sidhe might have the power to heal her."
Lancelot furrowed his brow. "I thought you went to them when Gwen was cursed and dying and they couldn't help."
"That was a different type of curse. And they at least told me where to look so that Gaius found out about the star lily. We have to try, right?"
Lancelot looked back at Lily and nodded. They had run out of other options, and he wasn't ready to say goodbye just yet.
He bundled Lily up in a blanket and carefully lifted her into his arms, then he and Merlin quietly made their way outside, pausing to avoid the guards as they went. Not that Lancelot thought Arthur wouldn't approve of turning to magic to help, but in case Merlin had to use some of his own when treating with the Sidhe, it was better just the two of them go.
There were two horses already saddled out behind the stable. Lancelot briefly passed Lily to Merlin so he could climb into the saddle, then Merlin lifted her up to him. Not even the jostling and minor bumping of the thorny wounds elicited the slightest reaction. When they were all mounted, they set off at a brisk pace, through the lower town, and out into the night.
The full moon lit their path, and they reached the lake when it was just dipping toward the mountains on the horizon, milky ripples undulating out across the dark water. Merlin pulled his horse to a stop, so Lancelot did the same, and they dismounted. With Lily in his arms, Lancelot followed Merlin to the water's edge where the waves lapped tranquilly along the shore. A blue incandescence began to suffuse throughout the lake, and then glowing blue orbs rose up out of the water, bathing the air in an ethereal hue. They reminded Lancelot of the water spirits that had saved Merlin after the Dorocha attack, and he finally felt a flicker of hope that this might work.
"We come seeking aid," Merlin spoke, his voice carrying out over the water.
The glowing orbs didn't respond, and after a moment they began to sink down again. Lancelot's heart lurched into his throat as they returned to the water, but in their place another figure rose up, a woman with long brown hair wearing a gown of blue silk. Lancelot flicked an uncertain look at Merlin, whose expression softened at the sight of the woman with something Lancelot had never seen on his friend before. It was the same way he looked at Lily.
"Freya," Merlin greeted, voice choked up with emotion.
She smiled as she glided through the water toward him. "Hello, Merlin."
Lancelot suddenly felt like an intruder as the two gazed at each other with such fondness and yearning that it left him slightly reeling. He'd never known Merlin was in love. With a…magical figure.
"How are you?" Merlin asked.
"I am well," she replied. "I miss you."
"I miss you too," he said, voice cracking. His throat bobbed as he swallowed his feelings and gestured to Lancelot. "We need your help. This is Lily. She's been put under some kind of curse. First it stole her magic, and now it's draining her life. We've tried everything, even destroying the focusing object, but nothing's worked. Can you heal her?"
Freya beckoned for them to come into the water. Lancelot only hesitated a moment but readily followed when Merlin took the first step. They waded into the lake until they were waist deep and Lily was partially immersed. The water was surprisingly not frigid, almost temperate.
Freya didn't reach out to Lily or seem to do anything, but the water began to glow with that soft blue hue again, soaking in around them. After a few moments, it faded, and Lancelot's heart fell as it seemed once again that nothing had changed.
"She is healed," Freya said.
Merlin reached to undo one of the soaked bandages on her arm, and sure enough the vicious thorns and the lacerations they'd made were gone. And then Lily finally opened her eyes and blinked up at them groggily.
"Lancelot?" Her face scrunched up as she looked around. "Where are we?"
He broke into a beaming smile. "It's a bit of a long story. The important thing is you're going to be fine now." He looked over at Freya and bowed his head. "Thank you."
She smiled and nodded back.
Lancelot turned and waded out of the water. Merlin lingered, and Lancelot looked away as he and Freya shared a private moment. Lily shivered in his arms.
"I'm sorry," he gushed as he lowered her to the ground and took off his cloak to wrap around her, though the bottom half was just as wet.
"That's alright," she replied, clutching at the ends. "What happened?"
"You were under some kind of curse. Merlin thought bringing you here would heal you. You do feel okay, right?"
She nodded jerkily. "Just a little cold," she admitted with a quirked smile.
Merlin rejoined them, and a glance out at the lake showed Freya had disappeared. His brows knitted together as he took in their dripping states. "I'll make a fire."
He gathered some twigs and branches from the nearby woodland and then used his magic to light it. Lily scooted close to the warmth of the flames, and Lancelot settled in behind her, pulling her against him so she could lean her head against his shoulder. After a while, he felt her body soften in a relaxed sleep.
"Thank you, Merlin," Lancelot whispered, careful not to disturb her.
Merlin smiled. "I'm just glad it worked."
Lancelot cast another curious look out at the lake. The moon had dipped beneath the mountains and now most of the light was from the fire. "Who is Freya?" he asked carefully.
Merlin kept his gazed fixed on the fire as he stoked it. "She's the Lady of the Lake. And an old friend," he added more softly.
"She's more than that," Lancelot ventured.
Merlin looked pained and turned his head away. "It was a long time ago."
Lancelot waited, wanting to know more but wanting to respect his friend's privacy, especially over something that seemed to stir up such painful memories.
"She was a Druid girl," Merlin finally went on. "She was under a terrible curse and had been captured by a bounty hunter. I tried to help…" His voice cut off and he hung his head. "I failed. She died in my arms here on this shore." Merlin gave himself a rough shake then as though to physically dispel his sadness. "It wasn't goodbye forever, though. She became the Lady of the Lake, so she's not really gone."
"I'm sorry," Lancelot said quietly.
Merlin shrugged, then gave another forced smile. "I'm glad we saved Lily. I don't want you to go through that."
They fell silent after that, with just the snap and crackle of the fire to fill the night. When they were mostly dry, Lancelot roused Lily so they could start back to Camelot, and they arrived by the time dawn was breaking across the sky, where they found their absence had most definitely been noted.
"Lancelot! Merlin!" Leon shouted as he stormed down the steps into the courtyard as the two horses clomped over the cobblestones. "Where in the blazes have you been?" He pulled up short in surprise. "Lily?"
Lancelot helped her slide out of the saddle to land on her own feet.
"Hello, Leon," she replied.
He sputtered dubiously. "You're all right!"
There was more commotion as Arthur, Gwen, and the other knights came hurrying out of the castle. Lancelot tried to explain in sparse detail that they had gone to seek one last cure for Lily. And he tried to deflect by pointing out that they had succeeded, and everyone was, of course, relieved to see Lily better. Gwen embraced her.
But Arthur gaped at Lancelot and Merlin, seemingly torn between incredulity and vexation. "Alone? What were you thinking?" he finally settled on.
"It was a long shot," Merlin put in. "And it…involved some magic."
Arthur narrowed his eyes. "What kind of magic?"
"I read of a sacred Druid place where magic and nature were said to be closely entwined, and so I thought, given Lily's connection to nature, it might…you know, fix it."
"Fix it?" Arthur repeated, then rolled his eyes heavenward in exasperation. "Next time, tell someone! Did you even think about how worried we'd all be?"
Merlin grimaced apologetically. "Sorry. Next time we'll tell someone."
"There'd better not be a next time!" Arthur rejoined, but his anger was amusing given everything had all worked out.
"What about who cursed Lily in the first place?" Leon brought up.
They all shared blank looks. Unless the perpetrator revealed themselves or tried again, they had no way of finding out who was behind it.
"A problem for another time," Arthur said, and he nodded to Lily. "I'm glad you're all right."
She smiled back. "Me too."
Morgana stood in the midst of a thick forest, hand outstretched toward a wall of squirming ivy. The foreign magic inside her bent and contorted as she tried to wield it. Her arm trembled from the strain, but ever so slowly the plants began to part in subservience to her will. She pushed harder, gritting her teeth in frustration.
Then something snapped, and the plant magic inside her evaporated as in a puff of smoke, leaving Morgana standing there dumbly for several long moments. The ivy swarmed back into place, creating a solid, impenetrable wall.
She scowled and slammed her fist against her leg. So much for that plan. Time to come up with another one.
Lancelot peeked into the great hall, which was empty save for Lily standing at the wedding arch. The flowers had all wilted and the ivy was dulled in color, the faded remains of a celebration that never happened. Lancelot walked down the aisle toward her.
"How are you feeling?" he asked in concern.
She smiled. "I'm fine," she assured him. "Thanks to you."
"It was mostly Merlin," he replied.
"It was both of you."
Lancelot's mouth tugged upward, but then fell again as he looked around the room. "I'm sorry. I wanted our wedding to be perfect for you."
Lily reached out to take his hand. "It still can be." She raised her other hand to the wedding arch. The ivy began to brighten in saturation, the vines swelling with growth as they crept along the entire trellis and purple blossoms sprouted in their wake. In a matter of moments, it was lush and vibrant.
Lancelot watched in awe as Lily's magic spread to every other plant in the hall, reviving them in an instant. When he looked back at her, she was grinning.
"Let's get married."
And so, an hour later, Lancelot was standing at the wedding arch in his full knight's uniform, with Arthur in his finery and crown at the dais. The hall was packed with guests, nearly the whole castle there to witness this union.
The double doors creaked open, and Lancelot's breath caught in his throat as Lily entered, radiant in her gown of stardust. Her face was flushed but glowing as she walked down the aisle, her gaze never straying from his.
She reached the end of the hall and took her place beside Lancelot. Gwen stood behind her, beaming. All their friends were smiling widely as they stood in attendance, though Lancelot only had eyes for one.
"I am honored to stand before these witnesses and wed this man and this woman," Arthur began, voice ringing out through the hall. "Whom I have the great honor of also calling friends. Both have sacrificed tremendously to protect others, to protect this kingdom." Arthur smiled at them. "You deserve this happiness, and may your days together be long and blessed. I hereby pronounce you man and wife."
Cheers went up as Lancelot and Lily leaned in to kiss.
Lancelot broke away and rested his forehead against hers. "I love you with all my heart," he whispered.
"I love you," she breathed.
And they kissed again as flower petals showered down around them.
