In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young girl. Her name: Merlyn.
Gaius was called to examine a body that was found in the lower town, and had asked for my help.
"Aren't you scared?" I ask Gaius and he quirks an eyebrow.
"Of what?" He asks me, curiously.
"That you might catch whatever it is." I tell him.
"I'm the court physician, Merlin. This is part of my job. Most of the time there's nothing really to be scared of." He replies and he turns the body to reveal a white skinned, white eyed face.
"You were saying?" I mutter to him.
"People mustn't see this. They'll panic." He says to me. We find a cart and I out the body on it, covering it with the sheet, and wheel it through the lower town and towards the castle drawbridge. I'm almost there when I see Gwen.
"What are you doing?" She asks me, and I stop.
"Er...just moving something." I tell her, cryptically.
"Looks heavy." She says to me.
"Er, it's nothing really. Er...someone got you flowers and you didn't tell me?" I ask her, gesturing to the flowers.
"Oh! No. Would you like one? A purple one. Purple suits you. Not that I'm saying red doesn't suit you." She says, gesturing to my scarf. I raise my eyebrows, curious about why she's so happy.
"Thanks. Well, er..." I say, putting the flower in my braid.
"Aww. You're wearing it in your hair like a girl." She says and I roll my eyes.
"Er...see you." I tell her and she smiles.
"Bye." She says, and I hurriedly push the cart to Gaius's chambers. Gaius examines the body with a magnifying glass.
"I've never seen anything like this before." Gaius tells me.
"Do you think it could be some kind of plague?" I ask him, concerned.
"No. I fear that something like this could never come from nature. But who has this kind of power?" Gaius says to me and my eyes widen.
"You think it's caused by magic?" I ask him.
"Merlyn!" Arthur yells from the other side of the door, and I open it before he can see the body.
"Erm...I'm on my way. Sorry I'm late." I tell him.
"Don't worry. I'm getting used to it." He says, but frowns when he sees the flower in my hair, which I look over at it.
"Oh, er...Gwen, she gave it to me." I tell him and he looks back at me.
"Tell Gaius my father wants to see him now." Arthur tells me and turns away.
"Okay." I say and close the door.
"Gaius..." I turn and say.
"I heard." He tells me.
"Wait, why couldn't he just tell you himself?" I ask him.
"'Cause that's the way it is. You're a servant." Gaius says to me.
"Wha...if he knew who I was, what I've done..." I start to say.
"You'd be a dead servant. Right, get this covered up." Gaius interrupts.
"Hey, I'm not your servant." I say to him.
"No, you're my dogsbody. Come on, hurry up." He says and I smile, knowing he was kidding. We walk to the council chamber and see a dead servant on the floor. Gaius stops to examine him.
"What's happened to him?" Uther asks him.
"I don't know, Sire. It's the second case I've seen today." Gaius says.
"Why didn't you report it to me?" Uther asks, rather angrily.
"I was attempting to find the cause." Gaius explains.
"What did you conclude?" The king asks.
"I don't think it's time to hurry to conclusions. A scientific process is a long one." Gaius tells him.
"What are you concealing from me?" Uther asks impatiently.
"Sire, I have seen nothing like it. The victims are dying in 24 hours, and it's spreading fast." Gaius admits.
"What is the cause?" The king inquires.
"I think you should say that the cause, the most likely cause, is sorcery." Gaius tells him and Uther pulls Arthur off to the side. Arthur and the guards begin searching the town, while Gaius and I walk through town we see a sick man.
"Gaius? Gaius. He's still alive." I tell him.
"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do for him." Gaius tells me.
"But we haven't tried." I say to him.
"If we don't know what a disease is, then how can we cure him?" Gaius asks me.
"With magic." I tell him.
"Have a look. They're suspicious of everyone. Merlyn, this is not the time to be using magic. Science will lead us to the source of the disease." He tells me. Later, Gaius is heating a vial of liquid.
"What are you doing?" I ask him.
"I'm examining the contents of that man's stomach." He replies.
"Will that tell you who did it?" I ask him, curious.
"No, but it might tell us how it's spread. One thing I do know, this is magic of the darkest kind." He explains to me.
"Why would someone use magic like that?" I ask him.
"Magic corrupts. People use it for their own ends." He informs me.
"But not all magic is bad. I know it isn't." I argue.
"It's neither good nor bad. It's how you use it." He states and then Arthur and the guards burst in.
"Over there." He tells a guard. He looks over to Gaius. "Sorry Gaius, we're searching every room in town." He tells us.
"What for?" Gaius asks him.
"A sorcerer." Arthur answers.
"But why would he be here?" Gaius asks, sounding confused, but I know he's afraid for me.
"I'm just doing my job." Arthur says to him.
"We've nothing to hide. Go on, then. Search." Gaius announces.
"All these books and papers?" Arthur asks him, gesturing to them.
"My life's work, dedicated to the understanding of science. You are quite welcome to read through them if you wish." Gaius tells him.
"What's this room up here?" Arthur asks, looking up at the stairs.
"Er, it's mine." I speak up.
"And what do you expect to find in there?" Gaius asks.
"I'm looking for material or evidence suggesting the use of enchantments." Arthur tells us heading up the stairs.
"What've you done with the magic book I gave you?" Gaius whispers to me and my eyes widen.
"Merlyn, come here. Look what I found." He calls out and I walk in.
"I found a place where you can put things. It's called a cupboard." Arthur says and I blush. I notice the book on the floor and I move the bed sheet to cover it. Arthur looks under the bed and doesn't see it, so he leaves my room.
"How long do you think it may be before you find a cure?" He asks Gaius.
"It depends on how many interruptions I get." Gaius says to him and I suppress a smirk.
"Of course, I'm sorry." He says then turns to his guards. "We're finished here." He tells them and they exit, Gaius closes the door.
"We have to hide that book." Gaius tells me.
"No. We must use it." I argue.
"Don't be stupid." Gaius reprimands me.
"If I have this legacy then what is it for? You keep telling me it's not for playing tricks." I tell him, growing agitated.
"You want to practice magic when the King is hunting for sorcerers? Are you mad? Merlyn, your life is destined for more important things." Gaius explains to me.
"But if I don't practice, then how will I get to be this great witch?!" I ask him.
"There will come a time when your skills will be recognized." He tells me and I sigh.
"When?! How long do I have to wait?" I ask him.
"Patience is a virtue, Merlyn." He tells me and I scoff.
"Sitting by and doing nothing, that's a virtue?" I ask him, sharply.
"Your time will come." He simply states.
"I could cure that man we saw." I say to him.
"I know it's tempting to use the way you find easiest, Merlyn..." Gaius tells me.
"It is when it would save a life." I interrupt.
"It's no good just saving one person. We have to discover how this illness is spreading." He explains.
"Arthur is out there right now looking for the sorcerer!" I remind him.
"A sorcerer who's powerful enough to do this will never be found searching the town." Gaius tells me.
"So what can we do?" I ask, sighing.
"Hope that science can find the answer before it kills us all." Gaius replies. Gaius and I are examining another victim.
"What's different about this victim?" Gaius asks me.
"Er...she's a woman." I state the obvious.
"Sometimes I do wonder whether you're a magical talents were given to the right person. Anything else?" Gaius asks me.
"Erm...she's a courtier." I tell him.
"Ah." Gaius says.
"How does that help us?" I ask him.
"Courtiers seldom go down to the lower town. So what does that mean?" He asks me.
"Erm...that, that she hasn't spoken to any townspeople." I say, and Gaius looks pained.
"Yes, it suggests that the disease is not spread by contact." He tells me.
"Oh, and they probably ate different food." I add in.
"Good. Anything else?" Gaius asks, encouragingly.
"Erm...I doubt they breathe the same air." I say.
"So what's the only thing they do share?" Gaius asks and something registers in my head.
"Water. Water? You think the disease is spread through water?" I ask him.
"Merlyn, you're a prodigy." He tells me, handing me a bucket and I walk to the well in the lower town. I'm filling up the bucket when I see Gwen running through town, crying.
"Gwen? Gwen!" I call after her but she keeps running. I grab the bucket of water and hurry back to Gaius's chambers. She tells us that her father has the sickness and when Gaius explains there's no cure, she runs out crying.
"There must be something we can do." I tell him.
"My best. Let's hope that this can provide some answers." Gaius says to me.
"But that'll be too late for Gwen's father." I argue.
"I fear you may be right." Gaius says, as he puts some of the water in a jar and places a flower in it. I got to my room. I wait until Gaius is asleep, and then check on him, and he's snoring, before I sneak out.
"What about over...in there?" A guard asks.
"Certainly, sir." Another guard replies. The guards are poking spears in haystacks. One of them approach my hiding spot.
"Onstyrian, onbregdan." I whisper and a door across the street creaks open. A guard nears it and the door hits him in the face. I go into Gwen's house where Gwen and Tom are sleeping. I put a poultice under Tom's pillow.
"þu fornimst adl fram guman." I whisper. I leave and watch them outside the door. Tom wakes and touches Gwen's head, which is resting on his bedside, and I leave, happy I help him. The next day, I go to Morgana's chambers to check on Gwen, who is humming happily.
"How's your father? Is he feeling better?" I ask her.
"Yeah, it's incredible. It's a miracle." She says happily
"His skin's clear, back to normal?" I inquire, hoping the poultice worked like it should've.
"Yes." She tells me.
"Great." I smile widely, and turn to leave.
"You don't seem surprised." Gwen says to me.
"No, no, I am. It's a miracle." I say to her.
"But how did you know he was well?" Gwen asks me.
"Er...because you're smiling." I tell her.
"That's really weird because I haven't told anyone, but you know. How could you know?" She asks me.
"Yeah. Alright. You finally found out, I'll tell you." I swallow hard. "I'm psychic." I lie.
"No you're not." Gwen says, giggling.
"It's true." I tell her.
"Alright, what am I thinking?" She challenges me.
"That I'm not psychic." I tell her.
"You're strange. I, I don't mean that in a nasty way. You're just funny. It's kind of refreshing." She tells me.
"Erm, er, I 'm pleased for you." I tell her.
"Thank you." She says to me and I raise an eyebrow.
"What for?" I ask, confused.
"Don't know, just for asking." She tells me and I shrug.
That's what best friends are for, right? I didn't like to see you upset. I have to.. get on." I tell her and give a small smile before leaving. A while later, I'm walking through the corridor when I see guards dragging Gwen to the throne room. I drop the basket I was holding.
"Merlyn! Merlyn, please help me!" She calls out, then turns to the guards. "Why won't you listen to me?" She asks them. Gaius grabs my arm and escorts me to his chambers and slams the door.
"What've you done?!" He asks me angrily.
"What?" I ask him.
"I warned you! Oh, I understand. You thought you were doing good." He reprimands me.
"I couldn't let her father die knowing I could cure him. She's my best friend." I tell him.
"Didn't you think it might look a bit suspicious, the curing of one man?" Gaius asks and I realize he was right, that it was stupid.
"Well then, all I have to do is...I'll cure everyone! No one will ever have to know it was magic." I say.
"It's too late! They think Gwen's a sorceress! They think she caused the disease!" Gaius tells me.
"But she didn't!" I exclaim, rushing to leave.
"Oh, and how are you going to prove that?!" He calls after me. I stop to think for a minute before leaving. I return sometime later and I sigh.
"I thought I was doing good and that curing Gwen's father would help her. I thought I was saving a life. It seemed so simple." I tell him.
"An easy solution is like a light in a storm, Merlyn. Rush for it at your peril, for it may not always lead you to a safe harbor." He informs me.
"I can see that now." I say, admitting my fault.
"How many times have I warned you about the responsibilities of being a witch?" He asks me.
"I must see her." I say, heading to the dungeons. I walk down the stairs to the dungeon and pass a weeping Morgana, so I hurry down to Gwen's cell.
"Gwen." I say. Gwen tries to get to the cell door, but her chains don't stretch that far. She's been crying.
"Thank you." She says to me and I frown.
"What for?" I ask her.
"For coming to see me." She says and my eyes start to tear up.
"I'm sorry." I tell her, a tear slipping down my cheek.
"It's not your fault." She tells me and that feels like a jab to the gut, because it is, my fault.
"Well..." I start to say.
"It's alright. Don't worry about me. There's no point crying about it." She says to me and I sniffle.
"Oh, Gwen. I can't have this happen." I tell her.
"Please, one thing. You, you don't have to, but..." She says.
"What?" I ask her.
"Remember me." She says and I feel another few tears slip down my cheeks.
"You're not going to die. I'm not going to let this happen." I tell her, wiping my face and rushing up the stairs. I hurry to the council chambers and burst in.
"It was me! It was me who used magic to cure Gwen's father!" I yell and the council stares at me.
"Gwen is not the sorcerer. I am!" I tell them. Gaius stands up.
"Merlyn! Are you mad?" He asks me, incredulously.
"I cannot let her die for me." I tell him then turn to Uther. "I place myself at your mercy." I say.
"She doesn't know what she's talking about." Gaius defends me.
"I do." I argue.
"Then arrest her." Uther commands and two guards grab my arms.
"Father, please! I can't allow this! This is madness! There's no way Merlyn is a sorceress." Arthur argues.
"Did you not hear her?" He asks him.
"Yes." He admits.
"She admitted it." Uther says.
"She saved my life, remember." Arthur adds.
"Why should she fabricate such a story?" Uther asks him.
"As Gaius said, she's got a...grave mental disease." Arthur says.
"Really?" Uther asks and I shake my head.
"I do not!" I disagree.
"She's under her spell." Arthur says suddenly.
"Whose?" Uther asks him.
"Gwen's." Arthur tells him and I turn to gape at him.
"She believed Gwen to be her best friend, so when Gwen was taken, she went to visit her in the dungeon. It would've been easy for her to cast a spell on Merlyn to take the blame." He explains and Uther considers this.
Don't waste my time again. Let her go." He commands and the guards holding my let me go. Gaius escorts me back to his chambers.
"Arthur's an idiot." I exclaim.
"No. He was right to do what he did. It's a good thing he cares about you as much as he does. And, thankfully, he saved you from your own stupidity." Gaius says and I blush.
"What else could I do? It's my fault Gwen's going to die." I exclaim.
"Yes, but you don't prove her innocence by offering to jump into the flames. You do it by finding out what's causing the disease!" Gaius argues.
"Well, whatever it is, one thing's for sure: Arthur isn't going to find it. He thinks he is so sharp! But even when I told him I was a witch, he still couldn't see it." I tell him.
"Sometimes they're pretty hard to spot." Gaius admits.
"Well, maybe I should go around wearing a pointy hat." I retort.
"I don't think you'll find one big enough. Anyway, forget that. If we're going to save Gwen, we have to find out what's contaminating the water." Gaius tells me. We go to the underground entrance to the water supply.
"The water from here supplies the whole town. Take a sample." Gaius tells me and I put a bottle in the water.
"Let's take it back and examine it." He says. Something rears up out of the water.
"What the hell was that?" I exclaim and Gaius grabs my arm and we leave. Gaius and I are looking through a book for whatever we saw in the water.
"Here. It was an Afanc." Gaius tells me.
"An...a what?" I ask him.
"A beast born of clay, and conjured up only by the most powerful sorcerer. Now we have to find a way to defeat it. But where?" He asks me. He looks at his shelves of books.
"That could take days. Gwen'll be dead by then." I tell him.
"Have you got a better idea?" He asks me. I walk out of the chambers and I see a pyre being built in the square on my way to the dungeons. I see Gwen laying in the cell.
"Gwen? I'm going to get you out. I will." I promise and then leave. I head to the dragon's cave.
"Hello?" I call out.
'Hello.' The dragon says, flying down to land in front of me. 'The great witch returns, like I knew she would.' He says to me.
"I need to know how to defeat an Afanc." I tell him.
'Yes, I suppose you do.'
"Will you help me?" I ask him.
'Trust the elements that are at your command.'
"Elements? But what is it I have to do?" I ask him, confused.
'You cannot do this alone. You are but one side of a coin. Arthur is the other.'
"I- I don't understand. Just tell me what it is I have to do." I tell him and he flies off.
"No! Please help me!" I plead.
'I have.' he says, and laughs.
"Oh, yeah, right. Thanks." I mutter and head back to Gaius's and I begin frantically looking through books.
"Merlin, what are you doing?" Gaius asks me.
"Looking for a book." I tell him, not looking up.
"You going to tell me which one?" He asks me.
"A book on elements." I tell him.
"Elements?" Gaius parrots.
"Yes. Which one would I find them in?" I ask.
"Well, most of them. The study of base elements is at the very heart of the scientific process." He informs me.
"But how would they help me kill the Afanc?" I ask him, confused.
"Well, the Afanc is a creature made from earth and water. That's two of the four base elements." Gaius explains.
"What about the other two?" I ask him.
"Well, perhaps they will destroy it. You want fire. Wind and fire. How did you find this out?" He asks, perplexed.
"Erm...I just knew, you know? One of my powers." I lie, not wanting to tell him about the dragon.
"What else do your powers tell you?" He asks, seeming to accept my lie.
"That I am only one side of a coin. The brighter side, obviously." I say, smirking.
"And who's the other side?" Gaius asks me and I think back to what the dragon said.
"I think that might be Arthur." I say, blushing a bit. Morgana walks in.
"They're bringing forward the execution. We have to prove Gwen's innocence." She tells us, desperately.
"We're trying." Gaius tells us.
"Please, just tell me what I can do to help." She says, pleading.
"We need Arthur." I tell her.
"Arthur?" She repeats, confused.
"There's a monster, an Afanc, in the water supply. That's what's causing the plague." I inform her.
"Well, we must tell Uther." She states.
"The Afanc's a creature forged by magic. Telling Uther wouldn't save Gwen. He'd just blame her for conjuring it." Gaius explains.
"So, what are we to do?" She asks us.
"We need to destroy it. Then the plague will stop and Uther may see sense." I tell her.
"And that's why you need Arthur." Morgana says, understandingly.
"He's our best chance. But he won't want to disobey the King." I say, and Morgana smirks.
"Leave that to me." She says, turning and leaving. Gaius gives me the keys to the underground water supply.
Morgana POV
After talking with Gaius and Merlyn, I hurry to Arthur's chambers and wait for him there. Arthur enters and looks surprised to see me there.
"Are you alright? Sorry about this, Merlyn's not been in today." He says, gesturing to the mess.
"Poor Merlyn." I say.
"Yeah." Arthur agrees.
"To offer to give her life to save Gwen's. I certainly can't imagine any other friend caring enough to do that for me." I say.
"No, I can't imagine that either." Arthur says and I smirk.
"But that's why you like Merlyn. She's a caring person. Unlike you, she loves her friends enough to sacrifice herself. Don't know what she sees in you, if you ask me." I say and Arthur looks caught off guard for a minute before clearing his throat.
"Maybe, that's because I haven't found the right person to love enough to make that sacrifice." He tells me.
"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. There's not one of them that' s able to stand up for what is right." I say and he smirks.
"What do you want me to do?" He asks me.
"Prove me wrong. Prove to me that you are the man that Merlyn thinks you are. Be the man she deserves. Save her best friend." I tell him and he nods. We head to the tunnel where we're meeting Merlyn.
Merlyn POV
I turn at footsteps and see Morgana and Arthur walking towards me, and I grin. Morgana sees this and winks at me. Arthur takes out his sword, I open the door, and he lights a torch.
"You'd better be right about this, Merlyn." Arthur says, and we hear a low growl, causing Morgana to gasp.
"You should stay here." Arthur tells her.
"I'm coming with you." She tells him, determined.
"No." Arthur argues.
"Scared I'll show you up?" She teases.
"Father will slam us both in chains if he knew I'd endangered you." He tells her.
"Well good thing he doesn't know about it then." She tells him, smirking.
"I'm telling you, Morgana, turn back. You could get hurt." He warns her.
"You could you...if you don't get out of my way." She warns back, and I smirk while Arthur rolls his eyes.
"How are we going to find it?" Morgana asks.
"I just hope we do before it finds us." I mutter. Arthur spins around.
"Stop." Arthur tells us.
"What?" I ask him, worriedly.
"It's just a shadow." He decides and we keep moving. We reach the water source.
"Spread out." Arthur says. We split up and hear a growl somewhere near Arthur, so Morgana and I rush to Arthur.
"What is it? Are you alright?" Morgana asks him.
"Yeah." He says, dismissively.
"Did you see it?" I ask him, quickly checking him over with my eyes, making sure he's unharmed.
"Yes." He admits.
"What did it look like?" I ask him, curious to know what we're looking for.
"It-it's quick." Arthur tells me. We hear Morgana scream and Arthur goes after the Afanc but it disappears.
"Where is it?" He asks.
"I think it's gone this way!" I call out. We walk, but the Afanc turns the corner and comes into full view. Arthur swings his sword and loses his sword, and Morgana's torch. Arthur circles it with his torch.
"Arthur, use the torch!" I call out and he swings the torch.
"Lyfte ic þe in balwen ac forhienan." I whisper and my spell blows the flames into the Afanc, incinerating it. Morgana and I go to the dungeon where Tom is waiting and the three of us step into the cell.
"Dad!" Gwen exclaims and they hug.
"Oh, my little child!" He cries out, happily. Gwen reaches out to grasp Morgana's hand.
"Thank you!" She tells her.
"Don't thank me. It was more Merlyn." Morgana tells them .
"Really?" Gwen asks, surprised.
"She's the real hero here." Morgana says and I smile shyly.
"I don't know what to say." Gwen says, grabbing my hand and I shrug.
"I didn't do anything huge. Besides, you're my best friend Gwen, I couldn't do nothing." I tell her.
"I'm- I'm grateful to you all. Come on, Gwen." He says and they leave.
"Merlyn. I wanted you to know, your secret's safe with me." She says and I freeze.
"My secret?" I ask her, hesitantly.
"Merlyn, don't pretend. I know what you did." She says and I feel like my heart stops beating.
"You do?" I ask her worriedly.
"I saw it with my own eyes." She admits. My eyes widen.
"You did?" I ask her.
"I understand why you don't anyone to know."She tells me and I sigh.
"Well, obviously." I say to her. She smiles.
"But I won't tell anyone. You don't mind me talking to you about it?" She asks me and I shake my head.
"Er...no. I- I, it's, er...you have no idea how hard it is to keep this hidden." I say to her and she nods.
"Well, you can continue to deny it, but I think Arthur's a very lucky man." She says and I blush.
"Arthur?" I repeat and she puts a finger to her lips.
"It's our secret." She promises and she smiles before leaving. I sigh. I head back to Gaius's and he has supper ready.
"This fish didn't come from the water, did it?" I ask him.
"Well, where else is it going to come from? The water's fine now. That's not your worry. This is the work of a very powerful sorcerer. I only hope you didn't come to her attention." He tells me.
"Doubt it. Well no one else seems to appreciate my skills. I just want someone to see me for who I am."
"One day, Merlyn. One day." He says.
"One day what?" I ask him.
"One day people won't believe what an idiot you were." He says and I smile.
"Thanks." I say and he smiles as we finish our supper.