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.
Arthur and I are out hunting, with him farther ahead of me. My dress gets caught on a fallen branch and I trip, bumping into Arthur as he's about to shoot.
"Sorry. What is it?" I ask him, curious as to what he's found, as I carry the other animals he's caught.
"You really are a total buffoon, aren't you, Merlyn?!" He exclaims, upset that I ruined his kill.
"I was just asking." I mutter, but he hears me.
"Who? Me or the deer?! We're supposed to be hunting. It requires speed, stealth and an agile mind." He rambles.
"So you're able to get by on two out of three, then?" I retort but before he can respond, we hear a woman screaming. "What was that?" I ask, sounding worried for whoever is in trouble.
"Please! Don't!" I could hear a man pleading, distantly.
"Quiet." Arthur scolds as he strains to hear.
"Help!" A woman yells and Arthur grabs his sword from me before we rush off to help. An older man lays on the ground as a bandit draws his sword to kill him. A young woman, about my age, struggles with three other bandits.
"No, no, I beg you! Mercy!" The old man pleads.
"Give us some money!" The bandit with the sword orders him.
"Help me! Help me!" The young woman screams. Arthur shoots one of the robbers; which causes the others attack to Arthur. The man gets up and holds the young woman while Arthur fights off the bandits and I notice one of them gets up behind Arthur.
"Forbærnen firgenholt." I chant causing a large tree branch to fall on top of the bandit behind Arthur. Arthur kills the one in front of him and the last one runs off. Arthur looks up at the tree.
"Stroke of luck." Arthur mutters and I suppress a smirk at that.
"And let that be a lesson to you!" I call after the last bandit with a laugh and Arthur gives me a look.
"What? I was covering your back." I assure him, wringing my hands and he looks to the two we rescued.
"You alright? Didn't hurt you?" He asks them and the woman removes her hood. She's a beautiful brunette woman with green eyes and has beads woven in her hair.
"No... Thanks to you. I'm Sophia. This is my father." She introduces herself and her father.
"Arthur Pendragon... at your service." Arthur introduces himself, kissing her Sophia's hand and I feel a twinge of jealously before I push it aside. Once back at the palace, Sophia and her father stand before the court.
"My name is Aulfric, heir to Tír-Mòr. This is my daughter, Sophia." He introduces himself to Uther.
"You're a long way from home. What brings you to Camelot?" The King asks them.
"Our home was sacked by raiders, we barely escaped with what few possessions we could carry." Aulfric explains to the King.
"These are dangerous times. What will you do?" The King asks them, believing their story.
"We travel west to Caerleon where we have family and, I hope, a new life." He informs Uther.
"You must stay here awhile, break your journey. A noble family like yours is always welcome in Camelot." Uther insists and I can't help but notice Arthur stare at Sophia as she exits with her father.
"Make sure you put her in a decent room." He reminds me as we walk into his chambers
"The one next door's empty." I inform him as I move to clear his table.
"The one next door's fine. Excellent, in fact." He replies with a smile and I give him a look. "Shut up, Merlyn." He retorts and I raise a brow.
"What? I didn't say anything." I defend myself as I continue my work.
"You didn't have to. I want to make it clear that my intentions towards Sophia are completely honorable. Put her in the room on the other side of the castle. It's warmer, more comfortable." He instructs me as he puts on a red jacket and I nod.
"Of course. She, er...is very beautiful." I mutter, pushing down that twinge of jealousy once again.
"Yes, she is." He agrees enthusiastically and I ignore the pang of sadness in my heart at him expressing feelings for someone else, but I squash that unrealistic thought. Just because I'm 'destined' to marry him in the future doesn't mean it will actually happen. Maybe Sophia is meant to be Arthur's Queen. She is prettier than I, and her status is a noble one, while I'm a mere servant. Maybe Arthur's meant to love her and not me.
"And if your intentions are honorable..." I trail off.
"Oh, they are. Most definitely." He assures me as he removes the red jacket and I nod, putting on a mask of normalcy.
"Then what's the problem with her staying next door?" I ask with a smirk that doesn't reach my eyes, one that Arthur would know to be fake any other day, but he doesn't give it a second glance as he .
"There isn't one. You've convinced me. Put her in the room next to mine." He changes his previous instructions as he puts on a dark brown jacket and I swallow my disappointment as he leaves the room. I lead Sophia to the room next to Arthur's with a blanket in my hands, which I give to Sophia.
"If you need anything, just let me know." I offer, giving her a fake smile that she doesn't catch as false.
"Thank you." She replies before entering her guest room. Morgana approaches me, looking anxious and I replace my frown with a smile.
"Who is that?" She asks me, referring to Sophia.
"Er, Sophia Tír-Mòr. We rescued her in the woods. Well, Arthur did most of the rescuing." I inform her, although I frown when I said her name, but Morgana was too anxious to notice.
"She can't stay here." Morgana objects immediately and I raise a brow.
"The King said that she and her father are welcome in Camelot." I explain before I notice how upset she sounded. "Is everything ok?"
"Yes. Thank you." She replies, flashing a smile I recognize, a fake one, before she continues down the corridor. The next day, I'm making Arthur's bed as he leans against a bedpost, watching me before speaking. I'm wearing a navy blue dress, my red scarf and tan boots, with my hair down and pulled back from my face with a small blue flower.
"I'm taking Sophia out for a ride today. You know, show her around." Arthur informs me and I look up in confusion.
"Where do I come into this?" I ask, sounding slightly more harsh than I mean to, but Arthur doesn't catch it.
"Well, I'm supposed to be on patrol with the guard and my father this morning, so I need you to cover for me." He explains and I freeze.
"What, and lie to the King? No. No way. No, he'll see right through me. He'll have me in the stocks quicker than you can say rotten tomatoes." I deny quickly as I stop stripping his bed.
"Merlyn.I need you to do this for me." Arthur tells me, and I sigh, hating the fact that I love the way he says my name.
"I am a terrible liar. I start sweating, my- my vision blurs, my- my brain stops working." I make up excuses to not lie to the King for him.
"Well, no change there, then. Look, I promised Sophia I'd take her out and if I don't turn up it'll blow my chances." He elaborates, moving to the bedpost closer to me and I sigh, feeling pang of sadness by how much he cares about this ride with Sophia.
"You like her, then?" I ask, not bothering to hide my frown or the sadness clearly read on my face if he would just look at me.
"Yeah. What's not to like? I want to spend some more time with her, but I need to get my father off my back. I can't order you to lie to the King, but ...you'd be a friend for life if you did." Arthur informs me and I close my eyes, sighing as I feel the now familiar twinge of jealousy and pang of rejection, before I open them and look up into his crystal blue eyes.
"Go on, then, you don't want to keep her waiting." I instruct him, smiling sadly.
"Thanks, Merlyn. I won't forget it." He assures me, placing a hand on my shoulder before hurrying out of the room leaving me to make the bed. I don't even notice I'm crying until I see a tear drop on the pillow I'm holding and I sit on the bed, allowing myself a moment to cry before I stand up and finish making his bed. Why wouldn't he like Sophia? She's beautiful, kind, and most importantly she's a noble. Why would I ever listen to that stupid lizard, believe him, when he told me that Arthur was destined to love me? I'm just a servant, his maid. Not even remotely close to his royal status. Oh, what was I thinking, feeling what I'm feeling for a prince? I remembered I had to cover for Arthur, so I hurry to the council room to see the King walk in, wearing his chainmail.
"Where's my son?" He asks me, and I wring my hands together nervously.
"I'm not sure where he is. I, erm, I think there's been a mistake. But it's not his fault. Arthur's, I mean." I ramble and the King walks towards me.
"Stop gibbering and tell me where he is." The King orders me.
"It's probably... No, it's definitely my fault." I explain, taking the blame.
"Where is Arthur?" He asks again, more authoritative.
"He's not here." I inform him.
"I can see that." He retorts.
"Arthur wasn't sure of his orders, so he asked me to check with the guards to see if he was riding out this morning and...well...I may have forgotten." I lie, inwardly wincing at the poor lie I've told the King.
"You forgot?" He repeats, upset.
"I'm sorry, My Lord. I am sure he would have been here had I told him." I assure him.
"If this was a time of war, I would have you flogged." He warns me and I swallow loudly.
"And since it's not, we'll let it go just this once?" I ask hopefully before I'm led to the stocks, where several people are waiting with tomatoes, and as soon as I'm secured, I'm pelted with rotten tomatoes.
"I forgot how much fun this was." I mutter sarcastically before a stray tomato is thrown into my hair. "It's going to take forever to get this out of my hair." I complain to myself as I lower my eyes in humiliation at being in the stocks for Arthur to take Sophia for a romantic ride. How pathetic am I? After being in the stocks all day, I enter Gaius's chambers covered in tomato paste.
"Have you been playing with your food again?" He jokes and I roll my eyes as I pull tomato bits out of my tangled raven hair.
"The King put me in the stocks." I explain walking into the kitchen.
"What'd you do this time?" He asks me and I smile, picking up a jug of water.
"Nothing. Honestly, it wasn't my fault. Arthur wanted to get out of going on patrol with Uther and the guard, so I covered for him and took the blame." I inform him as I pour water into the bucket so I can wash the tomato paste off.
"And Arthur was prepared to let you do this?" Gaius asks me, sounding surprised.
"It was his idea." I correct, looking up from my washing and Gaius looks even more surprised at the thought that Arthur would have me take the blame.
"And what made him neglect his duties? It must've been something terribly important." Gaius infers and I roll my eyes.
"Sophia." I retort, not bothering to hide my tone with Gaius.
"The girl from the forest?" He asks me and I nod.
"He wanted to take her out for the day. He is besotted." I inform him, not noticing the sadness as it crept into my voice or the far off look on my face.
"But they've only just met." Gaius objects.
"I know. I guess it must have been love at first sight." I mutter rolling my eyes at the thought of it as I pick large tomato chunks out of my hair.
"Yes. I suppose it must be." He agrees, continuing his work. Sophia enters the palace and bumps into me while I'm running my errands.
"Sorry! Merlyn, isn't it? I'm Sophia. We haven't been properly introduced. You're Arthur's servant, right?" She asks me and I smile politely.
"Of course, my Lady. I hope your outing went well? I did end up in the stocks for it." I bite out and she smiles tightly.
"How unfortunate. I admire your loyalty to Arthur, though. You must care a great deal for him." She infers and I bite my tongue as I pick up the laundry I dropped when we collided.
"Does Arthur know you feel this way about him? Of course he does. I suspect he's known for a while and just keeps you around for pity. I'm sure it's nice for one's ego when their servant feels as such for them." She continues and I stand quickly, laundry forgotten.
"Don't think you can make a fool out of me just because I'm a servant." I angrily retort and she smirks.
"I won't have to. You're managing to do that well enough already." She replies back.
"Does Arthur know your outward beauty is to make up for such an ugly personality? Now, I suggest you leave me alone, and you should stay away from Arthur while you're at it, Sophia." I bite out.
"Or what? Jealousy is such an unattractive trait in a women." She chides and I glare at her.
"If anything happens to Arthur, I will find you." I promise and she laughs an ugly, mocking laugh.
"And you'll do what? Wash my dresses? Clean my shoes? Scrub some floors?" She taunts and I smirk.
"Never underestimate me, Sophia. I'm capable of doing much, much more than scrubbing floors." I tell her before I continue along the corridor. I'm in Arthur's chambers the next day to wake him and help him put on his armor but I see that Arthur is already awake and dressed.
"You're dressed!" I exclaim, before wincing at how stupid that sounded.
"Nothing gets past you, does it, Merlyn?" Arthur retorts and I notice what he's wearing.
"What- You're supposed to be wearing these! Your father's bestowing a knighthood on one of your men this morning!" I remind him, gesturing to his armor.
"I'm giving it a miss." He informs me and I raise a brow.
"Won't the King mind?" I ask him, fearing the answer as I set his armor on the bed.
"Not if you, er, cover for me, again. By the way, thanks for yesterday, I heard you ended up in the stocks. Bad luck." He tells me, not sounding remotely sympathetic and I wring my hands.
"They were throwing potatoes at me. It's only supposed to be rotten fruit." I exclaim, sounding indignant.
"I'm not sure there's any hard-and-fast rules, but if it's any consolation, I think it was worth it." He explains and I frown.
"What? It went well?" I ask, nervous that he might actually fall for Sophia and I'll have to be his maid for the rest of my life, watching them together, and wishing that my 'destiny' was true.
"Great. Fantastic. She's incredible." He gushes and I physically cringe at his tone when describing her.
"Don't worry. I'll find a way to get you out of it." I assure him, giving another fake smile.
"Just make sure you don't end up in the stocks this time." He instructs and I nod.
"I won't. I think I'm starting to get the hang of this whole deception lark." I inform him and after a conversation with the King, I'm back in the stocks being pelted with rotten food. Once again, I enter Gaius's chambers covered in rotten food and feeling sorry for myself.
"Not again Merlyn, surely?" Gaius asks me from the table as I grab the pitcher.
"You would think that the appeal of pelting the same person with fruit would wear off after a while, but, oh, no!" I complain as I pour the water into the bucket again.
"I heard that Arthur wasn't at the knighting ceremony." Gaius comments and I sigh.
"Yeah, he wanted to make the most of his time left with Sophia." I elaborate as I begin to pick food out of my hair.
"So you helped him?" Gaius asks me, sounding confused.
"I'm his servant, I had to. And let's be honest Gaius, we both know how I feel about him. Even if it's into the arms of another woman, how could I not help him?" I ask him, my voice breaking, a tear falling from my eye and I see Gaius give me a sympathetic look.
"You shouldn't have done that, Merlyn. Apart from your heartbreak, I fear that Sophia may not be all that she seems." He admits, and I stop washing to turn to him.
"Why?" I ask him, worried that I put Arthur in danger by allowing him more time with Sophia.
"What do you know about seers?" He inquires and I frown, confused.
"Not much. They're supposed to be able to see the future, like prophets." I admit.
"It's said to be an innate ability. Those who have it are born that way. Some aren't even aware that what they see is the future. It comes to them in their dreams." He elaborates on my definition.
"What's this got to do with Sophia?" I ask him, not really understanding.
"The night before she and Aulfric came to Camelot, Morgana had a dream. Sophia was in it." He explains to me and I raise a brow.
"Before she arrived in Camelot?" I ask, surprised.
"I've been watching Morgana since she was very young. And though I tried to persuade myself otherwise, I realized that some of the things she said she'd dreamt came to pass. I kept it secret from Uther, of course. The gift of prophecy is too close to the work of magic." He explains and as he talked, I moved to sit on the bench next to him.
"You think Morgana is a seer?" I inquire.
"I don't think it. I fear it. Morgana said she dreamt that Sophia killed Arthur." Gaius insists.
"Couldn't that have just been a dream? Maybe the- the woman Morgana saw just looked like Sophia." I argue, desperately trying to find another reason because Arthur is with Sophia and if she is going to kill him, I helped her get him alone.
"That's what I hoped. But Aulfric caught me in Sophia's room and, in a flash of anger, his eyes changed color." Gaius informs me and I wring my hands together.
"Who are they?" I ask him, worried for Arthur's safety.
"It's not who they are that worries me. It's what they want with Arthur." Gaius confides and I run a hand through my hair as I think of all the horrible things that they could want to do to Arthur. As I'm turning the corner to Arthur's chambers I see Aulfric and I decide to follow him, which I do, until I reach a lake in the woods.
"I seek an audience with the Sidhe elders! Do:tiag-sa ar idbairt do denam!" Aulfric chants and several fairies appear over the lake. "I come before you to plead for the chance to win passage back to Avalon and a life of immortality!" He continues.
"Your punishment for killing another Sidhe is a mortal body and a mortal life. You will never be able to return to Avalon." One of the fairies tells him.
"The crime was mine, not my daughter's." Aulfric pleads.
"The gates of Avalon remain closed to your daughter. Unless the soul of a mortal prince be offered up to them." The fairy explains to Aulfric.
"Thank you. An immortal life for my daughter is all that I desire, so I promise you the soul of the greatest prince of all. Arthur Pendragon! Muahahahaha!" He ends with an evil laugh that makes me shudder. I hurry back to Gaius's chambers to tell him of what I saw at the lake.
"Avalon. What you saw at the lake, it's Avalon. It must be." Gaius states after hearing my account.
"What's..." I begin to ask him what Avalon is.
"The land of eternal youth. Mortals are only supposed to glimpse it the moment before death." He interrupts me.
"Well, I've seen it and I'm still here." I retort wringing my hands.
"Extraordinary. What did it look like?" Gaius asks me curiously.
"Does it matter? They're going to sacrifice Arthur and we don't even know who "they" are yet." I exclaim, my fear for Arthur taking over.
"We do now. I found writing like this on the top of Aulfric's staff. It's Ogham, an ancient script. Abas ocus bithe. Duthectad bithlane. "To hold life and death in your hands." From the writing on his staff and what you saw at the lake, I'm afraid I'm now certain. We're dealing with the Sidhe." Gaius informs me, walking over to his table and reading from a book.
"That does not sound like a good thing." I state as I notice his worry.
"They're masters of enchantment." Gaius explains and I raise a brow.
"You think Arthur's been enchanted?" I ask him, and I notice the slight hopeful tone that slipped into my voice at the thought that Arthur hasn't fallen for Sophia, but is merely enchanted.
"Almost certainly. I'm afraid Morgana's dream is coming true." He informs me grimly. Arthur announces his love for Sophia and asks permission to marry her, to which Uther practically laughs off, and when Arthur disrespects him, he threatens to kill Sophia and Aulfric. I walk into Arthur's chambers now wearing a sky blue dress since my red one was covered in food from the stocks, and I notice Arthur packing.
"Get out." Arthur orders me.
"I thought the King was a bit harsh." I admit.
"I don't need sympathy, Merlyn, especially not from you." He bites out and I have to suppress the wince at his unkind tone.
"But I did think he had a point." I continue, pretending his words didn't hurt when they really did.
"I ordered you to get out. Now leave me!" He orders again, more harsh than before.
"I know what you think you're doing, and I know you think you're in love with Sophia..." I tell him gently.
"Who are you to tell me what I'm thinking?" He interrupts me bitterly and I frown.
"Someone who cares for you. I'm your friend." I inform him.
"No, Merlyn, you're my servant. Nothing more than that." He retorts and I cringe, feeling tears well up.
"You don't know what you're doing. What you're saying. She's cast a spell on you. You're enchanted."
"I told you people would try to keep us apart. That she'd try to turn you against me." Sophia chides from the doorway where she and her father enter.
"I know. I won't let that happen." Arthur assures her and I turn to him.
"Look, don't listen to her, she's controlling you." I plead, begging him to listen to me.
"We can elope together. Get away from this place, these people. From her." Sophia sneers at me.
"I saw you." I tell Aulfric before turning to Arthur. "I followed him. They're planning to sacrifice you." I inform him, hoping he'll see reason.
"You let your servant talk to your guests this way?" Aulfric asks Arthur, giving me a glare.
"I know what you're going to do, because I followed you to the lake and I heard everything." I angrily retort. I turn back to Arthur, my sapphire eyes brimming with tears. "You have to believe me." I plead.
"Don't listen to her, Arthur. Let's go. Let's leave tonight." Sophia suggests when it looks like Arthur is beginning to break her hold on him.
"She's going to kill you. Sophia plans to sacrifice you to buy a life of immortality. If you go with her, you'll die." I explain, begging him to listen to me.
"It- it doesn't make sense. We're-we're in love." Arthur stutters, the enchantment beginning to lose it's power.
"They're magical beings! Look at the writing on the staff." I exclaim, reaching for it, but Aulfric pulls it away, his eyes glowing red. "Look at his eyes. Look at him. Do you believe me now? Arthur, do you see?" I beg, and Arthur turns around, his gorgeous crystal blue eyes glowing red.
"I see everything." He states emotionless and I lunge toward Aulfric but he uses his staff.
"Na mben sis!" He chants, and his spell throws me against the wall, I hear a sickening crack as my head hits the wall and everything goes black as I slip into unconsciousness. I'm just waking up when I hear someone enter the chambers.
"Merlyn! What happened to you?" Gaius asks me worriedly as he rushes over to me.
"Aulfric. Where's Arthur? I have got to go after him. What's that buzzing noise?" I mutter as he helps me sit up and I look around before trying to stand.
"Careful, Merlyn, you can barely stand up." Gaius scolds as he helps me stand.
"I have to go." I tell him before I turn to leave.
"You can't, not in this state. You owe it to your powers that you survived this at all." He warns me, grabbing my arms and stopping me from leaving.
"I'll be fine, he needs me." I mutter, trying to break from his hold.
"Has that buzzing stopped?" Gaius asks me, and I nod.
"Yeah." I assure him.
"Liar." Gaius retorts.
"I have to go, Gaius. He'll die if I don't." I tell him desperately.
"The Sidhe are a vicious people. You must be careful." He warns me and I nod as he releases me.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." I reassure him as I start to walk forward.
"Merlyn? This way." Gaius points in the direction of the door and I turn to the door.
"Just testing." I tell him as I run out of the chambers and through the forest, the buzzing in my head getting worse, and a pounding headache to form causing me to trip while I'm running but I stumble back up and continue running until I reach the lake. I arrive and sees Sophia's staff on the ground.
"Onbregdan." I chant and the staff flies into my hand. I point the staff at Aulfric.
"Swilte, gold beorþ." I chant and a bolt of light hits Aulfric, causing him to explode.
"Father! No! No!" Sophia cries out and tries to run to shore but I point the staff at her.
"Óga ceoles." I chant and a bolt of light hits Sophia, causing her to explode as well. I rush into the water, looking for Arthur as my dress fans up around me.
"Arthur! Arthur! Arthur!" I call out before I find him under water and I bring him to the surface. I hurriedly bring him back to the palace and Gaius and I wait at his bedside, waiting for him to wake and when Arthur groans I sigh in relief.
"Arthur? Arthur?" I call out softly.
"What happened? Where am I?" He asks us as he sits up.
"Can you remember anything?" I inquire, as I lean forward, hoping he didn't.
"Ow! Oh, my head!" He complains before a flash of recognition appears in his eyes. "There was a girl. Sophia, she...I asked my father something about her, I asked him..." He mutters before bolting up in bed. "What was I thinking?" He exclaims and I smile slightly.
"Well, we did wonder. Especially when you eloped with her last night." I inform him, after sharing a look with Gaius.
"I did what?" He asks, incredulously.
"Merlyn had to bring you back to Camelot." Gaius explains.
"I don't recall any of this." Arthur exclaims.
"Must've been some blow." Gaius says to me.
"What blow?" Arthur asks angrily.
"Well, er, when I caught up with you, I couldn't persuade you to return, you were beyond reason. So I had to make you." I elaborate, wringing my hands, nervously.
"You managed to knock me out?" Arthur asks me, disbelief coloring his voice.
"Yep. With a lump of wood." I confirm, smirking.
"She only did it to bring you back safely." Gaius informs him.
"No one can know about this. Any of it. Is that understood?" Arthur asks us, and Gaius and I look at each other before we nod, and Arthur falls back on his pillows. Arthur stands before the court later that day.
"When you failed to show up for patrol this morning, I feared you'd eloped with Sophia in a fit of passion." Uther tells Arthur, who turns to me.
"I- I wish he had. Because then I wouldn't be stood in front of you feeling like an idiot... again." I mutter, wringing my hands as I face my punishment for 'knocking Arthur out.'
"This is becoming a near daily occurrence for you." The King retorts.
"But there was a mistake. And I would not say it was anyone's fault. Not- not really. Erm, you- you could say it was mine." I ramble.
"Could somebody tell me what happened?" The King asks, exasperated.
"Well..." I trail off.
"Someone with a brain." He retorts and I bite my lip.
"After Sophia left, I wanted to take my mind off her so I went for a hunt." Arthur explains.
"And killing things mends a broken heart?" Morgana asks him.
"No, but it's good fun. Merlyn was meant to inform you that I wouldn't be back till later today." Arthur informs his father who turns to me.
"Have you some kind of mental affliction?" He asks me and I shrug.
"Probably." I admit, still wringing my hands.
"I'm looking into it, Sire." Gaius assures him.
"Well, I hope for our sake you find a cure. Or we'll find ourselves with a food shortage on our hands." The King jokes and I chuckle.
"Food shortage?" I ask before I realize it and my eye twitches as I look at Arthur who smirks as I'm lead away to be put into the stocks. Once there, I'm pelted with food for the third time in as many days. After my punishment, I wash up and change into a maroon dress and my tan boots, with my hair food free, and my hair down, being pinned back by a red rose. Morgana knocks before entering as I'm eating my dinner.
"Morgana." Gaius greets her
"I've had some troubled nights." She admits, walking towards the table.
"I prepared another draught for you. Have the dreams stopped?" He asks her and she shakes her head.
"Arthur told me what actually happened." She informs us before turning to me. "You must've hit him round the head really hard. Not that I blame you with how he was acting." She confides and I nod.
"Yeah. I feel really bad about that." I admit, looking down into my soup.
"I wouldn't. I hope it hurt. Honestly, having you take the blame all three times for him? And how he treated you by running around with Sophia after showing that he cares for you? You deserve better Merlyn. I hope he's worthy of your affections." She tells me kindly, placing a hand on my arm and I smile.
"Thank you, Morgana." I tell her and she looks confused. "For being a good friend. For being kind to me." I elaborate and she smiles, looking as if there wasn't anything else she could have done.
"Here you are. Remember, every night just before you go to sleep." Gaius returns, giving her a sleeping draught.
"Thank you, Gaius." She replies before she leaves.
"She must never find out the truth." He informs me and I frown.
"Why not? She had a premonition that helped save Arthur's life." I argue, trying to show him how helpful she could be if she knew of her gift.
"And it could've cost her her own. If Uther ever found out, things would never be the same again. It must remain a secret." He insists, leaning forward and I glance at the door before back at Gaius.
"Is she like me? Can she use magic?" I inquire about my friend, curious.
"No one's like you, Merlyn." Gaius assures me and I chuckle lightly.
"But she has the gift?" I ask him, and he leans back, looking to the door.
"For her sake, I hope not." He confides as we're both left to ponder over what Uther would do if he ever found out that his beloved ward was gifted with magic.