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.
After spending more time than I would've liked in that awful tunnel, Morgana finally got the spell to work, and we were able to clear the debris away from the doorway. Morgana led me to her chambers since it was closer and I could take my time cleaning up.I took a long bath and changed into a pale red long sleeve dress with gold stitching and my tan boots with a tan corset and Mor did my hair in a braided updo, leaving a strand loose in the front. I make my way to Arthur's chambers and I begin to complete my chores. I'm stripping the bed when I hear the door open and I turn to see Arthur quickly shut the door behind him before rushing over to me. He grabs my hand and leads me to the far side of his room, away from the door.
"You need to get out of here. The King's ordered me to arrest you." He informs me, his hand still resting on my arm and my eyes widen at his words.
"What? Arrest me for what?" I question, taking my arm from him and wringing my hands as I lean against the wall.
"Catrina's accused you of taking her seal." Arthur explains and I push off the wall and take his hands in mine, looking into his crystal blue eyes I love so much, begging him to trust me.
"But I didn't. I wouldn't steal-" I begin to argue and he squeezes my hands softly, a sad smile on his face.
"I know Lyn, but we haven't got time. You've got to get out of Camelot, now. I'll throw off the guards to buy you some time." He interrupts me and I exhale shakily, not knowing how to handle this situation.
"Arthur, she is a troll, and she's trying to set me up." I insist and he sighs, looking like he wants to believe me but is too conflicted. "I know you think I'm mad but I'm telling you I saw her." I continue and he gently tucks the loose strand of hair behind my ear. Just as he's about to speak, a knock sounds at the door.
"Alright, I'll keep an eye on her. You need to leave, Merlyn. Please." He replies, imploring me to escape and I frown, not wanting to leave Camelot in the hands of that troll. The guards knock on the door again and Arthur leads me towards the servants entrance that leads to the opposite hallway.
"Sire!" The guards call from the corridor and Arthur quickly kisses me before he releases my hand as I open the secret door and I look back at my prince once more.
"Go. Go!" He orders quietly before I slip out the door and decide to hide out in the woods while I come up with a plan. I purposely left my scarf and signs of the campfire to lead them to a false trail I laid out so I could sneak back into Camelot and get rid of that nasty thing before it can destroy my kingdom. I used magic to help me get back to the physician's chambers unseen and Gaius had me hide in a grain barrel while Gwen visited and he finally knocked on the lid, meaning I could get out of the barrel, which was harder than anticipated with a dress on.
"Well that was comfortable." I mumble sarcastically as I try to get the most of the grain out of my hair and Gaius smirks slightly. .
"A necessary evil, I'm afraid. They picked up the trail that we left, but it won't fool them for long." He assures me and I sigh, as I dust off the front of my pale green dress.
"Then I'd better get busy." I reply, as I walk over to the door leading to the corridor.
"And Merlyn, be careful. The guards are still searching for you." He reminds me and I feel my shoulders tense at the reminder that I'm a wanted thief.
"Wonderful, thanks Gauis, I'd nearly forgotten." I retort over my shoulder just before slipping into the corridor, hoping I don't run into any guards on the way. I don't find guards, however, I do find the royal troll, who seems to be itching furiously as she hurries back to her chambers. I follow her, resorting to peering through a wall grate after she went inside.
"Mistress, it is time." Jonas chides as he grabs a potion bottle from a cupboard.
"Do I have to?" The troll whines, leaning against the table.
"You must keep up the pretence!" He reminds her and she grumbles in disagreement.
"I hate being like this! So clean! It's revolting. I can't keep it up. This skin, this face! I just want to claw it off!" She complains, grabbing at her face in distress.
"Think of all the money, and the power. Soon it will all be yours." He tries again to persuade her and this time he's successful as she sits up and takes the potion. I immediately notice the troll skin fading back to Catrina's pale complexion and I hear her coming so I run down the corridor. I wait until nighttime before quietly entering, sneaking over to the cabinet where I saw Jonas get the potion earlier.
"Tospringe." I whisper, glancing over to make sure she's sill snoring, before I quickly grab the potion and sneak back out of the room. Once I make it back to the physician's chambers I give Gaius the bottle.
"I saw her drink some of this potion and a patch of troll skin on her arm disappeared." I inform him and he seems impressed by this.
"It must be pretty powerful magic to physically change her like that." He remarks and I get an idea, knowing how to outsmart the troll.
"Could you make a potion that looks and tastes the same as this?" I question, knowing with how skilled Gaius is that he most likely could replicate it.
"I don't know. Yes, I suppose so, but without the troll magic, it wouldn't have the same effect." He replies and I smile, leaning against the workbench.
"Exactly. If I can replace this potion with one that isn't magical.." I trail off and he seems to understand the idea.
"Ah, so Catrina will keep taking it, but it'll no longer work." He surmises and I nod, grinning at the thought of Uther seeing his troll wife.
"And she'll turn into a troll. Think you can do it?" I ask, not really sure if it were possible for this plan to work at his expression.
"I don't know." He comments, and I sigh, wringing my hands as I think of the empty cabinet.
"We have to make the switch before morning or Jonas will notice." I remind him and he sighs as we both realize this means another night of no sleep for the good of Camelot.
"Then it's going to be a long night." Gaius voices and I nod in agreement as he begins to instruct me to retrieve ingredients for him. Eventually I begin to flip through my spellbook while Gaius continues to replicate the potion, and he calls me over to him.
"What's in it?" I question, not sure if I even want to know his response.
"Nothing too potent. Rat's paste. Take two toads, grind them up…" He begins to list off the ingredients as he works.
"No, I get the picture." I interrupt, but he glances up at me and continues.
"Horse dung. Crushed sheep's eyeball Pond scum. Three wolf spiders. And what potion isn't complete without a dash of sheep's brain?" He finishes and I feel myself grow queasy at the thought of a few of those things let alone a mixture.
"Sounds delicious." I mutter sarcastically as I stare at the awful colored potion.
"Good, 'cause you're going to taste it." He informs me and I stand backing away from the workbench, clutching my stomach.
"No way." I refuse, crossing my arms, staying far away from the workbench as Gaius sighs.
"It's completely harmless." Gaius insists, and after a few more attempts to refuse, Gaius got his way and I take a sip of the foul tonic and immediately gag, my hand flying to my mouth as I sit down.
"Er, no. *gags* That is…ugh. That is disgusting." I mumble, gagging again as I take a large gulp of water from the basin on the table.
"Yes, to you, but not to a troll." Gaius argues and I narrow my eyes at him, cross he asked me to do that in the first place.
"That was the worst thing you've ever made me do.I can't even believe you let me put that in my mouth." I complain and Gaius rolls his eyes before offering me another potion bottle.
"Yes, well, try the original." He instructs and I scrunch my nose at the thought of that taste again. I take the smallest sip from the bottle and quickly spit it out, gagging once more at that disgusting taste.
"Does it taste roughly the same?" Gauis inquires and I shoot him a look, once again washing my mouth out with the water.
"Yes! It's horrible." I reply, not sure if I'll ever get the taste out of my mouth.
"Are you sure? Because if there's too big a difference, Catrina will notice." He retorts, worried he's missed something.
"It tastes exactly the same." I reassure him and he seems to nod slightly, not fully trusting my words.
"Well, let's hope she thinks so, too." He murmurs before he heads off to his chambers and I sneak back towards Catrina 's chambers, having to avoid a patrol of guards along the way.
"Tospringe." I chant softly and I place the fake potion back into the cupboard, but I'm interrupted by a noise and I quickly hide in the wardrobe. Jonas enters and sits down, but I notice the cupboard door is still open so I softly say the spell to shut it and when Jonas investigates I quietly run out of the chamber and down the corridor. I decide to risk a visit to Gwen's house in the lower town with Morgana, who insisted I wear one of her dresses and a scarf over my head as we magically sneak to our friend's. The dress is a creme color with white accents on the bodice as well as the skirt and draping bell sleeves. On the way I inform her of what Gaius and I did with the potion and she laughs at my expense before sobering, a knowing smirk on her face.
"I'm happy to be included in all things magic but I'd prefer to hear about you and Arthur, Lyn." She prods quietly and I feel my cheeks heat up as I stutter through excuses in my head.
"W-what about me and Arthur?" I finally manage to reply, to which she raises an eyebrow and I sigh, caving in to her imploring stare, sharing the details of my new dynamic with Arthur. She grins as we walk up to Gwen's back door, a look of 'we'll talk about this more later' before we enter. Gwen hands us both wrapped bundles and demands we open them at once. Morgana's is a stunning violet gown with golden embroidery down the bodice and sleeves. I nervously open mine to find a gorgeous silver dress with delicate white lace detailing down the front of the bodice and throughout the skirt. I gasp as I gently take the dress in my hands, feeling the beautiful silk material and I smile, looking to Gwen thankfully.
"Gwen it's gorgeous, I don't know what to say." I mumble, standing to embrace her before we hear a commotion outside, I walk out the door, her shoving a broom at me to give us an excuse to be listening and I nod at her as I see a group of guards harassing an elderly man for not paying a new tax Uther and Catrina implemented.
"I've given all I can." The man promises and I feel myself tense in anger at how the guards are treating the people they're meant to protect.
"That's not enough!" The guard retorts and I notice then Arthur standing amongst the crowd, looking as if he's deciding to step in, before walking over to the men.
"Let me see." he orders, taking the money pouch, looking inside of it and then he gives it back to the man. "Release him." Arthur instructs, over his shoulder, but the guard tries to argue and Arthur turns to face the guard once more."Release him. Give them back their money. All of it." He orders before leaving the lower town, not before glancing back over the crowd as they smile and bow to him. I hurriedly put my hair into a braided plait before sneaking towards the servants entrance to Arthur's chambers, which ironically enough I never normally use. I knock just before I walk in, quickly shutting the door behind me and Arthur glances up at the sound.
"Merlyn! What are you doing here?" He whispers surprise in his expression and I smile softly as I approach the table where he's sitting.
"I saw what you did earlier. The people owe you a debt of gratitude." I admit and he gives me a look for not staying as hidden as he'd like, but frowns .
"The people owe me nothing. My father's still going to impose the tax." He informs me and I frown at the troll's attempt for more money.
"Will he not be persuaded?" I inquire, wondering if perhaps Arthur could make Uther see reason.
"Not by me. He can't stand the sight of me." Arthur responds, sighing as he leans back in the chair.
"That's not true. The King loves you." I assure him, knowing Uther's love for his son is greater than his love for power.
"You should've heard the way he spoke to me." He explains and I place a hand on his shoulder comfortingly and he stands, taking my hand from his shoulder and intertwining it with his own.
"I'm sure he was angry, but you're still his son. Everyone appreciates what you did. Gwen says they're all talking about how you tried to help, and they won't forget that." I promise him and he seems to be deep in thought before answering.
"Maybe he's right. One day I will be the King of Camelot, and I cannot be a friend to the people as well as their ruler." He softly admits and I gently brush a strand of his golden hair away from his face, looking into those crystal blue eyes shining with confliction.
"That's not true, and you will prove it when you become King. You've a kind heart, Arthur. Don't ever change. Not for anyone." I beg him, my hand resting on his cheek and he smiles at my words, his hand coming to rest on my face as well. He leans in, eyes glancing at my lips as a knock sounds just before the door opens and Leon enters. I spring apart from Arthur and bump into the table, causing Arthur to chuckle and I blush furiously. One look at Leon is enough to know he saw the affection displayed between prince and maid and I stare at my hands, embarrassed.
"Um- The King has sent for you." He informs Arthur before smirking and turning back to us, and I glance up at him, wondering if he's going to try and arrest me. "Don't worry, Art. I won't tell anyone you've been snogging your maid." He remarks, teasing his best friend, and I let out a squeak of indignance and I notice Arthur blush slightly to which Leon laughs at before exiting.
"I- I'm going to go, um, somewhere not here. I'll- yeah." I announce, pushing off from the table, walking towards the entryway before Arthur gently grabs my wrist, stopping me. He places a kiss on the corner of my cheek and I blush again before quickly leaving out the servants entrance, touching the spot with a light smile on my face. I hide up on the battlement for a while, reading my spellbook before I hear someone and I quickly leave. As I walk into the physician's chambers I have a loving grin on my face, but when I notice Gaius's mood it falls.
"We've done it! Catrina's drank the fake potion. What's wrong? What's happened?" I question, wondering what happened while I was on the battlement.
"Uther has disinherited Arthur and made Catrina his heir." Gaius explains and I inhale sharply, understanding the repercussions of that decision.
"So if Uther dies, she will rule Camelot." I voice and Gaius nods solemnly. I didn't attend the crowning ceremony but from what Morgana explained, my plan seems to be working brilliantly and Catrina is losing hold of her enchanted form. She tells me telepathically where to meet them as they're chasing her. I find them all by the council chamber and I close the doors with magic so she can't escape.
"Whatever's the matter?" Uther questions and she hides her troll arm behind her back as she struggles for the lie.
"I'm sorry…I don't know what came over me. I, I just suddenly felt so hot. I, do you know, I think I need to be on my own, alright?" She rushes out not having noticed me behind the pillar and Morgana and I share a look before she feigns concern, stepping forward.
"Are you alright?" She asks, sounding sincere as she reaches for her and Catrina retracts away from her as she smiles.
"Yes, yes, I'm, I'm fine. Really, thank you. I just…" She mumbles and I softly use a spell to lock the door so she can't leave.
"Come on. Come on. Open!" She exclaims, her voice sounding deeper as she begins to lose the enchantment.
"Let me." Arthur offers as he steps forward, only to see her troll arm, causing him to back away from her. "What's that?" He questions just before she begins to transform in front of us.
"What's happening? Somebody help her!" Morgana cries out before looking towards me winking as I step out from behind the pillar, while I suppress a laugh at her feigning confusion at the broken enchantment.
"You're a troll!" Arthur comments, gazing at my smirking face before looking back to the horrid creature standing in front of him.
"How dare you speak about her like that!" Uther bites back and we all give him confused glances at his continued defence of the troll.
"What is wrong with you? Look at the state of her!" Arthur continues, not understanding what is wrong with his father and I sigh, telepathically telling Mor there must be a second enchantment.
"I don't believe it." She voices out loud, just before the troll rips the door open and exits, snarling as she rushes off and Arthur turns to his father, gesturing at the broken door.
"She just ripped a door off its hinges. Doesn't that tell you something?" He prods, trying to get his father to see reason but I suspect he won't listen to anyone besides the troll, like with Sophia and Alfric.
"Enough!" Uther shouts and I flinch at the volume before I glance over to Morgana, who seems rather amused by the whole endeavor.
"She's a troll! A giant…grey…" Arthur pauses, searching for the right word and Morgana smirks.
"Stinking." She suggests and Arthur snaps his fingers before looking back at his father.
"Stinking troll!" He finishes his earlier sentence and Uther's expression hardens.
"Stop it! Haven't you hurt her feelings enough? Insult my wife again, it'll be the last thing you ever do." He threatens before he picks up her shoes, crown and trails off after the troll and I let out a mocking laugh as Arthur and Morgana stare after Uther.
"Love really is blind, then, huh?" I joke and Arthur rolls his eyes at my joke, while Morgana snorts in amusement.
"Uther must be enchanted. It's the only explanation." Gaius insists once he arrives back to the physician's chambers after their failed meeting to get Uther to listen.
"I know that. Which is why we have to find a way to break it." I reply as I look through my spellbook, from where I'm sitting at the workbench.
"You won't find anything in your magic books. Troll enchantments are too strong." He informs me and I scoff at that comment.
"I wish I knew that 6 hours ago. Then what are we going to do?" I ask him, not sure what else to do if my spellbook doesn't have the answer.
"You must speak to the dragon. If there's a way to break Catrina's hold on Uther, he'll know it. But be careful, dragons and trolls have been close allies in the past." He warns me and I sigh, knowing what the great dragon will think about this news. I sneak down the all too familiar tunnel into the dragon's cave and explain to him what's happened, and he reacts exactly as I feared.
"Stop bloody laughing, this isn't funny." I snap, having listened to this stupid lizard laughing over this, which under less stressful circumstances I might've laughed along with him.
'Oh, it is, it is. The thought of Uther marrying a troll! Was it a very public affair?'
"Public enough." I answer and he begins to laugh again, to which I cross my arms in annoyance."Don't laugh! If she can't be stopped, Arthur won't become King. Albion will never be born." I remind him and he sobers up as an amused dragon can I suppose.
'I'm sorry. You are right, of course.'
"How can we break the enchantment?" I inquire, needing to know how to remove her hold on Uther's mind.
'These are not trifling tricks. Troll magic is very powerful.'
"There has to be a way." I insist, wringing my hands and the dragon ponders.
'The only way you could break this enchantment is if Uther were to cry tears of true remorse.'
"How do we make him do that?" I retort, unsure I've ever seen an emotion in Uther apart from anger.
'That I can't answer. Uther's heart is cold as stone. He's never been sorry for anything.'
"Thanks, I think. Sorry, I've just thought of it, but do you have a name or do I call you 'Great Dragon'?" I question, not sure if it was rude to ask his name, and he seems taken aback by my sudden question.
'I am Kilgharrah, young witch, and it was some time ago you promised to set me free. The help I give is not unconditional.'
"The dragon said he had to cry tears of true remorse to break the enchantment." I explain to Gaius the next morning. I'm dressed in a pale yellow dress, a white corset with small pink flowers, my tan boots and my hair in a long braid down my back with a few strands loose.
"Well, that's not going to be easy. Uther's heart's closed to everyone." Gaius replies and I shake my head, standing from the workbench.
"Well, not everyone. Arthur." I suggest and Gauis nods, seeming to come up with a plan.
"Then there's only one course of action we can take. Uther must see his son die." He decides and my eyes widen as he tells me the details of his plan to trick Uther. I sneak into Arthur's chambers just after he's blown the candle out and I make my way over towards the center of the room.
"Arthur! Arthur!" I whisper as I approach the bed and he quickly sits up once he realizes it's me and I blush as he walks over, wearing a pair of brown trousers, scratching the back of his neck tiredly.
"Not that I'm not happy to see you but what are you doing here?" He questions his voice still hoarse from sleeping and I bite my lip before focusing on why I came here.
"So your, er, your stepmother is a troll, then." I comment and he rolls his eyes as he pulls me into his arms and I giggle softly as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.
"If you say "I told you so"…" He chides and I roll my eyes, playfully nudging his chest with my elbow.
"I wasn't going to. I wouldn't. But it's true that if you had listened to me earlier, then…" I begin but he gives me a look and I grin. "Sorry. Gaius and I believe your father's been enchanted, now we found a way to break the spell, but we need your help." I explain and he walks over to his wardrobe pulling on his black jacket and I smile at him before rushing to fetch Gaius.
"So your great plan is to kill me?" Arthur repeats, fixing a questioning look my way as he crosses his arms and I wring my hands, already nervous about this plan.
"No. Well, yes. It…not exactly. It's…Gaius has made a potion that gives the appearance of death without the actual dying bit. It's fine. There's nothing to worry about. It'll only bring you to the brink of death." I try to reassure and he paces, running a hand through his hair.
"Oh, only to the brink." He retorts sarcastically and I walk over to him, fear shining in my sapphire eyes at the whole idea of this plan.
"I'm not exactly thrilled about this either, Arthur. We haven't got a choice." I remind him and Gaius looks over at the prince, fixing him with his best stern glance.
"We have to make your father cry." He reiterates, knowing Arthur is our only chance at provoking the emotion we need.
"He doesn't care about me anymore." Arthur exclaims, throwing his hands up and Gaius scoffs.
"Nonsense. That's Catrina's influence. I've known your father for many, many years. There's never been anyone or anything he's treasured more than you. It's perfectly safe. A single drop of the antidote will reverse the effects immediately." Gaius continues to go over the plan and Arthur looks up at the last part.
"Antidote. What antidote? You didn't say anything about the antidote!" He chastises me and I point at him, a playful glare on my face.
"I could barely get out death-like potion before you were buzzing with questions. Besides you never listen to me." I remind him and he rolls his eyes before looking back to Gaius, who's clearly frustrated with our lack of attention.
"The potion will lower your heart rate and breathing. For all intents and purposes, you will be dead." He explains and I flinch, not liking this plan at all.
"And the antidote reverses the effects?" Arthur inquires, seeming to be putting on a brave face while I'm wringing my fingers nervously, occasionally cracking the joints from pulling so hard.
"Yes. If it's administered in time." He assures him and Arthur raises a brow at this.
"If it isn't?" He questions and I feel my heart beating so hard in my chest I'm fearful it'll burst as Gaius answers.
"You will be dead, but it won't come to that. Merlyn will have the antidote. Once I have administered the poison….er, the potion, she'll have half an hour to get it to you." Gaius explains and Arthur looks over to me, giving a playful grin when he notices my nervousness and I smile.
"Don't be late then, darling." He teases, mirth and worry shining in his eyes, although the worry vanished in a second and the cocky bravado he assumes around the knights replaces it.
"Of course not." I reply, bushing at his slip up in front of Gaius, who seems surprised by the change but says nothing.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" He asks one final time, wanting to make sure Arthur is comfortable with the plan, to which the prince nods, sending me a small smile before looking to the potion.
"It's the only way to save Camelot." He replies, rolling his eyes before drinking the potion. He waited a moment before shrugging right before he passed out, a dull thud sounding as he hit the ground and I wince.
"Time to break the bad news to Uther." Gaius announces, and I look back at Arthur on the ground before I quickly jog down the corridor, suddenly a sharp pain in the back of my head and everything goes dark. I wake to find the potion broken, and I rip off a sleeve of my dress using it to soak up the antidote before running back to Arthur's chambers to find Uther having been released from the troll's control, I make my way over to Arthur and squeeze out one drop of the antidote and Arthur wakes, immediately going to attack the troll.
"Is that any way to treat your dear old stepmother?" She retorts before throwing Arthur and fighting off the guards while Jonas is run through by Arthur. I see the troll move to attack Arthur again and he hasn't noticed her yet.
"Fléoge hrægl." I chant, the spell pulling the rug out from underneath her, causing her to land on her back and Arthur runs her through with his sword. I'm walking down the corridor later that day, wearing a forest green dress, dark brown corset, tan boots and my hair loose with several strands braided in a crown like design around my head. Arthur walks towards me and I smile, slowing my pace to stop just in front of him.
"Merlyn." He greets and I smirk, glancing around at the empty corridor.
"I think I prefer 'darling' actually." I tease and he blushes slightly, causing me to giggle.
"Best saved for when we're alone." He replies, winking and I'm the one blushing now as he laughs before smiling at me. "Without your help, I'd still have a troll for a stepmother." He surmises and I roll my eyes, laughing at the thought of a troll being queen. "Leon swore not to speak of what he's seen but I can't promise he won't tease you personally, the git." He warns me and I giggle, looking around again before pulling him into an abandoned chamber nearby.
"I can't promise I won't retaliate then." I remark, referring to Leon and he chuckles before I pull him to me and kiss him, which Arthur immediately responds to, pulling me closer to him before breaking away. "I have a feeling you were going to do that before Leon interrupted us yesterday." I whisper breathlessly and he smiles as we both separate from each other.
"You continue the trend of surprising me, darling." He emphasizes the pet name and I grin, knowing he's teasing me, an unspoken challenge in his gaze.
"I live for nothing else, prat." I retort and he chokes out a laugh as I brush past him, quickly checking the corridor before exiting the chamber, glancing back at him once more before going to complete the remainder of my tasks, thinking about a certain blonde prince as I set off down the corridor while he stalks off in the other direction.