AN: Hey!

Polls close on Wednesday! So let me know who you want Lizzie with!

This chapter is dedicated to grapejuice101, because she really helped me a lot in my stories, and she was really looking forward to a scene in this chapter!

DISCLAIMER: MERLIN WAS CREATED IN THE TORTURE CHAMBER KNOWN AS BBC HEADQUARTERS.

Enjoy!

Morgana came running to me. She grabbed my arms, tears streaming down her face. "Gwen has been convicted as being the sorceress."

"We have to go stop it!" I said, grabbing Morgana's hand and running to the throne room.

We rushed inside, and heard the last bit of what Gwen said. "He got better, I didn't do anything!"

We walked up to Gwen. "I believe you." I said. "Perhaps this is a disease that isn't always fatal."

Morgana nodded, agreeing with what I was saying. "Have you thought of that?" She asked Uther. "Perhaps he recovered naturally." She suggested.

"And what of this, poultice that was found?" Uther asked us.

Gwen panicked. "What poultice?" She asked frantically. "I don't know anything about a poultice!"

"It was found in your house." Uther said, rising from his throne. "Undo this enchantment, put an end to this contagion."

Gwen couldn't help but look at Uther in disbelief. "I can't!"

"I can show you no mercy." Uther said.

"I am not a witch!" Gwen insisted. "I don't know how to stop the illness!" She cried.

"If you will not undo your sorcery, I must find you guilty." Uther stated.

"But I've told you-" Gwen begined.

Uther cut her off. "It is my duty to then pronouce judgement. And under the circumstances, I have no choice but to sentence you to death."

I couldn't help the gasp that escaped me, and apparently, neither could Morgana.

"No," Gwen desperately whispered.

"I can only hope that when you die, this evil plague dies with you." The guards lift Gwen. "Take her away." Uther commanded.

Being the stupid person I was, I tried to grab Gwen's hand, but the guards dragged her from me. "No!" Gwen kept weeping. "I'm innocent! Please help me!" She sobbed as they dragged her away. My heart pierced and tears threatened to fall over. Gwen was a very good friend and a very loyal one at that. I couldn't let her be executed.

I turned to Uther. "I know Gwen, she's my maidservant. She's no enchantress."

He turned to face me. "Have you ever seen an enchantress?" He asked. He continued when I didn't answer. "They bear no mark. There is no sense of evil in the eye."

I cocked my head. "Really? Cause I'm looking evil in the eye right now."

Uther's eyes widened. "Apologize at once."

I shook my head and narrowed my eyes. "Never."

Morgana stepped in before anything else can happen. "I've seen the way the girl works." Uther and I cooled down, and he turned away. "Her fingers are worn, her nails are broken. If she was a sorceress, why would she kneel on a cold, stone floor, morning after morning, when she could do it with a snap of her fingers?" She snapped her fingers for emphasis. "Like an idle King."

"You have no right!" Uther practically bellowed.

I stepped in. "You have a right to cast a judgement-"

The bastard cut me off. "I have a responsibility to take care of this Kingdom."

I threw my hands up. "What Kingdom?! You practically butchered half of it, and pretty much everybody is terrified of you!"

Uther glared at me so hard. Normally, I would have cowered under his glare, but I stoodd my ground. And yet somehow I shrank while in the face of stupid 'popular' girls in my school. "I take no pleasure this."

"You're sentencing the wrong person!" Morgana insisted.

I turned back to look at Arthur, who looked really conflicted about it. I gave him a look, and he finally gathered all the bravado and courage that he claimed to have and used it. "They're right, father. You hear 'magic' and you stop listening to anything!"

"She used enchantments." Uther plainly stated.

"Maybe, but to save her father! That doesn't mean she's guilty for creating a plague." Arthur argued. "One's an act of kindness, of love, the other of evil. I don't believe evil is in this girl's heart."

I could kiss Arthur right now.

"I've witnessed what witchcraft can do." Uther stated. It took everything in me not to yell such vicious things at him. Never mind, I hated Uther will all my guts. "I've suffered at it's hands."

And it screwed you up royally too, buddy. "I cannot take that chance." he continued. "If there is the slightest doubt about this girl, she must die or the whole Kingdom may suffer."

Arthur butted in. "I understand that, but-" he stopped after Uther gave him a glare that shut him up.

"One day, you will be King. Then you will understand. Such decisions must be made. There are dark forces that threaten this Kingdom."

"I know," Arthur snapped. "Witchcraft is an evil deed, but so is injustice."

Okay, I had to literally stop myself from wrapping my arms around Arthur.

"Yes. I am yet to be King, and I don't know what kind of King I will be, but I do have the sense of what kind of Kingdom I wish to rule." Arthur continued. "It will be where the punishment fits the crime."

Uther's head snapped to Arthur. "I fear you are right. She played with fire, and now she will die by it."

I scoffed in disbelief, and grabbed him by the shoulder, ignoring his death glare. "I will not let you kill Guinevere."

"Oh? And what are you going to do to stop me?" he challenged me.

I shook my head at him in disgust. "You claim you've seen evil. That you've experienced it. But the ugly truth is, you wouldn't know what evil was even if you looked it right in the mirror."

This time when Uther gave me a death glare, I matched it, then stalked out of the room. I needed to find Merlin. This was his mess, so he needed to clean it up!

I barely knocked as I barged into Gaius's chambers. "All right Merlin, you got Gwen into this mess, you get her out. How could you have been so stupid? For a brilliant sorcerer, you sure don't act like one."

All my ice instantly melted at the hurt look on his face. I sighed and lowered my head. "I'm sorry. I had a spat with Uther, and I'm letting it all out on you. And that isn't fair."

Merlin just nodded in understanding. "No Lizzie, you're right. It was stupid. I thought I was doing good."

I hesitantly touched Merlin's shoulder, and when he didn't recoil, I rubbed it gently. "I know you did. But maybe you just didn't show it in the best way."

Merlin nodded, then sighed. "Well, I was just about to go see Gwen. Will you come with me?"

I nodded, and we made our way to the dungeons. We went up to her cell.

"Gwen," Merlin called, getting her attention. She instantly stood up, and came to us. She tried coming to the bars, but the chains binding her wrists together kinda complicated that. "Thank you." She said with tears in her eyes.

"What for?" Merlin asked, confused.

"For coming to see me." She explained.

I smiled at her. "We're your friends Gwen. Of course we came."

"I'm sorry." Merlin apologized.

"It's not your fault." Gwen assured him.

"Well-" Merlin tried, but Gwen interrupted him.

"It's all right. Don't worry about me." She said. "It's no use crying about it." She suddenly realized what context that could have been in. "I-I mean, not that you were going to worry about it-don't think that..." She trailed off.

Merlin just smiled painfully. "Oh Gwen, I can't let this happen."

Gwen ignored that. "Please, just promise me, one thing." She gulped. "You don't have to do it, but-" she hesitated.

"What?" I urged her.

She took a deep, shaky breath. "Remember me."

Tears formed in my eyes as Merlin shook his head. "No. You're not going to die." He insisted, mostly for his own benefit. "I'm not going to let this happen."

Gwen hesitantly nodded, and Merlin took off. I watched him leave, then turned back to Gwen. I smiled encouragingly at her. "Don't worry. It's Merlin. He'll figure something out."

Gwen weakly smiled, but I could tell we were both thinking the same thing.

We were in a lot of trouble.

TBC...

Not that long, but still pretty good. Part three hopefully up soon!

Liz's outfit on Polyvore, as usual!

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