AN: I'M BACK!

I'M BACK I'M BACK I'M BACK!

Thank you to everyone who has stuck around and supported me through my hiatus.

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Enjoy!

Sitting in front of my mirror, I had just finished braiding my hair back when there was a rather harsh knock at my door. "Enter," I called out.

As soon as I did, the door bust open, and Sir Leon walked in, behind him a large number of guards who immediately started looking throughout my room.

"Sir Leon, what is the meaning of this?" I asked, standing up.

"I'm sorry, My Lady," Leon said, slightly bowing. "But we're searching for Merlin, Arthur's servant."

"I know who Merlin is, but I don't know why he'd be in my chambers, especially this time of day. He's usually working for Arthur," I answered. "What is this about, why are you searching for him?"

Leon hesitated for a second before he said, "Uther has ordered his arrest. Merlin stole the Queen's royal seal."

"What?" I said when he said, 'Merlin stole'. "He didn't."

"How do you know?" He asked.

"Because it's Merlin! He wouldn't steal anything, he isn't like that," I said.

"I'm sorry my Lady, but it's the King's orders."

One of the guards walked up to Leon and shook his head. Leon turned back to me, "That will be all, my Lady. I apologize for disturbing you."

Before the last guard could shut the door, I pulled it open and started running towards Gaius's chambers. I didn't even knock, I just ran in. "Gaius! Merlin's been-"

I stopped in my tracks when I saw Merlin, perfectly fine, and standing with Gaius. But the expressions on their face were terrified ones, probably because they were scared that they were caught.

The tightness in my chest immediately loosened when I saw that he was fine. But that tightness was immediately replaced with anger. "You," I said, taking large steps towards Merlin, who looked a little confused. "Little," One more step. "Prat!" I shouted and smacked his arm. "You had me worried sick!" I started smacking him again. "I was afraid that something had happened to you!"

Merlin grabbed my hands to stop me, and I let him. "I'm sorry! I assure you I'm fine," He said.

"Well I can see that," I sad. "Why is Catrina saying that you stole her seal?"

"I didn't!" He protested.

I grit my teeth. "I know, you didn't, I'm asking why!"

"I don't know!" He said. "She probably wants me gone."

"Merlin?" Gaius said, and we both looked over to him. "You need to find out what's going on?"

"Right!" Merlin said, then he looked over to me. "I'm sorry, I have to-"

"Fine, whatever, go," I said, gesturing to the door. Merlin nodded a goodbye before he ran out. I sighed, sitting down on a bench. "That boy is going to give me a heart attack some day."

Gaius chuckled. "You and me both, child."

I spent the whole day with Gaius, waiting for Merlin to come back with some information about Queen Troll. He finally came back around the night, and I almost sighed in relief when he came in through the door.

He handed a bottle of potion to Gaius, who went over to a candle to try and, well, heat it up, I guess. "I saw her drink some of this potion and a patch of troll skin on her arm disappeared."

"It must be pretty powerful magic to physically change her like that," Gaius thought, taking the cork out to smell it.

"Could you make a potion that looks and tastes the same as this?" Merlin asked, gesturing to it.

"I don't know," Gaius said thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose so, but without the troll magic, it wouldn't have the same effect," He continued, walking over to another table.

"Exactly!" Merlin said, following him, and I followed behind Merlin. "If I can replace this potion with one that isn't magical..." He trailed off.

Gaius gasped, understanding. "Ah, so Catrina will keep taking it, but it'll no longer work," He finished, sitting down at the table.

"So she'll turn into a troll in front of everybody?" I asked, and Merlin and Gaius nodded.

"Think you can do it?" Merlin asked, turning back to Gaius.

"I don't know," Gaius said, as it could take a long time to make it.

"We have to make the switch before morning or Jonas will notice," Merlin pointed out.

"Then it's going to be a long night," Gaius said.

I woke up really early the next morning and got myself ready for the day. I just finished pinning my hair up into a bun when the door opened and Gwen stepped in. "My lady! You're already dressed," she said in surprise.

"Yes Gwen, I must be off," I said distractedly, moving to walk past her. "Take some time off, you work too hard!" I called behind me as I ran to Merlin's chambers.

I walked in just as Merlin came down the stairs. "Did I miss anything?" I asked as I walked up to where Gaius was.

"Nothing so far," Merlin said as I sat down on the steps. "What's in it?" He asked Gaius.

"Nothing too potent," Gaius said. "Rat's guts."

"Nice," He said sarcastically, sitting down a couple steps higher than me.

"Toad paste," Gaius continued, and when Merlin and I looked at him in confusion, he proceeded to explain. "Take two toads, grind them up..."

Merlin and I immediately stopped him. "No, we get the picture," Merlin said, putting his hand up.

"Horse dung," Gaius went on, sniffing the potion. "Crushed sheep's eyeball."

"You know if I actually had had breakfast, it'd be up by now," I commented.

"Pond scum," Gaius said. "Three wolf spiders. And what potion isn't complete without a dash of sheep's brain?"

"Apparently none," I said.

Merlin grimaced as he said, "Sounds...delicious."

"Good, 'cause you're going to taste it," Gaius said with a grin, holding the bottle up to Merlin.

"No way," Merlin immediately protested, literally leaning back from the potion.

"Well I'm not about to make Elizabeth drink it," Gaius said, nodding to me.

"Thank you, Gaius," I said appreciatively, eyeing the bottle precariously.

"It's completely harmless," Gaius went on.

"Er, no," Merlin tried, but Gaius gave him a look, shaking the bottle. His face scrunched up, and he sighed. He moved to dip his finger into it, but he lost his nerve and clicked his tongue in protest. When it looked like Gaius wasn't going to give up, he finally dipped his finger into the bottle and brought it up to his mouth. After a few seconds of hesitation, he put his finger on his mouth. Almost immediately after, he started gagging. He started coughing, as if the taste would go out that way. Oh, the poor boy. "That is...ugh. That is disgusting."

I got up to go get him some water as Gaius commented, "Yes, to you, but not to a troll."

I grabbed the ladle that they had in the bucket and poured some into the cup. I still missed sinks. And proper bathtubs. And computers. Hell, I missed everything modern day about my life! Do you know how awful it was to wear like a billion layers during the heat of the summer? It was amazing I was able to do anything at all!

"I can't even believe you let me put that in my mouth," Merlin said as I walked back over.

"Yes, well, try the original," Gaius said, holding up the bottle of the original.

"Oh..." Merlin said in disbelief, leaning away from it again.

"Just a small amount!" Gaius assured him. "And be sure to spit it out."

Gaius uncapped the bottle and held it out to Merlin. This time faster, he dipped his finger in the bottle. And again, after hesitating, he put his finger on his tongue to taste it. And it had the same affect as it did on him the first time. He scrunched his face up at the taste, and gagged and spit the excess potion off of his face.

"Does it taste roughly the same?" Gaius asked through Merlin's coughs.

"Yes!" Merlin said quickly. "It's horrible!"

"Are you sure? Because if there's too big a difference, Catrina will notice," Gaius said.

"It tastes exactly the same," Merlin retorted, and I handed him the glass of water for him to drink, or rinse his mouth, or whatever he wanted to do with it.

He quickly downed it as Gaius said, "Well, let's hope she thinks so, too."

Later that day, Morgana and I were just sitting in her chambers, enjoying each other's company when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Morgana said, and a guard stood in the door partially as he said, "The King has requested your presence."

Morgana and I shared looks of bewilderment. What else could Uther possibly have to say?

As we made our way to the court, I voiced my thoughts out loud. "What could this be about?"

"I don't know," Morgana answered. "Uther's been full of surprises lately."

We walked in, and there was Uther at the front, Mrs. Uther Troll sitting in her throne behind him. We waited a few minutes before Arthur walked in. "Father?" He asked, probably wondering the same thing as the rest of us. What was going on?

"I'm relaxing your duties, revoking your title," Uther announced.

"What?" Arthur asked in disbelief.

Morgana and I shared bewildered looks. Did this mean what I thought it means?

"We live in dangerous times, I cannot allow you to undermine my authority," Uther explained.

"You've always welcomed my counsel in the past," Arthur asked, still very confused.

"You stood against me for all the people to see," Uther said, as if that explained everything.

"I'm sorry. Any future grievance I have will be held in private," Arthur said in bewilderment. This wasn't like Uther at all. I mean, sure he was a prick, but he'd never do anything like this. It was probably the enchantment speaking.

"No, it's too late for that," Uther shot down, turning to sit on his throne.

"Father, this is..." Arthur tried.

Uther turned around. "You are to be disinherited, with immediate effect. You are no longer Crown Prince of Camelot."

Whispers filled the crowd, and I had to stop my jaw from going slack. Was he really doing this?

"Sire, Arthur is your son, your natural heir..." Gaius started.

He stopped when Arthur turned around, putting a hand up to stop him. "Gaius..." Arthur turned to face his father. "You've always taught me to be true to my heart, and that's all I've ever tried to do. To be the man you wanted me to be. Someone you were proud to call your son."

Uther avoided Arthur's eyes as he said, "My decision is final."

After that, Arthur turned around and left. Uther spoke up, "Queen Catrina will be named as rightful heir to the throne. The ceremony will begin forthwith."

There was silence for a bit, before Sir Leon started slow clapping. You could always depend on Leon, couldn't you?

"This is bad," I said as I entered Gaius's chambers, Gaius behind me.

"I know," He agreed as he shut the door.

"This is so not good," I bit my lip, starting to pace.

"I know," Gaius acknowledged.

"We can't let this happen, Gaius! After Catrina is crowned, what's gonna stop her from getting Uther into a little 'accident'?" I asked, using air quotes around the word accident.

"I don't know, my girl," He said sadly, sitting down.

I sighed, sitting down across from him. "Neither do I."

We were both just sitting there for a bit before the door opened, and a gleeful Merlin walked in. "We've done it! Catrina's drank the fake potion." He immediately noticed mine and Gaius's somber expressions. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

Gaius and I exchanged looks as Gaius answered, "Uther has disinherited Arthur and made Catrina his heir."

Merlin's face went slack, "So if Uther dies, she will rule Camelot."

I rubbed my eyes. "That's generally how it works, Merlin."

Before I knew it was dressed to the nines, standing in the hall of ceremonies. Catrina was sitting in her throne, Uther by her side. I really couldn't believe this was actually happening.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Morgana eyeing Arthur, probably trying to see if he was okay, and it was very clear he wasn't. "We are gathered here to bear witness to the naming of Queen Catrina as the rightful heir to Camelot," Geoffrey announced. Catrina got out of the chair and knelt to the ground. Geoffrey opened the scroll he was holding and turned to face Catrina. "Are you willing to take the oath?"

"I am," She said, her head held high.

"Do you solemnly swear to govern the people of Camelot, to uphold the laws and customs of the land?" Geoffrey read.

"I..." Catrina cut herself off as she scratched at her arm. "Do."

"Will you, to your power cause law and justice in mercy to be executed in all your judgments?"

Lady Troll continued to scratch at her arm as she said, "I will."

I smiled, because I know it'd worked. Merlin's plan worked. I looked over to Gaius, who was trying to withhold a smile. I didn't care, I let mine pretty much take over my face.

"Will you, to the utmost of your powers..." Geoffrey continued, and Catrina looked down slightly, before looking up. "...Maintain the laws..."

"Yes, yes," Catrina said quickly.

"I'm sorry, you-you must let me finish," Geoffrey explained. "The wording must be exactly right to be binding."

"Well, get on with it then. I mean," Catrina turned to face Uther. "Really, where did you dig up this old crone from?"

"She's right. Get on with it," Uther said with a nod.

Geoffrey made a bit of a face but continued. "Will you, to the utmost of your powers...'

"Yes, yes," Lady Troll said hastily.

"...maintain the laws and customs..."

"I will, I will."

"...of the land, and serve the people of Camelot?" Geoffrey finished.

"Yes!" Catrina blasted. "Just shut up and give me the crown!"

The entire court gasped at what she said. I looked over at Morgana, who looked downright mortified at what Catrina had said. I tried looking shocked, but really, I wanted to laugh.

Geoffrey took the crown and presented it to Catrina, who said, "Will you just hurry up?!" And to the surprise of everyone, she grabbed the crown off of the pillow and started jamming it onto her head as she dashed out of the Great Hall.

"Catrina!" Uther called, running after her.

I looked at Morgana, grabbing her wrist and running after Uther. No way was I missing the fun!

We ended up at the doors of the council room, where Catrina was desperately trying to open the door. I looked around me to see if Merlin followed us, and to my delight, he was hiding behind one of the pillars.

"Catrina!" Uther said once he came to a stop. "What ever is the matter?"

"I'm sorry..." Troll Queen said as she hid her arm behind her back, which I was assuming is covered in troll spots. "I don't know what came over me! I, I just suddenly felt so hot," She said, fanning herself for effect. "I, do you know, I think I need to be on my own, alright?"

"Are you alright?" Morgana asked.

"Yes, are you?" I offered, trying hard to conceal my laughter.

"Yes, yes, I'm, I'm fine," Catrina dismissed. "Really, thank you. I just..." She abruptly turned around and yanked at the doors, which appeared to be locked. "Come on! Come on!" She said desperately. "Open!"

"Let me," Arthur offered and walked towards Catrina, but immediately recoiled when he caught sight of her arm. "What's that?" He asked, pointing at the gray splotches on her arm.

Suddenly, Catrina's face began to contort and it was clear that she was about to transform back into a troll.

"What's happening?" Morgana asked someone. "Somebody help her!"

"I'm not touching that," I commented.

And before we knew it, Troll Queen had been revealed, in all her gray and warty glory.

"You're a troll!" Arthur exclaimed.

"You don't say!" I answered his obviousness.

We all suddenly remembered that Uther was in the room, because he loudly said, "How dare you speak about her like that!"

"What is wrong with you?" Arthur asked his father in bewilderment. "Look at the state of her!"

"I don't believe it," Morgana said, words falling short.

Not caring anymore now that she was exposed, Lady Troll ripped the door open, and ran inside.

"She just ripped a door off its hinges!" Arthur exclaimed. "Doesn't that tell you something?"

"Enough!" Uther bellowed.

"She's a troll!" Arthur retorted. "A giant...grey..."

"Stinking," Morgana added as I threw in, "Ugly!"

"Ugly, stinking troll!" Arthur finished!

"Stop it! Haven't you hurt her feelings enough?" Uther asked as he went over and grabbed Queen Troll's crown and shoes. "Insult my wife again, it'll be the last thing you ever do."

"He's married..." I started as I paced in front of Morgana. "To a troll! How can he not see that?!"

"I don't know!" She said breathlessly. "That thing is vile and disgusting! I'm not sure how he can stand being in the same room with her stench."

"I say we dump a bucket of soap water on her," I suggested, sitting down in a chair.

"I don't think that will get the job done, Lizzie," She said.

I slammed my arms onto the table and buried my face in them. "What are we gonna do Morgana? We can't let a Troll rule Camelot!"

"I don't know," Morgana said. "Hope for a miracle that the stench will snap him out of this trance?"

We fell into laughter when we heard a knock at the door. "Enter!" Morgana called out, and a guard walked in.

"Lady Elizabeth?" He asked, and I perked up. "The court physician wishes to see you in his chambers."

"Gaius and I knew it was an enchantment!" I said as Gaius, Merlin, and I discussed the situation. "It's the only explanation."

"Which is why we have to find a way to break it," Merlin suggested.

"You won't find anything in your magic books," Gaius advised. "Troll enchantments are too strong."

"Then what are we going to do?" He asked.

"You must speak to the dragon," Gaius told Merlin. "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.

Merlin and I stood in silence for what seemed like forever as we waited for Kilgharrah to stop laughing at the news of Uther's nuptials.

"This isn't funny!" Merlin insisted.

"Oh, it is, it is," Kilgharrah said.

I leaned over to Merlin. "It was a tad bit funny," I whispered.

"I agree with the young girl. The thought of Uther marrying a troll! Was it a very public affair?" Kligharrah asked.

"Public enough," Merlin allowed, which just threw Kilgharrah into another round of laughter.

"Don't laugh!" Merlin said. "If she can't be stopped, Arthur won't become King. Albion will never be born."

"I'm sorry," Kilgharrah said, composing himself. "You are right, of course."

"How can we break whatever spell she's got him under?" I spoke up.

"These are not trifling tricks. Troll magic is very powerful," Kilgharrah explained.

"There has to be a way," Merlin insisted.

"The only way you could break this enchantment is if Uther were to cry tears of true remorse," the Dragon revealed.

"How do we make him do that?" Merlin asked.

"That I can't answer," Kilgharrah said. "Uther's heart is cold as stone. He's never been sorry for anything."

"Thanks, I think," Merlin said, the last part mostly to me. I rolled my eyes, and we turned around to leave when the Dragon's voice stopped us.

"Young warlock, it was some time ago you promised to set me free. The help I give is not unconditional," Kilgharrah said, and the words "set me free" froze me in my spot.

"What?" I asked in disbelief, and before I could say anything else, Merlin grabbed my arm and ushered me forwards.

As soon as we were back to the upper part of the castle and away from guards, I pulled Merlin into the nearest empty room. "You promised to set the Dragon free?!" I asked.

"I didn't have a choice!" He insisted. "It was the only way to stop Sigan!"

"Are you crazy? Do you have any idea what he could do?" I asked. "This is the Kingdom, that locked him up for twenty years. I'm pretty sure if I was that Dragon, the first thing I'd do with my freedom is destroy the person responsible for keeping me captive."

"I'll make him promise not to!" He said.

"So you think that the last Dragon is gonna make a pinky swear to not destroy this kingdom?" I asked.

Merlin's face contorted. "What's a pinkie swear?"

That was when I realized my slip up. "You know what? Never mind. We just have to figure out a way to make Uther cry tears of remorse."

"How are we gonna do that?"

"Do I look like a miracle worker, Merlin?"

"The dragon said he had to cry tears of true remorse to break the enchantment," Merlin reported to Gaius after the three of us met up in his chambers.

"Well, that's not going to be easy," Gaius commented. "Uther's heart's closed to everyone."

"Ain't that the truth," I mumbled to myself as I took a sip of water.

"Well, not everyone," Merlin argued. "Arthur."

"Then there's only one course of action we can take," Gaius said. "Uther must see his son die."

When Gaius said that last part, I started choking on my water, and Gaius had to tap my back as I desperately coughed the water out. "You want to kill who now?"

Merlin, Gaius and I were now standing in Arthur's chambers, and Gaius was filling Arthur in on what was happening and on the plan that we came up with.

"So your great plan is to kill me," Arthur said in a flat voice.

"No," Merlin said. "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."

"Oh, only to the brink," Arthur said sarcastically.

"Arthur, look, we don't really have a choice here," I said. "Unless you want a Troll for a stepmother for the rest of your life."

"We have to make your father cry," Gaius insisted.

Arthur turned away, and there was a sort of hurt look on his face. "He doesn't care about me anymore."

"Nonsense," Gaius immediately reacted. "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."

"Antidote," Arthur repeated. 'What antidote? You didn't say anything about the antidote!"

"Er...I didn't think it was important," Merlin said.

"Merlin, one of these days we need to sort out your priorities," I said.

"The potion will lower your heart rate and breathing," Gaius explained. "For all intents and purposes, you will be dead."

"And the antidote reverses the effects?" Arthur asked.

"Yes. If it's administered in time," Gaius added.

"If it isn't?" Arthur pressed.

"You will be dead," Gaius answered.

Arthur snapped his head towards Merlin. "You just said it wasn't important!"

"Erm...yeah, I suppose it is a bit important," Merlin said, scratching the back of his head.

Oh, Merlin...you beautiful idiot.

Wait, what?

"Merlin will have the antidote. Once I have administered the poison...er, the potion," Gaius said, changing his choice of words. "He'll have half an hour to get it to you."

"Don't be late," Arthur told Merlin.

"Am I ever?" Merlin asked.

I lightly patted his shoulder. "Let's just not go into that right now."

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Gaius asked Arthur.

"It's the only way to save Camelot," Arthur said, taking the vial from Gaius's hand. You know, for a jerk, he really cared about his kingdom, and I think that was amazing.

He downed the vial, and then we all waited a couple seconds. He shrugged, before his eyelids drooped almost instantly and he fell forward, passing out. Gaius, Merlin, and I all caught him before he could hit the ground. Wow, Arthur was heavy, even when I was only holding a third of him! He really needed to lose weight.

"Time to break the bad news to Uther," Gaius said.

"Who's gonna volunteer for that?" I asked.

I didn't actually stick around for the saving part. Merlin insisted that I not be there in case things turned violent and I somehow managed to get hurt, since I did that a lot here.

So when he and Gaius came back, successfully lifting the enchantment, we all laughed and cheered, and Merlin lifted me up into the air and spun me around in a hug.

All was good in Camelot again.

It was about time too; I don't know how much longer I could have lasted with a Troll for the Queen. The smell really was horrible.

TBC...

And that's the end of that!

Not much to say, except that I'm so excited for what's coming up! Especially the

next couple of episodes!

REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!

THE ADVENTURES OF ELIZABETH MALINOR CONTINUE...

Merlin uses his magic to turn a puff of white smoke into a horse.

"It was sorcery you saw, are you certain of it?" Uther asked a villager.

"Yes, sire," She answered

"Send for the witchfinder," Uther's voice said as a carriage pulled by a horse brought a man up to Camelot's doors.

"Your once noble Camelot is rotten to the core," Aredian, the Witchfinder, informed Uther.

"Can you prove that it wasn't you?" Aredian asked Merlin.

"No," He answered.

"My methods are infallible, my findings incontestable," Aredian informed the entire courtroom.

Aredian splashes water at Gaius's face, harshly waking him.

"The facts point to one person alone, the boy! Merlin!" Aredian acccused.

"You're a liar!" Merlin yelled as Arthur and Elizabeth dragged him out of the courtroom.

"Arthur, you've got to stop this," Guinevere pleaded as Aredian lit the torch for the pyre.

TUNE IN NEXT TIME!