I had been avoiding the king and his servants all morning, seeing as I was to stand at his side while he upheld the brutal punishment for breaking Camelot's number one rule: prohibition of any and all sort of magic.
Arthur couldn't attend for he had other duties, and Morgana utterly refused to be part of something so cruel as beheading someone, so it was up to me to accompany Uther against my will.
I walked down one of the castle's hallways on my way to Gaius' quarters, hopefully hiding there until the event was over, but Uther found me.
"Meghanne," he called after me and I was forced to stop and turn around.
I walked in his direction, cursing under my breath. "Yes, Sire?"
"Although you made your opinions on the matter clear, I gave you an order. As your king, I expect you to go through with it."
"I know." I nodded and even dared to look him in the eye as I said, "It feels as if that's all you are to Arthur, Morgana, and me lately."
"I will not stand for this." Uther tried to keep his anger in check, but he was a temperamental man and this was an argument he already had many times before. With Morgana and I, especially. "When your father died twenty years ago, I promised him to look after you; the same with Morgana." His gaze softened at the mention of my father, who had been King Uther's greatest knights and like a brother to him. Being just a few weeks old newborn when I was orphaned, I did not remember anything of my father. Only his name, William. A name that meant more to Uther than it would ever mean to me.
But just like the grief had appeared on the king's face it vanished, his blue eyes masked from any emotion as he finished with a stern tone, "But I am Camelot's king above all. The kingdom needs to be shown that we will not tolerate any treachery."
"But it wasn't treachery!" I raised my voice angrily as he turned around to leave. I picked up the skirts of my dress and quickly followed after him, too late to swallow back my words. "The man harmed no one! He shouldn't be losing his head for the mere practice of-"
"All magic, no matter its use, is a danger to our people, Meghanne! I will not run the risk of it murdering innocents, as it once did with William and hundred more!"
Even if it meant us killing innocent magic users? I scoffed at the hypocrisy, but figured I would never win against Uther, and kept walking, "Let's just get this over with."
A large crowd gathered around the castle square when King Uther and I stepped out onto the main balcony, plenty of guards standing near if anything were to happen.
The magic user was brought forth in shackles, bruises and blood covering his face. I noticed Uther take a deep breath before he spoke out to the audience, "Let this serve as a lesson to all. This man, Thomas James Collins, is adjudged guilty of conspiring to use enchantments and magic. And, pursuant to the laws of Camelot, I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned on penalty of death."
Even from up here, I could see the looks of anger and disappointment that stood out next to the few faces of those who, like the king, thought this to be justice.
"I pride myself as a fair and just king," I clenched my jaw and refrained from showing my own disapproval, "but for the crime of sorcery, there is but one sentence I can pass."
The drums thundered with the hearts of those, including my own, who stood and watched as Thomas James Collins was placed next to the chopping block. The man's head came down slowly, Uther raising his hand until we held our breaths at the morbid sight.
It took everything in me to keep from looking away when the order to be off with the man's head was given. Instead, I held my hands tight behind me and kept my eyes on a young, dark-haired man in the crowd as sharp iron sliced through flesh and bone.
"When I came to this land," Uther subsided the gasps of many, "this kingdom was mired in chaos, but with the people's help magic was driven from the realm. So I declare a festival to celebrate twenty years since the Great Dragon was captured and Camelot freed from the evil of sorcery... Let the celebrations begin!"
The whispers of many filled my ears before the wailing moans of a haggard woman pierced through the castle square.
"There is only one evil in this land, and it is not magic! It is you!" From the rawness in the old woman's voice, I figured she was Thomas' mother. "With your hatred and your ignorance! You took my son!" She made it known, the crowd backing away from the enraged woman while Uther tensed and remained cold. "And I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears," she cried. "An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth... A son for a son!"
My blood ran cold with her words, Uther shouting at the guards, "Seize her!"
But Thomas' mother took an amulet hanging around her crone neck and chanted a spell. The wind blew hard, wrapped her in a cloud of dust and leaves, and took her away.
The crowd fell silent for a second until murmurs formed throughout, I following King Uther and his men inside the castle.
"If this is how you choose to keep the peace, I don't want to imagine what things will be like when Arthur becomes king," was all I said to him.
I didn't give him a chance to say anything back and ran out the room with tears of both fear and anger in my eyes.
Gaius filled my cup with hot tea to help calm me down.
"If only I could live here with you, Gaius," I told the old man, who was more of a father-figure to me than Uther had ever been.
"Your place is in the royal castle, not in the court physician's old chambers," Gaius chuckled, going up the second level to his small library of books.
I finished my tea, feeling much better, and smiled, "It's nothing a little maintenance and organization can't solve."
"Hello? Gaius?" A boy stood underneath the doorway, his eyes wandering over the various scientific tools, herbs, brewing substances, and opened textbooks around the room.
"Who is that?" The old man spun around behind the old wooden railing.
I continued to stare questioningly at the stranger, a sudden raucous interrupting my following words as Gaius broke the railing and began to fall. My feet couldn't get to him fast enough, although there was no reason for me to stand. Not when his bed magically moved across the room and softened his landing in the blink of an eye.
"Gaius!" I exclaimed, finally running over to him, and helped him get up from the bed. "What happened? Are you hurt?"
"I'm all right, all right, Meggy," he reassured me, patting the back of my hand. To the dark-haired boy standing in front of us, who now appeared familiar to me, Gaius demanded, "What did you just do?"
"Uh…" the boy remained still.
"Tell me!" Gaius slipped from my hold and walked towards him.
I recognized the boy from the castle square's crowd, the one I had looked upon instead of seeing Thomas' head roll. He tensed under the old man's glare and stammered, "I- I- I have no idea what happened."
"Well, something did happen. Just as you appeared," I pointed out, not forgetting about the bed moving and magically saving Gaius from a dangerous fall.
"Er, no! That- that was, that was nothing to do with me." He watched Gaius pace frantically around the mess which his fall caused. "That- that was…"
"I know what it was!" No one took Gaius for a fool. "I just want to know where you learned it from."
"Nowhere," he answered and I raised my eyebrows at him.
"So how is it you know magic?" Gaius looked confused as well.
"I don't," the raven-head shook his head.
"Where did you study?... Answer me!" He grew frustrated and I stepped closer to him, "Gaius, please, calm down."
The boy was nervous, but he insisted, "I- I've never studied magic or, or been taught."
"Are you lying to me, boy?"
"What do you want me to say?" he asked in defeat.
"The truth," I stared at him.
He paused for a second and then sighed, "I was born like this."
"That's impossible!" Gaius breathed out. "Who are you?"
The boy stammered again but grabbed his bag and pulled out a letter, "I have this letter."
"I- I don't have my glasses," Gaius apologized and I was handed the paper instead.
I looked at the writing and smiled up at the boy, glad to finally know his name, while Gaius retrieved his glasses, "His name is Merlin."
"Hunith's son?" He came back with his glasses on.
"Yes!" Merlin grinned.
"But you're not meant to be here till Wednesday!" Gaius said, now that he had taken a good look at him.
Merlin and I shared looks, holding back our laughs as we both said, "It is Wednesday."
"Ah, right then," Gaius finally remembered and then continued to settle his nephew. "You better put your bag in there."
Merlin walked over to one of the room's corner and put his stuff down. He straightened, dusting his trousers off with his hands nervously. "You- you two won't say anything about, erm…?"
"My guardian might be Uther Pendragon, but I promise I do not share his beliefs. I'll keep my lips sealed, no worries." I understood his fear of being discovered, so as long as he brought no harm, I would keep his secret safe.
"Thank you…" Merlin trailed off and I realized I hadn't introduced myself yet.
"Meghanne," I smiled, "but my friends call me Meggy."
After all that happened in the castle square this morning, I was in no mood to celebrate. And neither was Morgana as she joined me in the darkened and silent passageway.
"I saw most of it from my chambers, you know," she referred to the beheading, stopping beside me, and rested her hands on the window ledge like me. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you, at least," she said facing me. "No one should have to see something like that alone, and worse, with Uther at their side."
I shook my head and smiled up at her softly, "There's nothing to be sorry for."
Morgana smiled back before she turned to look out into the night sky, a sigh escaping her. In the peace of our quietude I found myself thinking and was going to ask about her nightmares, when she let out an exasperated breath.
"I just wish he would understand that ruling Camelot with an iron fist is only going to earn him more enemies." What started out as an irritated vent from her ended with slight worry for the man that deep down we still cared for as a father.
"You needn't worry, Morgana," I backed away from the window and finished with a smirk, "for a weed is hardest to pluck, and Uther Pendragon is the most unpluckable weed in all of Camelot."
Morgana laughed in agreement, "An unfortunate fact to some, indeed."
"Some?" I raised an eyebrow and we both burst into laughter.
If there was something the people in this land feared more than magic, it was King Uther. That man had his fair share of demons, ones who gained over his control with the mere mention of the word "magic" in the room. It was unbelievable how much hate for the magic arts filled his heart. How he was able to live with himself and all that dark anger that possessed him? It was a wonder to me. My family might have died at the hands of magic's viciousness, but I would never let it consume me like it did him.
A/N: Hello! I wrote this about three years ago and totally forgot it even existed lol but I thought I would share it on here instead of deleting it. I really want to get into Merlin again so hopefully when I have some free time on my hands I'll rewatch the series and plot more for Meggy's story- I don't know where this is going, but please let me know what you guys think!
Thank you for reading! Hopefully I'll see you with the next chapter sometime soon! :)