"We… might have a problem," Merlin said, sitting on Arthur's bed.
The prince glared at him. "Is that problem you sitting on my bed?"
"Gaius thinks the Lady Catrina might not be the Lady Catrina. Apparently, he treated her years ago for an illness that made it hard for her to walk, which she no longer seems to have."
"So she got better," Arthur said, turning back to his reports.
"He said it was incurable."
"That's not proof."
"No, but her attendant Jonas having a tail is certainly interesting."
Arthur looked up, setting the reports aside. "A tail?"
"Well, I mean, I only glimpsed it for a moment. I could be wrong -"
"As much as I would love for you to be," Arthur said, bringing his head down to rest on his desk. "This is pretty much par for the course."
"Sorry."
I told Gwen.
"Just keep an eye on her."
"Already on it."
Arthur looked up at him.
"I talked to Mordred on my way over and he just filled Gwen in."
"Let me guess…"
"It really is useful to be able to talk to each other over a distance."
Arthur put his face back down.
"What do you know about love spells?"
Merlin looked up to see Uther and Catrina laughing together.
"You think…"
They shared a look and Merlin bit his lip.
"Merlin."
"I'm not saying anything." Arthur thinks Catrina put a love spell on Uther.
Mordred's laughter filled his head.
"Mordred said you think your father's under a love spell."
"I'm going to throw those two in the stocks," Arthur growled, turning to see Guinevere smiling at him. "Actually, just Merlin. It's all his influence."
"They're just having fun," she said, coming to sit next to him on the bed.
"At my expense."
She just shook her head. "At your father's. You have to admit, the idea of him being under such a spell -"
"Don't."
"Why do you think he's under a spell?" she said instead.
"Just… the way he's been looking at her. And he's flirted with her."
"People don't have to be under a spell to flirt."
Suddenly, she felt to close.
She must have thought the same as she stood up. "I should be heading home."
"Yes, um, right. Goodnight, Guinevere."
"Goodnight, Arthur."
She went to the door, but it opened before she could do it and the two warlocks stepped in.
"Oh, Gwen," Merlin said, looking between her and Arthur.
"She was just coming to tell me you two have been gossiping," the prince explained before he could get any stupid ideas.
"Right," Merlin said slowly, clearly having gotten those stupid ideas. "Well, don't let us distract you. Mordred, the mirror."
Arthur frowned as Mordred grabbed the small round mirror from Arthur's bedside while Merlin went to open the window. "What are you two up to now?"
"We're going to spy on Catrina's bedroom."
"Don't say it like that," Merlin said with a blush, taking the mirror from the druid.
"I don't think there is a good way to put that," Guinevere said.
"We're trying to figure out what Catrina is up to so we're going to see what she does when she's alone in… Yeah, Gwen's right." Merlin turned to the window and held up the mirror. "Sceawere, folge min bebod."
When he let go of the mirror, it hovered in the air.
"Let me look, just in case," Guinevere said, coming over. Merlin nodded and he lowered the mirror out the window. There were a few moments where she gave him directions and he twisted his hand about, pointedly not looking down, before Gwen jumped back with a gasp.
Arthur was at her side in an instant as Merlin brought the mirror back to his hand with a flick of his fingers. "What happened?"
"She - It - in her dress, but it wasn't her."
"Guinevere."
She shook her head. "There was some sort of creature. It was wearing Catrina's dress, but it was big and grey with fangs or-or tusks on her bottom jaw and just covered in warts."
"A troll," Mordred gasped. "That would explain the smell Em-" Arthur jabbed him. "-mmerlin talked about."
"A troll?" the prince asked.
"They're gross. They like sleeping in bogs and eating rotten food and dung. They hate people, but they love money and power."
"Like my father's," Arthur said, putting the pieces together.
Modred nodded. "It might explain Jonas too. The tail, he might be an imp. They're lesser magical creatures. Sentient, but not very powerful. They usually latch onto another stronger magical creature - like a troll - for protection. They usually look just like humans, but with one glaring flaw."
"Like a tail," Guinevere said.
"Like a tail."
"I have to tell my father," Arthur said and all three turned to him.
"You're going to tell Uther that his lady friend's a troll?" Merlin said disbelievingly.
"He needs to know."
"Good luck," Merlin snorted.
"Father."
"Arthur."
Uther looked up to see Arthur following his gaze with a frown.
"I need to talk to you about something."
Uther nodded his permission to speak.
"It's about Lady Catrina."
Uther sighed. He should have known this was going to happen.
"I… It's… This is going to be hard to believe."
"Arthur."
"She's a troll."
Uther set his hand on his son's shoulder. "I know this is hard for you, seeing me with a woman other than your mother."
"What? No -"
"But to make up stories like that, it is unbecoming."
"I'm serious, Father."
"Enough, Arthur."
"Bu-"
"I said enough. I am trying to be understanding, but I will hear no more of this."
When Arthur returned to his room to see Merlin waiting for him, he pointed a finger right into his face. "Not a word."
Merlin nodded, then tilted his head.
Arthur grabbed his ear. "Aloud or not."
"Ow! Okay, okay! I won't say anything!" Merlin rubbed his ear when Arthur finally released it. "It didn't go well then?"
Arthur rubbed his face. "He thought I was saying it because of my mother."
"Because o-Oh! Wow. That's… Sorry."
Arthur dropped into his desk chair. "Hopefully he'll at least consider what I said and he'll start to notice all the weird things about her."
Uther's going to marry a troll.
Arthur's going to have a troll for a step-mother.
Merlin and Mordred shared a look across the council room as Uther droned on.
If I didn't know Arthur was going to kill us for not having fixed this already, it would be hilarious.
Modred's lips twitched up. It's still kind of funny.
Merlin smiled back. It is.
What are we going to do?
If only we could just reveal her outright. Just show everyone she's a troll. Then we wouldn't have to do anything. The knights could take her down.
I know a revelation spell: Hierste þæt íecen sóna. It's supposed to reveal the true nature of things, but I think it's only meant for objects.
Couldn't hurt to try. The principle's the same. Merlin slipped a little more into the shadows. He focused on the woman. "Hierste þæt íecen sóna."
He didn't see a change, but she frowned.
"Hierste þæt íecen sóna," he whispered again and he saw her skin shift.
Emrys?
Together.
Right.
"Hierste þæt íecen sóna," he said once more and he felt Mordred's power join his.
Her skin began to warp and she ducked her head. "Sire, I need," she started, her voice cracking into a croak. "Air. The excitement," she spat and rushed off.
"Of course, my love," Uther said mindlessly.
Merlin and Mordred faced each other.
It was working.
But we don't have enough time, all she has to do is hold out until she can get out of sight.
I'm sorry. If I was stronger, like you.
Merlin shook his head and walked over to the boy as the rest of the court began to leave. It's not your fault, her spell is just too powerful. We need to go at it another way.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Gwen asked as they crept down the tunnels.
"No, but it's the only one we've got. Mordred said imps are great potioneers, so even if he's lying about everything else, the idea that she's using potions makes sense."
She bit her lip and nodded. When they reached the nest Jonas had told Merlin of, she held the torch as he searched about the straw and filth.
"You won't find anything in there." They both spun around to find the troll glaring at them. "You may possess some magic, wretch, but you are no match for me."
She raised her arms and with a crash of thunder and flash of light, the entrance to the room came crumbling down around Gwen.
She raised her arms, but before anything could hit her a pressure wrapped around her chest and pulled her back.
"Gwen, are you okay?" Merlin asked, coming to her side.
"I think so." Her nose scrunched up as she realized her fall had been broken by the troll's nest. "Thank you."
He helped her up and they looked at the blocked entrance.
"Can you get through?"
"I don't know." Merlin walked over to the wall and grabbed one of the rocks. "There's magic sealing them together." He stepped back and held out his hand. "Ic ábíetee þæt stánhol."
Nothing happened.
"I can't let him go through with this," Arthur said, stomping towards his father's chambers.
"He didn't listen to you before, why do you think he'd listen to you now, on his wedding day?" Mordred asked.
"I have to do something. My father is about to marry a troll."
Mordred bit his lip.
"Where is Merlin? If he did his job we wouldn't be in this situation."
"We've been trying," Mordred huffed. "And I don't know where he is. I've been trying to call him all morning, but he isn't responding."
Arthur frowned. "Great, another problem." He waved Mordred back as he pushed into Uther's chambers. "Father."
"Arthur, isn't it a wonderful day?"
"We need to talk."
Uther turned to him with a frown. "If you're going to make up more -"
"Father, please, she never eats, her rooms smell of filth -"
"Arthur -"
"Gaius says she's been miraculously healed from an incurable disease -"
"Enough."
"She's a troll, Father, and her servant's an imp. They've been seen."
"Guards!"
Mordred jumped out of the way as a pair of guards came in.
"Escort Prince Arthur to his chambers," Uther said.
"Father."
"I will not have you ruining this day with your nonsense."
"You're making a -"
"Out. And take the boy with you. Neither of them are to be allowed out until after the feast."
Mordred ducked his head under Uther's glare and allowed the guards to escort them out.
Mordred, Merlin shouted as he and Gwen raced through the castle.
Merlin? Where have you been?
The troll trapped Gwen and me in her nest. What's happened?
Arthur tried to talk to his father again. We've been locked in his chambers until after the wedding feast.
"Arthur's been locked up for speaking against Catrina."
Gwen grabbed his arm as they reached the entry hall. "What are we going to do?"
"We have to get to the wedding."
"And do what? If Uther wouldn't listen to Arthur, then he certainly won't listen to us. He'll likely lock us in the dungeons, or worse."
Merlin sighed and leaned up against the wall. "What do we do then? I can't reveal her, especially not without Mordred's help."
"Then we need to find her potions. If they weren't at her nest, then they need to be somewhere."
Modred watched as Arthur and Merlin sparred.
Arthur was being particularly vicious today and Merlin was barely keeping up.
"Sire, I know… you're angry, but… can we slow do-"
Arthur knocked him to the ground. "Get up."
"Prince Arthur!"
Thank the gods, Merlin groaned as Sir Leon ran up.
"What?"
The knight hesitated, glancing down at Merlin. "The King has ordered that Merlin and Gwen are to be placed under arrest."
"What? Why?" Arthur asked as Mordred ran over to help Merlin to his feet.
"The Queen has accused them of stealing her seal."
"Of course she has," Arthur growled, stabbing his training sword into the ground.
"She thinks we're the only ones that know," Merlin panted, pulling off his helmet.
"Sire?" Leon said, looking uncertain. "I know what the Queen has said, but Gwen -"
"I know it's not true, Leon. Can I trust you?"
"Of course, Sire."
"Even if it means going against the King?"
Leon frowned. "I am sworn to protect Camelot and her king."
"I know. What I'm asking will serve to protect him?"
He still looked uncertain, but nodded. "I trust your judgment. What do you want me to do?"
"Who have you told about the arrest?"
"No one. Your father told me to tell you so you could make the arrest."
"Then go gather the guard so we can make the arrest."
Leon glanced over at Merlin and Arthur set his hand on the knight's shoulder. "I will explain later. Just know that Merlin and Gwen are innocent and Catrina is not who she says."
"Alright." He bowed and left.
Arthur turned to Merlin. "Get changed and find somewhere for you and Guinevere to hide. Let Mordred know when you've got it then set up a false trail leading the opposite direction. Mordred, go find Gwen and tell her what's happened. Let Morgana in on it if you need to, but get her hidden."
"Arthur."
Arthur opened his eyes with a frown, but there was no one there.
"Arthur!"
He leaped out of bed and grabbed his sword. "Who's there?"
"Merlin!" the warlock said, poking his head out from under the bed.
Arthur jumped back and scowled. "You're back."
"I never left."
"You mean to say…"
"Yes."
"You've been under there this whole time."
"No. Course not. No."
"'Cause if you were…" Arthur pointed his sword at Merlin's nose.
"I wasn't, I swear."
Arthur lowered the sword and glanced at the bed. "Is Guinevere…"
Merlin smirked. "You'd like that, would you?"
Arthur faked swinging his sword and Merlin dove back under the bed with a yelp.
"What are you doing here?"
Merlin's hand popped out holding a bottle. "I found the troll's potion."
He set his sword aside and grabbed the bottle. He opened it and immediately nearly dropped it. "That's vial!"
"It's a troll potion." Merlin climbed out from under the bed on the opposite side.
"Did you get it all then?"
"No. If I did that they'd just make more. I've got a better plan."
"Wha's goin' on?" Mordred yawned, coming in. He perked up when he saw Merlin. They stared at each other for a moment before Mordred frowned and shrugged.
"If you weren't already wanted for theft, I'd have you in the stocks," Arthur groaned, sitting down at his desk.
"Sorry."
"So what is this plan of yours?"
"Modred's going to take the potion to Gaius and see if he can make one that looks and tastes the same," Merlin said.
"Without the troll magic, it won't have any effect," Mordred added. "So she'll take it and won't realize it's not having an effect until it's too late."
"But we have to make the switch before morning or Jonas will notice."
Arthur nodded and passed the bottle to Mordred. As Mordred ran out, the prince asked, "Are you sure Gaius will help?"
"He was the first to be suspicious of her," Merlin reminded him. "He'll help."
"Good. Then I'm going back to bed," he yawned, standing. "You should get back to Guinevere. I can't believe you left her alone."
"She's fine. When I checked on her, she and Morgana were talking about new dress designs."
Arthur paused, halfway on his bed. "Where are you two hiding?"
"Morgana's chambers."
"Merlin."
"What? No one's going to think to search her chambers. It's like when we hid Mordred here."
Lacking anything else close at hand, Arthur threw a pillow at his head.
He made me taste it! Mordred whined as he made his way towards Jonas's room. Both his and the original! It was awful!
Sorry. He was able to do it then?
Yes, unfortunately, they taste exactly the same. Horrendous. Mordred looked both ways before slipping into the room. He went up to the cupboard and paused. What's the unlocking spell again?
Tospringe.
"Tospringe," he whispered and the door clicked open. He quickly slipped the bottle inside and shut the door. "Fýrbendum fæst."
He heard someone coming and turned to the side door. "Tospringe."
It's done, he said as he quickly left.
Arthur looked up when someone came through the door, then jumped to his feet. "Guinevere! What are you doing here?"
"Modred told us what happened. Are you okay?"
Arthur turned away, leaning against his desk.
"It's Catrina. You know she's the one behind this."
"She may have my father's ear, but he still made the decision."
"Whatever his faults," she said, coming to his side to take his hand. "He cares for you. He'll realize he's made a mistake soon enough."
"You should've heard the way he spoke to me."
"I'm sure he was angry, but you're still his son. I'm sure the people appreciate what you did. They'll know you tried, and won't forget that."
"Maybe he's right," he sighed pulling away. "One day I will be the King of Camelot, and I cannot be a friend to the people as well as their ruler."
"That's not true, and you will prove it when you become King." She stepped in front of him so he had to look at her. "You've a kind heart, Arthur. Don't ever change. Not for anyone."
"I've done so many things that go against everything he's taught me."
"Because they were the right things to do."
"How do you know?"
"Because they brought joy to everyone's lives. Because they've protected innocent people. Because I see the way the people look at you. They love and respect you, Arthur. That is what is going to make you the great king Merlin and Mordred are always whispering about." She set her hand on his chest. "Not your father's iron grip, but your gentle heart."
He set his hand over hers and stared into her eyes.
They leaned in.
"Sire," Leon called and they jumped away from each other as the knight came in. He glanced at Guinevere, but otherwise ignored her. "The ceremony is beginning. The King has demanded your attendance."
"I guess you'll get to see the show," Gwen said. "I should get back into hiding."
"You and Merlin need to stop sneaking out," Arthur sighed. "You're going to get caught."
She just smiled and curtsied before slipping into Mordred's room.
"Show?" Leon asked.
"We think we've managed to find a way to reveal the troll for what it is."
Leon gave a sigh of relief as they started towards the throne room.
Gwen and Merlin were playing dice when Merlin suddenly froze, head tilted.
Then he dropped his head onto the table.
"What?"
"Arthur must have been right about the love spell."
"Why?"
"She turned into a troll right in front of them, and he yelled at Arthur and Morgana for insulting her before running off after her."
"He… Her transformation didn't affect him at all."
"Nope." He stood up. "I'm going to sneak over to Arthur's. We're going to need to figure out how to break the spell."
"Be careful."
Modred frowned down at the book. I don't think there's anything in here about troll magic. Also, I don't think I should be reading about these spells.
Emrys glanced over, then blushed and snapped the book shut. "That isn't a love spell!"
"If you two are done," Arthur said, "I'm trying to save my father."
"He's right," Emrys said, closing his own book. "There isn't anything about troll magic in here. We need to figure out something else."
"Where else could we get information?"
Emrys and Arthur shared a look.
"Come on. Time to introduce you to someone new," Emrys sighed, standing up.
Who?
"You'll see."
Modred was a little curious at that. He was really curious when they headed down into the dungeons. He was extremely curious when they started down what seemed to be an abandoned stairwell.
He was stunned to see who they were there to meet.
That's a dragon! Mordred said, vaguely registering that Emrys had explained the situation and the dragon was laughing at Uther's expense.
Unfortunately.
There is a dragon under the castle!? Why have I never heard about this? Why didn't you introduce me earlier?
Emrys shook his head and pulled Modred closer to him. "It's a long story," he said softly. "The dragon's more of a last resort. I'll explain more later." He squeezed his shoulder and yelled, "This isn't funny."
Leon frowned when he came into Arthur's room to see Merlin and Modred whispering to each other in the corner. He still wasn't sure how to feel about the fact he was helping Arthur keep hidden the fact that two criminals were hiding out in the castle. He trusted Arthur - and, to a lesser extent, Gwen - and wanted the troll queen gone, but it felt like a betrayal of his knight's oaths.
"Leon," Arthur greeted. "What's happened now?"
"The king is raising taxes again. And he's decided to allow Bayard to visit. If Bayard sees him like this… I honestly don't know what's come over him."
"He's enchanted," Merlin said, coming over. "We need to get him to cry tears of true remorse. We're having problems coming up with how to do that. I think Arthur's the key, but that's been vetoed."
Leon turned to Arthur, who nodded. "They found the solution in a book. I've tried to explain to him that my father doesn't care about me anymore, but he won't listen."
"I… agree with Merlin," the knight said, feeling odd that he was agreeing with a servant over his prince. "In my years of service, you have always been the thing the king treasures above all else. If anything could do it, it would be you."
Mordred appeared at Merlin's side, staring up at the older boy, and Merlin tilted his head as he often did when the younger wanted attention.
Leon wasn't sure what to think of Mordred. For the most part, he was energetic, cheerful, and friendly, but he never spoke unless asked a question when Merlin wasn't around to answer for him and occasionally would stare off into nothing for seconds at a time. Then there was the slightly embarrassing fact Leon had spent nearly a month under the assumption Arthur's servants were brothers.
"Mordred had an idea," Merlin said, drawing him out of his musings. "He told me he knows how to make this potion. It's used for meditation, to focus the mind before, uh, battles or stuff like that. But it slows down your heartbeat and breathing. Maybe we could give it to Arthur and then Uther would think he's dead."
"Is it safe?" Leon asked. He would not allow the prince to be put in danger.
Mordred nodded.
"It's fine. It wears off after about half an hour," Merlin explained. "That should be long enough to sell it, right?"
"If we time it right," Arthur said.
Leon could see the prince was in planning mode and straightened up, awaiting orders.
"We might want to bring Gaius in on it too, just in case Father wants his verdict and he realizes I'm not actually dead."
"I can update him," Leon said.
"Mordred can do it. He needs to go there to make the potion anyways," Merlin said.
"Leon, I'd rather have you with my father," Arthur said. "We don't know if he'll remember anything when the enchantment's broken so I need you to keep track of any changes the troll is making so we can fix them once my father is free. He won't let me near him right now, but you're still in good standing. I also want to be sure the troll doesn't try anything now that she's my father's heir."
Leon reprimanded himself for not even considering that the king might be in mortal peril and bowed his head. "I'll keep a close eye on them both."
"Thank you. I'll send word as soon as we're ready to move."
"Let me know if you need anything else," he said before leaving to track down the king.
"Do you think Uther apologized for not believing him?" Gwen asked as she picked up the dice.
"Of course he didn't," Morgana scoffed. "He doesn't apologize for anything."
"Eight. Darn."
"He kind of apologized to his dead body," Mordred said from where he was sipping at his heavily watered-down wine on Morgana's bed. "Does that count?"
"I bet he didn't, but they made up in that weird macho way they like so it had the same result," Merlin said, taking the dice from Gwen.
"Never turn out like that," Morgana told Mordred.
"Seven. Yes!"
"He won't. He's too much like Merlin," Gwen said. "Although he should learn not to cheat as much as Merlin does."
"I don't cheat!"
"Yes you do," Mordred chirped.
"Merlin!"
The group looked up as Arthur threw the door open.
"Don't you know how to knock?" Morgana snapped.
"What are you all doing in here?"
"Merlin's stealing all our money. What's it to you?" she huffed, crossing her arms.
"I'm not stealing all of it!"
"Yeah, he's very careful only to win enough that he's still making money, but not emptying the girls out," Mordred said.
"We're playing dice. Would you like to join us?" Gwen asked.
"Just a warning, Merlin cheats."
"Of course he does," Arthur snorted. "You know, they're not fugitives anymore, Morgana. You don't have to let those two stay here."
"For your information, I happen to enjoy Merlin and Mordred's company. So either place a bet or leave."
"I'm not giving Merlin any more money than what he earns in his wages," Arthur said, though he came over to sit at the table.
Merlin threw his hands in the air and went to sit with Mordred.
"So, did your father apologize?" Morgana asked, picking up the dice.
"Why would he need to apologize?"
"Hey, Merlin won a bet without having to cheat," Mordred chuckled, then yelped when the older boy poked him in the side.