A/N: Well howdy-how my lovelies. How long has it been since my last update? Since March 3rd according to the thing. I know, I went back and looked. So it's been nearly two months. I suddenly found my muse was on fire as long as I was typing on my phone. It's weird. But anyways, this weird quirk I've tried to suppress or hide resulted in an update! Right now! So go forth my lovelies and enjoy the beginning of The Mark of Nimueh. The two remaining parts to be up soon enough!


The Mark of Nimueh: Part 1

Adrielle was glad to see that things had settled back down in Camelot. Merlin had resumed his normal duties as Arthur's manservant. The pair acted as if nothing had happened. They didn't linger over the fact that Arthur nearly died or that he had completely sacked Merlin. They behaved like a proper prince and servant pair, more or less. Merlin was getting better at understanding where his place was but a part of him still refused to let the prince walk all over him. She had a feeling it would be interesting to see how the two of them interacted over time.

Even Adrielle's life started to slow down to a normal rate. She continued to follow Gaius on his rounds and continued to study her books on medicine. Whenever Merlin was away tending to the Prince she would take her chance and sneak out their magic book. She couldn't believe how much there was to learn about her powers. There was so much she had been missing out on. She had always just been able to do things based on instinct when she was scared or startled. It utterly amazed her how much she could do with a bit of practice.

Her rounds with Gaius had progressed well over the last couple of weeks. They had returned to Eva's house and helped deliver her baby. It was a sight that would probably remain with Adrielle for quite some time. Despite all that she had witnessed, she was still privileged to see a new life being born in front of her eyes. Adrielle had felt herself on the brink of tears, and maybe a bit of bile, as she watched little Lydia being born.

Adrielle and Guinevere were on the track to becoming close friends. Adrielle was grateful to have a female acquaintance in Camelot. She feared she would be confined to Merlin as her only friendly peer. Sure Merlin was the only one who could relate and understand to the fact that she had magic, for obvious reasons, but it was a welcome change to have another feminine friend to call hers. Adrielle had left another close female friend back in Ealdor and she missed her dearly.

Lydia's birth had been the highlight of Adrielle's life since the tournament and Knight Valiant. Adrielle could feel herself becoming slightly restless. A part of her secretly wished for something more exciting to do. She was becoming bored. She knew that when you got bored you do stupid things. She could think of many instances when Merlin would become bored and get himself into trouble. That's why Adrielle always tried to keep herself busy in Ealdor. As to avoid the boredom and trouble she was bound to get into.

Adrielle and Merlin were both glad to accompany Gaius down to the lower town when a report of something odd came through. The three of them trekked down to where a man was passed out in the dirt. Most people thought he was just a drunkard; a man who frequented the tavern a little too much and finally reached his limit one night. As they approached the body his limp form hardly looked out of place. Gaius knelt down close to the man's body and began to examine him.

"Aren't you afraid?" Merlin asked.

"Of what?" Gaius replied.

"Of catching whatever it is?"

"I'm Court Physician; it is part of my job. Now come on Adrielle. There's nothing to truly be afraid of," Gaius lectured. The girl in question was still hanging back a safe distance away from the unconscious body. She approached it slowly and knelt down next to the body. "So? What's your diagnosis?"

Adrielle bent down closer to the body and attempted to examine it. She noticed how pale the man's fingernails seemed to be and how his hands were starting to turn disturbing shades of blue and purple. She reached out to pick up his hand and flinched slightly at the touch.

"His hands. They're cold. Like…really cold," she noted. She held his hand in hers as she looked over it. The fingernails were nearly paper thin and transparent. His skin felt like it was tightly pulled over his bones. She noticed his veins were bright blue and vibrant on his ashen skin. She let his hand fall back to the ground and rolled his body over to get a better look at his face. She gasped audibly and brought her hands to cover his mouth.

"You were saying?" Merlin said uneasily. The man's face was the same colour of ash with hues of blue and purple. His eyes were sunken into his skull and were a creepy milky white colour. Dark blue veins stretched across his face like a tree's roots.

"The people," Gaius said quietly while looking around. "The people mustn't see this. They will surely panic."

"I don't blame them," Adrielle remarked, the familiar taste of bile tickling the back of her throat. Merlin quickly grabbed a nearby tarp and draped it over the corpse.

"We need to get him to my chambers; immediately," Gaius proclaimed. The trio was able to commandeer a wheelbarrow and lift the body into it, mindful to keep him covered, and started to return to their chambers.

~xx~

"I've never seen anything like this before," Gaius commented. He had his magnifying glass out and was closely examining the man's skin. "His veins. I've never encountered someone who's veins were so noticeable and prominent; his eyes and the hue of his skin. It has no precedent."

"Do you think it could be some kind of plague?" Merlin asked.

"No. I fear something like this could never come from nature. But who has this amount of power?" Gaius inquired.

"You think this is caused by magic?" Adrielle replied stunned. Before Gaius could respond the Prince's loud and slightly irritated voice vibrated throughout the room.

"Merlin!"

Merlin scurried to the door and opened it just enough to interact with him but not enough for him to see the decaying body.

"Sorry, I'm late, I know. I'm on my way," Merlin fumbled.

"Don't worry. I'm getting use to it," the Prince replied unamused. "Tell Gaius my father wants to see him and his apprentice now." Merlin shut the door as the Prince turned and made his way back to the Council Chambers.

"Gaius-"

"We heard," Gaius and Adrielle snapped in unison.

"Why couldn't he tell you himself then?" Merlin whined.

"Because that's the way it is. You're his servant," Gaius replied.

"If he knew who I was, what we've done-" Merlin started.

"We'd be dead servants," Adrielle finished. It might not have been what Merlin was going to say next but it was the truth.

"Exactly. Now get this covered up, Merlin," Gaius ordered.

"Hey! I'm not your servant," Merlin complained.

"No. The two of you are my dogsbodies. Now get a move on."

"Why not make Adrielle do it? She's properly your servant."

"Apprentice!" Adrielle corrected.

"She hasn't spent any nights in the dungeons yet. Now hurry up!"

"Favoritism," Merlin grumbled while doing as he was told. Adrielle stuck her tongue out at her brother as she passed him.

Waiting for them in the Council Chambers was a sight similar to the one they encountered out in the streets. Another man was sprawled out on his back for everyone to clearly see him. His physical symptoms were identical to the man they had already seen. His eyes were milky white and his skin was ashen with hues of blue and purple. Again, the most noticeable part of him were his prominent dark blue veins. Adrielle and Merlin stopped shortly behind Gaius as he knelt down and examined the body more closely. Even an idiot like Merlin could tell that the same problem had caused this to happen to both of the men.

"What's happened to him?" the King asked.

"I don't know, Sire. It is the second case I've seen today," Gaius informed.

"Why didn't you report it to me?" the King asked astounded.

"I was attempting to find the cause."

"And what did you conclude?" the King drawled.

"I don't think it's time to hurry to conclusions. The scientific process is a long one," Gaius responded. The trio had a persistent feeling that magic was indeed involved somehow, but without the proper proof they knew they shouldn't worry the King prematurely.

"What are you concealing from me?" Uther pressed.

"Sire, I have seen nothing like it. The victims are dying in twenty-four hours or less and it's spreading fast."

"What is the cause?" the King persisted.

"I think you should say the cause…the most likely cause," Gaius stretched. He knew once sorcery was hinted at the King would launch into a full out witch hunt, literally. "Is sorcery."

The men and women of the Court behaved just as Adrielle would have expected. Women cowered at the mention of the word and looked to their men for comfort. Even the men seemed frightened by the news. The King was the one who looked the most distraught over the news of sorcery in his kingdom…again. The King's demeanor changed as he became fueled with determination.

"We must find out who did this," he said to his son.

"I will, father."

"Conduct door to door searches. Increase your presents in the town. Double the guards on all gates – and lend the physician your servant," the King continued, his voice fast but hushed.

"Merlin?" Arthur protested. He found he quite liked bossing his servant around. He just hoped this illness was resolved quickly, not only for the sake of his people, but also for the sake of his bedchambers. "But Gaius already has an apprentice -"

"We need Gaius to find a cure," the King's voice became an urgent whisper as he instructed his son. "He'll need all the help we can give him. If Gaius is right, believe me, the city will be wiped out. This is the kind of magic that undermines our authority and challenges all we've done. If we cannot control this plague the people will turn to magic for a cure. We have to find this sorcerer quickly."

"Yes, father," Arthur obeyed. As he started to leave to carry out his father's orders he glanced back at the corpse that lied before them. It was certainly an unusual sight. He had suspected magic was at play before Gaius mentioned it. The symptoms present in the deceased, they were the likes of which Arthur had never seen before. Whether it was fortunate or not for him, death and corpses were not something new to Arthur. He couldn't let this wickedness contaminate his city or his people.

~xx~

Adrielle had been given concise directions as to what needed to be done while Merlin and Gaius went back into the lower town to gather necessary supplies. This was her first task since being appointed Gaius' apprentice that she was hesitant to carry out. Sure watching Eva give birth wasn't something she would have done willingly but she had just been an idle spectator. Now she was left alone and faced with a daunting task.

She approached the examining table that held the dormant corpse atop of it. Adrielle pulled back the cover that hid the body from the rest of the world and stared at it uncertainly. She couldn't tell if the discoloration of his skin was from the disease, the enchantment rather, or just natural from his body dying and decaying. His skin was beginning to turn a more purplish colour as time passed. His veins, however, were still a dark blue colour and had steadily begun to encompass most of his body. She held a small knife in one hand and a medium sized vial in the other. She placed the vial down and stared at the incision line Gaius had drawn for her before taking a deep breath and acting.

Adrielle pressed the blade to the man's tight skin and dragged it across surface just like Gaius had instructed. She pressed her free hand to the gash and grabbed for the vial; she couldn't let all of the 'precious fluid' she needed ooze out. She aimed the opening of the vial at the gash and began to carefully probe the body's innards until she found the bottom of his stomach, like Gaius had described. Her nostrils were assaulted with vile odors of the decaying body as she drained the man's stomach. The acidity of the stomach stung Adrielle's senses. Her eyes began to water from the foul substance. She palpated the outside of the skin once over to make sure all of what was once in his stomach had made it into the vial. She folded the cover back over the body and placed the bottle on the opposite table.

"How did it go, Adrielle?" Gaius asked once he and Merlin had returned.

"Erm…well, I think. I didn't seem to make too much of a mess of it," Adrielle replied. Gaius picked up the vial and examined it closely.

"Well done," he praised. A satisfied smile etched its way onto Adrielle's face. "Very well done."

"What exactly is it that she did?" Merlin inquired. "What are you doing?"

"She extracted the contents of the man's stomach and I'm going to test it now," Gaius explained.

"Will that tell you who did it?" Merlin asked.

"No, but it might tell us how it's spread. One thing I do know, this is magic of the darkest kind," Gaius said, his voice becoming serious.

"Why would someone use magic like that?" Adrielle wondered aloud. She couldn't seem to wrap her brain around it. Perhaps it was her gentle spirit and nature that kept her from being able to understand. Causing harm and devastation to others was not something that she wished to spend her days doing.

"Magic corrupts. People use it for their own ends."

"But not all magic is bad. I know it's not," Merlin protested.

"It's neither good nor bad. It's how you use it," Gaius clarified. He began to start whatever process was needed for examining somebody's stomach fluid when a group of men came barreling into the room.

"Search everywhere, men," the Prince directed to his guards. He turned his attention to Gaius next. "Sorry Gaius. We're searching every room in town."

"What for?" Gaius asked incredulously.

"A sorcerer of course."

"Why on Earth would he be here?" Gaius continued.

"I'm just doing my job," Arthur said apologetically.

"Alright then, search. We've got nothing to hide," he testified.

"Except two sorcerers," Adrielle whispered as quietly as she could to her brother. He smirked briefly before his face regained its worried composure. Merlin just hoped that in Arthur's search for a sorcerer they didn't accidentally catch him and his sister. They weren't the cause for this disease, but the King wouldn't believe it. A sorcerer was a sorcerer was a sorcerer.

"All these books and papers?" Arthur asked while he and his men rifled through them.

"My life's work," Gaius indicated, "dedicated to the understanding of science. You're welcome to read them if you like." Adrielle snickered as Arthur made a face indicating he'd rather not read up about science and medicine. He set the book he was holding back down and was drawn to the door at the far end of the room.

"What's this room up here, then?"

"Er, it's mine," Merlin spoke up. "Ours. Mine and Adrielle's."

"And what do you think you'll find up there?" Gaius asked.

"I'm looking for material evidence suggesting the use of enchantments," Arthur said while climbing the stairs.

"Which one of you was the last to have that magic book out?" Gaius whispered as Arthur opened up the door to their room. Adrielle and Merlin both looked each other suddenly and pointed to the other. Okay, so maybe they didn't exactly know who had the book out last. That wouldn't cause a problem, would it?

"Merlin!" Arthur's voice echoed. "Come here. Look at what I found."

The twins froze, the cold sense of dread and fear creeping through their veins. They scrambled past each other in an attempt to make it to Arthur first and desperately cover up the book. It would be a vain attempt to save their necks from prosecution. Merlin was the first to scramble up the steps and meet Arthur. Rather than holding up an extremely incriminating book, Arthur was staring into their shared cupboard.

"I found a place where you can put things. It's called a cupboard. Looks like one of you has made good use of it," Arthur remarked. The pair of siblings laughed nervously thankful he had yet to spot the book. Adrielle glanced around the room quickly and noticed said book lying about obviously. She nudged Merlin and nodded towards it discreetly as to not alert the Prince. Adrielle turned her head and watched as Arthur sauntered over towards her side of the room and away from the book.

"And what are all these books?" he asked as he picked up the books on Adrielle's bed.

"More books on medicine and the like. Contrary to popular belief there is some studying I'm required to do," Adrielle replied. She glanced over at her brother and noticed he was trying to drape his sleeping tunic over the book. She sauntered over towards her items and Arthur and continued to speak to him.

"You're welcome to read through some of them if you like. That one there," she said pointing to the book Arthur was currently holding, "it's all about infections. It's a real page turner. Oh, and there's this section that talks about digesting maggots. On accident of course, but they end up eating their way out of you. I was up all night with that one."

Arthur frowned, slightly disgusted, and set the book back down quickly. He turned around and continued to examine the rest of the room. Adrielle looked back over at her brother and noticed that the book was now successfully hidden and out of sight. Arthur knelt down and looked underneath the two beds. Adrielle's was nice and clean, but when he looked under Merlin's he flinched, slightly repulsed.

"Just don't eat any of the food underneath this bead or else you'll end up in that book of yours," Arthur said while standing himself back up. "Girl bites off more than she can chew; eaten alive by maggots. Maybe I'll give it a look over then."

"Maybe they'll eat your mouth and finally you'll be quiet," Merlin aimed at his sister. The two boys laughed in unison at the girl's misfortune.

"Oh, ha ha," Adrielle mocked. "Are you quite done yet? Found anything incriminating? Any signs of sorcerers? Some of us have some real work to get back to."

"You're clean, don't worry. Not like anyone could believe the two of you capable of harnessing magic," Arthur rebuked. Adrielle shared a coy look with her brother as the Prince retreated back down to Gaius.

"How long do you think it will be before you find a cure?" the Prince inquired to the physician.

"Depends on how many more interruptions I have," Gaius snapped back.

"Of course, my apologies, Gaius." Arthur turned to his men again and ordered them out. "We're finished here." Adrielle watched as Arthur and his four men turned and left their sacred chambers for good.

"That was close," Adrielle breathed. "We have to hide that book better."

"No! Don't you see? We must use it!" Merlin started eagerly.

"Don't be stupid," Gaius exclaimed.

"If we have this legacy then what is it for? You keep telling me it's not for playing tricks," Merlin replied.

"You want to practice magic when the King is hunting for sorcerers? Are you mad? Your lives are destined for more important things."

"But if we don't practice, then how will we get to be these great warlocks?!" Merlin argued.

"There will come a time when your skills will be recognized," Gaius stated.

"When?! How long do I have to wait?"

"Patience is a virtue, Merlin," Gaius lectured.

"Sitting by and doing nothing, that's a virtue?" Merlin argued.

"Your time will come. For the both of you," Gaius proclaimed

"I could cure that man we saw!" Merlin protested.

"I know it's tempting to use the way you find easiest, Merlin-"

"It is when it would save a life!"

"It's no good just saving one person. We have to discover how this illness is spreading," Gaius tried to reason.

"Arthur is out there right now looking for the sorcerer!" Merlin shouted.

"A sorcerer who's powerful enough to do this will never be found searching the town, I'm afraid."

"So then what can we do?" Adrielle sighed.

"Hope that science can find the answer before it kills us all."

~xx~

That night Adrielle lied in bed and let Gaius' words simmer in her mind. She could understand needing to discover how this cursed disease was being spread; otherwise people would continue to keep getting sick until the entire kingdom had been contaminated at least once. The madness would never end, but was it really necessary for them to let innocent bystanders die in the process? The King might have been able to idly sit by and let his people perish, but Adrielle couldn't think of it. What if this illness affected her or her brother before Gaius could find a cure? What if it captured Gwen or Arthur and his father? Would Gaius still insist on science and medicine to answer their problems?

Adrielle closed her eyes in an attempt to achieve some sleep. As she stared at the inside of her eyelids the faint veins that stretched across her vision became more defined. She squinted her eyes and the veins began to disappear. Or so she thought. As her vision cleared the veins returned, but as they came back they became a darker shade of blue. Much like the veins she had seen on the victims. She swore she could almost feel the veins branching out from her eyelids and slowly covering her face; it felt like tiny bugs were spreading out from her face and crawling along under her skin.

She screamed and jolted up so she was sitting; she stared at her hands in horror. Sure enough deep blue veins, almost black, were swarming all over her body. In mere seconds every inch of her body was covered in the grotesque veins. Adrielle watched as her fingernails started to fade; her skin began to turn the same grayish colour with the same hints of purple and blue. She fell to the ground as she stumbled out of her bed and over to her mirror. Her heart nearly stopped at the sight reflected in the mirror before her.

Adrielle watched in horror as her reflection's hand reached up and touched her own face. She looked like the living dead. Her eyes were glazed over and steadily sinking back into her skull. Her face was the same ghastly colour as her hands. How could this be happening to her? She felt fine! What could she have done to contract this disease? She couldn't be dying. She could feel her pulse rapidly increasing throughout the veins that now dominated her body. Her breath was coming quicker and quicker into her lungs. If she were dying shouldn't her body be shutting down? Maybe her would just keep going at this pace until her heart simply gave out and stopped.

With as gasping breath Adrielle's eyes snapped open. Hadn't she just been standing in front of her mirror? Then why was she lying in her bed staring up at her dusty ceiling? Her fingertips trembled as she brought her hand up to her face. Beneath her touch she felt her skin flush with heat. Well, she wasn't dead. That was a good sign, right? She raked her hand through her hair to steady herself. The hair closest to her scalp was damp with sweat. She suddenly remembered her - what would she even call that? Vision? Dream? Nightmare? She bloody hoped that hadn't been some sort of damned foresight of events to come.

Adrielle brought her hand down in front of her face as she recalled the horrifying experience she had seen. She was pleasantly surprised to see that her hand looked completely normal. Her skin was pale with a slight flush of pink and her fingernails looked just as they always had; an even paler shade than her skin with cracks in the tips from working and a faint crescent of purple just at her cuticle, nothing to indicate that she was dying. Adrielle ran her slender hand across her cheek and felt nothing out of place. As if she could detect the sort of change she had seen with just her fingertips. She felt normal, but she had to make sure everything was alright. Her legs shook as her weight shifted from the bed springs and onto her feet. She slowly approached the mirror, just like she had in her dream.

A small sigh of relief escaped Adrielle's lips as she gazed at her reflected appearance. Her face looked completely normal, although maybe just a touch paler than usual; a result of the fear and anxiety her dream had given her. Her eyes, despite being dilated and a tad wider than normal, were crystal sapphires.

Voices from the main chambers brought Adrielle back to what she hoped was reality. As she entered the main room she still wasn't sure if she was actually awake or had somehow fallen down a messed up rabbit hole.

"Good morning, Adrielle," Gaius greeted.

"Whoa. You look like you've seen a ghost," Merlin added.

"Why is there a dead body on our table?" she asked with an exasperated sigh.

"Unfortunately it seems life and death are both common occurrences of this position, my dear," Gaius clarified.

"But this early in the morning? Before breakfast?" she whined.

"My sincerest apologies if I deferred your appetite this morning, Adrielle, but I feel this particular victim can shed some light on this disease. What's different about this one?"

"Er..." Merlin paused while trying to carefully examine the body. "Oh. She's a woman."

"Sometimes I do wonder whether your magical talents were given to the right person or not," Gaius sighed.

"Really, Merlin? Where have you been for the last eighteen years? Are just now realizing these differences between men and women?" Adrielle taunted.

"What can you deduce then if you're so clever?" Merlin challenged.

"Alright," Adrielle accepted. She straightened herself up and rolled her shoulders back before looking over the woman. Adrielle noticed that woman's clothes were made of a nicer fabric than what she personally owned. Woven into the fabric were delicate designs not typically seen in servant's clothes. She could rule that out in regards to this woman's standings. Her hair, despite the fact that she was no longer living, was neatly groomed and smelled faintly of scented soap. "She's a courtier."

"How does that help us?" Merlin wondered aloud.

"Courtiers seldom go down to the lower town. So what does that mean?" Gaius continued.

"Uhm…she hasn't spoken to any townspeople?" Merlin guessed. Adrielle could tell from the pained look Gaius' face took on that wasn't quite the answer he was looking for.

"It means the disease is not spread by contact," Gaius clarified. "Anything else?"

"They probably eat different food," Adrielle suggested.

"And I doubt they breathe the same air," Merlin added.

"Yes, yes. Now what's the only thing left they do share?"

Adrielle looked over the woman once more as she tried to come up with an answer. So the victims hadn't had any sort of contact with each other recently, if ever. Their statuses indicated they had completely different lifestyles, different daily routines, and ate different food. There must have been something universal that connected them all. What was one thing everyone shared equally despite their social standing?

"Water?" Adrielle guessed. She was slightly surprised to hear Merlin's voice chime in with her own. Gaius nodded, confirming that the pair was right. "Water? You think the disease is spread by water?"

"Don't look so surprised, Adrielle. The two of you followed the same path of clues as me," Gaius spoke. "The two of you are prodigies." Gaius handed a small bucket to Merlin and instructed him to fill it with water and return with haste.

"I have to admit," Adrielle remarked after Merlin had scurried out of the room. "Contaminating something that everybody uses is certainly a clever way to infect a city. Certainly the fastest. Whoever this sorcerer is they're cunning."

"Indeed. Which seems to put us at quite the disadvantage," Gaius replied. He looked over at the young girl, who was still staring almost intently at the dead body. "Is something the matter? Earlier when you woke up. I doubt that was just from seeing a dead body before breakfast."

Adrielle sighed before answering, still absentmindedly eyeing the woman she had seen herself becoming last night. "I had a…a dream I guess, last night. Although it seems more like a nightmare now."

"Enlighten me. Nightmares often stem from problems and conflicts in our waking lives, though sometimes it's hard to interpret them exactly. Something simple can symbolize something much deeper."

"All right," Adrielle sighed. "I don't even know where to begin really. I went to bed last night and as soon as I closed my eyes I start dreaming that I'm turning into one of those corpses. That I've contracted the sickness and am dying before my eyes."

"Did anything else happen? Anything out of the ordinary that could help this case?" Gaius asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"No. I fell asleep so quickly I hadn't even noticed I was sleeping until I woke up this morning. I had no idea I was dreaming at the time. It was terrifying. To watch myself decay and die right before my eyes, to feel so helpless," Adrielle gulped. She shook her head slightly and tried to block the rest of the memory of her dream.

"You're probably stressed out and anxious from all this work lately. All these sicknesses and deaths. The fact that the King is searching the entire kingdom for a sorcerer. Not to mention the whole fact that you and Merlin are trying to balance figuring out your talents and hiding who you are at the same time. It's a lot for your young mind to cope with," Gaius prescribed.

Adrielle nodded and sat on a bench seeming to accept Gaius' answer. It still seemed strange to her how quickly and effortlessly these items from her waking life could bleed into her dreams.

The room was suddenly filled with sobs as a brunette figure came crashing into their chambers.

"Gwen!" Adrielle exclaimed.

"Gaius, please!" Gwen cried.

"Do you have the sickness?" the physician inquired quickly.

"No, no. It's my father! Please, Gaius, he's all I have!" Gwen croaked between her sobs and gasps of breath. Once she realized her father was ill she must have sprinted all the way here. Gwen's eyes were bloodshot from crying, the fear of losing her father petrifying her.

"I have no cure," Gaius sighed regretfully. The girl let out another sob and gasp combo. Adrielle moved towards Gwen, placing a hand on either shoulder and embraced her from the side in hopes of comforting her.

"Gwen-" Adrielle started. She didn't know what she was planning to say. What do you say to someone who's father was sick and doomed to die? She had no idea. Adrielle's own father had never been in her life, he hadn't even been around to see her birth. Their mother never talked about him and Adrielle and Merlin seemed content enough to not ask questions.

"I'm begging you!"

"I wish there was something, anything, but so far the remedy is beyond what I can achieve. I am eternally sorry, Gwen."

Gwen choked back another mournful sob as she turned to flee back to her father's bedside. On her way out she passed a concerned looking Merlin who carried a bucket of contaminated water.

"There must be something we can do, Gaius," Adrielle almost begged.

"All I can do right now is my best," Gaius replied. He took the bucket from Merlin and placed it on the table. He quickly started preparing whatever tests he had devised for the water. "Let's hope this can provide us with the answers."

"But that'll be too late for Gwen's father!" Merlin spoke up.

"I'm afraid you're right."

Rather than getting into another row with Gaius, Merlin bit his tongue and rushed up to his room silently.

"There has to be something we can do, Gaius. Anything!" Adrielle prompted. She approached Gaius as he worked and waited for him to shoot her down again.

"I wish there was something we could do to help Tom. Honestly I do. It's early in your apprenticeship but the sooner you learn this lesson the easier your job will become in the future. We can't save everyone. As unfortunate as that is it is the truth," Gaius lectured. "If you could be so kind as to offer me a hand we might be able to figure this out before everyone is left to die."