EIGHTEEN: JUST FRIENDS (291 days)
Arthur and Guinevere sat in the smaller, less formal throne room. Several druids were in front of them. The king had invited any druid who wished to participate in his celebrations to share some of their magic. The seven people in front of him had agreed and arrived to discuss sleeping arrangements before and during the celebrations themselves.
The festivities wouldn't begin for another five days. Arthur was worried that his staff might lash out against the druids as they had against Merlin, if the druids stayed in the castle. And so they came to the conclusion that the druids would stay at the Rising Sun. Arthur would pay for their rooms during their stay.
The druids nodded and left, all except one. Treasa stayed behind. She nodded politely in Arthur's direction. Hesitantly, as if she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer, she said, "Sire, I must ask. Has my daughter caused any problems while here?"
Guinevere laughed softly. "No. Your daughter is a wonderful addition to our staff."
The druid woman sighed in obvious relief. She had clearly been worried about Kerenza's behavior.
Arthur grinned, hoping to reassure her. "She certainly keeps us entertained. But she is also very good at what she's doing. She's learning Gaius's trade quite quickly. The court is…adjusting to her unique way of saying and doing things." He didn't mention that Kerenza had kept her druid heritage mostly to herself. With everything that had been going on with Merlin, Arthur was inclined to believe that was a wise decision for the time being. He was sure Treasa had already guessed that her daughter would keep it quiet in the beginning. Perhaps she had been the one to suggest it. "Kerenza is bold and fierce, but she has settled in well here."
"Our court trusts Gaius, and they know that Gaius trusts Kerenza," the queen added.
"We enjoy having her here."
Arthur noticed that Guinevere was struggling to contain a smile. "Merlin, especially, seems to be enjoying her company. I think he's growing rather fond of her. They flirt with each other constantly."
Treasa's eyes widened at that news.
Arthur frowned at his wife. "Merlin and Kerenza?" He knew that the two had become friends, of course. That much was obvious to anyone with eyes. But flirting? Arthur had teased Merlin about that surprise kiss the druid girl had given him, but he never imagined that anything would come of it. "They're just friends."
Guinevere laughed. "Arthur, you can't possibly be that unobservant to have not noticed all the flirting they've been doing lately. And the looks they've been giving each other."
He was about to argue with her that there was simply no possibility that Merlin and Kerenza could be attracted to one another, when he realized that she was right. Of course she was right. They had been flirting.
Treasa still looked stunned.
The king tried not to pout. "I was going to try to get Merlin and Mithian -"
"Mithian?" Guinevere interrupted. "Mithian is a wonderful woman. I respect her and like her a great deal. But she and Merlin have nothing in common. They respect each other, yes, and they could be happy together for a while, but it would not last long. And I highly doubt that she would be entirely comfortable with a growing dragon sleeping just off of her quarters. Eventually, Aithusa will be living in the dragon enclosure that we're building. Merlin's future wife needs to be comfortable with that. Stop trying to control Merlin's love life. He's obviously doing just fine on his own. He doesn't need you interfering."
"But…Mithian would make an excellent alliance. Merlin is a prominent member of the council. Mithian would be a good match for our kingdom." He knew it was a weak argument, and he'd never want Merlin to marry simply for the sake of politics. But he wasn't quite ready to give up the notion of Merlin and Mithian together.
"As would Kerenza," the queen argued reasonably. "Our relations with the druids are still new and shaky. A marriage between Merlin and a druid would solidify those relations. But who Merlin eventually marries is up to him. Not you, even if you are the king. Leave him be, Arthur. Let him find love on his own, in his own way and his own time."
Arthur sighed, but agreed to stay out of Merlin's love life.
Treasa shook her head, her expression still one of surprise. "Emrys is interested in my daughter?" she asked quietly.
The queen nodded. "Very interested. And from what I've seen, she returns his interest."
Merlin entered the forest, rolling his shoulders. He was taking a much-needed break from all of his sorting and organizing. He just needed to get out of the castle for a few hours.
He jumped slightly when Kerenza, who had apparently been in one of the trees, landed in front of him.
"Where are your shadows?" she asked.
"Busy. I sent them on some errands," he replied, trying extremely hard not to stare at her. She wearing one of her tunic-dresses, and he was finding the swell of her breasts very distracting.
She narrowed her eyes, studying his face. "You gave them the rest of the day off. Didn't you? Because you like to go easy on people as often as you can."
"Not if Arthur asks. As far as he's concerned, they're running very important errands for me. I needed a break, and I didn't have anything for either of them to do."
Kerenza sat against a nearby tree. "How is Ennis doing?" she questioned.
Merlin sat beside her, sighing. "He still doesn't trust magic. But I don't think he hates me anymore. He actually arrived on time this morning. And he willingly brought me lunch, just before I came out here. It was a delicious lunch, too. No rotten food." He glanced in her direction. "Why are you hiding out in the forest?"
She picked at the plants near her feet - which just happened to be bare again. "If you must know, I was gathering herbs for Gaius."
He arched an eyebrow at her. "In a tree? You and I both know that none of the herbs Gaius needs are going to be found in a tree. You also don't have anything with you to carry herbs in. Why are you really out here?"
She sighed. "I'm hiding from Ma."
"Treasa is here?"
Kerenza nodded. "She arrived several hours ago. She and six other druids went to meet with the king. I don't know where she is right now, and I'd rather not find out, to be honest. Undoubtedly, she's looking for me. Probably only to lecture me."
"Why would she want to lecture you?"
"I have a tendency to…misbehave. She tends to assume the worst of me."
"You can't be that terrible," he said, remembering all the trouble he'd gotten into as a child. "When I was seven, I used my magic to burn down my neighbor's grain storehouse."
"Did you do it on purpose?"
"No."
She stared at her feet, refusing to look at him. "Well, when I was seven, I used my magic to turn a boy's skin purple because he told me that I was ugly. It wasn't an accident."
Merlin gulped. "He must have been blind," he muttered, mostly to himself. "Because you're beautiful." Then he blushed, realizing that he hadn't said that as quietly as he'd meant to. Kerenza had certainly heard him.
He could practically feel her smiling in his direction. "We were only seven. I wasn't beautiful back then. I was goofy-looking."
He snorted, shaking his head in disbelief, but decided to change the subject.
He told her about the time that his mother found out that he'd accidentally used his magic in front of his friend Will. She had been furious with him for being so careless. It was the only time he could remember his mother actually being angry with him. It was the only time he could remember her yelling at him.
She began relating a tale of when she was eight, and she'd decided to try her hand at making herself fly. She hadn't been very successful, apparently.
He rubbed his eyes as his vision blurred slightly. He tried to focus on Kerenza's story, but he was finding it a little difficult. She was saying something about a blue-striped cow? That couldn't possibly be correct. She had originally been talking about flying. Or had it been boys with purple skin? He was too tired for this. He was sleep-deprived. That must have been it. He hadn't been getting nearly enough sleep lately, with all the books he'd been reading through, and now he was imagining things.
"I'm sorry, Kerenza," he told her sincerely. "I'm having quite a bit of trouble focusing right now. I'm exhausted. I really shouldn't stay up so late each night. Tell your mother hello for me, once you've finished hiding from her."
"I will," she answered with a chuckle, even as he stood up. He waved, and began making his way back to the castle. Something was wrong, and he was worried that it was more than just simple sleep-deprivation. He could barely see. He could barely think. Everything was jumbled in his head.
He knew there was something important he should do to help himself in this situation, something…
Merlin sagged against the nearest wall, pressing a hand to his chest. It hurt. Why was his chest hurting so much? He closed his eyes, pushing his hand harder against his chest, trying in vain to alleviate the pressure building there.
"Merlin? Are you all right?"
He blinked, as several figures in long red cloaks approached him. Knights. There were at least six knights…no, four…two. Two knights. There were two knights coming toward him.
"I can't…I need…" He rubbed his head. Nothing was making sense.
Then he felt his whole body stiffen. His back arched as his muscles seized. Darkness filled his vision. He was on the verge of losing consciousness, he knew that much.
"Merlin! Percival, take him to Gaius. I'll get -"
With a sigh, Kerenza headed toward the castle, only a few minutes after Emrys left. She made her way to the physician's chambers. She was sure her mother would find her there eventually. She certainly wasn't going to seek out her mother.
Just as she entered the corridor leading to Gaius's quarters, two men ran past her. One was blonde and regal, most likely the king. The other one was a dark-haired knight - Sir Gwaine, she thought - wearing a long red cloak.
They burst into the chambers ahead of her. Neither of them gave any indication that they'd even seen her. What could have them in such a rush?
Frowning, she followed them into the room. She froze, her hand flying to cover her mouth, when she saw what had brought the men there so quickly. Her heart skipped a beat.
Emrys was laid out on the table, his eyes closed, his fists clenched as his body convulsed violently. Gaius was standing over him.
"Someone go to his rooms and bring me anything that he could have consumed in the last several hours," the old man instructed.
"What's wrong with him?" King Arthur demanded, as Percival rushed past him and out of the room.
Gaius sighed. "I think he's been poisoned, sire."
"Poisoned? Who would -" the king broke off, his jaw clenching tightly. "Ennis.
Merlin is just having all kinds of trouble lately. I'll try to get the next chapter up fairly quickly, so as not to leave you guys hanging. Enjoy! Or, don't. I doubt many of you will actually enjoy the fact that Merlin's just been poisoned.
