Dizzy.

Nimue felt so dizzy when they arrived in the land of magick her senses were assaulted by everything. Travelling via teleportation had been sickening, they were no longer in the gardens in the fresh air but at the bottom of white marble stairs leading up to a grand palace. Nimue's head snapped around she could smell wild flowers, she could hear the sound of whispers, beating wings, trickling water, creatures moving around her though she could pinpoint none. The magick she could feel it had slammed into her and was causing her heart to beat wildly twisting around in a circle of fear her eyes finally landed on Mab. The Queen had her arms extended to the open cavern she had obviously been talking but due to her shock Nimue hadnt heard a word.

'Madam.' Nimue heard the voice of a man behind her and turning around she saw the ugliest creature she had ever seen.

He had great goggling eyes, pointed ears, and was dressed all in black with only his pale face and hands on show. Nimue could only assume such a creature was a monster she stumbled backwards screaming in terror. Frik seeing the girl had smiled but when she screamed he had also screamed in equal terror at the noise she was making. He shrunk to the ground holding his ears in fright and Nimue's eyes rolled back in her head as she fainted.

'Frik!' Mab rasped angrily paying no attention to either of them but took the gnomes voice to stop him from screaming..

'What are you doing?' she demanded.

The gnome had still been trying to scream in the silence but he soon stopped and shakily got up he begun gesturing his hands and moving his lips as explained but naturally Mab could not hear him.

Mab nonchalantly gestured with her hand causing the gnomes voice to return mid-speech.

'really I did. But I have not been able to find him anywhere.' he finished out of breath.

'What are you muttering about?' she snapped in annoyance. 'Where is Merlin?'

Frik gulped and swallowed tugging on his collar.

'Gone madam?'

'Gone?'

'Away.' Frik confirmed.

'Away?!' Mab repeated causing Frik to feel exasperated so he continued.

'I dont know why-' 'He's on his way home to that viper-tongued witch, Ambrosia.'

Frik didnt feel very safe.

'How can he get across the lake?' perhaps the boy hadnt gone yet.

'My dear sister.' Mab confirmed causing the gnomes heart to sink.

Frik fidgeted nervously as his Queen paced around deep in thought.

'Oh...if I may so, madam it really would help matters, if you two could agree to-' 'When I want your advice I'll ask for it!' she rasped cutting him off.

'As you wish madam,' he responded sheepishly. 'But what're you going to do?'

Mab leant over to his shoulder.. 'Im not going to lose him.' she hissed. 'Find Nimue a room make sure she wants for nothing.' Mab instructed and vanished as the gnome mimicked her.

Ambrosia clutched her shawl to her as she wearily made her way over to her bed taking a sip of the cooled tea.

'Where is he?' looking up the old woman heard the rasping of formidable fae queen many would feel fear in their hearts, Ambrosia was not one of them.

'Ah here you are again, still a chip off the old iceberg I see.' she jibed. 'Please dont bother to knock!' she said sarcastically.

'Where is Merlin?' Mab repeated ignoring her.

Ambrosia looked up at her if she had not been feeling so ill she would have laughed.

'So you've lost him have you? I must say it's typical, over the last few years you've been sliding down the ladder of success so fast you must be getting splinters in your backside.'

The comment caused Mab to narrow her eyes in anger and the womans tea burned her lips painfully causing her to let out a yelp.

'Dont provoke me Ambrosia. Im in no mood for your jibes.' Mab warned.

'Im anxious about the boy too.' this was true she loved Merlin she had raised him as her own. 'You should've taken better care of him.' she broke off in a fit of coughing.

'He'll be here, he's heard you are ill.' Mab assured bitterly pacing the small hut.

'Im not ill, Im dying.' Ambrosia replied bluntly.

The faerie Queen took no notice of this too busy forming plans in her head.

'When he comes, send him back.' she ordered.

'Cant you make him come back?' Ambrosia replied.

'It's better if you tell him his place is with me.' Mab reasoned.

'No. I wont do that.' Ambrosia told Mab simply which caused the fae's eyes to widen. 'You defy me?!' she growled.

'Of course I defy you, Ive always defied you.' Ambrosia said this like it was the most obvious thing in the world and she'd said it a million times.

'Why?!' Mab rasped furiously in annoyance.

'It's in my nature.' Ambrosia's words only infuriated the Queen more. 'When my boy comes here, I wont say a word. He'll do whats in his heart.' she said proudly.

Mab finally could stand no more of the insufferable human and her rudeness, she had more important matters to be dealing with than some withered human wench. She let out a terrible roar causing an instant storm to whip up causing havoc within the small hut. Pots and pans flying everywhere the stove fire raging the shock was so much for the old woman that by the time Mab had stopped she'd doubled over clutching her chest.

'Now see what you made me do.' Mab smirked before finally noticing the position of the old woman she was taken aback as she approached her bending down. 'Ambrosia?' Mab rasped with perhaps not concern but most definitely confusion. 'Ambrosia? What is it?' she rasped.

Ambrosia smiled up at her weakly. 'You tell me. You're the Mistress of Magick.' she begun partly laughing at Mab's confusion, partly coughing due to pain and partly crying as she worried about Merlin.

As though her very thoughts had wished him into existence Merlin came running into the hut skidding down on his knees beside her tenderly touching her face. 'Auntie A! Auntie A!'

Mab's eyes had darted over to the young boy as he came running in and she was very aware that things could not possibly have looked any worse. She had not meant to kill Ambrosia she simply did not understand the fragility of humans.

'My boy, you came back.' she said faintly feeling completely at peace.

'What's wrong?' he asked in a panic.

'Nothing, everything's as it should be.' she whispered then drifted off.

Mab sorely wished Ambrosia was alive so she could punish her if nothing else. The boy wept over the old womans body before tucking her up and turning on Mab savagely.

'You killed her!' he accused angrily.

'No I didnt.' Mab responded which was true she had not directly killed the old woman.

'You killed her like you killed my real mother!' Merlin growled viciously.

'No I only let her die.' Mab corrected.

Merlin felt rage pulse through him and he raised his hand to strike her but an unforeseen force stopped him in his tracks. Merlin tried with all his might to break through it he wanted to punish Mab for the wrong she had done but she only pushed him aside.

'That was very good Merlin, Im impressed.' she complimented him only adding to his rage.

'I will never forgive you!' he sneered.

'Im sorry about your mother and Ambrosia but they were casualties of war. Im fighting to save my people from extinction!'

'I dont care if you die and disappear.' Merlin spat in disgust.

Mab's eyes flashed.

'I will unless I fight and win!' she tried to press her point that she would really fade into nothing unless he helped her. That she was not acting out of malice.

'I'll never help you.' Merlin remained defiant.

Mab felt her heart hurt at this that he truly did not seem to care for her but she quickly put it down to his grief for the old woman.

'You will. I'll make you but you're too upset to talk about this now. Later after you have grieved.' she then vanished in a clap of thunder leaving him to mourn.