A/N: I noticed something rather odd with the last chapter I posted. The story stats dropped sharply. I obviously did something that the readers didn't like with chapter five, but I don't know what. I am wondering if that is because the chapter was too long. If that is the case, unfortunately this chapter is also quite long, but there really wasn't a good place to split it up evenly. Any feedback in that regard would be appreciated.
In any event, here is chapter six. I hope you like this chapter better.
Alice I
Chapter Six
The first glow of the early morning light found Merlin up and dressed, having once again had his sleep disturbed by the same nightmare. Much to his relief, this time he hadn't cried out, disturbing Gaius, and he was finding that he was able to shake the feeling of fear that always accompanied the dream more easily. He assumed that he was simply getting used to having the same images running through his mind, and without any conscious thought he raised his hand to his chest to a wound that wasn't there.
It was far too early to go and wake up Arthur, so Merlin left quietly and headed to the east tower parapet to watch the sun rise. As the fiery globe began to crest the horizon Merlin wondered why he had never taken the time to do this in the past. It was peaceful standing so far above the city looking out over the countryside. He could understand why Uther used to come to this spot after the loss of his wife. Somehow the beauty displayed before him made the loss of his magic seem a little less lonely, but he had no idea why he should feel that way.
He heard soft footsteps behind him and turned to see Gwen. She didn't say anything but her expression held a mixture of concern and curiosity as she stepped up beside him and stared up into his eyes. "You're up early." was all she said.
Somehow that simple statement held a much deeper meaning. Merlin had never been much of a morning person and his being up and out at this hour just seemed to accentuate how much he had changed over the past few days. Her eyes held concern for him and empathy for whatever it was that had taken such a heavy toll on his disposition. Merlin didn't know what to say so he just nodded and looked back out at the horizon.
"What's wrong, Merlin? I mean, I know you have been ill the past several days, but it's more than that... isn't it?"
There was no real way that Merlin could answer her. His whole world had fallen apart in the blink of an eye. Losing his magic was akin to someone losing their sight or their hearing. He felt alone and closed off from the rest of the world. The thing that made him whole - the thing that made him Merlin, was now gone. He was nothing more than an empty shell, but how could he tell Guinevere that?
"Yes, it's more than that, but I can't really describe what it is." Merlin answered, without looking at her. He was surprised when he felt her small hand touch the side of his face and turn his head so that he was looking at her.
"Try."
Her voice was so earnest and her eyes so full of worry for him that he couldn't avoid her question. "It's hard to explain, Gwen. I don't really matter anymore. I feel like something is missing inside of me - right now I feel empty. I look out at the world and even though it's beautiful, it's flat - sort of colorless. I know it makes no sense, but that's how I feel."
Gwen heard the hollowness in Merlin's voice as he spoke and her heart broke for him. She knew that he had some sort of illness that had no explanation, but she didn't really know what it was. She knew that Arthur was worried about him even though he would never openly admit to it. She had overheard the prince talking to Morgana and while she didn't catch the details of the conversation she knew that somehow the blood that Morgana had found outside the stables four days ago was in some way connected to what was happening with Merlin. There really wasn't anything she could do for him, but he was so forlorn that rather spontaneously she reached up and hugged him.
It took a moment for Merlin to respond and wrap his arms around her in return, but when he did he felt as though some of the weight of his depression lifted from his heart. The gesture was one of unconditional friendship and care which had it's own healing effects. Before he realized it, he was holding her tightly as the first rays of the sun washed over the pair standing atop the tower looking out over Camelot.
The sleeping drought given to her by Gaius sat untouched on Morgana's dressing table as she tossed restlessly, trapped within the nightmare she had envisioned over the last four nights. The images were clearer and more frightening than they had been before.
Merlin was walking through the forest when he heard a cry for help. He ran toward the voice but it was somewhere off in the distance. A horse's whinny sounded through the trees followed by a scream of pain. Merlin began to run faster, his breath coming in gasps as he tried to weave his way through the trees. An eagle overhead gave a piercing cry but could not be seen through the dense canopy of branches and leaves above.
She didn't see where he had gotten it, but Merlin suddenly had a sword in his hand. His face didn't show fear. The set of his jaw spoke of anger and his eyes smoldered, holding a stubborn determination. He raised the sword over his head but his elbow hit something hard. Confusion and surprise took the place of resolve on his face and when he turned to see what it was he had hit the man he was fighting pierced his side with a sword.
The dream shifted.
She saw a huge man with a scar that extended from his forehead down to his cheek standing in a forest glade dappled with the morning sunlight. His nearly black eyes were frightening and his voice was deep and powerful.
"You can not sway Emerys to your will." he said, in a commanding voice that seemed to reverberate through the trees.
The dream shifted.
She saw Merlin, bare chested and covered in sweat and grime. His eyes mirrored shock and pain. He looked down, but rather than seeing a wound in his side he saw a hand holding something white as it pierce his chest. The pain in his eyes turned to cold terror as he looked at the woman who was standing in front of him with a vicious smile twisting her lips. She looked up at him with eyes so blue they were breathtaking, yet hard and cruel at the same time.
Merlin's blood flowed freely from the wound and he tried to grab the object, but she twisted her hand and shoved the implement of his demise inward and up - hard. He groped at his chest trying to pull the thing out but it had broken off leaving a part of it embedded inside of him; with only a gaping wound to show for it.
Merlin's knees buckled and he dropped to the ground, now staring up into the eyes of his murderer. She raised her hand to his chest and spoke words that held some ancient meaning as a soft green glow formed between them.
"Draca gebindan mid heorte binnan wunian; gehealdan gebindan se scinnlac binnan"
Merlin fell slowly, almost gracefully onto the cold flagstone as the woman stood over him her bloody hand stretched out over the dieing man and repeated the arcane spell.
Merlin began to gasp for breath in vain, his hands clutching at the wound in his chest trying to stem the flow of blood, as he rolled to his side. The pain in Merlin's face became unbearable as he closed his eyes against a torrent of agony. She heard the woman laugh down at Merlin as he lay gasping for air while his life flowed out onto the cold hard ground. When he opened his eyes again, Merlin face registered shock. He tried to speak but no voice would pass from his lips. He formed one soundless word - 'Run!'. His eyes lost focus and his face became slack as his life ended in a pool of blood, and terror, and pain.
Morgana had always awakened screaming at this point in the dream, but some part of her subconscious mind needed to see further and while she moaned and tossed in her bed the vision continued. The woman who had murdered Merlin stepped over to his lifeless body hooking her foot under his shoulder and kicked him over onto his back. His sightless eyes stared up into the night sky as she once again reached out her hand and recited a different incantation.
"Halian bes inwindlemm."
This time a blue light shot from her hand down to his chest which exploded in a shower of sparks and Merlin's body arched up off of the ground alive and writhing in unimaginable agony as the wound his in chest began to close and heal of it's own accord. Once the light faded away into darkness the young man lay still on the ground not moving at all, but drawing one ragged breath after another.
"Get up Merlin." the woman commanded, and after a moment he rolled and stood on wobbly legs.
She walked over to the ground where Merlin's tunic had dropped from his hands when she first stabbed him, and picked it up. She waved her hand in his direction and the blood covering his hands and chest vanished as though it had never been there. She stepped directly up to him and handed him the tunic. Merlin was moving as though he were in some sort of trance. He obediently put the tunic on then stood there as if waiting for further instructions.
"Witornsacan eower gemynd nihthelm" she said, aloud.
Merlin only stood still his features immobile, his eyes deadened in a catatonic stare. His face showed no emotion; he didn't even blink. He looked like someone who could have been sleep-walking, unaware of his surroundings; seeing only what his mind had conjured up. The woman looked at him, now dressed in his clean tunic without so much as an inkling that anything untoward had happened. As she walked around him in a circle she traced her finger along his shoulders and chest smiling with a satisfied look on her face. She stopped when she was directly in front of him and leaned in closely as she whispered the words she had last spoken a second time in his ear. When she stood back to see his face for a flicker of a moment his eyes came into sharp focus and stared directly into her cold blue ones with a furious and piercing intensity. Morgana felt a bolt of shear panic and she woke suddenly panting.
Merlin was still earlier than usual when he arrived at Arthur's chambers and so was surprised to find the prince up and dressed already. Merlin set the tray with Arthur's breakfast down on the table and stepped over to the window. "You're up early. Anything special going on today?"
Merlin's color looked a little better this morning and he seemed a little less despondent, but this unnatural politeness was seriously starting to get on the prince's nerves. He looked at the tray of food that Merlin had brought for him, and his father's admonishment that he be careful around Merlin because he could be enchanted echoed through his mind. He honestly believed that Merlin could do him no harm, and he refused to be swayed by his father's concerns as he purposely took a bite from the muffin set out next to fresh cut strawberries. Merlin stood quietly waiting for something, and Arthur realized he hadn't answered the question Merlin had asked.
"It'll be sword practice today."
Arthur knew that Merlin would rather muck out the stables than endure hours of sparring practice with the best fighter in Camelot, so when his normally sarcastic and outspoken servant simply nodded and set about cleaning up the bed chamber, Arthur's determination was re-doubled. He would get a reaction out of Merlin today no matter how long it took. This acquiescent Merlin had to go. Arthur actually missed the verbal sparing matches he used to have with his man servant.
When they arrived at the armory nearly an hour later, Merlin reached for the armor but stopped at Arthur's voice.
"No armor today." Arthur announced as he reached for two of the training staffs.
Merlin turned to look at the young prince with a confused frown on his face. Arthur simply stared back at him, then tossed one of the wooden staffs at Merlin who caught it a bit clumsily. Then the prince picked out two wooden training swords as he continued to speak.
"This will be a review of the basics; thrust, parry, block and stances."
Merlin still didn't understand what Arthur meant. "The basics? Why do you want to practice stances and blocks and that other stuff you said? You already know all that in your sleep."
Arthur's smile was as broad as his sword. "Yes, but you don't."
Now Merlin was completely flummoxed. "Me?"
Arthur walked past Merlin speaking over his shoulder as he went. "Don't be such an idiot, Merlin. How am I to spare with you if you don't know the first thing about protecting yourself?"
Shaking his head, and resigned to what he considered an exercise in futility, Merlin followed Arthur out onto the practice field. It was still early enough that no one else was out, and they had the entire field to themselves. Once Arthur reached the center of the field, he dropped the practice swords off to the side and turned abruptly to face Merlin who instinctively stepped back a pace looking a bit unsure of the situation.
"Are you going to hit me with that?" he asked, a little nervously.
"Not if you block me." Arthur responded as he swung the staff up in an arch and brought it down toward the top of Merlin's head.
The young man hadn't gotten a good grip on his own staff and when he automatically brought it up to parry Arthur's blow the two staffs met with a resounding 'thwack' that reverberated all the way down Merlin's arms and into his shoulders before his staff dropped from his hands allowing it to crack him on the top of the head.
"Ow! I wasn't ready!" Merlin cried out, indignantly.
Arthur paced slightly as he twirled his own staff. "Do you think that an enemy trying to kill you is going to care? You must always be ready. Now pick up your staff and let's go again."
Merlin bent to pick up the dropped weapon as he rubbed the top of his head with his other hand, grumbling under his breath. "If you're gonna keep hitting me, I should have a helmet."
As Arthur began to circle Merlin like a predator he taunted him. "What's the matter, Merlin? You worried I might scramble that little brain of yours?"
Merlin made sure he had a firm grip on the staff when he stood back up facing Arthur. This time he was ready, and fended off the overhead blow without losing his weapon, but only just. After raising his staff in the air over his head to prevent Arthur from cracking his skull a second time, Merlin didn't lower his arms, not really knowing what was expected of him next. Arthur took advantage of the opportunity by rotating his staff with his upper body as he brought the end down and smacked Merlin soundly on the hip while the young man still held his staff above his head.
"OW!" Merlin said with more force. "You do realize that I've never done this, right?"
Arthur was pleased to see some emotion creeping into Merlin's voice. He was starting to sound more like the Merlin that Arthur knew. "You must do more than just block. Watch your opponent, step back out of range after a parry or strike. Better still would be to turn a block into a strike."
Merlin was getting frustrated. His hip smarted and he would have a welt there later. "How am I supposed to do that?"
Arthur smiled. "Strike at me."
Merlin obediently swung his staff over his head and down toward Arthur's head wondering briefly if the prince was even going to try to block the blow, as he stood almost relaxed while the descending weapon came closer. If Merlin hadn't known better, he might have suspected the use of magic. Arthur moved so fast that it was almost hard for the eye to follow. He brought his staff up in both hands and not only blocked Merlin's blow, but hit the descending staff with such force that the thing nearly flew out of Merlin's hands. Then as quick as lightning, Arthur brought one end of his staff down and to the side whacking Merlin first on the left upper arm, then changing the position of the staff he hit him again on the right arm.
The clear and calculating side of Merlin's mind could plainly see what Arthur was showing him and could appreciate the value of the lesson, but the much stronger and currently active side of his mind didn't like getting smacked around in the process of this learning curve and the young man was starting to get angry. Without waiting to see what Arthur had in mind next, Merlin held his staff tightly and brought the side down that was opposite to the one Arthur had last connected with. Arthur met the blow easily. Merlin didn't stop there. He was determined at this point to get a hit in on Arthur, and he advanced swinging his staff as he tried to hit Arthur while the prince met him blow for blow. Merlin changed tactics and brought his left arm back while using his right hand as a guide and thrust the staff forward like a javelin trying to hit Arthur in the chest. Arthur twisted his body so that the end of the staff slid past his chest but he did so with a much more impressed look on his face than Merlin had ever seen there before.
"Take a look at your feet, Merlin." Arthur instructed.
Merlin froze and looked down. His right foot was forward and his knee was slightly bent while his left foot was behind. It looked like he was lunging forward.
"Yeah, so?" Merlin said, not sure what he was supposed to be seeing.
"You've over extended yourself forward and your feet are in line with each other putting you off balance."
Merlin was panting from the exertion of trying to land a hit on Arthur and he didn't see why his feet were placed so terribly badly. "I'm still standing aren't I?"
In response Arthur simply reached out and pushed lightly on Merlin's rear shoulder and he toppled over easily. Merlin tried to keep from falling on his backside cart wheeling his arms wildly and Arthur had to dodge quickly to keep from being soundly hit with the staff in Merlin's hands as he fell. Merlin looked up at Arthur not sure if he was angry or about to laugh. Arthur reached down to offer the young man a hand up seeing the mix of frustration and humor in his face.
"That was actually not a bad effort, Merlin. I may just make a sparring partner out of you yet." Arthur pulled Merlin to his feet and took both staffs, tossing them aside. "Let's talk about stances. Do you know why you fell over so easily?"
Merlin may not have much skill in the art of fighting, but his mind was just as keen as Arthur's if not more so when it came to logic. "My feet were in a straight line?"
"That's right. You have a naturally long stance but what you need to do is make it wider. Try to keep your feet at least shoulder width apart from side to side. That will give you a much stronger base. Lunge forward like you did a moment ago."
Merlin complied but this time he tried to get his feet further apart. The unfamiliar movement ended up in him spreading his feet farther apart from front to back rather than side to side.
"Don't make your stance longer, make it wider."
Merlin pulled his lead foot back and adjusted his rear foot to take it out by another inch. He had to admit that this felt more secure. Arthur was ready to test that when he pushed again on the young man's shoulder. This time Merlin was able to stay upright and as Arthur pushed at him harder Merlin responded in kind and ended up using his shoulder as a weapon and landed a fleshy thud on Arthur's upper arm.
"That's more like it. Now you're starting to get it. Okay there are three basic stances I want to show you, Merlin. The first one is actually called a basic stance." Arthur reached down and grabbed up the wooden practice swords and tossed one to Merlin. "You start with your feet about the same distance apart as your shoulders from left to right. You're holding your sword in your right hand to fight so move that leg a little bit forward." Merlin complied and Arthur said, "Now bend your knees a little. That is your basic stance. You have a solid base to work with. You keep your knees bent slightly to give you bounce and maneuverability."
Merlin tried bouncing a little but felt awkward as his feet left the ground.
"No, not like that. Get up on the balls of your feet. Now just bounce slightly like this." Arthur demonstrated.
Merlin tried again and seemed more in control but he still felt clumsy with the unfamiliar movement. "I feel like there should be music or something."
Arthur had to smile at that, but he kept right on bouncing to demonstrate the necessity of being light on your feet and have the ability to switch your foot position quickly and smoothly. After another minute Merlin started to get into a rhythm and was able to match Arthur's movement. Once he looked pretty comfortable, Arthur began to twist his hips from side to side changing the direction of his feet within the rhythm of the bouncing. Merlin copied the movement and after a couple of quick adjustments was now following Arthur, movement for movement.
"Good, Merlin now stop here." Arthur said when he had twisted his hips to the left so that he was in a defensive stance with his sword arm's shoulder toward his opponent. Arthur's body was turned so that he was no longer directly facing Merlin. His lead leg was forward with both feet still shoulder width apart. His lead leg was straight while his back leg was bent slightly. He held his sword with both hands; his sword hand above the other.
Merlin was able to quickly mimic the stance from his bouncing exercise and smiled broadly back at Arthur, who corrected him slightly as to how he was holding the sword.
"That's pretty good, Merlin, but you want to pull your hands back toward the back hip. Make the sword go at a diagonal that puts the tip of the sword in front of the lead shoulder. This is called a defensive stance and is a very good stance for protecting yourself as you are ready to block most attacks." Arthur explained.
By the time Arthur had gone through a defensive stance, an offensive stance and shift and the basic stance again with Merlin the young man was concentrating so hard on the position of his feet that he had failed to look up at his opponent. Arthur quickly taught him not to do that as he used the other practice sword and easily swung under the sword Merlin was holding and got in a hit along his ribs.
"Now that you know what to do with your stances, you must keep an eye on your opponent. Use the sword and your height to your advantage. Go ahead and swing the sword at me."
Merlin, his side stinging from that last hit, had no problem trying to swing at Arthur and he raised the sword over his head and came down with a diagonal slashing motion. Arthur's sword met his in the middle of his downward arch and the blades met with a solid crack of wood on wood. Arthur shifted forward by straightening his rear leg and Merlin's blade slid down the length of Arthur's until it stopped at the cross guard on the hilt of the sword. Arthur then twisted his hand toward his opponent bringing the flat side of his sword against Merlin's as he stepped smoothly to the outside bringing the cutting surface of his sword into direct contact with Merlin's neck. Arthur then stepped back drawing his sword back with him in one smooth motion.
"You are now bleeding out from a fatal wound to the neck. The crossbar can be used as a trap to either disarm your opponent or to trap his blade allowing you to slice across the neck."
Merlin was duly impressed and asked, "How do I disarm my opponent?"
"You're not quite ready for that yet. Let's stick with the basics of parry and thrust."
After nearly two hours in the hot morning sun working on these techniques, Merlin was starting to lose the ability to even hold the practice sword or staff properly as his energy began to wane. Even a brief burst of energy after finally not only landing a solid hit to Arthur's neck, but in the process disarming him didn't last very long as the young man grew more pale and fatigued. Arthur called a halt to the lesson to allow Merlin to sit for a few minutes and rest.
"Oh sure, now that I am starting to hit back, you decide it's time for a rest." Merlin quipped sounding more like himself than he had in days.
In truth, if Arthur hadn't called a halt to the lesson Merlin would have had to himself as he felt the last of his meager energy drain away with the increased physical activity. Merlin actually felt pretty good about himself even though he was tired enough to sleep for a week. He had never been one to fight, not having the slightest idea how to go about doing so with any sort of proficiency, but Arthur's lesson had given him a little more of a sense of self confidence, at least where defending himself was concerned. Merlin knew that no matter how often he trained with Arthur he would never really be a good fighter, it just wasn't in his nature, but he appreciated the value of being able to at least fend off an attacker if he ever needed to, especially now that his magic was gone. He was beginning to realize how much he relied on magic just to live his normal life and wondered rather morosely how he would ever get used to being without it. He tried to think of people like Arthur, Gwen, and Gaius who lived everyday without magic to help them along, and the fact that they lived perfectly happy and fulfilling lives.
"What are you thinking about?" Arthur asked, as he watched Merlin's expressions change from content, to pensive to speculative.
Merlin looked up at the prince but rather than answer his question he leand to the left looking past him at the approaching royal guard. "They look serious, what do you suppose they want?" he asked, as he got up from the ground.
Arthur spun around and was instantly on alert as two guards approached at a trot. Both stopped a few feet from the two young men and one of them announced, "Sire, your presence is required immediately in the throne room."
Arthur tossed the practice sword he was still holding off to the side. "What has happened?"
The second guard was younger and probably should not have spoken in front of Merlin, but the court was all whispering about the witness to the events at the royal stables that had come forward. "A witness to the... "
The man stopped speaking when his companion hit his shoulder as he looked at Merlin. "Sire it is true that a witness to the event of four nights ago has come forward. The King wants you present to hear her account."
Merlin was frowning in confusion. He had heard of nothing odd happening recently although admittedly he had been lost in his own troubles of late. "What's going on Arthur?" he asked as he stepped over to the prince.
Arthur had a sinking feeling about all of this. "Merlin, we'll have to pick this up some other time. Take the swords and staffs back to the armory, then you should head back to Gaius' chambers. You look as though you could do with a bit of rest."
Merlin didn't like the sound of this, something was going on and it involved Arthur. He may not have magic to call on any more, but he was still responsible for Arthur's safety even if only he and Gaius were aware of it. "A witness has come forward? A witness to what?" he pressed.
Arthur shot a withering look at the younger guard who had the decency to look abashed before turned back to Merlin. "It is not for you to question me, now go and do as I say."
Merlin stepped back as Arthur spoke, surprised by the vehemence in his voice. Something serious was going on and Arthur wouldn't talk about it, at least not in front of the royal guard. "Yes, Sire." he answered, as he picked up the swords and staffs. Arthur may not want to talk, but he knew how to get information for himself. It was time to pay a visit to the rest of the royal household servants. They knew everything that was happening inside of Camelot and were often times better informed than most of the gentry.
When Arthur arrived at the castle he found the king and Morgana standing alone in the throne room with a middle aged woman and a young girl not more than sixteen or seventeen years old, and judging by their resemblance to each other Arthur assumed that they were mother and daughter. The mother had a cautious look about her and hovered next to her daughter in a decidedly protective manner. The girl looked utterly terrified and ready to bolt. The only other people in the room were the two guards stationed by the door and they were naturally sworn to secrecy about anything they may hear in this room.
Uther nodded to Arthur as he entered and as soon as the doors closed behind him he motioned to the women standing there.
"Arthur, it seems that we have a witness to the events at the royal stables a few nights ago. Perhaps now we can find out the mystery of Morgana's discovery and put this behind us."
Morgana stepped over to the women and nodded to the mother who wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders before she began to speak.
"My name is Emeline and this is my daughter Ayleth. I have requested to speak privately to only the royal family out of fear of retribution."
Uther sat forward in his throne obviously concerned by what he was hearing. "Retribution from whom?"
Emeline looked directly at the king, "From the sorceress that my daughter saw four nights ago in front of the royal stables. If Ayleth is discovered, I have no way to protect her from a magical retaliation for telling you what she saw. The fewer people who know of Ayleth and what she says here today the safer she will be. I humbly ask for protection for my daughter, Your Majesty, before I will allow her to speak."
Uther looked at the young girl and could see how terrified she was, but he needed to know what she had seen. "I promise you that I will do everything in my power to protect both you and your daughter. Now please tell us what you saw."
Ayleth looked down for a moment then up at her mother with pleading eyes. Emeline nodded encouragingly to Ayleth and after a moment she turned back to Uther.
"Sire, if you please, I had gone to the royal stables that night to meet someone. He is a servant in the royal household and we have become... friends." Ayleth looked back at her mother with a very guilty look on her face.
"What is the name of this servant?" Uther asked.
Ayleth seemed to wither on the spot wishing that she did not have to reveal this information, but the king had asked a direct question and she had no choice but to answer him. "His name is Rowan, he works in the kitchens. We met when he would come into the market place to purchase stores for the kitchen."
Arthur exchanged a look with Uther clearly not knowing who this Rowan was, but then again Arthur was not exactly on a first name basis with most of the servant staff. He looked at the girl who seemed ready to faint from nerves and tried to ease her mind by smiling warmly at her. "Did you meet with Rowan?"
Arthur was an extremely handsome young man and Ayleth was caught off guard by his smile, almost not hearing his question. An odd feeling of guilt seemed to wash over her for a moment and she blushed furiously.
"Uh... no, Sire, Rowan never came. I thought perhaps he had forgotten that we were to meet. I was about to leave when I heard a voice from inside the stables. I was curious, thinking that Rowan had gone inside. I crept over to the door and looked in, but it wasn't Rowan I saw. It was another servant who had just finished cleaning out one of the stalls. He was talking to the horses. He was telling the horse that he didn't have any sweets for him. The horse tossed his head and sneezed on him. He just raised his hands up in the air and laughed. He told the horse that at least he had taken off his shirt since he didn't have the time or energy to wash his last clean shirt after cleaning every scrap of someone else's laundry, and polishing his armor, and cleaning up his chambers, and...."
Arthur frowned knowing that she was talking about Merlin. He didn't think that he had given his servant more work than he should have been able to handle, but felt a little guilty all the same. "I think we get the picture, thanks."
"He was funny so I watched him for a bit. Then he reached for his his shirt and turned to leave the stables. I didn't want be seen so I backed up and hid behind the door. I decided to wait for him to leave and then I would go home, but that was when she came."
The whimsical smile that Ayleth had when she was talking about Merlin left and the terror returned to her face.
"Who came?" Uther prompted urgently.
"A woman; she had long black hair and eyes so blue they looked to be made of crystal. He didn't see her because she stood off in the shadows, but as soon as he passed by me and stepped outside the stable doors, she came out of the shadows and walked soundlessly up to him with something in her hand. She..."
Ayleth stopped as tears sprang to her eyes. "It was so horrible, Sire. She stabbed him in the chest with whatever she was holding. I almost cried out, but I put my hand over my mouth. She had such a cruel smile. I don't know what she had in her hand but she twisted it and it broke off and he fell to his knees trying to cover the wound in his chest. He was gasping for breath and she just smiled down at him."
Ayleth was openly weeping now, but she continued on with her story through her sobs. "She raised her hand then and spoke in a language I have never heard. A green light formed over him as she spoke and I realized that she was a sorceress. I was so terrified. The servant fell to his back still trying to cover his chest. He rolled away from her and he saw me through the crack as I hid behind the door. He tried to speak but no sound came out."
"What did he try to say?" Morgana asked
Ayleth was so distraught that it took her a moment to collect herself enough to answer. "He said 'run' and then he died; his lifeless eyes still staring right at me. I couldn't move, I was paralyzed with fear, but when that sorceress walked around him and kicked him with her foot her back was turned to me and I did, Sire, I ran and didn't stop until I was home."
Ayleth covered her face with her hands crying uncontrollably. Her mother gathered the distraught girl into her arms but looked at Uther. "She wouldn't speak for days after that, Sire. I am sorry that it took her so long to finally come forward, but I had no idea what she had seen. When Ayleth told me of the sorceress I knew we had to come forward."
Uther knew that the servant that this peasant girl had seen should have been Merlin because he was working in the stables that night, but he still needed confirmation. He looked at the guards and motioned one of them to his side where he spoke quietly. "Go and fetch the court physician and Merlin, Arthur's man servant."
The guard nodded and left immediately and Uther turned his attention back to the mother and daughter who was still weeping although it sounded as though she were getting herself under control a little bit. "Ayleth, can you describe the servant you saw working in the stables?"
It took her another moment to try and gather herself together. "Yes, Sire. He was sort of tall, slender, and he had short dark hair and blue eyes."
It was a very basic description but Arthur knew that she was describing Merlin.
Merlin took longer than he expected to put the training equipment away. He actually had to sit down in the armory for awhile as a strong wave of dizziness washed over him. He most unexpectedly enjoyed the session with Arthur, but it had left him fatigued. By the time he made his way back to the castle and headed for the kitchens to get caught up on the gossip he was intercepted by one of the royal guard.
"You are Merlin, Price Arthur's man servant?"
Merlin looked a bit surprised but nodded.
"You must come with me. The king has summoned you."
Merlin was now thoroughly shocked. What could Uther want with him. He had a slight flutter in his gut and he tried frantically to remember if he had done anything that would warrant him being tossed into the stocks again. As they approached the main keep another guard was escorting Gaius in the same direction. They met at the base of the stairs leading to the main keep and Gaius out of habit more than anything else looked at his nephew and said, "What have you done now, Merlin?"
"Nothing!" Merlin answered indignantly. "Honestly, Gaius, I've no idea what this is about."
Both the court physician and his ward were ushered into the throne room where their attention was immediately pulled to the sight of the girl weeping quietly into her mother's arms. The girl looked up at the sound of the new arrivals and when she locked eyes with Merlin she screamed and fainted. Gaius rushed to her aide instantly as Merlin looked on shocked at the reaction this girl had shown upon seeing him. He looked directly at Arthur and asked, "What's going on?"
Arthur didn't like where things were going and he was now concerned for Merlin judging by the dark look that his father was casting in his direction. "She is a witness to a murder that happened four nights ago."
"Murder? Who was murdered?" This must be what Arthur had not wanted to discuss in front of him.
"You were, Merlin."
TBC
A/N: Once again I would like to thank Shihan Randy Crudup for his input and corrections when it came to the sword and stance lesson in this chapter. He said that he could see that I was actually paying attention in my karate class! Hey I may just pass my belt test next week after all! I'm going for yellow belt.
