Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.
Chapter Six, Magic and The Lady
-Two Weeks Later-
"Daddy, Merlin and I were going to go on a walk. Do you need anything from the market?" Verona asked cheerfully, as Merlin held on gently to her hand.
"No, thank you for asking." Gaius said, looking amused as he noticed their intertwined hands, though he was rather used to it by now.
"But it's alright if we go out for a bit?" Merlin asked him, just to be sure. Watching as Gaius sorted through some of his old books.
"Of course, just be back in time for Gwen's ceremony today." Gaius reminded them.
"We wouldn't miss it for the world!" Merlin replied lightly.
"Alright, off with you two then," Gaius said, with laughter in his eyes.
Gwen had recovered wonderfully from her injury over the past two weeks, and while she was still rather weak, she could now walk around quite a lot. They were all extremely relieved, and happy for her that she was going to be named Lady Guinevere that day, though Gwen herself was incredibly nervous about the whole thing.
In the hallway, Merlin and Verona were stopped by Arthur, "Where are you off to?"
Merlin hesitated, "We were hoping to go on a walk." He explained, frowning at the prince.
"I'm tired of you wandering off before your work is done Merlin!"
"Hey! I got my work done!" He argued, indignantly.
"Has my armor been shined?" Arthur asked with raised eyebrows.
"Well...No...Not exactly." Merlin mumbled, trying to think of a very good excuse for not shining Arthur's armor. He was sure there was a good excuse hidden away somewhere in his mind, but apparently it was buried too deep to find it anywhere.
"You're lucky I'm in a good mood today. Don't be late for Guinevere's ceremony!" Arthur warned him.
"We won't! Thanks!" Merlin sighed in relief that he was being let off just this once. Arthur really must have been in a good mood.
Merlin gently began to pull Verona down the hallway, so that, hopefully, they could get away before Arthur had a chance to change his mind, but suddenly he called out, "Wait a minute!"
The stopped, sighed, and turned around to look at him.
"Yes?" Merlin asked, his voice both frustrated and nervous.
"You're name is Verona, yes?" Arthur asked her, sounding like he was thinking something through.
Merlin instinctively took a protective step towards Verona, he would not let Arthur pick on her.
"Yes?" She asked the prince, not seeming near as worried as Merlin. But he did not want to have to go polish Arthur's armor before they could go on their walk. That could take hours, and then it would be time for Gwen's ceremony.
"Now that Guinevere will be a Lady, Morgana will need a new maid. If you would be interested in the position, let me know, and I will recommend you for a servant." Arthur told her.
She did a small curtsy, smiling, "I would be honored, sire, thank you."
Arthur nodded, "Hopefully you'll be a less idiotic servant then the one I've got," He motioned towards Merlin, "But if you are his new girlfriend, I can't be sure." There was a look of amusement in Arthur's eyes as he spoke.
Verona laughed, "I can assure you, my lord...My, er, relationship with Merlin has not negatively effected my mental well-being...At least not yet."
"Hey!" Merlin's voice was full of indignation, "Aren't you supposed to be on my side?"
Arthur's smile became wider, and with an amused glint in his eyes, he said, "I rather like this one, Merlin. Now off with you two lovebirds already." He rolled his eyes and stalking off down the hallway.
"Well that's exciting!" Verona said cheerfully, looking at Merlin with wide, bright eyes.
"I don't know, Verona, sure you can handle it?" Merlin asked, with a very big grin.
She frowned and furrowed her brow, "Handle what? Being a servant? Why wouldn't I be able to handle it?"
"Just seems a little...boring for you." He said, trying to hide his smile, but failing.
She nudged him in the side and laughed, "Of course not, there's nothing more interesting! I'm sure she has all sorts of interesting stories about you that I haven't heard."
He just laughed, "I doubt it."
00000
Merlin and Verona had arrived at a small stream in the middle of the woods. The place was off the beaten path, and chosen specifically for the occasion, because Merlin had promised Verona that he would try to help teach her how to control her magic, so they had had to find someplace where no one would accidentally find them practicing sorcery.
"Hmm, look at this. This is funny." Verona said, as she reached into the water flowing around her ankles and pulled out a small rock.
"What? I don't get it." Merlin asked her in confusion, as he took the small pebble from her and examined it.
She just smiled and shrugged, "I don't know, just thought it was a funny shape."
Merlin smiled slightly, "Has anyone ever told you that you are just a little bit odd?"
"Occasionally." She said lightly, shrugging as she continued to wade through the stream.
"Come on, Verona! Lets work on this whole magic thing. We don't have very long before we have to get back for Gwen's ceremony." He suggested, lowering his voice even though he didn't think anyone would be near enough to hear. It never hurt to be cautious.
"I don't know about this Merlin..." Verona said, shaking her head. "I think I changed my mind. What if it just causes me to lose control of my powers all over again?" Her eyes clouded with doubt and Merlin took her hand and squeezed it gently.
"I won't let anything bad happen to you." He said, looking her in the eyes. "Do you trust me?"
She broke eye contact with him, pulled her hand away, and stepped a few feet away, pretending to examine some small rocks again, "Of course I trust you, Merlin." She said, somehow managing to keep her voice light. But Merlin wasn't fooled.
He frowned, "No, you don't." He realized, trying to keep the hurt from his voice.
She sighed and looked him in the eyes once more, though she maintained her distance from him. "It's not that I don't trust you, Merlin." She said, her voice calm but she had a look of uncertainty in her eyes that Merlin had come to recognize in the past couple of weeks. "It's that I don't trust myself. If I try to use magic again...I could... I could do something awful! I could get you killed!"
"But I have faith in you, Verona! And if you don't practice...What happens if one day you are in trouble and don't have a way to defend yourself?"
She smiled at him, and this time he couldn't see anything fake in her smile, "You're so sweet Merlin. But every time I've been in trouble in the past, my instincts have kicked in to protect me. In fact, that's just about the only time I can control my magic."
"Magic isn't something you have to be scared of... Look," Merlin said, mumbling some words under his breath and extending a hand towards the water.
A swan made out of flowing water appeared on the surface of the stream, and as Merlin directed it swam slowly over to where Verona stood ankle deep in the water.
She reached down and lightly touched it on the head, "It's beautiful, Merlin." She sighed, looking up at Merlin with eyes full of awe. But there was also a sadness written in them, and Merlin wished he could understand why.
"What's wrong?" He asked, frowning at her. He'd wanted to cheer her up, not make her more sad.
"Nothing, why would anything be wrong?" She asked lightly, blinking away the sadness from her eyes and grinning at him. She splashed him with the water playfully, and the swan evaporated.
"Can I please help you?" He pleaded with her, "I don't want you to be afraid of who you are, Verona!"
"Of course you can, Merlin," She said, smiling at him. "Just not right now! It's getting late, and we don't want to miss Guinevere's ceremony! Come on!" She took his hand and hurriedly began to lead him down the path.
He sighed, but decided it was better not to argue with her. But as they walked along, he couldn't help but ask, "Verona, is there a reason that you haven't told me for being afraid of your magic?" Merlin asked. He didn't like feeling like there was so much about her that he didn't know.
"No. I'm afraid of it because I'm in a kingdom where it's forbidden and I barely know how to control it! I think that is pretty reasonable, don't you?" She asked him, grinning as if it was all a big joke.
But this time, he didn't allow her to laugh the whole situation off. Because it was serious to him, and it brought back bad memories for him.
"There's something I should tell you," He said, after they had walked along silently for some time.
"What?" She asked, looking up at him. Surprised by the seriousness of his tone.
And then he told her about Freya. He explained how they met, and how she died, and everything in between. And after he had stopped explaining, there was small silence before Verona spoke.
"Merlin... I'm extremely sorry that that happened to you..." She said, as if she truly meant it. "But I'm not cursed, I'm just scared."
He nodded, "Yeah, okay." After a moment, though, he continued, "But if Gaius and I worked together, I'm sure we could find a way to help with your magic-"
"Merlin!" Verona froze, and her tone changed to one of panic, almost anger, "You promised you wouldn't say anything to my father about my magic!"
"I won't! I won't, Verona, its okay!" Merlin agreed, but he couldn't help but think that it was very strange. Why was Verona so afraid of Gaius knowing she had told him about her magic?
There was another long silence, before Verona broke it once more, "Did you love her? Freya, I mean."
Her question startled Merlin, and for a moment he didn't answer. He opened his mouth to reply, but then shut it, as if he was unsure how to respond. After a very long pause, he nodded and said, quietly, "Yeah, I think I did."
Verona nodded, but she wouldn't look at him and she was frowning.
"But that doesn't mean that I can never love anyone else." Merlin added, hurriedly.
The smile she gave him was small, but it was enough.
000000
The king stood out on a balcony overlooking the castle's courtyard, where a large crowd of townspeople stood below. Slightly behind him stood two people, Arthur and Guinevere.
Arthur stood tall and proud as usual, but with a sort of triumphant smile on his face, and Gwen stood a few feet from him, on Uther's other side. She wore an elegant full-length gown, nicer then anything she had owned before, and she looked beautiful. But she also looked extremely nervous and uncomfortable. Fidgeting with the sleeves of her gown and looking around like she felt herself out of place.
The prince leaned over and whispered, "Calm down, Guinevere, you are doing fine, and...You look quite beautiful."
The sincerity in Arthur's tone brought a very large smile to Gwen's face, and while it was a slightly embarrassed smile, it made up for all her nervousness, and she raised her head just a little bit higher.
"People of Camelot," Uther began, his voice loud and calling the attention of the townspeople below, who had been talking excitedly in hushed voices to one another. "As many of you know, two weeks ago an attempt was made on your own prince's life. A prince who has served you with loyalty and a love for the kingdom that I myself share. Arthur cares deeply for this kingdom, and his biggest concern has always been the welfare of Camelot."
Cheers broke out below, and Arthur gave a small nod of his head in acknowledgment, though he wished his father would hurry and begin complementing Guinevere instead.
"It is a wonder that someone would try to kill our prince, but there are many things in this world we do not understand." Uther stated, his voice calm and evenly toned as his words seemed to serve as a warning proclaiming, without actually saying so, 'You would be a fool to try to harm this man again,'.
"But Arthur's life was spared, by the bravery and loyalty of a young woman, who stands with us today. She endangered her own life to save our prince's." Uther motioned for Gwen to step forward, and she did so a little nervously, tripping slightly over her gown as she did so.
For a moment Arthur could see a flicker of doubt on his father's face, but then the look of confidence returned. Uther would not allow his people to see him doubting his own decision.
"Therefore, Guinevere, please kneel." Uther said firmly, and Gwen obeyed immediately, kneeling as gracefully as she could manage in her current state of agitation.
The king unsheathed his sword and lightly tapped it on both of Guinevere's shoulders, "By the power vested in me, Uther Pendragon, King of Camelot. I name thee, Lady Guinevere. May you be forever rewarded for your loyalty to our kingdom."
Cheers broke out from below, and Arthur stepped forward and extended a hand to help the Lady Guinevere to her feet.
"Congratulations, My Lady," Arthur said, smiling at her and bowing ever-so-slightly.
She curtsied, "Thank you, sire." She said, referring her thanks to both the prince and his father.
They instructed her to turn and curtsy to the people below, and she did so with much more grace and confidence then she had previously shown, though she still held a slight look of uncertainty in her eyes.
Below, among the rest of the townspeople, stood Merlin, Gaius, and Verona, all cheering with more enthusiasm then anyone else in the crowd. Until quite suddenly, Verona collapsed without any warning at all.
Her face had paled white, and she was unconscious.
Gaius and Merlin fell to their knees beside her. Gaius looked horrified and shocked, but that didn't stop him from immediately checking her pulse and doing everything he could in the middle of the square to help her.
Merlin on the other hand, just stared, in complete horror until Gaius' shouts broke into his thoughts.
"Hurry! Merlin! Help me get her inside!"
Author's Note: So? What do you think? I thoroughly enjoyed writing that chapter, so I hope you at least enjoyed reading it a little. Please review, it means a lot to me for those of you who do. :) Thanks so much for reading!