Chapter Six

Merlin stood with Arthur, continuously thanking people as they came by to offer their congratulations on his promotion. He was quite tired of speaking to noble after noble, and turned to say something to the prince, but saw that his attention was focused on the entrance. The warlock turned his attention to where Arthur was gazing and saw Morgana and Gwen entering the hall. Morgana was dressed in a breathtaking red, halter style dress that conformed to her figure all too well, the gold beading glinting teasingly in the candlelight that illuminated the hall. All eyes were on the Lady Morgana except for Arthur's, who was staring at Gwen. She too was dressed in a breathtaking dress, proof that she was the best seamstress in the kingdom. It was a brilliant shade of lavender and was adorned with silver along the hem. She had completed the outfit with a silver belt that accentuated the curves of her body. Merlin could not blame Arthur for being so captivated by the sight of the handmaiden, but knew it would not bode well with Uther if he caught his son staring at a servant.

But before Merlin could say anything to the prince, another lady entered the hall, capturing the warlock's attention and not releasing it for one moment. He barely heard Morgana and Gwen as they congratulated him, and all he could muster in reply was a nod of thanks. He didn't think he could speak. It was as if he were no longer in control of his body or mind. Not even realizing what he was doing, he stepped away from Arthur and his other two friends and made his way toward Lily. He could not help but notice that the deep emerald color of her dress made her eyes sparkle and her flaming red hair burn brighter. The garment was lined with swirling patterns of golden thread, reminding Merlin of the way the sun shone on the green leaves of the forest that bordered Camelot.

"Hello, Merlin," she said as soon as he had reached where she was. He inclined his head in acknowledgement, then took her outstretched hand and brought his lips to it, placing a gentle kiss upon the softness of her skin. "My Lady," he said, and watched as a blush crept up her cheeks, and causing his heartbeat to quicken. His mind was plagued with all sorts of images about Lily all throughout the evening. Some of them he knew he should have banished from his mind the moment they entered it, but he didn't seem to have any control on them. They danced together all night and were lucky enough to be seated next to each other at the dining table. Merlin couldn't believe his good luck. They were having such a wonderful time that when the feast was over, it was all too soon for Merlin's taste, but he had the pleasure of escorting her back to her quarters.

"Goodnight, my lady," he said as they stood in front of her door. "If you should need anything, just call for me."

She smiled, "Goodnight, Merlin. Oh and please do not call me 'my lady' anymore. It's too formal. Just call me Lily, like you did before we all knew I was nobility."

"Alright. That shouldn't be too much of a problem for me." He grinned at her, and as he did, she felt as if her heart would melt. She just loved that smile. She didn't realize that she had moved closer to him, but when she did come to her senses, she placed her hand on his cheek. He brought his up and placed it on hers, holding it there for a moment. Then as if he had just come to the decision, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips, meaning it to be a brief gesture. To Lily, it felt like a feather brushing across her lips, but it wasn't enough to satisfy her. She wrapped her arms around his neck before he could pull back, and deepened the kiss, her lips parting of their own accord. Merlin was shocked at first by the boldness of her action, and had tensed, as most men do in that particular situation, but soon found himself relaxing and falling deeper into the moment. For some reason beyond his knowledge, it just felt right to him. The way she fit perfectly against him as he held her, the feel of their lips together. It was as if everything was meant to be.

Lily could feel herself disappearing deep into the thoughts that had arisen to the front of her jumbled mind earlier in the day; however, a new image appeared in her mind. She and Merlin were standing together with Arthur, Morgana, Gwen and some other man around Merlin's age who was standing next to Morgana with his arm around her waist. They were all crowded around Lily, looking down at something in her arms. It was a baby. A baby boy, who looked just like Merlin, with his jet black hair, but the eyes were Lily's. There was no denying that fact. The green orbs sparkled, just like her own, in the candlelight. "What did you name him," Gwen asked. Merlin smiled at his friend and answered, "His name is Lukas."

Lily felt a pressure against her mind as if someone were trying to push their way into it. "Let me in child," a female voice echoed in her mind. She felt the pressure again, but pushed back at it. No one was getting into her mind, she just wouldn't allow it. Again, the pressure was there, stronger this time, and Lily pushed back, but the prober was putting up a fight. "I will win, child. Do not fight me." Lily began to feel weak as the pressure increased and then everything went dark.

Lily opened her eyes and wished she hadn't. The sun drifting through the window was almost blinding. She shifted onto her side so she was facing away from the offending rays and blinked in confusion at the figure sitting in a chair next to her bed.

"Gaius?"

"Ah…you're awake," the physician smiled.

"Where's Merlin?" The old man's smile faded into a serious frown, causing Lily to have a brief moment of hysteria. "Is he alright? He had better be okay. What happened to him? Gaius, tell me he's okay." She clutched the front of his robes as if she were holding onto the ledge of a cliff.

"My lady," he started, while attempting to break the girl's surprisingly strong grip. "He is perfectly well…well in the scientific sense. The two of you were found lying in the hallway just outside your chambers a week ago and…"

"A week ago?" she interrupted. "I've been asleep for a week?"

"Yes, my lady. But no one seems to understand why. Now, I need to know exactly what happened that night after the two of you left the feast."

Lily contemplated for a moment on whether or not to tell the old man about the wonderful moment they shared that night. She decided she may as well, if it would help to understand what had happened to her and Merlin.

"Well, Merlin escorted me back here. We were talking and then he kissed me…or I kissed him…I don't really remember which it was…"

"Did you experience anything out of the ordinary during that moment?"

"Yes. Everything just felt right about it. I mean, I've kissed guys before, but this was so different. It just felt like it was meant to be…like my entire life was leading up to that one point. Like every bad thing that had happened to me was washed away. It felt like I would be safe and happy forever."

"Hmmm…" Gaius thought on the information for a moment, then asked, "Did you see anything? Did you have any visions?"

"How did you know?"

"The Seer's powers are usually stronger in females. It's rare to find a male Seer. My guess is that you have not experienced this power before coming to Camelot."

"No, I have not."

"May I ask what it is you saw in this vision?" Lily let her thoughts float back to the vision. It came to her in bits and pieces. She saw the baby.

"A child...a boy."

"How old was this child?"

"He was only a baby. About a month old."

"Were the parents in this vision as well?" She pushed harder into her memories and saw two shadowy figures, a woman holding the baby and a man standing next to her with his arm around the woman's waist.

"Yes."

"Who were they?" The faces of the parents would not come into focus.

"I don't…" All of a sudden, it seemed as if the vision were replaying before her eyes. It was as if she were watching a movie on television. She gasped as the images vanished from her sight, and grasped Gaius' robes once more. "It was me…"

The physician was genuinely confused at Lily's outburst. "What was you," he inquired. He was beginning to worry about this girl.

"The mother…it was me. It's my baby. I saw my child. Lukas." Her red hair fell back, revealing her face, as she looked up at Gaius. She smiled at the physician, the old man who had become a father figure and magical mentor to Merlin. Gaius looked down at her and took a deep breath. "And who was the father, my lady?" He already had a guess of who it was, but he wanted to confirm his theory. "Merlin...Merlin is the father."

"Thank you, my lady. You have been most helpful. I'm still not quite sure what happened to the two of you, but this information will help in my research. I have a hypothesis, but it is yet to be proven true. I will send Gwen to tend to you and prepare you to meet with your parents."

"My parents? They are here?"

"Yes. They arrived early this morning. Now I must go see if Merlin is awake. I hope I am right in thinking that now you are awake he will be as well." He opened the door but Lily called him back. "You will let me know if he's awake, won't you Gaius?"

"Of course, my lady. And you shall be the first to know what caused this as soon as I find out."

"Thank you, Gaius…for everything." The old man nodded and left the room.

Gaius entered Merlin's chambers quietly, so as not to wake up the prince, who was sleeping in the chair next to the warlock's bed. He hadn't left Merlin's side since he and Gwen found Lily and him lying in that hallway. It was quite reasonable, though, seeing as Merlin was Arthur's friend, advisor and confidant. Gaius edged up to the side of the bed that was not occupied by a chair and looked down at the sleeping man. He placed his hand on one of the boy's shoulders and gently shook the sleeping warlock. "Merlin…" he whispered. He was rewarded by a grumble of, "Five more minutes, Gaius. Arthur can wait five minutes for his breakfast, I'm sure."

"Merlin, you're not Arthur's servant anymore, remember."

"Then why are you waking me up at this time in the morning?" Merlin sat up in bed and glared daggers at his adoptive father.

"Because, Merlin, you've been sleeping for a week."

"Have I really? No wonder I feel so refreshed." It was then he noticed Arthur's sleeping form in the chair. "Why is Arthur sleeping in my room? Was I sick?"

"In a way, yes, you were. Merlin, do you remember anything that happened after the feast?" He noticed the warlock's blush, and to save him the embarrassment of having to explain anything he said, "I've already spoken to the Lady Lillian about what happened. She too was asleep for a week. She's already told me about what happened in the hall, but I was wondering one thing…" he dropped his voice to a whisper so the prince could not hear, if he were feigning sleep. "Did you experience the same vision she did?"

"Yes, I did. But it wasn't like it was my own. It was like she was sending it to me through some kind of connection. Gaius, what does this mean? What happened to us that night?"

"I believe, Merlin, that the two of you are soulmates, but we will discuss that later, after the prince has woken and gone." As if on cue, Arthur opened his eyes and looked at Merlin. "You're awake!" He turned to Gaius, "Have you figured out what happened yet, physician?"

"Not yet, sire, but I have my theories. I'm just trying to gather enough evidence that they are right. You will be informed of my findings."

"Good. Well, I'll be off, then. Lady Lillian's parents arrived this morning and father is furious that I wasn't there to greet them. You missed the lecture, Merlin. You sure were lucky to be unconscious for the whole thing."

"No doubt," Merlin replied with a grin. Arthur turned and left the room. Gaius waited a few moments to make sure the prince wouldn't pop back in.

"Now, then, Merlin. There is a belief in the Old Religion that one warlock and one witch from each generation are chosen as soulmates. What that means is that they are destined by the gods to meet, love each other, marry and have children. Usually, the soulmates are the most powerful of that generation. What caused me to believe that you and the Lady Lillian are soulmates is that you share a connection that no other witch and warlock share. The vision for instance. She was not aware of transferring it to you, but when one soulmate has found it's partner, and experiences heightened emotion, they tend to transfer the emotion to their partner, but this can happen with visions and thoughts as well."

"So Lily and I are destined to be together?"

"Yes."

"And the child in her vision, that was our baby?"

"Yes, I do believe his name is Lukas."

"Yeah, it is." Merlin sighed. "Wow, this is strange. I hardly know Lily, and already I'm practically in love with her."

"That's the soulmate principle, Merlin. You can thank the gods of the Old Religion for that." Merlin laughed at Gaius' comment. "I should go tell Lady Lillian what I've found out."

"No, Gaius, let me. Please."

"Very well, but you'd better hurry. She'll be gone to see her parents soon." Merlin stood up as Gaius left the room and began to dress. Once done, he went to Lily's chambers. He was greeted by Gwen, who was tactful enough to leave the room after he entered so they could be alone. Merlin related everything Gaius had told him to her and she was just as shocked as he had been. She didn't know what would happen next, either.

"There is one thing I didn't tell Gaius, and I probably should have, but before the darkness came, someone was trying to get into my mind. I think someone was trying to get control of me, but I fought them off. It was a woman's voice that spoke to me, and she had to be a powerful sorceress to attempt controlling anyone's mind."

"I don't know of any other powerful sorceresses other than Nimueh and she's dead. I killed her."

"Well, we will just have to find out what is going on. Could you tell Gaius about this while I go meet my parents?"

She seemed nervous. "How about I come with you to meet your parents and then we can go see Gaius together and you can tell him about the sorceress."

"Thank you, Merlin. Shall we go?"

Namira cursed to nothing but thin air as she turned page after page of her spell book. My spell failed. I've never had a spell fail. Something is wrong. She turned back to the page of the spell she had tried a week ago and read the rest of the page she had disregarded before.

To gain control of a person's mind and take possession of their body, one must have consent to first enter the mind. This is not possible to do with those of the soulmate principle as there is another's say in gaining consent to enter the mind.

So that's why it didn't work. They are soulmates. Well Nimueh had her suspicions, but I didn't know that the soulmate principle was still in effect. I guess the gods had grand plans for these two, but I will not rest until I've had my revenge. I will find a way to destroy them both if that's what it takes.