Sorry this chapter took longer for me to post. My account wasn't letting me upload anything.
Finally here it is. Hope you enjoy.
Clockwork
The migraine that plagued Gaia disappeared by morning. The initial impact of the poisonous leaves had worn off but the poison itself was still there and always would be. Gaia sat up in bed and cursed her stupidity for getting poisoned. She sighed, there was nothing anyone could do about it now so might as well return to the normal routine of being a servant of Camelot.
Gaia dragged herself out of bed, still wearing the cloths from the night before and not bothering to change. She reported to one of the older maids for her duties for that day. The old lady only stared at her puzzled and stated that it was Gaia's day off. Gaia had never forgotten when she had a day off before.
She took a deep breath trying to get her bearings and remember what day it was. Gaia then decided to spend the day the way she usually spent it. Trying to make herself think of this day the same as any other so she explored the castle of course. She had lived there for years and still there were rooms she had never entered or even knew about.
Returning to her room she removed the apron she was wearing and put on her casual dress. She would have preferred to wear pants but that would have drawn unwanted attention because that was seen as strange in this particular kingdom for every day dress.
One of the many stereotypes that made Gaia not like this Kingdom. But of course there were other things that made her love it as well, for example the market and the people who lived in Camelot.
Usually on a maids day off they wouldn't be found wandering the castle so Gaia tried her best to stay out of sight. She was forced to hide behind the curtains in an alcove when the treacherous Agravaine found the need to prowl the hallway she had chosen to walk down.
He was definitely one of the people that she tried to avoid coming in contact with. Luckily she was sure that he was completely oblivious to her existence in the castle and she was going to keep it that way, at least until the end of the week.
The events that were going to come at the end of the week came floating into her immediate thoughts. Should she tell someone about it or just try to take care of the dangerous parts herself so Merlin wouldn't have to, like she always did.
It was these thoughts that swirled around in her head so that she didn't notice Merlin coming around the corner. He saw her and tried to get out of the way but being the clumsy idiot everyone thought he was he managed to trip over his own feet almost face planting on the polished floor. Gaia noticed him just before he went down and caught his arm, saving him from the pain he would have felt when he landed. The armor he had been carrying went clattering to the ground instead.
When Merlin was on his feet he hadn't quite gotten his balance when Gaia let go of his arm. He stumbled back and hit his head on a strangely placed shelf, almost knocking a vase full of lilacs to the ground.
At the sight of him Gaia couldn't help but laugh slightly. She had only ever seen his antics from afar but up close they were truly a sight to be seen.
The vase on the shelf rocked precariously close to the edge then, with another bump from Merlin, fell. As fast as Gaia was able she jumped and caught the vase before it crashed down on Merlin's unprotected head. He finally found his balance shook his head trying to disperse his dizziness.
He looked at the young serving girl before him, taking her in. "Day off?" He asked. Her attire gave her away. She nodded. "Lucky." He moaned. "I would have to be either wounded or close to dying for Arthur to even consider giving me a day off." The girl laughed slightly and smiled at him but said nothing.
"The names Merlin." He held out his hand for her to take. She did. Their hands moved up and down in the normal shaking movement before the girl realized she was expected to give her name in return. She stumbled over her words slightly as she managed to get it out. "I'm Gaia." Their hands separated.
Merlin smiled at Gaia. It was an unusual name but nice. He remembered seeing her delivering Arthur's clothes the other night. That was the first time he had ever seen her. Her appearance had sparked his curiosity, the green streak in her short brown hair and the scar running down the side of her face. He wondered how she had procured such a wound. He didn't want to press her for answers though. She wasn't much younger then himself.
They stood in silence for a moment before Merlin knelt down to retrieve the armor he had dropped. He looked over every piece hoping he wouldn't find a dent. Arthur would kill him if he wrecked his armor in any way. Merlin noticed that Gaia had knelt down beside him and was checking the armor as well. Luckily neither of them found anything wrong with it. Merlin sighed with relief.
He returned the armor to its place in his arms. Gaia handed him the pieces she had been looking at. "Thanks." Merlin tried to say from behind the pile. There was no answer. He looked around the shinny metal to find no one. Gaia was gone. Merlin tried to think of a logical explanation for the maid's disappearance but found none.
Everything about her was a mystery. When she had been there Gaia had seemed so quiet and distant. Something about her made Merlin wonder if she was hiding something, but had seemed so nice. Merlin thought back to Morgana and how nice she had acted before she betrayed them without a second thought. Sometimes it's the nicest people who hide the darkest secrets. Merlin didn't want to doubt the girl but he couldn't get her out of hid head.
He thought about running after her to try and find her but then he looked down at the load he was carrying in his arms. He sighed. That job would have to be left for another time. So he began to walk towards the armory to polish the armor but he looked back to the spot where he had run into Gaia. She had come out of nowhere.
Merlin knew all of the servants in the castle, except her. Why had he never seen her before? She wasn't new that was for sure. Where had she come from? Merlin shook his head. The girl's appearance and disappearance had been so ghostly that he wondered if she had actually been there. Did Gaia really exist or was he finally loosing it.
With these thoughts on his mind he continued down the hallway. Little did he know that a small figure stood hiding just around the corner to the hallway he had just walked away from. Gaia existed and soon he would now that for sure.
Gaia breathed a sigh of relief. She had had more contact with the servant in the past few days then she had had in the few years she had lived here. To get her mind off the matter she continued on her wandering of the castle.
Gaia wasn't sure where exactly to begin searching for the secrets that the castle held. So she just simply started walking in no specific direction to see where it would take her.
Soon enough she found herself at the entrance to the cave where the Great Dragon had been kept prisoner. Gaia hadn't been down here since before Merlin had released the beast. Yes, she knew about the dragon. She had followed Merlin down here on one of his many visits to the old creature. As usual no one had noticed her presence.
No one lived in the old cave anymore so no one was guarding it. The emptiness that filled it crashed down on Gaia hard. She felt as though in some way this cave now represented her life, empty and alone. She had betrayed her friends and had chosen the path of the shadows, a path that required one to be alone and unseen, never to be acknowledged.
Gaia stared a bit longer at the past before returning to the upper part of the castle. From there she went to the very top of the castle, avoiding knights and soldiers as she went. In all of her years in the castle she had never gone to the very top, to the highest tower. The highest one had always seemed ominous and dark like a well-kept secret. It was about time she found out what that secret was.
She found the door easy enough but it was locked. That was to be expected but it wasn't an obstacle that Gaia couldn't pass easily. She waved one of her small hands in front of the lock, her eyes glowing gold, the bolts moved and clicked. Gaia smiled in satisfaction. Slowly she opened the door.
What she found on the other side were not steps leading up to the tower. All she found when she opened the old wooden door was a brick wall. The stones were slightly different from the ones that made up the rest of the castle. This was proof that they had been put there afterwards and for a purpose.
Gaia rubbed her chin, deep in thought. She ran her hand across the bricks and closed her eyes, seeing into them. Her thoughts drew her to one brick in particular. She opened her eyes to further examine it. On it was a strange symbol.
There was a circle of what appeared to be numbers and two lines, one long and one short, that pointed to two different numbers. The shorter one pointed straight up and the other longer one pointed horizontally to the right.
Gaia ran one of her fingers across the emblem carved into the brick. She had never seen anything like it. She pushed on it slightly, letting her magic flow through her fingertips. The brick moved in and the wall shuddered. Silently it moved to the side and out of Gaia's way to reveal the steps she had been searching for. She stepped through the entrance and made her way up the winding staircase. The bricks moved back into place and the door shut behind her, but Gaia wasn't thinking about this anymore.
Gaia climbed the stairs to find a small, almost empty, room. The only thing that contrasted from the emptiness of it was a chair that sat in front of the open window. Curiosity drew Gaia to the chairs side. When she looked around the back she stumbled away, shocked at what she saw sitting in the old chair, which was at least twenty years old.
For sitting in that antique chair was something that should never have appeared in this time at all. It was completely out of place. Its rusted form slouched there; no longer able to move for it no longer had the desire to. In this old time it had no place. Some of its parts still shone almost with the same light as it had when it had first been put together.
What Gaia saw slouched there was nothing short of a small metal man, his feet hanging there unable to touch the floor. Even with all of the noise Gaia had made he did not stir from his place atop the chair. His pitch black eyes stared emotionless down at his hands that rested on his knees. He had no reason to look out across the kingdom anymore to remind him that he was no longer in his proper world. It hurt his copper heart.
Gaia knelt down in front of the small metal man. She observed just how rusted he was from being left up here alone for twenty years. Even if he had been alive he would not have been able to move even one of his little fingers. Gaia wondered if the king knew about him, probably not. If he had he would have destroyed him in belief that it was some kind of sorcery. Someone had hidden the metal man here to keep him safe, but without company he had become lonely and had forsaken hope that that person would return for him.
Gaia felt his pain. She stroked his face. The sight of him made her sad for there was nothing she could do for him. There was no one she could go to for help. She lifted his small chin so she could look into his dark eyes. They stared at each other for so long that Gaia was convinced he was going to blink, but he never did.
She let his head drop forward once more. The sun in the sky was beginning to go down. Gaia hadn't realized how long she had been up in that tower. She needed to get back to her room before they came looking for her. She didn't want anyone to find this place. She wanted to preserve it so that the place would be here even after she was gone.
Gaia looked at the small metal man one more time. "I'll come back, I promise. Then we'll see if there is anything my magic can do for you." Maybe it would even give him life again. At first glance he had looked like a lost cause but Gaia didn't want to give up hope that she could make him dance again.
With hope, for the first time in the last few days, pumping in her chest she skipped from the room and down the stairs with the small metal man on her mind.
Gaia left the small metal man sitting slouched in his chair.
But she would never return.
Thanks for reading and I ask as nicely as I can for you nice readers to please REVIEW this story.
Your REVIEWS will inspire me to write faster.
If anyone didn't figure it out the symbol was a clock and the metal man was an automaton.
In your REVIEWS please place your suggestions for where you want this story to go.
How do you want Merlin to find out about Gaia?
I may write the story of the automaton as a separate story.