I want to thank readernurse, Frecko, and Revenge of the Red Pen for reviewing my story. Thanks for the comments and I hope all those who are reading enjoy this next chapter.
Disclaimer: Guess what? I still don't own Merlin (gasp) :o
Chapter 5 - An Unexpected Turn of Events
After receiving the signal, Anatol stepped outside of the cave and waited for the beast. "You did well", she said before noticing the piece of cloth in the were-wyvern's mouth. "What is this?" The wyvern silently nodded its head and the red-haired sorceress understood. "This belongs to the victim?" she asked. The beast bowed its head. "Then your work here is done".
Her eyes flashed gold as she released the beast. A gust of wind blew from the east. As it hit the wyvern, its flesh peeled away and bones pulled themselves apart. With that, the were-wyvern screeched and faded out of existence.
By the time she arrived at the cave, the sun had already set. Anatol was greeted by an eager Morgana and Morgause. "Well, did it work?", asked Morgause.
"Yes. Now all that's left is for the curse to be cast".
"Excellent!" Morgana said with glee. Finally, they would have their revenge. It was only when she noticed the familiar looking neckerchief in her hand that Morgana stopped smiling. "Where did you get that?"
"Oh this? The wyvern must of taken it from the prince as a keepsake. Though why the Prince of Camelot would have such a ragged piece of cloth is beyond me." Anatol said while studying the cloth in her hand.
"Let me see it" Morgana said while snatching it from the sorceress' hand.
"Sister, what troubles you?"
"This is not my brother's. This belongs to his troublesome manservant". Her eyes widened and she looked at Anatol. Oh no. "Does this belong to the person the wyvern bit?"
"Yes."
"Then it bit the wrong person. It's not Arthur that's cursed, it's Merlin".
After the long ride to Camelot, Merlin was quickly brought to Gaius. Upon seeing his ward, the court physician immediately began cleaning his wound. To say it was gruesome was an understatement. Gaius didn't have to guess that the beast was huge, for the wound said everything.
The bite mark went from front to back. Gaius could only guess that the beast's jaw practically consumed the entirety of the shoulder. What worried the physician was the black substance that seemed to linger under the skin around the bite mark - definitely an infection, but of what kind, Gaius didn't know.
The Knights of the Round Table, Arthur, and Gwen - who had heard what happened from Elyan and came to help - were all crammed into Gaius' room. Though it did annoy the physician slightly, his anger relented at seeing how much they truly cared for his ward.
He had Percival carry Merlin to his room; after bandaging the wound, giving him a tonic to help fight the strange infection, and proclaiming that the young warlock would be fine as long as he was looked after and rested, Gaius asked the question that was at the front of everyone's mind.
"What happened?"
The knights all looked to Arthur who simply stared at Merlin, reliving the previous events in his head. After a long sigh, the Prince of Camelot shamefully recounted all that had happened - how he was helpless in saving his friend, how the beast just stayed there, its attention only focused on Merlin, everything.
"Arthur, it's not your fault. You can't blame yourself for this"
"Gaius, I should've found a way to at least get the beast off of him or something"
"Arthur, it's not your fault" Gaius reiterated. "Now, describe the creature again"
"Well, it looked like the wyverns we faced in the Perilous Lands except this one was...different"
"How so?"
"It was pure black, had white eyes, and it was much bigger! It was the size of one of my warhorse."
"Why does it matter?" Lancelot asked.
"I'm not sure...not yet anyway" Gaius said. He looked at Lancelot, who gave a worried glance to Merlin's room and then back to the physician. They had to talk, but not with everyone here.
There was a moment of silence. "Okay everybody, I would appreciate it if you left me with my ward". Before anyone could protest, the court physician cut them off. "I know you are all concerned about Merlin, but there's nothing you can do for him now. A little rest and some peace and quiet is all he needs at the moment".
Everyone left without complaint, well except for Gwaine who had to be physically dragged out of the room by Percival. Before leaving, Lancelot nodded at Gaius, the silent message being sent: We'll talk later. Arthur was the last to leave. As he made his way out the door, the young prince turned to face the physician.
"You'll call me when he wakes up?" It was more of a request than a question.
"Of course Arthur".
He nodded without saying another word and finally left the room. After closing the door, he bowed his head in guilt. You better be okay Idiot!
The sun had just set when Gaius heard a knock on his door. Lancelot walked in, being extra careful not to wake up Merlin who was still sleeping.
"Gaius, sorry to disturb you"
"Not at all."
"How's he doing?"
"As well as can be. The only thing that concerns me at the moment is his wound. It looks slightly infected, but it doesn't look a normal infection"
"How so?"
"Well, the infection is spreading throughout his body. That's normal, more or less. However, the infection itself is black. I've never seen anything like that before".
"Hmm..."
"What is it Lancelot? It seemed like you wanted to tell me something about Merlin earlier."
"When I was bandaging his wound, Merlin mentioned something about 'dark magic'. Then his eyes turned from gold to red before turning back to their normal color. It was just for a brief second, but still..."
At this, Gaius went to the bookshelf and pulled out several books, all of them about magic. "Gaius, do you think whatever's wrong with Merlin is actually magical?" the knight asked.
"I believe so. The problem now is figuring out what it is."
Morgana was fuming. By now, the moon was shinning upon them, its glow making the angry sorceress' face illuminate ominously. "How could this happen?" Morgana yelled, throwing the neckerchief on the cave floor.
"I..I don't know?" Anatol replied. "I don't understand either. The were-wyvern never misses its target. Its aura tracking ability makes it so that it never fails.". The red-haired sorceress paused for a moment. "Unless..."
"Unless what?" Morgause asked.
"Unless Arthur and this 'Merlin' person share the same color aura. That, in theory, would throw off the beast"
"But that is a rare circumstance. It almost never happens. And why would a servant share the same color aura with that of a prince?" Morgause observed. While she and Anatol contemplated the meaning of this phenomenon, Morgana smiled wickedly, a plan forming in her mind.
"Forgive me Lady Morgana. I have failed you" Anatol said, her head bowed in shame.
"No matter, we can turn this failure to our advantage still"
Anatol's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at Morgana's comment about her failing. It wasn't her fault the were-wyvern got confused and bit the wrong person. Careful to hide her emotions, the red-haired sorceress lifted her head from its bowed position. "What do you want me to do then?"
"Place the curse on Merlin as we would have Arthur. I know how much that servant means to my brother. Pitting friend against friend. It's a perfect way to take them both down. And this way, that pesky servant will finally pay for always ruining our plans."
The two sisters smiled wickedly. This was the perfect plan. Both equally hated Arthur...but Merlin was on a whole new level of hatred. He was the one who poisoned Morgana. He was the one who somehow stopped the Army of the Dead when Cenred first attacked. He was the one who spilled the blood from the Cup of Life, thus destroying the Immortal Army.
And now, it seemed that he would be the one who would ultimately be the downfall of the prince. Oh the irony.
"As you wish My Lady". Anatol took a step back and began chanting her spell:
"Ic áwiergednes þás mann gehíwian innanācælwiht sylfumdeorcnes. Swá sé æfnung, hé underhnígaþ æt sé geweald. Framcwildseten hé nāhabbanæhtgeweald, ætsé ándaga sylfum sé déaþscúa gesceaphwíl." Her eyes flashed gold after the final words were spoken. The curse was now complete.
"Now, all we have to do is wait a night for the curse to run its course".
Lancelot had finally gone home after both he and Gaius spent the last hour or so searching the books for anything that could help. Finding nothing and hoping that Merlin would be able to answer some questions when he woke up, both knight and physician got ready for bed.
All of Camelot was asleep when Merlin began thrashing in his bed. The pain was excruciating. It felt like his insides were being burned alive while his skin was being torn to pieces. Despite his many attempts, he couldn't seem to wake himself up. After a couple minutes of pain, the young warlock's eyes shot open - instead of their normal blue color, they were blood red.
He then closed his eyes and let the darkness pull him into unconsciousness. The faint echo of a roar was the last thing he heard before he knew no more.
A few miles from Camelot, a woman emerged from the Lake of Avalon, her slender figure gracefully floating above the water's surface. Feeling the pain of the one she truly loved and knowing what he would be going through for the next couple days, she looked up to the night sky and said the name that all made sense.
"Merlin"
So that's the chapter. I hoped you enjoyed it. Any guesses as to what Freya's role is in the story? Please, please review, even if it's a one word comment, all reviews are welcomed and strongly encouraged.
Curse Translation:
I curse this man to transform into a creature of darkness. As the sun sets, he will succumb to its power. By night he will have no control, At the time of the darkest hour.
Until later,
-STL13