A bit of a shorter chapter this time.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, just my OCs and this storyline.

Hope you enjoy.

The Crystal Heart

I held the small limp body of Arthur in my arms as we ran into the house. He was visibly becoming paler as the ball of energy Nimueh had cast upon him began to do its work, stealing Arthur's very life. This wasn't right. This wasn't supposed to happen. I was supposed to protect him. He couldn't be another one of the people I would loose.

"Come on Arthur." I whispered in his ear. "Stay with me."

We laid him down on one of the cots. Aida checked his pulse and felt his forehead. "He's heating up and his pulse is slowing." Both the wrong answers.

"Is there anything we can do?" I asked.

"Why should we do anything at all?" Jasper spoke up. "He's King Uther's son. I'm sorry to say it but what if Nimueh was right? Arthur will only follow in his father's footsteps and…"

I didn't let him finish the sentence as I smacked him on the back of the head. "Ow."

"Don't you dare say that." My voice was stern. "You don't know what he'll grow up to be like. He could be completely different. He may even have the power to lift the ban on magic and give us our freedom. If we let him die we'll never know."

"If we let him live there's the possibility that he could be even worse then Uther." Jasper argued.

"Not if he has the right guidance." I countered.

"Well Uther isn't exactly the right guidance."

"There are others. It is not his destiny to die here." I looked back to his small body. "I know it isn't."

"You saw it in the Crystal Heart didn't you? I've heard of the crystals. They can give you glimpses of the future. But Joone, I thought magic burned you." Aida cut in.

"It did. I nearly lost my mind when the images forced their way into my head." I explained.

"You saw a glimpse of Arthur's destiny." Aida concluded. "Who will he become?"

I closed my mind and called upon the memory of those visions. The name slowly came floating back to me. "He will become the Once and Future King."

The others gasped, having heard the prophesy before. Side by side Emrys and the Once and Future King will lead us to Albion. Arthur was that king. He didn't look like it now, being so small.

"If we don't act quickly Albion will never exist." Jasper came to his senses. "But what can we do? His very life is being sucked away."

"Joone. When you touched the crystal it gave you visions. Did they say anything about this moment." Aida looked to me.

"I…" I searched for anything that could have been tied to this moment. "The crystal gave me few visions. It wasn't meant for me. I was merely meant to deliver it."

"To who?" Jasper asked anxiously.

"To…" Suddenly the sound of a piercing wail rang through the house. We covered our years. Aida leant over and covered Arthur's, leaving hers exposed. She screamed as blood began to drip from her ears. Acting on instinct I reached out and covered her ears. I felt searing pain inside my ears and I could tell they were bleeding. Jasper looked like he was going to do for me what I had done for Aida, but then the wail stopped.

"It calls." A small voice spoke.

"Arthur?" Jasper looked down at his small blue eyes that looked back, filled with innocents. But his eyes were cloudy.

"It calls for the one it seeks. So close." His voice was not his own.

"The Crystal Heart." I managed to get out. "It wasn't meant for me. It was meant for Arthur. It was always his."

"Can it save him?" Aida's voice was soft as she tried to regain her hearing.

"Lets find out." I got to my feet but wavered. The wail had knocked off my balance. Jasper rose and took my arm to steady me. I looked at him gratefully. He helped me down the stairs. "Stay here." I told him. "I can make it from here."

"Are you sure?" Concern filled his eyes.

"Go back and see if Aida has got her hearing back." I patted his arm and pushed back the cabinet and into the open space of the rest of my house. I spend so much time up in that attic that sometimes the rest of my home looks unfamiliar to me, as if I'm a stranger in my own house.

I felt my way along the wall, finally coming to my room. The Crystal Heart was still in the box under my bed. It looked so beautiful, reflecting the colours of the sun as it came out from behind the clouds. I hesitated before tentatively taking it into my hand. I almost dropped it as I felt my skin start to burn. I wouldn't be able to hold onto it for very long so I ran for the stairs but I was stopped in my tracks half way.

My hand flew to my heart as searing pain shot through my body originating at my heart. I couldn't walk straight, the pain messing with my mind. My eyes rolled back in my head as I fell to my knees, then fell forward even further, the Crystal Heart skidding from my hand, the world span in darkness before me. I was reckless. I should have known that my reaction to the magic would get worse the more I touched it, but I had to save Arthur.

A shadow passed through my vision and I felt someone lifting me to my feet, dragging me the rest of the way, up the stairs. They had the Crystal Heart in their hands. I shook the dark spots from my vision, still feeling weak.

"Jasper." My voice was faint. Sometimes I'm glad he doesn't always follow everything I say. He has a need to protect those he loves. His family. In that moment I knew that I would give my life for that boy, if only he could grow old with this world.

Arthur's breathing had become labored by the time we got back to him. Aida was holding his little hand firmly as if that would keep him from going into the light and leaving us. We couldn't let that happen, no matter what.

"What do we do now?" Aida seemed to have recovered and her ears had stopped bleeding.

"Put the Crystal to his heart. Both of you, together." I told them. They looked at me confused. "I cannot touch the crystal anymore. You must be the ones to save him."

They didn't wait for more encouragement. Jasper took Aida's hands in his, the crystal in the center. They gasped as the crystal began to glow, stopping.

"Hurry. We don't have much time." I warned them.

Together they put their hands to little Arthur's chest and slowly let the crystal slip from their hands onto his skin. The crystal seemed to sink into his skin, its glow fading. For a heart stopping moment nothing happened. Arthur didn't get any worse but didn't get any better. Suddenly he gasped and shot straight up, instinctively grabbing for my arm.

"You're okay, Arthur." I wrapped my arms around him. "Everything is going to be okay."

"The witch, she…"

"Shhh my dove. She's gone." I spoke soothingly to him. "She won't be able to hurt you now." My eyes darkened. "She wouldn't dare."

"Hello Arthur." Aida smiled. Arthur looked from her face to Jasper's, then he screamed and tried to back away but I held him still.

"They have magic. They'll hurt me." He cried.

"No, you're safe." I assured him. "Aida and Jasper saved you. There is no need to fear."

I could tell that Arthur didn't quite believe me. His father had already begun to fill his head with lies. It would take time but I knew, someday, Arthur would come to see differently, maybe with the help of a certain young warlock.

"But father said…"

"Not everyone is the way your father describes." I tried to be gentle. "Not everyone with magic is evil. Magic isn't evil in the first place if the wielder decides not to misuse their power."

Aida put her hands to her ears and spoke a few words, her eyes flashing gold. Arthur screamed but he could not run. He was still weak and wheezing. Only a little of his colour had returned.

"What's she doing?" He looked terrified.

"I'm only healing my ears." Aida explained. "I can barely hear you guys."

I opened my mouth to ask her to heal mine as well but then I stopped and closed my mouth again. Even a healing spell, as simple as that, could have fatal consequences for me. Aida looked up at me and our eyes connected as we shared the same thought. I smiled weakly. My ears weren't damaged as much as Aida's had been but unlike hers mine would never heal. It's not the first wound I've gotten. I could live with the loss of part of my hearing.

"Can she heal other people?" Arthur asked even though Aida was right there. "Can she heal you?"

"She can heal others, but I'm afraid I'm the one person she can't. Magic is dangerous for me, potentially even fatal, but I don't hate magic because of that. I will admit there was a time I hated it almost as much as your father does, but not enough to kill anyone. It seems memory loss and a new life can sometimes help you to see things in a new way, from a new perspective." I smiled at Aida and Jasper.

Arthur looked confused but I just waved it away. "No more questions." I poked his little nose. "You're still weak. You should rest."

"I'm not tired." He tried to sound convincing but his eyelids were already sliding shut.

Arthur fell asleep in my arms. "Destiny is a part of you now. Be careful not to break that Crystal Heart." I knew he couldn't hear me, but Aida and Jasper could. "There's no going back now. Things have been set in motion that not even we understand. I'm sorry Arthur. There is no escaping destiny."

I stayed with him for the rest of the day. Jasper scrounged around for anything we could eat in the house without going out. It had been four years and slowly, very slowly, Aida and Jasper were gaining more freedom. Maybe I'll take them with me the next time I go to the market to sell my pots. They'd like that.

They stayed by me. I could see Jasper chewing his lip nervously. Aida was tapping her knee with her middle finger like Magnus does.

"He'll be running around in maybe a little over a week." Aida estimated, looking down at Arthur's sleeping face.

"Can he stay here for that long?" Jasper asked. "His father will notice that he's missing by then. If he goes out searching and finds him with us he'll arrest us. Maybe even worse for Aida and I."

"I wouldn't let him take you." I said stubbornly.

"You wouldn't have a choice." Jasper pointed out.

Aida looked between the two of us. "So, what will we do?"

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