Nimueh could not believe her luck. It had been dark when she had arrived in Camelot which gave her the cover of darkness. Wondering where exactly she should go, she decided to go for a walk and see if she could find that dragon that had failed so miserably in his task. She guessed he had been caught and placed back in his dungeon cell in the foundations. Typical humans. When would they ever learn? Never. And that suited Nimueh just perfectly. After all, the longer that these people were stupid, the better chance she had of getting her revenge.
Managing to get down quite easily and unnoticed, she had easily hidden from the guards on patrol. They were more drunk than sober, obviously disappointed that they could not be joining in with the main celebrations and trying to compensate for it. There had been a few close shaves, but Nimueh had easily escaped. It was so much easier to hide in such a young body, even if it had been stuffed with sugar and fats and all the other unhealthy stuff over the years. It was much easier to move in these shoes as well. Nimueh was quite glad that she had near enough managed the outfit to be completely the same. It just lacked one or two things, which weren't noticeable to the naked eye, but would be on close inspection.
Reaching the oak doorway, Nimueh opened it and went down the flight of stairs where she indeed found the dragon. He was curled up on his perch, supposedly sleeping but Nimueh knew he was doing anything but. In fact, he seemed to be moping. After all, he had lost his freedom almost as easily as he had been given it. Looking up, he wondered just what exactly the young girl was doing stood in front of him. Had she not been killed?
"A mighty beast? I see only a worm." Nimueh hissed. The dragon snapped awake then.
"How dare you girl!"
"You do not recognise me? Our plan failed, dragon, and it was because of you. You did not provide enough distraction."
"Why I could…!" The dragon came so close to Nimueh that she instinctively backed away, unwilling to be burned to a cinder.
"Dragon… Do you not see me?"
"I see but a stupid girl."
"Then my guise is working."
"Who are you, if you are not who I see?"
"And it is you who is supposed to do the riddles… I am Nimueh."
"Then what of the girl?"
"Kidnapped. I have her safe, thanks to a young warlocks stupidity and selfishness. Now I am here for revenge."
"And why do you tell me?"
"I will give you your freedom."
"For what in return?" The dragon tilted his head slightly, appearing to be listening closely.
"If the young warlock should come asking questions, you will not tell him a thing and tell him to let Arthur do what he wishes. Merlin should listen to you."
"And if he does not?"
"Then it is simple. You will not be freed." The dragon considered this for a moment.
"What proof do you have that you will keep to your word?"
"Since when have I not?" The dragon said nothing. "Exactly. Now, no doubted I will be back, but I shall have to go. Kingdom's aren't toppled by themselves you know." As the dragon returned to his silent thoughts, Nimueh skipped up the stairs, determined that she knew just what exactly she was going to do.
As dawn broke in Camelot, Nimueh sat on the edge of the town, watching as young children ran about playing whilst parents talked of the tournament. Some of the women were commenting how handsome some of the knights were, whilst the younger women were talking about a boy who was quite dreamy and as they headed to the arena burst out laughing. Nimueh had no care for such things, and watched as they left, deciding on when and where exactly she would show herself. And if she could manage to get Arthur killed without getting the blame in the process then that was a bonus.
The arena was packed as she reached it, and as she hid among the crowd, she managed to keep away from anyone who would recognise Alethea. She cared not for such trivial sports such as these, but she watched anyway. After all, she would surely stand out if she sat and watched anything but the tournament. It would definitely get her noticed too quickly and she didn't want that. Not so soon, so she kept up the appearance of being interested, even if she was anything but. Watching as a violent Sir Sagramore beat a timid Sir Gerard, Nimueh smiled a little. Perhaps this wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. After all, it gave her a good opportunity to know her enemy. Looking at them, she wondered if she would need a better army to achieve her ambitions.
Then, it was Arthur's turn to shine. Bored out of her wits, Nimueh watched as he seemingly managed to beat Sir Sagramore, although she could detect the hollowness in his eyes. He was missing her and Nimueh knew that now was the perfect time. Somehow she managed to get to the edge of the arena and as Arthur defended a rather nasty blow, she managed to catch his attention. He glanced once and turned away, before turning back. Seeing his smile, Nimueh looked on as Sir Sagramore made a sweep with his sword as if to decapitate the prince. Nimueh wondered whether this would be the moment that the Pendragon line was ended. It wasn't.
As Sir Sagramore was defeated after Arthur had used the oldest trick in the book, Nimueh ignored the cheering crowd and knew that the second that Arthur was freed from the celebrations, he would come after her. After all, Arthur loved Alethea, and now Nimueh was Alethea. Nimueh smiled at that as she headed through the town. She managed to stick to the crowds, eventually finding someone wearing the same style of gown. As their paths crossed, Nimueh immediately darted through the narrow streets before finding a cottage that had been left abandoned. Going inside, she found that it was fit enough to live in. Perfect. This would be her base from now on.
The night wore on as Nimueh finalised her master plan. First she would break Arthur's heart, then he in turn would destroy Merlin. That would then allow her to step in and cause Uther's downfall. Camelot would have magic once more and she would be at the heart of it all. Queen Nimueh certainly had a ring to it. Music drifted down form the castle, and she had no doubt that Arthur's victory would be well and truly celebrated. Many people would wake with sore heads the next day, but not many would be allowed to relax from their duties.
In the morning of the next day, Nimueh looked outside to find the sun shining down brightly. Wondering if it was too early to go out and look at her future kingdom (or rather, queendom) Nimueh sat just outside her door, cooking some soup over a fire. After all, even sorceress' need to eat. As she was doing so, she heard someone coming down the path. Looking up, she found a group of young men come walking down, holding ladders and thatch among other things. They seemed to be fixing the surrounding cottages and Nimueh smiled sweetly at them. They did her cottage first.
As the day wore on and the young men finished fixing up her home, Nimueh went for a walk into the town of Camelot, wondering just how exactly she was going to destroy Arthur's and Merlin's relationship. As inspiration struck her, a cruel smile crossed her lips. How would Alethea be faring on her own in the middle of nowhere without food or water? She had the tiniest inkling to just leave her there to die, but there was no fun in that. She knew just exactly what she was going to do with her, it was simply a case of time.
"You there…Stop!" Turning around at the voice, Nimueh found herself staring into a pair of blue eyes. "It is you…" It was the Prince. Nimueh was lost for words for a moment. She couldn't give herself away so soon. How would Alethea react? She smiled softly as she sensed his joy, and tried to reflect his look of love. Somehow it must have worked.
"Arthur? Well done for yesterday…"
"I did see you! Why didn't you stay? I went looking for you."
"I…"
"No need to tell me just now… Thank God you stayed!" He said as he took her in his arms and held her close. Nimueh immediately wondered just what it was that she had gotten herself into. She had known that the Prince loved Alethea, but she hadn't been expecting this.
"I'm glad I found you."
"As am I."
"But Merlin said you had gone?"
"I… The portal! It stayed open. Brought me out in a completely different place so I decided to come back. Besides, I needed to tell you so many things…"
"Can they wait?"
"Of course."
"How long are you going to stay for?"
"As long as possible?" she offered. Arthur positively beamed. Things were certainly looking good.
"And where are you staying?"
"Some of your nice men have fixed up a little cottage for me. Somewhere I can stay for a little bit."
"You could always stay in the castle…"
"But your father… I am uneasy. I'm forever reminded of what I caused."
"Well, there is always a room for you if you want one. Now, do you want to tell me of these things?"
"Later, if that's alright?"
"Of course it is."
"How was the feast last night?" She asked and managed to get Arthur talking of his victory. She pretended to listen, nodding and agreeing when she needed to. In truth, it actually felt more like torture. Nimueh hated these types of things, but she had no idea what Alethea would do in this situation. She had seen no look of distrust in Arthur's eyes, but he was probably too besotted to see through her disguise. That could, and would, prove to be an advantage, and one that Nimueh didn't let pass by her unnoticed.
They walked and talked, until eventually they reached the castle. It was here that Nimueh faltered, and Arthur seemed to take it that she was uneasy. Nimueh knew that there were too many eyes here who would be able to see her for who she was. Merlin was a prime example. Arthur took her hand and squeezed it gently before taking her inside. As they walked, Nimueh took in every detail, deciding on which parts of the décor she would change when she ruled. In truth she may as well rebuild the whole castle, although not much would be left of the original anyway.
As she was led upstairs, Nimueh counted the doors and found Arthur's chamber. Making a mental note of where it was, she found that Arthur walked straight past the door to one a few metres down. It was here that Nimueh found an extravagantly decorated room. It took even her breath away, and as she stood in the doorway, she turned to a smiling Arthur.
"Yours, if you want it…"
"But, I couldn't possibly…"
"Yes you could. You deserve it."
"I don't. Not after what I have done."
"I've forgiven you, don't you remember?"
"Sort of… The portal sort of altered my mind slightly."
"Well, if you want some rest then I'll leave you to it."
"It might be best."
"I'll see you later then?"
"Of course."
"And no leaving me like last time."
"Arthur, I promise I will not leave you."
"Then sweet dreams." Seeing Arthur take one last longing look at her before closing the door, Nimueh smiled. Even the Prince hadn't seen through her. Perhaps her plan would work yet.
