A/N: Thank you GuestM Live, PadrePedro, and Buckhunter for reviewing!
Chapter 3
Freya was on her way to the gardens when Merlin intercepted her, a picnic basket in hand.
"Care to join me?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.
Her stomach gave a nervous flutter, but she nodded. He led her out to the old training grounds that were partially covered by the protective dome. There, Merlin pulled a folded blanket from the basket and flipped it out over the grass. Then he sat and started unpacking the rest. Freya took a seat on the blanket beside him.
Merlin pulled out a small bowl of bright red fruit shaped like plump spades with seeds on the outside. "These are the very first of the new vine to ripen," he said.
Freya's mouth watered with anticipation as she picked up a strawberry and took a bite. It was amazing. She couldn't help but smile in delight, which seemed to make Merlin grin. There were some other fruits in the bunch, but Freya kept eating the strawberries.
"Are those your favorite?" Merlin asked.
She nodded. "Yes."
He beamed.
"Are you going to try, what was it? Combining it with another?" she asked.
"Grafting," he supplied. "And I don't think so. It's already perfect, isn't it?"
Freya smiled. "It is."
Merlin was looking at her in a way that made her self-conscious, as though he was thinking more than he was saying. She wanted to work up the nerve to ask him, but before she could, a deep rumble reverberated from somewhere. They both looked around in confusion for a split second before the ground began to violently shake.
Freya yelped, and Merlin grabbed her arms as they jumped to their feet in alarm. The ground lurched beneath them, nearly throwing them back down, but they held onto each other. A thunderous crack sounded from the citadel, and a section of stone gave way in a shower of heavy stone. Screams rent the air. Freya couldn't help the cry of fear that escaped her throat, and Merlin pulled her closer. Then the shaking stopped, and the ground settled. Merlin waited only another fraction of a minute to see if it would stay still, and then he turned to run back inside the city. Freya followed.
Inside, there was a host of destruction. Percival was on his knees, holding a light shield over his head and protecting several others crouched around him. Huge chunks of stone were piled around them. Cries and shouts echoed from the lower town, and Merlin darted that direction. Freya could see several of the buildings had collapsed.
Merlin rushed to the first one and started trying to dig out people buried underneath. Elyan and a few others quickly joined him. Elyan spun a light contraption that he wedged under the debris and then used as a lever to create a gap people could crawl out through. More people hurried to the other buildings in search of survivors, while dirtied and bloodied figures began to hobble out of the wreckages.
Freya just stood there in the middle of the street, at a loss as to how to help.
Leon arrived and started barking out orders—set up triage in the great hall, erect light barriers around damaged sections of the castle and town buildings once everyone was cleared. As the shock of the event died down, the streets became full of people running all about. Freya found a corner to stay out of the way.
Gwen came rushing by and pulled up short when she spotted her. "Freya! Are you all right?"
She nodded meekly. "I- I don't know how to help."
"Can you bring water from the well to the great hall?" Gwen asked.
Freya hesitated a moment before managing a nod. "Y-yes."
Gwen reached out to give her arm a reassuring touch, then hurried off to wherever she was needed.
Freya drew in a steadying breath. Fetch water, she could do that. She made her way to the well where a bucket sat, and she used the pump to fill it up. She struggled to carry it back up to the castle, it was so heavy, but she made it. Gwen was already there coordinating, and she directed Freya where to put the bucket.
"Bring as much as you can," she said.
Freya nodded and started back to the well, only to belatedly realize she needed another bucket. She twisted around in search of one.
Gwen turned back to her. "What's wrong?"
Freya's cheeks flushed hotly in embarrassment. "I need another bucket."
Gwen didn't scowl in annoyance at her, though. Instead she turned to the bucket that Freya had brought and ordered some nearby people to empty the water into all the pitchers and bowls they could find. Once it was empty, Freya took it back and hurried down to the well. She went back and forth, her arms and shoulders quickly starting to tire and hurt. But she was determined to be helpful.
On her fifth trip, another quake shook the ground, and Freya dropped the heavy bucket full of water as she lost her balance. Above her head, the protective shield flickered. Freya's eyes blew wide in fear. Could the shield come down? She whipped her gaze around but realized most everyone was inside dealing with injuries and still digging people out from the rubble; it seemed no one else had noticed the shield faltering.
Freya bit her lip, unsure what to do. She could alert someone to the shield…or she could go up to the tower and check on the crystal herself. She wasn't useless when it came to light spinning, after all. So she left the bucket in the street and made her way up to the central tower. When she reached the top, she came to a breathless stop. Someone was already there.
Freya immediately felt foolish. Of course someone would know to check on the crystal.
The figure turned toward the sound of her labored breathing. Freya was surprised to see it was Mordred. Even the newcomer knew how to act more quickly than she did.
He frowned at her.
"I saw the shield flicker," she said. "I was worried the quake had damaged the crystal."
He nodded slowly and shifted his gaze back up to the lantern. "It looks like it got knocked around inside the lantern case, but it's fine."
Freya glanced at the crystal. "Oh. Okay. That's good."
He didn't say anything.
"So…it's all right now?" she checked.
"Yes." Mordred sounded stiff, which added to her discomfort.
They stared at each other for a few taut moments, him unnaturally still and her fidgeting.
"You seem to have learned so much since you arrived," Freya blurted to break the uncomfortable silence.
His eyes narrowed. "What of it?"
She ducked her gaze in embarrassment. "I wish I could do that. Everything comes difficult for me. I don't even know why I came up here." She shrugged helplessly. "I just want to be useful, but most of the time I feel in the way."
Mordred's brows furrowed a fraction further, and Freya felt even more foolish for saying any of that.
Footsteps on the stairs drew their attention to the doorway as Lancelot arrived. He stopped and looked at them in surprise.
"We were worried about the shield," Freya told him.
"It seems fine now," Mordred added.
Lancelot crossed the room to examine the crystal, then nodded in agreement. "Losing that is the last thing we need right now."
They wordlessly headed back down. Everyone was still busy dealing with the aftermath of the quake, so rather than risk getting underfoot, Freya went to the gardens. There was some minor damage there—some debris had crushed a few plants and littered the patches. Freya set to cleaning it up herself. Maintaining their food supply, at least, was always important.
Merlin found her there hours later.
"Are you all right?" he asked in concern, hurrying over and taking her by the arms.
"Yes."
He roved his gaze around the garden. "Did you do all this by yourself?"
She shrugged. "I wanted to be useful."
He gave her a warm smile and squeezed her arms again. "You are so much more valuable than your usefulness," he said sincerely. "And also, good job."
She flushed shyly but managed a tiny smile in return.
Arthur stood over the main table in the council chambers, dealing with the aftermath and cleanup post-quake. Everyone had been accounted for now, so digging through the rubble had stopped. Now came salvaging and rebuilding.
"These sections of the castle are still unstable," Gwen reported, pointing to the diagram on the table. "We can reconstruct and reinforce, but it will take time."
He nodded. "Cordon those areas off for the time being. What about the rest of the castle should we experience another quake?"
"We can evaluate the castle in comparison to the sections that failed," Elyan replied. "But it's a little outside our expertise."
"There are books in the archives along with construction records," Gaius put in.
Arthur turned to Leon. "Ask around for anyone interested in learning the subject."
"We'll need a few who can read," Leon added.
"I know now's not the best time," Merlin interjected, "but we should think about offering lessons again."
Arthur nodded in consideration. Back when they lived in the underground fortress, Gaius had taught many of them to read when there was nothing else to do. It had fallen by the wayside when they'd moved to the city and begun to establish it. And while there were more pressing matters, it was a skill they were likely to need in the future.
"See to it," he told Merlin. "And see if there's anyone aside from Gaius willing to take up the instruction."
The court physician currently had his hands full with patients to tend to. Speaking of…
Arthur turned back to Gaius soberly. "The funerals?"
The old man nodded somberly. "I found a plot that will be a suitable burial place within the dome."
"Good. We'll conduct those tomorrow morning, then."
These were the first deaths since they'd come to Camelot to settle, and the first ones not related to Wraiths.
So the following morning, presiding over the service, was a strange, surreal moment for Arthur.
"We gather here to mourn the loss of loved ones," he said in a low tone. "Taken from us too soon." He paused, then continued, "We came here for safety, and we found it. But now we are reminded that life is still precious and can be taken away. But we will do what we have always done—rebuild. In honor of those who came before. We carry the memory of them with us always."
At the conclusion of his words, Lightspinners stepped forward with candles and set one on each headstone. They did not burn with flame, but held a tiny fluttering aura of light secured to the wicks, an eternal marker in memoriam of the souls no longer with them.
Gwen pressed close to Arthur and slipped her hand into his.
Life went on after that. Arthur oversaw the various projects they'd set in motion in response to the quake. News that the shield could have failed had been alarming, so Lancelot and Gwen installed extra chains in the tower—six extending in equidistant directions to steady the lantern that held the crystal so it shouldn't be disturbed again. Meanwhile, Gwaine and Elyan had been heading the architectural council and working on devising a way to reinforce the castle.
"We figure if we can get some good solid stakes into the foundation, it'll help support the castle," Gwaine explained as he and Elyan showed Arthur a makeshift model they'd constructed to illustrate their idea.
Arthur gazed at it somewhat dubiously. "How do you plan to dig that deep?"
"That's the beauty of it," Elyan answered. "We can drill with a fixture of light, and then reshape it to fit the shaft."
Arthur nodded in contemplation. "Sounds good to me. Proceed." He paused as he noticed Mordred standing off a ways and looking at them and the model, the boy's brows knitted together. "Do you have something to say?" Arthur called.
Mordred startled, then shook his head. "No."
Arthur strode toward him, Gwaine and Elyan following curiously. "I can tell something's turning the cogs in your head. What is it?"
"Oh, it's nothing," Mordred hedged. "It's just…I don't think the supports should be that rigid."
Gwaine snorted. "Then what's the point?"
"You're right, ignore me."
"No," Arthur said. "What makes you think the supports shouldn't be rigid?"
Mordred exhaled audibly. "The ground is already firm," he pointed out. "If it knocks against more firm fixtures, the friction will just travel upward and cause more shaking."
Arthur looked at Elyan and Gwaine in question.
"That does make some sense," Elyan admitted after careful thought. "I'm sorry, Arthur, I thought we had it."
"That's all right," Arthur replied. He then cast a considering look at Mordred. "Do you have a suggestion for this problem?"
"Make the rods flexible so they'll absorb the friction into themselves."
Gwaine frowned. "But then they'd be damaged."
"Probably, but they'll receive the damage instead of the castle, and then they can be replaced if needed."
Gwaine and Elyan shared an intrigued look at that.
"Let's test it on the model," Elyan said.
Arthur stood back as Elyan adjusted the miniature light rods and Gwaine set it up to simulate a violent quake. Just as predicted, the rods ended up bent, but the structure above remained intact.
"You've got a clever mind," Gwaine told Mordred.
"Indeed," Arthur agreed. "How would you like to join the council on architecture?"
The boy faltered. "I'm not sure…"
"This is your idea," Arthur pointed out.
"We could use you," Elyan added.
Mordred still looked uncertain but also a little elated, and he hesitantly accepted.
Arthur left them to it, confident the kingdom was in capable hands.
