Hello everyone! Hope you've had a great week. IDOM. Thank you for reading this as always and please enjoy, favorite, follow and review.
Balinor's POV
My daughter is in that tent. That thought has been the only one passing through my mind since I heard the news. Merlin is awake and the whole camp is buzzing, Ambrosia looked close to tears last night when she came and told me. I've stayed in my tent since then just in case I bump into Merlin as she walks around the camp but now I'm pacing outside hers wondering whether I should go in and talk to her.
Taking a deep breath I move forward into the tent. Merlin is awake and sitting up eating some kind of broth but she still looks pale and quite ill, beside her is Arthur Pendragon and he doesn't look happy to see me. "Get out." The man's voice is cold and hard.
"Arthur…" Her voice is weak and hoarse yet soft and calming at the same time. "I want to know why he's here."
"I wanted to see if you were ok." I say cursing myself for how lame that sounds, apparently the young Pendragon agrees as he snorts disdainfully.
"Well you've seen how she is now leave." The Pendragon rises as if to force me out but then Merlin reaches out and grabs him. The pair of them share a look which I don't quite understand but it makes the Pendragon sigh and say. "I'll wait outside." With that he leaves me alone with my daughter.
"Now what do you want Dragonlord?" Her voice doesn't rise or snap but the way she says Dragonlord sounds as if she's disgusted by the mere word.
"Are you ok?" I try to side step the question because I'm not entirely sure the answer. I want to get to know her and help her with her magic but I don't think she wants me anywhere near her at the moment.
"I'm getting better." She shrugs and it looks like a lot of effort. "I should be able to walk around in about a week according to Ambrosia."
"Your mother was always a gifted healer, although she never had the patience for the craft."
"Family trait so they tell me- restlessness." She gives me a weak smile and I take courage from it and step more into the tent, closer to her.
"Yes the Le Fay line are notoriously restless yet so is the Calidonius line so you were pretty doomed on that front. You look a lot like your mother I don't know why I didn't see it before."
Again she shrugs with a fond smile on her face this time. "Strong genes I got, right? As soon as people find out my bloodline all they tell me is how strong willed and determined I am."
"Well yes. That's not a bad thing."
"Try getting an apology out of Freya."
"You mean Morgana." She looks at me sharply and I raise my hands in surrender. "Your mother told me last night and about her parentage. That bastard!"
"Morgana is not her father's daughter. He is nothing to her." Her face is set and determined, reminding me so strongly of her mother.
"I know Morgana was named a High Priestess last night. No daughter of Uthur Pendragon would do that even before the Purge."
"She did? That's fantastic!" Merlin's face cracks into her customary grin which is infectious and makes me smile also.
"Merlin, I'm sorry." She's silent so I go on. "I can probably guess this isn't what you want to hear right now but I've never had very good timing. I'm sorry that I attacked and hut you, it was wrong of me even if you weren't my own blood. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you were growing up and that I never told you bedtime stories about dragons or taught you magic. Ambrosia may have an excuse but I haven't. I should have come back and helped raise you but I didn't I let Uthur Pendragon ship me off to France and never came back to Ambrosia."
She stays silent and I wait with baited breath for what she will reply. After a moment she looks at me considering. "Morgana was saying we both have unfortunate fathers but the difference is Uthur would never sacrifice his pride and apologise to Morgana and he's known her since she was a child. I don't know how I feel about you- you're not my father, I can't love you like that so unconditionally after all this time- but I spent so much of the time in the coma worrying that if I didn't wake up I'd never make it up with Ambrosia. I never want to feel those regrets again so I don't hate you and I accept your apology but I can't-" She breaks off with tears off with tears pooling in her eyes and as much as I want to comfort her I find myself rooted to the spot.
"I understand, thank you." She nods with tears running down her shockingly pale face. "I'll leave you to get some rest."
Feeling lighter than I have since I found out about Merlin I leave her tent, noticing that Arthur Pendragon quickly takes his place back within, knowing that I have a chance with the daughter I never knew I had.
Gaius' POV
I hasten down to the Lady Catriona's chambers a feeling of guilt settled in my stomach. What with the recent yellow fever epidemic I hadn't had time to even think about the Lady Catriona and her bone disease. Knowing her she probably saw me under stress and kept quiet about her painful problem which adding to the strain of a broken ankle would've been ten times worse than it normally was.
So vial of sickly mustard coloured liquid in hand I knock as gently as I can on the fine wooden door. The thin man who I have yet to learn the name of answered the door with a leering smile that is actually quite unsettling. "Yes physician?"
"I'm very sorry to disturb the Lady Catriona but I have her medicine." I showed the bottle in my hand with my physician smile. Well at least that's what Ambrosia called it- somewhere between patronising, withering and caring.
"You have had an unnecessary journey physician. We requested no medicine."
"Oh I know this is a tincture I used to make for the Lady Catriona when she previously lived in Camelot." I frown disconcerted but the man doesn't waver.
"Well she doesn't need it now thank you physician. As you see she is perfectly healthy despite her ankle." He nods at me to say the conversation is over.
"Well then I must be mistaken I thought for sure the condition was incurable. What's your name by the way?"
"My names is Jonas." With that he shuts the door in my face and I find myself alone in the corridor still clutching the unneeded tonic in my hand. Well that is a strange turn of events I'm sure that my diagnosis was correct when I said it was incurable all those years ago but there may indeed have been some development of a cure. Still it's very odd.
Leon's POV
"So Leon what are your intentions towards my daughter?" The voice of Ambrosia shocks me and the questions makes me spit out the water I'd just drunk.
Coughing and spluttering I look at her in an attempt to look innocent but by her knowing look I don't think that she believes me. "I hope I am friends with all three of your daughters Ambrosia."
The High Priestess lets out a highly dignified snort and looks at me as if I'm stupid. "Leon I think we both know which daughter I'm speaking of. Also I think if you so much as looked at Merlin in a romantic way you'd have Arthur's sword at you throat and Morgana… Well I think Morgana is too free a spirit to be tamed by any man and you don't seem emotional suicidal. So who does that leave Leon…? Is there another one of my daughters that you've spent a lot of time with recently, look as if you want to ravish her with every glance and came out of her tent with both of you sporting love bites, hmm?" By the end of this I'm beet red but I'm a Knight of Camelot trained to withstand interrogation even if it is from a powerful High Priestess whose daughter I'm sort of involved with.
"You mean Morgause? I know she seems cold towards everyone but I hope she considers me a friend as much as I consider her one." I really hope she does so I'm not really lying I'm just not mentioning the fact I want as more than a friend.
"Leon I would hope as a former Knight of Camelot that you'd know when to give up otherwise you'd probably be dead by now." She rolls her eyes at me and frowns hands on her hips. "Honestly you act as if it's this big secret when really I think Merlin is probably the only one who doesn't know since she has been practically dead for the past week. Although Merlin is scarily all knowing sometimes so you never know she probably does know."
"Really everyone knows?" I did actually think we'd been very subtle and that Ambrosia had used some kind of magic mind trick to extract the information from my brain.
"Leon I saw you go into her tent one night when I was coming out of it." Ambrosia deadpanned. "Now answer the original question before I die of old age! What are your intentions towards my eldest daughter, Morgause Le Fay Tregor Priestess of the Old Religion? Is that clear enough now?" The last part is snapped impatiently and the infamous Le Fay temper shines through.
"Perfectly Ambrosia." Deciding that I'm well and truly rumbled and I really don't want an angry High Priestess on my back I answer her. "I care about Morgause a lot. I'd never hurt her or just take her and abandon her or whatever else you think I could do. I don't know exactly where this… thing between us will lead but I will not harm her ever. She's a mystery and trying to get anything personal thoughts and feelings from her is like trying to get blood from a stone! But something about her make me want to keep trying."
"I'm glad Leon." I look at her doubtfully. "No really I am. I want all my children to be happy although I don't know Morgause very well and she's difficult to read I can see her happiness around you. I trust you Leon with her but I swear if you harm her in anyway…" She left the threat hanging in the air between us.
"I know and believe me I don't think there'd be anything left to do after what I'd do to myself." She smiles sadly at me.
"We are at war Leon. The Purge was only the beginning. With the Return of the High Priestesses and the Coming of Emrys and the Once and Future King the magical people are rising again to fight. Now is the time to make alliances and… friendships before it's too late. I'm not telling you to rush under any circumstances Leon with Morgause but as a Priestess of the Old Religion Morgause will play a key role in the war and you need to be aware that she may not come back as so many have before her. Make the most of this time with her Leon as I shall with Balinor. Everybody asks me how I forgive him so easily for what he did to Merlin but I know that I love him and that I can't waste what could be my last days hating him." With that Ambrosia Le Fay, High Priestess of the Old Religion and mother of the woman I'm sort of involved with, swept away with tears filling her eyes.
I'm not really sure what's going on between Morgause and Leon but I'm pretty sure one of them will figure it out soonish. Maybe. Anyway I hope you enjoyed!