-66-

"I don't see anything wrong with her physically," Gaius told Merlin as they stood beside the bed where Ryll lay. "She's in perfect health and yet her body is shutting down."

"It's what?" Merlin felt his heart breaking. This couldn't happen. He would not let this happen.

"It's like a phantom illness. I can see no cause."

"This has something to do with Morgana, doesn't it? Something to do with Ryll losing her memories in the forest. She was trying to tell me something about Morgana. She said that Morgana had been in the forest. Right after that she fell ill."

"It is possible that Morgause put an enchantment on her."

"To keep her from telling the truth. But she tried to warn me and now she's dying." Merlin suddenly turned for the door.

"Where are you going?" Gaius asked.

"To find Morgause. She's going to fix this because there is no way I'm letting Ryll die." He choked on the last word.

"Merlin, wait! You have no idea where Morgause is. And she's dangerous. If she did this in the first place, she's not just going to reverse it."

"I don't care. I'll force her to fix it."

"Merlin. You aren't thinking clearly. Ryll wouldn't want you risking your neck like that without thinking this out first."

Merlin hesitated, hand on the door. He knew Gaius was right. Doing something rash wasn't going to help anyone. He took a deep breath and nodded. "How long does she have?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. Probably a week. Most enchantments like this are meant to kill the victim slowly."

Merlin winced. Was that supposed to make him feel better? "If we don't have a solution in two days, then I'm hunting down Morgause," he said.

Before Gaius could reply, the warning bell tolled outside. "What now?" Gaius asked. He looked down at Ryll. "There's nothing more we can do for her just now. She's comfortable. Right now that's all we can do."

He stood and began gathering supplies. "Are you coming?" he asked.

Merlin wanted to say no, but he knew wallowing in his room wasn't going to do anyone any good. Instead he nodded wordlessly and followed Gaius out of the room.

The warning bells had been tolling out the death of one of the guards. He had been found at the bottom of a wall and was still alive though barely. He'd been stabbed and the blade was still embedded in him. Gaius examined the blade carefully, and then turned to the knights who hovered over the body. "Take this man to my chambers," he told them. "I need to speak with the prince immediately."

…

Everyone had gathered in the council chamber to hear what Gaius had to say. Arthur was there as well as Merlin, and Morgana eyed the servant boy with barely veiled suspicion. Merlin was cleverer than anyone would give him credit for. She knew not to underestimate him.

Gaius was telling Arthur about the guard he had found. Morgana kept her face straight. No one would ever suspect her. She had handled the situation, but there was nothing to trace the body back to her. She'd lost her knife, true, but there was no reason for anyone to think it belonged to her. Then Gaius said something that made her blood run cold.

"The sentry will be able to tell us soon enough."

"He's still alive?" Arthur asked. Morgana didn't hear Gaius's reply. Her heart was beating too loudly in her ears. If the sentry was still alive then he would be able to tell them that she had stabbed him. As the court was dismissed, Morgana slipped away, walking quickly to the physician's quarters. She had thought she'd taken care of the situation. She still had much to learn. She couldn't be making mistakes like this if she wanted to keep herself above suspicion. She cracked the door open.

"Gaius? Merlin?" she called out, knowing they wouldn't be there. She entered, shutting the door behind her and narrowing her eyes at the sentry who refused to die. She would take care of that. She walked over to a shelf holding bottles of different liquids. She found one that read 'poison' and pulled it from the shelf, holding it between her fingers. A smirk twisted her lips. The guard would never speak again. She uncorked the small glass bottle and went over to the unconscious sentry. She held the bottle up over his lips and the green liquid dripped into his mouth. She poured it until the little bottle was empty. She was taking no chances this time. The man began to convulse and then shuddered and lay still. Morgana replaced the bottle in the far back of the shelf and left the physician's quarters. She ducked into a side hall as she heard footsteps approaching. Gaius and Merlin passed her hiding place. Morgana waited until they had passed and then slipped out, hurrying toward her room.

She decided to check in with Ryll. An alibi never hurt. She knocked on her friend's door, but no one answered. She looked in, but the room was empty and the bed didn't look slept in. She frowned. Come to think of it, Ryll hadn't been in the council chambers today either. Normally she never missed something important like that. Morgana had been so wrapped up in her own fears, that she hadn't even noticed Ryll's absence until now. Despite Ryll's refusal to help her, Morgana still felt their bond. If Ryll truly was on Morgana's side, then she would come around eventually.

It was nearing evening when there was a knock on Morgana's door. She opened it and found Merlin standing there. At first she felt a jolt of fear as if he knew her secrets, but then she pushed this back. He had no reason to suspect her. He believed that she had changed. "What is it, Merlin?" she asked.

"I just thought you would want to know that Ryll is sick," he said.

"What?" She hadn't been expecting this.

"She fell ill last night," Merlin told her. Morgana didn't like the way he was looking at her. It was accusatory as if she'd had something to do with it.

"What caused her illness?" she asked.

"We're not sure," Merlin said. "But she's dying."

Morgana felt the blood drain from her face. "She's dying?" she asked, her voice small. "How is that possible?"

"Gaius believes it might be some sort of enchantment. She was trying to tell me something when she passed out."

"Did she say anything?" The words came out sharper than she'd meant.

Merlin's eyes narrowed. "She mentioned you and something about the woods. That was all she had time to say. Do you know what she was talking about?"

Morgana could hear her heart beating loudly in her chest. Had Ryll followed her into the forest or had she remembered? Then it struck her. Morgause's enchantment. Ryll had tried to tell Merlin something important and the enchantment had stopped her. But now she was dying? That wasn't supposed to happen. Morgana swallowed hard and then replied. "I have no idea," she said. "Perhaps she'd had a nightmare. I'll stay out of the woods."

Merlin looked as if he was going to argue, but he only said, "That would be for the best."

"Can I see her?" Morgana asked as he turned away.

"She's in my room," Merlin said. "You can visit her if you like."

"I would like that," Morgana said.

"We had to remove a body earlier."

Morgana tried to keep her expression straight. "The sentry?" she asked, frowning. "I thought Gaius said he was still alive?"

"Not anymore. We think someone poisoned him. The same person who stabbed him probably."

"That's horrible. Who would do such a thing?" The lies fell from her lips, and she widened her eyes to look innocent. Merlin's expression remained placid.

"A traitor," he said. "Someone who made a very grave mistake. It's not too late though."

"Not too late for what?" Morgana asked, her voice not quite reaching more than a whisper.

"Not too late for them to change," he said, blue eyes boring into hers. "But what do I know?" he added after a pause.

Possibly more than he should. Morgana simply nodded, not trusting herself to speak. "I'll go see Ryll," she said finally. She stepped toward the door, but Merlin stood where he was, his blue eyes intent. She stopped in front of him, bringing her eyes up to meet his.

"She'll be glad to hear your voice – if she can, that is," he said. "I just wish I knew what was wrong. Perhaps she could be healed then."

"I wish I knew," Morgana said. It felt like a betrayal to lie. Perhaps she would speak to Morgause about it tonight. She never meant for Ryll to die. Maybe Morgause could reverse the enchantment. But they also couldn't have Ryll giving away their secrets. Morgana wasn't sure just what it was she knew, but there were two connections to Morgana and the woods that could be dangerous in the wrong hands.

Merlin finally moved, and Morgana headed back to the physician's quarters. Ryll was where Merlin had said she would be, lying peacefully on her back, hands folded over her stomach. Her skin was paler than usual but other than that she looked like she was just sleeping. Morgana sat in the chair next to the bed and reached out a hand to take one of Ryll's. She noticed it was shaking and quickly drew it back.

"I'm so sorry, Ryll," she said. "I never meant for this to happen. Why couldn't you have just forgotten?" She looked down at her silent friend. "I know you don't agree with what Morgause and I are planning, but you have to believe that this is the right thing. I have to believe it is. I have seen horrible things in my dreams. I just want to live without fear, without nightmares. With Uther gone, then we can start to build a future where we don't have to be afraid anymore. I thought you would understand that. I'm not sure what you've been going through the last year and maybe even before that. I was so caught up in my anger toward Uther that I forgot to ask how you were from time to time. You were always there for me, but I wasn't there for you like I should have been. There was something troubling you, I could tell. But I never asked. A true friend would have asked. I don't want to fail you again."

She reached out and touched Ryll's hand. It was cold. "I will find a way to reverse this," she said. "There has to be another way to make you forget without hurting you. Maybe simply asking you to keep my secrets would be enough. But not when your friends are in danger." She smiled to herself. "How could I ever ask you to sit and watch them be put into danger without warning them? You're lucky, you know. You've always found a way to keep yourself going despite all you've been through. I always feel so close to losing it. Morgause has been helping me learn to use my powers though. I feel stronger. I feel braver. It's the first time in years that I've felt something close to safe. I'm not willing to lose that."

Ryll's finger twitched under Morgana's hand. She jumped. "Can you hear me?" Ryll's fingers were still, and her breathing hadn't changed. "I'm going to help you," Morgana told her. "Just hold on." Tonight she would visit Morgause and find another way to keep Ryll from spilling their secrets. After all Ryll had sacrificed for her, she wasn't ready to sacrifice Ryll to keep her plot from being revealed. There had to be another way.

So caught up in her thoughts Morgana was, that she did not notice a figure hidden behind the folding screen just outside of the room. Blue eyes watched her leave the physician's court having heard every word said within the small room.

Merlin slipped from his hiding spot and stole after Morgana. Tonight he would find out just what Ryll had been trying to warn him about.

…

It was something like drowning. Ryll struggled to breathe. Her chest felt constricted and her eyes wouldn't open. She couldn't move. She was just floating in her subconscious, trying frantically to piece together the bits of sound and light she heard and saw. Nothing stayed for long, and she couldn't hear more than the soft buzzing in the background. Then she heard a voice above her somewhere. It was clear yet muffled as if she was listening through a wall. She could make out a few words.

I never meant for this to happen. Why couldn't you have just forgotten?

It was Morgana's voice.

I will find a way to reverse this. There has to be another way to make you forget without hurting you … You're lucky, you know. You've always found a way to keep yourself going despite all you've been through. I always feel so close to losing it ... I'm going to help you. Just hold on.

Hold on. What was Ryll holding onto? She was floating. She didn't know where she was or why she couldn't open her eyes. What was wrong with her? Panic tried to overtake her, and she felt her finger twitch. Then she faded back into oblivion.

Morgana was walking through the forest again. Darkness oppressed the trees and crept between their trunks. It tugged at the hem of Morgana's purple cloak. She had pulled the hood up over her long, black tresses and walked with confident steps. A figure crept after her, keeping a distance back to avoid detection. Morgana reached a clearing and Morgause stepped out to greet her.

"Cenred's army marches on Camelot at my command," Morgause told Morgana.

"There is nothing you can't do," Morgana told her. "But I wonder if you have done too much with Ryll. She suffers now, and I am told she will die if she is not healed."

"This worries you, Sister." Morgause frowned.

"Yes. She's still my friend. Take her memories, but do not kill her."

"After we take Camelot, I will cure her. She will not hesitate to join you once Uther is dead."

"Already Uther has lost his mind. The people are losing faith in him. Cenred will find a kingdom without a leader."

"Finally we are ready," Morgause said. "All our planning. It will soon pay off."

"There's one problem. Merlin suspects me."

"Has he told Arthur?"

"Not yet, but he will," Morgana spoke with assurance.

"Well, then we must stop him," Morgause said. "We cannot have a servant boy ruining our plans."

"That will not be hard," Morgana said, eyes smoldering with resentment.

"Why?"

"Because he's here now," Morgana said, turning to gaze at a fallen tree where Merlin crouched. At her words, he shut his eyes for a moment before standing to face them.

"Did you really think I was that stupid, Merlin?" Morgana asked.

Merlin turned to run and Morgause's guards took chase. He was running as hard as he could through the dark woods, but the guards caught up to him using magic to trip him. They dragged him to his feet and with a swift motion, one of the guards knocked him unconscious. Morgause approached and spoke an enchantment, eyes flashing amber briefly. Silver chain appeared out of thin air and wound its way around Merlin's prone body.

Ryll shifted in her feverish coma. She did not know if she was seeing the future or the present, but she longed to call out to Merlin, to warn him. She wanted to sob for him and for Morgana, her lost friend. She could do nothing though. She could only lie there while her mind began to numb and she slowly lost any sense of time an existence.