Anne's POV
Anne had not very reluctantly agreed to join Merlin in the woods collecting firewood in the forest. She cannot help but want to spend time with him despite nothing seeming to happen between them. Though she cannot be imagining things as she remembers Amelia smirking at her when she asked if she could go to the forest to help Merlin.
Why Anne I never knew you were so interested in firewood.
It is not her typical job as, unlike Arthur, Amelia does not make her do any of the more menial jobs if she does not have to.
Anne is clearly too caught up in her thoughts as she turns and notices that Merlin is no longer behind her. She frowns. Where could he have gone?
Suddenly a woman, Cathryn, collides with her. "Oooff!" Anne exclaims.
"Oh, Anne, thank goodness!" Cathryn cries. "We need to see the King!"
She begins pulling her arm but Anne stops her. "Wait, Cathryn! Cathryn! What is it? What is wrong?"
"The smoke! The smoke was alive, I tell you." Anne feels a sinking feeling in her stomach. "It took the shape of a running horse! There's sorcery here! We must tell the King!"
Anne looks behind her to see a distraught Merlin as well as others who had been in the forest gathering around them. She realises there is no use in trying to keep this quiet and lets Cathryn drag her to the King.
—
They are in the Throne room, in front of the Court. Arthur leans on the back of the chair from behind, Uther standing in front of his throne and Morgana and Amelia sitting on his left.
Anne is forced to stand by Cathryn due to the woman's relentless begging, so she stands there in the centre of the room as Cathryn explains what she saw.
"It was sorcery you saw, and you're certain of it?" Uther more demands than questions.
"Yes, Sire."
Anne sees Amelia is looking at her in concern but she is too panicked to take any comfort from Amelia's empathy. Anne can only think of what Merlin and Gaius' faces look like at this time as they stand behind her.
"And you swear this before your King?"
"I swear it."
"Perhaps your eyes deceived you, a trick of the light," Arthur suggests.
"The smoke was alive, I tell you. I feared for my life." Cathryn insists.
"I thank you for bringing this to my attention. Your loyalty will not go unrewarded." Uther says.
"Thank you, Sire."
A Knight escorts her out. Anne takes the opportunity to dart to Gwen's side, who holds her hand comfortingly, not knowing the true reason for Anne's panic.
"It cannot continue." Uther states.
"I will hunt down those responsible, Father. I promise they will not escape unpunished." Arthur says.
"No. Stronger methods are called for. Send for the Witchfinder." Courtiers gasp. Anne sees Amelia frowning as if trying to think about or remember something while Morgana looks terrified. Who is the Witchfinder? It does not sound good.
"Sire, is it necessary to resort to such measures?" Gaius asks.
"The Witchfinder is a trusted ally, Gaius. His help will be invaluable."
"Of course," Gaius says though he does not look happy.
—
Amelia's POV
The Court disbands after Uther's announcement. Amelia, despite wanting to look at her notes for anything, follows the rest of the gang, Anne, Gaius and Merlin, into Gaius' Chambers.
"How many times, Merlin?! How many times must I drive it into that thick skull of yours that your magic is a secret to be guarded with your life?! What were you thinking?!" Gaius rants as he storms into the room with the rest of them trailing after him.
"You have really done it now Merlin," Amelia says, rubbing her head. She feels a headache coming on.
"I... I wasn't thinking." Merlin splutters.
"Well think, boy, think!" Gaius shouts.
"M-maybe shouting isn't helping?" Anne says, looking panicked. Amelia doesn't blame her, Gaius is proper angry but then again he has every right to be.
"It was just a bit of fun." Merlin defends.
"In a public place!" Amelia exclaims.
"It was magic and it was seen. And you!" Gaius points at Anne. The girl's eyes widen fearfully. "Should have stopped him!"
"He left my sight! How could I?" Anne defends.
"It's not her fault!" Merlin exclaims and Anne sends him a small smile of thanks. "And you're right. I'm sorry."
"You must hide the book. Anything that can connect you to sorcery in any way." Gaius says, now sounding calmer.
"What? Now?"
"Yes, now, Merlin. The man that Uther has sent for, I know him." Gaius states.
"The Witchfinder?" Anne asks.
"Hmm, some know him by that name. I know him as Aredian. He is a force to be reckoned with." Gaius warns.
"But I'm not a witch. Look. No dress or anything." Merlin jokes but he is met with silence.
"I'll get the book." Merlin mumbles.
—
This is not good, so not good. Her notes warn her of the Witchfinder; a man who actually seems to be able to identify the actual sorcerers but fakes evidence to catch them. She wishes she could know how they stop him but irritably her notes do not say nor who he goes after though she knows that she, Morgana, Merlin, Anne and maybe Gaius are all at risk.
Morgana asks Amelia and Anne to join her and Gwen in the former's Chambers. Amelia goes without question, she knows that Morgana is worried about the arrival of this Witchfinder and Amelia doesn't blame her.
They watch from Morgana's window as Aredian shows up in the Square at night with a large horse-drawn cage. A Guard, Patrick, approaches him.
"Is that him?" Anne whispers as if the man might hear them.
"Yes." Morgana murmurs.
"What's that cage for?" Gwen asks.
"Probably best not to think about it," Amelia replies quietly.
Aredian then looks up at the window. They gasp and step away from the window in fear.
—
By the next day, Aredian has already begun his work and interviews Cathryn and then Merlin as she had named him as a witness but Anne has not needed to be interviewed as she had not seen the magic itself.
Before long Aredian has more witnesses, which he presents before the Court in the Throne room.
"Speak, do not be afraid," Aredian commands the woman on the far right.
"I... I was drawing water from the well, Sire, when I saw them: faces in the water. Terrible faces, like people who were drowned, screaming. Screaming." The woman whimpers.
"Mmmh." Aredian puts a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder though Amelia wonders how comforting it really is. He moves to the next woman. "Tell them what you saw."
"A goblin dancing on the coals. it was dancing in the flames, and it spoke, Sire. My heart near stopped for fear of it." This next woman is calmer but still sounds fearful.
"As you've heard, My Lord, the incident in the woods was only the beginning, hmm?" Aredian speaks as he walks over to the next woman, nudging her to speak.
"There was a sorcerer, Sire, in the Square. There were creatures jumping right out of his mouth." The woman says.
"And what manner of creature?"
"Toads, Sire. Great green, slimy things as big as your fist." The woman cries.
"The sorcerer laughs in your face. Even now magic flourishes on the streets of Camelot." Aredian announces.
"I can scarcely believe it," Uther mutters in shock.
"Yet it is the truth, My Lord. Fortunately, I've utilised every facet of my craft to bring this matter to a swift resolution." Aredian answers. The Court gasps. Amelia latches onto Morgana's hand and clings to it with Morgana doing the same with equal strength.
"The sorcerer? You have a suspect?"
"Oh, I do, My Lord. I regret to say, they stand among us in this very room." Amelia's breath hitches in panic while Morgana's is heavier. Aredian turns to the Court. "My methods are infallible, my findings incontestable! The facts point to one person and one person alone: the boy, Merlin!"
Amelia lets out a huge breath that it was not her or Morgana but is then filled with a new panic.
Arthur's doubtful voice cuts through the tension as Amelia sees others look around in disbelief. "Merlin? You can't be serious."
"This is outrageous! You have no evidence!" Gaius exclaims.
"The tools of magic cannot be hidden from me. I am certain that a thorough search of the boy's Chamber will deliver us all we need." Aredian continues, unaffected by the reception to his accusation.
"Merlin?" Uther utters.
"I have nothing to hide from him." Merlin declares.
"Very well. Guards, restrain the boy. Let the search begin." Two Guards pull Merlin out of the room.
—
An amulet of enchantment is found in Gaius' Chambers but to save his ward, Gaius takes the blame and declares it is his, freeing Merlin and getting himself chucked into the Dungeons. Amelia knows, due to her notes, that the amulet is just a ploy by Aredian but she knows there's no point in saying anything until they can counteract anything Aredian throws at them.
Aredian's 'interrogation' of Gaius begins. Amelia worries about how ruthless this man is and inconsiderate he probably is concerning Gaius' age.
Kilgharrah provides no help other than not to do anything self-sacrificing when Merlin goes to see him.
Amelia worries that Gaius' treatments for her and Morgana will soon come up causing them to fall under suspicion. Then a Guard arrives to lead her to Aredian's Dungeon Chambers.
She passes Gaius' Cell. Their eyes catch and Amelia sees that he is worse for wear. This doesn't help the terror rising up inside her.
As Amelia is seated, she can't help but get even more terrified as Aredian walks around behind her, picking up and fiddling with different chains as he speaks, "There's no need to be concerned, My Lady. I won't detain you long. There's just a small detail I wish to clarify." He sits behind the desk that is in front of her. "Now, it's true, is it not, that you have received treatment for nightmares?"
Amelia clears her thoughts, trying to stay calm. "I feel like I should tell you this, I do apologise, but I had an accident to do with my head a couple of years ago. My memory is not what it was." She can't help but notice her voice is a little shaky.
"That is no problem, I'm sure you'll do your best." Aredian dismisses. "But you do receive treatment?"
Amelia nods, not wanting to speak this time so as not to reveal everything. Aredian notes this down.
"And it was Gaius, the Court Physician, who administered these treatments? These potions?" Aredian probes.
"Yes." She says but realises that she had barely made a sound.
"I'm sorry, could you speak up?" Aredian then waves his hand in the direction of his ear and makes a slight laugh.
"Yes." Amelia sounds louder. Aredian writes something.
"Thank you. Now, you may go."
Amelia smiles in relief and gets up to leave.
Aredian's voice stops her from walking too far. "You don't happen to know what was in these potions, I suppose?"
"Oh, no," Amelia says with a smile now feeling better than before.
"No. No, of course not. You're not a Physician, after all." Aredian jokes and Amelia lets out a slight laugh in response. She continues walking but he stops her again. "So, for all you know, these potions could have been magical, your dreams the product of an enchanted elixir."
"Oh, I had these dreams before Gaius started treating me." Amelia quickly explains, not wanting to throw Gaius under the bus.
"But these dreams, have they got better or worse since Gaius began treating you?"
Amelia doesn't want to tell the truth as it will look bad for Gaius but she doesn't want to lie as she'll probably be caught and what good will that do. "They haven't gotten better."
"As I thought. Thank you. You've been most helpful."
Amelia nods and leaves feeling probably more anxious than she did before. She passes Morgana on her way out and tries to give the other woman her best smile but she knows it probably doesn't work looking at Morgana's face.
—
Aredian throws Gaius to his knees before the Court. Amelia, from her usual spot in Morgana's left, winces at the sight of the man who looks near the end of his tether.
"Confess! Confess!" Aredian harshly demands. Amelia sees Merlin trying his best not to cry and Anne holding onto his arm to either restrain or comfort him, she doesn't know.
"I... I am a sorcerer, Sire." Gaius gasps. "I am responsible for conjuring the smoke. I'm guilty of practicing magic in Camelot, the goblin, the faces in the well, I... I am the sorcerer who conjured the toad from his mouth."
"You've betrayed me, Gaius." Uther declares, standing. "Betrayed your friends. And above all, you've betrayed yourself. By the laws of Camelot, I must sentence you to death."
Amelia gapes at him in shock. How can he believe this?!
"The sorcerer will be purged of his magic by means of fire! He shall be burnt at the stake tomorrow at dawn! Bear witness and heed this lesson!" Aredian announces. Guards drag Gaius out of the room.
Merlin charges at Aredian. "You're a liar." He cries. Arthur gets up and restrains him, dragging him from the room.
"Guards!" Uther calls.
"You're a liar!"
"I'll deal with this," Arthur says.
—
The pyre is being built in the Square for Gaius to burn on tomorrow but it seems Aredian is not finished as he pulls Morgana into an interrogation. Amelia knows he'll probably come for her next. She finds Gwen and Anne and they hurry to Gaius' Chambers where Merlin will be.
They burst in and find the person they are looking for.
"Merlin?!" Anne cries. "He won't let go! He won't stop!"
"What happened?" Merlin questions urgently.
"The Witchfinder's questioning Morgana again. Maybe me next." Amelia explains. "We're worried, Merlin. She's close to breaking point."
"Yeah, that's what he does." Merlin paces as he thinks out loud. "He breaks you down and in the end, you confess whether you're guilty or not."
"What do you mean?" Gwen asks.
Amelia looks at them hopefully. Finally, they are getting somewhere.
"Are you saying Gaius was set up?" Anne asks.
"Yes. Aredian planted that amulet." Merlin realises.
"But why would he do such a thing?" Gwen questions.
"Aredian is paid to catch sorcerers. Maybe he doesn't care whether someone is guilty or not. Maybe he gets confessions by lying, by planting evidence, just as long as he gets a confession, he gets his money."
"But even if this is true, what can we do without proof?" Gwen wonders.
"Get some." Amelia declares. Merlin turns and bolts out of the room.
Anne huffs. "I'll go after him." She runs out of the room.
"Sweet are they not?" Amelia remarks to Gwen. The woman laughs but doesn't disagree.
—
Anne's POV
Running after Merlin ends with Anne colliding into his back.
"Ooof." He exclaims.
"Sorry!" Anne blushes as she looks down to the floor.
"Um… it's okay." Anne looks up at him and he gives her a reassuring smile. "Come on." Anne grins back and follows.
They enter Aredian's Guest Chambers and begin snooping around. Merlin almost knocks something on the desk, causing a loud clatter noise.
"Merlin!" Anne hisses, her earlier embarrassment forgotten.
"Sorry!"
They lift up bits of paper and pillows, not finding anything until Merlin attempts to open the cupboard. But it is locked so Merlin whispers, "Tospringe."
Merlin's spell unlocks a cupboard and they find flower petals. Merlin picks some up, they stare at it but then hear someone coming
Anne quickly remakes the bed with a spell. "Dæfte þæt bedd."
They then dart under the bed to hide. Anne tries not to think about how close they are as Aredian enters. The man's movements slow as he walks over to the cupboard, which Anne realises they left unlocked. Aredian then yanks back a curtain. He then moves to stand right in front of the bed. Anne holds her breath, fearing he might hear it. She breathes a sigh of relief once Aredian walks out of the room.
—
Amelia's POV
Anne and Merlin return with a petal they had found in Aredian's Chambers and soon all four of them begin sifting through Gaius' books to try and find anything on it. While this isn't fun, Amelia feels pleased that they are one step further into stopping the Witchfinder.
"This is hopeless!" Gwen exclaims in frustration.
"We have to keep going." Anne insists.
"She's right," Merlin says.
"We don't even know if this flower means anything." Gwen points out.
"No we don't, but we cannot give up." Amelia insists.
"Here. Belladonna." Merlin suddenly says pointing at a page. They all hurry over to have a look.
""For the alleviation of ulcers, allergies, and muscular inflammation..."" Gwen reads. "This is hopeless."
"No, wait." Amelia pushes forward to read another part. "Listen, "Under certain conditions, a tincture of the flower can produce hallucinations.""
"So?"
Anne scoffs. "Aredian's witnesses. It wasn't magic they were seeing, it was visions."
"It makes sense, if he's faking the evidence." Gwen realises. "But how can we prove it?"
"No, Aredian's too clever to have given the tincture to them directly. The witnesses, they must've got it from someone else." Merlin says.
"They could've been getting it from anyone!" Amelia whines.
"Is there anything, anything at all that these people had in common?" Merlin wonders.
"They were all women?" Anne suggests.
"No, that doesn't tell us anything." Merlin dismisses.
"Yes, it does. What's the one thing only women would buy?" Gwen prompts. "Things to make them look beautiful."
Oh.
They all run out of the room with Gwen leading.
—
Gwen leads them through the Lower Town until they reach the Apothecary and knocks on the door.
An older man steps out. "Gwen? Anne? My Lady?" They step inside.
"Do you sell a tincture of Belladonna?" Gwen immediately asks.
"What's this all about?" The Apothecary wonders.
"Please, it's important." Anne insists.
The Apothecary blinks at them surprised but turns to search through his shelves. "Well, I, I think I've got some somewhere, but what you'd be wanting with eye drops in the middle of the night, I really don't want to know."
"Eye drops." Amelia mutters. That's how!
"Yes. Women use them to make their eyes more beautiful." The Apothecary explains, showing them the bottles.
"Where did you get this?" Merlin demands.
"Well, my usual suppliers." Comes the claim.
"So you did not get it from someone else?" Anne questions.
"Of course I'm sure. If it's all the same to you, I'd like to get some sleep." The Apothecary replies.
"It was Aredian who gave you the Belladonna, wasn't it?" Gwen states more than asks.
"Don't know what you're talking about." The Apothecary dismisses fearfully.
"But you know that Gaius is going to be executed tomorrow, don't you?" Merlin probes.
"That has nothing to do with me."
"Look buddy," Amelia says drawing his attention, "it has everything to do with you!"
Anne speaks up then, "Aredian's witnesses saw visions produced by the Belladonna in these eye drops! If we can prove this, we have a chance of saving Gaius."
The Apothecary sighs. "He forced me to sell it. He, he said he'd kill me if I said anything to anyone."
"It was him? It was Aredian?" Gwen looks for confirmation.
"Yes, it was him."
They all let out various thank yous as they leave.
—
Merlin grabs the tincture and Belladonna petals. "That's it. We've got everything we need."
"But is it enough?" Gwen wonders.
"We've got a witness as well. Surely that's enough?" Merlin replies.
"It's still just our word against Aredian's!" Gwen insists.
"Gwen, we don't have a choice! By dawn tomorrow Gaius will be dead." Anne says desperately.
"She's right, we've only got one chance at this," Amelia admits. "We've got to give Uther something he cannot deny cause even he will not listen to me. We need something not even Aredian can talk his way out of."
Merlin nods. "I'll be as quick as I can. Anne do not follow!" He runs out of the room.
"Might as well," Amelia says. "God knows what he's up to." The other two women laugh.
The sun has risen by the time Merlin returns.
"Where have you been?" Amelia exclaims.
"It's done. Everything's in place." Merlin tells them.
"But it's too late! Gaius has already left the Dungeons!" Anne points out to him.
"Then... then we'll have to delay the execution," Merlin suggests.
"How?" Gwen asks.
"Arthur. I'll speak to Arthur." Merlin answers.
"No. Leave Arthur to me." Gwen insists. They run out of the room to the Main Square.
—
The crowd is already gathered around the pyre when they arrive and Aredian is dragging Gaius to it. They push and shove through the crowd to get to Arthur who is standing in the inner circle surrounding the pyre.
Amelia stops with Anne and Merlin beside her once they get close enough to the pyre while Gwen pushes further forward to get to Arthur. Amelia can't hear what they are saying and watches them anxiously as Gaius is tied to the stake.
"Come on Arthur. Come on." She murmurs to herself.
Aredian lights the torch and brings it over to the pyre and begins to lower it to light the pyre.
"Wait!" Arthur suddenly shouts. Amelia breathes a sigh of relief.
—
Merlin stands in front of the Court in the Throne room as he presents the evidence they had found.
"Sire, the witnesses saw nothing but hallucinations induced by the Belladonna in these eye drops." Merlin hands one over to Uther who's standing with Aredian next to him. Amelia gives Merlin a smile of encouragement from her seat next to Morgana.
"And you bought this Belladonna from this man?" Uther gestures to the Apothecary. The earlier three witnesses all nod.
"Where did you get it from?" Uther asks. The Apothecary looks around anxiously. "Don't be afraid, no harm will come to you here."
"The Witchfinder. He gave them to me." The man confesses. The Court mutters in shock.
"Did he tell you what it was for?"
"No. Only that if I did not sell it, he'd have me burnt at the stake." Similar muttering arise again.
"How do you answer to these accusations?" Uther questions Aredian.
"They're absurd. The boy has clearly concocted these lies in the hope of saving his master." Aredian defends.
"Then you won't mind if we search your Chamber, will you?" Merlin quips.
"Silence!" Uther shouts. "You have no authority here!"
"Father... let's settle this once and for all." Arthur walks off the platform to stand by Merlin. Amelia notices a look shared between him and Gwen and she smiles to herself. "If what Merlin says is wrong, he must bear the consequences. But if there is some truth in what he says..."
"I have nothing to hide." Aredian declares.
—
Amelia, Aredian, Merlin, Arthur, Uther, and Morgana watch the Guards upend Aredian's Chambers.
"You're wasting your time." Said man says.
"The cupboard over there." Arthur orders. A Guard opens it and dozens of amulets drop out, and a stash of Belladonna tincture is inside. Wow, Merlin has been busy.
"These things don't belong to me!" Aredian exclaims as he walks over to the cupboard and kicks the amulets. "This is a trick!" He coughs while Arthur draws his sword as Aredian walks toward them. "That boy plots against me!" Aredian chokes and uses the table to hold himself up. He tries to clear his throat and spits out a toad. Amelia gapes at the sight in disgust.
"Sorcerer!" Uther cries and draws his sword, Guards behind him joining in.
Aredian then grabs a dagger and, before any of them can react, Morgana as well and holds the dagger towards the rest of them when they try to step forward.
"Aredian, think carefully about what you're doing. You will never escape from Camelot alive." Uther warns.
Aredian holds the dagger nearer Morgana's throat. Amelia watches with wide eyes wishing she can do something or at least have her dagger but annoyingly she has left it in her room. "I will if you value the life of your ward. Hmm?"
The handle of the dagger heats up then and Aredian drops it, freeing Morgana, who runs into Amelia's arms. Amelia looks back as she holds onto Morgana and raises an eyebrow at Merlin, who shrugs very innocently.
Aredian stumbles backwards gripping onto his burnt hand and trips backwards over a box causing him to fall out the window. Amelia hears his screams as he falls and cringes when she hears the thump of a body hitting the ground and the screams abruptly cutting off.
Classic villain death.