Chapter 5: A/N: Left the last chapter on a bit of a cliffie! My first ever. This is also my first fanfic so I really hope everyone is liking it. I don't expect to have a very regular update schedule, college and all. But I don't have that big a social life, all my friends live far away, and I'm not very partial to the people where I live, they just irk me so! How does everyone like my story so far? I always appreciate a good review, and am open to any criticism! I know this is possibly after the time of the Real King Arthur of history, but it fits into my story, and there is such a thing as creative license, and I'm not a history mayor, so I really just got the name of the city and its history off wikipedia. Don't blame me, give me chemistry or physics and I can do miracles (not really) but history or the like and I'll fail. It's sad reallyWithout further ado, I do NOT own Merlin, wish I did! I would have soo much fun if that were so. I'll shut up now!
"I'm not who I say I am. I never wanted to talk about this, I just wanted to pretend that I was someone else. I am from Reccopolis, but I'm not a peasant. I am the youngest daughter of the Visigoth King of Reccopolis, Reccared I. My grandfather, Liuvigild, founded it when he vanquished the Franks so his firstborn son would be his co-king with Celtiberia. My father died mere months before I was born and I never got to know him. But my brothers and sisters did. Zazie was the second youngest and she's six years older than me. They told me stories about him. How he was so wise in matters of state and of his victories over incoming troops and armies. The people in my village were kind farmers, merchants, you name it. I used to climb onto the parapets with my brothers and they would tell me stories and act out the battles on the battlements behind. I especially liked it at night."
At this point Cassie barely spoke in a whisper, her voice shaking and her eyes glazed over. She was holding her necklace as if it were a lifeline. Almost as if speaking the words to Gaius would change everything, she was afraid: 'what if I tell him and he looks at me like I'm a monster? Like I should be dead along with them?' Cassie was shaking so hard, out of fear of the memories, of his reaction to her truth she almost didn't want to continue. But she knew, if she was to stay here, she needed someone who she could trust, who could trust her. So she took a deep, calming breath and carried on in a shaky voice.
"One night, after I'd had this stupid fight with my brothers about my future, I snuck up onto the battlements and lay there watching the stars. Naming as many constellations as I could. Trying to calm myself enough to move on for the next day and accept things as they would have to be. I fell asleep in a nook, when I awoke, they were all dead… slaughtered, bled dry and disfigured. I was terrified, no one was moving, there were no noises except from the animals and insects. I gathered my family's important belongings, everything dear to me, anything valuable and left the city on Blaze. I hid my hair, wore my brother's clothes, practically disguised myself so no one would recognize me and went to the stables for my horse. I wasn't the only one with that idea, there were maybe eight other villagers, but I couldn't go with them. I was afraid, no, terrified that one of them had done it. So I left without so much as a glance back. I realized that all that had happened was not the work of just one person, nor eight people, so I dismounted and tried to move stealthily through the forest. I walked for three hours when I came across an encampment. I don't know what they were doing, but it was horrific! Blood everywhere, on their bodies, their tents, it was disgusting, and chilling. Luckily for me, they were too busy doing whatever they did to pay me any notice, the noises they were making, a sort of chanting. I didn't want to hear or see any more of it, I led Blaze away and when I was about ten minutes from where they were doing whatever ritual that might have been, I mounted and urged my horse into a gallop. We rode hard for hours due north, then made camp. I kept on riding northbound for two weeks when I got to the mountains, to the Pyrenees. I remembered from my lessons as a child that I was crossing into Aquitaine, but I couldn't relax. I felt like they were following me, waiting for that one that got away. So I rode north for about three more weeks. The moon was a new moon when I left my land, It was past waxing crescent when I boarded a ship bound for the Isles. So I sold the valuables to pay for me and Blaze. When I got to the Isles, I went inland as fast as I could. I stopped at villages along the way, but no one seemed to trust me , or try to understand me. They gave me work and food and shelter for a time, but they tired of me quickly, drove me out. Seven new moons have passed since I left. I understand if you don't want me here. I have nothing to pack, so I won't take long to leave if that is what you wish, Gaius."
Cassie finished her story in the most woebegone, heart-broken manner. Gaus was in such a state of shock from how much this young girl had suffered in such a short time that he couldn't fully compute what she said at the end. He realized that he had no idea how old she actually was and that made him feel awful. It took him such a long time to answer her that Cassie began to think 'I've done it, another place I have to leave. The first time I dare speak of this to someone and he hates me. I am a monster!' She didn't realize she was crying until Gaius wiped her tears off her face with a handkerchief.
"I would never want you to leave! What happened, none of it was your fault. You can't blame yourself for it. You shouldn't blame yourself for it Casiopea. I want you to stay, be my apprentice, learn from me and learn to move on from what happened. Thank you. Truly, thank you for trusting me. I promise I will earn my trust from you, dear Casiopea. I will never utter a word of this to anyone, I swear on all that I hold dear, no one will find out about this from me." And with that vow, she smiled her first true smile in seven months. She found someone she could grow to call family some day.