Chapter 17: A/N I do not own Merlin. It's been five days since they woke up in bed together, Cassie no longer needs a guard, but her visits with Morgana are still supervised at Uther insistence. As for Guest, Owaine looks like Chris O'Donnel especially in Scent of a Woman with Al Pacino! He's just too darn cute! Thank you for reminding me that movie existed, I actually got the idea from my brothers, though they were prank geniuses until now! But no, I didn't get it from Jason Shepherd, I got it from my brothers pranking my and my sisters. Most of my pranks on here are from our prank wars, whenever our parents let us have them anyways, if they're in a bad mood, we don't even mention thing between Arthur and Cassie. Morgana's 23, Arthur and Gwen are 21, Owaine's 20, Cassie and Merlin 19, Leon's 24, Bruin and Pellinore are closer to like 27/28. Everyone else let's say is canon age, though i'm not really sure what that is. I'm seriously glad you got the Titanic reference! I was watching the movie while typing that chapter and was like 'I have to put it in here someway.'
"Cassie!" Gwen cried out just as she burst into the girl's room.
"Yes?" Cassie replied feigning innocence and curiosity.
"Don't you play innocent! You put itching powder in that cream you gave me, didn't you?" Gwen said, more of an accusation than a question.
"You told Owaine I've never been kissed!"
"Naturally the remedy is to get revenge?!" she cried in disbelief.
"Si, siempre lo he hecho así, y no voy a cambiar. La cabra tira al monte." Cassie deadpanned, before remembering and translating.
"What?" Gwen said honestly confused. "What does a mountain and a goat have to do with anything?"
"It's a saying, Old habits die hard or whatever the english one is. I'll have to ask Gaius." Cassie explained, adding the last as an afterthought.
"Please, It's better than what Owaine did to Bruin and Pellinore. I wish I had seen their faces when they realized it, but from what he told me…." Cassie said, chuckling a little.
"No! That was you?! Morgana told me after hearing it from Arthur. We should have guessed! How did you manage it, I'm sure Lady Eleanor and Caelia would have said something to them." Gwen asked, itching powder completely forgotten.
"I managed to convince them." Cassie said off-handedly. "And besides, they went along with it happily. Eleanor helped pick out the colors and gave us brushes, and Caelia went with Owaine to the market. Pell had forgotten their anniversary, and Ellie really wanted to get back at him for that. Not really sure why Caelia helped, but I'm glad she went along with it."
"Must have taken Owaine ages to paint both shirts with 'kick me' in the back." Gwen commented.
"All night! They were leaving on patrol the following day, so I stayed up and helped him with the shirts." Cassie said, smiling at the memory.
"Are you blushing?! Tell me what happened! Did he finally kiss you? Come with me!" Gwen said in a rush as she grabbed the blondes hand and dragged her out of her room.
"Bye Gaius! I'm just going to borrow Cassie here for a while." Gwen called back over her shoulder.
HELP ME! Cassie mouthed at the man, who just laughed and mouthed back, TOLD YOU SO.
"Morgana!" Gwen cried as she entered her mistress' room, "You'll never guess what I just found out! Well what I think I found out. Go on." Gwen urged, Cassie just scowled at the perky brunette.
"Can I have my arm back first?" she asked, glancing to her wrist.
"Oh, yeah." Gwen said sheepishly
"So what is so exciting that Gwen dragged you here?"
"W-"
"Cassie had her first kiss!" Gwen squealed in excitement, Morgana beamed in response and Cassie just blushed even deeper.
"We didn't kiss!" Cassie cried sadly. "I was helping Owaine with his prank, and fell asleep. That's all, nothing happened."
"So why the blush?" Morgana asked
"We fell asleep. Together."
"YES!" Morgana cried. "Finally some headway with you two! Honestly, Gwen and I thought we would have to intervene. You two are honestly so…. Slow!"
"Pretty sure Pellinore would have helped us." Gwen added.
"In that case, why don't we call up that stable boy you've had your eye on the past month, Gwen." Cassie challenged.
"Over him. There's a new guy on my mind now."
"How fickle she is, right Cassie?
"What does fickle mean? Then I'll answer."
"W-How would I explain it." Morgan started, then looked at Gwen for help.
"Hey, you called me that. You have to explain." Gwen said, shaking her head and holding her hands up.
"Fine! Flighty maybe, or volatile."
"Coqueta! I know what it is now. And, yes. Gwen is very fickle. Now tell us about this new boy!" Cassie said, changing the direction of the conversation.
"Not until you tell us about your night! We. Need. Details!" Gwen said, accentuating every word with Morgana nodding along.
"Fine!" Cassie groaned. And so they spent the next hour dissecting everything that happened; every word, touch, laugh, look. Everything.
"So you woke up together?" Morgana asked for what seemed to be the fiftieth time
"Yes, early next morning, he had to get up to get ready for the patrol and get the shirts to Bruin and them suspecting."
"What happened, did he really not kiss you?! What is wrong with him? Is there something wrong with him?" Gwen asked, the last an obvious joke.
"He walked me back to my room, and kissed my knuckles like he would a Lady." Cassie said with a fond smile.
"That's it?" Morgana asked dejectedly.
"Yes, 'Gana. Nothing else happened. We woke up together, he walked me home and kissed my hand goodbye." Cassie stated, omitting that they were wrapped in each other. It was something she would hold close to her, she just wasn't willing to share it. Yet.
"Now, Gwen. Who is this man that has captured your eye?" Cassie asked, with a devilish smile. They spent the rest of their evening talking about their crushes. Morgana was especially tight-lipped, claiming none of the knights or Lords caught her attention and that she didn't need a man by her side.
"I don't need one either, but they're just so useful! And easy to look at. It's no secret, I'm short. And weak. I've had practice getting them to do my bidding without giving in return." Cassie said the former dreamily, the latter matter-of-factly..
"Explains why you've never been 're so cynical!" Gwen said jokingly.
"Not cynical! Besides, I haven't been kissed not because no one has tried. I didn't let them. For one, I would never kiss the boy who beat me in a horse race, even though we bet a kiss. And also, my brothers didn't only scare my suitors off, they scared me off them. I was afraid for whoever would catch my eye. They could get over-protective of me. And my sisters, but they held their own. They scared me too, sometimes. Embarrassing stories and all."
"Do tell!" Gwen said, quirking an eyebrow.
"No." Cassie said, smiling and shaking her head, "Those memories will stay buried. No one needs to know what a clumsy child I was."
"That's hardly embarrassing," Morgana muttered. "I could tell you about the time I spilled wine all over a visiting noblewoman at my father's last birthday."
"Nothing beats mine. My brothers made sure of it."
"Please tell us." Morgana sang pouting her lips and making puppy-dog eyes.
"I fell into a pile of horse scat." Cassie mumbled incoherently.
"Huh?" Gwen and Morgana asked at the same time.
"I fell into a pile of horse poo." Cassie said recoiling at the memory, while Gwen and Morgana pulled disgusted faces at the image.
"It was after one of the princes' birthday feasts and I had tasted wine for the first time drinking licor de Orujo and I didn't realize just how strong it was. I was fourteen, but still… I learned my lesson. Don't drink five cups of Orujo, unless you want to wake up in the stables and not remember how you got there, or why you're lying in poo." Cassie said, homesick. The two Camelotians just burst out laughing. And not the quiet, reserved laughing one expects from the King's Ward. Loud, raucous laughter.
"Well! I'll say! I'm leaving you to your laughter, and not a word of this to ANYONE." Cassie cried affronted at their expected reactions. "Itching powder for the kiss, you don't want to guess how I'd get back at this story getting out." Cassie warned with a finger raised, pointing at both girls.
"I'm sorry Its just too hard not to laugh, Cassie!" Gwen said between peals of laughter.
"We won't say anything to Owaine, promise." Morgana swore.
"Thank you, 'Gana. Gwen. I think I've had about enough excitement for tonight. I'll just retire to my room. I have rounds to do in the morning." Cassia said in lieu of goodbye.
"Goodnight!" They called in return.
"Gaius?" Cassie called as she entered the chambers.
"He stepped out for a moment. Father asked to see him."
"Arthur!" Cassie greeted with a quick curtsy. "D-did you need something? Are you hurt?" Cassie asked, giving him a cursory glance, checking for obvious wounds or pain.
"No, nothing like that. I needed a word with Gaius, so I came, then remembered he had been called to my Father's chambers earlier. Old battle wounds must have been acting up."
"Right. Well you're welcome to wait, sire." ¡Qué estoy diciendo! Es su castillo. Claro que va a esperar donde se le plazca.
"Right, I was planning on doing just that." Arthur stated.
The two just stood there in awkward silence for a moment longer before Cassie said she was going to retire for the evening.
The next morning saw Cassie making her rounds. All was well, most of her patients in the Lower Town were getting better, some completely well, until she made it to Gwen's house. Her father had gotten progressively worse throughout the week and this morning he had spiked a fever. Gwen went to Gaius to see if he could go, but found Cassie preparing a potion to reduce inflammation for one of the villagers. She greeted Cassie with tears threatening to spill over so Cassie asked if there was something she could do, and Gwen asked her to see her father. So here she was, at the entrance to Gwen's home, knocking on the door.
"Come in." Came the raspy voice of the man.
"Hello, Tom. Is it still your throat?"Cassie asked with sympathy.
"Yes, it's getting hard to swallow, and I've got a fever. Though I assume Gwen told you."
"She did. Just the throat, no swelling, no pain anywhere else?"
"No, just what I told you."
"Okay, let me see," Cassie said as he neared him. "Open wide." she commanded.
After examining the back of his throat and checking his neck for any inflammation Cassie declared, "You have amigdalitis. I don't know the word in english, but your tonsils are inflamed. It's why you can't swallow well and the fever is probably from the pain. I can finish my rounds and get some white willow tree bark to help reduce the inflammation and pain. My recommendation, drink lots of water, and get plenty of rest and you'll be right as rain! I mean it, Tom! Lots of rest." Cassie told him with an admonishing look. "I know how hard you work, But it's just a few days' rest and you'll be much better."
"Thank you, Cassie," Tom said, handing her a coin as payment.
"If you don't follow my advice I will take it as a personal affront, Tom. Get some rest, drink lots of water, and I'll come back later with the white willow bark, or give it to Gwen before she comes back." Cassie said with a smile, collecting her things. "Bye, Tom." Cassie said with a smile.
"Bye!" he returned the smile.
"Gaius!" Cassie greeted him in the courtyard.
"Hello, Cassie. Rounds go okay?"
"Yes, I've just come from Tom's. I think he has amigdalitis, um inflammation of the tonsils. I'm going to go back to the chambers and grab the basket, take advantage that I need white willow tree bark and gather more herbs, is there anything we absolutely need?"
"Yes, I was compiling a list of what we are running low on. I'll give it to you, going up anyway." Gaius responded.
"Okay! Have you seen Gwen? Knowing Tom, he's just going to keep working at the forge. He can spare a few days, surely?"
"For as long as I've known him, he doesn't listen to the words get some rest." Gaius said with a look that said, 'how foolish!'
"He'll get some rest. I know he will." Cassie said from a step above Gaius.
"How are you so sure, my dear?"
"I'm telling Gwen. She'll make him rest whether he wants to or not." Cassie said seriously.
"Yes, she will. She has a way of making you feel bad if you don't do what she wants." Gaius said, clearly having been on the receiving end of that trick.
"La lengua no tiene hueso, pero corta lo más grueso, Gaius."
"I got something about bones and thick."
"It's an old proverb, basically means words have power. And Gwen knows how to harness that power, courtesy of Morgana, I'm betting." Cassie explained finishing with a smirk. Gaius just grunted in agreement.