Chapter 45 A/N I don't own Merlin or Harry Potter. This chapter has so many spoilers for Llys Dôn, little tease for that. Now that I think about it, there's going to be a lot of spoilers from no on, so... beware!
"Gratien! Gratien!" Cassie heard from behind her the following morning as she clutched her head in pain, the hangover she had was killer.
"Yeah?" she asked, stopping in the hallway and turning around slowly, silently thanking whoever that it was always dark in the basement and dungeons.
"Your Christmas present. Why are you wearing sunglasses?"
"Oh, that's why it's so dark! It did seem darker than usual. Party last night. Sort of end-of-term and birthday and Christmas all in one so...lots of booze." Cassie explained lowly.
"Didn't take you as the party girl." he said, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
"I'm not, it was a bet with one of the fifth year boys, and I had to win. Besides, I don't really need booze to have fun, but the bet was who could drink the other under the table."
"I'm assuming you won?" he asked with a smirk.
"You assume correctly, Draco. I wasn't aware you still wanted to do the Christmas gift exchange. We haven't actually spoken since that incident with the hippogriff."
"More Pansy's doing than me not wanting. We had a deal, remember."
"Different people when we're alone, I remember." Cassie said with a smile. "I don't actually have your present with me, I sent it to my vault in Gringotts on Halloween. Figured that you wouldn't want anything from me." she said with a shrug.
"Yeah, again Pansy and Millicent's idea. I only found out what they did later that night." he said, sounding apologetic for once.
"It's fine, Draco. Will you be staying here for Christmas or are you going back home? To know where to send your present. It's really in my vault, an idea I had over summer and so I had to transfigure it and charm it and all so it would be ready. I was halfway done with it by Halloween, but gave up after I thought we weren't friends anymore." she said quietly.
"I stand by what I said last year, you're someone I would like to be friends with, class and intelligence are still hard to come by-even in pure-blood families. Here." he told her, bending over his trunks and taking out an expertly wrapped present in green and silver, holding it out to her.
"How very Slytherin of you." Cassie said with a teasing grin.
"As long as you don't send mine in yellow and black. I'll be going home, as well." he joked with a rare smile.
"Don't worry, I'm not that tacky." She said as she carefully unwrapped the present. "Is this an original? H-how did you get it?" she asked breathlessly with wide blue eyes shining as she took in every inch of the painting by Angelica Kauffmann.
"Yes, It's an original. I remember you said something about her work sometime last year and I also remember you and Rhydderch like mythology. Acquiring it was rather easy after I figured out what you'd like, I just got it from the collection." he answered loftily.
"Draco, this is beautiful. I-I have no words! Thank you, really." she said, throwing her arms around his shoulders and giving him a tight hug, careful not to ruin the painting.
"Well, consider it both a Christmas and birthday present." he replied, awkwardly hugging her back and smoothing out his robes when she let go. "You might want to put it back in the packing, it'll protect it and magically compress it so you can put it in your trunk."
"Draco, this is an extremely thoughtful gift, I love it." Cassie said sincerely. "Truly. The moment I have time, I'll get your Christmas gift to you. Promise." she told him with a wide smile, giving him a kiss on the cheek and turning back around to store it in her trunk, missing the blush creeping up his neck. "I'll see you when we get back from hols! I think it may be better for me to give you your present then, it might be too heavy for an owl to bring to you. Can't have you out-gifting me, can I?" she said teasingly, giving him a quick wink before turning up to go to the Great Hall.
"Guess not." he said quietly, watching her leave with a small smile that he quickly hid when he heard footsteps approaching.
"Hey, Draco! Did you…" Pansy said walking up to him and chattering nonstop with some inane topic.
After breakfast, and a quick goodbye to Harry, Ron and Hermione, Cassie and Merlin made their way down the sloping grounds quickly to Hogsmeade station to look for an empty compartment.
"So, we'll stay tonight at my place. I have your presents and a few books that might help with your dreams and the sleepwalking, and then tomorrow or the day after we'll take the floo to the Delacour's for Christmas and New Years, yeah?" Merlin said as they found Luna sitting in one alone.
"Yeah, that sounds fine. Hey Luna!"
"Hello, Cassie. Merlin." she greeted dreamily. "Making plans for Christmas?"
"And New Years. Doing anything special, Luna?" Merlin asked her.
"No, just dinner with dad and opening presents in the morning."
"That sounds nice." he replied. "I used to do the same with my mum. On feast days and all, we'd make ourselves a nice meal just the two of us, until I went to live with my uncle, the feast days there were much bigger, feasts and parties and entertainment and all."
"The occasional assasination attempt." Cassie added helpfully, earring a roll of eyes from Merlin. "Oh! I have your gift here." Cassie said, reaching into her purse and taking out a large box.
"What is it? Can I open it now?" Luna asked, her dreamy eyes focusing and brightening excitedly as the compartment door slid open.
"Hey, Nev. Looking for somewhere to sit?" Cassie asked when the door opened.
"Yeah, do you mind?"
"Not at all. Luna? Merlin?"
"Come on in." Merlin said while Luna looked expectantly at Cassie.
"Yes, you can open it." Cassie said with a giggle at her friend's excited bouncing. "Here's yours, I planned to send it by owl, but since you're here now…"
"Thanks, Cassie. I have yours as well." Neville said, taking the smaller box from her and reaching into his bag for her present, his toad, Trevor, jumping out into Merlin lap.
"Oh! Cassie! It's beautiful!" Luna said happily, looking at the large moving paperweight in her hand. "How did you do this?"
"A few charms here and there, it changes depending on the sun and moon. Right now it's a clear blue sky with fluffy white clouds, but from six to eight, it's a sunrise and sunset. And at night, it shows the moon. I couldn't figure out how to get it to change with all the moon phases, though." Cassie added sadly. "Go on, Nev. Open yours." Cassie prompted.
"A-are you sure? I can open it on Christmas." he said nervously
"Of course I am!" Cassie said with a kind smile. "I want to see your reaction."
"O-okay. But you open yours too." he said, opening the slightly smaller box and looking at it with wide eyes. "Is that Asphodel? It's beautiful, Cassie." Neville said happily.
"It probably is, I managed to charm it to change plants daily, but it only has seven, and the magic may wear off eventually, but I made it big enough so that when the charms wear off, the flowers will all be in different places and visible. Just a failsafe, it's my first time trying this out, and almost everyone I got gifts got a special paperweight. An idea I got from Dumbledore. I know they don't really serve much function, but they're pretty! And, free. All I spent was my energy on them! I tried to add the names of each, but I couldn't remember in what order the plants were, so I wasn't about to butcher it. It took way too many charms and transfigurations to get it perfectly round. The first one I made did not turn out very round at all. It was kind of supposed to be the circumpolar constellations with Polaris in the middle when you looked at it from the top, but it kind of just turned out to be two bright constellations and Polaris floating free with other stars in the background. I didn't finish it though, but I wanted the constellations to twinkle and for the whole thing to be encased like these. I might just leave it in a glass dome instead of trying to make it like that." she said thoughtfully, opening the small box Neville had gotten her and smiling at the pretty compact inside.
"Thanks, Cassie!" he said, his eyes shining curiously. "I-I know it's not much, but I noticed you didn't have one and my grandmother said women love them." he said nervously.
"I love it Neville, and she's right. We do love mirrors, most of us. It's really pretty."
"What'd you get me? The constellation one? It sounds beautiful." Merlin asked happily.
"Not telling you!" Cassie sing-songed, "I'll be able to see your reaction on Christmas. There's an extra surprise in yours, Luna." Cassie added.
"More? I don't think you'll like yours now." she said sadly.
"Nonsense," Cassie said, reaching for the present she held out. "Can I open it?"
"Yeah." she said, still holding the paperweight in front of her. Cassie opened the small box and giggled at the bright yellow earrings and necklace.
"They're beautiful, Luna. Are these dogs?" Cassie asked, picking up the necklace and looking at the small pendant closely.
"Yes, it's the dog I met when we fed the Thestrals after the Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff match."
"Snuffles? I'm definitely wearing them when I feed him when I go back. It's so realistic."
"I wanted to make you something you would wear." she said, nervously chewing her lower lip.
"It'll go really pretty with my lavender dress. And I have a navy blue sweater that would really make it pop! And I'll definitely wear it for New Years', Yellow brings good luck!"
"Those two will be talking about clothes for a while, Neville." Merlin said quietly to the boy, changing the topic and talking about quidditch for a while.
The rest of the train ride was spent in much the same manner, joking, talking, exchanging stories about their families. The others even played a short game of exploding snap before Cassie snapped at them for making too much noise, her hangover was still very much at the front of her mind. When they got back to King's Cross station, everyone said their goodbyes and wished each other happy Christmas and New Years. Merlin and Cassie made their way to the Leaky Cauldron to take the Floo to his house.
"I hate traveling by Floo. Apparating gets me less dizzy since it's over so quickly." Cassie said when she stumbled out into Merlin's dining room.
"Yes, well, we technically can't apaparate until we're seventeen, so… tough luck."
"Oh, ha ha Merlin. You haven't been seventeen in over a thousand years. You can easily apparate us anywhere." Cassie said, throwing her hands up in defeat as she gave up on moving her trunks.
"Leave them, I have something to show you." Merlin said, taking her hand and dragging her up to the second floor and into one of the big rooms. "It's yours. Well, this house, it's yours and Arhur's and Morgana's, and the knights'-if they're back that is."
"I actually managed to forget about that this week. You promised to tell me everything after I fell off my broom during the match.."
"I can only tell you what I know and what I saw. But, luckily for you, you kept journals. Wrote in them nearly every day back in Camelot. And the time you spent away from Camelot as well. Kind of like diaries, but not really. I only read a few, I stopped when they began to get too personal. Copied them onto newer books every few centuries. Only some of your originals are intact." he said, handing her a glass case with an ancient looking book in loopy handwriting.
"Pretty handwriting." Cassie said, using her magic to slowly turn the page. "Huh, I can read it perfectly. You just might not be lying, Merlin." Cassie told him casually as she turned another page.
"Here. These are all of them. I translated them to English magically the last time I updated them. Figured if I ever found Arthur again, they might help. You were always a sorceress in his eyes, at least since you covered for me in Ealdor. Maybe reading it all from your perspective would have helped him understand my decisions. I always hoped you'd come back too, Killgarrah said your Destiny and mine were intertwined, so I thought... Anyways, I'll ask Crissy to make us some lunch and go shopping for two days worth of food."
"Merlin! What if I can't remember? Maybe it's not me. This Cassie. Maybe the memories are just a fluke. Maybe-"
"No, it's you. Remember Halloween when you hit your head. For a moment there, you were that Cassie. The Spanish Princess-well Queen, really. The memories are there, there's just a wall keeping them apart, and I don't know how to tear it down. Although yours was starting to chip away. And before you ask, I have no clue why it's chipping."
"Okay, Are these okay to read wherever?"
"Yeah, they're only a hundred years old. I can put them into new bindings if you'd like. The process to magically maintain an antique is long and complicated, and I really only like doing it to things that can't be preserved in another manner. Books can just be copied onto new bindings and they'll stay the same. What matters there is the content." he said offhandedly.
"No, it's okay. I guess. I think I'll start reading."
"Yeah, I have to grab some books from the other room, and then I'll keep you company while we both read."
"Sounds good." Cassie said, getting herself comfortable on the window seat in the room and starting to read.
"Merlin?" Cassie asked softly after many hours' silence between the two while she lit some lamps.
"Yeah?" he said, putting down what he was reading about mind protection and sitting up to look at her tearful eyes.
"Was there no way to save this Owaine? It seems like Cas- I mean I really loved him. Was there nothing to do?" she whispered sadly, sitting back down on the window seat and watching the stars twinkling up ahead.
"Cassie, you and Owaine were a beautiful couple who loved each other deeply. But he was a Knight at heart, and he took a challenge from a Wraith. They can't be killed, because they're already dead. And they only disappear once they've completed the task they were resurrected for. No magic I used on it did anything, after Owaine died I threw all I had at it, surrounded it with a ring of fire, but nothing I did hurt it. It was unfazed. This sword was the only weapon that could destroy the wraith." he said, walking over to the fireplace as he spoke and holding out Excalibur to her, letting her take it gingerly. "After he died, you shut yourself off from all of us for months. Until my mother came asking King Uther to help against some bandits and you came with us to fight. Cassie, there was nothing we could do to save him, but he was a great warrior, and honorable knight. And you were his world, his everything. It was as plain as the nose on your face. And you loved him just as fervently."
"B-but it says that I saved this Will person! Brought him back from the dead, basically. Why couldn't I do that with Owaine?" she asked as tears flowed down her cheeks.
"You did save Will, but that's only because you didn't care who saw-you'd already admitted to us about your magic- and you were pretty weak for the next six hours, and could barely do any magic after. Took a full day and a half for you to get your strength back. Besides, he wasn't completely dead, Owaine was." Merlin answered softly, kneeling in front of her and handing her a handkerchief.
"I wish I could remember this!" Cassie cried, wrapping her arms around his neck and crying into his shoulder. "I read this, but it's as if I'm reading a novel. I want to remember him, I want to remember what you tell me, but I can't! There has to be some way to tear down that wall you told me about. I can remember bits and pieces when I'm around dementors, I even managed to remember around Leon. And I can remember the funny bits. Why can't I remember when I literally read the words I supposedly wrote? Why, Merlin?" Cassie pleaded with tearful eyes, pulling back and looking into his eyes.
"I honestly don't know. Everything I read is about protecting your mind from others, putting the walls up against outside influence. Here, this is the closest I've gotten to maybe understanding what's blocking your memories, but it sounds more like how the Catha can separate their mind from their body, maybe it's like that." he said, handing her a large, bound volume.
"Maybe if you hit me in the head again, I'll get them back." she said quietly.
"It's late, Cass. Let's have a late night snack and get some rest. You can read some more in the morning." he said, gently taking the volume from her hand and putting it on top of the other books.
"I wa-I need to know how I had children if my worst memory shows me losing a child and being told I couldn't have any. Merlin, I need answers, really. Go to sleep, but I'll stay up reading."
"Cassie, you need rest. All those classes, I see everyone go to sleep before you and you're up far before everyone as well. Not to mention the nightmares and sleepwalking. I'm afraid I must insist that you go to sleep. You look terrible. Read some more tomorrow, and when you get back to school, read then as well. But enough for tonight! Cassie, you can't hurt yourself like this. Maybe you just need to sleep on it, let the memories come while you rest."
"Okay, fine. Goodnight, Merlin." Cassie said dejectedly, looking at him pointedly.
"What?"
"Leave! I have to get changed." Cassie said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Oh, right. Yeah, I'll be in my room, then." he said, leaving the room awkwardly.
"I am so not going to sleep." she mumbled to herself as she donned her pyjamas and settled back down onto the window seat, pulling a soft blanket over her legs and taking the journal, gingerly flipping back to where she'd left off.
"Cassie? Did you stay up all night?" Merlin asked as he closed the door roughly, tray of food in one hand and more books in his other.
"No." she said tiredly. "Maybe." she amended at the disbelieving look he was giving her.
"I'm taking them away tonight." he said, shaking his head.
"Doesn't matter. I read enough of them, and I don't remember any of it. Very few things even sound familiar. Merlin, what if we never remember?" Cassie asked him tearfully.
"I can't say the thought hasn't crossed my mind, but I haven't been practically alone for fifteen hundred years only to give up when I finally have my best friends back. I've done the impossible many times over, I won't give up."
"And what if it's better if we don't?" she said in a small voice.
"What?" he asked, startled by the question.
"What if it's best we don't. From what I've read, the Morgana and Arthur you were friends with were very different, and I don't know how they'll take it. Are we even going to tell them? And if we do, when? I mean it's not like they're going to believe us. They'll just think we've gone crazy from the Dementor's effect." Cassie rambled.
"I hadn't thought of it that way." he said solemnly. "Even if it were up to me, it's not my decision. I can't keep their memories from them. I do want to tell them. I just don't know when. Or how. I only told Arthur of my magic when he was dying and there was nothing I could do to save him. And it's always been one of my biggest regrets."
"What is your biggest regret? You said it was 'one of' your biggest. Y-you don't have to answer, I'm just being nosy and…" Cassie asked, quickly regretting it and telling him so.
"Morgana. She's my biggest regret."
"Me being nosy again, but what happened? Why'd you poison her?"
"Morgause used her as a vessel for a sleeping curse. The only way to stop the curse was to stop the source. Kilgarrah told me the only thing I could do was kill her; I had to choose between the girl I loved, and Arthur. And I chose him." he said sadly.
"Like I always chose her." Cassie breathed out.
"I don't regret choosing him, I regret killing her. After that, she was never my Morgana, the girl I loved. She was a shell of the woman she once was. And It's all my fault."
"She wasn't. Cas-I always saw her as the girl who became the woman-my sister. Listen to this: 'Everyone says she can't be reasoned with, that she's become evil. But I don't see it. Morgana Pendragon only changed in name, she's not evil, she's hurt and betrayed. And alone. I just don't know what to do. How to reach my sister and best friend. I don't even know how to find her. There's a spell, but it's complicated, and I'm not even sure how it works. It says something about visiting her in my dreams, but what that could mean is anyone's guess. It's been over a year since the last time I saw her after the immortal army was defeated. I miss her, and I want to find her, but I know if I talk to her, Merlin and Arthur will hate me. They'll think me a traitor. They didn't see what I did in the throne room. 'Gana's not bad, she has a big heart that's been corrupted by the dark magic Morgause taught her and the lies her father told her. I miss my sister and I wish I knew how to get her to see that. '"
"You didn't mention it? She was a completely different person, Cassie. After she killed her sister and tore open the veil to let the dorocha in, she was far past redeemable. She brought Lancelot back from the dead to break Gwen and Arthur apart, she locked Gwen in the Dark Tower and did the same to you. Cassie, she changed, she hurt everyone she loved, especially you. She stabbed you when you found out she was disguised as Mithian's maid and was planning to lead Arthur into a trap."
"No, that's a lie." Cassie said, shaking her head fervently. "Morgana wouldn't do that to Cas-me. She wouldn't."
"She did, Cassie. She stabbed you while you were pregnant, and if I hadn't found you, you and your children would have died." he told her softly, tears in his eyes.
"No. No, she can't have done that." Cassie said, trying to convince herself more than him.
"She did. I blame the Sarrum. Whatever he did to her for those two years, it broke her and the Morgana you might have seen before then was gone. She was ruthless and cold-blooded, Cassie. She-"
"Stop! I don't want to hear any more of this. Please." Cassie pleaded, shoving the food tray away and pacing the room unsteadily. As tears flowed down her face. "Did you find anything about the dreams and nightmares and all?" Cassie asked, after a few minutes' silence.
"Yeah, these are the journals of a few Seers. Nostradamus, Vasili Menchin, Monk Abel, Madame Lenormand, and Brahan. There should be something in all of them, it's mostly their predictions and prophecies, I got bored halfway through some of them."
"What, no Rasputin?" Cassie asked with a wicked smirk.
"No, that was actually me. I got bored, and I really did help the boy with his hemophilia. The faces of those nobles when I got up after they poisoned and shot me. Gold, really. I let them throw me in the river, after I wrote Nikolai to get his arse back to St. Petersburg."
"No! Ew, gross!" Cassie said with wide eyes, smacking his arm hard. "Did you and the Tsarina have an affair? Were you really that much of a womanizer? Are the orgy rumors true!?" she asked, growing more aghast with every question.
"No, of course we didn't have an affair, she loved Nik, and he was a good friend. And I may have had my fair share of female acquaintances, but not as many orgies as they say, that was the other nobles who pinned it on me; although I did overindulge in the alcohol a little. I was lonely and drowning my sorrows. It'd been over a thousand years and none of you were back yet, and there were plenty of times when Albion needed Arthur." he said, defending himself from her disgusted stare.
"That is a completely new side of you, Merlin, and I think I'll just forget what you told me just now, if that's okay with you." Cassie said, looking at him warily with narrowed eyes.
"Agreed. Now read, maybe you'll find something that can help, I'm going to keep on this other thread. Claude and Apolline are expecting us after lunch." Merlin told her, taking a toast and some sausages and settling down to read some more. "Oh! Actually, before you do that there's something I should show you." Merlin told her, standing back up and rushing out the room.
"Ok, Khlysty." Cassie called after him with a laugh.
"Unproven rumors. I never joined them." he said with a cheeky smile, peeking into the room from the side of the frame while his eyes glowed golden.
"What are you doing?"
"Opening the trunk, it's your original one, but I figure it'll take some time and lots of practice before you can do so yourself." he told her as his eyes faded back to blue and he dragged a trunk into view. "Here, this is your Christmas present."
"You're giving me something that was already mine? And I remember reading about it being a necklace, how was that around my neck?"
"It shrinks. And no, the drawings and paintings are. I did them centuries ago, missed you all and I wanted something to do. Let me tell you, being quarantined during the Black Death was not fun, they saw you out and killed you brutally. Didn't matter that I can't technically die, I had to stay alone inside for months! No outside contact!"
"Yeah, that's an airborne plague for you, stay inside and hope for the best." Cassie agreed sarcastically, rolling her eyes in an exasperated manner.
"No, that's the pneumonic plague, not the bubonic plague. Doesn't matter anyways, martial law for all three. Very annoying, really. Are you going to take this?" he said nonchalantly, holding out a rather large sketch book and another portfolio.
"Merlin, they're beautiful. Remind me a bit of Bo-No, no! Please tell me you're not Botticelli as well!" Cassie said as she examined a few of the sketches in the sketch book her eyes went wide as she thought they'd been the same person.
"No, but I studied under him for a while. Lived with the Medici's and spent decades in Italy. Most of the Renaissance was spent traveling between Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and France. You should see what's in the portfolio. I modified the spell you'd created to make this trunk and used it there. It doesn't shrink, but there's so many paintings in there, you could practically step inside, inadvisable, did that once and ended up having to redo one of the earlier paintings-fell through it-but it's a pretty extensive collection."
"I'm going to need stories. Many, many stories! And why didn't you ever sell these or make them public?" Cassie demanded, gingerly turning the pages and admiring the sketches before deflating.
"What's wrong? You don't like them?" he asked, chewing his lower lip self-consciously when he noticed her reaction.
"I can't tell who's who." she admitted sadly.
"Here, these are from the first feast I attended in Camelot. That's Leon, Owaine, Pellinore-Owaine's brother-and Bruin-Pellinore's best friend-standing by you." he said pointing them each out, "And this is Gwen, Morgana and yourself making your big entrance." he said, turning the page gently and showing her.
"Beautiful dresses. I bet every guy there was drooling."
"Yes, I can tell you with certainty that even the Prince himself was open-mouthed at the three of you." Merlin said with a grin.
"Are these the Knights of the Round Table?" Cassie asked when she stopped at a sketch of six knights sitting around a campfire.
"Yeah, Leon and Arthur. Next to Leon is Percival and then Lancelot, and Gwaine and Elyan are opposite them." he said pointing them each out.
"Where are you?"
"Cooking." he replied as if it was obvious.
"Forgive me for forgetting you were their mother, Khlysty." Cassie teased, throwing her hands up in mock surrender.
"There's actually two I really want to show you, just give me a second to get them out of here." Merlin said, opening the portfolio and peeking in before reaching his arm in until the shoulder and taking out one of the two. "It's your and Owaine's wedding. Wasn't invited to your wedding with Percival." he said resentfully.
"Don't have an answer for you, sorry."
"I do, you left with Alice-Gaius' love that got away- because you had a fight with Morgana and with Leon. Seven months later you show up, married to Percival and ready to help us against Morgana."
"I think we've established I wasn't helping you against Morgana. I just wanted my friend back." Cassie said softly as she took the painting he was holding out and blushed furiously at how Owaine was untying a rather revealing nightdress with her breasts pushed up criminally high. "Merlin! What the-I-I mean wh- I thought this was supposed to be my wedding!"
"It is. Weddings back then had to have witnesses for the consummation. That tradition lasted many more centuries."
"I-I know! There's plenty of paintings about it, I just wasn't expecting to be the subject of one of them!" Cassie cried, her face redder than it had ever been before.
"Cassie, it wasn't lewd or anything. We didn't actually see that much, Owaine made sure of that. Just enough to have proof for the witnesses and then we were on our merry way. But I remembered that look he gave you just before; completely adoring and loving and thought that if I were to ever let my paintings be seen, it would be one of the better ones. You two were actually my inspiration for Titania and Bottom. After all, 'reason and love keep little company together.' Right, Cassie?" he said, adding the last to see if she caught on with a smirk.
"Did you just call me- Merlin you cheater! You're the Bard!?" Cassie gasped, completely floored at the revelation.
"I am, you also inspired Rosalind and Beatrice, although Morgana influenced more of Rosalind and you and Leon were Beatrice and Benedick, even though you ended up with Percival. The will-they-won't-they with you two was serious!"
"I hate you, you know that! Who else were you? Seriously? So I know what games not to play with you-anything Shakespeare or Rasputin related is now off the table."
"Stories for another time, Cass." Merlin told her with a glint in his eyes, "The cherry on top, I discovered electricity." he whispered to her conspiratorially.
"No!"
"No, I didn't really. But I love your face there." he said with a teasing laugh. "Here. I saved this for last for a reason." he said, handing her the last portrait.
"Are these…?" she asked breathlessly, pushing all she learned about him to the side for now.
"Yeah. They are. Agloval's your firstborn. Blanchefleur's his twin sister, Owaine's your third son, Claudin and Dindrane, your fourth son and youngest daughter." he told her, pointing to each in turn.
"They're really mine?" Cassie asked hopefully, her eyes tearing up as she ran her fingers gently over their faces. "They're beautiful!"
"They are really yours." he affirmed with a smile. "And they grew up beautifully.I looked in on them every now and then, but I couldn't bring myself to go back to Camelot."
"Merlin, thank you! This is wonderful!" Cassie said, setting the painting aside carefully and hugging him tightly.
"Knew I had to one up you this year." he said with a shrug, blushing at the praise and returning the hug when she started to sob. "Cassie?"
"I wish I remembered them! I don't care about my Seer dreams right now," Cassie declared, completely ignoring the books Merlin had given her to read earlier and carefully returning the paintings to the portfolio and closing the sketchbook, putting them into the trunk gingerly. "I need to know how to return my memories! Can you close the trunk and bring it back to size?"
"Sure." he said, whispering the incantation under his breath and bringing it back to size, clasping the chain around her neck quickly and handing her one of the books. "They're in Runes, I'll get the Syllabary for you." he told her, summoning the book in question with his magic and sitting beside her with another of the large tomes and reading from where he left off.
"Master Merlin, it is lunchtime already. Would you like me to prepare some food, or will you be eating elsewhere?" Crissy asked, popping into the room and bowing immediately.
"We'll be eating with the Delacours, Crissy thank you. Make sure the leftover food doesn't go to waste. You may keep it if you wish, or do with it as you see fit, but I don't want it to go to waste."
"Yes Master. Is there anything else you want done before I start covering the furniture for your absence?"
"No, Crissy. Thank you. You may go." he dismissed her.
"Mistress, Master." she said, bowing low to each of them and popping out.
"You should get the books you want to take with you to read. If you leave any we can just Floo back or whatever." he told her as he walked to the door to let her get ready. "And consider the makeup thing that covers the purple circles under your eyes. You look horrible."
"Gee thanks, Khlysty." Cassie said with a smirk as she felt her magic stir the air and close the door on his face.
"Knew you would start to remember how to use your Old Magic!" he called through the closed door.
"Shut up, Merlin!" she called back.
