Camelot
November, 508 AD
Arthur led the way through a snowstorm with decisive strides. Dallas, Merlin and I walked some metres behind him. I decided to use my own feet, rather than ride my horse, in an attempt to help him to conserve his energy, seeing as it's nearly impossible to get him any forage in these climatic conditions.
My brother and I spoke in hushed whispers as he told me all about their adventures in being kidnapped. Apparently, they reunited with a figure from the past...
"Wait, Mordred?! Are you sure?!" I asked, my eyes as wide as plates.
"Unfortunately," he responded with a sigh.
I pouted a little, feeling a pang in my chest as I remembered the time when Mordred healed me from a small slash to the arm. "That sucks. He was such a nice child."
"He did form a special connection with Morgana from the start, though," Merlin pointed out.
"Well, at least he still has some respect for you and Art," I mumbled.
"In a way, I suppose."
I nodded and we fell silent for a minute. Then a crazy thought crossed my mind and I turned to look up at Merlin, my eyes widening again. "Wait – how old is he now?"
He frowned as he responded, "I don't know. Sixteen? Seventeen?"
A puff pushed past my lips. "I was seventeen when I met you..."
"Yes. That was over five years ago."
"D'ya know what this means?!" I asked in a dramatic panic.
The sorcerer seemed amused as he inquired, "What?"
"I'm an old lady now!"
He bursted out in giggles, which caused Arthur to glance back at us for a moment with a puzzled look on his gorgeous face.
"I need to start investin' in a retirement fund!" I continued.
Merlin laughed harder. "That is not a thing yet, Astra!"
"Really? That's sad. We should make it a thing."
"That would actually be very nice."
"I know, right?"
Silence befell us for a few more minutes and all that could be heard was the wild howling of the wind as it brought with it more flakes of snow that continued to pile on top of the land. I inwardly cursed myself for never thinking of buying any gloves as my hands began to turn red and go numb. I pulled the sleeves of my hoodie down to cover them, hoping that that might avert a frostbite. I don't really feel like losing a finger.
"Oh! And, Astra," Merlin called my attention again in a much quieter whisper as he stepped closer to me.
"Yeah?"
"Mordred told me what the captives are searching for," he revealed, causing my eyes to widen once more. "They are digging tunnels under Ismere in search of something. Something called the Diamair."
I scrunched up my face. "What's that?"
"He said that it means 'the key to all knowledge'."
I stopped walking for a second, feeling slightly stunned by the heaviness of the words. Then I composed myself and kept moving, trying to appear unaffected. "So like a medieval Google?"
Merlin chuckled under his breath and shook his head. "I suppose so."
"Huh. And all my generation has to do is get some Wi-Fi. Lucky us."
The sorcerer threw an arm over my shoulders and regarded me for a second before quirking an eyebrow. "You're still sleep-deprived, are you not?"
"Oh, yeah. Very," I responded monotonously.
He sighed, but said nothing and we fell silent again, soon catching up to match Arthur's pace.
My King stopped atop a hill and he nodded towards a large stone tower that stood about a kilometre in the distance. It wasn't a pretty building like the ones I normally see around; but a square, dull, asymmetric one whose architect could've spent a little more time studying Brunelleschi and a little less time studying Picasso – 'cause the darn thing looked like a cubist nightmare in 3D.
"Ugly like the witches' twisted souls," I mumbled. "Makes sense."
"It looks like a death trap," Merlin contributed.
"You know what they say – appearances can be deceiving," Arthur adorably claimed.
A small smirk formed on my lips. "Maybe it's like H. H. Holmes's 'murder hotel'."
"You disturb me," my brother stated as he looked down at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Thanks."
Arthur looked between us for a moment, then he scoffed and shook his head. "All right. Let us find a place to hide Dallas before we go in."
I lifted my gaze to his pretty face and smiled. "You're so smart."
He smiled back and my heart skipped a beat.
Merlin promptly circled my wrist with his hand and began to drag me down the hill as he grumbled, "Stop that. You make me feel nauseated."
I giggled as I allowed him to tug me along.
"Hey! Unhand my wife!" Arthur snarled as he followed after us.
"She was my friend before you even knew her," Merlin argued, not letting go of me even as he got a deadly glare from my King.
"And yet I know her more deeply than you ever will," the King snapped back with a challenging raise of his eyebrows.
"Ew!" my brother cried and he released me before speeding up.
"Well, this is entertaining," I mumbled to myself as my cheeks heated up. Then I stumbled slightly as a wave of dizziness hit me. Lucky for me, Arthur was quick to steady me as a concerned look replaced the grumpy one he'd been sporting. "I'm fine," I assured him and slipped my hand into his before starting to walk again.
It's interesting to find that the danger of frostbite could've been averted from the start simply by having his warm gloved hand encase mine… My other hand I shoved into the pocket of my jacket.
It wasn't long after when we found a big dried oak tree in a valley that had been partly buried by the layers of snow. It seemed like a reasonably safe place for Dallas to dwell in while the three of us went into the cubist nightmare. So I slung my duffel bag over a branch, only taking the essentials with me, and I commanded the Thoroughbred to stay in place. I whispered a quick prayer for his well-being and kissed his muzzle before reluctantly parting from him.
Picking up the pace a little, us humans hurried the rest of the way towards the tower and then we hid amongst some mounds of snow so that we could check out the perimeter to determine the best way to get inside.
It was during that course of action that the kidnappers' party emerged from a cloud of snow on the direct path to the main entrance of the building.
I couldn't help but grin proudly at the sight of the scorched cart and the significantly reduced amount of belongings that it carried. I was also glad to see that they weren't dragging so many prisoners anymore.
"You should have killed him when you had the chance," Merlin muttered, his words aimed at Arthur, while he glared at a passing figure. Mordred.
"He's just a kid, dude," I scolded while nudging his side. "Who knows what Madame Mim could have over him?"
"I remember you saying the same thing about Thanata once," Merlin noted while giving me a pointed look. I narrowed my eyes at him, not liking his jab at the memories from the stupid fool's errand I orchestrated at the beginning of the year. But I didn't say anything else on the matter.
He sighed and turned to Arthur as he said, "We'll never make it in there."
"There is always a way, Merlin," my King stated while his pretty eyes ran up and down the building.
"I have a feeling we're not gonna like this is goin'," I whispered to my brother.
A half-hour later found us crawling through the waste ducts of the tower and enduring the worst smell in the history of awful smells as we trudged along mouldy food, spilled drinks, and likely other stuff I don't want to think about.
My brother took the lead, with me in the middle for protection, or whatever; and Arthur was last.
"How did you talk us into this?" Merlin asked Arthur in a whisper.
"It is genius, Merlin," my King defended.
Honestly, it kind of is. And I was about to say so, but was cut off by a dump of wasted food suddenly being poured on top of my brother. I quickly turned to press my nose and mouth against my shoulder, not wanting any of the debris to get inside my organism.
"Genius," Merlin echoed with a scoff as he turned back to glare at Arthur.
"That's just bad luck," I pointed out with a shrug while inwardly dreading the moment when I would have to pass over the spot he's currently occupying.
"You have got a bit of, um..." Arthur addressed Merlin, "carrot in your hair." The sorcerer groaned and quickly ran a hand over his black mop. "At least I hope it is carrot," my King added in a mumble, causing me to snort.
"Move," my brother told me while gesturing for me to press against the wall as he fisted a bunch of gross food. Instantly knowing what he was going to do, I got out of the way and giggled when Arthur almost got a mouthful of waste, which pulled a disgusted sound out of him.
Merlin hummed in satisfaction and kept on moving.
I glanced back at my King and pouted. "Great. I won't be able to get that outta my mind the next time I kiss ya'."
"Good. You can do much better than him, anyway," my brother grumbled, causing me to snort.
As if anyone could be better.
Some minutes later, we made it out of the ducts and into a dark storage room. I almost instinctively reached for my phone in the pocket of my leggings so that I could turn on the flashlight, but I froze halfway through unzipping it and discarded the action when I remembered where I am – and more importantly, who is with me.
Arthur peeked out of the room and stayed motionless for a few moments, then he waved Merlin and I over and we rushed outside, following him to who-knows-where.
He seems to have a surprisingly good knowledge of the building's layout.
We creeped along the narrow corridors until we got to a window. Night had now descended upon the British isles once more, and a couple of men in black fur coats carrying torches sauntered along a snow-covered patio in the middle of the tower. I was surprised to find an opening to a cave at the back of it, along with a wooden rail that came out of it.
A pair of shirtless men gathered around a mine cart while unloading stuff onto a wheelbarrow. I flinched and swallowed a gasp when an enemy soldier whipped one of them, yelling something I couldn't make out.
"Ready?" Arthur asked, his eyes fixed on the cart.
"For what?" Merlin asked.
"Our carriage awaits," my King replied before taking off down the corridor once more.
"Real life Minecraft," I commented while grinning up at my brother. "Fun."
"Shut up. You're sleep deprived," he said for the trillionth time in the span of a couple of weeks and he grabbed my arm as he dragged me behind Arthur.
"I'm aware, thank you," I sassed in a whisper.
"Then stop talking about things from the future in front of him," he scolded in an even lower voice.
Ah. Oops.
Arthur led us down a spiral staircase. He quickly grabbed my hand when we reached the bottom and he pressed my back against a wall perpendicular to the one lining the courtyard. Merlin was quick to hide with us just seconds before a troop of enemy soldiers marched by.
Once we were in the clear, the King kissed my forehead and he intertwined our fingers before starting to lead the way closer to the mine cart.
We hid behind a square column while my brother crouched behind a stack of crates.
The enemies that had littered the courtyard when we saw it from the window had since dispersed, and only two remained in sight.
Arthur leaned down to whisper in my ear, "Go to the captives. Inform them that we plan to break them out and ask them to hide us in their cart." I nodded in understanding. Then he motioned for Merlin to take out one of the remaining enemies, and for himself to take out the other.
The plan worked to perfection and, soon, we were uncomfortably cramped up inside the stupidly confined cart and being transported deep into the tunnels without a single enemy realising what was going on right under their noses.
The maybe three minutes that we spent in there felt like an eternity and I was suffocating. All remnants of the cold climate promptly left my senses as I became flooded with a volcanic heat from being underground and squeezed in between my two boys like a canned sardine squished under a mountain of other groceries.
Finally, the guy I spoke to before getting in the cart whispered that we were good to come out, and I hurried to move aside the long piece of cloth that covered the top of the vehicle while gasping for air.
My eyes widened in horror as soon as I saw what surrounded us: a sea of sweaty shirtless men mining the cave for... medieval Google, I suppose. "Gross! It's like a freaking public bathhouse in here!" I cried.
Arthur rapidly turned me around and held my head to his chest, shielding my eyes. He gallantly lifted me out of the cart and gently pushed me in front of him as he, Merlin and I moved to hide behind a couple of big rocks; just in time for a pair of enemy guards to march by.
"The place is crawling with Saxons," Merlin noted in a whisper.
"Then we had better make sure we blend in," Arthur responded.
"Well, I'm not gonna take my shirt off," I mumbled.
Luckily, none of us had to. We conveniently found a wooden trunk that contained some guard uniforms and we pulled them over our normal clothes. Only, the one I wore fit more like a dress, coming down almost to my knees.
"You sure this'll work?" I asked my King, then I bit on my bottom lip as I looked down at myself.
"It will have to," he replied. "Let your hair down and keep your head low."
I sighed and begrudgingly removed my hair tie before quickly undoing my braid. Arthur looked me up and down and nodded in satisfaction before starting to lead the way through the tunnels in search of our guys.
"I look like one of those feral children, don't I?" I asked Merlin in a whisper. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Like the girl in 'Supernatural' who was livin' in the walls of a farmhouse?"
"Astra – focus."
I huffed, but shut up and kept my gaze on the ground. Then I started to roll along a stone with my foot, just to give myself something to focus on as the dryness in my eyes caused reality to seem blurry and acquire a jelly-like texture. Also, I still didn't want to look at the shirtless men – they're not my husband.
Suddenly, I ran into a sturdy wall and grunted as I lifted my gaze to find that Arthur had stopped moving without warning. He sent me a pointed glance and then he nodded towards something. I followed his motions and my jaw dropped when I saw none other than a shirtless Percival, who was pushing a mine cart along a rail.
I looked up at my King again and we shared a small grin, then he stepped towards the knight, while Merlin and I remained slightly behind, and he placed a hand on his shoulder, instantly gaining his attention.
Percival smiled when his eyes landed on us. "Arthur! Astra!"
"And Merlin," Merlin piped in, earning an annoyed look from the King.
"You did not think we would just leave you here, did you?" Arthur asked the tall blond, a small smirk forming on his somewhat chapped lips. The knight's smile grew. "Where are the others?"
"Gwaine?" I questioned further.
"They are, uh," Percival paused to take a sideways glance, "scattered around. I saw Gwaine a couple of days ago, but..."
My heart-beat began to speed up. Did Morgana hurt him?! Is he gone?!
Merlin slipped his hand into mine and gave me a gentle squeeze when I looked up at him. My vision blurred further as stupid baby tears pooled in my eyes. I hate feeling so helpless!
Arthur discreetly put his sword inside the mine cart that Percival was handling. "See if you can use it to find some more," he instructed in a whisper. The knight nodded. "Do what you can to free the others, we will find Gwaine."
I let out a shaky sigh and gave Percival an attempt at a grin when he sent me a seemingly sympathetic smile as we walked past him.
I kept my hold on Merlin's hand as Arthur led us deeper into the mine and to some smaller tunnels that seemed to be deserted. He stole a torch and we hurried down the passages. My lungs soon began to cower as the space got smaller, and I inwardly scolded my body for being so dramatic.
A commotion sounded in the distance and echoed through the cave along with the faint ringing of bells. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Percival made a move and started the revolution against Morgana's minions. I found a sense of hope in that thought and grasped onto it as I mentally prayed that we would find Gwaine in the depths of the underground excavations.
My prayers were answered when Gwaine – who was also shirtless – suddenly leaped out of nowhere and tried to attack Arthur. Luckily, my King was quick to stop him and the knight froze for a second while blinking rapidly.
"Trust you not to be doing any work," Arthur quipped.
Gwaine snorted and patted his shoulder as he said, "It is about time." Then his gaze moved on to Merlin, then to me and our eyes connected. A big relieved smile formed on my lips as I let out a long sigh, my heart-beat finally steadying.
"Hi, Gwainester," I greeted him.
"It is great to see you, Trae," he responded with a gentle grin.
"I'd hug you, but..." I trailed off and shifted uncomfortably in the face of his lack of clothing.
"You can save it for later," he replied, his smile turning amused.
I nodded and then allowed my gaze to travel up to Arthur, only to find a puzzled look on his pretty face as he stared at something deeper into the cave. I followed his line of sight and recoiled when my eyes landed on a skinny, glowing, alien-like creature with a humanoid face and an elongated skull; who/which was perched upon a rock.
I blinked rapidly for a few seconds. Maybe it's just a hallucination from sleep deprivation? However, the creature remained there, unmoving as it stared at us with concern in its dark eyes that held an air of wisdom.
"These are my friends. They will not hurt you," Gwaine assured the thing. It finally moved and stood up, revealing a long figure as it walked away and disappeared behind some rocky formations.
"What in the 'Men In Black' was that?!" I questioned.
"I am not exactly sure," Gwaine responded. "But I owe it my life."
I raised an eyebrow, my gaze still fixed on the spot where the creature had been. "Well, remind me to send it a 'thank you' card when we get home."
With that absurdity out of the way, Arthur let out a sigh and began to lead the way back where we came from. Merlin and I instantly started to follow him, only for Gwaine to grab us by an arm each and hold us back for a moment. "She is here," he whispered, making my eyes widen and my breath hitch. "I caught a glimpse of her, but I was not able to get close."
My heart-rate began to accelerate once more, this time fuelled by hope. My brother and I shared a stunned look before we returned our attention to the knight, who gave us a reassuring nod.
The three of us started walking again, lest Arthur start to question why we stopped.
"We need to find a way to separate from him," Merlin said in a low tone.
"No sh*t, Watson," I muttered, earning a glare.
We caught up to Arthur as he crossed an empty chamber, which had been crawling with captives and enemies not ten minutes ago. I shared a wary look with my brother. Either Percival did a very good job of freeing the men and getting rid of Morgana's minions, or...
"Something is wrong," Merlin voiced my thoughts, causing Arthur to halt and turn to him with a questioning look. "The Saxons - where have they all gone?"
"First there are too many, now there are not enough. Are you ever happy?" my King shot back with an annoyed glance, then he kept walking without another thought.
"Freaking himbo," I grunted under my breath.
My body jolted when a faint roar echoed through the tunnels and I froze in my spot before exchanging glances with my brother and my best friend. The roar sounded again, now slightly louder. Merlin and I pushed to the front of the pack, since the noise seemed to be coming from the direction towards which we were walking.
Hope bloomed within me when yet another roar filled the space, shaking the Earth as it got closer.
I reached to grip Merlin's hand tightly and he squeezed back.
Suddenly, a large, pale grey blur came barrelling towards us while snarling. I wasn't allowed to react, for Arthur quickly grabbed me and shoved me into another tunnel and to the ground, shielding me with his body, while the figure blazed past us.
I sat up as soon as the sound of its steps grew faint and I instantly searched for Merlin, who was already staring at me with widened eyes. He nodded in confirmation as soon as our gazes connected and my breath got stuck in my throat. I scrambled to my feet and returned to the stretch of tunnel we were previously in, staring in the direction that the creature went.
"Where did Morgana get a dragon from?!" Arthur questioned in alarm.
I would've smiled, but other doubts swam in my mind – how will we ever get her out with Arthur in the way?!
I'd knock him out, but I know that I could never bring myself to harm him in any way, no matter what the reason.
Merlin moved to stand beside me while Arthur and Gwaine remained crouched down in the perpendicular tunnel. My eyes travelled towards the knight and he gave me a reassuring nod.
"Get Gwaine back to Percival. I will lure the dragon the other way," Merlin told my King and then he turned to look at me. I raised my eyebrows, silently challenging him to tell me to stay back. He sighed.
"Merlin, I knew you were stupid, but not that stupid," Arthur shot at him.
"No, I really am that stupid, and if you don't believe me, watch..." my brother retorted quickly before taking off.
"I'm stupid, too!" I chirped and I didn't waste a nanosecond before joining him, both of us sharing a momentary concerned glance as we ignored Arthur's frantic shouts for us to get back. I know that he's gonna be pissed at me for breaking my promise, but I can't worry about that. We finally have Aithusa within our reach and I'm not about to let her slip away.
My brother made a brilliant move in causing a slight rock fall behind us, hopefully complicating any efforts that Arthur might make in coming after us. I prayed that that would buy us enough time to find the dragon and figure out a way to get her out of this hell.
We blazed through the tunnel system in whatever direction Merlin determined we go for about a minute, until he skidded to a stop and held an arm out to keep me back. I tilted my head as I looked up at him. Then my eyes widened when I heard some low raspy whimpering sounds in the near distance.
I remained slightly behind my brother as he stopped at a corner and I saw him tense up when he peeked around it. He sent me a stormy glance before continuing to move and I followed.
My heart clenched when my eyes finally landed on Aithusa and I gasped as I took her in. She was incredibly skinny, her skeleton almost fully visible under her dulled scales. Her eyes were sunken in, the once vibrant blue colour of her irises now a pale tone that made them look almost grey. Her trembling body cowered as she backed herself into a corner. Almost as if she were scared of us.
Tears pooled in my eyes and I had to bite my lip to hold back a sob.
Without a warning, she blew some fire out of her mouth. Merlin was quick to use his magic to stop the blast from hitting us.
I crouched down in hopes that she might not be so intimidated, and I addressed her in a soft tone, "Ai, it's us."
My brother copied my actions beside me and let out a shaky breath before speaking as well, "We are your friends, remember? Merlin and Astra."
Aithusa whimpered and lowered her head even more as remorse flashed through her eyes. Then she took a couple of slow steps towards us, creeping closer little by little until she was near enough for us to touch her. Merlin raised a tentative hand and we both sighed in relief when she pressed her head against it and closed her eyes, letting out a long exhale.
"We're gonna get you outta here," I assured her in a whisper. She perked up a little at that, not moving away from my brother's touch. My body itched to reach for her and embrace her, but I restrained myself, knowing that she more than likely endured some trauma at the hands of humans and I didn't want to overwhelm her.
"W-who did this to you?" Merlin asked her in a shaky voice that suggested he was close to crying.
She responded with some grunting noises, almost as if she were attempting to speak, but no actual words came out, and I shared a worried look with my brother.
"Astraea! Merlin!" Arthur's voice boomed through the tunnels. Aithusa tensed up again and backed away.
I gulped and turned to my brother with the first plan that popped into my head, "Get her out. I'll go to him n' tell him that I lost you, then I'll lead him in the other direction. We can meet up where we left Dallas."
"Astraea! Merlin!"
"All right. Be careful," Merlin responded.
I reached up to kiss his cheek and whispered, "You, too." We shared a nod of silent agreement and I took one last heart-shattering glance at Aithusa before running out of the chamber and in the direction I heard Arthur's voice coming from.
I was slightly confused when I didn't hear Arthur again, and I gripped my sword tightly while navigating the dark tunnels on my own, half-fearing that more aliens would come out and abduct me.
A yelp caused my heart to freeze for a second and I accelerated towards the sound.
Some little distance later, I began hearing faint voices. As I moved nearer, I was able to make out whom they belonged to – Arthur and Morgana. My stomach churned and I pushed myself to run faster.
Another yelp caused my lungs to get heavy.
I finally found the pair in another chamber of the cave. My heart dropped when I saw a dazed Arthur on the ground, looking pained while clutching his side, and with a floating dagger pointed at his throat. Obviously, Morgana was the one controlling the weapon. And freaking Mordred stood some metres behind her.
Where the heck is Thanata?
"You are right to cower before my hand," the witch snarled. "I am more powerful than you can imagine."
"And yet, with all that, you choose to do nothing but hate," Arthur responded.
"Uther taught me well," Morgana smirked evilly. "Goodbye, Arthur Pend–"
"Hey!" I made my presence known before she could hurt him further.
Her gaze darted towards me and I saw no other option but to try to tackle her. A dumb decision on my behalf, because she used her magic to send me flying backwards before I could get too close and I hit a rocky wall before falling to the ground with a groan.
Pain shot up my spine and I wouldn't be surprised if I had a concussion.
"Astraea – get out of here!" Arthur cried.
A wave of Morgana's hand caused his head to bounce backwards with an audible smack and my nervous system suddenly felt as if it'd been claimed by frostbite. The visible rise and fall of his chest kept me from going completely numb.
Morgana sauntered over to me, a taunting smirk playing on her lips. "Why, Astra, it seems you are determined to die by my hand," she said as she kneeled down next to me, her floating dagger now pointed at my heart. "How flattering."
As long as her attention stays on me, I might be able to stall her long enough for someone to come and help us and save Arthur! Gwaine and Percival will surely come back if we're gone for too long, right?!
"You got me," I responded with a wink. "Just promise you'll make it epic. A dagger to the heart is kinda lame." She tilted her head, her smirk growing. "I want a blaze of glory, y'know? An 'I am Iron-Man' moment. To get swarmed by a legion of Demobats–"
"Do you ever make sense?" she cut me off as she moved the dagger closer to where another millimetre would be sure to cut through my clothes and get to my skin.
I gulped before responding, "I would argue that sense is subjective. For example, I don't think it makes sense for you to try to kill Art, seeing as he's never done anything to hurt you. But, obviously, you think diff–"
I stopped talking when anger flashed through her eyes and she moved the dagger to my throat. In my defence, I never said I'm good at talking down villains. Still, I kept going.
"Really? You wanna end the party so soon? 'Cause I know from experience how much you like playin' with your food. Aren't you gonna torture me a little, first?" I challenged. "Try to break my mind again, maybe?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Arthur's eyes fluttering open for a moment before they closed again. If I keep Morgana engaged long enough for him to recover a little, he might be able to disarm Mordred and use his sword to neutralise her!
"And with Artie – there are fates worse than death, y'know? Like watching your own kingdom fall to its knees before your magic sister? Now that would be a fun way for you to get whatever revenge you think you need against him, no?" I kept speaking, watching in slight amusement as her eyes widened in bewilderment.
"You are mad!" she accused.
"All the best people are!" I chirped in response.
Where the heck are the knights?!
Morgana smirked again, a macabre glint in her eyes. "You are right, of course, Astraea. There are fates worse than death," she noted. I raised my eyebrows and nodded. My lungs cowered when she pressed the dagger against my neck, nicking my skin. "I am going to make him watch as I cut you open piece by piece!" she roared. I glanced at Arthur again and saw that his eyes were still closed. "I will feed your intestines to the crows, and your heart to the wolves. He will watch helplessly as you slowly waste away. He will be begging for death by the time I am done with you!"
My eyes widened as my lungs froze. I'm not gonna lie – her words shook me to my core. And, even more so, the sincerity with which she said them. I haven't a single doubt that she would be willing to follow through. Glancing behind her, I saw that even Mordred – who had creeped closer to us – seemed disturbed.
However, I couldn't allow myself to look shaken. So I quickly restored my smirk as I replied, "See? Now you're gettin' it."
Morgana fisted the collar of my hoodie and shoved me backwards. I swallowed a groan when my head collided with the rocky wall again. "We are going to have so much fun together, Astraea," she said with a wicked smirk.
Suddenly, she grunted and went still, her eyes widening. The floating dagger fell onto my lap. Then she released me and toppled to her side while clutching her abdomen.
My gaze travelled upwards to find none other than Mordred standing over her, holding a bloodied dagger in his hand.
"Mordred?" the witch breathed out.
Damn.
I watched as her eyes rolled backwards and she lost consciousness, then I returned my attention to the teenager, who gave me a nod.
I scrambled to my feet and rushed to Arthur's side, falling to my knees beside him as I hurried to check his pulse. I sighed in relief when I found that it was steady and I moved my hand to the side of his face, gently brushing my thumb against his cheek.
"Artie – wake up," I whispered to him. "You missed the fun plot twist." When no movement came, I moved my free hand to fist the front of his shirt and shook him a little. "Dude, your eyes are way too pretty for you to keep 'em closed." Nothing. My bottom lip began to tremble. I shook him harder. "Arthur! Please!"
"He hit his head pretty hard," I heard Mordred say in a low voice as he moved to kneel beside me. "Allow me to heal him."
I turned to him, feeling a bit sceptical. On the one hand, he's been helping Morgana. On the other hand, he did just save my butt.
Finally, I sighed and nodded before giving him space to work.
I kept my gaze fixed on the boy, ready to defend Arthur if he tried anything, and I watched as he placed a hand on his forehead. Then he closed his eyes and whispered some unintelligible words. A faint white glow came out of his hand. It lasted only a couple of seconds before it receded and Mordred sighed before stepping back. He turned to look at me and grinned a little as he stated, "He will be all right."
As if on cue, Arthur's eyes opened and I dashed to his side again. "Artie!"
He smiled a little and reached to grab my hand. "Hello, beautiful."
I breathed out a chuckle and placed my free hand on his cheek before pressing my lips to his. Only for a few seconds, 'cause I didn't want to make Mordred uncomfortable.
"You scared the crap outta me, you freaking jerk!" I scolded with narrowed eyes.
"And you broke your promise."
I huffed, "Fine. Then I guess we're even." He gave me a pointed look, but said nothing else. "Can you stand?"
Arthur slowly sat up before gradually rising to his feet. I stood up with him and clutched his arm tightly, afraid that he might collapse again.
"I am all right, my darling," he assured me. I sighed and nodded, then I slid my hand down to lace my fingers with his.
I saw his gaze move onto Mordred, who remained in the room. His head was low and there was a look of remorse in his eyes.
"Uh. Mordred helped us. He saved our lives," I told Arthur.
He moved closer to the boy and offered his free hand for a handshake. A small smile formed on Mordred's lips as he took it and sighed shakily. "Thank you," Arthur said sincerely.
"I am simply repaying the favour," Mordred responded a bit timidly. Then he offered to lead us out of the caves and out of the tower. We shared a hesitant glance, then exchanged a nod before accepting.
Halfway through the tunnels, we ran into Gwaine and Percival. Both of them looked frantic. The latter sported a long gash over his ribcage, while the former had a scratch on his cheek.
"Are you all right?" Percival asked us.
"Never better," I responded with a lopsided grin.
"We tried to get to you earlier, but Thanata got in the way," Gwaine said with a clenched jaw and he gestured towards Percival's wound. "We knocked her out, though."
"Cool. Let's get outta here before she wakes up, then," I stated and started to walk again, pulling Arthur with me.
The exhaustion of the mission (and the past six months) began to really catch up with me as I trudged along the snow, my hand still holding firmly onto Arthur's. Percival, Gwaine, the rest of the knights who were with them on their quest, and Mordred walked behind us. My legs felt slightly unsteady, my breathing was slower than normal, and my eyelids seemed to have become heavier as I struggled to keep them open.
Sunrise was approaching, the luminary creating a thin layer of a vibrant orange light on the horizon that challenged the otherwise dark atmosphere.
A big grin formed on my lips when I spotted a smiley Merlin in the distance, standing near Dallas, and I let go of Arthur's hand to take off running towards them.
I jumped to hug my brother and he wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and spun me in the air for a moment before he set me down and hugged me tightly. I closed my eyes while resting my forehead against his chest and took a deep breath.
"Is it over? Is it finally over?" I asked in a whisper.
"It is over, Astra," he responded in the same manner. "Kilgharrah and Phoenix came to get her. She is home."
Tears of joy formed in my eyes and I squeezed him tightly as a huge wave of peace covered my every being, relaxing every muscle that has been tense since May, and a tingling feeling began to spread through my nervous system.
"Everything is all right now," he added softly.
The world faded into nothingness.