Camelot
December, 508 AD
Gwen was promptly placed down on the cot in the physician's chambers and Gaius immediately began his inspection to assess what sort of damage the fire might've caused, with Merlin helping him as best he could. I could tell that he was trying hard not to let his emotions get the best of him as his hands trembled, and I wanted nothing more than to comfort him. But when I moved to do so, he asked me to get Arthur, so that's what I did.
"You know this was Uther," my brother said in an accusatory tone as soon as I returned with the King beside me.
"We do not know what happened," Arthur countered weakly as he scanned Gwen's unconscious figure.
"So Gwen mysteriously ended up locked in the pantry, which just mysteriously caught fire?" Merlin asked with a scoff. "You said yourself, Uther disapproved of you and Astra taking counsel from her."
"He would not do this," Arthur claimed stubbornly.
I grabbed his hand and gave him a gentle squeeze, effectively shifting his attention onto me. "Artie – please," I spoke as gently as I could, "we know that this is hard for you, but our friends are getting attacked and we need to do something."
He sighed and averted his gaze. I clenched my jaw in annoyance.
"What's the prognosis, Pops?" I asked while turning to Gaius, who was now mixing a draught for my still unconscious friend.
"The smoke has entered her lungs, but with time she will heal," he responded. I sighed in relief. "She was lucky to escape with her life," he added gravely while casting one glance towards Arthur.
"I have always known my father could be cruel, but why would he do this to Guinevere?" the King wondered with a stormy look in his eyes. I bit back a snarky response. He sighed and turned to ask Gaius, "What do you know about ghosts?"
Merlin moved from his resting place beside Gwen towards the work table and took over Gaius's current task, allowing the physician to move towards the kitchen bench and get the book he'd been reading earlier. He opened it on a page that was marked and handed it to Arthur before explaining, "We must force Uther's spirit to return to the other world before he does any more harm. You must use the Horn of Cathbhadh to reopen the veil between the worlds. But, we must remember one thing: only the person who summoned the spirit can force it from this world."
"Sounds fun. When do we start?" I asked.
"I am sorry to have doubted you, Astra," Arthur said as soon as we entered our room after leaving Gaius's apartment. The physician needs some time without distractions so that he can work on a very elaborate potion that will allow us to see ghosts, and thus, to hunt Uther.
That's a bizarre sentence, isn't it?
"S'all right," I waved him off. "I know that Merls n' I aren't the most serious of people, and that none of this is easy to take in."
"No, Astra, you are my wife. I should never doubt anything that comes out of your mouth, no matter how crazy it may sound," he countered with a slight head-shake while stepping closer to me and placing his hands on my upper arms.
I tried to ignore the acrobatic way in which my heart reacted at the first half of his statement and gave him a little smirk as I responded, "I dunno, I think that a little scepticism is always healthy."
"Would you please just accept the apology?" he grumbled.
I snorted and reached up to kiss him for a moment. "Fine. Apology accepted."
I was about to kiss him again, feeling like I was melting under the soft gaze he was giving me, but I spotted some movement behind him and re-focused my sight to find my brother entering the room with a metal tray that carried some stuff in his hands. A second later, it fell with a loud clatter that caused Arthur to jump and grip me tightly, then he pushed me behind him and readied to face whatever enemy may come. He let out a huff when he saw that it was only Merlin. I bursted out laughing.
"Sorry," my brother said sheepishly.
Arthur straightened up and eased his excessive hold on my arm. "Well, you are fortunate I am not easily frightened," he claimed.
"Really?" Merlin grinned a little. "Because it looked like you jumped out of your skin."
"Yeah, it is because you are a clumsy oaf," my King grumbled. "Now pick that lot up."
My brother snorted and promptly crouched to get the tray back.
Arthur sighed and looked down at the dining table, atop which sat the magic horn, before he turned to Merlin again and inquired, "Where is Gaius? How long does it take to make a potion?"
"These things take time if they're to be done properly," my brother responded pointedly.
"Yeah. I doubt ya' wanna end up with donkey ears again," I teased my King while smirking up at him. He narrowed his eyes at me and gave me a gentle nudge before reaching for the horn and starting to twirl it around. I stepped closer to him and wrapped both of my arms around one of his, then I rested my head against his shoulder.
Merlin suddenly froze and turned to look at something towards the closet at the back of the room.
"What is it?" Arthur questioned as he tensed up slightly.
"Ghost?" I threw in while tightening my grip on his arm.
"I heard something behind the door," my brother responded in a whisper.
"You are imagining things, Merlin," my King dismissed before returning his attention to the item in his hands.
I shared a half-grin with my brother and he let out a breathy chuckle before going back to re-arranging the items on the tray.
A loud rattling sound caused all three of us to turn this time. My heart began to race.
I gulped. "Was that your imagination, too, Merls?"
The sound sounded again. Merlin finally picked up the tray and straightened up as he stared at the closet door. Arthur used his free hand to squeeze both of mine in what I took to be a silent request for me to let go of his arm. I did so only momentarily before slipping one hand into one of his and going with him as he stepped closer to my brother.
"What do we do?" Merlin asked in a whisper when we reached him.
Arthur halted for a second and let out a shaky sigh before continuing to slowly creep towards the rattling door. Maybe it's just my obsession with 'Supernatural' playing tricks, but I could've sworn that the temperature dropped. My King turned back towards my brother and gave him a momentary annoyed look before sharply gesturing for him to put the tray down and join us before the wooden portal. The sorcerer slowly complied and soon stood beside me. Arthur gently pushed me behind him and then he motioned for Merlin to open the door, before pointing to himself and gesturing that he would attack.
I swallowed thickly as the King silently counted to three, and then my brother bravely pushed the door open. Only, there was nothing there.
Until a rat gave us a jump-scare by running from one side of the closet to the other while chittering.
I let out a long bout of oxygen I didn't realise I was holding and quoted Dean Winchester, "That was scary!" Then I added, "Where's Salem when you need 'em?"
Arthur let out a small chuckle and pulled me to his side again. Then he turned to my brother with a smirk, "There is your ghost, Merlin."
The three of us exchanged amused glances and then turned around, only to collectively jump and gasp again when we found Gaius standing right behind us. He seemed thoroughly amused as he grinned.
"Are you tryin' to kill us, Pops?!" I asked in exasperation while the two boys leaned their backs against the wall, panting.
"The potion is ready," Gaius stated.
"Cool. Let's bust some ghosts," I said while following him over to the dining table, atop which he'd set three small vials that contained a lime-green liquid. The boys took a few more seconds to catch their breaths before they joined us.
"The potion will allow you to see Uther in his spirit form. Once you are in his presence, you must blow the horn," Gaius instructed. "It is the only way you can force him to go back to the spirit world."
More like back to hell.
Arthur, Merlin and I grabbed a vial each and my brother was quick to open the lid and smell it, instantly recoiling. My stomach churned and I looked down at my own vial with a frown, but said nothing. If this is what it takes to stop ghost!Uther from hurting my friends, I don't care how it tastes.
"Is it safe?" my King questioned the physician while casting him a sceptical look.
Gaius inhaled sharply and opened his mouth, then he paused for a second and tilted his head while raising an eyebrow, and finally he responded, "I cannot say I am entirely sure."
"Well," I sighed, "if I die, I want a viking funeral."
"Astraea," Arthur said in a scolding manner while nudging my side. I gave him a nonchalant shrug in response, then I grinned when I caught the amused look on my brother's features.
Us three ghostbusters took the lids off our vials and nodded at each other before going to drink. Only, Arthur paused and shot out his free arm to stop me from completing the ritual as well while he kept his eyes trained on Merlin, who almost got a sip before noticing the King's actions and stopping as well.
"What are you waiting for?" my brother questioned.
"To see if it is safe," Arthur responded stoically.
Merlin clenched his jaw and sent me an annoyed look, then he casted one towards Gaius, and he turned back to the King while deducing, "So, if I don't die, you will let Astra take hers and you will take yours."
"Precisely."
I scoffed and nudged Arthur's side while giving him a disapproving look, trying not to smirk as an idea for a prank formed in my mind. "Artie, c'mon, I'm sure it's perfectly fine," I told him before downing the vial.
I had to push down the acidic nauseated feeling that flooded my throat at the rancid taste, aiming for better things, and I instantly clawed at my neck while dramatically throwing myself on the floor and pretending to gasp for air. I watched as my King grew panicked and dropped to his knees beside me, his hands reaching to try to stop my intentional writhing while he called my name frantically and his eyes searched mine, which I kept purposely unfocused and aimlessly darting around the room.
Gaius cleared his throat. "Are you quite done, Astraea?"
I stopped and sat up, smirking at the comical way in which realisation dawned upon Arthur. "Yeah, I'm done."
My King let out a sigh of relief and promptly wrapped me in his arms as he asked in a whisper, "Why are you like this?"
I could feel his erratic heart-beat against my chest and felt only a bit remorseful.
"'Cause you're a jerk to my brother," I shot back and I kissed his cheek before scrambling to my feet. "The potion's fine. I wanna brush my teeth now, though. I'll be right back," I announced before sprinting out of the room and to my own.
Twenty minutes later saw us quietly sneaking through the castle corridors, with Arthur carrying a torch to guide us, as we carefully searched for ghost!Uther. Okay, fine, 'quietly' may be a bit of a lie. I was singing the 'Ghostbusters' theme song under my breath. You put yourself in my shoes and tell me that you wouldn't be doing the same thing!
The line 'I ain't afraid of no ghost' seemed especially contradicting coming out of my mouth at the moment, given how stiff my body was, how rapidly my heart was beating, and how tightly I was clutching Arthur's torch-free hand as we shuffled along the dimly lit hallways.
Merlin suddenly gasped, "There!" and pointed at something in a perpendicular hallway.
The King rushed us to his side as he asked, "Where?"
I noticed our shadows being illuminated on the wall.
"Dude, that's just our shadows," I pointed out while raising an eyebrow at my brother.
"Oh."
Arthur gave him a look of disbelief and swiftly slapped the back of his head.
"Ow!"
I nudged my King's side and gave him a look of disapproval. "Would you stop abusing him?!" I scolded in a yelled whisper. "You're gonna kill the last remaining brain cells we have among us!" All I got in response was a puzzled look. And an amused snort from Merlin.
We kept walking in silence, the three of us now huddling closer together, and we entered another stretch of corridor. The candles in this one were all out, making Arthur's torch our only source of lighting. The glassless windows allowed for cool gusts of wind to circulate the space and a shiver ran down my spine, causing me to instinctively move closer to my King in search of warmth. He gently squeezed my hand.
A stronger breeze whistled past as we approached a door at the end of the hallway, and the sound of slow footsteps right on the other side prompted us to halt and exchange wary looks.
The door creaked open seconds later to reveal an instantly confused Sir Leon. I sighed in relief and allowed my shoulders to drop some tension.
"Arthur, Astra, Merlin," he acknowledged slowly.
"Leon," we three replied at the same time.
"Is everything alright, My Lord?" the knight asked, his eyes fixing on Arthur.
"It is perfectly fine," he responded, clearly trying to appear nonchalant while Leon continued to stare at us as if we were crazy. "We are..." Arthur trailed off and gulped. "Merlin – tell Leon what we are doing."
"We're..." Merlin also trailed off and he looked down at me while raising an eyebrow.
"We're bustin' ghosts," I blurted out with a smirk. I could feel the boys' bewildered gazes on either side of my face, but I didn't break.
Leon seemed stunned as he echoed incredulously, "Ghosts."
"Yeah, well, ever since that chandelier fell, Artie's been worried about ghosts, so we're tryin' to prove to him that ghosts can't hurt him," I added with a grin, trying not to pay attention to the deadly glare that Arthur gave me.
I'm so gonna get in trouble for this.
Merlin suddenly turned playful as well and added, "Well, she is. I am trying to prove to both of them that ghosts aren't real."
"Of course they're real," I scoffed and nudged his side before returning my attention to the increasingly puzzled knight. "Ya' wanna join the hunt?"
My brother's smile fell and he turned to me again, looking worried once more.
Leon chuckled nervously before answering, "No, I... I will leave you to your... ghost... busting." And with that, he promptly walked down the corridor and disappeared at a turn.
I tilted my head up in pride and let my eyes dart between my two boys as I produced a triumphant smirk.
"What the hell was that?!" Arthur questioned in exasperation.
I shrugged and quoted the great Dean Winchester once more, "Crazy works."
"And that is the best you could come up with?"
"I didn't see you comin' up with anything," I shot back, still smirking. He clenched his jaw.
"Oh, what did you want her to say?" Merlin inquired with an eye-roll.
Arthur's attention shifted to him as he replied, "I do not know. Something that did not make me sound like a frightened little girl."
"Well, what kind of little girl did ya' wanna sound like?" I questioned teasingly.
Before he could reply, his eyes suddenly jumped towards something behind my brother and I while widening, and we turned around just in time to see a glowing bluish-grey blur dart across the corridor. My heart started to race again.
"What was that?" Merlin asked.
"An overgrown smurf," I deadpanned, earning an unamused look. "What d'ya think, Watson?"
"It was my father," Arthur answered seriously as he started to move in the direction of the ghost.
I gave a heavy sigh and went after him, quickly slipping my hand into his again when I caught up. Merlin followed close behind me.
"I never thought the day would come when I would be hunting my own father," my King commented in a low voice as we crossed into a wider corridor in the first storey that has multiple sets of doors to either side, which are used for storage.
"I don't think anyone ever thinks that," I pointed out in a mumble.
"When I became King, more than anything, I wanted to make him proud," Arthur continued. I gave his hand a gentle squeeze while sharing a sad look with my brother. "What is it?" my King asked, his eyes darting between us for a moment before he returned his attention to the space around us.
"You have always done what you believe to be right, even if you knew your father would disapprove of it," Merlin responded. "Do you not see how different you are to him? Camelot's a better place since you became King."
"Father clearly does not think so," Arthur noted under his breath.
"Considering everything he's done in the past twenty-four hours, I don't think you should care about his opinion that much," I stated bluntly.
"The people believe in you, Arthur," Merlin added, causing the King's head to turn his way. "That counts for nothing if you don't believe in yourself."
Arthur dropped his head and sighed. I gave his hand another squeeze and I was about to reach up to kiss the side of his jaw when a gust of wind roared past, causing me to jump and bump into his chest. He quickly steadied me by putting an arm around my waist.
A banging door behind us made us turn around.
The sound of shattering glass to the other side caused my eyes to widen and I shared an alarmed look with Merlin.
Ghost!Uther isn't about to start flinging cups at us, is he?!
My King gently nudged me towards Merlin. "Check the storeroom," he instructed us.
"Split up?! Are you nuts?! That's how you get killed!" I protested.
Arthur gave me a reassuring look as he spoke softly, "He is my father, love. He is not going to kill me."
"What about me?" I asked.
"He likes you; he is not going to kill you, either."
"Merls?"
Arthur shrugged. "I am sure you will protect him."
I scoffed. That's reassuring.
I bit down on my bottom lip and sighed. "Fine. This better not backfire," I mumbled and grabbed my brother's hand before dragging him to the storage room Arthur had pointed to.
"I should've kept my phone with me," I whispered as we entered the dark chamber, which was only lit by a small ray of moonlight that came in through a window. It was barely enough to let me make out some of the jars, baskets, barrels, and other containers that were kept inside. "Goody, look at all these fine things that could be flung at our heads to kill us," I quipped.
My brother let out a breathy chuckle and gave me a small grin as we continued to move slowly through the room.
A pigeon suddenly flew up and I let out an involuntary "Woah!" as I jumped and bumped into Merlin. He gently steadied me and gave me a reassuring look before we resumed our inspection.
I jumped again when the door was abruptly slammed shut.
The shelves began to shake, threatening to let the containers resting atop them fall on us.
And fall they did. Merlin barely pulled me out of the way as a barrel collapsed right on the spot where I'd been standing.
"Utah – what the fork!" I called out to the air. "I thought we were buddies!"
"Arthur!" my brother shouted for help – which I'm sure wasn't heard.
Entire shelfs continued to fall until we were pressed against the wall towards a corner of the room with nowhere else to run.
"Well, this isn't the Iron-Man-style death I had in mind," I muttered.
Lucky for us, that was not the end of our existence. The movement stopped some moments later, and we waited some more seconds to make sure that ghost!Uther was gone for good. Once we were pretty sure we wouldn't get a fast-pass to the rainbow bridge, we carefully moved through the mess that was left in the storage room and my brother used his superpowers to force the door open.
"We should find Artie," I whispered the obvious.
"You think, Sherlock?" Merlin shot back while grabbing my hand again and leading me down a corridor that leads to the council room.
My jaw dropped and I couldn't help the small smirk that formed on my lips. "Finally!" I cheered, feeling strangely happy that he finally used that on me after so many years of me calling him 'Watson'. He gave me a momentary amused glance, but didn't comment further.
We shared an alarmed look when we began to hear faint voices coming from the council room and we synchronistically took off running, barging into the chamber just in time to watch ghost!Uther use his ghost powers to get a shield to hit Arthur in the head and knock him out.
My breath hitched.
I should force that precious himbo to wear a helmet at all times. Like Carlos in the 'Big Time Rush' TV series.
"Hey! Ass-butt!" I called out loudly, shifting the former king's attention towards myself.
"Get away from him, Uther," Merlin commanded in an authoritative tone while taking cautious steps towards him. "You've caused enough harm. You don't belong here. You must return to the other world."
"This is my kingdom," the ghost claimed.
"Was," I corrected.
He glared at me. "You think you can drive me from it? Is this how you show gratitude after everything I did for you?" I clenched my jaw and was about to respond with something snarky, but he turned his gaze back to Merlin, looking at him in contempt. "And you. You are nothing but a serving boy."
"I am much more than that," my brother stated fiercely.
Uther used his magic ghost telekinesis, or whatever, to fling a bench towards Merlin, who easily diverted it with his superpowers.
My eyes widened. The cat's out of the bag!
"You have magic," ghost!Uther realised in a whisper.
My brother's body trembled, but that didn't deter him from speaking firmly as he asserted, "I was born with it!"
The ghost's eyes jumped to me again. "You knew about this?" he growled.
"Of course I knew. He's my best friend," I responded swiftly.
Uther looked at Merlin again and cried, "I made you Arthur's servant!" He returned to me, "I gave you my protection!" He went back to Merlin, "You are a sorcerer!" And back to me, "And you are a traitor!"
I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore the pang that his words caused in my chest.
"Even while you were king, there was magic at the heart of Camelot," my brother stated while still standing tall and proud.
"I will not allow you and your kind to poison my kingdom!" Uther snarled as he advanced towards us. Merlin was quick to move me behind him.
"You are wrong about so much," my brother said defiantly, causing the former king to pause with a stunned expression. "Arthur is a better and more worthy king than you ever were."
The ghost let out an animalistic roar and charged at us. Merlin was quick to use his powers to send him flying backwards and out of the room. I looked up at him with widening eyes and an agape mouth. So... he can just throw ghosts around like rag dolls?! He's awesome!
He looked down at me and sighed. "I'll go after him. Try to wake Arthur."
"Okay," I nodded and reached up to kiss his cheek. "Be careful."
"Of course," he said and gave me a quick hug before rushing out of the room.
I released a shaky breath and moved to kneel beside my King, instantly reaching to check his pulse. I smiled in relief when I found that it's steady and vibrant. Then I moved my hand to his cheek and caressed it. "Artie?" I said softly. Then I gave his cheek some gentle pats. "C'mon, sunshine. Lemme see those gorgeous eyes." Nothing. "Dude, we gotta bust the ghost," I whined as I moved my hands to fist his shirt and shook his whole body – or as much of it as my arms could. "Are you playin' Snow White? Do I have to kiss you?" I asked. Then I figured that it couldn't hurt to try and I shrugged before pressing my lips against his.
I felt him smile and I quickly pulled away and huffed in disbelief. His eyes slowly opened and he lifted a hand to the back of my neck while groggily asking, "Why did you stop?"
"'Cause your dad's gonna kill Merls if you don't stop him soon!" I responded and fruitlessly tried to pull him up. His eyes widened in fear and he scrambled to his feet.
"Where are they?" he asked while slipping his hand into mine.
"I dunno, he went that way." I motioned in the direction Merlin had disappeared.
Arthur gave me a reassuring squeeze and we took off running in search of my brother.
It didn't take long before we heard a gasp coming from the armoury and we shared a wary glance before rushing inside.
Merlin stood against a wall, pinned to it by a lance on each side of him that had pierced his signature beige jacket. Ghost!Uther stood before him, obviously about to end his subscription to life.
"Father!" Arthur shouted, causing the ghost's head to snap our way. My King raised the magic horn in the air, causing Uther's jaw to drop as he took some steps towards us.
"Arthur, no, please," he said in a low, almost shaky, voice. "Whatever I have done, I have done for Camelot."
My heart clenched when I saw tears grow in Arthur's eyes.
"You have had your turn. Now it is ours," he stated before lifting the horn to his lips.
Uther opened his mouth, "Merlin has ma–"
I stopped breathing as the sound of the horn blowing drowned out whatever the former king wanted to say ('Merlin has magic', obviously), and his figure promptly swirled into nothingness.
Merlin and I made eye-contact and shared a relieved smile. Then I glanced up at Arthur and I jumped to hug him when I noticed a single tear streaming down his cheek.
"I'm sorry, Artie," I whispered.
He returned the embrace and sighed as he nuzzled into the crook of my neck. "I have you, Astra. That is all that matters," he claimed. My heart did a somersault and I squeezed my eyes shut while tightening my grip on him.
"Hey, lovebirds," Merlin grumbled. "Would either of you mind getting me out of here?"
"Right. Sorry, buddy," I said while pushing away from Arthur and hurrying to help him.
At midday the next day, after working with the horses in the morning, I journeyed to the physician's chambers, wishing to check on Gwen, and I was pleased to find that she was awake and functioning just fine; though Gaius informed me that he wanted to keep her there a little longer for observation. That bit of information prompted me to rush back to my room and retrieve my Nintendo Switch before returning to the little apartment; figuring that my friend could use some entertainment.
"How do you not get dizzy, Astra?" Gwen asked with a slightly dazed look, her attention diverting from the small screen of my gaming console to land on me.
I huffed as I watched her 'Mario Kart' character, Baby Peach, slide to a stop out of the corner of my eye. But if she wants to lose, that's on her. Then I shrugged and responded, "My generation grew up playing Wii, and X-Box, and PlayStation, and with iPads, and all that jazz. It's second nature."
She nodded before getting back into the game. I smirked in triumph as my character, Toad, who was racing in first place with a long advantage, passed hers at the back of the pack just a little distance before the finish line. I threw up my arms in victory and then set my controller down before reaching for some crisps out of a bowl.
Gwen glanced at me, frustration clear on her features, as she completed her second lap (out of three).
"The size of the screen probably doesn't help," I added pensively after a few moments.
She snorted. "Well, I doubt you could get away with getting a bigger screen."
Baby Peach did a backflip while her car flew over a ramp as she neared the finish line. Finally!
"Yeah, no. I think Leo would travel here and punch me in the face if I even dared to ask," I reflected with a chuckle.
I started when something banged against the front door, followed by a grunt and three swift knocks.
"Ghost?" I asked in a whisper.
"Help!" I heard my brother's voice.
My eyes widened and I hurried to unlock the door for him. He rushed inside and promptly slammed it shut before locking it again.
"What the heck happened?!" I questioned, my heart starting to race. Did the horn not work?! Is Uther still haunting us?!
"Arthur wants to kill me," Merlin stated in between pants.
"What?" I asked as I tilted my head, the fear dissipating. As if Arthur would ever dare.
Gwen moved to stand beside me while giving the boy a puzzled look.
"It is a long story," he said as he walked to plop down at the kitchen bench. "But I hit him with a glove and now he wants to kill me."
A nanosecond later, another loud bang shook the front door, coupled with an angry, "Merlin!"
I bursted out laughing. Oh, I wish I'd been there to see this fateful strike of my brother's!