CHAPTER SEVEN
THE MARK OF NIMUEH ( i. )

Two entire weeks pass by, and millions of unresolved thoughts convolute Calliope's brain. Her final conversation with Sepharin lurks in the depths of her mind throughout the day. Even when she finally thinks she has freed herself from his unsettling voice, it appears again in a constant echo she cannot escape.

"You're joking, right? Do you think I have a death wish or something?"

She closes her eyes tightly as she tries to think about anything else.

"I'm entirely serious, Calliope. You know how much my people hate Uther, and this is the ultimate punishment for him."

Calliope shakes her head as she stands up and paces in her room.

"I... I can't."

"Well, it's up to you. It's either kill Prince Arthur or come back with me."

Calliope kicks over her bedside table in frustration.

"Fine, but I'll need time. I'll have to get close to him and Uther to do this."

She never should have come to Camelot. Now, everyone around her is in danger.

"I'll give you...three months, but if I find out that you've run or backed out, you won't be the only one paying the price for betrayal."

After Sepharin left her alone in the dark courtyard two weeks ago, she had never felt so defeated. Calliope has three months to kill Arthur or anyone close to her will face the consequences. Sure, Arthur could get on her nerves, but she didn't want to literally kill him. Calliope has considered telling Gaius about what's going on, but she's also under an oath of silence and she doesn't need to put him in any more danger than he's already in by simply knowing her. The more people Sepharin knows care for her could end up dead.

Besides, there's nothing anyone can do to help her. She got herself in entirely too deep with the wrong people because she thought it was what she needed to do for revenge, but if Calliope could go back in time and tell her younger self that it's not worth it, she would. People think she became the Red Dragon by being an elite assassin but before Sepharin, she was just a scared little girl alone in a brutal world with no family or home left to turn to. She was vulnerable, and Sepharin took advantage of that.

A knock on her door startles Calliope. She clears her throat as she leans down to put her bedside table back in its place.

"Come in."

Merlin peeks his head in her room, "There seems to be a deadly sickness going around Camelot."

"You never have any good news, do you, wizard boy?"

Merlin raises his eyebrows, "Um... it's a sunny day...?" Calliope's eyes venture to a single purple flower tucked into the blue cloth Merlin always keeps tied around his neck.

She scoffs as she motions to it, "Merlin, what the hell is that?"

His cheeks flush, "Gwen gave it to me."

"Oh," Calliope grins. "So you got a crush on Gwen?"

"What? No, that's ridiculous," Merlin states as his cheeks just get redder with every second.

Calliope rolls her eyes, clearly unconvinced, as she moves past Merlin and spots Gaius examining the latest victim of the sickness. She scrunches her nose up at the familiar stench of death as she glances over the body full of odd purple lines. His eyes are glazed over with a shiny blue color that covers his pupils, and his skin is completely white.

"I've never seen anything like this before," Gaius states as he uses a magnifying glass to get a closer look at the purple lines. "What about you, Calliope? You've traveled all over this world."

Calliope shakes her head, puzzled by the looks of the victim, "Nothing I've ever seen."

"Do you think it could be some type of plague?" Merlin asks as he joins them.

"No, I fear something like this could never come from nature," Gaius stands up straight and sets down his magnifying glass, "but who has this kind of power?"

Calliope shoots her eyes to Merlin as his eyes widen, "You think it's caused by magic?"

Before Gaius has the chance to answer, footsteps echo through the halls, "Merlin!" Arthur's voice calls out from behind the door. Calliope tenses, and her breath hitches at the thought of seeing him.

She has been avoiding him these past two weeks, well, because she's been tasked with killing him, and she's having a hard time deciding what to do. She could just kill him and run. After all, she's become rather talented at eluding capture, but she came to Camelot to stop running. Usually, she can kill without blinking; without even a second thought, but now that she's found a place that is slowly starting to feel like home, she can't bear the thought of being dragged back into the brutal life Sepharin wants for her.

Calliope grabs the first book she can get her hands on and pretends to read as she hears the door being pulled open by Merlin, "I'm on my way. Sorry, I'm late."

"Don't worry. I'm getting used to it," she keeps her eyes away from the door.

Arthur must have noticed the flower too, "Oh, uh, Gwen...She gave it to me."

"Tell Gaius my father wants to see him now," Arthur says with one final glance into the room, and Calliope successfully avoids talking to him once again as he walks away.

Merlin turns around as he shuts the door, "Gaius—"

"I heard."

Merlin walks back over to the table as Calliope sets the book down, "Why couldn't he just tell you himself?"

"Because that's the way it is. You're a servant."

"If he knew what I was; what I've done—"

Gaius interrupts him again, "You'd be a dead servant." Calliope chuckles, but it soon fades as the physician turns to her, "And you. What on earth is going on? Every time Arthur comes around, you either leave the room or act like you're a mute. Did you know you had that book upside down?"

"Yeah, is there something going on between you and Arthur?"

If looks could kill, Merlin would be dead, "Merlin! Hell no, why on earth would you think such a horrible thing?"

He shrugs, "I don't know... He's always staring at you, and you've been acting weird—"

"He is not always staring at me," Calliope smacks Merlin on the side of the head.

"Ow!"

"Well, then what's going on?" Gaius asks again.

Calliope closes her lips in a hard line as she contemplates telling them the truth, "Okay, the truth is..." they both raise their eyebrows expectantly, and Calliope lets out a long, tired sigh. "I've really been trying to stay out of trouble, and being around Arthur makes me want to punch him in the face," she looks to Gaius, "You should be happy I'm finally taking your advice."

Gaius doesn't seem to believe her, but he nods and accepts her answer, "It's taken you long enough."

♛ ♛ ♛

The meeting with King Uther went exactly as Calliope imagined. Gaius informed him that he thought the sickness was being caused by magic, and Uther's paranoia caused him to inflict a search of the entire city until the person behind the sickness was found and executed.

Almost immediately, soldiers begin plundering through the streets, disregarding any decency as they rummage through every house, making more of a mess than necessary. Everyone is in a state of panic as their homes are rudely invaded in search of a mysterious sorcerer that most likely will not be found. Someone with this much power won't be in plain sight, and they definitely won't be found simply with a city-wide search.

"What are you doing?" Calliope can hear Merlin and Gaius from her room as she sits on her bed, reading through one of Gaius's books. She's been trying to find anything on how to reverse blood magic, but she's been unsuccessful so far.

"I'm examining the contents of that man's stomach," Wow, it sounds like they're having a blast.

"Will that tell you who did it?"

"No, but it will give us an idea on how it's spread," Gaius replies. "One thing I do know, this is magic of the darkest kind."

"Why would someone use magic like that?"

"Magic corrupts. People use it for their own ends," Calliope stops reading, knowing how true that statement is. She's a victim of that kind of corrupt magic.

"Not all magic is bad. I know it isn't."

"It's neither good nor bad. It's how you use it."

Calliope shuts her book with a sigh. She puts her head in her hands, overwhelmed by the situation she's in; overwhelmed by how lonely she feels because this is a burden she has to bear alone. Tears begin to pool in her eyes, and she's almost ready to let them finally fall for once.

Maybe I should just kill Arthur tonight and run and never come back and forget about this place forever.

Then, she hears the door being thrown open loudly as heavy footsteps pound against the wooden floor. Calliope listens as people begin milling through all of Gaius's things, and then she quickly jumps up and shoves the book under her bed, throwing an old shirt over it. She sits back down on her bed, wiping her eyes with her sleeve just as her door is opened without permission.

There he stands—the man she's been avoiding for two whole weeks. She becomes very aware of the weapons she has hidden all over the room. Any one of them could be used for a quick and silent disposal.

Arthur's blue eyes meet hers for a long moment, and then he looks around her neat room. He clears his throat awkwardly as he steps inside.

"Sorry for barging in, but—"

"I know. It's mandatory for everyone," Calliope motions for him to continue, hoping her eyes don't give away how upset she is, or the contemplation hidden behind her gaze as she watches him shift his weight—the assessment of how easy he'd be to kill. Perhaps in this very moment. "Go ahead."

Arthur doesn't look around long. His eyes skim her dresser, and he looks at some of the books on her bedside table, "You like to read?" he asks, opening one and feeling of the worn, cream pages.

"Yeah," Calliope nods with her eyes anywhere but his. The way they settle on her and try to pierce her skin to see what lies beneath her presented front unnerves her. She doesn't like people looking too closely because they wouldn't like what they find. "It's a nice distraction."

Arthur puts the book back in its place. The echo of it hitting the dresser is louder than it should be as it lingers in the room, "From what?"

Finally, she drags her gaze to his as he leans against the wall across from her with his arms crossed over his chest, "I don't know— life." The fact I might slit your throat.

She can see that he wants to question her further, but something is holding him back—his own precautions about the assassin. He's wise to place them, "I've always thought that reading is extremely boring."

Calliope laughs lightly, "I didn't think you knew how to read."

"That's hilarious," he says with sarcasm lacing his tone.

Calliope's gaze flickers around her room as Arthur continues to stand across from her, "Is there anything else?"

The prince pushes himself off the wall and heads to the door, "No, I can confidently confirm that you are not a sorcerer."

"Well, that's a relief."

Arthur turns his head. Calliope can see he wants to say more, but all he manages is, "I'll see you around, Calliope."

As she watches him go, Calliope feels a sinking sensation in her chest. Empathy, remorse, guilt. So many things hit her all at once. It's all so foreign. Usually, she can find someone, kill them, and leave without feeling anything at all, but this Prince...she doesn't know where her hesitation is coming from.

He's your target. Calliope tells herself. You have to stay emotionally detached to do this.

Shaking off the troubling thoughts, Calliope strides out of her room just as the last guard closes the door behind him. Gaius turns around, his eyes full of worry as he looks at Merlin.

"We have to hide that book."

Merlin leans forward, his eyes darting from Gaius to Calliope, "No, we must use it."

Calliope rolls her eyes, "That's a great way to end up with your head on an execution block."

"Cal's right. Don't be stupid."

"If I have this legacy, then what's it for? You keep telling me it's not for playing tricks."

Unbelief glazes over Gaius's eyes, "You want to practice magic when the King is hunting for sorcerers? Are you mad?" Merlin lets out a huff of frustration. "Merlin, your life is destined for more important things."

"But if I don't practice then how will I get to be this great warlock?"

Calliope understands why Merlin is upset. He can heal people with his magic, but it's too risky to do any of that right now with Uther on a wild goose chase.

"There will come a time when your skills will be recognized."

"When?" Merlin says, his eyebrows raising. "How long do I have to wait?"

"Patience is a virtue, Merlin."

"What, sitting by and doing nothing is a virtue?"

Gaius furrows his eyebrows, his voice lowering sternly, "Your time will come."

Merlin loudly places his hands on the table, "I could cure that man we saw!"

"Merlin, Gaius is right," Calliope says as Merlin shifts his desperate gaze to her. "The only way this disease will stop is if we work together and figure out what's causing it."

Gaius nods, "I know it's tempting to use the way you find easiest, Merlin."

Merlin refuses to give in, "It is when it would save a life!"

Calliope sighs, "Saving one life won't stop the disease from spreading."

Merlin shoots Calliope an angered look, "Arthur is out there right now looking for the sorcerer."

"A sorcerer powerful enough to do this will never be found searching the town," Gaius says, his tone calmer as Merlin leans back.

"So what do we do?"

Gaius picks up one of his vials full of a mysterious liquid, "Hope that science can find the answer before it kills us all."

Obvious reluctance flickers across Merlin's face as he gives Gaius a light nod. He turns around and walks into his room, slamming the door. Calliope shakes her head, admiring how badly Merlin wants to do good.

"I was thinking," Gaius's voice grabs Calliope's attention. He moves closer to her, speaking in a quiet tone. "Maybe there's something you can do to help."

Confusion etches onto her expression, "Me?"

"You hunted people down for a living for years. Out of everyone in this city, you have the best skills to find this sorcerer."

"You're right, but with no leads and no clues, where would I even start?" Calliope asks. "As you said, this person is extremely powerful. I doubt anyone could find them."

"Sure," Gaius smiles, "but you're not just anyone. You're the Red Dragon."

hey everyone! i haven't updated this story since summer, but my first semester of college is almost over, and i finally have some time to write again!! keep an eye out for more updates really soon! as always, thanks for reading, and remember to vote and leave your thoughts in the comments <3