CHAPTER TEN
THE POISONED CHALICE ( ii. )

Just a PSA: I made a minor change to the episode to fit this plot. When Arthur and Calliope stumble upon Nimueh in the woods, she uses an enchantment to change the way she looks because she knows Calliope has seen what she looks like. Okay, that's all. Enjoy!

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Tapping her foot on the ground anxiously, Calliope lets out a frustrated huff as she scans the courtyard for Arthur, who is extremely late. Merlin is running out of time; they can't afford to be late. She wonders what could be holding him up as her eyes lift to the window of his room where she can see a shadow moving around in the orange candlelight. Calliope decides to go get him, putting one front in front of the other in a brisk walk.

When she arrives at his room, the double doors are wide open. She spots him leaning over the fireplace, already dressed in his chainmail and riding boots. Calliope throws her hands up in question as she steps into his room.

"What the hell is taking you so long? We need to go."

His blue gaze stays in the crackling flames below him," My father ordered the guards to make sure I don't leave the castle."

"Okay, so?"

Arthur turns away from her, "So, it's a complicated situation, Calliope. There's a lot at stake here."

Unbelief flashes in her eyes, "That's it then? You're just going to sit in here on your ass and let Merlin die?"

Arthur turns, taking a few steps towards her as he speaks, "If I don't make it back, who will become the next King of Camelot?"

As he stops in front of her, Calliope shrugs, "I'm sure they'd think of someone," Arthur rolls his eyes as she continues. "Arthur, you're the only one who gets to decide what kind of King you want to be, not your father. So, you can be a King that sits on his throne all day and follows every rule, or you can be a King willing to risk his life for others, even if it's just for a servant, and fuck what everyone else thinks about it," Calliope reaches to the table where his sword sits. She holds it out in front of him. "It's your decision."

Arthur's blue eyes flicker from his sword to Calliope—for once thankful for her blunt attitude. She raises an eyebrow, awaiting his answer. One more moment of contemplation passes before Arthur takes his sword out of Calliope's hands with determination flaring in his expression.

"Let's go."

Calliope bows her head in a nod. Both of them turn, walking to the door and peering into the empty hallway. Arthur motions for Calliope to follow him as they step out of his room. Taking silent steps, they descend the spiral staircase at the end of the hallway.

At the bottom of the staircase, Arthur holds up his hand as sounds of heavy footsteps reach Calliope's ears. She pushes herself deeper into the darkness, hidden from the bright moonlight cascading through the large windows that create unique crisscross patterns on the stone floor. She watches from the shadows as the guards walk by them, oblivious to the two people hiding in the staircase.

Once the group of guards is out of sight, Arthur and Calliope dart across the corridor swiftly until they reach a door that leads right to the stables. Calliope barely opens the door, creating a crack just large enough to see movement illuminated by bright torchlight. The shadows shift as the guards walk around, talking amongst themselves with the sound of horses carrying in the air. Calliope shoots a glance at Arthur, who gives her a confident nod.

Calliope opens the door a bit more as she slides into the darkness, moving through the shadows like a cat with Arthur behind her. This is her natural element; she flows through the aura of the night like she's born for it.

Stopping by a low window of the stables, Calliope places her hand on the rough wood. She pushes herself up flawlessly, hopping down into the stall of Arthur's horse with ease and grace. Arthur jumps in after her, looking around to see that they are alone in the stables.

"You can take the horse in the stall next to mine," Arthur whispers. "The saddle is hanging on the wall by it."

Without hesitation, Calliope opens the door of the stall quietly and goes into the next one as Arthur quickly tacks up his horse.

The horse she'll be riding is completely black, and when it spots her coming into its stall, it lets out an unsure neigh.

"Shhh," Calliope gently pets the horse's mane, calming it down.

Calliope is an expert at saddling a horse urgently, even in the darkness. She doesn't stop once as she fastens each buckle of the reins and saddle perfectly. Once she's done, Calliope places her foot in the stirrup and pushes herself onto the horse. She looks over as Arthur does the same after he has opened the stable doors.

"You ready?" Arthur asks.

Calliope smirks, "Try to keep up."

They urge their horses forward, riding into the night and causing several guards to jump out of the way just before getting run over. Calliope lightly kicks the sides of her horse to tell him to go faster as they come closer to two guards standing watch at the gate.

"Halt!"

The horses only speed up as the guards try to stand their ground, but at the last possible second, they jump out of the way, and the horses thunder past them.

They're on their way to save Merlin, and Calliope won't let anything stop them.

♛ ♛ ♛

Riding on horseback all night and into morning is not a fun activity for the body. Even in Calliope's fit shape, she still has an aching back and an aching ass. She shifts in the saddle uncomfortably, knowing they don't have the time to take a break. Calliope tries to distract herself with the breathtaking scenery around them.

Mountains loom around her, their heavy shadows falling onto the green expanse of grass below them, contrasting with the snow-crowned peaks that kiss the white clouds. The mountains seem to be reaching towards the morning blue sky; maybe they want to see what lies past that vast expanse of blue that changes to a myriad of vibrant colors as the day fades before blinking into a starry blackness that the moon calls home. Calliope will never know. She can only daydream about what the mountains' silent whispers are telling her through every unique crevice formed by ages of weather and war.

"How did you know all that about the Mortaeus flower?"

Arthur's sudden question after miles of silence throws her away from her daydreams, "I read a lot of books."

He accepts her lie with a nod, "You don't seem afraid to go to a place few people have survived."

"It's definitely not even close to the worst thing I've seen in my life," Calliope shoots him a look cloaked in the mystery of her past. She does not need to start sharing things with him. That is a line she won't be able to uncross.

Arthur shakes his head with a laugh, "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

His eyes meet hers, "You answer my questions in a way that only makes me have more questions."

Calliope shrugs her shoulders, "Maybe you just aren't asking the right questions."

"Maybe you're just evasive."

"Evasive. That's a big word for you. Are you sure you even know what it means, princess?" Calliope teases.

Arthur lets out a breath of annoyance, "I should've made you stay in Camelot."

"And how do you think that would've worked out?"

"You probably would have found some way to tag along," Arthur replies, "because you never listen to a word I say, and I'm pretty sure you're the most stubborn person in the entire world."

As Calliope chuckles, they enter a dense forest. Leaves crunch under the horses' hooves as birds chirp above them. The sun filters through the branches of the evergreen trees, their leaves never wavering as they shine in an emerald green hue. The scene around Calliope would never give away that she's heading somewhere dangerous. In fact, the forest tells the opposite story with the serenity of the calming air and birdsongs.

Arthur and Calliope bring their horses to a halt as they dismount. She holds onto the reins of her horse as they walk deeper into the trees.

"The caves are huge. It would take days to search all the tunnels," Calliope glances over at him as he walks beside her. "Once we get there, we should split up."

Arthur stops, grabbing her arm, "No way. The caves are dangerous. You saw the picture of the monster that guards them didn't you?"

Calliope sighs, "I can handle myself, Arthur," she motions to her sword. "Besides, we'll cover more ground that way, and Merlin is running out of time."

Pulling her arm out of his grasp, Calliope continues walking, "You're either fearless or completely crazy."

She flashes a grin at him, "A bit of both actually."

Arthur shakes his head at her as they continue trekking through the woods, but the sound of someone crying snaps Calliope out of her joking mood. She glances wordily at Arthur as they walk closer to the sound.

A girl sits beside a long log with a tattered red dress. Her arm is cut with dried blood staining the edges of her dress. Her blonde hair is caked in dirt and small sticks. Calliope and Arthur tie their horses' reins to a nearby branch, and Calliope immediately puts herself on guard. What is this girl doing in this part of the forest? People definitely don't hang out here, but of course, Mr. Hero has to investigate without analyzing the situation first.

"Hello?" The girl turns her head slightly towards Arthur's voice. Calliope stays beside him as he kneels down to her, but she leans away from him. "Are you alright?" Something about the shape of her face feels familiar to Calliope, but she can't quite put her finger on it.

Loud roaring makes Calliope jump as she pulls out her sword. The girl screams as Arthur and Calliope watch the lizard-like monster from Gaius's book appear before them, just as scaly and scary-looking as the picture.

"Stay back," Arthur says to the girl.

Calliope grips the handle of her sword as the monster roars again, "This should be fun."

Moving to the other side of the monster, opposite from Arthur, Calliope jabs her blade at it. The monster hisses in protest and swings its claws at her neck.

"You're just pissing it off!" Arthur yells at her.

"Well, I don't see you doing very much to help!" Calliope shouts back as she swings her blade again.

The monster lunges at her, but she moves out of the way with ease. Its anger increases, the eyes of the monster focusing on Calliope and Arthur with a vicious hunger. Calliope breathes heavily as the monster lunges at Arthur this time. He barely dodges a fatal blow as the monster manages to knock him to the ground, his sword falling away from him.

The next few seconds happen in slow motion. Calliope sees the monster start to lunge at Arthur for a final blow, and for a split second; a tiny moment in time, she considers letting it kill him.

But then, her blade is flying through the air, and right before it can kill Arthur, Calliope's blade sinks into its chest leaving the monster cold and lifeless on the forest floor.

Arthur, breathing hard from barely escaping death, looks up at Calliope; the person who had just saved his life, with disbelief. Calliope trots over to him, offering her hand. He takes it as she helps him to his feet and hands him his sword.

"You saved my life."

Calliope nods, "Well, I guess I can't pass up helping a damsel in distress."

Arthur closes his lips in a hard line, "Yeah, okay, you've ruined it." He turns his eyes to the frightened girl, who stands up from the log and takes a fearful step back. "It's okay. We're not going to hurt you." He motions to her injured arm. "Who did that to you?"

"My master," she answers with teary eyes. "I ran away from him, but then I got lost," Calliope narrows her eyes, unsure of her story. "Please don't leave me," she says in a desperate tone.

"We won't. We're not going to."

"Who's your master?" Calliope questions with suspicion.

The girl turns her eyes to her, "He's not from around here. You wouldn't know him."

Convenient.

She opens her mouth to question her further, but Arthur raises his hands in frustration.

"Calliope, she's terrified, and she's clearly not in the mood for an interrogation," Arthur says as he walks back over to the horses. 

"Can you take me away from here?" The girl asks in an innocent tone that's oddly creepy.

Arthur shakes his head, "Not yet. There's something we have to do first."

Her eyes fall to the caves, and then back to Calliope and Arthur, "Why have you come to the caves?"

"We're looking for something. It can only be found here."

Calliope shoots him a glare. Why is he being so chatty with someone they barely even know? They shouldn't be trusting strangers, even innocent-looking girls.

"What is it?" Arthur, for once, does not answer. "I know this place. I could help you."

"I think we'll manage," Calliope says as she unties her horse.

"Wait, Calliope," Arthur lowers his voice. "You said it yourself, Merlin is running out of time, and who knows how long it'll take us to find the flower by ourselves."

Calliope leans closer to him, "Well, you see, unlike you, Arthur, I don't have a bleeding heart that feels the need to trust every random girl I stumble upon in the forest," Calliope shoots a quick glance at the girl. "Plus, she's creepy, and I don't like her."

Arthur turns to the girl without another word, "It's a type of flower that only grows inside the cave. It's very rare."

Calliope sighs, "You're such a fucking idiot."

The girl perks up, "The Mortaeus flower? I know where they are." She looks between Calliope and Arthur. "I'll show you."

The girl turns with her eyes on the cave entrance that sits on the other side of the clearing. She starts walking towards it, and Arthur immediately follows her. Calliope lets out another long sigh, talking to herself.

"Yeah, this is a great idea," she mutters. "Just follow the creepy girl into a dark creepy cave. What could go wrong?"

♛ ♛ ♛

Calliope definitely feels uneasy as she walks beside Arthur deep into the vast expanse of the cave, holding onto her sword tightly. The girl leads the way, knowing exactly which turns to make. Calliope has a very bad feeling about this entire situation, but there's not much she can do about it now.

Water runs freely against the cool rocks as Calliope listens to the distant reverberations of streams that go for miles and miles under the earth. She wonders how much longer they'll have to walk in this eerie darkness. She's anxious to see the sky again instead of this constant cloak of black above them.

One final turn leads them to their destination. Calliope notices a thin slab of rock that sits alone above a very long fall. On the other wall, Calliope can spot a small area where yellow flowers grow out of the stone.

The girl points to the flowers, "There they are."

Arthur takes a careful step onto the bridge of rock that leads to the other side, shining his torch towards the flowers. He holds his torch out to Calliope, and she takes it with a worried look.

"Stay away from the edge," his eyes fall to the girl. "Don't worry. We'll be out of here soon."

Calliope takes a step onto the bridge to shine the light onto the flowers for Arthur as he slowly makes his way towards them. She hears a few rocks tumble to the earth below them as Arthur takes another step.

She furrows her eyebrows when she hears whispers from behind her. Calliope turns her head to see the girl speaking to herself. Then, Calliope realizes what's going on, but it's too late.

The girl lets her voice escalate as she says an incantation, "He thaes frofre gebad, weox under wolcnum, weorthmyndum thah."

"What are you doing?" Arthur exclaims as Calliope starts to reach for her sword, but the girl finishes her incantation before she can take it out of its sheath, making the rock beneath Calliope and Arthur falter.

"Eorthe ac stanas hiersumie me. Ic can stanas tobrytan. Hiersumie me!"

As the rock falls, Calliope drops the torch. She and Arthur leap for the ledge. Their hands grip the thin slab of rock that saves them from a painful and deadly fall.

"I expected so much more," The girl says in her real voice.

"Who are you?" Arthur yells.

Calliope glances over her shoulder just in time to see the girl's face change into the handmaiden that was talking to Merlin. So she was right about that girl being suspicious after all. Not surprising.

"The last face you'll ever see," she answers. A loud creature rattling from beside them catches Calliope's attention. A large spider starts crawling towards them, "It seems we have a visitor."

"Spiders? Really?"

Arthur lets go of the ledge with one hand to grab his sword. With a strong swing, he bats the spider from the ledge, and it makes the long fall below them.

"Very good," the girl says. Arthur grunts as he throws his sword onto the ledge to hold it with two hands again. "But he won't be the last. I'll let his friends finish you off Arthur Pendragon. It's not your destiny to die at my hand," her eyes flicker to Calliope, "And you, Calliope Farrington, you're just the collateral damage."

Her torchlight fades with her, leaving Arthur and Calliope enveloped in darkness, "Who are you?" Arthur yells again, but it's no use. She's already gone.

As the two of them hang from the ledge, Calliope breathes heavily as her hands begin to hurt, "So, would now be a bad time to say I told you so?"

"Yes, Calliope, now is a very bad time for that," Arthur snaps at her, both of them struggling to keep their grips as more spiders appear from the cracks and crevices of the cave.

Then, when Calliope is almost ready to lose hope of ever getting out of that cave, a crystal, iridescent ball rises towards them.

"Come on then! Finish me off! What are you waiting for?" Arthur yells, thinking it's something the girl has sent to kill them.

But then, the ball illuminates the path above them, showing them that they can climb their way out. Confusion fills Calliope's mind, but then a single thought snaps into her brain.

Merlin. Is he doing this somehow?

Climbing out won't be easy, but it's better than dying here.

Calliope glances below her where the spiders are crawling closer to them. Arthur lets out a loud grunt as he uses his upper body strength to pull himself onto the ledge. He offers Calliope a hand as he helps her up next.

"The flowers!" Calliope motions to the edge of the ledge where the yellow Mortaeus flowers sit.

The spiders crawl even closer to them as Arthur extends his arm as far as he can reach, but it's not enough. Time ticks as the spiders screeches echo in the cave, and Arthur climbs up a little, extending his arm again, and finally, he gets ahold of them.

He breathes in relief, "Come on. We have to climb out."

Calliope grabs onto the first protruding section of rock, finding a foothold as she pushes herself up with Arthur above her. She watches how he climbs, setting her hands and feet exactly where he had before her. The spiders gaining on them push them to climb faster

Calliope can spot an opening ahead of them. We're almost there.

Arthur makes it there first, and right as Calliope goes to pull herself up, the rock under her foot comes loose. She lets out a loud gasp, expecting to fall to her death with the giant cave spiders. True fear shoots through every bone in her body as the thought of death sticks in her mind, but instead of being faced with a long fall, Arthur's steady grip holds onto her arm.

He pulls her up out of the cave, both of them breathing hard and fast as they sit next to one another on the forest floor. Calliope's heart is pounding in her ears. She tries to slow down her rapid breathing as she looks to Arthur.

"You saved me," she says through her hallowed breaths.

He nods, his breathing just as fast as hers, "I guess I just couldn't pass up helping a damsel in distress."

"That's hilarious," Calliope stands up, still taking in the fact that they survived; the fact he saved her life, and now she's indebted to him. She grits her teeth.

Arthur soon follows, his eyes meeting hers as his breathing finally returns to normal, sweat coating his skin, "Did you really think I'd let you die down there?"

Calliope shakes her head, "No. You're Prince Arthur. You always have to be the hero." She motions for him to follow her. "Let's go. Merlin needs this antidote."

As they walk back to their horses, Arthur says one last thing, "You know, Calliope, I hate to admit it, but I think we make a pretty good team."

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Their horses run as fast as they can as Calliope and Arthur journey back to Camelot. Calliope prays they get back in time to save Merlin. She's enjoyed his friendship; she may even consider him her best friend, and she doesn't want to see him die.

When she spots the castle in the distance, Calliope urgers her horse to go even faster. They thunder through the woods, flying past a few travelers that jump back in surprise. They don't stop their horses until they make it to the gate of the castle, where a handful of guards wait to stop them in their tracks.

Arthur looks to them in confusion, "What are you doing? Let me pass."

"I'm sorry sire," the guard says as he draws his sword. "You're under arrest by order of the King."

"Seriously?" Calliope asks rudely.

"You too, darling," she suddenly recognizes the guard as the man she kicked in the throat: Henry.

Calliope rolls her eyes, "You know what? Just... fuck you, Henry."

And then, exactly ten minutes later, Henry is throwing Calliope into a prison cell with Arthur in one right next to hers. She hears the metal door being locked as she sits down and leans against the cold wall that separates her and Arthur. The guard's footsteps fade in the hallway as she hears Arthur pacing in his cell. He still has the Mortaeus flower in his pocket, and Merlin is in dire need of a cure for the poison slowly killing him. Calliope looks up at the ceiling, frustration seeping into her mind. She leans her head back to the wall, closing her eyes as she listens to Arthur's constant pacing.

"I don't think pacing is going to help us get out of here any faster."

She hears Arthur huff, "Well, if I don't get out, Merlin's going to die."

"Believe me, I know," Calliope answers. "There's no way Uther's letting me go, but if you can convince him to let you out, you can take the flower to Gaius."

"I don't think that's likely," she hears him say. "It isn't easy to change my father's mind."

"Yeah, he's a real dick."

"He is the King, Calliope. You should respect him."

Caliope scoffs, "I'll respect him when he takes that major stick out of his ass."

"Okay, that's enough." 

She hears him sit down against the wall. They sit, back-to-back, little flares of something like sprouting butterflies gaining their wings flutters in Calliope's chest. A new sensation. Without the metal bars of the cell as the only barrier between them, she would be able to feel the natural warmth of his body with more intensity. The assassin swallows, knowing this isn't good. That she needs to kill those butterflies before they grow any bigger.

The prince leans his head back, his eyes on the ceiling. He's silent for a moment before he speaks up again. 

"Do you have a family, Calliope?" The sudden question causes her to tense, and she's not sure how to answer. "I've just never heard you talk about them, and I feel like after almost dying together, you owe me one honestly answered question."

Fair enough.

"Not really," she decides to say. "My parents— they're gone. Gaius is the closest thing I have to family."

"I'm sorry."

Calliope shrugs, "It happened a while ago."

"How did they die?"

"That's two questions."

She hears him chuckle, "Why are you so closed off?"

"Three questions."

"Okay, okay. I'll stop asking questions," he says as he gives in. "You're just... You're impossible to figure out."

At first, she's tempted to ask why he even is interested in figuring her out. She can rationalize that he simply is trying to understand if he can trust her or not. If his guard can be let down any further, but the other part of her mind, the part that ventures too far to the edge, is sparked with curiosity.

"Maybe that's the point, Pendragon," she says, her voice quiet, but also spiked with a sense of allure that may or may not have been intentional. 

She can almost hear the gears in his mind turning, but then footsteps descending down the staircase that leads to the cells causes both of them to stand up. Calliope's muscles tighten with dread when she sees the King walking towards her cell first. 

What will he possibly say to her? How long will she be forced to stay in this muggy cell. Calliope isn't sure what to expect since she's never had an actual conversation with the King.

He stops outside the door of her cell, looking her up and down with disapproval. Calliope stands strong, her gaze unwavering as she shows that she's not intimidated.

"It's Calliope, isn't it?" Uther asks. "We've never met before, but I know you're like a daughter to Gaius, which is why you're in a cell and not being lashed in the streets." Calliope clenches her jaw. "I don't know who you think you are, but your behavior is unacceptable. You are nothing more than a servant to me and this kingdom, and you need to learn some respect."

His voice is condescending and full of a false sense of authority as if he thinks the world owes him something for simply wearing a crown.

Calliope nods, "I'll add that to my to-do list."

She hears Arthur let out a sigh as he hears her comment. Uther keeps eye contact with her as he speaks,  "You're a very beautiful girl, Calliope. Nice blonde hair, pretty eyes... I can see why my son would be fond of you," He takes a step back. "Speak to me like that again, and you'll never see the outside of this dungeon."

The King walks away from her cell, moving on to Arthur's as the guards unlock the door of his cell. Calliope wishes she could punch King Uther in the face, but instead, she tries to calm her anger while she listens to him talk to Arthur.

"You disobeyed me."

"Of course I did. A man's life is at stake," she hears Arthur retort. "Do not let Merlin die because of something I did."

"Why do you care so much. The boy is just a servant."

"He knew the danger he was putting himself in; he knew what would happen if he drank from that goblet, but he did it anyway. He saved my life!" Calliope can tell Uther isn't listening. "There's more. There was a woman at the mountain. She knew I was there for the flower. I don't think it was Bayard who tried to poison me."

"Of course it was."

She hears Arthur walk towards his father, handing him the flower "Gaius knows what to do with it. Put me in the stocks for a week-- a month even. I don't care. Just makes sure it gets to him. I'm begging you." Then she hears him shout. "No!"

"You have to learn that there's a right and a wrong way of doing things. I'll see you let out in a week," Uther walks out of his cell, the sound of the door closing filling the dungeon. "Then you can find yourself another servant."

When Uther is out of sight Calliope moves the front of her cell, "What happened?"

She hears Arthur struggling to reach for something, "He crushed the flower and threw it outside my cell."

God, he really is a jackass.

♛ ♛ ♛

Thankfully, Arthur is able to reach the flower, and word of his arrest reaches Gaius. Then, when Calliope sees Gwen bringing Arthur a tray of food, she knows there is a plan in motion, and as she leaves in a hurry before the actual servant in charge of bringing Arthur his food arrives, Calliope knows she has the flower and is on her way to deliver it to Gaius.

And a few hours later, the guards let Arthur and Calliope out of their cells, and Calliope isn't sure why she's included, but she figures she probably has Gaius to thank for it. She doesn't waste any time as she runs through the halls, eager to see Merlin.

When she bursts through the doors of Gaius's chambers and sees Merlin sitting up; very much alive, she rushes over to him with relief. Calliope sits down next to him with a wide smile.

"Thank God you're alive."

"It's nice to see you too, Cal."

"I know I make fun of you all the time, Merlin, but deep down I actually do consider you a friend."

Merlin smiles as he holds a cup of water, "Wow, so you really do have a heart. I'm shocked." Calliope laughs as she ruffles his hair and pulls him in for a hug.

Moments later, Gaius opens the door, shaking his head as he spots Calliope, "It's a miracle I convinced Uther to let you out."

"How did you pull that off?"

"Well, it turns out the person who poisoned Merlin is a powerful sorceress named Nimueh, and Uther has finally seen some sense. He let Bayard and his party go and called off the attack on Mercia's army," Gaius says as he sits across from them at the table.

"So, she was after Merlin, not Arthur?"

Gaius nods, "She was probably the same person behind the illness, and when Merlin stopped the plague, he caught her attention."

"And now she's probably more pissed than ever that Arthur and I survived her trap."

Gaius nods as he looks at Merlin, "These are very dangerous times. Both of you need to be extremely careful. I don't doubt she'll try to kill you again."

Gaius stands up from the table as he goes over to the stove in the corner of the room to make some soup for Merlin. Calliope isn't too concerned with Nimueh wanting to kill her. That's the least of her worries at the moment. Her main worry is the fact that the Prince she's supposed to be plotting to kill saved her life and she saved his, and now, she's more confused than ever. He keeps nudging his way closer and closer to her, and she doesn't like it.

How can she ever kill him? How can she free herself from Sepharin? How can she protect Merlin and Gaius and Arthur at the same time? No, Arthur shouldn't be on that list... Right?

As if he could read her thoughts, Arthur appears in the doorway moments later to come check in on Merlin. He saunters into the room.

"Still alive then?"

Merlin turns his head, "Oh yeah, just about." Arthur stops right behind his chair. "I understand I have you two to thank for that," He gives Calliope a grateful look.

"Yeah, well, it was nothing," Calliope rolls her eyes. "A half-decent servant is hard to come by. I was only dropping by to make sure you're alright... Check to make sure you'll be back at work tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah, yeah of course. Bright and early."

"And Calliope," Arthur turns his head to her. "I just wanted to make sure you're aware of your end of the deal."

"What deal?"

She hears Gaius let out a quiet chuckle, "Oh, that you have to muck out the stables for two weeks in exchange for getting out of the dungeons."

"Are you fucking serious?"

Arthur nods with a grin, "Oh, yes. I'm fucking serious."

Calliope looks to Merlin, "So this is what I get for saving your sorry ass?"

Arthur starts to walk away, "I guess I'll see you at the stables tomorrow. You can start with my horse's stall."

Maybe killing him is a good option.

When he reaches the door, Merlin calls out one last thing, "Arthur," he turns his head. "Thank you."

"You too," Arthur replies. "Get some rest."

And then Arthur leaves as Gaius sets down three bowls of soup.

"Mucking out stalls? Seriously Gaius?"

He shrugs, "It's what the King wanted."

Calliope sighs as Merlin laughs at her, "I'm sure it was."

They finish their dinner together, and Calliope prepares herself for a very disgusting two weeks of labor.

another long chapter! but this was very important for the development of calliope and arthur's story. remember to vote and leave your thoughts in the comments :)