CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
THE CURSE OF CORNELIUS SIGAN ( ii. )

"If I asked you to kill someone for me, would you do it?"

Calliope stops sharpening her sword in the armory, looking up at Merlin, who is covered in mud and...horse shit. He smells awful, and the blonde scrunches up her nose in disgust. He raises his arms, awaiting her answer, and Calliope can't tell if he's being serious, but she suspects the person he wants murdered had something to do with his misfortunate odor.

"Who am I killing, and why am I killing them?"

The sorcerer sighs as he plops down on the bench beside her, "Cedric."

"Who's Cedric?"

"Arthur's new servant," Merlin kicks the back of his feet against the bench. His face is pulled down by a sense of disappointment in himself.

Hating seeing him like this, Calliope sets down her sword and nudges his shoulder with her own, "Well, I can definitely make him mysteriously disappear."

"No, I wasn't serious," the sorcerer says, glancing over at his friend. "I only wish Arthur could see me for who I really am and not have this idea that I'm just a fumbling idiot."

"He's the idiot," Calliope states, trying her best to cheer him up. What makes Calliope feel better when she's feeling down is stabbing something; with her past self that something was often someone, but now the practice dummies receive all her rage. Reaching behind her and grabbing another sword, she offers it to Merlin. "You wanna come beat up some practice dummies with me?"

Knowing this is her extension of comfort, Merlin smiles and shakes his head, "No, I'll let you have all the fun this time."

Calliope stands and ruffles his hair, "You'll be alright, Merlin," he bows his head in a thankful nod. "Now, go wash up. You smell like shit."

♛ ♛ ♛

The next night is eventful. After Gaius finds out that the sapphire gem in Sigan's tomb holds his soul, keeping the tomb guarded is something Calliope actually starts to care about because if anyone tried to steal the gem, Sigan's soul would take over their body as his new host and unleash his power on Camelot.

But, late in the night, someone does indeed break into the tomb. Nothing is stolen, but the once shining blue gem is an empty, pale gray, proving Gaius's theory right.

Which means, someone in the palace is walking around possessed by an evil spirit, and Merlin already has concluded who that person is: Cedric. His guess makes sense. The new arrival in Camelot wanted to get close to Arthur so he could steal the key and break into the vaults to retrieve the riches inside, but instead, he found an evil spirit hungry for revenge instead.

Alas, Prince Arthur is always a skeptic, and when Merlin tried to explain the situation to him, he lost his temper and attacked Cedric, ending with his ass getting thrown into the dungeons for the night, and no matter what Calliope says in his defense, the sorcerer cannot be let out until he cools down.

Calliope is currently sitting in the tavern, surrounded by drunk laughter and the stench of old men and ale. The only other women in the tavern are being paid for their company. Calliope downs another glass, relishing in the warm, relaxed feeling the liquid creates in her chest as Sir Leon returns to their table with two fresh plates of food. The blonde grabs a roll and begins tearing off small pieces to eat.

Leon takes a sip from his own glass, "You really think Cedric is the one who broke into the tomb?"

"I'm sure of it, and now he's possessed by Sigan's spirit," she leans back in her chair, her eyes meeting his. "Arthur doesn't believe it, but I'm honestly not surprised."

"It is kind of ridiculous."

"That's what you all say every time Camelot is in danger, and you keep doubting and doubting and doubting until it blows up in our faces," Calliope says, finishing her roll.

Sure enough, right as Calliope stands up to fetch herself another glass of ale, screaming tears through the night air, and people begin trampling into the tavern to escape whatever they have been running from. Everything around her bursts into chaos as the room becomes too crowded for all the people seeking shelter. Calliope squeezes through the panicked crowd, trying to find Leon and get enough space to draw her sword.

She makes it to the door of the tavern where Leon stands as he pulls open the door. They rush into the night, and everywhere they turn, people are running and falling and screaming in terror. She spins around, her eyes looking in every direction for what is causing everyone to be so afraid with her back against Leon's.

Then, her entire body goes rigid as something touches down across the cobblestone path. A monster made of stone with razor-sharp wings and dripping fangs. It towers over the scattering group of people around it, letting out a bellowing roar that rattles Calliope's bones. She grips her sword, realizing steel will probably be useless against this beast. Merlin. They need Merlin, but shit, he's still in the dungeons.

A few guards jab their spears at the beast, but it throws out it's claws, slicing through all of them and coating the ground with their thick blood.

Leon shoves Calliope towards the palace gates, "We need to find Arthur and the others."

Nodding, she begins sprinting towards the courtyard with Sir Leon close behind watching her back. She hears more creatures screeching from above, ready to descend onto their prey.

Once they get passed the gates, Calliope halts. The courtyard is in even more disarray than the low town. Everywhere she looks, people are being cut down by the creatures, their dying screams enveloping the night. The path to the stairs of the palace is blocked by the beasts. They will have to fight their way through.

Calliope prepares to face down with these hell-like monsters. She's faced worse, right?

Then, she hears Arthur's voice yelling from the courtyard, "Cal, Leon!"

Both turn their heads to see the prince and a group of knights and guards running towards them, all adorned with long spears and swords. Arthur breathes heavily as he grabs Calliope's arm and points to the citizens.

"Leon, take a group of guards and defend the low town. Cal, you get as many people as you can into the palace. We'll hold off the creatures here."

"Arthur—"

"Now is not the time to argue, Calliope!" he motions to the creatures swarming around them.

She presses her lips into a firm line, her eyes searching his in this moment of terror, "Be careful."

Calliope leaves Arthur with the others, ducking as a creature swoops down towards her. She grabs onto as many people as she can, "Into the palace!" Her voice echoes in the courtyard. "This way!"

People follow behind the blonde as she swings her sword at any creature that dips low enough to meet her steel. The blows don't pierce them; they only keep them from grabbing anyone else.

As Calliope stands with a group of people, all of them huddled together, the guards pull the doors open for her, and she stands to the side as she ushers the citizens inside to where Gaius, Gwen, and Morgana have set up a medical wing with cots for the injured. At the other side of the room, Quinn hurries to bring more bandages, and Lady Victoria stands in the corner with her hand to her throat, her eyes wide with fear.

Before she steps into the palace, Calliope turns back to the courtyard. Her heart drops when she sees Arthur and everyone around him lying on the ground, and a creature hovers in the sky right above the prince. She doesn't even think as she runs back into the courtyard, screeches and reaching claws all around her.

Right as the beast dives for Arthur, she reaches forward and pulls him out of its grasp. The creature's claws scrape the ground where Arthur once lied, and Calliope helps him to his feet, both breathing heavily.

"I thought I told you to go into the palace. That monster could have killed you."

She shakes her head as she sees it coming back for them, "No, it definitely seems to want to kill you way more than me." It's wings flare as it reaches for the prince once more.

Calliope tackles the prince to the ground before the monster can sink its claws into him. Her face is inches above his as she glances to their position, but now is not the time to dwell on how she's laying on top of him. She quickly gets to her feet, helping Arthur stand. She supports his weight as she helps him into the palace and onto one of the cots.

Examining the wound near his ribs, she sees blood oozing down his chainmail. One of the creature's claws must have nicked him when he fell.

She grabs a cloth and rings it through a bowl of water. Calliope presses the cloth against the wound lightly, applying enough pressure to stop the bleeding, and Arthur winces from the contact. Her eyes are focused as she reaches for the supplies to dress the wound, feeling his gaze lingering on her face.

"It's not deep." Calliope says as she replaces the cloth with a bandage. "You'll survive."

The candlelight around them illuminates Arthur's face as she finishes placing the bandage, "Thank you." She tilts her head in a small nod as his eyes catch hers. "Cal, I just want to say...I really am sorry for the things I said to you. I know you sacrificed a lot to defy Sepharin. I don't want you to feel like you can't come to training just because of me." Hearing him say that means a lot to her, and she lets a smile lift her lips, "Although, it would be nice if you at least tried to stick to our schedule."

Calliope places her hand on his armored chest, "Alright, I'll try, but only for you."

Her words strike through him, knocking lightly on the wall he tries to place around his heart. She doesn't move her hand away, and the prince opens his mouth to say more, but then, the sound of his father's voice carries through the air and causes them to create a lot more space between them.

"Arthur!"

King Uther puts his hand on his shoulder, examining the wound, "It's nothing."

The King's eyes shoot between Calliope and Arthur, searching for answers, "Have we driven the creatures out?"

"They have control of the lower town. The market has been all but destroyed. Sir Leon is trying to push them back, but our weapons seem useless against them."

Glancing around, he scans over all the injured and the bodies laying under sheets, "How many dead?"

"Too many to number."

Uther brings his eyes back to his son, "I'm sealing the citadel."

"You can't!"

"I have no choice," the King says. "I have to protect those who have a chance. If I don't, we will all fall." Grunting, Arthur stands from the cot, and Calliope steps forward in case he loses his balance. "Where are you going?"

"There are people trapped in the drawbridge."

The King reaches for his son, "I forbid you—"

"I can't let them die."

Uther follows his son, "It's suicide."

The prince turns to his father, loyalty and determination on his face, "It's my duty to Camelot, and to myself."

As Arthur walks away, in desperation, Uther turns to the assassin, his eyes ordering her to ensure his son's safety. She gives the King a strong nod, grabbing her sword from the table and jogging to catch up with Arthur and the other guards.

The drawbridge is scattered with bodies, blood coating the ground everywhere Calliope turns. Around them is a thick silence without a beast in sight. She wonders if their first night of terror has ended as everyone else takes in the gruesome scene before them.

Arthur lets out a breath, his face scrunched as she can see him blaming himself for not getting here sooner. He orders the guards to check for survivors, and just as they begin stepping forward, a loud screeching echoes above them.

All the people on the drawbridge tense as a creature touches down across from them, "On me!" Arthur yells. Calliope steps closer to him, her sword pointed at the creature. "Calliope, you should go back."

"Shut up," she says.

Sighing, he gives her a nod, before giving the order of attack, "Charge!"

Their weapons remain useless. The beast cuts through the spears and slashes its claws, eager to draw more blood. Calliope barely avoids a claw sinking into her chest as she jumps backwards. The create extends its talons towards a guard at the front, and he's not quick enough to evade its grasp.

The beast flaps its wings, taking flight as it carries away the screaming guard.

Another creature lands, letting out a terrifying growl, "Arthur!" Calliope yells as the guards begin retreating back.

"Retreat! Retreat! Regroup in the courtyard!"

She waits for him at the gate, refusing to go with the others as they get their bearings in the courtyard. When he steps back, she grabs his arm and they jog to join the others.

But before they can all regroup, the creature from the drawbridge starts coming for the courtyard, right above Calliope's head. Arthur pushes her forward to the others just as the creature lands right in front of him, blocking anyone's path to save him.

"Save yourselves—that's an order!"

"Retreat!"

The guards run for the palace, but Calliope stands strong, refusing to leave him.

"Calliope, go—!"

He's cut off by the creature barreling to him. Arthur falls back onto the ground, out cold, and his sword clatters behind him.

Calliope yells for him. The creature sets its eyes on her next, and the last thing she sees before a blackness encompasses her is Merlin entering the courtyard.

♛ ♛ ♛

Merlin, once again, saved Camelot from destruction. He overpowered Sigan, but like always, he received no credit for his heroic act. Calliope and Gaius are the only ones that thank him, especially Calliope since the creature knocked her out, and without Merlin, she would have been torn to shreds. Her only wound is a nasty bruise on her forehead.

Arthur survived as well, but it takes him two days to recover from his injuries before he can saunter through the palace and across the courtyard to where Calliope is having lunch with Gaius and Merlin.

When he walks through the doorway, Merlin glances up from his bowl.

"I've come to see Merlin," the prince says as he walks up to the table. Calliope turns, swinging her legs around to watch the scene unfold. "I've not forgotten about your lazy, insolent ways, or the fact that you called me a clot pole."

Calliope chuckles, sending a glance at Merlin, "Clot pole?"

The sorcerer shrugs as Arthur continues, "But I do have to admit that there was some truth in your accusations against Cedric."

A wide smile covers his face, "Does this mean you're admitting that in this occasion, I was actually right?"

Furrowing his eyebrows, Arthur looks to the ceiling, "Not exactly, no. It means that I have a knighthood to bestow first thing tomorrow, and no one to clean my armor."

Pulling out a bag Merlin is just now noticing, the prince lets his armor clatter against the table with a smug look lining his expression. The young sorcerer looks at all of it in disbelief, "All that?"

"Yep."

He throws the brown bag at Merlin's face, a chipper stride in his steps as he heads for the door, "Calliope, a moment?" The blonde ignores the clever grins from Gaius and Merlin as she pushes herself off her chair. She joins him outside the door. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

His eyes are on the angry bruise on her head, "I'm fine. It's just a scratch."

"Good," he clears his throat. "Also, my father wishes to speak with you."

She draws in a breath, "Wonderful."

Calliope follows Arthur away from the physician's chambers. They walk through the debris of the courtyard. Wagons full of dead bodies are being pulled to clean up the mess as servants move through the desolation. It'll take weeks to restore the city to how it once was, especially the market, which was completely destroyed.

The palace itself also has some damage, but the Throne Room remains almost completely in tact. However, Calliope expects more chaos to ensue when she finds the only two people waiting for her are King Uther and Lady Victoria. Everyone else has been sent out of the room as she and Arthur stand before the King.

The blonde swallows as she meets Victoria's smug eyes. She definitely told the King about her rudeness, and now, what would Uther do? Give her room to Victoria? Send her to the dungeons? Or maybe even, a banishment. She wouldn't put any of it past him.

Calliope prepares herself for the absolute worst.

But, the King does not look angry as he turns to her, "I just wanted to thank you for going into danger to look out for Arthur. Not many would be willing to face the creatures like that."

"Of course," she replies, sending the Prince a glance. "As I have told you before, I will always protect the Prince with my life."

He gives her a thankful nod, "I have called you here because I hope you will be willing to extend your protection to Lady Victoria."

Calliope grits her teeth, trying to stay calm, "With all due respect, Sire, Arthur and I have busy days, and I'm not sure I would have adequate time for the Lady Victoria. Perhaps, a knight could—"

"I have requested you personally," Lady Victoria steps forward, and Calliope knows she has some alternate motive behind this. "Everyone praises your fighting skills, and after the dangers of the sorcerer's attack, I would feel safer here if I had such a skilled warrior as an ally in court."

"Lady Victoria is more than just a friend," Uther explains, giving her a soft smile. "One day, she will also be family."

Calliope feels as if someone has punched her in the gut. She's speechless, turning to Arthur as he looks to his father, "What do you mean?"

"The Duke of Thera and I have always had a good friendship, and what better way to solidify that than joining our houses?" Joining houses? Wait, but that means... "When you feel ready to take a wife, you will marry Lady Victoria."

The Lady Victoria keeps her eyes on Calliope the entire time, smirking.

Calliope feels as if she might pass out. Her heart sinks to her gut. Everything around her mixes and jumbles as she tries to make sense of what the King just revealed.

"There's no rush of course," Uther says, "but that is why I invited her to stay with us this summer—so the two of you can get to know each other better."

"Father," Arthur says, in a voice of unbelief. "Surely, I have some say in this—"

"You do not," Uther's voice booms over him, strict and stern. "You've always known this day would come, my son, and you will do your duty to the kingdom by marrying Lady Victoria of Thera one day, no matter what your own wants may be," Uther looks to Calliope, and she is reminded of their conversation the day Arthur was dying from the bite of the questing beast.

She should have always known this would happen eventually. If not Lady Victoria, it would be some other princess or nobleman's daughter. No matter what her feelings may be, she knows they can never come to the surface.

This is the way things have to be between them, and she's been aware of it for a long time now—so why does it still hurt so much?

Clenching her jaw, she finally speaks, "A smart match, Sire," a look of approval covers Uther's face as he gives her a nod, and then, she says in a breathless tone. "Excuse me."

She knows Arthur wants to reach for her—to stop her, but he doesn't. Calliope leaves him with his father and future wife.

She saddles a horse and rides into the forest, contemplating on never coming back at all.

♛ ♛ ♛

okay, so i know arthur doesn't get engaged to anyone in season two, so obviously this is my own plot line. uther senses his connection to cal, and he wants to ensure they never get together while also being able to keep cal in camelot's services because he realizes how valuable her fighting skills are.

anyway, remember to vote and leave your thoughts in the comments :)