CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
TO KILL THE KING ( i. )

When Calliope is awoken by the sound of scuffling feet and a candle being lit in the main room of the physician's chambers, she swings her legs off of her bed. The door creaks loudly as she steps into the light. Across the floor, she spots Merlin standing on the stairs that lead to his bedroom, his hair wild and sleepiness still present in his eyes.

Gaius sits at the table, wide awake with his glasses on the bridge of his nose as he examines a scroll. The physician turns from his work to meet Merlin's gaze. Usually, when Merlin wakes in the middle of the night, it means it's about to be another long few days for Camelot.

Her suspicions are correct as Merlin glances between Calliope and Gaius, worry and alarm overtaking his face.

"Can't sleep?" Gaius asks from his workbench.

"Something woke me," Merlin answers, his eyes training on the door.

Leaning against the doorpost, Calliope raises her eyebrows, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," his eyes turn downcast. "A feeling."

"What kind of feeling?"

Breathless, Merlin looks up, "Powerful magic. Here in Camelot."

Unease causes Calliope to shift her weight uncomfortably. Sepharin. That's the first thing that pops into her mind. After all, the full moon was only five days away— the day Calliope will break the bond with the blood wraiths and send them back to hell for good. Maybe he found out somehow. Maybe he's here to kill her early.

But, before she can voice her concerns, the door of the physician's chambers busts open. A very panicked Gwen runs into the room, tears running down her flushed cheeks.

"Merlin!" she exclaims as she stops in front of him. "My father's been arrested!"

"Arrested? What for?" Calliope steps forward, and Gaius stands from his bench.

Gwen throws out her hands, "They say he was making weapons for a sorcerer. They're charging him with treason!"

"This can't be right," the young sorcerer shakes his head, and Calliope can see the thoughts behind his eyes wondering if his weird feeling is connected to all of this. "Your father wouldn't do that, Gwen, I know it."

"We need to speak with Tom," Calliope motions for everyone to follow her. "Right now."

"They're not allowing visitors."

Her eyes meet Gwen's, determined and keen, "We'll see about that."

After months of training with the knights and guards, Calliope has gotten to know most of them at least on a surface level and how well they can fight. Some of them have a sense of fear about them in her presence, and she uses it to her advantage. She doesn't care if the guards tell her no—she will get Gwen to her father. They should at least allow her that small bit of decency.

In the back of her mind, the blonde can see how this all plays out as they march through the castle, descending down towards the dungeons. If Uther has already made up his mind about Tom consorting with sorcerers, his fate may be sealed. The King's hatred for magic always proves to be a top priority over everything else in his life. It blocks out any ounce of common sense.

The flickering torchlight encompasses the dungeons as Calliope walks down the stairs. Shadows bounce off the wall, following her every step until she turns the corner to find two guards standing in front of the cell Tom is being kept in. Their backs immediately straighten at the sight of Calliope, trying to look more awake and alert.

Crossing her arms over her chest, the blonde stops in front of them. They look down at her through their thick, metal helmets, and then their gazes drift to the three people behind her.

Suspicion floats through their faces, "The prisoner is not allowed visitors at the moment—"

Calliope holds up her hand to stop his words, her gaze razor-sharp, "I'm here under direct orders from Prince Arthur to let the prisoner's daughter speak with him."

"We didn't hear—"

Again, they're not given a chance to finish their sentence, "It's not my problem you two have been dozing off all night and neglecting your duties so much that you missed an order from your Prince," panic rises in their eyes, causing Calliope to smirk, "but, I guess I'll just go back and tell Arthur that you two think you know better than him."

She turns on her heel, stopping with a low grin when they call out, "Wait!" Her head turns back to them. "We'll let her have a few minutes."

The guards step out of the way, walking a few paces down the hall to let Gwen hurry to the bars keeping Tom prisoner. Calliope leans against the wall next to Merlin, who glances at her with a glint in his eyes.

"I think the one on the right was about to piss his pants."

Laughing, Calliope shakes her head, "They're too easy."

A few minutes pass as Gwen speaks in a hushed tone with her father before she reaches through the bars, wrapping her hand around his own as a breath of comfort.

She walks back to join the others, the guards regaining their original position in front of the cell. Expectantly, Calliope awaits Gwen's words, wondering what possibly could have led Tom to end up here and accused of treason, but from the look on her face, it doesn't seem good.

"What did he say?" Gaius asks.

Gwen steps closer to them, her voice barely above a whisper, "He said Tauren came to him at the forge and offered to pay him a fortune for his help—not to make weapons, for an experiment or something."

"What kind of experiment?"

"Tauren didn't say, but he used some kind of stone; some kind of magic."

When Tom was approached by Tauren, he had no idea he was a sorcerer, but that small detail won't be enough to save him from execution. This is a fact everyone knows.

For the night, Gwen sleeps on Merlin's bed, not wanting to be alone while her father is imprisoned. Calliope sits near Gaius's workbench, her elbows resting on her thighs as she thinks about different ways to get Gwen's father out of this.

Every scenario still ends with a noose around his neck, but maybe if they found the sorcerer, then Uther would see more sense.

But relying on the King's ability to use rational thought is a very shaky bargain.

♛ ♛ ♛

The next day, mid-morning training is interrupted with a string of executions. Calliope and Arthur have to leave the training field, along with the knights to gather in the square and watch as every man who gave the sorcerer a bed or meal for the night is hanged for treason.

Calliope has seen death enough, but as their lifeless bodies sway with the wind, she can't help the sudden flashback of Bree and Brandon's death flood her brain. Being led to the wooden stage for all to see. Ropes tied around them. The floor caving. Necks snapping. And Sepharin's cold, unwavering gaze.

The blonde clenches her jaw, her body becoming tense as a raven lands on one of the dead man's shoulders. She finally is able to tear her eyes away, but that doesn't make the chilling sensation tapping through her bones dissipate. With her own death creeping closer, she can't help but wonder where her soul will end up. If it will just journey between heaven and hell, unsure of the correct destination, or if all the horrors she has committed; the revenge-filled haze leaving blood behind her every step, will snap her right to the darkness forever.

She's no better than the executioner—maybe even Uther himself. She was a fool for ever thinking this ends with anything other than pain.

"You alright?" Arthur asks from beside her, noticing her pinched eyebrows and haunting stare.

Releasing a heavy breath, Calliope nods lightly, "Just thinking."

"If you're about to yell at me, just know I don't agree with my father about the situation with Tom, and I've managed to convince him to hold a trial," Arthur says, trying to read her vacant expression. "I can't promise it will have the right outcome, but at least he has a chance."

"I know," she responds quickly. "I'm not mad at you."

"Wow, that's a first," Arthur turns to step so he's right in front of her, surprised she has not muttered one sarcastic comment at him today, which means something must be seriously wrong. "Are you sure everything's okay?"

"Everything is fine, Arthur," she snaps, obviously on edge and unable to hide it any longer.

His deep, blue eyes search her own for any small clue as to what has her in such a strange mood, but once again, he fails at maneuvering through the maze she creates around her emotions.

"Calliope," he says, taking a slight step closer to her, suddenly not caring that they're in the middle of the courtyard. "You can tell me what's bothering you, I promise..." suddenly, an idea shoots through his mind, and then, the prince gently holds out his pinky. "Actually, I pinky promise, you can trust me."

Finally, a small smile tugs at the edges of her lips as her eyes flicker to his extended pinky. Arthur raises his eyebrows, a playful glint within them.

Giving in, Calliope wraps her pinky around his own, their hands intertwining through them between their two bodies. This is the lifeline he offers her; a small bridge away from darkness and into the light for a few cherishing moments.

Pieces of the burden weighing her down lift at his touch, no matter how small it may be. There he goes again lighting up her gray, lonely world with beautiful hues of color. To his father, Arthur is a loyal son. To Camelot, he's their esteemed Prince, and to the knights, he's their fearless leader.

But here, to Calliope— in this small flicker between death and life—he's just a boy, and she's just a girl. Not prince and assassin.

And they can relish in this beautiful simplicity just long enough for a small pinky promise.

"I'm thinking," she says, her eyes meeting his, "that it's dangerous for you to care about me."

Letting go of his pinky, Calliope's arm falls to her side, and Arthur tries to decode the meaning behind her words, "What do you mean?"

"People that get close to me usually end up just like them," Calliope points to the lifeless men as their bodies are pulled down from the execution stand. 

Even if she has a plan to stop Sepharin, that won't render him from coming back to Camelot; it won't stop him from targeting anyone close to her. The reality is, if he wants to get to her heart, all he'll have to do is threaten to hurt Arthur. 

She's always been terrified of having a weakness. It's why she ignored her emotions all those years. It's why she never let anyone too close.

But now, her weakness has blond hair and blue eyes and is looking at her like she's more than she could ever truly be. 

And thinking about having to tell him goodbye...it's just too much.

"You don't have to worry about me, Calliope. I know how to take care of myself," he says in a gentle tone.

"And, I'm also thinking," Calliope inhales sharply, the words already slicing through her before she speaks them into existence, "that it's best if we stop seeing each other."

The prince's face falls. A flash of hurt glimmers in his eyes, along with confusion as he tries to step forward, reaching for Calliope, but she retreats.

"I don't understand," he says through a wave of emotion. Partly because things had seemed so right between them the past few weeks, and partly because he didn't even know what was truly going on between them. At first, it seemed more like a growing friendship with unspoken complications and lingering gazes, but ever since Calliope had admitted she cared about him that day in the woods after they had saved the druid boy...something was different. Like their feelings had grown bolder and more out in the open.

But now...now as that cold gaze lines her face, emotion thrown out completely, everything spins and jumbles and hurts.

Every possibility, every moment they should be able to have; like their first kiss and first night together and waking up in each other's arms in the early hours of the morning— it all shatters on the cobblestone beneath them.

Calliope holds herself together, shoving down the way her heart aches like someone is crushing it—like all her oxygen is fading.

She forces herself to meet his gaze, appearing unfazed and cold, "This is way it has to be. I'm sorry."

And then, as she turns, a tear cascades down her cheek, but she quickly wipes it away and leaves Arthur alone in the courtyard.

Killing is her first nature, and to get through everything that is about to come, she has to kill her own emotions again, and that should be easy now that she's destroyed the Prince's heart, taking out her own in the process.

♛ ♛ ♛

The news of Gwen's father trying to escape during the night and being killed for it spreads through the castle like wildfire. Calliope can hardly believe it, especially since the King had agreed to give him a trial. Maybe he realized it wouldn't have been fair, or that it was already lost, but she would think Tom would at least want to give it a try. He never seemed like someone that would just give up.

Calliope knows how it feels to lose a parent; how the world stops spinning and everything seems bleak and hopeless, so she gives Gwen her space to grieve, reading a book in the main room as she leans against Gaius's workbench. Besides, comforting people has never been one of Calliope's gifts.

This morning, she did not go to training. Seeing Arthur so soon is not something she's ready for. Perhaps, through these next four days, she won't see him at all. That would definitely be easier. A small part of her tugs at her brain whispering that the easier option isn't the right one, but she ignores it for now. Instead, she focuses on her book, passing the day away each page at a time. It was a nice escape from reality.

But, soon, she gets a constant feeling that she needs to peek into Merlin's room and check on Gwen. Calliope closes her book, setting it gently on the table in front of her as she stands and her footsteps thud lightly on the floor. The blonde knocks twice on the open door causing Gwen to stir from her position on the bed. She rolls over, greeting Calliope with as much of a smile as she can muster.

Calliope sits down at the edge of the bed, offering a small line of support, "How are you holding up?"

Shrugging, Gwen wipes away a few stray tears, "As good as I can be."

"I know how it feels to lose a father," Calliope says. "And I want you to know that you can stay here with us for as long as you need."

Gwen places a thankful hand on her shoulder, "Thank you, Cal. You're a good friend."

A few moments later, the sound of the door opening and closing filters through the air. Calliope turns her head to see Merlin coming into the room with an equal level of concern on his face.

"Doing alright?" He asks her.

She sighs, "I just don't understand. His trial was this morning."

When more footsteps arise from outside the room, Calliope thinks Gaius has just come back from dropping off his potions for the day, but unfortunately for her, it's not Gaius that steps forward to check on Gwen.

Her body tenses when Prince Arthur walks in, his eyes immediately going to where she sits next to Gwen on the body. Their eyes lock for a half a second, and she can see the pain he tries to hide, hearing her own words again from yesterday in the courtyard.

Gwen stands from the bed, offering a small curtsey to the prince.

"Sire," she says in a greeting voice, trying to appear collected and calm.

Arthur pulls his gaze away from Calliope, "Guinevere, I want you to know that your job is safe, and that your home is yours for life. I guarantee that," It's good to see him showing decency, and that even though his father rules with a cruel hand, Arthur will always remember how to show mercy. "I know under the circumstances it's not much, but anything you want—anything you need...all you have to do is ask."

The servant is obviously surprised by his extension of kindness, but through her eyes, Calliope can see a wave of gratitude that will never be forgotten.

As the prince starts to turn with his path for the door, he comes to a quick halt. Looking over his shoulder one last time at Gwen, he tells her in a genuine tone, "I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Sire," she manages through a small breath and teary eyes. Then, the prince leaves without another word and without giving Calliope even another glance.

Calliope returns her focus to Gwen knowing that the most important thing about today is being a hand of comfort for her friend. All her drama with the prince will be put to the sidelines.

Until Gaius comes back from his work for the day, Calliope stays with her friend wishing she didn't have to endure this pain, but it would slowly start to ebb away with time because Gwen has a pure heart. She won't let her anger fester and corrupt as Calliope had. She's better—more patient and kind and full of a natural love for the world no matter her circumstances. It's something she admires about her friend greatly. To have such an untainted view of life...she wonders what that must feel like.

When Gwen falls asleep again, Calliope quietly exits the room. She clicks the door shut silently and saunters over to her own quarters, listening as Gaius explains his theory as to why Tauren sought out Tom.

It sounds like alchemy, using a stone to turn common materials into gold, and Tom provided the best forge in all of the kingdom thinking he could make enough money to give him and his daughter a better life. Calliope can see why Tom fell for the facade and went into it without asking too many questions as if he knew it was too good to be true from the beginning.

And now, with the stone missing; possibly in the hands of Tauren, there's no way to tell what chaos could be unleashed on the city next. Calliope doesn't want to think about it. She needs rest before she can deal with another crisis. There are so many of them these days. Is it impossible to get even a single week of peace in this place?

Apparently so, because the very next morning, Merlin bursts through Calliope's door and jerks her awake from her slumber. Calliope sits up in bed, dizzy at first from the sudden movement as she faces a very disheveled and panting sorcerer.

His eyes are wild as Calliope stands up, "What the actual fuck, Merlin?"

"I...followed...Morgana...last night," he hunches over, putting his hands on his knees in exhaustion as Calliope crosses her arms over her chests, eyebrows raising. "She met up with Tauren and gave him the stone, and now they're planning to kill Uther."

"Morgana's with Tauren?"

Merlin nods, straightening his back, "The dragon told me to let it happen, and while I think we can all agree Uther is horrible, does he really deserve to die like this? I mean, do I really sit here and do nothing?"

The blonde ponders his question. Months ago, she would have said yes without a question. She might have even marched to Morgana's chambers and demanded to be the one to sink the blade into his chest, but instead, she just stands and thinks.

Their eyes meet as Calliope speaks up, "It's a blurry situation. I guess you just have to choose what you think you'll be able to live with," her words strike him, "and if you need back up, just let me know, wizard boy."

Merlin smiles lightly in thanks before letting another thought spill from his mind, "You know, if Uther was to die, Arthur would become King. Do you not want that?"

Calliope shrugs, "Merlin, I have about three days left to live, so I won't really be around to see it."

"Cal, don't say that."

"Regardless," she continues, "take it from someone who has killed a lot of people—those faces...they don't go away, and you can't go back and change the past no matter how much you may want to. All you can control is what you do right now and hope you make the right decision. If you stick to that, you won't have to worry about ghosts haunting your dreams."

Taking a deep breath, Merlin leans back against the wall. For a few minutes, they surround themselves in silence, both deep in thought, until the sorcerer finally speaks again, "You're a good person, Cal," Surprise flickers across her face as he speaks with a strong, genuine voice. "I don't care what you think about it, or what you think you've done that's so unforgivable. You're my best friend, and I love you."

The sheer strength in his voice would be enough to make her heart warm, but hearing him say those words, words no one had spoken to her in years almost makes tears well in her eyes.

So, instead of trying to convince him she's still shrouded in darkness, Calliope simply steps forward and wraps Merlin in a big hug, "I love you too," she says into his shoulder.

But she can't help but feel like this is just an early goodbye.

♛ ♛ ♛

Later that night, as Gaius and Calliope are washing up after supper, Merlin nowhere to be found the entire day, she wonders if he followed Uther and Morgana for their late afternoon ride. There's no way Merlin could ever sit by and let an injustice happen, even if it involves saving King Uther. Much like Gwen, he has a good heart.

So, when she hears footsteps echoing down the hall, drifting towards the physician's chambers, she's eager to hear about Merlin's day. A few moments later, he walks through the door, rubbing the side of his head. His face has hints of dirt and stains of grass. He clearly had an interesting afternoon.

Gaius also notices the state of his face and clothes.

"Busy day?" The physician asks.

Shrugging, Merlin sits down to eat the bowl of soup left out for him, "Had its moments."

"I hear that Tauren tried to assassinate Uther," Gaius calls out.

"That's what I hear."

Calliope turns, smirking, "And then, Morgana saved him."

"How many men were there? Three? Four?"

The young sorcerer smiles as she eats his soup, "Yeah, something like that."

Gaius, standing with a knowing look on his face, turns to Merlin, "Morgana must have shown extraordinary courage to have defended a King against such odds. I suppose you had nothing to do with it?"

Calliope stifles a laugh, earning a quick look from Merlin before he answers, "Well, you know, just background stuff."

"No need to be so modest, Merlin."

He looks down, "Sorry."

"it's not a criticism," Gaius answers. "It's a compliment."

Calliope finished with the last bit of dishes, throwing a glance over her shoulder, "Oh, a compliment from Gaius. You're on fire today, wizard boy."

A wide grin spreads on his face, "Right. Thanks, Gaius."

And just as they begin to settle down for the night, more footsteps hurry towards the door. Calliope's eyebrows furrow as it is thrown open and Arthur glances between the three people in front of him awaiting an explanation for his late intrusion.

"My father needs everyone's presence in the Throne Room. Now."

That can't be good. Merlin immediately stops eating his soup and they hurry out of the room. Calliope's heart pounds as she wonders what would cause such a disturbance this late, especially after the king had almost just been assassinated. Dread pulls at her gut. A sinking feeling nags in her mind.

When Calliope arrives in the Throne Room, the entire royal court is gathered, murmuring with each other as Uther sits on his throne, his head in his hands, exhaustion bringing down his face.

Calliope takes her place between Gaius and Merlin near the wall as Arthur stands beside his father. Everyone goes quiet as two guards lead a man into the room. Relief floods through Calliope's bloods. For a minute, she was thinking Sepharin had showed up, but it's just a common villager who probably has some emergency for the knights.

Okay, relax, Cal, she thinks. Everything is okay.

The man is brought before the King, and the room goes dead silent before Uther speaks.

"We have been told you have urgent information that cannot wait until morning," he says, struggling to sit up straight. "This better be worth my time. It's been a long day."

"Yes, Sire, it is urgent, but it's not news I would ever want to bring to anyone in the Five Kingdoms."

Uther sighs, "Spit it out."

More fear than Calliope has ever seen in someone takes over the man's entire face; his skin going pale for even muttering the words.

"The Red Dragon is here...in Camelot."

♛ ♛ ♛

and so it begins...i'm PUMPED to write these next few chapters!!!
my advice: prepare yourselves for an emotional rollercoaster.
as always, remember to vote and comment :) <3