chapter eleven!
011. a never ending debt

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ARTHUR LEFT IN the night. Odette heard the warning bells from the physician's chambers, having not moved from Merlin's side except to let Morgana know where she had been. The King's Ward had ushered her back down, understanding completely the anxious shake of Odette's figure▬so she had asked her his state, and the tears already starting to brew in her young handmaiden's eyes told her everything she needed to know.

("If Arthur comes back with the antidote in time," Odette had mumbled, voice trembling, "he'll be fine."

"Then he'll be fine," promised Morgana, having given her a gentle but stern look that had no room for doubt. For a young girl who had the most hope out of them all, she lost it just as quickly▬and it was saddening).

Merlin's condition did not improve by the morning. He only grew worse▬shivering with his tunic drenched and his hair stuck to his forehead.  Gaius had told her that it would be a slow and painful death, and yet it seemed to Odette like she was watching Merlin perish right before her eyes before she even truly gotten to know him.

She woke up the next morning having fallen asleep on the chair she had taken▬her head rested near his shoulder, slowly rising with the sun to the sound of his ragged and desperate breaths. It was a sound she was all too familiar to, and as Odette glanced up, checking his flushed and glazed cheeks, she thought for a moment she had stepped back in time, and she had woken up beside her dying mother.

She bit back her tears and took a deep breath, ignoring the sunlight to shuffle closer to her friend. He was supposed to be something special▬she knew it from the very first day; he was supposed to do great▬be great. He couldn't die like this. It was unfair.

Life was unfair▬Odette had to keep reminding herself.

As dawn peaked through the windows of the physician's chambers▬even before Gaius had opened his eyes with the promise of Arthur's quest as the only hope they had to save the warlock lying on the bed, Odette took Merlin's hand gently in her own and squeezed it.

"Fight this, Merlin, please," she whispered, choking up. Odette sniffled back more tears, closing her eyes and shuffling closer to him. His fingers were clammy in her own. "Please, Merlin. Do▬do some magic, or▬or something, just▬you need to stay alive. This shouldn't be how your story ends."

Odette hesitated, but something made her push past it and lean in, pressing a gentle caress of a kiss against Merlin's temple.

She just knew it in her bones: Merlin Wyllt was made for something great and spectacular▬Destiny had chosen the hand of a boy who had a future set out for him, etched right into the founding stones of the earth. It made him impossible to not stare at in a breath of awe she never could quite describe▬and she doesn't think she ever will be able to. Odette just knew he was meant for more than this, and so he had to survive it. He had to become whatever Fate decreed him so, and the thought of what it could be was chilling to the bone in such a way it was haunting in the prospect that Odette had been given the chance to witness it▬witness the birth of a legend. That was the feeling▬that was who Merlin was going to be.

He was going to be a legend.

It made her feel selfish to ask him in a desperate whisper that broke her to know how she felt would never amount to who he was▬who was she to fall for such a mysterious fable? But she said it despite it: "Fight it for me. I beg of you..."

The sun continued to rise, and Gaius woke to join her▬checking Merlin's state in the morning. He made them breakfast, but Odette could find it in her ability to eat. She left her food there, a bowl of porridge, untouched and instead tended to Merlin without a break.

Not long into the morning did Gwen arrive, ducking away from her duties to pass forward a fresh bucket of water and clean rags. Odette took them and replaced the one she was currently using▬and some relief settled within her to see Merlin let out a soft sigh at the touch of a fresh, cool cloth against his forehead.

Guinevere pursed her lips, frowning down at him as she gathered another chair to sit down on his other side. She met Odette's gaze and noticed her food untouched, "You're going to make yourself sick pushing yourself like this..." she whispered. "Have you even slept?"

"Barely," muttered Odette, pushing her concern aside to press the cloth in gentle pressures around Merlin's brows and down his neck.

"Let me look after him for a while," then offered the blacksmith's daughter. "So you can get some sleep."

"Where will I sleep?" rebutted the handmaiden, and while it caused for Gwen to purse her lips in annoyance, they both knew the statement to be true. She couldn't rest in Morgana's antechamber, not during the day, nor take the servants' quarters▬if found, she'd be deemed tardy and fired from her job. Odette didn't have something like that▬a place to settle and calm herself down when she was unwell, or she was exhausted. She didn't have a bed of her own, or a roof to call home. She didn't have a family, she didn't have a legacy▬she had nothing of her own; there was no other place right now she could be except here, not that she was prepared to find one, either.

The final one to join them▬sneaking away from his own duties and instead keeping his promise to Arthur▬Ronyn slipped through the ajar door, except he came with a small, petite shadow. His sister followed, carrying blankets, pillows and more cloth in her arms. The young Adelynn Vecentia took one glance of the state within the physician's chambers and her brows lifted in horror, not quite sure what she had expected. She looked quite modest in a simple green woollen dress and cloak, her hair twisted away off her face and down her back.

"Sorry, Gaius," muttered Ronyn as he guided his sister along, "I couldn't convince her to stay back."

"I brought blankets, and pillows, and more clean cloth," offered Adelynn, voice small as she frowned down at Merlin▬the Prince's manservant. He didn't look as brave as he had that night of the feast▬the price he paid for such courage. "I didn't know what you might need," she set them down on the table and then placed the basket she had been carrying under her arm, "so I brought everything."

"Everything," added Ronyn, setting down his own basket filled with bread and fruit▬even glass bottles of milk. Adelynn blushed.

"You are very thoughtful, Adelynn," thanked Gaius, giving her a smile. She shyly returned it with her own. "Gwen▬change his pillow, I suspect it would be soaked by now."

"Will he be all right?" Adelynn then asked, curious and yet concerned, eyeing the servant Odette tended to with a purse of her lips. She watched her hold up his head as Guinevere took the pillow and swapped with one of the ones she had brought.

"Miracles have happened recently," Ronyn reassured her, gently ushering her back towards the door. She just frowned at him, not quite wanting to leave. She had been struck with intrigue, watching the servant down the poisoned goblet without a breath of fear▬it made her want to see him for herself; see the bravery that must lie within him to do such a thing. To see the boy who had found the creature that's death saved her from her own close experience with dying▬there was something different and interesting about Merlin, and she was always far too curious for her own good.

But alas▬she was given little choice but to head back to the door, turning around the last minute to try and argue with her brother, but the look on his face told her that she was intruding. He was right, Gaius didn't need the ramblings of a young girl to disrupt his work.

Ronyn sighed and squeezed her shoulders, "Merlin will be all right," he told her. "He's stubborn▬now, have the guard escort you home otherwise Mother will have both of our heads."

He nodded to the man standing outside the physicians entrance and he gave a stiff one in reply. Adelynn approached the guard, unsure, but let it be. She had done all that she could for now, and it would have to be enough.

As she left, Ronyn turned back to the two handmaidens and the Court Physician, walking up to hover over Odette's shoulder▬he frowned at the weak shudder of Merlin's chest. "How is he?"

Odette met his gaze, worried. She pressed the cloth more onto Merlin's cheeks and up back to his forehead, "He's getting hotter..." her hand faltered as something breathed its way off Merlin's lips. For a moment, none of them heard, until his incoherent mumblings grew louder ... and her breath hitched, suddenly stiff as she began to recognise the tongue he spoke▬incarnations he practiced of the Old Religion.

She tried to be subtle, but her eyes darted to that of Ronyn and Gwen, who shared equal looks of bewilderment▬and yet a breath of suspicion, as if they knew there wasn't something quite right about what he muttered in his flustered state.

    Gwen frowned, slowly turning to Gaius who had rushed over at the sound, "What language is that?" she asked, slow and apprehensive.

    Odette did her best to hide the way her heartbeat quickened. She searched Gaius for a lie, and he answered with ease▬it astounded her how well he could do so: "None. The fever's taken hold. None of those words are his own."

     Ronyn didn't look convinced▬it worried Odette. But in the end, he just crouched down, settling his elbows on his legs as he sighed out. He shook his head at Merlin, "He's an idiot," he said sadly.

     "He was very brave," corrected Gwen curtly, not even stopping herself from speaking out of turn.

     The Lord glanced over at her, confused at the set of her jaw and the scowl in her eyes. "Brave, but stupid," he said. "Now he's about to die▬and all we can do is sit here and wait for Arthur to get back from a forest that no one has ever survived to return."

     Those words miffed the blacksmith's daughter. "And you yourself would have taken that chalice, My Lord? Would you have done the same thing?"

     Odette anxiously glanced at the sudden tick in Ronyn's jaw▬knowing he didn't appreciate the way she was talking to him, and it surprised her, to see her speak so strongly about how she thought; perhaps Merlin's condition was affecting them all just as deliriously as the other. "Er ... Gwen?"

     She met her gaze, confused at her tone to which Odette just raised an incredulous brow to ask her: what are you doing?

     The tense air between the the lord and two servants was broken when Gaius sighed as he checked Merlin's wrist. "His pulse is weaker," he said, and their attentions shifted back to him almost immediately▬and they could see the moment Gaius noticed something that struck him with horrifying surprise. As he placed down Merlin's wrist, he caught a glimpse of something under his sleeve▬and in a flash, he had held it back up, pushing the tunic sleeve away to reveal a ringed irritation on his skin.

    Odette could tell it was something bad, "What is it?" she asked.

    "That can't be right," murmured Gaius. "The rash is not supposed to appear until the final stage."

     He was on his feet and Odette followed, setting down the rag by the water bucket and rushed after him to the table where the same book he had found the Mortaeus flower in lied open and still. "What▬what does that mean?"

     Gaius grabbed his looking glass and hovered it over the words so he could see. Ronyn and Gwen appeared at Odette's shoulders to listen. "It says here that once a rash appears, death will follow within two days."

     Odette's knees grew weak. "Two days?" she croaked. "But▬but you said he had four days."

     "Something's increased the flower's potency," said the physician thoughtfully▬in just moments his eyes were back onto the book's manuscript, reading through many lines of very small words. He soon found what he was looking for, "It warns that the effect of the Mortaeus will be more rapid if an enchantment is used during the flower's preparation."

     Guinevere frowned▬her gaze snapped back from Merlin to shake her head, "Enchantment? But Bayard's no sorcerer."

     "No, he isn't."

     "Then who did this?" asked Ronyn, stern.

   The physician's brows furrowed▬suddenly, he stood rigid, his breath hitching in the back of his throat with what Odette swore was a flicker of fear in the old man's eyes. "It can't have been," he whispered, and the three young friends shared glances, very unsure on what Gaius could mean. "She wouldn't dare come here..." he glanced at them, quite unnerved to the point it made Odette terrified. "Unless...?"

     "Unless what?" whispered Gwen, just as transfixed with anticipation.

     "What happened to that girl?"

     "Which girl?"

    "Just before Merlin burst into the hall, one of Bayard's serving girls took him outside."

    Odette remembered with a chilling shiver, "Yes▬" she let out, eyes wide, "▬I remember. She had dark hair ... Very beautiful..."

     "Find her," ordered Gaius▬voice far graver than Odette's heard yet in her life, "▬quickly."

     Guinevere was very confused, but with a brief glance at Odette and Ronyn, she was soon out through the door▬heading off for the dungeons at a run, her skirts clenched in her hands.

    As Gwen searched the dungeons and the castle for the servant girl who had entranced Merlin's eye, Odette was back at his side, tending to his fever while her mind ran wild at what Gaius had said. He had sounded so scared▬terrified even, of who this handmaiden could truly be, and what she had planned for Camelot. What confused Odette, was that if it was her plan to slay Arthur and send the kingdoms of Camelot and Mercia back into war, why would she go out of her way to warn Merlin of her dastardly plan?

     Odette frowned down at him, a sudden thought making her shoulders sink in realisation ...

     Unless she had wanted to kill Merlin instead the entire time.

    She pursed her lips, reaching out her other hand to check the rash on his wrist. She scowled at it▬a magical poison to kill a magical boy; whoever had done this knew what Merlin was capable of ... but Odette had a feeling▬the strangest feeling▬that this wasn't the first time they've dealt near-death's hand from this handmaiden. It was a gut feeling, she knew, but it told her that perhaps the same hand of that girl had been the one that sent Camelot into disarray just a few weeks before with plague.

    Which means this was her retaliation from Merlin's victory. Odette just knew it.

    Ronyn noticed her thoughtful glance. He had been sitting opposite her, his leg bouncing up and down as they waited for Guinevere to return. "What is it?" he asked her. "What are you thinking?"

     Odette couldn't tell him▬even if she wanted to. If she did, she risked exposing Merlin's secret. It struck her for a moment, for she truly did not know what Ronyn would do if somehow he found out. Would he turn a blind eye? Would he keep Merlin's secret just like she had the moment she had walked in him practicing magic to save Gaius's life? Or would he run to the King, knowing magic to be nothing more than the talent of evil.

    "I'm just worried," she murmured, quiet in hopes that Gaius wouldn't overhear from where he continued to read the pages on the Mortaeus▬but she knew he had a keen ear; he might be a man of frail age, but he would be able to overhear their conversation very well.

     "What I said before..." then said Ronyn, sighing. He pursed his lips and brushed some dark hair off his face▬even Odette knew the Lord Vecentia was incredibly handsome. "About Merlin being stupid ... I just▬I mean it as ..."

     "It's okay," Odette shook her head, giving him a soft smile, "I understood. Gwen ... she just protects fiercely▬she always means well."

     "Arthur will get back," Ronyn added, sure of his faith in his best friend. "He'll return, and Merlin will survive."

     "Is that your heart speaking, or your mind?"

     "Both," he answered and she pursed her lips. "He's a fine warrior▬we both know that. And he's stubborn▬he won't give up, and neither will Merlin."

      The young handmaiden peered at her old friend, taken aback. Ronyn frowned at it, "What?"

     "Nothing," said Odette quickly, "just ... it's good that you're here, for Merlin. It's very kind of you."

      Ronyn managed a stiff smile. He soon sighed, leaning over Merlin with a sad look in his eyes, "Can I tell you something, Odette?"

     She hid how her heart jolted, not sure what to say. It's been so long since the two of them had been friends▬and even then, their friendship had been a strained one. But they were kids then, now, they were older▬they were starting to grow up. "Yes," she soon said. "Of course, you can."

     "If ... if I wasn't a Lord," he twisted the ring on his finger. "If I just was Ronyn, and I didn't have to wear this stupid thing and I could be everything that I wish I could be ... spend time to do something with whoever I wanted to do something with ..." he met her gaze, gentle and kind, "... I imagine I'd be spending it with you, running through the hallways, play fighting in the fields, finding toads in the pools ... If I wasn't a Lord, you wouldn't just be my friend, but I think Merlin would be, too ..." he moved his gaze down to the warlock, "... that's why I'm here."

     Odette watched him, curious. She didn't realise how much those words meant to her until she heard him say them, and fresh tears brewed in her eyes. She glanced down, and hadn't noticed she was holding Merlin's hand until now. "And why can't you be both?"

     "What do you mean?"

     "Why can't a Lord be everything he wants to be? Why can't he do everything he wants to do with everyone he wants to do it with?" she queried. "You are Ronyn, Lord or not▬you have the choice and the power to be friends with who you want to be."

     "That's very naive thinking, Odette," chided the Lord. "There are rules in society▬in life, my father▬"

     "Your father was a cruel man," she cut him off, and it surprised him. "He was a cruel man▬that was who he was. And you are not like him. He was wrong. Already, Ronyn, you're a better man than he ever was▬and that makes you a far better Lord than he could have ever dreamed to be. In the end, you always end up doing the right thing."

      "He may have been a cruel man," admitted Ronyn, "but he was smart. It's dangerous to show you care about someone below you."

     Odette frowned at that, finding it absurd. "It's not dangerous," she breathed, shaking her head. "Ronyn ... that's called compassion ... and if your father found compassion dangerous, then perhaps I've finally started to understand him."

     She knew he considered her words. For all that he's done, Ronyn has made many mistakes▬but he had been a boy. He had been a scared boy who faced the backhand blow whenever he defied his father. He had been a boy forced into a role he hadn't been ready for, and now he was learning what it meant to be someone of such influence hanging from a thin thread. Odette might be naive, and she might be too empathetic, and kind for her own good, but she could never hold a grudge against him (even if she had wanted to), she could never hate Ronyn no matter the mistakes he had made. Not when she understood why he did the things he did; not when she knew deep down, he was enough of his mother's son that he'll eventually know the right thing to do.

     Odette wouldn't know where she'd be if he had managed to convince his father to take her in as his Ward, or if Ronyn had done it himself. She might have a bed, and a roof over her head; she might have a servant, and wonderful clothes, and be given food and attend feasts, she might've still been friends with Ronyn and Arthur, and not forgotten like floating dust▬but she would still be as she had always been: an orphan. She would still feel as if she was trespassing; in the life of someone that wasn't her▬it wouldn't technically be her bed, it wouldn't technically be her roof. It wouldn't technically be her home. She'd still be as lost as she was now, underneath it all ... no difference in fate would have changed that.

     Odette would still be searching for a home; for the next sunrise ... for the hope she always preached.

     Ronyn seemed to understand what she was thinking▬and to her surprise, he reached out over Merlin and squeezed the hand that held the wet cloth against his forehead. Such a brotherly touch, it took her off guard. He took a sharp breath through his nose, emotional. He chuckled, trying to hide it, but she saw. "God, Odette ... I've ... I've really missed you ... and ... and I'm sorry."

     Odette sniffled. "I know," she whispered, voice barely making it past her lips. She nodded at Ronyn, and she saw relief wash down his cheeks in a few shedded tears. "I know, Ronyn. You never had to explain yourself to me, at all."

     The two long ago friends▬in their tearful moment, reminiscing days past and gone▬missed the small smile the physician made to himself; in such a troubling time, something had started to be amended▬just as the sunrise finally made it all the way through the windows of the chambers.

     When Guinevere finally returned, she looked nervous. Rushing through the door, the others glanced up and Gaius was not at all surprised by the look on her face.

    "Let me guess," he said. "She wasn't there."

     Gwen stopped but the cot, shaking her head with a breath of confusion, "No one has seen her since the banquet ... Who is she?"

     The physician turned to examine the rash on Merlin's wrist once more. He had soon moved over from the table to the chair beside Odette, trying to match exactly where this curse had accelerated Merlin's condition▬and any way he could possibly slow it back down. "Not who she claims to be," he answered.

     Gwen quirked a brow, as if not sure whether to be suspicious or curious▬or perhaps they were the same thing; Gaius had always been wise and knowledgeable, but he also seemed to behold a lot of secrets▬keeping them well under his tongue. "But you know, don't you?"

     "Cara," he decided to tell them▬all three young friends listened intently. "Though that's not her name. Not her real name anyway."

     "Then who is she?" asked Odette.

     Gaius took a deep breath before sighing▬his eyes glazed over, as if remembering a very dark time in his life. Odette had a feeling it surrounded the likes of the deadly Great Purge twenty odd years ago. "A powerful sorceress▬Nimueh."

     "Nimueh?" Odette echoed the name, her breath hitching in the back of her throat. "But▬well▬we should go tell Uther!" she said, suddenly on her feet with her heart pounding in her chest; perhaps this might be the only time Odette was prepared to go tell the King to condemn a magic user. "Maybe he could send riders out after her."

    "No," Gaius stopped her and she frowned, "she'll be long gone ... it's impossible to know where, though."

     A horrible thought occurred to Ronyn. His gaze shot up from where he had stared intently at Merlin, his fingers pressed against his lips▬looking almost as if he was praying. His skin paled, "Yes, we do," he let out, feeling nothing but dread.

    Guinevere matched it, "What is it, My Lord?"

     "If she did this," he explained his thought process▬gesturing to Merlin as he spoke, "then she must know how to get the flower, which means she knows the only place where an antidote can be found ... Arthur could be walking into a trap."

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    IT WAS A FULL day's travel, from the strike of midnight to the early dawn of the next morning, to the Forest of Baloch. Arthur travelled South across the vast slopes through the Darkling Woods that wrapped around Camelot and to the Mountains of Isgard. He dared not stop for longer than just enough, too anxious for the near-ending fate of his young manservant that lied in his hands. More than enough has Merlin risked his life for Arthur, the Prince wouldn't let him die without him at least repaying the favour.

     He didn't understand why Merlin was so faithful. The first day Arthur met the boy in the slope outside the citadel he had been something refreshing▬a kid no older than seventeen who said what he meant with little fear: a breath of stupidity that Arthur often found in himself. He found him distasteful, arrogant (a royal prat, as he so fondly stated in the markets before making a complete fool of Arthur in front of his people). None of those things made it seem like Merlin even enjoyed Arthur's company, at all. He had been forced into the role of his manservant, answering at his beck and call▬and while it was amusing for Arthur▬, the young boy had never even asked for it.

     But in the past month, Arthur had started to grow ... a liking to the kid; he was annoying, and frustrating and a horrible servant, for sure! But he was funny, and he made good jokes under his breath, and wasn't some boot-licking servant like the rest of them had been. He said what he meant, and meant what he said▬and he must have started to grow a reluctant liking to Arthur, too, for there he lied back in Camelot, barely breathing, and here the Prince was, about to risk his life just the same as he had done in that banquet hall.

    The Forest of Baloch rested by the river that snaked south from Camelot all across to the mountains▬a woodland nestled away in a forgotten grove so luscious it's leaves were a pure deep green, shadowed; dark and damp with leaves that did not crunch underfoot, but stuck to Arthur's boots and his mare's hooves, making her throw her head and kick her legs in annoyance. He rested his hand on her snout, calming the steed with a murmur as they stepped into the depths of the magical forest▬he didn't know how to describe it, but Arthur could just feel it in the air; like a strange scent he breathed through his lungs that left him refreshed and on edge at the same time. It was as if this forest knew he was a Pendragon, and no friend to the old, magical ways, and sent a draught to taunt whispers through the branches and twisted roots.

    But he had to pursue it; for Merlin.

    Yet, still, he was nervous. Arthur would never admit he was nervous and▬God forbid▬scared, but he was. His father told him sorcery was evil; that it sought to taint even the purest of minds with the darkest of sins: greed, envy, pride and wrath, making them once a shell of who they were and instead a servant to the cruelest of creatures. Arthur was sure he was right, especially in moments such as these▬in a forest so dark and mirthful, toiling the earth to which plants that had the capability to cause slow and painful deaths could grow to flourish ... and evil beasts could lurk in the undergrowth.

    He wasn't sure whether his quest was one made out of stupidity▬risking his life in such a way when there was more to think about than a boy on his death bed. Arthur would one day inherit an entire kingdom▬the only heir of the great and fearful Uther Pendragon, and the only one left of a line that had been killed out in the war between his father and the ruthless Vortigern. When his father died, Arthur will be the last of his name until he found a wife and had children▬but before then, his life was as precious as fine silk, and as tempting to take as a vault of riches. He had no sister, he had no brother; he was alone in the burden that had been placed upon his shoulders before he even knew what that burden was.

    If he died, his father would be left without a son and heir. If he died, the people of Camelot would face a future of uncertainty. If he didn't make it out of this forest with the flower alive, Merlin will die.

    He found it strange how the young manservant had become so high on his list of priorities so quickly. It almost unsettled him.

    Perhaps it was because▬so soon▬Arthur started to think that if he had a younger brother, he'd look and act very much like Merlin.

    (Of course, he'd never admit that▬heaven forbid▬to anyone, barely even himself).

     Prince Arthur led his horse through the wet land of the Forest of Baloch, taking her gently down the slopes and over fallen trees. He swore▬that each rustle of the leaves, each whisper of the wind, sounded like the hiss of a formidable serpent; the like of the Cockatrice plaguing his mind with the knowledge he will face it.

    But those thoughts left his mind as the strangest of sights stumbled upon him. Arthur slowed to a stop, his horse following with a slight huff against the tips of his blonde hair. The Prince frowned at the sound of muffled crying, his gaze wandering around until he found her ▬a girl, hunched up on a fallen log. Her red dress was in tatters, her long black hair twisted and matted▬as if she hadn't had the chance to brush it in a long time. Arthur wondered what she was crying about, until he saw the three gashes across her arms▬like fingernails.

    He swallowed harshly, but tethered his horse to a nearby branch. What on this land was a girl such as her doing out here?

    Arthur knew something wasn't quite right▬but he couldn't just leave her; that was not in his moral standing.

    So, he carefully approached her, "Hello?" he called▬quite uncertain.

    Her sobs hitched. As he walked over, she turned away, hiding herself▬hunched and cold. Arthur hesitated, pursing his lips. He glanced around them; nothing else seemed amiss (well, aside from the entire forest, but other than that...). The Prince was gentle as he crouched down, not wanting to scare the girl more than she already was. "Are you all right?" he asked her.

    She met his gaze with a stunning deep ocean blue, lips as red as blood▬she was stunning; beautiful, even, in such a startling, haunting way that set anyone on edge the moment they glanced at her. She could capture the eye of any man she wanted, he could tell (much like another annoying woman I knew▬he added bitterly to himself), but her beauty didn't entrap him.

    Arthur was going to ask her what happened▬maybe then see whether she could stand, when a ferocious roar split through the eerie silence of the forest.

    He was on his feet in seconds, spinning back around as the girl screamed.

    Arthur's heart hammered.

    Prowling over the slope was a creature in terrifying likeness to the drawing in Gaius's book. A serpent with poisonous eyes, scathing talons and a maw full of acidic teeth▬the Cockatrice snarled, staring down Arthur with the same evil gaze those words depicted; murderous with a taste for blood.

    "Stay back!" Arthur told the girl, though she did not move. She stared, watching him as he brandished his blade with a swift spin of his wrist. Arthur knew he couldn't let this creature touch him, or it would be the end of him before he could even attempt to save Merlin's life.

    He swung his blade▬warning the beast off with each step it took. It eyed the tip of his sword, catching the sharp glint with an intelligent wariness. As the creature examined him, Arthur tried to think of a plan. If he couldn't let this beast touch him, he had to find out a way to pierce the creature's heart from distance▬which was frustrating, considering he didn't have a long distanced weapon.

    The Cockatrice tried to circle him, looking for an opening▬Arthur wouldn't let it. He thrusted, jolting the beast backwards with a feint. That angered it, he could tell. He watched, quite astounded, as the creature scratched the leaf-bed like a bull ready to charge▬and then, with a screeching cry, it leapt up with such power, Arthur almost acted too late.

    He ducked down into a clumsy roll, skidding across the forest floor as the Cockatrice soared overhead. Arthur forced himself to stop, digging his arm amongst the leaves so he could glance backwards▬he watched the beast land, momentarily distracted as it searched for its prey▬he couldn't waste a moment.

    Arthur scrambled to his feet and spun his sword. With a hitch of his breath, he twisted on his feet and let his blade go▬still spinning in the air as it flew across the clearing, making its home imbedded through the Cockatrice's evil heart. The creature struck the ground, wheezing with a terrible pain that for a moment, almost made Arthur sad for it. Did the creature even know it was of such evil creation? All it knew was what it was sewn to do▬it could not change its direction in life.

    He soon discarded these thoughts, realising he sounded too much like Morgana each time he returned from a hunt.

    Arthur marched over and tugged his blade from the beasts dead body, grimacing as he saw the mossy colour of its blood smeared all over. He wiped it against his chainmail, knowing that Merlin will clean both when he was cured.

    When he heard the rustling behind him, only then did Arthur remember the girl▬he turned back around, quickly holding out a gentle hand before she could run away, her eyes widened in fear. "No, no, it's all right▬" he told her quickly, walking up to her. "I'm not going to hurt you."

    She stopped, though did not relax▬she just stared at him with that penetrating gaze. Arthur took a breath and nodded to the wound on her arm, "Who did that to you?"

    The girl glanced at it, and finally, she spoke▬timid and quiet: "My master."

    Arthur's shoulders fell, not sure whether he was ashamed or sympathetic▬he knew quite well how some treated their servants.

    "I ran away from him," continued the girl, "but then I got lost." She grew tearful. "P▬please, don't leave me."

    He knew this would be a set back▬she would slow him down, but that didn't mean he would stand there and tell her no. "I won't," he promised. "I'm not going to." She let out a breath, finally looking relaxed.

    "You can take me away from here?"

    He nodded, "Yes▬but not yet▬" he glanced around the forest as he made his way back over to his horse. "There's something I have to do first."

    The girl noticed, and her fearful gaze flickered to something of mirthful curiosity, "Why have you come to the caves?" she asked him▬and there was just something so unsettling about the way she said it, about her that Arthur felt the strange need not to tell her.

    "I'm looking for something," he decided, keeping specific information out. He ran his hand down his mare's neck, checking whether she was okay. "It can only be found here."

    "What is it?"

    He hesitated, and she could tell, for she quickly added: "I know this place. I could help you."

    Arthur pursed his lips. There was a part of his gut that told him to say nothing, but his mind▬it reasoned; if she knew this place, she could help him. Merlin's life outweighed some strange, unnerving feeling to which this girl stares. So, he sighed and relented: "It's a type of flower that only grows inside the cave. It's very rare."

    A grin slowly came upon her face, "The Mortaeus flower? I know where they are. I'll show you."

    He frowned at her as she picked up her cloak and started towards the caves nestled amongst the ferns and trees▬but Arthur soon realised that Merlin had no other choice but for him to follow.

    The strange girl led him into the dark twists and turns of the caves▬their paths lit only by the torches in their hands Arthur had lit with wood he had found in the forest. For someone who had been so lost, she did know her way around, taking him through a pathway she knew back to front▬and could possibly take even without a light to guide her way.

    She hadn't told him her name; draped in her long blue cloak and whispering soft, "This way▬" every now and then before they turned a corner, she was a terrifying mystery that had Arthur keep a hand on his sword hilt▬not sure how he'd use it against her; he'd never harm a woman, but she was still setting him on edge without even trying.

    But he had to follow her, otherwise Arthur knew he'd be lost instead and this quest would be for nothing. He just hoped she'd lead him to the flower, and not to something more sinister.

    They descended deep into the caves of Baloch▬travelling down slopes and through underground rivers that drenched Arthur's socks. He wondered how a flower could grow in such darkness▬but maybe it needed the cruel taste of night to develop such a cruel effect.

    Finally, they emerged into a long, steep cavern. Arthur stepped out and held his torch low to make sense of how far away the edge was. He pursed his lips, glancing over and peering down into the darkness▬he could see no bottom. He glanced back up, and could see in the distance, the stars over the top of the forest trees▬they had travelled through this cave for so long, it had become evening yet again.

    "There they are."

    Arthur's attention spun back to the girl▬he followed where her finger was pointing and his shoulders went rigid. Across the cavern, tucked away in a crook in the rock and stone, grew a bundle of narrow, yellow flowers. The Morateus.

    The Prince surged forward, wondering how he would make it across. He was so close. He'd grab that flower, and make his way back out▬with the girl, he'd travel back to Camelot and Gaius would make a cure. He made it.

     He just had to get across ...

    Arthur searched the edge for footholds. He wondered whether he could leap across▬it seemed very dangerous and foolish; there was a ledge that stretched past far enough that maybe he could latch ahold of the stone on the other end ... or he'd fall down to his death. He could see no place where the cavern wrapped back around; it stretched, endless on either end.

    Careful, he tested the weight of the ledge▬and when he heard the sound of stones falling underfoot, he froze and glanced over his shoulder at the girl, "Keep away from the edge."

    She nodded and shuffled backwards. Arthur managed a kind smile, "Don't worry," he told her, "we'll be out of here soon."

    He was going to have to try and reach to the ledge on the other side▬without falling to his death. But there was no other way across. Arthur clenched his hands, thought: I'm never going to let Merlin risk his stupid life for me again, and continued to shuffle across the length of rock that ventured over the cavern.

    Arthur could feel more stone splinter off underneath and fall into the depths. He tried his best to ignore it, swallowing back his fear and carefully walked as slow▬and yet as fast▬as he could to the end.

    More cracked and splintered▬almost the entire underneath of the stone collapsed and Arthur froze yet again, eyes wide as he realised that there was only a thin sheet of rock keeping him falling, too.

     It was then, that he heard her. The girl▬he glanced back, horrified as her whisperings became something loud and demanding: ancient words called from her lips, and Arthur's eyes widened. She was a witch!

    "What are you doing?!" he shouted.

    The chilling, haunting gaze of her eyes become something even more terrifying as she glowered at him from underneath the hood of her cloak. Her enchantments grew louder and louder▬until the entire cavern shook. Arthur stumbled, gasping as he watched the stone splinter out from under his boots.

    He dropped his torch and leapt▬just as the ledge crumbled to nothing. Arthur grunted, painful as he felt his chest hit the rock opposite, his gloved hands groping for a hold▬they found a ledge as small as a windowsill and he clung on, desperate as his feet dangled towards the depths below.

    The Prince huffed, coughing as he found it hard to breathe from the landing. He tried to pull himself up, and managed to haul himself to the ledge above, gritting his teeth with effort.

    The chuckle from the sorceress behind him was no longer with the same fear and naivety it held in the forest. It was dark, and mature▬sounding far older than she looked. "I expected so much more ..." she mused, holding her torch down so she could gaze at him with mock pity.

    Arthur clenched his teeth, feeling a white hot fury rise up from his chest. "Who are you?!" he demanded in his best voice of authority▬though he must look far from intimidating, hanging from the stone at this witch's mercy.

    The witch pulled back her hood and smirked; lips blood redand stained. The way she watched him, amused and yet curious at the same time▬it confused Arthur as well as scare him. It was as if this stranger knew who he was already; knew of his past, and of his future. There was a connection between them, something strange, and something unnerving. "The last face you'll ever see."

    There was a rustle across the stone▬a sound like many legs scuttling across at fast speed. Arthur swallowed harshly, trying to see through the dark. A glimmer of delight sparked in the witch's gaze. "It seems we have a visitor."

    Over the edge of a ledge a few spaces over, Arthur noticed a long, slender hairy leg slither over▬and then followed another; out scuttled a creature with eight legs and venomous pincers: a spider the size of a small dog.

    His heart began to pound against his ribs. Arthur struggled across the edge of the ledge, moving painfully slow against the fast approaching beast that had nothing else in its sight of six eyes except him.

    It wasn't long before he couldn't shuffle any further away, and the spider leapt down onto the ledge beside him. Arthur breathed heavily, crying out as he pulled one hand away, keeping himself suspended with just one arm. He stumbled for his sword as the spider reared back to strike▬

    It jumped and Arthur forced his sword clumsily upwards▬it sliced the spider in two and the creature screeched before it stopped, falling down into the darkness in pieces.

    Arthur grasped the edge with his sword and glove, arms beginning to shake.

    "Very good," chuckled the sorcerer▬delighted by his misery. "But he won't be the last." He struggled to glance back at her, and she smiled▬there was no kindness on her hauntingly beautiful face. "I'll let his friends finish you off, Arthur Pendragon. It's not your destiny to die at my hand."

    With that said, she left▬taking the only light with her.

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   a/n: I met a cute guy at the pub and he helped me carry out our food. It's his job, but he was cute and now I'll probably never see him again.

    anyway, while my love life is terrible ...

     gwen about to savage ronyn to the ends of the earth and im all here for it.

     also odette and ronyn being my cute siblings I love them so much he's just so broken and she is too but she also is so understanding and emotionally intelligent she doesn't fault him for anything he's done.

    posting this on my phone on the way home from takeaway dinner at my sisters and seeing a cute guy at the pub who's probably not single looking like that-