chapter sixteen!
016. a remedy to cure all ills

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    ODETTE KNEW HER mother truly wasn't her mother by blood. Not only were they differing complexions, but at a young age, that never clicked in her mind. What did, were their eyes. Ivette Mason's eyes were dark▬onyx, like stone. Something so cold, and yet the warmest gaze Odette will ever know, and will always remember. But her own, they were amber; striking and blazing like a fire. Full of life, full of fire, full of daring▬it was the fuel of her courageous and adventure-seeking delight; running through the hallways, being dared to explore the scariest parts of the castle and sneak off into the forest. Their eyes were completely different. Ivette's were tired, and dreary, but managing to glow whenever her daughter smiled. They had seen many years that doubled in experience from the life she lived in such a short time. She aged faster, it seemed. Odette could count the wrinkles around her eyes and her lips on both hands when she was eight; she mesmerised them and tried to count them on herself. Until her mother laughed and swept her up in her arms to kiss the worry lines off her brows. She told her, "Odette! Dearest▬do not fret, you want to keep away the lines for as long as you possibly can!"

    But she had just wanted to be like her in every way. Her mother was a beaming light▬the gospel and every breath of wisdom. What she said, Odette believed and listened. What she advised, Odette did. Maybe she was desperate to find something similar between them. For every daughter seemed to look like her mother. Every child was an image of one, or both of their parents. They either had their hair, their smile, their noses or their eyes. Odette needed to have something like her mother▬and so she must have her kindness, she must have her strength, her wisdom and her bravery. Her ability to see the best in everyone and to always give second chances.

    But no matter what she did, there was always one kid in the castle, or on the streets, or even someone older than her that told her, "My▬she's not your mother! You're nothing alike."

    Each time it hurt like a blow to her young heart, even though she very much knew that was the truth. She didn't have her mother's hair. She didn't have her smile. Nor did she have her nose. And she never had a likeness with her eyes.

    But she still tried. She would sneak to look at herself in some lord or lady's mirror and try her best to smile the exact same. She tried to hold the same posture. Asked for the same colour dresses and copied the way her mother walked.

    Yet, it never worked. They were nothing alike. Odette was the daughter of two people she never knew▬never remembered. Not even the colour of their eyes. Did she have her mother's hair? Was her father's nose her's? Were her amber eyes a gift from the woman who carried her in her arms for just not even a week before she lost them forever.

    And as she grew up, it was impossible to find anything about her that could be linked to Ivette Mason. Odette tried to morph her nose by squishing it into a point, she tried to plump her cheeks to make her face wider. She once covered her hair in mud in hopes to get her mother's beautiful dark colour.

    When Ivette found her like that, sobbing in a mud pile with her face, her hair and her dress completely covered▬she had taken her back to Gaius's chambers and cleaned her with a wet rag. Once she wiped away all the mud from her cheeks and washed her hair, she had held her face and told her, "There's my baby girl. My darling daughter."

     "I'm not your daughter," hiccuped Odette, ten-years-old and much more mature than she's ever been before. "I'm no one's daughter. We're nothing alike."

    She said it with such shame▬such hurt; like she had shattered just to admit the truth she's tried to mask for so long. Odette hung her head, picking the mud off her fingers.

    Her mother had clutched the rag tight in her hands. Staring at her daughter in everything aside from blood, Ivette Mason set it aside and cupped her cheeks once again. Chapped fingernails and calloused skin brushed blotched cheeks. "My dearest, we are very much alike!" she said, voice thick with emotion. Odette sniffled back more tears. When one fell, her mother kissed it away and she chuckled, feeling like she was a babe all over again when her mother would shower her with kisses and hugs in antechambers they slept in. "You have my heart, and you have my love, and you have my passion and my adoring devotion. You have my kisses and you own this▬" she set her daughter's hand against her chest where she could feel the rise and fall of it with each breath.

    "What is this?" Odette frowned.

    "My breath," answered Ivette tenderly, "my soul, my very being. You own every part of my purpose, Odette. And that gives you my wisdom, my knowledge, my advice and a mother's word. It gives you my laughter, and my smile, and my support. How can we be nothing alike if you are starting to grow from a little girl into a big girl who is everything there is for a mother to be proud of?"

    "But we look nothing alike."

    "We do not need to look alike to be alike," Ivette Mason linked her daughter's fingers with hers. Odette stared at them. "I can tell you everything about myself that I see in you. You, Odette, are the best part of me. You are without my anger, you are without any bitterness, you are my hope, and you are my determination. I see my mother in you, and I see my mother's mother, and my mother's mother's mother."

    Odette blinked, taken aback by a lot of mother's. "Even your mother's mother's mother's mother?"

    Ivette chuckled, holding nothing less than the greatest adoration for the young child sitting on the cot in front of her. "You are my daughter, Odette. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

    She kissed her forehead and then her daughter threw herself into her chest, wrapping her arms tight around her mother. Ivette kissed her cheek and her temple, holding her close and rocking her back and forwards.

    After a short while, Odette mumbled so softly her mother almost didn't hear it, "You won't ever leave me, right?"

    Ivette Mason was so surprised by the question that for a moment, she didn't answer. Then, she promised, "Never, ever ever."

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    "WHAT DOES THIS say?"

    Odette pointed to the paragraph Morgana was reading. She peered over her shoulder from where she sat in her lounging chair. Unlike most servants, the youngest handmaiden of the King's Ward knew how to read▬quite well, but when it came to the likes of the epics of novel-length poems with every fancy word and even fancier print, she had to focus very hard. She didn't know what half of the words, the punctuation or the description these writers were notating. She knew most of the tales from Morgana's lips, who often read to her when the two of them had a quiet evening when her mistress couldn't sleep. And so the two would stay up to ungodly hours in the morning, reading the tragedies of Icarus, Achilles and Patroclus. Or trying to decipher the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle. Odette would sit with her on her chair and listen▬usually being lulled to sleep and then Gwen would find the both of them asleep together.

    The two of them had quite the special bond. The three of them had a beautiful friendship, but while Morgana and Guinevere held quite a similar mindset of the other, it was different for Morgana when she spent time with Odette. She felt like she had to protect her▬to make sure she was happy. She was young, and she was naive, and she was alone▬Morgana felt this strange obligation to make sure she was looked after. Quite quickly, she learnt she wasn't the only one who felt the same way.

    "It's a Hymn to Venus," said Morgana, glancing back over her shoulder to see Odette listening with bright eyes. "By one of the few female poets of the Ancient Greek times."

    Odette grinned at this and her friend chuckled. She pointed to the first verse and read it aloud. Odette's eyes followed it as she did, trying to memorise the sound and the look of each letter it correlated to. "'O Venus, beauty of the skies, to whom a thousand temples rise▬Gaily false in gentle smiles, full of love-perplexing wiles; O goddess, from my heart remove the wasting cares and pains of love'

    "Love is truly a tragedy, isn't it?" sighed Morgana as she finished the first verse. "Makes sense the goddess of love is the most beautiful woman in minds▬don't we all wish to be her?"

    Some pain struck Odette's heart. The poem made her remember a smile, and warm brown eyes; and a voice that called her My Lady even though she was far from the sight.

    "I think you are pretty enough," offered Odette sweetly.

    Morgana's brows titled up and she smiled. She reached back to squeeze Odette's hand resting on the back of the chair. "You are too sweet and kind, friend."

    Then, she turned quite mischievous, "And I'm sure Arthur thinks you rather pretty enough."

    Immediately, her mistress's smile fell and she lightly smacked her arm to which Odette giggled, rushing away to avoid a second blow. "You sly fox," then said Morgana. "The thought of Arthur feeling so makes me sick to the stomach."

    "I think I would love to be a famous poet," then said Odette wistfully, pretending to work as she aimlessly played with the folds on the curtains of Morgana's bed.

    "Oh?" Morgana arched a coy brow. "And what would you write about?"

    "Merlin," said Odette innocently, "and the tale of how he fell into a river of mud▬pushed, rather. By me, the other day."

    Her mistress laughed, "My▬you two act like children!"

    Odette gasped, feigning offence, but it was hard through her chuckles. "He tried to push me first!"

    The King's Ward shook her head, continuing to chuckle as she read more of the poem to herself, "Where do you learn to secretly be this rambunctious, Odette?"

    She didn't see the way Odette's smile faltered. She continued to play with the curtains. "I ... I was friends with two boys as I grew up. We got in quite the amount of trouble."

    "And didn't your mother find that improper?"

    Odette shrugged, "She was a servant▬and when you're a servant's daughter, there are little things that are improper amongst playing children. Besides, she always sought me to be happy in whatever way I find it. She was always gentle and caring."

    Morgana smiled at this, "Well, you are very much like her, then."

    She smiled, too, when she said those words. Morgana didn't know how much they meant to Odette, but it warmed her heart for the rest of the day▬thinking about how similar she was to still the most important woman in her life, even from the grave.

    Odette continued to smile to herself as she spread out the sheets that had creased slightly. Through the door, Guinevere finally arrived▬carrying a rather large bouquet of flowers in her hands. Odette stood up, brows rising in surprise.

    She made her way straight over to Morgana who didn't notice at first. Gwen bit back a grin and startled her from her reading▬Odette bit back giggles and Morgana scoffed, joking, at the both of them.

    "Sorry," said Gwen, very amused before holding out the bouquet. "Look what's just arrived for you."

    Immediately, Morgana's face lit up. A gorgeous beam graced her lips and she stood up to play with the beautiful white bell petals. "Goodness▬who are they from?"

    Guinevere shrugged, "I don't know," she said. "There is no note nor letter▬perhaps, they're from Arthur?"

    Odette hid her laughter▬it turned into a very unlady-like snort in the back of her throat. She turned around, snickering to herself as she thought of her and Morgana's conversation earlier.

    Especially when the King's Ward's smile instantly dropped and she scowled back at Guinevere to grumble, "How disappointing."

    Odette tried to imagine Arthur giving a girl flowers▬she found it rather ridiculous. He couldn't decipher his feelings let alone speak them and hand out tokens of his intentions. She tried very hard not to break out in laughter all over again as she thought of him awkwardly holding out a bouquet he was desperately doing his best not to turn his nose up at.

    "Why?" Gwen shook her head briefly at Odette before fixing her gaze back onto their mistress who returned to picking at the stems and petals. "Who would you like them to be from?"

    Morgana made a face, playful. "I don't know▬" she looked them over before sending the blacksmith's daughter a mischievous grin, "▬A tall, dark stranger?" Odette was back to snickering again until she squealed when Morgana chucked one of her seat pillows at her. She ducked just in time, quite stunned▬the two other girls were sent into bountiful laughter.

    Like most nights, Odette stayed to prepare her mistress for bed. Not only was she happy and great at calming Morgana down from sleepless nights from her nightmares, it gave her a place to sleep where she had none in the antechamber. Not many antechambers were personalised, and neither was this one▬not truly. But after Odette prepared a bath for her mistress, helped her into her night gown and extinguished the candles, she stepped into a small round room with a single bed. There was a desk beside with a burnt out candle, and a chest to the side▬inside that chest was Odette's clothes and other things. Things from her mother she kept even though she outgrew them. Toys, shoes, bracelets and other things she would buy and make. Beside her burnt out candle was something else of her mother's: a hair clip that belonged to her mother that had been then passed down to Odette. She rarely wore it. But when she did, she felt braver, she felt happier▬calmer, to go somewhere and feel as if her mother was still with her.

    She took her hair out from its twist and set the pins beside it and prepared herself for bed, too. Unlike her mistress, Odette slept in a scratchy woollen underdress. But even then, once she slipped under the covers, she could rest▬even if it might be for some scattered hours.

    Usually, she woke up during the middle of the night▬when it reached twilight to hear Morgana screaming as another nightmare plagued her. Though, when Odette's eyes opened, she was surprised to see the sunlight bore down through the small window of the antechamber. She frowned ... she hadn't woken up once.

    Odette yawned and turned onto her back, stretching out her arms. She peeked an eye open, trying to hear the sound outside▬it startled her that there seemed to be a lot of movement. There was chatter, laughter▬the entire city was alive. But at such an early hour? What time even was it?

    She leaned back against the wall, frowning towards the window. She squinted at how bright the sun was▬it wasn't the light of dawn.

    Confused, Odette stood up. Barefoot and wrapping an itchy, woollen shawl around her shoulders, the young maidservant ventured outside of her antechamber▬not even bothering to change into her dress for the day. She's never slept this long without Morgana waking her▬she's never had a full-night's sleep. She's always woken up in the night, or waking herself up at dawn. Odette didn't even know how she managed to sleep through it all.

    "Morgana?" she called out, muddled and confused. She stepped into her mistress's bedchamber. "Morgana▬are you awake? I believe I might've slept in! You should've woken me ..."

    Odette faltered to a stop as she stared at Morgana still in bed. Her heart jolted. Her brows furrowed▬she looked still as a statue; and as pale as one, too. Her stomach churned, feeling something dreadful rise up within her. "Morgana...?" she called, rather unsure. "My Lady, it's time to get up."

    She didn't move. It didn't seem like she even heard her. "Morgana," Odette tried again, louder this time. No response.

    The young handmaiden grew worried. She surged forward to her bed and reached over to shake her shoulders, "Morgana, get up." Even this did not wake her. "Morgana▬" she shook her harder; more than deemed appropriate. It did not work. Odette grew frantic. "Morgana!"

    No matter what Odette did. The Lady Morgana did not wake.

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    TWO DAYS, AND still, the King's Ward would not wake from her deep sleep. And each day, she grew weaker and weaker; paler and paler. She could not eat, she could not drink ... even her breath barely reached past her once rose-red lips that were now a yellowing pink. Like a wilting flower. Odette stayed vigilant at her mistresses side. It was almost saddening, to see the young handmaiden position a chair beside her bed and continuously fix Morgana's pillow and sheets to make her comfortable. She and Guinevere were loyal, even when it seemed like the King's Ward had reached her last breaths. Even when they feel asleep where they shouldn't, tucked up on their mistresses dining chairs and their heads rested on either each other or the end of her bed, no one moved them. Not even the King found the energy to scold them for their improper actions. Sometimes, Uther Pendragon was a good man, or maybe, the goodness in others and the love his Ward shared with her two servants reminded him of the good man he once was. Morgana might just be the best of him, and so he was glad she had ones so loyal at her side when she needed them.

    The city was miserable. It was no secret that the Lady Morgana le Fay was very much loved as if she was one of their own. The people placed flowers on the castle steps in their good wishes, prayed for her in the Lower Town chapel and some in their homes, in soft whispers and closed doors, prayed in another language to the Old Religion to aid her. They created healing talismans and hung them amongst herbs and inconspicuous decorations▬not that anyone cared to find a sorcerer, to look for magic when their hearts bled for the kindness woman they knew.

    Arthur was beside himself. Two days with no response from a girl he considered very much an older sister above all else was enough to send him off the rails. He hid it well. He set his jaw, he went about his duties. He trained in the morning, signed papers during the afternoon and attended council meetings, but Merlin could tell he wasn't himself. He swung his sword with an aggressive tongue, snapped at him for the slightest inconvenience (even if he was just shuffling his feet too loudly) and barely ate his food. Merlin had been around when Ronyn had come to visit. Sitting with him in his chambers, still tending to his wounded arm within its sling. The two friends shared a drink with glum undertones as they spoke. Men comforted one another in strange ways that were not at all different from any one else: alone, away from anyone else, with someone they trusted the most enough to slump and place their heads in their hands.

    Once the third day approached, the worry made them all brittle to their bones. Odette was quiet, watching the staircase for Gaius's return to hear what he had to say. She stayed close to Merlin and Gwen, shuffling anxiously on her toes. It was quiet in the chamber below the Griffin Staircase that wrapped up and around to Morgana's rooms. No one dared utter a word amongst their bated breaths. 

    She picked at her dress, fiddled with her nails and swivelled her feet. Odette took a deep breath through her nose, soon hugging her stomach to stop her anxious fiddling. Morgana didn't deserve this▬she was the last person who deserved something like this; something so sudden that instantly took all life from her. 

    Odette felt Merlin rest his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her▬though she didn't feel it. She knew what he was thinking; how this must remind her of her mother's death, but Odette didn't want to think of that. She didn't want to make the ache in her throat worse to wonder whether she'll lose her dear friend in a similar way. 

    When Gaius finally returned down from the stairs, their eyes lit up and their breaths hitched. Gwen surged forward, her heart racing. "I▬Is she any better?" she asked.

    At the sake of the physician's head, Odette closed her eyes to hang her head. She heard Gwen take her skirts to race back up the stairs, and she knew she should follow soon. But as Gaius approached her and Merlin, she stayed, wanting to hear more. 

The Court Physician sighed▬seeing the matching looks on both of their faces. In a soft voice, he muttered, "She's all but dead."

    Odette shook her head. Her throat tightened. "N▬no," she managed, not believing it. "No, you'll▬you'll cure her, Gaius. You▬you need to cure her▬"

    Gaius tilted his head, giving her a stern, but understanding look that made her swallow back the rest of her words, "Don't you start. I've tried everything."

    She pursed her lips and looked down at the bottom of her skirts. Of course, she knew Gaius tried everything▬she knew, of course, it wasn't his fault. 

    Merlin kissed his teeth, hesitant and careful as a thought occurred to him. He glanced around them; they were alone. "I was wondering ..." He began.

    "What?"

    "Maybe I could ..." he trailed off as a guard passed them in the corridor adjacent. Once his footsteps echoed to nothing did the sorcerer finish: "... help?"

    Gaius's eyes widened. His arms fell to his side, "If you are suggesting magic?" he whispered harshly and Merlin shrugged▬he had reached the point where he was considering it. He couldn't just watch Morgana die. "Have you forgotten what happened with Gwen's father?" Merlin set his jaw and huffed out a frustrated sigh. He swallowed his anger back and nodded his head. "This is not a magical illness; it must be cured by conventional means. We keep trying. See if you can find me some fresh rosemary."

    Merlin frowned at him, growing desperate, "There must be something more I can do▬?"

    "And yarrow," added Gaius pointedly. 

    The warlock gritted his teeth, but did as he was told. He gave Odette a final glance before marching off and she furrowed her brows, determined to stay strong. Gaius noticed and he reached out to gently squeeze her shoulder. Odette met his gaze with a tearful one, "You must be with her," he advised and she nodded, brushing past to join Gwen upstairs. 

    That night, she did not improve. Odette couldn't sleep. She sat back in the chair, watching her friend fade away and felt helpless to everything and anything. She reached out and aimlessly fixed the blankets to make sure she was warm▬even though she might've fixed them ten times in just the past hour. 

    Though, the knock from the servants' door made her freeze. She wondered who was coming to visit at this hour▬especially from that entrance. Odette glanced over her shoulder, frowning. The only person she could think of was Merlin, but he would still be with Arthur; at least, he should be.

    Odette forced herself to stand, brushing her skirts down and calling out a soft, uncertain, "Come in?"

    Her eyes widened when she saw who it was, peering his head inside so much like her▬flaxen hair and bright blue eyes, Prince Arthur met her surprised gaze with a vulnerable hesitance. As if he wasn't sure on what he was doing.

    She scrambled to curtsy, a million questions dancing in her head. "My Lord▬" she forced out through a dry throat from all of her crying. 

    She wondered what he was doing here at this hour. She wondered why he felt he had to hide through the servants' corridors instead of making his way in through the main door. She wondered why he would hold himself so low. 

    Arthur stepped inside, carefully closing the door behind him. He set his eyes upon Morgana in her bed, and as Odette's gaze wandered back upwards, she saw him pained. "Where's Guinevere?" he asked her. 

    Odette stood back up. She rubbed at her eyes, trying to make herself as presentable in front of him as possible. Though, he didn't seem to care. "I ..." she fixed her skirts. "I sent her back home," she mumbled. "So ... so she could have a good night's rest..." her words fell away as she watched Arthur walk towards her and before she knew it, was standing at her side. 

    She pursed her lips, not sure whether she needed to create space between them, remind him of their places ... or whether right now, she was grateful that he paid no mind to it. 

    Prince Arthur crossed his arms, taking a sharp breath as he set his jaw and scowled down at Morgana▬as if expecting he could rue her to be awake. "How is she?"

    Odette swallowed back the heaviness to her voice, "Not well," she admitted. "Not well at all." Her brows knitted together and she looked away, trying to keep herself composed. 

    Arthur moved his eyes from the King's Ward onto her young, second handmaiden. She was tired▬exhausted, even; her eyes distant, her cheeks pale and her stance weary. She hadn't flinched from her duties to Morgana for one moment. The Prince went to say something to her, but found himself forgetting it. He didn't know why it meant so much to him that she was still here, sitting at Morgana's side, but it did. 

    "You haven't left her side," he finally said. Odette nodded. "I'm grateful for it."

    "I'm just doing my job," she mumbled. Though they both knew it was more than that. Morgana was Odette's friend, and she was her's. 

    "Sometimes that is all we can do."

    "Yes," Odette briefly glanced at him, curious by his gaze, "sometimes it is."

    Arthur watched her for a moment more, finding a strange breath of understanding between them. It was absurd, that he found similarity as a Prince to the life of a servant. But he did▬just as he understood his duty, Odette was determined to be loyal to hers. No matter what: whether she was ill, or whether she was tired; day and day again, she was at Morgana's side. Arthur understood that. And he understood her need to be with her mistress even now. And if he understood that, then she must understand him in some way, too. 

    That changed something between them; here and now. He wasn't a Prince, and she wasn't a servant. As they mourned Morgana together, quietly and with strength▬they were very much the same. 

    And it allowed Arthur to somehow unfold. He felt his throat ache and he found himself sitting down in the chair, unable to stay on his feet any longer. He leaned forward and let out a long sigh into his hands, hiding the way his eyes started to grow tearful. Though, he didn't feel scrutinised with Odette. He felt far from it. 

    "She doesn't deserve this," he told her quietly. She listened; not just because she had to, but because she wanted to. "She's so kind and just ... I can't just sit here and watch her die."

    He waited for her to say something ridiculously hopeful. To tell him the sun will always rise▬that there was always some way to watch it. But instead, Odette sniffled. She was starting to cry. 

    "Neither can I," she managed. 

    And just like that, Arthur knew he had made his decision. 

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    SHE DIDN'T TRUST HIM. 

    Odette saw good in many people. She liked to think everyone had the capability to be kind. And yet, this so-called physician: Edwin Muirden made her skin crawl in a way she did not like. Draped in his long modest cloaks like a martyr, it wasn't the spider-web burn scar across half his face that made Odette wary. It was the glint in his eye, the slight tilt of his smile and his boast to behold a remedy to cure all ills. 

    Standing within Morgana's chambers in the new day, her stomach churned. She had gotten worse as the sun rose▬mere hours left to her life, and Arthur had become desperate. He called for the man who approached him early yesterday morning. What else did they have to lose? He had said. Everything, Odette wanted to argue. 

    She was on edge, watching him leave Merlin to approach Morgana in her bed. Odette eyed him, her hands clenching at her sides. As Merlin set the stranger's things on the dresser, she surged away from the stone wall to say in a low whisper▬careful for no one else to hear, "I don't trust him."

    Merlin frowned at her. He set down a small wooden box▬many designs were burnt and etched into the wood; Odette scowled at the strange words spread across the top. "Why? What did he do?"

    "Nothing," she admitted, "but▬" she glanced back over her shoulder where Edwin bowed his head to the King present. "I don't know, I▬I have a feeling..."

    "Odette," her friend whispered and she pursed her lips, "Morgana's dying▬he might just be our last chance."

    Her eyes darted over to her mistress pale and unresponsive against her pillows. Odette swallowed the lump in her throat▬it did not help the churn in the pit of her stomach. She tried to persuade Merlin more, but before she could, the stranger, Edwin spoke▬and even his voice put her on edge. 

    Slender, slow▬like something dragging through water; careful, evaluative▬manipulative. 

    Odette shook her head, not liking this one bit. But Merlin was right▬this might be Morgana's only chance. Or she'll be dead within the next hour. 

    "Sire," said the physician, hands clasped and his head bowed, "I would be grateful if you could have everyone leave the room. I require peace and privacy."

    Her eyes widened. Her hair stood on end. Odette clenched and unclenched her hands, the churning feeling now making her sick. The King nodded▬perhaps not in his right mind with his worry; though, Odette was sure he would never understand the hesitance a girl held at the thought of another woman vulnerable and alone▬unable to defend herself against a stranger. 

    "Certainly," said Uther, a little breathless after the whole ordeal of the past few days. His worry for Morgana making him weary. He nodded for them all to leave.

    Odette objected before she had the sense not to, "I'm her maidservant I should stay ..." her words died in the back of her throat as soon as the King and Edwin looked at her. Merlin stared at her, surprised she would speak out of term so easily. 

    She flushed, but did not move▬she did not back down. She wouldn't leave Morgana alone with this man. She refused to. 

    Odette swallowed back her fear. "S▬Someone should be with her..."

    "Now is not the time for objections," said the stranger. Odette frowned at him. "It is dire that I need my full concentration."

    "But▬"

    "Out, handmaiden," the King interrupted her. His tone made her shoulders hunch, startled▬and scared. She stood her ground. He grew angry. "Now!"

    She flinched and like that, all of her courage disappeared. Odette was the first to leave the room, frothing with livid fury▬but unable to do anything more. She rushed down the stairs, hoping to get away before the King changed his mind and punished her for speaking out of term. 

    She expected Arthur to follow her immediately; taking her arm and tugging her aside into an alcove as Gaius, the King and Merlin followed the party out of the room. She knew he was going to chide her even before he opened his mouth. 

    "Really?" the Prince whispered, frustrated with her. "You choose now to defy my father? Is it you that is ill?"

    "Your father should think for a moment and listen," said Odette angrily, not in the mood to hold her tongue.

    Arthur's brows raised. His grip on her arm tightened. "Watch yourself, Odette," he told her softly▬but very stern. "I know you're upset, and I know you're scared for Morgana, but the last thing you need is to end up losing your tongue speaking out of term to the King."

    She clenched her jaw▬grinding her teeth until she calmed down. Odette flexed her wrist, not quite used in feeling his large hand be wrapped around her arm▬his fingers could hold her easily. Once satisfied that she wouldn't say anything more that might incriminate herself, Arthur let go. 

    Odette thought he'd say something else to chide her. He looked like he might. She was prepared to argue, but then he just gently squeezed her shoulder and brushed past her. She frowned, watching him go▬very confused. 

    She returned a little bit after him▬knowing better to be seen coming straight out from the same place as the Prince in the presence of his father. So Odette snuck back into the corridor when he wasn't looking, slipping in beside Merlin who nearly jumped to see her back so abruptly. 

    The group of them waited. Odette kept her anger down, trying very hard not to pace at the thought of Edwin alone up there. She wondered whether Gwen had returned, and was keeping an eye on her from the servants' door▬she hoped she was. 

    As the wait grew longer, they were joined by Ronyn and Adelynn▬who, both also very close with the King's Ward, had been taken deeply by her sudden illness. Adelynn made her way straight towards Odette, silently taking the handmaiden's hand and holding it tight. She was surprised, but provided the young girl comfort by squeezing back. 

    "Will she be all right, Odette?" asked the young Miss Adelynn. 

    "She'll be all right," instead answered Merlin as Ronyn gave the two of them a stiff nod in greeting as he stood a few paces away with Arthur. The two conversed lowly and in sombre tones. "She has to be."

    Odette squeezed Adelynn's hand again at his words, "I believe in miracles," she said softly with a weak smile. "If anyone is deserving of one, it is Morgana. The sun will shine on her again, I am sure."

    The young fourteen-year-old's eyes lit up at her promise and she smiled, believing her. 

    And perhaps▬just as she promised▬the sun did shine upon the Lady Morgana once more for just as Odette finished her words did footsteps pound down the staircase. Moments later, appeared Edwin, rushing down with a beam upon his face. Beams were supposed to be delightful and comforting▬Odette found his neither. 

    And then, just like that, Adelynn's grip on Odette's hand tightened▬she stiffened up like a cork, her eyes suddenly wide. "Did you hear that?" she whispered, sounding quite horrified. 

    Odette frowned at her, confused, "Hear what?" she asked her in a whisper. 

    Adelynn stared at her, taken aback. "I▬" she frowned, bewildered with herself even, "▬that sound?" She glanced back at Edwin, startled. "Like ... I do not know ... insects, scuttling amongst one another."

    She did not hear such a thing, but despite it, Odette grew uneasy. Especially when Merlin's gaze shot to Adelynn▬she didn't realise, but Odette saw the way his eyes widened; somehow shocked. 

    Any question the warlock had for Miss Adelynn ran dry when Edwin announced, "Great news, Your Majesty!" Everyone spun around at his words, breaths hitched and hearts high in their chests. Arthur stood up rigid, grabbing Ronyn's sleeve to jerk him to listen. The Lord Vecentia smacked the Prince's hand away, his attention already having been avid. "You will be glad to hear it is not an inflammation of the brain."

    They all shared a few glances. Adelynn continued to hold Odette's hand tightly amongst their skirts. 

    "What is it, then?" asked the King.

    Edwin nodded, "It is a cerebral haemorrhage."

    Gaius's arms fell▬shocked and startled. He stared at Edwin, quite stunned until he stated, in all disbelief: "Haemorrhage?" Slowly, the young physician turned to eye him. Odette watched the exchange carefully. "I don't think so."

    Edwin held up a small cloth. Odette's eyes widened to see it stained with red. "I found this trace of blood in her ear."

    "God in heaven!" cursed Uther.

    Gaius scowled back at it. Odette shared a quick glance with Merlin, the two servants knowing the look the Court Physician held quite well. She raised her brows to say, I told you I don't trust him. 

    "The severity depends upon the site and the volume of the bleed," went on Edwin. "If not treated, it can lead to coma and eventually death."

    The King's eyes landed on his physician, horrified. "How could you have missed this?"

    Gaius's scowl did not waver from Edwin, "I didn't see any blood."

    "Please," Edwin clicked his tongue, as if ashamed by the conflict, "just thank the Fates that you did not administer more rosemary to stimulate the circulation. Can you imagine what that might have done?"

    Ronyn seemed to stand on end. He met Odette's eyes across the room▬he knew immediately she did not trust him, and he agreed with her. There was something not right about Edwin Muirden, and the way he spoke did not agree with the young Lord at all. 

    The King and Arthur watched Gaius expectantly for an answer, and he reluctantly said: "It may have increased the bleed."

    Uther swallowed back his anger and removed his gaze. He focused it on the young physician, "Is there a cure?"

    Edwin merely smiled. He gestured to the stairs, "See for yourself."

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    THE CITY REJOICED at the remarkable recovery of the Lady Morgana. Her beauty reigned yet again, smiling and blessing the miracle that was Edwin Muirden's remedy to cure all ills. She was still pale, she was still slow to stir and sometimes a bit breathless, but she was smiling, she was grateful▬and most importantly, she was alive.

    And yet, the young Miss Adelynn was not completely content. Her delight that the Lady Morgana was living to see another day could not be overshadowed, and yet, her heart hammered and her mind wandered▬focusing purely on the strange sound she had heard the moment Edwin had returned from her chambers. 

    No one else seemed to have heard it. A rustling like many loud insects▬chilling down Adelynn's spine. It scared her. Made her on edge like a dog with its shackles raised and teeth bared. 

    She sneaked out. It was wrong, she knew it▬if her mother found out, she'd be in grave trouble. A lady such as herself should not walk alone; should not be without an escort▬whether it was her mother, her father or her brother. But with a few moments of persuasion, she managed to get her maid to lie and hide her escapade back to the castle as the day progressed. 

    Adelynn had borrowed her maid's cloak, fastening it around her expensive dress and hiding her face as she walked through the citadel courtyard, keeping to the sides to avoid any glances of passing guards or nobles that would recognise her face. 

    She wasn't exactly sure whether she had imagined it in her fear for Morgana▬or why she was so fearful now. And yet, she was drawn to hear it again; determined to see whether she had made it up or ... well, she wasn't too sure. 

    The youngest Vecentia stepped into the castle▬slipping in through a side corridor and rushing up the staircase. Sticking to the stone wall, she managed to sneak her way back inside and towards where the chambers were her maid had been told Edwin had been given. 

    When she was sure she was alone in the corridors did Adelynn pull down the hood of the cloak. Revealed underneath was a youthful face still growing out of her childhood glow. Delicate olive skin rested under beautiful brown waves, but there was a steely look to Adelynn Vecentia▬a daring look. One that could be sharp like a dagger and yet soft like rose petals. (Until someone noticed the thorns beneath).

    She glanced behind her as she reached the chamber doors, her breath hitched. She's never done something as rash and daring as this. Her brother was always protective of her, just as her mother is. She was still taught within the nursery and kept inside her room▬too old to be a child and yet still too young to marry in her mother's eyes. And while Adelynn should be grateful her mother and brother didn't want to marry her off yet, she hated being locked away like a damsel within a tower, begging and anticipating each time she was allowed outside. 

    Her fingers brushed the handle amongst the wooden door. With a deep breath she awkwardly called through the cracks, "Edwin?" There was no answer. "Edwin, Sir?" she didn't hear anything. Adelynn tightened her fingers around the brass handle. "Merlin?" she called for the Prince's manservant who was helping the physician during his stay. 

    When she didn't receive any answer of any kind, Adelynn brought her hidden courage to the tip of her tongue to force herself to open the door and slip inside. She closed it behind her, staring with a pounding heart at the room around her. 

    The young lady's eyes wandered around the chambers, alight with interest to see the equipment set out upon the dining table in the centre of the room. Her breath hitched, a little excited at the sight of gold and brass engineers of science▬cauldrons, mirrors, scales and anything of which would be an alchemist's dream. 

    Adelynn stepped forward, her curiosity making her forget the true reason she had come here to run her fingers along the bizarre equipment. She picked at the latches and spun the rings of a brass wheel. 

    But then she heard it again. The rustling▬the sound of small legs scuttling over each other and wings rubbing. It pierced her ears and made her hitch her breath, her eyes darting over to a small, single box in the centre of the table. 

    Adelynn frowned at it▬she felt some part of her move before she could think; dragging her feet towards the strange box and the sound that seemed to be coming from it. Her brows furrowed, her limbs seemed alive with something she couldn't quite describe▬

    Her hands reached out to pick it up, her heart racing and pounding hard against her chest. The sound got louder and louder▬it swarmed within her, overwhelmed her; the wood burned against her fingertips. Adelynn tried to read the words on top of the lid. A language quite old, she knew that much. She tried to sound it out▬something burned within the pit of her stomach▬

    "My Lady?"

    Adelynn jumped. She dropped the box and the sound disappeared. It clattered amongst Edwin's equipment and she shuffled away, trying to make it seem like she hadn't been caught red-handed within his chambers. 

    Merlin stood at the ajar door, frowning at her with an air of suspicion. She stared at him, wide-eyed and flushed▬startled and yet muddled from the strange feeling that had surged within her; like her blood turned into flames. 

    Adelynn Vecentia swallowed harshly. She tried to straighten up, jutting out her chin to seem taller than she was. "Merlin," she greeted stiffly and regally. "What▬what are you doing here?"

    The Prince's servant stared back at her, incredulous. "What are you doing here?"

    She didn't expect him to shoot back the same question. Adelynn pursed her lips, then, she replied with a very smart response: "I do not have to answer to you."

    He pursed his lips. His eyes seemed to flicker over to the box▬the same box Adelynn had heard the sound, felt this strange sense of power. She didn't know what it meant, what had happened ... she was scared of it. Merlin's gaze fixed back onto her▬deep blue eyes that looked ageless; years beyond him. Her own started to narrow, finding that sensation lift back up within her just to lock in his glance. 

    And he seemed to look at her as if he recognised it. 

    Adelynn needed to get out of here. 

    She gathered her skirts and surged forward, "I must be getting back home." Miss Adelynn Vecentia brushed past Merlin Wyllt▬and the warlock stiffened; his eyes growing wide as he felt it. A chill up his spine▬a surge of power at her slight touch.

    Magic. 

    He watched Adelynn Vecentia march down the hallway, the hood of her cloak back over her face▬at loss of every breath within him. 

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    a/n: ooop adelynn girl--

    yes she has magic I'm so excited to explore her arc and her character development that grows throughout the acts. like she's very much a side character until she turns into a huge main character. 

     like she represents the versions of apprentices merlin has had in the stories. i'm super excited. 

     also this episode is like my least favourite ugh I'm trying to write through it quickly lol. but like the actor for Edwin was cool tho. 

     I think any of my fellow merlin writers that are or may one day read this book, we can all agree we hate writing this episode.

     lol I love season 1 arthur and morgana. like they're the embodiment of 'yeah, we're like siblings' 'but i so wanna fuk u' trope and then u realise they're ACTUALLY SIBLINGS-

     and uther just lets it happen ...

     also can we appreciate how katie actually looks like she'd be uther's daughter - like she got the pendragon jawline >>

     it's funny. it's gross, but it's fukin funny.

    i was gonna make an inappropriate joke here about arthur chiding odette then i thought better of it. 

    lol btw we're getting closer to the chapter where merlin tells arthur he should write a book on how to offend women - I thought you guys would appreciate me letting you know that. 

     also any head cannons for these characters? could be any of them, any pairings, any relationships any dynamics. I love to read the stuff you guys come up with. comment them here: