Morgana
Chapter 15:Morgana
Can't breathe! Can't breathe!
Merlin knew he was sitting upright but he couldn't see anything, vaguely aware of his wheezing breath that came in short stuttered intakes. His mind, all a misty gray white, was filled with a shrill shrieking that reverberated through his skull.
Then the pain started. It was as if something angry was trying to tear itself into his head, clawing at its corners and gnawing at the edges. Merlin collapsed backwards onto the bed, body convulsing as the pain in his head manifested in the unwilling jerking of his extremities. Merlin felt like someone was choking him, the vice around his neck tightening like a rope. His voice was being pulled from his body, like short gasps around his breath.
He could feel the sweat beading on his upper lip but all of that was secondary to the excruciating pain that was encompassing his every nerve. An errant hand flung the clay vase that stood on the table next to the bed to the ground, shattering against the stone floor with a resounding crash.
Godric, awakened by the sound, pushed himself up blearily in bed. He looked for the source of the noise, and his gaze landed on Merlin's writhing form on the bed. Alarmed, he threw the covers off of himself, shaking Salazar in the process, trying to wake him up.
"Salazar. Salazar wake up!" He ran to the bed, where Merlin was wildly thrashing, grabbing at his throat, the nails scratching thin, pink lines on the column of his pale throat. Godric managed to get a hold of his hands, pinning them down to the bed, while Salazar woke the two girls. Rowena's hair was messy, sticking to her face, where saliva had run. Helga was still unsticking her eyes as they both stumbled to the bed behind Salazar, eyes widening as they took in Merlin's state.
"What's going on?"
"I don’t know! I woke up and she was like this! Ro, Helga, grab her legs, I've got her hands. Salazar go get Uncle Gaius! I don't know how, just do it!"
Salazar ran out, smacking face first into the chainmail clad guards that the King had placed outside their doors as sentries.
"Please get Gaius!" They peered into the room, seeing the three kids holding down Merlin's figure, arching up off the bed, a small shriek escaping his throat.
The guards glanced at each other and after a moments hesitation one of them went off to go find the physician.
Emrys.
The high pitched wailing in his skull deadened slightly as Merlin became aware of another presence on the edge of his consciousness. Soft as a whisper but somehow travelling easily through the noise.
Emrys, you must stay calm. Somehow Merlin found enough will in himself to respond, despite the pain in his head.
What? Talisien? Why are you talking in my head?
Emrys, you must be calm.
Talisien, in case you haven't noticed, my mind is currently a holding place for Camelot's noisiest chicken.
It is a beast Emrys. A terrible, terrible creature. The likes of something that hasn't been seen since ancient times.
Could you maybe tell me about this when my head isn't, you know, threatening to explode?
It's here. The beast is within Camelot's walls.
What? Here? And you're only telling me this now?
Emrys, my strength grows weak, you need to find this creature and destroy it, before it destroys us all. It is only the beginning of the great evil's that the dark sorceress will send Camelot's way.
Talisien's voice faded, and the shrieking started anew, stronger and this time filled with a satisfied bloodlust, but now his vision was clearing Merlin could see the bed curtains hanging above him, feel the sweat-slicked stickiness of his clothes, his brow dripping. He tried to move and realized that Godric was cradling him, his head in the boy's lap, while he kept an iron grip on his arms, to prevent him from digging anymore scratches into his neck.
"Godric." Gods, his voice was ruined. His throat felt raw and hoarse, parched and paper dry when he tried to speak. Merlin attempted swallowing to wet his mouth, to ease the speech and instantly regretted the action.
"Godric, I;m fine. You can let go now." He spoke softly, trying not to agitate his voice. Godric visibly sagged in relief, the tension seeping out of his shoulders. Merlin felt some pressure lift off of his legs and then his vision was crowded by the faces of Rowena, Salazar and Helga. They peered at him, Salazar chewing his lip nervously.
"Are you alright Mistress?"
"I expect to find out shortly." Merlin glanced to his left to find Gaius clambering onto the bed, kneeling next to Merlin and Godric, with a bag full of medicinal herbs and elixirs. Merlin tried to swat Gaius's hand away, opening his mouth to dismiss the mollycoddling, but found himself overwrought by coughs.
"What's going on?" The King strode into the room, without much preamble, taking in the group on the bed that was gathered around Merlin's prone form. Merlin managed to raise himself up to his elbows, grimacing at the tacky feel of sweat drying on his chest. He pinned Arthur with a questioning gaze in response.
"What’s going on? What are you doing in the room of an unmarried woman in the dead of night?" Arthur flushed indignantly at the insinuation but stood his ground. He placed his hands on his hips and Merlin took in for the first time that it seemed that the King had truly just come straight from his chambers, seeing as he was clad only in a plain white shirt over tan trousers with a red robe, hair sticking out at odd angles. Certainly not clothes a King should be wandering around in, lest he invite rumors. Though Merlin was hardly one to talk, he was certain he himself made a rather interesting sight.
"The guards told me you were ill. I came to see what was happening." Merlin leaned to the side, now for the first time seeing the two knights posted outside his door. He shook his head, he had forgotten who he was dealing with.
"I forgot. Of course, you were going to post sentries at my door. In case I sung an illegal lullaby or something?" Arthur took a step forward, not missing the way Godric's expression hardened and his body tensed, ready for confrontation.
"Listen, you are a known sorcerer. I had to be sure you weren't here in some insane bid to destroy the kingdom." Merlin sat up fully, his expression incredulous.
"And your solution was to post guards at my door? I could have just as easily knocked them out and brought this castle to its knees. But I didn't. When are you going to learn that not everyone is after your ridiculous pratty arse? If I had wanted you dead Arthur Pendragon, you would be."
The King sputtered, momentarily stumped, it was hard arguing with that logic.
"What was all that commotion just now about then?" Arthur finally returned, choosing not address Merlin's statement.Merlin realized he had forgotten the initial reason for his waking up. He got up, slipping on his shoes and shoved Arthur out of the way to the door.
"M-Elladora, where are you going?" Gaius cried out, scrambling off of the bed, steadying himself by a post, Merlin stopped just short of the door.
"Outside." He made to leave, but the King stopped him by grabbing his exposed upper arm.
"Dressed like that?" For the first time, Merlin stopped to think that he was wearing just a cotton shift, After a moments consideration, he marched back towards his bed, whipped off the thin wool shawl at the foot of the bed, swung it around him, so it swathed his upper body and then turned and ran out the doors.
"Mistress!" Godric, Salazar, Helga and Rowena made to follow, but Merlin popped his head back and fixed them all with a stern look.
"The four of you will stay here. No, Godric, I'm not asking, I'm telling you. You will wait for me here. I don't want his King ship here, thinking I've run off after casting some inane enchantment on Camelot."
Then he was out of sight, his footsteps receding. Gaius and Arthur stood flummoxed in the center of the room for a moment, before he threw up his hands in exasperation.
"Oh for the love of -" Then he too, stalked out of the chambers with Gaius close at his heels. The last thing Gaius saw was the scowl on Godric's face as he closed the door with a apologetic sigh, indicating that the children should go back to sleep.
. . . . .
"Where has that daft sorceress gone off to?!" Arthur's annoyed yell was half whispered, still as yet unwilling to oust her status as a criminal. It would be in poor spirits to roast the woman who brought his wife back to him in one piece. He caught sight of Elladora's figure turning a corner up and took off after her. He motioned a guard as he passed by.
"Go get Percival and Leon. Tell them to meet me by the castle gates." The nameless knight nodded and trotted off to the Knight's quarters.
By the time Arthur caught up to her, Elladora was practically flying down the steps of the castle's entrance. He barely managed to grab her hand as she hit the last step before the ground.
"Stop! Where are you going?!" Elladora wrenched her hand out of his grasp, whirling to face him. She pointed out the castle's main gates, into the Village Square.
"I am going out there. I don't care if you believe me or not, but something is out there. I can feel it." Arthur scoffed disbelievingly.
"Oh you feel it? Are you sure you aren't just buying time to start whatever offense you have planned?"
Arthur swore at that moment, that he saw something in Elladora's eyes snap at the exact moment the words left his lips. Her eyes blazed and she stepped forward until she was nose to nose with him.
"I will not stand by idly while I am insulted, Arthur -"
"That’s King Arthur to you!"
"Then behave like one!" Elladora snapped back, waiting barely a moment to respond to him. "You've made up your mind to make a villain out of me, without taking the time to even understand me. Why does the fact that I possess the ability to do things you can't make you so angry? If you're so desperate to vilify me than go ahead, arrest me." She held her wrists out, together, to him, daring him to do it. When he didn't, she turned to go but called over her shoulder as she kept running.
"Maybe when you decide to act like the King you claim to be, you can use that Royal mind to understand me before you exile me, like you did to Merlin."
Now that left Arthur gaping after him, so blindsided was he, by Elladora's outburst in her own defense that he stood rooted to the spot until his Knights came running out of the castle doors, blowing right past him. But ten paces ahead, they paused and turned back, confusion on their faces at the sight of their King standing baffled, eyes distant.
"Sire?" Leon approached warily and then jumped when Arthur seemed to come out of his fog, finally focusing on the two men in front of him. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Come on, we've got to find that halfwit sorceress before she gets herself or us killed."
. . . . . .
After about five minutes of aimless running through the upper town, Leon finally spotted Merlin, well, Elladora, and motioned for the others to follow him. She had her hand on the stone that surrounded Camelot, with her eyes closed. They crept closer, not wanting to startle her.
"I can hear you, you know."
Leon and Percival exchanged glances, still in disbelief that the woman from 7 years ago was in Camelot.
"Next time you try sneaking up on someone, make sure you're not doing while ankle-deep in mud." Then she readjusted the shawl on his shoulders and followed the presence he'd felt in his mind earlier. It was still there, faint and quiet now. As if the creature had been fed and now slunk away to recuperate before attacking again.
"What are you looking for?"
"I'll know when I find it."
"That's hardly very reassuring."
"Oh quiet, or I'll turn the both of you into toads."
"You forget your place, woman." Affronted, Leon placed a hand on the hilt of the sword that hung at his hip. Merlin was well aware that Leon would try to scare him into subservience. As gentle as Leon was, he grew frightening in defense of his King and it was clear that Merlin presented a viable threat. A woman with abilities that could potentially decimate the city and furthermore showed no signs of loyalty to Camelot.
All at once, Merlin spotted what he was looking for. A well with it's cover off, unusual practice since that left the drinking water open to pollution by animals and plants.
"There!" He ran towards it, holding his shift higher up though it didn't stop the mud from splattering the hem, staining it a dark, filthy brown along with his long pale legs.He skittered to a stop just before the well, letting go of the fabric bunched up between his fingers.
Merlin had seen quite a number of gruesome sights in his life. It was nothing to be proud of, but at the least, it made sure that he was very rarely caught off guard. Yet, here he was, feeling very much like he needed to retch the contents of his stomach on the floor, the nausea settling in the pit of his stomach like stone.
In front of him, lay the body of a woman. Perhaps the word 'lay' was not the best way to describe it. It was as if someone had sat down a doll, propped up against the walls of the well. Her face was a frozen mask of fear, eyes wide and mouth open in a silent scream. It appeared that she had fallen into the position she was in now. At first, it appeared that the cause of her death was the large wound in her head, likely from knocking into the lip of the uncovered well, but then Merlin noticed the lack of blood from the wound.
"Lords." Merlin heard Leon come up behind him when he and the King caught up. They both stopped short, surveying the surroundings.
"Murder, Sire." Leon murmured to Arthur who nodded, pressing his palms together under his nose. The implications of murder meant, the search, the investigation. He was Camelot's King now, and he had a duty to protect his citizens. That someone had committed murder under his own nose was enough to make his blood boil.
It was then that Merlin noticed that the three of them were standing in a deep trough, carved out in the mud, one that had yet to even itself out, which was surprising given the slippery tendencies of the mud. It was as deep as his knee and as wide as three fruit carts laid out side by side from shortest end to shortest end. Whatever had been here, whatever had killed her was gargantuan in size.
"It was murder, Pendragon, but not by any person." Arthur and Leon stopped the hushed discussions they'd been having to gawk at him. When they showed no signs of understanding of what he meant, Merlin sighed, carding a hand through the tangled curls that lay bedraggled on his head.
"Look at her, she was dead, from no apparent cause before she hit the ground." Arthur eyed her suspiciously.
"How can you know that?"
"Because of the blood. There's not enough of it to be the reason she's dead. Look all the blood has gone to her legs. That's why there isn't as much blood as you would expect of a head wound like that. She was dead before she fell." He snapped, revolted, the more he looked at the body. That had been a woman, once. Someone who had laughed, loved, lived. And now thanks to whatever monstrosity that Morgana had called forth, she had become a gross perversion of what she had been in life. Her lips, frozen in that permanent yell somehow reminded Merlin of someone and it wasn't until he looked behind him to the building they stood behind, he realized who it was that lay dead at his feet.
"How could that be?" Leon wondered, aghast at the possiblity.
His knees trembled and he found himself collapsed to his knees, mud squelching repulsively between his fingers as his hand splayed out to break his fall. Arthur and Leon bounded forward, thinking that Merlin was in the process of fainting. They grabbed an arm, attempting to keep her up, Merlin shook his head.
"No. No, no no no." King and subject exchanged looks before looking at him in alarm.
"Mistress, am I to understand that you know this woman?"
"How can you not know her?" The quiet accusation filtering through Merlin's vexed voice. He couldn't believe this was happening. Once again, Morgana had succeeded in making the innocent the victims in the ongoing battle between herself and Arthur.
"She's the taverness of Terry Tavern. Gwaine drinks himself stupid every night." All he could see was Lianora's bright smile in his mind's eye. The same smile he'd seen her sister smile just hours ago.
"Madalen." He whispered. Arthur and Leon looked up from their inspection of the body, while Leon called a passing guard to fetch Gaius.
"Pardon?"
"Her name. It was Madalen. She has three children. What will they do without her?" He lookedblankly at Arthur and the King found it hard in the circumstances, to answer him, because frankly, he had no idea.
. . . . .
"Elladora? What are you -" Merlin winced as Lianora's sentence cut off into a scream as she rounded the corner of the tavern to see why she had been pulled out of bed at the late hour. She ran forward, hands outstretched, as two guards lifted Madalen's body onto a makeshift stretcher to carry to Gaius's quarters. Merlin caught her before she could get any closer, hugging her close, feeling her breath contract painfully in her lungs and her dry heaving turning into wailing sobs.
"Shhh, Lianora, shhh. I'm here." He closed his eyes as Gaius drew a white cloth over the body, covering her face with it. When Lianora could no longer stand, they both sunk to the ground, ignoring the cold silt and the dampness that seeped into their clothes.
By this time, all the Knights were out in full force. They discussed with Arthur in hushed voices their next course of action.
Merlin knew it was irrational but somehow seeing them huddled together and murmuring about plans made him angry. He resolved to himself then and there that this wouldn't be like the other times. This time, he was going to make Arthur listen to him. Camelot needed magic as much as it need Arthur and it was going to start right now, before this creature could kill again.
It was then that Lianora fainted and Gaius rushed forward, helping the other guard's carry Lianora back into her rooms in the tavern. Merlin quickly told the guard that would be guarding her to tell the young woman he would be back soon. He watched them carry her away before starting as something flashed by in the forest behind the well.
He watched again, and sure enough, he saw something dark tear through the brush, branches and trees creaking with its force. Merlin glanced around, mystified that no one else seemed to be able to see the thing in the woods. Even worse, the entity seemed to traveling further into the forest, and Merlin knew that if he kept going in that direction, within hours he would reach the mouth of the entrance to the Valley of the Fallen Kings.
Maybe whatever had come for Madalen had escaped the Valley. The thought was too pressing for Merlin to leave at that and before he was fully aware of his actions, he found himself crashing through the woods at breakneck speed to keep up with the being that careened ahead of him. He paid no mind to the sharp thorns and branches that pulled and tore at his skin, ignoring it when he lost his shawl along the way to brambles that grasped for him. For the closer he seemed to get to it, the more apparent it was that it was an illusion of some kind. There in some physical form but not entirely so.
Then, abruptly, it was gone. Merlin came to a panting stop in the middle of the brush. Dark, and black the forest stretched all around him, seemingly endless and silent. It was noiseless and that put him on edge, because silence in a forest that should have been full of woodland creatures indicated to him that sinister nature of the greenwood. The trees gnarled around each other, high above his head, the moonlight streaming through the open spaces in the dense coverage of branches.
An odd sigh breathed through the woods and Merlin whirled around, breathing hard, the sound harsh to his own ears.
"Who are you and why do you follow me?" Merlin came face to face with the apparition he'd been chasing, his back thunking painfully against the large trunk of an oak tree. He scrabbled for a handhold on the bark, his nails scratching on the bark as he held on, his knuckles white.
He recognized the being he'd been following. Pale skin, dark hair and eyes that promised violent ambitions. They were as dark as they were malicious. Merlin shuddered as he straightened himself up, stepping out from under the oak to address the apparition until both were bathed in moonlight, the effect eerie.
"Morgana."