His Guardian Angel (An Arthur Pendragon Love Story)

Chapter 14 - The Labyrinth of Gedref

I worked through some simple healing and tiredness tonics for the knights and Arthur as they were currently out on a hunting trip. I also wanted to get as much work done as possible, because Gaius expected everything to be done by the end of the day, and I knew that when Merlin got back I'd have to endure him nagging about how horrible it was to go out and kill animals for fun. And I would never be able to concentrate if he was yapping at me.

And it seemed I was right, as basically the second I was finished, Merlin burst through the doors and huffed, sitting down on a bench. "What happened this time?" I asked, packing away all the things I had used. "Arthur made a mistake, and was being a prat about it." My brother complained and I sat next to him. "Merlin, animals have to be killed, otherwise we wouldn't have any meat to eat." I said, and Merlin rolled his eyes.

"I know that, but Arthur killed a unicorn, just because he could." Merlin groaned, and my eyes widened. "Wait, Arthur killed a... unicorn?" I questioned, now fearing because of the book I had been reading recently. "Yes, that's what I said, he's presenting the horn to his father soon." My brother said, and I nodded, not paying too much attention to what he was saying.

"Merlin!! Merlin!!!" I heard Arthur yelling from down the corridor, and Merlin groaned before getting up and walking out the room. I immediately started rifling through the bookshelves for the book I had been reading most recently. I found it and pulled it off the shelf, before opening it and flipping through it. I found the page that I was looking for, on unicorns.

I scanned over the page, and found the bit I was looking for: 'There is a legend which states that anyone who slays a unicorn will bring down a curse upon them of bad fortune. They must complete a series of tasks to prove that they are true of heart in order to break their curse, if they're unable to do this, then they may need to go to their guardian angel for help.' I read, and I took a few deep breaths.

I really hoped that this wasn't true. And even if it was, I hoped that the tasks weren't too hard for Arthur to complete. I knew that he was true of heart, even though it didn't show through at times. And then there was the last bit, about the guardian angel. I'd never heard of them before, and I'd tried to find more information on them, but came up with nothing. I just didn't understand it.

I was really intrigued about the angels though. From their name I gathered that they were given a specific place that they had to guard, or maybe a person. I simply had no clue. But there wasn't time for that now, I had to worry about the possible curse that could come down upon us at any time.

I read over the pages a few times before deciding that there was nothing I could do about it now, the unicorn had already been killed, and Arthur would be the one to face the consequences, if there were any. I closed the book and placed it back on the shelf, before going into my room and opening a different book that I'd got from the library to try and take my mind off it.

I vaguely heard Gaius enter the main room, and he must have been satisfied with my work as he didn't come up to my room, so I just continued reading my story, getting invested in the different characters, and smiling at the beautiful love story interwoven between the battles and wars going on.

"Amara! Can you come down here!" I heard Gaius call to me, and I placed my book down and headed into the other part of the physician's quarters. "Yes Gaius?" I asked, and the older man looked up at me. "Oh, good, you're here. We seem to have hit a problem. All the crops in the kingdom have dried up, and we can no longer use them." He said, and I knew my mouth fell open. "Seriously?" I asked, not believing him, but Gaius nodded at me.

"Let me guess, the unicorn." I said, and Gaius gave me a slightly confused look. "Yes, how did you know." He asked, and I looked down at my feet. "Merlin told me that Arthur had killed one, and I remembered reading a book about it yesterday, so I looked over it, and it said there would be a curse." I explained, and Gaius looked at me, impressed.

"Well, it's obviously been caused by magic as all the trees and bushes are still alive." Gaius, said, and I heard the door open. I looked over and saw that it was my brother. "What is it Merlin?" I asked as I noticed the upset look he had on his face. "All the water's turned to sand, every well in the city is running dry." He said, and I sighed. "Damn it." I whispered under my breath.