The Safest Place to Hide

3. I Saw You Die...

 The sun was just starting to rise when Anna stopped again. She had been searching relentlessly for Merlin, but she had yet to find him. Time was running out, and she was starting to panic. It seemed that she would have to use other tools to find him.

Out of breath, she raised her hand, and whispered softly, "Reperio."

A glittering stream of light lit up the ground beneath her feet. It looked like a long, and wide, strand of diamonds twinkling before her. Just as she had commanded it to, it was showing her the way to Merlin. With any luck, she would find him in no time. Anna took off again, her way illuminated by her own magic, anxious to get to the fallen sorcerer on time.

It didn't take her long to find him. She had been a lot closer to him than she realized. Only a minute, maybe less, had passed when she came to the edge of the ledge that Morgana had pushed Merlin off of. Anna peered down at the ground and her heart skipped a beat. There he was. She scrambled down the enbankment to get to him, praying she had made it in time.

She kneeled down at his side the moment she came up to his fragile-looking body. Merlin looked just like he had in her vision. Sweat covered his forehead, from fever most likely, and his face was as pale as ashes. Her blood was thumping in her ears. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down. She felt like the weight of the world was on her shoulders.

Anna laid her head down over Merlin's heart. Relief washed over her when she heard his heart beating. It was faint, but it was still there. She raised her head up and placed her right hand over his heart. She had only used her healing power a couple of times, and because her magic was so great, she could heal anything; poison, wounds, and afflictions from other magic. Now, she would use it to heal Merlin. All she needed was to concentrate.

A bright light, equal to the radiance of the sun, illuminated Merlin's entire body. She felt him start to shake beneath her hand, and she pressed on his chest harder, trying to hold him in place. Suddenly, he stopped. Merlin drew in a sharp breath and then he was still. She gazed down at him curiously. That had never happened before. Usually, whoever she healed, would wake up instantly. She laid her ear against his chest again, over top of his heart. The heartbeat was stronger now than it had been before. She sighed in frustration. He should have been waking up. She stared at him, silently willing his eyes to open, but they remained closed.

Anna shivered. The sun was up all of the way now, but the temperature had not risen very much at all. She sat there beside of Merlin for the longest time, before she got up and moved around a little. All this waiting was killing her. She walked all around the small area where he lay and gathered dry twigs that she could start a fire with. She piled them all, nice and neat, as close to Merlin as she could get and keep him from catching on fire. She used a spell to light it, and then resumed her spot by his side. She found herself caring, oddly enough, about this boy and what happened to him, not only because she had forseen what would happen to a lot of innocent people if he died, but because she felt sorry for him. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

"Come on, Merlin," she whispered. "You have to wake up. If nothing else, to let me know that you're okay." She placed her hand on the side of his face. He was ice cold, but he seemed to be otherwise alright. She had to keep him warm.

Anna unfastened her cloak. She had on long sleeves and the sun was out now. Surely she would be able to manage without it. She laid the cloak over Merlin's upper half, folding the rest of it up to form a small pillow. She raised his head and slipped it under him. Then she went down closer to the fire and laid down herself. She only meant to rest her eyes, but due to her lack of sleep the previous night, she fell into a deep slumber in no time at all.