The Safest Place to Hide

4. Two is Better Than One

 Cora paced nervously back and forth on the floor of the house. She had been up for hours, since dawn, and she had not stopped cleaning. Anna had told her, when they first arrived a week ago, that this was supposed to be a vacation from everything, but she had to keep busy. If not, she wouldn't cope well with the fact that Anna had not yet returned. She had cleaned ever inch of the place, and now, all she could do was wait. She was going to give her until noon before she went after her, and if she had to move mountains to get to her, so be it. She was that determined.

She stopped pacing for a moment, long enough to take a peek out of the window to see if Anna was wallking up to the house. She wasn't. It was the thousandth time she had checked in the last hour, or so it seemed. She twisted her hands nervously. If anything happened to Anna, the king would have Cora's head. Asteria would never be the same.

Cora closed the curtains. She didn't want anyone to be looking inside and see her falling apart. She wanted to maintain the illusion that everything was fine. She didn't need the people of Camelot reporting strange behavior coming from the house. That would be probable cause for a search, and they would find Anna's bag. Inside, Cora knew, was Anna's mother's leather journal, and written on it's pages was her every single spell her mother had learned and mastered. They would both be found guilty of sorcery and burned at the stake. That was the last thing either of them needed.

She walked away from the window and started pacing back and forth again. If Anna didn't show up soon, she was going to wear a trench in the floor.

~ * ~

Anna followed closely behind Merlin. He seemed to know the woods around them extremely well, and she didn't. She imagined that he had been out there a lot.

Neither of them had spoken since they left the place where Anna found Merlin. There were so many things she wanted to ask him, but she wasn't sure how he would feel about her prying into his business. She wondered if there was a way she could inquire about him without sounding too snoopy. She thought about it a long time before she said anything.

Merlin was deep in thought. He was still confused as the to the circumstances under which Anna had found him. She had explained herself to him when she didn't have to. She ahd saved him from a very torturous death, and stuck around until he woke up. He had no reason not to trust her. He glanced back to make sure she was still there with him, and smiled. She had been looking in his direction. She returned the gesture, and then he turned away from her again.

The smile was enough to give her the nerve to instigate a conversation. She was used to a lot of noise and the silence between them was killing her.

"Merlin?"

"Yes?" Merlin stopped and turned around to face her.

"What were you doing all the way out here? You don't have to answer, but I'm just curious. I know you can take care of yourself and everything, so don't think that I don't."

"I was gathering some herbs for Gaius. He's the royal court physician, and my guardian. I've stayed with him since I arrived in Camelot. What about you, Anna?" She was standing right in front of him now. "What brings you to Camelot?"

Anna laughed. "I just needed some time away, from home, from all of the chaos. My friend Cora and I are here for a month, at least. Maybe longer."

She and Merlin started walking again, side by side this time. They continued to talk. The ice had finally been broken between them, and Merlin was growing more and more comfortable with her. He frowned, thinking about what she'd just said. She was a sorceress. It didn't make a whole lot of sense that she wanted to come to a place where magic was outlawed.