AM I THE ONE? | Arthur Pendragon [1]

The Feelings See the Light

*Annabelle's P.O.V.*

I walked into Gaius's chambers, only to see him and Gwen sitting next to Merlin, who was covered in sweat and whimpering in pain. They both looked up once they heard me approach. Gaius sighed.
"He hasn't got much longer. Has Arthur got the flower?" He asked sadly, and I shook my head.
"I don't know. Uther won't allow anyone to see him." I replied, and we all frowned. Arthur had returned earlier today, but Uther has put him in the dungeons for disobeying him. I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Merlin whimper in pain once again. We all looked at him in worry. I sighed, I hated seeing my brother like this. "Is there nothing we can do to help him?" I asked, exasperated. Gaius shook his head, knowing what I was thinking about.
"Only the leaf of the Mortaeus flower can save him." He said, and I started pacing.
"Then we have to find out if Arthur has it." I concluded, still pacing. Suddenly I stopped abruptly, getting an idea. "I could sneak into the dungeon." I said, looking at Gaius and Gwen.
"No!" Gwen exclaimed and I looked at her. "Uther will immediately suspect you. You're Merlin's sister. It's obvious you would do anything for him." She then turned to look at Gaius. "I'll go."
"That could be very dangerous, Gwen."He said, and she got a determined look in her eyes.
"I've got to! Merlin will die if I don't." She said, and Merlin whimpered in pain once again. Gaius looked at him for a second, and then sighed, nodding.
"Be careful." He warned, and Gwen nodded, hurrying out of the chambers. Once the door closed, I turned to look at Gaius. "She really loves him." He said, and I nodded.
"She does. And he loves her." I said, sitting down on the bench next to Merlin. "Gaius."
"Yes?"
"Do you think they could ever be together?" I asked, and he looked at me confused. "I mean... They obviously love each other, and there should be nothing in their way, but... Can she know that Merlin and I have magic? If they want to be together, they can't live in a lie." I explained, and Gaius sighed.
"I believe that Gwen is one of the most trustworthy people in the world, and if you can tell anyone your secret, it will be her." I smiled, nodding.
"I'm glad. I want them both to be happy." I said, and Gaius smiled as well, before frowning once we heard my brother whimpering in pain again.

*15 minutes later*

I stopped pacing and looked up along with Gaius once we heard the door open. Gwen rushed in, holding something in her hands.
"How is he?" She asked worriedly.
"Have you got the Mortaeus?" Gaius asked, and she nodded, rushing over to him.
"Here." She said, handing the Mortaeus flower to him. Right after that, she immediately sat down next to Merlin, quickly followed by me, whilst Gaius walked over to the table and started working on the potion. I dabbed my brother's forehead again, and watched with pain in my eyes as his breathing slowed down.
"His fever's much worse. We have to hurry." Gaius said, working on the flower. He walked over to us, mixing the potion, when suddenly he stopped and stared at Merlin with wide eyes.
"Why have you stopped? I asked shakily.
"The poison was created using magic. We may need magic to make an antidote." He explained.
"But we can't." Gwen protested. "It's forbidden. Even if we could..." I looked at her with pain in my eyes. I thought she was ready to make sacrifices for my brother if she loved him. Turns out I was wrong. We can't tell her about magic. We just can't. Thankfully, Gaius must have noticed it as well, because he quickly nodded.
"I'll try to make it work without." He assured. Gwen visible relaxed, and kept looking at Merlin, whilst Gaius and I glanced at her. We might have to use magic. But no tin front of her. "Oh." Gaius said, and grabbed an empty small jar, handing it to Gwen. "I'll need some fresh water." She nodded, and grabbed the jar, running out of the chambers. Once I saw her disappear, I immediately got up from my seat and faced Gaius. "You have to use your magic."
"I can't." I shook my head. "I don't know the spell. Gaius, you have to do it!" He sighed, but still nodded. He then grabbed the bowl that he mixed the potion in and held it in both hands, closing his eyes.
"Seópan." "He whispered, and then opened his eyes, setting the bowl down on the table. He sighed, and leaned on the table, shaking his head.
"Gaius, please." I whispered, making him look up at me. I already had tears in my eyes, and looked behind me at the deathly pale Merlin. Gaius followed my gaze, and sighed one more time, before grabbing the bowl again. He then closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
"Seópan ærest wearð feasceaft funden. Denum æfter dom. Dreamleas gebad he gewann langsum." He chanted, and opened his eyes once he heard me gasp. The potion was now a dark green and was boiling and bubbling. His eyes widened, and he set the owl down with a look of disbelief on his face.
"Thank you." I whispered with a smile, and he looked at me, smiling a small smile as well. We then both looked down at the potion again, seeing the bubbles and vapor disappear. We both looked up as we heard someone running inside. It was Gwen, carrying the jar filled with water. She ran over to us and gave it to Gaius.
"Thank you." He murmured, and she gave him a small nod, running back over to Merlin's side. I followed her, sitting on my brother's other side. Gaius then quickly poured the potion to the jar that Gwen brought, and came over to us. "Hold his nose." He ordered, and I quickly did just that. He then leaned over and poured the antidote into Merlin's mouth. "Swallow, Merlin. Swallow it." He whispered, and leaned back as my brother gulped down the potion. We all then looked at him worriedly, when suddenly his chest stopped moving.
"He stopped breathing." I said shakily, and Gwen's eyes widened. "What's happening?!" I exclaimed, looking over at my guardian. "Gaius?" I asked, my voice filled with pain and worry. He looked at me for a second, and then leaned down and pressed his ear against Merlin's chest. He suddenly leaned back sharply and looked at Gwen and I.
"His heart has stopped." he said quietly, and I gasped, tears building up in my eyes. I looked at Gwen, and she looked at me before looking back at my brother's still form.
"He's dead?" she whispered, with tears in her eyes.
"He can't be." Gaius whispered, shaking his head. He also had tears in his eyes, as he stood up.
"It's my fault." Gwen whispered, her voice filled with guilt and pain. "If I've got her sooner... If I'd be quicker..." She trailed off, and started sobbing, causing Gaius to pull her up and into his arms comfortingly. I looked down at my brother's dead body, and lost control over my emotions. I started sobbing my heart out, and buried my face in my hands. I heard Gaius comforting Gwen, who was crying as well, but I was too heartbroken to hear the exact words. I couldn't bare to loose my older brother. The one that has always been there for me.
"This is disgusting." I heard an all too familiar voice and looked up sharply. What I saw made the biggest smile form on my tear stained face. Merlin's eyes were open, and he was looking at Gwen and Gaius in disgust and disbelief, propping himself onto his elbows. "You should be ashamed of yourself, you're old enough to be her grandfather."
"Merlin." Gaius said quietly, a smile breaking out on his face. Gwen then laughed in pure amazement, and happiness. "Your alive!" Gaius exclaimed.
"No I'm a ghost come back to haunt you." My brother replied jokingly, and I gave a laugh of pure joy before leaping onto him, bringing him in a tightest hug ever. The tears were now running down my face freely, and I was sobbing into Merlin's shoulder.
"You had me so worried." I whispered, causing him to pull me against him tightly and hold me against his chest. He kissed my head, and I felt him smile into my hair. I pulled back after a few moments, only to be pushed out of the way by Gwen, who grabbed Merlin's face in her hands, and kissed him with passion. I looked at Gaius in amusement, and he smirked back at me. I chuckled quietly, bringing my friend and brother back to Earth, causing Gwen to pull back and cover her mouth with her hands.
"I'm sorry. I just... I thought you were dead." She apologized, causing Merlin to look at her in disbelief, me to cover my mouth with my hands so that I wouldn't laugh out loud, and Gaius to put a hand on her back, biting his lip to stop himself from laughing.
"It's fine." Merlin replied, and then a smile grew on his face. "It's more than fine." He said, as Gwen stood back up to stand next to Gaius. Merlin was still staring at her dreamily, until I cleared my throat quietly, causing him to blink and shake his head, trying to snap out of his heaven on Earth. Gwen looked at him with an embarrassed smile. "What happened?" Merlin asked, bringing his gaze back to me, making Gaius and Gwen share a look. "Last thing I remember is drinking the wine."

*2 hours later*

I came out of mine and Merlin's room, carrying a blanket. I looked up once I heard Gaius and Merlin's voices, and smiled when I saw them both sitting at the tale, talking and laughing. They both looked up as they heard me approaching them, and smiled at me as well. I noticed Merlin shivering slightly, so I draped the blanket I had in my hands over him, and kissed his head, making him give me a smile. Gaius then stood up and walked over to one of the shelves, checking on one of the potions, when we both saw Arthur in the doorway. Merlin didn't see him, as his back was facing Arthur only. The Prince saw me and gave me a smile in acknowledgment, and I smiled back at him, giving a small curtsy.
"Still alive then." He said, walking further inside and bringing his gaze over to my brother, who turned around when he heard his voice.
"Um, yeah. Just about." He replied with a smile, making Arthur smile as well. "I-I understand I have you to thank for that." He said, as Arthur leaned on his chair. I walked over to them, wanting to see this.
"Yeah well, it was nothing." Arthur said, obviously lying. "A half decent servant is hard to come by." He joked, looking back at my brother with a small smile, making him smile as well. I smiled also. "I'm just dropping by to make sure you're alright. So you could be back to work tomorrow." He finished, walking away.
"Oh yeah, yeah, of course. Bright and early." Merlin called after him, and turned around about to continue his dinner, but faced Arthur again. Arthur stopped and turned around to fave him again. "Thank you."
"You too." The Prince replied. I smiled. "Get some rest." He ordered softly, turning around and walking out of the chambers. I shared a smile with Gaius, and then we both walked over to Merlin.
"Arthur may give you a hard time, but at heart he's the man of honor."Gaius said, placing a plate with porridge in front of Merlin. I nodded, as we both sat down. I sat down next to Merlin, and Gaius sat on the other side of the table. I nodded, agreeing with him.
"Not many would have risked what he had for a servant." I agreed, making Merlin look at me.
"Well I wouldn't be here if you hadn't made the antidote." Merlin said, turning his gaze to Gaius, making him sigh.
"Eat your dinner." He ordered. Merlin grabbed his spoon, and was about to start eating, when something stopped him.
"You know, I still don't understand. Why she went though all that trouble of framing Bayard. She could have just kept quiet." Merlin said, referring to the sorceress that disguised herself as Cara.
"Kill Arthur." I concluded, agreeing with my brother.
"Destroying Arthur and Camelot wasn't all she was after." Gaius said, looking at us, me in particular, making us give him confused looks. "She knew you would be forced to drink that wine. It was you who she wanted to kill, Merlin."
"Why?!" Both Merlin and I exclaimed.
"She knew what pain it would cause you, Annabelle. She knows that you care for your brother very much and that you love him more than anything or anyone. She wanted you to suffer." Gaius explained, looking at me, making my eyes widen. "If Merlin died, your heart and spirit would be broken, and you would be an easy target. Seems someone else knows you're destined for great things, Anna."

*Third Person's P.O.V.*

Nimueh stood above the magical well in her cave, and watched Annabelle's expression turn from shocked to determined. She took a deep breath. Defeating the powerful sorceress will be harder than she thought.

*1 hour later, Annabelle's P.O.V.*

"Come in!" Arthur's voice called from behind the door, and I opened the door, stepping into his chambers and closing the door behind me. "Annabelle." He said surprised, looking up from the papers he'd been working on. I smiled and walked over to him.
"I wanted to thank you, Arthur." I said, and he looked at me confused.
"What for?" I smiled.
"You saved my brother's life. I don't know how I will ever be able to repay you." I said sincerely, and he smiled at me, getting up from his sitting position and walking over to me. He then grabbed my hands in his, and looked down at me with a small smile.
"It was nothing. Believe me. I would have done that for anyone. Besides, not only did I not want Merlin to die, but I also couldn't bare to see you in pain." I smiled at him, and kissed his cheek.
"Thank you."