AM I THE ONE? | Arthur Pendragon [1]

The Greatest Sorceress Ever

*Annabelle's P.O.V.*

"Where is she?" I asked Gaius as Merlin opened the door to the Physician's quarters. Gaius, who was sitting on a bench, glanced back at the door to my and Merlin's room, and then looked back at us.
"She's sleeping." He answered, and I nodded and walked over to sit in front of him while Merlin closed the door, before slowly walking over to us and sitting on a stool next to me. There was a moment of silence, before my brother finally took a deep breath and looked up, tears glistening in his eyes.
"I have to save her." He whispered brokenly, and I grabbed his hand comfortingly, feeling the same pain he felt swell in my chest.
"You cannot." Gaius said quietly, making me look at him, but Merlin avoided our gazes. 
"If the balance of the world needs a life, then Nimueh must take mine." Merlin said determinedly, and tears built up in my eyes.
"No, Merlin." I said, my voice cracking slightly, which made him look over at me sadly and squeeze my hand.
"Yes. I will return to the island." He said and stood up, but Gaius and I both grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"You are young." Gaius said. "Your gifts, your destiny are far too precious to sacrifice."
"My destiny?" Merlin scoffed weakly. "This is my mother. Besides, Anna has even greater powers than me. They will continue to grow, and Camelot will be safe, as will our mother." Merlin said, and I shook my head sadly.
"But my powers are nothing without you by my side." I said, a tear escaping my eye. "Nimueh knows that. That is why she tried to kill you, remember? In order to defeat us both, she only needs to kill one. Mother won't be able to live even if you save her, because she will be broken when she looses you."
"Anna... Mother sent us here for a reason; so that we could develop our gifts and learn how to control them. But those powers mean nothing if I can't save her." Merlin said, before bringing his gaze onto Gaius. "You have taught us so much. Taught us who we are. Taught me and Anna the purpose for our skills. Taught us that magic should only be used for great deeds. But most of all, you have always taught us... To do what is right." By now, a few more tears escaped my eyes as Gaius closed his eyes briefly, looking down, before taking a deep breath and looking up at my brother.
"Merlin." He whispered brokenly, and I wiped my tears away quickly as more threatened to fall. After a short moment of silence, Merlin looked down and sniffled, putting his hand over his eyes as the other one held mine. I squeezed his hand in comfort, before putting an arm around his shoulders and kissing the side of his head as tears escaped both his and my eyes.
"I need to say goodbye to Arthur." Merlin said after a moment, and I nodded understandingly as I let go of him and let him stand up, watching him leave. As soon as the doors closed, I released a shaky breath and put a hand over my stomach, as if that could stop the pain in my chest. Before I could stop myself, a sob escaped my lips and I immediately covered my mouth with my hand as more tears trickled down my cheeks. Gaius then stood up and walked over in order to sit next to me and pull me into his arms, kissing my head in a fatherly way.
"I can't loose him, Gaius." I whispered, my voice cracking, as I tried to get a hold of myself. But I couldn't. Merlin is my brother, and if he died... I would too.

*15 Minutes Later*

    I held my mother's sore-covered hand in both of mine as she slept in my bed, and concentrated on not letting any more tears fall. After a few minutes of Gaius comforting me, I finally managed to calm down, and he left to get some supplies just as Gwen came in. He asked her to help me look after my mother, but I knew he was just hesitant to leave me alone in a moment like this. And I didn't blame him. After all, I'm slowly falling apart; Arthur nearly died, my mother is on her deathbed right now, and my brother will be dead within a few hours... All the people I love are slipping away.
"Anna, are you alright?" Gwen whispered, concerned, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"I'm fine." I lied. "I just got a few things on my mind." Gwen nodded understandingly, before looking down at my mother as her hoarse breathing wavered slightly.
"I'm sorry." She said suddenly, surprising me.
"What do you have to be sorry for?" I asked, and Gwen just simply shook her head before looking me in the eyes.
"I know how hard this must be for you. First Arthur, and now your mother, all in a such short period of time." I smiled at my brother's love's caring nature, and opened my mouth to reply, but was cut off by the door to my and Merlin's room opening, revealing my brother himself, who looked at Gwen questioningly, wondering why she was here but seeming pleased that she was. "Gaius had to go and get some supplies." She explained. "He asked me to stay with Anna in order to keep an eye on your mother until you got back."
"Thank you." Merlin said with a small smile, and Gwen nodded as we all looked at Mother, before standing up and walking over to Merlin.
"I'm sorry." She whispered.
"No, she'll get better." Merlin shook his head, and I immediately looked away. Gwen though, obviously, didn't know what Merlin really meant and only thought he was in denial.
"We've tried to make her feel comfortable." She said, looking at Merlin sadly, before looking back to Mother.
"You have such a good heart, Gwen." Merlin said, grabbing her hand gently. "Don't ever lose that." He said softly as she turned to look at him. She looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, looking slightly confused and concerned, but nodded nonetheless. She then looked at me, giving me small smile, and then kissed Merlin on the cheek before leaving the room. As soon as she did so, Merlin walked over to take her place on our mother's other side, and grabbed her other hand.
"I'm going to make you well again." He said quietly as Mother opened her eyes to look at him. "I promise. You'll see." He smiled a small smile, and I forced my tears back in order to give one of my own.
"You're such a good son." Mother said quietly, forcing herself to speak, even though it definitely pained her, as she smiled, before turning her head to look at me. "And I couldn't ask for a better daughter."
"But I don't want you to worry about me, alright?" Merlin said softly as he let go of her hand in order to stroke her hair. "I know that the gods will look over me and that one day... I will see you again." I swallowed hard at that, but forced myself to keep my expression emotionless.
"I will miss you." Mother said, and I took a deep breath as there was a moment of silence.
"I'll miss you too." Merlin said, before taking out the rabbit's foot Gaius gave him and putting it in Mother's hand gently. I looked up at him sadly, and he returned the look as the three of us spent the last hours together.