Merlynn // Chapter Four: The Snake is Out For Tea
Merlynn paced back and forth. "Merlynn, about what I said yesterday... Look, Uther wouldn't really listen to you or me, but you are right. We can't let Valiant get away with this." Gaius said as he sat down. She paused, "But we don't have any proof."
"Well, if we could cure Ewan, he could tell the King that Valiant was using magic. The King would believe another knight. But how we get the antidote...Well, that's another matter."
"Merlynn?" The door swung shut and footsteps echoed faintly down the hallway as the young woman jogged down the hallway, and away from the old physician.
~•~•~•~
Merlynn peeked her head into the council's chamber, checking to see if Valiant was there, she sighed in relief before hurrying to his quarters.
"Aliese." Eyes glowed gold and Merlynn's lips twitched to a satisfied smile as the click of the door unlocking reaches her ears. She gently pushed the door open before gently closing it behind her. The room itself wasn't messy, while there was an assortment of objects lying on the table, it was all in a way that would hardly be considered messy. She glanced around the room before approaching a sword rack, drawing a sword, before placing one foot in front of the other, as if she was walking a tightrope, as she approached the shield. Footsteps started echoing from outside and Merlynn could feel her heart beginning to pound in her ears, a slight hiss, alerted her to a much closer threat.The sound was almost undetected, however it helped that Merlynn knew what she was looking for, she looked to her left, the shadow of what appeared to be a large snake, swaying back on forth, she jerked back around to face the shield and look at the snake, average size. She reassured her pounding heart, despite knowing the snake would not be as large as the candlelit shadow. Then it launched itself at her and she madly swung her sword as she stumbled back, she froze, for a second, then two more snakes emerged from the shield and the sword was quickly dropped in favour of grabbing the head and turning tail. She bolted down the hallway to find Gaius.
~•~•~•~
"You?" Arthur questioned, disbelief written all over his face as Merlynn looked back down at the snake head she had slammed down on the table, right next to Arthur's dinner. "You chopped his head off?" Merlynn nodded, leg bouncing up and down as she waited for Arthur to process that fact. "Ewan was bitten by a snake from the shield when he was fighting Valiant. You can talk to Gaius, you can see the puncture wounds in Ewan's neck where the snake bit him. Ewan was beating him, he had to cheat."
"Valiant wouldn't dare use magic in Camelot," Arthur said, shaking his head.
"Ewan was pinned under Valiant's shield. No one could see the snake bite him." Merlynn pointed out. "I don't like the guy, but that doesn't mean he's cheating." Arthur said leaning back on his chair before pushing himself up and turning away from Merlynn. "Gaius is preparing an antidote to the snake venom. When Ewan's conscious, he'll tell you what happened." Arthur turned back around. "If you fight Valiant in the final, he'll use the shield. It's the only way he can beat you." Arthur scoffed almost silently if Merlynn wasn't so worried she would have chosen her words more wisely, as to try and not feed Arthur's ego. "Look at it!" Merlynn picked up the snakes head and shoved it towards Arthur for the second time that night. "Have you ever seen any snakes like this in Camelot?" Arthur took the snakes head taking a proper look, Merlynn stepped back and leant against the table, head lowered slightly, not quiet meeting his eyes. "I know I'm just a servant and my word doesn't count for anything. But, I wouldn't lie to you." Arthur shifted from one foot to another, unsure. He lifted his head, taking a step forward placing the snake head on the table. "I want you to swear to me what you're telling me is true." Merlynn looked at him once more. "I swear it's true." She said, her voice stronger than ever.
