Camelot

Nine - Final Duties

Characters in this chapter have been adapted from the BBC series Merlin, alongside the Arthurian legend. I do not own all characters in this chapter. This chapter has been edited in 2019. Feel free to leave comments/suggestions below. Enjoy x 

Nine – Final Duties

We spent the next few minutes in silence, all deep in thought about the night's events. We'd successfully manage to evade the guards on our return back to my chambers, with Madeline lifting the enchantment on the guards in the dungeon so that they would wake shortly and immediately lifting it on the men who stood outside my door the moment that we were inside.

With our minds all busily working, my chambers were eerie with silence. When the warning bell sounded that announced the guards discovering Jensen's empty cell, it tore the silence apart, causing Leith and Madeline to both jump to their feet.

"Hide," I instructed, removing my cloak and casting it to its usual resting place while simultaneously removing the silver dress and shoes that I was wearing and pulling my nightgown over my head.

I ran towards my bed and mussed it slightly, while Madeline and Leith darted into the shadows. I had only just finished running my hands through my hair to make it looked as though I had been sleeping when my chamber doors came crashing open.

"Emalia, are you alright!?" Arthur called, looking around the empty chamber with wide, worried eyes and his sword drawn.

I quickly jumped out of bed, playing the part of being suddenly awakened from a deep sleep by rubbing my eyes as I stumbled over to him. I even decided to fake a yawn as his eyes fell on my clearly unharmed form.

"The warning bells, what happened?" I asked, acting dim.

"I fear it has something to do with the girl who tried to kill you," Arthur explained, sheathing his sword and crossing the room in a few large strides before taking me into his arms. "Thank goodness you are okay." He kissed me on the top of the head.

"I have guards, my love," I reminded him, feeling guilty for deceiving him. "There had been no disturbance until the bells. Besides, I do not think she will come back here."

"Perhaps," he said. "I just wanted to make sure -,"

He stopped speaking suddenly, as though something had come to his attention. I wondered whether he had seen the curtain move as Madeline breathed or perhaps glinted silver as the moonlight caught Leith's armour. Instead, I followed his gaze to Madeline's silver cloak that was resting on my table.

"That is not your cloak," he said, crossing the room to pick up the cloak.

"Of course it is," I lied, reaching for the cloak. "I have many cloaks. You just haven't seen this one because I brought it with me from Warrendor."

I had forgotten about Madeline's cloak entirely, remembering vaguely that she had taken it off when she had alerted me of her presence earlier in the night. She'd not worn it when we ventured down into the dungeons and evidently forgotten to grab it as she rushed to hide after the warning bell sounded.

Arthur kept the cloak in his grasp, running the smooth silk between his fingers. He reached the right-hand side of the cloak and saw the insignia of Ganden emblazoned on the material. His eyes immediately flickered with recognition.

"Emalia, this is Madeline's cloak," he said, looking around into the darkness as though Madeline would materialise out of thin air. "Is she here?"

"Not as dumb as I thought," Madeline said, stepping out from behind the curtain.