(DISCONTINUED) Merlin burst into the room, slamming the door open with all the carelessness of someone in a hurry.
"Murdock lied."
Arthur paused, his quill hovering above the parchment like a reluctant bird of prey.
"Merlin," the Prince started, hi...
"Well... at least he's not dead." Merlin forced the optimism into his voice even though he certainly didn't feel it.
It had been a tough job pulling the body out of the gully - Merlin and Elyan getting soaked in the process - but they had managed it; hauling his sodden body over the edge and leaving him to lie on a bedroll.
"Druid?" Gawain asked shortly, indicating at the boy's robes, dripping tirelessly.
Leon shook his head. "Most likely not. They're peaceful people, and I can't imagine a reason one might wind up in a situation like this. Not many people around here would do this to a simple druid boy."
Except Uther. Merlin bit his tongue, feeling a twinge of remorse as he thought of their broken king - however, the feeling didn't last long. Uther would have any druid burned at the stake if he were given a chance. He turned his attention back to the task at hand, and soon a flame was conjured from the steel, flickering weakly. Merlin blew it gently, and soon it grew, feeding on the dry leaves like a hungry dog.
"Well done Merlin," Elyan acknowledged and clambered to his feet, "but it'll need to be bigger if we want it to generate any heat and warm him up." He jerked his head at the boy and wandered into the brush to search for firewood.
"I'm surprised he made it at all. The waters are so cold this time of year." Leon frowned, his legs pulled up taut to his chest.
"Good thing I listen to nature's calls then, yeah?" Gawain chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood. Leon shook his head but Merlin grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he suppressed his laughter.
"What I was trying to get at," Leon continued firmly, his gaze darkening as he watched the fire hiss pathetically, "was that whoever threw him in did so not long ago. Meaning they can't be far off, and here we are sending up smoke signals to anyone who might be around, including the likes of people who throw kids in rivers." He snapped, his frustrations mounting as he spoke.
Leon found with each passing day that he had been more affected by Morgana's brief - yet harrowing - reign than he had first thought. At night memories plagued his mind, as vivid and true as the first time they'd occurred: Morgana giving the signal and letting arrows rain down on innocent people, their screams as they realised the extent of their Queen's madness, the anguish Leon and the other knight's had felt when they realised that they could do nothing. It kept him awake at night and fueled his very heart. He would not rest, not dither or give up until Morgana was brought to justice.
- to those that actually read this... thank you! <3 I apologize for not continuing; I would prefer to focus my time and skill on progressing Heavy Is The Head and working on new stories! -
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
