Lady of the Court

XX

Ava walks towards the guest rooms to find the one Aredion is staying in. She arrives at his room, lightly knocking on the door.

"Enter," he calls from inside. She pushes open the wooden mass to see the Witchfinder writing in his notebook. He sets down the quill, folding his hands. He puts on a false grin, looking at Ava. "My lady. Thank you for meeting with me. Please, take a seat."

She sits across from him, readjusting her dress.

"Am I here to be questioned?" She asks him.

"Just procedural follow up. Did you work as an apprentice for Gaius?"

"Closest I could be."

"And did he ever use magic in front of you?"

"If he did, why wouldn't I have reported it? Magic's illegal."

"But what if you were hiding a secret for someone you care about?"

"What are you trying to pin on me?"

"Nothing. As long as you don't have anything to hide."

"I do not."

He leans back, smirking.

"Then there is nothing left my lady. You can go."

She gets up and walks towards the exit. Her fingers wrap around the handle when he adds one more thing.

"Well, I guess there are certain things you don't want the king to know." She turns and looks to him. "I mean, how would your father react to you falling for some servant boy?"

"I do not know what you mean," she responds before leaving. Her heart beat seems to be racing. Drumming in her ears as her face grows warm. How could he know about her and Merlin? The two barely spent time together since Aredion has arrived. So there hasn't been time for him to catch on. A woman with dark hair walks towards the room.

"Beware Morgana," Ava stops her. Her voice barely above a whisper. "He seems to figure stuff out. And I don't want you to get caught."

"I'll be fine."

The red head nods her head as the other lady continues down the hallway.

~~~

Ava sits in her seat, staring at the formerly respected physician who kneeled before the king.

"I admit to all the accusations placed before me," he states.

"It pains me to say this," Uther declares. "You will be executed at dawn tomorrow by fire."

Knights drag Gaius away. Merlin launches forward in protest. Arthur grabs his servant's arm before dragging him out. Uther motions for others to leave. Ava turns towards her father.

"How many times has he proved he is loyal to you?" She hisses. "And you repay him back by sending him to the flames?"

"Magic is illegal. The rules apply to everyone, including Gaius."

Ava shakes her head before leaving. She tries to find Merlin, but unsure where he could be. She does find her brother.

"Where's Merlin?"

"I don't know. I last saw him when I took him to see Gaius."

She nods her head before going to find him. At least Arthur tried to look out for him.

~~~

Merlin rushes over towards Ava.

"I figured it out," he smiles, grabbing her hand. Arthur and Gwen meets them near Aredion's chambers. Uther arrives with a couple knights. The Witchfinder exits his room.

"This better be worth my time," he tells his son.

"It will be," Merlin responds. He is the only servant with the guts to talk to the king like this. "Aredion framed Gaius."

"I did not," the older man states.

"Then you wouldn't mind us searching your chambers?"

The man let's the group in. The knights starts going through his stuff. Merlin has a set smirk. He is very sure of his plan. Soon a cabinet is opened and many charms fall out. All that look like the one found in Gaius' home. The man start defending himself. That is until a green toad comes from his mouth.

"Arrest him," the king orders. He turns to leave before turning back to the group. "Thank you for showing me that Gaius is still loyal."

With that he leaves. The guards pull Aredion out of the room. Ava let's out a sigh of relief before grabbing Merlin, kissing him quickly.

"You're a genius," she states.

"Can you wait till we're out?" Arthur complains. Gwen laughs, shaking her head. The four leave the room to go get Gaius.