The Lady Of The Lake and The Impossible Child

Something's wrong

As soon as they were back in Camelot, Merlin entered the Physicians' quarters, his face one of exhaustion and confusion. Gaius observed the young man as he went about the room leaving his belongings on the floor, without paying much attention to it, lost in his own train of thoughts.

"What is it, Merlin?"

He sat down heavily at the small wooden table.

"I don't know Gaius." The warlock heaved a long-awaited sigh.

Gaius closed the book he had been reading, walked up to where Merlin was sat and took a seat opposite him.

"Well then, tell me. What is the matter?"

"Ugh... I don't- it just- makes, no sense." Frustration was evident in his voice.

"Perhaps, if you told me what happened, we could both try and make some sense out of it?"

And so he did, Merlin told Gaius everything that had happened that morning, all the important details he could remember, not mentioning his sudden affection for the stranger, the words flowed out of him like wine out of a tilted pitcher.

"I'm telling you, Gaius, I've never seen magic like this before."

The young man bend over the table, his hands splayed out flat pushing onto the old decrepit wood, as if that was gonna make his words any truer.

"Doesn't surprise me Merlin, The Lady Of The Lake is a very powerful sorceress, possibly rivaling that of the High Priestesses."

"So you know her then?" A slight glimmer of hope sparked in Merlin's eyes.

"I've only heard stories - before the Great Purge, she was said to have always helped those in need with their barren lands and crops. She was always kind to villagers but despised noblemen, most of all Kights."

"Why?"

The old man rose from his chair.

"That I do not know Merlin."

"Alright, well then; What do you think she did to Arthur?"

"It is hard to tell, given the fact, nothing has happened to him yet, I suspect it to be a curse. The question is what kind?"

"That was to short to be a curse Gaius, it must've been a spell."

Gaius threw Merlin's magic book on the table.

"You better find out what kind of spell it is then."

Merlin grabbed the book and opened it, readying himself for lengthy research. But asking his mentor one last question couldn't hurt.

"Before she cast the spell, she said something about how his most precious desire would be his downfall. Do you maybe have an idea; What that could mean?"

"I may know Arthur since he was a babe but I do not know what are his life's wishes. If you want to know that you should ask him, not me."

With these last words, Gaius went back to his book, leaving Merlin to his magic.

After long strenuous hours, Merlin came up empty-handed, he went through all his books and some of Gaius' but still, he could not find what he was looking for. It worried him, with apparently how strong Viviane could be, there was no telling what could happen. Merlin felt like he was sitting on a ticking time bomb, just waiting for the best moment to explode.

                                                                     ***

As the weeks went by still nothing seemed to have changed, Camelot was flourishing, Arthur's and Gwen's marriage was never doing better and most importantly Arthur himself was in perfect health. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary which unnerved Merlin all the more. It had been over three weeks since their encounter with the sorceress. Arthur was out training his Knights while Merlin stood nearby ready to tend to Arthur's needs and volitions. The King was now sparring with Gwaine, their swords clanking with every hit, the two men had been fighting against each other and other men for the past hour now, and as time went on it seemed as if Arthur wasn't doing as well as when their training had started. Something most unusual for the once fit young prince of Camelot.