I'll find you || Tagatha fanfic

Two Theories

All he could hear were the beats of his own heart.

It felt so surreal.

He'd thought his princess was gone and left forever, and now he hears that she's back and didn't send him a message. No. She sent it to Sophie.

He took a deep breath. "Did she... send you a letter?"

"No," Sophie said. "There was a hidden message in the goodbye note she left me."

Tedros felt a stab of guilt in his stomach.

"Maybe we could check your note has a more precise location and-"

"No," Tedros cut her off. "We can't check it."

Merlin and Sophie looked at each other. "Why not?" They both said.

Tedros looked down. "I burnt it." And he regretted it so much now.

Sophie's eyes grew to the size of saucepans. "Why would you do that-"

"I couldn't handle it!" Tedros yelled. Sophie gaped at him. Tedros took a deep breath. "I could handle having that. Taunting me. Reminding me of what I've lost." He looked down. "What I could've had." Tears ran down his tanned cheeks. "I want her back. I want her back so badly."

Sophie put her hand on his shoulder. "We'll find her. I promise."

Tedros looked up at her with his eyes red from tears. "Thank you."

Sophie pulled him up. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" The two stepped towards the edge of the cloud when an invisible force pulled them both down, and then they were face to face with the old wizard once more.

"We still have important matters to discuss, children-"

"What could be more important than looking for Agatha?" Tedros snapped.

Merlin sighed. "Your crown."

Tedros hesitated.

"We can find Agatha first then worry about that!" Sophie said.

Tedros shook his head. "No. I don't know if I can face her if I don't have that sword... I don't want her seeing me as a failure. Everyone in Camelot can see me like that," he closed his eyes. "But not her."

It felt like there was no possible way to approach the conversation.

Merlin was the first to talk. "Tedros have you thought about why your fathers sword is stuck in the stone?"

"Well, at first I thought it was caught on the wrong angle, then I thought maybe there was a riddle or game that if I solved it the sword would pull loose."

"And now?" Asked Merlin.

"I'm back to thinking it's caught on the wrong angle," Tedros sighed.

"What if you consider it from Excalibur's point of view?" Merlin asked.

"You think that Excalibur doesn't want me to pull it out?" Tedros asked, surprised.

"More like it doesn't want you to be king," Merlin corrected.

"But I am king-"

"Only because someone else who has a rightful claim to the throne has yet to pull the sword. And no one does since you are King Arthur's only child. So again: why won't Excalibur let you complete your father's test?"

Tedros crosses his arms. "How should I know how a sword thinks?"

Sophie was very absent in their conversation. She couldn't stop thinking about Agatha. Agatha was always her priority. Who knows Agatha could have seen her here and is now running away to to Gillikin, but Excalibur isn't going anywhere.

She was completely tuned out in the wizard and the Kings conversation. She tuned back in at the words from Tedros's mouth, "And theory #2?"

"That it isn't the sword making these decisions at all," said Merlin. "That someone else has found a way to control it, like a master controls a puppet, preventing you from sealing you coronation. In which case, the question is... who?"

"But no one is powerful enough to control Excalibur," Sophie rebutted. She slowly turned to Tedros. "Unless..."

"No way! The school master is dead," Tedros scoffed.

"Like forever dead," Sophie agreed.

"Like really forever dead," said Tedros.

They goggled at each other then back at Merlin. "Right?"

"These are the same questions I have," said the wizard, looking troubled. "But it's up to Tedros to find the answers, since it is his test."

Tedros knew he couldn't find any 'answers' without Agatha there with him. So did Sophie. Which is why she stood up.

"Merlin! Sulking around on a cloud isn't going to solve anything and it isn't going to find my best friend!" Sophie said, emerald eyes going wet. She hadn't cried about Agatha since she'd been Dean, because she always had hope she'd find her. Little hope. But still hope. And that hope grew when she came here, and then it just sent her on a wild goose chase and who even knew if she was still around here-

She quickly yanked off her necklace and poured the liquid into the air, the map sprawled out.

Her eyes darker around the map. No sign of Agatha's name. Her name was only revealed when she figured out she was in Foxwood. Which meant she wasn't in Foxwood.

She balled her fists in anger. "Well isn't that great! She's gone! Back to square one!" She pulled her shawl around herself. "Maybe, if I hurry I can still catch her-"

"I have I better idea for you," Merlin said. "Far more rational."

Sophie stopped. Ever since Agatha had been gone she'd tried to be rational. She'd tried the be like Agatha. Do what she would have. Merlin said the word "rational" like he already knew that.

Sophie slowly sat down. "I'm listening."