Mya's Journey part 1 (Merlin Fanfic)

2

Gaius was sitting down at his desk reading a book when Arthur entered the room carrying Mya in his arms. Merlin and Gwen are not far behind, entering the room after him. Arthur walks over to the bed in the corner of the room and lays Mya down gently. 

"Gaius, I need your help. This young girl appears to be very ill. Do you think you can help her?" asked Arthur.

Gaius got up from his chair and walked over to the bed and began to check Mya over.

"That depends on whether her illness can be cured. She seems to very dehydrated and far too thin, which I cannot cure overnight. Some of her wounds may also be infected, but I cannot tell at first glance. Where did you find her?" questioned Gaius.

"Arthur bought her from a bounty hunter" revealed Merlin.

"A bounty hunter?" quizzed Gaius.

"Yes. She was being kept in a cage and beaten by the bounty hunter. He believed that she was a sorcerer. That's why he captured her".

"But we have no proof that she does possess magic, and I'm not going to put her to death on the word of a bounty hunter. All they care about is money. However, Gaius is there any way of telling if she is a sorcerer or not?" Arthur asked.

"I'm afraid not. Only druid's have a symbol marked onto their skin. And this girl doesn't appear to have one. Most sorcerers don't mark themselves, as it would make them more easily identified" answered Gaius.

"I see. But even when her life was on the line she didn't use magic. Surely if she had powers she would have used them to save herself and fight back?"

"I doubt even if she was a sorcerer she could perform magic in this state. She is far too weak. Merlin pass me some water, and I will try to see if I can get her to drink something".

Merlin ran over to a nearby table and picked up a cup of water, before bringing it back to Gaius, who then poured a small bit into Mya's mouth.

"Do you think she is going to make it?" asked Arthur quietly.

"Arthur, she has suffered for quite a long time in terrible conditions. This kind of body deterioration didn't happen overnight. If she survives the next few days and begins to improve, then she should make it. But looking at her now I doubt she will last till nightfall. In fact, judging by the state her body is in, I'm surprised that she lasted this long" admitted Gaius.

"Do what you can for her, ok"

"What are you going to do with her, if she does turn out to be a sorcerer? I don't want to spend weeks healing her and making her strong again, just so she can be executed"

"Right now, I'm more worried about keeping her alive, we will deal with what comes later once she is back to full strength. For now, I want her to get better, as I have no intention of killing her".

Arthur then marched out of the room, so that Gaius could have room to work.

"I'll talk to him, get him to see sense" sighed Gwen as she too headed out of the room, intent of following Arthur.

Arthur returned to his chambers, with Gwen at his heels.

"Arthur. You need to think seriously about the girl. What are you going to do if she turns out to be a sorcerer?" asked Gwen.

"I don't know. But surely you don't expect me to have her executed?" questioned Arthur.

"No, of course not. But what will you if she turns out to be a danger to Camelot?"

"I don't believe that she is evil. If we are kind to her, isn't she more likely to want to help Camelot rather than destroy it?"

"What about your father?".

Arthur frowned, "What about him? I won't be like him. He slaughtered innocent people. What if he was wrong? What if magic isn't evil? What if it there are good sorcerer's as well as bad? I have to have hope, that not everyone with magic who comes Camelot, means trouble. I don't want to be remembered for executing people who didn't even have magic or those that had it but meant no harm. And so far, this girl hasn't caused anyone any harm, so why should I hurt her? What would that say about me?".

"I agree. And I understand that you don't want to be like Uther. He was cruel" Gwen said quietly.

Gwen walked slowly over to the window to look down at the courtyard below. 

"What's wrong?" asked Arthur worriedly as he made his way over to her.

"It's nothing... Talking about Uther and murdering the innocent just reminded me of my father and how he was killed, just for talking to a sorcerer" admitted Gwen.

"I know. I'm sorry about what happened. My father wasn't one to listen to reason. I know the guards were under my command, but I never meant for them to kill your father" replied Arthur.

"It's ok Arthur, I don't blame you. Everything was different back then. When my father died the only person who I became close with was Morgana, she understood my pain".

Arthur became cold and distant at the mention of Morgana's name.

"She's the reason I am worried about magic in Camelot. She gives all her kind a bad name. Morgana has achieved the opposite of what she wants. With her alive, magic will never have a place in Camelot" said Arthur firmly.