Lady of Magic

XX

Ava moves through the tents for the fighters. Her purple dress swishes around her legs as she goes to meet her husband and brother. The two are staring off in a distance. Her eyes go in that direction to see Lancelot walking towards them. Shock runs through her system at the thought of him being here. Everyone is either in shock or excited to see the knight. He walks over to the trio. He has a smile on his face at the sight of them.

"How?" Ava manages, looking at him.

"I'm not sure," he tells them. He seems to remember something. He focuses on Merlin and Ava. "I heard you two are married. About time."

Arthur seems to notice the armor.

"Are you about to participate? Even this close to coming back from the dead?"

"Might as well."

Soon the fighters are called to fight. Merlin tells his wife he would meet her in the benches with the rest of the crowd. Gwen is looking at the field as some knights fight. Ava notices the bracelet on the future queen's wrist.

"Did you get an early wedding gift?" the red head asks. 

"Oh," she responds, breaking her from her thoughts. "Lancelot gave it to me as a wedding gift. Have you seen him yet?"

"Yes. I am confused on how he is here."

"I think we all are."

Merlin hurries to sit by his wife. He whispers something in her ear as Arthur and Lancelot appear on field. The two start their match and go back and forth. Ava keeps an eye on Lancelot as he fights the king. His moves are similar to how he fought before his death. The knight hurts the king and knocks the blond down. Lot of  people rise to see what will happen. 

The red headed royal is prepared to leap out of the area to protect her brother. Except, Lancelot does a thing that is unexpected but also at the same time something he would do. He lowers his weapon and offers it to Arthur. The two lock hands and the knight pulls him to his feet. 

The crowd bursts out in joy as the two face everyone. Ava releases a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. The newly married couple get up to meet with Arthur. The king is looking at his wound on his arm. But otherwise fine.

"Well that was impressive," he smiles. "It is good to have Lancelot back."

"So you aren't going to question how?" she asks her brother. "Because it is odd. Don't you think?"

"I want to celebrate my friend is back," he tells her. "I would think you would want to too."

With that, he leaves. She lets out a groan in annoyance. Why can't he think something through before making a decision? Ava heads back to the castle, slightly annoyed. Merlin had told her that Lancelot is actually a Shade. A shadow of his former self that follows the order of someone who brought him back. 

Safe to assume that Morgana has something to do with this. Especially the fact tomorrow is to be Gwen and Arthur's wedding. She wouldn't want Gwen to take the throne, so she would try to sabotage it anyway possible. Merlin grabs her hand, pulling her off into a broom closet. The two barely have any space between them.

"What do you think the plan is?" he asks her.

"I have no clue," she answers. "But it has to do with the wedding."

"Figured that. I think I saw Gwen going to meet Lancelot at the tents."

"Maybe to tell him she is in love with Arthur."

"Hopefully. Unless magic is being used."

The princess lets out a slight groan in frustration before leaning back against the door. She, without thought, places her hands on her stomach. She takes deep breaths, trying to not stress too much. Gaius has told her not too, and she knows better than ignore his advise. She lays her head on his shoulder and he wraps his arms around her waist.

"All will work out," he promises her. "Once we finish the destiny thing, we can relax. You, me, and our baby."

"That would be nice," she responds. "Half the time, honestly, I want to just run away with you from all of this."

"And where will we go?"

"We can go back to where my family home was. Build a small home, just for the three of us."

"It if it remains three," Merlin smirks, kissing her. The two pull away for a second. "I promise, we will go back there the moment Arthur can survive without us." 

She chuckles at the idea of that, nodding her head in agreement. It seems everything is linked with the idea of protecting Arthur for the chance of a better future. She thinks for a second.

"Did you just say 'if it remains three'?" she asks. 

"You heard me correctly. You think that I plan on sleeping with my wife only once."

As he says this, he pulls her so there is no space between them. She chuckles at him while he has his iconic smile.

"Well you carry the baby half the time and I the other half."

"Deal."

The two of them finally leave the broom closet and go off. The sun is already starting to set. There is a loud crash, causing the two to hurry off in that direction. They burst into the hall to see Lancelot and Arthur fighting. Merlin doesn't even hesitate to use magic to disarm Lancelot. Still Gwen and Arthur didn't noticed the use of magic. The king takes a stance to kill the knight, but the maiden leaps in between. At this point, other guards are entering to restrain Lancelot and Gwen.

"Take them to the dungeons," Arthur growls. The guards pull the two away. Ava motions for Merlin to leave. He nods his head, leaving the Pendragon siblings alone. "Our wedding was tomorrow. If it was cold feet, I would understand. But she apparently still loves Lancelot. The betrayal."

He sits down and puts his head in his hands. The last time she saw him broken was their father's death. He is going through so much in such a short time. Of course the idea Gwen would love another person could ruin him. Morgana fully thought this through. 

She sits down beside him and wraps an arm around him. 

"What are you going to do?" 

"I don't know. Technically it is a form of treason. Which is answered with death, but I could never do that to them. I still love Gwen and Lancelot was my friend."

"Then don't do it. Follow what you think it is right. And if you need to talk or just for me to be here, let me know."

"Thank you," he responds. "Sometimes I feel that you and Merlin are the only people I can turn to. Just don't tell him I said so.He already is big headed enough." They chuckle slightly. "I will listen to what you said. I will consider on what to do with the two of them."

"That's all I can ask."

With that, she gets up and prepares to leave. His hand wraps around her wrist.

"Do you mind staying here just a little bit longer?"

She sits back down by  her brother, the two sitting in silence while they process the entire day's events.