Lady of Magic

XXIII

Everyone is on edge. Yesterday, Elyan tried to kill Arthur and managed to escape his prison cell. Ava has some ideas on who helped him. Merlin probably thought that he could exercise the spirit from the knight. 

Ava and Arthur sit at the table, eating lunch. The two are quiet, not sure what to talk about. Guards stand everywhere, so that rules out the talk about the baby. And Arthur would not want to even bring up the idea of Gwen. 

"Where is your husband?" the blond casually asks, not looking up from his meal.

"He had to collect herbs for Gaius," she lies smoothly. 

"All night."

"Certain ones are rare and hard to find. Would have gone to, but... well... you know."

At that, Merlin enters. He looks worn out and has a slight gash on his head, but mostly fine.

"What happened to your head?" the red head asks, picking up a cloth to clean it. It is not deep and will heal fine on its own.

"I tripped," he responds. Though she knows it is a lie. If he was doing what she thinks he was, Elyan must have knocked him out.

"Why did you go and collect herbs at night?" Arthur asks.

"So I can fit it in between all the chores you keep giving me," he quickly responds.

"Well you still have stuff to do before rest," the king states. Merlin rolls his eyes before kissing his wife's cheek. He clears the table before leaving the hall. Arthur starts looking at the papers he had set aside, trying to focus on anything than what may be bothering him. 

"Are you okay?" his sister asks. He sets down the quill.

"Both you and Merlin assume there is something wrong with me."

"Because I can tell something is wrong. And so can Merlin. We only ask because we care about you. The three of us are family."

"I guess that is true. But not all the time do I have to share how I feel. You never told Merlin about what you saw when you were trapped in that mental prison."

That seem to hit her harder than what he meant.

"That is unfair," she snaps. 

"I didn't-"

"No, you listen. I don't want to relive it because it was a nightmare that seemed to never end. So don't you dare compare that to this situation."

She plops in her seat,a mental mess. She should have kept her mouth shut but he was also in the wrong. He didn't need that right now. 

"I'm sorry," she mutters.

"You shouldn't be. I shouldn't have mentioned it."

The guards in the room fall with darts sticking out of them. Both of the royals duck in time before another lodges itself in the seat Arthur was just in. Elyan tosses the crossbow down and draws his sword. Arthur draws his and blocks an on coming attack. The two of them naturally go into fight mode, defending each other from the attacker. Ava kicks a chair at Elyan, causing him to fumble some. Merlin rushes in just as Arthur disarms him. The king raises his sword in order to kill him.

"Arthur," Merlin calls. "Elyan is not in control of his actions."

"Why are you doing this?" Arthur asks. Elyan opens his mouth but a child's voice spills from his lips.

"I am righting the wrong the king did to me."

Arthur looks at the knight on the ground in shock before letting him run off. Soon Agravaine hurries in with the other knights, honestly shocked. For once, Ava can believe he is shocked. This is not something him and Morgana could have planned for. 

"We'll find Elyan," he states. He turns to those behind him. "I know you think of him as your friend, but he just tried to assassinate your king. I want him captured and brought here so he can be executed."

Leon locks eyes with Ava. She mouths that she'll figure it out to him and he pushes the other knights out of the hall. Arthur dismisses Agravaine before turning to the couple left in the room. 

"Get ready to go," he orders. "We're going back to the shrine to try and fix this."

Merlin and Ava agree. The red head gladly changes out of a dress and into trousers and a top. Throwing on her chainmail and a belt with a sword, she hurries to meet the boys by the gates. Well more like sneaked out of the citadel. No one knows that they are going back and they want to keep it that way. The problem is that there are guards everywhere, making it hard to pass unnoticed. She manages it though and make it to where they are.

"Ready?" she asks.

"Ready," Arthur states. The three of them head out into the woods. They walk along the path they took before it gets too late. By the time the trio make it to the hanging clothes, the sun is mostly set, giving the place an eerie glow. They make their way through, careful not to touch anything. No one needs another vengeful spirit running around.

"Maybe he will be fine when he finds out Uther is dead," Merlin states. Standing near a well is Elyan. Water pours down him and the child's voice leaves his lips once again.

"The king deserves to die."

"Uther is dead," Merlin argues. "You are good to move on."

"He doesn't mean Uther," Arthur states. "He means me. When I was young, I was tasked on attacking a Druid camp. It was the first mission and I wanted to impress my men and my father. I had ordered for the children to be spared, but some of my men didn't listen. I tried to stop them, but they didn't listen." He falls to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "I understand what you have to do to be at peace. But I promise you, I will ensure nothing like this will happen ever again."

Elyan falls over and Ava catches him. The spirit of a young boy with water pouring down him stands before them. He nods his head before fading away. Once Elyan wakes up, everyone heads back to the castle. The king goes to clear his friend's names and the married couple go to their chambers. 

Ava takes off the chainmail and weapons before sitting on the bed. She grabs Merlin's hand and pulls him closer. Her mind thinks about the conversation she had with Arthur earlier. She needs to tell him the truth. He kicks off his boots and he leans down to kiss her. 

"Are you okay?" he asks, pulling away.

"I think it is about time I told you about when I was imprisoned in the nightmare."

"You don't have to if you don't want to tell-"

"It may help if I tell you. I was at a battlefield, watching everyone I love brutally murdered. This includes you, my parents, Arthur, Gwen." Tears start running down her cheeks. "It never ended. It wasn't even a battle. Just the numerous people we have dealt with held everyone and executed them one by one. I know it is ridiculous since some are dead, and I was able to remember it the first couple times. But after so many times watching it happen, it was hard to deny it." Merlin pulls her close. "And now, I am just worried with us expecting a baby what is going to happen."

He holds her as she cries. They sit there until there are no more tears. He rubs her back, comforting her.

"No matter what, I will protect you and our child," Merlin promises. "Thank you for telling me. I love you."

"I love you too."

The two lay down, trying to get some rest. Merlin pushes a curl behind Ava's ear. He kisses her forehead as they lay there. Eventually they both fall asleep, exhausted from the day.