Lost in Albion 3 (Merlin) - Completed

Chapter 4: A Haunting Past

Chapter 4

Arthur sets his father down on the King's bed as Gaius' tonic begins to do its job. I've been stunned into silence thus far, knowing that whatever he saw wasn't natural, but I can't figure out if I was just seeing things he did, or if Ygraine's ghost was actually there. I don't want to say anything in front of Arthur, especially concerning his mother.

"Care. Is he going to be alright?" Morgana dotes, resting a soft hand on her guardian. My eyes plant on her hand.

"He should sleep 'til morning," Gaius answers and the three of us take out leave, exiting, but Arthur follows us out.

"What could've made him like this?" he questions, gesturing back to his father's chambers. Magic. Magic could have. I keep my tongue flat against my cheek since I can't just go throwing accusations around.

"I have no idea," Gaius answers.

"Gaius, he was lying on the ground crying." His attention turns to me. "Elena, you were there. What did you see?"

"I-uh, nothing, Sire. I think he's just overwhelmed with everything going on," I stammer out, hating my heart for being so loud.

"What aren't you telling me, Gaius? What's wrong with him? Tell me," he demands, and it breaks the heart I was just hating. The son's love for his father is strong. Gaius shifts uncomfortably.

"When I found him, he was mumbling," he confesses. Arthur frowns, waiting to hear more. "Most of it was incoherent, but..."

"What?"

"He kept mentioning your mother's name."

"He never talks about her," he replies, but his voice has dropped back down.

"He claimed that he saw her. In the well," Gaius explains further, and I struggle not to show any type of reaction. My eyes glaze over, the image of Ygraine's cold blue body jumping out replays over like a broken tape.

"Did the guards see him in this state?"

"I think you're worrying too much."

"If the people get to know about this-!"

"We say that he was ill, but now he's recovered."

Arthur is anything but content with what has happened but there isn't much to do to change what has happened besides following Gaius' advice. I follow Merlin and Gaius back to their chambers, my mouth ready to run at what I saw.

I shut the door, locking it behind me.

"I saw it," I say. Merlin and Gaius spin, both faces covered in astonishment.

"You saw it? What did you see exactly?" Gaius asks. I walk forward, not wanting to shout for all of Camelot to see. I sit down at the table, the men sitting on the other seats.

"I saw Ygraine. In the well. She was blue – looked dead." I turn to Merlin. "Nothing like what Arthur saw with Morgause."

"So, what he saw was real then? Not just some hallucination," Merlin wonders aloud. I shake my head.

"No. I think it was. But what was even weirder is when Uther walked past me, I felt magic pulsating off him," I explain, my hands visualising the feeling. "I can feel when people have strong magic but it's like a pull. This wasn't anything like that, just strong magic."

"I don't know much about Vessels," Gaius begins. "But they are connected to magic. It's possible that whatever is enchanting Uther is strong enough for you to feel."

"You aren't bonded to me. So maybe your body is searching for magic," Merlin explains. I nod slowly, pinching my thumb with my other fingers.

"That could explain it," I mutter. "But that doesn't explain why Uther was seeing it in the first place."