Merlynn

To Kill the King

Merlynn woke in the middle of the night with a start. It had been nearly a month since she had felt the presence of magic, the last time being the unicorn incident. She tried to roll over and go back to sleep, before a sharp pang of magic caused her to bolt upright in bed. She slowly trudged out of bed and into the main room.

"Can't sleep?" Gaius asked her as she descended the stairs.

"Something woke me." She responded.

"What?"

"I don't know. A feeling."

"What kind of feeling?" Gaius asked, concern plastered on his face as he turned away from his documents.

"Powerful magic here in Camelot." The door clicked open and Merlynn jumped a little before he noticed Gwen rush in. "Gwen, what's wrong?"

"My father's been arrested." She cried.

"Arrested? What for?"

"They say he was making weapons for a sorcerer. They're charging him with treason."

"Gwen, you should go see your father, maybe you can ask him what was going on, find out the truth?"

Gwen nodded and Merlynn led her though the castle to the dungeons, waiting outside the door with Gaius. She came back a few moments later.

"What did he say?" Merlynn asked her.

"He said Tauren came to him at the forge, offered to pay him a fortune for his help- not to make weapons, for an experiment or something."

"What kind of experiment?"

"Tauren didn't say, but he used some kind of stone, some kind of magic."

Merlynn nodded and led Gwen back to her room and offered up her bed for the night. Gaius gave her a potion to help her sleep and stayed with her for a moment.

"She's sleeping now." Gaius told Merlynn as he Gwen in her room.

"I don't understand it. What would a sorcerer want with Tom?" Merlynn asked.

"His forge, Merlynn. It's the finest in the kingdom."

"You think Tom was lying? You think he really was making weapons?"

"No, I don't."

"Then what?"

"When Tom was arrested they found gold on him."

"So?"

"From what Gwen was saying Tauren's experiment bears all the hallmarks of alchemy."

"But alchemy's impossible, isn't it?"

"To change the very nature of one thing to another has defeated all who have tried. But, if

you use magic-" Gaius left his sentence hanging in the air.

Merlynn pondered it for a moment. "Do you think that's what woke me?"

"It is possible, I suppose."

Merlynn nodded and went to go sit in her room and watch over Gwen and try to get some more sleep. It was still early in the morning when she was jolted awake by the feeling of strong magic washing over her. It lasted for half an hour before fading away again, a few minutes after that her bedroom door opened.

"Merlynn."

"Morgana." Merlynn stood up as Morgana made her way over to Gwen, who was still sleeping.

"How is she?"

"She's doing okay." Merlynn tried.

"We should let her rest."