❝ when she looks into his eyes, she feels the gripping temptation to tell him all her darkest secrets; the names of the men she has killed, but she learned a long time ago that the only people who can keep secrets are resting in overgrown graveyards...
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The first breakthrough in search of the cause for the disease occurs when Gaius discovers that it's spread through water. After taking a sample from where most of the low town fills their water buckets, he is sure that his assumptions are correct. Calliope glances out the window in the Throne Room as Gaius shares his findings with the King. She spots an array of dead bodies covered with sheets in the courtyard. The death toll for this disease rises every day, and yesterday, Calliope found out that Gwen's father had caught it. Her determination to help Gaius put an end to this disease had escalated after seeing Gwen so upset. Her father is one of the nicest men Calliope has ever met. She couldn't bear to see him end up under one of those sheets.
"Don't touch it," Calliope shifts her eyes away from the window as King Uther and Arthur examine the vial of polluted water that had killed the small flower floating in it. "I had this in the water for no more than a few hours."
"Where is the water from?" Uther asks.
"The pump from where the people take their daily supply."
Arthur keeps his gaze on the vial, "We have to stop the people from using it."
"The city cannot survive without water," Gaius insists, but Uther disregards their words as he throws his hands up in desperate frustration.
"Then we have to find this sorcerer!"
Gaius's eyes meet Calliope's as Arthur speaks up, "I don't believe they're inside Camelot."
"Then extend the search to the villages!"
"We've started, but I can't search the entire kingdom."
Uther steps closer to his son, his eyes blazing with determination, "And I can't stand by and watch our people die."
Arthur doesn't say anything else. He gives his father a simple nod before striding out of the room. Calliope lets out a breath as she follows him into the hall. She's going crazy standing around and examining samples. She needs to help Arthur find this sorcerer while Gaius and Merlin search for any kind of cure. And not because she really cares what happens to the city in general. She only cares that Gaius and Merlin don't get hurt.
"Arthur!" Calliope catches up to him in the courtyard before he reaches the knights waiting for him. He turns his head as Calliope stops in front of him. "I can help you find the sorcerer."
He crosses his arms over his chest with raised eyebrows, "Is that so?"
Calliope nods, "You're not going to find them by trashing through everyone's houses. When you're trying to catch someone, you have to think like them."
"And what makes you such an expert?"
"You don't have to be an expert to know that someone who wants to poison an entire city must have a reason for it besides just 'being evil'," Calliope doubts Arthur will listen to her, but it's worth a shot. "This looks like someone wanting revenge."
