Elaine mindlessly drifts down the stone arteries of Camelot to find herself at Gaius' door. Once again it was more of a case of knowing she had to be there - she just wasn't sure why. Before she can open the door Gaius does and he clasps his chest in shock.
"Oh Elaine, how do you manage to sneak up on people like that?"
His startled words allow her to snap out of the trance like state. The order of the High Priestesses were right, Taliesin was to be feared and so was the Crystal Cave. Elaine was slowly succumbing to the madness the silent insanity of it all. The God complex inside of her head. Like knowing without knowing. Elaine stays quite.
"Can I help you child?" He asks, in less stressed tones. She looks up to him, smiling slightly.
"Yes, yes I think you can" she says walking in.
She goes over to the small table with ease and sets herself down waiting for Gaius to follow. He closes the door and walks towards her, sitting down opposite her.
"So how can I help you?" He asks kindly.
"What do you know of the Lake of Avalon"
"Well it's a body of water..."
"Gaius" she says eyeing him closely - "you know I'm not here for the geography" she says somewhat sternly.
"Then what are you asking about?" He says, in hushed tones.
"What do you know of the qualities of the water itself?" She questions.
"Well," he begins looking around to check that no one will overhear. This surprised Elaine - her powers were, unfortunately for her, common knowledge and yet people still spoke about such matters in whispers.
"It has been said that the water does possess qualities such as healing.."
"How much?"she questions willing to dig deeper.
"I haven't seen the results myself but some accounts say that it had the ability to wash away sins - whether or not that is true I cannot tell you but given the fact the lake host to entities such as the Sidhe and Avalon itself one can never truly be sure"
Elaine nods, mulling it over -"wash away sins" she mumbles, she nods again as of fitting in a piece to an imaginary puzzle.
"Let's say you wanted to harness those powers what would you have to do?"
"I really wouldn't know my child - I've never needed to use them, more to the fact I wouldn't be capable of harnessing them - I'd imagine the balance would need to be kept in line"
"So you could get something back?" She asks, eyes wild with possibilities, "something that's gone?"
Gaius goes quiet and watches as her wild green eyes sort through endless possibilities.
"Elaine," he says firmly, "why do ask?"
It is now Elaine's turn to fall silent. A part of her firmly denies the thought of the war coming, lying to herself and to others of the apparent truth. Another side of her knows all to well that when the day comes she will need a plan, one she must take be it willingly or otherwise. The last resort to stop it all. Elaine has to stop to think.
"Curiosity" she begins, and then it hits her - the very room she is sitting in is crammed to the rafters full of wooden objects, "I merely wondered if the water could be used to heal the wood? The forest that was on fire -"
"Elaine I really don't think it can be used to fix trees - it was their time -"
"No it wasn't, it was my home too, if a tree wants to die it will of its own accord it never asks for flames" she defends.
"You also can't deny or hide the fact it was a sign of war, Morgana lit -"
"And what if it wasn't her?" She says raising an eyebrow that could rival Gaius'.
"What are you saying?"
"Well it's a possibility isn't it?"
"I know you don't want to believe it but you said it yourself - if it's Morgana than when is it not about war?"
Elaine sighs, perturbed slightly by the fact her own words were used against her. She just knew there was something more to the fire, Morgana had the ammunition to do so - losing the hovel to flames - but Camelot didn't strike the match - there were other forces at work. Just ones should couldn't see. Her gaze is fixed on Merlin's room, knowing the artefact she hid in there was somehow part of a grand scheme.
"But" Gaius' begins "if you do mange to find out if the water had the power to heal wood maybe you'd be able to fix Merlin's door?"
Elaine's eyes widen - she had forgotten about that moment, she gives a nervous smile and gets up to leave.
"That doesn't mean you have permission to mess with the balance!" He warns,
"Making deals with the Sidhe or bargaining with the Old Religion will never work in your favour Elaine do you hear me? It's not worth the risk - not for the forest"
"Yes thank Gaius" she replies walking over to the door, which opens before she arrives. Merlin steps through the threshold just as Elaine brushes past him, her eyes locked on him.
Elaine hastily closes the door behind her, and Merlin approaches Gaius.
"What was all that about?" He asks, trying to decipher the mood from the heated air that hung low in the room.
"I'm not quite sure" Gaius replies eventually turning to look at a concerned Merlin.
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Rabbit Heart - Merlin Fanfiction
Fanfiction"This is a gift - it comes with a price, Who is the lamb? Who is the knife?" When Morgana departs to recruit members for her army, Elaine stumbles on a discovery that changes everything. Unexpected visitors throw loyalties out the window and a host...
