Merlin: The Land of Albion

Fine or... Not Fine?

"Ouuch..." Merlin let out a deep breath as he sat himself down in his and Gaius' chambers. "Ugh, you would not believe how much work Arthur's given me today."

Gaius raised an eyebrow at his young friend, whilst continuing his own work; making potions for the sick and unwell in Camelot. "Well no, you haven't told me of it, Merlin."

"It's all due to the celebration of Arthur's fifth year on the throne. I forgot how busy things get when there are visitors coming to the Citadel. I tell you, Arthur even thinks it's funny to give me extra work. 'You  have magic, Merlin, I don't see the problem' - that's his reason for everything now!"

Gaius frowned. "Do you wish you hadn't told him?" he asked, not looking up from his brewing.

"I don't know," Merlin admitted, calming down a bit. "But I am worried something will happen tomorrow night. Arthur still has many enemies."

Now, Gaius looked up. "There is always reason to worry for a king's life, Merlin. Have faith in yourself. I'm sure you'll come to enjoy these celebrations."

Merlin nearly scoffed. "Yeah, that's what Arthur said. He doesn't want to believe that there are still people out there who wants to hurt him. At least not, that they also exist at his 'very important feast' as he calls it. At the moment, he sees nothing but Guinevere. Should I be worried?"

Gaius frowned. "I think you should take a deep breath at the very least," he told the warlock. "You have been working a lot lately – both within the castle walls and outside them. Could it be that maybe all these magical bandits that you have been fighting has simply exhausted you?"

"I'm not that exhausted," Merlin complained and received a stern look from Gaius. "All right, then; maybe a little bit."

"Merlin," Gaius said. "No one said it was easy being you, my boy."

"Yes, but no one said it would be this demanding," Merlin continued, titling his head back a little. "Arthur better make it through these celebrations alive or I'll personally see to that he is granted all my duties as servant and thereafter fight sorcerers on his own."

Gaius raised an eyebrow at Merlin. "Take it easy, Merlin. I'm sure everything is fine."

But Merlin was still worried as he made his way back to Arthur's chambers the next evening to help the king dress for the celebrations. There was to be a grand feast tonight for royals and nobles from the allied kingdoms of Camelot.

"What is it with you lately?" Arthur asked as Merlin handed him his ceremonial sword.

"What? Me? Nothing, Sire," Merlin answered, shrugging. "Don't I always act like this? Besides, I'm wise, right?" He smiled, trying to hide his worried behind a fake smile.

"I'm not sure," Arthur said, frowning at his servant. "You're not usually this hectic. What are you so worried about?"

Merlin just shook his head and held up the king's robe. "It's nothing, Sire. I'm just a little... tired."

Arthur glanced at him. "Look, there is no reason to worry," Arthur assured his friend, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

Merlin frowned. "Then why is that everytime you say that things turn out to be... not fine?"

Arthur laughed. "You really have the strangest ideas in your head, Merlin, where you get them from I can never tell."

Merlin made a face behind Arthur's back, but when he didn't actually answer, Arthur continued his speech. "All I'm saying is that you need to sit yourself down and relax just for a minute. You work too much."

Merlin blinked. "Do I have a choice?" 

Arthur rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean," he said. "Besides, nothing will happen. Now, will you give me my sword? The feast is to start soon."

Merlin looked from the place where he and Arthur stood and over to where the sword was placed on a table. Merlin took a 'discreet' sideways glance at Arthur, before he muttered a tiny spell under his breath and made the sword fly its way to them, instead of just going to fetch it by hand.

"Here you go," Merlin said and handed Arthur the sword.

The king raised an eyebrow at his servant. "I'm going to pretend I didn't see that," he said, took the sword and left the chambers. Merlin stayed behind to clear a few things up before he headed out.

Then he almost bumped into Queen Guinevere.

She had only become more beautiful over the years. Her long dark hair was stunning and her eyes mesmerizing. It was not hard to understand why Arthur had chosen her as his queen. She played the role perfectly. She had a good heart like Arthur himself.

"Milady, I'm sorry!" Merlin exclaimed.

Gwen merely sent him a warm smile. "Don't worry, Merlin, it's perfectly all right. I'm looking for Arthur, is he in there?"

Merlin took a look and then shook his head. "No, Milady, he just went to your chambers to find you, I expect."

Gwen nodded. "I see. Thank you, Merlin."

And with that, Merlin bowed lightly for his queen before turning on his heel and walked off to the hall where the feast was to be held. Someone had to make sure everything really was fine...

In the meantime, Queen Guinevere heard a noise. It came from around the corner. Not long after, a shadow turned up, and it grew bigger and bigger, until it became the figure of a man. Gwen smiled. It seemed she had found her husband and she went to greet him.

But as Gwen turned the corner, she realized something was wrong... There was no shadow to see, no Arthur to greet. Gwen inhaled deeply, feeling the fear bubble up inside her and she prepared herself to run.

But something hit her hard from behind and so darkness engulfed her.