Follow Alexandra on her journey in Camelot along with her brother, the great wizard, Merlin. Everyone has a destiny, so what is hers? With powers so grand, where will that lead her? To fall at the hands of evil, to become the most powerful sorceress...
Today was just like any day. Gaius and I were out in the square attending to the sick or anyone who needed medical attention. Just then, Gaius pointed to a man on the ground. We rushed over to tend to him. The man was horrifying to look at because his skin was pale and his veins were a berry blue color.
"We mustn't let people see this or they'll panic," Gaius said. I turned away from the body and grabbed a sheet on the clothing line. Gaius took the sheet to cover up the body, and I searched for a wagon to put the body in. There was a house across from the home I took the sheet. Swiftly, I pushed the wagon towards Gaius and by myself lifted the body into the wagon.
"Is it contagious because then I might be sorry?" I said.
"No, it seems internal," he replied. As we carted the body towards the castle, Gwen approached. You've got to be kidding me. I stepped in front of the wagon and waved. She questioned what we were doing. I couldn't tell her that there was a dead man inside. Without much thought, I asked her about the flowers. She blushed and said they were for Lady Morgana. She handed me a flower and went on her way. I tucked the blossom behind my ear with some hair. Once we arrived at the castle, I carried the dead man to the physician's chambers which was no easy task at all. The scientists weren't kidding about dead weight. I placed the body on the patient's cot for Gaius to examine. All I know is that this man was dead from an unknown pathogen which is dangerous. An unknown pathogen has no cure. Arthur burst through the door with Merlin behind him.
"Gaius, the King demands your presence in the hall," Arthur said. He then looked at me. "What's with the flower?" I forgot I tucked it behind my ear when Gwen gave me the lavender blossom.
"Gwen gave it to me," I said smiling. There was an awkward silence until Arthur left the room expecting us to follow. I stayed behind to keep Gaius's pace and he looked at me with worry. I think I know what he is worried about. Walking into the Great Hall, I saw many nobles wearing the same facial expression, fear. There was a member of the court on the ground with pale skin and icy blue veins. The victim's eyes were laced with the same blue as the veins.
"What happened to him?" King Uther questioned.
"I don't know, sire, this is the second case I've seen today," Gaius answered.
"Why didn't you report it to me?"
"I was attempting to find the cause," Gaius responded.
"And what did you conclude?"
"I don't think it's time to jump to conclusions. The scientific process is a long one."
"What are you concealing from me?"
"Alexandra, please explain it to the King," Gaius said.
I gulped. Why did Gaius ask me to inform the King? The King doesn't think I am capable of anything anyway. "I haven't seen anything like it. The victims are dying in 24 hours and it's spreading fast. "
"But what is the cause?" urged the King.
Gaius swallowed before speaking up, " The most likely cause of this is sorcery."
The King sent a search party with Arthur leading it. Arthur and his knights began checking every house and room in Camelot. Merlin, Gaius, and I returned to the chambers to find the source of the illness. Merlin was so confused about why people would use magic for evil. I knew that greed could corrupt anyone and if magic was at his or her disposal, then why not use it? Gaius said that magic is not good or evil; it depends on the person using it. We were dissecting the body when Arthur and the knights burst through the door. That seemed to be quite often.
"Sorry Gaius, we have to conduct a search everywhere," Arthur said. I looked at Merlin widening my eyes at him. I bet Merlin never hid that blasted spell book. I slowly walked past some guards and went into my room. There was no need to attract any wanted attention. Unfortunately, I know Merlin too well; the book was right on the floor. I heard Arthur coming up the staircase. I threw the book into the cabinet with a bunch of Merlin's clothes that were on the floor. Arthur cracked the door open and was surprised to see me in there.
"What are you doing in here?" He asked with a hint of suspicion.
"Sorry I got some of the victim's bodily fluids on me and wanted to grab a new dress," I easily lied.
"Right, well other than Merlin's enchanting ability to leave a mess, I doubt there is anything in here. You may change." And with that, he left my bedroom. I let a sigh escape and now I had to change to make my story accurate. I tossed on a white lien dress with short sleeves. The material was soft and the pattern was of florals lined with pink thread. The sleeves had baby pink lace trimming on the ends.
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I bought this dress with Morgana and Gwen. It was one of my favorites. When I walked back out, Gaius is lecturing Merlin about using magic to fix this. Magic was the easy solution but would point a target on our backs. We continued searching for a cause. After Arthur and his knights were unsuccessful, King Uther placed a curfew and insisted the knights search the outskirts of Camelot. I knew that the sorcerer would not make themselves known; they were especially not stupid enough to stay in Camelot.
The next day Gwen and I took a walk to the lower village. I helped her retrieve water for her father. I stayed for a little while and conversed with her father, the blacksmith. He talked about how he heard me fight Arthur and would love to make a sword for me to use. We discussed how the sword would need to be lighter to allow quicker and more agile movement. Gwen offered us both water to drink. As much as I wanted to continue our talk, I needed to get going. I hugged Gwen and said goodbye. Gaius and Merlin would need all the help they could get. When I entered the room, they were narrowing down a cause to how the plaque is spread.
"The plaque is not spread through physical contact because the royal courtier and a lower town peasant would not have had contact," Merlin said.
"Therefore it must be what they have in common," Gaius replied. Merlin appeared to be confused.
"It would not be through food because of social class; the meals would be very different," I said.
"Welcome back, Alexandra," Gaius smiled.
"Thank you," I replied.
"Water!" Merlin yelled.
"Yes, good job Merlin," Gaius congratulated.
"Oh no..." I muttered. Realization hit us all at the same time. The water was unsafe and we needed to alert the King immediately. Before we made it out of the room, Gwen ran in with tears in her eyes. Her father got the mysterious illness. I used Gwen's situation as a distraction. I walked back into the bedroom and looked in the mirror. I drank the same water just like the blacksmith. My skin was becoming pale and my veins were becoming noticeable blue. My eyes too. I became frantic and reached for the spell book. Searching through spells trying to find anything that could be of help. I stumbled across a spell that temporarily altered appearances. It would only last an hour. I tried casting the spell and looked back at myself in the mirror. My skin returned to its normal color but I was exhausted. This illness was wearing on me and my legs were unstable. I yelled out the door that I planned to get some extra sleep. I had no control over myself and we needed a cure before my 24 hours are over.
