Far Away Reality

Chapter 23

"I will treat the boy, but as soon as he's well, you must get him out of Camelot. And woe betide anyone caught with him. Well, one thing we know for sure" Gaius said as he examined the boy.

"What's that?" Merlin asked.

"You're no physician" I held back a giggle at the Court Physician's comment.

That night, Merlin and I handled the dinner shift together. Merlin needed the keys in order to get the boy out of Camelot and he dragged me with him as backup in case things went sideways. We served the Prince a beef stew from the Palace kitchen and Merlin used his usual magic to lift the keys up gently, trying his best not to make a sound. Which I imagine must be tricky given the keys were on Arthur's belt.

"Is there any bread?" The keys jangled above his head,"What was that?"

"What?" Merlin played clueless.

"There was a sound"

"Was there?" Merlin continued while I remained silent beside him. I would laugh too much to handle any of this. The keys dangled again as it dodged the Prince's sight.

"What is that? Can't you hear it?!"

"I can't hear anything" The Prince then moved his sights to me. I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders.

"Are you deaf? It's like a... jangling sound" Arthur walked towards us with an incredulous look about his face.

"There!" Merlin pointed behind him.

"What?"

"I thought I saw something" Arthur made his way over to where the manservant pointed and Merlin dropped the keys into the bowl of soup.

"What was that?"

"What was what?" Merlin continued the clueless act, clearly enjoying this way too much.

"A different sound, like a... like a splash" I handed 'Lin some bread.

"Bread?" He offered it to the Prince, quickly changing the subject. Arthur made his way out of the room, checking his hearing,"I guess he doesn't want bread anymore" Merlin took a bite of the roll. I rolled my eyes as I grabbed the keys from the soup and wiped them off.

"You better get going. Morgana must be waiting on you by now" He made a face of sudden realization and ran out the door. Once the warlock took his leave, I cleared up the table from dinner and went on with my nightly duties. Better that I am here than with them because the more people there are... the more likely they are to get caught.

The next morning we all regrouped in Morgana's room following the failed escape last night. A servant had spotted the Lady with the boy as they exited the palace and tipped off the guards. Uther was furious with her, as would be expected from him, Mordred was put in the dungeon and sentenced to execution at dawn.

"I promised that I wouldn't let anything bad happen" Morgana sighed.

"You can't blame yourself. You tried your best" Merlin reassured to no avail.

"It's not enough"

"He's in jail now. There's nothing more we can do" Merlin stated matter of factly and I sent him a glare.

"I will not let him die. Can I count on your help?" Merlin sent a hesitant nod.

"Of course," I said, sending her a small smile. There is no way that I am letting that sweet child die.

"Thank you"

***

Morgana paced around the Prince's room as we waited for his arrival. She's determined to speak with him about the boy and put a stop to this madness. Meanwhile, being Arthur's maidservant, I folded his freshly washed clothes and tended to my usual chores. In this Kingdom, there is no end to the work of a servant.