Wrongly in Love

31- Plotting Potions

Arthur stood at his private potions room in the Paxley Castle, standing over a cauldron and figuring out which ingredient to use when he heard three knocks on the door- a sign which meant his personal assistant was waiting outside the door.

"Yes? Come in." A young man Arthur's age entered, dressed in a three-piece suit. As his assistant, Merlin, came in, he wrinkled his nose at the unpleasant smells wafting from the cauldron. The potions room, which was normally neat and empty, was totally unrecognizable in the mess. Potion spills were all over the floor. The ingredients, which were stocked in the large cabinet and arranged alphabetically, were now out of place. He glanced at Arthur, who looked rather filthy with stains on his coat and dirt on his cheek.

Arthur noticed Merlin approaching and gestured towards his cauldron. "Merlin, I need your advice on making this potion. It said on the potions spellbook that it was supposed to have a pale lilac color, but it's completely orange and gooey. What ingredient should I change? I wonder what's wrong with it?"

Merlin bit his lip. He wanted to be honest, but he didn't want to offend his boss. Taking a deep breath, he said,"Everything."

After the two of them threw out the contents of the cauldron and wiped it clean, Merlin decided that it would be best to assist Arthur. Sir was great at a lot of things, but potion-making wasn't part of them. As Arthur stirred three cups of moon dust and a dash of camellia in the pot, he looked at Merlin. "Anyways, before I distracted you with my potion-work, what brought you here? Any news of Leodegrance?"

Merlin nodded. "Well, yes, of Leodegrance's daughter. We heard that Guinevere had decided to return to the Baroque Castle."

Arthur stared at him in shock. He was so surprised, he nearly knock the cauldron off the fire. Collecting himself, he said nonchalantly, "Guinevere? I knew she would come back someday. That girl may have her daring ways, but she always ends up obeying her father's order." His unconcerned tone hid what he was thinking inside: Guinevere? Coming back? After running off with my dear younger brother to Swan Castle?

"Yes. We have no idea why. Your bride has come back," Merlin confirmed, smiling tightly.

Arthur gaped at him for a few seconds, then turned his attention back to the cauldron and continued stirring.

As Arthur was about to toss the next ingredient in the cauldron, Merlin snapped to attention and grabbed his arm to stop him. "No! Are you paying attention? You need to leave the mixture for five minutes before adding the next ingredient. And you'll need to add essence of hyacinth, not lavender water."

"Oh, yes, of course," Arthur said dismissively, grabbing the tiny bottle from the shelf. As he held it, he gazed doubtfully at the amount of essence inside the bottle. "Are you sure this potion is all worth it? Essence of hyacinth is extremely rare to find." He said, sighing.

"Ingredient rarity is nothing compared to the situation you're facing," Merlin scoffed. He snatched the bottle and added three drops of essence to the cauldron, and the boiling potion made an angry, hissing noise.

Arthur jumped. "Is it supposed to be like that?"

"Of course. Its perfectly normal." Merlin said, unconcerned.

Arthur gazed at him in admiration. "How did you get so smart in potion making?"

"I studied hard to be one of the best potionmakers in the Academy," Merlin simply said. As he stirred the potion, he looked at Arthur. "Things seem to be going out well for you, aren't they?"

Arthur grinned. "They most certainly are. Leodegrance is already one of my brainless pawns, and Guinevere had decided to come back to me instead of hanging around with my foolish brother."

Merlin frowned. "But wouldn't it be harder to execute your plan with Guinevere watching? She's her daughter, after all."

"Not at all. Guinevere can't even do her magic properly, she wouldn't be a threat. And to top it off, Gusion knows he lost all hope of getting her back. My stupid brother had hopelessly fallen in love with her, and look where it had gotten him- he was betrayed," Arthur sighed, pretending to feel sympathetic. As if.

"And her friends too. The Death Chanter, Lesley Vance, and that swan lady whatshername of the Regina Royals? Ophelia?"

"Odette. They trusted her as their ally, and that trust has been for nothing," Arthur sneered. "And Harith and Nana in Enchanted Forest decided to shut their doors firmly on Gusion and his pathetic friends. They've also pledged their allegiance to me, too."

Merlin smiled, but then a thought came to him and his face fell. Arthur glanced at him worriedly."Are you alright?"

Merlin furrowed his brow. "What if Guinevere came here for another reason. What if she didn't come here... faithfully?"

Arthur's expression darkened. "What do you mean?"

Merlin looked grave. "Face it. She might be coming her to stop your plot. To keep you under her watch. We don't know her all that well, so we have no idea what she's capable of. But that's the danger of having her in the castle. We have no idea how much power she has over us."

To his surprise, Arthur chuckled."How much power she has over us?" He repeated, smirking.

Merlin noticed the implication in his tone, he blushed and went quiet.

"Well, you were right about us not knowing her that well," Arthur continued, as he added the final ingredient in the cauldron. "But with her in the castle, we're going to keep an eye on her every step. We'll get to know her, Merlin. And besides, no matter how good her magic is, she's outnumbered. More than a hundred of us, including the hoods. One of her. Odds aren't even in her favor."

The two of them cackled.

"Is it ready now?" Arthur asked, back to business.

Merlin nodded, with a wicked glint in his eye. "Mhm. It doesn't need cooling time, you can put it straight in the flask."

"And even if it was put in another drink, the potion won't lose its power? It won't trigger any side effects?"

Merlin nodded.

Arthur smiled. "Perfect."

Knowing his job was done, Merlin turned to exit the room. But before he advanced another step, Arthur stopped him. "What?"

Arthur let out a chilling laugh. "One last request. Can you put this in Guinevere's tea for me? I think her drink would taste better with this than with sugar and milk."

Remembering the plan, Merlin matched his expression with a wicked smile of his own. "Of course, whatever you wish."

Then he exited the room and shut the door firmly behind him.