Part 3 of my BBC Merlin g/t fanfic!
âHelp!â Merlin wakes with a start. Sweat dripping down his face. He could have sworn he had just heard a voice. A womanâs voice, screaming loud in his head. He pulled away his covers and looked down at the room. Gwen was sleeping in the cot below, not showing any signs of consciousness. He sat on his bed for a bit, waiting to see if he would hear it again. Sure enough.
âSomeone help me!â The desperation of the voice was crippling to Merlin, who put his hands to his ears in pain. He quickly climbed down from his ledge to investigate. He somehow knew where it was coming from, even if it was in his head.
He traveled across the room, past the sleeping Gwen to the window and squeezed through the crack, dropping onto the street below. He knew this was incredibly dangerous, but the voice was so⊠scared.
âFind it! Uther will not have any Sprites in his castle!â Merlin looked over and saw knights scouring small corners across the courtyard from him. Was it another Sprite calling out to him? She must be in trouble⊠He held a hand to his head and focused hard to find where she was.
A picture materialized in his mind, showing her hiding behind a cart near where the knights were searching. He gasped. He had to be quick or she would be found. He slid along a wall and waited for someone to come by, then he jumped by their feet and walked with them across the courtyard. Once across he dashed to the cart and finally saw the sprite face to face.
She was gorgeous, catching Merlin off guard, her eyes were a piercing green and her black hair was thick and flowing down her pale face. He quickly grabbed her hand and she was too scared to give any resistance as he ran with her to another hiding place. They waited silently until another passerby walked past them. Merlin pulled her forward and they hid beside the womanâs dress and dashed the rest of the way to another dark hiding spot. They used this time to catch their breath. She panted and struggled to keep her hair out of her face. Merlin managed to glance at a gash in her side in the chaos but she quickly covered it back up
âWho are you?â She asked.
âI was going to ask you the same question,â Merlin replied before pulling her against a wall and holding her mouth shut. A knight walked by a second later, not seeing them.
âMaybe we should talk later, we need to get back to my place,â Merlin grabbed her hand again and led her slowly to the window he had left from and the slipped back in. They sat there, catching their breath for a bit, but Merlin was staring at where he had saw her wound.
âYouâre hurt,â He said, seeing her tense up. âWhat happened?â
âItâs nothing, Iâll be fine,â Merlin glared at her.
âLiar, luckily, you managed to get the attention of someone who knows how to treat wounds,â Merlin got up. âGwen!â He called out as loud as he could, making the girl jump. The sleeping womanâs head shot up and she looked around.
âOver here!â He called out, and the girl started to panic after noticing the human. She eyed the window and looked up at Merlin in worry. He bent down and reassured her.
âGwen is a friend, sheâll help you,â She didnât look convinced, just scared. Gwen got up and turned around, squinting to see the two. As soon as she noticed the second sprite huddled over she rushed over.
âMerlin! What happened? Whoâs that?â She said, reaching out to the tiny woman, but the small girl flinched away from her hand. Gwen pulled back.
âNo time to explain, she needs help, can you get me some bandages and alcohol?â Gwen grew stern and nodded, heading over to get the supplies. Merlin bent over and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
âCan you tell me your name?â Merlin asked.
âItâs⊠Morgana, my name is MorganaâŠâ
âNice to meet you Morgana, my name is Merlin,â He smiled at her but she just looked down. Gwen came back and set down the bandages and a small bottle of alcohol. Merlin was quick to work, cleaning up the wound and sterilizing it before wrapping it up nice and tight. Gwen sat nearby, watching intently. Morgana felt incredibly self conscious being stared at, but silently put up with it, very grateful for the kindness the two were showing her.
âHow did you know I was in trouble?â Morgana spoke up after a while of silence. Merlin looks up.
âI heard you call for help in my head,â Morgana looked down.
âItâs no problem, and youâre welcome to stay here for a while to recover if youâd like,â Morgana looked at him in surprise.
âReally? Are you sure? Those knights are probably still looking for meâŠâ Merlin looked at Gwen, not thinking about that.
âThat might be a problem⊠Could you help us if that happens?â He asked Gwen, who nodded quickly.
âThey might come searching here, we should prepare,â Merlin said.
He set to work making his loft look like just another shelf. Meanwhile Gwen grabbed a bundle of soft fabric and put it in the bottom of her pocket. Morgana watched her closely. She had never been able to look at a human this close before without being in imminent danger. Sheâs actually really pretty⊠Morgana thought. She noticed how soft her skin looked, and how beautiful her curls were- Morgana slapped her face with her hands. Stop! What the hell are you thinking? Gwen walked up to her and offered her hands to her.
âIâll need to hide you if the knights come,â Morgana looked up at her, blushing hard. She didnât know why, she barely knew this human.
âO-Okay,â Morgana said and shyly stepped onto the girls awaiting hands. Gwen curled her fingers around Morgana slightly as she set her gently in her pocket. With Morgana secure she turned to Merlin, who was finishing up hiding any evidence of him being there.
âYou ready? I think I hear them somewhere close,â She said, reaching out her hand to Merlin. He jumps on her hand and she quickly slips him in her pocket with Morgana. Only a few seconds later there was a knock on the door.
âCome in!â She says, gently patting her pocket to make sure they were still. Arthur and a couple of knights came in through the door.
âHello Gwen, have you seen any sprites? We spotted one in the castle,â Arthurâs look of disgust unnerved Gwen.
âNo, sorry, I havenât,â Merlin and Morgana stay completely still, occasionally looking at each other for reassurance.
âAlright, weâre just gonna do a quick check around to make sure,â With that the knights entered the room and starting looking under things and behind books, occasionally knocking some things over. Gwen stayed out of their way as much as possible.
âSorry about the mess Gwen, but itâs necessary,â Arthur said, stopping next to Gwen.
âWhy all the fuss about a sprite?â Gwen asked, keeping her hands over her pocket protectively.
âMy father will not stand to have them running around his castle, theyâre pests,â Gwen winced and Merlin clenched his fists. After a long few minutes the knights came over to Arthur.
âNothing sire, itâs probably fled the castle,â
âGood, letâs hope an animal kills it,â Arthur said, waving the knights away and following after them. Morgana grips at the material of Gwenâs pocket, her gut tightening in fear and dread.
When Gwen was sure they were gone she quickly pulled the two out of her pocket and set them down. She and Merlin quickly noticed that Morgana was shaking, and before Merlin had a chance to stabilize her Gwen reached out and put her hand around the small lady. Morgana immediately stopped shaking and looked up at Gwen. She had the instinct to pull away but the warmth and comfort filled in the one touch drained away all the fear she had felt from what the prince had said.
âAre you alright?â Gwen asked, slowly pulling away her hand but keeping it close. Morgana pulled her hands close to her chest and nodded, blushing.
The three waited in silence until the search was over, and they all let out a collective breath of relief.
"Why were you in the courtyard anyway?" Merlin asked, turning to Morgana. The female sprite looked down with a grave face.
"My sister told me to meet her here, she said she had this amazing plan to stop the violence against sprites," Merlin perked up in curiosity.
"Crazy? Impossible? Yeah, I know, but she is pretty smart so who knows,"
"I never found her, I was spotted by a human who immediately started⊠attacking me," Morgana moved a shaky hand up to wipe her face from tears.
Gwen was horrified. She had always had mixed opinions because she had only ever heard about how sprites were evil and mischievous, coming into houses and causing illness with their magic. But as soon as she met one she knew that none of that was true, they were just like people.. But smaller, and magical. She pondered this. What if she tried showing them to others? Would it help them see what she saw or put them in danger? She was so lost in her thoughts she realized she was missing a lot of the conversation.
"-we don't talk about where it is as it could jeopardize the safety of it so yeah I understand," Gwen sighed, wishing she had payed attention.
"Thank you for understanding, even though it's just me and my sister there we have worked hard to make it our own,"
"Maybe when Gaius gets back he can help you return there,"
"Gaius? Who's that?" Morgana asked.
"Oh yeah, he's the physician I've been working under, he's been out of Camelot so that's why Gwens here," Gwen waved shyly at being mentioned.
"Well I would owe him much if he did thatâŠand I owe both of you so much as well for saving me and hiding me," Merlin smiled and nodded in reply, Gwen smiled as well.
"So where's your sister?" Gwen asked, finally joining the conversation. Morgana jumped a bit, still getting used to a humans presence.
"I don't know, but I should probably search for her, or she could end up in the same situation I was inâŠ"
"We'll help in any way we can," Merlin and Gwen share a look of understanding.
"So, we should probably get back to making medicine, still lots of people to help," Gwen said, straightening up and walking over to the workbench. Merlin offers Morgana a hand to get up.
"You can stay in this room with us, I'll get you situated, okay? How about you go keep Gwen company until I can come help," Morgana nods and starts making her way to Gwen. Merlin climbs up to his shelf and starts the process of making another bed.
"I know we never introduced ourselves but I'm Morgana," she said as she walking across the workbench.
"Oh! My name's Gwen! Very nice to meet you," She gave a smile, making Morgana almost swoon.
Morgana didn't know anything about medicine so all she could do was watch as Gwen worked.
"Agh, blast, the fire went out," she cursed to no one in particular. The fire being a small flame under a glass beaker, heating ingredients for her concoction.
Without thinking Morgana raised her hand and lit the flame from where she sat. Gwen flinched at the fire and gasped. She looked at Morgana and gaped.
"Did you do that?" She said, astonished. Morgana looked down and flushed in embarrassment.
"Yeah sorry, reflex," Gwen stared at the fire for a moment longer.
"That's amazing!" Morgana looked up at her in surprise. She had never gotten a response like that for her magic. She smiled and pushed her hair behind her ear.
"ThanksâŠ" Gwen smiled and went back to work.
"What are you guys on about?" Merlin asked, making his way down from the ledge to them.
"Morgana can light a fire with her mind!" Gwen said excitedly. Merlin smiled at her naivety.
"That's magic, all sprites have it in some form or another,"
"Really? Wow!" Morgana and Merlin look at each other in bewilderment then laugh. What a strange human.