Always Be With You - Merthur

Chapter 23

Trigger warning 

A/N~ Yeah... I'm sorry. That's the least I can do.

~o~

Gwen pov

The cool air had even penetrated the walls of the castle, now that no one was paying attention to light the fireplaces, leaving Gwen running through the corridor, shivering aggressively, but that wasn't the issue here, the thing that was most stressful to her right now, was the fact that they - meaning Morgana and herself - had no way of telling when the thing would happen where the cloaked person would drive Excalibur through Merlin's heart, killing him forever and they had no idea how to stop it. The only clue was that it would happen late in the evening. Around night time, even.

Why did he make that sword? She groaned in frustration. Why was that? Right. To help Arthur. Always to help his prince. The thought brought a smile to her face. If they didn't get together soon, she and Morgana would have to take drastic measures, like locking them in a closet together just for the joke.

Wait, that could work... Damnit Gwen, now is not the time to be the desperate shipper, they both need to be alive for that to work.

Okay. Good. Gwen took a deep breath and tugged her cloak around her more to maintain the little warmth she still possessed. After a trip to the armoury, where she'd put her own outfit, she was ready. It was nice to know that she was now a bit better protected against swords and stuff. So she wouldn't die right away. A long, thin sword of her own was positioned at her hip, its silver hilt, decorated with stripes of blue leather and a tiny emerald in the hexagon shaped pommel. It looked great and she felt great, now she just needed to get to Morgana to figure out how they could get Excalibur from Morgause.

Maybe a distraction? No, Morgause was way too smart for that. Right now, Morgana was in her house, also changing into suitable armour so they could fight Morgause if needed - it had taken them both an annoyingly long time to find the right items because they were both female - but other than that, there wasn't really a good plan. But they still had a lot of time to help. 

It was midday right now and there was frost on the windows. Gwen could actually see it spreading out in pretty patterns, but she didn't really have time for this. The way to the closest door out of the castle wasn't far anymore, it led to he other side of the courtyard, allowing her to sneak to her home without being noticed. 

She just had to go past the main entrance to the Throne room and it wasn't far after that. But she still needed to get past that damn door. Fingers crossed, let's go. Gwen turned around the corner and skitted to a halt. Not because there were so many of Cenred's men, there weren't any, she faltered because there was someone on the floor. Her heart sank.

"Lilith!" 

Gwen ran over to her, half stumbling and falling to her knees at Lilith's side. She was still alive, but there was a rip in her t-shirt right above her hip, pools of dark red blood spilling out, pooling around her wound with . Gwen took a deep breath and stroked a strand of hair out of Lilith's face. She made a soft noise of acknowledgement and her eyes flicked over to look at Gwen. 

"Lilith, what happened? I told you to stay at Gaius'!" It was meant to sound stern, but it came out more like a plea. Of course Lilith didn't say anything, she just stared at her with a tired expression. "Don't worry, I'm going to get you back to Gaius, you'll be okay," She wasn't so sure about that, but it was Lilith! She couldn't have her die, she was 15! After all the time she'd spend surviving?

Gwen ripped off a strip of her cloak and pressed the fabric against Lilith's lower stomach, staunching the blood a bit. Lilith groaned in pain and her hand, painfully clutching around Gwen's arm, who pulled her head to rest on her lap, trying to offer her at least a bit of comfort.

"She-" Lilith croaked before she swallowed and coughed a few times, her face contorting painfully until it was over. "Take it easy, sweety, you're going to be okay." Gwen repeated, clenching her jaw. "No," Lilith shook her head, "No, Morgause, sh-e has a sword, it," It was like the world faded. She had the sword. Which meant she probably caused Lilith's injury with it. Which meant... 

"Excalibur? Did she-?" Lilith shook her head and Gwen frowned. "N-o, she h's her o-wn." Having said that, her eyes seemed to be less focused than before, Gwen forced down the lump in her throat at the sight. She couldn't waste Lilith's last moments crying. Again, a short coughing fit made Lilith squirm slightly, although a lot weaker than before. "What do you-?" Gwen trailed off.

Morgause had her own sword... Her own weapon that would kill Merlin and Lilith. But how was that possible? Did the great dragon...? No, he wouldn't do that. Merlin had told her that was the only sword he ever helped with and that he'd been very reluctant to help at all. He wouldn't do it again. Hadn't Merlin mentioned a new dragon around a year and a half ago? What was its name? 

Aithusa.

Shit. Morgause must have found a way to get it to help her. Gwen knew nothing about the baby dragon except that it was white and Merlin had been very fond of it, by the way he told her what happened. Gwen understood that. After all, he had hatched the egg, he was in ways its mother... It was endearing to hear him talk about it. 

And because of that, it was hard to believe that Aithusa would help someone like Morgause. Maybe she forced her to help... Gwen shook her head and returned to Lilith. the rag was now soaked in blood, making her look away for a second. "You n-eed to find" Lilith seemed to have trouble breathing and Gwen stilled. She had to focus on holding the piece of fabric firmly on the wound to keep herself from crying.

"G't Excalibur..." That made her look down at her again. Of course. Excalibur. If they got it, they would be able to kill Morgause, but Lilith needed help. "What are y-?" Lilith protested when Gwen worked an arm underneath her her shoulderblades and the crook of her knees to lift her up. "Stp, stop, Gwen stop it." She ordered weakly. "T's too late... Too late. Y' need t-, I need you to-" She coughed again and a blood appeared on her lips. It contrasted strongly against her pale skin. Gwen stopped moving,  forcing herself to breathe. "Th- sword." "yes, but-" "N-no. For me, pleas-" Her breathing hitched. 

Gwen was fully aware that any breath could be her last. She grabbed Lilith's hand and held her close to her chest. "I can't leave you here..." She murmered quietly, still pressing the cloth down firmly. A deep sigh. "Y's. You C'n. N'd you will. Please.." Her voice was barely above a whisper now. "Prmise me.." It sounded so different than the usual jokingly and sarcastic tone, that tears finally began spilling from her eyes. 

Lilith's shivers started to die down as she reached up to grab a hold of Gwen's left shoulder. A quiet whimper escaped her lips as she listened to what she said, "Thers still ti-ime for Merl'n. You c'n still save h-im. Not me." "No! There has to be something I-" "Thank you mom." 

It was like someone had flipped the off switch as Lilith suddenly went completely limp in her arms, eyes seemingly duller and staring into nothingness. Unseeing. Gwen stared at her, not moving with wide eyes. Something snapped inside her and she let out a sob. Lilith was dead.

Still cradling her, Gwen pressed her own forehead against Lilith's, firmly closing her eyes as she made contact with her cold skin. The cold of the castle had made it even worse. Slowly regaining herself, Gwen nodded a few times before straightening up again, eyes to the ceiling. She screamed in anger. No words, just a loud, heartbroken, painful scream until she ran out of breath and cried softly. 

Okay. Excalibur. Cenred's castle. She tightened her hold around Lilith's body and pressed a kiss in her hair and scooped her up, laying her down by the wall near one of the torches for warmth. She didn't know why she did it, but it was something. "I will come back for you." She whispered, not trusting her voice at all. One last time, she took her hands and carefully placed them on her lower stomach so they covered the stabwound. Now it looked like she was sleeping.

Gwen wiped away her tears and forced herself to move. Away from Lilith. To abandon her. No. She told herself. I have to, so I can save Merlin. Because he's my friend and has saved so many other lives. Because I can't lose anyone else.

~o~ 

A/N~ Hi... Sorry again. :)