¹ 𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 ━━ 𝘣𝘣𝘤 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯

━━ 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘭

Somberly, she sighed at the memory. "Do you think it could be a mutated variant of the same illness?"

"No, I fear that something like this could never come from nature, whereas the plague we endured then most certainly did."

"Sorcery, then?" Merlin guessed, wishing for anything other than the black arts. Camelot had been called home for less than a month and in that short time, it was almost as if the kingdom had become a beacon for the forces of evil.

"Again?" She huffed in annoyance and disbelief. "When will it leave us be?"

Before another word could be spoken, the young sorcerer heard the call of his name thundering through the corridor beyond. Panic flared, for any subject of Camelot would recognize their prince's voice from any corner of the world.

Ever so quickly, Aurora gave the boy in question a nudge towards the door and kept her voice hushed. "Get rid of him! He can't see this yet!"

After tripping over his own two feet and into the door, Merlin rushed to open it before Arthur could waltz inside of his own free will, seeing to it that the body would be blocked from his line of vision. His actions were clumsy and hasty, so ripe with suspicion that Arthur was either too daft to notice or he simply did not care enough to inquire. "I'm on my way. Sorry I'm late."

"Don't worry. I'm getting used to it." His monotone showed his disinterest, which ended up being slightly piqued when he noticed a flower nestled into Merlin's clothing.

Following his gaze, Merlin had completely forgotten it to be there in the first place. "Um, Gwen gave it to me."

"Tell Gaius my father wants to see him now." Arthur gave one last order and without another word, he disappeared back the way he came.

Merlin sighed in relief, quick to shut the door behind him. "Gaius—"

"I heard."

"Wait, why couldn't he have just told you himself?"

"Because that's the way it is," Gaius reminded him. "You're a servant."

Once again, the ways and laws of the world left his blood boiling. "If he knew who I was, what I've done—"

Aurora cut him off before he could even think of tying his sentence together. "Well, you'd still be a servant. You'd just be a dead one."

"The girl's right," the physician confirmed. "Now, get this covered up."

"Hey, I'm not your servant."

"No, you're my dogsbody. Come on, hurry up."

Though amused, Merlin heaved a sigh as he moved to re-cover the man's body as told, letting out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding once those lifeless eyes were no longer staring up at him. As he would be living under a physician's roof for the unforeseeable future, Merlin knew he'd have to build up an immunity to dead bodies. Considering his experiences thus far, he was sure he'd have ample opportunity to do so.

Upon entering the council chambers, he could ascertain that his assumptions were correct. Sprawled across the stone floor was yet another body painted in sickly white, irises clouded in the same milky hue as the first from the lower town. This man was one Gaius easily recognized as a servant, one he'd seen up and about well enough just the morning before and he knew not what to think. Any disease that could both infect and kill its host in twenty-four hours was an unprecedented threat.

The king and his son held their places near the throne across the way, surrounded by a gathering of court members in the earliest stages of widespread panic. In hopes of quelling it before it truly began, Uther sought answers. "What's happened to him?"