Merlyn's Only Hope

Le Morte d'Arthur P1

"The creature you describe has all the characteristics of the questing beast." Gaius addressed the court upon their return. Uther and Arthur were scanning maps of the woods in an attempt to seek out the beast that had attacked them, praying for a way to kill it.

"Surely that's just a myth." Arthur raised an eyebrow, unsure what to make of Gaius' explanation. He'd been wrong to doubt the physician before and, seeing as he had promised to listen to him more in the future, he knew he couldn't quite rely on his own instincts.

"According to the old books, the appearance of the questing beast is supposed to foreshadow a time of great upheaval."

Uther stood straighter, Gaius' words clearly a little too close to magic for comfort. "Gaius, that's an old wives' tale."

Arthur knew that his father would no longer listen to any mention of the questing beast, the king far too stubborn for such mystical talk. He didn't really want to get into the validity of Gaius' claim, especially since he was the one that would have to kill the beast. It was an animal, and all animals could be slain with some kind of weapon.

"Look, whatever it is, it's spreading panic. The people fear that it will enter the city." he said diplomatically, eying his father and Gaius carefully.

The king regarded him for a moment, a grave look upon his face. "Then we must kill it. Arthur, gather the guard together. You ride at dawn."

The prince nodded, exchanging a look with Merlyn before leaving the throne room, his knights on his heels. He saw his servant glancing at Gaius, who had stayed, likely to offer his father some kind of ignorable advice, before following him begrudgingly, knowing the chores she'd have to complete by the morning.

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Gaius had been pacing, a brown tome clasped in his hand as he walked, flicking through the pages urgently. Merlyn was packing, extending Arthur's sword to admire the gleam on the freshly sharpened blade, discretely using a little of her magic to fold his clothes and neatly pack them in his travel bag. She wasn't particularly looking forward to facing the questing beast: there wasn't much hope that the knights' weaponry could do much against it, not without some of her intervention anyway.

"This is no ordinary beast, Merlyn." Gaius, after half an hour of reading, finally spoke, brandishing the book as if it were as deadly as the sword in her hand.

"Don't worry." she grinned, flipping the blade in the air and catching it with her left hand, sheathing it before laying it down on the table.

"No, listen to me. You don't understand. Uther may not respect the old religion, but it is very real. To face a creature such as this, you must understand where it came from." He stood beside her, pointing at a rather poor illustration of the monster, no where near as terrifying as what she'd already seen.

"What do you mean?" Merlyn asked, picking up the prince's helmet to examine the smudges clear on the metal. She sighed, it wasn't like he'd end up wearing it anyway. He thought he looked good, his hair stuck to his face with sweat, his piercing blue eyes trained on whatever creature he was fighting, magical or otherwise. She couldn't deny this, but the absence of head protection was surely going to cost him someday.

"At the very heart of the old religion lies the magic of life and death." Gaius continued, oblivious to the servant's wondering thoughts. "The questing beast carries that power. One bite, you die and there is no cure."

Merlyn stared at the physician with wide eyes. Why he didn't try to stop her from leaving for the mission, not that she would've listened, she didn't know, but the quest suddenly seemed much more terrifying.