Merlin: Fate Be Changed

Love in the Time of Dragons (Part 3)

  Later that night when Merlin was sound asleep, Gaius quiet snuck out of his chambers. Merlin stirred from his slumber at the sound of the door opening and got up just in time to see Gaius closing the door behind him. Curious, Merlin quickly grabbed his jacket and followed after the physician.

  The boy followed his uncle through the lower town until Gaius reached a stop at an old hovel. Merlin hid behind a cart to keep out of sight as Gaius purposefully approached the front door. He knocked three times and waited for a response. Merlin peeked his head out from behind the cart and Gaius snatched his head around in Merlin's general direction, causing the warlock to dive back behind the wheel barrow. Gaius's attention was being drawn back by the sound of the door opening.

  Who greeted him in the doorway confirmed all his suspicions about the miraculous healings. Standing before him was his former lover and fellow magician. "Gaius," she said hopefully.

  He smiled. "Alice."

  When Merlin had deemed it safe, he poked his head just as Gaius and his fiancée embrace tightly. The young man smirked playfully. All of a sudden, he heard loud footsteps pounding on the ground coming in the direction of the hovel. The were guards patrolling the lower town. Merlin looked back at the entrance to the hovel and saw that no one was there. They must be inside by now. Merlin thought. He took a sigh of relief and made his own getaway before he was discovered.

  Inside the hovel, Alice had led Gaius into the sitting room. "How did you know I was in Camelot?" she asked. "I recognized your work," Gaius said. "Your healing magic was always equal to none." She blushed at his praise and smiled even brighter. "Oh, Gaius, you've lost none of your charm," she giggled.

  "And you've lost none of your skill."

  "It's nothing, honestly," she denied. "Nothing? Alice you saved the innkeeper's life," Gaius continued. She shrugged dumbly, "I did what I could, as I know you did." Gaius nodded. "Yes, but my humble potion was not enough, it seems." Alice studied him thoughtfully. "Look at you—" she sighed, "always so solemn, so serious." The physician bowed his head before replying with, "And you, always teasing me."

  A moment past between them. "I've missed you," Alice said at last. "And I you," Gaius returned. "20 years," she remembered. "And here we are back in Camelot together again." "It is wonderful, isn't it?" Gaius pondered. "It almost seems as though nothing has changed," she beamed. Gaius gave her a solemn look. "And some things never will," he said. It wasn't hard to guess what Gaius meant or who, specifically, he was talking about.

  "Uther."

  He nodded. "It's not safe for you here," he warned. "He suspects that magic is at work in Camelot." She gazed upon the physician, a somber mood penetrating the happiness that had welled up inside her. "He doesn't know for sure," she said as more of a statement than a question.

  "Not yet. But if you stay, he will find you."

  "But Gaius, healing is my only gift. It is my living," she reasoned. "I must buy food. I must pay rent." "Why here? The dangers are too great," Gaius whispered warily. She paused before answering. "Because I wanted to see you again," she breathed. Gaius sighed and the two laced their hands together with entwined fingers, before hugging once more.

  "Dawn is nearly upon us," Gaius sniffled. "I must get back." He made to leave towards the door, but Alice grabbed his arm gently, "Will you come back tomorrow?" "Of course," he stated simply. With one final look at his beloved he smiled and left the small house.

  As soon as the door closed behind him, Alice whirled around to face the beast that she brought into Camelot with her. "You have done well," it spoke in a gravelly voice. "The physician is vital to our plan." "Please," she begged. "Must we use him like this?" "I've told you before," the beast growled. "Uther trusts him. He alone can get us close enough to the King." Alice, however pressed on, "He will be blamed for everything that happens."

  The creature snarled maliciously. "And you will not. How perfect," he smiled evilly. "But his punishment will be terrible," she continued. By this point, the beast was getting fairly annoyed with her continuous ramblings and screeched loudly to strengthen his hold on her. She swayed a moment and her eyes temporarily flitted to black. "You must set aside your feelings and due what needs to be done," it snapped. She gulped and nodded shakily. "Yes," she replied.

* * *

  Gaius sat in his chambers reading the letter that Alice had given him the last time they'd seen each. She had been leaving Camelot due to Uther's decree outlawing magic. He smiled. Never again had he thought she'd return, yet here she was. And he was happy.

To Be Continued...

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