The Great Purge

20. Revenge

"I never thought I'd see you here again" admitted Nimueh as she began to walk towards Gaius, who had arrived at the Isle of the Blessed to talk to her.
"My lady" said Gaius.
"It's a long time since you or anyone else has called me that" sighed Nimueh sadly.
"I've come to ask for your help"
"As you did once before, for Uther... Neither of us liked that outcome"
"I offer you the chance to atone for Ygraine's death"
"Her death was not my fault, it was Uthers. Besides, I have helped Merlin to save the life of her son, what more do you ask of me?".

"This time take a just price. Merlin intends to offer his life for his mothers. I want you to take mine instead" revealed Gaius.
Nimueh smiled, intreged by the old man's proposition.
Though they had once been close friends, Gaius had turned his back on everyone and everything they had known. And Nimueh hated him for it, almost as much as she hated Uther.
"With all my powers of prediction I never could have foretold this. Gaius the hero... But tell me, why should I grant your wish? You stood and watched as our friends burned in the Great Purge. You are nothing but a traitor" spat Nimueh.
"If you won't do it for me, do it for Merlin. He is Balinor's son. I know you met him many years ago, but refused to help him when Uther imprisoned him"
"I warned the dragonlord not to go there, but he ignored my advice. I owe him nothing".

"Well you still have to save Merlin. Merlin is the one man who can bring magic back to this land. At Arthur's side he can help forge a new kingdom. A world of peace and beauty that we can only dream of" revealed Gaius.
"And you are willing to give your life for the future they will bring, though you will never get to see it yourself... I'm waiting. Are you ready to die Gaius... Gaius?" Asked Nimueh.
"For Merlin, I give my life willingly" announced Gaius.
Nimueh nodded her head, accepting Gaius's decision. She then picked up the Cup of Life and began chanting the ritual that would take his life, and heal Merlin's mother Hunith.

"Stop!" yelled Merlin as he ran towards where Nimueh was stood over Gaius's body, holding the Cup of Life high above her head.
"Back again so soon" mocked Nimueh as she began to walk over to him, placing the cup onto a nearby stone, so that she no longer had to hold it.
"What have you done?" Questioned Merlin, looking around her at where Gaius was lying.
"Your mother is safe. Isn't that what you wanted?"
"Is he dead?"
"It was his wish".
Merlin ran his fingers through his hair and screamed loudly in anguish.

"I begged my life for Arthur's. Not my mothers, not Gaius's!" shouted Merlin.
"The old religion does not care who lives and who died. Only that the balance of the world is restored. To save a life, a life must be taken, Gaius knew this" replied Nimueh as she looked down at Gaius's imobile body behind her.
"It is not the old religion that has done this, it is you" spat Merlin.
"Come now. We're too valuable to each other to be enemies. We should be friends"
"No, I want nothing to do with you"
"You judge me so harshly, but you have not lived through what I have. You did not have to suffer the way I did. You're just a child, you have no idea what the Great Purge did to those with magic".

"I know that Uther did bad things, but that does not excuse your evil actions" said Merlin firmly.
"If you'd lived through what I have, you would feel differently" admitted Nimueh sadly.
"Look, I'm sorry that you suffered in the past. But I will not let you get revenge like this. I will do whatever it takes to protect my friends and my family" revealed Merlin.
"I mean your friend Arthur no harm any more, Merlin. I know now that it is your destiny to stand by his side. And you need me, you cannot do this alone. With my help, Arthur will become the great king that he was meant to be"
"I will make Arthur king! You will never live to see that day".
Merlin sent a fireball at Nimueh that she easily deflected with a flick of her wrist.

"Your childish tricks are useless against me Merlin. I am a high priestess of the old religion" reminded Nimueh, before sending a fireball at Merlin in retaliation.
He dived out of the way and quickly jumped back up to his feet, as he could see that Nimueh had begun creating another fireball with her hand.
"You too are a creature of the old religion, Merlin. You should join me" she continued.
"If you think I would ever join forces with such and evil selfish magic, then you're wrong" replied Merlin coldly.
"So be it" muttered Nimueh.
Nimueh fired her second fireball, this time it found its target, hitting Merlin in the chest and sending him flying backwards.

"Pity. Together you and I could've ruled the world" sighed Nimueh as she turned away from Merlin.
She did not want to actually kill him, or cause him much harm, as she knew how important he was going to be in the future.
"You should not have killed my friend".
Nimueh spun back around and saw that Merlin had risen to his feet.
The boy raised his hand to the sky, changing the weather and summoning a bolt of lightning, which struck Nimueh's body, blowing her into hundreds of tiny pieces, and scattering her throughout the Isle of the Blessed. Ending the life of the last true high priestess of the old religion.

***********
Thank you for reading my book. I always felt like Nimueh deserved better.
Anyway, if you liked my book, please check out some of my other work. I have many other fanfictions that you can check out if you like...