Calm Before the Storm

Chapter Five

05. You Start The Fire

Magdelena dragged a chair next to the bed grabbing a random book she began to read it to him through the night never stopping until that morning. Gaius had entered to recheck the sound and rewrap the bandages. Gaius fixed her with a sad hopeless look as Arthur entered the chambers looking at his father on the bed, "Gaius. Can you treat him?"

"The blade has touched his heart," Gaius says sounding hesitant to admit the truth but having no choice, "He's bleeding inside."

"There must be something... there must be something you can do," Magdelena heard the cracking of Arthur's voice which broke her heart, "Please, Gaius."

Gaius shakes his head softly, "It is just a matter of time, I'm afraid. I'm sorry, Arthur," Arthur looks at his father who was going to die no matter what Gaius did it seemed to break him even more. The other left the chambers leaving Magdelena to watch over him and his condition, she continued to read to him having nothing else to do for him.

She stopped reading turning to the door shocked to find Arthur entering looking brokenhearted, even more then he had that morning, "Sire?" she asks staring at him shocking him to find her there, "Should I leave you two alone?"

"I was going to hold a vigil," he says softly, "You are free to go get some rest if you wish."

"I can stay, if you don't mind," she says when he doesn't say anything she takes it as an agreement that she could stay. She puts the book down and grabs a cloth from the water basin dabbing his forehead which had gotten some sweat on it.

"I appreciate your kindness," Arthur says suddenly shocking her as she turns to him, "everything you're doing for him."

"I'm doing it for you," she says softly not having admitted every time she took care of Uther while it was partially because she was his servant, part cause she cared about the angry King but mostly because she knew what he meant-means to Arthur, "I know what he means to you."

She looks at Arthur to find him staring at the floor looking ready to burst into tears, she quickly drops the cloth into the cold water and walks around the chair to Arthur, "I know it's not easy to watch him die."

"I can't watch him die...There's still so much I want to say to him... He cannot die," he stares at her for a moment before he quickly leaves the chambers leaving a confused Magdelena standing there, staring at the door he had just exited. 

She stared down at the slowly dying Uther, a small sadness crept into her heart as she realized she would never be able to see him unless some miracle he was brought back. She sat at his bed side and reached out and entered his sleeping - well dying - mind. 

She caught sight of him he was in his private chambers, watching himself who was sitting on the bed a small bundle in his arms. Silent sobs seeming to be wracking his body, while his current form watched in silence without moving, "Is this the night you lost Ygraine?" he whirled around shocked to find his servant standing there. 

She was barefoot which was rather strange, with her curly hair hanging down her shoulders, no makeup like he often saw when she was dressed in black dresses. The one she currently wore was a floor length with thin straps that went down her back crossing over to the bottom of the dress which started right at then end of her back, "Am I dead?" 

"Dying," she says softly sounding rather sad, "I may not like you as a king but I will miss our little arguments." 

"That gleeman tried to kill Arthur," he says and she nods her head, "I assume he has not succeeded in his task?" 

"No, Arthur is well and probably doing all he can do to save you," she says staring as the scene fades. Changing into a forest with beautiful night sky, Balinor stood calling out in dragon tongue summoning Kilgharrah, "The day you betrayed Balinor." 

"Yes," he says, "It was a great day in the purge of magic. I was close to catching him in a small town called Ealdor." 

"Yes I am aware," she mutters shaking her head watching the two men watched the sky looking for the dragon to come landing, and falling right into his trap. 

"How could you possibly know that?" Uther asks watching as the sound of flapping fills the air, "You weren't yet born at the tail end of the Purge." 

"Balinor was hidden in the town of Ealdor by my mother," she says seeing if he was able to put the piece together, "He is my father." 

"Your father?" he asks shocked by this information, "Yet he still left the town but didn't take your mother with him? What a terrible husband." 

"He did what he thought was best. He didn't want to give Hunith the life of running, always looking over their shoulders in fear for their live never having a moment to breath and actually have a family," she says staring at the floor sadly, "Though, I would have preferred to have had my father and be on the run. I understand what he did and why he did it. Not that he knew me and my brother were to be born." 

"Always on the run? Wasn't he in a town when Arthur found him?" 

"He lived in a cave by himself," she says sadly realizing how sad her fathers life had been after the Great Purge, "You were after his head, you chased him out of your kingdom, you were never going to quit looking for him once you got ear of him."

"I drove your family away from you all?"

"Your dead now Uther not much you can do or say about it now," she says shrugging her shoulders, "Besides I would never met you, Gaius, Gwen, Morgana, or Arthur had he taken us or even stayed with us in Ealdor." 

"You can't be glad to have met me," Uther says in disbelief making her smile at him, a strange smile one he recognized that Morgana used to give him on occasions. 

"Yes," she says, "For reasons I can't even begin to explain. I hope we can meet again in the afterlife Uther. Or perhaps in another life, where we can be friends instead of adversaries" 

"Thank you for visiting me Magdelena," he says and she smiles at him softly, "Can you find a letter I wrote to Arthur for his birthday. I was never able to give it to him, last I saw it was in my chambers."

"I shall look for it and make sure he gets it," she says, she hesitates before grabbing his hand and pulling him into a hug, kissing his cheek before she disappears leaving him to his memories.