The Witchfinder
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"I need a day off."
Gaius looks at me with a curious look in his eye. "'A day off'?" he repeats.
"Yes," I nod.
"Why?"
"Because my Padawan is probably going to get his letter sometime in the next couple of months, and I need to teach him all about the Wizarding World and possibly a little French too," I answer, shrinking somethings into my purple beaded bag that Aunt Hermione so graciously gifted me.
The white-haired physician looks at me with narrowed eyes. "That was a very good lie, but not enough to get out of work."
"But it's true."
"Yes, and I'm a dragon."
"I reckon my sarcasm is rubbing off on you."
"I learned from the best."
I sigh, "Please, Gaius. I just need the weekend off. That's it, and then I'll come straight back. No wasting time."
He narrows his eyes at me. "That's a lie," he deadpans.
"Yes, that's a lie. We both know that I get easily sidetracked."
The old man looks at me with the 'Eyebrow of Doom' and immediately, I get a shiver down my spine. I don't care who you are, everyone gets scared of the eyebrow. I bet even the great Godric Gryffindor would be a little frightened. Gaius sighs after a while of mental debate. "I'm believe I'm going to regret this later; you may go."
My face lights up with a grin. "Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I squeal. I quickly turn around so I can sling my bag around me. I smooth out my tunic and tightly wrap the blue cloak I am borrowing from Gwen. She's so nice, and kind. She's amazing. "I shall see you later then, Gaius. A plus tard!" I walk out the physician chambers to go pick up Nick. (See you later!)
I pass many servants and few knights who wave at me as I make my way through the corridors to exit the castle. I notice Merlin struggling to balance a mountain of shiny silver armor as he attempts to keep pace with a specific blonde prat. I just simply swivel on my heels and walk the other way and hope neither of them notices me.
'Please no. Please no. Please no. Ple-'
"LIZ!"
'Damn it'
I inwardly groan and slowly turn back around. I know they're going to notice the way I'm dressed and then start asking question about where I'm going, who I'm going with, how long I'll be gone, and other stuff that I can't currently think of.
I face the incoming prince and warlock with a tired expression. I mentally prepare myself with a deep breath. "To answer all your questions, I'm going on a little trip, going with Nick, be gone for a few days. Any other comments, questions, or concerns can wait until after I return. Good day kind sirs!" I wave and rush out into the busy market streets.
Merlin and Arthur stand there, blinking in shock.
"Well, that was weird," the Crown Prince mutters first.
The warlock gets out of his shock and shrugs. "I honestly should've seen that coming. It's Liz were talking about."
"Um, right then. . . Come on, Merlin, can't be late now can we?"
Merlin doesn't even get a chance to respond as the blonde clotpole is already walking away down the corridor. He sighs deeply. "I would love to be late, just once, that's all I ask for. But no because then Gaius would be on my arse and Liz will just laugh at me. I just swore, she's rubbing off on me," he mumbles under his breath.
I weave my way through the busy streets of the markets, trying to find the house where Nicolas Flamel lives in. People all are moving on with their day, which is weird because it is quite early in the morning.
Now that I think about it, I just don't wake up early enough to enjoy the morning as I am almost always asleep. So, sue me for loving my sleep. I don't just wake up looking like a million Galleons.
No, that's false. I do as magic is a thing that exists for me.
I find the small stone hose that is hidden between two other houses. The entrance to the home is lovely with a nice small flower growing next to it. I bet that was Nick's doing.
Recently, I've been trying to get him acquainted with magic by teaching him how to do simple spells which in turn, helps to keep the accidental magic under control, for the safety for himself and his family. To be completely frank, I don't think his parents even realize that he has magic, which now that I think about it, might be a good thing because if he ever does get found out - not that I would ever allow that - his parents would be safe (theoretically) I don't know how Uther will act, and I certainly don't want to find out.
I knock on the door and wait a couple seconds before it swings open to see Nick's father standing in the doorway with a large grin.
"Liz! What a pleasure it is to see you again!" he greets and steps out the way so I may enter.
I laugh at his enthusiasm and step inside the house. The home itself is quite small yet very cozy. It has a small kitchen with a dining table together in the main part of the house, a small little bed is tucked away in the corner, and another room in the back that is blocked by a piece of cloth.
"LIZZY!" the loud squeal gets my attention and I turn my head to see the small blonde boy come crashing into me. His grin brings a smile to my face. He wraps his small, scrawny arms around my legs and looks up at me.
"Hey, Nick! How are you!"
"I'm doing good. Excited for later!"
"I am too."
"Nicolas, why don't you finish hurry packing while we talk to Elizabeth?" his mother ushers him.
"Sure!" And in a flash, he is gone.
"What did you want to talk about?" I ask, heading over to sit down at their table.
The mom and dad follow me and sit down at their table in front of me. "Well," she starts, looking at her husband for confirmation. "You have helped Nicolas since he met you. He used to be so shy-"
I snort, "I'm sorry, it's just Nick being shy? I can't imagine that."
"Exactly, and it's all thanks to you. We can't give you anything to make up for that, but we can name you godmother."
I freeze. "I'm sorry. What?"
"What Joanne means to say, is that we want you to become his godmother and guardian if anything should happen to us," Nick's dad, Smith, explains with a small smile. "When our little Nicky-poo was born, we didn't name anybody that as we never knew anybody that close in order to do so. But ever since you saved him from being in caught in that fight's crossfire, you've become closer to him and thus, closer to us than anybody has ever gotten. So, as a thank you for everything you've ever done to us, we wand to name you godmother to Nick."
I let out a long breath. "I. . . I don't know what to say."
"You can accept," Smith grins.
"You don't have to, if you don't want to," Joanne puts her hand on mine.
"N-No, I accept. It's just. . . do you really think I'm the best person for this?"
"We wouldn't want anyone else."
Tears spring to my eyes. "I would be honoured to his godmum," I say with a smile as a few tears fall down my cheeks. I don't like to cry, but happy tears are the exception.
"Wonderful."
"Hey, Lizzy, what would I nee-" Nicolas comes back in with two different shirts clutched in each of his hands. He stops talking when he sees the tears rolling down my face. "What happened? Are you okay?"
"I'm perfectly fine," I chuckle, "Just happy. Very, very happy."
"Oh, okay. I'm glad. Now back to what I was saying, what would I need to bring? A long-sleeve or short-sleeve?"
"Both. . . ? Bring both, just in case."
"Okay," he goes back to his bed and finishes packing.
I turn back to Joanne and Smith. "Again, thank you for naming me his godmum. It means to the world to me."
"Take good care of him," Joanne smiles at me.
"I will."
"Plus, it's not like we would let just anybody take out little Nicky-poo anywhere for a few days," grins Smith.
I snort at the nickname. "Oh, I'm defiantly using that."
"He'll hate you."
"I can live with that."
"Who do we live with?" my Padawan questions, a leather bag over his shoulders.
"No one," Smith and I say in unison then smile innocently at him. I understand my immaturity, but I would expect less from a grown man. Oh, who am I kidding. I live and Merlin and Goldilocks, and surprisingly, Gaius too. We're just one big potion for disaster.
"Plus, god forbid I ever have to live with you. I'd die from pure annoyingness coming from you."
"I don't think that's an actual word."
"You still understood what I wanted to say."
Joanne and Smith look at the bickering with small smiles. They made the right choice.
| | |
The Portkey I made to get to Paris, France was not fun. I've done numerous Portkey travels in the past whether it was to Quidditch World Cups or when I took Goldi, Merlin, and Nick to Diagon Alley. But this is the first time I've gone over an ocean before. And let me tell you, not fun.
It's a whirlwind of nausea that passes over you and if you're not experienced with long distance Portkeys – like us – then you throw up – like we did.
"Come on, let's go," I say, wiping my hands off my dress. I know, crazy, I'm wearing a dress. The French are a little strict on their dress codes for people, specifically, women. I had to ask Gwen to borrow a few for the few days we're going to be here. The one I'm currently wearing is a dusty rose colour with little flowers embroidered into the bottom and sleeves.
"Coming!" Nick calls out from behind me. He's just has the basic trousers and shirt paired along with a jacket that he has. The Portkey I used his time was a bucket, which Nicolas is still clutching onto.
"Leave the bucket!" I instruct.
"Leaving the bucket!" he repeats and drops the bucket. Nick turns around just in time to see it disappear on its own.
"Come on, we got work to do!" I usher him. He catches up with me and I have to hold his hand otherwise I would lose him as he's marveling at all the building and people. Paris in the Middle Ages was quite the sight to see, or so I've heard.
When one thinks of France, you think of food, really old buildings, attractive people, the language of love, and tourist sights. Some of the tourist sights that we associate with France are: The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Pont du Gard, Versailles, Fontenay Abbey, and many others that I can't currently think of. Anyway, France is quite an old country, but Paris is a really old place. Paris can be dated back to 259 BC.
And here I thought Goldilocks was old.
Now, some of the most iconic building in France are old, but only some of them are here in the time I have landed in. Some of those buildings are Notre Dame, Pont du Gard, and Fontenay Abbey, build in 1163, 60 AD, and 1118, respectively. Meaning there's no Eiffel Tower, Louvre, or Versailles which sucks because I wanted to rub the castle's prettiness in Arthur's face.
"Why are we at a statue?" Nick asks, a little whiney as his feet are getting tired from carrying all his things.
"Because this is the entrance to the magical part of Paris," I answer. I see the normal wizard standing in front of the bronze statue, guarding it. I go up to him. "Bonjour, monsieur."
"Bonjour madame. Comment puis-je vous aider?" he replies back. He's a middle-aged man with a scruffy bear to match his scruffy hair. He's a little pudgy around the stomach and I can see his shirt straining to not tear open. (How can I help you?)
"Oui, j'ai besoin d'entrer." (Yes, I need to get inside.)
A look of recognition flashes across his face. "Ahhh, bien sûr." He steps out the way so that we may enter. I grab Nicolas' hand and give the pudgy man a smile before I walk into the statue base.
Nick's face if that of fear as he gets pulled in the stone base. That fear then disappear as we step out unscathed from the statue. He grins when he sees everything. The store fronts with kids all around, running from parents. He sees the numerous shops with table out in the front as people sip on their teas from their cups.
"This is amazing," Nick mumbles as he continues to watch everything.
"It's cool, innit? Come on, we need to find the place we're staying tonight," I reply and begin to drag him off to a new place.
The place I chose to stay – not like I had much choice as there was only one possible place – is called Hotel De Ginestou. As it is said in the name, it's a hotel. The building is old looking with some of the white peeling off it from time. The windows are all scrubbed so clean you can see your reflection in it. It has baskets of flowers outside the windows of the building.
I get checked in and get the key for our room and I take Nick there. Our room has two beds, one smaller and the other larger. Immediately, he rushes towards the larger one and hops on it. I roll my eyes and use my wand to levitate him off of it and onto the smaller one. He whines and sticks his tongue out at me.
Real mature.
After dropping off all our stuff, I then drag him out to look around. He whines saying that he needs sleep and to be honest, I do too.
Portkeying across an ocean is hard work.
So, Nick falls dead asleep on his bed and I lay down on mine. Some time passes, not quite sure how much of it passes, but it defiantly passes. My mind wanders from shower thoughts, which I've been wanting to tell Merlin, to Goldilocks.
I shake those thoughts out of my head. I can't think about that now. Right now, I need to help get Nick ready for magical life.
My eyes start to droop down and I fall asleep.
| | |
To say I've missed a café would be an understatement. It reminds me of life back in my time.
Those days were so much fun.
I frown when I see a man step in front of me.
I woke up a little while ago to see Nicolas in front of me, bouncing with excitement of wanting to explore a new place. I asked him if he wanted to get food and he threw a robe at me and dragged me out of our room.
I laughed at his eagerness and led him to the café they had across from Hotel De Ginestou.
It's looks like the Three Broomsticks with witches and wizards of different sizes sitting all around tables, chatting and sipping tea like there's no tomorrow.
Going back to the man in front of me, I can see he works at the café by the small towel draped over his shoulder and the small sheen of sweat on his brow. He's not a bad looking man with tousled brown hair and brown eyes. He looks sort of like Gwaine, actually.
That thought made me gag internally.
He takes my hand and lightly kisses the back of it while making aggressive eye contact with me. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lady," he says with a small smile which I'm sure would charm many girls, however, I'm not a normal girl.
"I'm sure," I reply, giving him the side eye. "Can we just get a table, please?"
"Of course, my lady. If you would follow me," he says, guesting his arms in front of him. He leads Nick and I to a small table against a window that overlooks the cobblestones street of Place Cachee.
"Thanks," I thank, sitting down in the wooden chair, opposite from Nick. He's so small that he can't touch the ground with his feet so he's swinging his legs around, kicking me every now and then.
"Anything to start off?" the man askes us, his French accent rolling off nicely.
"Two butterbeers!" excitedly squeals Nicolas.
The man glares at Nick for not allowing me to answer. He puts on a fake smile and turns to me and asks, "Is this your son?"
"No, he's my godson," I answer simply.
"Oh, two butterbeers coming right up!" He leaves with a large grin adorning his face.
"I don't like him. He gives me weird. . . something," Nick mumbles, eyeing the man.
"You and me both," I reply, shivering at that man.
"Also, you're my godmum now?" he then asks with a grin creeping up on his face.
I glance at him. "Yeah. Your mum and dad made me before we left."
"That is amazing!"
I take a small breath of relief. "I'm glad you think so. I thought you would freak out and throw a tantrum or something."
He frowns. "I don't throw a tantrum," he denies.
"Need I remind you what happened when you wanted to pet a racoon?"
"That wasn't a tantrum!"
"Then what was it?"
"I-It was. . . uncontainable excitement."
"Sure it was," I deadpan.
The man comes back with two foaming butterbeers in his hands. He sets them on the table, one of them in front of Nick and the other in front of me. He then turns to me and asks, "Now, this may seem a little improper and a little out of the blue but, may I ask you to a night out?"
My brain stops working. I can literally feel my brain just stop functioning. No, thank you. I do not need to be dating or anything. If anything that my friends have taught me is that dating does not end well, so I will be avoiding that, thank you very much.
"I'm being courted!" I blurt out. This seems to take him by surprise as his eyes widen then he frowns. I mean, this also takes me by surprise. I'm not being courted, nor do I want to be.
Out of all things I could've possibly said, I said that. Well done, Liz. Terrific.
"Oh," he mumbles, his face now disappointed. "I'm sorry, my lady. I did not realize." He then comes up with an idea. "May I meet the lad who has gotten your attention?" he smugly says with a small smirk.
Shit, I was not expecting him to say that. Think, Liz, think! "Sure, tomorrow if that works," I answer, internally cringing at my excuse.
"That sounds perfect. If you'll excuse me, my lady, my attention seems to be required somewhere else." He leaves to help another customer who seems to have spilled something all over the place.
I groan and bang my head on the table. Nick looks at me with furrowed brows. "But you're not being courted. There's no one there as no one wants you," he states.
I give him an unimpressed look at his insult. "Thanks," I sarcastically smile. I then sigh and think of a plan. "I need to find someone who can act and who can drink a lot- OH! I KNOW WHO! Come on, let's go. I need to phone someone." I drag him out the cafe, leaving behind my butterbeer and a few Galleons on the table.
Nicolas clutches his butterbeer in his open hand. "Who exactly are you going to ask?" he asks, panting as he tries to keep up with me with his little legs.
"You'll see," is the only answer I give him. I can hear him groan behind me at my lack of answer.
We make it back to the hotel and to our room where I yank out the ring around my neck. I fiddle with it until I hear snoring coming off from it. "GWAINE!" I shout into my necklace. I wince when I hear skin slap against wood. I can only guess he fell off of something.
"Liz?" he asks, a little bit disoriented from last night's drink and the fact he fell off the bed.
"Hi," I sheepishly greet.
"Not that this isn't a pleasure to hear from you again, but may I ask why you are calling me?"
"I need you to pretend to court me."
I hear silence on the other end.
"Gwaine? You don't have to if you don't want to, it's just you were the first I thou-"
"Sure!"
"Really?"
"Sure, I'll pretend to court you! Where should I meet you?"
"Uh, I-I'll pick you up. Where are you currently?"
He looks around the small little bed he fell off of then around the small room he's holed up in. "Some tavern's room. Not entirely sure. The whole night is a blur to me."
I sigh; I should've expected that. "I'll find you. Thanks again, you're a life saver."
"No problem. I'm your brother from another mother."
I snort at that. "Indeed, you are Gwaine."
I hear a door open on his side. "Oh! Looks like I need to go. See you soon!" He cuts off the connection before I can even get another word out.
I slump back into my chair and sigh. "Well, that went well," I mused to myself.
"If that's what you call 'well', then I want to see what you call 'great'," Nick says, sipping his butterbeer.
I sharply look at him and just ignore him.
"What? You can't blame me for thinking that!"
I roll my eyes. Okay, I actually need to do things. I can't just sit around here all day, even though I really want to. I stand up and look at Nicolas who is still happily drinking his butterbeer. "I'm going to go pick someone up. You stay here and, please, don't burn down the room," I order him with a pleading look.
"That was one time!" he defends.
"Either way, don't get lost. Here's some money to do whatever it is you want to do." I toss him some Galleons and Sickles. "Don't go with random strangers and certainly, don't eat anything they give you."
"Got it!" he says, lazily waving me off. "Have fun!" I can hear the sarcasm dripping off his tone.
I roll my eyes, yet again as I walk out our room and into the streets of Place Cachee. I head out through the base of the bronze statue and say hello to the man guarding the entrance. I head out into normal muggle Paris and then duck into an alleyway. I find a piece of trash tucked away in the corner and I charm that into a Portkey.
I mentally prepare myself for across ocean travel and then I touch the piece of trash. A bright light goes off and I find myself being spun around in a way I don't like. I tightly purse my lips together to prevent the butterbeer from earlier making an appearance.
I let go of the piece of trash. I walk down on the air until I reach the ground.
I feel that butterbeer coming up. I clamp my mouth shut and try to repress it. I know, I know, it's gross, but it's better than throwing up.
After keeping that down, I pull out my wand and use the Point Me spell to tell me where Gwaine is.
Guess where it was pointing to?
Yep, a tavern.
How can I tell?
Well, there's the smell coming off it, the obnoxious noise coming off from it, and not to mention that I see Gwaine getting corned by a few bandits by the looks of it.
I sigh and make my way over there. As I get closer, I made eye contact with Gwaine. His grin widens at the sight of me.
"Hi," I say and tap the shoulder of one of the two guys cornering him. Both of the spin around to see me.
One of them grins at me, showing off their yellow teeth to me. I cringe at their breath and teeth. "You should leave. I wouldn't want your pretty little face get hit," he says in a deep voice, slightly slurring his words.
Normally, I would be flattered at the compliment, but not this time, and certainly not with this man (if you can even call them that). "I need to talk to him." I point at the still grinning Gwaine.
"You can talk to him after we're though with him," he states before turning around. He cracks his knuckles in a threatening way before going to swing at Gwaine's face.
I pop up underneath his arm to be in the direction of where the man's fist will end up. However, he sees me and stops his fist before it can make contact with my nose, just a few centimeters from me.
"Look, lady, you can have your turn, after we're through with him," the yellow teethed man states.
"Uh-huh, yeah, no. No, I don't think so." I shake my head. "Run!" I grab Gwaine's hand and pull him away with me.
We can hear the shouts of the two men behind us. Gwaine continues to drag me through the trees of the forest in a desperate attempt to put as much distance between us as possible.
We keep on running for a few minutes, until we stop to take a breather. Gwaine looks up at me with a grin. "Am I glad to see you, Lizzy," he says, panting a little.
"Yeah, well, what can I say? I missed you. Plus, you promised," I shrug with a matching grin.
"Yes, indeed I did."
"Where's all your stuff?"
"You know me, I travel light."
"It's because I still have your stuff, innit?"
"Yes. Also, this is the first time I've seen you in a dress. You look good. You look like a princess, princess."
"Always such the flirt, Gwaine."
"Yes, sadly it never seems to work on you."
"That's because I actually have standards."
He mocks a hurt face with his hand over his heart. "You wound me, princess. And here I thought we were friends." He and I both laugh. "So, where exactly am I going?"
"France."
"Where?"
"I'll show you."
"Alright. How are we going to get there?"
I cringe at his question. "You're going to wish you never asked."
| | |
Guess what?
That butterbeer that wanted to come up last Portkey travel?
It came up this Portkey travel.
As did Gwaine's last drink.
Nothing a little Scourgify couldn't clean, but still not fun.
I led him through the bronze statue's base and said hello to the wizard there. Gwaine's reaction was a little girly scream – of course if you ask him, it was a deep, manly yell. I said he was wrong.
I then got another room for Gwaine, which just happens to be right next to mine. I then introduced him to Nicolas.
That was an awkward interaction to say the least.
"Oh, Gwaine," I call his attention before he went into his room. He looks at me. "I got you something." I dig into my purple emergency bag that is around my waist and I hand him the bottle of Firewhiskey inside. His face lights up when he sees the alcohol.
He grabs it and immediately opens it and chugs a third of it. He grins at me. "You know the way to my heart. Through alcohol and food."
"Yes, I do. I've lived with you long enough to know that. Oh, before I forget-" I dig though my again and I hand him some of his clothes "-here are your clothes. You might want them for later."
"Ah, yes, thank you. Well, goodnight, princess."
I snort, "You really need to stop calling me that. People will get the wrong idea."
"Nah, never, princess. It annoys you, therefore I shall always do it."
Before I can reply, he shuts the door of his room. I sigh and shake my head with smile before stepping into my room. Nick is already passed out on my bed actually. I roll my eyes and levitate him to his.
I look on the table against one of the walls and see a whole stack on different assortments of candies and only a few Sickles and Knuts right next to it.
The sky is already dark. You can see the individual stars twinkling in the blanket of black.
The sky looks different to me, though.
Well, obviously it's different. I'm in a different location. I see some stars part of a constellation, but I don't recognize them or know their names.
Thank you astronomy class for absolutely nothing.
| | |
As I have stated before, mornings suck. And what makes them even worse when there's a Nicolas Flamel jumping on your bed in an attempt to wake you up.
"Get off," I groan and dig myself deeper under the blankets.
"No! We need to go!" he states at too high of a volume for the morning.
"Why though?"
"Because I want to see your plan crash and burn!"
I sit up enough to glare at him. "Wow. Really feeling the support here," I deadpan, sarcasm lacing my tongue.
"Come on! Let's go! Gwaine's already outside!"
With another groan, I get up, but not before pushing Nick off of me. I smirk when he whines. I get dressed in a light blue dress that Gwen also lent me. With Nick leading both Gwaine and I out, we head to the café.
And a thought occurs to me: what the hell is going to be our cover story?
Merde.
I couldn't even tell that to Gwaine as the same server as yesterday popped right in front of me. "Ah, my lady! I was afriad you weren't going to show!" He greets me, completely Nick next to me and Gwaine behind me, taking my hand and kissing it.
Merlin, I hate him.
'Believe me, I was afriad I was going to show,' I mentally correct.
Gwaine clears his throat from behind me, drawing the attention of the server, and he flashes him a sarcastic smile. "Can we sit down?" he asks, still sickly smiling at him.
I see the server visibly gulp slightly before nodding and taking up to a table. It's your basic rectangular table with four chairs on either side of the length. Nick sits on one side as Gwaine pulls out a seat on the other side to allow me to situate myself there. I smirk in thanks as he sits in the one next to me.
"What can I get you started on?" the server asks, his body facing towards me.
"Three butterbeers," Nick says with a small smirk when the server glared at him for not allowing me to answer, again.
"Of course," her grits out before leaving.
I snort, "This is too funny."
"He really hates me," Nick muses.
"It's okay. I do too."
"Me three," Gwaine adds in with a grin.
"So, we come to a unanimous decision that he's a twat?"
"Yes."
"Absolutely."
"Since the moment I laid eyes on him."
Who said what is pretty easy to tell.
The man came back and placed all the butterbeers in front of us. "Anything else?" he smiles at me.
"No, I believe we're all good, thank you," Gwaine says, draping an arm over the back of my chair.
The man looks a little shocked. He blinks in surprise at the open display of affection, or possessiveness, whichever you call it. He turns to me. "Is this the man who's courting you?" he almost hisses out, glaring at Gwaine.
I sweetly smile at him. "Yes, this is him." I intertwine our fingers together.
"Well, I hope you will be happy," he hisses out, now glaring at our hands together.
"Oh, you bet we will," Gwaine grins. He pulls me close to his chest and kisses my head.
His face turns beat red and if this was a cartoon, there would be smoke coming out of his ears.
"Claude! Arrêtez de harceler ces pauvres et retournez au travail!" A voice shouts through the café. The server, Claude, winces before turning back to Gwaine and glares at him yet again. (Stop pestering those poor people and get back to work!)
Claude finally leaves and we let out the laughter we've been keeping in.
"Oh, that was amazing!" I cackle with a grin.
"His face!" Nick snickers into his butterbeer.
"What can I say? I'm courting such an amazing person," Gwaine states with a grin.
"Okay, we stop the pretending now." I go up to leave his chest, but his grip tightens on me.
"What if I like pretending?"
I freeze. I'm sorry, did I hear that correctly? I don't think I have any earwax in my ears.
I turn to stare at Gwaine, and his face is completely straight.
"What?" I barely utter out.
He then laughs. No, he doesn't just laugh, he roars with laughter. "I'm sorry, but you should have seen your face! It was even better than that man's face!"
I sigh in relief and roll my eyes. Scoffing, I push off of him and smack him the arm repeatedly. "Don't scare me like that! You had me really worried there!"
"I'm sorry. The mere thought of kissing you, disgusts me to no end," he continue to laugh.
Now it's time to glare at him. "Thanks."
"What? It's the truth!"
"I agree. I would never want to kiss you," Nick adds in, sipping his butterbeer.
Now I glare at him. "What is this? 'Verbally Attack Liz Day'?"
"Everyday is a 'Verbally Attack Liz Day'."
"Is it too late to take back me becoming your godmum?"
That catches his attention. "No! Please don't!" he pleads with wide eyes.
"Fine. Only if you stop," I state with my arms folded over my chest.
"I will," he nods his head in agreement.
"Good."
"Uh, I lied." He pulls out his crossed fingers behind his back. He sheepishly smiles at me.
I roll my eyes. I don't feel like dealing with him.
The rest of the time at the café was well spent. We got a new server, a woman this time, and she and Gwaine kept making googly eyes at each other. Nick turned to me and faked gagging, making me choke on my butterbeer.
After I paid, Nick immediately went in search for some ice cream and candy. I was willing to get him the ice cream, however, not the candy. He already had a stack of them in our room, and there's no way I'm spending more money on that.
Nick made Gwaine try ice cream for the first time. He liked it; however, he liked ale better.
The rest of the day was just wandering around aimlessly. I told Nicolas all about Beaubatons, which he enjoyed. I didn't really know much about it, only what Fleur told me, what I've read in books, and what the transfer student said. The transfer was fine, they really only socialized with me because I could speak French.
They were kind of weird, but I digress.
I got Gwaine yet another bottle of Firewhiskey he could take. I also gave him back all his stuff like clothes, which he appreciated very much.
Eventually, Nick was getting tired so Gwaine allowed him to climb onto his back and sleep. It was honestly such an adorable sight to see.
"You'd be a great dad," I say softly, in fear of waking up Nick. He had lots of sugar so this is currently the crash after the high.
Gwaine looks at me and shrugs. "Maybe."
"No, you would be. I saw you today with Nick, you were great!"
"Maybe."
"Come on, what are you so scared of?" I bump his shoulder with mine.
"I'm scared of leaving like my father."
Now, that caught me off guard. In all the time I've known Gwaine, he has never said anything about his parents, and when the topic was brought up, he would dismiss it and change it.
"My father was a noble in King Caerleon's army. He was a formidable soldier. One of the best. Then he was sent to battle. He never returned. We got word that he was killed." He shakes his head with a sad smile. "I know that he didn't leave on purpose, but I can't help imagine how my life would have turned out if he came back."
"I promise you that you will always come back," I state.
He softly laughs, not believing my words.
"No, Gwaine, look at me." I grab him, stopping him and forcing him to look at me. "I promise you that you will always return. 'A man is only as good as his word'. That's a statement I try to live by. So that being said, you will always come back home. You will never leave your loved ones. I promise you that."
Tears brim his eyes. He pulls me in for a hug and buries his face into my hair. "You have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you," he whispers.
"I would never let you down," I whisper back.
He pulls away and blinks away tears that were threatening to fall.
"We're you about to cry?" I ask, slightly teasing him with a smile.
"No, I wasn't. Grown men don't cry," Gwaine states; however, a soft sniffle came through.
"Yes you were! You totally were!"
He glares at me. "You say anything to anyone, and I'll deny it. You have no witnesses."
"Except, I heard it," Nick states from Gwaine's shoulder.
Gwaine's head whips around to see Nick. "You were awake the whole time?!" he exclaims.
"Yes, I just didn't want to walk."
"So you made me carry you all this way, just because you didn't want to walk."
Nick takes a second to ponder those words. "Yes," he nods in agreement.
"You're insufferable," he states.
"I've been called that."
We make it back to our hotel rooms and Nick slides off Gwaine's back. He walks to me and opens the door to our room before walking in and collapsing on my bed.
"Gwaine, thank you for coming and what you did to get that twat to back off," I say with a smile on my face.
He brushes it off with a wave of his hand. "No worries, I would do anything for you, princess," he cheekily grins at me.
I groan, but the smile never left my face. "You really need to stop calling me that."
"Never," he says before turning to me with a soft smile. "Goodnight, Liz."
"Goodnight, Gwaine." I kiss him on the cheek before going back to my room.
"I TOLD YOU THAT THE THOUGHT OF YOU KISSING ME DISGUSTS ME AND YET YOU STILL DID!" he yells after me.
"GOODNIGHT!" I yell back.
A shrill voice scolds us, saying that if we don't stop yelling, she's going to hex us.
I shut the door and take a sigh of relief as my back leans on the wood door.
"That was sweet," Nicolas' voice brings my attention. "What you said to Gwaine."
"I have a heart," I shrug in reply.
"No one is going to believe you if you tell them that."
"One moment you're nice. An angel actually. Then the next you're a bloody little devil spawn."
"It's all part of the charm, Lizzy."
I roll my eyes for what seems like the hundredth time today.
| | |
The next morning was quite simple. I picked up food from the café where the same woman as before took it and gave it to me.
I like her so much better than Claude.
I then put the food into my purple, beaded bag. Nick, Gwaine, and I all headed out of the statue's base before we ducked into an alleyway where Nick picked up a rock from the ground. I charmed it into a Portkey and we all touched it.
Have I mentioned how much I hate Portkeying over water? No, I haven't? Well, I do. I despise it actually.
We bid goodbye to Gwaine and I gave him some more money as well as a bag where he could put in the two bottles of Firewhiskey. I kissed him on the cheek again and laughed at the disgusted face he pulled.
Nick and I then headed off back to Camelot where I dropped him off and made my way to the physician chambers.
I wave at some of the knights and when I turn the corner, I see Uther walking out the physician chambers with a frown on his face.
He briefly looks up at me ,but doesn't say anything, just merely continues on.
Okay. . . weird.
I shrug it off and step into the chambers.
"Gaius?" I call out.
He turns around with a frown, but his face turns into a small smile. He walks over to me and hugs me. "Elizabeth, I am glad you are back safe."
"Hi," I awkwardly greet back. "Gaius, did something happen while I was gone?" I furrow my brows.
He sighs. "We'll tell you all about it at dinner later. For now, please send these out." He hands me different bottle filled with various liquids.
"Okay?" I get pushed out the door. I'm still in shock. Gaius has never shoved me out the chambers before.
Well, maybe once or twice, but those times I felt I actually deserved them.
I shake those thoughts out of my head and walk away. I pass by a few knights who nod their head in greeting at me.
In front of me, I see Gwen carrying a basket of laundry. "Gwen!" I call out. She turns around to see me and a smile creeps up on her face. "Hi! Glad I caught you."
"Hello, Liz. How are you? How was your trip?"
"It was good. Very needed. How are you?"
"Well, Camelot and its business as always."
"Camelot's weird. Anyways, I have all the dresses you lent me, and I just wanted to say thank you lending them to me and that I will wash them and give them back to you tomorrow."
"Oh, no worries, you really don't have to," she says.
"No, no, it's the least I could do," I shake my head. "Well, I need to do my rounds, but I will catch up with you later."
"Of course," Gwen softly smiles before we bid our goodbyes.
I give all the bottles of medicine away to their respective owners before making my way back to the physician chambers.
On the way back, I bump into someone. Literally. Hands grab at me before I could hit the ground. I look up to see those blue eyes I recognize so easily. "Goldilocks!" I grin up at him.
"Elizabeth," he breathes out at the sight of me. "I am so glad you were gone."
I frown. "I didn't realize you wanted to get rid of me," I say with furrowed brows.
"No, that's not what I meant." He takes a breath to regain his thoughts. "What I meant to say was I am glad you are back."
"I am too." It's not I realize that he still hasn't taken his arms off me. I glance down at their positions on my forearms. When he sees that I looked down at his hands, he immediately removes them. "Why is everyone acting so weird?" I ask.
"A lot happened while you were gone." Is the vague answer I got.
"You are not helpful."
He boyishly grins at me. "Only to people I actually enjoy the company of."
"Well, the feeling's mutual. Now, if you'll excuse me, I due back to Gaius."
I walk around him, leaving him standing there.
Nighttime rolls around quicker, making me happy. Using a Portkey across water is not a fun thing to experience and I am ready for bed.
Merlin comes into the chambers, and when he does, he rushes to me and envelops me into a hug. "Am I glad to see you."
"So people have told me. What happened when I was gone?" I ask with an eyebrow raised, getting straight to the point.
He and Gaius share a look, which I catch.
"Okay, what are you hiding?"
They share another look.
"Spill," I demand.
Merlin then opens his mouth.
Throughout the entire time he was talking, my mind soaked up all the words. At some points, I would scold him, or I would congratulate him on his quick thinking – the former happened more often.
I take a deep breath after Merlin finished explaining. "So let me get this straight, you performed magic out in the open which then led to this guy, Aredian, also known as The Witchfinder coming to Camelot to find the source of magic. He tore apart the physician chambers and found an amulet used to perform magic, which is weird because neither of us need an amulet to perform magic. All you need is your book and hands, and all I need is my wand.
"Then everybody was interrogated, which led to Gaius being accused as the sorcerer. You, Merlin, being the idiot you are, tried to save Gaius by performing magic. Oh, and can't forget while you were performing said magic and running around the castle, Gaius was being tortured by that man. Then when Gaius was about to be executed, you somehow managed to stop it and get the King to search Aredian's chambers. And in his room, there was a whole stash of amulets – which of course, you didn't cause. Then he coughed up a toad and fell out a window to his death.
"Am I missing anything in my summary?" I raise an eyebrow.
Merlin shakes his head. "No, I think you covered everything."
"I'm gone for three days and all of this happened?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Okay, that's it. I'm never leaving again," I declare, "because, apparently, none of you can be left alone as this stuff happens."
"What I don't understand is how you knew he'd concealed evidence in his chambers?" Gaius questions as he sat down, looking at Merlin.
"Just a hunch, really," answers Merlin with a shrug.
"I see," he muses then asks, "And the toad?"
"That. . . I can't explain."
"Hmm, I can hardly explain it myself. Unless, of course, you put it there."
"Okay, Gaius, fair enough. I promise I will never save your life again," Merlin states.
"Promise?"
"Absolutely." He nods his head stoically.
We all look at each other and chuckle.
"Honestly, Merlin, the toad was a step too far," Gaius playfully scolds.
"I know, I know," grins Merlin, "but you should've seen the look on his face."
Gaius imitates what the Witchfinder might've looked like when he coughed up the toad.
"How come it's when I leave, all the interesting stuff happens?" I complain.
| | | | |
A/N- I'm not gonna lie, I hate this episode. I hate it with a passion, so to not write it, I'm just going to do something else instead. Hope y'all liked it.
Enjoy!
Also, Merry Christmas Eve! I figured I would post this as a present for y'all.
Also, thank you for over 25K reads! I never expected this to blow up as much as it did, and I just want to say thank you!