Fireheart (A Merlin Love Story)

Chapter 50, Part 2

Ariella's P. O. V:

The next morning, in my white dress with lace sleeves and silver jewellery set, my hair done in a half braid, half ponytail, Mira wearing a long sleeved pink dress, she and Jason play together as Gwen and I watch Gaius curiously as he uses a pair of tweezers to pull a very tiny piece of parchment out of a vial that was found on Ruadan's neck.

"What is it?" Gwen asks.

Holding it up in the tweezers, Gaius murmurs, "I believe it's a prayer." Setting the tweezers down, he unrolls the parchment and moves his magnifying ball across it.

I ask, "Can you read it?" I prompt when he doesn't respond straight away, "Gaius?"

"I'm no expert in the Druidic runes," He says, straightening up.

Gwen and I scoff as she she's disbelievingly, "Please! Ari and I know you too well."

Gaius explains, "It's a call for victory over the enemies in the Old Religion."

Gwen and I frown at one another as she asks, "I thought the Druids were a peaceful people?"

Gaius utters, "For the most part, they are. But for some, the Great Purge changed that. They blame Uther for their suffering."

I state with a furrowed brow, "But he's long been dead."

Gaius says, "Sone believe that Arthur's no different from his father. Sorcery is still outlawed. For them, little has changed."

Gwen asks, gazing down at the dead body. "So Ruadan believed it was his sacred duty to fight my husband?"

"More than that. There are those who believe that Arthur is destined to die by a Druid's hand," Gaius says, causing my heart to stutter. I know from the visions I've seen in my scrying crystal. I just don't want them to be true. "Perhaps Ruadan thought he was that man."

Gwen says, "Well, then, he was mistaken."

                🗡🗡🗡

A few more days passed and I continue to watch Merlin and Arthur through my scrying crystal.

When I saw them sneaking into the Fortress of Ismere through a garbage shoot, it made me glad I hadn't gone with them, though I feel sorry for my husband when rubbish had been poured down right in front of him.

Merlin, Arthur and Gwaine had also encountered Aisthusa, the white female dragon Merlin and I had saved as an egg and helped hatch three years ago.

I'd wanted to bring her home as a pet, but Merlin wouldn't let me. He'd said that we shouldn't bind her and she'd more than likely have been hunted down by the knights, anyway.

Aisthusa hadn't recognised Merlin, though, for some reason, and attacked him until he'd finally managed to ward her off.

Morgana was about to kill Merlin and Arthur but someone had stopped her, but had only carried Arthur out, leaving Merlin behind.

But, they had managed to free everyone, and Merlin had encountered this strange, alien like creature, though I couldn't hear what was said through my crystal.

On the day of their return, I'm wearing my long sleeved pink dress with my crystal heart that has silver flowers encrusted on it, jewellery set, a pair of fairy earrings with rose quartz, my hair loose around my shoulders, when Merlin and the others arrive in Camelot.