Amelia's Story (BBC Merlin Story)

Chapter 64: A Lesson in Vengeance

Anne's POV

Anne is happy with Gwen's return. She is really, but something is still bothering Anne. They'd gotten Gwen out. Morgana and Amelia had held her captive, they had been there, and Merlin was sure of it. Yet he'd not seen them. They'd just let Gwen leave and hadn't tried to stop them. It worries Anne that something much deeper is going on. It had been too easy for them to get Gwen out of there. But there is little Anne can do to find out, ever since her return, Gwen has been in shock, still grieving the loss of her brother and only recently coming out of her shell. Anne doesn't want to cause any damage if she's wrong so she decides just to wait and see what happens.

And then something does.

Anne hurries into Gaius' Chambers when she hears the news that Merlin, Gwen and Arthur had been attacked when they were riding to have their picnic to celebrate Gwen and Arthur's anniversary.

When Anne bursts in, she is greeted with the sight of Gaius tending to Arthur's wound. Gwen stands by her husband's side, stroking his arm comfortingly while Merlin stands to the side.

"What happened?" Anne asks, calmer than she was before now that she knows everyone is safe but still feeling anxious.

"Bandits attacked." Merlin tells her. "Seems they planted a bomb of some sort to spoke the horses, Arthur's threw him and the bandits attacked."

"You're very fortunate, sire," Gaius begins as Anne frowns at that, "a fall like that you could have broken your neck."

"But how did they know?" Anne questions. "How did they know you'd be taking that path?"

"The men that attacked us, have they been questioned?" Arthur asks.

"I'm sorry, sire, the wounds were fatal. We were unable to learn anything from them." Gaius replies.

"I agree with Anne though." Merlin remarks. "It can't have been a coincidence that they were there."

"Maybe they were waiting in trap for others." Gwen suggests. "Just for anyone who might be going that way."

"Then they got more than they bargained for." Anne smiles at Merlin and Arthur for that.

Leon walks in. "Sire, we recovered your saddle from the forest trail. The girth has been unpicked and re-stitched. It was designed to break sire."

Arthur walks over to have a look. "Perhaps it wasn't all that much of a coincidence then." He muses. "Someone must have been able to warn the bandits that we would be heading out and they ran ahead to the path we'd chosen."

——

Anne frowns as she stands beside Merlin and Gaius as well as Yrene, Gwen's maid, whom Anne has begun to trust a bit more than she had before but there's still that divide, in the Council Chambers. A young boy, Tyr Seward she recalls, stands before Arthur, Gwen and the Royal Court. The poor boy is terrified, clearly, he is pale and shaking and looks utterly bewildered as to why he is here in the first place. Anne has to admit, she is rather confused as well, she knows the boy. She'd been a servant when he was just starting off as a Stablehand. He'd slowly moved his way up to being in charge of the prince's, now King's Stables. He is a sweet boy, who works to support himself and his mother. She can't fathom why he'd be here.