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[legends-of-time]

Amelia’s Story (BBC Merlin Story)

Chapter 52: Lamia

Masterlist

Amelia's POV

Gwen arrives with an old friend of hers, Mary Howden, who's travelled from Longstead to Camelot and had requested an audience with the King.

Arthur agrees to it and they gather in his Chambers. Amelia sits across from where Mary and Gwen sit, the latter holding the former's hand.

Arthur had been insistent that Amelia join them, likely trying to make up for his behaviour with what happened with Gaius though he had been happy to do anything for Amelia since she announced her engagement to Percival. Some would argue that he's happy for them, but Amelia suspects he is in this perceived notion that he might lose her though Amelia doesn't know how that would happen.

"Guinevere informs us that you live in Longstead in the Fiore Mountains, is that right?" Arthur asks as he paces around the table, coming around to stand at the end of the table and leans on the back of a chair.

"That's right, Sire." Mary replies. "Our Village, we're blighted by a sickness. Three good men it has taken now. We have no Physician, Sire. It is beyond our understanding."

"I see."

"Forgive me. I have no right to bring such a small matter before the King." Mary says apologetically.

Amelia quickly shakes her head. "You have every right."

Arthur sits. "It's my responsibility to protect the people of this Kingdom, whoever they may be." He adds.

"You'll help us?" Mary asks.

"We'll do whatever we can." Amelia reassures her.

Mary looks hopefully at Gwen and touches her hand.

——

Amelia and Arthur go to Gaius who's in his Chambers with Merlin. Merlin cares for a sick patient lying in one of the beds while Gaius speaks with Arthur and Amelia.

"This is the fourth case of sweating sickness I've seen today." Gaius says after they tell him the situation. "In normal circumstances, I'd be happy to travel to this Village to investigate, but—"

"Of course. We understand." Amelia interrupts.

"Might I make a suggestion? Why not send Merlin in my place?" Gaius says.

Merlin looks at Gaius in surprise. To be honest, that's not a bad idea.

"Merlin?" Arthur questions, sounding dubious. Amelia whacks his arm.

"He has a knowledge of the healing arts. If the diagnosis is straightforward, he can prescribe a remedy, I'm sure." Gaius argues.

"And what if it isn't?"

"Arthur, have more faith in him." Amelia reprimands. "If he can't treat them, he can easily bring his findings to Gaius."

"'Findings'? Merlin can't find his own backside most of the time." Arthur scoffs. Merlin's not pleased by the comment and neither is Amelia who gives Arthur a pointed look.

"I think he's capable of much more than you imagine, Sire." Gaius insists.

Arthur actually thinks for a moment before turning to Gaius. "Do you really think he'll be able to... handle the responsibility?"

"Yes, Sire. I do."

——

Amelia and Anne watch on as Merlin anxiously reads a book on medicine as Gaius potters around.

"Honestly Merlin, you're making me anxious, and I know you'll be fine." Amelia remarks.

"Do you really think I can do this?" Merlin questions them.

"We know you can." Anne retorts.

"I'm not a Physician. I don't have anything like the knowledge Gaius does."

"You've been working for me for many years, Merlin. I suspect you know more than you think you do." Gaius argues.

"I just do what you tell me to do." Merlin counters. "I don't have to make the decisions myself. These people will be putting their lives in my hands."

Amelia rolls her eyes fondly. "And that doesn't happen every day? All of us put our lives in your hands, Merlin, though not all may know it. You're the one who holds the fate of this Kingdom in the balance."

"That's different." Merlin tries. "That doesn't require a lifetime of learning, just—"

"Intelligence, Courage, compassion." Gaius finishes with a smile.

"Besides," Anne says, "we're going to be parents soon, Merlin. Better learn the responsibility of having someone's life in your hand sooner rather than later." She pats his shoulder. "I have faith in you. Gaius and Amelia have faith in you. And Arthur, even if he won't say it out loud. That should be enough."

Merlin smiles at her. "Thank you. But that does not mean I'm letting you come with me."

Anne pouts at that, dropping her hand from his shoulder and her supportive wife act. "I'll be fine! This baby isn't coming for a while."

"Well, I'm sorry." Merlin says, not looking sorry. "But I would rather you be at home and resting and taking care of yourself. Besides, we don't know what this sickness even is. The last thing that we need is for you and the baby to both get sick."

"It'll be fine." Amelia reassures her. "You can stay with me and to protect Arthur by keeping an eye on Agravaine."

——

Merlin leaves the next day along with Gwen, Mary, Leon, Percival, Gwaine and Elyan. Amelia spends the next couple of days helping Gaius since he's down an assistant, with the sweating sickness. She begins to worry when after two days the Longstead group do not return and there's no word to explain the delay. Amelia gathers with Arthur, Agravaine, Anne and Gaius in the Council Chambers.

"It's been two days. They should be back by now." Arthur says.

"There must be some delay at Longstead, Sire." Agravaine says in his usual grating voice.

Amelia narrows her eyes at him. "If there was a delay, they would have sent word and yet we hear nothing." She says passive aggressively.

"Then it must be the bridge is down at Brekfer River." Agravaine retorts, glaring at her.

Arthur unknowingly interrupts their glaring match. "No, I already checked. Patrol passed through there yesterday."

Gaius gives Amelia a reproachful look causing Amelia to roll her eyes.

"Well, should I send some scouts out to search for them?" Agravaine suggests.

Arthur ignores him, much to Amelia's glee. "Gaius, is your work done here?"

"Yes, Sire, I'm satisfied the sweating sickness is all but passed." Gaius replies.

"Then we leave for Longstead at first light." Arthur announces.

"I'm coming with you." Anne declares.

Amelia looks at her alarmed. "No."

"But..."

"If something has happened to Merlin, I doubt he'd appreciate it if we brought you and the baby into the danger." Amelia argues.

Anne rolls her eyes but relents.

——

Amelia, Arthur, Agravaine, Gaius and more Knights leave Camelot the next day.

They ride through the forest before Arthur suddenly pauses and sends out a scout before dismounting. Amelia quickly does the same then hurriedly walks over to him with Gaius following.

"Is anything wrong, Sire?" Gaius asks.

Arthur puts up a hand, quietening him. "Listen. No birdsong." He whispers.

Amelia looks around and realises what Arthur meant. Besides them, there's literally no sound. "Nothing." She murmurs quietly. "Absolute silence."

The scout comes back. "Sire!" He whispers.

Arthur draws his sword and Amelia does the same. The group follow the scout slowly till they come across a shocking sight. It's a camp but corpses are lying scattered on the forest floor. They begin to look around and Amelia notices something strange about the bodies.

"Does anything strike you as odd about these bodies?" Arthur questions as he turns the head of one man who leans against a tree.

"Yes, Sire." Gaius agrees. "There's not a mark on them."

"Not so much as a scratch." Amelia adds.

"Over here, My Lord!" Agravaine calls.

"Southron slave traders by the looks of it." Arthur observes as they approach where Agravaine stands beside a damaged wagon.

"What were they transporting? Some kind of an animal?" Her uncle questions.

Gaius points out scratch marks on the wood. "No, these marks were made by humans."

"Looks like they fought hard to get out of there." Amelia observes.

The sound of moaning interrupts their conversation. One of the Southrons is still alive. Arthur, Amelia and Gaius rush over to check on him.

"Can he be treated?" Arthur questions the Physician.

"I... I could try, Sire. But I'll need time and somewhere to work." Gaius replies.

"He comes with us!" Arthur calls to the rest of the group before lowering his voice, "We'll make Longstead in a matter of hours."

——

"Spread out and speak to everyone. Someone must know something." Arthur says to the Knights, who nod and depart. They had arrived at Longstead to find that Merlin, Gwen, Percival, Leon, Elyan and Gwaine are nowhere to be seen.

Agravaine comes over to them and Amelia, for the first time and hopefully, the last time, turns to him eagerly for any news he's found. Not seeing her fiancé and friends anywhere has caused her to panic.

"Did you speak to the Village Eder?" Arthur asks him.

"It seems they left yesterday morning." Agravaine replies.

"Where are they headed?"

"Camelot, My Lord."

"Then how have we not found them?!" Amelia cries worriedly. Not only is Anne's husband and father of her child out there but also Amelia's fiancé.

"Something must've happened." Arthur says.

"We can't go after them tonight." Agravaine tells him.

Amelia looks at her uncle in outrage. "Yes, we can! We must!"

"He's right, Amelia." Arthur says softly.

"But Arthur, anything could've happened to them!" Amelia insists. "Something is wrong!"

"We ride at dawn, as soon as possible." Arthur promises her. He turns to Agravaine, "See that the men are prepared."

"Sire." He walks away.

"We will find them." Arthur promises.

Amelia nods, knowing he'll keep to this promise as he himself is worried about Gwen.

——

"Any luck with the Southron?" Arthur asks as Gaius enters a small side room of the tending hut. It's just him and Amelia in the room. Thankfully, Agravaine has left them alone meaning Amelia gets a break from the presence of her uncle.

"I've done my best, Sire." Gaius sighs. "His condition is perilous, but he lives."

"Did you find out anything about what happened?" Amelia asks.

"He is a slave trader, as suspected. They were travelling south with a girl." Gaius replies.

"Did he say what happened to them?" Arthur asks.

"He claims they fell under some kind of spell. Quarrels and fights broke out among them. They began to suspect the girl of bewitching them. Seems they were right."

Amelia frowns. "Why? What happened?"

"The girl escaped and killed them all but him."

"How's that possible? She's just one girl." Arthur persists.

"Not a girl, Sire. A lamia." Gaius corrects.

"A lamia?"

"A creature of magic. In their wars with the ancient Kings, the High Priestesses of the Old Religion took the blood from a girl and mingled it with that of a serpent. The creatures they created had ferocious powers. They could control the mind of a man, suck the life from him with a single embrace." Gaius explains.

"That's why the men didn't have wounds." Amelia realises. "She just sucked the life out of them."

"The lamia proved more deadly than their makers had ever imagined." Gaius continues. "They could transform at will and become hideous monsters. And they kept on killing. They would not stop."

"So, this girl, this creature, is still out there somewhere..." Arthur frowns.

"No." Amelia shakes her head. "Not somewhere, she's with Merlin, Gwen, Percival and the others. That's the only reason they'd not be back in Camelot, if she was controlling the Knights to get them to go elsewhere..."

"At first light, we head out." Arthur orders.

——

Arthur leads his horse as he and the other Knights track the horse prints they're following. Amelia and Agravaine follow on horseback.

Arthur stops, examining the ground. "Six horses... running east... tracks are no more than a day old." Arthur mounts and they ride off.

Amelia eagerly kicks her horse forward, renewed hope filling her. However, it's soon dashed when they reach the end of the trail. They dismount to have a closer look, but their fears are confirmed.

"Tracks stop here." Arthur observes.

"I fear we're wasting our time, Sire. For all we know, they could've gone back to Camelot already." The slimy snake she, unfortunately, has to call uncle speaks up.

Amelia narrows her eyes, glaring at him as Arthur's back is to the both of them. "They can't be as why would the tracks be heading east instead of west?"

Agravaine clenches his teeth, glaring at her. "Could be that we're following the wrong tracks. Any number of people pass through these woods." He retorts.

"It was them. I know it was." Arthur then argues.

"Maybe we should go back to Longstead, try again in the morning." Agravaine tries again.

"By morning, they could all be dead." Amelia hisses at him. "Or is that what you want, uncle?"

Arthur gives her a warning look over his shoulder, but Agravaine simply grits his teeth at her as he says, "Of course not, Amelia." He turns to Arthur. "But they're Knights of Camelot, My Lord, more than capable of looking after themselves."

"Maybe so, but you're forgetting one thing, Uncle. Guinevere and Merlin are with them." Arthur reminds him, giving Amelia a quick glance.

Agravaine nods solemnly, though only Amelia is aware that it is fake. "I realise that, Sire."

"I don't think you do." Amelia snaps at him.

Arthur thinks for a moment then turns to his Knights. "Fan out, see what you can find."

Amelia eagerly looks around, hoping to find something but she can't see anything. She frowns, thinking. Surely Merlin would've left either her or Anne something. It comes to her then and she looks at the ground, concentrating. Amelia glances back before looking at the ground again just before her eyes flash gold to make sure none of the others are looking at her.

She smirks to herself. She can see them. The tracks. Merlin had enchanted them just as she hoped he would. He's left a direct line for them to follow. But to make sure there are no questions, she squints, her eyes flashing again and a branch or two in the distance breaks.

"Arthur!" She calls. He looks at her and she points ahead of them but to the side. "I see some broken branches in the distance."

Arthur looks in that direction and spots them. He turns to the rest of the group, "This way! There're branches broken!"

They all remount their horses and head in that direction. Agravaine is frowning, clearly unhappy while Amelia smiles proudly to herself for realising what Merlin had done.

——

They continue following the tracks. Well, Amelia is, the others are following the odd branch she breaks and horse prints she presses into the mud.

"Agravaine! Amelia!" Arthur calls from just ahead.

"Arthur?" Amelia questions as she quickly brings her horse over to him with Agravaine not far behind. Arthur holds up a cloth scrap from a broken tree. Amelia immediately recognises whose it is. "That's Gwen's."

"How can you be certain?" Agravaine asks.

"It's from her tunic. I'd know it anywhere. We must be close." Arthur rides off with Amelia eagerly sprinting after him.

——

They reach an opening in the trees to find a Castle standing in the distance. Hopefully, they're in there. Amelia quickly steers her horse towards the Castle with the others following after them. They reach the Castle and Amelia immediately jumps off her horse and charges inside with Arthur yelling after her.

She hears the sounds of roaring and screaming and follows them as she goes deeper into the Castle. Amelia comes to a screeching halt at the mouth of one of the hallways and feels her stomach drop at the sight of a giant green tentacle creature hovering over Merlin and Gwen, ready to strike.

Not giving herself another second to think, Amelia rears her arm back and throws the spear. It flies through the air before hitting its target in the middle of the creature's back. It screams in pain, but it topples forwards as it dies.

Amelia steps cautiously forward, checking for any movement. Gwen scrambles to her feet and runs to her, wrapping her in a hug causing Amelia to let out a relieved laugh.

"Amelia!" She hears Arthur's voice call out as she hears him reach the corridor they stand in.

Gwen pulls away from Amelia. "Arthur!" Gwen jumps into his arms. He laughs while hugging her back.

Amelia smiles at them before turning to Merlin, helping him up. She wraps him in a hug too. "It's good to see you, Merlin."

"You too."

Amelia pulls back and is concerned when she can't see any of the Knights nearby. "Where's Percival?"

Amelia doesn't like the way Merlin nods solemnly. "This way."

He brings her to a blocked off room but gives it a quick blast to open it. Amelia feels her heart drop when she finds Leon and Percival lying on the floor unconscious. She runs over to Percival.

She says his name, shaking him. He doesn't wake so she checks his pulse. She's relieved to find one.

"The Lamia got him. We need to get them to Gaius." Merlin tells her.

She nods, moving to get Arthur and the Knights they brought with them so that they can transport Percival and Leon, and probably Gwaine and Elyan too, to Longstead and Gaius.

——

Percival's POV

Percival wakes to find Amelia standing over him. He sighs in relief at the sight of her. "Amelia..."

Instead of a smile, he receives a frown. Her blue eyes guarded. "Gaius gave you and the others the same compound that cured the Villagers. We're fortunate that we got to you when we did."

"You're upset." Percival feels too weak to stand so he reaches out his hand to Amelia and she allows him to grip her hand. "What is it?"

"Merlin and Gwen told me what happened." Oh.

Percival winces when the memories of how he behaved under Lamia's spell. How he physically and verbally threatened Merlin and Gwen to some extent.

"I know it wasn't your fault as the Lamia had got to you, trust me Arthur has been enchanted quite a few times and I've learned not to blame him for things, but..."

"What?"

"That doesn't completely excuse how you treated Merlin and Gwen, Merlin especially." Amelia says, frowning. "I saw what happened, Merlin showed me."

"I'm sorry, Amelia."

"I know you are." Amelia reassures him. "I've just never seen you like that before so it's going to take time, okay?"

"Okay." Percival brings her hand to his mouth and kisses it. This brings a small but warm smile from Amelia. They'll be okay.

——

A/N: Please leave comments on how you're enjoying this story and what you think.