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Nothing Sorcery-Related

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Following her gruelling first lesson with Morgana, Nerissa staggered back to the physician's quarters to rest. She hesitated to open the door momentarily but knew that she had to go in otherwise she'd be stuck sleeping on the stone floor. After a deep breath, she slowly opened the door. Much to her surprise, the body from earlier didn't seem to be there. They must have found another location to house the corpse and for that Nerissa was grateful.

As Nerissa walked in, Merlin dropped a cloth over something on a table at Gaius's insistence. They both forced smiles on their faces as they looked at her. "How was your day, my dear?" Gaius asked.

Nerissa sighed before reaching up and twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "Better," she muttered as she cast her gaze toward the floor in shame.

What was she to say to him? She had spent practically her entire life at her mother's side caring for the sick and injured. She should have been able to handle seeing that dead man earlier. Images of his lifeless state flashed through her mind as she grasped for the nearest sturdy object - the wall. The images of the man from earlier then changed to those of Sir Ewan.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Nerissa whispered as she held tightly onto the wall.

Gaius quickly rushed to his niece's aid. "My dear, you have nothing to be sorry for."

"But I do. I should have been able - I should be able to . . ."

"You should have to do nothing when it comes to healing and science within the walls of Camelot. That job falls to me." Gaius ensured Nerissa's gaze met his, not looking away until she agreed.

"But you need help," Nerissa pleaded. "I'm trained to do this."

"I have Merlin to help me."

"You're arguing my point for me. You need help!"

"Hey now!" Merlin piped up, walking toward his sister. "If you're going to talk about me like that at least do it when I'm not in the room." He gently patted his sister's shoulder and offered a sincere smile, but she couldn't bring herself to return it.

Merlin arched a brow at his sister. "Don't make me tickle you."

Nerissa shifted her body away from her brother, almost hiding behind her uncle. "You wouldn't dare."

"Wouldn't I?" Merlin grinned with his arms folded across his chest. "I do believe my track record proves otherwise."

Nerissa narrowed her eyes at her brother as he reached his hand toward her. With a yelp, she pushed past Gaius and ran across the room toward her room. If she weren't so bloody ticklish, Merlin's threat would have been futile. But such was not the case.

Once inside her room, Nerissa shut the door and latched it closed so that Merlin couldn't follow her inside. She leaned against the door breathing heavily. While she had a feeling he was just teasing her to take her mind off of things, she hadn't wanted to risk getting tickled and being forced to squeal like a pig.

It seemed like she had been in her room for not more than a few minutes when her door rattled. Thankfully, the latch seemed to hold up perfectly.

"Don't even think about it, Merlin!" Nerissa called, with a slight grin on her face. "Whatever trick you might have up your sleeve isn't going to work this time. I might have fallen for it when we were younger, but I'm smarter than you now."

"It isn't Merlin," a familiar pompous voice said from the other side. "Now open this door at once."

"Why?"

"Why is it you never do as you're told?" the prat groaned.

"Why on earth do you think it's appropriate to enter the room of an unmarried woman? I'd hardly deem that acceptable. Even for someone such as yourself. Not everyone and everything in Camelot is available at your disposal."

There was a long pause before Prince Prat finally responded lamely, "I've been charged with searching all of Camelot for any hint of sorcery."

Her heart skipped a beat. Had her secret somehow been revealed to him? Was he about to sentence her to death? She glanced at the window. It was much too high for an escape. It appeared she only had one way about the situation - through it. And she must lie her teeth off if necessary

Slowly, Nerissa opened the door with the latch still intact. Through the crack, she could see Prince Prat standing there, leaning against the door frame. "Why are you searching for sorcery? And what makes you think it would be in here?" she questioned.

Prince Prat arched an eyebrow at her. "You certainly ask a lot of questions."

Nerissa blinked innocently, purposely adding an extra bat of her eyelashes. "I like to be informed before making decisions. It's rather irresponsible not to, don't you think?"

He actually seemed to consider her words before giving a slight nod. Nerissa nodded her head in return. Perhaps he wasn't a complete dollophead. Only mostly.

Prince Prat arched a brow. "Now, might I search the premises?"

Nerissa blinked suddenly in surprise. "Are you asking permission?"

"No. I'm informing you I need to search the premises. Again. Which as Prince of Camelot I shouldn't have to do. Either unlatch the door or I'll be forced to break it down."

Nerissa rolled her eyes and groaned. Of course, he would have to go and ruin any slight progress he had been making in her eyes "Give me a moment, sire," she added, tacking the sire on for good measure.

She shut the door, undid the latch, and then opened the door, revealing Prince Prat standing outside her room. Without saying anything, he gently pushed her out of his way and walked into her room. He stopped a few steps in and looked around before glancing over his shoulder back at Nerissa.

"What?" she scoffed.

He gave her a slight grin. "You're much neater than your brother."

"I'll take that as a compliment, seeing as that's likely the closest I'll ever get to one from you, sire." Nerissa offered him a curtsy. If he had already seen Merlin's room, then he must not have discovered the book of spells. Otherwise, she likely would have heard Merlin's shouts as he was being carted off.

Prince Prat scoffed and turned toward her. He folded his arms across his chest. "I've said nice things about you before."

She arched a brow. "Like what, sire?"

His eyes widened like he hadn't expected her to ask him that. He blinked slowly a few times before he gestured toward her with his hand. "Your face."

Nerissa took a step closer to him. "What about it?" She gazed up into his eyes and he met hers briefly.

"It's . . . clean."

Nerissa snorted. "Yes, I can certainly see how you're able to charm the ladies."

Prince Prat groaned before he turned away from her and walked toward her cupboard. He opened it, rifling through the few belongings she had in there as Nerissa still laughed to herself. She was too busy laughing at Prince Prat's expense, that she hadn't time to dwell on even a fleeting thought of death.

He then walked over to where she had the bouquet of flowers from Morgana drying in the window. He gently pushed them and sent them swinging. Nerissa found it odd that a slight smile spread on his face as he looked at them.

Prince Prat then glanced at her bed. He took a step toward it. She quickly ran across the room and flung herself over the bed so that she rested on her pillow. With her face flushed, she offered him a forced smile. Nerissa wasn't quite sure what came over her but had somehow forced herself into such an awkward position.

He arched a brow at her. "What is it you don't want me to see?"

"Nothing." Her response was a bit too quick to cease suspicion. She wiggled a bit while seated on her pillow.

"Uh-huh," Prince Prat responded, clearly not believing what she was telling him. He took a few steps closer so that he was standing at the edge of her bed looking down at her with great intensity.

Nerissa's face reddened with each moment his gaze remained on her. "I swear to you, it's nothing to do with what you're looking for."

"Either move or I'll be forced to remove you."

Nerissa defiantly stayed put as the tips of her ears began to redden. Her flushed face nearly matched the colour of her hair. Prince Prat seemed to take notice that she wasn't moving, so he reached down and picked her up bridal style.

"Put me down," Nerissa hissed as she squirmed in his arms. But Prince Prat's grip was strong and didn't lessen despite her protests.

He practically flung Nerissa at the end of the bed before placing his body between her and the pillow as he picked up the pillow. He grabbed the fabric beneath the pillow and stood up straight, examining the fabric in front of him.

"What is this?" Prince Prat asked with an arched brow.

"My night dress!" Nerissa squealed in embarrassment with her hands covering her face.

Prince Prat's eyes widened and the tips of his ears began to redden. He quickly dropped the cloth and it fell to the floor. Without looking at him, Nerissa quickly snatched her nightclothes from the floor and stuffed them back under her pillow. She refused to meet his gaze.

After he cleared his throat, Prince Prat announced loudly, "Nothing sorcery-related here."

Nerissa was still far too thoroughly embarrassed to come up with some pithy retort. The Prat of a Prince left the room without another word. Nerissa waited until his footsteps were faint before she got up and latched the door once more. She then flung herself on her bed once more and buried her face in her pillow, hoping that her embarrassment would fade with some sleep.

The following morning, Nerissa found herself awakened by young Lukas. He poked her with his index finger on the cheek. "You ought to be thankful you aren't my brother," Nerissa groaned with one eye open. "Otherwise I would have smacked you by now."

"Lady Morgana has asked for you," Lukas informed her. "Gwen hasn't shown up this morning."

Nerissa sat up. "What's wrong with Gwen?"

Lukas looked over his shoulder, unsure of what he should say. "Her . . . father . . . needs her this morning."

But Nerissa didn't question him. Instead, she sat up and stretched before motioning Lukas to leave her room giving him a shooing motion with her hand. He left and Nerissa quickly readied herself.

As she left her room, Nerissa tied the end of her braid with a yellow ribbon and found Lukas waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs into the physician's quarters. "You're still here?" Nerissa asked.

"Lady Morgana insisted I escort you." Lukas offered.

"How sweet."

Nerissa rendered Lukas a soft smile and was quite surprised to find that both Gaius and Merlin weren't present. Lukas must have noticed her confusion because he said, "More have fallen ill overnight."

She gave a curt nod and didn't bother asking more before she left the physician's quarters. For now, the less she knew - the better.

When Nerissa arrived outside Lady Morgana's chambers, she turned to look at Lukas. "You haven't led me to my death again, have you?" she teased.

Lukas grinned before he knocked on the door and Morgana called for them to enter. He opened the door and Nerissa tugged at her braid before she walked inside. She exhaled slowly before she stepped inside.

"Nerissa!" Morgana gushed as she ran toward Nerissa, still dressed in her night clothes. She grasped Nerissa's hands before nodding over her friend's shoulder.

Lukas bowed his head before he closed the door behind him and took his leave.

"I have a favour to ask of you," Morgana said. "With Gwen unable to help me, would you be able to help me dress and fix my hair?"

Nerissa nodded her head and squeezed Morgana's hands, "Of course."

Morgana grinned as she flipped her hair over her shoulder before walking behind her screen. "I have another full day of weapon training in store for you. That's why I asked for your help. Others might ask too many unnecessary questions."

Lady Morgana poked her head out from behind the screen and gave Nerissa a knowing look. Yes, a lady teaching a nobody weapon training was bound to bring up questions. Nerissa nodded her head before she walked closer to help Morgana dress.

As Nerissa helped dress Morgana, she couldn't help but wonder if this was what Merlin felt like every day helping Prince Prat. While she didn't mind helping, this certainly wasn't a duty she was interested in performing for life. Sure, some might consider this job a blessing, but Nerissa couldn't help but feel like she was destined for something more.

But it was dreaming like that, that tended to get people into trouble.

Sword training with Morgana was much more work than Nerissa had anticipated. Morgana was quite the task driver when it came to learning different techniques with the sword. Nerissa wished she could say she was a natural at fighting, but she wasn't. She'd likely do more damage with her tongue than with a sword.

Beads of sweat rolled down Nerissa's face as she panted for air across from Morgana in a duel of wooden swords. Nerissa found slight consolation that Morgana was also sweating profusely. Morgana wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand before she returned to a ready position.

"Again," Morgana said, shifting her weight from side to side as she held her sword at the ready.

Nerissa groaned before readying herself. "What do you think? Maybe another thirty years and I'll have this down?"

Morgana chuckled. "You're not that bad."

Nerissa arched an eyebrow. "I've only managed to beat you once and that was because I sneezed and distracted you. Face it, I'm terrible."

"Distraction is the one thing you have in your favour," Morgana said before coming in for a blow. Nerissa blocked the swing. "No one's going to expect you to know how to fight and that alone will be enough to distract them at the onset."

Nerissa blocked another one of Morgana's advances. "Should I throw in some more sneezes for good measure?" She faked a few sneezes and chuckled to herself, before going in for a strike which Morgana easily deflected.

"You think I'm kidding, don't you?" Morgana went in for a strike and Nerissa failed to defend herself, knocking the wooden sword from her hand to the floor.

"Gah!" Nerissa threw her head back and groaned in defeat as the sword skittered across the stone floor. "I'll never get it."

"Not with that attitude," Morgana responded, leaning forward, resting her hands on her knees as she breathed heavily from the workout with swords.

Nerissa quickly twirled to face Morgana. Morgana had done nothing but praise her and then to say that . . .

"Now you listen to me," Morgana said shaking her head with a slight smile. She was teasing Nerissa. Or at the very least trying to get her attention. "Please don't tell me you're a glutton for punishment."

Nerissa simply shrugged her shoulders, which made Morgana chuckle.

"I see how it is," Morgana grinned and brought her wooden sword to the ready position once more. "Again."

"You don't give up, do you?" Nerissa groaned, raising her sword.

Morgana tossed her braid over her shoulder. "Never. And especially not when I see talent that just needs some nurturing."

"You're much too kind."

"And you're stalling." Morgana blew a tendril of hair from her face, still holding her wooden sword in the ready position, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"I hoped you wouldn't notice." Nerissa offered Morgana a sly grin, which made Morgana chuckle.

"Ah - but I now know your art of distraction is what gives you an edge. Don't expect me to fall for that again."

Without warning, Morgana went in for a swing. Nerissa was able to block it. The pair duelled around the large room, Nerissa matching blow-for-blow with Morgana. While she'd likely never be as good at swords as Morgana, Nerissa was already doing far better than when she had started. Perhaps with a little surprise, she might be able to defend herself from unwanted attention until she had a chance to run away.

Nerissa spotted Gwen in the doorway with a tear-stained face. "It's Gwen," Nerissa told Morgana as she blocked an attack.

"Nice try, but I'm not falling for it," Morgana chuckled.

"No really, it's Gwen," Nerissa backed away from Morgana with both of her hands raised in defence. She motioned with her head for Morgana to turn around.

Morgana held both her hands up before she looked over her shoulder. "Gwen!" Morgana gasped before she dropped her wooden sword to the floor and ran toward her maidservant. Nerissa followed quickly behind, although she forgot to discard her sword.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Gwen sobbed before curtsying, brusquely trying to brush away her tears.

"No apology is necessary. Your position isn't in jeopardy." Morgana took Gwen's hands in her own. "You look a fright. Is everything alright?"

Gwen rolled her lips together as a large tear streaked down her cheek. "It's my father. He's caught the illness and I don't think there's anything anyone can do."

Suddenly everything hit much closer to home. Nerissa's wooden sword fell to the ground as she fled the room. In some moments everything seemed fine and in others, everything seemed so overwhelming.

Nerissa ran down random corridors until she found herself collapsing into a pair of strong arms.  Not that she knew whose arms they belonged to - because once more, her world faded into darkness. A darkness that seemed far too eager to take her and not let her go.

Author's Note:  I finally got this updated! Not my best work, but hey! It's something. I feel like so much life has happened since I last updated. I updated right before I got covid really bad and was out of work for like a month. I broke my big toe and sprained my tendon, which had me in a boot for about 3 months. I got my tonsils removed. My godmother passed. I bought a house. I got a puppy. Yeah - life continued on. But here I am! You can thank MissHiraeth98 for the many gentle shoves to finish this! haha.