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Introducing Gaius

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After some advice from a castle guard, Nerissa and Merlin finally managed to head in the right direction to find Gaius. The plaque for the court physician on the wall confirmed they were headed the right way. Nerissa was still a bit shaken up from what they had witnessed. While she was thankful she had been too short to see much, knowing what had brought about the man's death was terrifying. Especially given the fact that she herself was capable of magic. While she was never one to show off her magic, to begin with, except around Merlin - she vowed to be much, much more careful about her magic use. And the thought of never using it again had crossed her mind.

"Nerissa," Merlin said, snapping his fingers in front of her face like he did when he wanted her attention but she wasn't paying him any. Brothers. A bit annoying really.

She knew he was still probably a bit worried about her. So, she attempted to direct the conversation away from what they had just seen. "What do you know about Gaius?" Nerissa asked her brother as they walked up the stairs. Truthfully, she didn't know much about the man she knew to be her uncle. She hoped that perhaps her mother had told her brother a bit more.

Merlin shrugged his shoulders. "He's court physician of Camelot."

Apparently not.

"Really? You don't say," Nerissa scoffed sarcastically. She already knew that much.

"His mother's brother."

Nerissa rolled her eyes. She knew that too. "So, what you're telling me is that you don't know any more than I do about him."

"Couldn't say. I don't know what you know."

"And you say I'm the annoying one," Nerissa muttered to herself as Merlin bounced a few stairs ahead of her to reach the door first.

"Beat you. Now who's the dollophead?" he teased as he leaned against the wall.

Nerissa smiled at her brother. "It will always be you," she told him as she came to a stop beside him. "Go on then, dollopheads first." Nerissa motioned to the door with her hand for him to knock.

Merlin chuckled and shook his head. "Oh, no, dear sister. Mother taught me right. Ladies first." He motioned for her to knock on the door.

She arched an eyebrow at her brother and folded her arms across her chest. "You're the oldest. You do it."

"You're the youngest. You do it."

When they were younger, Nerissa fell for that one all the time. But not this time. She smirked. "Gaius doesn't know I'm coming, but he does know you're coming. So, you ought to go first."

Merlin opened his mouth to say something, but then quickly closed it. He knew she was right. He looked at her and shook his head, grumbling something unintelligible to himself as Nerissa looked on with satisfaction. Merlin shot his sister a look before he rapped his knuckles on the door.

No response came.

"Do you think he's out?" Nerissa asked.

"Could be," Merlin said. "Or it could be he's too busy to answer the door." He reached to open the door when Nerissa reached out and stopped him. "What? I thought you wanted me to go first." he hissed at his sister. "Make up your mind. Which is it? I'm going first or you're going first?"

"You're just going to go barging in uninvited?"

Merlin rolled his eyes at his sister. "I'm sure people do it all the time. He is court physician, after all, Nerissa. Besides, the door is slightly ajar. " He then pulled his hand free from his sister's grip. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I will be going first after all."

With that, Merlin pushed the door wide enough for him to enter. Nerissa rolled her eyes and followed after her brother, only because she didn't want to be left alone in the corridor. Inside was truly a sight to behold. Nerissa had never seen such a place in her whole life. So many intriguing things on the tables. Books, more books than Nerissa knew existed. And it seemed the place also intrigued her brother as well. There was nothing like this in Ealdor.

Then, Nerissa spotted a man, high up looking for someone on one of the shelves. The man was either Gaius or a thief. She presumed the former. Nerissa elbowed her brother and pointed up. She then took a few steps backwards, toward the door in case they were wrong.

Merlin looked up and then at his sister, nodding his head. He cleared his throat. "Hello? Gaius?"

That seemed to startle Gaius. He attempted to move backwards to get a better look at his visitors below, but he tripped over something, sending him falling. The bannister did nothing to break his fall. He crashed through it. He was headed for the floor and if he landed wrong, he could die.

Nerissa's eyes widened in horror, but thankfully Merlin seemed to think quickly. His eyes flashed gold and time seemed to slow. Nerissa managed to catch her breath, fearing for their safety, she quickly ran to close the door. Merlin's time-slowing magic did not affect her.

Merlin sent the bed in the corner sliding across the room until it was beneath Gaius. Noticing that the pillows were strewn on the floor, Nerissa's eyes flashed gold and the pillows flew across the room and landed on the bed a quick moment before Gaius landed there.

Leaning against the door breathing heavily, Nerissa watched as Gaius lay there for a moment with an expression of shock on his face before he bolted from the bed. "What did you just do?" He shouted.

Nerissa and Merlin looked at each other, neither answering the question just posed to them.

"Tell me!" Gaius demanded.

"He did it!" Nerissa pointed to her brother.

"She did it!" Merlin pointed to his sister.

The siblings looked at each other incredulously, before they blamed the other again. He did it. She did it. Gaius looked on as the siblings seemed to have a conversation of only facial expressions. Nerissa scrunched her nose. Merlin raised his eyebrows. Nerissa rolled her eyes. Merlin rolled his. Their war of expressions continued until Gaius shook his head and cleared his throat, gaining the attention of both siblings.

"If anyone had seen that..." Gaius started.

"They didn't," Nerissa quickly responded. She awkwardly patted the door that she was still leaning against.

"Not that either of us did anything, of course," Merlin added. "That-that was..."

Gaius shook his head. "I know what it was! I just want to know where you learned how to do it!"

Merlin leaned one hand against a table. "Learned to do what exactly?" He leaned a little too much and nearly fell. He righted himself and smiled.

"You know exactly what! Now, where did you learn how to do it?"

"Nowhere!" Merlin and Nerissa announced simultaneously. The siblings then looked at each other with annoyed expressions.

Let me do the talking, Merlin mouthed to Nerissa which earned him a well-deserved eye-roll. She knew this wasn't going to go well.

If you get us killed, I'll kill you, Nerissa's expression vehemently warned her brother. Merlin just shook his head.

Gaius looked between the two of them. He thought they were certainly an odd pair. "Well, if you won't tell me where you learned it, perhaps you'll tell me how it is you know magic?"

"We don't," Merlin responded simply.

Nerissa banged her head purposely against the door. No, this wasn't going to go well.

Gaius studied Merlin. "Where did you study?" Answer me truthfully!"

"I-I've never studied magic or-or been taught."

Gaius narrowed his eyes at Merlin. "Are you lying to me, boy?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"The truth!"

"We were born like this!"

"Merlin," Nerissa hissed. She was annoyed her brother would reveal such information, especially when they weren't entirely sure this was Gaius.

Gaius seemed to perk up at what Nerissa had said. He looked over at the sibling that stood closer to them. "Merlin?" He pondered the name for a moment before asking, "Hunith's son?"

"Yes! Yes! I have a letter," Merlin eagerly agreed before he began digging in his back. "I have it somewhere in here." Nerissa rolled her eyes. She had told her brother the letter would have been safer in her hands. If he lost the things, she would be having words with him later.

"Ah-ha! Here it is!" Merlin said as he handed Gaius the letter.

Gaius accepted the letter, but he didn't open it. Instead, he just looked at Merlin. "But you're not meant to be here till Wednesday."

"It is Wednesday."

"Ah, right then. And who might you be?" Gaius asked looking at Nerissa.

"The annoying one over there is Nerissa, she's my . . . "

"Sister," Gaius finished for him.

Nerissa walked until she was beside her brother and pulled the cloak down from her head revealing the feminine features of her face and her long auburn hair tugged back in a now messy plait. For a moment Gaius looked strangely at Nerissa, almost as if he had seen a ghost - of someone he had once known long ago. How strange. He knew of Nerissa, but Hunith had never been forthright about how she came to be. He knew Merlin's origin story, but not Nerissa's.

Nerissa attempted a smile, which drew Gaius out of his reverie and he smiled back. "Hunith said nothing of you coming to Camelot."

Merlin nodded his head. "As I said, she's the annoying one and convinced Mother at the last minute."

"I did not. I gave her several hours' notice, thank you very much," Nerissa retorted before turning toward Gaius. "She did give me her blessing. The note Merlin gave you says so."

Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Wel, I'm afraid I only had the place tidied up for one. But no matter. Nerissa, you can take the guest room and Merlin you can have mine."

"But where will you sleep?" Nerissa asked with a frown on her face. She hated the thought of displacing Gaius from his own room. Especially when she and Merlin had shared a one-room home their entire life. Certainly, they could share one again.

"Here," Gaius chuckled, pointing to the bed that had been magically moved.

"We couldn't possibly..." Nerissa started.

"No worries, my dear. I tend to sleep down here with my things anyway, especially if I have a patient." Gaius smiled softly. "It's why there's a bed here in the first place."

Nerissa chewed her bottom lip. "If you're sure..."

"Nerissa," Merlin groaned. "He's already said so. Twice. How many more times are you going to make him say it?"

Nerissa narrowed her eyes at her brother and placed her hands on her hips. "Well, excuse me for making sure he is all right with giving his own room up for a dollophead like you! I know I wouldn't."

Gaius chuckled at his niece's and nephew's antics. They reminded him of how he and Hunith acted when they were younger. Much younger. How dearly his missed his sister. These two might make it feel like she was here with him. Which might just drive him insane.

"I'll show you where you can put your bags. You must be exhausted after the journey from Ealdor."

"Yeah, someone wouldn't stop complaining about her feet hurting the whole way from Ealdor.," Merlin teased his sister, nudging her gently.

Nerissa rolled her eyes at Merlin but didn't vocalize a response to him. Instead, she spoke to her uncle. "Thank you, Gaius, That would be very much appreciated." She then turned to her brother and said through gritted teeth, "Wouldn't it Merlin?"

"Yes, yes, of course, it would. But-uh, Gaius..." Merlin started, which caused the older man to turn toward him. "You-you won't say anything about, erm..." Merlin pointed upward and circled his finger.

Gaius nodded knowingly. "No."

Nerissa immediately felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. While she hadn't vocalized such, she was a bit worried especially after what they had witnessed earlier. "Thank you," Nerissa said.

"No, my dear, it should be I thanking you." Gaius smiled softly at his niece and nephew. "Thank you. Both of you."

Nerissa and Merlin smiled. But of course, Merlin couldn't just leave it at that. "Well, it was mostly me who saved you," he said as they followed Gaius up the steps.

"Hey! I helped!" Nerissa retorted.

"Yes, your pillows did just the trick to save him," Merlin stated sarcastically.

"I was the one that had enough wits to shut the door. You could have gotten us killed," Nerissa argued back.

"We were fine. No one was watching," Merlin shrugged off.

"Because I shut the door! Admit it! I helped!"

"Never!" Merlin was thankful for his sister's quick thinking. But it was much more fun to get a rise out of her than to simply agree with her.

Gaius chuckled to himself. Things certainly weren't going to be dull living with these two. He stopped in front of a door. "Merlin, this is where you'll sleep. Sorry to say it also doubles as more storage for me. Plus I put some of what I was storing in the guest room in here since I didn't know Nerissa..."

Gaius opened the door and Merlin peeked inside. "It's fine, Gaius. Truly," Merlin said. "More than fine actually. Especially if I don't have to share it with Nerissa." He looked back at his sister and winked as he stepped inside.

"Ha-ha," Nerissa said in an unamused tone, knowing full well her brother was teasing her. It was their thing. She'd tease him. He'd tease her. It was a never-ending cycle with them.

"And Nerissa, you'll be just down this corridor," Gaius said as he led her down a small corridor to the right.

The corridor was only lit by a single candle, so it was rather dark. Nerissa stayed close to Gaius who seemed to know where he was going. Gaius opened a door on the left. Nerissa couldn't help but smile as she stepped inside.

"Our whole house back in Ealdor could probably fit in here," Nerissa said in amazement as she saw the single bed made with several warm blankets. There was a cupboard of her own to use and a trunk at the end of the bed. Not that she had enough to fill them. While she knew this to be rather simple for most, Nerissa couldn't help but feel she was almost living in grandeur now.

Gaius lit the candles and excused himself so Nerissa could get some rest after their long journey. The first thing Nerissa did was remove those blasted shoes. She would have to see Gaius about finding something to soak them in and perhaps something to bandage her bloodied toes. But for now, she was fine to wiggle them in freedom and explore her new surroundings.

The first thing she did was fall onto her bed. With her face in the pillow, she smiled. This bed was certainly more comfortable than the one she shared with her mother back in Ealdor. She silently squealed in excitement. While she knew things weren't always going to be easy here in Camelot, especially concerning her magic - if she played her cards right she might just be able to manage it and enjoy herself here. She might be able to find something more to do with her life than be the pretty wife of a farmer.

Nerissa looked up and saw the window above her bed. Carefully, she climbed on top of the headboard and pulled herself to the window's ledge. She pushed the window open. She gasped for breath at the sight of Camelot before her. Never in her life had she seen quite a sight and this was certainly one to behold.

She finished pulling herself up and sat on the window's ledge, careful not to allow herself to fall. Nerissa sat there and watched the torches lit in the city against the drop of the starry night sky. The sight was breathtaking. She could probably sit here every night watching this grand sight.

There was a creaking sound from the window to her left. "Merlin, is that you?" Nerissa asked, poking her head out to see.

"Yeah, it's me," Merlin said. "Well, would you look at that?"

"It's wonderful, isn't Merlin?"

"Yeah, it's really something."

The two remained silent for several minutes watching out their windows. This felt almost like a dream and Nerissa had to pinch herself twice to make sure she wasn't imagining it all. But then a thought struck her. Nerissa cleared her throat. "Merlin?"

"Yeah?"

"I-I've never slept by myself before. I know it's silly, but..." Nerissa paused before she continued. "Would-would you mind sleeping in here with me? You can have the bed if you'd like. I just don't want to be alone tonight."

Merlin sighed. "Yeah, I'll be right over. But you can keep your bed. I'm so tired I could sleep anywhere. Just point me in the direction of your best floorboard."

Nerissa giggled softly, but then her expression became a little more solemn, not that Merlin could see that. "I know I don't always say it, Merlin, but I love you, big brother."

"Yeah, I love you too. Even if you are an annoying dollophead most of the time."

She gasped in feigned annoyance as she heard Merlin's window shut. A moment later, Merlin came bursting into her room without even knocking. He had a pillow and blanket in hand. He threw his things down on the floor beside Nerissa's bed. "Here's as good a place as any," he said before he lay down.

Merlin was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Nerissa chuckled and shook her head at him. She then quietly climbed down from the window and closed it. On her way down, she accidentally knocked over a pile of books on the bedside table. But not even that woke Merlin. Nerissa picked up the books and gently placed a kiss on her brother's cheek. She then went down to see Gaius about cleaning up her bloodied toes before she finally got some much-needed rest.

Author's Note: I'm on a roll with these! I know I'm still on the first episode, but writing smaller chapters is making it easier for me get them posted. I mean, this is the most consistent I've been in a LONG time! :) I know not a lot happened this chapter, but hey, at least I wrote! Right? Haha. Thanks to all who have favorited or followed this story! It truly means the world to me! :)