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Another Day, Another Snake Bite

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Nerissa awoke with her head pounding slightly and her room was much too bright for her liking. Quickly, she pulled the covers over her face and groaned. Better, but still too bright. Her small reprieve was only momentary because her brother burst into her room making as much noise as humanly possible, and then some.

"It's morning, Nerissa!" Merlin shouted. His voice sounded like a fork grating against a plate. "Rise and shine!" He clapped his hands together, but he might as well have been banging pots or kettles together because the noise had the same irritating effect on Nerissa.

"Go away, Merlin," Nerissa mumbled.

Merlin arched his eyebrow. "You should know better than that I'm not that easy to be rid of." He folded his arms across his chest and shook his head as Nerissa didn't even move beneath her covers.

Nerissa groaned. "Go away. More sleepy."

The sound of Merlin's footsteps grew fainter like he was leaving. Although, she never heard the door open and shut. She should have realized that he was only fooling her. Because the next thing she knew, her blanket was pulled from her. Nerissa screamed as the light caught her eyes. She quickly rolled onto her stomach and put her pillow over her head.

"That was absolutely cruel!" Nerissa hissed at her brother. "Cruel, I tell you!"

"Come now, you've done far worse to me. Like the time..."

"Will you shut up? How anyone manages to put up with your grating voice is beyond me!"

"Ohhh," Merlin chuckled, not bothered by his sister's words. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Here let me help you get out on the right side."

With that Merlin rolled his sister off the bed until she fell in a heap on the wooden floor.

"MERLIN!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, likely loud enough for the people of Camelot to hear below.

"Yes, Nerissa?" Merlin grinned, leaning over his sister with his face too close to hers for her comfort.

Nerissa scrunched her face up before she kicked her brother in the anatomy she didn't possess. Merlin groaned before he doubled over in pain on Nerissa's bed. "Serves you right," Nerissa taunted.

Merlin groaned again as Nerissa managed to push herself into a sitting position. She puffed a stray tendril of hair from her face before she looked at her brother, who appeared to be in pain. Remembering all the training and injuries Prince Prat had put Merlin through to prepare for the tournament, she felt slightly bad for her actions. But not bad enough that she felt the need to apologize. He should have let her sleep or at the very least left her alone after she told him to.

"Now, when you're done being a baby, will you tell me what possibly possessed you to rouse me in such a manner?" Nerissa said, brushing the wrinkles from her nightdress.

"Did you really have to kick me there?" Merlin groaned.

Nerissa rolled her eyes before she retorted. "Don't even get me started on unnecessary actions, Merlin."

Even though Nerissa couldn't see it, she knew her brother rolled his eyes at her statement. They were far too similar in that sense. After a long groan, Merlin sat up on the bed and grabbed the pillow for protection.

"So are you going to tell me what you're doing here or not?" Nerissa asked.

"I live here, Nerissa," Merlin retorted, clutching the pillow a little tighter in case his sister retaliated. He never seemed to learn not to provoke her.

But Nerissa just rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean, Merlin."

Merlin met his sister's gaze. "Well, I was going to be a nice brother and escort you to the tournament grounds, but now I'm considering rescinding the offer."

"Seeing as you haven't even made the offer yet, there's nothing to rescind," Nerissa retorted. "Besides, I'm sure I can find some knight in shining armour to help me." She offered her brother a grin.

A scowl marred Merlin's features. "You most certainly will not go looking for Knight Valiant."

"Who said anything about Valiant?" Nerissa asked her brother, arching an eyebrow.

"I have eyes, you know." Merlin pointed to his eyes as he dramatically widened them. "I've seen the way you were fawning over him." He then clasped his hands by his cheek and blinked rapidly, pretending to imitate some sort of damsel in distress. Not that Nerissa had ever seen a damsel look quite that ridiculous.

Nerissa rolled her eyes once more. "I wasn't fawning."

Merlin arched an eyebrow at his sister. "Uh-huh." It was clear he didn't believe her.

"I wasn't fawning! I wasn't!" She folded her arms across her chest defensively. "And not that it's any of your business, he seems to fancy Morgana anyway."

"You'd do well to stay away from him, Nerissa. There's something not right about him."

"What he's handsome? Knows how to wield a sword and make the ladies swoon? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous, Merlin."

This brought Merlin to his feet. "Jealous? Jealous? I'm trying to protect you!" Merlin pointed at his sister, who was still sitting on the wooden floor. "That's what brothers do. They look after their annoying little sisters. No matter how annoying they are."

Nerissa chuckled derisively. "I think I hit a nerve. You are jealous. You've been pining for Morgana since we got here."

Merlin set his jaw and folded his arms across his chest. "I have not.

"Have too."

"Have not!"

"Have too!"

"I have not!"

Nerissa opened her mouth to argue with him once again, but he held a finger up to stop her. "Now, get yourself ready for the tournament or I'll see to it that Gaius locks you in here. There will be no knights in shining armour for you. None. Never ever. Do you hear me?"

Merlin didn't even wait for his sister to respond. He marched out the door and slammed it closed behind him. Nerissa muttered a few obscenities under her breath as she somehow managed to get herself into a standing position with her sore ankle. No thanks to her utterly annoying brother. He thought she was the annoying one? Something had clearly been wrong with him since they had come to Camelot, but that somehow made her the annoying one. Brothers. Most of the time they were nothing more than a curse.

The bum ankle took her a bit longer to ready herself, but she somehow managed it and she was dressed in another hand-me-down from Lady Kenna with her hair pulled back into a side braid. She grabbed her worn cloak that her mother had made her back in Ealdor. The fabric was thinner than it used to be after years of wear and tear, but it still kept some of the biting wind from chilling her to the bone.

Nerissa hobbled downstairs to find Gaius waiting at the table with a pot of porridge over the fire. She glanced around the room for her escort who seemed to have disappeared. "Where's Merlin?" she asked, sitting down across from Gaius.

"He went to help Arthur get ready," Gaius told her before he stood up and walked over to dish her out some porridge. "He said he would be back in plenty of time to help you."

Nerissa scoffed. "He's an odd duck, my brother. Trying to keep me safe from knights in shining armour"

Gaius smiled as he set the porridge in front of her. "He's protective as is the right of every older brother."

"Not you too!" Nerissa groaned. "Merlin already gave me a similar speech."

Gaius chuckled. "You seem to be your mother's daughter. So, you could probably use frequent reminders on the subject." He then offered her a friendly wink and sat back down.

"Did my mother annoy you?" Nerissa asked, blowing carefully on the porridge before taking a bite. Gaius must have taken note of what she had done to make the porridge taste better because it tasted much more like the stuff she made than the bland stuff he served upon her arrival at Camelot.

"All the bloody time," Gaius chuckled to himself. "We were very much like you and Merlin. Always bickering and bantering. Mother always said we would drive her mental, but after seeing you and Merlin go at it, I can safely say she did get some enjoyment out of it." He chuckled again before he sighed. "I do miss your mother so. So take heed to enjoy this time with your brother while you still have it. There may come a day when you may not."

Instead of arguing with her uncle, Nerissa stuffed her mouth with another spoonful of porridge. She kept doing so until her plate was empty. Knowing what a dollophead her brother could be, she figured it would be hours before he properly dressed Prince Prat - so she picked up one of Gaius's books.

It wasn't nearly as long as she expected before Merlin appeared to escort her to the tournament. Then she remembered that Gwen had tutored him on all the bits and pieces of the armour. Either that or Prince Prat got fed up with him and did it himself. Nerissa grinned at her brother. "Did Prince Prat have to dress himself?" she teased.

Merlin rolled his eyes. "I managed it on my own," he retorted. "I'm a quick learner. Now up you go before any pithy retort from you that makes me change my mind." He then bent over and picked his sister up so that she lay across his shoulder.

"Merlin," Nerissa groaned. "This is embarrassing."

Merlin walked toward the door carrying his sister. "That's the point. Trying to keep those valiant knights away."

"By giving them an excellent view of my bum?"

Merlin stopped in his tracks and mulled her words over for a moment before nodding his head. "On second thought, you're probably right about that. See? Quick learner." He then set her down, feet first on the bench. Merlin then turned his back toward her. "Up you go like when we were young and you were too scared to cross the brook."

Nerissa hoisted herself up as Merlin wrapped his arms around his sister's legs and she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. "I wasn't scared, you know," she retorted.

"Uh-huh," Merlin grunted in disbelief, adjusting his sister on his back. "Had nothing to do with the toads you didn't want to squish your feet on. Nope. Certainly had nothing to do with that."

So, maybe he had figured her out. She still wasn't the biggest fan of toads, but she could at least mask her disdain for the creature now. Toads and snakes. Nerissa shivered a bit and then got a grip on herself. There was no way she was going to tell her brother he was right. No, that would go to his head. Better to leave him in this state of limbo.

Gaius accompanied them down to the tournament grounds. They made small talk about which knights would likely make it to the finals. Both Prince Prat and Knight Valiant seemed to be the favourites going into today. All of Camelot seemed to be abuzz about the latter man as they made their way to the grounds. Nerissa made sure to talk about Knight Valiant to annoy her brother. If it was the older brother's job to protect the little sister, then surely it was the little sister's job to annoy the older brother.

Morgana and Gwen were seated where they had been the day before. Gwen helped Nerissa off Merlin's back and onto the bench on the other side of Morgana. Before he left, Merlin offered Morgana a small bow and a wide grin. Nerissa rolled her eyes. He clearly wasn't pining for Morgana. Then again, she could imagine that most of the men in Camelot fancied the king's ward. She was probably one of the most beautiful women Nerissa had ever met.

"Have you seen Knight Valiant this morning?" Nerissa asked Morgana as she smoothed out the skirt of her dress.

"Perhaps," Morgana said rather coyly.

Gwen looked at Morgana as if asking for permission to say something. Morgana blushed, but she nodded her head. Gwen grinned. "By perhaps she means that I caught her behind a curtain with the knight in question."

Nerissa threw her head back in laughter. "You don't waste any time, now do you?"

Morgana, whose cheeks were still a bit pink, sat up a bit straighter. "I just wanted to make sure that he knew there was a reason to stay in Camelot after the tournament. Besides, it was only a few kisses, nothing more."

"Whatever you say," Nerissa teased jovially.

"What about you? Any man strike your fancy yet, Nerissa?" Morgana asked, turning to Nerissa. "I could offer an introduction if you'd like."

Nerissa shook her head. "Part of the reason, I came to Camelot was so that I wouldn't be pressured into marrying. I'm much more interested in singing than men."

Morgana chuckled and shook her head.

Gwen reached across Morgana and rested her hand on Nerissa's "From what I've seen there are plenty of boys whose interest you seem to have caught. You're quite the talk in town. Truly."

Nerissa blushed. Just then, Prince Prat walked into the arena and the crowd immediately got to their feet and began to clap as he raised his arms. The girls also stood and began to clap. Nerissa had hoped the conversation would be over.

"One of them will catch your eye someday. You'll see. Someday a man of Camelot will have your heart," Morgana elbowed Nerissa as Prince Prat seemed to look in their direction and nod with a rather pleasant grin on his face.

"I certainly hope not," Nerissa whispered back to Morgana, which made the king's ward laugh.

They then took their seats as King Uther welcomed them all to the second day of the tournament from his box rather than the centre of the arena like the day before. With that, day two of the tournament began.

Prince Prat easily defeated his opponent.

Then it was Knight Valiant's turn to face his opponent, Sir Ewan. Morgana was practically beaming as she clapped when Valiant entered the arena. Gwen and Nerissa exchanged glances, on either side of Morgana, and giggled. Morgana looked at them both. "Your giggling is going to distract him," she hissed. This made them giggle harder, even though they tried to suppress it with their hands over their mouths.

Both Gwen and Nerissa somehow managed to regain their composure just as the match started. At first, the match seemed pretty even to Nerissa. For every blow, Valiant matched, Ewan was able to counter. For a moment, Nerissa wondered if Valiant had already met his match and wouldn't even face off with Prince Prat. Most of the crowd was on their feet cheering. Nerissa couldn't help but feel bad that Lukas was missing out, but then she spotted the young lad beside Gaius, Prince Prat, and Merlin. She'd have to ask him why he relegated escorting her to Merlin later.

Nerissa was knocked out of her reverie when Sir Ewan was knocked to the ground with a rather painful blow. So hard that his helmet rolled from his head. Knight Valiant then pinned Ewan down with his shield. Valiant stayed on top of Ewan for a few moments. It almost looked like he was talking to Ewan, which confused Nerissa. What was he doing? Perhaps he was taunting the man about his inevitable defeat?

Valiant then punched Ewan before he stood up and threw his sword and removed his helmet, claiming victory. The crowd was once again on their feet cheering for Valiant. Sir Ewan lay on the ground motionless. All the other knights got back on their feet after their matches.

Nerissa's brow furrowed in concern as she saw Gaius coming toward Ewan with his medical bag. "Do you think he's hurt?" Nerissa whispered.

"It appears that way," Gwen answered.

"That happens sometimes," Morgana rationalized. "The knights know what they are getting themselves into when they enter the tournament." Nerissa wasn't sure if Morgana was saying that for Nerissa's peace of mind or her own. With her lips pursed, Morgana glanced at Valiant who nodded in her direction.

Gaius then motioned for two of Camelot's guards to make their way into the arena with a stretcher. The guards carefully placed Ewan on the stretcher and then carried him out of the area with Gaius keeping pace with them.

Across the arena, Nerissa noticed that Merlin pointed in her direction and whispered something to Lukas. The young boy then trotted beneath the stands until he ended up by Nerissa before climbing out from underneath.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Nerissa asked, knowing full well that Merlin had put him up to it.

"Merlin said he'd sneak me some of Cook's cookies if came and stayed with you and helped you get back," Lukas said with a shrug of his shoulder.

Nerissa shook her head. "Bribing a child," she scoffed to herself before turning to Lukas. "You should know that Merlin is terrible at sneaking things."

Lukas grinned. "I already sneak desserts from Cook. Good at it, too. Besides, I like you. We're friends. I don't need cookies to spend time with you."

"Well, thank you," Nerissa said with a smile on her face as she patted Lukas's hands.

"Anyway, I think it will be fun to watch him try and sneak from Cook. She's mighty good at catching. I've gotten my bottom swatted a time or two or twenty."

Nerissa threw her head back and chuckled. "Can I be there too?"

"I'll even sneak you a cookie before he tries," Lukas grinned.

She smiled. "So, where were you this morning? You're a much better escort than Merlin if I do say so."

Lukas smiled. "My neighbour lady fell so Mum has me helping with some of the chores, like fetching water."

"Is your neighbour alright?"

"She'll be fine," Lukas said with a wave of his hand. "But she's one of those who will talk your ear off. Once you get her started, she doesn't stop. Almost missed Arthur win because of her."

After the tournament had concluded for that day, Lukas helped Nerissa back to the physician's chambers. She was surprised to find that she could almost walk normally on her ankle, at least for a good distance...with the help of someone. But it was healing. That's all that mattered. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could handle.

When they entered the physician's quarters, Lukas quickly said his goodbyes and raced down the stairs as Nerissa told him to be careful. Not that he listened. She then shut the door and walked over to where Gaius sat at Ewan's bedside.

"Nerissa, you helped your mother with healing, correct?" Gaius asked her.

"Yes, since I was old enough to run and fetch a pail of water."

Gaius pursed his lips before he sighed. "Will you take a look at this? I want to make sure my eyes aren't deceiving me. It's most odd."

Nerissa knelt at Ewan's bedside as Gaius pointed at the man's neck. "Look at this. See those two small wounds. What would you say is the cause?"

She squinted her eyes as she got a closer look before she looked back at Gaius in confusion. "I'd say it looks like a snake bite. But that's not possible."

Gaius sighed. "Exactly what I was thinking. But the symptoms are consistent with poisoning: slow pulse, fever, paralysis..."

That sounded exactly like the snake bites she had seen in Ealdor. Nerissa closed her eyes, pinched the bridge of her nose, and sighed. "And the only way to heal is to make an antidote from the venom of the type of snake that bit him. Mother always had some on hand in Ealdor. We really only had one kind of snake to deal with there. But here..."

"We can't be sure what kind of snake bit him. Not to mention there are at least three types of snakes in Camelot that could cause such a fuss."

"If we give him the wrong one, he dies. If we don't give him an antidote, he dies."

Gaius sighed and scratched his head. "Did you see any snakes in the arena?"

"No. I'm sure some old bat in the crowd would have screamed bloody murder if there had been one."

"I suppose, for now, all we can do is keep him comfortable." Gaius patted Nerissa on the shoulder. "Have you eaten?" he asked.

She shook her head, not taking her eyes from Sir Ewan. "Why don't you sit with him while I warm something up," Gaius said, offering her a stool.

Nerissa sat on the stool and took Sir Ewan's hand in hers. She squeezed it tightly, hoping that he would know that he wasn't alone. She then began to softly sing to him. Like the time she had done two years ago in Ealdor for the boy, nearly a man that they weren't able to save from a similar fate. Tears stung Nerissa's eyes as she remembered him. She hadn't even noticed that Merlin had entered the room. He gently rested his hand on her shoulder.

"You're thinking of Gastan, aren't you?" he asked gently.

"Hard not to," Nerissa sniffled, wiping her nose with her free hand.

"There wasn't anything else you could have done for him," Merlin said gently rubbing his sister's shoulder. "How were we to know that he carried a snake from far away back to Ealdor with him?"

Nerissa didn't answer.

"Do you think he could have been bitten before the tournament? Back home perhaps?" Merlin asked.

"The bite looked fresh when I first encountered it. Most odd," Gaius sighed. "Couldn't have been more than a few minutes."

Merlin muttered, "He was fighting Knight Valiant."

"What was that?" Gaius asked as he handed a plate to Nerissa, which she accepted silently.

"Nothing."

But Nerissa heard what he said. He was fighting Knight Valiant. Her stomach dropped, leaving her with hardly any appetite. Nerissa couldn't help but think back to that moment when Valiant lay on top of Ewan. It seemed so odd to her. But she hadn't seen anything. She would have seen a snake, right?

Nerissa heard the door slam closed, jolting her out of her thoughts. She looked behind her, only to find that Merlin was no longer there. Somehow she knew that he was off to find the proof they required. Proof that Knight Valiant had somehow cheated and sent Sir Ewan on the path toward death's door.

A BIG thank you to my reviewers Blahhhsailor, Megasailor123322, iamthedoctorinutah, sabra10, lupesune, Janielysrivera3, xXQueenAnnXx, sisteremily, becky0904, coffee_addict_19, grndelwald, bugoma

Thanks again for sticking with me! Hope y'all are doing okay!