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Poultice Problems

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"Nerissa! What are you doing here?" Merlin hissed as he quickly closed the door behind him. He was practically panting as he leaned against the door.

Nerissa arched an eyebrow at her brother and folded her arms across her chest. "I do believe I asked you first, dear brother. And I wasn't the one skulking about the castle, was I? So, go on. Tell me what stupid thing you've done now. I'll find out one way or another. You know I will. And if it makes your decision any easier, I have a sneaking suspicion I already know what you were doing."

"Then why are you asking me?" Merlin scoffed, slowly stepping toward his sister.

"What else is a sister supposed to do when she catches her brother sneaking about? Hmm?" Nerissa looked at her brother pointedly. "Although, if you'd rather, I can go wake Gaius."

She stood up and took a few steps, but Merlin gently pushed her back down onto the bed. He glared down at his sister curiously. "Now, now, we mustn't be too hasty."

Nerissa grinned slightly. He was trying to stop her, meaning he didn't want her going to Gaius. Not that she would have gone to Gaius anyway. Had she wanted to, she already would have awoken their uncle. But she needed Merlin to think that she'd tell him so that he'd tell her what he did. So that she could cover up any thoughtless mistake he made "I thought you'd see things my way. Now, out with it."

"I couldn't just let him die, Nerissa," Merlin responded in exasperation, running his fingers through his hair. "Gwen was the first one to befriend us in Camelot. We owe her so much. Saving her father really seemed the least we could do."

Lifting the book of magic up in her hands, Nerissa offered it to her brother like it was a platter of food. "Which one?" she asked.

Merlin sighed before he took the book from Nerissa and began to flip through it. Nerissa breathed a small sigh of relief to see him looking in the pages after the bookmark she had placed. He then set the book on the bed in front of her.

Nerissa leaned closer and read about the magic he had used to heal Gwen's father. She nodded her head and looked up at her brother, closing the book. "I was right, you did something stupid."

Merlin's eyes widened as she scoffed derisively at his sister. "Stupid? I was thinking more along the lines of brave or heroic. I saved a man's life, Nerissa."

She then stood to her feet. "Yes, you saved his life . . . for now. Being brave and heroic doesn't exclude stupidity, Merlin. Yes, you were brave and heroic, but you were also incredibly stupid. You left the poultice there, hm?"

Merlin opened his mouth to say something but then thought better of it. He then simply nodded his head.

Nerissa growled under her breath before addressing her brother once more. "And what happens when the king hears of this? Surely he'll send Prince Prat to investigate and what is he going to discover? A magic poultice. Both Tom and Gwen will have been caught with sorcery and what do you think will happen to them? Hm?"

"I didn't . . ."

"You didn't think that far ahead, did you?" Nerissa arched an eyebrow at her brother and impatiently tapped her foot, waiting for him to respond.

He sighed and shook his head.

Nerissa gently smacked him on the backside of the head. "This is what Gaius was afraid of, you know. It wasn't that he didn't think you weren't capable. He knew there might be worse and unforeseen consequences, especially for Gwen and Tom. Although to be honest, their consequences are rather obvious to someone who takes the time to think matters through. Then again, you could always out yourself as a sorcerer while you're at it."

Merlin folded his arms across his chest. "If you knew I was going to do something like this, then why didn't you stop me?"

"I said what you did was stupid, not that I didn't want you to do it. That's why I came in here to talk to you, to figure out what you did and how I can fix it before anyone finds out."

His brow furrowed as he looked at his sister in confusion. "But by morning, Tom will be healed. I can't undo that. I won't."

"You don't have to. The only thing that matters is making sure that the magic poultice isn't there when Prince Prat and his knights go to Gwen's."

Oh, Merlin mouthed.

Sometimes Nerissa wondered how Merlin managed to survive at all without her. "Seeing as your plans usually go to pot, how about one of mine for once?"

Merlin looked about ready to argue. He even opened his mouth to do so, but a moment later he closed his mouth and nodded his head. "What do you want me to do? Sneak back in and get it?"

"God no," Nerissa scoffed. "You aren't exactly subtle Merlin. Especially not when it comes to magic."

Merlin rolled his eyes.

Nerissa gently smacked his arm to gain his attention once more. "All you have to do is distract Prince Prat while I go to Gwen's and get the magic poultice. It's the best chance we have, to destroy the evidence. But it doesn't mean that Gwen and Tom are completely out of the woods. From what I gather, Uther has executed for far less."

"What then?"

"One bridge at a time Merlin," Nerissa retorted. "For now we get the poultice back. Just don't go doing anything more stupid while I'm trying to fix your first stupid. Now, if you don't mind, I only have a few hours to sleep before I must head to Gwen's. G'night."

With that, Nerissa turned on her bare feet before quietly tip-toeing down the small corridor to her room. She quietly crawled into bed and rested her head on the pillow before sleep overtook her.

Nerissa awoke early the next morning. Well, early for Nerissa. Although, she was pretty proud of herself for having risen before Merlin. She carefully dressed and brushed her hair before she tip-toed out of her room and downstairs. Even Gaius was still softly sleeping. So, Nerissa made her way through the room as quietly as a churchmouse before she left the physician's quarters and descended the stairs out of the castle.

From there, Nerissa followed a path to just outside the castle walls where a patch of wildflowers grew. While the dawn had already broken, the sun hadn't fully risen yet. The sight was quite beautiful, but Nerissa much preferred her sleep to watching the sunrise. The sunset was much more sensible to watch. And Nerissa loved watching the stars begin to peak through the blanket of the night sky.

Once she had a small bouquet of daisies bound together with some twine, Nerissa headed back inside the walls of Camelot to seek out where Gwen lived. Having only been to Gwen's house once before, Nerissa relied mostly on memory to get herself there. However, she did nearly end up lost and had to ask a woman, hanging her laundered clothes, for directions. One wrong turn and you could end up completely in the wrong place.

After backtracking a bit, Nerissa finally found Gwen's house. She should have been surprised to see Gwen's father, Tom walking out the door of his humble abode and striding toward work. But she wasn't. Although she made a mental note to act like she was when Gwen told her the news that she already knew.

Nerissa knocked on the door to Gwen's home. She heard Gwen call coming from the other side of the door and a few moments later, the door swung open. Gwen's expression was much more hopeful and happier than it had been the day before.

"I brought you these," Nerissa said, thrusting the small bouquet of flowers toward Gwen.

Gwen's smile brightened even more. "How thoughtful," she responded. "Come in, won't you?"

Nerissa nodded her head. Step one, get inside. Check. Now to distract Gwen long enough to snatch the poultice. "How is your father?" Nerissa asked as she crossed the threshold.

"Perfectly healthy." Gwen practically beamed as she shared the good news.

"What? How? What happened?" Nerissa questioned, despite already knowing the answers. Merlin. Merlin. Merlin.

"A miracle's my best guess." Gwen grabbed a small tin cup to use as a vase for the wildflowers.

A miracle named Merlin the dollophead of Idiotshire, perhaps, mused Nerissa as she sat down on a stool and eyed the bed in the corner. She knew that the bed belonged to Gwen's father and that Gwen slept elsewhere.

Gwen pursed her lips and looked at Nerissa. "I'd offer you something but . . ."

"No worries," Nerissa responded. "I ate before I came." It was a lie, but one that Nerissa was happy to tell. There was some benefit to living with Gaius in the castle. Nerissa knew who Gwen struggled to keep enough food on the table. Even with Gwen and her father both in service, it wasn't very much.

"I appreciate you stopping by." Gwen busied herself with washing the few dishes she had in a bucket.

"You're my friend. I care about you and wanted to check in on you." Nerissa paused for a moment. "That is what friends do here in Camelot too, right?

Gwen chortled. "Yes, I do believe Camelot honors that tradition."

"Good. Otherwise, I might have to march down to Prince Prat and explain to him how he's dreadfully wrong on the subject."

Gwen shook her head. For a moment she chewed her lip, debating if she wanted to say what she was about to say. But Nerissa was her friend and she was only speaking what she thought to be true. So, she proceeded. "I've never seen Arthur let someone deliberately pester him as you do and get away with it."

"Merlin does it."

"Not like you do." Gwen offered Nerissa a sympathetic smile.

Nerissa defensively folded her arms across her chest, trying to will her cheeks not to blush. "He's a dollophead. That's why," she muttered.

Gwen chuckled softly. "Would you mind terribly if I finished getting ready? I need to fix my hair before heading up to the castle."

"Please do. I would feel terrible if you were late on my account."

"Thankfully, I don't believe Morgana would have my head." Gwen disappeared behind the curtain that separated her sleeping quarters from the main room. "She is very lovely to work for."

"I'm glad. Morgana seems to be the only good apple in the upper echelon of the castle," Nerissa responded before she slowly made her way to the bed in the corner.

"Arthur isn't so bad once you get to know him a bit."

Nerissa rolled her eyes. First, because of what Gwen said and second because Merlin went with the obvious choice of hiding the poultice underneath Tom's pillow. This was why the dollophead that was her brother needed her. At the very least he could have shoved it under the straw mattress if he had thought even the tiniest bit.

"I said, Arthur isn't so bad once you get to know him," Gwen repeated.

"Can't imagine why someone would even want to submit themselves to such torturous a thing as that," Nerissa commented as she shoved the magic poultice into a small satchel she had been sure to bring with her. The next step would be to rid herself of the poultice, which would require another trip outside the gates of the city.

"I'm sure his future wife will."

"For her sake, I hope she's deaf, blind, and mute. Probably the only way someone would be able to survive being married to such a prat. If I was her, I'd run as fast as I could in the opposite direction."

"Nerissa!" Gwen chuckled in disbelief before poking her head out from behind the curtain. Her brow furrowed. "What are you doing?"

Thank goodness she was much better at covering than Merlin. She glanced over her shoulder at Gwen and smiled. "I thought I'd help out and make the bed so you didn't have to. I was feeling a little bad for holding you up." Thankfully, neither statement was untrue, but they weren't the entire truth.

"That's so sweet of you," Gwen said, resting her hand on her chest over her heart. "I'm really glad you came to Camelot and that we became friends."

"Me too," Nerissa responded. "I mean you would have to deal with Merlin without me. Could you imagine?" Nerissa shuddered because she left out the detail that she very likely would have been forced to marry by now. If she were ever to marry, it would be for love - not because she was too poor to do otherwise.

Gwen chuckled sweetly. "However would we have survived without you?" She cast Nerissa a teasing expression.

"You wouldn't have," Nerissa responded cheekily as she did her best to smooth out the wrinkles on the thin blanket that was beginning to tatter. She made a mental note to secretly drop off some of the extra blankets from the cupboard in her room. She was sure Gaius wouldn't miss them too terribly.

Gwen laughed as she once more came into the main room. "Has Lady Morgana planned more training for today?" she asked.

Nerissa shrugged her shoulders. "I was hoping you would know."

"Perhaps we should head to the castle together then?" Gwen grinned as she held her arm out in front of her like a knight in shining armor.

While Nerissa was tempted to accept Gwen's arm and skip merrily through Camelot, she didn't want to risk being caught with Merlin's poultice. "Perhaps another time? I promised Gaius I'd gather some herbs for him. And then I got distracted picking some flowers for you. I can't pull a Merlin and go back to Gaius empty-handed, now can I?" Nerissa rested her hands on her hips.

"No, of course not," Gwen giggled. "How terrible that would be."

"I'm glad someone sees it my way."

Gwen smiled brightly and shook her head as she headed toward the castle and Nerissa veered toward the forest as quickly as she could. The things she did because she loved her brother.

Once in the forest, Nerissa found an area of ground littered with leaves that was well hidden behind trees so she wouldn't be seen. She looked in her bag and realised that she had forgotten a spade so she glanced at her hands - the only tool available for her to use to dig. She muttered under her breath that Merlin owed her for this before she began clearing the leaves away from the earth.

It wasn't that she minded getting her hands dirty. It was the fact that it was going to take her longer to wash her hands to remove any evidence of dirt, especially from beneath her fingernails, that might tie her to Merlin's crime. Which was rather inconvenient given the water situation within Camelot.

But Nerissa still plunged her hands into the cold earth and created a small crater in which to bury the magical poultice. Some of her fingertips were beginning to bleed by the time she found her hole sufficiently deep enough to place the poultice in. Before allowing the earth to swallow the poultice, Nerissa looked around to make sure there was no one watching. There wasn't, so she dropped the poultice and then began to refill the hole.

For good measure, Nerissa found the largest rock she could carry and placed it atop the freshly dug dirt. She then went to work scattering the fallen leaves, trying to make the area look as undisturbed as possible. Sweat beaded against her forehead and her fingers still dribbled with blood when she was finished. But the job was done and should anyone somehow find the poultice, no one could pin its existence on Merlin, Tom, or Gwen.

Not King Uther needed any evidence to blame them in the first place. That worry flitted Nerissa's thoughts, but she pushed it far from her mind as she made her way out of the forest. Because her current concern was caring for her poor hands.

With her fingers looking quite bloodied, Nerissa wiped her hands on the rag in the bag where she had placed the poultice. She then wrapped her long sleeves around her hands to hide her fingers as she ventured back inside the city.

Nerissa arrived safely back within the walls of Camelot with no one the wiser of what she had just done - the treason she had just committed. Her fingers stung and ached. She hoped that Gaius wouldn't be too busy to help her care for her injured hands. She didn't want to risk using water to clean her wounds and he kept some of the essentials, like alcohol, just beyond her reach on the shelves. It wasn't because he didn't trust her, but rather he wasn't used to working with someone of her shorter stature. She ought to ask him to lower the items she regularly used. Or get her a taller stool.

Thankfully, Gaius seemed to be reading at a table in the physician's quarters with no bodies in sight. When the door shut, Gaius looked up from his book. Nerissa offered him a weak smile, but his gaze went to her sleeves where the blood was beginning to stain the cloth.

He arched a brow at her. "And where might you have been?"

"I'm not sure you want to know," Nerissa answered. Truthfully, it was better if he didn't know - lest word somehow travel to Uther. This way he could be honest about his innocence.

But Gaius wasn't going to let her get away that easy. He stood up and walked over to his shelves. "Sit," he gently told her, but Nerissa knew his words were a command, not a request. "I'll see to those hands while you tell me where you've been."

Reluctantly, Nerissa sat down at the table. Her eyes glanced toward the vial with the wilted flower it in the tainted water as Gaius mustered up some supplies. "Have you seen the king already?" Nerissa asked, hoping to distract her uncle.

"I have. Uther knows about the tainted water supply and is doing as he sees fit. He's commanded Arthur to extend the search into the villages. . ."

Nerissa breathed a sigh of relief. At least the magic poultice wouldn't be found within Gwen's home. She had done the right thing.

Gaius sat down across the table from her and looked at her pointedly. "I might be old and grey, but I'm not yet senile. You were up to something. Merlin came down this morning acting very odd. Suspicious even."

"Well, Merlin is very odd," Nerissa quipped as he set her hands palm up on the table for Gaius to examine. "I suspect he was born that way."

Gaius took hold of one of her hands and examined it. Then he poured some alcohol on a cloth and began to clean her wounds."I know you two are up to something."

Nerissa winced. Not because of his words, but because her fingers stung. She took a deep breath to calm herself and looked at her uncle. He was still looking at her. "Not anymore," Nerissa responded.

For a moment, he stopped cleaning. He looked across the table at his niece with his brow arched. "Meaning you were up to something."

"Meaning Merlin was up to something and I simply cleaned up his mess. Please don't ask me to speak of it anymore, Gaius."

"You know I'm bound to find out anyway. Merlin isn't exactly subtle." He paused and looked at her. Nerissa smiled, but she made no attempt to say anymore. Gaius sighed. "Let me help you."

"You already are." Nerissa lifted her injured hands up and offered him another smile.

Gaius shook his head and returned to caring for Nerissa's wounds. "You're both as stubborn as your mother."

Nerissa smiled softly. "Probably worse."

Gaius sighed once more and reached for some healing salve. "You know you can tell me anything, Nerissa. You've gone through much in your short time here in Camelot. I want to protect you. Your mother expects me to protect you."

"I know that. I do. But this isn't my secret to share. You've surmised as much as I'd be willing to share without Merlin's consent. But this is Merlin after all, so in some roundabout way, you'll know soon enough. Probably when the whole thing blows up in his face as usual. I only hope the blow will be less severe."

Gaius arched his brow. "He did something stupid, didn't he?"

"When doesn't he?" Nerissa responded rather dryly, making eye contact with her uncle.

He chuckled to himself and shook his head. "I admire your loyalty, Nerissa. Merlin's lucky to have you as his sister. Just as I'm lucky to have your mother for mine."

"Make sure to tell that dollophead that next time you see him, won't you?"

When Gaius had finished up with her hands, he offered her bandages, but she didn't want to be walking about Camelot with both of her hands in bandages. That might only make things more suspicious. However given that she was rather prone to accidents, people might overlook them. But most of the scrapes weren't even that bad. There was one rather deep one which she did let Gaius stitch up and wrap. That one could easily be explained away using a knife as an excuse.

Having skipped breakfast to perform her task to save Merlin from himself, Nerissa ravenously devoured some cold porridge. She was so hungry that she didn't even mind the gloppy and congealed texture. She just needed something to fill her belly. Anything would do. Although, as compensation, she'd likely have Merlin find a vendor and get her some fresh fruit later to make up for the cold breakfast. He was going to owe her for a while yet for the other thing.

Nerissa was scraping the dried porridge off her plate when a knock came at the door. The door opened before Gaius even told them to enter, revealing Gwen and Morgana.

"What can I do for you?" Gaius asked, motioning for them to come inside.

"We're here for Nerissa," Morgana grinned.

"Sorry, Gaius," Gwen smiled sweetly.

Gaius smiled back. "All the better. While it is my duty to serve, I'd rather you two healthy young ladies not have to see me. I'll leave you ladies to it then, while I consult some more books to solve our most recent epidemic."

He turned to walk away when Gwen spoke up once more. "My father is well, Gaius. Perhaps there is some cure to be found."

Gaius stopped walking and froze for a moment. He then turned and looked at Nerissa whose gaze was cast at the floor and her lips pursed to say nothing. Not wanting to give away his suspicions Gaius turned toward Gwen. "I'm very pleased to hear that. Perhaps it wasn't the illness spreading after all and rather something else with similar effects."

Gwen looked at Gaius curiously. It looked like she was about to argue with him, but Nerissa quickly spoke up. The last thing they needed was for Lady Morgana, King Uther's ward to hear this conversation.

"Why was it you came to see me?" Nerissa interjected, nervously wiping her hands against her dress.

"You didn't think I'd give up on you that easily, did you?" Morgana chuckled with her hands on her hips.

Thankfully, Gaius took this as his cue to escape into Merlin's room, shutting the door behind him. Nerissa breathed a sigh of relief - crisis averted. "I'm not sure I'd be of much use," Nerissa told Morgana, lifting her hands as evidence. She then looked at Gwen. "Forgot my spade and nicked myself pretty badly with my paring knife."

"Who knew herb picking could be so dangerous," Lady Morgana said taking hold of Nerissa's hands. "But we still have plenty to learn and plenty you should be able to do. You should be able to mind a dagger, hm? Just be mindful of your other fingers."

Laughing at her own joke and refusing to take no for an answer, Lady Morgana took hold of Nerissa's arm and escorted her from the physician's quarters. She led Nerissa and Gwen through the castle chattering excitedly about how this was the most fun she'd had in years, secretly training someone and being able to use the skills she had learned.

They were almost to the training room when they heard a scuffle at the end of the corridor. The girls stopped to see what was causing the commotion. Prince Prat was leading the guards down the corridor with someone in chains. Nerissa couldn't see who the person was from behind Prince Prat's big head.

"I didn't do nothing!" a man cried from the other end. "I swear it."

Prince Prat stopped and watched the guards drag the man into the throne room. Nerissa gasped in horror at the sight of the man in question.

"I told you I don't know how I got well. I went to bed sure I was about to greet death and in the morning I'd felt better than I had in years! I swear it! I swear it!"

"Dad!" Gwen wailed. She moved to sprint toward her father but Morgana quickly wrapped her arms around Gwen, holding her tight. But the sound of her cries continued to echo down the hall as she fought against Morgana.

Nerissa's stomach dropped. This wasn't supposed to happen. There was no proof of the magic Merlin had used, she had made sure of it. Of course, she knew suspicions were high, but she hadn't anticipated this. There was no way to make Uther see reason. Well, nothing Nerissa herself could do. But if Uther was to accept counsel from anyone it was his son. Even that was unlikely.

But Prince Prat had been the one to march poor Tom to the king. That left Nerissa only one choice to try to save Gwen's father should Uther choose to not see reason. Nerissa was going to have to make Prince Prat see reason. And the only way she could see forward did not leave her feeling very hopeful. The odds were certainly not in her favor.

Author's Note: Life got super crazy - I'm out of the toxic work environment and am teaching in the public school!  I was diagnosed with ADHD. So - again, crazy.  But a positive: the next chapter is almost done so lots of encouragement would be helpful!!

Huge thanks to those who commented last chapter:

nightcore-lives

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