𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑤𝑜 - 𝑁𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐

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The town of Camelot was bustling as Merlin and Millicent made their way to the castle. Merlin was dazzled by what he saw. They both looked at all the people and buildings. Merlin looked around with wide eyes and a silly smile on his face. Millicent was also looking around, but more with interest than amazement. But she wouldn't deny that it was quite a view. It was clear that this wasn't Ealdor. It was much more alive. And she liked it.

"It's magnificent." Merlin said in awe of the place.

"I'll give you that." Millicent agreed. Something about this place fascinated her. She thought she might like to live here. In the lower town. In the middle of all that bustle.

"And it's so full of life," Merlin added, still admiring the city.

"Why, it's clear there are more people here than in our village." More than leaving Ealdor, they were leaving the kingdom of Cenred for that of Camelot. It was quite a change.

"This is wonderful." Merlin raved about the greatness of Camelot.

Millicent looked at him, incredulous at his brother's reactions. "Let's not get carried away."

Merlin sighed in exasperation before looking at his sister. "It would kill you to admit you like this place."

"We've been here five minutes, Merlin..." The siblings were diametrically opposed on this point. Merlin always got carried away and Millicent... she was more... cynical. And that annoyed her brother a lot. Always cutting off his enthusiasm.

But as every coin has two sides, so did a place. Millicent knew that. Yes, for the last ten minutes everything had been fantastic and almost perfect, now it was time to discover what the blemish of Camelot was.

As they approached the drawbridge that led to the castle courtyard, the sound of horns began to accompany the beating of drums. Merlin frowned, Millicent tried to see through the people in front of them. The boy looked at his sister and she just shrugged.

Surely this was your way to Gaius. It would only be a short stop.

Curious, they followed the crowd. Suddenly it stopped. Surely that meant they were arriving where whatever was happening was happening. Millicent looked around and understood that they were gathered in the courtyard of the castle.

Millicent found a way into the crowd to get among the people and get close to the centre of attention. Merlin followed his sister quickly, not wanting to lose her. She moved more easily than him with her slender body while he carried the two bags. He almost lost her in the crowd but he reached out and just managed to catch her arms before that happened, stopping her in her tracks.

She turned to scold him for looking at her, but not before a man spoke. A loud, deep voice could be heard. The twins both suddenly looked in the direction of the man. "Let this serve as a lesson to all." The man began his speech. At a glance, Millicent easily guessed that he was the King. The clothes, the crown, the posture, the tone, the way he spoke. A few words were enough.

"That man," Millicent only noticed the man being led in her direction by two guards. "Thomas James Collins," the two soldiers lead the prisoner onto a wooden platform. Millicent's eyes fall only on the log and in front of it a basket and not far from these two objects... a man. With an axe. Millicent understood the situation before the King continued.

They were attending an execution.

"Is adjudged guilty of conspiring to use enchantments and magic." At those words, Millicent froze and felt Merlin tense at her back. He straightened and his jaw tightened as he swallowed. They exchanged a glance before turning their attention back to the king and one thing came to Millicent's mind. One word.

Fuck.

They should go. They didn't need to be at an execution. Especially when it's about magic. Continue on their way as nothing. But somehow Millicent wanted to stay and watch. She wanted to know what this man could have done to be killed. How he had used his magic to do evil.

"And pursuant to the Laws of Camelot, I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned on penalty of death." She felt her heart sink at her feet. Merlin's face hardened and he seemed disgusted by what they were witnessing. "I pride myself as a fair and just King," Millicent arched an eyebrow, perplexed. "But for the crime of sorcery, there is but one sentence I can pass."

A heavy silence fell as Millicent realised something. This man, Thomas James Collin - a name she was sure she would remember - had done nothing wrong. Nothing except use magic. The king nodded and, as the rest of the crow did, Merlin and Millicent shifted their gaze from the king to the prisoner.

As they knelt and the man rested his head on the log, Merlin tugged on his sister's arm. "Don't look." But nothing could stop her from looking at the injustice she was witnessing.

Her throat tightened as the drum began to sound again. The executioner raised his axe in a way that gave Millicent the impression that the scene was unfolding in slow motion. A knot formed in her stomach as a deep sense of anguish took hold. Part of her wanted to stop it, but she knew she wouldn't be able to. Then, following the movement of the King's arm, the axe fell on the neck of Thomas James Collins.

There were exclamations and gasps from the crowd in response. Millicent, herself, flinched as she finally turned her head to her brother's chest under the noise and impact of the execution.

Unconsciously, Merlin and Millicent moved closer together. They were pressed together and he still held her arm. He was pulling her towards him, his grip firm but not rough, and she was standing in front of him as a shield, as if they were protecting each other.

"When I Came to this land, this kingdom was mired in chaos. But with the people's help, magic was driven from the real. So I declare a festival to celebrate 20 years since the Great Dragon was captured and Camelot freed from the evil of sorcery !" The King continued his speech as if he hadn't just executed a man. And an innocent one in Millicent's eyes.

She watched the scene with disgust. But it had nothing to do with the execution. It wasn't the body or the blood that made her feel that way. She felt anger. More than that, rage. The kind that makes you want to vomit, so much that it grips you.

"Let the celebrations begin !" the king shouted.

The brunette wiped away a tear that she hadn't realised had escaped her eye. "Do you still think Camelot is wonderful ?" she whispered to her brother, who thought he detected a hint of sarcasm in her voice. The King went from talking about an execution to talking about celebrations. And it was revolting.

At that moment, Millicent wanted to take her brother and go away, run far away from this city, from this kingdom. Coming to Camelot was a stupid idea. Probably the worst idea ever. With their own abilities, coming here was like stepping into the lion's den.

There's no way of knowing if Thomas James Collins was really innocent. If he had committed a crime worth killing for. But given the King's speech, it was clear that the very existence of magic, the fact of possessing it, was a problem.

That was the blemish of Camelot.

Merlin made no reply. His eyes fell on his sister's face. He shook her arm gently. "Milli, stop looking at the king like you want to kill him." Merlin muttered between his teeth. He was pretty sure Millicent could be sent to prison just by the way she looked at him.

And she seemed horrified by the implications of her brother's words. As if she was scared of herself. "Relax, I know you wouldn't but it would be preferable if the guards think the same."

Just as the crowd began to disperse, a woman began to cry and scream, drawing attention back to her. A heartbreaking wail. Everyone stepped aside and Millicent and Merlin could see an old woman. A very old one, in fact.

"There is only one evil in this land and it is not magic. It is you ! With your hatred and your ignorance." Millicent raised an eyebrow. She knew nothing of this kingdom except that any form of magic was forbidden, but that didn't stop her from thinking it was madness to dress the king like that. Even if she agreed.

"You took my son," they understood that the woman was the mother of the man who had just been executed. Millicent slowly closed her eyes as she let out a sigh at this revelation. She felt a pang of sadness, suddenly feeling pain for this woman. For a minute, Millicent couldn't help but imagine her mother instead of that woman, and Merlin instead of that Thomas.

The thought was unbearable. It was her greatest fear. But one thing was for sure, the brunette would never let that happen if one day her brother was caught for sorcery. She would rather see the whole kingdom burn than see Merlin executed in any way.

"And I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears." Millicent frowned at this beginning of a threat. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," Was she... "A son for a son !" the woman added after a brief moment of suspense. Yes, she was. She was directly threatening the king's son. But it sounded more like a promise than a threat. This woman wanted to see the prince dead as reparation for the death of her own son.

"Seize her !" shouted the king. For a second before he spoke, even if he had wanted to appear stern and unflinching, worry was palpable.

But before the guards could seize her, the old woman grabbed the pendant around her neck and began to speak incantations in a foreign language. Recognising the magic, everyone retreated in fear, creating a new stampede that pushed Millicent onto her brother, who winced as she accidentally stepped on his foot. The old woman immediately disappeared in a swirl of smoke.

After this display, there was a brief flutter before the crowd dispersed. Everyone left quickly, as if what had just happened was nothing. Millicent herself could not take her eyes off where the old woman had been less than a minute before, still stunned by what she had just witnessed.

"It is clear that this city is very busy." The brunette couldn't help herself. Her eyes then fell on the body of the man who had just been executed, still on the platform. "So full of life... that... I don't know."

When she looked at her brother, he rolled his eyes in annoyance. He was in no mood for her sarcasm. Her using his own words to prove once again that she was right. Yes, it was particularly irritating at the moment.

"Let's not stay here." Merlin gave her her bag back and pushed his sister's arm to make her follow him. She didn't protest and nodded, but as they both walked away, Millicent couldn't help but turn her head to take one last look at the scene.

She lifted her eyes to the castle and caught sight of a girl at one of the windows, who also seemed to find it difficult to take her eyes off the courtyard before she too moved away, disappearing between the walls of the castle and out of Millicent's sight with a sad expression on her face.

Neither of them spoke. Neither Merlin nor Millicent seemed to want to. They didn't talk to each other about what they had just witnessed. Millicent had the feeling that her brother had already chased this event out of his mind, as she thought about what it foreshadowed for what would happen next.

Merlin spoke to two guards posted on either side of a door to help him and his sister find Gaius. They showed them the way. Millicent raised her eyebrows at their friendliness, or rather lack of it, but Merlin made his sister move on before she had time to make any comments that might have upset them.

The two siblings passed through the door where the two guards were stationed and reached the bottom of a narrow staircase. They were in a tower. A small one, perhaps, but a tower nonetheless. Millicent thought this was the wrong place. Maybe the guards had misunderstood her. But no sooner had she opened her mouth than her eyes fell on a sign on the wall indicating the Court Physician's quarters.

She looked at her brother in disbelief. "They really put the court physician's quarters at the top of a turret ?" She couldn't help but think that was the stupidest thing ever. Really handy if you broke your legs or something. And even for the nobles. She hoped they'd never catch anything serious, because she was sure that by the time a servant ran through the castle to get the doctor, the patient would be dead.

Once up the stairs, Merlin and Millicent arrived at the half-open door to Gaius' quarters. The younger raised a suspicious eyebrow before looking at her brother. "Look inside."

"Why me ?" He protested.

"Why not ?" Speechless at her nerve, and unable to find a valid answer, Merlin decided to look inside the room.

He slowly leaned forward and poked his head through the door. Millicent was losing patience. Merlin looked inside but not a sound came out of his mouth. Looking in should not take this long. Especially when it was obvious there was no one there.

"It looks empty to me," she commented, something that annoyed his brother.

"Shut up for five minutes."

She threw her hands up in the air. "Very well."

Merlin knocked on the door. There was no answer. He said "Hello ?" No answer. After a minute and a glance, they decided by general consensus to enter. They looked around carefully. The room was full of potions, herbs and other strange things.

"Hello ?" Merlin called again.

"Well, it looks like you can walk in here at will." And considering all the equipment here, it wasn't exactly wise.

"Why Milli, it's the court physician's quarters, that's the purpose." Millicent huffed, not at all convinced by Merlin's comment.

Looking around, they saw an old man, who they assumed was Gaius, on a stage high up. "Gaius ?" Merlin called out to him directly, but it still didn't seem to get his attention.

Millicent thought the man was definitely deaf and probably too old to be practising physics. Merlin looked at his sister, a little embarrassed by the situation. She rolled her eyes and decided to announce themself.

She cleared her throat loudly. Not very elegant for a woman, she'd give you that, but she didn't really care. And he finally heard her, but what happened next was quite unexpected. Surprised by their presence, Gaius fell back, breaking the balustrade in the process.

At first, by reflex, Millicent made a step forward before stopping herself. Seeing that his sister was finally not going to act, Merlin took matters into his own hands and slowed Gaius' fall.

When Millicent saw Merlin using magic, her eyes opened wide. That idiot. She turned to take the first thing that fell into his hands on the table, in this case an old book, and threw it with all his strength and disconcerting precision against the door, which slammed shut.

Millicent turned to Merlin angrily. She could see him looking around for something. The brunette's eyes landed directly on the bed in the corner of the room.

"The bed," she pointed.

In his panic and haste, Merlin seemed to have difficulty finding it. She pointed directly at it with her finger. The boy immediately moved the bed under the old man, who was still falling in slow motion. But before he could stop slowing down time, Merlin saw a pillow on the floor and moved it onto the bed. Time then returns to normal and Gaius falls onto the bed instead of the floor.

When the dark-haired man turned his head to his sister, who looked at him as if to say, "Seriously ," his proud smile immediately vanished. He simply shrugged sheepishly before adding in his own defence. "I have an eye for detail."

Millicent seemed furious. Merlin could see in his sister's face that she was seconds away from shouting at him, but this time he refused to be pushed around because he was angry too. Not as much as his sister, but enough to argue with her for a few minutes before dealing with her justified anger.

"You could have helped me !" he shouted. Her passive behaviour had not gone unnoticed.

She frowned, outraged that he dared to be angry with her after that demonstration of magic, even after what they had just witnessed a few minutes ago. Millicent crossed her arms and straightened, taking a defensive stance. "I did." She tilted her head with both arrogance and nonchalance. "I showed you where the bed was."

"If you had seen it before I did, you could have moved the bed yourself, or perhaps stopped him from falling." His tone was really accusatory and Millicent didn't like it, but she could answer anything.

Their argument was interrupted by Gaius. "How the... What did you just do ?" He asked as he struggled to his feet. At the same time, Merlin and Millicent turned their heads towards him. The young man seemed to be searching for words, while his sister was content to remain silent for the moment. "Tell me !" the old man insisted.

His eyes darted between the two siblings, not knowing which was which. If Millicent seemed unperturbed, the boy was not, looking nervous and stammering like a guilty man.

"I have no idea what happened." Merlin finally said.

"If anyone had seen that..."

"No !" exclaimed Merlin, a little panicked. "That... Ouch ! That was... That was nothing to do with me." He finally pulled himself together, managing to sound more confident after being elbowed in the ribs by his sister. Merlin glared at her. "With us !" he quickly corrected. Millicent rolled her eyes. For God's sake, could he stop acting like that ?

"I know what it was !" Gaius clearly didn't believe them. "I just want to know where you learnt it. And which one of you did it ?" Millicent frowned. Now the old man was lumping her in with him, even though she had nothing to do with it because she had the intelligence not to use her magic, unlike her stupid brother.

"Nowhere !" replied Merlin under pressure. Millicent sighed, disillusioned, and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Everything was starting well. "Bloody idiot," she muttered.

"So how is it you know magic ?"

'I don't." Merlin protested. He turned to Millicent for a second, his eyes pleading for help. "We don't."

Gaius paused. By the time the twins had exchanged a look, wondering if he had been convinced by Merlin's unconvincing words, the physician resumed a little more calmly. "Where did you study magic ?"

Feeling that he was losing control of the situation, Merlin decided to try his sister's method, which seemed to work very well for her : silence. But Gaius lost patience as soon as Merlin became silent. "Answer me !" he shouted.

Immediately, Merlin's determination vanished as he panicked again. And this time he said too much. "We've never studied magic or been taught."

"So it is you two."

Merlin cursed himself mentally as Millicent glared at him. Declaring that he had done enough damage already, the brunette decided to take over. She spoke for the first time since the incident. "No."

"Are you lying to me ?"

"What do you want us to say when you contradict every word that comes out of our mouths ?" It was clear that she was standing up to him with more aplomb than her brother.

"The truth." Millicent held back a sneer. He could jump in a lake !

"We are born like this." Merlin finally spat it out.

Millicent turned to him, scandalised. "Merlin !" she cried indignantly.

"That's impossible," Gaius exclaimed before looking at both of them in confusion.

But at that moment none of the others were listening. Merlin was just trying to defend himself before his sister killed him for good. "What ? He got it !"

Millicent threw up her hands in resignation before turning to Gaius. "Who are you two ?"" He asked her.

"Oh, I have this letter." Merlin held out the letter that could probably save them from this whole situation.

"I don't have my glasses."

"Very reassuring from the court physician." Millicent muttered. The sarcastic remark didn't escape Gaius, who seemed stung by it. "I still know how to treat people." he snapped at her.

Millicent remained speechless, surprised by Gaius' character. Merlin, he, found it really amusing to see someone shut his sister's mouth like that.

"I'm Merlin," he finally introduced himself, flying to the rescue when he saw that his sister was upsetting the old man. "And she's Millicent."

Gaius' expression suddenly brightened as he looked delighted. "Hunith's children ?"

"Yes !" Merlin exclaimed playfully, his silly expression returning to his face.

"But you're not meant to be here till Wednesday."

"It is Wednesday." Millicent said.

Gaius seemed as surprised as he was embarrassed when he realised. "Ah." Millicent glanced at her brother, wondering if their mother had sent them to a madman. But he was welcoming anyway. "Very well then. Well, you'd better put your bags in there." He pointed to a door at the back of the room.

Millicent didn't hesitate and headed for the room, but as she passed Gaius he called out to her. "And you were supposed to be here ? Unless I misunderstood what your mother told me."

Millicent and Merlin froze at the same time. The girl turned around with a broad smile on her face. "Yes, I was." she said with such confidence that even Merlin, who knew she was lying, could begin to doubt it.

"Ah..." Merlin looked at his sister worriedly, as Gaius seemed to think. "I wasn't prepared for two people." He muttered to himself.

Millicent exchanged glances with her brother. Okay, now she was starting to stress.

After another minute in his thoughts, Gaius suddenly straightened his head and clapped his hands. "It doesn't matter," he declared. The place will be small for the three of us, but we'll manage. In fact, he seemed to enjoy the situation.

He pointed again to the room at the back where the two siblings would store their things and also sleep. He told Merlin that he would have to set up the spare bed for him, while you would have his bed for greater comfort.

The relief they both felt at being together was quickly replaced by another argument, started by Merlin, who was outraged that it was his ungrateful sister who had the bed. He muttered through his teeth how unfair it was. After carrying Millicent's bag half the day, he deserved to sleep in a comfortable bed. She simply replied with a petty smile. "I'm the girl." She took on a fragile air that fooled no one in that room.

Millicent finally turned to Gaius, worried. "What about you ? Where are you going to sleep ?" She began to feel guilty as she realised they would be staying in Gaius' room.

"Here." He announced. "As you noticed so quickly, I have a bed here." Seeing that the young girl was not very convinced, he reassured her. "I often sleep here and I'd arranged for your brother to be in my room anyway."

"In that case..." Without further ado, she headed for the bedroom, but suddenly stopped, thinking of a more than important detail. She turned back to their uncle, but Merlin seemed to have had the same thought and beat her to it.

"You won't say anything about..."

"No." They both felt relieved. It was a weight lifted from their shoulders. "Although, Merlin, Millicent. I should say thank you."

As Gaius give them a grateful smile, Millicent pointed her brother. "Thank him because I probably would have let you fall." She said before leaving for the bedroom.

Gaius looked at her in amazement as she disappeared. Merlin''s eyes widened as he heard his sister's words before he looked at Gaius and smiled sheepishly. "She doesn't mean it. She's joking." He said with a nervous laugh. Then he almost ran to join his sister in the bedroom.

Once inside, he closed the door behind him and glared at the brunette. "What ?" He raised his eyes in a hopeless look. "At least you can't say I'm being dishonest this time."

🎕

Evening had come and Merlin and Millicent were now fully settled in the bedroom. The room was in semi-darkness, lit only by candles. Millicent lay on her bed, leaning against the headboard, while Merlin stood at his end, looking out the window.

Millicent threw her pillow at her brother to get his attention. "You look like an idiot." He gave her a grimace in reply before throwing his pillow back at her, which she caught without difficulty. She placed the pillow on the bed before getting up and moving to Merlin's side.

She gave him a merciless shove with her bum. "Make room."

"I was here first."

"This is my bed."

"It's Gaius'."

"Now it's mine." He sighed resignedly. As she was smaller than him, he let her pass, but leaned against her in revenge, his arms on her shoulders, something he knew annoyed her greatly.

But Merlin was in too good a mood and too enchanted by the view to argue with his sister at the moment. Millicent found herself in the same contemplation and understood her brother's stupid face a little better. It was quite a view.

They could see a large part of the city, the houses lit up and the full moon shining over the countryside. Yes, it was the kind of view she could get used to looking at before going to sleep.

Seeing the town so quiet and peaceful, Millicent couldn't help but think back to the execution she and Merlin had attended. Who knew it had taken place here. And on the same day.

No. She would not allow that event to haunt her. Camelot was supposed to be a new beginning. Besides, witchcraft was generally frowned upon, so what did it matter if it was forbidden ? She and Merlin were going to behave as normally as possible. And for a normal person, Camelot was perfect.

So for a minute she would think about the future as if she were just another girl.

Yes. Life in Camelot could be good.

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I just realised that every time I post a chapter of this story, it's on a Monday. Maybe Monday will be a 'At the crossroads' day.

Btw I hope you enjoyed the chapter ! Arthur will be in the next one 🤭🤭 Have a good day/night <3