Woven Magic

Chapter 8

Side Effects

“Merlin!” I exclaimed, pulling away from him, my face probably beat red. The kiss felt like a million raging fires had just been ignited within me. I didn’t know what it meant or how to handle it.

“I’m...I’m sorry Love. I just couldn’t help myself.” he answered with a drunken smile.

“Merlin...you do know you’re under a spell right?” I asked him, “I mean, you’re not really in love with me…” I told him, feeling a little sad that the kiss didn’t really mean anything because he was under the influence of magic. It did mean something to me though...As much I hated to admit it.

“Well, I must say, you did a splendid job.” he murmured to me softly and rolled me over so he was staring down at me on the bed.

“Merlin Ambrosius, what are you doing?” I asked him and his face got red.

“I’m sorry Mystra, you’re just so...beautiful.” He stated and leaned down to press a chaste kiss on my lips once more. I felt myself melt into him. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the love potion was used on the both of us.

“You don’t...you don’t truly believe I’m beautiful do you?’ I heard myself breathe out. He looked at me and cocked his head to the side.

“Why would you think I don’t?” he asked me.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you’re under a love potion.” I responded and he slid his hand down my side, his eyes intensifying. “Whoa there! Merlin!” I scolded, my cheeks turning hot and he just pressed another kiss to my lips and oh my god I was really starting to like these kisses!

“You like it, don’t even lie.” he turned things around, locking eyes with me and smirking.

“Well, we know it works, and I think things have gone far enough! Now, how do we make the antidote?” I asked him, trying to push him off and failing.

“Awwwrr, do we have to reverse it? I quite like this, being in love.” he pouted and then smiled sweetly at me. He was indeed adorable.

“But it isn’t real Merlin, it’s not true love.” I tried to explain to him and he rested his head on my bosom.

“Who says it isn’t true love? Why don’t we just enjoy this for a little while?” he asked me and I could feel the confusion flood my head.

“And what makes you so arrogant to believe I’m in love you? I never took a potion Merlin.” I replied and he looked up at me, his eyes sad.

“Well I was under the impression that since you haven’t protested exactly that you were rather enjoying it just as much as I. Was I incorrect?” he asked and I felt my stomach do flips.

“I...Well I...I don’t know.” I replied and Merlin finally let me up. I jumped up and ran into the other room and started rummaging around for an antidote spell and Merlin followed behind me.

“You don’t know? Or you don’t know if you want me to know?” he asked me, coming up behind me as he wrapped his arms around my torso from behind. I could feel his breath on my neck and I shuddered under the sensation of its warm intensity.

“I...It doesn’t matter Merlin. Whether I like you or not isn’t the issue right now. We need to reverse the spell. So are you going to help me do it like a good teacher or am I to suffer through this fake puppy love while I do all of the work?” I spun around in his arms, coming face to face with him, the small of my back pressing up against the table. I could feel my cheeks flush again and I tried to avoid his electric stare.

“You still didn’t answer my question Mystra.” he replied and I bit my lip feeling an odd sensation come over me. “Do you find me attractive?” he asked me and I was too stunned by the energy between us to answer. He pulled me up against him and kissed me deeply and I couldn’t help but to reach up and run his dark hair between my fingers. I wanted so badly for this to be real. But I knew I couldn’t kid myself, and I knew it was wrong to take advantage of the situation. No matter how...persuasive Emrys was. He pulled away and looked at me, with crooked grin on his face. “I suppose that answered my question.”

I pushed him off of me and ran out into the street, needing to get away from all of it. The immoral thoughts running rampant in my mind and the way my body was reacting to Merlin’s advances. I had never felt this before. It wasn’t only my body. The butterflies in my stomach were fluttering like crazy and I couldn’t get them to stop. What was worse was the hurt in my heart. I just had to keep telling myself that none of it was real. I could feel the tears threaten to stain my dress before they began to fall from my eyes.

I needed to focus on Arthur and the future of Albion. I shouldn’t go getting myself mixed up in all of these feelings for my life long partner....I couldn’t convince myself of that though, considering the mere thought seemed like we were supposed to be something more. But I couldn’t get distracted. This spell, I had to break it. No good could come of this. I had to create an antidote. Luckily I found the recipe for it before Merlin caught up to me and I snatched it out of the book, stowing it away in my clothing.
I knew exactly where I would need to wander off to find these things. The forest. It took me almost the rest of the day to find all of the materials and ingredients I needed for the reversal spell. I was weeding through some roots of an old tree when I caught the glimpse of something red and flowing in the distance. I glanced up to see the silhouette of a woman, ghosting across the forest grounds and disappearing behind the trunk of a tree. I stood up and headed in the direction of where she disappeared to, scanning the woodlands for the woman in red.

The sun began to set and when my search came up empty for the woman, I gathered what little I had left to make the potion and decided to head back home to Merlin’s. Hearing the leaves crunch and the sticks snap beneath my own feet, I couldn’t hear the footsteps falling behind me until I tripped over something laying on the ground and I couldn’t catch myself in time before I took a hard fall to the ground, scraping the palms of my hands in the process while my ingredients landed scoured across five feet or so having spilled out of the sack I was carrying them in.

It wasn’t until I was sitting on the ground, ripping the bottom hemming of my skirt and wrapping it around my hand to stop the bleeding that I noticed the various crunching of leaves and snapping of twigs only a few feet behind me.

I snapped my gaze around to see no one standing behind me. Perhaps this area of the woods was haunted. It wouldn’t surprise me honestly. However, if something or someone was following me, I didn’t want to stick around to find out. I looked down to see what it was that I tripped over and my eyes widened with shock at what I saw. It was a weapon of some sort. A very expensive, very well crafted double-headed guisarme. It was detailed in black and silver and the carving looked ancient, probably connected to the old religion. I picked it up and it felt natural in my hands, like I could wield it with no problem. I was observing the gorgeously crafted weapon when my fingers glided over what looked like a lever. Curiosity getting the better of me I decided to pull it and what happened next amazed me. The weapon that was originally the entire length of my body and then some folded down and into itself, including the blades that disappeared into the shaft and was suddenly completely concealed. It honestly looked more like a wand of some sort. I lifted the skirt of my dress and slid it into my boot, hoping it wouldn’t come unfolded and whack my legs off at the knees. I was going to have to take this back to Merlin and Gaius to decode the mysteries this ancient weaponry concealed.

Forgetting about the phantom footsteps I had heard behind me and the woman I had seen in the red dress just minutes before, I practically ran all the way back to Camelot, not entirely watching where I was going and I had to dodge out of peoples way before I collided into them on the street. One gentleman didn’t exactly have that privilege. I ran right into a knight of Camelot who had his back turned to me and I practically bounced off of his armor and landed right on my bum. The man turned around and gazed down at me on the ground. I looked up to see if I knew them and my eyes recognized the face instantly. It was only Arthur.

“Oh, I’m so sorry your majesty!” I exclaimed, getting up and dusting myself off. I curtsied to him and I jumped when Arthur touched my face. I looked up at him and in his eyes was the very livelihood of a lust stricken man.

“No need to apologize my lady. It was my fault that you ran into me and I shall spend every moment of our time together making it up to you. Would you like that? I could make you happy in so many ways Mystra.” Arthur said to me, leaning in and our lips brushed together. I pulled away before anything went any further.

“Arthur no!” I practically shouted at him and he looked at me as if he were confused as to why or how I could resist his advances. “I mean, Sire. What on earth has gotten into you?” I asked him as Sir Lancelot made his way over to us.

“Is there a problem over here?” Lancelot asked and I cast my eyes down while Arthur tried to calm down his knight from punishing me for speaking to Arthur in such informalities.

“There’s no problem here Lancelot. Why don’t you leave us be.” Arthur replied but Lancelot stood his ground. Did he just disobey a direct order from the King? “Lancelot, I said leave us be. That’s an order.” he pressed.

“I wasn’t speaking to you Sire. Mystra, is Arthur bothering you?” Lancelot asked me and I looked up to meet the same lust filled eyes that I had met when I looked into Arthur’s. What was going on around here? It was as if they were all under the same love spell that Merlin was under.

“W-what? No...I mean, I’d like to go home now.” I stated, needing to get back to Merlin’s before something even worse happened. How was this possible?

“Shall I escort a lovely lady like yourself to their chambers?” he asked me. “Perhaps you would enjoy staying in mine tonight.” my eyes widened and suddenly Arthur shoved Lancelot and he staggered backwards. What was going on? Arthur yelled at Lancelot that I was his and he saw me first and Lancelot swung at him. I took this opportunity to make my escape.

But the fight between Arthur and Lancelot only caused me more strife since everyone on the street was beginning to stare and gather. I whirled around, making a zipline further down the street but only made it a few feet when an older gentle caught me by the arm. I looked at him and he possessed the same lust in his eyes. “Where are you going gorgeous? I could show you a good time!” he commented and I wrenched my arm out of his possession before I started running again. I glanced back around to find the man, Arthur, and Lancelot chasing after me down the street. What was this? Why were they so obsessed with me?

The chase continued as many more men standing along the street joined in on the chase. I had to lose them. But how? The streets were open and so simple. The castle! I could lose them all in the castle. Except for Arthur and knights but I could handle them, or so I thought anyway. It was better than mob chaos tailing me. I slipped down a back alleyway and found a drain pipe just big enough for me to fit into. The mob passed me by and then I gazed back into the drain. The sewers that ran beneath the castle underground. That was how I was going to get home. Or at least make it closer to the street Merlin’s house was down. I spent hours in those sewers, weeding through waste and rats with the ingredients for the antidote still slung on my shoulder. I didn’t know how this happened. Somehow the spell affected not only Merlin, but every man that saw me. The only logical explanation would be if it somehow got into Camelot’s water supply. But how did that happen?

Finally I found my way out of the sewers, another drain pipe exiting the castle out by the woods that met the practice field for the Knights. I climbed out and over the edge where the ditch met the entrance to the woods. I could feel the fatigue of the day wearing me down and as I made my way across the field. I glanced over after hearing the clashing of swords and noticed that Jacosa and Royse were out training with Gwaine since Lancelot had accompanied Arthur for the day.

I was hoping to be unseen. The last thing I needed was more attention from men. But behold, Gwaine looked up to see me padding across the field just in time to drop his sword and begin running over to me. Oh no! No no no no no no noo! Oh blast! I had never loathed running more than I had today.

“Mystra, you gorgeous woman, come back you!” Gwaine shouted from behind me since I had booked it passed where they had been practicing. I kept running, accumulating more knights and castle servants in a dead sprint behind me and I didn’t know how much longer I was going to be able to keep this up. Luckily, several minutes later, Jacosa and Royse grabbed me from a secret side entrance to the castle through its dungeon. Oh no, please tell me they weren’t in love with me to!

Jacosa put a hand over my mouth to muffled scream and Royse sealed the door behind us. “Mystra, its okay. Calm down. We’re not after you. Can you tell us why every man in the castle is going bonkers over you right now? Even King Arthur has sent out a search party for you.” Royse questioned me. Jacosa lowered her hand from my mouth to let me speak and I didn’t know how I was going to lie my way out of this one. I couldn’t. They were my friends. They deserved to know who I was. But would they accept me? I supposed there was only one way to find out. Besides, its not like they could have me put to death for being a witch. For one, Arthur knew very well that Merlin and I possessed magical abilities. Secondly, Arthur was madly in lust with me for the moment. So I was pretty much safe if they decided to turn me into the king.

“Royse...Jacosa…” I began but all of the stress from the day built up within me and exploded out of me at that very moment. I burst into tears, turning around hide my shame from their gazes into Jacosa’s bosom where I could hide my face.

“Mystra...it’s alright. We’re your friends. Whatever you have done...it doesn’t matter. Just tell us to we can figure out how to help.” Jacosa told me, holding me in her arms and stroking my hair to calm me down as much as she could. After I was done emptying the contents of my guts in the corner since everything that had happened made me so sick with worry and confusion that I could barely stand, I returned to Jacosa’s soothing arms and she held me close while I explained who I really was.

“Royse, Jacosa...you have to promise me something.” I stated and they nodded in agreement. “No matter what I’m about to tell you, I am still the same person you know and love. Please don’t look at me differently, or treat me differently. Please don’t turn me in for who I am. Please don’t send me to my death.” I begged of them and Royse came over to rub my back.

“What is it honey.” Royse said in a calming voice. I sniffled and took a deep breath before I spilled out my deepest and most valuable secret. I pulled away so I could look at them both. Lifting my eyes to meet their gazes I prepared myself for the worst.

“I have magic.” I stated, confiding in them the one thing I had never told any other living soul.