Disclaimer's note: I do not own Merlin, Arthur, Uther, Gaius, Morgana, Gwen, or Nimueh. I do, however, own the poor serving girl.

Author's note: The end of this chapter may not be suitable for younger readers.

The water was cool and calm within the basin. The darkness of the room turned the water into a mirror, reflecting the face of the sorceress, Nimueh, as she carved her symbol into the sphere and onto flesh. The sound of crunching and scraping echoed in her quiet room.

Once that task was done, words left her lips as she spoke the enchantment. A coy smile lay on her face as the incantation ended and the spell was cast. She looked down into the basin, disturbing the water and turning it into a viewing mirror.

Two young men, one was of fair hair and noble stature, while the other was of dark hair and held the stance of a commoner. Both were relaxing beside a high wall, speaking to each other, and smiling at the topic of their conversation.

"Enjoy your time, while you can," Nimueh sneered. "I will see you die yet… Merlin!"

Arthur sighed as he looked up at the castle walls, his boredom was evident. He cocked his head to aside, in the direction of his manservant, Merlin.

"My father has ordered me to see him in the great hall," he stated, unimpressed. "There's a trade agreement today and he wants me to observe."

"Sounds fun," Merlin replied, unenthusiastically.

"Well," Arthur stood up. "I won't be suffering it alone."

He looked down at Merlin's surprised face and smiled a cocky grin.

"What? Me?" Merlin stuttered.

"Who else?" Arthur gestured around them, showing that they were alone. "Come on, Merlin, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can get this over with."

Merlin scrambled to his feet and raced after Arthur. And Arthur, seeing an opportunity for fun, began to run to the hall, forcing Merlin to chase him, breathlessly, down the corridors.

As they reached the Great Hall, the pair of them both stopped to regain their breath. Arthur stopped panting first, but waited patiently for Merlin to also slow his breathing.

"Are you ready?" Arthur asked. "Okay, let's go in," he replied to Merlin's nod.

They entered wordlessly, and took their correct places. Arthur, by his father, King Uther's right side, and Merlin stood behind Arthur's chair. Gaius and Gwen had already arrived.

Gaius gave Merlin a disapproving look, while Gwen smiled at him, before motioning to his left arm and brushing her own arm. Taking the hint, Merlin looked down and quickly proceeded to brush off random burs and grass shoots off his coat.

Uther leaned over to Arthur and whispered quietly to his son, slouched in his chair.

"Arthur, we are trying to impress these visitors. Sit straight!"

Without turning his head, Arthur glared at his father for a moment, before conceding and sitting back in his chair, shifting uncomfortably for a moment and then sitting still. His eyes did not move, but continued to stare at the doors, where the visitors would appear from.

Morgana pursed her lips slightly, pitying Arthur's predicament, before she also returned her gaze to the doors. She saw from the corner of her eye Uther waving for the doors to be opened.

A young serving girl, with faded clothes and a pale headscarf keeping her long, red hair back, walked timidly into the centre of the room. On her wrists were two large bracelets with intricate patterns on them, and hanging off her arm was a basket that contained fruit.

"What is this?" Uther demanded.

"Uhhh, my master did not want to bring his trade onto your lands, without your expressed permission, your Majesty," the serving girl explained nervously.

Uther examined the girl, as did everyone else in the hall. No one had to look at her with much effort to see that she was trembling from head to toe.

"What is it that your mater wishes to trade?" Uther asked, gentler this time, although it was still in a business tone.

"We… have a delicacy on our land, a sweet pear. It is spoken highly of from the barons of my master. He thought that he would offer this to you and to your kingdom, but said that he would discuss the finer points of this trade with you, himself."

The girl shifted from foot to foot. She glanced around, as if expecting a reprisal.

"Why did your master not come to me with this trade himself?" Uther asked, suspicious.

"As I said, your Majesty, the pear is a delicacy. He stayed behind to ensure that none were taken, by bandits or by his own men," she explained, suddenly seeming tense. "I have two pears with me, your Majesty. I was told that you have a son, and my master wished you both to try the pears."

Arthur's eyes suddenly transformed from boredom to an eager interest. With the prospect of sample goods before him, he was now more focused on the discussions.

Merlin noticed the change in Arthur, and, as he also noticed, so did the girl. He realised that she seemed almost concerned that Arthur had taken interest. But maybe she was worried that he would disapprove of the fruit and she would be the bearer of bad news, or she just wanted to try the pear hersel

Regardless, Uther beckoned her forwards, and she obeyed. She met his eyes for a split second, before turning her gaze to the basket that contained the two fruit. She carefully selected one and placed it on front of Uther, as he had made no attempt to take it from her hand. She then moved across to Arthur and, after meeting his gaze for a moment, placed the other pear down before him.

With the task done, she retreated to her previous position in the centre of the room. She eyed the two pieces of fruit warily, as if she were afraid that they were about to jump up and dance.

Uther picked up his pear first. He turned it in his hand, examining the colour, skin texture and weight. He then raised it to his face, breathing in the aroma. He moved it away for a moment, a calculating look on his face. Then, apparently satisfied, he took a bite. He chewed it slowly, savouring the taste and texture of the flesh.

Everyone waited, holding their breaths, as he deliberated on whether or not to approve the fruit. There was a universal sigh when he finally nodded his head, although Merlin noticed that the girl did not seem so pleased.

Arthur then proceeded to examine his own pear, turning it one way and then another, smelling like his father had. But it was obvious that he had little interest in examining the pear; he wanted to taste it. And, soon enough, he also bit into the pear. He chewed it faster than Uther had, but was still analysing the taste and texture. His eyebrows rose in approval and he continued to eat the pear.

As Arthur had tried the pear, the girl lowered her head and, Merlin noticed, a solitary tear ran down her face. In response to his approval and continued consumption, more tears began to fall. Her chest rose and fell in a staggered way as she struggled to maintain level breathing, and the nervous trembling beforehand became uncontrollable shaking.

Her behaviour was quickly noticed and Gaius, fearing that she was suffering some kind of seizure, rushed to her side. As he reached her, she crumpled to the floor. Restricted sobbing came from her in small bursts, as she tried to maintain control of herself.

"Please forgive me!" she cried once Gaius touched her shoulder, her voice was several octaves higher. "I had no choice! I didn't want to come here! I didn't want to do this task! But she gave me no choice!" She threw out her wrists, showing the bracelets and Gaius proceeded to examine them.

Uther, Morgana and Arthur had all risen from their seats by this point, and Merlin and Gwen stood beside their master and mistress, respectively. They were all staring at the young girl with the strange bracelets.

Then Gaius turned to stare, horror-struck and dumbfounded, at Uther. He then turned to stare at Arthur, back to Uther, and then back to the girl.

"What was in the pears?" he demanded, though he spoke gently.

"Just one," the girl shook her head. "It was only his," she glanced up at Arthur. "She told me that didn't matter if the king ate or not… but she wanted the prince to…" she trailed off, her body twitching as it tried to curl up.

"What was in the pear?" Gaius repeated.

"I don't know what it does. I don't know what it does," she cried, her voice breaking.

"What was in the pear?"

"A… pois-" she suddenly broke off.

She stared down at her arms. One of the bracelets was turning a different colour, turning from the dull gold, to red to a glowing white. The smell of burning was in the air.

The hall was suddenly filled with the girl's screeches and screams of pain. The sound of dull thuds echoed as she vainly tried to beat down the flames that erupted over her. And then suddenly, all sound was gone, as was the girl.