Chapter Text
People were dying.
It had been a dry year, with droughts all across Camelot and its neighboring countries. And now it was winter. It was cold, and there was nothing to eat. The people were starving; Merlin had received word of Hunith’s passing several weeks before.
Uther had rationed, in the beginning, taking inventory and trying to keep everyone alive, if not well fed. But food was running out, and two days ago Uther had decreed an end to the rations. Only the royal family and members of its household were being fed.
Two days ago, Merlin had stopped eating.