Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.
Chapter one:
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In a time of myth and a land of magic the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young man, his name... Merlin
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Morgana lay on her bed, her dark hair laying matted on the pillow around her. Suddenly she takes a shuddering breath and her eye begin to move under her eyelids as a dream takes hold of her unconscious mind.
It was dark, the sounds of dripping water echo. All of a sudden the sound of stone being moved fills the air and light slowly seeps into the darkened space. Looking up and blinking rapidly, Morgana looks towards the light, as the stone covering the hole she was chained to the bottom of was moved away. In the hole with her was a small white dragon, its body bent and skin almost transparent as it was stretched over bone. The small white dragon lets out a pitiful cry...
"Aithusa!" She calls his voice holding an edge of panic.
A noise from the door catches her attention and she breathes a sigh of relief as she sees Aithusa slowly making his way towards her.
"Aithusa...Come." Morgana mutters softly. "Come here."
Aithusa slowly made his way over to her, letting out a pitiful whine.
"Don't worry." Morgana comforts as she pats Aithusa. "We're safe. No harm can come to us now. Our troubles are all in the past, I promise. Soon we will have the Diamair. Soon we will know Arthur's Bane. Camelot will be ours."
Aithusa lets out a distressed noise, as Morgana smirks to herself.
"Camelot will be ours." Morgana repeats.
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Arthur had been walking since dawn, when they had been cut free of the trap. The landscape around them had changed from a dark and cold forest to a snowy wasteland for a far as the eye could see. It was bitterly cold and snow would fall thick and fast every now and again, leaving everyone shivering and cold.
"Remind me, Merlin, how did we end up like this?" Arthur demands, his breath coming out in small white clouds. "Oh, yes. You weren't paying attention as usual and managed to pass out in the middle of a trap!"
"And I told you to go back to Camelot." Merlin replies weakly. "Plus, it wasn't my fault I passed out in middle of a trap! It wasn't like I just decided to pass out there to annoy you! It wasn't even me who triggered the trap!"
"Merlin..." Arthur warns, as Merlin shows no signs of shutting up, even in his weakened state.
"Halt!" Ragnor suddenly bellows.
"We can't let them hand us over to Morgana." Merlin suddenly hisses to Arthur. "We need to get out of here. We need a plan."
Ragnor turns and faces Merlin, a look for furry on his face. "You speak when you're spoken to!"
Merlin glares at Ragnor but doesn't reply.
Most days he'd be more than happy to answer back, but at the moment Merlin felt like even the smallest of hits would break him. Whatever the spell was doing to his magic, it was making him weaker and weaker. He knew the spell was designed to stop sorcerers using their magic, but it was making him incredibly ill.
"Faster!" Ragnor yells, as Merlin starts to fall behind.
Finally they stop as the sun dips behind the horizon in the west. As Ragnor and his men begin to set up camp for the night, Merlin shivers and watches as Tristan walks over to Ragnor and they begin to talk in hushed tones. Merlin glances at Arthur for a second, who was trying to make himself comfortable on the snowy ground.
Rolling his eyes at the look on Arthur's face, Merlin turns just in time to see Tristan heading off into the snowy landscape around them. After about half an hour Tristan returns and joins Ragnor by the fire, as he munched on his food.
"What are you gawping at?" Radnor suddenly demands, as he catches Merlin watching him. "Is this what you want? Catch."
Merlin watches as Ragnor throwers half a bread roll at him, but it lands too far away reach, Ragnor just smirked and went back to eating.
"Maybe we should feed them." Tristan suddenly speaks up.
"What for? They'll be skin and bones." Ragnor snaps. "Morgana wants slaves, not hogs for the fire!"
"Then, slow the pace." Tristan suggests.
Ragnor shakes his head. "The quicker we get there, the quicker I get my money."
Tristan turns away and meets Merlin's, he gets to his feet and walks over, picking up the bread roll as he goes.
'Here, do you want it?" Tristan offers.
Merlin quickly takes the bread. Breaking it in half, a small crystal on a string drops to the ground, Merlin picked it, and almost instantly he felt the effects of the spell draining his magic disappear.
"Why are you doing this?" Merlin asked, looking up at Tristan.
"You once saved the life of my love. I owe you a debt." Tristan answers.
Merlin shakes his head. "No, I mean why are you here? Why are you doing this?"
Tristan sighed. "Morgana has my love. If I do not do as she asks, she will kill her… I will do anything to keep my love safe. I cannot lose her again."
"What's Morgana looking for in Ismere?" Merlin suddenly asks.
"The Diamair." Tristan answers.
"What?!" Merlin exclaims.
"The Diamair." Tristan repeats.
Merlin just stares at him. "This is bad."
"Why what is it?" Tristan asks.
"In the language of my people, it means 'The Key'." Merlin explains, referring to the druids.
"The key to what?" Tristan questions.
Merlin takes a deep breath. "The key to all knowledge..."
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Gaius stood side by side to Alice at his work bench as the two of them worked together on a potion. The only sound was the fire burning and the ingredients boiling. As Gaius lent over a book and studied the writing, Alice stirred the potion as it bubbled away.
"Do you think she will take it?" Alice suddenly questions.
"I can only hope that she does." Gaius answers.
"You know as well as I, that she does not deserve this mercy." Alice answers. "Treason against the king is unforgivable, Albion is in the height of its golden age and we have Arthur and Merlin to thank and she has betrayed them."
Gaius pauses in his work. "I do this for Gwen. She has never sentenced anyone to death before and without Arthur to support her, along with all the emotional strain she is under… I fear how this will affect her health."
Alice nodes. "You know."
"How could I not?" Gaius answers with a knowing smile.
Half an hour later Gaius steps into Rachel's cell.
"Here." Gaius holds out a small bottle. "Drink this."
"No." Rachel answers.
"You will suffer less this way." Gaius answers.
"Gaius..." Rachel suddenly pleads. "You have to help me. Speak to the Queen."
Gaius shakes his head. "It will do no good."
"Then, let me." Rachel pleads again. "Please, it's all I ask. Allow me to meet with her."
Gaius looks into Rachel eyes and he sees something that wasn't there before. Something akin to desperation and fear.
"I am just a physician..." Gaius answers.
"But she listens to you, she trusts you. All I want is to talk with her. If you don't help me, Gaius... Please, don't let me die. Please."
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Hello, I'm so sorry it had taken me so long to publish this story, for anyone who been waiting for this, I really hope you enjoyed it,
Blessed be,
TreeOfLIfe1997.
