''You've got to be joking,'' Arthur Pendragon found himself grumbling as he watched the mass of dark clouds in the grayened sky float closer and closer to his castle. In a flash the door to his chambers swung open and Merlin pranced inside. Yes, knocking was just a waste of time, wasn't it?
''Sire, this doesn't appear to entirely be the cause of nature's forces,'' Merlin tried, and the prancing was at once over when he saw the irritated king.
''I can see that!''
Merlin let out a suppressed sigh.
Arthur turned to face him, pursing his lips and crossing his arms like the small child Merlin always thought he resembled sometimes.
''Guinevere was supposed to be welcomed with a spectacular parade of celebrations, not a gloomy kingdom conquered by a petty storm!'' the King continued with frustration, snorting at the enormous storm cloud that seemed to be swallowing the sky. Bolts of thunder suddenly boomed in the distance as if they had heard Arthur's adjective. The King backed away from his window slightly, tracing his index finger down the surface in restlessness.
''Arthur, no one can control the weather! I can't understand why you're so aggravated over this,'' Merlin responded, furrowing his brow in puzzlement and moving to lean against a sturdy draped post of Arthur's bed.
''Not even you, the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth can change the course of a storm?'' the disgruntled King whined, fully ignoring his friend's other comment.
''I shouldn't.'' Merlin's words were followed by his blue gaze meeting Arthur's.
The King suddenly stepped forward, placing his hands on Merlin's shoulders and examining his face.
''Even if you could, I wouldn't want you to. The weather isn't to be meddled with, even if it's bloody awful,'' Arthur said slowly with a deep understanding hidden in his eyes, slightly covered with how annoyed he was. He drew away from Merlin, flatly pacing back and forth now.
''Since your knights and guards would never put your Queen in danger, I'm sure Guinevere is at a safe halt until this storm clears. The celebrations will have to wait,'' Merlin reasoned, persistently fiddling with the frills on the cover of the bed.
Instead of sinking down onto his large armchair like the King did sometimes, Arthur charged towards the door, motioning for Merlin to follow him. Once outside, they nearly ran into Gwaine and Leon, who were rushing down the hallway, their red capes flowing and flaming torches illuminating their steps. Merlin and Arthur came to an abrupt stop, and Gwaine pointed a finger at Arthur, out of breath.
''They...came out of nowhere...glaring eyes...strange movements,'' the strapping knight managed to breathe with anxious eyes.
''Who? Where?'' Arthur demanded, and Merlin's unease became stronger as he watched a crease appear between Arthur's brows.
''Something strange is taking hold of several people; they don't seem themselves, they're becoming unpredictable and aggressive,'' Leon explained, putting a hand to his forehead. Merlin gave Arthur a worried look.
''You can tell by their eyes, they become almost white and all glazed over,'' Gwaine added, now having caught his breath, but also seeming slightly disoriented.
''Where are these people?'' Merlin asked, now with a steady, calm voice, looking at the empty hallway in front of them. Before anyone could answer him, Gwaine stumbled forwards and placed both his hands on the floor, his entire body shaking.
''Please-'' he tried to speak but the words got caught in his throat and his breath hitched. Leon looked terrified but before any of them could take action, Gwaine let out a roar and flung himself at Arthur, crashing to the floor with the king.
''You!'' he hollered, trying to get a grip around Arthur's neck as Leon and Merlin threw themselves at Gwaine, pulling the knight off their King and restraining him against the wall. His eyelids fluttered open and then shut again, showing a glimpse of infuriated white eyes, never comparable to Gwaine's soft brown ones. Arthur had recovered and looked at his raging friend with a horrified expression, drawing his sword rapidly.
''You.''
The eerily-spoken words had come from Leon's mouth, and sent Merlin backing away from the knight who was bent over but still glaring at the King with dangerous, hostile eyes that had turned white too.
Merlin and Arthur shared a look. They had to get out now.
Swefe nu
Merlin's incantation was heard by Arthur too, and the King sent the sorcerer a concerned look with a glint of hope. Expecting to see the both knights fall to the floor in a deep sleep, Arthur grabbed Merlin by the arm and took off down the corridor in a sprint when Gwaine and Leon instead rose to face them with more rage than ever.
''Why didn't your magic work on them?'' Arthur hissed, and the fear in his voice was evident.
''I have no idea!'' Merlin exhaled as they continued down the hallway, finding themselves in Gaius chambers. Arthur shut the door quickly, the two friends breathing hard as they leaned against it. All of Arthur's courage was fading. Magic wasn't something you could face with a sword. When they both looked up, Gaius had his back to them, busily arranging something.
''You don't think…'' Arthur whispered a second before Gaius turned around, deathly slowly.
His eyes were white too.
Forþ fleoge
Gaius' stunned body flew across the room and landed on the bed.
Arthur let out the breath he'd been holding.
''Why did it work this time?'' the King asked carefully.
Merlin looked down and noticed that the sword Arthur was holding in his hand had been touching Merlin while he had worked his magic.
''Apparently I need you,'' Merlin raised his eyebrows with a slightly amused grin and Arthur rolled his eyes, laughing too before they remembered what situation they were in. Through the window they could see that the sky had turned the darkest shade of blue imaginable, blended with black and illuminated by forks of lightning and rolls of angry thunder sounding right above the castle.
''It's the storm.''
Arthur discerned the truth in Merlin's realization and clapped the warlock on the back.
Merlin spun around and examined Arthur's eyes with excitement.
''Arthur, what's the highest point in the castle? Closest to the sky I mean,'' Merlin spat out, rushing to pull on his jacket in a sudden hurry.
''Dominion Tower of course,'' the King replied, beginning to understand what his friend was planning.
''I thought you weren't going to control the weather?" Arthur added with a small smile.
"This is hardly something you can classify as weather, is it?" Merlin replied and flashed his friend a wide grin. Arthur grabbed a sword from behind the door and tossed it to his enthusiastic friend, feeling a touch more reassured when the shiny metal handle slid into Merlin's grip. Arthur studied his tall, toned figure and the pale, chiselled face dominated by the concentrated, blue orbs. Those eyes that owned more power and strength than Arthur could ever possibly imagine. The sword Merlin was holding was absolutely nothing in comparison to the magic within the sorcerer.
"You just going to stare at me while this storm grows stronger or what?" Merlin's question caught the King off guard and he laughed quietly, twisting his sword with anticipation. Arthur lightly pushed Merlin as he pried the door open, peering into the hallway with more caution than when Gwaine was sneaking into the kitchens. That's right, both Merlin and Arthur had seen him once, no, several times. Merlin snuck through the hallway behind the King of Camelot, nearing the outer passageway of the right wing of the castle with steps almost agonizingly slow and light. They pressed themselves against a sheltered wall in an instant when the small figure of a servant moved towards them, and Merlin could sense Arthur's body stiffen and his breath grow silent. The servant continued towards them, her head strangely cocked to one side and her eyes a milky white. Arthur released his breath when she passed them and stopped to knock on the door of one of the counselor's chambers. The counselor opened the door slowly and smiled, his eyes normal, waiting for the servant to deliver her message.
"Pardon me, but the King doesn't happen to be with you, does he?" she asked, her voice light and smooth in an odd way.
"No, I'm afraid he's-" the counselor started but was cut off by the maid flinging herself at him, causing Merlin to stifle a gasp as the small woman gripped the counselor tight around the neck with an unearthly strength.
"Tell me where Arthur Pendragon is!" she roared, squeezing the man's neck until his face reached a purple complexion. Before the counselor could even attempt to do something, his body froze, shot backwards in a rapid motion, and the man tilted his head as he stood up, his eyes clearly white and lifeless. The maid approached him, taking his arm as the pair started to stroll down the hallway in dead silence, as if nothing had happened just seconds earlier. Once they were out of sight, Arthur turned to Merlin, clutching his sword tightly.
"They're after you. Whoever generated this storm, and this...this...sickness, they mean to kill you," Merlin warned, worry occupying his eyes.
"We must find out how it spreads. Lord Rogerin wasn't...sick...until the maid came near him," Arthur explained, staring Merlin in the eyes with a cloud of both focus and anxiety.
"We need to put a stop to this, come on," Merlin declared, pulling Arthur into the corridor again, this time leading his friend towards the exit where the door to Dominion Tower was situated. He suddenly spun around and pushed Arthur into a corner out of sight, jabbing a finger into the King's chest in a hasty movement.
"It's the touch! That's how it spreads! When the servant touched Lord Rogerin, he became 'possessed' too! When Leon and I pulled Gwaine off of you, Leon must've gotten it but I didn't, either because I have magic, or because I was touching you. We already know my magic worked when we touched. Avoid contact with them," Merlin concluded, his worried eyes shifting into hesitant excitement. That's when he noticed Arthur's tense body, his frozen eyes, his rapid breathing, and that Merlin's finger was still pushing into his friend's chest. Merlin backed away. Arthur exhaled shakily.
"You rash idiot. You scared me to death, the way you attacked me like that. I thought you'd turned too…" the King breathed, leaning against the wall for support.
"I'm sorry. Didn't know you cared," Merlin confessed with a tiny smile. He was once again reminded of Arthur's insecurity.
"There's worse fates I have planned for you than to be possessed by a storm," Arthur grinned and headed into the corridor again with no hesitation, perhaps to distract himself from the terror pounding in his whole body. The pair neared the door to the tower and Arthur opened it as quietly as he could, gliding inside with Merlin following. Merlin closed the door slowly and turned around to see the King stalking his way up the stairs with his head held high and sword out right in front of him. Arthur Pendragon was the bravest man he knew, even when he was dealing with things he would be defenseless up against.
Arthur stopped dead in his tracks.
Merlin did too when he heard the loud shouts and chants right behind him, outside the door. In a second Arthur was already up one-third of the stairs, and Merlin raced after him with panic. The seconds seemed to stop ticking and Merlin lost count of the steps as they flashed in front of him, now in winding whirls, and suddenly he crashed into Arthur's steel body and he was shoved onto a narrow stone ledge with only the surroundings of bare roof, and the King was in his vision again and had closed a thin, wooden door that was so worn and seemed to barely be able to stand on its own. Arthur held on to Merlin's shoulder as the two of them moved further along the stone ledge and were suddenly facing a stone wall and a ladder.
"That door's not going to hold even the wind," Merlin commented as he crouched down next to the king and pitifully watched the gangly door that led to the stairs. Then it hit him that they were outside, perched on an unstable stone ledge lining a wall that led up to the roof of Dominion Tower.
"I'm terribly sorry, Merlin, but how much of my time do you think I spend analyzing the doors of places never used by anyone?" Arthur shot back with a glare mixed with humor and horror. Merlin shared his feelings. Yes, reach the top of the tower. And then what?
''Arthur, those people are going to break through that door any second! What the hell do we do now?'' Merlin cried, running both his hands through his hair with panic. Arthur approached him, sword in hand, staring intensely into the warlock's piercing blue eyes, nodding as he said, ''Now, Merlin, we fight the damned thing.''
Merlin turned his eyes towards the sky to see the storm right above their heads, a terrifying nightmare he knew it would be inevitable to fight. He immediately concentrated his magic in his fisted hand and slowly allowed his fingers to open as he raised his palm at the sky, feeling a current of magic strike into the thundering sky with force. Merlin immediately felt a sinking feeling in his gut when his magic seemed to hit an invisible wall; his powers didn't work on the apparently invincible storm.
''Why?'' Arthur yelled at him, the strong breeze sweeping his blond hair in capricious directions.
Merlin didn't respond.
''Why, Merlin? Why isn't it working?'' his friend screamed louder, and Merlin finally looked at him.
''Arthur take my hand.''
Arthur faltered for a few seconds with an expression of confusion on his face. Merlin grinned.
''Just do it.''
Arthur stepped forward, casting a glance backwards at the weak wooden door he knew would burst in mere seconds, at last grasping hold of Merlin's hand. An electrifying voltage instantly blasted through him, and from the look on Merlin's face, the warlock had felt it too.
Merlin began to repeat his magic, and Arthur felt overcome with relief when a powerful golden current crafted by Merlin took a blow to the raging storm. Any feeling of relief quickly faded when a loud crash told Arthur that the wooden door to the roof they were on had been beat down, and with a look towards it he knew he was right. A mass of people he recognized but now with burning-white eyes rushed towards them, unnaturally quickly covering the short distance to the stone ledge that Merlin and Arthur were on. Arthur tried to move himself as far away from the demon-like people as possible while still touching Merlin. Arthur rapidly grabbed onto Merlin's shoulder when the warlock withdrew his other hand to cast a spell on the horde of murderous people.
Ástríce
Arthur, with astonishment, watched the tens of people fly backwards in a swift, smooth motion, hoping that they knocked down all those following them up the stairs. He flashed Merlin a quick smile and once again gripped the sorcerer's hand, signalling for Merlin to continue his resistance to the storm with a rapid nod. Merlin released a further wave of power towards the storm, struggling to hold his ground but pressing forwards anyways, his strenuous effort shown in his contorted face. The storm cloud grew closer and closer to Merlin and Arthur, and Arthur felt the scalding sparks of energy sizzle in the air, turning away to shield his eyes from the blinding light, while Merlin stared the storm straight in the face with determination, keeping his hand at the same point with vigor.
''Arthur.''
The King turned his head back towards the door, laying eyes on Guinevere walking towards him, caught in the movement of motionless time, her long, dark brown locks blowing weightlessly in the menacing wind; the same thing happening to her sheer, filmy white dress, making her appear somewhat of an untouchable goddess. Arthur was struck by confusion until finding that her eyes glowed an eerie, frosted white, gleaming whiter for every step she took towards him.
''Merlin, don't touch her!'' Arthur spoke in a lifeless tone, captivated by the shock of seeing his wife overtaken by something so evil, dark, demonic even.
Gwen cocked her head at a strange angle, wandering towards them, but raising a thin, numb finger towards Merlin.
''Arthur! You've got to stop her, she'll turn me too and then I'll have no control over anything I do to you! The previous stunning spell took almost all of my power, and now all my magic is going towards putting this storm to sleep!'' Merlin shouted, desperately sending surges of resistance magic into the sky and glancing back at Arthur. The King reluctantly pointed his sword at Guinevere, trying to get her to back off, but the Queen kept going, dangerously close to Merlin.
''Guinevere, listen to me, you can still fight it, I know you can hear me, you just have to use all of your strength to resist this, I know you can do it, please, Guinevere, just try to fight it, try to resist and everything will be all right,'' Arthur pleaded, still making contact with Merlin as he got onto his knees in front of his Queen. Gwen seemed absolutely unmoved by Arthur's words, her eyes shifting into murderous flares as she saw Arthur in front of her. Arthur quickly got onto his feet and tried to block Gwen even more, screaming in her face and doing everything he could to make sure she couldn't reach Merlin. With no warning, Gwen suddenly lashed out at Arthur, placing both of her hands around his neck in a deathly grip, strangling him with a wicked, dreamlike smile on her face that caused the storm to release a deafening boom of thunder and a vicious fall of rain that seemed acidic. Arthur had managed to get a firm, tangible grip on his sword and arduously tried to raise it above Gwen's head so he could knock her out with its hilt, but her grasp around his neck was too strong, and he desperately tried to hit her with the handle anywhere he could access in an attempt to get her to release him. In her demonic state, however, Gwen was unaffected by everything Arthur tried, leading him to the last option. He twisted his sword carefully so that the sharp edge of it was facing his wife, and slowly drew it back, bracing himself to plunge it into her stomach but hesitating slightly, tears rolling down his cheeks as he fought for air. Merlin, who had so significantly weakened the storm as to be able to fight it without Arthur's direct contact, saw what the King was doing and screamed at him to stop, ultimately abandoning the storm and charging his entire body with blazing magic before hurling himself with all his might at Guinevere, taking her with him onto the ground, but taking on her touch simultaneously. The warlock's drenched body started shuddering as the storm's possessive energy collided with his own. Merlin's eyes were unresponsive to the storm's magic for a while, and the sorcerer desperately used these moments and his last strength to get back up on the ledge, dragging a staggering Arthur with him and once again concentrating his magic towards the storm, forcing the clouds back heavily with Arthur's strength on his side. For a few light seconds Arthur nearly thought Merlin could resist the influence of the storm completely, but soon the sorcerer's body started shaking violently and he struggled to stay on his feet. Arthur threw his friend a panicked look to see Merlin's eyes having assumed a colorless white but then suddenly reverting back to his pearl blue orbs before flashing gold and then back to white. Arthur could feel the horror build inside of him as Merlin kept one hand in the sky, trembling from all the power concentrated in his palm, and threw Arthur down on the ground with his other, using two fingers to press down onto the King's neck with an unnatural strength. At Merlin's side stood Guinevere, now recovered, her eyes glowing white even more intensely that before, and she held Arthur down while Merlin continued to press hard on his neck. Arthur kicked and fought to get free from them but his sole strength was nowhere near enough; they were too strong.
That's when he froze.
Guinevere was miles away from Camelot.
She couldn't be here.
She couldn't.
And just as if Guinevere had heard him, her whole body slowly crumbled to pieces and, like dust in the wind, blew away slowly.
Arthur gazed deep into Merlin's white eyes, relaxing his entire body and not once turning away. For every second that Arthur looked at him, Merlin's grip on his neck weakened and the unearthly white in his friend's eyes faded. Arthur then no longer felt the crashing of thunder, or the patter of the rain, and the lightning had surrendered completely. He cast a glance upwards to see the storm cloud completely gone. Merlin's no longer tense or possessed body collapsed on top of him and Arthur winced, but instantly started laughing when his friend woke up with clear blue eyes and confusion on his face.
''I'm exhausted as hell, I hope you know that, prat,'' Merlin said before getting off of the King and breaking into a wide grin. Brisk steps were heard from the stairs and a guard, his eyes now normal, faced them.
''Sire, the Queen's carriage is here.''
Arthur's eyes widened and he gave Merlin a horrified look before they both sprinted past the guard and down the stairs, racing through the whole castle, dodging servants as well as a very confused Gaius, until they reached the grand stairs outside the main entrance, just in time for Guinevere's carriage to serenely come to a stop in front of them. Arthur ran a hand through his disheveled hair and cleared his throat casually, hoping she couldn't see that he was drenched from the rain and madly gasping for breath. The Queen was carefully assisted out of her carriage, walking towards Arthur and Merlin with a radiant smile and elegant comportment, her emerald green dress flowing in the gentle breeze. Arthur kissed her hand before taking her into his embrace.
''So what have you two been up to while I was gone?'' she asked, facing the pair.
''Nothing,'' Merlin and Arthur said quickly in unison, both smiling innocently.
''All right then,'' Gwen said and nodded at them before walking inside the castle.
Merlin, who had been zealously suppressing his laughter, made eye contact with Arthur and coughed violently before bending over and breaking into laughter, clutching his stomach as Arthur tumbled to the floor and did exactly the same thing.