AUTHOR'S NOTE:
So, I know I haven't even come close to finishing my other story but I just really want to post this. I can't get it off my head. So, here it is;
A companion (or rather, an alternate ending) fic for ONCE AND FUTURE. If you want a clearer background on how this started you could read that.
But I think this could be read without that. LOL.
I OWN NOTHING. MERLIN IS THE PROPERTY OF BBC.
"A sword in a stone, a story to unfold;
Here to heat what had turned cold;
Magic and might together again for destiny's sake;
Here to have a chain that breaks."
-A Chain that Breaks
CHAPTER 1: Legend of History
It was the dead of night.
Strange echoes as little droplets fell off the cavern ceiling could be heard from the cave they chose to dwell. The Prince of Camelot was, thankfully, reunited with the people, the ones who escaped and fled to the forest. The prince, along with his new knights, the physician, a maidservant and manservant who were much more than what meets the eye were safe and therefore brought hope to the people. It was a stronghold of sorts, a place where they built enough strength for the reclaiming of the kingdom tomorrow.
It would be battle history would certainly remember.
Legends would tell how the brave and valiant Knights of Camelot stood against the formidable immortal army of the High Priestess and her Witch sister. They would reclaim what was lost and take back their home and country, the kingdom under the Once and Future King once more or rather his father.
But first, the tale would have to be made for it to be told.
Soldiers had the cavern and the surrounding area patrolled and guarded. Aside from the fact that they were chased out of their own home and they were fugitives, nothing seemed out of norm.
That was, until a palace guard who escaped along with the citizens came running to find the prince.
"Sire!" the guard said urgently as he found his regent sovereign.
"What is it?" the prince demanded, his brow coming together.
"There's something you need to see." the guard said cryptically after a brief moment of hesitation. The prince followed the guard with a look of vigilance and authority but with the hint of apprehension.
Then, some of the remaining Camelot soldiers met them half way down through the closest thing to a passable corridor their cave could manage and had two men hoisted by the arms, each of them obviously knocked out cold by the way they hung limp in the guards' hold and wore the strangest clothing Arthur has ever seen. One man had a blonde head and wore a black, smooth and what could come close to leather with a red tunic underneath, blue fabric material for trousers and an even stranger pair of boots that stopped just above the ankle with a circular mark on a side of each boot.
The other man had black hair, a light brown jacket made from softer material than the other with pockets at its sleeves, he wore a tunic with multicolored boxes on them, some was white, others were black and red underneath and a red little hood stood out of the jacket. He had the same trousers like the other man but in a deeper shade, almost black and the same boots that stopped above the ankle.
Underneath the dim light of the torches, Arthur saw and felt a sense of familiarity of the men's built. He couldn't place why or who they reminded him of though. A guard stepped forward and yanked, not too hard yet not too gentle either, the raven-haired man's head up for the prince to see.
He blinked and his jaw tensed tight.
Another guard stepped forward, this time by the blonde man's side and yanked his head up, too.
Arthur felt his blood run cold.
The men in the strange clothing had his and his manservant's face.
"Sire, what shall we do with them?"
Arthur barely registered the question. Out of shock, his mouth moved of its own volition and words flowed out before he could stop them.
"Bring me my servant." he said. "Make sure he's safe."
If the guard was surprised of the command he was given, he didn't show. Then again, it was barely a secret that his manservant was, in fact, his friend. A person would have to be blind not to see the bond between the royal and the peasant was more than the norm shared with the other nobles. Even the king, though begrudgingly, knew the circumstances of his son's friendship with the clumsy peasant boy.
As the guard went to retrieve (yes, retrieve, for the man knocked out cold before him could not be Merlin) the servant-friend of the prince, Arthur ordered the rest of the soldiers to move the two mysterious men out of sight from the people. They placed them deeper into the cave, where none would dwell too much for fear of losing their way or creatures that might lurk within the dark.
Minutes later, the two men had their hands bound behind their back, they slumped against the cavern wall, passed out as if dead. Arthur sat, stood, paced and sat again in front of the two as he waited for the guard to have Merlin brought to him, seeing for himself that he was safe. Not that Arthur would ever admit that he was worried for the younger man's well-being.
"Arthur," a voice called to him from behind, where they had just passed with their two burdens not twenty minutes ago.
"Where in the world have you been?" Arthur hissed.
He never meant to be hostile. In fact, he was relieved to find the servant unscathed. But those twenty minutes of worrying made him feel silly why he ever bothered to worry about Merlin, of all people.
Merlin was about to retort when Gaius interrupted him.
"Forgive me, sire." Gaius said behind Merlin, his hands clasped together in front of him. "I believe that would be my fault. I needed help with the wounded and the sick. I'm afraid Guinevere alone would make our progress slow judging by the numbers of the patients that needed our attention."
"It's all right," Arthur said, looking slightly reprimanded.
In fact, Merlin really was helping with the wounded albeit absentmindedly as he was actually trying to find a way to sneak out of camp and go to a certain lake where he threw a certain magical sword made specially for a certain pompous, royal prat.
But Merlin wasn't about to say that.
He looked at Arthur again with more attention this time. He had his brows furrowed and his shoulders held in a tense pose. His eyes swimming as if he as pondering on something deep. Normally, Merlin would make fun of him breaking his brain from the strain of thinking too hard but not today. Adding the strange yet small relief and a poorly hidden anxiety of the guard that told him that the prince needed him earlier, things were not looking too pretty for him.
"What's wrong, Arthur?" Merlin asked, his brows coming together, sensing the prince's apparent distressed.
Arthur looked at him for a moment with a searching gaze then turned and addressed Gaius instead.
"We have a .. situation that perhaps you'd be able to explain." Arthur said and turned to lead them closer to the two men.
To Arthur's surprise, the raven-haired man (he was not Merlin) was already awake and trailed Arthur's every movement with a calm and controlled gaze with his familiar azure eyes. It hit Arthur with their intensity and as if time moved slow and his heart beat sped faster than the usual. It was an unnerving feeling, to be under this man's gaze which ridiculously felt like Merlin's. Yet he was not Merlin. He could tell.
The idiot was his, God forbid, best friend after all.
He more of felt Merlin's shocked half-step back and Gaius's eyebrow shooting up pass his hairline and decided to leave them to their shock.
"I have a few questions for you." Arthur started taking a small step closer to the raven-haired man whose eyes darted around the small and dim cavern with a calculating yet soft eyes. He looked pass Arthur's shoulder and there was no doubt he'd found his counterpart's eyes.
After what seemed like an eternity, his eyes landed on Arthur again. He gave a small nod for the prince to continue as if Arthur was asking his permission. That brought a wave of annoyance to the prince, breaking the almost tranquil-like aura in the air the moment he found the raven-haired man's eyes open.
"Who are you?" Arthur asked bluntly.
"Uhm.."
"No lies."
The raven-haired man stared him down and that's when he noticed the difference in this man's face to Merlin's. He had stubble on the lower part of his face, his hair wilder and a bit longer, almost touching his eyes. The same azure eyes that held the prince a moment before that resembled so much like a calm ocean, holding depth far deeper than he'd ever seen on anyone. Merlin didn't have that because Merlin was obviously an idiot. But then he'd hate to admit it but those depth did appear on his manservant's eyes when the most bizarre wisdom makes a certain appearance.
"I'm Colin." the raven-haired finally said, bringing Arthur out of his musings. "This is my friend-.. Bradley. And I think we're terribly lost."
"You think?" Arthur heard Merlin murmur from behind him. He inwardly rolled his eyes as he ignored his manservant's comment.
"What sort of conniving plan did Morgause think she would accomplish by having duplicate my face and my servant's?"
"Nothing. We aren't from here. I think we've landed in the past. We're from the future."
Arthur snorted. It sounded so ridiculous it sounded one of Merlin's poor excuses when he lazed around or wanted to go to the tavern. Arthur stopped at that thought and inwardly froze. The man, Colin, had nothing in common with his servant-friend.
"You can not fool me! I know sorcery when I see one!"
"You do, don't you? Well, good luck with that, mate."
"How dare you insu-"
"What's going on?"
Arthur looked at the source of the voice, which was the man who lay next to Colin whom Colin named Bradley.
"Bradley," Colin emphasizing the name, sounding almost exasperated. "I think we're in a bit of in the middle of a delicate situation."
Bradley, bless him, had only yelped in surprise once.
Colin gave him a pitiful and exasperated look.
"Wh-what's happening? Why are-.. is this-.. okay, it's weird."
"Strange, indeed." Gaius murmured from the background.
Everyone's eyes landed on him.
"Strange, Gaius?" Arthur asked.
Gaius paused, seeming to hesitate, meeting Merlin's eye for a second. Strange, Gaius never hesitated to give information or shared a look like that with his ward. Not unless it involved magic. Oh.
"As you know, sire, before the Great Purge began, I babbled with the arts of magic and your father spared me in the condition that I cut ties with the Old Religion completely."
Arthur nodded.
"But certain ties can not be cut completely."
"What?"
Gaius hesitated again. "Once magic flowed, the dam cannot be completely closed. Though I no longer practice magic, it would seem I am still able to feel it shift. Earlier this evening, I felt a wave of a powerful magic. One that not even a High Priestess of the Old religion could hope to imagine much less be able to accomplish. It is possible that the Old Magic is at work at this very moment but for what purpose, I do not know. Destiny has a way of changing and rewriting itself to its liking."
At this, Gaius gave Merlin another look. One that the servant returned. They knew something else but did not intend to share. Arthur wasn't sure what to make of this and catching those looks, he wasn't sure if he should demand from them the truth or having them bound for sorcery. The latter he knew he would never do but the former though..
Arthur nodded and turned back to the two bound men. He would deal with that later. He would play the oblivious prince as he always did when things got too far from reality and when Gaius and Merlin shared the look of when-things-turn-from-bad-to-ultimate-doom-unless-we-come-up-with-a-brilliant-solution which they did. Twice.
They'll come up with something to fix this, they always do and he'd be informed only when need be. The details, legal or not, would be consequence enough if it meant security and safety be brought to Camelot. He may not know for sure but Arthur could put two and two enough to realize that Merlin did more for Camelot than serve the Crown Prince breakfast. The hollow and almost haunting looks he would have on his face when he thought no one was looking and the injuries he tries so hard to keep hidden are evidence enough of his clandestine heroic activities. If there was something Arthur knew, it was injuries sustained in battle and the burden of a kingdom to protect.
One day, Arthur would call on Merlin for a debt to be paid and for the truth that is owed. Arthur would tell Merlin that he did notice the difference between the cheeky man's bright smile and the forced and reassuring ones he provide his loved ones.
But not today.
Today, Arthur had a pair of doppelgangers to deal with.
"Is this true?" he addressed his counterpart. Maybe he'll have a better chance of calling out a lie if it was written out on his own face.
"I don't really know much about the magic part but the last I remember was standing in a parking lot with-.. this bloke over here and a girl-"
Bradley stopped short and realization dawned not only to him but also to the person next to him. Both their azure eyes, one like the sky and one like the ocean depth, widened comically.
"Have you found another stranger in the woods?" Colin asked frantically, leaning closer to the prince with his brow furrowed and his jaw tense, his gaze like fire.
"I ask the questions here." Arthur snapped as he glared.
"She's a girl with white blonde hair, about a half a foot shorter than you, and blue eyes?" Bradley asked just as panicked as if the prince never spoke.
"Who are you talking about?" Merlin asked from behind.
Arthur was about to snap at him, too, for encouraging them of demanding.. whatever it was they wanted but there seemed to be a disturbance by the entrance of their little interrogation 'room'.
"Sire," a guard entered and rushed toward the prince. "We've found a girl in the woods. She-.. claims to be traveling with two men." he glanced at the prisoners. "I think she means them."
"Bring her in." Arthur commanded. The guard hastily obliged. Bradley and Colin visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Bring her in!" the guard repeated the command.
"Be still!" another shouted, annoyed.
"Get your bloody hands off me! I'm warning you, I swear I will kick your arse, you nasty little-"
A loud grunt could be heard from where the loud voices came from.
Colin winced and smiled sheepishly at the threats as if he approved of them yet he wasn't allowed to be caught doing it. Bradley had no such restrictions. He rolled his eyes and grinned triumphantly as if he was the one who kicked the poor man instead.
They came around a corner and a struggling girl was secured between two guards. She had on a dark blue jacket that suspiciously looked like it was made from the same material as Bradley's black one, a grey tunic underneath and trousers tucked inside her boots that stopped just a few inches below her knees. She had her white blonde curly hair cascading down her back and her lips a little pale against her light tan skin and her eyes a startling azure like Colin's which widened at the sight before her.
"Why-.. Wha-.."
"Yeah, I know. It's weird."
The girl gave Bradley a long look. "Shut up, Arthur."
"ARTHUR?" Prince Arthur demanded, scandalized.
"W-well, yes," Colin said. "Arthur Bradley."
"And I suppose you're Merlin Colin as well?" Arthur retorted, rather sarcastically.
"He's not." a voice from behind. The girl had a slight look of fear and panic in her eyes and Arthur found himself calming a bit, reining in his temper. She cast a small glance at the prisoners. "He's Colin-.. Morgan. My-.. brother."
She visibly gulped at each pause she made, her eyes darting back and forth from the prince to her brother.
Arthur snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yes, and I'm an idiot."
"Uhm, technically-.."
"Shut up, Merlin."
Arthur and Arthur Bradley both said at the same time. They looked at each other and the Crown Prince narrowed his eyes.
"Well, you did call my friend-.. Colin," Arthur Bradley hurried to explain, glancing at Colin who gave a small nod. "here Merlin, didn't you? And seeing as that man behind you look just like him, I just put the puzzle together. His name is Merlin."
Arthur Bradley looked pleased with himself for his witty cover of the slip-up. Colin and the blonde girl on the other hand looked identically exasperated. Even Merlin and Gaius had one on their faces. Prince Arthur wanted to smack his forehead with a satisfying loud pop but only with the unequal willpower of Camelot's greatest knight and future king did he manage to restrain himself from doing so.
Arthur sighed and turned to the guards holding the blonde girl in place.
"Make sure they're guarded and bound. If they try something funny, you inform me immediately. No matter how small it may seem." he told the guards.
Merlin and Gaius headed went ahead to retire themselves to bed, Arthur following their example. But before Arthur had walked out of hearing distance, he heard Colin say, "Are you all right, Gwen?"
Arthur stopped dead in his stride.
Somehow, Arthur found the name quite fitting.
NOTES: So, that's for the first. Let me know how it sounds via comments and if I should go on with it.
I think it's all right, what says you?