Merlin stood silently at the front of the crowd, his face emotionless. He knew that he shouldn't have been out there at all. Gaius had forbidden him from going, and Gwen had tried to stop him on his way. But this was just something he couldn't miss. People whispered and muttered all around him, but he refused to join in the gossip.
The crowd was quickly silenced as a young woman was forced towards the platform they were gathered around. Her head hung low and her hair was a mess. She lagged behind the guards that pulled her, as if trying to delay the inevitable. Merlin craned his neck to try and see her face, needing to know that it wasn't just some hoax.
Finally, the figure turned her head to look into the crowd, her eyes seeking out anything or anyone familiar. They finally fell upon Merlin and she paused in her walk. Their eyes locked momentarily before he looked away. He couldn't face Morgana. Not in this state. Not when her execution was minutes away.
She barely even looked like Morgana anymore. A failed attempt on the king's life and a death sentence could do that to someone. Morgana's clothes were torn, her eyes bloodshot and wild. She continued to stare at Merlin desperately, almost reaching out for him as she stumbled off the path, finally being forced by the guards onto the first step of the platform. When Morgana looked into the crowd again, Merlin was gone.
He had pushed his way deep into the crowd as soon as she had looked away. By the time she looked up again, he was out of the crowd and heading towards the nearest building. Merlin stood next to the door of the house, then turned his gaze to the crowd again.
As Merlin leaned against the wall, Uther stepped out onto the ledge to deliver his usual speech about magic. Merlin tuned him out quickly; he didn't think he could listen to that speech one more time without going insane. As Uther finished his speech, Merlin could see the ax raised over the head of the executioner before it was brought swiftly down again.
And it was over.
Merlin held his breath for a moment before he stepped up to the crowd again. He had to know that she was really dead; he had to see it with his own eyes. As he took a step into the crowd, he felt a hand close around his wrist. At first, he thought that somehow, someone had found out about his magic and was going to kill him then and there. As he turned around, he realized it was only Arthur and he felt relief flood through him for a moment.
"Merlin! I should have known you'd be stupid enough to come here today," he growled, pulling him away from the crowd. Merlin glared at him before turning away.
"I needed to be here," he muttered.
"No, Merlin, you didn't. You needed to be anywhere but here," Arthur scolded, still half-dragging him down the street.
"Let go of me already, you prat," Merlin growled after a moment, trying to pull his arm free of Arthur's grip. Arthur refused to let go and Merlin looked up at him again. They locked eyes momentarily until Merlin realized he was starting to cry. He looked away again, wiping them away with his free hand.
"I know, Merlin. We are all still upset about Morgana's betrayal, but-" Arthur began with a sigh before he was cut off.
"I'm not upset about her betrayal, Arthur! I'm upset by her death!" he shouted, finally pulling his arm free. Arthur looked somewhat surprised and several people in the crowd turned to look at them. "Don't you get it?" Merlin asked, no longer hiding his tears as he continued, "She would have been put to death the moment anyone found out anyways. She got desperate, Arthur!"
Arthur realized people were starting to whisper and he turned to glare at Merlin. He quickly grabbed him by the arm again and started dragging him down the street towards the castle. He ignored Merlin's protests until he finally reached his room, where he released Merlin and shut the door behind them.
"Are you insane, Merlin?" he snarled as he turned around. "You can't defend her acts! You do that and people will think that you are on their side..." he added. When Merlin tried to say something in his defense, Arthur stopped him gently, "No, I don't want to hear it. His tone changed and Merlin hesitated as Arthur walked up to him. "Merlin, you can't just throw your life away like this," he said, putting his hand on Merlin's shoulder.
"Arthur, this is crazy. Too many people are dying because of this," Merlin said, looking him in the eyes.
"They know the laws. They get what they deserve," Arthur said firmly.
Merlin looked at him in disbelief. "Most of them have done nothing wrong! Some are only suspected of it. There is rarely any evidence... Innocent men and women are dying, Arthur," he said desperately.
Arthur shifted nervously on his feet before saying, "Magic started this fight."
"But your father started this war!" Merlin retorted bitterly, "And if he continues, this will turn into a full war. People won't just let him continue to do this much longer."
Arthur was taken aback by his sudden outburst and said, "Merlin...Are you really siding with...with them?"
Merlin hesitated before nodding. "Arthur, I've got to tell you something...And you have to swear you'll let me explain fully. Don't just go get the guards, alright?" he said, sounding nervous.
Arthur watched him cautiously before nodding and saying, "Fine."
Merlin sighed and shifted nervously on his feet, trying to work up the nerve to just say it. "Arthur, I am 'one of them'," he began with another slight sigh.
"What do you mean?" Arthur growled.
"I mean I can do magic," Merlin said, turning his gaze to the ground. As Arthur advanced on him, he quickly continued, "Arthur, please! You said you'd let me explain!" Arthur hesitated before finally stopping, mumbling something under his breath. It was obviously difficult for Arthur to restrain himself, and he clenched his fists as he held himself back.
"Thank you," Merlin said, sounding relieved. He took around fifteen minutes to fully explain it, getting the occasional confused look from Arthur. As he finished, he kept his gaze on the ground while Arthur thought things through.
"So you've been hiding it from me the entire time?" Arthur finally growled.
"I had to! If I hadn't, I would have been executed!" Merlin shouted, quickly adding, "And if I had been executed, you probably wouldn't be alive."
Arthur looked surprised at this statement, then asked coldly, "What do you mean by that?"
"How many times have I saved your life now, Arthur? How many times have I risked my own life to save yours?" he asked. "More times than you know, actually. There are times I saved you that you never knew about. Almost every time, I used magic to save you," he concluded. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, leaning against the wall.
Arthur hesitated before he walked up to Merlin. "It's still the law, Merlin...And until I'm king, there's no hope of getting that law changed," he said. Arthur seemed somewhat nervous, he rarely saw Merlin this angry or dark.
"Then there will be war, Arthur," Merlin said, turning to glare at him. "The people of Camelot won't stand for this any longer. iI/i won't stand for this any longer," Merlin said.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that if and when a war starts, you can bet that I'll be joining the side of magic," he growled. Arthur looked unsure what to say in response, his face a mixture of anger and confused sadness. Merlin let out a sigh and added, "I'm sorry, Arthur. Honestly, I wish it didn't have to come to this, but with Morgana's execution..."His voice trailed off and he turned his gaze to the ground once more
Arthur hesitated before he walked up to Merlin, pausing a moment and waiting until Merlin looked at him. "As prince, I would have to join this war. And I won't show mercy when this kingdom is under attack," he said.
"I won't be showing any mercy either, Arthur. But remember this: We will not be seeking to take over Camelot. We only seek to escape persecution, no matter what it takes," Merlin said, trying to avoid sounding harsh. "Most likely, though, it will only require your father's life," he added solemnly.
Arthur's gaze turned sharp and he slammed Merlin against the wall. "I cannot let that happen!" he snarled. Merlin flinched slightly and Arthur continued, "You will lose if you fight."
"This doesn't have to turn into a massacre, Arthur. At least not for us," Merlin said, glaring. "We want to kill one man to gain our freedom. You want to kill us all to protect the lies your father spread," he said, and Arthur quickly slapped him in response.
"Dammit, Merlin! Are you really that stupid?" he growled, and when Merlin started to reply, he interrupted, "Forget it. I can just get the guards to deal with you."
At the threat, Merlin muttered something under his breath and Arthur was thrown off of him and onto the ground. Merlin paused in the doorway, wanting to say something, but he stopped himself, instead just darting out the door and down the hallway.
He tried to avoid the busy hallways in his rush to get to Gaius before word spread. As Merlin darted in the door, he slid slightly on the floor, grabbing a shelf to steady himself. "Merlin! What are you doing?" Gaius scolded.
"I don't have time to explain. Arthur knows," he said in a rush, shutting the door behind him.
"What does he know, Merlin?" Gaius demanded, sound nervous as he walked up to him.
"He knows everything. He knows about my magic and the coming war," he replied, already beating himself up in his mind for telling Arthur anything.
"What war?"
"The war that I have to start now."
"You're going to start a war against Camelot?"
"No. I'm starting a war against Uther," Merlin explained, starting to sound annoyed. "And I kind of threw Arthur across the floor with magic...I don't think he took that well. I need to get out of here quickly. This is the first place he'll look, and I have no one on my side yet," he muttered, gathering a few things quickly.
"What are you going to do about that?" Gaius asked.
"I'm going to recruit," Merlin said simply, "I know of a few people in Camelot who can help with that when things calm down after this first day, and I'm going to try and get the remaining Druids on my side." As he finished explaining, they heard the sound of guards rushing down the hall and Merlin started to look panicked.
"Hurry up, Merlin!" Gaius yelled, nearly pushing him out the door. "They'll be coming here soon," he added in a growl.
Merlin hesitated in the doorway before muttering a quick thanks to Gaius and sprinting out into the streets of Camelot. He heard several guards yelling something behind him, but he ignored them. Merlin continued to run until he was out of breath, ducking into a small house that seemed to be abandoned. He panted as he waited for the guards to pass by, not daring to look out the door.
Merlin jumped as he heard a voice from behind him, "What do you think you're doing?" He turned around to see a young woman watching him cautiously, reaching slowly for a sword that was lying on the nearby table.
"I'm not here to hurt you," he said quickly.
The woman looked past him and towards the door, watching a few soldiers run by, yelling something. She saw Merlin flinch and slide further into the house. "You have Uther's men after you?" she snarled, grabbing the sword finally. "Why?" she asked, trying to hide her curiosity.
Merlin hesitated before letting out a sigh. "Magic," he finally muttered, flinching as he just waited for her to run out and get the guards.
"Magic?" she questioned, lowering the sword slightly and tilting her head as he nodded. The woman lowered her sword to her side before saying, "You look somewhat familiar. What's your name?"
"Merlin."
"Aren't you Prince Arthur's servant?" she asked, sounding surprised, "What are you doing messing around with magic?"
Merlin muttered something in an annoyed voice under his breath before quickly explaining his use of magic. He danced around the subject of the war until he noticed that she looked interested, and he gave a quick and basic description of it.
She looked at him curiously, "You hope to kill Uther Pendragon for this?" She started to say something else, then saw the guards approaching the house. She hesitated, and then said, "Quick, through here." At Merlin's confused look, she muttered, "Yes, I'm actually trying to help you. Now hurry up so this war doesn't die before it even begins."
Merlin started to follow her quickly, then turned and asked, "Who are you?"
"Kendra," she said, giving him the slightest smile before pushing him out the door. "Now hurry!" When Merlin was outside, she quickly said, "Come back tomorrow during the night. I know of some people who would be interested in this," then she shut the door in his face.
Merlin just stood there for a few moments, trying to figure out what had just happened before he shook his head and darted off as quickly as he could.
A few weeks later and most of the panic in Camelot had subsided. There had still been no sign of the servant since he had fled. Most people assumed he had just been bluffing and was too coward to come back, but Arthur knew better than to believe those rumors. He had seen the overly passionate look in Merlin's eyes when he had declared the war.
"Are you sure he's coming, sire?" one of the guards asked as he approached Arthur. They were standing out on one of the towers, staring out into the forest that extended past Camelot's walls.
"He's coming," Arthur said firmly. His gaze and tone were cold, but anxious. He was desperately awaiting the attack he knew was coming soon. "You didn't hear the way he spoke of this. He won't be giving up. Merlin will be coming soon," Arthur growled.
Merlin stood at the edge of the forest, staring up at the castle. He was leaning against a tree with his fists clenched at his side and his stomach in a knot. "Today's the day," he muttered to himself nervously.
"Merlin," called a voice from behind him. Merlin turned around, his hand starting to head to his sword, until he realized it was only Kendra and he let out a sigh.
"What is it?" he asked impatiently, hoping for good news.
"The guards are still at their posts, but they aren't as observant as before," she said. Merlin looked curious as she continued, "The gossip in Camelot is that everyone but Arthur has given up on thinking that a war is coming."
"That's good..." Merlin muttered, staring up at Camelot, zoning out. Kendra hesitated, not sure what to do next. Merlin finally snapped out of it and turned to face her again. "Alright, Kendra. Get people together. We'll attack tomorrow."