Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.
Chapter One:
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In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young man. His name... Merlin.
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Arthur was sat on his throne, beside him Gwen was watching him closely, her expression unreadable. The Knights of the Roundtable were stood alongside the throne, their faces a blank mask, void of all emotion. Gaius was stood to one side, grief and sadness battling for dominance on his face as he watched the door to the throne room, horror and fear settling heavily in his stomach.
The throne room doors were pulled open and a large group of guards entered and walking between them, chained and pale from there night in the dungeon, were Merlin and Mordred. The two of them were forced to their knees before the two thrones and Merlin looked up at Arthur, avoiding the gaze of the Knights, while Mordred looked everywhere but at the king.
"You stand accused of treason," Arthur stated, refusing to meet Merlin's gaze. "How do you plead?"
"Not guilty," Merlin answered.
"And you?" Arthur looked at Mordred, but refused to call Mordred by his name.
"N-not guilty," Mordred stuttered out, this situation hand been his greatest nightmare since he'd been old enough to know what death was.
"Not guilty," Arthur repeated, but there was an edge to his voice. "Not guilty? You practiced magic within Camelot's walls, you have allied yourselves with Morgana… How is that not treason?"
"You look, but you do not see, Arthur," Merlin replied. "I would never ally myself with the likes of Morgana!"
"You used magic, you don't deny it," Arthur pointed out.
"Just because I have magic doesn't mean I've sided with Morgana," Merlin answered. "I have had magic since the day I was born! I could use it before I could even walk or talk… You would have me executed for something I was born with?"
"The law is the law," Arthur stated. "You broke the law, you admit to it."
"I do," Merlin agreed. "But I did it for you, Arthur. I saved your life."
"You leave me no choice," Arthur said. "I hereby sentence you to death."
Arthur turned to Mordred, "And you, do you deny the use of magic within Camelot."
"No," Mordred answered, looking straight at Arthur and meeting his gaze, if Emrys could be strong so could he.
"You will both be burnt at the stake," Arthur stated. "At dawn tomorrow."
"Arthur…" Merlin began to plead.
"Take them away," Arthur ordered the guards.
"Arthur!" Merlin exclaimed, as the guard's grabbed hold of him. "You can't do this!"
Arthur just turned away as Merlin and Mordred were dragged from the throne room.
"If you do this," Merlin called out before the throne room were shut behind him. "There will be no escaping your doom, Arthur. Camelot will fall! Albion will fall!"
Sibella woke screaming, the sound of pure terror echoing off the walls of her bedchamber as she screamed until she could scream no more. Tears flowed down her cheeks and she whimpered as she wrapped her arms around herself. King Arthur had sentenced her father to death. Suddenly the doors to her room were thrown open and Freya rushed in.
Catching sight of her daughter and seeing the state she was in, Freya rushed over to Sibella and pulled her into a tight but soft embrace. She run a hand through Sibella's hair and let her cry into her shoulder. It was time like these Freya wished Merlin was here, together they'd be able to keep Sibella's dreams at bay.
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"Emrys."
Merlin woke with a start and looked round his room, the pale light of dawn was slowly creeping in and Merlin groaned and forced himself up onto his elbows as he looked round his room, trying to find what had woken him so suddenly. Gaius's soft snores sounded from the main room, so it wasn't the arrival of someone injured or sick that had woken him.
Slowly sitting up, Merlin run a hand through his hair. It was too early in the morning to go back to sleep, so he might as well get up and get ready for the day. He groaned again as he remembered Arthur had arranged a hunting trip with the knights today… Just what he needed, an entire day trekking through the forests with supplied and weapons which weighed more than him.
Only days before, it had been deemed too dangerous for him to go out and collect herbs on his own and now Arthur was going out on a hunting trip, with a group of Knights, armed and dressed in Camelot colours… What was going to attract more attention: someone collected herbs on their own with no visible weapons, or an entire patrols worth of Knights armed to the teeth?
Sighing Merlin finished getting changed and headed towards the door of his room. He pulled it open as quietly as he could, just because he'd woken up early didn't mean Gaius had to as well. Walking down the steps from his room, Merlin looked round the darkened chamber. There was something wrong, but he couldn't work out what is was.
He just had a feeling.
Shrugging slightly, Merlin made his way across the darkened chamber and began to prepare himself and Gaius a simple breakfast. Whatever was causing the feeling of unease, he'd worry about it later, once he'd eaten and had a chance to speak to Gaius. Maybe a magical artefact had been disturbed in the vault, or Merlin just wasn't fully awake yet and the unease was from a dream he couldn't remember.
Yawning, Merlin paused where he was setting out two bowls and shut his eyes for a second. When he opened them again, he jumped as he found a pair of eyes watching him from the shadows of the darkened room. Merlin breathed a sigh of relief as he realised it was just Archimedes, his owl. Walking over to the owl, Merlin held out an arm for the owl to hop on to.
"How did you get in?" Merlin asked, staring at owl, who hooted in reply.
"Merlin?" A voice asked and Merlin turned to see Gaius was awake and staring at the owl perched on Merlin's arm.
"Morning," Merlin answered with a sheepish smile.
Gaius just sighed and slowly sat up, wincing as his back ached and protested as he did so.
"I prepared breakfast," Merlin said, cheerfully as he gestured to the table.
Gaius raised an eyebrow at Merlin and Merlin quickly realised he hadn't dished out the porridge yet and quickly set about looking for a ladle.
"Emrys," A voice suddenly echoed through Merlin's head, causing him to drop the ladle he'd just found.
The voice was female, but Merlin had no idea who it belonged to.
"Who are you?" Merlin questioned, but he received no reply.
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"Alice!" Freya called as she hurried down the corridor, having caught sight of the healer.
"Freya, my dear," Alice turned and smiled as Freya approached, but it quickly faded and a look of concern replaced it. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Sibella," Freya answered as she drew level with Alice, tears threatening to roll down her cheeks. "She had a dream, Alice! She dreamed that the Once and Future King sentenced my husband to death… I can't protect her, Alice! What if next time she sees his death? What if she watches her father die?"
"There is no weapon in this realm capable of killing Emrys," Alice answered, taking Freya by the arm and leading her down the corridor. "As for Sibella, there are many ways a seer can channel their visions, so not to disturb their sleep."
"I know," Freya replied. "To see something like that… She's so young, Alice!"
"She's the daughter of Emrys and the Lady of the Lake," Alice said, leading Freya over to a chair as they entered a small private room. "Emrys has had his power since birth and you are of Avalon, the laws of magic work differently there."
"I worry about her," Freya sighed. "She's too young to witness such horrors."
"It's a mother's job to worry for her children," Alice placed a comforting hand on Freya's arm. "Gaius and I were never gifted with the opportunity to have children. The purge tore us apart and kept us apart… Had we been lucky enough, I doubt my reaction would have been any different to yours."
Freya sighed again.
"I have to go to Camelot," She finally said. "I have to wake sure Merlin is okay…. I know I can send him a letter or scry, but I won't truly believe he is alive and well until I see him with my own eyes. I don't want to leave the children behind, especially with Sibella suffering from such visions… But Camelot is no place for them to be. It isn't safe and won't be safe until Queen Mab's curse is broken or Morgana Pendragon has been killed… Does that make me a bad mother?"
"Oh, Freya, my dear," Alice smiled sadly. "There is not a day that passes in which I don't wish I could visit Gaius… To be away from your husband for so long, to know he lives in a place where he could be executed for the power he wields and to see him so rarely… To want to see him doesn't make you a bad mother. They are safe here, no one would dare harm them or let harm come to them… To take them to Camelot with you, would endanger them."
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Hey! I hope you enjoyed the start of this story. Until next time,
Blessed be,
TreeOfLife1997.