Merlin jolted up as he felt ice cold water poured over face. He tried to rub his eyes, but he realized his hands were chained together. He looked around and saw he was in what looked like a cave. He looked over to his left and saw the one person he dreaded the most.
Morgana.
She stood there, smiling her now dark smile. Merlin remembered a time when that smile brightened his day after his chores. Now it struck fear to his very core, suddenly his mind went to another.
Arthur.
'Where is he?' Merlin growled in pure hatred. He wince at the evil laugh he received from the raven haired girl.
'Do you think I forgot him, Merlin? He's here, wouldn't it be easier to kill to birds with one stone.' she said, her smile never faltering. Merlin didn't have time to be scared, he scanned the cave again, this time looking for Arthur.
He looked into a corner and saw a bundle of blankets, he looked closer and saw a blond head sticking out. No, no this is not happening. Merlin and Arthur are left helpless in the hands of Morgana.
'What do you want from us?' he asked, knowing the answer.
'I want revenge. My whole life taken by Uther. My future killed by Arthur, and you Merlin tried to kill me. Uther is dead, all that is left is you, and him.' she said as glared at Merlin. Her eyes flashed gold, and Merlin was pulled to his feet by an invisible force.
'Now, sit back and watch.' she said before doing the same with Arthur. Merlin watched in horror as Morgana swayed toward his king. Arthur was still unconscious, but Morgana wanted him to awake. She grabbed a bucket of water that Merlin hadn't notice, and dumped it on Arthur. The king had the same reaction as his manservant.
'Morgana! W-what do you want?!' the young king yelled, his poisonous voice booming through the cave. Morgana didn't even flinch, instead she rolled her eyes.
'Relax your highness, I'm not here to cause you any bodily harm or take over Camelot. I just want you to feel my pain. The pain of having no one and not even be able to pretend you do.' she growled as she walked to the center of the cave, so both captives could see her.
'Arthur, when I found out I was Uther's daughter I thought I was scum. When my dear sister passed I thought I was the saddest person alive. Now I think I am fortunate, I haven't been nearly as sad as you. Not even close.'
'What are you talking about?' Arthur asked in frustration.
'Uther lied about how he used magic to conceive you, then killed millions even infants. Just because of his hatred of himself for killing Igrane.'
Merlin let out a dark chuckle at the irony of this whole thing. One minute he's eating the next he's kidnapped. Morgana is trying to guilt trip Arthur who never intentionally hurt her, while he was the one who poisoned her and killed her half-sister, Morgouse.
'What's funny Merlin?' she queried.
Merlin thought about his answer, one way or the other he was gonna die. Either Morgana killed him to hurt Arthur, or Arthur would when he found out about Merlin's magic. He had nothing to lose.
'This, this is funny. You kidnapped me to kill me in front of Arthur right.' it was a statement not a question.
'So smart for a manservant.' she cooed.
'I'm no ordinary manservant.' he said with pride. He finally made his choice.
'I go by three names and have three titles.' he said, he knew Morgana's curiosity would be her downfall if her hate wasn't.
'And what are they?' surprisingly Arthur asked.
'Manservant…warlock…and dragon lord.' he said, his voice in serious tone.
Merlin couldn't tell whose jaw hit the floor first. Arthur's or Morgana's'
'Well Merlin, prove it…if you can.' she was daring him to show it, to let his bluff be exposed.
Merlin's eyes flashed gold and his magical bonds were broken. He'd used this spell enough times, he didn't need to chant it anymore.
'Well well well, add another betrayal to your long list Arthur.' she said with an evil smile.
'I never betrayed him, I lied to keep him living.' Merlin explained. Arthur hadn't said any thing since Merlin said he had magic. He just glared at his so called friend.
'Merlin explain yourself, I might be kidnapped, but I am still king.' Arthur was near tears. He didn't understand any of this. He has never felt so betrayed. Not when he found out about his father, when Morgana went dark, or even when Gwen and Lancelot had an affair. Why did Merlin lying to him about his magic hurt so much.
'Arthur, my mother sent me to Gaius to learn how to control the magic I was born with. I never chose to practice magic, I had to learn how to control it.' he tried to reason with the obviously hurt king.
'Don't try to reason with me, Merlin. EXPLAIN THIS! NOW!' his voice raising in anger, hurt and confusion. Why is it that the whole magic-dragon lord thing isn't what's ticking Arthur off.
'I have been fighting every magical enemy you or Camelot has ever faced in secret. To be frank, you haven't defeated any of thing without some help from me. Part from the whole unicorn fiasco that I really couldn't even help with.' he explained. It felt almost heavenly for Merlin to finally tell Arthur what great and impossible he had done with his so called 'evil' magic.
'So, you lied to me, broke the biggest law of Camelot and dared to do it all right under my very nose.' Arthur asked.
'Yes.' he answered before turning to confront the silent and still stunned Morgana.
'Morgana, I know I was wrong for what I did to you, and I'm sorry. But Arthur is innocent. He never once tried to hurt you.'
' That crown belongs to me. Just because Uther never announced me as his child I am still older than him. I deserved to rule Camelot.'
'Morgana, there is no other way to say this. You are selfish.' he said bluntly looking at her face go from angry to furious.
'Say that again.' she growled.
'You're selfish. I know you lost your sister, I had no other choice. She was a threat to the kingdom. Uther lied to you your whole life, and cheated you out of the crown. But there are people who wish for what you have had. I only knew my father for a day in a half., and I saw him killed. I couldn't even grief for him without being discovered.'
'I'm s-sorry. I didn't know.' Morgana had forgotten how to apologize, it was almost foreign, it has been a while. Her deepest scar was never knowing who her father was and hating him when she did find out.
'Don't be, I just want you to be you, not what your sister was. Someone willing to kill herself just to hurt someone else. I know you are better than that, if not, than only one of us is leaving this cave.' his voice left no room for jokes.
'I wont kill myself, or Arthur, you either. Now, you never told me your three names.' Arthur was also interested in Merlin's identity.
'I'm Merlin to you, in my disguise I am Dragoon the Great…' Arthur's eyes nearly popped out of his eyes. The man who took Gwen's blame for bewitching him, the man that killed his father, the man that kicked him! Was Merlin, his wimpy manservant!
'…and to the Druids, I am Emrys, and I am the greatest Sorcerer that will ever live.' Morgana was now wide eyed in fear and pure shock. Not only did this…this…servant have magic, this was the magician that was going to be her doom.
Her eyes flashed gold and Merlin was thrown into a cave wall. He grunted as his back hit the wall full force, he fell to the floor just as hard. Merlin knew she'd want to fight the one who was marked as her doom.
His eyes flashed beautiful gold and Arthur fell from his invisible bounds. Arthur rushed to Merlin who was still picking himself up.
'Run.' Merlin said to Arthur as he got up, Arthur looked at him like he was insane.
'You should have listened my stubborn little brother.' Morgana said.
'Fiohrt elijete!' she yelled and a massive ball of fire in front of her. She let her war cry before the ball blasted toward the two men.
Merlin grabbed Arthur's arm, chanted a spell in his head and his eyes flashed gold. Arthur didn't know what had happened or how they ended up in the middle of the forest, he figured Merlin had did it.
'Merlin-' he was cut off by Merlin shushing him. Merlin put his hands out to the sides, took a deep breath and exhaled a golden ball of fire. He caught it in his hand, he flashed his golden eyes and the ball of flames shot into the air.
Arthur, had watched in amazement. He'd never really saw anyone use magic, it was beautiful. How had his father made such beauty evil?'
'What was that?' the amazed king asked in wonderment as he looked at where he thought the ball went.
'A decoy. It will make it appear as we went west so we wouldn't lead her to Camelot. It'll leave the footprint, broken branches campsites even our scents. Morgana will be in across the seas by the time that magic dies completely.' Merlin said with cocky smile on his face. Arthur knew that this was gonna be good.