So this is my first Merlin fanfic, just what I imagined would have happened if Arthur had followed Merlin sometimes. Probably most chapters will be a reveal of some sorts at least, if not always about magic. Chapters will not be linked, seperate short one-shots.
Disclaimer: I do not own BBC Merlin, or any of the Arthurian Legends. I'm not sure it's actually possible to own them.
Arthur Pendragon stood impatiently in his bedchamber, tapping his foot irritably on the wooden floor. He was due to be in a council meeting in half an hour, but his useless manservant hadn't arrived with his breakfast yet – he'd had to dress himself! – and Arthur was mentally reciting a list of insults with which to describe Merlin.
Sighing, he turned away from the door and walked to the window, gazing over the courtyard below. It was early, so there was not much movement, but a few harried servants were hurriedly making their way to their various workplaces. Idly Arthur wondered why his servant seemed to be the worst in the castle. He was the Prince after all, surely his servant should be the best of the lot, not oversleeping every other day, dropping his breakfast on the floor or embarrassing him in front of the court. Arthur could go on for hours about the things Merlin wasn't supposed to do but which somehow still ended up occurring.
…Which included riding out of the castle on one of the royal horses as though death itself was on his heels. Arthur gaped down as his missing manservant galloped past the rather startled guards by the gates and vanished out of sight.
For a moment, Arthur stood stock still in disbelief, before spinning on his heel and marching to the door, grabbing his sword from where it lay as he passed. He reached the door and glanced down the corridor, spotting a maid carrying a basket of laundry heading towards him.
"Hey, you!" He called, sighing in exasperation as the girl's load fell to the floor in surprise. She flushed and dropped to the floor, gathering the clothes and muttering apologies as she did so.
"Get someone to saddle my horse for me," Arthur commanded, "And be quick about it."
Bobbing her head and curtseying hurriedly, the girl practically ran back the way she came.
Arthur strode towards the throne room with the intent to inform his father of his leaving, but stopped suddenly. His father would never allow him to leave the castle to look for a servant, especially as he had only just recovered from the bite of the Questing Beast.
Changing his mind, Arthur reached out and stopped another passing servant, who immediately bowed deeply.
"Tell my father that I will not be able to attend court today as I am feeling ill as a result of the Questing Beast bite."
With many "Yes Sires" and "As you say Milords" the boy left, leaving Arthur standing in the corridor, slightly exasperated. Honestly, were all the servants his father hired bootlickers? The thought made him recall his conversation with Merlin the night before, and his odd behaviour. That couldn't be linked to this, could it?
He rounded a corner and was forced to dive into an alcove as he heard Morgana and her maid Guinevere approaching. She was talking about some aspect of female life – dresses or something as meaningless – and soon they were out of earshot and Arthur extracted himself from his undignified hiding place.
He was surprised and pleased to find his horse saddled and ready to ride when he reached the stables. His stable-hand, Tyr, was holding the reigns.
"Saddled and ready to go Milord," The boy said cheerfully, "And I just had his shoe changed – the one that you said was hurting him – so he should run like the wind."
Arthur smiled; you couldn't dislike Tyr, he was just so innocent and happy all the time.
"Thank you Tyr," He said, "I would, ah, appreciate it if you didn't mention this to my father at least for a while."
Tyr's eyes widened slightly, but he smiled nervously.
"Don't worry Sire, I won't say nothing."
Nodding, Arthur mounted his horse, and dug in his heels, galloping swiftly through the gates and out of the courtyard. It would only take the slightest investigation to discover his leaving, but hopefully he wouldn't be gone long enough for his father to notice.
Soon enough, Arthur was out of the city and following the path into the forest. Merlin was clearly not bothering to hide his tracks and Arthur knew he couldn't be more than half an hour ahead of him, although the boy had been riding like the wind.
Arthur had assumed that Merlin had simply been heading to the forest for some reason, so was surprised when the tracks continued out of the wood and towards the Seas of Meredor.
Curious now, Arthur slowed as he came to the crest of a hill, scanning the landscape for his servant. Sure enough, barely 200 yards ahead of him sat a solitary figure upon a horse, staring out over the great sea in front of him.
Arthur had planned, upon catching up with Merlin, on dragging the boy back to Camelot and forcing him to perform the most heinous chores possible, but now he had to admit he was curious about what the servant was doing. Maybe he would follow him for a while, see what he was up to.
Suddenly, Merlin set off again, heading down the hill towards the shore. Looking out over the sea for the first time, Arthur's blood ran cold. There was an island off the shore of the great grey sea. But this island was…spooky. There was no other word for it, not that he could think of. But that was a lie. One word swam to the front of his mind when he looked at the island, a word he had been taught to fear more than anything else, hate above all other evils.
Magic.
And Merlin was heading straight for it.
Arthur swore under his breath before setting off at a trot, traversing down the hill as quietly as he could. He still needed to discover why Merlin was aiming for such a quite obviously magical island.
With a horrible feeling of unease, Arthur cast his mind back to one court meeting when a noble brought up the matter of an island in the Seas of Meredor. The Isle of the Blessed. According to the noble it was one of the most powerful magical locations in all of Albion. Even his father didn't dare try and overthrow it. There were horrible rumours about the Priestesses of the Old Religion offering blood sacrifices and performing ancient rituals on the Isle, casting spells and enchantments of the strongest kind.
All this ran through Arthur's mind in a moment, quickly followed by one thought.
Merlin, you're an idiot.
The idiot in question had now reached the shore of the sea, and, to Arthur's horror, was stepping into a small rowboat that immediately started moving towards the island without any noticeable source.
Arthur quickly galloped the last stretch to the shore and cast his eyes around frantically for another vessel.
To his relief, he soon spotted a boat identical to the one carrying Merlin to certain doom lurking under a small tree overhanging the water.
Warily, he stepped into it and sat down, waiting for it to move. However, to his confusion it stayed perfectly motionless. He glanced around in befuddlement – why had the other boat moved and not this one? Maybe he had to do something…
His stomach sank however, as he noticed a pair of oars resting by his feet.
"Typical," he grumbled to himself, "Merlin gets the boat that moves by itself, and I have to work."
He had to admit though, he was moving more quickly than Merlin was, who he could still see barely 100 yards ahead now. Really, his servant was being quite unobservant, even for him. He must have something really big on his mind not to notice a rowboat quickly catching up with him. A horrible thought suddenly occurred to him. What if Merlin had been enchanted? That would explain why he was approaching this island of magic, when the Merlin Arthur knew would be far too scared to even think about it. Then Arthur thought back to the previous night, and Merlin's words. "I'm happy to be your servant, till the day I die."
Arthur couldn't bury the feeling that maybe Merlin thought that day was approaching far too quickly. Did he know he was going to be enchanted? Why hadn't he told Arthur what was wrong?
Rowing with a renewed vigour, Arthur followed Merlin round a bend and under an archway, no longer wanting to follow but merely to catch up with the enchanted moron before it was too late. As he rounded a final bend, he saw the other boat carelessly abandoned on a small beach and a glimpse of dark hair disappearing through another archway.
Quickly, Arthur jumped out and followed, only to stop dead at the sight that met him.
It was just like in the stories. A sorceress was chanting in the Old Language, holding some sort of cup out over a limp body lying against a stone table.
Then Arthur's eyes drifted to the body itself, and his heart leapt into his mouth.
It was Gaius.
The world suddenly seemed like it had turned upside down and Arthur staggered backwards into a pillar. Gaius couldn't be here. He couldn't. It didn't make sense. And he certainly couldn't be…
Arthur couldn't even bring himself to think it.
But everything was suddenly making horrifying sense. What could possibly force Merlin to travel to a magical island? Who was the one person who Merlin would risk everything for, even his life?
Gaius.
Merlin! Arthur had been so preoccupied he had forgotten about his servant, who was now standing in plain sight of a very evil, very powerful sorceress. Arthur wished he could call him back so they could form a plan together, but it was too late.
"Stop!"
The idiot had jumped out into the clearing, and the sorceress turned towards Merlin, Arthur seeing her face for the first time.
Shock froze him for an instant. It was her! The sorceress who had tried to kill him and stop him from saving Merlin. Hate bubbled up inside him. She would pay for what she had done, but right now he had more pressing issues, for the witch in question had fixed her eyes on Arthur's defenceless manservant.
"Back again so soon warlock?" The sorceress said, placing the goblet she was holding down on the stone and gliding towards Merlin, her eyes glinting with cunning.
Arthur wanted to call Merlin back, or at least go to help him, but something the sorceress said froze him. Warlock? What was a Warlock? Arthur had a strange feeling he'd heard the word before, but could not for the life of him remember what it meant, only that it might have something to do with magic. Why the witch was calling Merlin one he had no idea.
"What have you done?" Arthur couldn't see Merlin's face, but his voice was full of horror and disbelief. Arthur was impressed however, by the lack of fear present in Merlin's voice; he had been sure the servant would have been quaking in his boots if faced with a powerful sorceress. He supposed his hatred and grief outweighed his fear. The idiot.
"Your mother is safe. Isn't that what you wanted?" The sorceress was still approaching Merlin, her red dress fanning out behind her like a cape. Arthur officially had no idea what was going on now. Had Merlin already met this woman? It certainly seemed like it, but what did Gaius and Hunith have to do with anything? And more importantly, if Merlin's mother had been in danger, why hadn't Arthur been told?
"Have you killed him?" Merlin's voice broke slightly during the question, and Arthur felt himself tense, not wanting to know the answer.
"It was his wish." Arthur wished he could knock the evil smirk right off the witch's pale face, but her words froze him. Gaius had wanted to die? No, she must be lying, Merlin would know that.
However, the boy in question looked as though his worst fears had been confirmed. He turned away, and Arthur saw his face ; he looked distraught, but also frustrated, and Arthur could not see why. Unless he knew Gaius was going to sacrifice himself… That would explain why he had come to the cursed island.
Merlin turned back to the sorceress, and Arthur saw anger burning in his eyes.
"I bid my life for Arthur's, not my mother's, not Gaius'!" He shouted at the woman furiously. Arthur gave a start upon hearing his name, and slow horror crept through his body at Merlin's words. What did he mean; he bid his life for Arthur's? That never happened! Did it?
But the sorceress was speaking again, her voice raised to the same volume as Merlin's.
"The Old Religion does not care who lives and who dies, only that the balance of the world is restored. To save a life a life must be taken, Gaius knew this."
Realisation was hitting Arthur horrifyingly fast. 'To save a life a life must be taken.' The Questing Beast, with its 'incurable' bite. Merlin's odd words the night previously. 'I'm happy to be your servant, till the day I die.'
Merlin had tried to sacrifice himself to save Arthur.
Fondness and irritation directed at his servant swelled within Arthur in equal measure. The idiot was far too selfless for his own good.
But it hadn't worked. Not that Arthur was complaining, but Merlin was still alive. The sorceress must have taken someone else's life instead. Merlin's words suddenly returned to him.
"Not Gaius's, not my mother's!"
The sorceress had attempted to take Merlin's mother's life instead, and now Gaius was trading his life for hers. All to save Arthur. Guilt welled up in him as he realised the pain Merlin must have gone through for him, and right then he vowed to give his servant a day off if they ever got out of here.
Arthur tried to see a way he could sneak up on the sorceress, but he could not without being seen. If only Merlin moved a bit! But Arthur couldn't risk it. It was infuriating, having to watch but be unable to act.
"It is not the Old Religion that has done this, it is you." Merlin said, his voice full of an anger and hate that Arthur had never heard there before. In some far away corner of his mind Arthur wondered why Merlin was being so protective of the Old Religion; he sounded determined to prove it was not it's fault.
The sorceress smiled a cold smile.
"Come now. We are too valuable to each other to be enemies."
Arthur was going from barely with it to totally confused once more. Why would Merlin, a serving boy, be valuable to a High Priestess. It was almost as though she, she liked him. The thought was almost enough to make Arthur vomit. It wasn't that though. It was something else.
"No, I share nothing with you!" Merlin shouted at the woman, anger and hate clouding his tone. Arthur was getting more suspicious by the second. What were they talking about? He was starting to think that maybe there was more to Merlin than met the eye.
"With my help Arthur will become King." The sorceress said, smiling darkly. Arthur was once again shocked by the mention of his name, and even more so by the fact she said she would help him become King. But by the way she said it, he felt he would not like the way she 'helped' him become ruler.
"I will make Arthur King." Merlin spoke with such conviction that it was hard not to believe him, but Arthur still stared in disbelief. How was Merlin planning on making him King? But the boy in question was still speaking.
"But you will never see that day." Before Arthur could scoff at Merlin's threat, his servant threw out his hand, shouted, "Astrice!", and a golden fire burst from his outstretched palm and shot directly at the sorceress.
Till the day he died, Arthur would never forget how he felt at that moment. Disbelief, followed quickly by shock froze his expression. He shook his head, trying to prove his eyes wrong, but when he opened them again the fire was still erupting from Merlin's hand.
Merlin. A sorcerer.
Anger bubbled up inside Arthur. He had trusted Merlin, and all the time he had been lying to him, deceiving him. "I will make Arthur King." Suddenly those words took on a whole new meaning. Did Merlin plan on using him as a puppet, someone who could be used like a tool? Well he would have a shock, for Arthur would not play into his hands. He pushed down the hurt that threatened to overwhelm him at the thought of the betrayal, and glared at his servant, whose magical fire had been absorbed by the sorceress's hand.
"Your childish tricks are useless against me, Merlin," she drawled, moving her hand in a circular motion, and sparks started to form, "I am a Priestess of the Old Religion. Forbaerne!" She threw the now fully formed fireball in Merlin's direction. Arthur started forwards in concern, but forced himself to stop. Merlin was a sorcerer, he thought bitterly; he didn't need nor deserve Arthur's help.
Still, the part of him that was still in denial about Merlin's true identity was relieved when Merlin leapt out of the way. He hit the ground hard, and struggled to his feet as the sorceress approached, conjuring another fireball as she did so.
"You too are a creature of the Old Religion," She said, smirking, "You should join me."
Arthur shot a worried look at Merlin; he was being threatened with fire, there was a chance he would accept. Especially as he was one of them. Why wouldn't he join her?
But Merlin's face was full of contempt.
"You think, I would join forces with such a selfish and cruel magic?" He shook his head, "Never."
Despite himself, Arthur couldn't help but feel a spark of hope within himself. Was Merlin not evil? But he was a sorcerer, and they were all evil. But, whispered a small voice in the back of his mind, what about that light in the cave? The one that saved your life. That was certainly magic, and it wasn't evil.
But Arthur couldn't concentrate on his dilemma, as the sorceress was speaking, her smile still present.
"So be it," She said dangerously, and Arthur knew what was coming, "Aquibne!" And she threw the fireball straight at Merlin, who had no time to duck or move. It struck him directly in the chest, throwing him backwards several metres. Arthur nearly cried out for his friend, but stopped himself just in time. Merlin was groaning on the floor, his shirt scorched and Arthur could tell the skin beneath it was burnt severely as well.
The sorceress approached Merlin and looked down at him, with almost a disappointed air.
"Pity," she said, "Together we could have ruled the world."
Arthur started. How powerful was Merlin, if they could overthrow kingdoms, just the two of them? Maybe she was exaggerating. She must be.
The sorceress turned away from the boy on the ground, who was groaning in pain. She walked back towards Gaius. Arthur was about to move and attack her while her back was turned, but then Merlin became still. He rose to his feet, and Arthur shivered at the determination and power radiating off the serving boy. His eyes were full of anguish and hate, and those emotions were directed at the sorceress.
"You should not have killed my friend."
The sorceress turned and looked at Merlin with a patronising smile, but the boy raised his hand skywards and before Arthur's eyes, a storm began to form. The woman squinted at the clouds, but before she could react Merlin had lowered his hand, and with it came bolt after bolt of white lightning, striking the area where the sorceress stood. Arthur watched in disbelief as the sorceress exploded, leaving Merlin standing in the middle of an empty courtyard, hand still outstretched.
He lowered it, a slighting regretful but resigned expression on his face. He stood still for a second, then ran to where Gaius still lay, shaking him. Arthur watched him shake his mentor for a few moments before his legs started to work again. He staggered forwards, into the middle of the courtyard, deliberately not trying to be quiet.
Merlin froze, and slowly turned around.
His expression was priceless; his eyes widened comically and his mouth dropped open in horror upon seeing who was standing there.
"Arthur?" He said weakly. Arthur didn't respond, merely stood there watching his servant gape.
"What are you doing here?" Merlin asked, standing up, "You're supposed to be in bed."
"And you're not supposed to have magic," Arthur replied coolly, watching as Merlin's face turned from normal pale to deathly white.
"Wha-what are you talking about?" He defended half-heartedly, and that's when Arthur broke.
"I saw you Merlin! You have magic!" he roared, stepping towards his servant. "I thought you were in trouble so I followed you, but it turns out you were quite capable of looking after yourself! I trusted you, but you've been lying to me all this time (1)! What was your plan? Were you trying to use me? Or take the throne for yourself? Please, for the love of Camelot, I need to know!" Arthur's voice broke on the last word, as all the hurt and anger he had bottled away during the battle came pouring out.
Merlin had back away into the stone table, looking terrified and upset.
"Arthur, I never tried to hurt you," he said, meeting the Prince's eye, "I would never harm you or Camelot. Why would I?"
"I don't know, because you're a sorcerer?" Arthur growled, glaring at Merlin, who to his surprise, glared right back.
"What, so because I have magic I'm suddenly evil, am I?" He demanded, stepping closer to Arthur, "I'm still the same person Arthur (1)." He added more quietly.
"No!" Arthur snapped, "You're not. You're not the Merlin I thought I knew. How much of it was an act Merlin? How much did you lie to me?"
"As little as possible!" Merlin yelled, throwing his hands to the air, "Arthur, if I wanted you dead I would have just left. You couldn't survive a week without me."
That threw Arthur off track.
"What?" He asked, confused. Merlin smiled sadly at him.
"I protect you Arthur. It's what I do." He said quietly, "Since I first met you I have tried to protect you from the dangers that you've come across. Lady Helen. Valiant's shield. The Afank. I could go on for a long time."
Arthur was stunned, but shook his head in disbelief. "No, you can't have done that," He said in denial, "Why would you do that?"
"Because it is my destiny," Merlin said with such surety that Arthur hesitated in his scoffing, "As it has always been to do so. Because I have faith Arthur." He took a step closer, so they were barely metres apart, "That you will become the king I know you to be. That you will unite the lands of Albion and bring about a time of peace and prosperity for all people. But you need me to protect you until that time comes."
Arthur looked at Merlin in disbelief. How could he have that much faith in Arthur, a Pendragon, son of the person who had executed so many of Merlin's kind.
"But you have magic," he protested feebly, "You chose to learn magic."
Merlin laughed a humourless laugh and shook his head.
"You think I chose this? You think I wanted to be an outcast, to be ashamed of how I was born, to have to hide who I am? (2) I never wanted this Arthur, I was born with magic."
Arthur stood stock still in shock for a few moments, "That's impossible," he said uncertainly. Merlin smiled at him again.
"You'd think wouldn't you? But I had to be special. For some reason, I was chosen to have this power, but to be forbidden from using it freely. Arthur, you may wish I didn't have magic, but you cannot want for me to have been born normal than I do myself."
Arthur stared at Merlin for a while, and, finally, he nodded.
Merlin's face broke into the first real smile Arthur had seen that day, and he laughed a laugh of relief. Arthur smiled too.
Suddenly, a groan sounded from behind them, and they both turned to see Gaius stirring behind them.
"Gaius!" Merlin rushed to his mentor, kneeling behind him. Gaius focused on him blearily.
"Merlin?" he said tiredly, "What's going on?"
Merlin laughed again, and closed his eyes in relief.
"The balance of life and death has been restored," he said, grinning happily, "Everything's going to be alrightl."
Gaius smiled, but it slid off his face when he noticed Arthur standing awkwardly behind Merlin.
"Arthur?" Gaius looked at Merlin in confusion, "Why is he here?"
"I'll explain on the way back to Camelot, Gaius," Merlin said, "We have plenty of time,"
"That's right," Arthur spoke up, looking straight at Merlin, "We have all the time in the world for explanations."
Merlin took one look at the steely glint in Arthur's eye, and gulped. He was going to regret this…
That took a while! I have some ideas for future chapters, like Arthur seeing the Agravaine confrontation or various conversations with Mordred and Gilli. If you have ideas or opinions, please tell me in a review. Thanks again for reading!