Merlin stretched his tired muscles as he finished ringing out the last shirt he had to clean. With a sigh of relief, he hung the shirt up on the line that all the others hung on, a small smile gracing his lips. He was finished, now all he had to do was serve Arthur dinner, maybe draw him a bath and then he would be done. He made his way to Arthur's chambers, frowning when he caught a glance of the courtyard out of the windows. There were never that many people in the courtyard, what was going on?
Dozens of people crowded around the center of the courtyard where a platform had been placed a platform. A young boy, shaking with terror stood in front of a stone slab, next to him a man shrouded in all black, a sickening grin on his face as he polished his ax.
Merlin took off at a sprint. He saw Arthur making to walk out on the balcony and managed to grab his arm and yank him away before he made it, "What the bloody hell are you doing, Arthur?"
Arthur seemed disoriented for a moment before meeting Merlin's eyes with a stoney gaze, "He's a sorcerer, Merlin. He was found this afternoon by a patrol in the lower town using magic,"
"A patrol? You're hunting your own people now? Arthur this is insane! He's a child, what could he have possibly done to deserve this?" Merlin insisted, trying to get through to the just king he thought Arthur was.
"It doesn't matter what he's done!" Arthur snapped, causing Merlin to take a step back, "Magic is evil and those who practice it condemn themselves. We are just lucky we caught him before he hurt anyone,"
All Merlin could do was stare at Arthur, watching him walk onto the balcony to deliver his sentence. Merlin had to look away when it was followed through. He felt a lump in his throat and started walking away. Arthur would be a great king some day, he would bring magic back to the lands and unite Albion. Merlin kept repeating those words in his head a he went to the kitchen to get Arthur's food.
Merlin stood off to the side, as far back as he could get while still being able to see. He didn't like watching Arthur when he was like this but he had to be here.
"Do you admit to teaching your son sorcery?" Arthur asked, his eyes boring down on the poor man and his wife who knelt before him.
"No, my lord, we never taught him sorcery," The man said, clutching his wife's hand tightly.
"Then where did he learn? Did he leave home at all, disappear? Or did someone else come to teach him?" Arthur interrogated them with cold eyes, it chilled Merlin to the bone.
"He did not learn it, my lord, he just knew it," The woman said, her eyes pleading for the king to understand.
Arthur only frowned, "If you will not tell me who taught him magic, I will be forced to charge both of you with sorcery,"
"No!" The woman cried out in terror, her husband hugging her tightly.
"You both are sentenced to death. Take them to the cells," Arthur said coldly, waving his hand to take them away.
Merlin's heart broke for the two as he watched them be dragged away. As soon as they were gone people began filing out, a couple of them reassuring Arthur by telling him he had made the right decision. Soon it was just him and Arthur in the throne room.
Merlin walked up to stand in front of the throne, his eyes regarding Arthur with utter disbelief, "What are you doing, Arthur? This isn't you,"
"I need to eradicate all sorcery before it has the chance to attack," Arthur said with a deep frown.
"Do you really think steel stands a chance against magic?" Merlin asked abruptly, surprising even himself, "Magic would have no problem escaping from the throne room, escaping from the cells, even escaping from the pyre. We've seen it all before a countless number of times. These people are willingly giving their lives to you, do you ever ask yourself why?"
Arthur was silent for a long moment, looking off into the distance as he made careful considerations, "You don't know anything about ruling a kingdom, Merlin." The silence that followed was pungent, broken by Arthur standing up and walking past him.
This… This was not the king that Arthur was supposed to be. Merlin was supposed to guide him to be a great king so he supposed that's what he had to start doing.
Merlin stood behind Arthur at the round table. It was Arthur's proudest accomplishment since he became king. He wanted everyone to be equal in Camelot. Everyone except…
"It's been made clear to me the sorcerers hide among us." Arthur said to his knights, "We must remain vigilant and create a battle plan so there is no chance they may succeed in their goals."
"Sire?" All eyes turned to Merlin. He never spoke during the round table meetings, that was because he wasn't technically a knight. And yet everyone at the table regarded him with the same respect that they gave each other. "I'd like to offer a different point of view. Might I show a demonstration to everyone?"
Arthur raised a brow, "What type of demonstration?"
"Trust me, it will be very informative," Merlin said with a small smile. Arthur frowned a little bit, clearly hesitant before nodding a bit. Merlin gave him a reassuring smile before taking a deep breath. "Friends, acquaintances, those I've known for years and those I've known for less. I care very much for all of you, but I'm afraid you're all approaching this situation incorrectly."
What are you doing Emrys?
Merlin met Mordred's eyes for a moment, watching the druid's eyes widen as his own burned with a golden fire. Within a moment the doors slammed shut and each knight was bound to their chairs.
"Merlin!" Shock radiated from each knight in the room, some furious, others dumbfounded. Everyone was still except for Arthur who was furiously struggling against the invisible bonds.
"I told you this before, Sire, you can't fight magic with steel," Merlin said, a blank expression on his face as he lifted one of the knights' swords into the air and melted the metal down with a flick of his wrist. "You can only fight magic," Merlin's hand shot a bolt of magic at Mordred who could only react on instinct, lifting his own hand to stop it before it hit him, "With magic,"
"Emrys, stop this," Mordred said, standing up.
"Tell me that it's the job of the once and future king to publicly execute innocent children and I will," Merlin challenged, sending a glare towards Mordred. The druid pressed his lips together in a tight frown before slowly sitting down again. Merlin watched him for a moment longer before looking out at the knights again, "There have been so many enemies who have attacked Camelot. If a sorcerer could lock the room and pin you all down as easily as I have, what makes you think you've defeated them all on your own? Nimueh, Morgause, Morgana, and all the people who wanted to assassinate the king all had to be stopped by someone right?"
"You're beginning to sound vain, Emrys," Mordred warned.
Merlin shot him a glare before continuing, "For every time magic has attacked you, magic has also protected you. Saying that every man who practices magic is capable only of evil is as say that every man who practices the art of sword craft has only the intent to kill. The acts of the few should not cost the lives of men, women, and children. And yet lives have been taken, far too many lives, and I've grown impatient waiting for a king who claims to strive for equality for all!"
"Emrys!" Merlin's eyes snapped to Mordred, the two of them exchanging piercing glares.
"You cannot tell me you haven't grown impatient as well. You cannot tell me that you don't fear for your life every single day. You cannot tell me that it doesn't kill you to continue to believe in the future that the king will create when the reality you see everyday paints you as the enemy." Merlin said, clenching his jaw slightly.
"It is not my place to decide when the law changes just as much as it isn't yours," Mordred argued, standing up again. Merlin could feel Mordred's magic begin prodding him and fighting his hold on the knights.
"That's where you are wrong. It is my destiny to protect Arthur and guide him to be the greatest king Albion has ever seen and I intend to do so," Merlin said, his own magic smothering Mordred's when he noticed the druid trying to fight him. He forcibly shoved Mordred back in his chair before looking at all the knights again. "I hope you will all take into consideration what has been said, that is the end of my demonstration." Merlin walked out, releasing his magic soon after. No one in the room moved, not even Mordred. No one spoke a word for many long minutes until Arthur stood up.
"You are all dismissed," He said in a flat tone as he walked out.
What's up guys, I'm not dead! I've been working a lot on original stuff but I just got back on a Merlin kick and I had to go through all of my old work. I found this and just had to share it. Let me know what you guys thing and if you want more from my archive of Merlin fics. ^w^ Lots of love to everyone reading!