For this little thing I drew inspiration from a story I read by Ulura. I would put in a link, but I'm not sure how fanfiction reacts to them, so just look it up: it's called The Words. Brilliant little thing which I very much enjoyed reading. I hope the author won't mind me spinning a little story of my own on the idea of the Soul Words, but if you like this at all give Ulura a thumbs up and like the story that was the basis for this one.
"Who will take the challenge?" Morgan demanded loudly keenly watching the opposing side to find his opponent. Arthur made to go forward, but before he could accept the duel someone else beat him to it.
"I accept."
All heads swiveled to the dark alcove on the right where the voice came from. Merlin came out of the darkness a bloodied sword in her right hand and slowly entered the empty space in between two armies standing in front of Morgan. She glanced at Arthur over her shoulder momentarily and he realized that she was about to finally reveal her magic despite the fact that he'd known about it for years and already had the papers completely lifting the ban ready to be passed.
Merlin looked tired, worn out like she'd never had; Morgan seemed resigned, which was rather confusing. The two shared a long look that seemed to let them communicate before they gave each other a sharp nod and their expressions turned to stone betraying nothing of what they felt or thought.
"You know the rules," Morgan stated and Merlin inclined her head in acceptance, tired defeat. They stood in front of each other, studying each other quietly as the spectators waited with baited breath for the duel to begin. A duel that will decide the future of Albion.
Once it became obvious that Merlin wasn't going to make the first move, Morgan mumbled something and a fireball flew towards Merlin; the woman barely even blinked, gracefully spinning out of the way and evading another two that followed in the same manner. Morgan scowled at her and she shrugged unrepentant, before swiftly dodging a burst of dark energy that sped towards her faster than the fireballs.
"Fight back," Morgan growled in annoyance and Merlin stopped momentarily, cocking her head to the side.
"I'd hate to end this before it even began," Merlin taunted, spinning her blade once. Morgan lifted an eyebrow as though daring her to prove the validity of that statement, but Merlin wouldn't raise to the bait.
Despite that, Merlin was slowly making her way towards Morgan. The man let out a string of what was gibberish to anyone not versed in complex incantations and threw a blast at Merlin who simply lifted her hand and absorbed the attack as if it was nothing. Morgan held his ground and threw a spell after spell, all of which were absorbed once they touched Merlin. With a shout of anger he threw something different at her this time and it was the first hit that connected. She paused in her advance, looking at her shoulder curiously where the spell hit her. There was a good tear in her shirt, but the skin underneath was unblemished.
Looking up, Merlin regarded Morgan with an annoyed tilt to her head and flicked her fingers in his direction, mirroring his attack; it hit him in the shoulder exactly as it did her, but instead of simply tearing his clothes it tore clean through his shoulder knocking the man onto the ground bleeding profusely.
Morgan growled out something and the bleeding stopped, although the wound still looked rather painful. Merlin continued her slow advance as Morgan got back to his feet and shot a few spells in her direction, only to be deflected by a shimmering golden shield. Merlin retaliated in kind, her spells hitting Morgan's own shield so solidly that he slid backwards with each hit despite bracing himself and pouring almost all he had into defence. The shield flickered, stabilizing after some effort on Morgan's part.
It was blaringly obvious to anyone who would have cared to comment that Merlin had the upper hand; after a few more spells the two finally met just off the middle and Morgan pulled out his sword instantly falling into an offensive. Merlin matched him blow for blow, shocking the knights and Arthur into silence. They'd never really seen her fight, but they had to admit that they were proud of her. The two appeared to be rather evenly matched, although Morgan steadily gained an upper hand using the occasion to try to blast at Merlin with magic; which was a bad move since Merlin retaliated with magic and easily gained any lost ground back.
The two danced around each other for a while until Merlin retaliated particularly viciously, which gave a hint that before that she was holding back. Morgan was thrown painfully to the ground and Merlin stood over him, the tip of her sword resting just under Morgan's chin. One wrong move on his part and he'd be dead.
The two froze as did the entire courtyard. It was deathly silent for a few beats.
"Surrender." Merlin offered, with a hint of plea. Everyone watched Morgan to see what he'd do.
"Stand down," was all he said. It was obvious that it was an order to his army and they swiftly dispersed, leaving not a trace of them behind. Camelot had won.
"Kill me," Morgan suddenly blurted out startling Merlin into moving her sword back in shock. "You know the rules, Merlin. End this."
Merlin stared at him until comprehension dawned on her and her grip on her sword tightened. The knights waited quietly, but Merlin stalled, her breathing becoming more rapid the longer she waited and concentrated. Finally she deflated.
"I can't do it," Merlin chocked out, her grip on her sword shifting and the blade quivering along with her arm. "I can't kill you."
Morgan watched her quietly for a moment, catching his breath, before manoeuvring the blade back to rest against his chest above his heart. "You have to. You can do it, Merlin."
Merlin started to shake her head even before he got the words out, biting her lip hard to keep from crying. Arthur and the Knights watched in confusion as Morgan almost tenderly tried to convince Merlin to kill him, showing a side to him that was gone so long they barely remembered it.
"Don't make me, don't - …" Merlin glared at the blade she was holding before throwing it away from her as if it was a poisonous snake. Morgan looked between the blade and the witch momentarily, before slowly standing and bringing her discarded weapon with him. The Round Table tensed ready to spring forward to defend Merlin should Morgan try to harm her, but the man just gave them an incensed look as if saying 'I cannot believe you would think I will harm her!' before taking one of Merlin's limp hands and wrapping her fingers around the hilt holding them there with his own.
"You know that we are puppets of fate and as long as Camelot stands and Arthur lives I will not be able to stop trying to ruin it all," Morgan tipped Merlin's face up staring down at her intently. "I cannot stop myself, so you will have to stop me." Merlin's lips wobbled as she opened her mouth to argue, but Morgan won't let her, quieting her with a gentle finger pressing against her lips. "I regret that we were never given a proper chance. But maybe one day when fate has no use for us anymore, we will meet again." He kissed her forehead tenderly, wiping away her tears. "Now you need to fulfill your destiny – you need to save me from the darkness and from myself. Kill me. Be my salvation and my doom."
"N-no," Merlin tried to push away from the man, but he kept her firmly next to him letting her vent. "No, I can't, I can't! I can't!" Merlin shrieked, scaring the Knights – she hardly ever raised her voice and never with that kind of emotion to it. "No, no, no!" She let out a harsh painful sound. "Why? Why is it always me who suffers the losses? Why?!" she smacked Morgan's chest pathetically. "Have I not lost enough? Not sacrificed enough? Why am I always the one to give, always to give – I can't! I have nothing left to give!"
"Merlin," Morgan put his arms around the hysterical witch and held her as harsh sobs wrecked her tiny frame. He glanced up and over her head, his eyes meeting the astonished audience. As he ran his hands up and down her back, one slipping into her hair, he stared thoughtfully at the Knights and the Golden King.
Arthur.
The King jerked, hearing Morgan's voice in his head while the man's mouth remained shut. The Knights jumped in surprise, but Morgan ignored everyone but Arthur.
You owe me nothing, but you owe Merlin everything. Without her you and Camelot would be pathetic ruin of something that has the potential to be the greatest kingdom to have ever been.
Morgan stopped for a moment, shushing the woman in his arms and pressing a kiss to the top of her head that was tucked under his chin. Merlin clung to him in response as if her life depended on it. Morgan's eyes flashed.
The knights were ready to run to Merlin's rescue, but stopped at Morgan's annoyed dark look. He ran his hand through her hair again, before subtly turning his arm (the sleeve had moved on its own accord revealing his forearm) their way and showing them his Soul Word. There is black and gold shone Merlin, glittering in the afternoon sun. The Round Table inhaled sharply, finally understanding Merlin's hysterics and her forceful refusal to harm Morgan no matter what he did. Now that they thought about it, Merlin had more than enough power and many opportunities to kill Morgan had she really wanted to. It made sense now why she never did.
With Merlin there Camelot will be magnificent. Morgan smiled almost dreamily, cradling Merlin to him. Magic will be back to stay and the land will flourish. But that cannot be while I live. I may wish for it to come to pass, but the fate's hold on me is far too strong. Merlin is the only one that can stop me and make that future possible. Do you understand where I am going with this?
Arthur's blood ran cold and out of the corner of his eye he could see his trusted knights stutter, their faces turning ashen. Arthur had an idea of what Morgan had in mind. If he was to be believed, then Merlin was the only thing that could kill him and it fell to Arthur to convince her to do so. He was supposed to make her kill her Soul Mate. For Camelot. Arthur slowly shook his head in denial, a memory of Merlin crying over one lost love, the love he took away from her, fresh in his mind. He already carried the guilt of cursing her with loneliness and now Morgan wanted him to take away her miraculous second chance?
If you ask it of her, she will do it, Arthur. She would do anything for you, including walking into a pyre to die. She'd trade her life for yours in a heartbeat. Destiny would not let her free any more than it does me. We are both doomed to suffer so that fate will have a story to tell later and until she is done with us we will be stuck in the vicious circle on the opposite sides of this war. I am tired. All I want, all I need is Merlin; but I cannot have her and my death will bring us closer to the time the prophecy is done and we all are free. Set us both free. Make her kill me, Pendragon.
Obviously done with his speech Morgan gave his complete attention to the woman in his arms, rocking her gently. He let her drop the sword again, letting her burrow into him instead. He whispered something to her, meant for her ears only, trying to calm her, to support her and at the same time get her in the mind enough to off him when the time comes.
"I'm your mortal flaw and you're my fatal sin," Morgan smirked obviously bringing up something that only the two of them understood because Merlin briefly smiled. To the onlookers Morgan's description seemed eerily accurate, however strange, when applied to the truly star crossed lovers. The tragic lovers of Camelot. "I knew you'd be the death of me since the day we met."
Merlin stared up at her Soul Mate with wide eyes, asking him if he'd had a dream of her killing him so long ago silently. He chuckled at her comically wide eyes and shook his head fondly, easing her mind.
"I'm not strong enough, Morgan," Merlin said quietly, almost pitifully. "I could never even think about killing you. No matter how much harm we inflicted on each other I could never finish the job. I don't deserve…"
"You are the strongest, most wonderful person I have ever met. A true warrior who can last eternity to come with the same fortitude and loyalty you've always displayed for those you care about. I am honored to have been your friend, however briefly and most humbled that you did not deny what could have been between us," Morgan insistently told Merlin, ducking into her face so she could see his sincerity. Satisfied that she got the message despite the rivers of tears and barely contained fear, Morgan invited her back into his embrace until she felt ready to do what she had to.
Once Merlin's hysterics calmed down and her tears slowed, Morgan grabbed a familiar looking dagger out of a sheath hidden in his clothes and carefully tucked it into Merlin's hand, making sure she held it.
"This was burnished in the dragon's breath, Merlin," he told her quietly, knowing she would understand the significance of that. "I want you to take it and keep with you afterwards. For however long you can."
Merlin clutched the dagger with shaking hands, terror obvious on her features. Morgan just smiled encouragingly, wrapping his arms around her and Merlin copied his movements, the dagger resting between his shoulder blades as her arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders.
"Save me, love," Morgan told Merlin quietly, smiling an almost serene smile in the face of his impending death, before pulling Merlin more firmly to him and kissing her. Merlin returned the kiss eagerly, her resolve wavering and for a moment Arthur thought that maybe she won't do it; maybe she would finally choose her own happiness before Arthur. They parted momentarily, panting. "Free us." Merlin made a small noise and he was back to feverishly kissing her, slowly gentling the kiss and turning the raw passion and need into glowing love that was strong enough to set fire to the world. The Knights waited with baited breath, watching the tragedy of Merlin's life continue, as Merlin slowly lifted the dagger with both hands and plunged it into Morgan's back; the man flinched, grasping against Merlin's lips, but won't be parted from her as the long blade was buried far enough to reach his heart and kill him almost instantly. The two of them sunk down to the ground, Morgan turning into a dead weight Merlin wasn't strong enough to bear on her own and they saw a content smile on Morgan's lips as his breathing slowed. Merlin shook from the effort of containing her grief for Morgan's sake – she just sat there, cradling him to her and whispering soothing, loving words until he stopped breathing, his arms sliding from around her, and fell completely limp.
Not knowing what to do in the situation they found themselves in, the knights watched as Merlin tried to continue keeping her pain in, trying to bottle it up with no success until the sobs burst out of her; the ugly painful sounds contained so much suffering, despair and heartbreak that the men found themselves lowering their heads to try and hide their tears. They didn't know how long they stood there in silent vigil, watching over Merlin as she grieved her loss; the skies darkened dramatically, dark clouds rolling in, the wind picking up in ferocity, thunder rumbling and the earth shuddering in reaction to the witch's pain.
Suddenly Merlin threw her head back and screamed – her pain poured into her power and her voice, she screamed and screamed and nature reacted in the downpour, violent shakes and rumbles from within the earth, terrifying clashes of thunder and lightning and the wind turning almost into a tornado. Merlin's eyes glowed bright gold with magic as she let out the feelings she could no longer contain. Arthur and the knights were forced to seek refuge under cover of the remnants of a stone passageway least Merlin accidentally harm them in her weaker moment – she would never be able to forgive herself regardless of the circumstances.
And so they waited, hoping that this was the last sacrifice Merlin would be ever forced to make. That she is heading for a future greater than anything they could ever imagine. She deserved that like no one else.
One day, Merlin. One day.