AN: So here's the newest addition to the series that Warrior of Camelot and I wrote together. This story I believe will alternate with one chapter focusing on Merlin and who he is with, and the next chapter focusing on Arthur and he is with. They aren't together much in this story. It is highly recommended that you read the previous stories to this one first. If you haven't, just know that Merlin is Camelot's court sorcerer but recently he was kidnapped by an evil king and his magic restrained before he was saved (partially) by Gwaine, who then got captured. Right now Merlin, Mordred, and an OC who is an empath named Cuilén are going to get Merlin's magic back. Meanwhile, Arthur and Lancelot are saving Gwaine from the evil king.
Enjoy!
An owl hooted in the trees, and Merlin jumped, leaping awake from his light sleep. His hand scrambled for his dagger, and he was quick to give a sigh of relief when he found it next to him. The air was cold and smelled different than that of Camelot. It took several moments before he realized why he was moving, and as the memories floated back, the magicless warlock groaned. Thinking of his cousin, Merlin checked to make sure that Cuilén was alright, which caused the empath to mumble softly in his sleep. Once Merlin was satisfied that all was well, he finally leaned weakly back against the wall of the carriage.
"Everything okay?" Mordred called back, and Merlin replied that all was well.
"He's still asleep," Merlin added. They'd been traveling for two days now and Cuilén had not yet awoken, which frightened Merlin more than he could say. The only way they'd gotten any water in him was by tilting some down his throat, and he'd swallowed instinctually. He hadn't eaten anything.
"That is both good and worrisome," Mordred frowned. "At least he is resting which will allow him to heal but the fact that we cannot get him to eat is trouble. We will need to wake him up soon."
"How? We haven't tried, but I fear even if we do try, it won't do any good. He may not be able to wake. But he does need food."
"We will have to try, otherwise he will starve to death. I don't think it matters how as long as we do," Mordred was concerned for Cuilén, his tone of voice showing his emotions. When he'd first met the other boy, he'd thought Cuilén to be some kind of traitor to magic, but the more he saw of him, the more he realized that Cuilén had become a good friend.
"You're right," Merlin agreed after a moment. "How close are we to the shore now? We should approach it soon, shouldn't we?"
"From what I know, yes we should," Mordred replied, stretching out his senses and trying to sense if anything was different.
"The air is different and smells more... Fresh. It has more water in it," he observed, turning to look back at Merlin. "We are close."
"Good, the sooner the better. We should make sure he eats before he gets into a port town. Mordred, maybe I should try now, before we approach a town. Him looking so ill will draw much attention. We need to know his waking condition before he wakes in a town and screams or something."
"That would be wise," Mordred agreed. "You try and if he does not awaken then I can try a few spells."
"Alright," Merlin sighed. "Here I'll give it a go."
Merlin turned to Cuilén and gently shook the boy's shoulder.
"Cuilén," Merlin spoke gently. "Wake up, Cuilén. You okay? Come on, wake up, Cui."
Cuilén remained unresponsive which made Merlin frown.
"Is he awake?" Mordred called back softly.
"No," Merlin glanced up at Mordred. "How about I drive and you try?"
Mordred stopped the wagon and they switched. Mordred now sat beside the boy and softly spoke a spell, his eyes flashing gold. When it didn't work, he tried another one. Cuilén's breath stopped for a moment, which frightened Mordred, but still more frightening was when Cuilén's eyes suddenly shot open and he stared at Mordred, before he scrambled backwards and let out the most pitiful cry of terror that Mordred had ever heard.
"Hey, Cuilén," Mordred held his hands. "It's okay, it just me." He reached out to Cuilén in order to try and calm him down.
"St... Stay away!" Cuilén pleaded. "Please! Stay away from me! Please, leave me alone! Leave Merlin and I alone, please!"
"Merlin!" Mordred called even though he could already feel the cart stopping and he heard Merlin jumping down.
"Cuilén," Merlin appeared at the end of the cart and gently hopped in. "Cuilén I'm right here, I'm fine and so are you."
"Merlin," Cuilén sobbed. "They hurt you! Please, make it so they go away! Merlin, help me, please."
"Cuilén," Merlin gently reached out and pulled Cuilén toward him. "It's okay, nothing is going to happen to you or me. Mordred is here to protect us. Everyone else went away okay? They are gone."
Cuilén curled in Merlin's arms and cried softly, shuffling away from Mordred.
"Mordred helped Morgana, he and Lancelot didn't save you. They left you! They... I don't know why but they left you, and Gwaine! Gwaine is... He's mean! Gwaine hurt you! Why was Gwaine mean? I thought we were family!"
Merlin sighed sadly. Cuilén was remembering all that he would have remembered and been afraid of if Cuilén hadn't have healed him.
"Mordred and Lancelot couldn't help me at the moment," Merlin explained. "They had to go otherwise they would have been caught and couldn't have helped me at all. Gwaine did just as I wanted him to, Gwaine is family to us, both of us, but in order to make sure he didn't get hurt he had to help them hurt me. They were just making sure I got out of there alive. Without them I would be dead, I wouldn't be here."
"But, but Mordred is evil, and he's here. Make him go away, please! Please make him go away!"
Mordred froze at those words, "I'll just go drive." He mumbled then slipped out of the cart, ignoring Merlin's calls.
"Mordred!" Merlin said, but when the young Druid ignored him he turned back to Cuilén. "Mordred isn't evil, he helped me. You shouldn't talk to him like that. Yes he helped Morgana once but he has changed, Cuilén."
Cuilén didn't answer, instead he buried himself deeper in Merlin's arms and sobbed.
"I thought he was my friend! I thought he was our friend! They hurt you, I want to go home. Where's Arthur? Please, may I see Arthur?"
"Arthur went to go bring Gwaine home and rescue him," Merlin spoke softly. "And we are going somewhere we need to be, so we can't go home quite yet."
Cuilén suddenly froze and looked up at Merlin with a tear stained face.
"Our bond! Merlin, are you okay? Are you hurt? I can't feel our bond? Do I need to help you? Why is our bond gone?"
"I don't know exactly but we are trying to fix that," Merlin wiped at Cuilén's tears. "The dragon said we need to go to some Druid camp to get the cuff off of my ankle and then we can look into the bond if they can't help."
"A cuff is on your ankle?" Cuilén's eyes widened in horror. "Why? Is it hurting you? Are you okay?"
"Yes and it does hurt," Merlin said knowing Cuilén wouldn't stop if he wasn't told that. "But... You can't heal me from this one."
"Why?"
"Because it is draining me of my magic which is bad because I am magic and therefore killing me. That's why we need to go get it off me quickly."
"No, Merlin no!" Cuilén tried to scramble into a sitting position, his wide blue eyes searching Merlin's. "You... You're losing your life? But... But you can't! What if.. May I just heal you a little? Then we can share the burden!"
"No Cuilén, if I can't feel the effects fully then I don't know how weak I am which means I can't tell how much longer I have. It's okay, I can handle it," Merlin tried to reassure his cousin.
"Merlin, I'm frightened for you. First they hurt you, and now this? I can't let them hurt you more! Please, we have to leave! We have to get to Camelot or the Druids or someone but we have to leave before Mordred hurts you more!"
"We will leave, but you need to eat something. Mordred will not hurt us, he never did. I don't want you to speak of him like that again!"
"You can have my portion of food. If you aren't well, you need it more than I do. Please, I'm not even hungry, honest."
"I will be fine, you eat," Merlin then raised his voice slightly, wanting to get the message to Cuilén. "And do you understand? Mordred never has and never will harm me or you."
Cuilén recoiled at Merlin's louder voice, whimpering slightly.
"I'm sorry for upsetting you," he murmured. "Okay, I won't say mean things about Mordred, I'm just scared for you. I don't want him to hurt you and Arthur."
Merlin froze once again, of course! Cuilén had received his own thoughts and knowledge about Mordred as well as those that Kilgharrah had given to Merlin or told him.
"He won't," Merlin reassured Cuilén, holding out his arms toward the boy, hugging Cuilén as he folded himself into Merlin's arms.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you, I just don't believe that he will hurt any of us no matter what anyone says. Now will you please eat?"
Cuilén hesitantly took a piece of bread from Mordred, who had reached back to hand them some food, and ripped it in half.
"Are you sure you don't want the other portion?" He asked Merlin.
"I already had food." Merlin smiled softly, "Please eat."
"Okay," Cuilén began to nibble on the bread. Halfway through he glanced hesitantly at Merlin and then stuffed the rest of it in his mouth and eating it all in one go. "Thank you, Merlin."
"What else did you get from me besides my memories of Alister and his men?" Merlin asked, curious to see if Cuilén knew anything else.
"I got hurt a little bit while you were gone," Cuilén said softly. "I hope it made it better for you."
"I honestly have no idea," Merlin shrugged. "I wasn't too worried about how much it hurt just that it did hurt. And I meant when you healed me... I know you got something besides just my memories, that or something happened when our bond broke."
"Oh," Cuilén glanced away. "I'm not sure. I'm kind of confused. I feel like... I feel like I know things I didn't and I've been places I haven't. I keep seeing this dark, dark place with a cot and a tiny barred window in the door. Every few minutes in my dream of this place, people come in and wake me up and throw this horrible burning water on me. I don't understand, isn't water good and healing? Why would it hurt when they give me water? I don't even know where this place is! I feel like no one should ever go there, because it feels like it doesn't have any hope."
"That would have been..." Merlin shifted through his slightly hazy memories. "That would have been after they whipped me and then poured salt water on my wounds. It made sure that they didn't get infected, but it hurt a lot."
"Why?" Cuilén wailed softly. "If they wanted to make you better, why would they hurt you?"
"Because they hated magic. If it hurt me they were okay with it."
"How can people be so horrible?" Cuilén asked in a small voice.
"Most of the people in Camelot and Ealdor are kind and gentle but the other kingdoms and some of the smaller cities of Camelot are not as kind."
"I hope you don't have to go to those places a lot," Cuilén said softly.
"I hope not either."
"Thank you for taking care of me. Maybe, can I have a little bit of nice water? Not the salt kind?"
"Yeah," Merlin pulled out his water-skin and took a small sip then handed it to Cuilén. "Here."
"Thank you," Cuilén took several gulps and then handed it back. "I want to rest, but I don't want to go to sleep."
"Okay, why don't you want to sleep?"
"Because then I'll dream about the little room, and the salt water, and Gwaine hurting you, and Mordred not being like you say he is."
"Alright," Merlin said glancing at Cuilén worriedly. "What do you mean about Mordred not being who I say he is?"
"You say he's not evil, but in my dream I see this strange rock and in the rock I see him with a sword and he hurts Arthur."
Merlin stared as he realized what Cuilén was talking about. "You can ignore that. That is for me and Kilgharrah to worry about, not for you. Mordred won't hurt Arthur, I won't let him."
"Okay, I'm going to rest now. If I fall asleep, please don't let me dream. I don't mind if you wake me up. Good night, Merlin. Tell Mordred I'm sorry for being mean."
"I will," Merlin promised. "I will explain to Mordred. Goodnight."
Merlin watched as Cuilén closed his eyes and settled down then leaned out to Mordred. "Do you know anything that will allow him to sleep peacefully?"
Mordred nodded and reached back and chanted a quick spell.
Merlin, assured that Cuilén would sleep peacefully, climbed up next to Mordred on the wagon seat.
"He didn't mean to hurt your feelings earlier," Merlin said, referring to Cuilén's words that had chased Mordred to the front of the cart.
Mordred nodded halfheartedly, not speaking yet.
Merlin sat still for a minute, before he leaned over and laid a hand on Mordred's arm forcing, the Druid to look at him. "What is wrong? You can ask me about it if you want."
"What did he mean?" Mordred asked. "I saw how you reacted to his whole, I'm going to hurt Arthur thing! Why would I hurt Arthur?"
"I don't think you will, that is what I saw you doing many years ago," Merlin explained. "Kilgharrah doesn't trust you either but I don't agree with him."
"But, I heard what you said to Cuilén, how would he know about me hurting Arthur? Did he get this from you? When he healed you?" Mordred looked at Merlin.
"He healed my memories as well as my body. I'm afraid that he has been given several memories that are painful to me. I think he will be very delicate for some time, Mordred. Please don't fault him if he behaves strangely or says strange things."
"I, I will try not to," Mordred said, looking down toward the ground.
"I see the first lights of the town. Have you ever been here before? Do you know what to expect? I've only ever been to one seaside town and I was just passing through with Arthur. I've heard they are different than most villages."
"I have only been once and I was very young," Mordred replied. "I do remember it being very different though."
"How will we find a boat to take us?"
"I think we'll just have to hope for the best," Mordred sighed softly. "Let's try to find an inn for the night. We should get him into a bed."
Merlin glanced back at Cuilén before nodding in agreement. Soon the the wagon was traveling down the narrow streets of the town. The air was filled with the aroma of fresh fish, salt water, and something that made Merlin's nose wrinkle. The parked the wagon and Mordred tied up the horses.
"Stay with Cuilén," Mordred told Merlin. "I'll go get us a room."
Mordred then put on the toughest face he could muster and sauntered into the fishy smelling, musty tavern. No one paid much attention to the boy who looked rather old for his age.
"I want a room," Mordred approached the front. "At least two beds, three would be better."
The innkeeper eyed Mordred before he nodded.
"I can manage two," the inn keeper shrugged. "Pay me now."
The innkeeper told him a reasonable amount, which Mordred readily handed over. He then got the key and hurried to get Merlin.
"Bringing him in like this will draw attention," Mordred frowned down at the sleeping boy. "There's a lot of men in there, and they're not like the people of Camelot. You know how you were telling Cuilén about the places less gentle than Camelot, this is one of those, I can tell. They didn't give me any problems, but they're sailors and they don't take kindly to those they label as 'weak' or 'land lovers'. They won't take kindly to either of you, I don't think."
"Alright," Merlin frowned slightly. "I'll wake Cuilén up and we can put our cloaks to our faces a bit. That's the best I can do I think," He looked at Mordred questioningly. "Any other ideas?"
"No, sounds as good a plan as any. Wake him and make him walk."
Merlin gently woke Cuilén who at first woke slowly, then then cowered against the back of the wagon.
"Hey, it's just me," Merlin smiled at Cuilén, whose breath slowed a bit. "We're at an inn, can you try to walk?"
"Okay," Cuilén nodded, and Merlin helped him out of the wagon. It was Merlin, however, who fumbled and would have fallen to the ground it Mordred hadn't caught him.
"Careful," Mordred said, chuckling softly. "We don't need you hurt anymore, okay?"
Merlin frowned. "It's not like I am trying to trip!"
"Of course you aren't," Mordred smiled. "Now let's go."
"Wait, could you help Cuilén? Cuilén, would it be okay if Mordred helped you instead of me? He won't hurt you, I promise. You'll be okay."
"But I wish you would help me," Cuilén sniffled. "You promise he won't hurt me?"
"I promise," Merlin said, glancing at Mordred to see if he'd agree to take the boy.
Mordred nodded, and reached out a tentative hand toward Cuilén, unsure if the boy would take it or not.
Cuilén glanced once more at Merlin, before he reached out and took Mordred's hand, stumbling toward him on uneasy legs.
"You promise you won't hurt me?" Cuilén asked Mordred softly.
"I promise," Mordred said, his voice sad. "I won't hurt you."
"Thank you," Cuilén said as if this was a large gift of kindness that was being besotted upon him. "A lot of people have hurt Merlin and me, thank you for not being one of them. Thank you for being a nice person. I don't think you'll really kill Arthur. It was just a bad dream. I'm sorry for having that bad dream."
"You can't control your dreams," Mordred sighed. "It's okay, I won't hold it against you. Are you ready to go inside?"
"Okay," Cuilén agreed. The three boys then stepped inside, and Merlin frowned. This was definitely a place that made him uneasy.
All of the men were big and muscular, and several had random ear piercings as most sailors did, at least that's what Arthur had said. Many of them had a menacing sort of aura, and Merlin skittered backwards before realizing he'd lost track of Mordred. There was a staircase on the other side of the room, and he saw Mordred disappearing up it. Merlin gulped and tried to hurry in that direction.
As he walked toward the staircase he was suddenly pushed to the side and he fell against one of the other men. Instantly he straightened and as the man turned around he started to apologize. "I'm sorry, I didnt mean to…"
The man stood up and glared at Merlin, "You knocked into me."
"Yeah, sorry about that, I just tripped. Clumsy me! Now I'd better go catch up with my friend-"
"You ain't goin' anywhere, boy," the man growled and shoved Merlin back.
"Let me by!" Merlin replied, his heart suddenly racing. "My friend will wonder where I am!"
The man didn't listen, instead he shoved Merlin back once more causing him to bump into another person and fall to the ground. The other person turned around and glared angrily at Merlin, who glanced between the two uneasily.
"Sorry, um, he pushed me so you should he mad at him, really, but how about no one is mad and I can just leave..."
"I think we need to teach this one a lesson on how to watch where he is going," the first man stated, while the second man nodded his agreement. They both glanced at Merlin for a second and then began to approach him from both sides.
"Hey, I think I could walk perfectly fine if I wasn't pushed," Merlin tried to back away and found himself up against a wall. "Hey, leave me alone!"
"I dont think so…" The second man said and threw a punch, which Merlin ducked, heart racing.
"What do you think you are doing?" A voice suddenly asked from behind the two men.
Merlin glanced up to see a tall, burly man glaring at the other two ruffians.
"Captain," the two other men glanced at each other. "He, uh, pushed us and tried to take our money!"
Merlin shook his head minutely, wishing beyond all hope that this captain person would help him.
"This fellow?" The captain stared at him men is disbelief. "I really can't believe that, and even if he did, any reason to beat him up over it?"
"No captain!" The two men shook their heads quickly.
"Good, now get out of here and enjoy your shore leave in some other way or you'll be swabbing the decks for the next month!"
"Yes captain," the two men agreed. They cast a glare at Merlin before stalking away.
"Hey, thanks," Merlin breathed a sigh of relief.
"You're welcome mate." The captain reached out a hand for Merlin to shake. "I'm Captain Joseph Franks, but call me Captain Franks, or you can call me Captain like half the scalawags in here."
"Okay, thanks Captain Franks," Merlin nodded.
"What's a lad like yourself doin' in a town like this?" Captain Franks asked.
"Er," Merlin hesitated. "I'm here with a couple of friends. We're looking for safe passage to a body of land north west of here."
"North west?" The Captain smiled, "That's the way we are headed next. Any particular destination? There are a few bodies of land thataway."
"Er, I'm not sure of the name of it..." Merlin trailed off. "Where are you going?"
"Na Sé Chontae," Captain Franks replied. "Never heard of it? Some call it the land of the Druids, since there's quite a few hanging around on that island. I wouldn't know, I don't talk to the magic likes, but you will find them there if that's what you're searching for."
"That would be exactly what we are looking for," Merlin said, sighing in relief. "If you don't mind my asking, why don't you talk to them?"
"They're magic folk, don't imagine they'd chose to talk to the likes of sailors, do you? Besides, magic's illegal, isn't it?" Captain Franks shrugged. "Don't need the trouble of catching myself up in all that. Are you planning on looking for them? What does a lad like you want with them of magic?"
"I need their help with something," Merlin said. "I have been told only these particular druids can help me so I am checking it out. Why do you go that way if you don't talk to them and don't want to get mixed up with magic?"
"These are a lot of questions, lad," Captain Franks frowned.
"Sorry," Merlin backed down, "I'm just curious. You don't have to answer."
"And I don't plan to, but if you have any money, I can give you passage. Who're you traveling with?"
"My two friends," Merlin replied. "What do you charge?"
"Will you work? Any of you three?"
"I would have to ask my friends, but I'm sure they could do something," Merlin answered, "And if we don't?"
"If none of the three do anything, it'll be several gold coins. If you can work, just a few shillings. I can always do with the extra help."
Merlin nodded. "I will speak with my companions. Where can I find you to let you know? And when are you leaving for this island?"
"You can come out tomorrow morning to the docks. We won't be pulling out until afternoon. You can find my boat, she's the little beauty at the end of the dock, Serpent's Tide. I'll be looking out for you, lad."
"Thank you." Merlin said, "I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."
With that Merlin slipped toward the staircase and made his way up to the room and called out for Mordred to let him in.
"Where've you been?" Mordred opened the door quickly. "Cuilén needs you, he's been asking for you, he's worried they took you again and I can't convince him otherwise."
Merlin nodded and hurried over to the corner where Cuilén sat.
"Cuilén?" he asked softly. "I'm right here Cuilén. Its okay."
"Merlin!" Cuilén cried, throwing himself into Merlin's arms and sobbing weakly. "They took you again! You... You didn't come! I was scared for you! Did they hurt you? Are you okay?"
Merlin held up a hand, stopping Cuilén's flow of questions, "I'm fine, Cuilén. No one took me, I was getting us a ride for tomorrow. I am sorry I worried you."
"What do you mean, a ride? A ride where? Are you sure you're not hurt?" Cuilén sniffled.
"We are going to an island where the druids are, and yes Cuilén, I am fine."
"Okay, that's good. Why are we going there? Is that for Mordred? He wasn't mean, but I was frightened anyway."
"I am glad you don't think he is mean anymore but you don't have to be frightened while he is around; he will protect you, but we aren't going there for him. Kilgharrah said that they might be able to help us with the cuff restraining my magic and our bond." Merlin explained.
"Oh, so they'll make you better?"
"Possibly, I'm hoping so."
"That's good," Cuilén yawned and blinked a couple of times. "I'm sorry, but do you have any water? I feel a little bit thirsty."
"Here," Mordred held out his water skin. Cuilén hesitated, glancing at Merlin as if he was unsure whether or not this water would be safe. After a moment he took the water and began to take a few tiny gulps.
"Thank you," he handed it back. "May I go to sleep now? I don't want to have a bad dream, but I'm really tired."
"Go ahead, you don't have to ask," Merlin's voice was sad. "I will wake you if you have a bad dream."
"Thank you," Cuilén nodded. He then smiled lightly and his eyes drifted shut. "Thank you Mordred. 'M sorry if I hurt your feelings."
"Its okay." Mordred said, glancing up at Merlin.
"Goodnight Cuilén," Merlin ruffled his cousin's hair and then watched as Cuilén pulled his blanket to his chin and fell asleep.
"It's so sad he had to deal with so many hardships," Merlin murmured. "He's too kind for his own good."
"That he is," Mordred murmured. "Now tell me about this ride you have for us?"
"A couple of sailors were giving me a hard time so this captain of a ship came and gave me a hand. We spoke and he offered to let us ride on his ship because he's going to the same place as us. He said it'd be best if we can do some work while we're on his ship, otherwise we have to pay more. Will you be willing to?"
Mordred nodded, "Of course I will. What do we have to pay?"
"He said only a couple shillings in that case because he wants extra help. Cuilén may not be able to do much as first, but he's sure to get better, right?"
"He should," Mordred nodded."But I can do a bit extra for him until then."
"Thank you, Mordred," Merlin smiled. "Now, we'd best get some sleep before morning. I think we'll need to be up bright and early. I can take the floor, if you want."
"No. you take the bed," Mordred said. "I don't want Cuilén to be frightened too badly if he wakes up and can't see you."
"Okay," Merlin nodded, "Goodnight Mordred."
"Goodnight Emrys." Mordred echoed, before settling down on the floor next to the door and closing his eyes.
AN: Next chapter will focus on Arthur. Tell me what you think please! :)