Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin
His magic was like an ocean, Gaius thought briefly, sparing a glance at his stoic ward. Vast, deep, mysterious. Powerful yet gentle. It was almost impossible to anger it, but once you did, it was an unstoppable, unyielding force, destroying everything in its path.
He stood, stiller than a statue, hardly even breathing, his eyes a burning, molten gold. His body was taut as a piano wire, his face streaked with tears. He had shown no response to anything in the past ten minutes, focused as he was on Arthur.
The council members had protested at first, when Merlin, Arthur, and the knights had appeared in a whirlwind in the middle of the council meeting, but Merlin's magic held them against the walls, and finding themselves ignored, they quickly fell silent.
When Gaius and Guinevere had rushed over to the knights, Merlin had encased their little group in a golden bubble of protective magic. His eyes had never once faded from their bright gold, and Gaius worried over what could have happened to warrant this response.
Well, he knew what had happened, he thought, bending over Arthur's unconscious, bleeding form. Clearly Arthur's injury had elicited this response-he just didn't know how it had happened.
"I need water," he said out loud, looking up at the frozen knights. "Gwaine, would you-"
But before he could finish his sentence, a bucket of water blinked into existence on the floor next to him. The knights jumped. Guinevere frowned. The council members shouted and gasped. Merlin didn't move.
Gaius fought his trembling hands and dipped his rag into the water. No was not the time to confront Merlin. Now was the time to take care of his dying charge.
"Guinevere, would you please put pressure on the wound?" he asked, his voice strained slightly. Guinevere scurried over and knelt, ignoring the way the blood seeped into the green velvet of her dress. Gaius saw tears brim in her eyes, but they did not fall, and she did not quaver in her task. She was strong, stronger than Gaius felt at the moment.
"I'll need honey, yarrow, mustard seed, bandages…" each item appeared next to him as he listed them off. "Merlin," he sighed, but with another glance at his ward's hard face, he fell silent. There would be no communicating with him, not until Arthur was safe.
"Elyan, I need you to start mixing a salve and applying it to the bandages, I'll tell you how." Gaius said. Elyan stood paralyzed.
"Elyan!" Gaius commanded. The young knight started and stared, looking between Gaius and Merlin.
"Gaius…" he said slowly, shock and confusion marring his features.
"Elyan, the life of your king is at stake." Leon said, surprisingly calm given the circumstances. "Whatever qualms you have must wait."
"Of course." he muttered, and he too knelt by Gaius, though not without a furtive glance towards Merlin.
"Would someone please tell me what happened?" Gaius said once Elyan had started with the salve. "I must know how Arthur got this wound if I am to properly treat him."
"We were attacked," Leon said. "by Morgana and her men."
"It was she who struck the blow against Arthur." Percival said quietly. His face betrayed no emotion.
"Merlin took it personally." Gwaine said, though there was no humor in his voice.
Gaius closed his eyes for a moment, pausing in ministrations. "And Morgana?" he asked softly. "What became of her?"
"Emrys." Percival murmured, awe coloring his voice. Gaius's head jerked up at the word.
"What did you say?" he asked hoarsely.
"Growing up with the druids, I heard tales of the greatest warlock who would ever walk the earth." Percival spoke softly. "I thought them old wives tales until today. The very air glowed like the sun. The earth came alive, and the world trembled with the might of Emrys's anger. Our enemies were decimated. Even before the world settled Merlin teleported us back here."
The knights all stared at Percival as he finished his speech, but Gaius looked at his dirty, bloody, exhausted ward and wondered if he was standing upright by pure magic alone.
His magic was like an ocean, he thought again. He tore himself from his thoughts and returned to his ministrations.
The council room fell silent as they worked, save for the distressed murmurings of the council members. The unoccupied knights shifted uncomfortably as they stood within the golden cocoon of Merlin's magic, restless without a job to do.
Finally Gaius had Arthur's wound stitched and wrapped, though he wasn't sure the good it would do. Arthur was still and white as a sheet. His skin shone with sweat, and the floor was slick with his blood. He looked as good as dead.
"I've done all I can." Gaius finally whispered. "It is up to him now if he lives or dies."
"He will not die." Merlin's voice was dry and scratchy, as though he had not spoken for some time. Every head snapped in his direction, though he paid them no heed. He fell to his knees beside his king, and Gaius, Guinevere and Elyan backed up in apprehension. Merlin rested a calloused hand on his king's chest and closed his golden eyes.
Arthur's body began to glow with the same energy that permeated the air. His entire being seemed to shimmer in the light. The council members cried out, but their shouts fell on deaf ears.
Suddenly, something snapped.
The golden bubble around the group vanished. The glow around the king disappeared. Arthur's chest heaved with breath and his eyes flew open.
Merlin cried out in relief and collapsed.
Every so often, the air pulsed. It occurred every few hours and could be felt all throughout the city of Camelot.
The kingdom had been in a state of transition for a month now. There were plenty of rumors flying about the town, but no one knew what was truth and what wasn't.
The majority of the king's council had been quietly replaced, though no one knew why. The king was always occupied with meetings, and when he wasn't, he was either impossibly angry or so lost in his thoughts that he would walk straight into walls.
The round table knights had become quiet and secretive, and would hardly speak to anyone. The queen always had a furrowed brow, and seemed weary and drawn. The royal physician, Gaius, hardly ever showed his face outside his quarters anymore. The king's manservant, Merlin, hadn't been seen in a month.
The weather had gone odd as well. The sun hadn't shone since the trouble began. The air was staticky and smelt of burning energy. It had been windy and drizzly all month, with occasional violent thunderstorms.
And every few hours, the air pulsed with magic.
It was a month to the day when Camelot awoke to the sun shining bright in the sky. Everyone knew something had changed.
They were proven right when the people were called to the town square for a royal decree.
The king stood confidently above the crowd. To his left stood his queen, smiling contentedly. To his right stood his manservant, looking tired but happy. Arranged behind them were the round table knights, talking amicably together, along with the court physician and the new council members.
And the people of Camelot learned the truth of magic that day. That it was not evil, that it was no longer outlawed. The king described magic as an ocean, a force of nature, neither good nor evil. He annouced the changes he'd made-the appointment of a new council, the revisions to the laws, the creation of a new position: Court Sorcerer, to be filled by his manservant, Merlin.
Merlin spread his arms, and golden butterflies appeared from midair, fluttering above the crowd. The sun shone in the clear blue sky.
It was the dawn of a new age.