A gust of wind entered through the royal chambers of the King of Camelot, waking up the young king and queen. Queen Guinevere opened her eyes. Then it hit her, this wasn't a dream, she had really married King Arthur yesterday. Her eyes wandered to her husband, who was looking at her as if she was the most beautiful flower in all the five kingdoms. The happy couple stared at each other lovingly, when suddenly there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" screamed Arthur. "Good morning sire, my lady", bowed Merlin. Arthur gave Merlin a puzzled look, wondering where this sudden gush of respect came from. It was most unlike Merlin. "Good morning Merlin, and please, I know that now I am the Queen, but I will always be Gwen to you", said the queen kindly. Merlin nodded, while setting the couple's breakfast on the dinner table. "I thought you two may want some privacy to enjoy your first meal as a married couple together."
"Thank you Merlin, that is very thoughtful of you" remarked Guinevere, getting up and tidying her bed. "Yes, Merlin, that is oddly thoughtful of you, I was beginning to suspect that you lacked the ability to think. And Merlin, my armour needs cleaning and the stables need to be cleaned", ordered Arthur. "Yes, Arthur", replied Merlin, instantly leaving to do as the king asked. "You are too hard on him Arthur", said Gwen, making a start on the meal.
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As Arthur and Guinevere finished their meal, there was another knock on the door.
"Sire, I don't mean to trouble you, but this letter has arrived for you and the messenger has sworn that the sender is no other than the Lady Morgana", said the guard.
"Morgana is no lady, but regardless I shall take the letter. You were right to come straight to me," said Arthur.
Arthur opened the letter:
My dear brother,
You may have defeated me this time, but rest assured that I will strike again when the time is right and will claim what is rightfully mine. This letter is a special favour to you as I am revealing how you actually managed to defeat me. There is a sorcerer inside your castle. His name is Emrys. The only reason you were able to fight against my army was because you were using magic, the very thing that you are most afraid of. The sorcerer is no other than your servant, Merlin. Merlin is Emrys and Emrys is Merlin. He has been betraying you for all these years and like the fool you are, you have not suspected a thing. Heed my words Arthur, there will be a time very soon when I will strike and you will have no way of saving your kingdom.
Yours truly,
Morgana Pendragon
Arthur froze as he read the letter. Gwen stretched out to take the letter from him, but Arthur held the letter tight, saying "There is nothing to worry about Guinevere, we have beaten Morgana and there is nothing more to it. There is no point in us dwelling on what a witch like Morgana has to say". Gwen smiled and nodded thoughtfully.
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This letter had confused Arthur more than anything else. At first he dismissed the letter completely, but as he sat at the round table, discussing a proposed treaty with his knights, Arthur realised that there may be truth in Morgana's words. Arthur struggled to think what he would do, if her words were true, since the punishment for sorcery is instant execution, and not only would Arthur have to kill Merlin, he would also to place the order to punish Merlin's mother and Gaius and any other family his servant has for keeping the secret.
Arthur thought back to all the times where Merlin had accompanied him on some near impossible quest. Having no fighting skills whatsoever, the young man had saved his life many times and had also returned with him from all the quests unscathed. "Sire?" asked Sir Leon, bringing Arthur back to reality from his thoughts. "I have an important matter to attend to, we shall meet and discuss this treaty again tomorrow. I am sorry". With these words Arthur left the table, heading straight for the stables.
"Merlin! Merlin! Where are you, you fool?" screamed Arthur as he entered the stables. The stables had been cleaned but Merlin was lying on the floor, sleeping no doubt. "Merlin! Get up!" shouted Arthur, hitting Merlin with the broom lying beside him. "Arthur, Sire I was checking the floor, for mice" replied Merlin, waking up confused. "Sorry, I will get to your armour right away."
"No Merlin, you will not. Instead you will be assisting me with combat training," said Arthur. In order to find out whether Merlin is actually a sorcerer (however unbelievable that might be), Arthur decided to put Merlin in a situation where he had no way to escape without using magic.
Arthur started striking Merlin's shield with full force until Merlin was on his knees, screaming for mercy. Arthur kept striking Merlin's shield with immense force. He could tell that he was severely injuring the young servant, but this seemed like the only way Arthur could be absolutely sure. "Please stop Arthur!" screamed Merlin in utter agony. The other knights tried to intervene, seeing the state of Merlin's arm, but Arthur was not to be stopped. He kept on striking Merlin, until he eventually passed out from the pain.
"We must get Merlin to Gaius immediately," said Gwaine, instantly carrying Merlin on his shoulders. Elyan and Percival accompanied him, while Leon asked Arthur what was troubling him, only to be dismissed by his king.
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"It seems to me he has fainted because of the pain and nothing else. His arm will bruise and there seems to be a small fracture to his wrist but he should recover. Who did this to him, Gwaine?" asked Gaius. "Arthur, but I have no idea why," replied Gwaine. "We must let him rest, please leave him" requested Gaius. The knights left the servant in the capable hands of the court physician, and returned to their training session.
8 hours later
Merlin opened his eyes, to see Gaius sitting beside his bed, deep in thought. "Merlin, you're awake, how are you feeling?" asked Gaius. His concern was clear in his eyes. "I feel like I've been thrown out of the northern tower and landed on top of my arm".
"I'm sorry," replied the physician, bringing Merlin some potions and food. "It's not your fault Gaius, the arrogant prat kept on hitting me with his sword. I begged and begged for him to stop, but he showed no mercy."
"I too am surprised by the King's actions, Merlin, but you were right to not protect yourself using your powers. A broken wrist and bruised arm is nothing compared to what would happen if you revealed your magic. I am proud of you." Gaius smiled sadly as he watched Merlin take the medicine and start on the food with his left hand.
"Now more than ever I wonder why I should put up with his arrogance. I have done so much for Arthur, even considering only the instances he knows of, and he still treats me like dirt most of the time. Sometimes, he behaves as if my opinion means the world to him, and at other times he treats me worse than his prey."
"I know Merlin, and I do not know what to say to you." Merlin could see that Gaius was holding back tears as he recalled everything that Merlin has done for Camelot and the king.
Merlin closed his eyes, and after a few minutes he opened them, with a new determination. "I want to tell Arthur that I have magic," said Merlin. "Merlin, you cannot possibly think of such a deed", said Gaius, horrified. "Listen to me Gaius, Uther has been dead for many months now and if Arthur is ever meant to unite the lands and become the once and future king, he needs to accept that magic does not always need to be used to cause harm. He needs to understand there are people with magic and there are people who do not practice magic, but neither side is evil. Evil resides in one's heart, not in magic. And what better place for him to start, than for him to accept me for what I am?"
"Merlin you will be putting yourself in too much danger and I will not let you do this to yourself. You must wait for when the time is right. Arthur married Gwen yesterday, which is something that could have never happened when Uther was king. Morgana attacked Camelot only a few weeks ago and the wounds are still fresh Merlin, you will have your chance, but do not let your anger take control of your mind."
"You're right Gaius, I don't know what I was thinking", replied Merlin, sincerely.
"Now rest Merlin."
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One hour later
King Arthur entered the physician's quarters. "How is he Gaius?"
"He has a broken wrist, sire, and a few large bruises on his right arm, but is otherwise well" replied Gaius, not quite meeting the King's eyes. "Can I speak to him?"
"Yes sire, he is awake." Gaius took the king to Merlin's room and left.
"Merlin", Arthur paused as he saw the extent of his servant's injuries. "Merlin, words cannot express how deeply sorry I am. All I can say is that you are my friend and I had no right to treat you that way." The sorrow and regret in Arthur's eyes was clearly visible to Merlin.
Merlin was ready shout curses at the King when he heard him enter Gaius' chambers, in fact he had been preparing for this since the moment he became conscious. However, there was something about Arthur's words that changed his mind. Arthur was sitting on a chair by Merlin's bed, looking at the floor, unable to meet his servant's eyes.
"You don't need to worry my lord. Gaius says I can get back to work within a month. However, until then you will have to find another manservant," said Merlin, harshly.
"Take all the time you need Merlin. I will make sure that there is someone here to help you with anything while your arm is dysfunctional. I hope that one day you will find it within you to forgive me." With these parting words the king stood up to leave.
"Arthur, I forgive you for what you did. You are the king and I am sure that you had your reasons. I hope that one day you will be able to return the favour and forgive me for being who I am."
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"I heard what you did to Merlin today, Arthur", said Gwen as Arthur entered his chambers.
"I know what I did was wrong, and Merlin has forgiven me for it."
"You seriously trusted Morgana's words more than the loyalty of your best friend?" asked Gwen in disgust, holding up the letter. "Merlin had faith in our relationship when both of us had lost hope. He helped me and took me to Ealdor. We owe Merlin all the happiness that our union has brought us, Arthur."
"I am sorry, Gwen. I don't know what I was thinking. I promise to never do anything like this again. I thought that this was the only way to make Merlin reveal his true self, but as always I was fooled by my own sister."
"It's okay Arthur. I will never bring this up again." With this statement Gwen fell asleep. Arthur lay beside her, deep in thought. He drifted into unconsciousness.
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Four weeks later
Arthur had been checking up on Merlin twice a day and only when he was convinced that Merlin had made a full recovery, did he allow Merlin to get back to work.
That morning, Arthur had just finished all the announcements and judgements for the day when some Camelot guards entered the throne room followed by three villagers. There were two women and a man, all in their mid-thirties. They stood in front of their king. Arthur nodded at them to speak.
"Sire, our village has been attacked by a monster. It had the body of a dragon and the feathers of a peacock. Six of our men and two children have been killed and many more injured. We didn't know what to do so we came here. Our village, Grigaldor lies on the outskirts of Camelot and I recognise that it is naïve for us to expect help from you, but there is nothing else we could do to stop the terror." The women bowed to the king and queen and stood back with her companions.
"You were right to come to me. I will see what I can do." At that, the king stood up and left. He gave orders that the villagers be taken to the guest quarters until a solution was found.
"It sounds like the work of a magical creature" said Merlin, when he and the king were alone. "I know Merlin, I have never seen or heard of such a beast."
That night, at the round table it was agreed that Arthur will ride, with half a dozen knights, to Grigaldor.
"Merlin, I will be away for a few nights so make sure you keep my room and the stables clean", said Arthur as he retired for the night.
"You've got to be joking Arthur. I'm coming to Grigaldor with you," said Merlin incredulously.
"Last time I checked, I was the king Merlin, so you do as I ask and not the other way round. You cannot possibly travel with that arm."
"I'm absolutely fine Arthur. And anyway, you would probably die if I'm not there to help you."
"Really Merlin, all you're going to do is bore me to death on the journey. But I leave it up to you and Gaius to decide whether you are coming or not".
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The next morning at dawn, Gwen watched from her window as Merlin, Arthur, the six knights and the three villagers left for Grigaldor.
They had been travelling almost continuously for one and a half days when finally their destination, the village of Grigaldor arrived.
Grigaldor resided within Camelot, however, since the village was so far away from the main city, Uther had appointed a leader, Gregory, to manage the lands of Grigaldor. Gregory lived in a castle with his family. The castle was nothing like the castle of Camelot, where the royal family resided, however it was much larger than the other houses in the village.
Arthur and his team were warmly welcomed by Gregory and his family. They had set up special guest chambers for Arthur and the knights. While Arthur and the knights slept soundly after such a tiring journey, Merlin had to camp outside the castle grounds, only to be arrested by the castle guards in the middle of the night.
"Leave me! I am the Arthur's manservant, he will be really angry if he wakes up and I am not there to help him. Please leave me!" screamed Merlin for the hundredth time, but the guards didn't seem to believe him.
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"Merlin!", shouted Arthur.
Just then Gwaine entered Arthur's chambers with the news of Merlin's arrest.
"You've got to be joking", exclaimed Arthur, getting dressed. "We need to find Gregory".
"Merlin you fool, I leave you for one night, one night, and you manage to get yourself locked up. Why didn't you come to me when you realised there was no accommodation for you?"
"I'm sorry, sire" was Merlin's only reply.
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That morning, Arthur and the knights conducted a meeting with Gregory and his men, to discuss what had been done already to fight against the beast. They soon realised that they were not dealing with any ordinary beast. The knights of Gregaldor had already tried to tame the beast using all the methods that the knights of the round table suggested.
There in the corner stood Merlin, away from the gazes of all the other men, planning the attack on the monster. Gaius had already warned Merlin, that the monstrous creature was likely to be a Sphinderlinx. As the last dragonlord, Gauis' theory was that Merlin should have the power to control the beast, however in order to do so, Merlin either needs to be face to face with the beast, or be able to summon it by using its name. Merlin would have to wait for the Sphinderlinx to appear and then use magic to create a distraction so that he could have a few minutes alone with the creature, to tame it. Just as Merlin decided which spell he would use to create the distraction, he heard the knights of the round table finalising their plan for defense.
As all the knights left and servants filed out of the meeting chamber, Arthur stayed behind to speak to Gregory.
Gregory started "your majesty, I can not express my gratitude in words. I had heard of the legends of the 'once and future king' and stories of your greatness, but only now I can fully appreciate your kindness and care for all your subjects. I hope you are comfortable in Grigaldor?"
"You do not need to thank me, Lord Gregory. Grigaldor is my responsibility. I can assure you that I and my men are having a very comfortable stay. Grigaldor has been immensely hospitable towards us. I just had a favour to ask. My manservant, Merlin, was arrested last night as he was sleeping in the grounds. Would it be possible for Merlin to be given shelter in the servant quarters in your castle, or could any alternative arrangements be made for his stay? I do not want him arrested again."
"Of course, Merlin is welcome to stay in the servant quarters. Cedric, come here, boy!" shouted Gregory. "Take Merlin to the servant quarters."
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Later that evening, Merlin had just finished helping Arthur put on his armour, when the king asked "what do you think about our plan to slay the beast?"
Merlin, startled by the question said "I wasn't listening to your discussion closely this morning, but from what I've heard during my rounds of the village, I understand that this beast is much smaller than a fully grown dragon, but it has the ability to breathe fire. What you need, is a distraction. That is why I will accompany you. I will run towards the beast first from the front and you and the knights can strike from the back."
"You will do no such thing!" exclaimed Arthur. "You will stay in these chambers and wait for my return."
"Is that an order, my lord?" asked Merlin, hiding his grimace.
"No, it is not an order. It is a sincere request," replied Arthur slowly. But Merlin could see that Arthur was giving some thought to the plan.
"In that case, I will stand beside you in this battle," said Merlin, with a note of finality in his voice.
"Okay, you can come with us. But I will not let you distract the monster on your own. You can go with Elyan to distract the beast."
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All the descriptions and drawings in the books and all the comments of the villagers could not do justice to the beautiful creature advancing towards Merlin. Merlin and Elyan were standing in the middle of the clearing, with Elyan raising his sword and Arthur and the other five knights hid in the bushes. Merlin had planned to use a freezing spell, but the Sphinderlinx had to be closer for the spell to work, as the knights needed to feel that they have slayed the beast, for them to leave Grigaldor.
As the Sphinderlinx got closer, it opened its mouth. Merlin had his hands out, ready to stop the Sphinderlinx as soon as the first flame erupted its mouth. But Merlin was surprised when instead of fire, a yellow vapour escaped the creatures' mouth. The legends said nothing about the vapour. Merlin noticed that Elyan fainted as soon as a droplet of the vapour entered his nostrils.
Merlin spoke to the beast. "What have you done to him?"
The Sphinderlinx reached the ground and kneeled before Merlin. "Master, the yellow steam is how I kill people. It usually takes them several hours to die after inhaling the steam. Of course, it will have no effect on you, the almighty lord of the dragons," roared the Sphinderlinx.
"How do I cure them?" asked Merlin, with a look of desperation.
"You are a dragonlord, master, you have the power to reverse my magic, unless they die beforehand of course."
"What is your name, Sphinderlinx?" asked Merlin.
"My name is Dyris, master."
"Dyris, you will stop attacking men and women and children. Do you understand me?"
"Yes master."
"You will never return to this village and terrorise its people. Do you understand me?"
"Yes master."
"You will leave and seek the dragon named 'Kilgarah', and you will stay under his protection and live in his way of life. Do you understand me?"
"Yes master," and with that Dyris took off, without looking back.
Merlin carried Elyan to the bushes where Arthur and the other knights were hiding. Merlin expected to find them all unconscious on the ground. He was right, however, Arthur was missing.
Merlin closed his eyes, and the words came to him naturally. When he had finished whispering the words, he opened his eyes to see all six knights awake and staring at him.
"Are you praying Merlin?," asked Gwaine, with unmistakeable laughter.
"I thought you were going to die," replied Merlin, accepting Gwaine's idea.
"You should have more faith in us Merlin," said Sir Leon, "after all we are knights of the round table. Where is Arthur, have you seen him? He decided to go to the other side of the clearing to act as a second distraction so we could attack from both sides," explained Leon.
Merlin gasped in terror. If Arthur hadn't been with the rest of the group, it meant that either he was laying on the ground somewhere, getting weaker by the minute, or he had seen Merlin speak to Dyris.
Arthur walked slowly from the other side of the clearing, with pain, betrayal and fear in his eyes. "Knights, arrest him!" ordered Arthur, in his most commanding, dominant King's voice, pointing towards Merlin. The knights, though stunned for a second, obeyed the King's order without question.
"Arthur, please …" began Merlin.
Arthur raised a hand to the group. "You have betrayed me," said Arthur looking towards but not at Merlin, his face emotionless.
"Gag him," said Arthur, speaking to Leon, who obeyed. "Keep him in the dungeons at Grigaldor until the morning, we leave at dawn for Camelot. I do not want to be disturbed this evening." With this, the King walked towards to Grigaldor castle.
He lay in his bed all night, tossing and turning. He had no idea what to do next. All the years he spent training to become king, he was never taught how to deal with such a situation. But Arthur knew that this is a lie. Of course he was told what to do in this situation, wasn't it obvious what his father would have done? Merlin would be executed as soon as they returned to Camelot. Tears rolled down from Arthur's eyes at this thought. Merlin is his friend. No, Merlin was his friend. Merlin is a sorcerer.