First Merlin story, forgive me if I didn't do a good job...
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Merlin, it belongs to BBC
EDIT:I must apologize for any confusion earlier, concerning this story. You see, I finished typing this up and uploaded it, but when I checked on the story I found that I had published the wrong file. And this story needed minor tweaking. So, without further ado, here is the story!
From the first day he walked into Camelot and became Arthur's servant, Merlin's life could not've gotten better. That was until his eyes first laid upon the King's ward, Morgana. Her chocolate brown hair was magnificent and was always hanging down her side elegantly. There was something about her pale blue eyes that always enchanted him when their eyes met. Of course if he just confessed right there, Uther would surely have his head.
Arthur looked up from his paperwork to see Merlin staring out of the window with a lovesick expression on his face. He rolled his eyes and threw a cup at Merlin's head, hitting square on the neck. Merlin cursed and rubbed his neck, glaring at Arthur.
"What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his neck some more.
"You're supposed to be washing the floor Merlin. My father didn't hire you to stare out of windows."
Merlin sighed and took a wash cloth, scrubbing the floor.
"Prat." he muttered under his breath.
"What was that, Merlin?"
Merlin faked a smile. "Nothing, sire. I just said that Gaius was getting a little fat."
Gaius was the Royal Physician and a friend of Merlin's mother. He was sent to Camelot as a hope to control his magical powers before King Uther learned of it and sentenced him to death.
Arthur smirked at the thought of Gaius being fat, but quickly changed his expression so Merlin wouldn't think he was laughing at one of his terrible, terrible jokes.
"Just keep working. I'm going to go to the..." Arthur paused for a moment. "...library." He walked away, leaving Merlin to wash his floors.
He's probably off to see Gwen. Thought Merlin as he scrubbed the floor. Wait a minute, he had magic, didn't he? Why was he just sitting around scrubbing the floor by hand?
Merlin stretched his hand out to the bucket and muttered a few words, his eyes glowing gold briefly before returning to its normal shade of blue. The floors were shiny as if they had just been polished. Merlin grinned and left the room.
On his way to his room, he rounded a corner and bumped into someone.
"I am so, so sorry." he apologized, before looking up and finding himself gazing into the eyes of Morgana.
She didn't answer and just walked away, her footsteps hurried.
Merlin returned to his chambers and lay on the bed, looking at the ceiling, thinking of Morgana.
As she hurried away from Merlin she couldn't help but notice a certain something about him. A certain something that she couldn't quite place. She could feel her heart fluttering in her chest as she walked along, trying to calm herself down.
He's just a servant boy, there's nothing you can do about it. She told herself firmly.
Stop trying to make excuses for yourself. Chided a small voice inside her.
Somehow, she knew the voice was right so she stopped in her footsteps and went to see Gaius for surely Merlin would be there.
"MERLIN!" rang Arthur's voice throughout the castle.
Merlin opened an eye sleepily. Damn it...did I fall asleep?
Gaius walked into Merlin's room. "Whatever could you have possibly done to enrage Arthur like this?" he asked the raven haired boy.
"I honestly have no idea." answered Merlin. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"I didn't even know you were asleep, Merlin."
"MERLIN IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR IDIOTIC SELF UP HERE I WILL PUT YOU IN THE STOCKS!"
Merlin rolled his eyes. "I'll see you later Gaius."
He ran up the steps and into the castle.
"I'm here, dollop head!" called Merlin as he pushed the door to Arthur's room.
Arthur walked out from behind a screen, shirtless. "Will you stop calling me that? I don't even know what it means"
"Ah, but aren't you supposed to be smart, Sire?" replied Merlin, trying to keep a straight face.
Arthur sighed, exasperated. "Now's not the time for your silly little word games, Merlin. I've been waiting for the past thirty minutes for you to get in here and prepare my bath."
"I thought as King you'd be old enough to know how to make your own bath" Merlin ducked as a candle flew over his head. "And you should really stop throwing things at me, it's quite childish."
"So you're saying that I can't bathe myself? I'll show you." Arthur grabbed a bucket of water and emptied it over Merlin's head. "There we go, all clean."
Merlin removed the bucket and forced a smile. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it. Now clean up this mess. Arthur sat on his bed. "Oh, and when you're done I want you to polish my armour, muck out the stables and clean the whole room."
Merlin shook his dripping wet hair to try and dry it a little bit. "Anything else, sire?"
"No, Merlin. What are you just standing there for? Don't be such a girl and get on with your work!"
Merlin wiped the sweat off his forehead as he walked back to his room. On his way there, he saw Morgana walk out of the door looking disappointed. After a few seconds of arguing with himself, he approached her.
"Lady Morgana..."
She looked at him and blushed. "Merlin."
Merlin felt uncomfortable and started to shift from side to side. "Are you alright? You seem a little down."
Morgana smiled. "I'm fine, thanks for wondering. I was actually looking for you but Gaius said you were out."
He was surprised. "Looking for me, my Lady? What for?"
Morgana suddenly looked as fidgety as he was. "Would you like to join me on a ride in the forest tomorrow? I'm sure Arthur won't mind if I borrow you for the day." she blurted out.
"I-i think it's a great idea. I'd love to go." he replied, his face breaking out into a smile.
Morgana reddened a bit more. "I-I'll see you tomorrow then, Merlin."
"Yeah...I'll see you too, lady Morgana."
Merlin closed the door behind him gently before falling down on his bed face first. He rolled over to his back and faced to window.
Today really has been something. He thought, eyelids drooping from exhaustion. I hope tomorrow will be as good as this day. He closed his eyes and slept until the next day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day...
Merlin woke up to the chirping of birds. He rubbed his eyes and looked out of the window, admiring the view of Camelot that it gave. He remembered about the meeting with Morgana yesterday and ran out of the room, tying his signature neckerchief around his neck.
"Well you seem to be in a hurry, Merlin." said Gaius as Merlin inhaled his breakfast.
"I'm just really excited today." he said truthfully and then ran out the door.
Gaius raised an eyebrow in suspicion but decided not to pursue it anymore.
Merlin ran along the corridor, dodging most of the people walking. He accidentally knocked over Gwen, who was carrying a big pile of sheets.
"Gwen! Sorry! Let me help you." he apologized, bending down to pick up the fallen sheets.
"No, Merlin, I'll be fine. Don't you have a date with Lady Morgana to go to?" Gwen said, standing up and taking the sheets from Merlin.
"How did you know about-?"
"The whole castle is buzzing with how Lady Morgana was looking for you yesterday." Gwen answered. "Go Merlin, she doesn't appreciate lateness."
Merlin thanked Gwen and ran to the stables, where Morgana awaited him.
Sure enough, there she was, standing next to her white horse. She was wearing a dress of a rich purple color, her hair braided so it wouldn't get in her way.
"Lady Morgana, you look amazing." breathed Merlin.
"Please, you may call me Morgana when my father and Arthur aren't around."
"As you wish, Morgana." Merlin helped her up onto her horse before mounting his own horse.
Morgana and Merlin rode side by side out of Camelot.
The trees rushed by them in a blur. Merlin looked over at Morgana and was breath taken by her. Her hair was flying behind her and she was laughing. Merlin smiled, feeling happy, when an arrow embedded itself in the tree in the tree in front of him, scaring the horses. The horses stopped abruptly, legs raring up into the air. Merlin jumped off his horse and caught Morgana as she fell.
He placed his finger to his lips.
"Bandits." he whispered.
Merlin held Morgana close to him as the bandits stepped out of the trees.
"What do you want?" he asked them, looking for a way to escape without using magic.
The ugliest of the bandits stepped forward. "I am Durmen, the leader of the bandits. I think you and that fine young lady behind you will sell for an excellent price indeed." He snapped a few fingers and two of the bandits shoved Merlin aside and took Morgana.
"Well, well, well. What have we here? The Lady Morgana. And her servant boy." he added with a look of contempt at Merlin. "Oh yes, Uther will pay a hefty price to get his beloved ward back.
Merlin felt his magic bubble to the surface but he forced it back down.
"Leave her alone!"
Durmen laughed, his group of bandits laughing with him.
"And what will you do? You're nothing but a peasant." Durmen hit Morgana's face with the back of his hand. "Do you like that, servant boy?"
Merlin had reached a dilemma. Should he use magic to save Morgana and expose his being a warlock? Or should he try to do it without? But Durmen might hurt her even more if I don't use magic...
"Merlin...leave me." said Morgana.
Durmen laughed again. "So the young lady speaks! How about that? Take the servant boy."
Merlin got punched in the face and was forced to kneel down on the ground while the bandits tied his hands behind him.
"No!" cried Morgana, tears rolling down her face. "Don't hurt him!"
Durmen smirked and punched Merlin in the stomach.
Merlin gasped for air as he fell sideways, the breath getting knocked out of him by the punch. Durmen looked pleased by his pain and kicked him in the side.
Merlin couldn't take the pain anymore. Not while his magic was screaming inside him, fighting for release. As the next punch was swinging toward his face, he howled, unleashing a powerful wave of magic that knocked down all the bandits.
"Merlin..." Morgana breathed, shocked to see Merlin perform magic. She thought she was the only one.
The bandits quickly recovered and came charging at him with their swords drawn but Merlin disarmed them easily with a wave of his hand. Unknown to him, Durmen was sneaking up behind Merlin with a wooden club in his hands, ready to hit him on the head.
"Look out Merlin!" screamed Morgana.
Merlin whirled around and stopped Durmen in mid-swing. Durmen stood there, frozen and unable to move. Merlin hit him on the head with the wooden club ensuring that when he woke up he wouldn't remember how Merlin defeated him.
"Are you alright?" he asked Morgana, panting heavily.
"Why are you asking me? You're the one who was fighting." Morgana noticed the wound on his arm. "You're hurt."
"It's just a scratch." shrugged Merlin. "Promise me that you won't tell Uther about the magic."
"I promise."
Merlin swayed on his feet and fell forward. Morgana caught him. Upon closer inspection of the wound, she saw that it was tinged with green, indicating that the sword that cause the wound was poisoned. Morgana cursed under her breath and tied Merlin to his horse, dragging him back to Camelot with her.
Sir Lancelot was standing guard at the gates of Camelot when he saw Morgana and two horses approaching the gate. As they drew closer, he saw that on the second horse, Merlin was unconscious, just tied to the horse. Lancelot stopped Morgana.
"What happened?"
Morgana described to him in detail what had happened in the forest. "He used magic but then when he defeated them he somehow got hurt with a poisoned blade." Morgana felt her chest grow tight as she remembered her promise to Merlin. "I wasn't supposed to tell you about the magic."
To her surprise, Lancelot laughed.
"It's fine. I already know. But we should really get him to Gaius before it gets worse."
Morgana helped Lancelot with Merlin and together they brought Merlin to Gaius.
"Oh my." said Gaius when Lancelot and Morgana came in holding Merlin. "What happened?"
"It doesn't matter!" snapped Morgana. "He's dying and if you don't heal him I might lose him forever."
Gaius raised an eyebrow at Lancelot, who shrugged.
"Let me see the wound." Gaius took a sample of the green lining the wound and inspected it.
"Well?" asked Morgana, hoping he'd be okay.
Gaius paled. "I'm afraid the poison can only be cured by the leaf of the Morteus flower."
"What's wrong with that? We can go find it."
"The only problem is, that flower hasn't been seen for over a hundred years. The only cluster I could find has been used by Arthur when Merlin was poisoned previously."
Arthur bent over his paperwork, writing, when Morgana burst through the door.
"Where is it?" she demanded, looking at him accusingly.
"Where is what, Morgana?"
"The Morteus flower. Gaius said you know where it is." Morgana looked really worried.
"I think I took the last ones. I'm sorry Morgana."
Morgana sat down on his bed and started crying. "It was my last chance to save Merlin."
Arthur was confused. "Merlin?"
"He got poisoned and that flower was the only cure."
Arthur felt terrible. Of course Merlin was just his servant, but over the few months that he had spent with him, he felt that he was getting closer to Merlin. That he was seeing as a friend. Arthur smiled, remembering all the arguments he had with Merlin sometimes ending with a book sailing over Merlin's head. He fondly remembered that Merlin spent an awful lot of time in the library. Wait...the library!
"I got it! The library is filled with old books. I'm sure there has to be a cure somewhere in there."
To his surprise, Morgana suddenly hugged him. "Thank you Arthur!" She took his hand and dragged him with her to the library.
Geoffrey was sitting at the desk when Morgana and Arthur approached him.
"Prince Arthur, Lady Morgana, whatever can I do for you?" he asked.
"We need to find a way to heal a poison that can only be cured by the Morteus flower."
Geoffrey removed his glasses and looked at the both of them. "I'm afraid there is no other cure. Except for...but it's too dangerous."
"Except for what? I'm the Prince you shouldn't be keeping secrets from me."
Geoffrey leaned in. "On the Isle of the Blessed, there is a cup. Have Merlin drink from the cup and he will be cured." he said, lowering his voice. "However, you must restore the balance of life. To save Merlin, another must take his place."
Morgana frowned. "You mean someone has to die to save him?"
Geoffrey nodded gravely. "Yes."
"But we don't even know where this Isle is. What if it requires sorcery to wield the cup?" Arthur said, wincing when he said sorcery.
"Gaius might know. He does know everything." suggested Morgana.
"Excellent idea, Morgana." Arthur turned away to leave. "Thank you for your help, Geoffrey."
"The pleasure is mine, sire"
Arthur and Morgana walked down to Gaius.
"How is Merlin?" asked Morgana, holding Merlin's limp hand.
Gaius looked solemn. "Not very good, my lady. He's been getting very feverish. I fear he may not have much longer to live."
"How do we get to the Isle of the Blessed?" asked Arthur.
The color drained from Gaius' face. "The Cup of Life. Who will you sacrifice?"
"I will do it." said Morgana, biting her lip. "Arthur, your life is too valuable to waste. At least Merlin will still be by your side."
"Morgana, you can't. Father will kill Merlin if he learns of what you did and your sacrifice will go to waste." Arthur interjected.
Gaius took a shaky breath. "I know the priestess on the island. Tell her that I will be the sacrifice. Hurry. You must not waste any more time." Gaius gave them a map. "Go."
Arthur thanked him. "Your bravery will honor you forever, Gaius."
Arthur walled to the stables, Morgana following behind him. As he mounted his horse, he looked at Morgana, who was preparing to do the same.
"I think you should stay here, Morgana. The trip is too dangerous for you."
Morgana crossed her arms. "Why? Because I'm a woman?"
"Don't be irrational, Morgana. Father will have a fit if you get hurt while I am there."
Arthur pulled the reins of his horse and he galloped away, heading toward the Isle of the Blessed.
Arthur rode his horse through the forest, following the directions on the map. Up ahead he could see the white mountains depicted on the map and he rode steadily on.
Finally, he reached the edge of the clearing and saw the Isle of the Blessed. It was an island, no it was smaller than island, and isle that resembled a sunken castle. It was surrounded by a dark ominous mist that gave it an air of mystery. If he listened, he could hear the screams of the wyverns as they circled the isle from above. The castle was in the middle of a lake and the only form of transportation he could use was a small boat, resting upon the shore right in front of him.
Cautiously, Arthur approached the boat, sword drawn. A robed man suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Who are you?" asked Arthur, eyeing the man.
"I am the boatman. My job is to ferry people across the lake. But, I require a price." The boatman held out his hand.
Arthur walked over to the man and placed a gold coin in his hand. "Will this be enough?"
The man did not answer and sat inside the boat, beckoning Arthur to join him.
Arthur climbed into the boat and the boatman pushed re boat off shore. The boat began its slow, long journey to the Isle.
Merlin tossed and turned in his feverish sleep. "Careful, Arthur." he mumbled.
Gaius looked worriedly at him and wiped a damp cloth over his forehead. "Merlin?"
Merlin didn't respond and just kept on muttering.
Gaius heard him mutter a couple of strange sounding words
The boat hit the isle with a soft bump. Arthur jumped out of the boat and walked into the castle. He heard screaming above him and saw a wyvern diving toward him. He sliced with his sword and the wyvern fell to the ground. The others just flew away as if they were warned.
Arthur continued on, walking deeper and deeper into the castle. He brushed aside some vines obscuring the opening ahead and saw a woman, dressed in red. She was standing before a rectangular slab of stone, on which a cup sat.
"Arthur Pendragon. I have been waiting for you." she said, as Arthur drew closer. "My name is Nimueh and I am the guardian of this cup."
Nimueh. The name stirred a memory in his head. A memory of the time when Merlin so foolishly drank that poisoned chalice. Gaius said she was behind the poisoning.
"You tried to kill me."
Nimueh shrugged. "It was a test of character. Now on to the purpose of your visit. You came for the cup. Who's life will be sacrificed for the restoration of the one in need?"
"Gaius said he knew you. And he also said he would give his life for the sake of Merlin."
"Gaius?" mused Nimueh. "Interesting. Take the cup, Arthur Pendragon and fill it with water. One sip and Merlin will be better."
"Thank you." Arthur took the cup and ran back to the boat.
Nimueh smiled and walked away into the darkness of the castle.
Arthur handed the cup to Gaius, who filled it with water. He lowered the cup to Merlin's mouth and poured the water in.
"I hope this works." prayed Morgana.
Merlin spluttered and opened his eyes. "G-Gaius? Arthur? Morgana? What happened?"
Morgana fell to his side, hugging him. "I was so worried!"
Gaius smiled at the happy scene before him then fell to the ground, showing the same symptoms Merlin had shown before.
"Gaius!" shouted Merlin, throwing the sheets aside and kneeling next to the physician's body.
"It's ok...Merlin. Life...had...to be...taken...only...way." mumbled Gaius.
"Life? What's he talking about?" Merlin grabbed Arthur by the shirt, pressing him against the wall. "What did you do, Arthur?"
"Merlin, please!" Morgana tried to get Merlin off Arthur. She had never seen Merlin behave like this before. "We were desperate, we-I couldn't let you die."
Arthur, who was strangely calm, pushed Merlin off of him. "The Isle of the Blessed. We used this cup"- he pointed to the cup lying on its side- "to bring you back. Some woman said a life had to be taken for you to live."
Merlin sat down, tears falling from his face. "Leave me alone."
Arthur and Morgana left the room, to give Merlin privacy.
Merlin picked up the cup. "If you brought me back, why take Gaius?" he spoke aloud, to no one in particular. He lifted Gaius using magic and teleported them to the Isle of the Blessed.
Morgana couldn't bear to leave Merlin alone in his sorrow, so when Arthur left her, she ran back to Gaius' chambers ad pushed open the door.
"Merlin?" she called, stepping in.
Merlin was gone. And so was the cup and Gaius' body. Morgana gasped and then ran to Arthur.
Meanwhile, Arthur had just lay down on his bed, when he heard the door being slammed open.
"What is it?" he asked, expecting to see Merlin. To his surprise, Morgana was there.
"Merlin's gone with Gaius and the cup."
"What?" cried Arthur. "That idiot! He's probably gone to sacrifice himself to bring Gaius back. We must stop him."
"But Arthur, he could be far away, getting closer as we speak. There's no way we can get there in time." Morgana felt useless. There was always the option of magic but Arthur couldn't find out.
"Well, if that's the case, we'll just have to let him be."
"Arthur!" shouted Morgana, shocked.
"I'm tired of chasing after that idiot, trying to save him if he's just going to throw it all away." Arthur said, regretfully.
Morgana glared at Arthur. "If you're going to be king, you may as well start acting the part. You're heartless, Arthur." She stormed out of the room, breaking a vase in the process.
Merlin set Gaius' body down gently on the ground and approached the lady in red.
"I want Gaius' life back." he demanded.
The lady laughed. "Really Merlin? After all that Arthur has done for you? You must be stupid."
"Your cup took his life. Give it back." Merlin said, stepping closer.
"And if I don't?" the lady smiled. "I am Nimueh, high priestess of the Old Religion. The only way you can defeat me is with magic. And I know you have magic, Emrys." she said, putting emphasis on Emrys.
Merlin paled. Emrys was his true name, and according to Druid legend he was also the most powerful warlock in all the land who would restore magic to Camelot. "How did you know?"
"I know a great number of things, Merlin. And many of them involve you."
Merlin and Nimueh were circling each other now, watching, waiting.
Nimueh was the first to strike, sending a fireball in his direction. Merlin's eyes flashed gold and her extinguished it with a gust of wind. He attacked her with a blast of energy, knocking her over. Nimueh quickly recovered, making vines grow out of the ground and imprisoning him.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" yelled Merlin, causing a huge bolt of lighting to streak out of the sky and hit Nimueh with an enormous clap of thunder.
He felt the vines loosen their grip on him and he walked over to the priestess. She was dying, her breathing shallow. The very ground around her was black with soot. The priestess' eyes made contact with him, pleading for help before becoming blank and empty, showing no life within.
Merlin stood up shakily and magically filled the cup with water. He poured it into Gaius' mouth and passed out, from the effort he put into the magic.
That was great. This story was bugging me like crazy and I just had to write it so ta da! This is a oneshot plus an epilogue which shall come up later.