Merlin's Magic Reveal

The battle was almost over. When Arthur was finally dead, the Battle of Camlann would be lost, and the kingdom of Camelot would fall. Kneeling before Mordred, Arthur leaned against his sword for support. He had a deep wound in his right side that kept bleeding, and it was a struggle to keep his composure as he tried to bite back the pain. There was a sea of bodies around him, all clad in clad in bloody Camelot armour; the crest of Pendragon worn with pride. Many were dead. Others were alive, but seriously injured. The fittest had been rounded up and were kneeling as well, with swords aimed at their heads awaiting the signal to strike. Looking to his left, he saw four of his closest knights and friends: Gwaine; Percival; Leon; and, Elyan.

"Let them go." Arthur's voice was firm and strong, and he shifted his gaze back to Mordred. "Your fight was with my father. Now it's with me. You kill me, and Camelot is yours; but leave my knights alone. Leave my people alone."

For the longest time, Mordred simply stared at Arthur. He gave nothing away; made no verbal, physical, or emotional response to the demand. Arthur hoped that this meant Mordred was considering it, that maybe he'd struck a chord with Mordred, and his people would be free. But deep down, he knew in his heart that the alliance they'd once had, that the boy he'd known before Morgana had come along and changed everything, was gone.

"We fight together; we die together. If you kill Arthur, you'll have to kill me, too," Gwaine said. He was stoic with his words and expression. Gwaine never was one to let Arthur go into anything on his own. After all, Arthur was the courage and he was the strength. They'd be together 'til the end.

"Me, too," Percival asserted.

"And me," Leon added.

"And me," Finished Elyan. They were all in this together. Always had been, and always would be.

"How… touching," Mordred hissed, amusement and sarcasm dripping from his voice. Although his face was anything but amused. "On the count of three, kill the dark one." A flash of fear passed over Elyan's face, but he quickly shook it off. He would accept death in the line of duty. "1… 2…-"

"Mordred!" A booming voice interrupted his count, making Mordred swerve on the spot so fast, it was a wonder he didn't fall over. His eyes fell on the distant figure of Merlin as he made his way toward Mordred and the knights. Merlin's face was set with a hard, determined expression. He was dirty and bloody, but most of his wounds seemed superficial.

"Merlin?!" Arthur yelled, "What do you think you're doing? Run!" One of Mordred's men came up behind Arthur and hit him over the head, mumbling in a rough and grumpy voice about shutting up or he'd regret it. Merlin stopped walking at this point, still 15 or so metres away.

"Ah, Merlin…" Mordred finally spoke up, emphasising the name, a smile playing on his lips. Now, he was amused. "Still hiding, I see. You know, if you'd just joined me like I asked, you wouldn't have to fear… revealing your true self. I take it you dealt with Morgana?"

"She won't be a problem anymore, if that's what you mean." Then Merlin shifted uncomfortably where he stood, casting his gaze to Arthur. "I'm sorry, Arthur. I never wanted it to be this way. For you to find out like this." He knew this wasn't going to end well. But, it was Merlin's job to protect Arthur, to ensure that Arthur fulfilled his destiny; and, he fully intended on accomplishing his task. To whatever end. "Forgive me."

Smirking, Mordred made sure his next words were clear and threatening, "Nobody do anything. We can deal with the others later. As for now, Emrys… is mine." And with that, a spark lit up from the palm of his hand and was thrown at Merlin. Several cries for Merlin to move could be heard, the loudest of which came from Arthur. His voice was filled with worry, fear, and pain. For him, the thought of losing Merlin was nearly unbearable. The fear however, was short lived, and an overwhelming shock began to set in as Merlin swatted the magic away as one might swat away a fly, and retaliated with a spark of his own; his eyes flashing a brilliant gold with the burst of magic.

The back and forth duel carried on for quite a while, and soon Mordred and Merlin had moved close enough together that the battle of magic turned into the occasional physical blow. Suddenly, a moment appeared, one Merlin fully intended on capitalising on. He'd finally managed to trap Mordred in a temporary magical bind, and while he did everything in his power to keep him in that state, Merlin yelled for a sword.

An instinctive trigger inside Arthur called him to help Merlin, and before he realised what he was doing, one swift movement saw Arthur grabbing his sword and cutting through the air, straight through Mordred's neck. Mordred stumbled for a second, blinked several times, then collapsed to the ground in a crumpled heap. Blood was still squirting and pooling out around him. He was dead.

Mordred's men were too slow to react, but when they finally understood what had happened, they dropped their weapons and made a quick retreat. The battle was over. They had won.

"Arthur…" Merlin began. Arthur's eyes shifted to Merlin slowly. He was at a loss for words. As Arthur and Merlin stared at each other, the surrounding environment seemed to fade to nothing, and all sound became mute. "Arthur, just please… let me explain-"

"We're done here," Arthur finally said. He took a deep breath before he continued, "For violating our laws against the use of magic, you are not sentenced to death, but instead are banished from the kingdom of Camelot. Indefinitely." It was getting a bit harder for Arthur to breathe in this moment. Sure he was injured, he could still feel the blood slowly seeping out from the wound in his side, but that was nothing compared to the way his heart was currently breaking. "I thank you for your all you've done; we would be dead now if it wasn't for you. But, I can't accept this. I can't… forgive you for this." He wanted to. He really, really wanted to. Merlin was… no. Merlin had been his friend. But, he'd lied to Arthur. For years. How could he possibly forgive that? How could he possibly accept and forgive the use of something that had been the cause of so much death? His father, his mother, Lancelot, countless other knights. So many families now without a loved one. He couldn't. Not now. But, he wasn't like his father. There would be no executions this time. "We will take you back to Camelot where you can pick up your things and say your goodbyes. You'll then be escorted to the border, and barred from returning."

"Arthur-" Merlin tried again.

"Or you can leave now and be done with it!" Arthur yelled. It was clear to see tears threatening to overcome his resolve, but Arthur stood firm and focused.

Sighing, Merlin silently walked up to Arthur. Arthur visably stiffened, and out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn he saw a few of the knights reach for their swords. They thought he was a threat. Slowly and gently, never taking his eyes from Arthur's, he placed a hand on Arthur's wounded side. He muttered "Þurhhæle dolgbenn", and the wound healed itself. "I truly am sorry." And with that, he turned his back and walked away.