The day dawned bright and sunny, a complete contrast to the sombre mood found within the castle. For today, an execution was to take place. A young man had been caught using magic. A member of the royal household. The prince's own manservant.
The boy was popular amongst the castle staff and, despite his cheeky tongue, was well liked by the knights. The king's ward and her maid were both good friends with the boy and the prince considered his manservant to be his best friend. King Uther on the other hand had always considered the boy an idiot and was actually rather glad of an excuse to be rid of him.
The King had ordered his son and ward to stand on the balcony with him to watch the execution. Normally, the king didn't insist on their presence at executions but today was different. Both Morgana and Arthur had been confined to their rooms since the arrest as both had (rather foolishly) stated in front of Uther that they would release Merlin if he were arrested. Uther had proclaimed that they must be under an enchantment which would break once Merlin died. Believing Gwen to be under the same enchantment, Uther had her confined with Morgana.
Despite everyone's desire for the hour to never come, eventually it was time for the execution. The drums beat a solemn march as several guards led Merlin up to the platform and unwillingly bound the boy to the stake.
"This man, Merlin," the king sneered the boy's name, "has been found guilty of practising magic. There is only one punishment that can be given." Uther nodded to the guards who sadly lowered the torch and held it to the wood until it lit. The only sound to be heard in the courtyard was the crackling of the flames. No one moved, no one spoke, no one even breathed. Screams suddenly rent the air. Merlin's screams seemed to break the spell and sobbing could be heard from all sides.
Finally the screams stopped. Movement in the crowd caught the king's eye. A finely dressed young lady walked across the courtyard and came to stand before the platform looking up at the king.
"You are a fool King Uther and without that boy you just had executed, you will die before destiny had intended. Your name shall soon be forgotten, though your son's name shall endure as long as there are stars in the sky." The mysterious young woman turned and began to walk away. Uther was annoyed.
"Arrest her," he ordered the guards. But it was too late. She was gone. Uther stalked away in a huff.
Arthur, Morgana and Gwen slowly turned away from the scene and walked together down the corridor towards Arthur's chambers where they sat together in silence for a while.
"I can't believe Merlin's gone," Gwen commented eventually.
"I keep expecting him to barge through that door without knocking and start throwing insults at me," added the prince.
"That lady though; the way she spoke to Uther. It was weird – like she was sentencing him. I wonder who she was and why she came." The first lady of Camelot hadn't been able to stop thinking about the strange ending to the execution.
"She said that Arthur's name would endure as long as there were stars in the sky," added Gwen. "Do you really think that's possible?"
I think that's a lot of pressure to be under. I agree with Morgana about it being strange. There was something in the way she spoke that reminded me of how Merlin can be sometimes. You know, when he has those moments where he says something and you realise that he's only pretending to be an idiot. That actually he's very wise."
The prince, the lady and her maid drifted off into silence again. This time the silence was only broken by a knocking at the door. When Arthur called out enter, the door opened to admit Sir Leon. Out of all the knights in Camelot, Sir Leon was closest to the prince and knew how close the young man had been to his manservant.
"I didn't think you'd sent for food. You should eat." Leon had come laden with food enough for the four of them and a goblet of wine each. Placing the food on the table, Leon handed each of the room's occupants a goblet before raising his own.
"To Merlin, we'll never forget you."
"To Merlin," each of the others repeated.
""Father is wrong about magic. I know that now. I pledge, here and now, in front of you all that when I am king, magic shall be free once more. And I shall have a statue of Merlin made; it shall sit in the place where he died and serve as a reminder that never again shall sorcerers be executed simply for having magic."
"Well said Prince Arthur," the lady from the execution was sat on the prince's bed. "I came to tell you this. Once and Future King, without Emrys by your side the road to Albion will be a difficult one. You will need people you can trust by your side. You must seek those who are destined to be your greatest allies." With that the girl was gone. The four who remained looked at each other confusedly.
"Who's Emrys?" Gwen asked the question they were all wondering.
"Perhaps Gaius will know," suggested Morgana.
"yes, we should go see him anyhow. Make sure he's okay."
The four friends rose and exited Arthur's chambers. The solemn group made their way to the physician's chambers. Morgana knocked lightly before pushing the door open anyway. Gaius was sat on a bench staring bleakly at the wooden table in front of him. Two wet tracks glistened down the old man's cheeks.
"Gaius." Gwen spoke softly as she went over and took one of the physician's hands within her own. Gaius turned to look at the maid; though she got the feeling he didn't really see her.
"I told him to be careful," the physician croaked at last. "I told him not to get caught."
"He never did do as he was told." The break in Arthur's voice betrayed him; revealing how sad he truly was that Merlin had gone.
Morgana came to sit on the other side of Gaius and told him about the reappearance of the lady; this necessitated a telling of the ending of the execution since Gaius had declined attending the dismal event.
"Emrys is a figure from druidic prophecy. It is said that Emrys will be the greatest sorcerer to ever walk the Earth and that Emrys and the Once and Future King will unite Albion together. The Druid's believe that Merlin is – Was – Emrys."
"But if he was that powerful, why didn't he just escape before the execution?"
"Your father wouldn't have just let him escape. Merlin would have spent the rest of his life being hunted, by you, on your father's orders." It was Morgana who deduced Merlin's reason for letting the execution go ahead. The five returned to silence. Eventually each of the young people left for his or her own chambers.
The following morning found Prince Arthur, Sir Leon, Lady Morgana and Gwen in the physician's chambers again. The four young people had many more questions they wanted to ask Gaius. Arthur had remembered the strange way the mysterious lady had addressed him when she had appeared in his chambers the previous evening.
"Gaius, have you ever heard of the Once and Future King?" Arthur began the questioning. Gaius startled when Arthur spoke the title.
"Where did you hear that?" he asked in confusion.
"The lady who told us of Emrys addressed Arthur in that way," explained Lady Morgana.
"I see. Well, there are prophecies about a king and a warlock who will unite Albion and restore magic to the land. The warlock of these prophecies is Emrys who the druids believed Merlin to be. There are those who believe you, Arthur, to be the king the prophecies refer to as the Once and Future King." Arthur's jaw dropped open.
"There are prophecies about Arthur?" questioned Morgana in surprise.
"The druids believe so," replied Gaius. "I don't know all that much about the prophecies. If you want to learn more, you'll need to seek out the druids."
"Then that is what we'll do," declared Arthur. "Leon, I think you and I need a hunting trip to get us out of the castle."
"No," interrupted Morgana. "Gwen and I want to come too. Why don't the four of us go visit my father's grave?" After a little arguing back and forth, Arthur finally agreed to Morgana's plan and the lady hurried off to find the king.
An hour after Morgana left the physician's chambers the four set off into the woods to seek out the druids.