No Merlin rights for me =/
Merlin slammed the door as he walked into Gaius' shop, almost knocking down some of the potions and vials on the table.
"Just once, Gaius, just once I'd like some recognition," he said aloud, to no one in particular since the old physician didn't seem to be around. "None of that 'Merlin, why are you so useless?' or 'an infant would be more useful then you, Merlin', 'why do you even tag along if all you do is stand at the sidelines'? I'm so sick of it! If only he knew how many times over his arse would be killed without me!"
Merlin looked around, not hearing a response. He noticed that the shop was empty; Gaius must've been out on a house-call.
With a grunt, he made his way to his room. "Just once, I'd like a pat on the back. A 'well done, Merlin', I wish I didn't have to hide," he mumbled to no one in particular as his mind started to slow, sleep overcoming him quickly from the fatigue.
Too quickly, in fact, to hear a faint whisper, "As you wish, Emrys, áfaran álystan".
Merlin woke up with a gasp. Something felt off. For once, never has his bed been quite this comfortable. Nor could he hear Gaius' movement downstairs, or smell the potions the old man would brew in the morning.
Looking around, he knew he was definitely not in his room anymore. The place seemed fit for a king, then a prince's servant. In fact, looking around, he could almost swear that this was King Uther's chambers. But… But that couldn't be. Why would he have awoken here, of all places? He could remember returning to Gaius' shop after another battle with a magical creature.
"Sire," he heard a knock on the door. "Queen Morgana has been asking for you."
He saw a boy, not much older than himself, enter the chambers, careful to avoid gazing at him.
A look of shock passed Merlin's face. This was most certainly not the Camelot he had fallen asleep into. But where else could he be?
"Yes, let her know I'll be there shortly," he answered, dismissing the boy. Something wasn't right here. Magic, perhaps? But why would he then be royalty?
Reaching out with his mind, he tried to sense the great dragon.
"You dare seek me, young warlock?" an angry voice shouted in his mind. "You have made your choice, may it damn you to the pits hell!"
Feeling the rage of the dragon, Merlin quickly stopped. Just in time, it would seem, for in a moment Merlin lay on the ground, clutching his head from pain.
"Merlin, what are you doing?" Arthur shouted, shock and confusion evident on his face.
"I am merely standing up for my kind, Prince," Merlin answered, his voice as cold as snow. He took Morgana's hand, leading her over to the throne. "The throne of Camelot now belongs to me and the Lady Morgana, and we shall rule with the peace and equality worthy of this land."
Arthur started at his servant, his friend, still not quite understanding what's happened.
"Merlin, no, this isn't the way!"
"You are henceforth banished, Arthur Pendragon, may I never lay my eyes upon you again."
He seemed to find himself in a forest now, one he recognized as being a few minutes' walk from Camelot.
"Merlin, you understand now, don't you? Uther's reign cannot be allowed to continue. He will wipe out magic in its entirety," Morgana pleaded, taking Merlin's hands into her own.
"We won't let that happen," he heard his voice answer.
"I understand what you're going through, Morgana," Merlin spoke softly, finding himself one on one with the warden in her chambers. "I understand, because I have it too."
"Magic?" she asked, confusion etched all over her face.
For just a second, she noticed Merlin's eyes blazing yellow. For a second, nothing happened. Then, she noticed him holding out her palm. Slowly opening it, she saw a flame glowing brightly, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
She could barely contain her tears. She rushed to hug the man before she even realized what she was doing, finally feeling like there was someone there, someone who understood her, someone who would help her through what she's going through.
Merlin opened his eyes what seemed to be an eternity later, barely able to stand the sun that was shinning. His head felt as if someone had cracked it open to force the new memories in, memories he didn't want to have. Arthur's face… He had never seen the prince look so devastated, so hurt.
As his vision cleared up, he noticed Gaius standing over him.
"Gaius!" he screamed, leaping up to embrace the old man before he could realize the reaction his throbbing head would have to such an action. "I thought I'd never see you again!"
Gaius chuckled, loosing himself in the embrace. For a split second, he could see the old Merlin resurface, the one he hadn't seen in ages. Not that he's seen much of the crowned King lately, anyway.
"Sire, I assure you I haven't gone anywhere," he answered as Merlin clutched his head and laid back down.
After regaining his composure, Merlin looked around. His chambers seemed to be clear of everyone but Gaius, though the uneasiness of the morning was playing havoc on his nerves.
"Is there anyone else here, Gaius?" he asked quietly.
"No, sire, it figured it best to let your rest."
"Stop with the 'sire', Gaius, what's going on here? Where's Arthur? What happened to King Uther? Gwen? What am I doing here?" he shot off the questions one after another, so quickly Gaius could barely understand what was being said.
Merlin could see the surprise and confusion on Gaius' face. It was almost as if the old man was trying to figure out where the questions were coming from, and decide on the sincerity of his words.
"Gaius, please. The last thing I can remember was slaying another creature with Arthur and coming back home, to the shop," he pleaded, willing the old man to believe him. More than anything, he needed a friend right now.
"You must've hit your head, sire…" Gaius started, but Merlin interrupted once more.
"Gaius, I didn't hit my head. Please Gaius; I need you to trust me. This isn't a trick, this isn't the world I came from. I don't know what magic did this, but I need to fix it. Arthur was to rule Camelot, not Morgana, and most definitely not me."
Gaius took a long breath, the room getting utterly quiet.
"Merlin, you've been crowned king for three years now. Ruling over Camelot with Morgana by your side," Gaius answered quietly. "Arthur Pendragon hasn't been seen since the last of the rebellions died down, a few months after the overthrow. Some of the knights were killed, others fled swearing to restore Arthur to his rightful place. Peace now resides over Camelot, for the most part. You and Morgana, your powers combined have kept all threats at bay, and people for the most part have accepted this."
Gaius told the story of Merlin's rise to power. How Merlin, having consulted with Gaius, and against his wishes, told Morgana of his own powers. How it took a particularly brutal attempt of Uther's to wipe out a peaceful village of druids in the forests of Camelot for him to no longer be able to bare standing by. How he and Morgana had overtaken the castle in barely a day, and the time that passed afterwards.
Merlin sat in silence, trying to processes everything he had heard. So the visions, the things he had seen had been memories. Not his, but if this Merlin, traveling down this path.
"This isn't supposed to happen, Gaius."
"You've been a good king, Merlin," Gaius added, "Perhaps the choices you made weren't the best, but you have done right by Camelot."
"But not by Arthur," Merlin said gravely. "Have there really been no news of him?"
He could see the emotions etched on Gaius' face as he asked of Arthur's whereabouts. "Gaius, I know this all seems like a bad dream, a nightmare, or some ploy to destroy him. But I'm not lying."
"What would you do if you find him, Merlin?"
"I could explain, somehow, I'm sure," he said quickly, not having thought through the meeting itself. He couldn't just come up to the prince saying, 'hey, sorry about that, you can have Camelot back if you want!'. Not to mention Morgana… She might not be as willing to give up her reign as Merlin was.
"I will fix this, Gaius," he swore at last. "I promise you, I will fix this.
áfaran álystan - forgive me if I butchered old English, this should be roughly "Travel onto your wish".