Author's Note: This is the first chapter of the sequel to 'All Magic Comes With A Price', and I hope that it is ever bit as good, if not better, than the first part. I know that it's taken awhile, but I hope that the quality of the story makes up for it being late. Anywho, if you haven't read the first part, then I suggest you do so. You can easily find it on my profile page, so go there.
I decided to do this part of the story in third person, because I think it makes the story flow better. I made the mistake of making 'All Magic Comes With A Price' in first person, and I repeated a lot. I know that it got on people's nerves.
Chapter 1: The Dream
Merlin woke with a start, crying out and holding his arms in front of his face, as if to ward off some incoming blow. The commotion was enough to wake Arthur, who sat up and gently rubbed circles on Merlin's back. Merlin took a few deep breaths, and tried to calm his racing heart. A droplet of water hit his hand, and Merlin was unsurprised to find that he was crying.
"Shh love, it's okay. It was just another dream." Arthur said soothingly. It helped Merlin a great deal to hear his voice. To make sure that the terrible dream had truly been a figment of his imagination, and not real life.
"I know, but it was so real. I can't imagine how it would be just a dream. Never before have I had dreams that were so realistic." Merlin whispered, and turned, hugging Arthur to his chest, never wanting to let go of him again.
"You don't need to be afraid. I'm here for you, no matter what. Do you want to go back to sleep?" Arthur asked, to which Merlin shook his head. He knew that as soon as he fell asleep, he would have the same dream. He pulled back and looked at Arthur, needing to see him. He took in his straw-colored hair, His cobalt blue eyes, his tired smile, and the bags under his eyes.
Merlin's dreams had been going on for nearly a week, and not only was it keeping Merlin up, it was keeping Arthur up as well. Merlin would have used his magic to put Arthur to sleep, but he had promised Arthur that he would not use magic on him without his permission, or if his life was in danger. Merlin was not about to break the trust that the King had given him.
"I'm going to go for a walk, get some fresh air." Merlin said, hating that fact that he had to leave Arthur's embrace. He started to get up, but he felt the bed shift on the other side. He looked over his shoulder to see that Arthur was getting out of the bed as well.
"No, Arthur. You stay here. I've kept you up for too long as it is. You need to get your sleep. I can tell how tired you are." Merlin said, to which Arthur scoffed.
"I'm not a girl, I won't break from lack of sleep. Besides, I'm the King. I can do what I want, when I want." Arthur said. Merlin sighed, hating the fact that Arthur could be so stubborn sometimes. Then again, so could Merlin.
"You get your royal arse back in bed, and sleep. The only thing that is keeping me from using my magic to put you to sleep is that I made you a promise, one which I intend to keep. You can't properly run a kingdom when you are sleep deprived." Merlin said. Arthur sighed and looked at him with such kindness that it made Merlin want to stay all the more.
"What about you? You have obligations as well, and I know that you are probably more tired than I am. You need to get your sleep as well." Arthur said. Merlin smiled at Arthur.
"You know as well as I do that if I could sleep, I would sleep a week away. How many instances during my time as your manservant was I late for work because I overslept? There isn't anything I can do. I've already tried to enchant myself to sleep, and the only thing that did was for me to see the entire dream, which caused me not to be able to sleep for almost three days after that." Merlin said. He didn't say it to make Arthur feel better, he said it to make Arthur understand that he literally couldn't sleep.
"... I understand. Just... Please don't hurt yourself, okay? You mean more than anything to me." Arthur said, and Merlin could hear the sadness in his voice. He walked over to Arthur and placed both of his hands on Arthur's cheeks, forcing him to look at Merlin.
"You don't need to worry so much about me Arthur. I'm not entirely defenseless. Powerful sorcerer and all that." Merlin said, bending down to give Arthur a quick peck on the lips. The quick peck ended up lasting for a full minute, with a good deal of tongue involved. Finally, the need for oxygen won and they both broke off, panting in the still night air.
"Go to sleep Arthur. You need to be rested." Merlin said quietly. Arthur looked hesitant for a moment, before nodding his head. Arthur knew just how tired he was, and he knew that he needed to sleep if he was going to continue running the kingdom well.
"I'll be back at dawn, so that I can wake you up." Merlin said, and Arthur nodded his head again, and then he laid back down, closing his eyes. Even as Merlin watched, Arthur fell right back asleep, so great was his exhaustion. Merlin felt bad about keeping his King awake, and he was happy that he had convinced Arthur to stay put and sleep.
Merlin wandered out of the castle, nodding his head to the few people left on the streets. Everyone treated him with new-found respect. At first, they treated him almost completely different. However, they reverted to treating him the way that they used to when they realized that Merlin was still the same guy, and that nothing in his demeanor had changed. Merlin was exceedingly thankful for that, because he really didn't want to be thought of as better than anyone else.
Merlin was soon walking on the road away from Camelot. He knew what he needed to do, and he had known for a long time, but he was putting it off for as long as he could. He had suspicions that, if they proved to be true, then it would mean the end of life as he and Arthur knew it for a long time, perhaps for the rest of their lives. He was so very happy with the way things were that he was reluctant to change it at all. However, seeing how worried Arthur was about him made him realize that it was time to stop stalling the inevitable.
Merlin kept walking until he reached a clearing about two miles from Camelot. He went to the center of the clearing and laid on his back, closing his eyes. He wasn't going to try to sleep, the cold air prevented him from doing that, but he was stalling a bit again. Finally, he sighed and rose. He looked towards the sky and shouted.
"Kilgharrah, ego novissimus draco dominus, et ego si vocare te nunc mihi!" Merlin shouted, and then waited. He didn't have long to wait. He heard Kilgharrah first, the steady thumping of his wings betraying the closeness to the clearing that he was.
When the Great Dragon landed in the middle of the clearing, Merlin was in shock for a moment. He didn't like the old dragon at first, but Kilgharrah had helped Arthur and him a lot of times, and after the whole Camelot fiasco, the dragon seemed almost... tame. Here, in front of Merlin's eyes, was a living, breathing, piece of the Old Religion. It struck Merlin with awe.
"What is it young Warlock?" Kilgharrah asked.
"I need your help. I've been having... dreams. Very vivid dreams, as if I were actually there. I can hear, see, smell, taste, and feel everything around me. I need to know. Are these dreams, or are they something more?" Merlin asked. He suspected the answer, but he needed to be certain.
"It depends, young warlock. What happens in these dreams?" Kilgharrah asked. Merlin didn't want to have to relive the horrific scenes in his mind, but he knew that he didn't have a choice if he was going have an answer that he could rely upon.
"Arthur and I are in the woods. Up ahead, we can see a tower, and for some reason, the sight fills me with relief, as if I was on the last leg of some great journey. We get to the foot of the tower, but there is no way to get inside. We try going around it, but there is no way that we can see. The night begins to descend, and we decide to make camp at the foot of the tower, resolving to see if there is anything new we can see in the morning. We both go to sleep, but in the middle of the night, something wakes me. It's the sound of a twig snapping under a heavy boot. I start getting worried, and I squirm my way over to where Arthur was, trying my hardest not to make any noise. When I get to where he had fallen asleep, he wasn't there. That was when I began to really panic." Merlin said. He coughed, then winced when he realized how dry his throat was. He conjured some water to sate his thirst before continuing.
"Just as I was about to get up to find Arthur, I was hit in the back of the head. I collapsed, and lost consciousness for a moment. It was just enough time for whoever it was that hit me, to start swinging their blade. The blade was too close to me for me to use magic. I closed my eyes, anticipating a searing and horrible pain. When it never came, I opened my eyes, and saw that the man had a blade sprouting from his chest. He fell to the ground, dead. Behind him was Arthur. I was so happy to see him, that I almost leaped into his arms. Before I could though, he dropped to one knee, his head bowed. It was then that I saw the arrow sprouting from his back. He looked at me one last time and smiled, before his eyes glossed over." Merlin said, then stopped, too choked up to continue. He still felt as if he were there. If he closed his eyes, he would be able to see everything in that one, terrifying instant. He would have been able to smell the blood, taste the salt of his tears, and have seen Arthur fall, never to rise again.
"Young warlock, you are seeing a vision. You're correct when you assume that it is no ordinary dream. This future that you are describing has a chance, a very small chance to be averted. There are forces more powerful than you or I at work here, ones we could never hope to understand. It is entirely possible that this future is set, and cannot be changed. It's time you and Arthur began your quest. You have known for days now that you need to start, so why do you delay so?" Kilgharrah asked.
"I know that as soon as Arthur and I start, our entire world will change. I can't tell you how, but I feel it deep in my bones." Merlin said. Kilgharrah snorted and fixed one great, golden eye on Merlin.
"Just because things are going to change does not mean you can change your destiny. The sooner Arthur and you get going, the better." Kilgharrah said and flew off. Merlin watched his shadow flit across the crescent moon and disappear.
It had been a year since Arthur and he had heard of the Holy Grail. Merlin hadn't wanted to think about it, because he had no idea how long he was going to be gone, or if he would ever come back at all. In his experience, when something has little to no information about it, then the people who could have had information on it died trying to bring the information to light. It was hardly an appealing prospect.
Merlin pondered over it for well over an hour before he realized that it was starting to get lighter in the east. He hurried back to Camelot, nodding to the guards on his way. Merlin rushed into Arthur's chambers just as the sun was appearing over the horizon. Arthur was still fast asleep, and he looked so peaceful that Merlin was hesitant to wake him. Arthur made the decision for him after a few minutes when he started moving in his sleep. His breathing gradually picked up, and Arthur opened his eyes. Arthur blinked the sleep out of his eyes and turned his head to see Merlin looking at him with the most tender expression that Arthur had ever seen.
"Hey there sleepy head. Did you sleep well enough while I was away?" Merlin asked softly, still feeling bad that he was the one who was keeping Arthur awake. Arthur knew what was going on in Merlin's mind, and smiled.
"I slept fine. You don't need to worry so much, but thank you for letting me sleep. Maybe we can get you to sleep tonight, hmm?" Arthur asked, and Merlin sighed. He knew that he wasn't going to be getting much sleep, if any, until they started their quest.
"What's the matter Merlin? You look like you just bit into something unpleasant." Arthur said. Merlin knew that he was going to have to tell Arthur one way or another, and he knew that the sooner he got it out of the way, the better it would be for everyone involved.
"... We need to talk, Arthur." Merlin said. Arthur could hear the frustration in Merlin's voice, and he hated it when Merlin was feeling anything other than happiness. He patted the side of the bed next to him, and Merlin sat down gratefully. He turned to face Arthur, and took a deep breath.
"I went and talked with Kilgharrah about my dreams... He said that my dreams could be a vision of the future. He basically said that it was directly involved with our quest, and that it's high time we got started. I've had a feeling that this was what was going on, but I didn't want to say anything about it. I have a bad feeling about the quest, and I've learned to trust my instincts." Merlin said. Arthur wrapped an arm around Merlin, and hugged him to his chest.
"Well, we knew that we had to start some day, right? The sooner we get it done, the sooner we can come back and get back to being the happiest couple ever." Arthur said, intending to lighten Merlin's mood. It worked. Merlin snorted and rolled his eyes.
"What have I done to you? It used to be that you would never be heard saying things like that, thinking that it would hurt your precious image. Now, you never miss an opportunity to say something like that." Merlin said. Arthur just grinned.
"It's called love Merlin, you may have heard of it. It's spelled L.O.V.E., and it can make a man do crazy things." Arthur said playfully.
"Now there is the King that I know. Prat." Merlin said, and Arthur laughed.
All too soon, however, their good moods diminished. They knew that they were going to have to start within the week. It would be difficult to get everything ready for their departure, and make sure that all of their affairs were in order before they began.
"You go and inform the court and make sure that the kingdom won't fall while we are away. I'm going to go and talk with Gaius." Merlin said. Arthur nodded, and they shared a brief kiss, before going their separate ways.
Author's Note: Here is the first chapter to the sequel that I promised. I'm sorry it took so long. It took me a helluva long time to get a good enough idea to start writing. I hope that you guys liked it. As always, there is more to come, so please stay tuned.