The Rivals, Part II
The Doppelganger Enchantment
Set immediately at the conclusion of Episode 11 in Season 4 ("The Hunter's Heart"). The evil sorcerer restrains Merlin's power and takes his place in Camelot, intent on causing the destruction of his rival and the king he serves. Will Merlin be able to save himself when he is condemned to hang?
Chapter 1
Merlin re-enters Arthur's chambers with some rags, a mop and a bucket of hot soapy water after taking care of the chamber pot he'd just tripped over, that misstep confirming Arthur's belief he really was a clumsy idiot. They'd been talking about Gwen, with Merlin reassuring Arthur that he would find her once again. He is, after all, 'the once and future King.'
Merlin knew when he'd said it that Arthur wasn't ready to forgive; he still hurt too much from her betrayal. But Merlin had hope that they'd find their way back together one day because Arthur had realized he still loved her: Arthur could not go through with the negotiated marriage with Princess Mithian.
With a huff of annoyance at himself he thinks, "did it really have to be the chamber pot I kicked over?" Merlin squats down to mop up the liquid pooled on the floor. He pauses for a moment and looks over at Arthur, where he now sits at the table staring into a cup of wine. "Thanks for the offer of the horse for my trip," he says. "It will really help."
"How long will you be gone?" Arthur asks, taking a sip of his wine.
"With a horse, it should only be four days, at most five," Merlin answers. "I should be back in time for King Claudius's visit." He smiles. "In case you need, you know, help."
"What kind of help could you possibly provide, Merlin?" Arthur chuckles, looking at his servant over the edge of the cup in his hand.
Merlin grabs another rag as the first one became saturated. "Well, with negotiations. It all worked out last time,* when we went to the Western Isles, didn't it?" He continues mopping up the liquid on the floor.
Arthur hmphs. "No thanks to you."
Merlin lifts his head and glares at him, silent.
"Shut up, Merlin." Arthur pauses for a moment. "Why won't you tell me where you're going?" he repeats what he'd asked a few minutes earlier when Merlin had first made his request for time off for a short journey away from Camelot.
"I can't tell you that, Arthur," Merlin says quietly.
"Why not?"
Merlin stands, puts the mop into the bucket of soapy water, leaning on it. "It's a personal matter, to help a friend. I'm sorry. Please don't press, Sire. There's no danger, no threat." He pulls the mop from the bucket and wrings out the excess water, and starts to mop the floor around the bed, head bent to his task.
Arthur frowns at him from the other side of the room setting the goblet down on the table with a click. He stands abruptly and leaves the room while Merlin finishes cleaning the floor.
When he's done with this last chore, Merlin takes the mop, bucket and rags with him as he leaves Arthur's room. He stores them in a broom cupboard in the nearest servant's passage. Entering the corridor again, he looks around for a guard or another passing servant. Seeing no one, he quickly steps down the hall to the door to Morgana's old rooms and whispers a spell to unlock the door. The rooms are empty and silent, with the musty smell of a closed room long unused. Few have ventured in here since she vanished with Morgause in the fall of stones and debris in the room where he had emptied the cup of life. Although her betrayal had broken Uther's heart and spirit, neither he nor Arthur could order the clearing of the room. The door was closed and locked, the room unused and dark, a mute reminder of happier times, before.
Merlin enters the room and strides purposefully through the archway to the clothes cupboard against the wall. He ignites a few candles nearby, and rummages through the dresses that Morgana had left behind. He's looking for something warm, suitable for travel. He finds the dark green dress that she favored for daily wear around the castle, and a sturdy cloak. "This time, Gwen won't catch me in the act," he thinks, then chuckles when he remembers Arthur's reaction in the hallway when he walked by carrying the purple dress he'd taken to give to Freya a few years before. He couldn't tell Arthur the truth then, and he can't tell him now. Arthur cannot know what he's planning to do; he would banish Merlin from Camelot if he found out.
He extinguishes the candles, and leaves Morgana's rooms, locking the door behind himself, the dress and cloak bundled carelessly under his arm. He hurries his steps back to Gaius's chambers to ready his pack with supplies for the trip.
When Merlin enters, Gaius looks up from the herbs he was chopping on the block on his bench. "I've gathered some cheese and bread for you from the kitchens, and here are some medical supplies for her wound," Gaius says, pointing to a small medicine bag and a wrapped package at the end of the bench. One of Niniane's pigeons flaps over to sit on it, cooing, beady eyes glinting up at Merlin as he approaches the bench.
"Thanks, Gaius. I was waylaid by one last chore in Arthur's room," Merlin apologizes, setting down the clothing on a stool near the table. "He's lending me a horse for the journey." He holds out his hand to the bird, which jumps up onto his shoulder, cooing in his ear.
"That'll speed your return, no doubt."
"Yeah, like he can't do without me for a few more days," Merlin snorts as he retrieves his pack from the corner and loads the food and other supplies, the pigeon bobbing on his shoulder. "I haven't told him why I'm going. He can't know; he'd banish me for sure."
"You don't know that, Merlin."
"He threatened banishment if I so much as mentioned Gwen's name. How do you think he'd react to this?" The bird flaps away when Merlin runs up the steps to his room to fetch a couple of blankets. He quickly rolls them up securing them together with strips of leather. "He won't be happy if he finds out," he says when he's back in the main chamber, looking around. "Okay, I think that's all I'll need."
"Don't forget the water skins," Gaius holds two out for Merlin to sling over his shoulder. "Take care, my boy. Keep her safe."
"I will, Gaius." Merlin grabs his own grey cloak, and shoulders his pack, awkwardly holding the blanket roll and Morgana's clothing. He pauses on his way through the room. "I'm sorry to leave you to deal with the outbreak of sweating sickness. How many new cases today?"
"Three. I'll manage. I think it's slowing." Gaius looks weary, but gives Merlin an encouraging smile. "Go."
He allows Gaius's hug before he runs out the door. It's late, and he needs to hurry to find Gwen in the woods. Even with Beltane just a few weeks away, the nights are still chill, he didn't want her to spend another out in the open by herself.
xXx
In a cavern, illuminated with floating globes of light, a tall thin man with a beaky nose, long stringy brown hair tied back in a leather thong, bends over a small tranquil pool of water. With a flick of his fingers, he summons a light closer as he starts his incantation over the water. Gently, he reaches out with his left hand and stirs the water in a circular motion. He stills his hand, leaving his fingers touching the water at the edge of the pool. Slowly, the light globe reflected in the swirling water as it stills takes on an aspect of a full moon glimpsed through the trees in a forest, its image appearing to sparkle in the water. He moves his fingers deliberately to the right and the image shifts to reveal a young man leading a single horse, calling out as if looking for someone.
He smiles when he recognizes the young man: Emrys, known in Camelot as the King's fool of a servant, Merlin. "He's made it easy for me," he thinks. He'll be able to catch Emrys while he is away from Camelot to complete his plans to destroy him, and to destroy the King he serves.
"Tobar," he calls out, removing his hand from the water, shaking it dry. The image disappears, leaving behind only a reflection of the globe of light above it.
"Yes, Master Malus?" Tobar says as he approaches the man standing near the pool and bobs his head.
"We've work to do, Tobar," Malus says. "Round up your man and prepare to leave at first light. We need to find a village near Camelot to prepare to welcome a special guest. And we will need complete privacy for his stay."
"I know just the place," Tobar says. "It's a tiny village about a half day's ride east of Camelot near the Essetir road to Lot's Kingdom."
"What's it called?"
"Yarrowhill."
"Well, then. Let's clear out this Yarrowhill to make it ready for my guest. No survivors; no witnesses."
*A/N: See "Destiny's Choice" by Nantasyland for the story of Arthur and Merlin's visit to the Western Isles.