Twilight to Shadow
By
Sparrows Magician and Numb3rsfan
-Chapter One-
With a slight grumble Merlin picks himself up off the floor. His head's pounding as if someone's playing a very loud, very annoying drum in his head. What the hell has just happened? A glossy wet floor, an overturned bucket and an upside-down table with parchments quickly becoming damp on the floor causes Merlin's eyes to widen in shock.
As quickly as he can he rights the table and places the documents back on it, his fingers fumbling a little as he attempts to clean up his mess. Arthur is not going to be happy with him; that much is for certain. The King was already on edge because of what happened with the Knights that morning; a slight mishap with a training exercise had sent two of his men to see Gaius to be treated for various stab wounds.
"Oh no…" Merlin mumbles.
He drops to his knees, fishing under one of Arthur's white shirts that had fallen on to the floor, to pull out the King's ceremonial crown that he always wore to the special events; including tonight's festival. Tonight was supposed to be the celebration of the peace that has been achieved between Camelot and Caerleon. However, this crown is now scratched; seven of the shiny jewels have fallen off and one of the sides is bent as if some heavy book had fallen directly on top of it.
Merlin bit his lip, his mind racing. Should he use his magic to try and fix it? That was probably the only thing he could do since he was expecting the King at any moment. Closing his eyes, Merlin was about to think of a spell that could repair the damage when the hard wooden door swung open and, of course, had to admit none other than King Arthur himself.
"Merlin, have you seen my…"
Merlin's eyes flash open and upon seeing the King, he grows pale, paler than he normally was. The man in question looks at his manservant oddly, his eyes curious as to why Merlin looks so nervous…that is, until he sees the broken piece in the man's hand. Oh no…it couldn't be…
"My crown…YOU BROKE MY CROWN?" King Arthur roars, striding in to the roomand yanking the damaged crown from the hands of his manservant.
"I didn't mean to Sire, I don't even know how it happened!" Merlin says, flinching a little as Arthur gives him a steely eyed look.
"You know Merlin, you've made a lot of mistakes as my manservant; a lot of mistakes which I have chosen to ignore but this…" Arthur begins, shaking his broken crown in Merlin's face, "this is completely unacceptable! I trust you to treat my things withrespect and you can't even do that!"
Arthur's voice comes out in a roar as he yells at his manservant. Merlin swallows what little was in his mouth as he just stands there listening to the King rant and rave about how stupid and useless he was. Arthur always said that and every time Merlin could usually just brush it aside but that doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt every time Arthur says something particularly spiteful.
"Arthur…I am sorry."
Merlin mumbles when Arthur is walking past him. Arthur had been pacing for the past twenty seconds, his hands moving over his face and his back rigid from the tension he was feeling that day. When Merlin apologizes, Arthur stops short and stomps over to him.
"Apologies are not going to fix my crown now are they, Merlin?" Arthur shoots back.
Merlin shrugged his shoulders and holds out his arms.
"What do you want me to do, Sire? I cannot fix your crown!" he replies.
"No, but you can get out of my sight!" Arthur's voice is low and there's no threat, but a promise of pain if the young man does not make himself scarce.
"But…" Merlin beings but before he could say any more, Arthur holds up a hand to silence him.
"I am only going to say this once, Merlin. I don't want to know you. I don't want to see you ever again. Now, get out OF MY SIGHT!" Arthur yells.
Merlin flinches at Arthur's tone but an order is an order, so the young warlock turns and runs from the room, fighting the tears that were threatening to come as he ran as fast and as far from the castle as his feet would carry him.
MERLINMERLINMERLIN
Arthur sighs in disgust as he none too gently collapses on to the side of his bed, his damaged crown still in his hands. Of all of the things Merlin could have broken why did it have to be his crown, today of all days? It had been a gift from his father the day he turned twenty one; Uther had said it had been one of his proudest moments to see his son wearing the shiny new crown, the symbol of his manhood and upcoming reign. The King's eyes prickle with sadness when he recalls Uther telling him how proud your mother would be if she were to see you now.
Gently, almost reverently, Arthur places the damaged crown on to one of his white pillows before he stands up to go hunting for the rest of the pieces to his most prized possession, which are all still on the floor. If Merlin had still been in the room Arthur would have ordered him to pick up the pieces for him but his manservant has fled the room just like Arthur had ordered him to. For once, the manservant actually obeyed an order, and left the king with the mess.
Two sharp knocks vibrate off of his closed bedroom door, breaking Arthur out of his self-absorbed musings. Who the hell would dare to interrupt me in my time of my kingly grief?
"Yes?"Arthur askes in a manner that belayes his annoyance at being interrupted. Slowly his bedroom door is eased open to allow Sir Gwaine and Sir Leon to walk in cautiously; both of whom are in their chain mail and red ceremonial robes. The Knights eye their king, an uncertainty shining in their eyes. They had caught the tone in his voice and Sir Gwaine had even seen Merlin rushing out of the castle a few minutes earlier.
"Sire, we have received reports that Lord Bedloe is willing to reopen negotiations between the South and Camelot but only if you are present at the proceedings." Leon says, his voice calm and pensive.
It was not well known but Lord Bedloe controlled all of the lands to the South of Camelot. He had been an enemy of King Uther's and had even tried to destroy Camelot itself a time or two but the Knights of the city had always been strong and ready to defend it. Now it appeared that there was a possible chance for peace between the two lands.
"Where does he wish to meet?" Arthur asks.
"On the far side of the Valley of the Kings." Gwaine replies.
The Valley of the Kings - a peculiar spot for such a meeting but it would be quiet. Almost no one ventured there because there were rumors that the place was haunted - or some such nonsense along those lines.
"The reports say that Lord Bedloe will be at the Valley of the Kings the day after tomorrow. If we were to ride out today, Sire, we would arrive at the same time." Leon offers.
Arthur is silent. He does want peace between the two lands but if he rides out today that meant he would miss the celebrations that evening. But, his crown was broken anyway so what would it matter? Queen Annis and he have already discussed the peace treaty and agreed on the terms. Besides, what was more important - feasting or obtaining peace?
"Have Mer…" Arthur pauses, "Have one of the servants prepare the horses. We ride out in two hours." He orders.
Arthur watches the two Knights look at one another before they both bow and then leave his bedroom closing the door behind them.
MERLINMERLINMERLIN
When he was out of the lower town and away from prying eyes, he finally allowed himself to break down enough to shed a tear or two. Arthur's words have cut in to him like a knife, leaving him feeling as if he had been physically gutted and then thrown out like the evening trash. From the way Arthur had spoken to him, Merlin was sure he was sacked once more and all because he had accidently slipped on the freshly cleaned floor, bumped in to the King's table and sent everything on it, crown included, to the floor. It was just an unfortunate accident that the crown had been the most damaged.
Some destiny! How can he now protect Arthur if the King didn't want to see him anymore? Thinking about that over and over upset Merlin even more because right then his destiny and the future of Albion was in shambles.
Where could he go now? Home? Back to Ealdor? No he couldn't go back there in disgrace having failed the King of Camelot. He could just hear the villagers now, bringing him down because of his many failures. No, he wouldn't do that to his mother; he wouldn't bring shame to the family. So if not Ealdor…then where?
Another thought came to mind. The Valley of the Kings. It was remote, quiet and desolate. No one would think to look for him there if they decided to look for him at all. Merlin wanted to believe that Arthur would come looking for him after he calmed down a bit but the King was hard headed. What if he never came?
If Arthur never came to look for him, it would be devastating, but it would be something the young warlock would have to live with. With red and puffy eyes Merlin turned around to take one last long glimpse at the city he had called home for the past few years. He would miss it; miss all the friends he had made including Gaius and Gwen but what was done was done. It was time to leave; he had to leave.
Gulping a little to combat the tears threatening to fall, Merlin slowly turned once more and disappeared in to the trees, heading towards his new destiny.
