A/N: Hey Merlin fans! Big thanks to everyone who read/reviewed/alerted and even favourited the last chapter- I wasn't expecting such a positive response! :D Also thanks to those of you who pointed out the entire last chapter was in bold text...oops. My computer hates me :( Hopefully this one will okay! Hope you enjoy! :D
Symbols
Arthur's blood pounded in his ears as he strode purposefully through the corridors of the castle. His head was reeling and his heart gave erratic leaps every so often. He breathed in deeply trying to give some illusion of composure, but he knew he wasn't fooling anyone. The strain was showing.
He had just emerged from a meeting with his father, if a meeting it could be called. He had just sat there as usual, not contributing, not taking any active part of any discussions, just staring. His father's advisers had sat around him, their brows furrowed, looking from Arthur to his father with a poor attempt at concealing their frustration. Arthur knew what they wanted.
They wanted him to take charge, to usurp his father and become king, and Arthur couldn't deny he often thought about it. As little as he wanted to betray his father in that way, he had to think of the good of the kingdom. He couldn't sit back and watch. Someone had to make the decisions his father could not, what use was a king who could not lead?
But something held him back, what, he was not sure. Perhaps it was the daunting prospect of having the weight of the kingdom finally on his shoulders. It was something he had been training for his entire life, since before he could remember, but now that the time was now here, he didn't think he was ready. He had always thought he would have plenty of time to prepare, but this had come so suddenly he was now unsure of himself. He drew back from what he knew he had to do. He was able to lead his Knights into battle, command their loyalty and respect, confident in his own abilities, so why was he so hesitant now?
He knew, he was only trying to delay the moment when he would take charge, flailing around in the uncertainty, desperately trying to find some other way. Like a coward. He prayed and prayed his father would recover, selfishly, he wished more than anything he would have this burden removed from him.
But with his father's health steadily declining, Arthur had begun to lie awake at night, planning what would happen after his father's eventual death.
The pain was sharp and piercing as he thought about it, but sometimes, he just wished his father had been killed outright during the fighting. Anything was better than watching his father waste away like this. Perhaps the shock of losing his father would have been what he needed to take on his role as leader. But this lingering...it just allowed tendrils of self-doubt to creep in.
He felt so conflicted...
His Knights had been the first to offer him their support, and he was grateful for this beyond words. He just wished he had their confidence. But he was reassured in knowing they would follow him to any end. He just hoped it was the right one.
What if he failed in leading them? What if he couldn't live up to his father's reign? What if he made the wrong decisions?
So many people had so many expectations of him, so many believed in him, what if he let them down?
Arthur shook his head, trying to clear his head of these thoughts. He knew he had to do something, there was no point in continually avoiding the inevitable moment that approached. The people of Camelot needed a leader. And that leader needed to be him.
Merlin had said as much after the battle, that he may need to take charge and become king. Why did that fool always have so much faith in him?
Still, he was grateful for Merlin's words, he would never admit this to him, but Merlin's infrequent attempts to cheer him up usually worked. He always seemed to know how to say the right thing, and Arthur was increasingly surprised as time went on, how well Merlin really knew him. It was times like that Merlin actually showed some times of wisdom. The rest of the time of course he was a complete idiot.
Something had changed between them since the battle. Their relationship as servant and master was less profound than it had been, he was almost like a friend to him now. Merlin however still insisted on running around after him as he had always done, perhaps knowing how much Arthur had on his mind, and how much needed to be done to restore the city after the destruction his sister's reign of terror had caused.
His sister. Even the word seemed abhorrent to him.
He had tried not to think of Morgana and her betrayal, it only caused him pain and confusion. He wouldn't go back to the wreck he had been in that cave after Morgana's revelation. A hopeless state of being. He had to be strong.
He kept repeating this to himself again and again trying to convince himself of it, to try and make himself believe it.
A king shouldn't have doubts. And before long, a king he would become.
He approached his chambers and pushed open the doors, to find Merlin and his hands and knees, scrubbing furiously at the floor with a frantic look upon his face.
As soon as he walked in Merlin jerked around to face him, looking remarkably like a startled rabbit, with wide eyes popping out of his face.
Arthur narrowed his eyes.
"What are you doing Merlin?" He asked suspiciously.
Merlin's eyes went wider if that was possible and he glanced down at the floor quickly and bit his lip.
"N-nothing, sire." He stammered.
Arthur knew immediately something was wrong; Merlin never called him 'sire'.
"Really? Because it looks to me as though you're scrubbing the floor," he said, trying to catch him out.
Merlin coloured and began stammering again.
"Uh, y-yeah, I'm just scrubbing. You know, like I always do. Just scrubbing. Nothing unusual going on here."
He gave a ridiculous grin which didn't fool Arthur in the slightest. Still, he didn't pursue it, Merlin was always making some pathetic attempt to cover up his mistakes. He'd just learned to let him get on with it. Besides, he knew better than to try and weasel anything out of Merlin, he was a mystery, and made no attempt to hide it. That was one of the strange things about Merlin, he was never afraid to make his opinion known, but had to easily be the most secretive person Arthur had ever met.
Merlin resumed his scrubbing and Arthur turned to his desk where a plethora of official documents awaited him, each more boring than the last. He resigned himself to reading them all, and sat down heavily, and pulled the first towards him.
Merlin eventually finished his scrubbing, and stood up and surveyed the floor in front of him, critically. Arthur's suspicion was again renewed.
"Aren't you going to clean the rest of the floor?"
Merlin spun around, and looked flushed.
"Uh, no."
"Why not? What's so special about that part of the floor?"
"Nothing!" Merlin exclaimed, stepping to the side, trying to conceal the freshly washed floor.
Arthur stood.
"I'm not stupid Merlin, something's going on here and I'm going to find out exactly-" he stopped, and sniffed the air. "Is something burning?"
"No!" Yelped Merlin, his eyes wide again.
But Arthur could definitely detect the faint smell of smoke in the air.
"Merlin, what, exactly, have you been doing?"
Merlin just shook his head, and make a feeble attempt at a laugh.
"Nothing! Just going about my daily business!"
He turned around and moved towards the table where a pile of armour lay and began to sort through it.
Arthur shook his head bewildered; when was that boy going to learn?
He didn't let it bother him however, there were more important things at hand, and whatever foolish thing Merlin had been up to wasn't worth the hassle.
He returned to the documents again, and tried to concentrate, but to no avail. He pushed them to the side, he would attend to them later, and just sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. When would this weight be removed from his shoulders? Would it ever? Was this part of being king? Arthur wished more than ever he could just talk to his father about this, why had he never took more of an interest before?
He was brought back to reality by Merlin, who had dropped a large piece of armour on the floor with a loud clanging noise.
"That's the third time today!" Merlin cursed in exasperation.
Arthur watched him curiously, there was something different in Merlin's demeanour, he looked nervous and shaken, something he had definitely not looked earlier.
"Merlin what on earth is wrong with you today?" Arthur asked out of genuine concern, it wasn't like Merlin to be like this; he was always the annoyingly optimistic one.
Merlin avoided his eyes.
"Nothing, I'm fine."
But Arthur knew he was definitely trying to dart around the subject.
"Come on Merlin. You're a clumsy idiot by nature, but I can tell there's something up this time, tell me."
Merlin still avoided looking at him, and didn't answer. Arthur began to grow impatient.
"Merlin, either tell me what is wrong, or I'll personally make sure you clean out the entire royal stables every day for a month, single-handedly."
Merlin finally looked at him and sighed.
"I- I just don't feel right."
Arthur frowned.
"You mean you're ill?
"Something like that."
Arthur looked at him appraisingly, something did seem off about him.
"Then you should go to Gaius."
"But I've still got so much work to do-"
"Then you'll have double the work tomorrow," Arthur said trying to be cheerful. "Go Merlin, I can't have you hanging around here like this, you're ruining the scenery. Go."
Merlin hesitated for a moment, then nodded, and placed the armour down on the table and turned to go.
"Thank you, I'll be in early tomorrow sire."
"There's no need, just make sure you're well first. An illness is the last thing I need at the moment."
Arthur was unnerved, Merlin seemed even more closed off than usual. He needed to know what was troubling him.
But Merlin chose not to share, and instead, headed out through the still-open door. Arthur considered for a brief moment going after him and forcing him to tell, but he was held back. Merlin obviously didn't need him forcing himself into his private affairs. Besides, he was going to Gaius, first stop for medical and personal advice. If Merlin needed anyone to talk to, it was Gaius.
Arthur sighed, and tried to push Merlin out of his mind. Everyone now seemed to be acting strangely, ever since Morgana. But Arthur had thought Merlin had managed to escape it, he hadn't shown any sign of being affected whatsoever. Maybe, it had just caught up with him at last.
The many scrolls and parchments lying on his desk, pushed themselves into his line of vision, reminding him of what he should be doing, and Arthur resigned himself to a boring couple of hours.
He sat down, and again pulled one of them to him, and forced himself to read. This was his responsibility, and he had to face up to it. The future was uncertain, and Arthur had to pull himself out of his self pity and become the leader he knew he should be.
Merlin walked quickly, his feet picking out the familiar path to Gaius' chambers without thinking. He was too wrapped up in what had just happened.
That symbol, it was evil, he could tell that. It had exuded hatred and animosity, and it frightened him. Why would someone send him that? Who would?
Two prominent suspects came floating into his mind, but he pushed that aside. Morgause was dead for all he knew, and Morgana was not powerful enough to send something of that magnitude. It was not merely a symbol burned into the floor, it was a magical energy point, something which would be drawn into the floor for a particularly powerful spell.
It filled him with fear, as though some evil spirit had been summoned alongside it and was now floating around his body. It coursed through every inch of him, as though he had been invaded, mind, body and soul. He found dark thoughts and fears rising in his mind. It was as though some dark monster was eating away as his very being.
What did it mean? Why was it here?
Aside from Morgause and Morgana he wasn't sure who would want to do something like that. He didn't have any other enemies, as far as he knew. But then he remembered the Druid boy Mordred. He was certainly powerful enough to send it, but why? Was it supposed to scare him, or was it trying to tell him something? Was it a warning?
Or was he being completely self-obsessed, and it wasn't actually for him? It could have been sent as a warning to Arthur, he had plenty of enemies, it could have been any one of them. Was it something containing some Dark Magic, that would incinerate any one who stepped on it? Had it just been a coincidence it had appeared in the room when Merlin was there?
He couldn't make any sense of it, but he knew who could help.
The journey to Gaius' seemed longer than usual, as though this dark menace unleashed in his soul was somehow dragging him back. He felt contaminated somehow, as though this darkness was radiating off of him, marking him.
He had almost expected Arthur to see it when he came through the door, as though something had changed about him. But Arthur had definitely noticed something. Typical, he thought, Arthur was usually blissfully unaware of everything that happened, but when something serious actually did happen, he had to suddenly become annoying perceptive.
Thank the gods he'd managed to clear away the symbol before Arthur had arrived; that would have made for a difficult situation to explain away. He had spent ages scrubbing the floor, wearing out two different scrub brushes trying to get rid of it, as well as employing every cleaning spell he could think of. At first it had seemed impossible, the symbol had been firmly burned into the solid stones and refused to budge. Merlin had had to practically remove the entire top layer of stone using magic to get rid of it. He hoped Arthur wouldn't look too closely at the floor, the symbol was still barely visible, and Merlin hadn't wanted to risk using magic with Arthur in the room to try and remove it completely. He also hoped Arthur wouldn't try walking in that particular part of the room for a while-due to Merlin's ruthless scrubbing and shearing of rock, the floor now had a slight dip to it, which Arthur would surely notice.
Typical bloody sorcerers, had to make everything difficult.
He eventually made it through the door to find Gaius bent over some experiment or other. He straightened and regarded Merlin critically.
"You look awful Merlin."
"Thanks." Merlin collapsed into a chair. He suddenly felt very weak.
Gaius approached him and began examining him, peering into his eyes, feeling his pulse and testing for a fever. Merlin said nothing, and let him. His mind was still teeming with questions, but he felt too tired to ask any of them.
Gaius lifted Merlin's face to look at his own, and Merlin saw the worry in it.
"I can't find anything physically wrong with you Merlin, your pulse is a little fast and you're even paler than usual, but other than that you seem perfectly fine."
Merlin sighed.
"I know, I'm just a bit shaken I think."
Gaius pulled up a stool and sat close to him.
"What happened?"
Merlin's eyes flicked to the door to make sure it was closed before answering.
"I think I just had an encounter with Dark Magic."
Gaius immediately straightened up and looked attentive.
"Are you sure?"
Merlin nodded.
"I've never felt anything like that; it was evil. It hit me like some great force, and I feel as though- as though it's inside me, as though it's eating at me from the inside."
Gaius nodded sombrely.
"Yes, Dark Magic often does that. Any form of magic can be used for Dark purposes, but there is a branch of magic which is particularly Dark. It perpetrates from the most dark spirits and forces of this earth, it is solely evil, it cannot be used for good. None but the most powerful can use it, but it comes at a price, such magic is not natural. It is cursed, and any mortal that seeks to toy with it is in severe danger. Dark Magic lurks in the mind, it destroys, it poisons all good thoughts, only the strongest of heart can resist it. It consumes them."
Gaius looked most seriously at Merlin, who nodded.
"That's exactly what it's like, as though it's bringing every dark and unpleasant thought to my mind. I can't escape it."
"Few can. Those who choose to use such magic take a great risk, unless they can resist the allure of the darkness, they are completely overwhelmed and find themselves enslaved to their own dark thoughts. This can drive them to insanity, or only encourage their ambition for power. Sometimes it does both."
Merlin took a shuddering breath.
"Will I be okay?"
Gaius thought for a moment.
"I believe so, if you did not conjure the magic yourself. Usually just an encounter with it, sensing it's presence can affect someone like it has with you. It shouldn't do any permanent damage."
Merlin sighed in relief, for a moment he had thought he had been going mad. Still, it worried him. Why on earth would someone send him something so dark?
Gaius seemed to be wondering the same thing.
"Tell me, how exactly did this encounter take place?"
Merlin opened his mouth to tell him, but something held him back as he looked at Gaius. Why he didn't tell him he didn't know. The darkness within urged him not to. He found himself listening to it.
He shook his head.
"No, it doesn't matter."
"If you've come into contact with Dark Magic Merlin, it is hardly nothing!" Gaius raised his voice slightly. "If someone uses such magic against Camelot do you have any idea how dangerous that would be?"
But Merlin felt annoyed at him.
"It's fine Gaius, it doesn't mean anything!" Merlin was shocked at how forceful his voice was. He felt anger rise inside him for the little old man, and felt horror at the realisation of this. What was wrong with him?
He staggered backwards, appalled at himself, what the dark thoughts in his head were saying to him. He had to leave, before he shouted even more at Gaius, he needed to go some place to regain his normal sense of control. He couldn't trust himself.
Gaius frowned at him, looking concerned.
"Merlin are you all right?"
Merlin snapped, immediately forgetting his resolution to not allow the darkness to take control.
"I'm fine! Just leave me alone will you! Why do you always have to be so interfering?" His anger rose, the darkness pushing him onwards.
Gaius looked slightly shocked and hurt at his words, and Merlin felt the anger subside and again the horror rose within.
He had to leave. He turned on his heel and headed towards his room, he needed to lie down and get rid of this before he did any more damage. However Gaius took this as a sign of anger.
"Very well, be like that! But please, while we're on the subject of magic would you please in future remember that whenever you want to cast a spell you must clear away the floor symbols. Someone might see it! And then where would we be?"
Merlin stopped frozen, fear flooding through his entire body.
He turned to look at Gaius, who looked confused at his reaction.
"What floor symbols?" Merlin asked, dreading the answer.
Gaius frowned.
"The ones over there in the corner. I'd assumed you were casting a spell and had left them there."
Merlin felt his breathing quicken and he slowly walked over to the corner Gaius had gestured to.
On the flagstones, there was not one, but three symbols, identical to the one in Arthur's chambers. These ones weren't glowing, nor smoking, but they still gave off that stench of evil. The hairs went up on the back of Merlin's neck, and he felt a shiver down his spine. They were here too? Why?
Gaius came up behind him, and looked at them with him.
"You didn't draw them did you?"
Merlin shook his head. The symbols still seemed to be pulsating with that energy, the one that had provoked him to be so short with Gaius.
"Can't you feel that?" Merlin whispered, his eyes still fixated on the symbols. He didn't see how anyone couldn't.
"No," Gaius said softly. "I don't feel anything."
Merlin stepped backwards, shaking his head. What was happening?
The symbols seemed to draw him closer, tempting him somehow, alluring him...
No, he needed to get away from them.
He pulled himself away and practically run up the steps to his bedroom.
"Merlin, wait!" Gaius called after him.
Merlin ignored him and shoved open the door, only to stop dead at the sight before him.
The entire room looked as though a tempest had hit it, clothing and belongings were strewn everywhere. The cupboard was ransacked, its contents emptied and tossed aside. The bed was ripped and the straw stuffing was all over the floor, great slash marks in the mattress and the furniture.
But it was not the mess that caught his attention. It was the symbols.
They were everywhere, on the floor, the walls, the window, the bedsheets. But these ones were not burned into the ground, great dark marks etched into surface like the previous ones.
These were scarlet.
These were in blood.
Gaius had come up behind him and let out an exclamation at the sight of the room.
Merlin said nothing. These ones weren't emanating magical energy like the others, there was no need. The blood in itself spoke of evil.
Gaius looked dumbfounded.
"But how is this possible? I haven't left the rooms for more than a few minutes at a time, there's no way someone would have had the time."
Merlin turned to look at him.
"They would if they were using Dark Magic."
Gaius looked at him questioningly.
"One of these symbols appeared in Arthur's chambers. It just appeared out of nowhere. I felt the force of it hit me, it was evil."
Gaius opened his mouth to ask more, but an urgent knock on the door stopped him.
Gwaine burst into the room, looking agitated, unusually for him.
"Gaius, Merlin, I think you should come."
Gaius and Merlin exchanged worried glances.
"What's happened?" Gaius asked him.
Gwaine looked grave for a moment.
"We've had news from the border. A village was almost completely massacred by a group of sorcerers." He paused for a moment. "They were led by Morgana."
The next few moments passed in a blur for Merlin. He and Gaius had immediately followed Gwaine out of the open door and to the king's throne room, where the Royal Court had been gathered.
Uther sat on his throne, and something had shifted within him. He still looked defeated and weak sitting there, but there was something in his eyes, a resolve that had not been there before.
Everyone looked tense, whispers echoed throughout the room, hissing like a hoard of angry snakes. There was not a person at ease within the room.
Arthur strode through the door, having been summoned by some of his Knights, who followed behind him. He reached his father's throne, bowed slightly, and turned to face the people.
His face was expressionless, a mask of control, but Merlin saw the pain in his stance. Arthur had changed as well, there was a new confidence in his demeanour, something he had been lacking since he had effectively taken control of the kingdom.
The doors were then closed, as the last stragglers hurried in, and the gathered people fell into silence.
Uther spoke, his voice echoing out, weak and hoarse.
"Bring forth the witness."
A young boy was ushered out of the shadows, trembling with fear. He was obviously a peasant, dressed in ragged clothes, his hands and face smeared with dirt, streaked with tear tracks, and his bare feet were muddy and bloody.
His entire body shook as he stood before the king.
Uther bent down a little and looked at him. He spoke tonelessly.
"Tell us what happened."
The boy gulped and whimpered.
"I-I was down by the river, washing the crockery, when I heard it. There was s-screaming and crying. I ran back to the village and they were there." His eyes went wide and watery, and his voice broke. "They were sorcerers, they were destroying the houses, burning them down. They didn't leave anything alone. They-they were hurting people. They were killing them. I saw...saw blood. I heard the screaming, begging for mercy. They didn't stop."
The boy halted in his narrative, tears spilling down his cheeks.
"They're all dead. My family, they're all dead!"
Great heaving sobs racked his body and he gasped for breath.
Merlin felt a great upsurge of pity for the boy, looking so helpless standing by himself in the hall, but he felt anger too. It roared through his veins, it took all of his energy not to let it escape from him. It clouded all else, his hands were shaking from the sheer wrath of it. The darkness revelled in it.
Arthur's face was thunderous, his expression hardened as he looked down at the boy.
Uther still showed no emotion.
"And tell me, who was leading these sorcerers?"
The boy controlled his sobbing, and looked up at the king.
"I saw her, clear as the day. She was in front. She didn't use any magic, but she was the one giving the orders. She was laughing."
"Who?" Uther pressed.
"I saw her last year, when my uncle brought me to Camelot when he was taking his produce to the market. It was the Lady Morgana."
An upsurge of whispers greeted this statement and shouts of anger rang out over the heads of the people.
Uther sat back in his throne, a momentary look of pain flashing in his eyes as he heard the confirmation of his daughter's acts.
A frenzy of chatter ensued, people turning to their neighbours with shocked expressions.
Merlin whispered to Gaius in an undertone.
"This has to be related hasn't it? The symbols, Morgana's reappearance...it has to be connected."
Gaius cast him a sidelong glance.
"I hope for your sake it isn't."
"Enough!" Uther called, his voice stronger. A fighting spirit gleamed in his eyes, and he sat upright, taking back some of the power he had lost in the last few weeks.
He stared around at them all.
"We cannot tolerate this obscene use of magic within our borders. The perpetrators will be hunted down. The ones responsible will be punished. Those who use magic will learn that Camelot is not somewhere that will lie down and be defeated. We will rise to meet this new threat!"
It was the first time Uther had made any sort of grand statement in weeks, and the people were hooked on his every word.
"First of all, we must-"
But the rest of Uther's words were drowned out by a rush of wind which entered the room as a torrent, shattering the glass in the windows and throwing many people to the ground. Howling voices, cries, were carried on the wind, tortured pleas and screams, turning Merlin's heart cold.
A green light glowed in the centre of the room, a great blinding light, more intense than any other form of light.
Something fell into this light, something heavy Merlin could not see. A sense of foreboding crept into him.
The wind died down, the light faded, and everyone could finally see what it was.
Several gasps of horror erupted in the room. The young boy screamed in absolute terror and ran to a corner.
It was a corpse of a naked man, a mutilated body, freshly killed, blood still seeping from the wound on its neck.
But every single inch of the man's body was covered in curious marks. Merlin crept closer, to see what they were.
They were the same symbol that had been haunting him all day, carved into this man's flesh. The only part of his body not mutilated by these symbols was a large area on his chest, where a single word was carved in an elegant script, blood shining out an angry red against the man's pale skin.
Emrys.
A/N: Dun dun dun... let me know what you think! I've been on a bit of a Merlin streak at the mo, just trying to while away the time before the fourth series! I'm even considering calling my new kitten Merlin! Or Uther, not because he's a particularly nice guy, but because there's something oddly satisfying about saying "Uther! Stop peeing on the carpet!" Anyways, half my family are named after fictional characters; my name's from Doctor Who, my sister's is from Lord of the Rings, and the dog's from Wacky Races- why break with tradition?
Again, love ya if you leave a review!
