Alaia Skyhawk: Just a reminder, I'm posting this fic on behalf of my friend Julie :)
Julie Winchester: I hope you didn't have high expectations concerning the battle, because I have no idea how to write such a scene; so after torturing myself with it for a while, I decided to just skip it. Sorry for those who wanted it...
Also, sorry for the long time it took me to write this; real life kept getting in the way...
Chapter 1: A couple of revelations
The battle against Cenred's forces was a success, of course; with all the other Kings allied against him, it was ten to one – something Cenred's soldiers were very quick to realise, especially the mercenaries he'd hired to make his army seem bigger and more threatening. As they blatantly informed him, they fought for money – they didn't die for it. Money was pretty useless if you were dead.
So, when the day of the battle came, half of Escetia's forces had deserted and the other half were scared to death. In order to give them some courage, Cenred had decided to ride to battle among them instead of watching from afar as he usually did.
This was the typical example of the falsely good idea.
Indeed, it did not take long for the young King Arthur to find him in the middle of his men. Cenred smirked, certain his opponent was too young and too soft to kill a man in cold blood.
"Well, what are you going to do, boy?"
"I think the question is, what are you going to do," Arthur pointed calmly. "Half your army is gone – they joined us, by the way; we pay them better, and there's less chance of defeat on our side. The other half is dead or dying... You think you can take Camelot by yourself?"
"I can, if I kill you," Cenred replied wickedly. "You have taken no Queen, you have no heir... If I kill you, I can take Camelot without any help."
"You have no chance of killing me," Arthur countered.
"Let's see about that, shall we?"
Without dismounting from their horses, both men drew their swords and started to fight. When he felt himself starting to tire, Cenred cursed inwardly – his adversary was harder to defeat than he had thought. Hoping to distract him, he said:
"You know, I've been in Camelot once, long ago; so when I received the news of how your father met his end, I had a hard time believing anyone could slip unnoticed in the Throne Room. Then I figured it out." He smiled with an evil smile. "You just couldn't wait anymore, did you? You wanted power for yourself, instead of always being second in command..."
"No," Arthur denied with a shake of his head. "No, you're wrong."
Then he let out a cry of pain: Cenred had seen an overture in his stance and wounded his leg. The Escetian King pushed his luck.
"How did it feel, Arthur? Was it good? I'll bet you enjoyed it, stabbing him and watching as life left him..."
"No," the young man repeated. "No, it's not true. I didn't-"
"Of course you did," Cenred sneered. "Admit it, boy; you and I are exactly the same..."
"No!" Arthur screamed, rushing his horse towards his adversary's. Then it all happened very quickly. Cenred made a bad fall, breaking his leg, and was unable to get back up. Arthur would never know if he had unconsciously kicked his mount to make it advance, or if it had been spooked by something; whatever the cause, the young King's horse walked over the man, reducing his head to a mush of flesh, blood and hair.
Arthur felt as though he was going to be sick as his soldiers acclaimed his victory over the enemy. Lord Godwyn approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You had no choice," he said comfortingly. "Cenred would never have stopped trying to take our lands. You did what you had to do."
Meanwhile, in the castle, Merlin was worried sick about Arthur. The King hadn't brought his servant with him this time, saying his squire would be more than able to take care of him. The warlock had tried to get more information from Kilgharrah, but the Dragon had remained as cryptic as usual. There was no way of saying how his father's death would affect Arthur. He was worried about something else, though. After talking about it with Gaius, Merlin had decided to reveal Arthur he had magic. The longer he waited, the more likely it was that the new King would follow in his father's steps, and the magical community couldn't afford that. The warlock had then resolved to tell him everything once he came back from the war.
Little did he know, Morgana had the same intention. While she had been too afraid of Uther's hatred towards magic to speak to her guardian, she felt it was safer confessing it to Arthur – surely he would realise she was in no way evil. They'd grown up together, from the day she'd arrived in Camelot, a little girl mourning her dead father and the home she would never see again. She had been five at the time, and he had been six, but from the very first day he'd taken up the role of an older brother, protecting her yet bickering with her at every occasion. There was no way he would have her executed because of her magic – unless she waited too long and let his mind be poisoned by Uther's advisors.
With their king dead, the soldiers of Escetia had no wish to keep fighting, knowing it would only be a matter of time before the combined armies of Arthur and his allies defeated them all. The mercenaries Cenred had hired were long gone, half of Escetia's proper forces were dead already; it didn't take long for the remaining half to pledge their allegiance to Arthur – making Escetia a part of Camelot's lands, a fact that no other King begrudged. Arthur had killed Cenred, hence it was normal that he be the one to take over the dead man's lands.
Half of Arthur's soldiers were sent to Cenred's castle with the Escetian army, their mission being to ensure there would be no riots, and to summarize the resources available in the country. Meanwhile, half of Escetian remaining forces were to go to Camelot with him, in order to compensate for those who'd left.
So it was an Arthur who was unaware of the revelations expecting him, who set foot in his city after being gone for an entire week. From the corner of his eye, he saw Guinevere walking towards him, but he pretended not to; he'd had time to think while he was on the road, and he had come to the conclusion that he and Gwen could never be. There was no way for a King to marry a serving girl. Which reminded him he had to go and see her later; she deserved to hear it directly from him; he owed her that much.
Morgana and Merlin, though, were now walking down the front steps of the castle – the latter careful to remain respectfully behind the former, as befitted a servant and a Lady. The dark-haired woman was the first to greet her foster brother, while the warlock took his horse back to the stables.
"Morgana," he said with a smile. "It's good to see you."
"It's good to have you back, My Lord," she replied with a bow of her head, but a malicious smile on her face indicating she was only teasing. He laughed whole-heartedly; yes, he was home.
Morgana, however, became serious as she asked, "May I talk to you, My Lord? In private?"
Arthur frowned; when Morgana talked seriously, it was never a good sign.
"Of course; in my apartments?"
She nodded, her throat constricted with apprehension, and followed him inside while Merlin, who'd come back from the stables, watched them go. Apparently Morgana had had the same idea as him, and if that was the case, she would probably prefer to tell Arthur alone. After she did, though, she might need some support. This idea in mind, he followed them from a distance.
Arthur closed the door behind Morgana, looking expectantly at his father's ward – who was probably his ward now, he realised, now that his father... The image of Uther covered in blood passed before his eyes, and he shook his head to get rid of it – wishing it was as simple to get rid of the guilt.
"Well?" he prompted gently when she just stood there, nervous but silent. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
Taking a deep breath, the young woman looked into his eyes and said, "Arthur, I have magic."
A whirlwind of feelings showed in Arthur's eyes; confusion, disbelief, love, guilt... anything but hatred, much to her relief. After a silence, the young King blinked and sat down, motioning for Morgana to do the same.
"Sit. You can't just drop something like this without an explanation. What exactly do you mean with, 'I have magic'?"
"Exactly what I said," she answered, taking the chair he offered. "I was born with it, but I didn't know it for a while. My nightmares... well, they're visions, really. Visions of the future. I also have other powers, but I don't know how to control them yet. When Uther thought I was taken by the Druids... Well, I had actually gone to them myself; I thought they could help me with my magic, tell me more about what it was and how to control it..."
"... and I killed them," Arthur realised. "I'm so sorry, Morgana."
"You couldn't know," she replied kindly. "I never said anything to him because I was so afraid... But I thought maybe if I told you, you would try to understand; maybe you wouldn't hate me for this..."
"Of course I don't..."
Before Arthur could finish his sentence, though, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in," the King said impatiently.
The door opened to reveal Merlin standing there, looking more nervous than he had ever been.
"Merlin, we are in a middle of an important discussion here..." he began, but Morgana interrupted.
"It's okay, Arthur; he knows about me. He's the one who advised me to go to the Druids in the first place." With a smile, she added, "Come in, Merlin."
The warlock closed the door behind him, but remained where he was.
"My King, My Lady, I have something to tell you both. I hope you will forgive me for not telling you sooner..."
"What are you talking about Merlin?" Arthur asked irritably.
"I think it's better if I show you," the young man answered, avoiding his gaze. "Forbearne..."
A small flame appeared in his extended palm, eliciting gasps from both spectators.
"You have magic as well?" the blonde asked incredulously. "Am I surrounded by sorcerers in secret? Who's going to come in and tell me they have magic next, Guinevere?"
"Why didn't you say anything, Merlin?" Morgana asked softly. "Even when you knew about me?"
"I'm terribly sorry, Lady Morgana... I just, thought the fewer people who knew, the safer it was for me."
"Wonderful," the Kind said with sarcasm. "I'll just have to repel the law against magic, then. I can't have my two best friends executed, but I can't exactly make an exception, can I?"
"There's much more you need to know, Arthur," Merlin said, deadly serious. "I have a lot of things to tell you..."
He stood there and started telling them both everything that had happened since the day he'd first arrived in Camelot. He concealed nothing, not even the part about Arthur being born of magic or the prophecy that Mordred would be the one to kill him. This last information made Morgana cry; she loved the little Druid but she couldn't deny a prophecy told by a Dragon... The warlock even mentioned Freya, earning an apology from Arthur and a glance of sympathy from the dark-haired sorceress. It took more than two hours to tell him – them – everything, yet not once did Merlin show any sign of fatigue; and once it was done, the King was more than ready to repel the law against magic.
He told him as much, before adding, "I also want you to pass a message to the magical community around here – what's left of it, at least. I am willing to make peace with them, on the condition that they don't attack the kingdom anymore. I want them all to come and swear to me never to turn against us."
"What if they choose to stay away?" Morgana asked.
"As soon as they've sworn, they are free to go where they want. But those who won't swear will be considered enemies of Camelot – and treated as such."
Merlin nodded; he understood. Magic users should be treated the same way mundane people were; friends and foes alike.
"I'll start spreading the word tomorrow," he promised him, before leaving to inform Gaius of the latest events.
There we are, people; next chapter, you will have the reactions of the groups of sorcerers around the country at Arthur's ultimatum, as well as the reveal of Merlin's magic to Gwen.
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