Merlin found himself in the Valley of the Fallen Kings, still holding onto the boy protectively. He looked down at the child, sighing softly. His whole life had just been turned upside down but it didn't feel like the world was ending so he supposed it was the right choice. Perhaps he will be happier among the druids than he ever was in Camelot.
"Thank you, Emrys," He boy said, his head pressing against Merlin's stomach, still holding onto him after being teleported.
"You can call me Merlin if you'd like," He said with a kind smile, "Now," He said, crouching down so he was eye level to the child, "Let's find your village and bring you back to your people huh?"
The child smiled brightly and nodded his head, hugging Merlin tightly. Merlin couldn't imagine how protecting such an innocent child could be the wrong choice.
"Find him! I don't care what you do or at what expense, I want him in the dungeons," Arthur raged to the round table. He'd become more and more unstable as time went on after his father's death and everyone had noticed.
"Sire, perhaps you might rethink this." Leon cut in, he'd always been one of Arthur's closest friends but he'd never seen him this way, "It's Merlin we're talking about, he has no reason to return and cause us harm,"
"He's a sorcerer, that's reason enough," Arthur snapped, clearly feeling threatened by Merlin.
"And a powerful one to be able to do what he did out there." Gwaine pointed out, "Don't you think he would have done something sooner if he had intended to harm us?"
Arthur pinched his chin as he thought, nodding his head absentmindedly, "You're right, he's too powerful to leave to his own devices,"
"Sire!" Lancelot butted in, as loyal as he was to Arthur, Merlin was a friend to all of them, "What has gotten into you? You can't possibly think that Merlin means to harm us,"
Arthur frowned and glared at Lancelot, "Don't cross me now, Lancelot. If you lot won't find him then I'll send a group of knights that will."
The quickly shut everyone up, as much as they didn't want to hunt down Merlin, a knight that didn't know him would probably hurt him, "I will lead the exposition then," Leon said quickly before any of the more eager knights could offer, "I'll need two candle marks to gather a group and prepare to leave,"
Arthur nodded his head in satisfaction, waving his hand to send everyone away. Almost immediately after exiting the room the knights were in an uproar.
"Leon! We can't hunt Merlin, it's not right!" Lancelot said as he and the rest of the knights followed after him.
"I know that," Leon said with a sigh, turning round to face the congregation of knights who still considered Merlin a friend, "And we're not going to hunt him, we're just going to find him and talk to him, okay? If push comes to shove we can tell Arthur that Merlin is dead,"
"I'm going with you," Gwaine said instantly. He'd always liked Merlin better than Arthur and right now Arthur was giving him even more reason to dislike him.
"Fine, you and Lancelot, but the rest of you need to stay and keep Arthur in line," Leon said, watching as everyone nodded and went off to their jobs. He sighed as he watched Arthur storm out of the throne room, muttering under his breath, "Arthur, what happened to you, my friend?"
Merlin honestly couldn't remember a time when he had smiled so much. Maybe when he was a child and lived with his mother, using his magic to entertain the both of them, but he was insanely happy living in the small druid village. He could use his magic whenever he liked and everyone there was constantly praising him and telling him how wonderful he was. Some asked him how he planned on uniting Albion but he normally avoided that question.
Of course, that happiness came to a halting stop when he sensed a stranger in the area. He'd gotten into the habit of meditating everyday and it helped him become much more aware of his surroundings. He was able to extend his magic out into the environment around him and use it to see for miles in every direction. It was a calm, peaceful feeling that ended the moment he felt someone else, someone who wasn't a druid.
He stood up abruptly, startling a couple people who were sitting by the campfire with him. Without a word, he walked towards the forest, his magic creeping out to find the stranger, "Leon," His lips were pressed into a thin line as he watched the knight turn around, jutting out his sword before lowering it upon realizing who it was.
"Merlin, thank god, we've been looking everywhere for you!" Leon said with a relieved sigh, "Arthur's gone crazy, he's sending out search parties left and right to find you,"
Merlin was confused, rightly so. There was no way that Arthur Pendragon was having second thought about condemning all magic, that just wasn't who Arthur was, "He wants me back in Camelot?" He asked hesitantly, still wary of the knight despite them being friends.
"Yes," Leon said, stepping closer to Merlin, "And I don't think he will stop until he finds you. I understand if you don't want to come back, I am capable of feeding him a story that you were found dead, but if you would like, Gwaine and Lancelot are in the area too, we'll take you back."
Merlin couldn't believe that Arthur had a change of heart, maybe he was wrong about Arthur, maybe their friendship was strong enough that Arthur would begin to accept magic, "No, of course I'll come back, I belong in Camelot after all," He said, beginning to smile, "I didn't quite realize how much I've missed you lot until now. I mean, it's nice out here where I can be myself but I suppose I can be myself among you lot now,"
"Merlin!"
Merlin turned around only to be enveloped in a tight hug. It took a moment for him to realize that it was Gwaine who was enveloping him, "It's nice to see you to, Gwaine," He said with a small laugh.
Gwaine laughed as well, pulling away to look at Merlin, "You're not going to magic me for touching you, are you?" He joked, causing Merlin to roll his eyes and give the knight a friendly shove.
"Alright guys, let's find Lancelot and head out," Leon said, jerking his head in a motion to follow as they set off back towards Camelot.
"Sire, sorcerer Merlin is here to see you," Those were the words Arthur had been waiting to hear for days, almost a week now.
"Thank you, bring him in," Arthur said with a stiff expression on his face. The frown on his face deepened when he saw Merlin walk into the room, looking as jolly as he always did. The bastard, lying to all of them for god knows how long.
"Arthur, they told me you've been searching for me with no regard for the price," Merlin said, a smile gracing his lips, a smile that made Arthur furious.
"Yes, letting a sorcerer walk is treason after all and the king should be the last person to commit treason," Arthur said bluntly, watching as Merlin's smile faded, that's better.
"What? That's the only reason you wanted me back…?" If Arthur had known any better he would have thought that Merlin was heartbroken. "But I thought-"
"No, I don't want to hear a word you have to say," Arthur said, cutting him off, "Take him to the dungeon to await trial, now," He ordered, waving over the guards that stood at the door.
"What?! Arthur, what are you doing? What has gotten into you?" Merlin barely had time to struggle as he was pulled out of the room.
Merlin's hands were drawn into tight fists in the cell. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt anybody and consequently, that lead to him with magic canceling shackles around his wrists. Of course he had no doubt that he would be able to get out of them but he was afraid that after he did, he would go on a rampage.
So instead he sat on the cold floor waiting for either himself to calm down or someone to come get him. The latter happened to come first.
"Merlin, what happened?"
Merlin looked up to see Gwaine rushing towards the bars with a ring of keys in his hand. He was sure that no one would give Gwaine of all people the keys to his cell and it warmed his heart to know that at least Gwaine was still his friend, "Arthur's gone ballistic. He also seems to be under the impression that I'm a sorcerer,"
"You're not?" Gwaine asked as he unlocked the door to the cell and crouched down next to Merlin to see which key fit in his shackles.
"I suppose I can't blame you lot for not knowing anything about magic, it has been outlawed for years now, but a sorcerer is someone who chooses to practice magic, a warlock is someone who is born with magic, like myself," Merlin explained, a golden fire crackling in his eyes for a moment before the shackles unlocked on their own, crumpling to the ground.
Gwaine all but jumped back, blinking a few times to make sure he was seeing things right, "How did you do that? Those shackles were magic-canceling."
"For a sorcerer," Merlin answered, "For a warlock, magic is a part of our very being and it cannot be taken away so easily,"
Gwaine was still pretty shocked but didn't comment on it any further, just tossing the shackles to the side and standing up, "Come on, let's get you out of here,"
"You know that's treason, right?" Merlin said with a raised brow, the last thing he wanted to do was to get his friends in trouble.
"I've been exiled before, and princess is really starting to grate on my nerves anyway," Gwaine said with a shrug, taking Merlin's arm and helping him stand up, "Come on, the guys can't protect the way out forever,"
"The guys?" Merlin questioned, stumbling a bit as Gwaine pulled him out of the cell.
"You didn't think we all abandoned you, did you? Lancelot, Leon, Elyan, and Percival are guarding the path out of here," He said with a grin pulling Merlin through the dark halls.
"Merlin, you've been sitting there for hours, don't you know where it is yet?" Gwaine whined, staring at Merlin who was sitting on the forest floor with his eyes closed.
"We've only been here for ten minutes," Merlin said without opening his eyes, trying to probe around the area for signs of life. He could have sworn the village was around here somewhere.
"Well I'm going to take a look around with my eyes like a normal person," Gwaine said, standing up and walking off in a random direction they haven't been in yet. It wasn't another ten minutes before Gwaine came rushing back, "Merlin, you should see this,"
Merlin's eyes opened and were met with a distressed looking Gwaine. He frowned in worry, "What is it?" He asked as he stood up, stumbling when Gwaine grabbed his arm and pulled him in the direction he came, "Gwaine, what-" He abruptly cut himself off when he saw the village he was looking for,
Riddled with bodies.
"No…" This was why he couldn't find anyone… they were all dead, "Who would have done this…?" He asked, his eyes filled with horror as he walked through the mess of bodies.
Gwaine was silent as he walked up to Merlin with a torn scarlet cape draped over his arms, it belonged to a knight of Camelot.
Tears formed in Merlin's eyes, all but falling to his knees when he spotted the young druid boy he risked his life saving, dead on the ground, his eyes still wide open in shock. Merlin let the tears roll down his cheeks as he closed the boy's eyes, mourning the loss of the people who had been so kind and generous to him over the last few days, "How could Arthur do this…?" He whispered, trying to come to terms with what was happening. He had to close his eyes to shield himself from what was happening, he didn't want any of this to be real.
"He hasn't been himself lately, we all know that," Gwaine said quietly, not wanting to upset Merlin further.
Merlin's eyes snapped open with golden rage burning in his eyes, "He can't be left to his own devices any longer. I'd once believed that he would become the Once and Future King with a little gentle guiding but it doesn't seem that's possible." He stood up abruptly and turned to face Gwaine, "I will be hurting people, I will more than likely be hurting Arthur. If you don't want any part in that, I want you to leave so you don't have to be a part of this,"
Gwaine couldn't help but grin and pat Merlin on the back, "It's about time you grew a pair, I'm with you the whole way, Merlin,"
The warlock blushed a little bit but smiled, he was grateful to have a friend like Gwaine.
Dun, dun, dun... You know, that sound effect thing? No? Just me? Okay, this is my next chapter where the ball gets rolling and Merlin finds his reason to hate Arthur and learns to unleash all of his power. My idea is that he's always been super crazy powerful but living in Camelot put a lock on his magic but since he left he learned how to use it right. Anyway! I hope you liked it and please leave reviews! Reviews make me happy!