Hey, guys. Thank you for the reviews. I am sorry for not updating, things have been hectic for me around here. I had exams at the University and I have an MA thesis to write, so I have little time to focus on my stories.
Also, since I realized that I have messed up with Merlin's age, because my original intentions were to make him younger, I will clear it up right now. Merlin is 4 years old in the beginning of the first chapter and 5 by the end of it. Arthur is 3 years older than Merlin.
So, this chapter takes place, four years after the events of the first chapter. Merlin is 9 and Arthur is 12.
Chapter two: Four years later
It had been 4 years, since Merlin had lost his parents. Four long years, in which he has been living with his uncle and his cousin and also four years since he became a prisoner in his uncle's castle. A prisoner, that is exactly how he felt like, because he was forbidden to go beyond the wall, that was surrounding the castle, without a guard, or the king accompanying him.
His uncle had explicitly stated numerous times, that the 9 year old was not to leave the castle alone. And every time Merlin would argue that he wasn't going to go alone, but with Arthur and Arthur's friends, but Uther was adamant that Merlin was not to leave the castle alone, without adult supervision. And every time that Merlin would ask why, Uther would just snap at him and send him to his room. And later, the king would come into Merlin's chambers and apologize for his words, earlier that day.
Merlin knew that Uther loved him and did what was best for him, but yet it would have been nice if he had friends, that he wasn't related to. He loved Arthur like a brother, and he would trust him with his life, and he was his most trusted confident, but he envied him. Arthur had friends outside the castle, and Merlin was dying to meet them, especially after all the stories that Arthur had told him about them. Merlin also enjoyed spending time with his other uncle, Gaius and loved helping him with his work. He enjoyed watching the older man mix potions and other remedies.
Also, Merlin had this weird feeling that his relatives were hiding something from him. He didn't remember much of what happened the night his parents had died. All he knew was that it was on his fifth birthday and that Arthur and Uther were there when it happened. He remembered this weird crash, and a woman, being next to him, but in the next moment she had been gone. He remembered being sick for a few days afterwards, and that was about it. Every time he would bring that night up, to either Uther, or Gaius, both would tell him that a burglar had come into his house and had killed them, and that he had knocked him unconscious.
And now, after yet another failed attempt to get his uncle to let him go out in the city with Arthur and his friends, he angrily slammed the wooden door of his chambers, and sat on his bed. A knock on his door, suggested that either his uncle had come to apologize or someone wanted to talk to him, and he wasn't in the mood to talk.
"Go away!"said Merlin. The door squeaked open, and his cousin Arthur went inside his room sat down next to him.
"Aren't you supposed to be out with your friends?" said Merlin.
"Well, I decided not to go and spend the day with you instead." said Arthur. "Are you okay?"
"I am fine! You don't have to check up on me every time I have a fight with Uther."
"You know he is doing what he thinks he is best for you, right."
"So, he thinks that it is good for me to be kept inside like a prisoner."
"Merlin…he doesn't treat you like a prisoner. He just wants to protect you."
"Protect me? From what? I mean what could be so dangerous, that I cannot go beyond that goddamn wall? I hate that wall."
Arthur swallowed. He hated lying to his cousin, but his father explicitly forbade him to tell Merlin anything about magic, or about Nimueh.
"Merlin…you have to understand…he is concerned about your safety, and he feels like there are people that could hurt you…"
"Why me? Why is he so concerned about me? He doesn't seem to be concerned about you running around the city with your friends."
"Well, I am older than you! Plus, I am better with swords than you and I can defend myself if someone attacks me."
"Are you suggesting that I can't?" asked Merlin.
"No, no, no. I am just saying that I think that Morgana fights better that you…and she is 3." Said Arthur, chuckling.
Morgana was Arthur's 3 years old sister. Merlin and Arthur both adored her and feared her, because, even though she was just a toddler, she was a sneaky little devil. She would hide somewhere, make whoever is watching over her look for her for hours, and then she would reappear with a smirk on her face. Merlin swore sometimes that she was the devil in disguise.
"Not funny." said Merlin.
"Aww, come on it is a little funny. I heard she hit you with a wooden box the other day."
"Arthur, she caught me by surprise. I was just playing with her, and then she hit me out of the blue."
"See…she is only 3 and she is already a better fighter than you."
"It was just one time. Plus, I would never hit a baby, even if my life depended on it."
"Yeah, because you can't!" said Arthur and kept on chuckling.
"Ohh, shut up…." Said Merlin and punched his cousin lightly.
"Is that the best you got?" asked Arthur, and shoved him playfully.
"Ohh….oh, it's on." said Merlin and the two started a friendly fight.
Arthur could win easily of course, because even though Merlin was strong for his age, and could hold his own in a fight, Arthur was still stronger and better than him. And then, Arthur had Merlin pinned to the ground, and Merlin struggling to get out.
Neither of them saw it coming, but suddenly, a wooden box hit Arthur in the back of his head and knocked him unconscious. Merlin, now set free, looked at the unconscious form of his cousin, lying in front of him, shock and fear written on his face. What had just happened? How did that box get from his table and hit Arthur? And more importantly was Arthur going to be okay? Merlin tried to wake his cousin up unsuccessfully, and noticed that there was a small bump in the back of Arthur's head, which suggested nothing good.
Merlin ran down the stairs and went to get his uncles and his aunt, who ran upstairs immediately after Merlin had told them that Arthur was unconscious in his chambers. While Gaius was tending to Arthur's wounds, Uther pulled Merlin aside and asked him:
"What happened, Merlin?"
"I-I really don't know how did that box get from my desk to here. In one moment we were playing and in the next, it just hit him on the head…"
"What were you playing, Merlin?" asked Uther.
"We..we were having a friendly fight. I really don't know what happened, I am so..sorry. Uncle…is he going to be okay?"
Uther didn't answer, and turned his attention towards the physician, who had just joined them.
"Well, thankfully, he is going to be okay. He has a moderate concussion, but after a few days of bed rest, he should be fine." said Gaius. "I think we should move him to his chambers."
"I will carry him." Said Uther, picked his unconscious son up and carried him to his own chambers next door.
Gaius turned his attention to his nephew, who was still shaking.
"Uncle Gaius, I-I think I hurt him. I think I made that box move."
"No, Merlin…you didn't…" said Gaius, trying to calm the little boy down.
"No, Gaius, you don't get it. We were playing, and then I felt something. Something can't quite describe, he had me pinned to the ground, not too hard of course, but I found myself struggling to escape. Uncle Uther and Aunt Ygraine won't even look at me. I want to know what happened." Said Merlin and suddenly a lot of items from his desk started flying across the room. One of them nearly hit Gaius.
"Am I…am I…causing all of this?"
"Merlin…." said Gaius and tried to hug the boy, but the kid just pushed him away and said:
"Don't touch me! I don't want to hurt you." said Merlin and ran. He ran downstairs, ignoring Gaius's yells after him. He ran past the guards that were guarding the castle and then he ran past the guards that were guarding the door of the wall that was surrounding the castle. He heard the steps of the guards, who were chasing after him, but he managed to escape them and blend in the crowd. He ran through the city and before he knew it, he was in the forest. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't go back. He had hurt Arthur and he had almost hurt Gaius. What if next time he kills somebody. And how did he do these things? Was he some sort of a freak?
It was getting dark and it was getting cold in the forest, and he was all alone. He sat on a rock and sighed.
"Well, you look troubled, lad." said a voice next to the tree. Merlin looked up and saw an old woman, who was standing next to a tree.
"I am fine, thank you." Said Merlin.
"Are you sure? You look upset about something…and I am a great listener, maybe I could help you."
"I doubt that….I did something…Something unforgivable. And I don't even know how I did it."
"What did you do?"
"I made a box move with my mind and I accidentally hurt my cousin. I can't go back home. I don't want to hurt anyone ever again. I am freak."
"You are not a freak. You have magic." said the woman.
"Magic? What is magic?" asked Merlin.
"This is magic." Said a woman and murmured something under breath and a light appeared in her hand.
"I don't care what it is. I don't want to have it! I hurt my cousin with it. I don't want to hurt anyone with it ever again."
"Well, perhaps, I could help you with that. There is a way….but we are going to have to go to my cottage….it is nearby. If you want, I could take that magic out of you." Said the woman.
The boy hesitated for a moment, but subsequently agreed. He followed the old woman deeper into the woods. Little did he know, that that old woman was actually Nimueh in disguise, and that she actually wanted to take his magic for herself.
Meanwhile, Uther was beside himself with worry. When Gaius entered Arthur's chambers and had informed him that Merlin had ran away, because he had realized that he had magic, Uther ran downstairs and found out the kid had slipped past the guards.
"What sort of incompetent fool cannot stop a 9 year old from escaping? He is 9 years old!" cursed Uther and looked at his guards. "Well, don't just stand there, search the city and the forest."
His heart skipped a beat at the thought, that his nephew could be all alone in the dark and dangerous forest. He never should have kept the boy's magic a secret from him. He just wanted the kid to have a normal childhood. And now Merlin was out there, all alone. He would never forgive himself, if something happened to the kid because of him.
He got on his horse and joined the search party in the forest. He hoped that he would find Merlin, before something bad happened.
Merlin walked with the old woman deeper into the woods and he spotted a cottage. A little wooden brown cottage. The woman opened the door of the cottage and the two entered.
"Why don't you sit on the table, Merlin, while I prepare the potion that is going to fix your little problem."
"How do you know my name?" said the boy, suddenly suspicious. He never actually told her his name.
"Well, you told me…" said the woman.
"No…I didn't." said Merlin.
The woman cursed and murmured something under her nose, and sent him flying towards the wall and knocked him out. After that she carried him to the chair and tied him up, putting a spell on the ropes.
When Merlin woke up, he was in pain. His back was killing him, and so was his head. Everything was blurry and everything was spinning. He was tied to a chair, and he struggled against the rope, but all that did was make the ropes burn his hands.
"I wouldn't if I were you. Save yourself a world of pain, and don't try to struggle with the ropes…unless of course you want to be badly burned." Said Nimueh, now without the disguise of an old woman.
"Who are you?" asked Merlin.
"My name is Nimueh, and let's just say that I was an old friend of your mother's." said the wtich. "You know, I didn't expect you to be so naïve. After all, you are supposed to be the greatest sorcerer of all time. Yet again, I shouldn't be surprised….you don't even know what magic is."
Merlin was utterly confused. Who was that woman? She looked familiar. And what was that about the greatest sorcerer of all time? He didn't even know he had magic, or what the hell magic was until now.
"Oh, my god. You really don't know, do you? Who you really are? How your parents really died?" said Nimueh.
"My uncle said that a burglar came in and killed them on my fifth birthday." said Merlin.
"A burglar?" Nimueh started laughing. "Hate to break it to you, but your uncle lied to you. It was me. I killed them! I killed them to get to you."
"What? Why me? Why am I so special?"
"Because you are the greatest sorcerer of all time. You are Emrys."
"And my uncle knew that?"
Nimueh nodded.
"I wouldn't blame him if I were you, though. He was just trying to protect you from me. I mean, this is why Uther built that wall in the first place – to keep you safe. That is also, why he outlawed magic. Everything he did was to protect you!"
Merlin nodded. Now it all made sense.
"What are you doing?" asked Merlin, as the witch kept mixing herbs in the cauldron in front of her, and murmuring spells under her nose.
"Isn't it obvious? I am taking your powers away. And the only way that I am able to do so, is because you gave me permission to do so." said Nimueh, as she kept stirring the potion in the cauldron.
Merlin was starting to feel weak. His head was getting heavier and his vision was starting to get blurry. He felt unconsciousness calling for him…and he wanted to answer this call.
When Arthur woke up and discovered that Merlin was missing, he was furious. What the hell was his cousin thinking? He was about to join his father's search party, but Gaius stopped him, saying that he suffered a very heavy blow to the head, and that he needed to rest.
"I don't want to rest! I want to find Merlin!"
"Your father is out there looking for him, Arthur! You will be of no help to Merlin if you suffer a brain hemorrhage, while looking for him. Merlin already feels guilty enough, that he hurt you."
"But it is my fault that he is missing, Gaius. I can't just sit here, while he is out there. I promised that I would protect him, Gaius!"
"Arthur! Don't make me drug you and lie down. You have a concussion! The best way you can protect him is if you lie down and let yourself heal!"
Arthur sighed, but reluctantly lied back down on the bed and thought:
"Where the bloody hell are you, Merlin!"
Merlin was slowly losing his battle with consciousness. Maybe Arthur had been right, he was too weak to fight. The witch was laughing in the background, but her laughter seemed like a distant echo to Merlin.
"Where the bloody hell are you, Merlin!"
Merlin could have sworn he heard his cousin's voice in his head. Of course, he could be just hearing things because of his weakened state, but that seemed so real. He wanted to answer, but he didn't know how. His head was killing him, his vision was blurry, he was scared and he was really tired. He just wanted to sleep. He closed his eyes and thought: "I am sorry, Arthur"
"I am sorry, Arthur."
Arthur sat up again. Was Merlin really answering him? How?
"What is it, Arthur."
"Merlin….he….I can hear his voice in my head. Is that really possible, Gaius?"
"Anything is possible….he is the most powerful sorcerer of all time."
"Merlin? Merlin, are you okay?" thought Arthur, hoping, that he would get an answer.
"Merlin? Merlin, are you okay?" Merlin heard his cousin's voice in his head again.
"I am tired, Arthur. She is stronger than me. I am sorry that I hurt you." Thought Merlin, though he didn't really know if he was really having a telepathic conversation with his cousin, or if this was all a hallucination, induced by the fever.
"I am tired, Arthur. She is stronger than me. I am sorry that I hurt you."
She? Oh, no. Arthur's darkest fears had come true. Nimueh had found Merlin. He knew that Merlin could defeat her, he has done it before, when he was younger. All Arthur needed to do is remind him of that.
"She is only stronger than you, only if you believe that! You have fought with her before and won, this is no different than that. You are the most powerful sorcerer in the world! Believe in that! Fight!"
After hearing his cousin's response, Merlin's wanted to laugh. How the bloody hell, was he supposed to fight? He knew nothing of magic. Besides it was only a few hours ago, when Arthur had said that Morgana fights better than him.
"Okay first, you knew about my magic, but you didn't tell me? Why? And second, wow! That box really must have hit you hard! Only a few hours ago you were saying that Morgana fights better than me."
""Okay first, you knew about my magic, but you didn't tell me? Why? And second.. wow! That box really must have hit you hard! Only a few hours ago you were saying that Morgana fights better than me."
After hearing that, Arthur rolled his eyes. For the world's most powerful sorcerer, his cousin was such an idiot!
"Okay, first father ordered me to lie to you, in order to protect you! And second, did you really think I meant it! She is three for crying out loud! How stupid are you? Well that is rhetorical question, considering that you were stupid enough to run away! Merlin, trust me, when I say, I believe in you. Believe in yourself! You can defeat her! You may not remember it, but you already did it once! Do it again!"
"Arthur…I am scared! I don't know how to control my magic. I don't even know, if this conversation is real, or is a hallucination….She has won!" thought Merlin, after hearing his cousin's response.
"She hasn't won yet, Merlin. She is the one, who should be afraid of you! As for this conversation, I assure you that is very real, even though, I am not even sure, how you are doing it! Merlin, you are stronger than her! Trust me! Fight!" thought Arthur.
After the response from his cousin, Merlin's eyes shot open. His vision was still blurry and his head still hurt like hell, but there was no way, he was going to let this witch win and steal his powers without a fight. It took all the strength that he could gather, but he released himself from the magical ropes and he threw himself at Nimueh.
Nimueh flicked her wrist and sent him flying, to the other side of the room and laughed.
"You think, that you can possibly defeat me? You are nothing, but a mere child, without your magic."
Merlin stood up, groaning, and said:
"Ohh, I am so much more, Nimueh. Look towards your potion, I think that you will notice that something is wrong."
Suddenly, the potion started to turn white. Nimueh frowned. That wasn't supposed to happen. It was supposed to turn red, not white. The white color could only mean that…..the boy was fighting her spell. But how could that be….the boy had no idea how to control his powers and he had given her permission to take them.
"How are you doing that? You can't have your powers. That's impossible." said Nimueh.
"Impossible….apparently nothing is impossible, Nimueh." said Merlin. "I am no longer scared of you! You are no match for me." After that he flicked his wrist and he threw her across the room.
"No way! You are just a kid! You don't know how to control your powers."
"I may not have full control over them, but I will never let you have them." said Merlin, as he felt his powers slowly returning to him.
Realizing she was defeated again, Nimueh cursed under her breath, and said:
"We will meet again, Emrys, and next time a promise, not to underestimate you."
After that, she disappeared in black smoke.
After that, Merlin felt the adrenaline wearing off and exhaustion setting in again. He leaned against the wall and he drifted off to a blissful unconsciousness. He heard voices calling his name in the distance, but didn't want to answer.
Meanwhile, Uther was beginning to lose hope that he would ever see his nephew again. They have been searching for hours now, but they still haven't found the 9 year old. Uther sighed. This was all his fault. Uther cursed himself for keeping the boy's powers a secret from him. All he wanted was to protect his nephew, but instead, he put him in even more danger. What if Nimueh or some other sorcerer had already found him? That thought made Uther's heart skip a beat. Merlin knew nothing of magic, knew nothing of the dangers it brought with it, and could be easily manipulated by someone with magic.
One of the knights pulled Uther out of his thoughts.
"Sire, we have been at this for hours! The horses are tired, so are the men. Maybe, we should continue the search tomorrow."
"My nephew is lost, scared and alone. We are not going back until we find him! I don't care if it takes all night, I want Merlin found." Said Uther.
Suddenly a cottage appeared out of nowhere, and he saw black smoke, exiting it through the chimney. Uther burst the door open and he found Merlin sweating and unconscious leaning against one of the walls.
Uther ran towards his nephew and started clapping his face:
"Merlin, Merlin?"
Merlin remained unconscious and his breaths were uneven and rigid, and that worried Uther. Uther carefully carried the unconscious boy to his horse and brought him back to the castle.
Three days later, Merlin finally woke up. His whole body ached. He looked around. He was in his chambers, lying on his bed, and sitting next to his bed was Arthur.
"Merlin, Merlin are you awake?"
"Arthur? Is that really you?"
"Yes. Merlin, are you okay?"
"I am tired, and I am a little. I am sorry that I hurt you."
Arthur smiled sadly.
"Haha, hurt me? That is what you are apologizing for? Not for running away and for nearly getting yourself killed. Merlin….you could have died! There is no way that you could hurt me worse than that. What the hell were you thinking?"
"Well, I was thinking that you would hate me, because I hurt you. I didn't realize that you all lied to me on a daily basis and that I was actually a sorcerer." Said Merlin, getting slightly angry.
"Okay, if it was up to me, I would have told you about your magic years ago. But unfortunately, it wasn't. Father made me promise not to tell you about it. Second, Merlin…I could never hate you! I can't imagine my life without you. Don't you ever run away like that!" said Arthur.
"I don't know…if it was real or not…but there was moment there, when I thought that I was talking to you…not exactly talking…more like…telepathy….or something like that."
"I believe I already told you that it was real…" said Arthur.
"But how….I was weak…like really weak."
"I don't know. I think that you should ask Gaius that question."
"Ohh, I wish I had the answers for everything. But it may have something to do with the fact that you two are connected by fate." Said a voice from the door. Gaius.
The two boys looked at the physician in confusion.
"What?"
"Well, yes, you two are the two sides of the same coin." asked Gaius.
"What? Is there anything else that you haven't told us?" asked Merlin.
"Well, you two, have always had this connection. This is why you get along so well. I am surprised you are figuring it out now. Especially you, Arthur, you have always felt it, that's why you are so overprotective of him. And the connection is also the reason why you could communicate with him, Merlin. Even at your weakest point, your magic reached out to the most important person in the world to you."
Merlin stood still for a moment trying to take in the new information.
"Merlin, are you okay?" asked Gaius.
"I don't know…..I am still wrapping my head around the fact that this dollaphead is the most important person in the world to me and apparently I am connected to him for the rest of my life." Said Merlin chuckling.
"Hey, you are not a walk in the park, either, you idiot! I have to watch you, otherwise you may run away again and get yourself into trouble."
'Who are you calling an idiot, you prat?"
"You! You were the one who ran away. Besides what the hell is a dollaphead?"
"Well…you are…I thought I made that clear."
"Really, tell me what it means?"
"I already told you twice, or are you too much of an idiot to understand it?"
"No, I really want a definition of the word."
"If I have to spell it out for Your Prattishness, fine….dollaphead means Prince Arthur."
"Oh, really, and how do I define you, Prince Merlin?"
"Charming…cute…sweet…smart…."
"Mmm, no….the words that come to mind are clumsy, stupid, irresponsible, ….I could go on all day." Said Arthur.
"Ohh, it is so on!" said Merlin, and the two continued to call each other names.
It was in that moment, when Uther came in the room. He smiled, when he saw his nephew was awake and bickering with his cousin. Everything was going back to normal.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt….Merlin, I am so glad to see you awake."
"Yeah, I am sorry I ran away like that, uncle."
"No, Merlin, I am sorry. I never should have lied to you. I just wanted you to be a kid, just a little while longer. After what happened to your mom and dad….I guess, I wanted to protect you."
"It is okay, uncle, I understand….I am a little angry, but I understand."
"You do realize that there will be more sorcerers coming at you."
"Well, let them come…I will be ready for them." Said Merlin.
"Ohh, I am sure you will be. Starting next week, you start practicing magic with Gaius, but Merlin….don't practice it outside the castle walls and without permission. Only if necessary. Magic may not be evil, but it is dangerous. The less you use it, the better." said Uther.
"No need to tell me twice." said Merlin.
"Well, I should leave you two. I have to go into town. I just wanted to check up on you, before I left." Said Uther and left Merlin's chambers.
"Now where were we? Oh, yeah…whimp!" said Merlin.
"Idiot!"
"Prat!"
And the two continued with their bickering and laughing. As long as they had each other nothing could stand between them.
Okay, that was chapter 2. Next time, I am starting with "The Dragon's call."
I just thought that it would be interesting to write a chapter, in which Merlin is a kid and is the only one unaware of his magic. I hope you liked it! I look forward to reading your reviews. I promise I will update as soon as I can.
See you soon!