Chapter Two
~15 years later~
"Arthur!"
"Merlin!"
"You stole my name prat!"
"Well, you are a clotpole!"
"You don't even know what it means!"
"Will you two be quiet?"
Balinor smiled as he watched his sons and ward argue in the tree that they had climb. It had been fifteen years since he had fled from Camelot with Arthur in his arms to Ealdor, and fourteen since he and Hunith had married and twelve that Merlin had been born. It had been roughly nine since Merlin and Freya had met and seven when she had become his ward, although she was practically his daughter.
"You're reading again." Arthur's voice drifted from the tree and Balinor heard a rather loud and dramatic sigh from the girl.
"Not at the moment Arthur. Merlin can I have an apple?"
"Sure Freya," Merlin's gentle voice said and Balinor smiled and pulled up some of the weeds while listening to his children. Balinor heard the tale-tell murmur of a whispered incation and he let out a sigh. No matter how much he had tried to stop his son, Merlin always used magic to help Freya and Arthur although he didn't use it around anyone else other then himself, Hunith and Alator.
"You're getting better at this Merlin, this is delicious."
"Really? Can I have one Merlin?" Arthur's voice drifted down to Balinor.
"No." Merlin's slightly gleeful voice told Balinor that he was not letting Arthur have an apple. "And I'm not giving you mine either."
"That's not fair!" Arthur said indigently. "Why not?" He added and Balinor could almost see his son fake-pouting at Merlin.
"Because you stole my word." Merlin replied smugly, "Now if you give it back to me then maybe…"
"Oh you two…" Freya sighed. "Arthur, here."
"Thanks Freya!" Arthur said happily and Balinor heard the smile in his voice directed at Freya and he almost knew that Merlin was pouting at Freya.
"You betrayed me!" He said mockingly. "I'm going to get you." He leaned over in the branch and Freya let out a giggle and Balinor smiled.
"No Merlin, my almighty warlock, I only gave our dear brother what you refused to privileged with, and frankly it is worst then betrayal, being denied your delicious apples." Freya said and Balinor heard her smile.
Balinor knew that Freya and Merlin were special to the other but he wasn't really that bothered. They hadn't realized it yet. He smiled as the leaves rustled and his two youngest dropped out and landed lightly. Well, that translated into Merlin landed lightly and Freya stumbled but he caught her before she fell.
"Hi Dad!" Merlin said brightly and grinned at the dragonlord.
Freya smiled slightly and elbowed Merlin. "Arthur's stuck," she said lightly.
Merlin looked at her faintly surprised and then at the tree where a very annoyed Arthur sat, stuck between two branches. "Hullo prat." He said cheekily.
"Hello Merlin," Arthur said his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Would you please help me out of this situation? It is rather tiring to be hanging by one's leg."
Merlin flashed his key grin and climbed up the tree quickly and sat next two the older boy lightly. "Of course Arthur," he said smiling innocently then his eyes flashed a brilliant golden color and Arthur fell down and landed on his head.
"Ouch. Thanks Merlin." Arthur muttered rubbing his head and glaring at the boy in the tree. Freya smiled at them and lightly brushed her hand on his shoulder and her eyes flashed gold. "Thank you Freya." Arthur said smiling at her and Balinor shook his head, hiding his grin.
"You two need to be more careful," the dragonlord said although he wasn't very stern about it although he wanted to make sure they were more careful about using their magic. "Imagine if someone else saw you other then your mother, me, Arthur or Alator. Then what would happen?"
The two magic users exchanged glances trying to figure out how to answer the dragonlord's question. "Wipe their memory and run?" Merlin suggested. "Well, first ask them to keep it a secret and then if they refuse then wipe their memory and run."
Balinor sighed in frustration. "You could always avoid using it around other people in the first place." He said and looked his son in the eye. "Here, help me with the potatoes." He added and threw a potato at the warlock and Merlin caught it quickly.
"Why is it that Merlin is normally a clumsy idiot most of the time but then he can catch everything easily the next?" Arthur grumbled and Balinor smiled.
"I was clumsy when I was younger." He said lightly and tossed the potato toward Freya who caught it deftly and knelt by the peas.
"Really? You?" Arthur and Merlin said in sync and shock and Balinor nodded and then frowned as the potato refused to budge.
"But… your more graceful then Alator!" Arthur said in bewilderment. "Well, and Merlin whenever he uses his gifts. I've never figured out how he can be so clumsy whenever he's not using his gifts but then so graceful when he is."
Balinor smiled at him as Merlin looked up confused. "I am?" His youngest son questioned.
Arthur nodded at his brother somewhat firmly. "I feel almost sorry for the person who'll get on your bad side."
Merlin frowned slightly. "I never knew… my gift is almost like a part of me by now."
It was Balinor who answered his son. "You've been able to do magic since the day you were born Merlin," Merlin's eyes widened slightly and Freya looked at the dragonlord sharply. Balinor remembered in the back of his mind that she was once a druid and he wondered if she knew something. "I've told you that you are a warlock but I've never told you how long you've had your powers. Freya is going to be a formable sorcerers, or a witch possibly," he nodded to his ward and she smiled, "I'm not sure if she's always possessed the ability or if she had to be trained. But you Merlin… I honestly have no idea. You'll probably be even more powerful then Alator or I. Your powers are already like Arthur's skill with a sword."
Arthur smiled slightly while Merlin blinked. "I never thought about my magic that way." He said looking confused.
Freya on the other hand was frowning. "I wish I could remember the whole prophecy…" she muttered.
"What prophecy?" Both boys turned to the youngest and she smiled slightly at them then she moved and sat down next to Merlin.
"There's supposed to be a king and a warlock, I think, his name is Emrys who's destined to protect him but that's all I can remember." She let out a sigh and banged her fist against her forehead and Merlin grabbed her hand before she could do any damage. "Anyway, Arthur's definitely not a king so its not likely for you to be Emrys. You're probably just going to be a powerful sorcerer."
"That's most likely," a different voice said and the prince, warlock and sorceress looked up and big grins lit their faces as Balinor smiled and stood up. "But you never know," he continued cheerfully.
Balinor smiled and clapped the man on the back. "Hello Alator, how about we go into the woods so that we can practice?"
Author's Note: Now… should I get a beta? Oh yeah, and this story is going to be slightly fast paced at the moment, or at least until I get to the parts that I really want to write… :P