So, I had a lot of fun writing this one, and even more fun reading over it to edit it. So, I hope you guys like it! Thank you so much for the reviews and favorites - I plan to update every Saturday as those are the days I actually have time to write, and I typically get about two chapters written for every one that I post. That way I keep ahead of my self and don't get behind.
Anyways, here is Chapter Two! Let me know what you guys think!
Arthur woke slowly, trying to put together everything that had happened. As the memories finally assaulted him, his eyes snapped open, only to snap shut again as the sunlight blinded him. But with a groan he forced them open again as he rolled over and worked to sit up.
Merlin. He had to find Merlin - after everything that had happened, everything that he had learned, none of it mattered if Merlin wasn't alive.
He looked around, his eyes settling on his servant who still lay motionless on the ground. "Merlin!"
He tried to stand up, but quickly learned he was far too unstable for that as he fell forward onto the ground again. And so he crawled, as quickly as he was able. "Merlin!"
When he finally reached the boy he grabbed his shoulders. "Merlin!"
There no reaction, no motion at all.
"No, No, No!" Arthur felt his heart beginning to hammer in his chest, and he put his fingers to his neck, checking for a pulse. It took him a minute to calm himself down enough to differentiate Merlin's from his own, but he finally found it. It was there. The king breathed a sigh of relief.
He laid the boy back down, and started looking him over. First of all, he checked his chest, the wound there had to be nasty, and he worried that there was no way he would be able to get his friend medical help...but one look quickly put his fears to rest. There was no wound. Not even a scratch. Although there was a very nasty scar that looked like a burn mark. Arthur was perplexed, to say the least, but his thoughts quickly vanished as he heard his servant moan.
"Merlin!" The relief in the king's voice was almost tangible.
"Arthur…" Merlin was slowly waking up. His eyes slowly opened, and slowly came to focus on his king. "Arthur...what…"
"I don't know, Merlin." And that was a fact, the king had absolutely no idea what had happened. He remembered watching Merlin get stabbed, and crumbling to the ground. But after that? Nothing.
Suddenly a gasp drew his attention back to his servant. "What? What is it?"
Merlin's eyes had gone wide, and even were starting to fill with tears.
"Merlin?" The king was concerned now, "What's happening? What's wrong?"
The boy was hyperventilating now, gasping for breath. "It's, it's gone."
Arthur stared at him, confused. "What is? What's gone?"
"My...my...my mag…"
Arthur watched as Merlin couldn't even get the words out. He got the idea though. Merlin's magic was gone. He watched as his friend sat there, sobs wracking his body. His magic must be very important for him to be having this reaction. "Merlin…"
And then Arthur was aware of something he hadn't been before. Something that made him freeze where he sat. There was an energy inside him, sitting just beneath the surface that he could physically feel. "Merlin...I...I think I have it."
Merlin's breathing hitched, and he slowly moved to look at his king. And now he was truly terrified. Not only did Arthur know about his magic. He also had complete control of it. This was bad. This was very very bad.
And now that the dust had settled, now that he knew Merlin was going to live, all his feelings on the matter were rushing back into him. And he was getting angry.
"Merlin." His tone was low, dangerous, and Merlin felt the need to scoot away from him - but he didn't dare move. "You have magic."
Merlin gulped. "D - Did, Sire. DID, have magic…"
"But you had it. This whole time!?"
"Y - Yes, Si-"
"So you've been lying to me all these years!"
"Yes, Arthur, but -"
"Don't 'but' me, Merlin! You've betrayed me!"
"No! Sire, I wouldn't! I've alw -"
"No!" Arthur interrupted him yet again, "No! I don't want to hear it! Not right now."
Merlin sat silent for a moment, and watched as the king pulled his knees up and once more wrapped his arms around them. He looked rather like a child pouting and Merlin couldn't help but chuckle….which had not been wise.
"Oh? Is something funny Merlin?"
"Oh, uhm, no Sire."
"Are you certain? Because I'm quite sure I heard you chuckle - I'd like to know what was funny enough in this situation to warrant a chuckle."
"N - Nothing, Sire. Nothing."
Arthur growled in frustration and stood up, Merlin moved to follow suit. "Leave me alone, Merlin. I don't want to even look at you right now."
He moved to walk away, but Merlin couldn't let him leave, not like this. He had so much to explain, "Arthur," he said as he was standing up, reaching for the king's sleeve to stop him, "Please, you need to underst -"
"I said, NO!" The king rounded on him, slapping at him with the very arm Merlin had been reaching for - but magic enhanced his attack and he watched as Merlin went flying backwards and crashed into a nearby wall. Arthur watched as his servant fell to the ground and didn't get back up.
"Merlin!" The king ran the short distance and knelt down beside Merlin. The boy groaned as Arthur moved to help him sit up, "Merlin, I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened, I don't know how I did that. I didn't mean to -"
"It's fine." Merlin interrupted him with a weak wave of his hand. "It happens. Don't worry about it."
Arthur shook his head in bewilderment, "You mean, this happens a lot?"
Merlin shrugged, then rubbed his shoulder when it seemed to pain him. "It certainly used to. I finally learned to control it. You'll need to learn too."
Arthur growled, "I don't want to control it! I don't even want it!"
Merlin sighed, "Trust me, I don't want you to have it either. But since you do, there's nothing for it. You have to control it or else you could hurt someone."
"Well, I'm sure you'd know." Arthur nearly spat out the words.
Merlin stared at him in disbelief. "What?"
"You'd know about hurting people. You're a sorcerer."
Merlin almost couldn't even come up with a response. Almost. "Oh, so now I guess you think I'm evil? Out to murder you in your sleep?"
Arthur shrugged, "You have magic. Magic is evil."
Merlin smirked. "So, does that make you evil now?"
Arthur glared at him, "I didn't exactly CHOOSE this Merlin. That makes it different."
"I DIDN'T CHOOSE IT EITHER!" Merlin shouted louder than he meant to.
Arthur actually shrunk back a bit, "Of course you did! Magic is something you choose."
"No! Not for me! I was BORN with it!"
Arthur stared at him and sighed, but not for long. "Well then you truly must be evil. You've truly fooled me all this time."
Merlin groaned and threw up his arms in desperation. "Fine then! I'm evil! So evil that I saved your life from those STUPID Gargoyles yesterday - even though that clearly was for nothing. I must have been evil when I saved you from Lady Helena's knife, and I must have been evil again after I drank from the poisoned goblet to save your stupid life. And aallll the times after that! I must have been terribly evil to bother saving your Royal Arse."
Arthur watched as Merlin stopped to take a breath before continuing, "If I'm so evil then maybe it's a good thing you've got my magic - now YOU can be evil and save my life for once."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
Merlin blinked at the king's once again childlike behavior. "Yeah, fine, whatever."
They sat in silence for several minutes before the king sighed. "Just tell me one thing, Merlin. Why haven't you ever told me?"
Merlin almost laughed in his face, "Oh, gee, I don't know. Maybe it was because I knew you'd react like this? Being called evil is something I've always dreamed of - thank you so much for helping to make my dream a reality."
"Oh, don't be such a girl, Merlin."
Merlin shook his head, "You know what? Fine. Enjoy your evil magic powers."
He stood up and started walking away, only getting five feet when Arthur yelled out to him, "Wait a minute - where are you going!?"
Merlin turned and threw his hands up. "You clearly don't need my help, and even if you did 'I'm evil' so you clearly don't want it. So, if you don't mind, I'm going to leave you to it."
With that he turned and started walking again. "Merlin! You can't leave me like this!"
Arthur was standing up now too and running after him, "Merlin! I need your help!"
At that Merlin stopped, and slowly turned to face his king. "You what now?"
Arthur sighed, "I'm sorry, ok?"
Merlin held a hand up to his ear - "What's that now? I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the evil thoughts in my head."
"I'm SORRY!" The king yelled, "That's just what I've always been taught! I can hardly be expected to change my entire life's opinion in one day! I need your help."
Merlin crossed his arms and lifted an eyebrow in his best Gaius impression. "Why should I help you? You've done nothing but judge me and accuse me of being evil when all I've ever done was help and protect you."
Arthur sighed and nodded. "I believe you."
Merlin blinked, "You what?"
"I said I believe you. I've known you long enough, if you wanted to kill me I'd be dead by now."
Merlin slowly lowered his arms and looked down at the ground. "Well, that's certainly true."
"I know you won't hurt me."
Merlin looked up at him, "What?"
Arthur sighed, "Seriously, have you gone deaf Merlin? Are you going to make me repeat everything I say from now on? I said I know you won't hurt me."
Merlin nodded, "And what exactly makes you think that?"
Arthur shrugged. "Like I said, you've had plenty of opportunity. Whatever your evil plan is, it isn't to do with me."
Merlin could only sigh again. Well, that was a start...
They stood in silence for a few seconds before Arthur sighed, "So...will you help me? I don't know what to do...I don't want this."
"Well, I can help you manage it, not hurt anyone else, but in the end we need to figure out how to get it back to me."
Arthur nodded, "I'm all for that. But how do we do that?"
"I don't know…" he stopped as he thought for a second. "But, I know someone who might."
"That's great!" Arthur smiled, "Who?"
"You're not gonna like it."
Merlin was smirking. Arthur hated it when Merlin smirked. "Why? Who is it?"
"You really don't wanna know." He was still smirking. "Come on, we need to find a clearing."
"A clearing? Why do we need - Merlin?" His servant had turned to continue walking, but abruptly stopped, a hand going up to his head as he swayed slight. The king was there in a second, "Merlin, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm fine, I - I just got dizzy for a minute...let's go." He started walking again but swayed again and nearly fell had Arthur not grabbed hold of him.
"Come on, Merlin, what's going on?"
"My magic is gone." He took a deep breath, "It's a big piece of my daily energy - without it, I feel...empty. I'm exhausted."
"I told you you needed sleep too." Arthur smirked, referring to the morning before.
"Shut up." Merlin glared. He started to move forward again but only stumbled again. "You...you may have to help me."
"Yeah, yeah." Arthur was already there, wrapping Merlin's arm around him. "So why were you fine a few minutes ago?"
Merlin shrugged, "I was angry. Adrenaline? Who knows."
Arthur nodded, he supposed that made sense in a way. "Are you going to stay like this?"
Again, Merlin shrugged. "I don't know, Arthur. It's not like this is a regular occurance. I might be fine after I get some rest, or it may get worse. I have no idea...but hopefully he will know."
"Who?" Arthur asked again.
Merlin sighed. "I might as well tell you...we are going to call the dragon."
"A Dragon!?"
Merlin shook his head. "Not A dragon, THE dragon. The only one left alive."
"You mean the one that was imprisoned under Camelot?"
"The very same."
"But I killed him!"
"No - you wounded him."
"Then why did he leave so easily?"
"I sent him away."
"You."
"Yes, me."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "What, now I suppose you're a Dragonlord as well."
He'd said it sarcastically, but Merlin didn't answer - "Come on, seriously?"
Merlin nodded and Arthur shook his head. "I thought Balinor was the last Dragonlord."
Merlin gave a slow nod. "He was...until he died. Then his power was passed to his son."
Arthur stopped walking and stared at his comrade as the implications came together. "Balinor...Balinor was your father?"
Merlin could say nothing, only confirmed with another nod. Arthur shook his head, unable to believe it, "I had no idea."
"Yeah," Merlin sighed, "That was kind of the point."
"I always wondered why you took it so hard when he died, I thought you were just worried for Camelot."
Again, Merlin said nothing.
"Well, come on." Arthur said, ready to get this over with. "Let's go call this dragon."
Several minutes later, after several stumbles from Merlin and Arthur growing tired of holding him up, they came out of the courtyard and Merlin gave a grateful sigh. "This area is large enough. It will work."
Merlin pulled away from Arthur and stood upright. To say Arthur was hesitant was an understatement, "So, what are you going to do exactly."
Merlin shrugged, "Exactly what I said, call the dragon. If it works."
"If?"
"Well, being a Dragonlord is in part magic, but it's also not at all related to magic and is just a part of me. So, I don't know if I still have the ability. If not, then you'll have to do it."
"ME!??"
Merlin smirked, "Hopefully it won't come to that."
Merlin took a step forward, putting just a foot or two between him and Arthur. Arthur was beginning to ask what he was doing, but didn't get the opportunity. Because suddenly Merlin was screaming into the sky, his voice echoing around the entire clearing, bouncing off the castle walls - words that Arthur could never dream to understand, and an energy raced out from Merlin, pushing the words out into the world. Having magic, Arthur could sense that now. It was...he didn't have words to describe it.
Then Merlin stopped, and Arthur almost wanted to clap, "Well, that was certainly - Merlin?"
Merlin was swaying again, and Arthur was barely able to reach out before his friend collapsed in his arms, calling the dragon had clearly used up the last of his energy. "Of course," he complained as he gently lowered Merlin to the ground. "You call a bloody dragon and then leave me to deal with it. How long am I going to have to wait anyway?"
Of course Merlin didn't answer, and Arthur sighed as he sat down beside him.
He didn't have to wait long. The sound of giant wings flapping in the breeze caught his attention after just a few minutes, and he scrambled to his feet as the dragon hurriedly landed. "PENDRAGON!" He roared, "What have you done to Merlin!"
"What have I? - I haven't done anything!" Arthur yelled back.
"Then why is he unconscious? I could sense his difficulties even through his call."
Arthur sighed, "His magic was stolen from him, it was all he could do to call you."
"His magic was stolen? That's impossible."
"Apparently not. It was given to me."
"Given to -..." the dragon stopped, and seemed to eye him for a moment, Arthur felt the dragon's energy reaching into his own. "So, you do have the boy's magic."
"Yes, I do, we were wondering if -"
But he was interrupted by laughter. The dragon was laughing!
"How can you laugh at a time like this!?"
The dragon took a moment to gather himself, "I'm sorry," he said, still barely able to contain his humor. "But the irony of this, you must find it amusing? A Pendragon, has magic. The very thing that you and all of those before you have sought so hard to rid the world of, you have it within you."
Arthur narrowed his eyes. "Believe me, I'm well aware."
The dragon began laughing again.
"Please!" Arthur called, "Help us!"
This made the dragon stop and roar once more. "I do not take orders from you, Pendragon! You can not issue demands!"
"But I can." The voice was small, barely a whisper that came up from the ground. Arthur and the dragon both looked down at the boy, who still looked completely exhausted. "Please," he said, "You must know something we can do."
The dragon lowered himself down, getting comfortable. "You must tell me what happened, and I will do my best to help you find a solution."
And so the two men got comfortable, Arthur helped Merlin sit up before sitting down himself, and launched into their story. Merlin started with the witch visiting him him the woods - Arthur was very angry that Merlin hadn't told him, but they quickly moved along. Merlin told the dragon about the Gargoyle attack, and the witch's approach. Arthur had to finish because Merlin didn't remember anything after she started chanting. Arthur told the dragon how she had stabbed them both with a golden knife.
It was a long story, and took a long time to tell, but when they had finished the dragon sighed. "I am afraid there is nothing that I can do. The only thing that would help was to repeat the spell, but in reverse."
"So we have to get stabbed again? Lovely." Arthur sighed.
The dragon nodded. "In the same way, at the same time, and using the same spell."
"That means someone with magic will have to do it." Merlin said, thinking aloud. "How would we even find that spell?"
"What do you mean the same time?" Arthur asked.
The dragon sighed, clearly frustrated with Arthur's lack of understanding. "Yesterday was the full moon. That's the only reason the spell was powerful enough to work. The reversal must also be done on the full moon, otherwise you may only get part of your magic back, or simply die in the process."
"Great." Arthur said. "So we are stuck like this for another month. Longer if we can't find the spell."
Merlin sighed. "A month without my magic. Will I even last that long? I feel exhausted, like I haven't slept in months."
The dragon nodded. "You will live. While magic is only a fraction of your life force, it IS majority of which keeps you going. I have no doubt that without it you will be more lethargic, with far less energy at your disposal - you must be careful not to over exert yourself. Such things could have disastrous consequences."
Merlin smirked, "Hear that, Arthur? I can't over exert myself."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Yes, Merlin, I heard."
"On the other hand, young Pendragon, you will likely find yourself with far more energy and strength than usual, seeing as you have most of Merlin's."
"Hear that, Merlin? I'm even more awesome than usual."
Now it was Merlin's turn to roll his eyes. "Yes, Arthur. I heard. How do we find the spell that she used?"
The dragon gave a large shrug, "Such a spell would require an immense amount of research and experimentation, the evidence of which would be difficult to hide."
Arthur tilted his head, the most confused that Merlin had ever seen him. He clearly wasn't used to the dragon's cryptic answers.
"So," Merlin said aloud as he thought, "Maybe she'd have her notes in a study or something in her home."
Arthur's eyes widened and glanced at Merlin, the dragon merely nodded. "That is a possibility."
Merlin smiled, then stood up excitedly - regretting it immediately when the blood rush caused him to sway slightly, Arthur reached an arm up to help steady him, Merlin nodded in thanks. "I'm fine, sorry….but she brought us here, this is probably where she was experimenting. Let's go check it out."
Arthur stood up, but wasn't so sure about bounding into a seemingly abandoned castle. "Are you sure about this, Merlin? Maybe you should stay here with the dragon."
"Kilgharrah." The dragon interrupted.
"What?" Arthur stared up at the giant beast.
"I have a name - Kilgharrah."
"Oh...my apologies...Merlin, maybe you should stay here with...Kilgharrah."
"No way," Merlin shook his head decidedly. "I'm the only one of us that knows what to look for. I'll be fine."