The Prophecy

by VikingSong

Uther learns Arthur is the Once-and-Future-King of prophecy and declares him a traitor, forcing him to flee with Merlin. The catch? Arthur has no idea who Emrys is and no desire to fulfill the prophecy. Reveal!fic. T for action sequences/some deaths; no slash, no smut, no language. Cover art by AlexandarCho on deviantART (used with permission).

3. Chapter 3: Reactions

Disclaimers/Credits:

I don't own Merlin…the BBC owns all the cool stuff :/

The incredibly talented AlexandarCho over on DeviantArt gave me permission to use her art as the cover image for this fic. Woohoo! You can check out the original image (take out the spaces):

alexandarcho. deviantart art / So-you-wanna-play-with-magic- 440 242 462

Chapter 3: Reactions

The door to Gaius' chambers had barely latched behind them before the questions began.

"Merlin! How did Aredian find out? And more to the point, how and when did Arthur?"

"They didn't-they don't!" Merlin sputtered, throwing his hands up defensively.

"Merlin, don't lie to me...you're already in enough trouble without adding to it."

"I swear, Arthur doesn't know! As to what Aredian knows," Merlin's shoulders slumped, "...I honestly have no idea."

There was a long pause as Gaius eyed him from beneath his skeptical eyebrows. At last, he placed a hand on Merlin's shoulder.

"I believe you, my boy."

Merlin smiled and straightened.

"So what are we going to do?"

"Well, there's at least one thing to be grateful for. Aredian doesn't know you're Emrys or you'd already be in the dungeons, too."

"But I still have to get Arthur out before Uther does anything worse to him."

"I will speak to the king first; perhaps I can persuade him to reconsider. The last time Arthur ended up in the dungeons, you recall, Uther eventually calmed down and let him out again."

Merlin nodded. He didn't technically remember that instance involving the Mortaeus flower, since he'd been unconscious for most of it, but he knew what Gaius meant. Uther had been just as furious, but had eventually seen fit to release Arthur, none the worse for wear.

Gaius headed out of the room to find the king. Merlin paced the physician's room impatiently for a few minutes after he left before finally settling down in his own room with his spellbook. Arthur wasn't likely to be released for several hours at best, given how enraged Uther had been, so there was no hurry to finish his chores for the prat. He cracked a wry smile. Well, this is a new way to get an afternoon off.