A/N Almost full circle, promise! Thanks for hanging on, I'll make it worth your while.
Morgana's hand flew out and sent Uther flying into the air. He cried out in shock as he hit the floor. The once dignified man now looked broken and pitiable, slumped on the ground. Face frozen in utter horror, he kept pointing at thin air, "Ygraine!"
"Morgana!" Arthur shouted angrily and stood up. Morgana however, could not see or hear anyone else. This was her moment in the spotlight, her chance to unleash the pent up frustration and fear she'd been living with for so long.
"Stay where you are," Morgause held her palm up at Arthur, then curled her fingers. Arthur's body went rigid and he fell back into the chair. Unable to move, he could only glare at Morgana. Morgause walked over to Uther, "Don't you dare utter her name."
"Arthur, he lied to you. He lied to me. He lied to all of us! To this kingdom!" Morgana spat.
"And what do you call your actions?" Arthur growled. Morgana looked stung; she glanced at Morgause for comfort. The blonde sorceress however, was busy directing her men to drag the court genealogist into the center of the room.
"You are Geoffrey of Monmouth?" Morgause placed the tip of a sword beneath his chin.
"Y-yes," the terrified man replied.
"Then you know the truths to which we refer. You will go to the library and bring us the papers documenting the parentage of myself, Morgana, and Arthur. It is time to shine a light on the hypocrisy of your false king!"
Arodscipe ágief me! [1]
Merlin tried out a variety of additional incantations to supplement the spell Kilgharrah had cast. They helped him feel mildly better, but he knew it was short term, like covering a wound with temporary bandages. Time was the only thing that was going to actually heal him.
"We are almost at the clearing near the castle, Merlin. That is as far as I dare go," Kilgharrah said. Merlin didn't reply, he was trying to see if he could establish a mental link with Gaius.
Gaius.
Silence.
Gaius.
Merlin was about to give up when he heard a faint, tentative reply. Merlin?
Gaius! Yes, listen, this is very important. I need you to retrieve my staff and meet me in Uther's bedroom.
There was no response after that, and Merlin could only hope his message was transmitted.
"Arthur Pendragon, son of King Uther and Queen Ygraine. Morgause, daughter of Sir Gorlois and Lady Vivienne. Morgana…daughter of…Sir Gorlois and Lady Vivienne," Geoffrey faltered.
"No," Morgause bellowed at him. "Those are the corrected papers. What do the originals say?"
"My lady, please…"
Morgause stalked over and snatched the paper from the old man's trembling hands. "Citizens of Camelot, citizens of this great land of Albion, mark this day. For this is the day you learned who was the true heir to the Camelot throne. She is a daughter of magic who will bring prosperity and justice back to this land, she is the one true ruler, who shall slay the evil that her father wrought. SHE IS MORGANA PENDRAGON, DAUGHTER OF KING UTHER AND LADY VIVIENNE!" Stifled gasps could be heard through the crowd. Gaius meanwhile, slipped out of the throne room quietly. The sorcerers had paraded Uther to the front of the room, and made him kneel in front of the throne. Arthur was being forced off the throne however, and Morgana was being ushered on.
"The honorable Lady Ygraine, good friend of my mother, Lady Vivienne, was betrayed by Uther, who sought magical assistance in the creation of his son. His own shame made him condemn magic and slaughter our people. Is this your one true king? Or his son, who has been raised in his likeness? NAY! There is a great prophecy, of the one true ruler who will unite all of Albion and bring magic back into our land, who will be aided by a powerful sorcerer. This ruler is the Lady Morgana, and I, her sister, the powerful sorcerer!" Gaius shut the door behind him just as one of the men next to Morgana unrolled a piece of parchment and began to list off Uther's various crimes. With the greatest speed his old body could muster, Gaius rushed to Merlin's room and grabbed the large wooden staff [2] from under Merlin's bed. As he made his way towards Uther's bedroom, he swore for a moment that he saw the Great Dragon flying off into the horizon.
"Gaius!" Merlin was limping towards Gaius from the other side of the hallway.
"Merlin! What happened to you?"
"Long story, no time to explain," Merlin wheezed, he seemed out of breath. Kicking the doors open, Merlin hobbled over and ripped the mandrake root out from beneath the bed. Gaius recognized the it immediately and pointed at the fire, to which Merlin subsequently flung the root.
*M*~*M*~*M*~*M*~*M*~*M*
At that exact moment, Uther suddenly seemed to snap out of a trance. His gaze centered on Morgause.
"—execution Thomas Collins, son of Mary Collins [3]. Execution of Cerdan, father of Mordred [4]. The slaying of our great Druid leader Aglain [5], may his soul rest in peace."
A younger boy, standing next to Mordred stepped forward and pointed at Arthur, "What about his sins? He and his men led a raid that slaughtered an entire Druid camp. They drowned my brother in a well [6]. Now his spirit can never be in peace." Arthur's expression did not change, but after a moment, there seemed to be recognition in his eyes, followed by sorrow.
"He was acting under Uther's orders," Morgana justified.
"My sister is correct," Morgause affirmed, "Uther is the root of all these sins. And only the atonement of the perpetrator can bring these countless spirits peace [6]."
As Morgause neared Uther, sword in hand, the great throne room doors slammed open. "Let him go," Merlin commanded. The blue crystal on his staff began glowing and Merlin's eyes became golden. "YOU WILL NOT HARM THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING OF CAMELOT," voice thundering as he raised the staff up high. A fierce wind whipped up in the room and Merlin brought the staff crashing down, which sent a wave of power rippling through court. Everyone in the room was thrown to the ground.
"Where did you learn such magic? TELL ME!" Morgause screamed as Morgana ran to her. Merlin, now thoroughly drained, was clutching onto his staff for support, gritting his teeth with the strain.
"Don't let them get away! Restrain their magic!" Uther yelled at Merlin. The warlock nodded weakly and held his hand up, but suddenly winced in pain. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? ARE YOU IN LEAGUE WITH THEM?" An unearthly scream emanated from Morgana's throat and a clap of lightning filled the room. In a flash, the sorcerers disappeared. Using the staff as a cane, Merlin staggered towards the front of the room.
"Arthur…ugggnh….are you alright?" Merlin reached his hand out and squinted, his vision slowly dimming. Nobody moved. The warlock blinked rapidly as he tried to maintain consciousness, but being no longer able to do so, he collapsed in a heap just steps from Arthur.
Merlin opened his eyes and blinked. He was no longer feeling the draining effects of Serket poison, but something felt off. With a jolt, he realized he was lying face-down on a dungeon floor, Camelot's dungeon.
"Gaius says you are a powerful creature." Merlin strained his neck to look up at the voice, which belonged to Uther. "But you cannot break free of these chains. They were crafted specially to contain powerful creatures."
Merlin peered down his shoulder, there were irons clamping his wrists behind his back and more at his ankles. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.
"Why did you let those sorcerers get away?" Uther began pacing the cell.
Merlin gulped, "I was injured, Your Grace, I'm sorry."
Uther stopped pacing and narrowed his eyes, "That you were." Merlin tried to keep his breathing steady and followed Uther's renewed pacing with his eyes. "Gaius says you were born with magic, yet you did not knowingly practice sorcery."
Merlin nodded, his cheek scraping against the stone. It was a half-truth, he had begun learning some spells after living in Camelot, but now was probably not the time to be coming clean and debating nuances of magic with Uther.
"You used your magic to protect the realm, and the once and future king," Uther stopped again, "You have served me loyally."
Merlin did a double take. Firstly, Uther knew that people could be simply born with magic, and had executed them in the past regardless. Merlin did not want to dwell on this information. Secondly, Uther thought that he was the once and future king. "Um…"
"But you understand if I cannot simply take your word that you will continue to do so. I want some assurance of your continued loyalty," Uther now crouched down, "A magic-binding oath of fealty, to promise your abilities to the service of your once and future king."
Merlin swallowed, and began slowly, trying to choose his words carefully, "I do swear to honor and protect the once and future king…who is, however, known by the Druids to be the son of Uther Pendragon."
Uther's eyebrows lifted in surprise.
[1] Spell translation help obtained from Nyxelestia's Dreamwidth website: entry from 10/16/09
[2] Sidhe staff obtained in Season 1 Episode 7: The Gates of Avalon
[3] Season 1 Episode 1: The Dragon's Call
[4] Season 1 Episode 8: The Beginning of the End
[5] Season 2 Episode 3: The Nightmare Begins
[6] Season 4 Episode 10: Herald A New Age
**dialogue from various scenes written with help from Script Line LiveJournal by lika_mikala
Poor Merlin! Why does he keep having to apologize to everyone? And where's Arthur?
