Chapter 4! And review replies:
Lady Cougar-Trombone- Ruadan hasn't given up, not by a long shot. But Mordred is in Camelot to stay.
Crazyaniknowit- Glad you approve of Arwen! Here's a little Mergana.
mersan123- Thanks! And you're welcome. :)
OechsnerC- Thanks. :)
HoRnIe DeMoN- I'm keeping Mordred around. He deserves it. ;)
Forrest- Hey! I'm glad you like it so far! I'm guessing this will be about 11 chapters unless I do some heavy pruning.
sjritts- Yeah, Ruadan's not done. And I will bring the Druids in but not yet. :)
Mike3207- (ch2) Yeah, plan, not so much. (ch3) That is an interesting idea, hmm...
About two weeks after they they'd returned from Ismere, Arthur became restless. He wanted to go hunting. Merlin agreed, because when Arthur was restless he started making rash decisions. So Merlin had George prepare Arthur's hunting things and packed himself for an overnight trip. Because even though Arthur only wanted to take the day, something almost always happened to extend it.
The hunt wasn't very successful. Merlin had felt a cold coming on even before they'd left but didn't feel it would affect the trip. Unfortunately, Merlin ended up sneezing most of the day. And even though he repeatedly apologized to his King, Arthur's mood just got worse and worse. By mid-afternoon Arthur'd called an end to it and gathered his things to pack. They were headed home.
They were still a couple hours from Camelot when they heard an unusual noise—a woman screaming. Arthur stopped his horse which forced Merlin to stop his too. He rolled his eyes because of course the King was still a knight and would want to aid anyone in distress. After the second scream Arthur dismounted and dashed into the woods to find the source. Merlin got down a moment later and secured the horses magically before following Arthur.
Instead of stopping where Arthur was observing, Merlin strode past him. "What are you doing?" Arthur whispered.
"I assume you want to risk our lives and see what's going on," Merlin replied. He continued walking toward the village and the people they'd seen.
Arthur smiled slowly. "I never thought I'd say this, Merlin, but you're learning." He caught up to Merlin and together they walked up to the villagers.
There was an old woman tied to a stake and a man held a torch over her, ready to light a pyre. "Let the woman go," Arthur demanded.
The torchbearer looked Arthur over and sneered. "This woman has been sentenced to death. It does not concern you."
"I am Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelot, and your village is in my lands. So this very much concerns me."
"Her sorcery has brought sickness and suffering to this village."
"All right then. Did she receive a fair trial?"
"Your father would have shown her no mercy."
Arthur gritted his teeth. "I am not my father. If you have no proof of her supposed evil you must cut her down."
"I will not endanger the lives of all who live here."
The man made to again to light the pyre, but Arthur's sword to his neck stopped him. "I said . . . cut her down."
A couple of younger men stepped forward from the crowd and cut the woman down from the pyre. Another took the torch away from the man and snuffed it. Arthur gestured to Merlin to take over supporting the woman and after chastising the crowd a bit, the two men left with the woman.
When they got back to the horses, Arthur instructed Merlin to sit the woman on his horse and ride behind her. He wanted to get as far away from the village as they could; they'd stop at nightfall.
They kept the horses at a walk to minimize the stress on the woman. None of them talked beyond her thanking them for saving her. When sunset was close, they stopped along the road at a cleared spot. The two men helped her down from the horse. Arthur held her up while Merlin made a little pallet of blankets for her to lay on. After she was laid down, she immediately fell unconscious.
Merlin attempted to heal her while Arthur gathered wood and made a fire. When it was lit he sat down next to Merlin. "Is there anything more you can do for her?"
"My healing skills are rubbish, but even so, there's nothing I can do for her. She won't make it through the night."
"Make her as comfortable as possible."
A strong hand suddenly gripped Arthur's arm. He looked at the woman's face in shock and found her awake and looking at him. "Thank you," she said weakly.
Arthur put his other hand over hers. "You should try and get some rest."
"My time has come. When you have lived as long as I, you no longer fear the journey to the next world." She paused to hand him a small bundle. "I have a gift for you. You showed kindness, and compassion. Those are the qualities of a true king. Open it."
He opened the bundle to find a horn. It was decorated with silver filigree and a chain. "It's beautiful." Merlin nearly flinched at the magic coming from it.
"It has the power to summon the spirits of the dead," she replied, smiling at him until her eyes closed. Merlin checked her pulse and shook his head. She was gone.
They buried her in a shallow grave a little ways into the woods. Neither man said much beyond informational exchanges. They made camp near the fire Arthur had built and settled down to sleep after a small meal.
In the morning they packed up quickly and got right to riding home. Now and then Arthur pulled out the horn to examine it. If it really does summon the dead, who would I summon? The answer came to him almost as soon as he'd thought the question—his father.
The moment they got back to the castle, Arthur headed for Gaius's chambers. Merlin followed him because he was concerned about Arthur's thought processes. If he wanted to know what the horn truly did, he'd go to Gaius. And if he went to Gaius, he must be thinking of using the horn, and that would probably be dangerous. And Merlin was all over danger.
After a brief explanation of events in the village and afterward, Arthur handed the horn to Gaius. The physician inspected the horn carefully. "It's the Horn of Cathbhadh. When Uther attacked the Isle of the Blessed, the Horn of Cathbhadh was smuggled to safety before the temple fell. It hasn't been heard of since."
"The old woman said it could be used to open the door to the spirit world?" Arthur queried.
"I have seen it with my own eyes." Gaius took a deep breath. "Long before the time of the Great Purge I took part in such ceremonies. Each year at Beltane, the High Priestesses would gather at the Great Stones of Nemeton and summon the spirits of their ancestors. It holds powerful magic. You must keep it safe." At that last phrase, he turned to look at Merlin, who nodded.
"We should put it in the vaults, Arthur," Merlin added.
Arthur sighed and looked up. "You're right. I'll get to it after I've seen Gwen and Amr." He turned and left the room. Merlin stayed behind.
Gaius turned to Merlin. "You need to make sure he does put it in the vaults."
"I know. The temptation may prove to be too much for him."
"Keep him safe."
"Always." Merlin smiled at his mentor then left the room, headed to his and Morgana's chambers.
xxxXxxx
Merlin walked in on a wailing baby and a frustrated Morgana. He dropped his pack and walked immediately over to her. He took Niniane from her arms and began cooing at his upset daughter. She ceased wailing and looked up at him with big, blue eyes. He kissed her forehead and rocked her.
Morgana walked over to them, an odd look on her face. "How do you do that?"
He looked up at her. "Do what?"
"Get her to calm down right away?"
"I don't know, maybe it's my magic?"
She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Explain."
"Well, she's bound to have magic—she's related to us, after all. Maybe her magic is more closely related to mine and it soothes her?"
They both looked down at their girl. She was fast asleep. "Ugh," Morgana said, and walked away. Merlin laid Niniane in the cradle and joined his wife at the table where lunch was sitting. "By the way, Mordred is coming to dinner tomorrow night. I invited Arthur and Gwen too because I know they're interested in learning about him as well."
"That's a good idea."
"I was thinking . . . you'd like to keep a closer eye on him, right?"
"Yes . . .?"
"Maybe you should take him on, as a kind of student."
"And teach him what, magic?"
"Yes."
"Morgana, he's a Druid. He probably knows more about magic than I do."
"Well, then you could share information, like we did."
"I . . . can't think of a good reason why I shouldn't."
"Are you going to tell him about his destiny?"
"Do you think I should?"
"I think I would have liked to know at his age. I may have made different choices?"
Merlin laughed at himself. "Point taken. I'll bring it up tomorrow night."
She leaned over to give him a lengthy kiss. "Mm, thank you."
"You still feel a kinship with him, don't you?"
"Don't you?"
"Yes. It must be the magic."
"Probably." She smirked at him. "So, did you remember Arthur's coronation commemoration tonight?"
Merlin smacked his head. "Great. Another banquet."
She took his hand from his face. "You keep forgetting you don't have to serve, huh?"
"Yep."
She moved to stand behind him and started massaging his shoulders. "You get to relax and enjoy the food, conversation with your best friends and the company of your stunning wife. What could go wrong?"
He stood and turned to face her. "Thank you." He pulled her from behind the chair and leaned down to kiss her tenderly. "Too bad you're still recovering; I think I could use a bit more relaxing."
She smiled wickedly. "Just because I'm recovering it doesn't mean we can't do 'other' things."
He quirked an eyebrow. "Really? Show me."
She locked the door with a flash of her eyes and led him over to the bed. "You won't regret it," she purred. He was soon too caught up in her offer to think about anything else.
xxxXxxx
The banquet ended up being quite a bit of fun. Merlin noticed Arthur enjoying jokes and comments by the knights and various courtiers. But every once in a while he'd stare out into space with a melancholy look on his face. When the night began to wind down, he leaned over to talk briefly with Gwen then got up and walked away, out of the room.
Merlin leaned over Arthur's chair to talk to Gwen. "What's got him down?"
"It's the anniversary of his coronation," Gwen replied.
"Yes, but isn't it a cause for celebration?"
"It is, but it's also the anniversary of Uther's death."
Merlin was taken aback. "I totally forgot about that. Where did he go?"
"To pay his respects to his father."
"Oh. Thanks Gwen." He smiled, she returned it, and they got on with the celebration.
xxxXxxx
Merlin found Arthur acting unusually the next day. He was a bit more melancholy, sure, but he also seemed excessively distracted. At one point, he'd summoned Merlin to his chambers. Merlin knocked then opened the door only to find apples rolling around his feet. Arthur was sitting at his table, practically hugging an upside-down bowl.
"What are you doing?" Merlin asked, as he started picking up the apples.
Arthur gave him an innocent look. "Nothing . . . Thinking."
"You, thinking? Well, now I'm really getting worried." He put the apples on the table. Arthur was acting way too protective of that bowl.
"Shut up." Merlin feinted to the left then quickly turned to pick up the bowl. He was denied. "Leave it!"
"Why?"
"Because I'm telling you to and I'm the King of Camelot, not that that seems to mean anything to you." He took a breath and started again. "So, dinner tonight?"
And they talked about dinner a bit, and Mordred, before Arthur declared he'd wasted enough time and shooed Merlin out of his chambers. Merlin never got to see what was beneath the bowl, but he had his suspicions. If he was right, he'd have to take matters into his own hands.
Finally dinnertime rolled around. Arthur and Gwen came to Merlin and Morgana's chambers, followed a few minutes later by Mordred. Niniane and Amr were left with their nurses, over the protests of the two women. The men thought it would be a nice change to enjoy the company of others without babies.
Eventually they all sat down together to begin eating and talking. Morgana asked Mordred about his life since they'd last seen each other and the Druid boy obliged. "After Alvarr left me in the forest, I wandered a bit. Eventually I came across a clan of Druids, the ones you had left me with originally, your majesty." He nodded at Arthur, who nodded back.
"I stayed with them for about two years, learning all they could teach me. Eventually I'd exhausted everything the elders could teach me, so they sent me off to live with a different clan."
"That's why we didn't see you when we took the Cup of Life from that clan," Arthur mused.
"Did you? I guess that explains a lot. I'd heard about undead warriors terrorizing Camelot, but the next thing I knew they'd been vanquished. I didn't even get to see one."
"How long did you stay with that second clan?" Morgana asked.
"About a year and a half. By then I'd heard about Uther's illness and could feel changes coming. So I struck out on my own, looking for people who could teach me other things besides magic." He blushed here. "I knew you'd be King soon and with Emrys by your side, I knew it would only be so long before you freed magic. And I thought maybe I could help.
"I journeyed from town to town, looking for warriors or mercenaries who'd teach me what they knew. I even stayed with some Saxons for a bit—I'm not proud of it, but they helped me refine my sword skills. But I broke from them when I heard about Ruadan. I didn't want to be a part of that."
Morgana patted his hand. "Wow, you've been through quite a bit, you brave boy."
Mordred blushed again. "Thank you, my lady."
"I'm really glad we found you—you found us," Arthur commented. "How do you like it here so far?"
"Oh, it's amazing! Gaius is so kind and patient with me. I'm learning so much. And working with the knights is a dream come true. I'd like to stay here as long as I can and become one, if that pleases you sire."
Arthur chuckled and darted a glance at Merlin, who smiled. "It does. I think we'll keep you on."
Mordred bowed his head. "Thank you, sire."
By this time, everyone had finished eating their dinner. They sat at the table and talked for a while until Gwen began throwing pleading glances at her husband. He got the message and excused the two of them saying, "Looks like it's time to get back to Amr. Enjoy the rest of the evening." He and Gwen left.
Morgana stood after the door closed. "I'm going to get Niniane." Merlin and Mordred made to stand too, but she waved them off. "You two stay. I'm sure you can find something to talk about." She winked at Merlin and flounced out of the room.
Merlin turned to Mordred. "I'm glad you and Gaius are getting along. He seems to have a talent for relating well to adolescent boys." They both laughed at that.
"You would know, wouldn't you, my lord?"
"Oh, please don't call me 'my lord.' You'd think I'd be used to it after a year, but I'm not."
"What then? Emrys? Or Merlin?"
"Merlin, please. If Morgana gets her way, you'll be addressing me a lot more."
"What do you mean?"
"She thinks- and I agree -that the two of us should get together now and then to practice magic. Share what we know."
A smile began to spread over Mordred's face. "That's wonderful!" He coughed. "I mean, to practice magic with Emrys—that would be a great opportunity. I'd like that."
"Great! But now I have to bring up something important. I think I know the answer but I need to know this before I can continue."
The smile drained off his face. "What is it?"
"What do you know of . . . your destiny?"
"My destiny? Nothing."
"All right. I can tell you, but it's not pleasant."
Mordred pondered this for a long moment. "Tell me. I'd rather know than not."
"I was told of your destiny when I first met you, and for a while there, I thought it would definitely come true. But now? I'm not so sure." He stopped to clear his throat. "Your destiny is to kill King Arthur."
Mordred's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. He stared for a full minute before shaking his head. "No. No way. That can't be right. I would never . . ."
"That's what I thought too. Then you fell in with Alvarr, and I wasn't so sure. But I'm glad you've apparently forgiven me for my role in that."
"Long ago. The Druids taught me that too."
Merlin bowed his head. "I'm grateful."
"There's no way I'd kill the King. I haven't the slightest desire nor inclination to harm him in any way."
Merlin stared into his eyes. His magic was giving him no warnings—he was telling the truth. "I believe you."
"Thank you." He reached his arm to clasp Merlin's, like the knights did. Merlin reciprocated the gesture and they shook. Mordred smiled. "Besides, you'll be here to keep an eye on me. How could I go wrong?"
Merlin laughed and let go of his arm. Morgana chose that moment to re-enter the room. She saw them laughing together and said, "I take it all is well?"
"Indeed," Mordred replied. He stood. "And who is this beautiful little creature?" He walked over to Morgana and Niniane. "She's gorgeous!"
Merlin stood and walked over too. "This little angel is Niniane, our daughter. And you'd better think twice before calling her 'gorgeous' again."
Mordred's mouth fell open again. Merlin and Morgana began laughing at the sight. "But . . .?" the poor boy gasped.
"A joke, Mordred. Don't worry about it."
Mordred's face recomposed itself. "Ah. Well, I think this is the right moment to say 'goodnight.'"
"Goodnight, Mordred," Morgana replied. Merlin just nodded.
Mordred bowed and left the room. The little family sat down on the bed to enjoy the rest of the evening together. Merlin had a funny feeling that tomorrow wouldn't be so peaceful.
:) Thanks for reading! Next- a short trip and a ghost.