A/N: Final chapter as promised. I want to thank everyone who read, alerted, favorited and reviewed this story – those email notifications are addictive! I do have a few other stories languishing on my computer. While I wrote those for my enjoyment, if I post them, I would like to know that you are enjoying them. So any feedback on this story is welcomed and appreciated and I will take all comments into account for the next tale.
For the first time since his return, Arthur called for a meeting of his full council. He waited until they had all taken their seats before strolling in himself, bringing them all back on their feet in respect. Merlin trailed in behind him, taking his usual place behind Arthur's chair.
"Before we begin, I would like to announce that I am making a new addition to the council." He remained standing forcing his council to do the same and struggled to maintain his poker face as some who had been in the process of retaking their seat, hastily stood to attention again. All but his inner circle, who knew what was coming, looked to each other questioningly. "My father never filled the position of King's Advisor though we all know that Gaius essentially fulfilled that role," he acknowledged the old man who bowed his head back at the king. "However, he never made it formal and I think it is time I changed that. Gaius, old friend, your service to my father, to Camelot and to me is appreciated more than I can express. And I hope I may continue to call upon you for advice. But your duties as Court Physician keep you busy enough and, no offense, I feel my own Advisor should be amongst my own contemporaries."
"None taken Sire," the physician smiled. "I happen to agree."
"Just who did you have in mind?" Lord Caldor asked, skepticism written all over his face. He was one of the higher ranking members of the council and would definitely not be classified among the king's 'contemporaries'. Thus he knew he was not being considered which obviously rankled him – the King's Advisor outranked every other member of the council save the king and queen themselves. Arthur had never liked the man so the fact that he was the one who had asked only added more pleasure to what he was about to do.
"Most of you know the origin of this round table we now sit at. How a small group of us, in a deserted castle leagues from here plotted to take back Camelot from Morgana. At that very first meeting, this chair to my right was occupied by someone not currently at this table." He heard a sharp intake of breath behind him as his 'servant' realized where this was heading. "That someone not only gave me sound advice that day, he helped retake the citadel, and gave me faith that we would in fact prevail against what appeared insurmountable odds. But when I brought the table here, I let old habits resurface, old relationships resume and for that I find myself ashamed. For despite the lack of a formal title, I continue to use this man as my advisor and he has remained quietly in the shadows and let me do so without complaint." The king let the suspense build a bit longer though he saw by the furtive glances around the table that at least some of the council had figured out his intent. Finally he turned and addressed the man behind him.
"What do you say, Merlin? Will you assume your original place at my round table, at my right hand? Will you serve as King's Advisor?"
Merlin smiled and couldn't help himself as he responded as he had all those years ago, his voice choked with emotion. "Nah, I don't really fancy it."
"Merlin, you don't have a choice," the king likewise replayed their conversation watching his now former manservant, blue eyes shining, bow his head in acceptance. Arthur grasped his forearm, a greeting of equals and then gestured the younger man to take the chair to the king's right that had been left empty until now. Arthur then nodded to the rest of the table to take their own seats.
"You can't be serious!" Caldor exploded, remaining on his feet.
"Why not, my Lord?" Arthur raised his eyebrow at the red-faced man.
"He is a servant! A peasant! This is completely inappropriate!"
Geoffrey, the Court Archivist, cleared his throat hesitantly. "There is precedent, my lord. Uther's grandfather, King Urien's Advisor was also a peasant before taking this position."
"I will not take orders from a peasant," Caldor insisted, looking at Merlin as if he was a mere insect to be squashed. Merlin, to his credit (and the respect of most of the council), met the man's hate-filled gaze without flinching.
"That is easy enough to remedy," the king answered easily. "When I announce Merlin's position before the court, I will also ennoble him."
That broke Merlin's stoicism and he stammered at his liege, "A-arthur, what?"
"That means turn you into a lord Merlin."
"I know what it means, Pr – Sire." Several around the table had to hide their smirks at the boy's near slip. "It's just, I don't need…I mean I don't want…"
"You heard Caldor, we can't have a peasant at the table. Therefore, I see no other alternative but to make you a lord." Arthur had to admit he was thoroughly enjoying this. He got to embarrass Merlin and irritate one of his least favorite councilors all in one!
Merlin opened his mouth but his mind could find no words to argue the point. Caldor however, had no similar disability. "Call him a prince if you like Sire, a title changes nothing. He is still a peasant, and a bastard to boot."
Arthur saw red, "Lord Caldor, you will keep a respectful tongue in your head at my table," he practically growled.
"Sire," Merlin laid a hand on the king's arm, "he speaks but the truth. I am not ashamed of it. I've been called worse," he smiled disarmingly.
But Arthur was not to be mollified so easily. "This peasant Caldor, has done more for Camelot than you ever have or likely ever will." Arthur's voice lowered into that quiet tone those at the table had come to almost fear. "The appointment of Advisor to the king is mine alone to make. If you don't like it, you may step down from your place on this council."
The man's face appeared about to explode with what he wanted to say but didn't dare. Instead he directed one last glare at the newest member of the round table and took his seat.
Arthur nodded once. "Now, onto our other business. First, you should all know exactly what happened at Camlann."
"Is it true?" Lord Tomen stammered, "I mean…., well we had heard, that a sorcerer fought on our side?"
"We also heard that you were wounded, Sire," another pointed out.
"You heard correctly," Arthur acknowledged. "We had all but lost the battle. Morgana's army was vast and in addition to her formidable magic, she also had a dragon on her side. And then from nowhere, a sorcerer appeared. Those of you who were there saw him smite Morgana's army and turn the tide of the battle. He also struck Morgana down and sent the dragon away. It was not Camelot's might that defeated her that night, but magic." You could have heard a pin drop at the silence that fell upon the group.
"And it is also true," Arthur continued, "that I was wounded. This same sorcerer saved me, healed me. He got me to safety and then brought Merlin to assist me before vanishing." Since Gaius had only disclosed to Gwen what had really happened before Arthur returned, only the inner circle of the round table knew this version was not completely accurate. "Unfortunately, it was after the sorcerer had left that we were set upon by Saxon's who injured Merlin when he took a blow meant for me."
Merlin could feel his face flushing and found the pattern in the table suddenly fascinating as all eyes turned towards him. He was beginning to change his mind about wanting to be recognized for his deeds if it was going to keep placing him at the center of attention.
"We must hunt this sorcerer down immediately!" Caldor declared, breaking the silence. Though Merlin was grateful it had diverted attention from him, his eyes rolled involuntarily. Of course it would be Caldor.
"Why?" the king simply asked.
"Magic is evil as you well know Sire," Caldor replied, as if he were addressing a small child.
"That is what my father preached," Arthur conceded, "and once I believed it. Now, I am not so convinced. Look at the druids. They preach a life of peace and though we have attacked them many times, they have never veered from this path and sought revenge. And this sorcerer obviously has great power and I have no doubt could take over Camelot if he so desired. So why hasn't he?"
"Maybe he is just biding his time," Caldor retorted.
"For when? There have been several opportunities when Camelot has been weakened and he could have made his play. Instead he chose to help us." The king shook his head, "no, if he meant us harm, he would not have done that."
"Maybe he is just trying to gain your trust," a different lord offered.
That thought had also crossed Arthur's mind when he first found out about Merlin but the more he had thought about it, the more it made no sense. Merlin already had his trust so if he had wanted to exploit it, he could have easily done so. "Again, to what end?" the king asked. He got no response.
Arthur took a breath to gather his thoughts for this was one of those moments he and Merlin had talked about, where he could start getting his council to see magic in a new light. "For a long time, Camelot has strived to put an end to magic in order to avoid just such a person as my sister from coming into power. Unfortunately this approach has a fatal flaw made only too obvious by our near defeat in our recent battle. By banning all magic, we have turned our backs on potential allies, those who would use their magic for good. We have left ourselves open to attack by those who use magic with ill intent with no means of defending ourselves. Camlann is proof of Camelot's fatal flaw - it takes magic to fight magic."
"We have never needed it before," another member of the council pointed out.
"Haven't we?" the king asked quietly and the council's eyes shifted amongst each other nervously. "I learned quite a bit about this sorcerer while I was recovering from my wound. For many years, he has been quietly protecting our kingdom, thwarting those who would do us harm as best he could without being discovered and thus condemned by the very people he had sworn to protect." It was only because he knew Merlin so well that he could feel the tension radiating off the man but otherwise he outwardly appeared calmly attentive. "I never knew, not even when my sister mentioned him, told me how 'not even Emrys could save us'. Even then, I did not realize she was referring to another sorcerer. I did not want to believe. But Camelot would have been lost many times over were it not for Emrys."
"So you would just let him go?" Caldor argued. "Because he said he's been protecting us? Where is the proof?"
"Did you say this sorcerer was called Emrys?" Geoffrey asked over Caldor's question.
"Yes, are you familiar with him?" Arthur asked.
"Well, not personally but there are legends, mostly druidic, that mention a powerful sorcerer called by that name. It is said he protects Albion."
This time Gaius spoke up. "There have been many instances in the past, magical creatures, magical armies, where we should not have prevailed and yet by some miracle we did. As the resident expert on magic, I was always at a loss to explain this until now. That we've been under the protection of a powerful sorcerer makes perfect sense."
"All the more reason we should hunt him down," Caldor insisted. "Magic corrupts – even if this Emrys is not evil now, he will eventually become so. No, we must hunt this man down before he turns against us."
Merlin couldn't stand the man's ignorant ravings any longer. "That's like arguing we send assassins after the other Kings because some day, they may decide to turn against us and attack Camelot. So by all means let's turn potential allies into enemies for a theoretical risk."
"I wouldn't expect someone of your…background, to understand boy. So your opinion has no value here."
"I prefer to be called 'Merlin' if you don't mind and tell me, Lord Caldor, when was the last time you personally faced a magical threat?" Caldor just glared at him as if he wouldn't deign to answer but Merlin knew it was because he couldn't as he continued. "Well I have faced griffons, questing beasts, not one but two immortal armies and let's not forget, Morgana herself, so I think I know a bit about how evil magic can be. But I also know that once upon a time, before the purge, magic was used to ease the toil of labor, help the crops grow, heal the sick so I don't believe that all magic is evil. It's a tool, nothing more and is as good or evil as the one who wields it. So far, all Emrys has done is use his magic to protect us. I say we assume he will continue to do so unless his actions prove otherwise."
"Well fortunately for this kingdom, what you say matters little."
"As a member of this council, my words matter as much as yours," if not more so, Merlin chose not to add.
"I agree with Merlin," Leon interjected before things could get more heated between the two. "You weren't there at Camlaan, Lord Caldor, you didn't see what happened. We were doomed until Emrys appeared out of nowhere and after saving us all, he just disappeared – never sought reward or even recognition. I have fought against magic my entire life my lords and dispensed the punishments meted out by King Uther without question. But if Emrys were to appear before me right now, I would kneel before him in gratitude for what he did that day. I and everyone in this kingdom owe him a debt we will likely never be able to repay but I'll be damned if I don't try."
"Here, here!" all of the knights echoed, Gwaine sneaking a wink at Merlin.
Caldor searched the faces of his fellow councilors but with the knights all backing Merlin, he was finding little support. Face still blazing with fury, he dropped the subject…for now.
As for the warlock, it was all he could do to merely nod at Leon's speech and not let the emotion he felt in those words blaze across his face. Sensing Merlin was close to tears despite his efforts, girl's petticoat that he was, Arthur decided to take pity on the man. "Your concerns are duly noted Lord Caldor, but I too find it hard to punish someone for saving my kingdom just because of the means he used to do it. But even if we wanted to, we frankly cannot justify the expenditure of resources on a manhunt right now, not with a kingdom to rebuild. So, let's move onto the more mundane topics of running this kingdom and recovering from this battle. I'm hoping we can adjourn early because we also have a celebration to plan and a noble to create."
The glare Merlin shot his way was enough to reassure Arthur his newest councilor wasn't going to burst into tears at any minute. As the conversation turned to more comfortable topics he could feel the shift in mood as the anxiety around his table started to abate. Clearly, his Advisor had been right, they had to approach the topic of magic slowly. But Arthur felt some progress had been made today and with Merlin now in his proper place at the king's right hand, he had no doubt the two of them would, one day, see magic accepted again. And then, Arthur fully intended his friend to finally get the recognition he deserved.
Fin