What if Uther had probed Gaius further on the whereabouts of the dragonlord Balinor?
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.
I am still amazed at the response to this story. Thank you all so much for you reviews, follows and favourites, it all means so much.
I do need to apologise for the slow updates. Hopefully after new year, I'll find myself with more time to write.
On with the chapter…
The son he never knew he had - Chapter 4
With that, the king left, leaving Balinor and Merlin to await their fate.
Arthur was so confused. After rushing to find Balinor, the Prince only now had time to sit down and think about all the things that had come to light. He was so conflicted. His father obviously viewed the power of the dragonlord to be close to magic. To be in command of such an ancient creature, it had to be, dragons were creatures of magic after all. Thinking logically, if a dragonlord possessed magic, it would only be too easy to assume that any children they had would also have magic.
Arthur didn't know what his father planned to do after the dragon was stopped. Knowing the king, anything close to magic was hunted and killed. What would happen to Balinor? To Merlin?
Merlin was the son of a dragonlord, and that meant there was a strong possibility he had magic. The question was did Merlin know he had magic? Had he always known? Had he been lying to Arthur all this time? Arthur had so many questions, but only one person could answer them, and he was down in the dungeons.
All Merlin and Balinor could do was wait for the moment when Uther came back. He had only been gone an hour. It was only a short amount of time, but it felt like a lifetime to the two people sat in the cells. The steady dripping of water on the damp dungeon floor was all they could hear; neither of them knowing what more to say to each other.
Footstep started making their way towards the two 'prisoners', distracting them from the awkward silence. Balinor immediately thought it was Uther returning, but Merlin would recognise those steps anywhere.
"Uth..." the dragonlord started, getting ready to face the King once more.
"No, Arthur."
As the blonde haired prince came into view, Merlin moved closer to the cell door.
Balinor stayed back where he was, leaning against the wall. He could tell the two boys on front of him needed to have some time to talk alone.
"Merlin….I'm…" the words would quite come out willingly, but Arthur forced them all the same, "I'm sorry this happened to you."
"Arthur Pendragon, apologising?" Merlin said, feigning shock. "I never thought I'd see the day."
"I don't think now is the time to be joking around, Merlin." The prince wondered of his servant could ever be serious when the situation was so grave.
"So does Uther know you're here?" the servant queried. Merlin highly doubted the King would have agreed to Arthur coming to see him. Arthur being exposed to magic was Uther's worst nightmare.
"I'm the prince, Merlin; I can do what I like." Arthur knew that wasn't quite true, but Merlin didn't need to know that.
"I think your father would disagree."
Balinor watched the two in amazement. How they interacted was not like the normal servant and master relationship. It was... well...odd. It was Prince Arthur and his servant, but it wasn't. It was friends, talking as if they were equal. There were no barriers between them.
"Merlin." said Arthur warningly. "I came here for a reason."
"I know." Merlin was not looking forward to this conversation. "What did want to know?"
"Do you have magic?"
'Well that was blunt' thought Merlin, 'Can't really escape that question." He didn't want it to happen this way. It was supposed to happen when the time was right. When Arthur was ready. "Um, well, yes and no."
"What's that supposed to mean? Either you have it or you don't."
Merlin knew this was going to be difficult to explain. "I don't have magic, Arthur, I am magic."
"I don't understand."
"I was born with magic, it is me! I don't have a choice in who I am."
Arthur just stood there in shock. "B...but, that's not possible." he stuttered.
"I assure you it is." said Merlin, "Just ask my mother." He added with a cheeky grin.
Balinor was sitting quietly, but hearing what his son was saying, it reminded him of a story he had once been told. A druid prophecy, about a warlock born with magic, who would be the most powerful sorcerer that the world had ever known. The one who would help the Once and Future King unite the lands of Albion and bring magic back to the land. It was Merlin, his son, and Arthur was the Once and Future King.
Another set of footsteps could be heard coming towards the dungeons. All three men turned their heads at the noise. Uther was back.
"Please, Arthur, please don't tell Uther." Merlin begged. "Please."
Arthur didn't know what to say. What could he say? His father was coming and he had just verified that his servant had magic.
Merlin backed away from Arthur as Uther came closer.
"Arthur, what are you doing down here?! You have duties to attend to." Uther reprimanded. It was dangerous for his son to be here.
"Of course, Sire." replied Arthur as he respectfully nodded and left the dungeons. He snuck a look back at Merlin as he walked away. He didn't know what to do.
Uther turned to address Balinor, who was still sat leaning against the cell wall. "Stand before your King!"
Balinor rose reluctantly, "You aren't my King, Uther."
Uther chose to ignore that comment, "There is just under an hour until the beat attacks," explained the King, "You are to taken to the clearing to the east of the castle, there you will deal with the foul creature."
As Uther finished his instructions, two guards who were guarding the entrance to the dungeons came over and proceeded to unlock the dragonlord's cell.
Balinor moved slightly back, "My son comes with me." he demanded, "I will not make the mistake of trusting you again."
Uther sighed in annoyance. "Very well, guards! Get the boy."
An additional two guards (who knew where they came from) entered the room, heading straight for Merlin. One hand manacles in his hands.
Merlin's wrists were already sore and bruised from his time below the castle, "Please, Sire. I won't do anything, I swear. You don't have to use those."
"Quiet, boy. You have no choice in the matter."
In seemingly synchronised movements, both father and son were removed from the chains attached to the cell walls and were quickly restrained by Uther's guards. Merlin found the iron digging in to his wrists even tighter than the previous manacles. It hurt.
Uther nodded his head at the exit, and Merlin and Balinor found themselves being roughly shoved through the hallways towards the courtyard, both of them hoping everything would be okay.
Okay, so I haven't read this through at all, but it's 10:30pm, I'm tired, and I really want to get something up for you guys. Please let me know about mistakes (or if it makes no sense whatsoever).
Hope you liked it!