Now we move past the episode rewrite into more interesting stuff.
All they could hear just for a moment was the sound of running water. They didn't hear Morgause's head hitting the floor, or her body toppling next to it. There was just the purity of water. Merlin lowered the sword and looked down at the cup of life. He hardly reacted as Gaius reached to grip his arm.
"Merlin?"
Then Gaius looked down at the cup and saw the water that had somehow appeared in it. He looked back up watching Merlin's jaw tremble. There was scuffling sounds from the far side of the room as Jonas helped Lancelot to his feet. Lancelot put his arm around the other knight's shoulders for support and they shuffled forward. Merlin bent down and scooped the cup of life up in his left hand, while he held the sword in his right.
"Merlin, what have you done?" Gaius asked as gently as he could, keeping any accusation out of his voice. Rupert held his hand out.
"Do you want me to take the sword, Merlin?"
Merlin shook his head, his hand tightening on the hilt. "I can't give it to anyone, I need to put it where no one will ever be able to use it again."
Instead he passed the cup to Gaius, who took it in both hands, cradling it. Merlin swallowed heavily, blinking slowly as he looked around.
"Get a flask or something, we need to get that to Olwen," Merlin said in a deceptively calm voice.
"Okay," Jonas said, not quite comprehending for a moment, then it suddenly dawned on him what Merlin was implying. He couldn't move too swiftly as he was still supporting Lancelot, but Rupert turned to do as was asked, and was brought up sharply as Morgana ran into the room. She looked around, she must have know what had happened when the army was destroy but her eyes fixed on her sister, seeing her on the floor, head severed.
The five of them froze, hardly daring to breathe as she ran forward, throwing herself on her knees, touching her sister's hair lightly, but not entirely comfortable doing so.
"No, no!" Morgana moaned. One hand went to the body, the other to the head, as if she could somehow restore Morguase by will. Merlin knew that was never going to happen. He couldn't move, seeing the grief on Morgana's face. Eventually, Gaius stepped forward towards the sobbing girl.
"It's over Morgana." He spoke in the same soft tone he has used on Merlin. They all heard her take a sharp intake of breath.
"No, you're wrong," she said looking up, hate radiating out of her eyes. "This has just begun!"
And as she started to scream the room shuddered around them, and Merlin a melancholy expression on his face raised his hand.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxX
The knights walked out into the courtyard, looking around. They hardly talked, instead they supported the injured ones and carried the two dead knights carefully. Arthur came out last of all, Gwaine and Leon hovering close by. Uther refused to acknowledge any of them, his entire focus on Arthur, clinging onto his son as if he was the only solid thing in the world. Most of them reflected that Arthur probably was at the moment.
Arthur could feel the weight of his father against him, the arm over his shoulder and the other hand gripping tightly to his chain mail. Arthur didn't talk much either, other than to murmur reassuring platitudes on occasion. Uther's grip tightened every time he heard Arthur's voice, which reassured the prince a little. There wasn't much else he could think of to do, an entire army had just been suddenly vaporised. They would now have to deal with the aftermath of Morgana's reign. Arthur didn't think Uther was in much of a state to do that. It was going to fall to him.
Before he worried about any of that, he looked around, searching for one person in particular. Merlin had obviously done what he needed to do, but Arthur wanted to make sure he was all right. It had been asking a lot of his somewhat emotionally fragile friend to do what he had to. Essentially Merlin had destroyed an entire army. Arthur didn't think for one minute that assuring Merlin they were dead already would do much to soothe his conscience.
Arthur breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the group slowly walk out of the castle, raising his eyebrows a little as he saw Gaius with them. Lancelot was still being supported by Jonas and Gaius was hanging by Merlin's side, a very subdued looking Merlin. As they came down the steps Arthur frowned.
"Where's Rupert?"
"Looking for something, Sire," Gaius said. Arthur frowned and left it at that for a moment. Instead he looked at Merlin.
"Are you all right, Merlin?"
"Yes, Sire," Merlin said in a soft tone. Arthur frowned. Merlin was most definitely not exhibiting his usual behaviour. Most of the time when things worked out, he was happy, and grinning. Arthur sensed Uther raise his head, looking around, registering who was there. His grip tightened on Arthur and the prince got a hint of why Merlin might be so subdued. He was face to face with the king who wanted to execute him. However, Uther didn't react other than to look around, he didn't even seem to register Merlin's presence.
As the awkward silence became uncomfortable Rupert broke it, running out with a wine skin, pouring red liquid out of it while he ran, splattering it across the steps. Merlin flinched. Arthur felt tempted to try and reach out to him, but he both his arms were around Uther's waist, as he tried to slacken the grip Uther held on harder, tensing in panic. On seeing that, Gaius put a hand on Merlin's arm.
"What are you wasting that for?" Gwaine asked Rupert. "We need to start celebrating."
Rupert paused by the group, holding the skin out to Gaius. Then he glanced back at the mess he had made. "Will it matter if something's been in it?"
"No," Gaius sighed. Rupert held it out and Gaius very carefully started to pour the liquid from the cup to the skin. Arthur tensed a little, until he saw the clear liquid draining from the cup.
"What's that?"
"Water from the cup of life, for Olwen," Gaius said.
"How did that happen, don't you have to…?" Arthur started, his eyes on Merlin, but Lancelot pulled himself from Jonas' grip and leaning towards Arthur murmured the situation as succinctly as he could. Gwaine was close enough to hear as well, so Lancelot acknowledged him with a quick glance as he talked. Arthur glanced at Merlin again, further comprehension crossing his features.
"Merlin?" Arthur said, making Merlin's name a question in itself. Merlin looked up, blue eyes filled with trouble. He was still clutching the sword, as if he didn't dare put it down. They were interrupted again as Leon came over.
"I'll get as many knights and soldiers out around the town, just for reassurance."
As he spoke Leon glanced in the direction of the archway that led out of the castle. A few of the braver citizens, who had been in the market trying to pretend that everything was normal, were creeping through to see what was happening. They became bolder as they noticed the knights moving freely around the courtyard, and they froze as they saw the small group clustered by the castle steps.
Despite his notoriety, none of them actually noticed Merlin. Instead they focused on the king, and who was supporting him. They all gaped, and whispered a little, not daring to say anything as they realised what had happened. The only reaction of note was the boy who had scooted away from his mother and weaved his way through the crowd to get to the front, and see what was happening. He looked around in awe, having never been in the courtyard before, but he knew who the king was, and he knew, even more, who Arthur was. He was always seen walking around the town, heading out on patrols and just always making his presence felt. The little boy's eyes widened and he yelped loudly, and excited grin on his features.
"It's Prince Arthur!"
Everyone turned at the sound of the voice as the little boy piped up. He didn't wait for a reaction from anyone there. Instead the boy turned and weaved expertly through the legs of the adults around him, running out into the city, yelling in excitement as he ran towards his worried mother.
"It's Arthur, it's Arthur!"
"I don't think we need to worry about spreading the word," Gwaine commented.
"No, the news will spread quickly; I'll send some of the knights out to confirm it, and just to let them know that things will be dealt with in due course."
Leon looked to Uther, and then to Arthur. Arthur nodded.
"See to it, get the household staff to change the furnishings and tidy up. Just get everyone busy," Arthur said. Leon nodded.
"Yes, Sire."
Arthur nearly off-balanced as Uther roused from his trance-like state, as he tried to stand on his own. He wavered and Arthur took a tighter grip.
"Careful father."
"Maybe we should get him inside," Gaius advised. He handed the now full skin to Rupert. "Take that, get it to Olwen!"
Rupert nodded. Jonas passed Lancelot over to Percival who helped his friend hobble away to the guard room where the other injured men were being taken. Gaius would get to them, but the king had to be his priority. Putting him to bed and giving him something to make him sleep was Gaius' best option.
"Let's get the king to his chambers," he advised. Arthur nodded, walked a few paces and then paused, turning to Merlin.
"Come on, Merlin."
Merlin frowned, looking lost for a moment, and he lifted the sword still in his grasp.
"I have to put this somewhere safe."
"We can get it into the vaults, with the cup. It will be safe there."
"No, I need to do it. I'll go and deal with it."
"Take someone with you, Merlin."
Merlin shook his head, looking like a child who was refusing to go to bed. Arthur looked torn. He had to deal with his father, but he couldn't leave Merlin. Gaius was starting to see the same problem. Gwaine, seeing Arthur's expression, took over and he stepped forward.
"I'll look after Merlin; you just deal with what you need to."
Arthur looked grateful and nodded. "Thanks Gwaine, just keep him out of trouble."
"Morgana!" Uther suddenly said. "Where's Morgana?"
Gaius put a hand on Uther's shoulder as Arthur led him upstairs.
"She's sleeping, My Lord, it's the best thing for her for now. And you too, you need to get some rest, Sire."
Merlin watched them go, biting down on his lip. Gwaine watched him as Arthur walked away. It hurt Merlin a little, Gwaine thought, that he was not Arthur's top priority. Not this time anyway, it had to be Uther. If nothing else, Arthur was the only person Uther had. Merlin had a little more. But the four knights had gone running off to aid their friend and Elyan was with them to fetch Gwen. Gaius had to deal with the king as well. Lancelot would have been there if he could. Gwaine guessed it was just him for now, who could be there for a pale, fragile-looking Merlin, who had, truth be told, done all the hard things.
"Merlin?" Gwaine said. He wasn't going to bother asking if Merlin was all right. It wasn't worth the effort. Instead he asked. "We need to take the sword somewhere, is that right?"
"I do, I need to put it somewhere safe, where no one can get it."
"And the vault won't do?"
Merlin shook his head.
"Could you return it to the lake?" Gwaine asked. Merlin frowned.
"I guess, I'll go."
"I'm coming with you," Gwaine said as Merlin turned to walk away. He stopped dead and turned round, shaking his head.
"No, you can't, no one can know where it is."
Gwaine sighed, reaching up he put his hands on Merlin's shoulders and then changed that to cup Merlin's chin, looking into his eyes with a steady gaze.
"Merlin, even if I follow you at a discreet distance, I am going to go with you. You are in no state to be on your own. And I swear I will never tell anyone what you do, not even Arthur."
He watched something spark in Merlin's eyes, they brightened a little. "I could just escape you, you know that."
Gwaine smiled. "I know, I just don't think you should. And I doubt that Arthur would appreciate me leaving you to your own devices, not after what's just happened. I won't tell anyone what we do. You trust me, don't you?"
He felt Merlin's head move up and down against his hands, his eyes still troubled, but he looked a little more like himself, which eased Gwaine's worry a little. As long as he could keep Merlin with him, and reassured, then he'd get over this, like he had everything else.
"Come on, let's get to the stable and see where it takes us."
XxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Gwen kept Olwen's cold hand in her own. All she could do was hope, and there were only a few strands of that for her to cling to at the moment. She looked at the knight's pale skin. There was no doubt he was dying, but he was fighting it with everything he had. He woke every now and again but he was weaker every time. It broke Gwen's heart as he opened his eyes and realised it was only her there. She didn't mind that. He appreciated the company, but he wanted his friends, the ones he had been without for months and the reunion had been so bittersweet. Gwen watched as his eyes flickered again and then opened.
"Pretty girl," he said as he saw her. It made Gwen smile.
"There's still nothing. I'm worried."
Olwen smiled and reached his other hand out to pat hers. It took him a few tries to find the right place, his eyes were so opaque.
"They will be fine, they know what they are doing. You'll be safe until they come."
"For both of us," Gwen said. Olwen smiled.
"Not me, I'm sorry you're stuck here Gwen. This wound isn't going to heal itself is it? I knew that the moment I got it. At least I made it to the others, thanks to your friend. If you didn't love Arthur, I'd advise you to marry Lancelot."
Gwen smiled. "If I didn't, I might have taken that advice."
"You're a good girl, and pretty. We all used to think so."
"Olwen!"
"Well, we did," he said with a smile. "Although, we couldn't say that in front of Leon, he used to be so protective of you when we talked about girls."
"My mother was a maid in his household, we grew up together. He was always like that."
"I'll miss them, if you can, once you're gone."
Gwen tightened her grip. "You're not going to miss anyone, and no one is going to miss you."
"Thanks," Olwen coughed.
"I mean you are going to be fine, you'll be…" Gwen stopped. Olwen rolled his eyes, he was hoping for a little more than that, even if she was just trying to sooth the situation. But Gwen turned her head, she would have risen to her feet, but she didn't want to release Olwen's hand. Someone had to be holding it. The clatter of feet was loud, moving fast and she relaxed as her brother ran into the room, closely followed by the others.
"Elyan, oh, it worked."
"Yes, it did," Jonas said, pushing Elyan aside. The four knights ran to Olwen, who looked up.
"Rupert!" Jonas snapped as he knelt at Olwen's head. Olwen's eyes rolled up, but he groaned as Jonas lifted his shoulders, and he sagged back. Gwen looked shocked.
"What are you doing?"
"Sorry Gwen," Jonas said, pushing her away as she tried to stop him. Elyan pulled her back, holding her shoulders as she knelt by Olwen's side. Jonas tilted Olwen's head back, making sure his mouth was open. Rupert pulled the stopper on the skin and looked at Jonas nervously.
"Get it down his neck now!" Jonas ordered. Gwen watched as Jonas pinched Olwen's nose closed and angled his head so the water Rupert poured went down his throat. Olwen started to choke, but his throat worked by reflex. Droplets of water spilled out from his mouth, but most if it went in and Rupert put a hand to Olwen's chin and slammed his mouth closed so all of it went down. Olwen coughed and a trickle ran out of his nose.
"What are you doing?" Gwen yelled. But she didn't stop them. The knights clustered around Olwen as Elyan lifted her onto her feet and a little out of the way. They all stared at the prone man on the bed, all of them practically holding their breath as he lay back and gasped. Then slowly, his breathing steadied and they watched as the waxy tone of his skin slowly brightened, the sickly sheen fading away. After a moment Olwen opened his eyes and looked up, his gaze clear.
"When did you guys arrive?" he asked.
"Just now," Jonas said, putting a hand on Olwen's damp hair. "How do you feel?"
"Okay, better than I did. Did you just do something? Ow!" he added as Gareth carefully lifted the bandage to look at Olwen's wound.
"It's healing."
"Is it? That medicine was good," Olwen said. Jonas gave him a light cuff around the ear.
"It's not medicine, its water, from the cup of life. Merlin got it."
Olwen smiled, his voice getting stronger as he said. "Good old Merlin, I always liked him."
They all glanced up as Gwen gave a sob, tears running down her cheeks and she realised Olwen was, somehow, miraculously, going to live.
"Oh, thank heavens for that," Jonas said as he looked at Gwen.
"For what?" Elyan asked.
"I'm going to look less stupid," Jonas said as he gathered Olwen up in his arms, put his face into Olwen's hair and a sob burst from his body. Gareth, Robert and Rupert huddled closer and did very much the same thing. They all snorted with laughter as Olwen's muffled voice announced.
"If you guys were girls, this would be even better."
XxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Leon took four men into the throne room, to remove Morgause's body as per Arthur's instruction. Then they were to take Morgana to her chambers. Arthur had mentioned it, almost as a sudden thought. His sister was somewhere, the one who had done this. They were told she was sleeping. That was the way Merlin described it. But they all froze as they looked at her.
She looked, at first glance, as if she was floating inches above the floor, her hair tumbling over her shoulders and her arms resting over her torso. Very slowly Leon stepped forward and the sunlight radiated in streams of rainbow lights as it reflected off the crystal that surrounded Morgana. She wasn't floating, he realised, she was encased within crystal. He looked down at her. Morgana's eyes were closed, her face peaceful and her body relaxed. He looked around the room. One of the pillars had collapsed and the plinth where the cup of life had been placed was on its side.
The men behind him shuffled about tentatively. One of them leant down, putting his hand against the crystal, feeling the solid form for a moment, and other knight tapped on it gently.
"Careful!" Leon snapped as the man recoiled at the light, bell-like sound that rippled out. They all stepped back again, unsure what to do. Leon couldn't help but feel a deep shred of relief. The revelations of Morgana's true nature had been a shock to them all. She had hidden that dark side of herself so well. He didn't know what they would have done, if they had been forced to face her now. Merlin had spared them that, and saved them from having to take any action. Neither Arthur nor Uther would want to have to execute her, but for what she had done that was the only punishment. Leon wondered if Merlin was trying to protect her from such a fate. It was the one that Merlin himself should face, but that seemed unlikely to happen.
The knight who had touched the crystal first put his hand back again, resting it lightly on the side of the structure.
"What's it feel like?" another of them asked.
"Warm," the knight said. "And it's vibrating."
Leon frowned. He moved beside him and placed his own hand on it, close to Morgana's shoulder. The crystal trembled under his hand in a slow steady rhythm which, after a moment, he recognised. It was the steady movement of a heartbeat. Morgana was still alive, literally sleeping within the confines of the structure.
"What do we do with her?" the man with his hand on the crystal asked Leon.
Their first plan was to move her to her chambers, but it seemed pointless to take her there and lay her out on her bed. Leon looked around for something close to inspiration. As he turned to the doorway he looked beyond it.
"Get that table," he ordered pointing at the large piece of furniture that was set against the fall wall of the corridor, and move that plinth," he added. The cup of life wasn't going to need it. That item was making its way down into the vaults, secured where no one would be able to use it.
The men scurried around to do as they were asked; only speaking when they needed to give hints and instructions. One cleared the debris away from the main space in the room and Leon went to help the others manhandle the heavy wooden table into the room. They struggled and groaned under the weight of it and had a mild battle to manoeuvre it around Morgana's sleeping form without disrespectfully passing it over her, or with them accidentally kicking at the crystal as they passed. Despite everything, she was still the king's ward and still a lady of the court. They couldn't change some habits; she was to be treated with respect.
Eventually they got the table into position. Leon looked at it, the surface was well polished, but stuffed and worn with age.
"We need a covering."
Again they looked around for some inspiration.
"Hang on," one of the men said. He pointed to the banner on the wall. Morgana's banner, one of many she had hung throughout the castle. They reached up and drew it off the rail and spread it out across the table, setting it so the tree symbol on it occupied the central point, smoothing the material down so there were no wrinkles. Then they turned to Morgana. They had to pick her up. Leon paused, feeling a little nervous of that. None of them would ever admit it, but they were all a little frightened of her. She had been so callous, and vindictive, as she had tried to break them. Moving furniture was fine, but now they had to move her. Leon took a breath, he couldn't afford to display any lack of leadership. He moved around to Morgana's head and slowly the other four men took position around her, crouching down to get their hands under the crystal to lift her.
Despite the thickness of the crystal, they found it surprisingly light. They lifted her off the floor without any trouble and took her over to the table to set her down. The table was, Leon realised uneasily, of a perfect size to accommodate her, almost as if Merlin had made it in such a way. The men backed away swiftly, leaving Morgana alone in the sunlight streaming through the windows. It made her almost glow as the light reflected off her prison.
"Hold on," one of the knights said turning. He went over to the far corner, picking up what looked like a ragged scrap of material. As he shook it out the rest of them realised it was the Pendragon banner that had been yanked off the rail, when it was replaced with Morgana's. He held it up and tried to brush it down, shaking off the dust and dirt until it looked fairly reasonable. Then he stepped back to the table and very carefully draped it over the crystal so it covered Morgana's lower body, and he arranged it so the dragon stitched onto it was in view to anyone who entered the room. He made sure it was straight before he stepped back again.
"She is a Pendragon after all," he said, sounding a little uncomfortable as he looked at her, still looking peaceful and seeming to shimmer in the light. Leon said nothing, not wanting to comment on that, or anything else, including what Merlin had done. Instead he backed up, and the others took the hint, getting out of the still and silent room as fast as they could. Leon closed the door and turned the key, sending the men on their way.
He paused and looked at the door for a moment before carefully pocketing the key, his next port of call Arthur, so he could hand it over to him and explain what they had done.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Gwaine didn't talk as he rode beside Merlin. It was quite clear the young man didn't want to say anything so Gwaine didn't try to force it on him. Instead he looked around at the scenery as they rode, taking in where they were going, because Merlin clearly was not. He was just running on instinct, his only thought the disposal of the sword. For a while Gwaine assumed Merlin would just go and toss the weapon back into the lake, but he had taken a sudden sharp turn so they were heading in an entirely different direction.
Gwaine went along, just waiting, watching Merlin's troubled face as the expressions changed. His mind was running over events, going through what had happened, and there was nothing Gwaine could do. He found it a little frustrating. If he could put his sword to the troubles in Merlin's mind there would be no problem, but this could not be fixed that easily. Merlin had not been himself since their trip to the Perilous Lands, when Gwaine had met the band of exiles and then joined them. Outwardly Merlin had seemed fine but there had been subtle changes to his behaviour. He had been quieter, sometimes surly and he was feeling the responsibility of separating Arthur from his kingdom.
To his credit, Arthur never, openly or unconsciously, blamed Merlin. He had made his own decision. He could have stayed, letting the others get away, but he had chosen to leave. It troubled Arthur sometimes, when he heard news and gossip about Camelot and if Merlin realised Arthur was troubled, it bothered him. At least now they were in with a chance of getting back on track. The problem of Merlin's death sentence had to be addressed, but that was likely to be the last thing on people's mind after the last few days. Arthur wouldn't let it happen. Gwaine himself wouldn't let it happen.
He yanked on the reins, not realising Merlin had suddenly stopped. He dismounted and dropped the reins. Gwaine swung his leg over and dropped down, gathering up the reins of Merlin's horse and following him until he dropped down a sharp incline. Merlin paused in the clearing and Gwaine stopped where he was, looking at the quiet place, sunlight filtering through the canopy. It reminded him, it was still only early in the morning. It seemed like much later, so much had happened. There would be an awful lot to get through today.
Merlin stopped in front of the stone in the centre of the clearing and Gwaine frowned as he watched Merlin unwrap the sword. It glittered brightly, more than any other sword that Gwaine had seen before. When Merlin had brought it back from the lake Gwaine had been a little intrigued, but more than anything the sword unnerved him. He was inclined to agree that the damn thing should be lost forever.
The sword shivered with magic. It was subdued a little when Merlin had it wrapped up, but it was there in the back of his mind. He could feel it, pressing into his thoughts. There was no real sense that the sword was alive, but the magic in it was strong and it reacted. It was a sword, it moved with its wielder. The dragon was right, in the wrong hands it was a terrible weapon.
When it was first used, all it sensed was anger. Uther gave it that. Not just his anger at the knight that might have taken his son's life, but the anger that lived within him. It was a fire that would never die, and the sword sensed Uther's loathing of magic, and the hate strengthened. The dragon was right, in Uther's hands it was a terrible weapon.
Now it didn't feel hate, it felt necessity and pain and horror, things that were too closely linked to the original emotion. But it wasn't the only thing it had heard, and picked up on, and that chord ran through it, as it tried to find the source of why it needed to know that. Merlin turned the sword, deeply linked with the magic while he carried source of it. It was why he didn't dare pass the weapon to anyone else. He alone had to put the sword to rest, where no one could take it. Unless it was needed again. He had to trust the sword to the one thing that Merlin did truly trust.
He raised it over his head, angling it so the blade would strike the stone as he dropped it. Merlin's eyes flashed with power, and he held the one thought in his head that he truly knew, and he bound the sword to the stone with that thought.
'The one who wields me, will never do so unwisely.'