Thanks for all the favs, follows, and reviews!
Chapter Six
The Prince's Chambers, as before
Arthur wanted to take Merlin and Lancelot and a handful of knights and just leave for a while. Gaius convinced him it was a bad idea. The witchfinder was already suspicious. After some discussion, it was decided that Merlin should serve Arthur at the evening meal. A number of guests were expected, and it would allay suspicion. This would give Derek and Lancelot the better part of the day to locate and temporarily remove any Dyfais from the large room.
Apparently no one bothered to ask the warlock in question about this plan. Merlin was terrified about being in the same room as the witchfinder, and what if Derek missed one of the devices? "Don't make me do this, Arthur," the dark-haired young man entreated. The prince looked at Gaius.
The physician was surprisingly unsympathetic. "It's necessary, Merlin. You can do this," Gaius said, sternly. "I suspect the devices will be malfunctioning," he added, with a chuckle. To Derek and Lancelot: "That's a large room. There are probably at least two devices. You must tell Merlin exactly where you found them for my plan to work."
Dining Hall, evening
Guests were standing around in scattered groups talking, prior to being seated. Arthur noted the presence of Lord Torr, one of his father's oldest friends. Would the noble present any problems? He thought not. It had been a while since the quest to free the firebird, and Lionel had not chosen to betray Merlin in that length of time. Beside Lionel stood his son, Justin. The latter was mostly listening as his father talked to the king. Who else was here? The prince scanned the room. He saw Geoffrey of Monmouth and a number of high-ranking nobles. Where were the witchfinder and his assistant? Turning, he saw the pair of them just entering the room. He was determined not to sit by either one of them. On the thought, he hurried over to where Justin was standing and grabbed him by the arm.
"Justin," the prince said, in an imperative manner, "Sit by me at dinner." It was not a request.
"Of course, Arthur," Justin said, agreeably.
Lord Torr looked curiously at Arthur, then noted the arrival of Tywysog and his nasty assistant, Mordwywr. Understanding dawned in his face. This evening looked to be another of Uther's unexpectedly entertaining dinners, although he doubted that anything could ever top the appearance of the goddess' daughter.
Sometime later after the king and his guests were seated and being served, Lord Torr looked across the table and saw Merlin standing beside Arthur's chair, pouring wine in his goblet. He was puzzled and a bit alarmed by the warlock's presence. It was his understanding that two of the witchfinder's devices were hidden in this room. Surely the crown prince was aware that - wait - he looked closely at Merlin. The boy seemed nervous but not in pain. As if aware of his thoughts, the prince turned his head and looked at him. Lionel gave a slight nod in Merlin's direction and looked a question at the prince. Arthur gripped his friend's lower arm for a moment which Lionel correctly interpreted as "we've got the situation under control."
Further down the table, Tywysog and Mordwywr were also watching the dark-haired servant of the crown prince and talking between themselves. It seems they were wrong. They cast several glances at a large statue on one side of the room and, turning in their seats, eyed an intricately sewn tapestry of a medieval hunt behind them.
The king and his guests were finishing up the main course when Lord Torr, feeling some shift in the room's atmosphere, looked up and across at the large tapestry on the far wall. Red mist was flowing into the room coalescing into a red dragon in all its terrifying splendor. At first it moved in silence, its wings unfolding, stretching out to their fullest length. Arthur and Justin, following the noble's gaze, turned in their chairs and watched. The prince held his fist to his mouth hiding a smile.
"Sir Leon!" the king bellowed. "Your men!"
The three knights guarding the entrance, Leon, Percival, and Elyan, drew their swords and rushed further into the room. They stood there awkwardly. They had no answer to sorcery.
Furious, King Uther looked to his right where his son still sat. "Arthur! Do something!"
"Do what exactly, Father?"
Lord Torr cast a surreptitious look around the room. Where was Merlin? He was no longer standing between his son and the crown prince and hadn't been for some time. He thought the boy was standing behind a large pillar, hidden from view. The horrified whispers in the room rose to a loud crescendo of sound. The guests seated across from him were looking at something behind him. He turned in his chair. White mist was flowing from behind a statue of a long-dead king. Constantine, he thought, inconsequentially. Like its counterpart opposite, the mist formed itself into a large fearsome dragon, this one white in color. The creature unfolded its wings in turn and, throwing up its head, let loose a loud, primal scream in challenge. The scream was answered by the red dragon and matched almost in volume by a number of dinner guests, several of whom then proceeded to drop to their knees and crawl beneath the long table.
"The dragons beneath Dinas Emrys," Geoffrey said, with scholarly interest. The historian was seated to Lord Torr's left.
"Shall we place a wager on which one wins?" Lionel asked, his lips twitching.
"The red dragon wins, of course," Geoffrey replied, seriously. "Remember Vortigern? The white dragon is the Saxons."
The two dragons screeched a further challenge to each other and flew together in mortal combat over the dinner table. Several of the dinner guests raced screaming for the door. Lord Torr made a mental note to himself never to miss one of Uther's dinner parties if he could avoid it.
An instant later, both dragons vanished, dissolved into swirling red and white bands of mist. Several of the guests cowering under the table peered cautiously out.
"I believe it's safe now to come out," Lord Torr told them in a bland tone.
Arthur turned to the king. "Father, weren't the two Dyfais in this room placed behind the statue and the tapestry?" he asked, as if he just thought of it.
Uther stared thunderstruck at his son, then further down the table at the horrified two men. Tywysog and Mordwywr sprang hastily to their feet, wildly contemplating a rush for the door.
"Sir Leon!" the king commanded, "Arrest those men!"
The three knights, happy to be able to do something, dragged the loudly protesting men off.
Lord Torr, meanwhile, was remembering how the expenditure of massive amounts of magical energy left the warlock depleted and weak. What they had all just witnessed - magic on a grand scale - had undoubtedly left the young man enervated. The noble had grown fond of Merlin on their journey to Drachenfels and was worried for him. He looked across the table at Justin. His son was too far away for a hasty tête-à-tête. "Justin," he said, chosing his words carefully, "You need to help Arthur."
Justin looked at him gravely. "I will, father."
Uther, glancing at his own son seated unharmed beside him, thought the remark a bit odd.
A hastily convened meeting between the king, several of his nobles, and the high council took place shortly thereafter. It should be noted that Lord Torr recommended the immediate removal and destruction of the Dyfais. The king wholeheartedly agreed.
Arthur, meanwhile, along with Justin, assisted one very tired warlock back to first his (the prince's) chambers then cautiously back to Gaius' chambers, careful not to stray into any unchecked corridors. If Uther noticed the late arrival of his son to the council meeting, he made no mention of it.
Sadly, Tywysog and Mordwywr were executed for the crime of, uh, sorcery.
The End
a/n: The title is taken from the quotation, "Having a family is like giving hostages to fortune." Although Merlin and Arthur are not related in the show (or this story), in some versions of the legend, Merlin is the child of Ambrosius Aurelianus, Uther's older brother and Arthur's uncle, making Merlin and Arthur cousins.