Chapter 6

Arthur put another stick on the fire. He mulled over Igraine's revelations. His mind spun over her words. Merlin's a Prince and a sorcerer? People actually want to legitimize sorcery? And what does she mean by this new order? He shook his head. It isn't that hard. We should all be able to get along. Merlin can just see to everything and….

Merlin….

He sighed. But Merlin won't any more. Will he? He rolled his eyes. How did that idiot do it? He must have cast a spell over Mithian. Maybe it was something in that meal he brought to her? Maybe he put some sort of condition on the necklace? He snorted. Merlin wouldn't do that. He cares too much about the state between Camelot and Nemeth. So…could it have been Mithian? He curled his lip as if he'd eaten a sour apple or worse. She knows how important her place is. She….

No more than yours is, Arthur Pendragon, a familiar voice advised telepathically.

Arthur jumped to his feet. He wished that Excalibur was by his side. "Morgana? Come out!"

"Morgana is nowhere near here." Balinor walked into view. "Once again, we're forced to speak. I pray you're as noble as Merlin believes you to be."

"Balinor? Now you?" Arthur considered the deceased dragon lord. "You look as you did at the cave."

"I am as I was when you last saw me. I have better places to be than with a Pendragon. I am here for a purpose." Balinor looked him in the eye.

"You're going to tell me to deal with Merlin's situation? I am still his liege lord." Arthur frowned. "Wish I knew when Merlin learned magic."

"He was born with it, Arthur. He's used it in your service. As he used his other gift," Balinor told him bluntly.

"Other gift? You aren't talking sense!" Arthur disputed.

"Poor Arthur. You've been deceived because of Uther's foolishness. Merlin, besides being a sorcerer and a Prince, is a Dragon Lord. He drove the Great Dragon away from Camelot," Balinor revealed. "Before you ask, he received that gift from me upon my death."

"Upon your….?" Arthur mulled over that point. Following their encounter in Cedric's kingdom, he'd studied from Sir Geoffrey's book on the dragon lords. Given that such people passed their gift from father to son according to the text, he'd thought the dragon lords to be no more. Apparently he was wrong. "If he received your gift, Merlin…" He frowned. "That's rubbish! Merlin…Merlin can't…"

"There are many things you can't accept about Merlin today. Aren't there?" Balinor supposed with Sarcasm's air. He rolled his eyes. "Aye, Pendragon! Merlin is my son. Uther's knights hunted me even to Ealdor and beyond. I was in that cave to keep Hunith safe. Camelot's laws drove me to that point."

Merlin drove that creature away? Merlin? Really? How could he be a dragon lord? Then again how can he be a Prince and sorcerer? Arthur shook his head.

"Perhaps when you accept people on their terms, it isn't so difficult. Is it?" Balinor proposed. He sat down at the fire. "Believe it or not, I'm not here to berate you."

"It sounds like it," Arthur complained. "You want to convince me of Merlin's new status too?"

"If I'd known about Merlin, I'd have sent word to Rodor." Balinor glared at Arthur. "I was a knight of Nemeth. Merlin should never have had to endure a peasant's life or that of a servant. He is a noble born, Pendragon. As such, his marriage to Mithian of Nemeth is valid."

"Merlin's no noble," Arthur denied. "And again this marriage to Mithian? They can't…"

"And yet he charges into battle at your side with no hesitation. You yourself have said that all men are equals. Don't you believe that?" Balinor pointed out.

Arthur ground his teeth. "Aye."

"Then why didn't you make him a knight last year? He certainly fought hard enough. He's your most loyal castellan besides Guinevere. It would have saved him from proving himself as he has," Balinor put to him.

"Merlin? Proved himself?" Arthur guffawed. Incredulity clouded his thinking.

"By his own deeds and the law. That is if his birthright didn't make him a fit match. His time in Ealdor and in your service did prepare him well. For that, I thank you. Now it is time for you both to stand together as fellow royals," Balinor asserted. "It is time for Merlin to bring the dragon lords back into being once again. It is for you to stand beside him and support him."

"Support Merlin? Me? Balinor, wait a minute. I'm his King not the other way around," Arthur disagreed.

"You both are fellow rulers. You have your destiny. Merlin has his. It is for you to accept that, Arthur. Allow Merlin the support to emerge from the shadows and into his own light. Be a bigger man than Uther ever could be. Merlin has regard for you. Show why," Balinor continued.

Arthur shook his head. "I still can't see Merlin as a fellow ruler. And I suppose Morgana's a ruler too?"

"She is. She rules in Tintagel along with Accolon of Gaul. She is reforming herself and doing well at that," Balinor assessed.

"And you want me to accept sorcery and magical creatures?" Arthur inquired.

"Can you accept yourself?" Balinor eyed him with Skepticism's light.

"Accept…myself? I'm not a sorcerer, Balinor," Arthur insisted.

"Nay you aren't. You are a creature of magic however." Balinor saw Denial steaming forth from Arthur's expression.

"You're deluded, Balinor," Arthur groused. "I wasn't just wished up."

"Actually…Igraine wasn't capable of becoming pregnant without assistance. Uther pressed the Priestess Nimue to cast a fertility spell on Igraine. The spell made her able to conceive. You were born within the year following. She died so that you might live." Balinor exhaled sharply. "I know that's hard to hear. I…."

"Father never would've….!" Arthur denied.

"Uther does many things that suit his ends. Even if they fly in the face of his laws, he doesn't care. He wanted an heir. Nimue warned him about the consequences. He didn't understand the balance. Your life meant Igraine's death. The Calliech demanded as much. Certainly you've learned that much from Lancelot 's sacrifice?" Balinor continued on.

Arthur felt numb. He certainly remembered the gatekeeper's words to that effect on the Isle of the Blessed. Still for Uther to use magic to bring him into being before turning on it. "Then the Purge was from his hate?"

"Aye. Again I know it isn't easy to hear. Uther's malice has corrupted a great deal. It is for you to undo that damage. Merlin will stand beside you as he can. The wounds must be healed for Albion to flourish," Balinor noted. "Merlin asked me to keep this from you before. He feared Uther's retaliation and his own fate should you know about him."

"Merlin feared….my…?" Arthur narrowed his eyes once more. "I'd never!"

"Wouldn't you? You certainly showed enough times where you stood against my kind, Pendragon. I should say our kind. Ironic isn't it? You and he are brothers in more senses than one. Perhaps then you might just do the right thing? Affirm what's already in place. Stand with the others against the coming threat. Co-exist." Balinor gulped from a water skin.

Arthur shook his head. His mind, already spinning from the earlier revelations, now threatened to shut down altogether. Questions overwhelmed him.

To say he needed to think was an understatement….