Chapter Seven
Twigs and leaves crunched under her foot as she walked through the trees. She'd been wandering for several hours, but she knew she was close. She could sense the magic humming in the air.
Sure enough, she soon stopped and stood still. She slowly reached up and lowered her hood. Someone here was bound to recognize her.
"You can come out."
At first, there was no movement, but slowly rustling came from all around her as half a dozen people stepped out from their hiding places. One man stepped toward her. "Anye," he greeted. She didn't know him.
"I'm here to see Kallen."
"Come with me, then." The man turned and led the way through the trees. One other man walked forward as well, the others melted back into the trees.
Anye followed silently. She didn't know any of these people. She didn't know where they stood or what they were capable of. The thought did not encourage her. But they would not harm her. Not as long as they really were loyal to Kallen.
They led her through several more miles of forest, then into a cave and through a series of tunnels. They left her in a type of chamber. It wasn't furnished, but someone had manipulated the stone to change its shape, offering several places to sit. Anye remained standing.
It wasn't long until a familiar, pointed face, framed with dark brown hair and a short beard, joined her.
"Anye," Kallen greeted warmly. "I am glad you came back."
Anye felt a now familiar ache in her heart. She had lost so many loved ones, both friends and family. Now, Kallen was the only friend she had left, but a wall had grown between them. She knew what he intended, and she knew she could not help him do it.
"I have not changed my mind," she informed him. She could feel the disappointment leak from him at her words. He had hoped she had come back to join them. "I will not help you destroy Camelot."
Kallen stepped forward, studying her face. "I do not understand you, Anye," he answered after his long contemplation. "Just two weeks ago, you were the one charging in to attack."
"And if you recall, you were the one warning me not to. Strange how so much can change in such a short time, isn't it?"
"That was before I knew that Emrys had turned on us."
Anye's eyes saddened. When she had come back, asking Kallen's forgiveness for her rash actions and telling him what she had learned, she could never have foreseen his reaction. She had told him how her earthquakes had been foiled, and that she had battled the person responsible, a warlock named Emrys.
As she spoke, she hadn't noticed Kallen's questions becoming fewer, or his answers becoming shorter. She had been too busy sorting through her own emotions.
She'd wanted Kallen to make sense of what had happened. She'd been hoping he would approve of her decision to leave Camelot at peace. After all, he'd made his opinion of her attacking Camelot quite clear before she had angrily left on her own.
What she got instead, was a deep, seething anger radiating from the druid by the time she finished her story.
Anye hadn't understood. She'd never heard of Emrys, but Kallen had. And the fact that Emrys was in Camelot, protecting the Pendragons, had angered him. The same realization that had softened Anye's heart had hardened his.
"Emrys hopes for magic's return, just as you and I do."
Kallen shook his head. "No," he said firmly, anger inching into his voice. "Emrys is not supposed to hope and wait. Emrys is supposed to fight. He is supposed to lead us."
"But why?" Anye demanded at last. He'd said similar things before, and she'd gathered that something about Emrys had been foretold, but she just didn't understand. "Why must he fight? You told me that we shouldn't fight. That we should wait and let destiny play out as it would. Why shouldn't Emrys do the same?"
"Emrys is not supposed to be a subject of destiny, he is supposed to be an agent of destiny. Destiny and fate act through him."
"I don't understand."
"No, you don't," Kallen agreed. "Because you're not a true druid, you don't know the prophecies."
"No," she spat, "I'm not a druid. So maybe you should explain it to me."
"We are not supposed to speak of the prophecies to outsiders."
Anye bristled. "And you consider me an outsider?" she hissed. "After the months I spent with your people? Aglain told my family we were welcome. We made our home with the druids," she reminded him, "and my family died with the druids. You and I have suffered so much together. Do you really consider me an outsider?"
He looked properly chastised, and some of his anger seemed to ebb away. "No, of course not, Forgive me."
"Then prove your words," she demanded. "What do the prophecies tell us of Emrys?"
Kallen hesitated for another brief second before giving in. "Emrys is supposed to be the one to lead us into a new era, one where magic once again thrives and we will no longer be persecuted."
Anye nodded slowly. She had figured that much out already. Even without knowing it was foretold, she already believed that Merlin would be successful.
"He is the most powerful warlock who will ever live. He will conquer armies, level mountains, and kings will kneel at his feet." Kallen eyed her meaningfully. "We are supposed to wait and have faith, he is supposed to be our conquering hero, ushering in the destined age of the Once and Future King."
"So wait," Anye answered immediately.
"We have spent centuries waiting, Anye!" Kallen spat. "Uther is not the first king who has persecuted magic, and he won't be the last. And all this time we've waited. When Emrys was finally born, the world shook," he informed her. "All the magic in the earth sang of his entrance into the world. And so we've continued to wait. Knowing that once he was old enough, he'd protect us. He'd save us."
"He still will," Anye touched his shoulder, willing him to believe her. "Just wait a little longer, and have faith in his destiny."
"Destiny has been altered before," he informed her. "If Emrys protects the Pendragons, he has betrayed us all. He is protecting our persecutors! If he will not liberate us, then we will have to liberate ourselves."
Anye shook her head. "No, Kallen! You were right. Attacking Camelot is not the answer. I should have listened to you, now it's your turn to listen to me."
Kallen looked at her sadly, with no intention of yielding to her pleas. "We attack in three days," he said numbly. "I would be honored to have you by our side, but no matter your choice, you will not change my mind."
"Kallen," she pleaded, eyes beginning to water, "I don't want to see you get hurt. You're…the last friend I have."
Kallen's grey eyes softened. His numbness gave way for a moment, and he finally reached forward and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "But I have to do this. I will not be alone," he assured her.
Anye felt the ache inside her intensify. She knew what she had to do. She'd already made her choice. Hearing the prophecies about Emrys only strengthened her resolve. But that didn't make this any easier.
"How many will you have with you?"
"There are eighteen of us ready to fight, and there should be ten more joining us before we attack. We may be going up against Emrys, but even he is just one man. I doubt he can fight all of us."
"Who are they?"
"Various people. Mostly druids who are also frustrated with the prophecies, from the various clans I was able to reach. Some of them are outsiders, who don't care about the prophecies at all, but they want Camelot to fall just as much as we do."
Anye tightened her hold on the man who had become a brother to her. "I'm sorry," she whispered again, the ache of her betrayal intensifying.
"It's ok," he kissed the top of her head. "I don't blame you for not wanting to get involved. But I can't just sit and wait anymore."
She didn't answer, how could she?
.~.
It didn't take Arthur and Leon long to come up with a suitable explanation to tell Merlin. So the official story went as follows:
An unknown elderly woman had approached Leon and told him that her son, while traveling, had overheard two men talking. They were dressed like druids, and spoke of meeting with some sort of group to attack Camelot. Before the son managed to sneak away, one of the men whispered some sort of spell and wood started collecting itself for a fire. The obvious conclusion was that these men were magical, and so the group they were meeting must be magical as well. Therefore, an army of sorcerers was preparing to attack Camelot…It was, of course, the only logical explanation. The woman had then disappeared and Leon had been unable to locate her or her son since.
It was a complete and utter lie, and all three of them knew it. But, no one need know that the others already knew that.
What had come as a shock to Merlin, however, was being told that Arthur had no intention of telling Uther any of this.
"What do you mean you're not going to tell him?" Merlin asked indignantly. The whole point of telling Arthur, after all, had been so he could hopefully do something useful. Like raise the army or something.
The summer breeze teased at Arthur's hair as he leaned against the stone parapet, looking out over the city. It was a refreshing change from the stubbornly still air that had hung around Camelot for the past few days. It was still hot, but at least it wasn't so stifling.
"What would telling him accomplish?" Arthur demanded. "You and I both know that our army will be as good as useless against a magical attack of this scale."
"It's better than nothing!" Merlin countered.
Arthur shook his head, looking pointedly at Merlin. "We don't have 'nothing,'" he reminded him.
Realization hit Merlin like a rock. And really, he should have seen this coming. "You expect Emrys to fight them," he said at last. Honestly. He was really becoming annoyed with Arthur's sudden faith in magic. It was proving to be just as much a hindrance as a help. "Arthur, he might be powerful, but he's just one man. You can't seriously expect him to fight off twenty sorcerers by himself."
"Of course I don't!" Arthur snapped, catching Merlin off guard. "He got hurt enough fighting just one sorceress!"
Something about the way he said it made Merlin remain silent. A long moment passed in uncomfortable silence, Arthur staring at him. Then he turned to look out over the city, white knuckles gripping the wall. Suddenly he looked very uncomfortable, and Merlin recognized that look. Arthur wore it whenever less-frequent emotions flittered through him—gratitude, shame…Worry.
"He scared me," Arthur admitted, and Merlin at last understood. Arthur had been genuinely afraid for him. There was another long stretch of silence before Arthur turned and finally looked at Merlin. "When he got hit by her spell…I thought I'd lost him."
"I'm sorry," the words were out of Merlin's mouth before he could stop them.
Arthur seemed taken aback for a moment. "What for?" His voice sounded just slightly accusatory, making Merlin silently curse his carelessness.
He shrugged casually, trying to disarm the potentially dangerous ground they were treading on. "That just…must have been difficult. But it worked out in the end, right? Anye left, and Emrys got away." A quirky smile twitched at his lips. "I don't think you have to worry about him too much. He's probably pretty good at taking care of himself, by now."
Instead of calming the prince, Merlin was surprised when Arthur seemed to grow annoyed. "No," he said firmly. "I don't care how good he is at taking care of himself, and I don't care how damn powerful he is! He is not invincible. And until he gets that through that thick skull of his," he prodded Merlin's forehead with his finger for emphasis, "then I'll worry about that idiot all I want!"
Merlin stared at him, the word ringing through his head. Idiot. Arthur had called Emrys an idiot.
Merlin had to fight desperately hard not to burst out laughing. This was the first time Arthur had said anything remotely…normal…about Emrys. And of all words to use, he had picked idiot—the same name he called Merlin on a daily basis.
And Merlin's heart felt lighter than it had since Anye warned him about the sorcerers. Maybe Arthur really was beginning to understand. The distant image of a powerful, omniscient sorcerer was fading. Slowly, Arthur was realizing that Emrys was an actual man. A human being with limitations, just like anyone else.
Idiot.
Merlin suppressed the near uncontrollable urge to grin.
But the memory of why they were here, and what they were discussing, soon wiped the almost-grin away.
"Ok," he said at last, "so if you don't want Emrys charging in on his own, what do you want?"
Arthur turned toward the city again with a frown, tapping his fingers on the stone. "Gather information, for now, I suppose," he answered at last. "We can't do anything until we know more about these sorcerers."
Merlin mentally checked that off his list already. Anye was out gathering information as they spoke.
"And…"
He didn't continue, making Merlin wonder if he really had something to add or if he was just thinking out loud. "And?" he finally prompted.
"These sorcerers…can we really blame them for wanting to attack us?"
Merlin started, but didn't answer. He had a feeling either answer would get him in trouble.
"They've been persecuted for so long…it's no wonder they're our enemies."
Merlin's heart thumped in his ribcage. "What are you going to do about it?" he asked, as casually as he could.
"I…can't do anything yet," he admitted. "My father's still king, after all. But…"
Merlin was very glad Arthur was still looking at the city, and not at his face.
But Arthur left the sentence hanging in the air, with apparently no intention of completing it.
"I should speak with them," Arthur said at last.
Merlin started again. "With the sorcerers?" he asked incredulously. "They'll kill you!"
Arthur turned to face Merlin again. "Maybe not," he countered, "if the right person sets up the meeting."
A/N: I hope you guys didn't mind seeing a bit from Anye's perspective. Normally I stay away from doing OC POV, I think the longest bit I've done before this was way back in ASG with Candun's brief introduction at the beginning, so this was definitely new for me. But it just seemed to fit here. That being said, I'm curious. Do you all like seeing OC POV? (Either in general, or with Anye in particular.)
