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Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin
Chapter 8 - Found
Lancelot wandered all night long and still no sign of Merlin. It turns out that tracking a flying creature was harder than it sounded, especially when said creature blended in with the darkness and didn't leave any marks on the ground. When the sun rose and he was deep in the Darkling Woods, the knight decided to go back and try looking for his friend on the opposite side of the forest.
By the time he got there, it was already past midday - still no Merlin. No matter, Lancelot refused to give up. Merlin would never give up on us, he thought to himself. This fueled his determination and he promised himself that he would find Merlin before the sun set.
So, you could imagine Lancelot's joy when he came upon the clearing where he found his friend leaning against a tree, exhausted, but still alive.
"...Lancelot!"
"Merlin!", the knight almost yelled before running to his tired-looking friend. He was relieved to find the warlock safe. Seeing that he was topless, Lancelot rifled through his bag and tossed him his spare shirt. Even though it wasn't his size, the young warlock gladly took it (after all, beggars can't be choosers).
"Thanks Lancelot"
"It was nothing" the knight said before grabbing something else out of his bag. "Here, take it. I'm sure you're famished". Merlin smiled, took the bread and began eating it, now only realizing how hungry he really was.
The knight sat down by his friend and they sat in silence, the only sound being Merlin chomping away at his food. "Lancelot, what are you doing here?" the warlock asked once he was done.
"What am I doing? I was looking for you all night. Gaius and I were worried about you, especially after..." Lancelot trailed off, remembering the curse. He looked at his friend, only to find him starring guiltily at the ground. After sighing deeply, he asked, "What do you remember from last night?"
"I remember...everything. The burning pain in my shoulder, the dark magic coursing through my body, the darkness consuming me..." he began. His eyes widened in horror, "I couldn't control myself. I couldn't stop it! I..I...did I hurt Gaius?"
"No Merlin. Don't worry, Gaius is unharmed, as am I". At this, the young warlock sighed in relief. He put his hands to his eyes to hold back his tears. Lancelot, seeing the fear and frustration in his friend, put his hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner.
"What's wrong with me Lancelot? I feel so helpless right now."
The knight frowned. Merlin was always the optimistic one of the group. For him to feel this way...well, it wasn't good. "Gaius and I did some research. It seems like you have been bitten by a creature known as a were-wyvern."
When Merlin looked at him, clearly confused, Lancelot continued to explain everything they knew about the curse. This resulted in another moment of ominous silence, both men taking in the information and the gravity of the situation.
"I guess there is only one thing that I can do. I have to leave Camelot for good" Merlin said, smiling sadly at the knight.
"What? No! There has to be another way. We will find a way to lift the curse!" Lancelot said determinedly.
"Lancelot, if I stay, I'm a danger to everyone. There's nothing we can do and..." Merlin began, but Lancelot wouldn't hear any of it.
"NO! I refuse to believe that. There has to be a way!"
"Lancelot, it's fine. I'm not important compared to..."
At this, the knight stood up angrily. "No. Just stop it Merlin! Don't say another word." Lancelot exclaimed angrily. "How can you say that? You are just as important as the rest of us. No Merlin! Just for once, would you please think about yourself instead of Arthur, or Camelot, or anyone else for that matter." Merlin was left speechless and the knight took this as his cue to continue.
"Everything you do, you do for others, never once taking your own well being into consideration. And I know you said your destiny is to keep Arthur safe, but...but... but why does it always have to be you?" At this, Merlin smiled sadly.
"You're a kind soul Merlin. You have all this power, all this magic at your disposal and use it to protect the ones you love. You live the life of a lowly servant and constantly put your life on the line to defend the same people who would sentence you to death the instant they discovered your magic - and still you ask for no recognition".
"So don't say that you're not important Merlin, because you are to all of us. And that is why I cannot sit here and just give up on you - because you would never give up on one of us. We will find a way to break the curse, you can count on that" Lancelot said with conviction.
Merlin was touched. He knew Lancelot always looked out for him but he didn't know that he felt this strongly about the matter. Though he was happy to know that he was appreciated, the warlock knew deep down that it was going to be hard to find a way to break his curse.
"Lancelot, I.." he began, but was cut off by the rustling of the bushes. Both knight and warlock were left in shock when the blonde figure stepped out from the shadow of the forest.
"Ar..Arthur..."
Arthur searched for Lancelot and Merlin for the remainder of the day. It was by some miracle that he found what he presumed to be Lancelot's trail. Not questioning how he missed it or the fact that this could be potentially dangerous, Arthur quickly moved his tired horse to follow it. It was lead to the Darkling Woods.
By the time he found Lancelot's horse alone, tied to a tree, the sun was beginning to set. Being the skilled hunter that he was, the prince tied his horse next to the other and followed the trail through the bramble. A couple minutes later, he saw a clearing with two figures talking with one another on the ground. It was Merlin and Lancelot - he found them at last!
At this point, Arthur's plan was to stroll in, poke fun at his friend to hide his worry (though he would never admit it), and bring them home where he would demand to know why they left Camelot (and where the hell Merlin was this morning).
However, destiny has a funny way of bringing things together.
As the prince drew nearer, the conversation his friends were having seemed to be getting tense. Instead of barging through in a prattish manner (as Merlin would call it), he decided he would rather listen in. Great, I'm starting to sound like Merlin, he thought to himself. When he was close enough, Lancelot decided to abruptly stand and hover over an exhausted-looking Merlin.
"No. Just stop it Merlin! Don't say another word. How can you say that? You are just as important as the rest of us. No Merlin! Just for once, would you please think about yourself instead of Arthur, or Camelot, or anyone else for that matter", the knight yelled.
This is starting to look interesting, Arthur thought to himself.
"Everything you do, you do for others, never once taking your own well being into consideration. And I know you said your destiny is to keep Arthur safe, but...but... but why does it always have to be you?"
At this, the young prince scrunched his brow in confusion. Merlin thinks it's his destiny to keep me safe? The idiot can barely keep himself out of trouble let alone 'keep me safe', whatever that's suppose to mean. Yes, he knew Merlin was loyal to a fault, but he just figured that it was a misplaced sense of duty. And he's your friend, a little voice in the back of his head reminded him.
However, it was the first part that worried Arthur. He knew, to some extent, that Merlin was a rather self-less man. In fact, he was the most self-less person he had ever known. The way Lancelot said it made it seem like Merlin took the word 'self-less' to a whole new level - a rather unsettling one.
"You're a kind soul Merlin. You have all this power, all this magic at your disposal and use it to protect the ones you love..."
Time seemed to stop as the last of these words came from Lancelot's mouth. Merlin has magic? Merlin has magic! The prince stayed there, mouth hanging in disbelief and anger. Magic was evil, but neither was his friend...or was he?
Had all this time been a lie? Had Merlin wormed his way into the prince's good graces to simply use him, or was there a genuine brotherly bond between them? What made all of this worse was the fact that his best friend had lied to him. Arthur had already felt the sting of betrayal when he found out about Morgana's treachery. To find out this way that Merlin had magic just hurt too much.
Arthur passively listened to the rest of what Lancelot had to say. Despite what the knight said about Merlin's self-less loyalty, every time he glanced at the warlock, all he saw was the man who had lied to him for many years.
Arthur decided that the time had come to confront the two men once and for all. Standing up tall, the young Prince of Camelot marched into the clearing. It was time he got some answers.
There it is, the BIG REVEAL (or at least the beginning of it). I was actually writing this chapter while watching the Merlin movie with Sam Neil (yes, smiles like fan girl). XD
Next time will be a Arthur-Merlin 'confrontation'. Like always, please drop a review.
Until later,
-STL13
