A/N: Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews! I couldn't do it without you guys :D (well maybe I could but there would be no point…) There will probably be one or two more chapters to this story, but I just decided to completely change the ending so I'm having to rethink a few things :D Enjoy! – if you do, please leave a review!
Merlin kept his eyes fixed firmly on Morgana. He couldn't look round, he just couldn't bear to see what they thought of him. Gwen, Elyan, Leon, Gwaine, Percival… Arthur. All his friends, and now they all knew him for what he truly was. Merlin dreaded how they would react.
"No! It can't be!" Morgana shrieked, though she could see the truth before her eyes. "Not you! You're just a servant!"
Merlin crossed his arms and scowled at her. "Why does everyone seem to feel the need to insult my intelligence? Do I look stupid or something?" Someone chuckled behind him.
"Yeah, Merlin, it's that scarf thing you always wear – it does strange things to people!" It was Gwaine. Merlin ignored him, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief that his friend didn't seem to be taking it too badly. He glared down at Morgana again.
"I'm giving you one last chance, Morgana. You could change… leave your hatred behind and live in peace. We were your friends once, Morgana, we could be again. But," he sighed, a sound of real sorrow, "if you won't, then I have no choice but to kill you." He met her eyes, hoping her pride would allow her to unbend enough to renounce her ways and let peace rein at last.
"I will never yield, Emrys!" she spat. Merlin's heart sank. "Not while Arthur is King! Can you not see that he is just like his father? He will kill you now that he knows who you are, just like he has killed so many with magic!"
The warlock could not help the flicker of fear that passed over his face. Morgana saw it and latched onto it, a smile returning to her lips.
"Leave them, Emrys. Let them die. Then we can bring magic back to this kingdom – we can bring the land to life once again! Isn't that what you want? You could live in peace, Emrys, never fearing for your life, never wondering who will hate you for your gifts and who won't. No more secrets, no more lies. You could – "
"Shut up!" shouted Merlin, unable to take it any longer. He knelt down in front of her, freezing her with a flash of his eyes. "There will never be peace while you live, Morgana. I believe in Arthur. He is the Once and Future King and he has a destiny to bring magic back to this land. Perhaps I will be there to see it, perhaps I won't. But these people are my friends – I will never betray them for as long as I live." A flick of his hand forced her down on the ground. Her eyes were wide and scared. She looked like a young and frightened girl again, not a woman who could kill without a second thought. He was surprised to find that his eyes were wet.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I tried, Morgana… I really did. I – It'll be quick, I promise." Taking a moment to gather his thoughts and his courage, he murmured a few careful words. "Goodbye," he breathed as her eyes drifted closed. After a few seconds, he straightened up with a heavy heart, wondering how he would be received. He was met by thirteen pairs of eyes staring at him in shock.
Then Arthur spoke, his voice hard. "Arrest him."
A few days later
"All the rest of Conrad's men have been evicted from the city, my lord. It would appear that after Merlin – I – I mean, after the Lady Morgana was – er – killed—" the knight stuttered, staring at the floor and going slightly pink.
Arthur's face darkened at the mention of his former manservant. Merlin, he growled to himself. "That will be all," he scowled at the man, who hurriedly bowed and virtually ran out of the room. Merlin the traitor. Merlin the liar. Merlin the sorcerer.
"Leave me," he barked, suddenly hating the roomful of faces all staring at him with varying degrees of anger, hatred and curiosity. Nobody moved. "Leave, now!" he shouted angrily, banging his fist down on the arm of his chair. Everyone made a rush for the door – just, as Arthur belatedly realized, and it did nothing to improve his mood, like they had done when his father was angry.
"You cannot keep putting it off like this forever, my lord," came Leon's quiet voice. Arthur was about to order him to leave, but then thought better of it – it was probably a good idea to have a least one of his personal knights talking to him. "What do you mean?" he sighed.
"Merlin. I know you don't want to hear this, but he's been locked up in the dungeons for three days now, and you're going to have to deal with him soon," the knight replied. "It's not fair on him, and the others are only going to get angrier with you the longer you leave him down there."
Arthur was silent for a minute of two. Then he sighed resignedly again. "I suppose you're right, like always. Have him sent up here. I need to see him."
Merlin leaned back and rested his head against the wall. He was cold and it was dark, and his magic was just aching to solve these problems for him, but he wouldn't allow it. To use magic now would be to confirm his guilt to Arthur.
Arthur.
Oh, Arthur.
Merlin had never felt anything quite as gut-wrenchingly painful as that moment when Arthur looked at him with hatred in his eyes and commanded his men to take him away. Merlin had felt so betrayed, so disappointed in the King that he had been utterly speechless as they dragged him away. There were no words to describe how he felt now.
He sighed, gently rubbing his temples. Part of him had always been sure that Arthur would accept Merlin's magic, eventually. It would appear that was not the case.
It had been three days. Surely Arthur would decide what to do with him soon?
It was then that he heard the approaching voices, all very familiar. He stood up, clanking the chains as he did so.
"Arthur would kill me if he knew I'd let you come down here, you know that?" Leon.
"Yeah, and since when have we ever cared about what our darling King thinks?" Merlin frowned. Gwaine sounded bitter and angry, not his usual happy-go-lucky self.
"Oh, be quiet, the pair of you," came Lancelot's voice. He too sounded strangely uptight. "It's just round here, isn't it?" As they came round the corner Merlin hurried forwards.
"Gwaine? Lance?"
"Merlin, my friend! It's good to see you!" grinned Gwaine, although it looked a bit forced.
Merlin snorted. "What, because I'm in a cell as a convicted sorcerer? Ha ha, very funny." But he grinned too.
Leon looked rather grim. "I'm sorry, Merlin. Arthur wants to talk to you…"
Merlin's smile faded. "I thought that's why you'd come. Well, at least he's not going to leave me down here much longer, either I'll go free or I'll be dead by tomorrow morning." He chuckled humourlessly. Nobody laughed.
Lancelot stepped forward and met Merlin's gaze. "You know none of us wanted it to turn out like this." Merlin nodded. "Come on, then. Let's go and face the music."
They walked through the corridors silently. Leon was walking behind them, even though Lancelot, Gwaine and Merlin had all assured him that they were not going to try and make a break for freedom.
When they arrived at the huge wooden doors into the hall, Merlin stopped suddenly.
"If he – y'know—" he stared intensely at his boots and then looked up at his three friends in turn. "Just – I would never do anything to betray you. Any of you. Don't – don't forget that."
Lancelot clapped him gently on the shoulder. "We all know that, Merlin," he told the warlock quietly. "Me and Gwaine, Leon, Percival, Gwen, Elyan… In fact, most of us have stopped talking to Arthur completely." He glanced ruefully at Gwaine. "We thought it might help."
Merlin grinned weakly. "Well, thanks anyway, whatever happens." He stepped forward and the guards swung the doors open. But just before entering, he turned once more and frowned at the pair of them. "One more thing – don't come in, for goodness' sake. I can handle this on my own."
And he turned and walked into the room.
Arthur was lounging casually on the throne at the end of the hall, his eyes sharply watching Merlin's every move. The younger man stood with his head bowed, not saying anything. At last the king jumped to his feet and began to walk towards him.
"Well?" he barked. "What have you got to say for yourself, Merlin? Or should I say Emrys?"
Merlin's head snapped up, his eyes blazing suddenly, but his voice was still demure and respectful. "What would you have me say, my lord?"
Arthur met his gaze, and Merlin saw the full extent of the other man's betrayal and pain at last. "You lied to me," he whispered. "I trusted you, and you have lied to me since the day we met!"
"If I had told you, your father would have had me killed."
"You cannot know that I would have told him!" Arthur yelled. "I have shared everything with you – my feelings for Guinevere, my secret councils, hell, I even told you that I thought magic couldn't be all bad! And you repay me with what? Deceit, betrayal, lies!" He turned away sharply.
The fire left Merlin's blue eyes abruptly. "Do you still think that magic cannot be all bad?"
Arthur rounded on him, coming up close until their faces were almost touching. "How can you ask me that, after what magic has done to this city in the last few days?" he spat. "Magic is evil, Merlin, it corrupts people! It has destroyed so much, ruined so many lives… of course magic is bad!"
Merlin glared at him, the anger returning suddenly. "And where does that leave me, then, I wonder?" he hissed. "You are a king, you are royalty! What do you know about having to hide your true self every day of your life; about hating what you are and being able to do nothing about it? You thought you knew me, but your own sister would have been able to understand me better than you ever could!"
Arthur frowned. "What are you talking about? Of course you could do something about it!"
Merlin looked at him again, his eyes cold. "No, Arthur, I couldn't, because unlike every other sorcerer you have met, I was born with magic. It is part of who I am. I am magic."
Arthur was speechless for a moment, but then seemed to come to a conclusion. "But that still doesn't make any difference! You are a sorcerer; you practise magic within the walls of Camelot! You are evil!" He stalked back to the throne.
Merlin's face darkened. "Do you ever listen to anything I say, Arthur Pendragon? I don't practise magic, I am magic! I couldn't get rid of it if I wanted to! Morgana was right - you are a tyrant king, a cruel and unjust man, just like your father was!"
And Arthur turned with a murderous expression on his face, unsheathing his sword with a roar of anger. He ran towards Merlin, lifting the blade high, preparing to slash any part of the other man that he could get to…
A/N: I just wanted to apologise to any readers out there who like Morgana – I'm really sorry to kill her cos I love her character too, but to be honest I preferred her when she was good. Anyway, I really did try to think of a way that she wouldn't have to die, but it just wouldn't work out with the story, sorry
Also, this chapter has been beta-read by me so any mistakes are my own.
Please leave a review and tell me what you think! Did you like it? Constructive criticism welcome too!