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So Arthur has his letter, does Balinor have his?


Chapter 12

Merlin wasn't too happy when the servant ran in to tell him that an emergency council meeting had been called and both him and Morgana were required to be there. They had dressed quickly and made their way to the council chamber. As he sat there, waiting for the last of the council to turn up, he knew that he wasn't going to like whatever his father had to say.

"Uther has … basically called war on Drugonia. He seems to think that we are holding Arthur prisoner as well as Morgana." Balinor said.

"He wrote to me as well," Arthur admitted. "My letter will take a couple of days to get back to him. His letter told me to bring Morgana home. Only now I understand that she is home."

Merlin couldn't stop his mouth curl up into a smile. He felt so proud of how far Arthur had come, from being an arrogant prat to someone that he knew he could have an alliance with.

"Do you mind tell us what his train of thoughts has been for the past couple of months?" Balinor asked Arthur.

"I know that he has sent a number of men to cross the border and bring Morgana home. They have also been given a number of different tasks as well, including the … assassination of both you and Merlin. I was not involved in these meetings but as soon as I knew that they were happening, I tried to do everything in my power to stop it from happening."

"You sent those notes," Merlin stated.

Arthur nodded. "You must have all made the right impression on me. Plus I know that once Morgana had an idea in her head, she wasn't going to let it go. It is the only reason I knew that she would more have likely come willingly to Drugonia rather than being kidnapped."

"Father, has Uther declared war or is it just like a final warning?" Merlin asked.

"I wouldn't put it passed my father to go to war over this," Arthur commented.

"That is the last thing that is going to happen," Balinor said. "I know that Drugonia's forces would easily crush Camelot's, purely because we can call on the dragons. But that is the last resort. I will not have good men dying for an unjust cause."

"This is my wife we are talking about. The dragon's choice for me. I know I know nothing about warfare and I know how against war you are, but…" Merlin started.

"We have to send Morgana back to Camelot." One of the councillors said.

"No." Both Morgana and Arthur said at the same time.

"Balinor, I can't go back. Not now." Morgana said.

"She is right. He has gone to all this trouble to try and get her back but I wouldn't like to know what would happen if my father knew about her magic. If he didn't kill her, then he would surely lock her away. It would probably end up causing more problems than it could solve." Arthur argued. "You might just go to war because my father believes that you have enchanted her to have magic or something like that."

"Merlin, your thoughts?" Balinor asked.

Merlin turned and looked at Morgana. She shook her head at him.

"You promised." She whispered

"Arthur's right," Merlin said, standing up. "It is too dangerous for Morgana to go back to Camelot. Uther has gone to all this trouble to get Morgana back, so I don't think he would kill her because of her magic. But she is only halfway through her training. She would have to keep up her training in Camelot. We know that she can control her magic because she is surrounded by people that accept her.

"Father, we send her back to Camelot and I fear that what Killgharrah told me will come true. We send her back to Camelot and, as Arthur has said, it might lead to war anyway. This is Uther we are talking about. The man that was going to happily accuse me of poisoning Morgana when I, in fact, saved her. We can't send her back to Camelot."

"We can't be going to war over love." Another of the councillors said.

"I might be young. But isn't that why you go to war?" Merlin asked. "You go to war because someone is threatening the person or place you love. You round up the troops because you hope that they will fight for what you and they love. You go and fight to keep your love ones safe. There are many villages between Camelot and Drugonia and, not trying to think the worse of Uther, do you not think he will want to make a point? If Uther comes to Drugonia, we have more to lose than he does. We didn't follow him in the great purge. What happens if he wishes to finish what he started?"

"We can't have our people put at risk."

"Then I will return to Camelot with Arthur," Merlin said.

"No. I have saved you from Camelot once before, I will not do it again." Balinor said.

"And I can't allow Morgana to return. Give me to Uther as a way of calming it down. Anything happens to me, the same will happen to Morgana. It will mean that Uther wouldn't try anything stupid."

"And Morgana isn't the heir to the Drugonian throne."

"And without her, the Wyllt family will end with me. I am not going to abandon her." Merlin sighed. "Imagine you were being asked to do the same but it was Mother. I don't think you would let her go. You'd do whatever it took to keep her in Drugonia."

Balinor sighed, knowing that his son was right. He wouldn't send Hunith back South and so he couldn't ask his son too. He knew that Arthur had a point as well but he could tell what his council wanted.

"Please excuse me. I need to consult the dragon council."