A/N - Hey guys! I promise I didn't forget about you, I've just been really busy the past few weeks with final projects and hand ins. But after several sleepless nights (felt more like weeks) and a few crying sessions it is finished and handed in! So to celebrate here is the next chapter and the beginning of Part II of Broken Glass. I should be uploading a couple more chapters this week to make up for the short break and get back into the swing of things. Enjoy x

-x-x-x-x-x-

Part II

-x-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 11: Scaretale

The sun had barely broken the horizon when two horses journeyed out of the castle gates. Travelling would take them a few days, and the fewer people who knew of the task the better. Leon was left in charge with strict orders to declare that the King and the Princess were currently indisposed if someone came knocking.

Arthur and Morgana set off with Merlyn to the Valley of the Fallen Kings. Leon had originally been vocal about letting the two of them going without the knights, but Morgana had argued that the cave would only appear to them and while Arthur left him in charge.

The first day they were travelling, they went in the general direction that Giaus had remember from the legends. No one apart from Merlyn had ever sought out the place and made it back alive. Many got lost in their quest and died from starvation.

They stopped for the night in a small clearing. Arthur told Morgana to get some rest, and he would take first watch. He spent the night watching over the two people who meant most to him. Merlyn looked peaceful as she slept, but Arthur knew her mind was anything but. He could imagine the pain she had been put through, or even if she would want to stay in Camelot if their plan worked, if she would want to stay with him.

Arthur woke Morgana up just before sunrise, and after taking her moaning about him not waking her to take watch, they left to continue. On the second day, the horses stopped responding to their commands, and continued in their own direction. A glance between the siblings confirmed that they both suspected that they were getting closer. After a couple more hours of riding, the horses stopped with a cave in front of them.

"Wow. It's beautiful." Morgana commented as she dismounted the horse. She could feel her magic rising to her skin. She could feel the magic pulsing around the cave.

A murmur from his arms alerted Arthur that Merlyn was beginning to wake up. He panicked for a moment, wondering if she would freak out again. He carefully dismounted before taking Merlyn in his arms again. She nestled herself into his chest as he held her close. His body was exhausted but if it meant helping Merlyn then it would be worth it.

He started to follow Morgana as she began to make her way towards the cave entrance. "Morg, be careful." He warned her. He could feel the effect of this place, but his years experience told him to be wary.

Another person's presence caught their attention in the entrance of the caves. They both recognised her from their individual visits to the lake. She smiled warmly at them and looked down at Merlyn as she woke up. Arthur looked down and saw Merlyn's eyes open. He gently set her down on her feet, keeping hold of her until she had steadied herself.

"Freya?" Merlyn asked as she took in where they were. Last thing she remembered was crying in what she had hoped was the real Arthur's arms. She felt no fear when she looked at the man beside her or either of the women. Arthur was surprised to see that her eyes were not as red as they had previously been. Their glow had reduced, but it was still there.

"Merlyn. I am glad to see you." The woman in white smiled. "Arthur, Morgana, it is nice to see you both again. Come." She turned and made her way inside the cave, almost floating rather than walking. Arthur and Morgana shared a looked before Arthur helped Merlyn inside, grateful that she was not attacking him.

Entering astounded them. It was like nothing they had ever seen before. The crystals glistened, as the cave seemed to go on forever. They saw images playing in the crystals. Arthur's eyes were attracted to one which showed Leon stood in front of him with a nervous look on his face. Another was of Merlyn smiling as she watched a small dog running around in a field.

"You sought out the cave in hope that you would find some answers that would help Merlyn." Freya stated as she came to a stop and turned to face them, snapping Arthur out of his thoughts. She didn't wait for them to respond before she turned her attention to Merlyn. "Follow the path." She pointed further into the cave.

Arthur was reluctant to let her go, but he wanted her to get better. Merlyn looked back at him before she headed in the direction that Freya had pointed. Soon the siblings were alone with Freya.

"I have not introduced myself properly." Freya said as she motioned for the two of them to take a seat on a couple of rocks. "I am Freya, otherwise known as the Lady of the Lake."

"Will she be alright?" Morgana asked, looking in the direction that Merlyn had gone.

"In time, but I am afraid that what I can offer her is only a temporary fix." She smiled sadly.

"What did they do to her? Why are her eyes red?" Arthur asked, trying to learn everything he could in order to figure out a way to help her, or to at least take away some of her pain.

"With magic, there is a limited amount that each person can use at once. This is determined by how strong the person is to whether they can control it. All the magic can be accessed when the person is in grave peril, and in great need. Merlyn was tortured to try to access that part of her. They pushed her past her breaking point, releasing her core magic. Now it is unstable because she can not contain or control the power that she has." Arthur looked confused at her explanation. "Think of it as a wall. Each time she uses magic, she opens the gate and lets a fragment through each time, enough that she can control before she closes the gate. Each time, the gate gets a little bigger, allowing her access to more powerful magic as she grows stronger and learns to control it. When she is in trouble, her magic reacts. It is like the gate is continuously open until the threat is passed and it can then shut once more." The siblings nodded, figuring out the example. "What has happened to Merlyn is that the whole wall has been destroyed and there is nothing to hold the full force of her magic back."

"How do we put the wall back up?" Morgana asked.

"I am afraid that you can't." She smiled sadly. "I can only temporarily try to block some of the power, but it will not be enough. She must learn to control it and not allow it to control her. If she allows that to happen then she could go mad with power and has the potential to destroy everything we know." Arthur couldn't even contemplate that Merlyn could be a threat that he could potentially have to fight in order to save his people. "For now I can help her to regain control when she feels herself slipping but it is closely linked to her emotions. If she feels threatened or angry then it is more likely that her eyes will go red and her magic will be uncontrollable. If she is to get past this, then she will need you. Both of you."

They stayed in silence for a while, taking in the words that Freya had told them about Merlyn's magic. It actually made sense, but Arthur was worried about the consequences of what might happen if she couldn't learn to control it. What if he had to make a decision between Merlyn and Camelot? Could he really kill her to save his kingdom? What if the Kingdom rejected her if she could control it? What if they were afraid of her?

"You have many questions for me." Freya spoke, looking at Morgana who looked torn as to whether to ask what she was thinking.

"Merlyn once said that she was Emrys. Who is Emrys exactly?"

"Emyrs was a Goddess. She was the Guardian of the Dragons a long time ago, when dragons were respected for their beauty and flourished in a magic filled kingdom. The bond between the goddess and her dragons was unbreakable, making her the strongest sorceress in the land. She was well loved among her people and was respected for her gifts." Freya smiled as if she remembered the time.

"Centuries passed in peace, until a tyrant rose. He was a human who craved for the power that she held. He wanted the power of the dragons for himself and so created a group of men and sorcerers to take the power from her. This plot caused her to run. She ran for decades, avoiding those who wanted her power, but in that time there were more who joined his cause." She sighed. "Soon even those who once thought her sacred began to crave her power and her own kind began to hunt her down."

"There were still those loyal to her and after a time, she gave up running. She was saddened by the actions of both the humans and those of her own kind that she decided to ascend to a higher being. She gathered her group of trusted followers and spread her power between them. They were the first dragonlords. By doing this, her physical body died and it was laid to rest in the Lake of Avalon. There are those who believe that her soul and spirit rose and still watches over us today."

"So how did Merlyn get the power of Emrys?" Arthur asked curiously. Merlyn had explained a little of Emrys to him, but some things were still a complete mystery.

"There were ten original dragonlords. Emrys made it so that the power of the dragonlords would be passed to first born. However, if for some reason that a dragonlord died with no heir then the power would be released into the Lake, to await the day that Emyrs would return as it was foreseen by the Great Seer, Taliesin. There were a couple dragonlords left until they were killed in the purge that made Merlyn's father the last dragonlord. From the moment that Merlyn was born, she was special. She had the absorbed the rest of the dragonlords powers, which lay dormant until her father had been killed, as well as her own magic. When her father died, she inherited his power, which activated the rest her power. Even at a young age she was more powerful than most of the sorcerers." She explained.

Freya then turned to Morgana. "Now, Morgana. You have the gift of foresight." Morgana gulped. She was afraid of her power ever since Merlyn had been taken. "Do not worry, there was nothing you could have done to stop it." She smiled softly to her. "You have a great destiny for you are a descendant of Taliesin. He was a God of the old Religion, just like Emrys. He was able to see things that would come to pass centuries in the future. He foreseen the three of you being born."

"What does that mean?" Morgana asked. "What is the point in being able to see what will happen if I can't change it?"

"Destiny can not be changed, but it is what you choose to do that will reveal your fate." She explained. "It was destined for you and Merlyn to meet, but in what capacity was made by the choices you made and of those around you." Freya turned and looked at the crystal around the room. "Each of the crystals in this cave shows outcomes that can happen. The power that you possess, Morgana, can allow you to discover which will come to pass." Freya explained. "One day, you will come back here and you will predict events that will happen for centuries to come, but for now, you are not strong enough. You had dreams as a child, but grew out of them. Now that your dreams are back, your powers will become stronger."

Freya then turned to Arthur, knowing that he had questions too. "What was it that you did to me in the Lake?" Arthur asked. "Why can't I be affected by magic?"

"There is a prophecy of the Once and Future King. Have you heard of it?" She asked, turning her attention to him.

"I've heard the dragon say it before."

"There was once a man, human. He defended his home and his people with such an effort that the Triple Goddesses deemed him worthy of a power to be bestowed upon him. He was given the power to repel magic directed upon him in a time where magic was used for terrible things, and in time he could control the power to repel it against other people as well. His name was Excalibur."

"The power of Excalibur.." Arthur murmured, remembering her words at the Lake.

"Yes. There was a tyrant King that rose, threatening the land. He had an army of sorcerers that were loyal to him, and would fight to their dying breath. Excalibur took it upon himself to stop him and protect the people of the land. He wanted to bring peace to the land. His blade was touched by a dragon's breath, making it able to kill any form of magic. His fight ended in the final battle. He killed the King and sacrificed his life to save hundreds of people and it brought peace to the land. When he died, the power was absorbed back into the earth and the sword melted by a dragon to be forged again in the time of the once and future King. It was foretold that you, Arthur Pendragon, would be the Once and Future King, defender of the people. You will unite the lands and bring peace to the people."

"Why me?" He asked.

"You have been tested throughout your life, you just haven't known it. Before the power could be bestowed upon you, you had to prove that your intentions were pure and when you would risk everything to save Merlyn you showed that your heart was pure. The sword you possess will protect you just as you protect your people, until your dying day."

"Both of you have powers that you may not fully understand, but in time you will learn to embrace them, just as Merlyn must learn to control her power. They will help to guide you on the chosen path. Together you are stronger." Freya explained. "Now rest, you have a long journey ahead of you."

-x-x-x-x-x-

Let me know what you think x