Chapter 14

"Arthur, maybe your father has a point," Aria sighed, leaning against the wall next to the window. Arthur sat in front of it, carving the wall she was on with his dagger, an irritated look etched on his face. Uther had just sent Arthur to his chambers and put guards outside to keep watch so he wouldn't leave.

"And what point is that? Lock me up in my room like a goddamn child and monitor my every move so I don't run away?" Arthur grumbled, "I've done everything he's asked me to do. I follow all his orders without complaint. He should know better than anyone that I never break my promises. I don't deserve to be treated this way!"

"I know, I know," Aria soothed, "But he's not doing this just because he wants to. He genuinely worries, Arthur. You don't know what Morgause wants from you. For all we know, she's setting you up."

Arthur was silent. He paused on stabbing the brick wall and glanced up at the princess. "She knew my mother, Aria. That's something she can't set up."

Aria raised an eyebrow. Morgause knew Arthur's mother as well. For goodness sake, how many mothers did this woman know? Does she know Merlin's too?

"Why would she take you out of Camelot to tell you about your mother?" Aria brought up.

"She wouldn't have the nerve, not while my father's around. Any mention of my mother to the king and he'll dismiss the matter immediately." Arthur exhaled sharply. "I want to know, Aria. No, I need to know more about my mother. My own father refuses to tell me. I'll take any chance I can get to know about her, even if it seems suspicious."

Aria couldn't blame him there. She herself wanted to know everything about her own mother from Morgause even if she had never actually spoken to the woman before. Still, it was like her to fuss about it.

The two were interrupted by the sound of the chamber doors opening. Merlin appeared, holding a basket in his hand. "Why are there guards outside the door?" he asked, walking in.

"My father has confined me to my chambers," Arthur answered flatly, continuing to scrape the wall with his dagger, "AND forbidden me from accepting Morgause's challenge." Aria looked at him sympathetically. Granted she hadn't been with Arthur for long, but in the months they had been married, she was able to better understand Arthur's emotions and why he was the way he was sometimes.

"Well, maybe he has a point," Merlin said knowingly, putting the basket down on the table and picking up stray clothes thrown around the room. Arthur stopped playing with the dagger and shot Merlin a look. "You don't know what she would've asked you to do."

"I already told him that, Merlin," Aria chimed in, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Arthur looked at her before returning to his servant. He pointed the dagger at him. "I gave her my word. And what is it with you two? Are you both in sync, telling me the same thing?"

Aria held back a chuckle. "No, love, we're both just looking out for you." She glanced at Merlin who was fighting a smile as he continued putting clothes in the basket. He looked up at his master. "So I take it we're going anyway?"

Arthur was impressed. "So you are smarter than you look! Gather some supplies, we leave tonight. And Merlin? Find a way to get me out of here…"

Night had fallen and Arthur was preparing for his secret journey tonight. Forgetting about his armor, he wore only his chainmail. The only person witnessing this was Aria and the prince knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't say anything. But it wouldn't stop her from being so tense.

"You're pacing again," Arthur pointed out, watching his wife walk back and forth in front him. It was almost endearing, these little habits she had when she was nervous. Arthur had grown so used to them and it made her rather fond of Aria despite the earlier feelings of skepticism and doubt when it came to their marriage.

"Can you blame me?" she muttered. "What exactly am I supposed to tell Uther when he finds you aren't here? What if you get lost and can't find your way back? What if"-

"Aria, stop it," Arthur chuckled, getting up from the bed and halting her by her shoulders. "I won't get lost. Everything's going to be fine. My father won't suspect you at all. Now please stop worrying." He pressed a hand to her stomach lightly. "Not good for our baby."

She let out an exhale. "Fine, fine, I'll try… you better come back in one piece."

"I promise… I'll come back to you both in one piece." Arthur kissed her forehead lightly. She breathed out slowly. These moments with weren't frequent but they actually felt like they were husband and wife. Yet they never lasted. Although Arthur was growing fond of Aria, that feeling where he knew he was in love wouldn't stay long. It saddened him that most of the make-up of their marriage was simply because it was arranged. It made him feel worse now that he was leaving her but it was something that had to be done.

"I got the supplies!" Merlin snapped him out of his head and he saw his servant come in with the supplies in his hand. Arthur eyed him. Something was different…

"Merlin, is it my imagination, or are you getting fat?" Arthur remarked, pointing at the boy's figure. Merlin pulled up the hem of his shirt to reveal the rope wrapped around his body. Aria stifled her giggles. Arthur smiled, obviously satisfied. Brilliant, he thought, he never ceases to amaze me.

Arthur went to the window and turned to see Merlin unraveling the rope. He slipped on leather gloves and began practicing on pulling the rope correctly. Arthur felt a bit wary. Merlin was a skinny one, would he be able to support him? Nevertheless, he didn't protest and opened the window. A rush of cool night air drew in and he glanced down from the tower and into the courtyard. From this height, Merlin had better be careful.

The prince held the other end of the rope and rolled his eyes when he saw Merlin was still practicing. Now he was beginning to feel skeptical.

"Are you sure you're strong enough to hold him?" Aria asked curiously, tilting her head to one side and observing the boy. Merlin looked at her confidently. "Yeah, I'm stronger than I look!" The princess smiled and shook her head. Arthur sighed impatiently. These little exchanges between his wife and his servant were becoming a bit awkward.

He grabbed the rope and stepped out the window. Merlin got a firm grip and nodded once. Arthur shot him and Aria one last look before lowering himself down. Suddenly, he was speeding down at a rapid pace and eventually, he just hung there. He heard voices come up from his window and looked up.

"What are you doing? Lower the rope," Arthur whispered snapped.

"There is no more rope!" Merlin yelled. Of course…

"Do you need help?" Arthur heard Aria ask. "No, no, Lady Aria, don't stress yourself … I don't think I can hold on much longer!" Arthur heard Merlin grunt several times. He never should've believed that Merlin could hold his weight.

"Merlin, do NOT let go of the rope," Arthur ordered.

"Honestly, let me help you…" Aria offered and Arthur felt a shift on the rope. "But my lady, there is no more rope!" That was Merlin repeating himself. "Just walk forward a little, I'm sure he has a short distance to the ground!" That was Aria being a lot smarter than Merlin.

"Don't tell me Aria is a lot stronger than you are, Merlin," Arthur snickered.

"Is not!" Merlin exclaimed and Arthur felt movement on the rope again. "If you will, Lady Aria…"

"Merlin, no!" At that precise moment, the rope was released from the other end and Arthur fell to the ground… and into a pile of dung. Her turned his face to look up at Merlin and Aria gazing sheepishly out the window. I'm going to kill him, he thought to himself. First things first, wash the dung off his face then take out his frustration on Merlin. A nice long journey was enough time to do so.

Arthur and Merlin had been riding all night. By the time it was morning and the birds were chirping and the sun was blocked by the large mass of trees, Merlin was sure Arthur had no idea where he was going. The whole night, he had to endure Arthur taunting him about the fact that Aria was a lot stronger than he was. Well of course she was, she was a princess, must have had training at some point in her life! Embarrassed as he was, Merlin was grateful he was able to spend at least a few minutes with her in that room.

The two reached a fork in the road. The path separated into two ways and it was clear on Arthur's face that he didn't know which was the right way to go.

"Do you actually know where we're going?" Merlin broke the silence. Arthur pointed left and said "This way." He lightly kicked his horse on his side to get him to move but the horse whinnied, as if refusing to go. "Come on," Arthur urged but the horse didn't move. "What is wrong with this horse? It's even dumber than you, Merlin!" Merlin rolled his eyes.

The horse changed its course and began walking down the path on the right. Arthur looked about frantically. It was like the animal was deciding where they were going.

"Where are you going? I thought you said left!" Merlin called out.

"It's not me, it's the horse!" Arthur insisted. "Morgause told me that when the time comes, you'll know your way."

Merlin sighed to himself. "So the horse knows where we're going. Great." He followed behind Arthur, a fresh batch of taunts in his head. But he held back on them. No need to get them started.

"What if Morgause challenges you to do something you don't want to do?" he asked lamely. He knew Arthur, the question already answered itself.

"I'm not expecting it to be easy, Merlin, that's why it's called a challenge," Arthur quipped, riding ahead.

"So you'd do anything she asks you?"

"I gave her my word. It's a question of honor." Merlin had expected this answer. Honor, honor, honor. Something all too important to the prince.

"What if she challenges you to something even less honorable the breaking your word?" Merlin continued to question in a pestering manner.

"Would you stop rabbiting on?" Arthur barked. "We're in Odin's territory. We could be attacked in any second."

"I just think it's strange to agree to do something when you don't know what it is," Merlin pointed out, "rabbiting on" as the prince put it.

"One more word out of you, Merlin and you'll be taking the challenge in my place," Arthur said in an annoyed tone of voice. Before Merlin could say anything, an arrow shot out of nowhere and straight into the tree beside Merlin. His horse panicked and reared up, sending Merlin to the ground. Arthur leaped off his horse and grabbed his sword just as an armed man ran towards him. Merlin lifted his head off the ground to find Arthur fighting off more of Odin's men on his. A man ran to him and raised a sword at him but before Merlin could run off, Arthur had thrown a blade which dug into his back. As Arthur battled another man, the warlock looked up to find a knight in the trees with a spear in his hand. He muttered a spell under his breath and the spear turned to fire, sending the knight to the ground.

Arthur turned back to notice Merlin still on the ground. "Don't worry about it. I'll deal with this, you make yourself uncomfortably," he said sarcastically. Merlin exhaled sharply. There was no changing Arthur's mind about this no matter how many men ran out at them.

"Maybe we should turn back," Merlin suggested, "the woods could be full of Odin's men."

"You can go back if you want to. I won't stop you," Arthur said, not looking back at Merlin.

"You don't know anything about Morgause. You don't even know what she'll ask you to do. We don't even know where we're going, we're following a horse," Merlin pointed out.

"Morgause said she knew my Mother," Arthur told him. That shut Merlin up. No way could he say anything against it. He knew that no matter how much Arthur tried to hide it, he wanted so badly to know about his mother yet Uther never spoke about it. The only thing that was known was that Igraine, the late queen, died after Arthur was born.

The two stopped to rest and set up a fire. Merlin was silent for a while and so was Arthur.

"What was your mother like?" he asked.

"I never knew her. She died before I opened my eyes," Arthur replied solemnly, no hint of teasing in his voice.

Merlin nodded understandingly. It was strange, how he could connect with both Arthur and Aria and how they could connect with each other. Both had lost their mothers, though Aria had known hers for longer. He flashed back to one of his meetings with her when they both talked about his dad and her mom. She told him how despite what her mother had done, Aria missed her terribly. Merlin had told her how he had a vague memory of his father even though he never knew him, how it was probably just his imagination. Aria smiled at him and said that one day, hopefully they'd come back for them. It was a heartbreaking thing to wish for but some days, Merlin found himself hoping.

And right now, he found himself wishing he was back with her, in their clearing. He missed that so much.

It had been difficult, but Aria had to act like she had no idea that Arthur had escaped the chambers. She innocently acted as if she'd been asleep the whole time and had not heard the two sneak out. Uther was absolutely furious, sending out a search party and going out of his mind in fear, wondering what on earth Morgause wanted out of Arthur.

He wasn't alone. Aria was worried herself. She had been uneasy, waiting anxiously for Arthur and Merlin to come back from their trip safely without so much as a scratch. She tried to busy herself by spending time with the Lady Morgana but only that brought on more things to think about. Aria had just noticed Morgana was wearing a bracelet that Morgause had donned during her stay. Aria didn't question it up until Morgana mentioned her nightmares had stopped and she was finally starting to get a good night's sleep. She showed Aria the bracelet and fresh new worry started up in her.

About two days after Arthur and Merlin snuck out, Aria looked outside her window to see them riding back into the citadel. Overjoyed, she went down to greet them, relief washing over her. Just as she stepped out, Arthur had handed his horse to a guard and took his sword. "You're back!" she called, running up to him. "I was so worried about you, I thought you'd been lost"-

"Not now, Aria," he muttered, brushing her aside and striding up the stairs towards the castle. Aria stared up at him in disbelief, just noticing the stone cold look on his face. She was at a loss for words. She looked to Merlin for an explanation but he looked back at her with a similar expression, only this one was much more knowing.

"What happened?" she asked quietly, "Why is he angry?"

Merlin didn't answer, couldn't answer her. She turned to walk back up the castle when Merlin stopped her. "There's something you need to know." She looked at him, puzzled. He led her away from the public.

"What's going on? Is everything alright?" Aria asked. Merlin was silent, looking down as if thinking. Aria stood behind him and she reached out and touched his arm. "What happened with Morgause? What did she do to Arthur?"

He turned his head to face her. "Aria, you have to promise me you won't tell Arthur I told you. Don't even bring it up unless he does. Promise?"

"I promise, now what is it?" Aria sighed.

Merlin took a breath. "Arthur was born out of magic."

Aria's heart skipped a beat and her body froze. The look on her face was unreadable. "W-what?"

Merlin hurriedly explained what had happened with Morgause and by the time he was finished, Aria didn't know how to form coherent words. "This is… this is impossible. How could he be born out of magic? You know Uther's feelings towards it!"

"Aria, Uther used magic," Merlin said, his tone rising a few octaves as he went on, "All those people he's executed, he's as guilty as they are. He sacrificed Arthur's mother!"

"I can't believe this," she murmured, feeling sick and dizzy at the same time. This whole time, this whole time… now she knew why Uther had banned magic. He killed Igraine using it and out of his grief and guilt, decided to outlaw it and pursue those that practiced it. "He as good as murdered her."

"People should know the truth about what he's done," Merlin declared, turning his back to her and taking a few steps. "How could Gaius not tell me... how could Uther not tell Arthur?"

"Merlin, I'm as shocked as you are," Aria spoke up, "But do you really think Uther would tell Arthur? Uther was too afraid of him."

"And afraid he should… afraid of what Arthur would do once he found out," Merlin snapped bitterly. Aria closed her eyes and exhaled before opening them. This was so much to take in one day. It explained why Arthur had stormed up the stairs and most likely heading to see the king- Aria widened her eyes.

"Well, he's found out now!" she exclaimed, grabbing Merlin and leading him back up the stairs. "We have to stop him, Merlin. Who knows what he's going to do?"

"Aria, stop running! It's not good"-

"Not good for the baby, I heard it before!" Aria snapped, "But excuse me, my husband is about to kill my father-in-law, I've a right to run!"

They ran as fast they could to the throne room to find the doors locked and Sir Leon standing outside, guarding. Merlin stopped her and headed for the door but Leon pushed him back. Merlin went again but Leon grabbed him. "The king has forbidden anyone to enter!" he yelled.

"Leon, open this door!" Aria commanded.

"They're going to kill each other!" Merlin shouted. Something came over Leon and his eyes widened. He turned back to open the door. "Stay outside, Aria," Merlin ordered and for once, Aria didn't protest. She stood beside Leon as Merlin ran in.

"Arthur, don't! I know you don't want to do this!" Merlin yelled. Arthur had his sword pointed at Uther's chest, just an inch away from killing him. Aria cupped her hands around her mouth, her heart beating fast, her breathing heavy.

"My Mother is dead because of him," he yelled.

"Killing your Father won't bring her back," Merlin reasoned, "you've already lost one parent. Do you really want to lose another?"

"Listen to him, Arthur," Uther pleaded. Arthur shushed him by pressing the sword closer to him.

"Arthur, please put the sword down," he told him.

"You heard what my Mother said. After everything he has done, do you really believe he deserves to live?" Arthur demanded, "he executes those who have magic and yet has used it himself. You have caused so much suffering and pain. I will put an end to it all. Merlin, get Aria out of here, I don't want her to see this." Aria felt tears spring up in her eyes. He was going to do it… he really was going to do it…

"Lady Aria, you should go," Leon murmured but Aria stayed in her spot, begging Merlin to stop this in her mind. She wouldn't dare leave. If she witnessed Arthur killing Uther, then he was not the man she thought he was.

"Morgause was lying," Merlin said suddenly, "she's an enchantress, she tricked you. That was not your mother you saw, it was an illusion This has been her plan all along. To turn you against your father. And if you kill him, the Kingdom will be destroyed, this is what she wants. Arthur, you can't give her what she wants." Thank God for you, Merlin. Thank God…

"Swear to me it isn't true," Arthur said, the sword still pointed at his father. "You are not responsible for my mother's death. Give me your word."

"I swear to you, that Morgause's words were false," Uther spoke, "I loved your mother. Not a day passes that I don't wish she were alive, that we could be a real family. I could never have done anything to hurt her."

Aria knew right away that what Merlin had said was a lie. But when she heard Uther, she knew that the grief he felt was true. He didn't know that Igraine would die in the hands of magic and he never intended for her death. Arthur dropped his sword, tears in his eyes. He collapsed to his knee. "I'm sorry," he choked, "I'm sorry."

"You are not to blame, my son," Uther soothed, reaching for him and kissing the top of his head. Aria realized she was witnessing one of the most touching moments between father and son. It was all too much to take for her that she barely noticed Sir Leon quietly telling her to go back to her chambers. She let him lead her there but she walked in alone. Rose was in there but she told Rose to leave. Aria needed to be alone. Her stomach was killing her thanks to her running and given what had just happened, the silence was needed.

The events of today swarmed in her head and replayed over and over. The true nature of Arthur's birth, Arthur moments away from killing his own father, the fact that he got to see his own mother… Morgause had the power to show Arthur his mother, even for a few minutes. And yet she would not tell Aria where her own mother was. Aria felt so angry towards Morgause for causing so much chaos, she felt herself hating her.

When Arthur walked through the chamber doors, Aria rose from her seat slowly and they stared at each other for what felt like hours. The princess was rather proud of herself for not completely letting her emotions go when she had seen the exchange between Uther and Arthur. But when he went for her and she ran into his arms, the two shamelessly let their emotions free.

A/N: Goodness gracious, possibly the longest chapter I've written so far… and ending so dramatically! It's not as exciting since it's my own personal spin to Sins of the Father but I hope you enjoyed it anyway! So this is a sad chapter but not THE sad one and that's the one coming up. And speaking of, Team Merlin, rejoice! Merlin/Aria is going to be stronger than ever starting next chapter. Not so good news for Team Arthur, means way less Arthur/Aria action… please continue reading and reviewing! Chapter 15 is on its way. Cheers!