Hello there! And sorry, again, because I know - I totally fail at this. Seems like we're kind of stuck at the every-two-weeks updating thing. Ugh. I really do try, but my schedule keeps insisting on being terrible and so...yeah, excuses. I'm sorry. I guess another reason is that I've recently finished watching the Daredevil series on Netflix by Marvel, which is SO SO GOOD but also very graphic so watch out if you're interested, and so I've been drowning myself in fanfiction for that show. Seriously, that show is probably the best series I've ever seen. Not to betray Merlin or anything, but...the quality is just perfect. So. I'll probably get around to writing fanfiction for that soon, but only after finishing this! Or something. Anyway. Enjoy!

EDIT 1/30/16: I made a minor edit to this in order to open up to the next chapter better. Literally just three more lines at the bottom as well as a little addition to a paragraph a few lines up. If you really want to be completely up to speed, then just re-read the last page or so. =)

Chapter Twenty-One: Judgement

The whirl from that last of magic took a moment to fade – the leaves on the ground still sifted around in a vague circular motion, not sure where to go. Arthur stared at them, feeling too shocked to do anything other than preserve the silence that filled the clearing.

Damn it.

He lifted his head to glance around steadily, taking note of its appearance. Elsa was crouched on the ground a few feet away, her arms wrapped around her knees, as she rocked slightly, her eyes shut tight. Arthur looked away quickly, because the sight of her was far too conflicting. Too many labels. Sorceress, enemy, help, friend?

Merlin was still sprawled on the ground, propped up on his elbow as he watched Elsa with a sad and worried expression on his face – still far too pale for Arthur's liking. Idiot.

A few paces off, the knight were all gathered in an extremely uneasy group, seeming unsure that the danger was actually over – their swords were drawn, and they shot sharp glances around at the surrounding forest. Arthur shook his head slowly. Is the danger really over?

And then, of course, there were the lingering traces of the battle that had gone on between Elsa and Dezyra – a truly terrifying match. The roots that had grown to entangle themselves around Arthur and the knights lay dead and withered; meanwhile a faint and rapidly melting dusting of snow and crushed ice gave the ground a whitish tint. Undeniable evidence, even if Arthur had had the faintest urge to deny that Elsa was actually a sorceress. As if.

The thought caused a sudden wave of frustration to well up inside him. Damn it.

He stood up stiffly, turning again to cast a glance at his knights – they all met his eyes with their wide ones, silently asking for direction. Arthur swore again, under his breath, and then quickly knelt down, grasping Merlin's arm and heaving the frail-looking man to his feet.

Merlin swayed on his feet, breathing deeply, and turned to look at Arthur with wide, uncertain eyes. "Arthur – how did –?"

Arthur let a heavy breath escape through his nostrils, meeting Merlin's eyes with a flat stare. "Are you alright?"

Merlin blinked, his face seeming even paler, if that were possible. Arthur felt a twinge of guilt – he just almost died, go easy – but his frustration overrode that emotion. "Uh – yeah, I guess – er, I'm fine." Merlin stuttered, ducking his head. His right arm hung loosely at his side, and Arthur observed his fist, clenched and shaking.

Fine. Right.

"Then get over there with the knights. We're heading back to Camelot."

Merlin didn't move. "Arthur – what are you going to –?"

Arthur clenched his jaw, turning to Merlin with flashing eyes. "Merlin. Do you think you could just do what you're supposed to? For once?" The servant recoiled slightly, frowning; Arthur continued his rant in angry exasperation, knowing that he'd probably regret it. "You do realize what you've done? If I didn't know better, I'd have to say that you were collaborating with them. And you were almost killed. I mean, I thought that even idiots had their limits, but –" He sighed heavily. "Just go and do as you're told." Stop trying to get yourself killed or…

Merlin just shifted his weight and set his jaw. "What are you going to do?" He turned, glancing over at Elsa – still sitting motionless, seeming in shock after Dezyra's last actions – before turning back to Arthur, resolute.

Ah, damn it. Arthur hated it when Merlin did this. Not because it was disrespectful – which it was – or because of how everyone always told him how disrespectful it was of Merlin, later – although he did hate that, as well. But he really hated it because whenever this happened, Merlin would turn out to be right. He'd give Arthur that resolute stare and argue and plead, and Arthur would ignore him, and then something would happen, and it'd turn out that Merlin had been right all along.

Arthur placed his hands on his hips, shutting his eyes tightly, and noted that he was getting a headache. "She's a sorceress." His voice was deliberately lower – so that Elsa couldn't hear. And maybe, the knights wouldn't hear either. They'd say that there was no reason that Arthur should explain his reasons to Merlin, a servant. Because there wasn't one.

Merlin tilted his head, raising his eyebrows. "She was protecting us. She's the reason I'm still alive – without her, Dezyra probably would have killed all of us."

Here we go. Arthur sighed again, letting his head fall back. "Yes. And she's also the reason that any of us are here in the first place. She lied to us, in Camelot – and anyway, it doesn't matter. She's a sorceress."

"But – you can't just arrest her. She could've decided to join Dezyra at any time – I know that she was trying to convince her. And instead, Elsa risked her life to help us. And this is how you're going to repay her?"

"Yes," bit out Arthur, forcing his voice to stay quiet. "When they're sorceresses. You do realize that she was on the other woman's side, at first? She was helping her."

Merlin crossed his arms stubbornly. "Dezyra was controlling her. She tried – she can make people do things they don't want to. Elsa was fighting against her."

"And you know so much about this?" asked Arthur angrily, feeling himself getting more and more worked up. Merlin obviously did know a lot about this, and it wasn't at all a good thing. He thought back to how Merlin had spoken to Elsa after she and Arthur pulled him out of that dark well – Merlin had said just a word, just her name. Elsa. The looks that passed between them was like an entire conversation, conveyed in silence. Not at all a good thing. Idiotic, trusting Merlin…another memory flashed through his mind – Merlin, sitting by Elsa's bedside in Gaius's chambers, intently staring at her sleeping form, not noticing Arthur walking silently into the room. Merlin, I hope you realize that when I said to keep an eye on her, I didn't mean quite such a close and intent one. No, not good.

He had to get this over with, get his naïve manservant away from all this. He set his jaw, shifting as he started towards Elsa. "We're taking her back to Camelot. The king has to know about all of this."

Merlin started in surprise, following after Arthur and stumbling over whatever he was going to say. "You –"

Arthur drew his sword swiftly, walking up to Elsa – giving her a few feet's berth – and held the blade at his side – just so that it was not loose, but there, ready. Elsa didn't even look up. Behind him, Merlin sputtered.

"Arthur – what are you –"

Arthur ignored Merlin, speaking loudly over him. "Elsa – princess – you're under arrest for the use of magic in Camelot. We're taking you back to the city, so the king can decide your fate." His voice was solid and smooth, unfaltering – good. It was the opposite of what he was feeling.

The blond princess huddled on the ground just shuddered, shaking her head. "It's all my fault…" The words were so faint, Arthur almost missed them.

Great. Now what was he supposed to do? Drag the crying, accused princess back to Camelot?

A motion of black and tan flashed by Arthur's shoulder, too quick for him to react – all of the sudden Merlin was crouching down by Elsa, a look of intense sadness and pity evident on his face. Arthur gaped at him, a scowl growing on his face – what was he doing? "Merlin –" Arthur growled, but Merlin just glanced up in irritation.

"What?"

Merlin, you're such an idiot…an endearing, clueless idiot who's surely going to get himself killed one day in a triumphing act of stupidity. But Arthur found himself going silent, watching as Merlin spoke quiet words of comfort to Elsa.

Elsa raised her head after a moment, revealing red eyes full of pain. "She's got Anna…and it's all my fault. Everything." Her voice caught on a sob.

Arthur rocked on his heels, feeling quite useless. He thought back to how the sorceress – Dezyra – had conjured the mist with the picture of the redheaded girl, asleep and buried. It wasn't a very pleasant thought. Was she dead? Held hostage by Dezyra? Who was she?

Apparently, Merlin didn't know either. "Who is Anna?" His voice was soft and understanding – Arthur again felt a twinge of uneasiness.

Elsa's face crumpled. "My sister."

After a moment of silence, Merlin sighed. "Is she…does she have magic, too?"

Arthur watched Elsa's face suspiciously, but there was no trace of a lie. "No…no, she never – she doesn't even know that I have magic. She – I n-never told her anything. I should have….it's all m-my fault." A lone tear traced its way down Elsa's pale face.

Merlin lowered his eyes before tilting his head up to look at Arthur – eyebrows raised, he held Arthur's gaze with a pointed look. Arthur wasn't entirely sure what if was for, but he got the meaning just fine. There's more than just the guilt of one sorceress at stake here. Anyway, the thought of an innocent girl, completely free from any knowledge of the magic her sister possessed, sent a feeling of nausea through Arthur.

"We'll figure it out." Merlin's voice, quiet and kind, before he grasped her forearms gently and pulled her to her feet. Elsa swayed on her feet like a reed in a storm, wrapping her arms around her torso tightly, and stared blankly ahead. Merlin gave her a fleeting, hopeful smile before stepping closer to Arthur, his expression changing to one of appealing innocence. He spoke to Arthur in a low voice – starting in on the persuasion. "Look at her. She's not a threat to anybody."

Arthur matched Merlin's tone, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "She's a threat as long as she has magic. And you should've seen how she and the other sorceress were fighting with their powers – it was definitely pretty threatening." The thought made Arthur begin to feel uneasy again. What was he doing, feeling sorry for a sorceress?

Merlin didn't budge. "She was fighting on our side – against Dezyra. That's like saying that your knights are threatening-looking when they fight – it's not a bad thing."

Arthur hated Merlin's reasoning, he really did. "That's completely irrelevant. Look, Merlin, she's a sorceress. She uses magic. That makes her untrustworthy, no matter what she's done."

Merlin bit his lip, his eyes flitting back to Elsa for a split second. "I trust her," said Merlin quietly, his eyes flickering.

For a second, Arthur just stared at Merlin. Then he grabbed him by the arm roughly and yanked him away, striding a few yards away from Elsa and out of earshot of everyone else there. Merlin yelped and tried to pull out of Arthur's grasp, but Arthur ignored his efforts, fuming; he deliberately avoided the eyes of the knights, who still stood with uncertainty, and Elsa's inquisitive gaze – was she worried? Even better.

Finally Arthur stopped and spun Merlin around to face him, scowling. "What is wrong with you?"

Merlin rubbed his arm where Arthur had grabbed him so roughly, a wounded look on his face. "What's wrong with me? Other than the fact that you treat me like a rag doll…"

"Well, if you started acting a little smarter than one, then I wouldn't have to," retorted Arthur with narrowed eyes. He took a breath and leveled his gaze. "You trust her." As little incredulity as possible went into those words – still, Arthur couldn't help but sound a little doubtful.

Merlin swallowed slowly, blowing out his breath. "Yes," he said finally – defiant, but also pleading.

Arthur bit the inside of his mouth, hard, as he resisted the urge to shake his servant. Or strangle him. Or just scream. "How in the – no, nevermind. Just – tell me what happened. From the beginning. How in the world you got mixed up with all of this…"

Merlin gaped at him for a second, before looking away and casting his gaze around aimlessly, gathering his words. "It just…I, um. Well, I guess…when she first woke up, and Gaius said that she could stay in one of the guest chambers if she wanted to…and he told me to escort her there. I – she seemed really confused, and upset, but I didn't want to pry so I just told her to ask for me if she needed anything. But I was worried, so at the end of the day I went back…but I didn't want to bother her…so I just kind of hung around, outside her chambers, for a while."

Arthur had to fight back the sudden, inexplicable urge to laugh. He could just see a shy, awkward Merlin standing aimlessly outside of Elsa's chambers for half the night. Rolling his eyes, he prompted Merlin through a half-grin. "So, in the middle of your stake-out of Elsa's chambers, Dezyra showed and actually kidnapped her."

Merlin shot him a confused look, shaking his head. "No – um, Elsa just left. I don't know exactly when – I fell asleep – but I woke up when she was closing her chamber door. And – well, I was worried, so I followed her down…um, down to the courtyard and out of the city. She stopped at a lake, and then I finally came out and asked her what she was doing."

Arthur was staring at Merlin with an incredulous look. "How in the world did the both of you get out of the castle without anyone noticing?" Arthur asked, feeling a bit put out. Perhaps Elsa, a sorceress – but Merlin? That wasn't very comforting.

A half-smile crossed Merlin's face as he gave Arthur a slightly patronizing look. "The nighttime security isn't exactly the greatest at Camelot, Arthur."

Arthur stared dubiously. "Evidently not," muttered Arthur finally, shaking his head. "But anyway, what gave you the bright idea that you could just wander off – following her all the way out here? Why didn't you come to me?"

Merlin sighed. "If I'd gone to you, she would've already been out of the city before you were even dressed. And besides – would you really have sacrificed an entire night's sleep just because I told you I was worried about Elsa going for a midnight stroll? I kind of doubt it."

Arthur couldn't deny that he had a point. "Fine. So…"

"So…we talked for a while, but she didn't want me to stay. She said that I could get hurt, and she didn't want to put anyone in danger, and finally she told me it was because of her magic. She – um, she was born with it, and kept it hidden all her life. Even from her sister…" Merlin lowered his gaze, his voice trailing off sadly.

Arthur's incredulous frown just kept growing. "Right. She tells you that she has magic. And then you just sit down and share life stories." His voice hardened – he couldn't help it. Had Merlin actually lost his mind? What is wrong with that idiot? "Did you – have you ever listened to a single word that anyone ever spoke to you about magic? What on earth were you thinking?"

Merlin blinked, taken aback. "I – she just –" He faltered and looked down, not looking particularly sorry – more like, cornered and indignant. "She was scared, and didn't want to hurt anyone – and I thought…" Finally he just shook his head, not meeting Arthur's eyes.

Arthur pursed his lips in anger, rolling his eyes. "Of all the –" He jerked his head tersely. "You are truly unbelievable. We're taking her back to Camelot. No arguing."

"But –"

"And you're going to learn to actually listen."

"But – if we take her back to Camelot, what then? How are we going to fight Dezyra and save Anna? And how would Uther even deal with this anyway? Elsa's a princess – he can't just have her executed. That would mean war for Camelot." Merlin spoke hurriedly, probably so that Arthur wouldn't have a chance to talk over him again.

Arthur almost wished he could just cover his ears and not listen. It always happens this way… "The king will deal with this however he sees fit," replied Arthur haughtily, ignoring his own unease at the situation. It wasn't exactly every day that Camelot had visiting dignitaries who got kidnapped and then turned out to be secret sorceresses. "And I wasn't aware that there was a plan for us to fight Dezya and save Anna."

Merlin stared, a frown of disbelief crossing his face. "What...but we can't just leave her. You heard what Dezyra said. She's planning something."

"Maybe. But, like I said, I try not to put my trust in the words of sorcerers, so it really doesn't mean anything." Arthur said flatly, decidedly ignoring the meaning to Merlin's words. Unfortunately, that was taking a little effort – so he didn't see how Merlin flinched at his bland words. She's planning something…of course she was. That much was obvious, and to be honest, Arthur hadn't even begun worrying about that…

Merlin continued after a moment of silence, his voice muted, but still earnest. "You saw how powerful Dezyra was. Imagine how much damage she could do…and Elsa's the only thing we have to counter that. She's on our side; after all the effort she put into helping and protecting us, obviously she's not going to harm Camelot. If she wanted to do that, she wouldn't have snuck away from the city in the dead of night. The only reason she did that was because she didn't want anyone to get hurt."

Arthur blew out a heavy sigh. "What exactly would you have me do? Just let her go? I don't see how that would help us fight Dezyra, or whatever it is you want us to do."

"No," Merlin mused, looking down with a frown. "Anyway, it's too dangerous; Dezyra knows that Elsa is her enemy now, so she'll try to take her out. Elsa isn't strong enough to protect herself, on her own…"

He's actually serious. Arthur watched in astonishment – but, for some reason, stayed silent. Why is he always right? Merlin finally shook his head, looking up decisively. "No, I think our only option is for us to take her back to Camelot with us – just not as a prisoner. Don't tell Uther she has magic. Just for a little while, before we figure out what to do…"

"Merlin –" Arthur spoke sharply, eyebrows raised disbelievingly. "You do know that's treason? You are openly planning treason against Camelot, standing right in front of me." Just to make sure we're on the same page.

Merlin blinked, opting a nonplussed expression. "But it's for the good of Camelot, in the end, so it's not really treason. And we're only breaking a few laws in order to keep them, anyway."

Arthur was completely baffled by Merlin's roundabout logic, but he covered up his confusion with a sharp response. "We?"

Merlin raised his eyebrows hopefully, widening his eyes convincingly. Idiot. Does he really think that he can just put on a pitiful expression and… Arthur sighed. "It's the law, Merlin."

Merlin didn't say anything. Which, obviously, had just the effect that he'd been trying to achieve on Arthur, because that silence let the prince think about his words and all of the times that he'd ignored them himself. Like with Mordred – he'd completely thrown the law out the window, just after a few persuasive words on Morgana's part. But if Morgana hadn't been involved…what would he have done? Let Mordred, an innocent boy, be killed?

He didn't like to dwell on that question too much, because he honestly could not say.

At the time, he'd thought that Morgana's persuasion had probably been clouding his judgment, but now he was glad that he'd helped Mordred escape execution. Relieved beyond belief, to tell the truth. So now, with Merlin here to try and cloud his judgment…how could he know if that was in fact the case, or if that was just an excuse for making the right (and lawfully wrong) decision? Elsa had helped them. She'd been protecting them, knights of Camelot, knowingly, and had apparently helped save Merlin's life (even though she was the reason it got endangered in the first place. But Merlin's stupidity could probably be blamed for that one too). And, she'd done both of those things – protecting Arthur and the knights, and saving Merlin – with magic.

The situation was hurting Arthur's brain. What made matters worse was that even if he did want to agree with Merlin – which he really didn't – there was no way the group of knights that Arthur had with him would see things the way his idiotic manservant did. And so…

Merlin was still giving him ridiculous puppy eyes, rocking back and forth on his heels. Arthur wanted to smack him – but only because, like always, he was turning out to be right. "We're going back to Camelot," sighed Arthur again, turning on heel. Merlin made a squawking sound, stumbling behind him, and Arthur – expecting nothing less – elaborated.

"And I'll…I'll tell the knights to keep quiet about all this."

After a moment of silence, Merlin laughed in relief. "I – that's…" He paused. "Thank you. You're making the right decision."

Arthur shook his head, leveling a glare Merlin's way. "But first, let's get this straight – we're doing this my way, got it? You follow my lead, alright?"

Merlin nodded hastily, surely giving himself a cramp with the speed. "Absolutely," agreed Merlin, grinning. "Whatever you say."

Whatever I say…Arthur rubbed a hand over his face wearily, eying Merlin's exuberant face with a faint feeling of dismay. Well, you're definitely not going to like it.

Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what you think.