Merlin paced his chambers angrily, glaring at the knife as he did so. Nothing he did seemed to make the spell work, and he was rapidly running out of time. He hastily flung the dagger under his bed when he heard the door open and Evan hurriedly walked in.
"I heard what happened. Is it true that the creatures a griffin?" Evan asked.
"Yes," Merlin replied dryly.
"And it can only be defeated with magic?" Evan continued.
"Yes," Merlin repeated, "and yet Uther's going to send Arthur to his death anyways."
"What are you going to do?" Evan asked. Merlin eyed him warily before replying slowly,
"I know what needs to be done, but I need to find ways to sneak out of the castle; my chambers are being guarded and I'm not allowed to leave."
"Have you tried the window?" Evan suggested.
"What?" Merlin asked.
"The window," Evan repeated, tapping at the glass.
"Evan, I can't survive a fifteen foot drop," Merlin informed him, peering down towards the town square.
"But you could survive say a three foot drop?" Evan asked. Merlin stared at him incredulously as he grabbed the sheets from the bed and began tying them together. A wide grin to slowly spread across Merlin's face.
"You are a genius!"
Merlin warily eyed the crude rope as Evan tied one end to his bed and threw the other end out the window.
"Don't worry, you'll be perfectly safe," Evan assured him. "Just start climbing down the rope."
Merlin groaned before grabbing the rope and starting to climb down. He half expected the hand-made rope to come undone or for the guards' heads to appear out of the window and to pull him back up into his room, but neither happened. Once he reached the end of the rope he let go and dropped the last couple of feet to the ground.
"Thank you!" he called up to Evan once he'd climbed to his feet.
"Just be careful!" Evan replied. "Good luck!"
Merlin nodded before running to the stables, only to run head first into Lancelot.
"Lancelot! What are you doing here?" Merlin asked.
"It is my duty to help Arthur, knight or not," Lancelot replied as he saddled his horse.
"I'm coming too," Merlin declared.
"No," Lancelot replied instantly. "It's too dangerous; I don't want you to get-"
"Despite what everyone thinks I'm not a helpless little kid!" Merlin snapped. "And besides, Arthur needs all the help he can get."
Lancelot eyed Merlin for a minute before relenting. The two urged their mounts on through the city, people being forced to dive out of the way of the galloping horses and their riders. Lancelot, ironically, carried a lance with which he intended to face the griffin.
They slowed when they reached the forest, listening for any sound that would alert them as to where the knights were.
A few minutes later, Lancelot held out his hand making Merlin stop abruptly. For a minute the forest was silent, and then he heard it: the griffin's scream. Then came screams of agony. Lancelot and Merlin urged their horses towards the sound. Very quickly the forest became eerily quiet, making Merlin's spine tingle with fear.
"Look!" Lancelot shouted, pointing ahead. Merlin saw a felled knight lying completely still on the forest floor. Merlin jumped off his horse and ran to the knight, and was horrified to find him unresponsive, with no pulse. He ran to the next knight and found he'd suffered the same fate. Merlin's chest clenched painfully in fear for Arthur as knight after knight was found dead. He spotted Arthur, terrifyingly still. Merlin ran over to him and collapsed fell to his knees, letting out a shaky breath when he found Arthur was indeed alive.
"He's alive!" Merlin exclaimed, just as another screech filled the air. He and Lancelot turned to see the griffin walk towards them, murder in its eyes. Lancelot was on his horse, galloping in the opposite direction, getting ready to charge. It's now or never Merlin thought to himself. He took a deep breath as Lancelot charged.
"Bregdan anweald gfeluec."
Nothing happened. "Bregdan anweald gfeluec!" he repeated, more loudly this time. Again, nothing.
Lancelot was getting closer and closer to the griffin and nothing was working. Putting every last ounce of his will into it Merlin shouted, "Bregdan anweald gfeluec!" Blue flames erupted from the lance just as Lancelot was about to strike the griffin. The lance struck the griffin in the heart and it shrieked in agony before crashing to the ground.
Merlin started laughing from relief; the griffin was dead!
Arthur groaned and sat up slowly.
"Merlin what-?"
"Lancelot killed the griffin!" Merlin exclaimed, grinning like an idiot.
"But I thought it had to be killed with-"
"Lancelot killed the griffin," Merlin repeated firmly, praying Arthur would get the message.
"Right, Lancelot killed it," Arthur repeated, looking pointedly at Merlin. Merlin knew that look; it was the 'we're going to talk about this later' look.
"I have to go before Uther realizes I'm gone," Merlin whispered before standing up and running back to his horse. He made it back to Camelot quickly, returning the horse to the stables before running over to his window.
"Evan, are you there?" Merlin called up as loudly as he dared. In response, he saw the crude rope they'd made tumble down from his windowsill. Merlin easily grabbed the rope but struggled for a few minutes to actually climb it. Once he was close enough, Evan reached over and helped pull him back inside.
"Does anyone know I'm gone?" Merlin asked worriedly.
Gaius came by but I managed to send him off before he saw you where gone," Evan reassured.
"And he believed you?" Merlin asked slowly.
"He didn't say anything" Evan replied
"Good," Merlin sighed. They quickly put his room back together, hiding any sighs then he had snuck out.
"What happened?" Evan asked eagerly once they'd finished.
"Lancelot killed it," Merlin grinned.
"They'll have to restore his knighthood!" Evan exclaimed.
"I hope so," Merlin agreed.
Just then a guard entered. "Arthur has returned!" he proclaimed.
"Was he successful?" Merlin asked, trying to keep his voice even.
"I'm not sure," the guard admitted.
"Can I go see him?" Merlin asked.
"He's in the throne room," the guard replied, stepping back and allowing Merlin to pass.
They hurried through the castle to the throne room and walking in just as Arthur was saying, "…Lancelot killed the griffin! He has proven himself!"
"Wait outside," Uther ordered. "All of you," he added when he saw Merlin
"But-" Merlin protested.
"Now!" Uther snapped. Merlin and Lancelot bowed before stepping outside, the guards slamming the doors behind them.
"They will restore your knight hood; they have to," Merlin assured Lancelot. "You killed the griffin!"
"But I didn't," Lancelot whispered.
"Yes you did," Merlin insisted.
"No, you did," Lancelot argued, locking eyes with Merlin.
"What?" Merlin asked, trying to stay calm.
"Bregdan anweald?" Lancelot asked, Merlin's eyes widening. "I heard you, I saw you. Don't worry; your secret's safe with me, but I cannot take credit for what I did not do. There will be no more lies, no more deceit."
"Thank you," Merlin said sincerely. "But what are you going to do?"
"The only thing I can do," Lancelot replied, walking over to the doors and throwing them open. Guards immediately grabbed him and started to drag him out.
"I need to speak!" Lancelot exclaimed, trying to break free. Merlin stood in the doorway watching.
"Wait," Uther ordered. "I will hear what he has to say."
The guards let go of Lancelot reluctantly. "Forgive me, Sire, I've come to bid you farewell," Lancelot informed them.
"What is this Lancelot?" Arthur asked, shaking his head.
"I lied to you both and now there is conflict between you," Lancelot explained. "I cannot bear that burden, as you should not bear mine. I must start again, far away from here, and maybe fate will grant me another chance to prove myself a worthy knight of Camelot."
"But Lancelot, you've already proved that to us," Arthur assured.
"But I must prove that to myself," Lancelot replied. "Your highness, Prince Arthur." Lancelot bowed and turned to leave.
Merlin saw Uther's thoughtful expression and Arthur's pained one before he turned to look at Lancelot. Merlin wanted to beg him to stay, but before he could find any words to say, Lancelot was gone.
The next morning, Merlin watched through his window as Lancelot galloped away on his horse.
"Merlin?" Evan asked gently, breaking Merlin's intense gaze.
"Yes?" Merlin asked.
"Lancelot?" Evan prompted.
"He was one of the bravest men Camelot has ever seen," Merlin muttered, "and Uther still sent him away."
"Maybe one day, when Arthur is King, things will be different" Evan began. "Maybe then, noble or not, any man can earn the right to become a knight."
"I hope so," Merlin agreed.
"He will come back someday," Evan assured him. "I know it. There's just… it's like he was meant to come back."
"Until then, Sir Lancelot," Merlin whispered as his friend disappeared into the forest.
Uther watched Lancelot's retreating figure thoughtfully. Arthur knows Merlin killed the griffin, so why did he insist that Lancelot was the one to kill it? He wondered. What could he possibly have done to make them care so much? Uther shook his head and turned to face Gaius.
"Merlin and Arthur are both upset with you," Gaius informed him.
"About Lancelot?" Uther asked. Gaius nodded his head in confirmation. Uther frowned. "Why?"
"He willingly risked his life to save Arthur's" Gaius explained. "And he saved Merlin's life, even though he was a complete stranger at the time."
"They both really feel strongly about this?" Uther asked.
"Very," Gaius confirmed. Uther stared ahead thinking for a while. Gaius waited patiently while the King thought. Deep down, Gaius felt that Merlin deserved to know that Uther knew of his magic; but at the same time Gaius feared Uther would become even more protective of Merlin when that happened. There was just no good solution. Gaius stood up a little straighter when Uther spoke again.
"Well… Should he ever return to Camelot, Lancelot will be welcomed… Perhaps I shall grant him a chance to become a knight."
End Notes
Did anyone expect that? So, we finished that; next up is "The Remedy to Cure all Ills". I've been thinking, and I know it's kind of far off but I've realized I don't think there is a way for me to really incorporate 'The Witchfinder' without it making absolutely no sense. If anyone has any idea, I'm all ears, but for now I plan on getting rid of that episode. I just thought I'd warn you in case someone is like: 'OMG I MUST have that episode!' Any how, let me know what you thought!