A/N - Thanks for the reviews.. Only a couple of chapters left after this one :'(.. But more will follow!..
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Chapter 24 – Unforgiving Blade
Within seconds, chaos filled the land surrounding Camelot. The two armies charged towards one another, swords flying at each other, and a powerful force travelling in their direction.
Morgause stood back, eyes gold with her hand outstretched, trying to knock back some of the Knights. Her smirk faltered when her spell had no effect on it's intended targets. She tried it again, but again the spell was countered. She didn't understand. She couldn't sense another spell taking effect. The dragon roared, making her jump before she took out her blade, and ran into battle. If her magic wouldn't work, then she could still kill people the old fashioned way.
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As the army ran forward, Morgana ran over to where the dragon was. She was scared a little of what she was about to do, but Merlyn assured her that she would be fine. The dragon moved it's large head, looking at her before bowing its head to her.
He lowered his neck, enough to allow her to get on his back. Once she settled enough, he raised his huge wings and took off. The dragon roared, soaring over the enemy's army, breathing fire on groups of enemy soldiers. Morgana held out her hand and muttered the spell that Merlyn had taught her. Men were knocked off their feet, allowing for the knights to gain an advantage. She had to be careful where she focused her magic, because she couldn't distinguish between people, so if there was a Knight in the area, they too would be affected.
"You are getting better young Seer." The dragon spoke to her.
"Erm.. Thanks." She responded, a little unsure. The two targeted the large areas of only enemy soldiers, evening up the odds.
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Percy charged forward. His eye was on one of the larger soldiers. He was swinging a large mace around, killing men on impact when it collided with their chest. The Warrior ran at him, ducking below the swing before kicking him hard in the stomach, making him drop the mace, stumbling backwards.
"Now that's better." He shouted, before the man took out his sword. The two exchanged blows, both strong.
Gwaine went through several men within seconds of each other. He tripped one man over, pushed him into another sending both of them to the ground. Another man charged at him, but with a quick side step the man met the blade of his sword before he punched the man who had come up behind him.
"It's much more fun doing this drunk." He joked, when he saw Lance finishing off one of his opponents.
"Only you Gwaine." He laughed, turning back to engage in another opponent.
Gwaine spotted Elyan getting knocked down, and quickly came to his rescue. He whacked the attacker on the back of the head with the butt of his sword before offering his hand down to his fallen friend. "You okay?" He asked, twirling to block an attack from another man.
"Yeah, thanks man." Elyan replied before picking his sword back up off the ground before helping Gwaine kill the other man. When they were finished, they took a look around. Dead bodies were beginning to pile up. "Maybe we should go further back. Some of the townsmen over there look like they need some help." He said pointing them out.
"Let's go." Gwaine agreed, and the two jogged over before engaging in battle, helping out those who weren't as well equipped with a weapon.
Lance looked and saw Percy was still fighting the large man, and was about to be taken by surprise from behind. He ran and his sword clashed with the other man's, stopping it from touching Percy. "Don't you know it's cowardly to stab someone in the back." He grunted, shoving the sword away.
The both managed to kill their men. "Thanks man." Percy slapped him on the back. Lance nodded to him.
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The dragon landed on the ground, torching the ground as he let out a vicious breath of fire. Morgana looked around and spotted Morgause using some spells to help her fight. She swung her legs from around the neck of the dragon and slid to the floor.
She unsheathed her sword and advanced on the other woman. "Hey! That's cheating!" She announced.
"And what are you going to do about it Princess?" Morgause sneered at her, smirk on her face.
"This." Morgana raised her hand and knocked the other woman off her feet. Morgause was taken by surprise before she scrambled to her feet.
"Why you…!" She snapped, collecting her sword again, charging at her. They blades clashed.
"Not nice is it." Morgana grunted, pushing her sword away, kicking out at her.
"Where is Emrys?" Morgause demanded to know.
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Morgana denied, flinging her sword back at the other woman.
"Join me." She changed her tactic. Despite her being better at magic than the Princess, the Princess was far superior to her in combat. "Together, we can rule this land." She offered. "I can teach you to become more than you can imagine."
"I'm good thanks." Morgana declined. She went to attack her again, but this time it was her turn to be knocked backwards and off her feet. Before Morgause could deliver the final blow, the dragon aimed at her, firing a ball of fire in her direction. Morgause flung herself out of the way of the fireball, which ended up hitting some men behind her.
Getting to her feet, she looked over at Morgana and sneered. "This is just the beginning. When you need me, I will find you." She told her before summoning her magic, and disappearing in a whirlwind of air.
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Agravaine growled when he saw Morgause disappearing. He always suspected that Morgana had magic, but now it was confirmed. He sliced through one of the guards, kicking him to the ground. He stopped looking when he saw Merlyn stood in front of him, eyes of fury.
"Look, it's Arthur's little pet." He laughed. "I should have killed you that night. You should have seen when I made them beg for their lives before I took them away. As they wept, promising their loyalty as long as I spared their lives. Their screams as their families met the same fate."
"You will rue the day you ever stepped foot in that village." Merlin warned him. "You made your biggest mistake. You are right, you should have killed me that night, but after ten years of waiting, I will finally get my revenge." She ducked his swing as she put up her dual swords. "You will pay for all the hurt and all the damage that you have done." He pushed her back with his shield, making her take a step back.
She feigned to the left, trapping his arm, before putting pressure on his wrist. He cried out in pain, but managed to spin her away and distracting her long enough for another soldier to advance on her as well. She started on the defensive, blocking two sets of attacks, ducking and diving from the double team.
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Arthur glanced around the battlefield. He saw Merlyn fighting with Agravaine. As much as he wanted to intervene, he knew that it was something that she had to do, just as he had his own match to find. He saw Morgana battling against a man with the dragon at her back. He was confident that she would be all right. The Dragon was proving its loyalty to them, helping Morgana out when needed before taking to the skies again. It was getting a little hard for him to use his flames with the mixing of armies, but he picked off one or two. He had to admit; having a dragon on your side certainly evens up the odds when you are outnumbered two to one.
His Knights were holding their own, helping out some of the townspeople who were getting in trouble. He was more impressed with the Warriors than anyone else. They seemed to be cutting down the odds fairly quickly. He'd seen Percy and Lance join forces to take out some of the better fighters while Gwaine and Elyan fell back to the gates, blocking any attempts at infiltrating the castle grounds.
His eyes scanned for the one person he needed to see. Mordred. His focus held on him as the younger man smirked at him across the way. He stepped over bodies, coming several feet away from him.
"I had a feeling I would be seeing you." He laughed. "Did you like my little present?" He asked, innocently.
"I will kill you for what you have done." Arthur promised him.
"You will try, but you won't succeed." He responded arrogantly.
"You are a coward." Arthur snarled. "You attacked a man while he slept."
"I am an assassin, just as your little friend over there is. Do you really trust her? How do you know that it wasn't her that stabbed the King? She could get around the castle just as easily without being seen, after all that's why she came." He smirked. "Tell me, is Merlyn still as good in bed as I remember? I'm assuming that's where she was; warming your bed." He asked, riling him up. Arthur saw red.
He threw his shield down, eyes never leaving Mordred's before picking up another sword from the ground and covering the distance between them. He flung both swords at his head, which was blocked by the assassin.
"A little overambitious." Mordred commented, as he pushed the swords away. "But I guess you always believe that you will get what you want."
"I want you dead, and trust me I will make that happen." The two exchanged blows, furiously attacking one another.
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Lance checked everyone over. His eyes sprung to Morgana who was trying to fight off two men, and while the dragon was trying to help, he was too being attacked. His tail spun, knocking them off their feet, but ones that got up close to him were shielded from the attack. Roaring in anger, he jumped and flew around a few times, blasting them as they dived out of the way.
Lance ran to assist the Princess, who smiled gratefully at him as he killed one of the men, and distracting the other long enough to put in the final blow. "Thanks." She panted.
"Perhaps you should take to the air again?" He suggested, seeing how she was tiring quickly. She nodded, before watching the dragon land once more. She ran over and climbed onto its neck before it rose into the sky once again.
Morgana could see everything clearly from up in the air, and decided to keep a look out for threats. She spotted Cenred making his way over to where Arthur and Mordred were battling. "Arthur! Behind you!" She shouted. The dragon took a shot at Mordred, making him retreat rather than attacking the distracted Prince.
Arthur turned just in time to block the blade of the attacking King. "Why are you doing this?" He asked.
"For power, what else?" Cenred offered. "You're father was a weak King, scared about real power. It seems as though you do not share some of his beliefs." He gestured to the dragon. "You have to tell me where you got one from and how you manage to control such a beast."
"Dragons aren't meant to be controlled, are meant to fly free." He argued. "If my father taught me anything it was that." He blocked another attack.
"Then you are a fool." He snapped.
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Merlyn sensed Mordred behind her rather than saw him. She blocked his attack from behind without having to look at him. She battled both him and Agravaine, absorbing harsh attacks until she was knocked on her back and losing her swords in the process. Both men smirked at her, allowing her to stand. She was panting heavily, blood smudged on her armor and running from a couple of cuts. Dirt covered her face as sweat dripped, mixing with blood of smaller cuts.
She looked between the two of them, waiting for one of them to make a move on her. But it was Mordred that started speaking first.
"In the end Merlyn, I always win." He taunted her. "Because I have something that you don't." He held out his hand, and a ball of fire appeared in it. "Goodbye Merlyn." With that threw the ball of fire towards her.
She held up her hand, absorbing the magic in the palm of her hand. Mordred's face dropped as a smirk appeared on her own. "I don't think so." With that she threw one three times the strength back at him, making him has to dive out of the way. There was no way he could absorb that sort of power.
When she turned to Agravaine, she saw the recognition click on his face. "Ironic isn't it. The one person you were looking for was in front of you the whole time. You killed my father over jealousy of power, you betrayed your siblings because you didn't inherit magic like they did, and now you betray your Kingdom for some vision of gaining power by killing the last Dragonlord." He stood still in shock as she walked over and bent down to pick up her swords once more. "It's almost funny how you tried to kill me by having Morgause put the Demons Curse on me. It's true, no one has ever survived it before, but you know, I have a habit of surviving, because I fight." He watched her carefully as she twirled her swords. Mordred had disappeared again, so she wasn't too bothered about him right now. "So come on Agravaine, hit me with your best shot."
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Arthur's attention was drawn to a loud explosion to his left as saw as Mordred ducked for cover and Merlyn had her hand outstretched. Well he guessed that secret was out.
His focus returned to Cenred as he attacked him once more, just blocking in time. "You know you will never win." Arthur told him, deflecting another blow. "Even if you kill me, there will be someone who will take my place."
"Who would dare go up against me?" Cenred laughed.
"Any one of my Knights is a better man that you will ever be." Arthur pushing him off him, sensing an opportunity when the King stumbled. Arthur dropped to one knee, knocking him off his feet, making him drop the sword before plunging his blade into the other man's stomach. Cenred looked up at him with shocked eyes. "Goodbye Cenred." Arthur withdrew the blade, stepping back as he watched the man take his last breath.
"Maybe you are better than I thought." A voice behind him said. Arthur turned to see Mordred standing waiting for him. "It seems that our little Merlyn over there fooled us all."
"No, she just fooled you. Even without her magic she is better than you." Arthur told him, his anger slowly leaving him. He was furious that the man stood in front of him killed his father, but too many people had died already. "Give up."
"Never." Mordred shook his head.
"What have we ever done to you?" Arthur asked.
"You persecuted my kind, you drove us out of the Kingdom and hunted us down like dogs." He snapped. "You are just like your father."
"I am nothing like my father." Arthur argued. "What he did was wrong, I will be the first to admit it but I am not him. I will not kill a man without just cause."
"Really? Is that why you killed Odin's son?" Mordred asked. "He was a friend of mine, until you butchered him."
Arthur's heart skipped a beat. "That was an accident. He attacked me. It was self defense." He argued.
"You are all the same. Kill first, ask questions later. The time for talking is over Arthur Pendragon." Within a moment, their blades clashed once more.
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Percy collapsed onto one knee, resting against his sword as he panted, catching his breath. The longer this battle went on, the more people they were going to lose. At the moment it seemed like they were winning. They had lost are less men than they had. Many of the men and Knights were still fighting their first opponent. Gwaine and Elyan were putting up a good fight keeping away anyone who dared attempt to reach the gates, and the walls were far too tall for another to attempt to climb.
"Percy!" He heard Morgana shout from above. "Eastern gate!"
Looking over, he saw a few men heading over to the other gate. "Lance!" He shouted over. Lance looked up and saw where he was looking. The two of them headed over to block off the men.
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Merlyn knocked the sword out of his hand, swiping his feet from underneath him and he fell hard on his back. She stood over the top of him, sword pointing at his chest. She stared into his eyes. "Go on, do it." He snarled at her, but the look of fear in his eyes gave him away. Memories spun, flashing through her mind.
"Remember everything I taught you, keep your abilities hidden and stay safe"
The memory of that night.
"Run!.. Run.. I love you.." The pleading look on her father's face as he begged her to run, to live.
"Let them have their festival… But by the weeks end, their beloved Prince will be dead." Helios ordering her to Camelot.
"I care because they are my people. If there is something that I can do, then I want to be able to help them." Arthur's love for his people when the kidnappings began.
"I think that was the best work out I have ever had." The smile on Morgana's face when they lay on the grass after their first spar.
"Arthur, can you hear me?" When Arthur was poisoned.
"Is it true?" The look of betrayal in Arthur's eyes when he learnt her true nature.
"Arthur is you destiny, just as you are his." Freya in the crystal cave.
"You are staying, right?" The look of hope on Arthur's face after the dragon attack.
"You look beautiful by the way." The smile on his face when he saw her at his birthday.
"I don't need anyone to look out for me!" The feel of his anger through their first kiss during their fight.
"I couldn't go through with it. Not when my heart belongs to someone else." The love shining in his eyes when he risked angering his father to be with her.
"I miss you too, Little Bird. But now it is time for you to become the person you were always meant to be. I love you, my daughter." Her father stood in the door between two worlds.
In her hesitation, Agravaine reached for his dagger in his boot, gripping its handle before plunging it upwards, lodging itself in her abdomen. Her eyes widened, swords dropping from her hands, dropping to her knees.
The dragon let out an almighty roar, the force of which made everyone stop.
"No!" Morgana screamed.
Arthur and Mordred both looked over to where Merlyn fell to her knees. "No.." Arthur whispered. His heart stopped beating seeing the dagger sticking out of her. Her eyes looked across to him as she pulled the blade out, dropping it to the ground.
"No!" He yelled, running towards her as she hit the ground.
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I'll start running and go hide now.. :P.. Please review! x