Tricking A Sorcerer

Merlin didn't know what he noticed first. The fact that he was in a different bed compared to his usual one or that someone's warm breath was brushing the back of his neck. Opening his eyes slowly, he glanced over his shoulder to see none other than Arthur, who had never looked so peaceful. Frowning, Merlin sat up in the bed and put a hand to his head. When did he come here? Why wasn't he back in his own bed? "Think Emrys," he muttered and then it all came flooding back.

He'd found Morgause last night after almost giving up on searching for her and in the moment, he had decided that coming to tell Arthur was a good idea. After that everything was a little fuzzy. However by the looks of things it, Merlin had fallen asleep and Arthur had been good enough to help him into bed. Realising that he finally had a chance to defeat Morgause, Merlin smiled and lay back, pushing the hair from his face for no apparent reason.

"You look happy," Arthur's voice spoke up beside him and Merlin turned his head to see two blue eyes staring back at him. "What you thinking about?"

"Just … stuff," there was no point talking about it yet. Not when they finally had a moment alone together. Turning over, Merlin leant against Arthur's side and lightly trailed his fingers across his chest. "How'd you sleep?"

"A lot better then usual," Arthur admitted and brushed the hair across Merlin's forehead. "Being King means I have a lot of things on my mind. Most of which decide to haunt me just before I go to sleep. I never imagined being King would mean feeling like …" he paused as if thinking for a word but found none, "this."

"You should have contacted me, I could have helped you."

"That wouldn't have been fair on either of us," he lifted his head and lightly brushed his lips against Merlin's. "I wouldn't have been able to resist you."

"I thought being with me wouldn't be simple and should be left alone," Merlin commented.

"That hasn't changed. I'm King now, I have responsibilities and can't put my needs … my wants, before everything else." Merlin's breath caught in his throat as a warm hand slipped beneath his cloak, which was still held around his neck, and rested against his back. "You really shouldn't have come here. It's one thing stopping myself when I'd have to travel leagues to get to you but when you're in the same bed, within touching distance … a man can only resist so much."

His heart was pounding in his chest and Merlin knew it wouldn't take much to get exactly what he wanted from the man lying beside him. Besides, deep down, he knew that if things went badly with Morgause, it would hurt Arthur too much if they went any further then they already had. Which was barely a few kisses here and there. Closing his eyes briefly, he indulged himself in a soft kiss with his Prince who was now a King and wondered if they could ever be together.

"Hey," he broke them apart with sadness in his eyes and he hid it away easily. Smiling at Arthur, he patted him on the chest and said, "How about you go get us some breakfast? We can catch up, talk about what's been going on, I can tell you what chaos has been happening back home. Latest news, a certain two people might be engaged."

Arthur smiled and got out of bed as Merlin shifted over to his side, "I think I know who it is but I'll let you tell me when I get back." After changing into something, Arthur left the room in search of food, knowing he couldn't bring anyone into the room with Merlin being there. The sorcerer was left alone and he sat up, staring at the huge room where Arthur now slept. It was much bigger compared to his old room. Not that he'd admit it, but Merlin had seen it once when he'd missed Arthur and gone to check on him.

Knowing he had to go now before he changed his mind, Merlin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Céosan," he whispered and was gone a moment later. Appearing in the village where he last saw Morgause, the cloak was adjusted so it covered him and his hood raised, making sure his identity was hidden.

Slipping down an alley, he made sure to keep to the shadows and sought out Morgause's home. It was close if he remembered right. As he rounded the final corner, Merlin peered through the window he'd spotted her through yesterday and saw that the house was empty. Odd. Whispering another spell, he appeared inside and looked around. His eyes hadn't deceived him, she really wasn't here. It didn't make sense. The hour was early and she didn't have a job to get too. Morgause should be sleeping soundly in her bed right now.

Merlin was about to return home when he felt a sense of magic in the air and he turned on the spot, his cloak flowing around him from the quick movement and his eyes focused on a piece of parchment that hadn't been there before. Moving closer, he picked it up carefully with his gloved covered hand and turned it over to read what it said.

How you survived, I do not know.

However because of what you did, I now know your biggest weakness.

Darkness will fall upon Camelot and nothing you can do will stop it.

M

Arthur was half way to the kitchens when his footsteps began to slow, his mind going back to how Merlin had wanted him to suddenly get food. Surely if he was hungry, he could use his magic and … oh no. He was already running back down the corridor and barely noticed Morgana as he passed her, throwing open his bedroom doors in a hurry. "Merlin?" He called and looked towards the bed. It was empty. There was no sign that Merlin had ever been there. "Merlin!"

"Arthur, what's going on?" Morgana asked as she stepped through the open doors.

"He's about to do something stupid. Merlin found Morgause and now he's gone to get .. her .. what on earth is going on out there?" Arthur questioned as he saw the Kingdom beginning to darken and he moved forward, going out onto the balcony to see something he couldn't believe. It was the shape of a human but it was completely black and was larger then anything he'd ever seen. The beast, whatever it was, loomed over the Kingdom and created a shadow that covered them in darkness.

"What is that?" Morgana questioned and grabbed his hand, holding it tightly in her own. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Morgana, get out of here." Arthur commanded and pushed her back inside his chambers, hiding her from view. "Go back to the others, hide there, don't come back until its safe."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'll protect … you." A frown covered her face and Arthur was going to ask what was wrong except he was suddenly having to catch her falling body.

"Morgana, what's wrong?" He held her tightly as her body suddenly began to shake and there was such pain in her eyes that Arthur's fingers dug into her arms, "What's happening? Talk to me. Tell me."

"She can't," a woman spoke from the balcony and he looked over his shoulder to see Morgause stood there like she belonged there. "I've put a spell on your Kingdom my lord. Every sorcerer that passes under the shadow has to face their worst nightmare. Right now I'm thinking she's reliving the moments when she was taken. I doubt even you know what happened that night." Arthur looked back at Morgana to see tears flowing down her face, "Such sadness for someone so young."

"Why are you doing this? You promised Merlin Camelot was safe."

"That's when I thought he was dead. Turns out, he's very much alive and it's time for a little bit of payback for him poisoning me. I lost an entire army because of him." She gracefully walked towards him and Arthur scooped Morgana into his arms, getting to his feet so he could move away. "No need to be afraid of me Sire, you are simply the bait. My only goal is to get Merlin's attention and what better way then to use the one thing against him that he cares for?"

"You think I'm going to let you use me to get to him? I'm not that easy."

Running through the open doors, Arthur sprinted through the castle with the little girl in his arms, seeking out anyone who could help him. However everyone seemed to have vanished. "Hello? Anyone?" Arthur yelled as he sensed someone chasing him and he bashed his shoulder against the wooden door so he could get out into the courtyard, both his arms occupied with Morgana. However he skidded to a halt when he saw Morgause stood in his path and the beast that darkened the Kingdom now towered over the palace, making day turn into night.

"You can't run from me. No one can escape someone as powerful as me. Merlin will regret the day he ever poisoned me."

Transporting to Camelot in the blink of an eye after going home for a bit, Merlin appeared in Arthur's chambers and found that they were empty. His heart racing in panic, he dashed out onto the balcony to see Arthur stood alone in the courtyard, his back to the palace. "Thank heavens," he muttered and ran through the castle until he was approaching the King from behind. "Arthur, everything okay? Why are you standing there?" When the King didn't respond, Merlin frowned and moved to stand in front of him. "Arthur?"

He didn't move. Arthur just stared at him and his entire body stayed still, like he was a statue. "This isn't funny Arthur. Stop kidding around." As he went forward to grasp Arthur's shoulders, the blue eyes darted up and that was the only warning he had before a shadow passed over them. Suddenly everything went very cold and Merlin went to his knees as pain began to fill him, a pain that was all too familiar. "What … Arthur?"

"I'm sorry, she made me." The King could move once more and dropped to his knees in front of him, his eyes filled with sadness. "She's cast a spell so that every sorcerer sees their worst nightmare. I tried to run, she wanted to use me to get you here, but she was too strong." Merlin gasped as he felt memories returning that he kept buried for a reason and Arthur held his hand tightly. "Fight it Merlin. Whatever you see, know it's not real. You're here, with me."

"No he's not," Morgause said and floated towards the ground since she had been watching from a rooftop nearby. "Merlin is about to see things that no man should. There is a reason there was so much hatred in his heart. He's faced people who tortured him for being who he was, watched his mother die, gone through so many lonely nights as a child where he had no one to protect him and to add to it, the new memories of thinking you betrayed him. I doubt he's going to be much of a threat to me anymore."

"Then I'll fight you," Arthur claimed and got to his feet. Moving in between the two sorcerers as Merlin clutched his head, Arthur knew he stood little chance with no sword or power but he was going to try anyway. The idiot. "Your magic still won't work against me Morgause or have you forgotten about that?"

"Oh, don't worry about that Sire. I got that fixed." Arthur flew through the air as a spell hit him hard in the chest and Merlin clutched his cloak as his breathing deepened, knowing he had to get up. He couldn't let Morgause do this. His nightmares wouldn't win. "How you doing there Merlin? Seen your dead mother yet?"

He turned his gaze to look at Morgause and instead saw his Mother, the memory of his final moments with his Mother surfacing. However, it wasn't when she died. It was the last day she'd been with him before she left for Camelot to beg the King for help. She wore a sad smile, her clothes worn out and old. This was his Mother and Morgause wasn't the first one to try and use her against him. Getting to his feet, Merlin stood tall and witnessed the shadow covering him grow stronger.

Lifting his eyes to the sky, he saw the shadow beast crouch down and Merlin knew that until that thing was gone, the people in Camelot with magic would suffer. "Why aren't you on the ground like the rest of them? You should be worse then all of them put together." Morgause pointed out.

Turning slowly on the spot, Merlin found that he wasn't afraid when facing her, since he knew what lay inside her was actually a part of him. The beast was giving him the darkness he often craved in order to hide away from everyone and although Arthur was passed out, he knew he was safe. "Tell me Morgause, what did you hope to gain from all this?"

"Revenge. Simple as. You didn't answer my question."

"I've spent my entire life dealing with my past, I dream every night about my Mother's death and through the years I've realised that nothing can be done about the past, therefore there's no need to be afraid of it. What's done is done. However now it's time for you to go," Merlin raised his hand and Morgause put a shield around herself. "You're using my magic there Morgause. If there's one person who can get through your barrier, it's me."

"No, you can't. Besides, you can't take the magic back without transference through the blood."

"There are other secrets I've discovered through the years." Removing his glove from his right hand, Merlin faced his symbol towards her and knew this was risky. However it had to be done. "Edcierr," he said forcefully and the ground around them began to shake as Morgause fought off the spell. Unfortunately for her, she had no chance in fighting it when the magic he used was no longer his own but that which belonged to a dragon.

Short again, but I thought this was a good place to leave it.

Hope you enjoyed and please review! I'd really like to know what you think of where this is going. Either 1 or 2 more chapters left =( Sad that it's coming to an end