The Stranger Chapter 25, a merlin fanfic

Chapter 25

"I asked, what do you know about them!?"

"Nothing! Nothing! I swear, please, I'm telling the truth, please!"

The man looked at his upside down captor and hoped that he believed his lies. Technically he was the one who was upside down, but he couldn't think of that. That would remind him of what was beneath him.

As if hearing his thoughts, the dragon's jaws closed so close to his head that he was able to smell its breath.

"You don't fool me," said the sorcerer, slowly lowering him closer to the dragon. "Have you ever thought what it would feel having your head tore off by giant teeth?"

Drops of sweat moved from the man's face, to his hair, to the dragon's mouth, where they evaporated and went back to the man's face. He looked at the sorcerer one more time. 'Dragoon', the men had called him. He had heard stories about him, everyone had, but he had never imagined him to be that powerful... or accompanied by a giant dragon. A giant dragon whose jaws were currently closing on his head.

"STOP! STOP! I'll talk! I know things!" the man yelled in a begging tone.

He was moved upwards at the same time the dragon closed his mouth where his head had just been.

"That's better," said Dragoon, smiling wickedly. "Now, let's try it again. What do you know about them?"

The man hesitated before talking, but then he felt the fire scorching his hair. "They are coming! They'll be here anytime soon!"

"I already knew that," Dragoon said, looking irritated. "How many man do they have?"

"I don't know... thousands! Tens of thousands! Enough to outnumber Camelot ten to one."

"Are you telling the truth?" the sorcerer asked, lowering him a bit.

"YES! Yes! We were order to set up a camp for those numbers."

"What more were you ordered to?"

"Nothing," said the man, shaking his head and swallowing. "Nothing more, I swear! We were told to wait for their arrival."

Dragoon looked at him as if deciding something. "Sorry, but I don't that you are telling me everything you know." He looked to the dragon that was waiting below the man. "I think you'll eat well today, Kilgharrah!" he exclaimed.

"WAIT! Alright! There is more! They have allies here, allies that are helping them conquer this land."

"Keep talking."

"They are working with a druid named Alvarr," the man said.

"I've already knew about him."

"The Disir!" exclaimed the man, stuttering a bit. "The Disir is working with them."

"Don't lie to me!" exclaimed Dragoon. "They only serve the Triple Goddess."

"Not anymore," the man said, happy to see that the sorcerer didn't know about that. "They are working for them now."

Dragoon looked at the man who was in front of him, hanging upside down in the air. Was he telling the truth? He had trouble believing that. He had met a few Disirs, and none of them would have meddled with human affairs, not without the order of the Goddess, and he knew she wouldn't ally with them. Still, this Disir was the only one who had to witness all the atrocities that had happened in Camelot during the Great Purge... He would look into it later.

"What else?" asked Dragoon, after some time.

"What more do you want from me?" asked the man, ready to burst into tears. "I don't know any— The dragon!" the man exclaimed suddenly. "The white one," he clarified, looking beneath him.

"What about her?" asked Dragoon, frowning.

"Her?" asked the man, surprised of how the sorcerer had referred to the dragon. "She has been caught," he said.

"WHAT!?"

The voice that came from under him almost gave the man a heart attack. It was the first time that the dragon had spoken.

"Who caught her!?" Dragoon asked, in a demanding tone. "Who caught her!?" he asked a second time, seeing as the man was petrified looking at Kilgharrah.

"Another ally of them," answered the man, raising his head to look at Dragoon. "He's a king here in Albion."

"What is his name?" asked Dragoon, closing in on the man.

The man looked at Dragoon. What would the masters do to him when they find out all that he had told the sorcerer? He would have to escape, and far away. Some place where no one would ever find him again. Maybe to the East. He had heard stories about lands there where no man had ever set foot. He saw as Dragoon drew his sword and pressed it against his throat. First things first, he would have to avoid becoming a dragon's launch. He opened his mouth and answered what he had been asked.

"Sarrum?" asked Merlin, folding the letter. "The king of Amata?"

"Yes," Morgana answered, still with red eyes.

"Why would she capture Aithusa?"

"He hates people with magic, and he especially hates me."

"Why?"

"What does it matter!? He has Aithusa! We have to get her back!"

Merlin thought for a second. "Morgana, this can't be a coincidence. What are the chances of Sarrum capturing Aithusa the same day the Disir curses Gwen and someone tries to steal the Cup of Life? There is something more going on here."

"He can't be working with Alvarr if that's what you mean," she said. "I've already told you, he hates people with magic."

"Yes, but you've also told me that he hates you even more."

"So what? Do you think this is retribution for helping Arthur tonight?"

"No, it can't be that," Merlin said, shaking his head. "There is no way they've found out already about what happened, and even less that they managed to capture Aithusa before we got here. This had to be planned from before."

"And why would—" Morgana started, but suddenly stopped.

"What?" Merlin asked, looking at her.

"Yesterday he came here. Alvarr. He wanted me to... help him. I refused." She shook her head in disbelief and looked at Merlin. "That's what this is all about? Just because I didn't agreed to... help him?"

Merlin wondered why Morgana had made those pauses, but he let it go. "He probably sees you as a threat," he said. "If his objective is to conquer Camelot, it makes sense for him to want to make sure that you won't get in his way."

Morgana opened her mouth a few times, but ended up just shaking her head. "I can't think about that right now, Merlin. I have to go to Sarrum; I have to rescue Aithusa."

"Morgana, he left a signed letter telling you where he has her; this is obviously a trap!" he exclaimed, waving the letter around. "There is a good chance that Aithusa won't even be there!"

"Then I'll force him to tell me where he has her! I won't abandon her!"

"I wasn't saying that! But we need to be smart. We need to know more of what we are against."

"And in the meanwhile? He will torture her, Merlin!" she said, covering her mouth. "I've seen the things he does... I can't let that happen to her... please, help me," she asked him, grabbing his hands.

"Of course I'll help you," he answered, squeezing gently her hands. "That was never in question."

"Thank you," she said, looking up.

"Don't worry, we'll save her," he said, giving her a comforting smile.

She nodded multiple times in response.

Merlin took a deep breath. "Alright, we'll need horses."

"What do you mean you don't know where Sarrum is?" asked the sorcerer.

"I don't... I really don't..." said the man, exhausted for being held upside down for so long, but grateful for being once again on solid ground. "We had just received notice about this before you showed up. Sarrum... he didn't tell us where he would take it— her. We didn't need to know. The only thing that matters for us is that he takes care of the princess."

"Princess?" Dragoon asked confused. "You mean Morgana?"

"Yes, she has a claim to the throne. The masters can't let her live if she isn't with us. Sarrum said he was going to take care of that."

"Did you hear that Kilgharrah? Morgana isn't with them," Dragoon said, talking to the dragon.

"That doesn't mean anything," the dragon replied.

"Of course it doesn't..." Dragoon said, letting out a sigh. "What else?" he asked, looking at the man sitting on the ground.

"Nothing, nothing else," he said, shaking his head. "Please, you have to believe me, please..."

"I believe you," Dragoon said.

The man's face lit with joy at the same time Dragoon extended his hands and his eyes glowed gold. The man closed his eyes and fell to the ground.

"A memory spell Dragoon, really?" a harsh voice asked. "Why don't you just kill him?"

"Mind your own business Kilgharrah," Dragoon answered. "Besides, this way is better; they might get suspicious if one of their commanders disappear."

The dragon exhaled loudly through his nose. "Just remember, Dragoon, the ones who are coming won't be defeated by silly spells like these. Killing them is the only way to stop them."

"Don't worry Kilgharrah," Dragoon said, with a grin, "I look forward to it."

"Good..." the dragon said, returning the grin. "What now?"

Dragoon turned around and looked towards the direction of Camelot. "Now... Now we've got to find Merlin."

Morgana was riding in front, followed by Merlin. She still had trouble believing what was going on. Sometimes she looked above and was sure she had seen Aithusa, flying free over her head. She knew it wasn't real, but at the same time she needed it. The sole thought of her Aithusa in Sarrum's hands paralyzed her, and right now she needed to keep it together. After all, she was walking straight into a trap.

At least she wasn't alone, Merlin was with her. Was he right when he said that they should know more before marching to Sarrum? Probably, but it didn't matter. There was no way in hell that she was going to let Aithusa suffer one second more than she had to in the hands of that monster. Still, she hoped that nothing bad happened to him because of her actions. Even when he was also a sorcerer, he didn't have as much power as she had. The success or failure of what they were about to do rested on her shoulders.

"I still can't believe that man just gave you his horses," Merlin said, from behind her.

"I healed his niece one time. It was a simple cold, nothing serious, but they were very grateful."

"Oh, I've noticed," Merlin said, amused. "They were even talking about naming her next daughter Fey in your honor."

"No they weren't," Morgana said, looking back.

"They might have," he replied, shrugging.

Morgana made a brief smile. She knew that he was trying to distract her, to make her think of something else than Aithusa's capture. But... how could she? Aithusa had saved her life, and now was in danger because of her past choices. She wouldn't be calm until the dragon was safe once more. He probably noticed that, because he didn't talk again for some time, and when he did, it wasn't to make her feel better.

"Morgana, tell me more about Sarrum."

"Why?" Morgana asked, in a defensive tone.

"Why?" Merlin asked back, in an incredulous tone. "We are heading straight to a trap made by this man, don't you think it would be wise for me to know more about him?"

"Since when are you wise?" she asked.

"Since you and I decided to face the ruler of another kingdom all alone," he answered. "What's the matter, Morgana? Why won't you tell me?"

She looked away for some time and then looked back at him.

"The man is a monster, Merlin. He treats people with magic even worse than Uther."

"How is that possible?"

"Uther killed our people, but for Sarrum that isn't enough," she said, looking at him. "A few years ago, Morgouse and I were doing business in Amata when we crossed paths with a group of soldiers escorting some prisoners. It wasn't hard figuring out they were druids. We decided that we had to do something, so we ambushed the guards and set the druids free.

"The stories they told us, Merlin... The things the king had done to them... They were inhuman. One of them told us about how the king used to torture magical people, sometimes forcing them to confess where others like us were, and sometimes just for the fun of it. They said that he had a way of blocking one's magic, and so he forced sorcerers to be his slaves. He even sometimes used to entertain his guests with a sorcerer hunt, where he made one of us run through the forest while the king and his friends tried to kill him. And they always succeed."

"He has a way of blocking magic? Like your cell?" Merlin asked.

"Yes. From what the druids said, he uses collars that work in the same way, but lets the sorcerer move around, so he can use us as slaves and prey for his hunts."

"So," Morgana continued, "when we found out about all this, we couldn't just let it be. We... gather some information," she said, in a tone that suggested that Merlin probably wouldn't approve the ways they had used to gather that information, "and found out about a trip he was going to take. After that it was easy. We found a good place for an ambush, waited for them to show up, and before anyone could do anything we blew up his carriage to pieces."

Morgana made a pause and looked at Merlin, who was trying to maintain the less judgmental face possible. It wasn't actually that hard, he had killed people for very similar reasons. Still, the fact that Sarrum was currently alive...

"So?" he asked, in a gentle tone.

"Later, we found out we had made a mistake," Morgana said, looking away. "The one on that carriage wasn't Sarrum, but his son, Edward." She let out a sad laugh. "You know? He was actually against his father's beliefs that sorcerers were evil. And we killed him..."

For her looks Merlin didn't know if she was about to cry or blow up something.

"I... I'm sorry Morgana," he said.

"After that, Sarrum got even worse," she continued. "He sent hundredths of men looking for us and we had no other choice but to leave Amata." She shook her head. "We wanted to help, but all we did was to make matters worse."

"I know that feeling," Merlin noted, nodding.

"That was when I returned to Camelot for the first time," Morgana said, looking at Merlin and remembering their first encounter after he had poisoned her. "You pretty much know what happened since. I thought that we were safe, after all Sarrum had no way of knowing that we had been the ones who had killed his son." She took a deep breath. "It turned out that I was wrong. After Aithusa saved me, I returned to my hovel and lived there for a month, until one day a small army of his men appeared at my door. Apparently the man we had made deals with all those years ago had been caught and had exchanged our names for his freedom. I was lucky to get out alive, and since then I've been living in my cave, hiding from him."

"Why didn't you tell me about this before? I could have helped!" Merlin exclaimed.

"How?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

Merlin open his mouth, but didn't make any sound.

"Exactly..." Morgana said. "Besides, I didn't want you to know yet another one of my mistakes."

"I'll tell you what," Merlin said, looking at her in a challenging way, "when we are done with this we should have a 'mistake-off', the one with more mistakes in their past win."

Morgana looked at him incredulously. "You have no chance, Merlin."

"Well, then you have nothing to worry about, right?" he asked, in a taunting tone.

"Let just go," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "We are close."

The wind dissipated, revealing an empty room. Well, empty besides Dragoon. It would have been much of a coincidence for Merlin to be in his room, but Dragoon could have used a bit of coincidence right now. He opened the door and went into the main chamber. Gaius wasn't there either. He had never knew another physician who worked as hard as him.

He left through the door and started walking when a voice called his name. One of his names.

"Drake, you are Drake right?" the woman asked.

"Yes, and who—" started asking Dragoon, turning around. "My queen, I didn't recognized you," he said when he saw who the woman was, making a small bow.

"You can just call me Gwen," she replied, smiling. "How come that we had never been introduced properly in all this time?" she asked, somehow making it sound like it had been his fault.

"Well, I'm just a humble man and you are a beautiful queen; our paths are unlikely to cross."

"Except that you are actually a powerful sorcerer and your name is Dragoon," she said, with a tone that you would have used to talk about the weather.

"Well, yes, except that," he replied, grinning. "May I ask how you know about it?"

"Merlin told me."

"So... that means that you know about..." Dragoon said, and took a look around to make sure no one was listening. "I will have to talk to him about keeping secrets. Who else knows about me?" Dragoon asked, in a curious tone. "Does Arthur know?"

"What do you think?" Gwen asked back, raising one eyebrow.

"Good," Dragoon replied, smiling. "Incidentally, have you seen him? Merlin, I mean."

Gwen took a second before answering. "I was going to ask you the same thing."

"You can't find him?" he asked.

"No, not since he left to... do some errands. For Arthur."

"That's not good," Dragoon said, as his face turned serious. "Was he alone?"

"Yes. Well..."

"What?"

"There was someone, before, but I don't think that she..." Gwen stopped and looked at Dragoon, studying him. "What exactly are you to Merlin? Are you his friend or just his teacher?"

Dragoon smiled briefly at how protective of Merlin she was. "I like to consider myself both things," he said, "but right now I think he would disagree about the first one. We are kind of in a rough patch," he added.

"So what do you know about... her?"

"Her?" asked Dragoon, and then a name popped into his mind. He had to be wrong. Not even Merlin would be so stupid as to tell Gwen about her, right? "What do you know about her?" Dragoon asked back, making emphasis in the 'you'.

"I asked first," she simply replied.

"Fair enough," he said, raising both arms in defeat. "Alright... let's see..." He stood silent for a second, thinking. "Princess," he finally said.

Gwen looked at him confused, but then smiled when she realized where he was going. "Sorceress," she replied.

"Mad."

"Confused," Gwen rectified, shaking her head.

"Enemy."

"Friend," Gwen said, which caused Dragoon to give her a puzzled look.

"Witch," he tried.

"Priestess."

Alright, maybe it was her, but why had Gwen said 'friend' then? What exactly had happened while he was away? His game had lasted long enough.

"Morgana was in Camelot?" he asked. "Why aren't you freaking out about this? Didn't she try to kill you? Several times?"

"Yes, well, she apologized," Gwen explained.

"Just like that? You are a very forgiving person," Dragoon said, raising his eyebros.

"It was a very good apology," she replied with a smile.

"I honestly can't imagine that scenario," Dragoon confessed. "So, why would she be in Camelot?"

"She came to cure me of the curse the Disir casted on me just before those men attacked Camelot to get the Cup of Life."

"Ah..." said Dragoon. "Wait, what?"

Merlin and Morgana were hiding side by side behind some bushes. In front of them stood the fort where Sarrum allegedly held Aithusa hostage. All Merlin could see was the stone walls that surrounded the entire place, with the entrance gate, right in middle. It was open and completely unguarded. He had tried to use his mind's eye to see inside the place, but he had only seen black; not a very good omen.

"Alright, this is definitely a trap," he said, looking around trying to find where Sarrum's men were hidden.

"We already knew that; it doesn't change anything," replied Morgana.

"We have to try to find another way in, maybe a side door or something."

"Merlin, it's a fort. It doesn't have side doors," she said, stating the obvious.

"Well... we can't just walk through the main gate! "

"It seems that we don't have a choice."

"There are plenty choices! For example, we can wait until some soldiers leave, knock them out and steal their clothes so we can go in unnoticed."

"Aithusa doesn't have that kind of time," Morgana said. "Besides, I don't think either of us could pass as one of them."

"What is that supposed to—"

A screeching noise filled the air. It came from the fort and Merlin could feel the pain in it. Morgana probably could too, because she opened her eyes wide and moved towards the gates.

"AITHUSA!" she yelled.

"Morgana, wait!" Merlin said, grabbing her by the hand. "You can't go in there. It's suicide."

"You heard her Merlin!" she exclaimed. "That was Aithusa and those monsters are hurting her. I will not stand here and let this happen," she said, with a break in her voice, before pulling her arm free from his grasp. "Are you with me or not?" she asked impatiently.

Merlin knew her well enough to know that she was going to go in there and try to rescue Aithusa, no matter what he told her. His eyes moved to the gates that were still completely open. Going in there was crazy, stupid and careless. However, it was also something they had to do.

With a nod from Merlin, they both started to move towards the gates, as covertly as they could, which wasn't very much. While they were a few trees around the gates, the soldiers had made sure to clear the surroundings enough for any guard to see them coming from a long distance away. That, of course, if there had been any guards. After what felt like an eternity of looking around, they were standing just next to the gate.

"I had thought that something would have happened before we reached here," Merlin confessed, looking around.

"See, maybe it's just unguarded because they don't have the men."

"Yeah... I don't think so. Be careful, Morgana. Please."

"You too."

They nodded to each other, mostly trying to convince themselves, and went in. They had only taken a few steps inside the fort, when the portcullis behind them fell and closed the way out. Suddenly, Merlin felt a surge of energy that felt awfully familiar, but that he couldn't quite place it.

"Have you felt that?" he asked Morgana, who for some reason looked afraid.

"This is what I felt when I was trapped inside Camelot," she whispered, looking at him. "I think someone just blocked our magic."

Merlin tried to make a ball of light, but nothing appeared. She was right, they were powerless. Now he remembered, it had been the same feeling that he felt the first time he trained with Dragoon. Still...

"How?" he asked her. "You said they used collars to block our magic."

"Well, obviously I was mistaken!" she exclaimed, as low as one can exclaim something.

"So, what? This whole place is a magic proof prison?"

Morgana looked at the floor and clenched her fists. "This doesn't change anything, we still have to save her."

"This changes a lot," Merlin pointed out. "Right now we are two unarmed people against who knows how many soldiers who most likely already know about us. I don't understand why they aren't here already" he added, looking around.

"I took you for many things, Merlin, but never for a coward," Morgana said.

"It's not that and you know it," he told her.

They heard another screech. Aithusa needed them and they were arguing like stupid children. Whatever they were going to do, they had to do it now.

Merlin looked at Morgana. Her eyes showed love and hate, fear and determination. She looked like she was about to break down. It was one of the few things they had in common, they felt too much for their own good.

"Alright, we are already trapped in here," he said, "the least we can do is look what we are dealing with. Come on," he added, offering his hand for her to grab.

After a second of doubt she grabbed him and they started moving. The fort appeared to be deserted, which only made Merlin more suspicious. Following the noises —Merlin just couldn't call them for what they truly were— they reached a large courtyard that was the hearth of the fort. Aithusa was there, chained to the ground and surrounded by a handful of guards, one of whom was holding a whip. In a balcony above, just across the courtyard, Merlin could see a man with a crown. Sarrum. The guards hadn't seen them yet, but there was no way to move any closer to them without them noticing.

"Come on witch! Reveal yourself!" yelled Sarrum, looking all around the place. "I know you are here!"

Merlin looked at Morgana, whose eyes were fixed in the dragon. She wouldn't last long before rushing towards her. He needed to do something, fast. His looked around, trying to find something that could help them, anything. That's when he saw it. A weapon rack was just a few steps away from where they were hidden, finally some luck. He grabbed one sword and handed another to Morgana. They were still vastly outnumbered and out skilled, but this was something.

"Come on, witch!" Sarrum exclaimed. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Seeing as nothing happened Sarrum looked at the man with the whip. "Again!" he ordered.

Merlin had thought that hearing Aithusa suffering was terrible, but seeing was a lot worse. He found himself grabbing his sword with all his strength. He had to help her somehow, but he knew that he was no match for that many knights. Apparently Morgana didn't feel the same, because, before Merlin could realize it, she was already half way through the courtyard.

"Oh, there you are!" exclaimed Sarrum, showing a smug smile. "Welcome!" he added, opening his arms wide.

"You bastard!" yelled Morgana. "I demand you to release her!"

"Demand?" he asked, amused. "Look around you, do you think that you are in a position to make demands?"

She wasn't going to back down just like that. "Don't be a fool, Sarrum," she said. "Or do you want to find out what happens to people that cross me?"

"Such confidence!" he exclaimed, almost bursting into laugh. "You will be a fun one to break. When I'm done with you, you will beg me for death, that much I promise you." His face suddenly turned serious. "You will pay for what you have done to my son," he added.

Like if the sudden silence had been an order, the guards started to move towards her. Merlin could see as she got in a fighting stance, readying her weapon. Sometimes he forgot how good Morgana was with swords.

She wasn't going to wait for them to attack first. When one of the guards was at her range, she moved fast towards him and plunged her sword in his chest, killing him where he stood. That had been the easy part, now they knew that she could fight and they wouldn't be so careless. They started surrounding her, trying to flank her. Morgana attacked several times, but she could only do so much against that many enemies. Her dress didn't help either.

Suddenly, the man in the middle moved towards her with his sword raised high. She managed to block the attack, but then two more men moved, one from each of her sides. She was able to dodge one of them, but the other one's sword was moving directly to her, and there was nothing she could do. She got ready to receive the blow, when a new sword appeared in front of her and blocked the attack. Merlin kicked the guard to the ground and started facing the one next to him.

Using the confusion caused by Merlin's appearance, she was able to kill the two men who she had dodged before with relative ease. She faced the last guard on her side; it was a lot easier when you didn't have to watch your back. After she was finished she turned around to see Merlin striking a guard with the pommel of his sword, knocking him out. Morgana noticed that the guards that Merlin fought were all injured, but none of them were dead. His kindness was going to be the death of him one day.

"Maybe we can actually pull this off," Merlin said, catching his breath.

Morgana was going to reply, but someone started clapping. They both looked up.

"Just impressive," said Sarrum, after his last clap. Morgana didn't like the grin in his face. Not one bit. "You cheated Morgana," he said, in a scolding tone. "You were supposed to come alone. You will be punished for that." His gaze moved to Merlin. "And who are you?" he asked, truly intrigued. "His boyfriend, maybe?"

"Just release Aithusa and let us go," Merlin said, looking at the dragon who was looking back at them.

"Oh, no... No, no, no... You don't understand. You are going to be punished," Sarrum said, still grinning.

"Why are you doing this?" Merlin asked. "Hadn't been enough pain already?"

"SHE KILLED MY SON!" he yelled, hitting the balcony with his fist.

"It was her sister, not her."

"It was both! You sorcerers are all demons! Monsters! I've been sent to this world to purge your kind from it and I will not rest until I'm done!"

"Then why ally with Alvarr?"

"How do you know that!?" Sarrum asked, with shock in his face. "Damned sorcerers, you can't even keep a secret. I allied with Alvarr, yes, but only to get her here. Once I'm done with you, he's next."

Merlin sighed and shook his head. Then he looked back at Sarrum. "Still," Merlin said, "nothing of this changes the fact that we have defeated you men. Just stay there and we won't harm you."

"What do you mean!?" exclaimed Morgana, giving him a deadly stare. "Look what he has done, he has to die!" she said, pointing at Aithusa.

"Lovebirds, don't fight," Sarrum said, in a mocking voice, "you don't want to spend your last minutes together in this world fighting. Or do you really thought that those were all the men I had?" he asked, showing his teeth.

With a wave of Sarrum's hand, guards started to appear from... well... everywhere. Just a few seconds later there were at least twenty men with crossbows on the walls and another twenty with swords around them.

Merlin and Morgana stood back against back and spun around, trying to find an opening, but there was none. They were completely surrounded. Merlin caught a glimpse of movement in the corner of his eye, but before he could react something heavy hit him directly in the head, sending him to the ground and making him drop his sword. Still dizzy, he felt as the guards tied his hands behind his back and dragged him across the courtyard.

He tried to get loose from the ropes, but he couldn't. He tried to burn them with fire, but nothing happened. It was like a stone wall had appeared between him and his powers. He tried to look around, but all he could see was the floor.

"Morgana! Morgana!" he yelled, wondering what had happened to her.

He tried to stood up, but before he could someone hit him behind the head and knocked him out. He thought he heard someone yell 'Merlin', just before everything went black.

The next thing he felt was a river of cold water falling on his head. Merlin tried to stood up at once, but couldn't. Both his hands and feet were tied up. Instead he just sat on his knees, gasping for air.

"Good, we couldn't start this without you," someone in front of him said.

Merlin looked where the voice came from. It was Sarrum, who was now in the courtyard alongside his guards. How long had he been unconscious? He looked around some more. The guards were all over the place, covering every possible exit and aiming crossbows at him. Aithusa was still trapped in chains, but the men seemed to have lost interest in her. Instead, most of them were looking at him, while others were looking to his right. Following their gaze he found Morgana, who was in a similar situation to his own, also sitting on her knees with hands and feet tied down. She had a few bruises on her face; she hadn't surrendered without a fight. Seeing her like that made Merlin's clench his teeth and try to use magic again, but still nothing happened. It was pointless.

"I don't know if you can understand how long I dreamt about this," started Sarrum. "And to see it coming true... and with a bonus!" he said, gesturing towards Merlin. He took a deep breath and sighed. "Now... you two are probably wondering what is going to happen to you. I won't lie, you are going to die, the question here is the how, and what will happen to you before you do.

"You, my dear witch," he said, looking at Morgana with a disturbing grin, "your destiny is something I've been planning for a long time, even before I knew you were the one to blame. You are to live the rest of your life in captivity, seeing nothing but darkness, each day, every day, until the time comes when you beg me to end you of your missery."

"I won't ever beg you!" Morgana exclaimed.

Sarrum let out a small laugh, got near her and stroked her check, which made Morgana flinch away in fisgust.

"Such a shame," said Sarrum. "All that power, all that beauty, abandoned, forgotten in a living grave. Forever... Who knows? Maybe I could let you out to warm my bed once in a while."

"Never!"

"And you," Sarrum said, ignoring Morgana and quickly turning around to face Merlin. "You are going to be killed slowly and painfully, while she's watches the whole thing. First you, then her precious dragon. Then she'll beg."

"You have lost your mind!" exclaimed Merlin, looking at him in disbelief. He looked around to the guards. "You can't let him go through with this!" he told them.

Sarrum laughed, and some of his men joined him. "Don't waste your breath," he said. "Everyone of these men has proven himself by purging this land of at least ten sorcerers. They have seen what monsters like you do given the chance. They won't be fooled by your attempts to trick them. "

"He is not a sorcerer," Morgana said.

"What?" Sarrum asked, turning his gaze back on her.

"This boy, he doesn't have any magic. He is just an peasant I convince to help me."

There was some talk among Sarrum's men. He turned around and commanded them to be quiet.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" he asked, looking at Morgana.

"Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that he's just a peasant."

Sarrum raised his hand and slapped Morgana strong enough for Merlin to hear the blow.

"This is going to be your first lesson: don't lie to me! DON'T YOU EVER LIE TO ME! Does this boy has magic?" he asked, once again.

"No," she said firmly, looking directly at his eyes.

Sarrum slapped her once again.

"Stop!" Merlin yelled. "Morgana, what are you doing!?" he asked, looking at her with wide eyes.

"He can't kill people who doesn't have magic, not without a trial. It's the law of Amata," she said, while a small drop of blood went down her chin.

"Oh, you think you are clever?" asked Sarrum, looking at her. "Tell me the truth!" Sarrum demanded.

Morgana looked at him defiantly, without saying a word.

Merlin saw as Sarrum raised his hand and hit her. "Morgana, stop!" he exclaimed with a desperate voice. "Why would he honor the law? He'll kill me anyway." He looked at Sarrum. "Stop, it's true, I have magic," he confessed.

"I want her to tell me that," Sarrum answered. "So," he said, looking at Morgana, "is he lying?"

"Yes."

Another slap. Merlin couldn't take this anymore. Once again, he tried to use his magic. He didn't even needed that much, just enough to get free of his ropes. He tried again and again, but the wall still remained. He could almost feel his power on the other side. He closed his eyes and pictured the wall inside his head. Then, he imagined himself next to it and punched it. Just punched it. Something must had happened because next he felt the worst headache he had ever had.

His magic was still blocked, but he could swear he was seeing a small dent on the wall. Or was he imagining it? Then why had his head hurt? He heard another answer from Morgana and yet another slap. He took another punch to the wall, stronger than before, and he felt an even stronger headache. It was like he was feeling the actual pain of hitting a stone wall with your bear hands, but inside his head.

Another answer, another slap, another punch, another headache.

This time Sarrum hit Morgana so hard that she fell to her side.

"You know what?" he asked. "Screw killing the boy slowly, I'll just chop his head right now; then you'll learn."

"No!" Morgana yelled, trying to get off the floor.

Sarrum, drew his sword and get closer to Merlin.

"So, boy, any last words?"

"I'm sorry, Morgana," Merlin said, in a voice just loud enough for her to hear.

Morgana looked as Sarrum grinned and the sword started to fall towards Merlin neck. In the last second she looked away, she just couldn't watch as he died. How could this be? What about her visions? How could he kill Emrys if he was dead? How could she love him if he—

"What!?" a voice asked. It was Sarrum's and it sounded... afraid?

Morgana looked up once again. Merlin was grabbing Sarrum's sword by the blade, stopping his attack. She instinctively let out a small laugh, and then stopped when she realized that what she was seeing was simply impossible.

"I'm sorry," repeated Merlin, just before he opened his eyes. To say that they were glowing gold would be an understatement. They were gold, every last bit of them, and they shone so intensively that it was hard to look at them directly.

He stood up and looked at Sarrum, who let go of his sword and took a step back.

"No! That can't be!" Sarrum exclaimed, moving back. "You have no powers in here! You... monster!"

"You are the monster, Sarrum," Merlin answered, in a unusually calm voice. "You and your men have done unspeakable things, and you need to be stopped."

"You foolish rat! Even with your powers you are no match for all my men, attack!"

Merlin could see as twenty crossbows were fired and the same amount of bolts slowly started to make its way across the courtyard, moving towards where he stood. At the speed they were going it would take another whole tenth of a second for them to reach him, he had plenty of time. One sweep of his hand, and a second later every men holding a crossbow had a bolt piercing through his chest.

"No, Sarrum," said Merlin, while the other one realized what had just happened, "it is you who are no match for me."

"Attack!" he yelled to the guards holding the sword, who were slowly backing away from Merlin. "ATTACK!" Sarrum insisted.

After looking at each other, the guards slowly started to surround Merlin. He didn't move. The instant the first of the guards raised his sword, all of them were sent flying against what was behind them. Morgana doubted that any of them would ever wake.

"What...? How...?" Sarrum was against a wall, looking at Merlin with wide eyes. "What are you?"

Merlin made a sad smile. "I'm just someone who wants to live in peace. And you Sarrum, are not." He lifted his hand and Sarrum's sword flew from the ground to Sarrum, impaling him to the wall.

Merlin turned to Aithusa. Poor Aithusa. She didn't deserve what had been done to her. The chains that bounded her broke until only fragments remained. The wounds on her wings healed. Now she could fly again.

There was one more thing to do. He turned around and saw her, looking up at him. What was in her eyes. Was it fear? Awe? Hatred? Happiness? He didn't know. Her ropes were gone now, she could finally move free. Why didn't she say something? Anything? She was wounded, and it had been because she tried to protect him. Would she had done the same if she had known what she knew now? He would find out soon enough. Now her wounds were gone too, she would be fine.

He looked around. More that forty men lied dead. How many wives had he made widows? How many children orphans? And all for what? A war that didn't seem to have any ending. A war that had existed long before he had been born, and that would probably exist long after he had died. A tear started to fall from his eyes, and at the same time the ground started to shake.

For Morgana, everything happened in just a few seconds. A moment she believed that Sarrum had killed Merlin, and the next every guard was dead, Sarrum was impaled to a wall and both she and Aithusa were free and mostly healed. She didn't understand any of it, but before she could think of anything the whole place started to tremble. At first she thought it was an earthquake, but the coincidence was just too much. The walls of the fort started to explode outwards and cracks started to appear in the ground. Merlin's voice made her look his way.

"Why?" Merlin asked, in a low voice. "Why can't there be peace?"

Morgana moved towards him, avoiding the cracks and flying debris. She could already feel her magic coming back to her; the wall exploding probably destroyed whatever enchantment was in place. She kept moving until she was face to face with him. She noticed a small line of blood coming of his nose and ears, had he gotten that in the fight? His golden gaze was lost in the men that lie around the place. He repeated the question, and at the same time the tower where Sarrum had been just collapsed on itself. Definitely not a coincidence.

She grabbed him by both sides of his face and forced him to look at her.

"Merlin, it's me, Morgana, you need to stop now, everything is fine, we are already safe, Aithusa is safe," she said, trying to reach to him.

He just looked at her for a few seconds without saying anything and his eyes slowly started to shift back to normal.

"Do you hate me?" he finally asked, with fear in his voice.

"No," she answered with a small smile, "why would I—" She suddenly stopped talking, opened her eyes and took a step back.

He tried to reach for her, but he suddenly felt dizzy.

"You are Emrys..." Morgana said, as if realizing everything at the same time.

Merlin smiled, for what else could he do?

"Surprise," he said.

And with that, he fainted.

###

A/N: I hope you liked it!

A darker chapter, but Sarrum was a dark character. Here he has a better excuse for hating Morgana so much, but at the same time is a bit crazier.

Thanks Patiku, AndreKl, CHARLES CHUKU, Howarand, mersan123, SpanishPlume, Meri Ley for the reviews =D

Patiku = It's a problem of time and content. For example I could have made to half of this chapter in a week, but then it would have ended in Dragoon's and Gwen talk. What happened until that talk? Practically nothing, but there were things needed to set up a scenario :p. That's why I prefer this two-weeks-longer-chapters mode.