Emrys fell against the wall as an explosion shook the castle and he gripped his arm that had blood trickling down it, an injury from before not healing even after he tried to use his magic. He should be more concerned, be thinking about reasons why his magic wasn't able to help him, but all he could think about was Arthur in his chambers, being defenceless as his home collapsed around him.

"Brace yourselves!"

Someone's voice echoed through the hall and Emrys didn't even have time to protect himself as a large gust of wind soared towards him. His body flew through the air as it hit him and only by luck did he crash through Arthur's chambers door instead of into a brick wall. The door lay shattered around him as he crashed to the floor and his hands shook as he pushed parts of it off him, his eyes seeking out the King.

He didn't have to look far. Arthur was lying over by the table with the empty vile glass grasped in his loose grip.

"Arthur," he croaked out as he crawled across the floor and grabbed his empty hand. "Arthur can you hear me? You need to wake up." Emrys gently tapped Arthur's cheek and tensed as he heard an explosion outside, closer than the last one by far. "He came back, Julian I mean. He's attacking the castle with his dragons and we can't … Sire the Kingdom can't do this without their King."

"Oh Arthur! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

"Please Arthur, he's coming." Using what little strength he had left, Emrys hooked his arms under Arthur's armpits and attempted to drag him further into the room, away from the open doorway. He groaned as his arm sent a stabbing pain through him and dropped Arthur as they managed to get behind a slightly fallen curtain.

Emrys took off his jacket as quickly as possible and rested Arthur's head on it, having no idea what condition the King was in. In all honesty he needed Gauis here to help him, Arthur could be dying for all he knew and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Arthur's hand suddenly twitched beneath his own and Emrys turned his gaze to the unconscious man, his eyes filled with hope that he was waking up. "Arthur … Arthur please come back to us. The Kingdom needs you …" His insides twisted as he heard someone enter the room and he pressed his forehead to the King's in desperation, "I need you-"

"Oh look what I found!"

An invisible hand around his throat was suddenly pulling Emrys and he let out a cry as he was torn away from Arthur. "You went back on your word," Emrys said bitterly as he was held in mid-air in front of Julian and the man just laughed. "You said you wouldn't use the dragon to harm this Kingdom."

"And I stand by that, I have not used that dragon to do any harm here. My other dragons … well they just like destroying things."

"Merlin told me there were no dragons left," he said as he tried to get the hand off his throat.

"Well he lied to you I'm afraid. They'd just gone into hiding and only needed persuading to come back out into the open." Julian stepped forward so he was mere inches from Emrys and the grip tightened around his throat, "What would it take to persuade you to join me I wonder?"

"There is nothing you could offer me to turn against my King," he hissed.

"But he's not just a King to you is he?" The grip around his throat vanished and his body fell to the floor in a huddle, his breathing heavy and jagged as he gripped his own throat like that would heal the new bruises forming. "I've heard people saying he's teaching you to take his place one day, like one would do to a Son."

Emrys glanced over towards where he could see Arthur's foot sticking out from behind the curtain and knew the moment Julian figured out where he was the King would be dead within seconds.

"Yes that's me. So what better way to hurt the King then to take out all your anger or whatever this is out on me?" Emrys pushed himself to his feet and tried to hide his shaking hands, the blood loss beginning to get to him. "I've been told death is the easy way out when you really want someone to suffer."

Julian smirked and took a few steps to the side, unknowingly towards Arthur, and Emrys kept his face expressionless. "You would sacrifice yourself for a man that without hesitation took a vile that is showing him another world that you clearly are not a part of."

"You don't know that," he responded firmly.

"Oh but I do," he teased and turned his back on the curtain hiding the King. "I know the kind of man he is, met many like him, and let me tell you something I've learnt. They only care about themselves and getting what they want, nothing else, especially not about a creature who can walk like a man, talk like a man, but will always be a monster to everyone."

"I am not a monster."

"You tell yourself that …" Julian trailed off and then smiled when another explosion shook the castle, Emrys now gripping a chair that had managed to stay upright during the attack. "You are more a monster then my dragons out there because at least they don't pretend to be something they're not."

Emrys tried to not let the words affect him, told himself that Arthur didn't see him that way, but the King's earlier words ran through his head and the feeling of being rejected became fresh in his heart. Yes, Arthur didn't see him as something he could lose, but Emrys still saw him as a Father and wouldn't let Julian sway him from that thought.

"Monster or not, I won't let you harm him."

"Not like you could stop me in the condition you're in," he mocked.

Pushing himself away from the chair, Emrys raised his hand out and willed his magic to the surface. "Try me."

"Such courage, just like your Father."

"The King-"

"Not that one," Julian interrupted and rubbed his hands together like he was plotting something. "Merlin likes to think he can go against me when he's just as pathetic and weak as you." He was making it sound like he knew were Merlin was and his hand dropped a little at the thought of hurting the one person who might be able to help them find Merlin. "He also has the same weakness as you."

Suddenly his hand was pulling back the curtain to reveal Arthur and Emrys didn't hesitate, he used what magic he had left to put a protective barrier around the King before Julian could attack. Except nothing happened … well, not to Arthur anyway.

Instead Emrys felt something hit him in the chest and his hand fell to his side as Julian's smile lit up his face, the magic he'd just shot from his palm now swirling around his fingertips as he lowered his arm. Emrys slowly looked down at himself and felt his heart sink as the flesh on his chest burned, like a hole had just been punched through his chest.

He only had time to briefly look back at the man before he fell to the ground, his body going numb as the spell began to take hold. He knew this spell; it was one of the ones Gaius had warned him about during one of his tuitions, that not many knew how to use. It was a spell that gave you a wound, something people would believe would be enough to kill you, but actually barely did any harm. Instead the magic attacked you internally, shut down all your organs and put you to sleep.

Outside you were dead. Inside you were screaming to be heard.

"I'm sorry for this, truly, but you were only going to get in my way." Julian crouched down next to him and brushed the hair away from his face, "Just be grateful I didn't kill you and when this all works out for me, maybe I'll wake you up so you can rule with me. How does that sound?"

"Go … to … Hell," Emrys managed to get out between gritted teeth.

"Maybe one day, right now I have a King to dispose of."

Neither was sure how it happened, but one second Julian was smiling down at Emrys, he next he was being thrown through the room and out the balcony door, his body no doubt falling towards the ground below. Emrys didn't question how it happened, nor did he care, all he did care about was lying feet away from him and if Arthur woke up, he'd believe Emrys dead.

The King may think he had nothing to lose, but that was all about to change, and as Emrys felt his eyes shutting and his final breath being taken, he wanted to say one word that he had never dared say before.

"Father…"

Arthur woke up to a world that was oddly silent and dark, only to realize there was something covering him. At first he thought it was a blanket but as he pushed himself to sit, he found himself holding onto a curtain that must have fallen onto him. Why had a curtain fallen down onto him?

The next thing he noticed was that it smelt like ash, as if the world had been burnt around him whilst he slept and the dust was only just beginning to settle. "Odd," he muttered as he pushed the curtain to one side and began to look around the room.

Except he only saw one thing.

Stretched towards him was a hand covered in blood and as he moved sideways he saw whom the hand was attached to behind the fallen table. "Emrys?" His voice cracked when he said the name and he was making his way across the fallen debris in the room until he was pushing Emrys onto his back. "Emrys?"

The boy remained still. His eyes closed and it was only when the smell of burning became too strong to ignore that he looked down to see the skin on his chest burnt like he had been set on fire. Then he noticed a gaping open wound in his arm and instantly ripped some of his shirt off to wrap around it, the blood around him suggesting the wound had been bleeding for a while now.

"This can't be happening," he muttered as he cupped the side of the boy's face and tried to gently shake him awake. "Time to wake up now, this isn't funny anymore. I get it, I shouldn't have taken the potion, and every thing I want is here. I'll listen from now on, okay?"

"Arthur?"

He looked up to see Morgana stumbling into the room and she must have seen something in his eyes as she dashed over like she wasn't even injured to take her place next to him. "Why won't he wake up? Tell me why he won't wake up!"

She didn't hesitate to put her fingers to his neck and he didn't miss her shoulders drop when she clearly didn't find what she was looking for. "Arthur he-"

"No!" Arthur shoved her away and shook Emrys by the shoulders. "Wake up right now! You hear me? You can't let something like this … you can't just …" his voice trailed off as his eyes began to water up and he tried to think of a way to fix this. He didn't want this.

"There was nothing you could have done," a soft whisper came from his sister and he ignored her in favour of running his thumb across the boys face. Ridding the skin of dirt and anything that could taint such perfect pale skin. Emrys hadn't deserved to die this way. He hadn't been given enough time to live yet and Arthur had never really done things with him that he should have, he had spent so long raising him to be a King that he had forgotten to treat Emrys like a Son.

Just like Uther had done to him.

"Forgive me," he muttered and the memory flashed through his mind of when Emrys had first appeared in this form.

They'd been making their way off the ship, Camelot in the distance, when Arthur had turned around to find a young boy smiling up at him. At first he had presumed one of the crew members had their family come greet them on their return, except after a second look Arthur recognised some of the boys features and couldn't help but get down on one knee to be eye level with the boy.

"And who are you?"

"Arthur, it's me … I'm the creature from the island."

Arthur's eyes had widened as he took in the boys full appearance and when it wasn't only himself he saw reflected back at him, he realized who he also looked like. "Why do you look like Merlin?"

"I look like the two most powerful men I know, does there need to be any other reason?" The boy asked and Arthur had shaken his head, letting his lips slip into a smile he hadn't shown in their journey home. "Is this alright? I can change if you want?"

"No … you look just perfect to me," he'd replied and took the boy under his arm as they had walked away from the ship.

Emrys still looked perfect to this day. Every day that passed he looked more and more like Merlin, like he was trying to replace what Arthur had lost by showing him that even though his love had died, he still had someone there who needed him. "I need you to wake up," Arthur admitted. He didn't know how he was going to get through his days without the thought of Emrys needing him and the thought of him gone … it almost made him want to give up.

"Take him somewhere safe," Arthur said quietly and looked up to meet Morgana's as she was now on the other side of Emrys. "You have enough power to get out of here, I know you do. Take him, find somewhere to hide and don't leave it until someone comes for you."

"Arthur I'm not leaving you," Morgana reached out and grabbed his hand tightly as if that would end the matter. "People are being evacuated through the tunnels, the Knights are fighting off the dragons-" dragons? "-and the castle is falling down as we speak. You need to come with us."

Arthur shook his head and gripped her hand, "I have something to do first."

"There's nothing left to do Arthur! The Kingdom has fallen, we need to regroup and think of-"

"Morgana, take my Son away from here, that is an order by your King."

Silence followed his order and she glared at him like she'd just been slapped, but that soon turned to a look of concern as she cupped the side of his face. "Don't do anything stupid okay? I can't lose you too."

"I promise, you'll see me before you know it. Now go!"

Morgana pressed a quick kiss to his forehead and then brought Emrys into her arms, her eyes closing as magic surrounded them both. Arthur shuffled back as he watched Morgana take his Son to safety, even if it was just his body, and he tried to keep down the fear of truly being alone.

"Get it together," he muttered to himself and got to his feet. He had a sorcerer to find.

Right, dragons.

Arthur had completely forgotten Morgana mentioning them and when he rounded the corner to come face to face with one of them, he wondered why he hadn't bothered to pick up a weapon on his travels. He was completely defenceless and his first thought should have been about looking for a sword.

"Nice dragon, lets not do anything stupid now."

He let out a yell as a shot of fire came towards him and dived to the side into an opening in the wall that shouldn't even be there. Arthur ducked as something banged on the other side of the wall, bringing things falling on top of him, and he was moving deeper into the castle walls before he could think twice. "This won't end well," he commented as he surrounded himself in darkness and proceeded. Putting his hands to the walls either side of him to keep himself upright, he went quickly as he heard the dragon enter the opening behind him and tried not to panic when he felt heat on the back of his neck.

Finally he broke through wherever he'd been and was in what he presumed was a large open area in the foundation of the castle since light was seeping through gratings that lined the streets; if he remembered right anyway.

As he turned quickly to face the approaching dragon, he took a step backwards to prepare himself but instead he found himself falling backwards down some stone steps that couldn't have been seen in the darkness. He put his arms around his head to protect his head during the fall and when he eventually reached the bottom, he lay on his back panting and praying he hadn't broken anything.

"Way to make an entrance Pendragon," he said to himself. Apparently talking to himself was a thing he did now.

"A-Arthur?"

The sound of his name in a voice that was more familiar than his own made him turn his head to the side and his heart stopped dead in his chest as he saw someone kneeling in the darkness. He couldn't quite make out who this person was but if he heard right, if he ignored all the doubts and fears that had consumed his life for the past few years, then he was looking at the one person he'd been searching for all this time.

He couldn't even form a word as he pushed himself to his feet and stumbled through the darkness, his hands reaching out towards the person in the hopes of reaching them.

Now this is the part of the tale you think everything would go wrong and Arthur had no doubt something would do. Except instead of any barriers, force fields, invisible walls, anything that would stop him from getting closer, he found nothing. Instead his hands were suddenly grasping the person's shirt in two tight fists and he wished for the life of him he could see.

"Tell me it's you," he begged the person as his whole body shook and two hesitant hands were suddenly cupping his face gently. He knew those hands. Had dreamt about those hands for so long that not even the gods could fool him into thinking they were somebody else's.

"You found me," came a soft, quiet response and Arthur pressed his forehead against Merlin's, no longer being able to bare even the small distance they'd had between them.

"I always do," he manages to get out before bringing Merlin into a tight embrace. His hands clutching at Merlin's back as he tries to convince himself this is real and he's not hallucinating, being tricked or dreaming the man up.

This has to be real.

Right?

Preview

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have my dragon burn him alive this very second?"

Merlin looks over at Arthur who has his back up against the cave wall, his eyes never leaving Merlin's even with a dragon breathing down his neck and Merlin can't help but smile a little.

"Why are you smiling? I am threatening to kill the man you supposedly love, even though it has been a while so he could have moved on by now, and all you do is smile?! Did this darkness drive you crazy?"

"No it did not," he replied and then looked up at the man. "I have been trapped on an island for over a decade, being trapped in this darkness for half of that was nothing. You are nothing." Merlin finds the strength to get to his feet and pulls himself to his full height for the first time in years.

"You want to kill him? You'll have to go through me first."

Ta-da! Got that out much faster right? Not sure how great this chapter was for people still reading it, not much Merthur action happening yet, but it's all about to kick off.

Just thought you'd like some Emrys POV for once

Tune in next time when Merthur finally get each other back (maybe?) and Julian decides he's not being Mr nice guy anymore (was he really in the first place though?)

Comments appreciated, especially if people are finding my writing style WAY too confusing … believe me I confuse myself sometimes xx