Chapter 40 [Two Turns of the Hourglass Later—Merlin's Bedchamber]
Merlin slumped onto his bed. Everything was supposed to be perfect. His mother and Mithian got along great. Gwen really liked everyone at the Nemeth court. Gawain, Britomart and Lancelot were fitting in with the Nemeth knights. Rodor and Taene had already taken to him like a son. And Mithian was great.
Arthur was being a real Prat though. Despite trying to keep his voice down, the entire chamber had heard him with Gaius, Master Wyngate, Gwen and Morgana. Hunith relayed some of the things that had been said to Mithian and him later.
This is no game! I know what I am doing! Mithian is a beautiful Princess! This is my father's knighthood. I can still protect Arthur as a Prince. Who is going to protect him from himself? Merlin ground his teeth. You think he would be grateful!
Merlin, he is a Pendragon. Remember that. We tried. He will resist, Kilgarrah reminded him.
Nobody is asking him to convert. We all want to co-exist. Is that so bad? Merlin ranted into the link.
Nay. It is not. We can hope Arthur will come around. Consider that. With that, he went silent.
We can hope. Merlin shook his head. He heard a knock at the door. "Now who?" He got up and walked over. He cracked the door to see Morgana, Mithian and Accolon standing outside. "Aye?"
"Pardon us, Merlin. Might we come in?" Mithian requested.
Merlin opened his door. "Of course! Morgana and Accolon, please come in. Sorry I do not have refreshments. I guess I can ask my steward to get something."
"Nay. Our thanks though." Morgana smiled. "We wanted to thank you once again for your support. I know that we have our difficulties…."
"Difficulties?" Mithian raised an eyebrow.
"This is the first I have heard of this as well." Accolon looked to his wife.
Merlin got up. He made sure the door was shut. "I wanted to talk about this with Morgana. Since you both are here, we should just do it." He sighed. "Morgana, I know what it seemed like."
"Merlin, you tried to poison me. If not for Morgause, I would be dead." Morgana narrowed her eyes at him.
Accolon stiffened.
"Merlin, is that true?" Mithian gasped.
"If not for Morgause, I would never have had to poison you, Morgana." Merlin cleared his throat. "She tied her bane against Camelot to your life force. Did you know that?"
"She did something to me. She said it was important. I wanted Uther out of the way so the old religion could be restored in Camelot. I went along with it." Morgana frowned. "So you admit you did it?"
"The plan was to poison you and stop your heart. Once your heart stopped, the bane would cease. Then Gaius and I planned to restart your heart and revive you. Morgause teleported you away before we could do that. Morgana, killing you was the last thing I wanted to do. I am sorry about that." Merlin bowed his head. "I am also sorry about delivering those sleeping potions to you. Gaius did not want you learning about your magic. I went along with it. I relied on his guidance. We did not want Uther discovering you or me. You saw what happened with the Witch Finder."
"You were defending Uther from justice, Merlin. Besides when I had those questions, you could have helped me," Morgana insisted.
"And I am sorry for that. Gaius said not to. I trusted him. I should have given you a chance. I want to be honest," Merlin apologized yet again.
Morgana knew when Merlin was lying. This was not one of those times. "Uther made us all suffer. Poor Lady Elaine. My dear brother could not keep his mouth shut." She coughed. "Merlin, just promise me something. If you have a concern, you will talk to me about it."
"As long as it is not a state secret. Then I will need to get the King and Queen's permission," Merlin agreed.
"If it is a political matter, of course. I believe Morgana speaks of personal matters, Merlin." Accolon looked to Morgana. "Merlin apologized. We can at least work toward restoring trust between you?"
"Merlin apologized and freely admitted the situation. I am satisfied." Mithian nodded. "If it is a personal matter between you two, Father would not mind that discussion. This Morgause…who is she?"
"Morgause is a high priestess. She is also my half-sister. Uther tried to have her killed after she was born. Gaius smuggled her out of Camelot," Morgana recounted. "She wants Uther and Arthur removed from power and the old religion's restoration. She also poisoned Master Wyngate and your mother, Mithian."
"Her magical scorpions attacked me. Their stings poisoned me," Merlin added. "You saw it happen."
"You should not have been spying for Gaius." Morgana shrugged.
"I was trying to protect Arthur and Camelot," Merlin countered.
"So Morgause and you poisoned him? You just left him to die? Morgana!" Accolon lectured.
"How did you survive that?" Morgana asked.
I cured him and scorched Morgause's monsters, Kilgarrah announced in their heads.
"The dragon. Why am I not surprised?" Morgana rolled her eyes.
Well I am grateful for you saving Merlin's life, Kilgarrah, Mithian expressed.
As am I. Now we might have a peaceful co-existence. Perhaps we can all be friends? That is what the goddess wishes, Accolon added.
"That is what we want," Mithian replied. "It sounds like you both had some misunderstandings. Merlin does have issues with being rash. Perhaps you should have let her know what your plan was before you gave her the poison? Morgana, I would ask of you what you just asked of Merlin. If we have issues, we need to talk about them. Nobody should attack anyone else. Father and Mother would want that. We all want magic and the old religion to coexist with other faiths."
"I can do that," Merlin agreed. He looked right at Morgana. "Can you?"
"Maybe you can consider the effects of Uther's and Arthur's actions against our own kind, Merlin? Morgause does not want to hurt anyone. Neither did Nimue. How about your father and the dragons? Nor did Lady Elaine's mother. They all talked of co-existence. Uther rejected those ideas out of hand. You cannot defend that."
She makes good points, Merlin, Kilgarrah conceded.
"I don't." Merlin shook his head. "Who else is there to listen to? Gaius? Kilgarrah?"
"We have both just promised to talk these issues out, Merlin! Maybe you might listen?" Morgana frowned. "Mithian just made a good suggestion. Listen to it. It would really help."
"That is what we shall propose tomorrow." Accolon leaned back in his chair. "We still have one problem."
"Which one? Uther or Arthur?" Morgana sniffed.
"He means Arthur." Merlin rubbed his forehead. "I cannot believe he is acting like this!"
"Like what? He is not grateful for you using your magic and the dragon to reunite Gwen and him? He wants to act like you are still his servant! Merlin! This is Arthur! He is Uther's son! He owes his very existence to magic! He wants you back as his right hand!" Morgana grimaced. Frustration stabbed at her brain.
"What?" Accolon exchanged glances with Mithian.
Merlin sighed. "I was with Arthur when he found out about his mother. Morgause arranged for that too. His mother, Queen Igraine, appeared in a vision. She explained the whole thing." He shook his head.
"Which was what? What could drive Uther so insane?" Mithian demanded. "Merlin?"
"He wanted his precious male heir to crown. That is what drove him." Morgana snorted. Annoyance flicked through her eyes. "Igraine was infertile. He went to Nimue. She warned him about the Calleach's demand of a death for a life. He pressed her onward. Nimue cast the spell against her better judgment. Igraine gave birth. She held Arthur in her arms. Then the Calleach claimed Igraine as her sacrifice. Uther went into one of his self-entitled rages. He banished Nimue from the kingdom. He tried to have Morgause killed later as a baby. Later he wanted to try again." She smirked. "Gorlois was away at war. Uther seduced my mother. He says she was lonely. She would never have cheated on her husband. I am their daughter." She shook her head.
"That is not your fault, Morgana. Our marriage will help undo any rifts. Besides I love you. I do not care about such things." Accolon kissed her hand.
"Thank you. See, Merlin? What happens when you listen?" Morgana smirked. Her eyes narrowed.
"I listen! I…" Merlin bowed his head. Despite his protestations, he now had the proof in front of himself. "Everything seems to be heading toward co-existence. I wish Arthur could accept it?"
"Give him time, my Prince. Still, I believe a not so gentle nudge is in order." Mithian bit her lip. "I did not appreciate his actions earlier tonight."
"Gwen scolded him." Merlin insisted.
"And yet he acted as he did in the chamber. Lady Elaine was embarrassed. That is why she left." Accolon coughed. "Merlin, we all need to grow into our roles. So does Arthur. He does not want to. Why should he? His father provides what he needs. You cleaned up after him. Even though he freed you, he still wants you back with him. Morgana told me. I saw how exemplary of a servant you were a few years ago. If I were him, I would not want to lose you either."
"Father will make sure he understands." Mithian patted Merlin on the hand. "You showed restraint earlier. I appreciate that." She shrugged. "It's much like Sir Gawain. We have to pick our times to let our guard down, Merlin. Arthur tried to draw you into such a moment. You conducted yourself as a proper Prince."
"Good luck on that. My brother will always think of himself as one of the boys. I wish Gwen luck with him." Morgana bit her lip. "Arthur though is right. Uther will bring his knights here. He will demand Arthur's return. Then he will want something for the embarrassment or so he will claim."
"What embarrassment? Morgana, he is wrong!" Accolon scoffed.
"Nay she is right." Merlin rubbed his forehead. "We should get ready for war." He turned to Mithian. "I am sorry."
"Why are you sorry, my Prince? You are not the one who started this standoff. Father will be ready for Uther. Nay. If he marches on us, we shall meet him as best we can. We are not the largest army. We have a few surprises of our own that even the famed Knights of Camelot will not find easy to deal with. His knights will need two days to march here from Camelot. As soon as they cross the Severn, they are in disputed territory. Father will allow them to do so. I trust him. So should you." Mithian kissed the top of his head. "And I am not as naïve as some think." She glanced at Morgana.
"I did not…" Morgana started.
"You did not say anything. I figured that the goddess wanted Merlin away from Camelot. I am grateful that she included me in her plans. I am glad that she allows me to be with him." Mithian smiled. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I have my mother back. And tomorrow I will have my Prince. I hope she knows that."
You are most welcome, Child. Aye. I know this. Your gratitude warms my heart. Everything has a purpose. The triple goddess sighed. There will be a war but not the one you believe. Morgause marches with Meleagant of Cawdor under the combined banners of Cawdor and Mercia. She has murdered Cenred and taken control of his warriors. They march on Camelot. They will cross the border by Dawn.
"Lady! That is a mere sixty leagues from the citadel! People will suffer!" Accolon reminded her.
As others suffer from Uther's malice. This is Morgause's doing not mine. There are ways to deal with him without the spilling of innocent blood. That is another reason Arthur is with you. I want him alive for the world to follow. I could insist on their minds and hearts. I wish only that they live alongside my followers. The Purges must stop. Alert Rodor and Taene of the danger. The goddess went silent.
"An invasion by both armies?" Accolon stared at the ceiling. Disbelief numbed him over the sheer numbers of knights pouring over the border.
"Morgause told me about Cenred. I did not know about Meleagant." Morgana stood. "Accolon, we should return to Tintagel. We have to mobilize our forces."
"I can do that. Morgana, remain here for now. Merlin, we need to make Arthur understand the situation. I know better than to think that Uther can change. He will not." Accolon focused to make a portal appear in front of himself. "I will return for your ceremony."
"Be careful." Morgana embraced him.
"I would say the same to you." Accolon kissed her forehead. "Have faith. Merlin, Mithian, I know I do not have to ask."
"We will make sure she is all right." Merlin shook his hand. "What she said goes for us too. We will let the King and Queen know immediately."
"That is all I can ask." Accolon smiled. Then he disappeared into the mists.
"You have to learn that," Mithian observed.
"Now that he is firmly with us, that will come." Morgana pointed to the door. "We should let the King and Queen know."
"Are they asleep?" Merlin winced.
"For this matter, Father will want to be awakened." Mithian pulled him to his feet. "Morgana, will you come with us?"
"Of course!" Morgana nudged Merlin. "See how easy it is when we all talk?" She raised an eyebrow for emphasis.
Merlin rolled his eyes. He knew she had a point. He did not have to admit it at that point….