Chapter 24: The Sword in the Stone
Seven years ago:
Arthur's heart was pounding, but he couldn't let any of the men see his nerves. They had all done this before; countless times in the past sixteen years, but now they had to take their cues from their green prince in his first foray into combat.
Sir Caradoc appeared at his side. The older knight had served with Uther when his father had taken the kingdom, and now Arthur was meant to be following the knight's example. "Sire," Sir Caradoc said, "all your men are in position. Now would be a good time to gesture for the attack."
Arthur nodded, his mouth dry. He looked across the shallow ravine to the men on the other side, and back to those behind him.
He gave the signal, as he and his men rushed down onto the druid camp below with a roar.
The sound was deafening. Yells and screams filled the air.
Arthur stood in the thick of it, stunned, before Sir Caradoc slapped him on the back. "Look alive, Little Prince!" He yelled, jumping into a mess of bodies.
Arthur started and yanked his sword for its sheath before rushing to one of the tents nearby.
He flung back the flap of the tent, sword ready to swing down.
And he stopped.
A young druid boy looked up at him, terror in his eyes. He couldn't have been older than ten.
He knew what Sir Caradoc would say, what his father would say, and yet, Arthur lowered his sword without a word.
The little boy looked at Arthur, then his sword at his side, then the entrance that Arthur now stood a little to the side of.
The boy got up and ducked under Arthur's arm, running out of the tent.
Relief coursed through Arthur as he turned to watch the boy run, past the bonecrush and to the ravine, which he began scabbling up with remarkable speed.
Arthur heard an unmistakable hiss of air coming from behind him as an arrow flew over his head and landed squarely in the back of the young boy's neck.
His eyes widened as the boy fell, coming to a broken stop a few paces away from Arthur.
He didn't have to walk any closer to know that the boy was dead.
Arthur turned around. The raid was practically done, with the ground littered with the bodies of men, women, and children. Ice in his veins, Arthur looked beyond them and saw Sir Caradoc lower his bow.
Two days. Merlin had been gone for two days. Arthur had been starting to wonder if he would ever return at all; if he had been serious when he said he'd been wrong about Arthur, and had found someone else to make into a king, when the doors to the castle ruins pulled open.
Arthur, Leon, Elyan, Lancelot, Percival, and Gwaine were on their feet instantly, weapons at the ready, when Merlin stepped out from behind the door.
"You're back." Arthur said, trying to keep the surprise from his voice. He lowered his sword but didn't set it down.
"I am." Merlin stated, but he didn't move forward. Arthur didn't approach him either. "We need to talk."
"We do." Arthur agreed. Merlin nodded and stepped back outside in a clear move for Arthur to follow. Arthur almost took his sword with him, but he thought better of it, and set it down.
It's Merlin. He reminded himself. Sorcerer or not, there had to be something about him that had been real. Something that wouldn't kill Arthur in cold blood.
Besides, Arthur thought, if he really is as powerful as everyone says he is, and he really wanted to kill you, the sword wouldn't be much help anyway.
Arthur stepped outside, trying to decide which of his questions to lead with, when he saw who was standing behind Merlin.
"Morgana."
"Arthur." She said, and Arthur stepped closer to her, but she remained where she was, looking nervous.
"Where were you? How-" He looked back at Merlin, a million questions in his head.
"I escaped from Morgause not long after she took me." Morgana explained. "I hid with some smugglers for a year, and I found Merlin about a month ago."
A month? The moments Merlin would disappear for hours suddenly made more sense.
"Why did you stay away? We looked everywhere for you."
Morgana nodded, looking down. "I know. It's only… I couldn't come back."
Couldn't come back? "Why, Morgana I don't understand."
Morgana looked at Merlin, who nodded to her. She nervously locked eyes with Arthur before she held her hands out infront of her, cupping one over the other. She breathed in deeply.
"Gewyrc an lif." Morgana whispered. Arthur froze as her eyes flashed gold, and Morgana opened her hands to reveal a small blue butterfly that rose and flew into the air.
Morgana was his sister. Morgana was a sorceress. His sister was a sorceress.
He looked at Merlin, whose face was still. "You taught her magic?" Arthur said. Was this some sort of revenge on Uther? Make his heir the subject of his prophecy, and his ward- daughter- he corrected himself, a sorceress?
"I was born with it." Morgana said, an edge in her voice. "My nightmares, they were a part of it, visions of the future. I didn't have control of it, I was going to hurt someone eventually by accident. Merlin helped me learn to control it."
"Born with magic?" Arthur repeated.
"It's possible." Merlin said. "I was born with it too. But it's easier to think magic is evil if you believe that it's a choice."
Arthur looked between the two of them, his thoughts still reeling.
"Morgana is the one who helped Gwen escape. She told her where we were." Merlin added, "I told you Arthur, I'm on your side, but I'm not the only one."
Morgana nodded. "There's one other thing." She said, "I was with Uther when he died. It was Cenred that killed him. I tried to heal him, but he wouldn't allow it. And also, Uther is...you are-"
"You're my sister." Arthur finished for her. Morgana nodded. Arthur hesitated, then pulled her in for a hug. Morgana, after a moment, returned the embrace.
"Who told you?" She asked, her voice slightly muffled by his shoulder.
"Guinevere overheard Father tell Gaius." He said, letting her go. His sister. Who had magic.
Arthur was of two minds. On one side was his father, telling him magic and all who chose to wield it were evil. On the other was the only family member he had left and the closest friend he had ever known telling him the exact opposite.
"I'm glad you're here." Arthur told her, and a part of him truly meant it; a part of him that was larger than he was willing to admit. It had been strange, not having her around.
"I am too." Morgana said. Then, she looked back at Merlin, whose face was a mask of carefully controlled blankness. "I'm going to go find Gwen," Morgana said. "You two still need to talk." She gave Merlin a look and repeated it for Arthur. "Try not to kill each other." she said lightly as if on an afterthought. Arthur winced.
Merlin gestured for Arthur to follow him. "Come on," he said, "walk with me."
Arthur followed Merlin as he walked deeper into the woods. He noticed for the first time that Merlin had a sword wrapped in cloth in his hands. Since when did Merlin actually know how to use a sword efficiently, Arthur thought, or was that just another lie too?
It occurred to him how unfair he was being in the way he was treating Merlin in comparison to Morgana, and recognized that that fact might account for the brisk look on Merlin's face, but he couldn't not think it when it came to his mind.
They had been walking silently for a few minutes, when Merlin suddenly stopped. Arthur almost walked right into him.
Merlin turned around to face him. "Do you believe magic makes someone inherently evil?"
"Did you come back just to ask me that and now that you have you'll leave again?" Arthur asked.
"No." Merlin answered, still expectant. "Do you think I'm evil?" He asked, getting to the heart of the matter. "Do you think Morgana is?"
Arthur shook his head. "No." He said, "I don't. Feel better?"
"No." Merlin said again. "So then what's the problem, why are you so angry with me?"
"Well for starters, Merlin, for the past three years I thought that the reason why you were so loyal to me was because you cared about me- not as a prince- but as a person. I thought you were my friend. And all along it was because you needed to get close to me to fulfill your prophecy."
"It wasn't like that!" Merlin exclaimed, his cool mask finally shattered. "I never intended to make you feel used, or to try to manipulate you. I just…I was going to…" Merlin threw his hands up. "I don't know." He admitted. "I never fully thought about how I would tell you. I thought about doing it a few times. But it never worked out. Despite what you want to believe about me, Arthur, I never had any grand plan. And if it helps," Merlin added, "I still consider you my friend too."
"So you still want me to be the Once and Future King then?" Arthur said. He started to relax. He believed Merlin, he realized. Part of him, the part of him that was Uther's training, told him otherwise; that of course Merlin would say that, Merlin the Sorcerer would know exactly what to say to get Arthur to trust him again.
Arthur told that part of him to shut up.
"I do." Merlin said. "To be completely honest though," he said, "I didn't choose it to be you."
"No?"
Merlin shook his head. "Kilgharrah- the dragon that used to be under the castle- on my third night in Camelot, he told me that you were the Once and Future King, and that it was my destiny to help you unite the land of Albion. There was nothing about me choosing, or conquering the other kingdoms either, for that matter." he said.
Merlin had talked to the dragon? Arthur put a pin in that little piece of information. "So you think you're stuck with me?" he said grimly.
"Looks like it," Merlin joked; but seeing Arthur's face he added, "I wouldn't choose anyone else, even if I wanted to. Certainly not Cenred."
"You should choose someone else." Arthur said, turning away from him and continuing to walk forward.
"Why?" Merlin said, in a tone that told Arthur he was getting ready to argue.
"I'm still not so sure I can accept this!" Arthur snapped, gesturing to Merlin.
Merlin's face darkened. "You were fine with Morgana." He countered. So that was the source of his attitude earlier.
"I'm still processing Morgana." Arthur said, exasperated. "I don't know," he continued, trying to keep calm. "I understand that you may not have had a choice when it comes to having magic, I do. And, maybe it's because Morgana was always more outwardly sympathetic to magic, or that I haven't seen her in a year. But mostly it might be because she hasn't singled me out for a destiny which, frankly Merlin, terrifies me."
Merlin snorted. "You think you're the only one under pressure here? I've already had to deal with this for three years, and for the most part, I've had to do it alone."
"But there's a difference here, Merlin. You have magic."
"If anything I would say that's made it harder." Merlin said.
"But I'm not supposed to be some sort of savior for your kind!" The words burst out of Arthur, and once the floodgates were open, he couldn't shut them, "You're here telling me that my father was wrong about magic and I have to undo everything he's done, all when he's been dead for less than three days! After I've spent my entire life believing he was right. I've done things, some you already know about, some you don't. My father raised me to be a king just like him. To fight against magic. I participated in the deaths of dozens, if not hundreds of people who I now know were either innocent or driven to revenge, and I don't know if I can fault them for it anymore. I've spent my whole life trying to be good, when all along I'm just a murderer. That's what everyone will say; and they wouldn't be wrong about it. How could I ever win over their trust after what my father's done, what I've done? They would be better off with someone else without so much bloodshed on his conscience and you know it."
Arthur stepped back, breathing heavily. He remembered the young druid boy he had let escape on his first raid, and how it had been in vain. He remembered the horror he had felt seeing him die. When had that horror gone away? When had he become a monster, and could he ever truly go back to how he had been before?
Merlin stood looking at him for a long time. "Arthur," he said at last. "That's why it has to be you."
"I don't want it."
"That's what I told Kilgharrah about my role in the prophecy. He told me 'none of us can choose our destiny, and none of us can escape it.' He's terribly cryptic, if you meet him you would probably rather he try to kill you again. But he's right."
Again with the dragon. From Merlin's use of the present tense, he was starting to get the suspicion that Arthur hadn't actually killed the beast. He really needed to bring that up later.
"Would you give it up?" Arthur said, "Your magic?"
"No." Merlin said instantly. "I know that isn't the answer you want to hear from me, but it's the truth."
Merlin was right. It wasn't.
"I never took you for the ambitious type." Arthur said.
"I'm not ambitious." Merlin explained. "Not in any self-serving way, at least. It's only that I am my magic. If I didn't have it, I don't think I would be truly me. I only ever hid my magic from you, not the person that having it has made me. Believe me on that."
They had come to a small clearing now, and Merlin stepped close to a large boulder that stood in its center.
"I don't know what to believe any more." Arthur said.
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
"Fine." Arthur kicked at the grass. "If you're not ambitious in a way that makes you self-serving, in what way are you ambitious?"
"I've already told you that." Merlin explained, examining the rock in the clearing distractedly. "I work for you."
"I thought you were just trying to save your own head."
"If I was actually worried for my head I wouldn't have used words." Merlin said, looking up from the stone.
Arthur shivered in spite of himself. The fact that Merlin could easily take him in a fight was something that was both absurd and horrifying. Arthur wasn't sure if he could get used to it.
Perhaps picking up on this, Merlin added, "And I told you before too, that I'm happy to be your servant until the day I die. I meant that too."
"I still think you have the wrong man."
"I know. That's why I brought you here."
Arthur furrowed his brow, looking around him. This place didn't seem special to him.
Merlin stepped around to the other side of the boulder. Then, he unwrapped the sword he had been holding.
Arthur's eyes widened at the blade. It was an exceptional piece, well-made, and beautiful, with gold along the middle, and with etched writing on the side in some language Arthur didn't recognize.
Merlin saw Arthur's eye. "It says 'take me up' on this side and-" he flipped the blade in his hands, "-'cast me away' on this side. It's in the Old Language," he explained, "the same language used for spells. The way that it works is that, while someone can learn individual spells, what you can do once you have a better understanding is to also create your own using the Old Language."
"Why are you telling me this?" Arthur asked, looking between Merlin's face, the sword, and the stone Merlin was still inspecting way too carefully.
"Well, I'm going to do that now, so I thought I would give you a warning." Merlin said. He adjusted his grip on the sword's hilt, and raised it over his head, so that the point faced down, toward the boulder. Merlin took a deep breath. "Beaduleóma -mêce swipu inne stâncarr êac singales swîcan ætgenumen Nud et Toweardnes Brytencyning." Merlin's eyes flashed gold, and he plunged the sword down.
Instead of the loud clang of rock on metal that Arthur was expecting, the sword sizzled as it moved through the stone, sparks flying from the place of impact. Once the sword was more than halfway through the stone, Merlin stopped, and released the hilt. The low sound of distant thunder rolled despite the unusually bright day. Arthur didn't realize that the birds had stopped their singing until they started back up again, sounding almost unnatural in the clearing.
"What did you do?" Had Merlin really dragged him out the clearing only to have him watch while he put one of the finest swords Arthur had ever seen into a boulder?
"The sword's special." Merlin said. "I had Kilgharrah burnish it in his breath three years ago, when you were to fight the wraith. It can kill anything, the living or the dead."
"My father killed the wraith just fine-"
"He used this sword." Merlin said, gesturing again to the sword. "I had to hide it, after that. Morgana and I went to fetch it yesterday."
"Just to stick it into a rock?"
"The translation of the spell is 'sword- stick into the stone and only be removed by the Once and Future King.' See?" Merlin grasped the sword again and pulled. It remained held fast. "Only the Once and Future King can get the sword now. Only you, Arthur, can."
Arthur shook his head. "I can't."
"Then prove it. Try." Merlin said, the challenge in his eyes.
Arthur stepped to the stone. He wrapped one hand around the hilt. It fit perfectly into the palm of his hand. He looked back up at Merlin, who nodded his head once encouragingly.
Arthur let go of the sword. "How can I know you won't use magic to pull it back out."
Merlin's shoulders slumped. "I swear I won't. I can't, actually. I told you, the spell means-"
"I don't know the Old Language."
"You think I said something different from what I said?" Merlin asked. His eyes grew hard. "You don't trust me." He accused.
"I'm saying that you want me to be the Once and Future King far more than I do." Arthur said. "How should I know that you didn't enchant it so that only I could put it out?"
"I would have said 'beaduleóma -mêce swipu inne stâncarr êac singales swîcan ætgenumen Arthur Pendragon' instead." Merlin explained, "Not Nud et Toweardnes Brytencyning. I would have had to say your name."
"Then you might have enchanted it so that anyone could pull it out." Arthur said.
"I already showed you that I can't pull it out. And I wouldn't lie to you about something like this." Merlin said shortly.
"We've already established that not only are you a very good liar when you want to be, but also that it's not fair for you to tell me what you would or wouldn't lie about, Merlin." It was a low blow, Arthur knew, but it had the desired effect, and he felt a hint of grim satisfaction as Merlin sighed, throwing his arms out in defeat.
"I don't know what else you want me to say to you Arthur." Merlin said. "I won't apologize to you for having been born with magic, or even for lying to you about having it. It shouldn't even matter that I was born with it either, now that I think of it. I won't be guilted into feeling bad about what I had to do to stay alive, because you've already established the fact that, had you known I had magic when we first met, would have had me killed. The only reason you didn't try to kill me a few days ago, and the same reason why you left your sword behind at the castle, is because you're conflicted about the other fact of the matter; which is that I'm your friend." Merlin paused to catch his breath. When he spoke again, his voice was calmer. "You say that you don't deserve to be The Once and Future King. Have you ever considered that this might be something that you have to earn, and to grow into?"
"Then how can you expect me to be able to pull that sword out of a stone now?" Arthur challenged, "If I'm not yet close to being the King that you want me to be?" Or that I want to be, he thought.
"It's a step forward in the right direction." Merlin said. "Accepting both your destiny, and the fact that you'll have to work for it."
Arthur shook his head. "I don't know if I can." He said. "Not change, or get better, become more understanding of magic; I want to do that. It's that I still don't think I can ever be this great king you think I'll be. I can think of several men who are more worthy of pulling that sword out than me."
"Would it make you feel better if Leon and the others also tried to pull the sword out?" Merlin said lightly.
Arthur knew he was joking, but he still said, "Yes." Just in case Merlin was still bluffing. He didn't quite believe his spell yet.
"Fine. But on the condition that when you are the only one able to take that sword, you have to accept that you are The Once and Future King." Merlin said. He fell quiet then, seemingly into a train of silent thought. Before Arthur could say anything, Merlin said, "They'll be here soon."
"How do you know that?" Arthur said skeptically.
"I can use a sort of telepathy to speak to others with magic. I asked Morgana."
Right. That was going to take getting used to.
"Can you use it with Morgause?"
"I could," Merlin answered, "but I won't."
"Why not?"
"She doesn't even know I have magic, nevermind that I'm Emrys. Morgana said she doesn't believe in the prophecy. She probably didn't even listen to what Bertilak had to say, she just thought it seemed like a good excuse to get you out of the way. Even Bertilak didn't know you were the Once and Future King, he just hoped that you would kill me."
"I still might." Arthur threatened, but his heart wasn't in it, his words empty.
Merlin smiled.
"While we wait then," Arthur said, "You can tell me about the dragon."
The smile vanished. "Are you sure?" Merlin asked, "we were just getting along."
"Merlin…"
"Fine, fine. When I first came to the castle I could hear something calling my name. I followed it, and found Kilgharrah in the dungeons. As I said, he told me about the prophecy. But I would go back every now and then, like with the sword, or if I needed to know something that wasn't in the spellbook Gaius gave me-"
"Gaius gave you a spellbook?" Arthur interrupted. Of course he had.
"Yes." Merlin admitted. "What has he told you?"
"Not much. He said you should be the one to do it."
"Fair. But anyways, eventually he wanted something in return."
Arthur's heart sank, understanding why Merlin had been hesitant. "You didn't." he said.
"I avoided him the best I could, but then there was the Knights of Medhir, and the sleeping spell." Merlin said. "We were trapped, and sometimes spells don't affect me, but this one did. I didn't see a way out, and I was exhausted. Kilgharrah would only tell me how to end it in exchange for freeing him." Merlin shook his head. "I have a lot of regrets about that day. Morgana can tell you that." He said darkly.
"So you freed the dragon." It wasn't a question.
"I did. I didn't know he was going to attack, and if it makes you feel better, I don't think he was ever going to actually kill you."
"That doesn't make me feel better."
"Thought so."
"Then what, I didn't kill the dragon, and you didn't kill the dragon, so what? You just convinced him to leave?" Arthur said sarcastically.
"In a way, yes."
What? Arthur gave Merlin a look. Merlin reached into his pocket and handed Arthur a piece of paper. Arthur didn't have to open it to know that it was the piece of the prophecy that the Green Knight had given him.
"You read it?" Merlin asked.
Arthur nodded.
"The part about 'Born from all this bloodshed'- Did Bertilak tell you what he thought it meant?" He asked, something undetectable in his voice.
"He said that it thought that it meant one of Emrys's- your- parents was a victim of the Purge." Arthur recalled. "And he mentioned that there was a man who stayed in your village, and how my father disregarded the borders to try and get to him, but how the man had fathered a child with the woman he was staying with. He was talking about your mother, wasn't he? And your father."
Merlin nodded.
"But you said you never knew who your father was."
"I didn't, when I told you that." Merlin said. "That wasn't a lie. But Gaius told me when we were sent to find him. My father was the dragonlord Balinor. That's how I convinced him to come with us. And when he died, I inherited the gift."
"So you're both a dragonlord and the most powerful sorcerer that has ever lived." No wonder Merlin was unafraid of any threat they walked into.
Merlin shrugged, seemingly nonchalant, but Arthur caught the gleam of pride in his eye. "In the end, I ordered Kilgharrah to stay away. He can't come back unless I order him again to do so."
Arthur shook his head. "When Balinor died, I told you that no man was worth your tears."
"You didn't know."
"Still."
It occurred to Arthur then that Merlin had to have been using his magic like this for years, doing the impossible to help him and Camelot, without ever being able to collect credit. He already knew about the griffin; and now the wraith, and the dragon- though that last one could be considered more of Merlin cleaning up his own mess- what else had Merlin done?
"I was just thinking," Merlin said suddenly, jarring Arthur from his thoughts. "You know what you said earlier? About people with magic not being able to trust you because of your father? And how I should find someone else they could trust?"
Arthur nodded, wondering what he was getting at.
"Well, the truth of the matter is, I think we make a rather good pair on that front. The only difference is that you've killed those with magic on your father's orders, but I have killed my own people under no orders, and for you."
Arthur didn't know what to say to that. Thankfully, at that time, Morgana appeared through the trees with not only Leon, Lancelot, Gwaine, Percival, and Elyan behind her, but also Gwen, Gaius, and Mithian.
So he was to have a full audience for whatever Merlin had thought up. Fine.
Merlin quickly explained the situation to the others, then he stepped back to stand next to Arthur, allowing whoever wanted to approach the sword.
Leon looked around at the other before tentatively stepping forward. He wrapped his hand around the hilt of the sword, braced himself, pulled, and…
Nothing. The sword didn't budge.
"Nothing, Sire." Leon explained to Arthur, almost apologetically. 'It's stuck."
"I want to see Percival try!" Gwaine called out.
The others chuckled, and even Arthur couldn't resist smiling a little as Percival countered, "You first!"
Gwaine stepped up to where Leon had been. "I think you had good form Leon," Gwaine said, wrapping both hands around the hilt, "But I think you needed just a bit more muscle. Allow me to show you."
Gwaine pulled, but the sword didn't move for him either. Gwaine let go and made way for Percival, saying "If it moves for you, it's because I loosened it."
Percival laughed. Like Gwaine, he wrapped both hands around the hilt. As he pulled, his giant arms strained against the effort. But still the sword would not move.
Percival shrugged as the other men teased him, good naturedly humoring themselves.
Arthur locked eyes with Guinevere, who was smiling along with the rest. She gave Arthur a reassuring look even as Elyan stepped up to the stone.
"Listen," Elyan was joking, "You're all good fighters, but I know how swords are made. Watch, it's all about the angle."
The sword stayed put.
Lancelot took his turn at the stone, and once again, the sword refused to move. "Gods, Merlin. You really got that stuck in there." He said, rejoining the others.
Morgana stepped forward. "Just to make sure." She said, grasping the sword. "Āhst almægen." She pulled. Nothing. "Beaduleóma astyrung." Still, the sword did not move.
"Your turn." Merlin said, from where he had been standing next to Arthur.
Arthur swallowed hard, his throat suddenly gone dry. "Fine." He said, "but I want you to stand opposite me, so I can see your eyes if you do anything."
"Alright." Merlin said, walking to one side of the stone, while Arthur moved to the other. His heart pounding in his chest, and staring at Merlin, watching his eyes carefully, Arthur put one hand around the hilt of the sword.
"Gaius?" Merlin called, his eyes trained on Arthur. "If you were going to cast this spell for the Once and Future King, how would you have done it?"
Gaius, standing behind Merlin, blinked in surprise. "Well,'' the old man thought for a moment. "I suppose something along the lines of 'Beaduleóma mêce swipu inne stâncarr êac singales swîcan ætgenumen Nud et Toweardnes Brytencyning' Why?" He asked.
"No reason." Merlin answered, but Arthur knew why he had asked. He might not have known the Old Language, but he recognized the phrase that Merlin had said earlier.
Arthur's hand tightened around the hilt of the sword.
He then felt a chill up his spine, as if the clouds had obscured the sun. But when he looked up, he saw that there was still not a cloud above.
The air was still, almost unnaturally so.
Arthur looked down across the clearing and his eyes were instantly drawn to a new figure, standing just behind Elyan.
The figure was partially translucent, the sunlight flickering through the small form in an odd display of shadows and light. A young boy, frozen in time, long dead.
I'm sorry. Arthur thought, and somehow, he knew the boy's spirit could hear him. I should have done more to save you.
Make it right. The voice, which Arthur had never heard in life, reverberated through his skull. Arthur nodded, and just like that; the boy was gone.
And in that clearing, with the warm sun shining onto his back, and the solid feel of the sword hilt in his hand, a name came to his mind: Excalibur. And he knew that this was the sword's name as strongly as he knew his own. A clear certainty came over Arthur. And with it, a sense of peace.
Merlin nodded slightly, his blue eyes watching expectantly.
Arthur pulled upward, and the sword came away as easily as if he were pulling it from soft ground.
No one said anything for a moment, all standing in silence.
"Fuck. Alright then, Princess." Gwaine said, impressed.
XXX
It was late, and they were back in the Castle of the Ancient Kings. After dinner, Arthur led them all into a room on the other side of the ruins.
"I found this my first night here." Arthur explained, walking into the room.
Merlin looked around. The room was covered in thick dust, and dark. "Forbearnan." he said, and the sconces on the walls lept into flame, casting a warm orange glow around the room.
"That's useful." Percival observed.
Arthur had approached the center of the room. There stood a great, stone, circular table. He had taken the confirmation that he was the Once and Future King surprisingly well, Merlin thought, more than a little proud.
"The ancient kings all kept tables like this." Arthur was saying, standing by one of the solid wood chairs at the table. "It was a reminder to them that everyone around the table had just as much value as the person sitting next to them. Above all else they believed in equality." He looked out over each of them. "If I am to be the Once and Future King, I can't do it alone."
Merlin watched as Gwen walked to Arthur's right. "I'm proud of you," she said. "Of the man you are, and the king you'll become."
Lancelot stood next to her. "You taught me how to be a knight, how to fight with honor. I'm happy to fight by your side for the rest of my days."
Leon joined him. "I've fought next to you countless times over the years. And I've done things that I too, now regret." He said, nodding at Merlin. "But I wish to set them right, by helping you to rebuild a more just Camelot."
Percival was next. "I've fought for money my entire life. It'll be nice to do so for something more worthwhile."
"You're a good man, Arthur." Elyan said, standing next to Percival. "You looked out for my sister when I couldn't, and now I would like to repay that debt. Lord Ector can find a new blacksmith."
Gwaine shrugged, walking over to stand next to Elyan. "Why the hell not." He said, "Sounds like fun."
Gaius stepped forward. " I'm not sure how much help I can be in my old age, but I'll be proud to serve you as I did your father." He said solemnly.
Mithian, too, joined the table. "I'll fight for Camelot." She said, holding her head high. "And for Nemeth."
Arthur nodded to her.
Morgana stood next to her. "I've known you almost my entire life." She said to Arthur. "You were my brother in my heart long before I knew you were my brother by blood. There was a time when I was lost, almost forever, and it was my faith in you and the future I could help you build that brought me back home."
Merlin smiled. Morgana had told everyone what had happened to her since Morgause had taken her over dinner, visions and all. It had gone down far better than she had thought it would. He smiled, it had been like she had never left: she had been sitting next to Gwen, her dark head bent excitedly as she talked hurriedly, her long hair swept to one side, exposing her long neck. She had caught him looking and had grinned at him.
Arthur cleared his throat. "Do you have anything you'd like to add, Merlin?"
Merlin grinned, taking the last spot between Morgana and Arthur. "I think I just changed my mind and I kind of want Cenred to be the Once and Future King now."
"Shut up Merlin."
"Alright," Merlin said, "you can read this then." He set the wooden box that Freya had given him on the table in front of Arthur.
"What is that?" Leon asked.
"The prophecy. I got it with the sword. Long story." He added.
"Do you know what it says?" Arthur asked, holding the box in his hands.
"Not any more than what you already know." Merlin said, "Born from the bloodshed, Once and Future King, Abion, two sides of the same coin, of which I am clearly the brighter side, and all that."
Arthur fiddled with the clasp at the top, "Do I even want to know what the future holds?"
"I don't know." Merlin said, "a few months ago I wouldn't have wanted to read that either. But I understand now that if we have a clear understanding of what's coming, then we have time to fix what we can. Change things if we need to." He added, looking towards Morgana.
Arthur nodded again. "Fine," he said firmly, opening the box. "Let's see what this says." He sat down in the chair, and everyone else followed.
Over Arthur's shoulder, Merlin could see that inside the box was a long piece of parchment, rolled and sealed with wax. Arthur broke the wax and opened the paper.
The paper was almost identical to what the fragment that they already found looked like: split down the middle in two sections: one in the Old Language, the other translated.
Arthur, after clearing his throat, began to read, Merlin listening with his heart in his stomach.
"When the Old Religion has all but died
And the end of magic seems in sight
Due to the conquering king who has lied,
There will be fire and dark days and fearsome might
To compensate for a wounded pride."
Merlin saw Arthur pause, just for a moment. Merlin could see him drawing the connections between the words on the page and Uther's reign.
Arthur continued:
"Born from all this bloodshed
The new dawn will appear
Power replacing those in his stead
Who came before, Emrys will draw near
With power the like never seen before or ahead.
But Emrys will be but half of a coin
And shape the Once and Future King.
Who shall all of Albion join
And magic and peace and courage will he bring
To return what the tyrant managed to purloin."
Merlin let out a breath. He had been right from the start. Destiny had chosen Arthur just as it had chosen him, and he was relieved that Cenred had been wrong about The Once and Future King conquering the other kingdoms, in fact, it sounded the exact opposite.
"And there will be more on this quest;
Knights of the highest order- a circle of brothers.
Strong, loyal and true, outmatch the rest.
Assembled at the darkest hour from royals and others
Around the fallen and the winged beast's crest."
Arthur looked around the round table he had assembled. Merlin could see the same expression mirrored in everyone there. No one had known what the prophecy said when Arthur had set them around the table in a circle. And the 'winged beast's crest' no doubt referred to Camelot's golden dragon. If Arthur had any last doubts of his placement as the Once and Future King, Merlin could see that they were no more.
"The High Priestess to usher back the ways of Old-
Caught in the spider web- Emrys her light, her destiny, her doom
Depending if she succumbs or rises against the fold.
The birth or death of the kingdom in her path loom
For one to kill the King, or to bring the foretold."
Arthur paused. Merlin was grateful Morgana had chosen to reveal her dream earlier, and he could tell she was too.
"It's fine." She said, "I was expecting far worse. It's better than I thought it would be."
"It doesn't sound great." Gwaine admitted.
"Morgana's already faced her test." Merlin said pointedly.
Thank you. Morgana thought to him. He gave her a reassuring smile, even while one line replayed in his mind. Emrys her light, her destiny, her doom. He remembered what Morgana had asked him, if he would stop her if he had to. He prayed it wouldn't come to that, not when he had come to rely on her so much.
If ever there came a time where Merlin had to be her doom, he realized, he wouldn't truly be himself. Who he was now wouldn't be able to survive a betrayal by her, and destroying her would be like destroying a part of him.
Arthur hadn't continued, still staring at the paper. Merlin peered over his shoulder. It read:
The Once and Future Queen, from nothing to rise
Keen of judgement and steady of heart,
And wisdom to turn the King's eyes.
With her reign, Albion will start
Yet still might end with her cries.
Merlin saw Arthur's eyes flicker to Gwen, who wasn't looking at the paper, only Arthur's face.
Arthur cleared his throat and continued, skipping over that verse.
"All assembled together in a battle to wage,
Emrys and the King, united beyond this page.
Forge together to bring a new age."
Next Chapter: Overdue Conversations
THIS CHAPTER HAD IT ALL BAYBE!
(Well not really because Merlin and Morgana still need to get their shit together but)
FAMILY REUNION!
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!
THE SWORD IN THE STONE!
THE ROUND TABLE!
THE FULL PROPHECY!
This chapter was also longer than I expected, it's now the longest chapter in the fic. I feel like I beat the record every 3 chapters lol. I was thinking about cutting the part with everyone trying to pull the Excalibur out of the stone, since it wasn't that necessary for the plot, but I had already written out the dumb stuff Gwaine says in my outline, so I had to keep it.
Also, some maybe-hot takes about the sword in the stone situation and how it played out in the show:
On one hand I get it that the most important thing for Arthur to feel in that episode was to believe in himself again! And it can also be seen as Merlin helping him see what he already sees in him.
HOWEVER
I think Merlin actually using his magic to pull the sword out of the stone again took away from Arthur's character a bit. I think Arthur should be allowed to do the thing he's most famous for by himself this one time. Hence, Merlin's spell being one to clarify that the only one who can pull Excalibur from the stone is the Once and Future King and not, as in the show, pulling it out for him.
Anyways, i messed up and realized that i accidentlt put 11/13 as this update date, so TADA! Next will be the real surprise chapter! I'll drop it sometime between tomorrow and two weeks from now ;) Thank you again for your wonderful reviews!