CHAPTER FOUR
The next afternoon Merlin and Arthur took the round table knights hunting and Merlin informed them of the discovery of Mordred's heritage. Most of them, despite the majority having not been a noble prior to their investment as Knights of Camelot, (despite Merlin also knighting some commoners who displayed great courage and skill he didn't have the same level of trust with them that he did with the knights of Camelot and thus only Gaheris and Galahad were considered to be part of his inner circle), didn't grasp the political ramifications until it was laid out to them. After Merlin and Morgana were married, Morgana would move to Second-in-Line for the throne of Camelot meaning that should both Uther and Arthur die tomorrow, Camelot would become part of Escetir. At the same time as his brother in law Arthur would have a valid claim to Escetir. Throwing Mordred in the mix meant that whoever became his 'guardian' would have a powerful argument to both thrones as Mordred was Morgana's nephew, and until Merlin had kids of his own, was the primary heir to his throne.
Once it was stated like that everyone began to understand the dangers of Morgause getting her hands on the little druid boy.
"So it's important we find him first." Merlin finished. Leon speaking up first. "So what's the plan then? We can't just announce who he is before we find him, he'll have every bandit and opportunist after him if we did that."
"Immediately after the wedding Leon, Percival, Lancelot, and Elyan will go on a 'patrol'. In reality your going to find Mordred and get him to Merlin as quickly as humanly possible. When you find him send word to Camelot and to Escetir." Arthur told him.
"I'll meet you at a predetermined place depending on where you found him and how long it takes to get to you four. I'll dispatch patrols at the first opportunity to find him if he's hiding in Escetir. Whoever finds him, especially if you're in Camelot's colors, he's going to be scared-he remembers well the terror of almost being executed in Camelot. Tell him that the dark one is after him, and that those who protected him and got him out are trying to get him to me. He trusts me, and he'll know what that means. He's a smart boy."
"Alright, now we actually need to hunt or people will be suspicious if we return empty handed." Arthur said and everyone laughed at Merlin's groan. The seriousness of the topic fading away at the light hearted and familiar teasing of Merlin. Gaheris and Galahad didn't know whether to laugh, put a stop to it, or join in the teasing of their King. No one mentioned how neither kingdom could afford a potential succession crisis. Merlin didn't let anyone know his true fears. Only the fact that Camelot would come to Escetir's aid should they be invaded had prevented Bayard or others from seeking to take it. It would take years before Escetir was even close to pre-war levels of military force. While Merlin had loosened the restrictions on peasants becoming knights, he'd only barely managed to get the council to agree to allow him to knight those who displayed extreme skills in combat or tactics. Which meant that for every hundred peasants who wielded the sword with enough skill or tactics, Merlin could only Knight five of them. The council simply didn't want 'a bunch of jumped up peasants to take over the kingdom our forefathers have watched for hundreds of years.' And the limited number of titles he had to give-Escetir laws stated that a man ennobled had to be given appropriate lands. Normally as King he would be able to knight anyone he wanted to, or change any law he wanted to, but his position on the throne was less than a year old, and with the majority of the Escetir army destroyed, what remained was probably only marginally loyal to him. If enough of the council members-or even just the other minor nobles, put their forces together, they'd have him off the throne in a matter of days. That need to keep the remaining nobles loyal to him, while also building a trust worthy, and powerful army limited what he could do. In a few years, perhaps he'd have the support he'd need to truly start leaving his mark on the kingdom instead of cleaning up the mess Cenred had made of it.
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The rest of the week went by rather quickly, with Merlin and Arthur having only a few opportunities to discuss what would happen when Mordred was found. Since Morgana was the technically only heir for Tintagel, and Merlin being a king in his own right, they'd agreed to give Mordred the lordship of Tintagel, but he would be fostered in Escetir until he'd reached the age of majority. Other than that no solid plans had been made. With their wedding fast approaching, Merlin and Morgana hadn't been able to get much time to themselves, as Agravaine always seemed to be within the vicinity. While he'd made no overt displays of hostility to Merlin, it was quite obvious to everyone with eyes that the Lord didn't like him. However, dislike was not disloyalty, and he'd displayed no signs of being an agent of Morgause, although, Merlin had to concede, he could just be a very good actor.
Soon enough however, it was time for Merlin's wedding, taking place in Camelot so that Uther could be present since it was unlikely that he could make a trip to Escetir, and the Kingdom wasn't in good enough shape to host the kind of lavish wedding that such an occasion begat.
But all thoughts of anything other than Morgana slipped Merlin's mind as soon as he laid eyes on her for the first time that day. While Morgana had always been beautiful she was perhaps even more so now, on their wedding day, then he had ever seen her be before. And as they exchanged vows in front of Uther, who despite it being a rough day for, had sworn he wasn't missing the wedding of his beloved daughter and thus the securing of Camelot's Eastern border for at least a generation or two. Ever the king that one.
But Merlin sat aside his instinctual fear and hatred at the king who had slaughtered so many innocent lives in a mad quest to destroy one of the most fundamental aspects of the world as they knew it. No, today, for him, was about the love for this beautiful noblewoman who was also one of the better people that he had ever known. Although she had a temper to match that of the Pendragon progeny who, it had to be said, had long been known for the 'rage of the dragons' that flows through their bloodline. The anger of a magical Pendragon, or indeed, that of any Pendragon had more than once shaped the world in a new image. And since, like dragons, the Pendragons were possessed of a stubbornness, and single-minded determination that led to a rather disconcertingly tendency to leave the earth scorched both literally and figuratively in their wake.
But Merlin's thoughts were not on the, potentially troublesome and noteworthy, abilities of his new brides bloodline. Nor indeed was it on the massive personal and political changes that Albion and himself had experienced every since he'd arrived in Camelot to fulfil a destiny that one day allow him to achieve what few had-and pass into the annals of history as a myth and legend and a figure that, it was agreed, was much larger than life. No, today was all about the woman he loved, and who amazingly loved him back with all the fierceness of a dragon and fittingly of the high priestess from which she was descended.
()()()()
Merlin didn't remember much of the ceremony itself, but he most definitely remembered the feast that took place after. Royal weddings were rare, and Camelot had not seen one since Uther married a troll. This was something that Arthur took great pleasure of reminding everyone of in his speech.
"Unlike the last time I had to give one of these, I'm fairly certain that Merlin has no ulterior motives. I'm also certain that he's not a troll." A scattering of laughter met these words as Uther groaned his defense of 'I was clearly enchanted' only spurring Arthur to comment how he was enchanted by such an ugly face was a mystery. More laughter met this before Arthur got serious. "I've known Morgana since I was a small child, and I've known Merlin for years. Never before have I witnessed two people made for each other as much as these two. Merlin is the bravest man I've known, and Morgana is as stubborn and kind hearted as they come. Together, I know you will accomplish so much more than you would have individually. So, to my sister and my new brother, may you be blessed with many years of peace, prosperity, and children. To King Merlin and Queen Morgana."
"To King Merlin and Queen Morgana." Merlin nearly groaned at the next person to stand up and give a speech. Gwaine. For once though, the alcoholic knight was not completely drunk and therefore his speech was tolerable, if certainly not completely appropriate given that he was talking about the King and now Queen of a foreign nation. His speech was simply a short one about how he had met Merlin and Arthur, and how together they'd shared many adventures. Gwaine, being Gwaine however, couldn't resist adding a statement that had everyone laughing.
"Merlin mate, you know I would follow you into the depths of Hell. In fact, the only place I can't follow you is marriage. You might be able to settle down with just one, but you'll be on your own I'm afraid." Merlin laughed and replied with his own joke.
"Gwaine, I can honestly say that I love you. But only as a brother. Don't worry, I don't want you to follow me in marriage. For one thing, I'm not sure how such a relationship would work. For another, your pretty, but I'm afraid you have the wrong body parts for me to truly appreciate that." Even Uther was laughing once the double entendre set in, although Arthur looked a bit sick once he realized that Merlin was talking about his sister.
Soon enough however, Morgana gave Merlin a look that had him hurrying to make his excuses and leading her out of the great hall. Gwaine's indignant yelp as his inappropriate comments about the two enjoying their wedding night had seen to it that Arthur had slapped him upside the head and promised him a very early training session to make sure that he wasn't rusty after spending months with Merlin was ignored by the two newlyweds. The rest of the night passed in a blur of heat fire and passion that Merlin would remember for the rest of his life.
()()()()()()()
Merlin and Morgana spent another day in Camelot before they journeyed back to Escetir. On their trip Merlin told Morgana about the various things he'd been doing that he couldn't put in letters. He told her about the reconstruction on the capital city being done, and he also mentally communicated with her on topics of a magical nature-mainly continuing her instruction. With them being officially married and young with no known heirs, it would not be strange for them to spend much more time in seclusion. That they were studying magic and not trying to give Escetir an heir would have to be kept secret until Arthur had come into the throne in full and could be let in on their shared secret. No talks of Mordred were discussed during the uneventful trip, and soon enough, they were approaching the city.
"We got lucky really. With the state of disrepair that it is in, I wasn't expecting the stonemasons and architects to be able to rebuild the city, but thankfully they can. And we're pouring a lot of money into the reconstruction efforts. It amazes me that neither Cenred nor his father ever tried to rebuild it. The treasury most certainly can bear the expense of the number of workers needed to rebuild it within two years. We have people working on it night and day actually." Merlin told Morgana out loud as they approached the city. And although the city still looked like it was in a state of disrepair, it already had seen noticeable improvements compared to a month ago. The Citadel was receiving the most attention as were the inner walls. The outer walls would be the last thing to be repaired. Merlin had wanted to focus on the outer parts of the city first, and then work inward, but had given in to the arguments of the court. And although he was not unaware of the symbolism of fixing the kingdom from the inside-or more poetically, the heart of the kingdom-out, this fact was mostly ignored as it's value was insignificant with the amount of work to be done.
"Well, we should get going. Our people are waiting for you to introduce their queen to them." Morgana smiled brightly at Merlin rendering him speechless for a moment before he returned the smile. Neither of them had ever dared to hope that their feelings could ever be expressed in public, nor that they were even returned. Merlin's rather sudden ascension to the Escetirian throne had changed that. Now for the first time in both their lives, they had someone who understood the struggle of having magic and having to hide it, especially in Camelot, and the knowledge that no matter what they had done, or would do, no matter their failures would always love them. Their strange bond, formed in the very first days of Merlin's presence in Camelot, had only grown stronger as each with each challenge they had faced together. And now, they were free to express their feelings for each other out loud, and in public-something that neither had ever truly had before now.
Unfortunately, neither could truly enjoy the freedom that their marriage had brought them when so much was still on the line. Yes, they might be tied together in the best way for the rest of their lives, but magic was still outlawed, and with Escetir so close to collapse their was nothing that they could do to change that. Still, they took a moment to gather themselves before entering the city. Morgana's beauty was legendary, and every citizen that felt that their kingdom was changing for the better had braved the hazardous roads to the citadel to meet their new Queen. And Morgana did not disappoint. She smiled, and inquired after the people's well being from atop her horse as the procession slowly made their way to the citadel proper. Through their letters, and to an extent, their private talks with their mindspeech, Merlin had fully explained the precarious nature the Escetir found itself in.
The years of rule by Cenred and his father had been harsh to both peasant and noble alike, as the constant wars, high taxes, the high amount of bandits, and finally, the devastation of the Crown Army meant that Escetir set on the brink of civil war-a position that it would unfortunately remain in for a long time to come. Nobles would, and were already attempting to advance their own positions in the massive power vacuum that the destruction of the Army had caused, and some of the Minor nobility had already come to blows only stopping when Merlin had sent a force to arrest the two warring lordlings. They'd been released after a single night in the dungeons with a warning that any future fighting between the two would see them stripped of lands for neglecting their duties to protect the people.
The aftereffects of that event, however, had had the positive influence of convincing the minor nobility to use their own small forces to police the areas closest to their seats of power. That had caused the more powerful Lords to have to do the same least they be shown up by those they deemed 'lesser'. While the council remained, a large portion of them had no heirs, and had already expressed their interest, privately, of turning the management of their land over to a younger lordling in favor of being able to place their full attention on the changes that Merlin was trying to enact so as to keep the Kingdom together. And now that he had a Queen, and a solid tie to Camelot, Merlin could finally begin making some of those changes-even if some of the council did not agree.
So that's chapter four. It's only 3111 words but I've been running into a block trying to decide where to go next within this chapter so instead I just ended it. I know, I'm focusing a lot on the political aspects of the country, but that's because I understand politics-more so the politics of the middle ages and earlier than modern day.
So the next chapter will take place a month after the end of this one, and will feature a couple surprises, but most importantly, it'll show the political side of the equation beginning to take a firm shape as those who do not support Merlin make themselves known. That's all I'll say for now! Please drop a review, I take the time to read them and I try to respond to as many as I can. I welcome constructive criticism, compliments, ideal's, and anything in between. I do not, and will not, respond to a review that bashes this story and the way I write it unless they present their opinion along with what they would do differently/better. If you're going to say this story is trash, but the idea is good, then leave without saying what is wrong with it or how it could be done differently expect to be ignored.