A Visit to Nemeth

Summary: Merlin, Gilli, Lancelot, Percival and a group of Knights leave Camelot for a visit to Nemeth to visit the Magic School there. Both Merlin and Gilli are looking forward to visiting the Kingdom for different reasons. As they arrive there the party from Camelot learn new information on an old adversary. This is the first of a two part story. :)

The party left Camelot at first light. Lancelot and Percival led a small group of Knights, with Merlin and Gilli travelling in the middle of the group. The weather had started off warm and dry, then intermittent showers intervened before the sun took over once again. Merlin enjoyed seeing the autumn colours with the orangey brown of the trees mingling with the green landscape all around. Camelot never seemed more beautiful than at this time of year to Merlin's eyes. He leaned over towards Gilli, who seemed very excited this morning.

"Looking forward to going back to Nemeth?" he asked,

"Yes, I am. It will be lovely to catch up with everyone once again. We had a close team working together," Gilli remarked with a smile.

"You don't regret being tempted away; I hope? Especially with some of the challenges we've landed you with at the moment?"

"Not at all, I'm very happy at being in Camelot and it is interesting to test myself like this,"

"I must admit it will be lovely to be in Nemeth once more," Merlin admitted, "It feels quite a while since I've been there,"

"It's a lovely place. Then of course, there is the chance of seeing Princess Mithian again," Gilli said, giving Merlin a quick look. "You two seem to get on very well together,"

"It would be hard to not get on with her, she's very friendly," Merlin replied,

"She had a lot to do with the School in Nemeth you know,"

"I didn't realise that," Merlin admitted.

"She is quite relaxed around magic, despite the incident with Morgana," Gill explained, "It's not as if her family is a stranger to it either,"

"She hinted that fact to me the last time I saw her, when Arthur was ending the ban on magic. She didn't go into any detail though," Merlin said, making a note to ask her more about it.

"You should ask her, her father's family have some interesting ties with magic,"

"I will do that. I know Nemeth has some interesting monuments of the old religion."

"It does, one quite near to the castle as well." Gilli said.

"You know, when you met Mithian that time, I thought you two seemed really close," Merlin said, testing the waters.

Gilli laughed, "I assure you Merlin she has eyes for one person only!"

Merlin stared at him, not sure what to say in reply, though not before catching Lancelot's raised eyebrow which he ignored. He let the subject drop feeling a little bit uneasy at how it was going. His attitude had always been evasive towards Mithian, in a romantic sense. They certainly got along very well and he loved how he was able to speak so easily with her. But he had no illusions being a Princess, that King Rodor would want his daughter to marry a King and forge an alliance. He remembered Mithian telling him that her father had actually married for love, rather than position. But something told him that Rodor would want something different for her and why not? He knew she was a supreme catch and would make some Kingdom a stunning Queen one day. For that reason, he held no hopes of anything going further than friendship. What was the point of getting his hopes up only to have them dashed at a later date? All the same, he knew he needed to make the most of his time with her, when he had the chance. He decided to treasure every minute they would have together starting from now.

For the next couple of hours, they made fast progress. The roads appeared extremely quiet for this time of year it certainly made a nice change for the Knights. After a brief stop, they were on the road again, after a couple more uneventful hours of riding they had reached the outskirts of the Nemeth.

The scenery in Nemeth was quite different to Camelot. Here, there were chalky hills with icy mountains at the back and the landscape had a lot of brown in it rather than the bright green as in Camelot. There were more monuments around, some of which caught everyone's eyes. Merlin noticed one on a hillside. It was in a shape of a monster which had a human face and a spear in its foot. Once more, Merlin made a note to ask Mithian about them. Nemeth had always captured his curiosity.

"This takes me back," Gilli said, with a dreamy tone as he looked around.

"The scenery is vastly different to Camelot, so many monuments some really strange ones too," Percival said,

"A lot of them have an affinity with the old religion," Gilli explained, "It is a Kingdom with a magical past,"

"You and Merlin will feel right at home then," Lancelot smiled.

"There is a lot about this place I would like to find out about," Merlin admitted,

"Another strange thing is the weather. It can be terrifying, with endless days of rain falling. There was a village on the eastern side which completely vanished under a week's fall of rain. It was a terrible tragedy," Gilli said, sadly.

"I remember hearing about that incident. Wasn't it after that they stopped building the small wooden huts?" Merlin asked.

"That's right. King Rodor spent a lot of money improving the building constructions, bringing in material from other places. It is much better now,"

"That's good to hear," Lancelot said, "It looks like we're getting an escort,"

A line of Nemeth's Knights where trotting along the road to greet the party from Camelot. They stopped and waited for them to join them. Merlin was grateful for a breather. The senior Knight approached them.

"Hello Gilbert," Gilli said,

"It's good to see you again Gilli," Gilbert smiled, "Princess Mithian would like us to escort you into the palace, if you will follow us please?"

"Lead the way Gilbert," Lancelot replied.

"Thank you, Sir Lancelot. Follow me please,"

The party were escorted along the road leading up to the Palace. People at the roadside stopped doing their jobs, as they gave curious stares at the Camelot Knights who rode by. The road leading to the Palace was big and wide with trees growing on each side of the road. The castle was always an impressive sight set around the mountains in the background. It always seemed to take Merlin's breath away whenever he looked at it. It reminded him that King Rodor was an important figure in the Albion community.

As they entered the heavily guarded grounds, he could make out the figure of Princess Mithian waiting for them on the castle steps. Even from a distance she took his breath away. She was dressed in a simple red dress, with a shawl around her shoulders looking every inch the Princess she was. She smiled at they trotted over to her.

"May I welcome you all to Nemeth? My father apologises for his absence but he is recovering from a chill. But he will meet you all for dinner later on."

"Nothing serious I hope?" Gill asked,

"He is getting stronger every day now, thanks Gilli. I am sure he will be ready to entertain you all tonight."

"That is good to hear," Lancelot said,

"Gilbert, will you see to their horses please? If you follow me in your bags will be put into your chambers," Mithian smiled,

They dismounted, following Mithian into the impressive, grand Hallway. After a few minutes of polite chat, she effortlessly despatched them to their individual rooms with a smile.

"Dinner will be in a couple of hours, in the meantime please enjoy settling in,"

Merlin had stayed in the background and now there was only him and Mithian still there. With everyone having departed, Merlin felt more relaxed.

"You are looking very well," he complimented her.

"All the better for seeing you once again," Mithian smiled. "I hope the journey wasn't too bad?"

"It was pretty straight forward all things considered, which makes a nice change,"

"You missed the first bout of bad weather by about a week. It was that which had caught out my father," Mithian explained.

"You said he's on the mend now?" Merlin asked, "As it happens, Alice has sent some herbs over which may help him improve further,"

"Thank you for that. Please give my thanks to Alice. We have heard great things about her," Mithian smiled. "Perhaps you would like to join me for a quick drink?"

"I would be happy too," Merlin replied following her into a huge room, overlooking the back of the magnificent gardens. Nemeth was famous for its Palace gardens and Merlin knew there was history attached to it. He stood looking at it, as she poured them a drink each. "It's amazing how colourful it still looks, even now,"

"A lot of the plants come from different places." Mithian explained, "It means there is always at least one part of the garden which is forever blooming,"

"Didn't your Uncle go on voyages collecting foreign plants?" Merlin asked,

"He did indeed. He was not one for court life Uncle Raymond," Mithian laughed, "He loved nature much more than stately matters."

"I can appreciate that,"

"Of course, you are another person who is more at home in that environment. I wish you could have met him, you'd have got on really well," Mithian said, sadly.

"I wish I'd had the chance. We were really sorry to have heard about his death. I trust it has all been dealt with?" Merlin asked, sitting down.

"Thanks in no small part to Sir Gwaine, yes it has. Please thank Arthur for allowing him to help us,"

"It was our pleasure. I am just glad you managed to track the bandits down."

"Let's get onto happier things. How is everyone in Camelot? I trust the new young Prince is well?"

"He certainly is, getting louder all the time and taking after his father in more ways than is good," Merlin grinned.

Mithian laughed, "I'm sure you don't mean that. I almost certain Gwen has him in good order,"

"That goes without saying, but he does take after Arthur in other ways," Merlin grinned, "Even Gwen cannot do anything about that!"

"I hope Gaius and Alice are still well, I was so pleased they had the chance to come together again,"

"They are both doing well. He has been given a new lease of life since she arrived in Camelot. I can barely keep up with him now!"

Mithian laughed, "What about yourself?"

"I am well thanks, busy but everything is slowly coming together now. I have taken on a young boy who was dropped off by the Druids,"

"Does he have magic?" Mithian asked,

"Yes, he certainly does. He can sense changes in the weather days ahead his abilities on that skill is amazing. He has other magical abilities as well. He has been traumatised a little bit, but he is slowly coming out of his shell now,"

"That sounds encouraging then. It's never easy with young children as we've learnt here. But getting help to them early on, can make a big difference," Mithian smiled,

"I am really looking forward to seeing the School tomorrow and all the work you've undertaken,"

"It's still a work in progress. I hope you learn something that you can use in Camelot, but remember we are learning all the time. Anything you think of which we could use please tell us. We owe it those with magic, that they get the help they deserve,"

"I will drink to that," Merlin smiled, "It's been lovely catching up, but I would be grateful if I can be shown to my room. I wouldn't mind a sleep before dinner,"

"Of course, I have kept you long enough," Mithian said, "I will take you there myself it's on the east wing."

Merlin followed her up some steps and down a long corridor, in every window, there was a stunning view. They then went through a door which led to some more steps. After a few minutes they came to a quiet passage which had a few doors down it.

"It's very quiet and secretive here. You should find some peace and quiet for your sleep,"

"Thank you Princess Mithian," Merlin smiled.

"See you at dinner,"

"I'll look forward to that," Merlin said, he watched as she disappeared down the corridor within minutes it was only her scent which remained.

Later that Evening

Merlin had managed a couple of hours rest until Lancelot had knocked on his door. He joined the rest of the party as they were escorted into the grand dinning room. King Rodor and Mithian were already sitting waiting for their guests. To Merlin's relief Rodor looked well, indeed he had a lot of colour on his face, he eased himself onto his feet as the group from Camelot arrived in the room.

"Can I welcome you all to Nemeth. My apologies for being unable to greet you earlier on, but in the end, I had to heed the advice of my physician and my daughter too," Rodor apologised, while smiling warmly at Mithian, who raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's quite alright. We are just relieved that you appear to be on the mend," Merlin assured him.

"Yes, I am certainly feeling a lot better. Please thank Alice for the herbs she has sent to me. I have heard she is already making a difference to life at Camelot?" King Rodor remarked. "She was very useful when she was in Nemeth, a very astute lady she is,"

"She certainly is, she has settled down well and Gaius is looking a lot younger already," Lancelot smiled.

Merlin joined in with the general laughter. The mood was very positive and light throughout, Merlin relaxed and happy to be among friends.

"I am so happy they are back together again. She often spoke about Gaius when she was here, it was a sad set of circumstances which parted them," Rodor lamented.

Merlin nodded, Very true, it's why we are so determined for a new start in Camelot,"

Within minutes the first course had arrived and Merlin was tucking in forgetting how long it had been until he'd eaten anything. King Rodor prided himself in trying new things in all areas. He had made his Kingdom outlooking, encouraging people to search for new horizons, whether it be food, materials, fabrics, as a way of developing his own lands. Merlin had never tasted a fruit platter like the one in front of him. There were fruits in it had hadn't even seen before. But the taste was heaven.

"I have to compliment you on this first course, sire," Percival said, mimicking Merlin's own thoughts.

"Some of these fruits I have never seen before," Lancelot said, looking at Mithian.

"Father has always encouraged our people to explore new worlds in all walks of life," Mithian smiled, "some of these fruits are grown in other lands, but compliment what we already have here,"

"I would agree that first course was divine," Merlin admitted.

"I have tried so many new things in Nemeth," Gilli smiled, "It was one of the pleasures of being here, never quite knowing what new thing would appear next,"

"Thank you, Gilli," King Rodor replied, "It is true what Mithian has said. I have always encouraged people to try things and explore new civilisations. I believe there is much to learn in Kingdoms different to our own. I love my own land with my whole being, but being inward in thinking is never a good thing. It only closes down a community, I believe in people working together for the common good. Just as in Camelot at the moment, with the new world that Arthur and Merlin here have brought in,"

"I have been most impressed with what I have seen so far," Merlin said, "I would like to add Arthur and I are grateful for the support that Nemeth has always shown to Camelot. I would agree entirely it's only through working together that things can ever change for the better,"

"That sounds like a good toast," Mithian smiled, lifting her glass at Merlin.

"Indeed, it is," King Rodor agreed, "Let's drink a toast to the partnership between our great two Kingdoms. To Camelot and Nemeth,"

Everyone lifted their glasses, by the time they had drunk the toast the main course had arrived. Merlin could hardly wait to tuck in as the aroma's coming from his plate assaulted his nostrils. The beef was so tender, Merlin recognised the sweet honey and some other herbs, but there was something which was new to his taste buds. He revelled in the dish, realising that Gilli had got his observations spot on about Nemeth.

"So, tell me Merlin, how are the new plans coming together for uniting the five Kingdoms?" King Rodor asked,

"They are still being finalised. We are planning for there to be a new meeting in the spring. Our biggest obstacle to uniting everyone remains King Martin, he continues to be a thorn in our side," Merlin explained, noticing King Rodor and Mithian exchanges glances at the news. He had a feeling there was something going on and for a moment wondered what.

"Yes, we have had our own situation with King Martin," Rodor replied,

Merlin watched him putting his fork around the plate, wondering if anymore information would become available. The more he knew about what he was facing the better for him and Arthur. It wasn't long before, Rodor told him more.

"We were invited to visit his Kingdom. I had thought about declining as we knew very little about his motives. But I was encouraged to go there anyway,"

"Encouraged?" Merlin asked, suddenly really interested in what came next.

"We were led to believe that it would be to our advantage and that King Martin had a proposition," Rodor explained.

One look at Mithian told Merlin everything he needed to know. He noticed that all of a sudden, she was avoiding his look, he waited for the news that he'd long been dreading and listened with a heavy heart as Rodor continued.

"He let it be known, that he was interested in the idea of making Mithian his wife and Queen,"

There was a stunned silence around the table, as suddenly no one quite knew what to say. Merlin could feel Lancelot's eyes on him, but he purposely avoided his glance, knowing it was important to be professional whatever the news.

"So, what happened?" Merlin asked, softly.

"I had said initially I would consider it, but then explained that there were other options open to me. The strange thing was the moment I said that, suddenly we didn't seem as welcome anymore,"

Merlin's heart began to beat again, as he dared to hope. "What was the outcome,"

"After a rushed meeting where he let it be known there were artefacts, he would like back, he said he'd had a change of heart after all. Within hours we were being escorted from his Kingdom. It was a very fraught visit, one which left me deeply unimpressed with both his motives and his character,"

"Well, you wouldn't be the first person to suspect his motives, plenty more do including the Druids," Merlin admitted,

"Yes, I was naturally aware of that already. In hindsight it was a bad decision to go at all," Rodor admitted, regretfully.

"It's not a total waste in so much as, we know the rumours about him were pretty accurate after all," Merlin said, "I was always in favour of giving him a chance, but I am beginning to suspect that may prove a waste of time after all,"

"He is not a nice person, very abrupt and quick to take offence," Mithian added, quietly, still avoiding Merlin's face.

"Say nothing of pretty unstable," Rodor agreed, "I am sorry I put my daughter through it at all,"

"You were not to know, I'm sorry too that both of you had to experience that," Merlin replied, "I will pass it on to Arthur when I'm back in Camelot. We have to have a plan for King Martin, otherwise we will never unite the Five Kingdoms,"

"Any assistance you need, you only have to ask," King Rodor said,

"Thank you, it's appreciated,"

"Now, let's lighten the mood and get our last course on the table," King Rodor smiled,

A trolley moved in with one of the biggest dishes Merlin had ever seen. On it was a very big fruit tart, which once again made him feel hungry and desperate to taste. The food had re-energised the mood around the table, Mithian passed a small smile across at Merlin. He was relieved that the Rodor's report had left no permanent mark on her mood. Soon there was silence as everyone tucked into the food. By the time he had emptied the dish, Merlin felt full and sleepy.

"Well that food was delicious, sire," Lancelot complimented King Rodor,

"I am glad everyone enjoyed it, it is nice to see all the clean plates," King Rodor smiled,

"I get the feeling we will all sleep well tonight," Gilli agreed.

"Can I ask about the plans tomorrow?" Merlin asked, looking across at Mithian.

"I have arranged after breakfast to go to the School. You are all naturally welcome to attend, everyone is looking forward to seeing you all," Mithian smiled,

"We have a couple of jobs to do for Arthur," Percival explained, "Thank you for the invitation though,"

"I too may have a job for you and Lancelot, if that's okay?" Rodor said, sitting back.

"Of course," Lancelot replied, "Anything we can assist you with,"

"I promise you, its one which will appeal I think," Rodor smiled, mysteriously. "Now, I am sorry but I feel I need to retire. It's been an enjoyable but long night,"

"Of course, thank you for the hospitality and I bid you a good night," Merlin smiled.

Rodor kissed Mithian and slowly made his way out of the room. It seemed to set a motion of excuses as people followed the King's example and the room was pretty soon almost empty. There was only Gilli, Mithian and Merlin left by the end.

"It's been a really enjoyable night, as ever. It's good to see Nemeth in all its glory," Gilli smiled,

"You are always welcome Gilli. They are looking forward to saying hello again at the School tomorrow. They miss you," Mithian assured him.

"I miss them too, but I was ready for a new challenge," Gilli said, honestly.

"I understand, no hard feelings. It has given us a chance to start some new people, they are all doing well," Mithian explained.

"I will look forward to meeting their acquaintance. Now, I must admit I am battling to keep my eyes open. I am sure there are things you would like to say. I bid you both good night,"

"Good night Gilli," Merlin said.

Eventually Merlin and Mithian were alone, suddenly he felt quite awkward but knew some things had to be said.

"I was sorry to have heard about the visit to King Martin. It cannot have been easy, to have relived it again in front of everyone,"

"I knew my father would mention it tonight. We felt it important that you knew. You and Arthur are building a new world, so we wanted to let you know. We wanted to assure you, that you could rely on us to be honest as well," Mithian explained,

"I hope he wasn't unpleasant to you," Merlin said, amazed at how angry he felt in the moment.

"No, he didn't harm me in any way. But it wasn't a good experience, not one I'd want to relive in anyway. I do worry about what his true intentions are though. You and Arthur need to be careful,"

"Don't worry about anything, we will deal with him in time," Merlin assured her.

"Can I ask you a question?" Mithian asked him.

Merlin nodded, aware that it was going to be awkward, but he felt he owed her the chance anyway.

"How did you feel when my father told everyone about it?" she asked him.

Merlin thought for a moment before answering her. "I felt disappointed, quite despondent actually,"

"That is what I was hoping you'd say," Mithian said, with a little smile.

"Mithian, when I say that," Merlin began,

"It's all right Merlin I'm not trying to trick you or anything," Mithian said, "I don't want to put you in an awkward position. But I am happy that is what you thought,"

"It goes without saying, you know that," Merlin replied, matching her stare and wanting to say so much more to her.

"I know, anyway a big day ahead tomorrow. I think maybe we both need a good night's sleep," she laughed,

"That lovely food has made me very sleepy," Merlin admitted, "I will look forward to seeing you tomorrow,"

"And I, have a good sleep Merlin," she replied,

He took her hand and kissed it, their eyes looking at one another and catching the light. How he wished it could come to something more. But then he remembered all the reasons it couldn't and a wave of depression came down on him like a sudden mist. By the time he had begun to say good night she had already disappeared and he was left cursing his hesitance. Some times life was so complicated, but as ever his destiny stood in the way. He cursed his luck as he made his way upstairs.

To be continued.