A/N - This one is much shorter than the last one. I tried a slightly different style here, so feedback would be appreciated.
I own 'Merlin'!
…
Ok, I own the Merlin DVD box set, but that counts, right?
-JKelly
Desecrate:
v. treat (a sacred place or thing) with violent disrespect
spoil (something which is valued or respected)
This time, when they come across the flags and ribbons that mark the clearing as being a druidic shrine, it doesn't take Merlin to make them back away. This time, they all feel it.
This time, they all feel the whispers of a massacre, they all smell the faint tinge of blood in the breeze.
This time, they leave before they risk disturbing the spirits sleeping in the soil, as a brother who was now a spirit himself had once done.
It is only Arthur who returns.
(Well, Merlin follows him, but Arthur doesn't know that.)
Arthur returns in a tunic, not armour, because he will not desecrate this place like that again.
Arthur speaks about his regret, his remorse for what happened there. He speaks about the pressure on a young prince, about the madness of a father overcome with grief. He speaks about a promise he made to a boy, gone before his time, to accept the Druids, to end their persecution. He speaks about his desire for peace between himself and the magical peoples of Camelot.
Merlin listens, and knows that if it is not a surety of his future, it is at least hope.
The next time Arthur and Merlin happen upon the clearing whilst on a hunt, the flags and ribbons are gone. The land is still sacred, a burial ground, but one for those who have gone on, not for those who still remain.
This time, the only sound to be heard is the rustling of the autumn leaves and the occasional cry of the birds and creatures that have returned to the clearing, the only scent is that of damp leaves and fresh fallen rain.
This time, they do not back away. This time, they rest for a moment, before moving forwards.