Chapter Ten: Friends and Enemies
Good Lord, it has been a while since last update, hasn't it- I hang my head in shame- but I still have the excuse of college. Yippee… Not to mention, with Halloween coming up, I now have to think of a costume that isn't a bat. Not that Halloween isn't an extra-specially fun time of year, being the day that people don't look at you strangely if you dress up, but having to think of a costume every year that won't scare little kiddies is a pain. I was going to be Mab, but that would require me growing my hair about three foot longer and then ironing it to get it flat, and, with the greatest respect to David Bowie, there's no way on God's Green Earth that I'd dress up as Jareth- although I have a friend who probably will… And I've also been spending lots of time listening to my brand new "Labyrinth" soundtrack CD! Not a fan of David Bowie per se, but I love the songs from "Labyrinth". And Trevor Jones is, of course, godly, having done great music for "Labyrinth", "The Dark Crystal", and of course, "Merlin".
But anyway, I digress into mentalist ramblings again… Reviewer response time, methinks.
Jadanni: Ah, you have watched Labyrinth! What did you think of it? About the dancing, I can barely tell the difference between one type of dance and another, so you can imagine as you wish what dance Jareth and Mab were doing. Personally, I had trouble imagining Mab doing either kind of dance, as ballroom dancing didn't exist in the 5th Century. I did do a brief glimpse of Jareth's motivation (basically, Sarah beating his Labyrinth and turning him down made him very bitter and possessive), but it was just that – brief.
Tortoisebird: I know I haven't changed much of the content of the film, and I'm trying to work on that. As for making them lose, that will depend on my mood when I write the final chapter. I probably won't be that mean and make them lose, but I might write another fic later as if they had lost, if you know what I mean.
Queen-Chick- Yay, new reviewer! Thanks for your comments- I'm also a big fan of Miranda Richardson, and Queen Mab is my favourite of all the characters she plays (as well as being the first role I saw her in). It's really a shame that more people haven't seen her in "Merlin". It's also a shame that there aren't more Merlin fics on here. In the two years or so that I've been reading stuff on here, I've seen 3, maybe four Merlin fanfics maximum, not including this one. I cannot get my Merlin fic-fix… (LOL, it rhymes- sort of… I am ashamed of my pathetic sense of humour)
Merlin's eyes opened slowly. For a moment or two he blinked, trying to remember where he was, before he was brought back to reality by the pain of a number of sharp objects digging into his back. Pulling himself upright, he saw that they were sharp rocks, and that he was lying on the ground. He ached all over, and his head felt painful and confused- the after-effects, he supposed, of being drugged. Next to him he heard a groan, and he glanced around to see Mab sitting near him, clutching her head. Merlin noted with little interest that she was still wearing the long blue dress from the glass ballroom, and when he looked down, he saw that he was also wearing the same clothes.
"What does that mean?" he wondered "That we were actually there, and it wasn't all a dream after all? Though," he thought on consideration, "The fact that we appear to be in a different place does seem to indicate that anyway."
"Are you alright?" Merlin asked Mab. His mouth felt dry, and his head was still spinning, so he was fairly sure that his words had sounded somewhat slurred, but Mab appeared to have understood them.
"No," she snapped, in a sharp voice that Merlin was surprised she could muster to any effect if she felt anywhere near as bad as he did, "I'm not. Very rarely have I been less alright. In fact, I'd say that I have reached new heights of not being alright. What a stupid question!" Without waiting for any sort of reply from Merlin, she continued in a threatening undertone to herself, "If I find Frik, I'm going to kill him slowly and painfully." Merlin said nothing for a minute. Frik had been his friend. Although what Mab was saying was almost certainly true, he couldn't feel as certain as she did that Frik truly had betrayed them. And even if he had, he wouldn't have felt comfortable discussing it with Mab, especially not in her present mood.
Pulling himself to his feet, he waited for Mab to do the same. As she stood, Mab seemed to notice, as Merlin had earlier, that she was still wearing the dress she had worn earlier. Disgust showed on her face.
"Why are we still wearing these idiotic clothes?" she asked angrily. Merlin shrugged.
"I don't know, Mab," he replied tiredly, "Does it really matter?" Mab turned on him.
"Oh, you want to be reminded of how Jareth summoned up an illusion of Nimue to trap you in the Underground? How he used her image because he knew you would feel too guilty to leave her behind again, like you did when Arthur died!" Merlin's eyes darkened then. Mab had no right to comment on his feelings for Nimue, and to imply that it was Merlin's fault that he had lost her forever, when it had been Mab's spell that had caused it all was much more than out of line, whether Merlin did feel guilty or not. Mab's mouth snapped shut, and for a moment she looked stricken. She turned away from Merlin. After a moment, she spoke.
"I'm… sorry," she said, as though the word were strange to her, "I shouldn't have said that."
"No," Merlin agreed stiffly and coldly, "You shouldn't." However rare and unusual an apology from Mab might be, some things required more than "Sorry". If Mab was disappointed by Merlin's lack of reaction to her apology, she didn't show it. She stood with her back to Merlin, staring straight ahead of her. After a few moments, Merlin noticed that she was shaking slightly. It was nothing to do with the temperature, which, despite the fact that night had fallen, was still fairly warm, and Merlin realised that Mab was either upset or afraid or both. It was certainly more of a reaction than he'd seen her show before, except perhaps, just before she had faded away. For a moment his concern outweighed his anger, and he broke the silence.
"Are you alright?" he asked again, realising that he was beginning to sound like a parrot.
"Well, this is surprising," she laughed weakly, "I insult Merlin and he asks me if I'm alright." She turned to face him. "You really have changed." Merlin noted that her voice didn't sound anywhere near as confident and steady as it usually did.
"So have you," he countered, "I don't believe I've ever heard you apologise for anything. Well, not sincerely anyway." Mab stared at him.
"How can you be sure I'm being sincere now?" she asked, her eyebrow raised.
"I have known you for most of my life, Mab; I would like to think that I can tell when you're being sincere. Not to mention you've never been able to act sincerity very well, so either you really did mean your apology, or you've suddenly become a bloody good actress." He smiled tentatively at her, an expression that she returned, and once again, a wordless truce appeared to have been established between them.
"Who did you see?" Merlin asked suddenly, "In that ballroom, who did you see?"
"No-one," Mab replied, looking away again. Merlin stared intently at her.
"I meant what I said before, Mab. You're a very bad liar. I've never seen you look so scared. In fact, I've very rarely seen you look scared at all. You must have seen someone." A thought occurred to him, "Was it Mordred?" Mab shook her head.
"No. It was Jareth." Merlin watched her carefully. She seemed to be telling the truth.
"Jareth?" he echoed. She nodded, "What did he say?" Mab shrugged.
"Not much. He tried to convince me to give up, to become his queen. He kissed me. Then the clock started chiming, and I realised that it was a spell. You know the rest."
"And that's all?" Merlin asked sceptically. "That's why you're in such a state?" Mab glared at him.
"No, Merlin, that is not why I'm in "such a state" as you so kindly put it. And it's none of your business why." She took a couple of steps away from Merlin, obviously considering the conversation to be at an end. Merlin, however, did not.
"Are you really that afraid of him?" he asked. This was what he couldn't comprehend. Yes, Jareth was powerful, but not as powerful as Mab had been, Merlin was sure of that. And no, he didn't seem particularly pleasant, but that seemed no reason for Mab to be afraid of him.
"Drop it, Merlin," Mab snarled warningly. But Merlin knew- or was fairly sure- that Mab wasn't going to critically injure him, not now, and he guessed that he could push his luck slightly further.
"I just don't understand," he told her, "I can understand that you don't want to lose, I don't either. I can understand that you don't like Jareth, that you don't want to be his queen, I understand all of that. But Mab, I know you. I've seen you fight, I've seen you watch atrocities, and commit them, for that matter, without flinching. But I've never seen you like this. I don't understand how becoming Jareth's queen could be so bad." Mab's head snapped round to face him. Her eyes blazed angrily.
"No, Merlin, you don't understand. You may think that you have the measure of Jareth, but you don't. You might think you know me, but you don't. Don't tell me what I should and shouldn't feel, and don't tell me that becoming Jareth's bride won't be that bad, because it will." She turned away again, and sat down on a nearby stone, pointedly facing away from Merlin.
"That's not what I was trying to say," said Merlin gently, walking over to her. "I just wanted to understand. If we lose, I belong to Jareth, too, remember? I believe you when you say how bad it'll be. I just wanted to understand why." Mab turned round and scrutinised him for a moment, as though contemplating whether to say something or not. Eventually she sighed and stood up.
"I'm not scared of Jareth, not really," she told Merlin, "I loathe the man, I'm sure you've guessed that by now. His powers were never as strong as mine, the main point of his existence is to fulfil the petty, self important wishes of mortals who don't know any better, and I know he won't kill us before the end of this challenge, because it would spoil his prize. No, I'm not scared of him." She paused.
"But?" Merlin prompted.
"But none of that matters, does it?" Mab asked suddenly, "If we lose, it doesn't matter if I was more powerful than him once upon a time. It doesn't matter if I consider him to be petty or pointless; it doesn't matter that he won't kill us. It all becomes void, because, at the end of the day, he will own us both, and he'll control us."
"But you've just said he wouldn't kill us," Merlin pointed out. Mab glanced at him, half pityingly.
"Do you think that's the worst thing that could happen? Oh, Merlin, there are worse things than death. I thought I'd taught you that if nothing else." Merlin considered this for a moment. He thought of all the people he'd loved and lost, all the times an action of his had hurt someone else, and knew that Mab was right. There were far worse things than death. Mab continued.
"You've seen Jareth. You've seen the way he acts, what he does. Do you really think that he loves me?"
"No," Merlin replied frankly.
"Exactly," said Mab, "So, why would anyone go to such lengths to entrap someone that they didn't love- or didn't even vaguely like- into becoming their bride?" Merlin shrugged.
"I wouldn't know," he replied, "A political allegiance, perhaps. Personal gain of some kind? If they'd been rejected by someone they didn't love, wanting to stop themselves from being rejected again? Pride?"
"Revenge." Mab stated simply. Merlin stared at her, waiting for her to continue. "I think you're right in part. I think Jareth fell in love with the girl who defeated his Labyrinth, and she rejected him. And now he wants revenge, but he can't take it on her, because he has no power over her. So he'll have his revenge on anyone else who hurt his pride. Jareth and I have a somewhat… interesting past. So he'll have his revenge on me for rejecting him by making me his bride. And if I'm right, and I'm almost certain that I am, then what exactly is he capable of?" Merlin understood then.
"You're scared of what he'll do to you when he has power over you," he summed up. Mab had gone slightly paler than usual during her last speech, and Merlin realised that Mab was not only realising what she stood to lose, but how close she now was to losing it.
"I know what he'll do," Mab replied bitterly, "I'm stronger and prouder than he is and he can't stand it. He hates me. That's why he wants control over me, because then he'll be the one with the power. I'll have to obey him, and he knows how much I'll hate that, how much it'll humiliate me, hurt me. But, as if that's not enough, I'm sure he'll put every effort into trying to hurt me even more, to break me, to take away any pride or sense of self worth I have left, and what's more, I'm equally sure he'll enjoy every moment of it. And I have an eternity of that to look forward to. So, if you ask me whether that scares me, then yes, I suppose it does." She looked away from Merlin and sat down again. She was shaking even more than before, and looked uncomfortable. It was the first time in centuries that she had spoken about any of her fears or feelings with another person, and she wasn't used to it. Merlin was quiet for a moment, then he spoke.
"I didn't mean to make you feel worse. I don't blame you for being scared. I am too. But don't let him get to you, not while we still have a chance." He touched her arm awkwardly with a gesture that was meant to be comforting. Mab gathered enough of her composure to look round at him and speak without crying or shaking, or something equally embarrassing.
"Why are you trying to help me?" she asked.
"We did all agree to work together to solve the Labyrinth, remember?" Merlin reminded her.
"But why are you being understanding? You stopped those griffins from killing me, so I'd say any guilt you felt for what you saw in that crystal should have been long assuaged."
"I'm not doing anything out of guilt," replied Merlin, "I just think that we should both have moved on from hating each other by now. There's no point any more, not if we're supposed to be on the same side." Mab nodded.
"True." Both of them paused for a moment.
"Should we go?" asked Merlin after a moment. Mab glanced around.
"Where are we?" she asked, "We only have an hour left. We could be anywhere. How are we going to get to the castle in time?" Both of them glanced around, then looked behind them. A large hill rose up from where they stood. At the top was a large city, surrounding a strangely shaped castle- Jareth's castle.
"Well," said Merlin, "That solves one problem at least." Before they could begin to climb the hill, however, they heard a scrabbling noise behind them. Turning, they saw a figure scramble onto the path in front of them. They saw that it was a man with long blonde hair and a handsome face, and for that reason, it took them several moments to realise who it was.
"Frik." Mab snarled, fury radiating from her in almost visible waves. All the outward signs that Merlin had seen, of the fear she felt, even of vulnerability, were gone in a flash, her features once more a harsh mask of cold determination. She started towards Frik, going to summon a deadly magic blast. Merlin reached out and caught her arm.
"Mab, wait," he said, "Give him a chance to explain." Mab didn't say anything, but ceased in her attack. Ahead of them, Frik heard their voices and looked up, stopping still in surprise and horror when he saw them both standing there, staring at him. Fear, sadness, guilt and resignation crossed his face within moments, and he hung his head. All three were silent for a moment.
"Frik?" Merlin broke the silence. He wasn't sure what he was asking Frik, but he knew he wanted some answers. Frik shuffled uncomfortably.
"Master Merlin," he acknowledged quietly and uncertainly. Mab looked back and forth between them, before hissing in exasperation and turning on Frik.
"Oh, I see you were there, too," she said in a low, dangerous voice, indicating Frik's sudden change of appearance, "Tell me, I'm curious, did you drink that potion out of guilt, or to watch your and Jareth's' clever plan in action?" Her eyes flashed angrily as she spoke. Frik didn't reply, merely looked away, which, of course, did nothing to soothe Mab's temper.
"What was that Frik?" she asked sarcastically, "I didn't quite hear you. I'm sure we're all dying to hear your explanation for why exactly you nearly handed us all over to Jareth. Why you tried to make us lose. Why you nearly destroyed us. We're just brimming with curiosity. Oh, by the way, the ballroom. Whose idea was that, yours or Jareth's? Take away our freedom and have us not even realise until it was too late. Perhaps you're capable of more cunning and cruelty than I gave you credit for? If I'd known, I would have promoted you years ago…"
"I didn't know what it would do!" Frik burst out, unable to bear listening to Mab's accusations any longer. "When Jareth gave it to me, he didn't tell me what it would do." Merlin stiffened.
"So it was you." he stated. Frik nodded miserably. "Why?"
"I never meant for you to drink it, Master Merlin," Frik relied desperately, "I never wanted to trap you here." Mab let out a short harsh laugh from next to Merlin.
"No, you just wanted to trap me. So sorry to have disappointed you," she snapped.
"Frik, it doesn't matter whether you meant to or not!" Merlin cried out in exasperation, "You nearly trapped us all here. What on Earth possessed you to listen to anything Jareth had to say?"
"He only told me what I already knew," Frik replied, "I had to take revenge for what happened to Morgan!"
"You nearly sacrificed us all for revenge?" Merlin snapped. "Not to mention Arthur and all of Britain?"
"She doesn't deserve to get through the Labyrinth, not after what she did to Morgan!" Frik snapped defensively, pointing at Mab, who stared at him with cold disdain.
"Mab's past actions, however questionable they may have been, are not the ones being called into question here," Merlin told Frik sternly. Frik looked from Merlin to Mab and back again.
"Yes, well, that's quite plainly obvious," he said angrily, looking pointedly at Merlin's hand, which was still holding Mab's arm. Mab grasped what Frik was insinuating far faster than Merlin did, and her eyes darkened in fury again.
"You…" she snarled, lunging at Frik again. Merlin pulled her back again, and stepped between the two of them.
"This isn't the time or place for revenge, Frik," Merlin said, his voice sounding angry and disappointed. Evidently, Frik had found his voice, and snapped right back at Merlin.
"If you want to forgive her, that's up to you, but you can't click your fingers and force everyone else into forgiving her, too!" Frik snapped.
"That's not what I'm doing," Merlin said quietly.
"Yes, it is!" replied Frik, "You spent your whole life trying to take revenge on her, but now you suddenly think it's wrong if anyone else does. Or that's how you're acting anyway."
"Frik, we all agreed to a truce before we even entered the Labyrinth, remember?" Merlin asked.
"Yes, but there's a difference between calling a truce and suddenly becoming greatest friends, if Mab even knows what friends are any more!" Mab stepped forward.
"Frik, considering you just tried to poison your only friend, I wouldn't start accusing other people of not knowing what friends are." Her voice was at its normal volume, but the menace in it was unmistakeable. Even in his incensed mood, Frik didn't dare look Mab in the face and insult her directly, so he glowered and looked away.
"Enough of this," Merlin said tiredly. "We don't have the time for it. I assume you still want to complete the challenge, Frik?" Frik nodded.
"But, Master Merlin," he muttered, his voice losing some of it's anger, and more resembling his normal, servile voice, now that it seemed he had been accepted back into the fold, "Why is it that you want to help her complete the Labyrinth?" Merlin and Mab, who had begun walking again, whirled back round to face Frik at this question. Merlin looked more than a little irked, whilst the expression on Mab's face was unreadable and cold. Frik knew from experience that it was one of her more dangerous looks.
"Because, Frik," Merlin ground out, "Like it or not, you and I and Mab are working together. If she loses, we lose. I assume that's not what you want?"
"Why not?" Frik asked dully, "I served her for centuries, I was used to it; I can't imagine that Jareth would be any different…" He knew the instant he'd said it that, somehow, he'd just made a serious mistake. Merlin whirled to face Mab, knowing what her reaction would be, but he was too late to hold her back this time. Mab reached Frik before he could blink, and struck him across the face with all the strength she and her magic could muster, knocking him to the ground.
"How dare you!" she snarled furiously at Frik, going to summon another magic blast, "I am nothing like Jareth!" She was livid, angrier than Frik could remember seeing her in a long time, and he cowered back in fear. Merlin darted forward and pulled her away from Frik. Mab turned on him.
"Get your hands off me!" she shrieked, striking out at Merlin, too. Her hand struck him across the face, though thankfully, she was at the wrong angle to do him any real damage. He winced, but didn't let go.
"Mab, calm down!" he said loudly, "It won't do any good." After a moment, Mab's blinding rage abated somewhat, and she stopped trying to struggle out of Merlin's hold and finish Frik off. She continued to glare angrily at Frik, who tried not to catch her eye, but clambered to his feet, and stared bitterly at the pair of them.
"Well, don't you two look charming together?" he remarked sarcastically. Merlin let go of Mab and stepped away from her awkwardly, finally realising what Frik was implying. Before either of them could make an angry response- and it looked like they both wanted to- Frik went on, talking to Merlin alone, this time, "You've changed, Master Merlin. You never would have helped her before, never let her help you, never gone near her. Why have you changed?"
"You mean why don't I let revenge and hatred rule my life any more? Because I can't afford to, Frik. I don't want to spend my entire life hating people when I don't have to and having enemies where I needn't have them. That's why I've changed." Frik sighed.
"Master Merlin, you're being obtuse again."
"Oh?" Merlin snapped, "And how am I being obtuse, exactly, Frik?"
"Because, Master Merlin," replied Frik, "It doesn't matter whether you want her as your friend, or enemy, or whatever else, because if and when we reach that castle, Arthur and Mordred are going to have to fight, and then the two of you will be on different sides, anyway. The Old Ways and Christianity, war and peace, Camelot and Mordred, they can't exist alongside each other." He stared back and forth between the two of them, as though daring them to disagree, "You're not friends. You can never be friends. The minute that we're away from here, you'll be at war again, and if you thought about it for a second, you'd know that I'm right!" Frik stopped here, looking surprised, as though the words had come tumbling out of their own free will. There was silence for a moment, as Merlin and Mab digested Frik's words, both realising that he was right. Outside of the mortal realm, they could be allies, maybe even friends, but in the realm of men itself, the two of them stood on opposite sides, that neither would willingly abandon, and that could never coexist. When Mordred and Arthur fought, one of them must emerge victorious, one side would win over the other, and whoever lost would be left to pick up the pieces and try and carry on the fight in the name of their respective champion. They would indeed be enemies again, and it would have terrifying repercussions, not just for them, but for the whole of Britain. They'd let themselves forget, and the reminder was painful and jarring. Staring awkwardly at each other, the Queen of the Old Ways, the wizard who'd defied her to put a Christian king on the throne, and the gnome who'd seen both sides of their war years ago, moved slowly towards the Goblin City, and their separate, yet tightly intertwined fates.
Sorry, this chapter's quite a bit shorter than the last one, but the demands upon my time are growing, sadly. I thought I'd better post this chapter up now before everyone thought I'd forgotten about it. I'd love to say the next chapter will be up very soon, but knowing my luck, that would probably jinx it. So, the next chapter will probably be up within the next month, hopefully sooner.
Again, please R+R, and thanks to those of you who have already done so.