I want to take a quick second to thank those of you reading and reviewing, it really puts a smile on my face. I also encourage you, if you have an idea you really want to see put into play- please share it! I am writing this as I go and if I like your idea, I am more than happy to use it in some way!
Standard disclaimer: I do not own Merlin in any way, shape or form.
That said... Who's ready for some action?!
Chapter 9
"I think it's time to invite your friend along and see if he'll give us a ride to Cenred's castle, father." Merlin told Balinor, who nodded.
"I agree, we need to head to an empty clearing." Balinor replied and led Merlin out past the edge of the village.
The walk was tense and quiet, neither man knowing what to say. Balinor decided to break the silence first. "I wish we could have met under better circumstances, son. In fact, there are a great many things I wish could have been done differently. Was your mother happy? Did she tell you about me?"
"She told me you died when I was a baby." Merlin replied tersely.
Balinor was stunned for a moment. "Oh. So, it was just you and her then? You said she never got married. I know her parents were both gone by the time we met but was there anyone else who was around to help out?" Balinor asked, trying to break the awkward tension.
"Gaius came around every few months when I was a kid to help mother and me out. But that's about it. Most of the village treated us like outcasts, her an unwed mother and me a bastard with rumored magic. It wasn't the easiest but we had each other and no one could have asked for a better mother. I always knew I was loved." Merlin swiped at a stray tear that slid down his cheek as he remembered his mother. He couldn't believe she was gone. The thought of never seeing her again took his breath away.
Balinor gently squeezed his shoulder as they came to a clearing on the outskirts of town. "I am truly sorry son. Hunnith was a beautiful soul and she deserved so much more." Merlin nodded and looked around. "This will do. Are you sure you are ready for this?"
"As ready as I'm ever going to be. This will be my task one day. I may as well know a bit about it now so I'm not left completely in the dark when that day comes. Go ahead and call him." Merlin had heard of dragon lords and how they communicated with dragons. Though he had never spoken the ancient language, he knew the call was intense and foreign to all ears but the dragon kin. Balinor took a deep breath before he threw his arms out wide, face to the sky, and roared the ancient call. Merlin found himself in awe as he could feel the rush of magic and his heart pounded with excitement suddenly finding he could understand the words his father spoke.
Arthur and his knights stood in the field behind Merlin's family home saddling their horses and watching Merlin walk away with his father. They all felt uneasy about the plan but realized it wasn't their place to speak up in opposition. The knights all looked at each other with beseeching eyes, trying to get the others to speak to their king about what had just happened and what was to come. Finally, it seemed Leon had drawn the short straw.
"Sire, how are you doing with all of this? Is Merlin going to be coming back to Camelot with us or will we be leaving him behind? We know of your fondness for him but with the ban on magic..."
"What do you mean, you 'know of my fondness for him'? What is that supposed to mean?" Arthur looked at Leon with an intensity that made him feel discomfort that had him looking to his fellow knights for help.
"Look, Princess, we can all see that you've been lonely for some time. Your mourning period for the queen is long over and people expect you to move on, but you've never shown any interest in the visiting princesses who try to get your attention. Then Merlin comes along and suddenly you have this spark in your eye, you seem more alive. We are all worried that if you do not allow Merlin to come home with us because he's a warlock, you will lose yourself in your loneliness. And besides, Merlin has become one of us, even if he's not a knight. He belongs in Camelot." Gwaine explained. Arthur was a bit more receptive to Gwaine's explanation knowing he found comfort in the company of both women and men. He sighed deeply, letting the words sink in as he stroked his horse's neck and watched Merlin and his father walk past the village border.
"Arthur, we've spent much of our lives convinced that magic is evil and anyone who practices it must be evil too. But there is no possible way you could convince me Merlin is evil, even if he is that powerful." Percival added.
"Do all of you think Merlin should come back to Camelot as if nothing has changed, knowing he has magic which is clearly banned?" Arthur asked them and they all slowly nodded.
"Maybe it's time to rethink the ban, sire." Leon responded and Arthur stared at him momentarily, eyebrow raised, before turning back to watching Merlin.
Arthur's forehead crinkled as he watched Merlin step back from his father and Balinor throw his arms out wide and look to the sky. "What the hell is he doing?" They were far enough away that they didn't hear any of the call and were left watching confused.
"I haven't got the faintest idea, but I don't trust him." Elyan said as he mounted his mare. Arthur realized he was the only one who had yet to mount up and put one foot in a stirrup and swung up into his saddle, stroking his horse's neck once he was settled.
Suddenly the horses began to stir, pacing uncomfortably as if they were afraid of something. The knights held tightly to their reigns and looked around them for a threat but could find nothing amiss. The horses only seemed to get more agitated as the seconds passed. Wind began to stir up and a loud gusting sound could be heard when a large shadow abruptly began passing over them and they all turned their eyes to the skies, eyes widening.
"What the bloody hell is going on?! Why aren't they running? The dragon is headed directly for them!" Arthur cried out, watching Merlin and Balinor calmly standing at the edge of the clearing looking at the incoming dragon.
There was a clearing of a throat near him. "Arthur, I think that is the friend Balinor is counting on helping them. I'm assuming your father hunted him because he is a dragon lord." Lancelot explained. Arthur gaped at him before whipping his head back to watch the dragon gently land in front of the men in the clearing. Lancelot always seemed to figure things out quicker than anyone else.
Merlin tried to calm his racing heart and school his face to remain indifferent as the dragon landed in front of them. He couldn't, however, keep the look of shock off his face when the dragon spoke to his father.
"Balinor, it has been some time since you have summoned me. I'm glad to see you are well, old friend." The great dragon said.
"Thank you, Kilgharrah. It wasn't safe for me to call you but I am in need of your help now. This is..." Balinor had gestured to him, about to introduce him but was cut off by the dragon.
"Emrys, it is an honor to meet you at last." Kilgharrah said and bowed her head. "I have been waiting a very long time for you, my lord."
Merlin nodded. "Thank you, it is good to meet you as well, but I prefer to go by Merlin."
"Merlin is my son." Balinor told Kilgharrah, bringing the attention away from Merlin.
"Emrys is your son, Balinor? What an honor it is indeed to sire such a warlock and what an honor it is to have you as my kin as well." He added the latter, looking at Merlin who nervously smiled. "Balinor, you did not tell me you had a son."
"I did not know I did until today. His mother found she was with child after I was already in exile. We met when I came here today to show my respects for her passing." He explained.
"I am sorry to hear of your mate's death. I know from experience how painful this can be. You have my sympathies."
"I know you do, Kilgharrah, thank you. But that is not why I summoned you here."
"I expect not." Kilgharrah said just as King Arthur and his knights rode into the clearing, staying at the edge as to not spook the horses any further. Kilgharrah raised a scaley brow. "You have brought the Once and Future King with you. That is unexpected, I had not foreseen your relationship progressing for some time yet." Kilgharrah was talking solely to Merlin.
Merlin's shock was visible for all to see. "Arthur is the Once and Future King?" Kilgharrah nodded. "Are you sure about that? Camelot has banned magic; it makes no sense for the Once and Future King to be against magic."
A slight rumble was heard as Kilgharrah laughed at Merlin's ignorance. "I think you will find, young warlock, that the young king's heart is not so against magic as he claims it to be." Then he turned his attention back to Balinor. "Now, what is it you have summoned me here for, my lord?"
"King Cenred held Merlin prisoner years ago, wanting to be in possession of his magic. Merlin escaped and was able to keep from Cenred's view but he has recently been located and Cenred is raining down terror in an effort of forcing Merlin to join his army. He wants to use his magic to overcome the rest of the five kingdoms. We cannot allow this to happen and we need to present a strong front to let him know he needs to give up the fight or perish." Merlin flinched at the cold tone of his father. Though he had no sympathy for Cenred, he had never taken a life before and struggled with the idea.
"And you intend to use me as a show of power, defense or both?" Kilgharrah asked, not unkindly.
"Both, if need be. I do not want to force you to do this, old friend. It would not be fair for me to command you to put your life at risk for a cause you do not believe in but this is my son. I am asking you to help me save my son."
"Your son is not only kin, but the great Emrys. To not fight for his life and freedom would be doing our world a great injustice. I will, of course, help."
"Thank you, Kilgharrah, for your loyalty and for your willingness to help." Merlin told him and Kilgharrah nodded.
"Kilgharrah, if you are willing, we would like to ride in to Cenred's castle on your back as a show of intimidation. He doesn't seem to know who he is messing with and it is high time he learns." Balinor explained.
"If it is a show of strength we are intending to make, I know just what to do." The dragon said as he lowered his neck to the ground for Balinor and Merlin to climb up on his back, settling themselves between spikes.
Before the dragon took to the skies, Merlin turned to his king and the knights. "Ride out now. Remember what we agreed on. No further than the ridge overlooking the castle unless you don't see us within half an hour." Reluctantly, Arthur agreed and led his knights down the road at a gallop as the dragon took to the sky carrying the dragon lord and the prophesied warlock.
As they came close to the castle, Kilgharrah dipped down to make himself more intimidatingly visible to the people below. When he saw unpopulated areas of trees close to the castle, he let out spurts of flames to set controlled blazes. Then he chose to fly low-lying laps around the castle, roaring and waiting, attempting to draw out Cenred. Balinor erected a protection spell around Kilgharrah to ensure no injury come to him when the knights inevitably came running to protect their king from the crazy dragon. It took three laps before a terrified and furious Cenred came running to stand at the top of the battlements. Kilgharrah landed on the ground directly outside the area Cenred stood and menacingly sneered at the unworthy king before turning slightly to allow the man to see his passengers. Cenred gasped in surprise but quickly attempted to arrange his face into a smirk.
"I see you received my message. Too bad you didn't figure it out the first time and your dear old mom had to die." He snickered and Balinor growled. "And who is your friend, Merlin? Also, curious where you found the dragon. Does it come with you?"
"I'm his father, you worthless dalcop. A dragon lord and a powerful sorcerer. The dragon is a he, not an it, and he is not a belonging up for claim. We suggest you release your claim on my son, as he is also not a belonging up for claim. To continue this quest for him will have dire consequences for you. This is the only warning you will be receiving." Balinor gritted out between his clenched jaw.
"I would have thought blasting my way out of your prison would have been message enough for you. I have no desire to serve you. And I certainly will not be your slave or your weapon. You don't deserve to control one kingdom, much less five." Merlin added. "What say you?"
"What say I?" Cenred mocked. "I say, I told you what would happen if you didn't turn yourself over to me and I have no plan to rescind that."
"Then you leave us with no other option." Balinor told him. "Kilgharrah, looks like we are fighting for my son's freedom."
"I thought you'd never ask." Kilgharrah let Balinor and Merlin off on the battlements near Cenred then climbed up them, claws destroying the stone walls and flames causing the castle windows to burst inward.
Merlin and Balinor stood back-to-back, hands raised, chanting spells at the knights rushing toward them. Balinor hit a young knight squarely in the chest with a magical fireball as Merlin sent three others soaring off the battlements with a wave of magical energy. "He's running for it, the coward!" Merlin yelled, watching Cenred weaving through his men in an attempt to escape the attack.
"Then you need to go after him! It's the only way this is truly going to be able to end, son." Balinor spared a moment to look his son in the eyes beseechingly. Merlin turned to run after Cenred but the onslaught of soldiers was thick. Kilgharrah swooped down and took out a line of soldiers that had just ran out of the main castle entrance. Merlin's eyes turned gold and his hands faced the sky momentarily before he brought them down hard and took out the ten men in front of him with a single lightening attack and then continued his chase.
Merlin navigated the maze of hallways in the castle, dodging swords and throwing knights against walls. He finally caught up to Cenred in the throne room. When he got there, Cenred had a young woman with terrified emerald eyes held by a handful of her black hair. Merlin gasped. He thought she had escaped when he did. He made sure the open her cell and clear the path for her when he blew a hole in the wall of the dungeon and running for his life. "Morgana, are you ok?" He asked her and her lips quivered. "Let her go, Cenred. Right now. I don't want to kill you but I will if I have to. I just want our freedom."
Cenred let out a bark of cynical laughter. "Your freedom? You think I'm going to just let you both walk out of here?" He screamed at Merlin before he pulled a dagger from his belt and held it against Morgana's throat. Merlin went to lunge for it but Cenred raised a brow, tilted his head and held the dagger that much closer. Merlin stepped back and showed his hands in a sign of surrender. "I'll make you a deal, though. You give yourself over to me and I will let her go. But this is on the understanding that you are mine now. Do we have a deal?" Merlin's mind worked furiously on how he could make this work in his favor. He nodded. "Good. Now, get on your knees. Both hands on the floor." Merlin did as he asked and Cenred flung Morgana across the room by her hair and slid his dagger back into his belt and walked to Merlin. Merlin cringed as Cenred traced a finger down his jaw and into the still untied neckline of his tunic, running his fingers over his brand proudly. "I see you healed up nicely. You know, you don't have to be my slave. I'd be all too happy to take you as my consort and we could take over as partners. I imagine you can do some amazing things with these plush lips of yours." Several things happened at once, perfectly timed to work together. Cenred was distracted, running his thumb along Merlin's lower lip. Merlin's eyes were barely opened, giving Cenred the impression of them being hooded because of his affections instead of them hiding the golden color of Merlin's magic at work – slowly pulling Cenred's dagger from his belt without his knowledge.
When the dagger was within Merlin's reach, he quickly jerked away from Cenred. He growled, "go to hell" and in one fluid motion jumped to his feet and sunk Cenred's own dagger in his neck. If Merlin wasn't so horrified that he was responsible for the coming death of the man, the look on his face would almost be comical. Cenred was shocked, his eyes wide and his mouth agape as blood started to trickle down the corner. Merlin removed the dagger from Cenred's neck just in case he had the strength to throw it before he ran to Morgana. She was huddled against the wall shaking.
"Morgana, are you alright? Are you injured? I can heal you if you need." When she didn't respond, he placed a hand on her cheek and gently led her face to look at him. "Focus on me. Are you hurt?"
She shook her head before she burst into tears. "It's over? It's truly over, finally? I'm free? I can go home?" She asked him with a brilliant, sobbing smile. He pulled his neckerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her, meeting her grin with one of his own.
"It's over, truly. I'm going to see that you get home safely this time. No more assuming and hoping for the best. I am truly sorry that you didn't get free last time, I thought you would have." His smile fell and tears bubbled up in his eyes.
She cupped his cheek. "No apologies necessary. If you hadn't run, we would have both been trapped here all this time. I hold no anger that you freed yourself. You did everything you could to help me free myself as well. I just wasn't as quick as you." He nodded. "I heard the men bragging they killed your mother? Tell me they didn't."
Merlin looked down. "They did. Last week. I don't understand a world without her in it. I don't think it has fully hit yet, I got home to remember her properly when Cenred sent his message for me. I need to go home and celebrate her life in the way of the old religion." She nodded and he helped her to her feet. "And we need to get you home. We made an agreement all those years ago never to speak of home so I don't even know where I need to take you." He slid an arm around her waist and led her out the same way he came in.
"Camelot. I'm from Camelot."
"Truly? I live in Camelot now. I'm apprentice to the court physician."
"Is Gaius still the court physician?" She asked, tone filled with hope.
"He is. Did you live near the castle?"
"In it. I'm actually Princess Morgana Pendragon." She told him, smiling sheepishly when he stopped to gape at her.
"Are you serious?" She nodded. "They looked for you for years but eventually had to draw the conclusion you were dead. I should have put two and two together but I figured you had escaped and went home when I did so it wouldn't have made sense for me to think she was you. I'm so sorry, your highness." She smiled sadly.
"Thank you, Merlin. You were always such a good friend to me. I missed you terribly after you escaped. I'm so glad we will have the chance to pick up our friendship at home. Now tell me, how are we getting home? Did you come alone?"
He laughed nervously. "My father and I rode a dragon her." Her eyes went wide. "But I also brought friends with me and I think you'll love them." He opened the door the battlements. Between Kilgharrah and Balinor, the worst of it was taken care of. Then Balinor had motioned Arthur to come down with his knights to help round up the rest of them and take them to the dungeons while they decided what to do with them. The knights and Balinor were standing on the battlements discussing a plan when Merlin walked in, arm around Morgana. Arthur turned around, shock overtaking his face before he broke into a run and took Morgana in his arms.
"Gana. I can't believe you're alive. We thought you were dead." He held her tightly, crying into her shoulder. "Are you hurt? Do you need medical attention?" He held her from him by her shoulders to look her over. She was too thin, needed a bath, wore no shoes and needed new clothing badly but she appeared uninjured.
"It is good to see you too, Arthur." She leaned forward and wiped the tears from his face before kissing his cheek. "Thanks to Merlin's quick thinking, I am uninjured. Ready to go home and catch up on the last six years." She turning to look at Merlin and held a hand to him. He took a few steps and placed his hand in hers. "I'm happy to hear Merlin will be returning with us. I've missed him the last couple years. We depended on each other a lot those first few years." They smiled sadly at each other. Arthur looked deeply at Merlin and could no longer fight the fact that he was falling in love with the man.
Balinor stepped forward and looked at his son, Kilgharrah walking near them outside the battlements. "And Cenred?"
Merlin took a deep breath and his eyes filled with sorrow. "I killed him. Stabbed him in the neck with his own dagger after he held it to Morgana's neck then talked about what he wanted to do with my mouth. I snapped. I'm...I'm...I never...I killed him."
"Merlin." Arthur spoke and Merlin's eyes immediately met his. "Was this your first kill?" Merlin nodded and Arthur sighed. He moved away from Morgana and placed his hands on Merlin's shoulders. "Killing should never feel easy, but the first one is always the worst. You did what needed to be done. You need feel no shame. Thank you for giving me back my sister. And thank you for coming back to me safe." With that, Merlin's head snapped back up to meet Arthur's gaze and they exchanged a small hopeful smile before Arthur pulled Merlin in for a hug and kissed the side of his head. While no one said a word, Balinor frowned, the knights smirked, Morgana grinned and the dragon looked quite arrogant like he was bursting with an 'I told you so.'
Merlin and Balinor returned to the courtyard of Cenred's castle where King Arthur, Princess Morgana (now wrapped in Merlin's jacket), and the knights were waiting for them to discuss a plan of action with Kilgharrah. "So, Kilgharrah has given me a spell that I will perform on all remaining soldiers, knights and staff at once. It's a big spell so it will take a lot of energy. I'm going to need you all here keeping me safe and I will probably need help getting back on to Kilgharrah when this is done. Basically, I'm going to alter their memories. They will now have the memory that they got tired of being led by a tyrant and they rebelled against him. They killed him and anyone who fought in his defense, though most turned over easy enough. I'll leave the dagger behind. Then we will plant the idea that his nephew will be a great choice to take over his kingdom and one of them will ride out to get message to him of the uprising. Hopefully it will all fall in to place from there." They all looked at Merlin, partially confused and partially in awe. "Any objections?" They all shook their heads and set about taking care of the memory sweep then got out of Essetir as quickly as possible.
Merlin made the decision to celebrate his mother at the lake near Camelot in private instead of returning to Ealdor. It would be best not to spend any more time than absolutely necessary there. So, when the dragon dropped them off in the clearing outside Ealdor, they all gathered their supplies and were on their way. Arthur made sure Balinor knew he was welcome in Camelot with no danger to his life and Merlin felt grateful that he would have the opportunity to build a relationship with his father.