Chapter 3

It was clear that the Disir hadn't expected Arthur's answer. Their voices echoed in the cave, all growled disbelief.

"You will accept the Goddess?" As Arthur nodded, reluctant but determined, they pressed harder, "You will learn the ways of the Old Religion? Allow those who practice magic to remain free?"

Arthur's heart didn't seem to be in it, but he said, "As long as they don't harm others or break the other laws of my kingdom, then they will be allowed to use magic." Moving a step closer, Arthur straightened up into ready stance, lifting his head to stare straight into their cowled faces. "It will not be easy, though. My people may object or even revolt over such things. It has been more than two decades since the Great Purge. They may fight the changes."

"They will follow their king. As they did the butcher, your father," one of them said. It was hard to tell which one. They were all hidden in the shadows, nothing but their mouths visible.

"Do not speak so of my father," Arthur snapped.

They did not seem to care whether Arthur was angry or not. Pressing him, one after the other, their voices echoed into the cavern.

"Butcher he was, whether you call him so or not."

"Uther Pendragon used magic."

"Bargaining for power and his own selfish desires."

"And lost."

"And blamed magic for his folly."

Arthur looked ready to explode, turn his back on them and stomp away. They didn't seem to care what he thought, just kept on talking, their warnings bouncing off the walls, sounding as if a dozen voices were speaking, not just three, and those from deep within the earth. The Gods themselves speaking to them both.

"We are not here to discuss him but you."

"Return home, Camelot's king."

"We will send one to educate you in the Old Religion. To show you the ways of honouring the Goddess."

"Do not go back on your word, Arthur Pendragon, for your doom will follow if you do."

"And Mordred?" Arthur said, glaring at them all. He was not happy, it would seem. Not that Merlin blamed him. The Disir were treating Arthur as if he were a child, not a warrior and certainly not as a king.

The Disir closest to Arthur shrugged it off. "The boy heals. He is no longer our concern, only your actions and those of Emrys. Choose wisely and Camelot will flourish. Choose otherwise and all you hold dear will be lost."

With that, before Arthur could say anything else, the women vanished. The cave was empty. No sound but dripping water, no indication that the Disir had been there at all. Even the hanging charms and cloth strips were gone.

Growling out his frustration, Arthur grabbed onto Merlin's sleeve and pulled him toward the entrance, ignoring Merlin's protest, and the slippery rocks underfoot. Merlin tried to keep up, but Arthur was being a pillock about it and Merlin slid onto one knee. When he was able to scramble up, his hands were slimy with mud and his clothes weren't much better.

Arthur, on the other hand, was just angry about it all. "Are you completely incompetent? I swear you do it deliberately, just to annoy me."

"You've fathomed me out at last," Merlin said, exhausted relief beginning to churn through him. If everything went as Arthur had vowed, magic would be allowed in Camelot once more. And Merlin would be free. Wiping the mud off onto the only corner of his clothes that wasn't filthy, Merlin grinned at Arthur. "I plan for ways to annoy you weeks in advance, clotpole."

"Well, congratulations, you've succeeded." Arthur nodded toward the horses. "We have to get back to Camelot. I don't believe those witches just yet. Too many times, I've been deceived, and I won't relax one inch until I see Mordred well again."

Mordred, the man destined to kill Arthur. Even now, Merlin wasn't sure if he had done the right thing in telling Arthur to accede to the Disir's demands. But at least, Arthur now knew that not everyone agreed with the laws on magic. Maybe, he'll even grow to accept it. Merlin hoped it would be soon.

"I'm sure Gaius has taken care of him," Merlin said as he pulled himself up onto his horse. "Will you change the laws? I know you said—"

"I gave my word. If they keep theirs, I will accept magic back into Camelot. I don't have to like it, though. And I'll be on my guard, just in case. As you should. Although perhaps with your servanting skills, you might frighten them away."

"Who knows? Perhaps they could show me a few tricks," Merlin said, half-hopeful of just that.

"So you could get out of chores? Not a chance." Arthur pulled on his reins, then started for Camelot, but not before he said, "So who is Emrys?"

Merlin froze then, terrified that Arthur had figured it all out. But instead of answering, he nudged his horse into a trot and then a full-fledged gallop. "Race you!"

Arthur could never turn down a competition. With a yell, Arthur's horse charged ahead, leaving Merlin in the dust, Arthur shouting insults like the prat he was.

And Emrys was forgotten.

Honestly, Merlin was a little jealous. Arthur gave Mordred a sharp hug when he saw that Mordred had healed and they were talking excitedly to one another while Merlin put the horses away. He wished he could join them, but he needed to talk with Gaius first.

By the time he was finished with the horses, though, Gaius and Arthur were already deep in conversation, along with Geoffrey and Sir Leon.

Mordred sought him out, though, pulling him into an alcove away from prying eyes. "Arthur told me there was difficulty with the Disir. He hinted something about the Old Religion and magic but wouldn't say anything else. Have you any idea of what he's talking about?'

Not wanting to say anything, still much as Merlin distrusted Mordred for his role in Arthur's demise, it wasn't written in stone. His visions at the sacred spring had shown him that.

"I can't say just yet. Arthur will think things through and make a decision then," Merlin said, careful not to give away too much. But he needed to talk with Mordred about things best not overheard. Pulling him into a nearby empty room and closing the door, he looked at Mordred a moment.

The boy seemed fully recovered. But Merlin had to admit that he'd treated Mordred badly in the past. Rather than befriending him, he'd kept him at arm's length, sometimes dismissing his offers of friendship with disdain. Fear had driven him to it.

Normally, he would have welcomed a fellow magic-user and shared secrets and training with him. Gaius had encouraged him to befriend Mordred, saying that nothing was certain, and that Mordred's powerful magic could be an asset. But instead, Merlin had rejected a potential ally, someone who knew the ways of the Old Religion, its good points and bad, and hobbled himself in the process.

That had to change.

"Mordred, I owe you an apology," Merlin started, watching Mordred's face turn curious and a little wary. "I have misjudged you. Sometimes magic can be confusing, sometimes visions can lead people astray. And I… I had a vision of you hurting Arthur and I couldn't deal with it."

"I would never do that. Never!" Mordred protested. He looked horrified at the thought.

"Circumstances change and we all do things we might not do normally. But my treatment of you had nothing to do with what you had done in the past. It was only my worry for the future that caused me to treat you in a way you didn't deserve. And for that, I am sorry." Merlin scrutinised Mordred for any duplicity but could find none. "I hope you can forgive me."

"Of course, Emrys," Mordred started to say but Merlin stopped him.

"Call me Merlin. It is my name after all," Merlin said with a tentative smile. He didn't need Arthur to know what the Druids called him, not just yet. Besides, it was a bit of annoyance. Emrys was tied to destiny and destruction and despair and sometimes Merlin just wanted to be Merlin.

Mordred smiled at that. "Merlin, then."

"I will tell you that, in the near future, Arthur might need your help. I could use your advice as well." When Mordred nodded, Merlin said, "I know little of the Old Religion."

Looking startled as if it were the last thing he expected Merlin to say, Mordred asked, "Do you not have training in it? I would have thought—"

Merlin shrugged. "My mother knew next to nothing. There were no Druid camps nearby, and well, with the attitudes toward magic, if anyone practiced it, they kept it well hidden. All I know is that it is the magic of the Earth itself and that it binds all things together. But that's not really helpful, is it, not in everyday things."

Looking away, frowning a little, his teeth worrying his lip, Mordred seemed to mull things over, then he turned to Merlin with a bright grin. "Is Arthur…. Is he going to allow the practice of it? Here, in Camelot?"

Mordred was scarily smart at times. Grimacing, Merlin mumbled, "I… umm… I can't say."

Mordred's grin turned incandescent, and he began to dance around, waving his arms in delight. "Gods above and earth below, Merlin, this is everything. Magic back in Camelot and we can practice it as much as we'd like? That is wonderful news."

Sometimes, Merlin forgot the joy of good news. When he was younger, everything seemed brighter somehow, but with age, came duty and a knowledge of how things didn't always work out as he hoped.

"It is not certain, Mordred. People may object to it. Strongly." Merlin tried to remind Mordred that nothing would change overnight. "Arthur hates magic. He's been taught that those who use it are the enemy. It will take effort and more than just pretty words to bring him around."

But Mordred was still caught up in the joy of it. "So many times I've wanted to use magic and held back. You know how it is, the build-up, the pressure until you think you might scream from frustration. And this, this is everything I'd hoped for."

Grabbing onto Mordred's arm, trying to get him to calm down, Merlin said, "It's not certain. Don't go thinking that it will be easy or that it might even come to pass. Nothing is final, yet. Nothing at all."

That seemed to settle Mordred down. When Merlin let go, Mordred began rubbing his arm. Merlin must have squeezed harder than he thought. "I understand."

"Good." Merlin gave him a tentative smile. "I hope someday that our people will be free. I think Arthur will come around to it, once he finds that magic can be used for good. But…," Merlin hesitated, then stared at Mordred with determination in his gaze. "But know, too, if Arthur is harmed because of you, if he dies because of you, I won't hold back. I will destroy you where you stand."

Mordred didn't flinch, matching him look for look. "If it's my fault, I'll let you. I'll plunge the dagger in myself."

With that, Merlin let out a little huff of relief. "You once told me that the love that binds us is more important than the power we wield. I agree. Love is the most important thing of all."