A/N:
Hey guys! Here is chapter 8! This chapter took a lot more time than my previous ones. I hope you don't find it boring, and I hope you guys like it. I'm sorry if you do not find it detailed, it's always been hard for me to put detail into my writing. Let me know what you think and please review! Thank you!
••••••••••
There was a man. He was young? No, he was Middle Aged. He was wearing blue, a light blue tunic, with dirt stained trousers. They were light brown. His boots were muddy, muddy from the rain that made the ground wet. His hair was wet, he had light brown hair. It was a blur. It suddenly all went so fast. He saw a flash, there was a scream, his chest hurt, it burned. There was James. He heard thunder. His eyes hurt. There was a pyre, there was a man, a dead man. He heard a name, Emrys.
"Huuuh!" Cade gasped as he shot up from the bed, breathing heavily. He put a hand over his chest and tried to control his breathing. He felt hot, sweaty, and his heart was racing quick. Whatever he just went through was nothing he had ever experienced before. it felt more than just a dream. It felt real.
It was morning now. The crackles of thunder and heavy rain could be heard from inside the castle. It was going to be a gloomy day. Everyone in the room was already awake when they heard Cade wake up. They all got up quickly from where they were in the room and made their way over to his bedside. When Alex reached his distressed friend, he put one hand behind his back and the other on his chest. He then slowly laid him back down onto the bed.
"It's okay Cade," he reassured him, "just breath, it was only a bad dream."
Cade shook his head vigorously. Something had obviously frightened the man.
"What?" Lucas asked, "what is it?"
"Real."
Merlin was confused. "What do you mean by 'real'?"
"V-vision." Cade stuttered. He was just staring at the ceiling, barely able to speak.
Merlin's eyes went wide as realization dawned. "Wow," he breathed, "so I was right all along."
Alex snapped his head to look at Merlin.
"Right about what?"
Merlin gulped. He was unsure of how the others would react. "Cade being a seer."
"What?" Lord Mason was shocked, "Cade is a seer? Are you sure?"
Alex shook his head in disbelief, "no way, I would've known." He continued to shake his head, "it was just a realistic bad dream."
Everyone turned their heads when the door burst open suddenly. In came a frantic Gaius, holding his half closed medicine bag. He looked a bit disheveled and tired, most likely from tending to the injured patients from the bar fight all night.
"Shew!" Gaius batted the air with his free hand. "Make way please, move, I need space."
All five stepped out of the way and made room for the physician to check on Cade. He stood over the bed and immediately began to inspect Cade for injuries. He looked at his neck, which only bore a thin light colored scar. "Hmph," He felt his arms and looked for any sign of pain, then did the same to his legs. He pulled Cade's white tunic up and saw nothing but a small white scar over his abdomen. Once he was done inspecting for injuries, he opened Cade's eyes wider with his fingers and inspected each pupil.
"Hm," Gaius hummed, "interesting."
"What?" Alex asked worriedly, "what is it?"
"Well..."
"Well what?" Merlin was getting impatient.
"It seems to me," Gaius began confusedly, "that nothing seems to be wrong."
All five men let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank the gods," Matthew muttered under his breath.
Gaius was still staring at Cade with curiosity.
"I am just confused as to why this young man is staring at the ceiling like it's the most frightening thing he has ever seen."
"Ohh," Merlin voiced, "that is because Cade had a vision."
That seemed to startle Gaius.
"What? A vision?"
Merlin nodded.
"Yeah!" Lucas piped up, "Cade is a seer!"
Gaius's eyebrows rose in shock, "a seer?"
"Ye-"
"No!" Alex quickly interrupted Merlin. His eyes were wild. "No, no he isn't. It was just a dream."
The Prince's denial made Sir Mason chuckle.
"What?" He snapped, glaring at the knight.
Merlin was getting irritated with Alex, "It was not a dream!"
Alex scuffed, crossing his arms defensively, "how would you know?"
"For one," Merlin began, walking forward, "I have magic. Two, I would know, and three, Cade has had a vision before."
"Yeah, alright, when?" He asked incredulously.
Merlin held his head up high, "five years ago."
5 years ago in Arudus*
Cade was walking Merlin through the siege tunnel under the castle. They were going to meet Alex to train Merlin in sword fighting for the first time. Cade was babbling on about why he had not come clean about his magical abilities...
"-These games just tell you how insane our king's have been in the past. They're inhumane and just Edward's excuse to get rid of the strong sorcerers from other kingdoms. But, I know there's something more, something else that Edward does this for, not all for money and power, but for something else, something more dangerous. I dreamed it once, I dreamed about you before you came."
Merlin halted in his tracks. "Are you a seer?"
"I-I'm not sure." Cade responded.
"What did you see?"
"It wasn't much of seeing, more of hearing, I saw a brief image of your face, and then a name."
"W-What name?" Merlin asked hesitantly.
"Emrys."
•••••••
"I, I, I saw Emrys, I mean- M-Merlin." Everyone's attention was drawn to Cade, who seemed to have snapped out of his stupor, "b-before, I had ever- met him."
Merlin watched as Alex's facial expression changed from one of irritation to embarrassment. He finally had realized he was wrong.
"Why didn't you tell me Cade?" Alex asked, sounding a bit hurt. His tone was softer now.
Cade opened and closed his mouth a few times before words actually managed to came out.
"B-Because, I-I was con-confused, and unsure."
Alex contemplated for a moment, a grim expression on his face. He ended up just nodding, and seemed to be content with Cade's reasoning.
Gaius stepped forward and put a reassuring hand on Cade's shoulder. He gave him a small, sweet smile. "Rest now, and you can talk about the vision when you are ready."
Immediately, Cade shook his head. "I-I'm ready now," he insisted, struggling to sit up on his elbows. "it will c-come to pass soon. I-I know it."
"What will?" Merlin asked worriedly.
"My friends, y-you must hurry," he encouraged, "someone will die if you do not."
"Who?" Alex asked, "who will die?"
Cade squeezed his eyes shut trying to recall. "There was, um, a man. He uh, he wore a light blue tunic, and um, his uh pants were um, brown yes, brown with dirt. They were dirty, h-he wore muddy boots, and uhh, he was wet. Seemed like an um, village man, err farmer type. I uh, also, saw James-"
"James!" Cried Lucas.
"Y-Yes, James," Cade confirmed, "a-and the village man, he, he was killed. He will be, soon. I-If you do not stop it. Must hurry."
Merlin nodded his head. "Okay, then we must go and find this man before James, or whoever the murderer may be, gets to him first. If this man is a villager or farmer like Cade claims, than we will have to go through the citadel."
All four men nodded in agreement.
"Gaius, stay here and keep a watch over Cade."
Gaius bowed his head, "I will my boy, be safe."
Merlin gave him a cheeky smile, "will do."
Alex grabbed his sword and sheathed it in place, "let's go."
Merlin was about to leave until...
"Merlin, wait."
The warlock stopped before the door and turned to Cade when he spoke.
"I forgot to mention," He looked at Merlin with sadness, "I-I heard the name, Emrys, in my vision."
Merlin sighed, of course he did. "I'm not surprised, but thank you for letting me know."
•••••••••
All five men hurried out the door, each trying to make their way through the castle as fast as they could. Merlin made them slow down and walk quietly when they passed Arthur's chambers. Whenever they reached a hallway where nobody was in sight, they took the opportunity to sprint down it. They had no idea when Cade's vision would come true, but they trusted their friend when he had a feeling it would be soon.
Once they made it outside, they immediately became drenched from the immense amount of water pouring from the sky. There was a flash of lighting and a crack of thunder that made Merlin's arm hair stand. They soon began to push their way through the many crowds of people in the citadel.
"Excuse me!"
"Sorry!"
"Move, move, move!"
"Out of the way!"
Merlin lost the others in the crowd, but he didn't let it bother him. He was determined to find and save this man. Hopefully he would be able to find him before he had to go wake Arthur for the day.
He decided to reach out with his magic incase James was already there. He knew what his brother's magic felt like; strong and dark, tainted. He stopped in the crowd and closed his eyes. He tried to block out the loud noises from the crowd and focused more on the pitter patter of the rain. He slowed his breathing and concentrated on letting his magic spread around him, letting it travel forth. It passed over the people around him, providing a light warm feeling to those that were in it's path. It traveled more and more throughout the citadel. It wasn't long till he felt a weird tingly sensation that felt a lot like his brother's magic. Merlin opened his eyes. He knew exactly where he was.
James was near the end of the citadel at the lower quarter. That seemed to make sense, judging from Cade's description of the man.
Merlin was surprised that there were so many people out today, bustling about, especially when it was raining. But he guessed that work doesn't stop, even for the weather. It was always busy in Camelot.
He began to sprint through the rain, and maybe used a little bit of magic to help him run faster. He darted through people, jumped over boxed stuff in the streets, and happened to slip a couple times on some puddles, but he quickly regained his balance each time.
"Sorry!" He called out when his shoulder bumped into someone else's. That hurt.
He was getting tired, but he knew he needed to reach his brother in time so he didn't stop, and he didn't slow down.
He reached out with his magic one more time to make sure it was still there, and it was. He was so close.
Almost there, Merlin thought, almost there...
He finally slowed down when he got to the small home that reeked of James's magic. The door was cracked open when he got there. His stomach started to feel sick from the thought that maybe he was too late.
He slipped through the crack in the door and when he got inside, the first thing he noticed was the wet footprints on the floor. Two different pairs of shoes.
"Hello?" He called out, "anybody home?"
No answer.
He checked everywhere in the home. It was littered with clothes and parchment, but nobody was anywhere to be found.
"Oh gods." Merlin cried out as he stressfully pulled on his hair.
A minute later, the Warlock heard fast footsteps approach the house.
When he looked up at the door he saw a wet, panting Alex.
Merlin stared at him with wide, scared eyes.
"It's too late," he stated, "he's gone."
Alex stepped inside, and began to panic too.
"Where is he?" He asked, looking around frantically, "where could he be?"
Just then, in the distance near the castle, they heard many, many screams.
They're eyes met, each with horrified looks. They both just knew it was done. They knew it had come to pass. "Go!" Merlin shouted, pushing Alex. He and the Prince ran out of the house and started going back towards the castle.
As they were making their way back, the warning bells sounded.
Great, Merlin thought, now Arthur will be up.
The rain slowed, and it soon was only a drizzle. Water mixed with sweat was dripping off their bodies. Merlin's side started cramping from all the running. His body felt sore from the running and fighting they did last night.
They stopped when they reached the big crowd that seemed to be surrounding something. There was lots of chatter, gasps, and crying. The air smelt pungent, and kind of like burned flesh. What made Merlin start to get real nervous was when he heard someone say,
"Who is Emrys?"
Merlin and Alex pushed through crowd, elbowing people out of their way, and apologizing countless times.
Both men froze when they made it to the front. Standing before them was a man in a light blue shirt, wearing dirty brown trousers, and muddy boots. But this man was already a dead man. He was hanging on a pyre by the rope around his neck, his eyes were burned out, completely black, and his tunic was ripped open. There, engraved on his chest, most likely from a dagger, was the word, "EMRYS."
Alex leaned over and whispered to Merlin, "this is not good, not good at all."
Merlin was too lost to speak, but silently agreed.
"Move out of the way!" Bellowed a familiar voice.
Merlin groaned.
The crowd moved over for the King at once. Arthur stopped suddenly when he saw the body of the man. He kept his face emotionless. What really drew his attention was the chest. He stared at it, his eyes moving side to side, reading the word over and over again.
When Arthur looked up and saw Merlin, his eyes quickly looked over to Alex, and then back and forth between the two of them suspiciously. When his eyes landed on Merlin once again he made a small gesture with his head to come with him. Merlin followed Arthur out of the crowd obediently, leaving Alex behind in his wake.
As they walked back into the castle together, Merlin noticed Arthur's tunic was on backwards.
"Merlin," Arthur chimed, "care to explain why you were out there at this time of morning?" Arthur wasn't even looking at Merlin, he was just staring straight ahead.
"Uhh, well, the warning bells woke me up."
Arthur pursed his lips, "Interesting." He noticed how his King's hand tightened into a fist. "Now, why were you with Prince Alexander?"
The question caught Merlin by surprise.
"I, um, I wasn't, he just happened to be-"
Arthur held out his arm and stopped Merlin by a hand to the chest. He turned angrily towards him.
"Do not lie to me Merlin. I am your King for heavens sake." He spat, "now, I see the way he looks at you. Like he cares for you, like you guys are friends or something foolish like that-"
Merlin scuffed, "something foolish like that? Are you serious?"
Arthur narrowed his eyes, "what?"
"So what if I am friends with a prince, how is that foolish?" Merlin asked incredulously, crossing his arms. "Seems pretty wise to me. After all, I was friends with you when you were a prince and now that you are a king."
Arthur shook his head. "Friends? You are my manservant."
"Really?" Merlin asked, hurt. Arthur could be a real ass sometimes. "Is that all I am to you?"
Arthur didn't answer, he just glared at Merlin for a good minute before changing the subject.
"Go fetch my breakfast and bring it to the throne room. I have matters I need to discuss."
With that being said, Arthur was off to the throne room, leaving Merlin hurt and angry inside.
••••••••••
Arthur didn't know what had come over him. All he knew was that he felt something he had never felt before when it came to Merlin.
He hated to admit it, but he was... Jealous.
Yes, he was jealous that Merlin seemed to suddenly be spending time with Prince Alexander.
Merlin was HIS servant, Merlin was HIS (he dare to admit) friend, Merlin was HIS idiot. Arthur does not share, especially not with other royalty.
This is the kingdom that kidnapped Merlin, and he was pretty sure this Prince was the one who was there when they took him. For what reason though? Why did they want Merlin? And why were they really trying to help Camelot now? Maybe, they enchanted Merlin to like Alexander...
Arthur knew he should be thinking about what happened in the courtyard instead of this. Someone in his city had died a terrible death, and yet, he can't get his mind off this Merlin and Alexander thing... how crazy is that?
"Focus Arthur, focus." He muttered to himself.
It shouldn't even matter though, because Prince Alexander and his knights should be leaving that morning. He had told him so yesterday. That made Arthur smirk. By the afternoon, Camelot will be Alexander free, and then Merlin will be HIS again.
On the other hand... he did need Alexander and his knights information on their other kingdom. They could also be a great asset in this war between Arudus and Camelot. So, maybe he would have to make them stay. Oh, and he almost forgot about that one knight of theirs that got injured... what's his name... Carter? Maybe, he didn't really know. It was his own knight, Gwaine, that caused the fight that lead to the fire that injured Carter. So maybe it would be best if he let them stay. It wouldn't be honorable for Arthur to make his guests leave with an injured man. It wouldn't make him seem like a just King in the eyes of the people. That was last thing he wanted.
So, maybe the afternoon wouldn't be Alexander free after all.
••••••••••
Alex was devastated. He stood there, not able to take his eyes off of the poor man in front of him. They were so close, so close to getting to him before anyone did anything. He wondered if James was the one who did this. Was he capable of killing now? He wondered. The people looked scared, and some were crying. Parents were shielding their children's eyes. The whispers and chatter was all about who Emrys was.
There was no Merlin in sight, but he could see Lucas and Matthew on the opposite end of the crowd. They looked just as bummed as he did.
Alex turned to his left when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Cade?" He was shocked. "What are you doing here? You should be in bed, resting."
Cade shook his head, his eyes not leaving the man from his vision. "I had to come see for myself."
Alex felt guilty. "I'm so sorry, Cade, There was-"
"No, please," Cade pleaded, turning to look at his friend. "You all tried your best, that's more than I could've asked for, so thank you."
Alex just nodded, grateful for his friend's gratitude. He noticed that Cade seemed to be feeling much better.
"But, I didn't come out here just for this, there was something else I remembered after you guys left."
"Okay," Alex gestured towards the castle, "then let's discuss it inside, away from the crowd."
The prince put a hand on the small of Cade's back, and tried to help his friend walk back to the castle.
"You know, I can walk now, I'm fine."
"I know," Alex replied, "but we can never be too sure."
Cade rolled his eyes, and just to annoy his prince, he sprinted away from Alex and his hand.
Alex chuckled, "there's the Cade I missed."
When Alex reached the castle, Cade was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, acting like he had been there for awhile. In reality, it had only been like a minute.
"Tsk tsk tsk," took you long enough!" He chimed.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny." Alex replied mockingly. "You seem to be in a good mood."
"Yeah! Because I feel good now. plus," he leaned in and whispered, "we're going to get our friend back."
Alex was puzzled, "what friend?"
"James."
"Cade..." Alex began, "this is no time for games."
"I know. I wouldn't joke about this. James visited me last night."
"Are you serious?" Alex was stunned, "what happened?"
"Well, first, he thought I was asleep when he visited me, and he couldn't have been more wrong." Cade laughed proudly at that. "However, he mentioned how he was glad I was alive. The best part though, was when he said that the dark magic hasn't fully consumed him yet. It controls him and he can't help it. But Alex," Cade leaned in, "this means there's hope."
Prince Alex tilted his head, "hope for what?"
"To bring him back of course!"
"Cade..." he looked at his knight with pity, "you don't know if that is even possible."
"Then I'll hit the books."
Alex laughed, "you? Read books?"
Cade nodded.
"Yeah, I don't believe it."
"Oh, c'mon Alex!" He sighed exasperatedly. "Then I'll talk to magical folks and ask around."
"Why don't you ask Merlin?" Alex suggested.
Cade gasped, "no!"
"Why not?"
"Because, Merlin will suspect it has something to do with James, and I don't want him knowing. I don't want him to get his hopes up if I'm wrong."
"But, he could help." Alex pleaded.
He contemplated for a moment. "Mmm I don't know. I'll think about it." Cade answered.
"Fine," Alex pointed a long finger In his face, "but just know, when Merlin does find out, he will be mad that you didn't tell him sooner. Got that?"
Cade gave a sharp nod. "Understood."
"Cade!"
They both turned to see Sir Mason, Sir Matthew, and Sir Lucas walking towards them.
"Cade, why're you up?" Lucas was concerned.
"Cause I feel fine now," he answered.
"Glad to here that." Sir mason gave one of his rare soft smiles.
"Alex," Matthew spoke up, sounding frantic, "did you know King Arthur is having a meeting about the war and everything that's happening?"
"What?" Alex spat, "without us?"
Matthew shrugged, "looks like it."
The prince scoffed. "So this is the man who is supposed to bring magic back and reunite the kingdoms blah blah blah? What does Merlin see in this guy? He's so rude."
"Wow," Sir mason was surprised, he had never seen his Prince so agitated. "Since when did you have so much hatred for King Arthur?"
"Mmm," he pondered, "since he returned my sigil ring I lost in Camelot five years ago, and said we had to leave by this morning."
All four jaws dropped.
"Woah woah! Hold up," Cade raised his hand, "first, Arthur knows we kidnapped Merlin?"
Alex seemed to be contemplating for a moment. "Apparently so. He never said it, but it was implied."
They all inwardly groaned.
"And second, why didn't you tell us that WE HAD TO LEAVE BY MORNING?!" Cade shouted.
"Shh," Alex shushed him, "keep your voice down, and that's because we aren't leaving."
"You are going to defy the King?" Sir Mason wondered.
"Eh, I guess, if you really want to call it that."
"But why?" Lucas asked, "This is his kingdom."
"He may not realize it now guys, but trust me, he needs us." Alex put an arm over the shoulders of Cade and Lucas. "Merlin needs us. And if both Camelot and Merlin want to survive then they are going to need us here."
All the men nodded, agreeing with what their Prince said.
"Now." Alex clapped his hands together and gave a sly smile, "I do believe we have a meeting to attend to."
•••••••••
Merlin stood off to the side behind Arthur as the meeting went on. Knights sat around the round table with Arthur at the head of it. He was the only person standing.
"I have called a meeting to discuss with you all - the matter at hand."
Arthur began to slowly walk around the table as he spoke, his chest was out, chin was up, and his hands were placed nicely behind his back. His tunic was on the right way now because Merlin, being the kind man he is, decided that he couldn't let Arthur embarrass himself in this meeting. No matter how mad he was at him."
"A kingdom far north of here by the name of Arudus is run by a tyrant named, King Edward. He plans to have his army attack Camelot within the week."
Chatter broke out amongst the knights, they were not prepared for this.
"Silence!" Arthur held up his hand, and immediately the room went silent again.
"Our comrades have been taken from us because of this man. He is the reason for our patrol attacks. He is also the reason for what happened this morning. They have sent us warnings, and there's one thing these warnings have in common."
Arthur turned to Sir Leon.
"Sir Leon, If you may explain."
The respectful knight stood up and bowed to his king before speaking. "A few days ago, myself and others went out to search for the missing patrol. We found our comrades murdered in the forest." He paused for a moment, trying to contain his emotions. "Each with a letter engraved on their chest. Today, the word "Emrys" was engraved on an innocent man's chest. Those five letters we found, make up the word, Emrys."
Leon gave another bow, and immediately sat back down. Arthur nodded his head in acknowledgment. "Thank you Sir Leon."
The King continued, "Now, it appears to me, that Emrys is most likely a person."
Merlin felt nauseous. He never thought the day would come when Arthur would say his other name.
"I am new to this name; however," he paused for a dramatic affect, "if anyone in here has any information on this "Emrys" please speak up now."
It was quiet for a moment. Everyone looked around, and nobody spoke for quite some time until someone brave enough slowly raised their hand.
Oh gods, Merlin thought.
"Yes Gwaine?"
The knight took that as his queue to stand. He gave a cheeky grin to those around. He was never in the appropriate mood for stressful situations. "As many of you may know, I had traveled quite a bit before I ended up here in Camelot." Several knights nodded their heads. "Well, during my travels, I did come across the name Emrys, a few times."
Merlin noticed that everyone suddenly seemed engrossed in what Gwaine was saying, especially Arthur.
Gwaine was always dramatic when telling his stories, he was actually quite great at it. "Legend has it, that Emrys is the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth. Not only was this person born with magic, but they are the very essence of magic. Emrys is magic itself."
Shut up Gwaine.
"There's actually a very interesting prophecy I learned about him as well."
Shut up, shut up...
"Some druids and people of magic believe that Emrys is the protector of the Once and Future King. This King is supposedly going to unite the lands of Albion and restore magic back to the kingdoms with the help of Emrys."
"That was very insightful Gwaine," Arthur said. Merlin couldn't tell if he believed what he was saying or not, "very interesting."
"Actually, that's not even the most interesting part!" Gwaine was smiling big. "I never comprehended it before, but now it just makes so much sense."
Arthur was confused, "what does?"
"Someone once told me that the name of the Once and Future King was Arthur."
Arthur just so happened to be taking a sip of his wine when Gwaine mentioned his name, causing Arthur to spit it up back into his goblet.
"Excuse me, what?" He choked.
Merlin was beginning to feel a little lightheaded.
Gwaine continued to go on, "doesn't it make sense? Unless there's another King named Arthur, but I do not believe there is. Now, the name Emrys pops up? It's got to be more than just a coincidence!"
Arthur shook his head, "I'm sorry, but there is no way I am this... Once and Future King. I do not know Emrys. Trust me, I would know if I knew the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth."
"Maybe, this is your chance to."
Arthur opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the doors opened up and in walked...
"Prince Alexander," Arthur stood behind his chair, hands tightening so hard on the top that his knuckles turned white. "What brings you here?"
Alex inwardly cringed at the use of his full name. "My knights and I would like in on the meeting."
Arthur was annoyed, and he really did not want them here. He didn't invite them for a reason, but he also didn't want to seem rude in front of his own knights, so he decided they could stay.
"Of course! Please, by all means," he gestured towards some empty chairs, "take a seat."
Usually the round table was full, but since some of Arthur's knights lost their lives recently in the patrol attacks, there's been a couple of empty seats.
Everyone stared as the people of Arudus took their seats.
Cade wasn't there. Alex thought it would be best to have Cade go back to his room and not attend the meeting. He didn't want Arthur to see Cade all good and well because then he might actually send them home.
"Prince Alexander," Arthur began, staring him down, "do you happen to know where I could find Emrys?"
Alex didn't risk glancing over at Merlin, but he could definitely feel his intense glare on him.
"Why do you presume that I know who Emrys is?" He answered.
"Because," Arthur rested his hands on the table and leaned forward, "this message was your father's doing."
Those that did not know that Prince Alex was King Edward's son certainly did now.
Alex sighed, "my father thinks that Emrys is in Camelot. That is why he has done this, as a warning. He wants Emrys dead."
"What?" Arthur was confused, "I thought your father was all for magic."
"He is," Alex agreed, "but my father was cursed many, many years ago, and in order to break his curse, a true warlock must be sacrificed in Arudus for his curse to be broken."
"And, this Emrys... he is a true warlock?" Arthur sounded intrigued.
Alex nodded, "the only warlock in existence."
Arthur thought for a moment, he was slightly impressed, but he would never admit he felt that way, "so he is powerful?"
"Very."
The King rapped a finger on the table, "What if we find this Emrys and bring him to your father?" Arthur proposed, "then he would not attack, right?"
The prince shook his head. "Even if you did that, my father would still attack," he explained, "Yes, he wants Emrys, but he also wants you, Arthur Pendragon. He dislikes you and your kingdom. He wants to destroy it all."
The knights and Arthur weren't looking too good. They seemed pretty nervous if you asked Merlin.
"Which is why we need to start preparing for this fight." Alex got up, determined, almost mirroring Arthur's pose from across the table. "King Arthur, we need to team up, we need to train the knights, prepare for the worst, and we need to make a plan."
Alex meant every word he said. They needed to put their differences aside and start forming a plan. They've done nothing so far to prepare for this fight. That will cost them. Arudus has a sorcerer army with some of the strongest sorcerers and a regular army full of the best knights. And currently, they have an army of regular knights, a few sorcerers, and Merlin. They needed more.
"What do you say, Arthur?"
The King slowly walked around the table to where Alex was standing until they stood eye to eye. Arthur did something that Alex never expected to happen. He held out his hand. The prince seemed to be stunned for a moment because Merlin witnessed his eyes widen ever so slightly. But he quickly grabbed the King's forearm and Arthur did the same, gripping tightly, like comrades.
"I'm in."