Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.
Chapter Three
The man had magic. Merlin could feel it the moment he walked into the room, not because it was immensely powerful – in fact, it was relatively weak – but because it was barely restrained. Merlin couldn't tell if it was because the man was incapable of controlling it, or because the he held it loosely. Regardless, he felt his own magic rise up instinctually within him, sensing a possible attack.
"My name is Arven, my lord. I have heard that you seek a sorcerer named Emrys?" The man knelt in front of Arthur, the image of submission.
Arthur sidestepped the question. "What do you know of the one called Emrys?" he asked instead.
"I know he is a sorcerer," Arven said. "And a powerful one, at that. They say that he lives here in Camelot, and that he is close to the king. That he protects him." The man dared a look up at Arthur. "I am surprised, my lord, to hear that you are seeking him, for I would have thought that you of all people would know him if what they say is true. Do you truly not know who he is?"
Arven's expression showed surprise, but Merlin didn't see surprise in his eyes. He felt sure this was a performance, but what would the purpose be in such a show?
"What else do you know?" Arthur asked, ignoring the question.
"There are two prophecies, my lord," Arven said. "One says that Emrys is a faithful friend to you. Another says that Emrys serves only himself, and will abandon you in your hour of need. My lord, if you do find him, you must be wary."
Merlin froze, trying to keep his expression as neutral as possible. But he couldn't help the blood he felt rushing to his face in rage.
Serves only himself?
Abandons Arthur in his hour of need?
Lancelot caught Merlin's eye from across the room, and Merlin could see a similar flare of indignation in his friend's face. That, at least, reassured him. Lancelot knew it was nonsense at any rate.
But Arthur didn't, and Merlin knew that Arthur would be only too quick to believe the worst of someone with magic. A sorcerer who was an ally? That was a foreign concept to Arthur. A sorcerer who serves himself would be a comfortable and familiar idea, and Merlin knew which one Arthur would gravitate to.
"Anything else?" the king asked, and Arven shook his head.
"No, sire. That is all I know."
Arthur nodded. "You will be compensated for what you have provided. I thank you for your help."
The man stood and bowed before leaving. As he walked past, Merlin could see the traces of a smirk in his mouth and a satisfied gleam in his eye.
Merlin ducked out of the room before Arthur could call him over, deliberately avoiding eye contact, and made his way back to Gaius's chambers as quickly as he could.
"Gaius," he said, out of breath once he reached his destination. "We have a problem."
He was just finishing recounting the man's claims to his guardian when a knock sounded at the door and Lancelot poked his head in. Gaius gestured him in distractedly.
"I don't know who he is or what he wants, but he's deliberately trying to turn Arthur against Emrys," Merlin finished. "Why would someone with magic want to do that? I thought Emrys was supposed to be some kind of symbol of hope to them!"
"To the druids, maybe," Gaius said, looking troubled, "but that doesn't necessarily extend to everyone who has magic."
"Is it possible he's telling the truth about there being two prophecies?" Lancelot asked.
"No," Merlin said immediately. "Kilgharrah would have told me." He considered this for a moment, then frowned. "Well, maybe not," he amended. "He has his own agenda. It's possible he would keep something like this from me, if it served his purposes. And I guess," he added, his stomach sinking, "I guess it's possible I would abandon Arthur, if something forced me to. If my mother took ill or I was injured and couldn't get to him."
"But even then, I don't think anyone would say you serve only yourself," Gaius pointed out. "For that alone, I'm inclined to say the claim of a second prophecy is a lie."
"But why?"
"Because," Lancelot said grimly, "it drives a divide between Arthur and Emrys. If Arthur accepts Emrys, he is even better protected than he was already. If he pushes Emrys away, it leaves Arthur vulnerable."
Merlin's stomach sank, and Gaius sighed.
"I fear you're right," the physician said wearily. "Whoever this man is, I don't believe he means Arthur well."
"We've gone from knowing very little to knowing nothing," Arthur stormed, taking his sword belt off and slamming it onto the table. A morning of training had done nothing to burn through his frustration. "We thought we knew he was a friend. That at least gave me some general idea to work off of. Now all we know is that he's in Camelot and apparently close to me, and he may or may not be my enemy."
"From what I've heard, no one has said anything about him being your enemy or wishing ill on you," Merlin pointed out as he helped Arthur out of his armor. He sounded unconcerned about the whole thing, much to Arthur's annoyance. "He is, at best, a friend. At worst, he abandons you. Which I admit is bad, but it's not the same thing as acting against you. It doesn't sound like you actually have any reason to fear him."
"Other than the fact he's a sorcerer," Arthur said irritably. "And magic corrupts.
Merlin shrugged. "Maybe. But prophecies are a druid thing, and that Arven fellow didn't look much like a druid to me. I don't trust him."
"The druids have magic," Arthur argued. "I think I'm more inclined to trust someone who doesn't. If I were to believe the druid, it might make me more sympathetic to magic, which benefits them. Arven has nothing to gain or lose based on my feelings about magic, so he is inherently a more objective source."
"It doesn't matter how objective he is if he doesn't know what he's talking about," Merlin insisted, and Arthur's scowl deepened.
"Like I said. We've gone from knowing very little to knowing nothing."
Merlin darted around the crowds milling through the marketplace. He was trying to get deliveries done for Gaius before Arthur finished training. The mood Arthur had been in that morning, Merlin wasn't eager to deal with him if his lunch came late.
Truthfully, Arthur had been in a mood for the past two weeks. Ever since the visit from Arven, really.
Merlin ducked out of the tavern – the only time he had ever set foot in the place during the daytime, having just delivered a remedy to the owner – and set out on a shortcut back to the castle. He was so focused on hurrying that he almost missed it. Then, just as he was about to walk away from the market toward the castle, he felt…something.
He paused, shifting his focus from his destination to his surroundings. There was a hum nearby, a thrumming…
Magic. Like Arven's, it felt loose and wild, but much more powerful. Looking around, Merlin finally found the source: a woman, her face hidden by the hood of a cloak despite the warmth of the day. She walked towards Merlin, away from the gate leading to the castle. As they neared each other, she glanced up briefly and Merlin caught a quick look at her face. She had dark eyes and a few stray wisps of blond hair hanging around her face. She looked back down immediately, passing Merlin as though he were invisible.
He took his time returning to the castle, his earlier rush forgotten. It might have been nothing. There were plenty of people with magic in Camelot. There was nothing shocking about one of them being in the vicinity of the castle. But her magic had felt so similar to Arven's...
His anxiety increased as he walked. The hum of magic should have grown weaker as he put distance between himself and the woman, but instead, Merlin felt that same hum growing stronger. By the time he reached the gate, the hum had turned into a buzz that made his skin tingle. He studied the gate as he walked through, ignoring the sideways looks from the guards. The magic was weaker once he was on the other side.
He couldn't study it any closer without drawing attention to himself, but the gate to the castle was enchanted. He was sure of it.
"How can we know nothing?" Arthur yelled in frustration, pacing the length of the table room. "After weeks of inquiries, how is it that only one person has stepped forward with any information?"
Merlin stood as close to the wall as he could, trying to make himself invisible while the knights eyed each other uneasily.
"It appears, sire, that whoever Emrys is, he has guarded the secret of his identity well," Leon said tentatively. "The people cannot reveal what they do not know, and it is possible that no one knows who Emrys is."
"Someone knows," Arthur snapped. "Both the druid and Arven said that the sorcerer is close to me. We're not talking about a farmer in an outlying village. Someone here in the castle knows something."
No seemed eager to fill the awkward silence that followed Arthur's words. Finally, Lancelot took a deep breath and leaned forward, speaking calmly.
"Arthur, we have no reason to believe Emrys is a threat, and pursuing him is not doing anyone any good, least of all yourself." He said the last few words with enormous gentleness. "Sire, would it not be better to let this be for a while?"
"Let it be?" Arthur repeated incredulously. "Just sit back, knowing there's a sorcerer in our midst?"
"He's not likely to step forward right now anyway," Gwaine pointed out, earning him a sharp look from Arthur.
"Why not?"
"He's supposedly close to you. If that's true, then he's seen how you're behaving." Arthur stared at Gwaine in disbelief, but Gwaine pressed on. "You're short-tempered and you assume the worst of everyone. And to be honest, you're getting a little bit paranoid. This morning in training you said you thought there was something magical going on because 'you slept too well' last night."
Merlin swallowed. He had put a slight sleep enchantment on Arthur the night before. He knew the king hadn't been sleeping well and thought he needed some true rest. He hadn't expected Arthur to suspect magic for something that small.
"All I'm saying," Gwaine concluded, "is that you're probably not exactly motivating him to reveal himself."
Arthur stared at him for a long moment, and Merlin felt dread as he saw the shrewd look rising in his eyes.
"Do you know who it is?" he asked suspiciously, making Gwaine blink in surprise.
"I have no idea," he said candidly. "I'm not trying to protect him or hide him. I'm just trying to use some common sense."
Merlin fought the urge to look at Lancelot. Gods help them both if the king started questioning the knights.