Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.
Chapter Ten
"I think I might have found something."
Merlin's head popped up from where he had been dozing over his own book, and he rushed to Gaius's side. They had spent the past two days trying to see what they could find on the Deilen, and this was the first lead either of them had run across.
"What does it say?" he asked, peering over Gaius's shoulder.
"In the days of the Old Religion, the Deilen were an extreme sect." Gaius's eyes skimmed over the passage, pulling out the highlights. "Their priests were highly experimental and known for pushing the limits of magic. It seems even other sorcerers looked upon them with caution." He scanned the book for another moment more, then shook his head. "It doesn't say anything else. Nothing about their continued existence or where to find them."
"It's a start, at least." Merlin grabbed his jacket and headed to door. "I'll see if Geoffrey has ever heard of them."
"And what will you say if he wants to know why you're asking?" Gaius called after him, and Merlin turned around and grinned.
"What I always say. That you wanted to know, and I'm just asking on your behalf."
Gaius's eyes widened at that. "And what am I supposed to say if he asks me?"
Merlin shrugged. "You'll think of something. Consider it payback for all the times you've told Arthur I'm at the tavern."
"Experimental sorcerers," Arthur said, rolling his eyes. "Great."
"There's more," Merlin said, nearly vibrating with excitement as he held up another book. "I know what they want."
"You do?" Arthur reached for the book, but Merlin pulled it back out of reach, flipping it open and searching for the right page.
"This book is all about false prophecies," he said, the words coming so quickly that Arthur struggled to keep up. "There are all of these prophets over the past few hundred years that were exposed as being frauds. And since they're frauds, their prophecies aren't considered sacred, and so the druids aren't nearly as secretive about them. So there's this whole book. And…" he found the page and plunked the book down on the desk, pointing to a specific entry.
He waited a moment while Arthur started to read, and then lost patience. "There's a false prophecy about Emrys," be blurted. "It says that Emrys will abandon the Once and Future King and join with the Deilen, and the Deilen will rule Camelot."
Arthur frowned. "Once and Future King," he muttered to himself. "I've heard that before. I think…I think I've been called that before."
Merlin shrugged, still focused on the book. "Given what the druid said about Emrys helping you, it makes sense that it would be you. But that's not important. What's important is that now we know what the Deilen are after!"
"They think if they can find Emrys and get him to side with them, then they'll have the power to take over Camelot." Arthur sighed. "It makes sense, especially with what she said about no one being able to stand against them if Emrys joined them. Not to mention their desire to kill me."
"And," Merlin said with a wide grin, "we know something else important."
Arthur looked at him questioningly. "We do?"
"The seer who gave this prophecy – Carys of Afon – was exposed as a charlatan. Her prophecies were all deemed to be lies. Arthur, if this prophecy isn't real, that means Emrys isn't going to abandon you. What the druid said was right. Arven was wrong." Merlin looked almost giddy with excitement.
The two of them hadn't discussed Emrys again since their argument the week before. Arthur was trying to give the issue some space as he figured out the best way to proceed. And truthfully, he wasn't really interested in getting into another fight with Merlin.
He'd thought they had a tacit agreement not to bring it up again. Apparently he'd been wrong.
"It doesn't necessarily mean the druid is right," he pointed out halfheartedly, but Merlin just scoffed.
"It means you don't have much reason to doubt her," he pointed out. "Or to doubt that Emrys is in fact a friend."
"So we know who they are and what they want," Arthur summarized, changing the subject back to the Deilen. "We just don't know where they are or how to defeat them."
"I saved the best for last, actually," Merlin said. "Well, what you'll think is the best. I think the bit about the false prophecy is the best part."
"Merlin. Get to the point."
To Arthur's surprise, Merlin held out a scroll instead of a book. Arthur took it and opened it across the desk.
"What am I looking at?"
"A map of ancient temples of the Old Religion." Merlin tapped his finger against it. "And this right here is an old Deilen temple."
Arthur looked up at his servant. "Are you serious?"
"Completely. Geoffrey thought I was nuts for wanting it, by the way. And it's ancient temples, so that temple is almost definitely a ruin and might be a complete dead end," he pointed out. "But it's not entirely impossible that it might hold some kind of clue."
Arthur laughed and sat back in his chair, letting the scroll roll back up. "Merlin, sometimes you amaze me. I mean, usually you're a complete idiot, but then you pull off something like this."
"I'm good at researching things," Merlin protested. "I've been helping Gaius with research since I first came to Camelot."
Arthur looked at him in surprise. "I didn't know that."
Merlin shrugged. "You never asked. But I'm pretty good at finding things. You're welcome, by the way."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "You know, Merlin, not every servant gets to help their king with important research like this. Perhaps you should be thanking me for the opportunity."
He failed to hide his snicker as Merlin scowled at him.
That night, Merlin flipped open the book of prophecies, once again reading the false prophecy about Emrys.
It had been discredited, he reminded himself. Despite his enthusiasm with Arthur earlier, he had his own nagging doubts he couldn't quite get rid of. Even though the book was supposedly just false prophecies, he wouldn't silence the voice in the back of his head that kept whispering, 'But what if…"
No. Carys of Afon was a fraud. Merlin would never abandon Arthur. He would never join the sorcerers who had threatened Arthur. He served Arthur, not himself.
Finding out that there was a false prophecy only confirmed what Merlin already knew: that those claims were lies.
But on the next page was another prophecy. This one was brief and did not mention the Deilen, and Merlin had not shown it to Arthur or Gaius. But he had read it himself a dozen times.
And darkness will overcome the creature Emrys
His power will devour him
And his mercy will be the king's downfall
It's a book of false prophecies. Merlin repeated again. They were lies.
A knock sounded, and Merlin almost hid the book out of habit before he remembered there was nothing forbidden about this particular tome. "Come in," he called, and Lancelot poked his head in.
"Do you have a moment?"
"Of course." Merlin gathered some of the books next to him so that his friend could have a place to sit down. "Sorry about the mess. It's just research. Lots of it."
"Productive research, apparently," Lancelot said, raising his eyebrows. "Arthur just briefed us on the quest. He mentioned in passing that you seem to have cleared Emrys from suspicion. Well, at least as far as Arven's claims are concerned."
Merlin grinned and tapped the open book in front of him. "A whole book of false prophecies. I admit, I think I was more relieved than Arthur was."
Lancelot glanced over his shoulder briefly to take a closer look at the book. "Is this the prophecy?" he asked, reaching for it.
"No," Merlin said hurriedly, flipping it back to the previous page, but Lancelot snaked his hand in and caught the page, turning it back.
"'And darkness will overcome…'" he began, then frowned and switched to reading it silently. Merlin could see the worry in his face as his eyes moved over the page. "Merlin…"
"It's a false prophecy," Merlin jumped in. "Nothing to worry about."
Lancelot studied him for a moment. "You know that, right? This prophecy is a lie. It will never happen."
Merlin forced a smile. "Of course I know that."
Do people with magic deserve to live?
Arthur sighed and flipped his pillow over, thudding it with his hand to try to get comfortable. He had woken in the dark hours of the morning, his mind racing.
The past weeks since his encounter with the druid had been hectic and bizarre. He'd had the visit from Arven, the attack of the sorceress, the discovery of Lancelot's secret...there had been a lot to think about. And in the chaos of it all, he almost forgotten how this whole thing had started.
He had saved the druid child after he performed magic.
Merlin was right – he had jumped to the worst possible assumptions of Emrys at every opportunity. Everything he had ever believed about sorcery compelled him to. But now, alone in his room, he remembered that little boy's face.
He had made the right decision in saving his life. He felt surprisingly certain of that decision. The boy did not deserve to die.
And if the boy did not deserve to die, how could Arthur argue that all sorcerers deserve to die?
And if not all sorcerers deserved to die, then maybe…maybe Lancelot and Merlin were right and Emrys deserved the benefit of the doubt.
He ran through the conversation he'd had with Lancelot, something he'd been trying to avoid doing since the discussion had taken place. The knight's words disturbed him more than he'd like to admit. It wasn't just that Lancelot's description made Emrys sound like a real person instead of a vague, menacing idea. It was that so many of Lancelot's descriptions sounded familiar. How many times had Arthur felt pangs of self-pity and self-doubt for the same reasons Lancelot listed?
The druid had said that Emrys would be his equal. Lancelot's words made him believe that might be true.
A rattling at his door pulled him from his thoughts, and a moment later, Merlin's annoyingly bouncy footsteps carried through the room.
"Rise and shine," his servant called, pulling the curtains open and turning to shake Arthur like he did most mornings. His normal cheeriness was muted today and his face was pale; apparently Merlin hadn't slept much better than Arthur. "No sleeping in today, sire. We do have a quest—" he broke off, raising his eyebrows. "Have you been awake all night?"
"Thankfully, no," Arthur said, reluctantly pushing himself upright. "Just the last couple of hours. Is everything ready to go?"
"All packed and ready," Merlin confirmed. "You know, you're a lot more coherent and a lot less grumpy when you've been up for a couple of hours. You're using real sentences and everything."
"Shut up, Merlin," Arthur said tiredly, dragging himself to the breakfast table.
"Shutting up, sire."
AN: So I've realized a couple of the later chapters in this story need to be rewritten, and I have some real life obligations demanding my attention at the moment. The story is written beginning-to-end, so it will be completed (worst case scenario, I just publish what I have and don't rewrite those chapters), but updates might slow down a little while I try to get those chapters straightened out. Just a warning. :)