To Kill the King

"Are you alright?" I spoke as soft as possible and wrapped my arms around myself. It was cold here.
"No. No I am not." Arthur had one arm leaning against the wall, his fist resting against the edge of the tiny window, that allowed a bit of light into the cell. Moonlight, as I noticed.
"Uther is a very... strict man", I said carefully. I still couldn't see his face and that made me uncomfortable.
"No need to be selective with your words, I know that you don't like him. You made that quite clear in the past."
I took a step towards him, but didn't dare to touch his arm. I had never seen him like that before. A tiny cell, nothing on his clothes gave away that he was a prince. Almost like... like he was ashamed to be.
"Can you blame me?"
His breathing sounded loud in the small space, his sigh had the effect of an canon blast. If they had any. Did they? I didn't know.
"No. No I cannot. He killed Gwen's father, without knowing what was going on in his head. He didn't gave him a trial and even if, the result would have been the same. He is the judge and once he made up his mind, there is no convincing him."
"Are you sure? Maybe you can speak to him on Morgana's behalf. Maybe he will listen."

Arthur sighed again, turned around and looked at me. "I can try. But when he is like this... he locked Morgana up for speaking against him. I could end up in a cell next to hers."
"He did do that before..." I remembered how Arthur spend a night in a cell, while Merlin was fighting for his life.
"I hate feeling so torn. I can't agree with him, because I just don't. But I also can't disagree with him, it would do more harm than it could ever do good."
"Morgana had a point. He is drunken with power and will do anything to keep it. He will make an enemy out of everyone who goes against his rules. And then he will act against anyone who speaks against him. If he continues on this path, he won't be a king anymore. He will be a tyrant. And on his dying day, the people will cheer instead of cry."
I couldn't look at Arthur during my speech, instead I looked up towards the window, at the little stripe of heaven I could make out. I could feel his gaze on me, considering if that was a prophecy or not. I wanted to comfort him, to be near him. But that wasn't this type of meeting.
"It is not over, is it? The fact that you are here, this night. Something started."
"Yes", I whispered, Morgana's pale and hateful face and her eyes glowing with magic staring at me from my mind, "Something started. Something awful."

"I do not understand." We were in his chambers again, this time the places were switched. I was the one staring at the outside world and down to the yard and he was standing at the door, slowly approaching me while he continued to talk. "You said, something started. Something terrible. I expected a catastrophe, people dying, magic tormenting us, but the only thing that happened is that my father and Morgana got attacked. It may be unusual and dangerous, but... not that unused to us. Everyone was killed and they weren't hurt."
"You are right, they weren't. Interested to see why?" Without waiting for an answer a big mirror appeared by my side. I wasn't looking, I knew too well what I would see.

A few images went by fast, Merlin running through the halls of Camelot, the bad guys, hiding behind trees while Uther and Morgana rode by, Merlin stumbling over the bodies of the guards the two royals left behind. He had the staff of Aulfric's in his hands and followed the men who meant to kill the king. With one word and two blue strikes, he killed two of them, leaving only their leader. Who possessed the stone. Tauren used it to reflect Merlin's attack, rendering him unconscious. The bandit almost managed to kill Uther but Morgana came to the rescue, stabbing him from behind.

"He helped them", Arthur stated, his tone indefinable. "I am confused. How did he know they would be there?"
I had a serious expression when I turned around. "What do you think?"
Arthur hesitated. "My logical side tells me, that he must have known because he conspired with them. But my instinct disagrees. Strongly."
That managed to put a smile on my face. "He overheard the plotters. But he was... too conflicted to be there on time."
Arthur was silent.
"He asked the Kilgharrah what he should do... but the Great Dragon hates Uther and would welcome every opportunity to see him dead."
"Then why did he do it? Why did Merlin help?" Arthur started pacing, while he spoke. "He knew Camelot would be a much safer space for him without my father around. I would never suspect Merlin of possessing magic."
"He hopes one day you might", I said with a shrug. "But that is not the point. He considered it, really. It was Gwen who put him back on the right track." I accentuated the word 'right' making it obvious I wasn't so sure about that.
Arthur looked at me with a deep frown. "I could have understood if Gwen wanted him dead. And, even though I would probably never admit it outside, I can understand why Merlin would. And... why you would."
The last words were a bit quieter and I shrugged again. "You can't know what I know and like Uther. But I am no murderer and the time for Uther to die hasn't arrived yet." I knew Uther's death would be a turning point in our relationship, a potential conflict. I never thought there would be a reason someday for me to be glad of Uther's survival. "Gwen is a good person. Better than me, better than Merlin. She had nothing real to gain from Uther's death. It would just make her a murderer. Merlin agreed. And although he already killed people, Merlin is a lot, but not a murderer."
For some reason that was important to be said and Arthur nodded in agreement.

We were silent for a while, both lost in our own thoughts, but Arthur was finished sooner. "That still doesn't explain your words. You made me believe something terrible were to come. I braced myself for that."
"And you should. I wasn't lying, something terrible was born. I always thought it came at another time, it took me to re-live all of the current events to notice, that although the flower of hatred bloomed another time, its seed was planted now. And it remains silent and peaceful, until there is enough to feed on and grow."
I only noticed the tears forming in my eyes when they started rolling down my cheeks.
"Cassie! Cassie, what is wrong?" Arthur approached me fast, framing my face with his hands, wiping the tears away almost as fast as they build.
"I don't know. I honestly don't." That wasn't a lie, I had no idea why the birth of Morgana's darkness upset me that much. Maybe I mourned the innocent, sweet girl she had been until she lost that part of her core a few days ago.

"Talk to me! What is there to come?" His eyes were clouded with worry but his voice had some kind of push.
I shook my head, releasing it from his hands. "I can't. Not yet. Even with all the faith you have in me, you wouldn't believe. And if I forced you to, by showing you the truth of my words, I am afraid that this same faith will cause the seed I plant in your head to grow too strong too fast. I would lose control. And although it could prevent a lot of terror, it could also conjure even more, from an angle I will be unable to see. I can't risk it."
Arthur still shifted uncomfortably when I mentioned how I planted believes in his head, but didn't comment on it. "Will you tell me some day or is it something I will have to see on my own to connect the dots?"
"I am afraid it will be the ladder. And I am truly hoping, you will see me the same after it all becomes clear to you."

"I don't know how I could ever see you differently from what I see right now", spoke Arthur very soft and he cornered me, his thumb gently gliding over my cheek.
"And how is that?" I tried hard to keep my typical mocking undertone in my voice but it didn't sound right.
"You move people around like pawns. You try to shape the future how you need it. You manipulate and lie and you decide over the value of life. Like you decided that Will's life had less worth than me knowing the truth."
I looked at him like he hit me. How could he say all that, obviously believing it, in such a soft voice? With his fingers playing with the hair surrounding my face? I started walking backwards as he started to speak, like I could run away from the words, which were undeniably true. I wanted to press the hands against my ears, to shout at him that I didn't want to do anything like that, that I had no choice. I was chosen and I never got a say in it. I was stopped by bumping in the table on my way backwards, the edge now pressing itself against my back. A quick glance told me that I managed to hit the opening between two chairs and with Arthur in front of me, I had nowhere left to flee.
"And you sacrifice", Arthur continued, he had followed me, his hands gliding down my body but his eyes never left mine. "You sacrifice yourself for what you think is right. You are gentle, kind and compassionate und doing what the Editor forces you to do, it eats you up. You have more power than I could ever have and yet you meet me eye to eye, doing your best to make me understand how it is like in your head. To make me understand why you do what you do. And you know what? I can understand. And I am not sure if I would do it any different if I would be your shoes."
My eyes had gotten bigger and bigger and I was sure my gulping face was not really considered attractive, but Arthur didn't seem to mind. His smirk got a bit wider and he got even closer if possible.
"And on top of that... you made me a better man ever since I met you. And that is the greatest gift a person can receive."

The moment his lips touched mine, something exploded in my chest. My arms, formerly just hanging down useless, wrapped themselves around his neck, pulling his head even closer. My eyes had closed, everything inside me focused on how good his lips tasted and how his firm grip around my waist send shivers up and down my spine. Suddenly I felt the tip of a tongue teasing my bottom lip and the sigh that managed to escape my mouth allowed him further in. I had lost track of time but when he finally pulled back, just far enough that the tips of our noses touched, we both breathed heavily and his eyes had darkened at least five shades. I bit my lip, it was swollen and still tasted like him. Where the hell was my self-confident cocky self when I needed it? It was crushed by the fact that you just got your first kiss, whispered a voice inside of me. And what of kiss.
"Well you didn't do that for the first time", I mumbled, still a bit shaken up.
His face, wearing a serious expression before, lit up and his smirk reappeared. "That good, yes?"
I pulled his hair, which I suddenly noticed I had one hand in. "Don't flatter yourself."
He laughed quietly and kissed me again, softer this time. "I wanted to do that since I saw you here again after Ealdor", he mumbled against my lips and I smiled.
This time it was me who deepened the kiss and I think I never felt better in my life.

I am sorry that this chapter is so short! Not the shortest chapter so far, but still. It was more of a filller anyway, and I couldn't quite avoid for that to shine through.
Hope you still enjoyed it. Next one will be the last!
P.S. I am in New Zealand know. So please do not expect regular updates on the series! Although I am pretty confident I can post the final chapter on time.