Will's wish came true. In the dead of night, Lani and her daughter Arwen helped Hunith through a horrible birth. Two babes slithered out of her womb. One was sickly, and the other seemed strong. Lani and Hunith did everything they could to help the ailing little one for the next week. Balinor tried a few spells and told them that there was something wrong with the child's heart.
They named the twins on the third day. The sickly one was named Balinor the Younger, as he had been born first. Hunith wanted to name the younger, stronger twin Merlin, after her sister Mairwen. He had her sister's big blue eyes. Balinor suggested Emrys, and they argued for quite a long time over this. They finally decided on Emrys. They took to calling the babe Em. Hunith called him Merlin as a pet name on occasion.
Young Balinor died at just a week and a half old. They buried him next to old William. Balinor scarcely talked for a month, and Hunith cried herself to sleep for weeks. They pulled themselves together, though, for the sake of Will, Gilli, and Em.
When Merlin was about one, he was playing with wooden soldiers Balinor made for him when suddenly they started levitating off the ground. Gilli immediately ran to get his parents. Hunith started screaming, but Balinor placed a hand over her mouth. "This is normal," he said.
"A baby making his toys float is not NORMAL!" Hunith snarled. "You better have a good explanation, Balinor, by the gods."
"Get Will from the fields, please," Balinor told Gilli. The child obeyed.
When the family was assembled, Balinor plucked the floating toy soldier out of the air and hoisted Merlin onto his hip. "I did the same thing at his age," he began. When his wife opened her mouth to ask a question, he held up a finger. "It will be easier if you let me explain."
Hunith nodded, giving her silent go-ahead.
"I have not told you this before, because I thought ignorance might save you from the pyre if Uther tracks me here. Anyways, here goes the story: my mother was a Druid. When magic was still allowed in Camelot, Druids were renowned for their healing and nature magic. My father was a Dragonlord—he could speak and work with dragons, and I inherited that from him. A union between a Dragonlord and a Druid is quite uncommon, as they have very different cultures. Anyway, the children borne from such marriages bear both their parents' gifts. I have a great capacity for healing and fire magic, while also retaining my father's abilities. I am not quite sure how to put this humbly—I am perhaps one of the most powerful sorcerers in the realm.
"I will pass my magic onto my children; I have passed it on to Em. He has the same magical ability that I do. He may possess more talent than I do. I did not show signs of telekinesis—moving stuff with your mind—until I was three. He shows great promise."
Hunith's eyes widened. She could not bring herself to be angry with her husband. He had kept his past hidden only to protect them from execution. "What were your parents' names, my love?" This was the first time he had willingly talked about his parents.
"My mother is named Emerald, but all call her Emry. I-I named Emrys after her. My father was George. He died when I was very young. I was raised amongst the Druids until age ten, when the Dragonlords summoned me to complete the rest of my training."
"Your mother is alive?" Hunith whispered.
"Yes, she and my elder half-brother Iseldir live in the Feorre Mountains. I planned to join them eventually, but…"
"You married me."
"I wanted to stay and earn enough money to continue the rest of my journey. It played out a little differently than I expected."
"Will, Gilli, go outside and play in the garden for a bit," Hunith told her two eldest sons.
"Maaaa," Will and Gilli groaned.
"Now, William and Gilanders. Or do I have to ask a second time?"
"No, Ma," they murmured, going outside to play in the vegetable garden. Hunith immediately kissed Balinor. He kissed her back, intensely. They continued like this for a minute, and Balinor pulled away.
"Are you angry?" he asked, brow furrowed.
"Hurt, yes. Angry, no. You never told me you had any family left."
"I wanted to keep you safe from my past. Then Em's powers manifested."
She sat down on their bed. "Can you tell me about them now?"
Balinor glanced towards the door. "We really ought to get back to the fields, love…"
"If only for fifteen minutes? We can have a really quick lunch," Hunith pleaded.
"Very well. Where to begin…" Balinor stared at his callused, dirt-blackened hands and sighed. "I'll start with my mother. She is named Emerald for the color of her eyes. Her first husband was a Druid as well. She had three children with him—Iseldir, Maud, and Emlyn. Emlyn died as an infant. Iseldir is eight years my elder, and Maud six." Balinor grinned a bit. "After my mother was widowed, the Dragonlords sent one of their sons to study with the Druids. They fell in love, married, and had me. My father was slain fighting the Saxons. I'm told he was a good man; he died when I was four."
Hunith took his hand. "Tell me about Iseldir and Maud."
"Iseldir's a Seer, like his father; he sees the future in his dreams. He's very skilled. He's quiet, but there's this sense of power about him. Mother's the closest to a leader the Druids have; I assume one day he will take over for her. Now, Maudie is a healer, like Mother. Somehow, she is a blonde in a family with jet-black hair. She has a son named Cedran, but she never married."
He laughed at Hunith's surprised expression. "Druids don't really mind when a woman has a child out of wedlock. We consider all children blessings."
"It's not that, really. No one bats an eye if a woman has a bastard or two, so long as she gets married later. I'm just baffled how she's managed to get by without a man. Having a husband makes providing for children so much easier."
"The community always provides for each other. It's how the Druids have managed to survive Uther's Purge."
"Is your brother married?"
"Iseldir never married. He's never managed to find the right woman." Balinor grinned. "I never thought I would have, either."
Sensing he was ready to be done, Hunith stood up. "You're such a flirt, husband." She took his hand and kissed him, gently. "Thank you for sharing that with me. It means so much. Now, we best be off to the fields. There's much to be done."
Balinor did not mention his family again for a long time.
Over the next six years, every third year, two more children were born. Hunith's fourth pregnancy produced another son. Hunith called him Mordred after a lullaby her mother used to sing to her, even though Balinor told her she could name the child Merlin if she wanted. Hunith just shook her head. Mordred's eyes were an icy blue, one that Balinor said ran in his father's side of the family. She had only wanted to name Emrys after her sister because they had the same colored eyes. Merlin just simply didn't fit her fourth son. It fit her third like a charm, though. She sometimes regretted letting Balinor name him Emrys.
Balinor was still very tight-lipped about his past, and rarely used or talked about his magic. However, he taught little Em how to control and disguise his powers as soon as the child was old enough to understand. He still displayed extraordinary magic—he healed her with a touch of his hand when she burned herself badly when cooking one day. Balinor later explained that Em's magic saw that she was in pain and just acted.
"Em loves you, so his magic does as well. It's almost a separate entity from him, with a will of its own. He will need to learn to get a handle on it," Balinor explained when she asked him about it.
They learned to live with having a child sorcerer in the house, and life went on as it always had. When Mordred's powers manifested, he received the same lessons from his father that Em had. "Hide it or die," was the chilling idea Balinor drilled into his sons' heads.
They finally had a daughter three years after Mordred's birth. Hunith cried tears of joy, and felt as if Liam had intervened on her behalf and given her the daughter she had always longed for. She named her Sefa. The girl would grow up to have an uncanny resemblance to her dead aunt. Sefa showed signs of magic as well—objects floated, she repaired a shattered bowl just by staring at it, et cetera.
In the years since Balinor's escape from Camelot, the Great Purge, as many called it, continued on ruthlessly. Magic had been outlawed in all of Camelot's holdings, and any magic user who came across a Camelot soldier was killed on sight. Hunith began to fear that eventually Uther would find her husband and children.
They kept their youngest three away from the other villagers most of the time. Em could only go play with the other village children when he was four and hadn't had a spontaneous magical incident for six months. Hunith thought the Gilanders' clan suspected that something was special about Balinor's children.
One day, when Sefa was barely one, Young Gil raced into their hut. "Matthew's son Creel spotted soldiers bearing the Camelot badge about five miles out. You have to leave now, Balinor!"
Seven-year-old Em's eyes widened in fear. "Are they gonna kill Da?"
Frantic, Balinor dug up their money and ordered them to pack what they could carry. They each packed their two sets of clothes, all the food they could carry, blankets, a fire kit, and a map that was a prized possession of Gilanders'. Hunith strapped Liam's sword to her hip, and Balinor donned her late husband's chain mail. Balinor's wooden carvings that were light and easy to carry were put in Will's pack. Young Gil agreed to take the family dog, their three cats, and the goats the children adored. He offered his two geldings to aid in their escape. Balinor got their two horses as well. He started chanting, and his eyes glowed gold. Hunith rode with Sefa in a sling and Mordred secured to her lap with her girdle. Merlin rode in Balinor's lap, and Gilli sat behind Will. They used the fourth horse as a packhorse, and tethered him behind Balinor's. As the family galloped hard out of Ealdor, they looked sadly at the graveyard where William and Balinor the Younger were buried, and rode off into the forest.
The spell Balinor cast hid their trail. They rode hard for hours. Mordred and Sefa cried, confused and exhausted. It broke Hunith's heart, and she did her best to comfort them. Will had tears streaming down his face silently as he rode. He loved life in Ealdor—working the land, raising livestock, their friends and neighbors. Hunith felt the same. She had lived there for over a decade. That one-room, drafty hut had become a home to her. Ealdor held fond memories of her marriage to Liam. There she buried her father-in-law and infant son. There she married Balinor, and bore six children. She was heartbroken that she needed to flee from Ealdor.
They stopped when it grew too dark to continue. Will watered the horses, and Hunith prepared a meagre meal of bread and salted fish. Balinor refused to light a fire. He feared the Camelot soldiers might see the light of it and follow it in the dark. As they scarfed down their food in the pitch black, wrapped in thin, ratty blankets and shivering, they discussed where they could go.
"We could join my family in the Feorre Mountains," Balinor suggested.
"My parents and sister Mairwen may take us in. Going to Camelot rather than deeper into Essetir could throw them off." Croyton was Hunith's home village.
"Could they support seven additional people, when they can barely feed themselves?" Balinor pointed out. "I feel going to my mother's people may be our best bet."
"What about the Dragonlords, Balinor?" Will inquired.
His stepfather's face darkened. "They are too scattered. The Druid encampment in the Feorre Mountains gets by well enough, and it is well hidden. We must go there."
It seemed practical, so Hunith agreed. Thankfully, it was early spring and they did not need to worry about journeying through the mountain range in winter. It was about a two weeks' trek to the foot of the mountains. Balinor sent a magical message to his brother and Iseldir agreed to meet them there.
So a harrowing, stressful two weeks passed. They rode most of the day and slept fitfully at night. They only stopped to rest if the horses really needed to. Hunith thanked the gods for Young Gil's gift of his two geldings. The Camelot soldiers did not seem to be pursuing them, but Balinor continued to disguise their trail with magic. The children, bless them, did not complain and faced each day with courage. Finally, they reached the foot of the mountains that had grown closer and closer each day. As promised, a dark-haired man with kind eyes and Balinor's face structure waited for them, sitting atop a delicate white mare.
"I meet my family at last!" Iseldir called, cantering to meet them. Balinor dismounted immediately and Iseldir practically leaped off his horse to embrace him. They hugged for a long time before pulling apart.
"It's been too long, Ejred," Iseldir said thickly.
"Ejred?" Hunith inquired.
"My father's kin called me Ejred. I prefer the name my mother gave me," Balinor explained.
Iseldir urged them all to dismount. "We must be introduced properly," he insisted. "Balinor, be polite like Ma taught you."
"May I present my dear wife, Hunith. Hunith, this is my insufferable brother Iseldir," Balinor said, shooting a glare at Iseldir.
"Hunith! You are even more beautiful than Balinor described." Iseldir hugged her and kissed her cheek.
"Hunith's eldest, William the Younger, named for his father. I'm told he was a very brave courageous man, and Will certainly proves that," Balinor said next. Iseldir hugged him and told him he was very glad he was a part of their family. Hunith's heart swelled with her pride. Will loved Balinor like a father, but he also wanted to maintain his connection to Liam. Balinor had managed to acknowledge both Liam and himself as integral parts of Will's life.
"This strapping lad is Hunith's second son with William, Gilanders. Gilli's a hard worker, and is so good with animals I think he may be a Druid in secret. He's a good lad."
"Hello, Uncle," Gilli said quietly as Iseldir gave him a hug and welcomed him.
Balinor gestured to Em. "My eldest son, Emrys. He's extremely gifted; his powers manifested when he was just a baby. He's all raw power, though; he'll need a teacher, to show him the ropes."
"I would be glad to fill the position, brother." Iseldir ruffled his nephew's hair.
"This is my second son, Mordred, who's all of four. I sense he may be a great healer, in time."
As Iseldir fussed over Mordred, Hunith came forward with the baby. "This is our youngest and only daughter, little Sefa. She's just over a year old. She has the sweetest disposition, and is such an easygoing child."
Iseldir held out his arms. "She must take after her mother, then. Balinor was a horrible baby, always crying and fussing. May I hold her?"
"Certainly." Hunith was impressed by how expertly he held the children. At her pleased expression, her brother-in-law grinned.
"I minded Balinor when he was little. Our sister has a son, as well. Cedran's almost thirteen, though." Iseldir handed Sefa back to Hunith. "We'd best be on our way, it's dangerous to linger for too long."
He turned to his younger brother. "Balinor, renew the trail-hiding spells on your horses' hooves and mine. We'll reach camp in a few hours."
"I cast one four hours ago, when we stopped for water."
"These are powerful lands. Do it again." Iseldir's tone left no room for argument. Muttering, Balinor recast the spells and they remounted their steeds. Iseldir kicked his horse into a gallop, and they headed towards the mysterious Druid encampment.
A/N: Hello there! Just wanted to pop in and thank everyone who followed and favorited this story, it means the world to me. Also, if anyone is a fan of Tamora Pierce's writing, I based magic in this fic as it is portrayed in her writing. For this story, at least, it makes much more sense for people to be born with magic rather than spending years studying/learning it. While Merlin/"Em" being born with powers make him special in the show, he is special in this story because of the massive amounts of power he possesses.
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or any of the characters from the show.