AN: Chapter Rewritten-New Chapter to come.
*Leon POV*
After Arthur had stormed out a thick silence had settled over the room as everyone looked at each other, everyone wondering who would go to whose side. Only Merlin wasn't looking at the others, he was too busy staring after Arthur. Without a word he left the room, heading for his chambers silently. The others stared at each other silently until finally Richard stood.
"I believe that we should retire, there are tough decisions to be made." Richard said stiffly, looking each Camelot Knight in the eye, a clear threat glinting there. As the men filed out of the room Leon stopped each of them.
"My chambers, 10 minutes" he quietly told them and each nodded, Gwaine perhaps a bit stiffly.
Ten minutes later the four were sitting in an awkward silence in Leon's chambers, no one wanting to breach the topic at hand.
"We have sworn an oath to Arthur, we go with him come morning." Leon said sternly, eyes stopping on Gwaine who glared at him defiantly.
"The only reason I swore that oath was for Merlin. If the princess really makes us choose I'm going with Merlin, you two should as well." Gwaine said, looking at the other two with the last line.
"Merlin lied to us, why should we pick him over the man we swore an oath to?" Elyan asked angrily.
"Think about it Elyan, Merlin saved your father's life, Merlin is the reason you even met Arthur. And Percival, had Merlin not kept track of Lancelot and sent him a message to him then you never would have come to Camelot. Not to mention you likely never would have met Lancelot cause he would have been dead without Merlin. So tell me, who do you truly owe your allegiance to? The man who saved you, or the man who doesn't give a shit about Merlin despite Merlin saving his life time and time again. The man who gave up when his kingdom was taken, but you know who got him back on his feet? Merlin. Merlin has done more for that prat then any of us will likely ever know yet Arthur turns against him that quickly? Makes me wonder if he will turn against us if he finds something he doesn't like." Throughout his speech Gwaine grew angrier and angrier until he was standing, his chest puffed in anger.
"Sit down Sir Gwaine! You are speaking treason!" hissed Leon, looking at the door nervously.
"I am saying what needs to be said Leon, your blind loyalty to Arthur will be the death of you." The knight shot back, turning and storming from the room angrily. Silently Percival stood and went after him, not saying a word to the others.
*Richard POV*
Richard and his knights were now gathered in his chambers silently talking about the events to come, the only one missing was Nathan who was on duty.
"We need to be cautious of The Camelot Knights." Richard said, concern lacing his tone.
"Do you think they're going to try something?" Owen asked, brow furrowed.
"No, but if this is war then they will choose their king and come the final battle I fear that our young King would not be able to strike them down if need be."
"Of course he can beat them. He's Emrys." Owen scoffed.
"He's not talking about the physical ability you idiot." Snapped Thomas. "He means mentally, Merlin would not be able to hurt them because they are his friends."
"Thomas is right, that is what I meant." Richard said, before Owen could take offense at the insult and start a fight he continued. "If it comes down to it, we must be the ones to kill them and in the end we must be the ones to kill Arthur."
*Merlin POV*
After leaving the dining chamber he quickly went to his chambers and changed into a set of plain riding clothes. Leaving his chambers he waved the men following him off.
"Stay here, I wish to be alone." He ordered.
"But sire it isn't safe." Objected one of the men.
"I can take care of myself, now I gave you an order." Merlin said sternly, staring the man down. The guard hesitated but eventually nodded.
"As you wish Your Majesty" he said, bowing.
"And do not tell Richard I have left!" he called over his shoulder as he left. He soon found himself in the stables where a young stable hand quickly ran up, practically tripping over himself as he ran up, hastily bowing to Merlin.
"Sire," he panted "W-what can I help you with my lord?" the boy stuttered nervously, the boy looked to be about Merlin's age when he had first arrived in Camelot. The boy reminded him of the Merlin of those days, young, eager to learn and please.
"I need a horse." Merlin said kindly.
A look of confusion crossed the boy's face but he didn't object and quickly disappeared further into the stables. Ten minutes later the boy came back leading a beautiful black mare. The horse's coat was shiny and obviously well brushed. The horse itself was undoubtably one of the most gorgeous beasts Merlin had seen. It was young yet seemed surprisingly calm, though his eyes held a curiosity that Merlin found himself half scared half amazed by.
"Whose horse it this?" Merlin asked in awe.
"It is yours Sire, Sir Richard picked him out himself." The boy answered nervously.
"He is beautiful, who cares for him?" he asked the boy.
"I do, Your Majesty." He answered, biting his lip slightly "Forgive me if that is not to your liking." He said.
"No, no it's fine, you've done a wonderful job. What is his name?" Merlin asked, smiling at him. The boy beamed at the praise.
"He does not have one my lord. It is for you to name him." The stable hand answered, handing the reins to Merlin.
"Very well, what is your name?" he asked.
"Dyral sire."
"Well Dyral, what have you been calling him? You cannot take care of a horse and do all that work without giving the horse a name. It takes way too much work not to form some sort of attachment, surely you will have been calling him something?"
"I-I've been calling him Jack." He replied, stunned at the king knowing how much work goes into horses and the bond that is formed.
"Very well, his name is Jack then, thank you Steven." He replied. "I will return him within a few hours." He said and Steven hastily bowed before leaving.
"Hello jack." Merlin greeted and the horse huffed in response. Merlin ran his hand gently over the horse, keeping it slow, slowly earning the horses trust. "I need to speak with a friend of mine." He told the horse who made no noise. Merlin swung himself into the saddle and when the horse did not object he smiled to himself. Steering the horse to the castle gate he left the castle after convincing the guards he could take care of himself and ordering them to let him pass. He pulled on the cloak he had with him ad left the city.
An hour outside the city he found a clearing large enough. Dismounting he tied the horses reins to a branch before going into the middle of the clearing. He roared to the sky, his heart calling out to another ancient heart. It was another hour before the booming of wings could be heard and soon Kiligarrah landed in the clearing before Merlin. Merlin looked to Jack in concern but found that the horse was surprising calm, Kilgarrah shot a surprised look at the horse as well.
"What do you need Young Warlock?" the dragon asked.
"You were wrong Kilagarrah, Arthur's hatred for magic it too strong. He will lead Camelot in a war against Aria." He said, his voice breaking in despair.
"I was not wrong young one." Kilagarrah began.
"But you were! You were wrong and now Aria must face the consequences!" he raged.
"Be patient young warlock, there are more powers at work than you know." The dragon replied. "You are two halves of a whole. One cannot truly hate the other."
"You were wrong Kiligarrah, there must be someone else."
"There is no one else Merlin. Things are already changing for the better, you will see in time." The dragon said before taking off, not giving Merlin a to reply.
Merlin glared after him, furious at the overgrown lizard. He screamed at the sky in anger before collapsing to the ground, exhausted from the events of the past few weeks. He found himself dreading his coronation. He wasn't ready to be king, he didn't want to be king. He just wanted to go back to his life in Camelot. It wasn't fair, why did it have to be him? When he was born what cruel god or goddess had thrown him this fate? Was it not enough to have the burden of king? At least in Camelot he did not have to juggle the two things. Now he was the King and Emrys and currently the two identities were at war with one another.
The part of him that was king demanded he remove the threat that was Arthur and protect his people. The part that was Emrys said to surrender to Arthur, go with him, protect him no matter the consequences. Merlin was torn between his two duties and could choose neither. The one thing he did know was that he would never hurt Arthur, no matter what. He stayed in the field for several hours, trying to figure out what he should do. Still undecided he went back to his horse and the two went back to the castle. The guards at the gate seemed relieved at his return and quickly let him pass. After handing Jack off to a stable hand Merlin went to his chambers, the guards there too seemed relieved and he felt a twinge of guilt at leaving them to worry.
He quickly changed into his bed clothes and climbed into bed, his thoughts kept him up for another hour before he finally drifted off into a dreamless slumber, only to be awoken by banging on his door and Arthur calling his name.
*Arthur POV*
It was another one of those dreams, that was his first thought. Arthur stood in the woods his knights and Merlin were there too, only this time the knights were divided, Leon and Elyan stood with him, Gwaine and Percival stood with Merlin. Merlin himself wore the armor Arthur had seen him in that night, the night that he had learned the truth, his blue cape cascading off his shoulders. The knights looked angry and ready to fight one another and something about it broke Arthur's heart.
The scene suddenly changed and instead of the woods he was standing in valley, grey rocks gutting into the sky. All around him lay dead knights. He spotted Leon laying on the ground, he ran over and flipped him over, Leon stared up at the sky, an agonized expression on his face, eyes staring up emptily into the sky. Next to him lay Gwaine, wearing a blue cape of The Knights of Aria, he too, was dead, his sword still in his hand and bloody gash across his chest. Across the field he was sure he saw Percival on the ground, he too was wearing blue, Elyan's dead body lay nearby, wearing Camelot red. He looked around and saw more of his knights laying on the ground, dead, their bodies mixed with those of the Arian Knights. He saw the two twins, they had fallen together, fighting back to back, Sir Bedivere's body lay nearby, as did the body of Arthur's young knight, Sir Gavin. He heard a furious cry and looked up to see Richard running at him, cape in tatters and sword in hand. Before the knight reached him, he was suddenly thrown back and Merlin walked into view, hand out towards Richard. The knight went flying and hit a rock wall and slumped to the ground, lifeless. Merlin looked at Arthur, tears pouring down his face.
"I told you, Arthur, I told you this would happen and I told you I would save you, no matter the cost." Merlin shot a look at Richard's dead body, another tear slipped down his cheek. "I know you can't control yourself, I know you have no choice." Merlin said, his voice breaking and Arthur frowned in confusion until he noticed he was drawing Excalibur. He tried to stop himself but he couldn't, he looked at Merlin in confusion and fear.
"I tried, I tried to protect you from her but-but I couldn't, I'm sorry," Merlin said, shaking his head. Arthur began walking towards Merlin, sword drawn and he was filled with horror when he realized what he was going to do. "I won't stop you, Arthur." Merlin said, "I won't hurt you." Arthur wanted to scream at Merlin, tell him to stop this, to stop him, but nothing came out. Merlin dropped to his knees as Arthur approached and when he reached him, he looked up at Arthur, eyes wide, his tears making the blue look like gems.
"I forgive you." He whispered, and Excalibur came down.
A flash of white and he was standing in that empty white space again, gasping for breath, no sword in hand, no one else around, not even the bodies of the dead. He looked around and saw them. There standing before him were three women. The first was a young maiden, more gorgeous than he thought possible, her golden hair flowed to her waist, her skin was a pure milky white, perfect, and unblemished. The maiden's face was soft and gentle, her lips plump and red, a slight coloring to her cheeks. She wore a long white dress that easily highlighted her curves. Next to her stood a slightly older woman, motherly was the only word he could think of as he looked at her. Her brown hair ended a little past her shoulders, shocks of white here and there. Her face was kind, though wrinkled from age, laugh lines around her mouth and eyes, her eyes were a soft brown color, welcoming and kind. Next to her stood an old crone, she was bent over, her white hair, falling around her face. Her hands that hung from her side were gnarled and wrinkled. But with all three, of any other air they gave off, the air of power was the strongest, it was raw power that made Arthur want to cower. Next to them, Arthur felt weak, felt tiny in their eyes.
"Arthur Pendragon," the Maiden said.
"This is your third warning." The mother took up.
"Your final warning." The old woman croaked.
"If you do not accept magic, all you have seen will come to pass, Camelot will fall and darkness will reign." The Maiden warned, her normally soft voice turning hard and cold.
"But we know your heart is clouded by your father's teachings young Pendragon." The mother said, still gentle.
"And so, we will show you the truth, the truth of the magic that has protected you for so long." The old woman finished.
The whiteness around him changes, changed into a familiar scene, he was standing in the courtyard of Camelot, around him was a crowd of people, before him a scaffold. He recognized this, it was the day that sorcerer had been executed, the day that witch had sworn to kill him and the day he had first met Merlin. In the crowd he spotted Merlin, looking younger, he had a sack on his back and was looking up, Arthur followed his gaze and saw his father there, giving his speech. When the guards brought the sorcerer out he tried to stop them but found he could do nothing, couldn't even move, he could only watch. And he watched as the man was executed as the witch swore to kill him and disappeared. He found himself following Merlin up to Gaius's chambers and saw him save the old man. He watched for hours and hours, adventure after adventure, Merlin saved him so many times, used magic for him over and over. He watched for what felt like days or weeks everything that had happened the past 6 years only this time he saw Merlin's side too. And then suddenly it was over, he was standing before the women, tears in his eyes.
"I-" Arthur tried but he could find no words, nothing to say after everything he had just seen. After a few minutes of sorting his thoughts, he looked at them. "Why?" he asked, voice cracking.
"You are the Once and Future King, He is Emrys, it is his duty to protect you." The maiden answered, looking at him kindly.
"No, no I understand that," Arthur said, shaking his head "Why us? Why have you put Merlin through so much?" he asked, somehow he knew that these three women were responsible for everything that had happened to both men.
"He had to face the things he did, and you the things you did it made you into the men you are today." The mother answered.
"It made you into the men who will unite Albion and bring back magic to the kingdom." The crone said.
"But why must Albion be united? Are we not doing well enough separated, yes there is war and strife but that is everywhere, why must we suffer for a kingdom that does not want to be one?" he asked, his voice breaking slightly.
"One day Young Pendragon, when Albion is united you will face a foe like no other one before, it is a force that is mightier than any other and they will come to destroy you." The maid said, sorrow in her voice.
"When this happens, you must be a united force if you want to win against them, if you want to save your kingdom." The mother spoke this time.
"If you do not, then they will kill your people, plunder, and take these lands, just as they have so many before you, you must prevent this." The old crone explained.
"But why us? Why not someone else?" Arthur asked, getting frustrated.
"You are the only ones worthy." The maid answered.
"Now it is time for you to return young Pendragon." The mother said, before Arthur could argue.
"There is much for you to do." The crone said. Suddenly all three began speaking, thousands of voices once again joining in.
"WE ARE THE TRIPLE GODDESS, HEAD OUR WORDS ARTHUR PENDRAGON." They said and it was chilling, and comforting, a warning, and a promise. A warning of the horrible things to come and a promise of reward once it was over. The whiteness faded and Arthur shot up in bed, sweat pouring off him.
"Merlin, I need to speak with Merlin." He said to the empty room. He dragged himself from the bed, not even pausing to straighten his ruffled hair and clothes. He hesitated at the door, wondering if the door would be locked, but luckily it wasn't. He swung the door opened and turned to one of the guards.
"I need to speak to your king." He said and the guard frowned.
"It's the middle of the night." He said skeptically.
"I don't care, I need to see him." The guards hesitated.
"Trust me, what I need to discuss with him is important, do you really want to risk him getting angry when he finds out tomorrow that he could have had our discussion tonight." Arthur tried, hoping the guard's fear of reprimand would overpower his fear of waking his king in the dead of night, it worked.
The guards lead him through the halls until they reached a heavy set of oak doors that four guards stood in front of.
"He needs to speak to the king." Arthur's guard told them.
"His majesty is sleeping, surely it can wait till morning." One of the guards replied.
"He says it can't" Arthur's guard replied.
"Well, I'm sure as hell not waking him." The guard said, shaking his head, the guards all looked at each other, no one wanting to wake their king in the middle of the night.
"Oh, for Camelot's sake." Arthur said, shoving past the guards, and banging on the door. "Merlin wake up, we need to talk!" he called and immediately the guards recovered from their shock and shoved him back. They were about to fuss at him when the door creaked open, revealing a sleepy looking Merlin, chest bare.
"Arthur?" he asked, his voice rough from lack of use. The guards hastily bowed.
"Sorry Sire but he insisted he needed to talk to you." One of them said, shooting an annoyed look at Arthur, the blond ignored him.
"No, no it's fine," Merlin said, opening the door and motioning Arthur in, as he walked past Arthur had to work not to laugh at Merlin's hair sticking up everywhere. Arthur's guards tried to follow but Merlin motioned for them to stay and closed the door.
"What's this about Arthur? If you decided to kill me after all can it wait for morning? I was having a good dream." He said, a sad smile graced his face when he said the last bit and Arthur couldn't help but wonder about what Merlin was dreaming about, maybe it was Freya. Arthur studied his friend, Merlin was more muscular then he thought he would be, though with everything the man had done it wasn't too surprising now. He found himself staring at the scars and remembering how each one had been received. Merlin seemed to realize that he was shirtless and blushed.
"Sorry." He muttered, grabbing a shirt from the floor and pulling it over his head.
"Is it true?" Arthur asked.
"Is what true?" Merlin asked, confused, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes "Arthur you're being confusing."
"Did you get those scars protecting me?" Arthur asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Merlin stared at him in shock, his jaw practically hanging open.
"I- how?" Merlin stuttered.
"Just answer the question, Merlin." Arthur ordered, taking on the voice he used when he talked to Merlin as his king, to his surprise it worked.
"Yes." Merlin answered and Arthur ran a hand through his hair.
"So, it was all true, you're Emrys." He said, his chest rising and falling quicker and quicker as he tried to catch his breath.
"How- how did you know that?" Merlin asked, taking a step back.
"Oh hells" Arthur cursed, his chest felt like it was beating at a million beats a minute, it was too much, everything was too much, first Merlin was a king, then he had magic and now he was the most powerful sorcerer, warlock he silently corrected himself, to ever walk the earth. He felt his breathing get faster and faster, he couldn't breathe he couldn't focus. He heard a noise in the background but he couldn't quite make it out.
*Merlin POV*
Arthur was having a panic attack, he couldn't be sure how Arthur had found out but he recognized the signs of such an attack.
"Arthur! Arthur!" he yelled, trying to get the blond to snap out of it, but the young king couldn't hear him. Arthur's breathing had become frantic and his hand was clutching his chest, no doubt his heart was racing. Merlin ran over and grabbed Arthur by the shoulders, forcing him to look at him.
"Arthur." He said calmly "You need to calm down." He told him, the blond struggled in his grip but Merlin held on tight, his need to help his friend giving him his strength. "Look at me. LOOK AT ME." Merlin ordered, and, to his relief, Arthur listened, panicked blue eyes going to his calm ones. "Breathe Arthur, slowly." The blond obeyed, taking in a long breath and slowly letting it out, he did this several times and his eyes cleared of panic.
"Thank you." Arthur said, and something in his tone told Merlin that he wasn't just saying about his help during the panic attack.
*Arthur POV*
"Tell me what happened Arthur." Merlin said gently. Arthur began to tell him about his dreams and what had happened in them. The two eventually moved and sat at the small dining table as they spoke. When Arthur was done Merlin sat in a stunned silence.
"The triple goddess." He breathed, "I can't believe you met the triple goddess."
"I can't believe you've saved my life so many times" Arthur retorted, he wouldn't admit it but his pride was a little hurt that he had received so much help, it was almost like none of his achievements were his own, he pushed this down and looked back at Merlin. "Thank you." He said softly. Merlin's eyes filled with tears.
"Thank you, Arthur, thank you." He said and pulled the blond into a hug, Arthur stiffened for a minute before giving in and hugging the man back. The two stayed like that for some time, both silently thinking about the next steps.
"So, what now?" Arthur finally asked, pulling back, and looking at Merlin. Merlin was silent for a minute.
"I need help Arthur, I need help defending my kingdom, my uncle has a powerful army and I have no doubt has things no one is expecting." Merlin said, looking intently into Arthur's eyes.
"You have stood by me through everything Merlin, have saved me and Camelot more times than I can count, it's about time I return the favor. Camelot stands with you."
*Merlin POV*
Arthur and Merlin stood together in the council chambers, Arthur's armor and sword had been returned to him, despite the protests from the council.
"My Lord how do you know we can trust him, just yesterday he was a threat." Lord Malcolm asked, obviously frustrated with the alliance that Merlin had just announced. Before he could defend him, Arthur spoke up.
"Last night the Triple Goddess came to me in a dream, she told me all that Merlin had done for me and exactly what our destiny was." He said, staring at the lord defiantly, daring him to challenge him.
"The Triple Goddess came to you.? He questioned doubtfully. "and why would she do that?" There was obvious contempt in the Lord's tone.
"She came to me to help me accept Merlin and accept magic, she came to me because I need to fulfill my destiny and I- I was being too stubborn." Arthur admitted, it hurt his pride some but if the Goddess had taught him anything it was that he was too stubborn, that sometimes he was wrong and he needed to learn when to step down.
"I still don't trust him." Lord Malcolm said, glaring at the blond.
"Well I do, and should anyone insult him or try to attack him I will take it as a personal insult." He said and met each council members eyes, holding Lord Malcolm's stare for some time until finally the nobleman nodded and looked away.
"Good, now that that's out of the way we need to discuss new battle strategies. If Camelot is joining us in this war then we need to come up with a way for them to be able to fight me Uncle's men and not be destroyed." He said and the council began discussing ways to keep the Camelotians alive on the battlefield.
When the council meeting was over and plans to outfit the Camelotians in magical armor and enchant their capes were underway Arthur pulled Merlin aside.
"Merlin, I need to go back to my men, I didn't come here with just the ones you saw, there are more camped outside the city. If I don't return they will return to Camelot and come back here with an army to destroy you." He said, his brow furrowed in worry. Merlin was silent for a minute as he thought about what Arthur said. He couldn't let Arthur go alone, he didn't want to risk him if he was attacked by bandits or if Arthur's knights thought he was enchanted and didn't let him return. He couldn't go with him because that would just reinforce the idea of enchantment.
"Arthur I'm not letting you go alone it's too dangerous and I can't go with you." He said, voicing his thoughts "But we could send a messenger to get them." He offered and Arthur looked doubtful.
"They may think it's a trap." He said.
"Then send a message that would only come from you." Merlin suggested and Arthur thought about it for a second before grinning and nodding.
"I have just the message." He said, a glint in his eye that worried Merlin.
*Unknown POV*
The man looked behind him, ensuring that no one was following him before disappearing into an abandoned room. In the center of the room stood a scrying bowl. He walked over and chanted the words that activated the bowl. The water swirled before an image rippled into view. An older man stood there, glaring. The man had messy black hair that was quickly being overtaken by grey and a short beard that only had patches of black. An ugly scar ran across his face that twisted and made him look even more malicious as he sneered.
"I see you succeeded in disguising yourself, any trouble in subduing the fool you replaced, does anyone know?" he asked and the man shook his head.
"No, Sire, I have infiltrated the young King's court and no one is the wiser. The man put up a bigger fight than I expected but I managed him, I also bring information. The young Pendragon arrived and has made an alliance with your nephew."
"What?! How did this happen?!" The dark king raged, his face going red with fury. The man backed away from the scrying bowl slightly in fear.
"Apparently, he came to save his knights, thinking they were in danger." The man said, finally walking back to the bowl, and looking at his king in fear. "When he got here he found out the truth and decided to help" the man hesitated slightly and the king narrowed his eyes.
"What is it?" he demanded.
"W-well Sire, he claims to have received a vision from the Triple Goddess that told him he needed to work with your nephew." He reported.
"I highly doubt that," the king said, his voice full of contempt. "Why would the Triple Goddess give a damn about either one of them?" he questioned.
"Apparently your nephew is Emrys and the Pendragon is the Once and Future King." The man reported nervously. The king stared at him for several seconds before bursting out into laughter. The Dark king's laugh was not one that was pleasant to here, instead, it was cruel and grating, sending chills down the man's back.
"That sniveling child is no Emrys, besides that is just a fairy tale the druids tell their young and if my nephew is telling people that he is Emrys then he is a bigger fool than I thought." He replied once his laughter had finally abated. "Do you have any more news or are you just wasting my time?"
"King Arthur arrived with some of his knights though he left them in a clearing outside the city, they are to return to Camelot if he does not return and bring Camelot's army to fight Aria. They are sending a messenger in the morning to tell the knights that Arthur is safe and they should come to the city." The man reported, a wicked gleam in his eye. The dark king smiled, a cruel ugly thing.
"Well then, we best ensure that messenger never gets to them."