xvii.

The sun was mid-sky when Merlin returned from the forest with Arthur's request. Midnight seemed too far away. A supply crisis in the city meant Guinevere was too busy to humor his boredom. People from outlying villages were flooding into the protection of the city walls and putting a strain on space and food stores. Since the city was where all the interest was, Merlin decided to explore it again.

The streets were indeed busier. More bustling, less space, people sleeping on sacks by the side of the cobblestone until vendors kicked them awake and shooed them off. The hectic disorientation was not the interest Merlin was hoping for.

He retreated back to the quieter district close to the castle. It held plenty of distractions of its own. He watched men paint colors to life or carve stone into art. He saw some bending gold around gems, much like the shiny trinkets Guinevere wore about her neck. Women walked the streets together, talking and laughing. Others sat in doorways and wove thread into beautiful patterns.

Music drew him to a large building along the center plaza. He did not particularly care for the noisy music humans enjoyed; he liked the soft music of wind through leaves or birds calling to each other from afar. But it was hard to ignore the jovial sounds coming from the building. No guards stood outside so he opened one door a notch and peered inside.

Despite the sun overhead, the room was filled with candles and torches. By a side wall, a group played all manner of instruments, none of which Merlin could name. Men and women darted around together, taking up the rest of the room. At first Merlin thought they were running in a jumble, but as he watched a pattern emerged. They swirled and twisted and clapped and stomped all in time with each other and the music. They broke apart only to join together again, sometimes in a circle all together, other times in pairs, and they all laughed and shouted with great joy.

He could have stood and watched them for hours. The door shoving into him pulled him from his rapture and he stumbled back. The curious grumbles on the opposite side did not get an answer to their question. Before they could see what they had hit, Merlin flew to the castle.

He startled Gwen when he popped into the study.

"Where did you come from?" Guinevere gasped, hand still at her chest. "Were you invisible?"

Merlin scratched his head and looked out the window. "No I, er…" He did not know how to explain. He was certain even human magic did not let humans fly. "I came through the wall," he said instead. "Physical barriers aren't an obstacle for me."

"That's… helpful." By the look on Gwen's face she didn't know what to make of it.

"What are you doing here?" Merlin asked.

She gestured to the papers on the desk. "Writing orders to be taken to the granary and water distributors. We must ration our supply so we do not run out within the week. Is there something you need help with? I need to finish this quickly."

"No, sorry. I did not know you'd be in here." He started to leave, but paused and turned back. "Before I go, can you tell me what this is?" He followed the steps as he remembered them, around in a small circle in the center of the room. Guinevere watched with furrowed brow. "Except with music and more people," Merlin explained when he finished.

"Do you mean… dancing?" Gwen asked, unable to stop her laugh. "You don't know what dancing is?"

"Is it common?"

"Yes…" Guinevere stood, eyes narrow and her humor gone. "Where are you from, Merlin?"

"What?" Merlin asked, smiling innocently. "What do you mean?"

"What kingdom… what town?"

"I… never lived in a town." He shrugged. "Just… in the woods. I have no need to depend on society."

"I suppose that explains it," Guinevere sighed. "What a sad childhood you must have had. Even serfs celebrate and dance."

He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck and staring to the side. He didn't dare say anything more, least of all the fact that he had had no childhood.

"Well, I suppose it is my turn to teach you after all you have done for me. I will show you how to dance after supper, in the great hall. I should have time."

The cook had improved in making Merlin's supper—which was just to say he no longer lived off fruit alone. Boiled or roasted vegetables were added to his meal, and a goblet of mead. He lounged on the stone windowsill, one leg dangling down as he munched on roasted parsnip and looked out over the gardens. He did not have one of those candles he saw in the castle, with drawn lines to indicate passing hours. But he had grown skilled at judging the hour, as time seemed greatly important to humans. Still, he had to be careful not to get carried away with Guinevere and miss his meeting with Arthur.

When he was finished eating he had to assume Gwen was done as well and found his way to the great hall. It was where festivities had been held just several days ago, when the castle brimmed with knights and nobles. Now its emptiness echoed in Merlin's ears as he stood inside. He poked around, but any remnants of the party had been cleaned and it was just a gaping empty room.

Gwen's arrival livened his spirits, especially as she wore a dress more beautiful than he had ever seen. Its deep yellow contrasted with her dark skin, bringing out the smattering of freckles across her nose. White and pink flowers embroidered the purple belt around her waist and her pinned back hair still struggled against its restraints, stubborn curls bouncing against her neck and forehead as she walked. Merlin forgot to breathe until she spoke.

"Okay," Guinevere announced, holding up her hand. "I did not want to call for a minstrel, so we will have to make our own music, but I will teach you the steps first." Merlin nodded, staring at her raised hand. Gwen laughed and reached down to grab his own, pulling it up with hers. "Like this. Now lift your feet high."

Merlin followed as she stepped back and pulled him forward. Forward, forward, back. Left, left, back. Merlin let her pull and push him along as he mirrored her movements. When he knew the first part well enough to do it without any prompting, she moved to the next.

Around and around they went, stepping and hopping and twirling. Merlin would have never guessed a human custom could be so fun.

"You're a better dancer than Arthur," Guinevere said, breathless as they went through the movements he had just learned.

Merlin grinned. "Really?"

"Well," Guinevere laughed. "He isn't clumsy like some, but he dances so rigidly."

"And how do I dance?" Merlin leaned closer, wiggling his eyebrows until Gwen pushed him away laughing. The two stopped, standing together in the large hall.

"Don't make me change my mind," she teased, then smiled down at the floor. "You dance fluidly. I imagine it would be beautiful to watch you from afar."

"Of the two of us, I am not the one bringing beauty to this occasion," Merlin said. Guinevere blinked up at him in surprise, then huffed a laugh and brushed a stray curl behind her ear. It popped back into place as soon as she let it go. "Thank you."

Merlin grinned, tucking the strand back more firmly for her. "Do not thank me for speaking the truth," he said. "Shall we dance with music?"

She stepped away from him, not meeting his gaze. "No, I think this is good for tonight," she said steadily. The control of it betrayed the agitation she was hiding.

Merlin tilted his head. "What's wrong?" He reached for her elbow but she pushed him away.

"I love my husband," she said, the resolute note to her voice sounding defiant, though Merlin did not know what she was defying.

"I know," he said, astonished that she thought he didn't. She turned a look to him that was both severe and confused.

"Good night, Merlin." She walked around him to go out the door. He watched her leave, dumbfounded. Then he stood in the hall until a servant came to extinguish the torches that lit it.

Arthur walked through the encampment, surveying his men as they set up. It was a pointless job, as the captains kept their men orderly. Arthur mostly acted as intimidation to remain in line or inspiration to keep their spirits up.

He saw Leon sprinting towards him before he heard the man calling. He strode over to meet him in the middle.

"Sire," he huffed once he reached Arthur, giving a quick bow. "I bring news."

Arthur needed no further information to know this was not for prying ears. He pulled Leon away from the soldiers and brought him to his own tent.

Leon did not wait for the king to address him before he started. "One of my scouts returned. He saw two hundred soldiers marching south, five leagues to the west." Arthur grit his teeth. He had hoped he was wrong, but he was not surprised. Gareth was sending infantry to catch them from behind on the battlefield. "Except—" Leon's voice caught and he stared uneasily at the tent wall.

Leon hesitated to continue, and Arthur had to withhold a sigh. His constable was the best in the kingdom, but his tendency for reluctance was a fault that tested Arthur's patience. "What is it?" he coaxed.

Leon met his eye, almost pained in doing so. "He said they were not men… they were… dead men. Walking."

Arthur's eyes widened even as his brow fell. Gareth using the dead against them was not a surprise either, but two hundred? He only had fifty-nine of Arthur's men, and he hadn't heard anything from other kingdoms of lost soldiers.

"And the other scout?" he asked.

"He has not returned," Leon replied solemnly. Arthur could hear that Leon did not expect him to.

So the east was inconclusive, but Arthur had to assume it was another two hundred dead soldiers marching to capture them in the rear. A scout of Leon's would not succumb to anything less than enemy assault. Four hundred behind and eight hundred ahead. Against his and King Nicholas's collective nine hundred, none of which were backed by magic or fortunate enough to be unbothered by a sword through the stomach. He could not let Leon see his shaken confidence.

"We must change strategies." Arthur unrolled the map over his makeshift table. "We cannot wait to catch up with Nicholas so it will have to be without his counsel. In any case, it may be better he continue as normal. There is still a chance Gareth does not know we know."

After formulating a strategy, Leon left to continue overseeing the men. Arthur stood over the map without seeing it. Even with their newly-formed plan, Arthur could not imagine the battle resulting in anything less than massive casualties. But at the very least they could make a dent in Gareth's men, too.

He had forgotten entirely about his message to Merlin. When a dark head of hair peered over his shoulder he whipped around, dagger brandished on instinct. Merlin stepped back, looking amused and not at all concerned to have almost lost a nose to Arthur's blade.

"Oh, you."

"Don't sound so excited to see me," Merlin quipped.

Arthur sighed, but a moment later his expression brightened. "Actually, I have a use for you."

"Did you not have one when you asked for me?" Merlin's smirk brought Arthur's scowl back. Worse than Merlin's taunt was the fact that it was true. He had not.

"Gareth has an army of dead soldiers, like Gw… like Gwaine was." He cleared his throat. "There must be some way to oppose the magic and return them to the state God intended."

"Your god has nothing to do with that state or any other." Merlin rolled his eyes. "Neither do I, for that matter. Even were I willing to do blood magic to undo the spell on them, I could not do it for sixty men."

"Four hundred," Arthur muttered.

"What?" Merlin stared wide-eyed at Arthur. "Surely not."

"Well, two hundred confirmed, but I expect another two hundred more."

"No… that is impossible. I thought you only lost sixty men to him."

"I did. He must have—"

"Arthur, you cannot fight."

Arthur stopped, his lip curling from the utter indignation of such a sentence. "I can fight, Merlin, and I will."

"Then you will die!"

Arthur could not withstand Merlin's deep blue eyes digging into him. He looked away. "That may be. But I will die fighting for my kingdom and my men."

"Arthur—no. You can't… you are mad if you try to fight. Even with all your men against four hundred living corpses, they will all die. Turn everyone back. Return to Camelot."

"And leave Nicholas to be overtaken? Allow Gareth to move unencumbered into my kingdom and others and wreak destruction upon them? No, Merlin, you are mad if you think I will cowardly turn away from my duty as king to protect my land and people."

"But when you all die your land will be unprotected anyway!"

"Yes but Gareth will have less soldiers."

"He will just re-animate them!"

"I've already had Leon tell the men to behead all enemies."

Merlin shook his head. "Fine, but I will not stand by and let you ride into your death."

"You have no choice."

"Oh yes I do." Merlin stepped forward, reaching out. Arthur had flown with him enough to recognize the motion. With a quick arc of his dagger he cut a line over Merlin's hand. The fairy hissed, pulling it back. "You cut me!"

"I will do worse to you if you try to kidnap me," Arthur growled, his glare sharper than his knife. "Do not believe I hold your life above my men's. I will not abandon them, even if leading them means certain death."

"You would kill me?" Merlin said through grit teeth, holding his hand. "You would kill me so that I could not stop you from dying?"

"Yes."

Arthur's unflinching response drew Merlin back. He looked the king over in his shiny armor and fierce expression. His eyebrows fell again.

"Go and die, then, if that is your wish. I won't mourn your futile sacrifice, but I loathe to watch the anguish you leave on your wife." He vanished.

Arthur looked around the tent, then lowered his dagger and stood in the silence. It was low of Merlin to bring up Guinevere, but he was a fool to think it would stop Arthur. As though he had not already considered it a hundred times over.

He walked deep into the forest and chucked the anchor as hard as he could into the bush before returning to camp to brief the lords on their change of action.

If anyone is interested I have a blog for this story now:

Mainly because I was really bored one day, huzzah! Right now it's mostly other people's Merlin fanart because everyone is just so DANG talented. But I plan to post chapter previews on the blog before they are finished and posted here (because I take so long now to write them, I'm sorry) and maybe some hijinks or other fun stuff that you don't see in the curated chapters I post to .