"Merlin!"
"Yes, Sire?" Merlin said, coming into Arthur's chambers to see the prince standing up.
"Are you deaf?"
Another crash came from below the castle and Merlin flinched. "I wish."
"I want you to go down there and tell them to stop."
"But they're working under the King's orders."
"Then do something about this racket!"
Merlin considered the room then whispered, "Oþswíge."
The room went silent.
Arthur flopped down in his bed. "I'm too tired to be angry about that."
"You're welcome," Merlin sniped back. He considered returning to his trek up to his room, but decided on sleeping in Arthur's servant's quarters instead. He laid down on the bed there, thankful he kept the sheets clean for cases like this. He was just about to use the silencing spell on the room when the sounds stopped. Sighing, he drifted off.
BONG! BONG! BONG!
Merlin jerked up in bed with a gasp.
He glanced out the window then raced into Arthur's room.
"Arthur!"
"Sh'up, Mer'n!" he groaned, rolling over.
"The warning bell's going off." He ran over to the wardrobe and pulled a shirt and jacket out for the prince to put on.
"I don't hear…" He pushed himself up with a glare. "You're an idiot."
"You wanted silence," Merlin joked, tossing the shirt at him.
Once the prince was fully dressed and armed, they made their way out of his chambers and met a guard halfway to the council chambers
"Trouble in the tunnels, Sire. The miners are all scared out of their wits. No one can get a clear word out of the ones that know anything and the rest are scared of whatever might have scared them."
"That explains the silence," Arthur muttered and Merlin coughed to cover a laugh.
"The king wants you to investigate."
Arthur nodded. "Find Sirs Leon and Cador and have them meet me at the tunnels."
The guard nodded and rushed off.
When the four were gathered at the entrance to the tunnels, Arthur led them in. However, they only went a short way before they reached a fork. Arthur directed the two knights to the left then he and Merlin went to the right. They crept down the tunnel until they found an opening which led to a room filled with gold and jewels.
"Amazing," Arthur said, moving his torch around to see the treasure better.
"Arthur," Merlin called when he spotted a man kneeling next to a sarcophagus. He reached out to touch his shoulder and the man collapsed. Merlin jerked backward at the sight.
The man's face was contorted into a scream while his flesh was white with thick black veins showing through.
"What happened to him?" Arthur asked, coming closer.
The world slowed down as Merlin spotted a tile sinking under Arthur's weight and an arrow came flying out of the mouth of a raven statue. Merlin grabbed a gilded plate with his magic and brought it up to deflect the arrow.
Time continued and Arthur jerked back from the dented plate. He frowned and grabbed the plate. "Should have known a treasure like this would be booby-trapped."
"You're welcome," Merlin hummed and Arthur swatted his shoulder with the plate.
"You didn't answer my question."
"Likely what would have happened to you if I hadn't stopped that arrow."
"Sire!"
They turned as Leon and Cador came into the tomb.
"Careful," Arthur said. "Traps have been set to deter grave robbers."
"Can't imagine why?" Cador snorted, looking around.
"This must have been what scared the miners," Leon said, coming to Merlin's side to see the corpse. "Our way was clear."
"Certainly looks ghastly enough to scare the faint-hearted," Arthur said. "You two can head back to your beds. Leon, would you mind sending for my father and Gaius before you do?"
Both knights bowed and Leon said, "Of course, Sire," before they both took their leave.
Arthur relaxed as the boar that had been charging at him only a second before collapsed dead at his feet. He turned and his eyes met Merlin's.
"Good job, men. Let's get this back to Camelot. Pork all around."
As the servants came forward to prepare the boar for travel, Arthur went over to clap Merlin's shoulder. "Don't just stand around, Merlin," he said before whispering, "That almost makes up for the saddle."
"Prat," Merlin huffed back, knocking their shoulders together as he went to help.
"Is that lunch?" Arthur asked as Merlin carried in a tray of food.
"No, its breakfast."
Arthur was pointing down at the plate he was already eating from when the doors opened to admit Gwen and Morgana. Morgana sat down across from him with a smile.
"I don't remember inviting you to breakfast," he said as Merlin started gracefully setting out her breakfast. "And you're never this good when you serve me breakfast."
"That's because she's nicer to me," Merlin said then used the empty tray to shield himself from a flying roll.
"And here I'd thought you'd outgrown playing with your food," Morgana said, grabbing a strawberry off his plate.
Arthur countered by stealing her roll since his had gone missing. "What are you doing here?"
"I had a nightmare last night."
Arthur frowned. "Are you sure it wasn't just a normal nightmare?"
Morgana glared at him then turned to where Gwen was standing behind her and patted the chair next to her. "Come join us. We can't eat all this on our own. You too, Merlin."
Gwen sheepishly slipped into the chair while Merlin, who'd been making the bed, shook his head. "You might not be able to, but Arthur can."
"Don't you have better things to do, like muck out my horses?"
"Leave him alone, Arthur," Morgana huffed, pushing more bread and grapes onto the plate Gwen was using despite the girl's refusals. "We need to talk about my nightmare."
"Fine. What did you see?"
"The castles gargoyles. And a bird."
"That's all?" Arthur said, unimpressed.
"What kind of bird?" Merlin asked, coming over.
"A raven."
"A raven?"
"It was terrifying. What do you think it means?"
Arthur opened his mouth to say it sounded like Morgana needed to spend less time around the aviary, but then Merlin dropped into the chair next to him looking nervous.
"Last night Gaius told me the tomb the miners found belonged to Cornelius Sigan."
"Sigan?" Morgana said. "Why does that sound familiar?"
"He was an arrogant sorcerer of old. He thought himself more powerful than all, including the noble families of Camelot and tried to take over the kingdom, but he was defeated by its armies and the king had him killed," Arthur said. The others turned to him and he shrugged. "Father used to tell me the story at bedtime. Said it showed that even the mightiest of magic would fall to Camelot's might."
"Gaius told me something similar," Merlin said. "He also said Sigan was said to be the most powerful sorcerer to ever live and that he sought a way to defeat death so his power and wealth wouldn't die with him."
"Clearly he failed since he's dead," Arthur snorted.
"What does this have to do with my dream?" Morgana asked and the prince frowned.
"The tomb's covered in ravens," he said and Merlin nodded.
"Gaius thinks the tomb might be cursed or something since Sigan vowed to return. I think he tried to tell Uther to seal the tomb back up, but if he did, he obviously didn't listen."
"You think my dreams mean that this Sigan might actually return somehow?" Morgan asked.
"It wouldn't be the first time we've dealt with the undead," Merlin whispered just loud enough for Arthur to hear. Louder, he said, "I don't know."
"We can at least keep an eye on it," Gwen offered.
"Father put me in charge of guarding it. No one will be getting near it, so the problem's solved."
Morgana hummed disbelievingly and they finished their meal. Gwen collected the dishes, shooing off Merlin when he tried to help and the two left.
"You could try to take this seriously," Merlin said.
"She had a dream about a bird, Merlin. Forgive me if I don't think that's world-shattering."
"Last time she had a dream, you nearly died," Merlin pointed out.
Arthur scowled. Maybe he should increase the security on the tomb. He'd have to go meet with the Captain of the Gaurd. He couldn't let Merlin think he'd won, though. "Didn't I tell you to muck out my horses?"
Arthur jumped out of the way as a pair of horses rushed past, his eyes widening as he recognized Llamrei among them. He sent the Captain of the Gaurd on his way and told a few nearby guards to track down the horses then rushed to the stables.
He scowled when he found Merlin asleep on the ground, though it turned into a frown when he saw his head lying in dung.
Merlin was stupid, but not that stupid.
He knelt next to the warlock as he slowly woke up.
"Arthur!"
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing," he said, standing up.
"I can see that."
"I wasn't sleeping. I was… I was just bending down."
"Looking for something."
"Yes."
"Perhaps we're looking for the same thing," Arthur said, standing as well.
"What?"
"Oh, I don't know, the horses!"
"The hor…ses. Oh!" Merlin said, looking around in a daze.
"One mistake I can understand. Everyone has a bad day now and then, but this is one thing after another!"
"I do-I don't know what happened!"
Merlin looked so shaken that Arthur shook his head. He pinched the bridge of his nose and his eyes trailed to the dung clinging to Merlin's face. Annoyance turned to worry. "Look, clearly you're tired."
"I am not!"
"It's understandable what with… everything," he said, realizing how public the stables were at the last second. "Maybe you should have the evening off."
"I don't want the evening off."
"Of course you do. You're always begging for time off."
"Not when there's danger."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "There's no danger. You need a good night's rest."
"I did not fall asleep!"
"Merlin."
"Arthur," the warlock said, mimicking Arthur's tone.
"Go home."
"No."
"That's an order."
"I'm not leaving your side right now," he hissed quietly. "There's danger coming, and if you weren't such a clotpole. you'd see that!"
"A what?" Arthur said, taken aback.
"A clotpole."
"Go home, Merlin."
"But -"
"Go."
Merlin glared at him and marched out.
Arthur shook his head. Honestly, between this and the loose girth, it was obvious Merlin was exhausted. Which was fair. Between his actual servant duties, his magical duties, and apprenticing under Gaius, Merlin practically had three jobs.
Maybe he should consider getting someone to help Merlin with his actual job to give him more time for the other two.
"Sire."
Arthur turned to see the man from the day before leading Hengroen into the stables. As per usual, the stallion was putting up a fuss about anyone other than Merlin leading him about.
Arthur was pretty sure Merlin used magic on the stallion, even Arthur couldn't keep him as calm as Merlin could. Then again, Merlin could keep pretty much any animal calm. It definitely had to be a magic thing. Or a Merlin thing? Were those two even all that dissimilar by this point?
Arthur stepped forward and took the reigns when Hengroen nearly took out the man's knee. He tied up the horse and looked him over, glad to see he looked unharmed from his dash through the market. "Thank you. I know Hengroen can be a handful. I surprised you managed to catch him at all," he said to the man.
"It is fine. When I saw the horses getting loose, I knew I had to do something. I didn't realize they were yours. I wish I could have grabbed more of them."
Arthur hummed and turned to him, spotting the dirt and hay that covered him. "You must be rewarded."
"No, I couldn't possibly."
"Come on. What do you wish for?"
"I desire only one thing, Sire."
"Don't be shy."
"A position in the royal household."
Arthur frowned and looked him over again. "There are no positions open right now, but I am in need of a servant for the night."
"Even a night serving you would be more than enough, Sire."
And maybe if it worked out, he could hire him on to lighten Merlin's load.
"Here," Gaius said as he started cleaning Merlin's face with a wet rag.
"I'm not an idiot."
"What happened?"
"I just want Arthur to trust me. And to respect me."
"One day he will," Gaius said. A year ago he would have been surprised by his words, but he knew they were true. Arthur had changed so much since Merlin had started to work for him, all for the better. Merlin had too. Less skittish, but he had also grown closer to the prince and more readily sought his approval.
"When? Everything I do is for him and he just thinks I'm an idiot."
"Not everyone thinks you're an idiot."
True, the boy could be a bit oblivious sometimes, but he learned quickly. Gaius knew he would be leaving the job of court physician in safe hands when he eventually retired. Give it a decade, maybe even less, and he knew his boy would surpass him.
"Although, looking at you now…" he teased scrubbing at a stubborn spot. Merlin looked up at him and they both laughed. Gaius sat in front of him so he could meet his eyes. "The connection you share with Arthur is strange, but strong. Arthur cares for you, Merlin, and I think you know that. He just doesn't know how to show it due to your positions. One day he will come around."
"It's hard."
"I know it's hard, but you must give it time." He patted his nephew's knee and grew serious. "Until then, there are other things to consider. Camelot is in grave peril. I've translated the inscription. He who breaks my heart completes my work. "
"What does it mean?"
"Do you remember the stone in the tomb, how it glowed?"
"Arthur Pendragon, you insensitive pig!"
"Cedric, can you go fetch my dinner?" Arthur sighed, ignoring the woman who'd just slammed open his door.
"Of course, Sire." The man bowed and left.
"I should have known Merlin would go crying to you."
"For your information, he didn't say anything to me. I heard the maids whispering over it. How could you send him off like that!?"
"I gave him the night off. Aren't you the one always saying I work him too -"
"And then you hire that obnoxious bootlicker to fill his place!"
"I hired him for the night as a reward for bringing Hengroen in. You know no one but Merlin could have managed that. It's just for the ni-"
"How do you think that looks to Merlin! That you would just replace him!"
"Morgana!" he shouted. Once she was focused on him, he said, "Merlin fell asleep while working. He's not in trouble, but he clearly needed the night off. He's exhausted. I brought Cedric in to see how he does because he might be able to lighten Merlin's load. I am not firing Merlin."
"Does he know that?"
"Of course he does."
"Did you actually tell him that or are you doing that stupid thing where you act nasty while doing nice things because you're incompetent with emotions and you just assume everyone understands what you're trying to say?"
He scowled at her.
"That's what I thought."
"Get out."
"Talk to Merlin before he does the smart thing and leaves," she said before walking out the door.
Arthur rolled his eyes. Merlin knew Arthur wouldn't just replace him like that.
"Arthur, we've got a problem," Merlin said, coming into Arthur's chambers.
"What now?"
"The jewel on Sigan's tomb, it's enchanted. Or it was."
"Is this about Morgana's dream again?"
Merlin shook his head. "Gaius told me last night. I was going to tell you when I woke you up, but -" He waved his hand. "Gaius said the jewel held Sigan's soul, and when the jewel was removed from the setting, the soul was released. Gaius found the jewel on the ground, but it's nothing but clear crystal now. Whoever the thief was, they must be possed by the soul now."
"Merlin, you realize how insane that sounds?"
"As insane as your uncle coming back to life to fight your father or a creature that's half-bird, half-lion?"
"Alright, fair enough. But that doesn't help us find the thief."
"I know. Gaius asked about that. The gate wasn't damaged so they must have used a key, but you've got the only one and no one could have gotten to it. You only take it off at night and no one was in last night."
Arthur frowned and stood up. "Cedric!"
"That bootlicker from the hunt? What does he have to do with anything?"
Arthur froze. Merlin didn't know?
"Arthur?"
"I… had Cedric serve me last night since you had the night off." At Merlin's glare, he added, "As a reward. Cedric caught Hengroen before he could run too far and brought him in."
"He caught - Arthur, Hengroen hates everyone! He wouldn't have let a stranger within five feet of his reigns while loose without caving his head in!"
"Well, he did! How else do you explain him walking in with Hengroen!? Unless -" Arthur was an idiot. He pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Unless?" Merlin said and Arthur glared at him. "Oh, did you mean unless he'd been the one to untie the horses and had kept hold of Hengroen's reigns the entire time?"
"I'm going to send you to the stocks when this is over," Arthur growled before calling for the guards so he could tell them who they needed to be looking for.
"Please tell me you have something," Arthur said when Merlin and Guinevere came running.
"No, there's nothing in the books. I risked asking Gaius, but he said the magic's old. Far older than any living human," Merlin said.
"Sigan's begun his attack, we need to do something."
"I'll find him."
"Merlin, Gaius said Sigan is the most powerful sorcerer to ever live! You can't fight him," Guinevere said, grabbing his arm.
"I don't have a choice. I'm the only one that stands a chance."
"Don't be a fool, Merlin," Arthur said, shoving him back. "There must be something."
"We've looked everywhere. There's nothing."
Nothing in the books. Nothing in human memory.
Human.
"Not everywhere," Arthur said. "There's still one place we can go for answers."
Both looked at him with confusion that quickly turned to anger. "No."
"We have no choice. Merlin, with me. Guinevere, you need to find Morgana before she misses you."
"I'll go. Your father will wonder where you are," Merlin said as Guinevere hesitantly left them.
"I'll tell him I was in the lower town or something. I'm not sending you to him alone." He ran off before Merlin could object, leaving the warlock to hurry after him.
"Dragon!" Arthur called when they reached the cave.
The beast landed before them, looking angry. "You told me I would not see you again," he growled at Merlin.
"We're not here for me. We're here for Camelot."
"Camelot's path lies with yours. You have made it clear that you do not walk in step with me."
"You cannot want Cornelius Sigan to win. You're not evil."
"At least Sigan knows where his loyalties lie. You have shown that you do not."
"If anyone has shown that, it's you," Arthur spat.
"Careful, young prince," the dragon snarled, turning to him.
"You would let Camelot fall!"
"I did not say that."
"Then you will help?" Merlin pleaded.
"To defeat Sigan, you will need a spell more powerful than anything you know."
"Please, I have to try."
"Very well. But you must give me something in return."
"What?" Arthur said, holding a hand in front of Merlin.
"A promise," the dragon said, turning his attention to the prince.
"A promise?"
"That one day you will free me."
"If we release you, what will you do?" Merin asked.
"That is not your concern."
"It bloody hell is!" Arthur snapped while Merlin shouted, "I don't trust you!"
"Nevertheless, you must promise, or Camelot will fall."
The two shared a look and Arthur directed Merlin into the stairwell.
"We can't trust him," they said at the same time and Merlin chuckled nervously.
"He's right, though. We don't have a choice," Arthur said, glancing into the cover to see dust raining down as the castle shook above them.
"We can find another way," Merlin said, but Arthur could hear the doubt in his voice.
He shook his head and Merlin nodded. They went back into the cavern.
"We promise. Now, please, give me the spell."
"Close your eyes and open your mind," the dragon said, rising. When Merlin did so, it breathed out a golden mist.
Arthur drew his sword, but hesitated when Merlin seemed unharmed.
"Merlin?"
"I'm alright," the warlock answered. He opened his eyes and Arthur saw his eyes glowing for just a moment.
"Few men have ever been gifted such knowledge," the dragon said. "Use it wisely."
"I will," Merlin said before leaving.
"You made a promise, young prince," the dragon said before Arthur could follow. "And one day I shall keep you to it."
Arthur sent him a glare and left. "What happened?"
"It was like when the druids showed me how to get to the Isle of the Blessed, but more powerful," Merlin whispered. "Then it was just knowledge. I knew how to get there, but that was it. This time, it was knowledge, but also experience. I-I felt the spell being passed into me. If that makes any sense."
It didn't. "So what is it?"
Merlin frowned. "The shard of Sigan's soul, it's called a Horcrux. It can be destroyed, but only by the most powerful of dark magics. There's another way though. I can place it back into a container, like the jewel."
"Do that then. Gather what you need, I'll go help hold the beasts off until you're ready."
Merlin grabbed his arm. "No, it's too dangerous."
"Then you better hurry." He tore his arm free and rushed off. He couldn't sit back any longer.
Merlin fidgeted under Gwen and Arthur's glares. "I -"
"I think the stocks would do him some good."
"What?"
"You're right, Guinevere. That sounds like a brilliant idea."
"You can't put me in the stocks!"
"I'm the prince, I can do whatever I want."
"I just saved Camelot!"
"And nearly got yourself possessed in the process."
"I had it perfectly under control!"
The two gave him unimpressed scowls.