Lancelot and Guinevere pt. 5

Hello, hope you are having a good day.

Over the next few days, Merlin and Morgana recovered, but the bracelets they wore only made it harder. One morning, Merlin was looking at the one of Morgana's hand. Hunith came over and helped him sit up.

"You must drink this if you hope to recover." Hunith whispered Merlin did as he was told. "What is wrong, my son?"

"These bracelets. They are familiar." Merlin replied. Hunith looked at them.

"I have seen these before as well. If used correctly, they can cause good. Your soul and Morgana's are forever linked but through these you will know when the other is in pain. All you must do is change the enchantment. Is these who did this dead?"

"I think so."

"You can break the curse. You will never be able to take this off but…"

"But at least neither of us will be screaming in pain and maybe we can be miles apart if need be."

"Exactly."

Merlin closed his eyes and focused on the bracelets. He could feel the curse that radiated off of them. He whispered a spell and felt as the curse was lifted off of it. He gasped as he felt the pain that clawed at his flee. He relaxed and opened his eyes.

"It's gone." Merlin gasped.

"Good. How do you feel?" Hunith replied.

"Free. Like a burden has been lifted off of my shoulders."

Morgana moaned and opened her eyes. She looked up at Merlin and smiled.

"Is it broken?" Morgana wondered.

"Yes, the curse is broken." Merlin answered. The two chuckled and pressed their foreheads together.

"You two need to eat. You'll never recover if you don't keep up your strength." Hunith warned.

"Yes, ma'am."

Merlin and Morgana started to recover faster. Arthur and Gwen took the time they had to be together. One evening they were walking in the sunlight when Arthur stopped and starred at Gwen.

"What is it?" Gwen wondered.

"I just keep forgetting how beautiful you are." Arthur answered. Gwen blushed and looked away, but Arthur lifted her chin so that she was looking into his eyes. Gwen could see the love he had for her and she knew that she wanted to love him back. They kissed passionately. When they pulled away, they continued to walk and talk. Leon helped the men work in the field.

In Camelot a week had passed, and the tension was much worse.

"Sire, they are no where to be found. They must be in another kingdom." The knight stated.

"Then you will find them." Uther hissed.

"But we will die, and your kingdom will be weak. If the other kings find out, they will surely attack and if they do, we will have to remain so that we can defend your kingdom."

"You are fight. Send out the weakest knights."

"Sire?"

"DO it. Send out our new recruits. They will find Arthur."

"Sire, it's suicide."

"DO it now or it will be your head on the block."

"Yes, sire."

The knight left the room.

"Sire, you cannot be serious about this. You are sending mere boys into danger." Gaius warned.

"Better them than the experienced ones. The boys are unable to protect this kingdom." Uther answered. "They will find Arthur."

"My lord."

Gaius went to his chambers. He saw a raven and he went to it. He wrote a letter and sent it out the window.

The next day, Hunith woke to the raven crowing. She went to it and found the letter on it's leg. She opened it.

Uther is sending boys into every kingdom to find Arthur. You must flee. Gaius wrote. Hunith grabbed what she could and started packing. She woke Arthur and the others.

"Hurry, we must leave while it is still dark. Uther is sending his men to find us. We must go deeper into the kingdom." Hunith explained. Merlin and Morgana watched as everyone got everything ready. Merlin groaned as he tried to get up and walk. "Merlin, you need to lie down. You are not in any state to walk."

"I must. I can rest later." Merlin answered as he got ready. He sat next to Morgana and helped her get dressed. "Are you ready?"

"I think so." Morgana groaned. Merlin helped Morgana to her feet. Morgana cried painfully but was able to walk. An hour later, they fled deeper into the kingdom. Merlin and Morgana helped each other walk. They walked the whole day. When it was almost night, they stopped.

"We need to find a cave to rest in." Arthur said.

"There's one ahead. We can rest there. Morgana and I can make it." Merlin panted. Arthur nodded. They walked to the cave. They got to the entrance when they heard twigs snap around them.

"Who's there?"

"Who are you? Why are you here?" The voice hissed. Hunith gasped and pulled off her hood.

"Balinor? Is it you?" Hunith wondered. The man came out of the shadows and Hunith smiled at him.

"Hunith? What are you doing here?"

Hunith ran to Balinor and they embraced and kissed each other. Hunith brought Balinor over to Merlin.

"Balinor, meet your son, Merlin. Merlin, this is your father." Hunith said.

"My son?" Balinor questioned.

"I found out that I was with child after you left."

"Why did you never tell me about my father?" Merlin asked.

"Because your father is a dragon lord. If anyone found out that you were his son, they would kill you." Hunith explained.

"You should have told me. I had a right to know."

"I know, and I was going to tell you, but it never seemed like the right time."

"We can talk about this later. Right now, we need to rest. Morgana isn't going to be able to keep going."

"Come inside." Balinor suggested. They went inside and got settled. Merlin helped Morgana sit down. He sat down next to her.

"Are you alright?" Merlin wondered. Morgana nodded.

"Just a little cold." Morgana replied. Merlin grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around Morgana's shoulders. Merlin kissed Morgana's forehead and pulled her head onto his shoulder.

"Try to sleep."

Morgana did as she was told. When their bed was ready, Merlin woke Morgana and helped her lie down on the cot. He laid down next to her and covered them up. They ate dinner and fell asleep. The others sat around the fire and talked.

"What has happened to them?" Balinor asked.

"Hengist." Arthur answered.

"Hengist? And they are still sane?"

"I know. They are stronger than we all thought. They got better daily in Ealdor, but they are still very weak. They shouldn't be walking. Merlin's legs are broken, and Morgana doesn't have the strength to walk."

"But they walked for miles today."

"Yeah."

Merlin was almost asleep when Morgana rolled over to face him.

"What do you think about your father?" Morgana asked. Merlin sighed and opened his eyes.

"I don't know. I guess we'll have to see tomorrow." Merlin answered.

"Are you mad?"

"Who wouldn't be? I mean, I understand why mother never told but it would have been nice to know."

"I guess you're right."

"Let's try to sleep."

"What if you found out that you were going to be a father? How would you react?"

"I'd be happy. Why do you ask? Are you pregnant?"

"No. I was just wondering."

"It would be nice."

"What would?"

"If you were pregnant."

Morgana blushed, and Merlin kissed her left cheek. Then he moved down to her neck. Morgana gasped and wrapped her arms around Merlin's neck and pulled him closer.

"We should do this." Morgana rasped.

"They can't see us. The curtain is thick. They won't hear us or see us." Merlin answered.

"We both need to rest."

"And we will."

"I love you."

"I love you more."

The next morning, Merlin woke up and saw Morgana sleeping next to him. He kissed her bare back and smiled when Morgana moaned and opened her eyes.

"Good morning, Morgana." Merlin whispered as he rubbed Morgana's back. Morgana rolled over to face him. They kissed passionately.

"We should get dressed." Morgana answered.

"No one's up yet."

"But they will be."

"They won't come in."

"You'd better hope not."

They kissed again. An hour later, they heard people talking.

"Now, we can get dressed." Merlin whispered as he sat up. He helped Morgana sit up enough so that he could help her get dressed. When they were dressed, Merlin opened the curtain. He saw his parents look at him. He lowered his head and went to the fire. Hunith handed his two bowls.

"Here, we'll be leaving soon. Your father will be coming with us." Hunith said. Merlin didn't answer. He took the bowls and went back to Morgana. Balinor went to Hunith and pulled her close.

"He'll come around. You'll see. He just needs time to think things through. We all do." Balinor sighed.

"I know. Maybe I should have told him sooner."

"You were never able to find a good time. It's alright."

Merlin helped Morgana eat her breakfast.

"You should have been hard on your mother. She had to raise you alone." Morgana said. "Who knows what she's been through."

"Yeah, well, I went through hard times too. I was a bastard child in my village. I was nothing and never would mean anything to anyone. When people saw me, they would spit in my face. They spared my mother from misery but not me." Merlin explained.

"They didn't do that when we were in Ealdor."

"That's because Arthur was there. They were more afraid of being whipped for their crimes."

"I think your mother dealt with a lot of that too. You just didn't see it because they did it behind your back, but your mother watched you suffer and she suffered inside because of it."

"I just… I don't want to talk about anymore. I can't."

Morgana squeezed Merlin's hand and smiled at him sadly. They finished eating and packed their things.

"I think I'm going to go outside and get some fresh air." Merlin sighed.

"Ok. Just be careful." Morgana answered. The two kissed and Merlin went outside. He found a large stone and sat down. He thought about everything that had happened. Then he heard noises coming from the cave. He turned around and saw Balinor sitting down next to him.

"I was a good friend of Gaius'. When the Great Purge started, I was tricked by Uther. He said he wanted to make peace with the dragons, but instead he imprisoned the last one. Then Uther started killing my family and all the other dragon lords. Gaius helped me escape. I fled to Ealdor and met your mother. We fell in love and you were conceived. Before we could get married and before she even knew that she was pregnant with you, Uther found out where I was. I was forced to flee. No one knew that I had even been in Ealdor, so when your mother had you, she was looked down upon by everyone, but as you grew their anger turned towards you. I am sorry for the pain that you went through Merlin. I wish I could have been there to help you, but it would never had worked." Balinor explained.

"As a child, they tried to starve me of food. They had plenty of food while Mother and I had almost nothing. It didn't stop to old man Simmons died. When Matthew started to lead our village, things were better." Merlin replied.

"Matthew is a good man."

"He was. He died when Kanen attacked the village last year."

"Did anyone know about your magic?"

"Just Will, he died last year too."

"I'm sorry."

"It doesn't really help."

"I know. Please, try to understand why your mother hid the truth from you. She was afraid that if someone found out they would kill you or make your life miserable."

"It already was miserable. I was whipped constantly because of nothing. If we had a bad harvest, I was blamed, and they would try to kill me, but mother would stop them."

"But she did everything she could for you. She tried to help you control your magic, but she wasn't able to. Even if you hadn't told anyone about me or your magic, if anyone found out, they would have made sure that you were killed. Please, forgive your mother for what she had no choice but to do."

"For years, all I wanted was to be free and now I find out why I was born this way."

"I'm sorry, Merlin."

"I just don't know who I am anymore. I was supposed to protect Arthur and make sure that he becomes king and now that's failed. I actually started to grow content with being a bastard child only now to find out I'm not. I've been through hell and back and I've watched someone I love go through it with me. The druids call me Emrys. They say that I'm powerful, but I can't even protect the people around me."

"But you are still strong. You have not broken."

"NO, I broke a long time ago. All I am is broken. That's all I will ever be. There is no putting the pieces back together. I will never be free or truly happy. Not with Uther still alive."

"Then you stop him. You make him wish that he was never born. You and you alone are powerful and strong enough to break Uther. Break him for what he did to me and your mother! Break him for what he has done to our people! Break him for the painful life you have been through! Break him for the woman you love! Break him for the king that you are destined to protect. He broke you so it's your turn to break him."

"Yeah, but before I can even get near him someone I love will be killed. Gaius is most likely suffering from Uther's wrath. If the truth is found out, he will be killed."

"Then you do it without anyone knowing. You send a message to him. You make sure that Uther is afraid. Gaius can protect himself. He may be old, but he is strong and very smart. He knows what to do and when to do it. You're not angry at me or your mother, are you? You're angry at Uther."

"Yeah. Last night I didn't know who I was mad at, now I know who. I could have been happy if it wasn't for that man. Morgana would live her life in fear if not for that man. Her father would still be alive."

"Then you obliterate him."

Merlin nodded and Balinor pulled Merlin into a hug. Arthur had heard everything and finally decided to come out.

"We should leave soon. It's not safe here." Arthur said.

"I know where to go. There's a kingdom. It's protected by this kingdom and a few others. No one has been there in years, but I heard that there's an army waiting for their king." Balinor explained. "They say that the once and future king will lead them into battle."

"You mean Arthur has an army waiting just for him?" Merlin asked.

"Yes."

Arthur nodded and they all walked to the unknown kingdom.

TBC