A/N: Oh no! The update's up later than usual! It still got up today though. Thanks for all the reviews on my last chapter! It's great that all reviews are said kindly! Enjoy!
Chapter Thirteen:
A rather tense and immensely awkward thirty minutes later, Arthur, Gwen, Gaius, Gwaine, Elyan, Leon, Percival, and Merlin were in the council room, awaiting the druids. As soon as the guard left Arthur's chambers, everyone looked to the warlock as if he knew why the druids were here. He gave them the twisted truth, that he had no idea why the druids were there, although he had this odd feeling that it just might be about him...
The great oak doors opened, letting a stream of around thirty cloaked figures enter the room. Lowering their hood, the leader smiled serenely.
"Arthur Pendragon, it is good to see you again."
The king, having recognised the man, was befuddled by the kindness shown, and decided to voice these thoughts.
"The last time we met, I threatened one of the children's lives. How could it possibly be good to see me?"
Amusement danced in his eyes. "Yet you did not harm him, so there is nothing to be upset about. Now, I assume you are wondering why we have come?"
"Yes- sorry, what is your name?"
"Iseldir."
"It's nice to see you again, under much better circumstances, Iseldir. You are right, I am wondering why you have come. Even though there is a treaty, there are a few people who don't exactly think the best of your kind. It must have been dangerous, coming here."
"It is urgent business we have with you, if not for that we would not have come. I have you to thank for the treaty though. If not for that, I have doubts all of us would be standing here today. The reason we have come, is that there has been a shift. A shift in prophecies of old, unveiling the true path that destiny leads."
All eyes shifted to the manservant, who was standing close to the wall, for some reason trying to remain unnoticed. It was obvious it didn't work when all the druids walked up to him, hoods down, and knelt.
"My lord, it is an honour to see you again," Iseldir proclaimed.
A red-faced warlock, apparently a lord, answered in a tone worthy of a prince. He should know, as he had worked for one for nearly a decade.
"Rise."
As the druids rose, a grin broke out on his face and he reprimanded, "I told you to not do that. I am not above you, in any way, shape or form. If nothing else it is an honour to see you all again."
He had forgotten all about his friends, and the king, who was an actual lord. They were quickly remembered again when Arthur marched up to him, and yelled, "What the bloody hell! You're a lord too?"
"No," he sighed.
Seeing, or more hearing, the spluttering being done by his friends, he elaborated.
"No, I am not a lord per se. I do not own any land, or rule any people. I don't even have an army- well, I guess the Catha might count. Anyways, I think I should let Iseldir explain this; I'm still having trouble understanding it."
"Emrys is not a lord in the traditional sense, but being of his stature- the most powerful warlock to ever and will ever live and being destined to help unite the land of Albion and bring magic back to the land- we consider him one. If he asks for something, we will do it- though he has never asked anything of us."
Arthur groaned. Why couldn't he have a normal servant?
"We're getting off track. King Arthur, the shift in prophecies that we mentioned, is about the prophecies about Albion. We can feel when prophecies are being fulfilled, and can also feel it when prophecies change.
Before, the prophecies stated that you were to die at the hands of Mordred-" he pointed to a young man standing in the group, "but now, they state that he will join your knights, and protect you with limitless loyalty. We felt the prophecy about you learning about Emrys' magic get fulfilled. There was also one prophecy, which we thought was a hoax because no-one could decipher exactly what it meant, that was just fulfilled.
'The enemies of destiny.
The kin of nature.
Opposite as can be;
as similar as can be.
The bird full of love,
the fairy full of hate.
The enemies of destiny.
The kin of nature.
The hate to his love,
the dark to his light,
the evil to his good.
Both doing what they thought right.
The enemies of destiny.
The kin of nature.
Time will come,
when they see the other again.
Truth will be revealed,
lies will be unveiled.
The enemies of destiny.
The kin of nature.
Love buried deep,
shall arise again.
With the blood of opposites,
and the help of the goddess,
the hate and power will dissipate,
from the fairy's soul.
Reality will be clear,
her wrongs plain as day.
The enemies of destiny.
The kin of nature.
As opposite as can be;
as similar as can be.
The love to his love.
The light to his light.
The good to his good.
For too short of time.
The enemies of destiny.
The kin of nature.
The lovers of life.
Her remorse too great,
she takes a blade,
and takes her life.'
It was fulfilled just about a week ago. We all felt it; it was too great to miss. We also felt the amount of power that Emrys exuded dramatically increase. It is so strong, we could pick up a hint of it from the distance we were. Finally, we figured it out. The prophecy was about Emrys and Morgana."
Only the druids understood what was happening. Absolutely no-one else, not even Merlin, knew. Arthur broke the long, contemplative silence with a truly phenomenal question.
"Do all prophecies sound like poems written by love-struck girls?"
Everyone laughed. It was great to lessen the tension, so Leon displayed his wit.
"I thought, with all the poetry lessons you take from Merlin, that you would be able to better appreciate poems."
Even though only the three of them got the joke, everyone laughed once more.
"Poetry? Arthur, Merlin's teaching you poetry? You're learning poetry?" Gwaine chuckled.
It was made up as an excuse to Leon, but later on, Arthur actually asked Merlin to teach him poetry to 'make sure the excuse holds water.' Needless to say, Merlin didn't have a choice, so decided to use these lessons to find the most peculiar poems he could, and force Arthur to read them out with a straight face. Leon had attended a few of these lessons, actually.
After the laughter died down, Arthur queried, "But what makes this so important we need to know?"
The joyous atmosphere disappeared, the mood turned somber once more.
Iseldir explained, "We actually only needed to tell Emrys something, but thought all of you should hear it as well. Merlin, explain what it felt like while you were confronting Morgana."
"Uh, it was weird, I guess. I'm not really sure what I did, just that all the elements were summoned, and something happened with our blood. I felt disconnected from reality, kind of like I was a puppet doing what it was told to do. I felt a presence, that's for sure. It was warm, and all-powerful. It was more powerful than anything I've ever experienced, and I know that I won't experience anything more powerful. Gwaine said there was an echo that went along with my voice. I only returned to full consciousness after the ritual was over, even though I felt a tad dizzy. Ever since then, I've felt more powerful."
The druids gasped, more in awe than in surprise. Iseldir spoke again.
"Emrys, this- this is something beyond all imagining. It was thought to be only legend, that none would have such privilege as to have it happen to them. The Triple Goddess herself was the presence. She was the one that guided you to do this task, to help fulfill your destiny. As the only limit to your power is how much of it you can properly handle, she must have removed the limits. You are essentially the incarnation of the Triple Goddess."
At this, all the druids immediately scrambled to the floor, shins on the ground, leaning forward with heads touching the ground too, as one would do when hailing someone a hero, which he was to them. To be in his presence was considered an honour before this, but now, there were no words to describe how much of an honour and privilege it was.
"Please, stop. I have done nothing to deserve such admiration. We are equals, as I've said before. I do not wish to be above you."
After a few more minutes, the druids slowly got up. Arthur and everyone else were very confused. Merlin himself was a little confused as well.
Iseldir turned to Arthur. "All there is to do, is to legalise magic and unite the land of Albion. Also, since Mordred is going to end up becoming one of your knights anyways, you might as well start training him."
The king just nodded, unsure of what else to do.
oOo
A few weeks after the meeting with the druids, Merlin had worked up the courage to deal with his and Mordred's history.
"So a dragon, which you ended up freeing, told you that I was going to kill Arthur?"
"Yeah..."
"And you believed him?"
"Dragons are unable to lie."
"That might be true, but still! I was a child!"
"Thanks for guilt-tripping me into coming to help you in the end, I don't think I would've been able to live with myself if I knew I had left you to die."
"You're welcome? How come you tried to get me killed those other two times?"
"When Morgana was at your druid camp, trying to find out more about her magic, Uther thought she was kidnapped, and ordered Arthur to take some knights and find the camp. I tried to warn you and help you escape, but I was stupid and forgot to cover my tracks. Arthur found the remains of my small fire, and was able to use it to track me. It was my fault that people died that day, even if accidental."
"Oh, I thought that you did that on purpose. What about the last time?"
"Alvarr was dangerous, and both you and Morgana were being used by him. I tried to trip you, to stop you from being with him again, but nearly killed you. Kilgharrah also told me of a prophecy in which you and Morgana are united in evil, and that the alliance must be stopped, whatever the cost. Sorry about that too."
"Are you sure that you weren't being used by Kilgharrah?"
"I kind of was, probably. He wanted to be free, and was able to make me swear to free him. I guess we both were being used in one way or another."
"Hmm. You're right."
"Forgive and forget?"
"Funny you say that, considering how I said the exact opposite to you."
"Come on, Mordred."
"Fine, forgive and forget."
"Yes!"
Feeling lighter than he had in years, Merlin left with a smile on his face.
A/N: This is the last chapter! Unless you want another chapter in which Arthur's trying to get magic legalised again, and maybe unite the land. Or maybe it would be an epilogue. Who knows? If I can figure it out, I'll probably create a poll in a week or so, asking for your fabulous opinions!
A thank you to all the people who have read, reviewed, favourited, and followed this story!
Special shoutout to BooksAreMedicine! You've reviewed on every chapter so far, and I really appreciate your criticism! (To be honest, I agree with your points.) :P
Update: I created a poll a few days ago, it's on my profile! Please vote!