A/N: Here's a nice looong chapter with some action! Enjoy!
Merlin ran blindly through the castle, mind numb and tears of anger streaming down his face unheeded as he blindly went wherever his feet would carry him. The air grew musty, and the floor fell away as Merlin found himself in the same cavern as the night before. This time the dragon was waiting for him, molten eyes staring at him intently.
"I just came to tell you that whatever you think my destiny is, whatever it is you think I am supposed to do, you've got the wrong person!" Merlin called in frustration, his voice cracking on the last syllable. "That's it… goodbye."
A deep rumbling of laughter echoed through the air. "If only it were so easy to escape one's destiny."
Merlin swiped at his face roughly with his sleeve and directed his angry gaze toward Kilgarrah. "How can our destinies be intertwined if Arthur hates me!?"
"A half cannot truly hate that which makes it whole." The dragon responded mysteriously, his aloofness beginning to get on Merlin's already frayed nerves. "Very soon you shall understand that."
"Oh, great. Just what I needed; another riddle," Merlin snapped irritably.
"You know, young warlock, this is not the end. It is merely the beginning," the dragon called, his parting remark resounding off the crags of stone.
Merlin ground his teeth in frustration. "Just give me a straight answer, would you!?" But the dragon was already gone.
The next day dawned cold and clear, and Merlin watched with a scowl as the rest of the Careers bustled around the castle, chatting animatedly, as they equipped themselves for the coming day's hunt. The moment their voices had faded into the distance, he threw his spear to the ground with a clatter and ran from the gate to the library he had found the prior evening. Arthur may have left him at the castle and ignored his warnings, but Merlin wasn't going to let him get killed.
The heavy doors banged shut as Merlin sprinted through them, arms windmilling wildly as he tried to stop his forward progress into the mountain of dusty tomes that he had compiled on his last visit, but it was in vain. He slammed into it full force with a muffled crash, books flying every which way and sliding across the stone floor. Groaning, Merlin gingerly pulled himself to his feet, nursing a very bruised elbow where it had collided with a heavy oak bookshelf. Finding the correct spell was going to be even harder than he had thought. And Arthur was out there that very minute, completely at Valiant's mercy. Hurriedly, Merlin stooped over to pick up the volume by his left foot and opened it clumsily, eyes flashing gold as he scanned the pages magically for what he was looking for.
Several hours and fifty-three books later, Merlin let out a cry of triumph. It had been a complete gamble to assume that the library would have the information he needed, but it had paid off. Scanning the room, he alighted upon a dog statue standing in a corner, and stared at it in fierce concentration, reaching towards it with one hand and balancing the heavy tome in the other. "Bebay odothay arisan quickum!"
The stone dog stood stubbornly in the corner looking no different than it had moments before. "Bebay odothay arisan quickum!" Nothing. Merlin dropped the spellbook to the ground with a muffled thump and a cloud of dust, shut his eyes and reached both hands out towards it, trying again to no avail. He laid both hands heavily on its cold marble head. He tried whispering in its ear. No change. Walking towards the door, Merlin whipped around, yelling the spell in frustration.
He shook his head, frowning. Magic usually came so easily to him. Why was this spell proving to be so difficult? The mark on his forearm throbbed unpleasantly, and Merlin knew his time was up. The dragon may not have provided him with anything other than cryptic riddles, but Merlin knew from experience that any pain from the symbol on his arm meant that Arthur was in danger, and he had to get to him before Valiant could finish him off. Muttering the spell to himself under his breath, Merlin sprinted from the library and out the gate. Behind his quickly receding footsteps, an enormous Rottweiler stepped off the marble pedestal and began pacing across the creaky floorboards, toenails clicking against the panels.
Merlin had never been someone who enjoyed running, yet he found himself flying through the forest at breakneck speeds, the surrounding trees a blur of color as he leaped over roots and low-lying shrubs with a coordination that he rarely displayed, letting his instincts guide him. All he could hear was his blood roaring in his ears and the steady pounding of his feet on the forest floor until a shout of alarm echoed through the trees, spurring Merlin to even greater speeds.
The forest suddenly came to an end, and he found himself confronted with a large clearing and the clanging of steel on steel. Diving behind a nearby outcropping of rock, Merlin saw with alarm that Valiant and Arthur were alone, Elyan's unconscious form slumped against a nearby stump, and that the two boys were matched blow for blow. Arthur was obviously the more skilled of the two, and had already managed to knock the other boy's helmet off, but Valiant had the advantage of his shield and build. Arthur was by no means short, but Valiant had at least six inches on him, and used his enormous wingspan to rain blow after devastating blow, Arthur deftly parrying his every strike. But his reactions were slowing, frustration and the grim knowledge that he couldn't last much longer dawning in his eyes. He had to end this now. Valiant seemed to sense Arthur's change in attitude the moment Merlin did, and grinned savagely, intensifying his attack. Merlin looked around in desperation, mark burning, as Valiant swung his shield underhand into Arthur's face with a sickening crunch and the blond boy crumpled to the ground.
Merlin let out a muffled cry, but Arthur parried the older boy's downward stroke from the floor and had already rolled away from Valiant's sword, which stabbed into the dirt inches away from his chest. Arthur vaulted to his feet in an instinctive motion that likely took a lifetime of training to master, and backed away, obviously dazed from the blow to the head, as Valiant charged at him with an enraged yell. He knocked the sword from Arthur's loose grip and shoved him against a tree trunk. With a desperate effort, Arthur pushed the giant of a boy off of him and earned himself a few more feet of space to maneuver. It was now or never. Merlin shut his eyes and prayed to whatever higher power that might happen to be listening that the spell would work this time. "Bebay odothay arisan quickum!"
Someone was obviously listening. With a spine-chilling hiss, the two remaining serpents uncoiled themselves from Valiant's shield, venomous jaws snapping lethally on air. Valiant's cocky smirk disappeared. "What are you doing? I didn't summon you!"
At that moment, Morgana, Gwen, Gwaine, and Percival burst through the trees on the opposite side of the clearing, eyes widening in shock as they found Elyan's prone form and saw the duel in progress. They began to rush to Arthur's aid, only to have their progress impeded by an invisible barrier surrounding the two warriors.
It was Arthur's turn to smile grimly. "Now everyone will see you for what you truly are," he spat. Valiant simple looked down at the snakes, who turned their ruby-eyed gaze to him.
"Kill him," he commanded. Arthur could only backpedal frantically, weaponless, as the two serpents unattached themselves from the shield and slithered towards him. Merlin racked his brain desperately for another spell to save him, but Morgana was faster.
"Arthur!" she cried, reaching across Gwaine and unsheathing his sword. "Catch!"
The sword glistened as it flew through the air, landing neatly in Arthur's outstretched hand as he effortlessly reversed the blade's momentum to decapitate both snakes in one swing. He then stepped over their carcasses and started towards Valiant. The boys exchanged several blows before Arthur's anger overcame the other boy's defenses. He caught Valiant in a deadly embrace. "I guess Merlin was right about you," he whispered. Then he plunged his sword into the boy's chest, and Valiant stared back at him with a perplexed expression as Arthur released him disdainfully and he fell to the ground dead. A cannon shot echoed through the arena.
Merlin resisted the urge to cheer, remembering he was supposed to be guarding the gate back at the castle. He lingered in the shadows several moments longer, watching as the others, able to move at last, rushed over to Arthur, who handed Gwaine back his weapon and impatiently brushed off everyone's worried comments with his usual sarcastic comments, and Elyan, who stirred weakly and was able to stand with some help from Percival and Gwen. Deciding that all was well, Merlin stood and jogged back to the citadel, the return journey taking much longer than his full-out flight several minutes ago. He had just caught his breath, fetched his spear from where he had discarded it in the courtyard, and managed to assume a deathly-bored expression when the rest of the Careers came filing out of the forest.
He looked over their depleted ranks and weary appearance with an innocently worried expression plastered on his face. "What happened?" he asked.
Arthur didn't meet his gaze. "We split up in the woods, and Elyan and I were ambushed by Valiant. He knocked Elyan out and we fought, and he almost won too. But I killed him."
Morgana smirked. "It's not every day a girl gets to save Arthur Pendragon."
Arthur's face reddened. "I wouldn't say I exactly needed saving. I'm sure I would have come up with something."
"Because you're too embarrassed to admit that you were saved by a girl!" retorted Morgana.
"Because I wasn't."
"If I hadn't thrown you Gwaine's sword to kill the snakes-"
"It doesn't matter!" interjected Elyan wearily, and the two tributes from district one fell silent. "Now I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starving!"
Percival nodded in agreement. "Me too."
"Me three!" exclaimed Gwaine exuberantly, and he waved the rest of the group up the stairs. "I think I hear a nice big bowl of stew calling my name!"
Everyone moved to follow Gwaine, and Arthur finally met Merlin's gaze, the unspoken message of 'I told you so' mirrored in Merlin's eyes. Arthur nodded silently, clapping Merlin on the shoulder before hurrying to catch up with Leon, leaving the raven-haired boy staring at his back as he strode away. "Merlin! Why is there a dog in the kitchen?!" Merlin gulped, but the corners of his mouth twitched upwards as he rushed to follow Arthur. So his spell had worked! "Merlin!"
