Author's Note: Sorry for the wait! Christmas time was so busy that I didn't have any time to write, but things are getting back to normal, so I'll try to get back to posting once a week!


-Twenty-One-

Magic vs. Electricity

"Is Morgana all right?" Merlin asked softly when Ryll had hung up. She was standing in his study, gazing out at the garden. He'd been showing Arthur around, explaining the basics of modern technology and appliances. He'd even explained indoor plumping. Arthur's only comment there had been, "So no more chamber pots?"

"No more chamber pots," Merlin had repeated. Thank goodness for that.

It was surreal having Arthur and Ryll in his house. For so long Merlin had been alone and the thought of his friends had seemed an impossible dream, but now they were here and everything had changed.

"She's fine. She's got her memories back, but she's still determined to be different in this life. She met Uther and Morgause and Nimueh though."

"Wait, slow down," Merlin said, the names hitting him like daggers. "Uther is in this life?" Half of him wanted to ask what Uther had done to deserve a second chance, but he let the words die on his tongue. He was in no place to judge Uther. They all had things they needed to rectify. He just wasn't sure Uther would ever understand that a lot of what he'd done in his past life was wrong. The single-minded couldn't see past their own ways.

"Yes. He lives in White Castle. I guess he bought the historical castle there."

"Figures." Even if Uther wasn't king of this land, he'd never live like anything less. He was used to power and people fearing him.

"He had Morgana kidnapped because he thought there was no way she'd willingly see him."

"He did what?"

"She was still Morgan at the time so you can imagine how frightened she was. She decided to forgive him anyway."

"Morgan or Morgana?" Merlin asked.

"Both. At first when Morgana got her memories back she was furious, but then Lancelot got her out of the castle. He's working for Uther though not by choice. Morgana said he thought there might be some sort of magic binding him to Uther."

"Uther using magic?" Merlin thought back to Nimueh's magic that had borne Arthur. Uther had made a deal with magic so that he could have a son. It was only after his wife, Arthur's mother, died that he had turned against it. Magic came with a price and, in that case, it was a life for a life. For Arthur to be born, his mother had to die. Uther would only make a deal with magic if it would benefit him.

"But that's not all. You said magic was failing, growing weak. Uther means to destroy it altogether."

Merlin's eyes flashed to her. "That's not possible," he said.

"He thinks he's found a way. Lancelot told her about it. He said Uther was confident he could destroy it."

Merlin sat down at his desk feeling too heavy to stand all of a sudden. Ryll reached out a tentative hand and placed it on his shoulder. He relaxed under the touch. Maybe Uther thought he could destroy magic. Maybe he could. Right now Merlin wanted to cling to the hope that Ryll and Arthur had brought him.

"We have one advantage against him," Merlin told her. "We have Arthur."

"You want to use Arthur as a bargaining chip?" Ryll asked.

"If that's what it takes." He didn't want to use Arthur but Uther would do anything to protect his son. Perhaps even stop trying to destroy magic.

Ryll knelt down in front of him. "You're already letting Uther define your actions," she told him. "Don't let him do that. If you do, then he already has power over you."

"Without magic I don't know what I am," he told her slowly. Magic had been his one constant companion all these years even if it had been fading away in the last few centuries.

"Well I do. You're Merlin. You're the kindest, most loyal friend I've ever known. You love and protect your friends with a passion that is both selfless and destructive. You're the man that I love and I would love you even if you didn't have a drop of magic in your blood."

Merlin's mind snagged on the last thing she had said. "After all these years you still love me?"

"It's only been a second to me. I know that things are different, that we're different. I don't expect anything to be the same, but we've both waited so long to be together." She pulled the ring from around her neck and handed it to him. "When the time is right, give this back to me," she said. "Once we have this figured out. If you still want to spend the rest of your life with me then even if magic dies, we still have that."

He took the ring from her. "I do want that."

"We're going to figure this out. But we can't start tossing blame around. We need to be patient with Uther."

"You said Nimueh and Morgause were back too?" Merlin pried himself away from the moment they'd had, the ring clasped tightly in his hand. There would be a time for him and Ryll again but right now they had more pressing matters at hand. Being reunited with her would have to be enough for now. Ryll stood and leaned against the desk.

"They reached out to her when she was still Morgan. They run an agency in White Castle that helps people with magic. I guess in a world where it's not accepted or even believed in, there are a lot of lost people out there who don't fit in. They shelter and mentor them."

"Sounds too good to be true."

"Perhaps."

"How is it that everyone ended up within the same vicinity? Everything feels too neat."

"Like it was set up," Ryll said with a nod. "I agree. It seems as if everyone else besides Morgana and me had their memories. Maybe not Byron unless he was pretending he didn't know who I really was but I can't see him doing that. I don't understand what sets us apart."

"You all have magic, but so do Nimueh and Morgause."

"I guess we'll have to be content not knowing the answer to that question for now."

"So did they want something from Morgana?" Merlin asked her.

"Just to join them. I think Morgause just wanted her sister back to protect her. Whatever Morgause did in her past life, it can't be said that she didn't love her sister."

"So Lancelot has some free will if he helped Morgana escape Uther's castle."

"Yes, he's not a slave to Uther, just more of an errand runner. He's still on our side-" She seemed to catch herself. "He's still our friend," she added. "There are no sides here. Or at least there shouldn't be."

"Somehow I doubt Uther and Morgause and Nimueh would see it that way."

"Maybe not. If Uther stops trying to destroy magic then he isn't a threat to them and if he isn't a threat to them then they won't try to stop him."

"That's a lot of ifs."

"Isn't it always?"

"Merlin, how do you work this infernal thing?" came Arthur's voice from the living room. Ryll and Merlin grinned at each other before going out to see what Arthur was currently struggling with. He was kneeling by the fireplace looking completely dumbfounded.

"It was feeling a bit drafty, so I thought I might start a fire but I can't seem to get to the logs," he said, glaring at the contraption as if it had personally offended him.

"It's an electric fireplace," Merlin told him. "Remember how we discussed electricity?" Arthur nodded. "It doesn't actually have fire." He reached forward and flipped the switch. Fake flames leapt up.

"Then what is that exactly?" Arthur asked.

"It's not real. It just puts out heat but the flames are just to give the illusion of a fire." Arthur stared at him. "It still warms you up but you don't have to worry about collecting wood or lighting a fire."

Arthur was eyeing the fireplace warily, but he didn't question it further. Merlin could tell he was trying to conserve some of his pride, but the truth was he was a complete stranger to this world. Merlin knew how much Arthur hated relying on others, but he would be leaning on Merlin and Ryll for a lot of things in the coming weeks.

"Are you hungry?" Merlin asked them. "I can order something. My kitchen is a little bare right now." It had been awhile since their sandwiches, and he felt famished as if he hadn't eaten in days.

"Order something?" Arthur asked. "Do you have a servant or a cook hiding somewhere?"

"Nope, just me." Merlin pulled out his phone and started explaining its complexities to Arthur. "So you can call a place where they make food and they'll bring it to us," he ended the explanation. "I think you'd like pizza. It's basically like bread and cheese and meat flattened into one neat circle."

"Sounds…interesting."

"Anything but rat stew, right?" Merlin asked with a grin before putting the phone to his ear to make the call.

Arthur seated himself on the couch, looking out of place in his Camelot garb. Merlin would get him some more modern clothes the first chance he got though he wasn't sure Arthur would approve of T-shirts and jeans. He put in the call to order pizza while Ryll spoke to Arthur. He noticed how Arthur perceivably relaxed while she offered a distraction. They could get into the topic of Uther and his destruction of magic later. Right now Arthur needed to get used to his new surroundings and learn the basic functions of living in a completely new century.

"This is all a lot to take in," Merlin heard Arthur tell Ryll and he hung up. She squeezed the king's hand.

"You'll adapt," she told him. "The most important thing is that you're safe and with friends."

Arthur looked up at Merlin. "And I couldn't imagine two more capable friends than you," he said. "Even if one of them is a complete clot pole."

"That's my word!" Merlin protested.

"Well I've stolen it," Arthur told him.

While they waited for the pizza to arrive, Merlin showed Arthur what a TV was and could do. "There's this incredible thing called Netflix and you can basically watch all these movies and television programs. They're like plays acted out only they're recorded and edited so you feel like you're watching something real."

"But not magic?" Arthur asked. "This…electricity thing you mentioned."

"Exactly. These actors and actresses do this for a living. It's their job." Merlin selected a channel at random. "You can watch the news reports on the TV channels and the weather forecasts. There are also games that were invented a long time after our time. People are really into that."

Arthur watched the people talking on the screen, mesmerized. "That's incredible," he sad after a moment. "My father would call it magic."

"I spoke to Morgana a few minutes ago," Ryll said, looking at Merlin. He nodded. It would do no good to keep anything from Arthur. "Your father is alive and in this world."

Arthur looked relieved for a moment but that quickly clouded over. "And Morgana… Does she still hate our father?"

"She wants to put that past behind her," Ryll told him. "She's forgiven him."

Arthur sighed. "I don't blame her for the anger she felt toward my father, but if we continue to carry old grudges then we're no better off than we were before."

"She knows that. She's really determined to change," Ryll assured him.

Before they could discuss this more, there was a knock at the door and Merlin accepted the pizza delivery, handing over the money he owed. He set the pizza down on the coffee table while Ryll raided his cupboards for plates, utensils and napkins. Merlin got them each a glass of water and they sat down to eat. "Be careful, it's really hot," he warned Arthur as the king gazed down at the foreign food. "I promise you'll like it. I didn't cook it for one."

"Already a point in its favor." Arthur took a careful bite, using his knife and fork to cut a small sliver. After he had chewed and swallowed he said, "That was delicious."

"Food is a lot better than it used to be," Merlin told him. "And probably a lot better for you. The feasts in Camelot were rich enough to give a man a heart attack."

"I suppose your physicians are much more advanced in this time," Arthur said.

"Just a little," Ryll said with a smile. "There are places called hospitals where the sick and injured go. Doctors can do all sorts of things: cure diseases, perform surgeries, see straight down to a person's bones to see if something's broken – not with their eyes; they have equipment for that. Basically all of the ailments we saw in Camelot either don't exist anymore or can be cured. Save the common cold."

"You saw it all, didn't you?" Arthur asked Merlin.

"What do you mean?"

"You've lived all this time and seen everything change." Arthur's eyes were serious, no hint of the usual teasing.

"I did. It was a lot to take in, as you said. But it all led up to now. I feel like I can start to live again, like I was just killing time until you both came back."

"Well you seem to have done well for yourself," Arthur said, gazing around the living room.

"It's just something modest," Merlin said with a shrug. Truth be told, between his different professions over the centuries he'd amassed quite a fortune, but he wasn't one for frivolity. Just the basics. He knew happiness couldn't be bought.

"I do have to ask," Arthur said, turning to Ryll. Ryll smiled like she knew just what was coming. "I know I'm very new to this whole 21st century thing, but is it…common for girls to put color in their hair and rings in their noses?"

Ryll grinned. "If you think that's strange, you should see some of the teenagers out there today."

"I didn't say strange, just…" He struggled with the word while Ryll stifled laughter. "Okay, maybe that is the right word."

"It's all right. I take no offense. Some people dye their hair even stranger colors and all of it. Some people have rings in very odd places. I'm quite normal by today's standards. Just…prepare yourself."

Arthur laughed nervously. "I'm just glad Merlin hasn't done anything too bold. I can't really picture him with blue hair."