ELEVEN: JOIN ME (314 days)

Arthur pushed his horse forward, until he was riding beside Kerenza. Mordred, who had been trotting next to her, nodded to the king and fell back in the line.

Before he could say anything, the druid girl asked, "Why are you doing this?"

He frowned at her. "What do you mean?"

She looked genuinely confused. "Why are you risking your life for Emrys? He's your servant, and rumor has it that you don't treat him very well."

"I treat him just fine!" Arthur objected. Then he sighed, realizing exactly what he'd said. "All right. I don't treat him very well. I don't do it out of malice, and I think that Merlin realizes that. I know it's no excuse, but I don't generally intend to treat him the way that I do. I know that I take him for granted. In a lot of ways, he keeps me sane. I'm the king. I have to be very careful about what I say and what I do. But with Merlin...I take my frustrations out on him. And I know that he can take it. That doesn't necessarily mean that I should. I'm trying to change that, I'm trying to be more aware of how I treat him. Merlin is my best friend. He has been faithfully by my side for years, and I've never properly thanked him. Of course I'll do whatever I can to save him."

He studied her. "Why are you doing this? You don't know Merlin. You've never met him before. Why are you risking your life for him?"

She got an almost dreamy look on her face. "Every druid knows Emrys. We grow up hearing the legend of the great sorcerer who is destined to help bring magic back to Camelot. My mother would tell me stories at night, of the wise Emrys and the Once and Future King, who would work together to unite the land of Albion in peace. Some destinies have been prophesied of many years ago, long before either of you were actually born."

Arthur resisted the urge to mock Merlin, barely. Merlin could be wise, but only very rare occasions. Arthur hated to admit it. And he certainly didn't want to think about having his life prophesied about. "You called me the Once and Future King again. Why? What does it mean?"

Kerenza shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure," she said, though Arthur had a feeling that she knew more than she was willing to tell him. "That's just what you are called in the prophecies."

"Why do the druids call Merlin Emrys?"

She grinned mischievously. "That is a secret known only to the druids."

He doubted it would do him any good to try to get more information out of her on the subject. He would have to get Merlin to tell him. "Can you…sense how close we are?"

She cocked her head to the side, her brow furrowed in concentration. "An hour, perhaps. Maybe a little longer."

"Are you and your mother comfortable with the plan? You'll only have Sir Mordred and Sir Percival to help." They had decided that Treasa, Kerenza, Mordred, and Percival would distract Morgana while Arthur and Gwaine searched for Merlin. Elyan and Leon would stay close to Arthur and Gwaine, in case they ran into any hidden traps.

Kerenza rolled her eyes. "We know what we're doing, King Arthur," she told him coldly.

Arthur hadn't intended to offend her. "I know that you are both very skilled in magic. But Morgana has shown that she has no qualms about employing dark magic. She also has no qualms about killing."

"We will be fine."

Arthur nodded. He wasn't entirely convinced, but he was glad that she was so confident in her and her mother's abilities. He would just have to trust her. And he found that it was easier to do than he would have thought. He could trust her in this. She had been surrounded by magic her entire life. She understood it. He didn't. Not yet. Someday, he hoped to get to a point where he had a better understanding of sorcery.

He glanced over at her, an idea in his mind. He'd been mulling it over most of the night, when he couldn't sleep. "How skilled are you at healing magic? And healing in general?" He'd seen her perform a simple healing spell on a cut one of the horses had gotten from a wayward tree branch.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm decent. Most druids know at least the basics of the healing arts, both magical and not. Why do you want to know?" she asked suspiciously.

Arthur scratched the back of his head. "Merlin has been acting as an unofficial apprentice to my Court Physician. But once he becomes Court Sorcerer, he won't have time to help Gaius. And Gaius is getting on in years. He needs an apprentice who can take over once he's…gone."

The king didn't like thinking about Gaius dying. The old man had been a large part of his life since the day he was born. But he knew he had to be realistic. Gaius was going to die, sooner rather than later, and he would need a new Court Physician.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Perhaps you would like to train to be my Court Physician." He wasn't entirely sure why he was offering the position to her. He almost regretted the words as soon as he said them, except...he felt that it was the right thing to do.

She stared at him. "You shouldn't try to be funny, sire."

"I'm serious. I think you would make a good physician."

She snorted, shaking her head. "I'm too impulsive."

Arthur shrugged. "Healing requires instinctive responses, does it not? A good healer is someone who can make decisions in an instant, who knows to rely on his or her instincts in emergency situations. Being impulsive may be beneficial for you."

"You're really serious?"

He nodded.

"Me? A member of your court? I'm a druid, sire."

"Yes, I'm aware of that. There is nothing wrong with having a druid in my court." His council may not agree with that statement, but he didn't really care anymore. He knew that he had the support of the majority of the council. As soon as they returned, he planned to appoint Merlin as Court Sorcerer and lift the ban on magic. And if Kerenza agreed, he would have a druid train as the next Court Physician. There were some who would object, but it would be very few. He felt that he had the support of enough of them to be able to move forward with his plans.

Kerenza glanced briefly behind her, then she just started laughing. "No," she said between guffaws. She laughed even harder, shaking her head.


Morgana stood at the window, looking down into the trees surrounding her home. She could barely make out the four riders - they weren't exactly being subtle in their approach. There was the large knight, with his sleeveless chainmail. What was the point of that? There were two women, obviously druids. Why was Arthur's group traveling with druids? Unless they joined the group after it already split up and Arthur didn't know about them. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Mordred, wearing the red cape of a knight of Camelot.

She couldn't understand how Mordred could serve Arthur.

She wasn't surprised to see only one part of the group riding obviously toward her home. She was certain the rest of them planned to sneak through the manor in the hopes of finding and rescuing Merlin.

She didn't care if they rescued the servant or not, so long as she got Emrys. He was the reason behind this elaborate plan.

She knew Arthur wouldn't know anything about Emrys - if he did, she was sure he would have ordered a manhunt for the sorcerer - but Mordred might have some information. She had always suspected that Mordred knew something about the mysterious Emrys.


Kerenza frowned as they neared the crumbling manor. She could sense Emrys inside, but that wasn't all that she could sense. "Can you feel that?" she asked her companions.

Mordred nodded once, looking worried.

Her mother chewed her lip. "Dark magic. The entire manor is under a very powerful spell."

"I think it's best if we stay out of the manor," Kerenza said. The rest of them agreed.

"Now we just need to decide how to lure…Morgana…out…" Treasa trailed off as Morgana herself walked out of the manor. She leaned against the main door, folding her arms over her chest. She was looking only at Mordred.

"You shouldn't be here, Mordred. You shouldn't be helping Arthur. My argument's not with you. How can it be? We're of a kind."

Kerenza glanced at Mordred. She had known, of course, that he was a druid as soon as she'd seen him. But none of his fellow knights knew.

He didn't seem too worried about the fact that Percival was there, though.

How does Morgana know you? Kerenza asked the druid knight. She made sure to project her mental voice only to him. Somehow, Morgana knew not only his name, but that he had magic. At least, that was the way Kerenza interpreted what the witch had said.

Mordred didn't reply.

"Join me, Mordred," Morgana said.

Kerenza saw his eyes narrow a fraction. "Never."

The witch sneered, pushing away from the building. She took a single step toward them. "You wear the uniform well, but we both know what lies beneath. Do you think Arthur would tolerate you for one minute if he knew the truth? One of his knights, a sorcerer."

To his credit, Percival didn't look too surprised. He simply chuckled and shook his head.

Kerenza was struggling not to laugh. Like he doesn't tolerate his own servant? If he can accept his servant being a sorcerer, then I'm certain he can accept one of his knights being a sorcerer.

Mordred grinned slightly in response. "We will be accepted," he told the witch, "sooner than you think."

Morgana frowned. Kerenza hoped she didn't ask for clarification. They couldn't go around revealing the king's plans. Not yet. She was fairly certain it would cause chaos if the entire kingdom knew what the king planned. And Morgana was so far gone. Kerenza doubted there was any way to make her see reason, to make her understand that King Arthur was going to bring magic back. Morgana had lost herself to her hatred long ago. "Where's Emrys?" the witch asked instead.

"Emrys?" Mordred asked, frowning in confusion. Kerenza made sure to keep her own expression blank. The fact that Morgana didn't seem to know where Emrys was was a very good thing. She didn't know who he was, obviously.

"You pretend you do not know of whom I speak?"

"It is a name I've only heard of."

You're a very talented liar, Sir Mordred, Kerenza told him, impressed. He simply rolled his eyes.

"He's not here? With you?"

"If he was, would we both not feel the presence of such a great sorcerer?"

Kerenza snorted. She couldn't help it. It was such a preposterous statement. She can't possibly believe that. Nobody can sense another sorcerer, no matter how powerful.

Shh.

Morgana's nose flared. She clenched her fists. She stormed angrily back into the manor.

Treasa, Kerenza, Mordred, and Percival exchanged a look. "What was that all about?" Kerenza muttered, mostly to herself. She didn't expect an answer, and she didn't get one.

Percival looked at Mordred. "A sorcerer?" he asked. When Mordred tensed, he continued, "I won't say anything. It's your secret to tell when you're ready. Arthur has already accepted Merlin. I'm sure he'll accept you as well."

Mordred nodded, obviously relieved.

Kerenza dismounted and slowly made her way toward the manor. She didn't like the feel of the dark magic emanating from the building, but she felt like they should at least attempt to follow Morgana. She stepped inside, her eyes widening as the spell took hold of her.

"Ma…" she said, hurrying back out of the manor. She was relieved to feel her magic tingling at the tips of her fingertips again. "My magic is useless in there. As soon as I stepped inside, it was like I could no longer use it."

Frowning, Treasa stepped inside the manor. "I had the same result," she said, as she came back out. "Why would Morgana use such a spell? It would affect her as well."

Kerenza gasped. There could only be one reason Morgana would be willing to give up her own magic. It was even more important that they get Emrys out of there without revealing his identity to the witch. She ran into the building, yelling, "Emrys!"


I'm sure you'll notice some familiar dialogue in that last part. As I'd said before, I will (and have been) take some parts from the last few episodes.

I debated about having Percival there while Morgana talked to Mordred. I was going to take him out, but then I just...didn't. I think Percival can be a pretty easy-going guy, most of the time. I know that he hates Morgana (and I think he was kind of hoping to get in some punches or something here), but all of the knights were pretty accepting of Merlin. And they all trust Mordred, too, so I don't think any of them will have a problem with him being a sorcerer.

Thanks for all the reviews. I love the support you guys are giving to Aithusa. She (according to Merlin wikia, Aithusa is female, though I'm pretty sure she was referred as a he at least once in the show; I can't remember exactly, so I'm going with the wikia's information) really did get the short end of the stick. But don't worry. We'll see Scathach again, and possibly find out what her plans for Aithusa are.