I feel like I need to do a bit of explaining, since a couple of people have commented on this. I could be wrong on this, but I don't actually think that Arthur remembers that Mordred is the druid boy that he saved. And there's a few reasons why I think this. When Mordred sees Arthur as an adult, he says, "You don't remember me, do you? You saved me as a child." (Or something along those lines). Merlin is the one who recognizes Mordred, not Arthur. That's the sense that I always got from the show. Even though Arthur learned Mordred's name when he was a kid, he really has no reason to remember it, not with all the other names and things that he has to remember as the future ruler of a successful kingdom. I think Mordred's would have been forgotten pretty quickly. And Arthur's a knight. He's saved many children in many villages, so he probably doesn't remember exactly how he saved Mordred. Merlin, however, has every reason to remember the druid boy. Plus, I think that if Arthur knew/remembered that Mordred was a druid and had a connection to magic, he would have brought it up in his discussion with Merlin about the Disir's request for him to bring magic back. Because that would have been a point in favor of magic (like, a MAJOR point), and he never said a thing. I really feel that it would have been mentioned, several times, had Arthur known that Mordred had magic (and if he knew he was a druid, then he would know that he had magic, because it seems like, in the show, Uther and Arthur just automatically assume that all druids have magic).
Sorry for the insanely long AN. I don't think that they really explained this well in the show. They kind of just left everyone to make their own conclusions, and my conclusion is that Arthur doesn't connect his knight Mordred with the druid Mordred that he saved, if that makes sense. That was my thought process behind all of that, and that's the situation that I have set up for this fic. I really hope that makes sense to anyone who was confused about Arthur's knowledge. Anyway, enjoy! There's a bit more action in this chapter (I will be honest, though; action scenes are not my forte, so it's probably not all that great. Sorry in advance).
TWELVE: DESTINY AND DOOM (314 days)
Morgana stormed through her manor, anger boiling just under her skin. She refused to let this scheme go to waste. If Emrys wasn't there to stop her, then she'd finally be able to kill Arthur. She was outnumbered, but she was not outmatched.
With Emrys absent, she had no need to keep Scathach's spell in place. Not even the magi of the three druids could hope to defeat her.
She would kill Arthur, and then all of his pathetic little friends. Once they were all dead, she would be having a word with the traitorous goddess who had set her up.
Arthur and Gwaine crept as quietly as they could toward the dungeons, their swords at the ready. Arthur was surprised - and more than a little worried - that they hadn't come across any sort of traps. This seemed far too easy. Why would Morgana go through the trouble of abducting Merlin, only to let them rescue him without any problems? It didn't make any sense.
They arrived at the only occupied cell without any kind of mishap. Arthur knew that Elyan and Leon would be close by, ready to help if anything did surprise them. Inside, slumped against the far wall, was a scrawny figure with familiar raven hair. Arthur nearly panicked at the sight, until he saw his friend's chest rise and fall in a steady breath.
He was alive. Merlin was alive.
Gwaine pulled his lock-picking kit from his belt pouch. It didn't surprise the king one bit that Gwaine owned one. While he got started on the lock, Arthur called out loudly, "Asleep again?"
Merlin jerked awake, looking around. He grinned impishly when he saw the two of them. "Arthur. Gwaine." He pulled himself to his feet as Gwaine swung open the door. "Please tell me you have some food."
Gwaine laughed, slapping Merlin on the shoulder. "I should have known that'd be the first thing you asked about."
Arthur shook his head. "Merlin!"
"What? Arthur, I'm starving. I've had one meal a day, and it was not a very appetizing one."
"I'm sure I have something in my saddlebag."
"What are we waiting for, then? I really need to eat." Merlin started to move toward the doorway leading out of the dungeons, when Kerenza came careening through it.
She collided with Merlin, and they both fell, Kerenza on top. She clambered off the sorcerer, who was blushing furiously - Arthur would definitely be mocking him for that later -, and apologized. Her voice was a bit breathless. "Morgana…"
Arthur's good humor disappeared in an instant. He gripped her shoulders. "What about her?"
Kerenza took a few deep breaths before saying, "Morgana used a spell…to block all magic…in the hopes of…killing Emrys, I think…Now she believes that Emrys…isn't here…She's really mad…She's coming this way…The others are distracting her…" She was still panting heavily.
"Emrys isn't here?" Merlin asked, acting ignorant. He was still on the floor.
Arthur rolled his eyes. It really was amazing that his idiotic servant had been able to keep such a big secret for so long. He was a terrible actor. But the charade had gone on long enough. They'd wasted enough time, both of them. "Oh, come off it, Merlin. We all know."
Merlin narrowed his eyes. "Know what?"
"Emrys," was all the king said. Merlin stared at him, his jaw slack. Arthur wished he'd just stand up already. He looked like a bigger idiot than usual. "I know, and I'm fine with it."
"How long?" the sorcerer demanded, finally standing up.
Arthur shrugged. "I've known since about two weeks after we returned from the Disir."
A strange expression crossed Merlin's face. It was almost…anger? But Merlin never got angry. Not really. But then he shoved Arthur in the chest, taking the king completely by surprise. "You ass!"
Gwaine and Kerenza both burst out laughing.
Arthur was stunned. He'd expected Merlin to be glad that he was fine with Merlin's magic. "What?"
"You're a complete ass. You knew this entire time, and you didn't say a word to me? You let me run myself ragged! I've hardly slept for the past few weeks!" Merlin was furious. Arthur had never seen his servant angry before. He'd seen him annoyed and broody and exasperated, but never angry. "I might have been able to avoid getting abducted if I hadn't been so damn tired!"
"You're blaming me? If you weren't so damn stubborn about taking the position yourself, you wouldn't have had to run around and try to find someone to take the job for you. And you deserved it. You've lied to me for years. I'm your best friend and you should have -"
Kerenza cleared her throat, interrupting him. She looked like she was still trying not to laugh. She seemed to have gotten her breath back. "We really should get out of here. Morgana is furious. And, I'm sorry, but I think she's beyond reason. She's far too full of hatred. I think she's officially lost her sanity. She's…" Kerenza trailed off. "She's ended the spell. I can feel my magic again."
Merlin frowned at Kerenza. "Who are you? Wait…Are you wearing one of my neckerchiefs?" He looked at Arthur. "Why is she wearing one of my neckerchiefs?"
"My name is Kerenza. I'm Treasa's daughter." She touched the blue fabric, grinning. She glanced at Gwaine. "You were right. Although, you didn't do him justice. He looks better than good in them. He looks rather…delectable in them."
Color flooded Merlin's face at that comment. Arthur was definitely going to have fun with that later, though now wasn't the best time. "We should go. Are you all right, Merlin? Did she do anything to you?"
"Oh, now you ask." Merlin glared at the king. "I'm not talking to you right now. I'm still mad."
"Merlin!"
"Shut up, Arthur!" And with that, Merlin left the dungeons.
Kerenza stared after him, grinning wickedly. "I like him."
Arthur scowled. At the moment, he wasn't sure that he did.
Morgana glared at the three people in front of her. She didn't know where the girl had gotten to. "Get out of my way, or I'll kill you all right now." She wanted to get to Arthur before Emrys had a chance to show up and ruin everything again.
Mordred narrowed his eyes. "We won't let you kill Arthur."
"You can't stop me."
"Just stop this madness, Morgana," the druid knight begged. "You won't succeed, no matter what you do. Such hatred as yours can never triumph. Please, try to find the love and compassion which used to fill your heart."
"Hleap on baec," Morgana chanted. She was satisfied to see the three nuisances fly backward several feet, and land on their backs.
Unfortunately, it didn't knock any of them unconscious.
The druid woman stood. "Gehaeftan," she uttered, and Morgana was thrown against a tapestry hanging from the wall. The tapestry immediately wrapped around her torso, restraining her.
With a simple fire spell, she was free. "Utterly pathetic," she muttered. Their magic was weak, inferior, to hers. Why were they even trying to stop her? They had to know that they couldn't. "Forbearne! Akwele!" She flung the fireball she'd conjured at the druid woman.
"Shieldan!" Mordred yelled, shielding himself and his two companions from her deadly fireball.
Morgana sneered. "Why are you bothering? I'm a High Priestess of the Old Religion. Even your combined magic, Mordred, is no match for mine."
"But mine is."
Morgana spun around. Arthur, Merlin, the druid girl, and Gwaine had just turned the corner into the corridor where Morgana had gotten sidetracked by Mordred. She could hear more feet running, and assumed the other two knights were nearly there as well.
She wasn't sure who'd made the comment. It had sounded almost like Merlin's voice, but that was impossible.
"What are you doing?" Arthur hissed at his manservant.
Merlin stepped forward. Morgana narrowed her eyes at him, not quite sure what was going on. "The time for all this bloodshed is over. I blame myself for what you've become…but this has to end. I will not allow you to harm one more person, even if that means killing you. I am going to end this once and for all, Morgana. I am, after all, your destiny and your doom."
"You're Emrys?" This servant, this boy, was her mortal enemy? Impossible.
Merlin felt Arthur elbow his ribs painfully. "I thought you didn't want her to know?"
Merlin ignored the king - he was still angry that Arthur had let him work himself so hard for no real reason. He glared at Morgana. She was staring at him with a mixture of anger and terror. "I am so tired of your games, Morgana. I had hoped that you could be saved. I see now that you won't let that happen. And so I can't allow you to live. Destruction follows you wherever you go. I'm putting a stop to all of that, right now."
Nobody moved. Elyan and Leon came around the corner, but they skidded to a halt when they saw the stand-off before them. Merlin was waiting for Morgana to do something. The rest were watching the two with bated breath.
He didn't have to wait long. She tensed, as though ready to attack.
With no words and hardly a thought, Merlin's magic performed three spells simultaneously. He held her in place, not allowing her to move more than an inch in any direction. He placed a barrier to keep her magic just out of her reach - he'd gotten the idea from her and figured out how to replicate it on a smaller scale. And he brought Arthur's sword to levitate so its point was hovering just over her heart. Merlin was able to maintain the spells with ease.
Morgana laughed, but Merlin could see the fear in her green eyes. He terrified her. He knew that should make him feel bad in some way, but he couldn't bring himself to care. "I am a High Priestess. No mortal blade can kill me." Even as she said it, though, she struggled against his spells, trying to break free.
"Ah, but this is no mortal blade. It was forged in a dragon's breath." He pushed the sword forward slightly, drawing a single drop of blood from her pale skin.
"Emrys."
Merlin didn't move, though he did still the sword. The voice was obviously female, but not one he recognized.
Morgana seemed to, though. Her eyes widened, fixed on some point over his shoulder. She stopped trying to escape his spells. "You!" she exclaimed. "You played me for a fool!"
A woman stepped around Merlin, and he could feel the power radiating off of her. She was tall, with flowing auburn hair. She was unnaturally beautiful. Everyone was staring at her, confusion written across their faces.
"It isn't terribly difficult to do, Morgana Pendragon."
Merlin, his curiosity getting the better of him, asked, "Who are you?"
"Scathach, one of the goddesses of magic and prophecies. It is a pleasure to meet you in person, Emrys."
"It was your spell that Morgana used," he guessed.
"Indeed. And I must say, you have done an excellent job recreating it. Well done."
Morgana spoke up again. "You lied to me. You did not uphold your end of the bargain. I want Aithusa back."
Anger filled Merlin as her works sank in. "You traded Aithusa for a spell? Morgana, she's not a possession to be bartered!"
His friends looked even more confused than before. They would have to wait for explanations.
"Shut up, Merlin," the witch growled.
"Emrys is right," Scathach chided. "Aithusa is not a possession. The fact that you are willing to treat her as such is proof that you are not worthy of a bond with her. And I did uphold my end of the bargain. My spell was flawless. You were the one too foolish to see that you had Emrys in your grasp, powerless, the entire time." The goddess's face was difficult to read, but Merlin was fairly certain she was smirking slightly.
Morgana narrowed her eyes even further. "You knew who he was. You knew it would end this way."
"Of course I did. One of my domains is prophecies. The Triple Goddess is very displeased with you."
"I've only ever served her!"
"You've only ever served yourself, under the guise of serving her. You have delayed the return of magic to this kingdom. Every time Emrys has had a chance to show Arthur the good in sorcery, you have come along and shown him the evil in it. The Triple Goddess no longer cares what happens to you. She will not protect you from anyone seeking retribution for what you've done." It was obvious that this last sentence was a threat.
Morgana sneered. "Arthur will never accept magic."
Arthur stepped forward. "I already have accepted it, Morgana. Magic is going to be legal again. I'm doing what you've wanted all along."
Morgana began fighting against Merlin's spells again - his focus didn't waver. "I am a High Priestess! I am the last High Priestess! You can't kill me!" she screeched.
Scathach looked disgusted. "Another can be trained." She waved her hand, and Arthur's sword pierced Morgana's cold heart.
All spells that I use I've gotten from the Merlin wikia page. For the most part, I stuck with the phonetic spelling (because, frankly, it's easier) and the bottom possible meaning. Sometimes it might be a little different, depending on what was listed for the spell. If this changes at any time, I'll let you know. But I'll put the spells here, and their meaning (in the order in which they appear in the chapter)
Hleap on baec-Leap on your back
Gehaeftan-Restrain
Forbearne! Akwele!-Burn up! I kill!
Shieldan-A shield
THIS IS NOT THE FINAL CHAPTER!
There will be more. I'm not sure how much more, but there will be more. I hope you guys liked this chapter.
