Author's plea: Don't kill me or curse me! There's one more chapter to go!
Author's note: I'm actually impressed with myself. I thought this would be a short scene, but in truth it's quite a respectable length.
Arthur had forgotten his sword when he saw his father drop his arm. All he cared about was getting to Merlin, to push the idiot off the block, to shove the executioner's axe where the sun didn't shine, and to prevent this grave injustice. He knew inside that he couldn't do anything, that he wouldn't get there in time, but he ignored the fact. He had to try.
Merlin saw Arthur struggling to reach him. More importantly, he saw Nimueh with her arm outstretched as she began chanting a spell. He could see there her eyes were locked on Arthur's back. He had to move.
He pushed himself up. He saw the axe sweep past his face, the air whistled as it passed. There was an almighty clunk as the axe embedded itself in the wooden black.
As he stood, the colours of the world faded to leave him alone with the three colours of magic. He could see an ocean of gold and silver standing before him, all of it swirling in disbelief and fear. But, he could see three individuals that stunned, and yet overjoyed. Behind them, the blood red figure was pulsating hatred and rage. This figure let loose a ball of fiercely red magic: a powerful curse was headed straight to the light pattern that made up Arthur.
"Bwra aes amdana a achlesa 'm chynghreiriaid!" he shouted.
He saw a gold film sweep over the crowd, wrapping around each one individually and as a whole. The red ball flew past his first shield, decreasing in power before contacting the second shield around Arthur. The prince flinched, cowering at the shockwave and the thunderclap of the curse being dispelled.
The crowd screamed and fled the scene in mass hysteria. As they ran one way, Merlin advanced in the other. He ran past Arthur, still baffled by the sudden turn of events, and Morgana and Gwen, petrified by shock. In front of his friends, now the first line of both defence and attack.
"I thought you were destined for the axe, Merlin," Nimueh called, anger laced every word.
"I'm destined for a lot of things, Nimueh," Merlin replied, his voice calm. "But I won't be meeting the sisters of Avalon today."
"We'll see about that!" Nimueh shouted. "Alwa ar 'r awyra at nydd-dro a llunia at ffurfia chledd ata at arfer."
Suddenly, the air began to thicken into a smoke. The smoke began to twist into a ribbon shape. The ribbon-smoke snaked down to her outstretched palm, curling delicately around her hand. As she clenched her hand into a fist, the smoke solidified. A hilt formed in her grasp and the remaining smoke twisted and shaped itself to form a light sword. It looked delicate, but it had a deadly edge look to it.
Nimueh brought down the air sword to point it at Merlin. She waited for him to make his move.
Merlin only knew how to bend fire to his will, at least when it came to forming objects. And besides, the air was the most difficult element to control.
"MERLIN!"
Merlin turned round to see who had called him. He could see Gwen and Morgana watching him. He could see Arthur, running towards him. The prince unsheathed his sword and threw it to Merlin, blade pointing upwards so Merlin could catch the hilt.
Upon gaining hold of Arthur's sword, he turned around, just in time to block a head attack from Nimueh. He swiped Nimueh's sword away and she fell back in surprise. Her shock didn't last long as she drove at him again, while he defended himself and struck back. He had only ever been in a playful duel with Arthur, never once needing to worry about his life, for he knew that Arthur would only bruise him, not kill him. Now, Merlin was fighting, not only for his life, but for the lives of everyone in Camelot.
This was a fight he could not afford to lose.
All the while, Gwen stood there, watching Merlin fight with Arthur's sword. So engrossed in her love's battle, she did not notice the rose that she held so tightly in her hand wither. The petals faded in colour, turning back on themselves, crispy and brittle. The stem also lost its vibrancy, turning hard and gnarly in Gwen's hands.
Arthur stood beside Morgana and Gwen, having stopped running and knowing that he was of little use to Merlin. He had fought Merlin in playful duels, but that was nothing compared to how the warlock fought now. Arthur couldn't believe the aggression in his friend, but also noted the desperation in his stance. Merlin was trying to overpower Nimueh, and he was doing one heck of a job.
Nimueh was taken aback at her opponent's ferocity. He swiped, one-handed, at her stomach, forcing her to jump back, and he stepped forward. He swiped upwards, trying to knock her chin, again forcing her back, and pressing his advance. He swiped at her chest, and she took another step back, before he gripped the sword with both hands and he lunged at her, sword aiming at her stomach.
She knocked the sword away, to which he twisted and turned around her, forcing her to meet his blade as he came round for another flurry. She pushed him away momentarily with the quick utterance of a spell. Then, with him off-balance, she attacked.
Morgana flinched at the power behind each strike. The power at which the swords made contact with each other sent sparks flying into the air, briefly blinding her. The acrid scent of burning and metal filled her nose. The sounds of steel striking steel reverberated in her ears and in her head. The grunts and shouts and screams filled ever other moment, never giving her a moment of silence.
Nimueh swiped at Merlin's head, to which he ducked. He then swung his sword in an attempt to sever her feet from her legs. Nimueh jumped to avoid the blade, instinctively bringing in her arms, realising with joy that her own sword was aptly making its way to make contact with Merlin's head.
Arthur felt his stomach clench as he recognised the move. Two gasps beside him indicated that both Gwen and Morgana also remembered. He also remembered the next move.
Merlin did not fail to disappoint. He released Arthur's sword, closed his eyes and leant backwards, bringing his head back as far back as he could. He could feel Nimueh's blade pass over him. He saw the silver of the floor approaching him, and this time, he listened to the instinct. He brought his hands in front of him, feeling the cobblestones on his palms. He tensed his back, commanding his body to recoil and try to curl up. As he did, his legs began to move through the air. At the first point, he felt them make contact with soft tissue. As his legs continued in their momentum, they met a second, smaller, harder, object. He met no more resistance and soon found himself standing on his feet.
Arthur couldn't speak. He couldn't move. All he could do was goggle at the move he had just seen. Merlin had just back flipped, kicking Nimueh in the stomach and then proceeded to knock the sword out of her hands, earning a surprised and pained screech from the sorceress. He watched Nimueh fall back and collapse to the floor. He watched now, as Merlin turned his attention to the sword that was still spinning in the air.
"Archa 'ch at ddychwelyd at 'r egwyddorion a ffurfiedig 'ch!" Merlin shouted.
The sword shook before exploding into smoke and dissipating as if on the wind. With that problem gone, Merlin turned his attention to the downed Nimueh.
"Promise to leave, Nimueh. Promise to leave and never return. Never cause trouble for Camelot, or Albion, or Uther, or Arthur, or me ever again. Promise, and I will let you leave," Merlin bargained, although he knew the response.
Nimueh propped herself onto one of her elbows. She then, slowly, stood up. She turned to Merlin, a look of pure disgust on her face.
In contempt, she spat.
Merlin shook his head. He was disappointed, but he was not surprised. He knew that Nimueh had no love for anything that resided in Albion, and he knew that she would rather die than promise to leave it alone. But, he had to give her the option.
"Why do you hate Camelot so much? I know that Uther hates magic, and will destroy it first chance he gets, but he has a good reason. What's yours?" Merlin asked, trying to delay the inevitable.
"You would never understand," Nimueh hissed.
"Try me," Merlin challenged.
"You would never understand," Nimueh repeated.
Merlin sighed. He knew that he could not put the moment off any more. He inhaled deeply, and began.
"Alwa ar 'r briddo , 'r ddyfrha , 'r danio a 'r awyra. Alwa ar 'r egwyddorion!" He called out, ignoring Nimueh's shocked face.
"What are you doing?!" she asked, panic in her voice, and the panic rose as he ignored her.
"Archa 'r briddo at gwasg , 'r ddyfrha at bawdd , 'r danio at brydia a 'r awyra at fyga!" he continued.
"Stop!" she screeched, terror mounting in her voice, raising her pitch several octaves. "Don't you know what you're doing?! STOP!"
"Archa 'r egwyddorion chymer 'r allu a has na dde at bod. Dreisio 'r allu at bod cerddedig!" Merlin commanded, the spell complete, a solitary tear ran down his face.
Arthur held his breath, waiting for whatever effect that the spell was going to have. He waited, and he waited. He slowly exhaled, his eyes never leaving the pair in front of him. Something wasn't right, he knew that much. A shriek from Nimueh instantly brought his attention.
The sorceress was clutching at her throat. She then flapped her hands about her, desperately. She doubled over and as she heaved in her chest, Arthur realised that she was unable to breathe, only exhaling the air, not inhaling. As he realised this, Arthur noticed that Merlin was also clutching his throat, desperately trying to breathe.
Gwen yelped in surprise as the wilted rose in her hands suddenly burst into flames. She unclenched her hands, stepping back to avoid getting burnt. Morgana and Arthur also stepped back, all three of them bringing up small clouds of dust.
The tiny flame left them and flew over to Nimueh and Merlin. It split into two parts. One surrounded Merlin while the other surrounded Nimueh. The pair both gasped as they began to breathe again, at which point, the fire attacked them.
Their cries of pain and terror would have made anyone cover their ears. But, Arthur, Morgana and Gwen were too horrified to move, petrified by the sights and sounds that they saw and heard. In all the shock of the moment, one tear fell from Morgana's eyes.
She cried out in surprise as that tear was lifted off her face. The teardrop raced to the burning pair, just like the flame had done before it. The teardrop expanded in size and, like the flame, split in two and surrounded the magical pair.
As the fires died out, the water took their place as torturers. Both Nimueh and Merlin thrashed in the water that surrounded them, drowning them. The look of pure terror and pain was on both their faces.
Then the dust that Arthur, Morgana and Gwen had kicked up earlier began to band together. It also made its way to the drowning pair, by which time, Arthur had regained his wits.
"NO!" he yelled, chasing the dust. "Stop! Stay away from them! Stay away from Merlin!" he hastily corrected himself as he futilely tried to catch the dust.
It was then that he ran into a barrier. He watched, helplessly, as the dust disbanded the water, and it began a torture of its own.
Merlin didn't know how much more he could stand. Death seemed so much better than this. If the physical assault on him hadn't been bad enough, there was something else… something much deeper was also under attack. As he had thrashed about, trying desperately to find air, to extinguish the flames, to escape the water, he had felt something deep within him hurt. Inside him was the sense that something was being ripped, being pulled from him, leaving it floating painfully inside him.
And then the earth came.
It felt to Merlin like he was being crushed, his body battered. This earth was smothering him, giving him final torture before the end. And then, the end came.
He had sensed before that something inside him was being ripped, being pulled out of its security in him. Now he could feel a tearing. Something was tearing within him. Whatever it was, not only was it tearing, it was being torn out of him.
Oblivious to everything but the acute pain, Merlin fell to his knees and screamed. He clenched his fists to the point where his knuckles turned white and blood seeped out of tiny cuts caused by his nails.
Arthur stood and watched. He saw his friend fall to the floor, screaming. He watched the dust clouds around both Merlin and Nimueh change slightly.
The dust would swirl close to the pair before swirling outwards again. Every time the dust was close, they changed colour slightly. Soon, the dust was no longer an earthly brown colour, but was a bright gold or red. Around Merlin, the dust had turned gold, and around Nimueh, the dust had turned red. It was almost glowing.
Then the dust disbanded, rising into the sky before scattering in wind.
Nimueh stared shocked at Merlin. She turned her attention to Arthur and desperately looked around. When she saw a nearby exit, she hitched up her dress and ran as fast as she could. She never looked back.
Arthur watched her depart in total confusion for a moment, before he turned his sights to Merlin. He felt his stomach clench as he saw Merlin lying on his side on the cobblestones. He started to tremble as he realised that Merlin wasn't moving.
Desperate to know that his friend was alright, Arthur ran to Merlin. He ignored the sharp pain as his knees made contact with the cobblestones. He knelt by Merlin's back and fearfully looked over his friend, and sighed in relief, but his relief was short lived.
Merlin was still alive. His breathing was quick and shallow, and it sounded like breathing was painful for him. His whole body was trembling, but his arms and hands were shaking uncontrollably. His eyes were scrunched shut, and the muscles around his eyes were twitching, either trying to open his eyes unsuccessfully, or successfully keeping them closed.
"Merlin," Arthur called his friend gently, laying a hand on the available shoulder.
Merlin gasped and his eyes flew open. He stared forward for a second before twitchily turning his head in Arthur's direction.
"A- A- Arthur?" Merlin gasped, struggling for breath.
Arthur rose to his feet and hopped over Merlin, kneeling in front of him. He gently cupped Merlin where his neck met his shoulder and carefully pulled. Merlin reacted to Arthur's unspoken desire and used his free hand to push himself slightly. As Merlin's other shoulder left the ground, Arthur shifted the position of his hand to hold Merlin's shoulder. Between the two, they repositioned Merlin to a kneeling posture. Relocating his hand for a second time, Arthur held onto both of Merlin's shoulders and pushed him back so the warlock kneeled with a straight back.
Ignoring the trembling beneath his hands and the desire to remove his hands, Arthur looked into Merlin's eyes. He almost cried out in shock.
Merlin's eyes, though as blue as they always had been, looked dead. Merlin could still see; that much was obvious. But, something was dead, something was missing. Something was wrong in the young warlock.
"Merlin?" Arthur asked, tentatively.
Merlin blinked and raised his eyes to Arthur; he had previously been just staring blankly. As he looked at the prince's worried expression, tears began to fall down his face. His arms subconsciously wrapped themselves tightly around his chest.
"It's gone, Arthur," he whispered quietly, his breathing back to normal. "It's all gone."
Merlin had spoken so quietly, so softly, that Arthur wasn't sure if he'd heard him right. But whatever had happened, it was chilling Arthur to the core.
"It's gone from Nimueh, too," Merlin continued quietly, not noticing his friend's terrified expression. "We don't have it anymore."
In Arthur's mind, the metaphoric penny dropped. He felt as cold as stone as he realised what the spell had done. The thought of something so intimate, so vulgar… it made his stomach churn.
"Why don't I have it anymore?" Merlin asked to himself. "Where's it?"
"It's gone, Merlin," Arthur explained, feeling like a parent having to tell their child, in a calm voice, that the other had died. "It's been scattered into the winds," he continued, trying very hard not to break down as he knew he was going to.
"Is it coming back?" Merlin looked at Arthur with hope and desperation on his face.
"I–" Arthur cleared his throat as his voice broke suddenly, breathing a deep calming breath. "I don't know," he admitted.
Merlin looked down. He stared at the floor for a moment before scrunching his eyes up in pain.
"It hurts," he whispered.
His shoulders began to shake as the shock began to finally seep in. Merlin's breathing laboured. He pushed against Arthur's hands as he tried to curl up into a ball. His arms wrapped around his chest tighter, his hand gripping his body and his fingers dug in between his ribs.
Arthur leaned forward so that Merlin's head rested into his shoulder. He moved his hands to comfortingly hold him across his shoulders and the back of his head. With Merlin unable to see now, Arthur let his tears fall.
"Let it out, Merlin," Arthur commanded gently in a whispering voice by Merlin's ear. "Let it out."
Merlin breathed in before letting loose a cry that Arthur had never heard before. It was a cry, a scream that everyone had inside them, but seldom used, for the need was never there. This was a cry that would bring the strongest man to his knees if he heard it. The scream lasted for all but ten seconds, but it seemed more like a lifetime.
Arthur closed his eyes and buried his face into his friend's shoulder, unable to face looking at the world that seemed too harsh, too cruel. He couldn't stand to look into the terrified faces of Morgana and Gwen as they approached. He couldn't bear to see Gaius' heartbroken expression, or his father.
Uther hadn't forgotten Nimueh's departure and had already demanded that some of the guards chase her. But he felt that the event that really demanded his presence was the one he was approaching now.
He had watched Merlin's battle with Nimueh and had witnessed the spell. He had seen how Arthur had raced to the warlock, had helped him rise from the ground. Uther had heard the scream, which he had only ever heard once before.
He slowed as he drew near to the pair, Gaius, Morgana and her handmaiden had long since stopped. He continued to walk towards Arthur and Merlin until his son raised his head. The wild, fierce glare from his son forced him to stop, mortified at the hatred he saw in those stone grey eyes.
For a moment of silence, they stared at each other.
"See what you've done?!" Arthur demanded, his voice quiet and strained. "Is this punishment enough for you?!"
Uther didn't speak. He didn't know what he could have said, knowing that any excuse would have been instantly seen through. He could think of no pretence that would hide his shame from Arthur's piercing, accusing eyes.
"He chose this," Uther stated, sad at having to sound so callous.
With nothing else to say, Uther turned and walked back to the castle. He did not look at Gaius, Morgana or her handmaiden. He did not pay attention to their frenzied footsteps as they joined Arthur and Merlin's side.
"Arthur, what's happened?" Morgana asked fearfully.
"Is Merlin…" Gwen trailed off, her hand over her mouth as she tried to stop herself from crying.
"He's…" Arthur inhaled, his breathing catching in his throat. "He's…"
"He cast an enchantment that was extremely powerful," Gaius explained, sombrely, tears running silently down his face. "It is a spell that could kill more sorcerers and sorceresses than any arrow or blade could ever dream of."
"What did it do?" Morgana asked in a whisper, unsure if she wanted to know.
"It strips them of their power," Arthur spoke before Gaius could call up enough strength. "Merlin… and Nimueh as well…" Arthur shook his head and buried his face in Merlin's shoulder again.
"That spell…" Gaius summed up. "It strips them of magic."