Another Twist of Fate

Chapter 4: Welcome to Albion


The whole court seemed to stare at the king in disbelief and then they'd turn to me, then back to the king; under any other circumstances it'd be funny...now - not so much.

"But...sire...the Lady Morgaga...is too..." one man bravely began addressing the king.

"Enough," Arthur bellowed. "Morgana," he corrected angrily, "Was an enemy of Camelot, not a Lady of Camelot, and she should have been dealt with sooner. She has murdered countless innocent people and her magic made her a deadly enemy," he said and there was a murmur of general agreement.

Great, more good intentions for magic imprinted in their minds; this would do wonders for Albion's future. "But we must remember..." the king began again and of course the court went silent. "That magic can also do good in the hands of good people. Like a sword, magic itself is not responsible for the deeds of the person who wields it."

"But...sire...magic...surely...after everything your father did..." another counter began.

"My father...my father couldn't understand that people with magic can also help others. Many of my knights were saved by a sorcerer at Camlann, and if not for magic, I would be dead, myself," Arthur told them but they still seemed apprehensive. "I will address the people to celebrate peace," he finished and, of course, they couldn't say anything else.

"Sire," they nodded and slowly they left the room. The guards finally closed the doors behind the last courtier, leaving only the king and queen, Gaius, Percival, Leon and myself, still inside the throne room. The very, very silent, throne room.

"So, Merlin, about that old man..." Arthur began and I sighed, my face showing clear disinterest since I was now able to act more like myself around these few people, rather than a room of stuffy courtiers.

"Not again," I sighed. Of course Gaius knew, and Arthur now knew it had been me, but the others didn't. Couldn't he, for once, just keep his mouth shut.

"Yes again," the bemused king nodded. "I'm sure Percival and Leon would be very grateful if you'd tell them who it was. After all, it'll keep them awake all night if you don't, and you know what happens in training to the servants when my knights are cranky."

"...Yeah, as well as when they're not..." I muttered as I walked forwards to lean lazily against the wall to the right of the thrones.

"What was that, Merlin?" Arthur asked as he leaned his elbow on the chair, and his chin on his hand; an undignified, lazy position for a king.

I said nothing; I wasn't not going to be the one to help him have his fun. Instead I stared right at him and he was the one who quickly looked away. Gwen smiled and valiantly hid her laugh when she saw the petulant look on her husbands' face.

"Gaius, how did you manage to cure Gwaine?" the queen asked, cutting Arthur off before he had a chance to speak. I saw the throbbing vein in his temple that always left me mucking out the stables or a day in the stocks.

"I'm afraid it was not I, my lady," Gaius answered and I shot a look over to him as well, "It was Merlin," he added and I cursed quietly in the old language.

"Ah, Merlin," Gwen nodded, "I thought, Gaius, that nothing could help Sir Gwaine."

"No, my lady, nothing of mortal means," he said conspiratorially...was it possible that somehow the queen also knew of my magic. Would Arthur have told her? Of course he would've; he told her everything, he loved her.,

"Mortal means?" she repeated with humour; apparently they shared the same sense of warped humour.

"It would have required the use of great magic indeed to cure the mark of a Nathair," my mentor said.

"You are sure of that?" Arthur asked.

"Oh yes," Gaius nodded and I could see Percival and Leon look at us confused.

"Magic...how about that, Merlin," Arthur smirked at me and I rolled my eyes. He wasn't only trying to mess with me, he was confusing Percival and Leon as well. "And where exactly were you when the old man appeared at Camlann?"

"Busy," I muttered.

"Busy, he says," Arthur scoffed and walked from his throne towards me.

"Sire...with all due respect...what are you talking about?" Leon finally asked.

"I'm talking about Merlin, and I think it only fair that he gets recognition for what he's done," the king answered.

"I don't want recognition," I growled quietly at him.

"I said magic saved my life, but I didn't tell the others that it was Merlin's magic," he said after a minute.

"Merlin's...magic..." Percival repeated.

"Merlin's very powerful magic...apparently," the king said looking over at Gaius.

"...Sire...I..." Leon said slowly, a though Arthur was a very simple child; he wasn't going to like that, and I took great pleasure in watching him sulk like a spoilt child.

"Merlin," he growled.

"Yes, sire?" I asked innocently.

"MERL..." he shouted but before he could finish Excalibur had floated from its scabbard at his side up in mid air and then it pointed the tip of its deadly blade right between his eyes. "...in..."

"Yes, sire?" I repeated, with my eyes shining in magical gold. The king went cross eyed at the blade for a moment and then he glanced at me. I saw the confused reactions of Percival and Leon, the two of three survivors of Arthur's most trusted knights. They, like Arthur had trusted me, to a degree and I thought of them as my friends, my equals, and I expected they were having similar thoughts as the king himself had had.

Betrayal. I was a sorcerer. By their mentality I had betrayed them. I didn't blame them for thinking like that; it was Uther's enduring legacy that would work against us as we tried to build Albion. It wouldnt be easy, but I felt reassured when they didn't even make a move for their swords.

Excalibur moved from the king to rest itself on his throne and it stood upright on the tip of the blade, held in place by magic.

Then the doors suddenly burst open and I released the sword, it clattered to the floor with no one in its vicinity who could've been holding it.

"Okay...what've I missed?" Gwaine stood asked as he stood there looking like bedraggled death warmed up...which I suppose he was.

As I stood in the throne room, surrounded by my friends; three brave knights, the royal couple, and my beloved mentor, I was once again reminded why I fought so hard for Albion, for Arthur, for the people.

This was the dawning of a new age, and I was fortunate enough to witness its arrival.

Here, was the birth of Albion; a new world to be made by Arthur, not in remembrance of him. I could not bring myself to regret all I had done to bring him back, perhaps one day I would, but not yet. Now was the time to enjoy life and celebrate peace. Now was the time to be free.


A.N. Well, there we go. Thank you for reading and reviewing my story and I will get started on some form of a sequel, ASAP. Though I'm sorry to disappoint it won't be updated nearly as quick as these last two stories have been. I have other things to do despite the inspiration bug.

So here's my plan; I'm thinking of doing a series of short stores set after this one, 'cos I like this one best, I may go back and do something with 'Take 1' but not for a while. So keep an eye out for...whatever is coming next!

!STILL DON'T OWN MERLIN!