After telling Gwen everything that happened with Morgana and the soul sharing we stopped to let her take it all in. "Gwen?" I asked placing my hand on hers.
"I...I don't know what to say...So, Merlin has magic?"
"Yes, and from what he's told me, he's saved my life more times than I care to count and..."
"How do you know he wasn't lying about saving your life?" Her face showed that she was both serious and suspicious of Merlin.
"Because I listened to him. Like a good friend does. Why? Do you think he's dangerous to us all of a sudden? Think about all the times I really shouldn't have survived or at least been seriously injured...I escaped those battles safely because of the combined skill of me and Merlin."
"I'm sorry...it's just...a lot to take in. I remember a conversation Merlin and I had when we first met and he was in the stocks...it seems ridiculous now, and...I just...magic has been terrible to both me and you, Arthur...I don't know what to think, and I didn't mean to sound so horrible..."
"I understand, but do you still think Merlin as a friend?" I questioned with a slight twinge of fear, because we had told her about the events that happened, but we hadn't told her about me ending up with the same magic.
"Yes, I'm sure there is a lot I don't know, so it would be cruel of me to dismiss him so easily...yes he is still my friend, but I want to know everything he has done with magic."
"That will take a full day and then some. He has already told me everything."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course! I would never lie to you. Wait, what was the conversation you two had when you first met? I had never heard of how the two of you met!"
"Oh, it was after I watched him stand up to you for throwing knives at that poor boy with the shield and then I saw him in the stocks. I told him I thought he was very brave and that I was glad he walked away because I knew he wasn't going to beat you..."
"...To which I told her I could and she questioned if I really could, and she explained that you were one of the rough tough, save the world kind of men and that I didn't look like that, and then I told her I was in disguise." Merlin finished with a proud look on his face, and then he looked at me. "I didn't know I was telling the truth, I was only joking and then I get hired as your manservant."
"Huh...so um..." I turned back towards Gwen with a slight sinking feeling in my heart and I could tell the magic was reacting with it. "...There is something else you should know..."
"Alright, I'm listening..."
"When...Kilgharrah casted the soul sharing spell he had no idea how it would effect us afterwards...and because of the spell...I now forever have a piece of Merlin's soul and he has a piece of mine..."
"Right you explained that already..."
"I know..." I held her hands and looked her in the eyes for a brief moment before looking for a leaf or a stick on the ground. Once I found a suitable enough stick that still had some leaves on it. I focused my magic on it as I held my hand out to it. Once I brought the stick up in the air I commanded my magic to twirl it around some and then I gently let back onto the ground. As I felt my magic calm down, I chanced a look at her, and she seemed terrified, confused, amazed, among other emotions I couldn't list. "What I didn't mention is that, because I share a piece of his soul now, I also gained a piece of his natural born magic. It's irreversible."
"Wait natural born magic? You told me he has magic but not that he was born with it...and now you have magic?"
"Yes, I was born with it." Merlin answered calmly. "and now you husband has that magic. Would you like to know his greatest fear about eventually letting you know? It was that you wouldn't love him. Now, what will you do?"
"Merlin!" I shouted, and he just glared at me and sighed as if he was losing his patience.
"It's okay...I suppose I haven't been nice to either of you. I still love you, Arthur. Of course I do. It's just again...a lot to take in, but wait...what are you going to do about it, Arthur? Magic is still illegal."
"Well, it's a good thing I'm king. I can change the law, and as far as me having magic, Merlin says he'll help train me."
"And you...you're willing to learn?" Her eyes were widened in shock and I couldn't blame her.
"Yes, I am. Honestly, after knowing everything, it's the least I could do." I looked down feeling a slight bit of shame as I remembered the way I spoke around him when I didn't know any better. "That and the fact that I can't just walk around as the king with uncontrolled magic."
"Sire, we should make for the castle tomorrow." Merlin stated calmly.
"Yes, of course, and you'll train me along the way?"
"Only if you think you can keep up with me." He grew a mischievous smirk on his face and I couldn't help but smile in understanding at the familiar look he gave me.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
We had been traveling for quite a while, and we had set out at day break for Camelot. Now it is past midday, and Merlin had been teaching me a fire spell that I could cast should I need to start a fire or use it as a weapon. "Okay, you're getting the hang of it..."
"Merlin, I set Gwaine's cape on fire...twice, before that I caught your shoes on fire, before that it was a few times on the ground..."
"Well, it's not like Gwaine hasn't caught fire to his cape before, and hey, you at least got the hang of putting the fire out instantly."
"Did you have to learn fire?"
"I had to learn a few spells, yeah...most I just wanted to learn, fire was one I wanted to learn, because fire is important and apparently basic. For me it was pretty much the same. It wasn't that I couldn't produce fire by using magic, I could, it's just..."
"Controlling it."
"Yeah, but like I said...you can put out a fire using magic which is actually something I hadn't been exactly great at."
"Wait, I can do something you can't?"
"For now." He smirked and I watched as his eyes turned gold and a fire erupted in his hands. "When I try and use fire I imagine the warmth, size, and place of it. If I'm lighting a fire in my hand like now, then I try and picture the warmth of a summer sun on the palm of my hand, I picture the size of the flame, and if I want it to be like a roaring camp fire, or like a bright candle. Right now, it's the warmth of the sun, a roaring camp fire, and small in the palm of my hand."
"Are there any easier spells?"
"Knocking someone back, but it's about the same when you were controlling a stick."
"Some of this doesn't make sense to me." I admitted as I gave a frustrated sigh, and then I felt Merlin push me hard, and I was surprised that I actually lost my ballance. "What the hell, Merlin!?"
"Now do that to me, but use your magic, I had a thought just now." His eyes held a challenge and I gladly accepted. I quickly lifted my hands up and I felt the magic turn into a thunderstorm within me. The rain, the lightning, and definitely the wind, and before I knew it, Merlin was on his back quite a ways away from us.
"Merlin?" I questioned to see if he was alright.
"Good job!" He answered out of breath. I watched with amusement as he gave me a defeated thumbs up from his position on his back. I walked over as everyone still continued on and helped him up.
As we walked back I heard him laughing. "What is it?"
"You are more powerful than you think. You didn't focus that time. You just did it freely. You wanted to push me back with magic, because I had pushed you. It made me realize something."
"What did you realize?"
"Well, all your life, you've been told to focus on your abilities. You were never given a chance to be carefree with something. For me, I grew up carefree...in a way, but eventually my mother sent me to Gaius so I could learn how to focus and control my abilities. So, perhaps it isn't that you need to focus, it's that you need to just want. You have to want to do it. Don't focus, just want and imagine. Kind of like you immediately wanted the fires to go out after you casted a fire spell. It's because you wanted it to go out that it happened."
"You sure it'll work?"
"There's no harm in trying."
I nodded my head and lifted my palm and stared at it. "Forbaernan, right?"
"Right!"
"Okay..." I wanted the fire to appear only in my palm, I imagined the warmth and size so I wouldn't hurt anyone, and it was almost as if my magic knew what I wanted and it felt like it focused into my palm, waiting. "Forbaernan!" At my words a comfortable warmth was in my hands, and it was like a miniature camp fire. After staring at the wonder that was in my hand, I thought about making it disappear so I thought, 'Vanish' And it did. It disappeared at a mere thought just like the other times, but it felt slightly different this time.
"Arthur, you did it!"
"I did it!" I laughed and I looked at Gwen who was now more wide eyed than she was at the previous attempts. "Gwen, are you alright?"
"You seem overjoyed to be using magic. It's just surprising." Her shocked features rested into a calm and content look.
"Trust me, you're not the only one surprised." I told her, and returned my attention to Merlin. "So, now I can lift and throw things, push people back, and make fire. Perhaps we can surprise Morgana with not only you being Emrys, but with me having magic."
"That would throw her off quite a bit." He scratched the back of his head as his smile from before started to fade. "Look you need to know something. No mortal blade can kill her, and I can't strike her down the same way as I did Nimueh, because she knows it was Emrys who did it, and once she knows who I am, she'll expect something like that...that's why, Excalibur, your sword, as to be the one to run her through. Either I can do it, or you, but really...Excalibur was always meant for you. I had it forged by Kilgharrah in a dragon's breath. It can kill absolutely anything."
"Even you?"
"More than likely. It can kill the undead, so it's possible."
"Why would you give me such a blade?" My heart sank slightly and yet it was beating against my chest in confusion at the enigma that is Merlin.
"Because I trust you."
"What..." I couldn't believe his answer could be so simple. I was nearly out of breath at the loyalty underlying his words. "What did I do to deserve such loyalty?" I muttered under my own breath as I glanced at my sword, but of course Merlin heard me.
"I haven't the foggiest. You're such a supercilious prat, honestly...you know, perhaps it was on a whim." He grinned at me and I slightly shoved him to the side.
"I'm starting to think you don't do anything on a whim like you've led me to believe."
"No, I still do. You just don't know about them."
"You said you'd tell me everything you've done with your magic..."
"No..." He interrupted me, "...I said I would tell you everything I've done for you and Camelot. I didn't say a thing about what I had done for myself, but don't worry it's minor things."
"Such as?"
"Well..."
"Sire!" We both looked and Alator was running towards us with Percival and Elyan who were sent a little ways ahead of the group to keep an eye out.
"What is it?"
"We spotted Saxons, and the castle. She has them crawling everywhere. They're like annoying bees swarming their queen's hive." Alator answered.
"That's an accurate description." Merlin gritted through his teeth.
"What do you want to do, Merlin?"
"Let's get rid of them. Save your magic for Morgana, I'm going to disguise myself as the old man and..."
"Wait...that was you, Merlin? You used us as step stools!"
"In my defense the sword did hurt, Percival." He smirked, but it quickly faded as he turned back towards me and even though there was clearly something I was missing, now was not the time to bring it up. "Alright, she already thinks I'm originally an old man, so lets get rid of her soldiers with me disguised as an old man and then once we pass the castle gates, I'll transform back and allow some of the druids to handle the rest of the fighting out in the court yard and lower towns, while some of the others and Alator come with us into the castle." He looked at Alator for a thoughtful moment and he breathed out a frustrated sigh, "Alator, are your people near by?"
"They have been following us at a respectable distance, Lord Emrys."
"Right...tell them Emrys needs their help, and they shall be protected for as long as they can survive and after the battle."
"It will be my pleasure."
"Good, we'll wait for you, now go. I'll tell Jacus and his clan about the plan."
"Yes, Emrys." We watched as he ran behind our group and soon his body disappeared into the darkness that was beginning to fall over us.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
"Lord Emrys, I was granted six people out of my clan to help with the attack. To my right we have Ailynn, Krilla, and Joori. To my left we have Auren, Kilo, and S'hill. They all agreed to do anything you say provided that I wasn't lying. Now, they know I'm not lying." Alator gave a brief knowing smile as he waited for Merlin to instruct them, and I was eager to hear him too, because he now had an air of confidence about him.
Merlin smiled, and I noticed that the six people Alator brought seemed a bit awestruck, and embarrassed. "Three women and three men. This is good. Are any of you healers?"
"Kilo and my self are healers." S'hill answered with wide eyes.
"Kilo, I want you and Joori with the druids just outside the castle. Ailynn and Auren, I want you in the lower towns. S'hill and Krilla I want you to come with us in the castle but do not follow us."
"Then what do you want us to do?" Krilla asked with a soft voice and curious eyes. Meanwhile, I was still in complete shock that Merlin sounds like I do or like my father did when commanding knights to fight an army.
"There will likely be prisoners in the dungeons. Sir Gwaine will go with you, and guide you to them. I need you to heal and protect as many as you can. Keep in mind, many will refuse and probably fear you or speak ill of you...Be that as it may, at least protect them. I will be disguised as an old man, but not for long. Once we get through the castle gates I will be as you see me now."
"Wait...you're not going to ask us any other questions?" S'hill asked raising his brow.
"No, should I? Alator went to go get you and I trust him. Will you help me and King Arthur take back Camelot's castle?"
"Y-Yes of course!" He replied with a stunned yet pleased expression.
"Thank you, now about the druids... there will be five druid sorcerers outside the gates, five in the lower towns and courtyard, and five joining us in the castle. The five joining us will follow you on your way to the dungeons. So, with that, it will be Alator, King Arthur, and myself facing Morgana. The knights will join which ever group at King Arthur's command other than Sir Gwaine. I'm sending him with you, because he's been Morgana's prisoner before, so it's a turning of the tables so to speak." He looked at me and I was speechless and breathless at the same time. I had just watched Merlin, a man I thought I knew since I was prince go from bumbling Merlin to magic Merlin and now he basically commanded an army, without a shred of hesitation. I simply nodded my head and we all agreed to the plan.