This is a short chapter, but the other one should be coming soon, I'm all inspired and things :D

Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine. No warnings for this one. Unbetaed.

The Afterfall

None of them ever expected it would go as well as it did. The next few weeks of training sessions went by with hardly a hitch, and after Dennis's charge at Merlin, not a single knight disobeyed Maro's orders again. All the while, reports were coming in from the friends of Camelot detailing enemy action. It wasn't a lot to go on, but none of the soldiers were unprepared.

If anyone was having problems, it was the intellectuals.

"I hate this, Gaius," Geoffery said.

Gaius frowned at his old friend. The two of them were standing off in a corner of the training hall, watching a young lower-town leader bombarding a calm and responsive Iseldir with questions.

"What, specifically?" Gaius asked.

"It's all unsettling, but I hardly think I need to explain to you how little I like my mind being tampered with."

Gaius could only glance away. "What would you have us do?"

"Oh, nothing. You consider this your only option, and I'm inclined to agree with you since I can supply no alternative, but Uther will be rolling in his grave. Even Arthur would be appalled. I merely hope you recognize that."

"They're both dead, Geoffery. Perhaps their inability to bend this way is the reason why."

Geoffery responded with a huff of sardonic laughter. "I had wondered what was happening to you..."

"What are you implying?" Gaius raised his eyebrow.

Geoffery shook his white head. "It can't have been easy, hiding that boy from two kings you loved." Gaius didn't answer. "It can't have been easy obeying Uther, loving Uther the way you used to, after taking in that boy, now that I think about it," the librarian went on, a great deal of interest playing across his face, "…I imagine you rather lost your way."

"No," Gaius said, "I just found a new way."

"You were betraying the king that saved you from all this, Gaius," Geoffery stared at his friend. "I remember what all that power did to you and how badly you needed to rid yourself of it."

"I haven't forgotten, Geoffery. You do not need to remind me."

"No, Gaius," Geoffery's eyes could burn with harshness when they needed to, and Gaius stood as firm as he could under their gaze, "—I believe I do. Not everyone can handle magic: of this you are living proof. You were an addict and only the Great Purge could bring your use to a full stop. Uther lost control and killed far too many, but he was never wrong about the dangers of sorcery. I will leave this kingdom in a heartbeat if Eideen gets hurt. What you've done for that boy, and what you are prepared to do to keep him alive…" the thought darkened his face and he looked away. "We are old, Gaius. I know what we become capable of when it comes to the our last loved ones."

He turned his head and took a step toward Iseldir's circle of students. "That boy has a name, Geoffery," Gaius called after him.

"No," the old man called back, "He has two."

Merlin himself was actually outside in Arthur's old training grounds with Gwen, Maro, and the knights that day. It was more public, and much more risky to practice here, but they had begun to feel claustrophobic inside, especially as the academics started practicing spells. It was not an infrequent occurrence that a stray bit of magic would hit the distracted knights in the middle of a spar. Merlin managed to adjust the memory enchantment so it would work within the courtyard.

"It can work to our advantage if we're seen accidentally," Gwen said when discussing the move with Merlin, Gwaine, and Leon while Maro and Percival led the staring routine.

"Uh, how is that?" Gwaine asked.

"These men have never fought better and never looked stronger," Gwen hit the palm of her hand on the ground for emphasis. She was in trousers again—the four of them were on the outskirts of the practice ground. Merlin, Leon, and Gwaine turned to watch the knights, who were split into two groups facing off against each other as Maro and Percival shouted orders at them. Gwen was right.

"March left and arms out!" Percival called to his team.

"Forward and dodge right!" Maro barked to hers, "Backs at the ready! Merlin!" he shot to attention. "Some help here!" she stuck out her arm. Merlin nodded and did the same—on an imaginary count of three, their eyes glowed together and power blasted from their hands toward the backs of Maro's team. The scale, previously balanced, now shifted entirely in the favor of her men. Soon the fight was over.

While Percival and Maro clapped and jeered before switching around teams, Gwen turned and faced the rest of them again. "See?" she said. "If anyone catches sight of that, they'll of course be shocked and possibly horrified, but they'll also be impressed. They might even feel safer knowing this is the army that will defend them, although that's probably more optimistic than we should realistically be. At any rate, who can they report this to? Anyone in Camelot with any kind of authority is already here, training."

"What about traitors?" Leon asked, then immediately seemed to regret as three sets of eyes bore into him. "I mean, I know it's not positive thinking, but we can't ignore the chance of someone seeing this and dashing to Lot's kingdom in seconds. Camelot amassing a magically-assisted army? It's information worth selling for a high price."

"I might have accidentally solved that problem," Merlin said slowly, tapping his finger on his knee. "Gwen, you have that map?"

Gwen nodded and pulled out a folded parchment from her belt. Merlin spread it out on the ground and everyone hunched over to see where he was pointing. "We've heard back from nearly everyone, and I sent out the extra letters you asked me to," he said to Gwen before turning back to the map, "—and I think every easy path to any enemy kingdom might already be covered by our allies coming in."

"It's still strange to think of this kingdom as having friends," Gwaine muttered.

Merlin ignored him. "Maro's husband and most of the druids from that camp are making their way back here through the forest of Essetir—if they don't stop traitors from going to Lot, they'll at least let us know who they saw. Annis and Mithian's armies will have the roads to Mercia and Alined's kingdom taken care of, and I've got a friend coming the only remotely accessible way through the mountains from Amata. Godwin's sending a few troops as well…they should pass through that area, too…" Merlin trailed off and blinked. Nothing's worked out this well in such a long time it's like I forgot what it feels like to do something right.

Gwen took the map and silently traced the travel paths with her finger for a moment. "You should have started planning Camelot's military movements years ago, Merlin."

Gwaine smiled wide and even Leon nodded, albeit begrudgingly. Merlin felt a warmth in his stomach that felt odd and unfamiliar. It might have been pride.

"Right, that's it for today!" Percival shouted at the knights.

"Bright and early Thursday morning, you lot, don't forget!" Maro matched Percival's volume, "—and yes, I mean 'don't forget' in irony!"

Some of the knights shook their heads and looked resigned, some disgusted, but a few actually laughed. Maro joined the latter few in walking back to the castle. Percival trotted over to them and sat next to Merlin on the ground. He was about to open his mouth when Gwen suddenly asked, "Today is Tuesday?"

Leon frowned. "Yes…why?"

Merlin didn't like this. Gwen had almost been smiling earlier, but now her shadowed eyes fixed on the green grass ahead of them as if she could hardly move. "It's nothing," she said.

"Don't lie here, Gwen," Merlin said, with less kindness than he felt.

Not even Leon told him off—all three knights were too busy staring at her, holding their breath for an answer. "Today's the fourth," she finally said. "It's been a month."

Everything in Merlin came to a full halt.

The sun passed over Gwen's brown eyes and made them appear gold. That shaky giggle she'd developed escaped her lips as she smiled out at the grounds in front of them. "It really is a beautiful day," she managed, before swallowing the giggle. "Merlin, I…I'm going to check on Aithusa, all right? Would you mind talking to Iseldir and checking up on his lessons for today?"

"Of—of course."

"Good," Gwen nodded firmly. "And Leon?" He stood at attention, "—make sure all the knights here got back through with the spell still in tact. You should get together a list of Merlin's contacts and their routes to the city, that will be useful for the captains of the guard." Leon said he would do so, looking as if every inch of him were dying to tell her it would all be fine. Merlin noticed. He was surprised he had the faculties to notice.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Gwaine leaned forward and asked. His eyes held no pity to doubt her, but his voice was soft.

She shook her head rapidly. "I'll be fine. See you all tomorrow."

And she walked off. None of them made a sound—they watched her get smaller until she passed over a hill and could no longer be seen. The first to move was Gwaine, who went back inside the castle without a word to anyone.

Eventually Leon cleared his throat. "Merlin?" Merlin turned to face him, feeling hollow again. "Would you mind marking up the routes for me?" Leon asked, fumbling for a stick of charcoal from his belt.

Merlin blinked, accepted it, and smoothed out the map.

The white dragon sounded out a happy purr when Guinevere walked in the door. She was beginning to understand Morgana more—she felt like her, relying entirely on that animal. I've got more, Gwen thought absently. I've got Leon, Gaius, Merlin, and Gwaine, I've got Percival and now Maro and Iseldir, I've got armies headed for me to fight by my side. I don't have him, but I've got enough.

Without another thought, she got down on the ground, gently lifted Aithusa's wing, and curled herself up beneath it. The dragon mewed and Gwen could feel the sound of its heart beating, lulling her to sleep.

Before she lost all consciousness, she heard Aithusa's mind whisper to her in the voice of a child—You're tough, like she was. You can rest for a while. I've got you.

The slap of a pillow on his face woke him up.

"Merlin."

Merlin groaned and tried to block it out.

"Merlin, get up. Something's happened, we need you."

…And there were the words. He stifled his next groan with effort and wrenched open his eyelids. Gwaine stood over him, not fully dressed but not looking as though he'd been awoken suddenly either.

"What is it?" Merlin asked hoarsely. A glance over Gwaine's shoulder revealed Percival and Leon, both of them yawning and bleary-eyed. "What's going on?"

"We need to get Gwen," Gwaine answered. "There's a meeting in the training hall, get up." As he said this, he rifled through Merlin's dresser and threw a shirt onto his face. Merlin spat it out and tugged it over his head.

He had spent the rest of his day running the errands Gwen told him to—he'd gathered notes from Iseldir, gone over the map with Leon and the head guard, and slid through the lower town keeping his ears open for any whispers of strange behavior among the townspeople, anyone who might have glimpsed the session with Maro's knights. He'd heard nothing. It was good, distracting work. After a quiet supper with Gaius, he'd gone back to the lower town to Gwen's old house—they didn't talk about the fact that he'd been staying there, but she knew and didn't object. He liked having his own space, and Gwen's house made him feel as though he'd been transported back in time to years when everything was easier.

Gwaine didn't look urgent or worried as he led them out of the small house, but neither was he gregarious like usual. Merlin whispered questions to Percival and Leon but neither of them had a clue what this was about.

The route they were taking made him frown—they were headed straight to the stables. Merlin was about to shout at Gwaine to explain himself when they passed the guards and got to the stable door.

"She slept here?" Leon voiced in disbelief for all of them. "All day?"

A mix of emotions ran through Merlin at the sight of Gwen on the floor, tucked under Aithusa's wing. She was sleeping calmly then fitfully, twitching every few seconds while pain passed through her face, only to leave as quickly as it came.

Gwaine, who didn't look surprised, ignored the question. "Gwen," he said, kneeling beside her. She made a sound. "You need to wake up, your majesty," he said.

She opened her eyes. It took them a moment to focus, but when they did they looked dark. "What for?" she croaked.

"Just come with me, okay?" Gwaine responded kindly. "We're going to the training hall."

Gwen looked confused, but nodded. She kissed Aithusa's wing before lifting herself out from under it and tucking it back onto the mewing, sleepy dragon. "I'll be back soon," she whispered to her. Aithusa opened one eye and seemed to smile before drifting off again.

Gwen stood and turned to face Gwaine. "I'm freezing. You better have a fantastic reason for dragging all of us out of bed."

"Or out of dragonwing?" he couldn't seem to resist. Gwen glared at him, and he managed a pale, one-sided grin in reply. "Follow me."

They did. The night was cloudy and cold, but strangely humid. Merlin couldn't shiver the way he used to, but he felt the need to for the first time. They took the shortcut passageway through the hidden tunnels to get to the training hall. When they got there, Gwaine opened the doors—the candles were lit, and a blanket sat in the middle of the floor.

The blanket wasn't empty. Merlin's jaw dropped.

"Gwaine…" Percival was the first to speak, "—the hell is this?"

The blanket was stacked with bottles and flagons of alcohol.

Gwaine had already strolled over to the blanket and had begun loosening the first cork with his teeth. "Thith," he answered as the cork popped out with a loud sound—he spat it at the floor before continuing, "…is the first-month anniversary of Arthur's death, and we're all going to get roaring drunk. What do you say? Actually, no, none of you say anything, you have no choice in the matter."

"You can't be serious," this from Leon, who somehow sounded both dismissive and incredulous.

"Of course I am. I, for one, haven't had a sip since I was brought back from the dead on a horse. I know you and Percival haven't either because you never drink properly without me, and Gwen and Merlin? Been too busy saving the bloody kingdom to even mourn the man they both loved more than they loved themselves."

Merlin didn't look at Gwen, and she returned the favor in kind.

Gwaine lifted his eyebrows at each of them in turn. "So?" He held out the bottle in his hand. "Who's first?" he asked mildly.

Merlin didn't feel even remotely surprised when, after a few lingering seconds, it was Guinevere who yanked the bottle from Gwaine's hand and drained five gulps all at once before dropping to sit on the floor. The look on Leon's face was something to remember. Gwaine's eyes glinted as he took up a bottle of his own and sat next to Gwen around the worrisome picnic blanket. "Cheers."

I'm a little beyond excited to write the next part. Please read and review :)