Chapter 15

Previously:

"Merlin?"

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"Hello Angela."

I didn't know what to say, let alone form a complete sentence. I was speechless. I had an inner battle between logic and what my eyes were telling me what was right in front of me. It was Merlin but... He was old. His eyes were wiser if that were possible and his hair tinted with strands of gray and white. He looked well into his 30's or 40's. I forced my lips to cooperate properly. "I don't understand. How can you be Merlin?"

"I'm from the future." He said. I could clearly hear Merlin's voice now. It was so strange because it was his voice but it wasn't. It was deeper and more raspy. "I am the Merlin you know in about 15 years."

I couldn't believe myself for not recognizing his voice sooner. I felt so stupid. So this is what Lois Lane felt like when she discovered Clark Kent was Superman. I thought to myself.

Things began to click and realizations hit me. "So it was you this whole time?"

"Yes."

"You healed me in that forest." It was more a statement than a question. "But how did you know where to find me?"

"You called out for Merlin. Calling out with your mind so to speak. I only heard it because you and I share a very close bond. You felt it the moment you met me in the forest." He paused before he continued. "I know you must be very angry with me that I kept this from you."

I thought for a moment but I couldn't help but give him a affectionate hug. "Thank you." I couldn't think of anything else to say. I couldn't truly express how grateful I was. I pulled away from him just as I had another thought. I didn't quite catch the look of surprise/shock on his face when I made the gesture of affection. "But wait... If your Merlin... then who is D'Artan" I turned around to point at D'Artagnan.

It wasn't him anymore. "Arthur?" He just smiled. "Wha...How did you.." Was all I could get out. Once my brain digested that discovery I tried it again. "How did you change your appearance?... Wow you are old." Arthur scowled.

Merlin chuckled. "Magic." He smiled that goofy grin of his at me.

"I'm not old." Arthur interrupted. "I just look a lot older than my age."

"Don't worry Arthur. I'm sure with a little more exercise and a lot less eating, you'll look healthy as a horse." Merlin patted him on the back.

"Are you saying I'm fat?" Arthur asked.

"So you used your magic?" I asked Merlin.

"Actually I did ." Arthur replied. He turned to Merlin. "And I am NOT fat."

Arthur didn't have magic. I thought. "What? You don't have magic... right? And besides, magic is outlawed... Isn't it?" I questioned.

"We come from a different time where magic isn't forbidden in Camelot anymore. Being the King and all, Arthur forced me to teach him." Merlin gave a teasing smile at Arthur. I tried to picture what went on in that conversation.

"Teach me." Arthur said.

"What?"

"I said teach me."

"Magic? You want me to teach you magic?"

"You seem to enjoy it much." Arthur answered. "I want to learn. Now teach me how to use magic."

"I am not going to teach you magic, Arthur." said Merlin.

"Why not?" Arthur

"Because... You just can't learn it...It...Its complicated."

"You teach, I learn. What's complicated about that?"

"It just is." Arthur made a face. "I'm not doing it." Merlin put his foot down.

"I'm the King and I order you to teach me!"

"Just because you're the King doesn't mean you can boss me around." Merlin walked away.

"MERLIN!"

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"He's terrible at it." Merlin whispered at me. Merlin and I shared a giggle.

"So D'Artagnan isn't a real person?"

"He was a man from our time." Arthur replied.

"Was?" I asked Arthur.

"He was killed." said Arthur. I gave him that look meaning I wanted more of an explanation than that. "He was dying from a fatal disease. A disease no doctor could cure. So he turned to dark magic as a last resort. He used it by killing innocent people to give him life. Sucking the very soul from a living being and using it as energy. Merlin stopped him but instead of killing D'Artagnan, he healed him of his disease. Merlin has a great compassion for people." I could see the admiration in Arthur's eyes. He was proud of Merlin, even if he didn't want to admit it. "After that, being grateful for the mercy shown to him, D'Artagnan allied himself with us. He earned our trust and our friendship. He was truly a changed man."

"But if he didn't die from the disease, how did he die?" I asked gently.

"He was killed in battle by a dark wizard named Mordred." Merlin replied. "We decided to use D'Artagnan's identity because no one knows of him yet."

I remembered a vision I had many days ago. "Yes, you two argued about whether or not to use it." I exclaimed.

"How did you know that?" Arthur asked.

"Because I had a vision about it. I saw you two talking about D'Artagnan's identity. How could I have a vision of the past... or the future?" I kinda of wondered out loud. Merlin and Arthur passed a look between them. "Why won't you tell me what's going on?" They didn't speak. Sadness creeped onto Merlin's face. I paused a moment before speaking. "I'm sorry you lost your friend." I said to them.

More questions formed into my mind. "Why did you come back in time?"

"We came here to protect you." Merlin answered.

Why am getting a Back To The Future vibe? "Why do I need protecting?" I asked.

"The man who kidnapped you was Mordred." Arthur replied. This freaked me out a little. A dark sorcerer from the future... It sent a shiver down my spine.

"But the Mordred from this time is only just a boy. He hasn't been corrupted with evil yet." Merlin answered. I wonder what could have made a little boy turn into such a monster.

"So why don't you just stop him now?" I asked them.

"We're not supposed to interfere with time. You weren't even supposed to know about us. We were instructed to let time unfold the way its meant to be." Merlin answered. The butterfly effect. I thought to myself. Right as I was going to ask who instructed them, Arthur cut in. "But It's all much more complicated than that." Future Arthur said.

"You have something that Mordred wants." Future Merlin .

"The Knowledge of the Ancients?" I replied.

"Yes." Merlin confirmed.

"But what is that?" The Knowledge of the Ancients. Sounds like something from a movie.

"Here let me explain. You see, there was a time... before magic was outlawed from Camelot. And that was the time of the Old Religion. A time of peace and war... magic and dragons." Merlin explained. "The Knowledge of the Ancients is before that time, before Camelot ever existed." He continued. "There were sorcerers who were much more powerful then the priests and priestess' of the Old Religion. They were called the Ancients. They had a power that no wizard or sorcerer in history ever had. That power was the very beginning of magic." Merlin explained.

"What was their power?" I asked.

"It was their knowledge. It was so powerful they feared it would fall into the wrong hands. So they put it in a place they thought no one could get to." He paused. "but the whereabouts of this Knowledge was lost... until someone found it four months ago from our time. The Mordred from the future tried to get his hands on it. He almost took down Camelot in doing so but we were able to stop him, with some help." Merlin gave a glance at Arthur.

"But then how did I get it?" I asked him. Merlin walked up very close to me. His face so perfectly shaped. He looked into my eyes. I could feel his breathe brush against my skin. It sent goosebumps all up and down my spine. Then He looked down and slowly pulled out my pocket watch.

"My necklace! The Knowledge is in my necklace?" Are you kidding me?

"Yes." Merlin replied.

"So I did have it. It was right under Mordred's nose the whole time and he didn't even know it." I answered. "Is this what's giving me the visions?"

"In a way, yes." Arthur replied. What's that supposed to mean? I thought.

"There is one thing that concerns me. The injuries your getting from the visions."

"You mean I'm not supposed to receive physical injuries?" I asked him while rubbing the still scarring burns on my arm. I winced as the bruise stung.

Merlin seemed almost distracted while he was talking. "I believe dark magic is involved."

"Do you think Mordred is behind it?" I asked.

"Yes but something deeper is going on and I need to find out what it is." The old Merlin answered. "I should go now." He was about to turn and walk away...

"Wait...You can't just leave. I have so many questions... How do you know all this about me?" Merlin turned to look at me. I didn't want him to go. I needed answers. I wanted to talk with him about the future. About my future... his future. If we had a future together.

He came and put his hands on my shoulders. "I can't explain everything. Not yet. But now you know the truth and why you can't tell my younger self any of this. If I or Arthur were ever to interact with out past selves, it could rip a hole in time."

I looked up at him. He may be older but he was still Merlin. "I understand." I replied. "But there are still so many things that I..." I stopped. I felt a strong tug on my chest and a wave of nausea. I placed a hand on my forehead. Merlin and Arthur saw her necklace glowing vibrantly in the dark alley. Something hit my head like a sledge hammer. I grabbed my hair and screamed. The pain was so sharp and piercing, my eyesight went white.

There was noise. Yelling and roaring of voices. It was a fight. Two horse-mounted men were battling. Each opponent was on opposite sides of the arena with a wooden fence separating them. It was a jousting match. They began to charge. Static flashed through my vision... My necklace was calling to me..."Angela... Angela" I felt it pulling at my heart maybe even my very soul. I heard my heart beat louder and louder along side someone else's heart beat. Mine and theirs were connected, a synchronized beating. My necklace was drawing me. I could literally feel it tugging on my very being as the sound of hearts beat like drums through my head. "Angela..." I was about to succumb to it until I felt the sting of a punch to my face. My vision burst back into view. One man had just given him a punch to the face. He was lying on the ground with a spit lip. It flashed again and they were back on their horses. The horses began to run at each other from separate sides of the fence, pointing long lances at each other. The horses got closer and closer until they were almost touching. There was another flash and I felt a severe snapping pain in my shoulder.

My vision faded. I heard a loud crunch. It felt like my bone was ripped out of my skin. The audible sound of me screaming came into focus. I couldn't stand, my knees were unstable. I felt Merlin's hands hold on to me. "What happened? Are you ok?" I tasted blood in my mouth.

"My shoulder. It hurts so much." I cried. The pain was worse than the burn on my arm. A throbbing, stinging agonizing pain. My whole arm, hand and fingers were tingling with a thousand needles. "I can't feel my arm." I became frightened. Arthur came up and lightly touched my shoulder. It sent a wave of stinging pain through my arm. I yelped.

"She dislocated her shoulder." said Arthur.

"Dislocated?" I began to breathe rapidly. I tried to move my arm but I couldn't. "Merlin, I can't move my arm." I barely choked out. My eyes were watering. I came close to hyperventilating. Merlin knelt down and looked at me as he spoke. "Angela, don't be frightened. Everything is going to be fine. I'm going to fix it, Ok? Its going to be just fine." Merlin said with such a caring tone. "Do you trust me?"

I tried to slow down my breathing. "Always." He gave me a kiss on the forehead then lifted his hand and directed it at my shoulder. "Are you ready?" I closed my tearful eyes and nodded. "ágíeman þurhhælan" He said with a fierce menacing voice and his eyes glowed a brilliant gold. I heard a loud crunch and felt another sharp wave of pain. I squeezed my eyes shut in attempt to keep from screaming but I couldn't get control of my ragged breathing.

Merlin was still kneeling in front of me and Arthur was squatting next to him. "Are you alright?" Merlin asked.

I took a deep breathe. "Yes. I think the pain is fading." They both looked relieved. I could now feel the tips of my fingers. The pain from my shoulder started to fade into a raw bruised feeling. Merlin bent his head down and let out the breathe he was holding. He looked up at me and gave me a loving hug. He was careful not to touch my still very sore shoulder. "You should rest now." I wasn't all too happy about resting at that moment.

Merlin helped me up by the waist and led me up the stairs. I was kind of in a state of slight shock. All these injuries kept happening one after another and the trauma of each one kept stacking and building. I felt like I was breaking down, and not just emotionally. I felt weak but not in a physical way. Merlin sat me down on a ledge and walked back to Arthur. They tried to talk soft to each other but I could still hear. "This is getting serious, Merlin."

"Don't you think I know that? I don't know what to do. They're getting worse. The next one could kill her." I could feel fear bubble inside me. Merlin sounded so worried.

"Just keep looking. Ok Merlin?" Arthur pat his shoulder. "You can't give up. I know this is difficult for you." I looked away just as Merlin looked in my direction. "I'd never give up on her."

"Merlin. Why are you doing this? She doesn't love you." Arthur said seriously. "This isn't her. You know what happens if she opens that necklace."

"Yes. I do." Merlin's voice was so sad. My heart broke for him. He looked at her again.

"Her destiny is a lot greater than yours."

"I know." It pained him to admit it.

They walked back over to me. "You have to go now with Arthur back to Gauis's chambers." He looked at Arthur who was now changed back into D'Artagnan.

I could feel my eyes water slightly. Merlin gave me a hug careful not to touch my shoulder. "I love you so much." I said as I snuggled my head deeper into his chest. He might be from the future but he was still Merlin, My Merlin. I looked up at his face and saw sadness. I couldn't figure out why. I wanted to make it right. "Good bye." said Merlin and then... He left.

Me and Arthur headed in the direction of home. It was strange calling him D'Artagnan now that I knew it was really Arthur. We crossed the main court yard. "We need to hurry and get back before Merlin gets home." He whispered. We were just outside the house. I stopped and gave Arthur a kiss on the cheek.

"What was that for?" Arthur asked me.

"For you... For everything you've done for me." Angela replied. I looked around and rubbed my still aching shoulder. Arthur looked at me with concern. "We can't let Merlin find out about this." He said. I nodded and we went into the house.

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That night I couldn't sleep. I was so afraid I'd have another vision like that again and... I had a lot to think about.

Ok First of all DID ANYONE OF YOU SEE THAT COMING?(Future Merlin and Arthur) I know some of you smarty pants did. :P Please tell me! I want to know if some things are too obvious or not.

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How is Angela's destiny greater than Merlin's? What would happen if Angela opened the necklace? Is Mordred giving her these harmful visions or is something deeper going on? You'll find out eventually. TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS PLEASE!