Chapter three! AGAIN, NO SLASH. SORRY, BUT I DON'T DO THAT.
Disclaimer : Nope, nothing belongs to me. Actually... hold on, the Keeper of the Forest does belong to me! Wow, an OC. Well, he's not too important. He's just an old dude.
Warning : Set after season four, Reveal fic, Terribly written spells, Catboy!Merlin, King Arthur Pratdragon, the Knights of Camelot, and a whole lot of MAGIC~
I apologize if anything seems out of character, I'm a work in progress :)
Now it really begins. Please review!
Merlin was roughly awakened by a predominant feeling.
He jerked up, getting tangled in his blanket. He looked around for the source of his awakening. Seeing nothing, he had just lain down once more when he felt the familiar hum of magic in the air. Someone was performing magic, and the powerful kind. Merlin sat up abruptly. He looked around; everyone was asleep, and even Arthur seemed on the verge of nodding off. He walked over to his king and shook him.
"Arthur." Arthur was immediately awake, and had half-drawn out his sword before he recognized his assailant as Merlin.
"Merlin! What are you-"
"You were asleep on guard duty."
Arthur wasn't expecting that. "Oh." He looked more closely at Merlin, who was just getting back to his mat. He looked... worried. "Something wrong, Merlin?"
"Just a feeling," he muttered, before slipping back beneath the covers. Arthur tried his best to stay awake then. It was nearly midnight though; he could wake up another knight to take his shift.
As he went to rouse Leon, he heard a voice whispering animatedly somewhere behind him. He whirled around, just as a bolt of green energy shot towards him.
Merlin, who had been silently watching as the enemy sorcerer sneaked into their camp and not knowing how to warn Arthur, jumped up and slowed down time around him so he could run to tackle Arthur to the ground, much like when he'd first saved him. He let out a breath as he felt the green beam blast through where his head had been a second before.
All of the knights were awake by then, even Gwaine, and they all had their swords drawn, warily approaching the hooded figure.
"Merlin! Get off me." Merlin hastily complied, understanding the urgency of the situation. He could be thanked later.
The hooded figure drew back its purple hood, exposing a tanned, wizened face and thinning white hair, as well as eyes that could have been made of crystal, they were so clear. The irises were just barely grey, practically white. The sorcerer spoke.
"Have you been hunting my animals?"
"Stay back, sorcerer!" Arthur yelled abruptly, raising his sword menacingly. Merlin watched with attentive eyes, waiting for a small opening where he could use magic discreetly. But the old wizard was cloaked in an invisible magical shield, immune to both physical and magical attacks.
"Have you been hunting my animals, Arthur Pendragon?" the sorcerer repeated, more slowly this time.
"How do you know who I am? Who are you?"
"I am the Keeper of this part of the forest. The animals in it are sacred, and not to be hunted. Now I shall ask you, once more, have you been hunting my animals?" the old man sounded dangerously calm, but Merlin could hear the threatening tone just below it. He was reminded of Anhora, the Keeper of the Unicorns.
"We have been hunting," Arthur admitted, "but-"
"You read the books concerning this part of the forest," interrupted the old man. It was a statement, not a question.
"... Yes..." Arthur admitted. Merlin gave a start. What books? Was there something wrong with the area around here that he hadn't been told about?
"And yet you still came," said the sorcerer, sounding rather annoyed. "Have you read about what happens to people who hunt in the Sacred Forest?"
"We believed the sorcerer who roamed these parts was long gone," said Arthur, sounding defensive. Merlin rolled his eyes behind his King's back. Really, he could have at least told him about all this. Sorcerers lasted a lot longer than he seemed to think. But he was worried about the 'people who hunt' and 'what happens to them' part. Old sorcerers seemed to always know plenty more than him, having had a lot more time in years.
The Keeper huffed. "Why would I be gone?" He slowly raised his hand towards Arthur, who stepped back and raised his sword point to the sorcerer's heart. The King didn't know he was utterly defenseless because of the old man's wards.
"You are under arrest for the use of sorcery," stated Arthur, a little belatedly. Merlin sighed sadly. Would the King always be so narrow-minded?
"Hmm. I was going to let you off a little easier... it is clear that you are inexperienced. But if you choose that path, I have no choice but to send you to the same fate as the other hunters." He raised his hand a little higher, where it sparkled with energy. "Weorðan catt." The same green beam as earlier shot from his hand, straight for Arthur.
Not again, thought Merlin, as he ran for his King. The Keeper watched curiously as he pushed Arthur out of the way for the second time that day. But this time, he wasn't fast enough to escape the magic himself. The beam hit him square in the chest, and he gasped at the strange tingling feeling it brought. He could feel the magic doing things to him. He could tell it was transformation magic, but he also knew that transformation magic took a long time to complete properly, which would give him time to fight back. Unfortunately, the old sorcerer was using a spell meant for non-magical people, and it was increased tenfold when it hit Merlin, him being a magical being. It would kill him.
"Merlin!" screamed Arthur, reminding him of his presence. That's right. Merlin couldn't fight back, or Arthur would see him using magic...
Merlin doubled over, still trapped in the field of energy, as pain spiked all over his body. He was changing. He had to fight it if he wanted to protect the King.
"Arthur," groaned Merlin, shaking. Arthur was staring frantically at him.
"Merlin! What's happening?" None of the warriors could move, all trapped in their own personal magic shields that the Keeper had produced. No one could do anything but watch as Merlin was forced to his knees with pain, eyes shut tight and hands trying to stop his head from feeling like it was exploding.
Merlin then came to a decision as he opened his eyes a crack and saw his friends' worried faces. He couldn't let this happen, he could not die. He had to protect Arthur. If he couldn't accept him for what he was, then they had never been friends. If Arthur would have him executed, then he would prove his worth. But this could not go on for much longer.
"Arthur, I'm sorry!" he cried. Then he gathered all his willpower to face the old sorcerer. His eyes turned a fierce gold, and the Keeper took a step back. "Álynian þes galdorléoð!" he howled, raising his hand at the shocked old man, ignoring the sharp pain it brought. The spell died down immediately, leaving Merlin shaky and a little dazed. The Keeper was staring at him like a dead fish.
"You... you can't be... Emrys...?" Merlin didn't answer, simply stared back at him, trying to stop his knees from buckling.
"That is what the Druids call me," he stated softly. The Keeper nodded, slowly getting over his shock.
"I apologize, Emrys, but I cannot let anyone kill all my animals as they please, you understand?" Merlin didn't answer. When he deemed the old sorcerer unthreatening, he slowly turned to face the knights and the King.
Arthur was openly gaping, an expression of mixed anger, betrayal, confusion, and shock spread out in a stunning display on his face. The knights all bore a similar expression, except for Gwaine, who seemed more excited than anything, and Percival, who just looked worried.
No one stopped the Keeper as he slowly strode over to the dead animals. He held his hands out to the rabbit and deer, but left the pheasant. Everyone, save Arthur and Merlin, who were currently speaking to each other with their eyes, was staring at the old man as his eyes glowed a bright amber and the animals shook themselves, as if upon waking, and hopped up, leaping away into the darkness.
The sorcerer faced the others once more, but spoke explicitly to Merlin. "I apologize once more, Emrys. If ever you wish to return, the forest shall welcome you." The old man disappeared in a dusty tornado of smoke.
There were a few minutes of stunned silence. No one dared break the spell that had fallen upon them, simply settled to stare wide-eyed at the small manservant, whose skinny frame betrayed an immense power. The ones who were not silenced by fear were shocked by what the Keeper's spell had done.
It was eventually Arthur who shattered the quiet.
"Merlin..." It was spoken too softly to easily trace the emotions the King was expressing, but Merlin had known Arthur a long time. The only thing he could see was that Arthur did not seem angry as he had with the first shock, which was very reassuring. It was still mainly surprise that had possessed his tongue.
"Arthur," Merlin said, as quietly as the other, if not quieter. "I'm sorry." But he was not sorry for his use of magic; he was apologizing for the King having to find out this way. He felt immensely tired; having your body altered was taxing at best. Once he felt sure that he wasn't going to be run through with a sword as soon as he moved, he slowly raised his arms to examine his new appendages. He had an idea of what had been done, but just to be sure...
He raised his hands to his head and began patting around, feeling for abnormalities. He felt his face, but it felt the same as it always had, so he went up to his hair. At the sides of his head, where his magnificently large ears would usually be, there was nothing. He felt compelled to find his ears, no matter what state they were in. His heart sped up as he found them a couple of inches higher. They were covered in thin fur, and his eyebrows shot up as he realized they were triangular. They were still rather large, for ears, and higher up on his head, so people could see them very well. They twitched around as he felt them. He could hear a whole lot better than he normally could, and his ears swiveled around to pick up sounds. His eyes could see better too, though everything was a little brighter.
He dropped his arms and glanced behind him, and his heart stopped as he saw the long black tail curling upwards from under his tunic. It was entrancing as it swished elegantly from side to side.
His heart beat slowed back down to a normal pace as he accepted what he was.
Merlin was a cat. Not entirely a cat, no; he'd stopped the spell before that could happen. He only had the ears and the tail, and maybe a bit of the eyes too.
"Mate," Gwaine murmured quietly, "You're a cat."
Merlin blinked and looked up, snapping from the daze his tail had put him in. He'd nearly forgotten that the warriors encircled him, and he felt his tail straighten as he tensed.
"Em, yes, I guess I am," he mumbled back absently. He glanced back at Arthur, who now had a hint of amusement on his face.
And then the adrenaline faded, leaving Merlin vulnerable to the exhaustion that accompanied transformation magic. He began blinking heavily, unable to stop his knees from buckling as they became unable to support him. He crumpled to the ground, sinking into blissful oblivion.
FINALLY. THE CATBOY HAS ARRIIIIIIIVED!
You know, the first three chapters were meant to all be chapter one... and then I separated it because it was kind of huge XD that's why I'm uploading it all at once haha!
THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, FOLKS. To be continued!
Please review!