AN: so what did I say, two weeks? I was only one week off... Whoops.
Sorry about the long wait guys. I have been so busy. And last week was my little-hell week, so that made things a lot worse. But now all my professors are sick, so they keep cancelling classes and I have free time!
I probably shouldn't be celebrating people being sick, but I got to take a nap yesterday. It was glorious. But that isn't important. What is is that I've written another chapter! And we're getting close-ish to the end. I'm thinking like two to four chapters left. How crazy is that?
So, thanks for sticking with me! I love you all. I cannot express how much fun this has been for me, I hope it has been fun for you guys as well!
Also sorry to any Cenred fans. I'm kind of mean to him. Or Morgause is. One of the two.
And of course I don't own Merlin. There would have been so many spelling mistakes if I did.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Beast Within
Ever since Arthur had gotten to know Merlin, he had never imagined fearing him. But, as the door to the tower room burst inwards, stopping his father's most recent attempt to "free" him and revealing a furious Merlin, Arthur had been scared. The warlock's rage seemed a tangible thing, rushing like a tornado through the small room, Merlin's eyes burning gold in the center of it all.
Uther, for once, was speechless, and Arthur swore he could almost see fear in his father's eyes. He had dropped his wooden weapon, drawing instead his real sword as he stood ready to attack the angry warlock. The idea of the mortal king taking on Merlin in this state was ridiculous though. As if to prove Arthur's thought, with a mere flick of his wrist Merlin blew Uther back into the wall of the tower, making the whole room quake.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Merlin roared. "HE IS YOUR SON! YOU'LL NEVER LAY A HAND ON HIM AGAIN!"
Uther's sword was hovering at his neck as Merlin finished talking, hanging as a warning while Merlin glared at the king. Uther was completely helpless, and even if it hadn't been for Merlin's magic, in his current position, any movement would have gotten him impaled on his own sword. Arthur couldn't help but hope that Merlin would go through with his threat for a moment, and end his father's madness. But, he also knew that killing anyone, even someone as terrible as Uther, would change Merlin, harden him, and Arthur wanted to protect him from that. And, even through the pain, Uther was still Arthur's father, and the mere thought of Merlin killing him made him slightly sick.
But Merlin wasn't stopping. The sword moved closer and closer as the warlock controlling it stalked towards his prey. The Merlin that Arthur knew, the Merlin that wouldn't hurt a fly, was gone, replaced by this terrifying, all-powerful being. Arthur knew if Merlin didn't regain control now, Uther would die and the old Merlin would be lost forever, so the prince did the only thing he could from his bound position, screamed.
"Merlin!" Arthur shouted, "Stop! This isn't you; you don't have to kill him!"
The bright gold eyes were now focused on him. They seemed to soften slightly as they beheld Arthur's beaten form, still bound to the wall were his father had been pulled away from him. There was a moment of silence while Merlin studied Arthur and Uther, as if trying to come to some decision. Time seemed to freeze as he did, everyone in the room waiting to see what decision the sorcerer in the center of the room would make. Arthur held his breath, trying to catch Merlin's eyes every chance he got, hoping his love could still be reached under the mask of fury.
The fourth time Merlin's eyes met Arthur's, and Arthur tried once again to communicate his message of peace and calm that something changed. The warlock blinked slowly, golden eyes disappearing behind pale lids before revealing the deep blue eyes Arthur could get lost in. The sword clattered to the ground at Uther's feet as both it and the monarch were released from Merlin's spell. Merlin's eyes never left Arthur's as the warlock quickly made his way to the prince's side, the shackles that held Arthur falling away with a quiet spell once Merlin was close enough to catch him as he fell. Arthur tried his best to carry as much of his weight as he could, but if it hadn't been for Merlin supporting him he was certain he would have collapsed the second he was released from his position on the wall. His entire body ached from two days of his father's "treatment." He could feel the worry radiating off Merlin as the young warlock tried to keep him on his feet and maneuver him towards the door.
"I'm so sorry." Arthur heard Merlin sob, his mouth incredibly close to his ear allowing him to understand Merlin's gasped words. "I promised I would protect you. Gods, Arthur, this should never have happened."
"S'not your fault, Merlin." Arthur replied, doing his best to hide the pain from his voice. Arthur felt vaguely worried by Merlin's lack of response, but he decided to question him about it later, as Percival was now at his side, taking the majority of his weight from Merlin.
"We need to get out of here." Percival whispered, as Arthur he guided them towards the gap where there had once been a door. Their progress was incredibly slow as they ambled awkwardly, both Merlin and Percival trying to coddle Arthur while he tried to prove to them he could take care of himself (when maybe, although he would never admit it, he really couldn't). They had almost made it to the exit, when Uther suddenly blocked their path, the two guards he had brought with him standing nervously behind him.
"You are not leaving alive, Emrys!" Uther shouted, waving his sword in Merlin's direction. "And Arthur, listen to me!" Uther begged, his gaze shifting while his sword remained pointed in Merlin's direction. "This is your home! Spell or not, you can't abandon Camelot like this!"
"I'm not abandoning Camelot." Arthur replied, hoping that Merlin had a plan to get them out of here, "I will never abandon my kingdom, but neither will I serve a king who doesn't hold the true interests of the people in his heart. Until you become the king our people deserve, I will not stand by your side."
Arthur flinched as his father roared in fury, charging towards them with his sword held aloft. He hated being too weak to defend himself, but in the end he didn't need to worry. Uther had frozen mere feet in front of them, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets as he struggled to move forwards. Arthur didn't need to turn his head to know Merlin was behind his father's sudden stop, but he did as Merlin began to speak.
"I could kill you." He said, causing a chill to run down Arthur's spin. "It would be easy, probably almost as easy as it has been for you to order the deaths of thousands of innocent people. Just a quick spell can end the lives of kings and peasants. But I won't. Because I was taught that my power was given to me to protect others, not to harm those who stand in my way. No matter what you think, magic can be used for good. It can be a powerful weapon, there is no denying that, but it can also be a powerful tool for peace and protection. I am sorry that you have suffered at the hands of magic users, but that does not give you the right to hunt us down! Arthur has seen past your hatred, and he chooses to side with his people. Torturing him will not make him into the son you want! Pain can only create more pain, hatred more hatred, all that can reunite you now is understanding and acceptance. I was born to protect Arthur, not only from the magic users who would use their powers for revenge, but also from you and your all-consuming hatred. So I will be leaving here, alive, with Arthur, no matter how much you shout and who you order to stop me. And I will not kill you, even though I could, even though you've destroyed so many of my friends and family, because I know that killing will never fix this kingdom."
Arthur was pretty sure he hadn't breathed through Merlin's entire speech. Rage, power, and pity were streaming from Merlin. Uther was still frozen, unable to reply as Merlin's magic kept him still and silent, until, with a flick of his wrist, Uther stumbled forward, his sword flying across the room. While the king lunged after the sword Merlin lead them forward, pushing the guards aside with a wave of his hand, followed by a mighty gust of wind. Once the three outlaws were out of the tower room, Merlin turned back, and whispered "Aligodi," and with a flash of gold from his eyes, the sawdust that had been a door slowly knit itself back together, blocking the enraged Uther right as he lunged again. By the heavy thump that followed, Arthur surmised Uther must have crashed into the remade door. He smirked as the image of the furious king plastered against the door formed in his head. He was quickly pulled from his thoughts as the thumping started again, and Merlin said, "That door won't hold for long, we need to move."
Both Percival and Arthur nodded, taking off after Merlin down the stairs. Percival was still supporting Arthur, as the staircase was too narrow for all of them to fit across it side by side.
When they reached the bottom they were greeted by a very nervous Lancelot and Gwaine.
"What the hell happened up there?" Gwaine hissed. "We had to knock out way to many people coming to ask about that huge explosion, weren't we trying to keep a low profile? And what happened to Arthur?"
"Uther's up there." Merlin replied quickly. "We'll explain the rest later, for now we really need to get out of here."
As Merlin finished speaking there was a crash from above them, alerting them to Uther's success in breaking down the newly remade door. The group was frozen in fear for a moment as the crashing got closer, followed by the inevitable call for guards as Uther approached. It was Percival's shout of "RUN!" that eventually snapped them all out of their stunned stupor, sending them crashing down the hallways.
Arthur couldn't help but think that things were going rather poorly as they doubled-back down another hallway, trying to avoid the large group of guards they had spotted marching down the path ahead of them, cutting off their best path off. Every pathway they turned down seemed filled with guards, trapping them in the maze of the castle. Arthur felt rather useless draped over Percival's shoulder, still weaponless, as they dashed through the few remaining empty hallways of his old home. He tried his best to direct them down little-used pathways that could still lead them to freedom, but even the least-travelled paths were swarming with Uther's men. Arthur was about to suggest Merlin blast a hole in one of the walls and turn them all into butterflies so they could fly away, when they ran into a very familiar knight.
"Leon!" Arthur exclaimed, happy to see his friend was alone.
"Arthur! I thought you might come this way. I've brought you your things, but I'm not sure how you can get out of here. Uther's got every exit blocked and there are archers on all the walls. He's not taking any chances this time, and neither are the men. Their afraid of what he will do if they fail." Leon said quickly, handing Arthur his sword. Merlin seemed rather fixated on the weapon as it was passed from Leon to Arthur, and Percival helped him secure it and his belt back around his waist. And instead of questioning Leon more about the defenses they needed to get through with Lancelot, Merlin asked him, "Is that the sword you used to break Aredian's collar?"
"Yes." Arthur replied, still confused at why this is important. "The dragon under the castle made it for me."
The grin that spread across Merlin's face was not very assuring. It was clear the young warlock had a plan, but Arthur knew he wasn't going to like it. It didn't make him feel any better when Merlin turned back to Leon and asked, "How well guarded are the dungeons?"
"The dungeons?" Leon asked, sounding completely nonplussed. Lancelot, Gwaine, and Percival had expressions Arthur was guessing were rather similar to his. They all wanted to get out of there, but was the dragon really necessary? The beast was rather terrifying, and obviously wasn't the best at escaping Uther's clutches if his current predicament taught them anything. Merlin was rather fixated on this idea though, as he nodded, saying, "Yes, the dungeons! How well guarded are the dungeons!"
"Well, after last time, Uther's gotten a little bit more careful about the prisoners, so there is an extra guard there, but the path down to them is probably less-manned than most of the other pathways through the castle as the way out through the dungeon's has been blocked off after your last little escape plot. It is in the opposite direction you need to be going though, are you sure you want to be going down there?"
"Yes." Merlin replied, the manic grin still on his face. "I promised Kilgarrah I would set him free. I think it's about time I fulfilled that promise."
"Whose Kilgarrah?" Leon asked, "I don't think there are too many people down in the dungeons at this point, are you sure he isn't somewhere else?"
"Kilgarrah's definitely in the dungeons, as he has been for the past twenty years. He is also known as the Great Dragon, and I believe he is our key out of here."
"Are you sure Merlin?" Arthur asked, still pretty certain this was a terrible plan. "How do you know the dragon won't just burn us to a crisp the second he gets a chance?"
"His name is Kilgarrah, and he won't. I'm the last dragonlord, remember? He can't hurt me, and he promised he wouldn't hurt any of the people of this land. That was the deal we made the first time I spoke with him. He's our only chance of getting out of here now."
"Sounds exciting." Gwaine said with a grin, "Can't say I've ever met a dragon before."
"And no matter how many men Uther has, it would be hard for them to deal with a full grown dragon." Lancelot mused.
"You do realize this is a DRAGON you're talking about, right?" Arthur said, still a bit scandalized by this idea. "A giant, man-eating, fire-breathing dragon, who could probably slice us in half with one claw? What are we going to do, ask him for a lift and then pray he isn't hungry after twenty years of imprisonment?"
"Kilgarrah won't eat us." Merlin said, as if the mere idea was completely ludicrous. "All he really wants is freedom. We can at least give him that. I'm not letting Uther keep him prisoner here any longer."
"Merlin's right, Arthur." Percival said, making Arthur question the man who almost always served as the group's voice of reason. "We won't get out of here unscathed without some type of help at this point. The dragon, sorry, Kilgarrah is our only option."
Arthur huffed, and shifted slightly in his position leaning against Percival. He didn't like this idea, but what Percival said did make some sense. And if going a little out of his comfort zone got Merlin to safety, it would be more than worth it. "Alright." Arthur finally said, replying to Merlin's enthusiastic smile with a hesitant smile of his own.
"Wait a moment," Leon said, stopping them from running off towards the dungeons. "Are you lot really going to set a dragon free to get out of here? Are you sure that's a good plan?"
"Leon, it's our only shot." Arthur said, "I need you to try to get as many of the servants out of the castle and back home as possible. Merlin can keep the dragon from purposefully killing people, but we don't know what will happen when the beast breaks free. I don't want any innocents hurt in any destruction he accidently creates."
Arthur hoped Merlin would understand his fear for his people. He trusted Merlin, so if Merlin thought the dragon wouldn't hurt anyone, than he would trust Merlin was right. But who knew what would happen when the giant creature tore its way out of the dungeons and into the light. It seemed he did as he smiled proudly at Arthur, and nodded in agreement to his plan. Leon was still staring at them as if they were insane, but he eventually seemed to get over it, shaking his head slightly and saying, "I'll do my best, Arthur. Just be careful."
"Thank you, Leon." Merlin said with a smile. "We wouldn't have been able to manage any of this without you. I hope someday soon we will meet again."
"Maybe the next time I see you we will on the same side for once." Leon added with a sigh. "Good luck, and keep my prince safe until then. And Arthur, I kept this safe for you as well."
With that, Leon reached around his neck, pulling off the blue-grey stone that Merlin had given Arthur. Arthur wanted to snatch it back, keeping his first gift from Merlin close to his heart, but instead he said, "Keep it for me for a little bit longer. This way you can still contact us if Camelot is ever in danger."
"I will carry it with me until the day you return." Leon said, putting the cord back around his neck. "We will all be waiting for you here."
With that Leon ran off, leaving Arthur once more amazed by the loyalty of his oldest friend and most trusted knight. He didn't have long to dwell on Leon's loyalty before he was being dragged off towards the dungeons by Percival.
Leon had been right. The path down to the dungeons was much less guarded than the other hallways. It took them longer than it probably should have to get down to the caves beneath the castle, but they were able to do so without being detected by anyone but the prison guards (who Merlin had knocked out quite quickly). Arthur had felt his worry multiply as they made their way down the steps into the caverns beneath the castle, but he trusted Merlin, and he knew the warlock knew what he was doing.
When they reached the mouth of the great cavern that Arthur had only ventured into once before, Merlin shouted out "KILGARRAH!" and the sound of rushing winds told them the dragon was approaching quickly.
"You have returned, young warlock." The dragon said, with what Arthur almost thought was a smile. "Does this mean you have fulfilled your destiny?"
Arthur wanted to hide behind Percival as the golden eyes turned to him. He felt ashamed of his current broken state, as if he had failed the great beast in achieving all that he was supposed to.
"Not quite." Merlin replied, drawing the dragon's attention away from Arthur. "But I've decided to move things up a bit. How do you feel about taking us for a little flight?"
"I am not a horse, young warlock. But if you mean to set me free I will do you this one favor."
"I will, if you swear to honor our deal." Merlin said, taking Excalibur from Arthur. "After you take us away from here, you won't use your freedom for revenge. Do I have your word?"
"I swear on the honor of my noble race that I will not harm my captor or his people. Is that good enough for you?" The dragon asked, raising his paw in a gesture that almost reminded Arthur of a salute.
"That is." Merlin replied with a nod. "Now, let's get out of here!"
Arthur had flinched as the dragon flew to the edge of their small ledge, sticking his leg out so Merlin could cut him free of his chains. Excalibur sliced through the chains as if they were parchment, sending them clattering to the ground and freeing the beast.
Merlin jumped on the dragon's back first, looking completely comfortable on the man-eating beast. When he motioned for Arthur to climb on behind him, Arthur felt his blood run cold. He trusted Merlin, and he had done many things that were outside of his comfort zone for the warlock, but riding a dragon was pushing it. What if this was all some sort of trap, and once they were in the air the creature dropped them? What if it decided that destiny didn't matter, and it decided to eat them? Merlin noticed his hesitance and said, "Arthur, it will be fine. I'm a dragonlord, remember? Kilgarrah couldn't hurt us, even if he wanted to. I wouldn't let him. I promised I would keep you safe, so I wouldn't do this unless I was perfectly certain nothing bad was going to happen. We'll all be with you the entire way."
Arthur gulped, doing his best to suppress his worries as he climbed on behind Merlin, Percival going with him and keeping him stable as he scooted his way across the golden scales of the beast. Gwaine and Lancelot also seemed a bit worried about this whole encounter, but they joined Percival, Merlin and Arthur on the dragon's back quickly.
Once they were all on, secured within the comforting hold of Merlin's magic, the dragon took off. Arthur could just barely make out the small glimmer of light they were flying towards, but the dragon obviously knew where he was going. The light grew larger until suddenly, it surrounded them, burning Arthur's eyes for a moment as he tried to adjust to the rapid change in brightness. The sound of screams quickly brought him back to his senses. They had come out one corner of the castle, the dragon ripping through the grating that had always covered the strange gap in the castle wall. When Arthur regained his vision they were already high enough that the screams had faded slightly, and the people looked like toys way below them. He could just make out the uniforms of the knights amidst the sea of panicking people, but the dragon seemed set on getting away from the city as quickly as possible, so Uther's men didn't even get a chance to fire their crossbows before they were gone, soaring over the forests.
Meanwhile, at the castle in Essetir
Morgause paced back and forth. She was tired of 'serving' King Cenred, but he had an army, and was easy enough to manipulate, so she supposed it would be worth it for her to remain a little longer. She was so close to her goal, she could almost taste it! They had the rowan staff, and a spy in Camelot, now all she had to do was convince Cenred to send his army, and Uther would be defeated!
"But Morgause," Cenred whined, causing Morgause to roll her eyes. "Camelot is impenetrable. No one has ever broken through the gate. How can you be so certain we will succeed?"
"I've explained this before Cenred. Camelot may be strong, but with the loss of their golden prince, Uther's hold over the people has weakened. And when we are prepared to fight, my spy will plant the rowan staff, and the dead will rise to join our cause. Not even the army of Camelot can fight a war on two fronts. And don't you want to succeed, for me?"
Morgause gagged a bit as she fluttered her eyelashes at the leather-clad king. Luckily for her, he was much too thick to notice her revulsion, if his cocky grin was anything to go by.
"Of course I do. You will make a lovely queen, Morgause. I'm certain Camelot will benefit greatly for the change." Cenred said, attempting to slip an arm around her waist, but missing as Morgause pivoted quickly, resuming her pacing. Not long now, she thought. A few weeks and Cenred's, no, her army would be ready to march. Uther Pendragon's days were numbered.