Then…
.
.
.
Gwaine looked around him.
"No wyverns."
Bran looked at Merlin who grinned back at him.
"So, where are we going now?" Elyan asked. "Where do we start looking for that compass?"
Bran had not thought about it. He glanced again at Merlin, who looked around the castle courtyard.
"I once read about some of the catacombs here. One story says that there would be a hidden treasure within them."
"I too have heard about it. But the catacombs, I hate them." Gwaine noted.
"Nobody is forcing you to come." Merlin said. Gwaine stared at him.
"And if something happens to you, because I was not with you two, Arthur would eat me alive."
"Then you'll come with us."
"I though that you were a good friend, but now I don't think so." Gwaine muttered. Percival patted Gwaine's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll protect you."
Gwaine looked at his big friend. "Keep that in mind, really."
So they started to their way searching for the tombs. It didn't take much time locating it and when they looked through the doorway into the waiting darkness, even Bran hesitated. They found some torches and lit them, and began their descent down. The air was stale, and the narrow corridor led them straight. Then the corridor widened, and eventually they came to a crossroad.
"I have not seen anything on the walls, no clear signs of directions." Elyan said and lighting up the walls.
"Should we split up?" Percival asked.
"No, at least not yet." Merlin said thoughtfully.
"Merlin." Gwaine said.
"What?"
"Be careful. Remember what happened when we last visited this castle?"
"Yeah, sure, I'll keep that in mind." Merlin also browsed the walls. Then he saw a tiny red mark on the roof.
"Elyan, what about something like this?"
Elyan who looked the another way and shook his head.
"Wait here, I see there are more than that." Merlin walked forward and saw a second red marker. "I think it's this way."
They began to follow the signs. After some time they had a new crossroads.
"Do you see it?" Gwaine asked and Merlin nodded on the other side of the corridor. Bran was beside him. "I think someone has been here before us, and they must have marked the walls."
"Good for us." Gwaine grinned and started to walk toward Merlin. "But if there was someone here before us, maybe we won't find anything."
"But I have to take the risk." Bran sighed. "See, what sign is this?" He moved aside and the torchlight convoluted pattern. Merlin moved closer. Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet shook. They looked around alarmed.
"Do not say that the castle above us is going to fall now." Gwaine said. Again the ground shook and Gwaine retreated against the wall. " I knew that this was not a good idea." The next jolt caused him to sway and he used the wall for support. He was frightened when the wall suddenly gave way.
"Gwaine?" Merlin came forward, but then he felt Bran jerked him back.
"Look out!"
Something fell down landing with a thud. Merlin looked with astonishment at the stone wall what now rose between him and the knights. They were trapped.
.
.
.
Now…
.
.
.
Hunith touched her son's cold hand.
"Myrddin, fy mab." She whispered. Gaius patted his cousin's shoulder before he sat. It was heartbreaking to see Hunith with her son.
"Myrddin?" Arthur asked.
"My mother's language. Merlin's birth name." Hunith answered and stroked Merlin's face lightly and quickly.
"So you are from Wales." Arthur realized. He had never thought about it.
"Yes, but my parents moved to the south when I was small."
"And Merlin's father? He hasn't spoken much about him." Arthur was curious. Merlin never talked about himself.
"He… he was from here. Or raised here. He was born elsewhere." Hunith shook her head. She really didn't know much.
"Do you mean here, Camelot?" Arthur was surprised.
"Yes. That's all that I know." Hunith smiled.
"What was his name?"
Hunith looked Arthur. She didn't know how much Arthur really knew about Merlin's father or his fate because of Uther. But instead, it was Gaius who answered.
"Balinor Emrys."
Arthur turned to look the physician.
"So you knew him. Balinor Emrys? Its sounds familiar."
Gaius just smiled. "It's common name, or used to be when I was young. I think that I know more about Balinor than Hunith. Although I was young when he came here, I was one of his guardians. We became close friends."
"Guardians?" Arthur was confused. Gaius looked at him, estimating. Then he looked at Merlin. Maybe there was no need to hide anymore. Maybe it was time to tell the truth. Even though it was late to do so. But Arthur had a right to know. And Hunith, maybe she should know too.
"When Balinor's father was killed and his kingdom was took over by Vortigern, Balinor's aunt, Queen Anna wanted her brother's son brought here."
Then Gaius looked directly at Arthur, who stared at him, trying to understand what he heard.
"Grandmother? My grandmother Anna? What?"
"But, Emrys is a Welsh name." Hunith said suddenly. She looked her cousin. Gaius nodded.
"Because of you, and some other reasons too, Balinor chanced it. He changed his last name to your original language. And Emrys means…" Gaius looked at Arthur significantly. Maybe he didn't understand what it means, maybe…
"Ambrosius." Arthur noted and… "Merlin's father was Balinor Ambrosius." Suddenly it was all clear to Arthur. He just couldn't believe it. He blinked in confusion, wondering carefully what to say. There was only one Ambrosius who he remembered. "You mean, Balinor was Aurelius Ambrosius' son? So, then… Then that means… Balinor must be my father's cousin." Arthur shook his head, but Gaius just nodded his agreement.
" Why then, there is no sign of him in our family tree? Why did my father never tell me anything? I though that Aurelius' whole family died. Or so father told me." Arthur demanded to know.
"Uther removed all the evidence when he began the purge." Gaius' tone was dry. "But I think there is somewhere in the library, something that was left behind." He smirked.
"Why?"
"Because Balinor had magic."
The silence was deep and long. Arthur barely believed what he heard, but something told him that Gaius spoke the truth.
"Balinor, had magic? Balinor…" Arthur stared Gaius, and then he looked Merlin. His thoughts ran faster than ever. "You mean, that Balinor? The last Dragonlord? You mean that same man, Merlin's father, my father's cousin was a Dragonlord. When we… when we sought him to stop the Great Dragon and… Gods, I said those things to Merlin. That no one…" Arthur falls silent. There was so much to understand. He felt so tired. He looked at Merlin's mother. Was he looking equally shocked?
"My cousin." He whispered when he watched the motionless Merlin. "My... cousin." He shook his head. "Why? Why did I never know? Why? And my father, how he could… his own family."
"That explain why Morgana is also so powerful. They are the same blood. And when I saw Merlin, when Merlin came here all those years ago, I remember that prophecy. Emrys. I never knew, I never realized before I met him. My cousin's son was Emrys." Gaius's smile was weak. "Because Balinor chanced his name."
"What do you mean, by the prophecy?" Arthur asked. "Is there something more?"
"I…"
The door was slammed open and Gwaine was standing there puffing.
"Bran, he is here."
AN/
I though to do this explanation of Emrys, Ambrosius and so later, but because of a review bystargirl4eva, I though that maybe I should do this sooner. And maybe I added more later. But I don't want to explain too much either. So there are going to be empty places.
Because the legend of King Arthur is somehow like a myth and there are not a lot of facts, I picked up ideas from various sources and created my own Arthurian world. I'm sorry if someone is irritated or disappointed with my choices, or if some historical facts are distorted. I hope that you still like this. And about Gaius and Hunith, there are no direct references to the fact that they are siblings (or that I have noticed, you can correct me), but in some interviews, it has been mentioned that Gaius is Merlin's uncle, but I refuse that idea and took again, to my own ideas.
Thanks for all the reviews and Mark, if Bran would not be curious, life would be very boring ;)