Chapter 2- Twist
A/N- Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and alerts! As promised, here is the second chapter! From now on I am not even going to bother with disclaimers! :D Thank you for pointing out all the spelling errors, they are fixed now! I'll be more careful, I promise!
Ps- Slight spoilers for season 2 episode 9 and season 1 episode 13.
101- Thanks! Too bad you weren't signed in, but thanks anyways!
Now, here's the fic!
As soon as Arthur woke up he knew something was wrong. For a fleeting moment he though it had to do with Merlin as he wasn't in Arthur's chambers yet. Arthur dismissed this, thinking about how Merlin was late a lot.
So he waited… And waited… And waited until he realized Merlin probably wasn't coming.
Grunting in frustration, Arthur dressed and was able to have a passing servant bring him breakfast.
The prince finished quickly, then set off in a search for his manservant. He already had a strategy.
First, he would check the towers and battlements. After that, it would be off to the stables and finally Gaius' chambers. Along the way, he would ask anyone who would listen if they knew where Merlin was.
PRATTARP
In the end Arthur decided it would have been easier to just ask Gaius first. Could have saved himself a trip around the castle.
No one had seen or heard from Merlin since yesterday, so Arthur guessed he was hiding in his room.
The prince knocked on the physician's door. "Come in," sounded from inside.
When Arthur opened the door and stepped in, he couldn't help but notice Gaius' slightly worried face. The knowledge was stored in the back of his mind for later.
The physician looked up from his potions. "Ah, Sire," he said. "If you're looking for Merlin, he wasn't here when I woke up. I presumed he was trying to make it up to you for being late."
Even though he would never admit it, Arthur's stomach clenched into a knot.
"Mmm… I searched the entire castles and he's not anywhere. No one has had any contact with him today either. Any ideas where he could have gone?"
Gauis shook his head. "Not that I can think of, Si-" He cut himself off and started mumbling to no one in particular as he turned away. "No, he wouldn't… Only goes… Something's wrong, but what?"
The physician looked like he wanted to continue, but Arthur wouldn't let him when he heard 'something's wrong'.
"Gaius…" he said slowly. "Is there something you're not telling me?"
"What do you mean, Sire?"
"I heard you say something's wrong."
Gaius looked away. "It's nothing. He would have told me before he went there." The last part sounded like he was trying to convince himself, not Arthur.
"Went where? Gaius, just tell me!"
The physician said quietly, "Freya's lake."
IDIOTTOIDI
"What do you want, Mordred?" Merlin let out between gritted teeth.
"I want you, Emrys, and all your power too. I want magic to return to this land and I want to witness or cause, I couldn't care less which, Uther and Arthur Pendragon's downfall."
Merlin clutched his head. "If you are going to talk, do it verbally, not inside my head! And magic will be back, just not through murdering Uther and Arthur!"
"Very well," Mordred said, lips moving this time as he pulled off his hood.
As he did this, Merlin looked back and found that when he had been in Camelot he hadn't been able to recognize the voice in his head.
"How? How did I not know it was you?"
Mordred regarded him coldly. "What do you mean, Emrys?"
'Emrys', whose head was still throbbing painfully, let out a breath in frustration. "You're... brain voice or whatever. Why couldn't I tell it was you?"
The evil boy gave Merlin a nasty grin. Inside the warlock' mind came the same resounding voice from the castle, reverberating loudly: "Because it wasn't him. It was me".
Merlin's head snapped to the left. The last sentence had been spoken both telepathically and aloud.
The warlock's eyes widened at the sight of her. The deadly blue eyes bore into him. Her dark hair cascaded down her back, framing the impossibly beautiful, yet hard face. She had full dark red lips. On her person she wore the same crimson dress as she had the last time Merlin had seen her.
"I-it's you!" he stuttered.
"Yes, Merlin. Did you forget me already?"
"How could I... Nimueh.
PRATTARP
Arthur didn't understand what Gaius had said. The way he said 'Freya's lake', he could tell that there were quite a few emotions about it. Hurt and guilt were the obvious ones, but others were included.
"Gaius," he started cautiously. "What's that?'
The physician closed his eyes before replying. "Not what- who. Freya was the girl Merlin was in love with. But she… She's… She was killed. When she passed away, Merlin burned her body in a boat on that lake. He goes there, to that lake, when things are going badly, or when he misses her."
Arthur bowed his head. "Oh. I'm sorry." He then thought, Merlin had been in love? When did that happen? And how could I not have noticed?
Gaius turned away, his back to Arthur again. He raised an age weathered hand, finger pointing vaguely east. "Probably about two or three miles that way. Merlin never told me or anyone else exactly where. Only that it's that way."
"Thanks Gaius. I'll head out later in the day- that's when I usually go hunting. Then Father won't be suspicious. He wouldn't let me search for a servant," the prince scoffed. He headed for the door. "Goodbye Gaius."
"Goodbye, Sire."
PRATTARP
"Very well, Arthur." The king fell for the lie. He noticed a crucial fact, though.
As his son went to the hall, Uther called to him, "Where's that serving boy that follows you like a dog?" A very loyal dog, he thought to himself.
Arthur glanced about nervously, but the king didn't take note. "He, uh, is preparing my horse." That was partly the truth- someone was prepping his steed, just not Merlin.
"Mm," came Uther's reply. "Carry on."
Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. At least his father believed him.
He loaded his hunting gear onto his horse(to make his lie more convincing) and rode from Camelot.
IDIOTTOIDI
Merlin felt the sun hot on his back. Most of the night and part of the morning had been spent riding here. The warlock ignored it.
Instead, he stared in pure shock at the woman in front of him.
"But- but how-"
"How am I alive?" Nimueh cut him off. "To tell the truth, I don't exactly know."
Merlin was flabbergasted. "I killed you! With a lightning bolt!"
Nimueh laughed darkly. "Yes you did. But someone somehow got me to drink from the Cup. Apparently, I was worth of worth to them." She smirked. "And worth more than you."
Nimueh raised her hand out towards Merlin. "Achosi poen i hyn Warlo- " Her eyes flashed gold, but she stopped her spell before it could take effect. She glared at Mordred, but quickly backed down, leaving Merlin to wonder what was going on.
Mordred slowly walked forward. His voice resonated though Merlin's mind. "We have a purpose for you to serve. You can either come willingly, or we will force you."
Merlin crossed his arms over his chest. "I think you know my answer."
Mordred didn't reply, just nodded to Nimueh.
She smirked as her eyes flashed gold.
PRATTARP
When Arthur finally found the lake around midday, he was tired and sweaty. It was a hot and humid day.
The prince entered the clearing, gasping at the stark beauty. It was magnificent. The trees and distance, snowcapped mountains reflected off the surface of the calm water, sending a slightly wavering image back at Arthur. There was so much pure energy in this hidden, forgotten space of land. Arthur had travelled near here before, but how he missed it was anyones guess.
The prince spotted a stag on the other side of Freya's lake. He refused to kill it, already feeling as if he were trespassing on sacred land. Plus, he didn't what to hurt his manservant's feelings if he found out.
Just then, he spotted a miscoloured patch of ground near the shore. Arthur paused short of it, realizing what the color really was. Red. Dark red.
He dropped to the ground an, hoping it wasn't what he feared it was, felt it. It was a bit old, but there was no mistaking what it was. Blood. And it was at least a couple of hours old, if not more.
It stained a large part of the land. Arthur blanched at the thought of what could have caused that much blood. He almost retched when he realized that if Merlin had told no one of this place's whereabouts, and the prince himself didn't know despite his many patrols, then the only one here to cause the miscolouration must've been from Merlin.
Arthur literally ran to his horse. His hands were shaking violently as he made the horse gallop all the way back to Camelot. He didn't even bother to catch something for his 'hunting trip'.
He had to tell Gaius.
IDIOTTOIDI
"Tan, llosgi fe!" Nimueh shouted.
"Tan, diflannu!" Merlin countered, causing the fire that was snaking towards him to dissipate.
"Ah, you have trained, Warlock. But are you prepared for this? Ddaear, ar agor!"
The ground beneath the young man rushed open towards him, revealing a dark abyss. Quick as lightning, Merlin reacted. "Creu tir o dan fy nhraed!" A block of solid earth reappeared beneath his feet, steadying him.
"Very good," Nimueh mocked, walking to his left. Merlin turned to face her.
"Enough of these games! Streic hi i lawr!" the warlock roared. A blast of pure, raw energy burst forth from him, almost not giving her time to summon a shield. Even with that, Nimueh fell to her knees from the force of the blast.
"Stop! I don't want to hurt you! But I will if you make me! Just like before!" Merlin bellowed.
"Oh, I don't think you will," Nimueh replied calmly, looking up at him.
"What?" She simply pointed behind him.
"You don't need to do that. In fact, you shouldn't care about me at all. It's him you need to worry about."
Mordred raised his hands, eyes turning liquid gold. Merlin was too distracted to block the spell. Mordred's voice rose from a whisper to a yell with each syllable. "Dewch poen annioddefol i hyn Warlock!"
It started in his middle, working its way to every inch of his body. The pain was unbearable- it felt like he was being stabbed everywhere. Merlin cried out in agony, dropping to the ground. He convulsed, writhing from the incantation. The warlock tried to stay conscious, but it was to no avail.
Soon he couldn't help but give in to the approaching darkness.
A/N- In case you were wondering, the spells were in Welsh because I couldn't find an Olde English translator. Here is what the phrases mean-
Achosi poen i hyn Warlo- 'Cause pain to this Warlo-
Tan, llosgi fe! 'Fire, burn him!'
Tan, diflannu! 'Fire, dissipate!'
Ddaear, ar agor! 'Earth, open!'
Creu tir o dan fy nhraed! 'Create earth beneath my feet!'
Streic hi i lawr! 'Strike her down!'
Dewch poen annioddefol i hyn Warlock! 'Bring unbearable pain to this Warlock!'
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LunaShadowWolf13