Chapter 16

He had been hunched over Merlin's unconscious form for so long now that his hands were sweaty and his elbows actually hurt.

"I'm not going to apologize you know. You could have been honest with me. Not from the start obviously. I might have killed you then. But I didn't know you. That was before you saved my life a few times, and shown loyalty and bravery in the face of death. You still are a stupid servant regardless of everything else; even if I'm not sure it means anything given the fact that you're noble and all that.

Not that I'm not happy about it. We're cousins, you know; distant ones, but still related by blood. It makes sense. I always knew there was something about you. Now I know it's not wisdom. It's a kind of nobility."

I can't say that the whole sorcerer thing doesn't bother me because it does. All this time, I just thought that I was really lucky. Each time an opponent would drop his sword at the last moment or fall off his horse, I imagine that it must have been you doing your magic tricks. But what does that make me? What portion of my triumphs do I actually owe to you? Is there any way to tell? Am I just an average knight? Not that you care about that; you're just sleeping."

He got up, stretched a little, and then started to pace around the chamber.

"You have no idea how hard this is for me, do you? You had to leave so that I could look like an idiot. Everyone is just waiting for me to pass judgment. I know who I'm supposed to be and what I'm supposed to do, but you had to be a sorcerer to make things more complicated. Gaius said that you were born with magic, but that actually doesn't make it easier. Sorcerers are supposed to be black-hearted villains, but that's just everything that you are not; and nor is Gaius. What choice do I have then? Can you tell me that?"

From his small bed near the fireplace, Merlin gave a loud snort and turned on his side.

"Of course you're not going to tell me. You're sleeping. Couldn't you at least pretend to care?" said Arthur irritably.

Merlin turned on his back, threw one arm up, his good arm, and began to snore.

"Great!" burst out Arthur. He was not even bothering to keep his voice down anymore. "This is turning out to be our best conversation ever: the one-sided kind."

He had been mumbling incoherently for so many hours now that nothing that came out of his mouth hardly made any sense. He didn't know what time it was except that it was dark. He had given Merlin some water (from the well below the castle, not from the lake) at sundown. Now the young warlock was deeply asleep. More color had returned to his skin, confirming the fact that he would recover from the dark magic that had poisoned him.

"You know I really spilled my gut out so you could at least acknowledge that some of it got through," said the prince.

Merlin's only response was to mumble under his breath something that sounded like "yes more mead please".

Arthur let out a sigh of irritation.

"All right, I'm done," he said. "But don't ask me to repeat it because I won't. You're really hopeless you know."

After that he left in search of his own room. He found the servant boy Lucian lurking in the corridors waiting for him, and it was just as well because he was just about ready to fall asleep on the floor.

The room that was assigned to him was small but comfortable. He slept dreamlessly, waking up only once to check on Merlin, but the young warlock was still sleeping. As he returned to his room, he heard the wolves, but it was only a distant call.

When he woke up in the daylight, he soon realized that he had overslept. He found Merlin's chambers deserted, which set him on edge, only to find that a training of some sort had started just outside of the keep, beyond the caved in wall. It was the servant boy Lucian who showed him the scene through one of the small windows. As Arthur's eyes scanned through the group of knights, he spotted Gwaine, Lancelot and Merlin standing together and speaking eagerly.

A good part of the day had already gone by and as he stepped into the Hall he was handed a plate with his lunch rather than his breakfast.

Lord Brunor was giving some orders in the Great Hall and a woman carrying an infant in her arms was following him. As he watched them from a distance, Arthur felt a sudden urge to go back to Camelot and to Guinevere.

"Arthur!" said Brunor happily. "Come and meet little William."

The baby boy was beautiful, but Arthur was more interested by the sound of clashing swords outside of the walls.

"Do you want to see the game?" asked Brunor cheerily.

The weather outside was very enjoyable. In fact, Aria's Cradle was a lovely place during the day when it wasn't haunted by creatures of evil. Even the Black Lake wasn't ominous or imposing. It was peacefully lying at the bottom of the valley like a giant well.

The keep's caved in wall wasn't the only ruin, Arthur noticed. The knights were training on a patch of grass between what was left of a few walls of stones. It was now only high enough for Merlin to sit on. Arthur could see him now, dangling his feet like a child and turning his sword so that the blade would reflect the light of the sun. All traces of the previous night's illness seemed to have vanished except for the white cloth around his hand and wrist.

Presently, the knights were standing in circle and cheering a friendly fight between Lancelot and a knight whose name Arthur did not know.

"Don't you want to get closer?" asked Brunor.

"What's the game?" asked Arthur. He had found a nice spot in the shade next to a tall tree and he wasn't sure that he wanted to face the crowd just yet.

"They're playing 'Last One Standing'. It's sort of self-explanatory."

Lancelot had thrown his opponent on his back, but the defeated knight merely rolled out of the way, got back on his feet and bowed low to Arthur's younger knight. Lancelot then pointed at another knight. It was a stout fellow with big arms. The fight began again and Arthur was glad to see that Lancelot had the advantage once more.

As they were fighting, Arthur watched Merlin from the corner of his eye. He couldn't quite believe how well he looked and how much he was enjoying himself. It was such a contrast. And then it dawned on him that Merlin could put off quite a pretense if he needed too. So perhaps he was not doing so well after all.

He was brought out of his reverie when Lord Brunor stepped in to accept the challenge that Lancelot was setting him.

The fight was a fair one. Brunor was older but very skilled. Lancelot was swift and agile on his feet. The fought brilliantly for a long while until Brunor knocked the sword off Lancelot's hand. The knight yielded and Brunor picked Gwaine for his next opponent.

Arthur recognized Gwaine's style right away. He was fierce and quick. Unfortunately, Lord Brunor did not last very long, which caused a good laugh among all of the valley's knights.

Having won, Gwaine pointed his sword at the giant Gregory.

"A-ha!" yelled the knight happily. "Bad choice for you."

"We'll see," replied Gwaine between clenched teeth.

Gregory was at least a head taller than Gwaine, and he had many more muscles in his body. But Gwaine was thoroughly unimpressed. Arthur recognized his own arrogance in Gwaine's demeanor. He was a man for whom fighting was a way to prove his worth; which was precisely why the look on Gwaine's face when he fell face forward in the grass and lost his sword was priceless.

"A-ha!" shouted Gregory. "I defeat Camelot! I choose Prince Arthur!"

Arthur felt all eyes turned to him at once. He was a guest so he didn't really have a choice. As he stepped into the ring of cheering knights, Lancelot handed him his sword and whispered, "He's not really that impressive" with a playful grin. Clearly, the fun of the game was contagious.

"My arm still hurts you know," said Arthur as he was circling around Gregory to assess his weak points.

"I pull it out of its socket if you want, little prince," sneered the giant.

But Arthur had already seen what he was looking for. Gregory was so big and tall that his ankles and feet looked tiny. It was barely noticeable, but he was a little unsteady on the grass.

Arthur gave the first blow and aimed all of the following ones at the lower part of Gregory's body. Just by his footwork, he knew that he was throwing the tall knight off balance.

"I feel I have to offer you a chance to withdraw now," said Arthur with a cunning grin.

The other knights were laughing.

"I no think so," replied Gregory.

The next blows were decisive. Arthur moved quickly and always with the aim of throwing Gregory off balance. When he saw an opening, he pushed with his whole body and the giant knight fell on his back, defeated.

The laughing stopped instantly, but then Arthur presented his hand to Gregory and the cheering was renewed even louder.

"Your pick now," said Gregory, bowing to the prince.

"Merlin!" said the prince at once. He had been waiting for that opportunity. "Let's see how well you've trained."

"Bad choice," uttered Gregory, and then he limped back into the circle of knights.

"That's a nice little sword," said Arthur jokingly.

Merlin swung it around once and Arthur immediately that the weapon was doing wonders for him. It was small and light and therefore his movements were swift.

"I feel I have to offer you a chance to withdraw," repeated Merlin wittingly.

"I never withdraw," replied Arthur.

He gave the first blow and was rather impressed at how well Merlin was able to handle the fight. They exchanged a few more blows before Merlin spun on the spot and knocked the prince on his back. Arthur took a few steps back.

"Don't hold back," sneered Arthur.

Merlin was swinging the blade in front of his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic," he snorted. "It's only a game, isn't it?"

They fought again and the cheering around them became low murmurs. However, Merlin was beginning to show signs of weariness. He winced when Arthur inadvertently brushed his wounded arm.

"Sorry!" he couldn't help saying.

He regretted it at once. Merlin swung his sword at him in a wide arch which gave him more strength. Arthur had to take a few steps back, but he regained his advantage almost instantly with the next blow.

"You do know I've been trained to do this since birth," he said without much thinking.

The words had a familiar sound to his ears, and he knew why the moment Merlin replied.

"And how long have you trained to be a prat, my Lord?"

It was from the first day of their encounter, of course. Arthur had wanted to throw him in the dungeons for saying that. He had taught him a lesson in the market instead.

"I – am – not – a – prat," he said and gave a blow with every word.

Suddenly, the sword flew from Merlin's hand. It would have landed a few paces away if Merlin had not caught it with magic. He just stood there with his arm stretched, and the sword stopped in midair.

And then Arthur began to sink into the ground. Actually, it was as though he was no longer standing on solid ground but on the bottom of a swamp.

"That's – not – fair!" shouted the prince.

"Life's not fair," said Merlin with a grin. "I didn't ask to have magic. You didn't ask to be a prat."

"That makes us even, then," said Arthur. He was now down to his knees in mud.

"Oh no," laughed Merlin. "To make us even, you need to get at least up to here." He gestured to his neck.

"That's very funny," said the prince. He had now dropped his sword to try and regain his balance.

Merlin took his own gold and silver sword. He brought it so close to Arthur's face that the prince could see the markings on the blade.

"Do you yield?" said Merlin sternly.

Arthur considered his situation. He was standing on a pool of mud, balancing unsteadily with his hands, while everyone else was on solid ground. He had no way out.

Against all odds, the best warrior in the land yelled, "You win," to a boy who had been his servant.

Immediately, the something solid below his feet began to vibrate and push him up. When his feet were on ground level, long grass grew rapidly to cover the hole. The other knights were cheering and clapping. The giant Gregory was laughing on top of his lungs.

"A-ha! Merlin no joking. Now you see, little prince. A-ha!"

But Arthur could only see that Merlin was panting.

"I told you I could take you," he said between two breaths.

Arthur's reply died in his throat as he saw the servant boy Lucian arrive at a run. His face was not amused at all.

"Merlin! Lord Brunor! I think the king is dying!" said the boy.

And then, just like that, Merlin was gone. Again.