I want to thank all who read the last chapter and especially Boxerbee and readernurse for reviewing. It made me smile to read them.
Disclaimer: I still don't own Merlin
Chapter 4 - Curses
Okay, so maybe charging the wyvern wasn't a good idea... but I had to do something, he thought dryly. Arthur was just beginning to wake up from...oh yeah, what was he doing? Still disoriented from the blow, he grudgingly decided that it would be best to completely wake up. The only problem was actually doing it...and to top it off, he had a pounding headache. It wasn't until an unearthly roar sounded near him that he sluggishly remembered the severity of their situation. A giant wyvern had attacked him and Merlin.
Merlin... Oh no, Merlin! He had almost forgotten about his friend. Where is he? I hope he's alright? I..., Arthur kept asking himself until his train of thought was cut off by blood-curdling scream. Immediately, the prince's eyes shot open, only to behold a gruesome sight, one he wished he had never seen.
There, about fifteen yards away from him lay Merlin, pinned down by the beast, screaming in pain as the wyvern's fangs dug into his right shoulder. For a few of seconds, the young prince froze at the sight of his best friend's thrashing form.
"MERLIN!", Arthur screamed. The wyvern didn't even flinch at the sound of the angry prince. Instead, it only shifted its gaze to the prince and then back to Merlin, never letting go of the shoulder it was biting on. It was only when the screams faded and his friend passed out that snapped out of his daze.
Anger was an understatement for what Arthur was feeling. Losing all inhibitions, the prince charged the beast (again). With a careful swing, the sword hit the wyvern but instead of injuring it, the sword repelled off its skin. The prince tried again and again, but the result was the same.
Meanwhile, the wyvern was still biting on the warlock. Paying little heed to the prince, with a flick of its tail it sent Arthur flying across the clearing. He got up to charge the beast one more time (because that was obviously working). He had to get Merlin out of there, and fast! When he was a few yards from it, the wyvern suddenly let go of Merlin's limp body, ripped off his neckerchief, and took off. Its work was completed.
Arthur would have mercilessly hunted down the beast if it wasn't for his best friend's prone form. Merlin's body was gravely still and his breathing was weak. To make matters worse, he was bleeding profusely. Running to his friend, the young prince knelt down by his side.
"Merlin. Can you hear me?" he asked, hoping for some sort of response. Nothing. He gently shook the young warlock, hoping to wake him up. After what seemed like eternity, Merlin's eyes shot open as he gasped desperately for air.
"Ar...thur?" Merlin said through ragged breaths.
"Merlin! You're up! How do you feel?" Arthur asked. That was stupid, he probably feels terrible right now. I know I would!
"What...do you...think?" Yep, stupid question.
Before he could respond, the bushes surrounding the clearing rustled. Something else was coming. Thinking that the wyvern returned to finish them off, Arthur stood up in a striking stance. He was going to protect Merlin, no matter what the cost.
Luckily he didn't have to. A couple of seconds later, his knights stepped out from the forest.
"Arthur, there you are. We heard a loud roar and followed it and..." Leon began, but was cut off when he noticed a motionless Merlin laying on the ground.
"What happened?" Gwaine asked furiously.
"It's a long story, but we have to get Merlin back to Camelot now! He needs Gaius...badly", Arthur solemnly replied. "Where are the horses?"
"Here Arthur", Percival said, holding the reins in his hand.
"Good. Elyan, go back home and let Gaius know what happened".
"Yes Sire", Elyan replied before riding with all speed to Camelot.
"Lancelot, get the bandages from Merlin's pack and cover his wound as best as you can. Once he's done, we leave right away."
Immediately, each knight set off completing their tasks. No-one dared to break the uneasy silence that had fallen on the group. Even Gwaine was somber, and that was saying something.
Merlin, who had already fallen back into the realm of unconsciousness, woke up when Lancelot was wrapping his shoulder. Seeing his friend awake, the knight smiled.
"How are you my friend?"
"It hurts. Dark...magic..." Merlin muttered before he groaned in pain. His eyes flashed gold for a brief second. Lancelot could only guess that his body was fighting the 'dark magic' Merlin had mentioned. The knight glanced behind him to make sure no-one was around to notice. Seeing that the coast was clear, Lancelot turned around to his friend to finish bandaging the shoulder.
When he looked at Merlin, for the briefest millisecond, he could have sworn he saw his eyes turn red. The knight shut his eyes and opened them to make sure if what he was seeing was right, but when he did, the young warlock's eyes were their normal blue color. Maybe I'm just a little stressed, Lancelot thought.
After Lancelot had finished wrapping the shoulder, Merlin proceeded to pass out again. Percival lifted the warlock as gently as possible and set the young man in front of Arthur on his horse. The prince wrapped one arm around Merlin's torso and held the reins in the other hand. Once they were all ready, they rode as quickly as they could to Camelot.
One the ride home, Merlin woke up once. His eyes, glazed over in pain, met Arthur's before closing again. It hurt Arthur to see his best friend like this. He berated himself for not protecting Merlin, for failing him when he needed him most. As they drew nearer to the white city, all Arthur could do was hope that his friend would hold on just a bit longer until they were safe home.
He was floating. Why was he here? How did he get there? What happened?
Who was he?
Someone had called his name. What was it again?...Ah yes, his name was Merlin.
He stood up, only to be met with a painful, pulsating throb. He opened his eyes, but all he could see was darkness. A figure crept in the corner of his eye. He turned around, but it was gone. There it was again!...and then in a flash, it disappeared.
The silence whispered to him, its raspy voice sending shivers ran down his spine. 'Fangs, claws, darkness' it breathed. Another throb, more painful than the last, ripped through his body. He fell down...and was floating again. He closed his eyes and let the sweet oblivion take hold.
The darkness engulfed him and he was lost to the realm of consciousness.
The plan was simple. Put a curse on Arthur that would turn him into a creature of magic. Then control said creature into attacking Camelot, but more importantly Uther. The look on the king's face, knowing his beloved son was destroying his own kingdom... oh that would be priceless.
Fortunately for Morgana, Anatol was a master at curses. Unfortunately, curses were more complicated than Morgana thought, even for one such as skilled as their new ally.
"For this curse to work, it has to be inflicted by a physical means before the magical part can be implemented", Anatol said to Morgana.
"I don't understand. Can't you just curse him with magic and be done with it?" Morgana asked curiously.
"No. Curses by themselves require powerful magic. This curse, however, is on a level on its own. For a warlock, doing this would be simple enough. For us, however, just using powerful magic isn't enough." Morgause answered. Morgana gave a quizzical look. The blonde sorceress knew that her sister was still knew to the rules of magic. Anatol took that as her cue to explain further.
"Think about casting a curse like locking a door. If you want to keep out a weak enemy, simply closing the door and locking it will do the trick. If the enemy is powerful, you'll need to reinforce the door with barricades and the like, otherwise it will not hold".
"Likewise, this curse is powerful so it requires extremely powerful magic to control it. In order to do so, I have to reinforce it physically and magically to maintain it. Otherwise, it just won't work."
"Oh, that makes sense" Morgana replied.
"Since we are dealing with the Pendragons, I want to make sure that the curse is as strong as it can be", Anatol said.
"So how do we inflict it physically?"
"Well Morgana, I'm glad you asked", the red-haired sorceress replied, an evil grin forming on her face. At this, Anatol began chanting a spell, her eyes blazing gold. Suddenly, a great wind blew inside the cave, bringing with it a set of old bones. The bones began putting themselves together. Muscles and flesh sprouted from the rib cage, until a black dragon-like creature with white eyes stood in its place.
"It's a wyvern!" Morgana said in a surprised tone.
"Not just any my dear sister. This is a were-wyvern. There's only one in existence", Morgause said with slight awe.
"That is correct Morgause. One bite from this wyvern, and the curse will be spread to the prince", Anatol replied and turned away from the sisters to examine the beast even more.
"Sister" Morgana said turning to Morgause. "What's so special about this wyvern?"
"Well, for starters, its whole being is made up of dark magic. That's why it only takes a bite to spread the curse. Another thing is that there's always only one in existence at a time".
After another puzzled look from Morgana, Morgause continued. "After the wyvern bites its victim, it dies. However, the victim eventually will turn into one himself and takes its place. Then the cycle starts again".
Morgana was amazed. This was indeed powerful magic!
"How will you know that it got the right person? What if it bites someone else?"
"A good question Morgana" Anatol said as walked forward to the two sisters. "You see, the were-wyvern hunts by sensing a person's aura. It never misses and it will not rest until it has bit its intended target", the sorceress paused dramatically. "Now, do you have something that the prince has touched before? Anything, no matter how small, will do."
Morgana thought carefully until she remembered the dagger Arthur had given to her on her birthday. Digging it out from her belongings, she presented it to Anatol. The sorceress, in turn, gave it to the were-wyvern. After smelling it, it looked at Morgana and turned around to face Anatol.
"No, the other one", she commanded mentally.
Sniffing it again, its white eyes narrowed when it latched on to the other aura. "Perfect. Now, go and hunt him down. Signal me when you have found him". The beast bowed its head, spread its wings, and took flight.
"It should be back soon" Anatol said when it left. The three sorceresses look pleased. Soon, all would be ready and Arthur and all of Camelot would bow before them. Breaking the silence, Morgana asked the last question that was still nagging at her.
"What happens if someone else tries to control it?" Morgana and Morgause had heard rumors of a lone sorcerer protecting Camelot. Though they were supposedly 'just rumors', it did explain how Camelot had survived the magical attacks these past couple of years.
At the question, Anatol smiled an evil grin (one that made even Morgana slightly jealous). "That's the best part. Since it is made up of dark magic and I summoned it, I alone can control it. Not even the mighty Dragonlord has the power to command it".
A couple hours later, Anatol heard the were-wyvern's roar in her mind. Ah, there's the signal, she said to herself. "All is ready".
I hope the 'putting-a-curse-is-like-locking-a-door' analogy made sense. It was the only thing I could think of. :)
I hope I shed some light about the were-wyvern. We'll learn more about it as the story goes on. I promise. Feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think.
Until later,
-STL 13