So, this is the chapter most of us have been looking forward too! I hope it lives up to expectations. It has been really difficult to work out which approach to take, cause there were so many, but I hope mine is a bit different to the one you were expecting! Enjoy!

The rest of the day passed in a blur; the whole castle was alive with activity. Guinevere had gone straight to Gaius and helped him set up an infirmary, and Merlin had left the castle within half an hour to gather the Druids. He used one of their cloaks to smuggle Aithusa back into the castle, although everyone was so busy, nobody gave him a second glance. He hid the Dragon hatchling in his room, ordering him to remain quiet. Gaius would bring him to the infirmary to aid in the healing of the wounded once the battle started.

As evening approached, Merlin made his way to the King's chambers, where Arthur was already dressed in his chainmail, staring out the window at the approaching torches.

'Arthur?'

'Have we made the right choice, Merlin?'

Merlin picked up the King's armour, causing Arthur to turn. He sighed and allowed Merlin to help him, but didn't speak until Merlin was fastening the plate onto his shoulder.

'I've been King under a year, and already I've led my Kingdom to war twice. Not including Cenred's attack whilst I was Prince Regent. How can you have so much faith in me, when I've done this?'

Merlin shrugged. 'Each of those occasions was caused, directly or indirectly, by Morgana. And three times before, your leadership has led your people to victory. Without any bloodshed against Queen Annis, might I add. There is nothing to doubt, Arthur. You will be the greatest King to ever live. Of that, I am sure.'

Arthur smiled sadly, clapping Merlin on the shoulder. 'I couldn't have done any of it without you Merlin. And tonight you will stand by my side, as my equal. Everyone will know who and what you are; you will be rewarded for this.' He strode over to his wardrobe, pulling out an ancient, midnight blue cloak.

'I found this last night. It's the traditional cloak of the Court Sorcerer of Camelot; I don't know why my father didn't destroy it, but we're lucky he didn't. It must be enchanted in some way. I thought it would come in handy tonight.' He handed it to Merlin, who looked at it in awe.

'Arthur…'

'Don't mention it.' The two shared a smile, before turning towards the door, just as it opened.

'My Lord! There are some men out here; they insist on speaking with you.'

'Send them in.'

Three men entered the room, two of whom Arthur recognised. Which meant the third must be Alator. Arthur smiled.

'It is alright, Sir Leon. I've been expecting them. You should join the men; I'll be there shortly.'

Sir Leon glanced between Arthur and the three strangers, but bowed and departed without a word. Arthur strode forward to shake Alator's hand.

'Thank you for coming.'

'When Lord Emrys sent for me, I could not ignore his request.' Arthur glanced behind him, where Merlin was staring determinedly at the floor, his ears going slightly red. Arthur smirked.

'Well, we are both very grateful. To all of you.'

Alator bowed slightly, turning his gaze to Merlin. 'My people are already within the castle walls, My Lord, awaiting your orders.'

Merlin nodded. 'Go with Arthur to meet with the Knight's; all of you. I'll go to the druids and prepare them for battle. The Knight's need to know that there are magic users on our side.'

'And what of your role in this?'

'Let's keep that between us five for now,' Merlin smiled. 'Can't have Morgana finding out too soon, can we?'

XxX

Arthur marched up the stairs to the base of the tower where the main portion of his Knights were preparing for battle. He took a deep breath before rounding the corner. All of his Knights looked up as he entered, but he gestured for them to remain sitting.

'There is something that all of you need to know before we go into battle.'

Leon nodded, standing up. 'Whatever it is, Sire, we will be behind you every step of the way.'

'Be careful with your promises, Leon,' Arthur smiled sadly. 'But I thank you for your devotion.' He gestured with his hand, and the three sorcerers joined him. 'This is Alator, leader of the Cathe, Gilli and Iseldir, who leads another clan of druids.'

'Druids?'

Arthur nodded. 'We have no hope of beating Morgana alone; she is very strong and she will have sorcerers within her army. Without the aid of the druids, there is every possibility that she will win. That is a risk I am not willing to take. Too much is at stake.'

'But what have you offered them in return?' Sir Thomas exclaimed. 'They have magic! They will turn against us!'

'They have sworn their allegiance to Camelot, and I hold them to their word. They will not turn against us. To answer your question; in return, we will no longer hunt their kind. Magic will once again flow into the realm.'

Thomas made to argue, but Leon held up his hand. 'Without the druids, we will surely fail. Morgana has already tricked us into ridding ourselves of a potential ally. I, for one, will not make that same mistake again. It would be an honour to fight alongside you all.'

Alator and Iseldir inclined their heads to Leon, whilst Gilli gave him a small smile. Arthur nodded to them, before turning back to his Knights.

'I have told you of their presence so that I can ensure their safety from my army during the fight. If you see someone casting magic, you must not attack them unless you are certain that they are an enemy of Camelot. The murder of any of our allies will be treated as though you have murdered one of our own, because you have.'

There was a loud crash outside and everyone jumped up, grabbing their weapons. Arthur held up his hand, looking up slightly.

'It's time. Good luck everyone; may the God's watch over you.'

Leon came forward and stood in front of Arthur, unsheathing his sword, and holding it in the air. 'For the love of Camelot.'

Arthur nodded, raising his own sword.

'For the love of Camelot!'

XxX

Arthur stood on the battlements, watching Morgana's army approaching. He waited until one of his scouts signalled him, before he nodded to Sir Leon. He remained still as Leon relayed the order.

'Raise the flag!'

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the flag go up. He leant against the wall, watching Morgana, as she halted her army, obviously considering his proposal. Then, another movement caught his eye.
A white flag.

Arthur smiled. 'Stand down, but remain ready. I will speak with the Lady Morgana.'

'I'll accompany you, my lord.'

'Thank you,' Arthur smiled. 'Let's get this over with.'

XxX

Leon and the rest of the knight's remained further back as Arthur approached Morgana, sheathing his sword and holding up his hands.

Morgana raised an eyebrow, but walked out to meet him.

'Surprised to see me, dear brother?'

'This is your only chance, Morgana. Turn around and walk away.'

She let out a bark of laughter. 'You think that your pathetic band of druids – yes Arthur, I know all about you and Merlin trying to recruit them - will be enough to defeat me?'

This time it was Arthur who laughed. 'Of course not! They are here to combat your army of sorcerer's, not you directly. You're too powerful for that.'

'It will be useless, anyway. Without your precious Emrys, you have nothing.'

Arthur almost smiled, instead moulding his face into a mask of confusion. 'Emrys has been dealt with Morgana.'

'I know,' she smirked. 'And without him, Camelot will fall.'

'You see,' Arthur replied with a smile. Morgana looked taken-a-back by his suddenly calm expression. 'That would be true, if I hadn't taken a leaf out of your book, Morgana. You should know better than anyone that people lie!'

'Emrys is dead!' Morgana shrieked. Above their heads, there was a clap of thunder that made Arthur smile. 'Your precious manservant killed him! He has doomed all of Camelot, all because of his loyalty to you!'

'Again, that would be true,' Arthur smiled, completely calm, 'If Merlin had actually killed Emrys.'

Shocked gasps, from both sides, as Morgana took a step back.

'What?'

'Merlin didn't kill Emrys; he really would have to be an idiot to manage that one.'

Morgana's eyes narrowed. 'If Merlin didn't kill Emrys, who did?'

At this, Arthur looked a bit sheepish. 'Ah, well that's the thing. I may or may not have told a little white lie when I told the whole of Camelot that Emrys was dead.'

'No…'

'Yes,' Arthur took a step forward. 'You ordered Agravaine to have Emrys killed, because Emrys wasn't a threat to Camelot; he was a threat to you. When Agravaine attacked Emrys in the woods almost two months ago, I defended him and I killed the traitor. And so, Lady Morgana, I am giving you one last chance. Walk. Away.'

'You lie!' Morgana screamed. 'Ready the army.'

Arthur shook his head sadly. 'Don't say I didn't warn you.'

He unsheathed his sword, raising his arm up. Morgana watched him fearfully, as it dropped.

The sky exploded with sharp lightning, and Morgana cried out, ducking her head. Arthur remained where he was as the lightning hit the ground, directly in the middle of Morgana's army. She shrieked, raising her hand, but couldn't find the direction the attack was coming from, and, suddenly, she was thrown backwards as an unknown force struck her.

Arthur turned, his eyes immediately locating the figure perched on top of the guard tower. The figure vanished, reappearing at Arthur's side, swathed in a blue cloak with a hood that hid his face, holding an ancient staff. Morgana clambered to her feet, staring at the figure with a mixture of fear and hatred.

'You!'

He just nodded, twirling his staff in his hand before pointing it at Morgana. Show off, Arthur smiled, taking a step back. Leon and Gwaine ran forward but he merely shook his head, once again turning to face the battling magicians.

'He can handle this.'

'Who is he?'

'He's Emrys.'

XxX

Merlin fixed his gaze on Morgana, allowing everything else to fade out. The Druids had him covered if any of Morgana's men tried to attack. His only focus was her.

'So you are alive,' she sneered. 'Arthur truly did lie to his people to protect one cowardly sorcerer.'

'It wasn't my decision, Morgana,' he replied. She jumped, looking at him with wide eyes.

'Your voice. It is different, yet I know it.'

'Of course you do,' he smiled, straightening up slightly. 'You know me very well, Lady Morgana. At least, you thought you did.'

She laughed, taking a step towards him, raising her hand. 'If you were truly destined to be my doom, why didn't you act before I knew who you were?'

'Because I thought you could be saved.'

Morgana faltered in her step. She stared at him for a moment, before shaking her head. 'You can't be… It's not possible!'

Merlin smiled, reaching up with his hand, and pulling back his hood.
He heard the horrified mutterings coming from behind him as the Knight's realised who he was, but he found that he really didn't care. He was waiting for Morgana's reaction.

'No…' she whispered, going even paler than she already was. She shook her head again, before letting out an agonised scream. 'No!'

Merlin threw his hands up, creating a shield in front of the whole of Camelot as she let out a blast of energy.

'You traitor!' she screamed, sending blast after blast at his shield. He thrust his arm out, and she flew backwards, crashing into the ground. But she was back on her feet in a moment.

'How could you?' Morgana cried. 'How could you possibly be Emrys? You're just a servant!'

'I'm more than that!' Merlin shouted back, his grip tightening on his staff. 'I am Merlin Emrys of the Druids, sworn protector of Arthur Pendragon, the Once and Future King of all Albion. And you, Lady Morgana, are in my way.'

'All this time the most powerful sorcerer in history was hiding right under Uther Pendragon's nose,' she sneered, trying to regain some semblance of self-control. 'How you've deceived us, Merlin. You really are a coward.'

He laughed. 'I am not the coward, Morgana. I did what I had to do to protect my friends, and my family.'

'As did I,' she spat, stepping back. 'It is time, Lord Emrys. Make yourselves ready, for I shall show you no mercy.'

'It doesn't have to be this way, Morgana,' he begged her. 'Arthur has already decreed the return of magic to this land. Both magic and non-magic can live in peace together. There is no need for any-more bloodshed. Please.'

'You're wrong,' she sighed. 'It is too late for that. I look forward to meeting you on the battlefield, Merlin Emrys.'

He looked down at the ground, before lowering his shield. 'So be it. I will be waiting.'

At the same moment, they both turned, heading back to their respective armies. Arthur walked out to meet him. 'How long do we have?'

Merlin looked up at the now clear, deep red sky. 'Not long. Get back into the citadel and close the gates. Prepare for siege.'

As they crossed the gate, Merlin turned back, his gaze once again meeting Morgana's.

'I'm so sorry.'

The look of deep hatred in her eyes was the last one he saw before the gates closed and he made his way up to the battlements.

It was time.

Dun dun dun! Morgana knows! I hope this was a bit different in a good way.

Most people would expect Morgana to attack him straight away, which she kind of did, but then she would allow him to retreat under the white flag. That was Arthur's ploy to throw Morgana off and introduce Merlin to the battle, by the way.

Next chapter will be the battle itself! It's my first attempt at writing a battle scene, so if anyone has any tips, pointers or things they'd like to see, please let me know! As always, reviews are much loved, so please drop one in my inbox before you leave!
See you on Sunday! (I've had to put it back a day due to an EXTREMELY hectic weekend. Sorry!)

TTFN
Valkyriexx