I'm so proud of myself for finishing this chapter in just a day and a half! Haha I knew once I reached the action part it would get easier to write. I hope ya'll are enjoying the story!
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.
Chapter 10: The Battle Begins
He had just shut the door behind him when the warning bells began to ring.
Arthur and Gwaine exchanged a quick look before taking off at a run down the corridors. They skidded around the corner, almost running into Sirs Leon and Elyan.
"What's going on?" Arthur asked loudly.
"Morgana's army is invading." Leon announced, worry in his face.
"Morgana?" Arthur glanced at Gwaine who had stiffened.
"Yes, Sire." Leon nodded. "They're coming in through the front gate."
"How did they get them open?" Gwaine asked before Arthur could say anything. "I thought they had been reinforced after the last attack."
"We aren't sure." Elyan answered this time. "But it seems like they had inside help."
Arthur looked over at Gwaine, who gave him a look that clearly said I-told-you-so. Arthur swallowed slightly, sudden worry for Merlin creeping in. If Merlin really was enchanted—and that seemed to be the case—then he needed to get to his manservant before anyone else did.
"Where are the knights? And the guards?" Arthur asked, trying to put his worry for Merlin at the back of his mind.
"Most are in the fight in the Lower Town." Leon informed. "About a third have been kept in the citadel in reserve."
"What of the people?" Arthur questioned and began walking briskly down the flight of stairs.
"They are running for the citadel." Leon answered, following closely behind his king.
They hurried down several flights of stairs until they reached the courtyard. Men, women, and children streamed past, screaming at the top of their lungs. Out toward the Lower Town the lights of houses set aflame flickered tauntingly.
"Everyone to the safety of the castle!" Arthur shouted loudly, his voice carrying across the crowded courtyard.
The people didn't have to be told twice and began spilling through the doors, praying they would be safe and would have a home to return to when the knights defeated the army at the gates. As the people hurried by, Leon and Elyan broke away from the king and headed toward the fighting. Gwaine started to follow them, but Arthur's hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Find Merlin," Arthur ordered. "If he is enchanted there's no telling what he might do. When you find him, take him to my room and lock him in and don't let him go."
"Yes, Sire." Gwaine replied, being respectful for perhaps the first time.
Arthur nodded once and removed his hand from Gwaine's shoulder, then took off at a run, drawing Excalibur as he went. Gwaine drew his own sword and pushed his way through the crowd. He had a general idea of where Merlin would be: Right in the thick of things, as he always was. So the knight pushed his way through the gate and into the Lower Town.
People ran, screaming at the top of their lungs, toward him. He was pushed and prodded as he fought his way against the current. He could see the Camelot knights fighting against the enemy, and he paused a moment to study his surroundings and the people he was to fight. Many seemed to be average people, but the scarred faces and fighting skills gave them away as bandits. To Gwaine's surprise, there were quite a few women dressed in armor and fighting alongside the bandits. The last group of people the knights fought against wore average clothing except for the cloaks that billowed behind them. This group held very few weapons, maybe a few daggers and the occasional sword, but all were using magic to throw the knights every which way.
Gwaine ducked as one of the sorcerers turned his way and sent a dagger his way. The dagger went over his head, then spun back around and came at him again. Gwaine brought his sword up, knocking the dagger out of the air. He spun on his heels to find the sorcerer coming at him with a sword. Gwaine swung his sword, blocking the oncoming attack with ease, and quickly ran his sword through the sorcerer's chest. Gwaine pulled the sword out as the sorcerer collapsed to his knees, a look of shock on his face, before falling over dead.
Gwaine didn't wait around for another attack. He hurried toward the fighting, blocking sword strikes and dodging flying objects and spells as he ran. He saw Elyan and Percival fighting back to back against a small group of bandits. A little ways away he saw Arthur taking on a sorcerer and holding his own. Leon was further away taking on several women and a bandit.
Gwaine looked around and saw a sword coming at him from his left. He brought his sword up quickly and blocked it, only to find that the sword was being held by a woman. She was pretty with long black hair tied back out of her face and she wore armor instead of a dress. She held her sword in such a way to reveal that she knew how to use it. Gwaine couldn't keep back a cheeky smile as he brought his sword back and got ready to block whatever she threw at him next.
"Well hello, beautiful." He greeted, bowing slightly without taking his eyes off her or getting out of a defensive stance.
The woman didn't say anything. Instead, she brought her sword around with a shout and swung at his side. Gwaine easily brought his own sword around and blocked it.
"Come on now," he whined good-naturedly, blocking as she kept trying to kill him, "I haven't even said anything wrong yet." He ducked as her sword swung through the air where his head had been. He brought his foot out while she was distracted and tripped her. He stood up and held his sword to her throat. "You could at least give me a chance."
"I'll give you a chance to die." The woman finally replied. "Finish me off, it doesn't matter. You won't be alive much longer. Morgana will be queen." The woman smirked cruelly. "And it's all thanks to that stupid servant."
Gwaine felt anger growing in him as the woman confirmed Merlin's part in the attack. Gwaine started to run his sword through her, but he stopped at the last second. He sighed, knowing he could never kill a woman, even if she had just tried to kill him. The woman smirked again.
"I see Camelot's knights are so easily distracted by a pretty face." She taunted.
Gwaine didn't reply. Instead he brought his sword back and kicked her in the head hard. The woman gasped before falling unconscious. Gwaine sighed. He really didn't like doing that to a woman, but he had no choice. At least this way she wouldn't be able to fight for a little while.
Pushing the woman out of his mind, Gwaine turned and hurried along, trying to find Merlin amidst the fallen bodies and all the fighting people. He defended himself when he had to, but he held back deliberately. He had his orders, and even if he hadn't been ordered to find Merlin he still would have tried. He wasn't going to leave Merlin alone, especially when he was enchanted.
He drew his sword back out of a bandit's body and pushed the dead man to the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, Gwaine saw a flash of red and brown. The knight spun around and saw Merlin walking through the fighting as if he was on a stroll through the park.
"Merlin!" Gwaine shouted, blocking another sword and running after his friend. "Merlin!"
Merlin seemed not to hear Gwaine's shout. He walked on, followed slowly by a still-fighting Gwaine. He had just felled another opponent when the knight heard a little girl's scream. Gwaine spun around and saw a little girl about six or seven years old was surrounded by three large bandits, all with their swords pointed at her. Gwaine started to run at the bandits, when a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Hleap on bæc!"
The three bandits suddenly flew backwards in the air, crashing to the ground where they laid still. Gwaine could only stare as Merlin slowly lowered his arm and ran toward the little girl.
Spell Translations
Hleap on bæc—Leap on your back! (I know that it's Morgana that uses this spell and Merlin doesn't say anything to make people fly backwards, but for the purpose of this story he needed to say something so Gwaine would notice. Just thought I'd mention that.)