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The next morning arrived with the news of his mother's death. The cloaked Druid stood in front of a small gathering of nobles, Merlin and the royal family. He relayed his message, telling the court that Hunith Emrys, High Priestess of Avalon had died in her sleep nearly two weeks ago.
The messenger, shifting on his feet nervously, waited for the king to speak. He turned to look at Merlin who's eyes were still red rimmed and who's shoulders drooped as if under a heavy burden. "Do you wish to return to you home to pay your respects?" The king asked.
That seemed to snap Merlin out of his stupor. He shook his head, either in answer to the question, or to wake himself up. "No, I will stay here and do what I must to keep the peace between our people. My mother would understand." Merlin looked at the messenger. "Please send my condolences to the rest of my family and the house staff. Also tell the temple I will be making my last goodbyes tonight."
The man bowed. "I will relay your message by messenger bird right now." Merlin nodded, but didn't say anymore. The man left, drawing his hood back up as he exited the throne room.
"If your majesties would excuse me, I must prepare." The king nodded and he turned and left. That seemed to be the signal for the rest of the gathered people to leave.
Once they were alone, Morgana turned to Arthur. "What is he preparing for?" She asked him, keeping her voice low pitched incase others were still within hearing distance.
Arthur shook his head. "I can't really explain. It will be easier to show you. We will have to be on the western wall when the sun starts to set. We'll see that." The king nodded and Arthur turned to leave. Morgana curtsied slightly, than hurried to catch up to him, slipping her arm in his as they walked out of the room.
"Did you know her well?" She asked him as they walked the royal gardens.
"Who?" He asked his thoughts elsewhere.
"Merlin's mother?"
"Yes. I grew up with her and Merlin. She was really kind and always had a nice word to say for any situation. I remember once, Merlin broke one of her favorite vases. He was trembling in fright thinking he was going to get in so much trouble. She just laughed and shrugged it off. Then she snapped her fingers and the pieces joined back together. He asked her why he wasn't in trouble and she just said 'I knew you didn't mean to do it.' I don't think I've ever seen him looked so relieved."
She watched the small smile play across his face. "You two must be really close than?"
"Yea, I guess we are. He was the first kid my age that I had met. He helped me with my studies and I helped him when the other kids bullied him. It just seemed to work out."
"Do you think he'll be okay?" She asked him.
His mind went back to the night before. He remembered the shattered look he'd had on his face. The tears he'd shed. He also remembered the desolate look he'd had on his face this morning. "I…don't know. He might be alright, but he was always so sensitive to those around him and I'm not sure what her death will do to him. We'll just have to keep an eye on him and keep him busy to keep his mind from dwelling on it."
She nodded. "I can at least do that. How about you invite him out tomorrow with Gwen and me. We're going to go have a picnic. That will at least get him out of his room."
"I'll try and if he refuses, I'll drag him out." She smiled, and left him at the exit to the gardens.
He stood with his family on the western wall towards the northern corner. The sun was setting, sending spears of golden and crimson light through the clouds and sky in a last vain attempt to remain above the horizon. Dark blue shadows stretched out before them as they faced west.
They could just make out the silhouette form of the Druid kneeling down on the stone walkway of the wall. It was exactly opposite the place where Arthur and Ygraine had found him last night. He was hunched over a small bowl, its contents in shadow below the lip of the bowl.
After about five minutes, he stood, picking up the bowl and setting it on the raised edge of the wall. He turned his face towards the sinking sun, eyes flashing gold in its light. His body followed his head and as he turned, he flung the contents of the bowl into the air. It was some sort of powder that shimmered as the light hit it, but instead of falling to the ground, it hung suspended.
As the watched, it started to gather in on itself, shaping into some sort of image. As it settled, a face looked out at them, pale and dark haired, just like her son. Her dark eyes seemed to shine love down on him as he whispered his last goodbyes to her.
Arthur let his heart go out to her, saying his own goodbyes to her. As they watched the edges of the image started to flare with color of the sun and then it was burning, the flames swirling around and around until they shot into the air with a new shape.
A blazing phoenix roared into the sky, screeching out a heart wrenching lament as it took to the sky chasing the setting sun. Body blazing one last time in burst of color, it dissipated on the wind, magic no longer feeding its flames.
Looking down the wall, he saw the fallen man. Sighing, he walked over to him. Leaning down, he patted his cheek until he came to. "Did it go through?" He asked weakly.
"Yes. She's in Avalon now. She's in paradise." Arthur answered him.
"That's good." He slumped back down as his energy ran out for the second day in a row. Sighing, Arthur beckoned one of the guards over.
"Help me get him to his room." The man bowed and lifted the unconscious Druid up.
Merlin was roused by the scent of food tickling his nose and making his stomach growl. Letting out a sigh, he opened his eyes, turning his head to glance around the room. There on the table, he could see a steaming bowl with food on small plates set around it and next to the table, Arthur sat facing the window.
"What happened?" His voice came out in a croak
Arthur turned to look at him. "You used up your energy saying goodbye. I had to get one of the guards to help carry your heavy arse back here. Who'd have thought that someone so skinny could be so heavy?" Arthur smiled at the joke
"Ha. Sorry about that. I guess I don't know when to stop yet." He sat up and dragged his weary body from the bed and to the table. Once sat, he started to wolf down the food, stopping only to take sips from his glass of water.
"I have an invitation for you?" Arthur told him as he started to slow down.
"From who?" He took a sip of water to clean his mouth.
"Morgana. She wants you and me to go on a picnic with her and her maid. I guess she wants to get to know you." He took some of the left over bread on the plate and popped it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully as he waited for Merlin to answer.
"Alright, I guess I can go. I mean I've nothing better to do at the moment. Will you tell her yes and that I'll meet them and you in the courtyard?" Arthur nodded.
He stood from the chair and stepped towards Merlin. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he smiled. "She would be proud of you Merlin. Proud of both of us for what we're doing." Merlin nodded mutely. "I'll see you in half an hour." He walked out of the room.
Merlin continued to stare at the table for a few minutes, memories flowing through his mind as he thought of his mother. It was hard to think that such an important person in his life was gone. Sighing he stood and went to change. He had an invitation to a picnic to attend.
Merlin stood on the steps leading from the main doors. It was bright out, a few clouds moving across the bright blue sky. It was still the middle of summer and the heat was baking everything, causing the ground and roof tops to shimmer.
In the middle of the courtyard, four horses stood. All were already readied and two of them had riders. He could make out Morgana's pale skin and dark hair next to Arthur's blond hair and tanned skin. She was talking to him, as he stood next to her horse. Gwen, her handmaiden, was busy packing the picnic into the saddle bags.
He slowly walked down, shielding his eyes against the bright light. Morgana glanced up and smiled, noticing his approach. Arthur followed her gaze and smiled, too, as he saw the paler druid. By the time he stood in front of them, Gwen had finished and was already in the saddle of her placid mare.
"Good Morning, Merlin." Morgana greeted him. He nodded. "Are you ready to ride?" She asked him as Arthur brought the horse towards him.
"As ready as I'll ever be." He joked, pulling himself up into the saddle easily.
They reached their destination twenty minutes later. They landscape rolled by, more open than the Druid lands, but still just as nice. He could see farms in the distance, fields and pastures with large grazing animals milling about in the heat of the day.
They ended up on the edge of a small patch of forest, beneath the branches of a large oak tree. As Arthur and Gwen set about laying the blanket down and pulling out the food, Merlin stood to the side, eyes scanning the surrounding fields of grass.
Merlin. "Merlin!" Arthur's voice finally penetrated his distant thoughts, drawing him back to the present. He turned and saw that they were all already seated on the blanket. "Jeez, Merlin. Get the cotton out of your ears." Arthur complained.
"Oi, no need to be a prat." He declared with a mock glare as he walked over to the blanket and sat too.
"Hmm, he is a bit pratish, isn't he?" Morgana agreed. Gwen was beside her, hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.
"Look who's talking, idiot!" He shot back as he held out some food for Merlin to take. "And, no one asked your opinion, Morgana. Keep your nose out of things." He gripped as he handed her and Gwen some food.
"But, brother dear, what would be the fun in that. It's my duty as your sister to meddle in your life and since I missed the last fifteen years of it, I need to make up for lost time." She smiled evilly, taking a small bite of one of the sandwiches.
Merlin laughed, and ducked when Arthur threw a small pebble at his head. "I'm beset on all sides." He complained loudly.
They all laughed at this and set to work eating the food packed for them. It was comfortable, even with Morgana making snarky comments about Arthur every once in a while.
Finally, the last of the food was put away as they became full. Arthur was lying on his back staring up at the branches of the trees. Gwen and Morgana were seated between him and merlin, asking random questions about life among the druids.
"How long do Druids live?" Gwen asked.
"The oldest known was about a hundred and three, but she was said to have been powerful and was using her magic to keep herself alive near the end. Normally, Druids live about the same life span as a human, maybe a little longer." Merlin explained, seeming comfortable with the conversation.
"Can all druids use magic?" Morgana asked.
"No, but only a small amount can't. Although magic is inherent in Druids, many do not have enough of it to use it."
"What about you? I know you can work magic, but how strong are you?" She asked eyes sharp as she looked over him.
"Although he doesn't look it, Merlin is one of the strongest out there at the moment. Of course, just because he has all that magic, doesn't make him very skilled. Half the time it either doesn't work or it back fires and usually ends up causing trouble, for me mostly." Arthur grouched, turning to glare at the Druid. Merlin just smiled back apologetically.
"I can't help it. You try having this much magic jammed in you and try to control it and than come complaining to me." He replied evenly. This sounded like frequent argument between them.
"That powerful, huh? Can you show us some of this magic?" Morgana asked again.
Merlin nodded and seemed to think this over. Finally, he turned back to the surrounding fields. Ignoring the gasps from the two women as his eyes shone bright gold briefly, he gestured widely.
Two small wild flowers detached from their stems and floated over to land in Morgana and Gwen's outstretched hands.
"Show off." Arthur muttered.
"It takes one to know one." Arthur just smirked at that and said nothing.
"This is amazing." Merlin just shrugged the praise off. At home, that would have been basic for many Druids, though, unlike him, they would have had to use incantations.
"I do have my own question." Merlin admitted aloud. Morgana nodded, gesturing for him to continue. "Do you know when Uther plans to start the treaty talks? I understand that this is a delicate matter and will take time to gather those needed, but I don't know how much longer the Council will remain patient."
"I've been wondering this too? Do you know anything, Arthur?" She asked, turning to him.
"He mentioned the finalization of the treaty, yes, but not when he plans to start them. I think he wants to wait as long as possible and get as many of the nobles here before he starts the talks." He admitted, remembering past conversations and meeting spent doing nothing, but listening to them talk aboutpolitics.
"I guess I'll just have to wait." He seemed to think something over. "Well, at least I get to spend more time learning from Gaius." He declared cheerfully.
They all laughed at his enthusiasm. Deciding it was time to head back, they started to gather their stuff together and grab the horses.
By the time they reached the castle, the sun was nearing the horizon, and the city was starting to close shop for the night to come. Arthur and merlin left the two women in the entrance hall.
"How are you feeling?" Arthur asked. They were outside Merlin's set of rooms, the door slightly opened.
A soft sigh answered him. "Sad, but she would have wanted me to go on…I miss her." He admitted in a small voice, looking up at the blonde with guilt filled eyes. "I talked with the messenger before he left. He said she died about a week after we left. All that time, I was in my own little world. She was dead and not once did I think of her."
Arthur huffed out a sigh. "Merlin, she knew this was coming. She didn't say anything to you because she knew you would get like this. Placing all the guilt on your shoulders; it was meant to happen. You couldn't have stopped it, if you had stayed behind. She wanted you to go, to start a new life here."
"You know, that's really annoying." He sniffed, wiping at wet eyes. "You're just like her. You never let me get away with anything."
"That's what I'm here for." He reached out and patted him on the shoulder, giving a quick squeeze. "You'll be alright?" He asked him. Merlin nodded, giving a wan smile at him. "Then I'll be going. I'll see you at dinner." He strode off, leaving Merlin staring after him.