A/N: Thank you very much for the reviews/alerts/favourites! It really made my day! I sent a reply to the people I could send it to. Some of you aren't registered on the site so I couldn't reply to your reviews but thank you all the same. This chapter gets more into the heart of the story so to speak, we finally see the bond happening! Also I'm sure people noticed the LanceXGwen moment last chapter. I'm not going to go into detail on that relationship but staying true to Arthurian legend, I might show more awkward moments between them for later chapters as a foreshadowing for the future. One more thing, if you're hoping for romance this really isn't the story for you I will show small moments but nothing more than that. Hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Spoilers: Up to Season 3 episode 13
Pairings: ArthurXGwen; slight GwenXLancelot; There is no slash in this story so don't suddenly expect any of our new knights to develop feelings for each other! lol
Disclaimer: I do not own "Merlin".
Chapter 2: The Bond
Uther watched as the throne-room's doors closed behind Merlin. Normally, he would probably have thrown the boy in the stocks or locked him in the dungeons for his insolence but something stayed his hand. He suspected Merlin to be a sorcerer and a very powerful one at that.
The boy's parting words had been that Nimueh was dead. The way he said it seemed as if he'd been the one to kill her. That wouldn't be possible unless Merlin was a sorcerer of greater power than Nimueh, who was very powerful in her own right.
He turned to look at the other two people in the room. Arthur and Gaius looked shocked beyond belief. 'So they must not have known.'
However, the boy lived with Gaius, surely the physician might have had an idea. Then again he had already decided to trust Gaius, he wouldn't pin this on the physician. There was also the fact that Uther doubted his own thoughts.
The boy was an absolute idiot and he was close to Arthur. Uther wasn't blind. He had seen the change in Arthur ever since the boy became his servant. Uther had also seen the way the two interacted with one another. The King wasn't happy with the friendship but Arthur was turning out for the better. He couldn't help but think if Merlin was such a powerful sorcerer Arthur would have been dead.
He had also saved Uther's life. The boy's words had been what reached Arthur when his own father couldn't stop him. Uther dreaded the day Arthur figured out that Merlin had been wrong and the vision Morgause had shown was not an illusion. If Merlin wanted Uther dead then he wouldn't have stopped Arthur and every sorcerer wanted Uther dead. So maybe the boy wasn't a sorcerer.
He pushed those thoughts away. There was a way to test his theory. Gaius could figure out where the Isle of the Blessed was then Uther could send one or two Knights to follow Merlin. The mission could be a simple reconnaissance one that way he wouldn't lose any more Knights and he would have the proof he needed.
If the boy really was a sorcerer then this trip he made to the Isle would probably be made using some form of magic. Once the Knights had proof of that he would ask them to return to inform him immediately.
If Uther's theory about the boy being a sorcerer was correct, then he would hunt Merlin down and kill him. The King's hatred for sorcerers had increased more after what had happened to Morgana. He blamed Morgause for it all. If she hadn't filled Morgana's head with lies then Morgana might have come to him and told him of her powers.
He would have protected her. Surely she should have known that. After all he hadn't killed Gaius. The memory of Gaius being led to the pyre after the witch-finder incident had been conveniently wiped from Uther's mind. Morgana didn't really hate him it was Morgause that filled her head with lies, that was it.
With that thought in his head Uther turned to Giaus and said, "Gaius, find out where the Isle of the Blessed is! Unless you know already...?"
Gaius snapped out of his thoughts and looked straight at Uther as he shook his head in the negative, "I don't know. The last time Merlin obviously looked through the books to find it himself. I'll have to do some research."
Uther just nodded, "See to it that you find it and report back to me."
The King stood up and returned to his rooms, his head still trying to form plans of how to bring Morgana back to him.
Arthur watched his father walk off. He knew his father still hadn't given up on the idea of Morgana being brought back to him. Although he didn't want to admit it, this showed that his father was still very much affected with what he had seen Morgana do. He was starting to doubt his father would be fit to rule properly...
He decided to keep that thought to himself for now. He had said it before and he would say it again. He would not usurp his father. Until there is breath in the King's body Arthur would fight to protect him.
His thoughts turned to Merlin after that. How much did he owe that boy already? He hadn't even found out about the Questing Beast incident until now. Why hadn't Merlin told him anything? How had Nimueh died? Then again who was Nimueh? His father seemed to know her.
Had his father lied about something else? Did Merlin know of that lie? Why did the statement that Merlin said 'to save a life a life must be given in return' bother Arthur so much?
The questions were rolling around in his mind like a whirlwind. He looked towards Gaius to see the old man turn towards him looking a little pale.
Arthur spoke up, "Gaius, do not worry about Merlin. Once you've found out where the Isle is tell me immediately. I'll follow him myself. We don't need to involve anyone else...not even my father..."
One of Gaius's eyebrows shot up at that. Then he nodded to Arthur and left the throne room leaving the Prince to his thoughts.
Arthur knew there would probably be two new Knights that would definitely disagree with his statement of not involving anyone else. Gwaine and Lancelot were close to Merlin. In fact, Gwaine was more a friend to Merlin than to Arthur. However, he didn't want to leave Camelot without protection and those two were good fighters. Arthur could trust them to look after the Kingdom and his people to the best of their ability. Those two with the rest of his Knights would at least form a small defence.
Arthur knew he was being slightly selfish but he needed to confront Merlin...someplace where there would be no one around. That way anything involving magic could be kept hidden. Arthur wasn't a fool. Nimueh being a priestess hadn't escaped his notice. Morgause had been one too, and she was powerful. However, both of them had been taken down by Merlin...how?
Arthur didn't want to jump to any conclusions yet. He also didn't want to think about what he would do if what his instincts were telling him turned out to be true. Merlin and magic together...it couldn't be true. He would've noticed something! There had been no clues! Merlin was an idiot! He was clumsy, insolent, behaved like a fool most of the time...was Arthur's friend...Merlin wouldn't betray him like that.
He wouldn't...
Gaius was panicking slightly. Merlin had been foolish and reckless. Gaius knew that there hadn't been enough time to come up with a solid excuse of allowing Merlin to leave Camelot without suspicion. However, this was too much. He had seen both the King and the Prince's expressions. They suspected something.
Although what the Prince told him shocked him. Arthur was willing to give Merlin a chance to explain...or maybe Arthur said that because he wanted to believe Merlin didn't have magic. Maybe Arthur planned to get Merlin to tell the truth and kill him right then and there.
Gaius halted his thoughts...No he needed to keep his faith in Arthur. Maybe now might not be the right time for Merlin's magic to be revealed but some day Merlin's magic will be revealed. At that time Arthur will be making the decision of what to do with the warlock. Therefore, Gaius wanted to keep his faith in Arthur for Merlin's sake.
Merlin was like a son to Gaius and he didn't want anything to happen to the boy, not now not ever. He knew though he couldn't send Arthur to follow Merlin just as he couldn't tell Uther where the Isle was.
It wasn't only for Merlin's protection. The Isle was a sacred place where the Old Religion flourished and its powers could still be felt. He decided to pretend to do research and keep the King and the Prince from finding out where the Isle was located.
It was the best way to keep Merlin and the Isle safe from Uther's wrath. Once Merlin returned, they'd come up with a suitable excuse for the King and the Prince without telling them of Merlin's magic. With that thought Gaius entered his chambers. He immediately pulled down various books and scrolls to lay them across his desk to help with the deception.
Now he just needed to stay in the room for as long as it took Merlin to get back. And the warlock would be back...Gaius had to believe that!
The boat Merlin sat in stopped at the same archway as before, a flight of dilapidated stairs in front of him. He was slightly apprehensive about entering the Isle again, the prior visit still fresh in his mind. Then he heard the sounds of sobbing and a voice he was sure was Morgana's pleading for Morgause's life.
He scrambled off the boat rushing up the stairs. He reached the area where he had last fought Nimueh. His eyes took in the sight, jagged stone pillars surrounding the intricately designed altar, a few paces in front of which sat Morgana with Morgause in her lap the Cup of Life in her hand. The hand which held the Cup was outstretched in front of her as if she was offering it to someone. However, there was no one in front of her.
There were painful, choked sobs coming from the once independent and strong woman. Her words were an incoherent mumble of pleas and promises. Merlin felt the bitter and sickening emotion of pity overtake him; it was mixed in with the gut-wrenching feeling of guilt. Morgause had been the only person Morgana had left, or at least Morgana had thought that.
To Morgana, her sister was the only one in the world who accepted her as she was, the magic and all. Morgause had reached Morgana in a time when she had been weakest. Merlin hadn't been able to tell Morgana about his magic and he always wondered what would have happened if he had. Would Morgana be on their side?
Merlin knew the guilt was unfounded, but unfortunately Merlin's greatest weakness, as the dragon had correctly pointed out, his determination to see the goodness in people had risen up again. His anger at the woman dissipated as he saw her pitifully bent form and heard her wracking sobs.
He quietly whispered, "Morgana..."
She whipped her head around to stare at who had spoken. He saw her face contort into one of disappointment and hatred.
She lashed out, "You! Have you come here to cause more problems? Aren't you happy yet? She is dead!"
Her voice cracked at the last part and Merlin flinched at her tone as if physically hurt. He tried again, "Morgana you know very well I didn't have a choice. You were killing innocent people. Are you really that far gone that you can't even see the difference between good and evil anymore?"
She gave a scornful laugh, "Good and evil? Are you that blind? Do you see what Uther does? You don't consider that evil? Oh that's right how could you? You're far too loyal for that!"
Merlin shook his head sadly, "My loyalty lies with Arthur. Don't you see? He's different from his father. I protect Uther because Arthur will come to hate magic if his father dies from it. Can't you see that? He considered you a sister, if you couldn't trust Uther with your secret you should have spoken to Arthur. He would never have shunned you!"
Morgana paused a little unsurely then shook her head determinedly, "No, he would have. He is exactly like his father. He follows whatever his father says like a puppet on a string! He will be no better than his father when he is King."
Merlin felt slight stirrings of his anger return, "Stop lying to yourself! Was that the excuse you used every time you tried to kill Arthur?"
Morgana, tear-tracks still staining her cheeks replied, "It's not an excuse, it's the truth! I've watched him. He is weak and far too influenced by his father to stop the unjust killing of my kin. We had never planned on killing him at first. We thought maybe he could be swayed to our cause. Of course it was a long-shot. I'd seen how steadfast Arthur was in following his father's orders and then when my lineage was revealed we decided we would not need him at all."
At that callous statement Merlin's anger returned full force, "So you just dropped him aside...Your heart is so filled with hatred and anger that you've tried to kill people that had been your friends! Arthur and Gwen had done nothing to you. Gwen was loyal to you!"
"Gwen wasn't loyal to me! She betrayed me!"
"Oh stop Morgana! Even you know that isn't true. Did you really think you'd be able to avoid Gwen finding out about the darkness in your heart? She was with you every day! She has known you're not the same Morgana since Arthur went on his quest!"
Morgana blinked at that, a little surprised, then went on again, "So she did what you did after that correct? Stabbed me in the back."
Merlin's thunderous eyes locked on her, "Stabbed you in the back? Morgana, she also knows that you almost had her burnt at the stake. What did you expect her to do? If you are capable of hating me for poisoning you, why do you expect Gwen to stay loyal to you after you almost had her killed and separated from the man she loves?"
"It matters not now! We'll try again! This Cup can bring her back to life, I know that. I read about this Isle in one of Morgause's scrolls, a priestess will bring her back and ask for a life in exchange. I'm going to ask her to take Uther's. Arthur will be easy to get rid of. After all what can he do against both me and Morgause? As for you I'll kill you right here!"
"It's not going to be that simple. How long have you been here?"
Morgana a little confused said, "A little while...why?"
Merlin smirked, "The last time I came here for Arthur it took a priestess about a minute to come...doesn't that tell you something?"
Morgana looked shocked and then angry, "No!"
Her eyes flashed gold and a wave of her power shot towards Merlin. However, Merlin, tired of being pushed around by her, raised a hand and muttered a few words to erect a shield to protect him.
Morgana was shocked, "So that's how you constantly escaped."
"Morgause cannot be helped anymore. Leave Morgana!"
However, Morgana it seemed hadn't heard a word of what Merlin said. She was staring at him in sudden realization, "You let me believe I was all alone in that castle. You let me suffer in darkness not knowing who to turn to."
"No, Morgana...I was with you every step of the way. I kept telling you to trust me. I was willing to be a friend to you, but instead you turned against us all. You were never alone Morgana, you just chose to believe that. You were too blind to see the people that supported you. Gaius was also willing to help but you just pushed us both aside and turned to evil instead."
"How could anyone without magic understand what I was going through? You, the one person that could have understood left me to stumble around in the dark. None of you understood the real me, only my sister saw me for myself and you took her from me!"
Another wave of power shot towards Merlin and again he blocked it.
"Neither of you left me any choice. You do not belong on that throne. That throne is meant for Arthur and Arthur alone. He is the only one that will bring peace back to the lands. We've seen you won't do anything except bring destruction if you sit on the throne."
Morgana laughed, "Destruction? I would be able to bring magic back to the lands. I would be the one to bring peace. What do you expect Merlin, Arthur to accept you for what you are? That one day you'd be able to tell Arthur about your magic and he'll accept you with open arms? He'll have you executed just like his father!"
"Arthur will one day become the greatest King this land has ever seen and I will not allow you to kill him or stop him from fulfilling his destiny!" Merlin didn't reply to the statement about Arthur finding out about his magic. The prince's reaction was one thing Merlin wasn't sure about.
Morgana smirked, "So kill me then! After all I'm never going to stop. I will have my revenge on all of you! Gwen, Arthur, Uther, and you!"
This time around she raised her hand and words fell from her lips as a fireball formed in front of her palm. Merlin didn't waste any time reflecting on the similarity of the attack to the one from the past. He jumped aside in time to see the fireball hit one of the pillars. His reflexes had increased since the last time he had been here. Arthur's impromptu training sessions with a sword and the sheer number of times Merlin had been in tough spots without being able to use magic had improved his reflexes.
"Don't you dare lump me together with people like you!" Merlin spit out angrily, "Unlike you I still remember the times when we were friends."
Another fireball shot towards him and he dodged again as Morgana said, "Friends! You tricked me into drinking poison!"
"You gave me no choice! You'd allied yourself with Morgause! Arthur would have died if I didn't do anything!"
"Great excuse!"
The fight continued Merlin knew he didn't need any spells to kill Morgana but he couldn't do it. Killing Morgana left a bitter taste in his mouth. He knew what she'd done could never be forgiven but that face. It was the face of the same woman who had helped him free his village, the same woman who had been a friend. How could he just callously kill her?
There was another thing bothering him. Something the dragon had said when Merlin had been poisoned by the Serkets.
"I fear that your futures are now joined forever...she is the darkness to your light...the hatred to your love."
If the joining of futures worked the same way as the visions he'd seen in the Crystal of Neahtid and the Crystal caves then he could not kill Morgana. He had tried to interfere with the future before but had ended up helping it along. He wasn't sure if killing Morgana would cause repercussions or not. The dragon had also told him "to change the future is no simple matter...to do so is fraught with danger."
Since their futures were so entwined that Morgana was quite literally Merlin's antithesis, would her death affect him? Would he irrevocably change something that was meant to be and cause irreparable damage to the future? These thoughts stayed his hand. He could not kill Morgana...but then how to stop her?
Unbidden a spell came to his mind. It was the same spell Merlin had looked at when he was packing to come to the Isle. A bonding spell, it wasn't the smartest idea of course. If Morgana was ever killed Merlin would follow, but it was this very danger that would probably stop Morgana from trying to kill him. This allowed him the opportunity to stop any of her plots without fear of her ever trying to kill him.
There were other advantages. He would always have a sense of where Morgana was. If he concentrated he would be able to find her and some strong emotions could pass through the bond. The emotions bit may not be helpful. In fact it might hinder him if she felt strong bouts of anger or hatred, which were most probably common. However, it was something he could work around. The advantageous were greater.
He had memorized the words, so as soon as he dodged the next fireball, he stood and stretched his hand out. Morgana paused suddenly fearful as Merlin whispered the words for the spell.
Once the spell was cast he felt a strange sensation wash over him. For just a moment he felt like he was underwater. The sounds around him ceased; all he heard were his own deep breaths. His heart that had been beating raucously against his rib cage calmed.
Merlin stared at Morgana and she stared back. A moment later all the sound rushed back and he felt the unmistakeable presence of another in his mind. The spell had worked.
Morgana must have felt the same thing for she asked a little breathlessly, "What did you do?"
Merlin gave her a calm smile, "Bonded you to me..."
"Why would you do that? If I die you would die with me!"
Merlin again feeling unusually calm said, "It would also work the other way."
He saw Morgana's body slump slightly. She opened her mouth to say something but her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell forward on top of Morgause. Merlin felt the same tiredness as her. At first he thought Morgana's weakness was being transmitted to him, but that wasn't possible.
The bond didn't transfer injuries or tiredness it would slow your heart to a stop if the person you're bonded to is dying. That was what the book had said. Then this tiredness he felt was his own. However, he had to stay awake. He needed to take the Cup and get back to Camelot.
As he stumbled forward to take the Cup from Morgana's limp fingers he felt a presence behind him. Whoever it was, was powerful. Frighteningly powerful. Merlin could feel the power floating around them in waves so strong in his weakened state he fell to his knees.
He turned his head slowly to be greeted by the sight of a stunningly beautiful woman. She had raven black hair that fell down her back in waves. Her eyes were electric blue, Merlin couldn't help but be reminded of lightening when he saw her eyes. She wore a pearl white cloak the rims of which sported a design of interconnected leaves in blue. The leaves were connected like vines that ran along the seams that held the clock together on her front. The hood was also rimed similarly and lay on her back as if forgotten. The ends of the sleeves and the bottom of the clock had similar designs. She held a long sceptre in her hand the top of which held a glowing blue orb the size of a closed fist. The orb sat on a claw-like seat. The sceptre was shiny gold in colour, gold so bright and the likes of which he had never seen before.
Merlin knew instinctively she was not a woman to be trifled with. He realized she was one of the immortal priestesses that Gaius had told him about. If this woman decided to help Morgana then Merlin, even at full strength, would be powerless to stop her.
She broke the silence in a voice that was soft but seemed to carry a powerful intonation, "Hello, young warlock."
Merlin blinked and then cautiously said, "Hello..."
Satisfied she turned to the two sisters then with a wave of her hand and a few muttered words Morgana and Morgause vanished. The Cup of Life floated towards her outstretched hand. She placed it gently on the altar and turned to Merlin.
A/N: That's another chapter! A little shorter than my first one, but it has all the stuff I wanted included in it. I was thinking maybe to add a scene with our lovely Knights of the round-table and Arthur but in the end decided to leave it at that. The cliff-hanger you've got to admit is quite good. I'd ruin it if I added a pointless scene with the Knights.
One question I had for my readers, is everyone in character? I'm really hoping they are! A little feedback in your reviews will be helpful! Thanks for reading and please review! Makes my day!