Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin
A Camelot Courtship
Merlin headed out the next morning, feeling a lot better than he had in days. He had managed to avoid doing his chores last night, as both he and Gaius were a bit more concerned with who could have put that enchantment on him, to make all his negative feelings more powerful. Whoever it was, they were either very overconfident that that would be all it would take to make Merlin lose it, they didn't really put their heart into it, or otherwise this little thing was just a test. Either way, the entire thing didn't make that much sense. Considering the vast majority of evil sorcerers Merlin had encountered, all of them were more than capable of creating a much more dangerous enchantment. Making him miserable for days just seemed petty when it came down to it.
Unknowing as they were of who could have placed the enchantment, he and Gaius had decided to keep a closer eye on things for the time being. After all it had been a while since someone had decided to attack Camelot, the bad guys must be getting restless. But even if that was the case, it still seemed a very silly thing to do, and overall relatively pointless, unless whoever had had it planted hoped he would take Arthur down with him into depression. With that concerning thought on mind, Merlin went about his tasks for Arthur as usual, feeling a lot happier than he had in days. However, as he went through the castle, he saw it being set up for the imminent visit of Lord Madvedor, Morgana's newest suitor. Now, while he had pushed the fears that Arthur and the others would abandon him mostly out of his head, he was still opposed to Morgana meeting a suitor. One he disagreed with it. Two, he didn't want her to get married and sent off to some far away land. And three, he was in love with her, and call him jealous and selfish, but he didn't want to see her with another guy.
However, he knew nothing could ever happen, so he kept his silence. Which would be a lot easier if Arthur wasn't being totally unbearable. He was only trying to help, bless him, but in his own way he was making it worse. After he had told the knights about the enchantment that had been put on Merlin, Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, Tristan and Leon kept finding excuses to walk down the corridor with him, which had led to several uncomfortable minutes with Leon and Gwaine discussing girls they had recently hooked up with. For Gwaine, this seemed to change with the time of day, however, it seemed Leon was totally besotted with a girl called Cara, and kept trailing off like some love struck idiot, much to Merlin's discomfort. And when he wasn't being escorted around by the knights, he either was with Arthur or Gwen. Now while Arthur knew and was in his own way trying to make him feel better by keeping him away from Morgana, and also wouldn't talk about it unless Merlin brought it up, Gwen however, probably suspecting her husband hadn't done it right, kept trying to persuade him to talk about it. As such, he felt he was slowly going mad, and he heaved a sigh of relief once the two of them were ready to go and greet the suitor.
"You sure you want to come?" Arthur asked as the three of them headed down the stairs, and Merlin stopped himself rolling his eyes, albeit with difficulty.
"Yes I'm sure. Arthur, I'm not going to stop doing my job just because of how I feel about Morgana. I know nothing will ever happen, and that's the end of it. Ok? I'm fine." He whined, and Arthur nodded, clapping him on the shoulder.
"If you're sure." Gwen said, and the two of them hurried down the stairs, as he was just entering the courtyard.
"Ugh, there better be some unknown heir to the throne because if they don't stop, we're going to need one!" Merlin grumbled to himself.
"Aha! Then I'll become queen!" a voice said teasingly, and Merlin looked behind him to see Morgana strolling towards him.
She looked amazing. Clad in a backless dark green dress, with a shawl of see through silk draping around her arms, her hair styled up into a bun and then falling in a drape down one side of her face, as she had had while on the run, her eyes marked with a shimmering blue colour and a small ring of silver with a lilac pendant hanging from it was around her forehead.
"Morgana! You, uh, you look amazing." He said breathlessly, and she smiled at him.
"Thank you. Why you going to kill Arthur and Gwen?" she asked as the two headed down the stairs.
Merlin snorted.
"They're just being a little too helpful today that's all." He said, not wanting her to know what they were really doing.
"Is it to do with the enchantment they found on you?" she asked, her green eyes narrowed, and realising this was better than dancing around the topic of his feelings for her, he seized on it.
"Yeah. They're just being overprotective. They never used to be, and it's not like I was in any danger. But still..."
"Well it is worrying that a sorcerer managed to get into Camelot and enchant you, however poor an enchantment it was, without anyone noticing. They probably feel guilty because they never noticed. I should have noticed." She said as they reached the door, and he held it open for her.
"You weren't to know." He soothed her, and she gave him a small, sad smile as they entered the sunlit courtyard.
"I'm a High Priestess Merlin. If I can't figure out that someone I care about is under an enchantment, a lousy one at that, something is seriously wrong." She said, patting his hand and then she went to stand beside Gwen, before being flanked by the knights.
More to escape Gwen's smug, knowing look as she had seen Morgana pat his hand, Merlin went and stood behind Arthur.
"What are you grinning about?" he asked his friend, and Merlin just shook his head, smiling. Arthur turned and looked at Morgana, rolled his eyes and smiled, and then turned to face the sound of trumpets.
A fanfare then went up through the city, causing Arthur to look at Merlin, bemused. The entourage walked towards the courtyard doors to see three men on horseback, followed by people bearing masses of treasure chests, suits of armour and other items of worth, all singing and laughing jovially. Several happy looking, scantily dressed women danced up and down the oncoming procession, which while it certainly attracted the knights attention, it made Merlin raise his eyebrows at Arthur, who grinned feebly.
"I can already tell he's a pretentious twat." Merlin muttered into his ear, and he could see Arthur forcing down a snigger.
"Even with knowing how you feel about Morgana, I can't disagree with that." He whispered back, making Merlin grin.
"Presenting Lord Madvedor, here to offer his services and press his suit to the Lady Morgana Pendragon!" an announcer called as the three horses rode into the courtyard.
Madvedor himself was in the centre, dressed in armour like navy blue robes of the sort Uther had used to favour. In his right hand was a large staff, with a dark sphere on the top, and his red hair was cut short, with deep grooves of skin cutting through the hair on the back of his head and the sides. He gave a smile, then leapt off his horse, to applause from his followers and another fanfare, and he walked up to Arthur and bowed, then repeated so to Gwen.
"Lord Madvedor, you are welcome to Camelot." Arthur said, shaking his hand.
"I find it invigorating to be here. Thank you for allowing me to come here." He said.
"May I present my wife, Queen Guinevere?" Arthur said, indicating Gwen, and Madvedor favoured her with a smile, before kissing her hand.
"Ah, I heard tales the queen of Camelot was a woman of great beauty, and for once, rumour does not mislead." He said, with a dashing smile, and Gwen arced an eyebrow at her husband, then nodded politely in thanks. When Madvedor was introduced to the knights, Gwen looked at Merlin incredulously, and he had to suppress a laugh, instead consenting to mouth 'sleazebag' at her, and she fought to stop a snigger.
"And may I also present the Lady Morgana?" Arthur said, indicating his sister.
"Ah Lady Morgana. I have travelled far to behold you, and I see now that it was well worth the journey. You are a beauty beyond compare." He said, raising her hand to his lips.
Morgana smiled awkwardly and sent Merlin, Arthur and Gwen a glance that clearly said 'save me', before she smiled graciously at him.
"You are most kind my lord." She said, smiling at him.
Merlin glowered at Madvedor when he failed to let go of Morgana's hand. He came to her side, and with a bow indicated Arthur and Gwen should go in first, which with a slight, reluctant nod of consent from Morgana, they did do. Arthur turned to Merlin and beckoned with his head, and Merlin nodded, scowling after Madvedor. At least he didn't have to take Madvedor's bags to his room, he was afraid all his possessions might not make it there if he did. The knights aside from Elyan all followed. Elyan then fell into step beside Merlin, looking incredulously at where the others had entered.
"God, you can practically see all the grease on that guy." He muttered, and then smiled as he noticed Merlin's clenched fist as Madvedor slink his arm through Morgana's. She glared at him, which he didn't see, then looked back at Merlin with an expression on her face that clearly said 'help me', as he led her inside.
"Too true. And now I get to serve him lunch. Did you see Morgana's face? She can't stand him, and they just met. But that won't stop that slimeball drooling all over her." He ranted, and as he did so, he was suddenly knocked off his feet, falling facefirst onto the steps into the castle.
Turning around, he saw one of Madvedor's two bodyguards glaring down at him. Both of them were large, muscular and bald, and both were glaring at him, their hands on their swords' pommels.
"You got a problem with our master serving boy? Maybe we ought to knock some respect into you?" the one who had knocked him down growled menacingly.
"Hey, back off!" Elyan said, standing in front of Merlin and glowering at the two thugs, his hand on his sword.
The two thugs glared dismissively at Elyan and Merlin and slouched inside after their master.
"Charming." Elyan commented, helping Merlin to his feet.
"Thanks. Hmm. If he's a noble of his own court, why does he have two thugs protecting him? They're clearly not knights like you guys, so where are they?"
Elyan shrugged.
"Maybe they are, they just haven't learnt to behave like them. Look at us. Lancelot was a commoner, Gwaine was a drunk, mind you I suppose he still is," he said with a grin, "I was a blacksmith, Tristan was a smuggler and Percival was a farmer. It's not as if all knights behave how they should all the time." He said, squirming a little, remembering the lamia.
"Maybe. But I've got a bad feeling about this." Merlin muttered, glaring at where the two thugs had disappeared.
Elyan looked at them, and pictured them lingering at court if by some miracle Morgana fell for this guy. He had to admit, it didn't look good. And besides, the two thugs had just demonstrated their contempt of Merlin. They'd have to be kept an eye on. He for one didn't particularly fancy telling his brother-in-law, his sister, and the king's sister that someone they all valued and loved dearly had been attacked by thugs. Frowning slightly, he followed Merlin indoors, vowing to keep an eye on him.
XX
The welcoming feast was in full swing. And being the king's servant, Merlin had to serve the king's table, where Arthur, Gwen, Morgana and Madvedor were sitting. As he filled Arthur's goblet, who was in deep conversation with Madvedor, and to Merlin's trained eye was bored rigid, he went over to fill Morgana's goblet, noticing with a small smile that she had drunk it all even though she had only recently had a refill..
"Is it poison?" she muttered to him, and he shot her a regretful look.
During the time she had come back to Camelot before becoming queen, she had never forgiven him, which he supposed he couldn't blame her for, for poisoning her after Morgause attacked the city. A few days after Christmas, she had tracked him down and had actually asked why he had done it, and this time he could see that she truly understood why he had felt like he had no choice when he had poisoned her. Since then, knowing he actually did feel horrible about it, and realising it was partly his fault that Morgause had gotten her talons in so deep to her, she had just accepted it, only using it to wind him up.
"No, and I apologised, and I'll always hate myself for what I did..."
Morgana cut him off.
"You should be apologising if it isn't poisoned. That'll probably be the only way I'll get through this with my sanity intact." She hissed to him, and he stifled a laugh, and topped her up again.
"Well if poisoning isn't open to you, why not just get drunk?" he muttered quietly, crouching down to whisper into her ear.
"I don't think there's enough wine in the castle." She whispered back with a sly smile, and Merlin smiled and stood up, just in time to see Madvedor turn away from Arthur (Arthur looked incredibly relieved) and he turned to look at Merlin in distaste, looking at him if he was something unsavoury on the ground.
"The lady Morgana and I will not be needing any more wine boy." He said curtly, covering his wine goblet, his dark blue eyes glaring at him.
Merlin raised an eyebrow at him, while Morgana turned and fixed him with an icy glare.
"It's my job to serve the royal table my lord. And lady Morgana is royalty." He said, looking at her for support, hoping Arthur would notice this obnoxious prat and kick him out before he had the chance to make a nuisance of himself.
Madvedor gave him a look of utter contempt, as if nothing he said was worth listening to. He was a lot like Uther. Morgana was definitely going to love him.
"I don't care. She and I will not be requiring any more wine." He growled, his fist clenching and moving as if he were about to strike Merlin for daring to answer back.
Merlin looked at her, and saw that blazing expression he loved so much on her face, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Gwen narrow her eyes and try to distract Arthur from his dinner, and hers as he had just stolen a roast potato off her plate.
"You are a guest here, my lord, and I will still require wine. And as Arthur has not volunteered Merlin's services to you, you would do well not to order him around like that. After all, half of court is extremely protective of him." She told him bluntly, and Madvedor looked taken aback, then smiled pleasantly.
"Forgive me my lady. But I felt it best that you were not too tipsy. I intended to ask you on a ride with me after dinner." He said, and she gave a false smile.
"And I will be happy to accompany you my lord. If you make sure you treat the servants of Camelot with as much respect as you would seek to receive from them in return." She said, the anger simmering in her voice.
Madvedor smoothed down his hair nervously, clearly seeing he had annoyed Morgana, then inclined his head and turned to Merlin.
"My apologies then. I did not realise how diligent you are in serving the royal household's needs." He said, his teeth slightly clenched as he said it.
"Quite alright...my lord." Merlin said, his voice even more sarcastic than Morgana's, bowing slightly and making his way back down the table.
Madvedor waited until Merlin was out of earshot, then favoured Morgana with a smile.
"I'm sorry my lady, I forgot myself. Usually if anyone tells a servant what to do back home, they do not answer back. They simply do as they are told. Perhaps the boy needs to be beaten more often." He commented idly, and Morgana struggled to keep her temper in check, her knuckles whitening on her cutlery. Who the hell did this insufferable toad think he was to tell them how to treat Merlin?
"Arthur!" Gwen hissed.
"What? I was eating with my mouth closed I swear!" he protested, looking for another roast potato he could pinch off her plate when she wasn't looking as he had the last, with a little help from Merlin when he came back down.
"Not that, but unless you do something I'm afraid Morgana is going to turn Madvedor into mince!" she hissed, and Arthur turned around in alarm, just as Morgana's eyes started to turn amber.
"A problem my lord?" he asked politely, glaring at his sister, who's eyes went back to their usual green, and she sat there fuming.
"Just the servant. I gave him an order and he dared to question it. I am just not used to such things." He said simply, smiling smugly.
"Lord Madvedor told Merlin that he and I would not be requiring his services any further, and Merlin simply clarified that he is to serve the royal table, which means he is to serve me unless I give him leave not to." Morgana explained, but Madvedor waved her explanation off dismissively.
Arthur smiled coldly.
"Morgana is quite right. And I would appreciate it my lord if you didn't give orders to Merlin." He said, trying hard to keep civil.
Madvedor chuckled.
"Your family is quite protective of servants. Why may I ask, am I not able to give orders to the boy? I am a noble, he is a servant. Or is there some other system in Camelot I am as yet unaware of?" he asked, his tone grating against Arthur's nerves.
"Because he is my personal manservant." Arthur said coolly.
Madvedor's eyes widened in understanding, and he inclined his head.
"I apologise your majesty, I was unaware. It won't happen again." He said apologetically.
Arthur inclined his head, fixing him with a hard look and the servants began to clean away all the dishes. After they had done, he stood, offering his arm to Gwen and the two swept from the hall, Arthur beckoning Merlin to come with him and he hurried to catch up with his master. Leaving Madvedor alone with Morgana.
"Shall we then my lady?" he asked smoothly, offering his hand.
"Very well." She said, getting to her feet and ignoring his proffered hand.
Not so long ago, she had been the one treating Merlin like that. But she had been captured, Arthur had shown faith in her, and with Gaius' supervision she had become a member of court and society again. And then Merlin, the one who had regretfully poisoned her, the one who had always given her another chance, had come along. Her eyes flashed. No one was going to treat him like that if she could help it. Not her Merlin.
XX
And so the day continued, Morgana and Madvedor returning just before dinner. However, unlike the sarcastic and biting remarks Madvedor had been getting before they had gone out riding, Morgana now seemed to enjoy herself in his company. At the dinner table, he once more apologised for his earlier comments about Merlin (though not to Merlin himself) and was slightly more engaging than he had been at lunch. Morgana and Gwen were sitting on either side of him to spare Arthur having to talk to him again, which suited him. At least it had until both his wife and sister began to found the man engaging.
"You were right, he really is a twat." Arthur muttered to Merlin as he passed.
"How long is he here for?" Merlin muttered, his insides bubbling with jealousy as he saw Madvedor casually lay his hand on Morgana's.
"Five days. God I hope Morgana doesn't actually like this guy, I'd hate to have to reject him on the grounds I can't stand him." He whispered and Merlin snorted in amusement.
"She better not." Merlin whispered to himself as he headed down to the end of the table.
Something just wasn't right. He was sure of it. Now it might just be because he was jealous, but he didn't think so. There was something off about him, and his two thugs, who he was slightly glad to see Elyan and Tristan were keeping an eye on. Looking down the table, he saw Arthur staring off into space, Gwen looking down at her plate to once again find her roast potatoes having gone, and Madvedor and Morgana were deep in conversation, Madvedor shovelling gravy laden chicken onto his plate. Smirking slightly to himself, Merlin muttered a word, and Madvedor's fork wiggled, dropping the chicken all down his robes, making him curse himself in annoyance. Merlin grinned, turning away from the table while another servant went to the visitor with a towel.
A while later, after Merlin saw Madvedor playing footsie with Morgana under the table, had another unfortunate accident which just happened to coincide with Merlin's eyes glowing, and he knocked his goblet of wine into his lap, yelping in shock and embarrassment, and Merlin once more had to hide a grin, as Madvedor's two thugs were scouring the room looking for anyone laughing at their masters misfortune.
After the long night, the various guests at the dinner were heading off, and Merlin was feeling greatly relieved that the next feast would be on the day he was leaving. However, it still didn't soothe the feelings of jealousy that were increasingly growing in him. And he still couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. A feeling exacerbated when he saw him kiss Morgana's hands before leaving the hall with his thugs in tow.
Merlin headed over to Arthur, Morgana and Gwen, who was talking with Elyan.
"Please tell me you don't like him." Arthur begged, and Morgana smiled slightly.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't want to marry him," she said, and Merlin's heart skipped a beat, "however, when he isn't being a total arrogant skid, he is alright to be around. But he is a bit slimy." She said, her nose wrinkling slightly.
"You seemed to enjoy talking with him a minute ago." Percival commented quietly, and she smirked at him.
"Percival, I spent a year convincing Uther I was his doting, loving ward. I think my acting credentials are more than sufficient to fool him." She said, and Percival and Gwaine laughed.
"Those thugs of his don't look the nicest of people." Elyan said, and she frowned.
"I noticed that. Apparently they saved his life once and he made them knights in his court. But I do agree, they look fairly brutal." She said worriedly.
With that thought playing on the knight's minds, they all headed off, Gwaine inviting Merlin to the tavern, but he refused. Gwaine then bid him goodnight and disappeared with Leon and Tristan, while Percival and Elyan went to check everything was alright. Arthur and Gwen headed off, Arthur telling Merlin to bring an extra blanket for the cold, leaving him alone with Morgana.
"What is it Merlin?" she asked, seeing his clouded face, his thoughts filled with Madvedor and the feeling in his gut that something just wasn't right about him.
"Nothing, just, thanks, for taking my side. Not so long ago you'd have thrown me to him." He said ruefully, and she smiled slightly.
"Not so long ago you'd have just have abandoned me without wine to suffer him. But you're welcome. There's no need to be that cruel. Or to tell me what to do." She said, her eyes flashing, and Merlin smiled a little, knowing how she had always loathed Uther telling her what to do.
"He seems quite clumsy. I'm half expecting Arthur to say something about that when I go and tend to him." He said innocently, and she laughed.
"Yes. Dirty midden, can't keep his food where it's meant to be so throws it all down himself. Bit odd though. I mean he can ride a horse no problem, I wouldn't have thought he was clumsy."
Merlin grinned as he looked at her thoughtful face, her brow furrowed.
"Do you like him?" he asked in a teasing voice, and she narrowed her green eyes at him, smiling a little underneath them.
"Like him? I can be around him now without wanting to kill him if that's what you mean. But if you mean do I want to spend my life with him, the answer's no. Anyway, why are you so concerned about him, other than him treating you like trash?" she asked curiously, eyeing him up and down, and unbeknownst to him, appreciatively and with a little thrill of excitement, wanting to know why he didn't want her with Madvedor.
Merlin shrugged, not wanting to let her know why he was really concerned.
"Well he didn't seem that nice, I wouldn't want you to be married to someone like that, you deserve better." He said truthfully, feeling a blush come onto his cheeks.
Morgana smiled at him sweetly, liking the way his blushing highlighted his cheeks.
"Thank you Merlin. That's kinder than I deserve considering everything I've done. Goodnight Merlin." She said fondly, kissing his cheek again, and he grinned as she left the room, not noticing one of Madvedor's thugs standing in the shadows watching the two of them.
XX
"Why are you practically bouncing off the walls?" Gwen asked, a smile on her face as she watched Merlin.
"What, am I not allowed to be in a good mood?" he asked cheerfully, and Gwen mouthed 'Morgana' to Arthur, who frowned a little.
"I don't see what he has to be so happy about, seeing as he still has to muck out the stables, polish my armour, mend my chainmail-"
Gwen glowered at him.
"Just because you're grumpy because Madvedor didn't turn out to be such an idiot after all doesn't mean you should take it out on Merlin. You can go when you're done Merlin." She said, and Arthur turned to her, an expression of mock fury on his face.
"Hey! He's my servant, I'm the one who gets to dismiss him, and I say he still has work to do." He said bossily, and Gwen shook her head, grinning playfully.
"I'm the queen, you're the one who said I should treat him like my own servant so I am, I'm giving him the rest of the night off. So there." She said, sticking her tongue out.
Merlin watched the two of them fighting over him, oblivious to the fact that he was still in the room. Two of his closest friends, who after everything still managed to come together and marry, and find someone they could both be themselves with. Gwen was a good, fair and compassionate queen, a contrast to the dark 'wicked witch of Camelot' during her tenure on the throne, a foil for her, held up as the people as the perfect example of what a queen should be: humble, sweet, caring and a foil to Arthur, the young, powerful, loyal and driven king, who had now more than found his feet as ruler (and it was now much easier to rule without Agravaine muttering in his ear and Morgana causing havoc every other week when she got bored).
"I'll just go shall I?" Merlin called, but as the couple continued to bicker playfully, he rolled his eyes and left the room.
XX
"My lady, a delight and an honour to serve you again." The man said, kneeling at her feet and kissing her hand as the wind whistled through the ruins.
Agravaine was on the mainland, collecting supplies, allowing her to greet her guest. Mordred was still several days out, allowing her to get her business with him done quickly. And they had much business to get down to. After all, he was yet another stone to cast in the direction of Camelot's fall.
"And a pleasure to see you again my dear Davros. It has been much too long." She said fondly, surveying the man as he stood.
He was tall, clad in an armoured set of black hooded robes, a dark blue cape flowing from his shoulders. The right hand side of his face was marked with three raised scars, the consequence of tussling with a cockatrice during his younger days back when he had followed the High Priestesses of the Old Religion. His hair was long and scraggly, a deep violent red, and his black eyes laced empathy or warmth. Lately, he had gathered much that remained of Helios' army and had rallied them in preparation to march back towards the realm of Camelot, sensing the chaos magic was in and seeking to exploit it.
"What can I do for you my lady?" he asked interestedly, eyeing his dark mistress in anticipation, the anticipation of the hunt.
She smiled, knowing full well how fond of her he was, and hence would complete his orders to the letter.
"You can do what you used to do best. I want you to go to Essetir. Start to spread rumours that King Lot may have been a bit pre-emptive in taking the throne for himself, spread the rumour that Cenred was not in fact killed, and that he seeks to reclaim his kingdom." She ordered, and he looked at her curiously.
"To what end my lady?"
"The only end worth pursuing my dear old friend. The end of Camelot, of Arthur and of his pet warlock Merlin." She said with a gloating smile and he laughed.
"Good. And is there any truth to these rumours?" he asked with a knowing grin.
She smiled back.
"There will be by the time you're done." She promised.
With a deep bow, he vanished from sight, and she turned her head to the shadows, where her ally was lying.
"He seems competent."
"He is. Before Uther came along, kings would hire his services to weaken cities in preparation for their attacks. In time we will send him on to Camelot, and see what sort of havoc he can wreak there. But until then, we need him elsewhere to prepare for our plan." She said, and her ally grunted in consent.
"Good. I wonder though, why have you not summoned your Blood Guard?"
The Blood Guard were the elite bodyguards of the High Priestesses, and true enough she hadn't summoned any yet.
"Do not worry, I'm safe here. But I have a particular bodyguard in mind, and he will come in due course." She assured him, smiling at the thought of having her old bodyguard returned to her.
"You must preserve your strength. We will need more allies if we are to obliterate Camelot." He warned.
She did have to admit, resurrecting Agravaine had drained her. While initially it hadn't weakened her, afterwards she had been feeling the effects, it had tired her out, worn her down. It was good that she had resurrected Agravaine, because now he was tending to strenuous duties while she recouped her strength.
"I know. But as magic gets further out of control, here at the birthplace of all magic, my power grows. Soon I will resurrect our newest weapon. But if the boy is getting too close, your wyvern must hold him at bay. I need him to begin training under both him and Agravaine at once. But as Davros is so proficient, I need Cenred back sooner rather than later." She said, and he agreed.
"I will help you as much as I am able. And I intend to have a little fun with Emrys. I wish to see what our young Dragonlord is made of." He said with deep laughter and she smiled.
Yes, their plan was going well. Every hour magic got more out of control, strengthening them both. Soon now, all would be in place for their plan. Then Camelot would fall.
XX
Morgana had had another bad night. Once more dreams of Merlin had plagued her. While some were more than welcome, ones were he chased off Madvedor appealing to her greatly, the ones with him being killed by invisible attackers, or worse, one where Arthur attacked him, didn't sit well with her at all. As such, sleep deprived and pale, her hair styled the same way she'd had it for the last year and wearing a black gown as she had been so distracted while dressing, she hadn't realised until she was halfway down towards the king's dining room that she looked just like the evil witch she was when she had taken over last time, and by that time she'd gone too far and couldn't be bothered going back up to change.
Rushing past Leon and Elyan, she turned the corner only to run right into Merlin, knocking the two of them off their feet, and sending the washing Merlin had been carrying all over the place.
"Oh, sorry Merlin." She said meekly, as he helped her to her feet, catching her when she stumbled on the hem of her dress.
"That's ok, it's dirty washing anyway. What's wrong?" he asked her, his blue eyes narrowed in the concern she had felt he had for her so long ago, when Gaius had been unwilling to tell her about her powers, when she had felt he had been the only one who had cared.
"I had another dream last night. Camelot was burning around us, someone was dead, and Arthur was attacking you." She admitted, and she looked to see a curious flicker of fear on his face. Was he afraid of Arthur? And if so, why?
"Well, at least it means I won't die in your other vision." He said with a small smile, and she did have to admit, that thought did cheer her up a bit. She could cope with Arthur attacking him. Merlin dying was something she couldn't comprehend.
She gathered up some of the dresses she had made him drop as he forced them back into the basket Gwen had so often used for her own cleaning duties.
"Unless something is amiss boy, it's your job to pick those up." A voice called out from the end of the corridor, and Merlin turned to see Madvedor strolling towards them, an irked expression on his face as he glared indignantly at what Morgana was doing.
"I'm only giving him a hand." Morgana retorted, bundling the last of the clothes into the basket with a defiant expression on her face as she glared at the snob.
"I meant no disrespect my lord, she was only helping." Merlin said, bowing his head slightly but glaring at Madvedor all the while, his hands tightening around the basket and resisting the urge to incinerate him where he stood. Jealousy aside, the man really was an insufferable pain in the back side.
"Perhaps you ought to remember what it is your job entails, and what someone of the lady Morgana's job entails. It doesn't involve helping servants." He sneered, offered his arm to Morgana which she pointedly ignored after giving him an icy glare, and then entered the dining room without him, the fury radiating off of her as she slammed the door shut.
And then, Madvedor abruptly slammed Merlin into the wall, pinning him in place with his elbow, all the while looking up and down to see if there was anyone about, and once he was confident, he leaned in close to Merlin, sneering at him dangerously.
"You would do well to forget your friendship with the lady Morgana. She is a princess, you are nothing more than a mere servant. It is not her job to help worthless, clumsy servants, even if you are the king's favourite boy. And I would advise you to remain out of my way for the rest of my visit. I would hate for something to happen to you." He sneered, baring his teeth right in front of Merlin's face, spittle showering Merlin's face.
"Yes...my lord." Merlin growled in retort, glaring at Madvedor as he let him go. He then kicked over the basket of clothes, sent Merlin a superior smirk, and entered the king's dining room.
Merlin glowered at where Madvedor had disappeared. The man really was a pain in the backside, and he was more convinced than ever that something wasn't right about him. And if he thought he could get away with treating Morgana like that, he was sorely mistaken. Merlin narrowed his eyes and went about his duties. And something told him Madvedor would have a few accidents today. Smiling bitterly, he picked up the washing and began to plot how to get back at Madvedor.
XX
All through the day, when Merlin just happened to be in the same area as Madvedor was, curious things keep happening to him. He fell down the stairs at one point. His horse did its business on his shoes, making Morgana suppress a giggle as he roared in rage at what had happened to him. He once more dribbled food all down himself during dinner, and his goblet soaked him in a most unfortunate place during lunch. During all these events, the light seemed to be making Merlin's eyes amber. However, Madvedor's misfortunes were of great amusement to Arthur, Gwen and Morgana, who was struggling to remain her unfazed demeanour and it was clear to Merlin that she longed to burst out laughing at her suitors expense.
However, while Madvedor was having the worst luck imaginable all day, his two thugs, who had been asked to join the knights for practice, were making quite the impression. Gwaine already had bruised ribs, though he did admit that he couldn't remember if it was because of them or the tavern, Elyan was walking with a limp and Tristan had a sprained wrist, such was the sheer brute force of the thugs.
Despite the various incidents, Madvedor spent the entire day with Morgana, who, after the way he had treated Merlin that morning and had also presumed to tell her what she should and shouldn't be doing, she was rather opposed to him spending the day with her, but after a stern but sympathetic look from Arthur, she had relented and had spent the day with him once again. However, the behaviour of the thugs was most strange. While on the first day, they had been nigh inseparable, now they kept disappearing at random times, always showing up wherever Merlin seemed to be going, glaring at him and then vanishing again. It was quite strange.
Evening came, Madvedor's misfortune seeming to have lagged off in his and Morgana's ride through the forest, and as they trotted into the courtyard, his eyes narrowed in fury as he saw Merlin attend to Arthur and Gwen's horse, as the two of them had gone for a ride themselves.
"May I ask what your connection is with that boy my lady?" he asked, once more perfectly charming again, though his eyes looked as though they wished to incinerate Merlin.
Morgana sent him a frosty look.
"He is one of my oldest friends, and though he could have, he never once tried to kill me when I was trying to bring down Camelot. He's forgiven me for everything and has been one of my closest friends since I returned." She said defensively, moving her horse in front of him as if to protect him from Madvedor's gaze.
Madvedor smiled cunningly, his eyes on Merlin as he led Arthur's horse to the stables.
"Rumour has it you kissed him my lady." He said, and she met his gaze unflinchingly, her hands tightening on her reins.
"Yes I did, not that it's any business of yours. I can kiss who I want. And that was before my courtship began anyway so it doesn't matter to you." She responded coldly.
"I was just wondering my lady, if my courtship is not a waste of time." He asked mildly, and he finally succeeded in making her blush.
"Of course not my lord. My friendship with Merlin is purely platonic." She assured him, though he noticed the way her eyes travelled over Merlin as he wheedled Gwen's reluctant horse indoors.
"Indeed." He said sardonically, bowing his head to her, and taking note of the look of concern and alarm in her eyes.
"My lady." Merlin said with a smile, helping her down from the horse and taking the reins to lead her grey horse inside.
"Merlin." She said, trying to convey with her eyes that Madvedor for some reason had it in for him.
Merlin grinned at her, and led her horse to the stables, not noticing Madvedor staring after him, a sinister smile on his face.
XX
Madvedor was sat at the other side that night, separated from Morgana by Gwen and Arthur. Morgana had gone to Gwen and had begged to have him moved, citing an uncontrollable urge to turn him into the toad he was if she had to sit with him all through dinner. As such, Madvedor was now separated from the one he was supposed to be courting by her brother and his wife. However it was a useful opportunity to study Morgana's relationship with Merlin. He saw the way the two smiled at each other, the lingering looks the two sent one another, the way she relaxed herself around him, and the way he became more confident, strident around her. That had to stop. One, a person of her standing should not be so close with a mere servant anyway. And secondly, his plan couldn't come to fruition if she was more interested in this boy than in him. Well it could, but he would only rather do that as a last resort.
"I think it's time the lady Morgana learned to stop relying on so much on her precious Merlin." He muttered to one of his companions after a night of watching the two of them.
XX
The dinner was over and done with, and Morgana, Arthur and Gwen had headed for their rooms, and Merlin had quickly escaped the room before Madvedor had turned on him again. He was rude, a bully that made Arthur's bad days look like total bliss. Merlin felt sorry for whatever poor sap had to tend to Madvedor on a weekly basis, the arrogant slimy git would hopefully get home to find his servant had done a runner. And the fact that he spent all day drooling off of Morgana didn't improve his feelings for the man. Morgana, despite having conquered Camelot twice, broke Arthur and Gwen up and tried to make him kill Arthur still deserved a better man than him.
It was obvious that Madvedor didn't appreciate how far Morgana had come in the last few months. After all, when she had been captured, she hadn't even fought, she had been lying on the forest floor looking at the sky in wonder when the knights had brought her before Arthur. When he had bitterly told her he should kill her, she had begged for mercy, it was as if she had had an epiphany, saying she realised now how bitter and twisted and full of hate she had become, because of Uther and Morgause, but she had seen something that had made her realise that despite everything to do with them, there was still good in the world, and cautiously, Arthur had pardoned her and allowed her room in the castle. Madvedor, unlike Merlin, didn't see how far she had come, and what was more, as far as they knew, Madvedor wasn't magical, so would never get that aspect of Morgana's life. And the last thing she, Arthur, Merlin and Camelot needed was for her to marry someone who would repress her magic just like Uther had, and Madvedor seemed more than capable of doing that.
Merlin headed through the corridors of the castle, his mind buzzing with thoughts of Morgana and Madvedor. He was bad news whatever way you looked at it. As he made his way through the corridors, he heard voices coming from a slightly open door. Mostly ignoring them, he slowed when he recognised one of the voices as Madvedor's. Merlin slowed to a stop as he heard what Madvedor was saying, and quickly crouched down by the slightly open door, peering in to see the two guards standing close to the door, with Madvedor standing in front of the fire, holding something in his hands.
"Magic is spiralling out of control. Only the strong will survive the coming storm, and I intend to be the strongest I can be." He said smugly.
"I trust you won't forget all we've done?" one of the guards said in a deep, grunting, slow voice.
Merlin could barely make out Madvedor turning round to face them, but the item in his hands immediately intrigued him. It was a large orb, completely black. Inside however, were vast strains of colour, all swirling in a vortex in the centre of the orb. He had never seen anything like it. In its own way it looked really quite nice, but Merlin also felt a great foreboding looking at it.
"Of course I won't my friends. The anarchy of magic is caused mostly by the lady Morgana. Hence why we are here. Once I get her powers, nothing will stop me weathering this storm. And we will become much stronger as a result. No more will we be forced to hide what we are. Magic will return to the land, and the great threat on the horizon will be our ally rather than our enemy."
"What about the boy?" one of his thugs asked, and Madvedor sneered.
"I suggest you deal with him before he becomes a problem. If anyone will notice my designs for Morgana it will be him. We had best make sure that doesn't happen." He said smugly, and with a thrill of alarm, Merlin saw them turn towards the door.
He was trapped. There was no way to hide in this corridor. He had but one choice. Hoping his spell would work, his eyes flashed gold and he disappeared from his own view, edging out of the way of the door. The door opened and the two thugs strolled out, passing right by Merlin without realising he was there. Madvedor looked around the corridor, saw nothing, and closed the door. When he was sure they were out of sight and hearing range, Merlin took off the spell. His first time using an invisibility spell, and it had worked perfectly. Feeling slightly pleased with himself, he now had proof he had been right about Madvedor all along. Morgana was in danger. Whatever Madvedor had planned involved her and her powers. With a sense of dread growing in his stomach, he rushed to find Arthur. He would put a stop to this.
XX
"Arthur!" Merlin called, distracting his master from the report on the northern borders he was reading.
Gwen had gone down to the kitchens, to apparently chat to some of her friends down there, leaving him in their room dealing with yet more matters of state. And for once, Merlin's interruption was actually well timed. The report was depressing him as it was.
"In here." He called, and Merlin rushed round the corner, out of breath.
Feeling a slight feeling of trepidation, he looked at Merlin expectantly.
"Madvedor's up to something." Merlin panted once he had his breath back.
Arthur looked up at his friend in shock. He didn't quite know what he had been expecting, but it hadn't been that.
"Merlin, what?"
"I just overheard him, he wants something to do with Morgana. I think he wants her powers." He explained, and Arthur began to laugh.
Merlin looked at him, bemused. He had just told him that someone was trying to steal his sisters powers, and he was laughing?
"Um, did I say something funny?" he asked in confusion, and Arthur stopped laughing to look at Merlin.
"Honestly Merlin, I know you don't like him but seriously, you could have come up with something better than that." He said amusedly, and Merlin looked at him imploringly.
"What? I didn't come up with it. I was going past his room and I heard him talking about Morgana. He wants to take her powers." He said, and Arthur fixed him with a pointed look.
"You were spying on Madvedor?" he asked slowly, and Merlin shrugged a little.
"I've spied on most people. In fact Gwen is probably the only person I've never spied on." He admitted, looking sheepish.
Arthur looked at his manservant in astonishment. The sneaky little bugger had been spying on them all had he?
"Merlin, this has got to stop." Arthur said patiently, deciding to disregard the information about him spying on people, and Merlin looked at him in confusion.
"What has? Spying? I don't do it that often now." He said ruefully, but Arthur shook his head.
"Not that. This thing with Morgana. You know it can't happen so why are you doing this?"
That hurt. He knew it was right, but it hurt, Arthur telling him so bluntly. But a second later, his brain caught up with him and he realised what Arthur was implying.
"Wait, you think I'm making this up?" he demanded, his temper rising, and Arthur arced an eyebrow disbelievingly.
"Well what am I meant to think? You have no proof other than your word, he doesn't treat you well, and you like Morgana. It doesn't exactly take a genius to figure out why you're doing this. You're jealous of him." He said simply.
Merlin looked at him, slightly taken aback. His word wasn't good enough, as usual. Fighting the tight feeling in his throat, he swallowed and looked across at him.
"You actually believe I would do that?" he asked softly, feeling the sting of how little his so called friend apparently knew him even after all these years, and Arthur shrugged.
"It would get Madvedor out of the way if I believed you." He said pointedly, his tone implying something very different.
"But you don't? Arthur, I heard him talking about magic!" Merlin shouted, panic flooding him, and Arthur rolled his eyes, making Merlin's temper rise further.
"Merlin, I don't know what you heard while you were spying on him, but whatever it was I couldn't do anything about it anyway. He's a visiting dignitary, I can't just go after him on the love addled advice of my servant who happens to think the one courting the girl he loves is 'up to something', especially when there's no proof." Arthur said plainly.
"Isn't my word enough to at least look into it?" Merlin demanded furiously, praying Arthur wouldn't respond the way he knew he was about to.
Arthur looked at him, not with sympathy, but with pity, as if feeling sorry for him for being in love with someone enough to make up a story, and red hot fury flooded him, and he physically had to rein in his magic before he did something he regretted.
"No. Not when you're in love with Morgana. It's just too convenient Merlin. Your feelings for her, and your fear that she'll go off and live far away are messing with your head." He snapped.
Merlin then shot him a look he had never seen from Merlin directed at him before. Contempt. And it hurt. It stung. The only people Merlin had ever looked at like that were Morgana when she had betrayed them and Uther when he had turned on Gaius.
"I knew you would use that against me. Arthur, he's dangerous and he's threatening Morgana!" Merlin shouted angrily, but Arthur just stared stonily back at him.
"Merlin...enough. Just go. Go and see if Gaius needs help. I don't need you anymore tonight." He said, sounding slightly angry, fed up of this, and keen to get out of the horrible look Merlin was giving him.
Merlin looked at him disbelievingly, then his face turned into one of hurt, one of betrayal.
"I can't believe you actually think I'd make this up. I wouldn't do that." He said, but Arthur just looked back at him, looking slightly bored.
"It was funny at first Merlin. But now your 'spying' is getting out of hand. Go on, go home." He ordered, turning back to his report.
Merlin glared down at Arthur. He should have known Arthur wouldn't listen to him. He'd pass his warning off as him just being afraid that Madvedor would take Morgana away and split them all up. And since when did friendship get in the way of matters of state? Arthur had known how he felt about Morgana and had used that against him. He thought that little of him, after all these years, after the number of times he had proved his loyalty, and proved that he was right when he said someone was up to something. He thought he would make up a story just to try to get rid of Madvedor. Merlin took a step back, glaring down at Arthur in betrayal, anger and contempt, and he knew from Arthur's lack of movement that he felt the glare Merlin was giving him.
"I'm not making this up. But I thought I could rely on my friend to listen to me as a friend first, not a king. But my word still isn't good enough. All that stuff about listening to me next time I told you someone was no good goes out the window just because I'm in love? Wow. And here I thought we were best friends. More fool me." He said, his voice quivering, but with anger or tears, and if they were tears of hurt or frustration he couldn't tell.
That made Arthur look up, hurt in his eyes this time.
"Merlin..."
"Fine. Just don't come crying to me when your sister is powerless." He snarled, and Merlin turned around, and left the room, slamming the door shut as he went before Arthur could even contemplate stopping him.
Arthur had felt bad before Merlin had stormed out. But when he thought he heard a sniffle as Merlin left, he felt ten times worse.
Oh Arthur, you really are a prat at times arent you?
Anyway, so aside from Arthur being a prat, Madvedor is up to something, but what? And just who is up to what on the Isle of the Blessed?
Please read and review, and apologies for the slight ooc of the characters!