"Do you really think that's necessary?" Merlin asked.
"Oh yes, it's the only way," Gaius said.
They both looked up as Arthur returned to the room. "What is the only way?" he asked.
"I was hoping there was a more subtle way to spell Camelot to be inhospitable to pixies, but apparently the only spell we can find requires me to, sort of, stand on the battlements and shout a spell that then covers Camelot in a foggy, red glow," Merlin said.
"Forever?" Arthur asked.
Merlin tried to supress a smile at Arthur's tone of dismay. "No, just for a couple of hours. But your people will certainly know that magic is being used to rid the town of the pixies."
"I would have told them in any case," Arthur said. "Deception is not in my nature."
"It hasn't had to be," Merlin said sharply, looking at Arthur. "Your nature has not been outlawed since before you were born."
Arthur would have said something in reply, but Gaius raised his hand. "Perhaps you should address the court, and send some knights to the lower town to give an announcement about what to expect. We wouldn't want to cause a panic."
"I'll do that," Arthur said. "Are you ready, Merlin?"
Merlin picked up the book and made ready to follow Arthur. He tried not to hope that the familiar tone of annoyance had anything to do with his and Arthur's friendship getting back to normal. A lot of the time when Arthur used that tone, it wasn't teasing; he was simply annoyed with Merlin. He knew Arthur was not used to defiance, but Merlin had decided before he returned to Camelot that he would make no more apologies for who and what he was. He was not ashamed of who he was, and he would not allow Uther's ghost to make him thus.
"I'm ready," Merlin said.
"Don't you need any eye of newt or leg of toad or something?" Arthur asked.
"No," Merlin said. "I have everything I need."
Arthur proceeded to the throne room and asked for a guard to assemble the court. Arthur looked over at Merlin with a look of vulnerability he couldn't hide. "My father never had to ask for magical help."
"Yes he did. He asked Nimueh to help him have a son," Merlin said.
"Did you lie to me about that, too?" Arthur said. "Was it the way Morgause said?"
"I believe so," Merlin said. "Gaius confirmed it. I had no reason to suspect she was lying."
"Then why did you say she was?" Arthur asked.
"Why do you think?" Merlin said. "Could you have really been the man you are today if you had struck your father down in the prime of his life?"
"But if I had killed my father and sided with magic, you would have been free to be yourself. And Morgana might be here still, by my side," Arthur said.
"And just think—you might never have known she was your sister, and the two of you might have gotten married and lived happily ever after," Merlin said flippantly.
"Good god!" Arthur said.
"Or she might have tried to kill you anyway. She almost murdered Uther long before she knew she had magic, or that she was his daughter, when Uther killed Gwen's father," Merlin said. "If you did not rule the kingdom the way she wanted you to, she might have tried to kill you, too."
"Do you really believe that?" Arthur asked.
"I tried to turn Morgana from the path of hatred and revenge many times. Nothing I did could alter her destiny," Merlin said.
The room was starting to fill up, and Merlin sensed that he had given Arthur a lot to think about. He linked his hands behind his back and stood to the right of the throne, slightly behind Arthur. Gwen smiled at him as she walked to her throne on Arthur's left.
Merlin looked at the knights. Gwaine was smiling at him proudly, but many of the other knights wore carefully guarded looks. Merlin supposed they might be worried about this new development. How would magic returning to the land affect them, and their position in Camelot? He supposed they wondered if he might displace them in importance with the king; it wasn't possible, of course—the knights were as much a part of Camelot as Arthur was—but Merlin supposed it was natural for them to fear change.
"Thank you for assembling so quickly," Arthur said. "Merlin has agreed to use magic to drive away the pixies. I fear it is the only way. I suppose we could learn to live with their pestering, but I would hate to drive my people away out of sheer stubbornness. The spell he is going to use won't have any effect on people, but there will be a red fog that will settle over Camelot for a time."
"And it will drive away the pixies?" one of the knights asked.
"The fog will last for a couple of hours, and by the time it fades, the pixies will have been driven off," Merlin said.
The people assembled relaxed visibly.
"And what of Merlin's banishment?" Gwaine asked.
Arthur looked around at his people. "I may have been wrong about magic. I am not ready to say that I will allow my people to practice magic, but I think it wise to have one person I trust to counter any magical attacks. Therefore I bestow upon Merlin the title of court sorcerer."
The people assembled looked at each other with wary confusion. Merlin imagined they were reluctant to show any emotion either way. If they applauded, and it turned out Merlin was evil (as many of them certainly suspected), then they might be suspect when his evil deeds were discovered. If they failed to applaud, they could face the anger of a sorcerer. In the end the announcement was greeted with a brief smattering of applause, mostly from those who knew Merlin well.
"Shall I warn the people of the lower town about this spell?" Sir Leon asked.
"Yes. Please inform as many people as you can. The last thing we want is for anyone to panic," Arthur said.
When the company began to disperse, Gwaine approached Merlin and hugged him tightly. "Good to have you back where you belong," he said.
"What have you been up to? No trouble, I hope," Merlin said.
"Nothing serious," Gwaine said. "I should have come with you to Nemeth. There are far too few songs about me."
"You say that now, but you'd probably feel differently if everywhere you went you tripped over a bard singing your praises," Merlin said, rolling his eyes.
"I suppose you're right. Men clearing a path as you walk in quiet respect, women fainting with love at your feet. Sounds like rubbish to me," Gwaine said.
"It is rubbish," Merlin muttered, but Gwaine just laughed at him.
"Seems like Arthur has forgiven you. He told the entire court he trusts you," Gwaine said.
"He lied," Merlin said flatly.
"Oh," Gwaine said. He was only discouraged for a moment, and then smiled and said, "Well, I still trust you."
Merlin looked at Gwaine sidelong, smiling. "And I've never quite understood what I did to inspire your trust so quickly or thoroughly. But I am glad of it."
"Come Gwaine," Arthur said as he approached the two. "Join us on the battlements. You can watch Merlin perform his spell."
Merlin suspected Arthur only asked Gwaine to join them because he did not want to be alone with Merlin. Merlin couldn't blame him; every time they were alone Merlin exposed another piece of the puzzle of things Merlin had kept from him. He wondered if when all the pieces were exposed Arthur would see that Merlin had done the best he could. He dreaded the moment when he had to admit that he had released the dragon.
How many people had died in that attack?
He should know that number. He was responsible for each one of their deaths. He should know how many men and women and children he had doomed with his actions, never mind the fact that his friendship with the dragon had since probably saved as many lives as Kilgharrah took during those attacks.
He tried to put it from his mind, concentrating on the spell he was to perform. He hoped it worked the first time. He had been practicing his magic a lot; and, now that he no longer had to hide it, Merlin had been getting spells right the first time more and more. He knew many of the words in the old tongue which he used to struggle over.
When they reached the battlements overlooking all of Camelot, Merlin opened his book to the correct page and asked Gwaine to hold the book open for him. Without any further warning, he shouted the words on the page and felt his eyes burn with the fires of magic.
Gwaine nearly dropped the book. He stepped back in alarm and fear, and Merlin tried not to feel hurt by that. He supposed it was one thing to know a friend had magic, and it was another thing to see the proof of it.
Arthur was looking at Camelot. There was a red mist seeping into every part of the place. "This had better work, Merlin," he said.