Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin
"Any word from Gaius on the matter?" Mithian asked Arthur as she delivered scrolls depicting the status of the building army, garbed in a green dress and hair braided down the middle of her back. The King was found concentrated on one of the many books of magic that piled around him, his elbow resting upon the desk as he supported his head, blue eyes moving back and forth, as he scanned for information. His rumpled clothing and dark smudges below his eyes indicated to the Princess how long the man had been holed up in his chambers.
The effort had been great for the past few months and though the soldiers were still green, they were proficient enough to make them a challenge to even the most seasoned warriors. The army had been nearly doubled in the effort to get every able body man trained, making Nemeth's previously small army a force worth reckoning. Even women had taken to training to care for the wounded for when the war finally broke out. Gwen attempted to persuade Arthur to allow them to be trained for battle and, against Arthur's wishes, led a few women, including her, into training. Being a blacksmith daughter, Gwen had already known of basic swordplay, but continued to improve her skill among the other knights, though the royal couple could often be seen arguing over whether or not Gwen would participate in the battle.
Now they kept up training generally with Leon, Elyan, and the Nemethian knights at King Rodor's direction to ensure the soldiers were prepared while Arthur, Gwen, Mithian, and Gaius focused most of their attentions on the magic side of the battle. One fact they had all agreed upon was that they must discover just what these creatures were and figure out how they could be defeated. Though the sorcerers were formidable, reports showed that there could be anywhere from fifty to a hundred, of varying strengths, working for Morgana. The sorcerers would be difficult but not impossible to defeat given they had enough capable men.
The creatures of the Old Religion were a different matter altogether.
With the influx of new recruits, it was hard for anyone to make time for anything outside of training. Until most recently, Arthur found himself constantly on the training ground, working the men and women through drills, giving a cautionary glance to his wife while she trained, or accompanying Guinevere among the refugees dispersed among the city populace. Even Gaius, along with Helena, kept busy as he instructed those incapable or unwilling to fight how to properly treat injuries and children on identifying herbs and their properties, so as they may be able to gather supplies. It wasn't until two weeks ago that Gaius came to Arthur for permission to search through books to find a method to destroy and rid the kingdom of the monsters that prowled through the streets of Camelot.
With a sigh, Arthur closed the tome in front of him and placed it aside. The blond-haired man rubbed his temples for a moment before his bleary eyes found the Princess and accepted the scroll; he debated for a moment perusing the information before he placed it onto the desk.
"No. Nor can I find anything in these books. Are you sure this is all the books you have?"
"Unfortunately, yes. The Purge had forced us to burn most books on magic we had in the library if we wanted to remain in an alliance with Uther. Those that survived were ones that were vague on the topic or was missed," said Mithian, who crossed her arms and gave Arthur a stern look. "My father told me that Nemeth never held an official stance for nor against sorcerers, but merely tolerated their presence as long as they followed the laws of the land. We were, and still are, a small kingdom, one that could not afford to lose as powerful of an ally as Camelot."
"Did you persecute them," whispered Arthur, who changed his mind and unfurled the scroll but gave no indication that he was reading.
"Truthfully? No. We did not. Nemeth publically denounced magic, but when the few harmless sorcerers made themselves known we turned a blind eye," Arthur's eyes widen at Mithian who in turn stared back defiantly.
"You… let them go?"
"Would you execute me if I said yes? Or my father? Declare war upon my kingdom for allowing those you have deemed 'evil' to live?" Mithian challenged, "We had to condemn part of our kingdom, our people, to appease those such as Uther, to protect the kingdom as a whole. "
"And when one of them turns and stabs you in the back, would you still protect them?" Arthur scoffed, his eyes flashed with the familiar ever-present pain.
Mithian walked to the window beside the desk, her eyes followed the people below as they went about their daily routines; she flipped her braid over her shoulder and her fingers fiddled with the brown ends, lost in thought. When Mithian didn't answer, Arthur began to read the parchment that spoke of the figures and capabilities of the army. The blond-haired man pulled out the report that the most recent patrol had discovered about the opposing side from the border. According to these numbers, the Nemethian army, with the added trainees from the refugees from Camelot and city populace, was a sizable enough force to face Morgana's soldiers but the sorcerers and monsters was still a threat too much for their soldiers to be able to handle. Hell, even Arthur's best knight would be hard pressed to take down a single sorcerer, let alone fifty or more. There has to be some way they could-
"Yes."
Arthur glanced up at Mithian, confused for a moment.
"Of course I would protect them," Mithian said, "The actions of a few does not represent the actions of the whole. There is always evil in the hearts of man, and no matter what you believe, sorcerers are no different. Everyone has the potential to be evil, it is the person themselves that decide whether to given into the darkness."
Mithian gave Arthur one last glance before she turned away from him and the window and walked towards the exit.
There she paused and, without turning back, said, "Besides I wouldn't deem lying for survival to be punishable by death, especially when the lie caused no harm."
With that, Mithian left, leaving Arthur to stare, dumbfounded, at the empty doorway.
Then he pondered upon the war preparations, calculated how many more men and resources were needed, and hoped to distract him from the familiar pain in his heart.
"That man is the very definition of a stubborn Pendragon," complained Mithian as she entered the Nemethian Court Physician's chamber. Inside Gwen sat next to a young girl as she crushed some herbs, showing and explaining the young maiden. She was clad in leather pants and tunic with hair braided similarly to that of the Princess. Though the dress was not proper for a woman of her status, the Queen had refused to dress "prettily", as she had called it, while everyone around her rushed to and fro in their tasks. Besides, Gwen announced during the start of war preparations, one could not properly execute attacks or parries when restricted by gowns.
Seated at the table next to her was Gaius. The old man who was reading through a dusty book with a stack of mores setup to the side, at a table in the center of the room while Helena, the Court Physician of Nemeth, was treating a patient to the side at the patient's cot. Unlike Gaius' chambers found in Camelot, the room was organized, the herbs kept in careful order in a cabinet while books neatly sat within bookshelves in order of subject matter. Even the vials, beakers, and the likes were kept clean and arranged in another cabinet that stood next to a worktable against the wall.
Helena, who pushed aside strands of greying hair from her kind wrinkled face, merely smiled and nodded to the princess who in turned directed her gaze towards the Queen as she handed the pestle and mortar to the young woman next to her.
"What did he do this time," Gwen said with a sigh as she stood up and greeted Mithian with a hug then returned to her seat and grabbed a book to study after giving the pestle and mortar to the girl. Since their arrival in Nemeth, Gwen and Mithian became close friends and often found themselves swapping stories, from gossip of the court to embarrassing stories of Arthur, at his expense, whenever they found the need to keep their mind off their current situation.
"Got in another conversation on the morals of magic, though admittedly I may have started this one," said Mithian apologetically to Gwen before glancing at Gaius whose shoulders began to tense. "Anyways, still seems he refuses to budge on his opinions on magic users."
Gwen stared at her wringing hands as she felt a cold pit in her stomach, "I don't suspect they will change any time soon."
"And what happens when you finally reclaim the throne and must deal with all the magic users dragged out of hiding or Merlin, if he's even still alive? Will you watch him execute his own friend and hundreds of other innocents who were drawn into another's battle?" Mithian asked, but not unkindly.
"I don't think he would do that," Gwen shook her head, biting her lips; "He would give Merlin a chance to explain. Arthur is just; he would not execute someone he knows to be a good man without explanation from said man."
"Still won't change the fact that he will act out like a spoiled child. Gaius," Mithian turned to the physician, "why can't you tell Arthur anything about Merlin?"
"Because it is not my place to reveal Merlin's secret," Gaius sighed as he turned another page in the book he was reading. "As much as I want to try to prove to Arthur that Merlin is not evil, I cannot tell him everything of the boy, that is Merlin's responsibility though even if I told him I doubt he'll understand without Merlin himself explaining. Besides I doubt he would act rashly against Merlin."
"Why's that," asked Mithian.
"Because Arthur won't condemn someone who is obviously protecting his people, especially not someone close to him."
"So banishment then," Mithian sighed as she sat across from Gaius and plucked a book off the stack and flipped through it.
"If that is the case, milady, I will leave as well," Gaius responded.
"To force Arthur to allow Merlin to stay?"
"No. Because the boy always finds himself in trouble," Gaius mumbled, his face composed but hands trembled, "I need to make sure my boy stays safe."
Gwen sat quietly at the table as she listened to the conversation. The words before her began to blur together as her eyes filled with tears. Tears for the old man who pretended to be fine when he clearly worried for his ward, for her best friend who was most likely being tortured right at this moment, and for her husband who became consumed in his father teachings to hide from the knowledge that his best friend was suffering.
She glanced out the window at the rising sun.
Rubbing the unshed tears from her eyes, Gwen focused once again on the words before her. It was only morning, no need to waste what precious little time they had. As much as she knew Merlin to be strong, Gwen could not help but shake the feeling that now, even more so than before, time was running out.
The faster they figured out what these creatures were, the faster they could destroy them, reclaim the throne, and release everyone from Morgana's iron grip.
It was her responsibility, as Queen, to protect her people.
"Are you sure this is the right house?"
Percival merely shrugged as they stood at the doorway of a hut found near the outskirts of Ealdor.
Gwaine lifted his hand, hesitated, then knocked upon the door. A few minutes later, a middle-aged woman with long black hair held back by a dark green headscarf and a simple brown dress and frayed apron answered the door.
She smiled and greeted, "Hello?"
"Are you the woman by the name of Hunith?" Gwaine asked.
With a nod, "I am Hunith. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Yes. We need to talk to you somewhere more… private."
Giving another nod, Hunith stepped aside and bade them inside. The two entered and the woman closed the door before turning to her guests.
"Sorry for the intrusion but we came here to warn you and the entirety of Ealdor," Gwaine quickly explained, "A group of sorcerers led by sorceress named Tara approaches with the sole intent of slaughtering and enslaving the people here. We need to get this entire village evacuated to safety as soon as possible."
"But why? Why is there sorcerers threatening Ealdor. We are a poor farming village, there is nothing to gain here," Hunith asked, shocked at what she was hearing and her voice taking on a panicked tone.
Gwaine glanced at Percival who nodded.
"We… we are knights from Camelot," Gwaine said slowly, gaging Hunith's reaction who immediately composed her face and gave the knight her full attention, "where Arthur and Gwen escaped from after Morgana had captured it a little over four months ago."
Hunith began to fiddle with the loose threads on the corner of her apron, "My son, Merlin, he is the King's manservant, is he ok? Is he safe?"
Gwaine felt a pang of guilt as he thought of his friend still imprisoned in the dungeons; oh how he wished he weren't the one telling Hunith this.
"Merlin… is the reason why Ealdor is threatened. I'm sorry, we barely managed to escape, we couldn't get him out without endangering us all. Morgana has been tor- trying to get information from him for months; he was too weak to be able to escape with us. She threatened you and all of Ealdor to get him to comply with her wishes." Gwaine said as gently as he could but mentally winced at the news he brought.
"We don't have much time," Percival supplied.
The Knights watched as Hunith face filled with dread. It was heartbreaking to watch as the woman held back her tears and focused her full attention on the knight. She stayed composed and, though bright with tears, her eyes showed determination to handle the situation as best she can.
"Then there is no time to waste, let us warn the people," Hunith said, her voice strangely steady.
Gwaine shared a look with Percival before the two gave a nod and began to leave the house following Hunith. Before they reached the door, the woman stopped and turned back to the knights, her composure breaking slightly and revealed the apprehension.
"Do you know what Morgana wants from my son?" she asked.
With hesitation and another shared look, Percival responded, "She wanted information on someone by the name of Emrys and that he joins her army of… sorcerers."
Hunith froze, "You know then."
The knights nodded.
Hunith stared at the knights for moment longer before nodding as well.
"Thank you," Hunith said honestly, tears were close to breaking out. "Now let's get everyone out."
Together, the three went around the village, knocked on doors and stopped passersby. Many were incredulous, even annoyed, but together the knights managed to gather the people into the village's main center. Once gathered the people talked amongst each other, speculating on the reasons why two ragged looking men and Hunith had gathered them together. Gwaine stepped away from Hunith and Percival and shouted for their attention before he began his announcement.
"This village must be evacuated, immediately," Gwaine ordered, going straight to the point.
"For what?" scoffed one of the younger men at the front of the crowd as the talking died down and all looked towards Gwaine expectantly. Many, much like the young man, expressed a variety of confusion and annoyance towards the stranger who demanded they leave their homes.
"Because a group of sorcerers are on their way to slaughter you all," replied Gwaine bluntly.
The villagers began to murmur amongst themselves. Few gave concerns while most expressed reservations, not quite wanting to believe the two strange men. A small portion of the crowd began to express anger at the announcement, believing that their time was wasted on nonsense.
Of those who were angry, another young man stepped forward and called out, "Why would sorcerers attack us? We have caused them no harm." The others around him made agreeing sounds, a few speaking up for an explanation.
"What does it matter? They come seeking your blood. Better to heed our warning rather than chance that we speak the truth, it does no harm to leave for now."
"No harm? You tell us to abandon our homes, our fields and livestock, without cause. How do we know you are not merely bandits waiting to steal our property while be huddle amongst the trees in fear? Who are you to order us around?"
"We are the Knights of Camelot!" Gwaine all but shouted, finally snapping in irritation. They were running out of time, the longer they stood around arguing, the less time they had to ensure the people got out safely. "We escaped in hopes of saving Ealdor from grief, but if you rather stick around and be gutted like pigs for slaughter, go right ahead. Anyone with more of a brain than this arse here would be heading for the trees right now."
With that, the knight turned on his heel towards Percival and Hunith, his face set in a scowl. Hunith placed a calming hand on Gwaine's forearm, her eyes full of concern. She was about to speak up when a man, older with greyed hair and a tangled beard, approached the trio, gave Hunith a quick nod before he turned to Gwaine.
"Some of the villagers will remain here, stubborn in their mistrust of strangers and need to cling to their homes, don't waste your breath on the fools. I for one trust anyone of Camelot. We owe a debt to your King for aiding us with Kanen years ago, though it seems the younger generation have short memories, "
"Do not blame them. They are still uneasy after the previous time Arthur was at Ealdor and that blasted Agravaine led an attack against Ealdor. Though many of us were able to flee, there were still damages done," said another village woman, who joined the group and gave a quick bow to the knights, "I thank you for the warning. Know that your efforts were not completely wasted." With that, the woman scurried off, beckoning to a few children who were chasing each other while the rest of the crowd dispersed.
"Well I'm off as well. I must get my family and friends out of here," said the man, "again, thank you Sir Knights." As the man strode away, Gwaine gave sigh before turning to Hunith.
"We should get you out now Hunith, to a nearby village. They will hunt you down and kill you for your relations with Merlin. The faster you're out of here and hidden, the faster you'll be safe from Morgana," said Gwaine.
"No."
Puzzled Gwaine glanced at Percival who, just as confused, asked, "why not?"
"Because I am coming with you, if you would take me," Hunith said, "I want to help my son in any way I can, and I know you are going to join Arthur."
"It'll be dangerous," argued Gwaine.
"It'll be dangerous on my own as well. If Arthur managed to evade Morgana for four months as you said then it can be assumed that it'll be safer where he is. I refuse to hide when my son is in danger."
Gwaine ran his hand through his hair before finally giving in, "Alright, let's go. Those bastards must be close. The faster we get out of here the better."
Together they returned to Hunith's hut and helped her pack what meager food and supplies she had, anything to help the coming travels to Arthur. Soon they had a small bag of food, which they tied to one of the horses that the Knights tied to a post that stood outside the small hut. All around them, people scurried about in a rushed manner to escape the doomed village while others, too many than the Knights wanted to see, simply shut their door to the panic or glared at the Knights for disrupting the peace.
With unspoken agreement, the three separated and began to help those evacuating out of the village. Gwaine found himself hitching old horses to a rickety wagon and helped the children into the back. His calloused hand gently raising them into their seat while the parents finished packing away the last of their supplies, nodded to the Knight in thanks, and urged their horses away as fast as they can out on the main road towards the nearest village found deeper into Essetir. Percival, along with Hunith, directed people who lacked a horse and wagon towards the forest. Percival warned them from which direction the sorcerers were likely to come from and soon several families navigated their way through the trees, looking to stay hidden from the coming onslaught while they also moved towards nearby villages.
Within the hour, many have left, but there were still families who refused to leave. Gwaine, who had met up with Percival and Hunith at the edge of the forest, ran his hand through his hair, still exasperated towards those who remained.
"There has to be a way though those thick skulls," glowered Gwaine, eyeing the nearest home from which the glow of a fire could be seen through the window.
"There isn't much we can do. We should-" Percival began but was soon interrupted at the distant sound of pounding hooves followed by a cacophony of explosions, and screams. From the distance, the trio saw smoke rise, an ominous, billowing column, from the direction of the blast.
"We need to go mate," said Gwaine, placing a hand on his sword. "There is nothing more we can do for the fools."
"The horses?" questioned Hunith.
"Leave them, they're too far from us right now and there is not much we can do against sorcerers," Percival said. The trio all but ran out of the village, Hunith holding her skirt as she tried to keep up with the fast -paced knights, leaving behind the screams that echoed through the village.
"Let's cut through the Forest of Ascetir, hopefully they won't follow us through the caves that the Princess talked about during their last trip into Ealdor," Gwaine said.
"I can navigate the caves for you. I haven't been there often but I should be able to guide us out the other side." Hunith offered, her hair flew wild about her wide eyes but still held in place by the headscarf.
It was just as they entered the tree line when, seemingly out of nowhere, a woman stepped out from behind one of the trees up ahead of the group.
Tara.
Gwaine felt a spike of hatred flare at the sight of the sorceress, whose face held a smug look and eyes flashed in anticipation. Though he did not know much of the woman, Gwaine knew that she had a hand in tormenting Merlin the past couple of months; the black-haired maiden was never far from Morgana's side. Whoever this woman was, Gwaine knew she had to be powerful, especially when she was, from among dozens of sorcerers, singled out by the witch. Gwaine, along with Percival, fell on instincts and drew their sword. The two settled into a defensive stance; Gwaine took care to ensure that he stood between the sorceress and Hunith, not wanting to allow a chance for his friend's mother to be injured.
"Well," the sorceress drawled, "what a surprise. I didn't realize I would have a pair of slaves out here to play with. You even brought my prey out for me, how cute."
A shiver ran down Gwaine's spine and felt Percival tense beside him. They only had stolen blades and the rags they had escaped in, how the hell could they go against magic?
"Step aside before I run you through," Gwaine warned, raising his sword arm even more as if preparing to lunge at the woman before him.
"Oh please," Tara laughed, and with a flick of her wrist the swords were wrenched from the knights' hands and pointed against them, "I suggest you act like the good little slaves you are and step aside. I have a job to do and I want to spend what time I have to enjoy my work. Besides it's not like I can play with your little friend back in Camelot as I please, though he does have the sweetest screams."
"You bitch!" Gwaine shouted and lunged towards the sorceress, who barked a quick chant as she raised her arm, hand splayed, and flung the knight aside into a tree. Percival tried to stab her while she was distracted, but the sorceress was too quick. She turned quickly, her hand closing into a fist as she shouted another spell. Percival was forced onto his knees, frozen in place, while Tara approached and clicked her tongue in disapproval as she stared down on the knight as if he was merely a child to reprimand.
"Now, now boys, no need to insult your betters by believing you could stop me with your little playthings. But I do have to wonder, just how did you escape? I know Morgana kept you under lock and key," Tara mused as he leaned down into Percival face, "why don't you tell me, hmmm?"
Percival glared but kept his mouth resolutely shut.
"It's fascinating," murmured Tara, "that you were able to escape your cell. You know my mentor herself enchanted the dungeons so that if ever someone tries to escape, even step a toe out of their cell when they should not, she will be alerted. Funny how I don't remember Morgana acknowledging of your disappearance."
Behind her, Gwaine was slowly getting back to his feet, still dazed, to which Tara just threw her other arm out toward him, hand clenched, forcing Gwaine into a similar position as Percival.
"You know I can stand here all day and question you. Hell, I can make you make scream and squirm in ways you can never imagine, but there is no time for that, so, once again, who released you from the dungeons?"
"Go to hell!" Gwaine spat from his position by the tree.
Tare turned away from Percival, smirking, as she strode to Gwaine and knelt in front him. She placed a hand to the side of Gwaine's face, and began to caress his cheek.
"No need for insults. As for how you got out, I'll make you speak," Tara said, her voice took on a steel edge, "I would make the boy scream day in and day out just for that information he has and what he had suffered you will suffer the same. I'll then make you watch your friend writhe in pain, more than I've done before, paying the price for your escape. And, when you told me the truth, I will have the guards drag you back in your cell accompanied only by the screams of the servant. I suggest you tell me the information I want, it won't stop the boy's pain but I can promise it'll lessen it."
"Go. To. Hell." Gwaine repeated, and then spat into the sorceress face.
Tara stood up, wiping the saliva from her cheek, before continued in a singsong voice, "You will pay for that. Did you know there is a dagger enchanted to feel as if you are not only being boiled alive but also your very innards are liquefying? We only used it a few times on the boy, Morgana fears the weapon would cause insanity and render the boy useless. However, just for your insolence, I will make sure I carve up every inch of skin possible with that dagger. Merlin will scream and scream and scream until he can't no more and then he will continue to scream. I will make sure his life is more of a hell than it already is. I will des-"
Her mocking tone stopped and turned into a gasp, her face shocked as she glanced down at her stomach. There a blade, one of the weapons she had forgotten about when she had taken it from the knights, sprouted from her abdomen, the silver gleam of the metal coated in blood. Tara grasped the blade as if to pull it out from her body, her hand not quite strong enough to clench the offending object. Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the blade slid out, leaving the sorceress grasping at nothing but the air the weapon had once occupied. Tara stared at the wound with a cock of her head before her legs fell from beneath her, her body followed until she knelt slumped on her knees, hand placed on the wound to staunch the blood flow.
Simultaneously the knights fell, freed from the magic, onto their hands while Tara stared fascinated at the blood that now coated her body. Behind her stood Hunith, a bloodied sword in hand, face pale with horror as she stared down at the sorceress. During the whole tirade, the sorceress had failed to acknowledge the presence of Hunith for she was merely a woman of a farming village, with talents in neither magic nor weapons. Tara had believed that Hunith would have been too frozen in fear to be of any danger to the sorceress and had decided to focus her attention on the knights, who provided more of a threat. It was while Tara was mocking the knights when the supposedly helpless woman grabbed one of the fallen swords and snuck behind the sorceress. It was only when fatal blow was dealt when Tara realized her mistake.
Tara was still slumped on the ground as she continued to attempt to staunch the blood flow from the wound while Gwaine got up and gently took the sword from Hunith. Percival, also picking himself off the ground, retrieved the other blade from the ground, sheathing it as he too joined Gwaine beside Hunith as they stood by and watched as the sorceress bled out.
"You know this doesn't change anything," Tara gasped, her breath ragged in pain. "My mentor still has your precious Merlin. She won't stop until he tells her about Emrys, his suffering won't stop."
"Morgana will be stopped," Percival said, glaring down at the woman.
"My Queen will never lose. She is strong ad deserves only the strongest of followers. I accept death. It shows I am too weak to serve my mistress, not when I can be so easily killed by some nobody peasant woman from some farming village. My one regret is not being there when she finally hunts down that bastard, Pendragon and his pet sorcerer."
Tara began to laugh, still gasping as she struggled to drag in another breath.
"The Pendragons took everything from me. My parents! My home! Damn the prophecies," she sneered. "What good are they when you lose everything." She continued to laugh, her mirth punctuated by gasps as tears ran down her face and her eye began to lose focus.
"I hope that when you die, when milady hunts you down and kill you like the vermin you are, that it is not a quick death, Sir Knight. I hope Morgana cuts down your tyrant King and his false Queen into pieces." She folded over in pain, her body beginning to give out due to blood loss. "When my mentor finally catches Emrys and kills Arthur, we will finally be free. Magic will be free."
Tara breath was strangled, her eyes taking on a glazed appearance before her body finally fell to the ground and stilled when her last breath was released. Slowly Gwaine, with a curious thought, leaned down and pulled back the sleeve of the woman's right arm where he saw a patch of skin marred by scarring that could only be the results of a severe burn; just at the edge of the burn was the corner of a tattoo.
"She was most likely a druid," mused Percival as he too saw the mark.
"Another vengeful sorcerer," Gwaine agreed, "and by the sound of it Morgana's apprentice?"
"Morgana having an apprentice," Percival shook his head, "I don't see."
"Neither do I, but it's not a problem anymore," sighed Gwaine, giving the body a glance then observing the village at the distance as smoke plumed from a few houses where sorcerers ignited more houses. Shrieks could still be heard. "We need to go before the others find us; they're bound to notice the disappearance of Morgana's apprentice."
With that, Gwaine led the way through the forest, keeping the sword out in case they had more encounters with sorcerers. Behind him, Percival helped Hunith, giving her a hand in navigating through the dense forest while also ensuring he had the rear covered to avoid surprises. Hunith, throughout the whole journey, had not said a word, but directions to the caves, since she killed Tara; her face was still pale and scrunched in worry. When they reached the caves, the trio swiftly entered and found a relatively dry spot in which they could wait for the cover of night to attempt to leave. Percival unsheathed his sword, gave a nod to Gwaine and left while mumbling something about firewood and food, leaving Gwaine with the still silent Hunith.
"Sir Gwaine?" Hunith called softly from where she sat against the wall staring at her hands that lay folded on her lap.
"I don't care much about that noble stuff with the titles, you can just call e Gwaine" Gwaine kindly said. He gave the woman a tentative smile, though his eyes showed wariness to what the woman was going to ask.
Hunith nodded before continuing, "Gwaine, please tell me, my son? What have they done to my Merlin?"
"He…" Gwaine hesitated, unsure how to tell a mother that the last time he had seen her son he had looked to be at death's door, "he was in a bad way. I honestly don't know how bad, we only got a moment to see him, but they have been… relentless on him."
Hunith's eyes glistened as she continued to stare at her lap and silence began to envelop the two; Gwaine began to wonder just how long it would take Percival to gather wood, uncomfortable as he watched the grief that consumed the woman's face. The quiet knight must had at least been on his way back by now, it's not tha-
"I always tried to protect him," Hunith whispered, catching Gwaine's attention again, "since he was born, I always protected him. It was hard, the village is small and secrets aren't kept long. Merlin was such a lonesome boy for it. He was the odd child that the children picked on, whether for not knowing his father or for always remaining indoors, though not by choice. It was necessary, but I still feel the guilt for keeping him away from the village and alienating him from the other children."
"Why did you?" Gwaine tentatively asked.
"Because of his magic," Hunith said, finally looking up to the knight who walked over and sat by the woman.
"Magic? He learned magic when he was a child?" Gwaine asked, shocked. The knight didn't know much about magic but he did know that sorcerers trained months, even years, to learn magic, yet Merlin learned it when he was a mere child?
"He never learned; he was born with it."
"How is that possible?" Gwaine said incredulously, a newborn capable to wield magic was a foreign thought.
Hunith shrugged, "I only knew what I saw and what I must do. It was within the first week of his birth that I had caught him doing magic; he was just pulling one of his wooden toys to him halfway across the room. I was only glad that at the time that I was alone when I discovered it and that it was only for small things he used his gift. He would do all kinds of tricks, such as floating a feather around the house, things that unless people looked directly into his eyes, would not assume to be magic."
Gwaine was absorbed into Hunith's tale, unable to hide the disbelief of what she was saying about his friend. From his peripheral vision, Gwaine noted that Percival had returned and quietly moved around the cave, setting down the dead rabbit he had managed to find asleep in its burrow, as to not interrupt the conversation between the other two. Gwaine knew the knight had been listening the moment he entered as he too wondered about how and why Merlin was a sorcerer.
"It grew harder to hide him as he grew. I had to force my child to believe that his gift was something to be ashamed of, to be feared. I tried to convince him that his abilities were beautiful, but for every word of encouragement, I gave him ten more in fear. I wanted to let him grow and embrace what he was but ended up watching him hide away from everyone, scared he may accidently reveal his magic or hurt someone. He grew up with nightmares and the shadow threat of the pyre."
"Wouldn't it have been better that h never used magic? Could you not teach him not to use it, especially when he grew older?" Percival asked from his place in the center of the cave where he started lighting the fire. Once lit, Hunith drew herself closer to the fire for warmth as Gwaine picked up the rabbit and began to skin and prepare the meat. Once settled, Hunith answered the knight.
"No. It was too instinctual for him. To tell him not to use his magic would be like telling you not to use your arm. I think he even tried to not use it for a while but eventual it became too much for him contain and instinct took over, nearly revealing himself to another. We agreed from then on that he mustn't stop, so that he could keep what small amount of control he had. He ended up revealing his magic to Will anyways, despite my warnings, whom was the only child willing to extend a hand in friendship. For the most part, he had nearly no control most of his young life, and when I found out that Will had known due to his accidental use, I knew I had to do something. I decided to send him away to Camelot."
"To protect him, you sent him away to the center of magic persecution?" Gwaine asked.
"Gaius was the only one I knew who had studied magic, it wasn't like I could go around asking for a mentor in magic. There was no one else I could turn to and I couldn't just let Merlin continue here waiting for the day knights would come and drag him to Uther," Hunith trembled, tears began to travel down her cheeks, making a path down. "I did the best I can. Every day I worried. I had to remind myself that I had to send him away, that it wasn't a mistake. What other choice do I have? Watch him burn in the pyre or turn against the world, which left him as an outcast, in hatred? I wanted to show him his magic was to be cherished while also instilling that he must take care not to be caught, nor should he fault those around him for their fear."
"It must have been tough on you," Gwaine said sympathetically, as he watched his friend's mother crumbled even more though she clung onto her previous composure, not wanting to give in completely to her grief.
"Yes it was hard. I often found myself waiting for the moment a messenger would inform me that my son was dead. Though I feared he would be caught, he managed to keep his head down in Camelot. My son did as he always done, he survived," Hunith whispered, staring down on her hands once more. "Though life in Ealdor and, later in Camelot, was tough, I was at least able to keep him from other outcomes. At least he did not grow up to be like the sorceress outside, drowning in her own pain and hate, lashing out against the innocents for the hatred of one king. I can at least be grateful that if w-we don't get to him in time, he is not one of the poor souls that were twisted by persecution."
Gwaine placed his hand on Hunith's shoulders, looked her in the eye and gave a firm squeeze in comfort and said, "Don't worry, we will get to the Princess, see what his plans are, and when we are ready, when we storm the castle. I'll make sure you get your son back."
"Even with his magic?" Hunith asked, her tone low but her body stilled, frozen in anticipation for what the knight was going to say.
"It was because of his magic that we were able to escape," Percival said.
"And I'm assuming there are many times in the past he had done something to save my ungrateful hide from trouble. Merlin is my friend, I will do everything to keep him safe," Gwaine said.
With a small smile and watering eyes, Hunith found herself murmuring, "Thank you."
AN: Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favorite/alerted my story! And now Chapter 4 is officially the longest chapter o,O I didn't expect it to be this long but oops, didn't feel like splitting it. Also sorry for not posting for longer than a week! As I said before, my updates should take no longer than a week but due to school and a trip, I just couldn't find the time -.-. Thankfully I don't have plans outside of what I normally do at uni anytime soon, so I shouldn't have any problems updating. So expect the next chapter next Monday the latest.
I didn't have as much time to read over this chapter as I had hoped to, so there might be more grammar/spelling problems. As for the issues in the previous chapters, I still want to fix them but I may just wait til this story is completed first. So continue letting me know when you find more, I'll keep making note on what to look for when I do finally edit ^^ And thanks to all those who has told me so far! Damn those tenses ,
Thank you for reading and reviews and constructive criticisms are greatly appreciated!