A/N: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed or added to story alerts so far! Love you guys! Had a wee bit of trouble with the chapter, but...enjoy!

Chapter 19- Propositions

Merlin and Byrne stood across from each other silent. Anger and resentment were rushing through Merlin's veins and it took all of his efforts to prevent his hands from shaking. How dare he stand there, after everything he had done, everything he was planning to do...

Byrne still made no move to actually speak, he seemed to enjoy Merlin's suspense. He carefully considered him, his head on one side, as though evaluating him.

Merlin began to feel his patience and his mask of composure slipping. It took a huge amount of effort not to attack Byrne there and then.

But he was determined not to speak first, he would not let Byrne think he was afraid of him.

Eventually, Byrne began to speak.

"I admire your patience Emrys, you have proven you are not as much of an idiot I sometimes presume you to be."

Merlin's voice shook with suppressed rage.

"And why would you presume that?"

Byrne laughed softly.

"Allying yourself with Uther was not one of your more clever moves. Reconciling with Arthur...that just proves your stupidity. You will pay for these foolish deeds Emrys, all those with magic will. No good can come of allying with your enemies. You will not be rewarded."

This time, Merlin laughed.

"Not be rewarded? What's not to gain from preventing the deaths of hundreds of innocent people? If the cycle of hate is allowed to continue, we will always suffer. Only if we try to make things up, will we actually get anywhere. What's the point in continually fighting? It will never end, unless someone takes the initiative."

Byrne looked angry.

"What's the point? Uther has ruined all of our lives! We have to stop him, stop him from killing more of our people when he has no right, when he is blinded by unjust hate! Only with his death will our kind be free from persecution! Diplomacy will not work!"

"And what makes you say that? Killing is not the way out. If you kill Uther, you will make an enemy of Arthur, then you will never be free from persecution! It all goes on!"

Byrne sneered.

"Then I will kill Arthur, a new age will begin, free of the tyranny of the Pendragons. A clean break, everything of them will be eliminated."

"You think Cendred can rule Camelot? That's why you put your faith in him? He can barely rule his own kingdom!"

"Foolish boy! Do you honestly think I ally myself with Cendred because I have trust in him?"

Byrne looked scornful.

"I ally myself with him only because it is to my advantage. When Camelot is taken, when Uther is dead, Cendred will die also, I have no need of megalomaniac fools."

Merlin stood very still. He should have known Byrne did not hold trust in Cendred. He was using them as much as he used the renegade Druids. He didn't care about how many he hurt.

"So, you want to be king yourself?"

Byrne waved his hand.

"Not necessarily. I only want a leader who will not fear magic, one who is not afraid to take power. One who is strong, and not blind. Even myself would be a better replacement than Uther. I do not wish to rule, I only wish the freedom of my people, and the only way to do that is to seize Camelot, and if no one else will step up to the task, I find myself compelled to do it."

"Uther's death will not free those of magic. You will create as many enemies as he has. People will resent you, resent you for your ruthless take-over, and more and more people will hate magic for the destruction it brought upon Camelot. Don't you see? Using magic to take Camelot will not restore people's faith in it, they'll just grow to hate it more!"

"Not if there are no people left in Camelot who are non-magical."

Merlin was frozen. Byrne seriously intended to kill everyone in Camelot?

"If you leave no survivors, then who are left to be your, or the poor sod you so graciously appoint as leader's, loyal subjects? Surely you can't be so stupid to actually think that you can rule with no one loyal to you.?"

Byrne just sneered.

"I don't want the loyalty of the weak. Those who are not magical have no worth. Camelot will be repopulated with those who practise magic, those who were banished and outlawed all those years ago. It is our right."

Merlin could not believe his ears. Byrne was plotting an entire genocide.

"All of this for revenge? You would kill hundreds of innocent people for revenge?"

"And why not?" Byrne looked fierce. "How many has Uther killed over the years?"

"No amount of killing would ever erase the past, surely you're not that stupid? It can't bring them back."

"No, but it will bring the world back into balance."

"Violence does not balance out more violence, Byrne."

"It will be a balance between us and them!" Byrne screamed, his face turning red with rage. "Every life that Uther took from us we will take back!"

Merlin finally understood, as he saw Byrne's crazed look.

"Who did you lose?" He asked simply.

Byrne froze for a moment, all rage gone, and instead looked pained. His eyes looked into the distance, full of pain and loss. His mouth opened and closed a few times though did not say anything. He was at a loss.

However, almost as suddenly as he had changed, he changed again, looking more determined as ever, as though to make up for his moment of weakness.

"I was happy in Camelot, I had a life. Magic was not viewed as evil. Until the Purge. I saw my wife and sons beheaded, all for following the Old Religion, when we all preached peace. No longer. Peace will not work any more, the time for peace passed a long time ago. I will not rest until their deaths are avenged."

His eyes were once again filled with rage and anger, all trace of humanity was gone.

"I will make Uther suffer as they suffered, as we all did. While Uther lives, we die. It will not be any longer. He will die, and his kingdom will fall."

Merlin regarded him curiously. He felt a small feeling of pity creep into him unbidden. He had suffered, Merlin could see that, no one should have to experience something like that. Yet, his pity did not linger. No matter what had happened to him in the past, it did not condone his actions in the present. Now was now, and Byrne should realise that. Allowing yourself to be consumed by vengeance would only be your ruin.

"I understand Byrne. But it is no excuse. Uther's death will not bring you relief, it will only reinforce how much you have lost, and how much you can never regain. You're a lost man Byrne, I pity you. You're not the only one to lose family to Uther. He ordered my father to be executed, and many years later he was killed trying to help Uther, despite all that he had done. Uther ordered my own execution! Fyrmest lost his daughters in the fires of the Purge, but he doesn't resent him. He realises that helping Camelot and forgetting the past is the only way to end our persecution."

"We can't all be Saints like Fyrmest!" Byrne hissed, his eyes mad.

"No, but we can try." Merlin said determinedly.

Byrne watched him for a few long moments, before his crazed features calmed down. He regarded Merlin carefully, and seemed to give a lot of thought to his next words.

"Once again you have proven your foolishness Emrys. Refusing to fight for what is truly right shall be your downfall. It disgusts me that you will not even consider joining our cause when it is destined for you. It is what you were meant to do."

"No, my destiny was to protect Arthur, and to restore magic to Albion. I can't truly fulfil my destiny by only doing one."

Byrne smiled, and looked truly happy about something. Merlin had a nasty feeling he had just played directly into his hands.

"I thought you would say that. What would you say if I told you, you could do both? Without obstructing me?"

Merlin was confused. What was he on about?

Byrne grinned, knowing he had caught Merlin's attention.

"I will give you a choice Emrys. You should be grateful for it."

"What is it?" Merlin asked warily, sensing they had come to the true purpose of the meeting.

"I require you, to stay here, to return to the Druid village, and not to engage in the hostilities whatsoever. I want you not to fight at all, to never return to Camelot."

Merlin froze. Why on earth would he allow him to do that? He had been expecting Byrne to relentlessly pursue him and kill him for his refusal to fight.

Seeing his confusion, Byrne's grin widened.

"In return, I will spare Arthur's life, banishing him from Camelot for the duration of the battle. He will be allowed to remain here with you for the time being, I swear I would not harm him. You would both be safe from harm."

Merlin was taken aback, perplexed as to why Byrne would make such a proposal. Why would he spare their lives?

"You would truly allow us to walk away unscathed?" Merlin asked sceptically.

Byrne's grin became smug.

"Well, not entirely. You would of course be...neutralised."

Merlin said nothing, dreading what was coming next.

"I would remove your magic, rather like what I did last night with the Befeallen potion and the Crystal of Scinnlāc, which Morgana I assume was so adept at smashing. We would link our minds, and all of your magical energy would be transferred into me. You would be left weaker than a kitten of course, but you and your precious prince would be alive. That's one half of your "destiny". The other half will be fulfilled by myself, because, if you are not fighting in the battle against us, we are more than likely to win, and magic will be returned to the kingdom. All you have to do is stay here, and everything that was prophesied to be, will be."

Merlin stared. He was mad, he was truly mad.

"What about the part about Arthur becoming king?" It was all he could ask, when faced with such a crazy proposal.

Byrne's eyes glinted.

"I'm sure we could arrange something. Arthur could indeed be king, and rule over the lands of Albion. But his loyalty would be to me, and me alone. He would be king in name only, all his allegiance would be to preserving magic. I would tell him what to do, how to act, he would be under my influence."

Merlin's anger increased.

"You mean he would be your puppet?"

Byrne laughed.

"I am so glad you have grasped that so quickly. Yes, he would be like a puppet on a string, but...he would be alive. Something I cannot guarantee otherwise, especially if we were to meet in battle..."

Byrne folded his arms under his dark cloak.

"What is your decision?"

Merlin stepped backwards, as the full impact of what Byrne was suggesting hit him. To even consider giving Byrne his magic was repulsive to him. He could never give away his magic to one like him, not when Merlin knew what he would likely do with it. Byrne was twisted, evil, such powerful magic in his hands would do no good. He could not allow Arthur to be manipulated and coerced, a servant to Byrne.

But what was the alternative? If Arthur were to fight, he could die, and Merlin would fail in his destiny. What this what the prophecy had meant? It never said anything otherwise, only that Arthur would be king and magic would be restored. If what Byrne promised came to be, both parts would be fulfilled. With or without his magic, Arthur would be safe.

But then Merlin shook his head, hating himself for even considering it. Giving in to Byrne was not the answer. He would never surrender his magic and Arthur's freedom to the likes of him. Byrne could never do any good, could never be anything other than the revenge-filled man he was now. Camelot under his control would be terrible, tyrannical. It was not the thing to do, he could not allow that to happen.

But what about Arthur? He could die in the battle.

But surely dying in battle was better than living out the rest of his life in servitude, under Byrne's control?

No, he couldn't allow it. He couldn't allow Byrne to win this fight. He had to make sure he lost. He could not abandon Camelot. Arthur could look after himself. If the prophecies were truly meant to be, they would both survive, and magic would be brought back, without violence.

He could not believe he had even considered Byrne's offer. Byrne was evil. He did not deserve loyalty, or subservience. Merlin would not give in to him. Even if it cost him his life.

Wondering how he was to get out of this situation, he tried to buy himself time.

"What would happen to the rest of the Druids? The people in Camelot. The innocent? Would you use my magic to hurt them?"

"They are of no consequence. If they do not join me they mean nothing."

Merlin was decided.

"Then I will not join you. I will not agree to your proposals."

Byrne looked furious.

"You would risk the safety of yourself and the prince for the meaningless lives of Camelot?"

"Yes, I would. They are not meaningless to me. Surely you can appreciate how each life is special? How each individual person has a family, a story, those who care about them? Do you want to put more people through what you did?"

Byrne took several steps towards Merlin, incandescent with rage.

"It was those in Camelot who began this cycle of rage. It will only end with their deaths!"

"I disagree. I think it will only end with one side realising the foolishness of their actions and making amends. You cannot hope to achieve what you're after. There will never be peace in Camelot if you succeed. Next time, it will be the non-magical who resent the magical, it will be them who rise up next. Don't you see that?"

"Not if there are none left! I will never rest until they are all rid from these lands!"

Byrne looked deranged, and as though he were about to explode.

Merlin spoke quietly.

"Don't you know who you sound like? You're Uther."

Byrne stopped in shock.

Merlin continued.

"You talk about eradication, elimination, revenge, the very same things that Uther desires. He suffered a personal loss at the hands of magic, and is now intent on revenge, and will not rest until he has it. There is no difference between you. He is ruthless in his persecutions which you so readily criticise, but you're plotting the same thing!"

Byrne had turned white.

"You do not know what you are speaking of. Uther is the cause of all this, we are only trying to end it, the only way it can be. Diplomacy is long gone, diplomacy is what caused my family to go to Uther in the first place to organise a truce. They failed, and paid for it with their lives. I will not make the same mistake they did. Uther cannot be reasoned with."

Byrne then fixed a composed expression on his face, not quite hiding the anguish, rage and seething anger he was feeling.

"If you will not assist me then I will have to stop you getting to Camelot another way. Not that you would be able to do anything other than pick up the pieces anyway, my sorcerers and Cendred's men are closing in on Camelot as we speak, powerful conjoined Transportation spells have reduced their journeys by three days, you will never reach them in time. But, nevertheless, I cannot have you reaching Camelot to try and stop me. It is time to see which of is is truly the most powerful."

Merlin was alarmed by Byrne's information. It seemed Arthur's worries abut not reaching Camelot were valid.

"I though we had already agreed on the fact that 'Emrys' is supposed to be one of the most powerful sorcerers ever to have lived. My magic is much more powerful than yours. Isn't that why you want it so badly?"

"Ah, but Emrys, you recently lost all of your magic and regained it suddenly. You may feel like you have gained it all back, you may feel it coursing through your body, but you are unaware as to it's effects. It has not fully reintegrated itself into your bodily systems, it is all there, but you have little control over it as of yet. It is impossible for anyone to fully recover from the effects of the Befeallen potion after only one day, even the great Emrys. You will have to learn to control it, like the rest of us mere mortals. Any spell you might use, one that is particularly powerful, may prove damaging to your health, you cannot draw upon the raw magic in your body evenly, it could kill you. I think you will find, we are now equal."

Merlin was now truly alarmed. He had not considered anything of the sort before. It had not occurred to him that the magic he could feel inside of him wasn't fully under his control. He tried to dismiss it as Byrne's scaremongering, but he remembered when he had used magic to find Arthur. His magic had felt different, wavering slightly, more turbulent. He had placed this down to the fact he was weaker than usual, he had not thought about a serious problem. Was what Byrne said true?

Byrne smiled at his alarmed expression.

"Now that you are down to the same level as the rest of us, do you feel so special now? Now we shall see who is the better out of the two of us. Equal use of magic, now it is down to our wits, which I'm sure is your strong point, Merlin.

Merlin blinked at the use of his real name. Byrne was right.

Byrne grinned manically and held out his hand screaming:

"Anweald!"

Merlin felt a huge, burning hot force strike him and throw him backwards onto the grass. He felt it throbbing, his whole torso aching like he had been hit by a hammer.

"Tut tut tut, Merlin. It seems power isn't everything. Who would've thought that behind all that powerful magic you were too arrogant to learn to defend yourself? You've certainly been humbled now."

Merlin heard these words, thinking furiously, remembering all that he had read in Camelot, all that Fyrmest and the other Elders had taught him about dealing with an enemy more powerful than yourself. There had to be a way to outwit him.

Byrne laughed and aimed another blow at Merlin, but he was too quick and rolled out of the way, leaving a huge scorched piece of grass where he had previously been lying.

He jumped to his feet and cast around for cover, spotting a large oak tree which concealed him from Byrne's sight and allowed him to dodge another blow from Byrne.

He felt ridiculous, running and cowering from this man. Did he dare risk using magic?

"The great Emrys, a coward! Who would have thought it?" Byrne called mockingly.

Byrne sent another spell which set the tree alight and Merlin fell back from it, once more in Byrne's range.

Byrne smiled evilly.

"Acwellan!" He almost whispered the word. Kill.

Merlin saw the green light from Byrne's palm growing closer and closer, almost searing his eyes with the intensity of it. He threw up a barrier, hoping against hope it would not take too much power to sustain without endangering himself.

"Beorgan!"

He felt the full force of the spell hit his barrier, which wavered slightly, causing the entire clearing to be filled with light which bounced around, illuminating the surrounding forest. It shimmered and fluctuated, but the barrier held until the spell had dissipated.

Merlin felt a little weaker than usual after casting such a spell, as though, as Byrne had said, the energy required for the spell had all be taken from one place, as opposed to evenly around his body.

He had to concentrate, he had to grasp his magic, direct it properly, or else seriously damage himself. He had never before appreciated how difficult it was for those learning magic who did not have in in-built control he did. But he could do this.

He racked his brains. He had no hope of overpowering Byrne at the moment, he had to outsmart him in some other way.

Then it struck him.

He remembered something Fyrmest had told him only a week ago.

"If you find yourself facing an enemy more powerful than yourself, do not try to outdo him. That would be folly. Sometimes, stalemate is what is in order. If neither can attack, neither can win. It is more desirable than losing, and certainly more desirable than killing yourself in the process of arrogantly trying to defeat the one you cannot."

Merlin grinned. He remembered the simple spell Fyrmest had taught him.

"Gelōgian āc hāl nā scinncræft hwēol ābūtan ūsic!"

Almost instantly a giant magical circle surrounded them both like a domed cage, it shimmered in the moonlight, and looked as though thousands of droplets of water were hanging in mid air. Byrne looked around in confusion, panic starting to overtake his features.

Merlin stood firm.

"I don't suppose you've ever heard of this spell have you? No, it would never occur to you to accept you can't win a fight would it? You'd never agree to a stalemate. But you heard the spell, and you understood the words I used, that must make you wary."

Byrne said nothing, obviously thinking fast.

Merlin went on, satisfied that Byrne was not in control any longer.

"Fyrmest taught me this little trick. A magical circle, in which no magic is permitted, it's the last option for any two sorcerers engaged in a duel. I never thought I'd have to use it considering I'm not vain enough by having to prove my worth by showing brute strength like others. The only spell that can be used in this circle is a Transportation spell, any other spell will introvert and kill you. The spell also prevents the one who was not the caster from approaching the caster from ten miles in any direction until five hours after the spell was cast. The only thing you can do now, is Transport away from here and leave me alone for a little while. A stalemate. You have two options. Leave or die."

Byrne gave Merlin a long and calculating look as though trying to work out whether he was bluffing.

Merlin stood resolute, his heart thumping loudly. Would Byrne leave, or would it turn into a physical fight? He sincerely hoped not, Arthur was right, he truly couldn't pack a punch, and only ever won a physical confrontation if he was using magic to slow down time, which he obviously couldn't do now.

Byrne seemed to accept the situation however, a dangerous look in his eyes.

"You may think you've won for now Merlin, but remember, my forces will be arriving in Camelot as we speak, you have no chance of reaching there in time. You may be able to Transport, but you will not abandon your Prince. You will arrive too late, and I will deal with you then. This is not over."

He summoned a wind, and a moment later he had vanished into it. Now that one of the sorcerers had vanished, the magical circle lowered itself and Merlin stood alone in the clearing breathing deeply.

He had managed it, but could he do it again? He was only postponing the true confrontation between himself and Byrne, would he be able to regain complete control of his magic by then?

The sound of a twig breaking brought Merlin abruptly back to reality. He spun around looking for the source of the disturbance, and saw Arthur emerging from the trees.

He relaxed visibly, as Arthur strode towards him a look of wonder on his face.

"All this time I've had to watch your back and risk my neck to save yours and all along you could pull off a stunt like that? It was bloody amazing!"

Merlin grinned.

"I couldn't exactly outshine the Prince of Camelot now could I?"

Arthur just looked at him, differently from usual, Merlin noticed, as though he'd only just appreciated Merlin's power.

"You could do that, even after what he said about you not having control?"

Merlin nodded.

"That was Byrne. I've only managed to get rid of him for a short while though. And anyway...how long have you been listening?"

"Almost from the beginning. There was something disturbing you when you left, I'm not completely blind, so I followed you after a minute. And besides, I knew you couldn't be peeing for that long."

Merlin laughed.

"Glad to know you think about such things in detail Arthur. Come on, we have to get back to the Druids."

Arthur nodded.

"We have to tell them about the armies almost being at Camelot already. We'll have to change our plans."

Merlin agreed, and together they found their way back to the path hey had left the Druids, each secretly daunted by the huge task ahead of them.

Merlin knew they had very little time to have any chance of defeating Cendred and Byrne. He had to think of another way.

It seemed impossible.

But he refused to give up.

A/N: Please review! Love for everyone who does! I'd also appreciate your opinions on the plot, do you think I'm draggin it out a bit too long? It's a bit hard to be objective, considereing I know what's coming. I'd love your views, feedback's always appreciated! :D