Here is chapter two! Just a warning, i was had a headache when i wrote this, and i was exhausted, so if it is a little random, then blame my pounding head, and my lack of sleep :)
Disclaimer: i do not own Merlin, as much as i would like to.
Chapter two- a talking unicorn, and the purest gift
Gwaine followed Merlin through the woods a few days after they discovered his magic. Merlin was taking him away from the castle to work on magic, since Gwaine doesn't know how to control his magic yet, what happens when he uses it is unpredictable. His magic book that Gaius gave him clutched tightly in his hand as he stumbled through the darkness following his best friend. "you sure we couldn't go to the tavern for just one drink?" he asked innocently, like he had several times since they got to the forest, and Merlin snorted, "for you, one drink turns into one dozen, which turns into me having to practically drag you back to the castle, which turns into a pounding headache, and while Arthur is in a mood, you probably don't want to get on his nerves." he said, and Gwaine sighed, "i suppose not." he grumbled. Merlin laughed, "stop grumbling Gwaine. I am sneaking out of the castle, to teach you magic, and in the morning, i will probably be thrown in the stocks, for either being later then usual, or falling asleep on the job." he reminded, and Gwaine sighed in defeat, "alright, alright." he muttered. Merlin stopped, and Gwaine walked into him, knocking them both to the ground. "hey, watch where your going!" Merlin exclaimed, and Gwaine got up, grabbing Merling hand and helping him up as well, "i would if i could see where i'm going." he replied, and Merlin sighed. "whats wrong?" he asked, picking up on Merlins tenseness. "we should have made it to the clearing by now." he said, and Gwaine sighed, "oh crap." he said, and Merlin nodded, "i couldn't agree more." he replied. A light appeared in the forest, and was coming closer, slowly getting brighter. They heard the rustling of bushes, and the two looked at each other, both thinking one thing, why was that ball glowing, and floating? "what the heck is that?" Gwaine asked as some kind of animal appeared. It was a horse, that glowed, and it had a horn on its forehead that sparkled. On the tip of its horn, was the small ball they saw. "a unicorn." breathed Merlin, gazing at the most beautiful, pure animal ever. It bend down and bowed, the tip of its horn touching the ground. "Emrys." it said, and Gwaine smirked, "if only Arthur could see this." he muttered softly, as he watched. "you don't need to bow, Astrian. You are as good as i am." Merlin replied kindly, and the unicorn stood, "how did you know my name?" he asked, and Merlin shrugged, "instinct i guess. It just came to me." he said, and the unicorn chuckled, "it is probably our magic connecting." it replied. Gwaine suddenly realized something, "you can talk!" he exclaimed, and Astrian chuckled, "yes, indeed i can." he said, amused. Merlin chuckled, then turned serious, "why have you come?" he asked. All humor was erased from the majestic creatures face as it looked into the eyes of Merlin, "I have come, because news has reached the creatures of the Old Religion of a incident with Morgana..." he said, and looked to Gwaine, "and of our new masters, and your friends magic. And the leaders have decided to have me be the one to wane you of the danger that the future holds" he said, looking from one to the other. Gwaine raised his eyebrows, "who are your new masters?" he asked, and the unicorn laughed, "you two." Merlin and Gwaine looked at each other, exchanging expressions of shock, and amazement, before turning their attention to the beautiful glowing horse, "Emrys, Morgana is planning revenge, and this time, she not only has Morgause, but Mordred has joined them as well." he said, and Merlin sighed, "i should have known." he muttered. Astrian smiled at him, "do not fret, Emrys. You are the greatest warlock ever to walk on this earth, you can beat Morgana, and Mordred you have beaten before." he said, and Merlin nodded, but then Gwaine spoke up, "what about Morgause?" he asked, and Astrian looked to him, "she is the one we have to worry about. She has control over many things, including most creatures of the Old Religion, but not over unicorns, and only a dragonlord has control over a dragon." he said, and they nodded. "i came to also warn you, that in her anger, Morgause has become even powerful, which is really hard to believe, and her longing for revenge on you, both of you, has been increasing more and more as the days go by."Astrian looked at both of them, to make sure they understood. They nodded, and Gwaine spoke up, "why does she want revenge on me? I have done nothing to her." he said, and Astrian sighed, "she has learned of your power, and how great it is."he said, and then smiled, "as leader of the unicorns, i have sworn to protect you, Merlin Emrys, and your powerful warlock friend here, no matter what, and so, i have decided to grant you the greatest privilege ever bestowed upon a human. A unicorn, to both you, and Sir Gwaine, to own and raise." Astrian said with a warm smile. The two bowed their heads humbly, "we are not worthy of such a pure creature." Gwaine said, and looked up when Astrian nudged his shoulder. "ah, but would you agree if the unicorn wanted you, rather then you be given the unicorn just because i have given it to you?" he asked, and Merlin looked up as well, "what do you mean?" he asked, and Astrian chuckled, "two young unicorns have requested you, Emrys, and Sir Gwaine. they are turning one in a week. They can say few things, but their first words were you names." he said with a soft smile. "if you return to this clearing, in three days, they will be here. Yours will come to you, not you to it. They choose you, not you choose them. Remember that, young warlocks. The same goes for all creatures as us." Astrian reminded, and they nodded. The white unicorn smiled, "i will see you in three days then, at this very spot." he said, before turning and walking off into the forest, that faded away as the unicorn did, to reveal the clearing where Merlin calls Kilgharah, the Great smiled weakly, "lets practice magic." he said, and Merlin grinned, "alright." he said sitting down, and opening the magic book, both grateful for something to do.
Merlin laid in bed three days later. It was the night they were to go meet Astrian in the clearing. When the bells in the large tower in the middle of town rang nine times, he got out of bed, and crept past a sleeping Gaius. He opened the door, and crept outside to where Gwaine was waiting by the stairs. They quietly walked outside, not saying a word, for fear someone would hear them, walked easily past the guards, who were almost asleep, out the gate, and to the forest, where Gwaine let Merlin lead. He didn't quite know where this clearing was, and he didn't want to get them lost, especially at night. They walked on in silence, Merlin glancing back every serval minutes to make sure Gwaine was still there. The last thing he needed was Gwaine getting lost, and tonight of all nights! Why the heck do i feel like we have some strange connection? he thought, like he did almost every time he thought of, or saw Gwaine. It was like Gwaine understood him more then even he did, and truth be told, lately it had started freaking Merlin out. Actually, now that he thought about it, it had always been creepy. Merlin sighed, and pushed these annoying thoughts away. As they got closer to the clearing, his mind wandered to the gift that awaited them, a unicorn requested me? He wondered, still surprised at the very thought of it, as was Gwaine. He knew he was Emrys, but for a unicorn's first word to be the name of a human, was rare and few. Not many got privileged to even see a unicorn, let alone own one! He smiled to himself as he thought of the look on Astrians face when he told them. He almost looked... Happy and proud at the same time. The moon shone brightly over them as they walked into the clearing, and Merlin looked around. He spotted three shadows, and walked towards them, signaling Gwaine to follow. When they approached, Astrian and the two colts bowed, "hello again Emrys." he said when he looked up. Merlin sighed, "do you have to bow?" he asked, and Astrian chuckled, "we don't have to, we want to." he replied, amused. Merlin shook his head, "alright, i suppose i can tolerate it." he replied. Astrian smiled, "good. Here are the two colts. They are turning one in a week, like i said before, and that is when they will get all of their magic, so be careful, young warlocks. You will have to guard them well." he warned, and they nodded. The two colts stepped forward. One was pure black, with soft blue eyes, and the other was a flaxen liver chestnut, (if you don't know what a flaxen liver chestnut looks like, it has a chocolate colored body, with a creamy, flaxen colored mane and tail), with black eyes. Merlin gasped, "the two rarest colors." he whispered, and Astrian smiled, "you are correct." he said, then nudged the two colts forward, "go, unicorns." he said in the unicorn language, and to especially Gwaine's surprise, they could understand what he said. The black one walked shyly up to Merlin, who smiled and reached out to it. The unicorn, now less timid, stood next to Merlin, allowing him to put his arm around his neck. The flaxen liver chestnut trotted up to Gwaine, and pranced in place. Astrian laughed softly, "as you can see, yours is rather eager, Sir Gwaine, and yours is shy, Emrys." he said with a smile, "you will need to help your unicorns with their weaknesses, as they will help you with yours." he added, and the two nodded, "can you please stop calling me Sir Gwaine? I prefer to just be called Gwaine." Gwaine said, and Astrian burst out laughing, "you are a knight of Camelot, are you not?" he asked, with mock surprise. Gwaine glared at him slightly, "i am sure Emrys would rather be called Merlin, but that isn't going to happen either." he said with a grin, and this time Merlin glared, "unicorns sure are stubborn." he commented, "i couldn't agree more." Gwaine replied. Astrian shook his head, "you two are defiantly what the legends say." he muttered, but loud enough for the two to head. "and what is that?" Gwaine asked, "that is for us creatures to know, and you humans to find out, which you will. In time." he said with a smirk. Merlin glared, "you and Kilgharah have something in common." he said, making all the unicorns laugh. "that bloody dragon is still alive?" Gwaine suddenly exclaimed, making Merlin cringe, "oops." he muttered. Astrian looked up at the sky, "we must part ways now. You must hide the horns on your unicorns, for they will be hunted otherwise. The horns will be impossible to hide, when the time for their, and your secret to be revealed is right." he said, then jumped up into the sky, but surprisingly enough, he didn't fall back down like a normal horse would, he kept running, as if the sky had a invisible floor on it., "walk carefully, young warlocks. Danger is always close." he warned, as he ran up into the sky, disappearing completely. "that horse never fails to surprise me." Gwaine commented as they turned back to the forest. "and i don't think he ever will." Merlin replied with a grin. They walked on in silent, the unicorns playing as they went, their horns glowing just enough to light the way. "should you hide the horns?" Gwaine asked Merlin when they saw the castle gate, who shrugged, "your powerful enough." he replied. "yeah, but i don't know how to use my magic that well, and i don't think it would be best to practice on a unicorn." he said, and Merlin knew he was right. "cyrn unicorn cuddio eich hun, tan caniateir eu datgelu" he said, and the horns disappeared. "what did you say?" Gwaine asked, "I said, Unicorn horns hide yourself, until allowed to be revealed." (i used google translation to do this. It is in Welsh) Gwaine nodded, and they walked through the gates. They walked to the stables, and put the two in a stall together. When they were leaving, a shadow approached them, "Merlin, Gwaine, what the heck are you doing out here at this hour?" Arthur asked. Merlin glanced at Gwaine nervously. The last thing either of them had expected was the Prince to see them out here. "we heard a strange noise that woke us up, so we went to come check it out." Gwaine replied calmly. Arthur thought for a moment, and seemed to be satisfied with Gwaines answer. "what was it?" he asked, and Merlin shrugged, "whatever it was, left by the time we got here. We saw nothing." he replied, and Arthur sighed, "alright. Now get back into the castle. Merlin, we are going hunting tomorrow." he said, smirking when Merlin groaned, sometimes, i think he just likes to torture me. He thought as the three walked back into the castle. "cheer up. Princess here doesn't try to make your life miserable." Gwaine said cheerfully, and Arthur glared at him, "no, but i will make your life miserable if you call me that again." he said threateningly. Merlin laughed, and turned to the right when the path went both ways. "night." he called back, suddenly extremely tired. He saw the two nod, but after that, everything was a blur. The only clear thing he remembered was getting into bed, and falling asleep right away.
Merlin listened as a child muttered some words, and opened his eyes when he felt powerful magic. He looked up, and saw a beautiful wand in the boys hand. It was dark blue, with small blue topaz colored spots on it, which was really small topaz stones, and two small pieces of silver, and two of gold, intwined together at the top, and they parted to hold a perfectly round sapphire stone. A second one appeared, and a voice started talking, but Merlin didn't hear what he said. He was too focused on the wand. Then, the voice stopped, and a bright light filled the room. Merlin closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the second wand was gone, and the boy was holding out the wand to him. Merlin reached out, and grabbed it. It started glowing, not a bright light like when the second wand vanished, but a soft gentle glow, that went away about thirty seconds later. He smiled, and looked at the boy who gave it to him. Merlin smiled at him, and the boy held out his hand. The boy looked kind enough, so Merlin reached out as well. Merlin put his hand in the middle of the boys, and the palms of their hands touched. A light appeared, slightly brighter then the wands, but still soft. Seconds later, it vanished, but the reason of the light was a puzzlement to Merlin.
Merlin woke up with a start, and sat in bed. What the heck was the meaning of that dream? he wondered as he looked out his window, at the sun rising. He knew it had a meaning, but what? He sighed, and got out of bed. He might as well get dressed, since he knew he couldn't fall back asleep, and he didn't want to be too late for the hunt. The last thing he needed was a grumpy Arthur again. That and he wanted to check on the colts. He walked out, and Gaius started breakfast. Merlin rubbed his head, i feel a headache coming on... He thought with a sigh, and a groan at the same time.
Hope you like chapter two! Sorry if it was a little random, or boring. Like i said, i have a small headache, and i don't think that well when I have one :). Thanks for the reviews everyone! Chapter three should be a little better :). Next chapter will have a little bit of Morgana in it ;)
cunning bird~