Disclaimer: As much as I would like to, I don't own Merlin!
The gates of Camelot loomed up before them like the entrance to hell, the midday sun blazing over the smooth stone. The people moving in and out of the gates had already begun to recognise Merlin, and their Prince who was - for once, following Merlin's advice - riding again while Merlin walked beside him. Some stopped and stared while others ran into the kingdom, shouting to one another. The gate guard backed off at once, sprinting away and shouting for the king's guards. Merlin felt his insides shrink.
"Arthur," he muttered.
"Don't worry," Arthur replied. "I'm in charge here."
Merlin bit his lip. They were walking through the main street of the village now, and people were slipping out of their way. Merlin looked around at them, and a mother pulled her child protectively against her. They hate me... Merlin quickly fixed his eyes on the ground. He couldn't blame them. In their eyes he was an evil fire-weilding warlock. He moved a little closer to Arthur's horse, as if it could somehow hide him from the thousands of eyes on him.
"Its the Sorccerer!"
"He's come back."
"What's he doing here?"
"The Prince is with him."
"What's happened?"
"Get the children inside."
"The Sorccerer..."
Merlin wanted to put his hands over his ears to block out the whispers which were steadily growing louder and louder. He wanted to just turn and run... but he had to trust Arthur. The courtyard of the castle came into sight before them and as they moved into it the doors of the great building flew open. Uther strode out onto the top step, his guards fanning out around him, swords raised. Merlin stopped at once.
"Come on," Arthur said softly to him.
"Arthur, no," Merlin hissed back. "Uther-"
"If you can destroy Nimueh, you can take on my father," Arthur said.
Merlin shrugged. If he had the choice, he thought he would rather take Nimueh on again rather than face Uther's rage. Arthur swung down from his horse and walked forwards, lifting his chin.
"Father. Send the guards back. There is no need for them."
"He has bewitched you again, son," Uther replied. "You're not in your right mind."
"Merlin never bewitched me," Arthur said. "I made that up so that you would leave me alone. So that I could go and help him. Father, Merlin is our friend. He has killed Nimueh-"
"Enough," Uther spat. "Arthur! I am sick and tired of this obsession with magic you have developed!"
"I am not obsessed with magic!"
"Is it true?"
Merlin looked up. Morgana had appeared on the steps and was looking at him. "Is it? Did you defeat Nimueh?"
Merlin nodded, and then cleared his voice. "Yes, I did. I think so."
A murmur ran through the crowd that had gathered around the courtyard. Uther scowled.
"It doesn't matter who he has killed! What matters is who is next on his list!"
"Merlin is not evil, father!" Arthur said heatedly. "And from now on, if you challenge him, you challenge me."
The crowd gasped, almost as one. It would have been funny if it hadn't been for the seriousness of the situation. Merlin swallowed hard. Uther was shaking his head.
"Enough," he repeated.
He gestured to his guards and they began to move forwards. Merlin raised his hands slightly, taking a step backwards. The guards stopped at once, lifting their weapons fearfully. Merlin frowned. Could it be that they truly were that scared of him? He was just the same as he had always been, and yet they were treating him like gunpowder that could be lit at any moment. Uther was trying to coax the guards forwards again, but they still hadn't moved. Arthur was shouting at his father, at the guards. Morgana was staring at him, along with the whole kingdom... Merlin shut his eyes, and then strode forwards before he could let himself change his mind.
"Alright," he said. "Alright."
At once, silence fell. Every eye turned on him. Merlin forced himself not to move, to return the gaze of the kingdom. He had more power than Uther, he realized. He had barely even spoken, and everyone had stopped.
"Yes, I am a Sorccerer," he said. "And I am powerful, more so than I was before. And it scares me too. Its not easy, especially when you realize people are scared of you..." he glanced around at the villagers, some of whom glanced at one another. "Its scary being... being different. At first I thought I would give anything to just be normal, to be one of you. But now I know that I have a purpose. I have magic in my blood for a reason. That reason, I think, is to help Camelot and..." he looked quickly at Uther, and then Arthur. "And its king."
A sudden movement caught his eye and he turned his head to see Gwen appearing at the bottom of the steps. Her face was split in a huge grin, her eyes sparkling. He felt a smile spreading across his own face. He turned back to the crowd.
"I don't know whats going to happen in the future," he said. "I don't know whether things will get better or worse. But what I do know that I will always stand by Arthur. I know that I am loyal to Camelot. And I know that my magic - and myself - are not evil."
There was a silence. Then, suddenly, someone started clapping. Another person joined the first. And another... and another... Merlin turned, raising his eyebrows in confusion. They were appluading him... some of the people were moving away, shaking their heads and muttering to one another, but others were pressing forwards and clapping...
"Silence!" Uther roared. "Silence!"
Only a few people obeyed. Morgana stepped forwards, looking from Arthur and Merlin to Uther and back again.
"Let us take this inside," she said. "We can discuss this matter civilly."
"I'm willing if you are, father," Arthur said softly.
Uthur was furious. His hands were balled into trembling fists at his sides. He glared at Merlin, and then turned and stormed back into the castle. His guards followed, followed in turn by Morgana. Arthur strode forwards, leaving his horse behind. Gwen ran forwards at once and Merlin stepped forwards to meet her, hugging her tightly as she threw her arms around his neck.
"Merlin! I was so, so scared, I thought you were dead..."
"Nah, not me," Merlin replied, grinning. "I'm fine."
"But Nimueh-"
"Its a long story, and one I don't think we have time for now."
She nodded understandingly.
"Merlin!" Merlin looked up. Gaius was standing at the top of the steps by the open front doors. "Are you going to stand there nattering all day? Hurry up, boy!"
Merlin let Gwen go and ran up the steps. He paused beside Gaius, who laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Well done for coming back," he said quietly.
"Gaius, I'm sorry for all the-"
"Just go! Go!" Gaius urged pushing him. "Everything else can wait. Go on!"
Merlin moved past him and into the mouth of the castle.
Arthur relaxed as Merlin appeared in the corridor. The boy had certainly taken his time. Arthur had even begun to worry that his father's men had taken him in. But as Merlin moved into the corridor and walked towards him, the guards who had waited to escort him hung back, gripping their swords tightly. It was as if Merlin was radiating fear, infecting everyone nearby with the potent emotion. Even Arthur was beginning to feel slightly nervous when standing next to him. The awesome height of Merlin's power was beginning to dawn on him for the first time, and the effect that it could have on Camelot was all too clear...
But Merlin was his friend. Merlin was too loyal to ever even dream of turning against him. And Arthur trusted him. So he pushed away his doubts and fell into step beside Merlin, walking with him towards the throne room.
"Nice speech," he murmured. "You been practicing that on the way over?"
Merlin smiled shakily. "I was terrified. I still am. Arthur, I really don't know how you're expecting to pull this off."
Arthur smirked. "Didn't you see them out there? Everyone thought you were wonderful. Everyone respected you."
"Almost everyone," Merlin corrected, remembering those who had turned away. "Well, maybe that went well, but what now?"
"Now..." Arthur paused, thinking. "Now... I don't know. We'll talk."
They had reached the throne room by now, and the doors were wide open. Uther and Morgana were already inside, seated at the other end of the hall. Uther was drumming his fingers on the throne's arm, clearly trying to subdue his anger. Arthur and Merlin stopped in the centre of the room.
"You have disgraced me, Arthur," Uther growled. "It is a sad day when a man cannot trust his own son."
"I believe it is you who has disgraced me!" Arthur replied. "Merlin has saved my life over and over, and has never asked for anything for himself. He means no harm to anyone, and yet you refuse to even give him a chance!"
"Arthur, what part of 'magic is evil' do you have trouble with?"
"The part where its a lie! Why do you hate it so much, father?"
Uther kept his mouth shut, his eyes burning. Merlin glanced quickly at Morgana, who returned his gaze and then rose to her feet.
"Uther," she said. "I have a proposition."
Uther scowled, not even looking at her. Morgana continued anyway.
"I, too, believe that Merlin is no threat to us. We could give him a week in which to prove himself to you."
"In a week he could destroy us all!"
"Father, please," Arthur urged. "I will take full responsibility for anything Merlin does. This could be the start of a new era for Camelot!"
Uther shook his head. "This will not end well, you mark my words. But sometimes people must learn the hard way..." he looked up, and then suddenly rose to his feet and strode towards Merlin. Merlin steeled himself not to move, even when Uther was only a foot away.
"And I will warn you, Sorccerer," he snarled. "When - not if, when - you step out of line, I will be waiting. I will be there. And this time, I will kill you myself."
Merlin swallowed hard. "I understand, sire," he said, struggling to lift his voice above a croak.
Uther glared at him for a few more seconds. Then he turned away and strode back to his throne. "Arthur, you're bleeding. Go and see Giaus."
Arthur shot Merlin a grin and headed for the doors. But Merlin couldn't smile. As far as he could see, this had solved nothing. He had come face to face with the snake and instead of running for his life he was burrowing into its nest. His heart was thundering in his chest even as he turned and followed Arthur out of the room, struggling to keep his pace slow and relaxed. He got out of the room and the doors closed behind him.
Merlin fell back against the wall, letting out a heavy sigh. He shut his eyes and concentrated on calming down for a few moments. Arthur was probably right. Everything would probably be fine.
Probably...
So why did he feel like everything was about to come crashing down?
Taking a deep breath, he pushed off the wall and walked down the corridor towards the courtyard. The guards there shrank back out of his way, and he quickly fixed his eyes on the ground. He was going to have to get used to this. But first, there was someone he had to see.
Arthur pushed his door open and staggered into his chambers, letting out a groan of relief. He had no idea that he could miss a simple room so much. He pulled off the remainder of his armour and let it fall to the ground before moving over to his bed and slumping down on it. His head was still throbbing dully. He would go and see Giaus later, but right now he was just too tired.
"Merlin," he called. "Could you get me a..."
His voice trailed off as he remembered that Merlin wasn't with him. He had probably wandered off to see Giaus or Gwen. Sighing, Arthur put an arm over his eyes to block out the firelight. He wondered breifly how water was heated for a bath. Over the fire? But that would take forever... it didn't matter. He would just have to wait until Merlin returned. Or he could just go to sleep. He could call some other servent but... no. He only wanted to use Merlin these days. Perhaps he could work it out for himself.
He sat up slowly, wincing at the pain in his head, and rose to his feet. He moved out into his main chambers, raising a hand to finger the graze on his forehead. Then he stopped.
He was no longer alone.
Arthur looked up, his eyebrows jumping halfway up his head in surprise. "Wh... who... wha?"
The person was standing in the tiny alcove where the window was. As Arthur stuttered, he - for it was a young man - straightened up and stepped forwards, into the light. Arthur recoiled at once. The man was even younger than him, but his face bore an eerie resembelence to one much older. His long dark hair hung limp and damp about his pale, gaunt face and his mouth hung open as if he were about to say something, but no words came out. He looked as if he had been drowned, and then ressurected by someone who was ammateure at ressurecting. The man's dead, blank eyes lifted to focus on Arthur's. Arthur took a step backwards.
"How did you get in here?"
He didn't know what happened - one minute the man was by the window, the next he was barely an inch away. Arthur flinched backwards, reaching for his sword, and then remembered that he had taken it off just a few minutes ago. Cursing under his breath, he readied himself for a fight.
"Stand back," he growled. "I'm warning you-"
"Soon, it will all be destroyed," the man rasped. His voice was gravelly and hoarse, barely even a voice. "And when it is done She will rise from the embers like a glorious pheonix, and the world will roll in fire..."
Arthur stared at him in confusion. "What... who? Who is 'She?'"
The man's lips twitched in a sneer, an emotion that didn't reach his dead, empty eyes. "Now we are one."
"I don't-"
In one swift movement the man lifted his hand and tapped Arthur sharply on the forehead. Arthur began to step backwards, but he didn't even managae to finish the movement before darkness closed over him and unconsciousness rushed in like a cloud of mist. The only thing he knew of was that one sentence echoing in his head.
Now we are one.
Now we are one.
Now we are one...
Whoa, this chapter was much longer than I thought it was going to be but I had to get the whole Uther/Arthur/Merlin thing out of the way. Now that things have cooled down between them, things with everyone else can start to heat up... :D Things are about to get nasty! BTW the limp! and angst! is coming soon, I promise! Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please REVIEW!
Cookies to everyone who reviews!
SUPRNTRAL LVR.
P.S. Did anyone guess who the mysterious stranger in Arthur's chambers was?
