Jedimasterawesome- Thanks, I'm really happy that you like it. I'll put some more Mergana hints in it because I haven't really put much Mergana hints in it for a while. If Merlin and Morgana discuss poisoning again then I will put that in. Anyway, thanks again.
TJTMaira- Gwaine is always in trouble. I'm beginning to think he is a danger to himself. I love cliffhangers too much so I'm sorry for leaving the story on huge cliffhangers two chapters running. Haha it's my mean tactic but I'm going to finish this story. Anyway enjoy this chapter.
Juniorwoofles- Thanks and I'm wordless so I'll just quote Jewaine as usual, "There is a very thin line between love and hate". That theme will be playing through out the story especially with Merlin but Morgana is just acting badass and wants to take over the world just now.
This best descriptive word for this chapter is- regret.
"Ahh... Hello," Gwaine awkwardly said. "We were travelling... and got lost and... accidentally rode into the middle of your camp." It was all true except that he had not 'accidentally' rode into the camp instead he had purposely walked into the camp.
"Lies," the Saxon grunted. "Yeh can't accidentally ride into our camp." Grasping the hand of his sword, Gwaine prepared himself for an attack though the Saxon was not making any threatening gestures at the moment.
"Quite easily," Gwaine laughed. "You fall asleep on your horse and you 'accidentally' ride into the camp and fall off your horse." The disgruntled Saxon stared at him in disbelief. Gwaine struggled not to burst out laughing but the Saxon had not seemed to notice that he was a knight of Camelot. Was it really that hard to miss his blood red cape with the golden dragon on it or the fact that he wore silver chain mail instead of the leather and furs that Saxon warriors would wear.
"If yeh lie then I want BLOOD! Yer BLOOD!," the Saxon threatened.
"It looks like I have nothing to fear then," Gwaine cheerfully said. "So I will just go will I?" Gwaine turned around towards his horse but the Saxon made such a raucous shrieking noise that Gwaine was struck immobile. The Saxon had a low voice and a heavy accent so not in a thousand years would Gwaine have imagined that the Saxon would make that noise. The noise worked how it was meant to though and soon Gwaine was surrounded by several other Saxons.
"Careful," Gwaine warned. "This is just a simple misunderstanding. If you kill me then you will regret it because my friend won't rest until he finds and kills you all." Gwaine regretted saying this as the Saxons moved closer to him with their swords pointing at his heart.
"Who's that?" a Saxon growled. His chunky fingers pointed at the unconscious Gwen on Melodie.
"My wife," Gwaine invented. "We were travelling to... Ealdor to see my mother who is called Hunith. I am called... Merlin and this is my wife Morgan. We nee-"
"NEED THE CHIEF!" a Saxon roared. "GET 'IM, SLAVE!" A young child with a mane of matted hair stumbled towards the tent. He had been sitting so quietly that Gwaine hadn't even noticed that he was there. The boy also blended in perfectly with the background as hair was a dull and grimy shade of light brown though if it was washed then it may have been a lovely shade of extremely light blond. He was so dishevelled and dirty that even his eyes were gaunt and did not stand out one bit.
Bang, bang, bang, bang.
Nervously looking at the trembling ground, Gwaine began to hope that an earthquake wasn't going to occur. The source of the noise approached him slowly. Gwaine raised his head to the find the biggest and ugliest man he had ever seen the only. The man didn't even look human more like a beast. It wouldn't have surprised Gwaine if the man was related to the giant that they had defeated as his appearance to the giant was uncanny except from the fact that he was a lot smaller.
"Over 'ere, Chief Pierce," a Saxon pointed. The giant, ugly man responded to the Saxon making Gwaine suspect him to be Chief Pierce. "'e says 'e is just walkin' and came 'ere by accident, chief Pierce. 'e looks differen' not normal." Chief Pierce looked in digust at Gwaine's appearance as he thought that Gwaine was too done up and didn't look realistic.
"If it means I'm not ugly then I'm quite happy to be different," Gwaine retaliated cooly. Chief Pierce smacked his lips revealing several rotting teeth that were covered in blood. Gwaine could imagine this brute using his mouth kill children by biting the child's neck open or biting through all the child's skin and ripping out the heart which he would no doubt devour whole. Shuddering at this thought, Gwaine used all his courage just to approach this man as no doubt he was a cannibal. Gwaine never could have dreamt of meeting a man more ugly or brutal than King Gremian but he was pretty sure that Chief Pierce would be able to rival King Gremian. After all Chief Pierce was no doubt hand picked by King Gremian himself so there would be no surprise there.
"IDIOTS!" Chief Pierce boomed. "INNIT A KNIGH' O' CAMELOT! RED THING AN' ALL! WHA' 'IS NAME?" Chief Pierce neared Gwaine who edged to left a little so that he was closer to Gwen. His duty was to Camelot and now he needed to protect the queen even if it cost him his life.
"You took your time to realise that I am a Knight of Camelot. I would try and get a brighter cape
with a bigger picture of a dragon because this cape is very dull and it is really hard to make out the golden dragon," Gwaine sarcastically joked.
"Merley is his name," a Saxon snorted. "A stupid name, innit. 'e is a stupid thing though." Gwaine was infuriated by these Saxons manners.
"My name is Merlin," Gwaine indignantly lied. "And this is my wife Melodie." It was too risky to say that his wife was called Morgan again because it sounded too much like Morgana, meaning that there would be every chance that Saxons might think that they have caught the witch and might even take her to King Gremian.
"Melodie. Wha' I thought it was Morgan," a Saxon butted in.
"It was Morgan I heard yeh say it," another Saxon agreed.
"THA' SOUNDS 'BOUT RIGH'! MORGAN THE WITCH!" Chief Pierce shouted with glee. "THIS IS THE WITCH AN' 'ER LOVER! IT FITS AN' EVERYTHIN'! THE UGLY WITCH AN' 'ER UGLY LOVER THE KNIGH' WHO THINKS 'E'S TERRIBLY FUNNY!"
Gwaine exasperatedly sighed at his own stupidity. He had doomed them all, again.
...
Hemlock was indeed a substance that Merlin did not ever want to see, smell, feel, hear or taste again. He felt like he wasn't going to be able to properly breathe again. His hoarse and rattily breaths convinced him that he defiantly would not take another proper breath. Him not wanting to kill Morgana when she had been the source of the magic, had made this situation a lot more painful for him. He could have just chose to stab a sword through Morgana's heart meaning that she would die quickly, but he was such a coward that he could not bring himself to do that. The tension, when Morgana had raised the bottle up to her lips, had been almost too much for Merlin to take. He had felt faint and emotionally lost it, when he had cradled her lifeless body in his arms. That was the past though and in his dying moments he did not want to look to the past. If Merlin had not chosen to poison Morgana, then he wondered whether he would still be alive and if he was still alive thenwhat he would be doing. Whether he would imprisoned and tortured or happy and joyful.
Though Merlin might of not initially wanted to dwell in the past, he did. The happiest year of his life had been when he had first arrived at Camelot when he had been Arthur's manservant. Everything had been incredibly happy for him except from the magic ban and the annoyance of mucking out Arthur's horses and falling in horse dung several times. Gaius had looked after him and their relationship, even back then, was strong. Arthur had been extremely annoying and had made him do thousands of tedious chores but they had had fun teasing each other by calling each other names. Gwen had been his best friend apart from Arthur (though Arthur didn't admit that he had liked Merlin). Morgana had been kind hearted, compassionate, determined and the only person who had managed to convince Uther to change his mind and not sentence someone to death though that was a rare occurrence. Merlin had not known Morgana that well at first but he knew that she was said to have been very courteous and friendly to even people who were apparently inferior to her. Knowing that he was fading and would soon be dead, Merlin made tried his ultimate best to pretend that he was in the past with his three good friends. Peacefully he closed his eyes but quickly opened them because he could vaguely hear someone approaching. Merlin wasn't too sure whether he was dreaming, as everything seemed so vague and unreal.
"Emrys," the person muttered. It was Morgana coming back to taunt him as the girl had long black hair. Merlin tried to move away from her but failed to do so. Parts of his vision was becoming black but she bent down to him with her black hair annoyingly getting in the way of his eyes and tickling his skin. Feeling the world fading away, frightened Merlin even more then anything else had scared him. Everything was fading and becoming darkness. He tried desperately to open his eyes but they were already open and just not working. Air would not come into his lungs and with his last strength he tried to breathe but failed. He couldn't think straight but felt a teardrop falling onto his cheek. It must have been her teardrop as he did not have any energy to cope with crying. Merlin hoped he might of been able to utter one last word to Morgana but he could not. He desperately wanted to say that he was simply sorry. His head throbbed agonisingly and collided with something, although it probably didn't and feeling like that was just a side effect of him dying. Suddenly there was darkness and nothing more.
"Be strong, Emrys. Just for me," she cried stroking his dark brown hair and watching him go ghostly white.
...
Gwaine couldn't think of what to say next. So he said, "Are all Saxons this stupid? One, I am not in love with the witch. Two, that is not the witch. Three, I am not ugly. Four, Morgana isn't ugly either. You can't comment on people being ugly when your the ugliest and stupidest human that I will ever meet. Stupid and gullible is the only characteristics you have so I am frankly glad that I only met you today."
"'E IS THE KNIGH' CAUSE 'E THINKS 'E IS REALLY FUNNY!" Chief Pierce yelled.
"Do I," Gwaine seriously debated. "Well I'm not laughing so I obviously don't think I'm funny." Gwaine looked at the Saxons in complete horror. He desperately needed help and, although Gwaine did not know it, help was riding towards them at this very minute alarmingly fast.
"Are we goin' to kill 'em," a Saxon questioned.
"BLOOD! WANT BLOOD! BLOOD! WANT BLOOD!" the Saxons chorused. Chief Pierces rubbed his beard lost in thought for a minute.
"NO!" Pierce boomed. All of the Saxons immediay stopped chanting as soon as he said. "WE WILL TAKE 'EM BACK TO THE KING AN' HE WILL LINE OUR POCKETS WITH GOLD." Everyone cheered at this apart from the apparent 'Morgana' who was still unconscious and Gwaine.
"Wha' abou' the knigh'?"
"WE WILL LEAVE 'IM 'ERE TO REMIND ARTHUR THAT 'IS SISTER HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED!" Chief Pierce announced.
"No I'm coming with you," Gwaine fiercely said. His duty was to Camelot and he desperately needed to protect the queen at this moment. He was going to do everything in his will to ensure that they didn't get separated.
"CUTE!" Pierce laughed hoarsely. "'E IS A LIAR AN' LOVES THE WITCH AFTER ALL!" Gwaine could not be more exasperated by these Saxons even if he tried. He was far beyond exasperation now. He really needed to say it out loud as he couldn't keep in his head any longer.
"YOU ARE SO STUPID THAT I DON'T EVEN THINK YOU ARE HUMAN! THAT IS NOT EVEN THE WITCH" Gwaine screamed, instantly making himself feel ten times better.
"IT'S DEFIANTLY THE WITCH INNIT PEOPLE!" The other Saxons nodded mutely knowing what was coming next. Chief Pierce picked up a helmet off the ground and blasted it off of Gwaine's skull.
"NOW LET'S TAKE THE WITCH AN' GE' OUR GOLD!" Pierce rejoiced.
"GOLD! WANT GOLD! GOLD! WANT GOLD!" the Saxons cheered.
"WE NOW NEED TO PACK UP THE CAM' AN' LEAVE BEFORE THE KNIGH' WAKES UP!" Chief Pierce ordered. The poor young slave boy jumped to his feet ready to endure a couple of hours of being slapped and treated like vermin for not being fast enough to pack the things up. He felt sorry for the girl because she was going to surely be killed. Whenever they killed a girl a witch then they would chop the girl's head off; not that he knew what a witch was as he was only nine after all. He didn't know a lot of things as he was kept in cell until he was considered old enough to work at the age of six. The boy wanted to help the girl who had been killed witch but what could a boy who was nine years old possibly do to help her?
...
Morgana was so excited that she was feeling nauseous. Being extremely miserable for months on end (thirty nine months and fifteen days to be exact) meant that when she did finally feel slightly happy she would be overwhelmed with happiness. The Calliechs had lied Merlin wasn't her doom because she had personally made sure that he had died. Now she was going to find the information she needed to find Arthur's. With Emrys out of her way, Morgana knew that Camelot would be a lot easier to takeover and when she did take it over Camelot she was pretty sure that no one would be able to thwart her this time.
Striding around the tunnels as she owned the place, it only took Morgana ten minutes to find the stairs that led to the druid seer's house. Hastily opening the door, she strolled inside and looked around the room.
"Hello?" she called. Suddenly a hand, which was as cold as ice, grabbed Morgana's wrist and hauled her round. The old man virtually tried to drag Morgana away but she stood rooted on the spot.
"Come on, Morgana. We do not have much time before he comes," the man begged.
"Who are you? I will never let anyone take me anywhere against my own will without a fight. Where are we going?," Morgana demanded.
"I am a seer, child, your kin and I must take you through the room because he will listen if I don't."
"Who's 'he'," Morgana stubbornly interrogated.
"Someone whom none of us should be concerned about at the moment. Only three people matter," the man wisely advised.
"Then shouldn't we just remain in this room," Morgana protested. She didn't really want to be hauled off to another room in which a trap may be. Perhaps she was just being cautious but the possibility was still maybe a one in four chance.
"Morgana Pendragon, High Priestess of the Old Religion and last of your kind. Seer, sorceress and witch. You are the most stubborn, strong willed and determined young lady I have ever met. I never expected you to be like this after everything I have seen in prophecies about you," the man murmured.
"I need find Arthur's bane be-"
"I know why you're here. Being a powerful seer, means that I shall know most of the near future and that time is nearing. It is your fate to hear how he dies at this moment," the old man stammered. "Now come hither child."
"Why is everyone so intent on calling me a child? I haven't been a child in years," Morgana protested.
"You are young compared to everyone who called you that and plus you are still excessively learning things. Now come hither, witch."
"Why witch?"
"Because witch is nought but the truth of whom you are." Morgana frowned. There was some truth in what he said but in Camelot witch had been the ultimate threat. Perhaps where he had come from witch wasn't used as a threat but more of a descriptive term. Descriptive term, Morgana told herself sternly, I need the information on how to kill Arthur to survive. Morgana reluctantly followed the seer through a door into a small secure room. Keeping herself alert all the time, Morgana didn't like it when the seer closed the door tightly. She had every right to be paranoid as she had been captured and put behind bars twice within a couple of months recently.
"The witch has arrived," the seer announced. "Our kin; the last High Priestess of the Old Religion; Morgana Pendragon has arrived." Suddenly another woman and man sprang out the darkness at Morgana who hastily pulled out her dagger as she was extremely uncomfortable about the entire situation.
"There is no need for violence Morgana Pendragon. All we want is for you to the throne that is rightfully yours," assured the younger man with chestnut hair.
"Being a good queen is not an easy task but you shall succeed in it. You are said to bring peace and prosperity to the land and ceasefire," the old man calmly said looking deep into her green eyes. "But alas, you did not come here to find out about your future. You came here to find out how Arthur dies."
"How?" Morgana nervously begged.
"Not how but whom exactly. It is your choice whether Arthur dies just now or not. It is only you whom can protect him by doing something extremely important. Arthur's bane is Mordred. Mordred will kill Arthur." A small crease came across Morgana's forehead and she gave a huge sigh of relief but disappointment. Now she regretted being mean to Mordred that one time.
Thanks for reading. Now all you are going to have to wait for is the magic reveal to Arthur. Which may just be coming soon. You guys are great so please review.
