"This is a nice spot," Gwen said.
She reined in her horse when the group reached a grassy area mostly clear of undergrowth and fallen tree branches. A clump of tiny yellow flowers and a bush covered in purple blossoms sent competing scents into the air.
"Looks lovely," Mithian agreed.
"Then here it shall be." Arthur smiled indulgently at Gwen and motioned George to lay out the blanket and cushions in the spot she had chosen.
The two guards who accompanied them quietly took up positions where they could unobtrusively ensure the king's safety.
Merlin dismounted before reaching up to lift Erec off the horse. By the time he had done so, Gwen was waiting beside him. He handed the toddler to the queen who contorted her delicate features into funny faces and made silly clucking sounds, delighted by the little boy's laughter.
Merlin assisted Mithian to dismount, holding her only a bit longer than was necessary to lift her down from the horse along with the tightly wrapped bundle she carried. The baby girl grunted before settling back to sleep. He could not resist brushing a kiss against the velvety skin of her cheek and breathing deeply of her warm baby scent.
Arthur watched Guinevere amuse the giggling boy. "This really is the most perfect spot, is it not?" Arthur asked, although his eyes were fixed on his wife. "I sometimes forget how beautiful Camelot is, but never how beautiful my queen is."
Gwen laughed self-consciously but she returned his affectionate look.
Merlin snorted and got a sharp glance from Mithian.
Arthur pinned him with a look. "Was that rude noise you, Merlin?"
In defense, Merlin pointed to Mithian's horse.
The king grinned but his eyes glinted. "Don't you think Guinevere is beautiful?"
"I never noticed," Merlin said quickly, glancing at Mithian.
Arthur's grin widened. "Who do you think is the most beautiful girl here?"
Merlin's glance slid from Mithian to Gwen to find both of them watching him with interest. Then he smiled. "Niniane."
At the sound of her name the baby girl hiccupped and both women turned their attention to her.
Gwen brought Erec closer to Mithian and the baby. "Don't you think your sister is the most beautiful girl?" the queen cooed.
"Of course he does," Mithian said.
George laid out cushions for them to sit on and Arthur dropped onto a seat only to land on the hard ground covered with just the thin blanket. He rubbed the spot where a stone had dug into his tailbone and moved onto the pillow only to find that again it was not under him when he sat. He was about to move one more time when his eyes jumped to Merlin and caught the amused look on the sorcerer's face.
With an innocent expression, Merlin pretended to get something from his saddlebag. He looked up to see the cushion sailing at his head and ducked. The pillow flew over him to land in the bushes several paces away.
"And you can go pick it up," Arthur commanded.
Merlin sauntered into the woods. As he bent down to retrieve the cushion from under a tree, his eyes fell on a large section of bark which had been burnt away. The vine wrapped around the trunk was scorched black and beginning to shrivel. Staring at the oddly damaged tree, he made no move to pick up the pillow.
"Are you blind?" Arthur called impatiently.
"Something happened here," Merlin said, running his hand over the trunk and sensing the residue of power.
"Stags, marking their territory," Arthur said, barely glancing at the tree.
"No, this was caused by magic."
"Who knows more about hunting, me or you? It's rutting season, half the trees in the forest look like that."
Merlin looked back over his shoulder. "Who knows more about magic, me or you?"
Arthur looked as if he wanted to come up with a sharp retort but he said nothing as he came closer to examine the tree.
Standing, Merlin looked into the forest, feeling for more traces of powerful magic. Abruptly he strode forward, finding another damaged trunk with the same torn, scorched bark. A few steps behind, Arthur followed as Merlin moved unerringly from one burnt trunk to another, his eyes flashing gold.
"How do you –" Arthur began before he simply shook his head.
When Merlin stopped, the king came to stand beside him and followed the direction of the sorcerer's gaze. A handcart was overturned, also scorched, with one wheel laying a good distance away and blackened as though burnt in a fire. A charred scent tainted the forest air.
He sensed that someone had been ambushed and had fled for his life, dodging blasts of powerful magic as he ran through the forest. A taint of familiar evil coated the abandoned cart, the blackened trees, the crushed deadfall. "Morgana."
Arthur looked sharply at him. "Where?"
"I don't think she's still here. She must have succeeded."
"In what?"
"I don't know for certain, but it feels like Morgana was intent on stopping someone from getting to Camelot."
Arthur glanced up past the treetops. "We are nearly within sight of the city."
"He almost made it." Merlin searched the forest around them, but there was no sign of anyone now. No squirrels chittered in the tree branches, no birds circled overhead, no flies buzzed the spilled food. A prickly foreboding crawled up his spine.
"Here," Arthur called back to the two guards who had followed him, indicating the ruined conveyance and its contents.
Merlin examined the scattered items but it was apparent the owner had lived simply. There was nothing except a few foodstuffs and one plain tunic strewn across the forest floor, nothing to identify the owner or his purpose. The cart itself had odd markings down the side which appeared to be writing but in a language the sorcerer did not recognize. He stepped aside when the guards gathered the items to carry them back to Camelot for closer inspection.
When Arthur and Merlin returned to the picnic area, Gwen and Mithian were waiting anxiously. Mithian gave Merlin a questioning look.
"Something terrible happened in the woods here recently, maybe even last night," he said.
"We need to return to the city," Arthur said. He took Guinevere's hand. "I am sorry."
~0~
When they arrived back in Camelot, they found a courtyard full of people carrying ragged bundles and small carts, their clothes dirty and their faces gaunt. Several had dropped tiredly to the flagstones, some were being supported by their companions. A baby cried and another voice tried tiredly to shush it. The babble of voices included tongues Merlin was not familiar with.
"What happened?" the king asked, looking around in consternation.
Leon came forward. "They came seeking sanctuary, fleeing over the border from Daobeth."
"Has Urien attacked Gwynllyw's kingdom, then?"
"They are not from Daobeth, they fled Helva."
Arthur looked around at the crowd which filled the citadel courtyard. "These refugees are from Helva?"
"Yes, Sire."
"Why come all the way here?"
Leon appeared perplexed. "They keep referring to a person named Emrys they believe will protect them, but they cannot tell us anything about him except that he's destined to be Morgana's doom."
Merlin caught his breath. Arthur glanced over his shoulder at the sorcerer.
Leon, who had directed his gaze out across the frightened and weary collection of people, missed the interchange. "They say it was Morgana who struck the city."
Arthur glanced around, then signalled that they would continue their conversation in the privacy of the citadel throne room. Merlin's eyes met Mithian's, exchanging a solemn look. The queen sent Arthur an inquiring glance but he silently shook his head. Gwen and Mithian dismounted to see to the needs of the refugees while George took charge of both children, hurrying them into the citadel.
Once Leon, Gwaine, Percival, and the head of the guards were gathered in the throne room with Arthur and Merlin, the doors were sealed. The king turned to Leon.
"What do we know?" he asked.
"A few days ago the city of Helva was attacked. At first, we assumed it was Urien, but the refugees tell a different story. They say Morgana and a handful of followers descended on the city without warning, apparently with a specific target in mind but no one knows what it was. Half the settlement was destroyed, and those who were left homeless but able to travel made their way to us. We keep telling them there's no Emrys here, but they insist he's the only one who can assure their safety."
"Help them find whatever shelter is available and make sure everyone is fed," the king said. "Strengthen the garrison on our northern border and send word to King Gwynllyw, find out if he has suffered any aggression or if he needs reinforcements from us."
Once Leon and the knights left to carry out their orders, Arthur turned to Merlin.
"Why would Morgana attack Helva?" the king wondered aloud. "It's one of the few places magic has long been practiced freely, many of the residents are sorcerers, why attack her own? It makes no sense."
"She was looking for something," Merlin said uneasily.
"But what? And why did she attack a lone refugee in the woods?" Arthur asked softly, although Merlin knew he did not expect an answer. "I told them to take the items we found with the ruined cart to Gaius, perhaps he can tell us something."
~0~
When Merlin arrived in the physician's chamber with Arthur, Gaius looked up from his work bench, pieces of parchment scattered on the table in front of him.
"Gaius?" the king asked.
The physician set down the glass he used for close work, which the old man needed to use more often as his eyesight grew weaker. Daegal stepped forward to collect the magnifying glass and set it carefully in its place.
Gaius gave the boy a grateful glance before holding up one torn piece of parchment. "The writing is in Catha, but I was able to identify the signature on this letter." The old man looked significantly at Merlin. "It bears the name 'Alator'."
Tormented by an image of the Catha priest running through the woods toward Camelot, dodging Morgana's attack, Merlin stared back. "Alator must have known what Morgana was after when she attacked Helva. He tried to get to me."
"Apparently she stopped him," Gaius said.
Arthur looked from one to the other. "Who is Alator?"
Both Merlin and Gaius drew breath to answer, then looked at each other in consternation, at a loss to explain how Alator was the man responsible for torturing Gaius but would risk his life to get a message to them.
"A friend," Merlin summed up, relieved when Arthur seemed satisfied with that answer.
"We'll spend the rest of the day getting all the information we can from the refugees," the king said. "Gaius, continue your examination of these items, perhaps there will be more clues to what the man was trying to tell us. The Round Table will meet in the morning."
Merlin and Gaius indicated their understanding and Arthur left them to study Alator's possessions.
~0~
A short time later, not having learned anything more about Alator's aborted attempt to reach Camelot, Merlin crossed the citadel courtyard. He wove through people eating or asleep on the cobblestones, all that was left of their possessions piled at their feet. Some shivered despite the sun's warmth beating down on the courtyard. All of them looked bone-weary from days of foot travel and several were attacking their food as if they had not eaten in all that time. Children huddled in groups, the older ones caring for the younger.
As Merlin stepped around a cloaked figure sitting alone, a hand reached out to grab his tunic. Surprised, he looked down to see the face barely visible under a bedraggled green hood.
"Sefa!" he exclaimed.
"Shhh!" she whispered, peering around anxiously.
He offered a hand to help her to her feet and guided her in the direction of the well only to duck into an alcove where they were mostly hidden from view.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
She had a haunted look in her eyes that had not been there during the years she worked in the palace. Her reddish-brown hair which used to escape her braid to becomingly frame her face with limp curls was now a tangled nest without any semblance of care. She was noticeably thinner under the ragged cloak, her cheeks were hollowed, and there were dark patches under her eyes.
She frowned but nodded. "They distributed some food."
"Why are you afraid?" Merlin questioned.
She gave him an indignant look. "I'm a traitor here. You must know I was sentenced to death."
"Gwen never intended to execute you, Sefa," Merlin explained gently. "It was a trap to draw your father here."
Shock was followed by an expression of horrified understanding. "Well, it worked then, didn't it? He came for me and he died."
"He would have seen us all dead, Sefa," Merlin said. "He was responsible for Morgana's assault on our troop. He was using you."
"He was my father!" she hissed. "He loved me. Do not presume to know him or his motives!"
"I'm sorry, Sefa," Merlin said. She was right: he knew nothing of Ruadan's ideals or motivations though he could imagine what the sorcerer had suffered simply for being what he was. "But what are you doing here? Didn't you return to the Druids after his death?"
"When my father chose to take up arms he trespassed against the Druid customs," Sefa explained bitterly. "We were no longer welcome within the community."
"Where did you go, then?"
"I ran. I didn't know where I was going, I simply fled Camelot. I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to." Sefa bowed her head to stare at the ground. "Finally I ended up in Helva."
"You were there when Morgana attacked?"
"Yes," she answered, still staring at the paving stones.
Merlin looked down at the bent head. The red gleam which used to highlight her hair was obscured by dried mud and several tiny twigs were ensnared in the knotted strands. "Do you need somewhere to stay?"
Her eyes met his then. "Yes."
"Come with me. We can find a place where you can wash and get some food and rest."
She gave him a weak smile. "Thank you, Merlin."
~0~
By the next morning, the Round Table was assembled and had pieced together various accounts of what had happened in the past few days. However, the mystery of why Morgana initiated the assault on Helva remained unsolved. None were left alive who had been directly in Morgana's path, despite the fact that many of them were also sorcerers. The ones who had survived and fled told conflicting stories, if they had seen the High Priestess at all.
Arthur drummed his fingers on the table. "There's nothing we can do except wait for Morgana's next move."
Before he could dismiss his advisers, one of the palace guards strode into the room unannounced. The guard walked directly to the king without acknowledging Sir Leon as would have been proper protocol.
"Sire," the man said. "There is a woman who wishes to speak with you."
"Who is she?" Arthur asked.
The man had a blank expression. "I don't know."
Merlin looked at the man sharply.
"What does she want?" the king inquired.
"I don't know," the guard answered.
Arthur glanced around the table but everyone seemed as baffled as he was by the cryptic message and the guard's strange behaviour. "What made you interrupt this meeting to bring me such a message?"
"She told me to."
Arthur's brows rose. "She told you to, therefore it was urgent enough to interrupt us?"
"She told me to find Emrys, and when I explained there was no such person here, she told me to go directly to the king."
Before Merlin could react, the doors to the hall swung inward to reveal a woman in a blue woolen cloak poised in the entryway, her face concealed by an enveloping hood. The guards in the corridor remained standing at their posts as if there was nothing unusual in a strange woman entering the king's Privy Council unescorted. Not one of them challenged her or reached for a weapon, their expressions blank as if they had been enchanted.
Several knights leapt to their feet but Arthur waved them back. He stood to approach the woman with Merlin at his side. Gwaine watched her narrowly but she merely waited patiently in the chamber entrance for the king to reach her.
The woman pulled back the hood of her blue cloak and Merlin saw a lined face framed by a black headscarf from which several strands of greying dark brown hair had escaped. Her clothes were simple but in good repair and splattered with mud as though she had travelled a long distance.
Her eyes skipped over the king and landed on Merlin, then she sank to one knee with her head bowed. "Great One," she said.
Several of the knights stared open-mouthed, Geoffrey looked scandalized, Aldric looked infuriated, and Ector wore a baffled expression.
His cheeks burning, Merlin indicated she should get to her feet. "Please, that's not necessary."
The woman stood but kept her eyes fixed on him. "It is an honour to meet you, Emrys."
"How do you know my name?" he asked.
"From my master, Alator of the Catha," she said.
"Is he all right?"
The woman shook her head sadly. "Morgana caught him before he could give you the message. He is dead."
Beside Merlin, Arthur cleared his throat. "I am Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelot."
The woman's eyes flicked to him. "I have heard of you." Then she returned her attention to Merlin. "The great battle nears, the fate of Albion hangs in the balance."
Arthur's brows drew together. "Who are you and what do you do here?"
She looked back at the king. "My name is Finna, and I'm here to deliver the warning Alator was not able to give you. I know what Morgana took from Helva." Finna turned her gaze back to Merlin. "If the Great Emrys would grant me an audience."
Feeling his cheeks grow hot again, Merlin flashed a bemused glance at Arthur.
"Fine," the king decreed as if the woman had asked for his permission. "The guards will escort you to the audience chamber. We will meet you there directly."
Finna gave him a nod of acknowledgement and after a deeper, more respectful bow to Merlin, she followed a guard from the hall.
Gwaine watched her leave and then fixed his eyes on Merlin, brows raised.
"Do you know her?" Arthur asked Merlin.
"No, I 've never met her before."
"So for all we know she's in league with Morgana," Arthur said.
"We can trust her," Merlin said.
The king looked at him. "How can you know that?"
For a moment Merlin hesitated, then he said simply, "I looked into her eyes. She's telling the truth."
"Sire." Aldric's raised voice drew all eyes to him. "She is a sorceress, you cannot trust her. Do not listen to anything she has to say."
Although the old knight addressed the king, Merlin felt the man's one good eye bore into him with a burning hatred.
"If she meant us harm, she could have done so already," Ector said. "You should hear her out."
Arthur turned to the Court Physician. "Gaius, what do you know about this woman?"
The physician remained seated in his place at the Round Table, hands crossed in front of him as he watched the proceedings with interest. "When she removed her hood, her sleeve fell back and I saw a mark on her arm. She is one of the Bendrui."
"What is that?" Merlin asked, curious.
"Before the Great Purge, girls would be chosen at birth to train for the priesthood. They would be taken away from their families and brought up as initiates in the Old Religion."
"I thought Morgana was the only High Priestess left?" Leon asked.
"Many tried but few succeeded, for ordinary gifts were not enough; only those possessed of exceptional magical power could ever hope to be one of the Nine," Gaius explained. "But do not doubt her abilities; all Bendrui are practiced in potent magic."
"So we saw," Arthur said, indicating the soldier who had followed the woman's orders without question and the guards who had been oblivious to her. He regarded Merlin appraisingly. "Since when does anyone bow to you?"
"Do you mean people, or anyone?" Merlin asked. "Because actually the first one to bow to me was the Great Dragon."
The expression on Arthur's face was comical. "Dragon?"
Merlin tipped his head to the side. "But then I ordered him to, so maybe that doesn't count." Doing his best not to laugh outright at the king's complete astonishment, Merlin gestured at the corridor where the Bendrui had disappeared. "We should hear what Finna has to say."
"Gaius, come with us, we're going to speak with this woman," the king ordered. "Leon, find out everything you can about her. We will meet again after I've spoken with her."
Smiling to himself at Arthur's attempt to reinstate his authority, as if there was any question they would hear her out, Merlin waited for Arthur to lead the way from the Great Hall to the chamber where Finna waited.
At their entrance, she almost knelt again but Merlin shook his head. The woman waited patiently until the king, Gaius, and Merlin had joined her in the room and a guard closed the door behind them. Then she reached into a pouch tied at her waist and removed an elaborately engraved silver vial.
"Do you know what this is?" Finna asked, her sharp eyes fixed on Gaius.
The old man lifted his gaze from the vial to her face. "Yes."
"Do not be concerned, this one is empty, it has never been used," the woman said.
Merlin wondered at the relief in his mentor's face. "What is it?" he asked them both.
"It's what Morgana took from Helva, isn't it?" Gaius said to Finna.
She nodded gravely.
The physician sighed deeply and briefly closed his eyes. He looked at Merlin. "It's an elixir administered in rare situations when one chooses to renounce the gift he was granted or when one is judged to be unworthy of having such a gift."
As explanations went, that was as useful as something Kilgharrah would say.
"This elixir takes decades to create and is guarded carefully by those responsible for its administration," Gaius went on.
Both Arthur and Merlin gave the physician an impatient look.
"It is used to take away someone's magic," Gaius finally divulged with a stricken look at Merlin.
Suddenly, it all made sense. Morgana had decided she could not defeat him in an open confrontation and she had torn apart Helva to get her hands on this elixir so she could remove Emrys from standing between her and the throne of Camelot. His eyes met Finna's.
"The great battle is coming, the final battle that will end in the creation of Albion or the fall of Camelot," Finna pronounced. "Morgana is aware of this, and that the key to Arthur's defeat is Emrys. She believes Arthur is nothing without Emrys and Emrys is nothing without magic."
Merlin stared at her, his heart beating rapidly.
"You must be on your guard, Emrys," Finna advised. "Someone will betray you."
"How will we identify this person?" Arthur demanded. "The city is full of refugees right now, any one of them might be Morgana's minion pretending to have fled Helva."
"You have only to find another vial that resembles this one. There will not be another like it," Finna said.
The king gave her an irritated look. "They could easily have decanted the elixir into another container by this time."
"No, Sire," Gaius put in. "They would not risk losing a drop, plus the container itself has special properties. In any other bottle the elixir will lose its potency. As I said, it is carefully guarded and these safeguards discourage theft."
Arthur looked from the physician to the vial Finna held. "So we search everyone?"
"And advise everyone you trust to be alert for the vial," Gaius said.
With a look of chagrin at the enormity of the task, the king marched out of the room calling for his knights and issuing orders.
At his departure, Merlin looked at Gaius and Finna.
"Why would such a potion ever be made? What purpose could it serve?"
The physician laid a hand on the younger man's arm. "Even before the Great Purge, people were not always comfortable around those who had magic. It was not unusual for someone with such a gift to be ostracized by a community, and at times there were people who chose to give up their magic to be welcomed back into their family or village."
Merlin shuddered at the thought of willingly giving up magic. At his most lonely times in Ealdor, when he knew the worry lines etched on his mother's face were a result of his presence, even when he felt like an outcast in his own village for his strangeness, he had never wished to be rid of his magic.
"There were also those who abused their power in such a way that the elixir was administered as a judgement," Finna said. "Its effects are irreversible."
Merlin winced. He had temporarily suppressed Morgana's magic before she and Helios could kill Arthur, but that dark enchantment had left a scar on his soul. How could anyone justify assigning such a harsh judgement to another sorcerer?
~0~
"You have searched all of the refugees?" Arthur asked.
Leon nodded. "All who took shelter in Camelot, as well as any who come and go through the gate to the lower town. None of them possesses a vial like the one you showed us. We have also turned the citadel upside down but have not discovered any sign of the elixir."
"Well, we didn't expect it to be easy. We know the vial had to have been delivered in the last few days. Concentrate on any other newcomers who have been in the city less than a week and search the inns again."
"Yes, Sire," Leon acknowledged. With a nod, he left the throne room to continue the search.
~0~
Merlin found Sefa waiting for him in the crowded marketplace, a cloak wrapped around her shoulders despite the warmth of the spring sunshine. The note he had received that morning was the third time she had contacted him since she arrived a week ago, but this was the first time he had responded. He had not seen her since he brought her to the Rising Sun hoping she would find a place to live and work where she could earn a decent meal and comfortable lodging.
Her cheeks were not as hollow as when she arrived in Camelot but the dark circles remained under her eyes.
"How are you?" he asked.
"Fine, although everyone in the inn is growing weary of being searched. What are they looking for, anyway?"
"I understand something was stolen from Helva. It must have been valuable," Merlin answered.
She watched him narrowly but he kept his expression blank.
"Could I speak with you?" Sefa asked. "Privately."
Merlin gave her a searching look before he acquiesced. "Certainly."
As she led him the short distance to the Rising Sun, she pulled the hood of her thin cloak up around her face.
"How is work at the inn?" he asked.
"Dirty," she responded. "And we cannot get through an evening without some customer being too deeply in his cups and making extra work for everyone."
Merlin thought it was probably quite different from the duties she had performed so capably as the queen's personal maid. She sounded bitter about the degradation in status and he wondered if she appreciated the depth of the treason she had committed in passing information to her father.
She guided him to the inn's back entrance and down some steps into a storage area. They entered a small room empty of winter stores although rushes remained strewn across the floor.
"We were worried about you after you disappeared, you know," he said.
Sefa looked sceptical. "Really?"
He nodded. "But there was no sign of you, and I assumed you had returned to the Druids. I didn't know you weren't welcome there."
She did not reply.
"I know how much you loved your father, but Morgana is not the salvation he thought she was." Merlin watched Sefa carefully.
For a moment she regarded him doubtfully, then a determined look settled on her face. "He was my father, and I must be strong for him."
Her eyes went past him and Merlin felt a hard blow to the back of his head before the rough straw strewn on the floor came up to meet him. As everything went black, he felt himself turned roughly onto his back and he gagged as a cold liquid was poured down his throat.
~0~
Merlin could hear someone calling his name but the sound seemed far away. Then he felt himself being shaken. Full consciousness returned along with a pounding headache. He opened his eyes, blinking away the bright spots obscuring the dark-haired face above him.
"Merlin?" asked Gwaine's voice.
Wincing, Merlin put a hand to the back of his head to feel the size of the lump under his straw-coated hair. "I'll live," he muttered.
The knight looked up at the guard standing in the doorway to the storeroom. "Tell the king we found him and he'll be all right. And give the king this." Gwaine handed the guard an elaborate silver vial which had lain in the rushes.
~0~
Gaius handed Merlin a cold cloth to replace the one he was holding to the painful lump on the back of his head.
Arthur sat at the head of the long table in the council room, Guinevere seated at his left and Leon, Gwaine, Percival, and a few of the other knights ranged around the other chairs.
"I can't believe Sefa would do such a thing," Gwen said sadly. "I thought perhaps, now she had a safe place, she would understand we mean her no harm and she could rebuild her life." She looked at Leon. "Where is Sefa now?"
"After she and her accomplice were caught trying to leave the city, she was taken to the cells," Leon said.
Gwen turned to Arthur. "What will her punishment be?"
"That depends on the harm that results from her actions, which we will know soon enough. Morgana has shown her hand now," Arthur said grimly. "The next move will be a full-out assault on Camelot. She does not fear us."
"Then she is more foolish than I thought," Guinevere said. "You have the strength and love of your people. When you became king you gave them something to fight for and that is the most powerful weapon of all."
Arthur sat a little straighter as he turned to the First Knight. "Are the men prepared?"
"Yes, Sire," Leon said. "Though there is no word yet that Urien's army has crossed our border."
The king met Merlin's eyes steadily. "There has not been time for a message to get to us. Morgana will not wait; we march north in the morning."
~0~
Before his troops were a day's march from the city, word reached King Arthur that Rheged's army had crossed the border into Camelot and was moving toward them. By the next afternoon, they had confirmation that Morgana was with Urien and his soldiers.
Arthur chose a field overlooking a narrow valley to make his stand. Urien would be forced to approach through the pass below, where the boggy ground would slow his soldiers, while Arthur's knights had a wide expanse of grassy field and time to prepare before Urien's troops could begin their assault. Their forces were of comparable strength, but Rheged's soldiers were not the equal of Camelot's knights and Arthur would have the better position. Despite the disadvantages Urien would face, Arthur was confident the man would engage in battle the next morning, counting on Morgana's aid to ensure his triumph.
That evening, Merlin stood with Finna next to the group of knights gathered around the king in his command tent. Dozens of candles brightened the inside and cast unsteady shadows on the tent walls. Someone had lifted the flap to allow the night breeze to clear away a little of the smoke.
"The great battle is about to begin," Finna said softly. Her hands were folded in front of her, tucked into the mended blue sleeves of her cloak, her unblinking gaze fixed on the king.
Arthur looked to Merlin, his blue eyes troubled. "Are you sure about this plan?"
"If it doesn't work, we have nothing to lose," Merlin answered. They had discussed this and discussed it again; it was time for him to act. Despite the doubt and terror that swirled in his gut, he wanted to face her, he wanted to end this.
"Except you," Arthur said with a frown. "Morgana will not hesitate to kill you."
Merlin gave him a lopsided grin. "I'll do my best not to let her." As he would do his best not to allow his sympathy for Morgana or his remorse for what she had become to get in his way this time. They were counting on him. There would be no second chance.
"I should stay with Merlin," Gwaine proposed yet again.
"You can't protect me from Morgana, she's too powerful." Merlin met Arthur's gaze steadily. "Morgana will come looking for me, and we need to keep her away from the battle for as long as possible."
"But if anything happens to you, we're lost," Arthur said.
It was a momentous admission for Camelot's king, an acknowledgement Merlin had nearly despaired of hearing, and a rush of emotion swelled in his breast.
"I will protect Emrys," Finna said. "Only he can carry our hopes now. It is my destiny to serve him until the end; I could wish for nothing more."
Merlin's chest ached at her words. He resolved to earn the loyalty Finna and Alator had given him and to ensure Alator's death would help build the world he had dreamt of.
He looked from the grey-haired priestess to the blond king, unashamed of the moisture clouding his vision. "I have to be the one to face her," Merlin said softly. He had not chosen that destiny, but he could not escape it.
~0~
Merlin made no attempt to conceal himself. He stood at the edge of a steep embankment, far enough from the field of battle to be beyond the fighting, although he had a sword with him. He could see Urien's forces assembled in the narrow pass below, armour and weapons glinting in the light slanting over the eastern horizon. Merlin also had a clear view of Arthur raising his sword into the air, and although Merlin was too far away to hear the king's rallying cry, he felt the force of it just the same.
The Camelot soldiers and Rheged's forces charged toward each other, meeting with a horrendous clash of metal and shouts. Merlin could see Urien himself among his troops, his standard held high, but there was no sign of Morgana. For a moment he had a sickening thought that he had guessed wrong, that she was not here, and then he heard her jeering voice behind him.
"Hello, Emrys."
He spun around, sword clenched tightly, although he knew how little use such a weapon would be against her. She stood several paces away at the edge of a wooded area that stretched up the steep hill. Her tattered black clothing was a dark shadow against the budding undergrowth lit by the morning sun.
Merlin needed to lure her closer. "Still afraid of me?" he taunted.
"I fear no one, least of all you." A ball of pure energy formed in her hand and she sent it flying at him.
He dived out of the way, fell to the ground, and struck his knee against a sharp rock. Morgana had not moved one step closer.
Merlin got to his feet and pointed his sword at the sorceress, hoping she did not notice the blade's slight wobble.
"I am a High Priestess; no mortal blade can kill me." Her delicate features were twisted by the self-righteous sneer she wore so often now, confident in both her power and the virtue of her quest to rule Camelot.
He stood his ground without lowering the blade.
"Is that the only weapon you wield against me?" The corner of her lip turned up as she lifted her chin. "No fireballs? No lightning bolts? No blast of magic to send me to my knees?"
He gritted his teeth but said nothing.
She came closer. "But if you do not have magic–"
His eyes narrowed.
"–how will you stop me from killing Arthur and claiming the throne that was meant to be mine?"
He clenched his jaw so tightly his teeth ached but refused to reply.
A bark of laughter grated from Morgana's slender throat. "Well, are you going to stop me before crows peck the eyes out of his carcass and wolves bathe in his blood?" She paused in her approach, one black brow raised.
Merlin clenched the sword more tightly. "I will stop you."
He held the blade stretched in front of him. She was still too far away.
Her eyes flashed golden. He was thrown backward and the sword flew from his grasp as his tailbone cracked against the rocky ground. Despite the pain ringing in his ears, he lifted his head only to see his sword rise from the grass and hover in front of him, blade pointed at his chest.
Finally, Morgana came within arm's reach, but now he was pinned by the sword suspended a hand's breadth from his breast. She reached out her hand and opened her mouth to incant a spell.
In that instant, another voice came from a clump of brush not far away.
At the new incantation, the sword wavered and its blade rotated slowly away from Merlin to point toward Morgana. She whirled to face what she had not bothered to notice earlier: a woman in a blue woolen cloak, a black headscarf covering her grey hair. Her lined face was serene as the gold faded from her eyes.
Morgana spoke one word and the sword hurtled toward Finna.
"No!" Merlin shouted, but the blade had pierced her heart.
When Finna fell dead, fury burned through him. He leapt to his feet and grasped Morgana's arm, his eyes flashing gold as he recited the spell to hold her immobile. Knowing the incantation would last for only a moment, he quickly withdrew an elaborately engraved silver vial from his pouch and poured the contents down her throat.
Horror dawned in her face, but his last twinge of sympathy was drowned in anger at Finna's sacrifice. "You sent the same traitor into Camelot twice?" Merlin said. "Did you really think we wouldn't suspect Sefa? We found the vial the second time we searched her things. It was a simple matter to switch the elixir you gave her for another vial with a harmless liquid."
The effects of the immobilization spell weakened and Morgana lifted a hand to her throat, coughing and gasping. He released his hold on her arm, watching as she staggered backward away from him.
Fury replaced the frozen terror in her face and she raised a hand toward him. When nothing happened, she stared at her own hands as if unsure they belonged to her. Then she glared malevolently at Merlin and shouted another spell, but again there was no effect.
"You will not win, no matter what foul deed you have done to me." The coldness in her eyes made him flinch.
A swell of sound reached them from the battlefield and both turned their attention to the scene below. The standards of the two kings were in close proximity. The Camelot knights fought valiantly, but the bulk of soldiers wearing Urien's silver wolf had surrounded Arthur, cutting him off from his men. He valiantly held them at bay, but it would not be long before they overpowered him by sheer force of numbers.
Morgana smirked. "You have not saved Arthur yet. The throne of Camelot will be mine."
With a last glance at her, Merlin sprinted toward the fighting, scrambling down the steep embankment in a shower of tiny stones. He carved a path through the battle, ignoring the familiar sounds of metal cutting through human flesh and grunts of pain. He dodged the swinging weapons when he could and used magic to clear his way when necessary, wincing as he swept aside Camelot fighters along with enemy soldiers in the confusion of combat.
Merlin finally caught sight of Arthur, surrounded by Rheged soldiers fighting desperately to keep the red-coated knights from reaching their king's side. Merlin ducked beneath the slashing blades to see both monarchs facing each other.
Arthur breathed heavily, his blond hair matted with sweat, as he faced the other king within the ring of enemy soldiers.
"The battle is lost, Urien," Arthur said.
"It won't matter if you're dead," Urien answered calmly. "Morgana will claim the crown of Camelot and I will accept the allegiance of the other kings in your place."
"They don't answer to me." Despite his obvious fatigue, Arthur's voice was strong.
"Don't they?" Urien scoffed. "They follow you like sheep: Olaf, Meliant, Gwynllyw, Annis, that fool Alined. They will all swear fealty to me now and Morgana can do as she likes with Camelot."
Arthur's knuckles whitened on the hilt of his sword. "Guinevere will rule in the event of my death."
Urien's eyes widened and his thin lip curled beneath his thick blond mustache. "The peasant queen? She will never be accepted, nor will she be allowed to retain her undeserved position when one of noble blood – royal blood, even – can assume the throne after your death."
"But I'm still alive." Arthur drew himself up, his attention on his opponent even as his sword was held low, ready to sweep in any direction at the enemies surrounding him.
"Not for long." Urien's eyes glittered in triumph. "Your pet sorcerer is powerless and your knights can be held at bay long enough to end your life and your reign."
The circle of Rheged soldiers raised their blades.
Before they could close around King Arthur, they were tossed aside like leaves on the wind. A wall of flame sprang up between the soldiers wearing the silver wolf and the king with the gold dragon crest. The Rheged knights fell back in alarm. Immediately, the red-cloaked knights fighting to break through to the side of their king pressed their advantage with shouts of "For the love of Camelot!".
Urien flinched, one arm flung up to shield his face from the fire's heat.
Arthur's eyes met Merlin's where he stood within the wall of flame that separated him and the two kings from the fighting around them. With a slight nod, Merlin acknowledged the silent gratitude, knowing his friend would need no further help from him.
Arthur twirled his sword expertly. "I believe you are misinformed. You have lost the battle and the war. Do you surrender?"
"No," Urien growled, raising his sword.
The kings circled each other cautiously, then came together with a loud clash of metal on metal. They exchanged several blows before they parted, circling each other warily. Abruptly they clashed again. Arthur ducked a killing blow and kicked Urien's right side adding to the force of the missed swing. With a grunt, the older king landed heavily on the trampled ground.
Before he could rise, Arthur pressed his sword to Urien's thick neck. "If you agree to swear fealty to me, I will allow you to retain your crown and your kingdom under my authority."
The older king's thin lips compressed until they disappeared in his bushy blond beard. The fire was gone and a heavy stillness indicated the fighting around them was over. Several red-cloaked knights stood watching, with not one silver wolf emblem visible among them.
Urien's shoulders slumped. He made no attempt to get to his feet. "I surrender, my lord."
~0~
By the time Arthur had received reports, honoured the dead, heartened the wounded, and negotiated the final terms for the subjugation of Rheged, no daylight remained. He had seen Merlin make his way alone to the ridge overlooking the battlefield to give Finna a proper memorial. The king had not seen his friend since, nor had time to give him much thought.
Exhausted, Arthur entered his tent to find Merlin sitting alone, staring into a candle flame. At the king's entrance, the sorcerer got to his feet and gave the most respectful bow Arthur had ever seen from him.
"Sire," Merlin said gravely. Then a smile split his face. "You did it. You united the land of Albion."
The enormity of that responsibility pierced Arthur suddenly. "How can I demand allegiance from other kings?" He was not ready. He was too young. He was too inexperienced. He had no right to demand that other kings kneel to him. "My father expected everyone to follow his lead without question, but even he did not ask to rule other kingdoms."
"Uther reigned through fear," Merlin said quietly. "The other kings, your people, they follow you because of what they see in you, what Gwen sees, what I see."
The king felt the knot of self-doubt loosen.
"You barely knew me when you trusted my word against a knight's and determined to face him anyway, knowing he was cheating, yet you fought fair and bravely. I have watched you grow from a hot-headed warrior to a seasoned leader who knows the value of peace. You don't demand allegiance from other rulers, they choose to give it because of who you are. There will never be another like you, Arthur."
At Merlin's words, at the simple faith shining in his eyes, Arthur truly believed he could rule Albion, but at the same time he was humbled. Urien's men had surrounded him, five of them to every Camelot knight, ordered to ensure Arthur did not survive even though the battle was won, yet they were tossed aside. He thought of Morgana, powerless, and of an earthquake shaking the tomb before Odin could execute him, and of a sword in his hand coming loose from solid stone for him to raise high into the air, its blade flashing in the sunlight.
He looked at Merlin. "Thanks to you, old friend. I may not know everything you've done for me, for Camelot, for the kingdom you helped me build, but I understand how much of it I owe to you," Arthur said.
He held out his arm and Merlin grasped it. The dark-haired young man's eyes were shining when the king let go.
"Are we done with the gibberish about destiny now?"
Merlin smiled. "We should make it official, first. A peace treaty among all the kingdoms of Albion acknowledging you as the Once and Future king of legend."
Arthur frowned. "What is that supposed to mean, anyway? And why do some people call you Emrys?"
"I don't know," Merlin said. "I wonder if the prophecies got some facts wrong, like you being strong and noble instead of an arrogant ass."
"And you being wise instead of an idiot?"
The sorcerer grinned.
"You didn't kill Morgana after all."
The smile vanished. "No," Merlin said. "What I did was worse."
"Worse than death?" Arthur joked.
Merlin regarded him seriously. "I would rather be dead than live without magic."
"You did what you had to do." Arthur sighed. "She wasn't found, you know. She vanished again."
"It doesn't matter; she's penniless and without power or allies. All the kingdoms are sworn to you."
"There is Lot's kingdom."
"Essetir is a territory more than a kingdom. Lot barely maintains order near his own stronghold; slavers and bandits have their run of the outer villages. Trust me, I know."
Arthur grimaced in agreement. "It is, however, a perfect buffer between Albion and the Saxons." The king looked at Merlin. "If you want your mother to live someplace safer, she would be welcome in Camelot."
"Ealdor is her home. She's adamant that she has no wish to live anyplace else, but thank you, Arthur," Merlin said. "I think I'll visit her now that I can take a few days off from saving your royal backside."
Arthur raised his brows. "Who said you could have a few days off?"
"A wise, noble, generous ruler like yourself would be pleased to make such a kind gesture to a loyal and faithful servant."
"On the other hand, it will not be true peace without a break from your constant prattle."
"Thank you, Sire." Merlin's bow was not quite as deep this time, his lips twitching to hold back a smile.
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