Alaia Skyhawk: Hehehe, seems a lot of people are looking forward to Kilgharrah's first appearance. Well then, I'm not going to disappoint... It's the first scene XD
And yeah, I've filled in some of the details that were in the cave later, but not during Season 1... like the stairs Merlin uses in S2:12. They're not there in season 1 XD
Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.
~(-)~
Chapter 3: The Dragon's Call ~Part 3~
...Merlin ...Merlin...
Merlin opened his eyes, frowning as he once again heard the strange voice. Who was it? Why were they calling him? Why was the voice still sounding like it was coming from somewhere far below him?
He sat up, sliding his feet off the bed so he could pull his boots on, before pulling his jacket on over his nightshirt and sneaking out of his room. Gaius fast asleep, snoring quite loudly in fact. He stirred for a moment when Merlin, heart in throat, knocked something on one of the tables, but just rolled over and continued his nasal rattling.
Merlin smiled a little at that, about to leave the room before noticing Gaius' movement had dislodged his blanket. A glimmer of gold in Merlin's eyes heralded the covering resettling itself, the young man's smile widening happily at that innocent, thoughtful, and good use of magic.
It was nothing to be ashamed of.
Merlin descended the stairs, ignoring the usual door into the castle and continuing down the spiral all the way to the ground floor. After this path discovering yesterday, he'd wondered why the guards and servants had sent him the long way, but then he'd realised that most people took the long way when going to see him... It's rather hard to carry patients up a large number of narrow and tightly-curving stairs.
Arriving at the edge of the central courtyard, Merlin peered out across it. Should he walk straight across the middle and risk the guards asking him what he was doing walking about so late? Or should he just stick to the shadows? But then, sticking to the shadows would make it look like he had something to hide. He picked the former option, plastering an irritated look on his face to make it seem he'd been sent on a late errand and was annoyed by it. It seemed to work, because the guards near the main gate gave him a single glance and then ignored him.
Reaching the other side, Merlin smiled to himself in victory. That was too easy. The first hurdle passed, now he needed to get down into the lower levels where the strange voice had been louder. He headed for the stairway he'd been taken down last night, reasoning that if one of the gated doorways down there led to the dungeons, the other must lead deeper. When he got there and looked over the stair-rail, he grimaced when he saw two guards sat at a table set below. He might have given up then, were it not for the fact one of them rolled a pair of dice and he realised something.
Two guards, on duty, who were bored enough to be playing dice when they shouldn't be. These two were going to be easily distracted.
Merlin narrowed his eyes in concentration, willing the dice to skitter off the table the next time they were rolled. The guard who'd rolled them got up to retrieve them, and Merlin realised that he needed to get them out of this stair area.
Without thinking, he made the dice move again, wincing when he realised that this time there was no excuse for them to move like that. But the guards just frowned and pursued them again, and again, and again, as Merlin continued to flick them across the floor with a growing sense of strangeness. Were these two really that dumb?
He hurried quietly down the steps after giving the dice one last hard flick to send them right down the passage to the dungeons, pausing at the guard's table as he passed. He picked one of the large mugs up and gave it a sniff, rolling his eyes to himself before putting it back and grabbing a nearby torch and lighting it. That was why they were dumb, because they were also bored enough that they were drinking on the job... Both of them were drunk.
Confident he was going to have no trouble getting past those two on the way back, Merlin descended the stairs that lay beyond the other door, his assumption correct in that it had led deeper below the castle. The strange, echoing voice continued to call him onwards, growing louder as he passed through the well-kept areas of passages and into areas strewn with cobwebs and dust. It looked like little or no one came down this way, so who was calling him? Reaching a rusted gate and walking through it, that question became even more important because of where he found himself.
He stared, surprised, out across the massive cavern. It was a huge cave, and he was stood on a tiny ledge at one side of it. Stairs led down from it to his right, winding across the cavern floor and up the side of a rocky outcrop just a short distance away. There seemed to be a massive metal chain anchored into the top of that, and staring at it his question changed to what would need a chain that big to hold it.
The voice came again, this time laughing, Merlin looking around trying to see the source as he called out.
"Where are you?"
There was a rattle of chain and a rush of air, great thundering wing-beats suddenly sounding as the massive creature flew up out of concealment from below and beyond the rocky outcrop. It landed on top it, great bat-like wings spread, as it tilted its head to regard him thoughtfully.
Merlin stared at it, gaping, before starting to stammer.
"Y-you're the dragon... That Gaius said the king imprisoned."
The dragon's head tilted further, before he spoke with a note of slight sarcasm.
"I would think that would be obvious at this point." He leaned his head closer, Merlin backing up towards the back of the ledge while those massive golden eyes inspected him. "How small you are, for such a great destiny."
Merlin stare had gone to the dragon's rather sharp teeth as it had spoken, hardly surprising considering the jaws they were set into were big enough to swallow him whole. But that thought came to a grinding halt when the words registered, and previous fright forgotten, Merlin took a step forward.
"Why? What do you mean? What destiny?"
The dragon settled himself, laying down atop the outcrop and folding his wings closed. The golden-scaled creature could see the need in Merlin's expression, hear in his voice that need to be given an answer.
"Your gift, Merlin, was given to you for a reason. A very important one, that will affect a great many people for centuries to come."
"So there is a reason?"
The dragon smiled slightly, gazing as he was at this young and inexperienced warlock, and chuckled for a moment.
"Yes... Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the land of Albion."
Merlin's eager and urgent expression changed to a gradually sceptical frown. Did he just hear that?
"...Right..."
The dragon didn't seem to notice.
"But he will face many threats, from friend and foe alike."
Merlin started to shake his head.
"I don't see what this has got to do with me?"
"Everything!" The dragon's sharp answer made the warlock flinch, before it then explained why it meant everything. "Without you, Arthur will never succeed. Without you, there will be no Albion..."
Once again Merlin was shaking his head. Was this dragon serious?
"No, no you've got this wrong."
"There is no right or wrong, only what is and isn't."
Merlin kept staring at the dragon, a dragon that clearly thought it knew what it was talking about.
"Well I'm serious! If anyone wants to go and kill him they can go right ahead. In fact I'd give them a hand!"
Again the laughter, that head coming closer as the dragon spoke with amusement that changed to solemn gravity.
"None of us can choose our destiny, Merlin... and none of us can escape it..."
Yes, it was speaking like it knew what it was talking about, and he was starting to realise that arguing with it was going to be a bit pointless even as he kept trying to deny it.
"No... No way. There must be another Arthur, because this one's an idiot."
The dragon smiled, spreading its wings.
"Then perhaps it's your destiny to change that."
It took flight, flying high up into the cavern with the chain that kept it here trailing behind it. It ignored his shouts for it to come back, to tell him more. He stood there for several moments after the chain went still, the dragon clearing having taken perch somewhere high above, before muttering under his breath and leaving. One moment he thought he was going to get answers, and instead he'd only ended up with more questions.
~(-)~
His mood wasn't entirely improved the next morning, when woken by the sound of Gaius reprimanding him for the mess his room was in. That had been followed by a command to tidy his room, deliver a remedy to the Lady Morgana, and then go collect some herbs... He figured it was a good idea to do them in that order.
Stuffing a last few items into his cupboard, before kicking a few things under his bed, Merlin picked up the bottle that had been left and went in. Finding the lady's rooms turned out not to be that hard, they were located in their own little private hallway accessed by a set of stairs from one of the main passages in the nobles' wing. A pity that easy didn't carry over to what followed.
Merlin entered the room through the door that had been left open, the Lady Morgana in the process of heading to her dressing screen. She heard his footsteps, assuming him to be Gwen, and while the following monologue of what she thought of Arthur was interesting to hear, it didn't quite make up for the fact that he was in a very awkward situation. When the moment came that she asked for 'some help with this fastening', meaning the dress she had changed into behind the screen, it was with great relief he saw Gwen enter the room and frown at him in puzzlement as Morgana called out.
"Gwen, are you there?"
"I'm here..."
Merlin hurried towards the door, whispering.
"She thought I was you. This is from Gaius, for her nightmares."
He passed her the bottle as her expression registered her understanding, darting out of the room before anything else could happen.
He was having another of those 'need for fresh air' moments, heading out of the castle and city, and into the surrounding woodland, to look for the herbs Gaius had requested. Luckily they were common ones that most commoners knew and used on a daily basis, so it didn't take him long to locate some and stuff them into the cloth sack he had with him.
Task done, but unwilling to head back into the city just yet, he slumped down and sat at the base of a tree, thinking. Was everything the dragon had said last night, true? Was he really supposed to help Arthur create some important kingdom called Albion? Was he really supposed to help Arthur by making him stop being such an idiot?
He sighed, both bemused and sceptical. How exactly was he supposed to do that? Seriously. All he'd done so far was get on Arthur's nerves and get himself put in the stocks.
Merlin blinked, remembering something which he murmured aloud.
"And after that I told Bern that maybe if he'd stood up to Arthur and not let him walk all over him, Arthur wouldn't be such an ass... Before I stood up to him at the market because I wanted teach him that people aren't there just to be pushed around." His expression became incredulous and disbelieving. "I was already trying to change him without even thinking about it? I just did it without knowing why... But that's just..."
Merlin seemed to deflate, maybe not so sceptical as he was a moment ago. It was so crazy a coincidence that it really might just be destiny.
He got up, feeling for a moment like he wanted to beat his head off the nearest tree. Was this some sort of cosmic joke? To tell him he was supposed to protect an arrogant prince and turn him into some sort of wonderful king? Not wanting to believe it, he headed back into the city and to the castle. He left the bag of herbs on a table in the main room of Gaius' chambers, before going into his room and tidying it properly this time.
Sweeping his floor, his thoughts once again turned to what the dragon had said, Merlin unable to push his mind away from it. Giving up, he sat on the end of his bed and stuck his head in his hands. Knowing that there was a reason for his powers was starting to turn out to be worse that thinking there wasn't.
He stayed sat there, confused, until Gaius got back from his rounds, then forced to sweep the main chamber while the physician prepared a small meal for him. As Court Physician, Gaius would be a guest at the feast, but Merlin was going to be stuck standing off to one side ready to run errands, and also not get any food.
Watching his ward devour the sandwich he'd made him, Gaius sat down opposite and spoke in a firm tone.
"Now, I want you to be on your best behaviour. You are not to talk to any of the guests, although you may talk within reason to the servants. Don't get in the way of their jobs. When the feast starts and Lady Helen makes her performance for the court, you are to stand where I tell you and stay silent. Any noise or interruption of her will anger the king, and he won't be as forgiving this time. Not so soon after your foolhardy attempt to hit his son."
Merlin sighed, swallowing his mouthful and replying.
"Don't worry, I have no intention of being thrown back in that cell or being put in the stocks again. I shall display all the respect and humility they expect of me tonight. Getting back at Arthur for being such an ass isn't worth that happening again."
Gaius started to smile.
"Good to see you've realised that. Just keep your head down and I'll find you some work well away from both of them. After that, everything should be fi... Merlin, are you all right?"
Merlin had gone rigid, dropping the remainder of his sandwich and shuddering for a moment as if a finger of ice had crawled up his spine. It was almost like what he'd felt before, in Lady Helen's guest room, but worse, and he couldn't figure out why it made him so nervous.
He shook his head, forcing a smile and a laugh as he picked the food up again.
"It's nothing, I just thinking about something."
"Was it about that sorcerer you said you met?"
Merlin flinched, frowning.
"No, but why are you interested in him?"
Gaius folded his arms on the table.
"It was the magic you described him doing. That he waved a hand and made the wind lift some leaves into the air. Did he say any incantation at all?"
Merlin shook his head.
"Nothing, he just moved his hand. I do magic like that all the time, so I didn't think it was strange."
Gaius sighed.
"Well it sounds like the boy you met had an elemental affinity for wind; the power to call it to his command with no need for spells. Given how rare such gifts are, it's ironic that you should meet someone with it. Did he tell you his name?"
Again a shake of his head.
"No, I forgot to ask him, and by the time I realised it he'd already gone. He was travelling with some friends, I uh... He almost hit me with an arrow while hunting and my friend Will didn't react too well. One of his friends snatched the stick from Will that he tried to hit them with, and I thought they were going to hit Will and..."
"You used your magic."
Merlin winced.
"Will was ok with it, and never told anyone, and that sorcerer said his friends knew he had magic and weren't bothered either. That friends were friends, and real ones would never judge us for our powers. Me and Will didn't tell my mother what happened, that he knew about me. It was finding out that he did that made her send me here."
Gaius nodded in understanding.
"Well from her letter it's clear she only has your best interests and safety at heart. I'm sure you can go visit your friend again at some point. In fact I'll try and arrange it once you've been here long enough for her to calm down his knowing." He stood up, getting one of his best over-robes from where it hung nearby and swapping it for the one he'd been wearing. "Well, we'd best be moving, or I'm going to be late for the feast."
Merlin stuffed the last of his sandwich into his mouth, following Gaius through the castle to the lesser dining hall. The Great Hall was only used for extremely important banquets, with festivals and more general events held in here.
The chamber was crowded with gathered nobles and with servants moving about. Food adorned the tables in lavish displays, and had he not already just eaten then Merlin would have been more jealous of Gaius being a guest at this than he presently was.
Merlin spotted Arthur, laughing and talking with a group of other young noblemen, rolling his eyes a little at the sight of the prince being a show off in front of his friends. But when Arthur suddenly stopped and stared to one side, Merlin followed that gaze and became equally entranced.
Morgana had been beautiful when he saw her earlier, but now she looked simply stunning. Gwen walked along behind her, clearly pleased with the impression her lady was making. When Gaius spotted his ward gawking at the king's ward, he nudged him with an elbow to jolt him from his reverie.
"Merlin, you're here to work."
He moved away to talk to some of the other guests, as Gwen stopped beside Merlin to speak to him.
"She looks great, doesn't she. Some people are just born to be queen."
Merlin raised his eyebrows. That beauty married to an idiot like Arthur?
"Her?"
Gwen nodded.
"I hope so, not that I'd want to be her... Who'd want to marry Arthur?"
Merlin started to grin.
"I thought you liked those rough, tough, save the world sort of men."
"No, I like much more ordinary men like you."
He chuckled, knowing full well that she hadn't mean that how it sounded.
"Gwen, believe me I'm not ordinary."
She seemed to freeze, as she realised how what she'd said could be taken. Flustered by it.
"I-I didn't mean you, obviously... Not you, but you know, I like much more ordinary men... like you."
He gave her a long look, knowing she hadn't meant any offence by that remark.
"Thanks..."
Awkward silence ensued, both of them going in opposite directions. When Merlin went over to him Gaius sent him to stand by a doorway at the rear left of the high table, alongside a disgruntled Bern who also stood there. He hadn't been there long when trumpets sounded and the king arrived, Uther turning to his guests with a smile once they'd moved to their positions at the tables.
"We have enjoyed twenty years of peace and prosperity. It has brought the kingdom, and myself, many pleasures. But few can compare with the honour of introducing... Lady Helen of Mora."
With an outstretch hand he indicated where Lady Helen had entered and stop atop a low dais, before moving to his seat at the high table while everyone applauded her. All eyes were on her as she stood there, waiting for the clapping to fall silent before she sang with ethereal purity.
Her voice carried through the hall, entrancing all with its beauty, her soft words spoken in a language of old. But for some reason Merlin couldn't make himself really listen, a shiver running up his spine. The words, they plucked at the edge of his mind like he should know what they meant, and then as she began to slowly walk the length of the hall towards the high table he noticed that the guests and guards were falling asleep.
Servants slumped to the floor, the heads of nobles lay down to rest on tables, and he covered his ears to muffle the voice whose beauty now only made him feel cold. Candles spluttered into darkness, strands of silken spider webs began to cloak everything and everyone in the room, and he found his eyes following hers to the young man she stared at with deep intensity.
Arthur... She was after Arthur...
Merlin looked around frantically, for a guard or someone to stop her, but everyone one was asleep, and that's when he realised... Why was he hesitating to use magic when there was no one but the presently occupied Lady Helen awake to see him do it.
He looked up at the chandelier she'd just stepped under in her progress towards the high table, and with a glow of golden eyes he struck it with his power and broke it free of the chain it hung from.
Lady Helen, who had drawn a dagger from her sleeve to throw at the prince, looked up when she heard it fall, but was unable to avoid it. It knocked her to the stone floor, landing atop her with a sound that alone revealed the damage it had done would be fatal.
The room was in silence, the song ended, and the people began to stir and pull the cobwebs off themselves. Several, including the king and Arthur, stood up before staring in shock at the downed woman... Who no longer looked like Lady Helen, but was rather the mother of the executed Thomas Collins, who had sworn to get revenge on Uther by killing his son as retribution.
She pushed herself up on her hands, the last of the life already fading from her where she lay trapped by the chandelier, but she was determined to see her goal achieved. With a last yell of effort, she grabbed the dagger from the floor and flung it with the remainder of her power, the blade flying through the air with unstoppable force.
Merlin didn't know what came over him, any thought that someone might notice his magic washed aside by an overwhelming instinct to act. She was trying to kill Arthur, a young man who had done nothing to her, and she was doing it purely to get at his father... It wasn't right, no matter how much of a prat he was.
His eyes glimmered gold, the world seeming to slow to a crawl around him, as he sped his own time up like he'd done in short bursts to dodge Arthur at the market. It was as well everyone was staring at the witch or the dagger, or it might have been noted that for a few moments he moved far faster than was natural. But in this moment the thought never occurred to him, all that mattered was pulling the prince out of the path of that blade.
The dagger slammed into the backrest of Arthur's chair, embedding itself in the wood almost halfway to the hilt from sheer force. Arthur stared at it from where he had landed sprawled on the floor beside Merlin, getting to his feet as the last breath left the defeated body of the witch.
He stared at her, shocked by what had just happened, Merlin standing at his shoulder equally shaken. It was then Uther approached them, his expression one of relief and gratitude.
"You saved my boy's life. A debt must be repaid."
Merlin looked at him, averting his eyes again before starting to stammer, while nearby Bern was watching in disbelief from where he'd slumped to the floor under the witch's spell.
"Um... well..."
Uther started to smile a little.
"Don't be so modest. You shall be rewarded."
Merlin bowed his head, still too flustered to look at the king. That had been too close a call for comfort.
"No, honestly, you don't have to, Your Highness."
"No, absolutely." Uther was determined, there would be no changing his mind. "This merits something quite special. You will be awarded a position in the royal household." He put a hand on his son's shoulder. "You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant."
"Father!"
Arthur's indignant cry was lost in the applause of those present, as was Bern's shocked gasp when he realised he'd just been kicked from his job. Both Merlin and Arthur's expression read the same thing, an express desire to believe that this was some horrible joke, before both turned away from each other in disgust.
The guests began to file out, while the guards took care of the witch's body, and Gaius came over to lead the still conflicted Merlin away. He let Merlin retreat to his room while retrieving something he'd hidden in the bottom of one of his chests long ago, before taking the scarlet-wrapped bundle into the smaller room. Merlin had a strangely thoughtful expression on his face, sat as he was against the wall, leaning on his table.
"Well it seems you're a hero."
Merlin managed a smile, weak attempt at humour when he clearly had other things on his mind.
"Hard to believe, isn't it."
Gaius smiled slightly.
"No... I knew it from the moment I met you. You saved my life, remember."
Merlin looked confused. Hadn't Gaius been telling him off for using his powers?
"But that was magic?"
The physician nodded.
"Yes, and it seems we've finally found a use for it."
"What do you mean?"
Gaius sighed.
"I saw how you used it to save Arthur's life. Perhaps that's its purpose."
Merlin, who had been about to try deny the implication, gave up with a bemused look and a small sigh.
"My destiny..."
"Indeed." Gaius came closer, holding out the bundle. "This book was given to me when I was about your age, but I have a feeling it will be far more use to you than it was to me."
Merlin accepted it, regarding Gaius while trying to fathom what this gift might be. He unfolded the red cloth from around what was within, revealing an old and beautiful leather bound book closed with gilded straps and latches. Giving another glance to the physician, he unclipped them and opened the book, his expression changing to dawning wonder at the treasure trove of manuscripts, writings, and drawings that adorned it and the many loose pieces of parchment it contained among its pages.
"But this is a book of magic..."
Gaius was smiling at his ward's reaction, but his voice still held a note of warning.
"Which is why you must keep it hidden."
Merlin was now grinning, elated as he directed that smile at his guardian. All thoughts of destiny and worry pushed aside at this moment.
"I will study every word."
There was a knock outside, at the outer chamber's door, a guard calling to the two men within.
"Merlin, Prince Arthur wants to see you right away."
Gaius turned to the warlock, still smiling.
"You destiny is calling... You'd better find out what he wants."
After a moment of hesitation, Merlin reluctantly set the book down on his table and left to follow the guard. After all this, who knew what he had to expect from now on.
~(-)~
Alaia Skyhawk: Well, I churned out episode one super fast just to get this fic up and running. I'm going to go do parts two and three of "Negotiations" in Whom History, before I come back to this fic and deliver to you the first SUB-EP! "Settling In". Yes, everyone, I am doing sub-eps for ALL of seasons 1 & 2! :D