Alaia Skyhawk: Hehehe, someone is making an early appearance in this one. I wasn't about to wait until the Season 2 eps to introduce him XD
Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.
Music: The Machinations of Cedric (Merlin OST) A Place in Heaven (by Two Steps From Hell)
"Whom History Won't Remember" Episode: N/A
~(-)~
Chapter 42: Staff of the Sidhe ~Part 3~
The sound of the rooster crowing at the hint of false dawn, was not something Merlin had been looking forward to. Whereas yesterday he'd leapt from his bed, this time he hesitated with the groan of a young man who had gotten far less sleep than he'd wanted. In fact, had it not meant missing the lesson with Arthur, then he would have settled for being told off for being late for even just a few minutes more rest.
He started to sit up, eyes scrunched closed as he rubbed at them, only to fly open wide when something slapped into his face.
He flinched, staring down at the boot which now sat in his lap, and barely ducked in time when its partner followed it a matter of seconds later. He stared at them, at a loss, until almost horrified he looked around at his room.
There were things all over the floor, but far worse were the dozen or so items that were floating in mid-air. A candle over near the window was spontaneously lighting itself and going out again every few seconds, and a random cloth had seemingly decided to dust his closet.
In a panic, he pointed at it and shouted.
"Stop that!"
The cloth dropped to the floor, and all of a sudden he felt the eerie prickling of the hairs on his neck standing on end. He began to point to other things, telling them, without using magic, to return to where they should be, and one after the other they did it, while somewhere a short distance beneath him he sensed the shiver of magic.
He rolled off his bed and reached under it, lifting the section of floor and pulling out the staff. He then frowned at it, before pointing to the last item still floating. This time at his verbal command, he felt the staff buzz in his grip almost in protest, like a small child having been told off for doing something it shouldn't be, and that confirmed his worst fears.
He shoved the staff back under his bed and burst out of his room, the slam of his wooden door jolting Gaius awake even before his ward got to him and started to shake him... And it wasn't like the main chamber was any better than the smaller room had been.
Gaius went wide-eyed at the sight of things strewn about the floor, and others floating, in a visible gradient of fewer items the further away from the other room it was.
"What in the name of... Merlin!"
The warlock shook his head.
"Gaius, I'm pretty sure that this isn't me. My room was the same, but it stopped when I told it to." He gestured to several of the floating objects. "Return to your tables."
The items obeyed, Gaius now staring at his ward.
"How is this possible? You're not using magic."
Merlin was still commanding things to stop floating, before pausing to glance at the physician.
"It was worse than this in my room, and look... The closer to my room, the more things there are floating. And what's in my room that wasn't there before?"
"The staff!"
Merlin nodded, finishing with the last of the items and grimacing.
"I can't skip on that lesson with Arthur, but I need you to find something useful about that thing. Some stuff fell over in the storeroom on the floor below us yesterday, and if this keeps up then things in there could be floating by this time tomorrow."
Gaius started to frown.
"We have to get rid of the staff then!"
"But where? I can't just dump it where it can cause trouble, or someone might find it and use it against Camelot. I can't!" Merlin was starting to get frustrated. "The weird thing is, it's obvious the thing is listening to my commands, but at the same time it seems to be copying my magic. The things I've used since I got back from the lake. It's just lucky I haven't used any fire spells other than lighting a candle. So if any candles in here start spontaneously lighting themselves and then going out again, you know what it is."
Gaius now wore an expression of incredulity.
"It's copying you?"
Merlin nodded, completely serious.
"Well that's what it looks like, because none of what was happening in my room just now, were things I haven't done with magic in the past couple of days. Including my boots flying through the air towards me, except yesterday they landed on the floor, not in my face." He returned to his room, dressed, and grabbed his sword from where he'd left it yesterday before heading for the door. "I have to go or I'll be late. I'll make sure nothing is happening in the store room as well. Just find something about how we can stop this, before it gets me caught."
Gaius stared after him, before he immediately left as well to head for the Hall of Records. It was with great thanks that he knew Geoffrey never asked what books it was he was borrowing from the non-secure sections, although at this time of morning the man would hopefully not be there at all.
~(-)~
"All right, Merlin. What's wrong?"
Merlin flinched, grimacing as he picked up the sword he had just dropped. Worries about spontaneously floating objects, that could result in him getting caught and sent for execution, were not necessarily the best thing to have on your mind when swinging around a sharp metal tool of maiming.
He kept his eyes fixed on the hilt, a finger tracing the letters of his name.
"Uh, nothing. Everything's fine."
Arthur gave him a long look, a long knowing look. His tone was almost teasing.
"Oh, come on, Merlin. It's obvious you're hiding something. Go on, you can tell me."
"No no, really, it's nothing."
He still refused to look at Arthur, and for once the prince's denseness did something it rarely did... It did something useful. The prince walked over to Merlin, slapped a hand onto his shoulder, and smirked.
"You're afraid I'm going to tell you off. For heaven's sake, Merlin, I'm not going to throw you in the stocks for doing something stupid... It's far too amusing watching you make an idiot out of yourself."
Instant save... There were times when Arthur's dismissive attitude was a blessing, it made pushing odd things past him far too easy.
Merlin finally lifted his head, looking a bit tentative.
"Well, um, Gaius needed some help sorting out his inventory. He would have asked for you to loan me to him for the second half of today, but with you giving me these lessons he didn't want to impose. But I, um..."
"You wanted to ask me anyway." Arthur chuckled, shaking his head. "Merlin, Gaius is the Court Physician, and you're his ward. You know how he works better than anyone else in Camelot, and if he needs you to help him for one afternoon it would be petty of me to begrudge him." He turned away, resuming the stance and position of the strike he'd been showing him. "Now back to the lesson, and concentrate this time. You can go help Gaius this afternoon so long as you get all your main chores done, and still bring me my evening meal. You can catch up with the rest tomorrow."
Merlin managed a weak smile.
"Uh yeah, thanks."
He began to copy the drill, unaware of the thoughts going through Arthur's head. The prince was watching him carefully, correcting mistakes with an occasional brisk word or a demonstration, but his mind wasn't really on the lesson. While these lessons would help Merlin, he would still be woefully inadequate as a swordsman by any standards unless some regular practice could be arranged for him. Giving the servant a load of theory to go over on his own would not prepare him for a real fight, and that left a dilemma... Who to ask? He couldn't do it himself, as the Prince of Camelot it was bad enough him doing this much. He could get away with this as just being something done on a whim, but no more than this.
He began to think it through, even as he continued the lesson. Morgana had helped Merlin with his riding, and as a result it was something the servant was now quite good at. Morgana's maid, Gwen, and Bern, had shown Merlin how to do things around the castle during his first few weeks on the job. As a result, for all this general attitude, it could not be denied that his duties were carried out to the expected standards even if he was flippant with his words and sarcasm. But if he wanted Merlin to actually be passable with a sword, just in case he had to grab a blade in an emergency, he didn't want the idiot getting himself killed by thinking practicing alone would be enough. He needed someone to spar with, for an hour or so, once a week, and it needed to be someone who could be trusted to keep his mouth shut about the fact it was arranged.
He was still musing about it after the lesson had ended and the two of them had returned to the castle. Was still musing about it while he dealt with the small pile of reports his father had deigned to have him deal with today. It needed to be someone he respected, but who wouldn't be offended by being asked to spar with a servant. And it also needed to be someone who he often rode out on patrol with.
That was when it came to him, a slow smile spreading across his face as he leaned back in the chair at his desk. He knew the perfect man for the job, a man who shared a connection and a sort-of friendship with Morgana's maid. It was perfect.
Arthur quickly finished off the reports, heading out to pass the replies to the relevant clerk for distribution, before changing direction and setting off for when the man in question was assigned to oversee the manning of the castle walls today. It didn't take long to find him, the man with longer and darker blond hair than his how, approaching him with a small nod of greeting.
"Sire. Do you wish to speak to me?"
Arthur stood there, beside the knight who, other than himself, was second youngest to attain the rank. He'd been sixteen when knighted, and this man, Sir Leon, had been seventeen when he achieved that goal. Since then, despite an age difference of almost ten years, they were good friends.
"Leon, I'm here on something of a personal matter, one that requires a little discretion."
The knight frowned a little.
"You know you can trust me, Sire. Speak, and I will do what I can to assist you."
The prince paused for a moment, before stepping closer and lowering his voice.
"This is to stay between you, and me. As you are no doubt aware, the past three mornings I've been showing my manservant some basic sword skills. He was given a sword by a friend of his, Gwen and her father, and is determined to learn to use it. But I cannot teach him for more that I've already agreed to, which is one more lesson tomorrow and that's it. He has the potential to be decent with a blade, should he keep practicing what I've shown him on his own... But he's going to need some regular practical combat experience or it will all be fairly pointless."
Leon's frown deepened a little.
"Are you sure this is appropriate? He's a servant. What would your father think?"
Arthur took a deep breath, knowing how bold this was going to sound.
"He can think whatever he likes. But if I'm going to have a manservant, who seems determined to throw himself into trouble in some sort of misguided attempt to try protect me, then I think it's prudent that the aforementioned servant actually have some idea of what to do. I trust Merlin's morals, and know he would never betray me, and that means I know I can trust him to be another, if amateur, blade protecting my back. He's shown me great loyalty already, and I'm going to reward that loyalty with due respect. I just can't be seen to be doing this openly." He gave Leon a long look. "You're the only one I can trust to do this tactfully. I'm going to suggest to Merlin that he practice his sword drills down at the training field once a week, and if you just happen to be there when he does..."
Leon remained silent for several seconds, before nodding once.
"I understand, Sire... And it will be interesting to get to better know the manservant who has already seemed to make an impression on a number of important people."
Arthur grimaced a little.
"Yes, Morgana. She and Gwen seem to have... struck up a friendship with him, regardless of how much my father might disapprove of her being that casual with him. But, as we both know, Morgana does have a tendency to be wilful. Merlin seems to be her current charity case."
Silence fell, before Leon turned slightly in preparation of returning to his duties... Choosing not to voice that Merlin seemed to be someone else's 'charity case' as well.
"Well, Gwen has spoken highly of him, and he's clearly made a good impression on you as well. Gwen has always been a good judge of character, even during my youth when she was just a child and her mother served my family. I will do as you ask. Just tell me when to expect Merlin to be at the training field, and I shall endeavour to arrive at a similar time for some 'practice' of my own."
"Thank you, Leon."
Arthur watched the knight walk away before turning and doing the same. Now he could rest easy that Merlin would have a practice partner, but without anyone knowing he'd arranged it.
~(-)~
The sun had not long passed zenith, the streams of light from the windows marking the passage of time in their passage across the floor. Almost a dozen books were laid out around him, as he poured through them for even the slightest hint of something helpful.
At least, that was what he did when he wasn't walking across the room to stop something from floating.
Seeing another bowl rise up into the air, Gaius let out an irritated sigh and went over to it. He'd quickly found that when he pushed something back down again, the spell holding it in the air would end. While the staff did indeed seem to be mimicking Merlin's magic, it didn't appear to be very good at it.
He returned to his desk, resuming reading until the door burst open and Merlin came charging in.
"I've got the afternoon off, except for taking Arthur his evening meal. He thinks you need my help to sort out your inventory."
Gaius felt a moment of relief, rising to his feet.
"Good, then you can start reading through this lot. I delayed going out on my rounds, but if I wait much longer someone may come looking to see where I am, and I doubt we want anyone walking in here while something is in the air."
Merlin winced.
"Nope, definitely not." He took Gaius' position at the table, sitting down in the now vacated chair. "What am I looking for?"
The physician was already grabbing his bag of medicines.
"You're looking for any entry mentioning the Staff of the Dunaelfena; Staff of the Mountain Fairies. I've found several mentions so far, but unfortunately none of them said anything about how it worked. I'll be back as soon as I can."
He hastened out of the room, leaving Merlin to the task of flipping through book after book, and page after page of text and pictures. He had one advantage over Gaius though, in that he didn't have to get up to stop things floating. He just pointed to them and gave them an order, and they returned to where they had come from. Even so, certain things began to irritate him, like the candles. Sick of them spluttering into life and going out again, he dumped them into a bucket of water to bring an end to that seeing as he could always dry the wicks out later. Only a couple of candles were kept out, for when it got dark, but he directed a stern magical command at them not to catch light unless by mundane means.
A few hours later Gaius returned, and soon it was his turn to go out to deal with a necessary chore. He dealt with Arthur's supper and the minor evening chores, with as much pace as he could without making it seem he was in a rush. But even with his shortcut between there and the kitchens, it was still over half-an-hour before he made it back to the physician's chambers.
They kept reading, occasional mutters of frustration and disgust coming from them both, until a certain warlock spotted something when fighting back a yawn.
Merlin blinked, reading it again, the words on the page causing a surge of excitement.
"Gaius! Look at this!"
"What have you found?"
Gaius came over, Merlin pointing to the section of text.
"It's about when that priest was given that staff. It says here that, when he was given it, it had to accept him as its master and then he had to bind it to his will so that it would do no magic unless at his command... Otherwise, the Dunaelfena warned him that it would cause 'calamity'." He pointed at a bowl that had just started to float. "I think random spells being copied and repeated can be classed as calamity. Return to table."
The bowl did as commanded, Gaius eyeing it.
"Indeed."
Merlin was now fidgeting with eagerness.
"I get it now! I know why this is happening!"
Gaius glanced at him, a bit puzzled.
"I'm glad you seem to, but if you would care to enlighten me because I fail to see how this helps us."
Merlin started.
"The staff has chosen me as its new master! That's why its copying me, and why I don't have to use a spell to stop one of the ones it's mimicking! Look at what else this says. The Staff of the Dunaelfena had no ability to draw magic on its own, but rather borrowed a small part of its master's ability."
He stood up and hurried towards his room, Gaius following him to the door and frowning as he opened the new compartment to get the staff out.
"What are you doing?"
Merlin laid it on the bed, before reaching for and pulling on his jacket.
"I'm going to go back to lake, to where I was when I first became this thing's master, and I'm going to make sure it knows who is in charge from now on. It's borrowing some of my power, and I'm going to lay down some rules. I'll be back in a few hours. Hopefully this won't take long."
He wrapped the staff in an old sack to disguise it and headed for the door, Gaius calling out after him.
"Be careful, Merlin. Don't let anyone catch you with that thing."
Hearing those words, Merlin had every intention of heeding them. Getting out of the castle and city wasn't hard, due to him becoming more inventive with his magic. Making the guards doze off while standing up, for a few seconds, worked wonders when you didn't want to mess around with random noises or other means of distraction. He strolled straight past them and ducked out of sight before the spell wore off, both guards simply yawning as though they'd done little more than blink instead of stand their with their eyes shut long enough for him to get past. It would never work on guards during the day, they were too alert, but the ones at night were fair game.
Leaving the city behind, and setting off at a run towards the lake, Merlin now became more aware of the magic coursing through the staff. He could tell now that it was his, that it was being borrowed, and he could also tell that the staff seemed to be reacting to what was going on. The crystal crackled every so often, or a stinging jolt would run up his arm from his hand. The thing really was acting like a petulant child, one on the verge of throwing a temper tantrum as it realised the fun and games were about to be put to an abrupt end.
It was maybe an hour before midnight when he arrived at the lake, removing his jacket and wading out into the water with the staff in hand. The lake was a place of magic, he knew that now, and it was also a place connected to Avalon, where the Sidhe resided. He was counting on that connection to help him bind the staff, but as he held the stave before him with both hands, setting his will against it, it seemed it might not have been the wisest course.
He could feel it now, the way a part of his ability to draw energy from the land was now tied up in the thing, and that part for some reason was now pulling in some seriously strong magic. It was instinct that had him start taking deep breaths, letting him slip into meditation, becoming aware of the power of the land all around him. The lake screamed with it, and he had to fight not to gasp when he realised three ley lines converge upon this place. He was right in the middle of a well of power from the Old Magic, power that the staff was drawing on, and while a moment ago the energy he'd fell it pulling in had frightened him, his perspective took a sudden change.
Standing there he now found himself feeling an immeasurable sense of strength he'd not noticed before... He'd been scared of what the staff was doing just now? Seriously, it now seemed utterly pathetic. It was like watching a snail creep along the ground, while he was a mighty falcon swept along by the rushing winds of sorcery. He could still feel the staff drawing in the power of the ley lines, but this time he could sense how puny that draw on it was. He couldn't get a idea on exactly how big his own was, but he knew it was more than enough to call this thing to heel.
He frowned, eyes still closed, and searched with his mind for the ties connecting him to the staff. He found them, maybe six or seven very thin... strands almost... that ran from him to the staff, and then from the staff out into the world. Well if those were what it was using to draw power, then they certainly belonged to him first and foremost. He systematically started trying to pull them in, borrowing strenght from the land when they resisted, so that while they still connected him to the staff they didn't go beyond it. If someone had asked him why he thought that would be the answer to the problem, he would have replied that it was just instinct. That was the way his magic had always been, and he was trusting it now.
The staff tried to fight him, he could feel it stinging his hands and arms in protest. He had given it access to the power of the land, however unintentionally, and it didn't want to relinquish control of that to him. It wanted to let the magic flow, unrestrained, but as Gaius would say, magic must be used with discipline. Well, the staff had been kept on a leash by Sophia, and it was going on a leash again whether the inanimate object cooperated or not. Without him, this thing would have no power to release into the world, and now the loan would have terms. No more magic, except at his specific command.
It seemed almost an eternity before he opened his eyes, even if in truth it had only been a few minutes, but even so he was startled by the change in the clearing. It was filled with a cloud mist, the surface of the water steaming all around him, and not only that all of his clothing above the waterline was smouldering and scorched even if he was untouched. That thought distracted him from how significant a thing he'd just done, as he trudged out of the lake muttering under his breath. He set off back towards Camelot, putting his jacket back on and grumbling about now having to go buy a new shirt.
Nothing distracts a young and low-paid servant warlock, from the triumph of dominating a magical artefact created by a savage race of fairies, more than the thought of said artefact forcing him to dig into his savings for new clothes. He'd only had this shirt for three weeks.
Arriving back at Camelot, he had to resist the severe temptation to knock the guards out instead of make them temporarily doze off again. As gratifying as it would have been to relieve his frustration, it would have been a petty use of magic and raise a massive fuss besides. No, he didn't want the alarm bells to end up ringing, not when it was past midnight and he had a sword lesson in the morning. No, he wanted sleep.
Gaius still awake and waiting for his return when he got back to the man's chambers, and the physician's eyebrows were raised at the state of his shirt, but Merlin just shrugged and showed him the now tamed staff.
"Now this thing really is mine."
~(-)~
Ok, so maybe losing the shirt hadn't been such a big thing after all, not in the light of what he'd learnt.
Merlin glanced to the pale light coming in through his window, pulling on his only other shirt as he got dressed. The staff was now silent in its hiding place beneath his bed, all seeming 'individual will' having vanished from it overnight, almost like it had more been his own magic wanting to act out freely that had been played out by the thing. His magic was there, yearning for release, much as he yearned for the day he would no longer have to hide it, and he was now more aware of it than ever.
He glanced to his sword on the nearby table, silently willing it to come to his hand, but for the first time in his life he now understood how he made things move like that. Those strands he'd felt connecting him to the staff, he couldn't tell how many he had, or how long they were, but he sensed now that while they were how he pulled energy from the web of magic... They were also how he moved things.
He smiled to himself, closing his eyes when the sword reached his hand and he felt the ephemeral flutter of several of those strands letting go of it. When he cast spells, he pulled power from his surroundings, when he moved things, the power went the other direction. Out of him and along those threads, coiling around what he wanted to move and then moving it in the way he willed it. It felt much the same when he silently stopped the time of his nightshirt when he threw it to land on his pillow, forcing it to hover in stillness for a moment. And again, when he sped his own time up for a moment, it felt like he wrapped himself in those threads. But when he tried again, speeding his time using the spell he'd used at the lake, he pulled power from around him and not from inside like the silent method, and that explained to him why he couldn't move without breaking it. Moving disrupted the flow of power too much to sustain such a delicate spell, something that wasn't a problem when most of the power was coming from inside himself. It also explained why speeding his time up silently for too long made him feel sick, it was just the sheer drain on his energy. He was sure Gaius would be fascinated to hear him explain it, but it would have to wait until later. Maybe he'd write a book about it one day, once magic wasn't illegal anymore.
He left the chambers quietly, aware that Gaius had gone to bed just as late as he had. He didn't want to disturb his guardian's sleep, not when the increasing volume of the cockerel's screeching would eventually do it on its own. He'd caused a lot of trouble the past three days, even if it was accidental, and this was a small way of making up for it.
Merlin strolled through the castle, head high, completely unaware of the fact he radiated confidence right now. He was oblivious to the fact that Arthur noticed it, oblivious to that being the reason why the prince decided to end the last lesson by challenging him to a friendly spar.
The two of them faced each other, the prince regarding his servant with a thoughtful expression. Something about Merlin just seemed different, like something inside the man had clicked into place. His footwork was still barely passable, and his sword-work still cringe-worthy, but even as he went easy on him and dragged out the fight Merlin showed no sign of faltering. He had that challenging grin on his face, even when the weight of the armour he was wearing left him panting and sweating with effort. Every time he stumbled, he got right back up again. He was no real fighter, not in the hand-to-hand sense, but he had the spirit of one. He'd seen a challenge, and he was going for it, even though he knew he couldn't win.
Arthur dragged the fight out for almost three minutes, before Merlin simply could not fight any more beneath the weight of the armour. It was then, when Merlin stumbled and dropped to his knees in exhaustion, that Arthur did something so profound he didn't even realise it.
He offered Merlin his hand to pull him back to his feet, just as he would do for one of his knights, and after a moment of surprise Merlin accepted it.
"Thanks."
In the instant of that clasp, seeing Merlin's genuine smile, Arthur now realised something. Merlin might be just a servant, clumsy with a sword and in general, but he truly was a kindred spirit. Even more so in some ways than any of the knights he called friend. The servant brought out something in him that had long lain hidden away, a kindness and a pride in those of lesser rank who served under him. He could not help it, and returned the smile.
"Come on, let's get back to the castle. I have a council meeting to go too in a couple of hours, and you have chores to do."
Merlin followed him willingly, still grinning.
"Sure thing, Arthur."
Arthur blinked, at Merlin using his first name casually without even a trace of sarcasm for what was probably the first time ever in his presence. And all of a sudden that was when he found himself wanting to keep that 'off-hand' promise he'd made to talk the man into covering for him. Yes, Merlin was a servant, but now he realised something. Merlin already considered him a friend, even if he couldn't openly admit to the same... And for the first time, Arthur found himself wanting to admit that. It was like, before Merlin had come to Camelot, there had been something 'missing' from his life, and now he'd found it.
A commoner and servant, unlike he who was a noble and a prince. They were complete opposites in that respect, and yet for some reason it was almost... They were always there when the other needed them... Like two sides of a coin.
~(-)~
Alaia Skyhawk: (Grins) Three things I liked in this chapter. 1: Leon making his appearance a full season early, well we know he must have been around lol. 2: Merlin figuring out how part of his magic works. 3: Arthur recognising that Merlin and he are kindred spirits, like two sides of a coin. That one plays a big role in the episode that follows this. Hee hee.
I hope you enjoyed this one :)