Ok, I feel horrible for not getting this to you sooner, but there's romance in this chapter, and I really wanted to do it right. This is also my longest chapter ever. I've never written romance before, so if it's terrible, please let me know because I can't improve if you don't tell me what I need to improve on. So... please review, or not since you might hate me because it's been one month and 11 days since I last updated. So yeah.
Disclaimer Time! Don't own Merlin. But I do have a Merlin costume that I wore to school for Nerd Day!
"Agravaine, I swear, if you are lying to me, I will rip you apart from the inside out and there will be no trace left for anyone to find." Morgana shouts in a fit of rage. "How did I not see it? All those miraculous escapes? It had to be magic, how could I have thought anything else! He went to face a damn dragon without any armor! Knights died and he survived? Gods, he practically told me when we fought underneath the castle. That WEASLE! He's stood by Arthur, let HIS OWN PEOPLE DIE! He betrayed me! He should have been on my side! He lied to me! All these years, hiding, with the perfect disguise, always pretending to be the idiot servant, no one saw through it!" She starts laughing hysterically, and her small hut starts to shake.
"My lady, please, calm down, please." Agravaine looks more concerned for himself than for Morgana.
"I never realized how truly disturbed Morgana has become." Leon whispers to Elyan as they look upon the scene unfolding before him. As the shaking stops Morgana begins to think more clearly.
"So what shall we do about our dear Merlin? It's obvious that he's under Emrys' protection. That's the only reason that Emrys' would have for destroying the Femorrha." Leon and Elyan look to each other, both thinking that Morgana isn't as smart as they once thought.
"He and another sorceress are currently going around the forest, looking for druids that will fight."
"Well then. When we fight, Merlin is mine. May the best magic user win."
"My lady I don't think that this is wise, would it not be more prudent to kill him while he's in the forest?"
"No. I want him to suffer. I want Arthur to suffer. He cares for Merlin more than many could ever know, I've seen it myself. Now leave, I have business to attend to." She gives Agravaine a stare that only Morgana can pull off.
"Of course my lady." He turns to leave. Leon and Elyan run back to their horses.
"Should we apprehend him?" Elyan asks Leon.
"Let's wait until we get back to the castle, we'll have an easier time of it." They ride back to the castle, hoping that Agravaine did not see them
"Merlin, will you take a walk with me?" Gwendolyn asks Merlin. He nods. It has been a few days since they returned to Camelot with over 100 druids, and between Arthur asking him to train the knights to fight against magical attacks, being a mediator between prejudiced knights and angry sorcerers, and having to deal with Arthur's usual stress induced overloading of chores, he hasn't had any time to even talk to Gwendolyn. He's not quite sure what he's feeling. He likes her, but it's not like the sudden intense passion he felt with Freya. It's softer, like a warm glow that fills him up whenever he's with her. It reminds him of how Arthur used to talk about Gwen. "How are you doing? I noticed you've been running left and right; chores for Arthur, chores for Gaius, training the knights, working with the druids, I don't know how you do it."
"Well you know, it's just the normal every day life of Camelot's resident warlock. The chores aren't anything new, Arthur seems to be incapable of doing anything on his own, and I seem to be the only servant capable of handling his temper. I've always done chores for Gaius; it's really the least I can do. He's been like the father I never had; he took me in and made me the person I am today. I wonder sometimes who I would have become without him, and all I see is someone as warped and twisted as Morgana." He sighs, looking up at the ceiling.
"You never knew your father? No. Wait, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to." Gwendolyn asks nervously.
"It's alright. My father was a Dragonlord. When the Great Purge began Gaius got my him out of Camelot and sent him to Ealdor, he stayed with my mother, and they fell in love, although they never married. One day, before my mother realized that she was with child, Uther's men came to Ealdor. My father had left before then, and he never came back. My mother never got to tell him about me. Then a few years ago Kilgharrah, The Great Dragon, attacked Camelot. Arthur and I went on a quest to go find Balinor, my father, I had only recently learned who he was, and we found him. Arthur was injured and he healed him, but he had no idea who I was. At first he refused to go with us, saying that Camelot sentenced him to a life of living in a cave, away from the woman he loved, but for whatever reason he had a change of heart. When he learned that I was his son, he seemed, almost scared. We didn't tell Arthur though. His heart was still too hardened against the use of magic at the time. Then we were attacked. One of the men almost killed me but my father jumped in front of the blade before it could reach me. I sent that man flying in a fit of rage, killing him. That's how he found out about my magic. He died in my arms." Merlin starts crying. "I inherited his gifts as a Dragonlord when he died, and I stopped the Great Dragon's attack on Camelot, and ordered him to never do it again."
"Oh gods Merlin! I had no idea, I'm so sorry.
"I saw him again though. He came to me when I was unconscious. He told me that the time to reveal myself to Arthur was near." He takes a deep breath, and smiles at the memory. "What about you? What are your parents like?"
"My father and I aren't exactly close, but I still love him. Like most magical families, we haven't had it easy. I still remember the day that I lost my mother and twin brother. We were at a river, not far from where our camp was located at the time, but far enough that if they were found, the odds of the camp being found were low. A few knights were watering their horses when they saw my brother and I using magic to make some stones float in mid-air. They drew their swords and we ran. My mother was heavily with child, but it didn't matter, she was killed first. My brother, James was his name, and I kept going. We were looking for someplace to hide. I found a small cave to hide in, but by then they had already gotten to him. I don't understand why I was the one who survived. I was only nine at the time, I couldn't comprehend why they were killed for something that was so innocent as magic. I didn't understand things like bans or laws, just that my mother and brother had been killed."
"I'm sorry Gwendolyn. Forgive me for asking, but why did you help us? You knew that there was every chance you'd be killed by those knights, but you risked everything to free us. Not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but-"
"Because it was the right thing to do. To be honest, if I had thought it through and let my fears take over, I wouldn't have. But that's just it. I don't think things through all the time, and I'm always trying to do the right thing. It really wasn't about trying to show them anything or changing Arthurs mind, I just knew it was right you know? I guess I'm just simple minded when it comes to these things."
"Well I think it's brilliant. One hardly meets people who are so sure about what is right and what is wrong."
"Well what about you? Why did you come to Camelot, a city that, until recently was the world's most dangerous place to practice magic, and become the prince's manservant. Are you crazy or something." Gwendolyn chuckles. Merlin sighs.
"I guess you could say it was destiny that brought me here. It's actually ironic really. My best friend, Will, discovered my magic, and my mother became scared. Ealdor is a small village, and even though Ealdor isn't in Camelot, sorcerers were known to disappear in the night. So my mother sent me to Camelot. The first thing I saw when I arrived actually was an execution. I scared the living daylights out of me to be honest. When I first met Gaius, I saved his life with magic. I was scared for my life at that point, but he didn't turn me in. That was before I even began to study magic. The next day I when I met Arthur I got into a fist fight with him because he was bullying his current servant." Merlin is cut off by Gwendolyn's sudden burst of laughter.
"I'm sorry, but the thought of you, Emrys, getting into a common fist fight. No. Actually the thought of you Merlin, getting into a fist fight. It's not because you're all powerful, even though legend says you are. It's because in the short time that I've known you I've come to know one of the most peaceful loving souls I've ever met." She smiles.
"Uh- um thank you." Merlin doesn't really know how to respond.
"You're welcome. Now come on, you still haven't told me how you became Arthur's servant!"
"Well as I was saying I got into a fist fight with Arthur and spent the night in the dungeons. Gaius got me out and I had to spend the next day in the stocks, but it was worth it. Then the day after that, I got into a mace fight with Arthur." Gwendolyn laughs again.
"You and Arthur really did not get along in the beginning, did you?"
"He was a prat! Anyway, I used magic and would have beaten him if Gaius had not come and given me what has been dubbed 'The Ultimate Stare of Disapproval'.
"Gaius is a master of facial expressions."
"You're telling me. I wasn't thrown in the dungeons that time because apparently Arthur thought I was and idiot, but a brave one. Then the next night at the feast, Mary Collins, the mother of the man who had been executed on my first day in Camelot, had disguised herself as Lady Helen of Mora using dark magic, and attempted to kill Arthur. That was when I saved his life for the first time, first by dropping a chandelier on her, which broke the spell that she used to put everyone asleep. Well except me obviously because I was smart enough to cover my ears. Then once every one was awake I thought she was dead, but she regained consciousness and threw a knife at Arthur. I then slowed down time and pushed Arthur out of the way, therefore saving his life. Uther thought I should be rewarded, so I became Arthur's manservant, and thus begun my career of saving his royal ass more times than I can count."
"Talk about exciting. But how did you manage to keep it a secret for 7 years?"
"It hasn't been easy. It helps that Arthur is fairly oblivious. I also hold the record for being arrested for using magic and acquitted, and I can tell you which cells in the dungeons are better than others, including drafts, mysterious stains, and which ones have strange animals currently residing in them. I think I also have broken out of the dungeons more than any other person in Camelot. It may also have something to do with the fact that Uther thought, in his exact words that I 'have some sort of mental affliction'." At this they both laugh. Merlin grabs Gwendolyn's hand. "Come with me, I have something I want to show you." Still holding her hand Merlin leads her up the hundreds of stairs that lead up to the castle's highest tower. When they reach a door, Merlin turns to Gwendolyn. "Close your eyes." She nods and closes them. It's a clear, starry night. "Ok, open them." Gwendolyn gasps as she takes in the night sky.
"It's beautiful. It's hard to see the stars quite like this in the forest because of all the trees."
"I like to come up here to escape from Arthur. I don't think anyone else knows how to get up here. The trek is long and the stair case is really out of the way, so it's the perfect place to come when I just want to think."
"I can see why, it's amazing up here. I love it." Gwendolyn leans in closer to Merlin.
"I'm glad you do." As the gaze up at the stars, Merlin tells Gwendolyn the names of different constellations that he learned as a child, and the stories behind them. And then suddenly, as surely as the night was beautiful, their lips meet.
"Agravaine de Bois. You have been charged with the crime of high treason against Camelot. How do you plead?" Arthur looks down at his uncle with a look of disgust in his eyes.
"My lord, these accusations are preposterous! I did nothing of the sort! These charges are unfounded, based on hearsay from two knights and your servant who betrayed you himself as a sorcerer!" He spits the last bit with a glare towards Merlin.
"You have no right to speak of Merlin that way. He has saved my life more times than any of us know! The fact is you are the only person who could have told Morgana or the mercenaries of our route that day. The only reason I ever even suspected Gaius is because you twisted his words around to make be believe that he was the traitor, when in truth, it was you. The entire time, my own uncle, just waiting for the opportunity to kill me. The evidence against you is overwhelming, and based on this evidence I sentence you do death by pyre." The guards drag him out of the throne room.
"Arthur! No! Think about what you're doing!" Agravaine yells out, but his cries fall upon deaf ears.
So... Please Review! And Basketball season is over here so I'll be updating more often I swear. Happy Girl Scout Week everybody. Yeah that's right, I'm a Girl Scout and I'm proud. Woot Woot!