Author Note: Ok, well the 13th came and went, and I still have no internet...damned people are getting a VERY stiff letter of complaint, I have decided! But this also means that I can only use the internet round other people's houses, hence why I have not been updating regularly at the moment. Still, to make up for that, have these next 2 chapters, to keep you going.
I've got something to say about Merlin's spells in these chapters, but I'll do a small note at the end, just so I don't spoil this chapter for you, lol.
Enjoy!
...
Three days after the whole incident, Gaius was standing before Arthur and Gwen in the great hall with some grave news.
"There is nothing you can do?" Arthur sighed, deliberately not looking towards Gwen, who was struggling to hold back tears. If he looked at her now, he would break down too, and he needed to be the strong one here, for all their sakes.
"No amount of medicines and poultices can touch the wound, Sire. I've done all I can, but it is hopeless. With your permission, Sire, I believe it would be kinder to simply let her go. I can prepare a special draught so that she will not feel a thing - She'll simply slip away peacefully in her sleep."
"You want to kill her?" Gwaine exclaimed stepping forwards, his face a picture of anguish. "No, you can't!"
"Gwaine, there is nothing we can - " Gaius started patiently, but Gwaine was having none of it.
"Magic!" he declared to no-one in particular. "What about magic? Would it heal her?"
"We don't - "
"Yes or no, Gaius! Would it heal Dante?" Gwaine demanded. Before Gaius could answer, however, Arthur cut across the both of them.
"Enough, Gwaine. Magic is forbidden. It's out of the question."
Gwaine couldn't believe it then, and rounded on Arthur, forgetting momentarily who he was talking to.
"If magic can save her, why aren't we using it? You are prepared to let a young woman - a FRIEND die because of your stubbornness and hatred over something you don't understand?"
"How dare you," Gwen started, leaping to Arthur's defence then, but Arthur held up a hand to keep her back.
"It's alright Gwen," he said quietly, standing and stepping down so that he was face to face with the angry knight.
"Magic was banned for a reason. It killed my father. It killed my mother. It turned my own sister against me. You've seen the dangers of consorting with anyone who practices magic. You've seen what these sorcerers are capable of."
"Yes, but I've also seen the good that magic can do!" Gwaine retorted, not backing down this time. King or no King, Arthur was just being stubborn, and Gwaine had had enough. "If it can save Dante's life...please Arthur?"
"No. I'm sorry Gwaine, but I will not bend the rules for anyone. If Dante dies, then so be it. I'm sorry for your loss, and believe me, I do not want to lose her any more than you do. This whole thing is a terrible tragedy for which I feel totally responsible. But not even my guilt is enough to convince me to allow magic back to the kingdom."
As Arthur turned to sit back on his throne again, believing the debate to be over, Gwaine stood up taller, a fierce determination in his eyes. "If it was Gwen lying there, dying a very slow and painful death, and magic was the only way to save her...would you refuse it then?" He challenged.
Arthur froze, his back to Gwaine. The knight could not see his reaction, but judging by the way the young King's shoulders tensed, he knew he'd hit a nerve. "I will not give in to this," came the eventual reply, and Gwaine could not help but notice how Arthur had completely avoided the question.
Without saying another word, he spun on the spot and stormed from the throne room. Everyone in the room remained silent for several minutes after that - nobody truly knowing what to say, or do.
"He has a point," Gwen whispered to her husband eventually. "Would your answer still remain the same if it was me who was close to death?"
"Of course it wouldn't," Arthur muttered in reply. "I'd do anything for you. Haven't I proved that already?"
"Then try to see things from Gwaine's point of view."
"I am," Arthur sighed. "But it's not that simple."
"Why isn't it?" Gwen challenged. "You think being King gives you the privilege of bending the rules to suit you, even though you deny anyone else that option? What makes you any better or more privileged than Gwaine?"
"I AM THE KING!" Arthur suddenly roared, startling everyone in the room, who'd been gossiping quietly amongst themselves until then. "I make the rules, and I expect everyone to obey them. Even you!"
With that, he rose from the throne and marched out of the hall in the opposite direction to Gwaine, leaving a stunned Gwen sitting alone and everyone else staring in her direction, equally as surprised by the King's sudden outburst.
Merlin could see that Gwen was fighting back tears as she also rose and left the hall, and it was hardly surprising. This outburst from Arthur was so uncharacteristic and unexpected...clearly the situation and his grief were taking their toll, and this was his only way of dealing with it. Everyone else grieved openly, but King Arthur, ever the professional, kept his cool, and held his composure until eventually the pressure had grown so great that he could no longer control the outburst. And woe betide whoever was in his way when he did burst.
In this instance it had been poor Gwen. But Merlin had been on the receiving end himself a few times now and knew what she would be feeling right then. Still, Gwen could take care of herself. Gwaine, on the other hand, was not in a stable state of mind. He needed all the help and support he could get.
So, turning quietly, Merlin slipping from the back of the hall, unnoticed, and broke into a sprint, catching up to Gwaine near the stable block.
The knight, although furious, was working quickly and carefully to saddle his trusted horse. Gringolet, sensing something was up, was prancing about impatiently, but Gwaine never once lost his temper with the stallion, which was surprising.
"Gwaine!" Merlin called as he ran into the stables. "Where are you going?"
"To find a sorcerer," came the curt reply.
"But Arthur's forbidden it."
"I don't care. If he wants to punish me then so be it. But right now, all I care about it Dante."
"It doesn't have to be like this," Merlin pleaded, fearing that Gwaine was about to condemn himself to a needless death for his actions, considering how vehemently Arthur was protesting about the whole thing. But Gwaine didn't seem to care.
"You heard Gaius. She doesn't stand a chance without magic."
"Even with magic, it's impossible to tell whether she'd recover or not."
"Who's side are you on, Merlin?" Gwaine finally snapped, rounding on his friend. Merlin backed away a little, afraid of this new side he was seeing to the usually carefree and happy-go-lucky knight. He remained silent for several long moments, that felt like they stretched on for eternity, before he finally summoned up the courage to speak again.
"I'm with you, Gwaine. You're right. Magic isn't bad. It's the person using it that makes the choice between good and evil."
"Then you understand why I'm doing this?" Gwaine asked, calming again when he saw Merlin's nod of acceptance. Satisfied that at least one other person in the whole kingdom understood his motives, he led Gringolet past Merlin, out into the brilliant sunlight of the courtyard.
"Gwaine, wait!" Merlin called after a moment, running to catch up again as a thought struck him. "Where will you go?"
"I don't know," the knight admitted, swinging himself up into the saddle and gathering up the reins. "Ask the right questions, and sooner or later you'll find what you're looking for."
"What if I could spare you the trouble and tell you where there's a sorcerer that would be willing to help?"
This surprised Gwaine, and he blinked. "You...you know the location of a sorcerer?"
"Yeah. Emrys. He was the man Arthur hired to try and heal Uther."
"The crazy old goat who killed Uther?" Gwaine frowned.
"No, he didn't kill Uther! Everyone thought he did, but it was really Morgana tampering with his spell," Merlin corrected, defending his actions, even though Gwaine had no idea that he and Emrys were in fact one and the same.
"Merlin, have you been consorting with Arthur's enemies?" Gwaine asked suspiciously.
"No!" Merlin started quickly. "It's just...rumours, that's all! Gaius hears these rumours all the time!"
"It's alright Merlin," Gwaine nodded in understanding. "If a knight's word is his oath, then you have my solemn promise. You tell me where to find this Emrys, and I won't tell Arthur that you're concealing a sorcerer from him."
And Merlin actually believed him.
Grinning, he stood on tiptoes as Gwaine bent low in the saddle. Whispering a certain location to the knight, Merlin promised him that the old wizard would be there. With a hasty thanks to the young servant, Gwaine wasted no time, heading straight for the location he'd just been given, suddenly full of hope once more.
Merlin watched him go, then ran in the opposite direction, out towards the woods behind the Citadel. Once he'd reached the familiar clearing, far from the view of anyone, he looked up to the skies.
"O drakon, e mala soi ftengometh tesd'hup anankes! Erkheo!" He called out to the night sky, summoning the Dragonlord within him to ensure his command was heard. As always, he didn't have to wait long before a dark shadow descended from above, and there was a whoosh of air as Kilgharra descended to land neatly on the grass before Merlin.
"You summoned me, Young Warlock?" He asked, tilting his head questioningly towards Merlin.
"The Lady Dante's dying," Merlin explained as the Great Dragon settled down and folded his wings back into a relaxed position.
"Yes," he nodded. "Stabbed with an enchanted dagger, no less."
"The dagger was enchanted?" Merlin frowned.
"Did it never cross your mind, Young Warlock, why conventional treatments have failed to cure her or even heal her wounds?" The dragon asked curiously, and Merlin thought about this for a long moment.
"No," he admitted eventually. Then he looked up into the eyes of the huge beast towering above him. "Is there a way to save her?"
"There is," the dragon nodded, though Merlin was sensing there was more to be said.
"But?" He asked.
"But I will not help you to do it."
"What? Why not?" Merlin demanded. "She's dying!"
"I know," the dragon nodded again, patiently, as if speaking to a small child. "But I will not help her."
"Why not?" Merlin demanded again, growing increasingly frustrated. Kilgharra could be so incredibly infuriating at times!
"Because she is in league with the witch Morgana, and is a danger to everyone in Camelot. If you want to protect the future of Albion, you will let her die. But, if you wish to ignore my warnings once again, then I will not help you this time."
Merlin was frozen to the spot. He couldn't move. He hadn't expected the dragon to explain his actions, and he definitely hadn't expected THAT to be the reason, either. Surely there was some kind of mistake? Dante would never...would she? No, she'd fought alongside them in Ealdor when she could have turned on them so easily. She'd been mortally wounded by one of Morgana's allies. Morgana wouldn't turn on one of her own, would she?
And if she truly was working for Morgana, why hadn't Morgana whisked her away somewhere and treated her? Why had she left her to die?
"You're wrong," he said eventually, finding it too difficult to believe. He'd heard some ludicrous things in his time...but this was just going too far.
"Wrong about what, Young Warlock?
"You're wrong about the Lady Dante! If she really was in league with Morgana, why hasn't she done anything by now? She's had plenty of chances to act, but she hasn't! I saw the way she looked at Morgana yesterday in Ealdor. There was no love lost between them!"
"Looks can be deceiving, Merlin," Kilgharra warned. "Mark my words - the Lady Dante is a traitor and a liar. Better that she dies now to preserve the future of Camelot."
"But there's no proof! Even if I did believe you - which right at this moment in time, I don't - where's the proof?"
"I do not need proof to know that it is so. The Lady Dante is a traitor, whether you believe her to be, or not."
"So that's it. You won't help me?" Merlin challenged, choosing to ignore this last comment, The dragon shook his head.
"I refuse to aid the witch or any of her acolytes - no matter who they are."
"I'm a Dragonlord," Merlin reminded sharply. "And you will do as I say! Give me the spell to cure her!"
"I should have known you would not hesitate to use me for your own ends," the dragon roared furiously. "You have done it before. I should not be surprised that you would do it again."
"Don't try my patience," Merlin warned. "I ordered you to give me the spell."
"Very well," Kilgharra sighed. "But this is the last time you will ever demand such. Do you understand, Young Warlock? Dragonlord or not, I can still kill you in an instant."
"But you wouldn't," Merlin replied calmly.
"I wouldn't be so confident about that," the dragon warned before letting out a long breath of magic. Feeling the hot air pass over him and stir something deep down - a tingling sensation of power - Merlin briefly contemplated the dragon's warning. Could he really strike a Dragonlord down if he so desired?
Without another word, the Great Dragon rose up into the air again, vanishing into the clouds above. Without wasting any time, Merlin broke into a sprint, heading for the forest, and the direction that he'd sent Gwaine in earlier.
As he neared the abandoned hut, he used the now familiar aging spell to transform himself into the elderly sorcerer known as Emrys. Then pausing outside the hut for a moment, he took a deep breath and pushed the door open, stepping inside.
...
Gwaine was about ready to give up all hope, as he waited inside the tiny hovel. Merlin had assured him that this would be where he'd find the one known as Emrys, but so far all he'd found was an empty hut that looked like it hadn't been used in years. Dust and cobwebs lay over every surface and the fire in the hearth was long dead. It was so damp and dark, the windows covered by the ivy that had completely swamped the exterior of the hut, and he found himself wondering, more than once, how on earth anyone could even live in such a place.
He forced himself to wait for a good half an hour, at least, before finally the need to see daylight again overcame him and he started for the door, his last hopes dying as he realised that he would probably never find anyone who could help Dante now.
Before he'd taken three steps, however, the door swung open and an old man hobbled in, crippled with age, his hair and beard as white as snow. At first he seemed oblivious to the knight who had intruded upon his home, but it didn't take him long to realise that he wasn't alone.
"You!" He snorted, enraged. "What are you doing in my home? Get out!"
"Take it easy old man," Gwaine said quickly, raising his hands in a defensive manner to show that he meant no harm. "I'm not here to harm you."
"Then why are you here? The last time we met, you were trying to arrest me!"
"I was following orders," Gwaine protested, backing away as the old man advanced angrily towards him.
"And I suppose you're following orders now, like a good little soldier?" The old man snapped, his face screwing up in disgust.
"Actually, I'm disobeying them, this time," Gwaine replied, jumping back as the old man pushed past him, moving over to the fire. With a muttered spell, he made flames leap high in the hearth, immediately casting the tiny hovel in a warm orange glow.
"I'm looking for a sorcerer named Emrys," Gwaine continued quickly, before the old man could say any more. "Are you him?"
"Depends what you want him for," the old man snarled.
"I need his help. A friend of mine...she's dying. And I was told that only magic can save her, now."
"Friends die all the time," Emrys snapped, pushing back past Gwaine again and moving over to the dilapidated table, clearing the dust and cobwebs with the sleeve of his robes. "Fact of life, boy."
"Please, sir," Gwaine spoke after a moment, and his voice was no longer the usual confident tone of a cocky knight, but one of a truly broken man, desperate to save the woman he loved. "I will do anything you ask. Just help me to save her. I beg you."
"I take it she is more than just a friend then," Emrys spoke curiously, studying him up and down, seemingly for the first time. "If you are so willing to break the laws and use magic, to save her?"
"Yes. I love her, more than life itself," Gwaine admitted finally - no shame to his words, at all. "And I will do anything you ask, if it means she will live to see another sunrise."
"Even if I asked you to give your life in return?"
"Say the word, and my life is yours," Gwaine nodded readily, one hand on the hilt of his dagger. Emrys held up a worn, weathered hand and shook his bearded head.
"Put it away, boy. I don't want your life. Now tell me, what exactly has happened to this girl of yours?"
Relief coursed through Gwaine then as he quickly explained the situation - how Dante had been stabbed, and how nothing Gaius had done had even touched the wound, in any way. Emrys sat at the table, listening intently and nodding his old head sagely. When Gwaine had finished explaining, he stroked his beard thoughtfully for a long time.
"I cannot come with you to Camelot," he said at last. "Your King would kill me as soon as look at me. But I can help you."
"Thank you, sir!" Gwaine exclaimed, feeling the spark of hope in his heart ignite into a roaring flame then.
Merlin wasn't sure how the dragon's spell would work, exactly, but as he closed his eyes, he suddenly knew what had to be done - whether it be from the wisdom that came with old age, or through the power of the spell itself, he didn't know.
"I need a gem," he said after a moment.
"As payment?" Gwaine asked. "Name your price, Sir, and I will ensure it reaches you as soon as Dante is well again."
"Not as payment," Emrys explained, opening his eyes once more. "I need it to be able to cure her."
Gwaine froze then, realising that he had nothing on him of any value...except the sapphire embedded into the hilt of the dagger that Dante had presented to him for his birthday last month.
He'd kept it a secret, and not even the other knights had known about it. But she'd remembered, bless her - even after ten years - and had appeared at his door, bright and early on the morning of his birthday with a beautifully engraved box. Inside the box was this equally stunning dagger, which from then on, he'd carried with him wherever he went, even though it was more for decoration than actual combat.
How ironic that now, the very object she had given to him as an act of kindness, would be the very thing that would - hopefully - save her life.
Removing the dagger carefully from his belt, he laid the elaborate weapon on the table before the warlock. "Will that do?"
"Ah, a sapphire...Perfect," Emrys nodded. "Take it out and I will prepare the enchantment."
He rose and began to stoke the fire whilst Gwaine took out his short sword, carefully using the tip of the blade to dig the sapphire out of its metal casing. Then he moved over to join Emrys by the fire, holding the sapphire carefully in a gloved hand. It was no bigger than a marble, but it was heavy for its size.
"Here," he said, passing it over. Emrys studied the priceless gem for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction. Closing his eyes, he placed his free hand over the top of the sapphire and began to speak in the language of the Old Religion.
"Affylan þéos sincgimm eac ælíf. Asælan hit æt sé forÞwíf Dante. Edcierr hie gecwicung."
Gwaine stood back, watching as a blue glow suddenly shot from the warlock's cupped hands, and he appeared to be physically struggling with the effort of holding on to the enchanted gem. Gwaine had to shield his eyes against the blue rays of light, feeling the surge of magic engulf the room as the light touched every available surface, casting it in a brilliant blue glow.
Eventually the light died down and he looked back to see Emrys studying the contents of his hands again. Then he held them out, tipping the gem back into Gwaine's gloved hand. It glowed gently, pulsing with power, but strangely now weighed next to nothing.
After explaining to Gwaine exactly what to do with the gem, Emrys then walked round behind him and placed a hand over his wounded shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Gwaine cringed as the old man pressed on the knife wound. Gaius had done his best to stitch it, but it constantly throbbed with pain, none-the-less.
"Gestathole."
Gwaine's shoulder burned suddenly, but briefly as the magic knitted his skin back together, leaving not even a scar. Then the fire died down and he felt pain no longer.
"Now get going, before this young lady of yours passes on. My spells do not bring people back from the dead, Sir Knight."
Gwaine didn't hesitate. He was so eager to get going that he forgot to thank the old man as he left his hut. Reaching Gringolet, the enchanted gem now tucked safely away in the pouch on his belt, he suddenly remembered his manners and turned back. When he stepped back inside the hut, however, the old man had gone.
Deciding that now was not the time to marvel at the strange behaviour of magic folk, Gwaine leapt back into the saddle and started for home as fast as Gringolet could take him.
...
"He said to do what?" Gaius asked, sure he must have misheard, as Gwaine presented him with the enchanted sapphire later that evening.
"I promise you Gaius, that is what he told me to do," Gwaine assured the physician.
"I've never heard such nonsense," Gaius retorted as he took the sapphire and studied it closely.
"Perhaps we should do as he says?" Merlin suggested as he sat by Dante's bedside, carefully peeling away the layers of blood-soaked bandages. Gaius glared at Merlin for a moment, then seeing the look in the young warlock's eyes, realised that he was up to something.
"What exactly did he tell you about the spell?" he sighed, looking back to Gwaine again.
"He told me that it was an old Dragonlord spell," Gwaine explained, confirming Gaius' suspicions that Merlin was in fact up to something. "He said that Dragonlords used to heal their dragons with this enchantment whenever they were wounded in battle. They'd place an enchanted gem inside a vial of boiling water, leave it for a few minutes to work its magic, then remove the gem and get the dragon to drink it, in order to heal them. "
"Yes but Dante is not a dragon, in case you hadn't noticed."
"No, but he changed the enchantment. Made it specially for her. I heard him say her name as he enchanted it, Gaius!"
"Well, I suppose anything's worth a shot at this stage," the physician sighed again, taking a pair of tweezers from his bag of supplies and picking the sapphire up carefully with them. Then he moved to Dante's other side, opposite Merlin, and lent over to get a good look at the wound, that had now been uncovered.
It was deep and angry, showing no signs of healing what-so-ever, despite being three days old. Blood continued to ooze out between the stitches, though more slowly now than it had done at first. But even so, that was a LOT of blood that Dante had lost now. By rights, she should be dead already. It was only Gaius' skill and Merlin's limited knowledge of healing spells that had kept her alive this long.
"Merlin, you'll have to help me," he instructed. "I need you fetch a small vial from my bag. Gwaine, I need you to heat up some water."
Within ten minutes, the special brew was ready, and fishing the sapphire out with his tweezers, Gaius nodded at Merlin. He gently tilted Dante's head backwards and opened her mouth so that Gaius could pour the liquid in, a little at a time so as not to choke her.
Almost immediately they began to notice a visible effect as Dante's subconscious reflexes made her swallow the life-saving tonic, even though she herself was unaware of the movement.
As they sat back and watched, the blood stopped pumping out, and the wound began to close beneath the stitches, seemingly of its own accord. The colour returned to Dante's deadly pale cheeks, and her breathing became even and more measured. The pair of developing black eyes began to fade and there was a slight crunch that made them all wince as her nasal bone realigned and knitted itself back together. And then it was done.
"She's glowing," Merlin breathed in awe as he watched the various other cuts and bruises heal themselves and vanish to leave nothing but smooth, perfect skin once more.
"She always has," Gwaine replied, thinking that Merlin was commenting on Dante's beauty. But this wasn't what Merlin had meant at all.
"No, I mean look at her skin! It's glowing!"
"I don't believe it," Gaius exclaimed as her pale skin began to glow, ever so slightly blue - as if the moon was casting it's rays down upon her. And when he examined the scar on her chest - for that was all that was left of the wound now - he could see that it was no ordinary scar. It glowed a much more prominent blue - a thin hairline streak of sapphire. Even her glossy hair had taken on a slightly blue-ish sheen.
The blue glow lasted for no more than a minute, however, before it died back down again and she returned to normal - or as normal as someone in her position could look, right about then. Slowly and carefully, Gaius began to remove the stitches from the scar until all that was left was the thin line across her ivory skin.
"She's dazzling," Gwaine smiled in admiration, taking her hand in his own and feeling the warmth beneath his fingertips again.
"She's lucky," Merlin agreed. And then he frowned. "How are we going to explain this to Arthur?"
"Leave that to me," Gwaine assured him. "I'll take full responsibility."
"Your actions won't go unpunished."
"I know. But anything's worth it, just to see her smile again."
And Merlin found that he couldn't disagree with that. The whole Citadel had become a much darker place without Dante's infectious smile to brighten it up. Perhaps now, things could go back to the way they'd once been - everyone happy and healthy and, more importantly, alive once more.