Author Note: Ok, I'll admit, I'm not sure how the Saxons will be portrayed in Merlin, so I've kinda gone for the more sterotypical version. Hopefully I do not offend anyone with this portrayal of them. And I have a surprise which you may or may not like, but more on that in the next chapter, mwahahaha.
So for now, read and enjoy as always, and keep those fab reviews coming :)
...
All around them, even more Saxons emerged on similarly large black mounts, each dressed in leather and fur, and carrying cruel looking weapons capable of doing serious damage.
Dante glanced down at her short sword and decided that against this lot, it would be about as effective as a blade of grass. A quick glance in Vixen's general direction told her that there were at least two riders between her and her other sword, still where she'd left it, tucked into the leather strap of the saddle.
Reluctantly, she dropped the single sword at her feet and raised both hands in surrender.
Merlin backed towards her, his own hands rising in surrender as well. Without meaning to, he backed right into her, and she yelped slightly.
"Sorry," he muttered. And then, as one of the riders dismounted, passing his huge broadsword to a fellow comrade so that he now had both hands free, Merlin turned ever so slightly to Dante.
"You know what you were saying earlier, about if I had magic, what I would do with it?"
"Yeah," Dante nodded slightly, wondering what he was playing at. Now really was not the time to start arguing about that again.
"Well, I'd do this." He threw both hands out in front of him and the approaching Saxon was thrown back against a huge oak tree with a loud crash and splinter of wood. He groaned and slid to the floor unconscious as shards of bark rained down around him, and a thin trickle of blood slowly ran from one ear.
"Merlin!" Dante cried in amazement as the Saxons suddenly began to shout in rage, leaping from their saddles to assist their fallen comrade or attack the pair standing before them.
As Merlin threw even more of them back, away from himself and Dante with his magic, every now and then shouting "Hleap on bæc," to give power to his spells, Dante cast all around for some way to help him. Looping a toe under the blade of her dropped sword, she kicked it up and caught it deftly (a trick that Gwaine had once taught her, though she'd never dreamed it would ever come in very useful, until that moment) and instantly moved back to back with Merlin.
"You have magic?!" She gasped, still in shock and awe as he continued to blast away the Saxons, who stubbornly kept rising and coming back for more.
"You want to discuss this NOW?!" He snapped. Her reply was cut short as a Saxon brought his broadsword down in an overhead arc, aiming to cleave her in two with the sheer weight he was putting behind the swing. Dante instinctively held her sword up to block his attack, even though she knew it would be no good. The odds of a short sword coming away from a broadsword attack in one piece was a million to one, and the odds of Dante surviving the attack were even more outrageously weighed against her.
But this was without magic on her side.
"Bregdan anweald gafeluec!" Merlin called over his shoulder and suddenly her blade was illuminated a beautiful glowing blue as power swirled all around it. The Saxon's blade struck her own in a shower of sparks, but rather than snapping it in two, her blade held firm and although it jarred her arms and buckled her legs under the sheer impact, causing her to drop to her knees, it also surprised the Saxon, who reeled backwards, taking pressure off Dante's blade and allowing her to free one hand from the hilt. Taking sudden advantage of this, she drew the dagger from her boot, then rammed it into his stomach, before he could go back on the offensive and press the attack again.
The huge man roared in pain and stumbled, allowing Dante enough space to regain her footing again. Without even pausing to think about what she was doing, she gripped her sword with both hands and swung it in a sideways arc, this time throwing all HER weight behind the movement.
The enchanted blue blade sliced across the man's exposed neck and he fell backwards, never to rise again.
Breathing heavily from the exertion, Dante stumbled over his corpse as Merlin fell backwards into her, fending off another Saxon who's hands had worked their way round the warlock's throat.
Dante scrambled out of Merlin's way, then retrieved the dagger and threw it as hard as she could. It buried itself deep in another Saxon's shoulder, allowing her time to help Merlin.
Driving her sword, (which was now reverting back to its familiar form as the enchantment wore off) down on the Saxon's exposed arms, she was able to sever one hand at the wrist, allowing Merlin enough air to breath once more, and therefore shout another spell.
"Astrice!"
The Saxon flew backwards into a boulder and crumpled to the floor. Merlin kicked the severed hand over to join him, his gag reflex suddenly going into overdrive and causing him to heave and cough in disgust, even as he fought to resist the urge. Dante looked equally as pale, and her sudden jerky movements warned Merlin that she was also fighting the urge to throw up. Both had seen battle before. Both had seen dead men. But neither of them had ever seen a dismembered body part first hand, and it truly was a gruesome sight to behold.
By now, only three Saxons of the original eight remained unhurt, each running to their horses. "We'll be back!" The Leader (who'd remained on the sidelines out of the fight so that he could observe them) warned, before the three galloped off and the clearing outside Morgana's hut fell silent once more - save for the driving rain, the groaning of the wounded Saxons and the heavy breathing of both Merlin and Dante.
"You...have magic..." She gasped again after several moments of silence, bent double to try and catch her breath. "Does anyone else...?"
"Know?" Merlin finished for her, massaging his throat gingerly and already feeling the thick bruises forming. "Only Gaius. And now you. And I'd appreciate it if it stayed that way..."
"But Morgana..." Dante started, and then stood sharply. "Morgana! Where the hell is she?!"
"I told you we couldn't trust her," Merlin said, his tone clearly saying 'I told you so'. Dante stormed over to the witch's hut, kicked open the door and started in.
"Morgana? Morgana! What the hell is taking you so - "
Her sudden silence caused Merlin's heart to skip a beat, in alarm. "What is it?" He called anxiously, starting for the door as well. When no-one answered, he tentatively stepped inside, afraid of what he would find.
Dante was standing in the middle of the tiny hovel, which had been trashed beyond recognition. "She's gone," she breathed. "They've taken her."
"We don't know that," Merlin started, looking round at the devastation. How had they not heard this, when they were just outside the door? "Maybe she thought we were done for and saved herself? She could have used her magic to disappear before the Saxons broke in?"
"Then why is there blood, Merlin?" She pointed to the huge puddle visible in the very centre of the room, along with the discarded armour that Morgana had been meaning to wear. Then she pointed at the smashed window on the far side of the hut. "They must have taken her! It's the only explanation!" Her anguish cut through Merlin like a knife through butter. "We have to help her!"
"Be serious, Dante," he said, snapping back to his senses in time to grab her arm as she started for the door once more.
"Merlin, let me go!"
"No. Listen to me Dante. Getting yourself killed will not bring Morgana back. You need to think about this."
"What would you have me do? Sit here and do nothing?"
"No. Arthur's orders were for you to go back to Camelot. So you need to go back and act like none of this ever happened."
"No, I'm going after her!"
"Arthur will kill you if he finds out you're in league with her!" Merlin warned. And all of a sudden he sounded like a man twice his age, with twice his wisdom and experience.
What a time to grow up and become a man, he thought ruefully as he watched Dante silently battling with the situation in her mind. She knew that he spoke the truth, but at the same time, she could not bear the thought of leaving Morgana to those monsters.
"I have to help her," she said softly.
"Come to your senses, Milady!" Merlin said sharply and Dante looked up then, startled, and a little angered by the warlock's tone. But then she saw Merlin's eyes - full of compassion and understanding, but still unyielding.
"Arthur gave me a job, to ensure you were returned safely to Camelot. I will not fail him. And I will not betray his trust. Not even for you. And especially not for Morgana. Besides...what do you think Morgana would do, were she in your position?"
Dante fought to deny the answer, but she couldn't. "She would do her duty," she said heavily, and Merlin nodded, taking her by the shoulders and turning her towards the door, finally.
"Exactly. And right now your duty is to get back to Camelot and warn everyone about the situation. Saxons have a firmer hold over our kingdom that we first thought, and with the army on the borders with Arthur, the city has been left undefended."
"Gwen must be warned," Dante agreed, taking a deep breath, and knowing that what he spoke was the truth.
Stepping back out into the rain once more, and surveying the bodies that littered the area around the hut, they both listened for a moment. Now, there were sounds of battle in the distance. Arthur had had to resort to Part Three of his plan, after all.
"He needs you," she said to Merlin as she walked over to Vixen and cleaned the blade on the cloak still draped over the mare's back. Then she slid it back through the leather strap, and turned back to Merlin again. "Go to him."
"Not until I've escorted you home," Merlin argued, as Dante pushed her soaking hair from her eyes with the back of one hand.
"I'm not going home..." she spoke thoughtfully, as if an idea had only now occurred to her.
"But - " Merlin started.
"Camelot needs to be warned, yes. But the main body of the Saxon army is fighting Arthur and his men right now. If Gwen has any sense, she'll have fortified Camelot's defences and brought all the townsfolk within the Citadel anyway. I'll be doing little in the way to help them, if I go back. I'll just be one more mouth to feed."
"You're not going back to fight with Arthur!" Merlin snapped, as she knelt by the only Saxon who was still alive, grabbing his collar.
"You're right, I'm not," she agreed to Merlin, before looking down at the man held firmly in her grasp.
"You understand me?" She spoke slowly, and firmly to him.
He nodded.
"You speak my language?"
Again he nodded.
"Then tell me...who is your leader?"
"I tell you nothing, little woman," he sneered, his voice so heavily accented that it was almost impossible to make out each word.
"Little woman?" She repeated, eyebrows rising. "Do you know who you're talking to?"
"I talk to no-one," he hissed. "Especially not woman like you."
"Alright, fine," she shrugged, pulling her knife from his shoulder, where she'd thrown it during the fight. He screamed in pain as blood began to ooze from the wound.
"Aww, does that hurt, big fella?" she asked feigning sympathy, before turning the blade and pressing it to his throat. "Tell me what I need to know, and I'll let you live."
"I say nothing!" He shouted, trying to free himself from her grip.
"I'd start talking if I were you," she said conversationally as she tightened her grip on his collar. "Because otherwise, you see my friend there?" She nodded to Merlin. "He's a warlock. You understand that word? Warlock? Sorcerer?...Magic man?"
"He is magic man?" the Saxon asked dubiously. "He is too small. Little woman makes Ulrich laugh with her lies."
"You think I'm lying?" she asked, eyebrows rising again as she looked to Merlin. "Merlin, if you will?"
"Dante, this isn't getting us anywhere," Merlin started to protest. But then, seeing the determined glare in her eyes, he sighed and held out a hand. Flames danced in his palm for a moment as his eyes glowed golden, before they vanished again. The Saxon called Ulrich gasped.
"He is magic man!"
"Yes, he is," Dante nodded. "And he can do bad things to you, if you don't tell me what I need to know. Let's start with an easy one then. What is your name?"
"Ulrich, son of Uldred," he said quickly, not wanting to incur Merlin's supposed wrath.
"Very good. Now we're getting somewhere. And who is your leader, Ulrich, son of Uldred?"
"Cor, son of Cordin,"
"At last we have a name," Dante nodded, pleased. "And how many scouts has Cor, son of Cordin sent across Camelot?"
"A dozen men, split into four groups. One group North, one South, one East, one West...and then a larger group...us...to the City, to capture his Queen."
"And what do you want with Morgana?"
"Who is Morgana?"
Dante rolled her eyes and nodded to Morgana's hut. "The woman who lives there. Short, dark hair, green eyes... evil smirk, wicked tongue...very bad temper. Throws you backwards into walls if you annoy her..."
Merlin snorted at Dante's description of Morgana, then turned away before she could see his grin.
"She is sister of Arthur King. We use her to make him surrender," Ulrich replied, catching on to just who she was referring to.
This time, however, it was Dante's turn to laugh. "You've kidnapped Morgana to make Arthur surrender? Fool! Arthur and Morgana hate one another. There is no love lost between them, let me assure you."
"Arthur King hates his own blood?" Ulrich asked uncertainly.
"Arthur Pendragon hates a lot of people - including invaders in HIS kingdom. So I'd say, right about now, you and Morgana are both well and truly in Arthur' bad books. Now tell me where you've taken Morgana, and I'll consider letting you go." When he didn't immediately answer, she lifted the knife away from his throat and and backhanded him sharply across the face, the metal of the dagger's hilt carving a neat groove across his cheek. He howled in pain but still did not answer.
"Tell me!" Dante roared suddenly, her anger finally boiling over as her calm composure shattered. He glared up at her and smiled through bloodied teeth, knowing that he was getting to her. He seemed to have momentarily forgotten that Merlin the 'magic man' was nearby.
He spat a mouth full of blood and saliva at Dante, who ducked to one side, narrowly avoiding it, then let him go, took his helmet from where it had fallen to the side and used it to smash him round the side of the head, rendering him unconscious.
"I've a mind to slit his throat and be done with it," she growled as she rose to her feet once more. "But if this war carries on, he may be of some use. Merlin, take him back to Camelot. He is now officially my prisoner."
This was a side of Dante that Merlin had never seen before. The ruthless, anger-fuelled, merciless woman who was so completely different to the Dante he knew. If anything, this new persona of hers was very reminiscent of Morgana during the few times he'd encountered her after her exile.
And he wasn't liking it at all.
"Merlin!" she snapped. "Time is wasting! Good men are dying whilst we just stand here!"
"And how am I supposed to get him back to Camelot?"
"You're a warlock," she said sharply, as she untied Vixen, ripped the soaking cloak from the mare's back and discarding it on the floor. "I'm sure you'll think of something."
"And where are you going?!" he challenged as she swung into Vixen's saddle and gathered up the reins.
"To find the druids" she told him curtly. "Because Arthur needs all the help he can get, and now is not the time for him to get picky about when and where magic is used. If it can help turn the tide of this war, then perhaps he will consider allowing it once more. Besides, I've no idea where Morgana's been taken. I'll need their magic to track her down."
She started off a little way, before sharply reining Vixen to a halt again, causing the mare to snort in indignation. "Oh and Merlin? If you DARE to even breath one word about my treason to anyone - and I mean ANYONE - I'll tell the world about your magic and how YOU betrayed Arthur, by lying to him all these years. Maybe I'll even pin some of those magical 'incidents' on you. And who will everyone believe, then? Camelot's First Lady? Or some lowly serving boy?"
"Don't worry, my lips are sealed," he glared right back, matching her fierce expression with one of his own. "Though not for your sake."
"Wise decision, none-the-less," she nodded, her features softening ever so slightly. He saw very briefly the look of relief behind her eyes, before her face set into the solid mask of determination once more. But it was enough to get Merlin thinking. Maybe that was what was fuelling this new, dangerous side to her?
She was afraid of being found out, and that fear was turning to anger. Pretty soon, it would turn to hate, just as Morgana's had, before finally, people began to suffer as a result. He would not let that happen all over again. He would give Dante no reason to fear...he had no choice. Innocent people depended on him to keep her in line. If that meant keeping her secret, then so be it.
For now, at least.