Morganna.
Arthur bristled like a golden bear protecting young cubs. He bared his teeth and snarled at the woman he had once considered family, now she was an enemy. The childhood they shared mattered not at all. Her heart was filled with bitterness and hatred. She had no compassion. She did not value mercy. She did not see all of Uther's flaws now, she only saw as much as he chose the wrong side. She did not see how wrong ruthlessness was or how much it hurt the innocent. She was vicious and she was advancing with her men, marked with the Pendragon symbol but it was silver on black. She perverted everything she touched.
"Hello Arthur." Morganna's voice was like music falling out of the mouth of a corpse. It was wrong. She looked horrible. She was pale and gaunt. Arthur couldn't help it. He looked at her from her feet to her face, taking in the details of every pulled thread of the forsaken rag she had donned in lieu of a gown. It was black..ish? It was definitely many shades of black. She was filthy. Smudges of something or other on her face and hands. Perhaps it was from the dress or perhaps her dress wasn't black, maybe she was darkening it with some sort of personal soiling. Arthur's nose wrinkled even though he couldn't smell her, his imagination was filling in what hadn't drifted to him on the air – yet.
"Morganna!" Arthur greeted the woman with noticeable disappointment hoping that it might mean something to her. It was to late to go back. It was to late to undo the damage. They could never live together under the same roof and pretend to care about each other as if nothing happened. At the very least, he could banish her to a foreign land or arrange a marriage for her with some noble in a distant land – a very distant land – a very very very distant land. He risked a question, "Let me guess. You're after the staff as well?"
He wanted it to sound clever, but it had quite the opposite reception.
Off to the side, Merlin brought a hand to his face and shook his head lightly as Morganna erupted into a womanly giggle of delight, even a little bit of color came to her lips – but not much. Arthur colored a little. He didn't think it sounded that far fetched after all Geoffrey had given him the instructions! Merlin coughed and Arthur snapped his head so quickly to look in his direction that his muscles screamed in protest. Merlin widened at his eyes and cleared his throat again, obviously trying not to laugh. Even Merlin is laughing! It wasn't that ridiculous!
Merlin and the servants were in the center of their group. Morganna's men outnumbered them four to one. The situation was far from ideal.
"I forgot how funny you are!" Morganna giggled a bit more. Her once voluptuous figure was wasted as if she had fed her hatred with it – Arthur noticed how painfully boney her hands were getting. She probaby hadn't had a decent meal in a long time. The girlish laughter did not fit her visage and it made him a little sick to hear it, she calmed herself eventually. She cleared her throat before turning her tone into one that would be used when addressing a small and uneducated child, "No, Arthur. Believe it or not, someone like me can have someone take a book out of your precious Camelot. I then added pages to the precious book. Then I had the book put back where it was – but not without giving dear Geoffrey a reason to rediscover a book he had long forgotten."
The two extra servants were back to back and shivering in fear. The knights all had their swords drawn and were standing at the ready waiting for commands. Merlin was doing his normal – stand at Arthur's side around a foot and a half and one half step away from the elbow. His manservant's breathing was normal. In Arthur's peripheral vision, he saw Merlin as he always was – casually unimpressed with the world around him when something extraordinary was going on. However if it was something ordinary, Merlin tended to lapse into rapt attention and amazement. He never reacted as expected. Morganna's announcement of a traitor in the castle hadn't phased him at all. Others gasped. Some shifted. Merlin might as well have yawned and then gone off to his bedroll for an afternoon nap for all the surprised and shocked he was for goodness sake.
"I wish we could just pretend you were on your way to visit your father's grave," Arthur said sadly.
Morganna flinched. Her pale cracked lips peeled painfully back from her teeth in a snarl, "That is something I've been trying to arrange! Don't you worry, Arthur. You'll be dead soon. Nothing that I do to Uther will hurt you at all. I'll kill him, but first I'll show him your head on a pike! And the best part is, Emrys can't save you. He's off dealing with the storm of his own creation!"
The knights and servants were getting uncomfortable with their curiosity. A slight breeze swept up enough of the red capes to make them flicker like red flames surrounded by the black of Morganna's men.
"Thanks to that, I get a free shot at...Merlin would you mind not yawning? Has the prospect of dying by my hand not sunk in yet or is dying preferable to a life of mucking out Arthur's stables?" shrieked Morganna. Incredulity etched her features into an even more grotesque masque.
The greens of the forest were so damp and calming. It was a beautiful place. It was a shame to have to sully it with blood, Arthur's only consultation would be that the dead would become worm food and thus spur on more luxurious growth. The lives ended today would not go to waste, however he refused to give over one of his subject's precious lives to Morganna. The odds were in her favor.
Arthur was weighing his sword in his hand, the balance was perfect. He was ready, and... why was Merlin laughing?
"Merlin would you mind being serious?" asked Morganna while Arthur asked at the same time,"Merlin could you be serious, please?" Which needless to say spurred what they thought to be a country bumpkin into a good old belly laugh.
The two other servants were pale and held onto each other for dear life, shaking looking at Merlin in horror. The knights, well, they were used to the strange manservant by now. Gwaine beheld the thin man with some kind of glimmering adoration. Arthur was sickened by it, actually. He wanted to warn the knight against swooning in front of the enemy, but his tongue was frozen in his mouth. Merlin's face was streaked with mirth born tears that he couldn't control. One thin, boney finger rose and pointed at Morganna.
"You," he said with difficulty, "actually think that one of your cheap tricks is going to work? I never knew how funny you could be, Morganna. If you were still, I dunno, clean, it might even be a charming characteristic," and with that Merlin lost his ability to speak again as he doubled up in his amusement. He stood and hopped up and down and clapped his hands, "She thinks she's clever."
And with that Morganna attacked, but she did not attack Arthur. She attacked Merlin. Merlin dodged, but her attack was shielded from hitting anything anyway. A Sidhe buzzed angrily, wordlessly near the forest's edge – zipping to and fro. Her men tried to advance, but they slammed into an invisible wall. She shrieked. Merlin stood and turned. Arthur and his men also looked for the source of magic.
Emrys, thought Arthur.
"Show yourself Emrys!" screamed Morganna.
Merlin stood stock still, his laughter had ceased. His pale skin practically glowed in the against the dark green backdrop of the forest beyond him. Arthur wanted to freeze time and remove everyone but Merlin in his brown, red, and blue. He wanted to get the court portrait artist and have Merlin's anger captured. He wanted it. He wanted proof that even kind-hearted Merlin could feel rage, but where was it directed? At Emrys? Was Merlin afraid enough of Emrys to want to do battle with the warlock? There had to be some anger, he had been severely hurt by magic recently. Merlin quivered like a deer in range of a crossbow and it was ached to be preserved. Arthur wanted it for evidence and he wanted it because – it was beautiful. So Merlin-like, to be the unexpected reaction. It was as if his docile Merlin had turned into some kind of avenging angel. It was silly. Merlin was no warrior nor did he have any fighting skills. However to see the fighting spirit in a boy who was so humble, emboldened Arthur himself. It was inspiring. That was what Merlin was to him, an inspiration. He had seen many emotions on Merlin's face before, but Arthur had never seen him so angry. He was glaring at... a firefly. Arthur shook out of his reverie. This wasn't the time to focus on a farm boy's oddities, he lunged sword tip first at Morganna's throat and screamed, "Charge!"
All hell broke loose.
Morganna refocused her anger on Merlin – who had the audacity to snipe at her, "Oh grow up, Morganna. Can't you see I have more important things to deal with than you? Why don't you comb your hair? Have you forgotten how or do you need a servant to do it? What is it with you nobles? You can't do something as simple as dress yourselves? Or comb your hair? Do you still bathe? I doubt it. You're filthy. Go clean up. I really do have more important and pressing business to deal with."
Morganna mouth made a perfect "O" as her jaw dropped in complete astonishment at Merlin's lack of fear.
Arthur lunged at Morganna time and time again to be thrown back into the fight. He'd have to slash his way through his opponent who then just happened to either trip or sneeze – one lost his trousers. And then Arthur would once again launch himself at Morganna who was trying to fry Merlin who seemed to be dancing out of harms way by weaving through trees as he spoke in stern tones. Morganna was shrieking her spells. She had started to pant.
Her men weren't winning, however they weren't winning either.
Trees that Morganna's spells hit were shaken. Some had splintery looking gashes in them. Merlin had not ceased speaking though. To Arthur's amazement, Merlin's tone was getting colder and more annoyed. Arthur wanted him to stop it. He didn't want Merlin to take on Morganna. She was to dangerous. It was a nice gesture to try to lure her focus onto himself, but Morganna was just to powerful. She was insane. She was going to kill him. Merlin didn't stand a change at this point. He had nothing to prove to Arthur. Arthur knew already that Merlin was the most loyal and brave servant in all the realm. He was a friend. He was a commoner but his heart was so noble. He had done so much for Arthur.
Suddenly Arthur regretted threatening him with banishment. He promised himself that he wold do as Merlin requested and talk to him about finding a way to forgive Gwen.
If Merlin could face Morganna, then he could face his own stupid pride.
The air was getting thick. Humid. It smelled sweet. Merlin was swearing, he was telling off Morganna. Arthur wasn't sure if she needed informing that she was being misguided by her fears and that she had abandonment issues – what ever that meant.
"When I met you, I thought you were a friend. I thought you were brave, but you are more motivated by fear than you would like to admit. In fact, you're more motivated by fear than Uther is!" yelled Merlin who dodged another volley of energy as he swatted at a fire fly. Actually, there was a swarm of fireflies surrounding Merlin now."So what are you doing, Morganna? Do you think what you are doing are the acts of a good person? Do you?"
Arthur stopped trying to attack Morganna as he considered those words. He was going to have to talk to Merlin about his wisdom of speaking to an enemy about his father in that way. He placed a hand on his hip. An enemy swordsman swung at his head and he parried the blow easily. He ran the man through the mid drift and continued to listen to Merlin.
"You could have been free of all of this, Morganna. Your biggest worry or concern should be what to wear, but no you just had to be motivated by your own fear – not anger. No, Morganna, this is not deserved. This is fear and it is pathetic, because you have gone to far," Merlin kept going, but if her rage kept increasing all it would take would be one stumble. One Merlin-like boot catching a stone, there was the Merlin wobbly lost balance despite the fact the ground was even, and maybe a Merlin should be running for his life – but hey there's something more interesting over there – Arthur's mind's eye was filling with dreadful scenarios even as the battle raged around him.
Merlin's speech was … confusing. he more he spoke the more furious Morganna became. She told him to die. She cursed at him. She began to cry. Her fury stirred up wind and shook the very ground beneath Arthur's feet. It was becoming more and more dangerous to be near her. It was a wonder that Merlin kept speaking. The more he spoke, the more insulting his tone became. He was speaking down to her as if she were a mere child to him. It was absurd.
In the distance he saw cloaks, were those druids? Were they here to help or to hinder? Or were they here to merely watch? Did this have something to do with Emrys? Emrys.
"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!" yelled the farm boy turned manservant violently batting away fireflies as he stumbled to a halt. Arthur's heart froze as did his feet. The world was moving in slow motion. Morganna raised her hand. Her pale mouth opened, cracked lips spoke ancient terrifying words. Power arched in the form of light from her fingertips and it moved sinisterly snake-like towards Merlin who had stopped dodging. He had become distracted during a battle when his life was at risk. Arthur wanted to move between the spell and Merlin, but no human could move that fast.
No human could have saved Merlin, but Merlin was saved nonetheless. He was thrown back by an invisible force – his frail body hit a tree trunk heavily despite how his light build. Arthur's attention once again was peeled away from his manservant's plight by enemy knights who slashed at him mercilessly. He took his frustrations out on them. He wanted to stop this. The fight was lasting to long, he had to find a way to win. He wasn't leading the battle – he had been watching one. Arthur was losing this one. If he lost this, everyone would suffer. Merlin was right, there was the taint of Uther's hatred all over Morganna. It wasn't for magic – it was for everything good!
Arthur slit the belly of the man before him and pushed him away with his boot as a huge shadow passed over head. There wasn't any sun today. It had been overcast for a long time. It wasn't possible to see such a shadow, but yet... Arthur looked up. It was the last thing he wanted to see. Above him in all of it's majesty was the ancient great dragon itself flying in a tight circle. It rumbled deeply in its throat, a soft but menacing growl.
The ground beneath his feet seemed to pulse with life.
"You broke your word. We no longer had to remain. Do you think your puny prison could hold us?" spoke the dragon. Arthur shook. The dragon … spoke? He couldn't handle Morganna and the dragon. Even if he had the full use of his army, he couldn't take both. One, maybe. Both, was impossible. Not without Emrys – if Emrys actually was his guardian angel as the druids claimed. He felt an inkling of doubt as the dragon flapped it's giant reptilian wings. I thought I killed it. Figures, Merlin can't even tell when a dragon is dead. Never take the word of a farm boy, he just wouldn't know.
Gwaine stepped in and saved his life. Arthur came close to having the back of his skull introduced to an enemy mace.
"You okay there, Princess?" the question came out punctuated with pants, but true to form – the grin flashed. The roguish glint in his eyes was still there. Merlin's knight still had some fight left in him, although to be fair – Gwaine preferred the impossible. He liked the "no chance of winning" scenarios the best and with that in mind – Arthur deflated a little more.
Even if he were here, even Emrys could not do anything about this. We're doomed.
Merlin was sitting at the base of the tree massaging the back of his head, complaining as only he could. He was sourly rambling without an audience while Morganna had taken up swatting at fireflies. She had gone mad. She was absolutely starkers. Her obsession with Merlin had reached a new height if she was going to join him in insect battering. Arthur shook his head.
"Princess?" called Gwaine, "You can keep shaking that head of yours if you like, but adding movement doesn't make it more or less of a target. You're going to lose it if you don't start paying attention and defending yourself."
The dragon landed and with its mighty tail swept away half of Morganna's men into the brush. Despite the bulk of the creature, it then turned as quick as a flash and then breathed flame over the screaming men. One black and silver garbed knight slashed at the creature to be batted to the flame. Arthur cried out for his knights to back off. There was no reason to antagonize the dragon. It had not attacked Camelot in some time and he did not want to remind the creature that it had a reason to hold them in ill regard.
He just wanted to grab Merlin and go home. If Emrys was there, couldn't he help them? Wouldn't he know?
Arthur looked for Emrys, but he couldn't find him. Someone was casting magic. The druids were keeping their distance, however they were engaged with their own troubles. A group of serkets had been disturbed and had descended upon the druids who were trying to drive the magical beasts back. The dragon took out six more of Morganna's men, but the numbers did not make sense. Her men should have been defeated by now. Arthur watched in horror as the dragon's breath turned her knights to ash only more would form from the very earth from beneath their feet. She was cheating! They weren't even human! No wonder Gwaine was breathless and complaining that Arthur wasn't really fighting – this wasn't a fight. They needed to retreat.
Arthur had known it already though, but he couldn't call out the order. He couldn't have his men make a break for it while Merlin was taking the full brunt of Morganna's fury. It was a miracle that the foolish farm boy turned manservant had lasted this long already.
"Merlin," choked Arthur.
"Princess," hissed Gwaine, in full combat. The enemy had once again reached them despite the dragon picking them off one by one. It had not escaped Arthur's attention that the dragon had not attacked any of his men – yet.
Arthur's lip quivered. He looked over his shoulder. He could hear Merlin's waspish tone of voice as he berated Morganna. Still at it. The brave fool. Arthur crossed swords with yet another opponent. The inside of his gloves were slippery from sweat. His arms were getting tired. His leg muscles were starting to feel rubbery. He was fatiguing. It wouldn't be long before they would begin to fall and then Merlin's attempt would mean – nothing.
He couldn't bare to see it. "… don't look. He will not be the first to give his life for you."
There was so many things wrong with Uther's advice. So many things and there wasn't any time to correct any of it! Tears streamed down Arthur's face. He made to decapitate his enemy, but the dragon... stepped on it. Arthur swallowed. He was face to face with the legendary beast who – smiled at him before turning on the next knight of Morganna's.
It must be listening to Emrys. Emrys. Heaven have mercy. Emrys is here!
"Retreat!" Arthur yelled, hope growing in his heart.
Merlin was still dodging Morganna, tutting her efforts. Criticizing her aim, her posture not being lady-like anymore, and how she should really consider wearing appropriate footwear for the woods if she was planning on battling in the woods. Arthur wondered if he had heard the command to retreat at all, because he hadn't attempted to escape. Merlin was talking about the virtues of boots. The benefits of good footwear was worth an extra coin or two. Now that Morganna was an outlaw and a commoner – Arthur flinched at the curse words that had inspired from her.
He should have been running away and Merlin should have been running with him. Instead he ran a ways and stopped, his men scattered, but nearby – not leaving his side.
"MERLIN!" he cried out. He lunged towards his friend, but Leon had a hold of his arm to prevent him from actually dragging Merlin away from Morganna – as if Arthur could prevent her from following. If the dragon would help? Arthur yelled again, "Retreat! Come on!" He didn't want to say let the dragon eat her even if it was what he was hoping what would happen. The dragon was still in full battle mode. The fireflies were still dancing. There was still invisible forces making both Merlin and Morganna bounce backward and side to side. There was the druids fighting serkets. There was a white bat that had just shown up that was spitting fire at the fireflies. Clouds were forming over head, the weather was threatening to turn for the worst. Morganna's men seemed to be conjured from mud. He swore he saw a unicorn trying to avoid the serkets, but he couldn't be certain from this distance. He opened his mouth and cried out again, "MERLIN!"
"You slippery bastard! If I can't hurt you, I'll do the next best thing. In fact, this might hurt you worse than actually killing you!" and then Morganna turned and stretched her arm towards Arthur her palm out. Ancient words slipped out of her cracked mouth and Merlin screamed out a no that could have split the heavens. And somehow he went from standing from hundreds of yards on the opposite side of Morganna to between Arthur and Morganna's spell with his arms stretched out protectively.
Merlin took the hit.
Merlin took the spell square in the chest. It lifted him and then slammed in with a mighty force into the ground. For a brief moment, when Merlin was spread eagle suspended in air before he crumpled into an inhuman position. Arthur's head was shaking so badly, he wanted to reject this as reality. The impact displaced earth, sending up a cloud of leaf and soil.
Arthur fell to his knees. Emrys...you bastard!
Morganna let out a brief bark of laughter, but she was interrupted by a frenzied dragon. It's one thing to face a vengeful dragon. Another to face a fighting dragon. However one that has tipped over into madness. The great dragon began roaring and writhing – not unlike the way Morganna had when Morgause had been struck down when the Cup of Life had fallen. Fireflies covered the dragons body, which only seemed to push the creature further.
Emrys. You bastard! How could you use Merlin as a shield? How dare you? Merlin...
Arthur rode with one arm around Merlin's torso, the thin servant's back pressed against his chest. The pale forehead rest smoothly against his throat was reassuring. With brief glances, he could see for himself that Merlin was awake and alive.
twitch
They had not lost one man and that in itself was a miracle. Behind them a magic battle roared on, literally. Arthur did not care if he had abandoned Emrys to deal with Morganna on his own. He did not care if he had left behind a rampaging dragon. He did not care if the serkets were flooding through the forests. He did not even care if the druids were losing, if they had known of the trap – they should have warned him. They had taken the initiative to open their tree hugging mouths before – he knew they had it in them!
twitch
Something white made him jump in his saddle. He wanted to draw his sword, but he could not release his hold on Merlin. The knights around him crashed into battle mode in a single moment, well – all but Gwaine.
"Wait a moment!" an exhausted and bloodied Gwaine raised his sword, but in defiance as a small white dragonet landed on Merlin's lap and stretched against his form Merlin, speechless, lifted an arm and the creature nuzzled underneath as if craving the touch. Merlin sweetly rubbed a thumb against the creature's cheekbone. The boy didn't have a cowardly bone in his body. The creature let out a soft squawk and then flew off as nonchalantly as it had come.
twitch twitch
Emrys...