AN: Filler-ish
At Magpie09: Besides the cruelty of Arthur and destiny, something else is influencing him as well. It has been mentioned in one of the chapters but I think no one has noticed it yet.
At Guest(Mark): I'm sorry if I upset you but I'm unsure about the kind of response you're looking. Also, I tried to merge your reviews and messed up. Only one of them is showing.
The balance over life and death works by first giving someone water from the cup and then making a sacrifice. Not the other way around. I also don't believe that the Cup of Life can be summoned. I reference Merlin wikia for this sort of thing and there's nothing there. Surely Morgana would sooner use the cup rather than killing Morgause. The owner(s) also changed a bit randomly from Nimueh to the druids. I'd say it's got a mind of its own appearing when and where it wants to.
Secondly, Gwen isn't the type to drop friends in a heartbeat. She'll stand up for what she believes in, yes, but she won't condemn and abandon him when it would achieve nothing but pain.
Look back at the episode To Kill The King (S1). Uther had Tom executed but when Merlin asked if she wanted him dead, she said "What would that solve? ... That would make me as bad as him."
Fast forward to The Darkest Hour (S4) and she's taking care of him (though she does say she's doing it for Arthur).
That's why Gwen is sort of in character but I must admit that Arthur doesn't deserve her kindness.
Issues
Selfish and selfless, he made a choice.
A few days had passed since Merlin's second escape from Camelot and life went on though everyone coped differently. Most remarkable were Gwen and Gwaine who developed something of a new habit. He would visit her after his final round in the lower town and usually arrived right after she put the kettle on. They talked about petty things such as how the other's day was, the local gossip and of course moaning about the weather. On some evenings they would talk about more serious things such as Merlin and Arthur. Both of them needed to talk to someone and, oddly enough, for both of them Merlin was that person. Of course Gwen had confided in Arthur as well before everything went to hell but he wasn't much of an option anymore.
Gwaine no longer voiced his mind when the king was near as he found himself opposing his ideas. At least he could be himself around Gwen and confide in her. He also confided in one other person which was Percival. He didn't say much but every once in a while had some very good advice. Gwen was more talkative than the friendly giant and Gwaine was thankful for it. His talks with the maidservant replaced part of the time he usually spent at the tavern and when he left her home he usually didn't feel like drinking all that much.
Gwen began confiding in Gwaine when Merlin was in prisons and awaited his execution. She visited Arthur on a daily basis. Usually he talked and she listened. He was reasonable and spoke a lot of his decisions as a King but that's not what she wanted to hear. She wasn't his advisor and wished he would open up more about Merlin. The first time, the day he nearly broke down, was also the only time they actually had a deep conversation about Merlin. She had made attempted to breach the topic once and he lashed out at her with "The world doesn't revolve around him" and left. The only thing he had let on was that he valued Agravaine above all others and that was probably what annoyed her most. The biggest shock came when he kissed her in the middle of a sentence. He had mistaken her kindness for infatuation and she had to explain to him that things weren't the way they used to be. Explaining a breakup with someone who wasn't emotionally stable wasn't easy. She had tried to do it very carefully but it seemed not everything had come across.
There had been sightings of Merlin since the day of his escape. Most of them came from places west of the Valley of the Fallen Kings. The sorcerer's allegiance was never spoken of but Arthur had drawn his own conclusions. All the King saw were his own fears as these were the ones Merlin promised to bring into the world. One such fear would be an alliance between Morgana and the former manservant. Arthur didn't know that those sightings were lies spread by the witch. She wanted to lure Arthur out of Camelot but stuck with mere sightings rather than cruel tales as she didn't want to anger the sorcerer. Ruining Merlin's reputation would have brought more risk than reward as it might have made an enemy out of him rather than a possible ally. She didn't see Arthur as a target anymore but as means to an end. His head would be Merlin's and only then, when his vengeance was sated, would she ask him for aid against her nemesis; Emrys. At the moment he was consumed by anger and she wondered if he would return to normal once that anger was gone. She would be queen and he would be... Undecided. His fate or role in whatever future there would be was dependant on his personality.
The troubling thoughts about his altered personality had persisted but something else was troubling her more; her dreams, or rather the lack thereof. She hadn't been wearing the bracelet because she deemed her visions to be too important to be ignored. Merlin was dangerous and so was Arthur. She needed an edge to them. Unfortunately the visions stayed away ever since the dark day at Camelot.
She feared her visions but she feared their absence more. What horrid things could scare a nightmare?
Morgana met with Agravaine at the edge of the Valley of the Fallen Kings. Her spy had informed her of the King's increasingly nervous behaviour. With every sighting he became tenser and now he had decided to act as she had expected him to. He would seek the truth behind these many rumours with the Knights and his 'trustworthy' advisor.
"And you're sure he'll pass through the valley?" Morgana refused anything to be left to chance.
She needed the King as leverage but if he knew that it was her that spread the rumours then he might become too cautious of him. Like his father before him, that caution would become well-disguised fear and he would no longer leave the comfort of his throne. It would make him a difficult target, even for Agravaine, but if her plan was to fail and she was incredibly lucky then his youth prevent that from happening.
"He's expressed his concern but I convinced him that the alternative would let him escape." Agravaine said proudly.
"Good." She said, "I'll judge the men on their way there and ambush them on their way back."
"Milady, might I inquire why you've decided to capture Arthur rather than kill him?"
"Emrys is still out there somewhere. I'm not his equal yet but Merlin is. I'll bring Arthur to him on a silver platter. Emrys might try to save him but he can't fight both me and Merlin."
Agravaine was thinking about her plan. She had already shared the thought of Merlin being Emrys' apprentice and her spy momentarily considered other possibilities.
"Merlin is Emrys' apprentice but why would Emrys choose him?"
"What does it matter?" Scoffed Morgana, "With his help Emrys will no longer be my doom."
"Milady, have you ever considered the possibility that they might be related?"
It chilled her blood. Merlin didn't know his father but he had never said anything about a grandfather. If Merlin and Emrys were related then that would make this difficult. Thankfully difficult wasn't impossible. Both she and Arthur had tried to kill Uther. Risk and reward were in balance. She was not going to abandon her plan now that it was already in motion.
"You just make sure he passes through the valley, milord." She refused to show him any emotion.
"Yes, milady."
There were many tools at the warlock's disposal. Ancient curses of ill fortune could bring the city to its knees and grand magics could force them to surrender but Merlin had far more sinister ambitions and chose for deception. The plot that had formed in his mind was simple and far from the hell he had promised Arthur but he couldn't care less. He would taunt him before he killed him and would do so with great symbolism. The symbolism would lay in his means of deception. He would use a Blood Crystal. He was wearing it already.
Getting the blood for the crystal had been child play, literally. There were many villages between the Isle and the city of Camelot. Folk at one of the taverns played a game called 'bloody knuckles'. The game had at least two players. The first player would spin the coin and then, starting with the first player, players would take turns to flick the coin to keep it spinning. The one that failed to flick it or caused it to fall would put his knuckles on the table and the previous player would use his thumb to shoot it at the knuckles.
Merlin played the game with a few men of his age and was smart enough to use a copper of his own. After a few rounds he 'chickened out' with his copper and was lucky enough that the blood was still fresh enough to rub off on the crystal. Of course there were faster, more violent ways of obtaining the blood but these people didn't oppose him in any way and violence might draw unwanted attention.
Wearing the crystal proved slightly difficult as the person he would impersonate was a bit larger than him. He spent whatever coppers he still had on clothes before leaving the village. The boots he now filled were those of an average man with black hair and a short beard. He wore brown trousers and worn black boots. The jacket he wore wasn't of the greatest quality either but it would have to do. In any case he didn't look like Merlin anymore. Arthur would pay dearly for what he had done to him and so would anyone that would get into his way. The road to Camelot wasn't safe as it passed through the Valley of the Fallen Kings but neither was it perilous. Bandits were a hazard but he knew that Morgana didn't usually bother mere travellers. If their paths did cross, however, she would be the one paying the price.
Morgana watched the road from a distance. Arthur and his petty knights would pass by and she would know their numbers. A trap would be set with the aid of the local bandits - whom she would make clear had no choice in the matter. With Arthur as her captive Merlin would surely come looking for her and she would gladly hand him over along with her most sincere apologies. He would see that she was right all along and the throne would be hers. If Emrys were to show up as well, all the better, they would dispose of him on the spot. She would need a backup plan in case things went wrong but right now that didn't matter. Although no one was there to see it, she smirked.
The witch was too preoccupied with her own plans to notice the rustling of leaves behind her. She only had eyes for the road ahead which would bring the next part of her plan and not for the danger behind her. She felt a shocking pain in her back and looked behind her to see who it was. It was someone but her vision was blurred and she could only make out his posture and black hair before passing out.
AN:
I hate this chapter. I know it shows emotion but there is no freaking progress.
As for 'bloody knuckles', it's a school thing.
Spoiler at the bottom.
*Spoiler*
*SPOILER*
Next chapter is filled with Merlin and Morgana and we'll see the darkness that has infected the warlock.
