AN:

Someone rightfully reminded me that it's been a very long time since I last updated.
There really isn't any excuse for it.

This is a double length chapter.

The Game of Kings and Queens

People were gathering in the courtyard, shouting. Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose. Did they not understand that what he was doing was in their best interest? Raising taxes did not make him popular but that wasn't what caused their outrageous behaviour. Helios had asked for payment for the services of his men and Arthur could barely afford it, meaning it would bleed the Kingdom dry in a month or two. The King did what was his right and had men collect debts from the people. The people of Camelot were allowed to owe the Kingdom a month's taxes but Arthur decided to collect prematurely and that was what set them off.

The King didn't know how to handle the situation. His father had faced minor rebels but never did his subjects become his enemy in this way. Arthur had tried being kind with his soft measures of punishment, he didn't understand why a bit of tax collection caused such an uproar.

"You, guards, get some crossbows from the armoury. I want to make sure nothing happens when I speak to them."
The men did as they were told and an eerie feeling of familiarity troubled Sir Leon. The Knight-Commander had always been adamant in his belief that Arthur was a good and fair King and for the most part he still did, but 'fair' didn't seem very appropriate anymore.

"Take aim." Said Arthur.
Sir Leon couldn't stand for what was happening.
"Sire, Morgana did something very similar to what you're doing now. Tell them to stand down before it gives the wrong impression."
"Then I'll just have to make my intentions clearer to them."
The Knight shook his head in disbelief but it shouldn't have come as a surprise. Uther was a good king but he ruled with an iron fist and it seemed that Arthur would be no different.

Before Arthur had the chance to make his speech, the doors opened to reveal a young man, a messenger, with a letter in his hand.
"My lord, there is news from one of our agents in the north."
"What did you find?"
"We've intercepted a letter sent to Nemeth."
Arthur snatched the letter from his hands and read.

Dear Mithian,

The reason I am writing you this letter is that we may have need of aid in the near future.
Morgana is travelling south to Odin's lands to gain an army with which we shall take Camelot but I
fear he will betray us in the wake of the battle.

Soon, you will receive another letter requesting aid and it is essential that you send it as soon as possible.
Should there be complications already, you can send a letter to the Castle of Fyrien.
I will be staying there for a few days to await your reply or catch up with Morgana should there not be one.

Yours sincerely,

Merlin

"Leon, tell the men to stand down and saddle the horses and that Helios will be coming with us. I've just found out where Merlin's been hiding out."
Before leaving Camelot, however, Arthur took with him the only weapon he knew could kill magical creatures. He took with him the enchanted dagger that slew the Barghest.


The castle seemed abandoned at first sight but it didn't take many men to fortify a stronghold like Fyrien. Arthur decided that it might be better to split up and let Helios and his men take the secret entrance with Camelot's troops assaulting the front gate. It wasn't a real assault as nobody seemed to be home. Then again, Merlin's letter didn't exactly say he had an army.

It was only fitting that Arthur were to find Merlin where they fought Morgause and Cenred.
"Make yourself at home, I'll have one of the servants fetch you some wine." Merlin mocked his noisy entrance.
Arthur turned to Sir Leon. "Tell Helios to make sure we won't get flanked."
The Knight nodded and left the King and two dozen soldiers in the presence of Merlin.
"You're not getting away this time." Said the King of Camelot.
"There's a first time for everything."
"And this is where it ends."
The warlock wasn't impressed by Arthur's bold words.
"Those are a lot of men, Arthur. Do you truly fear me so much?"
Arthur's nose turned in disgust and Merlin relished in his discomfort.
"It's called 'strategy' and 'outnumbered'." The King of Camelot voiced the reasons why the sorcerer should cower before him.
Merlin stood up and smiled, much to the King's dismay.
"Being a fierce warrior does not make you a fierce strategist."
"What part of 'outnumbered' don't you understand?"
Merlin shook his head at the fact that Arthur didn't see that outnumbering wasn't strategy.
"I'm curious. Why do you hunt me rather than Morgana?"
"Because it's your fault Camelot is in turmoil, not Morgana's."
The warlock revealed in the fact that he didn't see what truly plagued Camelot. Arthur didn't realise that the whispers were never meant for the people, they were meant for their King. People loved rumours but they would've died down by the next scandal if Arthur hadn't made himself exactly that.
"Some King you turn out to be. Still, I haven't exactly left you alone, have I?"
"No words in defence?" Arthur asked and a dark chuckle came from the sorcerer.
"Why should I when you never listen?"
"Outnumbered." Arthur repeated.
"Perfect example. I speak of listening and you threaten with violence."
"Are you too blind to see that you don't have a choice?"
The sorcerer's smirk was something Arthur found an annoying trait he no doubt picked up from Morgana.
"You assume too much, Arthur. You assume magic is evil whilst persecution is the only reason that they fight you. You assume you've cornered me because you've outnumbered me but you have no idea how powerful I am. This game we play is about more than swords and shields. It is the game of Kings and Queens. You assume you play it well since you are King but you are yet to realise that you are losing."
"OUTNUMBERED!"
Arthur's outburst caused Merlin's smiled to widen even more.
"How about we settle this through a duel? With swords, of course."
Arthur raised a confused brow at the sorcerer's challenge.
"I won't use magic." The warlock reassured him.

It occurred to Arthur that if Merlin wanted to kill him with magic, he would've tried something by now. The King of Camelot motioned for one of his knights to hand him his sword, after which Arthur threw it towards Merlin who caught it.

The warlock swung the sword a few times to find the balance before giving Arthur his full attention.
Arthur took the initiative with a fast strike which was quickly blocked by his opponent. With their swords still touching each other, Merlin stepped forward in an attempt to catch Arthur off guard and followed through with a lunge. The King of Camelot only ever taught his servant how to block and almost failed to deflect his attack.

They were standing opposite of each other again and both seemed to be waiting for the other to strike. It dawned on Arthur that Merlin might've learned more from their practice than he knew and found it a very unnerving idea.

Arthur raised his arm to strike down with force when Merlin suddenly took a step forward and swung his blade from his wrist. The King tried moving back but failed to do so in time. His armour was scratched but the blow was far too weak did to penetrate it. Merlin's sudden strike wouldn't have yielded any injuries unless Arthur had followed through with his attack.

Once more there was a short distance between them. Arthur took a very deep breath and stormed forward with a horizontal strike. Merlin thought he would have discouraged his foe but the opposite seemed to be the case. He tried to avoid Arthur's rapid attacks but despite his initial prowess, he was no match for his opponents superior skill.

The King of Camelot managed to disarm his former manservant, forced him against the wall and held his sword at his neck, with its point against the stone. Arthur's heart was pounding faster than it had ever done before.

"Any last words?" Asked Arthur with a nervous voice and hearing the blood pumping in his ears.
Merlin, on the other hand, was extremely calm.
"You're losing this war. If you're wise, you'll find yourself a new life." He said.
"Wrong." Said Arthur and he finished his strike.

there was a tearing sound along with that of metal scraping against stone and something fell to the floor before starting to roll away. It took Arthur a moment to realise that no blood was flowing and that Merlin had been replaced by a decapitated scarecrow.

Arthur turned to his fellow soldiers. By now they had realised it had all been a trap and they were waiting for it to close. The answer came when a loud bang rang through the air and half the room was buried under rubble. Arthur found himself to be on the safe side of the room though he doubted it would be safe much longer. As he ran down the stairs, Arthur realised why Merlin didn't use magic in their duel. He wasn't actually there, he merely animated the man of straw.

Arthur reached the bottom of the stairs and ran out the front gate. In the distance he saw three trebuchets firing at the castle and he followed the projectiles. It was only now that he noticed that the siege had already torn apart half the castle along three-quarter of his army.

Far away from the siege on Fyrien was the great city of Camelot where small orbs of light travelled from the gates to the citadel's courtyard, beckoning the people to follow them.

A crowd was gathering and on the balcony appeared Morgana, dressed in burgundy, figure-hugging dress.
"People of Camelot!" She shouted at the top of her lungs but still attempting to remain civil and in control.
People were too much in shock to run and she didn't hesitate to continue her story.
"Times have changed and we question what is wrong and what is right. I was wrong on that dreadful day where I demanded you allegiance and punished you for not giving it. It was when I saw Arthur's tyranny that I realised my mistakes."
Merlin was convinced that without acknowledging her mistakes, the people would never listen to her, let alone truly accept her. When Uther came to power, he had ordered the scribes to change history in his favour. Morgana could have done the same thing but this speech would prevent such change. This speech would be remembered by the people and if they would accept her, it would only make her more remarkable.
"Although I am heir to the throne, I don't want you to see me as Morgana Pendragon. I remember the days where I walked amongst you as Uther's ward. You showed me kindness and respect and during the famine, I returned the favour. Who I was then is not who I am now, but it is who I'm striving to be."
There was mumbling amongst the growing crowd, they had not forgotten the famine.
Morgana supressed the urge to smile and continued. "I want to be Morgana Le Fey, the woman who could be the Queen you deserve, the woman who would walk amongst you."
Uther would have screamed in outrage if he were to hear her speech. To walk amongst commoners was unheard of for people of her station. The people of Camelot, however, seemed to like the idea. Arthur only seemed to show his face when he set out to hunt something.
"What matters in the end is not what I want. It is what you, the people, want and deserve. I will not force myself upon you. I am offering you a choice."
That was when the whispers became louder and louder.
"I will be your Queen, as Merlin has promised, if you shut the gates when Arthur and his men return. Should you leave the gates open, Arthur will remain in power."
This was what it all boiled down to, giving the people the illusion of having a choice. Arthur had made mistake after mistake. They were growing weary and fearful of him. If she had taken Camelot by force, one tyrant was merely replaced by another tyrant. But if their chosen leader replaced the tyrant, then the people would be victorious.
"What's the difference, witch?!" Shouted a sceptical man.
Morgana leaned forward on the balcony and replied:
"Your taxes won't be spent on mercenaries looking for a single person, people will no longer be burned at the stakes for possessing magic, there will be no pointless wars with neighbouring kingdoms such as Nemeth but I will put an end to Lot harassing the villages on the eastern border."
The crowd became louder but no further questions were asked.
"The choice is yours." Morgana announced as she went back inside the castle before leaving Camelot.

The die was cast.

The Game of Kings and Queens - Part 2

Merlin was eager to join the Saxon forces at the edge of the forest. He pulled the reigns of his horse bring it to a walking pace and his four companions, operators of the trebuchets, did the same. Some of the men in the camp recognized them and raised their mugs of ale.

After dismounting, Merlin was approached by Ruadan.
"I'm glad to see my men in one piece." He noted.
"No one told me they could operate the trebuchet solely with magic. They were firing faster than I had expected. Arthur's army is but a hundred men or so."
Ruadan let out a self-satisfied chuckle.
"Follow that path, take the third right and the second tent on your left is Morgana's."
"Thank you."

Merlin followed Ruadan's instructions and knocked on one of the wooden poles that supported the tent before entering.
"Hello?"
Morgana was lying on her bedroll, reading a book and wearing the, in his opinion, breath-taking dress. The sorceress quickly got up from the ground and a smirk instantly appeared.
"You're back. Is Arthur still alive?" She asked greedily.
"I don't know." Merlin callously replied.
Morgana frowned at him. It wasn't his mood that struck her as odd, it was simply the fact that he did not know. He should know.
"How can you not know?"
"I... deviated from the plan. I wanted to best him at sword fighting and I didn't trap him inside." He admitted.
"How could you?!" Morgana scolded him. "You go against our plan, against my wishes, and put yourself even more in harm's way!"
He was supposed to trap him inside with his magic and get away so the trebuchets could bring down the castle on Camelot's King.
"I didn't." Merlin tried to explain he was never in harm's way but Morgana heard something else instead.
Something stung the warlock's cheek and it took him a moment to realise that Morgana had slapped him. He was about to reply when he turned back to her and saw the tears in her eyes.
"I keep trying to tell you that you're more than a servant but it's as if you're not listening. You take risks you don't have to take and don't see what will happen if something were to happen to you."
"You'd still have Camelot." He argued and got another slap for it.
"THAT is EXACTLY what I mean. I want Camelot but not at the cost of the only friend I have."
Merlin took a breath and decided to start with the details he had left out of his initial recap of his encounter with Arthur.
"There is a spell-"
Again Morgana raised her hand to hit him, thinking he was deviating from their argument, but Merlin caught it and pushed her against one of the support beams of the tent with one arm above her head.
"Listen." He cut her off before she could even begin. "I used a spell to animate a puppet with my consciousness. I didn't risk my life fighting Arthur, I lessened the danger."
She looked away out of shame for hitting him when she did. Merlin loosened his grip on her arm and lowered it slowly to the point where he was actually holding her hand.
"From this point on, I'm won't leave your side."


The sun was setting but the chaos caused by Morgana's speech had not died down. The people were divided by the choice they had been given and the first fights had broken out. The sight of violence in the streets was enough for Gwen to realise she should flee the city. Some of the castle staff knew she was close to the King and, depending on the winner, it would put her life at risk.

She had packed minimal supplies so she could leave before any attempt would be made to close the gates. On her way there, she noticed that the guards seemed to have become a third party in the almost-riots. There was the group that wanted to close the gates, the group that wanted to keep them open and finally the guards who tried to stop the riot on both ends but failing miserably.

Although it pained her heart to see her city in such conflict, she had to take care of herself outside the gates. All she could do was travel to a nearby village and wait for things to blow over. With horrid memories of Morgana's last reign, Gwen hoped Arthur would prevail.

As dusk became darkness, a large force of men emerged from the skirts of the forest and was moving towards the city. Arthur was glad to be on horseback but most of his, and Helios', men were exhausted. Helios himself, however, was nowhere to be found. Not long after the King of Camelot had escaped the ruins, he was glad to find himself face to face with Percival. Leon and Elyan were missing.

It had been a clever plan to lure them into the castle. The men had spread out inside the castle walls and for every man that was killed on impact, another would die by the debris. After a quick headcount, only seventy of them remained along with some of the horses.

Once they reached the city, there was some uproar at the front of their squad and Arthur moved forward to see what was the matter.
"Is there a problem?" Asked the King.
"The gates are shut and no one is answering."
Arthur shouted but there came no reply. One of the Knights pointed into the distance and Arthur saw an army approach from the other ridge of the forest. The King of Camelot was speechless, exhausted and now afraid as well. The Saxon army was approaching.

"Archers, fire at will." Arthur commanded to the pathetic amount of six remaining archers.
The rest of the remaining forces got in formation before he could even give a second command.
Four things spelled their doom. One, their army was tired. Two, the Saxon army were fit. Three, the Saxon outnumbered them. Four, their backs were against the wall.

"Why are they carrying torches? The can't sack the city, can they?" Asked one of the soldiers.
The horrific answer came with the fire that approached them faster than the men that 'carried' them. Balls of fire claimed the lives of the first few men. The Saxon had no need of archers, they had sorcerers. Arthur felt the fear, the hatred and the disgust his father had towards magic. It was a vile and dishonourable evil and he knew this battle could not be won. Without a word, Arthur hung onto one side of the horse and hit its rear to make it run. To the approaching Saxon army it would seem like the horse fled without its rider.

The armies clashed but it could hardly be called a battle. Helios' men fled the moment they realised that Arthur, the man who paid them, was gone. The loyalty of Camelot's own was strong but it didn't allow them to win the battle. Some died that night, others were captured and a rare few managed to flee.

The people within the walls had realised what had transpired before the closed gate and opened it when they noticed that the battle was over. The guards that had tried to keep the peace didn't know what to do and remained idle. The two sides that had fought over the gate didn't dare continue with the Saxon army so close. Some of Morgana's supporters even manage to cheer.

Merlin left Morgana's presence shortly after they entered the citadel and it allow Morgana to reacquint herself with the throne. She stroked the top of the chair and smirked as if greeting an old friend. Slowly she sat down and, just for a moment, that smirk became a smile. The Saxons had also left her presence to ensure order and safety. Merlin entered the room and grinned at the sight of it. The future Queen of Camelot was beaming with joy as she saw the crown in his hands. The warlock stood before her and bowed.
"May I approach, my Queen?" He asked as he held out the crown.
"You may." She replied in a playful fashion.
The warlock approached her as she kneeled before him. He placed the crown upon her head himself and then stepped back to enjoy the view. Morgana stood up and smiled, actually smiled. It felt right to see her like that. It wasn't the witch that stood before him but a woman with a heart who cared for her people. She never was a different person, she merely did what she had to in order to survive. Morgana stepped forward and brought her arms around him, hugging him.

He had given Camelot to her as he said he would. She had forgiven him for all he had done to her because he had given her what she wanted most.
"Thank you." She whispered.
Merlin gently placed his hands on her back and returned her hug.

AN:

Lay siege to your own castle, that was the actual plan :p. I mean, why have a person bring Mithian a letter when he could've used a crow like Ruadan? All part of the bloody plan.

*spoiler below*

*look away now*

Leon, Elyan and Percival are not dead.