Chapter 2
Tensions between the colonies and Great Britain had recently exploded, causing a great war to erupt. Boston was always in-the-know about the battles, because so many secret organizations had found refuge there.
The Round Table was one of those many organizations. After Merlin had run into Gwen she had learned about Arthur's pro-revolution group. She and Lance had joined with a solid story: They were born in the colonies but their parents were from France, and they used the surname du Lac. The others had accepted it and welcomed them into the group.
Unfortunately, Morgan and Arthur were not as friendly as they were before. In fact, Morgan led a different secret organization known as the King's Sorcerers. If the name didn't already give it away, all of their members had magic, yet supported the King regardless. Thankfully, not many people believed in magic anymore, so the Round Table only hated them for supporting the King. Merlin mostly hated them because most (if not all) of their members had tried to kill Arthur in previous situations.
One morning, right before a meeting with the Round Table, Merlin caught Lance staring in the mirror.
"Did this happen to you last time?" He asked, turning around to face her. "All these years, and we haven't changed. Why is that?"
She shook her head. "I still don't know why it happened to you. Maybe the event of your death slipped through a crack in the universe, or something. In any case, no man can kill you now."
"Does that include myself?"
"Trust me, Lance, you can't kill yourself now."
The meeting was abuzz with news of the war. Lance had excused himself to talk to Gwen (he still wasn't over her) while Merlin talked excitedly with Eleanor and Leon.
"Didja hear the news? King George is sending over a new kind of weapon to wipe us all out!" Leon gossipped, fixing a pin in her hair.
"Richelle, if that isn't the dumbest thing I've ever heard, I don't know what is." Eleanor retorted.
"Yeah. If anything, he'll send over a new, exotic tea with a bigger tax." Merlin commented.
Leon folded her arms indignantly. "I never said it wouldn't be tea!"
Just then Arthur tapped a knife on his glas, silencing the group. In his hand he held a rolled-up piece of parchment tied with a black bow.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he began in an authoritative voice. "I have here a letter from the King's Sorcerers. Or, to be more accurate, an ultimatum."
This elicits an uproar of general unhappiness from the entire organization. Arthur taps his glass again. "They warn us here. It reads: 'if you do not agree to the terms stated above, more blood will be shed than necessary'. They think we are cowards! They think we will comply to their Loyalist demands! What would General Washington say?"
The group starts to talk again, but more loudly. Angry voices overlap as Arthur somehow talks over them.
"What do we say?!"
Glorianna stood up from across the room. "We are anything but cowards!"
Lance raises his glass. "There is no crime in fighting for what we believe in!"
Others follow suit in raising their glasses as Arthur smiles and nods. "So be it." He tosses the paper to Gwen, who throws it into the fireplace. "Let the blood shed!"
The organization erupted into its usual merriment, signaling the end of the more structured portion. Most of the members usually stayed hours after to drink and swap stories.
Merlin and Gwen started talking to Lance about what exactly was in the ultimatum.
"Crazy requests," he shook his head. "Arthur let me read it the other day. Morgan sure knows what he wants, and he can rally his people behind it. But it's a good thing that they sent us that, right?"
"How so?" Gwen sounded confused.
Arthur joined the small conversation. "It means we're a threat to them. If they didn't care we wouldn't be getting threats."
"A threat is still a threat." Merlin reminds him.
"That's true, but that's also attention," he sits. "If we could just figure out what's running through Morgan's funny little mind it'd be so much easier to destroy his group."
Lance nonchalantly shrugs. "If you had an inside man, maybe you could find that information."
This suggestion brings Arthur to his feet again. "Lance, are you volunteering to infiltrate Morgan's system?"
"Wha- me?! Oh no, I was talking about my sister," He pats Merlin on the shoulder. "She'd be perfect for this, wouldn't ya, sis?"
Something in Lance's eyes caught her attention. He was off-handedly telling her that this was her chance to take down Morgan and his men before they hurt anyone.
"Uh, yeah, I'd love to infiltrate." Merlin nervously replied.
Arthur gave her a quick hug. "I can't thank you enough for doing this for us. Keep it a secret though, would you? I don't want your cover to be blown."
"Yeah, of course."
Gwen clapped in excitement. "Perfect! I know where their headquarters is located, you could go there right now!"
On the other side of town, Merlin cautiously knocked on a large wooden door. It heavily swung open to reveal a familiar-looking girl who dressed better than when she last saw her.
"Do you have an appointment?" she half-smirked. Why did all the bad guys smirk? Merlin wondered if that was something Morgan taught in this little club.
"I'm, uh, newer in town, and I heard this was the King's Sorcerers, led by a man named Morgan?"
The girl nodded, all traces of a facial expression gone. "Uh-huh. You want in?"
"Yeah, I do," Merlin exhaled. "I thought it'd be difficult to join."
"Oh, I didn't say you were in yet," the girl leans on the door frame. "There's a certain, well, a certain skill set required for this group. Do you understand what I mean when I say 'skill set'?"
Merlin tilts her head slightly but nods. "You mean like this?" She opens her hand to reveal icy tendrils shooting up into the sky.
In return the girl opens her hand and makes fire dance around the street. A perfect juxtaposition. "Come in, then. I'll tell Morgan you're here. What did you say your name was?" She seemed a lot more friendly.
"Merlin du Lac." She extended her hand, finding it odd to use Lance's last name.
The girl accepted the gesture. "I'm Moria. Don't worry about last names, they aren't that important here."
Moria leads Merlin down a long hallway to a library filled with quiet chatter. She sees Morgan almost instantly; he seems at ease with the rest of his friends. The girl approaches him and says a few quick sentences, the smirk back. He nods and stands to meet Merlin.
"So," he boldly shakes her hand. "you heard about us and wanted to check it out, is that correct? I'm Morgan, I lead this proud group."
She tries her best to sound genuine. "That's exactly right. I heard on the street that you guys were purely sorcerers who supported the king, so I thought I'd see what was what."
Morgan flashes a dazzling smile at his group. Merlin can see why everyone likes him. "Yes, well, the king has been very accommodating to those with magic over the years. We know that if a new government is formed over here, we run the risk of being persecuted."
"Like our fathers before us." Morgouse, who Merlin didn't notice before, calls from the corner of the library.
There are a few sounds of agreement before Morgan starts again. "Precisely. Now, there is a rival organization that wishes to spill blood over this matter, the Round Table. They think we are cowards!"
The group begins to make more noise in protest.
"They think it's a crime for us to fight for what we believe in!" He continues, more animated than before. "And to that, we say: so be it! Let the games commence!"
Instead of cheering, like the Round Table, this group claps politely as Morgan turns back to Merlin.
"Wow. You guys are about more than what you were given credit for." She manages, unnerved by how similar that speech was to Arthur's.
"And we're about to get more credit," Moria pops up between them. "Tomorrow we'll really make a statement for those Revolutionaries and their reckless ideals!"
Merlin looks between the two. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well," Morgan pauses, as though he were trying to find a way to say something with the utmost poise. "We have been challenged for a fight of sorts tomorrow night. Arthur- that's the leader of the Round Table- he thinks the best way to solve this is with blood. I can't say I don't agree, but it is a little unfair that we have superior weapons."
She raises her eyebrows at the two Loyalists, who were both smirking. "You'd use magic against them?"
"We have to defend ourselves, Merlin," Moria states plainly. "We're victims of circumstance, it's not like we have a choice here."
Merlin strolled with Arthur through the town later that day. The duo were trying to look as inconspicuous as possible in the fading sunlight.
"How'd the meeting with Morgan go?" He finally asked after a few minutes of polite conversation.
She sighed. "Unfortunately, I can understand their side of the argument. The King has been good to people like them- people like me. They fear a new order where they could be hurt."
"What do you mean 'people like you'?" Arthur asked with a confused expression.
Going against her better judgement, Merlin pulls Arthur into an alleyway. "I won't hurt you, I promise, it's just that we can't really show this stuff to the public."
"What the hell are you talking about?" He bewilderedly exclaimed.
"I'm talking about… Magic. All the Loyalists in Morgan's group have it, and I have it."
Arthur pauses for a moment, then begins to chuckle. "Very funny, Merlin. Magic isn't real."
"Oh really? Look," She pulled two wooden soldiers out of her pocket. Swiftly she animated them, and they started dueling. The small wooden rifles made poofing noises as the pair played war. "I'm not lying to you. People like me- like Morgan, or any of his group- we can do things like this, but on a much larger scale."
His gaze alternated from Merlin to the soldiers, showing pure amazement. "Were you born with that ability?"
"It's the only way you could," She nods at the toys, and they become still. "Anyway, at this meeting, Morgan and one of his people- she's basically his right arm- they told me that they were going to use magic against you in the upcoming fight."
"What? They can't do that!"
"I'm afraid they can, so we need to find a way to stop them."
Arthur led Merlin out of the alley and into the street. "You could use magic against Morgan, couldn't you?"
"Against just Morgan, or just one of his men? Sure, that'd be no problem. But there were a lot of people at that meeting, Arthur. They're as many as us." She shakes her head, thinking of a way to stop Morgan and save Arthur.
He half-smiles. "That's one-on-one, we can take them! We've got rifles and swords to match their fancy hand motions and spells, that'll work! Won't it?" His last question showed more doubt than Merlin wanted to hear.
"Go round up the gang, quickly. I think we should attack tonight. I saw a Loyalist watching us; I'm gonna go find him." She says quietly, nodding around the corner.
Arthur grins and turns sharply on his heel towards the headquarters.
Quietly and quickly, Merlin rounds the corner at the end of the street. Just a few moments ago she saw one of Morgan's men take this route, and she worried he had seen them.
In a doorframe she sees two figures talking rapidly, small spurts of magic randomly shooting from their general direction. Upon closer inspection she notices Frederick, someone she had cared about before. Was he really on Morgan's side? The other person wore a hooded cloak, but was unmistakably a girl.
Merlin creeps closer to the duo, trying to overhear their conversation.
"...and as if it weren't bad enough, I found out that Arthur has a du Lac in his midst. His name's Lance, and I think that little traitor is his sister." Frederik was saying. "Can magic skip siblings?"
"Magic does as it pleases, there are no real rules. That's why so many men fear it." The girl replied. Her voice was familiar. Merlin knew who it was, but…
Just then Frederick and the other person noticed Merlin standing nearby. She uncomfortably waved and walked towards them. "Lovely sunset, isn't it?"
The girl took off her hood, already smirking again. "Frederick, would you start back without me? I'll catch up."
He nodded quickly and walked off.
Moria watched him leave, then slowly turned back to Merlin. "So you've got a brother?"
"Listen, I can understand both sides of the debate, really I can. Lance had me join the same side he joined, regardless of my opinions. I wanted to see what you guys thought, and I agree with both sides a bit." Merlin replied, hoping she'd take the bait.
"Oh really," She threateningly began. "Is that why you were telling Arthur all about magic, or about our plans for him, or did Lance want that for you too?" Moria created a small map of previous battles in the dirt with a flick of her wrist. "I've had friends die here, here, and here. My boyfriend died a few weeks ago fighting for the King here. And tonight, your little cause will die here." A blood-red X fell over where Boston should be.
Merlin stepped back, noting the map. "I understand, okay? I know what it's like to lose everyone. But killing more people won't bring the dead ones back."
She looked back at the dirt map to see nothing but dust.
"Morgan will be so disappointed in you. What's worse, he'll be mad at me." Moria jumped on another train of thought, worried.
"Then don't tell him you know." She looked at Merlin with confusion. "You and Frederick keep this secret, I'll take the blame for treason, and you two stay out of trouble."
She folded her arms. "Why should I trust you?"
"Why indeed," Merlin began to walk away. "Have a nice night. I'll see you soon, actually."
The gang was rounded up quickly and made their way towards the Loyalists' meeting place. To their dismay, however, one of Morgan's scouts spotted them, and told his superiors so. They were waiting for Arthur and his people on the corner of the meeting house.
Morgan was at the front of the small mob. "Hello Arthur. Lovely night, isn't it?"
Arthur's hand went instinctively to his rifle. "I heard you were going to use magic against us."
"Now how would you have- oh my," He noticed Merlin standing by Gwen. "What a shock this is. Frederick, you were supposed to be on patrol today, how did you not see this?"
Frederick, who was passively standing near Morgouse, managed a shrug.
"It doesn't matter how we found out," Arthur jumped in again, "Let's finish this."
Then all at once, everyone but Merlin and Lance froze in their spots. They saw each other and stood in between the two groups.
"Does this mean they all die here?" Lance wondered aloud, mindlessly tapping some of Arthur's frozen people.
Merlin surveyed the other side of the fight. While Morgan had his arms crossed with no magic in sight, Moria had a sharp blade of magic pointing at Arthur already. "I think they just cease to exist, like last time."
Almost as soon as she said it, everyone vanished from sight, not a trace of life left behind.
"So," She checked the street to make sure nobody had seen that little episode. "I think I've had enough of Boston for now."
Lance nodded, looking a little queasy. "I've had enough of seeing everyone turn to mist."
Almost a hundred years passed before anything happened again. By that time, Merlin and Lance had traveled down the coast and into collections of small islands. Another war had started in America, but this time they were fighting themselves.
Although there was a war, neither Merlin nor Lance got anywhere near the battles.
One day, on a small island in a small coastal town, a massive ship with a red and gold sail docked without any announcement. The larger island near them had commissioned ships with silver and purple sails, so this wasn't any government deal.
Hoping for a miracle, Merlin went to check out the ship. As soon as she was near the boat, a figure jumped off the side casually, then yelled something up to her fellow crewmates.
It was Glorianna.
They were back.