Chapter Two:
Click, click, click. The sound of the button on the mouse was almost distracting. He felt the weight of Snowdon Mountain surround him today, a he sat in his office in the military style base and plugged away at the computer in front of him.
His office was in one of the upper levels of the hollowed out mountain, well above the machine rooms that kept the base running. He was tucked back in a niche, off some remote corridor, where he could be left in peace from the majority of comings and goings at the base. The reinforced gray concrete walls were covered in tapestries he had collected throughout his long life. Shelves along two of the walls were filled with personal books and knick-knacks. Many more he'd collected were left in a home he rarely visited in southern Wales. Tucked away in a special climate controlled rooms to keep the pieces from rotting. Thanks to modern technology, he no longer had to use his magic to stave off the effects of time.
He had lost more pieces over the years due to his constant travels and forgetfulness, than to anything else. Even though going from one place to another was no longer the great journey it once was, it was still a comfort to know the items would be there when he returned. Merlin pondered the changes that were coming soon in his life, and wondered if he should pack up his office decor to be sent to the house. Shaking his head, he realized they would be just as safe in his UNIT office, as they would at his so-called home. An odd thought played through his mind. 'Unless of course, the mountain collapsed'. He dismissed it with a snicker, and wondered why he felt so distracted today.
There wasn't much duct work around the corners and across the ceiling, so it kept the emissions in his little hole of an office to a minimum; even when someone further below was running an experiment. So, he doubted if that had anything to do with it. A friend, who knew of his magic, once asked if the EM field distorted his powers. Merlin had laughed and simply explained that having been born into a world before modern technology, he was just more conscious of the constant hum; barely outside of normal hearing range. It did nothing to interfere with his abilities, just his concentration from time to time.
Most days, he didn't have any issues with the way his life had turned out. Although it had been an extremely long one, he wouldn't change a thing. He was considered one of the top analysts for UNIT, even though most of the personnel currently staffed at the base had no idea of his existence. The UNified Intelligence Taskforce[1] was in charge of researching and containing a variety of threats that other agencies around the world were unequipped to deal with, such as anything extraterrestrial or paranormal...at least the ones that didn't concern the highly-classified Stargate Program of the U.S., or the even more secret Torchwood Initiative of the U.K.
His own personal interest stretched more into what was classified as paranormal, or magic, as he called it. He typically coordinated with Torchwood on things that even they couldn't explain. At least he did, until the fall of the London headquarters of Torchwood One, and the Battle of Canary Wharf.[2] That was just weeks before Martha disappeared. Now, the only Torchwood left, was in Cardiff. Merlin marveled at how much had changed, since the days when Queen Annis ruled over the same area from her castle in Caerleon...just a few leagues away from the, now, bright and bustling city.
The man running it, Captain Jack Harkness, was a real character. He, like Merlin, seemed to have an unusually long life span. Most of the people he worked with knew he was different from them. Hell, he'd been in this very office for longer than most of his contemporaries had been alive. Although, not on the best of terms with Harkness from the few meetings they'd had, it was a small comfort to know that he wasn't the only one dealing with the inability to die. The only reason he hadn't spoken with the Captain about it, was something more personal than the Jack's seemingly insatiable sexual appetite, which extended to anyone...or anything...but, Merlin kept his reasons to himself.
Not that Merlin hadn't experienced various indiscriminate activities over the years himself, but Harkness's advances were in a class all their own. Simply stated, though, Jack was just not Merlin's type.
Dark blue eyes drifted from the screen, filled with numbers and codes, to the picture that sat on the corner of his desk; a person who really was Merlin's type. Deep brown eyes, and a beautiful white smile, stared out at him from the frame. Her black hair and coffee-toned skin contrasted against his own pale complexion. They met a few years back, when she was still in medical school. They went on a few dates, nothing serious at the time. Then she went missing for a while.
It was around the time that the entire hospital she was interned at, had disappeared. An odd occurrence of rain flying upwards caught the attention of many in the UK.[2] Months later, when he finally ran across her again, she never fully explained what had happened to her, but he could tell whatever it had been, had changed her. He began to talk with her about his job, and she jumped on the chance to join UNIT.
Martha Jones. He smiled just thinking about her name. They complimented each other well, he felt, as her own interests strayed more towards the extraterrestrial and alien technology side of things. They had begun dating again, as soon as she graduated officer training for UNIT. Although this time around, it quickly became more than just casual dinners. Some days, he questioned his own sanity; becoming involved with someone who wouldn't live past eighty to one hundred years. Yet, he had learned long ago that he would rather chance having love and companionship for a short time, than live completely alone in misery.
He only recently found out where she had been during her absence. An alien...a Time Lord...had taken her travelling in his TARDIS[3], on a journey through space and time. It was near the end of their travels, that the man known as 'The Doctor,' took her to Camelot. She admitted to seeing Merlin there, standing beside the recently widowed queen. She never explained any more of what she saw than that, but it opened the door for him to confide in her about his very long existence.
He brought himself back to the present and stared at the photo again. The beautiful woman was still smiling at him from the printed paper.
The picture was taken just after their engagement, a few months before. She would be his seventh wife. He supposed it might seem extremely odd to others if he were to say he was a widower six times over. Chuckling, he could just envision some tabloid media on the telly chronicling his life; like an odd, suspected serial wife-killer, or something.
"'But what happened to his third wife?' You might ask. He claims that she fell victim to illness during the tenth century...yet, he has no proof to support that.
" ...His fourth wife?' Well, no records of HER remain to be found…" an imaginary voice charged.[4]
Finally, giving up on his work, he began to allow his mind to drift through his memories. He thought about his first wife...a true princess; well above his own station. He was, however, no longer a simple servant by the time he and the few remaining Knights of Camelot, had sought refuge in the lands of Nemeth...
.
Two years. It had been two years, since the Battle at Camlann.
Two long years...since Merlin set Arthur's lifeless body adrift in the lake.
Two years...from the time that the dream of Albion began to crumble...
Guinevere took up the mantle of her reign as queen as well as she was able to. She mourned for Arthur deeply. There were so many losses from that battle. Many, like Arthur, had never returned. Merlin felt the sting in his chest, not only for losing his king, but for the disappearance of Gwaine and Percival as well.
A new spark of hope arose in Camelot when Gwen announced that she was pregnant with Arthur's child. Sadly, she never got around to lifting Uther's laws on magic. Merlin understood. Gwen and her unborn child's safety were more important than his secret. She knew about it, and she accepted him for it, but together they decided it was too soon after Arthur's death to change things. Instead, they would start subtly, on a case-by-case basis. The druids were free to live as they chose. Others with magic, who hadn't truly been persecuted since Uther's reign, were allowed to do the same for the most part.
Then a sickness began ravaging through the lands. Merlin had been sent out with the knights, as the Court Physician of Camelot, since Gaius was too old to make the journey. By the time they reached the affected village, it was too late. Nearly two-thirds of the population was already dead, or dying.
They returned to Camelot, and to the unexpected news that the plague had reached the city. Gaius was among the first to succumb to it. His age, and the fact he had been in the thick of things trying to heal the afflicted when the outbreak began, weakened his body and he succumbed to the disease quickly. Merlin barely had time to say his farewells to his surrogate father, before Gaius died.
In less than a fortnight, the sickness had decimated the once shining citadel. Among those struck with the sickness near the end, were Gwen and her infant son. There was nothing Merlin could do...not even with his magic, as he tried to heal them. With his state of exhaustion and what was left of Gaius' dwindling medical supplies, he could do nothing to ease her suffering.
Gwen's last request, while she held the dying child close to her breast, was to be with her husband. She never wanted to be queen, only to be Arthur's wife.
Merlin took her to the lake.
He assisted her into a boat on its shores, and set mother and son adrift with his magic. They disappeared into the mist.
Camelot was left in shambles. Soon, other kingdoms, hearing of the lack of rulership, came pounding on the gates. There was no one left to occupy the throne. Camelot, and all their dreams, fell into the pages of myths.
Merlin and Leon led a small group of ragtag knights and refugees, across the borders to Nemeth, where they petitioned King Rodor for asylum. To repay his debt to Arthur's memory, the king took them in.
The secret warlock would have been satisfied to simply be a servant, but King Rodor wouldn't hear of it. He knew some of what Merlin had done for Arthur, and also how he had participated in saving himself and Mithian as well. Unbeknownst to Merlin, Leon had spoken on his behalf to the king, and confided in the monarch about Merlin's abilities. Not long after, Merlin was surprised to have a title bestowed upon him. Unlike Camelot, Nemeth never persecuted those with magic, and he was named as an apprentice to the current Master of Magic for the Royal Council. The man was nearly as old as Gaius had been. When he realized the extent of Merlin's abilities, he happily stepped down and let the younger man take up the mantle.
"Hello, Merlin."
The warlock looked up from his desk and smiled, "Princess Mithian. What brings you to my humble chambers?" He was desperately trying to finish a proposal for King Rodor's council concerning some druids, who sought to take shelter in the lands of Gedref. Although the issue was relatively minor, Rodor liked being kept in the loop about all his subjects. King Bayard of Mercia, who became the ultimate victor in the final battle for what was once Camelot, had begun persecuting the druids nearly as ruthlessly as Uther had...which is why the druids began turning towards Nemeth.
The dark-eyed princess swept into the room, and casually walked around it. She wandered along the shelves, eyeing the books, and odd assortment of items displayed. "I came by to say 'hello'...am I not allowed to do such a thing?"
"Of course you are. This is your castle...well, your father's." Merlin's eyes followed her path around the room. He felt his heart quicken, and his breath catch. Clearing his throat, he purposely turned back to his work.
"And someday it will be my brother's," she stated in a casual, almost bored, tone.
Merlin cocked his head to the side. "And if he doesn't return, it would fall to you."
He'd only heard of Mithian's brother, as a war campaign with the Gauls kept him away for the past years. When Morgana and Odin chose to join forces against Camelot and Nemeth, their timing wasn't without purpose. They had only waited long enough for Rodor's son to set sail, before they kidnapped Rodor and Mithian.
"Or, to whomever I decide to marry." She came to stand behind him, looking over his shoulder.
Her face was so close to his, while she watched him write, that he started fidgeting. "I heard your father is still searching for the right suitor for you," he managed to say, past the lump in his throat.
"Mmm..." The hum of her voice, so close to his ear, sent shivers through him. "The crux of the problem is: the men he has proposed are either too old, or too young. Of course, there is also the issue that I doubt I could love any of them."
Merlin shifted uncomfortably and laughed nervously. "Well, that could be an issue, I suppose."
"Yes, it is." Mithian stepped back, her chestnut colored hair brushing against Merlin's cheek as she moved. "...only because I already love someone else."
He watched her out of the corner of his eye, as she walked around to the front of the desk. "Who?" He managed to barely croak out.
The princess sat gracefully in the chair across from him. "There is a rather dashing man who has saved me from fate, twice. I fear, I have fallen in love with him."
He chuckled, "If it is as you say, My Lady, then does he return your feelings?" Merlin couldn't grasp why she was confiding this information to him, instead of one of her maids, or ladies-in-waiting.
"I had hoped he did, but I feel he is too preoccupied with other things, to even notice me."
"Then he is a fool," he said with a smile before he realized what he said. Merlin quickly turned away, and pretended to busy himself with something on the shelved wall behind the desk.
"Hmm. Yes, Queen Annis of Caerleon seems to agree with you...and I recall King Arthur admitting to a similar sentiment once." Her voice, normally smooth and deep, had taken on a heavy air of annoyance.
Merlin could feel her chocolate eyes boring into the back of his skull. He coughed, "What would you like me to do for you then, My Lady? A love spell, perhaps?" He put on his best idiotic grin and turned back to her...only to find she had moved from the chair and was suddenly right beside him.
He nearly fell over backwards when her lips touched his. "Are you a fool, Merlin, or am I?" Her eyes searched his face, for any sign of rejection.
"Obviously, I am," he replied breathlessly, his smile broadening. He couldn't stop himself when he leaned forward and returned her kiss.
There were no issues when Merlin finally asked for her hand, after her brother's return. Within a few years they had two wonderful children to share their lives with...however, then they both began to realise something. Merlin wasn't aging.
He stayed by her side until she took her last breath. Their children grew, and had children of their own. They, in turn, had children. Each generation grew further away from him, until he was nothing more than a stranger to most of them. However, he was able to keep in touch with one or two, from time to time.
It'd been over thirty years since he finally lost touch with his last known descendant. She married a boy in the US Army, and moved across the pond. He heard she had kids, but nothing after that. Merlin wondered if he dared to locate them, and what they might think of some crazy man...spouting about how their ancestor was once a servant in King Arthur's Court.
.
The shrill ringtone of his smartphone snapped him back to reality. He glanced at the incoming ID with a smile, and answered.
"Ay-up, love!" He said to his current fiancée.
"Ay-up to you, as well." Martha's voice quipped from the speaker. "How are you doing today?"
"Alright, I suppose. Just thinking about you."
He could almost hear her smile through the phone. "Well, I just wanted to let you know...you should take a look at some of the recent IOA reports from the SGC. I think, you'll find something with a bit of a personal interest in them for you."
"Oh?" He asked. His voice holding a tone of disbelief. "Since when do you have access to the International Oversight Authority and Stargate Command?"
"I don't," Martha responded, clicking her tongue. "...but, let's just say, I have some inside information. You might really want to look for something regarding the recent return of a man, who was classified as missing, presumed deceased, due to a Gate malfunction a few years past."
Martha reached up and readjusted the towel on her head. After a long week at work, she was finally going to have a few days to recharge, before flying home to prepare for her wedding. Glancing at her phone, she frowned. She hadn't heard from Merlin for almost two days, not since she called him with the intelligence on the men in the SGC. She knew, when he would eventually contact her, that he was going to grill her about where the knowledge came from. Martha wasn't sure if she was ready to reveal that information to him, just yet.
She flopped down in her favorite chair in her one bedroom flat, and debated on trying to phone her fiancé, or just turning on the television, when the sound of the door buzzer startled her.
"Just a second!" She called towards the door. Standing, she tightened the sash on her bathrobe and went to see who it was. After a quick glance through the peephole, she unlatched the door and threw it open with a squeal.
Merlin stepped in and swept her up in his arms.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, after a heated kiss.
"Passing through, on my way to Colorado," he explained. He sat his bag down inside the flat and closed the door. Taking off his coat, he elaborated, "When I wasn't in the air over the Atlantic, I have been on the phone trying to pull strings to get things arranged."
"So, you read those files I suggested?" She asked, leading him over to the couch.
He flopped down unceremoniously. "Yeah, I had to use a bit of my unique skills to get to them, but I finally did. Even then, it didn't click right away; what it had to do with me. That is…until I saw a photo of the cloaks they were wearing."
"Do you think you know them?"
"You obviously think I do," he responded with an accusatory smirk.
"Care for a cuppa?" She headed towards the small kitchen, purposely ignoring his inquiry.
"Level with me, Martha. What do you know, please?"
"Coffee or tea?"
"Martha!"
"I can't say yet, because I'm not even certain myself. Now…coffee or tea?" She asked again.
"Beer, please." He finally relented with a cheeky grin. His blue eyes followed her movements. "You can be quite stubborn, at times. You do realize that, don't you?"
She turned and flashed him a mischievous smile. Pulling two dark bottles out of the refrigerator, she opened them and brought them to the couch. She handed him one before sitting next to him. "I'll tell you everything soon, I promise."
He held up his beer and tipped it towards her. "I'll hold you to that."
She clinked her bottle against his, before taking a drink. "Tell me, how was the flight?"
Merlin smiled. He utterly loved flying, and she knew it. It was one memory that still remained clear throughout the ages…flying…on a dragon. "Not like it used to be, but still just as amazing as it always has been."
Martha curled up closer to him on the couch.
"I wish I could take you for a ride on a dragon. Although, if Kilgharrah was still around, he'd probably throw a hissy fit, if I asked such a thing."
"You never told me what happened to them." She loved his stories. Martha understood the need to live in the 'here and now', and Merlin for the most part, did…but he was never afraid to tell her of the past that made him, or at least, what he could consciously recall.
The Doctor, on the other hand, was all about moving forward and running away from his past…as if it was a demon he couldn't escape. He never opened up; never let her see who he really was. When she was travelling with the Doctor, it was as if she was with a stranger at times. Martha felt more like his personal assistant, rather than his friend. She may have saved the world with that man, but in the end, she had to break free from him. She had to walk away.
That had been the best decision of her life. 'Well, second best,' she thought, as she glanced down at the ring Merlin had given her.
Merlin sighed and stretched out, putting his feet on her coffee table. "Kilgharrah was old when I met him. The last time I saw him, was the last day of King Arthur's life. You know, I actually remember swearing to myself, at the time, that I would never get over the hurt and pain of that day. Now, I think back at how naïve I was. Life always moves forward."
"And the other dragon?"
"I tried to help him...tried to heal him...but, he would only come to me if I commanded it. After a while..." Merlin lapsed into silence.
Martha snuggled closer to him, on the couch. "It's okay, you don't have to talk about."
He smiled, appreciating how she rarely pushed him to talk about his past.
The settled into a comfortable silence, simply enjoying being in each other's presence. "I've missed you," she finally said. Their time together had been stuttered lately, with her having been transferred to New York, and him still staying in the UK.
"I've already applied for an open-ended leave of absence after the wedding," he assured her. "So, all I need to do, is go back in for a few days to get the stuff I was working on sorted. Then I will pack up and be all yours…until you get sick of me and tell me to shove off."
Martha laughed, "I don't think that will happen for a long time." She cocked her head to the side and clicked her tongue. "As long as you earn your keep, I think I might like having a house husband."
"Ooh, modern feminism at its finest! I think I might enjoy lounging around the flat, doing nothing but eating bon-bons and watching the telly all day." He took their beers and set them on the table. "So, My Lady, what do I need to do first…to prove I'm a keeper?"
She laughed at the goofy smirk on his face and grabbed his shirt, pulling him into a passionate kiss.
Early the next morning, Merlin found himself on another flight. This time, heading to Colorado Springs, his fingers entwined with the woman's next to him. Martha had a few days off, so she was more than happy to accompany him.
She smiled, watching his face light up, when the plane lifted off the tarmac. He was always so excited to be in the air. One of the first stories he had told her, was of his experiences as one of the original pilots for the RAF.[5] He had been travelling the world at that time, and was somewhere in the far east, when word came of the Great War starting. Merlin quickly departed back to his homeland.
He always did when he heard of an arising conflict. Part of him would wonder if this was the time he had been waiting for; the time prophesied by the Great Dragon. Each time, he would walk by the lake and search for signs. Fourteen centuries, and he was still waiting. Some days, he would find himself lamenting for times he thought he had forgotten. Human nature, and his own stubborn spirit, would pull him out of his melancholy and encourage him to move on.
Merlin silently recalled one of his darkest moments in the late sixteenth century. He had said goodbye to another wife. There was still no sign of Arthur, as the year marking a full millennium since the king's passing, slid by.
He decided to have one last night out on the town, before hiding himself away in the Crystal Cave. The hidden cavern served as a sanctuary, when immortality began to take its toll through the years. Merlin would have gone sooner, but that night was the final performance for Shakespeare's 'Love's Labour's Lost', and he didn't want to miss it.
At the end of the show, the oddest thing happened: a strangely dressed woman in the crowd began shouting, "Author!"[6] Something about her just made him smile. He left with the dispersing crowd, but he was filled with a new sense of hope, as he set out across the country to the valley in which the caves were hidden.
Merlin was more than a little stunned to come across the strange and enchanting woman again, over four hundred years later. At first, he thought it was just a coincidence that the two women appeared so similar. He ran home and scoured his journals. Rarely did he draw pictures of people he met...but the woman from the Globe Theater in 1599, was among the exceptions. Everything about her, right down to the style of clothing, was identical. Merlin snickered to himself, as he remembered his fascination with the events.
When he first approached her for a date, a few years back, it was simply curiosity...a fishing expedition. When she returned after her lengthy, and still mostly unexplained, absence, she seemed to know more about him, as well. Martha told the warlock about the Doctor, and travelling through time, but refused to give him any specifics on how she knew him. He, in turn, teased her with the idea that he had seen her before, as well. It had since become an inside joke between them.
He squeezed her hand again. He turned away from watching the clouds moving below them, through airplane window. Merlin's eyes came to rest on her face, while she read a book on her tablet computer. Coincidence, providence, or destiny...whatever it was, he was thankful to have her in his life.
A loud ding emitted from the in-flight speakers, followed by the captain's voice announcing the beginning of their descent into Colorado Springs. Merlin felt apprehension grow deep in the pit of his stomach, which he couldn't quite place. He didn't know who the cloaks in the picture belonged to. There were no names listed on the records, but something about the physical descriptions of the owners was vaguely familiar to him.
Martha stood tall in her uniform, just a step behind Merlin. He had his hands clasped behind his back. The only outward sign of his nerves was the way he kept twitching his thumbs, as if he had an unbearable itch. When the elevator arrived, they got on; thankfully, alone. A guard was to greet them at the lower level, and escort them to see the commanding officer of the underground military base.
"Alright?" She asked, taking his hand.
He nodded and offered her a lopsided grin. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"I never imagined seeing you this nervous. It'll be fine. You'll see."
"But what if they are my friends, and I can't even remember what they look like?"
She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. "You will," she promised. Martha stepped back in place, as the doors slid open.
Instead of there being an escort to the general, they were personally greeted by General Hank Landry.
Footnotes:
1. UNIT (UNified Intelligence Taskforce, or United Nations Intelligence Taskforce) is a military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood, and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Following the broadcast of the 2005 series, executive producer Russell T Davies claimed that the UN were no longer happy to be associated with the fictional organisation, and the UN's full name could now no longer be used. However, the "UNIT" and "UN" abbreviations could be used, as long as it was not explained what the letters stood for. (from wikipedia dot org)
2. Reference to Doctor Who Episodes.
3. Time And Relative Dimension In Space (The blue police box the Doctor flies around in)
4. Silly Note: I could hear Keith Morrison, of Dateline NBC, doing a voiceover for this imagined narration.
5. RAF: Royal Air Force
6. Reference to Doctor Who episode 3.2 The Shakespeare Code. Funny tidbit: in The Shakespeare Code, The Doctor, preparing to open the door and allow Martha to experience time travel, actually says, "It's a brave new world..." which is quite amusing since they went back in time and not forward, as the reference is a to a book about a future time and I thought fit in well with the title, which I stole from the Iron Maiden song of the same name.
Other Notes:
First off: HA! There ya go EM and Aerist! Told you I would get you some Merthian *cackles insanely*
Amazing thanks to Nance for beta reading/proof-reading, and IcarusLSU for helping me keep things straight.
And also to everyone who has reviewed and fav'ed/followed this so far!
Revisions Applied 8/13
revised 5/9/14 (as Fan fiction is more like 2nd draft work, and this story has carried on MUCH further than anticipated, I realized there were some inconsistencies once I started writing later parts. This chapter has now been slightly revised to reflect that.)