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Chapter 18
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Uther screamed while the Sidhe disappeared.
The king promptly rushed to the stables, so determined to face the wretched creature in his so called sacred place - the lake he had come across so many years ago – that he didn't notice when one of the flags that were attached to the walls feel on Morgana and she squealed. Uther was long lost to his enraged pursuit.
Merlin – that stood by the servant's entrance as he was forbidden to be in the same room as her ladyship – acted quickly and used his magic to cover Morgana with the cloth, giving her enough time to restore the necklace's chain and cover her secret. Surely Arthur would come up with something to maintain Morgana's pregnancy confidential.
"Fix the blood crystal, love, we can still get out of this situation unharmed." He spoke in her mind.
Merlin ran to Arthur's side while the prince tried to help his foster sister – and if the fairy was telling the truth actual sister – to get rid of the fabric that covered her. Arthur whispered for her to fix the collar immediately. If she did so they could still handle everything. Gwen also rushed to assist the two men, truly concerned for her friend's fate now that the truth came out.
When they finally uncovered Morgana, she was once more with the shape of a fit woman with no trace of her bulging abdomen. The court that was expectantly about the shocking news gasped, unsure about what to believe in.
Arthur released the breath he was holding and seized the opportunity to restore the Lady's honor and solve the misunderstanding (that wasn't actually a misunderstanding), hopefully no one would be dumb enough to question his words:
"What a despicable creature, trying to make a fool of us using its sorcery to put in doubt the Lady Morgana's honor!" He fisted his hand to the audience and acquired an indignant expression, then he continued to speak, not before whispering a sorry to her: "and that's why magic must be eradicated from this land, so that we'll no longer fear be fooled by such contemptible tricks!"
Arthur gripped Morgana's forearm and prompted her to walk a few steps so they were entirely visible to the crowd.
"Hear me, loyal people of Camelot! What you heard today were nothing but lies of a trickster and the proof stands right before your eyes! So, remember today as it was, a day in which the use of sorcery has only demonstrated its wickedness." He said, pointing his finger incisively.
"And that's why we of the House Pendragon vow to get the land rid of this plague once and for all!" He lifted Morgana's arm and the people cheered.
The noblewoman glared at him, Merlin and Gwen wondered how the prince could remain so calm while such an evident death intent was directed at him.
Arthur mumbled to Morgana for her to remain calm and follow his lead. Merlin whispered in her mind that the prince didn't believe the words he said, he was just playing the part of a magic hater and diverting the attention from her.
"Guinevere, please take Morgana to her chambers, I'll entertain our guest a little longer and end the festivities for today." The maid nodded and grabbed the Lady's free arm while Morgana protested:
"Wait, Arthur, I want to talk to you."
"We'll do this later, Morgana. I still have to deal with this feast and find Father." He said it between gritted teeth and she realized he was tense and probably doing his very best in the king's absence, so she complied and let Gwen guide her to her chambers.
Then, Arthur muttered to his manservant:
"Merlin, go find my Father. If possible, stop him from doing anything stupid, like fighting alone a magical creature that easily defeated fifteen of our finest warriors. Tell him I already took care of everything and that I'll meet you two shortly, after I have dismissed this feast."
"Yes, sire." The warlock replied, knowing they didn't have time to waste and he ran to the stables to find a horse and follow the king.
Uther was galloping at full speed towards the lake that he visited thirty-six years prior. He cursed that fatidic day his curiosity won over his logical (*cof*cof) mind and he diverted from his initial path, but mostly, he cursed the vile creature that had enchanted his daughter, his precious Morgana, and not satisfied in tainting her honor in such a devious manner, that thing exposed her, shaming his daughter to the whole court.
The thing would pay! He'd make it pay! Wasn't forcing Morgana to sire three bastard children punishment enough? Surely only he saw that silly fairy ballet, it was not as if the entirety of those despicable creatures knew what happened, the damned fairy surely overstep its so called revenge.
Damn it, he should have burnt the woods surrounding that lake, as well as dredged the bloody place. Yes, he would do it, after he run his sword through that impish vermin's heart.
When he reached the lake, he yelled:
"Show yourself, coward! Show yourself and face me like a man!"
"Careful with what you desire, Uther Pendragon. I'm right here, ready to eliminate your existence from this good earth!" The Sidhe replied with pungent hate in his voice.
The king's horse neighed loudly, rearing up on its hind legs, and Uther struggled to keep in control of the animal. The man pointed a finger to the fairy and he cried out between gritted teeth:
"How dare you? The one finishing another life will be me, you scum!"
Uther prompted his horse into the fae's direction and the animal reared up and neighed again, precisely at the moment the magical being threw an energy blast at the king.
Seconds before the beast was hit, its final thoughts were: "Oh, no, not again!"
Uther and his horse crumbled to the ground and the king hit his head in the process, being knocked out.
The Sidhe slowly flew into his direction, savoring his victory over the violator of his people's sacred rituals.
"And now, Uther Pendragon." He hissed the king's name in utter contempt before adding: "You fully understand my pain!"
The magical being noticed that his foe was unconscious, so he continued speaking:
"You mortals are such weaklings. A mere fall was enough to knock you out? Pathetic!"
At that moment, Merlin finally reached the lake and reacted instinctively when he saw the scene before him: he cast a magical bolt that exploded the Sidhe in many pieces.
Then, the warlock pulled the king from under the horse's corpse and, with a little help of his own magic due to Uther's weight – lifted the man to his own mount and rode back to Camelot.
The king woke up gasping for air and almost fell of the horse, while Merlin tried to steady himself.
"Sire, sire, it's ok, you're safe." The young man said.
"What about the creature?!" The king asked with eyes wide open from his momentary confusion.
"I only found you, sire, no magical being or anything else." Merlin lied.
"Get off the horse, boy." Uther said as he regained his senses.
"Sire, the prince –" He tried to protest, but it was useless.
"I GAVE YOU AN ORDER, BOY, OBEY ME!" Uther yelled, interrupting him.
Merlin did what was told, sensing that this wasn't a good moment to antagonize the king's orders, but he did try to explain that everything was fine (well, considering what had already happened before).
"Sire, the Lady Morgana …" Merlin tried to say, but as soon as his feet touched the ground, the king commenced a fast gallop towards the citadel and his voice was muffled by the sound of the horse's hooves.
Uther opened his daughter's chambers doors abruptly and that startled Morgana and Guinevere. The maid was the first to speak:
"Sire, if you may –"
"Leave us." He groaned in a menacing tone and the maid curtsied, glancing at her friend as she left the room. Morgana nodded to her in reassurance.
"Why did that fairy called me your daughter?" The young woman inquired, not wearing the Blood Crystal because she was about to take a nap.
Uther covered his forehead with his hand and slid it to the rest of his face. He wheezed in frustration, getting more and angry – yes, that was what he was truly feeling, anger, it wasn't sadness or anything similar because those kind of feelings were solely restricted to women and their whiny nature. He was possessed of anger, enraged of how ludicrous the whole situation was, of how his whole life could have been so much different had he bore a son instead of a daughter. That was what innerved him more, if she were born a boy none of this would have happened.
His internal turmoil of emotions was too much and he ended up exploding:
"Because that's what you are! My daughter, not my son!" He said in exasperation and continued speaking: "Why weren't you born a male? Why?!"
Morgana was shocked with this revelation and did try to say something, but Uther continued his rant:
"If you were a male, my Ygraine would still be alive! My kingdom would have the best possible heir for the throne, because you're so much more than Arthur, you're a better fighter, a better leader, you're much smarter than him, you're more outspoken, there isn't a single thing that he does better than you!" A single tear left his right eye and Morgana noticed that his eyes were glistening with the rest of them.
"And even … even magic, you have … and you seem to be powerful too, more than most of the wimps my men have executed. You would be the perfect Prince … and the strongest King Camelot could ever hope for! If only, if only you weren't a bloody woman!"
"No …" Morgana muttered and began to gasp, inhaling large amounts of air in a vain attempt to calm herself.
"NO!" She screamed in distress.
Arthur and Gaius entered the room and spoke at the same time
"Father!"
"Sire!"
"It's a lie! I can't be your daughter!" Morgana cried out and the old man rushed to her side. That amount of stress wasn't a good thing for a pregnant woman, especially in a pregnancy of multiples.
"The fairy spoke the truth?" Arthur asked in astonishment and Uther ignored him, replying to Morgana instead:
"You are! You have my blood and you're much more like me than Arthur could ever hope to be! If only you were a male … all my problems would have been solved!"
"Sire, please refrain from distressing the Lady Morgana more." Gaius tried to intervene.
Then Morgana screamed in pain and a flush of a liquid substance wetted the floor.
"Oh, no, she's getting into labor now." Gaius stated, then turned his head to the prince:
"Arthur, carry Morgana to my quarters, she is having the babies now!"
The young man gulped and nodded as he went to his sister's direction and began to carry her in bridal-style to the physician's chamber. Gwen, that was anxiously waiting outside, retrieved her mistress necklace and followed the prince, after she placed the necklace around her friend's neck.
Gaius paced to leave the room when Uther said:
"Wait." The old man turned to his king and Uther spoke:
"Do everything you can to keep her safe, Gaius. Everything."
"Yes, sire."
The labor lasted for hours, Gaius commanded Merlin to enchant the chambers so that Morgana's screams of pain couldn't be heard outside. Gwen assisted the physician, sometimes calming Morgana, sometimes fetching something for Gaius and other times simply having her hand crushed by her friend's vice grip.
Merlin stood with Arthur, pacing the prince's chambers. The blond man had explained to his father how he handled the situation while still keeping Morgana's honor, but he was too hesitant to inquire his father about Morgana's true parentage and what he meant when he said she was more like him that the prince could ever hope to be. So, Arthur was also in his chambers, getting more and more irritated by each passing second as his manservant didn't cease to walk from a corner to another in his room.
"Merlin, stop! You'll only create a whole on the floor! Sit!"
The raven-haired man complied, too much anxious to think of a witty remark or anything else as his love was giving birth to their children and he was stuck with his prat of a master/friend when he should be with her.
Merlin began to bite his nails, trying to calm his nerves.
"Merlin, stop that! Only because you have large ears you think that you're a bunny now?"
"Arthur, just do me a favor, don't be such a prat now. You know that these are my children that are being born and –" He stopped himself before he could say that it was the woman he loved whose life was endangered in that risky birth of multiples.
"Don't repeat that." The prince said in a somber tone and added: "They are Camelot's Princes or Princesses, by blood too."
That ignited Merlin's natural curiosity and he asked:
"What do you mean by 'blood'?"
Arthur sighed, noticing his mistake. Then the realization that his manservant would be the father of his nephews or nieces set in. What a mess, somehow he would be related to his idiotic servant. He sighed again.
"Arthur, what do you mean by 'blood'?" Merlin asked again, getting warier.
"Morgana is my sister, and apparently everything that my father has ever desired that I would be." He blurted, sick and tired of keeping secrets and farces.
"Wait, is she – "
"Uther's daughter, the target of that fairy's revenge."
"And my children –"
"Uther's grandchildren."
Merlin gaped open mouthed at Arthur's revelation. He immediately wondered how Morgana would be coping with the truth, and he felt a pang of worry for her in his own heart. He kept silent for a long time and when he finally had found the words to say something to Arthur, someone knocked on the door and opened it afterwards.
It was Gwen and she said, smiling:
"Morgana has delivered three healthy baby boys."
A/N: So, here we have Arthur the politician and a reference to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", who noticed it?