Chapter 17
The fire cast two shadows on the wall of the cave. One was the shadow of a powerful sorcerer. The other one came from a small dragon. Recent events had forced the sorcerer to leave Camelot, where he had been living for more than two months. Believe it or not, it was the longest he had stayed in one place in a long time. The dragon, on the other hand, was in the place she called home, but her companion was missing. She didn't remember the last time the two of them had spent a night apart.
Dragoon was still revisiting the events of the day before. He was in the tavern when he overheard one of the soldiers speak about Morgana getting caught. At first he thought it was the alcohol talking, but after seeing the amount of knights in the streets of Camelot, he knew it was true. Dragoon also knew that it wouldn't take long for Merlin to realize the coincidence between Morgana getting caught and the druid girl (or Green, as he called her) not writing. He had decided it was for the best to leave before that happened.
From the moment he gave them the books, he was sure that they would end up meeting. What would happen then he could only guess. Maybe they would fight. Maybe they would talk. Maybe they would dance to a lovely tune. Who knew? The point was to give them both a second chance, what they did with it was their problem. What he never thought (and he cursed himself for that) was for Morgana to get caught by Camelot before that happened. It was a brilliant plan. And the best part was that he didn't even had to plan it!
He smiled and looked down, where Aithusa was resting.
"Don't worry," he told her as he petted her head, "I'm sure Merlin will bring her back soon enough."
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.
.
Merlin knocked the door. "May I come in?" he asked.
"Yes," a voice answered from inside.
Knocking to enter his own room was strange, but then again, it had been a strange night. When he opened the door he found Morgana with three of his books opened on the bed and a few more in piles around her.
"I have to say Merlin that I'm surprised," she said. "You have books here that are actually worth reading."
"I'm glad you approve," he replied, admiring the mess she had made.
"Except those, of course," she added, pointing at one pile in the corner. "I can't understand why you would waste your time with riddles. They are pointless."
"Well, actually... never mind, I'll tell you about it later. Look what I've got!" said Merlin, putting aside a cloak he was holding and revealing a basket with food.
Morgana looked at it and closed the book she was reading.
"Thanks Goddess, I was starving," she said.
"Don't get too excited," Merlin said, "this is just what I could get without attracting suspicion. It's not very good."
Morgana smiled. "I've been living in a cave in the middle of nowhere for the past year; I think it will do."
"Good point. So, I got us some properly aged bread, a piece of very flavorful cheese, and look, one perfectly shining apple with some perfectly black spots!" Merlin used the cloak as tablecloth and placed everything on top. "I did manage to get us some good wine though," he added, as he grabbed a bottle of wine and two goblets. "I don't think Arthur will miss it much."
"Are you trying to get me drunk, Merlin?" asked Morgana, narrowing her eyes.
"After last night, I think we could both use a drink," Merlin said, as he filled both goblets and sit down.
Morgana sit in the other end of the table and grabbed the goblet. She brought the cup to her lips but stopped before drinking. She swirled it and sniffed it, trying to find if there was something wrong with it. Then she sniffed it one more time.
"Really?" Merlin asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Do you blame me?" she asked back.
Merlin sighed. "Give me that," he said, stretching his hand.
Morgana handed Merlin the goblet, who grabbed it and took a big drink.
"There," he said, giving the goblet back to her.
Morgana was going to drink when Merlin started coughing.
"I just drank it too fast," Merlin explained between coughs.
He coughed again, and again, and again. With every cough it looked like he was choking even more. After a few more, he gave one last loud cough and dropped on the table with his eyes closed.
"Merlin, are you alright?" Morgana asked, shaking his shoulder. "Merlin? MERLIN!?"
"Just kidding, the wine is fine," he said, sitting up and carrying on eating as if nothing had happened.
Morgana was lost for words. "You can't... you can't joke with that!" she exclaimed.
"That's weird... I just did!" Merlin replied.
His arrogance made Morgana gave him a half smile. However, he was crazy if he thought she was going to leave it at that. She grabbed the goblet and threw the wine at him.
In a split second, Merlin's eyes glowed gold and the wine stood still in the space between them.
As a response, Morgana's eyes shone and Merlin could feel an incredible strong force pushing the wine towards him.
He knew that he could beat her at this game, but he also knew that 'Merlin the manservant' shouldn't be able to. Little by little he reduced his push until the wine hit him all over his face.
"I'm never going to get used to this," said Morgana, trying hard not to smile.
"Was it really that big of a surprise that I have magic? Didn't you ever even suspect it?" asked Merlin as he dried his face with a corner of the cloak.
"Not really, no," Morgana answered sincerely. "Now I think back and I can't believe I didn't figure it out. All the strange things that happened around you, all the impossible situations that you somehow survived, all the things you seemed to know about the world of magic... How could I not see it?"
Merlin smiled. "People see what they want to see."
Mogana nodded looking at him. "I guess that's true," she said. "What do you see when you see me?"
Hearing that, Merlin almost choked for real. A few answers did come to his mind, but none of them was good enough. Some would anger Morgana, and the rest were things he wasn't willing to say aloud.
Merlin shook his head. "There is no way I'm going to answer that; I'm very fond of my head," he said, joking. "However, it's probably not as bad as you think."
"Fine then, what about this one: why didn't you tell me about you when I first found out I had magic? You could have helped me!"
That was one question Merlin did expect.
"And I tried to help you Morgana; I took you to the druids," he answered.
"The druids!?" she asked, laughing nervously. "I didn't need any druids Merlin, I just needed someone to tell me there wasn't anything wrong with me, to teach me how to control what was happening... I needed a friend! And you just stood there and watched me suffer..." Morgana let out a small sigh. "Why?" she asked, in a low voice.
"I'm sorry, I really am—"
"WHY!?" she asked again, in a scream.
"I couldn't tell you Morgana! I just... couldn't," answered Merlin, looking away.
A deep silence reigned for a moment.
"Emrys..." Morgana said.
So, she had finally found out. His secret was out and now he had to face the consequences. What would she do knowing that he was the sorcerer she hated the most?
"Emrys ordered you not to tell me, right?" she asked.
Alright, maybe she hadn't found out yet.
"He's the reason I couldn't tell you," Merlin said. Technically speaking, that wasn't a lie.
"Do you know him?" she asked.
"Yes."
"And still you set me free..."
"I did," he said, nodding.
"Why?" Morgana asked, confused.
Merlin gave her a brief smile. "You are Green," he answered, as if it was obvious.
"But... I tried to kill you many times... I... I tortured you... "
"Yeah... don't remind me; I might just change my mind and throw you back in the dungeons."
"You can certainly try," Morgana said, starting to make a smirk that she suddenly interrupted. "No, wait! This doesn't make any sense. What about when I had you prisoner in my hovel? Why didn't you just use your magic to escape?"
"I've already told you, I couldn't let you find out about me," Merlin explained.
"But I could have killed you!" she exclaimed. "It's keeping your secret really more important than your own life? Do you fear Emrys that much?"
"It's not just about Emrys, Morgana," he said. "I didn't want you to know about my magic because then you would have realized that I've been lying to you all this time." He made a small pause. "I am so ashamed of that. That night, not telling you the truth, is the one thing I regret the most." Merlin looked right at her eyes. "I need you to believe me on that. Please."
Morgana still remembered what she had felt when Merlin showed her his memories. If what she had seen was true, he had been an emotional mess when she asked him for help that night. He really wanted to tell her, but something, someone, was keeping him from doing so.
"It's not your fault Merlin, it's Emrys'," she said with spite in her voice.
To Morgana's confusion, Merlin made a sad smile.
"There are no excuses," he said. "This was my mistake. I made my choice and I have to live with the consequences."
"Why do you defend him?" she asked. "He is a traitor to our cause!"
"Your cause Morgana, not mine. I truly believe that we can restore magic to Camelot without any more bloodshed. Emrys believes in it too."
"Please... he protects those who spent years butchering our people. He's the monster of this story, not me, and he has to die if sorcerers would ever be free," Morgana said. "The day will come when he and I are going to fight until only one survives, and on that day Camelot's future will be decided."
"No. It doesn't have to be like this. We can find another way," Merlin said.
"There is no other way," Morgana replied.
There was a brief silence before Merlin let out a small laugh. "That takes me back," he said.
Morgana seemed confused for a few seconds, but then she open wide her eyes. "I barely remembered that," she said. "Wait! The ceiling falling on my head, that was you!"
"Busted!"
"That's not fair!" Morgana protested. "I didn't know how to control my magic yet."
"You are kidding me, right?" Merlin asked. "I wasn't going to let you destroy Camelot in the name of fairness."
"What other times did you use magic?" she asked, intrigued.
"You tell me..." Merlin replied, with a grin.
Morgana squinted her eyes as a response. She tried to think back.
"I've always wondered how you survived the serkets, so I guess this answers that," she said.
"Still not funny, though," Merlin pointed out.
Morgana kept thinking a bit more.
"The day you saved Arthur's life!"
"Which one?" Merlin asked
"How many were there?" she asked back.
"I've lost count really," Merlin said.
"So, is that what you do for Emrys? Help him protecting Arthur? Was that the reason you became his manservant?"
"Oh, you meant the day I saved him from the deadly song," Merlin realized. "At that time I had never even heard the name Emrys, and believe me, becoming Arthur servant was the least of my wishes. Just imagine it, I come to Camelot to learn magic from Gaius, I'm forced to hide my magic from everyone else, and suddenly I have to be near the King's son at all times. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I left Ealdor."
"Why didn't you just refuse then?" Morgana asked.
Merlin raised his eyebrows. "I think that refusing a 'gift' from the king would have been very suspicious," he said.
Morgana tilted her head in agreement. "So, when else?" she asked.
"Don't you want to think a bit more?"
She just stared at him.
"Alright, let just say Arthur wasn't the only one I have saved," said Merlin. Morgana seemed confused. "Crazy old guy, dagger to your throat..." he added.
"The witchfinder!" Morgana exclaimed, remembering how Aredian had suddenly dropped the dagger and backed away from her. "You saved my life!"
"What can I say... It's what I do."
"Why didn't you just let him kill me?" she asked. "It would have saved you the trouble of poisoning me."
Merlin sighed. "For the tenth time Morgana, I didn't want to poison you. You didn't leave me a choice."
"What happened to not making excuses Merlin?"
"It's the true!"
"No it's not!" Morgana said, standing up. "You did it because you were afraid of me! Of my—" She suddenly stopped realizing what she was about to say.
"Magic?" finished Merlin with a smile. "That wasn't it Morgana." He looked at her for a second. "Do you really not know? Did Morgouse never tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"You were the one who was making everyone fall asleep that day. There was a spell that was feeding from your magic. Morgouse's spell."
"You are lying!" Morgana exclaimed.
"No, I'm not," Merlin said. He stood up and moved closer to her. "You are not playing with me Morgana, are you? Did you really not know?"
She shook her head.
"Dammit!" yelled Merlin, as he grabbed a goblet and threw it against the wall behind him.
Morgana didn't know what surprised her the most, seeing Merlin angry or that a huge crack had appeared where the goblet hit the wall.
"Ehm... sorry about that," apologized Merlin as he picked up the goblet. "This place is really falling apart," he added with a smile, trying to hide the fact that the goblet didn't have anything to do with the wall breaking.
Lucky for Merlin, Morgana's mind was still busy with what he had said before.
"Morgause lied to me. You lied to me. Everyone lies to me," said Morgana looking down. She looked up and started walking towards the door. "I want to get out of here. I want to go back to my cave. I need to see Aithusa. I need her."
Merlin grabbed her by the shoulders to prevent her leaving the room. "Morgana listen to me, you can't go out there right now or you'll get caught. You won't be able to see Aithusa if you are chained in the dungeon." Hearing those words, Morgana stopped pushing and looked at him. "Just wait until tonight," continued Merlin, "I promise that I'll get you out of Camelot and that tomorrow you will be watching the sunrise together."
Morgana didn't say anything. She just nodded and backed away.
"Since we are talking about that," said Merlin, trying to lighten the mood, "did the potion actually worked on a dragon?"
She made a small smile. "Yes, I just had to give her ten times the usual dose. I wasn't sure it would work, but she had eaten—" Morgana stopped suddenly and open wide her eyes.
"Yes, I know about Aithusa," said Merlin, "I was wondering how long would it take for you to notice."
"Did Emrys tell you?" she asked, with a shaking voice.
"Don't worry about this Morgana, I would never harm her," Merlin said. "Neither would Emrys."
"How do you know?"
"I just do," he said. "So, tell me, what did she eat?"
"It doesn't matter," Morgana answered. Her tone indicated that the conversation was over.
Merlin took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "Alright then, I don't know about you, but after last night I could really use some sleep," he said, as he stretched his arms. "You can use my bed if you want."
"And where will you sleep?" she asked, with suspicion in her voice.
Merlin laughed. "Despite your insinuations I'm nothing but a gentleman. I'll take the floor."
"Do you really think I would sleep with you in the room?" Morgana asked, harshly.
"You found out my master plan!" Merlin exclaimed. "I released you only to get you into my room and kill you in your sleep. I'm so wicked."
Without waiting for her reply, Merlin grabbed a few clothes and started making a makeshift bed on the floor.
Morgana would never admit it, but he had a point. She closed a few books and laid down on the bed. Of course, she wasn't going to sleep. Just rest her eyes. Just for a little...
.
.
.
She had already dreamed about this, many times.
She was laying on the floor, surrounded by corpses. Hundreds... Thousands... Too many to even count.
Between them, red and black banners stood out, showing the allegiances that those men once had.
A raven was sitting on one of their helmets. It cawed and flew away.
There was a sword stuck in the ground. She recognized it, it was Arthur's.
An old man walked until he was just above her. Emrys.
She stretched her arm towards him, as she had always done in this dream.
"Help me, Emrys. Please," Morgana said. Somehow, something felt different, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
"Is this really what you wanted, Morgana?" Emrys asked.
"Please..." she begged, with her hand still extended towards her enemy.
She woke up abruptly, gasping.
"Are you alright?" someone asked.
Hearing that voice, Morgana remembered where she was. She looked at her left and saw Merlin, who was laying on the floor facing away from her.
"Yes," she answered. "Weren't you asleep?"
"Do you really think I would sleep with you in the room?" Merlin asked, in a mocking tone.
Morgana didn't answered.
"You had a vision, didn't you?" Merlin asked. Again, there was no answer. "Do they happen often?" he asked one last time.
"This was the first one in over a year," Morgana answered in a sudden burst of honesty.
Merlin turned to face her. "Do you think it has something to do with you being back in Camelot?" he asked.
"I dont know," she said. "Maybe."
"So, what was it about?"
Morgana tried to remember the dream. She already knew it by heart, but... what had been different? The battlefield was the same. Also the raven and the sword. As always she had stretch her arm and— Her arm! This time she had no wrinkles! The arm she just saw was her own and so was her voice. Her confrontation with Emrys had just moved a lot closer. She looked at Merlin who was still waiting for an answer.
"None of your business," she told him, as she turned over to face away from him.
From that point on, the both of them rested in silence, without actually sleeping.
.
.
.
Merlin was moving all around the room.
"Alright, the plan is simple," he said. "We hide until Arthur finishes his speech and then walk slowly towards the gate. There will be plenty of druids, so you won't stand out... much. You better wear a cloak."
"I want to hear it," Morgana said.
"What?" Merlin asked.
"Arthur's speech. I want to see what he says."
"Why would you— That's dangerous Morgana! Every knight in Camelot will be there, and they aren't the only ones who can recognize you."
"I wasn't asking for your permission Merlin."
"God, you are infuriating..." he said in a low voice, grabbing his head with both hands. "Fine! We'll go to the speech, but we'll stay as far as possible. And you will definitely wear a cloak now!"
Some time later, they were walking side by side towards the square where Arthur was going to give his speech. Merlin crossed that place every day, but now, with Morgana by his side, he recalled the first time he stood where he was standing now. He remembered the hatred in Uther's face as he executed a men for practicing Magic, the pain in that man's mother seeing his son die, the disgust in Morgana's face as she watched the whole thing. So much had happened since then.
They were almost there when he heard his name yelled from afar. He tried to ignore it and move away, but he heard it once again, and this time was a lot closer. He turned just in time to see Gwaine dodge a group of druids, compliment two ladies and move towards him.
"Are you running away from me, Merlin?" Gwaine asked.
"Sorry Gwaine, there is too many people, I didn't hear you," Merlin answered.
"It's fine, mate. So, do you want to get that drink?" he asked. "I know that in the end Mor—, sorry, she escaped, but still... hell, especially because of that."
"And what about Arthur's speech?"
"Come on, if you heard one you heard them all. And I've heard plenty."
"I can't Gwaine," Merlin said, looking behind him where Morgana was waiting. "I'm in the middle of something."
"Wait! Is she with you?" Gwaine asked, with a grin on his face. "Merlin, why didn't you tell me that you had a girlfriend!? I could have given you a tip or two. Those clothes for example, you have to do better than that."
"She's not my girlfriend!" Merlin exclaimed. "She's just... a friend."
"Oh... Do you mind introducing us, then?"
Merlin pondered for a second, looking for good excuses.
"Sorry Gwaine, she's very shy, and you... are you," he said.
"I get it now. She's not your girlfriend but you want her to be... Are you going to declare tonight? Because I—"
"Gwaine! Stop! Please!"
"Is everything alright Merlin?" asked a female voice behind him.
Merlin turned around and was surprised to see Morgana, who was wearing the cloak in a way that it concealed most of her face. Her voice had been different from her own, softer.
"My lady, is a pleasure to meet you," said Gwaine. "We were having a discussion here because Merlin didn't want to introduce us, in what I have no doubt is an effort to keep all your beauty for himself."
"Merlin, are you really that selfish?" she asked.
"I... I... I..."
"My name is Green," she said, extending her hand towards Gwaine.
"What a beautiful name for a druid. I'm Sir Gwaine, knight of Camelot," he replied, kissing her hand.
"A pleasure to meet you," she replied, courteously.
"Is that everything Gwaine? Can we go now?" Merlin asked, panicking only a little.
Gwaine looked at him, and then at Green. "Alright mate, I have to go anyway," he told Merlin, giving him a knowing smile that Merlin didn't understand. "Just remember that you owe me a drink." He turned to faced Morgana. "It has been a pleasure to meet you," he said, making a small bow, which Morgana returned.
Merlin waited until Gwaine was safely away before speaking.
"That was some good acting," he said.
"I've had practice," Morgana replied.
"True," he said, smiling slightly.
Suddenly everyone started to go silent; the speech was going to start.
Merlin could see Morgana tense up the second Arthur appeared in the balcony.
"Everyone, thanks for coming," Arthur started, in a deep voice. "Today we celebrate the birth of Camelot, a city that was born to bring peace to a kingdom full of chaos. A city founded on the ideals of loyalty and honor. A city that I'm proud to call my own.
"And even when I say this, I know that these past few years haven't been easy. We have suffered many attacks, many betrayals, and I know that most of you lost people you really cared about. Yes, these had been hard years, a trial for all of us, but together we pushed through! I would like to promise you that this is over, that nothing like that would ever happen again, but I can't. What I can tell you is this: I will gladly give my blood and soul to defend Camelot against those who meant it harm!"
There was a general cheer among the people. Arthur waited for the silence to come back before carrying on.
"Less than two years ago my father was killed," Arthur said, in a lower voice. "And while I mourned him I had to become your king. It wasn't an easy task, and there were a few times when I thought I couldn't do it. It was you who gave me the strength to be where I am now. You, who followed me through the storm! You, who didn't give up! You, who rise each day ready to help Camelot become what it's supposed to be! A beacon of hope! For everyone!"
The cheer reappeared ten times stronger.
"People of Camelot, I thank you for coming here today," Arthur said.
Again, he waited until everyone had stopped talking.
"I also want to thank the druid clans for being here tonight. I know that being inside the City of Camelot isn't easy for many of you, and you have every right to feel that way. You have suffered many wrongs through this years, but I'm not here to talk about that. Someone once told me that right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past. I hope that this is the beginning of a new age. An age where we can live in peace, side by side."
While the druids kept silent, Merlin could see that some of them were smiling, if only a little, while the rest kept a straight face. No matter how much Arthur talked about living in peace, magic was still banned, and for many of them that was enough reason to hate him.
"Now please, enjoy and have fun," said Arthur.
The group of people started to disband slowly and a general murmur filled the air.
Merlin had to give Arthur some credit, he was really good when it came to giving speeches. He looked to his right to ask Morgana about it, but she was gone. He quickly turned around and saw as she walked away across the crowd. He moved towards where she was and grabbed her by the hand.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
She released her hand from his. "I'm leaving this damned place," Morgana said.
"Alright then," Merlin said, gesturing towards the path that led to Camelot's gates.
Morgana hadn't walked ten steps when she stopped cold.
"What now?" he asked, a bit exhausted. She didn't answer. Her eyes was fixed on something ahead. Merlin tried to see if he could find what it was, but all he could see was a bunch of people moving around.
"I have to do something," Morgana told him, and moved off the road, towards a nearby crowd.
"Wait, wait!" exclaimed Merlin, trying to follow her.
For every step he made in the right direction, the people pushed him three steps in the wrong one. When he finally managed to go through the crowd, Morgana was nowhere to be found. Merlin looked all around, wondering where she had gone. She wasn't going to hurt Arthur, right? Hell, if she did something, it would be his fault. Why was he so stupid when it came to her? He had to find out where she was. Maybe he could use some sort of location spell, or perhaps one that let him see in the dis—
"I'm done," someone said behind him.
He turned around to see Morgana looking back at him.
"Where were you? What did you do?" Merlin asked, in an accusing tone.
"Don't worry Merlin, I didn't do anything bad," Morgana said, smiling a little at that last word. "I just had to take care of something."
"Yes, that doesn't sound suspicious at all..."
"You asked me to trust you, didn't you? Well, now it's your turn to trust me," Morgana said, as she started walking again towards the gates, with Merlin following behind.
He wanted to ask her again, but as they got close to the doors, he could hear an argument that was having place there.
"What do you mean I can't get out?" a druid asked.
"I've already told you," a guard answered. "Druids can only enter or leave the city if they are accompanied by their camp leader."
"Oh, come on!" the druid protested.
"Sorry," said the guard, shaking his head, "it's a security measure to ensure everyone's safety."
In the middle of all that, Merlin and Morgana had turned around and were now standing a safe distance from the guards.
"It seems that they increased the security just in case you were still in the Citadel," said Merlin. "I swear, if they were half this thorough any other day, I would have no job."
"What do we do then?" Morgana asked.
Merlin started thinking when a voice appeared in his mind.
"Need help, Emrys?" the voice asked.
Merlin turned around and he saw Mordred walking towards them with a giant grin of his face.
"Mordred! What are you doing here?" Merlin asked.
"You know, hearing Arthur speech and all that... Interesting company you are keeping this days," he added, looking at Morgana.
"You recognize her?" Merlin asked, with wide eyes. Morgana was still covering her face.
"Of course I do, her magic has a very unique feeling. So... you are not trying to kill each other... That's new."
"Yeah... she got caught and I'm helping her getting out of Camelot, but we are having some problems with the g— Mordred, stop smiling!" Merlin exclaimed, looking at his face.
"Sorry, sorry," Mordred said, raising his hands as he forced himself to keep a serious face.
"Did you know about him?" Morgana asked Mordred, incredulously.
"Oh, yes," he answered. "Wait! Does she know about you!?" he asked Merlin.
"Yes, she knows I have magic," Merlin answered, "and nothing more," he added telepathically. "So, can you help us with that?" he asked, pointing at the gates.
"With the guards? Sure, we were already leaving anyways," Mordred said. He opened his mouth to talk, but then close it. Then he opened it one more time. "Just for the record, am I helping or betraying Camelot by doing that?" he asked.
Merlin tried to answer a few times, but in the end he just raised his shoulders and shook his head, which made Mordred's grin reappear.
A druid approached Mordred and whispered something to his ear. "We are ready," Mordred informed them, "we'll be waiting for her by the door." He walked away leaving Merlin and Morgana alone.
"So... I guess this is it..." Merlin said, looking at Morgana.
"I guess so..." she replied. For a while they stayed there, looking at each other in an uncomfortable silence. "You are not expecting me to hug you goodbye, are you?" she asked.
"What!? No, of course not."
"Oh, good, because that would be..."
"Ridiculous."
"Exactly," Morgana said, smiling. "Thank you Merlin, despite of everything."
"No problem, just stay out of trouble," Merlin said, matching her smile. "And if you could try not to attack Camelot, that would be great. Like, really, really great."
"You know I can't promise you that," she replied, looking away. She turned around and started walking. After a few steps she looked over her shoulder. "Goodbye Blue," she said, and then kept on walking.
Merlin watched in silence as she joined Mordred's group and left Camelot through the main gate. The second she left, he let out the biggest sigh of relief known to men. Not that this adventure hadn't been exciting, but he was glad the danger was over, at least for now. On the way back to the Citadel, Merlin wondered what Morgana had done when she disappeared earlier. She had told him that it wasn't anything bad, but he was going to check anyway, just in case the girl who had tried to kill him many times had been lying.
If his mind hadn't been so busy thinking about that, he might have noticed the boy standing by the road, looking at the group of druids as they left through the gates. He couldn't be more than twelve years old and he had brown eyes. Looking at him, no one would have ever guessed that just a few minutes ago half his face was covered by a giant scar. Now he was smiling, for he could see the sky for the first time in years. And it was beautiful.
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A/N: I hope you liked it!
What an eventful chapter! I almost thought I wasn't going to finish it by today!
So, this two finally had a good talk and sorted a lot of things. What does this mean for the future of Camelot? One can only guess...
I also hope that you understood the ending XD. I think it's explicit enough without writing: "So, this is what happened: First she...". In any case, the next chapter talks about this a bit more.
Thanks Patiku, Lady Flurryous, AJsRandom, CHARLES CHUKU, mersan123, Guest, hithere and Meri Ley for the reviews =D
Really, thank you. Their meeting was one of the big events of this story and I'm really glad that you all liked it =D. That means that I'm doing something right.