Chapter 28
It wasn't until Merlin reached his room that he realized how much every inch of his body hurt. He dropped to his bed and let out a sigh of relief. Gwen was healed, the Disir had become powerless, the Cup of Life was in Freya's care, Sarrum had been defeated, Dragoon was back and Morgana —who had kissed him!— was safely hidden in the caves beneath Camelot along with the new speaking Aithusa.
It had been some long, tiresome days, but now he could finally get some of his well-earned rest.
"MERLIN!" yelled a voice, barging into his room. "You idiot! You disappear for hours, makes everyone worry and then you don't even have the decency of let me know that you've come back!?"
"Oh, hi Arthur. Wait... are you telling me you were worried because of me?" Merlin asked, in a playful tone.
"What? No... I didn't say that... I wasn't worried because of you, I was worried because of the Cup!" Arthur explained.
"Who are you trying to fool?" Merlin asked again. "You were worried because of me! I'm so touched!"
"I will hit you Merlin, I'm warning you," Arthur said, grabbing the hilt of his sword.
"Fine, fine. Sorry," Merlin said, raising his hands.
"So, it's the Cup safe?"
"Yes, it is."
"And why did you take so long to come back? Did you hide it in Ealdor?" Arthur asked with irony, but a moment later his face turned serious. "Please tell me you didn't hide it in Ealdor..."
"No, no, don't worry, I promise you that no one would find the Cup again, at least not until is actually needed. I took so long because..." Merlin tried to come up with an excuse for his time away, but at the same time he knew that there were a few things that Arthur had to know. "Because I came across along some of Sarrum's men," he said. "Apparently he was working with Alvarr."
"Was?" Arthur asked, confused.
That wasn't one of the things Merlin wanted Arthur to know.
"Oh... yes... I overheard a conversation between those men... they said he was dead... I didn't get the details."
"Did they see you?"
"No."
"That's good," Arthur said. "Are you sure he was working with them? He hated sorcerers even more than my father."
"I'm sure," Merlin said, giving a small nod.
Arthur thought for a few seconds. "This is a bad time for the kings of Albion to be dying, but if there is someone who deserved that fate was Sarrum, especially if he was working with our enemies," he said, in a condemning tone. "There were stories about him Merlin, of things he did..."
Merlin didn't feel like talking about the man he just had killed. "How is Gwen?" he asked.
Arthur's face lit up. "She's like her old self, already bossing everyone around," he said, with a smile. "Merlin," he added after a pause, looking at him with an inquisitive look, "are you asking me about her to make me forget about your punishment?"
"Of course not, Arthur!" Merlin answered, feigning to be offended.
"You better not, I already have it planned."
"It's fine."
"Really?" Arthur asked. "You aren't going to protest?"
"I'm too tired for that," Merlin said, shaking his head.
All out the sudden, Arthur moved towards Merlin, squinted his eyes and looked at him as if he was inspecting him.
"Arthur, what are you doing?" Merlin asked
"You look different..." Arthur said. "Happier... Are you sure that those men were the only reason you took so long?"
"Yes, of course! What else!?" Merlin exclaimed.
"You are turning red as a lobster, Merlin."
"What!? No, I'm not!" Merlin exclaimed. "Now I would appreciate if you let me rest a bit, it has been a long night, or day, or whatever, and I have no doubt that you are going to make me clean the entire castle tomorrow, probably twice, so I better rest," Merlin said, leading Arthur to the door.
"Fine," Arthur said, leaving Merlin's room "I have some things to do anyway, but don't you think that this means this conversation is over." He looked at Merlin. "Just come meet me when you wake up, there is work to do," he added in a serious tone.
Arthur had taken just a few steps toward the exit when he halted and turned around.
"Merlin, I'm glad the Cup is safe," he told him.
"Thanks," Merlin answered, getting what he truly meant.
Arthur nodded and left, leaving Merlin to his sleep.
.
.
For Morgana, these past few days hadn't been any easier. For some reason she had decided to help saving Gwen from a curse the Disir had placed on her, which ended with them making up, she standing up to the Disir, Aithusa being caught by Sarrum, and then freed by her and Merlin... also known as Emrys. She still had trouble believing they had kissed after everything that had happened between them, but the worst part was that she kind of wanted to do that again.
As one last consequence of all that had happened, she had lost the place she had called home for the past year. Now she was in a new home, or maybe I should say old one; it was in Camelot after all, at least in some way. She was in some ancient caves that once hold the Great Dragon prisoner. Merlin and Dragoon had improvised a small 'room' for her making a hole in one of the sides of the cave, while Aithusa had the rest of it for herself.
It was really strange being able to talk to her. Over and over again Morgana had asked the dragon how was she was feeling, but Aithusa always answered that she was fine, that father had healed her; 'father' being the way she called Merlin. Just when she had thought that things couldn't get any weirder...
Now, laid on what was supposed to be a bed and with Aithusa's head on her lap, all those things slowly started to drift away from her mind. The sleep was calling her, and little by little she closed her eyes...
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. She recognized those banners now, on one side the golden dragon of Camelot, on the other the red viper of the Saxons.
A raven was sitting on one helmet. It cawed and flew towards her, stopping on top of a sword that was stuck in the ground. She recognized it, it was Arthur's. And it was glowing.
A young man walked until he was just above her. Emrys. No. Merlin.
She stretched her arm towards him, as she had always done in this dream.
"Help me, Meriln. Please," Morgana said. Once again, her hand had no wrinkles.
Merlin was rushing towards her, his face filled with worry. He kneeled and started healing her.
"You'll be fine Morgana, I promise you, you'll be fine," he said, between spells. "Please don't leave me, please," he added, in a voice that sounded like he was trying hard not to cry.
Morgana wanted to answer him, but she was tired... so tired... "Goodbye, my love," she managed to say, in a low voice.
"No! Morgana! MORGANA!"
This time Merlin's screams didn't wake up. With her last breathe she saw as Merlin face filled with sorrow, and how that sorrow was slowly replaced by hatred. She saw as his eyes started to glow darker than anything she had ever seen before. And finally, she saw as the world exploded.
That did wake her up, and she was still gasping for air when she heard someone say her name.
"Morgana, can we come in?" someone asked from outside the cave. She recognized the voice, it was Merlin.
"We?" asked Morgana, her mind still thinking about what she had just seen.
"Me and Dragoon."
Morgana looked at her hands, she was trembling. "You can, tell Dragoon to wait outside," she said.
"We need to get you some kind of door," said Merlin, walking towards her.
"I didn't exactly had one in my old cave, you know?" asked Morgana making a small smile.
"True," Merlin answered, returning the smile. "Hey, are you alright? You look pale," he said, moving next to her and touching her forehead.
"Yes, I'm fine," she answered, gently moving Merlin's hand away. "It's just that I had some trouble sleeping."
Merlin knew what that meant. "Do you... do you want to talk about it?"
Morgana looked at him, he seemed genuinely worried. It was so strange having someone looking at her like that, especially him. "Not now, maybe later," she answered.
"Sure," Merlin said, nodding.
"Why are you both here? Is something wrong?"
"I don't know," Merlin said, shrugging, "Dragoon is back and so are his cryptic sentences. He said something about putting the team together."
"Alright then," Morgana said, standing up, only to stumble towards Merlin, who managed to grab her before she fell.
"Are you sure you are fine?" he asked.
"Yes, it just had been a crazy couple of days," she answered, giving him a warm smile. "I'm just exhausted, that's all."
Merlin nodded and looked into her eyes. What wouldn't he give for kissing her right there and then, but... what if... maybe later... He just helped her regain her footing and slowly let her go. Slowly. As if moving away from her took a toll on him.
When he had almost turned around, Morgana grabbed his hand, dragged him towards her and kissed him. Merlin didn't hesitated, he pulled her towards him and kissed her back. They took their time before moving away from each other.
"Why are you smiling?" she asked him, trying hard not to mirror his smile.
"No... it's just... I was afraid that you were going to change your mind about... us."
"Don't be stupid, Merlin," Morgana said, playing with his hair. It sounded a bit like a threat.
"Kids, if you finished with whatever you are doing, I need you to come here, and bring Aithusa too," Dragoon said, from outside the cave.
"But she's asleep," Morgana pointed out.
"Then wake her up!"
Morgana looked at Merlin, who shrugged and rolled his eyes. She moved to Aithusa and kindly pet her head.
"Hi, Aithusa, it's time to wake up."
"Five more minutes," the white dragon mumbled, in a low voice.
Both Merlin and Morgana froze for a second and then smiled to each other.
"It's so surreal ..." Morgana said, still petting Aithusa's head.
"I know..." Merlin replied, nodding and looking at the dragon. "Did you talk much?" he asked.
"Not really, I think she hasn't gotten used to it either," Morgana explained.
When they finally managed to wake up Aithusa, the three of them left to meet Dragoon and see what was that he wanted. It didn't take that much guessing.
"You have to be kidding me," Merlin said, looking up.
"It's nice to see you too young warlock," someone answered, and his big eyes moved to Morgana. "Witch," he said, in a tone that was supposed to be some kind of greeting.
"I take this is Kilgharrah," Morgana said, inspecting the large dragon in front of her.
"I'm the Great Dragon to you," he replied.
"Oh, hi grandpa," Aithusa said, appearing from behind Morgana.
"Grandpa?" asked everyone else, Kilgharrah included.
"So, it's true that you can talk, little one," Kilgharrah said looking at the white dragon. "Tell me, what has the witch done to you?" he asked, glancing at Morgana.
"I haven't done anything to her!" snapped Morgana. "I love Aithusa!"
"You only love power!" Kilgharrah exclaimed.
"That's— that's not true!" Morgana exclaimed back. She couldn't help to give a quick glance at where Merlin was standing. She hoped he hadn't noticed.
Kilgharrah was opening his mouth when a large, white flame appear between him and Morgana.
"Please, don't fight," said Aithusa when the fire stopped. "It's true, grandpa; she never harmed me, not once. She's mother," she added, as if that explained everything.
Kilgharrah look at the young dragon and then at Morgana without saying a word. Finally, he just let out a small growl.
"Guys, this is good!" interceded Dragoon. "Look, we all know what is coming, and I know that there is a bit of history behind you all, but we have to let that go if we want to have a chance to beat them. That's the reason I arranged this meeting, so everyone could let go of the feelings bottled up inside you. Merlin, do you have something to say?" he asked, looking at him.
Merlin gave him an incredulous look. "You are unbelievable! Do you actually expect us to... share just because you say so? You have no right to do that anymore, not after what you pulled on us!"
"Yes! Perfect! Keep going!" Dragoon exclaimed, smiling.
"No! I... I'm not saying that because of what you've said! I'm..." said Merlin, just before letting out a sigh of exasperation.
"See Dragoon, even the young warlock knows better than to play your silly games," Kilgharrah said.
"And you!" exclaimed Merlin, turning towards the dragon. "You lied to me! Why did you tell me that you and Aithusa were the last of your kind? And what's more, why didn't you let me know when she went missing? I think a dragonlord would have been useful finding her!"
"Watch your tone, Merlin," said Kilgharrah. His eyes went to Dragoon and back to Merlin. "It's true, there are other dragons outside Albion, but I had to lie to you..."
"Why?"
"Because otherwise you would have killed me," he said, as if it was obvious.
"You deserved it!"
"Perhaps... but I couldn't die yet. You needed me Merlin, you still do, even if you don't realize it."
"I don't need help from someone who killed innocent people!"
"Amusing words for someone who's standing beside her," Kilgharrah said, looking at Morgana. "Think, Merlin. Actually think. How would you have escaped from the serkets? How would you have hatched Aithusa?" His eyes turned to Morgana one more time. "How would you have healed her? You needed my help, Merlin, many times."
"Healed me?" asked Morgana.
"Remember on your birthday, when you fell down the stairs and hit your head?"
"Yes," she said, taking her hand to the place of the blow. "You were the one to heal me?"
"Yes, with his help," said Merlin pointing to Kilgharrah.
"Forced help," Kilgharrah pointed out.
"Forced help," Merlin corrected.
"But... at that time you knew about me and Morgouse..." Morgana said, thinking back. "I had just tried to kill you!... Why would you...?"
"Well... you falling down the stairs was kind of my fault," Merlin said, looking away for a second. "Sorry for that."
"Sorry?" Morgana asked, laughing. "Merlin, we were enemies!"
He shrugged. "I still had hopes for you," Merlin explained.
She looked at him. He was so kind... too kind... What had she ever done to deserve someone like him? Could they even make it work? And what about her visions?... She would think about all that another time; right now she walked towards him and kissed him once more.
"Oh, please..." Kilgharrah said, looking away.
"Just so we are clear," Merlin said, looking at the dragon, "you know that I won't let you hurt her, don't you?"
"Don't worry. Unfortunately, that's no longer an option," the dragon replied.
"Unfortunately?" Morgana asked.
"Now your destinies are even more intertwined than before," Kilgharrah kept going. "For better or worse," he added, with a sigh.|
"The Cailleach once told me something similar," Morgana said to no one in particular.
"Really?" Kilgharrah asked with interest, looking at her. "What were her exact words?"
Morgana looked at Merlin and then back at the dragon. "'The one they call Emrys will walk in your shadow. He is your destiny, and he is your doom.'," she said.
It was a silence for a bit before Merlin spoke.
"Kilgharrah once told me that you were the darkness to my light, the hatred to my love."
"So, I am darkness and hatred?"
"Don't feel bad, apparently I'm your doom," Merlin replied, smiling.
"This isn't funny!" Morgana exclaimed.
"Yes, it is," Merlin said, still giving her a warm smile and grabbing her hands. "Morgana, look, this things, prophecies, have many interpretations, which I guess is something you already know," he said, remembering who he was talking to. "I think that we might have misinterpreted these ones. Maybe you are the darkness to my light because you complete me. Maybe I'm your doom because I'm destined to destroy the Morgana you were back then."
"That's kind of a convenient interpretation," Morgana said, smiling.
"Alright, sure, there are some other possibilities," Merlin conceded. "But as long as we are not sure which one of them is the 'right' one, why don't choose to believe the one we like the most?"
Morgana looked at him thoughtfully. "Well, it's true that me making out with Emrys isn't something I considered when I pondered about what the Cailleach said. "
"See..." Merlin said, raising his eyebrows.
"Kids, please, you can flirt later," said Dragoon, stopping what he had no doubt would be another kissing session. "Now we have to get ready for what's coming."
Merlin looked at Dragoon and then at Kilgharrah. "So, you won't make any attempts to harm her?" he asked the dragon.
"No," Kilgharrah answered after a while. "I won't harm the witch."
"Do you really have to keep calling me that?" Morgana asked.
"Yes," he answered immediately. "I promise not to set you on fire, but that's as far as I'll go."
"I would take it," Merlin whispered to her ear.
Morgana looked at him, sighed and nodded. "Whatever..."
"So, I'm dying to know," Merlin said, looking at Kilgharrah, "what's your excuse for not telling me about Aithusa?"
"Simple, there was nothing to tell," Kilgharrah answered.
"She was with Morgana!"
"Which I obviously didn't know about, but it's common for young dragons to go away for some time."
"It has been more than a year!" Merlin exclaimed.
"Time is different for us, young warlock. You'll understand it someday."
Merlin remained silent. He still hadn't fully processed the whole immortality thing, and, to be perfectly honest, he still wasn't fully convinced that it was true.
"So, we talked," he said, looking at Dragoon. "Now what?"
"Well, bad news first," he said, clapping his hands. "Roth and Ilko had already arrived to Albion, and they have brought an army with them."
"Does Arthur know?" Merlin asked.
"He found out this morning", Dragoon answered. "But he's still far too oblivious of how bad the threat really is. Camelot is going to need a lot of help if it's going to get through this."
"You are staying this time then?" Merlin asked.
"Of course, kid!" Dragoon answered. "But, as amazing as I am, that won't be nearly enough."
"We could ask help from our allies," Morgana said. "King Rodor will come without a doubt, and there is a good chance that both Godwyn and Bayard help too. I think Arthur might even be able to get Queen Annis and King Odin if he manage to convince them of how dire the situation is, but I don't know exactly how Rodor would react if Odin is also here."
Morgana waited for someone else to say something, but they just stood still, looking at her.
"What?" she asked, and her eyes focused on Merlin.
"Sorry," he said, raising his hands. "I was just surprised at you going into full politician mode. Also, did you notice that you said 'our allies'?"
"No, I didn't," she answered.
"Y—"
"Never mind that, " interrupted Dragoon. "She's right. Arthur needs to ask for help, and you have to convince him."
"Me?" asked Merlin.
"Who else?" asked Dragoon, shrugging. "Now, second set of bad news; we can't use Aithusa or Kilgharrah in battle. Both Ilko and Roth are dragonlords, and they can command them to attack us. There is one silver lining here though, and that is that they can't use dragons against us either. At least as long as me and Merlin are alive," he added, in a solemn tone.
"What about the tattoo?" asked Morgana. "You said that it changes bearers when one dies."
"Yes, that's true, but I don't think that they'll bring the tattoos with them."
"What do you mean?" asked Merlin, confused.
"The tattoos are largely coveted, even among the allies of those who has them. To avoid being betrayed by them in battle it's a usual practice for the tattoo bearer to use a... placeholder. They pass the tattoo to another person who is locked away and when all is over they take it back. One way or another."
"Are you going to do that?" Merlin asked, frowning.
"Are you crazy? That's barbaric! I'm just telling you what they'll do," Dragoon said.
"But what if..." Morgana started.
"Don't worry about me kid, I've survived worse," Dragoon said, winking at her, which made Merlin want to punch him in the face, for some reason.
.
.
Arthur was almost ready to send someone to find Merlin when he finally barged into the room.
"Sorry, Arthur," he said, panting, "I... overslept."
"Sure you did," replied Arthur, not very convinced. "Well, you are here now, so we should—"
"Gwen! You are fine! I'm so glad," said Merlin, turning towards the one sitting next to Arthur and giving her a hug.
"I am, and all thanks to M... the Dolma," she corrected. "Incidentally, any news on her?"
"She's fine," Merlin answered, nodding. "I'll tell you more later."
Gwen nodded and made a small smile. "I hold you to that," she said. "I'll leave you two alone," she said, walking towarsd the door. "There is much to do," she added in a solemn tone, looking at Arthur, who gave her a small nod.
Merlin waited for her to leave before turning towards Arthur. "I know about the army that arrived to Albion," he told him, guessing what he wanted to talk about.
"How? Never mind that," he quickly added, waving his hand. "Listen, Merlin, their numbers are far greater than anything we had expected." He looked at the table and started moving some papers around. "I'm trying to come up with a strategy that let us defeat them with the least losses possible, but..." Arthur looked at Merlin and shook his head.
"What about asking help from your allies?" Merlin asked, remembering what Morgana had said. "Rodor will come, he owes you that much, and Godwyn and Bayard probably too. Annis and Odin are a bit trickier, but I think you can convince them that the situation demands for their help. Of course, you have to be careful of the problems between Odin and Rodor, because all the... almost killing him and that."
Arthur looked at him for a second. "Who are you and what have you done to Merlin?" he asked.
Merlin made a small smile and shrugged. "It was just an idea," he said.
"It is a good idea," Arthur said, "that's why I've already done all that. I expect to have their answers by the end of the day. But still... we need a plan. They don't just have an army, they also have magic and... dragons."
"Dragons?" Merlin asked.
Arthur nodded. "Yes, two of them apparently. As if fighting an army of sorcerers wasn't enough..."
"I don't think you should worry much about the dragons," Merlin said.
"Why not!?" Arthur asked, confused. "They are large beasts that breathe fire! In my book that's a problem."
"Well, yeah... but... remember that sorcerer and dragon that were attacking the Saxons?" Merlin asked.
"I remember."
"I think that he may be a dragonlord, and, for some reason, he seem to be on our side. That means the Saxons can't use their dragons."
"But we don't know if he's on our side and we don't know if he's going to be in that battle. We don't know anything about him!" Arthur exclaimed.
Merlin nodded in defeat. How simpler would everything be if he could just tell Arthur the truth... Somehow, the giant army led by magic wielding people who had come to conquer everyone didn't make that any easier for him.
"Arthur, there is another thing I've learned. Their leaders, they are called Roth and Ilko and they are very powerful sorcerers. Even more powerful than Morgana," he added, trying to make him understand what they were dealing with.
Arthur looked at him for a second. "Well, it's not like if our first time fighting magic," he said, making a sad smile.
"Yes, but..."
"I know," Arthur said, bluntly. "Still, we are not going down without fight."
"I would never suggest that," Merlin said.
Arthur looked at him and gave him a knowing smile. "Good."
.
.
.
The following days there was a strange feeling all over Camelot. A feeling of fear and determination, hope and despair. The news about the Saxons had spread quickly and, after giving one of his speeches, Arthur designated a task for every last man and woman in Camelot.
Those people who had fields were harvesting as much as they could and bringing it back to the city, where Gaius and a few others were in charge of rationing everything in case of a long siege.
The knights, soldiers and even some peasants were training under the leadership of Gwaine and Percival. Ariel was one of the people who attended the lessons, but from the second day she became one of the instructors in hand to hand combat, which in turn made more women approach them to learn how to defend themselves.
The blacksmiths of Camelot got together to repair, make and improve as much weapons and armor as they could. Both Gwen and Elyan were among them, which resulted in half of Camelot watching them work; it's not every day that you can see your queen wearing a blacksmith apron while she forges swords.
As Morgana had predicted, King Rodor of Nemeth, King Godwyn of Gawant and King Bayard of Mercia had agreed to help Camelot when the time comes, at least in some way. Queen Annis of Caerleon had written that she had to think about it some more and King Odin of Cornwall hadn't replied at all, but the messenger came back alive, so that's something. There was one more messenger who hadn't returned yet, but Arthur didn't expect him so soon.
As for Merlin... he couldn't remember another time where he felt this exhausted. Arthur had him carrying messages from one point of Camelot to the other, and when there were no messaged to be carried he was in charge of making sure that the horses were ready for the coming battle. Those moments when Arthur gave him a break, he would get together with Dragoon and Morgana to get ready for the fight against the two kings, now with the added guidance of Kilgharrah. Luckily, there were some stolen moments when he and Morgana could be alone, or just with Aithusa, but they were far too few and far too short. They hadn't picked the best time to start... whatever this was.
The Saxons had made camp and were getting ready. The reports confirmed the presence of the two dragons, which wasn't good for the moral in Camelot; they still remembered what happened the last time a dragon attacked the city. As was expected, they also had a huge army, made of both soldiers and sorcerers, but Merlin knew that the real threat were the two kings.
Almost a week went by before they heard news about the invaders movements. Arthur was signing a bunch of parchments and handing them over to Merlin who sealed them with Camelot's sigil. There was a sudden knock on the door, and, without waiting for an answer, a knight barged into the room. Arthur was going to reprimand him, but the man's face stopped him.
"What is it?" Arthur asked.
"Sire," said the knight, looking more and more pale by the second, "we have received several reports... at first we think they were wrong... that someone made a mistake, but..."
"What? Tell me," insisted Arthur, trying not to lost his patience.
"Sire, many villages had been attacked by the Saxons," he said. "Some of them have been raided, others... others stand no longer."
"How is this possible!?" asked Arthur, standing up. "How can they be in Camelot without us noticing!?"
"Not just in Camelot sire." The man's gaze shifted towards Merlin. "Everywhere."
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A/N: I hope you liked it!
Aaaaaand we are back in the present.
I don't know how used the "red as a lobster" phrase actually is, but they didn't have tomatoes in Camelot back then, so...
I tried to upload this last week, but it just wasn't ready xD. To be honest I think that I'll be updating the story every three weeks (yes, that sucks) and if by any chance I complete a chapter before, I'll upload it sooner and everyone is happy =D.
Less than five chapters to go! (i think) (not exactly sure how many)
Thanks NightsAnger, Patiku, AndreKl, Howarand, Lady Flurryous, CHARLES CHUKU, mersan123 and Meri Ley for the reviews =D
NightsAnger = I would say uneventful, and you would be right xD. The idea wasn't to actually surprise anyone, but to laid the grounds on how the kings know Dragoon. As for Kilgharrah I gave him a bit of... redemption? in this chapter. He still kind of only cares about his own agenda, but it just happens that he needs Merlin alive and well for it to work.
AndreKl = I've already got here and I'm going to finish it, but I'm slow xD (and busy T_T).
Lady Flurryous = I'm glad you liked the jokes =D (it was a bit of a challenge to decide how to put Merlin and Morgana's comments in the story since Dragoon was the one narrating it, so I'm happy that worked out xD).