Author's note : Thanks to all of my lovely reviewers and to those who have favourited and follwed my story. We're now nearing the 100 reviews landmark. Hopefully, we will cross it after this chapter. ( hint,hint ) And this story already has 100+ followers and 50+ favourites. Wow! You guys are really great. Anyway, sorry for the late update. But don't blame me. Blame it on Sid Meir. Why does he have to create such an awesome game named 'civilization' ? I was totally addicted to Civ 5 this week which hindered me from writing. I will stop my ranting now and get on with the story.
Btw, you should check out Living4jesus's Balinor's sons. That Merlin fanfic is awesome and so full of bromance.
Chapter 12
Welcome to Elmet
When the plague had hit Camelot almost eight years ago, Gwen's father fell victim to it. She had thought that she would lose him. But then, by some miracle he was saved. When the dragon attacked and Arthur rode out to fight it, she thought that she was going to lose the love of her life. But again, by some miracle, Arthur came back almost unscathed. Then when she was accused of sorcery and sentenced to death, an old sorcerer appeared out of the blue and took all the blame upon himself.
And when she was enchanted by Morgana; she was again saved by another miracle. That old sorceress' magic healed her from the darkness and brought her back to light.
Through her entire lifetime, when she was almost ruined, she was always saved by some sort of miracle. But she didn't know who deserved her thanks, who was her saviour.
But now, here in the gloomy cell of the dragonlords, holding her brother close to her heart, she realized who was her saviour, who was the instigator of all those miracles, who was her guardian angel.
It was Merlin. It had always been Merlin. The boy whom she first met at he stocks; Who was brave enough to stand against Arthur, who was brave enough to admit his magic to save his friend, who was modest enough to remain always in shadow and protect his friends without ever wanting any recognition.
The brave secret protector of Camelot. Gwen thought and a small smile crept onto her face. Gratitude filled her heart and she embraced Merlin more tightly.
" Gwe-n... Gw-en. Can't bre-ath. " Merlin stuttered.
Gwen immidiately released Merlin and said , " Sorry, Merlin. I am just so glad that you are okay. "
Saying it, Gwen looked at Merlin's face directly for the first time after entering the cell and she gasped in horror.
There were three long jagged scars on his handsome face. Each of them were so long that they reached his neck.
" Oh my goodness ! What did they do to you ? I am so sorry. " Gwen chocked on her words and a sob escaped her lips.
Merlin put a hand on her shoulder and said softly, " Shh, Gwen. Don't cry. I am alright now. The fisher king healed me. I am totally fine. "
" But I abandoned you. I left you here when you needed me most. " Gwen said . Her cheeks were stained with tears.
" You were not the one who gave the order to torture me. Arthur did. I don't hold grudge against any of you. " Merlin said and gave a small smile.
Gwen's eyes lightened up hearing Merlin's words. " Thank you , Merlin . Thank you so much. I don't deserve your forgiveness . But you are the kindest person I've ever met. "
" Gwen, please. There's nothing to forgive. Yes, I was hurt when I was left alone but now that I look into your eyes, I can see that you are genuinely sorry. And I am also to blame. I didn't trust you with my secret. If I did, all of this might have been avoided and I am sorry for that. But there's one thing I need to know. " Merlin said and waited for a response from Gwen.
The queen looked a little confused but responded.
" What is it, Merlin ? " When Gwen sensed Merlin's hesitation, she put a hand on Merlin's shoulder and said, " Ask away, Merlin. Don't hesitate. You know I won't judge you. "
Merlin relaxed a little and looked the Queen in the eyes and said, " Do you accept me as who I truly am? "
Gwen was a little taken aback. She wasn't expecting such a question. But then she straightened up and said , " Three questions I will ask. Answer yes or no. Then I will give answer to your question. Alright? "
Merlin nodded.
Gwen asked, " Were you the Dolma? Were you that old wizard ? And were you the one who healed my father ? "
" Yes . " Was Melin's short answer.
Gwen embraced Merlin again and said , " Then, I accept you and your magic. You are the perfect example of good magic. All your life you have protected us. I can't thank you enough. "
A tear slipped from Merlin's eyes and said, " Thanks, Gwen. "
It seemed that at least one of my supposed friends has accepted my magic. Merlin thought.
Then Gwaine spoke up, " I accept you too. You are my first true friend. And you are a good man, an honorable man. Magic or without magic. You will always be my friend, no matter what. "
Merlin's heart became filled with warmth hearing the rogue knight's words. Strength has accepted magic. Unlike courage, who has betrayed and tortured magic.
He hugged Gwaine and Gwaine returned it. " Thank you, my friend. " Merlin said.
" No problem and I am sure Leon and Percival has accepted you too. " Gwaine said.
Merlin realesed Gwaine and looked at the other two knights standing behind. " Do you ? " Merlin asked.
" Do you accept my magic ? Do you think that I am not a monster ? " Merlin asked again.
" NO , " Leon and Percival said in unison.
" You are not a monster. Don't ever think it. You have saved our life many times. Now I understand everything. We all owe our lives to you. Thank you. " Leon said and put his hand on the warlock's shoulder as a sign of camaraderie.
Percival nodded in agreement and said, " And we're sorry for not realizing it earlier. I hope you will forgive us. "
Merlin smiled and said, " I have forgiven all of you. It's good to see that some of my friends have accepted me. "
Then he kneeled before Aren and asked, " And what of you , Little Prince ? Am I a good person or bad ? "
Aren was a little surprised hearing the question. After suppressing the initial shock , Aren hugged Merlin and said , " You are the best man , Uncle. "
Merlin was over the moon hearing his nephew's words. He kissed Aren on his forehead and said, " Thank you, Aren. And promise me you'll be a good boy when I'll not be in Camelot. "
Aren was confused hearing Merlin's words. But before he could answer, Gwen spoke up. She was also confused.
" What do you mean by ' when I'll not be in Camelot ' ? Surely, you can't leave . This is your home. We'll talk to Arthur . He'll understand. He won't banish you. I won't let him. "
Merlin was touched. But he had made up his mind. He would go to Elmet and fulfill his duty as both Emrys and an Ignotus . And that would not be possible if he remained in Camelot. Yes, it would pain him to leave his nephew behind. But there is progress without compromise. So, he stood up and said,
" No, Gwen. I don't need Arthur to understand. He betrayed my trust and his betrayal was very much presonal. I was deluded. I thought that he was my friend. But his action indicated otherwise. I won't tell anything else as Aren is present here. But I have other duties. And I need to fulfill them. That's why I need to leave Camelot. And this is the most convinient time.
Morgana is now severely weakened as I have succeded in defeating the goddess. So, she won't bother you for a long time. "
" At least, give Arthur a chance. Please, Merlin, Don't just leave. We all need you. " Gwen pleaded.
Hearing this, Merlin became angry. "I have given Arthur plenty of chances. Please, Gwen, I don't want to make this farewell gloomy. Don't make me say anything that I don't want to say on front of Aren. So, just don't try to stop me. " Merlin said. A hint of anger was evident in his voice.
" But you can't leave me , uncle. Who's going to sing me lullaby when I am afraid ? Who will put me on shoulder and make me laugh ? Please, uncle. Don't go. " Aren began to cry.
Seeing Aren cry broke Merlin's heart. He took Aren in his arms and wiped away his tears.
" Hey. Hey. Hey. Don't cry. " Merlin said soothingly.
" You are the prince of Camelot. And princes don't cry. I have some work to do, Aren. That's why I need to go. But I promise that I will see you again. And have I broken a promise ? "
" No. " Aren said. He was still sobbing.
" Then we'll meet again. You'll just have to be a little patient and you'll see your uncle soon. Just be an amazing prince, okay? " Merlin asked.
" Okay, " Aren said in a lot calmer voice.
" Good boy. " Merlin said to Aren. Then he put Aren down and looked at his other friends. " Well then, I suppose it's goodbye. But as I said to Aren, we'll meet one day. Say to Gaius to take care of himself and say that I hate goodbyes. Will you , Gwen ? "
" Yes, of course. " Gwen was on the verge of tears.
" Until we meet again, " Merlin said and waved at his friends and his nephew.
They waved back. Merlin walked towards Uriel and streched out his right arm towards the king and said , " We need to go to the darkling woods' clearing at first . I need to talk with a certain dragon. "
Uriel nodded and took Merlin's arm. " Let's not waste any time then. " The king said and began to chant.
Bedwyn us , Astyre us. Panonweard.
The king and the warlock vanished in a whirlwind.
Gwen heaved a sigh and said, " Lets get back. We need to talk to Gaius and then Arthur. We must fix this mess. "
The knights nodded and left the cell of the dragonlords following their queen.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
[ Royal bedchamber of Camelot. Presnt time ]
Arthur sat motionlessly on his chair after hearing his queen's words. His mind was in a disarray. He couldn't think clearly. He was having hard time believing that he had put faith on the wrong person again. He was fooled again.
And this time his best friend payed the price.
What had he done?
What had he done?
What. had. he. done?
He betrayed his best friend and believed Mordred, who from the begining was playng with their mind. And now , Merlin was gone. And it was all his fault.
He took covered his face with his palm and yelled, " What have I done ? "
" So, you realize that what you have done to Merlin is wrong ? " Gwen asked.
'Yes. What I have done is terribly wrong. I treated my son's saviour with cruelty. And still he saved my son again. If what I have done is not wrong, then I don't know what is. ' Arthur wanted to scream these words at his wife. But he was tired. His mind was empty.
His best friend had left hm and it was all his fault. He couldn't say anything.
And for the first time after Uther Pendragon's death, the king of Camelot began to cry silently for a friend whom he had lost because of his own foolishness.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Aithusa was flying . In trurh, she was runing away. She was running from her only friend. Running away from her mistress. Running away from the woman, who has given her company during her darkest days, helped her when her dragonlord had abandoned her.
But tonight, she had seen another side of her mistress. The cruel, heartless side. She was horrified when Morgana chained Mordred and began to torture him mercilessly. Then eventually, the boy was killed by her mistress. His guilt was he had failed to kill her dragonlord.
Although she felt sorry for the druid boy, she was also relieved to hear that her father was alive. Yes. He had abandoned her. But still she couldn't bring herself to hate her father for her father had suffered too. Manipulated and betrayed by many. He had lost so much and gained nothing.
All she could feel for her father was pity and sorrow. The same thing she felt for her mistress. But she could see now that Morgana was lost in the dark. And she, killing Mordred was the proof of that. She would turn against even her if she made any mistake . And Aithusa didn't want to take any risk. So, she left. She left Morgana who had been a friend to her for almost four years.
But now that she was flying away, she didn't know where to go. She was at a loss. She wouldn't go back to Kilgharrah. She knew the great dragon wouldn't take her in as she was with the dark witch. She couldn't go back to her dragonlord for he would turn her away again. So, where would she go ?
Then, suddenly, she felt a strong pull of ancient magic. At first, she was confused. She never felt such magic in her lifetime. But after a while, she understood. It was a summoning call. She was summoned. After years of rejection, her father had at last called her.
At last, she had found her destination. Happiness filled her heart and she began to fly towards her dragonlord.
OOOOOOOOOOO
Uriel couldn't understand why Merlin had summoned Aithusa. He thoguht that Merlin would summon Killgharrah and give the dragon a piece of his mind. Instead , he called the white dragon. For what reason, he didn't know. But he trusted Merlin that he would make the right decision. So, he remained silent and waited.
After an hour's waiting, he heard flapping of wings and soon the white dragon came into his line of sight. It was coming right towards them. It came closer and closer and then it landed ungracefully on the clearing due to her deformed wing.
Merlin came running towards the dragon and hugged it's form. The dragon began to coo in delight.
After a while, Merlin released her and began to look at the dragon eye to eye. Uriel realized that they were doing telepathy. When they were finished, Merlin looked at him and Uriel saw the young warlock's face was morphed into sadness and anguish.
" Merlin, what happened ? " Uriel asked.
" Mordred is dead. Morgana killed him. " Merlin said sadly.
" I failed. I failed again. That boy only did everything what he did because he was in pain. And he was angry. I knew Morgana would be furiouus with him because of his failure. I wanted to save him. Save him from the darkness. But I am too late. And I am a failure again. "
Uriel felt so sad hearing the young man's pained words. He understood Merlin's desire to save everyone he could. But the world is not a fair place. And there would always be pain and anguish in this world. But life moves on. And now they couldn't stop. They would have to move on too.
So he placed a hand on Merlin's shoulder and said, " What's done is done, Merlin. You can't change the past. You don't know the future. But it's the present that we all have to live. And the present is now. You must not trap yourself in the past. Rememeber the one you can't save.
And learn from your past mistake. That's how you will succeed and won't fail again. "
Merlin's face brightened a little hearing the king's words.
" You're right, Uriel. I must learn from my mistake and use that knowledge in the future. Yes, I have failed Mordred but the One willing I won't fail again. "
He looked towards the white dragon and said, " Come, Aithusa. We're going to get my mother. "
Aithusa cooed happily and placed her forehead on Merlin's outstretched palm.
A whirlwind engulfed them and they vanished again.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Uriel was mildly surprised how short their visit to Ealdor was. Hunith was alarmed to see her son's scarred face and inquired about it. But Merlin promised to explain everything later.
He introduced his mother to Uriel . At first, she didn't believe Uriel's words that she was the last of the Ignotus. And she refused to leave Ealdor. But Merlin's insistance swayed her. She packed everything she had and they came to the outskirt of the village where the white dragon was waiting for them.
To say that Hunith Ignotus was surprised would be an understatement. She was bewildered. But at the same time , she was also happy seeing a creature of the old religion. She said to Merlin that he owed her anuther explanation and Merlin said that he would explain.
They then teleported again and this time their destination was Elmet's capitak city.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
They landed near a edge of the forest. Merlin was feeling a little dizzy. His vision was blurred. But when his vision came to normal, he was dumbstruck by what he saw.
They were standing before a huge lake and it's other bank was so far that he was unable to see it. Behind him, was a dense forest. And at the center of the lake on an island stood a gigantic walled city. It's white wall was gleeming in sunlight and the wall was almost ten times larger that that of Camelot's wall.
A white magnificent tower could be seen overlooking the high walls of the city. All in all he was at a loss of words.
He looked at Uriel who stood beside him with a sign of pride plastered on his face. He smiled at Merlin and said , " Welcome to Arcaenia, the capital of Elmet. "
OOOOOOOOOOOO
So, Merlin has reached Elmet. Yay! Next episode : The coronation of Emrys and Morgana's whereabouts. Updates won't be regular from now on, as I have to do some seriuos studying for my medical college entrance exam coming this october. But don't worry. You will get a chapter biweekly ( I hope ) And I will never abandon this story provided I don't die.
Happy reading everyone.