A/N: Can be read as sequel to my other work Vigil.
Also works perfectly as a standalone don't worry. Only thing to know is that Arthur knows about both Merlin and Mordred's magic.
"He is of prophecy, sire. Our elders speak of him as the most powerful. They speak of him as the winds and the rains. As earth and fire. And the elements bow under his commands for he, their kin, is also their master. He is magic, for all eternity."
Arthur stared at his knight beyond incredulous.
Mordred cleared his throat. "I forget the exact words but that is- uh- how the druids tell it."
Dawnmere Keep lay on the western cliffs of Caerleon, the wind buffeting guards on duty, ruffling flames in their metal sconces and howling through the cloisters leading into the inner dark stone corridors. Under the keep's moon cast shadows lay settlements on the terraced cliffs and the port town further below where most of the residents lay asleep barring the drunk exchanging incomprehensible tales or singing bawdy songs of sudden solidarity in taverns and the watch on the harbour keeping their lazy eyes open for lights out in the vast darkness of the horizon.
Far out at sea unnoticed by any eyes something surfaced out of the waves, gleaming silver upon a sinuous body in the moonlight, too big and lengthy to be the common fish that lived in the deep waters. Even further out, mixed in with the stars decorating the sky, a bow lantern of a ship glimmered dimly.
Dawn lay on the horizon and her soldiers on pallets of the ramshackle building which had become temporary physician's quarters. The sharp smell of blood, salt and herbs made the air pungent. Her hands hidden beneath her heavy fur robes would not unclench. Queen Annis was by no means untouched by blood and death- war has ravaged her lands for more of her reign than not- but it had always been at the hands of other men.
Lord Otfrid stood with her, beside the window, out of the way of the hustling physician and his hands. He was wet, the same as the rest of her men who had hauled her soldiers out of the bay and into the hands of treatment.
"Report," she ordered and the Lord she had appointed to the upkeep of her port gathered himself and bowed to her. She pretended not to see his shaking hands as he clasped them tightly together.
"It is- it is as the first survivors say, my queen. Snake-like with hide as tough as a dragon. The patrols did not stand a chance. Our heaviest arrows and the sharpest steel-" he shook his head to himself- "nothing. I saw it rise out of the water, took half the hull with it on the first swipe. It is- invincible, your majesty," Otfrid finished his voice rising. With a shudder, he went quiet, his eyes distant.
She looked outside the window. To the right where the road curved further inland stood her Second, conversing with curious townspeople. He was half covered in blood. The bulk of buildings blocked her view of the bay. The sky was lightening up with every second.
"I trust there's more men on watch."
Otfrid startled out of his thoughts, bowed his head. "Yes. Yes, your majesty."
"Stay. Confer with my Second-" she indicated with her head, Sir Ostwald- "see this to its end."
She gathered her furs closer to her chest and left the building, the phantom taste of blood thick in her throat. With every step towards the keep the angry flame beneath her ribs flared higher.
"We've come to offer aid."
In her hands lay the list that named all her dead soldiers and their kin and Arthur Pendragon of Camelot stood in her council room.
Annis put down the document filled with Otfrid's steady hand and regarded him silently. He had nobody but his fool and a knight that looked as young as her foolhardy nephew in his retinue.
"Aid?"
Arthur nodded. "News have spread of your plight."
He stood with his back straight, armoured up to his throat, sword gleaming by his side. He was a formidable man, she could admit.
She stood, adjusted her furs on her shoulders. "If it was not you, my ally and of the tales I hear of you I would have taken offence. But as it is, you are very close to crossing a line, Arthur Pendragon."
He bowed his head, just slightly. "I do not mean to do so, your majesty. I am in your debt for granting me safe passage through your lands and I only wished to give back."
"Nonsense. How can you wish to accomplish what scores of my men have failed for weeks on end."
The Pendragon made an aborted motion. The fool at his back stirred and settled again. When the young king met her eyes again, they were nothing but earnest. "I know that- this is not ideal but I ask that you trust me. I've relayed everything to my people and if I am to come to harm they would not blame you or your people."
Annis was silent for some time. The Pendragon was making a calculated gamble, it was written all over his face. It reminded her of the day he'd come to plead for the lives of his people. The day she'd accepted his request for no reason but that she'd seen something that she'd never thought she'd see in Uther Pendragon's blood.
She caressed the edge of her papers with the tips of her fingers. Call her a fool but she wanted to see things play out once she humoured him and if it got rid of her monster in the same stroke, then all the more reason to accept.
"Very well."
The boat cut through the waves, twice a dozen meters out and going. There was no other sound in the night other than oars dipping and rising in unison, the half-crew she'd acquired working together as if one. Annis stood at the bow, scanning the ocean. The meager light of the bow lantern struggled against the vast darkness ahead and around them. Ostwald beside her- who had stubbornly refused to remain ashore if she would not- stirred and she followed his eyes back to the dimming lights on the harbour.
Something splashed in the distance and Annis whipped her head to the sound. All of a sudden it seemed to her that everyone aboard was holding their breath. But there was nothing to see- on the moonlit waves not one disturbance caught her attention. The hull creaked below her and the wind whipped her hair onto her face.
Ahead of her at the very edge of the bow of the boat where Camelot's company stood Annis saw the fool catch on to the young king's forearm. He said something that was lost to the voice of the waves. The King's stance grew alert and his eyes found hers, urgent, asking permission. She nodded.
His voice rang over the water. "Brace yourselves! It's coming!"
Oswald took position beside her, sword raised at the ready. She gripped her own pommel tighter and wondered distantly how the young king knew. The oarsmen took up their own weapons and lightweight shields. Silence stretched. The hull creaked and free from arrest of the oars, the vessel rocked- left, right, left, right, left.
Then the ocean erupted- starboard side.
Obscured by the raining water, a massive shape rose from the depths, blotting out the stars. It was serpentine and with it came the smell of rotting things and seaweed. A heartbeat later, with an ear piercing shriek and a twist of its winding body, it struck. Part of the gunwale splintered. Shards of wood sliced the air. She shielded her eyes with her hands as the rest of the body followed the head. There was a snap overhead- the halyard unravelling with the damage.
Annis yanked Oswald out of the way just as the undulating ocean threw the boat against the windward path of the waves- the boat airborne and also Annis, her feet separated from the boards beneath. Among the shouting and the crashing of the mast she caught a hold of a rowlock and hung on, her free hand keeping Ostwald aboard. With a resounding crack the hull struck the water, the impact sending salty spray over the gunwale.
The vessel rocked like a cradle. She struggled forward, up to the mast that lay across the boat tangled in the unravelled sail impeding her way. Her three guests were where she had left them, framed in nothing but moonlight, seemingly unharmed except for the streak of blood on the side of the knight's face. The fool stood alone, away from the knight and king. She opened her mouth to call them but was interrupted by a guttural sound coming from the fool. He raised his hands keeping them flat over the ocean like he was warming them by a fire.
Annis stared, astounded. She looked from fool to knight to king. The king who looked neither surprised nor enchanted. But the fool- he was undoubtedly chanting.
The boat swayed- left, right, left, right and the hull loosened a horrendous groan, complaining about its battered state. Someone whimpered from among the crew. Another muttered prayers.
"Weapons at the ready!" Annis ordered.
Something surfaced in the dark water. Starboard side again. Annis lifted her sword, her grip slippery with water. A bloated mass rose, slow and otherworldly. The creature's tail lashed out, spraying water but it did not attack. She saw as the bulk of it cleaned the surface of the ocean that the monster was trapped in a cage of water. A sphere.
Merlin's hands were high above his head now and as he turned towards his king the prison moved forward as if an extension of himself. Wind whirled around him ruffling his hair and clothes; the water splashing from the lashing creature encircled him, catching moonlight and travelling suspended in the air like soap bubbles in a wash basin. His eyes burned molten gold.
The creature stopped then, with Merlin's movements, within reach of the young king. Arthur's knight backed away, eyes huge and awestruck unable to look away from the man who held their life in his hands seemingly without effort.
The King stepped forward, steal catching light along the length. With one swift thrust he plunged the blade into the prison of water. The monster screamed, a sound that grated against her bones, even muffled by the water. The prison darkened, stained with blood.
Merlin turned once again the sphere moving with him. One hand descended, graceful as a noblewoman's movements. The sea obeyed, split open into a gaping hole. With another gesture downward the sphere sank, the water gushing over and around it to vanish within the ocean's dark maws.
For long breathless moments, nothing. Then the cheers started, the crew celebrating their lives, embracing. The young knight had fallen to his knees trembling as she ducked under the mast and approached.
The wind around Merlin had died down, the sea smoothed, but he still stood at the prow still as a statue.
"Arthur Pendragon," Annis said, and faltered. For the first time in her life she could not find the words to continue.
The young king did not seem to hear her. Annis saw utter devastation on his face.
"For all eternity," he whispered to himself.
A/N: One step towards Albion: check.