Werewolf of London: Chapter 15 and Epilogue
London, England May 23rd 1851
By the time Arthur got home, it was dark. The clouds blocked out the light of the less than full moon. Arthur’s skin itched as he felt the pull of the moon. Luckily it is not full. Who knows who I would kill if it was. Arthur believed he was the one who killed Sophia, her father and all of those other people. As he walked into his house, he noticed light coming from the sitting room. Arthur walked into the room and saw his father standing in front of the lit fireplace and drinking a glass of whiskey.
“Father, what are you doing here? I thought you had a business dinner,” Arthur stated.
“It ended early. I hear that Merlin has been arrested for the murders of Aulfric and his daughter.”
“Yes,” Arthur frowned sadly. “He did not do it however.” Arthur sat on the couch and put his head back.
“I know,” Uther replied steadily. “I did it.”
“What?” Arthur’s head shot back up and he stared at his father. “You did what?”
“I found about your curse and I cannot have a magical son.” Uther turned to face Arthur. On each of his hands were long metal claws; they were attached to a leather brace on each wrist. “I killed everyone and wanted the blame to fall to you. However, your stupid...friend, messed everything up! All the evidence points to you and yet those incompetent officers arrested Merlin! I even gave you the wrong medicine, hoping to send you into a wild animal rage!” He threw his drink into the fireplace. “Now I must kill you, in self defense and tell the police that you killed all those people and tried to kill me in your madness.”
“Father,” Arthur gasped. He was horrified by his father’s actions. “I am your son, how could you?”
Uther laughed hollowly. “My son! No, my son died in Romania! You are a magical creature taking his place. Magic killed my wife and I made a vow to destroy anything magical!” He lunged at Arthur, claws pointing towards his son.
Arthur dodged and rolled off the couch. He got up and held his hands out. “Please, Father, listen!”
“No! I shall not listen to your foul magic, you despicable creature!” Uther lunged again, but Arthur managed to move out of the way.
Arthur made his way to the room doors, but Uther was quicker. He blocked his son from leaving, so Arthur’s only option was to make his way back to the fireplace. Once there, he picked up a poker and waved it at his father.
“Do not make me use this, Father. You know how proficient I am with swords.”
“That is not a sword!” Uther jabbed one hand towards his son, but Arthur blocked it with the poker.
“It is close enough!” He made a wild stab at his father, not wanting to hit him. Arthur just wanted to keep his father back. “Stop! You have lost your mind!”
“Maybe I have,” Uther seethed. “I have lost both my wives and my only son! Soon, Morgana should be lost to me as well. I have to keep that from happening.”
“Killing me is not the answer!”
The two men danced around each other, throwing blows, but not landing any. Finally, Uther backed Arthur into a corner and managed to disarm him of the poker. Uther grinned evilly and made to stab his son with both claws. Arthur, however, punched his father in the gut and tackled him to the floor. They wrestled around for some time before Arthur was able to grab one of Uther’s wrists and slam it against the ground. They were close to the fireplace, so Arthur slammed Uther’s wrist onto the hard stone a few more times before part of the metal claws broke off. Uther shoved his foot into Arthur’s stomach and pushed his son off of him.
“Broken claws do not make me less dangerous,” he growled. He grabbed Arthur by the collar of his shirt and pulled him close. He kissed Arthur’s cheek and whispered, “Good night, sweet prince.”
Arthur watched as his father brought up the non-broken claws. Suddenly, Uther fell on top of Arthur. Arthur pushed him off and stared at Merlin, who had come in silently.
“Merlin?” Arthur asked. He got up slowly and made his way to Merlin. When he and Uther wrestled, Arthur had managed to get some cuts and nicks, but was otherwise unharmed. “When did you come in?”
“Just now,” Merlin replied in a stunned voice. “I saw Uther ready to kill you with those claws. I just knew I had to stop him.” He looked at his hands. “I uttered a spell I do not remember learning. It killed him.” He looked at Arthur with wide eyes. “What happened?”
Arthur grabbed Merlin’s arms and pulled him close. He then turned them around so Merlin wouldn’t have to see Uther’s dead body. “Father went mad. He found out I was a werewolf and tried to kill me. He killed Sophia and her father and all those innocent people, just to set me up. He was furious that you were arrested so he planned to kill me tonight, saying I had gone mad or something.”
“Oh, Arthur, I am so sorry.” Merlin squeezed Arthur tightly. “He did love you, it just became twisted.”
“He said his real son died in Romania,” Arthur whispered hoarsely.
As they hugged, Gaius came running in and inhaled at the sight of Uther’s body. “Oh dear.” Gaius went over to Uther’s body and check for a pulse. He looked up at the two young men. “What happened?”
Arthur turned to Gaius, making sure to keep Merlin’s face away from the body. He explained the situation once again and Gaius’ face clouded up. “Damn it,” the older man muttered. “You two head upstairs and get the story straight. I shall fetch a constable.”
The two men nodded and made their way upstairs. Once they reached Arthur’s room, Merlin collapsed on the bed. “Now I know how you feel,” he mumbled.
Arthur hugged his lover once more and asked, “How did you know to come?”
“I felt it. Something was not right. Gaius’ potions never fail. I thought Uther might have done something, so I convinced Gaius to rush over here with me.”
“Father admitted to switching my potion out for something else.” Arthur paused and the two men just sat in silence for awhile.
“What shall we tell the police?” Merlin asked. He pulled away from Arthur and cleared his throat.
“The truth; that Father went mad. He thought that I was possessed and decided to kill everyone to frame me. He then became enraged when you were arrested so he thought he needed to kill me. You came in and saved me.”
“With what? I used a magic spell to stop his heart.”
“The poker,” Arthur declared. “You found it cast aside and stabbed him. We should do that before Gaius returns.”
Merlin nodded and they went back downstairs. They looked around and listened, they heard nothing. “No one is here yet. I will do it.”
“No,” Arthur stated. “I will.”
“Arthur...”
“It is my duty.”
“All right.” Merlin bit his lip in worry.
Arthur took a deep breath and picked up the poker that had been thrown aside. He walked towards his father’s body and rolled him face down. Then he lifted the poker, stabbed down and twisted. Arthur then pulled the poker out and threw it next to the couch. He then rolled Uther onto his back.
“Arthur? The police are coming,” Merlin said from the doorway.
Arthur stared at his father for sometime, then closed Uther’s eyes. “Goodbye Father,” Arthur whispered. He walked to Merlin and grabbed his hand. “We will face them together.”
Merlin gave Arthur a quick kiss and nodded. “Agreed.”
They moved to the stairs and sat down, waiting for Gaius and the police to walk in. Arthur put his arm around Merlin’s shoulder in comfort. As a united front, they took take anything life threw at them, now and forever.
London, England June 3rd 1851
Everyone was gathered at Arthur’s house, talking about what they would all be doing in the upcoming summer.
“Gwen and I shall be going to Paris,” Morgana stated as she shook her hair.
“Funny,” replied Lancelot lazily. “That is where Gwaine and I will be headed.”
Morgana narrowed her eyes at him. “You had better not be. I want to be alone with Gwen.”
Gwaine laughed as Lancelot pretended to cower in fear. “We will not be, Morgana. I can promise you that. We shall be going with Arthur.”
Hunith who had also been laughing, turned to Arthur. “Oh? And where shall you be going?”
“Back to Romania,” Arthur said. “I planned to take Merlin with me.”
“This is the first I have heard of it,” Merlin protested.
“Take him,” fake whispered Hunith. “He needs a vacation.”
Merlin scowled at his mother. “The Duke of Camelot cannot be seen traipsing around the wilds of Romania with a doctor.”
“You are not just a doctor, Merlin,” Arthur said fondly.
Merlin blushed, but said nothing more.
“Why must you go back?” Gaius asked with concern. “Not to get revenge, I hope.”
“No,” Arthur shook his head. “My p-” He cut himself off and shot a glance at Morgana and Gwen.
Morgana scoffed. “Oh, please. Gwen and I knew all along that you were a werewolf. No need to hide it now.”
Gwen giggled and said, “Indeed. We want to hear all about it.”
“Very well.” Arthur stood and fixed his vest. “My pack needs me. They are in danger, I can feel it.”
Merlin frowned. “In danger from what?”
“I do not know, that is why I must go. I need to find out.”
“Pack?” questioned Hunith.
“The other people who were changed into werewolves. They were not as lucky as I, to have someone to save them.” Arthur beamed at Merlin, who smiled back.
“Must you go right away?” Gaius asked. “I could study it more and see if I could send anything along that might help.”
“I hope not,” Merlin griped. “I would like sometime to rest before our next adventure. This last one was very trying.”
Arthur rolled his eyes and sat next to Merlin, kissing his temple. “Fine, but just a little break. I could get used to magic and adventure.”
“That is what I am afraid of!” Merlin cried
Arthur grinned cheekily as everyone laughed. Merlin crossed his arms and made a face. Soon though, he joined in the laughter.
At least things will not be boring anymore, he thought.
THE END