loving you with my whole heart Part 3
MASTERPOST| PART 1| PART 2
PART 3
The next day, Merlin walked into Gaius’ office and told him the whole story. Arthur was still at the flat recovering. Neither had had the energy to do more then sleep the night away. Once the older man heard the tale, he sighed heavily.
“I thought that was her when she first came here, but I couldn’t be sure,” Gaius said. He rubbed at his brow.
Merlin closed his eyes and lay down on the couch in Gaius’ office. “I don’t even know where I sent her.”
“Limbo. The Negative Zone. It doesn’t matter what it’s called, she shouldn’t have been able to get out.”
“How do you know?”
Gaius was silent for so long, that Merlin opened his eyes and sat up, worried something had happened to the older man. He stared at his mentor, who was just sitting at his desk, head in his hands. “Gaius?”
“That’s where I found her and that’s where I put her back.”
“For Uther,” Merlin growled, doing a very good impression of his Sentinel.
Gaius shook his head. “No, for Arthur. Nimueh was going to use him. I overheard her talking to someone about it. I don’t know what she wanted him for and I didn’t want to find out, so I banished her. She should have been in there forever, but I’m not as powerful as you. Or your ancestor.” He glanced at his assistant. “And I sense you’ve become more powerful.”
Merlin nodded. “I tapped into something when I fought Nimueh. I even know things about the family history that I’ve been asking about since I was a child. As for Nimueh escaping, she must have had help.”
“Indeed, but who?”
Merlin thought about it for sometime, before snapping his fingers. He looked at Gaius, his eyes gleaming gold. “I think I know.”
****
“Well, that scheme with Nimueh failed miserably,” Morgause said as she, Morgana and Mordred ate dinner. They had once again convened at the couch. Morgause wondered why they even had other furniture if they were never going to sit on it.
Mordred glared at her. “Nimueh jumped the gun. We should have waited another week.” He turned to Morgana and asked pleasantly, “What should we do now?”
“If we can’t drive Arthur crazy, perhaps we could tempt Emyrs away,” Morgana thought aloud as she pushed the food around on her plate.
“You need to eat, Morgana, so don’t play with your food. And if Nimueh couldn’t tempt that Guide, I don’t see why anyone else would work,” Morgause told her sister. She watched as Mordred gave Morgana some of his food, which the young woman then ate.
“Sister,” Morgana chided once she finished chewing. “The High Priestess wasn’t trying for that. But that girl, what is her name?”
“Freya?” Mordred supplied helpfully, giving Morgana more of his food. Morgause sighed and put more food on Mordred’s plate. He quirked his mouth in her direction in response, indicating his gratitude.
“Yes!” Morgana crowed, unaware of the food she was eating. She kissed the top of Mordred’s head. He beamed up at her, happy to have made her happy. “Yes, Freya. She’ll be perfect. Just his type.”
Morgause scoffed as she took a sip of her drink, but said nothing. Without telling her sister, Morgause decided to send someone else in, just in case things went wrong. She smirked behind her glass. And things tend to go wrong.
****
Arthur and Merlin had decided not to tell anyone but Gaius what happened that night. So when their friends came over for an impromptu party, after Merlin returned home from speaking with his mentor, Arthur had to blame the mess on his senses.
“There was a smell on Merlin I didn’t like,” Arthur said sheepishly as he and Lance swept up some broken glass. “I flipped out and broke everything. I already apologized.”
“Did he hurt you, Merlin?” Gwaine asked as he and Percy were placing books back on to the shelves. Merlin, Gwen, and Elyan were placing pictures back on the wall and generally straightening up the flat.
“No!” Merlin yelled in annoyance. He knew that they meant well, but that was a ridiculous thought.
“I had to be sure,” Gwaine protested as Arthur growled at him.
“Sometimes I think you all like Merlin more than you like me,” Arthur groused as he picked up some small pieces of broken glass.
“We do,” Gwaine replied cheerily. He ducked behind Elyan in mock terror as Arthur growled again.
“You do look pretty ragged,” Gwen said, taking the attention off Gwaine. She stared at Merlin’s pale face and the dark circles under his eyes. “Was it that woman you told me about?” she asked softly, hoping Arthur and Lance couldn’t hear her.
Merlin nodded slightly, before saying, “It was a long night.” The Guide sighed. “Once his sense smell got overloaded, so did everything else. It took some time before Arthur’s senses were back to normal again.”
Percy must have muttered something about Arthur’s senses, because the blonde growled louder, while Gwaine laughed.
Gwen nodded in understanding, ignoring the other men. “Lance has had that happen sometimes.” Her eyes glinted in amusement. “Arthur must have really hated that smell.”
Everyone laughed as Arthur flushed lightly. “Well it won’t be on Merlin again, will it?” Arthur muttered.
“No, it won’t,” Merlin promised. He ignored the strange look he got from Gwen and went back to cleaning his flat. Once their friends left, Merlin was going to have to ask Arthur some more questions about his sister. He had a feeling that she was some how involved.
****
“Now Freya, do you remember the plan?” asked Morgana, using a new scrying glass. Freya held the other glass as she stood outside the Sentinel and Guide Center.
“Yes,” Freya replied wearily. She was weak from being out of the water for so long. Her captors wouldn’t even let her take a bath, they just cleaned her with magic.
It had been three weeks since Nimueh’s failed attack on Merlin and Arthur. Morgana had wanted to start phase two earlier, but there had been an influx of Sentinels in the area, which had caused a delay.
“Good. No more delays. Get inside there and make sure no on suspects. Otherwise you might never get home,” Morgana smirked.
Freya flinched slightly, but nodded and made her way inside the Center.
****
Merlin sighed as he laid his head on his desk. It had been three weeks from hell. Not only had he and Arthur gotten into many fights over Morgana, but also two kids had gone missing in the woods earlier in the month. So Arthur, Merlin, and every other available Sentinel and Guide team had been tasked with finding them. The media coverage had been a pain, but the children were found alive and uninjured, so Merlin called that a win. On top of that, the Center had flown in Jim, Blair, Logan, and the mutant’s three Guides to find Mordred, who was now a registered Sentinel on the run. So far, they had no luck finding him. Merlin suspected that magic was covering the boy’s tracks, but he wasn’t willing to say anything just yet.
Merlin glanced at the couch, where Arthur was laying down. The Sentinel had never worked his senses that hard or for that long as he had when looking for the children.
“I can hear you thinking from over here,” Arthur muttered. He shifted slightly, but never opened his eyes.
“Just wondering if you’re still mad at me. How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been run over by a lorry.” He paused before continuing. “No, I’m not mad. I just-”
“Love your sister, I know,” Merlin interrupted. “But if I’m right and Morgause is Morgana’s sister…”
“It doesn’t seem possible,” Arthur stated dazedly. He always remembered his sister as the sweet tempered and loving girl who laughed and kissed his cheek. Yes, he remembered their fights, but they always made up. He never wanted to remember how Morgana looked when they were torn apart. She kept crying for him and begging for her Sentinel to save her. He didn’t have the heart to tell her, that he wasn’t her Sentinel. He opened his eyes and stared straight into Merlin’s eyes. They held the gaze for some time.
Merlin was about to say something, when there was a knock on his office door. He broke the gaze with Arthur. “Come in!” he called, shrugging as Arthur winced at the loud noise and then glared at him.
Gaius popped his head in. “Ah, sorry to bother you. I wanted you to meet our newest assistant.” He opened the door wider and stepped inside. A woman with long brown hair and dark brown eyes followed him in. She seemed paler than most people and Merlin knew by the way Arthur’s nose wrinkled, she smelled sick.
“Freya O’Lochlin,” she said, holding out a hand. She swayed slightly, but managed to keep herself upright.
“Merlin Emyrs, pleased to meet you.” Merlin took her hand, ignoring her slight flinch and the frission of energy he felt when their hands touched.
“Arthur Pendragon,” Arthur said as she got off the couch and shook Freya’s hand. He subtly wiped his hands on his pants after she let go.
“I’ve heard much about the both of you. It will be my honor to work with you,” she said, looking straight into Merlin’s eyes.
Arthur growled lightly, but Merlin put a calming hand on his Sentinel’s arm. “Thank you,” the Guide said.
Gaius raised a brow, but said nothing as he led Freya out of the room.
“Something is wrong with her,” Arthur said while moving closer to Merlin.
“I know. I saw your face.”
“I don’t trust her.”
Merlin laughed. “Color me surprised!”
“She just seems like your type.”
“Arthur,” Merlin turned to face his lover. “You are my type. No one else. Now, let’s do some exercises to stabilize your senses.”
“Not the kind of exercises I had in mind,” Arthur said cheekily as he pulled Merlin closer and kissed him.
****
“I don’t think this will work,” Freya said into her scrying glass. “They seem too in love.”
“Just keep trying,” Morgana hissed. “And make sure they don’t find Mordred or me.”
Freya nodded as she cut the connection. She desperately wanted to go home and helping Morgana seemed the fastest way.
****
Merlin was walking through the halls of the Center, going over some data when he ran into someone. His papers went flying as he and the other person fell to the floor.
“Sorry,” the wizard said, scrambling to gather his papers.
“No problem. I wasn’t paying attention either,” the other voice said. “I’m Edwin, by the way. I’m new here.”
“Oh yes,” Merlin looked at the other man, noticing his scarred face for the first time. There seemed to be something odd about the man, but Merlin passed it off as paranoia. Not everyone was out to get him. “Gaius was telling me about you the other day.”
“He knew my parents and helped me with my face,” Edwin replied, gesturing to himself.
“That’s Gaius for you. Always ready to help,” Merlin smiled. Edwin handed Merlin his papers back. “Thank you. See you around Edwin.” The Guide waved and left Edwin behind.
“Most definitely,” Edwin smirked as Merlin turned a corner.
****
“I think we should tell your mother about what happened with Nimueh,” Arthur spoke up over dinner that night.
“Why?” Merlin nearly dropped his fork in surprise. Arthur had not wanted anyone to know, not even Gaius. It had taken Merlin practically begging and saying that Gaius knew the story up to that point, so the older man might as well know the rest of it to get Arthur to agree.
“So you can stop looking at her sadly.”
“I don’t!” Merlin protested.
“You do. Just tell her what you want to tell her and stop moping about the place.”
“You’re awfully grumpy lately,” Merlin commented as he began to clean the dishes off the table. Maybe he did want to tell his mother, but he wanted Arthur to want it as well, not just give in because Merlin was unhappy keeping secrets from his mum.
“It’s that woman.”
“Freya? I haven’t spoken to her more than thirty minutes total and I know I don’t have her scent on me. You keep checking.”
“Oh, I know that,” Arthur waved a hand as he leaned back in his chair. “There’s just something off about her and that Edwin fellow. They smell like Nimueh. And you.”
“Arthur,” Merlin asked slowly. “Can you smell magic?”
“I guess so, yes. I have ever since I met you. It’s gotten stronger since that night. You reek of it, but I tolerate it because it’s you.”
“Gee, thanks,” Merlin snarked before asking, “What does it smell like?”
“You smell like burnt ozone. All magic users seem to smell of ozone and something else. I can’t always name the other smell though.”
“This is great! We could find Morgana with this!”
“What?” Arthur frowned as he sat forward.
“You know her smell, being siblings. Mix that with the magic smell and we would find her quickly.”
“So you can do what exactly?”
“To stop her from hurting you!” Merlin threw the dishes in the sink, not caring about the noise they made. Arthur was beyond frustrating sometimes. “I only want you to stay safe.” He turned to face his lover, hoping to make the other man listen to him.
Arthur’s face was blank and closed off to Merlin. Inside though, he was seething that his lover wanted to hurt Morgana. “The only one hurting me is you, saying that you want to go after my sister!”
They had had this argument before, but now was the time to settle the matter, it seemed.
“Arthur, for whatever reason she’s trying to kill you. To kill me! That’s what Nimueh was going to do,” Merlin defended his reasoning.
“I know!” Arthur yelled. He shoved away from the table and stalked into the living room. Merlin stood passively and watched as his lover came back. “I know, but I can’t kill her. I don’t want you to kill her. I want to help her!”
“You said yourself, Morgana went insane because of her visions.”
“She can be helped!”
“Morgause has twisted Morgana’s mind. She was always good at that. She’s convinced her sister, that only Morgause, and possibly Mordred, loves Morgana. No one else, not even her beloved baby brother.”
“Another one of your ancestral students out to get you,” Arthur accused
Merlin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, trying desperately to stay calm and continued on. “You don’t understand. Morgana thinks that you, Uther, and Ygraine all had it out for her. She doesn’t know you wanted to go visit her. She doesn’t know how much you love her. And I’m the only thing standing between you and death!”
“Oh please,” Arthur scoffed. His anger was beginning to boil over. He moved closer to Merlin, backing his Guide up against the kitchen countertop. Arthur didn’t want to hurt his lover, just intimidate him and get him to back off. “You’re just a klutzy Guide, who happens to be a-a reincarnation of that ancestor you talked about before!”
Merlin shoved Arthur away from him forcefully. He took a perverse pleasure in watching the Sentinel stumble slightly before regaining his balance. “That ancestor was the most powerful wizard to ever grace the earth. And I am the embodiment of magic.”
“You didn’t deny that this Morgause was a student,” Arthur sneered, turning the conversation back to the beginning.
“She was! He had many students and they’ll all probably want to kill me! With my magic they could do anything!”
“This isn’t like Highlander, if they kill you they don’t get your magic. Do they?” Arthur asked. He was unsure of his footing in the subject of magic. For all he knew, anything could happen in the magical world.
“Yes, that’s exactly how it works! Morgause could…could awaken the dragons and wreak havoc on the world!”
Arthur paused in his rebuttal. “Dragons? There are dragons?”
“Yes,” Merlin sighed wearily. He sat down at the table and placed his head in his hands. “There are dragons that are sleeping. I control them, being the last of the Dragonlords.”
Arthur stumbled towards the table and sat down as well. “My life gets weirder and weirder with you around.”
Merlin chuckled wryly, but said nothing. They sat in silence, as Arthur contemplated what his lover had told him and as Merlin wished he had never opened his mouth.
After some silence, Arthur spoke back up, “I don’t want you to kill her, like you did Nimueh.”
“I banished Nimueh. You said not to kill her,” Merlin replied.
Arthur blinked and laughed lightly, hoping to break the heavy mood that had settled over them. “Oh. I didn’t think you were listening. You never do.”
“I’m going to protect you Arthur, as is my duty as your Guide. I can promise not to hurt Morgana and I won’t even ask you to find her, but I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe,” Merlin swore.
Arthur sighed heavily. “I guess that will have to do.” He got up and kneeled down in front of Merlin. “And I suppose I shall do whatever I must to keep you safe from old students. Including Morgause. I just wish-”
“I know,” Merlin cut him off. He was tired and didn’t want to fight anymore tonight. He kissed his Sentinel. “We’ll figure something out. For now, let’s go to bed.”
Arthur nodded in agreement and stood, then helped Merlin up from his chair. He led his lover to their bedroom and lay down next to him. “We’re much better together than apart,” he whispered into the darkness.
Merlin’s arms tightened around Arthur and the two slipped off into an uneasy sleep.
****
It was a month before anything happened. Merlin could honestly say he hadn’t been expecting it. He walked into his office and was suddenly being wrapped in someone’s arms and kissed hotly. He pulled away, blinking, and pushed his assailant away.
“Freya,” he panted. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I had too. I couldn’t-”
“It’s okay. Just sit down.” Merlin guided her to the couch, where the woman collapsed, still sobbing. “Can you start at the beginning?”
Freya took a few minutes to pull herself together long enough to answer. “It’s a long tale Emyrs and I don’t have much time. I just want to go home, but I can’t until I’ve done what was asked of me.”
“So you are magical,” Merlin nodded. “I thought I felt it. I wasn’t sure though, it was nothing like I had ever encountered before.”
Freya nodded, but couldn’t reply, as she was crying too hard. Merlin, unsure of how to comfort her, stood and walked to his desk. He pulled out a box of tissues and handed them to her. “Here.”
“Thank you.” She took the box and wiped at her eyes and nose. She looked up at him and opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by a loud explosion.
“What was that?” She shook her head and looked at him with wide eyes. “Stay here!” Merlin ordered as he left his office.
People were running out of the rooms and leaving the building. He saw Gwen and Lance and stopped them. “What happened?”
“Something blew. There’s a gas leak,” Lance said. “We need to get out of here before the whole place goes up.”
Merlin nodded. “Freya! Get out of here.”
Gwen and Lance exchanged a look as Freya exited Merlin’s office, but the Guide had no time for that. “Lance, make sure everyone is out. I want Sentinels combing the rooms, no one gets left behind. Gwen, call Blair. He needs to know about this.”
“What about Arthur?” Gwen asked as she watched her Sentinel take Freya away.
“Call him too.”
“Where are you going?”
“To find Gaius!” Merlin jogged off down a hallway.
****
Arthur pulled up to the Center, looking for Merlin, but unable to find him in the chaos. He did find Gwen, Lance and Freya huddled away from everyone else. He ran over to them. “Where’s Merlin?” he asked wildly.
“Still inside,” Freya said. “He was looking for Gaius. Both he and Edwin never came out.”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed at her. Freya nodded slightly. Arthur crowed internally. He knew that Edwin was a wizard of some kind.
“Any idea where they are Lance?” the blonde Sentinel asked the other.
“Last I heard they were making their way out back. But they never came out here.”
Arthur closed his eyes and dialed up his hearing, listening for his Guide. He found Merlin’s heartbeat erratic and underground. “They’re underground,” Arthur said in confusion as he came back to focus on the group. “What would they be doing down there?”
“There’s a basement,” Gwen spoke up. “During World War II people would hide in it when the bombs were falling.”
“That’s where the gas leak was coming from,” Lance said worriedly.
“We don’t have much time then, do we?” Arthur ran towards the Center, Gwen, and Lance following close behind him. They didn’t know what was going on, but they wanted to help.
Freya stayed behind since she didn’t feel well. However, she noticed a flash of long, blonde hair and narrowed her eyes. Freya took a deep breath and decided to follow the flash of hair.
****
Merlin awoke with a groan. He could barely see anything through the blurriness of his eyes. He hoped he didn’t have a concussion. He looked around carefully, trying to avoid jostling his already aching head. Edwin had hit him with something and if it weren’t for Merlin’s magic, it probably would have killed him. He noticed Gaius tied up, and conscious, to a pipe nearby, but the older man couldn’t do much since he was tied up too.
“Magic knots,” Edwin said from behind him. The other man came and stood in front of Merlin. Edwin looked like one big smear across his vision. “It won’t do you any good to fight. The more you struggle the tighter it becomes. Like quicksand.” He smiled widely at Merlin.
“Why are you doing this?” Merlin asked. He blinked a few times, hoping to clear his blurry vision.
“Gaius killed my parents, him helping me was just added mockery,” Edwin hissed as he knelt down in front of Merlin. “I only wanted to kill him, but my boss thought it would be better if I killed the great Emyrs too.” He laughed in Merlin’s face before standing. “Some great wizard you are.”
“Ugh,” Merlin grunted. “Morgause sent you.”
“Correct! And she said you were stupid!”
“He’s very smart,” Gaius said from the other side of the room.
“Ah, Gaius. My mentor and the murderer of my parents.”
“Gaius would never kill anyone!” protested Merlin. He had known the older man all his life, Gaius couldn’t even kill a fly much less a human being.
“He could have saved them!” Edwin yelled back. “The council ordered them put to death!”
“Council? What council?” Now Merlin was more confused than ever. He wasn’t sure if it was because of his headache or because Edwin was unstable.
“You don’t know anything, do you Emyrs.” Edwin mocked.
“But I do, Edwin,” Gaius shouted. “I know your parents were practicing black magic. Necromancy.”
“They wanted to bring my sister back!”
“She was dead! It never would have worked!”
Merlin groaned again. All the yelling was echoing around the small room and causing his headache to grow worse.
“It would have! If you had just let them try it-”
“They were going to murder another girl! Someone else’s daughter! I could never let that happen!”
“Merlin!” Arthur’s voice called out in the distance. Edwin cursed and spun on his heel to face Merlin.
“You did this!” he accused. “You brought him here! Why must you ruin all my plans?!”
“You kidnapped me! Of course my Sentinel was going to come rescue me!”
Edwin paused in thought. “I could kill him,” he said casually.
“You could try,” Merlin replied in the same tone. His eyes flashed gold and Edwin took a step back.
“You can’t stop me!” Edwin cried in fear. Morgause had said the ropes would hold even Emyrs, but the other wizard was too powerful.
“No, but we can,” said Gwen from beside Merlin.
He blinked at her. “How-?”
She just grinned and cut the ropes binding his hands. Behind Edwin, Lance was doing the same to Gaius. The Sentinel helped the older man up, while Gwen held Merlin steady as he stood and swayed. Edwin howled in rage and readied a spell. Before he could even start casting, a large rock flew at his head and knocked him out.
Everyone looked towards Arthur, who shrugged. “I have good aim.”
“And Gwen and I made an excellent distraction,” Lance beamed.
Gaius chuckled, and then groaned. Gwen left Merlin’s side and helped her Sentinel take Gaius outside.
Arthur made his way over to Merlin, slipping an arm around his lover’s waist. “You okay?”
“My head hurts like hell. The gas leak?”
“Lance and I took care of it. Don’t worry.”
“So this place won’t explode?”
“Not today. We can get it looked at later. Let’s get you home.”
“What about Freya? She kissed me. I think she was ordered too.”
Arthur scowled and tightened his hold on Merlin. The Guide winced at the treatment, but said nothing.
“She was outside,” Arthur finally said. “I don’t know what happened to her.”
“We need to find her. I want to help her.”
“Why?”
“No one deserves to be used just to hurt someone else. She wants to go home and I think she might die if she doesn’t.”
“Where is home?” Arthur grunted as he pulled Merlin up from the basement.
“I have no idea.”
****
Before they could go look for Freya, Gwen stopped them, pulling them away from the large group gathered out front of the Center. She glanced around, hoping all the Sentinels would be busy with keeping people calm and not listening to her.
“Lance and I, well. We heard the magic parts of Edwin’s ranting,” she said nervously. “Lance went back down there and tied him up, but he was still talking about being a powerful wizard. More powerful than Emyrs.” She shot a glance at Merlin, who flushed and looked at the ground.
Arthur reached out and touched Merlin’s arm, Merlin looked up at his Sentinel, communicating silently, before Merlin nodded. Lance stepped up behind Gwen and put an arm around her waist. The couple waited for the two men to speak.
“I am a wizard,” Merlin said in a low voice. “It’s a very, very long story, that doesn’t need to be told right now. Gaius and my mum know. Arthur obviously knows and now you do.”
“The others might need to know,” Lance said, watching the crowd, checking to see if anyone was listening. “If it’s always going to be this dangerous around you Merlin.” He smirked at his friend.
“Oh shut up,” Merlin muttered. He shoved Lance’s shoulder. “And I will tell them. Just not today- we need to find Freya first.”
“I saw her and some blond woman walk off together,” replied Gwen. “The blond looked furious and Freya looked, well, she looked scared and tired.”
“Morgause,” Arthur said with conviction. He had never seen the blond woman, but he just knew it was her.
“Who?” asked Lance. There were just too many people with strange names in his life.
“I’ll explain later, just like Merlin will. Can you tell Gaius that Merlin and I have run off to find old friends?”
“Sure. Call if you need help!” Lance yelled as Merlin and Arthur raced to Arthur’s car.
“They won’t,” Gwen guessed.
“Call or need help?”
“They won’t call,” Gwen stated. “They will definitely need help.”
“I know. Better call in the troops.”
****
“I need you to drive Merlin, which is dangerous for everyone, but I can’t drive and scent out Freya at the same time,” Arthur uttered as they reached the car.
Merlin made a face at his lover, he was a very good driver thank you very much, but got into the driver’s seat and started the car up. He waited for Arthur to get in, before peeling away from the Center and down the road. “Which way?” he questioned.
Arthur rolled down his window and took a deep breath. He felt like a fool with his head half stuck out the window, but now wasn’t the time for embarrassment. “Left.”
“Don’t get lost in the other smells, but don’t over-focus on Freya.”
“I know. I smell you and Freya, nothing else.”
“Good.”
“Right and then another left.”
“Are you listening for her as well?” Merlin quizzed as he drove the way Arthur commanded.
“Yes, once I get closer. That way I can memorize Morgause smell as well. It’ll help us find Morgana.”
Merlin took his eyes off the road in shock. The car swerved wildly. “What?”
“Eyes on the road Merlin!” Arthur shouted. “And keep going straight.”
Merlin’s eyes snapped back to the road and righted the car, thankful there were no other cars on the road, but he asked again, “What?”
“I do want to find her. She tried to kill you, and she tried to kill Gaius. I want her to stop hurting people. The Center could take care of her.”
“They might neutralize her,” Merlin mentioned sadly.
Arthur tensed up, but let out a breath, his shoulders relaxing a little. “If that’s what needs to happen, so be it. As long as she can be my sister again. Turn right, then stop. We can go on foot the rest of the way, they are close.”
****
Freya struggled against Morgause grip as the blond pulled her down the street. Morgause tightened her hold and yanked Freya closer.
“If you don’t stop, I will kill everyone in the area,” she hissed into Freya’s ear.
Freya went limp, allowing herself to be pulled along.
“You failed us, duckling. You know the price for failure.”
“I couldn’t, Morgause. How could I destroy them just so you can take over the world?”
Morgause sneered at the other woman. “It’s a good thing I sent in backup to finish the job. I knew you would fail us.”
“Edwin,” Freya guessed. “You sent him, hoping he’d kill Emyrs and gain all his power.”
“Yes. Then I could kill Edwin and the power would be mine.”
“You can’t even do magic,” Freya argued.
Morgause shrugged as she pulled Freya down an alleyway. “That hardly matters. Being able to control dragons is worth a little pain.”
“It could kill you.”
“Doubtful. Nothing can kill me,” Morgause laughed coldly. She stopped in the middle of the alley and pulled out a dagger. “This is far enough away from your home right?” She asked casually before she plunged the dagger into Freya’s stomach.
Freya gasped and collapsed to the ground. Morgause twirled the dagger and smirked. She was going to deliver another blow, but was stopped by magic. She whipped her head towards the alley entrance.
“Emyrs,” she spit out.
“The one and only. Drop the dagger and I’ll let you leave,” Merlin remarked. His eyes were golden and cold.
Morgause dropped the dagger next to Freya. “Now, let me go.”
Merlin released his magic and Morgause was flung down the alley. She slammed into a wall and was knocked unconscious. Merlin ran towards Freya, scooped her up and began walking back the way he came.
“How?” Freya wheezed. She was keeping pressure on the wound, but it wasn’t enough.
“Arthur followed your smell and then we followed on foot. We heard Morgause’s admission of guilt. Arthur took off once she stabbed you to get the car. We can take you to a hospital.”
“No.” Freya gripped Merlin’s shirt. “I need to go home.”
“Where is that?”
“The lake.”
Arthur pulled up then and jumped out of the car. The men carefully placed Freya in the back seat and then got in the front seats.
“Which hospital is closest?” Arthur inquired.
“The lake,” Freya said again. Her voice had dropped to a whisper.
“The Lake Hospital?”
Merlin rolled his eyes at his lover. “No you, prat. The lake is her home.”
“I…I actually don’t understand that, but I won’t question it. Which lake?”
Merlin climbed into the back and placed pressure of Freya’s wound. Her own hands had slipped off and she seemed to be staring off into space. He began uttering healing magic, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough.
“Can you heal her?” Arthur asked as he drove down the city streets.
“Not for long. Healing magic is hard work. I can maybe stop the bleeding, but it won’t save her.” Merlin continued murmuring the spell under his breath, hoping to slow the bleeding.
“Unless we get her home. To the lake,” Arthur guessed.
“Yes.”
“But which lake?” Arthur pressed. “There must be hundreds!”
“Near Tintagel.”
“In Wales? That would take a longer trip than I’ve planned for,” Arthur confessed.
Merlin paused in his spell casting to give Arthur a withering look. “You utter prat. No not Wales, then her home would be the ocean wouldn’t it?”
“Tintagel Manor,” Freya gasped. Merlin winced, but kept the pressure up.
“Pendragon-Tintagel Manor, you mean? My family home?” Arthur spun the car around and began speeding in the opposite direction. “I hope no police pull us over right now.”
“Yes, your home is my home.”
“Well, that’s great. Just great. Next you’ll be telling me a dragon lives in a cave near my manor,” Arthur laughed wildly.
Both Freya and Merlin were silent. Arthur glanced in his rear-view mirror to stare at them. They seemed to be talking silently. Merlin caught him looking and gave him a weak smile.
“There’s a dragon living in a cave near my manor, isn’t there?” he asked flatly.
“Well, a sleeping dragon,” Merlin joked.
“Oh that’s so much better.”
“Just drive faster.”
“I just mentioned the police and you tell me to drive faster?”
Freya let out a watery chuckle. “Old, married couple.”
Merlin flushed and looked away from Arthur. He knew they argued like they had been married forever, but now wasn’t the time.
“No, don’t blush. It’s cute,” Freya whispered. “The Young Prince and Emyrs bickering like my grandparents.”
“You have grandparents?” Arthur asked with some doubt.
“Even magical beings have grandparents, Young Prince.”
“That’s like the fourth time I’ve heard that. What does it mean?”
“Enough talking,” Merlin interrupted. “More driving.”
Arthur glared at his Guide in the mirror. He was definitely keeping something from Arthur and he was going to find out what. “This isn’t over.”
“Shut up, prat. I need to concentrate.”
****
It took only two hours, instead of the usual three, to reach Arthur’s family home. “You must have used some magic, Merlin, I pushed the car to at least a hundred, and the police never even noticed us,” Arthur said jokingly as he swung the car into the driveway. Although for all he knew, Merlin had used magic to keep them hidden.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Merlin replied, confirming Arthur’s guess of magical assistance. He knew that would have tired his Guide out even more. “Help me, would you,” Merlin kicked the backdoor of the car open.
“Hey! Watch the interior.” Arthur went around and gently pulled Freya out of the car. He held onto her as Merlin took his hands off her wound. The wizard’s hands were covered in blood and he was panting. “You’ve used too much magic, you fool,” Arthur chided. Merlin shrugged. Arthur sighed and looked down at Freya. “I’m going to have to run,” he said apologetically.
“That’s all right. I can take it,” Freya murmured. “I feel a little better as I get closer to home.” She closed her eyes and laid her head on Arthur’s shoulder.
Merlin stepped up next to Arthur. “Where is it? The one thing you skipped on my tour is the most important thing.” Arthur snorted, but Merlin continued as if his lover hadn’t made any noise at all. “Maybe I can run ahead and see what’s going on.”
“Up the path and to the right.”
Merlin nodded and then took off. Arthur followed at a slower speed. He didn’t want to jostle Freya too much. He heard the front door of the manor open and his parents step out.
“Arthur?” his mother called in confusion.
He ignored her and continued towards the lake. Freya was looking paler than ever. Once there, he found Merlin kneeling next to the water’s edge.
“Merlin?” he asked as he shifted Freya in his arms.
“It’s empty,” Merlin replied in dull voice. He shook his head and continued in his normal voice, “It must be Freya.”
“Lady of the Lake. Keeper of the Sword,” Freya affirmed. “Put me in it.”
Merlin shrugged and waded into the water. Arthur rolled his eyes and followed. He ignored his father shouting his name from behind him and shivered as he stepped in.
“It’s freezing, Merlin!” he complained.
“I can’t do anything about that!” Merlin said as he floated in the water.
The deeper Arthur got, the lighter Freya seemed to become. Once he reached Merlin’s side, he let go of Freya and she floated on her own. The Sentinel and Guide treaded water, waiting for the woman to say something.
Freya opened her eyes after a few minutes and smiled. “Thank you,” she said clearly.
“Why couldn’t you come here yourself?” Arthur asked. “Mother and Father wouldn’t have noticed, it’s not like the Manor is guarded.”
“Morgause bound me to her, it was weak magic, but enough to keep me away from my home. Once she stabbed me, the bond was broken. I have to go now, but if you ever need help, come see me.” She began to fade away. Merlin reached out to her, but his hand passed through her body. Arthur pulled him away from Freya in suspicion.
Freya laughed in delight. “Oh, Young Prince, you do not disappoint. The sword is waiting for you whenever you are ready.”
“Great,” Arthur said. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He wondered what she was talking about, but decided it wasn’t important at the moment.
“And do see the dragon. He misses talking to you Emyrs.” With that said, Freya disappeared. The two men felt a warm breeze brush against their cheeks and knew it was Freya.
“Well,” Merlin said.
“Well,” Arthur replied.
They stared at each other before breaking into laughter. They had just saved a woman’s life and stopped two murderers in the same day, not many others could say that. Merlin grabbed a hold of Arthur and kissed him thoroughly.
“We’d better see to your parents,” Merlin said against Arthur’s mouth. “They look faintly furious.”
Arthur turned to look at his parents. His mother had a hand over her mouth in shock, while Uther looked furious. “Perhaps they didn’t know about the Lady of the Lake.” Then Arthur scowled. “Or perhaps they did know about her and never meant to tell me.”
Merlin ran his hand over Arthur’s hair. “They do love you.”
Arthur snorted, but began to swim back to shore. Merlin began to frown as they swum. The closer they got to shore, the deeper Merlin frowned behind. He tried to explain it to Arthur, but he couldn’t. He just knew that something was off in the air.
****
Morgana screeched as she threw her scrying glass to the floor. Mordred winced and covered his ears, scooting away from his angry Guide. He did not like her when she was like this. Morgause shook her head and took another sip of the tea she made when she finally came back to their base of operations.
“Sister please, my head,” Morgause whined. She rubbed the back of her head, where it had connected with a concrete wall. Emyrs would pay for giving her this splitting headache.
“That bitch screwed up all our plans! Now what should we do?” Morgana yelled.
“Why sister, isn’t it obvious?”
“No,” Morgana scowled and sat next to Mordred. He reached out tentatively to touch her and was pleased when Morgana pulled him closer.
“Emyrs is weak from all the healing magic he used on the water sprite. Now is the perfect time to strike them at the manor. The seat of your pain. The seat of your power.”
“The others can’t do any magic at all,” Mordred reminded Morgana. “And if Emyrs is so weak, he won’t be able fight the two of us off. Plus, whatever magic Morgause choose to use.”
“I don’t use magic, boy,” Morgause sneered. “I have something better.”
“Better than magic?” Mordred laughed in derision. He didn’t like Morgause when she had first brought him to Morgana, and he liked her even less now.
“Yes,” Morgause replied, eyes shining. “An army.”
Morgana shared a wicked smile with her sister. “Yes. The army would be perfect.”
****
Back at the Pendragon Manor, Arthur and Merlin reached the shore and were given blankets by Ygraine. Off to the side, Uther paced, looking murderous. Ygraine’s face was blank, but she touched Arthur more than she had at Merlin’s previous visit.
“What were you thinking, boy?” Uther roared at his son. Ygraine moved to her husband’s side, trying to calm him down.
Merlin flinched at the volume, but held his ground. Arthur’s face never changed and he stepped closer to his father as he said, “Saving a young woman. Who is apparently the Lady of the Lake.”
Uther’s face reddened in anger. “How do you know about that?”
“I know a lot of things, Father. More than you and Mother wanted me to know,” Arthur snapped. “Merlin and I are suffering the consequences of your actions.”
“Merlin,” Uther jeered. “What does he know?”
“Merlin,” Arthur said softly. “Knows everything.”
“Arthur,” Merlin whispered as he moved closer to his Sentinel. “Now isn’t the time.”
Arthur took a deep breath and stepped away from his parents. He turned his attention to Merlin. “What’s the matter, love?”
“Something is wrong in the air. I think they are coming,” Merlin said distractedly. He was trying to keep his Sentinel calm and figure out what was coming towards them.
“Who? Who is coming?” Ygraine asked in a tight voice.
“Me!” Morgana cried from behind them.
The group spun around and stared as Morgana, Mordred, and Morgause appeared from thin air. Arthur moved in front of his parents and declared, “You won’t harm anyone Morgana!”
His sister laughed. “How do you know?” She raised her hand and a bolt of lightning shot from the sky landing near the group.
“Arthur, I’m too weak right now to fight all of them,” Merlin told his lover.
“Can you keep them at bay so we can get inside?”
“Yes, but I can’t keep them out for long.”
Arthur nodded and said to his parents, “Stay behind Merlin and I.”
Merlin cast a shield over the group and they were easily able to escape inside the manor. Once inside, Uther slammed Merlin up against a wall.
“Magic user!” the older Sentinel growled.
Arthur pulled his father off of his Guide and shouted, “Stay away from him!”
“He uses magic!”
“I don’t care! I love him. You just don’t like magic because Mother and Gaius used it and Mother almost died. Now, be quiet while I think.”
Ygraine moved Uther to a nearby chair and kissed his head. She then moved to the window and gasped at what she saw. The other three looked outside as well.
“What is that?” Uther asked.
“An army,” Merlin groaned. “A magical army of undead from who knows where.”
“Who is controlling them?” Arthur questioned.
“Morgause, I suppose.”
“You said she can’t do magic.”
“Yes, but Morgana’s magic is limited to visions, incantations, and lighting spells. Mordred,” Merlin laughed tersely. “He’s far too young to control anything, much less an army of undead. I don’t know how Morgause does anything. Her mind was never very clear.”
“We’re doomed then.” Ygraine let out a little sob. Uther moved over to her to comfort her.
“If only I had some time to recharge,” Merlin said as he paced and tugged at his hair.
“Will we do?” Lance spoke up. Merlin spun to see Lance, Gwen, Elyan, Percy, and Gwaine grinning at him.
“How did you get in?” Arthur scowled. Then he grinned and ran to greet his friends. He didn’t think it was smart of them to show up, but he wouldn’t turn away their help.
“Through the cellar as you showed us,” Elyan piped up.
“What can we do?” Percy asked.
Arthur looked at all of his friends, then at his parents, and finally at Merlin. His eyes glinted as he ran through scenarios in his mind. “I think I have an idea.”
PART 4 AND EPILOGUE
PART 3
The next day, Merlin walked into Gaius’ office and told him the whole story. Arthur was still at the flat recovering. Neither had had the energy to do more then sleep the night away. Once the older man heard the tale, he sighed heavily.
“I thought that was her when she first came here, but I couldn’t be sure,” Gaius said. He rubbed at his brow.
Merlin closed his eyes and lay down on the couch in Gaius’ office. “I don’t even know where I sent her.”
“Limbo. The Negative Zone. It doesn’t matter what it’s called, she shouldn’t have been able to get out.”
“How do you know?”
Gaius was silent for so long, that Merlin opened his eyes and sat up, worried something had happened to the older man. He stared at his mentor, who was just sitting at his desk, head in his hands. “Gaius?”
“That’s where I found her and that’s where I put her back.”
“For Uther,” Merlin growled, doing a very good impression of his Sentinel.
Gaius shook his head. “No, for Arthur. Nimueh was going to use him. I overheard her talking to someone about it. I don’t know what she wanted him for and I didn’t want to find out, so I banished her. She should have been in there forever, but I’m not as powerful as you. Or your ancestor.” He glanced at his assistant. “And I sense you’ve become more powerful.”
Merlin nodded. “I tapped into something when I fought Nimueh. I even know things about the family history that I’ve been asking about since I was a child. As for Nimueh escaping, she must have had help.”
“Indeed, but who?”
Merlin thought about it for sometime, before snapping his fingers. He looked at Gaius, his eyes gleaming gold. “I think I know.”
****
“Well, that scheme with Nimueh failed miserably,” Morgause said as she, Morgana and Mordred ate dinner. They had once again convened at the couch. Morgause wondered why they even had other furniture if they were never going to sit on it.
Mordred glared at her. “Nimueh jumped the gun. We should have waited another week.” He turned to Morgana and asked pleasantly, “What should we do now?”
“If we can’t drive Arthur crazy, perhaps we could tempt Emyrs away,” Morgana thought aloud as she pushed the food around on her plate.
“You need to eat, Morgana, so don’t play with your food. And if Nimueh couldn’t tempt that Guide, I don’t see why anyone else would work,” Morgause told her sister. She watched as Mordred gave Morgana some of his food, which the young woman then ate.
“Sister,” Morgana chided once she finished chewing. “The High Priestess wasn’t trying for that. But that girl, what is her name?”
“Freya?” Mordred supplied helpfully, giving Morgana more of his food. Morgause sighed and put more food on Mordred’s plate. He quirked his mouth in her direction in response, indicating his gratitude.
“Yes!” Morgana crowed, unaware of the food she was eating. She kissed the top of Mordred’s head. He beamed up at her, happy to have made her happy. “Yes, Freya. She’ll be perfect. Just his type.”
Morgause scoffed as she took a sip of her drink, but said nothing. Without telling her sister, Morgause decided to send someone else in, just in case things went wrong. She smirked behind her glass. And things tend to go wrong.
****
Arthur and Merlin had decided not to tell anyone but Gaius what happened that night. So when their friends came over for an impromptu party, after Merlin returned home from speaking with his mentor, Arthur had to blame the mess on his senses.
“There was a smell on Merlin I didn’t like,” Arthur said sheepishly as he and Lance swept up some broken glass. “I flipped out and broke everything. I already apologized.”
“Did he hurt you, Merlin?” Gwaine asked as he and Percy were placing books back on to the shelves. Merlin, Gwen, and Elyan were placing pictures back on the wall and generally straightening up the flat.
“No!” Merlin yelled in annoyance. He knew that they meant well, but that was a ridiculous thought.
“I had to be sure,” Gwaine protested as Arthur growled at him.
“Sometimes I think you all like Merlin more than you like me,” Arthur groused as he picked up some small pieces of broken glass.
“We do,” Gwaine replied cheerily. He ducked behind Elyan in mock terror as Arthur growled again.
“You do look pretty ragged,” Gwen said, taking the attention off Gwaine. She stared at Merlin’s pale face and the dark circles under his eyes. “Was it that woman you told me about?” she asked softly, hoping Arthur and Lance couldn’t hear her.
Merlin nodded slightly, before saying, “It was a long night.” The Guide sighed. “Once his sense smell got overloaded, so did everything else. It took some time before Arthur’s senses were back to normal again.”
Percy must have muttered something about Arthur’s senses, because the blonde growled louder, while Gwaine laughed.
Gwen nodded in understanding, ignoring the other men. “Lance has had that happen sometimes.” Her eyes glinted in amusement. “Arthur must have really hated that smell.”
Everyone laughed as Arthur flushed lightly. “Well it won’t be on Merlin again, will it?” Arthur muttered.
“No, it won’t,” Merlin promised. He ignored the strange look he got from Gwen and went back to cleaning his flat. Once their friends left, Merlin was going to have to ask Arthur some more questions about his sister. He had a feeling that she was some how involved.
****
“Now Freya, do you remember the plan?” asked Morgana, using a new scrying glass. Freya held the other glass as she stood outside the Sentinel and Guide Center.
“Yes,” Freya replied wearily. She was weak from being out of the water for so long. Her captors wouldn’t even let her take a bath, they just cleaned her with magic.
It had been three weeks since Nimueh’s failed attack on Merlin and Arthur. Morgana had wanted to start phase two earlier, but there had been an influx of Sentinels in the area, which had caused a delay.
“Good. No more delays. Get inside there and make sure no on suspects. Otherwise you might never get home,” Morgana smirked.
Freya flinched slightly, but nodded and made her way inside the Center.
****
Merlin sighed as he laid his head on his desk. It had been three weeks from hell. Not only had he and Arthur gotten into many fights over Morgana, but also two kids had gone missing in the woods earlier in the month. So Arthur, Merlin, and every other available Sentinel and Guide team had been tasked with finding them. The media coverage had been a pain, but the children were found alive and uninjured, so Merlin called that a win. On top of that, the Center had flown in Jim, Blair, Logan, and the mutant’s three Guides to find Mordred, who was now a registered Sentinel on the run. So far, they had no luck finding him. Merlin suspected that magic was covering the boy’s tracks, but he wasn’t willing to say anything just yet.
Merlin glanced at the couch, where Arthur was laying down. The Sentinel had never worked his senses that hard or for that long as he had when looking for the children.
“I can hear you thinking from over here,” Arthur muttered. He shifted slightly, but never opened his eyes.
“Just wondering if you’re still mad at me. How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been run over by a lorry.” He paused before continuing. “No, I’m not mad. I just-”
“Love your sister, I know,” Merlin interrupted. “But if I’m right and Morgause is Morgana’s sister…”
“It doesn’t seem possible,” Arthur stated dazedly. He always remembered his sister as the sweet tempered and loving girl who laughed and kissed his cheek. Yes, he remembered their fights, but they always made up. He never wanted to remember how Morgana looked when they were torn apart. She kept crying for him and begging for her Sentinel to save her. He didn’t have the heart to tell her, that he wasn’t her Sentinel. He opened his eyes and stared straight into Merlin’s eyes. They held the gaze for some time.
Merlin was about to say something, when there was a knock on his office door. He broke the gaze with Arthur. “Come in!” he called, shrugging as Arthur winced at the loud noise and then glared at him.
Gaius popped his head in. “Ah, sorry to bother you. I wanted you to meet our newest assistant.” He opened the door wider and stepped inside. A woman with long brown hair and dark brown eyes followed him in. She seemed paler than most people and Merlin knew by the way Arthur’s nose wrinkled, she smelled sick.
“Freya O’Lochlin,” she said, holding out a hand. She swayed slightly, but managed to keep herself upright.
“Merlin Emyrs, pleased to meet you.” Merlin took her hand, ignoring her slight flinch and the frission of energy he felt when their hands touched.
“Arthur Pendragon,” Arthur said as she got off the couch and shook Freya’s hand. He subtly wiped his hands on his pants after she let go.
“I’ve heard much about the both of you. It will be my honor to work with you,” she said, looking straight into Merlin’s eyes.
Arthur growled lightly, but Merlin put a calming hand on his Sentinel’s arm. “Thank you,” the Guide said.
Gaius raised a brow, but said nothing as he led Freya out of the room.
“Something is wrong with her,” Arthur said while moving closer to Merlin.
“I know. I saw your face.”
“I don’t trust her.”
Merlin laughed. “Color me surprised!”
“She just seems like your type.”
“Arthur,” Merlin turned to face his lover. “You are my type. No one else. Now, let’s do some exercises to stabilize your senses.”
“Not the kind of exercises I had in mind,” Arthur said cheekily as he pulled Merlin closer and kissed him.
****
“I don’t think this will work,” Freya said into her scrying glass. “They seem too in love.”
“Just keep trying,” Morgana hissed. “And make sure they don’t find Mordred or me.”
Freya nodded as she cut the connection. She desperately wanted to go home and helping Morgana seemed the fastest way.
****
Merlin was walking through the halls of the Center, going over some data when he ran into someone. His papers went flying as he and the other person fell to the floor.
“Sorry,” the wizard said, scrambling to gather his papers.
“No problem. I wasn’t paying attention either,” the other voice said. “I’m Edwin, by the way. I’m new here.”
“Oh yes,” Merlin looked at the other man, noticing his scarred face for the first time. There seemed to be something odd about the man, but Merlin passed it off as paranoia. Not everyone was out to get him. “Gaius was telling me about you the other day.”
“He knew my parents and helped me with my face,” Edwin replied, gesturing to himself.
“That’s Gaius for you. Always ready to help,” Merlin smiled. Edwin handed Merlin his papers back. “Thank you. See you around Edwin.” The Guide waved and left Edwin behind.
“Most definitely,” Edwin smirked as Merlin turned a corner.
****
“I think we should tell your mother about what happened with Nimueh,” Arthur spoke up over dinner that night.
“Why?” Merlin nearly dropped his fork in surprise. Arthur had not wanted anyone to know, not even Gaius. It had taken Merlin practically begging and saying that Gaius knew the story up to that point, so the older man might as well know the rest of it to get Arthur to agree.
“So you can stop looking at her sadly.”
“I don’t!” Merlin protested.
“You do. Just tell her what you want to tell her and stop moping about the place.”
“You’re awfully grumpy lately,” Merlin commented as he began to clean the dishes off the table. Maybe he did want to tell his mother, but he wanted Arthur to want it as well, not just give in because Merlin was unhappy keeping secrets from his mum.
“It’s that woman.”
“Freya? I haven’t spoken to her more than thirty minutes total and I know I don’t have her scent on me. You keep checking.”
“Oh, I know that,” Arthur waved a hand as he leaned back in his chair. “There’s just something off about her and that Edwin fellow. They smell like Nimueh. And you.”
“Arthur,” Merlin asked slowly. “Can you smell magic?”
“I guess so, yes. I have ever since I met you. It’s gotten stronger since that night. You reek of it, but I tolerate it because it’s you.”
“Gee, thanks,” Merlin snarked before asking, “What does it smell like?”
“You smell like burnt ozone. All magic users seem to smell of ozone and something else. I can’t always name the other smell though.”
“This is great! We could find Morgana with this!”
“What?” Arthur frowned as he sat forward.
“You know her smell, being siblings. Mix that with the magic smell and we would find her quickly.”
“So you can do what exactly?”
“To stop her from hurting you!” Merlin threw the dishes in the sink, not caring about the noise they made. Arthur was beyond frustrating sometimes. “I only want you to stay safe.” He turned to face his lover, hoping to make the other man listen to him.
Arthur’s face was blank and closed off to Merlin. Inside though, he was seething that his lover wanted to hurt Morgana. “The only one hurting me is you, saying that you want to go after my sister!”
They had had this argument before, but now was the time to settle the matter, it seemed.
“Arthur, for whatever reason she’s trying to kill you. To kill me! That’s what Nimueh was going to do,” Merlin defended his reasoning.
“I know!” Arthur yelled. He shoved away from the table and stalked into the living room. Merlin stood passively and watched as his lover came back. “I know, but I can’t kill her. I don’t want you to kill her. I want to help her!”
“You said yourself, Morgana went insane because of her visions.”
“She can be helped!”
“Morgause has twisted Morgana’s mind. She was always good at that. She’s convinced her sister, that only Morgause, and possibly Mordred, loves Morgana. No one else, not even her beloved baby brother.”
“Another one of your ancestral students out to get you,” Arthur accused
Merlin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, trying desperately to stay calm and continued on. “You don’t understand. Morgana thinks that you, Uther, and Ygraine all had it out for her. She doesn’t know you wanted to go visit her. She doesn’t know how much you love her. And I’m the only thing standing between you and death!”
“Oh please,” Arthur scoffed. His anger was beginning to boil over. He moved closer to Merlin, backing his Guide up against the kitchen countertop. Arthur didn’t want to hurt his lover, just intimidate him and get him to back off. “You’re just a klutzy Guide, who happens to be a-a reincarnation of that ancestor you talked about before!”
Merlin shoved Arthur away from him forcefully. He took a perverse pleasure in watching the Sentinel stumble slightly before regaining his balance. “That ancestor was the most powerful wizard to ever grace the earth. And I am the embodiment of magic.”
“You didn’t deny that this Morgause was a student,” Arthur sneered, turning the conversation back to the beginning.
“She was! He had many students and they’ll all probably want to kill me! With my magic they could do anything!”
“This isn’t like Highlander, if they kill you they don’t get your magic. Do they?” Arthur asked. He was unsure of his footing in the subject of magic. For all he knew, anything could happen in the magical world.
“Yes, that’s exactly how it works! Morgause could…could awaken the dragons and wreak havoc on the world!”
Arthur paused in his rebuttal. “Dragons? There are dragons?”
“Yes,” Merlin sighed wearily. He sat down at the table and placed his head in his hands. “There are dragons that are sleeping. I control them, being the last of the Dragonlords.”
Arthur stumbled towards the table and sat down as well. “My life gets weirder and weirder with you around.”
Merlin chuckled wryly, but said nothing. They sat in silence, as Arthur contemplated what his lover had told him and as Merlin wished he had never opened his mouth.
After some silence, Arthur spoke back up, “I don’t want you to kill her, like you did Nimueh.”
“I banished Nimueh. You said not to kill her,” Merlin replied.
Arthur blinked and laughed lightly, hoping to break the heavy mood that had settled over them. “Oh. I didn’t think you were listening. You never do.”
“I’m going to protect you Arthur, as is my duty as your Guide. I can promise not to hurt Morgana and I won’t even ask you to find her, but I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe,” Merlin swore.
Arthur sighed heavily. “I guess that will have to do.” He got up and kneeled down in front of Merlin. “And I suppose I shall do whatever I must to keep you safe from old students. Including Morgause. I just wish-”
“I know,” Merlin cut him off. He was tired and didn’t want to fight anymore tonight. He kissed his Sentinel. “We’ll figure something out. For now, let’s go to bed.”
Arthur nodded in agreement and stood, then helped Merlin up from his chair. He led his lover to their bedroom and lay down next to him. “We’re much better together than apart,” he whispered into the darkness.
Merlin’s arms tightened around Arthur and the two slipped off into an uneasy sleep.
****
It was a month before anything happened. Merlin could honestly say he hadn’t been expecting it. He walked into his office and was suddenly being wrapped in someone’s arms and kissed hotly. He pulled away, blinking, and pushed his assailant away.
“Freya,” he panted. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I had too. I couldn’t-”
“It’s okay. Just sit down.” Merlin guided her to the couch, where the woman collapsed, still sobbing. “Can you start at the beginning?”
Freya took a few minutes to pull herself together long enough to answer. “It’s a long tale Emyrs and I don’t have much time. I just want to go home, but I can’t until I’ve done what was asked of me.”
“So you are magical,” Merlin nodded. “I thought I felt it. I wasn’t sure though, it was nothing like I had ever encountered before.”
Freya nodded, but couldn’t reply, as she was crying too hard. Merlin, unsure of how to comfort her, stood and walked to his desk. He pulled out a box of tissues and handed them to her. “Here.”
“Thank you.” She took the box and wiped at her eyes and nose. She looked up at him and opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by a loud explosion.
“What was that?” She shook her head and looked at him with wide eyes. “Stay here!” Merlin ordered as he left his office.
People were running out of the rooms and leaving the building. He saw Gwen and Lance and stopped them. “What happened?”
“Something blew. There’s a gas leak,” Lance said. “We need to get out of here before the whole place goes up.”
Merlin nodded. “Freya! Get out of here.”
Gwen and Lance exchanged a look as Freya exited Merlin’s office, but the Guide had no time for that. “Lance, make sure everyone is out. I want Sentinels combing the rooms, no one gets left behind. Gwen, call Blair. He needs to know about this.”
“What about Arthur?” Gwen asked as she watched her Sentinel take Freya away.
“Call him too.”
“Where are you going?”
“To find Gaius!” Merlin jogged off down a hallway.
****
Arthur pulled up to the Center, looking for Merlin, but unable to find him in the chaos. He did find Gwen, Lance and Freya huddled away from everyone else. He ran over to them. “Where’s Merlin?” he asked wildly.
“Still inside,” Freya said. “He was looking for Gaius. Both he and Edwin never came out.”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed at her. Freya nodded slightly. Arthur crowed internally. He knew that Edwin was a wizard of some kind.
“Any idea where they are Lance?” the blonde Sentinel asked the other.
“Last I heard they were making their way out back. But they never came out here.”
Arthur closed his eyes and dialed up his hearing, listening for his Guide. He found Merlin’s heartbeat erratic and underground. “They’re underground,” Arthur said in confusion as he came back to focus on the group. “What would they be doing down there?”
“There’s a basement,” Gwen spoke up. “During World War II people would hide in it when the bombs were falling.”
“That’s where the gas leak was coming from,” Lance said worriedly.
“We don’t have much time then, do we?” Arthur ran towards the Center, Gwen, and Lance following close behind him. They didn’t know what was going on, but they wanted to help.
Freya stayed behind since she didn’t feel well. However, she noticed a flash of long, blonde hair and narrowed her eyes. Freya took a deep breath and decided to follow the flash of hair.
****
Merlin awoke with a groan. He could barely see anything through the blurriness of his eyes. He hoped he didn’t have a concussion. He looked around carefully, trying to avoid jostling his already aching head. Edwin had hit him with something and if it weren’t for Merlin’s magic, it probably would have killed him. He noticed Gaius tied up, and conscious, to a pipe nearby, but the older man couldn’t do much since he was tied up too.
“Magic knots,” Edwin said from behind him. The other man came and stood in front of Merlin. Edwin looked like one big smear across his vision. “It won’t do you any good to fight. The more you struggle the tighter it becomes. Like quicksand.” He smiled widely at Merlin.
“Why are you doing this?” Merlin asked. He blinked a few times, hoping to clear his blurry vision.
“Gaius killed my parents, him helping me was just added mockery,” Edwin hissed as he knelt down in front of Merlin. “I only wanted to kill him, but my boss thought it would be better if I killed the great Emyrs too.” He laughed in Merlin’s face before standing. “Some great wizard you are.”
“Ugh,” Merlin grunted. “Morgause sent you.”
“Correct! And she said you were stupid!”
“He’s very smart,” Gaius said from the other side of the room.
“Ah, Gaius. My mentor and the murderer of my parents.”
“Gaius would never kill anyone!” protested Merlin. He had known the older man all his life, Gaius couldn’t even kill a fly much less a human being.
“He could have saved them!” Edwin yelled back. “The council ordered them put to death!”
“Council? What council?” Now Merlin was more confused than ever. He wasn’t sure if it was because of his headache or because Edwin was unstable.
“You don’t know anything, do you Emyrs.” Edwin mocked.
“But I do, Edwin,” Gaius shouted. “I know your parents were practicing black magic. Necromancy.”
“They wanted to bring my sister back!”
“She was dead! It never would have worked!”
Merlin groaned again. All the yelling was echoing around the small room and causing his headache to grow worse.
“It would have! If you had just let them try it-”
“They were going to murder another girl! Someone else’s daughter! I could never let that happen!”
“Merlin!” Arthur’s voice called out in the distance. Edwin cursed and spun on his heel to face Merlin.
“You did this!” he accused. “You brought him here! Why must you ruin all my plans?!”
“You kidnapped me! Of course my Sentinel was going to come rescue me!”
Edwin paused in thought. “I could kill him,” he said casually.
“You could try,” Merlin replied in the same tone. His eyes flashed gold and Edwin took a step back.
“You can’t stop me!” Edwin cried in fear. Morgause had said the ropes would hold even Emyrs, but the other wizard was too powerful.
“No, but we can,” said Gwen from beside Merlin.
He blinked at her. “How-?”
She just grinned and cut the ropes binding his hands. Behind Edwin, Lance was doing the same to Gaius. The Sentinel helped the older man up, while Gwen held Merlin steady as he stood and swayed. Edwin howled in rage and readied a spell. Before he could even start casting, a large rock flew at his head and knocked him out.
Everyone looked towards Arthur, who shrugged. “I have good aim.”
“And Gwen and I made an excellent distraction,” Lance beamed.
Gaius chuckled, and then groaned. Gwen left Merlin’s side and helped her Sentinel take Gaius outside.
Arthur made his way over to Merlin, slipping an arm around his lover’s waist. “You okay?”
“My head hurts like hell. The gas leak?”
“Lance and I took care of it. Don’t worry.”
“So this place won’t explode?”
“Not today. We can get it looked at later. Let’s get you home.”
“What about Freya? She kissed me. I think she was ordered too.”
Arthur scowled and tightened his hold on Merlin. The Guide winced at the treatment, but said nothing.
“She was outside,” Arthur finally said. “I don’t know what happened to her.”
“We need to find her. I want to help her.”
“Why?”
“No one deserves to be used just to hurt someone else. She wants to go home and I think she might die if she doesn’t.”
“Where is home?” Arthur grunted as he pulled Merlin up from the basement.
“I have no idea.”
****
Before they could go look for Freya, Gwen stopped them, pulling them away from the large group gathered out front of the Center. She glanced around, hoping all the Sentinels would be busy with keeping people calm and not listening to her.
“Lance and I, well. We heard the magic parts of Edwin’s ranting,” she said nervously. “Lance went back down there and tied him up, but he was still talking about being a powerful wizard. More powerful than Emyrs.” She shot a glance at Merlin, who flushed and looked at the ground.
Arthur reached out and touched Merlin’s arm, Merlin looked up at his Sentinel, communicating silently, before Merlin nodded. Lance stepped up behind Gwen and put an arm around her waist. The couple waited for the two men to speak.
“I am a wizard,” Merlin said in a low voice. “It’s a very, very long story, that doesn’t need to be told right now. Gaius and my mum know. Arthur obviously knows and now you do.”
“The others might need to know,” Lance said, watching the crowd, checking to see if anyone was listening. “If it’s always going to be this dangerous around you Merlin.” He smirked at his friend.
“Oh shut up,” Merlin muttered. He shoved Lance’s shoulder. “And I will tell them. Just not today- we need to find Freya first.”
“I saw her and some blond woman walk off together,” replied Gwen. “The blond looked furious and Freya looked, well, she looked scared and tired.”
“Morgause,” Arthur said with conviction. He had never seen the blond woman, but he just knew it was her.
“Who?” asked Lance. There were just too many people with strange names in his life.
“I’ll explain later, just like Merlin will. Can you tell Gaius that Merlin and I have run off to find old friends?”
“Sure. Call if you need help!” Lance yelled as Merlin and Arthur raced to Arthur’s car.
“They won’t,” Gwen guessed.
“Call or need help?”
“They won’t call,” Gwen stated. “They will definitely need help.”
“I know. Better call in the troops.”
****
“I need you to drive Merlin, which is dangerous for everyone, but I can’t drive and scent out Freya at the same time,” Arthur uttered as they reached the car.
Merlin made a face at his lover, he was a very good driver thank you very much, but got into the driver’s seat and started the car up. He waited for Arthur to get in, before peeling away from the Center and down the road. “Which way?” he questioned.
Arthur rolled down his window and took a deep breath. He felt like a fool with his head half stuck out the window, but now wasn’t the time for embarrassment. “Left.”
“Don’t get lost in the other smells, but don’t over-focus on Freya.”
“I know. I smell you and Freya, nothing else.”
“Good.”
“Right and then another left.”
“Are you listening for her as well?” Merlin quizzed as he drove the way Arthur commanded.
“Yes, once I get closer. That way I can memorize Morgause smell as well. It’ll help us find Morgana.”
Merlin took his eyes off the road in shock. The car swerved wildly. “What?”
“Eyes on the road Merlin!” Arthur shouted. “And keep going straight.”
Merlin’s eyes snapped back to the road and righted the car, thankful there were no other cars on the road, but he asked again, “What?”
“I do want to find her. She tried to kill you, and she tried to kill Gaius. I want her to stop hurting people. The Center could take care of her.”
“They might neutralize her,” Merlin mentioned sadly.
Arthur tensed up, but let out a breath, his shoulders relaxing a little. “If that’s what needs to happen, so be it. As long as she can be my sister again. Turn right, then stop. We can go on foot the rest of the way, they are close.”
****
Freya struggled against Morgause grip as the blond pulled her down the street. Morgause tightened her hold and yanked Freya closer.
“If you don’t stop, I will kill everyone in the area,” she hissed into Freya’s ear.
Freya went limp, allowing herself to be pulled along.
“You failed us, duckling. You know the price for failure.”
“I couldn’t, Morgause. How could I destroy them just so you can take over the world?”
Morgause sneered at the other woman. “It’s a good thing I sent in backup to finish the job. I knew you would fail us.”
“Edwin,” Freya guessed. “You sent him, hoping he’d kill Emyrs and gain all his power.”
“Yes. Then I could kill Edwin and the power would be mine.”
“You can’t even do magic,” Freya argued.
Morgause shrugged as she pulled Freya down an alleyway. “That hardly matters. Being able to control dragons is worth a little pain.”
“It could kill you.”
“Doubtful. Nothing can kill me,” Morgause laughed coldly. She stopped in the middle of the alley and pulled out a dagger. “This is far enough away from your home right?” She asked casually before she plunged the dagger into Freya’s stomach.
Freya gasped and collapsed to the ground. Morgause twirled the dagger and smirked. She was going to deliver another blow, but was stopped by magic. She whipped her head towards the alley entrance.
“Emyrs,” she spit out.
“The one and only. Drop the dagger and I’ll let you leave,” Merlin remarked. His eyes were golden and cold.
Morgause dropped the dagger next to Freya. “Now, let me go.”
Merlin released his magic and Morgause was flung down the alley. She slammed into a wall and was knocked unconscious. Merlin ran towards Freya, scooped her up and began walking back the way he came.
“How?” Freya wheezed. She was keeping pressure on the wound, but it wasn’t enough.
“Arthur followed your smell and then we followed on foot. We heard Morgause’s admission of guilt. Arthur took off once she stabbed you to get the car. We can take you to a hospital.”
“No.” Freya gripped Merlin’s shirt. “I need to go home.”
“Where is that?”
“The lake.”
Arthur pulled up then and jumped out of the car. The men carefully placed Freya in the back seat and then got in the front seats.
“Which hospital is closest?” Arthur inquired.
“The lake,” Freya said again. Her voice had dropped to a whisper.
“The Lake Hospital?”
Merlin rolled his eyes at his lover. “No you, prat. The lake is her home.”
“I…I actually don’t understand that, but I won’t question it. Which lake?”
Merlin climbed into the back and placed pressure of Freya’s wound. Her own hands had slipped off and she seemed to be staring off into space. He began uttering healing magic, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough.
“Can you heal her?” Arthur asked as he drove down the city streets.
“Not for long. Healing magic is hard work. I can maybe stop the bleeding, but it won’t save her.” Merlin continued murmuring the spell under his breath, hoping to slow the bleeding.
“Unless we get her home. To the lake,” Arthur guessed.
“Yes.”
“But which lake?” Arthur pressed. “There must be hundreds!”
“Near Tintagel.”
“In Wales? That would take a longer trip than I’ve planned for,” Arthur confessed.
Merlin paused in his spell casting to give Arthur a withering look. “You utter prat. No not Wales, then her home would be the ocean wouldn’t it?”
“Tintagel Manor,” Freya gasped. Merlin winced, but kept the pressure up.
“Pendragon-Tintagel Manor, you mean? My family home?” Arthur spun the car around and began speeding in the opposite direction. “I hope no police pull us over right now.”
“Yes, your home is my home.”
“Well, that’s great. Just great. Next you’ll be telling me a dragon lives in a cave near my manor,” Arthur laughed wildly.
Both Freya and Merlin were silent. Arthur glanced in his rear-view mirror to stare at them. They seemed to be talking silently. Merlin caught him looking and gave him a weak smile.
“There’s a dragon living in a cave near my manor, isn’t there?” he asked flatly.
“Well, a sleeping dragon,” Merlin joked.
“Oh that’s so much better.”
“Just drive faster.”
“I just mentioned the police and you tell me to drive faster?”
Freya let out a watery chuckle. “Old, married couple.”
Merlin flushed and looked away from Arthur. He knew they argued like they had been married forever, but now wasn’t the time.
“No, don’t blush. It’s cute,” Freya whispered. “The Young Prince and Emyrs bickering like my grandparents.”
“You have grandparents?” Arthur asked with some doubt.
“Even magical beings have grandparents, Young Prince.”
“That’s like the fourth time I’ve heard that. What does it mean?”
“Enough talking,” Merlin interrupted. “More driving.”
Arthur glared at his Guide in the mirror. He was definitely keeping something from Arthur and he was going to find out what. “This isn’t over.”
“Shut up, prat. I need to concentrate.”
****
It took only two hours, instead of the usual three, to reach Arthur’s family home. “You must have used some magic, Merlin, I pushed the car to at least a hundred, and the police never even noticed us,” Arthur said jokingly as he swung the car into the driveway. Although for all he knew, Merlin had used magic to keep them hidden.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Merlin replied, confirming Arthur’s guess of magical assistance. He knew that would have tired his Guide out even more. “Help me, would you,” Merlin kicked the backdoor of the car open.
“Hey! Watch the interior.” Arthur went around and gently pulled Freya out of the car. He held onto her as Merlin took his hands off her wound. The wizard’s hands were covered in blood and he was panting. “You’ve used too much magic, you fool,” Arthur chided. Merlin shrugged. Arthur sighed and looked down at Freya. “I’m going to have to run,” he said apologetically.
“That’s all right. I can take it,” Freya murmured. “I feel a little better as I get closer to home.” She closed her eyes and laid her head on Arthur’s shoulder.
Merlin stepped up next to Arthur. “Where is it? The one thing you skipped on my tour is the most important thing.” Arthur snorted, but Merlin continued as if his lover hadn’t made any noise at all. “Maybe I can run ahead and see what’s going on.”
“Up the path and to the right.”
Merlin nodded and then took off. Arthur followed at a slower speed. He didn’t want to jostle Freya too much. He heard the front door of the manor open and his parents step out.
“Arthur?” his mother called in confusion.
He ignored her and continued towards the lake. Freya was looking paler than ever. Once there, he found Merlin kneeling next to the water’s edge.
“Merlin?” he asked as he shifted Freya in his arms.
“It’s empty,” Merlin replied in dull voice. He shook his head and continued in his normal voice, “It must be Freya.”
“Lady of the Lake. Keeper of the Sword,” Freya affirmed. “Put me in it.”
Merlin shrugged and waded into the water. Arthur rolled his eyes and followed. He ignored his father shouting his name from behind him and shivered as he stepped in.
“It’s freezing, Merlin!” he complained.
“I can’t do anything about that!” Merlin said as he floated in the water.
The deeper Arthur got, the lighter Freya seemed to become. Once he reached Merlin’s side, he let go of Freya and she floated on her own. The Sentinel and Guide treaded water, waiting for the woman to say something.
Freya opened her eyes after a few minutes and smiled. “Thank you,” she said clearly.
“Why couldn’t you come here yourself?” Arthur asked. “Mother and Father wouldn’t have noticed, it’s not like the Manor is guarded.”
“Morgause bound me to her, it was weak magic, but enough to keep me away from my home. Once she stabbed me, the bond was broken. I have to go now, but if you ever need help, come see me.” She began to fade away. Merlin reached out to her, but his hand passed through her body. Arthur pulled him away from Freya in suspicion.
Freya laughed in delight. “Oh, Young Prince, you do not disappoint. The sword is waiting for you whenever you are ready.”
“Great,” Arthur said. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He wondered what she was talking about, but decided it wasn’t important at the moment.
“And do see the dragon. He misses talking to you Emyrs.” With that said, Freya disappeared. The two men felt a warm breeze brush against their cheeks and knew it was Freya.
“Well,” Merlin said.
“Well,” Arthur replied.
They stared at each other before breaking into laughter. They had just saved a woman’s life and stopped two murderers in the same day, not many others could say that. Merlin grabbed a hold of Arthur and kissed him thoroughly.
“We’d better see to your parents,” Merlin said against Arthur’s mouth. “They look faintly furious.”
Arthur turned to look at his parents. His mother had a hand over her mouth in shock, while Uther looked furious. “Perhaps they didn’t know about the Lady of the Lake.” Then Arthur scowled. “Or perhaps they did know about her and never meant to tell me.”
Merlin ran his hand over Arthur’s hair. “They do love you.”
Arthur snorted, but began to swim back to shore. Merlin began to frown as they swum. The closer they got to shore, the deeper Merlin frowned behind. He tried to explain it to Arthur, but he couldn’t. He just knew that something was off in the air.
****
Morgana screeched as she threw her scrying glass to the floor. Mordred winced and covered his ears, scooting away from his angry Guide. He did not like her when she was like this. Morgause shook her head and took another sip of the tea she made when she finally came back to their base of operations.
“Sister please, my head,” Morgause whined. She rubbed the back of her head, where it had connected with a concrete wall. Emyrs would pay for giving her this splitting headache.
“That bitch screwed up all our plans! Now what should we do?” Morgana yelled.
“Why sister, isn’t it obvious?”
“No,” Morgana scowled and sat next to Mordred. He reached out tentatively to touch her and was pleased when Morgana pulled him closer.
“Emyrs is weak from all the healing magic he used on the water sprite. Now is the perfect time to strike them at the manor. The seat of your pain. The seat of your power.”
“The others can’t do any magic at all,” Mordred reminded Morgana. “And if Emyrs is so weak, he won’t be able fight the two of us off. Plus, whatever magic Morgause choose to use.”
“I don’t use magic, boy,” Morgause sneered. “I have something better.”
“Better than magic?” Mordred laughed in derision. He didn’t like Morgause when she had first brought him to Morgana, and he liked her even less now.
“Yes,” Morgause replied, eyes shining. “An army.”
Morgana shared a wicked smile with her sister. “Yes. The army would be perfect.”
****
Back at the Pendragon Manor, Arthur and Merlin reached the shore and were given blankets by Ygraine. Off to the side, Uther paced, looking murderous. Ygraine’s face was blank, but she touched Arthur more than she had at Merlin’s previous visit.
“What were you thinking, boy?” Uther roared at his son. Ygraine moved to her husband’s side, trying to calm him down.
Merlin flinched at the volume, but held his ground. Arthur’s face never changed and he stepped closer to his father as he said, “Saving a young woman. Who is apparently the Lady of the Lake.”
Uther’s face reddened in anger. “How do you know about that?”
“I know a lot of things, Father. More than you and Mother wanted me to know,” Arthur snapped. “Merlin and I are suffering the consequences of your actions.”
“Merlin,” Uther jeered. “What does he know?”
“Merlin,” Arthur said softly. “Knows everything.”
“Arthur,” Merlin whispered as he moved closer to his Sentinel. “Now isn’t the time.”
Arthur took a deep breath and stepped away from his parents. He turned his attention to Merlin. “What’s the matter, love?”
“Something is wrong in the air. I think they are coming,” Merlin said distractedly. He was trying to keep his Sentinel calm and figure out what was coming towards them.
“Who? Who is coming?” Ygraine asked in a tight voice.
“Me!” Morgana cried from behind them.
The group spun around and stared as Morgana, Mordred, and Morgause appeared from thin air. Arthur moved in front of his parents and declared, “You won’t harm anyone Morgana!”
His sister laughed. “How do you know?” She raised her hand and a bolt of lightning shot from the sky landing near the group.
“Arthur, I’m too weak right now to fight all of them,” Merlin told his lover.
“Can you keep them at bay so we can get inside?”
“Yes, but I can’t keep them out for long.”
Arthur nodded and said to his parents, “Stay behind Merlin and I.”
Merlin cast a shield over the group and they were easily able to escape inside the manor. Once inside, Uther slammed Merlin up against a wall.
“Magic user!” the older Sentinel growled.
Arthur pulled his father off of his Guide and shouted, “Stay away from him!”
“He uses magic!”
“I don’t care! I love him. You just don’t like magic because Mother and Gaius used it and Mother almost died. Now, be quiet while I think.”
Ygraine moved Uther to a nearby chair and kissed his head. She then moved to the window and gasped at what she saw. The other three looked outside as well.
“What is that?” Uther asked.
“An army,” Merlin groaned. “A magical army of undead from who knows where.”
“Who is controlling them?” Arthur questioned.
“Morgause, I suppose.”
“You said she can’t do magic.”
“Yes, but Morgana’s magic is limited to visions, incantations, and lighting spells. Mordred,” Merlin laughed tersely. “He’s far too young to control anything, much less an army of undead. I don’t know how Morgause does anything. Her mind was never very clear.”
“We’re doomed then.” Ygraine let out a little sob. Uther moved over to her to comfort her.
“If only I had some time to recharge,” Merlin said as he paced and tugged at his hair.
“Will we do?” Lance spoke up. Merlin spun to see Lance, Gwen, Elyan, Percy, and Gwaine grinning at him.
“How did you get in?” Arthur scowled. Then he grinned and ran to greet his friends. He didn’t think it was smart of them to show up, but he wouldn’t turn away their help.
“Through the cellar as you showed us,” Elyan piped up.
“What can we do?” Percy asked.
Arthur looked at all of his friends, then at his parents, and finally at Merlin. His eyes glinted as he ran through scenarios in his mind. “I think I have an idea.”
PART 4 AND EPILOGUE