In Search of Remembrance ~ Part 3b ~ Destiny Unlooked For
Watching Valiant fight the next day while holding his tongue was difficult for Merlin. There weren’t any more snake attacks, but the foreign knight thoroughly trounced each of his opponents. The knights of Camelot all grumbled in discontent and more than one made comments about unreasonably good luck for someone who had seemed to be flagging the day before. Merlin did his best to look unfazed by the words, but inside his sense of justice was screaming at him to do something. Arthur cut his way through all of his opponents as well, but while several of his competitors had been injured, none had needed to be carried out of the arena on a stretcher. Nearly all who came up against Valiant were not able to exit under their own power. Valiant was vicious. Even when his victory seemed assured, Valiant fought not just to win, but to completely defeat his opponent.
When the combat was done for the day, Arthur excused him to assist Gaius with the many patients under the physician’s care. The prince frowned as he said it and Merlin felt heartened somewhat that Arthur didn’t approve of Valiant’s ruthlessness either. It took several hours to attend to all the injured knights in Gaius’ surgery, but fortunately all were released from the physician’s care by early evening. A few that had taken particularly strong blows to the head had instruction given to their squires to attend them throughout the night which they accepted with a minimum of good natured grumbling.
Merlin left to dress Arthur for the evening meal and returned to find only Gaius and the unconscious Ewan remaining. He set a bowl of stew on the table in front of the tired looking physician, but still didn’t feel able to make polite conversation.
Gaius broke the silence. “About what I said yesterday, Uther really wouldn’t believe you or me, but you are right. We can’t let Valiant get away with this.”
“But we have no proof.”
“If we could heal Ewan, he could confirm your observations. The king would trust the word of another knight. The trick, however, is getting the antidote.”
Merlin looked at Gaius for a long moment over his bowl, then abruptly stood from the table. Valiant would be at dinner with Arthur and the king, which meant he had a small window of opportunity to get at the enchanted shield. After last night, he was certain the shield would be secured in Valiant’s chambers. As Merlin left the room, he heard Gaius call out after him, but ignored it. He didn’t have much time.
Once at the main landing, he ducked behind one of the large pillars and muttered, “Bedigle.”
The stairs were still busy with servants dashing up and down with trays heading to and from the kitchens. Mealtimes were always the busiest on the stairs and in the corridors as nobility were not especially patient when it came to food. Once again hoping he was unnoticeable, Merlin slipped down the corridor and tried to open Valiant’s door. It was locked, but it took nothing more than a wave of his hand to unlatch the door. Slipping inside, he shut the door behind him and glanced around hurriedly for the shield.
As it had been the night before, the snake shield rested on a chair beside the table. At a glance, it really did look ordinary, but his skin shivered with the memory of the snakes coming to life and eating mice the night before. Merlin grabbed a sword that was sitting on the table, sharpened and polished for the next day already, and touched the tip to the painted heads.
Nothing happened.
There was a noise somewhere in the corridor outside, and Merlin jerked his head towards the door, listening for the sound of Valiant returning. The footsteps he heard retreating were quiet and light, like those of a maid or a page boy. He was just about to return to poking at the shield with the sword when he heard a low hiss just behind him. In the shadows cast along the wall, he saw the sinuous silhouette of a snake. Gripping the sword tighter, he spun around and swung it wildly. Blind luck was likely all that accounted for him actually managing to cut off one of the heads. The body jerked and retreated back into the shield, though the image of the head was still there. The two remaining snakes extended further out of the shield, but Merlin jumped back as they attempted a strike. He snatched up the severed head of the first snake, tossed the sword back towards the table and bolted from the room, forgetting about concealment or stealth entirely.
After Gaius extracted the venom from the snake’s fangs, Merlin left him to brew the antidote. He bumped into Gavin in the corridor, returning to care for Ewan, and smiled at him encouragingly. “Gaius is working on a new medicine for Ewan. I think it’s going to work.”
“Really?” Gavin asked in surprise.
“We found the snake that bit him,” Merlin stated with confidence and strode towards Arthur’s chambers.
When Merlin entered the prince’s chambers without knocking, Arthur frowned up at him. “What are you doing here?”
“Look at this,” he said, dropping the snake’s head on the table beside Arthur’s goblet.
Arthur gave him puzzled look. “It appears to be a snake’s head.”
“It’s the head of one of the snakes from Valiant’s shield.”
“What?”
“Valiant’s shield, it’s enchanted. The snakes on it aren’t just painted, they can come to life. One of them bit Ewan. That’s why he’s not been getting better. I cut off one of the heads so that Gaius could make an antidote for the venom.”
“You’re telling me Valiant has a magic shield.”
Merlin nodded.
“In Camelot.”
Merlin nodded again.
“And you cut off the head of an enchanted snake.”
“Yes,” Merlin said, nodding emphatically.
Arthur burst out laughing. “That’s utterly ridiculous, Merlin!”
“If you don’t believe me, ask Gaius. He’s working on the antidote now. When Ewan wakes up, he’ll tell you too.”
“No one would be foolish enough to try something like that in Camelot.”
“Ewan was beating him. You saw it yourself. He had to cheat. Valiant pinned him under the shield so no one could see the snake bite him.”
“Look, I don’t like the guy, but that doesn’t mean he’s cheating.”
“The puncture wounds in Ewan’s neck match this snake. He used it when he wasn’t good enough to beat Ewan and he’ll use it again to win the tournament. It’s the only way he can beat you.”
Arthur shook his head dismissively and turned away. Merlin snatched up the head and shoved it in front of Arthur’s face. “Look at it. Have you seen any snakes that look like this in Camelot?”
Arthur leaned back a bit from the severed head pushed towards him, but took the snake to examine. After a moment, he grudgingly admitted, “No. This doesn’t look like any snake I’ve seen before.”
“I know I’m just a servant, that my word doesn’t count for anything, but I wouldn’t lie to you.”
“I want you to swear that what you’re saying is true.”
“I swear it’s true.”
Arthur looked in his eyes for a long moment. Caught in the gaze, Merlin was suddenly elsewhere.
Arthur, much older, dressed in coarse wool and a fur cloak looked at him in admiration and respect. ‘You have been such a boon to me, Mael. To know I can trust you without question is a blessing of immeasurable value.”
Merlin was jerked abruptly back to the present when Arthur said, “I believe you. I will summon the council first thing in the morning.”
He nodded and took back the snake from Arthur. “I’ll bring this back to Gaius. In case he needs it again for his remedies.”
There was plenty of speculative chatter as the council convened the next morning. Arthur rarely summoned the council himself, though he was within his rights to do so, and everyone was staring at him, wondering what was happening. Merlin stood as confidently as he could beside the prince and tried to look like he belonged there.
Uther strode into the room, cloak billowing menacingly and looked sternly at his son. “Why have you summoned the council?”
“I believe Knight Valiant is using a magic shield to cheat in the tournament.”
“Valiant what do you have to say to this?”
“My lord, this is ridiculous. I’ve never used magic. Does your son have any evidence to support this outrageous accusation?”
“Do you have evidence?” Uther demanded of Arthur.
Arthur nodded and gestured to Merlin. “I do.”
Merlin stepped forward and handed the snake’s head to the king. As Uther examined the snake, Merlin turned to see Gaius enter the room looking concerned. When the physician waved him over, Merlin cast a troubled glance at Arthur and went to see what was wrong.
Gaius whispered softly, “Ewan is dead.”
“What?” he hissed back.
“Ewan regained consciousness after I administered the antidote and I left Gavin with him when I went down to the herb garden to get some fresh basil and gentian. When I returned, I found Gavin collapsed on the floor and Ewan was dead.”
“How could that have happened?”
“Gavin has a snake bite.”
“What?”
“There were puncture wounds on his wrist. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say he was trying to fight off a snake without a weapon.”
“Will he be alright?”
“I was able to administer the antidote, but it takes time for the effects to work through the system.”
“And Ewan?”
“A second bite so soon... there really was no chance for him to survive. I had best return to Gavin.”
“Be careful Gaius.”
Merlin heard the king call for the shield, and he knew there would be no snakes there. The snakes must be more enchanted than he originally thought and be capable of moving independent of the shield. Valiant was a suspicious sort, and had prepared himself well.
“As you can see, it’s just an ordinary shield,” said Valiant, the picture of calm composure.
“I have a witness,” Arthur interjected, “Sir Ewan was grievously injured by the snake’s venom, but has been administered an antidote. He will confirm that what I say is true.”
“Where is he?” demanded Uther.
When Arthur looked anxiously over at Merlin, his heart sank. This had all gone horribly, horribly wrong. Arthur came over to where Merlin was watching Gaius retreat and asked, “Where’s Ewan?”
Merlin closed his eyes and shook his head. “He’s dead.”
“What?” Arthur asked in shock.
“I’m waiting,” barked Uther.
Arthur looked around the room helplessly then met his father’s eyes. “I’m afraid the witness is dead.”
The king gave his son a cold, hard look. “So you have no witness to support these allegations. Have you seen Valiant using magic?”
“No,” Arthur said slowly, nearly choking on the word but doggedly continuing on, “but my servant fought-”
“Your servant! You make these outrageous accusations against a knight on the word of a servant,” Uther spat in anger.
“I believe him to be telling the truth,” Arthur stated with conviction.
“My lord,” Valiant drawled, “Am I really to be judged on some hearsay from a boy?”
Merlin felt a surge of anger flare within him, causing his magic to leap to attention as well. Scarcely in control, he ignored the fact that he was speaking in front of the king and shouted, “I’ve seen those snakes come alive!”
“How dare you interrupt! Guards.” Uther roared.
Two armed men took hold of Merlin’s arms and yanked him towards the doors. He heard Valiant address the king and the guards halted.
“I’m sure he was merely mistaken. I wouldn’t want him punished on my account,” Valiant said in a credible imitation of magnanimous kindness.
Merlin craned his neck to see Valiant, and there was a faint glimmer in the man’s eye that set his teeth on edge. Uther clearly didn’t see the dangerous edge to the knight or simply refused to believe a nobleman might have less than noble intentions.
The king gave his son a hard look. “You see, this is how a true knight behaves, with gallantry and honour.”
“My lord,” Valiant began again and the tone of his voice was definitely condescending now, “if your son makes these accusations because he is afraid to fight me in the final, will graciously accept his withdrawal.”
Merlin saw the muscle in Arthur’s jaw flex as Uther stepped towards him menacingly. “Is this true? Do you wish to withdraw from the tournament?”
“No!” Arthur stated emphatically.
“Then what am I to make of these allegations?”
“Obviously there has been a misunderstanding. I withdraw my allegation against Knight Valiant. Please accept my apology,” Arthur said with as much dignity as could be managed.
“Accepted,” said Valiant.
The look on Arthur’s face as he turned away from his father and strode from the room was painful. It was obvious he was upset that Uther would question his bravery and the look he fixed Merlin with felt like a blow. Merlin glanced back to where the king and Valiant were standing and saw the knight’s lips twitch for want of a smirk and the dangerous gleam flash within them again. Pressing his lips together firmly to stop himself from saying anything more, he glared at Valiant and followed Arthur from the room.
“I believed you, I trusted you, and you made me look a complete fool,” were Arthur’s hurt and disappointed words the moment the door to his chambers were shut.
“I know it didn’t go exactly to plan.”
“Didn’t go to plan? My father and the entire royal court think I’m a coward. You humiliated me!”
“We can still expose Valiant.”
“There’s no we. Leave.”
“What?”
“I no longer require your services.”
“You’re sacking me?”
“I need a servant I can trust.”
“You can trust me!”
“And look where it got me this time. I believe this certainly counts as doing something publicly unforgiveable. It took you longer than I thought it would. Now, get out of my sight!”
Merlin stared disbelievingly at Arthur for a long moment. He felt a heavy stone of misery settle in his stomach and took off down the stairways and into the depths of the castle. He had only been trying to do what was right, to protect Arthur like he was supposedly meant to, but it had all blown up in his face.
At the bottom of the dusty, disused staircases, Merlin walked out onto the ledge and waved his torch around trying to illuminate the dragon’s cave. “Are you there? I just came to tell you, whatever you think my destiny is... whatever it is you think I’m supposed do... you’ve got the wrong person!”
The cavern was quiet, only a few drops of water breaking the silence and Merlin shook his head. What was he doing here? The dragon wasn’t going to have some perfect solution to his problem and really he shouldn’t be listening to words about great destinies spoken by a half mad creature that had been chained beneath a castle for twenty years.
Merlin called out, “I’m doing what I should have done weeks ago. I’m leaving... Goodbye.”
“If only it were that easy to escape one’s destiny,” the dragon said, his voice seeming to come from all directions, filling the cave.
“How can it be my destiny to protect someone who hates me?” Merlin asked as the dragon descended from wherever it had been in the cavern.
“The half cannot truly hate that which makes it whole,” the dragon stated, settling down on the rocky outcrop on the floor of the cave and leaning towards Merlin. “Very soon you shall learn that.”
“Oh great, just what I needed... another riddle.”
“That your and Arthur’s destiny lies together is but the truth.”
Merlin waved his arms in the air in frustration, nearly sending the torch flying. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“You know, young warlock, this is not the end. It is only the beginning,” the dragon said cryptically and took flight, disappearing once more into the dark recesses of the cave.
“Why can’t you give me a straight answer?!”
Merlin glared at the spot where the dragon had stood, upset at himself for coming down here. It didn’t matter what the dragon said, he was leaving. There was nothing to keep him here. Decision made, Merlin stormed back up the stairs, the leaden feeling in the pit of his stomach growing with each step he took.
Not able to bring himself to face Gaius before he left, Merlin resolved to simply walk of out Camelot with the shirt on his back and nothing more. He could use magic to get what he needed; he just had to get out of here. When his feet brought him close to the gates of the castle, however, his heart would sink and he would be irresistibly drawn back towards the steps to the citadel. He tried three times before giving up and slumping down on the steps out of the way of the various people who hurried past. He felt miserable, not just upset but also physically unwell. The sensation of something heavy weighing down his insides had intensified and walking up to the gate the last time had given him pangs that had nearly doubled him over. He was sitting now, arms wrapped around his middle to try to contain the pain when Gwen came and sat down beside him.
“Hey there, Merlin,” she said gently.
He managed a nod, but still felt too nauseated to speak.
Gwen turned to look at him directly. “Is what you said true? About Valiant using magic?”
He nodded again.
“What are you going to do?” she asked, not unkindly, but with definite expectation in her voice that she figured he would fix things and save the day.
“Why is it everyone seems to think it’s down to me to do something about it?”
“Because it is, isn’t it? It’s a part of your job to take care of the prince just like it’s a part of my job to take care of Lady Morgana.”
“No it isn’t. Arthur sacked me like he’s been wanting to since the beginning.”
“But that’s not fair. You have to show him -show them- that you were right and they were wrong.”
“And how do I do that?”
Gwen wrung her fingers and bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know.”
Merlin shook his head and turned away from her. Gwen was very nice, too nice sometimes, but there wasn’t anything she could do to help. It wasn’t like she could make the snakes on the shield come to life in front of everyone so they could see... Merlin froze, his eyes widening. He looked at a stone statue of a dog sitting on its hindquarters at the base of the staircase and shot to his feet.
“That’s it,” he said to himself.
Gwen’s voice was puzzled, but he ignored her question. He stood in front of the statue and looked at it critically. It was very lifelike, and could probably be made to come alive just like the snakes in the shield, if he could figure out how to do it.
Attempting to pick up the statue, he grunted and asked Gwen, “Do you have a wheelbarrow I could borrow?”
She looked at him in utter bafflement, but nodded and went to fetch one from the smithy.
Gaius also gave him a baffled look when he banged and crashed his way into the physician’s chambers with an unwieldy statue of a dog in a wheelbarrow.
“What on earth are you doing?”
“If the king doesn’t believe there are snakes in that shield, I’ll let him see them for himself.”
“Merlin,” Gaius said in a warning tone.
“I’ll be careful. I just need to figure out how to do it. How is Gavin?”
“He hasn’t regained consciousness yet, but his fever has broken. I expect he’ll wake sometime in the night.”
“So long as he doesn’t get bitten again.”
“You see that he doesn’t. Valiant has no idea about young Gavin and I’d like to keep it that way. The boy may be young and not yet sworn to the king’s service, but he’s still from a noble family and Uther might be disposed to listen to him if it comes to that.”
“I don’t think the king will listen to anyone, not after what happened in the council.”
“Then I suppose you need to do something to keep Arthur from getting killed in the final.”
“Right,” Merlin said, “no big task there, then.”
Getting a wheelbarrow containing a heavy stone statue up several narrow steps into his room was not easy, but he managed it with only one large scrape to the doorjamb and a half dozen bruises to his elbows, knees and shins. With the dog statue sitting on the floor at the end of his bed looking at him expectantly, Merlin pried up the floorboard where he had hidden his magic book and began to flip through pages. He hadn’t had nearly enough time to really make any progress with reading the book, but he had noticed that for all it seemed to be a haphazard collection of spells and potions, there was some order. Whoever had compiled the majority of the spells had tended to group them together by purpose. The author had written titles at the top of some pages, Spells of Healing, Spells to Aid the Harvest, Breaking Enchantments on People, Herbs used in Potions of the Mind and so on. Most of these titles appeared more than once as clearly not enough space had left in each section and, pages had been added to the book itself. He searched within the sections titled Making and Breaking Enchantments on Objects, mumbling his way through a dozen pages before finding a spell intended to make lifeless objects come alive.
After repeating the words several times to be certain he was saying them correctly, he stood in front of the statue, held out a hand and intoned, “Bebe ordethe arisan cwicum.”
His magic, which most of the time was all too quick to leap to his fingers, did absolutely nothing. The heavy stone feeling in his stomach felt like it was weighing down his magic as well. He tried saying the spell again, but his magic was listless and didn’t respond. Again and again he repeated the words, getting more frustrated each time, until he shouted them and kicked the statue in anger when it remained as lifeless as the stone it was carved from. He regretted that almost instantly, hopping up and down on one foot swearing at the sharp pain throbbing in his toe. He sat on his bed, searching through the pages again for a different spell that might be better, but came up with nothing.
Night fell, and even lighting the candles, something he had been able to do without thinking since before he could walk, was difficult. The tiny flames flickered weakly before taking hold of the wick and burning properly. Merlin began to shake and clutched at his middle again. He felt sick and weak in a way that had nothing to do with normal illness. His magic wasn’t working properly and he had no idea why.
For as long as he could remember, he had wished for his magic to be easier to control or less powerful than it was. He had wanted to be normal, thinking that if he were the worried looks his mother gave him would disappear. When he was old enough to understand what it meant to have magic in a world that reviled it, he had wanted nothing more than to be rid of the fear and insecurity that it brought to his life. That small undercurrent of fear became a wave of outright terror at the thought that his magic might stop working altogether and disappear. He may have wished it gone before, but Merlin didn’t truly want to lose his magic. It was part of who he was. Barely able to light a candle, he felt helpless and more than a little afraid.
Swallowing down the bile rising in his throat, Merlin almost ran from the room in search of Arthur. If he couldn’t use his magic to keep the prince from getting himself killed, he had to somehow convince him not to fight.
The door to Arthur’s chambers was ajar, framing the prince where he stood looking at the fire blazing in the hearth in resignation. The meal sitting on the table was untouched. Arthur, who was normally in constant motion, was very still. Merlin stepped into the room quietly and hovered by the door.
“I thought I told you to get out of my sight,” Arthur said without turning to look at him.
Merlin tried to keep his voice calm against the rising panic within him. “Don’t fight Valiant in the final tomorrow.”
Arthur shook his head slightly, but said nothing.
“He’ll use the shield against you,” he said more urgently.
Arthur was quiet and resigned. “I know.”
Merlin goggled a bit at that. For all of Arthur’s anger earlier, the prince still believed him. Somehow, knowing that made the heavy, nauseous feeling in his stomach ease a bit. “Then withdraw. You have to withdraw.”
“Don’t you understand?” Arthur said tightly and turned to look at Merlin, his face betraying his emotions. “I can’t withdraw. The people expect their prince to fight. How can I lead men into battle if they think I’m a coward?!”
“Valiant will kill you! If you fight, you die.”
The swell of emotions playing on Arthur’s face faded and he turned to look at the fire again. His voice was calm when he spoke. “Then I die.”
“How can you go out there and fight knowing that?” Merlin asked, unable to comprehend what could make Arthur so willing to throw his life away in a fight he knew wasn’t fair.
“Because I have to... It’s my duty.”
Merlin stared at Arthur for a long moment. Standing there wasn’t the arrogant ass who had bullied him in the street when he first arrived in Camelot or the petulant child who had pestered his father to get his way. The Arthur standing there was more like the one he occasionally saw in some of the flashes of thought that seemed to happen to him more and more whenever he came into contact with Arthur, a noble man with great dignity but also an air of sadness around him. Merlin still had no idea what to make of the snatches of sensation, thought and conversation that jolted through him with regularity during the daily course of serving the prince, but somehow he knew that they were in some way Arthur. His magic, usually struggling to leap from his body in the presence of the prince, did flare slightly from the dull listlessness that made his whole body ache. He would have to try harder, even if the effort might burn out his magic.
It was a long night, and he had gotten nowhere. Whenever trying to draw on his unresponsive magic became too frustrating, Merlin left his room and sat beside Gavin’s bed. The boy was still young, maybe fourteen summers old, but he was already starting to build the muscle of a knight. Merlin knew his lanky limbs were strong from the various chores Ewan assigned him, as well as the preliminary training he received from the knight. Occasionally, Gavin twitched restlessly in his sleep, at one point, waking almost completely and crying out about the snake that had attacked him, but he settled again after Merlin wiped his brow and squeezed his hand reassuringly. Merlin wasn’t sure what would become of Gavin, now that Ewan was dead, but at least the young squire who had been kind to him would live.
As the grey light of dawn crept in through the window of his room, Merlin dozed a little exhausted and unable to make his magic work. The statue was still stubbornly made of stone and while the painful edge to the heaviness in his gut had eased, he still felt weak and unwell. In his mind, he could see the resigned look on Arthur’s face as he entered the arena, the stern disapproving glare of the king and the moment of sneering confidence on Valiant’s face. The dragon was wrong. It was all going to end and Arthur was going to die. So much for destiny.
“So much for books of spells and magic that could get me killed that doesn’t even work when I need them to. What use is my magic if I can’t tell it what to do?” he said, feeling the burn of angry tears behind his eyes. “Bebe ordethe arisan cwicum!”
His magic flared slightly, then faded into listlessness again. Merlin curled in on himself, holding his knees tightly to his chest and burying his face. Around him, the sounds of morning rose up from the castle. He could hear the sound of horses’ hooves on the stones of the courtyard as the nightly patrols returned. Voices murmured, carts creaked and groaned with their loads, the crank at the well squeaked as servants drew water and occasionally the clatter of something being dropped drifted through the window. There was also someone panting very loudly. Actually, it was more likely to be someone or something panting quite close to him.
Lifting his head, Merlin looked up and saw a very large, very alive, dog sitting at the end of his bed panting eagerly. The dog whined and barked in excitement and Merlin jumped up. He had done it! Dashing out of his room, he met Gaius by the door.
“I just saw Arthur leave for the arena,” Gaius told him. “The fight with Valiant will start very soon.”
Merlin nodded. “I know. I’ll take care of it. Umm... you might want to stay out of my room. I promise I’ll get rid of the dog once this is all over.”
“What dog?” Gaius asked, but Merlin was already racing down the corridor.
Out of breath, Merlin arrived at the entrance to the arena and bent over gasping for air. The stands where full to bursting with people eagerly watching the fight. Merlin arrived just in time to see Arthur deliver a sound blow to Valiant’s head which knocked his helmet off. The knight regained his balance and prepared for another attack as Arthur shed his own helmet.
Valiant was outmatched by Arthur in skill, but the knight had a confidence that made his less than refined movements no less effective. Valiant pushed at Arthur with his shield every opportunity he got. Merlin watched in mounting frustration for an opportunity to try his spell on the snakes, but he didn’t want to set them loose only to have them within striking range of Arthur. A forceful blow to the jaw sent Arthur sprawling backward and the crowd gasped as Valiant shouted and came charging forward. Valiant pinned Arthur’s shield under his boot and brought down a wild blow which Arthur only just managed to avoid. Rolling away and onto his feet, Arthur shifted his grip on his sword and prepared for another assault.
Several forceful strikes from Valiant made Arthur lose his grip and drop his sword. Pressing his advantage, Valiant advanced on Arthur who moved in close to stop the sword arm by holding it. They were struggling close together, more wrestling than anything, and Valiant’s slight advantage in size allowed him to back Arthur up against the stone wall only a few feet away from where Merlin was standing. Arthur used the wall at his back for leverage and managed to push Valiant off and create some space.
Without a sword or even a shield, Arthur’s options were limited. Merlin focussed on the painted snakes of Valiant’s shield and did his best to tug his magic into compliance.
“Bebe ordethe arisan cwicum.”
The heaviness that had weighed him down since Arthur’s dismissal eased and Merlin gasped along with the crowd as his magic summoned two snakes from Valiant’s shield. Arthur’s eyes visibly widened and he took several steps back. Valiant looked down in shock and the beginnings of fear when he saw the enchanted snakes coming to life without his command.
“What are you doing?” Valiant said frantically. “I didn’t summon you.”
“Now they all see you for what you really are,” Arthur spat at Valiant.
Valiant chuckled cruelly. With a gesture, the snakes dropped from the shield entirely and slithered towards Arthur.
“Kill him!” Valiant commanded.
Panic gripped Merlin. He didn’t have any way of making the snakes stop, and Arthur was weaponless. His plan had only really been to expose Valiant. He hadn’t even begun to think what might happen once the snakes were loose. Backing away from the snakes, Arthur came near the royal box where Uther and Morgana were on their feet watching events unfold. Lady Morgana, clearly a quick thinker, grabbed a sword from one of the men at arms and shouted to Arthur. He glanced away in time to catch the sword Morgana threw to him. With a fluid motion, Arthur decapitated the snakes poised to strike him and advanced on Valiant. Merlin could scarcely make sense of the flurry of motion and clash of swords, but he did see Valiant go still and watched as Arthur whispered something in the man’s ear before the knight fell to the ground.
The crowd exploded with cheers and even the king looked visibly shaken by the sudden turn of events. Arthur raised his head and acknowledged the applause with grace, even though he looked tired and sweaty with a definite wobble to his walk. Picking up his own sword from where he had dropped it, Arthur lifted it in victory, nodded to his father and left the arena. As he passed Merlin at the entrance, Arthur gave him a small, tired smile and a friendly punch to the shoulder before retreating to his tent.
Merlin stood at the back of the banquet hall watching Arthur escort Lady Morgana through the parted crowd. Around him noblemen and ladies offered their congratulations and the king gave a small smile and nod of approval. Merlin frowned. The king and everyone were acting like they hadn’t just yesterday accused the prince of lying and cowardice.
Gaius nudged his shoulder gently to draw his attention. “What has you so upset?”
“Nearly everyone in this room spent all of yesterday calling Arthur a coward and a liar behind his back and now they’re all smiles and congratulations. It’s insane.”
“I’m afraid that is what the royal court is like. It always has been.”
“But it shouldn’t be. The king would accept the word of a noble over the word of a servant, but it’s not like they’re great role models or anything. Why is it commoners are supposed to look up to them? It’s ridiculous.”
“Privilege often interferes with judgement, but there is little we can do about it.”
“It’s not right.”
“I didn’t say it was. Just don’t let it change the person you are. What you did today won’t earn you praise, but you did a good job. I’m proud of you.”
Merlin sighed. “I suppose. At least with everything that happened I won’t have to spend my days polishing boots and mucking out stables.”
“I have a couple leech tanks that need cleaning,” Gaius said with a grin.
Merlin groaned and slumped back against the wall as the physician moved to speak with one of the ladies of the court he had given a restorative tonic to the previous day.
The hall was full of bustle and merriment, which was a relief after the tension of the tournament, but Merlin still felt ill at ease. He felt in some way diminished and not in full possession of his magic. He didn’t like the feeling at all. For once, when his magic tingled at Arthur’s approach, Merlin relished it. Being near the prince made Merlin feel almost himself again.
“Can you believe Morgana? She’s saying she saved me. Like I needed any help,” Arthur huffed leaning slightly against the wall beside Merlin.
Merlin could help a small grin at that. “Did she?”
Arthur shook his head and rolled his eyes. There was an awkward pause and Arthur’s bravado faded away. He looked at Merlin and spoke with sincerity. “I wanted to say, I made a mistake. It was unfair to sack you.”
Merlin shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. You’ve saved me a lot of late nights and early mornings.”
“What I said, about needing a servant I could trust... I need someone I can trust to be honest, even when it isn’t in their best interests to be. You may be rubbish as a servant, but you never hold back the truth of what you’re thinking. Perhaps...”
“What?”
“You’re probably the only servant in the castle who doesn’t want my ear. I think that makes you exactly the one I need.”
Merlin shook his head. “I’m not a servant. I came here to be Gaius’ apprentice.”
“You managed to do both.”
“Both badly, you mean.”
“If I speak with Gaius, make some changes to your duties...?”
“You seriously want me back?”
“I’m beginning to see my father’s point about the value of having people who would put themselves at risk for me. I want you back.”
“With a more reasonable list of duties?”
“With some consideration given to the fact that Gaius also has claim to your time, yes.”
Taking a deep breath, Merlin let it out shakily and nodded. “Alright.”
“Good,” Arthur said with a confident nod, as if he had been completely confident in Merlin’s agreement.
Merlin smiled weakly as Arthur began to rattle off a list of things that absolutely needed doing as soon as possible and Merlin barely contained a groan. It was really unlikely his list of duties was actually going to get any shorter, but the thought was nice, he supposed.
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