fic: the beginning in the end (1/2)
FANDOM: MERLIN
Title: The Beginning in the End (1/2)
Word Count: 6,229 (this part)
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Character death, bad writing...
SPOILERS this is my take on what the spoilers for the end of season 3 might mean, so there are definite POTENTIAL SPOILERS within. However, it is all pure speculation on my part, so probably safe to read if you're mostly unspoiled. But you have been warned.
Summary: This has been nagging at me since reading/looking at the spoilers/spoiler pics about the end of season 3 that have been floating around the last few weeks. Whatever happens is sure to be epic, but this is my take on what I think would be an amazing end to the season. Morgana, Morgause and Cenred take over Camelot, leaving Arthur, Merlin, Gwen and the knights to take it back. But first they have to save Uther and Gaius.
I've been writing this ALL DAY, basically non-stop as a kind of stream of consciousness. The second half is already half done and will be posted either tonight or tomorrow morning - it probably won't be quite as long as this half. We'll see.
Let me know what you think!
THE BEGINNING IN THE END part one
Uther was awake, but all it meant was that he could feel the pain radiating through his entire body. He couldn’t move, couldn’t even open his eyes - he felt that he had no energy whatsoever, except to just lie wherever he was and feel the pain. He couldn’t remember where the pain had come from, or how he’d got where he was now. It wasn’t his bed - it wasn’t nearly comfortable enough and... he was swaying. Yes, swaying, as though he were on a cart.
A few moments more, and Uther gathered the energy to open his eyes.
He was right - it was some sort of cart. He was lying on a makeshift bed on the back of a cart, which was covered with a thin white sheet, allowing the sunlight through. The sunlight was dappled - the cart must be travelling under trees.
Uther’s eyes fell on the woman sitting beside his bed, pounding something with a pestle and mortar. He recognised her - it was Morgana’s handmaiden.
Morgana.
Memory rushed back to Uther with such intensity that he groaned and shut his eyes again, as though to try and forget again. It didn’t help. Morgana - his beloved Morgana - had done this to him. She had poisoned him. She had laughed at the thought that he might die. She had forced him to watch while Geoffrey of Monmouth had crowned her Queen of Camelot, with that witch Morgause looking on. And then... things were hazy, but he had been in Gaius’ rooms. Then nothing.
“Sire?” It was the girl - Gwen was her name. Was she still loyal to Morgana? What was this new torture?
“Sire, it’s alright - you’re safe here,” she was saying. “Arthur came and got you.”
Arthur. He hadn’t been there - probably due to some machination of the witch. Uther had been glad at the time, glad his son was safe.
Uther opened his eyes again and looked at the servant. She was wearing travelling clothes, and had a bandage tied around one arm. Her hair was falling down and there was a streak of mud across her cheek. And she looked at him with nothing but worry.
“Where...” Uther could only manage the one word, but Gwen seemed to understand.
“We’re about half a day north of Camelot, Sire, deep in the woods,” she said. “Prince Arthur and sixteen knights are here - they returned for you and Gaius, but Morgause and... and Morgana have put an enchantment on the army; they’re holding Camelot under a martial law. And Cenred is there, with his men - they’re holding the castle,” she said. “We had to leave again, once we had you - there are too many of them.”
Uther’s mind raced, and he could feel himself fast losing energy again. “Gaius...”
Gwen bit her lip. “He’s in a bad way, Sire,” she said. “It took a lot out of him, to keep Morgause away from you. Merlin’s tending to him.”
The cart shuddered to a halt, and Uther hissed in pain. Gwen turned away from him and did something with whatever she’d been working on when he’d first seen her. She turned back to him with a beaker in her hands.
“Here, Sire - this will help with the pain,” she said. She held it up to his lips and helped him to drink from it - it was bitter, and tasted of herbs, but Uther could feel it working immediately. The pain didn’t disappear but it did dim. He lay back and closed his eyes again.
“You think that Morgause had to trick me into killing you? You really think I needed any kind of encouragement? All my life I have watched you destroy lives and tear families apart because of your irrational hatred of magic - countless innocent people have been killed because of you! I did not ask to have magic, it is a part of who I am - but I lived in fear of you finding out about me. And then I found out the truth. You claimed to love me, but you have lied to me my entire life. Well, I know the truth, father, and now I am going to take what is rightfully mine. You do not deserve to be king.”
If only there were a draught to erase the pain of memory.
XXX
Gwen had to be very careful as she made her way through the castle in search of Arthur. Not only were there servants and knights and guards hurrying in every direction, readying for Arthur’s departure, but she had to make sure that Morgana didn’t see her.
She found Arthur poring over a map of Ilamar - a town on Camelot’s Eastern border - with Sir Leon and Sir Percival. Merlin was hovering behind them, checking Arthur’s armour.
Arthur glanced up and spotted her. “Guinevere! I - erm, yes?”
Gwen swallowed down her nervousness. “Sire, I have a message for you from my mistress,” she said. “Might I speak to you a moment?”
“Of course.”
Arthur followed her to a corner of the room and stood closer than appropriate, looming over her. “What is it, Gwen?”
Gwen tilted her head back and met his eyes, hers flashing in the candlelight. “Don’t go,” she said.
Arthur frowned. “Wait, Morgana said -”
“No, not Morgana,” Gwen said. “This is me. Don’t go.”
Arthur smiled. “Cenred has to be stopped once and for all,” he said. Then he put a hand on her arm. “Guinevere, I’ll be fine...”
“I know,” Gwen said. “But I... I don’t think you should be leaving Camelot right now.”
“Why not?”
Gwen swallowed. “Because... I -”
“Ah, Gwen, there you are.”
Gwen jumped nearly a foot in the air at the sound of her mistress’ voice, and scrambled out of the corner, putting some distance between her and Arthur, who was still looking confused. “Gwen -” He started, but she shook her head as Morgana walked over to her.
“Be careful,” she said quietly.
“Yes, Arthur, be very careful,” Morgana said, putting a hand on his arm and giving him a worried frown.
“I’ll be fine - we all will,” Arthur said. He gave Gwen another smile, nodded to Morgana, and went back to rejoin Leon and Percival.
Morgana turned to Gwen - the worried frown was gone, replaced by pure steel. “Gwen, my bedclothes need changing,” she said.
“Yes my lady,” Gwen said. She bobbed a curtsy and practically ran out of the room.
XXX
The cart had stopped, and Gwen could hear Arthur giving orders for the knights to set up camp. Gwen stayed where she was, sitting on the hard wooden boards of the cart beside her king. Her dying king. Gwen was surprised at how upset the thought of Uther dying made her - whatever his crimes, he hadn’t deserved to be killed this way. By the woman he had loved unconditionally her entire life - Gwen could see the pain in his eyes, and knew it wasn’t just physical. And Arthur would be devastated.
The cover over the cart was lifted to reveal the man himself - Arthur heaved himself up onto the back of the cart and let the sheet fall back down.
“We’re stopping here and setting up camp,” he said. “We need to regroup and decide what to do next.”
Gwen nodded.
“How is he?” Arthur asked, staring at his father.
“He did wake up briefly, but he fell asleep again,” Gwen told him. “I gave him something for the pain.”
Arthur nodded. “Well that’s good, isn’t it?” He said. “That he woke up?”
Gaius had been the one to tell Gwen there was no hope for the king, but she couldn’t bring herself to pass on that message to Arthur.
“I think so,” she said carefully.
Arthur sat silently for a moment, just staring at his father, and Gwen sat staring at her hands, feeling that she was intruding on an intensely private moment.
“You tried to stop me leaving for Ilamar,” Arthur said after a moment. He gave Gwen a piercing look. “Did you know this would happen?”
“No, of course not,” Gwen said. “I just... I didn’t think that it would be safe to leave Morgana alone with your father without the knights for protection.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Arthur demanded. “About what you knew about Morgana?”
“I - I’m sorry.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Arthur repeated.
Gwen twisted her hands together. “I didn’t know anything for sure,” she said. “All I knew was... was that she and Morgause were working together.” She gave Arthur a pleading look. “But I never thought that Morgana would actually... I thought she must have been bluffing. That she actually had a plan to stop Morgause.” She looked back down at her hands. “I thought I could help her.”
“But I could have helped you help her,” Arthur said quietly.
“I know but... I was scared,” Gwen said. “I heard Morgause telling Morgana to kill me if I looked like I knew anything.” She looked at Arthur again. “You must have noticed how she came looking for me, when I came to warn you.”
Arthur leant forward, and placed his hand on Gwen’s. “I never would have let them do anything to you,” he said. “If you had told me, I would have protected you with my life.”
“I know but....”
“But what, Guinevere?” Arthur demanded.
Gwen looked up at him, tears in her eyes. “I didn’t think you’d believe me.”
Arthur jerked back as if she had slapped him. “What?” Gwen didn’t say anything, and Arthur shook his head. “You know, it’s not that surprising from Merlin - I expect him to be an idiot. But did you really think that I would just dismiss something this important?”
“Morgana’s your sister!” Gwen protested.
“And you’re my...” Arthur’s voice trailed off and Gwen threw up her hands.
“Exactly, Arthur - I’m nothing!”
Arthur’s eyes flashed fire. “You’re everything Gwen!” He was almost shouting, and he seemed to realise it, because his next words were a kind of shouted whisper. “I really don’t know what else I can do, Guinevere, to prove how I feel about you. I’ve protected you, I’ve sacrificed for you, I’ve told you - but you act like I’m still that selfish princeling who never even looked at you. I don’t know what else to do.”
“You don’t have to do anything Arthur - there’s nothing you can do!” Gwen exclaimed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Morgana, I know I should have, but you have no idea what it’s like for me! You have no idea what it’s like to be powerless - how could you? You tell me that you love me and talk of the two of us as if everything will work out perfectly - you just can’t see that real life doesn’t work that way. I can’t bring myself to believe you - I can’t set myself up for that kind of heartbreak!”
Gwen’s eyes were brimming with tears now, but she refused to let them fall - she looked away from Arthur, breathing heavily.
There was a loaded silence, and then Arthur spoke again, his voice quivering with suppressed anger. “You might be right,” he said. “Maybe there won’t be a happy ending for us. But it won’t be from lack of trying on my part.”
He leant forward again and put his hand on her arm. “The difference between us, Guinvere, is that I fight for the things I want,” he said.
Gwen swallowed and looked back at him. “The difference between us, Arthur,” she said, “is that you get what you want. I don’t.”
Arthur sat back. “I need to see to the camp,” he said. And without another word he lifted the sheet and jumped off the cart.
Gwen drew her knees up to her chest and stopped fighting the tears.
Uther opened his eyes, but Gwen was too busy crying to notice.
XXX
“Elyan! Gwaine! Come quick!” Gwen yelled for her brother and her friend as she threw open the trunk at the foot of her bed, pulling out her travelling clothes and boots.
Gwen was halfway through pulling on her shirt and getting out of her dress when Elyan came running in from the forge, a red hot poker in one hand. He quickly turned around when he saw Gwen was changing.
“Gwen! Honestly, some warning would be nice!”
“We don’t have time to be prudish Elyan, we need to get out here!” Gwen exclaimed, pulling on her leather breeches.
Gwaine came running into the house at that moment and didn’t need Elyan shoving him against a wall to know to turn around.
“What’s going on?” He demanded.
“It’s Morgana,” Gwen said, starting to pull on her boots. “She’s poisoned Uther.”
“What?!” Elyan and Gwaine gasped simultaneously, both turning to stare at Gwen.
“He collapsed in front of the whole court, moments after confessing that Morgana is actually his daughter.”
Elyan dropped the poker. “She’s... what?!”
“And the witch Morgause and Cenred broke into the castle - they’ve declared Morgana queen. And the guards - they’re all enchanted. Morgause has done something to them.”
Elyan sank back against the wall. “What do we do?”
Gwen stood up, her travelling cloak in hand. “We find Arthur.”
XXX
Arthur knew something was wrong when they were still five miles outside of Ilamar. The reports had said that Cenred was holding the defenceless farming town with forty of his men - but the people of Ilamar were still out in the fields, tending to their crops. They all looked up in surprise as Arthur went thundering past, twenty of Camelot’s knights fanned out behind him.
The town came into view as they crested a hill - all was as it should be. Quick questioning of a few of the peasants revealed it to be so.
“It’s a diversion,” Merlin said, his face stricken with fear.
“From what?” Arthur said, staring across at the peaceful town.
“To get you out of Camelot,” Merlin said. “All of you.”
Arthur swore. “I think you’re right,” he said. “We ride for Camelot!” He yelled to the knights, and in a flash of red and a thunder of hooves, they were gone again.
XXX
“Gwen, we need to stop,” Elyan said for the fourth time in two minutes. “We need to find a proper bandage for your arm.”
Gwaine looked over his shoulder at the siblings, who had been having this argument since leaving Camelot. “He’s right, Gwen,” he said. “That arrow really got you.”
Gwen shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said. “It’s not bleeding so much now - and we can stop when we find Arthur.”
“That won’t be for hours, Gwen,” Elyan said, pulling the horse up. “Ilamar is miles from here.”
“Keep going,” Gwen insisted, digging her heels into the horse’s flank. The horse, confused by the differing directions of its two riders, reared up, and it was all Gwen could do to keep hold of her brother as he calmed him down.
“I’m serious Gwen, it will only be - ”
“Hush, Elyan,” Gwen whispered. “Listen!”
The usual noises of the forest were being disturbed by a rumbling sound, steadily getting louder. Within moments Gwen could hear that it was actually the sound of a large group of horses, and few moments later they saw them cantering through the trees to their right - but it was the red cloaks of their riders that had Gwen leaning against her brother’s back in relief.
“Arthur! Merlin! Arthur!”
With the three of them shouting the knights heard and all slowed their horses to a walk - Arthur and Merlin trotted over to them, Sir Leon following close behind.
“Gwen - Elyan - Gwaine - what are you doing here?” Arthur demanded. “We got to Ilamar and realised that - Gwen! Your arm!”
Gwen had dismounted and stumbled a little bit when she hit the ground, feeling a little light-headed. Elyan jumped off the horse too and got to her just before Arthur did.
“It was an arrow,” Elyan told him. “It just grazed her, but it was bleeding quite badly.” He was tearing a strip off the bottom of his shirt as he spoke, and Gwen meekly held out her arm to him as he wrapped it up.
“An arrow?” Arthur demanded. “Who was shooting at you?”
Elyan and Gwen glanced at each other before Gwen turned to Arthur to answer him. “It was one of Cenred’s men,” she said. “Arthur: Cenred and Morgause have taken the castle. There are about forty or fifty of his men, and Morgause has put some kind of enchantment on the guards in the city - they’re all following her orders.”
“What kind of enchantment?” Asked Merlin, jumping down next to Arthur.
“I don’t know,” Gwen said. “But their eyes have gone black and they barely move, except when Morgause tells them to do something. We barely escaped with our lives.”
“How did they get in?” Leon asked, dismounting as well.
Gwen bit her lip. “It was Morgana,” she said.
Arthur reeled back. “What? Morgana?”
Gwen nodded. “She’s working with Morgause and Cenred,” she told him. “She arranged for Cenred’s men to be brought in. She helped Morgause with the enchantment. She... Arthur, she poisoned your father.”
“Is he dead?” He demanded.
“It was a slow-acting poison - he was still alive when I left,” Gwen said. “But... they’ve declared Morgana Queen.”
Arthur shook his head. “But that doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “Morgana is father’s ward, she doesn’t have any claims on the throne.”
“Before he was poisoned, Morgana made the king admit that she is actually his daughter,” Gwen told him miserably. “The entire court heard.”
“That’s not true,” Arthur said at once.
“It is.” Everyone turned to look at Merlin in surprise, and he shifted uncomfortably. “It was when she fell down the stairs, and we all thought she would die,” he explained. “The king told Gaius that she was actually his daughter. I was in the room too, but the king didn’t realise. And we think that Morgana heard him too.”
Arthur stared at Merlin for a long moment before shaking himself and turning back to Gwen and the others. “But even if that’s the case, it doesn’t explain why she would be working with Morgause and Cenred,” he said. “Has she been enchanted too?”
Gwen shook her head. “No,” she said. “She... she has magic, Arthur. And she and Morgause... I think they’ve been working together ever since Morgana came back. I saw them together a few weeks ago.”
Arthur gaped at her.
“They have been.” It was Merlin again. “Morgause... she’s Morgana’s sister. They have the same mother. And they’ve been working together for months. Morgana made everything up about her abduction; it was all part of a plan. She was the one who set up the Castle of Fyrien - that’s how Cenred knew where to find Elyan.”
Arthur looked livid. “Why didn’t you say something?”
Merlin looked away for a moment before answering. “The day when she went missing, when we got back to the castle and everyone was asleep... the reason Morgana wasn’t was because she was the lynch-pin of the spell; Morgause was using her to make it work,” Merlin said. “So I tried to kill her. I poisoned her. Morgause came in and she stopped the spell and they both disappeared, but Morgana knew what I’d done. She’s been using it as leverage over me since she got back. If I’d said something she would have told Uther.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Arthur demanded.
Merlin gave him a look. “Would you have believed me? Really?”
Arthur’s face grew very red and it looked like he was about to start yelling at Merlin, but instead he swallowed and turned back to Gwen. “Is the enchantment over everyone in Camelot?” He asked her.
“No, it’s just the guards,” she said.
Arthur nodded. “Right. Come on - we ride for Camelot.”
“We can’t!” Gwen exclaimed. “There’s far too many of them!”
Arthur mounted his horse and shook his head. “I know,” he said. “But we need to find out what we’re dealing with. We’ll sneak in through the sewers into the lower town.”
XXX
The sewers weren’t exactly pleasant, but they got Arthur and everyone else into the lower town easily enough. Arthur and the knights had left their armour and conspicuous red cloaks behind in the forest with the horses, and everyone made their way to Gwen’s house to regroup. As Gwen had said, the castle was being held by Cenred’s men, and the Camelot guards were under some kind of enchantment. They stood stock-still in all the entrances to the castle, and on the walls of the city. There were no guards patrolling the streets of the lower town - the people of Camelot were clearly terrified, and were huddling in groups and staying low.
“I spoke to a couple of people on my way here,” Gwen said when they were all gathered. “Charlotte - she’s a servant at the castle - she told me that Geoffrey of Monmouth has crowned Morgana.”
There were general cries of dismay from the assembled knights, and Arthur sagged back against the wall. “So my father’s dead.”
Gwen shook her head. “That’s the thing - Charlotte said that he was at the coronation, that Morgana and Morgause made him watch,” she said. “Then Morgause was about to kill him but Gaius stopped her - he did some kind of magic, she said, and Gaius managed to get the king out of the hall and into his rooms... she says they’re still in there, barricaded in.”
Arthur stood up straight as all of the knights exchanged glances. They knew what had to be done - there was no question in anyone’s mind.
“We’ll need some kind of diversion,” Leon said. “To give Arthur time to get to the king.”
“And a way into the castle,” said Percival.
“Didn’t you say the king had been poisoned?” Gwaine asked Gwen.
“Yes - a slow poison. He’s probably quite bad by now.”
“Well, he’s not going to be able to walk through the sewers then, is he?”
“Alright,” said Arthur, stepping into the middle of the room. “Percival - you, Gwaine, Howard and Dennis go to the North Gate - it’s the smallest one, and there’s nothing to the North but forest. It won’t be heavily guarded. Take down the guards there, get us an escape route. If you can, try not to kill them.”
Percival and the other nodded.
“Leon - we’ll go in through the North-West stair. I need you to draw off as many of Cenred’s men as possible - attack the South Gate; you won’t be ambushed there, and there’s a clear run to the North Gate when you need it.”
Leon nodded.
“Guinevere - Elyan - you two know the town, and where to get everything. We’re going to need a couple of carts, with horses, ready by the North Gate,” Arthur said. “If you can, get some supplies as well.”
“Merlin and I will go and get my father and Gaius - it’s easiest if it’s just the two of us,” Arthur said. “Everyone else is with Leon. Let’s go.”
XXX
The plan worked beautifully, right until the moment Merlin and Arthur tried to break into Gaius’ rooms and found them sealed shut. No amount of pushing at the door could budge it, and they couldn’t call out to Gaius for fear of being heard. Luck was with them when one of Cenred’s men appeared around the corner and distracted Arthur - Merlin was able to use a spell on the door. To his surprise, he found that it was not furniture that was keeping the door shut; it was a powerful spell. Merlin checked that Arthur wasn’t watching and pushed on the door with all his might - his eyes flashed and the door splintered.
Merlin raced inside. The king was lying on the sickbed in the main room - he was alive, but unconscious, pink and feverish. Lying on the floor next to him was Gaius. He was also alive - barely - and came round as Merlin shouted his name and grabbed him by the shoulders.
“Merlin... had to stop Morgause... had to save the king...” was all he said before he slipped into unconsciousness.
“You take Gaius - I’ll take my father,” Arthur said, stooping and positioning the king over his shoulders. Merlin did the same with Gaius, bending almost double under his weight, and immediately saw their problem. With both of them carrying someone, they were defenceless against an attack. They had managed to sneak in thanks to Leon’s diversion, but they had met a couple of Cenred’s men - they were sure to meet more on the way out.
“We’ll just have to be quick,” said Arthur, his voice strained from the effort of holding up the king.
Merlin nodded and the two (four) of them made their way out of Gaius’ rooms as quickly as possible, which wasn’t very. They went back the way they’d come, but were still some way away from the North-West stairs when two of Cenred’s men appeared around the corner and spotted them. They were running towards them before Arthur or Merlin could move, and to Merlin it seemed like everything had slowed right down, giving him time to weigh his option - his only option. He had to use magic, right now, or he, Arthur, Gaius and Uther would die.
Then, out of nowhere, a sword swung out from one of the rooms leading off the corridor and slashed through the stomach of one of the men. He gasped and fell forward, dead, as the wielder of the sword stepped into the corridor.
“Lancelot!” Gasped Arthur and Merlin at the same time.
Lancelot didn’t say anything - he was too busy fighting the other of Cenred’s men. He was no match for him - within seconds the man was on the floor, bleeding out beside his comrade.
“What are you doing here?” Arthur demanded.
“I personally don’t care - let’s get out of here!” Merlin exclaimed.
He and Arthur hurried forward, carefully stepping round the fallen men. Lancelot led the way to the stairs, sword out.
“I happened to be at a tavern a few nights ago and heard some of Cenred’s men talking about an upcoming attack on Camelot,” Lancelot was saying as they hurried along. “They realised they’d said too much so I pretended to be mercenary who hated Camelot - luckily I knew enough about the city to make it plausible. I joined up with Cenred’s men. I’ve been looking for you two since it all started, but I soon realised you weren’t here, nor any of the knights.”
“We were fed false information about an attack on Ilamar,” Arthur said. “As soon as we realised it was a diversion we turned back, and on the way we met Gwen and -”
“So she’s alright?” Lancelot interrupted.
Merlin saw Arthur actually grit his teeth and had to hide a smile, despite their situation. “She’s fine,” Arthur said shortly. “She and her brother and a man named Gwaine got out of the city and found us, and told us what was happening. We snuck in to rescue the king and to assess the situation.”
Lancelot nodded. They were nearly at the bottom of the stairs now. “What is the plan now?” He asked. “I thought that the attack on the South Gate must be a diversion - that’s why I came here.”
“You’re good,” Merlin said. “We’re all meeting at the North Gate out of the city. Gwen and Elyan are sorting out a couple of carts.”
“There are guards on the -”
“Taken care of,” said Arthur shortly.
And it was. They had timed it perfectly - the great clock chimed the hour as they approached the North Gate, ducking from doorway to doorway. The chime was the signal for Leon and the others to make their way to the gate. Gwen and Elyan were waiting with two carts - Gwen froze at the sight of Lancelot, but quickly leapt into action, helping Arthur and Merlin place the king and Gaius on the back of the carts amongst the supplies they’d acquired. They placed the covering on the carts over them and when Arthur was distracted by Percival, Gwaine and Dennis running over and explaining that Howard had been killed by two of the guards, Merlin placed a spell over the coverings to make them impervious to arrows. Lancelot smiled.
Leon and the rest of the knights - well, almost all of them - ran to join them and as soon as they were on the carts they were away, Elyan driving one and Arthur the other.
“What if they follow us?” Gwen called out to Arthur.
“I’d prefer it if they did - at least then it would be a fair fight,” he replied. “As long as they hold the castle, they have an advantage.”
The knights, grim and bloody, nodded their agreement.
XXX
They made camp in one of the densest parts of the North forest, about half a day’s ride from Camelot. They had circled round to where the knights had left the horses and their armour, and then headed North. The armour of the fallen knights was packed on the carts, besides Gaius, who was still unconscious.
The knights were angry - Arthur could see it, and understand it, because he felt the same way. He felt angry too, and useless, and betrayed. Above all betrayed. Morgana, the woman he had loved like a sister, turned out to actually be his sister, and had turned against them all. She had thrown her lot in with two of the most sinister people Arthur had ever met, and made herself Queen of Camelot. She had stolen his father’s throne. His throne.
And Gwen had known. Merlin had known. The knowledge that they had both lied to him was almost as much of a betrayal as Morgana’s.
His conversation - no, argument - with Gwen kept replaying itself in his mind, and Arthur couldn’t bring himself to regret anything he’d said to her. He was tired of being the only one of them prepared to fight for their love - if that’s what it even was. He loved Gwen, but did she love him? She’d never said it. She’d lied to him. She wasn’t prepared to take a chance on him.
Arthur kicked a twig into one of the fires they had built and stared glumly at the cart which held his father and Gwen. Merlin sat on the back of the other cart, staring intently at Gaius as if willing him to wake up, but the cover was pulled down over the other cart, hiding Gwen and his father from view.
Lancelot was sitting by one of the other fires, with Elyan, Gwaine and Leon. A lot of the other knights remembered Lancelot from when he’d been, very briefly, one of them, and it was obvious they didn’t know what to make of him, or he them. He looked very uncomfortable with the other knights, as if he felt like he didn’t belong, that they were judging him. Gwaine, being Gwaine, treated him like his best friend straight away; Elyan had bonded with him over a conversation about axes versus swords; and Leon... well, Arthur had a feeling that as far as Leon was concerned, Lancelot had saved his king, and that was all there was to be said. Arthur sometimes didn’t know what to say in the face of Leon’s unswerving loyalty.
Gwen hadn’t left the cart since they’d left Camelot, so she hadn’t said anything to Lancelot yet, and Arthur could see that Lancelot was avoiding the cart - avoiding even looking at it. Arthur kept remembering how upset Gwen had been when Lancelot had left the last time they’d met, and he wondered if that was what had driven him to push her about her feelings for him. It didn’t matter - it had all needed to be said.
Arthur sighed and looked around at the other knights. They had made tents - some were lying under them, some were eating, but none looked at ease. They were all waiting for Arthur to come up with a plan to release Camelot from Morgana’s clutches, but he had no idea what to do. Four knights had died in rescuing Uther - one killed by Cenred’s men, but the other three killed by the enchanted guards. Ordinarily a guard of Camelot would be no match for a knight, but something in the enchantment had made them ferocious as well as biddable, and until they knew a way to break the enchantment it would be suicide to go back.
Also worrying was the fact that no one had pursued them out of Camelot. They were in two fairly slow-moving carts - they could have been caught up to easily. But they had been allowed to escape. To Arthur this meant three things - one, that they knew they had the advantage in Camelot; two, that they knew Arthur would bring the fight back to them; and three, that Uther was dying, and there was nothing any of them could do to save him.
No sooner had Arthur thought that than did the cover on the cart shift and Gwen climb down, looking grim. Arthur jumped to his feet and the entire camp fell silent, staring at the two of them.
“Arthur, the king’s awake,” Gwen said. “He wants to speak to you.”
Arthur stared at Gwen for a long moment - his father was awake, and that should be good news, but something in her eyes told him that it wasn’t. He swallowed down a sudden lump in his throat and nodded, walking over to the cart. Gwen stepped aside but reached out as he brushed past her - her fingertips met the back of his hand in the lightest of touches. Arthur caught her eye and nodded before climbing onto the cart.
Uther was awake, but Arthur could see why Gwen had looked so shaken - he was wheezing through each breath, as if struggling to keep drawing in air, and he was trembling. His face was grey and there were dark purple shadows under his eyes.
Arthur fell to his knees beside him.
“Arthur...” Uther gasped out. “I’m... sorry... about Morgana.”
Arthur shook his head. “It’s alright, father.”
“I should... have told... you...” Uther said. “Should... have... told you... both.”
“I understand why you didn’t, father,” said Arthur, taking and squeezing Uther’s hand. It was ice cold. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I... only...ever... wanted... the best... for you...” Uther gasped out. “I... didn’t... tell you... enough... how... proud... you... make me.”
Arthur’s eyes filled with tears and he choked, shaking his head. “Father...”
“I... know... you’ll save... Cam... elot.”
Arthur nodded furiously. “I will. I swear I will.”
“Try to... save... your... sister.”
Arthur blinked, but nodded. “I’ll try.”
“It’s... magic... Arthur...” gasped Uther. “It... ruins... all.”
Arthur just nodded.
“Your... mother... was my... heart...” Uther gasped. “But you... need to... know... that... you are... my strength.”
Uther’s hand suddenly gripped Arthur’s, vice-like, and Uther pierced him with a wild look. “I want... you... to have... what... I did... Fight... for... what... you want...”
Arthur’s eyes widened. He couldn’t be... could he?
Before Arthur could ask, Uther suddenly cried out as if in great pain, and his grip on Arthur’s hand tightened further. The cry stopped and Uther’s head fell to the side, his eyes wide open but unseeing.
Uther’s grip on Arthur’s hand was gone, and Arthur pulled his hand free, placing his father’s hand on his chest before reaching up to gently close his eyes.
Then Arthur rested his forehead against his father’s still chest and wept.
XXX
It was at least twenty minutes before Arthur stepped out of the cart again, but not a single person had spoken. Gwen had gone to sit next to Elyan, who was holding her close to his side, stroking her back as she cried into his shoulder.
When Arthur did appear, it didn’t take much to understand what had happened. The look on his face was enough. Every single one of the knights got to their feet - so did Gwaine and Lancelot, followed by Elyan and Guinevere. Merlin slid off the other cart, and they all stood staring at Arthur, who faced them with a haggard face and red eyes.
“The king is dead,” he said hoarsely.
There was a moment’s silence before Sir Leon stepped forward and knelt down before Arthur. “Long live the king,” he said.
There was a rustle of leaves and the clink of armour as every other knight followed Leon, and dropped to their knee before Arthur. Cries of “long live the king!” bounced off the trees.
Arthur stood stock-still in front of the cart, staring round as his companions declared their allegiance to him. Lancelot knelt; Gwaine knelt; Elyan knelt, leaving Arthur a clear view of Gwen, who stared at him across the clearing with red-rimmed eyes. Then she, too, genuflected and said in a quiet, but clear voice “long live the king.”
“Long live the king.” Arthur’s head snapped to the left to find Merlin also kneeling before him - he was sombre, but there was no mistaking the pride in his eyes. Looking back at Gwen, Arthur could see the same in her face.
He took a deep breath. “No man is a king without a kingdom,” he said. “We will not let Camelot fall without a fight.”
Continued in Part Two...
Title: The Beginning in the End (1/2)
Word Count: 6,229 (this part)
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Character death, bad writing...
SPOILERS this is my take on what the spoilers for the end of season 3 might mean, so there are definite POTENTIAL SPOILERS within. However, it is all pure speculation on my part, so probably safe to read if you're mostly unspoiled. But you have been warned.
Summary: This has been nagging at me since reading/looking at the spoilers/spoiler pics about the end of season 3 that have been floating around the last few weeks. Whatever happens is sure to be epic, but this is my take on what I think would be an amazing end to the season. Morgana, Morgause and Cenred take over Camelot, leaving Arthur, Merlin, Gwen and the knights to take it back. But first they have to save Uther and Gaius.
I've been writing this ALL DAY, basically non-stop as a kind of stream of consciousness. The second half is already half done and will be posted either tonight or tomorrow morning - it probably won't be quite as long as this half. We'll see.
Let me know what you think!
THE BEGINNING IN THE END part one
Uther was awake, but all it meant was that he could feel the pain radiating through his entire body. He couldn’t move, couldn’t even open his eyes - he felt that he had no energy whatsoever, except to just lie wherever he was and feel the pain. He couldn’t remember where the pain had come from, or how he’d got where he was now. It wasn’t his bed - it wasn’t nearly comfortable enough and... he was swaying. Yes, swaying, as though he were on a cart.
A few moments more, and Uther gathered the energy to open his eyes.
He was right - it was some sort of cart. He was lying on a makeshift bed on the back of a cart, which was covered with a thin white sheet, allowing the sunlight through. The sunlight was dappled - the cart must be travelling under trees.
Uther’s eyes fell on the woman sitting beside his bed, pounding something with a pestle and mortar. He recognised her - it was Morgana’s handmaiden.
Morgana.
Memory rushed back to Uther with such intensity that he groaned and shut his eyes again, as though to try and forget again. It didn’t help. Morgana - his beloved Morgana - had done this to him. She had poisoned him. She had laughed at the thought that he might die. She had forced him to watch while Geoffrey of Monmouth had crowned her Queen of Camelot, with that witch Morgause looking on. And then... things were hazy, but he had been in Gaius’ rooms. Then nothing.
“Sire?” It was the girl - Gwen was her name. Was she still loyal to Morgana? What was this new torture?
“Sire, it’s alright - you’re safe here,” she was saying. “Arthur came and got you.”
Arthur. He hadn’t been there - probably due to some machination of the witch. Uther had been glad at the time, glad his son was safe.
Uther opened his eyes again and looked at the servant. She was wearing travelling clothes, and had a bandage tied around one arm. Her hair was falling down and there was a streak of mud across her cheek. And she looked at him with nothing but worry.
“Where...” Uther could only manage the one word, but Gwen seemed to understand.
“We’re about half a day north of Camelot, Sire, deep in the woods,” she said. “Prince Arthur and sixteen knights are here - they returned for you and Gaius, but Morgause and... and Morgana have put an enchantment on the army; they’re holding Camelot under a martial law. And Cenred is there, with his men - they’re holding the castle,” she said. “We had to leave again, once we had you - there are too many of them.”
Uther’s mind raced, and he could feel himself fast losing energy again. “Gaius...”
Gwen bit her lip. “He’s in a bad way, Sire,” she said. “It took a lot out of him, to keep Morgause away from you. Merlin’s tending to him.”
The cart shuddered to a halt, and Uther hissed in pain. Gwen turned away from him and did something with whatever she’d been working on when he’d first seen her. She turned back to him with a beaker in her hands.
“Here, Sire - this will help with the pain,” she said. She held it up to his lips and helped him to drink from it - it was bitter, and tasted of herbs, but Uther could feel it working immediately. The pain didn’t disappear but it did dim. He lay back and closed his eyes again.
“You think that Morgause had to trick me into killing you? You really think I needed any kind of encouragement? All my life I have watched you destroy lives and tear families apart because of your irrational hatred of magic - countless innocent people have been killed because of you! I did not ask to have magic, it is a part of who I am - but I lived in fear of you finding out about me. And then I found out the truth. You claimed to love me, but you have lied to me my entire life. Well, I know the truth, father, and now I am going to take what is rightfully mine. You do not deserve to be king.”
If only there were a draught to erase the pain of memory.
XXX
Gwen had to be very careful as she made her way through the castle in search of Arthur. Not only were there servants and knights and guards hurrying in every direction, readying for Arthur’s departure, but she had to make sure that Morgana didn’t see her.
She found Arthur poring over a map of Ilamar - a town on Camelot’s Eastern border - with Sir Leon and Sir Percival. Merlin was hovering behind them, checking Arthur’s armour.
Arthur glanced up and spotted her. “Guinevere! I - erm, yes?”
Gwen swallowed down her nervousness. “Sire, I have a message for you from my mistress,” she said. “Might I speak to you a moment?”
“Of course.”
Arthur followed her to a corner of the room and stood closer than appropriate, looming over her. “What is it, Gwen?”
Gwen tilted her head back and met his eyes, hers flashing in the candlelight. “Don’t go,” she said.
Arthur frowned. “Wait, Morgana said -”
“No, not Morgana,” Gwen said. “This is me. Don’t go.”
Arthur smiled. “Cenred has to be stopped once and for all,” he said. Then he put a hand on her arm. “Guinevere, I’ll be fine...”
“I know,” Gwen said. “But I... I don’t think you should be leaving Camelot right now.”
“Why not?”
Gwen swallowed. “Because... I -”
“Ah, Gwen, there you are.”
Gwen jumped nearly a foot in the air at the sound of her mistress’ voice, and scrambled out of the corner, putting some distance between her and Arthur, who was still looking confused. “Gwen -” He started, but she shook her head as Morgana walked over to her.
“Be careful,” she said quietly.
“Yes, Arthur, be very careful,” Morgana said, putting a hand on his arm and giving him a worried frown.
“I’ll be fine - we all will,” Arthur said. He gave Gwen another smile, nodded to Morgana, and went back to rejoin Leon and Percival.
Morgana turned to Gwen - the worried frown was gone, replaced by pure steel. “Gwen, my bedclothes need changing,” she said.
“Yes my lady,” Gwen said. She bobbed a curtsy and practically ran out of the room.
XXX
The cart had stopped, and Gwen could hear Arthur giving orders for the knights to set up camp. Gwen stayed where she was, sitting on the hard wooden boards of the cart beside her king. Her dying king. Gwen was surprised at how upset the thought of Uther dying made her - whatever his crimes, he hadn’t deserved to be killed this way. By the woman he had loved unconditionally her entire life - Gwen could see the pain in his eyes, and knew it wasn’t just physical. And Arthur would be devastated.
The cover over the cart was lifted to reveal the man himself - Arthur heaved himself up onto the back of the cart and let the sheet fall back down.
“We’re stopping here and setting up camp,” he said. “We need to regroup and decide what to do next.”
Gwen nodded.
“How is he?” Arthur asked, staring at his father.
“He did wake up briefly, but he fell asleep again,” Gwen told him. “I gave him something for the pain.”
Arthur nodded. “Well that’s good, isn’t it?” He said. “That he woke up?”
Gaius had been the one to tell Gwen there was no hope for the king, but she couldn’t bring herself to pass on that message to Arthur.
“I think so,” she said carefully.
Arthur sat silently for a moment, just staring at his father, and Gwen sat staring at her hands, feeling that she was intruding on an intensely private moment.
“You tried to stop me leaving for Ilamar,” Arthur said after a moment. He gave Gwen a piercing look. “Did you know this would happen?”
“No, of course not,” Gwen said. “I just... I didn’t think that it would be safe to leave Morgana alone with your father without the knights for protection.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Arthur demanded. “About what you knew about Morgana?”
“I - I’m sorry.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Arthur repeated.
Gwen twisted her hands together. “I didn’t know anything for sure,” she said. “All I knew was... was that she and Morgause were working together.” She gave Arthur a pleading look. “But I never thought that Morgana would actually... I thought she must have been bluffing. That she actually had a plan to stop Morgause.” She looked back down at her hands. “I thought I could help her.”
“But I could have helped you help her,” Arthur said quietly.
“I know but... I was scared,” Gwen said. “I heard Morgause telling Morgana to kill me if I looked like I knew anything.” She looked at Arthur again. “You must have noticed how she came looking for me, when I came to warn you.”
Arthur leant forward, and placed his hand on Gwen’s. “I never would have let them do anything to you,” he said. “If you had told me, I would have protected you with my life.”
“I know but....”
“But what, Guinevere?” Arthur demanded.
Gwen looked up at him, tears in her eyes. “I didn’t think you’d believe me.”
Arthur jerked back as if she had slapped him. “What?” Gwen didn’t say anything, and Arthur shook his head. “You know, it’s not that surprising from Merlin - I expect him to be an idiot. But did you really think that I would just dismiss something this important?”
“Morgana’s your sister!” Gwen protested.
“And you’re my...” Arthur’s voice trailed off and Gwen threw up her hands.
“Exactly, Arthur - I’m nothing!”
Arthur’s eyes flashed fire. “You’re everything Gwen!” He was almost shouting, and he seemed to realise it, because his next words were a kind of shouted whisper. “I really don’t know what else I can do, Guinevere, to prove how I feel about you. I’ve protected you, I’ve sacrificed for you, I’ve told you - but you act like I’m still that selfish princeling who never even looked at you. I don’t know what else to do.”
“You don’t have to do anything Arthur - there’s nothing you can do!” Gwen exclaimed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Morgana, I know I should have, but you have no idea what it’s like for me! You have no idea what it’s like to be powerless - how could you? You tell me that you love me and talk of the two of us as if everything will work out perfectly - you just can’t see that real life doesn’t work that way. I can’t bring myself to believe you - I can’t set myself up for that kind of heartbreak!”
Gwen’s eyes were brimming with tears now, but she refused to let them fall - she looked away from Arthur, breathing heavily.
There was a loaded silence, and then Arthur spoke again, his voice quivering with suppressed anger. “You might be right,” he said. “Maybe there won’t be a happy ending for us. But it won’t be from lack of trying on my part.”
He leant forward again and put his hand on her arm. “The difference between us, Guinvere, is that I fight for the things I want,” he said.
Gwen swallowed and looked back at him. “The difference between us, Arthur,” she said, “is that you get what you want. I don’t.”
Arthur sat back. “I need to see to the camp,” he said. And without another word he lifted the sheet and jumped off the cart.
Gwen drew her knees up to her chest and stopped fighting the tears.
Uther opened his eyes, but Gwen was too busy crying to notice.
XXX
“Elyan! Gwaine! Come quick!” Gwen yelled for her brother and her friend as she threw open the trunk at the foot of her bed, pulling out her travelling clothes and boots.
Gwen was halfway through pulling on her shirt and getting out of her dress when Elyan came running in from the forge, a red hot poker in one hand. He quickly turned around when he saw Gwen was changing.
“Gwen! Honestly, some warning would be nice!”
“We don’t have time to be prudish Elyan, we need to get out here!” Gwen exclaimed, pulling on her leather breeches.
Gwaine came running into the house at that moment and didn’t need Elyan shoving him against a wall to know to turn around.
“What’s going on?” He demanded.
“It’s Morgana,” Gwen said, starting to pull on her boots. “She’s poisoned Uther.”
“What?!” Elyan and Gwaine gasped simultaneously, both turning to stare at Gwen.
“He collapsed in front of the whole court, moments after confessing that Morgana is actually his daughter.”
Elyan dropped the poker. “She’s... what?!”
“And the witch Morgause and Cenred broke into the castle - they’ve declared Morgana queen. And the guards - they’re all enchanted. Morgause has done something to them.”
Elyan sank back against the wall. “What do we do?”
Gwen stood up, her travelling cloak in hand. “We find Arthur.”
XXX
Arthur knew something was wrong when they were still five miles outside of Ilamar. The reports had said that Cenred was holding the defenceless farming town with forty of his men - but the people of Ilamar were still out in the fields, tending to their crops. They all looked up in surprise as Arthur went thundering past, twenty of Camelot’s knights fanned out behind him.
The town came into view as they crested a hill - all was as it should be. Quick questioning of a few of the peasants revealed it to be so.
“It’s a diversion,” Merlin said, his face stricken with fear.
“From what?” Arthur said, staring across at the peaceful town.
“To get you out of Camelot,” Merlin said. “All of you.”
Arthur swore. “I think you’re right,” he said. “We ride for Camelot!” He yelled to the knights, and in a flash of red and a thunder of hooves, they were gone again.
XXX
“Gwen, we need to stop,” Elyan said for the fourth time in two minutes. “We need to find a proper bandage for your arm.”
Gwaine looked over his shoulder at the siblings, who had been having this argument since leaving Camelot. “He’s right, Gwen,” he said. “That arrow really got you.”
Gwen shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said. “It’s not bleeding so much now - and we can stop when we find Arthur.”
“That won’t be for hours, Gwen,” Elyan said, pulling the horse up. “Ilamar is miles from here.”
“Keep going,” Gwen insisted, digging her heels into the horse’s flank. The horse, confused by the differing directions of its two riders, reared up, and it was all Gwen could do to keep hold of her brother as he calmed him down.
“I’m serious Gwen, it will only be - ”
“Hush, Elyan,” Gwen whispered. “Listen!”
The usual noises of the forest were being disturbed by a rumbling sound, steadily getting louder. Within moments Gwen could hear that it was actually the sound of a large group of horses, and few moments later they saw them cantering through the trees to their right - but it was the red cloaks of their riders that had Gwen leaning against her brother’s back in relief.
“Arthur! Merlin! Arthur!”
With the three of them shouting the knights heard and all slowed their horses to a walk - Arthur and Merlin trotted over to them, Sir Leon following close behind.
“Gwen - Elyan - Gwaine - what are you doing here?” Arthur demanded. “We got to Ilamar and realised that - Gwen! Your arm!”
Gwen had dismounted and stumbled a little bit when she hit the ground, feeling a little light-headed. Elyan jumped off the horse too and got to her just before Arthur did.
“It was an arrow,” Elyan told him. “It just grazed her, but it was bleeding quite badly.” He was tearing a strip off the bottom of his shirt as he spoke, and Gwen meekly held out her arm to him as he wrapped it up.
“An arrow?” Arthur demanded. “Who was shooting at you?”
Elyan and Gwen glanced at each other before Gwen turned to Arthur to answer him. “It was one of Cenred’s men,” she said. “Arthur: Cenred and Morgause have taken the castle. There are about forty or fifty of his men, and Morgause has put some kind of enchantment on the guards in the city - they’re all following her orders.”
“What kind of enchantment?” Asked Merlin, jumping down next to Arthur.
“I don’t know,” Gwen said. “But their eyes have gone black and they barely move, except when Morgause tells them to do something. We barely escaped with our lives.”
“How did they get in?” Leon asked, dismounting as well.
Gwen bit her lip. “It was Morgana,” she said.
Arthur reeled back. “What? Morgana?”
Gwen nodded. “She’s working with Morgause and Cenred,” she told him. “She arranged for Cenred’s men to be brought in. She helped Morgause with the enchantment. She... Arthur, she poisoned your father.”
“Is he dead?” He demanded.
“It was a slow-acting poison - he was still alive when I left,” Gwen said. “But... they’ve declared Morgana Queen.”
Arthur shook his head. “But that doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “Morgana is father’s ward, she doesn’t have any claims on the throne.”
“Before he was poisoned, Morgana made the king admit that she is actually his daughter,” Gwen told him miserably. “The entire court heard.”
“That’s not true,” Arthur said at once.
“It is.” Everyone turned to look at Merlin in surprise, and he shifted uncomfortably. “It was when she fell down the stairs, and we all thought she would die,” he explained. “The king told Gaius that she was actually his daughter. I was in the room too, but the king didn’t realise. And we think that Morgana heard him too.”
Arthur stared at Merlin for a long moment before shaking himself and turning back to Gwen and the others. “But even if that’s the case, it doesn’t explain why she would be working with Morgause and Cenred,” he said. “Has she been enchanted too?”
Gwen shook her head. “No,” she said. “She... she has magic, Arthur. And she and Morgause... I think they’ve been working together ever since Morgana came back. I saw them together a few weeks ago.”
Arthur gaped at her.
“They have been.” It was Merlin again. “Morgause... she’s Morgana’s sister. They have the same mother. And they’ve been working together for months. Morgana made everything up about her abduction; it was all part of a plan. She was the one who set up the Castle of Fyrien - that’s how Cenred knew where to find Elyan.”
Arthur looked livid. “Why didn’t you say something?”
Merlin looked away for a moment before answering. “The day when she went missing, when we got back to the castle and everyone was asleep... the reason Morgana wasn’t was because she was the lynch-pin of the spell; Morgause was using her to make it work,” Merlin said. “So I tried to kill her. I poisoned her. Morgause came in and she stopped the spell and they both disappeared, but Morgana knew what I’d done. She’s been using it as leverage over me since she got back. If I’d said something she would have told Uther.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Arthur demanded.
Merlin gave him a look. “Would you have believed me? Really?”
Arthur’s face grew very red and it looked like he was about to start yelling at Merlin, but instead he swallowed and turned back to Gwen. “Is the enchantment over everyone in Camelot?” He asked her.
“No, it’s just the guards,” she said.
Arthur nodded. “Right. Come on - we ride for Camelot.”
“We can’t!” Gwen exclaimed. “There’s far too many of them!”
Arthur mounted his horse and shook his head. “I know,” he said. “But we need to find out what we’re dealing with. We’ll sneak in through the sewers into the lower town.”
XXX
The sewers weren’t exactly pleasant, but they got Arthur and everyone else into the lower town easily enough. Arthur and the knights had left their armour and conspicuous red cloaks behind in the forest with the horses, and everyone made their way to Gwen’s house to regroup. As Gwen had said, the castle was being held by Cenred’s men, and the Camelot guards were under some kind of enchantment. They stood stock-still in all the entrances to the castle, and on the walls of the city. There were no guards patrolling the streets of the lower town - the people of Camelot were clearly terrified, and were huddling in groups and staying low.
“I spoke to a couple of people on my way here,” Gwen said when they were all gathered. “Charlotte - she’s a servant at the castle - she told me that Geoffrey of Monmouth has crowned Morgana.”
There were general cries of dismay from the assembled knights, and Arthur sagged back against the wall. “So my father’s dead.”
Gwen shook her head. “That’s the thing - Charlotte said that he was at the coronation, that Morgana and Morgause made him watch,” she said. “Then Morgause was about to kill him but Gaius stopped her - he did some kind of magic, she said, and Gaius managed to get the king out of the hall and into his rooms... she says they’re still in there, barricaded in.”
Arthur stood up straight as all of the knights exchanged glances. They knew what had to be done - there was no question in anyone’s mind.
“We’ll need some kind of diversion,” Leon said. “To give Arthur time to get to the king.”
“And a way into the castle,” said Percival.
“Didn’t you say the king had been poisoned?” Gwaine asked Gwen.
“Yes - a slow poison. He’s probably quite bad by now.”
“Well, he’s not going to be able to walk through the sewers then, is he?”
“Alright,” said Arthur, stepping into the middle of the room. “Percival - you, Gwaine, Howard and Dennis go to the North Gate - it’s the smallest one, and there’s nothing to the North but forest. It won’t be heavily guarded. Take down the guards there, get us an escape route. If you can, try not to kill them.”
Percival and the other nodded.
“Leon - we’ll go in through the North-West stair. I need you to draw off as many of Cenred’s men as possible - attack the South Gate; you won’t be ambushed there, and there’s a clear run to the North Gate when you need it.”
Leon nodded.
“Guinevere - Elyan - you two know the town, and where to get everything. We’re going to need a couple of carts, with horses, ready by the North Gate,” Arthur said. “If you can, get some supplies as well.”
“Merlin and I will go and get my father and Gaius - it’s easiest if it’s just the two of us,” Arthur said. “Everyone else is with Leon. Let’s go.”
XXX
The plan worked beautifully, right until the moment Merlin and Arthur tried to break into Gaius’ rooms and found them sealed shut. No amount of pushing at the door could budge it, and they couldn’t call out to Gaius for fear of being heard. Luck was with them when one of Cenred’s men appeared around the corner and distracted Arthur - Merlin was able to use a spell on the door. To his surprise, he found that it was not furniture that was keeping the door shut; it was a powerful spell. Merlin checked that Arthur wasn’t watching and pushed on the door with all his might - his eyes flashed and the door splintered.
Merlin raced inside. The king was lying on the sickbed in the main room - he was alive, but unconscious, pink and feverish. Lying on the floor next to him was Gaius. He was also alive - barely - and came round as Merlin shouted his name and grabbed him by the shoulders.
“Merlin... had to stop Morgause... had to save the king...” was all he said before he slipped into unconsciousness.
“You take Gaius - I’ll take my father,” Arthur said, stooping and positioning the king over his shoulders. Merlin did the same with Gaius, bending almost double under his weight, and immediately saw their problem. With both of them carrying someone, they were defenceless against an attack. They had managed to sneak in thanks to Leon’s diversion, but they had met a couple of Cenred’s men - they were sure to meet more on the way out.
“We’ll just have to be quick,” said Arthur, his voice strained from the effort of holding up the king.
Merlin nodded and the two (four) of them made their way out of Gaius’ rooms as quickly as possible, which wasn’t very. They went back the way they’d come, but were still some way away from the North-West stairs when two of Cenred’s men appeared around the corner and spotted them. They were running towards them before Arthur or Merlin could move, and to Merlin it seemed like everything had slowed right down, giving him time to weigh his option - his only option. He had to use magic, right now, or he, Arthur, Gaius and Uther would die.
Then, out of nowhere, a sword swung out from one of the rooms leading off the corridor and slashed through the stomach of one of the men. He gasped and fell forward, dead, as the wielder of the sword stepped into the corridor.
“Lancelot!” Gasped Arthur and Merlin at the same time.
Lancelot didn’t say anything - he was too busy fighting the other of Cenred’s men. He was no match for him - within seconds the man was on the floor, bleeding out beside his comrade.
“What are you doing here?” Arthur demanded.
“I personally don’t care - let’s get out of here!” Merlin exclaimed.
He and Arthur hurried forward, carefully stepping round the fallen men. Lancelot led the way to the stairs, sword out.
“I happened to be at a tavern a few nights ago and heard some of Cenred’s men talking about an upcoming attack on Camelot,” Lancelot was saying as they hurried along. “They realised they’d said too much so I pretended to be mercenary who hated Camelot - luckily I knew enough about the city to make it plausible. I joined up with Cenred’s men. I’ve been looking for you two since it all started, but I soon realised you weren’t here, nor any of the knights.”
“We were fed false information about an attack on Ilamar,” Arthur said. “As soon as we realised it was a diversion we turned back, and on the way we met Gwen and -”
“So she’s alright?” Lancelot interrupted.
Merlin saw Arthur actually grit his teeth and had to hide a smile, despite their situation. “She’s fine,” Arthur said shortly. “She and her brother and a man named Gwaine got out of the city and found us, and told us what was happening. We snuck in to rescue the king and to assess the situation.”
Lancelot nodded. They were nearly at the bottom of the stairs now. “What is the plan now?” He asked. “I thought that the attack on the South Gate must be a diversion - that’s why I came here.”
“You’re good,” Merlin said. “We’re all meeting at the North Gate out of the city. Gwen and Elyan are sorting out a couple of carts.”
“There are guards on the -”
“Taken care of,” said Arthur shortly.
And it was. They had timed it perfectly - the great clock chimed the hour as they approached the North Gate, ducking from doorway to doorway. The chime was the signal for Leon and the others to make their way to the gate. Gwen and Elyan were waiting with two carts - Gwen froze at the sight of Lancelot, but quickly leapt into action, helping Arthur and Merlin place the king and Gaius on the back of the carts amongst the supplies they’d acquired. They placed the covering on the carts over them and when Arthur was distracted by Percival, Gwaine and Dennis running over and explaining that Howard had been killed by two of the guards, Merlin placed a spell over the coverings to make them impervious to arrows. Lancelot smiled.
Leon and the rest of the knights - well, almost all of them - ran to join them and as soon as they were on the carts they were away, Elyan driving one and Arthur the other.
“What if they follow us?” Gwen called out to Arthur.
“I’d prefer it if they did - at least then it would be a fair fight,” he replied. “As long as they hold the castle, they have an advantage.”
The knights, grim and bloody, nodded their agreement.
XXX
They made camp in one of the densest parts of the North forest, about half a day’s ride from Camelot. They had circled round to where the knights had left the horses and their armour, and then headed North. The armour of the fallen knights was packed on the carts, besides Gaius, who was still unconscious.
The knights were angry - Arthur could see it, and understand it, because he felt the same way. He felt angry too, and useless, and betrayed. Above all betrayed. Morgana, the woman he had loved like a sister, turned out to actually be his sister, and had turned against them all. She had thrown her lot in with two of the most sinister people Arthur had ever met, and made herself Queen of Camelot. She had stolen his father’s throne. His throne.
And Gwen had known. Merlin had known. The knowledge that they had both lied to him was almost as much of a betrayal as Morgana’s.
His conversation - no, argument - with Gwen kept replaying itself in his mind, and Arthur couldn’t bring himself to regret anything he’d said to her. He was tired of being the only one of them prepared to fight for their love - if that’s what it even was. He loved Gwen, but did she love him? She’d never said it. She’d lied to him. She wasn’t prepared to take a chance on him.
Arthur kicked a twig into one of the fires they had built and stared glumly at the cart which held his father and Gwen. Merlin sat on the back of the other cart, staring intently at Gaius as if willing him to wake up, but the cover was pulled down over the other cart, hiding Gwen and his father from view.
Lancelot was sitting by one of the other fires, with Elyan, Gwaine and Leon. A lot of the other knights remembered Lancelot from when he’d been, very briefly, one of them, and it was obvious they didn’t know what to make of him, or he them. He looked very uncomfortable with the other knights, as if he felt like he didn’t belong, that they were judging him. Gwaine, being Gwaine, treated him like his best friend straight away; Elyan had bonded with him over a conversation about axes versus swords; and Leon... well, Arthur had a feeling that as far as Leon was concerned, Lancelot had saved his king, and that was all there was to be said. Arthur sometimes didn’t know what to say in the face of Leon’s unswerving loyalty.
Gwen hadn’t left the cart since they’d left Camelot, so she hadn’t said anything to Lancelot yet, and Arthur could see that Lancelot was avoiding the cart - avoiding even looking at it. Arthur kept remembering how upset Gwen had been when Lancelot had left the last time they’d met, and he wondered if that was what had driven him to push her about her feelings for him. It didn’t matter - it had all needed to be said.
Arthur sighed and looked around at the other knights. They had made tents - some were lying under them, some were eating, but none looked at ease. They were all waiting for Arthur to come up with a plan to release Camelot from Morgana’s clutches, but he had no idea what to do. Four knights had died in rescuing Uther - one killed by Cenred’s men, but the other three killed by the enchanted guards. Ordinarily a guard of Camelot would be no match for a knight, but something in the enchantment had made them ferocious as well as biddable, and until they knew a way to break the enchantment it would be suicide to go back.
Also worrying was the fact that no one had pursued them out of Camelot. They were in two fairly slow-moving carts - they could have been caught up to easily. But they had been allowed to escape. To Arthur this meant three things - one, that they knew they had the advantage in Camelot; two, that they knew Arthur would bring the fight back to them; and three, that Uther was dying, and there was nothing any of them could do to save him.
No sooner had Arthur thought that than did the cover on the cart shift and Gwen climb down, looking grim. Arthur jumped to his feet and the entire camp fell silent, staring at the two of them.
“Arthur, the king’s awake,” Gwen said. “He wants to speak to you.”
Arthur stared at Gwen for a long moment - his father was awake, and that should be good news, but something in her eyes told him that it wasn’t. He swallowed down a sudden lump in his throat and nodded, walking over to the cart. Gwen stepped aside but reached out as he brushed past her - her fingertips met the back of his hand in the lightest of touches. Arthur caught her eye and nodded before climbing onto the cart.
Uther was awake, but Arthur could see why Gwen had looked so shaken - he was wheezing through each breath, as if struggling to keep drawing in air, and he was trembling. His face was grey and there were dark purple shadows under his eyes.
Arthur fell to his knees beside him.
“Arthur...” Uther gasped out. “I’m... sorry... about Morgana.”
Arthur shook his head. “It’s alright, father.”
“I should... have told... you...” Uther said. “Should... have... told you... both.”
“I understand why you didn’t, father,” said Arthur, taking and squeezing Uther’s hand. It was ice cold. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I... only...ever... wanted... the best... for you...” Uther gasped out. “I... didn’t... tell you... enough... how... proud... you... make me.”
Arthur’s eyes filled with tears and he choked, shaking his head. “Father...”
“I... know... you’ll save... Cam... elot.”
Arthur nodded furiously. “I will. I swear I will.”
“Try to... save... your... sister.”
Arthur blinked, but nodded. “I’ll try.”
“It’s... magic... Arthur...” gasped Uther. “It... ruins... all.”
Arthur just nodded.
“Your... mother... was my... heart...” Uther gasped. “But you... need to... know... that... you are... my strength.”
Uther’s hand suddenly gripped Arthur’s, vice-like, and Uther pierced him with a wild look. “I want... you... to have... what... I did... Fight... for... what... you want...”
Arthur’s eyes widened. He couldn’t be... could he?
Before Arthur could ask, Uther suddenly cried out as if in great pain, and his grip on Arthur’s hand tightened further. The cry stopped and Uther’s head fell to the side, his eyes wide open but unseeing.
Uther’s grip on Arthur’s hand was gone, and Arthur pulled his hand free, placing his father’s hand on his chest before reaching up to gently close his eyes.
Then Arthur rested his forehead against his father’s still chest and wept.
XXX
It was at least twenty minutes before Arthur stepped out of the cart again, but not a single person had spoken. Gwen had gone to sit next to Elyan, who was holding her close to his side, stroking her back as she cried into his shoulder.
When Arthur did appear, it didn’t take much to understand what had happened. The look on his face was enough. Every single one of the knights got to their feet - so did Gwaine and Lancelot, followed by Elyan and Guinevere. Merlin slid off the other cart, and they all stood staring at Arthur, who faced them with a haggard face and red eyes.
“The king is dead,” he said hoarsely.
There was a moment’s silence before Sir Leon stepped forward and knelt down before Arthur. “Long live the king,” he said.
There was a rustle of leaves and the clink of armour as every other knight followed Leon, and dropped to their knee before Arthur. Cries of “long live the king!” bounced off the trees.
Arthur stood stock-still in front of the cart, staring round as his companions declared their allegiance to him. Lancelot knelt; Gwaine knelt; Elyan knelt, leaving Arthur a clear view of Gwen, who stared at him across the clearing with red-rimmed eyes. Then she, too, genuflected and said in a quiet, but clear voice “long live the king.”
“Long live the king.” Arthur’s head snapped to the left to find Merlin also kneeling before him - he was sombre, but there was no mistaking the pride in his eyes. Looking back at Gwen, Arthur could see the same in her face.
He took a deep breath. “No man is a king without a kingdom,” he said. “We will not let Camelot fall without a fight.”
Continued in Part Two...