It Comes the Dawn (Merlin Fanfiction)

Chapter XXII - Under Attack Part II

"How many men?"

"It's hard to tell, but there were thousands of them."

The king looked at the queen and then at Leon whose expression was filled with fear of another war. The knight looked around at the gathered who waited for a statement whether from him or from Arthur, but such a difficult decision as to what to do could not be made without any thought, and yet time was short. Undoubtedly, no matter what action they take, there will be huge losses on both sides.

"Is there any possibility to go ahead against them?" Arthur asked.

"I'm afraid not, sire. We don't stand a chance against them in the open field. We're outnumbered," Leon stated.

The king looked ahead and something obvious occurred to him. "But we have Merlin," he said and everyone stared at the warlock who couldn't believe what Arthur just said because he knew exactly what his friend had in mind.

"No," Merlin objected immediately. "It's wrong, Arthur. Even though they attack us without any warning," he said.

"He's right," said Gwen. "We can't play it like this. Merlin is our friend, not a weapon."

"I know, you're right," the king agreed after a moment. "I'm sorry."

"There's only one way for us to come out victorious and with the least losses, Arthur," spoke Leon. "We have to prepare for the siege."

The king stared at him thoughtfully. Running through all the alternatives this one seemed the best and wisest. He dismissed the meeting and ordered Angus to return to king Torin and tell him that the message had been received. The next step was to gather as many people as possible in the citadel and this task was assigned to Gwaine, Percival and Gaius, and Merlin was to help them. Guinevere and her maid were obliged to prepare a chamber for the injured. They all walked out from the council chamber and Vortimer immediately accosted the warlock.

"It's happening," said Merlin as an answer to Vortimer's questioning look. "We're preparing for the siege."

Vortimer rubbed his face with his hands. "Where did Arthur and his knights go?" he asked.

"To armoury, why?" Merlin frowned, but the blonde man was already on his way after the king. "Vortimer! Wait! What are you going to do?!" he shouted and his voice echoed through an empty corridor. Vortimer was gone. The warlock sighed and hurried in the opposite direction where Gwaine, Percival and Gaius went.

They didn't have much time and panic broke out in the city. Citizens ran around the streets, they were taking only the most necessary things from their homes. In horror and a rush, everyone wanted to get to the castle. The two knights and the physician found it difficult to control all this chaos, because people did not listen, despite their assurances that there would be enough space for everyone in the citadel. Merlin stood among the running people and closed his eyes thinking of a certain spell that could help to gather everyone safe within defensive walls. He took a deep breath trying to focus on the words so as not to confuse them.

"Aswebban ēow ferhþum," he began and suddenly everything around him slowed down. The sounds and screams of people from outside seemed to bounce off as if Merlin was surrounded by a transparent shield. "Lǣtaþ mē lædan ēower gehealdfæst," he spoke slowly and clearly. The syllables vibrated through him, forming words that seemed to flow by themselves. Merlin didn't even have to wonder as if he had always known this spell. "Hīere mec, gē gehwa folgiaþ wið burhfæsten sculon," he opened his eyes that glistened with gold.