Fight For Me

Chapter 11

They lie beside each other in silence, exhausted from the day before. A tiny lantern is the only source of light, as they lie on blankets on the ground. The sky is dark, the stars shining especially brightly tonight.

"He'll be okay, won't he?" Gwen asks, out of the blue, making Morgana jump a little at the sudden noise.

"I hope so," Morgana replies, equally as worried.

"What if he isn't?" From the tone of it, Morgana can tell Gwen's crying, but trying to hide the fact she is.

"I don't know," Morgana admits. "I don't know what any of us will do if we lose him."

"But... there has to be a way, right? And they'll find it..." She sounds unsure, which, in turn, makes Morgana more unsure. But, even if she had the confidence of a million, Morgana would still doubt her words.

And that's when they hear it.

A scream for help.

Arthur's voice.

The two bolt upright, never mind the cold, and run as fast as they can to Arthur's cries. As they approach, they hear shrieks of pain, whimpering, and see druids head to the noise two. Being the furthest away, they only manage to get there when about a dozen druids have already entered. The sight before them is one that is not pretty.

Arthur holds Aimee, as she sobs and wails at unimaginable volumes, and all the while he's looking at Merlin, who's shaking violently and whose skin seems to be... glowing. Glowing golden... ropes of what Morgana senses is magic of some sort, winding around Merlin's body. And he looks as if he's in pain. Terrible pain. Moaning, giving little yelps.

The druids huddle around the boy, hands held over him, muttering words in unison, while a couple do the same to Aimee. The words repeat over and over in their voices, but it just seems to get worse.

Then Merlin jolts, awake and alert, giving a ear-piercing scream, doubled by Aimee's scream, and a semi-invisible force explodes from both him and her. It throws everyone back, even the tents fly away. It seems to go on for miles, stretching around every part of the world.

Morgana flies through the air, and her head hits a tree, and she's left leaning against the tree, moaning and half awake. Gwen smashes to the floor, sprawling out as she groans, her entire body aching. Arthur is out too, having knocked his head, which is bleeding quite extensively, lying on the floor.

Smashed lanterns, blown away clothes and beds, the entire camp, even, lies in disarray. Even some of the trees cracked under the pressure, and have half fallen, nearing the ground. The plants have been forced out, ripped from the ground. Leaves have blown away, leaving the ground bare.

And everyone is unconscious, some dead, some gravely injured.

All but Merlin and Aimee.

***

Merlin wakes to a scene of utter chaos. He stares around, confused, only to have his eyes ending up on the sight of his friends, unconscious, bruised, bleeding.

"Your body is rejecting him. Your magic is too strong," comes a croaking voice, fragile and filled with pain. "It's trying all it can to expel him."

Merlin's eyes find that of a young woman, who he feels a sort of familiarity with. Somehow...

"You are magic, Emrys," she says, smiling weakly. "Even someone as powerful as Sigan can't fully control the embodiment of magic. Your magic is even out of your control, sometimes."

"I--" Merlin hesitates. "I'm what?"

"You are many things," she muses. "But be glad of it. It seems to be keeping Sigan repressed for now..."