"Sister," Morgouse greeted.
Morgana took in her surroundings. They must have teleported somehow. She couldn't see Merlin anywhere. She pulled herself from her building panic and stood, sizing up her half sister.
"Morgouse. You look well. Last time I saw you, you were dying."
"Well, your boyfriend helped a lot with that."
Morgana clenched her fists as a wave of anger courses through her. Control was key. She couldn't let Morgouse get to her.
"It seems the little brat has magic. Did you know? It explains so much."
"Where is he?" Morgana asked with barely concealed loathing.
"The serving boy? Probably gone mad by now, much like it seems you have."
"Excuse me?"
Don't let her get into your head, Morgana. Control it, Morgana, control it!
"We were set to rule the world, Morgana. You were the rightful queen of Camelot! Now you bow your head a petty prince with no idea of power."
"Arthur is a king, and he is worthy of my respect. He rules with honor and dignity. There is no one I would rather bow to."
Morgouse scoffed.
"You really have gone weak. Have you forgot everything I taught you? Love is a weakness. It is the destroyer of ambition and power. It has turned my sister into nothing but a compliant princess."
"And yet you said you loved me."
Morgouse laughed.
"Oh my dear sister, you really are gullible enough to be anything. You would even believe that people could see you for something other than your past. What a shame that the people in Camelot only keep you around for your power."
Forget control. Morgana yelled and streaks of fire extended from her hands racing toward Morgouse. She easily blocked it with ice, and faced her sister with a smirk.
"So... you want to play with fire now. Do not forget I am the one who taught you."
"You haven't taught me everything."
***
"Arthur!"
"Lancelot!"
By some miracle, Lancelot found Arthur in the middle of the battle field. Arthur stepped behind the front lines which allowed him a few seconds break to get beside Lancelot.
"Where are the others? I assume they're here!"
"They are, sire. They took a different route, planning to ambush them from behind enemy lines."
"I guess that's smart," Arthur was interrupted by a soldier running at him. He quickly took care of him.
"Is Merlin alright? I know he was in danger."
"That's a little... complicated. He lived all his greatest fears and now he's five times as powerful as he was before."
"Sounds like a great combination."
They got back into the fight, dismantling five men almost immediately. Then a group of soldiers around them started causing a commotion during the fight. In people's moments of 'free time' they were looking up at the cliffs. Arthur and Lancelot followed their eyes to the chaos above. On one side of the cliffs was fire. Every once in a while there would be a mini explosion or even a couple trees falling off the cliff. On the other side were dark clouds. The clouds were swirling and there were little flashes of lightning. The wind started to pick up and soon it was hard for anyone to focus on the battle at hand.
"Lancelot?"
"Yes, sire?"
"Didn't you say that Merlin and Morgana were together?"
"They were last time I knew."
"Then why are there two magical battles going on on both sides of the cliffs?"
"I don't know... sire, look!"
The swirl of clouds started to lower, much like a tornado. But this was different, more controlled. The swirl of clouds seemed to be reaching down to a fixed point, and that fixed point was standing right on the edge of a cliff.
"Merlin!"
He fell.
***
"Where... where's Morgana?"
"Pleasure to see you too," Edith smirked, walking towards Merlin.
Subconsciously, Merlin couldn't help but scoot back. When he noticed his reaction, he quickly stood up and tried to shake it off.
"I'm not here for your games, Edith. Where is Morgana?"
"Why do you want to know?" She cocked her head to the side. Merlin was not in the mood for this.
"Edith I swear if you did something to her-"
"What? You'll kill me? I hardly see why that would be necessary. Besides, she left. Ran away with Morgouse. They're allies, don't you remember?"
No... no that's not right. Edith's eyes glowed gold, pricking at the tidal wave of visions and nightmares now stored in the back of his mind. After all, she placed them there. Vision upon vision started filling his mind. All the memories and nightmares he lived through. He tried to shake it off and maintain his confidence.
"Whatever you're doing, it's not gonna work."
"I know how powerful you are, Emrys. You can feel everything, even her right now. You know she's with Morgouse. You can feel the darkness within her, you always have."
Merlin took a few steps back, shaking his head. She had to be lying! But... she was right. Morgana and Morgouse were about 150 yards away by his estimation. Before he could stop himself he could sense the darkness in Morgana. Clouds began to form above their heads and Edith smiled. So much power and absolutely no control. She began her advance again.
"And those 'friends' of yours; it really is a shame that they would kill you the first chance they got."
Merlin yelled and blasted a fireball at her. Edith barely dodged, but she still smirked. She was succeeding. Every time that Arthur sentenced Merlin to execution replayed in his mind. He remembered being ridiculed and beaten. He remembered when Arthur first found out, the look on his face as if he lost everything. Distracted, he didn't even hear Edith mutter the spell that sent him flying back several yards. He struggled to get back up.
"They don't understand true power, Emrys. I do. The only reason Arthur hasn't killed you yet is because he can't. He fears you; they all do. They're afraid that if they say one wrong thing to you, you could destroy them all, and they're right."
"Get out of my head!"
Wind whipped around them and Merlin continued to take steps backwards. The clouds were swirling now. It was a dark grey mass just waiting to come down and consume whatever it touches.
"People will always turn on what they fear. They will always try to destroy it, but they will fail. They always will because you and I know something that they don't."
Lightning struck just in between the two of them. There were many lightning strikes above as well not quite reaching the ground. He could feel heat behind him-fire. He couldn't even think properly to understand what that meant. Everything was jumbled. His memories, his visions, everything single sense that was now multiplied by ten allowing him to see, hear and feel everything. The constant reminder of the power coursing through him leaking into the world around him.
"You're immortal. You are the embodiment of magic and power, and you don't want it. You will outlive every person you ever meet and you will be alone forever, with just a faint memory of all those people you cared about far too much."
Merlin stopped, running out of ground. His heel hung off the edge of a cliff. Winds whipped around him reflecting his racing thoughts.
"You can't escape from this Emrys. You can't even win a battle within your own mind. A man with all the power in the world will be reduced to nothing, useless and broken in a world that moved on without him."
Her eyes flashed gold and wind hit him in the chest. It was too forceful to stay upright.
He fell.
Okay, so this chapter was a struggle. Sorry it took so long and please excuse the sub-par writing. Will update soon!