The night had turned cold before we knew it, icy gusts of air biting at our skin so hard that even the fire in front of us was struggling to warm us. We had separated off from the rest of the camp, Arthur making sure we were as far from Alvarr as possible and had set up a small area where we could sleep. However, as Arthur made it very clear, I was to sleep on one side of him while Merlin was over on the other, "I don't want any funny business while I'm here." As if we'd actually do anything with Arthur right there; who did he think we were? Did he really think us to be that desperate? Either way, we did as he requested, Merlin sat on the log staring into the fire while I was on my back, staring up at the cloudless sky, trying to create some sort of pattern in the stars.
"Merlin, check that the horses are fed and watered," Arthur told Merlin, as he sat down on the ground next to me. Merlin didn't say anything in response but when I looked over at him, he was rubbing his head as though he had a headache or something.
"Merlin, are you alright?" I asked, sitting up from my place and looking over at him.
"Sorry?" Merlin apologised, his voice sounding small and fragile.
"Not the right answer," Arthur commented, his brows furrowed in confusion.
"What?" Merlin asked, lowering his hand from his head, and looking over at us.
"Something on your mind, is there?" Arthur inquired.
"It's just when we entered the camp, it was a trap, wasn't it? They knew we were coming," Merlin pointed out to Arthur.
"Yeah, so?" Arthur shrugged, but I didn't believe he was that stupid that he couldn't see where Merlin was going with this.
"How did they know?" Merlin asked.
"Well, they're sorcerers, aren't they?" Arthur responded, making me resist the urge to roll my eyes. "Probably used magic or something." Arthur then took the crystal from me that hadn't left my sight since it had been obtained and chucked it over to Merlin. "Now, I need you to guard this with your life."
"Why me?" Merlin asked.
"I can't hardly very well guard it while I'm sleeping, can I?" Arthur remarked. "And the same goes for my sister, who may I remind you did a pretty good job of guarding it earlier." I smiled slightly at the latter comment.
"But I can't guard it while I'm asleep either," Merlin reminded him.
"Who said anything about you sleeping?" Arthur challenged.
With that, Arthur laid down and got comfy on the ground. Looking over at Merlin, I could see that something was still worrying him so after checking that no one was looking, I muttered an incantation under my breath while my hand hovered over Arthur. Instantly the spell took effect, and Arthur's body visibly relaxed as he fell into a deep slumber. After checking once again, I walked over to Merlin's side and sat beside him on the log.
"What's wrong? And don't say it's about the renegades, I know it's about something more than that," I said.
"How can you be so sure?" Merlin asked, his eyes still fixed on the fire.
"Because I know you probably better than you know yourself," I answered. Merlin looked back over at me so I gave him a small smile. "You can tell me anything, Merlin. So... what's on your mind?"
Merlin looked down at the crystal before he handed it over to me.
"Ever since we found that crystal... I keep on getting this—this urge to hold it. It's used to see the future, Chelsea, I don't want to see the future. But it won't go away, this urge," Merlin told me.
"Do you think it has something to do with your magic?" I asked.
"How can it? If it were to do with magic, then you would feel it too," Merlin said.
"Merlin, we both know that that is not the case. Sure I can do a few simple spells, but this? This is something I would never be able to do but you on the other hand... well, I reckon you could. You're a powerful person, Merlin, and I'm not just talking about your magic, I'm talking about you. I have never met someone as determined and, well, prone to being chucked into stupidly dangerous situations yet each and every time you fight back stronger. The reason you can feel the power of this crystal is because you can actually wield enough power to use it," I told him.
"But I don't want to wield it," Merlin shook his head, and it broke me to see just how scared he looked. His eyes were wide but brighter than they usually were.
"And you don't have to," I assured him. "How about this? I'll hold onto the crystal for a while longer and then we'll just make sure you have it before Arthur wakes up. Okay?"
Quietly, Merlin nodded. He gave me a small smile before I got up, crystal in hand and laid back down where I had been before. Making sure that the crystal was hidden from prying eyes, I shut my eyes and let sleep overtake me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Third Person POV
No matter how hard he tried, Merlin could not sleep. He couldn't shake the feeling of the crystal even when it was several feet away with Chelsea. His eyes were fixed on her, how she looked so much more peaceful when she were asleep. But then his eyes kept drifting back to the crystal and no matter what he thought or did, the crystal still called out to him. Then finally, he had had enough.
Getting to his feet, he carefully and quietly took the crystal from Chelsea, a small smile formed on his face when he watched her shift around slightly, a small sigh leaving her lips. Once again, he was careful as he passed Arthur, knowing that the prince, despite being enchanted, would probably be too stubborn for the magic to stick for very long.
Finding his place back on the log, Merlin held the bagged crystal in his hand for a few moments, staring straight into the ashes left over from the fire, hoping it would rid himself of the thoughts that were surrounding him. But it didn't. Impulsively, Merlin tore the bag off of the crystal and held it in his hands, terrified of what he was about to see.
Everything was still for a few seconds, the only noise present was the heavy breathing of Merlin, as he prepared himself to feel the power of the crystal. Just as Merlin started to think he wasn't powerful enough to control said crystal, something changed. An image displayed itself on the surface of it, an image that Merlin recognised to be Kilgharrah. And then the picture moved.
It showed he, Merlin, running through a courtyard of fire, staring up at the smoking sky as the large wings of Kilgharrah flew over Camelot, blowing giant flames onto the innocent civilians. Camelot was falling, the turrets of the castles collapsing to the ground, the whole place set alight. Screaming innocents, running for their lives and then there she was. Running out into the flames, right to the other side of the courtyard, shouting the name "Aria!" Another gust of flames blew down on her, obscuring Merlin's vision of her. Was she alright? Why had the crystal not shown her anymore? The image changed to one of himself, tears falling down his cheeks, holding onto something that looked scarily similar to Chelsea's trusty bow that she always used in battles. Merlin had almost had enough but then he saw another image, an image that horrified him to his very core, a flaming building collapsing on the woman that he loved.
Not wanting to see anymore, Merlin chucked the crystal on the ground and rubbed at his eyes, surprised to find that his cheeks were damp with tears. Glancing over at her sleeping figure, Merlin watched as she shifted around again and then his thoughts forced themselves back to the image of the collapsing building. His legs shaking from the effort, Merlin got to his feet and walked back over to his Princess. Carefully and quietly, being sure he hadn't woken Arthur and that no other knights were nearby, Merlin crouched down beside Chelsea and brushed a locket of hair from her face.
There was no reaction from her for a few moments before her eyes finally started to flutter open.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chelsea POV
The dream I had been having wasn't exactly the most pleasant of all dreams, and by that I mean there was a lot of fire involved and little Leo was there. Just the thought of all those flames made me feel slightly uneasy but they were quickly pushed aside when I saw a familiar face crouched down in front of me. At first I thought it were a dream but as I felt the soft touch of him on my face I knew that I was awake.
"Merlin?" I whispered, squinting my eyes at him slightly, pulling myself up so I was leaning on my elbows. "Is everything okay?"
"I'm sorry. I wasn't going to wake you, but—but..." Merlin trailed off, his voice hoarse, almost as if he had been crying.
"Merlin? What's going on? You're scaring me a bit," I told him, sitting up right. Now that I was closer to him, in the limited light from the moon, I noticed the shine on his cheeks. He had been crying! "Are you okay? Why were you crying?"
Merlin shook his head for a moment before he fell forward, wrapping his arms around me tightly. Almost suffocatingly tight, I managed to manoeuvre my arms around him so that I was hugging him back as tight as possible.
"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, stroking the back of his head as I head a quiet sob leave him.
"I'm so sorry. It's just—it's just I love you so much and if anything were to happen to you," Merlin whispered, relaxing into my embrace, though his grip on me never lessened.
"I love you, too, but nothing's going to happen to me any time soon, okay, Merlin?" I replied, pulling away from him, and cupping his cheeks, forcing him to look straight at me. "I'm okay. You don't need to worry about me. I'm always going to be here with you, I'm going nowhere. You can't get rid of me that easily."
"Promise?" Merlin asked.
"On my life," I nodded. "Now... care to explain where that came from?"
Merlin was silent for another moment until he moved around slightly. He laid back so that his head was resting in my lap so he could stare up at the stars. I leant against the log behind me and idly ran my fingers through his hair, waiting for him to talk.
"I shouldn't have done it, Chelsea. But I couldn't help it," Merlin admitted, and just from that I knew what he's done.
"You held the crystal?" I guessed, to which he nodded. "What did you see?"
His eyes fell shut as though he were picturing what he had seen to give me the best descriptive of it.
"Camelot was nothing more than flames. People were being killed, innocent people were dying everywhere," Merlin said finally, making me look at him in concern, my hands pausing slightly. "And then you... you were calling for someone called Aria. Then..." Merlin hesitated as though the words were stuck in the back of his throat, his eyes opening, the images being too much for him clearly. "Then I don't know what happened to you."
"Did I die?" I asked, a lump growing in the back of my throat.
"I don't know," Merlin shook his head, his voice breaking.
The thing was, I am not scared of death. I know that it is inevitable and it will happen to us all whether we want it to or not. But I am scared of the unknown, not knowing where we go after we die. Is it just like going to sleep? Are your memories of life just on a constant replay for your spirit to watch? Can we observe our relatives, watch down on them, protect them? Or is it just nothing? A void of emptiness?
I am scared of leaving my family behind. Leaving them with such an emptiness inside of them feels like just about the cruellest thing anyone can do to a person. Arthur would be left without a twin, his other half gone. Merlin would be left without his love, his heart, his "reason for living". Morgana would be alone again, no one to comfort her about her magic, about my father's constant abuse and hypocrisy. And Gaius would be left without a person who he treated as a daughter. I couldn't do that to them. Never.
One thing I did know, though the future was uncertain, I was not going to die without a fight. Sure, Merlin saw the possibility of it happening in that crystal but it could be wrong or maybe we have it wrong. Maybe it isn't as bad as it seems.
Intertwining my hand through Merlin's, I lifted his hand and placed it over my heart.
"You feel that?" I asked. "That's a heartbeat, Merlin. I am still here and I am not going anywhere. Whatever you saw in that vision, whether it's right or wrong, I am never going to leave you. I will always be by your side."
Yet his hand still shook as he nodded his head so I raised his hand to my lips and placed a gently kiss on his palm. Warmth blossomed inside of me as he moved back up to my side and leant against the log beside me, our hands still connected. Resting my head on his shoulder, Merlin muttered a small spell that relit the fire and offered us warmth again. We stayed just like that as the wave of sleep rushed over me, and once again, I fell into the darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With the morning sun rising beyond the horizon, I shivered slightly from the cold before feeling an arm tighten around me. I needn't open my eyes to know exactly where I was; I was still in Merlin's arms, though I could feel a slight weight around me. Squinting against the light, I pried my eyes open to see Merlin's jacket wrapped around my shoulders, my head still resting on his shoulders, the crystal laying discarded between us. That damn crystal.
Moving my head to the side I could see that everyone else was still asleep and that I appeared to be the first one up which was lucky as if anyone had awoken before us, I was unsure how we would explain my current predicament. Knowing Arthur would probably have a heart attack if he saw us here together, the crystal not being watched over, I looked over at Merlin and brushed his hair out of his eyes.
Leaning into my touch, Merlin shifted in his sleep, moving so that his face was buried in the crook of my neck, his arms holding onto me tighter.
"Merlin?" I whispered, stroking the back of his head. "Merlin, you need to wake up."
"No," Merlin groaned sleepily, nuzzling his head against my neck.
"Everyone's gonna wake up soon and if Arthur sees the crystal unguarded he will kill us both," I warned him. "Well, maybe not both of us but I can't be bothered to deal with Angry Arthur today."
"Shh, I'm sleeping," Merlin replied.
"Yes, I can see that but you need to get up," I repeated, trying to move so that I was away from Merlin but his grip around me was so tight that I couldn't move an inch. "Merlin unless you want to go through an incredibly long and tiresome lecture from my brother, I suggest you get up and at least look like you've been guarding the crystal."
Merlin was still for a moment longer before his arms loosened and he allowed me up. Thankfully, after Merlin carefully got a hold of the crystal, we managed to look like we had only just woken up just as Arthur grumbled in his sleep, slowly starting to regain consciousness. Sharing a smile with one another, Merlin and I went the rest of the morning, all the way back to Camelot, without Arthur suspecting anything. Not that that was hard to achieve if I'm being honest.
On our return to Camelot, we were immediately summoned to the great hall which was already lined with at least a couple dozen guards. Everyone that had survived our trek accompanied us, four guards surrounding Alvarr as we walked straight into the room. Arthur and I went to stand up at the front of the room, Morgana standing to my left as we watched Alvarr being forced down onto his knees, bowing to my father. For someone who had such a big secret to hide, well, now she had two secrets, Morgana wasn't doing very well at looking not suspicious. She was fidgeting a lot and the look of despair on her face when she saw Alvarr being brought in was so obvious I was surprised that no one else noticed.
"So you admit to stealing the crystal of Neahtid?" father asked, the whole room eerily quiet as we awaited his answer.
"I do," Alvarr answered confidently.
"And you admit to plotting against your king?" father inquired.
"I do," Alvarr repeated, though this time it were with some hesitation.
Slowly, father took a handful of steps closer to Alvarr, whose gaze had not waved from father's the whole time. The guy had guts; I'd give him that.
"And you acted alone?" father asked. Now here was the deal breaker. Would he take full responsibility or would he bring Morgana down with him? "You were not aided, or abetted by any citizen of Camelot?"
"I acted alone," Alvarr said calmly, and beside me I heard Morgana release a breath.
"Then I find you guilty of treason. You are an enemy of Camelot, Alvarr," father announced as he moved back to his throne and sank down into it. "You are sentenced to death."
"Then I die with honour," Alvarr responded, his face left emotionless, eyes fixated on the king in front of him. "To be an enemy of Camelot is no crime."
"Take him away," father ordered.
"You, Uther! You are the criminal," Alvarr accused as two guards dragged him away.
Alvarr was taken away and out of the great hall, several of the guards following after them. With the room considerably emptier and the perpetrator found and securely held, I would've thought the atmosphere were somewhat better, but no. Instead, a deep dread was seeping through me and the hatred I felt radiating off of Morgana was almost overwhelming.
Father patted Arthur on the shoulder to show his gratitude and he even gave me a small nod, though that could have just been a jerk of his head, I wasn't really sure. With another issue sorted out and Camelot, hopefully safe again, Arthur and I followed the guards out, until the hall was left alone, only I noticed someone hadn't joined us... Morgana.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just as quick as the sun had risen that morning, it sank back below the horizon and darkness creeped over Camelot, hiding anyone and everything that lurked in the streets below us, in the dungeons that ran beneath our very castle. Ever since Merlin had told me of what he had seen in the crystal, I couldn't stop thinking about the accountability of it. Was it really that accurate? So I had borrowed a book from the library, and by borrow I mean I had snuck it out without Geoffrey seeing me, I really didn't want to explain my sudden interest in the item. It was magic after all.
And now... well, now I was sat by my window that overlooked the woodlands that surrounded Camelot, my candle flickering beside me and flicking through the book that rested on my lap. I don't know what I had been hoping to find, perhaps some evidence that it was all a myth and that the crystal was inaccurate and nothing ever came from what was seen in it, but that is not what I found.
Every single vision that someone had seen from it, though the number was smaller than I thought due to the enormous amount of power needed to control it, had all come true. Everything that someone had seen did come to pass; the good, the bad, the life changing. But if that were true then what did that mean for my future? For what Merlin had seen earlier? I wasn't ready to die, I had so much left to do. But the more I thought about it, the less sure I was that the vision had been wrong. It wasn't going to make an exception for me; I was going to die. All I could hope was that it was wrong and that this was all one very-real-feeling nightmare.
My thoughts were disrupted by the sudden sound of the warning bells echoing around the citadel. The sudden noise sent a shock through my body making the book fall to the floor and my heart start racing faster than it would have usually done. What could possibly be happening now?
Grabbing onto my cloak that lay discarded on my bed, I wrapped it around myself due to the fact that I was in my nightgown and rushed out of my door. Shouts and yells from passing guards and knights rang all around me as from the sounds of it, Alvarr had escaped. I knew Arthur would be searching the citadel and father would probably be hiding away in the great hall so I decided to head down to Gaius's to make sure that everything was right down there.
Rounding a corner, I was almost to Gaius's when a gloved hand wrapped itself around my throat, pushing me back and into the shadows. My hands immediately flew up to the pair of hands that were squeezing at my throat, stopping that oh-so precious oxygen from entering my body.
"Stop, struggling, Princess. It'll only make matters worse for you," Alvarr threatened, pushing me up against the cold stone wall. "I told you that you would regret your actions from before." My eyes were starting to water from the pressure, my lungs growing empty, my arms becoming weak. "The Lady Morgana spoke so highly of you. I'm afraid to say that I am extremely disappointed with you. I thought we could have become something. Me, you, Morgana. Taking over Camelot for ourselves, creating a kingdom where magic thrives. But she was right about you on one thing, you really don't understand magic."
With my dwindling strength, I attempted to gesture that I wanted to say something to him and being the fool that he was, he hesitated. Leaning in closer to hear what I had to say, I took that as my chance to raise my knee, connecting it with his groin and sending him doubling over in pain.
His hands left my throat, making me gasp for breath, briefly leaning up against the wall as I tried to refill my lungs. I didn't have any weapon on me apart from my magic, something that I didn't want Alvarr to know that I possessed, so rather than staying to fight him like I probably should've done, I raised my hood over my head to cover my throat, which I feared would show some mark of the attack and started to head over towards the great hall. The whole way there, I took long, deep breaths, stopping every so often and leaning up against the wall whenever my head felt light. It hadn't been a lot that had happened, but it was enough to make things a little inconvenient.
Eventually I reached the great hall to find Arthur, Merlin, and father already there. When I entered the room, I was careful when I lowered my hood, keeping it high enough that my neck was covered but low enough that they could all see my identity.
"Where were you?" Arthur whispered, rushing over to me, worry evident in his eyes. "I had some guards go to your room to make sure you were safe but you were gone."
"As soon as I heard the bell I started to make my way down here though I had originally planned to go to Gaius's but plans changed," I told him.
Arthur nodded in understanding, giving me the tiniest of smiles just as father came storming over to us.
"What is it with you and walking around the castle in your nightwear?" father accused.
"It's not like I planned this! I didn't have time to get changed when the bells started ringing. Also, it's only happened once before," I defended. "And anyway, I think we have more pressing matters than my outfit choice." Father scowled for a moment, his eyes narrowing at my comment. "I didn't release him if that's what you're thinking," I assured him.
For a moment I thought he was going to argue with me, convince himself that I was guilty but I felt an immense amount of surprise when I saw him nod once.
"No, no you didn't," father shook his head. He then looked away from me and over to Arthur. "How? How has he escaped?"
"It appears that the guards were drugged," Arthur answered.
"That means he had help. Someone here in Camelot," father realised.
The sound of heels on the ground sounded from behind us so I glanced back to see Morgana walking in, changed into a long green dress, a face fixed in a subtle smirk. When she saw me looking at her, Morgana gave me a knowing look, and while I knew it was a bad look, I felt slightly pleased that she trusted me enough to do that.
"I'm afraid it looks that way," Arthur nodded.
I noticed father look over to Morgana before he shook his head and turned away.
"Let this be understood. Whoever has done this, they have betrayed me. They have betrayed the Kingdom. If I ever discover who it was, they will rue the day they were born," father warned.
I casually looked back over at Morgana to see her already watching me. With one small smirk again, Morgana walked out of the room, leaving us all alone. Why was she doing this?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I just don't get it. I mean, I know about how cruel my father has been to her, but why would she betray me and Arthur?" I asked Merlin.
After leaving the hall, I had returned to my room only to then have a certain someone sneak in a few minutes later. Apparently he wanted to check if I was alright; Merlin had noticed Morgana staring at me in the hall. With the betrayal fresh on my mind, I had been ranting to Merlin for the last half an hour.
We were sat on my window seat, looking out at the clear starry skies, watching as the stars twinkled high above us all. I was sat between his legs, his arms wrapped around me, pulling me tight against his chest.
"I think she's just confused right now, or at least I hope that's the case," Merlin answered, resting his chin on my shoulder, leaning into my hair.
"But you heard what Kilgharrah said last time, didn't you? The prophecies speak of an evil alliance between Mordred and Morgana. And need I remind you that it is prophesised that it is that same child that is supposedly going to bring about the death of my brother," I said.
"Kilgharrah has been wrong before and he could be wrong now," Merlin said. "Even without magic, Arthur can defend himself well, you know that."
I fell silent after that because I knew that what he said was true. Arthur was a fighter and there was no way a child was going to be the death of him. So instead I decided to speak of another prophecy.
"Merlin? When we die what do you think happens to us?" I asked.
"Chelsea..." Merlin groaned, his head falling onto my back.
"Do you think that we become stars and watch down on the world?" I asked.
"I think that you don't need to worry yourself about that because you..." Merlin trailed off, his hand tracing my jawline before stopping at my chin and turning my head to look at him. "Are going to have a long, happy, healthy life. You don't need to think about this because nothing is going to happen to you. As long as we both shall live, we protect each other, okay? And no one will ever break us apart. Not even death."
"Promise?" I said.
Merlin leaned forward, his lips capturing mine, his hand still holding onto my chin. Pulling back slightly, he gently placed a trail of kisses down my jaw then down my neck before he brought himself back up so that his lips hovered over mine.
"On my life."
4879 Words