Decked out in his finest armour - magically polished by Merlin just that morning - Arthur stood on the steps ready to greet his guests. The court physician stood at his right side and the court warlock on his left. The knights of the round table were standing in a V-formation spread out evenly on either side of Gaius and Merlin.
"We are most grateful to Sarrum for accepting our invitation, gracing our palace with his presence," Arthur began as the two dozen armed warriors came to a halt in front of him. "I welcome him and his warriors with friendship."
"The last time I met you, you were ten years old," Sarrum said in a very condescending tone. "Uther held a tournament in your honour."
"I fight my own tournaments now," Arthur said as politely as he could. Sometimes he really hated politics.
"Hmm," Sarrum replied, shrewd as if studying him. "If rumors are to be believed, there are quite a few other things you do on your own now as well. Things your father wouldn't've approved of."
"I am not my father," Arthur said calmly.
"That is more than obvious," Sarrum replied. "See, your father and I had a common interest. An interest that it seems you do not share."
"I take it you are referring to Camelot's recent change in its attitude towards magic," Arthur replied.
"Actually, I was referring to your total disregard for your father's twenty year struggle against magic by allowing it within your walls," Sarrum snapped.
"Recent events have led me to realize that we should judge our enemy by their intentions rather than their source of power," Arthur replied. "You and I wield swords while others wield magic. Both can be used for good and evil. Camelot had chosen to focus on the intent behind our enemies actions rather than the methods of those actions."
"I take it that means you are still an enemy of Morgana?" Sarrum inquired.
"So long as she threatens my people and my kingdom, yes," Arthur replied. "But it is her intentions, not her methods, by which I judge her to be my enemy."
"I see," Sarrum said coldly, without giving any indication of what his real thoughts were on the matter.
"Are you still willing to talk peace?" Arthur asked.
"Well, we did come all this way," Sarrum smirked. "And you promised there'd be food."
Arthur felt the tension in his shoulder relax a little. Maybe this wouldn't be as much of a disaster as he'd thought.
Less than an hour later, they were all sitting in the banquet hall. Gwen sat on his right and Sarrum on his left. Arthur was trying to keep up a conversation with the man, though he didn't feel like he was having much luck. The sudden change in laws had certainly put Sarrum on his guard.
"Even if you preferred my father's attitude towards magic, I feel we still have much in common," Arthur tried again to be diplomatic. Today was one of those days when he'd rather be fighting a beast than playing politics at a dinner table. "We share many allies and friends."
"Ah yes, but shared enemies are far more effective at turning sides," Sarrum said as he took a huge bite of the leg of meat in his hand.
"We have one of those in common as well," Arthur replied.
"Morgana," Sarrum stated.
"There is a rumour that you held Morgana prisoner," Arthur said. "Is it true?"
"As true as the rumour about your changed laws," Sarrum mocked him.
"How did you capture a high priestess?" Arthur asked, working hard to ignore Sarrum's mocking tone.
"I found her weakness," Sarrum smirked. He licked the fat from the meat he was eating off his fingers as he spoke, making the whole thing feel very vindictive. "Everyone has one, even a high priestess." There was something in his tone that made Arthur feel like Sarrum was hoping to uncover Arthur's weakness.
"A young dragon," Sarrum continued. "Her love for that creature caused her to suffer more than she ever imagined possible, but not more than she deserved."
Arthur couldn't help but think about that little white dragon that he'd seen helping Morgana on more than one occasion. Even before he found out about Merlin's magic, he'd always known Morgana wasn't a dragonlord - back then he'd believed the last dragonlord had died traveling with them - so he'd always assumed that Morgana was controlling the creature by some other means. From what Sarrum said, it seemed to Arthur that Morgana was controlling this dragon through loyalty and love alone. Even so, it made sense. If these creatures were as intelligent as Merlin said they were, then no doubt suffering for them like that would inspire loyalty.
Arthur couldn't help but hope Morgana's ability to love her dragon meant that there was still a small part of her that wasn't drowning in hate. Arthur could still remember the little girl he'd grown up with, the kind girl who cared for her servants and believed in a fair and just world. Sometimes Arthur missed that girl. He hardly recognized who she was now.
"I knew she wouldn't dare use magic against me - not while her beloved creature was at risk of harm," Sarrum continued, his tone unnecessarily cruel. "Such a shame. All that power. All that beauty. Abandoned and forgotten in a living grave."
"A harsh punishment," Arthur replied. "But it leaves hope of escape. Why not execute the prisoner instead?"
"Morgana is not so easy to kill," Sarrum replied. "I could hurt her for sure, but killing her seemed beyond my grasp. Besides, I prefer it this way. The dead do not scream."
"As the dragon grew the pit became too small," Sarrum continued, unprompted as if he were bragging. Arthur was starting to feel sick to his stomach, and Sarrum's gleeful tone wasn't helping. "Gradually, the creature was crippled, twisted. At night, you could hear its cries. They were even more heartbreaking than Morgana's." He smiled as he finished speaking and turned his attention back to his meal.
Arthur was glad not to have the man's attention for a moment. It gave him a chance to check his expression. Arthur wouldn't wish the things he'd done to Morgana on anyone, not even his enemy. This explained why the little white dragon he'd seen had looked so misshapen. The trouble now was whether or not to tell his dragonlord best friend that their guest was responsible for crippling one of his kin. That was not a conversation Arthur was looking forward to.
After their meal, their guest wanted to see for himself if Arthur was strong enough to fight his own tournaments. Arthur once again found himself holding back a rather rude reply. He was liking this man less and less with every moment they spent together.
It was a relief to have a sword in his hand again, even if it was only Sarrum's champion he was fighting. When Arthur lost to that champion, he wanted very much to believe it had been because his mind was otherwise occupied, and if he'd kept calm during the fight he'd have prevailed. In reality, Arthur knew he'd just been bested fair and square, but he really hated to admit it.
"You fight bravely," Sarrum said as the sparring match ended. Somehow even while giving him a compliment, Arthur felt like he was being insulted.
"That man wields a sword better than anyone I've ever met," Arthur replied.
"I trained him myself," Sarrum explained. "There is no room for failure in the fight against sorcery."
Once again Arthur felt like he was being studied. He was getting the distinct impression that Sarrum didn't want peace with a Camelot that accepted magic. Arthur suspected that Sarrum and his men were only here to hunt for Arthur's weakness. Magic didn't scare Sarrum, but it was making him cautious. Arthur couldn't help but wonder if Sarrum had figured out it was Merlin who had magic and what his actions might be if he did.
With his diplomatic duties fulfilled for the day, Arthur decided he needed some air and took leave of his guests for the evening, saying he would join them again for breakfast.
Once he was out of sight of Sarrum, Arthur let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Heading up to his room, hoping to see his wife, Arthur was pleasantly surprised to find both Gwen and Merlin present. By the way they turned and attempted to look casual at his arrival, Arthur felt certain they'd been watching everything from the window.
"I take it this means you saw me lose," Arthur said with a sigh as he began removing his belt and armour. Merlin came over to help him.
"We saw Sarrum cheat," Gwen reassured him, though Arthur could tell she was just being nice.
"Actually, I would have noticed if he'd been cheating," Merlin corrected. "At least, magically cheating. I could not count the times you've fought in a magically rigged match."
Arthur groaned. "Which means you cheated right back, and even the fights I thought I'd won were probably won by you, then?"
"I really only interfered when someone else was also using magic to try and make you lose the fight," Merlin defended. "So really, I was just evening the odds back up."
"Great," Arthur groaned. His armor off now, he let himself fall back onto the bed. "I wonder if any of my victories were real." He was staring up at his bed canopy now. "Never pulled a sword from a stone, never defeated Morgana, never won a fight without magic. Pretty useless king I turned out to be."
"None of that is true," Merlin replied quickly, but firmly.
"Oh really?" Arthur said in an almost joking voice as he sat up to look right at Merlin. "So you are going to tell me that sword would have still come out of the rock if you hadn't been standing right behind me?"
"Alright, no, but I wouldn't have let anyone else pull it out, so it amounts to the same thing," Merlin smiled.
"Yes, it amounts to you being special and me being merely present," Arthur summarized.
"Also wrong," Merlin said firmly. "And when did you start thinking about that sword in the stone thing anyway? I don't remember telling you about it."
Arthur turned to give Merlin a dubious look. "I'm not stupid," he said. "I am capable of putting two and two together, you know."
It was at this time that Gwen took matters into her own hands. She turned to Merlin and kindly but firmly asked him to leave her with her husband. Merlin obliged and once the door closed behind the warlock, Gwen walked around to sit on the bed with him.
"There now, no more of this wallowing," she ordered him. With a deep sigh of contentment, Arthur reached out and wrapped his arms around his wife. Sometimes it surprised him how much he loved her. Holding her close to him, Arthur was starting to feel better. Magically dependent or not, he was still the king, and the king had no time for pity parties.
Arthur tightened his arms around his wife, burying his face in her neck and taking a deep breath.
"I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you," Arthur said softly.
"I'm right here," Gwen assured him softly. Her arms were wrapped around him in return, and Arthur could feel her hugging him back tightly. The simple action was doing wonders at putting his fears and anxieties to rest.
"Thanks to Merlin," Arthur sighed. "I owe him more than can ever be repaid, and now I have to tell him what we've learned of the young white dragon. He isn't going to like it."
"Does he really need to know?" Gwen asked. She'd been listening to the whole conversation right beside him. Usually, Arthur would have sat Merlin at the table with him, but they'd all decided against it with Sarrum's hatred for magic.
"I owe him honesty, at the very least," Arthur answered her in the affirmative, though it came down to more than that. This was about loyalty, and Arthur had far more for Merlin than he did for Sarrum.
"In that case, maybe you should go find him," Gwen suggested kindly. He knew she was right, and with a great sigh he got up off the bed, turned, kissed his wife goodbye, and then left the room.
The trouble now was figuring out where Merlin had gotten to. First he tried the training grounds in case he'd gone to float swords with the knights, but only Gwaine and Elyan were there. As he left, Arthur reminded himself that Merlin wasn't stuipd enough to use magic so casually when they had guests such as Sarrum.
Next he tried Merlin's chambers, but found only Gaius.
"Lost him, have you?" Gaius chuckled. He was standing at his mixing table, great fumes coming from whatever ingredients he was combining.
"Did he tell you where he was going?" Arthur asked.
"No," Gaius replied. "Just said he wanted to check something and ran off."
"Great," Arthur sighed.
"Not to worry," Gaius said easily. "I am sure he'll turn up, especially if you need him for something."
Arthur simply nodded, then turned and left, closing the door on the strange smells coming from Gaius's potion as he did so. Without really thinking about it, Arthur found himself wandering around the courtyard. He almost wanted to check the tavern, even if he knew Merlin never actually went there. He was running out of ideas. Then again, Gaius was right; Merlin did have a habit of always showing when Arthur needed him most. There really was nothing to worry about. He just wanted to tell Merlin about the little white dragon and get it over with, but the warlock was - very inconveniently - nowhere to be found.
It was then that Arthur felt a sudden sharp point against his back. He was standing in the middle of the courtyard nowhere near anything sharp. Arthur knew at once that he hadn't accidentally backed into something. This was a knife.
"I've been doing a little digging," Sarrum's voice came from behind, punctuated with an additional pressure on the knife pressing against his clothes. Arthur could feel its point touch his skin and knew his tunic was no kind of armour.
"And it seems the magic protecting Camelot is merely a servant boy," Sarrum continued. "His weakness was rather easier to determine than Morgana's."
Sarrum's next words sounded closer and Arthur knew he had leaned in to say, "That weakness is you, Arthur Pendragon."
His voice returned to his previous distance as he continued. "I couldn't have planned it better. Punishing you for betraying your father's legacy while crippling your kingdom's defenses in one easy move." Arthur could hear the malice in his voice. Sarrum enjoyed this. The hatred and glee coming off him was threatening to make Arthur nauseous. Even so, he had to think of something or this wouldn't end well.
"Now walk," Sarrum ordered, and Arthur did as he was told. He needed to buy time until an opportunity presented itself. He could not allow Merlin to fall into Sarrum's trap.
"Your information is wrong," Arthur tried to bluff. "Merlin will not care one way or another that you have a knife at my back."
"That is not what I hear," Sarrum replied, with no hint of doubt in his voice. Arthur would have to think of something else.
Sarrum was leading him out of the courtyard and down a dark corridor. Recognizing the passageway, the king had a fair guess where he was being taken. Arthur tried to control his thoughts, but he couldn't help imagining the living grave Sarrum had told him about - the one Morgana had rotted in for years. Was that what Sarrum had planned for him? To turn Arthur into the lock on Merlin's cage?
Arthur could feel where the knife was pressing against his back more with every moment. He felt certain it had broken the skin by now, even if only a little. He hated feeling so helpless. This was so much worse than losing that fight earlier. At least then he'd had a sword in his hand. Now he was nothing but a hostage.
Sarrum stopped making him walk when they reached the end of the dark corridor, and Arthur knew he'd been right about where they were going. This was the entrance to his own dungeons.
"Once the king is locked up and his magic under my control, there will be nothing but a serving girl left between me and the throne," Sarrum said, before shoving Arthur into the cell.
Arthur had just managed to turn around and face the door when he felt a sharp point in his back again. This time he risked turning his head to see who it was. They clearly wanted him alive for now so it seemed worth the risk. In the dark Arthur was just able to make out Sarrum's champion behind him, with his sword pressing into Arthur's spine.
"Hostages are best guarded, wouldn't you agree," Sarrum smiled.
Arthur couldn't so much as move without risking a sword through his chest. All he could do was stand perfectly still and hope... hope for what? For Merlin to show up and fall into the trap? The situation seemed impossible. This was the man who had imprisoned Morgana, High Priestess of the Old Religion, for three years! He was not to be trifled with.
Arthur wasn't sure how long he just stood there. It didn't take him long to learn that slowly inching away from the blade was a useless strategy. It only caused the blade to be pressed harder against his spine as his guard moved forward with him. That was not a plan that had any hope of working.
"I was looking for Merlin when you found me," Arthur said. "No one knows where he is. Your trap will never be sprung before my knights start wondering where I am."
"Your knights pose no threat," Sarrum mocked him. "Only the sorcerer matters. Once he is stopped, Camelot is as good as mine."
Arthur wasn't about to admit Sarrum had a point. He knew his knights would never do anything against Sarrum while he had Arthur at sword point. The situation seemed hopeless.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps made Arthur look up. Someone was coming down the corridor. Arthur wasn't sure who he should hope it was. The last thing he wanted was to be the cause of Merlin's imprisonment, but at the same time, the warlock was his only hope.
"I heard you are looking for me." It was Merlin's voice. The sound made Arthur's hopes soar and plummet at the same time.
In the dark, Arthur saw Sarrum's arms move and for the first time noticed he was carrying a crossbow. He must have picked it up after he'd put Arthur in the cell. In the dark Arthur had missed it until the weapon had been raised higher.
"Everyone has a weakness," Sarrum began. "If you want to see your king alive again, you will do exactly as I say."
"And what is it that you want?" Merlin asked. His voice was calm, almost too calm. Arthur wasn't sure what to make of it.
"Like Morgana before you, I will hold you powerless as long as I have your weakness under my control," Sarrum replied, victoriously.
"There is a flaw in your logic," Merlin said, and again his voice was calm. "Shall I point it out to you?"
Sarrum seemed taken aback by this. Arthur saw him hold the crossbow more securely, making sure it was pointed right at Merlin.
"I am not Morgana," Merlin exclaimed, his suddenly powerful voice echoing off the walls. Arthur saw the glow of Merlin's eyes stand out boldly against the darkness. "I am Emrys, the one Morgana fears most. The likes of you never had a chance of overpowering me."
Arthur could hear a faint, almost stifled, sound behind him, like Sarrum's champion was in pain, but resisting it. Deciding to take the chance, Arthur turned around again. The sword at his back didn't follow suit. Arthur looked as the champion tried to hold onto the sword that glowed red hot, as if it had been a forge for hours. Finally the man gave in, dropping his sword and falling to the ground in agony.
Clearly unwilling to give up just because his hostage was no longer at sword point, Sarrum didn't waste any time releasing the arrow pointed at Merlin's heart. Arthur was still trapped in the cell, but he wasn't worried anymore.
As the arrow moved through the air Arthur saw Merlin's eyes glow again and the arrow stopped cold, floating just a foot from Merlin. With a slight movement of his head along with another glow from his eyes, Merlin turned the arrow back on its sender.
Before Sarrum could so much as speak, the arrow hit him, piercing his body armor and causing him to fall to the ground.
Arthur was so fixated on Sarrum that he must have missed Merlin's eyes glow again, because a second later the cell door in front of him flew open.
"Are you alright?" Merlin asked as he moved closer to where Arthur stood. His voice was back to normal now, the one Arthur had known all these years. Even so, Arthur hardly knew how to reply. He had never seen a display of power such as this. It was hard to believe even though he'd witness it with his own eyes.
"I thought magic required spells," Arthur said. "Incantations. Words." Arthur could remember very well that Merlin had had to speak an incantation to move the swords in the training yard. He also felt sure Merlin had spoken when he'd healed Elyan and moved those stones in the Dark Tower. Even when he had levitated the supplies for their trip to the Cauldron, Merlin had spoken aloud. Sure, he'd made the fire dance a bit without speaking, but somehow it didn't feel the same.
"Usually yes," Merlin replied easily. "But I've been moving objects with my mind since before I could walk. Or so my mother tells me. You know this, Arthur." Merlin smiled as if nothing had changed, as if the warlock hadn't just put on a display of power like Arthur had never seen before. Yes, Arthur had heard the stories, but seeing was a whole new kind of believing.
Still a bit overwhelmed, Arthur managed to walk forward out of the cell. He looked around, taking in Sarrum on the ground with an arrow in his chest and his champion curled up on the ground in the cell, clutching his hands.
"What do you want to do with them?" Merlin asked.
It took Arthur a rather long time to reply. It felt somehow strange to have Merlin ask such a question when it was him who had incapacitated both men, while Arthur had stood there uselessly. Suddenly all those stories Arthur had heard of the things Merlin had done were much easier to imagine.
"I think that should be up to you," Arthur continued. "When all this happened, I was actually on my way to find you. Gwen and I learned something that I think you deserve to know." Arthur then told Merlin the story of the little white dragon and what Sarrum had done to it.
"I see," Merlin said slowly once Arthur was done talking. Arthur could see the anger on his friend's face as plain as day, but it was a controlled anger.
"I know you are a dragonlord but what exactly is your connection to Morgana's dragon?" Arthur asked.
"I hatched her," Merlin explained. "Gave her the name Aithusa. She is my responsibility."
And just like that, Merlin turned his attention to Sarrum, who still lay on the ground at their feet.
Merlin leaned down to speak to Sarrum, his voice calm but full of fury.
"You have crippled a creature far better than yourself," Merlin told him. "There is no punishment I could devise that would atone for this a thing. I had planned to heal you once I'd saved Arthur, but now it seems that is not worth the effort."
"Please," Sarrum said, his voice garbled by the blood pooling in his mouth.
"The world will be a better place without your hatred, Sarrum," Merlin said, calmly and he stood up and looked down on the man while he drowned in his own blood.
The sight was chilling to watch. Arthur was having a hard time with the fact that the man he was watching deal out vengeance was also the same goofy kid he'd been teasing relentlessly for the last nine years.
Next, Merlin turned his attention to the champion still in the cell. "If you hadn't tried to hold onto that sword for so long, your burns wouldn't be this bad," Merlin told the man. "Even so, you'll live. When you leave here, take a message back to your homeland for me." The man nodded, as if eager to assist and not die the way his master had. "Tell them Camelot is protected."
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What do you think of this new version of how Sarrum's visit to Camelot went? I'm hoping it feels in character and plausible! Please review and tell me what you think. :)
Also I am hoping to have this story done before Christmas. I have two other stories on the go right now and I'm hoping finishing this one will help me get back into writing the other ones.
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Sneak Peek Chapter 11
Merlin had almost gotten used to this, though he couldn't say he was completely accustomed to being a pivotal figure in Camelot's politics. Arthur came to him for advice more and more each day. Merlin was used to giving Arthur advice. He was, however, less used to Arthur giving him the authority to represent his kingdom. The more time he spent helping Arthur in his office instead of polishing armour, the more Merlin was feeling like a court official.
As he left Arthur to the rest of his kingly paperwork, Merlin began thinking up how to best contact Alator. It wasn't like he knew exactly where to find the Catha leader, and going on a mission blind seemed like a bad idea. Even so, he'd have to come up with some way. One idea he had was to contact the druids. They might know how to get in touch with Alator. Either way, it was a problem to be solved tomorrow. The hour was growing late, and Merlin felt sure he'd come up with better ideas come morning.
Merlin's mind was still very much occupied when he walked back into his and Gaius's chambers. He was halfway to bed when he first noticed something was wrong. It looked like there had been a struggle. A stool was knocked over, and a small table lay on it's side. Merlin looked around more thoroughly, and instantly fell into a panic when he saw Gaius's still body laying on the ground.
"Gaius!" Merlin called out as he moved quickly to his mentor's side. He was relieved to find Gaius breathing, though he was still unconscious. Who could have done this, and to what purpose?
But first things first. Merlin magically lifted Gaius's still form off the ground and onto his bed. Then he performed a basic reviving spell, and Gaius opened his eyes.