"MERLIN?"
He heard the unmistakable voice in the back of his mind along with a jolt on the shoulder, but it couldn't be calling to him. That wasn't his name. Merlin? This fool had mistaken him for someone else.
His eyes opened and adjusted to the blinding sun, and Emrys found himself looking up into the blue, clouded sky. Someone towered over him but the silhouette was dark as they leaned in front of the sun and he couldn't make out their face through his blurred vision. Only the sound of his voice made Emrys able to guess. Blinking a few times cleared his fog and he saw the man hovering over him distinctly.
Careful not to give a look of disgust, he rolled himself up into a seated position. His whole body ached but especially his head. He raised a hand to his temple and felt a warm liquid slowly trickle down his cheek. Pulling his hand away, he found his fingertip painted in crimson and he chuckled inwardly. That fool. He has to be the most accident-prone guy I know. Lucky me.
"Merlin, are you alright?"
He looked up into the face of Arthur Pendragon; the man he desperately wanted to kill. Playing off a cheesy smile, he said, "Yeah, sorry. Guess I'm just clumsy." He imitated climbing to his feet acting like it was hard.
"Take it easy," Arthur said, wrapping his burly hand around Emrys's bicep. "I was probably a little too rough on you for your first day back. Maybe you should call it quits. I can find another man."
Arthur hoisted Emrys to his feet, but Emrys's blood boiled from his touch. "No, no!" He pulled away from Arthur. "I'm fine. This is exactly what I need to be doing to get my mind off things." He picked up the sword that lay beside him in the grass and snickered. "You beating me up keeps my mind off of ... what Morgana did to me." He lowered his gaze to the grass pretending like his words brought back painful memories, when in reality, to him, it brought joyous ones. What happened to him and Merlin was exactly what he needed to obtain his freedom. For too long he had been stuck on the sideline, but now, with how weak Merlin was, it made him in control more then he'd ever been before.
He looked back up at Arthur trying to conceal a smile. "Let's try again. I'll be more careful this time."
Arthur reached for his sword that was sticking from the ground and gripped the hilt loosely in his grasp. "Alright, but only if you're sure?"
Smiling, Emrys nodded. "Absolutely, Sire. The fresh air is doing me good."
Arthur sprang the tip of his sword free from the dirt. "Well, put some back into it this time. Don't let me knock you down so easily."
Emrys aimed his sword at Arthur's chest. "I'll try my best, Sire." Merlin had never mastered the art of the sword. He relied too much on his magic, but Emrys ... Morgana had taught him everything she knew, and he was waiting for the right moment when he could finally put his swordsmanship to practice. Morgana was always better at fighting then Arthur was anyway.
In a flash, Emrys lunged for the unprotected chainmail under Arthur's arm. It was one of the places he had been taught to aim for during a fight—one of the weak spots in an opponents armor.
Arthur's sword flew in front of him, clanging against Emrys's as it blocked his thrust. Arthur gave a look of puzzlement before swiping the sword to the side. With a twist, he swung his sword at Emrys's chest plate, but Emrys sprung back to avoid the blow.
Staring face to face with Arthur, Emrys could tell by the Prince's expression that he was surprised by the way Emrys moved. It was a wonder how Arthur was good at all with the sword with Merlin for a partner.
Arthur advanced, but Emrys twirled to the side out of the way of his attack. Quickly taking the advantage, Emrys rammed into Arthur from the side sending the Prince crashing to the ground.
Arthur landed on his side but rolled to his back just as Emrys placed the tip of his sword under Arthur's chin. Arthur, now looking more confused then ever, seemed at a loss for words.
Emrys pushed back the thought to run the Prince through where he lay. He knew Arthur was taking it easy on him for Merlin's sake. No, he wanted a real fight. A real battle. He wanted Arthur to look into his eyes and know just who it was that was going to end his pathetic life. And that day wasn't today.
He stood there staring at Arthur knowing that he couldn't win. Merlin wouldn't. At least not without doing something to make himself look like an idiot first. Lowering his sword, Emrys reached down to assist Arthur back to his feet, but in doing so, he tripped over his own boot and collided with the ground on his face next to Arthur. Rolling to his side, he winced from the jolt it sent shocking through his damaged body.
"Just when you were beginning to amaze me," came Arthur's deadpan voice. He jumped to his feet and pulled Emrys to his. With his hand still clasped around Emrys's forearm, he said, "You truly are a mystery to me, Merlin."
Emrys gave a sly grin. "You have no idea."
"You only did so well because I took it easy on you." Arthur playfully patted Emrys's shoulder. "Come on. Let's clean up." A smile tugged at the corner of his lip. "Then you can make me some lunch."
Emrys watched as Arthur strode off, and his eyes narrowed. "Of course, Sire."
The day went by slowly for Emrys. He dreaded doing Arthur's chores and making his meals, but he wanted to use as much time as possible before Merlin's conscious became too powerful and awake to take over. He wasn't used to being free this much, and rarely could he remember seeing the sun as he's always had to wait for Merlin to fall asleep. Today was a good day to scout out his plan.
Finally, night had arrived. The time of day he always looked the most forward to; probably because it was all he really knew. It gave him the capability to do whatever needed to be done all concealed by the darkness, but that wasn't all. It also meant that he was able to see the woman who held his heart.
Standing in the Prince's chamber, Emrys finished refilling the wine in Arthur's cup. He set the pitcher down before asking, "Are you alright if I retire a little early?"
Arthur threw a grape in his mouth. "You have some kind of big plans or something I should know about?"
Emrys shrugged. "No. Nothing like that. Gaius has just asked for me to gather a few herbs for this woman's treatment tomorrow." He lowered his voice. "Says if he doesn't get them then the poor woman might lose a finger."
Arthur grimaced and placed down his chalice. He wiped his mouth with a napkin before nodding. "Of course. Do what needs to be done. I'm sure you still need your rest as well."
Emrys's mouth suddenly dipped into a frown as he portrayed being sad. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, Gaius says I need all the rest I can get. That's why he wants me to collect this herb for him early."
Arthur shewed Emrys. "Go ahead. I'll manage for one night." He jabbed a finger at him. "But don't think this will always get you out of work. I expect you back in full gear tomorrow."
Giving a smile, that for the first time today wasn't fake, Emrys gave a bow of his head. "Thank you, Sire." He stepped around the table and headed out the door. It wasn't at all that he was excited to pick whatever herbs Gaius had asked of him—not that he'd do anything that old geezer asked of him—but for the fact that he could freely walk outside the castle gate without raising suspicions.
Once outside the Citadel, he made his way to the main gate keeping his head down. He glared at the soldiers as they marched by. Even if he was inside Merlin's body, being in Camelot made him uneasy. Thankfully, he wasn't bothered by anyone as he wondered into the forest.
He ran about a mile away from the castle when he stopped, listening to the sound of scuffling leaves and he glanced around but found no one. Discouraged seeing that his love was no where to be seen, his shoulders slumped.
"Looking for me?"
Emrys twirled around at the voice as his heart leapt. A wide smile spread from ear to ear as Morgana stepped out from behind a tree wearing her usual black dress and blue eyeshadow, but something about her appearance in the dark, glistening from the moonlight, made him love her even more. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming."
"Well, sneaking into Camelot's woods does have its challenges," she said. "Even at night. Besides, I never know if you're coming. It's risky coming out here just to not even get to see you."
"It's risky for me too," Emrys argued. "Do you know how many people have caught me that I've had to kill?" He huffed and rolled his eyes. "I thought torturing Merlin would make it easier to come out, and it was for a while, but lately all he's been doing is trying to avoid falling asleep." He glanced down at himself. "Even with this broken body, he still refuses to let me out." He paused. "He's starting to remember ..."
Morgana took a step forward. "Well, we'll just have to make him forget again." Her shoulders slumped. "I hated doing that to you. I thought it would help."
"As did I!" he shot back. "I thought it'd make him weaker, but he's fighting it. He's too scared to sleep these days."
Morgana clenched her jaw. "Merlin always was a coward."
A sudden wave of dizziness flooded Emrys's vision and he stumbled as his legs grew weak.
Morgana took a step forward, looking like she would dash to his side in a mere second. "What is it?"
Emrys steadied himself, placing a hand on his forehead. "It's nothing. Just this head injury that he gave himself. I haven't allowed Gaius to properly dress it."
Morgana smiled. "You know I could take care of that for you. Or even you could."
"Yeah, but Merlin would never," he argued. "If I heal myself then he'll wonder what happened along with Arthur."
Morgana shrugged. "Gaius is a good physician."
Emrys chuckled. "He's not that good." He placed a hand over his chest. "I can already feel Merlin beginning to wake."
He gazed at her longingly. He wanted nothing more then to run away from Camelot and to be with her, but their time had not yet come. He had yet to figure out how to be rid of Merlin for good. "How are the preparations?"
Morgana looked to the ground. "Not as well as we hoped. I've found some sorcerers who would do anything to see Uther fall, but there's not enough." Her blue eyes pierced him. "Some still believe Arthur will create a new and better land so they will not fight with us."
"Then make them!" Emrys shouted. "With your power you can make them do anything."
"I need more time."
"There isn't any!" He balled his hands, and in a fit of anger, slammed a fist into a nearby tree. The magic within him exploded, and the tree burst with a white light. When the light cleared, all that remained was a dead leafless tree. "I can't stand being trapped in Merlin's body any longer! I can't stand to see Uther on our throne!"
"And you won't always have to," Morgana said, tenderly. She stepped up to him and grabbed his hands. "You don't think it pains me just as much?" Her words calmed him, and he felt sorry for being so selfish. "Patience, Emrys. Our time will come." She raised a hand to his head, cupping his temple.
"Just this memory," he said hastily, grabbing her wrist. She furrowed her brow. "I've been awake the whole day. If Merlin awakes in the morning to find he's not on the training field then he'll start to suspect and I can't have him forcing himself to stay awake any longer than he already does."
Morgana nodded before whispering an enchantment. Her eyes flashed gold and she pulled her hand away from his temple holding a small ball of blue light. Pulling out a vial from a small leather pouch at her hip, she poured the light into the glass. It flowed off her palm, steady as a brook over rocks. "Drink it once you're in bed." She placed the vial in his hand. "He won't remember your thoughts or our conversation."