The Fire Inside- A Merlin BBC Fanfic

The Start of an Uproar, (Part 1)

"Let us see our father!" The eldest Malgraine son yelled as the boys struggled against the guards.

"Where is your mother young lad? Surely she wants to seem him too?" The guard without his helmet asked. There was supposed to be a third guard to watch Peter and any of his visitors, but the extra guard hadn't shown up yet.

"Why would you care?" The eldest asked the guard, thinking how rude these stupid guards are.

"Well we don't let children in here unless their parent allows them," The other guard made up on the spot. In reality they just didn't want to deal with two brats in the prison.

"But our father's already in there," The youngest, only twelve years old, whined. The guards persisted, and the two boys walked out the main dungeon entrance.

"There has to be some other way in," The eldest led them around the perimeter, and eventually found the grate that led to their father's cell.

"Father!" The youngest yelled without thinking, but no one was around to hear them anyway.

"Took you long enough! Do you have the potion?" Peter whisper-yelled back.

"Yes, right here," the eldest fumbled with the vial as he handed it over, "We just bought it from the man you told us about," Peter nodded and slipped the vial in his pocket.

"Father, why didn't you have mother make the potion?" The youngest blurted out, earring a smack from his brother and a glare from his father.

"Your mother is not allowed to practice magic as long as I'm alive. Now get out of here before you're caught," he tried to rush the two.

"What about you, father?" The youngest asked, not knowing the full plan.

"I'll join you boys in our arranged meeting spot as soon as night falls," Peter said cryptically. Seeing as morning had barely broken, the boys set off to find something to occupy their time.

~

"What is your reasoning against my decree?" Arthur asked for the fifth time that day. This time, however, it was members of his own court against him. Maybe Merlin was right about this being the wrong time, not that Arthur would ever admit that of course.

"Magic is the work of the devil! I will not continue to work here if you let sin flood this land!" The cook's second-in-command yelled. The three others standing with her nodded in agreement. Arthur was sad to see Sir Edric, one of his loyal Knights, and Leo Ellada, the royal blacksmith, among those against magic.

"The decree still outlaws dark magic and magic used against others," Arthur explained for the millionth time, "Any actual reasoning?"

"How would we know if it will harm others? The spells protecting the castle could be releasing a plague! And what of magic creatures that attack us?" Sir Edric yelled. Arthur wondered how Edric thought Gaius, the one who administered the protection spell, would cause harm to anyone.

"If you have to reasoning for me to change my mind, court dismissed," Arthur called, not letting the narrow-minded fools get another word in.

Leo headed back to the forges scowling, and met a newly healed Cyra there. She hadn't attended court that day, knowing of all the people trying to ban magic again. From the look on his face, it seemed he had.

"Cyra- answer me honestly- how do you feel about this new legalised magic?" Leo asked with a slight grumble in his voice.

"It's fantastic sir, that all of these people no longer have to hide," Cyra replied, hoping Leo was simply annoyed with the people pro-ban.