The Truth about Merlin

Swords

Merlin watched his friend fly until he reached the clouds and was out of sight. It was then that he realised how gloomy the weather had become and he knew it would be getting dark soon.

"Will we be seeing him again?" Gwaine asked and Merlin nodded.

"He'll be here whenever I call" Merlin smiled. Then he heard movement behind him but all of his friends were in his sight. His face went pale and he turned around and sighed with relief. Morgana's body was slowly twitching but he had feared that she was fully awake. "We have to leave now" he commanded the others.

"We can't" Arthur said. "We have Morgana and Mordred in our grasp."

"We can tie them up...kill them" Elyan added but Merlin shook his head.

"Unfortunately we don't have time for that" Merlin said but the knights protested.

"We may never have another chance like this Merlin. Think about it" Leon said but Merlin stood by what he said.

"We don't have time, she's waking up!" He tried to keep his voice calm and hold back his fear. "If we don't leave now she will catch up with us. She will find us!" There was a long pause.

"If we kill them now, they won't have the opportunity to do so. We would have won" Arthur said confidently.

"Use your magic on her. Make her pay" Elyan said.

"I'm not a murderer" Merlin replied firmly.

"Fine, then I'll do it!" Arthur pulled out his sword and it gleamed from the setting sun. He marched over to Morgana's limp body and pushed her so she lay flat on her back. Leave were caught up in her long, tangled hair and strands lay across her pale face and moved with her gentle breathe. Arthur stared at her peaceful face. It had been years since she looked this innocent. There was no worry, no anger, and no sadness just...peace. He hoisted his sword into the air and he thrust it down towards Morgana's heart. An invisible force reflected the attack and Arthur was hit with recoil. He was flung backwards and he let go of his sword in mid-air. Merlin's eyes darted towards Morgana and he saw that her eyes were wide and glowing. The knights were unaware of this as they were rushing to their king's aid and dread flooded through Merlin's body.

"Run" he immediately yelled to the others who looked up in surprise. He had his back turned to Morgana. Arthur sat up and his eyes widened.

"Merlin" he shouted but before he could turn around Morgana was already standing beside him.

"Hello Emyrs" she whispered in his ear and a shiver went down his spine. He didn't dare speak. "I've got another surprise for you." She pulled out a dagger she had hidden in her dress and went to stab Merlin. One of the knights rushed over and quickly pushed Merlin out of the way, but the dagger slit their arm. They fell to the floor and Morgana yelled in anger and muttered ancient words. Merlin thanked Gwaine and faced Morgana. He too was muttering spells and he fired all of his magic at Morgana. For several minutes they were attacking and blocking each other, neither of them showing any signs of weakness.

"They're perfectly matched" Gwaine said as he returned to the others. "How are you Sire?"

"I'm alright" Arthur said but he still felt slightly stunned. "How's your arm?"

"Nothing major, I'll heal" Gwaine said. Only a small amount of blood trickled from the cut and it had already started to scab over.

"We have to do something Sire" Leon said and the others knew it too. Merlin was strong but for how long. Then one of Morgana's spells hit Merlin across the clearing and when he stood up they saw him wince and press a hand to his back. Then when he put his arm to his side again they saw blood on his hand.

"He's still injured!" Gwaine shouted, worry spreading across his face.

"I know" Arthur said. He was beginning to worry too. They gathered around and discussed the best way to escape Morgana. "Once Merlin has fully healed we can face her again. Focus on getting Merlin out of here" Arthur commanded and the knights nodded. They all grabbed a weapon each and charged towards Morgana who simply smirked. She waved her hands and hit Gwaine to the ground but he stood straight back up as if nothing had happened. Arthur was by Merlin's side immediately and Merlin smiled. Then, Merlin distracted Morgana as Arthur went straight for her with his sword. Her eyes flickered towards him and she threw her magic at him but then, a sharp pain pierced her body and she tried to hold back the tears in her eyes. Percival pulled the dagger from her, the blood dripping on the ground.

"You think that's going to stop me?" she said, her voice emotionless. With all of her remaining strength she swung her arm around and punched the knight. He fell to the floor, dropping his dagger and his head hit the ground hard. She picked up the dagger and tried to stab him but her attempt failed when Gwaine kicked her. She got back up, still smirking, but it had become obvious that she was hurting. "Tell me Gwaine, who do you want me to kill first. Arthur or Merlin?" she laughed as she saw Gwaine's reaction. He was scowling at her, his hand gripped around his sword and the other in a fist. "How do you want your friends to die?" With that, Gwaine launched himself at Morgana and they began sword fighting. Although she was using a small dagger she was very skilled. "Ok how about this. Only one of them dies...today. Which one will it be?"

"You" Gwaine yelled. His arms ached and his head pounded but he pushed on through.

"Now Gwaine, that's not one of the choices. If I were you I'd choose Merlin. What's a servant compared to the king of Camelot" she mocked.

"He's ten times better than you" Gwaine said through his teeth. "And he's not just a servant. He's more than that!"

As the sword fighting went on, Percival and Elyan were tying the still unconscious Mordred to a tree and Arthur was telling Merlin to calm down. Merlin hadn't realised how exhausted he felt and he wanted to help Gwaine out but Arthur reassured him that they had it under control. When he heard Gwaine say 'he's more than that', Merlin's spirits lifted and he smiled slightly. He thought about his friends, the happy memories, his mother and all of this gave him the courage and strength to continue.

"Give me your sword" he commanded Arthur.

"I think you keep forgetting that I'm the one who gives you orders Merlin" he joked but he did what his friend said.

"Yeah well I'm the sorcerer" he smiled back. He wasn't sure how his friend would take that remark but Arthur smiled at him.

"I'm the king of Camelot, the once and future king."

"Whatever you say. You'll always be a royal prat to me" Merlin said, taking the sword from Arthur. Arthur gave Merlin a little shove for his comment. Then Merlin got up steadily and admired the sword of Excalibur. Hopefully this will work, he thought and then he strode out into the clearing towards Gwaine and Morgana.

"Merlin! Where are you going" Arthur shouted and he followed his friend.

"I've got a plan" Merlin said.