Merlin's Secret

Chapter 24 Most Important Thing

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Merlin's POV
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    I took a deep, shaky breath in. He knew. After he said that, I knew I couldn't hide it from my friends anymore. They deserved better, especially when Arthur is still looking at me with such trust in his eyes.
    But I need to be the one to tell them.
    "Yes. Okay, yes. I did kill a lot of people." I said. Even after I forgot to take the serum, there were things I didn't remember. One was Vivirae's identity. Two what what happened after they brainwashed me.
    Well, more like, I knew what happened, but it was very detached, emotionless, cold hard facts running through my brain. This is what I did.
    I felt no guilt or remorse while doing it, because that's what I was trained to be, a weapon.
    "Merlin?" Arthur asked. I looked at him and knew that he was asking if I was going to be okay.
    I nodded. I thought about Arthur, who was basically my brother, and thought of all we've been through together.
    I gathered what courage I could from his gaze, and told them.
    "After the bringers kidnapped me, and I took the potion to forget everything, they knew they couldn't use me anymore, so they brainwashed me.
    "They started doing things to me, to my head. They were training me. Stealth, weapons, languages, everything you could think of, even magical things.
    "They thought that if they couldn't control Emrys's past memories, that they could control his future ones.
    "They thought I was ready, I had gone through so many horrible things already, and I was completely detached of all emotion. I don't really remember that well, but they ordered me to eradicate a village.
    "I didn't think twice, it was an order, and I was to carry it out. Somewhere inside me, I was awake, and picked the smallest village I could somewhere remote, and I started-" I broke off. My knees became weak, and I slid down to the floor.
    I bet everyone in the room finished the sentence with me. I started to slaughter them.
    It was horrible. I used magic and steel and flesh, and secret forgotten arts that ought not to be remembered.
    "I know." I heard my brother say. I jerked my head up at him. It was not beautiful. It was him, it was Viv.
    His eyes were normal now, and he was looking at me, and his eyes were starting to glaze over with tears.
    "I'm so sorry, Mer." He whispered. He clutched his head, and fell to the ground, screaming. Arthur and I ran towards him, I needed him to be okay.
    As I neared him, I put my hand on his shoulder, and Arthur didn't get there fast enough.
    Vivirae jumped up, grabbing me by the throat, facing Arthur.
    He smirked at me.
    "Oldest trick in the book, little brother, oldest trick in the book." He chuckled.
    At least this confirmed my suspicions. He was being possessed by something. Something big, and bad, and I don't know if I can stop it.
    Arthur stopped moving, as did all the other Knights in the room.
    They didn't know what to do, and neither did I. At least this was all going according to plan...I hope.
    Just as my brother was (probably) about to kill me, the huge hall doors banned open, and two messengers came in.
    "WHAT. DO. YOU. WANT?!! AND THIS HAD BETTER BE DAMN
GOOD, YOU IMBECILE!!!"
    "Y-yes your R-royal Highness, we- were under attack by an a-army of unknown origin." He stammered in fear.
    "Damn!!!" He screamed, throwing me aside like a rag doll.
    I crumpled on the marble floor, and I wanted to black out, but I couldn't. I've blacked out enough of my life, I've got to start letting in the light.
    Vivirae's attention was completely diverted from us, as he stalked around the room, trying to repair the barriers in the enchanted forest that Mordred, my Knights, and I took down on the way in.
    Gwaine and Sir Isaiah snuck up to me, handing me The Sands that I had left with him. Keeping an eye on his back which was to me, I took off my cloak. I wrapped up The Sands of Time, and set it carefully under my arm, as so to not break it before it's time.
    I had to stab him in the heart, and pour this in the wound.
    I tried desperately not to think about how I definitely saw Viv when we were talking. I tried not to think about how I was killing my family, the one who's protected me since I was a child.
    I walked slowly up to him, and held my breath. I unsheathed my sword.
    All of a sudden, Vivirae's movements stopped, and I knew I was caught. I stumbled backwards, but he shot out his hand, and I felt a sharp pain in my gut.
    I knew immediately what had happened. Viv was always good at throwing daggers.
    I fell to my knees, holding the wound with my hand. Blood soaked my shirt, and I looked up at my dear brother, who was pale and shocked at what he had done.
    The door banged open again, and I distantly heard the sounds of fighting in the room, but my eyes stayed locked on my brothers, and his on mine.
    "Viv..." I whispered.
    It felt strange to call him that name. He killed me. No, I'm not dead yet. I clambered back onto my knees, trying to get to him.
    I gasped, because when I put my free hand on the ground, it got cut on something sharp.
    I looked down, seeing golden sand spilled all over the floor. I dropped The Sands of Time. The three wooden poles that had boxed in The Sands lay broken on the floor, and under my cloak I could see the silver chain and pocket watch.
    Tears started rolling down my cheeks.
    I looked up at my brother who was still frozen.
    "Viv." I said again.
    He broke out of his revere, and ran towards me.
    He skidded next to me, and I tried to crawl away, but he grabbed my shoulders and lifted my back so I was leaning on him.
    "Mer, hey hey hey, it's okay, Mer, I've got you, I've got you." He repeated frantically.
    "You know, if I knew shedding a little blood was all it took for you to come to your senses, I would've done this a long time ago." I chuckled, stopping as I coughed up blood.
    I think I heard Arthur shouting my name, but I focused on Viv.
    "Viv, I'm sorry." I said to him.
    He looked at me funny.
    "Mer, what can you possibly have to be sorry for!?"
    "Remember when we were kids, and we used to look at the shapes in the clouds? I lied. I knew you were making the shapes with magic."
    He laughed wryly, saying,
"I don't think that's the most important thing to be thinking about right now."
    "No." I said, gripping his shoulder. "You're wrong. You need to understand, brother. It is the most important thing in the world."
    With the last of my strength, I grabbed one of the broken off wooden poles from the Hourglass of the Sands of Time, and I plunged it into his chest.
    He stared at me, absolutely stunned. He still clutched me, even as the wood suck out of him.
    I knew it was still inside of him, the evil thing. His eyes flashed. They were black. He growled at me, and threw me across the room. I hit the wall hard, but I channeled most of my magic towards my stab wound, so I got the full force.
    I knew mostly nothing about magically fixing organs and guts and stuff, so I was probably sealing my fate to do this, but I melded together my skin with magic, then numbed the area so I didn't feel it.
    I then stood up, still shaking from the shock of things, and looked to where my brother was.
    He was standing in the middle of the room, and all fighting had ceased around us, thanks to Arthur and our Knights.
    He pulsed oddly, then it seemed like he was being attacked, surrounded suddenly by golden and silver sand.
    Vivirae screamed loudly, louder than I thought possible. Inside of him, black shining stars swirled, and The Sands started whispering. I couldn't make out what It was saying, but It was having an effect on Viv.
    The black stuff was expelled from his body, and Viv crumpled to the ground, bleeding from the small wooden stick protruding from his heart.
    I clutched my stomach, it was definitely not getting healed right, and ran to my brother.
    Now our positions were switched. I was cradling his body, and he was looking up at me.
    "It's...it's gone, Mer! It's gone!" Tears started running down his cheek, and I knew he was happy.
    I would be joining him soon enough. Emi would be an amazing Queen.
    From behind me, I heard Arthur approach me.
    "Merlin, I'm so sorry, but that thing that left Viv's body started a fire outside. It's fighting with The Sands.
    I looked up from my brothers body, out the window. A fire was starting to rage in the forest on the cliff, and in the sky was a golden and silver massive cloud fighting a smaller, dark cloud made of bigger rocks.
    I couldn't care right now, and I told Arthur that. He understood.
    I looked at Viv. My brother. I loved him so much, I still do. I remember climbing into bed with him when I was scared, and him defending me when we were attacked by robbers in our way back from the town.
     I remembered the games we played and the tears we cried together when our grandparents died.
     I remembered how he got me a puppy for my birthday without my parents permission, so I had to give it up and he comforted me the rest of the day. My first crush on a palace maid, scaring away my first potential marriage partner, everything. He was always there for me.
    "Mer. Hey, Mer. You were right." He said to me.
    I gripped his shoulders tightly.
    "About what, Brother?"
    "The clouds. They are the most important thing in the world."

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