Merlin One Shots

The Time of Albion

Merlin One Shots Round One

The Time of Albion

I look down at the old man laying on the hard slab of rock before me. He has been stubborn. Whoever this Emrys is, he is determined to protect his identity.

I begin to let the flames die down a bit. "Tell me." I whisper to the old mad. "Who. Is. Emrys . . . ?" I back up and wait for his answer, surely he will give in now.

He hesitates. "He . . . , no!" He turns his head away from me as if that will stop me from getting the information I want.

The key to what I do us persistence. "Tell me about Emrys." I rephrase my question. At this point he is so bent on refraining from answering to 'who' that any other question will seem safe but in fact could give me the information I need. "Tell me, Gaius. Where can we find Emrys?"

As expected he answers with hardly any hesitation. "In Camelot." Good. Now all he needs is a little encouragement.

"Where in Camelot?"

"Emrys is . . . Emrys is the name by which he is known to the Druids, but to me . . ." he hesitates, ". . I know him by a different name."

He is still fighting. "Tell me, Gaius." I prompt.

He opens his mouth, ". . . No!". I whisper the spell again an he opens his mouth again. "He is the most powerful sorcerer who gas ever lived."

I'm getting closer. "What is his name?".

"His name . . . is . . . Merlin." Gaius answers me. "For if the Druids' legends are true; Merlin is Emrys. A man destined for greatness. A man who will one day unite the powers of the old world and the new. And bring the time that the poets speak of: the time of Albion."

Albion. It can't be true, I used to believe in such a time but I have long given up waiting for it. And yet the way Gaius talks about this Merlin rekindles the flame of hope inside me.

I hear yelling in the caves behind me and whip my head around. Someone is here. I turn back to Gaius. I have gotten all I need from him. I walk out into the caves to see what is going on.

The yelling has stopped now, but my assistant is no longer where I left him. I begin to search the caves.

I am walking through the main corridor when I hear something and stop. I listen but don't hear anything. All of the sudden I feel a burst a magic that seems to be emanating from the very rocks around me. I shake my head and move on.

I finally find my assistant laying on the ground in a tunnel near the entrance of the caves with a deep wound in his stomach. I kneel down beside him an feel for a pulse; nothing, but he is still warm.

Suddenly I hear voices coming from deeper in the caves. I follow the sound until I can make out what is being said.

"You really are a thorn in my side." I hear Morgana taunt ahead of me. Why is SHE here? She wasn't due back for two more days. And then it hits me. She must have done this. Of course I suspected she would turn on me as soon as she got what she wanted but I didn't expect it so soon and carelessly. But who is she talking to?

I realize that I have stopped in my tracks. As I continue toward the sound of her voice another voice speaks up. "Where is Gaius?!? What have you done to him!?!". I remember the condition I left the old man in and momentarily feel guilty.

"Why are we discussing his fate when it's time to decide yours?" Morgana answers. "Not whether you're going to die alone in this godforsaken place. That's going to happen anyway. But how. Or, more precisely, how painfully."

I walk in and stan beside Morgana. She is standing over a young boy with pale skin and raven black hair, using magic to hold a knife over his heart. He is wearing a faded blue shirt under a tattered red scarf and a brown leather jacket. His blue eyes flicker to me. They register fear but behind that there is something else. There is something familiar about him though I have never seen him before.

"Alator;" Morgana greets me, "this is Merlin." MERLIN? Could it be THE Merlin? EMRYS? "He's just a serving boy, but he's the most troublesome serving boy I've ever known." Serving boy, in Camelot. I am suddenly sure that this is the Merlin that Gaius spoke of. The light that dances behind his eyes speaks of power. This is Emrys. "I take it your time with Gaius was fruitful?"

Ye, it was. But Morgana can never know. For the sake of Albion, I know what I must do. I walk over to the young boy. Merlin. It seems impossible for the fate of so many an so much to rest on his thin shoulders. An yet there could be no one better to carry that burden.

"Gaius told me everything." I answer the witch behind me, still staring at the young sorcerer.

"So you know who Emrys is?" Morgana asks, desperation creeping into her normally soft voice.

I tear my eyes away from the boy whose life I hold in my hands. "Indeed I do." I look back to Merlin. He is staring at me wide eyed and I can see him scrambling to form a plan to get out of what he is sure will follow. "Not only do I know WHO Emrys is, I know exactly WHERE he is."

"Then tell me!" Morgana begs, more desperate than before.

I once again turn to face her. "Never. Forþ fleoge!" I yell and Morgana flies back and hits the cave wall. The knife that has been levitating over Merlin's heart falls to the floor and he jumps to his feet. "Merlin, I am Alator of the Catha. I am honored to be of service." I explain.

Merlin looks from Morgana, unconscious on the floor, to me and exclaims, "You have magic!"

I nod. "I understand the burden you carry. I have lived with it all my life. I have been shunned, persecuted, and sometimes even hunted in every corner of the Five Kingdoms. I understand what that feels like. You are not alone. From what Gaius told me, I do not have your great powers, Merlin, but I share your hopes. For I and others like me have dreamt of the world you seek to build. And we would gladly give our lives to help you do it." I bow to the great Sorcerer before me.

"I, . . . a . . ." Merlin stammers, tears in his eyes.

I stand up. "Go Merlin. You will find Gaius down the right tunnel in the main corridor." I tell him. "You must hurry! I will take care of her." I add, glancing at Morgana.

Merlin stays frozen where he is, breathing heavily. Finally, he stares into my eyes. "Thank-you Alator. I will never forget what you have done. For Gaius, for me, and for Camelot." He begins toward the tunnel that will lead him to Gaius. But stops and turns back to me. "And I promise, when the time comes for magic to be brought back to Camelot I will see you honored for your actions. And for your faith."

He turns and dashes down the tunnel then and I believe him. The time of Albion will come. And Merlin will bring it.