Twin Brothers

22

Arthur was standing on the ground right in front of me. His sword was at my throat before I had the chance to speak. I felt the cold blade dig slightly into my skin. He was fuming. His face was as red as a tomato. His teeth clenched. My hands went up in surrender.

"Arthur," I began, "you need to leave."

"It's over, Merlin. No more tricks," he replied. Behind me, I heard a twig snap causing my head to snap back. The blade of his sword caused a few droplets, but that wasn't on my mind. Someone was watching us.

"You have to go back," I said. "Find Leon and the others and go home. It's not safe out here." I turned back to face him. I didn't care how he felt about me, nor what he was thinking at this current moment. I just needed him safe.

"I'm not falling for one of your tricks."

"This isn't a trick!" I seethed as quietly as possible. Another twig snapped. "For once in your life, listen. Morgana and her army are out here somewhere. You don't have the men with you to defend yourself. She will murder you and take your crown. Are you really willing to let your ego take that away from you?"

Excalibur was once again to my throat as Arthur stepped forward. My back was now pressing into a nearby tree. My arms dropped to my side.

"Don't you dare speak to me like that!" he yelled. His voice bounced off the trees. My eye widened, and I looked around. I couldn't see anything, but that didn't mean no one was there. Unfortunately, my magic was too weak to let me investigate.

"Are you trying to alert her?" I glared at him.

"We are going back to Camelot. You and me," he said, "There you will await a trial for your crimes."

"No," I replied.

Arthur was taken aback at my words. He stared at me in confusion. I stared back with confidence.

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean I'm not going with you. There is so much that you don't know. So much that you may not understand... At least for now. But I cannot go with you. I have a duty to protect you and the future of Camelot, and I cannot do that behind bars... Once everything is sorted, you won't have to worry about me anymore. I will be gone. I promise you, Arthur. You just have to trust me. Please?"

"Trust you?" he seethed. He drew closer. "You killed my father. You betrayed me and the kingdom. There is no trust. You lost it the second you allied yourself with the enemy. I can never trust you again... I should just kill you right here right now. That way I never have to think about you again."

"You could do that... But you're not going to," I said. This conversation was already draining me. "I'm already dying anyway. It's the price I paid. The only thing I wish is for you to be free from danger. My destiny may be coming to a close, but I still have faith in you. I cannot die yet with Morgana still running free. You are too important for the future of Albion."

Arthur stood there staring at me. He was silent for a while. I could hear a buzzing surrounding us. It was deathly quiet. Not even the wind blew. Then, a twig snapped. This seemed to snap Arthur out of his thoughts. He looked behind me and glanced around. His grip on me eased and so did his expression. I turned to follow his gaze. There was no one visible.

"You have to go. Arthur please?" I begged him.

"No," he replied turning back to me. He grabbed my arm. "I'm taking you back. No more ridiculous excuses. No more tricks. I'm done with your lies."

He put down his sword and dragged me forward.

"You can't. You don't understand. You have to let me go! Arthur, stop being a dollophead!"

He stopped walking immediately and froze. We stood in silence for a few seconds. I took this time to try and catch my breath as it was starting to get harder to breathe. His grip remained on my arm but half my body seemed to be sinking to the ground. I was too exhausted.

Then, Arthur turned to face me. His face was twisted up in an expression I wish I could place. My brain couldn't seem to work properly. Everything was fuzzy. But that's when I finally saw it. The tears that formed in his eyes gave it all away: he couldn't bring himself to take me in. For a moment, I felt my body relax. For a moment, I felt relief rush all over me. Only for a moment.

Behind us came a voice.

"How touching."

We snapped our heads back to find a smirking woman dressed in all black. It was Morgana. She found us.