Out of Time

Chapter 51

Dani had blotted out Merlin's bleating as she prepared for battle. She didn't hear a single word as she changed and grabbed weapons, though she could guess what he had to say.

You've just given birth.

A woman should not be on a battlefield.

It's too dangerous.

Arthur can take care of himself.

But some part of her knew that Arthur couldn't take care of himself. The day of reckoning had arrived, and she was prepared. Or, at least, as prepared as she could be for such a thing.

Merlin grabbed her arm, and she turned on him. "Help me or don't, but don't get in my way."

He smiled at her, a smile that spoke more of fatalistic intent than humor. "How are you going to get on the battlefield without my help?"

"I'll find a way."

"Yes, I bet you would. My way's faster."

Then a moment later, she was standing in the middle of men fighting for their lives. Metal clanged against metal. Men cried out or screamed, chaos to the eyes and ears.

Where is he?

#

"Mordred," Arthur growled, raising his sword and glaring. The battled had been raging on for a while when he caught sight of his nephew, the man who had attacked his wife. Without the culprit of this most recent tragedy in his grasp, all his anger zeroed in on this old perpetrator. He roared, the sound drowning out all but his madness.

Mordred smirked as Arthur raced forward, sword held high over his head. They met swords, and Mordred laughed. "Hello, uncle. How's your wife? I've been meaning to get a taste of that little morsel. I'll finally get my chance once you're dead."

Arthur's vision turned red, and he lost all sense of battle strategy, not that he usually had much in battle. He fought with all the pain that had assailed him recently. He let it all out, and Mordred took to it like a fish to water. It was almost as if the boy drew power from Arthur's pain. The more he raged, the faster Mordred became. He laughed in the face of all Arthur had suffered, making him almost stupid and sloppy with all he was feeling.

Some small, distant part of himself told him to calm down, to focus, but in the face of so much noise, it was drowned out, lost in the sea of loss.

#

Merlin lost sight of Danielle almost immediately, but tried to tell himself that she could take care of herself. He needed to find Arthur, to watch his back. He wasn't a fighter, and didn't belong in battle.

But at that moment, he felt on the cusp of something, something Danielle had started so many months ago. He didn't know what would happen. The future had changed so much since she came into their lives. Would this time be different? Could he even hope to dream?

After a few moments of searching, he found Arthur, fighting against Mordred. A sense of dread filled him. Mordred was young, headstrong, and under most circumstances, would not have been a match for Arthur, but Arthur was in pain, and even Merlin could see he wasn't fighting at his best.

Then he caught sight of a woman. For a moment, he thought it was Danielle, that she'd found Arthur, but then she came into clearer focus—Morgan. She was whispering words. He recognized it instantly as a spell. She was the one who had taken Lancelot! And he wouldn't put it past her to be the one responsible for Danielle's multiple miscarriages either.

He spoke a spell, waved his hand, and caused her spell to turn back on her. She screamed and fell to the ground.

"You will never harm them again," Merlin said as he stepped between Morgan and her target.

She glared up at him, shaking her head. "The all-powerful Merlin. You have no idea the things I'm capable of."

"Likewise."

#

Dani caught up with Merlin, found his facing off with Morgan. Reaching him sword in hand, she stood back to back with him, feeling safer that way. Arthur hadn't seen her yet, but she'd seen him. She stood at the ready, but unsure how to proceed. If he saw her, it might draw his focus, cause him to falter, which from the way he and Mordred were fighting, could mean his death.

For a moment, she regretted coming out here. What if it had been a mistake? What if... She shook her head. No. She wouldn't focus on her doubts right now. She needed to focus on how to ensure that Arthur made it out of this battle alive.

Then Mordred got in a lucky shot, catching Arthur under his guard. He grunted, then listed to the side.

No! She raced forward, heedless of all around her, and swung her sword down hard from the shoulder, catching Mordred in the neck. He collapsed to the ground, and her focused zeroed in on Arthur, who now lay on the ground. She dropped her sword, and collapsed on the ground, kneeling at his side.

Hovering her hand over the wound, her hand shook, her mind stuttering as she saw the blood rapidly bubbling from the wound. "Merlin!" she said as she clamped her hand against his side. She knew he was dying. She just knew it.

A shadow came over her, and she looked up pleadingly into Merlin's face. "Please."

Merlin knelt down on his other side, anguish on his face. "Dani." He shook his head. "There's nothing I can do."

Tears started to stream down her face. "Please, Merlin. You have to. Please, it can't happen the same way again. It just can't."

Merlin shook his head, the pain clear on his face. "I'm sorry. It's fate."

"Fuck fate."

#

Merlin was torn. He didn't believe that Arthur would survive long enough to reach the island of Avalon, which was probably his best chance of survival. It was a place of magic, and magic was the only thing that could save Arthur now.

His mind flitted away to the visions that seemed so distant now, like dreams he'd once had instead of the constant reminders of the pain yet to come as they'd once been. At one time, those visions had been as real to him as the here and now. But Danielle had changed all that.

Fate. What was fate anyway? Was it truly some unchangeable thing? Could it be bend, twisted to a man's will?

In the end, he couldn't bear dealing with his own pain and seeing Danielle's too. Tears poured down her face, her eyes begging him to help. But in the moments that had passed, Arthur had died. Even as Danielle pressed down on the wound, Arthur was gone.

Which meant there was only one thing to do. Merlin had always known he would enable his own destruction. Before, he'd believed it would be by giving himself over to the Lady of the Lake, but now he felt he could do so in a far more noble fashion. "Don't worry," he said to Danielle.

He started to weave a spell, pulling on his magic, but also his own life force to charge it. After all, spells relied on balance. One could not give life without also taking it away.

And he would gladly give his own to save his son.