Merlin's magic (Oneshots) 1

Reversed part 6

A.N.:// Shit.... this is getting longer than expected again. Whatever. Have fun :)

Because this.... this is gonna be really good. Or bad. Either way I'm excited :)))

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FLASHBACK

"To create a life, another must be taken."

Uther's heart broke at the words of the witch. Nimueh – once the trusted court sorceress – had betrayed him. Betrayed him so deeply, he couldn't move. Nor fathom how to respond to everything she did.
Ygraine lay within the royal chambers, her blood still staining the sheets after she had given birth to Arthur. Their son.

"Why hers?", was all Uther managed to breathe out. The air within his lungs constricted and faltered.

"The choice wasn't mine.", Nimueh closed her eyes. "Magic takes only equal value. You cannot replace a horse with a fly. And so you cannot have a son in exchange for anything less than his mother. The only life you value just as deeply."

"You swore -"

"I warned you. I have warned you countless of times. But you play with magic like a child with fire. Don't you dare lecture me on magic! I have studied it for centuries.
But you – oh you think for you – there are no consequences. You think you are the exception to everything.
You cannot blame me for your wrongdoings!" Nimueh's voice was dark and demanding. Laced with the knowledge of hundreds of years of intense practice and studying.
Nimueh was old. And tired of the voices of men who cared not for her warnings.
She had seen enough. She had done too much. She had too many regrets.
Ygraine didn't deserve this.
Had she known what she would unleash – maybe she would have made more conscious choices.
She had assumed that Uther wasn't capable of love. That he cared only for himself. And his legacy. She had expected Uther to die instead.
She should have known.

"I offered you anything you wanted!", Uther's voice grew louder.
"I offered you hundreds of lives! I offered you dozens of kingdoms! You have betrayed me, Nimueh. You have betrayed Camelot!"

"I did no such thing. And it is not your choice who may die for your son. It cannot be just any life to give birth to him, -"

There was a rumbling sound in the distance that let Uther and Nimueh snap around in an instant. Rushing, like his own life depended on it, Gaius crashed through the wooden doors of the chambers.
The lifeless corpse of Ygraine staring at nothing. Uncared for – because the king had demanded privacy to replace his grief with nothing but anger. Instead of caring for her funeral.

"The prince -", Gaius was breathing heavily.
"Gaius? What is it? How is my son?", Uther met Gaius half way. He was anxious. Gaius was panicking himself.

"My lord – I am afraid your son is -"

Uther's eyes widened, as did Nimueh's.
"He's not dead. TELL ME HE'S NOT DEAD!", Uther screamed at him. He had lost too much to loose him too. The price he had paid for Arthur -
The price Ygraine had paid – was too high.

"He's dying, Sire.", Gaius's eyes were wide with pain and fear. Uther's eyes stared into Gaius. His worst fears coming true. And without any word, he stormed passed his court physician to the room that would later become Arthur's chambers.

In a small crib, the child lay. He hadn't screamed since he entered the world. His eyes were dark and untelling. His breathing too shallow to promise a healthy future.
"No..."
Uther's world was shattering, his dreams running through his fingers. His son, his only son -
"We have to save him. How -"

"I don't know, Sire.", Gaius said and his eyes were glazing with unshed tears. Despite all the anger that Uther radiated – Gaius knew what it felt like to loose a son.
"But I might know someone who does."