Merlyn sighed as she reached the crest of the hill, she cast her gaze ahead and finally spotted what she had been looking for. Camelot's great white towers spiralled high into the clear summer sky and the shear beauty of it took Merlyn's breath away, her son Rowan wore a similar expression of rapt awe while her son Arthur snored lightly on her shoulder blissfully unawares.
"Arty love wake up, we're here." Arthur lifted his head with a faint groan and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. When he finally spotted the castle towers he broke into an face splitting grin and hastily climbed down from Merlyn's back.
"Come on brother! Let's go!" Arthur giggled and began running down the hill his brother hot on his heels. Merlyn laughed and quickly ran to catch up calling for them to stay close.
As they passed through the gates Merlyn pulled the two wonder struck 4 year olds close so they couldn't wander off and get lost. Finally being in Camelot was both exciting and terrifying to Merlyn and she hoped she could do her best to stay hidden and protect her boys in such a dynamic environment where one wrong move could land her and her children on the pyre. As they moved into the main courtyard of the castle she noticed a gathered crowd of townspeople and drifted closer noticing a man bound on his knees with guards all around.
"Let this serve as a lesson to all. This man, Thomas James Collins, is adjudged guilty of conspiring to use enchantments and magic. And, pursuant to the laws of Camelot, I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned on penalty of death. I pride myself as a fair and just king, but for the crime of sorcery, there is but one sentence I can pass." Merlyn's eyes snapped to the king high up on the balcony in horror and she pull her child close hiding their faces in her shirt but Rowan pulled away and focused on the man being pushed onto the executioner's block,
'I'm sorry I can't save you, but I can take away the pain.' Rowan's voice echoed quietly through Merlyn's mind and Merlyn watched as the man on the block stiffened then gave an almost imperceptible nod. Rowan's eyes flashed bright silver and the man's body relaxed, Uther raises his arm, then lowers it as a signal to the executioner. Merlyn and her boys flinch as Thomas Collins's head thuds and rolls across the platform, Uther looks down toward the crowd and begins his speech again,
"When I came to this land, this kingdom was mired in chaos, but with the people's help magic was driven from the realm. So I declare a festival to celebrate twenty years since the Great Dragon was captured and Camelot freed from the evil of sorcery. Let the celebrations begin."
As Merlyn pulled her boys away from the gruesome sight a chilling wail rose up from the front of the crowd and an old woman stepped forward glaring up at the tyrant king.
"There is only one evil in this land, and it is not magic! It is you! With your hatred and your ignorance! You took my son! And I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a son for a son." A shiver ran down Merlyn's spine at the old woman's words, Uther ordered the guards to seize her but the old witch clutched a pendant around her neck and muttered a spell in the old religion causing her to disappear in a whirl of wind and smoke.
' She had bad magic mummy, dark magic' Rowan's words whispered quietly through her mind and Merlyn clutch them both tighter. Merlyn enters the palace and addresses a guard,
"Excuse me, where would I find Gaius, the- the court physician?" The guard wordlessly points toward the stairs Merlyn nods in thanks and begins walking, Arthur lags behind awing at the guard who gives him a kind smile causing him to giggle. Merlyn walks up steps and knocks on the open door to the physician's quarters and peeks inside.
"Hello? Gaius?" Merlyn wanders inside the boys trailing, she spots Gaius atop a small balcony and clears her throat to get his attention. Gaius trips over backwards from the bookshelf stairs and the railing breaks. Merlyn's eyes glow as she slows time,
YOU ARE READING
Arthur's Sons (Book 1)
FanfictionWhat if Merlin was born female(Merlyn) and she and Arthur met a few years before Camelot and after a night together before Arthur returned to Camelot she found herself carrying the twin sons of the prince of Camelot. When Merlyn arrives in Camelot w...
