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Merlin fic: Think of the Children (2/3)
Title: Think of the Children (2/3)
Author: dk323
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: mention of past non-con, dub-con, underage, character death
Characters/Pairings: Merlin/Arthur (pre-slash), Merlin/Morgana, Arthur/Gwen, Lancelot
Spoilers: No; occurs during Arthur’s reign as King.
Disclaimer: The show “Merlin” is property of the BBC. No money being made.
Summary (this chapter): Morgana has a plan to bring about Camelot's downfall. Merlin gets his children back. His children grow up at Camelot, life at the castle never being quite the same again. The pressure placed on Gwen has taken its toll, but the result is one that no one would have expected.
Author's Note: I'm sorry that I'm extending this to three chapters, but there's a natural breaking point here. The final part will focus on the confrontations (you'll get what they are in this part). I thought it would fit better if the climax is in its own separate chapter. A lot of things happen in this chapter - it gets rather fast-paced toward the end.
Six Years Ago: Prisoner | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3A
~ * ~
It was approaching a month since Merlin had left her. But now Morgana’s plan would come into fruition. The first thing she had to make sure of is that no suspicion would be placed on Merlin. If everything went as planned, she wanted to insure that Ella and Stephen were not without a father.
She planned to go to Camelot to pay him a visit, though she had to ask Matilda, a fellow sorceress who was in her early twenties, to look after the twins. Those two were mischief-makers, the both of them, and heaven forbid she leave them to their own devices. They were only five years old anyway, so Ella and Stephen certainly couldn’t be left on their own. Being both twins and magically-inclined as well gave the two of them an impressive psychic link. The children could converse with each other mind to mind since before they could walk. It made it so that neither Morgana nor Merlin could accurately discern what the two were plotting to do next. Morgana was proud of her children for their cleverness even though she was sometimes at her wit’s end trying to make them behave.
And, unfortunately, since Merlin had gone, the twins had grown more restless and prone to causing mischief. She had to admit that Merlin had been better at parenting. With or without the control spell, Merlin had a knack for handling their kids.
Morgana did wonder if Merlin had felt the control spell getting progressively weaker as Ella and Stephen grew up. She had seen him with the twins, had seen how there was a mutual fondness and Morgana hadn’t had the heart to keep him under a strong control spell. She knew that Merlin would stay for the sake of their children, and that understanding kept her from completely stripping away his free will like in the early days of his captivity. Still, she knew that at some point, Merlin would decide to return to Camelot, the pull of destiny being too strong to ignore.
Morgana supposed that having him with her for six years was the best she could hope for. Though now, the children kept inundating her with questions about where their father had gone. Morgana had tried to reassure them that he was simply on a long, taxing trip to a kingdom far away, but he would return. They had to be patient (which, unfortunately, was not one of the twins’ strong points).
But the twins were just five and weeks – one whole month – had passed and for them, that probably felt like a year.
Morgana suspected that Ella and Stephen weren’t buying her story anymore. They knew something odd was going on. And that only gave Morgana another reason to carry out her plan.
She looked up from her scrying bowl in the courtyard at the sound of small footsteps running across the stone floor.
Morgana let out a sigh as she saw her daughter completely wet, her dress ripped (her dress always managed to get ripped one way or another…it made getting her new dresses a tiring affair).
She wished that it had been raining, but no, of course, Ella had found a way to get soaked in water despite that.
“Ella! What is going on? How are you all wet?” Morgana inquired of her in slight exasperation.
The five-year old stopped her running and she stared at her mother. She bit her lip, her blue eyes twinkling – a clear sign that she was up to no good.
“I fell down a well!” She declared, grinning brightly.
Morgana raised her eyebrow. “You fell down a well…and how did you get out of it?” She asked her.
Ella looked at her incredulously. “I floated myself up! That’s obvious, mother!”
Then Stephen ran into the courtyard. Luckily, he was dry.
“Ella, you’re going to get sick if you stay in your wet clothes. You need to change,” Morgana admonished her.
“Yeah, in a bit,” her daughter answered distractedly, setting a gaze of intent on her twin brother.
Stephen noticed his sister giving him an evil look. “Uh oh,” he uttered nervously.
“Did you think you could get away with that?” She challenged.
Her eyes flashed gold and she conjured a snowball in her small hands.
Stephen turned on his heel and made a run for it.
Ella smiled widely and started laughing as she ran after him, aiming snowballs after her brother.
Morgana shook her head in bemusement. Life certainly wasn’t dull with those two around. She expected that she would have to wrestle Ella away from her brother to get her into dry clothes.
~ * ~
“Morgana? What are you doing here?” Merlin exclaimed in surprise.
She had suddenly appeared, most certainly by magic, in his bedchambers in the middle of the night. Fortunately or unfortunately, Merlin had been sleeping lightly – the cuffs blocking his magic doing little to give him a restful night’s sleep – and he had been easily awakened by her surprise arrival.
Morgana shook her head as she moved over to sit upon his bed. “Don’t be so loud. We wouldn’t want to be overheard, do we?”
Merlin shifted to the right to allow her more room. “Maybe I want to be… what the hell are you doing here?”
She was looking at his wrists, at the cuffs on them. She peered at him, reaching out her hand to caress his cheek. Merlin tried to move away from her touch, but she could feel her magic restraining his movement.
What he wouldn’t give to have the cuffs off of him now.
“I see that even after a month, Arthur doesn’t trust you enough to remove those cuffs. How sad. I thought your friendship was stronger than that,” she remarked lightly.
“He removes them sometimes now,” Merlin told her, so that she wouldn’t get the wrong idea. “It’s a slow process, but it has been six years. Of course Arthur would have doubts.”
“You chose to stay; Merlin, you and I both know that. You could have left earlier, but you didn’t.”
“I didn’t want to leave the children... I don’t need to explain myself to you. And would you please allow me to move? This serves no purpose, Morgana,” he said in frustration, trying but failing to move any part of his body.
Morgana smiled at him. “Oh no, but this does serve a purpose, Merlin,” she said smoothly.
She leaned toward him and she kissed him on the lips, Merlin unable to do anything to resist her.
“Just don’t, please don’t…not the spell. I can’t…not anymore,” he nearly begged her as she continued to kiss him, down his neck and past his shoulder.
“Then we will do without it,” Morgana said with a shrug.
And then Merlin could move freely again and he should not have wanted this, surely no, but then he remembered all those times that they had been together. It all came flooding back, and even without the spell, he could not ignore the want, need, now feelings rushing through him.
Soon, all rational thought left him as they undressed each other, Morgana smiling as she took in the sight of him.
She had almost forgotten how much she had missed this.
~ * ~
“Morgana, no!” Merlin tried to say, but he only ended up choking on his words. He watched glumly as she disappeared in front of his eyes.
A coughing fit seized him. Merlin touched his forehead and then he swore. He was burning up, a fever like she had told him.
After they were intimate, Morgana had forced him to down a potion that would make him sick – so sick that he couldn’t stop her even if he had access to his magic. She said that she had a plan and that she didn’t want him to interfere with her plan succeeding. And honestly, Merlin did not know what Morgana had in mind to do. She had refused to tell him, which bothered him greatly.
“The less you know, the less chance to cast the blame on you, Merlin,” Morgana had explained to him.
Yes, that made Merlin feel much better in the way that it didn’t.
He had asked after the children, and she had assured him that Matilda was keeping an eye on them. She also told him that she had a change of heart and that she would allow him to see the twins again if he stayed out of the way.
That wasn’t exactly hard to do when Merlin already felt the sickness overwhelming him. He knocked over a glass of water as he attempted to leave his room, already knowing it was a hopeless endeavor.
Lancelot had been outside his room on watch, so he easily heard the sound of something falling in Merlin’s room. He had agreed to keep watch over Merlin to prevent any suspicious behavior, which had been no hardship for the knight. He considered Merlin an old friend and as he talked with him over the last few weeks, Lancelot was assured that Merlin had no ill intentions. It was like he had never been taken away six years ago.
He rushed into the room, on alert, and sword drawn. Then he saw Merlin trying desperately to hold on to the table, but wracking coughs overtook him and he collapsed to the floor.
“Merlin! What has happened to you?” Lancelot wondered, shocked at seeing the sorcerer suddenly so sick.
He resheathed his sword and he rushed to Merlin’s side. He pressed his hand to his too pale forehead and found that he was burning up.
“Lancelot…” He could only say before he closed his eyes. He felt so very tired.
Steadily, Lancelot picked him up and placed Merlin on his bed, moving the blanket over the sorcerer.
He had never seen Merlin this ill before. He knew what had to be done – the cuffs had to be removed to allow his magic to heal him. That’s what had stopped Merlin from getting the worst of illness that had swept through the kingdom in the past.
Arthur was the only one who held the key to the cuffs though.
~ * ~
A week had passed and in so short a time, Camelot was in great turmoil. Everything was changing, too quickly for Arthur to get a calm moment.
The prince, his three-year old son, James, had contracted a devastating illness. Guinevere was by her son’s bedside continually, worrying herself into an inconsolable grief as James grew sicker and sicker.
The ailment was a rare sickness and not even the Court Physician, an expert on all matters of medicine and science, was able to offer a solution to cure the illness. Neither did the sorcerers in his employ have an answer to give the king. As always seemed to be the case, the best – the only – option was to find the culprit who had done this to his son and compel the person to remove the cursed disease.
Yes, while those sorcerers were at times infuriatingly unhelpful, they did figure out that the illness was not pure coincidence. That someone, with malicious intent, had to have placed the curse to make him sick.
The person who had committed such an act was most surely a sorcerer, or – going by Merlin’s crushing guilt when Arthur confronted him – a sorceress.
So it appeared that Morgana’s scheme to undermine his authority and Camelot as a whole was working out as smoothly as could be.
The most frustrating part of this entire matter was that he and his men did find Morgana… who then burned herself up right in front of them. She had killed herself just like that – only a pile of ashes remaining of her. Arthur was sure that she had known quite well that she could provide the cure to the illness. Of course, Morgana chose not to come quietly…or, more aptly, not at all.
Merlin, who was delirious with fever, had been consumed with guilt. He had told Arthur that Morgana had visited him the night before the discovery of the prince’s worrying illness. That she had forced him to drink a potion to make him sick, so that he wouldn’t intervene in her plan. But with the cuffs, Merlin knew that he could do little either way – Morgana had the upper hand. And he had told Arthur fervently that he had no idea what Morgana’s plan had been. She had told him nothing.
Arthur believed him since the sight of Merlin looking so miserable and ill bothered him. He hated it and he could not bear to see his friend in such a state. If only he had trusted Merlin sooner. If he had just removed the cuffs all together – not the sometimes removal of the last few weeks -- for good, then maybe Merlin would have been successful in thwarting Morgana.
Arthur had moved to free Merlin from the cuffs – with his son on his deathbed, the king would not allow another person dear to him die when he could act to prevent it – but Merlin had told him that he shouldn’t, that Arthur should just let him go.
Understandably, he had been surprised at Merlin’s refusal to help himself, to allow his magic to heal him better than any medicinal remedy could. Arthur had been so outraged on Merlin’s behalf, that Merlin didn’t value his life as much as he should have, that he had left the sorcerer’s room without unlocking the cuffs.
Arthur knew that Merlin wasn’t thinking rationally with the haze of fever and delusions clouding his mind. Merlin had decided that it was somehow his fault that Morgana had set out to kill the prince. No matter if Merlin had no idea what she had planned to do and that Morgana had acted by herself. The guilt overcame Merlin regardless of what Arthur or Lancelot said to him to ease his mind.
But yesterday, there was news of Merlin’s children being found in the care of a young woman named Matilda.
The woman let the children go easily enough with the knights of Camelot upon hearing of Morgana’s death and that they would be returned to their father.
~ * ~
So upon finding out where Merlin’s children were, Arthur resolved that enough was enough. He visited Merlin in his chambers later that evening after supper. Almost a week had passed and he decided that by now, Merlin would have had enough sense to not wish for death. Certainly the news of his children due to arrive in Camelot later the next day would make Merlin see how ridiculous he was being?
Merlin was so sick now, that he slept most of the past week away. The court physician came every so often to check up on him on his way to the prince’s chambers. The news of the prince’s health was grim. The physician had informed him that his son would not last another week, a few days at the most.
With that sobering news, Arthur was more than determined than ever to knock some sense into Merlin. If Merlin would continue to be guilt-ridden, then he would unlock the cuffs off him regardless of what Merlin demanded of him. And really at this point, Arthur knew that the sorcerer was so far gone that he wouldn’t be able to resist the cuffs being removed.
Hopefully his magic would still be able to heal him.
Arthur sat down at his bedside, key in hand. “Merlin…? Are you awake?” He said softly, trying to rouse him.
Merlin muttered some nonsense words, but his eyes stayed shut.
“Your children are coming tomorrow, did you know that?” He continued to speak.
Merlin didn’t respond. He was still in the midst of a restless sleep.
Arthur shook his head and he unlocked the cuffs and removed them from his friend’s wrists. The king vowed never to use them on Merlin again as he set the cuffs aside on a nearby table.
He sighed as he placed his hand over Merlin’s brow, brushing away dark strands of hair sticking to his sweaty forehead.
“You know that Morgana killed herself. May the gods help me if I’m responsible for denying your children a father. That will not happen. You will get better now, you hear me? I need my advisor, my friend back,” Arthur said fiercely, gripping Merlin’s hand. “Please, Merlin,” he pleaded softly.
The king breathed a sigh of relief as a warm, golden glow enveloped Merlin, his magic working to heal him.
~ * ~
The next day:
Arthur heard the sound of a little girl screaming as he made his way outside of the castle.
Well, he did recall Merlin telling him that his daughter, Ella, was a bit extreme. Looking at her now, Ella did remind him vaguely of Morgana when she was younger, though she had Merlin’s blue eyes. While Ella was a willful child, Merlin had reassured Arthur that Stephen had a calmer temperament. And according to Merlin, Ella usually listened to her brother as they were especially close with the two of them being twins.
“I want to see my father now!” Ella demanded once Arthur had reached them.
Her arms were folded across her chest and she had a stern look on her face. Arthur had to admit she made an impressive play at looking intimidating despite her being only five years old. Stephen looked almost sheepish beside her.
One of the knights who had been sent to retrieve them told Arthur, “The children are under the impression that you ordered Merlin’s execution. We expect it was a story that Morgana told them. We tried to convince them otherwise, but I expect they will believe it only when their father explains the matter to them.”
Arthur sighed, nodding to the man to acknowledge his words. Of course. It would be just like Morgana.
In the meantime, the two children appeared to be having a silent conversation with one another. At the end of it, Ella seemed to calm down as best as she could. Arthur knew that it would take some time for him to adjust to the mind-to-mind communicating that the two did frequently. Thank goodness Merlin would be taking care of them. Arthur wasn’t sure how to handle someone like Ella – she would take years off his life, of that he was certain.
“We just want to see him, to see if he’s all right,” Stephen said politely.
“Of course, your father will be happy to see you. And we have rooms ready for you as well,” Arthur told them.
Then surprisingly, Ella curtsied and she said rather sweetly, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“It was no trouble at all,” he said to her, giving her a small smile. He directed one of the servant girls passing by to show the kids to Merlin’s chambers.
He almost didn’t catch Ella rolling her eyes as she and her brother went off with the servant inside the castle.
Life in the castle would definitely be different now.
~ * ~
“Oh, Father! I’ve – we’ve -- missed you!” Ella exclaimed as she jumped on to his bed.
Stephen climbed in on the other side. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he said sincerely.
Merlin smiled at both of them, pulling them into a warm embrace. He still felt a little weak after his sickness, but his magic was making good progress on healing him. He certainly felt better than he had in days. And seeing his children after Morgana’s awful ultimatum, brightened his day considerably. He still wasn’t sure what to think of Morgana’s demise. He felt numb at the thought…even after all that she had done to him, Merlin could not deny that there had been a connection there – however unhealthy it had been --- and now she was just… gone. Merlin had to admit though – he wasn’t too surprised that Morgana had chosen to kill herself over allowing others to condemn her. She was always an independent spirit after all…
“I’ve missed the both of you too,” he told his children, the emotion clear behind his words.
Merlin kissed each of them on their heads and he reassured them, “Everything will be all right now.”
~ * ~
Less than 24 hours later, Arthur’s son died.
~ * ~
There was a period of mourning – amounting to six months – for the loss of the prince of Camelot especially at so young an age.
Eight months had passed since the prince’s death and there was news that Queen Guinevere was with child.
~ * ~
The child was born.
She was a girl.
Arthur and Gwen named her Elizabeth.
~ * ~
Ella and Stephen were almost seven years old when the princess was born. Ella was quite fond of her and enjoyed playing with the little princess. Princess Elizabeth was quite headstrong and proud, but she was also warm and friendly like her mother. Everyone thought she would make a good Queen.
And while King Arthur had succeeded in uniting Albion, which left Camelot even more wealthy and prosperous than in his father’s time, he knew that he needed a son. It was too risky to not have an heir to be the future king, to lead armies into battle and garner the respect deserved of a leader of a kingdom.
He loved his daughter dearly, but Arthur was worried about the kingdom’s future. He wanted to insure that Camelot would be in good hands once he was gone. He feared that rivals would vie for the throne, thinking Elizabeth easy to get rid of. Maybe if a male relative would come and take the throne or Elizabeth could marry and…
Merlin, of course, told him to stop worrying so much about it – that everything may just work out more smoothly than Arthur anticipated.
Arthur could not help it though – particularly when as Elizabeth grew up, Guinevere did not succeed in bearing another child to live past babyhood. Each baby died, one by one.
Elizabeth had been the last child they had who was healthy and strong. Sometimes Arthur wondered if Morgana’s plan did not end with killing his son. What if she had somehow engineered the situation so that Elizabeth would be the only child Arthur would have afterwards? That the future of Camelot would subsequently be threatened by such an act?
Merlin had fervently told him that no magic could do such a thing. It was too tricky to predict matters of birth even with magic.
And so, Arthur had to contend himself with the fact that life had just dealt him this twist of fate.
He couldn’t resist shaking his head in bemusement as Elizabeth cheered on Stephen and Ella who were practicing sword-fighting.
It appeared that the twins didn’t limit themselves to using magic. The pair took up sword-fighting not long after their twelfth birthdays. Ella took a liking to it more than her brother, and neither Arthur nor Merlin had been all that surprised at the development.
With Elizabeth looking up to Ella and the princess’ eagerness to please, Arthur could foresee his daughter taking an active interest in sword-fighting as well.
~ * ~
Only two weeks before Ella’s eighteenth birthday, Camelot was hosting a feast and as such, a good number of royals from other kingdoms were present for the celebration.
Stephen was nearly startled when a redheaded man not much older than him came to stand next to him. Stephen vaguely recalled that the man was a prince of a smaller kingdom some distance away.
“Who is that?” The man asked him, his green eyes lively, as he pointed out Ella to him.
She was in the midst of a conversation with a few of the visiting noblewomen.
“That’s my sister, Ella,” Stephen told him, then he quickly warned him, “But just so you know, she doesn’t think any man is worth her time. Unless they could do magic, actually.”
But the man did not appear deterred.
“Who are you then? I can’t keep track of names. I’m Stephen--” He introduced himself.
The man nodded. “The son of King Arthur’s chief advisor and high court sorcerer. Oh yes, I know very well who you are. I’m Prince Charmont of Tintagel,” He told him.
Stephen raised his brow. “Charmont?”
The man laughed. “Everyone calls me Char.”
They shook hands and then Prince Char went to talk to Ella.
Elizabeth, now twelve, came by Stephen next. She couldn’t resist giggling as she watched Prince Char heading toward Ella.
Stephen looked at her in puzzlement. “What is so funny?”
“You don’t know about Prince Char, do you?” She whispered to him conspiratorially.
He shook his head. “No, what is it?”
“He can do magic. His father can’t do a lick of magic, oh no, but there is a history of magic on his mother’s side. Ella will have met her match,” she said confidently.
They both moved closer to get a better look and they watched as Prince Char conjured three roses – red, yellow and white – for her. Ella smiled at the prince, looking quite impressed.
“And we have a winner,” Stephen said both aloud and silently into his sister’s mind.
“Oh, be quiet,” she answered him back silently.
Though he could hear how excited she was as she spoke.
~ * ~
And as the days progressed into weeks, Prince Charmont and Ella spent more and more time together. The prince stayed a bit longer in Camelot to get to know her better, and Ella received an invitation to visit Tintagel.
Most everyone in Camelot was positive that the two of them would announce their engagement soon.
~ * ~
“It’s getting darker,” Elizabeth noted as she stared up at the sky, full of stars, from her place on the forest floor.
Ella turned her head toward her. “Stephen will find them soon. You have to see them. You won’t regret it,” Ella told her confidently.
The princess watched the purple ball of light glow brilliantly in front of them. “Is that hard to do?” She wondered, pointing at the floating ball.
“It comes easily enough. When Stephen and I were younger, we used to compete to see who could make their ball glow the brightest.”
“Who won?”
“We usually came out at a tie, but I let Stephen win a few times. Of course, he mustn’t know this. He probably wouldn’t believe me.”
Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief. “Right,” she remarked bemusedly. Ella gave her a vague smile. “Have you raced them? The balls?”
“Oh definitely. You were really young, so you probably don’t remember it. Unfortunately our ‘race’ got a bit out of control and Father reprimanded us to never do it again. Well, not at the castle at least. Stephen and I should have thought that through,” she mused.
Elizabeth laughed. “I wish I could have seen it.”
“I wish we could get away with doing it again,” Ella said wistfully. “But we are older and wiser now. We should know better.” She shrugged.
After a moment, Ella wondered aloud, “Do you ever see yourself falling in love?”
“I don’t know… I’ve just turned thirteen, but well, I don’t what I’d do if I have to marry an older man. Not everyone is as lucky as you.”
“Ah, don’t say that,” Ella lightly admonished her. “You should look on the bright side – you’ll marry a rich man, most certainly, even if he is old and shriveled up, maybe.”
“Hey!” The princess exclaimed defensively.
Ella laughed. “I’m only kidding. I’m sure you’ll find the right one for you. I never thought I would be seriously considering marrying a prince. I thought I would simply end up an old maid, having mad adventures with Stephen.”
“I’m glad to see you so happy. You love Prince Char, don’t you?” Elizabeth asked her.
Ella looked at her. “Yes, I do. I really do,” she told her softly.
~ * ~
“Now, the final matter of business: the Lady Ella and Prince Charmont. What does everyone think? Don’t hold back,” Arthur said rather cheerfully.
Chagrined, Merlin covered his face with his hands and let out a loud sigh. He looked to Arthur. “Really, Your Majesty, I don’t know how this relates to matter of state.”
“Oh, Merlin, this is very important. It must be discussed in great detail.”
The other men sitting at the table started laughing as Merlin tried to remember the spell to make himself smaller.
And then to make the situation worse, they did end up discussing his daughter’s courtship with the prince.
~ * ~
“Back when I was your manservant, I never imagined that my daughter would be courted by a prince of all people,” Merlin mused after the council meeting.
Only he and Arthur were in the council chamber.
“Well, you have a high position in court now and some kingdoms value having magic more so than how much gold one has in their coffer. Of course, Ella does have noble blood in her as well,” Arthur said reasonably.
Arthur realized that he had said the wrong thing when Merlin’s eyes darkened briefly at the reminder.
But then Merlin smiled at him in reassurance. “Yes, she does,” he said softly.
Arthur grasped his hand for a moment in a gesture of understanding before he pulled away and he asked Merlin, “So what is your opinion of Prince Charmont?”
Merlin shrugged. “I like him well enough. Ella seems fond of him, and I just wish her to be happy. I can see it in her eyes: she is happy with him.”
He smiled, recalling how his daughter’s eyes lit up when she talked of Prince Charmont – or Char as she had taken to calling him.
Arthur nodded. “I would have to agree with you.”
~ * ~
“You’re going to Tintagel too? With Ella?” Elizabeth asked Stephen.
He nodded. “Ella wants me to spy for her. Get a better idea of what things are like over there,” he informed her, flashing her quick grin. “Our father is coming too, so I suspect the castle will be much quieter while we’re gone,” He mused.
“Oh, I’ll miss you, all of you. I hope you have a good time,” the princess wished him.
“Thanks. I’m looking forward to seeing what the women are like,” Stephen remarked thoughtfully.
She rolled her eyes.
The Queen came by and she interrupted them, “Elizabeth, sweetheart, you should attend to your lessons. You know how important they are,” Gwen gently admonished her.
“Yes, Mother,” she answered her with a nod.
Elizabeth left them in the corridor.
Gwen beckoned him inside the nearest empty room.
She looked nervously at Stephen. “You didn’t, right?” she asked him lightly, but he heard the anxiety in her tone.
“If I had, then you would know, don’t you think? I have had years to tell someone, but--” he paused, shaking his head.
“You know that I did not mean to?” she said to him softly, earnestly.
“I can’t anymore…I can’t,” he said tiredly.
“You will tell her then?” She wanted to confirm.
“She’s my sister. I can’t…” He took a deep breath. “I can’t keep anything from her. It would hurt too much.”
“But… your father, Arthur? If they knew, if they found out…please, they can’t know. Please,” she pleaded with him.
“I have to go,” Stephen said.
He turned his back on her and he left the room.
The Queen felt like she couldn’t breathe, feeling her grasp on her life weaken with each passing day for the past five years.
Stephen had been thirteen the first time.
“My Lady?” Lancelot asked her in deep concern upon meeting her in the hallway. “You don’t look well.”
She was leaning against the wall for support. Gwen waved her hand. “I’m all right. I’m fine,” she tried to assure him.
She could barely keep her composure when she could see Arthur and Merlin, backs facing her, ahead of them in the corridor. They were having an animated conversation, the king’s deep laugh ringing in the passageway as they went down an adjacent corridor and disappeared from her view.
With a resigned sigh, Gwen allowed Lancelot to help her back to her chambers.
Gwen had felt like the victim at first. So much pressure had been placed on her, and she had disappointed Arthur. And he spent more time with Merlin, confiding in the man as Arthur had always done even back then during Merlin’s days as his manservant.
She should have known better…
She should have known…
But she had felt so alone, and…
She had taken advantage of a child’s kindness.
~ * ~
Stephen and Ella were in Tintagel when he confided in her. The twins found a moment to themselves while Prince Char had to attend to an urgent matter. Meanwhile, Merlin was in talks with the king and queen about the possibility of marriage between his daughter and their son. It was then that Stephen told his sister. She had asked him if he thought her an idiot for not suspecting such a thing was happening.
He had asked her what they should do, and to her surprise, she informed him that they do nothing.
The Queen was punishing herself enough after all -- wracked with guilt and waiting for the truth to be unraveled.
“This could be a mercy to her, or a cruelty to her, Stephen. She will never be sure if we will remain silent or speak,” she said to him.
“This is cruel,” he told her.
“This is justice,” Ella corrected resolutely.
~ * ~
When Ella was set to return to Camelot, the engagement became official. The wedding took place the following spring at Tintagel.
~ * ~
Author: dk323
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: mention of past non-con, dub-con, underage, character death
Characters/Pairings: Merlin/Arthur (pre-slash), Merlin/Morgana, Arthur/Gwen, Lancelot
Spoilers: No; occurs during Arthur’s reign as King.
Disclaimer: The show “Merlin” is property of the BBC. No money being made.
Summary (this chapter): Morgana has a plan to bring about Camelot's downfall. Merlin gets his children back. His children grow up at Camelot, life at the castle never being quite the same again. The pressure placed on Gwen has taken its toll, but the result is one that no one would have expected.
Author's Note: I'm sorry that I'm extending this to three chapters, but there's a natural breaking point here. The final part will focus on the confrontations (you'll get what they are in this part). I thought it would fit better if the climax is in its own separate chapter. A lot of things happen in this chapter - it gets rather fast-paced toward the end.
Six Years Ago: Prisoner | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3A
~ * ~
It was approaching a month since Merlin had left her. But now Morgana’s plan would come into fruition. The first thing she had to make sure of is that no suspicion would be placed on Merlin. If everything went as planned, she wanted to insure that Ella and Stephen were not without a father.
She planned to go to Camelot to pay him a visit, though she had to ask Matilda, a fellow sorceress who was in her early twenties, to look after the twins. Those two were mischief-makers, the both of them, and heaven forbid she leave them to their own devices. They were only five years old anyway, so Ella and Stephen certainly couldn’t be left on their own. Being both twins and magically-inclined as well gave the two of them an impressive psychic link. The children could converse with each other mind to mind since before they could walk. It made it so that neither Morgana nor Merlin could accurately discern what the two were plotting to do next. Morgana was proud of her children for their cleverness even though she was sometimes at her wit’s end trying to make them behave.
And, unfortunately, since Merlin had gone, the twins had grown more restless and prone to causing mischief. She had to admit that Merlin had been better at parenting. With or without the control spell, Merlin had a knack for handling their kids.
Morgana did wonder if Merlin had felt the control spell getting progressively weaker as Ella and Stephen grew up. She had seen him with the twins, had seen how there was a mutual fondness and Morgana hadn’t had the heart to keep him under a strong control spell. She knew that Merlin would stay for the sake of their children, and that understanding kept her from completely stripping away his free will like in the early days of his captivity. Still, she knew that at some point, Merlin would decide to return to Camelot, the pull of destiny being too strong to ignore.
Morgana supposed that having him with her for six years was the best she could hope for. Though now, the children kept inundating her with questions about where their father had gone. Morgana had tried to reassure them that he was simply on a long, taxing trip to a kingdom far away, but he would return. They had to be patient (which, unfortunately, was not one of the twins’ strong points).
But the twins were just five and weeks – one whole month – had passed and for them, that probably felt like a year.
Morgana suspected that Ella and Stephen weren’t buying her story anymore. They knew something odd was going on. And that only gave Morgana another reason to carry out her plan.
She looked up from her scrying bowl in the courtyard at the sound of small footsteps running across the stone floor.
Morgana let out a sigh as she saw her daughter completely wet, her dress ripped (her dress always managed to get ripped one way or another…it made getting her new dresses a tiring affair).
She wished that it had been raining, but no, of course, Ella had found a way to get soaked in water despite that.
“Ella! What is going on? How are you all wet?” Morgana inquired of her in slight exasperation.
The five-year old stopped her running and she stared at her mother. She bit her lip, her blue eyes twinkling – a clear sign that she was up to no good.
“I fell down a well!” She declared, grinning brightly.
Morgana raised her eyebrow. “You fell down a well…and how did you get out of it?” She asked her.
Ella looked at her incredulously. “I floated myself up! That’s obvious, mother!”
Then Stephen ran into the courtyard. Luckily, he was dry.
“Ella, you’re going to get sick if you stay in your wet clothes. You need to change,” Morgana admonished her.
“Yeah, in a bit,” her daughter answered distractedly, setting a gaze of intent on her twin brother.
Stephen noticed his sister giving him an evil look. “Uh oh,” he uttered nervously.
“Did you think you could get away with that?” She challenged.
Her eyes flashed gold and she conjured a snowball in her small hands.
Stephen turned on his heel and made a run for it.
Ella smiled widely and started laughing as she ran after him, aiming snowballs after her brother.
Morgana shook her head in bemusement. Life certainly wasn’t dull with those two around. She expected that she would have to wrestle Ella away from her brother to get her into dry clothes.
~ * ~
“Morgana? What are you doing here?” Merlin exclaimed in surprise.
She had suddenly appeared, most certainly by magic, in his bedchambers in the middle of the night. Fortunately or unfortunately, Merlin had been sleeping lightly – the cuffs blocking his magic doing little to give him a restful night’s sleep – and he had been easily awakened by her surprise arrival.
Morgana shook her head as she moved over to sit upon his bed. “Don’t be so loud. We wouldn’t want to be overheard, do we?”
Merlin shifted to the right to allow her more room. “Maybe I want to be… what the hell are you doing here?”
She was looking at his wrists, at the cuffs on them. She peered at him, reaching out her hand to caress his cheek. Merlin tried to move away from her touch, but she could feel her magic restraining his movement.
What he wouldn’t give to have the cuffs off of him now.
“I see that even after a month, Arthur doesn’t trust you enough to remove those cuffs. How sad. I thought your friendship was stronger than that,” she remarked lightly.
“He removes them sometimes now,” Merlin told her, so that she wouldn’t get the wrong idea. “It’s a slow process, but it has been six years. Of course Arthur would have doubts.”
“You chose to stay; Merlin, you and I both know that. You could have left earlier, but you didn’t.”
“I didn’t want to leave the children... I don’t need to explain myself to you. And would you please allow me to move? This serves no purpose, Morgana,” he said in frustration, trying but failing to move any part of his body.
Morgana smiled at him. “Oh no, but this does serve a purpose, Merlin,” she said smoothly.
She leaned toward him and she kissed him on the lips, Merlin unable to do anything to resist her.
“Just don’t, please don’t…not the spell. I can’t…not anymore,” he nearly begged her as she continued to kiss him, down his neck and past his shoulder.
“Then we will do without it,” Morgana said with a shrug.
And then Merlin could move freely again and he should not have wanted this, surely no, but then he remembered all those times that they had been together. It all came flooding back, and even without the spell, he could not ignore the want, need, now feelings rushing through him.
Soon, all rational thought left him as they undressed each other, Morgana smiling as she took in the sight of him.
She had almost forgotten how much she had missed this.
~ * ~
“Morgana, no!” Merlin tried to say, but he only ended up choking on his words. He watched glumly as she disappeared in front of his eyes.
A coughing fit seized him. Merlin touched his forehead and then he swore. He was burning up, a fever like she had told him.
After they were intimate, Morgana had forced him to down a potion that would make him sick – so sick that he couldn’t stop her even if he had access to his magic. She said that she had a plan and that she didn’t want him to interfere with her plan succeeding. And honestly, Merlin did not know what Morgana had in mind to do. She had refused to tell him, which bothered him greatly.
“The less you know, the less chance to cast the blame on you, Merlin,” Morgana had explained to him.
Yes, that made Merlin feel much better in the way that it didn’t.
He had asked after the children, and she had assured him that Matilda was keeping an eye on them. She also told him that she had a change of heart and that she would allow him to see the twins again if he stayed out of the way.
That wasn’t exactly hard to do when Merlin already felt the sickness overwhelming him. He knocked over a glass of water as he attempted to leave his room, already knowing it was a hopeless endeavor.
Lancelot had been outside his room on watch, so he easily heard the sound of something falling in Merlin’s room. He had agreed to keep watch over Merlin to prevent any suspicious behavior, which had been no hardship for the knight. He considered Merlin an old friend and as he talked with him over the last few weeks, Lancelot was assured that Merlin had no ill intentions. It was like he had never been taken away six years ago.
He rushed into the room, on alert, and sword drawn. Then he saw Merlin trying desperately to hold on to the table, but wracking coughs overtook him and he collapsed to the floor.
“Merlin! What has happened to you?” Lancelot wondered, shocked at seeing the sorcerer suddenly so sick.
He resheathed his sword and he rushed to Merlin’s side. He pressed his hand to his too pale forehead and found that he was burning up.
“Lancelot…” He could only say before he closed his eyes. He felt so very tired.
Steadily, Lancelot picked him up and placed Merlin on his bed, moving the blanket over the sorcerer.
He had never seen Merlin this ill before. He knew what had to be done – the cuffs had to be removed to allow his magic to heal him. That’s what had stopped Merlin from getting the worst of illness that had swept through the kingdom in the past.
Arthur was the only one who held the key to the cuffs though.
~ * ~
A week had passed and in so short a time, Camelot was in great turmoil. Everything was changing, too quickly for Arthur to get a calm moment.
The prince, his three-year old son, James, had contracted a devastating illness. Guinevere was by her son’s bedside continually, worrying herself into an inconsolable grief as James grew sicker and sicker.
The ailment was a rare sickness and not even the Court Physician, an expert on all matters of medicine and science, was able to offer a solution to cure the illness. Neither did the sorcerers in his employ have an answer to give the king. As always seemed to be the case, the best – the only – option was to find the culprit who had done this to his son and compel the person to remove the cursed disease.
Yes, while those sorcerers were at times infuriatingly unhelpful, they did figure out that the illness was not pure coincidence. That someone, with malicious intent, had to have placed the curse to make him sick.
The person who had committed such an act was most surely a sorcerer, or – going by Merlin’s crushing guilt when Arthur confronted him – a sorceress.
So it appeared that Morgana’s scheme to undermine his authority and Camelot as a whole was working out as smoothly as could be.
The most frustrating part of this entire matter was that he and his men did find Morgana… who then burned herself up right in front of them. She had killed herself just like that – only a pile of ashes remaining of her. Arthur was sure that she had known quite well that she could provide the cure to the illness. Of course, Morgana chose not to come quietly…or, more aptly, not at all.
Merlin, who was delirious with fever, had been consumed with guilt. He had told Arthur that Morgana had visited him the night before the discovery of the prince’s worrying illness. That she had forced him to drink a potion to make him sick, so that he wouldn’t intervene in her plan. But with the cuffs, Merlin knew that he could do little either way – Morgana had the upper hand. And he had told Arthur fervently that he had no idea what Morgana’s plan had been. She had told him nothing.
Arthur believed him since the sight of Merlin looking so miserable and ill bothered him. He hated it and he could not bear to see his friend in such a state. If only he had trusted Merlin sooner. If he had just removed the cuffs all together – not the sometimes removal of the last few weeks -- for good, then maybe Merlin would have been successful in thwarting Morgana.
Arthur had moved to free Merlin from the cuffs – with his son on his deathbed, the king would not allow another person dear to him die when he could act to prevent it – but Merlin had told him that he shouldn’t, that Arthur should just let him go.
Understandably, he had been surprised at Merlin’s refusal to help himself, to allow his magic to heal him better than any medicinal remedy could. Arthur had been so outraged on Merlin’s behalf, that Merlin didn’t value his life as much as he should have, that he had left the sorcerer’s room without unlocking the cuffs.
Arthur knew that Merlin wasn’t thinking rationally with the haze of fever and delusions clouding his mind. Merlin had decided that it was somehow his fault that Morgana had set out to kill the prince. No matter if Merlin had no idea what she had planned to do and that Morgana had acted by herself. The guilt overcame Merlin regardless of what Arthur or Lancelot said to him to ease his mind.
But yesterday, there was news of Merlin’s children being found in the care of a young woman named Matilda.
The woman let the children go easily enough with the knights of Camelot upon hearing of Morgana’s death and that they would be returned to their father.
~ * ~
So upon finding out where Merlin’s children were, Arthur resolved that enough was enough. He visited Merlin in his chambers later that evening after supper. Almost a week had passed and he decided that by now, Merlin would have had enough sense to not wish for death. Certainly the news of his children due to arrive in Camelot later the next day would make Merlin see how ridiculous he was being?
Merlin was so sick now, that he slept most of the past week away. The court physician came every so often to check up on him on his way to the prince’s chambers. The news of the prince’s health was grim. The physician had informed him that his son would not last another week, a few days at the most.
With that sobering news, Arthur was more than determined than ever to knock some sense into Merlin. If Merlin would continue to be guilt-ridden, then he would unlock the cuffs off him regardless of what Merlin demanded of him. And really at this point, Arthur knew that the sorcerer was so far gone that he wouldn’t be able to resist the cuffs being removed.
Hopefully his magic would still be able to heal him.
Arthur sat down at his bedside, key in hand. “Merlin…? Are you awake?” He said softly, trying to rouse him.
Merlin muttered some nonsense words, but his eyes stayed shut.
“Your children are coming tomorrow, did you know that?” He continued to speak.
Merlin didn’t respond. He was still in the midst of a restless sleep.
Arthur shook his head and he unlocked the cuffs and removed them from his friend’s wrists. The king vowed never to use them on Merlin again as he set the cuffs aside on a nearby table.
He sighed as he placed his hand over Merlin’s brow, brushing away dark strands of hair sticking to his sweaty forehead.
“You know that Morgana killed herself. May the gods help me if I’m responsible for denying your children a father. That will not happen. You will get better now, you hear me? I need my advisor, my friend back,” Arthur said fiercely, gripping Merlin’s hand. “Please, Merlin,” he pleaded softly.
The king breathed a sigh of relief as a warm, golden glow enveloped Merlin, his magic working to heal him.
~ * ~
The next day:
Arthur heard the sound of a little girl screaming as he made his way outside of the castle.
Well, he did recall Merlin telling him that his daughter, Ella, was a bit extreme. Looking at her now, Ella did remind him vaguely of Morgana when she was younger, though she had Merlin’s blue eyes. While Ella was a willful child, Merlin had reassured Arthur that Stephen had a calmer temperament. And according to Merlin, Ella usually listened to her brother as they were especially close with the two of them being twins.
“I want to see my father now!” Ella demanded once Arthur had reached them.
Her arms were folded across her chest and she had a stern look on her face. Arthur had to admit she made an impressive play at looking intimidating despite her being only five years old. Stephen looked almost sheepish beside her.
One of the knights who had been sent to retrieve them told Arthur, “The children are under the impression that you ordered Merlin’s execution. We expect it was a story that Morgana told them. We tried to convince them otherwise, but I expect they will believe it only when their father explains the matter to them.”
Arthur sighed, nodding to the man to acknowledge his words. Of course. It would be just like Morgana.
In the meantime, the two children appeared to be having a silent conversation with one another. At the end of it, Ella seemed to calm down as best as she could. Arthur knew that it would take some time for him to adjust to the mind-to-mind communicating that the two did frequently. Thank goodness Merlin would be taking care of them. Arthur wasn’t sure how to handle someone like Ella – she would take years off his life, of that he was certain.
“We just want to see him, to see if he’s all right,” Stephen said politely.
“Of course, your father will be happy to see you. And we have rooms ready for you as well,” Arthur told them.
Then surprisingly, Ella curtsied and she said rather sweetly, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“It was no trouble at all,” he said to her, giving her a small smile. He directed one of the servant girls passing by to show the kids to Merlin’s chambers.
He almost didn’t catch Ella rolling her eyes as she and her brother went off with the servant inside the castle.
Life in the castle would definitely be different now.
~ * ~
“Oh, Father! I’ve – we’ve -- missed you!” Ella exclaimed as she jumped on to his bed.
Stephen climbed in on the other side. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he said sincerely.
Merlin smiled at both of them, pulling them into a warm embrace. He still felt a little weak after his sickness, but his magic was making good progress on healing him. He certainly felt better than he had in days. And seeing his children after Morgana’s awful ultimatum, brightened his day considerably. He still wasn’t sure what to think of Morgana’s demise. He felt numb at the thought…even after all that she had done to him, Merlin could not deny that there had been a connection there – however unhealthy it had been --- and now she was just… gone. Merlin had to admit though – he wasn’t too surprised that Morgana had chosen to kill herself over allowing others to condemn her. She was always an independent spirit after all…
“I’ve missed the both of you too,” he told his children, the emotion clear behind his words.
Merlin kissed each of them on their heads and he reassured them, “Everything will be all right now.”
~ * ~
Less than 24 hours later, Arthur’s son died.
~ * ~
There was a period of mourning – amounting to six months – for the loss of the prince of Camelot especially at so young an age.
Eight months had passed since the prince’s death and there was news that Queen Guinevere was with child.
~ * ~
The child was born.
She was a girl.
Arthur and Gwen named her Elizabeth.
~ * ~
Ella and Stephen were almost seven years old when the princess was born. Ella was quite fond of her and enjoyed playing with the little princess. Princess Elizabeth was quite headstrong and proud, but she was also warm and friendly like her mother. Everyone thought she would make a good Queen.
And while King Arthur had succeeded in uniting Albion, which left Camelot even more wealthy and prosperous than in his father’s time, he knew that he needed a son. It was too risky to not have an heir to be the future king, to lead armies into battle and garner the respect deserved of a leader of a kingdom.
He loved his daughter dearly, but Arthur was worried about the kingdom’s future. He wanted to insure that Camelot would be in good hands once he was gone. He feared that rivals would vie for the throne, thinking Elizabeth easy to get rid of. Maybe if a male relative would come and take the throne or Elizabeth could marry and…
Merlin, of course, told him to stop worrying so much about it – that everything may just work out more smoothly than Arthur anticipated.
Arthur could not help it though – particularly when as Elizabeth grew up, Guinevere did not succeed in bearing another child to live past babyhood. Each baby died, one by one.
Elizabeth had been the last child they had who was healthy and strong. Sometimes Arthur wondered if Morgana’s plan did not end with killing his son. What if she had somehow engineered the situation so that Elizabeth would be the only child Arthur would have afterwards? That the future of Camelot would subsequently be threatened by such an act?
Merlin had fervently told him that no magic could do such a thing. It was too tricky to predict matters of birth even with magic.
And so, Arthur had to contend himself with the fact that life had just dealt him this twist of fate.
He couldn’t resist shaking his head in bemusement as Elizabeth cheered on Stephen and Ella who were practicing sword-fighting.
It appeared that the twins didn’t limit themselves to using magic. The pair took up sword-fighting not long after their twelfth birthdays. Ella took a liking to it more than her brother, and neither Arthur nor Merlin had been all that surprised at the development.
With Elizabeth looking up to Ella and the princess’ eagerness to please, Arthur could foresee his daughter taking an active interest in sword-fighting as well.
~ * ~
Only two weeks before Ella’s eighteenth birthday, Camelot was hosting a feast and as such, a good number of royals from other kingdoms were present for the celebration.
Stephen was nearly startled when a redheaded man not much older than him came to stand next to him. Stephen vaguely recalled that the man was a prince of a smaller kingdom some distance away.
“Who is that?” The man asked him, his green eyes lively, as he pointed out Ella to him.
She was in the midst of a conversation with a few of the visiting noblewomen.
“That’s my sister, Ella,” Stephen told him, then he quickly warned him, “But just so you know, she doesn’t think any man is worth her time. Unless they could do magic, actually.”
But the man did not appear deterred.
“Who are you then? I can’t keep track of names. I’m Stephen--” He introduced himself.
The man nodded. “The son of King Arthur’s chief advisor and high court sorcerer. Oh yes, I know very well who you are. I’m Prince Charmont of Tintagel,” He told him.
Stephen raised his brow. “Charmont?”
The man laughed. “Everyone calls me Char.”
They shook hands and then Prince Char went to talk to Ella.
Elizabeth, now twelve, came by Stephen next. She couldn’t resist giggling as she watched Prince Char heading toward Ella.
Stephen looked at her in puzzlement. “What is so funny?”
“You don’t know about Prince Char, do you?” She whispered to him conspiratorially.
He shook his head. “No, what is it?”
“He can do magic. His father can’t do a lick of magic, oh no, but there is a history of magic on his mother’s side. Ella will have met her match,” she said confidently.
They both moved closer to get a better look and they watched as Prince Char conjured three roses – red, yellow and white – for her. Ella smiled at the prince, looking quite impressed.
“And we have a winner,” Stephen said both aloud and silently into his sister’s mind.
“Oh, be quiet,” she answered him back silently.
Though he could hear how excited she was as she spoke.
~ * ~
And as the days progressed into weeks, Prince Charmont and Ella spent more and more time together. The prince stayed a bit longer in Camelot to get to know her better, and Ella received an invitation to visit Tintagel.
Most everyone in Camelot was positive that the two of them would announce their engagement soon.
~ * ~
“It’s getting darker,” Elizabeth noted as she stared up at the sky, full of stars, from her place on the forest floor.
Ella turned her head toward her. “Stephen will find them soon. You have to see them. You won’t regret it,” Ella told her confidently.
The princess watched the purple ball of light glow brilliantly in front of them. “Is that hard to do?” She wondered, pointing at the floating ball.
“It comes easily enough. When Stephen and I were younger, we used to compete to see who could make their ball glow the brightest.”
“Who won?”
“We usually came out at a tie, but I let Stephen win a few times. Of course, he mustn’t know this. He probably wouldn’t believe me.”
Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief. “Right,” she remarked bemusedly. Ella gave her a vague smile. “Have you raced them? The balls?”
“Oh definitely. You were really young, so you probably don’t remember it. Unfortunately our ‘race’ got a bit out of control and Father reprimanded us to never do it again. Well, not at the castle at least. Stephen and I should have thought that through,” she mused.
Elizabeth laughed. “I wish I could have seen it.”
“I wish we could get away with doing it again,” Ella said wistfully. “But we are older and wiser now. We should know better.” She shrugged.
After a moment, Ella wondered aloud, “Do you ever see yourself falling in love?”
“I don’t know… I’ve just turned thirteen, but well, I don’t what I’d do if I have to marry an older man. Not everyone is as lucky as you.”
“Ah, don’t say that,” Ella lightly admonished her. “You should look on the bright side – you’ll marry a rich man, most certainly, even if he is old and shriveled up, maybe.”
“Hey!” The princess exclaimed defensively.
Ella laughed. “I’m only kidding. I’m sure you’ll find the right one for you. I never thought I would be seriously considering marrying a prince. I thought I would simply end up an old maid, having mad adventures with Stephen.”
“I’m glad to see you so happy. You love Prince Char, don’t you?” Elizabeth asked her.
Ella looked at her. “Yes, I do. I really do,” she told her softly.
~ * ~
“Now, the final matter of business: the Lady Ella and Prince Charmont. What does everyone think? Don’t hold back,” Arthur said rather cheerfully.
Chagrined, Merlin covered his face with his hands and let out a loud sigh. He looked to Arthur. “Really, Your Majesty, I don’t know how this relates to matter of state.”
“Oh, Merlin, this is very important. It must be discussed in great detail.”
The other men sitting at the table started laughing as Merlin tried to remember the spell to make himself smaller.
And then to make the situation worse, they did end up discussing his daughter’s courtship with the prince.
~ * ~
“Back when I was your manservant, I never imagined that my daughter would be courted by a prince of all people,” Merlin mused after the council meeting.
Only he and Arthur were in the council chamber.
“Well, you have a high position in court now and some kingdoms value having magic more so than how much gold one has in their coffer. Of course, Ella does have noble blood in her as well,” Arthur said reasonably.
Arthur realized that he had said the wrong thing when Merlin’s eyes darkened briefly at the reminder.
But then Merlin smiled at him in reassurance. “Yes, she does,” he said softly.
Arthur grasped his hand for a moment in a gesture of understanding before he pulled away and he asked Merlin, “So what is your opinion of Prince Charmont?”
Merlin shrugged. “I like him well enough. Ella seems fond of him, and I just wish her to be happy. I can see it in her eyes: she is happy with him.”
He smiled, recalling how his daughter’s eyes lit up when she talked of Prince Charmont – or Char as she had taken to calling him.
Arthur nodded. “I would have to agree with you.”
~ * ~
“You’re going to Tintagel too? With Ella?” Elizabeth asked Stephen.
He nodded. “Ella wants me to spy for her. Get a better idea of what things are like over there,” he informed her, flashing her quick grin. “Our father is coming too, so I suspect the castle will be much quieter while we’re gone,” He mused.
“Oh, I’ll miss you, all of you. I hope you have a good time,” the princess wished him.
“Thanks. I’m looking forward to seeing what the women are like,” Stephen remarked thoughtfully.
She rolled her eyes.
The Queen came by and she interrupted them, “Elizabeth, sweetheart, you should attend to your lessons. You know how important they are,” Gwen gently admonished her.
“Yes, Mother,” she answered her with a nod.
Elizabeth left them in the corridor.
Gwen beckoned him inside the nearest empty room.
She looked nervously at Stephen. “You didn’t, right?” she asked him lightly, but he heard the anxiety in her tone.
“If I had, then you would know, don’t you think? I have had years to tell someone, but--” he paused, shaking his head.
“You know that I did not mean to?” she said to him softly, earnestly.
“I can’t anymore…I can’t,” he said tiredly.
“You will tell her then?” She wanted to confirm.
“She’s my sister. I can’t…” He took a deep breath. “I can’t keep anything from her. It would hurt too much.”
“But… your father, Arthur? If they knew, if they found out…please, they can’t know. Please,” she pleaded with him.
“I have to go,” Stephen said.
He turned his back on her and he left the room.
The Queen felt like she couldn’t breathe, feeling her grasp on her life weaken with each passing day for the past five years.
Stephen had been thirteen the first time.
“My Lady?” Lancelot asked her in deep concern upon meeting her in the hallway. “You don’t look well.”
She was leaning against the wall for support. Gwen waved her hand. “I’m all right. I’m fine,” she tried to assure him.
She could barely keep her composure when she could see Arthur and Merlin, backs facing her, ahead of them in the corridor. They were having an animated conversation, the king’s deep laugh ringing in the passageway as they went down an adjacent corridor and disappeared from her view.
With a resigned sigh, Gwen allowed Lancelot to help her back to her chambers.
Gwen had felt like the victim at first. So much pressure had been placed on her, and she had disappointed Arthur. And he spent more time with Merlin, confiding in the man as Arthur had always done even back then during Merlin’s days as his manservant.
She should have known better…
She should have known…
But she had felt so alone, and…
She had taken advantage of a child’s kindness.
~ * ~
Stephen and Ella were in Tintagel when he confided in her. The twins found a moment to themselves while Prince Char had to attend to an urgent matter. Meanwhile, Merlin was in talks with the king and queen about the possibility of marriage between his daughter and their son. It was then that Stephen told his sister. She had asked him if he thought her an idiot for not suspecting such a thing was happening.
He had asked her what they should do, and to her surprise, she informed him that they do nothing.
The Queen was punishing herself enough after all -- wracked with guilt and waiting for the truth to be unraveled.
“This could be a mercy to her, or a cruelty to her, Stephen. She will never be sure if we will remain silent or speak,” she said to him.
“This is cruel,” he told her.
“This is justice,” Ella corrected resolutely.
~ * ~
When Ella was set to return to Camelot, the engagement became official. The wedding took place the following spring at Tintagel.
~ * ~
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Arthur and Merlin are having a hard time of it here. :( Gwen, unfortunately, has had the years take its toll on her. She's in an unhappy place right now. :(
I haven't seen the Ella Enchanted movie, but I did read the book when I was younger (loved the book :)). I was planning on giving the prince a different name, but then I remembered Ella Enchanted and I thought it was just too perfect to name him Char. And I was thinking of Cinderella when I named Ella. I thought it would be amusing since Ella is nothing like Cinderella. :p
Thanks for reading and commenting. I appreciate it. :)
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As for reading/commenting, it was my pleasure; this story is great. =O
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I'm glad that you're enjoying this story. :) I'm hoping to get the final chapter posted within a week. I've been working on it a little each day and it's becoming longer than expected. oO It has been fun writing all the same. :)
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Yesyes, it really is lovely. Very creative idea. =O Ooh, I look forward to longer-than-expected chapters. They make me giggle. x3 Of course, Merlin/Arthur is just so much fun to write... 8D
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I couldn't bear it if Arthur and Merlin didn't reconcile. I had to restore trust between them.
Thank you for reading and commenting. :) I appreciate it.
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And oh Guinevere *shakes head*
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Yes, Guinevere is not doing too well in this fic verse. :(
Thank you for reading and commenting. I appreciate it! :)