Merlin's past and pain (ON HOLD)

The Hunt

The next morning, very early, all the knights were preparing their horses. All the knights wore their kingdom color cloaks. The Camelot knights wore their red cloaks with the dragon crests while the Camatin knights wore dark blue cloaks with a lion crest. Merlin appeared and he too was wearing a cloak, his chain mail barely visible. He prepared his horse and climbed on, he looked up to the balcony that was connected to the kings chambers and nodded weakly. Lucia was standing there on the balcony, her eyes were welled with tears and she bit her bottom lip, her eyes were filled with betrayal and hurt. Merlin turned and his horse, then muttered,

"I'm going to the border. Catch up when you're all fully prepared." Merlin started to ride away, Arthur climbed onto his horse and followed Merlin. Merlin didn't seem to acknowledge Arthur, so the blonde cleared his throat and asked,

"Why, of all times, did you name Lucia your successor? Why now?" Merlin sighed heavily and said,

"Because I'm positive, Morgona will not stop until I am dead. She will not stop until my body is separated from my head. Besides, Camatin deserves a more worthy ruler." Arthur looked at the back of Merlin's head in disbelief, he then trotted forward on his horse and punched Merlin in the upper arm. Merlin winced and looked up,

"What the hell Arthur?!" Arthur narrowed his eyes and hissed,

"Get this through your head Merlin! In light of circumstances, you are possibly the greatest king I've ever seen! Besides you have an advantage against Morgona, right? Your one of the most powerful sorcerers alive, right?!" Merlin smirked weakly and muttered under his breath,

"One of the greatest, rumor has it." Both men chuckled at the joke, then Merlin sighed and looked over his shoulder, only to see the knights catching up. Merlin and Arthur smiled silently and waited for the knights to catch up, then the group passed the border and entered the forest edging Camatins borders.

After several hours, the group stopped and set up camp near a small stream. It was about 2 in the afternoon now, [I said several hours, didn't i?] and the knights had started cooking. Arthur brought a plate off food to Merlin, who was leaning against a tree, with a knife in his hand just in case, and sat down next to the brunette.

"Merlin, you need to eat." Merlin looked at Arthur and said,

"No, you eat it or give it to the knights. I'm not hungry." Arthur scoffed weakly and set the food next to Merlin, then stood and walked back over to the knights, who were watching Merlin suspiciously through the corners of their eyes. Merlin closed his eyes and leaned his head back so it rested against the tree and every few minutes, his hand twitched around the knife handle anxiously. After a few minutes, Merlin's eyes shot open and he stood quickly and quietly. He crouched down and slowly moved over to the river, he dipped his hand into the water and the brunette sorcerer whispered an incantation, his eyes burned and the water bubbled slightly. Merlin was focused mainly on the water, he was looking for something. Merlin apparently found what he was looking at, he smiled weakly and whispered,

"Morgona, fighting dirty are we?"

An arrow suddenly sailed past the crouched brunette, the knights snapped into action, grabbing their swords. Merlin straightened up and Morgonas voice suddenly boomed around the group,

"Why are the knights of Camelot protecting a pathetic sorcerer?! Isn't magic against the laws in Camelot?" Arthur hissed,

"Merlin isn't like you Morgona! Even if we were in Camelot, Merlin would and always will be welcome! People like you are not welcome in Camelot, people like Merlin are!" Morgonas disembodied voice chuckled coldly and hissed something. Merlin was suddenly sent flying backwards, he landed in the shallow river, where a water like body appeared. The body stood, completely transparent and yet it could move and talk. It slashed at Merlin, who ducked and the creatures hand smashed against a large boulder behind the brunette, slashing the rock in half. Merlin stumbled back and dove over to the group. He pulled his sword from its sheath and Morgonas voice hissed angrily. Merlin grinned slightly and said,

"Correct Morgona. This sword was never destroyed, it's been in hiding. And now I have it." Morgona hissed again and the creature slashed at Merlin, completely ignoring the knights and the blonde king.

Merlin ducked and moved back, the creature slinked forwards and it suddenly changed shape. It was no longer a see-through water body, it had turned into a young woman, of maybe 17 with short black hair. She was soaking wet, water dripping everywhere. The woman was crying too, her bright green eyes glistening,

"Why did you kill me Merlin?! Why?!" Merlin grit his teeth and hissed,

"I didn't kill you! My so called father did! I wasn't even on the hunting trip, I wasn't even in Camatin! I didn't harm you or your group!" The woman slashed again, this time Merlin raised his sword and blocked, the sword cut through the woman's fake arm as it were a warm knife cutting through butter. The woman howled in pain and she slashed with her other arm, this time Merlin spun around and with one mighty slice, he cut the woman's head off. The head tumbled away, the body dissolved into a puddle for boiling water, the head dissolved into ash. Morgona suddenly hissed,

"Don't get cocky Emrys! Your time is almost up!" With that, a howling wind brushed over everyone and Morgona spoke no more. After a few seconds of silence, Merlin turned to the men,

"Is everyone alright?" Everyone nodded and Gwaine suddenly asked, extremely curious,

"Why is Morgona afraid of that sword?" Merlin looked at the sword in his hands and sat down, the knights and Arthur following his lead.

"This sword was created by some of the most powerful wizards and high-priestesses of the old religion. This sword can kill ghosts, slay dragons with a single cut. It is the single most magical item, possible all if the kingdoms." All the knights marveled at the sword, then Markus, one of the Camatin knights asked,

"Is that why you father carried it everywhere?" Merlin nodded and said,

"My father, the king of Camatin was an old fool. He thought that if he had this sword with him always, he would be safe from any hex, any curse, and spell." Leon asked suddenly,

"Does it?" Merlin smiled and pulled the sword from its sheath, then held it up for everyone to see,

"It protects you from hexes and such while your in battle. The sword has an extremely strong magical charm. It knows when your in danger and protects the handler from outside attacks. It comes in handy. Best part is, if someone.. say an enemy, were to get ahold of the sword the handle would burn until it was dropped. The handler of the sword is decided by the previous owner. My father gave me this sword but if someone else were to try and use it, it would burn their hands beyond repair. No one else will be able to use my sword unless I say that they are the next handler." Merlin was looking at the sword, all the knights marveled at it in astonishment and amazement.