Merlin: Fate Be Changed

Love in the Time of Dragons (Part 1)

"In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young boy. His name: Merlin!"

The day had begun. The people of Camelot going about their business and a newcomer strolled through the streets of the lower town with a single goal. One destination. Almost as if she had been there before. Finally, she came upon a little house and entered. It was old that much one could tell. It looked as though no one had lived there for a little over 20 years.

The old woman set her things down and then placed a large box with ancient looking symbols carved into it on the table. She opened it up and spoke in the language of the Old Religion. When she finished, her eyes flashed gold and suddenly, a monster crawled out of the box. It was of grey complexion with a black maw full of razor sharp teeth, a scorpion's tail, and two horrid yellow eyes that bore right into your soul.

It snarled and hissed and growled, as the woman sat in a chair and it pounced into her lap. However, the woman was calm and she stroked the beast soothingly. "Calm yourself, my pretty," she said. "We're home now." The beast smirked wickedly and purred under her touch.

In the council chambers, Merlin, Arthur, Gaius, and Uther were discussing rumors of magic running amok in the lower town which had set Arthur and the king on edge. Although, for different reasons. "Gaius, there have been disturbing rumors from outlying villages," the king said. Arthur visibly tensed and shot Merlin a questioning look, which Merlin returned with a confused look of his own.

"Relax, Arthur, before Uther sees." Arthur heard Merlin say in his head. Arthur rolled his eyes but did as the young warlock requested. "Sire?" Gaius asked snapping both boys out of their telepathy. "Someone--" Uther beckoned Arthur to hand him a small stack of reports, "some kind of physician is offering treatments. I fear magic may have been used."

Gaius furrowed his brow. "What is it that makes you suspicious?" he asked. The king leaned forward in his throne, "There are reports of miracle cures-- a boy thrown from a horse, a farmhand mauled by a boar--" Uther pressed on receiving some very interesting looks from the other three men, "all hopeless cases, it seems, and yet each and every one has made a full recovery."

Gaius slightly shrugged. "It's very hard for me to comment, sire," the old physician answered. "I'd have to examine the patients myself." "That won't be necessary," Uther cut off. "Because there's a new case that's arisen here in Camelot." Gaius furrowed his brow deeper. "Who?" he inquired. Arthur held up one of the reports and said, "The innkeeper. He's returned to work." Uther drank from his cup and looked up at his advisor expectantly. All the time, Merlin and Arthur shared a masked look of concern.

Gaius scoffed dismissively, "That's not possible. The condition was critical. I saw him only days ago." "Yes, Gaius, the whole point of these reports are that all of them are impossible," Arthur snarked under his breath as he drank from his own cup. Apparently, he wasn't quiet enough, because the king and the physician glowered at him, while Merlin stifled a laugh. Uther saw the barely contained smirk on the serving boy's face and unapologetic look on his son's but paid no heed to it and returned his attention to the problem at hand.

"So, you agree that magic must involved?"

"I couldn't say for sure," Gaius replied after shooting Merlin a warning glare. "Then go to the tavern and find out," Uther ordered. "If sorcery is at work here, we must act quickly." To which, both Arthur and Merlin, subtly this time, rolled their eyes. "Yes, Sire. I'll see to it right away," Gaius bowed and he and Merlin turned to exit the throne room.

Once they were gone and the two royals were finally alone, Uther stopped moving his quill across the page he was writing and looked to his son who was hard at work. "You've grown distant and irritable since you're return from the Perilous Lands," Uther pointed out. "Hmm," Arthur smirked without mirth. "Well, coming back from a place like that darkens you, but it also opens your eyes to a few things." This piqued Uther's interest. "Do you refer to the prophecy that you spoke of?"

Arthur paused. "And other things," he finally responded. "I see you and Merlin have gotten pretty close," Uther acknowledged. Arthur froze. "Yes, well we've been through a lot together. What with both of us saving each other's backs constantly," the prince finally answered. Uther didn't get a chance to ask what that meant, because his son rose from his seat and motioned to leave the council chambers.

He didn't even wait for Uther to dismiss him. They were never overly close during Arthur's youth, but they still shared a deep enough connection that Arthur would tell him most everything in his life. Now, it seemed like Arthur would rather be surrounded by people like Merlin and Morgana's maid Guinevere than the king. This left the king suspicious and curious as to what had happened to his son to make him so closed off and secretive.

Well, he was determined to find out that's for sure. No one keeps the king in the dark. Not even the Crown Prince.

At the same time this was happening, Merlin and Gaius were scouring the lower town on their way to the home of the innkeeper. "That's unbelievable," Merlin sneered. "Uther has no problem turning to to magic if his family are threatened." "And you have no problem expressing your contempt of that; Arthur, too," Gaius shot back. "Now, keep your voice down, Merlin."

Merlin, however, had no intention of stopping his rant, "He is such a hypocrite." This made Gaius stop in his tracks and turn to face his nephew. "He's also the king," he warned. "So if you value your head, use it." Merlin obeyed and the Two of them entered the Rising Sun tavern.

When they entered the tavern, one of the first few of things they noticed was that there were only a few costumers. The second thing was that there were wind chimes hanging above them near the door way. They bore a few similar markings from Merlin's book of spells and enchantments. All of which, Merlin and Gaius understood and recognized. But the last thing they noticed was the craziest of all. The innkeeper, Evoric, was shuffling about working to keep the tavern in order. "Ah, welcome," he greeted the two magicians. "Gaius, what a pleasant surprise."

The healer gawked in amazement for not many moons ago had he diagnosed the man with an incurable disease that would leave him bedridden.

"Evoric?"