#in the first 4 years of arthur's reign camelot is not safe for anyone with magic periodt

[tiodolma]

Arthur: "What do you think Merlin, should magic have a place in Camelot?

Merlin, who has listened to Arthur make a valid case on how his life and kingdom are always threatened by magic; Merlin, who still keeps seeing sorcerers arrested and burned just for existing inside Camelot; Merlin, who's close friends who are all politically powerful regularly call sorcerers as "fanatics", "heretics", "deranged", "desperate" and "dangerous"; Merlin, who'd been told over and over again that his worries are "merely superstition" and "nonsense"; Merlin, who'd been mocked for having "funny feelings"; Merlin, who has seen Arthur steadfastly uphold his father's policies that All Magic is Evil; Merlin, who have been told repeatedly by major magic institutions that Mordred would murder the King; Merlin who has had first hand experience of prophetic visions always coming true; Merlin, who has chosen Arthur's safety over everything else, even over Merlin's freedom: "There can be no magic in Camelot."

[theroundbartable]

Dragon Island (part 4)

Chapter 4: The unspoken sentence The boat followed the siren slowly. Leon's headache had lessened, but somehow, his urge to vomit grew even worse than before. The knight had the distinct feeling that it wasn't the siren's fault that he got paler and paler.

Not that Leon was worried much about his own well being. He wasn't scared of dying. Never was. What he was scared of was suffering. And he felt like destiny had decided he would have to suffer endlessly.The ship came to halt at an opening inside what looked like a mountain. This must be the cave that the expedition before them had found.

The opening was shallow and their boats were definitely too big to get through.“Sir Leon, what are your orders?”, Sir Elyan shouted from the steering wheel, while the rest of the crew made sure the ship would be bound to the shore safely.“Ready the side boats. Gwaine, Lancelot, Elyan and I will explore the cave. The rest of you, stay here.

If we're not back before nightfall, you have permission to send help to Camelot.”Leon heaved himself up. Lancelot, who must have noticed his condition, helped him over deck and get inside the boat.Elyan and Gwaine followed soon after. They wore softer, more suitable clothes for the travel, but they had their chain mail close to them, just in case.

At this point, Freya's head popped up before them, causing Gwaine and Lancelot to jump. Elyan grabbed his sword. Neither of them had known they had been following her.“Don't attack her, she lead us here.”, Leon stopped them with a wave of his hand, which he sooner rather than later had to hold up in front of his mouth. Not that there was anything for him to puke out anymore. He must have lost a few pounds during the entire boat ride. The other three exchanged a look.Freya smiled. “There is nothing to be afraid of. We are all friends of Merlin.”, Freya smiled gratefully at Leon, who looked at her in surprise.

He hadn't expected her to talk to them. Let alone to mention Merlin as the reason for her help.“Merlin?”, Lancelot asked curiously and leaned over edge of their boat. “You know him?” “I knew that boy had it in him.”, Gwaine grinned and winked at her. Then suddenly he grew uncertain and his grin turned into a frown. “If you hurt him, I will murder you.”, he growled, while Leon rolled his eyes at Gwaine's indecision how to treat her. Elyan just watched them all. He stayed silent. He observed.“Don't worry. Merlin is safe. I would never hurt him. Arthur and Merlin are already on their way to Senvilla. It's a town on Drakonier. You must know that the entrance to the island is closed for non dragon kin. If you have their favor, the gate will let you pass.But beware, the villagers do not take lightly to Uther's men. I'm asking you, leave your weapons here, do not appear as a threat to them. Then they might listen to you.”“That seems like a trap.”, Elyan commented warily. What else was he supposed to think? Invading the enemy territory unarmed? That sounded like madness.“He is right. Why would we trust you?”, Gwaine agreed.Freya tilted her head with a smile. “That is not the question. The question is, why would I trust you? As you seek war with the dragons? The dragons are allies of mine. I have no intention to betray them. Helping you, endangers the peace we have.”, she said and she obviously had a point.Three of the men exchanged glances. Leon could barely move his head, so he only flickered his eyes to them.

“I owe Merlin. And I trust that you will help him achieve peace with the dragons.”, she finally said and held her head high. “Do not make me regret this.” She was about to leave, when Gwaine suddenly held her by the arm. Her eyes seemed to hiss at him, as he did.“And how exactly are we to get through, if we don't have the favor of dragon kin?”, Gwaine raised his eyebrows in suspicion, but let go of her, as he realized she wasn't attacking. Rather, appeared to be frightened by his action.“You have Sir Leon.”, she said as though that was an explanation. And with a splash, she dove down and disappeared once again.“Leon?”, Gwaine muttered in surprise, but in that very moment, Leon hissed and collapsed over the edge of the boat. The headache had returned and it felt like it was splitting his head open.“Urgh.”, Lancelot growled annoyed. “Let's get him off the boat. Look, we can go on land there.”, he said and pointed in the direction right in front of them.Elyan nodded and started to row faster into the glowing cave. You know this place. From here, you could not see the route outside, or the sky or anything. But everything glowed. It was the same place Arthur and Merlin had washed ashore.With a grunt, they heaved Leon off the boat to lay him on land. It should take about ten minutes for him to calm down and for his headache to leave. It had worked back in Camelot.But you know... it was not the sea that made Leon sick. In fact, Leon wasn't seasick at all.

His headache worsened, as soon as he touched the ground and the moment he started coughing, blood splattered on the sand. Leon barely managed to breathe as his friends tried to touch him. They panicked, uncertain what the hell they were supposed to do, when suddenly, a figure with glowing green eyes approached them.They looked up and suddenly, they all realized that something had changed. The blue glowing markings had rearranged themselves. And there, all over the cave walls, was a word, that even non dragon kin was able to read. In bloody letters, glowing painfully red, it read: TRAITOR!Leon stared at the creature that emerged from the dark. While the knights grabbed for their swords, the tiny dragon locked eyes with Sir Leon. “It's about time, Hector.”Leon frowned. “Who?”, he asked, but then he started coughing blood once more. A second later, his vision faded to black.

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Morgana and Gwen had rushed to get out of the throne room as fast as possible, as soon as Uther and Gaius left.Now they were standing inside of Morgana's chambers. (Dressed differently than before as it was late night outside.) George, the servant, stood at the wooden table inside Morgana's room, taking out scrolls and books that he must have gotten from the library.“Why are we asking George for help again?”, Morgana whispered the question in Gwen's ear. “Because he's Leon's friend and I trust that he knows more about this than anyone else.”George's eyes flickered up at them. He had heard them clearly, but pretended he didn't. “My lady, these are the records of the purge against the dragons. And the records of all noble families that aided in the war against them. I hope this satisfies you.”“Very. Thank you, George.”, Morgana smiled kindly at him, but other than most servants, George's expression wasn't saying anything. He just nodded politely. Observant as always.“May I ask you, George, what does it say about Sir Leon's family?” Of course, they could read it themselves, but if George was already here...George's eyes narrowed. But he obeyed, as he looked into the records. “Sir Leon's father, Sir Hector Gordon Ornwald was an immigrant. The records do not say where he's from. But it says he played a big role in the war against the dragon lord's.

It says here, that he aided the king with information against their kin and killed dozens of them by himself. He married lady Elena Ornwald and kept her last name. Which is unusual for a knight.... However, they had a son and named him Leon. After lady Elena's father who died in the war.Sir Hector died a couple years into the war as well.”, George blinked with confusion. He held the peace of paper closer to his face to make sure he read it correctly.“What is it?”, Morgana asked, not even surprised by a single sentence so far. “Sir Hector was marked as a traitor in these records. And burned at the stake for sorcery.”, George ended the story.Morgana and Gwen exchanged a look. “That makes no sense.”, Morgana shook her head. “If Leon's father was a traitor. Then the entire family should have fallen in disgrace. But Leon became first knight. This doesn't seem right.”, she shook her head.“Sir Leon must have been two years old, when Sir Hector was burned. Lady Elena was the one who accused him of sorcery. At least that's what it says here. I suppose the king spoke a pardon for her then.”, George offered as an explanation.“Actually … there is something else.”��Does it say how Sir Hector offered his aid in the war?” “No. Nothing.”, George shook his head and took a deep breath. “It only says lady Elena was pardoned.” He hesitated to say the rest, because... that other part was too cruel. And it didn't seem right. It didn't seem right at all. He picked up the other book about the war against the Drakonier.As soon as he opened the book however, George's expression startled once more. For someone so composed, it truly got Morgana's and Gwen's curiosity. “What is it?”, Morgana asked.George shook his head. “It's just....”, he said and read the part again. “This book says, all dragon kin are immortal. No mortal weapons have proven useful to kill them.”He looked at the two women, as Gwen vehemently shook her head. “How has Sir Hector managed to kill Dragon lords, if they can't be killed?”“Furthermore...”, George looked up again, all hints of his usually held back personality gone all of a sudden. “Why is Sir Leon.... ”, he shoved the records towards Morgana who stared at them with absolute confusion. “... still alive? There, black ink on white pergament, was written a death sentence for a certain Leon Ornwald at the age of two. For being an associate of the known sorcerer Sir Hector Gordon Ornwald, he was to be burned at the pyre. The sentence, if the records were to be believed, had been executed accordingly.

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*Flashback*

There was a small island. Not far from the land were Camelot's kingdom blossomed in the early years of Uther's reign.

The island did not belong to Camelot. It was an independent island full of dragons, dragon lords and dragon kin. The latter meant the families of the dragon lords. Second and third sons (and so on) as well as daughters and wives and cousins, all of who were born without the ability to control or hatch dragons. They were simply called the dragon kin, as they were also creatures of magic. There was no edge to that title, as they were still more powerful than normal humans.Not every dragon lord had magic though. And not every dragon kin had magic. But there was a high chance that they did.But of course, the title of the dragon lord's made them noble by default. After watching Arthur's first interaction with the serving population, you may have an idea of how they treat those with lesser powers.Their island was at war with Uther Pendragon, who was already dead set on getting the world rid of dragon's, dragon lords and their kin. To the immortal population of Drakonier, however, it was a painful concern that their kind was actually threatened by this powerless man. Their lords died during these battles. Only the dragon's seemed to survive. And so far, nobody knew why or how their lords were harmed in the first place. As you see, even the lowest of their kin was supposed to be immortal.

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A young man with blond locks and a slightly familiar face, ran down the woods made of palm trees. In his hand, he held a small dragon. His green scales may seem familiar to you, as you have already gotten to know Ciril. The dragon in the boys arm is him. It is clear that he is weak, they way he lays limp in his arms. Not hurt, per se. Just exhausted beyond compare. His breathing is shallow and it's obvious that he's sick, the way his scales are falling off his body, leaving a small tray of color behind them.The man, maybe still a boy, ran with panting breaths. He stumbled over rocks and trees and his knee is already split open and bloody as he fought his way through the bushes and branches.They werer followed by boys within his age range. Two of them were sitting on dragons, much bigger than Ciril. Much more fearsome. One other sat behind one of them. He didn't have the power to control dragons, but he was the oldest son of a dragon lord. Which means, the chances were high that he would unleash his powers someday. Should his father die in battle. The other two have already lost their fathers. Any maybe they should be pitied, because they lost them, but the way they acted is not to be excused by that.They growl in the tongue of the dragons. And the dragons they sat on shake their heads, trying not to listen to their orders, but they followed the blond one anyway. Not that the dragons in question had a choice.The hunt came to an abrupt end, as the blond man fell over another branch and rolled down a hill. Right into another man who sat beside a river, fishing. There, on the other side of the river, you could see another familiar figure lying there, sleeping. It is Kilgharrah. He was free and he was happy and content with where he was. Because this is home.The two boys scrambled to their feet and the blond one was about to run again, when the other boy, whose face now came clearly into view, spotted the hunters. The boy looked familiar as well. But it's hard to tell who it was. He had black hair and blue eyes. But his face was round and youthful.“Ugh... again?”, he muttered and his voice sounded a little familiar in it's annoyance.“Caleb, Alex, Sentiell, can't you go bother someone else?”, The boy shouted. But the ones in the air just came to a halt and laughed. “Oh look who's here guys, it's the chance kid.”, they rolled their eyes. They were looking down on both of then. In their position, as well as their expressions.“Shut up and leave, before I tell Kilgharrah to take care of you.”, The black haired one crossed his arms. His sleeves were up and there were tattoos visible. Many many tattoos of dragon's graced his arms and even his neck.The boys on the dragon's frowned disappointed but also worried. As they looked at Kilgharrah and compared his size with their own dragon's. It was clear, why neither of them dared to pick a fight with him. “Come guys, we'll get him tomorrow.”, they said and turned their dragons around to leave. Barely, you could see Kilgharrah grin. Pleased at Balinor's actions.Finally, you can make out the blond boy's face. He looks younger, more nervous and more fierce and definitely a lot more chaotic than what we're used to, but he is the splitting image of Sir Leon.“Hector, are you alright?”, Balinor asked and hissed as he spotted Hector's bloody knee that was already starting to get an infection. “I'm fine.”, Hector replied as he walked over to the river and sat down, to stop shaking Ciril in his arms.“But Ciril isn't.”, he added and put him on his lap.“Are they hurt?”, Balinor asked and sat down beside him. Then he rolled up the leg of Hector's trouser and starts to clean the wound. It looks practiced, the way he started to clean it with plants that grow beside the river. They've done this before. Some of the scars on Hector's arms and legs are proof of that.“Mostly exhausted. They've ordered him to pick fights with chicken again.”, Hector mumbled and comfortingly stroked her tiny scales. Balinor frowned. “Monsters.”, he commented and it was obvious that he didn't mean the chicken.“They are worse than that.”, Hector growled. “They don't deserve their powers. All dragon lords are the same. They all use their abilities to make dragon's suffer. Because it's easy. Isn't it? They don't even see what they are doing. They're treating them like horses and dogs and even less than that.”, Hector growled with a hatred in his voice that makes Balinor pause.“I might be a dragon lord.”, he said quietly. It was almost a question. “And my father was one.”, he added, but went back to cleaning the wound. He was used to Hector's negativity. And his hatred. And Balinor was the only person who knew why Hector was acting this way. And he understood that. That's why he didn't take it personally.“No you're not. Your father may have been a dragon lord, but you're not the oldest son.”, Hector shook his head. “And your father was just as much of a bastard as these guys. SO... don't vouch for him. You're better than that, Bal.”Balinor sighed. “My father is still alive, you know? No need to talk in past tense already. Also, my mother lost an unborn child. Nobody knows whether or not they were a son or a daughter. So it's unclear, if I will be a dragon lord or not. I could be one for all we know.”“I bet with you it was a son. You are better than them. Don't get on their level, Balinor. They're all assholes. You're lucky Kilgharrah only listens to family members. Or else they would have made him bite your head off.”“Not all dragon lord's are like them.”, Balinor muttered defensively, but Hector scoffed. “They're all the same. They're the scum of the earth. They don't deserve the immortality they use to torture other they think below them.

And we're all taught to treat them like nobility. Noble is who acts noble. Not because you're born with more powers than anyone else.”Balinor sighed once more, then he took Ciril out of Hector's lap to give him water from the river to drink. Ciril barely managed to open his mouth, but he does eventually and when he drank, he fell asleep almost a few seconds later. Without uttering a word, Kilgarrah lifts a palm over the river and Balinor carefully lays him into it. Kilgarrah flares his nostrils at the smaller dragon and a wave of magic passed over Ciril, before he reeled his paw in and protectively shielded the smaller dragon with it. The dragon's breath was a healing sort of breath. The same that Kilgharrah would use later to heal Merlin from the serket sting.“Maybe I should phrase that differently.”, Balinor took a deep breath and turned to face Hector. Hector's face is covered in bruises as well. “Not all dragon lords are like your brother and father.”Hector scoffed again, but he contained himself. “No. They're just the worst of them all.”“Did he hit you again?”, Balinor asked and put a comforting hand on Hector's shoulder. Hector looked down. “He still blames me for our fathers death. Just because I told him that a true dragon lord would defend our dragons and would fight that bastard of a king.” Hector's anger suddenly melts away and he grins amused. He laughed even, as he ran a hand over a particularly old scar. It looked like the bite of a dragon. “I mean, he's not wrong. It IS my fault.”Balinor's hand slipped away as he took in the expression. The expression that spoke of malice and anger and revenge. Successful revenge. Hector looked proud, satisfied. Not regretful. “What are you talking about?”, Balinor asked. Because he knew his friend and he knew something was off. Hector wasn't the type who blamed himself for anything and he didn't seem like he did anyway. “It's not your fault he died. He went to defend his country. That's not your fault!”, Balinor tried to comfort him. Hoped that he was wrong and there was unreasonable regret in that voice, but Hector's smile widened into a grin.“No. That part is not my fault. I just send that coward to do his job. But... There is a reason why he lost his immortality, you know.”, Hector's giggled at the thought.Balinor stood up, and backed away slowly. There should be no way that Hector would know why dragon lord's had lost their immortality. Or how. This didn't sound right. It didn't sound like Hector. “What did you do -”

There had been rumors that Uther Pendragon had found a way to kill immortals. That he had developed weapons that could kill their kind. But the way Hector spoke, Balinor got a very bad feeling about this.Hector laughed and even Kilgharrah looked uncomfortable where he witnessed their interaction. “No. Uther is merely a fool, Bal. It's my fathers own fault really. You know how I don't heal as fast as I was supposed to? Since, you know, I should be immortal too? Like all dragon kin? I'm not. Not anymore. And that's his doing.”, he looked angered again, as he balled his fist.Balinor nodded slowly, but also slightly scared.“Yeah, I figured, that that started the day my father made Kendris bite me. It's funny, you know? Dragons cannot kill Dragon lords on their own will. But their venom can take away our immortality and our healing abilities. I just.... slipped some of it in my father's last drink before he left. I didn't think it would actually work.” Hector's eyes glistened with mirth as he barked out a laugh. “My stupid brother made the same mistake.”Balinor started to pant with disbelieve. “Why would you -”; he said and shook his head. “Hector, you wouldn't-”Hector stood up as well now, ignoring the injury on his knee.“You think they are the only one's I did this to? ALL dragon lords should share this fate. They're getting too powerful. Uther may be a horrible king, but at least he understands what powerful monsters these dragon lords are. He's helping me. They torture dragon's for all eternity. This shouldn't be their always! You understand that, right? You'll help me right?”“Hector. My father is sick. You didn't -”Hector laughed. “Of course I did.”, he looked mad, the way his grin broke into full on laughter and he got even closer to Balinor. “Don't worry, you're safe from me, Bal. I made sure of it. As long as you stay my friend. Now, what do you say? Will you help me get rid of these pests to safe the dragons?”

*Flashback ends*

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One of the funniest thing, I – as the author – observed about Arthur's feelings, is that the prince was still uncertain if Merlin understood all he had said.It may sound ridiculous, but Arthur was still unsure, if he had shown his affections for Merlin clear enough. After all, Merlin had not yet responded to the love confession that Merlin WAS aware of. So, Arthur ridiculously concluded, he hadn't been obvious enough. After his talk with Gwaine, Arthur assumed that the level of which he expressed his affections, was still below Merlin's.In a way, he was right, as he stood up that morning, completely on edge as to how Merlin would talk to him from now on. But the morning had, once again, painted over the mysterious effect the night had on the human heart and cured Arthur's overly emotional behavior. Merlin as well, seemed normal at first. He insulted Arthur, Arthur insulted back and their entire dynamic went back to normal. Or so it seemed.Arthur didn't know what he had done wrong, but he was certain he must have done SOMETHING wrong.

It was like nothing at all had changed. Well... actually, that wasn't true at all. Because Merlin was still nervous around him. The jokes were the same, but since the magic confession, it didn't seem like Merlin was quite done with hiding.Despite the fact that Arthur had accepted him, he had used no magic in front of him. He had talked nothing about his past and Arthur felt like Merlin was still scared about something. Still worried.He didn't really look at Arthur. Even if he faced him, his eyes betrayed him and Arthur felt strangely avoided.“Merlin, you don't seem alright.”Maybe it would have been wise to ask, if Merlin was alright first. But Arthur already knew the answer. Plus - that the man in question would lie to him about it.It was morning was still young and Ciril had come to wake them, so they would head of in the direction of Senvilla. To meet with the dragon kin and maybe a few other dragons. Arthur didn't trust the dragon at all. Because well.... she seemed rather suspicious, with how unsuspicious she appeared to be.Now she was just flying ahead of them and not bothering to listen to their conversation.“I'm fine.”, Merlin replied, as Arthur had expected. “I know, you're not, Merlin. There is no point in denying it. I understand that you're still … unsure about what you told me yesterday, but -”“That's not it.”, Merlin shook his head with a slight smile. But his tense shoulders betrayed him. “You don't understand. That's not all I've been hiding.”, Merlin finally looked at him with desperation. “I want to tell you more.... everything.” Merlin took a deep breath.

“I just don't know where to start.”“Merlin, it's fine. It's a lot. Take your time.”, Arthur put a hand on Merlin's shoulder as they made their way through the forest that wasn't quite a forest.Merlin huffed a small laugh. He almost snorted, actually. “Oh well. You have no idea.”Somehow, that stung again. Because Merlin was averting his eyes once more. And Arthur felt how his hand lost the grip on Merlin's shoulder. For the first time, actually not for the first time Arthur could remember, it was Merlin who was completely closed off. The last time he had been like this, he had been sulking for three days and Arthur still wasn't sure what it had been about.

It was like when Arthur opened that wall around him, Merlin couldn't bear it and pulled his own up instead. A much bigger and much more massive force than what Arthur had protected himself with.And that, right after sharing such a huge secret with him. Had Arthur not reacted correctly? Had he done something to make Merlin afraid of him? Had he come on too strong? Or not strong enough? Arthur didn't know what it was to be the comforting friend. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. And he felt like he was loosing Merlin little by little, if he let things continue this way.So Arthur did what he always did. Something that Merlin was used to and that Merlin knew how to deal with. Because running after someone wasn't Arthur's fortune. (He always ended up in traps or drowning or something.) Arthur was the prince of Camelot. All he really knew, was how to give orders.And of course, there was an annoyed edge to his grumble. A roll of his eyes. Of course he bumped Merlin in the shoulder, because the guy was getting too emotional.

Arthur was shit at these things. But it seemed to clear Merlin's head and remind him where they were and who he was talking to.Merlin actually protested with an “ow”, as Arthur's elbow made him stumble into the next palm tree. “What was that for?” Had Arthur gone too far? For a second, Arthur feared for the worst, but then he saw that faint grin on Merlin's face that he always wore when he thought Arthur being an ignorant prat. Which he was. Because that was what he was best at. So, Arthur didn't answer, he just grinned at Merlin and walked ahead. Pretending not to care that Merlin had to follow up.“Hey, wait for me.”“You're holding us up, Merlin. Just hurry up already.”And there it was finished. Arthur's secret method to deal with situations he had no clue how to deal with. It worked every time. At least, Merlin was laughing once more. 

Mission accomplished. --------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- First<< Previous < Masterlist > Next