Chapter Text
The knights had managed to leave Camelot before the sun had fully risen. It looked to be a lovely day and Merlin hoped the rosy light would lighten Arthur's mood.
As they topped a rise, the Prince suddenly pulled up. "What is that?" he demanded pointing to Thoal Keep, which was wrapped in a misty shroud of fog that clung to its walls.
"Looks like someone set my trap off," replied Merlin.
"Probably some itinerant tinker," huffed Arthur.
"Probably," agreed Merlin uncomfortably.
"Well, how do we get in, Sorcerer?" snapped Arthur.
"We don't, I do," stressed Merlin, dismounting and handing his reins to Percival.
"Not alone," insisted Arthur.
"I can't take us all in, Arthur, and I can only dispel the trap from inside once it's been set off," said Merlin looking up at him.
"I'll go," piped up Gwaine cheekily, dropping out of his own saddle. "You could manage one couldn't you?"
"There's really nothing you can do…"
Gwaine interrupted the sorcerer. "Wasn't the question." When Merlin rolled his eyes, Gwaine chided, "Ah come on, I'd like to see you do some magic that isn't aimed at me for a change."
"You're taking a knight in with you, Merlin. Might as well be Gwaine," drawled Arthur.
Merlin made a noise of assent and jogged down the hill to the gate, the knight easily keeping up at his side. Merlin slowed, making sure to keep well away from the fog that hung in wispy rolls around the walls of the keep. He held out an arm to keep Gwaine from coming too close, but the knight pulled out his sword and poked at the nearest tendril. "Stop that," said Merlin sharply.
"Why? Will it come after me?" asked Gwaine teasingly.
"This mist won't," replied Merlin, hoping that Gwaine would take the hint that that might not be true of all magical mists. Gwaine just shrugged in response and Merlin rolled his eyes. "Put your hand on my belt."
"Why, Merlin, I didn't know you cared," Gwaine teased.
Merlin frowned at him. "I need you to stay that close. You breathe any of this and you'll be waking up some time tomorrow."
"And I thought Arthur woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," said Gwaine, hooking two fingers of his left hand in the back of Merlin's belt.
Merlin concentrated and recited a spell that sprouted a whirlwind at their feet. As it grew past their knees and waists, it expanded so it encompassed them, the winds striking them hard so that they had to flex their knees to balance against the bluster. By the time the whirlwind reached the height of their faces, they were both standing completely within the vortex and not a breeze touched them. Once it had grown over their heads, Merlin said, "Let's go."
Gwaine glanced at Merlin, whose eyes were still burning gold, and gulped involuntarily. Merlin closed his eyes and bowed his head and Gwaine could see the strain on his face as the sorcerer touched the winch with his power, raising the portcullis while still maintaining the whirlwind. Merlin tipped his head and smiled slightly at Gwaine. "Should have thought that through better." As they stepped through the gate, their personal tornado sucked the mist into its winds, creating a solid wall of white that traveled with them. Once through, they could see nothing outside the vortex. Gwaine followed along, keeping his sword at the ready, not sure what they might meet. Not only could they not see around them, but the wind buffeted their feet as they walked, the opening at the bottom being barely wide enough to see their feet. Gwaine understood almost at once why Merlin was having him hang on to him. The sorcerer took small quick steps that Gwaine would have quickly outdistanced. Gwaine fell back slightly, letting Merlin lead. Merlin suddenly stumbled and Gwaine yanked him against his shoulder, concerned about what would happen if Merlin fell into the mists. They might neither one of them get out if Merlin fell to his own spell.
Merlin grabbed at Gwaine briefly and steadied himself. He gave the knight a glance of apology before toeing what he'd tripped on, which turned out to be a man's arm. "Found our trespasser," said Merlin wryly as he sidestepped around the man's hand and then over a sword. Merlin led the way across the courtyard and around the keep wall toward the garden.
"You had to put the release for the spell all the way out here?" asked Gwaine.
Merlin shrugged. "That's where the well is."
Gwaine wasn't sure what Merlin was talking about since there was a perfectly good well just inside the gate. Merlin suddenly stepped up on a large flat stone and drew Gwaine up behind him. Merlin held up his hands and called out in sharp staccato commands. Gwaine felt a change in the air and gripped Merlin's belt more tightly, feeling that he stood too close to the other man but not daring to step away as the whir of the wind increased to a roar. The mists whirling around them coalesced until Gwaine could have believed them to be milk. Then abruptly, they drained away, under the stone the two men were standing on. Silence filled the air and Gwaine let go of a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
"You can let go now," smiled Merlin.
"I'm so glad you don't have much of a temper," said Gwaine, getting down from the stone. He made a bet with himself as to who was attached to the arm they'd found and won it as he rounded the wall and spotted Agravaine lying in the courtyard. Gwaine ran to the gate and motioned the others to join them before returning to Agravaine and poking him with his toe, his sword ready to menace Agravaine into submission as soon as he woke, but Agravaine didn't even stir and his face wore an unhealthy tinge of blue.
"He won't wake," called Merlin, joining him.
"Won't he?" asked Gwaine.
"Not for hours yet, maybe not for a few days, not unless I wake him," said Merlin as Arthur and the rest of the knights arrived.
Arthur frowned down at his uncle. "You're sure he's not dead?"
"Shouldn't be," said Merlin, kneeling down to check. "No, he's breathing."
"Too bad," said Elyan, with a sourness that sounded out of character coming from the mild tempered knight.
"You have a problem with my uncle, Sir Elyan?" asked Arthur with a stiff formality.
"You didn't see him last night, Arthur," said Elyan sadly. "He led your father to Morgana and stood there while her men attacked him.
"You're sure?" asked Arthur, looking like someone had punched him in the gut.
Elyan's eyes warmed with apology. "He warned Morgana when I threw my knife at her. He's working for her, Arthur."
"There're some cells down below," supplied Percival. "Even found the keys. That way he wouldn't see us practicing even if he did wake up."
"Sounds like a good place to put him for the moment, but we're not practicing this morning," said Arthur, shaking himself as though still trying to comprehend what Elyan had said.
"What are we doing then?" asked Lancelot.
Arthur looked a Merlin for a long moment. "It doesn't need to be secret does it?"
"Not from anybody who doesn't want to take my head off for it," replied Merlin with a tilt of his chin and a rise of his eyebrow that bespoke caution.
Arthur bit his lip before glancing about at his knights. "I asked Merlin to perform a spell for me, one that I saw Morgause use. I need you to make sure we aren't interrupted."
"Of course," affirmed Kay affably, but then he glanced around as if wondering if he'd spoken out of turn.
Leon's brow furrowed. "One that… Arthur, you're not thinking of the one that I'm thinking of, are you? Because the last time that spell was cast, you tried to murder Uther."
"That's one of the reasons for doing this out here," said Arthur. "I need to know, Leon, if … what was told me… was true." He turned abruptly and hurried up the stair, where Merlin had been preparing a space that he could work magic in privacy.
Leon caught Merlin's arm as he tried to follow Arthur. "Are you sure about this?" he hissed in the sorcerer's ear.
Merlin frowned at Leon's hand on his arm but his expression softened as their eyes met. "I'm sure this is what Arthur needs. I'm not sure it's a good idea, but then I'm not always in agreement with Arthur's ideas. Just be ready to talk him out of any rash plans, will you?" Merlin pulled out of Leon's grasp and followed Arthur.
Leon frowned after him before filling the command vacuum Arthur had left. "All right, let's set out sentries, move Agravaine and we should probably drag some of the hay down so he doesn't wake up cold and sore. Not sure what kind of shape Arthur wants him in, but he's still his uncle."
***********************
When Merlin entered the room, Arthur was nowhere to be seen, but the door on the opposite wall stood open. This door was small and low and the walls of the rampart that it led onto were high, so that the door could not be seen from the ground. If you added a roof, it would be a small room of it's own, without so much as an arrow slit of it's own for light, and perhaps it had been used this way in the past, though at present, it was more of a balcony than a room. Merlin had picked this room partly because he liked the oddness of the rampart and partly because the room had no windows of its own.
A skeleton of a canopy bed just wide enough for two sat in one corner. Merlin had removed the moldering mattress and burned it as being nothing anyone would want to sleep on or even attempt to clean, though the wood of the bed itself was sound. The canopy had already been missing. At the foot of the bed, set comfortably next to the fireplace, sat a desk and chair, small enough and ornate enough that one might imagine them to have been for a lady's toilette. A double doored wardrobe the height of Merlin's shoulder guarded the wall between the two doors.
A shadow moved in the light streaming through the open door to the rampart and Merlin decided to leave Arthur alone with his thoughts while he prepared for the spell. He uncrated the dozens of low squat candles he'd brought from Camelot and began spreading them around the room, using the platform of the bed as well as the top of the wardrobe, the mantle and the small desk for places to put them. Then he drew a natural crystal the size of a man's head from it's hiding place in a tangle of kindling in the fireplace and reshuffled some of the candles on the bedframe so it could have pride of place there.
"You're sure you know what you're doing?" asked Arthur nervously, coming in from outside.
"Now you think to ask me," responded Merlin, motioning to Arthur to shut the door. An ancient word and flash of Merlin's eyes lit the dozens of candles now strewn around the room. "Yes, Arthur, I know what I'm doing. I've consulted every book I can find and every authority on the subject I could discover. I wasn't about to try this unless I was sure I could do it safely."
"I meant, is this actually going to work?" grumbled the Prince drily.
Merlin looked sideways at Arthur, frowning. "Just don't let her wrap you around her little finger like last time."
"I did not!" said Arthur sharply.
Merlin shook his head in exasperation. "Remember, you'll only have a few minutes and I can't cast the spell again until the next dark of the moon. So get what you need quickly." Merlin stepped to the end of the bed, close to the wall where he could be out of the way. He spoke to the crystal and it glowed with a bright white light. "Ready?" asked Merlin. Arthur nodded and Merlin said, "Close your eyes."
Merlin began to chant. A breeze sprang up in the room as the spell finished. As the breeze touched Arthur, he opened his eyes to find the person he most missed from his life standing before him.
"Mother," breathed Arthur joyfully.
"My son," called Ygraine stepping toward him eagerly. "I am so pleased to see you. I feared I would never hold you again." Mother and son embraced tightly.
Arthur pulled back, but kept his arms around his mother. "Mother, I have to know. You said that Father had betrayed you. How?"
She lowered her eyes and shook her head. "No, no, don't ask me…"
"Tell him the truth!" ordered Merlin, surging forward a step and catching hold of one of the bed poles as if to stop himself. The crystal beside him still glowed but the light had softened.
Ygraine turned to him sharply and her whole demeanor immediately changed. Her head came up and her expression became as cagey as a stalking cat. She took a step toward the sorcerer, while holding Arthur's arm still around her waist, bringing him with her. "Very good. I know this spell. Your sorcerer doesn't trust me, Arthur. He thinks I'll lie to you and the light of the crystals will go out."
"Merlin, what are you doing?" hissed Arthur. "I will not have you insult my Mother."
"No, no, Arthur, it's all right," Ygraine assured Arthur with a hard smile. "He's doing exactly as he ought, protecting you even from me. I'm pleased to see you've finally accepted my present, despite your father's antipathy."
"Present?" asked Arthur, confused.
Ygraine practically purred, "The most powerful sorcerer of your generation. Not much to look at, is he?"
Merlin's cheeks burned with embarrassment.
"Merlin?" asked Arthur, a little shocked by the change of subject. "I mean, I know that Merlin has power, but surely not…"
Ygraine beamed at her son proudly. "Nimueh's spell called the strongest sorcerer of your generation into your service. Of course if he's casting spells without your leave, you should take him in hand. He can do nothing to you. I assure you he's bound as tightly as though he were chained in your dungeon."
Arthur stared into her eyes, horrified.
She patted his shoulder, seeing his change of mood. "But you asked me about your Father, and I've no need to lie." Her voice hardened, "Your father did betray me in more ways than one. Uther came to Camelot first as a suitor for my hand, but my father wanted nothing less for me than to be a queen and Uther was not his father's heir. My father refused him. Perhaps I left Uther with too many hopes of my affection. I saw no reason for cruelty. If I had spurned him as I should have perhaps he would not have returned with an army."
"But the spell," stammered Arthur, "You told me that Father had traded your life for me."
Ygraine blushed prettily. "There wasn't much time, Arthur. Not nearly enough to explain all that happened. I'm sorry that I gave in to the temptation to simplify events. Every minute Uther sits on Camelot's throne is an insult to my family and a desecration to the land. You were born to overthrow the tyrant. If I had had the raising of you, you surely would have by now."
Arthur pulled away from her and took two steps back. "You were working with Morgause."
"To see Uther off my father's throne and you on it, yes I made a temporary alliance with the witch. Her presence was one reason I had to edit events. I would never give her details that would harm you."
"You might as well be working with Morgana!" shouted Arthur.
"Never," insisted Ygraine vehemently. "I would never betray you for Uther's bastard."
"Why should I believe you? Agravaine is working with Morgana."
Ygraine stepped close to her son and placed a hand on his chest. "Then he betrays me. I married your father to save my brothers' lives. You remind your Uncle of what he owes me. As for why you should believe me, ask your sorcerer. Perhaps it was good that he trusted me not overmuch. He can reassure you. There's so much more to tell you, about your father, about me. But the time is gone, Arthur. Call me again, I beg you." Ygraine touched Arthur's face and she was gone.
Arthur stood for a moment in shock, then walked out the door onto the rampart. Merlin spoke to the crystal, putting out it's light, and spared a moment of his power to douse the candles before following Arthur. Arthur sat on the stone roof with his knees curled up to his chest. Merlin knelt behind him and wrapped his arms around Arthur's shoulders.
"Don't," said Arthur dully.
"Why not?" asked Merlin, leaning his chin on Arthur's shoulder.
Frustrated, exasperated, Arthur said, "Because nothing you feel for me is real. It's all created by the spell. You just do what you do because you think it's what I'll want."
Merlin chuckled softly, "Don't try to teach your sorcerer magic, Arthur. The spell commands my loyalty, not my feelings."
"It's the same thing, isn't it?"
"No. Even if I hated you, I'd have to be loyal to you, though I'd probably be fighting that as hard as I could, especially knowing about the spell. But I don't hate you. I respect you. You're a good man, Arthur," Merlin shoved against Arthur's shoulders, "even if you do bully me sometimes."
Arthur ignored the shove. "I heard her. She thinks of you… she intended you to be my slave," he said, mortified by his mother's assumptions. "Are you really bound as tightly as if you were in the dungeon?"
"Probably," smirked Merlin, "but have you noticed that the dungeon can't actually hold me if I want to get out?"
"That's not funny, Merlin."
"But all too true. I doubt I could break Nimueh's spell, but I don't have to surrender to it either. Your mother may think I couldn't do anything to you, but I know that's not true."
"Really?" asked Arthur sourly.
"Really," Merlin assured him, moving so that he could sit facing Arthur, his side up against Arthur's knee. "For that matter, I think the spell backfired."
Arthur sat up straighter, his eyes twitching side to side. "How?"
Impishly, Merlin said, "Your parents are pretty terrible people, but you're not."
"Hey!" barked Arthur.
Coyly Merlin said, "Your Mother tried to enslave me and your Father wants to burn me at the stake. Really, Arthur, can you blame me for not liking your parents?"
"I suppose not," said Arthur, turning his face away in shame.
Merlin tilted his head, trying to see Arthur's eyes. "Nimueh's spell binds you to twenty knights chosen for their loyalty above all. So how can you help but have loyalty as your overriding characteristic? And if you are so loyal to something, you want what's best for it. That's what will make you a great king. You don't just want to rule Camelot, you care about the land and the people that make it up."
"You think so?" asked Arthur miserably.
"I know so," affirmed Merlin, shoving against Arthur's knees. This time, Arthur shoved back. Merlin grinned at him but Arthur looked away again. "Come on," said Merlin, scrambling up and trying to pull Arthur to his feet. "Let's reassure the others that I haven't bollixed up the spell so badly that the consequences will be dire."
Arthur reached up and pulled Merlin back down, his gaze abruptly penetrating. "If I ordered you to never use your magic again, could you do it?"
"What?" asked Merlin, suddenly alarmed.
"I'm not saying I would do it," Arthur said hurriedly. "But if I did, would that be the end of your magic?"
Merlin's head shivered back and forth in denial. "Please don't," he begged.
Arthur rubbed Merlin's shoulders comfortingly but waited silently for Merlin to answer.
Merlin tried to wet his suddenly dry mouth. He looked away from Arthur. "I don't know. The bonds on me are very powerful, but so is my magic. It would make it more difficult, but if I believed you were in danger, that magic was the only way to save you, I'd almost have to use it." Merlin turned frightened eyes to Arthur. "I don't know what the consequences of that order would be, but I can't imagine it would turn out well for either of us."
Arthur cupped Merlin's cheek reassuringly with his right hand. "Most powerful sorcerer of my generation?"
Hesitatingly, Merlin agreed, "That's what your mother said."
Arthur dropped his hands away from Merlin and got to his feet. "Father thinks that Morgana can just give up her magic and everything can go back to the way it was." He tilted his head at his sorcerer questioningly.
"Not a chance," said Merlin, getting up, his voice steadying as he realized the question had been more about Morgana than him. "Morgana's powers were out of control before Morgause trained her. Even if your mother's right and I'm the most powerful sorcerer of our generation, Morgana's not far behind. You don't just wish that kind of magic away, and I've no idea how to bind it."
"Oh, I think you've got some idea. You just don't have it all figured out yet," said Arthur, striding from the room.
Merlin stared at the Prince's back, wondering if the interview with Arthur's mother had given him an overinflated impression of his power.
********************
Arthur frowned down at his uncle, who slept on a pile of clean hay. His color had improved, or maybe that was the lack of light in the dungeon cell. Arthur glanced at Merlin. No sense in putting this off any further. "Wake him and walk out," Arthur grumbled at the sorcerer.
Merlin moved to the cell door before speaking the words which would break Agravaine's enchanted sleep. He ducked out quickly. Agravaine didn't need to know he'd been there.
Agravaine blinked sleep out of his eyes, coming fully awake as he noticed Arthur looming over him.
"You have some explaining to do, Uncle," said Arthur in a dangerously soft voice.
Agravaine's eyes darted around the cell, taking in his surroundings and Sir Percival standing guard just outside the barred gate of the cell. "Arthur! Thank God," said Agravaine, sliding into a sitting position. He groaned and pressed the heel of his hand into his forehead.
"What are you doing here, Agravaine?" Arthur growled.
"Here? Are we still at Thoal Keep?" asked Agravaine. At Arthur's nod, Agravaine apologized, "I'm sorry, Arthur. I'm a little muddled. Could I have some water?"
Arthur's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he glanced at Percival and nodded at the knight to fetch it. "Answer my question, Uncle."
Agravaine looked up at Arthur, but finding no pity there, he dropped his gaze to the floor. "I.. I got separated from the others in the battle, Arthur. I had to dodge and duck Morgana's forces for hours. They were constantly between me and Camelot. I thought this would be a good place to hide. But then there was all this mist and I was choking. That's all I remember until I woke just now."
"Not the way I heard it," said Arthur, his voice hard enough to crush stone. Percival returned with a metal mug of water and started to hand it to Agravaine, but Arthur held up a hand to stop him and took the mug himself. Percival backed off to his previous post as Arthur took a sip.
Agravaine glanced up at him and went back to staring at the floor. "Did everyone make it back to Camelot alright?"
"Yes, no thanks to you," replied Arthur, "though Sir Rexford will be laid up a while with a broken leg."
Agravaine dropped his head into his hands, his fingers clawing through his hair. "I panicked, Arthur. It's been a long time since I've been on a battlefield. I didn't know what to do."
Arthur could almost believe his uncle. Almost. "You led my Father to Morgana. You were seen, Agravaine."
Agravaine froze for a long moment before he whispered, "He begged me to."
Arthur grabbed Agravaine roughly by the arm and hauled him to his feet. "He's ill! He doesn't know what he's saying and you handed him over to her!"
"I hate him," breathed Agravaine, finally meeting Arthur's eyes. "I've been playing his lackey for so many years and I hate him. He wanted to see her, fine, I arranged it, and if she had killed him, so much the better. You would be King and Camelot's throne would be restored to its rightful bloodline through you."
Arthur shoved Agravaine away and the older man stumbled. He caught himself with one hand on the stone wall. Arthur threw the mug away in frustration and the water spilled over the floor. "That will happen eventually anyway!"
"The sooner the better to my mind," said Agravaine. "I wouldn't… I wouldn't try to assassinate Uther, but neither will I put myself out to save him from himself."
Arthur retreated toward the door. He stood turned away with his head down, shaking it. "Is it true that my Mother married my Father to save your life?"
"Mine and Tristan's, yes," agreed Agravaine. "Uther allowed us to swear fealty to him in exchange for her wedding vows. And we swore so that we could protect our sister. But we couldn't."
"Mother died birthing me," said Arthur quietly.
Agravaine snorted. "Her death is on Uther's head, not yours."
Arthur turned back to his uncle. He protested, "Father loved her."
"Uther doesn't know how to love. He desired her yes, but he never loved her. What man would take so much from a woman he loved? Our father died in Uther's attack. For all I know, Uther may have been the one to kill him." Agravaine reached out to Arthur, suddenly impassioned. "Listen to me, Arthur. I will tell you what no one else will. I don't ask you to trust me. Ask the older lords, ask those knights who've retired from Camelot's service, ask old Gaius. Your father is not who he pretends to be."
"And what do you pretend to be?" growled Arthur.
Agravaine tossed his head back and straightened his shoulders. "Uther's loyal servant. He knows better, but we play the game anyway."
"And now you'd try to turn me against him?"
"I don't have to. That fog last night was magic, Arthur. You're using magic." Agravaine's gaze flicked past Arthur momentarily to note that Percival didn't flinch at the accusation, which confirmed Agravaine's suspicion that the knight knew.
"And if I am?" grated Arthur.
"Don't think that I object, on the contrary," said Agravaine earnestly. "Uther derides Camelot as a land that was steeped in sorcerery until he conquered us, but that was never a bad thing. Camelot had magic and wonder. It was a fantastic land and Uther ground it down to the mundane. If you've accepted magic, I rejoice!"
"That doesn't mean I've turned on Father," snapped Arthur. "I simply see the necessity."
"Fine, fine," assured Agravaine. "But you must go carefully, Arthur. You've no training in dealing with magic. Uther murdered so many magic folk and those that are left may see you as his heir rather than your mother's."
"Does it make such a difference?"
"To the magic folk? Certainly. Whatever remnants are left. This sorcerer you've hired…" Arthur gave Agravaine a sharp look. "Oh, come now, Arthur, you can't tell me the man has any love for your father?" Arthur's eyes alone skittered away from the question. "That alone should give you reason to be cautious of the man."
"He's given me reason enough to trust him, more than you have lately, Uncle."
Agravaine dropped his eyes. "I suppose I deserve that, Arthur. I walk a fine line in Camelot. Politics are rife and Uther does not trust me."
"He trusted you enough to walk into Morgana's trap," snapped Arthur.
Agravaine barked a laugh with no humor in it at all. "He was desperate enough, you mean. I had no choice, Arthur. Uther commanded me to set up that meeting."
"You could have told me," insisted Arthur.
"I keep thinking of you as a boy, Arthur. I should know better by now, but I guess I don't." Agravaine looked up at the Prince pleadingly. "I just didn't think of it."
"Start," said Arthur in a hard voice. "I claim your debt to my Mother, Agravaine. From this moment onward I expect your loyalty - your undivided loyalty. You don't work for my Father. You'll dance attendance on him because it's convenient for me that you do so. If he puts himself in harm's way, you'll defend him with your life because I will it. And if he sends you back to Morgana, I want to know every word she says."
"You want me to be your spy?"
"I want you to be my man. I want to know that ties of blood will bind you to me before anyone or anything else."
"Done!" cried Agravaine enthusiastically. "I know you're angry with me, Arthur, but truly all I ask for is a chance to prove myself."
The cold menace in the Prince's voice eerily reminded Agravaine of Uther. "You'll get it, Agravaine, of that I have no doubt. Don't fail me."