Chapter Text
"So, how much further until we reach this...mysterious cave?" Gwaine asked as he sat down and munched on a piece of bread that Merlin had packed for the knights and Arthur.
"We're about a day, maybe a day and a half out." Arthur answered. "The reports came from the village we'll be visiting tomorrow, but it shouldn't take long to question them."
"Never quite realized how large Camelot is." Lancelot stated with a heavy sigh as he watched Merlin continue to put ingredients into the pot he was using to cook them dinner.
"Camelot had conquered a lot of other kingdoms even before Uther was king." Merlin stated as he began to stir the pot. "Uther fought to have Camelot and to take the throne. They were smaller kingdoms, and were no match for the army he built. There are ruins that we've passed, that you apparently have failed to notice. He had completely obliterated the castles and gained more land for Camelot."
"Very good, Merlin. Seems you're not a complete idiot, then." Arthur remarked. "However, Merlin, I would think you would recognize the way we're going."
"Ealdor." Merlin smiled. "The village we're going to is where my mother lives."
"Wait, we're going to meet Merlin's Mother?" Gwaine sputtered out after he finished choking on his bread at the revelation.
"Yes." Arthur nodded. "Lovely woman and very kind. She sent the letter that warned us about villagers being attracted to a cave nearby, but never returning. I also recently acquired Ealdor as a village under our protection and rule, so we are required to investigate this matter. Moreover, why are you nervous about meeting Merlin's mother, Gwaine?"
"Are you serious?" He scoffed. "We'll get to meet the woman responsible for raising Merlin! She taught him how to cook..."
"...no, she didn't." Merlin chuckled lightly. "My Mother tried her best, but she doesn't cook that well. She will for company, but it's often times too dry or there's too much liquid. So, I learned from others. People who would come and go, or sometimes from the women in the village. They were happy I wanted to learn to cook. Said it was about time that a man learned how to cook a proper meal." Merlin laughed at the memory, and the shock on their faces when he came to them. "I learned how to make a feast out of meager supplies, so...that's how I'm a good cook."
"Well, she's at least responsible for you being such a good person." Lancelot stated.
"AYE!" Gwaine laughed out brilliantly. "Now I really want to meet her. Someone who raised Merlin to sass the king!"
"No, she didn't do that either." Arthur said with a small smile. "She's a very patient woman and stubborn, too, but she wouldn't raise Merlin to sass me or my father when he ruled. That's all Merlin. You will all get the chance to meet her tomorrow."
"Supper is ready." Merlin called out as he started filling Arthur's bowl. After that, the knights dropped it, they ate, and promptly went to sleep, because Gwaine suggested the quicker they fall asleep, the quicker they get to meet Merlin's Mother.
The next day, when they arrived at Ealdor, Hunith was waiting for them. "Mother!" Merlin sighed as he hugged her. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you, too." She said as she gave him a tight hug. She then released the hug to look at the knights. "Now, let's see if I can get this right based on Merlin's descriptions. "You..." She pointed at Leon. "...are Sir Leon."
Leon nodded with a kind smile. "You don't have to call us Sir, My Lady. Just our names are fine. I'm sure Merlin does the same."
"Very well." She nodded with her own answering grin. "Now...you...must be Gwaine." Her grin widened. "He told me how you and the prince met, and your opinions on royalty at first."
"It was a hell of a meeting."
"Gwaine!" Lancelot scolded.
"Oh, no need for watching your tongues around me. Merlin has quite the mouth on him as well, and his uncle wasn't much better."
"Uncle?" Arthur asked. "I wasn't aware you had a brother, Hunith."
"Oh, then that's quite funny that you don't know." She laughed lightly. "Gaius is my older brother."
"Seriously?!" Arthur gawked.
Merlin narrowed his eyes at him. "You didn't know? That's how I was able to get into Camelot from Ealdor without any issue. I had family, not just in Camelot, but at the castle. Uther approved it and everything. It was the only way I was allowed in, considering Ealdor was so close to other kingdoms."
"Huh...that makes sense, actually." Arthur nodded.
"Good. Now...you...must be Lancelot." Hunith said as she pointed at Lancelot.
"Yes, I am. So...he's written about us?"
"Yes, quite a lot, in fact. He also drew me pictures of what the three of you look like." Arthur snorted out a laugh.
"What's so funny?" Merlin asked.
"I'm just wondering what Gwaine must look like in a drawing of yours."
"Oh, well, I have them with me, actually." Hunith said as she reached into her bag. She pulled them out and handed the drawings to them.
"Holy shit!" Gwaine cursed. "It looks exactly like me!"
"Same here!" Lancelot said in wonder.
"They can't possibly look that accurate." Arthur rolled his eyes, before he leaned over to see Leon's portrait, and it looked exactly like the knight. The shading was perfect, and it was so lifelike, that Arthur wondered if it might come to life at any moment. "Wow...you never told us you could draw, Merlin."
"You never asked and it never came up. Come on. I should make us some dinner, and we can ask my mother about the cave."
"Fair enough." Arthur nodded before he handed the drawing back to Hunith.
Later, after dinner was prepared and everyone gathered around the dining table, Hunith clasped her hands as her lips transformed from a pleased smile and into a worried thin line. "The cave isn't too far from here. It's just west of here and in the forest. We've never really used it for anything before, but one day one of the villagers said he wanted to go and take a look, because he thought that he saw a glowing light coming from it. Ever since then, every other day, men and women have gone to look into the cave and they haven't come out. We've lost six adult villagers and two children. I wish I could've sent word sooner, but I wasn't sure if it was something to bother you with. Then, a friend of the family came by and warned us about the cave. I told him what was happening, and he suggested that I write to you."
"Is there any way we can talk to this...friend of the family?" Leon asked.
Hunith shook her head slowly. "I'm not quite certain that's a-" A knock at the door interrupted her, so she excused herself to see who was at it. They waited, heard some talking, and then Hunith came back, clearing her throat. "-well, he seems to think it's fine." She sat down and gestured for the man to sit near her.
"Thank you." The man said.
When Leon turned to look at him, his jaw dropped. "That's...the druid that helped me."
"Ah, Sir Leon. One of the knights of Camelot. Happy to see you are still well."
"Hunith...you are aware that Druids are sorcerers, correct?" Arthur asked carefully.
"This wasn't a recent friendship, if that's what you're trying to hint at. I'm not enchanted or anything, and the druids are a peaceful people when unprovoked. This man's name is Iseldir."
"Yes, and even when provoked, we rarely act in retaliation. There is only one who could command us to fight and we will follow without hesitation and that would be Emrys." Iseldir turned his gaze to Merlin and smiled. "Hello, Merlin. You've gotten unexpectedly taller."
Merlin rolled his eyes with a smile. "I told you I would get taller."
"That you did." He smiled in returned.
"Merlin...you know this druid?" Arthur asked.
"That's typically what it means to have a friend of the family, Princess." Gwaine remarked. "The family has befriended that person, and this is that person. So, is there anything you can tell us about the cave?"
Iseldir nodded with a heavy sigh. "The only thing I have noticed about the people that are entering the cave and never returning...is that these are people that have bullied, scorned, and abused Merlin since childhood. The two children, I believe, were taught to shun Merlin."
"What?!" The knights and Arthur shouted in shock.
"Merlin?!" Lancelot questioned in astonishment. "Who...WHY?!"
"Hunith, I have temporarily sealed the magic in the cave, so no one else will get kidnapped for at least five hours. If they're to know why, you know what I have to tell them. Merlin, you know what I have to tell them as well."
"I...but..." Merlin stuttered out in fear as he looked back and forth between Arthur and Iseldir. He then let out a resigned sigh as he lowered his head. "Okay. Yeah. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I just wish I did it on my own."
"Sometimes...Destiny and Fate have other plans, Merlin. You know this well. Now, if everyone wouldn't mind following me to my druid camp, we can further discuss-"
"-No, you tell us now. You, Hunith, and Merlin have a secret that we apparently don't know, and I need to know." Arthur demanded.
"Very well, King Arthur." Iseldir bowed politely. "Merlin is not a mere village boy, nor merely a king's servant, and he is more than a king. In a way, he is a God of the old religion. His name in the druid tongue is Emrys, and he IS the living embodiment of magic. Now that we're done with that forced confession of sorts, can we be on our way? More will be explained if you follow us."
No one moved an inch except for Merlin and Hunith, who joined Iseldir on his way out the door. "Why did you have to say that!"
"I highly doubt you were going to do it." Iseldir laughed as he fondly messed up Merlin's hair.
Once they left, the knights turned to look at their king, who for the world to see, was dumbfounded and as white as snow with how pale he was. "Sire?" Leon asked. "Did...did you know?"
"N-No...I...I had no idea. I...he has magic. IS magic. I...but...how can I believe the word of a druid. I...but...that's the same druid I delivered Mordred to, and...Merlin...he...never told me. He never told me anything about his magic. Why? Even after..." He looked to his knights with a lump in his throat that felt more like bile. "...did any of you know?"
"I found out by accident. It was Merlin who slayed the griffin. Not I." Lancelot confessed.
"I saw Merlin using magic the day we met, during that bar fight." Gwaine answered.
"I had no clue, Sire. What do you want to do?" Leon's tone spoke like a knight that would follow his king's order, but it also sounded as if he was hoping for a specific answer.
"I...I think we should learn more. If Iseldir says more will be explained, then I will hear what he has to say." Arthur's heart felt cold, betrayed, and so his features betrayed his emotions. "This will be treated as Merlin's trial."
"If you kill him, or try to kill him, Princess, I am not above committing treason for him." Gwaine growled.
"How would we know if you're not under his spell, Gwaine?" Arthur argued. "Let's go."
"He wouldn't bewitch any of us." Gwaine grumbled as he stormed past the king and out the door.
When all of the knights joined together, Arthur scowled at Merlin. "You have magic?!"
"Yes." Merlin nodded as he looked directly in the king's eyes.
"You didn't tell me?"
"When would a good time have been to tell you?!" Merlin shot back, but quickly schooled his features and shook his head. "Let's just get this over with. Can we go now, Iseldir?"
"Are you ready, Emrys?" Iseldir asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"I'll explain more about what I told you, to them, when we've reached the camp." The knights and Arthur followed the druid, Merlin, and Hunith.
When they reached the camp, everyone that had already lived in the camp stopped and stared in awe. Once Arthur appeared behind them, however, the mothers clutched their children and most of them scurried into their tents. "Why did they all run? Is it because of Merlin?" Gwaine asked.
"No, Sir Gwaine. It's because they're terrified of Arthur. He once led a raid with his father, and some that escaped that raid live here with us."
"Could Merlin persuade them to come out?" Lancelot questioned.
"He could. Every druid knows who Emrys is. We can feel him. The best way to describe it...is that since he IS magic, and we FEEL magic, then we feel his presence when he's near. It's hard to ignore and even harder to describe."
"Merlin, get them to come out." Arthur ordered.
"No." Merlin answered. "I will not. They are scared of you, and I will not have them stand in fear while your voice sounds like that."
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't run you through for your betrayal?"
"Sire!" Leon scolded, which surprised the other knights and Arthur. "Keep in mind, he hasn't betrayed you in the slightest. You have no proof of betrayal, aside from him not telling you, and if I was in his shoes, seeing you react like this, I can't blame him in the slightest. You're treating him like a dead man, and ignoring everything he's done for you just as a servant, when he could just leave your services and be MORE among those with magic. You're not seeing with your heart. Please, I implore you, be calm and patient. You may react too rashly and grow to regret it later."
Arthur couldn't help it. He knew he sounded brash, but his heart had trusted Merlin so wholly and completely. He relied on Merlin's council more than the royal council. Merlin was his constant, and the only reason he was able to get through his father's death. "Fine." He spat out, and soon followed Iseldir to a tent. "How...are we all supposed to fit in there."
"Don't worry. We'll all be able to fit just fine." Iseldir smiled as he allowed Hunith and then Merlin in first.
The knights followed one by one and gawked at what they found. The tent was bigger on the inside. There were closed off sections that appeared to be other rooms, and there was so much color. There were reds, oranges, purples, blues, golds, and silvers. The flooring wasn't the ground, but several pillows and blankets stacked on top of each other. There were tables, books, chemistry sets, and to them it just seemed like the tent version of a castle. "Oh my goodness." Leon breathed out.
"We will be undisturbed entirely. These are my chambers so to speak. Now, Merlin already knows what we'll be doing, as I discussed it with him telepathically on the way over." Iseldir waved a hand at Merlin, who then nodded at him before he took his clothes off. Left in nothing but his small clothes, he waited until Iseldir held out a vile for him. "Drink this and every scar you have glamoured or healed will reappear and glow. Then, we will travel to the stories of your scars."
Merlin did as he was told and as soon as the liquid passed his lips, his entire body lit up with golden light, stunning the knights and Arthur. "Mate! What happened to ya?!" Gwaine exclaimed in what Arthur could've sworn was heartache, but he could've been wrong.
"The potion was enchanted to only show the scars he has gained since arriving to Camelot."
"There's nearly nothing of his skin left!" Lancelot cried out as he covered his mouth.
"Wait...those...are whip marks on his legs..." Leon's eyes widened before he slowly turned to look at his king.
"Arthur never whipped me." Merlin immediately said.
The knights seemed to sag in relief, but Arthur stared at Merlin's nearly naked body. The first thought he had when Merlin disrobed were a collection of thoughts that typically involved a bed, privacy, and intimate sounds. The second thought he had was how he could've let something like that happen to Merlin. The third thought he had was that since he had magic, lied to him, and therein lied to the entire kingdom of Camelot, that he deserved every scar that revealed itself. "When I say the spell, we'll be taken to the scars in chronological order, and I will not stop it for anything unless Emrys asks me to of his own free will. Not if someone asks him, too, but if he truly wants me to. Is that understood by everyone? I will also make it to where no one can harm each other. Your attacks will pass through as if the victim was a spirit and nothing more."
"We understand." Arthur nodded his head.
"Very well." Iseldir nodded once before he said a string of words in an ancient language, and everything went white.