V. A Question of Decisions.docx

Of the three men sat outside the small chamber deep below the castle, one was looking a bit smug, one distinctly lacking in enthusiasm, and the third was observing a small half-hour sand-timer with an almost wickedly amused glint in his eyes.

Merlin watched the grains of sand fall, the corner of his mouth twitching in mirth with each yelp, thud, and donkey-bray-chicken-squawk that made itself evident through the thick wooden door.

And was it any wonder the knight waiting for his turn to go in there was unenthusiastic?

Gwaine glanced at that knight, and then at Merlin. The warlock had certainly displayed an odd sense of humour in his choice of 'magical creature'. The beast was three foot tall, and therefore not intimidating in size, and resembled a hypogryph. However, there was one major difference. Instead of being half eagle, half horse, the thing was half chicken half donkey. He'd also announced to the knights who would be facing it, unarmed, on a regular basis that it was an 'Asalcicen', which anyone well-versed in the Old Tongue would be aware literally meant 'donkey-chicken'.

When Arthur had found that out, and seen it for the first time, the king had honestly looked like he didn't know whether to walk away in embarrassment at his Court Sorcerer's creation, or stand there laughing at it.

The last of the sand fell into the bottom of the timer, and Gwaine took his cue to get up and enter the room. Inside it, an un-armoured and unarmed knight was doing his best to fend off the creature that barely came up to his waist. Going by the bruises on his arms, and his limping gait as he stumbled around, he wasn't faring too well at that. As for Gwaine, he just walked in and booted the construct in the rear to get its attention, before casually kicking its legs out from under it and hanging it upside-down by its tail.

He kept hold of it while the knight quickly retreated from the room, and let go of it once the next poor sod had taken his place. He then left the room and closed the door, watching as the knight who had just come out limped away, after being given the usual dose of pain medicine from the bottle of it Merlin kept on hand.

Gwaine chuckled once he was out of sight.

"Not so eager now, are they?"

Merlin glanced at him rather blandly.

"Well if I could train them openly, they'd get beaten up far less."

The knight eyed him with raised brows.

"Yeah, and like you didn't make that thing that crazy, because you didn't think it would be that funny to see their faces."

Merlin tried, but failed, to hide his smile at that.

"Ok, so maybe I am going a little hard on them. You're going to have to make sure they don't slack off while Arthur, Gwen, and I are away."

The warlock gave a small grimace as he said the latter, and it wasn't at the thought of being away from Camelot. Gwaine could guess what the real reason was.

"The Council still bleating on about our king visiting a country that supports magic being a bad idea?"

Merlin groaned under his breath.

"Only at every meeting since he received the wedding invitation. He stopped attending halfway through last week, and abandoned me to deal with them. Even Gwen, who was just starting to really find her place in the meetings, is avoiding them. Of course, they tell the council that it's so they can plan for the trip, but I think we both know they just couldn't take the constant protests anymore. It's not like we're even going to be gone that long. It's only going to be a week, and four days of that is the travelling."

Gwaine snorted in disdain.

"Well we both know how little common sense the Council has, other than Geoffrey. I still can't believe you're leaving me behind."

Merlin glanced at him, having been aware this topic would come up with him eventually.

"We need some of the Brotherhood to stay behind, and you happen to have been the one most involved in training the Knights to resist magic. Leon and Percival are staying behind too, as you well know. They're being assigned to look after Gaius and make sure no one troubles him during Arthur's absence... People aren't so jumpy about him using magic with his medicine now, after the past three weeks, but he's still at risk of being targeted."

At the mention of the physician, and the very real danger his 'special licence to use magic' put him in, Gwaine straightened up seriously.

"Then you know you can count on me to watch his back as well."

Merlin smiled at that.

"I know you will." He got up, sighing. "Well, as our dear knight in there is the last one for today, can you close up the room when his time in there is done? I need to go finish packing. Arthur is adamant that I won't be attending the wedding as a servant, which means I need to sort out my good clothing."

Gwaine started to chuckle.

"Aye, I'll make sure the poor sod gets away from his mauling on time. And will you be attending that wedding as Lord Merlin, First Advisor to the King of Camelot?"

The advisor in question glanced back from where he'd started down the hall, grinning.

"Outside the Castle of Escetia, no. Inside it... Oh yes."

He walked away down the passage and began to make he way up through the castle. That was the one thing he was really looking forward to. While Arthur's stance on magic was a secret, and thus his advisor's identity as Court Sorcerer, all of Fyren's most trusted nobles and councillors had been informed about the ruse. That is, the ruse about a supposed servant actually being an advisor in disguise. Not the one about him being a Court Sorcerer hiding as an advisor.

Merlin chuckled to himself, thinking about it. While he would be standing off to one side like a minor dignitary during the wedding itself, that being full of less influential and trusted individuals. At the feast afterwards, where only the core of Fyren's court would be attending, he would be sitting in a place of honour at the King's table.

He was still looking quite pleased with himself when he arrived back at Gaius' chambers, the physician raising an eyebrow at his ward's expression.

"Looking forward to this trip, are you?"

Merlin practically jounced across the room in good humour.

"What's not to look forward to? Fyren's getting married, I get to have someone waiting on me for a change instead of running around after Arthur, and I'll finally get the chance to have a proper talk with his Court Sorceress. A proper meeting between me and Iunia is long overdue."

Gaius inclined his head in agreement.

"Indeed. It would do both the kingdoms good for you two to consult with one another. While you may be the more powerful, she has the greater experience. She was raised in a temple of the Old Religion after all."

Merlin's cheerful smile faltered a little.

"Yeah... I need to ask her how to go about becoming recognised as a High Priest. I'd ask Kalem, but then he tends to have his hands full with the Storm Clan. And then there's what you said, she was raised in a temple. I'd get a better insight on the formal side of it from her than from Kalem or Jadren."

"And you will need to understand the position from a temple perspective, if you are to gather the survivors of those sanctuaries to your cause."

There was a long moment of silence, before Merlin shook off those sombre thoughts and continued up the steps to his room.

"I think about that after the wedding. I'm not going to spoil it for myself by worrying about something that can wait for a few days. It's not like Morgana will be able to pull off another attack or invasion any time soon. The binding I put on her magic, while it only blocks her powers in my presence, will disrupt and ruin any spells she tries for at least another month. She won't risk anything while she's so vulnerable. All she'll be concerned with right now... is surviving."

His door closing signalled the end of the conversation, Merlin letting out a quiet sigh once that barrier was between him and his mentor. He didn't need to tell Gaius that he knew she was too terrified of Emrys to do anything right now. Didn't need to tell him he was catching glimpses of Morgana's dream visions again, via the spell that blocked her memories of his identity as Emrys. Nightmares of him in his aged form. Denouncing her actions as she lay mortally wounded amid a vast battlefield. It was the same vision he'd caught a glimpse of during the quest to seal the Veil between worlds, and while it never revealed more than that image, something about it made him uneasy. Like deep inside he knew there was a facet to that future he wouldn't like, but which was inevitable. A facet that could not be changed.

Again he shook of his thoughts and got back to the task at hand. He had a wedding to pack for, and musing over questions he couldn't answer wasn't going to get it done.

~ (–) ~

Her smile was like a sunrise as she walked into the room. Her gowns swapped for a dress-like tunic and leggings that would be suitable for riding. Three weeks as Queen had done wonders for Gwen's confidence, and already she carried herself with a far more assured air to her stride.

Arthur returned her smile as she sat down. The two of them having a quiet, informal breakfast in his chambers prior to heading out.

"Ready for your first State Visit?"

Gwen raised her eyebrows at his teasing tone. Her reply playfully rebuking.

"As ready as I need to be. You forget, I'm already familiar with several members of Fyren's inner circle. I know Escetia's court better than you do." A spoonful of porridge made its way then disappeared. "How's Merlin? I would think he'd be the more nervous one. He's the only one of us who has to be careful not to give his real position away in public. He's probably spent half the night planning to himself how to avoid it."

It was Arthur's turn to raise his eyebrows, upon recalling the glimpse he'd seen of Merlin heading for the stables barely ten minutes ago.

"Somehow I don't think so... I think his only problem is going to be excitement."

Indeed. Because to return to his homeland of Escetia, a land openly permitting of magic and ruled by a good friend, looked to be as wonderful to Merlin as anything could get. Short of the day that Camelot would be the same. Merlin was going to be in his element.

~ (–) ~

The two days of riding both seemed to drag and to go by incredibly fast. The morning after making camp the first night, Merlin had swapped his servant garb for a far better quality shirt and trousers, topped with his griffin-crest cape. And now, late that day, he rode behind his king and queen with eyes wide at the sight before him. The Castle of Escetia, and it's surrounding city, resplendent in the heart of the valley before them.

It was the first time he'd ever been here, and it was here that the greatest concentration of druids had formed in the three weeks since magic was officially permitted in these lands. His gaze counted them as the party from Camelot rode through the streets towards the castle gates, and in return many of them observed him pass with discrete nods of respect. All druids within any reasonable distance of Camelot now knew who he was, and they acknowledged it.

Their regard made him straighten in his saddle a little, although it didn't quell his inner excitement at being here. Once inside the castle he would no longer be riding in as a servant. Officially he was here at Arthur's Honour Guard, and thus would be viewed and treated as a minor dignitary. However, it meant that he would have to endure being called 'Sir Merlin', something that Arthur had teased him about mercilessly on the way here. He was not a knight, but under the circumstances he was going to have to publicly act like one.

Although at least he'd been promised he wouldn't be expected to compete in tomorrow's display tournament, after the wedding ceremony. Since the arena was now rigged with wards that glowed if the combatants were using magic, he simply didn't have the mundane skill to last more than a couple of minutes. He also couldn't compete in the sorcerer's version of the same thing, for obvious reasons unless he aged himself as a disguise... And even then it would be a bit unfair. Given that the only sorcerers who would compete in that were Fyren's, Merlin already knew he could flatten every one of them.

Trumpets sounded as the delegation entered the central courtyard of the castle. The castle at Escetia wasn't as pretty as Camelot's, but thanks to more than a year of work cleaning up after Cenrid, it was no longer soot-stained and oppressive. Banners softened the otherwise harsh lines of the walls, and the restored statues of the kingdom's founder lent character to the grand stairway where Fyren and his soon-to-be wife stood waiting to greet them.

Arthur and Gwen smiled as they approached the pair, King Fyrendir and Princess Mithian returning them with equal warmth as he spoke.

"I thank you for your invitation, King Fyrendir. It is an honour to attend."

Fyren's eyes took on an amused glint, in the knowledge behind his response to that.

"And I thank you for maintaining your good faith in me, and giving magic a chance to prove itself to you." He gestured to his fiancée. "I believe you already know Princess Mithian. Please, let us all go inside and talk in more comfortable surroundings. I would also like you to meet my Court Sorceress, for Iunia wishes to see in person the king of whom I have oft spoken so highly."

That was the cue to leave the transfer of bags to guest rooms to the servants. Bel and Katryn took charge of Arthur and Gwen's luggage, but it was an obvious druid who took charge of Merlin's. Fyren had assigned someone to the warlock that he could talk to about magic if he so wished. A gesture that Merlin appreciated.

All of them kept up the formalities only until they'd reached the castle's throne room and closed the doors. Upon which point Fyren abandoned all protocol to pull Merlin into a 'friendly' hug and scrub his hand over the protesting warlock's head.

Merlin broke himself free after a moment, hands reaching up to remedy the now dishevelled state of his hair.

"Thanks, Fyren. And here I was showing up dressed tidy like a noble."

The Escetian king just smiled.

"Let me have a little fun, Merlin. I'm in a very good mood right now, and will be for many days, I'm sure."

He'd looked to Mithian as he said the latter, to which she shook her head at his antics and pointedly ignored him while offering her hand in greeting to Arthur.

"Would that you had warned me, King Arthur, that King Fyrendir finds it upon himself to be so casual. I might then have reconsidered mentioning him to my father as a possible suitor."

There was a hint of amusement in her eyes as she said it, clearly teasing her husband-to-be. Both of them were formal when they needed to be, but were also relaxed enough to be casual with each other and those closest to them. They were a good match.

She looked now to Gwen, who came forward to clasp hands with a smile.

"I'm glad to see you again, Mithian. It's been quite a while."

The princess smiled.

"And you have been through so much, Queen Guinevere. To think that you should start your reign at Arthur's side, after facing the task of reclaiming your kingdom."

Arthur cleared his throat at that.

"Well Morgana is persistent. She was never found after the battle, so I'm certain she will try again. But at the same time I am certain that even should she take the citadel again, I will claim it back as I have already done twice. Both her failures have cost her large armies and powerful allies. She may find it difficult to secure a third, given that history of defeat."

Mithian's expression grew sombre.

"Then let us hope that is so." She glanced at Fyren, who nodded in silent agreement. "But know that even if she does try again, Escetia will stand with you."

Her fiancé placed his hand on her shoulder, the two of them standing in solidarity.

"Indeed we will." He broke the solemn air with a renewed smile, and gestured to the small table and chairs that had been placed in the chamber for the five of them. "Now let us sit and talk of more pleasant things. The servants will come and inform us when our evening meal is ready."

~ (–) ~

The following morning dawned clear, and found a queen and her maid assisting in the preparations of the princess about to become a queen hers...

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V. A Question of Decisions.docx (882 KB)
V. A Question of Decisions - Alaia Skyhawk.mobi (765 KB)
IV. A Question of Brotherhood - Alaia Skyhawk.mobi (993 KB)
III.2 A Question of Motives - Alaia Skyhawk.mobi (1109 KB)
III.1Whom History Won't Remember - Alaia Skyhawk.mobi (692 KB)

V. A Question of Decisions.docx

Chapter 1A Royal Wedding

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Chapter 1
A Royal Wedding