Arthur The Snake Chapter 12

"Merlin, Merlin…Merlin!" Merlin jerked out of his mental reverie to the sound of Arthur's worried calls. "Merlin for god's sake," Arthur stressed. "Will you pay attention, you know what happened the last time you were riding and didn't pay attention!"

"I'm sorry Arthur I didn't mean to." Merlin shrugged softly. He couldn't tell Arthur the truth, he was searching in his mind for a connection to the snake that was seemingly asleep in the bag. Without success. Arthur looked at Merlin curiously, he seemed like he wanted to say something but he couldn't or at least didn't know how to.

"Merlin…"He began keeping his eyes on the floor. "Merlin I want to ask you something and I want an honest answer."

Merlin's eyes sharpened cautiously and a look of intense worry passed over his face, but he couldn't stop Arthur now.

"Merlin, how did Dellarux know all of those things about you?" Arthur said gently, eyes still on the ground. It would normally have pleased Merlin to see Arthur look uncomfortable but not this time. He closed his eyes fighting back the tears that were now growing behind them. When he opened them Arthur was looking at him directly, with a familiar stare that Merlin knew all to well.

He gulped loudly stress building up within him but he knew that the time for concealing the truth was over.

"Arthur, sire, I'm a…a….sorcerer," The last word was barely even a whisper and Merlin's tears flowed freely from his eyes with it. He turned his eyes to meet Arthur's head on determined that at least he would be decent enough to face his punishment when it came. Arthur's face passed over with a lot of different emotions: surprise, fear, confusion, hurt. The last one seemed to linger in Merlin's mind the longest, it was one he would never forget.

Gaius waited patiently for his next patient to walk into his chambers, his head in his hands. Merlin and Arthur had only a few hours left to return, somewhat inconspicuously, to Camelot. Gaius was seriously worried, no note had come from Merlin, and he was all but certain that Arthur had not sent that note. Sir Leon had come to him as soon as the King had dismissed them.

"Excuse me Gaius, I don't mean to intrude!"

"Not at all Sir Leon. Are you injured from practise? I have some bandages around hear somewhere…" He had trailed off whilst searching around. Sir Leon shuffled awkwardly on his feet making the physician straighten and look more directly at him.

"It's not that. I erm… wondered if you could look at this and tell me anything that you know about this." He had handed the note to him and Gaius read it quickly.

"What do you want to know?" Gaius asked.

"Does this sound like Arthur…I mean his highness." Sir Leon corrected himself.

Gaius considered the note again, he had known Arthur since his birth and he had to confess that reading the note, it wasn't the Prince.

Sir Leon was watching him intently, he held the physician in high esteem and always had done. He would trust the man's decision. Gaius saw this in the knights eyes, and judged his next words carefully.

"It seems as though Arthur is well enough, so perhaps we need not worry Sir Leon."

"You…you don't think there is something odd about this?" Sir Leon replied.

"I would advise caution Sir Leon," Gaius said gravely. "I recommend that no-one dismiss their instincts but do not get to wrapped up in them. Wait until the time is up before you act!" He spelled out the last sentence with great care and Sir Leon seemed to catch the meaning behind it, for he bowed to the physician and left immediately.

Ever since then Gaius had thrown himself into work hoping that Arthur had indeed composed that note, and silently praying that Merlin was well with him.

"You're a sorcerer," Arthur repeated blankly.

"Yes," Merlin said his voice almost lost to tears that were steadily flowing down his cheeks.

Arthur looked at Merlin again and his hand went to his forehead in an act of distress.

"Please say something." Merlin whispered after a minute of unbearable silence.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Came the monotonous reply devoid of emotion. This wasn't a good sign, Merlin noted, but answered simply.

"I was afraid you would turn me in to your father."

Another heartbeat of silence.

"Perhaps I should!"

Merlin found himself unable to reply to that simple cutting statement. It wasn't a question, but a statement. Bile seemed to rise in his throat, burning it painfully. He began to feel dizzy, stress piling on top of him. What happened next was all very quick, but it seemed to drag on forever in Merlin's mind. The floor rushed up to meet his face darkness seemed to slip around his mind.

"Dellarux, Dellarux are you there?" He thought.

"Merlin…what more do you want of me?" A last a reply, but it was dulled and quiet.

"I wanted to thank you for what you did." Merlin sent back.

"No… thank you Merlin, you made me realise what kind of person I have been for so long. You made me see the coldness behind my actions, perhaps my fate is for the better for all of the world and myself. Living in denial it's comfortable, but not fruitful. I have to face my actions and the consequences, I have run for far too long," Dellarux's tone was simple and soft, the silky richness in his voice had fallen away revealing a broken quality that seemed to surface.

"Your back in your old form now aren't you?" Merlin enquired.

"Yes,"

"I can look after you if you need me Dellarux. We don't need to be enemies, there has to be another way," Merlin stated.

"It's a kind offer you make to me Merlin, but I have lived too long anyway. I can't undo my actions of the past and I have no future now. If you wish you can put me back on the tree where you first found me, it would make life a little easier."

"What do you mean, you have lived to long?"

"Life becomes meaningless after almost five centuries Merlin, a brilliant mind gone mad will slowly kill you internally." Dellarux responded but his voice was fading with every word.

"Dellarux please, don't do this please. I don't want to be alone, I don't want to be the only sorcerer different to the others, you can't leave me to do this alone. You can't leave me to face Arthur alone!" Merlin pleaded.

"He does not hate you Merlin. And he will not turn you in to Uther, whether he likes it or not he values you more than you realise and more than he would intend to."

"You can't know that!"

"I do Merlin, you trusted me once. Trust me again, let go of me choose the destiny you have. I will leave you with my humblest apologies for being so cold initially, and hope someday to see you again. It was my honor to see you the greatest sorcerer of the age to the greatest King of the age." The voice faded away to nothing at the end.

"Dellarux!" Merlin cried out. There was no response.

In the bag strapped to the horses saddle, a once lively brilliant minded albino python fell still and breathed it's last.