Daemon

Disclaimer: No I don't own Merlin and I most likely never will OK? Oh and the spells are not mine either, I tweaked some I found on the internet while looking up Daemons.

Pairings: Most of the Merlin Cast

Warnings: Contains actual methods of exorcism, possession and sacrifice. (I looked into it, it's actually quite terrifying)

Summary: A Royal Merlin Fiction. May feature some of the shows episodes, but I will be mainly centred around Merlin. With bits from other characters; i.e. Uther, Gaius, Gwen, Arthur, Morgana and Nimueh.

Authors Note: So I may or may not continue this fiction, I haven't made up my mind. I like the concept.

I would like to state That Daemons is not a spelling error; Demon means Monster, while Daemon means; Spirit or Demigod. (more fitting I thought)

Anyway

This came about as I have been reading many Royal Merlin Fics recently and decided to do my own, though it might go no further, this was a fin chapter to write, and I am happy with how it turned out, it's just I have already got three fictions on the go, one of which has yet to be uploaded, but expect it to be up around the end of the month.

This was a thought that has been bugging me for weeks, I even dreamed it once… That's how on the brain it's been… I have officially no life.

Oh you should know I have taken certain… Liberties… with the plot, other than making Merlin a Royal… You will just have to wait and see, assuming I continue writing it.

(This is from the same person's point of view until it is obvious it changes, quite near the end)

Prologue: Remembering

As the knife sunk into his belly and his eyes lost their focus, he remembered.

How had it come to this, how had he been the only one left of his once noble order.

The fear of death tore into him, accompanied by the cold, and as it did he remembered

He stood watching, impassive.

The woman's child was taken from her, she screamed and she cried.

It would change nothing. This was the only way, the only way to stop Uther. These people around him were the only ones left. The only remaining Dragon Lords.

They knew what had to be done.

They had brought woman and child to the centre of their order. The High Lord sat in his throne, watching. His ice blue eyes the only things moving.

They had been patient, found a child with strong magic, he would be the vessel. The mother's blood would be needed for the ritual. Her life would sustain what came; there was no going back now.

"Place the baby on the Alter." The High Lord said "bind her hands and bring her to me"

He stood, immobile as the pleading woman was dragged across the cold black marble floor.

The room was built in a perfect circle, the ground tilted upwards, in a gentle slope into the middle of the room, and the circular, also black, marble Alter; shaped like a grasping hand.

It had taken years of study to understand the room, built by the Elves of olden times.

The Babe was placed into the grasping hand of the Alter; its pitiful cries had no impact on the gathered. This was the way it had to be.

He watched as the High Lord rose from his seat, his black cloak billowing around him, and approached the cowering woman.

"What is your name?"

"H-Hunith milord"

The woman sounded afraid but defiant

"Hunith…" The High Lord mused "Interesting…"

Indeed it was, and most curious. That was a name of power.

Why had a mere peasant been named such?

No matter, she would soon be dead. Her life force, forcing the gates of hell itself open.

Uther would not expect this.

"But where are my manners?" The High Lord continued "Hunith, my name is Akkarin, Last High lord of the Dragon Lords."

"D-Dragon Lords?" She sounded incredulous "I thought they were supposed to be noble"

Something flicked across Akkarin's face, something that looked a lot like pain.

"That we were, but this is the only way. I-I'm sorry"

He sounded genuine, but the woman didn't seem to believe him, why would she. She wouldn't understand; she was just a peasant.

"We have wasted enough time already. It's time"

It had come, what they had all been waiting for.

They moved out of the shadows of the chamber.

The High Lords eyes blazed gold,

The torches turned deep red, the woman looked terrified as she was dragged to the base of the Alter and bound to it in metal chains. The men then assuming their previous positions, in the shadows.

She struggled, but it was to no avail.

The High Lords eyes blazed again, white markings gradually formed on the ground, swirling patterns etched their way across the ground, pentagrams, under their feet. This was dark magic, they would need protection.

The woman and the babe would have no such luck. They were the sacrifice.

A single Baphomet worked its way under the Alter, encircling the woman and the child.

He reached into his robes, drawing out a candle, a black candle. Those around him did the same. Fifteen candles in total, seven black, seven white.

And one gold, held by the High Lord.

They would need to protect the room.

At a sign from the High Lord they began, their voices echoing eerily in the chamber;

At a flash of golden eyes the candles, black flames on white candles, white on the black.

The woman whimpered at the centre of the room, re-doubling her efforts to get out of the chains;

They chanted, as one body. One mind. One magic.

"Whiteness of Snow, Purity of Water, Endurance of Earth, Fury of Fire, Wildness of Wind, hear our plea. Cast the Circle, Whiteness of Snow, Purity of Water, Endurance of Earth, Fury of Fire, Wildness of Wind, Hear our Plea"

As the voices faded, a whispering almost too faint to hear seemed to enter the room, the woman froze. She could hear them too.

It wasn't whole words, just fractured sentences;

"…Protec… Boraroom… Eshen… Sav thm… Heandiieb…"

It changed from language he understood to one he did not. Something he was not used to, he had always had an ear for languages, but this. This was not of this word; they were dealing with forces far greater than their own.

It was for the Greater good, it was the only way.

The candles burned brighter, it felt as though a breeze had flown through the room, the white lines seemed to gleam brighter, he thought he could see pillars of light rise out to them.

He could feel eyes on his skin.

Now it was time. They would summon the unfettered beast, and bind him to the boy.

It would be their secret weapon.

Uther would fall to the Daemon child. Nimueh would be forced to side with them or swept aside, like leaves in the storm blown wind.

"It is time." The High Lord sounded hoarse, his eyes gleamed

He thought he could hear footsteps, but ignored it. It was too late to stop them now;

"Harken to us, Hear our cry, we call out to you, Spirit of the other side, Come, Come to us.

We Summon Thee, The one to be, The one who lost your life, Traitor, Murderer, Come to me now-

He could feel the temperature in the room dropping, the flames in the torches went out, the only light was coming from the candles, which flickered, and the glowing white trails of light from the markings on floor,

The Baphomet had turned Gold, with blood red streaks though it. The only sounds where the pounding footsteps, the babes cries and the chanting.

The woman had fallen silent, giving up trying to plead, trying to comfort her child.

The door the main chamber buckled as though a giant fist had punched it. Nimueh had come, no doubt Uther hot on her heels, they could ruin everything.

They chanted faster; the sound echoing around the room, louder faster, the Candles burned brighter, flickering all the while.

"Find peace, Find happiness. Take our offering, bind yourself to our will. Consume the flesh offering" – the woman turned pale – "We call into the night. Bind to us, Grant us your power."

The door blew open. Nimueh strode into the room, Uther hot on her heels; they seemed to have made a momentary truce,

"Stop" She called commandingly.

Uther and his knights moved around her, closer to the markings,

A single voice ran out

"Bind to us now, surrender your power to my will."

"No!" Screamed Nimueh,

He looked at the High Lord; he didn't know what was going to happen next. None of them did.

None other than Akkarin, and Nimueh, it would seem.

She started to chant something, fast. But it was too late.

A presence was growing in the room.

It was growing darker, Uther glared at Nimueh

"Do something!" he barked at her

She glared at him, chanting faster

The Candles went out. The lines on the ground burned even brighter. Burning too bright to look at.

"Yes, Yes YES!" Akkarin shouted

There was a grinding sound. A whole section of wall collapsed, a red light burning into the room, though a gateway;

"Get behind me!" Nimueh screamed at Uther, throwing a hand out in front of him

He hurried to obey, so did the knights nearest to her. The rest were not so lucky, fire burst in to the room, like a dam had broken.

Blue light shone from around Nimueh, forcing the flames back, protecting her, Uther and the man behind him, the one who was always there.

He looked around, the white lines flared even brighter; the ever present whispering grew louder;

"Prot… gfba… henes… Sve… hfnsnld…"

Those not in the circle, or Nimueh's shield let out a single shrill scream, growing louder and louder, making all but Nimueh cover their ears.

Then, silence.

The fires died down.

There, one the ground lay the armour of Camelot's knights, not so much as a scratch on the metal. But of the people; there was only skeletons, their jaws hung open in a silent scream, like a tribute to their final moments.

In the centre of the room, the woman and child still sat. Untouched by the destruction around them. The woman looked like she was on the verge of a break down,

He could hear her prayers, to her God. Begging for protection.

There would be no divine intervention. It was too late for that.

He could feel something looking at him; he thought he saw something flicker out of the corner of his eye.

He locked gaze with Nimueh, her hatred was clear in her face, but so was her fear.

He had never seen her afraid before, even when she had been surrounded by Dragons, and the Great Dragon, she had simply slaughtered those around her laughing all the while.

What have we done?

He heard a whimper, everyone in the room turned to look at the only source of noise, even the whispering had stopped.

It was the woman. She was looking at something behind him. He longed to turn around, but didn't knowing if he moved his feet he would break the spell of protection.

He could hear a clicking noise, like claws on the black, marble. Marble that was now covering in soot. He Felt eyes on him again, he heard Uther whisper something to the man behind him and Nimueh snap at him to shut up.

The sound moved past him, he hardly dared to breathe, something he saw was reflected in the Dragon Lord to his left, he didn't know his name.

He looked at the floor.

There were prints there.

He could see nothing but empty space, but prints were appearing on the ground.

Three toed prints.

There was a sound of shattering glass, an inhuman shriek of pain. The whispering rose to shouting briefly.

A barrier was briefly illuminated; he could see the Dragon Lord fighting not to move.

"Stand still" Hissed the High Lord

The sound came again, louder this time, right where he was looking.

For a moment he saw something, an outline of a warped, twisted body. An elongated head, the mutated body, with stumpy arms and bird legs.

"D-Did Y-you…"

"Yes, I saw that" The High Lord cut across him.

The woman whimpered again. The claws clicking on the floor again, moving away from the Dragon Lord.

The prints were moving towards the woman.

She was struggling again.

The sound stopped; the prints about a foot from her, the woman.

He could imagine it standing there, head cocked to one side, considering her.

It happened so fast he wasn't sure what had happened.

The woman screamed, was lifted off the floor, the chains falling away. She screamed again. Blood dribbled down her arm, then the other. She started to scream again, but was cut off, blood gushed from her neck, she was thrown aside.

She landed limp, her head moved towards the Alter

"Merlin…" She whispered her voice full of love and fear. Then her eyes dulled, and she slumped down. Dead.

The babe was crying now, its tiny voice full of pain, as though he knew its mother had left him, that he would never see her again.

His heart frozen, the baby was lifted into the air, held almost tenderly, floating. Seemingly floating in mid-air.

Its cries slowly stilled, turning to giggles.

He looked at the High Lord, whose face was filled with a mixture of hope and fear, turned his head to look at Nimueh, she looked stunned, and angry.

There was a rushing sound. The babies eyes seemed to glow like molten gold, it's mouth open, like it was about to be sick.

It started to shake, silent. Wide eyed, filled with fear.

It made choking sounds, a shadow passed over its face, the golden eyes flared red.

A look of pure hatred seemed to paint itself of its face; there was something horrifying about a baby looking like that, so angry, with glowing red eyes.

Despite being nothing more than a babe, it seemed to look hundreds of years old. He didn't doubt he was looking at the daemon.

Then the moment passed, the look of hatred faded back to the usual look of the babe, confused expression, as the rusty gold eyes faded back to the normal blue of the child.

The room seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

Nimueh let her shield fall.

She was the first to move, fast towards the Babe, which was sinking through the air to the ground.

"Stop her!" Screamed Akkarin, stepping forwards, breaking the spell of protection,

There was a scream, long and drawn out. The lines on the floor seemed to glow brighter; a sound of shattering glass filled the room. The lines on the floor faded.

Nimueh blasted lightning at Akkarin, who merely raised a hand, deflecting it off at the wall, cracking it.

Uther looked that the man next to him, they seemed content to wait it out. The Other Dragon Lords converged on Nimueh, albeit reluctantly, they had all seen what she could do.

Bolts of power streaked around the room, Nimueh struck down three of the remaining Dragon Lords in one spell, slamming them into the walls, snapping their necks.

He moved towards the fight, then changed his mind. The Baby had fallen asleep in the ground, it looked exhausted. He headed towards that instead.

He would get the baby out of there, to his most secret of places, a cave.

He hoped the fight would keep Niumeh off his back. He could feel Uther's eyes on his back.

He grabbed the baby, turning quickly he fled towards one of the exits, pressing his hand to the cold metal of the door, it slid open.

He hoped to lose Uther and whoever the man was in the tunnels. They wouldn't know their way around, not as well as he anyway.

Nimueh had yet to notice his move.

An explosion tore through the tunnel, glancing back as he ran through the doorway, the baby tucked into the crook of his arm; he could see Uther following him, only five of the Dragon Lords where still alive, the High Lord was taking the brunt of the hammering.

Running, that was all he could think of, he could hear the sounds of Uther and the man following, never more than a corridor behind. He could feel the Temple collapsing above them.

It had not been built to withstand Nimueh's fury.

He was two floors below when he heard her outraged scream. She had noticed he had gone. He heard Uther pause, and call to the man,

"Gorlios, seal the doors; that should slow her down."

He heard the doors slam behind him, cursing, wishing he had chosen a tunnel with routes that split of, but in his haste he had taken that fastest one, the straight one, the one without any splits.

The one that would lead strait to the surface, through what had been the Great Dragon's lair.

But no longer, the Dragon was a prisoner in the tunnels under Camelot.

Uther claimed to have wanted peace, so they could stop Nimueh's rampage. But he had tricked them, imprisoning that Dragon, as a symbol of the magic he had conquered.

He was nearly out, he could hear Uther and Gorlois panting behind him, they were gaining. He needed to find somewhere to hide.

An explosion made the whole tunnel shake; it was closer than the others

She was coming, he could feel her anger.

He burst into the nesting mound, hurrying down the slope on the other side, towards the citadel, he would lose them there.

He could hear Uther following. They were right behind him, he couldn't keep this up, he wasn't a knight like they were, he was a Dragon Lord, possibly the last.

He barrelled into the door, using his shoulder to open it, trying to protect the babe from the impact; he didn't want to wake it, knowing what now shared the body. Shared the Soul.

He burst into the main hall, he breath coming in short wheezing gasps, too late remembering there was only one way out, and that was the way he had entered.

He stopped in the middle of the room; he heard Uther and the other man enter.

He closed his eyes, drew a deep breathe, then turned around to face them.

"Give me the child" Uther demanded

"Never!"

"I will show you no mercy"

"As if you would anyway" He countered

"I will, I give you my word that I shall not harm you"

"Your word huh? No. I'm not falling for that twice."

"Balinor…" Nimuehs voice was cold, dangerous.

She stepped into the room, the air frigid with her anger.

He had to fight not to shiver.

With a wave of her hand she sent Uther and Gorlois sprawling into the wall.

"Give me the child."

"No"

"Balinor… This is no time for games, give me the child and I will kill you quickly."

"Never"

"Aww, Balinor fears for the child, I can see it in your eyes. But your fears are misplaced. I wish only to help him"

"Corrupt him, more like" Uther snapped from where he was fighting Nimueh's spell, trying to rise. Gorlois was likewise pinned.

Nimueh glared at him

"What would you know; you have not suffered like we have suffered." She snapped at him, before turning back to Balinor.

"Give him to me; he will be safer with me than he would ever be with you. Uther will hunt you to the end of the earth; you have not the power to protect him. Not now your Dragon is dead."

"I would sooner die than give him to you!"

"Oh, you are going to die, don't worry" She smiled, "It just a matter of how, or should I say haw painfully"

His eyes flashed faint gold, and he saw her tense. Nothing happened.

He resisted the desire to turn and look to see if his spell had had effect.

Nimueh laughed

"Even weaker than I thought!"

He tried to look confused, like it hadn't worked

"You must have worn you're self out summoning the Daemon Orias"

He felt the baby twitch, stirring in it's sleep;

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Uther, pick up his sword. He hoped Uther would make the right choice.

He had to distract Nimueh.

He attacked, eyes blazing, he would use all of his remaining power, he was going to die. He knew that, he would be joining the rest of his kin. He would see his Dragon again.

But he had to make sure the Boy would be safe.

They had made a mistake to summon the Daemon. He regretted it more than he would even be able to say.

Lightning arched down out of the sky, towards Nimueh, who deflected it back at him, he dodged.

Uther was on his feet, so was Gorlois.

He needed to break Nimueh's shield.

He used his remaining magic at the same time as she threw her knife.

He could either deflect the dagger, or break her shield.

He focused his power into one blast of pure power, it looked nothing more than a shimmer in the air, he was rewarded by a panicked expression on Nimueh's face, and the tinkling shattering sound of a shield breaking.

There was a flash of steel, cold and grey. Razor sharp. Nimueh screamed in pain,

Uther had hurled his sword at her, grazing her lower back with the blade. Not a fatal wound, not for her anyway, but enough to drive her off. For now.

With a last look of loathing she vanished in a swirl of wind

"This isn't over, I will have the child"

She was gone.

Pain. He was in pain. Lots of pain.

The memory faded from his mind. That was how it happened.

He clung to the child, with all his remaining strength.

Nimueh's blade stuck in his chest. He breath coming in wheezing gasps, he could hear air escaping through the wound in his chest, she had punctured his right lung.

Uther was moving closer, he hadn't bothered to fetch his sword, he knew he wasn't a threat anymore.

"Give me the boy"

"Do you promise to stop her from getting her hands on him? He is not a weapon."

"I give you my word"

"I-I Thought I had made clear…" he paused to catch his breath, who knew talking was this hard "I don't trust your word"

"Then I swear on the life of my first born, Arthur, that no harm will come to this child, nor will she ever get her hands on him, this boy."

His eyes widened, that was a promise the man would keep, he knew Arthur was the most precious part of Uther's life.

"More than that, in his mother's absence I will welcome him into my house hold, is that enough for you?"

The contempt seeped back into Uther's voice at the end. He saw Gorlios step forward, but Uther waved him away.

"It… Will… Have… to do…" He sighed out the last word, fighting to draw his next breath "Hi-His name… Is Merlin"

"Merlin…" Uther seemed to be tasting the word on his tongue. "Who was the Father?"

Uther was already back to business.

"Yo-You… Don't need to… Worry about him… He… Won't come looking… Unless… Called…" he panted

"But who is he?"

He waved Uther to come closer;

"To… Dangerous to… Say his name… Look… In the library… Search in the book… Where the… Sea… reaches the sky… There you will… find… your answer… Never say his… Name out loud."

He thrust the child into Uther's arms

"Look after him Uther… May… Your enemies… Fear your footstep… A-And cower… When you take… To the skies…"

He felt the darkness that had been waiting at the edge of his vision close in on him.

Uther was saying something, but he couldn't understand it.

It was time.

His role in this plan was over. The boy would be safe, in Camelot. Away from Nimueh.

His final task was done.

"Uther? Are you out of your mind? Taking that thing to Camelot, you saw what slumbers within him!"

"I will have Gaius bind his power; that should supress the Daemon." He responded distracted

"But think of the people, if they knew what-"

"Gorlois, you will never speak of the events of today with another soul. None will ever know.

I will claim that I rescued the boy, sadly his mother perished, but before she did she begged me to look after her son, she didn't not know who I was."

"Yes My Lord"

Uther saw he was clearly unhappy.

"Gaius will of course be told the truth" Uther continued. "He will know what to do."

Gaius always knew what to do. Particularly in areas of Magic, having used it he had some understanding it, more than he, Uther, had anyway.

"But… He has magic My Lord!"

"He is but a child, he will not be taught, he will forget what he knows. I will save him"

"Yes My… Get down." He pulled Uther down;

Uther had to fight to protect the baby's head from the rubble of the Citadel.

"Look" Gorlois breathed.

The High Lord of the Dragon Lords staggered out from under some rubble. He looked dazed.

"You take the child to safety, I will deal with him." Uther told Gorlois. "Swear to me you will not allow harm to come to the child!"

"I-I swear"

Uther was satisfied. Gorlois never lied.

"Go" Hissed Uther.

Watching as Gorlois scrambled away, the child clutched to his breast, back towards the horses. He watched for a moment long, until he was sure they would not be in sight of the High Lord, before he moved, slowly closer to the man.

He was almost upon him when the man turned around.

"Where is the boy?" He demanded.

"I was about to ask you the same" Uther lied

Watching as the man's piercing blue eyes widened in surprise, then anger.

"You cannot lie to me Uther Pendragon." He snapped

"Perhaps not"

He moved fast, faster than thought. Plunging his sword in to the man's stomach.

The Dragon Lord looked back in complete shock.

"And the last Dragon Lord dies!" Uther crowed

"No..t the… Last. You'll never… Find… My… Son"

The man raised a dagger, from the folds of his shirt, and struck at Uther, cutting his forehead, the blood dribbled down into his eyes, there was no real force behind the cut.

He felt the satisfaction of his kill fade slightly, but it was rekindled when he saw the light in the man's eyes fade.

He had killed the High Lord, it mattered not if there was another, he had the last Dragon.

Besides; the child would have no training; he would not be able to control his powers. He would be no threat.

He was done here; it was time to get back to Camelot.

He headed off to the Horses, wiping the steady stream of blood off with the dead man's cloak.

Gorlois was saddling the horses, they would have to leave the others, or send men for them later, it would be too difficult to navigate down the mountain with multiple horses tied behind.

"My Lord, you are injured"

Uther waved him off,

"It's hardly life threatening."

"But…"

He was interrupted by the sound of a child crying.

Gorlois stiffened; clearly thinking the beast within would strike. The thought momentarily occurred to him, but he dismissed it. He moved over to his horse, to which the babe was strapped, peering down at the small face.

The baby sobbed and flailed it tiny arms around, until Uther drew near, it stilled, though still crying. Reaching out one tiny arm; extending its hand towards the wound on Uther's head.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gorlois stiffen, readying his sword to defend his king.

One small finger touched the cut. It felt cool, soothing, against the pulsing wound, not painful like he had expected.

He stiffened when the boy's eyes flared deep amber, not the gold they had seen in other sorcerers, not like the boys had been earlier, but like they had been right after the daemon had entered the boy.

He felt as though water was flowing over the wound. The pain was fading away.

The babe removed its hand; it had ceased to cry; now it clapped its little hands together squealing with delight, looking so happy, it made Uther smile. Even Gorlios seemed impressed.

The baby, closed its eyes, and promptly fell back into its slumber.

Absently he touched a hand to his forehead, there was a scar, no trace of the blood or the wound that had been there before.

"Poor boy, still so innocent. Yet to be corrupted. We must protect him"

He saw Gorlois nod in assent.

They reached Camelot late the next day. The people turned out, relieved to see the King returned, but sadden to see just the two of them alone. The knight that had gone; all dead.

He would have to make a speech, make sure that everyone knew what they had died fighting. He knew some of the population had started to tire of his anti-magic stance.

This would wake them up to the true horrors of magic and those who had used it, of how they had tried to murder the boy who slept on, in his lap.

They would learn what it was that those brave, brave men had fallen fighting.

Of course they would not know the truth, not even Merlin would learn the truth.

But first he had to find Gaius, explain what he wanted to happen, then he would take a bath, after which he would address the people and then deal with the council.

It was good to be back. He didn't see anyone objecting to his adoption to the boy, it would win the people over, they would see him accepting that they were just as good as the Nobles, it wasn't true of course, but they didn't need to know that.

He was really looking after the boy to make sure the monster within him never woke; he would keep his enemy close. It was true he did feel something for the boy, a sort of fondness, nothing like he felt for Arthur, or Morgana but he did like the boy.

It was something about that smile; it was so innocent, so willing to please. Yes he would make a good prince.

He climbed off the horse, taking the babe with him, carefully carrying it into the caste.

He would make the adoption official once Gaius had administered the necessary potions, potions he would have to ensure the boy took for the rest of his life.

He swept through the castle, headed for the Physicians chambers, nodding at the servants he saw along the way, they deserved respect, he saw how hard they worked. A good servant was just as responsible for the smooth running of the Kingdom as the knights.

As his father had told him, without good servants the castle would fall in to rack and ruin.

He shook his head to rid himself of such thoughts, he had to see Gaius. Pushing open the door, he saw Gaius stirring some dark green fluid; he was holding it up to light, peering at it as though it held the answers to all his problems.

Gaius looked up as he shut the door behind him, holding the boy to his chest. He saw Gaius's eyes examine him, checking him over for injury, before settling on the babe in his arms, he saw the moment Gaius understood what had happened, though the eyes widened.

"You saved him then?"

That made him pause

"That is what we will tell the council, yes"

Gaius raised an eyebrow, it was a habit he had been developing sense Uther had appointed him as Physician. After the old, grizzled Adrastea had passed away, she had been quite the healer.

"What happened?"

"They managed it, they summoned-

"Don't say its name!" Gaius interrupted

Uther caught himself

"Summoned, it. It's inside the boy."

"We must kill the boy, you know this!"

"Gaius, Gaius" Uther smiled "So bloodthirsty! No, we will not kill the boy. I will adopt him. We shall save him from the beast within. I promised."

"But the only way to do that would be… Oh" Understanding flared across his face

"Yes, Gaius, we must bind his powers."

"But, Sire… He will have to drink the potion night and day for the rest of his life-

"I know that Gaius" Uther interrupted "I will not kill him"

"I was not about to suggest that, I just wanted you to be aware that it will severely affect him, he will most likely be weak and frail for the rest of his life, it will be as though he is only half alive. Which will be true, the potion it would require is far, far stronger."

"What are you not telling me Gaius?" Uther demanded "What are you keeping from me?"

"Sire" Gaius voice was soft "The potion will bind his soul. He will most likely be susceptible to near every illness; his body's defences will be severely hampered, he will be physically weaker too."

"You cannot convince me otherwise Gaius, I have made my choice"

"I know, sire, I just wanted you to understand."

Uther nodded, he understood alright.

But the war against magic was a hard one, everyone must make sacrifices.

He thought of Nimueh, he would have to increase the security around the castle, he would need more Guards. He would not tell the council of her threats. He didn't want people to panic; they had a habit of panicking when she was mentioned.

"I will leave him with you. Look after him Gaius, Make the potion. I want him under its effects when I declare the adoption. Merlin is to become my ward."

"As you say, My Lord"

Gaius watched as Uther swept from the room. Before approaching the cloth covered Babe.

It looked like any other baby, possibly a little on the skinny side, yet something had made Uther bond to the child. He wondered what it was, and if Uther was even aware.

"You're going to cause a lot of trouble" He told the sleeping bundle, Before moving off to make the potion.

In her cave, near the Isle of the Blessed Nimueh seethed. Uther was binding the boy's magic; she wouldn't be able to sense the boy. Or the daemon.

She would have to be patient, see how things turned out.

She would get the boy. She would.

"This isn't over Uther. It has only just begun."

Authors Note: So what do you think should I continue? Should I make this a proper fic?

I realise that some of you may be thinking

"What I thought you had a warning for possession etc., this wasn't that bad!"

That would be because it's going to get more extreme, if I continue; emphasis on IF.