Title: Arthur's Choice

Chapter Title: At the Beginning

Author: Rasei

Summary: Spoilers for 5x05 The Disir. What if Merlin didn't have input into whether or not sorcery would be allow back in? Arthur is about to learn more about dragonlords, magic, and himself then he thought was possible from a simple druid girl turned Lady of the Lake. Reveal!Fic

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin. If I did, there would have been a Camelot in its Golden Years.

A/N: This story is the first of the Choice's Trio. All couples are canon, plus there are a couple of OCs. This will be about ten or eleven chapters. Also I know that Merlin's friend from Ealdor is name Will, but I figure that Arthur wouldn't after all those years. I also recently got a beta. Thank you shoshierose for the help.

Merlin: "What will you do?"

Arthur: "I don't know. My heart says do anything I can to save Mordred. But I have seen what misery unfettered sorcery brings. Before my father outlawed magic, Camelot was almost destroyed by sorcery. In my own time, Morgana has used it for nothing but evil. What would you do? In my place?"

"Me? I'm just a lackey, a maker of beds."

"Lackeys can be wise. It is not like you to be silent."

"A kingdom's future is at stake."

"And a man's life."

"You must protect Camelot. You must protect the world you have spent your life building - a just and fair kingdom for all."

"You would have me sacrifice a friend?"

"I would have you become the king you are destined to be."

"If I DO save Mordred, all my father's work will be for nothing. Sorcery will reign once more in Camelot. Is that what you'd want? Perhaps my father was wrong, perhaps the old ways aren't as evil as we thought. So what should we do? Accept magic? Or let Mordred die?"

"There can be no place for magic in Camelot."

- quote between Arthur and Merlin in 5x05 The Disir

After their conversation, Merlin drifted off to sleep while Arthur stared into the fire and went over everything in his head. Is it really fair to allow Mordred to die? Even though all magic is evil, did this even count as consorting with magic? His eyes closed for a moment, as he thought back to the times he has seen magic.

There were the sorcerers from when he was a kid, who were executed for magic, even if it was just healing. There was the woman who tried to kill him on the night that Merlin became his servant, and then there was Valiant, who tried to win with the snake shield from that tourney from a decade ago. There was the ball of light that…

"If magic is evil, why did a sorcerer conjure that ball of light to protect me?" Arthur asked softly. The clearing was quiet but for a bit of wind. Merlin was too deep in sleep to notice the internal struggle his friend went through.

What other times has magic been good? The unicorn wasn't bad, per say, if that event was anyone's fault, it was his own. There were the druids that healed Leon with the Cup of Life. Healing…he knew he was missing something there, but then he remembered. There was the sorcerer who healed Guinevere's father. They never discovered who that was.

Then there was Dragoon, who caused even more questions to appear in his mind. Why did Dragoon not kill his father when he was in Camelot the first time, when he was there at the time Guinevere was sentence to death? Why did he put the poultice underneath Arthur's pillow in the first place? Why did he say that he enchanted Guinevere and Arthur to make them fall in love, when it was obvious to Arthur that he didn't?

Also, if Dragoon truly wanted Uther to die, then why did he bother agreeing to help in the first place? Surely Uther would have died without Dragoon's help. Gaius said that there was no hope after all for Uther to have survive without magic. Of course there was the matter of the time Dragoon threatened to kill Arthur and his knights. That particular event never made sense to Arthur since Dragoon never attacked him.

He wondered if maybe he should listen to Merlin, maybe there truly was no place for magic in Camelot. Had Merlin ever been wrong before? Arthur snorted, then looked at Merlin's sleeping form. While Merlin had his moments, Arthur understood Merlin's twitchiness about magic. When was there a time that Merlin accepted being around magic without feeling bothered?

He could think of none…but wait, there was that friend of Merlin's that died in Ealdor. The two had grown up together. Back when Guinevere was banished and staying in Ealdor, Hunith told her childhood stories about the two boys. Merlin would gladly die for his friend, and his friend gladly died for someone that Merlin cared for. Was Merlin's friend one of the few sorcerers that weren't evil? Arthur shook his head. He should focus on the problem at hand.

Let Mordred die or return magic to Camelot: which should he choose? Arthur tried to develop a compromise between the two. Maybe he could limit the type of magic in Camelot, like only allow healing, or that wind thingy that Merlin's friend did all those years ago. Still, Merlin was against magic enough to let someone to die, and that was so unlike him.

Merlin has changed a lot since his friend died. Why couldn't Arthur remember the boy's name? Arthur shook his head. Merlin has change since the second time time Morgana took over Camelot.

What did Merlin have against Mordred anyway? Back when they saved him as a child, Merlin liked him okay. Except when they were trying to help him escape, and Merlin was late. Merlin and Mordred They had glared at each other as Mordred left and ever since Mordred had come back, Merlin was tense, almost as if he hated Mordred...or was afraid him. Did Merlin know something that Arthur didn't?

But none of these thoughts were helping Arthur decide whether to allow magic or not. He sighed, and whispered,

"I need a sign."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a glowing ball of light appeared in front of him. It took him less than a second to recognize it from almost nine years ago. The ball even felt that the same safe, warm feeling from all that time ago. Arthur found himself standing up, and following the ball of light out of the campsite. Had he turned around, he would have seen a similar ball of light in his sleeping servant's hand.

The walk through the forest was almost like a dream, Arthur didn't even notice how far from the camp he had wandered. Finally, the ball stopped over a small pond. In that instant, Arthur finally realized that he had no idea where he was.

"Where am I? Now what? Do you want me to throw myself into the lake?" he asked the ball. Did he make a mistake following the ball of light?

"You are at the pond called Winterspring," whisper a soft voice in his ear. Arthur spun around to see a beautiful young woman with brown hair and eyes staring at him. The dress she wore was a darkish red dress, that was fashioned towards royalty. However, it was the girl's kind smile that drew the most attention from Arthur. He felt a vague sense of recognition when he saw the girl, but he couldn't place it.

"Are you the one that conjured the ball of light that showed me the way all those years ago?"

The woman shook her head at his question.

"No, Sire. It was Emrys that summoned it. It's for Emrys's benefit I'm standing here right now."

"Who is Emrys? I've heard that name before, but I have never seen the man."

The young woman let out a laugh, causing Arthur to frown slightly. She shook her head and sighed.

"Of course, growing up in Camelot you would never have heard the stories of Emrys. How can I explain? The stories go like this: in a time where the land of Albion is almost at it darkest moments, a king will raise. This king will unite the land and create the greatest kingdom ever born."

"And Emrys is this king?"

'So a sorcerer wants to be king of all of Albion? Great, more trouble,' thought Arthur.

"Of course not. The man who will unite the lands is known as the Once and Future King. Emrys really just guards the king from danger and tries to help him along on his destiny. Unfortunately someone has been messing with their work, and they do not realize what their actions will cause."

Arthur thought about her words. A magical bodyguard for a king? That would be handy, in some cases. If he had help with Morgana… wait a second, that where he heard the name Emrys before.

"Why does Morgana think this Emrys is helping me?" Arthur asked, crossing his arms. The words "Once and Future King" echoed across his mind, he was sure he had heard those words before. The girl smiled.

"I'm sorry, Sire. That is for you to watch and learn."

"What about the Once and Future King? Is he born yet?"

"He was born at the beginning of the Great Purge. In a way, his birth is what caused it. His father messed with magic so he would have an heir, but he wasn't aware that the universe would try to restore balance."

"Restore balance?"

"To give life, one must take a life. That is the rule of magic. His son's birth was caused by magic, which in turn took the life of another."

Arthur frowned, he remembered Morgause summoning his mother's soul and what she had told him about his birth. This girl's words were almost exactly the same as those of his mother. Then he remembered where he had heard the phrase.

"I've been called the Once and Future King before."

"It is true. You are the only Once and Future King, King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot. Do you want to meet Emrys? Do you want to understand what Emrys has done for you? What he has sacrificed for your life? For your kingdom? For your happiness? If you decide not to, then tomorrow morning you will wake up to think this all of this was just a dream."

"Why does Emrys hide himself?" The woman laughed again and shook her head.

"Because it's against the law to have magic, idiot," Arthur almost jumped at the sound of the insult.

"What did you just call me?" He asked, stepping closer to the woman. The woman blushed and looked down at her feet.

"I apologize, Sire. The insult just snuck out."

"So is Emrys going to come out here?" ask Arthur, looking around for the fearsome sorcerer. The woman stepped closer to Arthur.

"We are taking a quick trip into the past. You will not be able to change anything, only observe."

"Past?" Arthur asked, turning his head to look at the woman, just as she push herself into him. Arthur stumbled backwards into Winterspring pond, \the girl right beside him. Instead of getting wet as Arthur expected, he suddenly found himself in a tiny, wooden house. The woman pulled herself away, and dusted off her hands on her dress.

"Welcome to the Emrys's first home," she whispered softly. Arthur lifted an eyebrow, then shook his head.

"Seems like no one is home."

Immediately after Arthur spoke, the soft cry of a baby filled the room. Arthur's head jerked in that direction, where a saw a simple, hastily made crib. He felt sick, thinking he knew what was about to happen. Knights of Camelot will burst in and kill the child for being born of a sorcerer. After a moment, no one came into the room. The woman walked over to the child, sadly smiling.

"I…"

"I have a question for you, Arthur. Do you believe all magic is evil? That all that it can do is evil?"

Arthur followed her thinking over her question. Merlin has stated before that magic was evil, but that blue ball and Merlin's friend were not evil at all.

"I believe most magic is use for evil. I have only seen glimpses on how it can be used for good."

"Do you believe all sorcerers who have killed someone with magic are evil?"

"Of course!"

The woman looked down at the baby, and a tear drop slid down her cheek.

"Let me tell you a story. There was once a girl who lived with her family near a lake. It was a beautiful lake, surrounded by amazing flowers, and with a fantastic view of the mountains. Neither of her parents had magic, but she did. The girl's magic was only strong enough to light the smallest flame most of the time. When she was fourteen, her parents were killed by a local lord because they were druids. For three years, the girl lived alone. Then one day, she met a guy. He was very kind at first, he listened to her talk and showed her where the best fishing spots to catch dinner at were so she could catch dinner. One day, he decided that the girl should pay her due for his help, and forced himself onto her. The girl used her magic to throw the man off of her. She didn't mean to but the man died. Was this girl evil?"

Arthur looked at the woman, and realized she was talking about was herself. He looked down into the crib at the tiny baby.

"No. That wasn't murder, it was self-defense. When you said killed, I thought you meant murder."

"Is there a difference, Sire?"

"Murder is intentionally killing someone. Self-defense is not murder."

"In the eyes of the law, the girl would be executed."

"She would be executed for using magic."

The woman shook her head, then sighed. Arthur studied the baby, then looked up at the girl.

"When is Emrys going to arrive?"

The woman smiled softly, and began to open her mouth. But before she could speak, the baby's eyes glowed gold and a wooden block began to float.

Arthur gasped and took a step backwards.

"The baby is Emrys. That is how special he is. Emrys was born with the ability to do magic."

"You mean this child is Emrys? The man who is supposed to protect the Once and Future King?" Arthur asked, watching the block twirl in the air.

"Well he couldn't be born a fully grown man, could he?"

Arthur didn't bother responding to her question, instead he stepped closer to the baby.

"So there are people born with magic who cannot control it? I didn't know that."

"And they will still be executed for being a sorcerer, for an ability that they happen to be born with. Most of the time, they are too afraid to seek help and the fear drives them to bitterness against those who persecute them, and they eventually act on this bitterness."

"Like Morgana. If… If I had known, then I may have been able to help her."

The woman shook her head, and reached out to grab his arm.

"Goodbye, my Love."

Before Arthur could think about what she had said, the world trembled around them and a bright light engulfed the pair. When it disappeared, they were no longer in the simple house, instead they were in a bustling town. Though it's nowhere as big as Camelot, it was bigger than Ealdor.

"Where are we? What is going on now?" whisper Arthur.

"One of the main towns in Essetir. I'm going to prove to you that not all sorcerers are evil, King Arthur Pendragon. Since Emrys has been influenced by someone who greatly misinterpreted the stories, then it's up to those that love him to set everything right," said the woman, as she started walking off towards some unnamed goal.

"What have I gotten myself into?"