Chapter 29: Dusk

Dezyra spent the rest of the day standing, shifting, simply staring at the Candle. The redheaded girl kept quiet, thankfully, even though Dezyra suspected that quiet wasn't a word normally associated with the girl – but, it didn't matter. Dezyra didn't want to speak to her anyway, wanted nothing to do with her. After all – she'd soon be dead.

The girl didn't speak, and there wasn't anything left to do but wait – so Dezyra stood, and waited. She had everything; it was all ready. All she had to do was wait for the day to end, for the sun to set.

She was ready. More than ready.

Soon they'll all be dead – soon, I'll be able to watch as they all take their turn to burn.

Soon…I'll never have to be afraid of losing anyone else to them.

And she was completely ready for that moment to come. To be here – to feel every single one of those ignorant monsters perish – she wanted it. Dezyra wanted to relish it.

And yet she felt nervous.

But, she wasn't nervous, and they weren't nerves. Not the kind associated with reluctance or second thoughts, anyway. I'm far past all of that.

She'd come too far, been through too much, to ever turn back – after everything, she could only stand there and go through with it. Because, if she didn't, then who would? If she couldn't stand here and calmly end hundreds of thousands of lives, then who would? For the sake of her people, she had to. And anyway, she wanted to. If any one of them had the chance to do the same to us, they would.

It wasn't honorable, and it wasn't right – Dezyra wouldn't try to fool herself; there was no point. She knew. It wasn't like she wanted praise for this; she wouldn't get much of it. She knew that, and she knew that if her family could see what she was doing... well, that didn't matter anymore, did it? She knew – of course, she knew. It just didn't matter.

Morality had no meaning in this. It was simply survival, just that – and revenge.

And she didn't care.

She wouldn't apologize, wouldn't let fools like Elsa and Emrys prevent what needed to be done. They could chastise her all they wanted, later – eventually, they'd see. They would one day appreciate the new world that Dezyra was going to create. Free of the monsters who hunt us like animals. Well, it's their turn to be slaughtered.

The thought burned like fire, but also made her nervous – she shoved the feeling away, letting her anger simmer. Anger, and more anger – there was never a shortage of that, not for her. All it took was a thought –

An image, a memory –

And the fire returned. They're all going to pay.

It wouldn't be long now.

Silence.

That was what the words were met with, every time they were repeated; just shocked, uneasy silence, infused with near disbelief. Because, surely not. Surely, this wasn't actually happening.

Silence – from when Merlin told Gaius, to when Gaius told Arthur, to when Arthur started to tell the king but fell silent, himself, halfway through the explanation; he let Gaius continue, giving the details.

Candle of Gerok. Activate the curse. Kill everyone.

Merlin would have liked to ignore the words he'd already heard too many times, to let them fall on deaf ears, but he couldn't – he just couldn't. It was because they weren't true.

Not everyone.

If Dezyra did this, if she succeeded – not everyone would die. Not Merlin.

That was what hurt the most.

It will kill every single person who has magic…or, every single person without it. It was obvious which option Dezyra would choose. And, yes – of course, not everyone would die. Gaius had magic, so he'd be safe; so would Elsa, and probably Morgana as well. Still, knowing that was barely a comfort at all – there was no way he could feel relieved, not with everything else.

Because – Arthur. Gwen. His mother. Nearly everyone in Camelot – everyone everywhere –

Everything would fall apart.

He knew that this wasn't the time to be giving up hope; he knew that they'd faced terrible things before (though never this terrible, never this much) and had gotten away unscathed (for the most part). Merlin had to stay strong, had to focus, if he wanted to stop this; he knew that.

And yet, he couldn't steer his thoughts away from failure – and that seemed to suck every last trace of hope straight out of him. The thought of failing this time – the thought of living on while Arthur, Gwen, all of them died...

The very thought…

He couldn't. The very thought sent shivers of panic through his body, making his limbs feel numb. He couldn't, he had to stop it, but the thought – what if I can't – he just felt so exhausted.

It felt like years since he'd slept, and yet that didn't matter in the slightest, because this – if he couldn't – it would all be over.

Merlin just felt numb. Can't.

That terrible silence stayed with them – even when someone spoke, it only seemed to shift, pressing tightly against the temporary noise.

Uther listened quietly, a stunned sort of expression frozen on his features – he only asked if Gaius knew of a way to stop the curse, and when Gaius replied with the customary "I am working on it, Sire", Uther nodded tightly and waved them all away. They were all ordered to keep silent about it, so as not to cause panic, and everyone in the room barely seemed to hear the command. It didn't matter – not one of them could bring themselves to tell another soul.

The three of them seemed to gather subconsciously – Merlin found himself trailing after Gaius in a daze, meandering to a halt in the deserted hall outside. Arthur wandered up as well, slowly rubbing a hand across his face as if trying to wipe the lingering blank expression off. They stood in that awful silence, eyes open but not really seeing. Merlin wasn't, and he couldn't really look but he knew that Arthur and Gaius weren't either.

It was Arthur who spoke first, eternities later. "We need to stop this."

Gaius raised an eyebrow, staring solemnly at the wall. "Indeed…"

The sigh that Arthur let out sounded like it was ripped from him, sharp and tearing. "How?"

And Merlin forced himself to stop just standing there, to stop thinking and start doing. He cleared his throat with a scratchy sound, slowly lifting his head. "There is a way…but, you're probably not going to like it."

They made their way to Gaius's chambers, still in silence but at least this time, it wasn't quite so thick. Still, they couldn't not be tense - and others noticed. All three of them paused for a moment, wordless, when Morgana and Gwen walked by as they were passing through the open corridor overlooking the courtyard.

Morgana slowed down, watching their procession curiously, her eyes bright and more than a little wary. Gwen's eyes were on them as well, and Merlin felt numb again just looking at them - knowing what they didn't know.

Merlin looked away, averting his eyes, and Gaius did too - Arthur, however, slowed down as if he wanted to say something. There was a short moment of that stiff quiet - Morgana turned, lifting a slender eyebrow only to see Arthur shake his head and stride off.

"...Arthur?"

Her tone was curious and even a little concerned. Merlin and Gaius just hurried after Arthur, biting their tongues. We'll solve it, we'll fix it, it's all going to be fine. He willed it to be the truth, and yet the ominous feeling making its home inside him made it hard to believe.

Gaius's workroom was quiet and empty, which was quite the relief - just being in that familiar room, away from the eyes of everyone else who didn't know, seemed to lift a weight straight off of Merlin's shoulders. Arthur must have felt the same way, as he sighed heavily the moment Gaius pushed the wooden door to his chambers shut.

"We've got to tell them," murmured Arthur, eyes downcast. "All of them…"

It was tempting, but only to a point – did they really want everyone to know and become just as worried as they already were? It wouldn't help things. "They're better off not knowing," said Merlin firmly, shaking his head. "We'll stop it, and they'll never even have to know that they were in danger. It's better that way."

Arthur only gave a slight nod, still frowning in a tight way that gave the impression he was focusing very intently on something. After a short beat of silence, Gaius moved closer and cleared his throat.

"Well, Merlin," said Gaius solemnly, frowning at him. "What exactly is it that you have planned?"

Planned? Merlin almost wanted to laugh, because planned was hardly a word he would have used, but it really wasn't the time for it. Instead he nodded and took in a breath to speak.

"Well. Firstly, I think we need to figure out more of how Dezyra is going to use the Candle – the details, all that. We can't exactly stop her if we don't know enough about it. So, I was thinking…Gaius, remember what that book said about the Candle?" Merlin turned to Gaius with a meaningfully raised pair of eyebrows as he carefully said those last words. Of course, there hadn't been a book – and thankfully, Gaius seemed to catch on quickly enough that Arthur didn't notice anything.

They hadn't been able to find any information about the Candle of Gerok other than that which the dragon had given to Merlin. Of course, they hadn't really needed to – the dragon had told Merlin plenty. However, it would seem more than a little suspicious if Merlin acted as if he knew everything about the Candle and Gaius was oblivious, so they'd come up with a little cover-up story to be safe.

Gaius nodded his assurance, glancing at Arthur. "Ah yes, the book – I don't know how you managed to make out the words, Merlin; they were much too, er, small for me to read."

Merlin nodded slowly, trying not to frown at Gaius – how had the man ever managed to get away with things around Uther for so long? Gaius was really a terrible liar – "Uh, yeah, well anyway – in that book, it said that the spell that's used to activate the Candle is so enormous that in needs a vessel to keep it going. The vessel has to be a living person, whose life force is used to sustain the magic."

It felt beyond strange to be talking about the inner workings of magic right in front of Arthur – strange, but also sort of refreshing. Of course, he did wish that the subject could've been one that wasn't so terrible. "…What's interesting, though, is that the vessel used has to be a very specific person, or the spell won't work correctly. The choice of vessel is what guides the spell. Basically…if the person chosen as the vessel has magic, then the spell will kill people with magic. If the person chosen is someone without magic, then the spell will kill those who don't have magic."

Arthur was, once again, looking at him with a muted expression of concerned bewilderment on his face. "…And exactly what good will knowing that do for us?"

How in the world did Arthur ever manage to be so ignorant? Merlin rolled his eyes slightly, letting out a puff of exasperated breath. "It's important," insisted Merlin, glaring. "And also…it explains some things." Yet another thing that he didn't really want to talk about, but he had to. At that moment, Merlin couldn't help but speak a little harder than necessary while looking at Arthur.

"I'm sure you remember how Elsa's sister was taken by Dezyra. Well, it makes sense now why she would take her. She needed a vessel, someone who didn't have magic to shape the curse – so, I think that Dezyra's most likely using Anna as her vessel."

If Arthur noticed that Merlin had spoken a little pointedly just then, he didn't show it – the prince only frowned in disquiet. "Anna…? And what…what will it do to her? Being the vessel?"

"Well – it'll kill her, but," said Merlin, tilting his head and squinting as he watched Arthur lower his gaze sorrowfully. Really, Merlin wanted to be mad at Arthur, for so many things – but of course, the prat had to act all noble and full of good intent at the exact wrong moment. He must do it on purpose – and anyway, Merlin didn't have time to be mad at Arthur. "But – I mean, she and everyone who doesn't have magic will die."

"Yes, thank you, Merlin, I got that the first time."

Or not. "The point is," said Merlin, resuming his glare. "We might be able to stop the curse by…somehow removing it from Anna? If we can make her not be the vessel anymore – and I don't mean by hurting her or anything –" At that point he shot Arthur another fairly accusing glance. Arthur shifted, looking away with something akin to guilt on his face.

"And another thing – we do actually have some control over the spell, because I think that Dezyra must be using more of the magic she harnessed from Elsa to activate the curse. According to the, um, book – the spell is much too complicated and powerful for a single person to cast. Even for multiple regular sorcerers, it's too huge. That actually explains why Dezyra would have needed Elsa's specific magic, also…" He found himself adding the last sentence as an afterthought. Elemental magic – perhaps another requirement for the spell? Or if Dezyra just wanted to ensure that it was powerful enough–

Neither Arthur nor Gaius seemed to be catching on quite as quickly. "Again, Merlin – how exactly is this information going to help us?" Arthur scowled in an irritated sort of way, but the impression wasn't entirely convincing. Gaius, meanwhile, was simply watching Merlin with a pair of severely raised eyebrows.

"The point is – since Elsa is the source of some of the power that's going to be put into the spell, she may have a chance at reversing it. The book said that once this curse is started, there's only one way to stop it – that's if the person who cast the spell willingly ends it. So, if Elsa's magic is used to cast the spell, then – it could very well be that she'll have the power to stop it as well."

His words were met with silence. Merlin found himself pinned by Arthur's very hard gaze – maybe a little too much talk about magic? Merlin had known that this would happen – how could he expect anything less? This was Arthur.

Gaius was looking faintly alarmed, staring between the two, when Arthur finally ground his teeth and spoke. "Merlin," growled Arthur, his eyes narrowed. "Do you remember the conversation we had last night?"

Of course – Merlin threw back his head in annoyance. "Yes, Arthur, and no, I didn't speak to Elsa. It's not like I can just–"

Arthur cut him off, straightening with an angry look in his eye. "Then what, exactly, gives you the idea that we'll be collaborating with Elsa at all? Because if you do remember our conversation, then you should remember me saying she's a sorceress, and therefore evil. We are not working with her."

Again, there was a sharp moment of silence – this time it was Merlin who stood gaping, rendered mute. Gaius was standing beside him, and Merlin could feel the old man's eyes on him – warning him, beseeching him to stay silent. Merlin wouldn't do it. He already knew, could already feel the anger burning up through him. Arthur, I truly cannot believe you right now…

"I…you…" His words faltered before they were even fully said. Merlin swallowed heavily, meeting Arthur's eyes with a glare. "Wow. Prince Arthur, bravest of the brace, noblest knight, would do anything for his people – anything, that is, unless it involves asking the help of someone who'd made you look a fool. That about right?"

"Excuse me?" exclaimed Arthur furiously, face twisted in an affronted scowl. "What do you think you're–"

"You just can't admit being wrong, can you? Even when it's so obvious, even when everything's completely wrong – you can't just admit it. Elsa's just about the only person who can help us right now, the only person who has a chance at saving hundreds of thousands of lives. And you won't ask her for help, because she's a sorceress? She was being controlled, down in the vaults – it wasn't her fault!"

As Merlin ranted on, both Arthur and Gaius seemed absolutely shocked – Gaius had backed away, wide eyed, and Arthur spent the time gaping at him in alternating indignation and rage. Merlin ploughed on, determined to keep Arthur from cutting him off. "And before that, even then, Elsa was never against us. Even when you tried to arrest her the first time – she protected you! She saved the lives of you and your knights, she saved my life; she was only trying to protect Anna by coming here in the first place! Dezyra's the one who's evil, and not because she's a sorceress either; it's just because she is. Elsa's trying to stop Dezyra, and yet here you are locking her up! What a great king you'll make, locking up your allies, making enemies of friends. Are you ever going to get over yourself and just listen?"

At that point, Merlin had to pause in order to take in a gasp of breath. He watched as Gaius looked down, eyes wide in astonishment, before Arthur took a step forward – jaw set, eyes flashing, he presented an threatening sight.

"You go too far," ground Arthur. His tone was final, or at least it was trying to be. "What–what makes you think – what gives you the right to question my judgment? To make such assumptions? You can't–"

Normally, Merlin would have stopped a long time ago – he'd never put himself quite so far out there, not like this. But this – this was different. He shook his head, stepping forward again. "No, Arthur, listen. It doesn't matter, you can't deny the truth." Arthur wore an expression that said he'd do his best to try, but Merlin kept pushing with his angrily earnest words. "It doesn't – you can't. In, I don't know – a few days? Soon, anyway – soon, everyone…everyone'll be dead, Arthur. Elsa is our only chance to stop it. That's all there is to it."

At that, a flicker of uncertainty danced across Arthur's face – the prince shifted on his feet, obvious in his attempt to regain his scowl. "There's bound to be another way –"

"There isn't. Not if you want to do this without using magic, anyway," said Merlin, advancing with an intent look in his eye. Arthur frowned and took a step back before he seemed to realize what he was doing, straightening. "This time, it's the only way."

"No, look, everyone always says that, and we always get through anyway–"

"No, Arthur, that's not how this works – there aren't any loopholes or clever tricks we can pull, not this time, as if there ever were – don't you see? Magic is the only way." Merlin didn't even know why he was pushing this so hard; it wasn't like he needed to. He'd never before enlightened Arthur to his entire plan, the whole scheme – it had only ever been what was necessary, the bare bones. Arthur didn't need to know this, not now – so why? Merlin honestly couldn't say, but he couldn't stop himself, either.

Arthur's show of princeliness had promptly vanished. He seemed to be grasping at straws, a faintly desperate expression on his face. "Well, we can – if we kill Dezyra, then the spell will be broken, won't it? We can–"

"Oh, right, of course – there's an idea!" Merlin said sarcastically, throwing up his hands. "Terrific. How do you plan on finding Dezyra, if not with Elsa's magic?" And he very nearly almost felt sorry for Arthur, standing there with that desperately unsure look on his face. But Merlin didn't stop, couldn't. "And then, how are you going to get there before it's too late, if not with magic? How do you plan on making Dezyra willingly end the spell, if not with magic? Hmm?"

Arthur was shaking his head, a tight look in his eyes. "…No, look, there has to be a way, alright? We've always…I can't just…there has to be…"

Merlin saw the exact moment that Arthur's mind changed. The other man's strong shoulders slowly slumped as he released a silent sigh, staring with unreadable eyes at Merlin. He understood, now – Merlin could see it, could feel it. Apparently the prince still had a few faint arguments left, but his words had no heat in them. "But magic's illegal." It was almost a question.

"Yes, it is," replied Merlin, forcing his tone into something gentler. "So I suppose Camelot's survival is illegal then, as well. What would you prefer – saving the kingdom by breaking the law, or watching the kingdom fall?"

Arthur finally nodded, letting his gaze drift away once more. "…Elsa's in the dungeons, though."

All thanks to you, you prat. "Yes, she is, isn't she?" replied Merlin pointedly, and Arthur sighed once again.

There was a long pause as Arthur seemed to gather his thoughts, opening his mouth as if to speak – but he didn't, not for a good moment of silence. Merlin got the distinct impression that Arthur was trying to say something particularly difficult – he glanced at Gaius questioningly, but he only received a wide-eyed, shocked glance from the old man.

Finally Arthur spoke, straightening. "Then I – I suppose, I…I will go speak to the king about having Elsa released," said Arthur carefully, avoiding their gaze. "If that's – if there's no other way, then…I'll see it done."

The prince started for the door haltingly, as if he'd forgotten the way; abruptly he turned back again, glancing at Merlin for an instant before his gaze darted vaguely away again. "And I – I suppose, I should…I'm sorry, Merlin, for not believing you earlier, and for blaming you, in all this – you were right. I –" He broke off, pausing, before giving a quick nod and striding away.

Arthur wrenched open the door to Gaius's chambers and hurried away – the sound of his footsteps echoed back to them, still sounding slightly unsure. Merlin let out a hesitant huff of laughter, shaking his head.

…That was not what I expected. He turned to Gaius with the beginnings of a grin, only to be swatted lightly by his guardian's gnarled hand.

"Hey – Gaius!"

Gaius's eyes were wide with mixed disbelief, shock, alarm – but mostly, outright concern tempered with anger. He stared at Merlin for a long moment, chewing on his words.

"Don't ever do that again," said Gaius finally, frowning. "But…well done."

Dusk finally fell over the forest, sweeping darkness across the eastern skies.

When the day is done, the curse shall wake.

Dezyra smiled into the darkening sky. "It's time..."

Finally, the time had come. The Candle was ready, she had her vessel - everything was ready. Soon...it'll all be over.

Nervous anticipation crawled across her skin with the bite of a thousand needles, but Dezyra ignored the feeling and instead moved faster, approaching the altar where her beautiful candle sat. At the pillar beside it, the red-headed girl was slumped - awake, and watching her with narrowed eyes. Dezyra gave her a lofty smile as she reached for the Candle, stroking it gently.

"I hope you're ready," said Dezyra quietly. "The time has come."

The girl, Anna, scoffed lightly in a resentful way. "Only too eager," she muttered. "What kind of spell is this, anyway? At least tell me that."

Dezyra shook her head slowly. "You'll soon find out..."

"Well then why are you doing this in the first place? What have you got against Elsa, or me, or anybody, anyway? What's the point?" The girl's voice was beseeching, and they made Dezyra clench her teeth in a sudden wave of anger.

Why am I...

Those words - they bring back the smell. Thick smoke, charred remains, everything just ashes. An empty hole at home, in her heart, in everything she does, and the smell - the smell never goes away -

"It doesn't matter!" Dezyra snapped, heaving a deep breath. The air tasted like forest, just trees and grass and dirt. "It's not - you don't have the right to ask me anything."

"Well, seeing as how you're forcing me to be your vessel-thing, I'd expect that I do -"

"Enough!" Dezyra's voice cracked like a whip, and the entire forest fell silent under her will. "You're trying to stall me. It's not going to work."

Dezyra stood firmly before the altar, tossing a glance at the girl over her shoulder. "Now, don't forget to speak up when it's your turn," she said, smiling coldly. "You'll know the words - and if you choose to forget, you know what will happen..."

A fresh light of fear sprang into Anna's eyes - the girl almost seemed to shrink as she nodded slightly, looking to the ground. Dezyra's smile only widened, and she turned back to the candle.

The Candle of Gerok. Ancient and powerful, and so terrible...the look of it was stunning. Dezyra placed her hands on either side of it, palms down on the cold altar. The words flowed from her tongue, and she didn't even think - she'd long since memorized the words. She could say them in her sleep, but only now would they have effect. As she finished the long phrase in a single breath, the tip of the Candle's wick lit up with flame - a lonely flicker of fire danced there, glowing a deep red-orange.

Dezyra never looked away from the flame, not once. Now, the second part - the words came sharp and clear as ever. "Ic ásælan úre afol æt mín hléoþcwideas. Úre gewill diht néadhæs mín gewill."

Dezyra paused, and the flame seemed to surge - there was a moment of silence, long and charged with power. But finally, the words came - faint and stilted, because of course the girl had no power to wield. That was the point - this was not a spell, but a promise. "Duásælan... mín afol æt ...úre hléoþcwideas. Mín gewill ...diht néadhæs úre gewill."

And there it is. Dezyra couldn't keep the smile off her face as she let the final words roll off her tongue, each syllable heavy and surging with power - it was an incredible feeling. It was as if her body was ablaze, a surging fire with no heat and no consequences - a terrible, wonderful change-

When the last word boomed out - everything was silent. Dezyra's eyes had closed on their own accord at some point - she slowly lifted her eyelids.

The first thing that leapt into her vision, nearly blinding her with its brilliance - was the candle. At its tip danced a single flame - not orange, now, but a pure and absolute white.

A moment later, the silence broke - from Dezyra's left, came a voice. Less that than a sound, barely audible. "Ahh - uhhhh..."

Dezyra turned quickly, not thinking - the sight that met her eyes had her taken aback, stumbling. The girl - Anna - was still slumped at the base of the pillar. But now - it was unchangeably different. The girl's previously rosy complexion had drained to a startling shade of grey - not unlike that of the Candle's flame. She looked like a corpse - and that wasn't all. Beyond that, on every exposed bit of skin that Dezyra could see, was another shocking change. Underneath her skin...could be seen a web of veins, crisscrossing each other over and over again. It was as if the girl had aged fifty years - except, it wasn't. Those veins...they stood out against her grey skin unnaturally. And they were unnatural...they'd all turned into a deep, dark shade of black.

Grey skin, black veins. Dezyra took a small step closer, examining the girl - her eyes were closed, but she still breathed. That sound - a gasping, pitiful attempt at a breath was the best that the girl could manage.

The sight was unnerving, and so Dezyra turned away to look back at the candle. It continued to burn on with its flame dancing ominously in the lack of wind. It was still beautiful...and Dezyra smiled at it, before looking up at the sky which had been overrun completely by night.

"And now we wait," murmured Dezyra quietly. She could bask in her victory soon - and this time, there'd be no annoying questions from Anna.

It was almost done. Three days from now...the curse will have done it's work. Then, I'll be free.

So! Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing...especially you, Teekalin. You're awesome. ;)

Anyways, hopefully I can update semi-soon...but now I'm making an effort to complete my senior year of high school in the next two weeks so that I can start college early...so...I have no idea.

Please review! Thanks for reading!

~whatswiththemustache