So, here I am, about to know who'll be my college roommate ( I can't deal with how ridiculously excited I am right now!) and trying to figure out what I'm going to major in….

You know, I think each of my plot bunnies start with a specific scene on my head. This whole chapter was that scene so you can all imagine how amazing it felt to finally put it down on paper (on word, whatever.)

Beware for Sir Leon being….you know, awesome as usual. ;)And Merlin being BAMF. Yup.

Earlier today I left a review for an adorable two shot (Defense by FlyingMachine1 if one of you wants to check it out. It's positively one of the cutest stories out there.) and I typed you're instead of your. I'm still beating myself over it. Go figure.

(Fun Fact- I had Bonnie Tyler's 'I Need a Hero.' on repeat as I typed this. :P )

Merlin's blows are strokes of fate,
Chiming with the forest tone,
When boughs buffet boughs in the wood;
Chiming with the gasp and moan
Of the ice-imprisoned flood;
With the pulse of manly hearts.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Chapter V

Strokes of Fate.

The stranger made no sound, none at all; but the wind gradually died down, those brandishing their swords stopped and looked- as if pulled by an invisible force or perhaps by the coldness that froze their hearts- towards him. Even those who were trying to take refuge behind the castle walls stopped on their tracks and raised their heads.

Mere moments before, Odin and his men were screaming out their victory with bouts of grotesque laughter. Now, only the droplets of rain made a faint sound as they fell upon men, war horses, and the pavement.

He said nothing.

His silence spoke more than any king's speech. As he surveyed them from his horse lightning erupted behind him and, though none could see his face, all of them backed away in fear nonetheless. It was futile, they soon realized, when one small, almost unnoticeable flicker of the man's wrist stopped them from retreating any further. Pure fright took its rightful place in all of their faces and those that belonged to Camelot looked on, barely daring to believe this silent, hooded man a savior.

Watching it all happen from the stained windows of Camelot's castle, the Queen of Camelot, Gaius the physician and what was left of King Arthur's fabled Round Table looked on as hope rose inside of them even though no one dared say anything out loud for the terrible fear of being mistaken.

It was only when Odin stepped forwards in a foolish act of defiance that they understood it was not a dream or a shadow but a solid man standing there, protecting them.

"It is him." Gwen said gleefully and everyone around her silently agreed. "He came home."

She began rushing down the stairs without a moment to spare, suddenly terrified in her joy, because even if Camelot was saved by the warlock of legend, Merlin could turn around when his deed was done and leave them again.

She'd almost forgotten that they were a breath away from war- something about Merlin's presence made her feel safe in ways she couldn't understand- but Leon's hand in her shoulder just when she was about to run out the great oak double-doors reminded her.

"Wait! Gwen, wait! Look!"

The rain made it almost impossible to see, it was clouding the windows as the droplets slid down the glass but when Leon pointed she could see the faint outline of archers in between the enemy lines.

"Maybe if I talk to them-"she began.

"No one can protect you from a poisoned arrow Gwen."

"Or from those sorcerers he's enlisted." Percival said, reaching them with his sword already drawn.

She couldn't help but press on, "Merlin wouldn't let anything happen."

She knew that it was true in her heart but Leon, even though his subtle wrinkles smoothed over, only said gently, "Arthur would never forgive me if I'd let you be in danger. He asked me to take care of you until he returned."

Percival's face would've made them laugh if it wasn't for the clear sound of swords being drawn and the crying of children. "What do you mean until he returned, Leon?"

"Ah, Percival." said Gaius, who'd reached them. "The most extraordinary thing occurred while you were out patrolling…"

Both the Queen and the knight turned around to face him with sudden smiles and twinkling eyes but a thunder roared in the sky once again and through the window they could see the blurry movement of Odin's men.

"I promise you that I'll be alright." Gwen said soothingly, about to push the doors open. "You don't have to worry Leon-"

"Then I'll go, My Lady." Arthur's oldest knight interrupted with a step forwards.

Gwen blinked a few times in astonishment before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Leon-"she said, shaking her head.

"I'll trust on Merlin's good instinct." said the knight, turning towards a stunned Percival and shaking his hand. He smiled at his Queen and, before she could do anything, stepped forwards into the rain.

It was nearly cold as winter outside of the castle and the fear that could be seen in the eyes of the children that were huddled in the arms of their mothers and those men that had never seen a weapon in their life and only knew of their little house and their little farm made the atmosphere even colder, as only unbridled panic can. Even the knights were tensing with anticipation and dread, some of them with injuries that were still not entirely healed, as they saw into the eyes of the men that would probably slaughter them in a matter of minutes.

Odin was the only one who's face remained as stoic as always, too proud and overconfidence to see his foolishness. It was him who turned his back on the stranger and told his men to do the same, choosing instead to focus his attention on the slowly opening doors of Camelot's castle and the tall man that walked out.

"One of Arthur's knights, I presume." The king said, meeting Sir Leon's stare. "Foolish enough to think he can take an army on his own."

He smiled and then chuckled but the laughter that was expected from the warriors behind him never came.

"Or brave enough to die with honor." Leon replied, slowly walking down the stone steps to meet him. "Yes. I am one of Arthur's knights. And it brings me great joy to call myself one."

Then those wearing red-cloaks and the Pendragon emblem on their chests cheered and the defenders of Camelot stirred nervously as Odin's smile fell and a scowl settled on its place.

"I wish to speak with Queen Guinevere." the king said politely. "I've heard many great things about her."

Behind him, one archer flexed his fingers. Leon did not move as he spoke, "I'm afraid that will not be possible."

He said nothing else but the way he stared down at the shorter King and his fingers curling over the hilt of his sword said more than words ever could.

Odin, whose smile was suddenly nonexistent, made no effort to hide the tension that overtook his features, making it as clear as the raindrops that fell steadily upon them-he was not backing away.

"That's… unfortunate."

The faintest smile ghosted over Leon's lips, "Indeed it is."

When the old king pointed his sword, almost lazily, at his chest, the knight did not move but rather fixed Odin's wrinkled and worn out face with the calmest gaze he could manage.

"You see, I am a reasonable man, knight." continued Odin, not caring- or perhaps not noticing- the nervous way his men stirred around him. "I had a treaty with Arthur once."

"I know."

A mockery of a smile that was more of a pained grimace pulled Odin's lips upwards as he raised his blade and touched Sir Leon's bearded chin with the cold tip.

"He had me a sword point." he said, "Convinced me that I did not want to leave my kingdom at war if I was to die at his hand."

Sir Leon's eyes flashed subtly with something akin to pity.

"I know you were grieving your son."

The king could not conceal the slight shudder that wracked his bulky frame as he heard Sir Leon's words, heavy with a confidence that no man should possess when he is at the brink of dying. He did not know that the knight before him had seen his reason to fight alive and well a little over a day ago.

"Yet Arthur is dead." Sir Leon continued and though Odin saw an odd glint in the knight's pale eyes he thought nothing of it. "Why are you doing this?"

He paused before he replied, taking a few moments to look appalled. "Have you not seen it? The druidic people- an entire culture of their own. – seek to make Camelot their new home. Your Queen had the audacity to reclaim Gedref as her own and it is rumored that Queen Annis wants to give over Caerleon to Camelot as well. This kingdom, my dear knight, is the key to what kings throughout the ages have sought. Immeasurable wealth."

"The United Kingdoms." muttered Sir Leon, so softly that Odin did not hear him.

The old king lowered his sword slightly and sighed heavily; letting his eyes wonder towards the wooden doors one more time before the muscular knight hid them from his view. "The Queen will not see me, I presume? Not even to exchange a few words?"

The knight's thunderous face was enough of an answer.

"If you want someone to talk to." Arthur's oldest knight argued, "You can talk to me."

With a wave of his hand the king dismissed the idea, "No. Not you. I would've hoped to end this without any unnecessary bloodshed." the tip of his sword touched Sir Leon's cold chain mail, right over where his heart beating. The knight did not even flinch. "You give me no choice but to take you out of the way, Sir knight."

"Then I will die knowing that I've done my duty."

"Pity." growled Odin, spitting out his words as if he intended for them to be venomous, "Who will answer for Arthur Pendragon then?"

At the raw, wild vindictive mockery on his words the earth seemed to shiver around them and the air became heavy with something as ancient as magic itself. It filtered through the rain and the stench of fear to finish breaking what little confidence there was left on Odin's men and take away every pair of eyes from the king and the knight so that they could see what was making its way towards them…

The crowd parted when the cloaked, hooded man suddenly found it necessary to make his way through, walking as if nothing could ever make him raise his gaze from the ground. The sound of a wooden staff as it fell over the cobblestones was the only thing heard on the eerie silence that befell the courtyard of Camelot's palace.

"I will."

Like a warning bell, his voice made those around him shift restlessly in an effort to shy away and Odin- apparently without his own knowledge- step back the slightest bit. Yet the king pressed on, however, choosing to ignore it all and asking harshly, "You will what?"

The stranger's lips – the only part of him that was visible from below his hood- trembled before he replied with ease. "I will answer for Arthur Pendragon."

Odin only could stare at him in disbelief for a few moments, trying to catch a glimpse of what lay behind that long cloak but failing miserably. The mere thought of what this man could be made his lips twist in a humorless smile. "Unless you are a lost Pendragon, another bastard child-"

"I am fit to answer for Arthur even more that the Queen you tried to kill just now or whoever has a drop of the Pendragon's blood." The stranger all but seethed. "Ask any of the sorcerers you've brought here today."

He gestured with his arms and two pale hands extended towards those that were closer, the simple movement was enough to make most of them shiver and fall to their knees before Odin's outraged eyes. He was too preoccupied eyeing the newcomer with a blossoming fear to see Sir Leon's wide eyes behind him.

"Who are you?"

"Let one of them tell you." The pale man suggested, snatching one of the closest sorcerers by the collar and hurling him forwards as he bemoaned and pleaded for mercy.

The sorcerer landed on his hands and knees, seconds away from becoming a sobbing child, and threw himself at the man's booted feet as he cried out, "Emrys, please let us be!"

Odin felt a sudden chill travel down his spine, as if a thunderbolt had just struck the base of his neck. Suddenly, as the man before him looked up again, the air became impossible to breathe.

"Emrys." the old king whispered, trying to back away but knowing it would be futile. "You are the druid's Emrys."

The smile that filled up those lips stopped Odin's old heart with its icy coldness and he tried once more to make his way through but instead found that Sir Leon had drawn his sword behind him….

"Let me answer for my King, then, My Lord." Emrys said, taking deliberately slow step towards him, as if he was a predator and the old king was its prey. "He wanted to make a world where peace and unity reigned. He wanted to create a kingdom that was just and fair."

One pale hand descended upon Odin's arm, stopping him from going any further. "As long as I am here no one will touch what was his home."

It was fantastic, thought Odin, how incredibly thin, pale and frail that hand seemed and yet….how claw-like it closed around his bicep. An iron grip. An inhuman grip.

"You are not a Pendragon." was all he could think of saying, trying to make sense of the situation. "Why….?"

Deep devastation darkened the blue eyes he could see flashing below the hood, grief of the likes he'd never seen before.

"I am what's left of him on this world." Emrys said softly, as if merely speaking of it brought him unbearable sorrow. "He was my destiny."

He averted his eyes the next second, squeezing them shut and tightening his arm around Odin with impossible strength. The king couldn't tell if it was the rain what made its way down the sorcerer's chin or…

"I should smite you and your men where you stand." Emrys went on after a moment of silence and somehow the softness of his voice was worse than any battle cry Odin had heard. "Believe me, I would."

"Why don't you then?"

For a moment, while he held his breath, the king could see Emrys' resolution slipping away before his mouth set in a grim line.

"I can't. He wouldn't want me to." Emrys breathed out at last. "Had you picked any other day, any other week, for your attempt, I would've shown you clemency. But now-"

His hand twisted on the fabric of the cloak that covered him, as if it took him all of his goodwill to stop himself from striking down the horrified king he held on his grasp.

With one last painful squeeze of Odin's limb he finally let go, watching as the king staggered backwards and towards his men.

"Go, all of you." he commanded, so faintly that no one would've heard if it wasn't for the sepulchral silence.

Odin did not move and, after throwing a glance at their commander, neither did his men.

"Get out of my sight!"

His voice was similar to a dragon's hoarse and almighty roar, a sound that no human throat should be able to make. Even though the man did not breathe fire it was as if he'd had.

Some of them ran, some of them disintegrated with a useful spell, most of them simply cried out in terror as they struggled blindly past each other to get to safety….

Odin was one of them, fear etched on his face, as he fought with tooth and nail to reach his war horse and gallop away, only stopping for a moment to look back at the chaos and the figure standing, tall and almighty with his back towards him, in the midst of it all.

It was then, when he was about to flee, that he saw her run out of the castle screaming someone's name. Noticing that one of his archers was by his side, fighting to regain control of his own frightened horse, the king made sure the sorcerer was looking down again before he whispered, "There's your target."

He pressed his pocket dagger to the man's ribs when he refused and tried to back away; leaving the archer no choice but to raise his bow, point shakily towards the center of the courtyard and let his fingers slip from the feathered tip-

The arrow left the archer's hands and fleeted through the air.

And on the exact same moment the shield that Odin thought they'd brought down upsurged around him not unlike a roaring wave of sparkling sea water rising around Camelot's castle, the ones he'd recruited and that had not made it out screamed as they pounded at the walls….

Emrys turned towards him and as those burning eyes found him Odin realized he had never known true fear until then. Suddenly, the security of his horse was gone and the air whipped him towards Emrys, forcing him to his knees.

"I warned you." was all Emrys said.

He placed two of his long, pale fingers on Odin's creasing forehead and breathed out, watching emotionlessly as the lifeless body of the king hit the ground not a heartbeat later.

If there was chaos before- muted and subdued by the shock of seeing a man fly through the air and the Emrys kill without a word. - then there were no words for what happened next. The sorcerers that were not crawling away or kneeling as they pleaded for mercy were vanishing in clouds of smoke and the warriors and dark-clothed army, still stunned, found themselves fighting an enthusiastic mob of knights wearing the Pendragon crest.

Watching all of this unfold, no one noticed the way The Emrys slipped away silently, never raising his gaze from the ground. That's why, when Leon finally snapped his head upwards to look for a sign of the man he knew by the name of Merlin, all he could catch of glimpse of was a dark stallion already galloping away.

"Merlin!"

But before he could even think of running he saw a white mare he knew all too well whinnying as it hurried out with an unmistakable figure on its back.

"GWEN!"

Even though she heard Leon shouting her name Gwen did not even turn her head to acknowledge it, focusing instead on reaching Merlin somehow because….heaven knew she could not let him go. No after what had happened. Not after Arthur had made his way back.

Her heart jolted on her chest as she remembered what she'd feared for the most part of a day, something that was not true, after all, because how could a injured man ever fight like that….?

Merlin was alright.

So she chased him, leaving behind the lower town and the hordes of screaming men, racing towards the forest faster than she ever had dared to go on her life, knowing that if Merlin decided that he had enough and disappeared she would probably never find him again.

Never minding the tears that were mingling with the rain she pressed on, screaming out against all hope and sanity, "Merlin!"

The man before her grabbed the reigns in a vice-like grip and the horse almost skidded to a halt, leaving her breathless for a moment.

"Merlin?" she ventured, stopping her winded mare as well. "It's me. It's Gwen."

He did not turn towards her nor did he acknowledge that he'd even heard her. But his knuckles were white were they held onto the reigns and the horse did not move.

Barely daring to hope and wiping her tears with her fingers the Queen of Camelot let out a breathless chuckle. "I know," she said, hesitantly reaching out with one hand even though Merlin was out of her reach, not just his body but his heart as well. "That you are Emrys."

She waited for a moment with baited breath but the face she hoped to see did not turn towards her.

"I can't thank you enough for what you've done." Guinevere continued, not caring if her bottom lip quivered and her tears began falling again. "For us. For Camelot. For Arthur. Arthur….he's…"

She almost choked with emotion as she prepared to say it, letting out another soft giggle at the happiness that the mere thought of her husband- alive and breathing- brought.

The cloaked backside that was in front of her tensed up as if he'd suddenly been sculpted in stone and she could barely believe her ears when a voice she'd recognize anywhere spoke up with such sadness that it broke her heart.

"Dead." He finished for her, "He's dead, Gwen. I saw it."

Guinevere could say nothing for a few moments, too stunned at how absolutely certain Merlin sounded, as if he knew something she didn't. As if he'd confirmed it with his own eyes.

"No…" she gasped after a while, shaking her wet curls away from her eyes to try and see him better. "No, Merlin, no. You don't understand…."

He shook his head and even though she could not look pass the hood Gwen knew he had scrunched his eyes shut as he always did whenever something was too painful to be spoken of. "Not now." He said in the softest of tones, sounding far too much as a child about to cry. "Please, Gwen. Just….just let me be."

He held back a sob, then. And it terrified Gwen more than anything else.

"Come home with me." she pleaded softly, holding out her hand expectantly and wishing he would take it as he used to whenever they skipped stones together after finishing up their chores...

He turned and through the tears and the raindrops that blurred her eyesight Gwen could see a pair of blue eyes boring into hers from below the dark hood.

They said nothing as they looked into each other's eyes, never once minding the rain around them. Gwen managed to give him a watery smile, trying to think of a way in which she could tell him that Arthur was waiting for him….

But those few seconds flew away before she could do anything and Merlin shook his head, almost imperceptibly, spurring his horse forwards…

"Merlin!"

He did not look back at her and soon enough the rain made it seem as if he had never been there at all.

So, basically this whole thing from Merlin's POV ( especially upcoming chapters.) can be resumed with a quote from Doctor Who. (I don't watch Doctor Who by the way but I love quotes of all shapes and sizes. :)

"You gave me hope and then you took it away. That's enough to make anyone dangerous. God knows what it'll do to me."

Songs ( song verses) that deserve honorable mentions because without them this would've not been possible. Not in a million years.

…why don't you kill me ?
All that I can see are shadows of my destiny."

-David Brandes, 'Cool Vibes.'

And,

"…Never thought I'd feel so ashamed.
Me and the dragon can chase all the pain away.
So before I end my day, remember…
My sweet prince, you are the one."

- My Sweet Prince, Placebo.

For all of the Merlin-Gwen bff-ry fans out there like myself. The whole forest scene was inspired by a song (when is it not?) and its right here: My Oldest Friend- Andrew Belle.

"…and I hope you finally realize
that I'm only looking out for you
when I'm not afraid to see this through

who do you think you are?
who do I think I am?
barely listening to my oldest
my oldest friend."

Yeah, so it's about two in the morning right now and I really can't go back and check when my eyelids are drooping so forgive me for any typos or errors. :)

I'm going on vacation the day after tomorrow and I promised myself that I would have something up before I boarded the plane because all of you beautiful people already waited two months and you don't deserve another two. God knows I'll have absolutely no time for weeks. :)

Have a great week, everyone! As always, hugs and love!