A Righteous Return - AU - Locked to seaweed_writes

[ihadabadday]

Once Upon a Time in a kingdom far away and filled with magic and dragons, there was a King and his Wizard. Together they did great things, bringing peace to the world and to its people. They were the best of friends, as close as any two men could be. Until one day the King was gravely injured defending his Wizard...

He gasped as the arrow struck his shoulder. Just between the gap in his armor. Too low to be anything but fatal. He knew that. But he was the King of England. He wielded Excalibur. He would not go down with out a fight. Of course /he/ would call him foolish for this. For defending him in this way. He was a sorcerer, a wizard, after all.

His knees gave out as the blood loss started to affect him. He barely noticed as strong arms came around him.

"It's okay." He assured the man, "You'll be okay. If... I'll return." He coughed a bit, feeling the pain. But it was all okay. His friend. His Wizard was alive. He pressed Excalibur into the man's hands.

"Return this to the Lady of the Lake. Please. It needs to be safe." He knew what would happen if it was in the wrong hands.

He didn't have much time. He knew that. He reached up and touched his Wizard's face. "Find me again." He managed before he closed his eyes, arm falling limply to his side.

The King of the Brits, of England, was gone.

---

John shot up in bed, gasping for breath. He pressed a hand to his face and took a deep breath. Another nightmare. So many had piled up over the years. Loosing Arthur, the two Great Wars. Even recent events were enough to make him frightened. He got out of bed and walked over to the window. After opening the blinds, he stared out at the blinking lights. Albion had changed so much in recent time. Just the past hundred years alone. He let out a sigh.

There had been one time in all these years the had started to feel Arthur return. During the second Great War... The need for him was great then than it had been years earlier during the first. He pressed a fist to the window and sighed. "Arthur, we need you..." There was the unspoken, I need you. It was always unspoken. He had never dared tell the King. He couldn't, not when he had a Queen that adored him so and who he adored in return.

He let out a long held breath and looked back out to the night sky. He didn't need this flatshare, but it was convenient to be around people again.

---

He had been living with Sherlock Holmes for three months now. Just long enough to know he could stand the man, but not long enough to really know how he felt about the man. Other than... Okay.

John had left Sherlock lying on the couch when he went off to work. The A&E. He loved working in emergency medicine. He could help people and keep an eye out for Arthur and the Knights.

Of course, this was the day when a psych patient broke out and started to wave a scalpel at everyone. John stepped in front of a nurse only to get stabbed in the neck. He put his hand up to press against the wound, trembling. Oh, shock. He slowly sunk to the ground as he heard his coworkers starting to swarm.

And it was about fifteen minutes later that Sherlock's mobile started going off.

Comments

[ihadabadday]

John sighed. "Why can't they just be at peace? Why can't they be allowed to live their lives? Why must this cycle perpetuate over and over?"

"Why can't I die? Why are the Old Ones doing this to us? Why? No one believes in the old ways any longer. Everyone believes that Arthur and his Knights are myths. Thay I'm a myth!"

"What if I just took Arthur and fucked off somewhere not England? What would the Old Ones do then?"

John was trembling as he sunk down into a chair, dropping his head into his hands. Oh God he was tired.

[seaweed_writes]

Erad frowned. He hated to see his old friend like this, but he couldn't give him the answer that he seeked.

"I am sorry, old friend. I wish I could say. But you must find the answer of which you seek. I cannot reveal that which I know." He knew the past, the present, and the future, at least the future as it was now. It was constantly in flux. Little changes could drastically change what he saw when he Looked.

And with Arthur and the knights awakening, he knew that the future was in chaos until this was settled, so there was no need to Look again now. Besides, it drained his energy to Look, and he was very vulnerable afterwards, so he had to be frugal about when he used it.

"Merlin." Ered looked deathly serious now. " I know you care for the man. But I worry that you will let your feelings get in the way of what must be done. I am happy that you have found someone who loves and cares for you as much as you love and care for them. But you must put your feelings aside and not them rule your heart or your head. You will need both for the coming battle."

[ihadabadday]

"I know." He said after a moment, "You've never been able to."

John rubbed his face, shoulders dropping. It was probably a mistaken admitting how he felt about Sherlock. Arthur. "I should... I should change his memories of loving me. It will make everything easier. It will allow him to do what he needs to do without those pesky emotions getting in the way."

He got up and looked at Ered. "I know you can only watch and guide gently. I know some of the Knights may not live. Especially those who have no experience in this lifetime with danger."

[seaweed_writes]

The "You've never been able to" comment stung a little, but only because it it hit closer to home that Ered wanted it to.

He would never force Merlin to do anything about Arthur, even if their feelings could jeopardize the entire operation. He had loved and lost before. It was a pain that he never wanted to feel again. And yet, he had married, and now had a child. It was like he was forcing himself to remember. She was a human, and so was the child of his loins. They would get old, and they would die, and he would lose them as well.

Ered shook those thoughts away. He had to take his own advice and put away feelings for the moment.

"I cannot tell you what to do about the way you feel about Arthur. It is a conclusion that you must come to yourself." He watched Merlin stand up and tracked him as he paced and talked.

"I can tell you that there are knights who you are close to, and you will feel pain, and you will feel loss. It is something that you have to compartmentalize for yourself. Even if you do decide to change Arthur's feelings, you must change your own as well, ans that cannot be done with any spell or cantrip."

[ihadabadday]

"Don't underestimate me Ered. I learned a long time ago how to strip away emotions. I had to, after I lost Arthur the first time. I know the rest of the dragons were distracted by other things. But I... I..."

Jonh's shoulders dropped. He looked his infinite years for a moment, looking so weary, so exhausted.

"I... I hate that I can't protect him. I hate that I must send all of them into war."

[seaweed_writes]

Ered shook his head, slowly, sadly. He got up from the chair and put his hand on John's shoulder. It was much heaver than a human hand should have been, because he dropped the detection spell, though not the shape spell.

"I saw how you mourned for Arthur. You had feelings for him, and you were never able to articulate them to him before he died. I can tell you this now, for this is a time long past. He loved you too, Merlin, your first Arthur, the way that this Arthur does as well."

He took a deep breath and sighed, it sounded a bit like a rumble of thunder, or the deep, sad bellow of a dragon- a creature also thought lost to the myths and legends of time.

"You are a protector, Merlin the Great. It is in your very soul. But you cannot protect everyone, and you cannot protect alone. You must remember this. This may save your life."

[ihadabadday]

"I don't want them to go through this. I don't want them to be hurt. I want them to be happy and live their lives." John looked up.

"Ered... Thank you."

He rose to his feet and touched the dragon's hand.

"You have been a good friend and guide all these years. I hope that this isn't our last meeting."

John turned to go to the door.

[seaweed_writes]

"I understand, and you are a better person than many because you care so much. As much as that particular characteristic of caring for others so much can hurt, it can also ultimately help you in your quest as well."

He was quite for a moment, as he put the spell to hide his magic from others back on again. He went to the door and oped it for John. Of course he knew whether or not it would be their last meeting, but he didn't respond to that comment one way or the other.

"Be well, Merlin the Great. Even if you do not see me, I will be there, watching over you I wish you the best for you and your Arthur." He nodded, walked through the door, and disappeared. If anyone other than John felt a great whoosh of air at the entrance to the cafe, they would have called it no more than just a brief bit of wind as the invisible dragon took flight again.

[ihadabadday]

John returned to the flat and didn't join Sherlock in bed. Instead he went upstairs to his old room and knelt down in front of a trunk. He whispered a spell, with his hand pressed over the lock. Hearing it release, John pulled back and opened it. Inside were books and scrolls from the days of Camelot. Things he thought he may need and used a preservation spell on the items...

He dug until he found the scroll he was looking for. It was more accurate than his other spell. It would pinpoint exactly where the other Knights were. He had to find them. He had to awaken them.

[seaweed_writes]

Sometime, in the middle of the night, Sherlock awoke. He could tell that the bed was empty beside him. It was cool, so he had been gone for a long time, he knew.

He tried to go back to sleep, knowing that John was not going to go out and do something rash without him. But he just couldn't.

He got up, used the look, and pulled a dressing gown over his naked body, tying it it tight. John was not in the living room, so Sherlock went part of the way up the stairs, consciously avoiding the creaking third step. He saw the light under John's old bedroom window, and he felt the tingle of what he now knew was magic emanating from under the door, it was like a warm blanket swirling in the air.

John was busy, Sherlock knew, so he went back down the stairs, and opened up his laptop to wait. He knew he wouldn't get any more sleep tonight.

[ihadabadday]

The map on the kitchen table lit up, the areas they already marked shifting and narrowing. Eleven points of light burned into the map, exact locations of the Knights.

John had specifically left out the one that had betrayed them.

Mordred.

Anger coursed through him. How had he not seen it coming?

He rolled the scroll back up and slowly rose. John let out a breath and then eased himself downstairs. He was sweating and exhausted.

[seaweed_writes]

Sherlock was in his chair, with his laptop in his lap. When the map in the kitchen lit up, he immediately noticed it. He got up wand watched the dots shrinking and moving slightly until they were 11 very specific points of light.

The entire able was emanating magic, and he was actually slightly surprised when he heard John almost stumble down the stairs. He rushed to the man, who looked like he had just ran a marathon.. twice.

"John!" He exclaimed, actually picking the man up in his arms. "Bed. Now." Sherlock carried him to bed, and went to the loo, gently wiping his sweaty skin with cool, damp flannels.

"Rest, John. We can talk in the morning."

[ihadabadday]

John didn't know how he managed to get down the stairs. Oh god. He was grateful that Sherlock was there.

Oh. That spell had taken more out of him than he thought. But he was glad that he was helped to bed.

He was out before his head hit the pillow, relaxing. The tension eased out of him and he just looked... Content.

[seaweed_writes]

Sherlock leaned down and kissed him gently on the forehead. This was the second night in a row that he had to put John to bed, though for completely different reasons.

He tucked John in and went back to the living room, stopping to look at the map on the kitchen table. It wasn't glowing any more, but the dots were still there, and he could still feel the residual magic dissipating in the air. He went back to his laptop to let John sleep, and do more research himself.

[ihadabadday]

In the morning, John got up. He was aching. He took himself to the loo to clean himself up and shower. He let the hot water beat against his muscles, oh that felt good.

John pressed his forehead against the cool tile, relaxing.

He needed to get stronger. Increase his stamina. He would need to so he could face Morgana.

So he used his magic to start breakfast for the two of them.

[seaweed_writes]

When John woke up, Sherlock heard him get into the shower. He thought about getting in there with him, but then he decided that maybe he needed a little time to himself, so he just continued his work on the computer.

That is, until the kitchen started to make food for itself.

He got up and watched as bread went into the toaster and eggs cracked into a pan right before the gas for the stove top turned on. While John was in the shower. He wasn't sure whether to laugh, or just stare and watch, or help the magic along.

So he watched as breakfast made itself- the only help being that he moved the map off the table just in time before the plates sat themselves down onto the table on top of it.

All he could do was shake his head and smile.

[ihadabadday]

John got out of the shower and dried off. He dressed and left the bedroom. There was a smile on his face as a cup of tea floated over. He took it and sipped.

He then looked at Sherlock. "What?"

[seaweed_writes]

"What... can you do with that magic of yours?" He asked, sitting at the table, munching on a bit of the eggs that the magic had made. "Though I had to admit that they made it just the way that I like it." He smiled at the man, got up, then gave him a soft kiss between his sips of tea.

"You are walking a bit oddly. A bit sore from yesterday, I see?" He asked with a smirk.

[ihadabadday]

"A lot." He said with a grin, "What are you thinking?"

He smiled at the kiss, returning it softly before relaxing back in the chair. He took a bite of his eggs and toast, looking better than he had mere hours earlier.

"Just a bit sore, but it was quite worth it."

[seaweed_writes]

Oh, he was thinking about a lot of things that could possibly be done with that magic. He didn't say anything, but the growing smirk on his face showed EXACTLY what he was thinking about.

"As much as I would love to test the theory that your magic can do.. 'a lot', I think we really do need to start working on getting the Knights together." He hated to ruin the moment, but they had already lost one day, and they had no idea how much time they had left.

[ihadabadday]

"The map should have exact locations now. We'll go and round them up." John said, "We don't have time to play around. Something is coming. And... It's not going to be easy on any of us."

[seaweed_writes]

All of a sudden, the eggs sat heavier in his stomach, and he really didn't feel like eating any more. He gently pushed his plate away from him.

"I will take a quick shower, and then we can start." He said, standing up and taking his plate to the sink, then heading for the loo. It was a quick shower. He got dressed and was back in the living room in less than 10 minutes, his hair still wet but perfectly coifed, as always.

"Where to first?" He asked, already grabbing his coat and scarf from the coat rack.

[ihadabadday]

John summoned the map to himself and folded it up. "Saint Bart's." He said as he pulled his coat on.

"There is a knight there." And the dragon... But he didn't let Sherlock know that yet.

He slid his phone into his pocket along with his wallet and keys.

[seaweed_writes]

"Molly." Sherlock said, a little horror in his voice. He understood that this was a war that was coming, and that people could die. As much as he always berated Molly, he did care for her as a friend, and would never want anything to happen to her.

"Is it Molly, John?" He had to ask, he had to know.

[ihadabadday]

"I'm sorry." He said quietly.

John didn't want it to be Molly. But... But it was the logical conclusion.

"I'll protect her. I know she's not a fighter."