spiceblueeyes | A Storm's a Comin'

Title: A Storm's a Comin'
Warnings: Off screen character death, dark.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own it, talk to the people across the pond.
Summary: There is a storm coming for Camelot, and it's not a natural one.

A Storm’s a Comin’

There’s a storm coming. Dark clouds hover above the trees and Merlin stares into them, seeing the coming fury. This is no ordinary storm.

The clouds broil, and the lightning flashes with vicious intent. Trees, homes, and even people struck from above to die and flame in warning.

All of Camelot is afraid. The people hide indoors, the horses are restless in the stables, and those in the castle seek refuge in the dungeons.

All can see this storm is not natural. That it brings fire and death and rain like nothing they’ve ever seen.

The King and his son are not in the dungeons. They choose to stay above ground, surrounded by Knights. After all, if an enemy came during the storm, someone had to be waiting for them.

With the King is Gaius, there to advise and be wise in all things. With the King’s son, Arthur, is Merlin, there to protect him unbeknownst to all others save Gaius.

They choose a room deep in the castle, with no windows to break and shatter. Two exits, both guarded, both small. Small enough to force an enemy through one by one. It is a good place.

The storm arrives. Lightning is ruthless and unrelenting. Houses are burned to the ground, and the horses die in the stables, flames reaching out for them. All of those outside the castle suffer, whether from wind, rain or fire. Nothing that men have built can withstand the rage of the storm.

The castle itself is the last to fall. Its white walls scorched black, holding out until the stone crumbles under the onslaught.

The King and his men feel the rumble, hear pieces of their home, the seat of their Kingdom, fall. They run.

Outside into the rain so strong they are soaked in an instant. The wind howling around them so insistent that Merlin and Gaius must hold on to those with armor, or they might be swept away. The castle collapses behind them, stone tumbling down, sealing the dungeons closed and trapping those who are inside.

The men are shocked, weary, wet and tired. All they have known, all they had worked for, is gone. The King weeps for Morgana, who’d been sent to the dungeons for safety with the others.

In all the rain, no one could see his tears.

Arthur is cold, his face hard. If he survives, someone will pay.

Merlin has eyes only for Arthur, because Arthur must survive. He steps close and clings to Arthur’s sodden cloak, extending a shield around them. He is not strong enough to shield everyone, and so they are left exposed. One by one, they fall. Swept away by the wind to be drowned in the growing flood, or struck by lightning, frying with their metal armor.

Gaius and the King are left. The King still weeps, invisibly, as the torrent catches him unawares. Merlin reaches out to Gaius, his mentor, but the old man slips in the mud and follows his King, ever the loyal servant.

Arthur and Merlin watch their city flood and burn at the same time. If any more proof was needed that there was magic in this, it was evident in the way the fire consumed all in its path even as the rain pelted them from above.

Arthur and Merlin watched, and survived. Watched their destiny go up in smoke and steam.

When it finally ended, when the clouds parted and the rain stopped. When the sun shone down on what was left, they had only one thing left in their hearts.

Revenge.