Here is a new story that I have been meaning to write. I know I'm in the middle of writing another one as well but I couldn't help it. I like writing two stories at once.

Anywho, please read and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin

Invasion of the Beasts

The castle shook. Pieces of the ceiling came loose, crashing to the ground. Cracks appeared in the windows, becoming bigger and bigger. Camelot was falling apart but still he kept walking, his boots connecting purposefully with the ground as he headed towards the throne room. His sword was strapped to his side and his left hand rested on it as if any moments something would jump out of the shadows and he would be forced to unsheathe it.

His armor did nothing to slow him down either. One of the servants had helped him into it several days before and there hadn't been a moment of peace where he felt it was safe enough to take it off. He wore the colours of Camelot with pride but the lion had become torn and disfigured with scorch marks.

He rounded a corner and came face to face with the doors to the throne room. Without hesitation he heaved them open and made his entrance. A long table had been placed in the middle and there were many knights crowded around it. Maps were strewn across the table and the men pointed at them and argued. They were so deep in conversation that they did not notice him enter the room until he came to the head of the table and banged on it loudly with his gauntlet.

The knights looked up. The only woman in the room, who had been arguing with one of the other knights, came to stand next to him. Her usual gown had been replaced with armor of her own. He had had it specially made for her after she had been crowned, for her protection.

"Are there any new developments?" He asked the knights.

"A few more of them have been spotted terrorizing the lower town. We haven't been able to identify the beasts yet your Majesty." One of the knights reported.

"Thank you Sir Leon." He bowed his head to the man who did the same in return. "How are the evacuations coming along?" He turned to another knight, waiting for him to speak up.

"Most are being taken to villages near by." He gave his report. "But there are still a few trapped that we haven't been able to get to."

"Very good Sir Elyan. Keep working on getting to them." His eyes swiveled around the room waiting for anyone else to add on to these reports. Some of them were forced to look away at the force of his stare. There was something else.

"We lost a few more knights today." One of them finally spoke. "They fought valiantly and their efforts saved lives."

The King lowered his head, looking away from Sir Percival who had spoken. Every day there were more and more fatalities; many of them were his knights. They wouldn't be able to go on much longer like this. Soon Camelot would be completely overrun with these monsters.

"Has the cause been found yet?" He voiced the question he asked every time he came before his knights.

"No, my King." The knights looked tired and defeated, but this menace that plagued their city did not give any time for wrest. They were forced to be on alert every moment of the day and every second of the night. Darks bags hung under all of their eyes.

"Sir Gwaine." The knight's head popped up at the mention of his name. "Call Gaius to go to my chambers. I wish to speak with him."

The knight bowed and quickly exited the throne room without a word. It was unlike Gwaine to be so quiet. Even in the deadliest of situations you could always count on him to make a joke to lighten the mood. He didn't laugh anymore like he used to. He didn't even drink. He had been sober for about a year. Most people drank when things got hard, but with Gwaine it was the opposite. He stopped drinking.

The last year had changed all of them. So much had happened. The most recent of which had been the invasion of the beasts. The monsters had first appeared in the city a month ago in small numbers. Those were easy to take care of. Then they started to come in packs and more frequently. They had barely finished off the first batch when the next one would arrive. No wrest for the weary.

Then they began to lose men and the monsters became stronger and more bloodthirsty. Now it seemed almost impossible to keep the monsters at bay. A couple weeks ago they had decided to evacuate the city. It was becoming too dangerous for anyone to stay within the city walls.

Getting the people out was easier said then done. They had to fight their way to even get close to the citizens of Camelot. Many of them were still trapped. His knights were spread thin. Soon enough there would be only a few of them left.

The King swept out of the throne room and up the stairs to his chambers. As soon as he was gone the other knights went back to their arguing. Not long after the Queen too exited the room to follow him.

He really shouldn't call them his chambers anymore. The room was wrecked and destroyed. Barely anything remained to give evidence that he had once slept peacefully in here. The glass of the window was completely gone, smashed. Everything else had been either burned or crushed beyond recognition.

He found a pile of burned wood and sat down on it, waiting for the physician to arrive. He placed his head in his hands. How much longer would they last? He didn't like to admit it but they may have to abandon Camelot in the end. If they wanted to keep their lives then that seemed to be the best option. Fighting for a ruined city was almost pointless. If they could defeat the monsters then they would rebuild, but the chances of that were dwindling more and more every day.

It was hard to imagine abandoning his home, the place he had lived all his life, but it was a sacrifice that might have to be made in order to protect his people.

So much had changed in the last year. One tragedy came after another. He had lost so many people that he cared about. There were so many faces that he would never see again. There was Sir Lancelot, his father and…

A knock came at the door. The King lifted his head and called for them to enter. An old man made his way into the room followed by Sir Gwaine. They stood before their King and bowed slightly. Gwaine went to leave.

"Gwaine you can stay. There is no reason why you should not hear this." Gwaine turned back to face his King.

"You called for me sire." The old man spoke, his voice worn and tired.

"Thank you for coming Gaius. I'm sorry to pull you away from your patients, but I have to know. Have you found anything?"

"I'm afraid that I do not know what has caused these beasts to arrive all at once." They had decided long ago that all of the monsters attacking the city at the same time were not coincidences. There had to be a reason, something behind it all.

"There has to be something we can do. Some way to fight them."

Gaius lowered his head. They had been over this several times. The physician had searched and searched through his many books in order to find a reason for this strange gathering and maybe a way to stop them, but Gaius had grown tired. He no longer possessed the same spark as he did a year ago. He had trouble remembering all of the knowledge he had collected over the years.

Gaius was becoming old. Soon the King would not be able to rely on his counsel in times like these.

Another knock came at the door. "Come in." The King called out.

The door opened to reveal the Queen. Her long black hair was tied up and, like all of the knights; her hand was always on her sword. She made her way across the room until she was standing next to her husband who stood to meet her. She placed her gloved hand on his arm reassuringly. He could always count on her to be there for him and to pick him up when he was down.

He had tried to convince her to leave with the others but she had refused and that was the end of it. He was yet to win an argument against his wife.

"Continue Gaius." She looked to the old physician.

"As I was saying, there is nothing in my books that can explain this phenomenon. I have looked through every book, reading every note, but still I have found nothing to counter it. This could have been brought on by sorcery."

"We have considered that before." The King nodded.

"Even in the forbidden texts there is no spell powerful enough to bring them all here though. If there were one then I would guess that it would take a tremendous amount of magical power to even attempt it. Not even Morgana was that powerful."

The room went silent for a moment at the mention of the witch, the King's half sister. A couple years back they had finally been able to reach her and persuade her that the path she had taken was wrong. There was another way. The possibility that, together, they could create a world where peace was possible.

She had joined the King shortly after. The ban on magic was still active but the King was becoming more lenient. They held real trials. Only those who misused their powers were convicted now.

Things were just starting to go back to the way they were in the good days. Morgana started to laugh again. Even with all of the tragedies there was still hope for happier times. Morgana had become one of his advisers. Camelot thrived under their rule. He had come to refer to her as his sister and not his half sister.

Then the invasion began and everything fell apart. The last week had been the worst, with the most fatalities. Brave people. People he knew.

A tear fell from the King's eye. It had been two whole days. Two whole days since Morgana had fallen in battle. He had been there; close enough to see the light leave her eyes. She had sacrificed herself to save him. He would never forget that. Even after everything she had done in the past. Even with all that hatred she had held for them.

There had been a time when he would have been relieved to see her go, but now he felt nothing but sorrow. They had come to care for her again and she had done the same in return. Everyone mourned her passing.

They had not been able to bring her body back to the castle. The King hated to think of her laying out there somewhere, alone. The knights had had to drag him away from her when he refused to leave. If they had retreated earlier she might still be here. She deserved an honorable funeral. They all did.

"Arthur." He heard the sweet sound of his wife's voice, bringing him back to reality.

"At the moment Magic seems to be the only possible answer, but no one could have done it on their own, maybe a group of sorcerers. If they still practiced the ways of the Old Religion. That magic is more powerful then that of today's."

"Would it be possible to get a group together to break the enchantment?" Gwaine mused.

"That would take time, and the only magic users we know of are the Druids, but they would never fight. I don't want to bring them into this anyway. It could put them in danger." Arthur pointed out.

"There are others, but we wouldn't be able to get a message out to them in time. They may already know what is happening here." Gwen added.

"If there were such a group of sorcerers who might have brought this upon us, then they would have to have something in the city perhaps to draw in the monsters." Gaius noticed.

"Then all we would have to do was find it and destroy it." Arthur looked up with hope.

"Yes, but I can find nothing on such an object that, by using magic with it, would be able to do such a thing. Even then it would no be so easy to destroy."

"At least it's an idea."

"But Arthur, we are spread too thin. We have no one to go looking for it. We wouldn't even know where to start if we don't know what we're looking for." Gwaine sighed.

Arthur's hope vanished. Gaius sighed loudly, drawing his attention.

"What?" He asked, knowing there was something on the old man's mind.

"I never mentioned this before but there is one person that could have been powerful enough to break this curse."

"Who?" Gwen piped up.

Gaius sighed again and looked around to the other people in the room. They all looked expectantly at him.

"Merlin."

Thank you for reading and please REVIEW!

Give me your thoughts and ideas. What do you think will happen?

Also, please read my other story "I Will Never Forget". I am having writers block on that one and need help.