Okay, another collaborative piece written by myself and peskychesk in collusion with each other (He he. Collusion…). Basically, this stemmed from a discussion of how Morgana and Morgause must view Merlin. This led to us talking about the end of 1. We'll leave the rest for you to judge.

(p.s. Unless you are completely devoid of humour, this story should be read aloud in as dramatic a voice as you can muster. It adds a lot. He he he he [If you don't have humour…Leave. Now. I mean it. Right now. Are you gone? STOP READING ALREADY! Argh!…] Actions also help- the bigger the better.)

"You chose to poison one of my own. You may regret that."

With a swish of silky blonde locks, and a glitter of chain mail, Morgause promptly flounced from the clearing, flanked by her two fiendish flunkies.

'Oh woe is me,' thought Merlin, as he suddenly found himself so very alone. And not for the first time. In fact, people seemed to like deserting Merlin. Almost as much as they liked deserting Leon. It was rather upsetting really. However, in this case, it could be counted as a blessing.

Merlin couldn't quite fathom just why he'd been left in a clearing, wrapped up in what were, to be honest, rather needlessly shiny chains. After all, surely the two sisters would have found it a lot more enjoyable to actually watch him suffer and die… Maybe they were a lot more thick, and a lot less sadistic, than he gave them credit for… But he wasn't about to complain.

After gasping a few times he took a deep breath through his nose (having momentarily forgotten that his mouth could be used for something other than just sarcastic comments- however much a certain prat deserved them), and hurried to voice some of the first spells which just so happened to conveniently pop in to his mind.

"Abrecap Benda." Unsurprisingly, it didn't work. None of his spells ever worked the first time. But, for some reason, the unnecessarily shiny chains did manage to get just that little bit shinier. Returning once more to the aforementioned gasping, he decided to give the spell another go. After all, what did he have to lose? Apart from his life. And, therefore, Arthur's life. And, following on, the entirety of Camelot and even the future of Albion… He paused. 'Maybe I should just get on with it.'

"Abrecap Benda!"

Once again, the chains shone brighter. And, apparently, tightened. Just a bit. And then they released to their former pressure. Maybe, he reasoned, the chains just wanted a hug. Nevertheless, they were rather cumbersome things.

Settling his thoughts once again (after briefly marvelling at his own ability to get distracted given the severity of the current situation), he decided to try a different spell.

"Irunfaestnunga onlucap me!" The chains glittered again. It was rather annoying really. And, to be honest, quite likely to attract unwanted attention. Hearing a branch creak in the distance, Merlin decided that maybe it was about time he quit the pointless musing and got the hell out of there.

Somehow clambering to his feet (showing skill which Arthur would never have believed possible of the bumbling buffoon of a manservant), he promptly proceeded to hop rather inelegantly up the slope to his right (away from the creaking) and through the trees.

After a few hours, and several rather painful meetings with the forest floor, he finally stumbled out of the forest and on to a random dirt road (not that there were any other types of road really, apart from maybe grassy ones). His body then decided that the road would be somewhat improved if it had his face planted in it. At this, Merlin just gave up. He may as well have a little nap.

After all, what could possibly go wrong?

Of course, this meant that he was out cold when a certain cart just happened to pass by…

Dun Dun Dunnnnn!

Right, so there we go. Now, we have the final chapter planned, as well as a few mishaps which could befall our hapless hero, but we've also planned a little treat for any reviewers. Wanting to stick to the timeframe of the original episodes means that Merlin has to be away from Camelot for two days. Oh yes- two days in which we can muck around with poor ickle Merlin's life as much as we so please. As such, if there is anything you'd like included, don't hesitate to let either one of us know. As long as we like it, it'll be in there.

Thanks for reading, and please- if we haven't scared you too much- review.