Merlin-Paladin

Chapter One- UNEASY SLEEP

Camelot was taken...finally taken. Morgana had finally taken the great white city with force. She should be happy. She walked to her new chambers in hopes of some sleep after all this work; killing innocence, torturing knights, then there was that little problem of her brother's disappearance along with him.

Merlin. The only one who could stop her had escaped. There was no telling what he could do to overthrown her. Merlin, the man who had poisoned her and lied to her, and pushed her down the path she was now running through.

Even though he was long away from her he could still feel him, his presence always looming near. She had to admit she was afraid. Afraid of the boy's affect on her, afraid of what he would do next time he faced her and to top all that the way that Alator had spoken to him and had looked at the young warlock she could not help but suspect that perhaps Merlin is what the Druids called Emrys.

Slowly she dismissed her thoughts and slipped even more into the dreaming.

'Morgana, stop!' came the firm call of Merlin.

Of course Morgana had not headed him and continued to walk calmly ahead. 'Leave me alone Emrys!'

'No I won't,' he had caught up to her and grabbed hold of her wrist, 'and stop calling me that.'

'Why, that is your name is it not?' she snatched her hand from his grasp and turned around to continue her course.

'Why am I cursed to lose everyone I LOVE?' she heard him yell behind her.

Merlin sat up against the tree unable to sleep. His thoughts dwelled on the battle ahead. Arthur had caught up with his little bluff about the first king of Camelot and the sword in the stone but thanked him for the encouragement all the same.

"Not sleeping well then, Merlin?" the young wizard looked to see his king standing in front of him clutching his new sword.

Merlin eyed the blond king. "I can't stop thinking about-."

"Her?"

He knew who Arthur was talking about. "Why is it I can never have a normal, happy life?"

Arthur shrugged, "It appears that you may be curse Merlin."

It may be more true than he realised. At first it was Freya, his first love, killed by Arthur in her beast form. Then there was Morgana. Even before her ascension to evil he could not have her due to their status. Morgana the king's ward and Merlin was Arthur's manservant. The fates were against his happiness in this world and he hated that. "Why couldn't me and Morgana be together earlier?"

"Because my father was king and he would have had your head," answered the blond king.

"You know we talked about running away...Morgana and me, she wanted to run away with me to Ealdor. She wanted to start a family of our own there, away from Uther, from all these problems."

Arthur sighed at his servant's statement. "And would you...have left?"

Merlin would have said yes but that answer merely came out as a shrug. He now thought that perhaps if he had just paid more attention to the then Lady Morgana that perhaps she would never had turned to Morgause in the first place.

As he watched Arthur walk away from him he caught a glimpse of his sword, "Ezkalibur."

"What," Arthur turned to his manservant, "what did you say?"

Merlin pointed at the blade dangling on Arthur's belt. "When the Great Dragon had given the sword powers I had the honour of naming it Ezkalibur."

Arthur nodded in understanding and continued on his way.

Merlin's mind suddenly went straight to Morgana; her beauty, her kindness, her bravery, the things that attracted him to her in the first place. He needed to have at least one last chance to save her. And he needed all the help he could get.

Chapter Two- THE PALADIN COUNCIL

It was late night, so late it was early. The coldness was enough to keep him awake, wide awake.