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Author's Note:

Hello everyone! This is a continuation of 'The Merlin Series - The side of the story that was never told', another one of my FanFics. Though it is not absolutely essential to understanding this story, it does provide a fuller understanding of the characters and how they met. Some plot lines introduced in part 1 will also be picked up and continued in this Fanfic. Thank you and enjoy!

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Chapter 1 - The Storm

The wave hit him square in the chest, strong enough to force him onto his knees. Merlin fought to steady his ragged breath, a big bubble of nausea inching its way up slowly. Clamping a shaky hand on his mouth, he concentrated on his breathing in an attempt to abate the sickness. The peculiar feeling expanding in his chest let him know that only those with an affinity to magic would have felt it. Its sheer force sent waves of magical energy so refined and honed that the result was akin to a sharp razor, slicing through magically gifted beings like butter.

'Merli…n!'

Making her way towards him, a painful expression on her face, Marina groaned. What the hell was that?! She felt as if she had been split in half by a huge, impossibly large sword. Her insides burned, and her head felt foggy at best. Reaching Merlin, it only took a glance for her to see that he felt the same way, if not worse.

'What's going on?!'

Worried, he managed to stand up. When he spoke, Marina noticed the strain in his voice.

'I don't know, but I'm not waiting around to find out. Something is very wrong.'

With that, he hurried as quickly as he could to Arthur's chambers. If this was Morgana's doing somehow, then he wouldn't be safe for much longer. He passed several maids and soldiers, all of whom looked more than content, blissfully unaware of what had just taken place. On her end, Marina went straight to Gaius, hoping to God that Gwen would be there. Thankfully, she was.

'Gwen, Gaius! Are you two okay?!'

Gwen looked up at her friend, who looked like death.

'We're okay, but what happened to you? You look awful!'

'Oh it's that weird explosion, it kind of took it out of me. Did you not f-'

Holding her stomach, she suddenly felt a powerful wave of nausea overcome her. Gwen rushed to her side.

'What explosion? What happened?'

Retching, Marina couldn't respond. Her unease seemed to be growing with every passing second. Not really knowing what else to do, Gwen led her to the wooden bench before going to fetch some water. Marina held her head in her hands, trying desperately to stay alert and conscious. A few minutes later, Merlin barged in.

'There you are!'

Confusion registered on everyone's faces as he strode towards the bench were Marina sat. Halfway to her he stopped, suddenly realising that he needed to explain the urgency of his actions.

'Oh, I…uh…need to borrow Marina for a few minutes...I, stuff needs discussing...'

Gwen glanced over at Gaius, a questioning look on her face. Did Merlin think he was fooling anyone? He just wanted to spend some time alone with her. 'Stuff…my butt', she thought.

Marina looked at him, and could tell that he needed to talk to her urgently, no doubt about whatever it was that had put them in their current condition. Managing to keep her breakfast down, she inhaled deeply before following him out of the castle. Hurrying up, he almost tripped over in his rush. He would be lying if he said that he knew what was coming, but he knew that whatever that something was, it was bad. He led them towards the forest, almost running. Though unable to quite explain the feeling sitting deep in the pit of his stomach, he couldn't ignore it; it screamed at him. His magic was almost like a sixth sense sometimes, and he trusted it implicitly. As they reached a small clearing within a dense forest, a comfortable distance away from the castle grounds, they slowed and soon stopped. Sitting on a nearby boulder, Marina was the first to talk.

'What's going on Merlin?'

The latter sat on the floor beside her, trying to figure out how to explain what whirled around inside his head.

'That...explosion, or wave or whatever it was, I get the feeling that it's probably a precursor for something bigger. Something darker.'

Her eyebrows shot up.

'Hang on, you think that Morgana's up to something?'

'I don't know. I don't know anything except that something is gnawing away in the pit of my stomach, and it's telling me that something bad is coming.'

She stayed still and thoughtful for a while, no doubt processing what he had just told her.

'Okay…so…how are we going to fight a threat that is not yet here? We don't even know where it's coming from or what it even is.'

'That's the most frustrating bit, I've no idea what's coming…'

'Well…We don't have that many options. Either we take drastic steps and warn everyone, or we wait for the threat to make itself known.'

'Mmmm…'

They both sat in silence for a while. Marina knew the look on Merlin's face all too well, she had seen it a dozen times before. However, he had nothing to go on other than a vague feeling of foreboding. If they could somehow find out what that weird thing earlier on had been, maybe they could slowly figure out what lay ahead. The sun had been out, sending rays of warm light which illuminated the clearing. Now, clouds were slowly gathering in front of it, pushed and pulled by an increasingly strong wind. Feeling a little cold, Marina shivered, hugging herself to maintain some warmth.

'We should head back…'

Scarcely had she finished her sentence that her blood froze in her veins.

A multitude of screams rang out as the sky tore open above their heads; hail began pouring down with unrelenting force. Pelted with icy stones varying in size, the two young people ran towards the forest, looking for cover amongst the vast canopy. As they ran, a hailstone the size of a fist came crashing down on Merlin, the impact knocking him over.

'Merlin!'

Her shoes slid a little in the sludge but she managed to steady herself and rush back to him, who had fallen behind. The howling wind plastered her wet hair across her face, and she had to push it away several times before being able to kneel down to his level. There he lay, groaning, a hand to his face. Swatting his hand away, she grimaced as she contemplated the damage.

'Is it bad? It is isn't it? It feels like it is.'

'Shhh. Stop panicking, it's just a scratch.'

In fact, scratch was an understatement, but she didn't want to freak him out any more than he already was. Using the sleeve of her cotton tunic which was now drenched, she sponged as much blood as she could from the nasty gash on his forehead, using the water from the hail to clean it as best she could for the moment. If only Gwen were here, she'd know exactly how to deal with this.

'Argh! It hurts!'

'Stop moving!'

As satisfied with her handiwork as she'll ever be, Marina helped him up and walked towards the big oak tree she had spotted. This would have to do for shelter until the hail let up. His head throbbing, Merlin rested against the oak's trunk. The sudden climate change only confirmed his fears, and he bet that Morgana was somehow involved. They spent the next hour under the tree's protection, waiting for the weather to improve. They had both been absolutely soaked to the bone, and were now shivering. Seeing Marina's teeth chatter and her dark hair dripping Merlin shuffled closer and cupped his hands.

'Révocat ignis.'

A small halo of fire appeared. It wasn't scorching hot, but emanated enough warmth to keep most of the wind's bitter cold at bay. She smiled gratefully and extended her hands over his, rubbing them together. He couldn't deny the fact that a small part of him had been looking to impress her; seemed like it had worked.

Eventually, the near torrential rain which had followed the hail was finally letting up. As if on cue, the dark clouds evaporated, leaving space for the sunshine once more. Squinting at the sky, Merlin wondered what it all meant. Not willing to waste any time, he made his way back to the Castle with Marina in tow. Running at full speed, it wasn't long before they reached the grounds. The courtyard was empty, which meant that everyone had had the good sense to seek shelter inside the Castle. Each taking their separate ways, Merlin went to Arthur's chambers whilst Marina descended to Gaius' room. Rushing into the large room, Merlin called out the young Prince's name, but there was no answer. Walking about, he started realising the emptiness of the place. After 10 minutes of searching the castle, he and Marina crossed paths, and he could see that she was as troubled as he.

'Marina. Why haven't we come across anyone?'

'I don't know but I don't like this. I checked everywhere, even the servants' quarters. There is not a single soul here. Gaius' room is empty.'

'Maybe they all regrouped in the Throne Room…'

'I don't see why they would but...Let's go check it anyway, it's pretty much the only room I haven't looked into yet.'

Silently praying that everyone would be behind those doors, they made their way to the grand hall. The heavy wooden doors were closed, which was probably a good sign. Merlin reached out to open them, when he felt a sharp stab in his side. He turned to Marina, who was holding her stomach. The feeling was exactly like the one they had felt that morning. Something was behind that door.

Working against the pain, he pushed it open, preparing himself for the worst.