I do not own Merlin or the characters! With that said, this is not my first Merlin fic, but its the first I've posted. I have a few more being written and I have other ideas as well. Be warned, I'm not the best at battle scenes, so forgive me if they seemed rushed. I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!


Morgana Pendragon was waiting. She was waiting for the return of a group of bandits she had recently employed. Well 'employed' was the wrong word. It was more like 'magical coertion.' They were on a mission to attack a patrol. A patrol that happened to be led by her brother, Arthur, the King of Camelot. She wished to rid Camelot of him, and preferably that annoying thorn in her side, Merlin, once and for all. Morgana wished to claim the throne for herself, which she thought was rightfully hers.

Quite a distance away, the bandits had ambushed Arthur and his knights. They were travelling to an outlying village to check reports of a beast attacking villagers. The bandits attacked from all sides, there were at least two dozen of them. Arthur and his knights were outnumbered quite a bit.

As Arthur, Gwaine, Percival, Leon, and Elyan all drew their swords and lept from their horses, Merlin fell off of his. One of the bandits shot an arrow at him and he fell while trying to dodge it. He landed in a puddle of mud, face first. Soon the air was filled with nothing but grunting and the clanging of swords and the occasional swish of a flying arrow.

Percival had just defeated one of the attackers when three more charged at him. Arthur and Gwaine were currently in combat with two bandits each and Elyan and Leon fighting one each. Three were advancing on Merlin. He quickly looked to make sure the others were occupied before using a spell to cause a branch to fall over one of his attacker's heads. The other two jumped back in surprise but continued to approach him.

Merlin caused the fallen man's sword to rise into the air and pierce one of the men in the back, he crumpled with a yell and moved no more. The final man continued toward Merlin with his sword ready. Merlin glanced behind him one last time to make sure the other's couldn't see and then magically summoned one of the fallen men's swords into his hand. He was awful with a sword, but this man's skill was nothing special either. Merlin actually managed to defeat him faily quickly, earning applause from the others, who had defeated the rest of the attackers.

"Well, well, Merlin, you really aren't as incompetent as you look, are you?" Arthur asked.

"I guess not, but you're still as much of a prat as you look," Merlin retorted with a smile.

"You can't talk to me like that. I'm the king. I could have you thrown in the stocks for that," Arthur said, clearly teasing.

"But you won't, will you Princess?" Gwaine said.

"Not Merlin, no. But I swear if you call me 'Princess' one more time, Gwaine, you will be in the stocks. I'm the KING!"

"Oh, well I'd call you Queen, but that would be insulting to our lovely Queen, Gwen," Gwaine said.

Arthur stalked off toward his horse mumbling while the rest chuckled at the exchange.

Soon after, Morgana was still waiting in the same spot. Her bandits should have been back by now. That's what I get for sending incompetent idiots to do my dirty work. I should have just went myself, Morgana thought.

She turned to return to her hovel when she heard something.

Morgana, a voice said in her head.

The voice sounded familiar in a way but it sounded much older. Yes, who's there?

Keep walking forward for thirty paces, you'll see.

She continued forward until she saw a young man waiting for her. No, it couldn't be. Mordred?

"Yes, Morgana. Its been a while."

"It certainly has. I've been quite busy," she laughed.

"I can tell. What are your current plans?"

"Besides trying to kill Arthur, I'm trying to find out who Emrys is. Emrys seems to constantly protect Arthur, but I have no idea who he really is. I've met him, he's an old man, but other than that I don't know."

"An old man? You certainly don't know do you?"

"No. I suppose you know better?" she asked.

"I do. I know exactly who Emyrs is and he is no old man. You know him too. He's in Camelot, right with Arthur all the time."

"The only person with Arthur all the time is Merlin. There is no way in hell Merlin is Emrys."

"That, my lady, is where you are mistaken. Your guess is completely correct."

"Merlin?" she cackled. "You've met him! He's an idiot, there is no way."

"I'm afraid there is. We Druids know of Emrys. We've met him. I know exactly who he is. This Merlin is Emrys. It all fits does it not? He is always with Arthur."

"Well, then I'll have to catch him off guard!" Morgana said.

"I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors, Morgana. I too wish to see Emrys pay for what he has done to me. I shall have to go now, but if you ever need my assistance, find me. You'll know where I am when you need me."

With that, Mordred sank into the shadows and Morgana walked off in the opposite direction she was heading at first. She needed to find someone adept at kidnapping. Alator of the Catha was out of the question as he had turned on her before. It made sense now that she thought about it. Merlin was there and Alator attacked her. Gaius mus have told him Merlin was Emrys and he wished to protect him.