The Illusions of Darkness

Summary: Merlin starts to hear voices in his head. He should be on worried, on high alert. Yet he can't...as the voice is...Freya's.

Hey ya readers those who had read The Lake's Lady (And those who haven't, Ahem DO SO NOW!) will know at the end of the story I had let you readers decide on the next story I will do while I carry on writing Growth in magic. The choices were The Sun and the Moon(Third made up episode, read The Slave of the Sepasnare and The Fayruz Holder first), Haunted (Ghost OC and Arthur, dunno yet if it'll be slash or not) and The Illusions of Darkness. Yeah I haven't given you lot a lot of time but hardly anyone read my stories with a boring summary to it. But from the look of things already The Illusions of Darkness was a clear winner, Haunted getting a few votes and The Sun and the Moon- zero(were my episodes reallly that bad??!!). So here is my first chapter of The Illusions of Darkness- enjoy!

1. A voice of a love one

The dawning sun shone onto the land, waking its people with its bright glow. But in an abandon castle, the resident there is already awake and had her mind set on darkness.

Morgause stood in her candle lit room glazing into her crystal, smirking. Her blonde hair flickered as the dawn light shone onto it, through the window but she didn't take much notice. She was too busy finding out about a certain boy, a boy who had the power of a dragon, a boy who eyes normally innocence blue could flash the fiery gold of the strongest sun, a boy who nature itself had given the gift to- the gift of magic.

She watched the boy follow the man she had tried to get to kill his own father, stumbling and idiotic as she had first seen him. It was hard to see that this simply manservant was anything more especially as she had been more focus on the obvious person of great things, Prince Arthur. Yet now she had realised, he was more powerful than two of her. She had plans for him however.

Merlin will soon fall to her feet.


"Merlin, how much of an idiot can you get??!!" Arthur scowled as Merlin had tripped up and caused the quarry of the hunt to run again.

"I just tripped, Arthur. And plus that raises the question of how much of a prat can you get?" Merlin quirked back as he pulled himself and the equipment up. No wonder he had tripped with everything he had to carry.

"Merlin, if we weren't hunting in the middle of the forest, I would have you either put in the stocks, in the cells or in the dogs' mouths. You do not address your prince like that!"

"Sorry. How-"

"Do not even do that line when you basically say what you just did but add my lord at the end of it. Now shush while I try can find the track for the third time!"

Merlin grinned and Arthur rolled his eyes at him. Arthur wanted to say more but they had only caught about five stoats, two rabbits and a wild chicken. They needed more food.

Merlin groaned as Arthur went over to the tracks of the deer they were chasing. Arthur was probably thinking we need more food and Merlin supposed he was right as the harshness of winter were nearing but Arthur didn't have to carry the food and the spears and swords at the same time.

At least Arthur's men hadn't come along on this trip. Merlin didn't mind them but he was kind of edgy with them watching him. It was harder to save the prince's life and not get caught without them.

They soon found the deer again, stopping for a break at the river. It was gulping up the water as it rested. Arthur silently took a cross bow from Merlin and edge closer. Merlin looked away not liking the fact of watching an animal die despite the fact it happened many times already. He focused on the smooth running of the water as he heard Arthur start to pull his string.

"Merlin."

The voice made Merlin start, causing to stumble into Arthur and drop his load. Arthur fell forward and the deer ran away.

"Merlin, you really are a total buffoon!" Arthur shouted at him as he lifted himself to a sitting position. His face was covered in mud and he expected his manservant to laugh- quietly after apologising.

"D-didn't you h-hear that?" Was the shaky reply. Arthur thought he had said her but Merlin had replaced it with such a quick that that Arthur thought he had just imagined it.

"Hear what??!!" Arthur asked, sighing, "Honestly Merlin, how many times do you have to trip up? Now our quarry's escaped again!"Arthur moaned but didn't get a response, not a quirk or even a proper apology. Standing up, he went to give his manservant a raised eyebrow glance but was held by the face Merlin was pulling.

His eyes hadn't left the river but had widened in shock. His face had turned pale- paler than Arthur had ever seen. His usual grin, no matter how big or small it was, had gotten replaced with a hand which it was biting into. The emotion in his eyes was what had Arthur horrified at the most. It was one of pain- a pain Arthur had never seen befall on his manservant- a sense of yearning and grief, glistening with ushered tears.

Arthur stayed there staring at his friend for a moment, an hour, only the gods could tell for how long, his mind whirling with jumbled up thoughts.

A branch, that no longer wanted to stay with its tree, snapped and Merlin jumped to the noise. He blinked and when his eyes opened again the pain had dulled. Merlin turned to the prince, his face turning into confusion by Arthur's expression.

"Sire?" Merlin asked and hearing his voice not broken as his eyes were a moment ago was what brought Arthur to his senses. He shook his head to try and shake of the thoughts as he picked Merlin's load up. He wondered about carrying them himself but Merlin had already started to take the load back.

"Sorry, sire, I didn't mean to drop them again." Merlin said his face pulling a small smirk, "Perhaps it has something to do with my mental affection?"

Hearing that was what made Arthur realise Merlin was hiding something, it was he who would quote the mental affection line. But he didn't want to bring it up in case those eyes appeared again.

Merlin glanced at his reflection in one of the shields to see what his expression was like as the prince hadn't answered to his forced quirk. It was almost back to normal except for the eyes. Merlin blinked again, willing them to return to normal.

"Come on, knowing you, we'll be here all day without managing to even shoot an arrow at our deer." Arthur said at last, calming himself down.

"If we hadn't caught it, I believe it isn't our deer?" Merlin chirped up and as he looked back to the prince, the pain had disappeared at last.

Arthur smiled and he led his friend back to Camelot, forgetting the painful eyes as he entered the gates to the bustling of the town. Merlin kept a step behind his master, trying to forget the voice he heard.

For that voice was one of the person he had recently lost to a curse and a plunge of a sword. Someone who had understood who he really was unlike everyone else in the world. Someone that he had fallen in love with.

Freya's.

Yes, I know the basic plot is obvious but please do tell me in your reviews as who knows what goes on in my story telling if I do get reviews, YOU BETTER REVIEW! Ahem, I mean plz reviews people. Plz.