Author's Note:

You know, I was totally going to make you wait until Monday but I decided that I'm going to update on Sundays from now on, and so here I am. Aren't you glad? Anyway, here we are. Not One of Those Times has made it to the second chapter! Yay! ... Other than that, I really don't know what to say here.

Oh, right! This story is going to be hideously AU. I thought I'd warn you now, before you got too far in and had to find out the hard way. I haven't decided when the cut off point during season one will be yet but as of season two it is definitely AU in the extreme. Yes so...

Also, I'd like to thank GoldenAura, MegElemental, YOUTHFULwolfie5122 for reviewing. Reviews equals heart!

Disclaimer: I, Writing2Death, in no way, shape, or form own anything associated with Merlin. I do own Jenny, Adrianna, Lyssa, and all of the other original characters that make appearances, though.

And now to the reason you clicked on the link on the pervious page -- to read the chapter! Read, enjoy, and click the little button to leave a review behind!


-- Chapter Two: In The Dark --

Merlin's day had started out, completely, totally, perfectly normal. Honestly, it did. Of course, Merlin thought as he examined the new and troublesome situation he'd managed to get himself into this time, nothing ever stayed completely, totally, and perfectly normal.

He sighed as he mentally reviewed the growing number of problems.

So, Gwen was missing. That was problem number one. Well, maybe missing was a strong word. No one had seen her in several hours and Morgana was becoming quite worried.

Problem number two was that two girls had, apparently, materialized in the middle of the street. Yes, materialized.

And why did he insist on getting involved in affairs that had nothing to do with him?

Oh, right. He was an idiot.


As Dorothy once said, "Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore." Except it was a little different.

There was a strange ringing in my ears and I realized Adrianna under me was screaming. I supposed this was her version of "Jenny, we're not in the museum anymore."

Forcefully, she pushed me off her and got to her knees, crying and shivering though it was warm.

We were attracting attention, and I could tell that not all of it was good. This was pushed to the back of my mind as I took in my surroundings. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped open and I think I might have been hyperventilating.

I pushed myself to my feet and took an unsteady step forward.

It was like I'd stepped right into a history textbook.

The sun was bright and the sky was blue. There was a crowd surrounding Adrianna and I but it was hard to focus on that. We were outside in the middle of the street and there was noise. Behind the people I could see the outlines of small houses, peasant houses and the people were dressed as peasants as well, I noticed. Swallowing frantically, I wasn't sure whether to laugh with insane happiness or to panic.

But my mind wasn't working logically and I couldn't help it: a wide smile spread across my face and I was shaking again.

"Jenny," I heard and Adrianna clutched to my arm, shaking for a different reason, with tears. "Jenny!" she said, trying to get me to pay attention to her.

I tore my eyes away from the different sights and forced myself to look at her.

"Jenny, look!" she said frantically, and I did.

Suddenly, I was very afraid.

The crowd was making noise. Some of them were whispering and some were shouting.

Witchcraft! they said. Magic!

I gasped and grabbed Adrianna's arm. We were surrounded and I wasn't sure what to do. My brain was on overload and Adrianna was crying and clutching painfully at my hand, and we were both shaking.

I couldn't help it; I fainted.


Adrianna felt Jenny drop, her body going slack and she fell to her knees with the suddeness of supporting dead weight. It was only a few long moments before she heard the sound of many approaching footsteps. A group of men in red uniforms were swiftly making their way toward them and the crowd parted to clear a path.

"Arrest them," the leader said, though it was obvious.

Adrianna didn't hear anything more as she tried to struggle from their grip. The man was too strong though and could have easily carried her. She saw someone grab Jenny, unconscious and defenseless and she screamed, pleading.

"No, please," she said, "We haven't!" Most of what came out of her mouth was nonsensical babble but she felt like she couldn't breath and she needed out.

Eventually, she stopped struggling but it didn't make the man's grip any looser. She felt lost, like she had stumbled into a dark room and kept bumping into things. How could everything go downhill so quickly? What in the world was going on, anyway?

They threw her into a dark room, Jenny close behind her. Adrianna barely managed to prevent her head from smacking off the stone floor as they slammed the barred door shut. She heard the click of a lock.

She backed into the corner of the room, frightened.

And it was dark.


When I came to, we weren't outside anymore. It wasn't bright - it was dank and dark and smelled of mould. I was laying on the cold stone floor. I pushed myself to a sitting position. "Where are we?" I asked aloud.

The only response I got was a wimpering sound that came from the corner of the room. I looked around. It was Adrianna. She was huddled into herself, arms wrapped tightly around her legs, knees drawn to her chest, and her face pressed into them. She was muttering words that sounded very much like, "It's not real. It's not real."

I tried to block out the sound. I needed to think. It was difficult for me to quiet my mind. It was racing so quickly, jumping from one thought to another. I took several deep breaths.

Okay, I thought deliberately, so I've stepped into a history book. Gone back in time? Gone insane? I wasn't sure.

I bit my lip and decided I wasn't going to explore that last train of thought any further.

Okay, so the alternative was that I'd gone back in time. I couldn't help the smile that tugged grimly at my lips, despite my situation. Oh, right, my situation. Tiredly, I ran a dirty hand over my face, and winced when it came in contact with my cheek. As I took my hand away, I saw that my fingertips were dotted with blood. Gingerly, I felt my cheek. There was a gash that ran from just below my temple to near the corner of my lips. It wasn't deep but I could feel the dried blood all along the side of my face.

Shuddering, I pulled my hand away. It must have been from the mirror shattering.

The Mirror! It all happened when the Mirror broke. Is - was that the key?

I swallowed, my throat was dry. If we'd gone back in time, then it must be sometime during the Dark Ages. And we were in the cell of a prison. I felt my blood run cold. We were in prison. I forced my mind back to before I collapsed. They were - they were talking about witchcraft.

Oh my God.

We were being held for witchcraft. They burned women for witchcraft.

I was hyperventilating again. This wasn't how things were supposed to go! I was where I wanted to be, for once in my life, and something stupid like this had to come and ruin it all because it was stupid and public and I wanted to scream.

Slowly, I made myself stand, making sure I wasn't going to fall over. I made my way over to Adrianna, who was still huddled in the corner. She looked up as I crouched down beside her and lowered myself so my back was pressed against the wall, her pretty face blotchy and tragic and her green eyes bloodshot from crying.

I was the one, ironically, unexpectedly, surprisingly, who had to take charge. I made my voice steady. "I think we've gone back in time."

She gaped at me and then started laughing hysterically. The kind of laughter one often hears from those who aren't quite sound in the mind; it gave me goosebumps. Finally, she calmed down, dragging her hand through her tangled brown curls. She didn't even answer me.

"I was being serious." I continued, hoping that she wouldn't ever do that again.

"I know," she said, finally turning to face me. "I'm a history student too, you know." I think it was supposed to be an insult but it sounded more like she was about to fall asleep.

"So you know we're going to die sometime in the next few days," I stated, my voice oddly apathetic.

Adrianna was silent and I stared at her. She looked as though she was steeling herself for something. Her voice was strong. "No, we're not."

It was my turn to gape. "But -" I started. It was then I realized how peculiar this situation was, ignoring the time travel. I was in a prison cell, with an enemy, talking about our death because we were accused of witchcraft. And she was arguing with me about the accuracy of my knowledge of history. No. I wouldn't stand for it.

"Yes we are," I said through gritted teeth. "Look around, Adrianna! Do you see a way out? We are sometime in the middle ages, only God knows where, where they burn supposed witches. How the hell do you expect to survive this?"

Adrianna looked about ready to strangle me, "If you want to go ahead and let them kill you, Jeanette, that's your deal. I refuse to die here."

There was silence for a moment.

"Do you have a plan?"

Adrianna sighed, "Nope."


"And do you have a plan?" Gaius asked, the expression that clearly said, 'What is wrong with you?' plastered to his face. Yes, the expression; there was only one.

Merlin gestured with his hand, "I was just planning on making it up as I went along."

"Yes, because that's worked so well for you in the past."

They were debating on the situation. Should he help the mystery girls? That was the main question involved. Also, secondarily, where in the world did Gwen go?

"I still think we should help them," Merlin stated, sighing. They'd been around this point, like, three times now.

"As you've pointed out," Gaius said yet again. "I disgree. Merlin, use your head. Two girls, dressed very strangely I might add, appear out of thin air. There isn't a way around it; it was magic. And it was public, at that."

Merlin was frustrated. Yes, it was clearly magic, he recognized that, really he did, but did that make them guilty? It's not like Uther or any of the guards bothered to get their side of the story. For all he knew, they could have been just as confused as everyone else. Out loud he said, "You're probably right."

And then, just like what was typical and expected of him by now, he got up from his seat and abruptly left the room.

Gaius stared after him with a dreadful, sinking feeling in his stomach that told him something was about to begin and it wasn't going to be something that was pleasant.