I passed my AS's! Hope everyone else got the results they wanted, and good luck to those who don't have their results yet.

And now that worry is out of the way, here's the next chapter of Against All Odds.

Warning! Exceptionally sad. Sorry about that.

XxX

Chapter 1

Arthur threw Merlin straight in the dungeons, after he dragged him from the siege tunnels. The Warlock didn't try to struggle; it would be futile anyway. The King was in such a rage, there was no way, even with magic, that Merlin could escape.

Not that he wanted too.

He should have known. Mordred had even warned him that it was going to happen, but, like the idiot he was, he'd come to the wrong conclusion. He'd assumed Mordred was taunting him about an invasion on Camelot, and walked straight into their trap.

And now he, Arthur, and all those counting on him, were going to pay for his mistake.

He didn't know what Arthur was going to do to him. But, after seeing the hurt, anger and betrayal in his best friend's eyes, he could think of no punishment that could be worse.

XxX

Arthur paced in-front of Merlin, who was being held down by two guards. Gwaine was being restrained behind him by Leon and Percival as they watched the confrontation, shouting all sorts of threats at the King.

But Merlin said nothing.

He could see Mordred watching him from behind Arthur, the young man's face twisted into a smirk.

'What were you doing?'

He was too calm, Merlin thought. Far too calm. 'Since the Saxon invasion, I've been checking the secret passages into Camelot; to make sure they were secure. I was trying to protect you.'

Arthur paused in his pacing to stare at him. 'I saw you destroying the foundations of the castle.'

'No, I was trying...'

'I saw you!' Arthur bellowed and Merlin fell back against the guards, who released him, allowing him to slump against the floor. 'I saw you cracking the foundations of the siege tunnels, with magic!'

A collective gasp echoed around the hall, and Gwaine fell silent behind him. Merlin closed his eyes, feeling tears beginning to prickle in the corners. 'I was using magic to heal...'

'So you admit it.'

'No point denying it,' Merlin whispered. 'You saw me with gold eyes. I just need you to believe me, Arthur. I wasn't doing any harm; I only wanted to help.'

The King stared at him, before issuing his order. 'Leave us.'

Nobody dared argue, but the guards gave Merlin an extra shove as they left. Merlin remained on the floor, painfully aware of what had happened last time someone Arthur cared about was in this position.

'Get up.'

Merlin staggered to his feet, being careful of his ribs where he'd already been punched by one of the guards after they'd come to collect him. They didn't feel bruised, but they still hurt. The King circled him, examining him.

'You claim you were trying to help me.'

'Yes.'

Arthur shook his head. 'You can't have been. You have magic; you've been practising magic right under my nose. You've betrayed my trust by using the very thing that took both my mother and my father from me. How could you do this to me, Merlin? You were my friend, my brother. How could you betray me?'

'I didn't...'

'Stop lying!' Merlin bit his lip as Arthur closed the gap between them, his face inches from his own. 'You confessed to practising magic in my Kingdom, which is against my laws! You can't worm your way out of it this time, Merlin. I saw you!'

'I was born this way!' Merlin snapped, before drawing back. Arthur stared at him. 'I... I don't know why. I mean, I thought I did, but now... I don't know why I have this power. But I do, and I've had it all my life.'

'Either way,' Arthur snarled, 'you've been lying to me. Whether it's now, or it's the last eight years, you've lied to your King. You've committed treason.'

Merlin blinked and felt a few stray tears sliding down his face. 'Arthur,' he whispered, his voice barely louder than a breath. 'Please listen to me.'

The King shook his head. 'I can't.'

The Warlock hung his head in defeat. He couldn't force Arthur to listen to him, and there was no way the King was going to hear his voice now.

'The penalty for treason is death.' Merlin kept his head bowed; he didn't want to look into his best friends eyes as he was forced to sentence him to the pyre. 'But I can't kill you. The last eight years may have been a lie to you, but they were real for me.'

'No...'

'You are hereby banished from Camelot. To return is to sentence yourself to death. You have until noon tomorrow.'

'No, Arthur, please,' Merlin pleaded, once again falling to his knees but Arthur didn't hear him. He gave Merlin one last cold stare before exiting the hall.

The double doors behind him burst open, but he didn't turn to see who it was until a pair of warm, comforting arms wrapped themselves around him.

Gaius was whispering something to him, but he couldn't hear what his guardian was saying. His mind had gone blank with shock. Banished. He couldn't be banished. It was their destiny...

'What will I do now?' He whispered, and he felt Gaius tense against him.

'I don't know, my boy. I don't know.'

XxX

It was late by the time Merlin and Gaius had finished packing the last of his stuff into his bag. They sat together, eating one final meal, before Merlin shouldered his pack and they made their way down into the courtyard.

There was no point waiting till morning, Merlin argued. It would give him less time to get away from Camelot, and it would be wasting valuable time for no reason. After all, no one was going to come and say goodbye to him. Why would they?

He was a traitor.

It was with a heavy heart, that the young Warlock turned to give his guardian one final hug, pressing his face into the Physicians robes and taking a deep breath in an attempt to hold back his tears. Gaius was either having less luck or wasn't even trying; as they pulled apart, his tears were flowing freely down his cheeks.

'Please take care of yourself, Merlin,' he whispered, gripping his wards shoulder tightly. 'Find a quiet village or something and settle down.'

'You know quiet isn't my style,' Merlin smiled back sadly. 'I'll write once I've settled; let you know where I am.'

'Make sure you do.' And the stern look Gaius gave him was enough to make him laugh slightly.

'Good bye, Gaius.'

The Physician had no words left, instead choosing to wrap his arms around his ward, his son, one last time, before Merlin turned and began walking away from Camelot for the last time.

He passed through the gates without any trouble and took the path heading North, in the opposite direction to Ealdor. As he reached the tree line, he paused on the road, gathering his thoughts, before he continued on.

He didn't look back.

XxX

Gaius didn't sleep that night.

He lay awake in bed for several hours, before he decided to get up, dress, and begin his preparations for the following day. Without Merlin around, it would take him nearly twice as long to get everything done, although he hadn't told the young man that. Merlin had been heartbroken enough without coping with the knowledge of the strain his absence would have on his surrogate father.

The sun was just rising when there was a tentative knock on the door, and it opened to reveal...

'Your highness,' Gaius acknowledged as Gwen entered with an entourage of several knights, namely Gwaine, Percival and Elyan. 'What can I do for you this morning?'

Gwen observed him for a moment, before her gaze flickered to Merlin's door. 'We... We came to say goodbye to Merlin.'

And Gaius' heart sank even further.

XxX

And so this chapter ends, and another begins!.. When I get around to writing it ;)

Hope it wasn't too sad. We'll have a couple of chapter's addressing the aftermath of all this before getting into the real plotline, and introducing my OC, whose name I have decided to change.

Please leave a review! More reviews=faster updates. Once again, this isn't bribery; if it was, there would be cookies... Which there might be if you're nice enough. ;)

TTFN

Valkyriexx