A/N: Whoo! Who saw the premiere of the third season? I DID! Totally EPIC! And I have to admit I was quite worried about how similar this story would be to the actual events of the series. But my worries were thrown out the window in the first 10 minutes of the show. xD

Enjoy!

After the return of Morgana, things throughout the kingdom settled, and the hope filled the hearts of the people. They looked to the future with thoughts of peace and prosperity since Uther had stopped sending armies out in his fruitless attempts to locate his ward.

However, Merlin did not share in their hope. He watched from a distance as Morgana once again resumed her role as the King's ward, carrying herself with noble dignity and the horrors she claims to have gone through left her…unaffected, to say the least. His brief but cherished time with Freya showed him that the nightmares one has been through never truly leave them; but this seemed true of Morgana, and Merlin became very suspicious of the lady, especially since she now refused her sleeping draught. Guinevere assured Gaius that Morgana was indeed sleeping through the nights, not once waking with a terrified scream.

Merlin was torn between avoiding Morgana and keeping a watchful eye on her; he wanted to make sure she didn't pose a threat to Camelot, but he didn't want the subject of him poisoning her to come up. No matter how suspicious he became of her, it couldn't outweigh the guilt he carried in his heart every day. He had tried to kill his close friend, who had trusted Merlin more than anyone else, and he had betrayed her. He had hoped that bringing Morgana back to the castle safe and sound and seeing her berate Arthur playfully in the corridors would help convince him that everything was fine now. But he still had the same dream every night of him cradling Morgana in his arms as her beautiful green eyes filled with panic and terror as she desperately gasped for air…

It was after having one of these nightmares that Merlin awoke and decided against going back to sleep. Night still covered Camelot as the young warlock crept out of his room and past a snoring Gaius to wander the castle for a bit. As he realized there was really nothing for him to do, what with the Great Dragon no longer living under the castle, Merlin felt rather lonely; Kilgarrah had at least understood Merlin. They were both creatures of the Old Religion, both trying to survive in a world that was against their survival. It was with a heavy heart that Merlin wandered out into the castle courtyard and took a secret path into the woods.

Merlin walked through the darkened woods, the faint glow of the moon cutting through the tree branches. When he suddenly thought about how stupid his actions were (walking alone, unarmed, through the forest in the middle of the night), he heard a branch snap nearby. His breath caught in his chest as he heard a rustling from the opposite side of the path. Diving behind a tree, he carefully peeked out, not wanting to be caught be whomever/whatever was out there with him. To his great surprise, a familiar figure emerged from the trees, carrying a small load of firewood in his arms. Merlin warily watched as Mordred, seemingly oblivious to Merlin's presence, walked down the path, heading deeper into the woods. After he was beyond Merlin's sight, Merlin rose from his hiding place and quickly headed back to his room.

Why was Mordred so close to Camelot? The boy may have been young, but even he wouldn't have forgotten when Uther sentenced him to be executed for sorcery. If he would be arrested…

But then Merlin wondered if the druid boy had anything to do with Morgana's reappearance, and an ominous feeling overtook Merlin.

Something was going to happen. Something that would jeopardize the lives of everyone in Camelot.

A/N: See? I promised Merlin's take on things!

Please review! Reviews are what remind me that I have amazing readers who want to strangle me when I don't update! ;D