Chapter 3

The Figure

"Come on Merlin, hurry up!"

Merlin whipped around, not realising he had been daydreaming again, and promptly dropping Arthur's armour on the floor.

Arthur glared at his manservant, "What is wrong with you today?" He demanded.

"Nothing," Merlin said quickly, bending down to pick up Arthur's armour. "I was just...thinking." He babbled an excuse.

"You've been doing that a lot lately." Arthur said, for once he wasn't joking or trying to insult his manservant by saying something about how stupid people shouldn't think so much. He sounded genuinely concerned. It took Merlin by surprise, but he knew what he meant.

He had been daydreaming a lot, he couldn't stop thinking and worrying about Morgana since he had returned to Camelot, and he had lost a lot of sleep over it. Everything he saw somehow reminded him of Morgana. One day he had even snuck away from his duties, much to the frustration of Arthur, and going to the Tallest Tower. Of course Morgana wasn't there, and the place was dark and covered in dust. No one had probably entered this place since she disappeared. But the bed was still there, the flowers he had magically kept alive for her, now dying, and the memories. Somehow, he could still feel her in the room, like a ghost.

"In fact, you haven't seemed yourself for a while now." Arthur added.

Merlin shrugged innocently, not realising he had been lost in his own thoughts once more and almost dropping the armour again in doing so. "I don't know what you mean, I'm just as I always am!" He said light-heartedly.

But he could see from the look on his friend's face that he didn't believe him. "How's your mother?" Arthur asked.

"My mother?" Merlin suddenly remembered the lie he had told everyone for being away in Camelot - his mother had been very sick and he had to go and look after her. "Oh, she's a lot better now, no need to worry about her. She just needed someone to take care of her."

With sympathy on his face now, Arthur patted Merlin on the back. "You don't have to pretend to not be worried about your mother Merlin," he said. "I would have done the same for mine. You're a good son, she must be proud of you."

Merlin gave a small smile, he had to admit he didn't think she would be. He had used her in a very big lie because he had run away from everyone who he cared for and then everything had fallen apart. He had a feeling she would be disappointed rather than proud.

Arthur cleared his throat suddenly, "Well, I'm not going to dress in my armour myself!" He announced, dropping the sympathetic and serious conversation and going back to his normal, jokey self.

"You could try," Merlin joked back, smiling, but his smile didn't reach his eyes.

Arthur had now fully recovered from the Griffin's attack. Thanks to a little bit of Merlin's magic, he had healed a lot quicker than it was originally thought, even though he had still been immobile for several weeks. It wasn't long however after Merlin returned before the Prince was up about and acting like his usual self. But the scars still showed, great claw marks down his back that had cut straight through his armour and would stay with him for the rest of his life. Merlin had to stop himself from crying out with horror and sadness when he first saw him, that he had let this happen to his friend. If he had been there Arthur would bear no scars, he probably wouldn't have been so close to death or found himself fighting a Griffin at all. He had received less injury from fighting a dragon.

Arthur tried not to show how pleased he was when he realised Merlin had returned to Camelot. But the first thing he did was employ Merlin once more as his manservant.

"Well, it's just not the same, having a manservant who can actually do his job properly." Was the excuse Arthur gave himself, and Merlin smiled, knowing it was just the stuck-up Prince's way of saying he was glad he was back.

Merlin was glad that Arthur was like he always was. He remembered the way he had left Camelot, so long ago now, to be with Morgana, and he and Arthur had argued because he had refused to believe the truth. But Arthur acted like nothing had happened, and Merlin didn't dare mention about the King's lost ward. He hoped that perhaps Arthur would bring up the subject, he had once been suspicious over who Uther was searching for, but now he acted like he forgotten about the whole thing. Merlin supposed that wasn't really a surprise, it had now been over a year that Uther had given up his mysterious search, and Camelot life had gone back to normal.

Yet Merlin hoped he might one day be able to tell Arthur the truth, one day the stuck-up Prince will turn into a great King and will be able to understand.

But it was a despairing thought that when the day comes to tell Arthur about the woman he loved, he may still have not set eyes on her since the day he abandoned her.

He didn't even say goodbye.

"Are you sure you're all right Merlin?" Arthur asked, breaking Merlin's thought pattern.

The Young Warlock nodded and smiled, "Yes, I'm fine." But he felt far from fine. He concentrated in dressing Arthur in his armour.

Five minutes later, and Arthur was almost fully dressed in his armour. The familiar and repetitive job helped Merlin manage to put to the back of his head thoughts about Morgana. He focused on what he was doing at that very moment, not the past or the future.

Until he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

Merlin froze. He turned and stared at the doorway to Arthur's chamber, which had been left open ajar. He tried to tell himself it was just a figment of his imagination, but at the same time he felt certain of what he had just seen...

"Merlin?" Arthur looked at his manservant carefully, wondering why he had just frozen. He was acting stranger than usual today.

Merlin opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. He then opened his mouth to say something else, but promptly closed it again.

"Why are you doing an impression of a fish?" Demanded a now impatient Arthur.

But Merlin wasn't listening. He slowly put down the last piece of armour and stepped slowly towards the open door, as if expecting something to suddenly burst in from the corridor. "I'm sorry Arthur, I have to...go and check on something." He muttered.

"But you haven't finished here yet!" Arthur snapped, but his manservant had already disappeared into the corridor. "I can't go to training half dressed!" He yelled after him.

Merlin walked down the corridor, slowly at first, wondering if what he had seen was possible, but then picking up speed. He knew he had seen something that was making his heart race, but he just had to be sure he wasn't just going insane.

After walking along for several minutes and seeing nothing, he was beginning to think that perhaps it had been just a figment of his desperate imagination. But when he entered another corridor he saw the figure just disappear round the corner.

It was real.

Merlin was running now, trying to catch up. He had to find it, he had to get answers.

He called out, trying to make the figure to wait, to slow down. But it didn't stop, it kept on going at a brisk pace, head down. However Merlin was now catching up fast. His urgency to find answers picking up his speed as he raced down the corridor. He was right behind the figure now, who still hadn't hesitated or looked back in reaction to his cries.

"Stop!" Merlin finally cried out, reaching out and grabbing the cloak of the mysterious figure he had now caught up with.

The figure stopped. Merlin waited, as if thinking now he had grabbed hold of it something terrible was about to happen to him, like it was a ghost or a demon now ready to take revenge on the man who had disturbed its daily routine.

But Merlin was so sure, he couldn't be mistaken.

And when the figure finally turned around, he realised he wasn't.

It was Mordred.

Well, the strange figure was Mordred! But what is he doing walking round the corridors of Camelot? You'll have to wait until the next chapter to find out...

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