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So, as the chapter title indicates, we're going back in time to show you what happened to Arthur, Lancelot, and Gwaine when they disappeared. We're sorry about the long wait.
Enjoy!
While Arthur, Merlin, Gwaine, and Lancelot were running through the town together...
"Arthur!"
"What is it, Merlin?" Arthur stopped and spun around.
Merlin didn't answer. His eyes darted wildly in every direction.
"Lancelot! Gwaine!" Merlin hollered.
"We're right here, Merlin," Gwaine said.
Merlin's face drained. Suddenly, he ran.
"Merlin!" Arthur yelled. He chased after the now panicked manservant.
What was Merlin doing? He didn't seem to see Arthur, Lancelot or Gwaine. Nor did he seem to hear them. How was that possible? They had been in his plain sight! They were now shouting at him as they chased him. How—
Magic. There could be no other answer. People don't spontaneously lose both sight and hearing for no reason. Even if someone could, Merlin didn't look blind. He bolted between and around the burning homes. Occasionally, he would stop and search frantically. Then he would tear through the streets again.
Abruptly, Merlin froze in place. He stared transfixedly at a woman. She wore long blonde hair and a torn brown dress. She limped. Her attitude was of someone determinedly looking for something. She was probably looking for someone.
But the woman didn't interest Arthur. He ran in front of Merlin. The prince grabbed his manservant's shoulder. Arthur wanted to shake Merlin to his senses as if that would somehow free him of whatever enchantment this was.
Merlin jumped, thrusting his arm away. For a moment his terrified eyes stared straight through Arthur. Then, those eyes snapped their attention back to the limping woman.
Without warning Merlin's arm shot up. The manservant shouted something in an alien tongue. His eyes glinted gold. In that second the woman screamed as an invisible force threw her. She was bashed against one of the destroyed houses. A spray of blood erupted.
Arthur's eyes swung back toward to Merlin. The prince couldn't think past his shock. That couldn't have happened. Something on Merlin's face would betray the truth of the situation.
For a sickening moment relief flooded Merlin's face. But it was only for a moment before that relief morphed into pure horror.
"NO!" Merlin screamed.
Arthur couldn't find the strength to chase after Merlin this time. Merlin couldn't be a sorcerer. He was a good man. That stupid, bumbling servant wasn't capable of the evils of sorcery. He wasn't a sorcerer. That wasn't possible.
But the evidence said otherwise. Arthur just saw proof that his manservant, someone the prince had thought to be a good man, was a sorcerer. Merlin was a sorcerer and he had just murdered an innocent woman.
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