I am terribly sorry—I have been fully occupied by all the exams and schoolwork until yesterday and I just dashed to have this story updated. For those who still read this story, all I would like to say is "Thanks and hope you enjoy this chapter!"

Here it is, chapter 4, which is supposed to be an one-shot but I have to split it into two, or maybe three parts, considering that its sequel could be read by itself(yeah, I am still planning on it) . Part one is just a teaser, about what our famous seer has seen in her dream, and maybe some suggestions on what's to come. Part two will be coming soon.

Dawn: Thanks for all your sincere reviews! They are so lovely that I extend the whole story!

Part I

She rolled in her bed. Her eyelids fluttered. It was like she was having her nightmares again. Except the fact that Merlin was still sleeping, breathing his soothing breath into the corner of her chamber as usual. The summer air in the night smelt like a mixture of mint and water. Dawn would soon arrive, bringing the darkest hour before sun rose.

There was a tiny butterfly flying around the wooden window post outside the window, which was strawberry-red, moving like a fluttering flame. She was chewing her slices of toast in her own silent way. Merlin could sense that there was something troubling her. The problem was definitely not about the toast—they were not burnt, nor were they taste any bad.

"It's everything turns out alright, Miss?" He asked in a light-hearted way. Morgana was sure his light-heartedness was not feigned. Even if most of the time with his light-heartedness and such enquiries he would receive some words of bitter sarcasm. Sometimes it would be ignorance. There was a moment of silence, but it didn't mean that it was ignorance. No, not this time. She put the toast down, took a sip of tea, and then ordered him to be over where she was seated, in an aloof way. Or maybe it was fake aloofness—the witch just wanted herself to be as calm as possible, because when Merlin moved his way towards her, closer, she could sense that not everything was in its rightful order—the closer he got, the more maddening it would be—but she had to ignore all of these and pretend that she sensed nothing at all.

She put her hands on his shoulders. And he just stood there and looked into her eyes. It was one of his strange ways in which he usually made contact with her, and as usual, there was a flash of feeling that flushed back in her mind. Every time when she lifted her eyelids a little to cast him any look, only less than a few seconds, she would be reminded why she had chosen him that day from Helios with no more than three of her gold coins and took him home. But she didn't even really think of it, because the only thing that mattered now was how much money she could get from the bounty hunter.

She began to place the incantation, and Merlin's eyes widened. There was nothing more, actually, except his short moment of widened eyes and his lips parted a little, and then they shut again, as if he intended to ask or say something but suddenly changed his mind. But for Morgana, the situation was completely different. All the magic that flowed towards him from her made her palms and forearms warm and a little bit sore in a very unusual way. Yet she still didn't pay much of her attention. She just dropped him, quickly finished her tea and went to her chamber to gather the stuffs that would be needed later.

She thought that the spell had functioned normally so she let Merlin walked beside or behind her horse without the pair of shackles. He was very quiet and he followed her across the river and passed through the forests.

He asked her for some water. She threw the waterskin to him. It dropped in his forelimbs with a solid sound. There were sunshine spying through the dispense leaps in the woods. He took several mouthfuls, and then continued to walk. While he was walking, he sometimes gave her questioning looks, but she just pretended that she didn't notice. Morgana cared nothing about what young children were actually thinking.

As her mount turned around the corner, the bounty hunter's hovel appeared. Dark, shabby and damp. A bounty hunter could never live in a place like that—of course. He just used it as a place of transaction—keeping all his 'cargos' there, putting them in cages and exchanging them to the King Uther's with packages of gold.

Melin's face turned pale.

She got off the horse, beckoned Merlin to follow her, regardless of his whitened face and knuckles, the dread in his expression and the reluctance in every step he took.

There stood the bounty hunter, Halig, a giant and corpulent man with his beast-like eyes shinning with excitement.

The next thing she knew was his voice.

"Well, well, well," he chanted, "so we have another young sorcerer again, within no more than two weeks!" He moved closer to Merlin, his big nostrils swinging upon his face, "I am always here, well-prepared for all of you to come, and don't you think you are too tiny to be spotted by Camelot's knights and guards!" he held his head up and laughed, then turned to Morgana, "Now young maiden, please, sit here, we shall have our cup of tea and wait for our pockets to be filled with gold and silver! But firstly, you'd better show me what he may actually accomplish."

"Thanks for offering, but I am not thirsty." she simply said, "now, Merlin, light the candle up over there.'

Merlin stared at her for a while, and then walked over to light the candle up with some matches on the table.

She was more than furious now—because when she yelled at him "Where the hell had your magic gone" she heard Halig chuckled mockingly. And Merlin, he was making his way towards the entrance, "No," he said in a hesitant voice, and then again, but it was stiffer, "Not this time, Miss."

How was that even possible for him to bid his resistance? He supposed to do whatever she told him to after she placed him the spell!

But then, she seemed to think of something, think of the soreness and warmth when she conjured this morning. Something didn't seem quite right.

She turned around in her bed.

The next thing she knew was she leveled herself to the height of his, "Light the candle, Merlin, with your magic, alright? Light it, and then I'll take you back." She said to him, with the softest and most gentle voice she could think of. It was almost like a pleading.

He leveled his gaze to the ground, which was quite Merlin-ish and he nodded. It seemed that there was some relief on his face.

"Good….See, I told you, he has magic."

She saw the yellow teeth showed themselves on the bounty hunter's face as he smiled.

"Very well, then."

She tucked the packet of gold coins in the bag around her waist after the trade.The same as every time she had ever done anything to Merlin, she would never look at him again but just walked away.

Then the scenario changed. She saw herself screaming and both of her hands were stuck with blood.

Her eyes snapped open. Panicked, she found that she was still in her room. Thank God.

The first beam of morning light had just reached her sheets in the bed. Merlin had already got up—she could hear the kettle was on –the water was boiling.

She saw that red butterfly behind the widow, batting its wings against the wooden flame. Her surroundings were immersed in the sunshine, lazy and warm, yet there was a thrill shaking down through her ribs—everything was what she had dreamt about hours ago, and…where on earth did all the blood come from?!

"What would you like to have with these slices of toast, Miss?' he asked her, light-heartedly.

She sighed. All right then. She thought. If everything she had dreamt would be meant to be, it was time for her to stand up and fight against the destiny. However, her mother's voice banged up, "Never underestimate what your dreams may tell you, let along choose not to listen!" she said solemnly.

Yet she was still young. Never had the sixteen-year-old Seers been any cautious, nor would they be aware of the similarity they got as their mothers. They may always make the same mistakes.

She just had to change what may have happened; nothing would forever be destined, would they? All she had to do was to change. Perhaps from now on.

"Eggs will be fine." she answered.

She remembered that in her dreams she had been having some mushrooms with the toast instead.

Likewise, maybe the route to Caerleon should be changed. She could make her passed the valley of Fallen King instead to get to Halig's hovel. After that with all of the gold coins, she could go through Ealdor to the north part to get to the border of Queen Annis territorial, though this may make the journey a little bit longer compared to the original one through Cornwall. In her mind, getting the money should be the first thing taken into consideration.

"It's everything turns out alright?' he asked her. Although she hated the fact that it was another indication to show her the very much of the likelihood that something was destined to be, she still needed to fight for her own good. (Although she hate the fact that it was another indication—to show her very much of the potential that her dream was coming to reality).

"Of course." she answered, even if she was taken aback at the excessively light tone of herself. She was trying to hide her nervousness again.

"Look, a butterfly." he waved a hand to the one on the window frame, "it's a beautiful day, Miss, and maybe... we can go out for a ride.'

He said his suggestion for a ride with a very low voice. With all the loud scrunching sounds he made when violently rubbing a pot, she still heard what he said.

Suddenly an idea had come up to her. Compared to the idea of putting a spell over him, this seemed much better.

"Well, but you don't have a horse." she teased him, in that light tone again, hoping that she didn't sound abnormal.

"Right..."he nodded.

'Don't worry, Merlin. I think we are going out after all. I will take you to a puppet show. You would like it.'

That's what you have to do when talking to a child, especially when taking to a child like Merlin. You had to be extremely patient: describing thoroughly about how a puppet show was performed in details or he would keep asking (she was trying to recall the one Gorlois took her to), tolerating the excited little face of his and at the same time drinking a cup of tea. For all the gold coins she would get, she had to put up with these. (Or did she?)

"Why we had to carry all the stuffs?" he asked her when she told him to carry the two heavy backpacks and place them on the mount.

"Puppetry takes quite a long time.' she told him, "we need to put up a tent. And there are some tools for a picnic."

'So am I supposed to do some bakery?'

"No, leave it, Merlin. We can catch some fish." seeing that he wasn't fully convinced, she confronted, "Come on, we have magic, we can get our selves something to eat without any trouble."

He nodded and then walked to her horse. She tried not to place that smirk on her face or scream aloud.