Hello All! So since Thanksgiving is coming up, I decided to give you a little present by updating twice in a weekend. It will also make up for the fact that I will not be able to update for a while, with exams and breaks, and that sort of thing. So without further ado, I give you the rest of the masquerade!


Merlin looked at the girl, unsure on how to respond. Her smile was innocent, and her eyes were expecting. Merlin finally decided, why not? Everyone else was having fun tonight, maybe he should too.

The two of them walked out onto the dance floor. This girl was one of the prettier ones in the room. Her bright blond hair and blue eyes illuminated the room. Soon enough, they were twirling among the rest of the couples, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

It felt odd, but it seemed the only time when he could relax and have fun of any sort was when Arthur was gone. He wished that it were under better circumstances, but he would take any chance he got.

"Are you alright?" The girl asked him when she realized how distracted he looked. Merlin snapped out of his train thought and nodded. He couldn't understand why, but she seemed familiar, in an eerie sense. Merlin couldn't stop staring at her now. Where had he seen her before?

Before long, she had made him forget his troubles. The music had been intoxicating somehow. Merlin couldn't understand what was going on to be honest. It was as if his heart had been enchanted by this lovely mistress. He had been enjoying themselves far too much.


Morgana looked at the jewel given to her by Morgause, which she had placed in one of her bracelets. She had been impatient all night, wondering when the moment would be right for them to strike, but finally, the object had begun to glow faintly. She smiled. It meant the time was drawing nearer. She looked over at Uther, who was much too happy to observe Lady Evelyn dance the night away with her "Prince."

"My lord, it is getting late for you. Maybe you should make the toast now, before you are much too ill to address the court."

"Nonsense Morgana. I am fine."

"My lord, I'm sure of it, but you are not as young as you once were. I am just worried for your health. If you were to fall ill, what would happen to Camelot?"

Uther looked at his daughter and smiled. He loved how much she cared about him, and decided to give in to her request.

"Well then, if you insist," he raised his glass, and soon the court became silent. The audience was waiting for their King's announcement.


Merlin and the girl stopped with the rest of the crowd and turned to face the throne. Merlin saw that the girl was growing uncomfortable. He instinctively pulled her closer, as the king began to speak.

"Thank you friends, for coming tonight. As you know, tonight we celebrate the upcoming marriage of my son, Prince Arthur, to Lady Evelyn, daughter of Sir Hoel, one of my bravest knights and closest friends."

The crowd cheered, and Uther had to yell to calm them down. "Camelot has seen many kings, but something tells me, my successor will be unlike anything anyone has seen before. It is every king's dream to know that once he is gone, his country will be in good hands. "

By this point, Gwaine and Lady Evelyn had joined Uther again. Morgana smiled at the couple, but something about that smile sent a chilling feeling down Merlin's spine. He noticed that at that point, the girl was also growing anxious.

Unexpectedly, she looked up at him and whispered, "Do you mind if we leave?"

Merlin felt his heart stop for a second. Without knowing what he was doing, he let her grab his hand and lead him out of the grand room.

Soon enough, she was leading him down the castle passages towards the dungeons. Where were they going, he did not know, but for some reason, he trusted this girl. It was crazy, but something in his heart told him it was the right thing to do. The exited the castle, only to find that she had two horses waiting for him. Merlin recognized one of the horses as the horse that was missing from Arthur's stable since the morning.

"What's going on? Where are you taking me?" Merlin asked. Somehow, his mind was taking him to a place where he didn't want to go.

The girl smiled, and she leaned in, kissing Merlin. The young warlock was caught off guard by the sudden kiss, yet the kiss was so intoxicating that he felt himself giving in to her touch. When the two parted, the girl looked at him with the uttermost seriousness.

"Please, trust me. I'm taking you somewhere safe."

Merlin was still blushing from the kiss when the girl mounted the horse.

"I know you are in trouble. I know that if Uther finds out Arthur's missing-"

"How do you know that?"

"I'll explain in good time. But please. We must go before Uther finds out."

Merlin did not know what was going on, but decided to mount his horse and follow the girl. They began to sprint down the forests outside Camelot. The night was cold, but Merlin barely felt it. They were going so fast that Merlin thought they would reach the border soon.

Yet his mind couldn't help but wonder. This was a blonde, blue eyed girl, who had Arthur's horse...she had gotten into Camelot without problems and had been able to get him out as well without being noticed by guards. The way she was riding, he could tell that she was an expert horsewoman, and on her horse, he could see that she carried a sword.

The girl began to stop. They seemed to have reached their destination. They were in front of a dark cave. Merlin couldn't help himself, but as they left the horses behind, he looked at the sword more closely. The hilt had the seal of Camelot. The girl took the weapon, and fastened the belt around her waist.

Could it be that she was...no, that was silly. Merlin tried to push the thought out of his head, but somehow he couldn't. She could not be Arthur. That was impossible.

The more he thought about it though, the more it made sense. There was overwhelming evidence to prove it, but then, why did she kiss him? None of this made sense.

The girl stopped, and lit a torch before entering the cave. When she bent down to pick up the torch, Merlin realized that she had a necklace around her neck. It was the same one that Arthur always wore. He couldn't deal with this anymore. He had to confront her, but didn't know how. She took his hand, and led him inside the cave, but he was beginning to hesitate.

That must have been why she had left when she saw Morgana. Morgana probably had caused this onto him. Maybe she had done it to him, and then he…she was forced to leave Camelot until …it…could find a way to reverse the spell. But then, why return to Camelot? Or for that matter, why had she acted that way towards him? And why was it that he was feeling something in return. None of this made sense.

The torch was not as bright as he hoped, and they could only see a couple of feet in front of them. Merlin couldn't take this anymore and decided that he needed an answer. He had to ask the girl for the truth.

He stopped her, and she turned to face him.

"Look...I need to ask you something before we go further."

The girl seemed a bit worried. "What is it?" Her hand began to stroke his cheek which made him feel uncomfortable.

"Are you..." He couldn't bring himself to ask.

Was he beginning to fall in love with his master? No…preposterous. Arthur was a prat, a prick, a stuck up, good for nothing, pompous little prince who never cared about him. No amount of magic could change his personality to what this girl was…or maybe, too much magic would, which scared him.

"Yes?" She asked, trying to help him overcome his fear.

"Are...you Arthur?" He finally asked. The time which followed felt like years, the silence growing heavy around them.

"You idiot."

Merlin awoke from his gaze by the voice. It was...Arthur's? But before he could react, the girl had hit him in the head rather hard, and he had fallen to the ground.

The torch was now on the floor, and he finally saw the end of the cave, where the glistening metal caught his eye. There was Arthur, chained up against the wall.


So there you have it! Another chapter and a slight cliffhanger to keep you going through the next week :D Stay tuned and find out what will happen to Merlin and Arthur!

~Pendragon Alchemist~