Season 1 Episode 9.

Story 9: Unexpected

Chapter 4: Nimueh

Merlin stared at Gaius, more confused than he was before. "Nimueh?" He asked shocked. What would Nimueh be doing with Arthur? Merlin had learned long ago that Nimueh wished Arthur dead, but he couldn't figure out why Nimueh would have taken him. She seemed to try to kill him in more subtle ways. Perhaps she had realized that wasn't working very well.

"I fear that she may have sensed your spell and created barriers so you could not see more. She's a powerful high priestess of the old religion," Gaius said quietly. He feared Arthur may be doomed. Merlin may be powerful, but he was no match for a high priestess.

"What would she want with Arthur?" Merlin asked. He was far more concerned about Arthur than Nimueh.

"This isn't the first time she's targeted him," Gaius pointed out. He could still recall how pale Merlin had become, how close to dying he came when Nimueh poisoned him to get to Arthur.

Merlin's face darkened, clearly remembering that incident. "Point taken," Merlin conceded. "But why now?"

Gaius bit his lip and Merlin glared at him. "You know why he was taken," Merlin accused.

"I have my suspicions," Gaius admitted. Merlin looked at him patiently. Gaius sighed. "The knight that was summoned, was Ygraine's brother, Tristan. He never forgave Uther for Ygraine's death."

"Why would he blame Uther?" Merlin asked confused. "Ygraine died during childbirth. It's not as if Uther could have prevented it." Merlin looked surprised at his own words. "I can't believe I'm defending him," he muttered.

Gaius was too distracted to even be slightly amused by Merlin's statement. "That is information I cannot disclose to you," Gaius told him. "I wish I could, but I promised the king long ago that I would not. Just understand that Tristan had his reasons for blaming Uther. Tristan tried to kill Uther once right after Ygraine had died. He was so fueled by grief and anger. Uther had no choice but to kill Tristan. I believe that because Tristan once again failed to kill Uther, Nimueh is going to the son to get to the father."

Merlin nodded. He knew Gaius would not betray his king and he didn't blame him. Gaius had been loyal to Uther for a long, long time. Merlin would not pressure him to break that loyalty. If Arthur asked him to keep something from Gaius, he wouldn't hesitate. "Did you recognize the place where Arthur was being held?" Merlin asked without much hope. The room was bland, the only distinguishing feature being the table. There had to be thousands of rooms like that in Albion.

Another guilty look crossed Gaius's face. He knew exactly where that room was. It was the very place that Uther had met with Nimueh when he was seeking help for Ygraine to conceive. He didn't know how to tell Merlin where he was without telling him how he knew. "He's in a room in the tallest tower of Idirsholas. That tower has been unoccupied for years. No one would think to look there," Gaius said.

"How did you know that?" Merlin asked curiously.

"I recognized it from my studies when I was just a boy," Gaius said, saying the first thing that popped into his head. It was a sign of how distracted Merlin was that he didn't question that excuse.

"How do I get there?" Merlin asked.

"Merlin, you can't just barge in there and expect Nimueh to hand him over. She's a very, very powerful high priestess of the old religion," Gaius pointed out.

"And she also kidnapped my friend," Merlin said determinedly. "Now, you can tell me how to get there, or I can figure it out myself."

Gaius reluctantly agreed. He looked to his bookshelf and pulled out a thin, brightly colored book. It was one that Gaius used often whilst consulting routes to take to gather various herbs. It contained maps of all of Albion. It was gifted to Gaius by no other than Uther and Ygraine when he became the court physician. It was one of his most precious possessions.

Gaius showed Merlin where the castle of Idirsholas was located and left him to figure out a plan. It's not that Gaius didn't want to help, but he knew Merlin would prefer to do this without him breathing down his neck. Gaius didn't approve, but he knew better than to stop Merlin. That would just result in Merlin sneaking behind his back and inevitably putting himself into more danger and probably getting arrested or killed.

Merlin set to work. He knew that there had to be a relatively short path to the castle. Even with the time it took Merlin to figure out how to do the spell, Arthur could only have been gone six or seven hours.

As Merlin looked through the maps, he realized Nimueh must have travelled some other way, because the fastest route to the castle was at least eight to nine hours, depending on how many times he had to stop to water and feed the horse.

Merlin got to work immediately. He packed meager food supplies. He knew he would have to stop eventually. He had barely slept and it was going to be a long trip. He'd need some form of energy, but he didn't want to pack too much. The more he packed, the more breaks the horse would have to take.

It only took Merlin about half an hour before he was galloping off towards the castle of Idirsholas. Perhaps it was because he was so anxious to find Arthur, but Merlin felt as if he were moving at a snail's pace. He knew that wasn't the case, but it felt like time was crawling.

Merlin had to stop and give the horse a break three times. He had to use his magic to find edible grass for his horse each time. The winter was not helping the quest for food. Merlin was grateful he had at least thought to pack his own food, so he didn't have to waste any time preparing something.

When Merlin finally arrived at the castle, he was exhausted. All he wanted to do was sleep, but he knew that would be an impossible feat until Arthur was safely back in Camelot.

Merlin tied his horse to a thick tree on the outskirts of the forest that surrounded the castle. Merlin hoped that the horse would be too far away to draw unwanted attention. Merlin was pleased with himself. He had made good time. It was just after midday.

Merlin stealthily crept into the castle. He was surprised that there wasn't anyone stationed at the doors, no guards patrolling the corridors. He had spent so much time mentally preparing himself for whatever Nimueh could throw at him, he didn't considered that there would be nothing. Nimueh probably didn't realize he had the ability to find Arthur and track him here.

For the first time, Merlin appreciated the fact that Nimueh had allowed her powers to go to her head. It gave Merlin the opening he needed to get to Arthur.

Merlin continued up a winding staircase. It was dark and Merlin kept thinking he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He knew it was in his head. He was letting this place get to him and was frightening himself.

When he finally got to the top, Merlin let out a sigh of relief. He was here. Closing his eyes, Merlin counted to three before he barged into the room.

The first thing he noticed was Arthur, lying on the very table he had been chained to earlier. He wasn't chained to it any longer and he was pale, so pale. Merlin didn't need to move any closer to him. He couldn't see the rise of his chest that meant he was breathing. He didn't see the color that was always present in Arthur's cheeks, a mix of his natural color and the exertion of his training. He didn't see the spark of life that was always present in his smile.

Merlin could feel his heart being torn to shreds. He was too late. He heard a slight movement behind him.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as Merlin took one last look at Arthur before he slowly turned around and came face to face with Nimueh.

Everything else disappeared around him. There was only one thing that mattered. Arthur was dead and it was all her fault. Merlin would get his revenge.