I will always hope to one day be the person to bring Merlin back, but until that day, I do not own Merlin. (Update: Warning- anxiety attacks)


Morgana nodded, her head slightly spinning. "Merlin is a warlock. No one should be condemned because of who they are." She sat down in front of the old man and looked over the map. "Walk me through the plan."

"Well," Arthur's voice startled her. She had forgotten that he was there and that they were, in fact, sitting in his room, "we still need someone who can slip passed the guards without being noticed. We are both royalty. We would be noticed immediately. Gaius is in an unsafe position already because my...father," he spat the word like poison on his tongue, "is investigating him and about his knowledge of Merlin's magic. Gwaine is too large to slip passed anyone and is still one of Camelot's most wanted."

Gwen suddenly walked in, a blush creeping up on her cheeks. Her dress was muddy and looked as if she had been kneeling on the ground. "I'll do it. The guards will think I'm one of the kitchen staff. They fell for it once. They probably will fall for it again because they really are not that smart. This time, I'll warn the kitchen servants so that they know what is happening. The cook, Betty, was always trying to get Merlin to eat more and everyone like him. It was hard not to. They will help you in any way they can to help save Merlin."

Arthur stepped forward, a questioning amusement creeping into his features. "Guinevere, were you listening outside of the door?"

She looked down in embarrassment. "I was looking for Morgana and I heard you mention Merlin's name, sire. My friend was being discussed, so I really wanted to make sure everything was okay." She smiled shyly. "Sire." She added as an afterthought.

"Hello, sire!" David walked into the room with a large tray of food, which he nearly dropped when he saw who was in the room. "M'lady!" He bowed to Morgana. "Gaius!" He nodded at the old man. "Gwen!" He grinned at the maidservant, and she returned the favor. The boy put the tray down on the table and "Forgive me for asking this question, but why are you all here?"

Arthur turned towards the manservant. "You remember that manservant that you replaced, Merlin?"

David hesitated. "Uhm... I really... I... Maybe... He was... Ugh. Fine. I DO remember him, sire. He was kind and thoughtful and I regret taking his job. I heard you talking about hleping him escape. He helped me on several occasions. Everyone in the castle misses him. We just have no idea where he went. The servants all know that he wouldn't have left us without a goodbye or notice beforehand."

"Why haven't you said anything?!"Arthur's initial reaction was shock, then anger and annoyance. "Why did you keep this from me? Haven't I been a kind and accepting master? And what do you repay me with? Lies and deceit."

"Sire, please..."

"You had one chance to tell me the truth. For a week, now, you have been serving me. You've had plenty of time to report back to my father."

"Sire, listen..."

"NO!" He hadn't realized that he had trapped his servant against the wall. "You have chosen the wrong time to mess with me. My best friend is in danger and you have just made a dangerous man furious and do you know what can happen?" His arm was at the other boys chest.

"It was your father!" David yelled in fear. "He made me report back to him and tell him about you. He said if I didn't, he would kill my family and torture me. I told him everything except your plans to help Merlin escape. He told me not to talk about Merlin and to make it seem like I never knew him to try and help you get used to never hearing his name. Please believe me, sire, I didn't want to do it!" The boy was panicking and he shrunk back into the wall, looking like he wanted to dissolve into it. Tears were filling his eyes, which were begging Arthur to understand and let him go. Arthur stared back, a deadly anger burning into his skull.

"Arthur." Morgana appeared behind him and touched his arm. "He wants to help us. Plus," she eyed the young boy, "he could be vital if we want this plan to work."

Arthur paused for a second, then slowly took his arm from his manservants' chest. He was still furious, but knew that if he attacked his servant now, David probably wouldn't want to help a psycho prince and they couldn't afford to lose him. The boy slid down the wall and slumped to the ground, hyperventilating with tears falling down his cheeks. His heart was fluttering in his chest and he was trembling slightly from a combination of fear, exhaustion, and stress that was unhealthy for a normal person, let alone this peasant boy. He was weak enough from lack of food and sleep that he was ready to collapse before his master attacked him.

"Okay." Arthur nodded and Gwaine helped the trembling servant get to the table. "Please explain the plan to the newcomers."

The small crowd of people sat at the table and Gaius nodded, looking around the table at each individual person. Arthur, Gwaine (who was being surprisingly silent), David, Gwen, and Morgana. Finally, there were all united under the same cause. Gaius smiled and stood up, pointing to the map.

"Here's how this is going to work..."


Hey my friends! I'm SO EXTREMELY sorry for the long wait. I have been so busy with school and everything else that I've had only a few minutes a week to write. Luckily, my brother just graduated, so I got the day off. I'm writing this on my phone, so I'm gonna keep this short.

You people are amazing. Please review. Reviews are love and inspire me to write. Tell me what I can improve on and what is good.

Thank you so much for waiting, reviewing, and reading!

REM

Update: I'm sorry if this is confusing, but it might be easier to understand later when the little addition becomes vital to the story line. I'm sorry if it is offending to some people!

Another update: I decided it wasn't needed. Sorry!