Schools starting soon!! Which means I may not have a new chapter up every day. BUT DON'T DISPARE!! I will not give up on this fanfiction!! I will update every chance I get!!!
The sun started to set, turning the sky pink and orange. They led the horses through the dense forest, back to Camelot, stopping occasionally to pick up crystals or call out to the two lost knights. Suddenly the air grew cold. Arabella looked around at her companions "What's going on?" She could see her breath. "It's freezing." Arthur drew his sword and made a motion, telling everyone to stop walking.
"I think we should get out of here." Merlin looked through the trees.
'Young warlock,' a voice sounded in Merlin's head. 'You will not stop me.'
'Who are you?' Merlin thought. A cold laugh echoed in his head. The horses pawed the ground.
"Merlin's right Arthur, I think we should leave." Morgana pulled on her black mare but she wouldn't move.
"I would appreciate it," A voice called from the forest. "If you would give me my crystals back Gaius."
"Who's there?" Gaius said, turning around.
A man walked out of the shadows, his long leather coat brushed over the leaves.
"An old friend."
"Bartimaeus…" Gaius took as few steps closer "You escaped?"
"Oh yes Gaius…Uther didn't manage to destroy all off us." Bartimaeus turned and looked at the small group. "Well it's young Arthur. Last time I saw you, you were fresh out of your mother's arms."
Arthur pointed his sword at the man "Don't talk about my mother."
"Well Gaius I'm guessing you want to know what I've been up to?" Bartimaeus circled around the horses "Then again I think you already know. I heard that Camelot was in quite a panic." He laughed.
"Bringing dead bodies back to life? Such childish tricks! That is not the Bartimaeus I knew." Gaius watched him out of the corner of his eye.
"The Bartimaeus you knew?" He stopped, his eyes turned red with anger. "The Bartimaeus you knew is dead!" Rain started to fall; there was a flash of lighting. The horses kicked and scattered, leaving there riders. "This is just the beginning. Uther will regret what he did to us!" The rain fell harder. "The dead will take there revenge." He vanished into the woods.
"Who was that Gaius?" Arthur asked
"He was a sorcerer in your father's court. His wife was burned during the great purge. He swore his vengeance on Uther, but I thought they got rid of him." Gaius looked up at the sky. The rain had stopped, leaving everyone soaked.
"Let's set up camp." Arthur kicked a large log, making it role into a tree. The next twenty minutes were devoted to clearing a place to sleep. Arabella and Gwen kicked away the wet plants and leaves, while Arthur and Merlin found four of the horses that ran away. Merlin and Arabella's horses were still lost.
"Least we have some blankets." Arabella smiled at Merlin, trying to lighten the mood. She shook out one of the blankets. "It's not that wet."
Arthur walked past them "Merlin, start a fire."
"Will do Sire." Merlin disappeared in to the trees. A few moments later he returned with an arm full of wood.
"That won't start a fire Merlin. This wood's wet." Arabella ran her hand over one of the logs Merlin sat down the ground.
"Well maybe I'll get lucky." He smiled. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Arabella, not hearing anything, looked at Merlin. I think he's lost it.
He tilted his head "No I definitely heard something."
"I didn't hear anything." She squinted at Merlin.
He shook his head "I think I heard Morgana call for you. She probably needs help setting up beds."
"Right…" Arabella gave him a small confused smile and went to help Morgana.
He relaxed and started to set up the fire, stacking the wood and surrounding it with rocks. Merlin looked around. Good. He concentrated on the wood and his eyes flashed gold. The wood erupted, fire poured over the rocks.
"I think that was over doing it Merlin." Gaius whispered in his ear.
Soon the beds were laid out and everything was relatively dry (with some help from Merlin). "Nice fire Merlin." Arthur added another piece of wood "Considering the rain of course."
"I think I'm going to go to bed." Gwen smiled and settled herself on a blanket.
"That's good idea, good night." Morgana laid down, pulling her cloak over her.
"Well you weren't the first," Arthur looked over at Gaius, who was snoring very loudly.
"So," Arabella looked at the fire "That was a real sorcerer?"
"I do believe so." Arthur stared at the fire. "Just another wizard, trying to take down my father's kingdom."
"So we don't like magic?" Arabella asked.
"No," Merlin answered "Uther purged the kingdom of magic twenty years ago."
"What happened to the witches and sorcerers?" Arabella wrapped her arms around her knees.
"My father had them burned." Arthur sighed "Go to sleep Arabella, we'll be waking up early to get back to Camelot." He smiled at her.
"No I'll stay up, I need to make sure you two stay out of trouble." She shook her finger and Merlin and Arthur.
"Us…trouble? Never…" Merlin smiled "I think we can hold everything down"
Arthur smiled at Merlin "Yeh Arabella, it's not like we'll go crazy and shoot a unicorn or something."
"Nothing like that…of coarse." Merlin shook his head.
Arthur took his cloak and put it over Arabella's shoulders. "Thank you Arthur." She stared at the fire, letting the red and yellow flames fill her mind. Arthur is a very kind person. But I bet he does this for all the girls he meets. He would do it for Morgana, or Gwen. It's the proper thing to do. It's not like he does it because he is interested in me. And it's not like I'm interested in him. A different thought popped into her mind. What if you are interested in him? You saw the way he brushed back your hair. But that could mean anything. Maybe he doesn't like my hair. What's wrong with my hair? Arabella played with a piece of her hair. He wouldn't be interested in me; he could have his pick of the whole kingdom. Her eyes grew heavy and besides She yawned I don't think of him like that she laid her head on her knees maybe sometimes…I do. Her eyes closed and she fell asleep.
Merlin and Arthur watched Arabella fall asleep. Merlin laughed quietly "Thought she was going to make sure we stayed out of trouble?"
Arthur smiled, gently taking her shoulders. "I think it's time to go to bed Arabella." He whispered in her ear. She picked up her head, half asleep and agreed. He laid her back onto a blanket and covered her with his cloak. "Good night." He smiled.
"So…you and Arabella?" Merlin smiled at Arthur.
"Last time you said something like that, Merlin, I embarrassed myself in front of the whole court. Then I tried to elope with her." He tossed a log into the fire.
"But do you like her?"
"As a friend yes, I like her very much." Arthur didn't meet Merlin's eyes.
Merlin looked across the fire "And as more then a friend?"
"Go get more firewood Merlin." Arthur tended to the fire. Does she see me as more then a friend? Not after ordering her to tell me her birthday. I can see her thoughts now 'oh Arthur, that royal pain? How could I ever like him?' He watched Arabella sleep, tucking some of the cloak around her. Arthur remembered how he felt when they were back at the castle, when he found out Arabella was missing. If I had lost her…so soon….he took a deep breath…maybe she might be…more then a friend.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Midnight: Rain started to fall. Screams echoed through the forest. Arthur stood up, drawing his sword. "Merlin!" he shoved Merlin with his foot. Merlin woke with a start.
"What's going on?" Merlin rubbed his eyes. He saw something move in the trees. "It's the dead people…isn't it?" He woke the three sleeping ladies and Gaius. The rain extinguished the fire, plunging them into darkness.
Gwen found Arabella's arm "Arabella what's happening." Her question was soon answered as a group of the undead ran toward them. Arthur swung and hit one of the attackers.
"Run!" Arthur called. Arabella, along with Morgana and Gwen ran blindly into the woods. They could see dark shapes moving around them. They tried to hold onto each other but soon the three were separated.
"Morgana?!" Arabella cried out. "Gwen?!" No one answered "Arthur Merlin?!?" She ran faster until she reached a clearing. Arabella stopped; she could hear a scream in the distance. The rain fell in sheets. Something moved behind her. "Whose there?" she turned around. The large shape grew closer and closer. Arabella backed away getting ready to run when lighting filled the sky, illuminating the shadow. She gasped and fell to the ground. "No!" she screamed. Arabella looked into the face of her dead father. The memories rushed back, all the pain, all the sadness. The tall man stepped toward her getting closer and closer. Arabella tried to stand, but slipped in the mud. She screamed again, calling for help. Her father reached down grabbing her by the arm, pulling her up to face him. His mouth hung open, his eyes were black. She struggled against him, trying to pull herself free. "Father please!" She found herself pleading with him, begging him to stop as she had done so many times before. The man hit her across the face, sending her to the ground. Tears fell down Arabella's cheeks. She tried to crawl away but she was to slow. He picked her up by the neck and slammed her against a tree. Her vision started to blur as she cried again "Help!" Then, blue light filled the clearing. The grasp on her neck slowly loosened and she dropped to the ground.
She heard a voice call out from the darkness "Permissum addou vado suus caput capitis ahlum". The body of Sir Key fell to the ground, his head rolling away. Arabella felt the cool rain hitting her face. Then something soft…a hand.
"Arabella? Are you ok. Say something." Merlin knelt besides her.
She opened her eyes, the world spun around her. "Merlin, is that you?"
"It's me." He breathed a sigh of relief. Someone knelt down next to him, supporting her head. Lighting lit up the sky, reveling two very blue and worried eyes.
"Arabella…" Arthur picked her up and carried her back to the horses.
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