Wow, 11 reviews for chapter 6- cheers everyone :D In this chapter, you finally dicscover why the vormorfo hates Arthur so much... I hope it doesn't disappoint :) please keep reviewing


Chapter 7

"What do you need us to do, Gaius?" Morgana asked, looking the physician straight in the eye.

"I am asking you both," and he looked between them, "to go after Merlin, and possibly Arthur. You must understand that I would never ask something like this of either of you unless it was absolutely necessary." He said seriously. Morgana nodded, but Gwen asked,

"Shouldn't we ask the knights?" and Gaius hesitated: calling the knights of Camelot would put Merlin's secret in danger. If Morgana, Gwen and even Arthur were to find out Merlin was a warlock, he was still probably safe from Uther: if a stranger were to find out and there was a promise of a reward, Merlin had very little hope. He was just about to come up with some excuse, therefore, when Morgana cried,

"No," and then blushed. Gwen frowned.

"Why not, my Lady."

"Because it would waste too much time," Morgana said, although she had exactly the same reason as Gaius, except she was concerned for herself rather than Merlin.

"But-" Gwen began, looking at Gaius for his support. She was not expecting the old man to cut across her, saying,

"I agree with Morgana. You must go alone, I'm afraid. I would accompany but I fear I would slow you down. You must go now, and I shall cover for you, Morgana, with Uther, somehow... but listen to me, both of you," and he drew them close, "the vormorfo has been in this castle long enough to take the shape of either of you. You must trust no one once you get close to him... or her. You cannot even trust each other. Do you understand?"

"How will we know if we've got Merlin?" Gwen asked. Gaius looked at her face: her expression was somehow scared and determined at the same time. He sighed and then said, his voice hard,

"You won't."


Arthur had had a horrible few days. Firstly, he had argued with Merlin about something which really wasn't his fault, not that Arthur would ever admit it. It was just that Gwen... his Gwen, had been seen with someone that wasn't him: how was he supposed to take it? Probably not by insulting his friend. He had considered apologising: had lost sleep over wondering how to go about it. Maybe he'd go for the old knuckle head, and calling him an idiot which would somehow make him laugh. But it wouldn't seem enough: Arthur would still feel bad.

After a while, he had hoped that they would just be able to slip back into their usual routine of mocking insults and jibes, but Merlin had become unusually subdued and so Arthur had sunk into something that was far too near depression for his liking. He sighed and wished Merlin a hesitant good night, after he had finished dimming the lights.

"Night," the servant mumbled, before slipping out the door. Arthur fell back onto his bed and closed his eyes, miserably. It had barely been minutes before something heavy smashed into the side of his skull and he had passed out.


Jared wondered whether it had been smart to knock the Prince unconscious so far from their destination but, with as sudden inspiration, he turned into one of the guards he had watched training: he was one of the biggest and strongest men he'd ever laid eyes on. And so, with his new form (which went by the name of Jackson) he had heaved Arthur over his shoulder.

He ran from the castle, the dark nights shielding even his new, bulky figure. The castle guards were easy to get past: no weaponry needed, he just propped Arthur up and quickly transformed into his servant, Merlin. The guards gave them a curious look, but nothing more. The moment they were out of sight of the castle, Merlin became Jackson and they were running once more, Arthur hanging limply.

The woods loomed over them as Jackson paraded through, not even breaking out in a sweat yet. He was impressed with this body, and hoped that Merlin's magic wouldn't leave his veins too quickly, even though he would probably have the strength to carry Arthur in his original form. They walked for hours before coming to a clearing he had found months ago: months even before he had tracked down and killed the boy, Jared. That had been sad: he would rather kill the father, an old man, but Jared was less known... easier to get away with. Carrying the Prince was beginning to take its toll, even on Jackson, and it was a relief to drop his body onto the floor.

"Alec?" A voice called from amidst the trees, and Jackson finally vanished, revealing his true form, the vormorfo, Alec. He watched, his heart filling, as his wife appeared from behind a tree: Nadia. She too was in her true form: her hair, every shade you could imagine, flew out behind her and, as she watched him, her eyes continually faded from black through to green then to the palest blue. She was incredibly tall, like him, and her skin was bronze, like his, although if you looked closely, you could also see that, subtly changing. Nadia was, in truth, monstrous to behold but, to her husband, a thing of pure beauty.

"Nadia," he sighed into the breeze, and reached for her hand. She let him take it and they embraced tightly.

"You must go now," she said, after a moment, "you must go get the other... Merlin."

"Yes," Alec breathed, "take this first," and he pressed his forehead against hers and the remainder of the power Alec had got from Merlin surged into her body. She gasped with its impact, and the opportunity it brought.

"Use it wisely. I shall be back later tomorrow."

"Are you sure you cannot just bring him as you brought Arthur?" Nadia gestured towards the unconscious body.

"No," Alec replied, already heading away from them, "the warlock must be awake when he gets here. He must be alive."


Once her husband had vanished, Nadia crouched beside the Prince and looked closely at his face. Her aptitude at reading emotions didn't stretch as far as reading minds, but she could tell that Arthur dreamt of his servant. She felt remorse in his heart and, when he murmured "Merlin," almost too quietly for her to hear, she knew that Alec had chosen well: Merlin would indeed be perfect.

She dragged Arthur to a tree and proceeded to tie his hands together and then loop the rope around the tree, securing him tightly. Then she knotted his ankles together so he had no chance of moving. She even considered a gag, but decided that, if the Prince hadn't been hit so hard that he'd never open his eyes, she would like to hear what he had to say.

The plan had not been to kill Arthur, although they'd decided early on that if he did die, it wouldn't be too bad. Still, revenge would be sweeter if he woke up, so she began to gently clean the wound at his hair line, and wipe away the river of blood which was drying on his cheek.

The sun was just beginning to rise around the woods, when Arthur's eyelids fluttered. Nadia was sitting in front of him, watching him closely. He groaned and instinctively tried to raise his hands to his head, before realising they were tied behind him. Then he saw Nadia. She gave him a small smile.

Arthur immediately started to struggle, his legs jerking in horror as he pressed himself up against the tree, trying to put as much space between them as possible.

"It's no good," Nadia said, almost kindly. Arthur froze, his eyes wide.

"Who are you?" he asked; it was difficult not to slur his words as his head pounded.

"You don't remember?" and suddenly her tone was innocent, as though she was an old friend Arthur had forgotten about. She pouted, "what about now?" And suddenly her grotesque, multicoloured body, was replaced by that of a small girl.

"Susie?" Arthur asked, disorientated at suddenly seeing the little girl he'd liked when he was about eight.

"Not 'Susie'" the child growled, "her name was Gretta. She was my kin."

"No," Arthur groaned, "wait, Susie... Susie died." And the memories, memories that he thought he'd locked away, came flooding to the front of his mind.

"Greta died," Susie screeched "and Josiah," and she changed again, into a little boy Arthur used to play with, "and Corina," and another girl, about twelve years old, her eyes lost and sad. And Arthur tried to push the thoughts back, but he couldn't, and suddenly he was reliving that time, so long ago now, when he was fourteen years old.


Uther called for Arthur to come up to his chambers. The boy had been messing around in the training fields all morning, flirting with the local girls and bullying his manservant... some boy called Jacob who did everything he asked for. Uther couldn't help but think unless Arthur met someone who stood up to him once in a while, his wayward son wouldn't make as good a King as he would like. Arthur came running to his chambers, laughing and shouting.

"Be quiet, Arthur," Uther reached out into the corridor and dragged his son inside. Arthur fell silent: his father was the only one who could make him, and Morgana sometimes.

"What is it, father?" Arthur asked, gazing up into his father's face.

"I have a task for you to... prove yourself." Immediately, Arthur pulled himself up to his full height and adopted a stance he had often seen the Knights in: a hand to the hilt of his sword, and his chin thrust forwards.

"I will do anything, father." He said, at once. Uther nodded.

"You know of the Vormorfo?" he asked, and Arthur nodded: everyone knew. Notices had been put up all over Camelot:

TRUST NO ONE

"What about them?" Arthur asked.

"I have had enough of them. They were once useful for training the knights of Camelot, but now they put the kingdom in danger. They are creatures of magic, after all. This is a chance for you to show what a good fighter you are: you will assist in their eradication."

"Of course, father," Arthur swore.

"They are mostly rounded up down in the dungeons. Go there and prove you are worthy to be a Prince of Camelot."

And so Arthur went, his soul filled to the brim with determination not to disappoint his father. Once in the dungeons, he searched for the vormorfi, but couldn't find them. Only the guards. It was a while before he realised that everyone, apart from himself, was one of the creatures, and he drew the sword from its scabbard, and began to execute them. The vormori had lost their spirit weeks ago, when the knights started to hunt them down, and they didn't have the energy to fight physically, but they took magic from the dragon, only feet below them, and began to attack, psychologically. They changed rapidly, from Arthur's friends to his family and to the people of Camelot, to whom he was already insanely loyal.

Arthur felt sick as he plunged his sword into Susie's chest and slit Jonathon's throat. He choked back vomit as he stabbed Jacob, which surprised him: he hadn't expected to care this much for a servant, especially an idiot like Jacob.

Once he had finished, Arthur curled up against the wall of the dungeons, surrounded the bodies and pools of blood of his friends. It was an image which would haunt him for years to come, until he managed to bury it.


"You remember." Nadia watched Arthur's tortured expression, and felt the pain tearing at his panting chest. He could find no words to reply to her. "you killed them all. They tried to hide behind people you loved but you were still cold enough to murder them, just because your father told you to." She said. He gazed at her for a moment more, before slipping out of consciousness.


And there you are: the reason they want their revenge on Arthur (just the usual 'YOU KILLED MY FAMILY BITCH' kind of thing but hey...) In the next chapter Merlin will be once more brought into the picture so don't worry if you were missing him here ;)