Alaia Skyhawk: Sorry for the wait. This chapter took a bit more planning, and I chopped and changed things around a bit as well.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

Music:

~(-)~

Chapter 9: In Defence of Love ~Part 3~

The man ignored the stares of the others in the camp, as he gathered the last of his belongings and prepared to leave. He had begun to wonder in recent days, if he were making a mistake by lingering here, but it had taken the words of that woman to make him admit to the truth.

If the Dryads could have helped him, they would have. They'd asked to see the plant he'd brought with him, and only after seeing it had they told him to leave. While not an open admittance to being unable to help him, in hindsight their immediate dismissal at that point should have made it obvious. It was time to seek help elsewhere.

From the far side of the camp, one individual now strode over. That man wearing a scowl as he saw what was going on.

"Where do you think you're going, Carl? Are you giving up?"

Carl glanced at him and shouldered his bag.

"I've wasted too much time here, as have all of us here in this camp. If the Dryads could have helped any of us, they would have. Do the wise thing, Hahn, and look elsewhere like I now intend to do."

Hahn was still scowling, his expression then becoming a sneer.

"So you are giving up. You're letting those woodland sluts send you off with nothing, like a coward."

Carl ignored the insult. Hahn was a man who was quick to anger, and equally quick to resort to violence, and he'd do himself no favours by picking a fight with him.

"Call me what you will, but I'm going to the Isle of the Blessed to seek help from the Order." He met Hahn's gaze. "It took meeting a woman who passed nearby a short while ago, for me to realise I must accept that there will be no help for my son here. She travelled to go see her kin, and so shall I once I have been to the Isle. I shall travel back to my son, with the cure I swore to myself I would get for him."

As Carl began to walk out of the camp, Hahn called out after him.

"And how long do you think it will be before you can do that? The Order will demand a task of you in return for their help. You might as well sign yourself up to slavery."

Carl kept walking.

"The Order are fair and just, and I know their prices will be likewise. They would not ask me to do anything that would delay my son being cured. Any other price they deem I must pay, I will pay. My son is worth it, as I'm sure are many of those that the rest of you seek help for."

He quickly disappeared among the trees, heading north, and once he was gone the others in the camp began to murmur among themselves. Several began to prepare to leave, as he had, and the sight of that caused Hahn to face them with a snarl.

"So are you lot going to run away like cowards as well?" He pointed towards the Heartwood. "Those bitches have toyed with us like it's a game! I'll prove to you that they can help us, all of us! It's just that they won't. I don't know about the rest of you, but I refuse to be ignored any longer!"

Those that had begun to pack, cowered in the face of his shouting, while the rest of those in the camp raised their voices in support of his words. A mob was brewing.

~(-)~

In the Heartwood, at the base of Hyrila's oak, laughter and song rang out among the surrounding trees. All the dryads in the area had gathered to celebrate the beginning of the new life that Katryn carried, and for this one idyllic day she could pretend that she wasn't trapped as a half-breed with all the woes that it entailed.

Although she did not lament her fate, not anymore. She would never have had her friendship with Gwen, her home in Camelot, and her love for Merlin if not for being what she was. It was as much to say she was glad fate had turned out the way it had. Any regrets were long gone.

Sat amid her kin, she only wished now that they could be there at the wedding. But that wasn't possible, so this was the next best thing, and she'd have to make sure to bring Merlin to see them some time as well. Hyrila and the others would really like that.

The day progressed, the sun set, and one-by-one the dryads each returned to their respective oak trees. Hyrila perched herself up in the branches above, and Katryn lay down upon a bed of moss and ferns. That was where both of them were when morning came, and that was where both of them were when they were jolted awake by a warning.

The trees were practically shouting. Humans! Angry humans heading into the Heartwood! Every Dryad vanished from sight, from ground and bough. Only Hyrila remained in view, gazing down at her cousin.

"Quick, climb up! You can hide up here!"

Katryn scrambled to do so, reaching for the hand-holds that Hyrila shaped for her upon the tree's trunk, but even so she was only halfway up when the mob came into view. And what she saw made her immediately let go and drop back to the ground.

There was a heavy-set man at the front of the mob, the obvious instigator, and he had an axe. The very thought of humans bringing such a tool into the Heartwood filled her with anger... In the absence of a priest or priestess to mediate any contact with the dryads here, it seems it fell to her to teach these intruders some manners.

She narrowed her eyes at the group, who had paused in surprise in seeing an apparent human woman climbing a dryad's oak, and placed herself between them and Hyrila's tree.

"Leave here at once. You're not welcome. If the Dryads have not helped you before now, then it means that they cannot provide what it is you seek. You should go elsewhere, such as the Isle of the Blessed. For there, if what you seek is possible and within bounds to be granted, you will almost certainly find it."

The leader of the mob stepped forward, glowering at her.

"So you must be the woman that Carl met. The one who convinced him to pack up and leave like a weakling." He glanced at the tree, and the anxious dryad perched up there. "He also said he'd been told you were visiting your kin... I take it that means you're a half-breed."

Katryn shifted her stance, ready to fight if need be.

"What I am is of no importance, although it does give me better insight into the follies of humans. I've seen many fools like you, strutting around and showing off your strength like a rutting bull. Men like you, don't like to be told 'no'. You think everything should be handed to you, just because you want it to be. You'd rather take by force instead of earn through honest work. Men like you are braggarts and bullies."

The man, Hahn, took a step forward and hefted his axe.

"And you are just another one of these forest sluts, who play games with us just for your own amusement."

He was stopped in his tracks as Katryn twitched her fingers, and a vine burst from the ground at his side and wrenched the tool from his grasp.

She glared warningly.

"Don't take me for a pacifist like my kin. As a half-breed, I've learnt to embrace my human nature. The will to resort to violence, with far less provocation. My cousin would wait until you actually struck her tree before retaliating... I won't even let you get close enough to to try it."

Hahn seemed unimpressed, as he snatched his axe back from the grasping vine.

"We'll see about that."

He lunged forward, his sheer momentum carrying him a few extra feet even after leafy tendrils and woody roots burst into rapid growth and tangled his feet to trip him up. Behind him the mob broke up into a panicked scatter as the rampaging greenery sought them out as well. They might have been driven off, had Hahn not broken free and forced Katryn to focus her attention on him.

She restrained him again and again, seeking to force him to surrender rather than harm him, and that was her mistake. She underestimated how much energy she had remaining in reserve, and she was too late in realising it. Thus instead of downing the man who seemed the only real threat, he broke free of his binds and in trying to strike him down... Katryn collapsed.

She crumpled to the forest floor, gasping and disorientated, swept under by a wave of exhaustion and a deep-seated need to commune with the land and regain her strength.

Up above, Hyrila shrieked as Hahn raised his axe to strike the downed woman.

"KATRYN!"

Hahn paused, glancing at the dryad's desperate expression, and then noticed that the dryads in the other nearby oaks had come out into view as well. He then laughed, lowering the axe, and then yanked Katryn to her feet.

He held the blade of the axe to her throat, and sneered at Hyrila.

"Well it seems she means a lot to you. Enough to give every one of us what we want?" He smiled maliciously. "I'll give you until dawn to decide, before I start sending her back to you in pieces. Try to take her back, and I'll cut her throat."

He tucked Katryn under his arm, throwing the axe to one of the other men so he could use his dagger as the threat instead. He then turned and walked away, the rest of the humans following him, and Katryn managed once faint mental whisper to her cousin.

'Send word to to Druids, to Emrys.'

~(-)~

A soft sigh drifted through the room, above the sounds of bubbling liquids and the quiet clatter of tools. Merlin glanced at his notes, comparing the theory of breaking down this potion into easily teachable steps with the reality of brewing it according to them. He made adjustments as he worked, inwardly wishing Katryn were there to assist him.

But if she intended to stay with her kin for another couple of days, she might not be back in time for the next lesson. He needed something to teach them which would be useful for both the beginners and the experienced students. Some basic practice of herb-craft as used in magic, seemed to be the best option at such short noticed. The only downside being that he had to prepare the lesson plan at short notice.

He sighed again, marking another small change in the brewing procedure to avoid a possible point of confusion for the students, before finally calling time. It was approaching the second hour after noon, and he was due to meet with Arthur and Lord Geoffrey to discuss the outcome of the new trade agreement with Methuen. The potion could wait to be finished, until after that meeting was done.

Merlin snuffed out his burner, checking everything on the table was placed securely before heading out and locking the door... Lest a certain ward of his enter his chambers and knock something over. He then headed for the Council Chambers, resigned to spending the next couple of hours discussing things he'd already discussed to the point of utter boredom with the ambassadors. But, such was the life of the First Advisor and Court Sorcerer of Camelot.

But even so, it was as well it was an informal meeting, because Merlin had his chin propped on one hand and was on the verge of being half-asleep after barely an hour of talking with Arthur and Lord Geoffrey. He sat there, blandly answering every question the two of them asked, until a sudden pounding on the Council Chamber doors brought an abrupt halt to the meeting.

Arthur frowned, and called out.

"Enter."

The doors opened, the guards outside admitting a man in druid garb, and that man was out-of-breath from the haste with which he had come to the city.

"Lord Emrys, I bring urgent word from the Dryads of the Heartwood of Balor. The leader of a group of humans, who have been harassing them of late, has taken a half-dryad woman as hostage to try and force the dryads to cooperate with his demands... He has threatened to hurt the woman, Katryn, if the dryads do not heed him by dawn tomorrow."

Arthur rose sharply to his feet, not even noticing how utterly still Merlin had gone, and looked to the guards.

"Summon the members of my inner council, and give word to the Knights to prepare to ride out at once."

The guard nodded, hastening away, before the druid messenger addressed Merlin again.

"Lord Emrys, there is one other thing. The woman, Katryn, is as I said, a half-dryad. If you do not get to her before the leader of those men, Hahn, harms her... The Dryads of Balor will kill him and every other person in his camp. Even those who only obey Hahn out of fear. They will be massacred."

Merlin broke from his stunned state, frowning as he rose to his feet.

"But the Dryads are pacifists, even more so than the Druids in many respects. They only resort to violence when someone or something harms their trees."

The druid man's next statement was grim.

"There is one other occasion when they will lash out, and do so as a massed whole rather than a single individual. In the message they sent to us, they informed us that Katryn is newly with child. Children are rare for the Dryads and their kin, and even one so new and so far from birth is greatly treasured. If any harm befalls the mother, their rage will have no bounds. The trees around the Heartwood will rip those people apart."

Merlin almost choked, eyes wide, as Arthur voiced the very question the warlock had been unable to utter.

"Katryn is pregnant?" He glanced at Merlin. "I didn't even know she was in a relationship."

Merlin forced himself to composure, a feeling of anger and protectiveness now burning inside of him. His expression was set into a frown of determination.

"Don't bother with the Knights... I'll go, on Kilgharrah. I can be there within an hour, and get her away from them and them away from the Dryads."

Arthur grabbed Merlin's shoulder as the warlock made to leave.

"You're not going alone. You'll be in dense woodland, Kilgharrah won't be able to land and help you unless you think him torching the forest would be a good idea. Take a couple of Knights with you, at the very least, to watch your back."

Merlin paused a moment, frowning, before he slipped from Arthur's grasp and headed for the door.

"Fine, but don't expect Kilgharrah to be happy about carrying three people there and four people back. If he gets grumpy with me, expect to get frozen food for the rest of the week."

Out of the chambers, striding towards the stairs to the ground floor, Merlin activated two of the symbols on his amulet. "Leon, Gwaine, meet me at the main gates. We're going to go rescue Katryn."

Merlin gritted his teeth, already growing a summons to Kilgharrah under his breath. His fists clenched, his entire body trembling with pent-up emotion... Katryn must have gone to visit her kin because she'd discovered she had conceived, and she was carrying his child. If loving her wasn't reason enough to set out to rescue her, that additional knowledge only served to increase his fury at the arrogance and barbarism of 'Hahn'.

That fury must have been clear in his expression when he reached the gates, because whatever remark of bravado that Gwaine had been considering was lost as his mouth snapped shut upon seeing the warlock. Both he and Leon fell into step behind Merlin, all three heading to an empty pasture just outside the city walls.

It was not long before Kilgharrah arrived and landed, and Merlin's emotions had clearly echoed across the bond the two of them shared. For the dragon didn't even bother to ask why he'd been called. Instead he intermittently growled with boiling anger, and lowered his head and neck so they could climb up.

"Get on. I know not why you have called, but I can feel your need. Point me in the direction of those you seek."

Merlin barely gave the two knights the chance to get seated astride the dragon's neck, before practically snarled out their destination.

"The Heartwood of Balor... Some fools have decided to try use Katryn as a hostage against the Dryads there."

Kilgharrah went rigid before letting out a roar, and launched himself skyward so fast that Merlin had to hold Leon and Gwaine in place using magic. Both knights now glanced at each other, trying to figure out why Merlin was this upset. They were angry, but it was a candle compared to an inferno in the face of Merlin's reaction to the news, for the air around him seemed to shake at his presence. The last time anyone had seen him this angry, was back when Morgana had thrown Gaius into the wall outside the Council Chambers, and that confrontation had ended with Morgause lying half-dead on the chamber floor.

There was an eerie silence among them as they flew south-east, with nothing but the sound of Kilgharrah's wings and his intermittent growling to break it. Their course changed abruptly once they got near enough to the forest for Merlin to detect and start homing in on Katryn's amulet, and the tension grew greater still a few minutes later when they came within range for the Speaking Spell to work.

Because it was then that Merlin activated the lance symbol on his, and spoke in words like a promise.

~(-)~

'Katryn, I'll be there soon.'

Those words roused her from the fog of exhaustion that shrouded her and dragged on her limbs, sounding within her mind and bringing a glimmer of awareness back to her pale-green eyes. She raised her head, wearily glaring at her captor from where she'd been tied to a rock.

"You know, if you harm me, there is nothing in this world that will protect you from the fury brought against for it. Dryads hold life sacred, but new life especially, and I am with child. Harm , and the Dryads of Balor will combine their will and command this forest to kill you all."

Hahn turned to face her, from where he stood leaning against a tree looking rather pleased with himself. All around them though, the rest of the people here were becoming increasingly uncertain about the situation. Many obviously wanted to get away, but were too afraid of Hahn's anger to try.

Katryn raised her head higher, bolstered by the feel of a great force of magic heading her way, and smiled. It caused him to scowl.

"Don't look so pleased, wench, or I'll wipe that smirk from your face."

Katryn let out a single laugh.

"Go ahead, do that... The way I see it, you'll either killed by the trees now, or in a few more minutes when Emrys descends upon this camp and does it himself... You made a very big mistake when you took me hostage."

Hahn's expression twisted into a sneer.

"I don't think so. You're just a half-breed bitch."

Katryn laughed again, her confidence unnerving the others in the camp. But her next words terrified most of them.

"Half-dryad I may be, but my powers and abilities are why I was chosen to be the maidservant and bodyguard of the Queen of Camelot... The Court Sorcerer is on his way, and he is not happy with what you've done."

Many of the people in the camp started to murmur fearfully among each other, continuing even after the Hahn yelled at them to shut up and that she was lying. But then there was a roar overhead, a shadow passed over, and three figures dropped down to land in the centre of the camp. Cushioned from the long fall by a spell.

There was a moment of utter stillness in the camp as Merlin straightened up, and then he saw Katryn tied to the rock and the man looming over her. In that instant, when the warlock's cold, bye gaze fixed upon him, Hahn stumbled backwards in terror. His movement triggering a stampede among the rest of the surrounding men and women.

Gwaine drew his sword, watching them run, and then he smirked at Hahn.

"I don't think they were expecting that. Were you?"

Katryn calls out from behind her captor.

"Merlin, don't kill any of them. It was only this fool who started it."

Merlin scowled at Hahn, raised a hand, and clenched his fist to grip him with his power. He then shook him violently, although not hard enough to seriously injure, and then flung him into the nearby stream. That Katryn only looked tired, with no sign of actual injury, had calmed him enough not to murder in cold blood. But he still spared no thought as he smacked Hahn back into the mud and water when he tried to get away.

Leon stepped into seize him, while in the meantime the ropes binding Katryn crumbled to dust and she stumbled to her feet. But when the knight went to pull the would-be blackmailer to his feet to tie up his hands, Hahn was shoved flat again and pinned, in a position where he had to fight to keep his head above the waters of the stream.

Leon stepped back from him in surprise, and faced Merlin in shock.

"Merlin, let go of him. Don't you think this is a bit excessive?"

Merlin ignored him and instead rushed to Katryn's side. He then pulled her into a tight hug, Katryn clinging to him in return, as he used his magic to pull power from the land and give it to her to restore her strength.

As the couple embraced, Leon stared and Gwaine blinked. The latter saying what they were both thinking.

"Um... I think I know now why he was so upset. He's acting like Arthur does whenever Gwen is threatened." He glanced at the man pinned in the stream. "Although he has far more options to express how upset he is."

Leon tentatively approached the pair, speaking quietly.

"Merlin, could you release him before he drowns? He can hardly stand trial for what he's done, if he's dead."

The warlock as last responded, still holding Katryn close as he snorted in disdain.

"Fine, but he's not going get a comfortable ride back to the city."

The force holding Hahn down was removed, allowing the gasping and choking man to push himself clear of the water. He made no struggle as Leon and Gwaine bound him, too terrified to protest as he was then dragged in the direction of the nearest clearing large enough to allow Kilgharrah to land.

Just as it had been on the trip to Balor, they flew in silence on the way back. Hahn gagged into silence to stop him screaming where he hung in the grasp of Kilgharrah's talons. Only one thing said during the trip, and that was Merlin quietly asking Katryn to marry him.

When they arrived back through the castle gates, Gwaine and Leon led the way dragging Hahn between them. Arthur and Gwen hurrying down the castle steps towards them and the pair that followed behind. Gwen had been shocked to learn that Katryn was pregnant, Gaius having been in the midst of telling her what he'd learnt from his books when Arthur had sought her out to say Katryn was in danger. She'd also been worried that Merlin would do something rash. It was a huge relief to see them both safe.

Merlin smiled almost wearily as the two royals approached, keeping his arm firmly held around Katryn's waist and his other hand holding hers. She was wearing the ring he'd kept in his pocket for the past two years.

Arthur came to a confused halt, looking at the way Merlin held her and the ring that she wore, and his eyes widened in stunned realisation.

"Katryn is the woman you've been courting?!"

Merlin's smile widened a bit, becoming amused, and he chuckled.

"Yes, and right under your nose too. Although Gwen helped us keep it secret, since she knew you would tease me about it." He glanced at Katryn. "I was going to ask her to marry me at the end of this week, but a couple of days early doesn't hurt. Not when we've a wedding to prepare, and an arrival to start planning for."

Arthur remained dumbfounded for a few more moments, before he started to smile and came over to clap Merlin on the shoulder. There would be time and enough for plans and problems tomorrow, once they'd all had a quiet evening to celebrate the engagement, followed by a good night's sleep.

~(-)~

Alaia Skyhawk: (grins) There you all go! Hope you enjoyed it :D

Oh, and on a little side-note, I figure I'll mention this now. Merlin and Katryn's child will be, for the most part, a normal human. I do plan for magical talent to factor in fairly early on, but Katryn's dryad heritage will only pass on an increased affinity for magic involving plants or plant materials. I didn't want to make their kid overpowered :)