Merlin was walking through the woods on his way to see the Lady of the Lake. He didn't know why but ever since Arthur and Gwen had left that morning for the Royal Festivities in the Neighboring Kingdom he had had a nagging feeling of uneasiness about it and he hoped a talk with the Lady of the Lake would resolve it.
He reached the lake and stepped up to the edge of it. He bowed and addressed the Lady. "Oh, Lady of the Lake. I come to you to ask to grant an audience with you."
The instantly the water of the lake splurged upward and the Lady appeared out of it. She wore a very anxious expression on her lovely features and before Merlin could speak again she said with great urgency,
"Merlin, you must go now and hurry! Arthur and Gwen are in great danger where they are now. Their very lives are at stake at this very moment."
And with that she re-submerged herself down into the lake. Merlin needed no further prompting as she had just answered his questions and he apparated on the spot to where Arthur and Gwen were.
He reappeared at the base of the castle in the other Kingdom. He started to make a dash for the castle gates when suddenly two all too familiar figures appeared in front of him. Lord Dragmore with Madam Mim.
"Not so fast, old goat," said Mim.
"You!" Merlin stared at Mim, "And you!" he turned to stare with abject horror at Dragmore. "I might have known!"
"You arrived too late Merlin," said Dragmore. "Arthur is just about to drink from the goblet of poisoned wine and then all of England will be ours!"
Merlin glared as fiercely at them as it was possible as he took out his wand and raised it up high. "Ala..." However just then Dragmore clasped his rough bony hand of Merlin's mouth while at the same time Mim seized his wand out of his grasp.
"I'll take this," she said. "Now as for you," she raised the wand up as high as she could and cried out, "Mu-no-co!"
Dragmore then released his hand from Merlin's mouth. Merlin attempted to speak but found he could not, much to his horror.
Dragmore smirked very evilly at him and then said, "Now how about we go someplace more suitable for you?" He then snapped his fingers and they were instantly transported to the dungeon of the castle.
"There, this should keep you out of the way!" Dragmore exclaimed as he pushed Merlin backward so that he fell down into a corner of the dark cell.
"Now, if you'll excuse us, we have business to attend to," said Dragmore. And with that he snapped his fingers again and he and Mim apparated out of the dungeon.
Merlin was left all alone and helpless and unable to speak so that he could not use his magic to free him even if he still had his wand. He wondered if there was any other way he could get out of here. Then suddenly he heard a chittering noise coming from somewhere above him.
He looked up and saw a tiny squirrel with reddish fur locked inside a cage. He at once knew this had to be Gwen turned back into her enchanted form by Mim. An idea then crossed his mind that could get them both out of here.
He got up and went to the cage she was in and unlocked it and let her out. She crawled onto his shoulder and chattered excitedly. Merlin smiled sadly at her. Then he pointed towards a long pipe that was connected from the wall near the floor up to the ceiling and then nodded towards her.
Gwen understood instantly what he was trying to tell her to do. She at once leaped down from his shoulder and scampered over to the pipe and crawled into it with the speed and skill that only a squirrel could have.
Merlin listened as he heard her scratching inside of the pipe until he could hear no more. He then silently hoped that she would succeed in his plan.
Meanwhile in the castle courtyard, the dancing had just ended and it was time for the feasting. Arthur took his seat at the head of the long table beside the King and Queen. He was feeling rather dazed and confused at the moment as just after he had danced with Gwen another girl whom he had never seen before came up to him and just took his hands and pressed herself against him and then she had forcefully kissed him on his lips without his consent.
He looked around for Gwen but couldn't see her anywhere. And then the worst thought came into his mind. That she had seen the other girl dancing with him as she had kissed him and had gotten the wrong impression of it. Then his thoughts were abruptly interrupted when the King seated beside him stood and raised his glass goblet of red wine up and announced,
"I would like to propose a toast to our guest of honor here today. Arthur the newly crowned King of England. May he live long and good health to him."
Then everyone picked up their own glass goblets and clinked them together, as did Arthur. He watched as everyone began drinking from their goblets then and brought his to his lips to do the same, but then he hesitated as he had never tasted wine before. Then the next moment he heard a loud chattering noise followed by loud scratching.
He looked up and was shocked and amazed to see a tiny red squirrel leap out of a pipe on the castle's roof and then jump down onto the table. Everyone screeched and stepped back as it dashed across the long length and knock over goblets and upset plates and silverware. Then when it neared Arthur's place at the end it made a flying leap and flew at the glass goblet still in his hand and grabbed hold of it and then knocked it over so that it fell to the ground and spilled. The red liquid in it burned off the grass it touched and sizzled.
Arthur looked shocked and at a loss for words. "What the...?" Just then there was a cracking sound and he turned toward it and saw Merlin appear on the spot.
Merlin rushed up to Arthur just as the squirrel leaped onto the Queen and began biting and clawing at her everywhere. Then it found its way up the sleeve of her robe and pulled something out of it. It looked just like Merlin's wand.
Merlin then reached the table and seized his wand. He then pointed it at his mouth for a moment and then said, "That's better! Now enough of this charade!" He raised his arms high above his head and with a swift wave of his wand he cried out, "Alakazaam!"
Then before Arthur's very eyes their was a great swirling all around him almost like a hurricane. And then when it had cleared he saw all of the guests were gone as if they just disappeared, and in the place of the squirrel he saw Gwen, and in the place of the King and Queen he saw an old hag who he recognized as being Madam Mim and beside her there was a dark and dangerous looking wizard that looked like a much darker version of Merlin.
"What has been going on here!" Arthur asked in bewilderment.
"I'll tell you what's been going on," Merlin said at once. "Mim and Dragmore here set up everything around here so they could get rid of you and then take the throne of England for themselves."
Arthur was too stunned to speak. And then Dragmore advanced on Merlin as he took out his own wand.
"Merlin, this is the last straw! I never thought I'd have to resort to this, but I guess it had to come at the last minute," he then took out his wand and lifted it high above his head at Merlin and cried out, "Ob-li-dee-obli!"
Merlin, however was ready for this and he produced a large hand mirror and held it out in front of him so that Dragmore's spell was backfired back onto him. Then the next moment the old wizard grasped his heart and made a choking sound. Then a look of complete shock came over his ugly features.
"My- my magic is gone from me!" he gasped in horror.
"Of course it's gone from you," Merlin said obviously. "You may have been an expert at black magic and stuff," he continued, "but you were never an expert at learning about how spells can be bounced back, which is why I've always had this mirror with me. Now I know that a dark wizard without magic is a miserable creature indeed, so I'll put you out of your misery!"
Merlin then lifted his wand and cried out, "Squa-sqea!" And instantly Lord Dragmore was turned into a tiny little black mouse and scampered away.
Mim glared at Merlin and said, "You may have done away with my master, but you will not be rid of me, old goat! I'll be back!" And with that she vanished from sight.
Arthur then began to recover from his shock. He turned to Gwen and embraced her. "Gwen! I'm so glad you're alright. I was so worried about you. Where were you?"
"Mim turned me into a squirrel and I was locked in a dungeon until Merlin came and freed me," she explained. She then looked at him seriously. "Now I'd like to know what you were doing by kissing that girl you were dancing with after me."
Arthur sighed and shook his head as he explained, "I didn't kiss her, Gwen. She kissed me. I had no part in it at all."
"And she wasn't really there at all," added Merlin. "She was just an illusion conjured up by Mim and Dragmore to deceive you both."
"Oh, I see now," said Gwen. "I'm sorry, Arthur. I might have known you wouldn't kiss her. You're not the kissing type, are you?"
"I don't know," said Arthur. "I've never tried it before."
"Well, would you like to practice?" asked Gwen with her eyes shining brightly.
"I don't know," he said. "When did you have in mind?"
"Right now," she replied. And with that she laid a soft and sweet kiss momentarily on his lips.
"Gosh, that felt kind of good," said Arthur smiling a little in amazement. "I'll have to try it again sometime."
Merlin smiled and then cleared his throat to get their attention. "Well, now I'd hate to be abrupt at this moment but I think there is more business for us to attend to before this is done."
He then apparated them all away.
