It had been a good morning so far. It had drizzled lightly the night before, but the large canopy of leaves had blocked most of it out.

Gwen woke up to Arthur snoring beside her. His blond hair was lying against the arm his head was resting on, splayed out in different angles. Gwen flipped over on the spot to look at the rest of the camp.

Gaius was up, naturally. He was always up early, being a court physician; he had to be prepared for anything. He was sitting on the leaf-strewn floor, leaning against a moss covered log with a book in his hand. Most likely a medical book, Gwen thought. Gaius was always reading those, reviewing things he'd already mastered.

Gwaine was sitting on the log next to Gaius, poking at the dead fire. It was still smoldering a little and there was a bit of smoke, but there weren't any flames. The rain had probably put out the fire, which meant they probably wouldn't have a fire tonight because the wood would be too wet. Gwaine looked lost in thought as he pushed the ashes around absentmindedly. Gwaine had one hand resting against his face, and if some random person had come in they'd have thought he was bored, but even Gwen knew that face. He was just pondering on something important. Merlin, Gwen surmised.

After the revelation about Merlin watching his father die, and bearing the weight of it alone, what else was there to think about? Gwen had a little solace knowing who Merlin's father was and knowing she could now help, but it must have been so bad for everyone else. They probably felt so helpless. They could offer their condolences, but they couldn't really do much. For Gwaine it must have been awful, not being able to help. Merlin had been Gwaine's first real friend. For Arthur too. They would probably beat themselves up for not noticing anything, and Gwen had to admit, Merlin could hide his emotions and keep things locked up if he wanted to. His disarming smile and bright eyes made everyone else think nothing was wrong at all. It brightened everyone's day.

Gaius had said Balinor was a good man, and Gwen believed him. Arthur had said the same thing when he had come back from their short journey. Now that Gwen knew the connection between Balinor and Merlin, she could just tell the resemblance through character. Like father, like son.

Gwen focused herself back on the camp. It looked like Elyan was getting ready for breakfast; he had brought out the provision bag that Mary had packed. The rising sun cast shadows on his dark complexion, making part of his brown hair shine. It made her brother look very mysterious. Gwen giggled a bit at the thought.

Leon himself was carrying a few waterskins, tossing them to the people sitting down. His face and the edge of his long, dirty blonde hair was wet, so Gwen guessed he had just washed his face in the cool stream. She'd have to do that later.

Percival was on the other side of the fire, sleeping silently. He had used his red Pendragon crested cloak as a pillow, and his muscular arms were wrapped around it, his head on his arms. His short blond hair reflected the sunlight so clearly; Gwen almost had to look away.

She turned around once more to look at her husband's sleeping form. He almost looked angelic when he slept...almost. If it wasn't for the fact that his hair was sticking up at odd angles, he was snoring a bit loudly, and his mouth was partially open, he would look more angelic. Men. His blue eyes remained shut as Gwen gazed at her husband, willing him to wake up. When that didn't work, so gently took his arm and started shaking it. His chainmail felt cold despite the sun's increasing warmth. She shook his arm, the movement sending waves through his body so his head swiveled around the cape he used as a pillow.

"Arthur?" She whispered, leaning closer to his face. It took one more 'Arthur' to wake him up.

He slowly opened his amazing light blue eyes as the world came into focus. The first thing he saw was his beautiful wife Guinevere. Her chocolate complexion was framed by her curly brown hair, the sun lighting it at just the right angle to make her look heavenly. She smiled at him, which only just made her more beautiful.

"Morning," she said.

He balled his fists and ground out the sleep from his eyes as he replied, "Morning."

She giggled at his sleep filled face as she made to kneel. Arthur followed her example and untangled himself from the blankets. He stood up, putting out a hand to help Guinevere with stand with her long dress. He kept hold of her hand as they walked over to the dead fire, where Elyan was handing out rations. They sat down on a log that opposite the one that Gwaine and Gaius were on as they bid everyone good morning. Elyan came around and gave them some food as Leon handed them their refilled water skins. The cool drink felt cool on Gwen's lips as she sipped on the water, washing down the bread and nuts.

Arthur saw the look on Gwaine's face as he ripped his dried meat with his teeth. Arthur knew he was thinking about Merlin. He couldn't sleep last night thinking on the same subject. How could he not notice? I mean...losing a father...that was big! Arthur had lost his own father about a year ago, and he still hurt from it. So...why didn't he notice? Merlin was a more emotional man, he got sad over the death of unicorns, or really anything that Arthur hunted. But apparently Arthur had been wrong about Merlin. He didn't wear his emotions on his sleeve for all to see. No, apparently he could keep them hidden as much as fiercely he could express them. Arthur blames himself of course. And looking at Gwaine, he felt the same. Granted, Gwaine hadn't been there five-ish years ago when Gaius said Merlin's father had died, yet he still blamed himself. That was a true friend.

But what did that make Arthur? The man who had been there five-ish years ago, and never noticed. Did it mean he was a bad friend? That he was just completely unobservant? Or that he was just too self-absorbed and busy to notice the feelings of the man he saw everyday? Arthur didn't want to know.

He eventually decided that he need a quick hunting trip to clear his thoughts, to make him stop feeling so guilty. He would, of course, confront Merlin about it later, make him tell him the whole story whether he wanted to or not. But as a friend. It wasn't good to keep those kind of emotions bottled up, Arthur knew. And if Merlin had been keeping them bottled up for close to six years! Hunting trip...that's what he decided.

"Ok...I'm going to go on a quick hunt! Who wants to come?" Arthur announced standing.

He quickly got agreements from all the Knights and they readied their hunting gear.

"We'll be back in a few hours, alright?" Arthur told Gwen as he said goodbye.

"Alright, be careful," Gwen replied.

"Always."

Arthur gave her a quick kiss and left with the Knights, tromping out into the forest as the early morning light filtered through the trees.


Yep, Merlin had found Morgana alright. She was standing in the middle of the village with her black hair whipping side to side in the massive windstorm she had created. People were screaming, running everywhere. Houses, barns, fences...everything was on fire. The massive flames crackled as it licked up the wood. You could hardly tell the difference between the smoky air and the cloudy sky. Merlin noticed that the edges of the unburnt wood was still wet from last night's rainstorm...which meant this was a magical fire. It wasn't a fire that just water could put out, only magic. Powerful magic.

So Merlin went around the outskirts of the town putting out fires. He wanted to stay off of Morgana's radar for as long as possible. Merlin ran around whispering unintelligible words, these people had already been frightened by magic, he didn't want to scare them anymore.

Merlin white beard bounced against his red robe as he ran around.

"Get to the woods!" Merlin shouted to everyone he passed. It was still chaos around the town. He had to keep these people out of here if he was going to face Morgana, even if only for a few minutes. "Run!"

Evidently, the people caught on as they started running towards the tall trees in a massive flock. The streets were clearing as the fires around the edges of the town were put out.

"Come out, Emrys. I can sense you," Morgana shouted. Of course she'd be able to sense him, why hadn't he thought of that? He mentally berated himself for not realizing that.

Merlin bided his time as he continued to put out more fires. The people were gone now, leaving the city quiet save for the popping and crackling of the larger fires closer to Morgana. He slowed his quick steps to a steadier pace, walking instead of speed walking. He walked out from behind a burning house as he walked onto the main road.

Merlin had a sheen of sweat on his forehead. He was nervous, and why shouldn't he be. This was his first real fight with Morgana. He had never faced her before, well, not alone. The last time he'd gone up against Morgana was the last time she had taken Camelot. When her and Helios had overrun Camelot with Helios' Sountron army.

It's true that he had snuck into Camelot to put a spell on Morgana so she couldn't use her magic but that was only for a short time, and he hadn't gone face to face with her. Sure, he'd made sure she's seen him to tease her a bit, but still. The look on her face had been worth it though.

Then he'd gone back to camp and regrouped with the others and prepared to retake Camelot. Together. As a group. With friends.

Here Merlin was alone.

He was going to face Morgana alone. By himself. Without his friends. Alone.

The last time he had really been with Morgana alone...he had ended up with a Fomorroh snake in his neck and he was Morgana's assassin to kill Arthur.

Of course he had a reason to be scared.

He had magic, yes. But so did Morgana. Powerful magic. Merlin didn't know the limit to Morgana's magic, but he also didn't know the limit of his own.

That was his advantage. He had come a long way from the small farm boy with only petty magic. Granted, he had saved Gaius life with such petty magic, but now. Now he was now the King's best friend and was slowly becoming the most powerful warlock to ever live. His destiny was to help the Once and Future King in restoring magic to the land.

Arthur had already come so far in regards to magic. When Merlin had first met him, he had been...well...a dollopheaded prat of a prince.

Now he was kind, compassionate, merciful. It's not that he wasn't like that before he had met Merlin, but ever since then, those different qualities had become apparent, obvious, easy to see. And Merlin was proud of him.

He was proud of himself too. It wasn't easy to put up with Arthur's prattness, especially for as long as Merlin had. It had gotten easier as Merlin bonded with Arthur, as they became friends. They had been at each others throats at times, like with Sophia and her father, but they got past those blockages. In fact, as they got through them, their relationship only grew stronger, and soon they had become inseparable. The best of friends.

And now Merlin had to protect that friendship. All of his other friendships. Because Merlin knew that if Morgana was allowed to continue on this...this rampage in search of Emrys, she would eventually come to Camelot. To the place where he called home. To the place where his friends were. He didn't necessarily have to kill her, not yet. But he had to stop her. If only to protect those friendships.

His friendship with Gwen. Who had been his first friend in Camelot. Who had been his unknowing guide through so many tough decisions. Who had offered kindness and comfort when Merlin had needed it; when Merlin didn't even know he needed it. She was the closest thing to a sister he'd ever had.

His relationship with Gaius, his father figure. Merlin had saved his life the first time he'd met him, and ever since then, they'd been as close as a father and son could ever be. Gaius had been his mentor, the person whom had shared his dreams and guided him on the right path. The only person in Camelot to know his secret.

Then there were the Knights. Gwaine and Leon and Elyan and Percival. He was especially close with Gwaine, but the other knights were just as much his brothers as Arthur was. They helped Merlin with his job of protecting Arthur, even if they didn't know it. They had helped watch others backs countless times; saved each others lives countless times.

He had to fight for them. For his friends.

He walked on the main road with renewed confidence. His back straightened slightly as he lifted his chin. He would face Morgana confidently, with his head held high.

He walked to the center of the wide dirt path, and Morgana came into focus. What once was a beautiful, proud woman, was now just a crazy, hate-driven witch. She was wearing her ornate, black gown that hung loosely off her slim frame. Her middle was sharply defined by the plain, wide belt that hugged her waist. Morgana's unruly, raven colored hair was whipping around in the air, but the curly locks strangely stayed away from her face. Her green eyes matched her light green eyeshadow. They held different emotions; amusement, contempt, hate, and tried to hide it, but Merlin was a master at that, so he could see it. Strangely her heavy eyeliner and mascara clashed with her pale, powdered skin. Her lips were cracked, colored a light pink, and were held in a smirk.

Merlin held his ground as he and Morgana had a stare down. It felt kind of weird facing her as Emrys. His long, snow-white hair whipped in the wind and across his face. His grey speckled beard played against his chest as his red robe tugged against his body as the wind pulled on it. He said a few quick words under his breath so that his hair no longer flashed across his face, what he assumed Morgana had done.

"So we meet at last," Morgana drawled out. Her voice was half of mad amusement, how could she think this funny?, and half of hate. The latter emotion Merlin could understand, he was supposed to be her doom wasn't he?

Merlin, well Emrys, didn't reply as he continued to stare at Morgana. They were both in the center of the dirt pathway, just in the center of town. Morgana had her arms held slightly apart from her body, palms turned upwards to feed the windstorm.

"What do you want, Morgana?" Merlin growled out. Merlin glared at the woman that stood about thirty feet from himself, arms held at his sides, back straight, and narrow eyed.

"You," she paused, "...dead." Morgana might have been thirty feet, but her voice carried like she was right next to him.

Merlin rolled his eyes. He had expected that. What else would he expect from an enemy he was supposed to kill? It was natural that she'd want to kill him first.

Morgana apparently saw his eye roll, even from thirty feet away, and it only seemed to enrage her more.

She flicked her right wrist, whispering, "Pila candentis ignis." A ball of fire appeared in it. She held it there while Merlin replied.

"You can't win, Morgana." His voice was flat as he said it. At least he hoped she wouldn't win. She couldn't. Right?

"I wouldn't bet on it!" She sneered, her voice was like glass, shattering into a million pieces, but also as tough and firm as rock.

She raised her right hand, the one that held the glowing fireball, and shoved it in Merlin's direction.

Merlin quickly yelled a shielding spell and braced his forearm in front of him. The fireball exploded against the blue and gold mass that had spread from Merlin's hand, the orange flame wrapping around Merlin's circular shield before fizzling out.

"Well done, Emrys," Morgana smirked. She tried to hid it, but Merlin could tell the smirk was forced, she was frustrated, and a frustrated Morgana wasn't good. He had to get them somewhere else.

"Thank you," Merlin replied. "Why don't we take this somewhere else?"

Morgana seemed to get more angry as Merlin shouted a transporting spell.

"Onerariis duo ad destinatum desideravit, valle cecidit Kings."

The world spun around them as Morgana's windstorm changed direction. It encased the two sorcerers in a shifty whirlwind. Leaves danced around Merlin as others attached themselves to Merlin's beard and hair as they did with Morgana. Soon the whirlpool of wind and dust and leaves became so strong that Merlin had to brace himself against the wind, closing his wrinkled eyes and putting his arms up in front of his face. Merlin could feel as the scene swirled around them and they were magically transported in a bright flash of gold and white light.

It had been a productive morning. During their little hunt the Knights had caught a small doe, a rabbit, and Gwaine had found a rather large bush full of blueberries, Arthur's favorite. It had also successfully cleared everyone's mind of Merlin, if everyone's smiling and joking meant anything.

They had come back to the camp about an hour after they had left to find Guinevere working on Merlin's new leather bag. She was using light brown thread to sew a pattern into the dark brown, leather flap that covered the entire front of the bag. Fittingly, it was a hawk. A merlin. Gaius was just reading a medical book, chatting and laughing with Gwen who sat right next to him on the log. Her hair was slightly damp, so Arthur guessed she had washed it in stream. She was still wearing her flowing lavender dress with a brown, braided belt that framed her waist and Gaius still wore his blue robe that had a decorative design running down the center.

Now they were just lazing about camp while their freshly caught prey hung out to dry. They were laughing and joking about anything and everything they could think of. How one of the maids had been eyeing Percival a few days before, which left Percival open for teasing. How the rain had put the fire out, which blew all the smoke in Gwaine's direction last night. How Leon had sprained his wrist by pulling a bow string back too far when they were hunting.

Around mid-morning, something happened. They had been laughing at a joke at Gwaine expense, something about a dirty socks catching on fire when it happened. They didn't know what it was, only that it was something.

That something had been a bright flash of light further in the forest. It hadn't been there before, and just suddenly there it was, a bright white and golden light, catching the forest in its hold.

They saw it in the distance and the Knights all warily picked up their swords.

"Let's go...check it out," Arthur said as he squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look at it from the distance he was at. The Knights started jogging into the forest.

"I am so not being left behind," Gwen said, getting excited.

"Me neither!" Gaius exclaimed. The duo caught up to the Knights but still stayed behind them as Arthur instructed. They walked to where they had seen the bright light.

Magic? Arthur thought. What other explanation could there be for a sudden flash of light in the middle of the forest? They neared their destination, and looked down from a ledge that looked down into expanse of the forest.

As soon as Arthur saw his half-sister, he lunged behind a large boulder that sat behind a thin tree. He tugged the others behind him, hissing that it was Morgana, and to stay out of sight. He peered around the boulder to get a better look. He saw Morgana yes, and she was glaring daggers at someone in front of her. Arthur swung his head in the direction she was looking in to see a tall man with red robes on. He had a long white, speckled beard, and flowing white hair. Emrys. He turned back to the group behind him.

"It's Emrys!" he hissed, trying to stay quiet, while still exclaiming his surprise. Why was he out here? And why was Morgana glaring at him like that?

"What?" Gaius gasped. He had every right to too. Why was Merlin out here and why was he with Morgana?

Everyone looked surprised at Gaius' reaction. They all knew that Gaius knew Emrys, how else would he be able to get in contact with him? Gaius had told Arthur that hunting him would be a mistake, so they were friends, obviously. But he looked just as surprised, if not more surprised than everyone else.

"Let's watch what happens before doing anything," Gwaine said. Everyone else nodded in agreement. Arthur made some hand signals and walked out from behind the boulder, then over behind a tree. They all did the same, abandoning the safety of the boulder for slim trees, though they did have a better view of the two newcomers. By just peering around the trunks they could clearly see everything. Gaius eyes only grew wider as he laid eyes on his great-nephew. Why in Albion was that boy here? And with Morgana? Granted, if glares and sneers could kill, Merlin would be dead. Which only just brought on more questions. What in the world?

So Gwen, Gaius, and the Knights all stayed silent with bated breath as they watched the tense scene play out before them.

Merlin lowered his arms and opened his eyes as the wind died down. There were leaves scattered around the place from the windstorm of the transporting spell, and a few were caught in his hair and beard. It felt so weird having long hair and a beard, and he silently made a vow to never grow a beard, and to always wear his hair short.

Morgana was the same distance as before, except she only looked madder than ever. Her head was slightly bent forward as she glared at him. The sunlight bounced off her black locks and made her look even more pale. Her hair fluttered in the dying wind and the leaves settled onto the floor.

It had taken a lot out of Merlin to do that; two transporting spells, both at great distances. And then he had been putting out the fires. He was feeling tired and that wasn't good. Not at all. He didn't feel as focused as he needed to be. And that wasn't good.

"What's wrong, Emrys? Couldn't stand the heat?" Morgana teased. She didn't need to, Merlin could hear her clearly, and unbeknownst to them both, so could each and every onlooker.

Merlin knew she was referring to the burning village, 'the heat.' But he didn't take the bait, it wasn't worth it. Instead, he got right to the point.

"I won't let you hurt anyone else Morgana!" Merlin thought he'd cut the banter and get straight to the point. He wanted to get this over with as fast as possible.

"Oh, really?" Morgana finally smirked, the edge of her lip curling upwards as the bottom lid of her eye rose slightly. She whispered a few choice words as what looked like a bolt of energy appeared in either hand.

"Think about what you're doing Morgana, it doesn't have to be this way!" Merlin shouted. He didn't really want to fight her, but if she left him no choice then so be it. He'd defend his own, his family, his friends. Or he'd die trying. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.

"I think it does Emrys! I won't let you be my doom...the Calyx was wrong!" A little fear had come into her voice when she said that.

The group on the little rise were completely confused. Especially Arthur. If Emrys was against Morgana, did that mean he was on their side? But...he was so confused. Gaius had told him that Emrys hadn't killed his father, he believed that more or less. Not even magic could bring someone back from the dead, and Uther was very close. He had been so angry at the time, he had to place the blame on someone, and it was easiest to blame magic, to blame Emrys. But Gaius had also told him that he 'wasn't the only one seeking to protect him.' Did that mean that Emrys had been protecting him? Arthur didn't know what to think. Oh, what he'd give for Merlin to be here, so hear his opinion. Merlin had flashes of wisdom that had helped Arthur through so many times, he needed that right now.

"I don't want to hurt you Morgana," Merlin shouted. His voice sounded crackly and rough in his disguise, but it served its purpose in disguising him.

"No. But I want to hurt you." With that Morgana raised her arm and threw the bolt of energy like a spear. The green and white bolt flew threw the air straight towards Merlin. He threw up a glowing blue shield just in time. It held long enough for Morgana's bolt to fizzle out before Merlin put the shield down.

Gaius sucked in a sharp breath. He was frightened for Merlin. What in all of Albion was going on?

"Morgana, stop! I don't want to fight you!" Merlin shouted.

That only made Morgana more angry. Apparently she really wanted to fight.

"Then this will be easy!" Morgana summoned several more energy bolts, all glowing white with a sort of green mist flowing around them. She threw them like daggers at a wall as they flew towards Merlin.

Merlin summoned another shield and braces himself, ready for the bolts to hit. His shield was mainly transparent except for small streams of blue that weaved its way around it. The bolts flashed against his shield before disappearing.

This only enraged Morgana more as she conjured more bolts with a flick of her wrist and a flash of her eyes. Morgana glared at Merlin with such hatred and annoyance that Merlin involuntarily shuddered.

Morgana threw the bolts, the dull white light glowing with green swirls, her hair shifted as her body switched back and forth as she threw the bolts. Merlin threw up another shield in front of him, his cerulean turned golden eyes glowing brightly.

As Morgana threw more and more bolts, Merlin's shield started to give way. With every bolt Morgana threw, there was more magic, more hatred with each throw, each bolt was more powerful than the least. She was throwing them blindly, not exactly aiming, but all the bolts still hit Merlin's weakening shield.

Merlin's shield started to fade in and out as bolts hit them, disappearing completely, only to come back. Merlin was tiring fast as Morgana's energy bolts hit them. It was pure, raw magic and that was taking a toll. He had already done two transporting spells and put out magical fires. Now he was defending himself from magical energy bolts. He saw Morgana tiring out as well, her magic only fed by her hatred and desperation.

The final bolt that Morgana threw spliced through Merlin's shield and cut across his right shoulder. It cut through the heavy robe and into his skin. It wasn't that deep, but it drew blood. It was soaking into the robe, making the already red material darker. He yelled out Morgana's magic buried itself into his skin, weakening him further.

"Emrys!"

Merlin and Morgana were drawn to the voice. Merlin looked to his right and saw Gaius. He had come out from his hiding, concerned for his ward. Soon the others followed suit. Gaius had already exposed them, even incidentally, they knew he was worried for his bleeding friend. Besides, they were surprised that Morgana hadn't sensed them yet or something, but they guessed she was too focused on Emrys.

"Gaius?" He was extremely surprised to see him there. Then when the others came out he was absolutely stunned, his blue eyes widened as he drew in a breath. What in the world?

Then he realized...they were all in danger. Morgana in a desperate rage and she was completely unpredictable. They could easily be hurt, or killed. Merlin wouldn't let that happen. He would protect them as best he could, with his life even.

"Oh, we have company," Morgana drawled. She sounded amused as she said it.

The exposed group just stared as they kept together. They were grouped slightly behind Merlin, but a little to his right, so they could clearly see Morgana. Gaius and Gwen stayed behind the main group of Knights, Arthur in front, and Gwaine was closest to Emrys, just about seven feet away. They drew their swords, the metal making a zinging noise as they left their scubbord, to guard themselves from either sorcerers, they didn't know the true intentions of Emrys, but they surely knew Morgana's intentions.

Merlin turned his full attention back to Morgana. This was one of the reasons he hadn't brought Gilli. Now they were in danger, and his attentions were divided. Great!

"Leave them be Morgana. This is between you and me." Merlin yelled it to keep her attention focused on him. He prayed that the group behind him wouldn't do anything to draw attention to themselves...because if they did...

"Yes...it is!" Morgana shouted it as her hair whipped in the growing wind. Her anger was bringing it about a windstorm and the leaves were flying, the weight of their water from the rain last night forgotten.

"Percutiam cum purus industria," Morgana practically screamed. A light shot out of her hand, light and dark ribbons of green and gold weaving their way in and out of the bright strands of elemental magic.

"M-Emrys!" Gaius yelled again. No one caught his slip of the tongue as they were too focused on the fight.

Merlin held out his hand and shouted, "Percusserit cum industria clausuris adversarios."

A bright light shot out of his left hand too, though Merlin's was weaving with different shades of blue and gold. Merlin didn't know what dictated the color of a person's magic, his blue, Morgana's green, but he thought it suited each in turn.

The two opposites of elemental magic met in the middle, and stayed there, neither relenting in their hold. The magic built as each threw in more and more magic. The sphere of magic grew, the greens and blues fighting each other to take control.

Merlin realized that it wouldn't hold for much longer. There was too much elemental magic in it. Morgana wasn't about to release her hold, she would keep it going until either Merlin himself let go, and it killed him, or she exhausted herself.

Merlin wasn't about to let go either. If he did the colossal. humming mass of his and Morgana's magic would go straight towards him, either killing him, or seriously wounding him. If he let go, it wouldn't only hit him though. It would hit the frightened party behind him. His friends.

So with Morgana nor Merlin relenting their hold, Merlin could only come to one conclusion.

It would explode.

It would explode soon.

Merlin swung around to face his friends. Arthur looked at him with a mixture of awe and incredibility. It was almost a comical expression. Gwen stared at him with wide, worried eyes. Gaius looked on with terrified eyes, his mouth gaping in worry for his ward. Gwaine looked at him with a determined expression, like he would protect those he loved with everything he had, Merlin knew the feeling. Leon just stared, his lips slightly apart, waiting for something to happen. Percival watched as his muscles held the hilt of sword, his lips set in a solemn line. Elyan stood by his sister gripping his sword looking on with wide eyes as the energy ball grew.

Merlin swung out his right hand in their direction, making everyone flinch except for Gaius. They brought up their swords as Merlin screamed over the building wind. He was quickly tiring, but he had to do this.

"Tueri dilexit ones cum impenetrabile scutum."

A glowing light emerged from Merlin hand and flew to the group. It was golden with hues of blue. It wrapped itself around the group, completely encasing them in its warm, golden hold. Each person in the group looked shocked as their pulses quickened even started banging their swords against the impenetrable shield, trying to escape.

The massive ball of energy kept growing as Merlin turned his attention away from the shielded group and back to Morgana. The sphere grew as the humming sound it emitted grew louder. The two magic's fought each other, the greens, and the blues striking each other as the other pulled away a bit. Merlin knew it would explode very soon and he didn't have enough strength to create a strong shield. The transporting spells, plus putting out the fires, plus creating a shield against Morgana's pure energy bolts, then added to the fact that Morgana's magic was embedding itself into Merlin through his sliced shoulder, he was greatly weakened.

Suddenly, while everyone behind the shield was banging against it, Morgana had a deadly sneer on her face, but there was also fear, and Merlin was raising his arm to shield his aged eyes from the growing light...the mass of pure elemental magic exploded.

It just exploded.

First it expanded to about the size of one of the Knights shields, then the magic divided itself into shards...and they flew everywhere; into the ground, burning the leaves and creating small, quickly put out fires, into the air, where they hit trees before disappearing, but only after charring the bark. One shard of magic went straight towards Morgana, but she quickly put up a shield. It had been flimsy and one got through, slicing her dress and scraping her leg. She fell to the floor, clutching her calf, crying out in pain. Her face crumpled in pain as she clutched at her torn dress, blood was seeping out of the deep wound. She looked at Emrys in hate, but more prominent on her face was fear.

Merlin checked back to the group behind him, making sure that they were safe and that his shield had holded. It had, thankfully. The group were staring at him in in shock and fear, all their eyes wide and mouths hanging open, especially Gaius. Merlin gave them a weak smile as his shoulder continued to bleed, trying to reassure them that they would be alright.

"I'll be back!" Morgana screamed. She started yelling a transporting spell as the wind she had created gathered around her, the leaves kicking up and the dirt twisting in a tornado like fashion. Merlin was relieved that she was leaving. He really didn't want to hurt her, so he welcomed her departure. The tornado died down as the rags of her dress flew, her pitch black hair whipping in the wind.

Merlin let out a big sigh as she left. And then he felt it.

Pain. Roaring pain, ebbing out from his left side.

He looked back at the group and understood why they had been staring at him in fear, why they were still staring at him in fear and incredibility, why they had stopped beating against the golden shield. They had seen the shard of magic hit him, watched it fly. He himself had been too focused on Morgana, and holding the shield to feel the pain. Now he felt it. Now he felt the pain.

He let out a large groan as he fell to the leaf-strewn ground. His red robe bunched underneath him as his feet shifted. He put his hand to his side and immediately felt the sting of Morgana's magic. He could feel his magic fighting her's as yet more of her deadly magic made its way into his body. It was painful, very. He brought up his hand and saw shiny, red blood. It covered his hand.

He lay his bloodied hand on the floor as his blood roared through his veins. He could hear the pounding noise as it burst through his head. He groaned again as his magic strained. He was so tired. He could feel the Knight's striking against his magic again, trying to break through the weakening shield. He couldn't hold it for much longer, and he had to stay conscious, had to fight the overwhelming pain.

As he lay there, his magic fighting Morgana's, he could only think of one thing.

Arthur knew.