AN: Hey guys, sorry there was a little bit of a creak between chapters, but there is good news! This chapter has been edited by someone who is not me! So it will be much better than it was before. On that note, I would like to thank my friend Helen, who has agreed to spend the time to make my story more enjoyable for all of you guys! I got a little mean in this chapter. Merlin has a lot more suffering before this is over. I'm kinda mean. I feel like there were other things I wanted to say in this author's note. Just out of curiosity, I really want to get Lancelot into this fic, but I feel like having Arthur to randomly run into him (outside of Camelot, of course) would be slightly unbelievable. If you guys want to tell me what you think about this, I would be super grateful. And, as always, thanks so much for the reviews, favorites, alerts, and just for reading! There were another super wonderful reviews for the last chapter. Thank you all. You people are just too fantastic. You really helped me get through this week.

As a thank you for the reviews and for waiting slightly longer for this chapter, and just to make you happier after you read this sad chapter, here is a link to a picture of a couple of baby otters. They are pretty adorable. ?

Super long author's note! But, as always, I need to end with a reminder that I do not own Merlin. Sorry guys, I can do nothing to make season 5 come out sooner.

Chapter Ten: Lies

Neither of the lovers woke on the journey back to the very castle they had tried to escape. Leon took Arthur on his horse, hating himself for brining his prince back. But if Merlin was a sorcerer, he could have enchanted the prince.

No! That wasn't possible, was it? Merlin always seemed so loyal to Arthur. He would never do anything to harm him, but if he had magic? Leon wished he had time to talk to the two young men, instead of bringing them back before a king who would never listen to reason where sorcery was involved.

The guard who knocked Merlin out had him slumped over his horse, hands tied behind him even though he was unconscious. It looked so wrong. Leon had sworn to protect and serve the people of Camelot, and harming Merlin seemed to be breaking that oath.

But, as the group returned to the castle, the loyal knight could think of no way to release his friends.

Uther was not having a good night. His guards had been easily outsmarted, his only son had run off with some servant, and now King Edmund was telling him that his daughter would never marry his "diseased" son and that they would be leaving his "disgraceful" kingdom as soon as the sun rose. It seemed all his plans had come crashing down.

The foreign king was interrupted suddenly when three guards burst into the throne room, two of them dragging an unconscious Merlin between them. Leon and a few of the knights followed behind, looking quite confused and carrying Arthur between them.

Uther jumped out of his throne and pushed past the disgruntled king to his son. "What happened?" Uther questioned, glaring at the men who had just entered, "I thought I ordered you NOT to hurt my son!"

The guard not holding the ex-manservant stepped toward Uther and began to tell the story of the capture of the two lovers. Uther listened as the man explained the chase into the forest, finding the lone horse, and eventually stumbling across the prince and manservant. The guard hesitated slightly as he told of the arrow meant for the prisoner that had hit the prince, and then stopped, looking nervously at the boy being restrained by the two guards behind him.

"You shot Arthur!" Uther shouted, "You IDIOTS! He's my only son! Take him to Gaius, quickly, he needs to live!"

"Wait, sire, he is uninjured. After the prince was hit, the boy, he saved him. He's a sorcerer, My Lord."

Uther couldn't believe it. His son's idiot manservant, a sorcerer? All the times he had been accused of having magic, only to find the real culprit in the nick of time. Hell, he had even accused himself of magic once, to try to save Morgana's maid. How could Uther have been so blind?

"You all saw him do magic?" Uther asked, watching as all the knights and guards in the throne room nodded, the knights looking slightly more hesitant about accusing the boy than the guards. "That explains why Arthur acted so strangely, he was enchanted! Well, this changes everything. I cannot overlook the evils of magic, and this boy's deception further proves that I have been too lax in my fight against this corruption. But no longer. The boy will be executed at dawn as a warning to the others who try to conceal themselves from my judgment."

As Uther finished speaking, Sir Leon stepped forward with a frightened look on his face.

"Are you sure he is evil, Sire? He did save Arthur; he could be proof that magic could be used for good."

If it hadn't been Leon, the second in command of the knights after his son, Uther probably would have had him locked in the dungeons, possibly facing execution along with the magician who had corrupted his son. Leon had proved himself loyal on many occasions, and this boy had tricked the prince. It made sense that Arthur would not be the only victim of his cruel games. The knight must have fallen into his web of lies as well.

"Sir Leon, what you say is treason; the boy will be put to death. You will see his trickery once he is gone and his enchantments are lifted."

"Wait a minute, Uther." King Edmund said. Uther had almost forgotten about the other noble in the room. Edmund had insulted his kingdom enough; couldn't he just be content with leaving in the morning?

"My stay here has been anything but pleasant, and I will never allow your son near my daughter, but if you let me take this boy with me when I leave, I will forget this disastrous visit and our kingdoms will remain allies."

"What? What do you want with him?" Uther asked, confused by this sudden offer.

"I have recently found a way of subduing a sorcerer's powers, and need a subject to test it out on. He would not be allowed to return to Camelot, and you can trust his stay in my kingdom will not be an all-together pleasant one. What say you, Uther?"

Uther processed the other king's proposal. It seemed almost too perfect. Merlin would continue to suffer away from Camelot and he would have the support of King Edmund? If the boy's magic was suppressed, any spell he had cast would be broken, right? He looked over at his unconscious son, hoping this decision would free him from this sorcerer's hold.

"You may take him Edmund, as long as you make sure he never sets foot in Camelot again."

"Of course, Uther. I will finish packing and prepare to leave. I need to get him back to my castle as soon as possible. Only there can I control him. I will need some materials from your physician to keep him subdued on my journey."

"Take whatever you need, my friend. I will assist you in any means possible."

"Thank you, I will take my leave of you now. There is much to be prepared before I leave tomorrow. Take the sorcerer out to my carriage, I will send my own guard to watch him."

And with that, all the people in the throne room departed. Edmund to the physicians quarters, the knights to Arthur's chambers to return the sleeping prince to his rightful place, the guards pulling the sorcerer out towards the stables and his new future with King Edmund, and the king of Camelot towards his own bed, sure that he was going to get a good night's sleep for the first time in weeks.

When Arthur woke in his bed, he felt cold despite the copious blankets covering him. Something was incredibly wrong. He had been in the forest, hadn't he? With Merlin. They were running away when they had been surrounded and he had been shot. Wait, shot? If he had been shot, why wasn't he in any pain? The prince sat up quickly, looking at his clean room, still completely confused. As he pulled down the night shirt he was wearing (he definitely did not remember putting it on) over his right shoulder, where the arrow had embedded itself, there was no mark. But he remembered the arrow! It had hurt! There was no way he would have gotten out of that without a scar, unless…

But no, Merlin wouldn't be stupid enough to use magic in front of the knights, would he? And where was he? How had he ended up back in Camelot? Arthur decided he had way too many questions, and if someone didn't start answering them quick, he was going to start breaking things.

Just as Arthur was about to get out of bed and go storming around the castle demanding answers, the doors to his chambers were opened and a confused looking Timothy entered. Upon seeing the young boy, Arthur's hope of getting answers rose.

"Timothy!" he exclaimed, "Please tell me you know what's going on here. Where is Merlin? How did I get here?"

"I don't know, Sire." The young boy replied, crushing Arthur's hope. "When I woke, the king told me that you had been injured and I was to report to him the moment you woke up. He didn't say anything about Merlin. I snuck down to the prison, but there was no one there. No one seems to have seen him."

Arthur thought over what Timothy had just told him. Was it possible that Merlin had followed orders for once and ran after he had been injured? That seemed unlikely, but he didn't want to think of the other possibilities.

"Tell the king I am awake, Timothy. He might be able to answer my questions."

Timothy nodded and left the room. Arthur did not want to have to rely on the king for answers to his questions, but he could think of no one else who might know of the fate of his lover. So he waited, trying to keep his mind from thinking up every horrible thing that could have happened to Merlin while he had been unconscious.

It was not long before his doors were opened again, admitting his father and manservant.

"Arthur! It is so good to see you awake! How are you feeling?" Uther boomed, looking much happier than he had for quite a while.

"I'm fine, Sire" Arthur replied, still unwilling to call this man father, "but what happened to Merlin? Where is he?"

Uther no longer looked cheery as he had when he entered, as he replied, "It turns out your manservant was a sorcerer. He had you under an enchantment. I believe he wanted to turn you against me. But he is gone now, do not worry, my son."

Arthur was shocked. Uther knew Merlin had magic? Arthur was afraid to ask the next question, but he had to know, "What do you mean, gone?"

"After his treachery was uncovered, he was executed. His magic will not hurt you any longer Arthur. You are free."

No. No, this wasn't possible. Merlin couldn't be dead. There was no way. He couldn't live without Merlin.

"How could you?" Arthur murmured, his voice barely audible.

"He broke the law, Arthur. He got what he deserved. If anything, death was too good for him. Soon his enchantment will fade completely, and you will remember who you are. I will leave you to rest, this will all be over soon, son. He will be nothing but a bad dream.

Arthur didn't want to believe Merlin was dead, but if his father knew he had magic, he wouldn't have let him live. His head spun as he collapsed once more onto his bed, praying that his father was lying and that he would get to see his love again.

Uther left his son's chambers with a smile on his face. His son seemed to believe him. He would never learn of the true fate of the sorcerer. And soon, Camelot would have its golden prince back again.

King Edmund left Camelot feeling quite happy. Even though his daughter was no closer to finding a husband, he finally had what he needed to continue his work. The sorcerer bound in the carriage that held most of their luggage must be powerful if he was able to hide in a kingdom that hated magic so. And to completely control the prince! He had definitely got the better end of the deal he had made with Uther. Well, the other king would probably regret it when he broke the boy, and gained a powerful slave. Uther was so blinded by his hatred of magic that he could not see how useful it could be. It would take a lot to get the boy to fold to his will, but the king was a patient man, and his methods had not failed him yet. He would create the perfect kingdom for his daughter, no matter what he had to do to achieve it.

Merlin woke once after being knocked out in the forest, only to have some foul concoction forced down his throat. He only had a few brief moments to take in his surroundings before he drifted into unconsciousness once more. It was dark, but it looked like he was in some cart. He was tied up again, and there were at least two guards around him, wearing a crest he did not recognize.

He could not judge how long he remained in this cart, as each time he began to stir, his nose was pinched and another dose of the potion was poured down his throat, sending him back to troubled dreams.