Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Merlin characters.

AN: (Any and all mistakes are completely my own.)

Read & Review, please.

Nothing's Lost or Forgotten

Chapter 10

The walk back to Camelot was long and cold. Merlin refused to stop and rest and even as the night had settled in, the cold consuming every thought of the young sorcerer, he had continued to walk. He couldn't afford to lose any time and staying in the woods, daring to fall asleep was too dangerous.

Merlin had no magic. No magic at all. He could not even begin a little fire to warm his hands or to fend of wild animals. His legs were heavy and every step he took caused a heat to start in his sides. He continued walked, however, and he if he kept up this pace, he might reach Camelot when morning comes.

-o-o-

Arthur was carrying a torch as he made his ways through the dark halls of the castle. Everyone was still asleep and no soul could be detected anywhere. Arthur was probably the only one awake at this hour.

He turned into an empty corridor and saw the chamber that he needed. Caleb was sleeping in there, his father in the next room. Arthur knew he had to be quiet. Nathaniel was a light sleeper and the littlest noise would wake him.

He didn't knock on the wooden door and as he entered, he could see Caleb turn in his bed.

"Caleb?" Arthur's voice was low and nothing more than a whisper. "Caleb, wake up."

The young man shot up in his bed. He wildly looked around until his gaze fell upon the Prince. He sighed with relief as he swung his legs over the edge of his bed.

"What time is it?" Caleb asked, still sleepy.

"Everyone is still asleep," Arthur assured him, "I came because I have to talk to you."

Caleb frowned. "At this hour?" He suppressed a yawn as he lite a candle that stood next to his bed using the torch that Arthur still held in his hand.

The Prince walked towards the window and placed the torch in a holder. It was placed strategically so that the light of the fire could reach every corner of the chamber.

"It's about Merlin," Arthur explained.

Caleb's eyes immediately widened.

"He's not a sorcerer," Arthur continued talking, "he'll be hanged when he returns to Camelot."

Caleb remained silent, his gaze towards the floor. He exhaled sharply before looking the Prince in the eyes. "It was either him or me," he said, "what else could I do?"

"You could have told Uther the truth," Arthur said, throwing his arms into the air, "Merlin is our friend, is he not?"

"I barely know him-"

"He's my friend!"

"You barely know him," Caleb said. He stood up from his bed now, looking the Prince straight in the eyes. "What do you remember of him?"

Arthur breathed shallowly. What did he remember of his servant? He remembered little. It seemed he could only think of silly things, of details that had no matter. Why couldn't he remembered anything truly important about Merlin? Perhaps his father was right. Perhaps Merlin had been the one to erase his mind.

No! Arthur swallowed heavily. Merlin was his friend, he was certain of it.

"Why do you want to protect someone you barely know?" Caleb asked then. His eyes were wide, desperate to hear the answer he wanted.

"Merlin did nothing wrong," Arthur said.

"And I?"

Caleb folded his hands before him, but Arthur had seen their tremble. Something was wrong and he wanted to know what it was. Arthur took in a deep breath and tried to remember any other sign of trouble. What was Caleb hiding from him? Could it truly be...?

"You helped me," Arthur simply said, "you are my friend as well."

"So you would protect me should I be accused of sorcery?" Caleb looked Arthur straight in the eyes. His gaze was sharp, looking at Arthur for any signs that his next words would be a lie.

Arthur slowly nodded his head, determined of his words.

"Is that a promise?" Caleb asked.

Again, Arthur nodded his head.

Caleb parted his hands then and pointed one finger towards a candle. "Ergo prya riseh," he said, his voice soft and gently. The candle flickered alive and Caleb slowly let his gaze slide back towards the Prince whose lips were slightly parted.

"I have magic," Caleb said, sounded almost defeated, "I was born like this."

Arthur took in a deep breath. He tried to have his thoughts organized, but all that he could think of was that he was in the same room as a sorcerer. Caleb was a sorcerer!

"You promised, Arthur," Caleb said, his gaze sad, "you promised you would protect me."

Arthur swallowed heavily. He had indeed promised, but this was sorcery. Caleb had helped him, however, he had took care of him when he had not even known him. He could no be evil when all that he had done so far, was help him.

"And I will keep my promise," Arthur said, "if you help me."

Caleb frowned, patiently waiting on what Arthur would ask of him next.

"Merlin is innocent," the Prince said, "and he is our friend. We must help him."

Caleb could only agree. "What is your plan?"

"I must find him," Arthur said, "before my father does. The King is convinced he's a sorcerer and he want to see him hanged."

Caleb nodded. "I will help you," he smiled, "no matter what."

-o-o-

Arthur was walking through the castle, lost in thought as he tried to come up with a way to help his servant. Where was Merlin anyway? Where had he gone and why did no one know where he was? It was awfully suspicious, but Arthur was certain of it that Merlin had a perfectly reasonable explanation.

It was already early in the morning and the sun had just peaked over the horizon. As Arthur gazed ahead, he noticed the familiar shape of Merlin's body. He was crossing the hall and disappeared out of sight.

Arthur didn't hesitate and ran towards his servant.

"Merlin!" he called out, but quickly lowered his voice as he noticed to guards approaching his position. They looked slightly alarmed when seeing the Prince call out, but they quickly returned to their normal posture.

Arthur ignored them and quickly walked down the hallway to see the back of Merlin's head.

"Merlin," he said, his voice soft this time.

Merlin turned around, relief in his eyes when seeing the Prince.

Arthur wished he could feel the same. There was no relief inside of him, however, when seeing Merlin's pale face and scratched down his arms. His nails were dirty and his hair was messed up. It seemed he had been walking through the forest for hours.

Only then did Arthur's gaze slide towards the two cuts on Merlin's arms and the one shallow cut on his cheek.

"What happened to you?" the Prince asked.

"I was attacked," Merlin said, swallowing heavily, "I'll be fine."

"You will not be fine, Merlin," Arthur sighed, "you have to leave Camelot. My father thinks you are a sorcerer." Arthur turned to look behind him, wanting to make sure that there were no guards around.

"I don't have magic," Merlin simply said, not even appearing shocked by the accusation.

Arthur eyes Merlin with suspicion, but he could only sigh. "My father wants to see you hanged," he said, "you have to get out of here."

"My Lord?" Two guards appeared at the end of the hall, the same ones that had been looking at Arthur only seconds ago. They walked towards the Prince and his servant, they hands grasping the hilt of their swords. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is alright," Arthur said, standing in front if Merlin, "I do not need your assistance."

One guard stretched his neck to see who was standing behind the Prince and when he saw it was Merlin, he drew out his sword, the second guard immediately following his example.

"I have to ask you to step aside, my Lord," the guard said.

"I order you to walk away," Arthur said, knowing he was risking everything.

"The King ordered us to arrest your servant," the same guard explained, "he also ordered us to ignore your orders should it concern Merlin."

Arthur gritted his teeth together. "He is innocent," he told the guards, "I do not allow his arrest."

There was nothing he could do, however. The two guards stepped around him and grabbed Merlin's arms. The young servant boy could not do anything to stop them. He appeared simply too tired to even resist or put up a fight.

The guards guided him away from the Prince who stood still, defeated. He couldn't allow this to happen, he had to help him. The only question was how.

-o-o-

Merlin was about to close his eyes for just a second when he heard footsteps approaching his cell. He knew there was little chance it would be Arthur and he was right. Gaius appeared before the iron bars of his cell.

"Merlin," Gaius sighed, relieved to find his ward still alive, "what happened?"

"I should be asking you that question," Merlin sighed. He stood up, pushing himself up from the cold floor and walked towards the iron bars. He could see the worry and concern in Gaius' eyes. "I come home and I am being accused of sorcery."

Gaius sighed deeply. "Much happened while you were gone," he explained, "but what happened to you? You look terrible."

"I feel terrible," Merlin admitted. He felt tired and yet, he could not sleep. His arms hurt, but not using them didn't seem to help. "I met Nimueh," he said, "it was a trap, Gaius, she wasn't after Arthur."

"What did she do?" Gaius wanted to know. It seemed he already knew what happened, knowing what the amulet is meant to do, but he needed to hear Merlin tell him.

"She took blood," Merlin stepped away from the iron bars, letting himself slide down to the floor again, "she took my magic."

Gaius said nothing, his hands grasping the bars now.

"I have no magic, Gaius," Merlin sighed.

"That's the least of our concerns right now," Gaius told him, "Uther is about to hang you and you are actually innocent."

"That doesn't help me, does it?" Merlin snorted. He wanted to be afraid, he wanted to be angry with everything that was happening, but he was simply too...tired. He would do anything for some sleep. Whatever Nimueh did, it was not doing anything good to Merlin.

"Caleb will help you," Gaius said, a faint smile on his face, "he promised Arthur he will help you."

It was Merlin who remained silent now.

"There is hope, Merlin," Gaius assured him, "trust me, there is hope."

Merlin only closed his eyes. A darkness consumed him and sleep took him. For the first time in days, he slept well and he was already dreading the time when he would have to wake up.

AN: I couldn't do it, I couldn't make Caleb evil or simply not caring about Merlin. I wanted to invent a strong person who has magic as well. It seems that whenever someone is a sorcerer or witch, they end up evil or dead (with a few exceptions of course). I hope I succeeded in making Caleb likable.

The next chapter will arrive soon! Thanks for reading!