So I'm only two days late with this, it could be worse. Anyway just a word of warning, my exams start next week so updates in June may be temperamental. But after that I've finished school forever (a scary thought) so you'll have me all to yourselves. ;)

Anywho...we've finally reached double figures! Huge thanks to all of your reading and reviewing. The general consensus seems to be that everyone loves Gwaine (who wouldn't), he will be making another appearance, don't fret. :D Enjoy.

The tunnel was dark and damp and Arthur found himself having to stoop as he moved forward. The sounds of the fight they had left behind them echoed up through the tunnel, bouncing around the pair making them feel disorientated. They were trying to move forward as swiftly as possible but the further they moved from the tavern the darker the tunnel became and Arthur was having to slow his pace to prevent himself from walking into anything. The dark seemed to be pressing in on all sides and, to Arthur, the end of the tunnel couldn't come sooner.

Merlin on the other hand had no problem with the dark. Having spent many nights alone in the tower he had learnt to make the blackness into his friend. His eyes, much sharper than the prince's, were able to pick out the vague outline of the rocks around them and the shape of Arthur in front of him. The reassuring presence of the blonde comforted him more than he'd thought it would. It was nice not to be alone for once, to know he had someone else he could rely on.

After a few more paces Arthur found the tunnel around him widening and he straightened up, his back aching after being bent over for so long. Still in the dark the pair continued forward in silence, both straining their eyes to see some sign that they were nearing the end.

Another step forward found Arthur with his foot in a puddle. He pulled back but the water had already leaked into his boot, soaking his foot. Merlin, not having noticed that Arthur had stopped, walked right into the back of him. He staggered backwards, grabbing onto the wall for support he found himself standing in another puddle.

"It's wet up here, watch your step." Arthur warned, ignoring Merlin's collision.

Arthur's voice echoed around them in the cavern and the blonde felt a shiver run up his spine as his eyes racked the dark, trying to make sure they were alone. Unable to make anything out Arthur let out the breath he hadn't noticed he was holding. Starting forward again Arthur tried to avoid the more frequent puddles but, being unable to see, he didn't seem to be making a good job of it.

Soon the pair found the puddles becoming one, filling the bottom of the tunnel. By this point their feet were soaked through and they were squelching through the water. Unfortunately Merlin, who wasn't the most coordinated at the best of times, was having trouble preventing himself from falling. The wet rock underfoot was slippery and that, combined with his wet shoes, did not make for the best grip.

That was the moment that a shout echoed up the tunnel, much louder than the previous noises from the tavern. Glancing round the pair spotted the silhouette of a figure stood at the entrance of the tunnel. As they watched it was joined by another and they figures started to move into the tunnel.

"Run." Arthur hissed, grabbing Merlin's arm and pulling him forward.

The pair ran forward, splashing through the water. The sound echoed around them. They had abandoned silence in preference to speed. Arthur was soaked up to his waist as the water splashed around them. He was finding it harder and harder to move forward. His waterlogged trousers and boots weighing him down.

Merlin was having a similar problem which, combined with his natural clumsiness, meant that he was finding it harder to remain on his feet. Suddenly he found himself slipping on a particularly unsteady patch and he threw his arms out, try to grab hold of something to prevent himself from falling. His finger found a protruding rock and he tried to grab hold of it, only to find it come loose under his grasp. The young warlock fell against the wall and felt something give. Scrambling to his feet he heard the groan of the rocks before something started to fall. Moving towards Arthur Merlin found his gaze locked on the spot where he had just been stood and the small patch of light in the distance.

Unfortunately the light seemed to be disappearing as rocks fell from the wall he had loosened onto the path which they had just travelled. Arthur, spotting the danger they were in, grabbed Merlin's arm and started pulling him further into the tunnel. The sound of falling rock echoed around them and Arthur had no idea whether they were any safer ahead but he kept moving, knowing they couldn't stay still.

As suddenly as the rock had started falling, the sound stopped. The pair paused as silence fell around them, eerie after the loud noise. The falling rock had blocked out any light that had been filtering in from the tavern, leaving them in pitch black.

"What did you do?" Arthur asked slowly, trying not to shout at the young warlock.

"What makes you think it was my fault?" Merlin replied indignantly, pulling his arm out of Arthur grasp.

"Well I didn't touch anything that would have caused that!" Arthur sighed exasperatedly.

"I didn't mean to." Merlin muttered quietly.

Arthur sighed, realising that arguing wasn't getting them anywhere.

"At least Leon's not going to be able to catch up with us. It looks like we're going to have to continue in the pitch black." Arthur said, calmer than he felt, "Just be careful, try not to touch anything."

Arthur heard Merlin mutter something behind him but just presumed the young warlock was insulting him under his breath. However the moment Merlin finished a blue globe appeared, hovering in the air between them. The gentle blue light filled the tunnel, illuminating the pair of them and the tunnel around them.

The prince turned to stare at his companion in shock. It seemed that Merlin was full of surprises.

"Well that's helpful." Arthur said slowly, feeling a little stunned, "Why didn't you do that earlier?"

Merlin shrugged.

"I don't know. I only just thought of it."

Arthur rolled his eyes but had to admit that the light was really helpful. No longer did he have to feel his way forward as he could see tunnel ahead of him. He set off again, slower this time as he knew there was no way the knights were going to get through that cave in.

Merlin was burning with questions. He really wanted to know who Leon was, and how Arthur had seemed so familiar with the knights. His mind flashed back to the bartender calling Arthur 'your highness' and he burned to ask the blonde what he had meant. However he could tell from Arthur's body language that the other man was in no mood to talk. He knew that Arthur was still annoyed about the cave in and he didn't really want to risk Arthur's reaction.

They continued walking in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Merlin was so absorbed in his pondering of Arthur's identity that he almost walked into the back of the blonde as he stopped abruptly. Peering around him Merlin's gaze fell upon what had stopped him. In front of him was a wall of rock. Denial flooded through the young warlock as he stared at it. Their way forward couldn't really be blocked.

However his light, which floated above their heads, lit up the area around them showing that their way forward was well and truly blocked. A sinking feeling had settled in the pit of Merlin's stomach as he remembered the cave in earlier; they were definitely stuck.

Arthur had moved forward and was now running his hands over the rock in front of them, looking for a way through. The frustrated noise he let out told Merlin that he hadn't found one. Unfortunately for the young warlock, Arthur then turned his annoyed gaze upon him.

"This is all your fault." He snapped.

"Why is everything always my fault?" Merlin retorted angrily, glaring back, "It was you who dragged us into this tunnel in the first place."

"I was the one that found us an escape route!" Arthur yelled, "You were the one that caused the cave in!"

"And why did we need an escape route?" Merlin hissed, "Because your highness ran away from daddy's men."

The silence that followed Merlin's words seemed to echo all around them. The young warlock instantly regretted his angry reply as a look of utter fury crossed Arthur's face. Merlin's eyes widened in fear and he took a step backwards away from Arthur as he could practically feel the anger pouring from him.

Arthur was working really hard not to explode at the boy in front of him. He knew nothing about Arthur's family, nothing about the real reason he was avoiding Leon, and yet he had tried to blame it all on him, to goad him into a reaction. He closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself down. He knew that his temper could be just as bad as his father's however he usually had such a tight control over it, however something about Merlin just seemed to get to him.

Opening his eyes, Arthur froze at the expression on Merlin's face. The look of utter fear in the younger man's expression shocked the blonde. He had been angry, yes, but he hadn't meant to scare the boy so much. There was something about the way Merlin looked at him, the fear in his eyes and shock across his face, that caused a sharp pain in his chest. He had seen fear directed at him before, but it had never made him feel this guilty.

Turning away Arthur ran a hand over his face, calming his raging emotions. Facing the wall that blocked their path Arthur took a deep breath before he spoke quietly.

"I'm sorry."

Merlin blinked in shock as he registered Arthur's words. That was the last thing he had been expecting the blonde to say. If anything he thought he was the one who should be apologising, not Arthur. Though there was no way he was going to point that out.

"As am I."

An uncomfortable silence followed Merlin's words as both men avoided each other's gaze, both looking at anything but the other.

"There must be some way out of here." Arthur spoke, breaking the silence, "Lancelot wouldn't send us down towards a dead end. If he'd wanted Leon to find me he could have just left us there in the tavern."

Merlin nodded slowly as Arthur mused to himself out loud, the young warlock's gaze flittering around, trying to find some clue as to how they were to escape.

"Maybe there's a leaver or something that we have to find which opens up the exit." Arthur wondered aloud.

The blonde continued on like this, running his hands across the rock whist he spoke to himself. Well Merlin presumed Arthur was talking to himself as the young warlock wasn't listening. He was using his magic to try and sense the way out. Unfortunately he wasn't having much luck, having never tried to use his magic this way before.

Glancing down Merlin shivered as the water continued seeping into his skin. He could feel the chill creeping up from the water, spreading through his body. Merlin was about to cast a spell to warm the water up when he froze. He was sure that the water had only been up to his knees when they had stopped, however now it nearly reached his hips. He had been so absorbed in the argument with Arthur and trying to find a way out that he hadn't noticed the water rising.

"Er...Arthur?" He began.

"Hush Merlin." Arthur replied, his attention focused on the wall still.

"Arthur I really think..."

"Wait a minute; I think I've nearly got it." Arthur cut him off.

"Arthur!"

"What?" Arthur snapped, turning to glare at Merlin.

"The water's rising." Merlin stated simply.

Arthur glanced down, suddenly noticing that Merlin was right. The water, which easily reached his hips, was slowly creeping higher and higher. He looked back at Merlin, noting the panic that had appeared on his face.

"Okay." He said slowly, "So now we urgently need to find a way out of here."

Merlin could feel the fear flooding through him as he realised that they could actually die here. Since leaving the tower everything had seemed like such a big adventure. Even when they had entered the tavern and had then had to hide from the knights he hadn't really been afraid. None of it had seemed real enough to actually hurt them. And he'd trusted that if they were in danger Arthur, or his magic, could protect them.

But this wasn't the same as someone attacking or chasing them. The fear of drowning seemed so much more real because there was nothing to fight against, nothing that they could see as their enemy. The water wasn't quite the same because there was no way they could stop it. He was using all his willpower to try and find a way to use his magic to slow the water down but nothing seemed to be working.

"Can't you use your magic to stop the water?" Arthur asked desperately.

"I'm trying, it's not working."

After a few more moments Merlin gave up on the water and focused his attention on trying to find a way out of the tunnel. Closing his eyes he focused all his will on a way out. Suddenly he felt something click inside of him and he practically shoved his magic out of him. His eyes snapped open and he felt the familiar heat behind his eyelids that told him his eyes were blazing gold.

As soon as it had started he felt his magic calm and his eyes fade back to their normal blue. He blinked a few times, staring around him he tried to see what his magic had done. However he saw no sign of an exit.

"What did you do?" Arthur asked, silently praying that Merlin was going to tell him he'd found a way out of there.

"I'm not entirely sure." Merlin replied slowly.

Arthur rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded a lot like 'idiot' to Merlin. However the warlock's attention was soon distracted as the blue light he had conjured moved in front of him, bobbing up and down in front of his face. The moment Merlin gave it his full attention it started to move slowly upwards. Merlin watched it for a moment before it suddenly dawned upon him and he realised what his magic had done.

"We have to climb up."

"What?" Arthur asked bemused.

"Look." Merlin stated, pointing at the rising light, "It's showing us the way out of here."

"Are you sure?" Arthur asked sceptically, unsure that Merlin knew what he was talking about.

"Positive."

Arthur still looked disbelieving.

"Look what have we got to lose." Merlin reasoned, "We can't stay here, we're going to drown if we do."

Arthur sighed, knowing that Merlin was right. The water was at his waist by this point and rising fast. Wading over to the wall Arthur reached up and grabbed hold of a protruding rock. Swiftly finding a foothold he managed to pull himself out of the water. His wet clothes weighed him down however he forced himself to keep going. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Merlin next to him doing the same.

The pair started to climb. Slowly at first however they soon got into the rhythm and were able to speed up. But no matter how fast they climbed the water seemed to rise even quicker. Although they had pulled themselves out of it to start with Merlin could definitely feel it lapping at his heels as he forced himself to push on. His muscles were screaming at him, never having had to work this hard before, and he really wanted to let go and allow the water to claim him.

"Come on Merlin."

Arthur's shout snapped Merlin's attention back to the climb and he glanced up to see that Arthur was ahead of him. The blonde was staring down at him, willing him to climb faster. Merlin grit his teeth, forcing himself to keep moving. He knew that if he stopped he'd never start climbing again.

Soon Merlin noticed that it was getting lighter. He quickly glanced upwards, spotting the sky above them. Relief flooded through him as he realised that they were nearly out. However by this point the water had reached his knees and Merlin found his footing slipping.

Arthur reached up and found the opening above him. Grabbing hold he pulled himself up and out of the tunnel, collapsing on the grass. He breathed a sigh of relief that he was finally out of the tunnel. He fully expected to see Merlin pulling himself after him however he didn't appear.

Crawling back towards the edge he had just pulled himself over Arthur peered down. He spotted Merlin's tousled hair almost at the top.

"Come on Merlin, you're nearly there." Arthur called, reaching down towards Merlin.

There was a horrible moment where Arthur feared that Merlin was going to give up and let the water take him. However the young warlock reached up, grasping Arthur's arm. The blonde gripped hold of Merlin's arm and started to pull him up. His muscles strained with the exertion but he eventually managed to pull the other boy over the edge.

The pair collapsed on the grass, breathing heavily. Merlin rolled onto his back, staring up at the sky above him. He felt the familiar twinge of his magic that meant that his light had faded and returned to him. Closing his eyes Merlin sighed happily before he spoke.

"I really hope we don't have to go back that way."

x-x-x

The gold faded from Morgause's eyes and, from the look on her face, Morgana could tell that their plan hadn't been successful. After being unable to track Arthur through her Sight Morgana had thought they had reached a dead end. However Morgause had one more trick up her sleeve.

She had managed to track the magical presence that had been blocking Arthur. They had followed it through the forest and it had led them here. It had taken Morgause a while to work out that the prince was beneath them. So she had sent out her magic and set a trap, trying to drown the prince and his companion.

However the frustrated frown that had appeared on Morgause's face was telling the raven haired women that something had gone wrong.

"He has help." Morgause hissed, "Magical help."

"Emrys?" Morgana asked eagerly, hoping the prince had located the lost sorcerer.

"Possibly." Morgause pondered, "If it is that would make our job a lot easier."

"I take it they are still alive." Morgana asked tentatively.

"Unfortunately." Morgause hissed, "Do not worry sister dear, we will make sure they get what they deserve."