Merlin

The cold strikes me like tiny daggers of ice. My body started a series of shivering spasms long ago. The tiny breaths I am still able to take billow out into visible steam.

Arthur

I burst into Gaius's quarters, suddenly feeling guilty as the elderly man visibly jumps in surprise from his spot grinding herbs.

"Sire?" He asks, eyebrow going up in question once he regains his composure. "How can I help you?"

"I'm going back."

"What? Arthur-"

"I am going back for Merlin and my knights. I've made up my mind. I only came to ask if you knew of a fast way to get there." I respond firmly.

Gaius pauses for a moment, evidently casting aside the idea of arguing further. He must want Merlin back more than anyone, after all. "You won't like it...But I may know a way..."

Merlin

My body is numb, brain foggy. Morgana said she wanted me alive, so I cannot fathom why she put me out here.

I claw inside of myself to try to grasp the magic that was once there. I am rewarded with nothing. That warm presence that lived in my chest, my very soul is gone. A tear trickles down my cheek, and I vaguely feel it freeze there.

The moon is out, my limbs scream in protest of the icy wind. I can no longer feel my toes, fingers, ears, or nose. I miss the painful burn that started half an hour after I was put out here and faded who knows how long ago.

Arthur

"No. No, there has to be another way!" I protest, shaking my head adamantly.

"Do you want Merlin back or not?" Gaius snaps uncharacteristically. "What about Gwaine and Percival? Before you set out the first time you said you would not leave them there."

"I know, but there has to be a better way to get there-"

"There isn't unless you want to arrive at Ismere too late!"

"Well, what if it's already too late, Gaius?" I shout while smacking a stack of old papers off his desk. "What reason would Morgana have to keep Merlin alive? With magic it just makes him a threat, so she would want him gone, wouldn't she?"

Merlin

My head begins to fall to my chest. I force it back up, groaning. I'm beyond exhausted, but I know that if I fall asleep in this condition and in this weather that I could never wake up again. During the winter Gaius and I always get a few patients who fell asleep in a blizzard. We've only been able to save a very few...

I blink rapidly to try to wake up, but I'm too weak to shake myself. A dry sob racks my body, quickly turning into a wild cough. It's not long now...Then maybe I'll see my father and Freya again...

Arthur

"He is not dead."

"How do you know?" I ask, hope suddenly flooding through me. "Did he send a message somehow-?"

"No, Arthur, there is no message from Merlin. There is nothing but my hope. So if you will, shut up and let me believe what I want!"

My shoulders slump, and rubbing my brow I say softly "How many men can this dragon carry?"

Merlin

I can't fight it anymore.

My body slumps and I am in a blissful sleep.

Morgana

Mordred and I stroll through the corridors of my fortress in silence. It's strange to have someone with me, after all this time of being alone. The last time I remember feeling content with someone's company like this is with Morgause...

The thought sends rage through me. Merlin killed her. Merlin with his magic. The thought it is still unbelievable. That little swine has been going behind my back all this time. Pushing me away when I confided in him about my magic. Killing my sister. Freeing my brother when I had him just where I wanted him; noose ready to break that sick neck of his - It makes me wonder what else he has done.

"What do you know about Merlin's magical abilities, Mordred?"

Mordred turns to me, seemingly a little surprised at being talked to. "What does it matter, now that he no longer has it?"

"It matters a great deal to me, Mordred." I press, halting my pace to look at him straight-on. "Do you know something I don't?"

"No, you've known him longer than I have, so how could I?"

"The Druids often foresee these sorts of things, don't they?"

Mordred laughs, eyebrows raised. "About Merlin? What is there to foresee? He's just a servant who practices magic. True he's got to be good from that teleportation spell, but there were others like that as well."

I nod, continuing my walk. Mordred falls into step beside me once again. "True. There's nothing remotely special about Merlin. Especially now that he is powerless at my mercy." Rounding the corner we come out into the courtyard with the hanging post.

The servant is chained from his collar to the wooden pillar, lying in a heap, evidently asleep. I turn quickly at the flicker of worry on Mordred's face.

"Oh, really," I laugh, rolling my eyes. "The scum will be fine."

Mordred turns to me, now with a look of confusion. "People die this way, Morgana. No one could last a whole day out in this weather. Particularly without the sufficient layers-"

"Fine, fine." I snap, walking to the edge of the wooden stage. Extending my hand to the man - who, indeed, looks half dead - I conjure a heat spell, sending it into his frigid body. Merlin does not wake, but shifts from his undignified heap into a small ball. Turning around, I raise an eyebrow to Mordred. "Happy? He's warm enough now; he won't die."

"You're the one who wants him alive." Mordred shrugs, now seemingly uninterested in the servant's well-being.

"Yes, I do." I smile, walking past Mordred. Turning back for a moment I add "for now."