A/N: Well, my friends, it is Monday again. Therefore time for the next installment of this very...interesting...tale. At least, I hope you think its interesting. It's certainly interesting to write. Anyways, please enjoy this next chapter, and I hope you'll tell me how you liked it.

Thank you for all those who have favorited and/or are following this story. It's very encouraging to see that there's an interest.

Chapter 9- Which Involves Evil Planning and A Flustered Redhead

Morgana was not used to being summoned by her sister in the middle of the day, and she also knew that Morgause would not make such a risk if it were not important. So when Morgana saw the message from her sister left on her mirror, her heart leaped into her throat in anticipation. Either something had gone right, like Arthur's death, or something had gone very, very wrong.

Despite Gwen's desire to remain and finish chores, Morgana had rushed the girl out of her chambers (and now that she thought of it, she may have been a little harsh, but it hardly mattered). She could tell that the girl was flustered and anxious, most likely over Arthur, as Morgana had recently figured out that the serving girl had a certain soft spot for the prince, and he for her. Such information may become critical later, but now it was only trivial. And she needed Gwen out of the way so she could meet with Morgause without having to worry about whether the servant would suddenly appear in her chambers and discover a known enemy of Camelot speaking conversationally with Uther's ward.

Morgana wasted no time. After Gwen was well and truly gone, (she was beginning to wonder if the girl was growing suspicious of her) she slipped out of her chambers and peered down the hall outside her door. But, just like last night, the guards and knights of Camelot were busy searching the town, the forest, and the surrounding villages for any signs of the missing prince. Therefore, none were walking the halls near her quarters at least. She took one more glance around, then slipped down the hallway.

A shadowy figure appeared from behind a nearby doorway, and Morgana stepped forward to embrace her, recognizing the form immediately.

"Quickly, sister," Morgause whispered in her ear. "Before someone sees us."

Morgana nodded and the two sisters moved back down the hall and into Morgana's chamber. Morgana closed the door and turned back round to see the blonde woman standing in the main part of her room.

The blond lowered her hood, and Morgana gasped at a bruise that coloured the older woman's forehead.

"Sister," she said, stepping forward. "What happened?"

"I almost had the prince," Morgause lamented. "But sadly, that servant, Merlin, thwarted my plans."

"So what I feared is true," Morgana said. "Merlin will endanger our plans."

Her eyes were wide with fear and frustration, and Morgause laid a hand on her sister's shoulder in attempt to comfort her.

"He is merely a servant," she reminded the younger woman. "And though he may have saved his young prince, he cannot hope to reverse the spell and bring himself and Arthur back to their own time. They are lost in the future for good."

"If there is one thing I have learned from Arthur, though," Morgana said, despairingly. "Is that is always manages to come back, no matter what we throw at him."

"Do not despair, my sister," Morgause consoled the girl. "I will return and finish him off. Not even his servant can protect him for long. But you must do you part here. Uther will be a broken man when he realizes that his son will never be found. In Camelot's moment of weakness, you must strike, and take your place on the throne."

Morgana's grey-green eyes suddenly became cold and determined.

"I will do all it takes," she said, her voice gaining a new level of intensity. Morgause smiled warmly at her sister.

"You must speak with Cenred," Morgause told her. "If his army rallies against Camelot, Uther, as a broken man, will not think straight. He won't be able to command his troops and we will easily gain the upper hand. But you must wait until Uther has given up hope, dear sister. You must bide your time."

Morgana looked as though she wanted to do anything but wait, and Morgause also knew how much her half-sister despised the king of Essetir, but fortunately she consented with her sister's plans.

"I will go to him," she agreed. "And I will wait." Morgause embraced her, and stepped back.

"I will return to the future," she said. "And find Arthur. I promise you, sister, I will find that prince, and I will kill him."

"I have faith in you," Morgana told her sister. Morgause embraced her sister one last time before moving towards the door of Morgana's chambers. But the king's ward reached out and took her arm. Morgause looked back over her shoulder to see Morgana's eyes were worried.

"Please," she said. "Be careful."

"I will, my sister," Morgause promised, her brown eyes serious. Morgana could only watch as the blonde woman opened the door to the lady of Camelot's chambers, checked that none were watching, and slipped away. Once she was gone, Morgana clenched her fists, felt tears of frustration well up in her eyes.

She swore, if it was the last thing she did, she would see (or not see, since he was in the future) Arthur dead.

Crystal flicked the tap on in the kitchen back at her flat. She ran a washcloth under the cool flow for a minute before shutting the water off, wringing the towel out, and turning back around with it in her hands.

She crossed back to the living area where Merlin had pulled up a chair from her table up next to the couch so he could wait for his friend to come round. Crystal had offered to take him to the hospital to get him checked out, but the black-haired boy had insisted that he'd be fine and they should get back to the safety of Crystal's flat before this woman – Morgause – came to find them. Crystal was still confused about just who this "Morgause" was, and why the heck she was trying to kidnap Merlin's friend, but she had decided that would be added to the very long list of things she had to ask these two.

"Here," she said, handing him the damp cloth. He smiled gratefully at her and pressed it against the nasty graze he'd earned when the sorceress had thrown them backwards. Crystal had been lucky, and the worst she'd gotten was a slightly bruised elbow, and another addition to her list of questions.

"So," she said, pulling up the other chair from the table and sitting down next to him. She crossed her arms over her chest as he looked over at her, eyebrows raised, washcloth still pressed to his forehead.

"You want to tell me how you did that thing back there?" she asked, deciding not to beat around the bush. He gave her an innocently blank expression.

"What do you mean?" he said in a tone that matched his look. But she wasn't going to take that. She frowned.

"I saw you," she said. "Lamp posts don't just fall on their own like that. You did something to it."

His eyes widened and he shook his head adamantly.

"That wasn't me," he said. "That was luck. I didn't do that."

"Oh, come on," she pressed. "That woman who you said was a sorceress blew us back, like, six meters, and then you did something to that lamp post and made it fall over! How the heck did you do that?"

She was strangely less baffled than she should have been. After all, she had never believed that magic existed. She was pretty sure she had been done with the idea of "magic" since she'd stopped believing in Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny at the age of 6 or so. Anyways, almost everything could be explained through science. The idea of "magic" was well…it just wasn't an idea anymore. Not to her.

Merlin shot a glance at the blonde man's – Arthur's – still form before looking back up at her.

"It's just something I can do," he said quietly. But she wasn't going to let it go at that.

"And something she can do, too," she pressed. "But what is it? Is it….magic? I mean, I've never seen anything like that before. Are you, like, Harry Potter or something? Is magic real?"

He took a breath and looked again at Arthur. She could tell he really didn't seem to want to tell her about it, but she wasn't going to let him back out of it. After all, it looked as though he'd be staying in her flat with his friend, and if they were going to be chased by some crazy sorceress she would like to know about what kind of danger she was getting into, please and thank you.

"Yeah, it's magic," he finally admitted. "And yes, magic is real."

For a moment, she wasn't sure what to say, and he took the opportunity to speak first. He glanced around as if he was afraid someone was watching them. He leaned forward and lowered his voice even more.

"Is magic illegal here?" he asked her, his eyes urgent. Crystal frowned in confusion.

"Uh…" she tried to grapple with the right words to answer. She didn't think that it was. Honestly, no one ever told her so. But then again, no one actually used magic, or at least that she knew. Not openly, unless you count those creepy little psychic shops in the more strange parts of town. "I don't think so," she finally said. "But, no one really uses magic. Not that I've seen."

Now it was his turn to look confused.

"But your cars, and the lights that don't have flames and the TV," he tried to argue. "You're telling me those aren't magic?"

Crystal laughed.

"Of course not!" she told him. "It's…science. I don't exactly know how everything works, but I can tell you it's not magic."

"And…no one uses magic?"

Crystal shook her head.

"No. Most people don't even believe it's real."

His shoulders suddenly slumped and his blue eyes grew dark and sad. Crystal's forehead wrinkled in confusion, wondering why he seemed so disappointed. But, she supposed she could understand if he knew magic and found out that no one believed in it.

Suddenly, the blonde man stirred on the couch, and Merlin looked at him before glancing urgently back at Crystal.

"He can't know," Merlin told her, voice suddenly a harsh whisper. "About me having magic."

"Okay…" she started, but wasn't able to say anymore before Arthur's eyes flickered open and he glanced groggily around her flat.

Merlin leaned forward, peering down at his friend. As Arthur's blue eyes landed on the boy, a smile spread over Merlin's thin face.

"Arthur!" he said. The blonde's eyes widened in astonishment, and he sputtered out the black-haired boy's name.

"Merlin!" he gasped. "Where the hell have you been?"

Before Merlin had a chance to answer, Arthur propped himself up on his elbows and groaned, pressing a hand against his forehead. He glanced around his surroundings with confusion.

"Where the hell are we?" he demanded, swinging his legs over the side of the couch and sitting up, with a little help from Merlin.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Merlin questioned him. Crystal watched from the side, unsure of what the heck she should be thinking right now.

Arthur looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Last thing I remember was being forced into one of those…moving things…"

"Car," Merlin corrected. Arthur shot him a glare.

"…Car or whatever," Arthur continued, with a pointed annoyed look at his manservant. "And taken to some sort of a dungeon, where they kept me for the night. I tried to explain to them who I was, but no one seemed to care."

"And after that?" Merlin pressed. Arthur shrugged.

"I remember falling asleep. Then…nothing. Until waking up here. Where have you been, Merlin? I've been searching this whole strange city for you!"

"Were you worried about me?" Merlin asked, looking amused. Arthur scowled.

"Don't be ridiculous," the blonde man snapped back. "I just wanted to see if you knew how we got to this weird place, seeing that it was you who ran into my room right before that flash."

Merlin glanced backwards at Crystal, who had said nothing since Arthur's wakening. She still remained silent, completely lost in the craziness of all this. She watched, numbly, from her position on the other side of Merlin.

"It was Morgause," Merlin told Arthur, looking back at him. "She used some sort of spell to send us here. She kidnapped you, from the jail. Somehow she enchanted all the…guards…"

"Police," Crystal added quietly, her first word for a while.

"…Into not seeing you or not remembering you so she could escape with you. She must have had you enchanted, too. Crystal – " he nodded to the girl, who traded a brief glance with Arthur. " – and I managed to get you away from her."

Arthur's eyebrows rose on his forehead as he looked at Merlin with disbelief.

"You stopped Morgause?" he said, clearly not believing a word of it. "And how, Merlin, did you manage that?"

Merlin laughed and shot Crystal a grin.

"With a little luck, I guess."

"Just a little?" Arthur muttered, sarcastically.

"I think she used the bracelet to send us here," Merlin continued, ignoring the comment. "I think it was just meant for you, but when we both touched it, it sent us both here."

"And where is here, exactly?" Arthur asked, this time directing his question to Crystal. The red-head blinked, having not expected him to speak to her. She might have trouble believing that he was the prince he kept saying he was, but Crystal did have to admit there was something very….princely about him, something that made her feel like a peasant instead of the independent, hard-working girl she was.

"Uh…London, England," she answered doggedly. For some reason, she also added on, "Year 2012."

Merlin blinked, turned to look closely at her.

"What was that?" he asked, slowly. Crystal shifted uncomfortably. Once more, she wondered what type of weirdos she'd allowed into her home. She was beginning to think she'd be asking herself that question a lot for a while.

"The year two thousand and twelve," she repeated, slower this time. Merlin's eyes widened until they were about the size of dinner plates before he slowly turned back to the blonde on the couch.

"Morgause," he said carefully. "Sent us into the future."

Arthur looked at Merlin for a moment like he had two heads, and Crystal began to think she had an ally on her side. The blonde laughed.

"The future?" he said incredulously, looking, once more with raised eyebrows, at the raven-haired boy. "Morgause sent us into the future with a bracelet?"

Merlin looked annoyed.

"Well," he started, exasperated. "Think about it – she said it was the year 2012. And just look at the stuff around us – " he gestured to the room around him, and his sweeping hand even took in Crystal. " – None of this is like Camelot, and you know that not even magic can do some of this stuff."

"Like you'd know what magic can do, Merlin," Arthur scoffed. The black-haired boy opened his mouth to respond, but Crystal stepped in. She was tired of this debate, tired of feeling so very lost and confused, and annoyed with herself that she was beginning to think that these two weren't just demented escapees from the mental hospital.

"Hold everything," she started, before Merlin could shoot a retort back at Arthur. "Would someone, anyone, like to tell me what's going on here? I mean, who are you people? Why do you think you're Prince Arthur?"

"Well, because I am," Arthur said, obviously rather confused. "How is it that no one seems to know who I am here?"

"Because there is no Prince Arthur!" Crystal felt this conversation going in the same way the one she'd had with Merlin had gone yesterday. "King Arthur of Camelot is a legend! A myth! It happened, like, two thousand years ago! There can't be an Arthur Pendragon."

Instead of getting the desired reaction to that entire spiel, Arthur simply looked pointedly at Merlin and raised an eyebrow.

"You hear that, Merlin?" he said haughtily. "I am a legend."

Crystal buried her face in her hands.

"He really is Prince Arthur," Merlin told Crystal, in a gentle voice. "And we aren't from this place – London. We're from Camelot, and we were sent here, well, Arthur was sent here, I just came along by accident, by a sorceress named Morgause. She was the one that I told you about earlier."

"The one who we chased in my car," Crystal said flatly, rubbing her forehead with her fingers. Merlin nodded.

"She's after Arthur and wants to kill him. That's why she kidnapped him. She must have decided it wasn't good enough to just get rid of you, Arthur. She wanted to try and make sure you were dead."

"Very encouraging Merlin, thank you," Arthur said dryly. Merlin glared at him.

"So you're Arthur Pendragon, from Camelot, and you've been sent two thousand years into the future by a sorceress who's now hunting through London trying to kill you," Crystal repeated, trying to process all this. She couldn't believe she was actually….well, believing it. But she had to admit, she had seen this Morgause woman and had seen her do magic. She was just amazed that this was all happening to her.

"So, what are you, his servant or something?" she asked Merlin, remembering not to mention his magic.

"Yes, and the worst in the five kingdoms, too," Arthur answered. Merlin glowered at him, but Crystal didn't wait for him to snap back.

"And how do you think you'll get back, seeing that you have an evil sorceress hunting you down?" she continued her questioning.

Merlin looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I'm going to guess that only the bracelet has the power to get us back in time, since it's what brought us here in the first place," he said. Arthur nodded, but he didn't look happy about it.

"I don't like it," Arthur said. "But I think you may be right, Merlin."

"What was that you said, Arthur?" the black-haired boy asked, eyes twinkling. "I may be what?"

"Shut up, Merlin," Arthur grumbled.

"Can I see the bracelet, then?" Merlin said, returning to seriousness but a smile still playing on his lips. He held a hand out. The prince shifted awkwardly and cleared his throat.

"I…don't have it," he replied, not making eye contact with his servant (it was strange for Crystal to think of anyone being a servant).

Merlin's eyes widened in horror.

"What do you mean you 'don't have it'?" he asked slowly. Arthur was avoiding making eye contact with him.

"I…didn't think it was necessary," he said. "I threw it away when I first woke up."

Merlin groaned and rubbed his face in his hands.

"You've got to be kidding," he muttered. He looked up at the blonde prince and Crystal watched, once again silent, completely out of her league. "Where did you throw it away?"

"It was a…clearing or something, next to a road," Arthur answered. Finally Crystal found a place in this conversation.

"Sounds like the park," she said. "It's not actually too far from here. Maybe we can find it if you can tell where it was you lost it."

Arthur seemed to finally take her in properly, and she saw his forehead crease slightly in question. He looked to Merlin.

"Who is she?" he asked the black haired boy.

"Crystal," the girl answered instead. "Crystal Simmons. This is my home."

"She helped me," Merlin told Arthur. "And she helped get you away from Morgause."

"Then I thank you," Arthur said and stood, he fixed her with light blue eyes. "If we were back in Camelot, I'm sure there'd be a reward for you."

"Trust me, getting rid of you two will be reward enough," she muttered to herself. Merlin also stood, and Crystal glanced between the two of them. She was beginning to see what this was coming down to: she was going to have to help both of them. A prince and a secret sorcerer, both in her flat, needing her help. Who would have ever thought that it would have happened to her?

She sighed and finally turned back to the tiny table where she'd thrown her keys.

"Well, I'm guessing we're going back out in the car, then," she said, walking towards the door. She looked pointedly back at the two boys. "Come on," she said. "And Merlin, please don't get sick in my car. I really don't want to have to clean it out."

A/N: What's that you say? Why, yes, I did breifly mention Harry Potter in this chapter. However, though, I must confess that I am not a Harry Potter fan (just never got around to either reading the books or watching the movies) but I couldn't resist sticking it in there. However, if you are a HP fan, and you want to see something that will blow your mind, go to Youtube, type in Merlin "The Tears of Uther Pendragon" Deleted Scenes. Just watch. You'll find out what I'm talking about eventually.