I'd like to apologise for two things.

Firstly, I haven't updated in a month. One month exactly. I am so, so sorry! I promise my next chapter will be up sooner.

Secondly, I've just noticed that I've been spelling Stephen/Stephan two different ways. So from now on, I will spell it Stephen. I feel really embarressed about that...

Anyway, here you go - let's hope the next chapter will be up a lot sooner!

Merlin raced through the courtyard, trying not to think about what might be happening to Arthur, concentrating instead on the voice in his head - it was faint, but the young warlock found himself able to follow it fairly easily. If he headed in the right direction, as he did now, it grew stronger.

Gwen ran behind him; Merlin was still the swifter of them. "Which way?" She asked worriedly as Merlin paused, leaning against the castle wall for support.

Merlin glanced at her, then towards the drawbridge. Part of him wondered why Arthur had even agreed to come this far with Stephen. He couldn't help giving a slight grin as he realised Arthur would have been trying to shake the other prince off.

The grin slipped from his face as he rounded the corner. Arthur's voice, resounding in his head, was louder than ever, but Merlin no longer needed it. He hear Arthur's cries now, and after squinting could just make out two figures writhing in the darkness.

Fury suddenly flared within the young warlock. How dare Stephen! He skidded to a halt, raising his hand. Before he had even though about what he was doing, he shouted out a string of words. The magic within him rose, eager to assist, rearranging itself into a spell. Merlin's eyes flashed gold.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Arthur wasn't about to admit defeat.

He knew the odds were highly against him now. Stephen was strong, continuing to hold Arthur's slender form down easily despite Arthur's best efforts. The Camelot prince could only continue to struggle in the hope that it would delay what Stephen was planning.

It was Stephen's smirk that infuriated Arthur the most. How he'd love to punch him -

Arthur suddenly cried out, his body automatically going slack as pain jolted through him.

Stephen pressed his face against Arthur's chest. Arthur cried out again, his fingers tearing into the ground. "Stop it!" he shrieked, sounding more like a girl then than he ever had before. The scary thing was that he didn't care anymore; he just wanted it to stop!

There was a sudden blinding flash, and the pressure from Stephen's body vanished. Arthur collapsed, his breathing shallow and quick as he whimpered to himself.

"Arthur!"

Arthur heard the yell, but didn't register it.

A pale face obscured his vision as someone knelt beside him, blurred from the tears Arthur realised he'd been crying. "Arthur," Merlin repeated breathlessly.

Shame suddenly washed over Arthur, clear and strong. "Merlin," Arthur stammered, struggling to sit up. He winced, instinctively placing his hands over the lower regions of his stomach.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay," Merlin muttered, lightly resting his hand on Arthur's arm. Arthur flinched from the touch, and Merlin quickly let go.

"Oh no," another voice said quietly. Arthur blinked, trying to remember who it was.

"Gwen?" he finally whispered. His voice sounded too weak to be his.

"Yes, Gwen's here too," Merlin said soothingly. His gaze flickered to Gwen. "Gwen," he said quietly. "Please get Gaius."

Gwen nodded, biting her lower lip. She turned to go, then paused.

"Here." She shrugged out of the jacket she was wearing and passed it to Merlin. "This might help."

Merlin nodded gratefully. "Thanks."

"Merlin," Arthur growled softly, his voice full of hate. "What happened to that bastard?"

Even through his blurred vision, Arthur could tell that Merlin was hesitating. "I pulled him off you," Merlin finally explained, not sounding at all sure of himself. "I hit him with a stick and left him over there."

Arthur blinked, focusing in the direction Merlin had referred to. There was indeed a shapeless figure lying there, right at the base of the castle wall.

Arthur, automatically stiffening at the sight of his attacker, decided to let his manservant's lie go just this once.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Morgana rested one arm lazily on the table, the other propping her head up. She felt quite sleepy now; she supposed the mead may have had something to do with that.

She wondered where Gwen had gotten too. She pursed her lips slightly as she noticed that Gwen wasn't the only one no longer present. Merlin, Arthur, Stephen… none of them were here.

The door beside her was suddenly flung open. Morgana jumped, and her eyes widened in surprise as a nervous-looking Gwen entered.

"Gwen," Morgana started to say as her maidservant walked towards her. To her surprise, Gwen simply shot her an apologetic glance before approaching Uther on Morgana's right.

"Sire," Morgana heard Gwen say quietly. "May I please speak to you outside?" As Uther opened his mouth to reply scathingly, Gwen hastily added "It's Arthur."

Uther stared at her, his anger at being interrupted slowly fading away. "Arthur?" he repeated in a hushed tone. Morgana stared too, her sleepiness disappearing instantly.

"What's happened?" She demanded, standing up alongside Uther. "Gwen, what is it?"

Gwen gave her a pained look. "I can't tell you here," she replied, her voice still barely more than a whisper.

"Then let us go somewhere where you can," Uther commanded, his hand automatically reaching for where his sword usually hung as he strode out of the hall. He glanced down when he couldn't reach it, and his expression deepened into despair.

Once the three of them were in the corridor, Morgana carefully shutting the door behind them, Gwen glanced at them both with wide eyes.

"Sire," she murmured, her deep voice still low. "Arthur has been…" She paused, as though struggling to find the right words. "Taken advantage of by Prince Stephen," she finally concluded uneasily.

Uther's eyes widened. "What, you don't mean -?"

Gwen nodded miserably, staring at the ground. "Gaius is looking after him in Arthur's chambers," she explained. "Stephen had been locked in his room for the time being."

Morgana felt the blood drain out of her face. No. No, this wasn't real. She staggered backwards, clutching the door handle for support. Beside her, Uther had also gone deathly pale. "Is he alright?" he finally choked out.

"Gaius says he should be fine," Gwen quickly reassured them.

Uther gazed at her silently a while longer. Then he straightened up. "I must see him," he decided, once more attempting to reach for his sword. "In the meantime, inform the guards. Have King Phillip restrained, and place guards outside their room."

Gwen hesitated, then nodded. "Of course, sire." She waited until Uther had gone before turning to Morgana. "Milady?" She whispered, reaching out to support her mistress. "Morgana, are you okay?"

Morgana stared into space, her eyes slowly starting to fill with tears. "This is all my fault," she said quietly.

"No, Morgana," Gwen reassured her. "It's no one's fault but Stephen's."

Morgana turned her face towards her maid. "No!" She said sharply without thinking. "It really is my fault."

Gwen hesitated, then quickly threw her arms around Morgana and hugged her. "Morgana," she whispered. "Stop blaming yourself." She pulled away, uneasily aware of Uther's order. "Maybe you should go with Uther, see if Arthur's okay. I'm sure it'll all be fine, you'll see." She smiled weakly, then left.

Morgana stared after her. Only after she had been gone for a minutes did Morgana finally slide to the ground, and did the one thing she thought she wouldn't do once she was a man.

Hugging her knees close to her chest for comfort, she began to cry.