A/N - Thanks for all the reviews, both on this and on Fallen Angel. I've been trying to catch up on the writing, but its been difficult. It's taken me all week to write this, but it's done. Thanks for sticking with me! This is the last chapter of part I (I think), but part II comes straight after. Enjoy x

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Chapter 9: While Your Lips Are Still Red

"How is she?" Arthur asked when Gaius left Merlyn's room. Gaius had been checking her over since Arthur had arrived back in Camelot with her. The dragon had landed in the courtyard and she had yet to wake up since she had passed out. Gaius and Gwen had rushed out and were relieved to see the young girl in their King's arms. Arthur had carried her up to Gaius' chambers and had only left her side when Gaius practically had to remove him from the room so he could do a proper once over. He needed to know what sort of damage had been done to her while she was held captive.

Gwen had left to go and attend to Morgana who had started to show signs of waking up. She had been on the edge of consciousness ever since Merlyn had broken free of her chains. Many of the knights were transporting the artifacts that they had found in the cave while the Warriors were sent to the Dark Tower to see what they could recover from the rubble.

"She has bruising around her neck and wrists from the chains. She's a little dehydrated and lost a little weight, but other than that she seems to be in perfect health." Gaius informed him. "However, it is her mental state that concerns me more. We have no idea what they have done to her to push her past breaking point."

They were both silent for a moment. Gaius walked around the room trying to find some herbs to make a potion which would hopefully allow Merlyn to rest easier. Gaius hesitated before he asked a question that he wasn't sure he wanted the answer to. "What happened in the cave?"

Arthur knew that he should tell someone about his apparent invulnerability to magic but he wasn't sure what to make of it himself. The woman at the lake and the dragon had done something to him and the dragon flew off before he had the chance to ask him. "Nimueh cast a spell to knock everyone back, but I wasn't affected." He simply stated.

"That is interesting." Gaius thought curiously.

"It has something to do with Excalibur or something." Arthur said before he could change his mind about telling him. Gaius looked confused at him. "Before the cave, I went to the Lake and met a woman. She came out of the lake and she knew who I was. She gave me the pendant to break the link, but then she did something to me."

"What do you mean?"

"She told me to stand in the Lake and then water encased me. She did some sort of magic and then told me that I had the power of Excalibur. Then just before I entered the tower the Dragon breathed onto my sword, changing it, before saying that Excalibur was now in my hands." Arthur explained. "None of the magic affected me, including the blast from Merlyn."

"Perhaps she made sure it wouldn't hurt you?" Gaius suggested.

"It wasn't like that. She wasn't casting a spell. It was like built up rage that just overflowed. She had no control over it. If it wasn't for whatever the woman did to me then I would be dead as well."

"Can I see the sword? Perhaps there is something that will help us figure out what this is." Arthur nodded and handed Gaius the sword and sheath.

A knock on the door drew their attention. Gwen poked her head around and spotted the two of them. "Morgana's awake." She told them. Arthur was caught in two minds. On the one hand he wanted to see his sister, but on the other he didn't want to leave Merlyn. "I'll stay with her." Gwen assured him when she saw his internal debate.

"I won't be long." Arthur told them both. Gaius nodded before he turned and headed back into Merlyn's room.

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Arthur entered Morgana's chambers and spotted Leon sat in a chair beside her bed. The two men nodded to one another before Arthur ventured closer.

"Nice to see you've stopped being lazy Morg." Arthur teased, smiling at his sister.

"You know me, always trying to get out of doing things." She joked back, with a sleepy smile on her face. "How's Merlyn?" She asked. She was happy when Gwen told her that Arthur had brought her home, but she too knew that nothing would be the same.

"Physically she's fine, but we are going to have to wait until she wakes up before we know anything else." Arthur smiled sadly. "She'll be back to her old self in no time."

"Did you find anything in the cave?" She asked. Leon had been telling her about how they found Merlyn in the first place, and she was instantly curious.

"Morg, you need to rest. I'll let you at it as soon as you are fit to." Arthur assured her, knowing that she would want to go and look at the artifacts before she was ready to.

"You really are no fun anymore, brother." She yawned, proving his point.

"And you are just as stubborn." He lent down and kissed her forehead. "Rest. I will be back to check on you later."

She nodded and closed her eyes. Arthur placed a hand on Leon's shoulder as he passed.

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A couple days passed and there was still no sign that Merlyn would wake up any time soon. Arthur had been by her side during the day while Gaius had been out doing the rounds but he had to attend to his duties, much to his displeasure. When he looked at her lying in the bed, he felt guilty and incredibly relieved. He knew that it wasn't his fault that she was taken but she was his.. partner? His brain worked in overtime to actually come up with a word to describe their relationship.

A knock on the door brought him out of his trance. Leon let himself into the room, glancing at Merlyn before turning his attention to the King.

"The council are requesting your presence." Arthur sighed. He knew it wouldn't be long until news of Merlyn's return would make its way around and he also knew that the council would have many questions; many he didn't want to answer.

He nodded his head and stood before bending down to kiss Merlyn's forehead. "Please wake up soon." He whispered to her. He followed Leon out into the main room and turned to Gaius. "Send word if she wakes. I will try not to be long."

"I shall." Gaius assured him. Arthur glanced back at the back room before leaving to deal with the council members. He nodded to the two guards that he'd had stationed outside of the room, just in case.

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"We are all relieved that Merlyn has returned to us, but sire, she is just one soldier." A council member declared. "And a woman one at that!"

"I never leave a solider behind, and that includes Merlyn." Arthur reined in his anger. "Especially Merlyn." He murmured to himself, and only Leon heard him.

"Sire, with all our resources being used on locating Merlyn, we are behind on our tax collections." Another member declared. "And a few of the Lords have begun quarrelling over the land borders once again." Another chirped up. The men began to argue amongst themselves. Arthur ran his hand over his face and sighed. All of these things seemed trivial in retrospect to what had happened with Merlyn. The men just continued to argue amongst themselves, not having realized that Arthur was no longer listening to them.

A large blast silenced everyone in the room. The men looked terrified, while Arthur, Leon and the other knights were on their feet in an instant. Shouts were heard from guards and knights as they ran in the direction of the explosion. Arthur and Leon shared a look, which confirmed that the other was thinking the exact same thing before they dashed towards the tower.

"Merlyn!"

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Rushing up the stairs of the tower that held Gaius' chambers, Arthur took the step two at a time. Guards made room for them as they passed, with tens of guards following behind them.

Smoke came bellowing out of the open door, and the slumped body of one of the guards was half way down. A few knights stopped and attended to the man while Arthur entered the chambers. Leon was close behind him, staring wide eyed at the damage that was caused.

"What's happened?!" He asked, almost out of breath. Gaius was stood by the edge of the room, not daring to move as bodies of guards are scattered around the place. Scorch marks lined the walls as glass bottles and windows smashed.

In the doorway of the back room, stood Merlyn. Her eyes shone red, her chest heaving as she took deep breaths. Her eyes shifted wildly around the room to each person before they landed on Arthur. "Merlyn.." He began, with his hands up in a defensive manor, slowly approaching her. She took a staggered step backwards.

"Get away!" She yelled. Arthur stopped his approach, glancing at Gaius.

Lancelot arrived and stood beside Leon who was watching the situation carefully. They had never seen Merlyn react like this before, and this was the first time that they were seeing her with red eyes. They knew that when she was using magic they turned gold.

"Merlyn.. I need you to calm down. You are safe." He tried to step forward again but she screamed, magic emitting from her. Guards dodged around the corner of the door to avoid the wave, as Gaius ducked behind the table that was overturned. Arthur felt the wave, but it didn't do anything to him. He just closed his eyes until the wave passed before returning his gaze on the sorceress. "Merlyn.. No one is going to hurt you. Please, you need to calm down."

"You're lying. All everyone has done is hurt me! You promised! You promised to never hurt me and it was all lies!" She shouted. The guard entered the room again. By this time, the other warriors had made it to the tower.

Percy and Gwaine had been in the lower town when they heard the explosion. Looking up at the tower, Percy's heart skipped a beat. They had only just got Merlyn back and he wasn't about to let her go again. Percy looked in horror at the state of the room, and his cousin. "Merlyn.." He began to speak, but one look in her eyes told him not to.

"What's wrong with her?" Gwaine asked aloud, but it was the wrong thing to do. Merlyn's eyes flicked to his as her breath became more stable. A second later he was sent backwards, crashing into the wall. The guards drew their swords, ready to protect their king if needed. Arthur could only watch as she attacked the friend that had been with her during her time away from Camelot. She was gaining some sort of control over her powers to focus the magic on just him.

"Put them away!" Arthur ordered, but the guards hesitated. Turning his focus back on Merlyn, he took another step towards her until he was only a meter away from her. Her eyes focused on his once more.

Merlyn had stopped breathing hard and anyone would have guessed she was perfectly fine, apart from her eyes. Her features showed no sign of distress, and Arthur would admit that it scared him. Her red eyes glowed as she took in his features. "Merlyn.." He tried again, reaching his arm out, but that was his mistake.

She was quick; quicker than someone who was a captive for months was expected to be. She grabbed his arm, twisting it around his back, and turning him with a dagger to his throat. The guards' swords were drawn, readied for action. As soon as she grabbed his arm, he relaxed his muscles. Trying to resist would just hurt him more, and he knew she would not really hurt him. Or so he hoped.

"Tell your men to stand down." Her voice held a bitterness that he had never hear before, not even when she had tried to kill Agravaine, the man she hated most. This was another level of rage.

"Stand down." He told them.

"Sire.." Leon began to argue, keeping his eye on Merlyn.

"Now."

The men slowly lowered the swords. "On the floor." Merlyn ordered. Each of the men threw their swords onto the floor. Arthur's mind was working in overtime. How could he get out of this without hurting Merlyn? He needed a distraction.

A moment later, he watched as all of his men were thrown backwards, and a blunt pain struck his head. Dropping to the floor holding his head, he could only watch as Merlyn ran for the door, and away before blacking out.

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"I'm fine!" Arthur argued as Gaius was trying to check over the bump on his head.

"I shall be the judge of that sire." Gaius told him, continuing to prod at it, making Arthur wince.

"Why would she attack you and escape?" Morgana asked. She had gotten out of bed and to the chamber once she had heard what had happened. Everyone had protested, but she refused to do as she was told; as usual.

"She's not herself." Arthur simply explained.

"Why was she afraid of us? And them turned into a cold blooded killer?" Percy asked as they straightened up Gaius' room.

"Fight or flight." Gaius stated. "She saw an opportunity to get away and she took it. As soon as the guards drew their swords in order to protect the King, she knew a way of disarming everyone and giving herself enough time to escape."

"But why would she be afraid of us? Why would she want to escape? We are her friends." Lance responded.

"Something made her break and I fear that whatever Nimueh and the others did to her somehow involved us. She is reacting on instinct of what she has experienced in the past few months. She may think that this is just another trick." Gaius explained.

"But what about her red eyes? Is it some kind of spell that they cast on her?" Percy asked.

"Unfortunately, I don't think that it is that simple." Gaius sighed, giving Arthur the all clear but not to do too much until the lump had gone down. "Her magic is acting out of instinct rather than her focus. The only focus she had was when she threw Gwaine back."

"What can we do?" Morgana asked. "If she is out there then she could hurt someone. We need to find a way to help her."

"All you be ready to ride out. We're going to find her." He told the warriors. Each of them nodded before leaving the room.

"Arthur, is that wise?" Gaius asked. "If she feels you are following her, she could feel threatened and unleash her magic again. Next time it may be fatal like it was with Nimueh." He explained.

"Gaius, I can't leave her out there. We can track her down and then figure something else out." Arthur sighed. "While we are gone, can you try to find some way to help her?" He asked.

"I shall do some research, but I honestly don't know where to even begin." Gaius agreed.

Arthur nodded before standing, and looking towards his sister who was still stood there. He saw the look on her face and sighed. "There's really no point in me telling you not to come is there?"

"You know as well as I do that the easiest way to track her down is with my magic." She responded.

"Fine. But if I even think that you are worn out I am sending you home." She nodded in agreement before rushing off back to her chambers to change.

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