A/N: Hello my wonderful people! Thankyou so much for the AMAZING response to last chapter, it really helped me get this one up soon-ish, and there was some constructive critisism, which was great :) I know its been a while, but in my defence, my beta's been really busy lately, and I was waiting for her to read it, but then I decided to just stick it up and hope for the best, so this is unbeat'd. Plz tell me if I should get her to read it and put the chappy up again, cos my spelling is shocking :) Thanks again, GJ XD
He thought wryly of the amount of trouble the servant seemed to attract, and of how ludicrous an idea it was that the bumbling, clumsy, forgetful, idiotic, lazy, good-for-nothing, back-chatting and generally useless but harmless servant could be an all-powerful bent-on-the-destruction-of-Camelot sorcerer. This took Arthur to wonder how he had ever considered that Gaius could be a sorcerer. The old man was, after all, just as honest as Merlin. But you need to know, a little voice was telling him, you have to know…
Merlin's reply came as a shock to Arthur when it finally came, bringing him coldly and sharply down to earth.
"The infirmary, Arthur. The whole time. He never left. Sorry Arthur, its not him." Merlin seemed to be only half concentrating, speaking in short sharp sentences, eyes glancing anxiously around the room, as though he didn't want to make eye contact with the King, as Arthur processed what he had just heard… it wasn't Giaus. That left one. Caught up in his thoughts, it took the King a minute or so to notice Merlin had stopped speaking. He blinked his eyes back into focus to find the Servant sat staring into space, wearing an expression that made Arthur draw breath. Never had he seen such a look ice on his servants face, cold calculation filling the younger mans eyes, and yet, a deep sadness, a hurt seeping through the impenetrable mask of hatred, the blackness putting out the lights that were usually dancing in Merlin's eyes cracking, and showing the emotion that lay buried beneath.
"Merlin?" Arthur's hesitant voice did not seem bring Merlin back, but before Arthur had reason to call his name again, the young Warlock spoke, eyes still focused on the middle distance, not meeting Arthur's eyes.
"What will you do?" he said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Arthur replied, more sharply than he had meant to. This sudden harshness in the Kings voice seemed to bring Merlin back to earth, he rounded on Arthur, all traces of hurt gone, fires blazing in his blue eyes as he turned on the King, and, voice shaking with barely controlled anger, spoke:
"What will you do? What will you do when you find him, Emrys, the Sorcerer, the Warlock, the enemy who fights so hard for you, the enemy you fight so hard against! What will you do to him, Arthur? Tell me!"
And suddenly Arthur was shouting back, "I will do what I have to do for the safety of my people, Merlin! I have to execu-"
"Don't you pretended you're going to kill him because you have to, My Lord! Don't pretend that you have no choice! If you- if you kill him, you do it because you choose to, not because someone else is making you do it! You kill the sorcerer of your own free will!" Merlin stormed over to the door, and Arthur could have sworn Merlin hadn't touched them when they bounced back against the walls. The servant was halfway out of the room, before something made Arthur shout after him:
"I'm no fool, Merlin!"
The servant froze for a second framed in the doorway, back tensed, not breathing, before pounding away down the corridor, leaving the King alone in his empty chamber.
Many miles away, in King Alined's castle…
Morgana ran her finger along the back of the throne the stony faced King was sat in, and began to croon into his ear once more:
"You know it could work… I could make you rich… half of Camelot's wealth would be yours, and with our friend here, how can we fail?"
The King sighed and looked at the man in front of him, a man who's eyes seemed strangely unfocused, and appeared not to be listening to their conversation. "And he'll do anything you say?" he said uncertainly.
"Of course…" she whispered.
"And no one knows about him?"
Morgana stood up and licked her lips nervously before speaking, "I may have got a little… carried away during my conversation with Emrys, with Merlin," she hissed, "He knows there is someone…" she spoke more hastily as she saw the stony look on Alined's face, "But he doesn't know who! Or where… and besides," she laughed nastily, "He's had far more important things on his mind… what with Arthur sticking his nose in where he's so clearly unwanted-"
"You mean Emrys knows there's a spy in Camelot! You've been giving the one person stood between you and the throne vital clues!" Alined butted in furiously, but Morgana quickly retorted:
"I was trying to scare him! He doesn't know who to trust, where to look, he thinks I sent the Messenger, that I have that sort of power, he's scared! Don't you see! "
Alined slouched moodily in his seat before replying, "Fine. Ten thousand men," He scowled at Morgana's victorious smile, and continued, "I can have them ready in a month." The witch curtsied to the King, and began to leave the room, smirking, before Alined called her back:
"And you're sure that this spell you've cast on our friend here," he gestured to the man in front of him, who's eyes were still glazed over, "Wont fail, that you will uphold your side of the bargain? Get the plans for the new siege tunnels?"
Morgana sighed deeply and turned back to face the King and the man, chanting as she went:
"Trowchgan y rhaiyr ydychyn ffyddlon, yn gwasanaethu yn lleeich meistrinewydd gydaddiwyrocryfderac angerdd, trowch oddi wrthynt, Gaius..." as she uttered the final words, her eyes flashed gold, and the man closed his eyes once, and opened them again to reveal his iyrisis echoing Morgana's in a deep gold. Morgana grinnned, "Giaus has been sneaking around for me for months. It was him that told me where to find Emrys, and its him that's going to get me the scrolls. He will not fail me."
A/N: dundunduuun... ish.