A/N: So it's finally official! I'm an aunt! And so a huge Congratulations goes to my older sister on the birth of her beautiful daughter! She is absolutely gorgeous, and I couldn't be any prouder or happier! :D

Of course, when I finally got home from the hospital today (okay, technically yesterday, since it is well after midnight now) after seeing my niece for the first time, I decided to celebrate the best way I know how: By doing some writing so I could finally get this chapter done and posted. Enjoy!

Merlin found that tracking down the two Berradon men was a far more difficult task than he had anticipated. This was mostly due to the fact that every time he could hear footsteps approaching from any direction, he would have to duck into the nearest alcove or hurry around the next corner in order to avoid the possibility of being seen by somebody he would much rather avoid.

For the most part, however, the people he ended up hiding from turned out to be servants, who likely would not have given Merlin a second glance had they happened to pass him in the corridor.

It was starting to make Merlin feel frustrated. How was he going to get any answers about what might be going on in the castle if he had to keep hiding at every little noise? How exactly was he supposed to make this work?

In the end, it was really only due to Merlin's magic that he was able to figure out where the two men had gone. It seemed to hum louder in his ears whenever he was headed in the right direction, and would quickly become silent when he took a wrong turn.

Once, Merlin nearly ran straight into George, who seemed to be extraordinarily gifted in the art of moving around without making a sound, and it was only thanks to Merlin's awareness spell that he was able to dive behind a large statue a split second before George rounded the corner only feet away from where he stood.

Peering out from behind the statue to watch George's retreating back, Merlin briefly wondered why it was that Arthur didn't just take George out on all those hunting trips instead of him. The man was clearly better at being stealthy than he was. Merlin was actually surprised that he had managed to get this far along in the day without being caught. He had to hope that that luck wouldn't run out on him.

As soon as the corridor was empty once more, Merlin stepped out from behind his statue and headed in the direction that George had just come from. Even without the help of his magic, he was fairly certain that he knew where the Berradon men were headed now, for this side of the castle was where the guest chambers that were being occupied by the visitors were located.

With this in mind, Merlin decided to take some of the less traveled corridors and passageways to his destination. This allowed him to move at a much faster pace as, besides from a few servants who completely ignored him as they passed by, he was the only one in these hallways.

Within minutes, Merlin was in the hallway where the visitors' chambers were located. At first, he was worried that he may have already missed the men. That they had already disappeared behind one of the doors and he would then be left to try and figure out which one that was.

But the shortcut he had taken should have allowed him to arrive first, he knew. Even with all of those earlier delays of jumping behind statues and into shadowed alcoves. And so Merlin ducked behind a tapestry in the middle of the empty corridor to wait for a few minutes, hoping that he had not been wrong in assuming that this was where the Berradon men had been headed.

Fortunately, he did not have long to wait before he could hear footsteps echoing off the walls of the corridor. Merlin felt his heart pounding in his chest then as his magic began to hum again, sending a tingling sensation throughout his entire body. He didn't dare to look, but he was fairly certain that he was hearing two sets of footsteps. The Berradon men were here.

Merlin listened carefully as the men approached a door somewhere off to the right on the other side of the corridor. A moment passed then in which the corridor was completely silent. And then one of the men raised his knuckles to the wood and rapped loudly against the door three times.

There was a long pause in which the whole corridor seemed to be holding its breath. And then the creaking sound of a door being opened reached Merlin's ears.

The silence that followed seemed, at least to Merlin, to be filled with tension and unease. But the moment soon passed and a small, timid voice cut through the quiet of the corridor, so soft that Merlin had to strain his ears to hear what was being said.

"The Lord and Lady are not in at the moment," the voice said. Merlin thought he recognized that voice, but couldn't quite place it before there was a reply.

"Where are they then?" one of the men asked, suddenly not sounding nearly as friendly as he had the night before when Merlin had met the two of them in the courtyard.

"I don't know," the quiet voice spoke again, and this time Merlin remembered where he had heard it before.

"Go on. I'll clean this up," Merlin had said to the girl, who was currently on her knees, trying to soak up as much of the spilled wine as she could.

"Are you sure?" had been the quiet reply.

"Of course. Don't worry about it."

Then the young maidservant had given him a grateful smile and whispered her thanks before hurrying to follow her mistress, the Lady Amelia, from the room.

But not before Merlin had caught sight of the many bruises that decorated the young girl's arms.

Merlin was brought back out of his thoughts when the second man suddenly spoke up.

"We'll wait."

Merlin finally decided to peer out from behind the tapestry to watch the scene taking place on the other side of the corridor. He could not see Lady Amelia's maidservant standing in the doorway, but he did see the two large men push their way into the chambers and slam the door shut loudly.

And suddenly, Merlin was afraid. That sense was back again. That terrible sense of danger and foreboding. He saw Ella, again. Pale and unmoving on the floor. Dead.

What if those two men had had something to do with Ella's death? And now they were in that room alone with the Lady's maidservant. Anna.

Merlin's heart rate increased. They wouldn't hurt Lady Amelia's maidservant, would they? It didn't make any sense. But then why was his magic suddenly doing its very best to claw at the underside of his skin in warning?

Maybe she knew something that she shouldn't. Perhaps she had become a liability in whatever scheme was currently taking place in the castle.

What if Lord Walter, whom Merlin did not trust at all, had ordered the men to take care of the problem?

Or what if they're just going to do exactly what they said they were going to do? Wait for the Lord and Lady to return?

Merlin hesitated for a moment, unsure of what he should do. But then he thought of Ella again and, unable to just stand there doing nothing any longer, Merlin stepped out from behind the tapestry. And then, without really giving the situation a second thought, he walked right up to the door. And knocked.

When Gwen opened the door to the royal chambers, she very nearly ran right into Leon, who had been making his way for the exit.

"Excuse me, My Lady," the knight said immediately, giving the Queen a short bow. "My apologies."

"I believe it was I who nearly ran into you, Leon," Gwen replied quietly, giving the knight a small smile. "I should be the one apologizing."

Leon returned the smile with one of his own, but Gwen saw the worry etched into his features. "I must be on my way, now. My apologies, again, My Lady" he said, exiting the room then before Gwen had the chance to respond.

"Guinevere," Arthur said, coming out from behind his desk to greet his wife. "How is Ella's family today?"

"They are doing as well as can be expected," Gwen answered, the sadness clear in her voice. "It's not going to be easy for a while. But they are strong," she continued, wringing her hands absentmindedly as she turned to gaze out the window.

Arthur was at her side in a moment, enveloping her in his arms. "You're strong, too," he whispered.

Gwen smiled sadly and let out a sigh before pulling back from her husband's embrace to get a better look at his face.

"Arthur, what's wrong?" the Queen asked then. "I saw the worry in Leon's face."

Arthur sighed. "Nothing the knights won't be able to handle. And nothing that you need to be concerning yourself with right now."

Gwen just stared at Arthur. "Tell me."

"There have been more reports of bandit activity near Camelot," the King explained at last. "I received the news early this morning and immediately doubled the patrol before training. That should take care of it."

Gwen frowned. "What's worrying you, Arthur?"

"What do you mean?"

"You say that the knights are more than capable of taking care of this and yet you seem anxious about something. What is it?"

Arthur just shook his head. "I'm only worried about the damage and harm these bandits may yet cause."

It was another moment before Gwen found her voice again. "I was talking to Gwaine just a few moments ago. He said that Merlin left for Ealdor early this morning."

"He went to visit his mother." Arthur stated simply.

Gwen nodded. "Gwaine also said that he left alone?"

Arthur nodded and headed back to his desk, picking up a report that was lying there on its surface and giving it a cursory glance.

"Do you think he'll be alright on his own?" Gwen asked, her voice filled with concern for her friend. "It's clearly not a safe time to be travelling alone."

"He'll be fine," Arthur answered. "It's like Gaius said. He can take care of himself."

Gwen just nodded in response. "Yes, I'm sure he can."

Arthur sighed as he set the report back down on the desk then and folded his arms. "You really think so?"

Gwen raised her eyebrows. "Don't you?"

Arthur sighed again and shook his head. "All I know is that that idiot seems to attract trouble wherever he goes."

"It seems to me that Merlin is only ever following you around, Arthur. Are you sure it's not just you who attracts the trouble?" Gwen said, a small smile playing across her lips. "Perhaps some time away is the best thing for him."

Arthur returned Gwen's smile and shook his head. "You're probably right. I'm sure Merlin's next two weeks in Ealdor will be completely quiet and uneventful."

"I'm sure they will be," Gwen agreed.

And with that, Arthur returned to the chair behind his desk, his mind finally having been put somewhat at ease.

A/N: Please let me know what you think! I welcome any kind of feedback! Until next time! :)