Next chapter! :D
I'll upload the chapter after this one next Sunday, it's a very short chapter, but I decided to make it a chapter of its own instead of joining it on to this one; it seemed to end more naturally.

I'm going to try to do weekly updates from now on, so the wait between chapters shouldn't be too long any more!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Merlin. *glares at whoever does*


It had been a year. One, long year. But to Merlin, it seemed like decades. Still there had been no sign of Morgana, or even just Morgause. The search parties continued, Merlin and Arthur riding side by side at the front, always.

This particular search started the same as all the others. They spent all day riding through seemingly endless forests, looking for any clues or signs of Morgana or Morgause. The air was misty and chilled, and Merlin did not have much protection against the elements in his thin shirt and jacket. And his rear end was sore from riding all day. But that didn't matter; finding Morgana was all that mattered.

Merlin had tried as hard as he could to stay positive, and always kept Arthur's words in mind. He tried to move on, but never forget, and never give up hope of finding her. But where could she be? Where would Morgause have taken her? Would Morgana have run if – when – Morgause healed her, or would she have stayed? And what would Morgause have done to her if she had?

Merlin feared for her. Whatever Morgana had said about Morgause loving her, Merlin did not trust the sorceress. If Morgana was still with her, she would try and turn her against Camelot, against Arthur… against Merlin.

But what if they found her… and she didn't want to come back? Morgause would offer Morgana something that she couldn't have in Camelot; freedom to use her magic. Morgause would then try and use Morgana's powers to take over Camelot, and Albion would never happen. Merlin's destiny would die right along with the Morgana that he loved, the Morgana that cared about Arthur and about Camelot. The Morgana that had once come with Merlin all the way to Ealdor to save his village from bullies.

No. Why was he thinking like this? Morgana might have escaped, left Morgause, and been in hiding. She might have found another druid clan to protect her and teach her to control her magic, and use it for good, not for evil.

One thing was for sure; if – when, goddammit – they found her, he was going to tell her about his magic, regardless of the consequences.

Merlin came out of his thoughts as he shifted uncomfortably in his saddle, sore from the endless sitting on a horse.

"Is there something wrong with you?" Arthur said, smirking.

"I've been on a horse all day," Merlin said in reply.

"Aw, is your little bottom sore?" Arthur's smile grew bigger.

"Yes, it is." Merlin replied irritably. Sometimes it was very hard to believe that this was the man who would be the Once and Future King of Camelot. "It's not as fat as yours."

Arthur gave a snort. "You have a lot of nerve… for a wimp."

"I may be a wimp, but at least I'm not a dollop-head," Merlin countered.

"There's no such word."

"It's idiomatic."

"It's what?"

"It means you need to be more in touch with the people." At least bantering with Arthur took his mind off his sore bottom.

Arthur gave a disbelieving huff. "Describe 'dollop-head'."

"In two words?" Merlin asked, a small smile growing on his face.

"Yeah."

"Prince Arthur!" Merlin smirked. He had expected Arthur to retort with an insult of his own, but instead the prince held up his hand, signalling for the group to stop. Merlin stared at him, confused. What was he doing?

Then he saw the camp up ahead. Arthur quickly dismounted his horse, drawing his sword. Merlin wriggled off his own horse after him, stretching his legs as blood flowed back into them.

He quickly caught up with Arthur as the prince signalled for his men to go in different directions and surround the camp. Merlin's heart thudded in his chest.

Suddenly an arrow whistled through the air, breaking the silence. A knight slumped over, dead.

Then with a yell, the bandits came through the mist out of nowhere. Arthur immediately began battling three of the bandits, and the knights each took their own to fight.

Seeing a sword lent against a pile of wood, Merlin went over and grabbed it. It was surprisingly heavy. As soon as he'd picked it up though, a bandit came up and swung his own sword heavily at Merlin, causing the young man to drop the sword.

The bandit backed Merlin up against a tree. He swung his sword up high. Think, Merlin!

Catching sight of the pots and pans strewn around the camp, Merlin quickly whispered "Ecg geteoh þing to!"

As expected, the pots and pans, along with quite a few of the knight's helmets, flew through the air and attached themselves to the bandit's sword, which was still up in the air. Unbalanced by the sudden weight, the bandit fell over backwards.

With a small smile of satisfaction, Merlin darted away. Spotting Arthur, he began to dart towards him – the prat had no idea how often Merlin had to intervene to stop him being killed in fights – when a bandit wielding a heavy axe charged at in out of nowhere, weapon swinging wildly.

Merlin managed to dodge being sliced in half, but fell over backwards. Scrambling away from the bandit, the young warlock seized a tree branch, ready to defend himself, but the man swung the axe again, breaking it in half.

Managing to get to his feet, Merlin backed up and left a tree behind him. An idea formulating in his head, he dived to the left just as the crazed bandit swung the axe for a third time, causing the weapon to embed itself in the tree.

With a flash of golden eyes, the axe went in deeper and the tree slowly began to fall towards the bandit. Merlin quickly scrambled backwards to avoid being crushed, but the bandit wasn't so lucky.

The young warlock winced. Wasting no time, Merlin managed to locate Arthur again. He ran towards the prince, but tripped and ended up on the floor. Winded for a moment, the young man watched Arthur battle. His heart gave a jolt as he saw in what seemed like slow motion another bandit come up behind Arthur, ready to slice him through with his sword.

Heart pounding with fear, Merlin caught sight of the spear lying on the ground. Using his instinctive magic he used his eyes to throw the spear, which caught the bandit right in the middle of the chest, killing him.

Merlin let out the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. Arthur, having dispatched of his own opponent, turned around as he saw the bandit fall, the spear through his chest. He looked bewilderedly around, trying to work out who threw it.

Merlin rolled his eyes. Then Arthur caught sight of him, lying on the ground. It was the prince's turn to roll his eyes. "We're not playing hide and seek, Merlin."

Merlin gave him a look of disbelief. "Dollop-head." He muttered, scrambling to his feet.

The knights had finally eradicated all of the bandits, and stood in the quiet of the forest, waiting for directions from their prince.

The prat in question looked around at all the dead men on the floor, before suddenly looking up.

Merlin had been Arthur's manservant long enough to know what his expression meant; the prince had heard something.

Merlin followed his gaze, heart beating fast, and saw a dark shadow coming through the mist. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Arthur draw his sword. The young prince signalled for the knights to stay back as the figure got closer. Merlin saw it was limping. The outline became clearer; he could see long hair, what looked like a dress... it was a woman.

The mist was still obscuring her face. She continued to stumble towards them. Merlin could hear her breathing; shallow, frightened.

And then the mist cleared, and he saw her face. His heart stopped altogether. It was Morgana.


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