Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Merlin characters.

AN: (any and all mistakes are completely my own!) I feel like I am on a rol here. I don't think I have ever updated a story this fast, but I really don't mind. As long as the chapters are coming to me, I'll write them as quickly as I can so that you guys can read them. As always, I hope this story is liked and I hope I didn't write too many errors.

- For the Love of Camelot -

Chapter 11

Arthur's sword cut clean through the flesh of his oponent. Blood dripped over the cold metal and the enemy turned into nothing more than a body when he died, his eyes wide and filled with shock and pain. Arthur couldn't even bring himself to feel bad about it which in turn, made him feel bad about that. This was war, however, and if he didn't kill them, they would kill him. It was a fairly easy logic.

"Arthur!" Lancelot's voice yelled. He pointed his red-stained sword towards the exit of the hallway. There was no one to stop them anymore, no enemies that were trying to keep them inside this hall, but the floor lay scattered with lifeless bodies, both enemies as Knights and guards of Camelot.

"Let's go!" Arthur called out, his voice hoarse. Fatigue was getting the better of him, but he refused to give in. They were so close to the Council Chamber, to where the King was and they couldn't give up now. Arthur hurried forward, knowing that his men would follow him. He looked back at the massacre that had taken place in this hallway. At least a dozen men lay at his feet, their eyes wide and empty.

"We have to keep moving," Gwaine spoke, standing directly behind the Prince, "Arthur, come on."

Arthur nodded and then turned away from the horror. Running out of the hallway, they reached a balcony that gave them a view onto a large and empty chamber stretching out beneath them. Arthur bended forward over the balustrade to make sure that there was no one down there, but he only saw stones and another dozen dead men.

And then he heard it for the first time. Footsteps. Heavy footsteps echoing through the large chamber as someone was passing them, but Arthur didn't let himself be fooled to think that the sound was coming from beneath him. He quickly looked up to the other side of the chamber, to the balcony opposite of them. A hooded figure walked there, his cloak waving behind him, never revealing the edges of his body.

"Who is that?" Leon asked as he squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look at the stranger.

"It can't be," Arthur breathed. He pushed himself away from the balustrade and ran down the small patchway across the chamber, his hand never leaving the railing. It seemed he needed to steady himself as he was trying to catch his breath. Arthur looked across the chamber again, only seeing the hooded figure stroll by and the Prince knew he would never be able to reach the person in time.

He came to a halt and grabbed the edge of the balustrade firmly, leaning forward again. He called out. "Merlin!" The figure never stopped walking, however, it didn't even hesitate, but it turned his head for nothing more than a second and from underneath the hood, Arthur could clearly see the brightest set of blue eyes. They were eyes he recognized everywhere.

"Merlin!" he called out again. Joy filled the Prince, relief and happiness, but as he watched his young servant ignore him, he felt a strange sting in his chest. He couldn't understand why Merlin would ignore him, why he would walk straight past him, not uttering a word. He couldn't help but think that Merlin blamed him, that it was his fault that he had gotten tortured. Arthur quickly shook those thoughts away. He knew Merlin better than that.

"Did you see him?" Arthur asked, turning on his heels to face the men that were looking at him doubtfully, "tell me you saw him."

"Arthur," it was Lancelot who spoke, "that could have been anyone."

"It was him," Arthur refused to believe it had been anyone else but Merlin. He closed his eyes for a second and then turned to look at the balcony opposite of the chamber again, only this time it was empty. There was no one there and Arthur quickly searched the floor beneath him, needing to see Merlin again, wanting to know if it had been truly him.

"We have to get to your father, Sire," Leon said, a sadness in his voice, "he is still the King and we need to protect him."

Arthur lifted his hands towards his face and pressed his fingers against his tired eyes. For a second, he only saw darnkess, but he welcomed it. He needed a moment of silence, of peace after all the men he just killed, all the men that he watched as they had died. He inhaled sharply and then swallowed heavily, dropping his hands next to his body and opening his eyes. Leon was right. Uther was still King and he was needed now more than ever. Camelot was falling and Arthur couldn't let himself be sidetracked by anything else but his duties.

"Let's go," he sighed.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

Again, the echoing and Arthur couldn't help but spun around on his heels, his gaze immediately finding the origin of the sound. Now beneath them, the same hooded figure walked. It was Merlin, Arthur told himself, he had seen his eyes. It had to be Merlin! Arthur let his gaze slide towards Lancelot who stood next to him and then he turned to look at his left where Gwaine stood. "I have to know," he simply said. He pushed himself away from the railing and started running again, quickly reaching a small set of stairs that would lead him downstairs where the hooded man was.

Where Merlin was.

-o-o-

Some time before.

The Dragon's magic had worked instantly and Merlin still faintly remembered how it all felt when he had been transported the first time. He could see the dark clouds surrounding them again, but this time, they created more of a wind. Merlin needed to close his eyes in order to protect them and just as he felt like he could fall down, when he felt like his knees would give in any moment now, it all disappeared.

He no longer stood surrounded by tall and ancient trees, but he stood in an abandoned street. The houses were dark and there wasn't a soul around. It was wrong, Merlin could feel it in every cell of his body. This was wrong. There should be people here, children playing and teasing stray cats.

In the distance, cries erupted, screams filling the air. Merlin swallowed heavily, but he didn't move yet. The edges of his vision were still rather blurry and he granted his body a moment to recover from the strong magic. That was of course, if it was the Dragon's magic that was causing him to feel disorientated. He soon felt relief, however, when his senses were become more sharp again.

He started walking then. Every muscle in his body screamed at him to turn around, to walk away from the fire, but Merlin continued to walk, never a hesitant step, never doubt in his movements. He turned into another small street and on the ground lay a dark blue cloak that had clearly been lost while someone had been running. Merlin picked it up, noticing how there wasn't any blood on it. He quickly put it on, not wanting Morgause's men to see him or recognize him and he placed the hood of the cloak all the way over his head.

He walked slowly, never rushing, never running, not even when he saw some of Morgause's men nearby. Never did he panick or even start to breathe faster. He simply couldn't afford it as he needed to save all of his energy for what he would find inside the castle. He reached it rather smoothly, but then again, most of Morgause's men were inside the castle. This had been their goal after all: taking hold of the castle.

Now, Merlin's heart did race inside his chest. His hands started trembling when he heard someone approach and he did hide in small chambers and in niches where no one could see him. He ran through hallways and he hurried across corridors. That was how he reached the top of a chamber that lead him onto a balcony. With his hood still in place, he walked across it, knowing that no one could see his face. Morgause would never be able to recognize him.

"Merlin!" Arthur's voice called out.

Merlin's breath was caught inside his chest as he heard his name being called out. He didn't stop walking, however, not having the time or the courage to look at Arthur, certainly not in the way he looked now. Merlin was fully aware of how pale he looked, how dark, purply circles ran underneath his eyes and how little scars covered almost all of his skin. He did, however, turn his head instinctivly. He needed to see if Arthur was truly alright and what he saw filled him with delight. Not only did he see Arthur, but saw Lancelot, Gwaine and even Leon. They were all okay.

He looked straight ahead again, exhaling slowly. It seemed he had found new courage to do this, he still had a reason to fight. His friends were still alive and Merlin would do anything within his power to make sure that they remained alive.

"Merlin!" Arthur called out again, but this time, Merlin didn't turn to look at him. He simply turned away from the balcony and headed for the small and steep stairs that would lead him downstairs to the chamber. He soon found himself standing in the middle of four high, stone walls. There were no windows, no painting. There was absolutely nothing, except for heavy wooden doors that stood wide open.

Merlin could hear how Arthur and the rest of his men were coming down from the stairs as well now, but he ignored them. Lifting his hands, he pushed back the hood that had been covering his face up until now. He sighed deeply, but he knew what his next move was and that it wouldn't be easy to do.

"Morgause!" he called out and he waited patiently until the blonde witch showed up, standing before the opened doors, her gaze filled with curiosity and anger. It was clear that she had not been expecting this, but it was even more clear that she was shocked to find Merlin standing there.

"I am here," Merlin simply said, "to defend Camelot."

The edge of Morgause's mouth turned up, filling her face with a soft and mean grin. Her eyes stood brilliant, her blond hair laying loosely over her shoulders and in her left hand, she held a sword, one that was now aimed at Merlin even though they stood so far away from each other.

"Merlin," Morgause simply said, "what a surprise."

Merlin did not look away from her, he did not break their gaze. And there they stood, looking at each other as they were about to fight. It would be an unpredictable battle, Merlin knew, for he still didn't trust his magic. He still didn't know how strong he really was.

AN: Ooooh...exiting! I was actually imaginig while I wrote this ending, that Arthur and his gang stood behind Merlin (a safe distance away) and they were all going like: 'Fight! Fight! Fight!'. Of course, that won't happen. Trust me, I am not going to make this a comedy. This is suspenful, though, isn't it and yet, I leave this chapter in again...a cliffhanger. So sue me! Look on the bright side. I am not evil and I actually don't like cliffhangers myself when I read them. They do encourage me, however, to write the next chapter as soon as possible so that you guys don't have to wait for too long. Isn't that nice of me?

Thanks for having read this chapter!