Morgana ran through the forest as fast as she possibly could. The only thing that kept her collapsing from sheer exhaustion that was the adrenaline coursing through her body. She looked up through the trees as she ran, seeing that it was getting dark. That's strange. It's only the afternoon, why is it getting dark? she thought. What she didn't know is that the only reason it was dark was because she was getting close to blacking out.

She continued running, heart pounding in her ears, her breath coming in a ragged panting. She looked behind her fearfully, hearing the knights quickly filling the gap between them and Morgana. She looked back and forth for a place to hide; she could not run much longer. She saw a small crevice underneath a large tree and ducked into it, keeping her head low. She sat for what felt like forever, trying to control her quick breathing, sitting as still as the tree above her. Once she heard the knights run past her, she carefully stepped out from the crevice, watching the knight's bright red cloaks flap in the distance as they ran in search of the escaped sorceress.

She took several deep breaths, trying to calm her heart rate, and changed direction to run in a different direction through the forest away from the knights. She smirked as she continued running.

Now she was guaranteed escape.


Merlin was running with Arthur and the knights, including Gwaine. Gwaine had run into the forest from the dungeons and grouped up with the other knights. The company sprinted into the forest, keeping their eyes on the dark figure in the distance. Suddenly the figure weaved through the trees, losing the knights' gazes momentarily, until they thought they saw the figure continue on into the distance. So they continued running.

Merlin, however, knew something was wrong. He also knew that nobody else knew that Morgana had disappeared. Merlin purposely fell down and gasped in pain. Arthur looked back as his servant tumbled to the ground.

"Merlin! Come on!" he shouted.

"I can't. I twisted my ankle. Just go without me!" he replied, grabbing his ankle. Arthur sighed in annoyance and continued to run in the direction he believed Morgana had gone. Merlin waited a few seconds before he knew Arthur wouldn't look back and got back onto his feet. He reached into his knapsack and pulled out a vial of blue powder and took the top off. "Miht dagan, beþecce me. Adeadaþ þisne gast min freondum ond min feondum." Merlin's eyes glowed gold as he cast the spell on the powder, causing it to burst into a white smoke. Merlin inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. Moments later, he was an old man. He retrieved a large red cloak from his knapsack and quickly changed into it.

He closed his eyes and tried to focus on Morgana. Even though Morgana was some distance away, he could detect her unusually powerful aura as if she were standing a few feet away from him; but he could sense that her aura was not as strong as usual. He opened his eyes to see the knights running in the distance, going in the complete opposite direction to where Morgana was. What would they do without me, he thought, shaking his head.

Not wasting any more time, Merlin began to cast a teleportation spell. Usually, a spell of this measure needed the sorcerer to tap energy from a secondary source, such as an enchanted amulet. But Merlin, whose power was in fact nearly limitless, did not need such an aid. He locked on to his target, Morgana and her energy, and recited the incantation. "Miht dagan, beþecce me. Adeadaþ þisne gast min freondum ond min feondum!" he shouted, disappearing in a pillar of smoke.


Morgana had only gone a few feet before a figure appeared in front of her, seemingly out of nowhere. She gathered the few reserves of energy she had and slowly raised her hand, shouting at the figure. Her eyes glowed a dull gold and the figure was thrown into the air, landing on the hard earth with a dull thud. Morgana stumbled sideways, leaning against a nearby tree, breathing heavily. The figure slowly got to his feet, groaning as he did so. They looked at Morgana in surprise.

"How...Your magic is back!" came an old man's voice. Morgana looked up in exhaustion, not even surprised to see Emrys staring at her in confusion. This was just like her vision.

"Who are you?" she demanded, throat dry.

"I am Emrys," the man replied. "And you are not going to escape."

"Who are you, really? I know this is not your true form."

Surprise flashed through the old man's eyes for a second, then he quickly composed himself. "This is my true form."

"Do not lie to me!" Morgana shouted angrily.

"Enough!" he yelled back. "You will be returning to the dungeons, Morgana. You will never again destroy innocent lives with your hatred!"

Morgana stood trembling as the images she saw in the crystal flooded back into her mind. She tried to push them away, but they would not leave her. She put her hands against her ears, violently shook her head and screamed a mind-piercing scream. Merlin quickly covered his ears, staring in shock, not knowing what was happening. He watched in silence as Morgana crumpled to the ground, arms sprawling out beside her. He carefully approached her limp body and crouched down to see a single tear travel down her cheek. He extended a thumb and gently wiped the tear away.

Merlin slid one arm under Morgana's legs, then another under her back. He slowly stood up, Morgana in his arms. He heard leaves and twigs crunching behind him and he turned to see the Knights of Camelot running out of the trees. They stopped as they saw an old man standing with Morgana, the escaped prisoner, in his arms. Realization dawned on their faces as they recognized the man.

"You!" Gwaine said angrily, charging forward with his sword.

"Wait!" Gwaine stopped immediately as he heard his king's command. Arthur moved slowly towards the old man, never taking his hand off of his sword, and said, "So, we meet again, sorcerer. Why are you here?"

"I am here to prevent Morgana from escaping, you clotpole! Can you not see that she is unconscious in my arms? Or are you so winded from running in circles through the forest that you can't even see what's right in front of you?!" the old man said grumpily.

Arthur was taken aback by the old man's strange response. He was about to reply when he was cut off.

"Oh, what a king you are! Always missing what's right in front of you. And never thanking the people that help you, like now! I capture your escaped prisoner for you as you and your knights go prancing through the forest like blind rabbits! Now, when you want to thank me, I will be at the dungeons, returning your prisoner!"

The man quickly recited an incantation and disappeared in a swirl of smoke, taking Morgana with him. Arthur and his men just stood there, dumbfounded.

After several seconds of stunned silence, Arthur finally regained his ability to speak.

"...What?"

A/N Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing and praising my story. I really appreciate it! Hope you enjoy this chapter!