A/N: I'm really glad you guys liked the last chapter so much! I actually wrote the Gwen/Arthur scene a long time ago and have been anxiously awaiting the moment I could use it. Yay!

By the way, I just discovered something new: POLLS! :) So I now have a poll up on my profile asking which of my one-shot ideas I should write next. Tell me what you think? Thanks so much!

Chapter 14

Arthur took a small step in front of Merlin.

"Who are you?" He demanded. The woman had long red hair that fell in waves down to her waist. She was small, looking almost delicate. Her brown eyes were set deep into her face, giving them a shadowed look. All in all, she did not look very intimidating. However, Arthur knew from experience that appearances could be deceiving. And she did seem rather annoyed.

"I'm Anye," she stated with a soft smile. "And that's my crystal that you have there."

Now Arthur really wished he had his sword with him. "You're the sorceress responsible for these earthquakes?" he asked as calmly as he could manage.

Her smile didn't twitch. "I am."

Arthur could barely contain his anger. But rushing in, unarmed, against a sorceress would be a really stupid thing to do. "People died because of you. Innocent people!"

"Yes, I do feel badly about that." She didn't look too perturbed, though a small crease did appear in her forehead. "An unfortunate but necessary sacrifice in dealing with you and your father."

Arthur lunged at her, just as Merlin cried out for him to stop. As predicted, that turned out to be a rather stupid idea. He collided with some invisible wall—a wall that was very solid. The air turned gold for a moment as he struck it.

"A nice little trick, isn't it?" Anye asked. She traced a finger down through the air, leaving a shimmer of gold in its wake before it vanished again. "Barriers are my specialty. And they come in so handy."

Arthur cast his eyes around the room for an idea. He needed time to think.

"Why are you here?" he asked, to stall for some time. "Your spell's broken. You've lost."

"Arthur," Merlin said quietly, in a warning voice.

Anye's smile dropped. "I have not lost," she said firmly. Suddenly an invisible hand shoved Arthur to his knees, where he stayed frozen. He couldn't move anything below his neck. His eyes widened in surprise. But this wasn't any sort of paralysis. He could still feel his legs, they just couldn't move. Every time he tried he glowed like the air had. "I told you they were handy," she reminded him. "If I form a barrier closely around someone, then they can't even twitch without activating the shields." Merlin dropped next to him, apparently victim to the same tactic. "I'll take that crystal now," she said as she took it from Arthur's hand. The air shimmered as she took it, but whatever barrier this was, it didn't stop her from reaching past it.

She brought the crystal close to her face, inspecting it thoroughly. It didn't take her long to reach her conclusion though, and she threw the crystal to the side in disgust. "Useless, now," she commented. "I don't know how you two managed it, but well done."

Arthur chose not to mention that neither of them had actually been the one to destroy it.

She sat on the throne tapping her fingers as she thought. "It would take too long to recast the spell," she mused aloud, staring at her two captives with pursed lips. "Or to do anything else on such a big scale. And besides, I don't have another crystal. I suppose I could just kill you now…"

"Why didn't you just kill me in the first place?" Arthur asked.

"And Uther. Don't forget Uther," she reminded him absentmindedly. "And I didn't because I wanted to watch you squirm."

Arthur's anger boiled. "You let innocent people because it would be more fun?"

Anye sighed in exasperation, as though she was explaining something to a small child. "No," was her answer. "I needed to make an example of Camelot. I told you, the casualties were unfortunate. But now Camelot will never forget my work. People will think twice before anyone tries to persecute magic again."

"Or they'll be even more resentful," Arthur pointed out.

The sorceress ignored his comment. "But if I just kill you now no one will know why…" she continued, as though her thoughts had not been interrupted.

"How did you get in here?" Merlin spoke up for the first time, seeming to have been pondering this for a while.

"I teleported, of course," she said matter-of-factly. Then she returned to her pondering. After a moment, she stood up. "Well, no use letting anyone barge in here to the rescue while I plan, is there?"

She walked to the door and spoke a few words in that incomprehensible language. Then she began to slowly walk along the wall. The air shimmered behind her as she circled the room.

"So…what's the plan?" Merlin asked softly while Anye was busy.

Arthur mentally summed up their predicament. They were unarmed, currently immobile, and seemingly completely at the mercy of an angry sorceress.

A sorceress who was not Emrys, Arthur added to himself, fighting a small smile. It was a small comfort, but it was a comfort nonetheless.

Small comforts aside, they were in an extremely precarious situation. And Anye was warding the room. Well, at least now his father couldn't barge in and get himself compromised as well. Uther was probably on his way there at that very moment, too. Arthur had been supposed to meet him here. But that also meant that no one would be able to help them. At least…no normal person.

I'm always watching you.

That's what Emrys had said, nearly three months ago.

I will die in your service if necessary.

Arthur and Merlin could not escape alone. They needed some help.

"Emrys will come," Arthur said with certainty. Merlin's eyes widened, and it took him a moment to respond. He glanced nervously at Anye.

"What makes you so sure?"

"I just know." How could Arthur possibly explain? How could he make Merlin understand his determination to never again doubt Emrys? His once and for all conclusion that Emrys was an ally? Emrys had sworn to protect him. Well, he needed the sorcerer's help now, and Arthur was sure it would come. Emrys would find a way to help them.

The look on Merlin's face was incredulous, but Arthur didn't care. Merlin didn't understand—he didn't know Emrys like he did. He hoped that one day his friend would be able to trust Emrys the way he now did.

.~.

How did he manage to get into these situations? Merlin suppressed a sigh of exasperation. First he had to find Emrys, and now he had to wait for Emrys. Arthur really was an idiot.

So where did that leave them? Merlin's gaze followed Anye as she paced, but his eyes flickered to Arthur now and again. The prince was also staring at Anye, with a look of grim determination on his face as he waited.

No! This wasn't how things were supposed to go! Arthur was supposed to go about his incredibly stupid, spur-of-the-moment plan that would undoubtedly fail without a subtle touch of magic. Then Merlin would provide said touch of magic, they would escape unharmed, and Arthur would brag about the brilliant success and complain about Merlin's uselessness. That is how these things were supposed to go. But no. The prat wasn't planning, he wasn't struggling to get free, he wasn't doing anything! Why did he pick now to become humble and admit that he needed help?

Merlin hesitated. He needed Arthur to be distracted with his own plans, but there was only one plausible reason Merlin could give.

"You don't know that," he argued quietly. Why was it that whenever Arthur finally accepted magic, it was always Merlin who had to convince him not to?

"Yes I do."

"No, you don't." Merlin took a deep breath. "He's a sorcerer, Arthur. Have you forgotten what that means?"

"You're the one who told me I shouldn't expect differently from him than I do my knights," Arthur pointed out. His voice was firm. Merlin had to admit that was a fair point.

"No, I asked you why you were expecting differently," he countered.

Arthur's jaw tightened. "I trust him," was all he said.

How much he would have given to hear those words a day ago. For the first time, Arthur seemed certain. Merlin switched tactics. "Look, even if you're right about him, you still don't know if he'll come. He probably doesn't even know you're in trouble."

"He's always watching me, that's what he said."

Merlin barely remembered to keep his agitated voice quiet. "That was probably an exaggeration!" he hissed.

"There." Their attention snapped back to the sorceress, who once more returned to the center of the room with them. "Now no one will disturb us, which gives me some time to plan what to do."

Merlin was thoroughly conflicted. He should be a lot happier with Arthur's new found trust in sorcery, but he was too distracted by the prince's horrible timing to receive much joy from the knowledge. They had to get out of here.

Well…Arthur trusted him now. He could just…

But Merlin couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew he was incapable of just volunteering the information. If it became absolutely necessary, he would do whatever it took to protect Arthur, but not until absolutely necessary, and they weren't to that stage of desperation yet.

What on earth was he supposed to do now?

.~.

When Gaius was summoned immediately to the throne room, his heart nearly stopped. Visions of Merlin's discovery swam through his mind. He'd told that boy not to do anything until they had a plan! Now he feared that his ward hadn't listened. He hoped desperately that he was wrong. As he approached the throne room, he got a surprise. Uther, along with some knights and guards, were outside the throne room, and Uther did not look happy in the least.

"Sire, you sent for me?" Gaius asked when he reached the king.

Uther wasted no time. "The doors are not locked, but they will not open. Same with all doors leading into the room." Gaius looked at a guard and indicated the door. Obediently, the guard pressed firmly on the wood. The door shimmered. Gaius' eyebrows raised and he fought down panic. Merlin, you wouldn't be so stupid as to magically ward the room, would you? he asked silently. If so, the boy had no way out. "Whatever sorcerer is doing this, he's got Arthur in there."

Surprise hit Gaius, followed by relief, though he tried not to let the latter be visible. If Arthur was inside, Merlin certainly wouldn't be doing any of this. However, that meant that someone else was. A guess told Gaius that it was the person responsible for these earthquakes. Whoever he was, he probably wasn't too happy about Merlin trying to destroy the source.

"What do you want me to do?" Gaius asked at last.

"Is there a way to break through these wards?"

Gaius stepped forward to study the door. A while later he stepped back again. "I'm afraid not Sire. I'm afraid only another sorcerer could break it. And only whoever made this could let anyone through it." Uther's worst fears were confirmed. "How long have they been in there?"

"I was supposed to meet Arthur in here twenty minutes ago. I'd imagine a little more time than that."

"Then I'd suggest we wait, Sire." Uther did not like waiting, and it showed on his face. "My lord, if this sorcerer has had Arthur for twenty minutes, he could have already killed him and escaped. He's waiting for something."

"For what?"

"I suppose he'll tell us when he's ready."

A/N: Don't forget to go vote in the poll pretty please! And I hope you like Anye. It took a while for me to figure her out. Hope those of you who were expecting Morgana or Morgause aren't too disappointed in me. :)