A/N: Another cliffhanger… Well, there are two cliffhangers. One more thing before I leave you to your reading… MERLIN IS ON SATURDAY! Finally!

Disclaimer: Merlin isn't mine! Though I do love his boots.

~(o)~

Merlin stared dumbfounded at Arthur for two reasons. One, the feeling of dread and evil was gone from his body completely and it felt good yet strange. The second, if he didn't make it out of Camelot he would die. He was having trouble handling both extremes all at once. And on top of that, Arthur was helping him!

Of course, Merlin remembered everything he had done that day. However, he didn't know why he had done it! He has snapped in the past, but that only led to a small rant that he preformed in front of Gaius. Never, ever would the warlock have imagined in his wildest dreams he would be about to kill the king, Arthur, Gwen, everyone. If anything, Merlin wished he knew the reason for his actions.

If only he could talk to Gwaine… That knight seemed to know what was happening.

Slowly, Merlin's eyes shifted to the cell he had heard him and Gwen run off to.

Not really knowing what to say at the moment, Merlin settled with simple things. "Arthur," he started, but the prince silenced him with a hand and an angry glare. Merlin hated that look. It was too much like Uther, and Arthur wasn't Uther. Arthur was a different person, and Merlin had tried with all his might to cling to that significant difference long enough to persuade Arthur about magic. Now, today's events might have ruined Merlin's entire destiny.

"I don't want to hear anything out of you, Merlin. You're going to ride away from Camelot and do not return," he warned harshly. "If you get caught trying to escape the city, I'm not going to cover for you. I am giving you a chance now, and if you mess up that's your problem. I don't even know why I'm doing this. You almost ki-" but he broke off in midsentence and ran a hand through his hair, his temper rising. "I mean do you have anything to say for yourself?" Arthur demanded incredulously when Merlin didn't say a word.

Many things flashed through his mind to say to Arthur, but he couldn't bring himself to say them. What could he say? Sorry, Arthur, it was just a momentary rage thing. It won't happen again! That sounded ridiculous, and he knew it! And how could he explain his actions if he didn't even know why he did them?

"No, sire," Merlin whispered, not able to look at his friend.

Merlin could feel Arthur giving him a confused look, and he knew why. One minute he's acting like some different person, and the next minute he's back to his usual Merlin self.

Arthur folded his arms, not meeting Merlin's eye. "Go, leave," he ordered. "Don't talk to anyone."

A small smile appeared on Merlin's lips. "Arthur, I-"

"Go!" the prince shouted before the warlock could finish his sentence.

Knowing it was pointless to argue with the angered prince, Merlin nodded his head and headed up the staircase. The guards were still lying on the floor, asleep. When he looked back, Arthur was looking up at him with… could that be sadness? Sucking in a deep breath, Merlin opened his mouth. "Goodbye, Arthur, I'll see you when you're king." He tried to smile, but it faded when the prince shook his head.

"No, Merlin. Not then," he said, looking at a random step. "Leon was right. You shouldn't be in Camelot. Magic has corrupted you." Arthur's words were barely audible, but Merlin could hear them loud and clear, and his heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. All hope was lost.

Thinking he was going to be sick if he stayed another minute, Merlin took off down the corridor while trying to fight back a tear that was determined to slide down his cheek. He could hear Arthur already. Don't be such a girl, Merlin! Now that he thought about it, Arthur called him that quite a lot.

Before he knew it, Merlin was standing at Gaius' door. Quickly, he walked into the room to find the physician reading a hefty manuscript at the table. The sound of the door opening made him look up from his reading and gasp.

"Merlin?" he asked warily.

The warlock answered with his signature grin. "I don't know what you and Gwaine did, but thank you. Honestly, I don't know what happened in the Great Hall," Merlin said, a bit flustered. Gaius stood up about to explain when the door came bursting open once again.

"Gwen!" Merlin was able to say before she forced him into a hug. "Gwen, I am so sorry!" he said, hugging her back.

She pulled away slightly, enough to look her friend in the eye. "Don't be. Gwaine explained it all to me." Then she lifted an eyebrow. "You really told Gwaine before me?"

Merlin looked from Gwen to Gaius. "What did happen?"

"We believe Morgana had enchanted you with a powerful spell," Gaius sighed. "I was able to make the antidote, and Gwaine administered the potion in time for you to escape." Merlin's eyes widened and he looked down at Gwen who was still in his arms, not daring to let go of him in fear of never seeing the warlock again. "Unfortunately, you exposed your magic to Uther, and now he'll be looking for you."

Gwen detached herself from her friend and rushed to his back room, coming out with a dark cloak. "Here," she said, handing him the cape. "There are guards in the courtyard and by all the exits. Good luck, Merlin."

Sighing, Merlin said his goodbyes to Gaius, promising to keep in touch.

"It certainly will be quieter around here," the physician joked, but Merlin could see the hurt in his eyes. The warlock pulled Gaius into a hug.

He was just about out the door when he stopped to smile at Gwen. "How did you know I'd be here?" he asked.

She shrugged. "The Merlin I know wouldn't leave without saying goodbye to Gaius."

Merlin smiled at her. "Take care of Arthur for me," he winked as she rolled her eyes playfully. Merlin pulled on the cloak, making sure his face was hidden. He made it ten steps before his name was called quietly from behind. He spun around to see Gwen standing a foot away from him.

"Gaius said you might need this," the maid said, handing Merlin his magic book, and a giant grin spread across his face.

He took it quickly, happy to have it by his side. "Thanks, Gwen. Can I ask you something?" She nodded nervously. "Why aren't you scared… of… you know… me?"

Gwen chewed on her bottom lip before answering. "In the Great Hall," Merlin shuttered, "I could tell something was different about you; your eyes were darker than normal and there was a certain edge to your voice. I could tell something was wrong. Merlin, even if that event had never happened and you told me about your magic, I wouldn't be afraid of you. I don't believe there to be an evil bone in your body." When she finished, Merlin was glowing with happiness making him almost forget Arthur's anger.

He nodded once, a bit embarrassed. "You're going to make a great queen." Gwen turned pink in the cheeks, and with another smile, Merlin took off down the hall and didn't turn back. It would be too painful to look back at his friend.

Merlin had made it down four halls, having to take many detours to avoid guards and patrolling knights. Finally, an unguarded exit was in sight. Merlin smiled as he rushed down the corridor. He was half way down the hall when…

"Stop!"

Merlin froze in mid step, his heart racing.

"Turn around."

He did as he was told; worried more than anything that it was someone like Uther or a servant friend. That could make things very awkward very quickly. However, it wasn't Uther, nor was it anyone he said hello to in passing. Standing before him was Geoffrey.

~(o)~

Arthur was angry. No, he was more than angry, he was enraged to the point of…

SMASH!

A vase that had been placed oh so carefully on his table had shattered to the floor. Arthur rubbed his knuckles, having scraped them on the vase when he hit the thing. In fact, Merlin had put that vase on his table. Good. That was even more of a reason to have smashed it to bits.

Too tired to keep standing, Arthur fell down on his bed. Was he really stooping so low that he was breaking the things that reminded him of Merlin? He took another look at the wrecked vase on the floor and the shards of glass spread all over his chamber. Yes, yes he was stooping that low.

Not wanting to think too much about the warning bell that had just gone off, alerting the entire castle of the "dangerous sorcerer" that was now free, Arthur kicked off his boots and shrugged off the jacket, discarding them to the floor. He sighed deeply, wanting more than anything to drown out that blasted bell! The guilt was gnawing away at him, and that bell wasn't helping him to forget. No, he wasn't feeling guilty about setting Merlin free and defying his father – that seemed to be becoming a regular occurrence for him – but the guilt came from the fact that his last possible words to Merlin were harsh and accusatory. He had told his best friend that something he was born with made him evil. It was like Merlin telling him that being born a prince made Arthur evil.

Gwen is going to kill me. Hell, Gwaine is going to kill me!

The room was cold without the fire lit, making Arthur shiver. The prince laid down on his bed, slipping under the covers and smashing the pillow against his head, blocking out the warning bell as much as possible. Arthur shut his eyes tight, falling straight into a restless sleep.

Arthur could tell he was dreaming… or at least, he hoped he was dreaming.

Camelot was crumbling to the ground.

He was standing in the middle of the courtyard-turned-battlefield dressed in armor with a bloody sword in hand. All around him were bodies lying limp, cold, and dead. The ground was stained crimson red from all the casualties that had happened. It was dark outside, though it was easy to see due to the fires that were consuming Camelot, and he could hear people screaming and gasping for air from inside.

His attention turned from the poor victims of the fire to the now oncoming army.

"Hold the battlements!" Arthur shouted as someone came rushing up to him.

"Arthur, please," Gwen begged, worrying the prince. "Camelot can't hold much longer. We need help." She paused for a breath and it seemed as if the world around them paused with her. "We need Merlin."

He looked around frantically, expecting to see his manservant running up to him like an idiot. But there was no tall, clumsy, raven-haired, warlock in sight. Only bodies. Piles and piles of bodies, and something in his stomach twisted when the thought of Merlin being one of those bodies crossed his mind.

The prince jerked awake at that moment. When he looked around, he saw that he was in his chambers, not a battlefield. There were no bloody bodies in sight, only a dark window, an empty table, and shattered glass.

Arthur huffed, getting up from his bed to look out the window as if looking for any trace that Merlin had made it out of Camelot safely. Maybe he called Kilgharrah to help him escape, though Arthur doubted that the Great Dragon would appreciate being used as a horse.

"Strange, isn't it? Knowing Merlin is a traitor?" a voice said from behind him. Arthur recognized it immediately, but he didn't feel intimidated or frightened or even angry. He wasn't sure what to feel anymore. His world was twisting and spiraling far beyond his control.

Sighing, he slumped down in the nearest chair.

"Hello, Morgana."

~(o)~

"Emrys," Geoffrey greeted curtly, "or should I say, Merlin." The warlock lowered his hood to see the man properly. "You surprised a great many people tonight, however," he cleared his throat, "I've been suspecting you for a while now, observing you."

Merlin snorted a laugh. "So much for being good at keeping this a secret," he mumbled.

Geoffrey chuckled, putting his hands together. "Why are you leaving so quickly?"

"Don't you want to know what I'm doing out of my cell?" Merlin asked with an amused grin. "Or how I escaped?"

The bookkeeper shrugged his shoulders. "I had overheard Sir Gwaine and the maid Gwen plotting quietly in the library. They were searching for a book on potions," he answered simply. "And in my experience, the only times that knights or maids need a book on potions is when they are plotting something illegal." He began pacing around Merlin, making the warlock a bit nervous. "I believe they did not ask Gaius to make the potion due to the fact that they did not want to get him involved. Now," he breathed, "this brings me back to my original question: Why are you leaving?"

Merlin didn't believe he had ever heard Geoffrey talk so much to anyone but the king, and he sounded exactly like Gaius when he rambled on.

"Um, I'm sort of on the run from Uther," Merlin answered, thinking it to be obvious, but Geoffrey shook his head.

"You cannot leave Camelot! You know the Prophesy." He fished in his pocket and pulled out a roll of parchment. "Now," he grunted uncomfortably and handed Merlin the paper, "under normal circumstances, I would never have searched for this," he said, gesturing towards the scroll now in Merlin's hands, "but these are not. Under normal circumstances, I would not be helping a sorcerer, but you're not a sorcerer. You're Emrys. And I would like our future king to live." He turned to walk away, leaving Merlin speechless and slightly confused- and developing a newfound respect for the bookkeeper – when Geoffrey turned back around. "Perhaps, you should look over the Prophesy one more time." He nodded once to himself, seeming to think he had said enough and continued on his walk out of sight.

Merlin stared dumbfounded at the corner that Geoffrey had turned at, his mouth hanging open ever so slightly. Forcing his mouth shut, he looked down at the page he was holding. On it, in fancy and small writing, had a – no, that couldn't be! – spell scribbled at the top of the paper.

"Deleo memoria of plebis," he read quietly, and let a gasp escape his lips as he realized exactly what the spell was capable of. The warning bell started to ring in his ears, and Merlin crumpled the paper up in his pocket, slipping into the shadows and out of sight.

A/N: Hmm, what does Morgana want, and what's that spell Geoffrey gave him…? Reviews are more than welcome! =)