Hope you enjoyed the twentieth Chapter.

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Chapter 21- From The Frying Pan.

When Arthur was pissed, god could that man march. Alaya and Merlin had to jog to keep up with the Prince's long strides who was already halfway down the corridor. He was furious at his father. How could he let his people die without even trying to evacuate the lower town.

"Arthur!" called Alaya, her own hand on the hilt of her sword to stop it swinging around.

"I can't let my people die Alaya!"

She finally got close enough to grab his shoulder and turned him to face her. "And we won't." With a mischievous smile she began to drag him towards the lower town with Merlin jogging along behind them.

"Merlin it'll be too dangerous for you. You should stay here." stated Alaya, looking at him pointedly.

Merlin appeared not to understand. Arthur quickly agreed with Alaya, putting his hand on his friends shoulders, telling him to help Gaius instead. As they began to run down the corridor again Alaya winked at Merlin without Arthur seeing. It sunk in. Alaya was telling him to go another way and help from the shadows.

But just as his friends had run out of sight and he was about to head after them, Merlin was stopped in his tracks. Brena and Lucas appeared asking where the two royals had gone. Merlin internally begged for them to just leave so he could follow. All he could do was stutter. Brena closed her eyes and sighed.

"They have gone to lower town haven't then? Stubborn gits."

"That's typical of Alaya." laughed Lucas.

Both Brena and Lucas headed down the same corridor that Alaya and Arthur ran down, Brena breaking off at the end of the corridor after muttering something to Lucas. Slightly annoyed at their choice of direction Merlin spun on his heel and headed down to the lower town a different way.

As soon as he arrived it was utter devastation. There were dead bodies thrown around and crumpled against the still standing walls or buried beneath the debris of the burnt down homes. Merlin used his skills as a servant and snuck through the lower town looking for his friends all while keeping an eye out for anyone who needed help.

The further in he got the louder the screams became and before long he came across a group of scared and injured civilians sprinting as fast as they could to the castle not knowing the the King had blocked off access. Heading out of the shadows Merlin pulled one of the people and asked if they had seen the Prince. The terrified man told him that the Prince had told them to go to the castle. As Merlin was about to continue heading towards Arthur when another woman grabbed his arm.

"Where are you going? It's too dangerous." Her voice trembling as she tried to pull him towards the castle.

Merlin pulled his arm out of her grip and told her was going to look for anyone else. The woman was looking at him with half pride and half stupidity.

"Which direction is the Prince?" asked Merlin before the woman ran away.

She pointed a little down the way then rushed after the others who hadn't stuck around for a friendly chat. Without another thought Merlin headed in that direction hopping over the rubble, his eyes peeled for any sign of Arthur or Alaya.

He dove behind a pile of bricks to keep out of the Prince's and the Barghest line of sight. Arthur and Alaya, in contrast to the fight in the woods, were working together like a well oiled machine. They were attacking from different sides trying to stop the beast from singling one of them out somehow moving swiftly with their heavy weapons. But it was obvious that both of them were running out of steam. They were both bleeding lightly and breathing heavily.

When he found the chance Merlin popped his head up letting Alaya see that he was there. She gave him a quick nod, letting him know she saw him, before rolling and slashing at the beast. Merlin muttered a spell staring at Alaya's sword. It seemed to glow slightly but returned to normal. Alaya felt reinvigorated. She felt stronger and using that strength she swung down at the creatures nose. Her sword sliced through it's nose and it bawled in agony as blood splattered from the wound.

It began to thrash about making Arthur and Alaya back up cautiously. It was at that moment that, a now armoured, Brena and Lucas sprinted down wielding their own weapons. With a respectful nod to each other it was now four against one. As the beast was focused on one, the others would then attack from all sides. Merlin continued helping as much as he could without giving himself away.

The fight lasted most of the night and both sides were losing energy. As the night continued the creature grew more and more angry, its attacks growing more furious with each swipe. Somehow they were managing to keep it away from the rest of Camelot. Alaya rushed forward seizing an opportunity as it turned its back to her. In one swift movement it spun back around catching Alaya in it's large claw. It lifted her high in the air before slamming her back down, her head connecting with the stone floor knocking her out instantly. Even when they thought it wasn't paying attention it surprised them.

"Alaya!" screamed Brena.

Everyones face dropped and Lucas and Merlin, throwing caution into the wind, rushed in to drag her out of the way. Brena and Arthur tried to keep its attention, swinging furiously, as Lucas and Merlin pulled the unconscious Alaya to safety. The sun was now rising above the horizon, sprinkling the sky with golden light. The beast used its stunning roar freezing everyone to the spot before speedily fleeing Camelot.

Arthur and Brena rushed to Alaya's side. Brena gently touched her cheek calling her name softly, the tears building. She didn't respond. With a gulp Arthur scooped her up in his strong and tired arms and turned towards the castle as his own blood spilled from his wounds.