Carwyn lifted his head from Merlin's still form. He took in the state of his guardian. His face was bruised on both sides. Dried blood streaked in various places. Even unconscious he looked worn and defeated. Carwyn glared at the cuffs on his wrists and ankles. He held out a hand to them. "Tospringe." Nothing happened. "Aliese." Nothing.

Carwyn put a weary had to his forehead. What if he needed some unknown dark spell like the door? Carwyn scowled. Merlin couldn't remain like this any longer. He sat up on his knees, closed his eyes, and held out both his hands. "Unspanne pas mann." Still nothing. Carwyn thought back to all the spells Merlin had taught him. He remembered another time Merlin had been captured and chained. He'd used a spell then that hadn't worked, but maybe... "Abricap benda."

Carwyn heard several clinks. He opened his eyes to see the cuffs laying unlocked next to Merlin. Then he gasped and his eyes brimmed with tears once more. He reached down to one of Merlin's wrists. A deep red burn encircled it. Carwyn glanced at his other wrist and his ankles. They were the same. How had this happened?

Fury flared in Carwyn's chest. He uttered a spell to increase his strength, slid his arms under Merlin, and picked him up, holding him close to his chest. Broken crystal crunched under his feet as he moved into the hall. He paused as he exited and glanced down at Merlin once more. "You will never be taken from me again," he swore to the unconscious warlock.

He retreated back down the hall, hoping he didn't meet any opposition. He made it back to the large chamber and stared wide eyed when he entered. Stone littered the floor, several pieces large enough to cause death. His warriors! Reynfrey and Pello dug through rubble on the far side of the room. Moeris sat against a wall to his right, cradling his right arm. Where were the others?

Carwyn scanned the room. The corpse on the altar was lifeless. The largest stone of all had crushed it; limp appendages draped over the altar's edges. He breathed a sigh of relief. Morgana had been stopped. They wouldn't see her back from the dead to threaten Camelot once more. Carwyn's relief turned to shock when his eye caught a flash of copper at the right side of the altar. "Nyra," he breathed out. "No."

He lowered Merlin to the ground as gently and quickly as he could and rushed over to the altar. Blood dripped from a wound on Nyra's forehead, forming a puddle on the floor. Her left arm and right leg were pinned under stone. Her eyes were wide open in shock. Carwyn's eyes lit up gold and the stones rolled away. "Reynfrey!"

Carwyn heard the warrior approach over broken stone. "Sire?"

"Nyra," Carwyn said.

Reynfrey knelt down next to the Druid. He lay a hand on her arm

"Can you heal her?"

"I'll do what I can." He began to speak several spells, moving his hands over Nyra's body.

"My lord?"

Carwyn looked over as Pello addressed him. "Yes?"

Pello rubbed his hands together nervously.

"Well?" Carwyn asked impatiently.

"It's Alec."

The sorrow in Pello's eyes cut Carwyn to the quick. "Where is he?"

Pello pointed where he and Reynfrey had been digging. Carwyn strode over to the wall. His heart stopped. The noble warrior with the humorous wit lay on his side, eyes closed. His form had been crushed from the waist down. Carwyn knelt beside him, placing a shaking hand to his neck. No pulse. He had lost a warrior. His anger burst, and he threw back his head and screamed at the ceiling. A hand gripped his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Pello spoke, his voice cracking through tears.

Carwyn looked behind at the room. "Droyn? Phipp?"

"They chased after someone back the way we came."

Carwyn rose unsteadily, making his way to Reynfrey who now leaned over Merlin. Nyra's eyes were closed, but her forehead wasn't bleeding anymore. The blood had been replaced by a scar. He sank down next to her. "Is she..."

"Her bones are broken," Reynfrey commented, not turning from Merlin. "I've mended them as much as I could, but they'll need to be splinted."

Carwyn ran a hand over Nyra's forehead. If he'd lost her...His heart leaped to his throat. He couldn't ever lose her.

Reynfrey blew out a frustrated breath.

"What is it?" Pello asked.

"These wounds on Merlin's wrists and ankles. They won't respond to me. How were these made?"

Carwyn looked over his shoulder. "He was chained to manacles."

Reynfrey rested a hand on his chin. "Dark magic, perhaps. I don't know what to do for him."

"Is he alright except for them?"

"He's bruised quite a bit, though those are healing. Other parts of him were burned. They were superficial and I already healed them. I don't understand why he's unconscious."

"He used the last of his strength to send Morgana back," Carwyn explained.

"So Merlin saved Camelot," Pello said in awe. "Again."

"Yes." Despite all that Merlin had endured, he had done what they couldn't, and Camelot's Golden Age was spared. We owe you, Merlin. We owe you debts we can never repay.

Footsteps pounded to their left. Carwyn jumped to his feet, drawing his sword. Droyn and Phipp emerged from the exit corridor, breathing heavily. Carwyn sheathed his sword and ran to them, clasping each by a shoulder. "You're alright."

"We...followed that...sorcerer who...took Morgana's power," Droyn reported.

Carwyn dropped his hands. "Took her power?"

Phipp nodded. "He...ran in...during the battle. Then...after the magic went into him," Phipp looked up, "he collapsed the ceiling."

It must have been the sorcerer. "Did you kill him?" Carwyn asked vehemently.

Droyn's face fell. "We lost him."

"He entered a network of tunnels," Phipp explained. "We tried to follow but..." He broke off, clearly upset with himself.

Carwyn ground his jaw and bit back angry words. It wasn't their fault. They had done their best. But this sorcerer with Morgana's power...He glanced at the unconscious Merlin. Or maybe even some of Merlin's power. Camelot wouldn't be safe until the sorcerer was dead.

"Alec's dead," came Pello's quiet voice.

"What?" Droyn exclaimed.

Pello pointed. Phipp moved over to the body, but Droyn noticed Moeris against the wall and sprinted to him, giving him a hand and helping him stand.

Carwyn's eyes burned angrily. No one would ever come here again. "We need to get out of this wretched place," he declared, lifting Nyra into his arms. "Bring Alec. Reynfrey..."

"I've got Merlin."

"Let's go."

The climb up to the surface was slow going with Moeris leaning against Phipp, Droyn managing Alec's body, Reynfrey hefting Merlin, and Carwyn carrying Nyra. Pello went ahead, light streaming from both his hands. The most difficult part to navigate was the slim entrance. They had to move single file and use magic to levitate those who were unconscious or, in Alec's case, asleep for all time.

When they squeezed through the entrance into glorious light, Carwyn directed them to lay down their burdens. He stared at Merlin, whose haggard face bore the marks of the evil he'd been through. At Nyra, such a spitfire, asleep under Reynfrey's healing spell, a permanent scar marking her bravery. And at Alec, crushed to death. He turned around to confront the entrance. The sorcerer hid somewhere inside.

Carwyn looked back at those standing. "We must destroy this place. We bring it down. Every bit of it. Together." He knelt to the ground, pressing his palms into the dirt. His warriors followed his lead. "Eordbeofung abreode," he chanted, meeting each eye.

He took a deep breath and shouted the spell loudly along with his warriors. A deep rumbling shook the earth beneath their feet. The rock around the entrance gave way, tumbling in on itself, sealing the darkness below, and Carwyn hoped destroying the sorcerer in the process.

"My lord, your arms and your cheek must be tended," Reynfrey advised as he stood.

Carwyn glanced at him. In all his concern, he'd forgotten himself. At the reminder, the sting of the shards of crystal embedded in his arms rose to his awareness. He flinched and laid a hand to his cheek, also recalling the burn from the torch. He looked at Nyra and Moeris. "See to them first."

"My lord..."

"They are in more need than I."

"Yes, sire. At least remove what you can while I tend to the others."

Carwyn nodded. Reynfrey began to direct Phipp, Pello, and Droyn regarding the splints he would need. Carwyn moved over to Merlin, sitting next to him to stay out of the way while Reynfrey worked. He rolled up his sleeves and grit his teeth, using his fingernails to pull on a shard. He hissed. They hurt worse when messed with.

Little by little a small pile of broken crystal grew beside Carwyn. He stopped when he removed a larger piece, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. Such evil. He looked down at Merlin, sudden worry for his guardian overwhelming him. He knelt beside Merlin, untying the brigandine the warlock hated to wear. He worked his arms out of it and cast it aside. He removed the arming coat as well. The shirt underneath was stiff with sweat.

"Merlin," Carwyn whispered. He lay a hand on his head. The physical injuries could be cured, but from what he had seen the worst wounds had been gouged in Merlin's mind. A memory came back to him, one that had mostly faded over time.

Eleven years ago, Merlin had rescued him from the same sorcerer. The warlock had entered into his mind to find him. He had been lucky not to remember much of the event, but one feeling had never left him—Merlin's arms crushing him into his chest as he brought him back. He had felt all the love, loyalty, and sacrifice of his guardian in that moment.

"I'll be here, Merlin," Carwyn vowed. "However long it takes, we'll heal everything done to you together."

When Reynfrey finished tending injuries, Pello revealed two stretchers he'd assembled from tree branches that could be hitched to horses. Carwyn shook his head in amazement. Pello was certainly an able warrior, but most of the time he appeared naive; then he'd do things like this, and challenge everything people thought about him.

They reverently lay Alec's body in one stretcher, swathed in his travel blanket. Nyra was laid in the other, still asleep from Reynfrey's spell. They lay Merlin over his horse secured with rope so he wouldn't fall. Moeris said he could ride one handed.

They rode until evening, speaking little. Events had left them exhausted and shell shocked. They had accomplished what they meant to and all rejoiced their warlock had been recovered, but they'd lost one of their own to do it. When they stopped at night to camp, Carwyn looked into the blazing fire and spoke firmly. "This was a victory," he declared. His warriors stopped eating to listen to him. "We fought dark magic and we won. Don't ever forget that."

The night deepened. Carwyn took the first watch as always, perched between Merlin and Nyra, both still asleep. Reynfrey had said Nyra should wake soon. He had no idea about Merlin. They had to simply wait and see.

A soft groan drew Carwyn's attention around midnight. Nyra stirred and moved her left arm.

"Nyra?" Carwyn asked.

"Unh...What?" she whispered hoarsely.

"Don't move your left arm or right leg. They're splinted."

"What?" Her eyelids rose. She bent her neck to look down, then moaned and lay back.

"Are you in pain? I can wake Reynfrey."

"It's...alright...Where are we?"

"Traveling back to Camelot."

Nyra's eyes widened. "Emrys!" She tried to sit up, but Carwyn pressed her back down.

"He's here. He's alive."

She relaxed in relief. "The sorcerer?"

"I assume dead," Carwyn spoke bitterly.

"Assume?" Her brow creased.

"We collapsed the entire cavern. If he survived then he's even stronger than we know."

"He took Morgana's magic!"

"I know. But that couldn't save him."

Nyra peered at him skeptically for a moment, then sighed. "At least we have Emrys."

"Yes." Carwyn's face fell.

"What is wrong?"

Carwyn firmed his jaw, then looked her straight in the eye. "We lost Alec."

"Alec is dead?"

Carwyn nodded.

Nyra's eyes filled with tears and she quickly raised her right hand to wipe at them. "I'm sorry, my lord." She looked away.

"It's not wrong to cry for him," Carwyn said, his throat tightening.

"I know." She kept her face turned away.

"Nyra..." Carwyn reached out to touch her cheek, but she grabbed his wrist and rolled back, alarmed.

"You're wounded."

Reynfrey had bandaged his arms after applying a salve. Carwyn held up both arms. "It's not bad. The crystal prison broke into pieces and some ended up in my arms. Not many. My arming coat caught most of them. I care more about how you feel."

"Fine."

Carwyn stared, unbelieving.

Nyra sighed. "Not fine. It does hurt, but it's manageable. How are the others?"

"Moeris also broke an arm. The rest are relatively unhurt. Superficial wounds here and there, but nothing more."

"Emrys?"

"He's alive, but...he hasn't woken."

Nyra nodded thoughtfully. "Morgana took so much from him."

"When she disappeared, his magic came back to him," Carwyn assured. "But with all he's been through...Well, he needs all the rest he can get."

"Indeed."

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes."

Carwyn rose, walking to his pack to pick out some dried berries. He also knelt down to rummage in a cooking pot. He returned to Nyra and helped her sit up, setting a bowl in her lap.

"The meat's rabbit," Carwyn said as he crossed his legs on his own pallet. "Pello did his best."

Nyra chewed some. "It's..bland."

"But we won't starve."

Nyra tucked into the sparse meal. Carwyn kept staring at her, and finally she stopped eating and stared back. "What is it?"

Carwyn drew in a long breath. "When I saw Alec...and then you, lying there wounded...I...I realized I can't ever lose you."

Nyra popped a berry into her mouth. "I'm just one warrior."

"You're more than that."

Nyra laughed sadly. "Maybe I'm more like two."

"I didn't mean that," Carwyn said, his voice soft. "I meant you're more than a warrior to me."

Nyra lowered her gaze and swallowed. She set her bowl beside her and gazed at the fire.

Carwyn felt chagrined. Why did he insist on doing things that pushed her away? "I...shouldn't have said that."

Nyra didn't look at him, but responded. "You should say whatever you like."

Carwyn shook his head ruefully. "Because I'm royalty. That doesn't mean it's alright for me to go around acting like a prat." I sound like Merlin.

"You should never act like a prat," Nyra agreed. He heard the smile in her voice. "But, you should say what you like because...you shouldn't ignore your heart."

Carwyn's heart thumped against his ribs. What did she mean by that? "Are you ignoring your heart?" he asked tentatively.

Nyra turned slowly. "I'm tired."

Carwyn's heart sank. He held out his hand to her and she took it. He helped her lay back down, but let his hand linger for a moment holding hers. He reluctantly let go when she closed her eyes.

Two more days of travel passed. When they awoke the second morning, Nyra insisted she could ride. Carwyn tried to argue with her, but finally gave up and let her sit awkwardly sidesaddle. He fumed at her stubbornness, yet secretly admired it. She had more stamina than he had seen in anyone save perhaps his mother and Merlin.

Merlin hadn't awoken. Carwyn felt a bit of trepidation that he might never wake, but his pulse continued to be strong. He could only hope the rest Merlin was getting would bring him back to them.

By evening, Carwyn paused on a hill, beholding the city of his birth. He loved it more than anywhere else on earth. "Camelot," he breathed out. Nyra had been sticking to him like a guard dog all day, and he caught her smiling slightly at him.

"You love Camelot as much as I love the simple tents of my people."

Carwyn recalled the peace of the Druids, a peace he had envied, but as he looked on the castle that was home, he realized he loved it more. He knew all its crooks and crannies, its people, both noble and common. He wouldn't have given it up for the world.

His expression clouded and he looked back at the corpse bound in a blanket.

"You have to announce his death," Nyra spoke quietly.

Carwyn nodded. Announce it and write a letter to his family who lived outside the capital.

Nyra reached out a hand to Carwyn's arm. "I'm sorry you have to do this."

Carwyn smiled gratefully to her. "I don't like it, but I willingly take it on. I'm sure my father did this many times." He clutched his horse's reins, chirruping. The horse jogged towards home.

As they trotted down busy streets, Carwyn's subjects stopped to watch them go by. Most let them pass in silence, then muttered once they moved on. But several exclaimed, "Prince Carwyn!" and ran up to him, grasping his hand and welcoming him back. They must have realized something had been wrong; he read relief in their faces. He wondered at being so loved. He had done nothing to deserve it. Their loyalty was built on the actions of his predecessors—his mother, father, and Merlin.

When they reached the courtyard, word must have traveled faster then their horses because his mother was tearing down the steps to meet them, queenly decorum forgotten. Leon and Percival appeared on the top step.

Carwyn dismounted only to be shoved back against his horse as his mother pressed into him, her arms around his waist. "My heart! Oh, my heart!"

Carwyn smiled at her term of endearment. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and set his chin on top of her head. "Mother." He closed his eyes, breathing in the light perfume he'd known since a child.

His mother pulled back and looked into his eyes. "After Percival returned with the knights...I feared for your life." She let him go and lifted one of his bandaged arms.

"I'm alright," Carwyn reassured her. "The injuries are minor."

"Merlin?" Her eyes traveled to the unconscious warlock strapped to his horse. Leon and Percival were already next to it, untying him.

"He's alive."

Her eyes welled with tears.

"But Alec was killed."

She glanced at the body shaped blanket.

"Moeris and Nyra were wounded, but they'll mend."

She scanned the other warriors, then grasped Carwyn's hand. "Come. Rest and then I want to hear everything that happened."

Gwen insisted Carwyn wash, be re-bandaged, and eat before he told her anything. Servants attended his warriors as well. Another physician had been called to the castle to fill in during Grimald's absence. Reynfrey conferred with him as they tended to wounds.

Carwyn retreated to his mother's room, sitting before the fireplace and sighing at the familiarity that was as good for his heart as any medicine. As he related their story, his mother reacted with horror and sadness. They had lost four knights, Grimald, and Alec, not to mention a whole town. And even though Carwyn knew she had seen deaths aplenty during her lifetime, she reacted as if these were the first.

When he finished, she stood and paced back and forth at the end of her bed.

"What of the council members?" Carwyn asked, curious about the outcome of their plan to shadow them and vowing execution to any who had betrayed them.

Gwen shook her head. "None of them met with anyone suspicious. They didn't betray you."

Carwyn put a knuckle to his lips. "I've thought for some time this sorcerer had a way to see us using magic."

"You're certain he's dead?" Gwen asked.

"Without his body, I can't be certain, but we collapsed the entire cavern. If he was inside, he doesn't live."

A light knock sounded on the door.

"Yes?" Gwen called out.

The door cracked open and Leon peeked in. "My queen, the bier is prepared."

Gwen nodded. Leon pulled back, shutting the door. Gwen looked to Carwyn, such deep empathy in her gaze. He rose from his seat and nodded to her.

Carwyn watched the flames lick Alec's corpse. He had seen pyres aplenty for various nobles and knights, but this was the first lost under his command. Beholding it now, he hated it. The body charred and cracked. This was supposed to be a noble way to honor the dead, but it was incongruent with the warrior whose eyes had reflected boldness and perseverance, whose humor had been so catching.

When the ceremony ended, the people dispersed. His mother put a sympathetic hand on his arm, then turned back to the castle. Carwyn moved over to his warriors, laying his hands on their shoulders to comfort them. Nyra had insisted on coming, though she acquiesced to sitting in a chair. She looked up at him when he stepped over to her. He reached down to lift her.

"You don't need to," she said.

"You can barely walk," Carwyn argued.

"I can do it."

"I order you to let me help you," Carwyn commanded gruffly.

Nyra scowled but stopped resisting. He lifted her and carried her up the stairs and through several halls to her room, a tiny one compared to his in a section of the castle reserved for knights without families. Carwyn sat her on the bed. He stepped back.

"Now, what can I do for you?"

"I can see to myself."

"I can stay a while if you need me."

"Pello offered to aid me as needed."

Carwyn moved to the doorway. "Good-night, then."

"Good-night."

Carwyn took one step out the door, then tarried. "Thank you for all you did out there." He looked over his shoulder at Nyra.

She nodded to him.

"You know..." He'd had two days to ruminate over her hesitancy. "I don't just care about you because of your destiny...You make me a better man in every way." He slipped out the door before he saw her reaction, unwilling to be rejected once more.

Carwyn opened the door to Merlin's room. He struggled awkwardly inside, managing an unwieldy cot. "Mother."

Gwen stood at Merlin's bedside. She turned to him and smiled. "I should have known you'd do this."

Carwyn smiled back. He dragged the cot across the room and set it up next to the bed. He walked over to his mother. She slid an arm around his waist and he around her shoulders. They both looked on the warlock asleep, worn, wounded.

"I've been thinking about the past," Gwen said quietly. "When I first met him, I thought he was attractive."

Carwyn chuckled. "You did?"

Gwen nodded. "And we were of the same status. I thought he might take to me."

"Why did you change your mind?"

"I had always seen the potential in your father to be a good and wise man. When Merlin became his manservant that part of him shone brightly for the first time. Merlin made him a good man."

Carwyn thought back to what he'd said to Nyra. She does the same to me. "Well," he spoke aloud, "I'm glad Merlin changed my father or I wouldn't be here."

Gwen tightened her grip on his waist. "Yes."

Not to mention he saved me when I was born. "I didn't tell you something."

Gwen looked up at him. "What?"

"When Merlin was imprisoned, I connected with him. I could see what he saw."

"You saw what happened to him?"

Carwyn's eyes darkened. "The sorcerer didn't just bring back Morgana. He brought back others and all of them kept telling Merlin he had done terrible things, that his actions betrayed them and magic wielders, and that he was responsible for my father's death."

Gwen stared in disbelief. "Merlin has always been loyal. Always good in heart. Your father didn't die because of him."

"But...he hasn't been perfect."

"No, but..."

"I agree, mother. We owe Merlin. I'm only telling you this because his mind is more broken than his body. I fear what he'll be when he wakes."

Tears sparkled in Gwen's eyes. Carwyn turned her and held her by the shoulders. "I'll tell you more tomorrow. We must rest and be strong for Merlin."

"Yes. Of course." Gwen pushed herself up on her toes and kissed Carwyn's cheek.

After his mother departed, Carwyn changed out of his clothes and into his nightshirt. He settled down on the cot, pulling the blanket taut. He closed his eyes, pushing his magic towards the still form on the bed, hoping that even in his state, Merlin might hear him.

Merlin, I'm here. I'm not leaving you alone. And we will heal you. I promise.