A/N: Thanks for the plethora of favs, follows, and reviews! :) Also, a special thank-you to whenithitsthefan, who gave this fic a lovely recommendation in her latest A/N on the fic she's writing. :) Her fic, a Merlin/HP crossover called "Harry Potter and the Name of Merlin," is a lot of fun—if y'all like crossovers, y'all should definitely check it out! ;)

A quick tangent/disclaimer—as was the case many chapters ago, when Ambrosius first started tracking Merlin by his "lighthouse beacon" magical signature, the idea for Merlin's magical signature as described in ch 54 came to me after stumbling across a particularly gorgeous piece of fan art on Pinterest. I do not have any rights to that image—I want to give credit where credit is due. So yeah, there are some very, very talented fans out there! :) Here, again, is the link to the original image (just take out the spaces):

alexandarcho. Deviantart art /So-you-wanna -play-with-magic- 440 242 462

And now, faithful readers, we pick up the threads of the fic we last saw in ch 48—events in Camelot and the future-knights' progress toward Níþdraca. On with the fic!

Chapter 55: Announcement

That night, still several leagues from Níþdraca, Lancelot called a halt to their travel for the night. Percival had made it clear that traveling by night through the Perilous Lands was too fraught with danger, but he hadn't elaborated why.

I'm sure I don't want to know, Lancelot thought to himself, suppressing a slight shudder as they made camp. There was no cover to speak of, so instead they built a hearty fire with the plentiful gnarled wood scattered across the landscape. After ground-hobbling their horses so they could seek what little forage they could find during the night, the three travelers huddled tightly around the fire and ate a meager supper.

"Our provisions are nearly out," Elyan observed with some concern as they rationed out what little they had left.

"We should reach Níþdraca before supper tomorrow," Percival replied.

"Let's hope this Fisher King has enough provisions for additional guests."

Lancelot alone voiced the concern, but from his companions' expressions, he could tell they were worried, too. Grunts of agreement were the only response as the other two savored their tiny meal.

Let's hope breakfast won't be our last meal for a while, Lancelot thought grimly as he bit into his own portion.

Despite his exhaustion, Lancelot's mind was racing, so he offered to take the first watch of the night. As the other men settled down on their bedrolls and were soon fast asleep, Lancelot sat stiffly on a dried-out log, his sword resting across his knees.

Soon after Percival and Elyan fell asleep, Lancelot heard an eerie screeching in the distance. He didn't want to wake his companions unless whatever it was came closer, so he sat silently, his right hand clenching the hilt of his sword.

Whatever it is, it's hunting…in packs, he thought grimly. Doesn't sound like any beast I've ever encountered.

He shifted uncomfortably. His left foot had fallen asleep and his knees ached from several days in the saddle.

What I wouldn't give to have Merlin here—we just might need a man of his talents before this night is through.

In an attempt to distract himself from the beasts' cries just enough to calm his nerves, he let his mind drift along that train of though. It had been months since he and Merlin had last spoken, not since the day he had left Guinevere without saying goodbye.

Does Merlin still hide his gifts from Arthur? the noble commoner wondered. It was hard to believe that Merlin could keep such a thing secret when he spent so much of his time with the prince.

Yet, somehow, he had managed it for many months already, he mused. And what of this Fisher King? Will he have helped them or turned them away?

He sighed and shifted again to prevent his other foot from falling asleep.

We'll find out soon enough—if we make it through the night.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The next morning, many leagues south, there was a great commotion in the castle of Camelot. The king had reconvened the previous morning's interrupted council meeting and insisted that the highest ranking knights also attend. Sir Leon glanced around the room from where he stood with a group of his brothers-in-arms off to the king's right. The council chamber was awash in muttered rumor and conjecture as Uther finally rose from his throne and raised his hands for silence.

"Yesterday, as many of you are aware, we received word that Arthur has traveled to the Perilous Lands. It is clear he intends to ally himself with the Dragonlord Balinor-who now styles himself Emrys among his other false titles-at the Fortress of Níþdraca."

The king paused as muttering rippled through the chamber again.

"I will personally lead a siege force against them. Magic and treason-neither shall be tolerated in Camelot."

Sir Geoffrey spoke up, "Sire, who shall govern in your absence? As we discussed yesterday, the legal ramifications are-"

Uther cut him off, brushing his comment aside.

"I have made arrangements."

To Leon's surprise, the king turned to the Lady Morgana, seated on her carved chair beside the king's, and beckoned her forward. Dressed in a simple but elegant gown of Camelot red with golden embroidery, she rose gracefully and accepted the king's proffered elbow, a demure expression gracing her lovely features. The king and his ward exchanged a brief, meaningful look.

What is going on? Sir Leon wondered. Surely he doesn't mean to...no, no, that would be absurd.

Once she was standing beside him, the king turned his attention back to his knights and courtiers.

"Few of you are aware, as the matter was kept very private, but recent events have not left me without an heir. The Lady Morgana is, in fact, my daughter."

What? Sir Leon thought-he honestly didn't know what else to think.

If there had been a ripple of murmuring before, now it crashed over the room like a tidal wave. One voice carried over the torrent.

"Forgive me, sire," Sir Geoffrey began, "but is there anyone who can corroborate this?"

The king exchanged a quick glance with the elderly court physician, who calmly stepped forward.

"I corroborate the king's statement. The Lady Morgana is the daughter of our esteemed king and the late Lady Vivienne."

Sir Geoffrey bowed and melted back into the cluster of muttering council members.

The king continued, "I therefore intend to install my daughter into her rightful role as Princess of Camelot and, furthermore, as Regent in my upcoming absence. The ceremony shall take place tomorrow afternoon, followed by a feast in her honor."

Sir Leon was surprised, to say the least. I knew he meant to name a Regent, but to choose the Lady Morgana? he mused. Even if she is of royal blood, she is inexperienced and unprepared for such a serious duty.

He heard one of the knights behind him express a similar sentiment under his breath to the knight on his right, but in far less complimentary terms that Leon wouldn't be caught dead repeating—especially not in mixed company.

Leon squared his shoulders. I assured the king that I and my men would accept whomever he chose as Regent, and I intend to keep my end of the bargain.

The king made one final announcement: "Following the feast, the siege force will begin full preparations. We will ride out in one week's time. Council dismissed."

Leon watched as the king departed smoothly from the room without another word, the lovely Lady-no, Princess-Morgana still on his arm.

Time to get to work, Leon thought grimly. He had much to accomplish in the next seven days. And not just preparing for a winter siege, he noted, observing the heated debate all around him as the council and knights dispersed.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Gwen was waiting for Morgana when she reached her chambers after the council meeting.

"Ambrosius arrived while you were gone!" she exclaimed as soon as Morgana had shut the door, gesturing toward where the feathered messenger sat napping on the footboard of Morgana's bedframe.

"Finally!" Morgana replied, hurrying across the room to retrieve the messages while the small hawk continued to sleep.

Three messages this time, she noticed. And two of them won't open at my touch...are they both for Gaius?

Gwen watched Morgana eagerly.

"What news of Arthur?" she blurted at last as Morgana finished skimming the one message she could open.

Morgana glanced up and Gwen, realizing what she had said, blushed.

"...And Merlin and...um, whatever the other one's name was?" she quickly amended, but it was too late.

"Arthur's fine, according to Emrys," Morgana teased with a smile, "And so are Merlin, Gwaine, and Balinor, it seems."

Morgana's expression grew more serious. "Balinor has welcomed them at Níþdraca, so it is good that we sent Elyan, Lancelot, and Percival to join them." She sighed. "They'll need all the help they can get, what with Uther's siege force coming."

She stared off into space for a moment, her brow furrowed.

"Milady?" Gwen asked, touching Morgana's arm gently.

Morgana shook off her pensive thoughts for the moment.

"Come, Gwen, we must take these messages to Gaius. We need to send word of everything that's happened to Emrys as soon as possible."

A/N: I confess I'm not entirely satisfied with how this chapter turned out (hence the 24-hour delay in posting), but I guess it does its job to keep the plot moving, so I'm going to stop being frustrated with it, post it, and move on to writing the next one ;) Any feedback at all would be appreciated, as always!

Guest review replies:

Nance: Thanks for reviewing ch 53 & 54 specifically for dialogue and for your complimentary words! I'm so glad you found the "apparently" line so funny! :) In my mind, Arthur is one of those people who can't function without their morning coffee—but unfortunately for Arthur, coffee won't be imported to Europe from the New World for several hundred more years, so breakfast has to function as a weak substitute ;) I'm glad that his befuddled state was obvious in the chapter :) I'm also pleased you thought the dialogue worked well in ch 54—I was trying to vary it depending on who else was in the conversation, the way real people do ;) That was my hope—to show Arthur rising above prejudice to do what needed to be done, showing where he is heading as a character and future king. I'm pleased you like the additional detail of Merlin/Balinor's interaction. As will hopefully become apparent later, Merlin is aware that magical beings have signatures for tracking purposes (and he can sense the presence of powerful magic in both beings and objects), but he has no idea what his own aura is like or that it's so vivid/powerful—he's just used to it and doesn't know it's there. He'll likely be just as shocked as Gwaine when someone finally describes it to him, hehe ;)

Guest #1: Thanks for reviewing ch 54! :) Thanks for the compliments :) I hope you enjoyed today's update!

Bookybookworm: Aww, thank you so much for your super-encouraging review! I'd love to become an author (at least part-time) someday…that is, if I ever finish my novel draft and find people who'll publish (and read) it! I'm so pleased you enjoyed the Balinor/Gwaine convo :)

Guest #2: Thanks for reviewing! Glad you enjoyed that line :) Hmm, good question, I don't know if placards were officially a thing back then, but I'm sure they had/made signs of one kind or another, so I'm hoping it's not too far of a stretch, what with the modern dialogue/idiom of the show and some of its inconsistencies (i.e. tomatoes and potatoes are mentioned but wouldn't have been imported until a couple centuries later). Thanks for keeping an eye out for that, though! I'm trying to be as careful as I reasonably can about not including things that are blatantly anachronistic ;) As for Dragoon—I honestly don't know yet ;)