He shifted uncomfortably as he waited at the designated place… walking from one side to the other, his lads stood behind him, staring apprehensively at their king.

'They should be back. Did something go wrong?' He thought as he paced. 'What if they're already dead?' Just as the thought appeared in his mind the noise of hoofs closing in was heard.

Arthur's head snapped in the direction of the sound, instantly he saw Bedeviere, galloping towards them, with the mage. As he reeled the horse to a stop Arthur was by their side, his gaze instantly on the mage. "Is she alright?!"

The woman stared at him for a moment, her expression filled with apprehension.

"She'd passed out when they took us to the castle, I tried to tend to her wounds, but they wouldn't allow me. Vortigern ordered she be sent to the dungeons… I did not see her after…"

His expression paled as he thought about the fact that Evelyn could be dying in a dungeon, his heart was roaring in his heart, and he could swear he felt the ground shift beneath him. He shouldn't have left her alone, he shouldn't have made that agreement, he should have stormed in and saved her, instead of playing with magic he should have-!

"Arthur!" Bediviere's harsh voice and hand on his shoulder anchored him back to reality. He stared at the man. "If Evelyn was here what would she tell you?"

He stared slightly confused at the man before him, his words, echoed in his mind, followed by a very familiar voice.

"Arthur Pendragon! I'm not a FUCKING maiden in a tower for you to save! So, shut up, don't fuck up and stop worrying about me, you IDIOT!"

He could almost see her fuming, one finger pocking his chest, her face right next to his, eyes squinting and shining with anger… it made his smile.

The tension in the atmosphere eased, he felt better, not jolly better, not good better, not until he saw her again and held her in his arms… but until then this small, image of her would do.

His gaze turned to the mage. "What can you do?"

She wasn't completely conscious when they came for her… when two hands grabbed her and pulled, without a care for her wounds, she knew she was still a prisoner.

Her body was dragged from the chains that held her wrists, through the dirt. She could hear the grunting of effort as they pulled her. She was a dead weight, she could barely move, she was too weak…

Despite all that, she still opened her eyes. Her vision blurry, but she noticed the black boots of her dragger, how they slumped in the dirt leaving an indentation, with effort she raised her eyes to his waist and noticed curly locks dangling from it.

The smell of blood and woman's perfume reached her nose.

'A woman?' She pondered slowly, her gaze returning to the boots that walked. 'No, a man… carrying a woman, but where?'

They stopped for a moment. The man releasing her chains, she fell hard on the ground.

She squinted her eyes to the man and concentrated, it took her some time but she recognized the features of Vortirgen, she looked at the woman on his shoulder… the girl's face was covered by long cascades of hair, she examined her hands, perfectly manicured, soft but pale and stiff… she wore a pink dress, made, she could tell, from the finest silks, but dirtied by blood. 'From where?' She couldn't see but she was certain it wasn't Vortigern's…

As the mad King moved, Eve caught a glance of the girl's face, and she knew, she was dead…

A click reached her ears, and the door the king had been working on opened to reveal a passageway leading downwards.

He turned, their eyes locking. He looked at her, but she wasn't sure what she saw in those eyes. Regret? Despair? Fear? Rage? Whatever it was it made her skin crawl. His lips quirked into a mad smile.

"He should have just disappeared… then everything would be alright!"

She stared at the man before him and for the first time she felt pity, she wondered when it started, when did his obsession begin?

Eve breathed out, ignoring the pain of her body she said… "Why can't you accept… that he was born to rule?"

The emotions that had swirled in his eyes cleared into one, rage… with a swift movement of his wrist, her chain levitated into the air, dragging her with it.

"Argh!" She felt her skin crack and blood streaming down her shoulder.

Their eyes met, his face contorting into one of rage as he screamed. "Then I'll end it! I'll finish it, once and for all!"

He pushed her towards the pathway, she would have tumbled down the stairs if he wasn't holding her with magic.

His eyes concentrated on her as he slowly descended the stairs.

As they went further in, Eve felt a shiver go down her spine, her eyes shifted down, where she saw a stream of water. Instantly she felt a disgusting sensation ran along her skin like something slimy and slippery was running down her skin.

There was something in the water! Something she didn't want to get near to!

She wriggled in her restrains making Vortigern smile. "I see your Phoenix instincts are working…" His gaze turned to the water. "You can feel them, can't you? In the water… They've been dying to get their... hands on you, and if I give you to them, they promised me everything!"

He released the magic that held her and dragged her to the pole that stood by the water surface.

Ting, ting, ting. She heard the bell above her and suddenly the Mage words ringed in her ears. "There are monsters beneath the castle…" The same disgusting sensation filled her again.

Tentacles appeared from the depts followed by three women, two of them swam to shore, their eyes on her.

"You kept your part of the deal, my lord." The one further away from the shore, said as she stared at the body.

The other two sawm around him, hissing and reaching for the body he held in his arms.

"Now you finish yours…"

They smiled, as their lips parted roles of sharp teeth shined. They reached their arms for the body and dragged it to the depths, the bigger one licked her lips and bowed her head. "You have our word…"

Eve watched as the King turned, his body growing bigger and shadows covering him like an armour, where his face had been now there was a skull.

"Fuck…" She whispered.

The man, or thing, turned to her and she saw a glint of pleasure in his eyes. He reached for her. "Now, you drown Phoenix."

Her eyes locked with the monster in the lake and before she could do anything else, he threw her.

The last thing she saw before she was thrown into the water was the bell…

AN: I can honestly say I'm not that happy with this chapter... I tried to write it more smoothly, but in the end I think it still got a little... stiff...

Well, even so, I hope you enjoy the new chapter ;) and sorry for the delay. Let's hope I can write the next chapter a little faster xD

Stay safe my fellow readers and writers and till next time ;)