Chapter 23

The sisters stared at each other sadly. Morgana was clearly weak and exhausted and injured.

"Please," Rowen whispered, but she knew Morgana could hear, "Please. Don't do this."

Morgana looked so broken. Only two years ago, it would have melted Rowen's heart enough to run into her sister's arms. But now, they could only look at each other.

"What do you want me to say?" Morgana said in the voice of a scared child, "You all abandoned me. When I needed someone the most."

"I know. There's nothing I'm more sorry for. I miss you, Morgana. I miss the person you used to be. And I know that it's partially my fault that that person's gone. But I still love her. I love the sister you used to be. I miss spending every hour of the day with you. I used to go to your chambers first thing every morning because you told me that I set your day off to a great start and brightened it before it even began. You used to spoil me rotten with everything and anything you wanted to buy me. When you were ill, I wouldn't leave your side until you were completely better and you'd do the same for me. There were so many things we did together. So many good things. You would sacrifice anything for your friends. You fought for Merlin's village, for Gwen's life. And yes, maybe Uther always was the enemy. But we weren't. Arthur wasn't. Gwen wasn't," Rowen had tears forming waterfalls down her face and pooling on the ground around her, "Morgana. You were my best friend.

"Sometimes… sometimes I think that we're fighting together. To defeat the evil and bring back good. I would turn to you only to remember it's you we're fighting. You're the evil. I want you back, Morgana. The real you."

For a second, Rowen thought she'd done it. She thought she'd made Morgana see sense and realise the wrong in what she'd done. Her sister had fallen to her knees weeping. Rowen, in a minute of madness, had run to her side and hugged her. For a while the girls were both genuinely crying. But then, as Morgana sobbed, she pulled a dagger from her boot and thrust it deep into her sister's side. Without a word, Morgana stood, towering over her sister. Rowen was too shocked to even tell if there was any guilt in her eyes and Morgana turned and fled.

And, for some reason, Rowen waited. Waited with gasping breaths and in the most pain she'd ever been in. Waited with her hands clutched around the knife in her side, blood staining them with a reminder of what Morgana had become. Waited until she was sure her sister would be long gone safely before she thought, 'Merlin. Help me.'

Merlin was still in the throne room as he, Gwen, Arthur and Tristan mourned Isolde, when he jerked upright. A very familiar, agony-filled voice flooded his head.

'Merlin. Help me.'

"Rowen," he said out loud and Arthur and Gwen looked up at him.

"Merlin?" Gwen asked.

"What's wrong?" Arthur demanded.

"Where's Rowen?" Merlin sounded nearly hysterical as he span in circles, looking around the room, before sprinting out. Arthur followed without a second thought.

"Rowen!" Merlin yelled, and his voice sent chills through Arthur. He'd never heard Merlin sound so truly terrified and desperate. They skidded to a halt when what was practically a lake of blood was spotted in the middle of a passage, a pale body lying in the middle of it.

"No," Arthur breathed. He moved forward and scooped Rowen up, ignoring the blood bath around him, "Who did this to you?"

"M-mor," Rowen breathed in, "Morgana."

Arthur had fire in his eyes, "Where is she?"

Rowen's eyelids fluttered, "I don't know. She ran. Arthur," she sobbed horrendously and Arthur's heart broke, "She's killed me, hasn't she? My own sister."

"No," Arthur shook his head adamantly, clamping his hands over the wound when he saw Rowen's shaking and slipping away, "No. You're going to be alright."

"My sister," Rowen wept again.

"Merlin," Arthur stuttered to his servant who was standing frozen at the side, paralysed with shock, "Merlin, go and find help. Now Merlin, quickly."

Merlin just blinked.

"MERLIN!" Arthur yelled and then broke, "Please," he whispered, "Help her."

"Arthur," Rowen shook her head, "Don't make him."

"He has to! Merlin!"

Finally, Merlin turned, took a few steps and then stopped, "I can help," he said, "I can help. But I need supplies. They'll be in Gaius' chambers."

"Here," Arthur motioned for his to come forward and the men switched places so that Merlin was supporting Rowen in his lap, one hand tightly over her wound, "Do what you can until I get back."

A second later, Arthur was gone, his heart racing before he'd even started running.

"I have to take it out," Merlin said guiltily, "Otherwise it'll heal around the knife."

"It's fine," Rowen coughed, "Just do it."

"You have to stay awake though," Merlin told her, "You can't die."

"Hurry, Merlin, before Arthur gets back."

The man blinked back tears and moved his hand off the wound to wrap his blood-covered fingers around the hilt of the dagger. He took a deep breath, as if it was him in pain, and swiftly pulled the blade away. Quick as lightning, he dropped the knife and secured his hand over the wound which was now gushing blood at a terrifying rate. Rowen gasped in agony as suddenly breathing became so much harder. Colourful dots danced before her in a hypnotizing fashion and she tried to blink them away, still taking rattled wheezes instead of breaths.

"Oh no," Merlin cursed, "It was in your lung. I'm so sorry. There's a hole in your lung. I-"

"Just heal it," she somehow managed to croak, "Please."

Merlin nodded, took half a second to collect himself and then began chanting words of the Old Religion. Slowly the bleeding stopped and her skin began to tingle. It wasn't a warm, calming sensation, but uncomfortable and itchy.

"Merlin," she moaned, twitching and fidgeting in his arms to try and ease her agony. It was becoming slightly easier to breathe, but the colourful dots in her vision were multiplying and turning black and dark.

"Keep your eyes open," he said seriously, "Don't you dare-"

"You're all blurry, Merlin."

"It's alright," he said, "I'm still here. I'll always be here," there was a pause and Rowen could feel his body twisting around and then sighing in relief, "Gwen!"

"Oh my-" the sound of footsteps echoed around them.

"Rip some of my tunic," Merlin told Gwen, who Rowen imagined was now kneeling next to them, "Use it as a bandage."

"But it's filthy!"

"It doesn't matter," Merlin said, "We'll clean it as soon as we can get her to Gaius."

Gwen did as he asked and Rowen vaguely felt the pressure on her side lessen as Merlin moved his hand and then increase again as the fabric was tied around her. She couldn't stop herself from groaning in pain and the black dots took over her sight completely. She heard someone shushing her calmly, but she couldn't tell who it was.

"Find Arthur," Merlin's voice sounded like it was leagues away and underwater, "Tell him to hurry."

Rowen assumed Gwen must have gone, because a second later, Merlin began casting spells again. Her body went completely numb and, as she could no longer see, hear or feel anything anymore, Rowen's body shut down completely and she went limp in Merlin's arms.

Merlin was shaking. He didn't know whether it was from fear, exhaustion or perhaps something else but he didn't particularly care. All he knew was that he wasn't going to let someone else he cared about die in his arms. He was fairly sure his magic had mended the hole in Rowen's lung, but- as much as he'd like to- he couldn't completely heal the stab wound. Something like that couldn't just disappear. He'd slowed and then stopped the bleeding and even risked a spell which he hoped would replenish some of the blood in her body seeing as most of it seemed to be on the ground around them. He uttered one spell to help with pain, one to help fight off infection and one to keep the bleeding from starting again before deciding any more would be suspicious and just holding his friend tightly as he waited for Arthur to return.

"Merlin!" Arthur's voice finally reached his ears and the king appeared at the bottom of the corridor, holding medical supplied and clean bandages. Leon, Lancelot and Gwen were following him, but Merlin didn't have the capacity to wonder where they had come from. He didn't even have to voice to call back to Arthur. Taking Merlin's silence and the stillness of the girl in his arms to be a bad sign, Arthur skidded to a halt, fearing the worst until Merlin yelled, "What are you waiting for?" and his brain kickstarted again.

Together, the group wrapped extra bandages around the wound and Merlin used a few herbs to ensure Rowen would be alright until they got her to Gaius. Leon and Arthur picked her up and started moving away from the gory scene with Gwen leading the way. Merlin found that he didn't have the energy to get to his feet, let alone walk. He just stayed where he was on his knees, trembling terribly and surrounded by blood.

"Come on," Lancelot crouched next to Merlin, "Let's get you back, shall we? You don't look too good, my friend."

Merlin allowed the knight to pull him to his feet, but they'd only taken a few steps when Merlin's knees buckled and Lancelot was forced to sling him gently over his shoulder and carry him after the others.

Arthur's lip was quivering. Half his kingdom was dead, his physician was too weak to get out of bed, two of his most trusted knights were dreadfully sick, his servant had collapsed and his sister was perhaps fatally injured. He didn't have time to even consider his worry that Guinevere and Lancelot had been reunited and were standing in the same room. He was too busy feeling completely out of his comfort zone while he looked at everyone else.

Gwaine and Elyan were insisting that they were fine and fit to help with everyone else while Leon tried to push them back into chairs by the fire and get them to rest. The pair had been starved, tortured and forced to live in freezing dungeons for the past week, so everyone thought it was only fair that they rested for a while. Everyone but the two themselves. Percival was kneeling by Gaius, carefully feeding him some warm chicken broth. The old man was in the chair closest to the fireplace, wrapped in a warm blanket. After carefully tucking Merlin into his bed, Lancelot had returned to the main room and helped Arthur and Gwen clean, stitch and re-bandage Rowen's wound as best they could without a physician. Needless to say, the group was a mess. They were all covered in either mud, grime or blood from the struggles of the previous week.

When finally, everyone had been seen to, Leon had won his argument with Elyan and Gwaine, and Percival had finished helping Gaius eat, Arthur addressed the four who were still awake.

"Thank you. Everyone. Each of you has shown me great loyalty and fought bravely over the past few days. I am eternally grateful."

Gwen, Leon, Lancelot and Percival nodded understandingly, "There is no one I would rather serve, my Lord," Lancelot told him.

"We will fight any battle at your side, Arthur," Percival agreed.

"No matter what the risk," Leon confirmed.

"Thank you, all," Arthur said, "I couldn't ask for a better group of… of friends."

They smiled warmly.

Arthur looked around the room, "They shouldn't be left alone."

"I'll stay," Gwen volunteered immediately, "I know a fair amount from helping Gaius."

"I'll stay with you," Lancelot said and Arthur tried not to tense or show his mistrust. He nodded curtly, "Good. Leon, will you-"

"I will sort everything, sire," Leon interrupted, "Go and get some rest."

"I-"

"Go," Leon said, "It'll be alright."

Arthur gave in, his tiredness speaking for him, "Thank you."

The next couple of days continued to be chaotic. Merlin, Gwaine and Elyan were mostly recovered after sleeping for well over half a day. The knights were able to help everyone else with cleaning up after the battle and Merlin took over from Gwen. Arthur found a temporary servant so the Merlin could tend to Gaius and Rowen full time. The king was fully aware that his manservant was using magic to speed up the recoveries of his friends, but he genuinely didn't care. So long as they both got better. And preferably before the wedding.

Despite Morgana's reign only lasting a week, Camelot took months to repair. Gaius got stronger every day and, once Rowen woke up, it was only a few days before she was up and about too. Granted, she had slept for four days, but Merlin had happily told everyone they had been lucky in the shallowness and position of the stabbing. Arthur knew what he said was rubbish. The true luck was that Merlin was talented enough to heal her magically.

Guinevere and Arthur married, Gwen was named Queen and it was starting to look like things were improving. Perhaps the Camelot they all dreamt of could still become a reality.

Several months after they had retaken Camelot, just as they had eased back into normality and started to believe everything was ok, well… everything went wrong.

The door to Rowen's chambers burst open.

"Where are they?" Arthur asked, stomping in.

"Who?" Rowen looked up from braiding her hair.

"Everyone! Guinevere wasn't in bed when I woke up this morning, Merlin never showed up for work and none of the knights came to training."

"And I'm supposed to know where they are? You know I don't train on-"

"Well no one else does! How can seven people just disappear? Where are they?"

"Have you asked Gaius?"

"He said he hasn't seen Merlin since yesterday. Apparently, he didn't come back from work."

"When did you see Gwen last?"

"She definitely came to bed last night," Arthur said certainly.

"Memorable, was it?"

"What?" Arthur realised his mistake, "No! That's not what I meant. It's because Merlin-"

"Oh, I'm not sure I want to know."

"No, really he was-"

Rowen giggled and teased, "Did you check Merlin's room for the Queen?"

"Stop it," Arthur said, "This is serious. Really."

"Of course," she stood up, "I'll help you look."

"I shouldn't have to look," Arthur grumbled, "I'm the king, they should just be here."

"Maybe something's wrong," Rowen suggested, "I mean, it's not unlike Merlin to disappear and Gwaine is late to training on a regular basis, but Leon, Percival and Lancelot would never just skive. And what are the chances of all of them falling ill or deciding not to come on the same day?"

"You might be right," Arthur admitted, "I even sent someone to check the tavern for Gwaine."

"What should we do?"

"Ask around," Arthur told her, "If anyone's seen any of them today, bring them to me."

It was difficult to subtly ask everyone in the castle if they had seen any of the seven missing persons without spreading panic. She checked the kitchens and wash room for any sign of Merlin, every room in the knight's quarters for the knights and every council chamber, dining hall and even the throne room for the Queen. Just as she was sure none of them were in the palace and was making her way outside, a servant ran up to her, "My Lady!"

She had been looking all day, having skipped lunch to search for her friends. It was now early evening and her nerves were definitely growing.

"Yes? What is it?"

"The King demands your presence in his chambers urgently."

Pausing only to thank the servant, she ran straight to Arthur's room, "What is it? Have you found them?"

Arthur held out a letter. Uneasily, she took it from him and read, 'The Bosburn Chasms. You can't save them all.' There was a strange runic symbol on the bottom.

"What does it mean?" Arthur asked.

"I don't know. We should take it to Gaius," Rowen suggested carefully, "See if he recognises the symbol."

Gaius seemed as lost as they were, "I know of where they speak. The Bosburn Chasms are at the heart of the Wandering Woods far east of Camelot. But I've never seen this sign before in my life."

"Do we go after them?"

"It'll be a trap, Arthur. Perhaps it would be better to bring the matter before the court," Gaius suggested.

"And tell them that their Queen and five of the kingdom's finest knights have disappeared without a trace?" Arthur scoffed.

"And Merlin. He's gone too, if you've noticed," Rowen muttered sarcastically, "Not that you or the court care."

"It would be chaos," Arthur ignored her, "Complete panic. No. I'll go to these caves and find out what's going on."

"Alone?"

"I can't risk taking any other knights. It would bring the guard down more here. Besides, I don't trust any of them with the lives of-" he stopped himself, "I'll ride out at dawn tomorrow."

As soon as Arthur had left, Rowen looked at Gaius, "I'll follow him, don't worry. There's no time for arguing right now."

"Please, be very careful," Gaius warned.

At first light, Rowen watched from the side of the square as Arthur packed his own horse and sped off. As soon as he was out of the city walls, she ran to the stables, packed her horse as quickly as she could and rode after him. She had taken a spare map from Gaius- Arthur had the main one- just in case she failed to track the king.

A couple of hours after she had left Camelot, the sound of clashing swords forced her to a stop and she dismounted. Rowen grabbed her bow and quiver from the saddle and snuck stealthily through the trees. Arthur was locked in battle with four bandits. There were two others already dead on the ground. Fast as she could, she drew an arrow and aimed, taking down a man easily with a shot to his heart. No sooner had she done that, then Arthur was floored, a gash on his sword arm seeping blood and his weapon on the ground. Rowen loaded two more arrows and shot the two men nearest to Arthur in one go. There was no time to be proud of her efforts. The final attacker was advancing on the king, sword raised high above his head to strike. Naturally, this was the moment Rowen fumbled with her arrows, struggling to load the bow. Arthur had managed to reclaim his sword, but hadn't had the chance to stand back up yet. Camelot's king was severely disadvantaged and Rowen wasn't going to be fast enough.

Just as the bandit was about to bring his sword down, Rowen fired. Rather gruesomely, and unintentionally, the arrow went straight through his neck. A moment later, a second arrow joined its comrade in the man's chest and he fell. Arthur and Rowen both sighed in relief and made their way towards each other.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur demanded angrily.

"You're welcome."

"I told you to stay behind."

Rowen ignored him, walked back to her horse and grabbed a bandage. She began to wrap up Arthur's wound.

"I'm serious. You shouldn't be here."

"I just saved your life! You could thank me."

"Thank you," he snapped, "You can go home now."

"You don't mean that."

"Of course I do."

"Why? I've come out on patrol with you hundreds of times. I've fought with you in things ten times more dangerous!"

"I don't want anything happening to you!" Arthur yelled, "Everyone else I care about is missing. What if something happens to you too? I'll be fine alone."

"Oh please, you never leave your chambers without Merlin, let alone the city. You never would come by yourself unless you had to. Arthur, I appreciate your concern but if you could, you would have bought one of your knights with you. We both know that. You don't have to do this alone."

He sighed, "Fine. Let's go. We've got some idiots to find."