A/N: Hello again. I'm back with the next chapter. Yay. No, honestly, yay! Okay fine, I'll stop being weird and sarcastic (two things that I'm pretty good at,) and stick to being a drama queen. JUST ONE MORE CHAPTER TO GO AFTER THIS I COULD DIE OF HAPPINESS! Capitals make everything seem dramatic. I'm glad you enjoyed my evil little twist *inserts classic Morgana smirk* an also, for those of you crying over the fact that you haven't seen Arthur since the 2nd chapter, don't worry, I'm dragging our beloved cabbageheaded dollopy clotpole into this chap. Anyways, on with the story...


Merlin cradled Morgana's body in his arms, walking slowly and laboriously trying to find the way out of the castle. It turned out finding a way out of here was harder than following the trail of gold in. Merlin racked his brains trying to remember the twists and turns, but every single corridor looked the same. Morgana shifted around, she was shivering. Merlin needed to find his way out of this maze and make it quick.

Merlin looked up desperately. He'd gotten out of the castle, thank goodness for that, but now he was stuck in some sort of old dilapidated ruin. There were still walls to his left and right. He didn't remember passing this area before, he was well and truly lost. And to make matters worse, Morgana grew paler by the second. There was only one way out of the predicament, and that was Kilgarrah. And he would be much to unwilling to help. Nevertheless, Merlin called, he had no choice.

He ran through the building, still shouldering Morgana's weight, shouting. "O, drakon! E male ften gomettha tesd'hup anankes!"

He panted, searching the skies for the dragon's formidable figure. Sure enough, Kilgarrah soon towered over him.

"So young warlock, what do you summon me for this time?" Merlin could hear sarcasm in his voice.

"I need you to get me out of here!"

"I'm not a horse Merlin." The dragon drawled lazily. Suddenly he caught sight of the vulnerable-looking body in Merlin's arms. "Merlin, who is - Morgana? What is that witch doing in your arms? Is she dead?"

The dragon's tone almost sounded hopeful, Merlin felt indignation rise at the pit of his stomach. "No, she's not dead, and I want you to get me out of here!"

"Merlin, you can't seriously be thinking of helping the witch?"

"Just get me out of here!" Merlin commanded in a low voice. Kilgarrah had no choice but to follow his command. He bent his neck down and Merlin clambered on top of him. He took of gracefully and Merlin held onto one of the humps on his back for dear life.

"I will take no part in healing her young warlock." The dragon stated matter-of-factly as he flapped his huge wings.

"I am a dragonlord. You have no choice but to obey my command." Merlin felt sick in the stomach, he didn't want to abuse his power. But Kilgarrah's reluctance gave him no choice. He could feel the great dragon bristle underneath him, and he landed in one smooth motion in the middle of a plain. Merlin scrambled of, careful not to injure Morgana more than she was.

"Have you learnt nothing Merlin?" Kilgarrah's voice boomed. "Have you not learnt anything about the witch's true power and destiny. Merlin, your destinies were intertwined the fateful day you chose not to listen to me. I fear she will be the doom of Albion, now that she is on the brink of death, you must let her pass on to the next world. For your sake and Arthur's."

"The future isn't set in stone. The destiny you see, the path you see, is one of many. Morgana may be Camelot's downfall, but she can be stopped. Not through attempting to kill or injure her, but showing her the love and compassion that she deserves. Not shrouding her in loneliness and fear, that will only further cement your vision of the future."

"Merlin, as powerful as you may be, you have not even walked these lands for a meagre fifty years. The knowledge and wisdom I have is vast compared to yours, heed me and you will not regret it young warlock."

"I can't. Because I know Morgana has good in her. She has put her life on the line for me twice now. I owe her a debt that most certainly won't be repaid by letting her die here and now. Please. You must heal her." Merlin pleaded.

The dragon's eyes were narrowed and he stood his ground firm. But he could not resist the dragonlord's command. "Very well Merlin. But if this turns out to be a grave mistake do not come running to me for help."

Kilgarrah bent down and very reluctantly blew gently over Morgana. She stirred for a while, but was soon unconscious again. "Her wounds are cured. She will regain consciousness in a few hours."

"Thank you Kilgarrah." Merlin showed his gratitude sincerely.

"I did not do this willingly young warlock. Remember that if all else fails to penetrate your thick skull." He took of into the skies, leaving Merlin and Morgana on the plain below.

Merlin set up a fire, stopping at a slight clearing in the forests. He was more familiar with these woods, the forests of Ascetir. Relief flooded him, he almost felt dizzy now that a huge burden had been lifted of his shoulders. He would be back with Gaius soon, cleaning out the leech tank and washing Arthur's godforsaken smelly socks. But most importantly, Morgana was safe and sound. He smiled to himself as he tucked a stray strand of her inky-black hair behind her ears. He turned around, closing his heavy lidded eyes. A deep sleep came soon enough.


The sun had just risen, Merlin was filling up his canteen by a bubbling stream. Morgana was still unconscious, but Merlin was convinced she would wake up soon. In the meanwhile, he busied himself by stocking up supplies, for the rest of the trek back to Camelot.

Without warning, an arrow whizzed past Merlin, missing his hair by an inch. He stood up in panic, dropping his waterskin in the process. Another arrow flew past him, just in front of his nose. Merlin clumsily bent down, hurriedly searching for something to defend himself. He turned around a meagre twig in his hands, to see the identity of his attacker.

"Calm down, It's Merlin, not a rabbit." Merlin looked at the man with a mixture of disbelief and relief. Two or three knights of Camelot made there way out of the surrounding undergrowth where they had been concealed. "Drop the twig Merlin. If I really were a bandit I have no idea how you'd attempt to kill me."

"Arthur!" Merlin exclaimed, chuckling. He ran up to the crown prince and threw his arms around him. Arthur stood there awkwardly, not returning the embrace, not exactly struggling to get out of it either. He had an expression akin to one he had worn when Merlin had attempted to serve him rat soup for dinner. He cleared his throat very loudly.

Merlin broke away, but he was still grinning wildly. Arthur decided he needed to wipe the expression off his face. "Wow, Merlin, I never knew you cared. I assume since you're so willing to hug me, you'll be willing to clean my socks. And also the socks of my fellow knights. The usual laundry maid has caught a cold."

Merlin scrunched up his nose. Arthur smiled seeing the familiar expression on his face.

"Excuse me for interrupting sire," One of the knights butted in - it was Sir Leon. "Merlin, you escorted the Lady Morgana out on her ride. Is she with you now? The king will not rest till she's found. Why were the two of you not able to make it back to Camelot on time."

Arthur's eyes widened in remembrance of their mission. "Merlin, if I find that she has so much as a scratch on her..."

"Arthur?" Merlin turned around to see Morgana. Her hair was plaited messily to the side and her clothes were torn, but the pallor on her drained face from the poison had been replaced with a healthy color to her cheeks. It looked as if Morgause and the whole poisoning incident had never happened. Merlin silently thanked Kilgarrah, and he was pretty much about to throw his arms around her again when Arthur beat him to it, and Merlin remembered that he was a lowly manservant, and she was the king's ward.

Arthur pulled away awkwardly, clearing his throat for the second time that day. "What happened. Why didn't you get back to Camelot. Uther was in a state of frenzy, it was almost as bad as when we'd lost you for an year."

"It was nothing too bad. We were just captured by bandits." Merlin interjected, careful to leave out the bit about Morgause. Morgana caught his eyes, for the first time since she had bid him goodbye at the edge of the castle. A wave of understanding passed between them, and she gave him a subtle smile, very aware that Arthur was watching her.

"If it weren't for Merlin's ingenuity we could never have escaped from them." She added. The look she gave him sent the message that they would be talking alone sometime soon.

Arthur coughed, but anyone could really tell it was a snort in disguise. "Merlin's ingenuity?"

"Yes Arthur." He put a hand on the crown prince's shoulder. "Turns out I'm not entirely an idiot after all."

Morgana joined in the banter. "He's certainly got more brains than you have ego and really Arthur, that's saying something." She and Merlin shared a smirk. Arthur just huffed.

"You're certainly one of the cleverest people I've met Morgana, calling an idiot a genius." Morgana looked at him, lazily raising an eyebrow and shoving past Arthur.

"I'm beginning to wish someone else had led the rescue party."


A/N: Short chapter, I know, but they're going to talk in the next one. I have to say that this fic might turn out to be more than eight chaps. But either way, I don't think I'll have enough time or space to do a merthur magic reveal. If I were to do one, I'd want to do it properly, with a good build-up, and an angsty and complicated aftermath. I might write another fanfic after this one where it happens, or just write a sequel. Idk. Tell me what you think in the reviews. Anyways, bye for now, hope to be back soon with another chapter. Papaya out...