A/N: Thank you Buckhunter, GuestM, SnidgetHex, and Guest for reviewing!

Chapter 3

Their group continued through the forest, on guard and eyes peeled at every piece of foliage flittering in a nonexistent breeze. Leon insisted on taking the lead, but Lily followed close behind, her senses tuned to a disturbance in the dormant thrum of life all around them.

She felt before she heard the creaking of bark as two large trees dropped thick branches down like sentinels barring passage with wooden spears. Leon stopped and gave them a dubious look, no doubt considering simply ducking under them. Lily didn't think they'd like what would happen if they tried, so she pushed her way forward and used her magic to connect to the trees and part their branches. She remained there as the knights and Merlin cautiously passed between them, then she turned to catch up.

Several more times they encountered plants that came awake as though sentient, and Lily quickly warded them off. Then they came across a species Lily didn't recognize, but she could feel their slumber as they got closer. Giant leaves like spades stood erect along the path. A handful of dead ones lay around the area, withered and blackened, and the ones here looked like new growth. Lily stepped forward carefully, waiting. The leaves didn't react. Maybe the forest was used to her presence.

Mouth pressed into a thin line, she beckoned for one of the knights to move closer. Gwaine strode forward with an air of bravado. Still the plants didn't wake. Lily wondered if she'd warded off enough of the forest's defenses that it had given up trying to stop her. She gestured for the others to follow quickly, hanging back to watch their backs. As soon as all of them were making their way down the line of giant leaves, Lily felt them snap awake.

The spades split open to reveal a fleshy pink interior lined with razor sharp barbs. With a screech, the plant maws launched downward to try to snatch up their prey. The knights yelled and ducked out of the way. Lily's heart lurched into her throat.

"Stop!" she screamed, throwing both hands out.

The plants froze, suspended mid-strike, their leaves vibrating. They gurgled with hunger and tried to resist her magic. Lily pushed more of her will through the connection, touching their roots and squeezing until they cowed in response.

"Go," Lily said.

The knights and Merlin hesitated.

"I have them," she insisted. "Get off the path."

They reluctantly turned and hurried down the path until they were clear of the carnivorous plants. Lily kept a tight hold on their root systems as she followed. Once out of their territory, she released the connection. The scream of outrage that reverberated in her head made her wince.

"You okay?" Merlin asked.

She nodded. "Do you think we have to come back this way?"

Merlin worked his jaw. "Maybe whatever item we retrieve will control them."

They could hope.

They pressed onward, driven by their need and worry for Lancelot. The further they trekked, the more anxious Lily became that they might not find what they were looking for in time. But then they finally reached a solid wall of ivy, writhing in place like a horde of snakes. There didn't appear to be a way around them, and the ivy didn't react as the knights guardedly approached.

Lily took a breath to rally herself and walked up to the wall of vines. She could sense how many there were, several inches thick, all woven together in a series of knots. Almost like locks…

Lily closed her eyes and focused on visualizing the arrangement of ivy that she could sense. She didn't feel any malice from them like the other protective barriers, just complexity. So she tentatively placed a hand flat against the vines and began to rearrange them coil by coil, until the wall untethered from itself and parted. Inside was an enclosed space with more ivy on all three sides and squirming across the floor. And in the center was a stone pillar holding a wooden box.

"Well," Merlin said. "Morgana did say we'd know it when we saw it."

"I should go in," Lily said.

"Be careful," Arthur warned.

She nodded and began to step carefully around the coiled vines. They stirred more fervently as she passed, but she managed to hop through the clumps quickly enough to avoid getting snagged. There was a stone plate around the pedestal where she found safe landing.

The wooden box was six by six inches and there didn't appear to be any hinges to open it. Lily lifted her hands to pick it up but hesitated. She had no idea what would happen if she took it. Yet she had no choice. Mustering her resolve and bracing herself, she grabbed the box off the pillar.

The ivy immediately came to life in agitation, swarming down from the sides and across the floor to swallow her whole. There were too many for her to connect with and control. The knights drew their swords and leaped in, hacking at the plants. Lily made a run for it, but the writhing coils grabbed her ankle and almost tripped her.

But then Elyan was there slicing his blade through the vines, and Lily staggered into Percival's arms. He swept her out of the enclosure as the rest of the knights backed up, fighting off the following ivy.

"Run!" Arthur shouted.

They bolted through the forest back down the path. The vines followed them a short distance before apparently reaching their maximum, and they skidded to a breathless stop once safely out of reach.

"Are you okay?" Arthur asked her.

Lily nodded and held up the box for them to see. At least, it was the shape of a box, but without an obvious lid, it may have just been a block.

"It's hollow," Elyan said, taking the object and giving it a light shake. No sound emanated from within.

"It's probably some kind of magical artifact," Leon speculated.

Lily cast a covert questioning look at Merlin, but he wasn't looking her way.

"Whatever it is," Arthur said, "we can't let Morgana have it. She'll only use it for evil."

"What about Lancelot?" Percival objected.

"I'm not saying we abandon him," Arthur said hurriedly. "We just have to find a way to get him back without giving Morgana what she wants."

Gwaine snorted. "Right. Any ideas on that?"

They all exchanged silent looks, completely at a loss.

Merlin studied the box as they retraced their steps through the forest. He wasn't getting a sense it was magical, but it had to be something important or dangerous to have been locked away in a magically protected forest. He agreed that they couldn't let Morgana get it, whatever it was, but they couldn't leave Lancelot to her either. Even if the self-sacrificing idiot would probably tell them to. Merlin hoped having Lily in his life had tempered some of those tendencies.

"What if we made a duplicate?" Elyan suggested.

"There's no time," Leon countered. "Plus she said men will be watching the forest when we come out. We won't be able to detour back to Camelot to do a fake-out."

"I say break it open to see if there's anything inside," Gwaine said.

Elyan scoffed. "And if there isn't, Morgana will definitely notice if we deliver it in pieces."

"We could say we found it that way."

"And if she is expecting something inside?" Percival put in.

Gwaine shrugged. "Same story."

"Morgana is dangerous when she's angry," Arthur said soberly. "And she holds all the power."

"Our only option is to pretend to go through with the exchange and once we have Lancelot in sight, fight our way out," Leon said.

"That's risky," Percival commented.

Lily looked sick at the thought of Lancelot becoming collateral damage. Merlin would never let that happen, though, even if he had to reveal his magic… Though, it'd be better if he could find a way around that.

"We'll all be going with you to meet Morgana this time," Arthur told Lily. "No doubt she'll have her mercenaries there as well."

Lily nodded. She was so distraught she almost walked into the carnivorous plants' territory without noticing, but Gwaine caught her arm and pulled her back. Everyone tensed as they roved their gazes over the once again dormant plants. Merlin would suggest going around if they weren't in a hurry and it wouldn't potentially get them lost.

"They're awake," Lily said in a low voice.

"Crafty buggers," Gwaine commented.

"You can hold them back again, though, right?" Leon asked.

Lily looked nervous but nodded and took a step forward. Merlin watched anxiously as she held out her palms. Her magic was so different from his that he couldn't feel it moving, but he saw the plants begin to twitch and sway as though battling her command to stand down.

Lily drew her chin up in resolve and strode down the path. The plants bent back at her will. "Hurry," she called over her shoulder.

They fell into single file and jogged across the path. Lily held her ground in the middle until they were safely on the other side. But Merlin had barely made it when one of the edge plants wrenched free of Lily's control and lashed a vine around his ankle. He yelped as his foot was yanked out from under him and he was dragged backward across the ground, the box still in his hands.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled.

The plant opened its razor lined maw above him and launched downward. Instinct brought Merlin's magic to the surface, ready to explode outward in defense of himself. But then Lily was there, planting herself over Merlin and thrusting her hands out at the plant as though directing her mental focus. The green trap jerked and flailed, gnashing its teeth.

Merlin scrambled to his feet, careful not to drop the artifact. Gwaine and Arthur reached for his arms to haul him the rest of the way to safety.

"Lily!" Arthur shouted.

She backed away from the plant as the ones in the rear began to thrash in earnest. Then she turned and bolted away from them, narrowly escaping the vines that shot after her. They snapped taut at their limit and then retreated. Even so, Merlin and the others continued to sprint a ways through the forest in order to be certain they were safe.

"That was close," Elyan remarked.

"At least that was the worst of it," Arthur added.

Leon looked at Lily. "That's some powerful magic you've got. More than just growing things."

Lily shrugged; she tried to keep her magic limited to gardening in Camelot so people wouldn't fear it, but she definitely had more range in her powers than most of her people with the same magic did.

Merlin straightened. "That's it."

"What is, Merlin?" Arthur asked.

"There's a bunch of ivy growing near the Druid memorial. Lily could start to take the artifact to Morgana, and just before she hands it over, manipulate a vine to snatch it out of her hands and retreat with it. And in that split second of surprise, the rest of you attack."

"What if Morgana kills Lancelot before we can reach him?" Lily asked.

"Her attention will be on the artifact if she wants it badly enough," Merlin said. And given the lengths she went to in order to manipulate Lily into doing her dirty work, Morgana wanted this box very much.

"I also don't trust Morgana to keep her word about releasing Lancelot anyway," Arthur put in. "So even though it's risky, it is our best option." He turned to Lily. "Can you do this?"

Her expression was pinched with worry and dread, but she nodded.

"We'll be ready for your move," Arthur went on. "Trust us."

Her throat bobbed, but she took a steadying breath and gave a firmer nod. "Let's go get him back."