Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin! I only own my OC, and any other characters or plotlines I make up along the way!

AN: I was rewatching an episode of season 5 (not the finale, never) and I just bawled the entire time. So season 5 is definitely going to be hard to write but I'm still excited for it!

ENJOY!

Sometimes I wondered how much longer I could hold out on this "double agent" thing.

For the past few days or so, Morgana and I had been feeding information about Guinevere to Morgause and through extension Cenred. I hadn't met Cenred yet but just the sound of the guy gave me the creeps.

Anyways, the information we'd been giving Cenred had been about Gwen and her relationship with Arthur. I wanted to crawl into a ball and just die at my betrayal, but I had to keep doing it in order to do good.

The plan for tonight was for Gwen to be kidnapped by some of Cenred's men, and I had barely been able to sleep that night because of how badly I'd been worried.

When I woke up that morning after only getting a few hours of sleep, I dressed myself before heading over to the council chamber to have breakfast with Morgana, Arthur, and Uther.

Morgana was already there when I got there, and I sleepily walked over to my usual seat next to her.

"Good morning, Elizabeth," Uther greeted as I sat down.

"Good morning," I barely managed to mumble.

"Anything the matter?" He asked when he saw that something was wrong.

"I didn't get much sleep last night," I told him. "And this morning, Gwen didn't show up for work."

"She didn't show up for you, either?" Morgana "asked". This was all part of the plan.

Arthur furrowed his eyes in confusion. " That's not like her."

"I know, it's strange. I hope nothing's wrong," Morgana said.

"You two needn't worry," Uther assured us. "After all, if your maid can no longer be relied upon, we can easily replace her."

I hated that Uther so casually said that he could replace my friend. As if anybody could replace Guinevere.

"I'm sure she'll turn up soon enough," Arthur offered.

"I hope so," I said.

Morgana nodded. "I'm sure she will."

"Gwen didn't just disappear," I told Merlin in his chambers after breakfast. "Morgana and I have been feeding Morgause information to give to Cenred about Gwen. So Cenred's men took Gwen, but I'm pretty sure they're going to release her after a night. They're trying to get to Arthur and they think they can do that through Gwen."

"Do you know where she is?" Merlin asked.

I shook my head. "That's the only thing. I don't. Ugh, Merlin, I swear my head is going to explode from all these secrets."

Merlin wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into his side, kissing the side of my head. "You're doing a good thing. When Guinevere gets back, we can form a plan."

After breakfast, Arthur made some inquiries about Guinevere, and Morgana and I were present when he presented the information to Uther.

"The guards saw her leave the palace at the usual time. After that, nothing," Arthur informed him.

"Why are you telling me this?" Uther asked.

"Sire, I have reason to believe that Guinevere has been kidnapped," Arthur said.

"Kidnapped?" Morgana and I both said.

"I'd like to organise a search party," Arthur told his father.

"I hardly think that would be appropriate," Uther said.

"Father?" Arthur tried.

"She's just a serving girl," Uther dismissed.

"She's the maid to the King's ward and the Lady of Camelot," Arthur argued.

"Not just that," I added. "She's our friend."

Uther sighed. "Very well. Send a squad of guards to search the lower town."

"And the countryside?" Arthur asked.

"They have until nightfall," Uther went on.

"Father, I'm not sure I can achieve..." Arthur started.

"Arthur, I have a kingdom to protect. I cannot waste precious resources on a servant, whatever their circumstances," Uther dismissed.

I woke up to the sound of my door opening the next morning. I looked over at the door to see Gwen walking in. "Guinevere!" I exclaimed as I sat up. "Where were you?"

"I'm sorry, My Lady, I was unwell," Gwen apologized as she gathered up my laundry.

"Are you okay now?" I asked.

"I'm fine, thank you," Gwen answered.

"Please don't overwork yourself if you're still healing," I told her. "Whatever it is that needs to be done, it can wait. Please take time to heal."

"Thank you, My Lady," Gwen said as she grabbed the laundry basket and walked out the door.

"The Castle of Fyrien, I'm sure of it," Arthur said.

Gwen eventually broke down to Merlin and told him about Cenred and her brother, Elyan. It had taken so much to make it look like we hadn't known, but Merlin and I managed to pull it off. Now, Gwen, Merlin, and I were all in Arthur's chambers.

"Never even heard of it," Merlin said.

"Fyrien was a merchant," Arthur started. "He built a castle on the Seas of Meredor as an outpost for trade routes to the east, but when war broke out with Caerleon, the trade dried up. The castle was abandoned."

"And so it's ruined now?" Merlin asked.

"Well, no. It was built to withstand anything. For Cenred, it's the perfect hideout," Arthur deduced.

"That sounds like a hard place to get in to," I commented.

"It is. It will be well defended," Arthur said.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't've brought this to you," Gwen said remorsefully.

"You did the right thing. Your brother will come to no harm, I promise," Arthur swore.

"How can you be so sure?" Gwen asked.

"Because we're going to rescue him," Arthur answered.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Merlin questioned.

"The four of us," Arthur said, looking at all of us.

"Cenred wants you dead. That's why he's doing this," Merlin reminded him.

"I know. Cenred's wanted Camelot's throne for as long as I can remember," Arthur said.

"Then we'll be walking into a trap," Merlin grumbled.

"Not necessarily," Arthur argued.

Later that night in the woods, Morgana and I met Morgause in the woods.

"Sisters," Morgause greeted when we got there. "Is everything in place?"

"Arthur's taken the bait," Morgana answered.

"So he means to rescue her brother?" Morgause questioned.

I nodded. "Arthur acted exactly as we knew he would."

"There is not a thing in this world that Arthur would not do for Guinevere," Morgana reported.

"Really, it's like watching a dog try to please his master," I played along.

"Excellent. And he comes alone, I take it?" Morgause asked.

"Uther would never sanction an army for such a task," Morgana said. "He rides with just Gwen, Merlin and Lizzie."

"Perfect. He is as good as ours," Morgause smiled.

"And once he is dead?" Morgana asked.

"Why, then you are Uther's only child, and when the time is right, you may take your place on the throne of Camelot," Morgause finished proudly.

"Gaius, have you forgotten that I'm working with Morgana and Morgause?" I asked him later that night in his and Merlin's chambers. I crossed my arms. "Why wouldn't I be certain?"

"Elizabeth has said that she and Morgana have been feeding Cenred information," Merlin added. "How else would he know about Arthur's feelings for Gwen?"

"And we can't even go to Arthur about it because it'd be our word against Morgana's, and she's the King's daughter," I huffed, cupping my chin in my hand. "Even if it is me saying it, Uther would believe Morgana over me because I'm not his real daughter. And there goes my chance at finding out information."

"I know. She's found Arthur's weak spot," Merlin sighed.

"Well, Arthur can't sacrifice himself for Gwen's brother," Gaius stated.

"No, of course not. We're going to rescue him instead," Merlin said.

"You're going to snatch this boy from under Cenred's nose? You and Arthur? Morgana knows nothing of this?" Gaius asked.

Merlin scoffed. "No."

I winced a little. "Might want to take that 'no' back," I said, and Gaius and Merlin looked up sharply. "I guess Morgana was eavesdropping today when we were talking with Arthur because she confronted me about it, and then we went and told Morgause about it." I looked over at Merlin. "I didn't have the chance to tell you."

"Then you two better look after yourselves," Gaius advised.

I tugged on my loose tunic, trying to make it go lower on my body. I felt cold but it wasn't cold outside. "I don't know about this," I murmured to myself as I examined myself in the mirror.

There was a knock at my door, and I turned my head in its direction a I called out, "Enter!"

The door opened, and I smiled when I saw Merlin walk into the room. "Hello," He greeted.

"Hello," I responded as he came over to me. I put my arms around his neck, and he put his arms around my waist. I fit my head under Merlin's chin as I leaned my head against his chest. "I missed you."

I felt Merlin smile against my head. "You saw me last night."

"That was a full twelve hours," I pointed out. I looked up at him so that my chin was leaning against his chest and my nose was brushing his chin. "And for the next however many hours, I have to pretend that I hate your guts when all I want to do is kiss your stupid nose."

"My nose isn't that stupid," He argued as he dropped a kiss to my nose.

"We'll see who's the judge of that," I told him as I reached up and out my head on his shoulder, sliding my arms to his back so that I could hug him. "I'm going to be with Morgause, so I'll be safe when it comes to Cenred," I pointed out as I pulled back, moving my hands from his back to his chest. I fiddled with his blue neckerchief. "I can't say the same for you." I moved my hands to his shoulders. "Please, be careful. And take care of Arthur as well. He needs your protection more than he knows-or likes to admit."

Merlin leaned over and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "When am I never careful?"

"Oh, I don't know, always?" I smirked, but Merlin quickly wiped that smirk off of my face with a kiss.

I was preparing my horse when Merlin stormed over to me. "Did you fail to mention that Morgana was joining us?"

I looked over to where Merlin was glancing and saw Morgana talking to Gwen. "I thought it was a given. If I was going, Morgana would definitely have insisted on coming."

Merlin glared over his shoulder at Morgana, who didn't see it because her back was turned. "Either way, you shouldn't stick around me for too long. Don't want Morgana to see."

He nodded ruefully as he turned around and walked over to Arthur, who was approaching us. I turned back to my horse and finished tying my bag to the saddle. I heard the sound of footsteps approaching and turned my head to see Morgana walking over. "You should have seen the look on Merlin's face when I told him I was coming," She snickered.

"I'm sad I missed it," I said as I looked over to the spot where Merlin was, thinking about how I was kissing his lips about twenty minutes ago. "Well, we should get going."

I was so used to the woods now that I hardly jumped anymore but the same couldn't be said for Guinevere, who was eyeing the forest warily.

Arthur must have picked up on her uneasiness, because he said, "I used to be afraid of these woods."

"I find that hard to believe," Gwen replied.

"My father would bring me here when I was a boy, and it seemed every falling leaf was a bandit, every puff of wind was a ghost. You just get used to it in the end," Arthur told her.

"I don't think I'd ever get used to it," Gwen shook her head.

"You don't have to. You've got me," Arthur assured her. He smiled sweetly at her, and I had to suppress a smile of my own at how cute they looked together.

Arthur must have remembered that he wasn't alone, because he cleared his throat and said, "What I mean is, in the event of an attack we'll watch out for each other. Morgana, I think I can rely on your protection?"

"Of course," Morgana answered and it took everything in me not to yell "SHE'S TRYING TO FREAKING KILL YOU I DOUBT YOU CAN RELY ON HER".

"And Gwen, you'll look after Merlin, won't you?" Arthur continued, and I couldn't help the laugh that rose out of me from the look on Merlin's face.

Morgana and Elizabeth had split up to find firewood, and Arthur, wanting to be alone with Guinevere, sent Merlin off to go "check on Morgana".

Morgana looked over her shoulder to see Merlin approaching her. She rolled her eyes as she bent down to grab some more firewood. "What do you want Merlin?"

"Arthur sent me," Merlin answered. "He wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"How very thoughtful of him," Morgana replied sarcastically as she continued collecting firewood.

"Well, he cares for you. You know, Gwen too. They're your friends, Morgana. They've always been loyal to you," Merlin tried to reason with her.

"Why are you telling me this?" Morgana questioned, losing her temper.

"Because I don't understand how anyone would want to hurt their friends," Merlin explained.

Morgana shook her head. "No, you just poison them." She gave him a hard glare. "You know, if you had poisoned me, I might have been able to find it somewhere in my heart to forgive you. But no," She took a threatening step towards Merlin. "You chose to go after my sister. My best friend. I love her more than anything, Merlin. And I will continue to protect her against the likes of you."

"You're not the only one who loves her, Morgana!" Merlin blurted, realizing too late what he had said.

Morgana burst into laughter. "Oh my God. After all this time, you still love her?" She shook her head at him. "Merlin, you truly are a fool, aren't you? You'd do well to stay out of things that do not concern you."

"Oh, but they do concern me, cause they're my friends too. And I'll do whatever it takes to protect them," Merlin told her.

"I would expect nothing less," Morgana responded, dropping the firewood to the ground before stalking off.

I felt like I had missed something between Gwen and Arthur, and Morgana and Merlin when I got back from collecting firewood. I had noticed the atmosphere was different during dinner. Man, why did I always miss everything?

"Cenred's chosen his hideout well," Arthur began as we finished up dinner. "Now, the Castle of Fyrien backs onto the sea, we will be vastly outnumbered, and his lookouts will spot us well before we've reached the gates. So, we can't go that way."

"But there's no other way, surely?" Morgana asked.

"Yes, there is," Arthur corrected.

Obviously trying to keep Morgana from hearing, Merlin held up the pot of beans. "Erm, more beans? Anyone?" He offered.

"No thanks," Arthur answered, clearly weirded out. "When Caerleon was defeated by my father at the Battle of Danaria, he retreated to the Castle of Fyrien and it seemed a victory would be denied us, but my father knew of a secret labyrinth beneath the castle."

"A labyrinth?" Morgana repeated.

"Fyrien was greedy. So, to avoid Camelot's levies, he dug tunnels from the castle to the sea. That way he could smuggle goods into the kingdom without anyone knowing," Arthur explained.

"And you ambushed Caerleon using these old tunnels," Morgana concluded.

"He never saw us coming. And neither will Cenred," Arthur said.

You would think...

Later that night after everyone had gone to sleep, I felt my arm been shaken. I opened my eyes slightly to see that it was Morgana trying to wake me up. "Morgause sent a message for us to meet her," Morgana whispered. "Let's go."

No! I couldn't let Morgana tell Morgause about the secret tunnels underneath the castle. Morgana began to stand up, but I reached up and grabbed her arm, keeping her down to the ground.

She looked from her arm to me. "What is it?"

"Uhh..." I stammered. An idea crossed my mind, so I slipped my free arm around my stomach and contorted my face in pain. "My stomach hurts!" I whispered.

"What?" Morgana asked.

"I don't know, I think those beans hit me wrong," I answered, hunching myself over. "My stomach really hurts, I can't move."

"Okay," Morgana responded. "You stay here, rest, and I'll go speak with Morgause."

"No!" I protested in a loud whisper, tightening my grip on her arm. "Don't leave me, please!"

"Lizzie, it's just for a few minutes while I tell her about the tunnels underneath the castle," She explained.

I shook my head. "Morgana, I'm scared. Please don't leave me here by myself."

Morgana clearly looked torn, looking from me to the forest. Finally she sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll stay with you," She answered. I sat up a bit and moved over so that I could put my head in her lap. She wasn't going anywhere as long as my head was there. I moved my hand from her arm to her hand, intertwining my fingers with hers so that I could feel if she left.

I felt Morgana pushing my hair away from my face. "Go back to sleep, Lizzie. If you're sick, you need rest."

I was very reluctant, but I closed my eyes and let myself fall asleep, tightening my grip on Morgana's hand as I drifted off.

TBC...

Next part to follow soon!

REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! THANKS! STAY TUNED!