Arthur thought he must have spent more time in the castle library that week than he had in the past five years, and he hadn't found a single useful piece of information. His father, whatever his faults may have been, was nothing if not thorough with his eradication of everything to do with magic. Nothing in the library had so much as a mention of magic unless it was to confirm its evilness.

He hadn't given much information to Geoffrey, the librarian, but what he had said to explain his search had made the man suspicious. Arthur only hoped that he could be trusted not to tell the King that Arthur was poking around for druid related texts.

It was just about time for Arthur to leave when a bookshelf moved. He had only been trying to take a peek at some of the books on higher shelves. Climbing the structure probably hadn't been the best idea, but taking the time to bring over a ladder would have not only cost minutes but attracted more watchful eyes.

At worst, Arthur thought the shelf might collapse. Never in a million years would he have guessed that it would open a secret entrance to a small room.

Everything in the room was covered with dust. Clearly, no one had spent time in it for quite some time. Two steps in, Arthur knocked over a box and something inside it moved. It sounded like something alive. Arthur moved the box out of his way and piled some books on top so that whatever it was wouldn't escape. Better safe than sorry.

Dusting off the cover of another book, Arthur grinned in triumph. The book was clearly magical.

After opening the book, his triumph wore away.

It would be just his luck that all the books he wanted to read would be written in some foreign text, wouldn't it?

He searched the shelves until he found a book that he could read at least some portions of, and left the secret room. He would be back, but the one book is all he would have time for that day.

Besides, Morgana had left that morning to visit her father's grave. If he waited a day, he could take her and Merlin to that secret miniature library and have them translate for him.

0o0o0o0

"You look troubled, Gwen," Morgana said.

"I'm fine."

"You're very secretive these days. I'm beginning to think there's a man involved." Or, Gwen had seen more than she should. Gwen could have guessed at Morgana having magic.

Gwen only laughed. "When do I get to meet any decent men?"

And as if called by her words, men (and not the decent kind) attacked from out of the trees. Morgana turned her horse, looking for an escape between all the fighting.

"My ladies, you must follow me!" Sir Robert gestured towards a gap between the bandits before he was shot in the back.

Having been pulled off their horses, Morgana and Gwen ran.

"Gwen! Head for the path! Go!" Morgana yelled. They changed their course slightly and kept running, but it was no use. Someone was already waiting to meet them.

Morgana stopped, trapped between the fight behind her and this man with a sword, and enough muscle to take her down without it. "I warn you. I am Uther Pendragon's ward. He'll have your heads if any harm comes to me."

The man shook his head. "I have no intention of harming you. At least not yet. You're much more valuable to me alive, Lady Morgana."

0o0o0o0

They had planned (barely) and now it was time to act.

"I am the King's ward and accustomed to certain standards. I am sure you are quite contented to stink like a pig, but I am not." Morgana tried for her usual confidence but found her voice lacking in the power it usually had.

Kendrick, as the man had been named, sneered. "The Lady Morgana wishes to bathe! Who wants to help me guard her?" His greedy gaze went not to his fellow fighters but to Morgana.

The others laughed, and Morgana wished she could challenge each and each one to a duel. She could defeat them, one by one. But such a challenge would never be accepted by men with no honour.

At the stream, Morgana pulled off her cloak and stopped. Two men were still watching, and, while Morgana did value her privacy, the more important matter was that they look away long enough for her and Gwen to get a head start. That had been plan A.

Plan A would only work if the guards were stupid enough to fall for it.

"You may find the water a little icy," Kendrick mocked.

"I'm sure I'll manage," Morgana responded. "If you were any kind of gentleman, you'd give me some privacy."

Kendrick sneered. "Well, unfortunately for you I am no kind of gentleman. Now get on with it."

On to plan B, then. Apparently, only Camelot's guards were idiots. Morgana would have to see about that being fixed. She pulled off her outer garments, and noted, but didn't react, when one of the bandits let go of Gwen.

"You can at least turn your backs."

"So you can make a run for it. Do you think I'm that stupid?"

"I think you're very stupid."

As discussed in whispered voices in their tent, Gwen snatched at Kendrick's sword while Morgana threw her fist towards him. Sword in hand, Morgana quickly disarmed and slashed at both men.

They ran as quickly as they could in the direction Morgana chose. They hadn't gotten far before Morgana heard Gwen stumble behind her.

"Gwen!"

"Run!" Gwen yelled desperately.

"Put your arm around my shoulder," Morgana insisted. "come on!"

"No, no, no. We'll never outrun them, you must go on without me!"

"I'm not leaving you behind!"

"Morgana, go! Please! You must get help!"

"Take this." Morgana handed Gwen the sword she had taken from their captor and turned to run just as a man caught up to them. "Astryce!" She yelled, forcing out an arm in front of her. It was the first spell Merlin had taught her when she had asked about self-defence - she wasn't even sure if it would work, she hadn't found it very reliable in practice.

The man went flying back into a tree and didn't move to get back up.

"Morgana!" Gwen gasped, staring at the fallen man, the sword hanging at her side. "How - when - you can't -"

Morgana wanted to explain, to sit down and talk with Gwen about magic and assure her that it wasn't the evil she thought it was, but the sound of more people running after them crept closer and Gwen raised the sword again.

"Go!" She launched herself as best as she could at the next man pursuing them. Morgana tried to use magic again, but, as usual, the spell failed her. Morgana heard the man scream as she turned and fled.

0o0o0o0

Morgana faced a moment of panic when she heard movement again behind her, but a glance of Camelot red assured her that it was only a search party for her, not another group out to kidnap her for ransom.

"Morgana!" Arthur lowered his sword when he saw who it was. "Where's Guinevere?" He swung around as if he expected Gwen to hop out from behind another tree in perfect condition.

Morgana shook her head, unable to see a word.

Arthur grimaced, nodded, and reached for Morgana's arm. They'd brought an extra horse for her, and Morgana climbed into the saddle on her own, refusing help from a knight who had offered it.

"Arthur," she whispered. They were far enough ahead of the knights that she was sure they couldn't hear, but she didn't dare say the word 'magic' anyway. "Gwen saw me. I tried to use that skill Merlin helped me with to escape, but I failed. I couldn't get us both out of there."

"It's not your fault."

Morgana clenched her fists tighter around the reigns.

"You did your best. Leave the rest to me."

0o0o0o0

Morgana entered Arthur's chambers without knocking. "That better have been some kind of distraction, Arthur Pendragon! Gwen is the most kind, loyal person that you would ever meet, and she has been more than a friend to all of us! If you leave her at the mercy of those animals, I promise you, I'll make your life a living hell!"

Arthur's unprotesting, almost bored, response to Uther's declaration that no one would be sent after Gwen had shocked her. After everything she and Arthur had gone through, and after everything she, and Merlin, had trusted him with, it didn't seem possible that Arthur would just abandon a friend.

Arthur turned to her, raising a bag in one hand and a piece of clothing in the other. "Packing. See? Use your eyes before making accusations."

Exhaling, Morgana let her shoulders relax. "You are going after her. Good. I'm going with you."

"Absolutely not."

"I'm the one who got her into this mess!"

"And you were also the original target. We can't save Gwen only to lose you." Arthur put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'll bring her home. I told you to leave the rest to me, I'll take care of it."

Morgana nodded. She supposed that putting a little bit more trust in Arthur couldn't hurt anything. Besides, wherever Arthur went, Merlin went also.

0o0o0o0

Arthur had been somewhat offended that Morgana had thought that he would just sit around in the castle while Gwen was out there somewhere needing help. Just like he would never have abandoned Merlin, he would never have considered leaving Gwen on her own. Yes, he had been disappointed that he wouldn't get information from the books he had found just yet but books could wait. Guinevere could not. As soon as it was dark, he made sure that he and Merlin went on their way.

"I'll fetch the horses, you distract the guards," Arthur ordered, peeking out from behind a cart. Sneaking out of his own city was, of course, a last resort, but a necessary one. The guards were under Uther's orders, not his. And of the knights, Arthur doubted any would follow his orders above the king's except Sir Leon in rare occasions.

Merlin turned to look at Arthur. "How do I do that?"

"I don't know." Arthur was already positioning himself to go towards the stables. "Do I have to think of everything?"

It only took Arthur a few minutes to make sure the horses were ready, as he had made sure they would be earlier that day. On his return, the guards lay collapsed in the square and Merlin stood where Arthur had left him, a slight frown on his face.

"What did you do?" Arthur hissed. He had guessed that Merlin would use magic, but the type of magic he had been thinking of was the kind that created fake footsteps heading in a different direction, not the kind that rendered a person unconscious. "I said distract them, not knock them out!"

"There's just no pleasing you sometimes."

0o0MERLIN0o0

Thud.

Arthur turned in his saddle to look behind him. Merlin was on the ground, his horse plodding on behind Arthur's as Merlin scrambled to get back up.

"What are you doing, Merlin?"

"I must've fallen asleep. Ugh, I'm exhausted." Merlin sighed. "I can barely keep my eyes open."

Arthur reached for his canteen, opened it, and threw the water contained at Merlin's face.

"Thank you. I feel so much better."

Arthur resisted the urge to either leave Merlin behind or get off his own force to slap the boy for his sarcasm. "Guinevere's life is at stake! We cannot afford to waste a second."

0o0oMERLINo0o0

"The ransom was supposed to be delivered to the Veil of Denaria," Arthur said. It was the next day, and enough time had been spent sleeping (or not sleeping in Arthur's case). It was time to pick up the pace. "If they're holding Gwen anywhere, it has to be there. Which means, it'd save a day's riding if we cut through the tunnels of Andor."

"Oh, no. I know that face. I'm not going to like this, am I?" Merlin looked over Arthur's shoulder at the map he had packed. "What's in the tunnels?"

Arthur had studied the map while he had been supposed to be sleeping, and hadn't found an alternate route, or much to guide him on this one, but he told Merlin what he knew.

"They're…" Arthur hesitated, "Infested with Wilddeoren. Maybe it would have been better - faster, and less risky for Guinevere that was - if he hadn't said anything unless there were any problems. He wasn't sure if it would turn out a good decision or a bad one. If Merlin knew what wilddeoren were then maybe he knew a better way to avoid them. Or maybe he only knew enough to know that they shouldn't go through the tunnels unless they had to.

And they did have to.

"What are wilddeoren?"

Arthur grimaced. "Well, they're like giant…"

Merlin's eyes widened.

"... Baby rats"

"Baby rats? They don't sound so bad."

"They feast on human flesh."

"Maybe we should go over the mountains?" Merlin suggested, looking through the trees at the mountains ahead.

"No. The tunnels are the only way, unless," Arthur glanced quickly around, even though he knew no one was likely to hear them, "Unless you can use magic? You know, just make us disappear here and appear on the other side?"

He couldn't fathom why neither of them had thought of it before. They had both seen sorcerers escape from Camelot by disappearing in a swirl of wind. Sure, they'd never seen any of these sorcerers take anyone with them, but it couldn't be that difficult.

Merlin looked across at him, clearly surprised.

Arthur hadn't really ever directly asked Merlin to use magic, only thrown him in situations where he would probably need it. It wasn't that Arthur was afraid of what Merlin might do, and Merlin's magic was no longer an issue of trust. It was just that Merlin using magic for everything made Arthur look at everything he had ever done and still feel… useless.

"No, Arthur, I can't."

"Why not?"

Merlin squirmed under Arthur's glare. "I don't know how!"

Of all the reasons Merlin could have given, Arthur wasn't sure why this one surprised him. Of course, Merlin wasn't all-knowing.

"Maybe," Merlin continued, "if we went through the mountains this way,"

Arthur ignored him and walked over to the bushes near the cave entrance. Gaia berries. Wilddeoren are completely blind, he had read. They hunt only by their sense of smell. Arthur pressed the berries between his fingers, brought them up to his nose, and cringed. They were absolutely foul.

"Er...what are you doing?" Merlin asked.

"Wilddeoren are completely blind, they hunt by sense of smell," Arthur repeated. "Gaia berries will put them off the scent. So, if we smear ourselves with them, perhaps we can pass through the tunnels undetected." Perhaps. It was a stellar idea, if only they had time to be tested before serious use.

The smell of the berries blocked off all other surrounding smells as Arthur continued to smear them all over his face and arms.

"Oh!" Merlin scrunched his nose at the first whiff of berries. "Oh, these stink!"

"Perhaps you'd prefer to be eaten alive."

"Pass me some more, will you?"

0o0oMERLINo0o0

Morgana sat in her room staring blankly at the pages in Merlin's magic book. She had fallen asleep the previous night, terrified and hopeful for what she might see.

She had woken up in the morning having seen nothing, and while previously that would've been a blessing, this time, Morgana couldn't help but think of it as a bad omen.

"My Lady, you've not touched your food. Could I get you something more to your liking?"

"No, thank you, Arleen. You can go."

The servant bowed her head and exited the room.

Gwen's replacement had been sent up by Uther that morning. She was familiar - Morgana was pretty sure that she had seen the girl in passing at least a few times - but she wasn't a friend. Morgana wasn't even sure she could consider Gwen a friend anymore. She kept replaying the moment when Gwen had seen her use magic over and over in her head, and each time, Gwen's face became angrier and more fearful.

It was impossible to tell which memory was the truth.

Morgana went back to looking at the book, but it was difficult to focus when the only thing she could hear in her mind was the word "coward."

She should never have left Gwen. She shouldn't have let Arthur go without her. She shouldn't have been allowed to enjoy a night of dreamless sleep and breakfast in bed.

Coward.

0o0oMERLINo0o0

It was only after Arthur had finally gotten used to the smell of the gaia berries that he and Merlin reached the end of the tunnels and could wash them off.

"Gaia berries worked, then. Huh," Arthur murmured, mostly to himself.

"You didn't know if they worked?" Merlin stepped back from the stream, face still wet, but clear of any sticky red juice.

Arthur picked a berry seed off his jacket. "Not for sure."

"Now you tell me?! Oh! Oh, what's that Wilddeoren eating? It's alright. It's just Merlin. You trying to get us both killed?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have risked your life like that."

"Well, they do say love makes you do strange things."

"What are you talking about?" Arthur tried to deny what he knew Merlin was suggesting. He couldn't think of Gwen in that way. Anything between the two of them would be just as forbidden as Merlin and Morgana were, and he had actively spoken out against even a friendship between them. He wasn't a hypocrite. Arthur was only going to rescue Gwen out of duty and because Morgana would have hated him otherwise.

"Why can't you just admit your feelings for Gwen?" Merlin asked.

Arthur laughed dismissively.

"It's so obvious. A blind man could see it. Is it really that hard to admit you like her? Just say it."

If even a blind man could see it, it was a miracle Uther hadn't noticed anything. Merlin had to be exaggerating, he had to. But, if he was going to talk to anyone… Arthur was glad it was Merlin who had noticed."

"I can't! How can I admit that I think about her all the time? Or that...I care about her more than anyone. How can I admit that...I don't know what I'll do if any harm comes to her?"

"Why can't you?"

"Because nothing can ever happen between us! To admit my feelings knowing that...hurts too much."

"Who's to say nothing can happen?"

"My father won't let me rescue a servant." Not Merlin, and not Gwen. Arthur's father wouldn't have even let Arthur go out to rescue a single knight, a commoner was out of the question. "Do you honestly believe he'd let me marry one?"

Merlin grinned. "You want to marry Gwen?"

"No! No…" Yes. I"...I don't know...It's all talk, and that's all it can ever be." The risks were too great for it to be anything else.

"When you're King," Merlin said, "you can change that."

"I can't expect Guinevere to wait for me." Arthur imagined his father living to be as old as Gaius. Gwen would marry eventually, no matter what she might have felt for him at some point. She wouldn't live alone and be looked at in pity for never having wed.

"If she feels as you do, she'll wait for you."

"We don't even know if she's still alive."

"No, she is. We will find her."

Arthur wondered if it was by some magical knowhow or just pure faith that Merlin said those words, but he didn't ask. "Come on. We've got a long trek ahead. Oh, and Merlin...if you dare tell anyone about this, I promise I will make your life a living hell."

"You mean, more than you already do?"

"Yeah."

"We could talk about your feelings while you walk."

"Shut up, Merlin."

0o0oMERLINo0o0

"You distract them," Arthur said. "I'll knock them out." They had scaled the walls of the castle, and only found a few of the bandits guarding at the level they had climbed in. They were both tired from the climb, but it was as good an entrance as Arthur could have ever hoped for.

"How do I distract them?"

Arthur shoved Merlin into the room with the bandits.

"What are you doing there?" one of them asked.

"Nothing. Actually, it's a funny story. I was out walking and I took a wrong turn and here I am. Do you know the way to the Veil of Danaria?"

Arthur inched his way behind the men as Merlin talked.

"Who are you?"

"Me? Er, I'm no one...It's him you need to worry about."

After Arthur had knocked them out with his sword, He and Merlin undressed the two men and pulled on their clothes as disguises. The two bandits were dragged off into a corner - hopefully, they wouldn't be found anytime soon. Arthur doubted they had regular shift changes.

"That actually worked pretty well," Merlin said.

They walked swiftly down the hallway in the direction of all the noise and entered a large, dark room filled with men and their atrocious laughter. The torchlight illuminated a cage at the room's centre.

Gwen didn't look as bad as Arthur had feared - and she was wearing Morgana's dress, which might have been what had saved her thus far. Whoever was in charge had mistaken her for the king's ward for a while, but evidently, the disguise hadn't held up once no ransom came. Arthur didn't recognize the person tied to Gwen at first until the man turned his face.

Short hair wouldn't hide Lancelot's identity. The false knight looked battered, but alert and Arthur knew that if he could get Lancelot untied, they would have a valuable ally.

"Release the Wilddeoren!" called the man that must have been the leader.

Arthur jumped in without a second thought, joining the two in the cage. He pulled off his mask and revealed himself to the crowd, but most importantly, to Gwen. And Lancelot.

"Arthur!" Gwen said, stunned.

Arthur swiftly cut through their ropes and threw Lancelot a sword swiped from one of the bandits. The two men faced the wilddeoren side by side, Gwen behind them, and it felt natural. Not for the first time, Arthur was reminded what a fine knight they had lost because of his father's rules.

"What are you doing here, Lancelot?"

"I came to save Gwen. What about you?"

"Likewise." But hopefully not for the same reason. Or hopefully for the same reason, because Lancelot would be so much better for Gwen than Arthur would ever be. "Get behind us, he said to Gwen and Merlin.

He saw the same man who had given the order to release the wilddeoren aiming a crossbow directly at the group in the cage. Arthur crouched, ready to throw the others away from the target when a chandelier crashed to the ground, disrupting the shot. Arthur relaxed. He had let himself forget that Merlin wasn't useless, and now that he remembered, their safe escape seemed inevitable.

"The tunnel, that's our only chance. Let's go!"

"After them!" cried the bandit's leader. Having recovered from his fall, the man followed them into the cage in anger. Arthur prepared to defend himself.

"Take Guinevere! I'll hold them off."

"No!" Guinevere yelled. "I won't leave you here!"

Arthur looked to Lancelot, but he had his eyes on the man following them. Arthur grabbed Gwen's wrist, but before he had to drag her to get her to move, Merlin said one of his weird magicky words. Arthur looked just in time to catch the gold in Merlin's eyes fade and see the rope holding the cage gate open break. Their captor was trapped in with the wilddeoren.

"Open the gate! Ah!"

They didn't stay around to see whether or not the man would survive against the giant flesh-eating baby rat.

"I see you're still up to your old tricks, Merlin," Lancelot said while running. Arthur had forgotten that Lancelot knew already, but was relieved that there would be one less explanation to do.

"What?" Gwen hissed. "Why does everyone suddenly know how to do magic, or know that others can do magic, except for me? Arthur?" She turned to him as if looking for confirmation that she was, in fact, awake.

"We'll tell you when we're safely away," Arthur assured, only slowing once they reached the locked bars at the end of the tunnel. After what seemed like hours of running outside, they made camp, and the topic couldn't be avoided much longer.

"I'm surprised you would undertake such a rescue mission...with just the two of you." Lancelot poked at the fire with a long stick, causing a cloud of embers to rise.

"My father would not risk the lives of his knights for a servant," Arthur admitted.

"And yet you disobeyed him and came here anyway."

"Truth is, I only came because Morgana begged me." A lie, of course. He didn't miss how Gwen's head dipped slightly when she heard his words and felt a pang of guilt hit him harder than he'd expected.

"I think I will get some rest," she murmured, retiring to her own space and blanket.

"We should all get some rest," Arthur agreed.

Lancelot continued to look into the fire. "I'll stand guard for a while."

The blankets brought with them were minimal, but Arthur was used to the discomforts of the forest floor from his hunts. It didn't take long to start drifting off. Before he fell completely asleep he heard Merlin's awkward "I'll just...sit here, then," and smiled.

0o0oMERLINo0o0

"Morgana. There's someone here to see you."

Arthur stepped to one side, revealing Gwen behind him. Morgana's eyes met Gwen's, and the warped memory of Gwen seeing her magic floated to the forefront of her mind.

Please don't hate me. I couldn't bare it if you hated me.

Gwen's arms wrapped around Morgana's neck and pulled her close, whispering into her ear. "Merlin and Arthur told me everything. I'm so sorry for what you had to go through alone!" Gwen pulled back, holding both of Morgana's hands in hers. "This doesn't change anything, Morgana."

"I thought I'd never see you again," Morgana said softly.

"I wouldn't be taken from you so easily," Gwen assured, grinning.

Arthur coughed and the girls looked up.

"I'll be off, then. I'm sure my father will want to yell at me for this. Merlin," he looked around for his servant and found that Merlin had already disappeared. "Already slacking on his job, and we only just got back," Arthur said. To most, it would have sounded like a complaint, but Morgana doubted Arthur was really irritated.

Arthur turned to disappear after Merlin, but Morgana called him back.

"Thank you."

Arthur opened his mouth to say something, then changed his mind and shut it again, glancing at Guinevere for only a second. He nodded and left.

"Sit," Morgana led Gwen to one of the chairs at her table. "You must be tired, but I think we should talk before you leave."

"I'm not too tired to stay a while."

Morgana took a deep breath. "What exactly did Merlin and Arthur tell you? About me? And maybe Merlin?"

Gwen bit her lip. "They really did tell me everything, I think. You both have magic, but different kinds. Neither of you chose to study it, it just comes naturally. Is there something else I should know?"

Morgana shook her head. "I just thought that you would be more upset. I thought that you might be…"

"Afraid of you?" A pitying smile turned up a corner of Gwen's mouth. "I'll admit I was at first before Arthur talked to me, but more importantly, I was afraid for you. I thought that it would corrupt you eventually. I had been planning to try to help you stop before it changed your personality."

Morgana scoffed. "I assure you, that won't be necessary."

"I know."

"So that's all? You don't have any other questions?"

"No." Gwen tipped her head to the side. "There is something you should know though. While I was in that cell, someone came to visit me."

"Lancelot. I heard."

"I meant besides him. Someone who had come to rescue you, not me. You wouldn't know anyone by the name of Corbin, would you?"

Morgana thought about it. The name did sound familiar. Perhaps it was someone she had known as a child and had since forgotten about, but that didn't explain why they would be willing to risk themselves for her.

"I don't think so."

"Oh." Gwen looked oddly disappointed for not knowing this person either. She shook the topic off quickly with another. "Another thing this did explain though was Merlin."

"What about him?"

"I knew he was coming to visit you quite often. I'll admit I came to the same conclusion that Arthur did."

"Gwen! Why didn't you say anything!"

"I thought that you would say something first. I didn't want to intrude!"

Morgana stared at Gwen. Her face felt a little warm, but hopefully not enough that a blush would show.

Gwen tried to pinch back a smile. Morgana did the same.

Then both of them were laughing, that awful tear wrenching laugh that makes your stomach ache hours later but feels amazing at the moment.

"I promise I won't keep anything else from you," Morgana gasped out between laughs.

"I promise the same to you."

Comments appreciated.

Sorry for the long wait as well. I'm trying to circle around to all of my ongoing stories, but this one got neglected I think :/