vii.

Arthur spent the rest of the day finishing his immediate responsibilities. He was in the middle of a meeting with the city treasurer when a knock on the door interrupted.

"Open," Arthur commanded. The guard pulled the door open to the messenger Arthur had sent to Lord William the other day, looking bedraggled and exhausted. He bowed to the king. "We will finish later," Arthur told the treasurer, standing and guiding him out of the meeting chambers to replace his presence with the messenger.

"Sit," Arthur said, gesturing to the chair across the table as he sat in his own. The man fell into the other gratefully.

"Your Majesty," he began, "Lord William was not aware of any troops through his land. He sends his greatest sympathies for the loss of our men. I told him the information you relayed to me, so that he may be prepared if he comes across the same magic." The messenger produced a sealed letter from his pack, handing it across the table to Arthur. "His reply to your letter was hasty, and he says he will send a longer correspondence soon."

Arthur broke the seal and scanned its contents. It contained most of what the messenger had just told him but included a plea for a discreet meeting so they could formulate a plan against this new attack.

"Very good. Thank you. Go rest now." Arthur dismissed the messenger with a wave, and he bowed again before skirting out of the room. The guard closed the door behind him. Arthur sighed and dropped the letter onto the table, pressing his palms over his eyes. That creature really had just been intent on his men. And Arthur had led them straight to it. According to Merlin, it wouldn't have come to the city if he hadn't gone to meet it. If he had bided his time instead of jumping to action, his knights could still be alive. Gwaine might still be alive.

He swallowed the knot in his throat, but it didn't dry the tears in his eyes. Their first meeting, years ago now when Arthur had still been a prince, he had hated Gwaine. The man was smug, brash, and foolhardy. He wanted a place in the king's knights because he thought he deserved it, even coming from a lowly farmer's household.

Arthur still remembered the battle that had changed his mind. In enemy territory, their fight had spilled into a nearby village. A mother and her young son had been caught in the middle of the skirmish, and Gwaine had carried the boy as he led the mother to safety. For a man to risk his life for strangers in enemy land… he was more honorable than most of the knights Arthur had fought beside back then.

The friendship they had forged through countless battles over countless years had been stronger than the iron of their swords. Gwaine's smugness had tempered out to self-confidence and his brashness to courage. He was the finest knight Arthur had had the privilege to fight alongside.

Another knock on the door. He steeled himself, hoping his eyes weren't too red, and called to the guard.

This time, it was Sir Leon, and he looked stricken. "Your Majesty," he said, dropping to a knee. "I took men and carts out this morning to gather the fallen knights… they are gone."

"What?" Arthur stood with such force that he knocked his chair back. The clamor of it hitting the stone floor made Leon flinch. "You had the wrong location."

"No, Your Majesty. We found blood and pieces of armor, but no men."

Arthur clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to control his breathing as confusion and anger suffocated him. Leon remained kneeling, looking up at him apprehensively.

"Find Merlin," Arthur growled. Leon stood slowly, too slowly, and Arthur thrust his finger towards the door. "Go! Both of you!" he yelled to the guard. "Find Merlin and bring him to me!" They scrambled out.

Arthur paced the floor, his mind racing. They were there when he had left yesterday morning. If a convoy came and picked them up, that surely would not have gotten past Lord William or any of the other neighboring territories. But for someone to take fallen enemies at all… only the lowest scum would desecrate the dead and deny them proper burial.

Merlin came into the room, followed closely by Guinevere. Arthur stopped and stared at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I was talking to Merlin and a guard came and said you demanded his presence." Gwen looked between them. "Why? What has happened?"

"You should go," Arthur told her, desperate for her to listen to him. She did not need more horror and stress than she already had.

Gwen crossed her arms and set her jaw in the way that meant she would definitively not listen to him. "You may be in charge of war, but I am still the queen. I have as much a right as you to know every situation within our borders."

Arthur sighed, waving his hand to show his agreement. "Close the door."

When that was done, Arthur turned to Merlin. The fairy stood looking bemused and a little bored. A fury at the fairy's insolence replaced any grief and confusion he was feeling earlier. "The bodies of my men are gone," he spat. Merlin's boredom fell from his face in an instant.

"What?" he muttered.

"How?" Arthur growled, grabbing his arms and shaking him. "Where are they? What happened to them?"

Merlin stared back at him, blue eyes wide. "I… I don't know." Arthur scowled, and Merlin held up his hands before Arthur could take out his anger on him any further. "Honestly, I don't know, Arthur. I do not know."

"We have to go there," Arthur said, releasing him and turning to look out the window. "We need to look for signs of what happened."

"No!" Gwen sounded so angry that Arthur turned back to look at her in surprise. "It is too dangerous," she continued, glaring at him. "You already almost died once. What if this is a trap to make you return so they can finish you? I forbid it."

Arthur pressed his lips together. He had ignored his wife's suggestion before, and this is where it had landed him. And she was right, it could certainly be a trap for him. But he could not just ignore this blasphemous mystery and he could not send more of his men to die when he himself would not take that same risk.

When he said nothing, only looked at her, her expression softened. "Arthur, my dear… please. We will send messengers to the other kingdoms and ask if they have seen anything. Leon is capable of searching the area with trackers to discern what happened. You know firsthand that you cannot defeat whatever magic this is. The king of Camelot need not be put at risk."

"Yes, my love, you are right," Arthur acquiesced, drawing her closer with a hand on the small of her back. "You are right, as always." He kissed her, not caring that Merlin stood there watching. The fairy did not seem phased by it anyway. Gwen kissed him back happily, bunching his shirt in her fists.

Arthur released her lips to give instructions. "Go find Leon, he may still be looking for Merlin. Tell him his orders are to gather the best trackers in the castle and return to the spot for a search. Then find three fresh messengers and send them to our neighboring allies for inquiries. Merlin, come with me." Arthur broke free of Gwen and walked out of the room before he could hear any questions or protests.

He strode down the hallway, not bothering to look back. When he finally did, he was glad to find Merlin had indeed followed. For once, the man had no snark, only a look of perplexity as his eyes swept back and forth in thought. Arthur walked all the way to his bed chambers and pulled Merlin in after him. He took his scabbard from its table and buckled it around his waist. Then he lifted his sword from its mount along the wall and sheathed it. Finished, he turned to Merlin. The fairy still stared at the floor in thought.

"Take me back there," he ordered.

Merlin met his gaze in surprise. "You told Guinevere you wouldn't."

"No, I made no such promise," Arthur said, closing the door to his chambers. "She is right, of course. It is likely a trap. But it is a risk I am willing to take. I need to see it with my own eyes, and I need to find the truth. Sixty bodies, heavy men made heavier with armor, do not disappear without a trace." Arthur held out his hands and stared back at Merlin. His eyes were hard, demanding obedience.

Merlin could not think of any magic but illusion that would make bodies vanish. And that was exactly what one would use to draw out a stubborn, curious king. But for a human to use magic to corrupt a Dryad would eliminate their ability to use illusion magic. "Arthur, it is not wise," he warned.

"I do not care." The two men stared each other down. Finally, Merlin took a deep breath through his nose and took Arthur's hands.

"If anything happens, I am bringing you back here whether it is your will or not," Merlin told him, digging his fingers into the back of Arthur's hands.

He thought the king would protest, or question why he even cared. Instead he simply nodded and replied, "Very well."

This time when Merlin landed, Arthur remained upright. He was getting better. Arthur tried to pull his hands free, but Merlin still had a tight grip on them. "I mean it, Arthur," he told him. "This is suspicious. We must both be cautious."

"I understand!" Arthur yanked his hands out of Merlin's and scowled at him. Then he surveyed the path. No black tree.

And no bodies.

Some weapons were still strewn about, though as Arthur inspected them he realized only shields were left. All swords were gone. Some mail coifs remained, along with a couple gauntlets and even some sabatons. The underbrush was dark with dried blood, but not a single piece of body could be seen.

Arthur made to step forward, but Merlin grabbed his shirt. "Wait," he said, his voice soft and low. "This isn't right." Arthur glanced at him as Merlin looked around the woods, then up at the sky. "This isn't illusion magic…"

"Illusion magic? What are you talking about?" Arthur asked.

Merlin held up a finger for silence. It was a rude gesture to anyone, let alone a king, but Arthur shouldered aside his offense and watched.

Merlin raised his other fingers to turn his gesture of silence into an order to remain standing. Arthur complied with an annoyed sigh and watched him walk down the path. Merlin looked at the patterns of blood and broken underbrush as he stepped cautiously through it all. It looked to him as though the bodies had stood up and walked off on their own.

His stomach dropped as his body drenched in cold horror. Blood magic.

Arthur shouted and Merlin whipped around to see the king grappling with an unfamiliar man. He had taken Arthur by surprise, as the king had not even had time to unsheathe his sword.

"Arthur!" Merlin shouted, sprinting down the path. It was too short a distance for flight, and too far away to use magic on the attacker. As Merlin ran closer, the stranger got the upper hand, pinning one of Arthur's arms behind his back and hooking his elbow around the king's neck.

Arthur reached out, and just as Merlin took his hand, the ground fell out from under them.