"She kept you late tonight," Freya said when Gwen met her in the square.
"She wanted me to stay until she was asleep," Gwen yawned and they headed home. She reached the house first and began to pull off her cloak.
"Gwen!" Freya hissed.
"Hm?"
The younger woman grabbed her arm and yanked her back. "Someone's here."
"What?" Gwen turned and her eyes widened. "Freya!"
A man grabbed Freya and shoved a cloth over her face, but she threw him over her shoulder and into the table. She shoved Gwen out of the house. "Run!"
Gwen did and she heard Freya follow until she let out a groan. Gwen turned to see her on the ground, another man standing over her. "Fre-"
Something pressed over her mouth as an arm wrapped around her waist. Everything went dark as the man picked up Freya.
"Freya? Gwen?" Merlin called as he stepped into the women's house. He frowned when he saw that the table was knocked over. He picked up a scrap of cloth near it and sniffed it. His eyes widened.
A groan sounded from Gwen's sleeping area.
"Gwen?" he ran over and pulled the curtain open, only to find Freya lying in her bed. "Freya, what happened?"
She rolled over and his blood boiled as he saw the bruise peeking out from beneath her hair.
"Merlin?"
He knelt at her side. "What happened? Are you okay?"
"I…" She sat up, hand coming to her head. "My head hurts."
He carefully ran his hand over the bruise and sighed with relief when there didn't seem to be bone damage. He checked her eyes as he said, "Any other pain? Nausea?"
"No, I'm alright."
"What happened?"
"We were coming home and… there were men waiting for us. I knocked one of them out and told Gwen to run. The last thing I remember is seeing her running down the street. I thought she'd go to you."
"No one's seen her since last night."
"They must have taken her!"
"We need to tell Arthur."
Uther refuses to let Arthur do anything, Freya said.
What else is new? Mordred snorted.
Have you found a tracking spell?
A few, but without knowing how she left - on foot or horseback - or if she's currently on the move, it's hard to know which spell to use, Merlin said. Mordred's doing more research while I look up information on scrying.
Scrying?
It's a clairvoyant ability. Merlin flipped through the book he was holding with a frown. It allows you to see people or places that are far away. I should be able to do it since I'm a Reader.
You could find her with it? she checked, voice hopeful.
If I can figure out how, I should be able to, he confirmed, setting the book aside and grabbing another.
Mordred looked up when the door to Arthur's chambers opened and he jumped to his feet. "Gwen!" he ran over to hug her. "Where have you been? We've been worried. Are you okay?"
"I'm alright. I need to talk to Arthur and Merlin," she said looking around with a frown.
Mordred glanced back at the room to see Arthur still fast asleep in bed and Merlin staring blankly at the fire. "Yeah, you'll need to give me a second. Arthur made us put a silencing spell around the bed so we wouldn't keep him up and Merlin's been trying to learn to scry."
"Scry?"
"Basically it's magic spying. He was trying to learn it so we could find you since I wasn't having any luck pinning down a tracking spell we could use."
"And scrying involves staring at fire?"
"Not exactly. It needs a medium to focus on and see through. Since Merlin's magic is most closely tied to the element of fire, it's more likely the medium he'll be best with is fire, candle wax, or coals. As opposed to earth mediums like crystals, mirrors, or stones; water mediums like water, ice, or darkness; or air mediums like clouds, smoke, or light."
"Right," she said, uncertain.
He shrugged. "I don't know either. I never learned anything about scrying. That's just what Merlin told me before sitting down to spend the past hour staring at the fireplace."
He walked over and shoved his mentor.
"What?" Merlin blinked and looked up. "Mordred, what are you doing? I need to try and find Gwen."
Mordred pointed at said woman.
"Gwen!" he jumped up and ran over to her. "Are you okay? Arthur! Wake up!" When the prince didn't so much as make a sound, Merlin's eyes flashed gold. "Arthur!"
"Shut up, Merlin."
"Gwen's here!"
Arthur turned over to glare. "It's the middle of the night. Tell her to come back in the morning."
"It's nearly sunrise, and she's been missing, remember?"
Arthur frowned for a few moments before shooting up in bed. "Guinevere! Are -"
"I'm fine," she chuckled.
Merlin frowned and lifted up her hand to show the bruising on her wrist. "This doesn't look fine."
"It's not as bad as it looks," she said, though Arthur was already storming over.
"Freya said men attacked you."
She nodded. "They're working for Cenred. He brought me to a castle and… my brother was a prisoner there."
"Your father?" Merlin asked, worried.
She shook her head. "Elyan hasn't seen him since shortly after Father left Camelot. I'm sure if Cenred had also captured him, he would have brought him to me like he'd done Elyan. Hopefully being on Leon's land protected him."
"Leon's at his estate now," Arthur said. "I'll send him a message just in case Cenred tries something. What did he want?"
"You. Morgana must have discovered our connection."
"We don't know that," Merlin said, rubbing her arm as she began to tear up. "She might have gone for you because you're the one she knows the most about."
"He's right," Arthur said. "Freya and Mordred have no close family outside of us and if she even remembers Hunith, Merlin is harder to get to than you since he lives in the castle. She might have gone for you just out of convenience and because she's not yet aware you know her true allegiances. We can use that against her."
"How?"
"Wait, did you just call me family?" Mordred asked, shocked.
"How long did Cenred give you?" Arthur asked.
"A week."
"So we're ignoring that then. Okay," Mordred muttered with a smirk.
Arthur shoved him over. "Perfect. When we're done here, you'll go to wake Morgana. Act nervous and scared, get more so as time passes, but don't come anywhere near me. If we happen to pass by each other in the halls, run. In two days, break down in front of Morgana and tell her about the kidnapping and your brother."
"Why?" Mordred asked.
"Because I don't know Morgana's involved so I'll be confiding in a friend," Gwen guessed and Arthur nodded. "I can say I don't want to involve Arthur. It's my problem."
"Right. Hopefully, by that time, Merlin and Freya will have already freed your brother, but we should plan ahead just in case since Mordred and I won't be able to speak to you without drawing Morgana's suspicion. After you tell her, she'll try to get you to come to me, and you can. We can plan out how to stall from there."
"You want to send in Merlin and Freya alone?"
"We'll be okay, Gwen," Merlin reassured.
She shook her head. "The castle he's in was heavily fortified. It might be too dangerous."
"What do you remember about it?"
"The Castle of Fyrien?"
Merlin nodded. "Arthur said a merchant, Fyrien, built it to withstand anything."
"So how do we get in?" Freya asked, tying off her braid.
"There are tunnels underneath, Arthur showed me a map," He helped her up onto Passelande to sit sidesaddle before leading him and Hengroen out of the lower town's stables. "We'll be able to sneak right into the dungeons and back out again without ever being noticed."
"And when we are in the dungeons?"
"We'll need to be careful not to get anyone's attention or we'll bring the whole castle down on us."
"You think we can do it on our own?"
"Arthur does, but I'd rather not risk it. Which is why I had another idea."
Gwaine let out a shout as he was tossed out of the tavern into a pile of mud.
"Hello, Gwaine."
He turned to see a fair maiden hovering over him. "Ah! Milady! How are you?"
"Still not a lady."
He laughed and stood, brushing mud off his clothes. "If I knew I'd be seeing you, I would have worn finery."
Freya rolled her eyes as Merlin stepped up next to her. "Hey, Gwaine."
"Hello, Merlin. To what do I owe the honor of you bringing your beautiful wife-to-be back into my life."
Merlin blushed as she said, "There's trouble. We need your help."
"What kind of trouble?"
"Gwen's brother was kidnapped."
"Ah, so I get to help two beautiful women. I don't see the catch."
"He's imprisoned in the Castle of Fyrien," Merlin said.
"You always bring me trouble, don't you, Merlin?" he chuckled, wrapping an arm around the other.
Merlin frowned at the mud, but didn't shake him off. "That's why you like me."
"I like you for a lot of reasons," Gwaine said, leading the two over to where his horse was tied up next to two others.
Freya went to untie hers, but Merlin got distracted by Gwaine's. "He's a beauty."
"Isn't he? Name's Gringolet. Won him off a guy a few towns back," he said, running a hand down the charger's neck.
"Why were you thrown out of the tavern?" Freya asked once they were on the road.
"You know how it is. Flirt with a pretty girl, the pretty girl flirts back, the innkeeper spots you two sneaking in a kiss, the innkeeper is the pretty girl's father."
Freya shook her head as Merlin chuckled.
"How'd you find me?"
"Wasn't easy," Merlin said. "We've been in almost every tavern in Hillsfar."
"So have I!"
"We should leave the horses here and go the rest of the way on foot," Merlin said, swinging himself off Hengroen.
Gwaine followed and moved to help Freya, but she slipped off the horse and landed gracefully, turning to tie her own horse down. He eyed her skirt and asked, "Are you going to be alright if we need to run?"
She smiled and pulled her skirt up to show a slit going up to her thigh. "I don't like trousers."
Gwaine flushed and threw his arm over Merlin's shoulders as Freya trekked on ahead. "You are one lucky man."
"You're lucky, too. The last time someone wouldn't stop making eyes at her, she tossed him into a pig trough," Merlin snorted, nudging him away.
"Her, not you?"
"I don't have that kind of strength," he shrugged. He glanced at her and lowered his voice. "He might have woken up with some uncomfortable boils in an unfortunate spot, though."
Gwaine slapped his back with a laugh.
They walked through the trees until they reached a beach. From there they stayed low to the rocks as a cliff rose up above them. They passed cave after cave until Merlin stopped them.
"This one. Stick close, the tunnels form a labyrinth that's miles wide. Arthur showed me the way to the dungeons, but I didn't have time to memorize everything."
Gwaine drew his sword. "You're sure Cenred doesn't know about them?"
"Arthur was. We'll have to trust him. There's no other way in."
Gwaine nodded and they continued on.
They slipped silently through the tunnels, passing masses of webs and the skeletons of soldiers until they reached a flat stretch of wall with a circular design carved at eye level.
"Here, Arthur said this would lead to the dungeons. Can you hear anyone on the other side?"
Gwaine listened at the wall and shook his head when he heard nothing.
"Wait," Freya hissed, holding up her hand. A moment later she dropped it. "Okay, they're gone."
Gwaine raised an eyebrow, but Merlin didn't seem to question it as he pressed in the design and the wall gave a click before swinging inwards. Merlin drew his own sword as they stepped into the hall, Merlin in the lead with Freya just behind.
"Where do you think he is?" Merlin asked, eyeing the halls.
"His cell will be the only one actively guarded," Gwaine said, closing the wall. "Cenred will also want him close at hand so we just need to find a guard that seems to be doing nothing near the entrance to the dungeons."
"This way, then." Merlin led them through the dungeons until Freya whispered that there was someone just around the corner from them. They glanced around it to see a man sitting on a stool, using his sword as an armrest with glassy eyes.
"Any ideas?" Gwaine asked.
Merlin opened his mouth, but Freya brushed passed them.
They carefully peeked around the corner as she walked up to the guard, head lowered and hands fidgeting nervously.
"What are you doing down here?" the guard grumbled and stood.
"I-I'm sorry. I was trying to get to the kitchens and got lost. Please, can you help me?"
The guard hummed, looking her over as he stepped closer. "Well, I don't see why not. Come here an-"
As soon as he was within arms reach and with lighting speed, Freya slammed her fist into the side of his head to knock him clean out.
Gwaine whistled as he and Merlin turned the corner. "Maybe I should cut back on the flirting."
"You really should," Freya said, tossing Gwaine the guard's keys and lifting him onto the stool. "Hand me his sword."
Merlin gave it to her and she arranged the man to make it look like he'd fallen asleep leaning against the blade.
Meanwhile, Gwaine went to the door the man had been guarding and unlocked it. He opened it to reveal a dark-skinned man sitting slumped in the corner. "You must be Elyan."
He gave Gwaine a suspicious glare. "Who are you?"
"Camelot's spy ring."
"We are not," Merlin sputtered.
"We sort of are," Freya hummed, coming over to the door. "Hello, Elyan. We're friends of Gwen's. We're here to get you out."
"Gwen? Is she okay?" he asked, standing.
"She's fine. She's back in Camelot, safe and sound. Cenred just wanted to use her as a means to get to Prince Arthur using you as leverage so he had no reason to hurt her," Merlin called from where he was keeping watch.
"Prince Arthur?"
"It's a long story," Freya said as Gwaine came over to unlock his shackles. "Are you okay with walking?"
He nodded.
"I knew Gwen worked for the Lady Morgana, but I never thought she could grow to be friends with royalty."
"The princess is something else," Gwaine hummed, pulling Gringolet to a stop. "Well this has been fun, but I think it's time I head out again."
"You don't have to," Freya said from where she rode pillion behind Merlin.
"Ah, but the quest is over. Time to find some new fun."
"Where will you go this time?" Merlin asked.
Gwaine licked his finger and stuck it in the air. "I think I'll ride south."
"You can't keep living like that."
"Yeah, but it's fun trying."
"Thank you for helping us," Freya said.
Merlin and Elyan both added their thanks and Gwaine waved it off.
"I should be heading off too," Elyan said, moving to get off Passelande.
"You could come with us," Merlin said, stopping him. "I'm sure Gwen would be glad to see you're okay."
"I don't know. The two of us… We've had our problems."
"No better time to make things better," Freya pointed out.
"ELYAN!"
Morgana frowned at the shout and looked out into the square. She scowled as she saw Elyan ride up with Merlin and Freya just behind him. She opened the window just as Freya threw herself off the horse and ran over to hug Gwen.
"Gwen! There you are! I've been so worried! Merlin and I went out to find you, but when we tracked the men who took you, we couldn't find you anywhere."
"I'm okay. I - Elyan!" Gwen pulled away to hug her brother. "You're okay?"
"I'm alright, thanks to your friends."
Morgana turned away from the window and marched back to her room. She needed to contact Morgause. Cenred had once again failed them.
"Everything worked out as planned?" Arthur asked when Merlin came into his chambers.
"Perfectly. I even saw Morgana spying on our reunion so we don't need to worry about Gwen having to tell her personally."
"That's great. How's Elyan and Guinevere?"
"They're at the girls' place now, talking. I think he's going to stay for a while."
Arthur hummed. "You know, I never did pay Guinevere for crafting Caledfwlch."
Merlin narrowed his eyes at him. "What are you planning?"
"Elyan is going to need a place to stay while he's here. Gwen and Freya don't have room and the inn isn't practical if he plans to stay long."
"Do not buy Gwen's brother a house."
"I'm not going to buy him anything. I'm simply going to give her the money she rightfully deserves for such a fine blade and if she chooses to use it for that, then it is hardly my concern."
"You're ridiculous," Merlin said, rolling his eyes. "Can't you just buy her a necklace or pick her some flowers like a normal person."
"Shut up, Merlin."
Merlin stayed quiet for a moment before saying, "You know, I helped make the sword."
"I'm not paying you extra just to do your job."
"I'm pretty sure magic isn't in my job description."
"Fine, I'll buy you a necklace. Happy?"
Merlin snorted. "I don't know about buying a necklace, but there is a vambrace in the vaults that's supposed to help people focus while scrying."
"You're still trying that?"
He shrugged. "Seems like it could come in handy."
Arthur considered it then nodded. "Well, you certainly need all the help you can get when it comes to focusing. I'll see what I can do."