A/N: I'm not going to bore you with a long author's note. Except to say: It hasn't been months since I updated! And: enjoy! I wrote 99% of this chapter in the last two hours, so take that into account. It also hasn't been betaed...

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Guest: Thanks, I know it's been ages, and I'm so glad I managed to update this so quickly (by my standards anyway). So glad you're still with me on this!

Chapter 13:

I should have known that things wouldn't be simple. I'd greeted Mordred as cordially as I could manage, and had proceeded to ignore the boy for the remainder of my lesson. I was grateful that he was merely a spectator and didn't participate, because the worry and guilt I was feeling was climbing to ridiculous heights.

Alahir and the other druid elder were teaching me about auras and sensing magic, as well as drawing power from the ley lines of the land. Apparently that's what all other magic users did, but I'd always had enough power to simply draw from my own magical core. It was more of a last resort, because it was tiring, and not as predictable and controllable as my own methods, but it might be useful in the future.

I loved learning about auras, though it was hard, and quickly gave me a headache whenever I tried it. Alahir explained that it was normally a power that only the high priestesses could use, and even then, not all of them had a talent for it. It couldn't tell me if a person was inherently evil, or even if their intentions were, but it was interesting nonetheless.

I glanced over at Mordred quite a few times while I used the Sight – as the other elder called it – but I couldn't discern anything out of the ordinary. I could tell he was amused, because the elder had described the colour associated with it, but most of the other colours were just a jumbled mess, I couldn't even make them out clearly.

They had told me that darker or more aggressive colours such as black, grey or red often signified negative emotions, but red – which was rage or anger – could just as well be pointed inwards instead of at the world, so it wasn't the best detection instrument. A golden edge around the aura signified an extremely powerful magic user, and Mordred and I both possessed it, as well as several people outside of the curtained off area.

"Close your eyes," Alahir instructed, his ancient voice soft, like a breeze. "Bury your hands in the earth, it'll help you connect to the ley lines… Now, breathe…"

I did as I was told, and breathed, and listened. Little by little, the sounds of the camp faded into the background, as did the cheerful birdsong. I heard the wind move in the trees, water moving in a stream…

"Concentrate." Alahir's voice was far-off at best, but I did my best. I visualised the ley lines. In my head, they were ribbons of gold – the same colour as my eyes whenever I called the magic to the fore. Some were only the size of my littlest finger, others spanned four horse-lengths. I could see a web starting to form underneath me, and I spread my fingers deeper into the earth.

A peaceful sensation filled me, and I suddenly felt like I could do anything, anything at all. I left my body and opened my eyes, seeing nothing but my earthy self and the forest. None of the other druids were connected to the ley lines, so they didn't matter. I looked around, felt for the biggest ley line and followed it. Nothing could touch me now, I was invincible! I saw mountains and valleys, great rivers and seas, the world was at my fingertips.

A tug made me look back, travel all the way back to the druid camp, and examine the situation. My body was still seated where it had been before, but looked somehow paler. I shrugged – if I could shrug in this incorporeal form – I had no need of that body now. I looked at the boy who had worried me so much these past few hours – or had it been days? Months? – he was so insignificant now, he posed no threat to me.

The two elders were bent over my corporeal body, hands on my shoulders and incantations on their lips. I frowned. Why would they want me to leave this wonderful place? It was so peaceful…

Another tug. Their spells were pulling me back, but I didn't want to go! I concentrated on the sounds around me, the feeling of the ley lines beneath my fingers. Peace settled back over me. But suddenly –

My eyes – my real eyes – flew open. I gasped and coughed, working my lungs and heart overtime. "What-?" I rasped, but interrupted myself by coughing again. "What happened?" I finally managed to ask.

Alahir looked deeply disturbed. "Your soul was leaving your body, weaving itself into the web of magic. We could feel your influence all around us," he said, gesturing to the plethora of wildflowers now surrounding us. The trees looked stronger, greener, and the plants healthier.

"How?" I rasped, confused.

Alahir exchanged a worried glance with the other elder, as Mordred came over with a bowl of water. I didn't care that it had been Mordred giving it to me, at that moment, I felt like I would have died if I hadn't drunk it. "We're not sure… We only know that your body was dying…"

I stared at him. Dying? How could I have been dying when I'd been connected to something so alive?

"Our spells did little more than make you aware of your body again. Something must have pulled you back, do you remember?" he asked gently, taking the empty bowl from me.

My head felt like it was about to split in half, and my throat and lungs were still not happy with my coughing fits, but I did my best to think back. I'd felt the pulls, which had probably been the elders trying to call me back, but what…?

I sat bolt upright. "Arthur," I said, jumping up despite my protesting body.

The elders and Mordred followed suit. "What's wrong?" the other elder asked. I should have asked him his name, all this 'other elder' business was getting annoying, but it couldn't be helped now. There was no time.

"Arthur's coming this way," I said, leaving the curtained off area with quick strides and went to the central gathering place immediately. How I knew where it was, I had no clue, but I knew with absolute certainty that I was right.

In trying to leave my body behind – I mentally winced – I'd fled to the one thing still binding me to this earth, Arthur, and he'd been a lot closer than I'd expected. His worry had called me to him, and I'd felt him, knew immediately what had happened, and to what conclusions Uther had come, as if I'd read it from the Prince's mind myself.

Without thinking, I sent up a flare of magic to attract everyone's attention. To my astonishment, every man, woman and child stopped doing what they had been working on, and gathered before me. A quick scan of the crowds told me that Morgana was not among them. Good.

"Pack up your essentials, leave everything you can't carry behind."

"What's going on, my lady?" someone in the crowd asked. I gazed out over the faces, hoping that all of them would make it out.

"Prince Arthur is on his way here with the royal guard. They're under the impression that the Lady Morgana has been kidnapped and that you are to blame." The fear coming off this crowd was almost tangible.

"But I will not let anything happen to you if I can stop it!" I said with determination. "I need you all to pack now, and do as I ask. Are there any among you who could help me keep the soldiers away?"

The crowd shuffled uneasily. "We're a peaceful people, milady, we cannot fight," one of the women said hesitantly.

"I'm not asking you to. I'll conjure up a mist to keep them from seeing us, but I need people to make it hard for them and their horses to move. Put branches in their way, grow plants, spook the horses. I wouldn't ask you to kill."

Silence reigned once more. "I'll come," a young voice behind me said. I knew that voice, and it pained me that he was the first to volunteer.

Mordred had stepped forward, a determined look on his face. Even after the dragon's words, and my own doubts, he was still just a boy, and I couldn't believe that he was destined to be Arthur's undoing. Not everything was set in stone. "Mordred," I whispered. "I need you to protect those who will be running. They might encounter more soldiers, or be shot at, and I need to know that you'll keep them safe," I said, thinking of the first useful job he could do. It even made sense. I knew how powerful the boy was, I knew he wanted to help, and I didn't want him in harm's way.

"A boy is more courageous than forty grown men?" Alahir said in his soft but powerful voice. "I will stand by Emrys, until my last breath if I must."

I was moved by the old man's words, but before I could urge him to go with the children as well, five or six more men and two women stepped forward.

I smiled at them as the rest of the crowd dispersed to start packing. "Right. We have about an hour before they will be in range to start using their crossbows. But first-" I turned around and faced Mordred again. "I need you to find Morgana and get her out. If she gets hurt, Uther will never stop, and this will all be for nothing, do you understand?" I asked.

The boy still looked a little sullen at not having been allowed to help fight, but he nodded, determined to help in any way, and sped off. I was a little worried at his willingness to fight, and to prove himself, but I shrugged it off. I did risk a peek at his aura, though. It was a steady yellow, with some pinkish-orange tinges, and red slashed through it. I didn't know what to make of it…

Turning back to the adults around me, I shoved those thoughts to the back of my mind and focused on the task at hand. "Right. Who knows this terrain best? Does anyone have any experience in evading soldiers?"

This would prove to be one of the longest hours in my life.

/*/

Morgana had been walking with a young couple who were helping her get in touch with her magical core when her concentration was suddenly broken. A powerful feeling overwhelmed her, and she had to catch herself on a nearby tree.

"What was that?" she asked the druids curiously.

They looked at each other warily, seeming to communicate with each other silently. For all she knew, they were. "I'll go see what it is," the man said, running off in the direction of the camp.

"Miriel?" she asked, addressing the woman. "What's going on?" Morgana was getting more frightened, but kept her face a mask of serenity. Years of practice had perfected that particular habit.

The other girl bit her lip. "I'm not sure. It was a magical summons, but I know of none alive who could perform it with such force. Not even Alahir, our elder, can do it, and he's the most skilled of us all…" She stared off in the direction of the camp for a second more, before sighing. "But worrying won't get anything done, and Saeric will bring back news if there is any," she said resolutely. Privately, Morgana thought she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself more than her, but she didn't comment.

The two women sat in silence for a few minutes while Morgana tried to concentrate on her inner magic again. It was futile, though, as worry kept nibbling at the little control she managed to establish.

Before too long, though, they heard someone running towards them. Morgana quickly got up from where she'd been sitting and gazed in the direction of the noise, trying to discern whether the trespasser was friend or foe.

Mordred came crashing through the undergrowth, looking excited and frightened at the same time. Morgana wanted to come over to hug the boy, but held back at Miriel's upheld hand.

"What happened?" the druid woman asked.

"Emrys…" he gasped. He had run all the way, then. "Emrys has taken control, the Prince and his knights are on their way, and Emrys is going to protect us!" The awe was clear in the boy's voice, but all Morgana could focus on was the impending danger.

"Arthur is coming here? And who is this Emrys?" she asked urgently.

"Emrys is prophesied to bring magic back to the land, the most powerful magical creature who will ever live. If it is true, then we must trust Emrys's word and follow every command," Miriel explained gently, putting a hand on the other woman's shoulder.

"He told me to get Morgana out, to keep her safe," Mordred proclaimed, obviously proud of himself.

But just as he said that, something occurred to Morgana. "But Merlynn is still in there! If Arthur finds her there, she'll be executed!"

"I'm sure she's fine," Miriel tried to assure her. "Emrys will keep her safe, she's–" But Morgana never let her finish the sentence? She dashed off in the direction Mordred had come from. How close was Arthur? Was he already there, fighting those innocent druids? What if he had already found Merlynn? Arthur would definitely hesitate in killing her, but his knights would not.

As she barreled into the mists surrounding the camp, she became aware of Mordred following her, but he made no move to stop her, so she let him be.

Now. To find Merlynn and get out of there as quickly as possible. She could go with the druids, they both could. Merlynn would miss Camelot, surely, but she'd be safer, and completely accepted with the wandering folk.

Yes, she thought with satisfaction. They would both live with the druids, and never have to see Camelot again…

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