A Camelot Calamity

by lordtrayus

Nimueh and Mordred are moving ahead in their plan to destroy Camelot. Meanwhile, Merlin and Morgana, secretly in a relationship, must work together to defeat the threats within Camelot's walls, while preparing to tell Arthur the truth about Merlin's magic

5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin

A Camelot Calamity

"Well if I don't know exactly where we're going, how can I be expected to pack anything for you, you know how you get when things aren't just so." Merlin teased a week after their encounter with the terror birds and Alvarr's escape from Camelot, as Gwen sat reading over various documents, clearly deep in thought.

Distracted by his friend's preoccupation, Merlin failed to notice the nervous expression of self loathing on Arthur's face, but then he too was distracted by his wife, who hadn't put in any of her two coins worth of advice or abuse in Merlin and Arthur's usual early morning squabble.

"Gwen?" Merlin asked, trying to get a response out of her.

There was no answer however as Gwen continued to pore over various documents, and grinning, Arthur got to his feet and crossed his arms, leaning against Merlin who mirrored his friend's stance as they watched as the queen sat at her desk, brow furrowed, clucking her tongue impatiently.

"Gwen?" Arthur asked, still not receiving a response.

"Gwen there's a riot in the lower town." Merlin said, and grinned all the wider when he still received no response.

"Gwen, Essetir is marching on us with an army." Arthur cajoled, grinning as he still tried to get a response out of his wife, who nodded absently.

"Yes dear that's nice, I'm sure you'll be fine." She mumbled absently, and the two friends exchanged a final amused look before silently communicating what their final escalation would be.

"Gwen, the Great Dragon is back and is burning up the city!" the two screamed in unison and they both roared in laughter as she leapt to her feet, looking in panic out of the window before turning a vicious glare onto the two of them when she saw all was well.

"That wasn't funny." She sniffed disapprovingly, and the two boys grinned all the wider, and she made a very un-queen like gesture at them in response.

"Well darling you were engrossed, and what is it that's got you so absorbed that you're not even mediating between me and Merlin?" Arthur asked, taking her waist as he walked over to the desk to look at the papers she was working on, and she smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"Well contrary to you two's popular belief, I do have other things to do that do not involve babysitting the two of you." She teased, and Merlin winked at her as he came to her other side to look at the documents on her table as well

"Oh don't complain, we all know you love it. So what has got you so absorbed anyway?" he asked, peering at the documents, not really caring, as he usually didn't, if they weren't for him to look at, and pointedly ignored the slightly exasperated look Arthur sent him.

"Well it was Kay who gave me the idea actually, that's why I had several people going out all week, see when he told me Merlin was helping him learn how to read," she began, and Arthur shook his head in disdain.

"His choice in tutor is rather lacking." He said, and Merlin gave him a cocky smile back, while Gwen rolled her eyes between the two of them.

"Could have been worse, he could have chosen you." He replied cheekily, and the only thing preventing Arthur from hitting his rather smug manservant was the fact that his wife was standing between the two of them.

"Anyway," Gwen called loudly, vowing never to have sons if she could help it, otherwise they'd grow up like this pair, "it got me thinking that a lot of people in Camelot don't actually know how to read. I mean I was given a formal education because I was expected to work in the castle and became Morgana's maidservant, but very few are taught anything beyond the bare minimum they need to do their respective role in society, or at least the role that they're expected to fill. I mean look at me, Elyan and Kay. Elyan was expected to become a blacksmith like my father was, but now he's a knight, I was a maidservant and am now queen, and Kay was also a blacksmith and is also now a knight as well. We want Camelot not only to be peaceful and prosperous, but a place where people can become the best they can be, where someone like me, or Merlin, can say: I don't want to just muck stables for a living or something, I want to be able to do more, to achieve more. And I think that's what Camelot should be about, being the best we can be, and making sure that our people are happy and fulfilled throughout all their walks of life. That's why I sent George down to the town with some of the other servants, asking around whether or not people would be interested in a better form of education, and not just for the children. I hope to be able to help people to learn to read, to help people to learn their numbers, even basic medicine, trading, seamstressing, to show that if a person wants to achieve something, they shouldn't be constrained just by the circumstances of their birth!" she proclaimed passionately, her face glowing with fervour, but then turned and her face adopted a rather crestfallen expression when their was no input from either Arthur or Merlin, and her face fell, "what, you don't think it's a good idea?" she asked, sounding crushed, and Arthur, his expression stony, shook his head.

"No I don't," he replied bluntly, and she looked rather upset, until he grinned and kissed her forehead, "I think it's a brilliant idea, and perfect for you." He told her, and her face lit up and she hugged him happily.

"Hey, I think it's a good idea too!" Merlin protested, and she wrapped them both in a hug.

"Thank you! George and the others found a lot of people seemed to be quite interested in it, and there's actually a lot of people who can barely count or read, let alone anything else, so I want to try and bring a change to that," she told them proudly, and the two friends exchanged proud looks.

Gwen was a sweet, kind, caring and compassionate queen, and she was already supremely popular, and this, this suited her to a tee, and showed that despite becoming queen, she was still the same sweet compassionate person she always had been, and remained humble and generous, wanting to spread her good fortune to others throughout the kingdom.

"And if anyone can you can Gwen." Merlin told her proudly, and she petted his cheek affectionately, before Merlin saw the look Arthur was giving him, a slight frown on his face.

"What?" he asked, wondering why he was suddenly glaring at him, he and Gwen had been friends long before he'd fallen in love with her, so if he was going to start complaining about that he could go and…

"I don't mean this as an insult to you Merlin, I genuinely don't, but could you read when you came here?" he asked curiously, and a little taken aback, Merlin blinked a little before answering.

"Well, no not really, I could read a little, mother had taught me, but I didn't finish learning how to read till I came here, Gwen and Gaius finished teaching me." He replied, and Arthur mused, the thought hadn't occurred to him before.

"See, that's exactly my point. Merlin didn't learn to read because he was in a small farming town, and ordinarily that would be what he would stay, but thankfully he came here, and learned more. Obviously I'll start with the city, but if my plan works, the more people who learn, they can go out and teach others too, throughout the kingdom, in other kingdoms if they want too, would that be alright to try?" Gwen asked, suddenly nervous and Arthur laughed a little and stroked her hair.

"Honey, I keep telling you, you are the queen, you can do what you want, you don't need my permission. And despite that, even if you did need my permission, I could hardly refuse when you're so excited by it." He told her, kissing the top of her head and she beamed, and Merlin smiled proudly at the two of them, and could just see another little piece of Albion coming into being in his mind's eye.

"Thank you! Will you help?" Gwen asked, turning to Merlin earnestly, and he nodded, and despite it being something else that would be added to his ever increasing workload, he nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course I'll help, you don't need to ask." He assured her, and she nodded excitedly.

"Good, because with you helping me out, you could maybe teach a couple of basic medicine things, you'd be surprised how many people don't know what to do with a cut or a burn, just little stuff." She said excitedly and began jotting all her ideas down, and out of the corner of his eye, Merlin spied Arthur looking at Gwen with such tenderness that he felt he should probably give them some privacy, despite it being the middle of the day.

"Well that actually works out well then," Arthur proclaimed, jutting out his reverie, "Merlin can help you out for the next few days."

Gwen, despite being in the middle of her brainstorm, then went slightly still, and hurriedly began picking up her notes, and took a hold of her blue dress.

"I'm away to see what Gaius and Morgana think of my idea, see you!" she called, hurriedly making her escape, and Merlin looked at his retreating friend in confusion as she left the room, what had just happened?

"What was that about?" he asked, turning in confusion to Arthur, who looked fairly guilty.

"That was Gwen being a bit of a coward that's all. See Merlin, the negotiations I've been doing with Alaric, they've been very strict. He's very powerful, he commands a lot of respect, and controls a large amount of men and gold, and even though Morgana's back with us, there's still threats out there, and he's similar to my father, rank and nobility mean a lot to him." Arthur explained, not meeting Merlin's eyes, but his manservant was totally at sea.

"So?" Merlin asked, feeling very much wrong footed, and Arthur looked miserably at him.

"So…Alaric was very strict. We know Odin is always up to something, and there's those strange reports from Essetir if nothing else, we need all the friends we can get Merlin, especially now that Alvarr seems to be coming for us again. Alaric doesn't trust our court you see, not with as many traitors as we've had." He explained, but Merlin was still totally lost.

"Yeah, so? Agravaine's dead and Morgana is back on our side, what's his deal?" he asked, and Arthur sighed.

"He stipulated that only me and some knights could attend the meeting." He admitted, looking fairly apologetic, and Merlin shrugged.

"That's nothing new, so what am I packing?" he asked, not seeing why Arthur was making such a big thing out of this, and as he turned to get some more of Arthur's clothes out of the wardrobe, Arthur finally came clean.

"Merlin…you can't come."

Merlin felt the words like a hammer strike to the chest. Oh, so that was it. He just wasn't needed. On some level, he understood completely, and despite what Arthur said, he actually did have quite a good grasp of politics (actually had a better one than the king at times), and realised that as powerful a potential ally as Alaric and his associated kingdoms were, then yeah they did kind of need to follow his rules to the letter, especially if Alaric was as strict as Uther had been about rank and nobility.

But on the other level, it stung. After all the years of loyal and dedicated service that he had given to Arthur, who still only knew the barest minimum, despite all that, despite having sat at Arthur's right hand at the Round Table, just because he wasn't a knight he was somehow less worthy than the others, somehow didn't amount to as much as they did. And what was more, that meant Arthur was going away from Merlin, so if anything should happen he would be totally unable to protect his best friend, and then what would become of them, of their destiny, of Albion?

And, a small, nasty part of him noted viciously, it's just what he had feared: he was the only servant when everyone else he cared about was nobility, so he would be left behind, alone and forgotten, separated by his birth and the fact that he wasn't a knight or a noble or anything and never would be.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked hesitantly, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"It's ok," Merlin assured him earnestly, avoiding his master's eyes, "I understand, this is important, you can't have me along, you're just respecting Alaric's wishes. I get it." He assured Arthur, still not meeting his friend's eyes.

Arthur really hoped he was imagining it, but he had a horrible feeling that he was beginning to hear the sounds of tears clogging up his friend's throat, he knew that Merlin had been terrified that he would be left out, left behind by his friends simply because he wasn't a noble, that he had been feeling that he wasn't worth as much as others, (something reinforced by the lamia, he thought with a dark scowl), fearing that at the end of the day he wouldn't compare to anyone else simply because he didn't have a title of any sort.

Damn it, he knew how loyal Merlin was to him, and given the choice, he would rather just have Merlin with him on any mission, because whatever it was, whenever Merlin was around, it was like he was untouchable. Given a choice between Merlin, or all his knights, he would still take Merlin. When they had been in that castle, he had seriously considered what to do for Merlin when he had knighted Lancelot and the others, but truth was, even now, he still couldn't think of anything he could do for Merlin to show the depths of gratitude that he had for his best friend, who had never wavered, had supported him through thick and thin, who had believed in him when he couldn't even believe in himself.

"I swear I tried Merlin, I told Alaric in our letters that I always have you with me, but he was insistent that it could only be me and some knights. I'm sorry, believe me, it just wont feel right without you…" Arthur began, and Merlin nodded, giving Arthur a watery smile.

"I know. I get it. I'll just pack one of everything. Good luck feeding yourselves without me to do it for you. And don't come crying to me if you're all unwell when you come back." He warned jokingly, before picking up Arthur and Gwen's discarded clothes from the day before, and before Arthur could say anything, he looked into the basket, "I better get these washed." He whispered softly, and left before Arthur could say anything more, and left Arthur staring at the door which his best friend had just closed behind him, a horrible feeling swelling inside him as he concluded:

"I am a horrible person."

XX

"For heaven sake Mircéhreohr! Stop killing the boatmen!" Nimueh snapped, and the dragon chuckled as he slinked back into the ruins, having just killed another one of the boatmen who bore people to the Isle of the Blessed.

She did get his need for secrecy, especially in regards to both her and her dragon companion, but really, enough was enough. The boatmen were loyal to the Old Religion, and wouldn't betray her no matter what, and besides, anyone coming here tended to ignore the boatmen anyway, dismissing them as the most meagre of servants. Grumbling to herself, the High Priestess then smiled and turned to face the new arrivals, who had been the people in the aforementioned boat, and she extended her hand majestically as the leader of these newcomers dropped to his knee before her.

"High Priestess Nimueh, it is a great pleasure and honour to see you again." The man said with reverence, kissing her hand and rising to his feet.

A tall and imposing man, he was a well built warrior, his eyes sharp and clever. He had fluffy salt and pepper hair and a beard to match, and was clad in a feathered black travelling cloak, spoke with a heavy accent and a vicious looking triskelion was tattooed upon his neck.

"You are too kind Ruadan, it is a great pleasure to see you once more." She purred, and he inclined his head before gesturing to the meek looking girl beside him.

"Me daughter, Sefa." He said, gesturing to the meek looking girl beside him, and Nimueh smiled and nodded, her wicked mind already formulating plans.

There were several other druidic warriors who had arrived with Ruadan, most of them wearing cold weather cloaks, which made sense as Davros, who had found them and had told Ruadan that Nimueh was back and would appreciate his help, had found them near Ismere in the Northern Plains, and had a much more successful look about them than Alvarr's band did, though they were finally putting some weight and muscle back on now that they had a clear supply line and were training regularly.

She was about to beckon them inside to allow them to talk more when a voice exclaimed from behind her.

"Kara?" Mordred demanded, and Nimueh turned to see a delighted Mordred run down the steps and allow a member of Ruadan's party to squeal with delight and throw herself into his arms.

Rather bemused, Nimueh turned to Ruadan, who gave a slight chuckle.

"That's Kara my lady, she's fairly new to our band, she's a good lass. Looks like your young friend knows her too." He commented, and she raised her eyebrow expectantly at Mordred, who gave a nervous laugh as he put Kara down, looking slightly sheepish, tussling his curly hair, which was now cut to a normal length.

"Sorry my lady, but I knew Kara off and on through my travels, through all the druid camps, she was part of Alvarr's band for a while as well. We were…" he said nervously, and she hesitantly stepped forward, her hand wrapping around Mordred's nervously, a small smile on her face.

"Childhood sweethearts I guess you could call us." She said, and Nimueh laughed a little, clapping her hand onto the shoulder of the new druidic girl, and smiled.

"Well I daresay you and Mordred will need to become reacquainted, so how about we move our discussion inside? Come Ruadan, we have much to discuss, about my plans, and our future. And of course, about Arthur's Bane." She told him with a hint of wicked malice in her voice, and his wicked eyes widened in delight at the term, and he leaned close to her excitedly.

"Arthur's Bane? You know what will kill that wretched Pendragon?" he asked, and her eyes fell upon Mordred, dancing with malice.

"Yes my dear Ruadan, as a matter of fact, I do, and as it happens, there is only one obstacle in my way!" she hissed, and laughing darkly, Ruadan followed her into the interior, his band of warrior druids following his lead as Nimueh felt another piece of her plan fall into place.

XX

"Couldn't you just let him follow you?" Gareth asked as the two of them mused over a drink in his quarters, and Arthur snorted in amusement, sipping the wine that Gareth had offered him when he had arrived.

"You clearly don't know Merlin very well, and this isn't just me picking on him, but he is the clumsiest servant in the Five Kingdoms, and also including their neighbours in that too. Knowing him he'd break a twig and get himself riddled with arrows, then I'd have to explain things to Alaric, and worse I'd have to come back and explain to Gwen, Morgana and Gaius and my life wouldn't be worth living." He lamented and Gareth chuckled, sitting down at the table, raising an eyebrow at his old friend, a slight smile on his face.

"Well Arthur, I have to say I am impressed. It's not like you to care for anyone's feelings, let alone a servant, but here you are, having married a servant and you are actually seeking advice on how to patch things up with Merlin, another servant who also happens to be your best friend. I never thought I'd say it old friend, but you've grown up," he baited, raising his goblet to him while Arthur scowled, though he didn't reply, knowing full well Gareth was totally correct.

He sighed, downing his drink and Gareth poured him another, and he gnawed his lip, contemplating his next words carefully.

He knew that Merlin understood, in fact if anything, that made matters worse to be honest. If he didn't understand it would be easier to dismiss, and he wouldn't feel quite so bad about all of this. But with everything that Merlin had said recently, and being painfully reminded at every opportunity that he was just a servant compared to everyone else, along with Arthur's own errors in judgment, like with Madvedor, he knew that this would be just another example to Merlin that because of who and what he was, he would always come second best to everyone else in his vicinity.

"I know I'm making it sound like Merlin is, I don't know, like a mewling child, and he's not, it's just…" Arthur said, and Gareth shook his head.

"Arthur, let me be frank with you. When I got here, it was clear as day that you and Merlin have a nigh inseparable bond. Now, Merlin, the other knights, Morgana, they've all told me about you two's various adventures, mis or otherwise. Merlin sees it as his duty to look after you, to protect you-"

"I don't need protected by him, I protect him!" Arthur protested irritably, he knew Merlin had delusions of grandeur that he kept saving Arthur when it was really the other way around, but for the others to all start thinking the same thing too, and unperturbed by his outburst, other than rolling his eyes, Gareth continued:

"And he is understandably anxious that you and he are going to be separated for a mission so potentially dangerous. It seems bizarre, but to someone who actually understands people, and likes them, unlike you, it makes all the sense in the world. Merlin is anxious because he fears that if something were to happen to you, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Rationality might dictate that even if Merlin were with you, he would be totally unable to do anything should anything go wrong, but it's the fact that he won't be there even if something does go wrong that's plaguing him. And Leon, among others have told me how you've always survived even when the odds were stacked against you, and every time that happens, Merlin is always there right by your side. I think it's actually fair to say that you are just as anxious about this separation as he is, because part of you realises that you seem to always survive, which you have tied into the presence of Merlin. It's strange, but there you are." Gareth said, and while Arthur would rather throw himself off the highest tower rather than admit it to Gareth that he was correct, or worse admit it to Merlin.

Because Gareth was right, everything that he had faced the last few years, questing beasts, insane half sisters, evil sorcerers, dragons, even things like his feelings for Gwen and the death of his father, Merlin had always been there, clumsy, insolent, but always solidly, dependably there, ready with an insult, a joke, or one of his rare pieces of wisdom, just a solid and reliable friend who could be counted on through thick and thin. And, while he wasn't taking it quite as badly as Merlin was, yeah he did have a bit of trepidation, there was so much that could go wrong in this mission and without Merlin being reliably there like he usually was, it just didn't feel right.

"What do you think I should do? And by the way you make it sound like Merlin is like a child's security blanket." He grumbled, and while Gareth turned a laugh into a cough, he didn't reply other than beaming wildly.

Instead he mused over the situation, and it came to him in a flash.

"Have you chosen what knights will accompany you yet?" he asked, and Arthur shook his head.

"No, not yet, why?" he asked, and Gareth smiled at the simplicity of his solution.

"It's simple. You are Merlin's best friend, and are clearly one of the most important people in the world to him, as I presume you are to Gwen as well. So, let him, and her, choose some of the knights accompanying you, the people they would trust with someone they care about as much as they do you. You're a lucky man Arthur." He told him proudly, wondering just what had changed over the years to turn the spoiled arrogant prince into such a right, just and compassionate king (though suspected Merlin and Gwen's fingerprints would be all over it).

Arthur mulled it over for a brief second before he nodded, grinning.

"Gareth, you're a genius. I've missed having you around old friend. And Gwen hasn't even complained yet, so if I offer before then, then I'll be a hero and then….you don't need to know what comes next," he said apologetically, though Gareth wrinkled his nose, he needed no diagrams as to where Arthur's plan was heading, "and even if it probably will condemn me to days worth of Gwaine's inane prattle, then it's probably worth it."

"Happy to be of service. And I'll stay here, get to know the place better since I'm here indefinitely, and I'll keep an eye on Gwen, Merlin and Morgana for you." Gareth stated, getting to his feet and Arthur clasped his forearm thankfully.

"You're a fine man, and a good friend Gareth. And if you are doing that, maybe bounce some ideas around with Gwen and Merlin, Morgana's birthday is coming up, and on the actual day…" he began hesitantly, but as expected, Gareth quickly cut to the core of the issue.

"And you're worried that if we have the traditional feast people might not turn up and best case scenario is her birthday is ruined and she's upset, but worst case she might go a bit crazy?" he asked shrewdly, and Arthur grinned, nodding.

"Exactly right. Thank you Gareth, you're a lifesaver." The king said, and left Gareth's rooms, and the new knight chuckled.

"Yes, perhaps I may be, but something makes me think I'm nowhere in the same league as Merlin." He mumbled, content with knowing that someone as potentially unique as Merlin, would always have Arthur's back.

XX

As he had predicted, giving Gwen a say in which knights accompanied him had gained him a benefit, and she had promised that his thoughtfulness would be rewarded tonight as a departing gift. Pleased with Gareth's advice and his own quick thinking, and quite content that Gwen had chosen Leon and Elyan to accompany him, he finally tracked Merlin down, brushing down the horses in the stable.

"How's her hoof?" Arthur asked as he entered, Gwen's horse, Honeysuckle, had caught her foot on a bridge and was hence being restored to her former glory by Merlin's ministrations.

"She's still a bit hesitant to put any weight on it, but she's getting there, aren't you girl?" Merlin asked, petting the horse and feeding her a piece of carrot.

"Are you still mad?" Arthur asked, patting his own horse, Roman, and Merlin shook his head.

"I'm not mad Arthur." He insisted, feeding a bit of carrot to Arthur's horse, then offered a bit to Arthur with a cheeky grin, who promptly took it and threw it at Merlin's head.

He favoured his manservant with an exasperated look as Merlin turned his attention to his own horse, Dobby, and fed him two pieces of carrot as the horse nuzzled his usual rider's hand affectionately.

"It's nothing against you Merlin, I swear." He promised, and Merlin sighed.

"I know, and I'm sorry if I made you think that I was really upset, it's just…" he mumbled, looking at Dobby and scratching his ears, and Arthur nodded.

"I know. I don't like it either for what it's worth. I mean without you there who am I going to pick on if I'm having a bad day?" he asked with a smirk, and Merlin nodded appreciatively, a large smile forming on his face.

"That's true, I'll only have Gwen to look after and she's far kinder than you are. We'll have a great time together." He told him, and Arthur smiled, yeah, his wife and best friend would undoubtedly have great fun together, most likely mocking and insulting Arthur without him here to defend himself.

"See, every cloud has a silver lining," he told him, and Merlin looked at him in surprise, leaving Arthur feeling a bit wrong footed, "what?"

"Nothing, it's just that's one of the things that I say to cheer you up, and now you're using it too." He wheedled, and Arthur scowled, crossing his arms as Merlin finished dealing with Dobby and headed onto Gwaine's horse Mede, who, like his master, seemed to walk like he was drunk half the time.

"Don't think me going away for a few days means you're getting time off Merlin, along with helping Gwen with her plan for the lower town, you still have all your usual chores to do too. And another special job." He told him, enjoying it as Merlin seemed to tense at the thought of more work, and Merlin groaned.

"Really, not so much as a hint of day off?" he demanded, he could maybe try and spend some romantic time with Morgana…

"Don't be silly Merlin, that wouldn't be fair to me!" he told his friend brightly, who glared at him, "no, it is an important job. As you know, Morgana's birthday is coming up and I'm worried that if we have the usual feast, people might not turn up, and I'm concerned about what that might mean for her, so could you, Gwen and Gareth, who does know her quite well, put your heads together and see what you can come up with?" he asked, and Merlin nodded, feeling quite relieved that Arthur had had the foresight to wonder if a feast was a good idea.

And if nothing else, Arthur being gone would mean he could get to work on his gift for Morgana too.

"Of course I'll help. Will you be alright?" he asked, trying not to sound worried, and Arthur nodded, clapping Merlin's shoulder.

"Of course I will Merlin. But…," he said, and Merlin looked at him quizzically, "to set your mind at ease, why don't you pick two of the knights to come with me?" he asked, and Merlin blinked, rather taken aback by this request.

"Me?" he demanded, and Arthur rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Yes Merlin. After all, you make such a song and dance about me not having you there with me, and your insistence that you save me when everyone knows it's the other way round," he said patiently, ignoring Merlin's derisive snort, "I figure it's the least I can do. And besides, and don't repeat this, but there's no one's judgment I trust more."

Merlin felt a surge of affection for his friend, a glowing sort of talisman that in some ways did assuage his fear that something was indeed going to go wrong on this mission, a thought made all the worse by the fact that he wouldn't be there to protect Arthur should anything go wrong. But the fact that Arthur was trusting him, trusting him to tell him which men he trusted with Arthur's life, which was more precious to Merlin than Arthur knew, which knights he would trust with the life of his best friend, his king, his brother.

"Arthur, I…" Merlin spluttered, and Arthur allowed himself the briefest of smiles before raising an eyebrow.

"Well, who should I take? Gwen's already decided on Leon and Elyan by the way." He told him, and Merlin nodded, obviously Gwen would entrust her husband to her brother (who would rather die than let anything happen to Arthur who he was quite close to (and would rather die, come back as a shade and die again rather than report that he had let anything happen to Arthur to his sister)), and Leon was one of their best knights and one of the longest serving, and was second only to Arthur in terms of combat prowess.

Merlin mulled over his choices, his first instinct would be Gwaine and Percival, to ensure that the best out of all the knights in the land were protecting their king, but no, brute strength wasn't the way to go. Merlin's fears about this mission were growing by the hour, and he was beginning to think his fears were more to do with something other than the fact that he wasn't going. And if he wasn't going…

"Take Kay." Merlin told him, and Arthur looked at him in slight surprise.

"Isn't he a bit green Merlin? I know you're fond of him, so am I, but he's only just became a knight and…"

"And managed to kill an assassin that took down all of you without so much as breaking a sweat, he's the youngest so has the sharpest reflexes, his combat form is unorthodox and will surprise any enemy, and besides, you yourself have said there's no substitute for experience." Merlin explained all of his reasons, and of course leaving out the main one, that Kay had magic and could still offer Arthur and his friends the same protection that Merlin could had he been going along himself.

"Ok, fair enough," Arthur said, clearly respecting Merlin's choice, and had to admit, hazing the kid a little would be a good substitute for not abusing Merlin, not that he would tell Merlin that since he was quite protective of him after the whole Alvarr thing, "who else?"

Merlin mused, deep in thought, and rather than nag or wheedle, Arthur watched his friend as he mused over the question, wondering just exactly what was going on in Merlin's head and who Merlin would entrust, and what reasons would be behind it.

"Tristan." Merlin said confidently after a minute, and once again, Arthur looked at him in surprise, having thought he would have had said either Gwaine, who was arguably Merlin's best friend among the knights after Arthur, or Percival, who let's face it, was rather a big fellow.

"Tristan? Why? Not that I disagree, and he is one of our best fighters, but…" Arthur began, and Merlin smiled a little.

"Well, he was a smuggler. He knows secret routes, and knows how to escape when things go wrong as well. And quite frankly, he wouldn't wish what he went through with Isolde on Gwen, or anyone for that matter." He said, lamenting the loss of the brave Isolde and how Tristan was still nowhere close to even beginning to accept his loss.

"Fair enough. Thank you Merlin." He said fondly, shoving Merlin in the shoulder, and Merlin grinned, before throwing a bit carrot he still had at him, which bounced right off Arthur's head.

"Hey, I hit you! Uh-oh…" Merlin said worriedly, and Arthur's nostrils flared and Merlin made a dash for it as Arthur took off after him, determined to get revenge.

XX

"And why should this man lead my forces?" Odin sneered in his throne room, but despite sitting on the throne himself, he quailed under Nimueh's harsh glare as Alvarr stood before him.

"Alvarr is to lead the attack on Arthur's summit mainly because I don't trust that your men won't try and kill Arthur in order to curry favour with you. And besides…Alvarr has learned the consequences of failing me, and is eager to make amends." She hissed, glaring at Alvarr, who went a little pale and gulped at the mention of his torture at the mercy of the nathair.

"Of course my lady." He said, inclining his head, and she smiled.

"Excellent. Now, remember, the goal is not to kill Arthur." She told Alvarr, who nodded, but Odin, having regained his spine, stood and descended from his throne, glaring at the High Priestess as he did so.

"That was not our agreement! Arthur is to die!" he stormed, and Nimueh shot him a merely bored look.

"And die he will, but all in due time. If we kill him now, it will be too soon and Camelot will never fall, and that is only providing his pet warlock doesn't find a way to return him from the grave. No, he must live, in order to strip him of the thing that makes him most dangerous: Merlin." She snarled, and while Odin did look furious, he did reluctantly acquiesce and bow his head.

"Of course my lady, forgive me, I am simply impatient." He assured her, and she smiled before sweeping to his throne, lowering himself into it, enjoying the hesitancy of Odin's various guards as they debated asking her to move, but while Odin didn't look entirely pleased that she was sitting there, he made no move to get rid of her.

"And I understand my dear Odin. I long to avenge myself on Arthur, on the entire Pendragon family and legacy for what they did to me and my kind," she whispered malevolently, and Odin looked at the floor, the fact that she knew full well that he had participated in the Purge with gusto haunting him due to his new ally, "and I can hardly wait for the happy moment when I will get my revenge on Merlin, as being obliterated by a lightning strike, quite frankly, hurts, but patience, subtlety and intricate planning are the order of the day at the moment. But one day soon my dear Odin," she purred, her eyes glowing as she gestured with her hand, "Arthur's head will decorate your wall."

Odin turned to see that she had conjured an image of Arthur's decapitated bloody head mounted above the entry into the throne room, and smiled, the thought of one day having the real thing mounted there assuaging his fears and making him long for that happy day when his son would at last be avenged.

XX

The feeling of trepidation was getting worse as Merlin, Gwen and Morgana gathered to see the knights off. Along with the four that Gwen and Merlin had chosen, Arthur had also elected to take Dagonet and Alymere along with him as well. Watching at they prepared to depart, Merlin and Morgana, checking that Gwen was busy nagging Elyan, the two of them steered Kay away from the others.

"Be careful." Merlin intoned quietly, and Kay nodded firmly.

"I know, no matter what, while I might have to use my magic, I need to keep it hidden. I won't let you guys down." He promised, and Merlin grinned and ruffled his hair while Morgana gave him a hug.

"We know you won't. Just keep an eye out, stick close to Tristan, if things are going to go south, he'll probably figure it out before hand. And protect Arthur, sure, but look out for yourself too." She told him, and he grinned, before looking at Merlin.

"Thanks for convincing Arthur to let me come Merlin." He said appreciatively, and Merlin grinned.

"Well I know you can do it, and even if I'm not there, I know I an trust you to keep an eye on him. Oh, and if they wind you up, just go along with it." He advised, and Morgana looked amused.

"Or if nothing else don't accidentally lose control of your magic and turn them into anything, that one will be tough to explain." She teased, and Kay glowered at her.

"Well it wasn't my fault, you were the one who wanted to see if I could turn the vase into anything, not my fault I conjured a rabid badger." He muttered darkly, that little incident last week still causing questions through the court as to where the badger had come from (though in Kay's defence if Merlin had had an ounce of coordination the badger wouldn't have escaped the room they were practicing in and proceeded to bedevil the entire castle).

"Come on Kay, don't let Merlin corrupt you with his bad habits!" Arthur called, and looking slightly alarmed he hurried to finish preparing his horse.

"Well be safe Arthur." Morgana said, hugging her younger brother, and he hugged her back before she went to have a quick word with Tristan, leaving Merlin looking at Arthur worriedly.

"I don't like this." Merlin said without preamble, his feeling of foreboding was increasing, and he couldn't figure out if it was just nerves or if it was his magic, alerting him to a threat to Arthur, and Arthur bit his lip, looking fairly uneasy about the situation himself.

"I know Merlin, neither do I particularly, but we do need this alliance, and we're more likely to get it if we agree to Alaric's terms. It'll be alright." He promised, and despite himself, he briefly wrapped Merlin in a hug.

"Promise you'll be careful, I can't deal with crying women, and I think Gwen might cry a little if you get yourself killed." Merlin teased, and Arthur glowered, grinning slightly as he did so.

"Her tears would be enough to wash the entire castle from top to bottom I'll have you know, Morgana, well she'd probably cause a small puddle, I hope," he interjected lamely, and Merlin snickered, "but none would compare to yours as you're such a big girl Merlin. Besides, this is meant to be a negotiation, it'll be fine." He promised, pointedly ignoring Merlin's disbelieving look, and making sure that Morgana was now safely joining in nagging Elyan, who was looking supremely bored at the endless lecture, Arthur looked at them furtively, before taking off one of his rings and giving it to Merlin, who took it, looking confused before he actually looked at what ring Arthur had given him.

It was the Royal Seal of Camelot, the official ring of the king, which marked Arthur' right to rule.

"Arthur, you can't give me this!" Merlin protested, flabbergasted, and looking irritable, Arthur placed his armoured hand over Merlin's mouth to shut him up, glaring at him as he did so.

"Shut up Merlin! Just in case things do go badly wrong," he whispered, his eyes boring into Merlin's, who still had Arthur's hand over his mouth, "and I don't come back, I have my will in the vaults beneath the city, in the same place where we keep the siege tunnel maps. Gwen is to rule alone if I don't make it back. If I don't come back, you need to give that ring to Gwen, and promise me that you'll do the same for her that you do for me."

Merlin could hear the urgency, the fear in his voice, and realised that, should the worst truly happen, he had planned for every contingency, including the possibility of Morgana having a relapse, because by giving Gwen his seal, he was marking her as the one true queen and ensuring that the people would follow her.

"I won't let you down Arthur, but I'm going to give it back to you when you come home." He promised, and Arthur grinned, clapping Merlin's shoulder proudly.

"I know Merlin. And besides, I'm essentially making your Lord Protector of the realm by giving that to you. So for god sake don't lose it." He warned, and Merlin nodded, and put it away safe.

"Thank you Arthur." He mumbled, touched by Arthur's show of faith in him and Arthur grinned before he headed to Gwen's side, finally freeing her brother from her grasp, and allowing Elyan to finally escape as far away from her as he could under the circumstances.

"Be safe Arthur." Gwen whispered, and he smiled, touching his forehead against hers.

"I will my love." He promised, snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her in for a deep, passionate kiss while Morgana snuck over to Merlin, discreetly holding his hand, the sleeves of her gown hiding exactly what she was doing.

"I'll be back before you know it." He vowed, separating himself from Gwen, and with that, he and his team of knights left the courtyard with a final wave and were gone.

Gwen looked on in concern as her husband and brother departed with her friends, and she took a deep sigh, shook her head to clear it and turned excitedly to Merlin, putting her worries temporarily aside.

"Ready Merlin?" she asked, and he grinned, he was quite interested himself to see how well her plan would work, he only hoped that there would be a good turnout for her scheme to bring education to the people, he would hate to see her be hurt when she clearly had her heart set on making a difference.

"Yeah. Uh oh." He moaned, seeing Lord Carrigan come out the main doors to the castle, and Gwen cursed under her breath, she knew Carrigan would be against her plan, believing that the common folk didn't need to amount to anything more than they already did, and would have hours worth of objections to prevent her from doing what she was actually planning to do down in the lower town.

Rolling her eyes as she saw the arrogant lord approach, Morgana nodded towards the entrance to the courtyard.

"Go, I'll distract him, go earn your people's love." She ordered with a slight smile, and no hint of bitterness or resentment, and Gwen and Merlin smiled thankfully at her.

"Thank you Morgana. Coming Gareth?" Gwen asked as the newcomer strode out from the tunnels beneath them, and momentarily taken aback, he nodded and was whisked away by Merlin and Gwen as they made good their escape, while Morgana, who had also recruited a delighted Gwaine into her mission, kept Carrigan at bay and allowed them to give him the slip, the scowl on his face becoming more and more pronounced as the queen, visiting knight and servant disappeared from sight

XX

Carrigan swept from the council chamber later on that afternoon. Somehow he had been conned into taking a tour of the mead stores beneath the castle by that dipsomaniac Gwaine (he still wasn't entirely sure how that had happened) but he had managed to make it back in time for the council session, though to his great fury, it hadn't even been the peasant queen who had been taking it, as she and Arthur's pet servant had disappeared into the city that morning. No, rather it was the witch who was taking the council session, and while some members of the council, such as Geoffrey and Gaius, among a few others, were quite content to let her lead the council (and, while he was loathe to admit it, she did have slightly more political acumen than her brother or his wife, and could more quickly catch out when people were either deceiving her or trying to pass something that they ought not to be), he refused to bow before her. He had been there, when she and that witch Morgause, had stripped he and his compatriots of their powers, of their lands, their wealth, saying that under her rule they would no longer need such things. That, and her treason, her powers, he always wondered whether or not that she had actually enchanted Arthur at some point to allow her back into Camelot, but it did seem that she was genuinely reformed, to his great disgust.

However, power was in flux here in Camelot. Arthur was king, yes, and he had Guinevere as his queen, and due to her blood relation to Arthur and Uther, Morgana was indeed also a princess, so as things stood now there was virtually an entire royal family in residence. However, despite that, as Arthur was determined to be what he deemed a 'fairer' king than Uther, he had not yet seized absolute power, like his father would have. Agravaine had also helped in that regard, strengthening the lords to previously unknown levels, who, as he had anticipated, had been furious with their treatment during Morgana's brief reign as queen.

And now, Arthur was away, and his inexperienced queen and the hated witch were all that stood between his throne and chaos. Carrigan had never actually sought the throne, but he had always sought power, and there was still power to be attained. The letter he had wrote had been answered, and should events call for it, he would have the help he needed to take what was rightfully his.

Arthur's problem was that he wasn't as strong fisted as Uther, which, in turn, would eventually lead the people to believe he was weak. All it would take would be one little nudge, and Arthur's ability to rule would crumble. And then, Lord Carrigan, the richest and most powerful lord of Camelot, who ordinarily would lead the council had the witch not been there in the king's absence, and would hence be Lord Protector or Lord Regent of the Realm, as befitted his stature.

And then, should something befall the royal family and they died without a true heir, well…in those situations the Lord Regent of the Realm would then take the throne. And then, at last, all the power of Camelot would be his for the taking. As it should have been since the first fall.

He would never be powerless again, not if he could help it.

XX

Night had well and truly fallen, and Morgana was pacing in the council chamber, which served as the secondary throne room, almost frantic with worry. Gwen, Merlin and Gareth had been gone for hours, and she was beginning to fear that something terrible had happened to them, they should have been back long before this! She had briefly considered sending knights to go and locate them, but fearing that the party was indeed just delayed, it would look rather foolish of the princess of Camelot to deploy troops to find their queen and could show up Gwen and undo whatever good she might have done.

That and people still tended to get a bit antsy when she moved troops around, old wounds and all that.

Turning to once more repeat her lap of the room, Gwaine, who was lounging on one of the chairs, looked at her in slight amusement as she started another circuit, while Percival looked at some of the reports that Leon had left on the security of their borders, instructing Safer, who had also joined them, in how to go about understanding them.

"Morgana, you need to relax!" Gwaine urged, she did look rather stressed, and her hair which had been elaborately styled this morning was going towards the sort of wicked witch of Camelot look that tended to make people a bit anxious.

"They've been gone for hours Gwaine, the last thing I need is for my best friend, one of my oldest friends and Merlin to disappear when I was the royal in residence, one they could be in trouble and we would know nothing about it, and two, if anything were to happen, I would get the blame!" she shrieked loudly, and Safer winced, though despite his usual attitude towards her, he did look at her with some sympathy, though he did look slightly amused as well.

"Princess, they're within the town walls, and besides, Gwaine and Tristan have friends all over the lower town, they're perfectly safe, if there was anything wrong one of them would have come and warned one of us. And Gareth is able to hold his own in a fight against Arthur, Leon and Percival, he is an extremely skilled swordsman so even if something were to happen I'm sure they would be fine." He soothed her, and she knew he did have a point, and Percival smiled as he drank from his goblet, toasting her.

"And you don't need to worry about Merlin, he has Gwen with him, no one will try and off him when he's with the queen. And besides, Elyan and you yourself taught Gwen tricks with a sword, she's more than capable." He assuaged her, and she pouted, she knew they probably all thought she was crazy but at this late stage of the game she was rather past caring.

Yes, part of it was self-concern, because should anything happen, the people would blame her, so would Arthur too most likely, and she didn't want to undo all the progress she felt she had made with the people especially if she hadn't actually done anything. And another part of it was the fact that they would be travelling the same route Merlin had when he had been stabbed by Madvedor, and also not having seen him much all day also wasn't helping her anxiety. And Gareth was an old friend, and Gwen was her best friend, she didn't want anything to happen to them at all, let alone be blamed for it.

As she was about to say something else, the door opened and an extremely tired looking Gwen, Merlin and Gareth traipsed in. Sighing a little in relief, and pointedly ignoring Gwaine's smug grin, she looked at them as they came into the room, her eyebrow arced in a manner reminiscent of Gaius'.

"Where the hell have you been?" she demanded with a snap, and the three knights who were keeping her company sniggered behind her.

Gwen was about to answer, when she saw that Gwaine was actually lounging on the throne. Arcing an eyebrow at him, he quickly made himself scarce, dusting off the seat and allowing an exhausted Gwen to slump down into it.

"In the lower town, all day." She replied, and pointed for Merlin to sit down, and while he looked around hesitantly, she nodded at him encouragingly, and he too slumped down into a seat, on her left hand side, while Gareth flopped down beside him.

"I'm starving!" Gareth complained, and Morgana turned to George, who was sitting in the alcove on the far side of the room, but he was already off, fulfilling the knight's wishes.

Sitting down in the vacant chair on Gwen's other side, she exchanged a brief loving look with Merlin, who gave her a reciprocating smile in response as George miraculously appeared with platters full of food for them all to share, and the ravenous queen, knight and servant tucked in with gusto, followed in short order by the knights and the princess. Once they had some food in their bellies, and had something to drink, the three latecomers told them of their successful day.

"The queue went all the way out of the gates! There were loads of them, all wanting to learn different things, kids, adults, even a few of the elderly." Merlin explained, and Gwen nodded excitedly.

"We had to close the doors to the gathering hall, we told them we needed to get back up here for dinner, some of them seemed a bit perturbed, but we did really well, loads of people want to learn to read, or to count, Merlin gave a lot of people some basic medicine lessons, I taught some people about reading, Gareth taught some about the politics of the realm and even indulged in a little swordplay, which drew a bigger crowd." Gwen said with amusement, sipping her wine, and Gwaine looked at her curiously.

"How, who did he fight?" he asked, and Gwen grinned.

"That would be me, so obviously people flocked to see the queen in a sword fight." She told them amusedly, and the others all laughed, and Gareth inclined his head towards her.

"And you are quite a formidable opponent your majesty, Arthur, Elyan and Morgana have taught you well. I of course allowed you to win, wouldn't want to be seen as unsporting and ungentlemanlike by defeating a lady in combat." He said, saluting her with his goblet and she winked at him while the other knights looked at him curiously.

"I take it you're sticking to that story, true or not?" Percival taunted, and Gareth discreetly gave him the finger while the others laughed, and Morgana looked at her best friend, who seemed flushed with the initial success of her scheme.

"You did well then Gwen, considering you were only giving them a taster session today, what are your plans for tomorrow then?" she asked curiously, drinking her wine, and Gwen sighed contentedly.

"Well tomorrow will be less of a free for all, I've got more people helping me tomorrow as well, and the sessions will be spread out across the city and across the day, and we can get a better idea of what people are looking for. The various lords and ladies of the court who are willing to help will be on hand tomorrow, Merlin and Gaius will be teaching basic medicine, if any of you want to help then feel free as well!" she said excitedly, and they all smiled at her enthusiasm.

They ate in contented companionship, Gwen, Merlin and Gareth telling them how well they had done through the day, and Morgana informing them of the struggles she had had with the council all day, and eventually the topic tuned to the absence of Arthur and the other knights.

"I still don't like it, I have a bad feeling about it." Merlin complained, and the others present all exchanged looks, while it could seem like he was paranoid, the entire situation wasn't sitting well with many of them, and judging by the way Gwen pursed her lips she too was anxious about her husband and their friends.

Gwaine however took a different approach, as he tucked into a chicken leg.

"Well, I know we're all worried about things that could potentially go wrong, but here's the real question: what state will Arthur be in when he meets King Alaric?" he asked, and Gareth looked at him curiously.

"What do you mean, what state?" he asked, and Merlin grinned.

"Yeah, you aren't there, meaning you can't get him drunk like you did when we were sheltering at that lord's manor, and I had to tell them he had inflammation of the brain." He sniggered, and both Gwen and Morgana also snorted into their food.

Gwaine winked at his friend, chuckling.

"And that my friend is exactly what I mean. Everyone who looks after him, is here, including of course you. I expect he will eventually give out this pitiful little cry, wailing, 'I miss Merlin'." He chortled, and Percival laughed, looking around.

"Alright, what will finally tip him over the edge?" he asked excitedly, and Gwen smirked, winking at Merlin.

"It'll be food, he gets very grumpy when he's hungry, and without Merlin to cook him something, he'll break easily." She decided, and Gareth looked at Merlin, his eyebrow quirked in amusement.

"Merlin, what do you think?" he asked, and Merlin mused it over, wondering just what would finally tip his master over the edge.

"It'll be something to do with his clothes. He'll need me to help with his clothes, I wont be there, and he'll crack." He chuckled, and they all laughed.

They proceeded around the table, with the suggestions as to when Arthur would break ranging from not having anyone to abuse, the lack of people to have any decent conversation with, the horses, or him needing advice on something or other. With bets made as to what would eventually make Arthur crack, they retired to Gareth's rooms for a few hands of cards, leaving Merlin and Gwen significantly richer, and the knights and Morgana sitting in their chairs, looking rather aghast at their defeat.

XX

"If any of you ever dare tell Merlin that I was riding all day with my trousers on back to front, I will make you clean the stables with a hairbrush!" Arthur vowed grumpily as they neared the summit site, after rather an unfortunate mishap after staying at an inn last night, which of course they now all knew about.

"You know sire, other people are able to change their clothes without a servant." Elyan advised, looking mischievous, leading Arthur to glare at him, it would be him, he would be the one, he would tell Gwen, then she would tell Merlin…

"I'm not like most people!" Arthur protested, and Tristan allowed himself a small smile.

"Clearly sire. Other people can put on their trousers without the aid of their ever present servant." He teased, and if it was possible, there would be steam coming out of Arthur's ears.

The point that they had chosen for the meeting was the Great Stones of Nemeton, a series of standing stones that had once been used as a place of worship by those who obeyed the laws of the Old Religion. As they got nearer to the sacred site, Kay, who was sticking close to Tristan nervously (he had been hazed by being forced to ride his horse backwards half of the way there), began to feel the tuggings at his magic as he sensed the potency of the place, his connection to it becoming stronger as they neared. But as they did so, Kay couldn't quite shake the feeling that he had had ever since they had set out on this journey: that something was amiss. Now that they were reaching the end point, the feeling was getting worse: a sense of foreboding, of menace, permeated the air, but he couldn't tell if that was just his instincts or his magic that was alerting him to the possibility that something was amiss. However, there was a familiarity of the menace, it was like he had encountered it before, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out exactly what he was trying to divine.

"We're nearly there men, a little further. Any sign of King Alaric?" Arthur asked Leon, who had the best eyesight out of the lot of them (even Kay, who hadn't been taught the sight enhancing spell yet, Merlin had promised to teach him that when they returned).

"None sire, shouldn't we at least see some sign of him by now?" he asked worriedly, and after all, the stones were in the middle of a vast empty plain, on a high knoll, there should be some sign of him somewhere by now.

"Perhaps he doubled around the long way, to give him the cover of the trees that we came through?" Dagonet theorised, and Arthur had to admit, it would be a wise move, but he too was beginning to get a bad feeling about this.

Dismounting his horse, Arthur led his horse to pasture, and he was soon joined by Leon, Elyan, Dagonet, Tristan, Alymere and Kay.

"On me, keep an eye open." Arthur said, not drawing Excalibur but keeping his hand on the hilt of his sword nonetheless.

The knights surrounded their king, edging forward slightly, the tension and suspicion making the air thick as they advanced hesitantly, looking nervously at one another.

"Sire, there's no sign that the area has even been disturbed, Alaric isn't here yet, if at all." Leon reported darkly, the absence of the other king beginning to make even Camelot's most seasoned knight worried.

"I don't like this." Kay whispered to Tristan, who looked at him side on.

"Oh?" he asked, and it sounded like he was actually getting him to make his own conclusions, gently teaching him.

"Something doesn't feel right here, it hasn't since the start, and it's gotten worse the closer we have gotten to these stones here. Something isn't right. Could we have been followed?" he hissed, and Tristan nodded slightly.

"You have good instincts lad. True it wouldn't exactly take a genius to figure out where we were headed once we left the inn, but that being said no one should have known where we were headed, or worse what we were headed to do. And we also doubled back a couple of times and took different paths to throw anyone following us off the scent, but with things the way they are nowadays…" Tristan pondered, tailing off, and Alymere frowned, his dark eyes scanning the area, seeing nothing, but he too was unable to shake off the feeling that something was about wrong.

"Alaric couldn't have sold us out could he?" he asked, and Arthur shook his head, looking nervous, though admittedly he didn't look entirely convinced.

"No, what would he stand to gain? No, there's something…" he began, and then drew his sword just as with a war cry, a horde of men wearing the colours of Bernicia, Odin's kingdom, appeared from beneath the archways of stone, having been hidden by magic of some kind.

"That explains it!" Kay snarled, parrying a blow and deftly disarming an enemy soldier before running him through.

"Sorcery!" Alymere cried as he looked around the black and violet clad men, their armour embossed with the wolf's head that marked them as Odin's troops.

Arthur was already on the move, cutting down two men before one particularly large and striking one of Odin's men charged at him, his sword going right for the king's head. Arthur easily parried, and stabbed the man in the gut, before turning away from his next attacker, reversing his blade and plunging it into the man's neck in a backwards thrust.

The knights of Camelot were surrounded, however they were the equal of Odin's men, and Alymere had already killed a few, as had Dagonet, evening the odds against them, however more managed to appear from the gaps in the stones, however it was clear now that the sorcerer's illusion had shattered as rather than blank space between all the archways they were now all filled with Odin's men, giving war cries and charging towards them. Arthur parried the blows of two men at once before Leon was there, backing him up and helping him take down the two men.

Arthur turned to get a rough headcount as the sounds of battle rang throughout the stones when he was suddenly thrown into the air, crashing down into the grass as the sorcerer responsible for the ambush appeared.

"Alvarr!" Kay spat furiously, swiftly dispatching his opponent in order to get to the sorcerer before he killed the king, his eyes glowing gold to open a small hole in the ground where a man was charging at Dagonet, who smirked as the man stumbled and decapitated him.

Alvarr smirked as Odin's men fell upon the knights of Camelot, their swords clanging in the early morning quiet as he advanced upon Arthur, who rolled to his feet, grabbing his sword and lunging at the sorcerer.

"We missed each other the last time you attacked Camelot, that won't happen this time." He vowed, as Alvarr elegantly parried his attack, but he grunted in exasperation as Kay suddenly fell upon him, forcing him back onto the defensive.

"Come together, force them back!" Elyan yelled, as he and Alymere killed another soldier determined to get through to where Arthur and Kay were duelling Alvarr.

"Hello Kay." Alvarr sneered as the young knight slashed upwards at him with his sword, standing side by side with Arthur, who had now recovered from Alvarr's unexpected attack, and the two of them were prepared to duel.

"You again." He growled, and Arthur shot him a quick look, looking down and left, and with a flash, he understood.

Arthur then charged Alvarr, his sword coming in high and swooping down low at the warlock, while Kay darted forwards, slashing upwards. Smiling, eager for the challenge, Alvarr parried Arthur's swing while dancing out of the way of Kay's, the two fighters of Camelot then beginning a complex series of manoeuvres, and Alvarr's smirk became a snarl as he began to be pushed back towards the stones.

Alymere, Elyan and Tristan had come together, and were holding their own, cutting down anyone who was trying to get past them in order to help Alvarr battle Arthur and Kay. However, Leon and Dagonet were both alone, Dagonet the very picture of fury as he slaughtered his way through the attackers, determined to at least reach friendly port with Leon as Leon too struggled against the onslaught.

Dancing out of the way as Alvarr jabbed at him with his sword, Kay caught one of Odin's men sneaking up behind Leon, prepared to end the elder knight. Panicking slightly, Kay's eyes suddenly glowed gold, and with a grin he watched as the man who had been about to kill Leon staggered into some mud, slipping and crashing to the ground, allowing a resurgent Dagonet to finish him and join with his comrade.

Merlin was right, keeping them alive is a nightmare¸ he thought savagely, as Arthur battled Alvarr.

Alvarr quickly scanned the situation, now that the knights had come together, Odin's men didn't stand a chance, as most of them had been picked off in the initial charge. Dagonet, furious, was struggling to get to Alvarr, as was Leon, while Alymere and the others picked off the remaining stragglers, who were now beginning to make a break for it, running across the plains. Interrupted from his musings as both Arthur and Kay fell upon him, Alvarr was suddenly forced onto the defensive as the youngest knight and the king, both grinning slightly, pushed their advantage.

Both men were good, exceptionally good, and the only reason Alvarr was not yet dead was Kay's hesitancy, which came from him being green in the art of war. Nevertheless, he swung his blade in a wide arc, forcing Alvarr back and into the waiting jaws of Arthur's attack, the king blocking his elegant riposte, before kicking the sorcerer in the gut. As Alvarr staggered, his eyes glowed, trying to ensnare Arthur in the roots beneath the earth, but he briefly caught a cocky looking Kay grinning, his own eyes gold, having blocked his magic. His powers were great indeed to have undone him, he mused.

"Like I said, you aren't escaping this time Alvarr." Arthur snarled, as he and Kay both gave war cries and charged into battle against the elder man, the warlock hurriedly defending himself against their attack

Kay's unorthodox style was hard to defend against, particularly when Arthur more than compensated for any weakness in the boy's style with his strong, more or less traditional style, their swords grinding against each other as Alvarr blocked their attack before twisting out of the way, free to strike. Kay ducked as Alvarr aimed a blow at his head, the young warlock rolling on his back and coming up, stabbing upwards with his sword. Alvarr barely parried in time, darting to the side, only to narrowly avoid a cleaving strike from Arthur, the force of Excalibur against his mere sword nearly wrenching the weapon from his grip. Kay hacked at him, Alvarr snarling in pain as the boy nicked his knee, and Arthur lunged forward, and only Alvarr's years of experience and deftness of skill prevented the king from impaling him.

"A worthy entertainment Arthur Pendragon, we will meet again." Alvarr vowed, dancing away from him only to realise he was surrounded by the other knights, having chased off the last of Odin's borrowed men.

"I don't think so Alvarr. Surrender, and answer for your crimes." Arthur commanded, glowering at the warlock, mud having sprayed onto his face during the fight.

Alvarr smirked as Almyere and Tristan looked to Arthur hesitantly, they had the instigator of the last attack on Camelot cornered and at their mercy, now was the time to strike, not show mercy. Dagonet himself was furious, and was edging closer despite his king's offer to the villain, and both Elyan and Leon were now flanking Arthur and Kay as they edged in towards their enemy.

Alvarr threw back his head and laughed, his fingers twitching as he did so as Dagonet got closer to strike a mortal blow.

"Never!" he spat, and with a whisper, his eyes glowed, "Shieldan¸ hlaep on baec!"

"NO!" Kay yelled in panic, his lessons with Merlin, Morgana and Gaius having let him decipher the meaning of Alvarr's spell, but he did so too late.

Dagonet's sword clanged into a magical shield, and as he did so, a wave of shimmering energy blew out from the shield, blowing the knights off their feet with a cry of surprise, their swords flying through the air as they crashed to the ground in a heap. Alvarr snickered and whistled, and abruptly the terror bird he had used to escape them before shimmered into existence out of nowhere, and he pulled himself onto the bird and made good his escape.

As the warlock and his pet terror bird scuttled across the plains, Arthur, who had kept Excalibur in his hands due to the gauntlets Morgana had enchanted for him, forced himself off the ground, snarling as the warlock vanished into the trees they had come through to get here, cursing their luck as the others all groaned and got back to their feet.

"Is everyone alright?" Arthur asked, his eyes running over his dishevelled and muddy knights, and when he received nods, he sheathed his sword again, before turning to Dagonet, who had the grace to look slightly abashed.

"Dagonet, we do not kill people in cold blood, if we do, we're no better than they are. Wait for my lead in future." He told him, and Dagonet nodded.

"I apologise sire, but after what he did, and ambushing us here…I saw red, I can only apologise." He told him ashamedly, and Arthur nodded, clapping his hand onto his shoulder.

"I know, and chances are he would have escaped anyway but still…" Arthur said, wiping the mud off his face before he turned to Kay, who looked slightly terrified.

"Not bad for your first real mission Kay, you did well, I'm impressed." He told the boy proudly, ruffling his hair and the youngest knight visibly relaxed.

"Thank you sire." He breathed, confident his magical help had gone unnoticed.

"You're a credit to our ranks young man, it's an honour to have you here," Alymere said stoutly, shaking the boy's hand, who looked rather taken aback, before turning to Arthur, "sire, they were waiting for us, and that's the second time that this Alvarr has struck against us." He warned, and Arthur nodded, the aftereffects of battle making his muscles ache as his heart rate went back to normal.

"You think he's taken up the post of Camelot's enemy in residence with Morgana back on our side?" Elyan asked worriedly, and Arthur glowered at the forest where the sorcerer had disappeared into.

"So it would seem. I'm more concerned about how they knew exactly where we would be." Arthur hissed, Alvarr and Odin's men had been lying in wait, shielded by Alvarr's magic, they had known exactly where they were coming, had they been planning to kill both parties, perhaps instigate all out war between Camelot and the western kingdoms if it was made to look like the negotiations had gone off the rails and devolved into a fight?

"Sire!" Leon called, and disturbed from his musings, Arthur looked up to see a party of four riders crossing the plains and heading towards the knoll, and the knights behind him all tensed, alarmed until Leon raised a hand.

"It's alright, they're Alaric's riders!" he exclaimed in relief, and Arthur relaxed, perhaps they could still get this alliance after all.

The riders approached, and as they came into Arthur's line of sight, it occurred to him that they were meant to have an equal number of people in their party, and as they got closer, it seemed as though there was blood on the armour of some of them as the four horses thundered up the knoll, coming to a stop at the top, and Arthur inclined his head in respect as King Alaric, the King of Rheged and the appointed spokesperson for the other Western Kingdoms, came into view.

A tall and imposing man, he was considered the wisest king throughout the kingdoms and was a passionate voice for peace. Considerably taller than Arthur, he had long flowing silver hair that was piled into an elaborate bun that draped down his back and hung past his shoulders. He had a long straight nose, and quick, bright blue eyes, along with highly defined cheekbones that had made him the object of ogling, even to this day throughout his kingdom and its neighbours. He was clad in the navy and red livery of the kingdom of Rheged, embossed with the crest of a silver owl in a contemplative stance, and there was a large broadsword hanging from his waist. He leapt down from his horse and shook Arthur's hand in greeting.

"Greetings King Arthur Pendragon. From the looks of things, you too were beset by enemies. We have been betrayed." Alaric said in his deep voice, casting his eyes anxiously around, clearly fearing a second attack, and Arthur nodded, looking grim.

"Yes, we too were attacked, are you alright?" he asked, and Alaric looked angry, though he did nod.

"Yes, I am quite well, however I lost two of my men in the encounter. We were beset by men from Bernicia, sent by Odin."

Arthur seethed, Odin was behind this entire thing, which meant Alaric was correct, they had been betrayed, as both parties had been attacked it was clear that Odin was now willing to ally with Alvarr and risk war with the western kingdoms as well just to get revenge against Arthur.

"As were we. A sorcerer named Alvarr, an agitator of my father's regime and a self styled freedom fighter was behind it, he led the attack on us here, but we saw off his men." He explained, and Alaric frowned darkly, worried.

"Then he was not the only sorcerer that Odin has allied with then, my force was attacked by a sorceress, vivid red hair, she commanded the attack on us, though she fled before I could bring her to justice," he lamented, fingering his sword's hilt irritably.

Arthur was momentarily taken aback before Leon interjected.

"Could be Alvarr's partner, she escaped when we went after them years ago, and Morgana said he was very charismatic, it would stand to reason that she was still working with him, and would assist in trying to stop the summit." He reasoned, and Alaric nodded irritably, his eyes narrowed.

"Yes, well I'm afraid that while I am disinclined to allow Odin that small victory, our summit can no longer go ahead. Odin has moved against us, and I must return to my kingdom to ensure it's safety." He told him gravely, and Arthur nodded, he would do the same in his situation, besides, he had expected as much. Still though, he had to try and get the treaty if we possibly could.

"I understand completely sire, but would we not be best to make our alliance, here and now, in spite of Odin?" he asked, and Alaric allowed himself a small chuckle.

"You are a clever one young Pendragon, but for now it cannot be. My kingdom is small, and only with the rest of the kingdoms together can we hope to prevail should Odin be making moves on our lands. If we formalise our alliance it could push Odin into all out war with the western kingdoms before I return, and should anything happen on the way there, my forces would lose focus without their king. I am sorry young Arthur, but there will be another time." He promised, and Arthur, feeling disappointed that they had travelled so far and risked so much for nothing virtually, nodded, and extended his hand to Alaric, who shook it once more before climbing back onto his horse.

"Perhaps next time we should make it official?" Arthur asked, and Alaric pursed his lips, looking slightly nervous at the prospect.

"Ah, and that is the thing young king. I am afraid I cannot risk the safety and security of the western kingdoms for you officially." He told him gravely, as his men fidgeted behind him, clearly ready to get going before anything else happened, and Arthur looked at him slightly incredulously, astonished.

"But sire-?" he protested, and Alaric sighed.

"I was happy to enter our alliance, and I believe both Camelot and my representative kingdoms could benefit greatly from such an alliance. But there was a reason we dealt with such secrecy: I'm afraid your kingdom's reputation precedes you, and has once more struck again." He told him, and Arthur exchanged a baffled look with the knights.

"Meaning what exactly sire?" he asked, trying not to sound too angry or offended, and Alaric looked at him pityingly.

"Traitors, dear boy. Morgana despite her redemption, Agravaine…and now this new traitor." He told him, and Arthur looked at him, wondering where on earth he had that idea from.

"You think there's another traitor in Camelot?" he demanded angrily, partly at the insinuation, but more so that he could be right and there could very well be yet another traitor in his kingdom, and Alaric gave him a final sad look.

"I am afraid so young Arthur, the fact that we were betrayed means that there is once more a traitor in Camelot." He told him regretfully, and Arthur arched an eyebrow in a way reminiscent of Gaius.

"And how do I know it didn't come from your kingdom?" he demanded, not much caring about etiquette now, and Alaric sniffed dismissively.

"Because despite all the people who did know we were in negotiations, only I knew the route we were going to take, and about our summit meeting, young Arthur. And I wouldn't betray my own alliance. Farewell" He told him, not unkindly, and with that he charged off with his men in tow, leaving Arthur and the knights standing back at the stones, all a bit taken aback.

The group stood in silence for a while, before Arthur turned to his knights, all of whom looked grave.

"Well sire, it sounds like…" Elyan said nervously, but Arthur shook his head, his own brow furrowed.

"No, it can't be, there can't be another traitor!" he snapped, his heart pounding as the implications set in, no, there couldn't be another traitor, because if there was…his heart couldn't take it, to be betrayed so thoroughly again.

"But sire…" Alymere said anxiously, but Arthur shook his head, glaring at him.

"No Alymere! Because nobody knew the route we were taking, the only people who knew the exact route we were taking were the lot of us!" he insisted, and at that, Dagonet looked a little surprised.

"Are you sure sire?" he asked, looking alarmed that someone had been able to sell them out despite their precautions, and Arthur nodded.

"Yes, we are the only ones! Well everyone except Gwen, and she was with me from when we chose the route and until we left!" he insisted, and Leon looked at him worriedly, if that was the case, then how had they been betrayed? None of the knights would do so, not when to do so would endanger their own lives if nothing else.

"Then sire?" he began, and Elyan cleared his throat, and as Arthur turned to face him, he looked positively guilt ridden that he was even voicing this thought.

"What is it Elyan?" Arthur asked, and Elyan looked tortured, but took a deep breath, though it was clear he was very uncomfortable.

"Well sire, there was one other person who knew the route, and I'm not saying that they are the traitor, I mean the entire thought is just absurd, but I just thought that since we need to at least investigate the possibility of being a traitor, well the other person, I know he wouldn't but…"

Arthur was getting very irritated by Elyan labouring the point.

"Alright Elyan, I get it! Who else knew the route?" he asked waspishly, and Elyan looked aghast that he was even saying this aloud, and he looked down at his shoes as he answered in a small voice:

"Merlin."

Well who here thought this story was dead? I couldnt blame you, I myself pondered that, but for a while I've been planning to do a run through of Merlin, and of reading my Merlin series and I remember how much fun I had writing it, so I thought I'd come back and give it another go!

Watching Merlin again made me realise just how much I love the series (ending aside, it's so sad), and so I'm back at it. Now I know not a lot happens in this chapter, a lot of it is mainly agonising over the separation of Arthur and Merlin, but now we see Nimueh's plans begin to materialise as she and Mircerheor advance their plan to take down Camelot and destroy both Arthur and Merlin once and for all, so time will only tell what other schemes she has in mind, though Elyan could give you an idea as to what she's truly after...

So, if you are still interested in this story, I will be delighted to have you keep reading it, so many thanks for sticking with it, and apologies for the length of time it took to update it, and if you can find it in your heart, please read and review!