We are so close the the end now. It is kinda exciting.

The Run-around of The King

The dogs howled as they dragged their owners along. Some had their noses down, making sure the sent was still there while others tried to race ahead. The guards had to lean backwards to try and remained balanced.

Everyone else followed closely behind on their horses. The whole forest was quiet save for the animals in the group.

The lack of sound frustrated Morgause to no end. It meant that they were no one around and that they weren't going to find the person they were looking for.

It had been a week since Morgause took the throne of Camelot for herself and already had implemented a few rules that Merlin should have. Magic was now known to be on top and the common folk were the people to see the change quickly. If they didn't possess the gift, they were forced to give up their homes for those who did. The courtyard was now full of non-magical homeless people but she knew that it was nothing a few arrows couldn't sort when she got back.

But her focus for now was on finding the young king. He had managed to slip through her fingers and the longer he remained on the loose, alive, the greater the chance that he had something planned to get him kingdom back. It couldn't happen. They needed to pay for what they had done.

She glared as one of the guards was pulled over, regretting making him immortal.

"We are forever in your debt." Merlin said as he turned around to thank the people still inside the house.

"There is no need Milord. It is our duty to protect you as much as it is yours to protect us." The woman said.

He smiled at her. "Nevertheless, you saw who we were. We had been turned away." He knew that Arthur was nodding behind him. He had threatened to kick down the door of the last person that only seen them as travellers.

They bided the woman and her husband goodbye and left the village in hope to find someone that had escaped Camelot. Merlin hoped that Lancelot did manage to get his mother out. She meant the world to him and he would be lost without her. His grief would definitely be worse for his mother than father. He need her guidance at the moment.

They head eastwards back towards Camelot slightly. They knew the dangers of getting to close to the city but wished to put Morgause on edge, to make it seem like they were within touching distance but not.

The trio made their way into the Darkling woods when they were hijacked. Merlin tried to see the irony of it but the amount of times that they had been attacked by people it was becoming less and less of a joke.

"Merlin?"

He looked up and allowed the smile to spread across his face. "Lancelot." He stood up and pulled the man into a hug. "Thank the goddess you got out okay. Is everyone alright? Hows my mother? Where is she?"

The quick fire questions stumped Lancelot for a bit. The poor man didn't know how he was going to tell the king that Morgana was still in Camelot but was confused when he didn't mention her.

"Your mother is just up here. I am sorry Merlin. Morgana tricked me into leaving her. She is ..."

"Yes she has been captured by Morgause. We saw that much." Merlin said, noticing the man's nerves about telling him.

"Let's go and see your mother. She has been worried sick about you. I think she waits for me to come in and tell her news of your death."

Merlin patted the man on the back before introducing him to Gwaine.

Whatever Morgause had done to the cell, it was effective. Morgana hadn't tried anything but she could feel her magic trapped inside her. It was an odd feeling after allowing her magic to roam for so long now. Well just over a year but when she has only known of her magic for about two, it just felt natural for it to roam the area.

Her eyes opened as she heard the footsteps. She knew it was Morgause by the sound of her dress flowing around her and there was no tell tale noise of heavy boots on the stone floor.

Morgause stopped in front of the door of the cell. "Enjoying it?"

"It is marvellous. Never felt any better." She said as sarcastically as possible.

The older woman pouted. "Now there is no need to be like that now Morgana. I was only asking."

"Well then you would probably know how it feels or could guess how it feels. I was wrong."

"Why were you wrong?" Morgause said, her voice showing a little hope.

"I thought we wanted the same thing but we don't. We do in a sense by we both want magic to be free but we want it to be free in different ways. I want it to be free because I want to be free. Free from fear of myself. There will still be fear because it is how we have been brought up. Only those that are alive before the purge will be the ones who don't fear it.

"But you on the other hand don't fall into the category. You believe that you are owed something. You made it out the purge alive. Yes you probably saw people die but so did others. The druids saw whole camps being taken out at the same time. You believe magic is on top but it isn't. Magic just is." She said with some realisation.

Her sister glared at her. "And that is why we are so different. Because you are wrong. We were given this gift for a reason. Magic is meant to be on top."

And with that, Morgana was left again to the silence and her own thoughts.

"Quick question." Cenred asked when they were alone. "Why are you Queen? I thought you were going to wait for me and I was going to become king."

If anything, Morgause had hoped that it would be the only question he didn't ask. She already had an answer planned but she just wished he didn't ask it.

"Wouldn't it be better if we joined the kingdoms?" She said as she tried to answer with a question.

"Me being King would have done that. I would be king of the two biggest and most powerful realms. I cannot see that happening now."

"A treaty between us could be better. Our kingdoms will be joined."

"A treaty?"

She turned to him. "There may be more in it for you if you are good." She said with a voice that she knew he couldn't resist.

"Now that you put it that way." He said with a smile.

She smiled back at him but it was for a different reason. She had him back around her little finger. She had made him believe that he would rule Camelot. He wasn't if she had anything to do with it. If anything, she was going to make sure he wasn't alive much longer.

He felt on edge by sitting in one place. He felt less vulnerable on the road for some reason. He couldn't keep still and he knew it was slowly starting to annoy everyone by his constance pacing.

"I would be happier if we were ..."

"If we were where Merlin?" Arthur asked harshly.

So he had annoyed everyone with his pacing. He tried to stop his feet but they just ended up moving by themselves.

"I feel vulnerable."

"We are all waiting for this brilliant plan."

Merlin wondered when he had said that he got a plan but he realised that it was the way they had interpreted his pacing.

"It will be a suicide mission."

"Obviously there will be causalities."

Merlin sighed. "We need to knock over the cup of life and spill its contents. We need a distraction so that all the guards with be busy leaving the cup less guarded. It isn't going to be easy."