A/N: Hey guys! Again, I apologize for the last chapter. I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that. This chapter has a lot of stuff going on so if any of it confuses you, please let me know. Reviews are HIGHLY appreciated so to Death Knight of Camelot, I just want to thank you for your review of the last chapter :)


Chapter Six


It was tricky trying to sneak out of Camelot unnoticed. Uther had known that Arthur would try to help Merlin so he stationed guards at every possible exit. It had taken them quite a while to sneak out just before dinner so they ended up setting up camp in the forest once they had managed to escape from the castle.

"How's Merlin doing?" Arthur said quietly as Gwaine sat down next to him. Gwaine glanced at Merlin who was busy making stew for them.

"I've never seen him like this before." Gwaine admitted. "He looks so lost."

"Is it true that Merlin and Myka knew each other before?"

"Back in Ealdor, yes. Apparently Myka left when she was nine and they haven't seen each other since."

"No wonder he's torn up about this." They stopped talking as soon as they noticed Merlin standing up. He held a bowl in each hand and he handed one to Gwaine and one to Arthur.

"Sorry if it's a bit bland. There was barely any salt left." He said. Arthur and Gwaine gave him a small smile and watched him sit down by himself near the horses. Merlin looked so sad and lonely and it made Arthur furious at whoever had taken Myka.

"We have to find Myka. I can't stand to see Merlin like this." Arthur whispered. Gwaine nodded in agreement.

"If we wake up early tomorrow, we might be able to make up time." Gwaine said. They quickly finished up their food and decided to wash their own dishes to give Merlin a break.

Once everything was put away, the three of them lay down to rest for the night. Gwaine's snores soon filled the air but Arthur couldn't sleep. He could hear Merlin tossing and turning near him.

"Merlin?" Arthur said, facing Merlin. Merlin turned over and faced Arthur.

"Yeah?" He said sullenly.

"Are you alright?" Arthur asked quietly. Merlin shrugged nonchalantly but Arthur could see the worry in his eyes. "We'll find her. Don't worry."

"I know we will." Merlin replied. Arthur knew that Merlin didn't want to talk right now so he gave Merlin a small smile and turned his back on him. Merlin closed his eyes and the last thing he saw before falling asleep was Myka's smiling face.

/

"Wake up!" Jay said harshly as he shook Myka. She winced as she felt pain rush through her body. "We have to leave now. You'll be riding with me." He added, sneering at her. Myka swallowed loudly and looked down at her bound arms. She could barely sit up thanks to her broken ribs. How was she supposed to stay upright on a moving horse?

"If you don't hurry, Jay might get angry." Myka looked up and saw Owen approaching her. He helped her stand up and let her lean against him as they walked towards Jay and Mark.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Myka asked, keeping her voice down. Owen looked startled by her question and looked away.

"I'm tired of being the man everyone else wants me to be." He said simply. Myka frowned but before she could ask more, Jay took her and led her to his horse.

"No funny business." He warned as he untied her. Myka felt relieved that she wasn't tied up anymore. Jay got up on the horse and motioned for Owen to help Myka up. He stood behind her, placed his hands on her waist and effortlessly lifted her up behind Jay.

"What if I fall off?" She demanded. Jay looked back at her smirked.

"That's why you keep your arms around me, darling." Myka looked disgusted but knew she had no choice. If she didn't hold on to Jay, she'd fall off. Her ribs were still hurting her so she couldn't depend on herself to sit straight. Reluctantly, she wrapped her arms around Jay and leaned against his back.

"Owen, you're riding behind me. Mark, behind Owen. We have to reach Mora by nightfall." Jay barked. The two men nodded and followed Jay as he yanked the reigns and rode forwards. Myka sat silently behind Jay and occasionally held on tighter as the terrain got rockier.

Eventually, Myka ended up falling asleep during the journey. Owen was watching her carefully, making sure she didn't slip off. "It looks like we might have to stop for a while, Jay." Mark said gruffly. Myka opened her eyes and looked up at the grey clouds looming over their heads. Jay cursed loudly and stopped his horse.

"Where's the nearest village?" He demanded. Owen took out a map and looked at it closely.

"We've just passed the mountains of Isgard. The nearest village is on the outskirts of the forest of Balor. I believe it's called, Elmes." Owen said.

"The forest of Balor? We should get there by sundown. Come on, let's go." Jay said, yanking the reigns. Myka was slightly glad that they took no notice of her. She liked it better that way. Jay disgusted her and she hated how close she was to him.

"You repel me." She hissed into his ear. Jay laughed scornfully.

"Don't worry sweetheart, I'll put you out of your misery soon enough."

/

Merlin, Arthur and Gwaine packed up their things and set off on their search to find Myka. Gwaine was probably the only one to have gotten much sleep last night since Arthur and Merlin were tossing and turning, worried about certain things.

"Come on, we should hurry. If they set up camp, we might be able to find their campsite." Arthur said, riding ahead. Merlin and Gwaine followed him, keeping their eyes on the forest around them.

A little while later, Gwaine saw something pink fluttering near a log. "I think I found something!" He called. Merlin and Arthur turned their horses around while Gwaine got off his. He bent down and picked up the pink cloth.

"It looks like part of a dress." Arthur said, looking at it curiously. Gwaine looked closer and gasped.

"Myka was wearing a pink dress that night in the tavern! This is a piece of her dress!" Arthur and Gwaine looked at Merlin and saw him shaking in anger.

"If they've done anything to her, I'll kill them." He said in a low voice. Gwaine pocketed the piece of cloth and Arthur walked around, checking to see if there was anything else that might help them find Myka.

"There was a struggle here." Arthur noted. Gwaine and Merlin walked over to where Arthur was and saw multiple footprints in the ground. "This must have happened last night."

"That means we're getting closer!" Gwaine said brightly, trying to lighten Merlin's mood. Arthur was still looking around and noticed something else on the ground. He shot Gwaine a panicked look and motioned for him to come over. Merlin was busy with the horses and took no notice of them.

"Look, blood." Arthur said quietly. Gwaine looked down and saw splatters of blood on the ground. His fists clenched at the thought of those men hurting Myka.

"She'll be fine. She's a tough one." Gwaine reassured Arthur. It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself that though.

"We should get going. It's going to take a while to get through those mountains." Merlin said. Arthur and Gwaine composed themselves and followed Merlin, hoping that Myka was still ok.

/

Malena stood near the throne and eyed it curiously. The throne was made of solid gold and there were intricate etchings on the sides of it. Beautiful jewels and stones lined the base of the throne.

"All that power in a single chair." She breathed. She ran her fingers along the top of the throne and frowned as she noticed an empty space where a stone should be. She looked closer and found that a stone was indeed missing. She traced it suspiciously and stood up as she heard someone entering the room. She turned and saw Cenred coming in.

"Ah, Malena. I've been looking for you." Cenred said, smiling. Malena smiled back.

"Have you found anything else about this Myka?" She asked. Cenred smiled wider.

"Myka seems to be quite a favorite of Robert. He treats her better than the other servants apparently." He said. Malena paced around thoughtfully.

"She must know something." Malena mused. She faced Robert once more. "I'll be in the palace records room. I need to find more about this throne." She said, sweeping out of the room, leaving Cenred to stare at the magnificent throne.

A few minutes later, Malena found the book she was looking for. She flipped it open and coughed slightly at the dust that flew around. She scanned the page quickly, hoping to read more about the throne.

"The missing stone is a ruby." She said aloud as she saw a drawing of the throne. "The ruby is the main source of the throne's power. The throne simply prevented anyone other than a Beaumont to access the ruby's power." She slammed the book shut, carried it in her arms and ran off to tell Cenred about the ruby.

"Cenred, I found something." She said excitedly. Cenred looked up from what he was reading.

"What is it?" He asked. Malena opened the book to the page she read and placed it in front of Cenred triumphantly. After reading it quickly, he looked up. "This means we won't need the heir after all!"

"We still need to find that ruby." Malena said.

"I'll ask around. Check Robert's chambers and that Myka's chambers as well. He might have entrusted it to her."

/

"Looks like we made it just in time." Jay said, looking up at the sky. Rain was starting to pour down heavily and they managed to arrive in Elmes before the rain started. Myka shivered from the cold rain and yelped as Jay pulled her down from the horse harshly. She stumbled and fell against him, wincing as her broken ribs came into contact with Jay's armour.

"Listen up! We will stay in one of the inns until the rain stops. I don't want you looking like we're terrorizing you so you better go along with whatever I say. Got it?" Jay threatened. Myka nodded meekly and Jay smiled in satisfaction.

"Mark, tie the horses here." Once the horses were taken care of, the four of them entered the inn. A kind looking woman noticed them and hurried over to greet them. Jay, with Myka in tow, went up to her and smiled charmingly.

"Do you have any spare rooms?" He asked. The lady smiled and nodded.

"How many would be needing?" She asked.

"Two rooms. One for my two friends," He said gesturing to Mark and Owen. "And one for me and my wife." He said, smirking down at Myka. She looked shocked but remembered his threat.

"Er, yeah." She said quickly. Jay smiled and slipped an arm around her shoulder. She stiffened but didn't say a word. The inn lady seemed oblivious to all this and motioned for them to follow her upstairs.

"Here are your rooms." She said, gesturing to two doors across each other. Jay thanked her after she gave them the keys and watched her leave before facing the other three. Owen had already opened the door to one room and Mark opened the door to the other. One room had two single beds and the other room had only one bed. Jay smiled wickedly at Myka.

"Looks like we'll have to sh-"

"Mark and I will take this room." Owen said quickly. Jay spun around to face him and saw that he was talking about the room with one bed. Myka felt relief wash over her and shot Owen a grateful look.

"What are you playing at?" Jay growled. Owen shrugged and turned his back to Jay. Mark raised an eyebrow at Owen but followed him into the room. Myka flinched as Jay faced her, his face a mask of fury.

"Hmmph. I'll be out at the tavern so don't even think about escaping." Jay growled as he shoved Myka into their room. Myka fell on the floor and glared at Jay.

"You can't stop me from leaving this room." She said defiantly. Jay smirked.

"Can't I?" He sneered. He grabbed Myka by the arm and shoved her up against the wall. Myka froze as she felt a cold object pressing against her neck.

"I know Cenred wants you alive but there's nothing stopping me from destroying your pretty face." He hissed into her ear. Myka's vision blurred as her eyes filled with tears. Satisfied, Jay let Myka go and pushed her towards the bed. Myka closed her eyes and listened as Jay left the room. A click in the lock told her that she was locked in until Jay returned.

Myka pushed herself off the bed and looked around the room. There was a dirty mirror on one side of the room and there was only one window. She rushed to the window and tried to open it but found that it was locked. "Argh!" She screamed in frustration.

After hitting the window repeatedly, Myka gave up and sat back down on the bed. She looked up and saw her reflection in the mirror across her. Her face was covered in dirt and the cut on her cheek was still a bit raw. She held a hand up to her cheek and winced as the cut throbbed. She felt her ribs tentatively and was slightly relieved to find that it didn't hurt as much as before.

The rain was still pouring heavily and Myka couldn't tell if it was morning or the afternoon. She curled up on the musty bed and closed her eyes. She let her self cry until sleep washed over her once more.