Katie retired to her room, she was exhausted. She led down and started to doze when the voice woke her up, Katie, there is no time for that.
Please, give me a little bit of time, I need to sleep.
Right now, you need to pack. You can rest then.
"And then what?" Katie groaned.
Then before dawn I will wake you up, you will go to your horse and leave.
"Where are we going?"
I will tell you once we are away from Camelot.
Katie got out of bed and felt the voice leave for a little while. She was about to pack when she turned to her writing desk. She wrote four letters, wincing from the pain in her arm each time she wrote a new word, to Uther, Arthur, Gaius (she decided to give him the most obvious clue to her disappearance as possible) and Merlin.
She placed Uther's on her desk, for him to find and placed the rest on her bed, ready for distribution when she was leaving the castle. She packed quickly, knowing that the faster she packed the more sleep she would get.
Her sleep was a deep one and Katie hardly heard the voice when it woke her. She changed, picked up her bags and the letters and walked out of the door. As she rushed past each room she slipped each letter under each door. She stormed out of the castle and jumped on her horse. A boy yelled 'Hey!'
Katie looked at him and heard a sigh, Kill him. The voice commanded.
"Boy, I am going for a very early ride, you wouldn't wish to keep me, the Lady Kathryn, from fields and fresh air would you?" She said kindly with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"No ma'am."
Katie galloped away, There is no need for violence when talking will work just as well. She scolded the voice.
They rode in silence for a long time, Katie reached the end of the forest where it opened out into a wide field and the castle of Camelot was visible. "Alright. Where do we go now?" Katie asked, staring at her old home.
Carry on to King Cenred's kingdom. We won't be noticed. He won't care about a woman riding on her horse through the forests. He has more important things on his mind.
Katie didn't move and after a short pause asked, I'm never going back, am I?
That all depends on you, my dear. The voice replied maliciously.
She turned the horse away from Camelot and rode it quickly, trying hard not to think about any of her companions reading their letters.
00000
Merlin hadn't slept well, his mind had been turning over his argument with Katie. He felt like she had been telling him something but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.
He rose from his bed and walked into the dining part of the quarters. He noticed Gaius, still in his bed, reading some letter. The old man sighed and looked at the boy. "On the table." He muttered.
Merlin's brow furrowed and he looked down to see an envelope addressed to him. He ripped it open quickly.
"Dearest Merlin,
I'm sorry I must go, I cannot make you understand this but it is safer that I leave you now. I will be back some day. Please, find it in your heart to forgive me.
Forever Yours, Katie."
He read in a whisper. Merlin crushed the paper in his hands angrily. "It is safer that I leave you now?" He yelled, 'Why doesn't she understand that whatever it is, I can help?"
"Merlin, I don't think you can." Gaius sighed, getting out of his bed and walking towards the boy. Gaius took the letter that Merlin had scrunched up in his hand and flattened it out on the table.
"What do you mean?"
"Katie's not herself. She really, really didn't want to leave."
"How do you know?"
"Do you think she would have used mottled paper?" Gaius pointed out showing Merlin splodges on the paper where tears had fallen and stained the material.
"She was upset? She feels bad every time she leaves." Merlin replied cynically.
"She never writes letters or cries while doing so." Gaius grumbled.
He looked over his letter again, "Dear Gaius,
I'm so sorry I have to go. I can not explain, I don't have time. Don't let Merlin beat himself up over our argument. I will miss you and I truly hope I will return soon, I don't really have any control over when I will be back.
I'm sorry, Katie."
Something about the letter was making Gaius worried, "I don't really have control over when I will be back?" He said out loud.
"Pardon?"
"She's telling me something, Merlin. She isn't going of her own accord, someone is making her leave." Gaius explained.
"Who could be making her leave?"
"I don't know. Did she try and tell you something? Anything, at any point."
"She told me it wasn't safe to be around her. She told me she was different now." Merlin felt helpless and angry that he hadn't seen it before. "Every time she tried to tell me something, something hurt her."
"It sounds like she has been possessed, but why?"
There was a knock on the door and Arthur barged in, holding up a letter, "Did you know she was going again?" He asked both men.
"No. We've only just got our letters too."
"Father is going mad. How could she leave again?"
"We don't think she had much choice. In fact I think some sorcerer has put a spell on her."
"And that's why she keeps leaving?" Arthur asked, almost hopefully.
"Unfortunately, I think it's the reason she's leaving this time and she left of her own accord before." Gaius replied, wishing he could have given the prince a different answer.
"Then what should we do?" Arthur and Merlin asked at the same time.
"I would assume that if it wanted to kill her, it already would have. She must have some sort of mission to complete before it will leave her."
"Should we go after her?" Merlin asked, Arthur gave him a strange look.
"I think it would be dangerous. If she felt she needed our help she would have written 'don't come after me' in either of your letters."
"What do you mean by that?" Arthur asked.
"She knows you both well enough that if she told you not to come after her, you would as soon as you could." Gaius finished and sighed.