AN: No, the awesomeness that is Merlin is not mine.

For all you people who wanted Agravaine to get what's coming to him, that will be soon(and a little bit at the end of this chapter). Also, Morgana gets injured in this chapter. Do you think she should live?

Morgana smiled, surveying the camp full of hired thugs. In less than an hour, they would move in on Arthur, who thought he was safe. Her pulse quickened, and she felt like a hunter stalking her prey. She hated the waiting, but knew it was necessary.

"Arthur will be dead by morning," Agravaine said from his place beside her, and his tone expressed a similar feeling of triumph.

She merely smirked, something she had perfected during her year as a traitor inside Camelot. "Yes." If all went well, she would get the pleasure of killing her dear brother herself. Her previous attempts at killing him had been good plans(well, most of them), and probably have succeeded if it weren't for Merlin. But all those times she spent sitting in her chambers in Camelot, or in her hut in the woods, a part of her had wished she could have done the deed herself. But this time, she would join her small army, which she had hired as a mere precaution, and face Arthur one last time before she killed him.

0o0

If the knights weren't well-trained for missions, they would not have been able to keep still as long as they did. However, they managed it somehow. Arthur suspected that they, like him, felt it was worth it to get back at the people who had harmed Merlin.

The sky was beginning to darken when the king got a nudge from Leon. The knight pointed silently to a flash of movement he had spotted on the opposite slope. Looking closely, Arthur too saw the small band of mercenaries weaving through the trees, heading for the fake campsite they had set up.

Then he spotted Morgana. He followed her with his eyes as the knights crept forward silently, closing in on the mercenaries. He would have to get to her as soon as the fighting began, and at least knock her out, or her magic would likely cost them the fight.

"I'm going for Morgana," Arthur whispered, "You lot go for the rest."

0o0

The mercenaries stepped cautiously into the clearing, looking around. Someone had clearly been here recently, but they couldn't see anyone.

Morgana looked around as well, tension and excitement building in her. But after a few moments, she started to feel that something was wrong. The campfire looked several hours old, the rolls of blankets unused, and there was no food.

She was on the verge of calling out warning, but a battle cry suddenly rent the air. She spun around to see red capes flying towards the clearing, where all her fighters were now trapped.

She screamed in rage, and a few of them flew backwards. She could hear the ringing of swords clashing all around her. Practically growling in frustration, she swept the scene quickly, looking for Arthur. When she couldn't find him, she turned around, looking for him elsewhere. Instead, she saw the hilt of his sword growing bigger until it connected with her head, and she crumpled to the ground.

Arthur watched his half-sister fall, relieved that their enemy no longer had her as an advantage. He hadn't even begun to decide if he could just kill her now when one of the mercenaries ran at him, yelling, and he was distracted. Gwaine and Leon, who had been knocked to the ground by her moments before, were back up and were fighting the witch's thugs. Being trained knights of Camelot, it didn't take much to take them down.

When Percival had run through the last mercenary with his sword, the knights gathered around Morgana's unconscious form.

"Tie her up," Arthur ordered.

Morgana's hands were bound and she was tied firmly to a tree. Percival and Leon stood watch over her, while the others had their wounds tended by Merlin.

Arthur had ordered Merlin to hang back during the fight, but luckily he was still able to watch from a slight distance, causing a few mercenaries to trip and a few swords to slip out of hands without too much risk of being seen. He'd then been able to help the knights who had been injured. It was one of the occasions when he was particularly glad Gaius had bothered to teach him medical care.

Morgana woke up twenty minutes after Merlin had finished treating the last of the knights. And she was not happy.

With a yell, her eyes, glowing gold, flew open, and Percival and Leon were knocked to the ground.
The rest of the knights were there at once, but with a whispered spell, Morgana had already freed herself.

Arthur cursed silently. He'd hoped she would stay unconscious until they reached Camelot, where she would be more easily contained. But she was most definitely awake now, glaring daggers at all of them.

"Morgana, stop this!" Arthur implored. "It's over!"

"No," snarled. "The throne will be mine, Arthur Pendragon."

She raised hand and began to utter a curse. The knights raised their swords, but a simple flick from Morgana and they went flying.

The knights backed up, not taking their eyes of the sorceress, but not knowing what to do. Her cruel smile grew, and the knights steeled themselves to do something desperate, when Morgana gave a small gasp.

All eyes turned to the tip of Excalibur, which was sticking out of Morgana's front.

She heard a voice, so quiet that only she could hear it, speak in her ear.

"This is my fault, and I am so sorry."

Then she fell, and revealing Merlin standing behind her, still clutching Arthur's sword.

Before her eyes closed, they fixed on a point above them, and she let out a furious yell that echoed around the clearing.

"AGRAVAINE!"

Merlin, sensing what was about to happen before it did, called out to the knights.

"DUCK!"

They all did as he said, reacting instinctively. Arthur thought he felt something whoosh over his head, ruffling his hair, barely missing him. But he didn't dare look up to see what it was.

0o0

Agravaine had been waiting at the top of the slope, planning to watch Morgana's victory, as he could see the part where the trees stopped, creating the little clearing. Instead, he'd watched with growing dread as the knights of Camelot first defeated the mercenaries, and then tied up Morgana.

He'd frozen in his panic. Morgana had been coming less and less forgiving toward him with each failure, and she was certainly going to be angry about this. Especially when Merlin turned up out of nowhere. He wasn't even sure how that was possible.

He couldn't go down there and defend Morgana when she woke up, that would give him away. Although he had pledged himself to her, his desire to live outweighed the compelling urge to help her that she would surely expect from him.

He stood there, debating with himself, when he saw Merlin run her through with a sword.

Heart pounding, feeling as though he was trapped in a nightmare, he watched her collapse. From his position higher up on the hill, he was fairly far away, but he was close enough to see her eyes scanning the treeline.

They found his, and became alight with fury.

"AGRAVAINE!"

He shivered at her shout, at the clear need for revenge in it.

And she lost control of her magic to her hate. Black magic exploded from her. It could see the air ripple with it.

He was vaguely aware of the knights hitting the ground. He was frozen, watching the wave of power racing towards him. It was coming closer and closer, and still his fear held him still...

The feeling of being knocked backward, a blinding pain, and then unconsciousness.