A/N No, I do not own Merlin. Would be awesome if I did but sadly I don't. A huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far and subscribed to story alerts.

Chapter 2

Arthur had been following the trail for two days now, and he had noticed that the trail was too perfect. He had already guessed that this had been done on purpose but he couldn't work out who exactly had kidnapped his servant. It had to be someone who knew of the unspoken friendship between the two, no one else would think of taking him.

His mind kept wandering to one name, Morgana. He really didn't want it to be her, he didn't have enough power to take her down and if he died Camelot would be without a king or heir. Not only that but if Morgana had Merlin then he was even more concerned for the safety of his servant. Morgana would not be kind, and Merlin no doubt would get under her skin in a matter of hours.

Knowing how careful he would have to be made him weary of every noise and every animal. He wasn't scared Kings didn't get scared- apprehensive maybe but never scared.

'Arthur, can you please stop jumping at every sound.' Gwaine finally exclaimed. 'You're making me twitchy.'

'I'm not jumping at animal noises.' Arthur argued. Gwaine just raised his eyebrow as the other knight's snorted laughs.

'Yes you are princess.'

'Can you stop calling me princess? I am your King!' Arthur shouted at Gwaine who was almost skipping beside him.

'No Arthur. You are my princess.' The other Knights were laughing childishly at Arthurs beetroot face.

'How can you laugh like that? Merlin has been kidnapped!'

'Yeah' said Leon 'but I bet he's annoying them. Come on Arthur; let's not dwell on it at the moment. We know you're worried, we all are.'

'I am not worried.' Arthur said, almost stamping his feet. He was not worried about Merlin, he was just his servant.

'Yeah we believe you sire' Elyan sniggered from behind him. He would have them running drills when they got back. They would be in agony. He smiled at that thought. He and Merlin could laugh at them all. That is if they manage to rescue him. Left with his gloomy thoughts and annoying knight's Arthur trudged onwards. He had never thought he would be wishing for Merlin to be with him, but he was.

Merlin had his eyes screwed in concentration. Unlocking this spell was like breaking into a safe. He had to find the opposite for every part of the spell she used. It was frustrating and he had slammed his head into the wall in annoyance a few times. Now with a throbbing head he was regretting that wise idea. This whole thing would have been so much easier if Morgana didn't insist on coming down to gloat every few hours. Merlin had begun to believe she was lonely, he didn't pity her though. She had after all murdered her sister. It was her bloody fault. Merlin however wasn't keen on being Morganas play toy until Arthur arrived so with renewed figuration he set about his task. He had already worked out the first part, but it was so boring and time consuming. It would be so much easier if he had been awake when she'd cast it or he had his book/Gaius or had never met the prat that was Arthur. No point dwelling on it. Morgana however picked this moment to come in and be annoying.

'Well Arthur has made good pace, he must actually miss you' sneered Morgana.

'I'm sure he just needs someone to clean his boots.' Merlin mumbled back his eyebrows still furrowed in concentration.

'Will you pay attention!' Morgana said slapping him across the face.

'I am dreadfully sorry, but I'm finding you awfully repetitive.' One side of his face was now glowing bright red and he looked furious.

'Let's see how you feel in a minute' Morgana cooed, drawing a sharp knife. For the first time since he was taken Merlin felt fear.

Hours later Merlin was covered in little cuts, none were deep enough to cause actual harm but painful enough to sting. The worst thing was the actual pleasure that Morgana took in inflicting harm on the warlock, he had never truly believed she was gone- that there wasn't a chance of redemption but now he had no doubt that his Morgana was gone for good. Merlin wriggled trying to get himself into a comfy position, he soon however realised it was impossible. His stomach was rumbling and his throat dry. Morgana had either forgotten to feed her captive or didn't think him worth feeding. In his youth Merlin had had many winters where he went for days at a time without food, but since being in Camelot he had forgotten how truly awful it was. Closing his eyes and trying to concentrate on the spell he soon deemed it fruitless he couldn't keep his mind on track; he just couldn't stop his mind from wandering. He wondered how Arthur was, how Gwen Gaius and Camelot was. He was also hoping that maybe, just this once Arthur wouldn't come to save him. Arthur must know it's a trap, so to come would be suicide. Merlin needed to be able to use his magic and Arthur's presence would complicate matters. Why couldn't Arthur just sit tight just this once? Why did he always have to be the knight in shining armour? A little annoying voice in his head said 'because then he wouldn't be King Arthur, your friend.' Merlin mimicked the little voice in a high pitched whine. He then realised he was talking to himself and promptly stopped. Closing his eyes in frustration Merlin decided to get some sleep before trying again with the spell. But one thing was clear- he was running out of time.

Arthur set up camp late that evening; he was getting increasingly frustrated by their slow pace and his knights' brash behaviour. The feeling of worry had descended upon him and so had a feeling of doom. He had a horrible suspicion that something was going to go dreadfully wrong. Gwaine had cooked and so Arthur had been extremely suspicious of the food, he trusted Gwaine with his life but with everything else? Not as far as he could throw his horse. Unsurprisingly it had tasted awful but with no other food they ate it, all with scrunched up faces. Except Gwaine he seemed to think it tasted wonderful. They all laid down their rolls by the fire and Arthur fell into an uneasy sleep. Tossing and turning it wasn't long before a nightmare descended upon him.

'Merlin' taunted Morgana 'Merlinnn, wakey wakey.' Morgana was dressed in a tattered old dress her hair though was the same as always, neat and in a bun. She looked just like the Morgana she had once been except for the cruel look on her face. Merlin was laid slumped and barely moving, Morgana kicked him and he jolted awake. She then grabbed his shirt and pulled him upright. Merlin's face was covered in bruises, his eyes swollen shut. His nose was broken and blood dribbled from the corner of him mouth 'Is the Kings mouthy servant all quiet now? Is poor little Merlin scared of the big bad Morgana?'

'Morgana' Merlin gasped 'I only pity you.' Morgana reared back before punching him.

'I don't want your pity.' Sneered Morgana 'I don't want anything from you; your only use to me is to lure Arthur here.'

'I have only ever tried to help you Morgana.'

'You only ever helped yourself Merlin.'

'I won't let you harm King Arthur' Merlin said staggering to his feet. Morgana laughed at him.

'Just how do you expect to stop me?' Merlin's gaunt and bony figure stepped forward and more into the light. His thin frame enlightened by the torch, his face set determinedly. He was covered in blood, his clothes caked in it. His hair flattened to his forehead with perspiration. He looked like he should be on his death bed.

'Morgana, you should never have tried to hold me hostage. I am more powerful than you could ever be.'

'No. No you are a weak servant.' Her voice was trembling in fear as Merlin raised a hand. 'You can't I..'

'You have spent your time gloating, I however have used this time a little more constructively. You should have never threatened Arthur.'

The dream ended suddenly, Arthur rolled on to his side and vomited. His mind swimming with the image of Merlin's battered form. He prayed that Merlin would be alright, that he wouldn't be in that state. But the dream had caused Arthur to grimly realise that finding Merlin in the same condition as they left him was unlikely. He just hoped that they could rescue him quickly.

A/N Enjoy? Please review! Next update should be on Saturday .