Chapter 4 - Uncertainty
"Don't worry," Rory said to Amy, "the Doctor will come, he'll get us out of here."
Amy stood a little way away, her arms wrapped around herself, not talking.
Rory look up at the barred window and with a sinking feeling in his stomach saw that it was growing light outside.
"He'll come," he said again, more to reassure himself than Amy. He sat down on the dirty, straw-covered floor, his hope failing.
Merlin crept down the stairs and paused as he saw the guards below. He raised his hand and looked towards one of the torches on the wall. A golden glow lit up his eyes and the torch flared up towards the ceiling. The guards yelled in shock and started up. Merlin looked towards a pile of crates and sent them flying through the air towards the guards.
They crumpled to the ground, unconscious and Merlin hurried on down the stairs. Looking left and right to see if anyone had notice he hurried towards the cells.
More guards were standing outside the door to the Doctor's cell but Merlin soon got rid of them and hurried to the door.
The Doctor was already up and with a buzz and a green light the cell door clicked open.
Merlin who had been about to use magic lowered his hand with a suspicious look at the tool the Doctor was holding.
"Are you sure that isn't magic?" he asked.
The Doctor dismissed the comment.
"Where's Amy?" he asked.
"Amy and Rory are this way," said Merlin and they ran down the corridor, already hearing the shouts of the guards.
Using magic, Merlin made the guards outside Amy and Rory's cell fall asleep and the Doctor rushed in. He unlocked the cell door and pulled Amy into a hug.
Merlin however was looking back the way they had come and listening to the shouts of the guards.
Suddenly the warning bell rang out through the castle.
"They know you've escaped," Merlin said.
"How do we get out?" Amy asked.
"This way," Merlin said and led them as they ran through a dark tunnel. At the end, Merlin blasted away the iron gate covering the entrance. He let Amy, Rory and the Doctor scramble past him into the night.
"But the T.A.R.D.I.S." Rory said, "the Daleks!"
"Wait until morning," Merlin said, "then meet me at the west gate. I'll get you in."
"Take care," the Doctor said.
"Run! Go!" Merlin replied.
Once the three had disappeared in the trees, Merlin ran back down the passage and back into the castle. He did not stop running until he reached Gaius' chambers.
Arthur looked at the bars for himself.
"Sorcery," he muttered.
Beside him, Sir Leon looked grave.
"The cell doors saw no damage sire, no sign of magic," he reported, "it appears they had someone else to aid them in their escape. Someone who may still be here in Camelot."
Arthur sheathed his sword.
"Send a patrol into the woods to search for them," he ordered.
"But what about the … Daleks?" Leon asked.
Arthur paused.
"If you find any, give up the search and get out of there. There will be no more lives lost today."
"Yes sire," Leon replied.
Gaius looked serious as he made Merlin a drink.
"But are you sure you can trust them?" he asked. "For all you know, they may be sorcerers and deceiving you."
"They're no sorcerers," Merlin replied. "At least, Amy and Rory aren't."
"But what about this Doctor?" Gaius asked.
"He is a good man, I can tell. Even if he is a sorcerer, he wants nothing bad brought on Camelot," Merlin replied.
"I hope you're right Merlin," Gaius replied, "for all our sakes."
The Great Dragon landed with a thud in the field. It was still a hour before dawn and Merlin felt the need to hurry tugging at him. The Doctor, Amy and Rory would be arriving soon and he needed to be there.
"You require my help young warlock," the Dragon said in his deep tones.
"The Daleks," Merlin said, "what are they?"
"They are not of this world," the Dragon replied, "they are from a place far away from here."
"And the Doctor?" Merlin asked, trying to put aside his worries about the Daleks and where they might be from.
"He is not of this world either. He is from long ago and far away. More than that I do not know, he is a mystery."
"Can I trust him?" Merlin asked.
"You will need his help to defeat the Daleks," the Dragon said.
"But can I trust him?" Merlin repeated urgently.
"That is for you to discover young warlock," the Dragon said, "for I do not know this man and cannot tell you whether he is trustable."
With that and with a great sweep of his wings, the Dragon took off.
"But what should I do?" Merlin shouted, "how to I defeat the Daleks?"
But the Dragon was gone.
Guinevere joined Arthur by the window and placed her hand on his arm.
"You are troubled my lord," she said quietly.
"They haven't gone," Arthur replied, watching the Daleks down in the courtyard below.
Guinevere look worried as well.
"I wonder how they came to be here," she said.
"It was sorcery," Arthur responded immediately, "the woman and her male accomplices."
"I don't know what it was," said Gwen, "but it seemed to me she was telling the truth."
She reached up and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"We'll get though this," she said.
Arthur turned and looked at her.
At that moment the window beside them shattered.
Gwen screamed and Arthur yelled in shock, moving to shield Gwen with his body.
"What was that?" Gwen gasped.
Arthur advanced slowly towards the window and looked out. There, hovering in mid-air one of the Daleks was facing Arthur.
Arthur backed away slowly and then threw himself the the ground as a laser shot through the now glassless window.
"Arthur!" Gwen screamed.
Arthur rolled over and caught Excalibur as Gwen threw it to him. He got to his feet and faced the metal monster.
Another beam was shot at him and he blocked it with Excalibur. A huge jolt of energy ran through him and he was thrown backwards across the cold tiled flooring. The last thing he heard was Gwen screaming before the world ceased to exist.
"Advance!" the Dalek commanded, "their leader has fallen! Advance! Find the boy! Then all of the universe will be ours!"
Note: Yeah, if you hadn't guessed, Excalibur plays quite a large part in this story :) Thanks for the reviews I've been getting and thanks for reading it! I never thought so many people would! So, until the next chapter ...