AN: OK, I caved and uploaded another chapter ;) You guys are just so wonderful, how could I not! I swear, I am working on Mirror Mirror, it is just going a bit slower with this fic calling out to me slightly constantly... It demands my writing time, because it is so much fun to write! Plus, I really want to get to the slightly more angsty parts. They will come eventually, I promise. Actually the next chapter is quite angsty if I do say so myself. Well, at least a little. But this story will get more angsty, if everything goes as planed.

Anyhoo, chapter four! I hope Arthur hasn't changed too quickly for people. I think this chapter has a bit more of why he decides he can't side with his father completely anymore, but it was a bit sudden. But I need Arthur to switch to Merlin's side soon, cause otherwise Merthur-ness would take forever! And I don't want that.

As always, if you have any questions message me or review, and I will try to answer them as best as I can. Often the answer will be I ignored that so I could make the story work the way I wanted it to (kind of like why Merlin doesn't use his magic much in this chapter, blame it on magic- messing with poisons). And thanks to everyone who did review, no matter what it said. They were all amazingly lovely, and you are all awesome people.

Finally, I do not own Merlin. Someday, somehow, I will marry Gwaine, but that probably doesn't count for much...

Chapter Four: Bayard's Visit

Merlin was happy with the new camp, as it was in a better position than the one they had been forced to flee. It had a large cave that they could hide in if the weather got nasty and was further from the Druid camp, which reassured Merlin. He didn't want the town found because of his own clumsiness. Percival, Gwaine, and Lancelot had been acting slightly more protective of him than usual ever since Arthur's visit, which was getting a little annoying. Percival hadn't let him out of sight since he had sent Arthur to sleep last night. They had spent the entire day laying low and setting up there things, and Percival had deemed it necessary to stay uncomfortably close to Merlin. He had considered using magic to push him away, but figured that would just get him another lecture, which he really wasn't in the mood for right now. They remained in the camp until the next afternoon when they left their few belongings hidden in the cave to go meet the tax collector coming in from the town of Whennom. It had been easy enough; a few simple spells and a little intimidation from Gwaine, Lancelot, and Percival and the man had handed over all his gold. They had left the shaking man with a message for Uther before disappearing into the woods. Percival had wanted Merlin to stay behind while they went to deliver the gold, as he deemed it too risky. Merlin had argued with him for quite a while before he had convinced Percival to let him go to the village most of the gold had come from instead of entering the city with the rest of them. Even if Arthur had given them away, the people of the far away village wouldn't know anything yet.

Merlin had taken the longest to return from his trip, seeing as he had the furthest to go and the most people to visit so, when he got back, Lancelot, Gwaine, and Percival were all waiting for him. They had lit a small fire and were eating some type of meat that looked a lot like roasted rabbit and smelled absolutely heavenly. When Merlin collapsed next to them, he was handed a portion of the meat and some bread from his friends. After taking a few bites he asked, "So, did Arthur tell his men what we looked like?"

"It doesn't seem so." Lancelot said, "At least not yet."

"I told you he wouldn't give us away." Merlin responded with a smile.

"Just because we were safe today doesn't mean he hasn't talked." Percival said.

"Awe come on Percy." Gwaine said, "Maybe we shouldn't be so quick to judge the royal... what was it you called him Merlin?"

"Prat." Merlin said with a smile. He was glad at least one of his friends agreed with him about Arthur. He had been thinking about the young prince ever since they had left the old camp. The feeling he had gotten when he was a child had returned when he saw him again. The tugging towards Arthur, the unexplained urge to protect the man and the strange way he had been sure Arthur had been telling him the truth just by looking in his eyes. He wanted to see him again, to ask him more questions, to try to determine whether this man really was his destiny, but of course that was slightly impossible, seeing as Arthur was supposed to arrest him on sight. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if Arthur really would do as his father wanted if they met again.

"Oy! Merlin! Anyone in there?" Gwaine called, snapping Merlin from his reverie. Merlin sent a small amount of magic towards Gwaine, sealing his lips. Gwaine tried to mumbled a bit through the spell, but gave up quickly, instead focusing his energy at glaring at Merlin who ignored him and said, "Any other news from Camelot?"

"Uther's going to have a royal visitor." Lancelot said with a smile. "And you may want to let Gwaine speak, he looks like he's about to explode."

"Fine." Merlin said, waving his hand.

"King Bayard's coming to Camelot! Uther's throwing a big party and everything." Gwaine blurted out now that he had use of his mouth again.

"Bayard of Mercia?" Merlin asked. "What's he doing in Camelot?"

"Apparently signing some type of peace treaty." Percival answered.

"We were thinking, with all the guards preoccupied with two kings the vaults would be wide open." Lancelot said with a smile.

"That's probably true, Lancelot." Merlin said with a grin. "We can't let a glaring security flaw like that go unnoticed."

"Now that sounds like a party." Gwaine said with a smile. They all gathered around the fire to begin planning their next big heist.

Arthur arrived in Camelot at about midday. He was escorted to see his father who yelled at him for leaving before Arthur could even tell the story Merlin had made up for him. When he finally got the chance to explain his absence, his father had fallen silent, and when Arthur finished, Uther clapped him on the shoulder, telling him he had done well to get so close to Emrys before questioning him about his night. Arthur had denied any knowledge of the thief's identity while his father pressed him for information. When the king pulled out a map, requesting for Arthur to point out where Emrys had captured him from, Arthur motioned vaguely towards an area far enough from where the camp had been that Arthur figured Merlin and his friends would be nowhere near it. Uther had then sent Arthur down to see Gaius, in case he had been injured and was hiding it from his father. He had been glad to escape his father's incessant questioning, but was slightly nervous his father would get lucky and send the knights he had called in the right direction and find Merlin and his friends. Arthur tried not to worry, Merlin was powerful, and he wasn't alone. They would be alright. And Gaius knew quite a bit about the Druids and Purge that Geoffrey either did not or would not tell him, so even though he wasn't injured the trip wouldn't be a complete waste. When he reached the tower in which the old physician lived in alone, he knocked, received a "Come in." then entered.

"Sire!" Gaius said, jumping up from his table. "To what do I owe this honor?"

"I was caught by the thief and his men. My father would like you to check for any injuries." Arthur replied.

"Emrys? You met Emrys?" Gaius asked with amazement. The physician had been the one who told him of the legends, and had always shown quite the interest in the outlaw, so Arthur wasn't surprised by his excitement.

"Yes, but I didn't learn much, so don't ask. Although, he did say the Druids call him Emrys. Would that mean he is the genuine article?"

"If any could recognize Emrys for who he is, it would be the Druids. Of course, this could just be another part of his alias. If he wants us to think he is Emrys, he would say that. Do you feel pain anywhere? Any lightheadedness?"

"No Gaius. I'm fine. He didn't want to hurt me." Arthur answered, still slightly surprised by this fact.

"Did he tell you anything at all, Sire?" Gaius asked. Arthur paused. Could he tell Gaius more than he told his father? He decided to risk at least a little, and said, "Gaius, if he really is Emrys, then there would need to be a Once and Future King as well, right?"

"Yes, I believe so. Did someone else there address themselves as such?"

"No." Arthur said hesitantly, "I overheard him speaking with one of his...associates. He seemed to think that I might be him."

"Really?" Gaius said with surprise, and quite a fair amount of skepticism. "Well, I suppose it is possible. I always thought the Once and Future King would come from the Druids, just like Emrys, but I could be mistaken."

Arthur nodded. That made sense. But then again, it didn't seem as if Emrys was a Druid either. He may have been raised by them, but he had made it clear that he had not been born with them. That reminded Arthur of Merlin's past, and he asked, "Do you know if my father ever destroyed an entire town in the purge? It would have had to have been a few years after the purge started, but probably not too long."

Gaius gave him a questioning look and asked, "Is this something else you overheard while with Emrys?"

"Something like that." Arthur replied.

"There were a lot Druid camps Uther sent his knights to attack. But you know about those, don't you?"

Arthur nodded, lost in memories of riding out with the knights to murder the magic users that his father hated so. But he couldn't be distracted now, so he shook his head and said, "Not a Druid tribe. It would have been a town. And it would have been burned down."

Gaius was silent. He stared off into the distance for a moment before stumbling back into his chair. He looked like he was currently lost in some terrible memory. The look still on his face, he said, "There was one place. Your father kept it pretty quiet. The only reason I knew about it was because a friend of mine lived there. It was a small town, called Ealdor. Uther didn't want people to know it was him who destroyed it as it lies in Essetir. He didn't want war, so he did it quietly. He rode out with a group of knights, saying he was going hunting. When he came back he said he had defeated the last dragon lord, a man called Balinor. I believed Balinor was living in Ealdor, so I sent a letter to my friend to inquire about it. The letter was returned, with the message that the town no longer existed. When I questioned the king he told me what he did. I almost left his services then, but cowardice and a past friendship convinced me to stay."

Arthur was silent. So his father had really destroyed an entire town in his war against magic. He took a deep breath and asked, "He killed everyone? Not just this Balinor?"

"Yes. I travelled there a few weeks after I learned of its destruction. It was horrible. I asked some of the surrounding villages what had happened, they just said it burned. They hadn't seen anyone fleeing. And when I reached the town... When I reached the town it was gone. Nothing but ash. It was terrible."

"Thank you for telling me this Gaius. I am sorry I brought up such terrible memories." Arthur said, his mind was racing. Could this Ealdor be Merlin's home? He had to learn more. Gaius nodded silently, looking pale and stunned, still lost to the horrors of the past. Arthur left quietly, making a mental note to see that one of the maids brought the elderly physician some food as thanks. He went down to the library and started searching through the maps, looking for any sign of a town called Ealdor. It must have been removed from most of them, as it wasn't until he found a very old map that had been buried under piles of others that he saw a small mark labeled "Ealdor". It was tiny, just beyond the borders of Camelot. Arthur's stomach churned as he thought about the people who must have lived there before it had been destroyed by his father. Soon the horror at the destruction his father had wrought changed to anger, and he found himself marching back up to the throne room, ready to yell at his father for what he had done. It wasn't until he had gotten there that he realized any sudden knowledge of Ealdor could make his father suspicious, and could create trouble for Merlin, so when his father asked him what he had come for, he wasn't able to respond. He just stood silent for a moment, anger boiling deep inside of him. How could Uther look so calm, act so peaceful with so many innocent lives on his hands? He suddenly remembered something Merlin had said. After all he had suffered; he didn't want to see Uther dead. Arthur felt like someone had pulled a plug somewhere inside of him, and all the rage, all the horror washed away, leaving him feeling exceptionally empty. He almost didn't hear his father say "Well, if you have nothing to say, I need to speak with you about King Bayard's visit in a few days."

Arthur nodded vaguely, barely paying attention to what his father was saying as his mind was lost to thoughts of Merlin and how much he had lost, and how good he had remained.

The day of Bayard's visit arrived quickly. Merlin, Percival, Gwaine, and Lancelot were ready. They had fashioned disguises to use to sneak into the city, each large enough to hide a dark cloak they would use once inside the castle. Merlin would use magic to distract any guards they ran into on their way, and then keep watch as the others broke into the vaults. They weren't too worried; this would be the fifth time they had broken into the castle. It was a lot easier than it probably should have been. The guards of Camelot really weren't the brightest bunch.

Still, Uther was angry. And he had started to increase training for the guards who were all obviously afraid of failing their king once more, which made them dangerous. Merlin hoped they might have one ally in Camelot now though, even if the others thought he was slightly crazy for trusting the prince.

Everything had been going perfectly. No one doubted the four elderly men who made their way towards the castle, trying not to itch the scratchy fake beards as they did. They didn't stop until they reached the castle wall, waiting in a position they knew was shrouded in shadows to the guards above, where they quickly pulled on their dark cloaks. Merlin opened a door that led down into the bowls of the castle with a flick of his wrist and a mumbled word, allowing them entry. They ran inside, Merlin stopping briefly to close the door they had entered but leaving it unlocked in case they needed to make a speedy getaway. They had reached the vaults quickly; after Merlin had sent the only two guards watching into a deep sleep, allowing them to pass by unnoticed. He took his position at the corner of the hallway that lead down to the vaults, keeping an eye out for the guards who would be sent in as relief. It was his job to keep watch as he had recently mastered speaking directly to the minds of his friends, and could give them updates on their situation silently. He had gotten slightly bored waiting for the others to finish, and had started to think about Arthur again. It was strange to think that the man he wanted to speak with so badly was so close but also so completely inaccessible. He was Emrys; nothing should be off limits for him. He was so lost in his daydreams of the blonde prince that he didn't notice the two men approach from the far end of the corridor, wearing the uniforms of the guards of Camelot. Unfortunately they had noticed him, and he was snapped harshly from his thoughts as a bolt from a crossbow sunk into his shoulder. His cry of pain was followed by a large crash as Percival, Lancelot, and Gwaine attempted to come to his aide. Merlin focused his power on the connection between the four of them as he thought, 'I'm fine. You three need to take whatever you have and run. There are guards, and they've spotted me, but you are safe. I will meet you back at the camp, I promise.'

As soon as he had finished, he heard a shout from the vaults which sounded vaguely like Percival yelling "I'm not leaving you, Merlin!"

Merlin focused on the connection once more, which was getting difficult with the pain in his shoulder increasing and the guards approaching and thought, 'I'm Emrys! Stop worrying about me and run! This is an order! It will be easier for me to get out alone, and this way they won't learn how we got in. Now go!'

Percival didn't respond this time, which Merlin took as a good sign as he sprinted off down the hallway. He hadn't noticed that one of the guards had run in the opposite direction he was heading, and that soon the whole city would be alerted of his presence.

The feast had been remarkably dull. As Uther and Bayard blathered on and on about who knew what, Arthur let his mind wander back to where it had been straying a slightly unsettling amount lately, Merlin. He wondered where the dark haired warlock was now, what his next plans were, whether Arthur would ever get the chance to speak to him again. The only thing that had been able to pull him from his thoughts was when a guard burst into the banquet hall and shouted, "Emrys has been spotted in the castle!"

"WHAT!" Arthur and his father both said at the same time. While Uther sounded angry and a little excited, Arthur was terrified. He couldn't let Merlin be caught, he owed him his life!

"One of the guards managed to shoot him in the shoulder with a poisoned bolt, and is pursuing him now. I came to alert your highnesses." The guard said, still slightly out of breath.

"Very good." Uther said. Arthur needed to get out there, he felt so useless doing nothing while Merlin was injured and trapped inside his castle.

"Father," Arthur said, "May I be excused to help catch Emrys? It is my duty to protect the kingdom from threats like him."

"Of course, Arthur." Uther said, "Do not fail me this time, I want the thief's head on a platter by the time the evening is over."

Arthur felt slightly sick at this image as Uther order the guard who had interrupted to take Arthur to where Emrys had been spotted and began to explain the situation to Bayard. Arthur didn't stay for the explanation; instead he yanked off his cloak and rushed after the guard. The guard led him down to the corridor outside the vaults, saying he had seen Emrys run down the opposite direction they had come, the arrow still lodged in his shoulder. Arthur sprinted down the hall, following a path of slight destruction that must have been left by the chase. It wasn't long before he found the guard who had been chasing Merlin. He was looking down a dark hallway, that Arthur was almost certain ended in a dead end. He ran up to the guard and said, "What's going on? Where's Emrys?"

"He's down there, Sire. I was afraid to attack on my own, so I waited, hoping Jeremy would come back with reinforcements."

Arthur nodded. "Good thinking. Now, I want you two to go to the west tower. There is a hidden servant's corridor that runs from the end of this hall to a chamber at the bottom of the tower." Arthur had made up the corridor, wanting to get rid of the guards without looking too suspicious. They wouldn't know whether or not Arthur was lying, and would hopefully trust the prince. They nodded so Arthur continued. "I believe he knows of this passage, I will follow him from this end, force him towards you."

They nodded and ran off; leaving Arthur alone at the end of the corridor Merlin was supposedly trapped down, being slowly poisoned by the arrow the guard had used. Arthur walked quietly down the corridor, whispering "Merlin" at every door. He eventually found him, leaning against the far corner, a hand clutching his shoulder where an arrow was stuck in his flesh.

"Merlin, is that you?" Arthur whispered.

"Arthur?" Merlin asked. Arthur was certain it was his voice, even if the pain he was in was causing it to sound slightly more strained than usual.

"Yeah." Arthur responded, rushing to Merlin's side. "I'm going to get you out of here."

"Why?" Merlin asked, leaning on Arthur as he began to lead him down the currently deserted corridor.

"You saved my life; I'm just repaying the favor." Arthur whispered, leaning Merlin against the wall as he checked to make sure no one was heading towards them.

"Thank you." Merlin said, still sounding like he was in quite a bit of pain, the poison must have been quick-acting if he was already this weak.

"Where are Percival, Gwaine, and the other one?" Arthur asked, "Are they trapped in here as well?"

"No." Merlin said quietly. "They should be headed back to camp. No one saw them, so they were able to get out safely."

"I find it hard to believe that that Percival bloke just left you here." Arthur said, genuinely surprised. He also thought he should keep Merlin focused on anything but the pain as they made their way out of the castle. It was getting more difficult as they reached more heavily populated areas of the palace, but Arthur was the prince, and he was able to hide Merlin and order the men in the wrong directions so he could maneuver Merlin to the exit. "He didn't want to." Merlin responded with a pained laugh, "but I am the leader of our group, he understands that even if he does see me as a little brother."

"If I get you out of the city, will you be able to get back to them?" Arthur asked, panting slightly as they snuck out one of the side entrances to the castle. Arthur had been correct in thinking it would be unguarded in all the excitement, so they were able to escape the castle safely.

"I believe so." Merlin responded. "But how are we going to get out of the city? You're father will have sealed the gates, won't he?"

"Don't worry. I have a plan. I had to have ways to escape the constant watch of my guards when I was a child, right? Well, you are about to learn one of the many secrets of Arthur Pendragon. I haven't used this exit for years."

"You think it will still be there?" Merlin asked breathlessly. Arthur couldn't answer right away as a group of knights had just turned down the street they were walking down and Arthur had to push Merlin down an alley to keep him hidden. He ordered them to head in the other direction, saying he had this area under control, before he ran back to the alley and picked Merlin up off of the ground, where he was lying, unable to support himself after losing Arthur's help so suddenly.

"I am pretty sure no one touched that corner of the wall since I did. Don't worry, Merlin, it is well hidden. I'm not going to let my father catch you tonight."

"Thank you, Arthur." Merlin huffed, "You are beginning to change my opinion of Pendragons."

Arthur kept silent at that, but smiled slightly. They were approaching the part of the castle walls he had used as an escape route when he was young. Concealed behind a large bush the wall had crumbled slightly, allowing for there to be just enough space for him to crawl through. He had been a lot smaller when he had, but he figured Merlin would be skinny enough to fit through. He rushed up to the wall and pushed the branches of the bush aside so the hole was visible and Merlin could squeeze through it.

"Are you sure you will be alright?" Arthur asked, as Merlin crouched down slowly to peer through the whole.

"Thanks to you, I believe I will be. I can let my friends know where I am, they will come for me. You risked a lot helping me, Arthur. I can't thank you enough."

"You needn't thank me at all." Arthur said, "You saved my life before, and you opened my eyes to the atrocities my father has committed. I want to help you change this land, in any way I can."

Merlin studied him for a moment before saying, "You will make a good king, Arthur Pendragon."

Arthur didn't know how to reply to that. As he tried to think of something to say, he heard another group of guards approaching quickly, so he whispered, "Go! I will try to lead them away, but you need to get out of here."

Merlin just nodded before he ducked through the opening and disappeared as Arthur ran back to join the group, praying that Merlin would make it safely away from the castle. The search went on all night, but there was no sign of Merlin, or Emrys Arthur thought, no one but him would call him Merlin. Uther had been furious at 'his failure,' and Arthur had had to make sure he didn't look too happy as he announced to his father that Emrys had escaped him once again. The two guards he had sent away kept silent about the 'servant's passage', probably as they were afraid their inability to find the non-existent passage had lead to the eventual escape of the thief. There had been a small amount of gold missing from the vaults, but there had been no note, probably as their mission had been interrupted by Merlin's discovery. Still, no one had any doubt about who had taken the gold, seeing as it went missing on the same night as Emrys was spotted in the castle. Arthur still worried about Merlin's wound, but he decided to remain positive. One of Merlin's friends would have to know how to treat him. And he was Emrys after all, Arthur was certain he couldn't be killed that easily, so he resumed his daily life. The only unusual thing was how often he found his thoughts drifting not to Emrys as his father's obviously were, but to Merlin.

Merlin had managed to creep into the forest without being spotted, which was slightly amazing with the amount of times he had stumbled on his way there. Once he was hidden by the trees, he had used the connection he had forged to alert the others of his position. His entire arm felt like it was on fire, and he was almost certain it wasn't an ordinary arrow lodged in his shoulder. He had pulled himself over to a tree where he could sit and wait for the others to come to his aide. It wasn't long before he heard Percival calling his name, quickly followed by the voices of Gwaine and Lancelot.

"I'm over here!" Merlin called weakly. The voices had stopped and Percival had appeared by his side.

"Merlin! What happened?" Gwaine called as he too moved to Merlin's side.

"One of the guards saw me. I didn't see him, and he shot me, and I think there may have been something on the arrow. Arthur helped me out of Camelot, but he couldn't do anything else." Merlin said. He was beginning to grow tired of talking. He just wanted to sleep.

"Arthur Pendragon helped you escape?" Lancelot asked, slightly incredulously. Merlin just nodded.

"We need to get you to Iseldir now." Percival said, lifting Merlin up and rushing past Lancelot and Gwaine, who both nodded and followed behind him. Merlin could just barely keep his eyes open as he was carted through the woods, towards the Druid camp. When Percival burst through the thick trees Iseldir was already there waiting for him. A large portion of the village had joined him, watching as Merlin was carried into the camp by a silent Percival. It was getting difficult for him to keep his eyes open as they entered Iseldir's tent, and Percival set him down gently on the cot in the corner. Merlin could feel the sweat dripping down his brow as Iseldir knelt by his side and said, "You need to be more careful, Emrys, all our hopes rest on you."

Merlin wanted to reply with a sarcastic comment about the amount of pressure Iseldir was putting him under, but his mouth and throat were too dry, so all he could do was give him a hazy glare as he said, "We need to remove his shirt."

Merlin could feel Percival, Gwaine, and Lancelot's hands on him as they all tried to help Iseldir undress him. The cool breeze that whispered across his burning skin felt amazing as his shirt was cut from his body and dropped to the floor. He could just barely hear Iseldir tell Percival to pull at the arrow as he felt two rough hands pressing around the wound. He couldn't hear Percival reply if he had, his ears filled with the sound of his rushing blood. Then, with a sudden burst of pain, and the arrow was gone from his shoulder, although the burning remained. He couldn't hear it, but Iseldir had begun whispering words in the old religion. As Iseldir chanted, Merlin felt a fire move through his veins, gathering at the now empty wound, before exiting, taking the terrible burning with it. As the fire left his body, Merlin fell into a deep sleep.