Merlin sighed as he walked down the familiar path to Gaius' chambers. He rubbed his temples. His headache had abated slightly, but the pain was still grating on his nerves. The warlock could not believe he had been so close to telling Morgana about his powers. Had he gone mad? Merlin was certain he was starting to become insane what with all the responsibilities he had and the constant chores Arthur gave him. Merlin swore one of these days he was going to snap and a sword would be sent flying towards Arthur's head with one hundred percent accuracy.

Merlin soon reached the door that connected the hallway to Gaius' chambers. The warlock opened it and braced himself for the impending interrogation. Sometimes Merlin despised how perceptive he could be.

"Where on earth have you been?!" Gaius asked.

The inevitable question had been voiced. All Merlin could do was give an exasperated sigh and answer:

"Nowhere important."

"Oh really now?" Gaius questioned, obviously angry. He then continued, his tone changing to that of pure concern rather than fury, "How have you been feeling, Merlin?"

"Same as always." Merlin supplied as an answer. It was a badly conjured up lie, but Merlin was far too tired to come up with something more convincing than that.

Gaius gave him a disapproving look as he said:

"You do know that if something is bothering you, you can always come to me."

"I know that Gaius. And I am grateful for everything, really. I just….I feel that this is a problem I need to take care of by myself." Merlin explained looking directly into Gaius' eyes, trying to convince the man that what he was speaking now was the truth.

Gaius sighed before he replied:

"Alright." He then went on to address a different topic, "Now on to urgent matters, the Prince is looking for you."

Oh, no! What does the prat want now?

"Are you listening to me, Merlin?" Gaius asked, drawing his ward's attention successfully.

"Yes. What does the Prince need me for? Perhaps to do some of the wonderful chores he has planned for me today?" Merlin enquired with a saccharine tone.

"Enough of that sarcasm, Merlin, this is no trivial matter." Gaius said.

Now this seemed to quiet Merlin's spiteful comments and completely attract his attention. After Gaius was certain that Merlin was listening intently, he continued:

"I believe you are already familiar with the King's current… courses of action against yesterday's mishaps."

Gaius' choice of words made Merlin's blood boil. Oh, he was familiar alright! He knew everything about yesterday's "mishaps" which had actually been a crisis and Uther's ludicrous decision. Yesterday Merlin had met a child. The girl could not have been older than ten. She had magic and Merlin immediately sensed it. She had got injured because the druid camp that had given her shelter had been attacked. She claimed there were not survivors. Merlin believed her. He helped her. He took her to Gaius. The latter said that it was not a severe cut but the girl would need to stay the night. Merlin had been ecstatic. That was until the girl had decided to venture out on her own in search for food. She had snuck out and had ended up going in the wrong direction. She stumbled upon the Prince and the King himself. The poor defenseless child had little to no control over her magic. Even the slightest fear or anger could trigger an undesired and inexplicable reaction. Unfortunately, Arthur's blade and the sight of the one who had persecuted and killed her loved ones had been too much. Her magic had been exposed. As a result she had been locked up and sentenced to death. The innocent child was burned at the stake for a crime it had not committed. And there was nothing Merlin could do. He could only watch as one of his own kind was screaming in pain, withering away faster than the fires were peeling and devouring the pristine flesh. There was nothing he could do to prevent it. He could only stand and witness the horrid scene. Again. He had failed. Again. He had not done what was right. Again. He had let Uther do as he pleased. Again. He had lost the fight against the King's tyranny. Again!

"Merlin. Merlin!" Gaius half yelled as he shook the poor boy awake.

Merlin shook his head. His eyes widened. He clenched and unclenched his fists. He then started pacing around. His frantic movements were starting to make Gaius nervous, who could do little to help the warlock. After a good fifteen minutes of constant pacing, Merlin stopped. He was now standing in front of a wooden table and was gripping its edge so fiercely that his knuckles were starting to become white.

"What is Uther planning?" Merlin asked as emotionlessly as he could. Gaius could not blame the boy for the way he was acting. His behaviour was to be expected given what had occurred the day before and the weeks prior. It seemed the persecutions of those who had magic had drastically risen and no matter how hard Merlin tried he could not save everyone, if any, from Uther's maniacal wrath.

"He has been informed of the whereabouts of a nearby druid camp." Gaius answered.

Merlin shut his eyes tight. He started pondering on the sole question neither he, nor Gaius had been able to solve these past few weeks. How did Uther receive such dangerously accurate information about matters that were supposed to remain a secret or be difficult, if not impossible, to unravel?

"Perhaps he has an ally." Merlin said out of the blue.

Gaius gaped at him before responding, bewilderment clearly palpable in his tone:

"Are you suggesting that there is a traitor amongst the druids?"

"No. I am not saying that there is necessarily someone currently occupying a druid camp that is selling out precious information. But perhaps it is someone who knows the secrets of the druids, someone who was or is currently involved with practices of the Old Religion or someone who can sense where the druids are…. I do not know. There are so many puzzle pieces that I do not even know where to begin." Merlin explained. He then sighed exasperatedly as he slumped in a nearby chair.

Gaius gave him a sympathetic look before he said:

"I suggest you stop thinking about it. Take some time to compose yourself and see what Arthur wants."

Merlin gave his father figure a sad smile before asking:

"I am never going to be able to save them all, will I?"

"I am afraid not. But please do not blame yourself Merlin. Even the strongest of us cannot save thousands of people against an army whilst keeping their secret buried."

"I can not warn them, can I?" Merlin questioned, as though he was searching for some hope in Gaius' answer, as though he was expecting it. The saddest and worst part was that both he and Gaius knew the truth, but Merlin still did not wish to accept it.

"I am afraid there is not enough time." Gaius answered. He then exited the chambers, leaving Merlin alone who was doing yet again what he had been secretly occupying his time with the past few days – punishing himself for sins and crimes he had not committed and actions he was neither responsible for, nor had the power to control.

Later that day:

To find out what happened please read the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

A/N: A huge thank you for all the wonderful reviews, follows and favourite! And the endless support, of course! I hope you enjoyed this and the previous chapter.