Finally back with a new chapter. How exciting. It really has been a long time.

I'm going to try and update faster now, hopefully at least once every week.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, only my OCs and this storyline.

Rated for violence.

This chapter is kind of like a prequel to my story Mercy, so it sort of explains the origin of two of the characters.

Please read and enjoy.

Tainted Purity

Arthur, Aida, and Jasper stumbled through another door into a very cold hallway. It wasn't the hallway lined with doors, behind which were the trapped souls collected by the Old Mother. This hallway resembled the ones Arthur was used to walking down back in Camelot. He moved over to the large windows on the other side of the hall from them. He peered out, seeing the large stone courtyard.

"Where do you think we are?" Jasper felt the need to whisper.

"It isn't Camelot." Arthur didn't take his eyes away from the window as he spoke. He knew Camelot like the back of his hand, and this wasn't it. Beyond the courtyard there was a small city that circled the castle, but, unlike Camelot, the city didn't look as cut off from the castle. He could see a moat beyond the walls of the city and a forest across the drawbridge. The night was dark and the moon was high in the sky. Arthur breathed out, seeing his breath freeze in the cold air. The whole place gave off a sense of abandonment. Out of all the rooms in the Old Mother's maze he had walked into, this one seemed the most haunted.

"What happened here?" Aida tensed, looking left and right down the hallway. There was tragedy in the air. The souls trapped here would soon answer her question, and she would wish that they hadn't.

The three of them heard footsteps coming from their right, tapping quickly against the wooden floors. Jasper pulled both Aida and Arthur into an alcove next to a statue of polished armour. The footsteps seemed to quicken, getting louder, and there was a slight skip to them as if whoever it was kept looking back. Then she was there, passing the alcove in her elegant green dress. The neckline cut across her shoulders in a straight line over her chest, leaving her shoulders bear. There was beautiful embroidery around the hem of her dress and the ends of her sleeves in golden thread.

Arthur felt like time slowed as she passed them. Her curly golden hair bobbed around her head as she looked back again. Her skirts were clenched in her fists so she wouldn't trip on them as she ran. Arthur saw the panic in her sapphire eyes. She couldn't have been more then fourteen years old, just a child.

Then she was gone, running down the hallway, and before Arthur could think twice about what he was doing, he ran after her. Jasper and Aida hissed protests after him, but his mind didn't process them. They were just white noise in his ears, but he knew that they were following him.

Light came from the courtyard down bellow. Arthur glanced over to see torches marching across the cobblestones. There were shouts. He couldn't make out their words, but they sounded taunting and angry, enough to strike fear into anyone's hearts. Even without hearing what they were yelling, Arthur knew that they made the girl with the golden hair fear for her life.

He heard her gasp as she turned a corner, bumping into someone else who yelped at her sudden appearance.

"Clemence!" the woman gasped, tears coming to her eyes as she took the young girl in her arms. She had a tall elegant form, and she wore a graceful blue dress with fur trim around the hem and collar that was clipped at the center with a broach. A cream coloured veil covered her hair, but the soft features of her face were so similar to the girl's.

"Mother!" For a moment the girl smiled before she burst into tears, burying her face in her mother's furs. "I'm so scared."

"I know, my darling." Her mother stroked her golden hair soothingly with her slim hand.

"They've come for it, haven't they?" She pulled away from her mother, looking up into her face with tear filled eyes. "I heard father talking about it. He said they'd come."

"I fear his predictions are coming true," the lady's voice quivered, but only for a moment before shoving the worried emotion away, trying to be calm for her daughter. "Clemence, where's your brother?"

"He was in his room the last time I saw him."

"We must find him." She took her daughter's hand firmly in hers and pulled her down the hallway after her. Her footsteps were hurried as she headed for her son's chambers.

Suddenly the scene changed, and they were all in another hallway, watching as the woman and her daughter ran, constantly checking behind them to see if they were being followed. A young boy ran along side them, his small hand gripped in his older sister's. He had dirty blonde hair, almost like Arthur's, and he wore a simple blue tunic over his tanned trousers. His small boots tapped against the floor as he strained to keep up.

Arthur noticed that the woman was carrying a long object wrapped in a brown cloth, holding it closely.

"Where's father?" the young boy asked.

"Quiet, Ben," his sister shushed him, but she couldn't deny that she was wondering the same thing.

Their mother pushed through a wooden door leading away from the hallway. Arthur and the others managed to slip in before she slammed it shut, locking it just as shouts came from the hallway where they used to be. She stumbled back from the door, ushering her children away towards the far wall where a tall tapestry was hanging.

"You can't stay here," she said, pulling the tapestry to the side to reveal the wall behind it. She placed her hand flat against it and pushed. There was a popping sound as part of the wall caved under her touch. It swung open like a small door, leading into a tunnel.

"Take this." She handed the package she was carrying to her daughter. "You must keep this safe. If it falls into the wrong hands then even fate will be cut down."

"Aren't you coming with us?" The fear in Clemence's eyes grew as the gravity of what her mother was saying finally dawned on her.

"I will keep them off your trail for as long as I can." Their mother took two cloaks from a wardrobe nearby, returning to wrap them around her children to keep them warm.

"I don't want to go without you." Ben cried as his mother wrapped the cloak around him, securing it at the neck.

"Oh, my sweet Benedict." Her smile was sad as she regarded her son for what might be the last time. "You will be carrying my heart with you. I'll always be there, watching over you." She leaned forward and kissed his forehead before standing up tall. Even in this moment of crisis she looked regal, a perfect lady.

Clemence ran forward, wrapping her thin arms around her mother, startling her. Ben squeezed in as well, drying his tears on his mother's dress.

"You must be brave now, my darlings." She patted their heads, kissing them lightly. Slowly, she pushed them away, and towards the tunnel, leading away from the chaos. She tried to keep her calm appearance, even when she heard banging against the locked door they had come through. Ben crawled into the tunnel first, looking back with tear filled eyes at his mother. Clemence was next, holding the parcel tightly to her as she got in, but she hesitated, looking back one last time at her mother.

"We'll see you again," Clemence chocked on her words, trying to build hope where there was none.

"I hope so." A tear escaped from her mother's eyes. "But right now I need you to run, sweetheart. I need you to run so far and so fast, and don't look back, not for anything, not for anyone, not even me."

"I love you." That was the last thing Clemence managed to get out before her mother closed the hidden door panel, securing it in place, leaving her children in darkness.

The woman swung the tapestry back into place, standing up tall and trying to keep her tears at bay. She heard the door splinter as the enemy fought to get in. She quickly grabbed a metal rod from its stand by the fire, pointing its tip towards the intruders. They piled into the room, swords drawn.

"Where is it?" one of them barked.

"That is no way to speak to a lady," she scolded them like she would her children, holding herself with such grace that a few of the brutes took a step back. As a child she had learned how to use a sword, and her skill was unmatched among her siblings. She'd even beaten her husband once.

"You're not a lady anymore," another laughed. "Your castle is burning to the ground as we speak. Soon it will be nothing but a pile of ash. Your husband has already fallen, and you'll be next. We'll make it quick if you tell us where it is."

"I was never one to go down without a fight." She held the metal rod higher.

"You know you'll loose and yet you still fight?" The one who had laughed, he must've been their leader, was confused by her. She didn't seem intimidated by them at all.

"If I'm going to fall, then I'll be taking a few of you down with me." She spoke and then lunged at them, yelling her last battle cry.

But Arthur and the others didn't see what the fallen queen's fate would be. The scene changed again and suddenly they were standing at the edge of a forest. Two small figures on a horse rode away from the burning city, heading for the forest. They crossed the drawbridge, looking back one last time with tears in their eyes, knowing in their hearts they would never see their parents again. Clemence was riding behind her brother, her arms on either side of him to keep him on as she gripped the reigns, urging the horse onward. Their cloaks flapped in the wind behind them.

They galloped into the forest, riding right past Arthur, Aida, and Jasper, and, just for one moment, Clemence looked at them, her pain filled eyes meeting Arthur's. His heart stopped. Only captured souls were supposed to be able to see them.

"Please tell me she didn't see us." Arthur looked frantically at Jasper and Aida, but they would not meet his eyes. "She can't have."

"I'm sorry, Arthur." Jasper placed a hand on the prince's shoulder.

"And the boy?" Arthur knew the answer, but still he asked.

"We'll see soon enough." Aida's expression had become cold, and she walked away from them, following the path of the horse. They caught up to the children soon enough. They had stopped and Clemence was hopping down from the saddle, the brown parcel in her arms.

"Stay here," she told her brother. "I'll be right back. I promise." She hurried off, disappearing between the trees. Ben shivered on the horses back, wrapping his cloak further around himself. The night was dark and cold. His young eyes darted around, dancing over the shadows between the trees, as if monsters were hiding there. Before long, they heard the footsteps as the girl returned, expertly remounting the horse, but she didn't have the parcel anymore.

"What did you do with it?" her brother called back to her.

"I hid it somewhere no one would ever find it," she said as she urged the horse into a gallop.

Arthur and the others ran after the horse, but they didn't have to run far. The arrow made a whizzing sound as it flew through the air and the horse cried out, rearing up and throwing the children. They hit the dirt hard. The wind was knocked right out of them. Soon brutes surrounded them. They must have been waiting for them, knowing they would try and make a run for it. Two of them grabbed the children by the cloaks and dragged them to their feet. They pulled knives from their belts and held them to the children's throats. Arthur gasped and stepped forward, but Jasper held him back.

"We searched every crack of that place and couldn't find it anywhere." The largest of the brutes stepped forward, holding his hands behind his back as he paced beside them. "You're father wouldn't tell us where it was, and neither would your mother, but I'm sure she knew. She gave it to you didn't she, her precious little angels, hoping you would escape with it and disappear forever? It's too bad that will never happen."

"We don't know what you're talking about." Clemence spat at his feet.

"Feisty, just like your dear departed mother." He grinned down at her devilishly. "But I doubt you'll be as strong. I know you know where it is."

"We don't, we swear," Ben cried, and the brute turned on him. "We don't even know what it is."

"I don't believe you." The large man played with a sharp knife in his hands, twirling it just inches from Ben's face.

"Stay away from him," Clemence seethed.

"So, little girly wants to go first." He grinned and walked towards the young girl. "I'm not stupid. I know you won't talk. You're too much like your mother, but your brother, on the other hand, is a very different story." He placed the cold blade against the skin of her neck, gesturing to the man holding her to take his knife away, and looked over at Ben. "If you want to survive tonight you will tell us where you've hidden it. Tell us, or I'll cut your sister's throat."

Ben was sobbing now, shaking under his captor's grip. His wet eyes met his sister's strong ones, asking the silent question, searching for comfort and support. He was only a boy.

"Don't tell them anything." His sister shook her head.

"Do you want to die?" The man holding the knife to her throat was loosing his patience.

"I'd die for my people in a heart beat." Her eyes were dry now, all fear gone, replaced with confidence and acceptance of the events that were soon to follow. The inevitable. "My people are my family, and I'd die a thousand deaths for them."

"That can be arranged." His eyes held no mercy. "Now, boy, last chance. Where is it?"

"I don't know."

"I'm not playing games!" the man shouted. "Do not lie to me."

"I'm not lying."

"Fine. Then your fate is of your own making," he sighed and looked down at Clemence, his blade still held to her neck. "Say goodbye, little princess."

"Ben! Close your eyes!" she yelled. Ben did as he was told.

Arthur and the others watched from behind a tree. He only saw Clemence from the back. All he heard was a small gasp and a gargle as the man moved his knife in a swift movement, with a small spray of blood. She collapsed to the ground, unmoving, and Arthur didn't need to see her eyes to know that they were void of all life. He had to bite back a cry of rage and stop himself from tearing the men apart. This was the moment he couldn't change. It was only a shadow of the past. These events were already set in stone, unchangeable.

The man, though Arthur didn't see him as quite human anymore, moved towards Benedict, whose eyes were still closed.

"I wasn't lying," he whispered.

"I believe you." Arthur didn't see the man move his knife this time as one of his brutes blocked his view. All he heard was the sound of Ben's small body hitting the ground. He gasped, and a few tears slipped from his eyes.

He's still in shock when the scene ripples and suddenly it is day. The sky is full of clouds and the day is grey. The trees around them look almost dead; all of the leaves have fallen from their branches. Their bark was grey like the sky. He felt Aida place her hand softly on his shoulder. He looked up at her, meeting her curious eyes.

"You're crying," she says.

"Of course I am." He uses his sleeve to wipe away the tears. "I just watched two children loose their lives. Don't you feel their pain?"

"You see death differently when you've experienced it first hand." She lowered her eyes.

"Do you feel at all?" The stress was starting to get to Arthur.

"Not in a way you would understand. We can only feel how we remember it feeling when we were alive. We were never in this situation, so we don't know how to feel." She explained. "How does it make you feel?"

"Useless."

"There was nothing you could have done." She tried to sooth him with her words.

"Didn't you watch people be ripped away before your eyes? Don't you know how that feels?"

"It wasn't the same," was all she said before removing her hand and walking away. Jasper watched her go.

"She saw it." Arthur almost didn't hear him. "Our friend, the one we told you about, Joone. Aida was there. She saw the house burn, knowing our friend was inside. That kind of loss, not really knowing what happened or how long Joone was alive after the house started burning, it's not the same."

Arthur was silent. His eyes found Aida, leaning on a tree not too far away, staring at the grey clouds rolling by. He thought he knew these ghosts, only to be reminded that they were more complicated then they seem. Maybe he'd never really know them, never truly understand.

"Arthur?" The voice made him spin around. His blue eyes met sapphire. Clemence was still wearing the green dress she died in. She almost looked alive, but her eyes gave her away. They'd lost their life the day she died, replaced by a kind of coldness.

"What are you doing here?" She looked confused. "We aren't supposed to meet here, not in this place, not yet." She took a step towards him, but then stopped abruptly, her eyes widening. "You're not Arthur, not our Arthur."

"No." Suddenly Benedict appeared behind her, but she didn't turn when he spoke. "This Arthur is not from our memories." He looked older somehow, not the same little boy from before. He had lost his innocence in death.

"Then how is he here?" Clemence tilted her head and she looked Arthur up and down.

Ben walked past his sister and towards Arthur, stopping only a foot away. He reached out towards him, but then flinched and pulled his small hand back as if he had been shocked.

"You're not a shadow at all," he whispered, almost to himself. "You're whole."

"She's never taken whole ones before." Clemence shifted, uneasy about the whole thing. She straightened her neck and narrowed her eyes at the strangers. "But you're still here for the same thing Merlin was, aren't you?"

"Merlin was here?" Arthur felt hope rise inside him.

"Not your Merlin," Ben said softly. "The one from our memories. We were ghosts long before the Old Mother came for us, much longer."

"We stayed to guard what our mother entrusted to us. We had to keep our promise," Clemence told them. "That is why you're here, right?"

"We came here by accident," Jasper said.

"Nothing's an accident." Clemence's voice was ghostly, almost like another voice was speaking under hers.

"What did your mother give to you?" Arthur asked.

"Come with us." She beckoned them with her pale finger. The children led them through the tilting trees. They made no sound as their feet crossed the ground, no rustling of the leaves or snapping of twigs. It was eerie.

They came to a stop in front of a tree that looked like all the others. Clemence merely stared at it, unmoving. Benedict looked between her and the tree. Then he knelt down in front of it. Arthur looked over his shoulder and saw something carved into the trunk of the tree. It was a small hourglass. Ben touched his finger to it, pushing down. Part of the hourglass fell away to reveal a keyhole.

"Do you have the key?" Arthur asked.

Clemence looked up into the branches of the tree, taking a few steps back, answering his question. He looked up and spotted the old rusted key hanging from a string. He was about to ask how they would get it, but was cut off when he heard Clemence mutter something under her breath.

"What are you-" The key came loose from the tree and floated down to them. Clemence caught it and looked back at Arthur. He just managed to glimpse electric orange leaving her eyes.

"You have magic." It should have been obvious, but Arthur was still trying to get used to the fact that Jasper and Aida were sorcerers. It was all very overwhelming.

"Our parents taught us," Ben said, and for a moment his eyes almost looked electric blue before returning to their original colour.

"I thought eyes usually flash gold when magic is performed," Aida spoke up.

"We are from a time long before yours. There was more then one magic back then." Clemence told them. "The old magics that now lay dormant in your time." She handed the key to her brother, who placed it in the lock. It clicked when he turned it and the tree shook. The bark cracked and Arthur could see the outline of a door. Ben pulled on it and pried it open, pulling out the long package wrapped in brown cloth.

"What is it?" Arthur felt like he should know the answer.

"Kadee," Clemence whispered. "The name means 'pure'. At least it used to be."

Ben unwrapped the cloth to reveal the sword it had concealed. He held it very carefully, sure only to touch the cloth and never the blade.

"Take it." Ben held it out to Arthur. "It is what you need."

Arthur reached out for it, but Ben pulled it away again.

"This sword comes with a warning," he said. "It has seen horrors and tragedies. It remembers it all and it still weeps. Be careful when you hold it or its memories will drive you to insanity."

"Many a man has gone mad just by holding it," Clemence spoke as if from memory. "I hope it is different with you."

"Me too." Arthur took the sword from Benedict, careful only to touch the cloth. "The pure sword tainted with tragedy. One of the things Atropos told us to find."

"The cutter of the life thread." Clemence nodded. "She cut all of our life threads."

"I'm sorry for what happened to you."

"Don't be, Arthur Pendragon," she sighed. "Please, take Kadee and free us from this torment. We can't bear these memories much longer."

"We miss our parents terribly." Ben took his sister's hand. "We only wish to join them now in the afterlife."

"We will do our best," Arthur promised.

"We know you will." Clemence almost smiled. "You always do."

"But be careful, this one may have been easy to find," Ben gestured to the sword in Arthur's arms. "But the others will not be the same. She won't make it easy for you."

"I wish we could help you more." His sister said. "But there is little we can do now, except wish you good luck."

"Thank you, for everything."

"There's your door." She nodded her head behind them. They turned to find a random door standing in the middle of the woods, though that didn't seem so strange anymore.

"Maybe we'll meet again." Arthur turned to them one last time.

"Maybe," Clemence sighed, squeezing her brother's small hand.

Arthur, Jasper, and Aida walked away from the children. They had one piece of the puzzle, one step closer to defeating the Old Mother. If only it was so easy, but what lied beyond the next door would be anything but.

Thanks for reading and please take a moment to comment to help me with the next chapter.

Where do you think this story is going? Will Arthur and the others succeed in their plan to defeat the Old Mother? Perhaps there is a little more to this story then they thought.

Hope you stick around for the next chapter, because Merlin and Arthur are getting closer to finding each other.

See you next time.