Here you go. The next installment, thingy :P

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been away.

Enjoy!

Chapter 7

Arthur paced slowly in his chambers, wondering what was going to happen to him. He knew that being a prince was going to help him in some way or another and that was not what worried him. What worried him was what would happen when his father found out. Merlin would most likely be halfway to Camelot by now. If word got to his father before Merlin got there-

Arthur shuddered. How could he have been so stupid? Why did he let Merlin out of his sight? He thought that it would protect him and now thinking about it, it probably put him in more danger. Arthur felt like slapping himself. If anything happened to Merlin…

The door swung open to reveal King Cedric and a few of his knights standing in the doorway. He stood there for a few seconds before entering the room. They did not make eye contact as he took a place on the other side of the room. It was like he did not want to go anywhere near him. He walked slowly, and Arthur thought that the shock had still not worn off.

"Leave us," he addressed his knights, "no one is to enter." And with that the knights left the room, leaving Arthur alone to be judged, with no witnesses.

"Sire I…" Arthur began but was stopped by the wave of a hand.

"Arthur, I do not know why you have done this. I do not know how this even happened. But what I do know is that my daughter is in a terrible state and that makes me angrier than anything. I mean… you were supposed to be married!"

"I know," said Arthur.

"And what I also don't know is that you could have had a choice of any fair maiden in the kingdom to break my daughter's heart with and you choose a servant- and a MAN! My daughter has told me about him. His clumsy, disrespectful ways, his incapability to do anything, his failure to acknowledge those whose life is worth more than his and…"

"Stop," Arthur said strongly. King Cedric looked at him.

"Stop, please," he whispered, "just… leave him out of this. This is my fault. He should not be made to suffer for my mistakes." King Cedric looked at him.

"Arthur, in my kingdom, rank is not a factor when it comes to punishment. There is equality amongst people and the punishment fits the crime. Are you sure that you want to sacrifice yourself- for a servant?"

Arthur's eyes met Cedric's, and he nodded. The king looked down.

"Very well Arthur Pendragon. Guards! I hereby place you under arrest for the violation of a signed peace treaty. You are also under arrest for fraud and treason. Take him to the dungeon. He shall be executed in the morning." He turned to leave.

"Oh, and by the way," he added grinning, "send word to Uther that our treaty no longer stands. I have been betrayed in the worst possible way and declare war on Camelot. Prepare our army and take him away."

Arthur was grabbed by the two men and dragged out of the room. He closed his eyes- at least Merlin was safe.

. .

Back at Camelot…

Uther stared at the piece of parchment in his hand that had just been delivered to him. He could not believe what he was reading. How could Arthur do this to him? After everything. How could he be so selfish?

"Sir Lancelot."

"Yes, my Lord."

"Prepare our army, there's a storm coming our way."

Uther scrunched the parchment in his hand.

"And Lancelot," Uther threw the note into the fire,

"Find my son's manservant- I need to speak to him."

. .

Arthur sat on the cold hard floor of his cell. The stains of tears were still present on his face and his breathing was heavy. The sound of his sobbing echoed on the walls of the small space, making him feel even more alone.

He did not know why he had risked being with Merlin. There was so much going on. If Cedric and Amelia had come one day earlier, none of this would have happened. He would have been going to marry Amelia, Merlin would still be with him, Camelot would be safe from war and everyone would be happy.

Except for him.

He had wanted to be with Merlin, the way that he wanted. He did not want to hide his feelings forever and slowly turn into a repressed person who, as Morgana said, missed the opportunity to be happy. He owed it to himself to be happy. But what he did not owe anyone, especially Merlin, was to put anyone in danger. He was going to be executed in the morning, probably about the same time the Noresford army set off towards Camelot.

His father would have probably got the declaration of war by now, which meant that he knew what he had done. He was not afraid for himself- he was afraid for Merlin. He would probably be at Camelot by now facing his father, and he would not be there to help him. Arthur put his head between his legs, shoulders shaking as he began to cry. The person he loved was probably being convicted to death right at that very moment. It was good that he was doing all this thinking in a cell, so no one could see him crying. There was only one person who had even seen it, and the same person was probably regretting even meeting him.

His thoughts were interrupted by a disturbance down the hall. From the place he was sitting, he could see bright light flashing against the walls. Arthur quickly got up to see both the guards now on the ground. He could not see who had done it, trying to cram his head through the bars to look further around the corner.

Suddenly, as if out of no where, Arthur could see a cloaked figure hovering over the two unconscious men. Arthur thought that his eyes were deceiving him, when the key floated up off the floor into the cloaked figure's hand. Arthur quickly backed towards the corner of his cell when it finally dawned on him. The person was using magic.

The figure came around and stopped in front of Arthur's cell. Arthur stared at the figure who started to put the key into the lock.

"Who are you?" Arthur demanded, "What do you want with me?"

The cloaked figure did not answer as they opened the gate of the cell. The figure moved closer to Arthur until they were about a foot away from each other.

"I have come to rescue you, Arthur," the figure whispered, "but we must hurry."

The figure, now know to Arthur as male, turned to leave but Arthur stopped him.

"Who are you?" he demanded again. "How do you know my name?"

The cloaked man kept his head down has he spoke.

"I am no one. And how I know it is not important. What is important is that you are bought back to Camelot as fast as possible. I have two horses waiting in the lower town. The guards are going to wake up soon, so we much hurry."

Arthur still had many questions to ask, but was grabbed by the wrist and yanked out of the cell. They ran out the door and across the courtyard, not stopping for anything. It was getting dark now and there were still a few people in the square, so they had to manoeuvre through as fast as they could. Arthur felt like his wrist was about to be yanked off, and he asked the man to let go. But the man kept a firm grip as they finally made it to the lower town.

They two horses were well hidden, behind a large cart right near the exit of the city. The exit was unguarded and Arthur suspected that the man had probably dealt with them before he got to him. And he did not want to know how. Arthur was handed a red cloak and they set off out of the town towards Camelot.

It had soon become very dark and Arthur's companion suggested they build camp, even though they were in a hurry. After the horses were fed, Arthur was joined by the cloaked man at the fire. Now Arthur could get some answers. Magic- the man had used magic. And he had come with him. The Pendragon's hate of magic was well known throughout the land, but the man still risked himself to free him. But why? Before he could speak, the cloaked man began.

"I know that your kingdom is against the use of magic. This is one of the reasons why I have not revealed myself as soon as we met."

"I see," Arthur said simply, "how did you know where to find me?"

"I am not a man of Noresford, if that is what you are trying to ask. I was travelling and I was passed by some knights who said you were being held in the king's dungeons. I did not know what it was for exactly. But I knew that war was upon us, so I came here."

"Oh right," Arthur said. There was a short silence between them before Arthur asked the question that had been on his mind since they got there.

"Where did you learn magic?" Arthur asked.

"I did not learn it anywhere, I was born with it." Arthur became confused.

"Born with it! But… how is that possible?"

"Some say that magic is a gift that chooses the person that it binds to. Some of us do not have the choice. Some may say that people like me, have a destiny that is intertwined with magic, so we can never be free of it. There are some people that use their gifts for evil, and the destruction of others. Hiding my magic is very difficult for me and for many other people, some that have been condemned to death because of one simple mistake, or being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Magic is not an evil thing Arthur; it is how you choose to use it, which makes it good or evil."

Arthur sat there, listening to what the man had to say. He had never thought about the use of magic like that before. He had always followed what his father had told him. The cloaked man was right, magic was not evil. It was normal people with the gift of magic that made it seem evil. But not all people with magic are the same.

"You seemed troubled, Arthur. What is it?"

"Nothing," he said.

"Are you thinking about someone?"

Yes, Arthur thought. He was thinking about Merlin- all the time. He was worried sick about him, wondering if he was dead or alive. The fact that he didn't even know, scared him more than anything.

"Arthur," the cloaked figure interrupted him again. Arthur looked up.

"If I reveal myself to you, do you promise not to judge me or condemn me to death?"

"You saved my life, I will not let any harm come to you." The other man nodded.

The cloaked figure got up from where he was sitting and sat next to Arthur. He took Arthur's hands and brought them up to the edges of the cloak. Arthur took hold of them and slowly pulled them back. Arthur almost died of shock when he saw the man that was under the cloak. The man that he had seen so many times, spoke to so many times and cared about more than anyone.

The man that he loved…

"Merlin!?"

YAY! Merlin is back, and he's got a lot of explaining to do.

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xox