Chapter 7
She gasps when cold water splashes on her faces.
"Good morning." Said the raven-haired female in front of her.
"What do you want from me Morgana?" she spat.
"Is that a way to treat an old friend?"
"No, no. You just threaten them and everyone they care about."
"Is this about Daniel?"
She didn't answer Morgana.
"It is isn't it?"
"I have nothing to say to you!" She yells.
Morgana smiles wickedly at her.
"Would you like talk to him?"
"No, I would rather die and talk to him that way rather than you tainting the connection and his mind."
"Aw, so sad. He really wanted to say hi."
"I don't care."
"I know you don't. But I do because I am a good person, unlike my brother and his idiotic manservant."
"Don't talk about them like that!"
"I can and I will."
"What do you want Morgana? Really?"
"Information."
"About?"
"Well it depends. On is of a sorcerer who continues to defy me and the other is about my dear brother."
"You speak of Emrys."
"Oh so you have heard of him?"
"Only whispers from the druids. I do not know of his identity."
"I think you do."
"If I did know, wouldn't I have already told you when you first captured me by using the Nathair? And even if you try that now, I would still give you nothing."
"Well, I would like to see that myself."
She pulls out the infamous box that holds the said snake. Kathrine squirms as far away from Morgana as she could with the chains holding her up.
"After all, why keep you here if I can't have any fun."
Morgana smiles wickedly and opens the box. The little black snake lifts its head and looks around. Sensing its target, it attacks with an overwhelming sensation of pain. Finally, she falls unconscious.
(A day previously)
"Kathrine?" Merlin calls once he has reached the small clearing.
She is nowhere in sight but firewood and some of the game is sitting in the middle of the clearing. Kathrine would never leave or if she was, she wouldn't be far. Her horse is still tied up to the tree along with his. Then he spots it. A crossbow bolt was stuck in one of the trees encircling the clearing. He walks over and pulls it out. He turns it over and over and then decides to reach out with his magical senses. He feels the taint of dark magic over everything. He walks across the clearing to where the signature was at its strongest. He examines the area and spots a sprinkling of blood on a tree trunk. The crimson seems to be pretty fresh. 30 minutes tops. She must've been taken but the person who did scares him even more. Who knows what horrors Morgana has for her?
He runs to his horse and quickly mounts. He kicks the horse with the stirrup quickly. The horse gallops quickly away
(Hours later)
Merlin arrives to the courtyard and sees Arthur and Gaius standing there.
"Where's Kathrine?" Arthur inquires.
"Uh. She was taken. I'll go get your hunting supplies. And you get the knights." He quickly responds.
He takes the courtyard stairs 2 or 3 at a time. Once inside, he dashes around getting everything ready. His first stop was in the kitchens.
"Mary! I need hunting provisions for the King and the Knights! Kathrine's gone so we are going after her!"
"Go boy! I'll have everything ready when you come back!"
Merlin runs to Arthur's chambers to find Guinevere. To say that she was startled would be an understatement.
"God Merlin! You scared me! Why are you bustling about?"
"She's been taken Gwen."
Her usual smiling face turn to one of horror.
"She would never take Kathrine. Not after what Kathrine did to her."
"It would seem so. And I'd guess that after happened before, Morgana would want her revenge."
"Do you need any help?"
"Could you go help Gaius get medical supplies?"
"Sure."
Gwen left almost as quickly as he had come in. He rushes grabbing clothes and armor. When he was done, he starts to rush out of the room and just so happens to knock over a goblet on the table. He turns, debates whether to pick it up or not, and flees. Passing the window in one of the many hallways, he sees that Arthur and the knight's horses are getting saddled up. Reaching the kitchen, he sees a package of food on the table. He grabs it and turns away. Running up the stairs, he runs into Gaius.
"Ah, Merlin! I was just looking for you. Follow me."
Gaius turns and Merlin recognizes that they were heading for his chambers. Upon reaching said chambers, they close the door.
"What can you tell me my boy?"
"Morgana's signature was washed over everything and there was blood on one of the trees. Otherwise, everything is clean."
"Could you trace it?"
"I could but that will take time. And I wanted to get back here as fast as possible to get Arthur before he would start to overuse his brain and wonder where we were."
Right then, Arthur strolls into the chambers.
"Ready Merlin?" he asks.
Merlin nods curtly.
"Good. Outside, in 10 seconds."
He turns and walks away. Merlin and Gaius face each other.
"NOW MERLIN!"
"Coming! Prat."
As he was leaving the chambers with all the supplies on hand, he could faintly hear Gaius chuckling behind him. Merlin walks briskly to the courtyard. The horses were all ready to go and were their riders. He handed the bags to the young stable boy to put on his saddle. He mounts quickly and waits for the others to mount as well. Leon, Gwaine, Elyan, Percival, and Arthur were all mounted so, he takes off.
(Back to the clearing)
The past couple of hours have been pretty uneventful. Well, uneventful in there was no bandit attacks. As usual, the usual banter between himself and Arthur entertained the other knights. Sometimes Gwaine started to tell his bar stories. He started to tell one story that they have all heard before.
"And then it seemed like I was attacked by…"
"Crazed, godless savages." Everyone said in unison.
"We are here." Merlin said gravelly.
They dismount and begin to scout the area. Merlin shows Arthur where the spot of blood he saw was.
"Merlin, is there anything you know or feel that I can't?" Arthur murmurs to just him.
"No. Why would you say that?"
"Come on Merlin. I know."
"Know what?" Merlin was starting to get scared.
"I know about your," cough, "Abilities."
Merlin's eyes started to as wide as a doe's.
"I… I don't…. What?" he stutters.
"You're magic Merlin. I know about it."
"No. You can't have known. I was..."
"You were going to tell me. Trust me my friend, I'm not that stupid."
"When?"
"It was after we were at the Isle of the Blessed. Once we got back to Camelot, I realized something. The Gatekeeper didn't knock me out because her eyes didn't flash. It couldn't have been Lancelot because weird things happened in Camelot before he came along. So the only plausible person would be you. Trust me, I was infuriated. Since then, I was watching you. Seeing if you would do anything to hurt me or Camelot. When I saw you were your normal, annoying self, I let it slide. I was going to talk to you about it eventually. Because I have been thinking…"
"Did that hurt?" And for that Arthur shoved him.
"Anyways, I've been thinking of raising the ban on magic."
Merlin was speechless. His destiny was starting to come true.
"Only in increments though. It would seem I would be enchanted if I lift it all at once. And you could help me with the magic laws anyways because I don't know what it is to have magic. And when we get back to Camelot, you and I are going to have a long conversation about everything. Okay?"
"Yes Arthur."
"So is there anything you can find that I can't?"
"Well, being a warlock, I can 'feel' another magic users magic. If it is good magic, it's like a breath of fresh air and good things. Dark magic, it's suffocating and terrible. I can track it but it will take time. And it will take some energy as well."
"What do I need to do?"
"We make camp. I'll put a sleeping elixir in the stew. Then you and I will get to work."
An hour later, Merlin begins to make dinner. Earlier he began on the sleeping potion. He enchanted that only he and Arthur were to stay awake. He did this so the knights wouldn't eat their own dinners.
"Merlin mate, this is one of the best you've ever made!"
"Thanks Gwaine."
Once dinner was done, the other knights started to get a little loopy.
"Merlin? Did you spike this?" Elyan asks.
"No. I wouldn't want to give more ale to Gwaine. He has enough already."
"Hey!"
"It's the truth." Leon adds.
Merlin turns and looks at Arthur. He notices and nods.
"I will be back."
When he was far enough away from the knights, he turned and faced their direction. He uses his instinctual magic to see them up close.
He whispers, "Nihtslæp. (1)"
Right before is enchanted eyesight, the knights began to go to sleep. He returns to see Gwaine with his head on Percival's shoulder. Then Leon and Elyan were lying on the ground.
"Did we really have to do this?" Arthur asks.
"It was your idea!" he counters.
"Shut up! I am the King and you will not scrutinize me!
"Whatever Prat. Let me do my work!"
Arthur motions him to go right ahead. He sits by the dying fire. For a warm up, he whispers,
"SweoloÞ. (2)" And the dying fire is now blazing.
He takes a big deep breath and says, "BilswæÞ Þes déaÞscúa bealucræft æt æcræft spryng. (3)"
He starts to feel a small pull, but it's not enough. So, he sits there muttering all night just like the time when he had to conjure snakes from Valiant's shield. He stopped muttering when he felt a nudge.
"Merlin, it's almost dawn. Is the enchantment done?"
Then he feels the intense pull towards the south. Thankfully, the knights are starting to wake up.
"Ugh! What a hangover! Merlin! You really did spike it!"
"I did not!"
"He didn't spike it." Leon says. "I saw him make dinner. We must have all been pretty tired that we must have passed out."
"Well why do I have a headache?"
"Well you did sleep on Percival's shoulder the entire night." Arthur tells him.
"How would you know princess?"
"Because I took watch all night."
"Why didn't you wake on of us up sire?" Elyan asks.
"I was fine staying up."
"But still."
"I have a lead on where Morgana took Kathrine." Merlin pips up.
"Where?" Arthur says curiously.
"There." Merlin points a barely visible horse print in the dirt.
"Whoa. How did you manage to find that?" Elyan asks.
"A little poking around last night."
Merlin turned and started packing the camp up. The other knights follow suit. About an hour later, camp was packed and they were on their way.
Spell translations;
(1) Night's sleep, sleep during the night
(2) Burning heat, glow fire, flame heat burning
(3) Track this dark magic to its source.
Where did the "Crazed, godless savages." come from? To give you a hint, this musical will be coming to Broadway this fall.
