Hello...please don't hate me! I know it took my ages to to update, but I had crap loads of A Level work to do! I'm sorry! But yes, here is the next chapter.

Again, I feel this is a pretty poor excuse for a chapter...but hopefully the next one will be better...

Disclaimer: All belongs to the BBC.

x

"…quite tall man, shoulder length brown hair…"

"No sorry…"

OOOOOO

"…tall man, dressed in a longish purple cloak…"

"Never seen him."

OOOOOO

"..Are you sure you haven't seen him?"

"Sorry…"

OOOOOO

"I'm tired…"

"Stop whining Merlin."

"But we've been looking for hours."

"Shut up."

"Why are you so determined to find this guy anyway?" They were riding through a thick forest, heading for an outlying village that they had not yet visited.

Arthur didn't answer his servant, choosing instead to tell the accompanying knights to set up camp as it was starting to get dark. Arthur couldn't admit to anyone the real reason he was determined to find the sorcerer. To anyone but himself, the reason was that he wanted to protect the kingdom from magic. To stop it falling at the hands of evil sorcerers that would see Camelot fall. This was obviously true…but it wasn't the whole truth, and, if he was honest, it wasn't the main reason.

The short of it was. He was worried. It pained his heart to see Merlin fumbling along corridors, apologising profusely when he got something simple wrong, the look on his pale face when he thought no one was looking. He vowed to himself that he would not rest until he found the sorcerer responsible and set it all right again.

He opted to take first watch and settled himself by the fire as the others lay down under blankets and closed their eyes in exhaustion. How could he sleep when he knew the sorcerer was somewhere out there? He didn't want to stop, he wanted to keep going. But he knew the others needed rest and they wouldn't be able to see their way through the swallowing darkness anyway.

He stared into the hungry flames, thinking. The eerie silver moonlight cast haunting shadows through the trees and the occasional rustle of leaves would cause Arthur's head to snap up, instinctively scanning the area for danger.

Arthur heard a low whimper from behind him. Turning his head, he saw the figure of Merlin, huddled under a thin blanket and murmuring in distress while he slept. Arthur moved closer and saw that Merlin was shivering.

"Arthur…the fire…I need to…" Merlin tossed his head from side to side. Arthur's stomach clenched as he realised what Merlin be dreaming about.

"Merlin? Wake up Merlin." He gently shook his servants shoulder.

"It's too hot…it burns Arthur…burns…"

"You need to wake up now Merlin." Arthur said quietly but desperately, still shaking his shoulder gently. Merlin jerked, eyes snapping open.

"Arthur! Arthur…the fire! It's burning!" Merlin curled up into a ball, pressing his clenched fits to his eyes. Arthur realised he should be trying to calm Merlin. Using soothing words. Perhaps hugging him. Arthur panicked at these thoughts. What was he meant to do? He desperately wanted to comfort Merlin, but he didn't know how.

"Merlin?" He settled for putting a hand on the trembling young man's shoulder. "It's okay. Shh, everything's fine." He noted how cold Merlin felt. "Come on Merlin, you're freezing. Move closer to the fire." He tried to gently pull Merlin upright and closer to the warm flames, but Merlin flailed out, dragging his body away from the fire.

"No!" Merlin shouted, then continued to mutter. "No, no, no, no, no." His shout had awakened the knights, who watched as Arthur attempted to calm Merlin and persuade him to move closer to the heat source.

"Please Merlin, you'll freeze."

"N-no…p-please…not the f-fire…" Oh. Arthur froze as realisation washed over him. Merlin was scared of the fire. But he couldn't let him shiver through the night, so he shrugged out of his warm jacket, made from expensive thick material, and draped it round his manservant's shaking shoulders.

"Go back to sleep Merlin. You'll need energy for tomorrow." He gently pushed Merlin down, making sure his jacket covered him as much as possible to help protect him from the cold night air. Merlin stared blankly ahead of him.

"Close your eyes Merlin."

"It doesn't make a difference." Whispered Merlin so quietly Arthur nearly didn't catch it. The knights, still watching silently, didn't hear what Merlin said, but they saw Arthur stare at him with utter sadness and slightly red eyes, as though he was about to cry. He quickly turned his head away and busied himself by tossing another log on the fire.

"Go back to sleep." He ordered his knights, settling himself closer to the flames.

OOOOOOOOOO

The slightly deflated group rode into the next village, and, like every other village, Arthur hoped someone would know something. They tied their horses outside the local tavern and went inside, two knights standing casually at the doors outside.

Arthur led Merlin and the other knights to a table near the corner of the damp smelly room. A young woman in a dirty apron approached the table.

"What'll it be then?" She sounded utterly bored, like she'd said that same sentence over a thousand times.

"Information." Arthur shot her a charming smile. "If you can."

"What d'ya mean?" She narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"We need to know if you've seen a man. He's tall," Arthur indicated with his hand. "long brown hair, purple cloak with eyes like…fire." Arthur expected the blank, slightly apologetic look he'd come accustomed to when asking that question, but he dared himself to hope as the woman blinked in surprise.

"Yeah, he was in 'ere about a week ago. Why?" Arthur's heart leaped at her words.

"Do you know where he is? Where he went? Anything?" Arthur pressed.

"I don't know nothing." She claimed nervously, fidgeting. Arthur sighed, tossing her a pouch that clinked promisingly. She grabbed it eagerly and settled herself on the bench next to Merlin, who unconsciously edged away slightly.

"Yeah, I saw him. He was an odd lookin' fella. He had a robe thing on and he was talkin' to himself. Muttering something about Camelot and fire." She talked in a low, excited voice.

"Do you know where he is?" Repeated Arthur.

"Nah, sorry." She shrugged. "But, I saw him talkin' to that bloke over there." She gestured towards a man sitting by himself at one of the half heartedly scrubbed tables.

"Thank you." He breathed at the young woman, who stood up and left, winking back at Arthur. "Okay, you guys stay here. I'll go and talk to him. Look after Merlin." He looked meaningfully at the knights.

"I don't need looking after." Protested Merlin, who immediately knocked the flagon on the table in front of him onto his lap. Arthur just sighed and walked over to the man, clearing his throat to announce his presence. As he sat down the man looked up at him with watery eyes and a mouth twisted into a deep-set scowl.

"Can I help you?" He asked in a rusty voice. Arthur described the sorcerer, then asked if the man knew where he might be.

The man looked into Arthur's blue eyes and said decisively, "Yes." Arthur waited, but the man said no more.

"And where is he?" He asked impatiently.

The weathered looking man slowly took a sip from his drink, swallowed and smacked his lips. "I believe…he is currently residing…in the caves." In his rough voice the words carried a certain sense of foreboding.

"The caves?" Arthur asked uncertainly.

"The caves…at the foot of the rolling hills…just outside the village."

"Thank you." He truly was grateful and slip another pouch of coins across the table. The man laughed bitterly.

"I don't need your money." Arthur didn't say anything in reply, leaving the pouch on the table as he rejoined the others. "Lets go."

"What did he say? Do you know where the sorcerer is? Is that where we're going now? Is it very far?"

"Shut up Merlin. Yes, we're going to find the sorcerer."