Summary: Uther has sent Arthur and Merlin on a dangerous quest - retrieve the Cup of Life from the Druids, make sure neither Cenred nor Morgause get their hand on it... and make it out alive. As Gwaine joins them, will the unity of Courage, Strength and Magic be enough to complete the life-threatening mission? And what about the rest of the Round Table?

Details/Disclaimer: Merlin and anything from the series belong to the BBC. So does the original episode, The Coming of Arthur (both parts) on which this and the sequel of this story is based upon.This is merely my own version of events but I recommend watching the episodes first, as most of this makes sense only after watching them.

This is the second part of the trilogy The Rise and Fall of a Queen.

Enjoy!

Tazz~

The Rise of a Queen

Chapter Seven: Loyalty's Escape

Word Count: 1091

The wait in the cell was excruciating. Leon could only tell time was passing by the moving shadow of the window's bars on the floor, and even that seemed to be moving much too slowly along the floor. He had to wait until sundown, for that was what he and Gwen had formulated – to escape now and catch her off guard was to ensure certain recapture. It had already felt like an eternity, yet the sun wasn't even halfway through the sky. He sighed.

The wait in the cave was excruciating. Arthur knew that they had to wait for three others to join them, before leaving the temporary hideout, and it annoyed him to no end, not having anything to do.

He shifted against the cave wall, and watched the others. Lancelot and Gwaine were sparring, the two getting along, and were now in fierce competition to test their abilities. On account of his recent injury, he was told by Gaius to take it easy, and could not join in. He would have settled himself with shouting advice, but the mistakes he saw were so infrequent it would not hold his attention for long.

Gaius was developing the small amount of medical supplies he could – without the ingredients and equipment he had in his lab – and was instructing Elyan on assisting him; Merlin, after having retrieved the sword, was busying himself with learning as many offensive and defensive spells as he could.

Speaking of the sword... Once again, Arthur edged closer to the cloth Merlin had covered it with, and reached out...

He should have known better. The sword was suddenly a few feet away from where it had been, well out of his grasp. Merlin hadn't looked away from his spell book.

The wait in the castle was excruciating. Morgana had to traverse the castle, learning how to be its Queen. It was made a lot harder by the people not accepting her... yet. That would be fixed soon. In the mean time, she had to try her best, and fortunately Morgause was there to help her – Morgana didn't think she would be able to cope without her.

That, and the thought of Uther rotting away in the dungeons. A smile graced her lips as she contemplated that – Uther suffering as he watched the very thing he hated most become the most revered talent in Camelot; as he spiralled down into insanity; as he died a slow death.

The smile fell away again as her thought turned to Gwen. That treacherous, traitor of a servant. Gwen had used her! Abused their friendship so that she could leave the castle and all its safety, for her beloved prince.

The smile returned; she couldn't wait to make Arthur suffer in front Gwen, who would know that she had led Morgause to him...

The wait in the house was excruciating. Gwen paced, awaiting the sun's setting. She wished they could have left earlier – but wishing would not help at all. If it had, then this never would have happened. None of this would have happened. Just like none of it would have happened if Uther wasn't so narrow minded...

She shook her head to banish the thought – now was not the time for her own judgements on Uther's way of thinking, however prejudice it may be. She was loyal to Arthur, and consequently the King. She and Leon would leave the place that was once home and now evil, and escape to find Arthur so that they could reclaim Camelot again.

Sunset finally came, and a relieved, but very nervous Leon looked around anxiously to make sure the guards were standing at the dungeons' entrance. He quickly and quietly unlocked the cell door, which, fortunately, swung open silently. The other knights watched him, obviously not saying anything for fear of attracting attention. He was regretful that he had to leave them behind, but they all understood why, and knew he would try his best to release them.

He touched the dirty insignia on his cloak in a silent message: for the love of Camelot. They nodded in understanding and touched their own: long live the King. He smiled back wistfully, glad to see their loyalties had not wavered, and then crept forward, as close as he could to where the guards were standing.

A few moments later, he heard a loud ruckus coming from the direction he had come from, and the guards ran to the source of the commotion.

As they were meant to.

"We haven't got time to waste!" A harried Gwen let Leon into her house, handing him a purple bundle. He let it loose in his hands and held it up to him.

"You... You can't be serious?" He looked away from the purple dress, ashamed already.

"Just hurry!" she said urgently. The warning bells continued to toll. "Every guard in Camelot will be looking for you. They won't be looking for two women courtiers." He could see the logic in her words, but still... A dress?

He sighed in defeat and began to remove his chain mail. For the love of Camelot, he reminded himself.

"Sounds like the wait is over," Morgana said in anticipation. She and her sister marched briskly to a window. They peered out to see two figures disappear out into the woods.

"Beo pu leohte bewundun." Morgause's eyes shone golden and a trail the same colour marked the path of one of the obscure shapes, visible only to herself and Morgana. "The potion does its work." Morgana sneered at the fleeing couple.

"Off you go. Hurry along to your beloved prince."

"What's taking you so long?" Gwen called out.

"I'm a woman," he answered tersely, darkly. He came out from behind a tree, struggling with the silver under dress. Gwen looked at him with exasperation.

"Here, let me help you." She went to his back, and, with a few deft pulls of strings, had it open back, then left him to it.

"From her we need to take the path heading north. There's a cave in the Darkling Woods, five minutes due east of the fallen oak. It has a concealed entrance and fresh water; my guess is that's where Arthur's hiding out." He slipped his shirt on, and they set off again.

Morgause marched forwards, sending scouting guards ahead of her. She eyed the rocky path, before muttering words that had the golden trail light Guinevere's path once again. "Scin scir! This way." she added, taking the lead. The guards followed her obediently.

Sorry for the bout of short chapters recently... I'm finding it hard to continue, but I will.

Also, I changed Loyalty and Integrity's names around because people kept getting the other way around – most probably for a reason. Also, someone else's fan fiction used those words to describe them, so... xD Next chapter: Percival! xD