It was so hard to believe Arthur found out he was a sorcerer that he had no idea how to react. How was he supposed to react? What could he say if he was able to actually say anything? Arthur would have to bring him to Uther and his opinionabout sorcerers was clear. Even worse, Arthur probably felt like he betrayed him. Although Arthur was a jerk sometimes he was a good friend. Someone he didn't want to lie to but had to, only because he was born this way. Why? Why was he born this way? Why was it wrong to be a sorcerer?

"Merlin? Are you still conscious?" Arthur asked.

"Y...yes," he whispered in a strained voice.

"Have you seen someone cast a spell or something? Was it Luke?"

"No," he said with difficulty. He couldn't let Luke take the blame for this. Not another lie. He would have to tell Arthur.

"Arthur, I..."

"...have to admit I was scared that you wouldn't save the villagers for a second," a voice sounded above his head.

"You!" Arthur said and he jumped on his feet, his sword in his hands and ready to attack.

"Arthur, that's not nice," the voice said. It had to be Luke, he didn't know anyone else with a jolly voice like that. "You know, I was planning to save the villagers myself, but when I saw you I thought: how nice, Camelot does care about its people on the borders. So I waited in the trees and looked how you would defeat the bandits. You can imagine how great the surprise was when I didn't see any of the knights when the bandits attacked. Luckily you did come to save them eventually, but I was curious about why you waited so long."

"We have orders from the king of Camelot, Uther Pentdragon, to capture you and take you back to Camelot," Arthur said and he pointed his sword to where Luke probably sat. "So you were the one responsible for the magic fire."

"Magic fire?" Luke repeated, obviously not understanding what he meant.

"Do not try to deny it sorcerer, when Merlin got attacked that fire suddenly attacked the bandit. Nothing other than magic could have caused it."

"Aaah, that fire," Luke said. "Yes, I did that, so? If I hadn't done that Merlin would have been dead by now. You were too far away to do anything."

"That's..." Arthur started to say, but he didn't finish his sentence. "Anyway, you are arrested. Surrender."

Luke laughed and he heard him move on the roof. "As if. Why would I get captured by you? Catch me if you can."

"Catch him!" Arthur yelled and they all ran away, probably after Luke.

"Hope you get away..." he whispered and he immediately felt a rush of pain through his body when he moved his head.

"I hope so too, but first I have to save you."

"W...Luke?" he whispered, not sure if he heard it right.

"Of course it's me Merlin, who else?" Luke said. "Let me take a look at this." He felt his shirt move when Luke lifted it up. He also heard him whisper something, probably a spell, because when he was finished enchanting it he felt Luke's hand on hisribs that send out a warm glow. "I'm checking your ribs now. After that I can heal them."

"Luke...don't, you'll get captured," he whispered.

"We'll see about that," Luke grinned. "I've made a fake trail in the forest. Those knights will be busy with that for a while."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that."

Arthur pointed a sword at Luke's throat. He couldn't see the other knights; they were probably busy following that trail. Arthur however wasn't that stupid. "Get up with your hands above your head."

"No," Luke said.

"What! You will do as I say, or I'll cut off your head," Arthur said angry. "My father said to bring you back alive, but if I couldn't I was allowed to kill you."

"How very generous of your fater," Luke snapped. "I will not get up, I need to heal Merlin first. If you hadn't noticed yet; he is on the verge of dying."

"What? Nonsense, I checked him a few minutes ago and he was fine," Arthur said. "You're just making things up. Now get up!"

"Luke, just do what he says, leave me," he whispered when he saw Luke and Arthur arguing in front of him. "I don't want him to kill you."

"And you want to die yourself? Hah hah, very funny Merlin, but that is not going to happen. Listen you, Merlin is deadlywounded. That hammer broke a few ribs."

"And Gaius can heal them," Arthur said. "There are knights who have had broken things before. After a long rest they could continue their duties. Merlin will be the same."

"He will not!" Luke said angry and a strong, hot wind lifted Merlins bangs. Was Luke using magic? Arthur did a step back by the sound of his voice and probably because he'd noticed the wind as well. "His ribs are splintered; they will never heal properly," Luke said. "Not only that, some splinters have perforated his internal organs. Every second you're wasting with your talk he is losing more blood. If I don't do something, soon even I will not be able to save him!"

"You're telling the truth," Arthur said slowly.

"I don't care if you cut off my head, but I will heal Merlin," Luke said and the tone of his voice made disagreeing impossible. "If you care even a bit about Merlin at all you will let me heal him." He smiled when he looked down. "Don't worry Merlin, I'll fix you up in no time."

He only heard Luke partly. He was fading in and out of consciousness and only saw blurry figures and heard words he could not understand when he was awake. He did see a weird, bright light for a moment, but after that everything went dark.

"It looks like he's dead anyway."

"I thought I told you it needs a little time before it has effect."

"I'm still not sure if I have to believe you."

"Then don't, but if you look at him you can see he's waking up."

"Who?" he asked, not sure who was talking and what they were talking about.

"You of course, you oaf." That was unmistakeably Arthur's voice.

"How are you feeling Merlin?" That had to be Luke.

"I'm feeling...fine I guess," he said when he opened his eyes. Luke was right in front of him, with Arthur behind him andaround him were all the knights Arthur had taken along. Behind them were all the villagers, who started to whisper amongst themselves when they saw him.

"He's alive!" a tiny woman with a walking stick said.

"I can't believe it! I thought he was a goner." A big man with two children on his shoulders looked curiously at him.

"The sorcerer really saved him!"

"Mother, why did his hands glow?"

"So you did heal him," Arthur said. Only now did he realize Arthur was still holding the tip of his sword against Luke's neck.

"Like I said," Luke grinned.

"Luke," he said but Luke shook his head.

"No worries Merlin, I told you. I am happy I could save you."

"But now you're captured!" he said desperate. "Arthur, can't you let him go?"

"Merlin, I thought I told you; I need to arrest him and bring him to my father," Arthur said. "I can't release him.'

"Heh, that's what you get as a thank you," Luke said and he wasn't smiling anymore. All because of him.

"What? Why are they arresting him?" a young boy asked.

"Because he is a sorcerer," the old woman with the walking stick said. "Since a few years there is no place for sorcerers in thisland. I do think it is strange to arrest a man who helped to save our village and helped to save the servant of the prince."

"Strange? It's ridiculous!" a young man with a pitchfork grumbled. "I don't agree with this. I want to have the boy released!"

"We can't do that," Arthur said. He looked like he had trouble with what he was going to say, but he said it anyway. "Sorcerers have brought us despair and destruction in the past. We can't let that happen again."

"That is gibberish and you know it!" someone yelled at the back of the crowd.

"Come on, let's go," Arthur said and he pushed Luke in the direction of the horses.

It was starting to get light again, but his day had never been any darker. Because of him his friend would get executed. What could he do to get out of this mess?

"So the sorcerer has been captured," Uther said content when Arthur had brought him the news. It was early in the morning, but Uther looked like it was the start of one of the best days in his life. "A job well done my son."

"Thank you father," Arthur said and he stared at the ground.

"It seems like you have something to add to this report?" Uther asked.

"Well, I have been thinking... Luke did save my servant. He has also been a great help for the villages close to the borders."

"Stop, I understand where you want to go," Uther said. "I will not hear of it. Luke is a sorcerer, he is a dangerous existence that can bring harm and destruction upon the people. He has saved a few villages, but that does not make him less dangerous. He rides a black beast summoned by black magic and can command fire. That, my son, is not a human we can nor should feel pity for."

"So he gets executed just for being able to use magic?"

Arthur and everyone in the room turned around to look at her. Of course Morgana would oppose to this. Her moss-green dress with golden embroidery sparkled in the sunlight when she walked through the room and stood beside Arthur, who couldn't help but look at her.

He grinned a bit behind his hand until Gaius looked at him. It was hard not to cast a second glance if she walked past. He liked her, she was a good friend. Not to mention she often disagreed with Uther, which was in most cases completely right according to him. However, this case was a bit dangerous.

"Morgana, although you are my ward and I care for you dearly, you should not speak such dangerous words," Uther said. "You were too young when it happened, but I have seen what sorcerers can do to people, what they can destroy. We can't take the risk of letting a sorcerer run around freely."

"But you heard Arthur! Luke didn't do anything wrong! He saves people, he even saved Merlin! We should be grateful for that, not execute him for it!"

"Morgana, I will not hear of it," Uther said and he started to sound angry. This Uther was dangerous. If Morgana would say another thing she would end up in the dungeon just for speaking up. He quickly walked past Gaius and smiled at Morgana when he was near her.

"Morgana, why don't I eh, escort you to your chambers," he said quickly and he pushed Morgana with a soft hand to the hallway, trying his best to ignore the weird looks Arthur gave him. He managed to get her to the end of the hallway before she shook herself free.

"Don't you think it's ridiculous what he is saying?!" she said upset.

"I agree with you Morgana," he said. "I honestly do. However, if you go against Uther in public he will see that as an offense to his position as a king. He will put you in the dungeons if you go against him any more."

"But you wish to save your friend don't you Merlin?" she asked. Those beautiful eyes...

"Yes, I want to save Luke. I can't let him die just because he saved me."

"I will help you," Morgana said. She was not joking. He was glad she wanted to help but...she was Uther's ward. If she were to betray him...

"Morgana, I can't let you help me, that is too dangerous," he started, but Morgana shook her head so fiercely her hairs slammed in her face.

"No Merlin, I can't stand by and watch as an innocent man is executed just because he...just because he is different. He is like me, he can use magic."

"Morgana, you can't talk about that here," Merlin whispered in panic and he looked around if anyone could have heard her. If Arthur or Uther heard of this...

"How do we free him?" she asked. "Who has the keys? Arthur has them doesn't he?"

"Eh, yes," Merlin said. "But I don't think I can get to the keys easily. He knows I'm Luke's friend and will make sure I can't get close to the keys."

"Then I'll do it, she said resolute. "I will distract Arthur and get the keys. If you can distract the guards in the dungeon I can release Luke. If I can get him out of his cell he can use magic to escape."

"Maybe he already has a plan to escape," he thought aloud. "Morgana, I will go to Luke first and talk to him. He is a sorcerer after all, so maybe he has thought of a way to escape that cell."

"That could be a possibility," Morgana said. "And Merlin?"

"Yes?"

"That Luke...where does he come from?"

He knew she was interested in Luke. He was a sorcerer and she thought she had the same kind of power. Of course she would ask about him.

"Ehm, I'm not sure. We grew up together, but before he came to the village...I have no idea. He never wanted to talk about it to me. He said it wasn't worth mentioning."

"I see," she said and she sounded disappointed.

"I will go now," he said.

"Go where?"

"A-Arthur!" He didn't expect this. Did Arthur hear their whole conversation? He just checked! Did he...did he hear about Morgana?

"Merlin, you are not going to see Luke, am I clear?" Arthur said strict. "My father does not know you are his friend, but if he finds you down there he will suspect you of working together. You might end up in the dungeons as well if you do something like that."

"Arthur, why are you going along with Uther's plans?!" Morgana said. "You know Luke didn't do anything wrong!"

"Morgana, I can't go against my father, that's something I can't change," Arthur said tired.

"You're just afraid," she said angry and she stomped away, amazingly enough still in an elegant way, her dress whirlingaround her feet.

"Merlin, you heard me. No visits to Luke," Arthur said.