Chapter 13

There she was. The witch. The mighty high priestess, and Merlin knew he had to tread lightly here. How that simply passed over Gwaine eluded him still.

"Well fair lady, let me introduce myself." he spoke all to soon and went in for a bow and her hand but Nimueh only regarded him with an amused smile before putting a finger to her lips and whispering "Shh."

In the next moment Gwaine could only communicate in what seemed were strangled moans and groans, before pouting off to the side.

"Enough of this Nimueh."

Merlin was the first to speak up.

"Ah not to worry your pretty little head warlock, he is just playing the part of a quiet admirer. A role he fits in quite nicely, don't you think?"

"No- release the spell or else I..."

A thought was left unfinished as the strong wind knocked him back before he could prepare his defense. A low groan escaped him but he was up on his feet. No need to show her weakness. Morgana's gaze was on him, checking for serious injury but he just gave her a slight nod and a smile to reassure her. He felt like he shouldn't say anything, or he would reveal too much.

But obviously that wasn't enough as Morgana cast her own spell towards the priestess. The woman had some trouble deflecting it - out of surprise or Morgana's power behind it, he wasn't sure. But soon enough she righted herself and smiled at Morgana.

"Feeble attempt, so I will not hold it against you."

Merlin read between the lines. She wanted Morgana for something later. Hopefully he will be able to prevent it.

"I know what you're thinking Merlin and no, you will not stop me. You have dared to enter my domain and still act as if you were doing a favor to me."

Arthur has had enough and with long strides he was in front of her in a second.

"We just want a confirmation that Lancelot is really dead."

She seemed surprised at his bold and blunt manner, even flattered by it.

"And what do you have to give me in return?"

"Our gratitude." answered Merlin at which she snorted.

"Please, if I got paid in gratitude I would be nowhere."

Arthur on the other hand knew what she was after.

"I would be in your debt."

Her eyes took on the glint that promised them nothing good would come of it.

"Arthur maybe that wasn't the wisest thing to say on your part."

He turned towards Merlin, eyes blazing.

"I need to know the truth! He wasn't only your friend Merlin."

He felt a shiver and knew Arthur was right. They needed to know, no matter the cost. Nimueh also knew that and was taking advantage of it.

"I think I could divulge such information for you, if you agree on a blood oath that you will do what I ask of you. Then and only then will I tell you what you want."

If he ever doubted if this was a trap now he knew for sure. She probably even orchestrated the whole thing for them to come to her and ask for her help. Maybe they were better off on their own.

"Before you even think of getting the information elsewhere, I have cast a powerful spell on the land that you see before you. You will need to ride for days before you can ask anyone else and they are too far to know anything of value."

Merlin gritted his teeth in frustration. It was all a set up and they were fools enough to walk straight into it.

"The choice is yours."

Before they could think it over, Arthur had already taken the blade that she held in her hand and cut his hand open.

"Where do you want it?"

She pulled a bowl. It was like she knew.

"This will do nicely."

As he poured his blood, he told her, "You have my will but the others get to decide if they will do so. If I am enough then I demand you leave the others be."

She hummed and gazed over them all.

"We shall see."

Arthur was having none of it.

"Listen to me well Nimueh, if you go back on your word to tell the truth and I perceive your words as untrue or not enough- mark my words, there is no magic strong enough in this world for my blade not to cut your head off of your shoulders."

She swallowed and nodded in return. Arthur moved away and before he was back at his place he turned towards her.

"Let the idiot speak. You may want to hear his answer also. He may be a lost cause but he's also a mighty blade if he wants to be."

He marched back to his horse where he sat on the small plane and pulled out his sword to sharpen it. All the while the others stood with their mouths open. A born leader indeed.

Nimueh seemed impressed releasing Gwaine from his inability to speak with a wave of her hand in return. He coughed for a bit before finding his voice.

"You are one evil woman, but I don't mind it. We just got off on the wrong foot. Nothing to be ashamed of. Most women do."

It took more than her fair share to not appear annoyed by his remarks, Merlin noticed. Still, he felt tense and on the edge by everything that was happening. He could tell Morgana shared the same feeling as he glanced at her. He knew he couldn't afford to have either of them be under a blood oath.

The consequences could be dire and he wasn't willing to risk it. He looked towards Arthur but he was in his own world, letting them decide for themselves. As he was thinking it over he heard Gwaine say, "Let this be a start of a beautiful friendship or more, who knows. I'm not picky."

With that he took the blade and sliced his palm. The blood dripped as he stood silent before receiving a slight nod from Nimueh after which he pulled away and after a brief glance went to join Arthur. This was not good, but as he saw what his friends did, he felt compelled to follow suit. As he started walking towards her, he saw her mouth turn up into a small smile.

It was all to get him, he concluded. It was a trap, but was it too late to get out of it now.

"Stop."

A voice resounded near him and he turned towards it. Morgana had obviously made her choice if her regal posture was anything to go by. He was glad she had spoken up, at least to delay this farce. He needed to think fast. How to undo the oath his friends took, get the necessary information and most importantly get out of here alive.

"Morgana..."

He started and could also see Arthur and Gwaine looking their way.

"No, don't you see? She doesn't need this entire circus. She just wants your blood and your obedience."

Well, so much for keeping things secret. He threw her a look of disbelief before pulling the mask of indifference back on. Now was not the time to be hotheaded.

"Be that as it may, I see no other way Morgana. I need to know."

With that he turned towards Nimueh, but not before seeing the look of hurt on Morgana's face. He gritted his teeth and moved forward, willing his mind to focus on what needed to be done. He could pull up a magical barrier and hopefully pull enough strength into his assault to catch her by surprise. Or at least he hoped he would until he realized he's completely underestimated Morgana and her lack of patience.

"The hell with this." he heard her say before a strong spell was launched towards Nimueh, who in return seemed to expect such reaction. She moved out of the way and with the flick of her hand that has been dipped in the bowl, and coated with Arthur and Gwaine's blood, forced Morgana to her knees.

"To think I almost could have gotten the powerful blood from Emrys himself."

He finally came to understand why she was so powerful. Sure she was a high priestess but more importantly she was dabbling in the dark arts. She was using blood magic.

"No matter, as powerful as your blood is, you made one mistake. The mistake of letting Arthur give his blood."

With that her hand outstretched and they were all blown back from the force of it. Merlin grunted on the impact and glanced towards Morgana who was slowly righting herself up. He looked towards the priestess and could feel her magic almost pulsing around them. He cursed his bad luck. He hoped his magic would return completely by now but he used a lot of it last time and recovery seemed to take longer.

He snared in anger. Like he didn't know the gamble he made with allowing Arthur to do so. He knew exactly how potent the Pendragon line was and this could prove a bigger issue than he initially anticipated. They were foolish enough to think Nimueh didn't pick a side.

"You already sided with Morgause, didn't you?"

She smiled in return as she noticed him trying to get on his feet. Arthur and Gwaine were running to help them, but before they could do anything more she used her magic to pin them in their places. She had their blood - with her magic she could use them as puppets he was afraid. He needed to distract her from it and was surprised when Morgana beat him to it.

A fire sprang to life and towards the priestess, but Nimueh just pulled up her impenetrable wall of magic and cast away the fire.

"You share the same blood as Arthur Morgana. Do not think you can stand against me?"

The problems kept piling up. Merlin was on his feet, but could not come to a solution. Nimueh noticed his frustration.

"Yes Emrys. I have chosen for magic to no longer be cast aside as something wile. No longer will king Uther be able to hunt us like animals. Not after we took his head, his kingdom and now his children."

Arthur and Morgana. Without them the Pendragon line falls leaving no one to rule over Camelot but Morgause.

He heard Morgana cry out in her own rage as she fired of spell after spell but none of them could pierce through. He saw Arthur and Gwaine stand up and start moving towards them.

"Time to collect on my debt Arthur and Gwaine. Kill them."

He saw them struggle as their bodies refused to listen. Gwaine shouted at them in despair.

"Get away from here."

He wanted to be the coward, but now it was too late. Morgana has used up most of her magical power and he was fairing not much better. They hardly had energy to run away. An ominous lightning flashed over them and his eyes widened in realization. It was insane but it might work.

He outstretched his hand to the sky and summoned everything he had in him. Nimueh quickly realized what he was about to do.

"No, it is futile. No one can take control of nature's elements. You are a fool."

As he strained to control it, he could feel his body being drained like a glass of water. As he managed to get a grasp on it, he moved all his power to it. He will not control it, just direct it. With that his eyes took on their golden flare as he guided the lighting towards Nimueh.

She used her wall to focus above her and held it with effort there. He turned towards Morgana, who after the barrage of spells could barely stand upright.

"Morgana, now!"

He saw her mutter a spell but before the spell could take shape she fell to the ground unconscious. He felt helpless and desperate too as he struggled to hold on to his spell. Nimueh was having trouble too, but he knew that he will run out of magic before she did. She hardly used any of hers, because she was channeling Arthur's and Gwaine's strength from their blood.

On the other hand Gwaine was almost at him and could see him lifting his sword with effort, fighting with all his might against the spell. Arthur was a bit behind him, seemingly holding a bit better than his friend.

"Merlin run." Gwaine grunted out, but in this position he couldn't afford to move anywhere. If he stopped his attack, Nimueh would take them all. They were in a helpless situation.

"You brought this on yourself Emrys. You could've stood with us, instead you chose this."

He saw the flash of silver as Gwaine held his sword over his head. It was over for them. He looked towards Morgana as she lay unconscious and couldn't help but wish he could see her eyes just one last time.

A scream pierced the sky and he heard a slash of a sword. A loud thud was heard as Gwaine's sword missed him by a hair and he struck the sword to the ground. A resounding boom could be heard as Nimueh's shield disappeared and his lighting with it. As the mist cleared from the clash he saw her surprised gaze and a trace of blood from her mouth.

As she lowered her gaze she saw a tip of a familiar sword piercing through her. He quickly glanced at Arthur who was some ways away from her, his hand still frozen in mid motion. It seemed he threw his sword when she was turned with her back towards him. Sure her shield was concentrated on his lighting which was above and he had an opening. How he found the strength to fight of her spell was beyond him.

Arthur composed himself quickly and was running towards her as she fell. He moved slowly to join her, Gwaine just fell to the ground next to his sword.

"I'll just rest here for a bit."

He was out.

Merlin's sides hurt and his body felt like it will give up at any moment but he moved towards Arthur as he dropped towards her and with anger still reigning him he asked, "Lancelot, is it true?"

Her eyes were glossy and he could feel her magic fading fast. She wouldn't last long.

"Eh... Arthur."

She managed to cough out.

"Tell me!"

He kept on shouting, but all she managed to say was, "I'm sorry..."

He could see him trying to shake her awake and he felt the helplessness of it all. The rain finally broke through on the torn battlefield. He moved towards Arthur, unable to see his friend so lost.

Arthur was still shaking her and repeating, "Tell me..."

He grabbed his shoulders and moved him away. Arthur struggled to get back to her, but Merlin moved him away.

"It is enough Arthur."

With force, Arthur pushed him away and Merlin fell to the ground as the last of his strength left him.

"It is not. She will tell me."

The rage on his face was palpable and Merlin just couldn't take it anymore.

"Get a grip Arthur! Look at us!"

He spread his hands, showing the destroyed place around them and Morgana and Gwaine that were still away.

"Look at us Arthur..." he muttered as his eyes moved over the demolished plane. It was soaked in rain and he was just out of the strength to do anything. He couldn't even move to help his friends. He just watched as the rain soaked them all.

Arthur also gazed over it and seemed to gather himself. Merlin stood up and moved towards Morgana. Everything hurt but he needed to move her away from the open.

"We've lost, time to gather the pieces and move on."

They have defeated Nimueh, but they didn't get what they came for and not knowing about their friends fate still hung heavily over them.

Arthur didn't say anything, just moved towards Gwaine and picked the poor man up. He moved towards Morgana and with an effort picked her up.

"Let's get to the horses and we can find shelter in the castle."

Arthur was still not responding and as they got on their horses Merlin placed Morgana with him on his horse while Arthur did the same with Gwaine. They were still not able to come to.

As the soft steps from horses hove's echoed Merlin couldn't help but wonder, could they really pick up the pieces as he observed Arthur, lost in his own world or has everything shattered beyond repair. Time will tell.