Hooray, I'm back! Sorry for the extra long wait, my teachers have no idea what the word break means. :/ Anyways, I am going to attempt an update schedule! Every Saturday night or Sunday morning. :O Feel free to nag me if I don't stick to it… thank you to merlinismylife for your message earlier; this not so quick update afterwards is for you!

Anyway, as a quick reminder (because it's been so long I've almost forgotten) Agravaine has managed to trick Arthur into hunting Emrys down, but Arthur's beginning to doubt his Uncle's word. The plot thickens ever so slightly. Hope it's worth the wait. Enjoy!

It had been three days. Three days of endless patrols, research and interrogations. Agravaine had insisted on questioning anyone and everyone who he believed had the smallest link to Emrys. Arthur had gone along with Uncle's plans; his frustration increasing with each failed lead. And with each failed lead, Merlin's workload increased.

Merlin collapsed against a wall, pressing his face into his knees. It had only been three days, and he'd already been stretched to the point of breaking, both physically and mentally. He wasn't sure how much longer he could last under the strain both the King and his Uncle were putting him under.

He took a deep breath, and leant his head back against the wall, closing his eyes.

'Merlin?'

Merlin sighed, but didn't open his eyes. He felt Gwaine sit down beside him. There was silence for a moment, before Gwaine spoke again.

'Arthur running you into the ground again?'

'He's worried about Camelot,' Merlin shrugged. 'Everyone is.'

Another pause, before!

'Ow!' Merlin eyes snapped open, glaring at Gwaine. He brought his hand up to rub his shoulder. 'What was that for?'

'Lying to me,' Gwaine smirked. 'I know you better than that, Merlin. What's really bugging you?'

The young Warlock bit his lip, before choosing his next words very carefully. 'I don't think it's fair that we're hunting this person, when we don't know anything about him.'

'Agravaine seems pretty certain.'

Merlin snorted. 'Yeah, because he's so reliable!'

Gwaine frowned, staring at his friend for a moment. 'You don't trust Agravaine?'

'And you do?'

Merlin watched Gwaine consider this. He could see the frown on his friends face deepen, and he rested his head against the wall. The Knight licked his lips slowly, before turning his gaze back to the servant. 'You're pretty certain about this.'

He nodded, hesitantly, already feeling like he had said too much.

'I must admit, ever since the incident with Gaius, I've been wondering where his true loyalties lie. Why haven't you said anything to Arthur?'

'Because he's Arthur's Uncle, and he dotes on his every word. I just think we should have double checked all the facts before giving the order to kill someone that, for all we know, is caught up in a war that has nothing to do with him.'

'But Arthur didn't give the order to kill him.'

Merlin's head jerked up. 'What?'

Gwaine smiled. 'Arthur wants Emrys brought in alive and relatively unharmed. He thinks we may have a chance of getting something useful out of him, if he is as close to Morgana as Agravaine says.'

'If? Arthur's doubting Agravaine's word?'

Gwaine shrugged. 'Not sure. But there is something iffy about the story he fed everyone in the council chambers the other day. I'm sure Princess just doesn't want to risk the Kingdom's safety on the chance Agravaine's managed to pick up dodgy information.'

Merlin let out a sigh of relief, before catching himself, and grinning at Gwaine. 'Well, at least we know Arthur's decided not to be a prat about it.'

Gwaine frowned, watching his friend for a moment. Merlin shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

'Well, I really need to get back to work.' He stood up and stretched, but, before he could move off, Gwaine grabbed his wrist.

Merlin jumped slightly, and turned back to face his friend. Gwaine stood, slowly, keeping a firm grip on Merlin's wrist.

'You know if there's something bothering you, you can tell me.'

'I know, Gwaine,' Merlin smiled, 'But there's nothing bothering me. Honestly.'

Gwaine hesitated for another moment, before releasing his grip on Merlin's arm. Merlin smiled again, before hurrying away. He risked a quick look back, and saw that Gwaine hadn't moved, watching him go. Merlin gulped slightly, and made his way down to the stables.

XxX

'Have you found anything?'

Merlin looked up from the armour he was polishing as Arthur entered his chambers. 'Not yet, sire, but Gaius and I are still looking.'

Arthur nodded, and threw his gloves on his table, heading over to stare out the window. Merlin watched him silently, before turning his attention back to the armour.

'What if we're too late?'

'Sorry?' Merlin looked up again. Arthur turned back to face him.

'What if we're too late? What if Morgana's already got to him? All this would be for nothing.'

'Then she'd probably be knocking on our door to boast,' Merlin shrugged. 'Patience has never been her strong point.'

'She waited a year to attack my father.'

That's what you think. Instead, Merlin chose a more tactical approach. 'Surely that's because she was comfortable in the castle. She wasn't in a hurry to do anything.'

Arthur nodded slightly. 'She wanted to watch us suffer.' He glanced out of the window, before turning and striding over to his desk. Merlin watched him, chewing his lip. He picked up the armour, and stood to leave the room.

'What if… what if she didn't wait a year? What if she was trying to overthrow my father the entire time?'

Merlin resisted the urge to role his eyes. It had only taken Arthur two and a half years to realise.

'Really, sire? What makes you say that?'

The King looked up at his servant, frowning.

'You say that like it isn't a surprise, Merlin.' Merlin stared back, keeping his mouth shut. Arthur sighed. 'A lot of things make sense, now I think about them. I just didn't want to remember. It's hard to think about my childhood friend as a murderous witch. But there are a lot of instances, like what happened with Gwen, that I now think could have been Morgana.'

Merlin stayed silent for a moment, before carefully piling the armour up on the table. 'Why are you thinking about this now?'

The young King shrugged, before looking back down at the paper work in front of him. 'I just… I just want to understand what we did that turned her against us. My fa…our father, maybe, but you and me and Gwen… It just doesn't make sense.'

Merlin blinked slightly, and glanced at the floor. He swallowed, before looking back at his King.

'Arthur, what happened to Morgana was not your fault. You gave her everything she could possibly ask for; you and your father. I'm sure if you'd found out about her magic earlier, you could have helped her. Morgause just got there first.'

Arthur looked up at his servant, and gave him a sad smile. 'You know, Merlin, sometimes you almost seem wise.'

'I have my moments,' Merlin grinned. 'Is there anything else I can do for you sire?'

'Just take my armour back down stairs, then go see if Gaius needs any help.'

Merlin nodded, and gave a short bow, before gathering up the armour and heading towards the door.

'Thank you, Merlin.'

Merlin hesitated for a moment, before smiling, and closing the door behind.

XxX

Agravaine was waiting for him when he left the armoury. He was leaning against the wall, when the young servant shut the door behind himself.

'My Lord,' Merlin acknowledged with no trace of his trademark grin.
Agravaine smiled at him, a smile which set Merlin on edge.

'Merlin,' he drawled. 'I was just curious as to whether you'd found anything regarding our friend the Warlock.'

'As I have already told Arthur, I'll let him know the moment I find anything,' Merlin replied coolly.

Agravaine's smile slipped slightly as his eyes narrowed. 'Yes, but we both know how distracted Arthur is at the moment. I was hoping you'd report to me, instead. Take some weight of our young King's shoulders.'

Merlin let out an exasperated sigh, watching Agravaine's expression as he made eye contact with the lord.

'I'm sure Arthur would have told me if he felt I should report to you instead of him, my lord,' he emphasised the last bit, watching as Agravaine's face fell. 'And I wouldn't like to disobey my king.'

'Of course,' Agravaine smiled again, this time falsely. It was the same smile he wore when he spoke to Arthur, The sigh of it made Merlin's blood boil. 'Well, then, good day, Merlin.'

Merlin nodded, and turned away, striding quickly down the corridors towards Gaius' chambers.

I know Merlin's a bit OOC in this chapter (sorry bout that) but I reckon he would open up to Gwaine slightly, especially as this is set not long after episode 7, when Gwaine was the only one who listened to Merlin about Gaius.

Next chapter will be an insight into Arthur's views on the subject, and Agravaine's plot grows ever more devious!
Thank you to my wonderful beta's, the beautiful and quirky, Arthursmol and Hollyblue2.

Please review! I'd love to know what you think of this story!

See you Saturday!

TTFN

Valkyriexx