wow sorry bout the wait!

They woke the next morning and Arthur went over to the young girl to rouse her. she was curled up beside the dying embers of the small fire.

"Arthur I wouldn't wake her up yet," Merlin warned. Arthur looked over his shoulder and glared at Merlin, it seemed he was annoyed by the fact that the girl had favoured Merlin over him when it came to helping her yesterday. Merlin sighed and and set to work on packing up his things into his saddle bag, starting with his bed roll. Arthur turned away and put on his best hero face as he gently touched her shoulder.

"Wake up, we need to get you back to Camelot so you can see Gaius," her eyes snapped open and she quickly shied away from his hand.

"I'm not going to say I told you so," Merlin muttered just loud enough for Arthur to hear.

"Do you want to walk back to Camelot?" Arthur threatened, standing and resting a hand on the hilt of his sword, in what was supposed to be and intimidating stance.

"What I didn't-," Merlin protested but Arthur cut him off.

"Right, that's it you're walking!" Arthur ordered turning and striding over the his horse to ready it.

"But," Merlin was loosing his words.

"No Merlin I am your king and I order you to walk," Arthur retorted swinging himself into his saddle.

"Who's being the Clotpole now?" Merlin huffed, folding his arms across his chest.

"You are," Arthur called back over his shoulder, spurring his horse on,"The girl can have your horse." Merlin sighed and flopped his arms at his sides. he had a feeling he was not going to win today. the girl slowly got to her feet and hesitantly walked over to him. She gave him a quizzical look.

"He's always like this," Merlin said with a slight smile. The girl made a low growl in her throat, like she was clearing it. Merlin walked her over to his horse and assisted her up into the saddle. He held the reins in one hand to lead, and and his pack in the other.

It was a long ride, or walk in Merlin's case, as they came into a meadow that lay just on the outskirts of Camelot with its turrets and towers poking above the treetops.

"And there you have it," Arthur announced proudly, shifting his weight in his saddle. The girl stared up at Camelot peeking over the tall fir trees, her eyes hardened and she uttered something under her breath. Merlin glanced up at her as he lead the way behind Arthur, she was tense, too tense. They made their way into the courtyard that was before the steps ascending into the castle. Merlin looked up at the girl again a noticed her hiding her pendent under her collar. Two stable hands came to take the horses away once Arthur and the girl had dismounted, Merlin helped her down. Gwen appeared in the archway and came down the stone steps, she wrapped her arms around Arthur.

"What took you so long?" she asked looking from Arthur to Merlin as she pulled away, her eyes soon fell on the slight girl standing just hidden behind Merlin, she was covered in grime and dried blood; her clothes had also seen better days.

"We ran into a bit of trouble," Arthur said glancing back at Merlin. Gwen looked at him a moment then back at the girl.

"She needs to see Gaius," she said firmly.

"Merlin," Arthur didn't need to say anymore as Merlin lead the girl up the steps and into the castle, turning to his right once inside and up the winding stair well. the girl was struggling but she hid it by keeping her breathing under control. Merlin pushed open the creaking old wooden door and entered, Gaius's and his living and working quarters. With her just behind him she was hidden from view when Gaius came wandering over to them.

"Where have you been boy?" he snapped in a worried tone.

"Never mind that," Merlin said, "You need to take a look at her," moving out of the way so Gaius could see the girl. Gaius's eyes widened and he hurried over to her.

"This way child," he ushered her to sit on his cot. she had her arms held in front of her protectively, she glanced to Merlin nervously. He nodded his head. She went and sat down, "What happened to her?" Gaius demanded examining her hands after unwrapping the linen they were protected by.

"Morgana's men had her in a cage. It looks like they dragged her by her feet," he filled him in looking over Gaius's shoulder to watch what he was doing. Gaius moved on to look at her face, he noticed some cuts on the back of her neck.

"May I?" he asked gesturing to her neck, she nodded slowly. he moved her hair over her shoulder and pulled her collar back a little, he gasped, "Lay down for me child," he said rushing over to his shelves to retrieve a set of scissors and ointment. Merlin was confused and looked at her neck and slightly exposed shoulders, his breath hitched; deep lacerations, scared over wounds, bruises and burns covered them. Gaius came back over and used the scissors to snip and cut down the centre of the back of her dress, pealing the linen away from when he was done, it took dried blood wit it and fresh leaked out of the wounds. Her entire back was marred in a mask of horrors that had been inflicted upon her over a long amount of time; from the looks of the older and healed scars. But most shocking were the runes and markings carved into the flesh of her back.

"Oh god," Merlin gulped. Gaius started to clean and put ointment on her back, she flinched every now and than, but the she never cried out. Gaius ordered Merlin back and forth for things he needed, clean water, fresh linen, potions. Arthur, some time later, entered and strode over to them but his face paled when he got a sight of her back and he froze in place, transfixed.

"What happened to cause that kind of torture?" he gulped, his throat dry. Gaius looked at the runes carved into her skin again.

"Black magic," he said washing another wound out.

"Is not all magic black?" Arthur cut across him, anger tinging his voice. Merlin looked down and moved away to help Gaius more.

"No my king, magic is just magic it's some of the people who use it that are bad, there are different ways those people can use magic. but the common names for what they do are as such, magic, black magic," he said applying ointment to the clean wound.

"So this was black magic?" Arthur said moving closer with his eyes still fixed on the girls back, gritting his teeth when he saw the spiraling runes running from her shoulders to the tops of her hips.

"No," Gaius said bringing a needle and thread to the sliced skin and began to sew the sides of a cut back together, "This is blood magic, and the most cruel and twisted I have seen in my many years." Merlin went down onto his knees and sat in front of the girl.

"Are you okay?" he asked concerned, her lips were a thin line but she nodded her head, looking into his eyes. sweat was forming on her brow and she blinked droplets away from her eyes. Merlin moved his gaze to look at her back. What had Morgana done to this girl? Why had she done it? And, what was blood magic?

there we go the long awaited chapter two! leave a review!