Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.
Chapter five: Haunted Dreams.
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Elyan stood away from the camp, half hidden by the trees which surrounded the small clearing they had set up camp in. He glanced over his shoulder every now and again, before looking away quickly. The other Knights were sitting around the campfire, talking with Arthur, Gwaine laughed every now and then, but Elyan didn't feel like joining them.
"Elyan," Arthur suddenly greets from behind him, causing him to jump slightly.
Elyan glances at Arthur for a second before looking away, "If I had stayed with her..."
"You saved Percival," Arthur points out, trying to comfort him. "And you saved Leon."
"But not my own sister," Elyan laughs, but the sound was bitter and cold.
"We cannot blame ourselves," Arthur places a hand on Elyan's shoulder.
"She raised me..." Elyan mutters. "You wouldn't understand."
"I do," Arthur disagrees.
"I don't know what I'd be if it wasn't for her," Elyan sighs. "I can't explain…"
"You don't have to," Arthur nodes in understanding.
Arthur puts his arm around Elyan's shoulders and they walk over to the campfire and joins the other Knights. The two of them sit down and Percival nodes a greeting to Elyan, whilst Leon offers him a slight smile.
"Hey," Gwaine suddenly spoke up. "Where's Merlin and his druid friend?"
They all looked round, but Merlin and Mordred where nowhere in sight.
"The druids," Percival suddenly spoke. "There is a druid settlement not far from here."
"It's more than half a day's ride from here," Leon points out. "And both their horses' are still here."
"They could have used magic," Gwaine grins. "You know, disappeared here and reappeared there."
"Or," A voice from in the trees caused them all to jump slightly and reach for their swords. "Myself and Mordred could simply have gone to the pond not three minutes from here to scry for Gwen."
They turned in time to see Merlin and Mordred step out of the trees and into the light of the campfire.
Merlin looks at Arthur and shakes his head, "We saw nothing. Wherever Morgana has taken Gwen, it is beyond the reach our magic."
"What do you mean 'beyond the reach of your magic'?" Percival asks.
"You cannot scry between realms," Mordred answers.
"You're saying Morgana has taken Gwen to another realm?!" Elyan exclaims.
"It is a possibility," Merlin answers in an effort to calm them down.
The idea Gwen had been taken to another realm was a terrifying idea. But as far as Merlin knew the mortal realm was only home to one other realm and that was the realm of Queen Mab, an outcast from Avalon were what the stories told, but Merlin didn't believe that to be true and her realm wasn't a place he would ever step foot in willingly.
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Freya approaches the forest which Morgana and Gwen had passed through hours earlier while the sun was only begging to set. She stopped a row of stone hidden in the grass, almost completely hidden in the twilight, which marked the beginning of Queen Mab's realm.
"Queen Mab," Freya calls into the forest. "Grant me passage through your realm."
"Why should I do such a thing, mortal?" Queen Mab's voice echoes from the trees.
"My name is Freya," Freya answers. "I am here as ordered by the Sidhe."
"The High Beings of Avalon has no power here," Queen Mab replies.
"But Lord Emrys does," Freya argues.
"You are not Lord Emrys," Queen Mab laughs. "You have no power here."
Freya smiles, "Lord Emrys is my husband."
Queen Mab's laughter fades.
"I'm Lady Emrys," Freya continues. "And like my husband, I have power in every realm."
Suddenly the trees move, revealing the same path Morgana and Gwen had taken.
"Tread carefully, My Lady," Queen Mab warns. "My realm is fraught with danger."
Freya glances at the trees and steps forward onto the path.
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Leon bolted up right with a scream, waking up entire camp. Merlin quickly gets to his feet and hurries to Leon's side, who was breathing heavily and trembling slightly. He rests a hand on Leon's shoulder and almost draws it back in shock, as dark magic clashed with his own.
"It's alright," Merlin reassures him.
"The tower," Leon spoke. "Everything in its shadow... Was dead… The sound it was like... Like children screaming."
Merlin frowns slightly, before turning to Percival who had started talking.
"The rain that fell was like blood," Percival describes. "I had the same dream. I was lost in a forest, the trees had claws, and when I finally escaped it there was a plain..."
"Empty as far as the eye could see, except..." Leon continues.
"Beyond the skyline there was a black pillar of stone," Percival carries on.
Leon turns and looks across at Percival, "The tower was so dark, it could swallow the sun."
"The dark tower," Arthur spoke up, having sat quietly whilst Leon and Percival explained their dream. "It's a place where every young knight is taught to dread and rightly so… It's where many have met their end."
"I've never heard of it," Merlin injects, sharing a glance with Mordred who shook his head with a slight shrug.
"With good reason," Arthur answers. "It's said that the mere mention of it can bring doom to all those that hear it."
"Well, let's not mention it again then," Gwaine interrupts before Merlin has a chance to ask Arthur more about the tower. "I was having a dream of eating cheese that tasted of apple pie. Anyone else had that dream?"
Everyone just stared Gwaine who seemed completely unfazed by their looks.
"Well your all missing out," Gwaine finishes, lying back down and the other follow his example although Percival and Leon were still both slightly shaken. Arthur grabs Merlin's shoulder and pulls him away from the others.
"Why would they both have that dream?" Arthur asks Merlin, once they were out of earshot.
"The poison," Merlin answers. "It is still coursing through their veins."
"But the same dream?" Arthur asks, a hint of disbelief in his voice.
"Arthur," Merlin mutters, his voice taking a more serious tone. "Morgana conjured those snakes, Leon and Percival would be dead if that was what she wished."
"So what are you saying?" Arthur questions.
"She planted those visions in their minds," Merlin explains. "It's a trap, she is luring you to your doom."
"And the tower?" Arthur asks.
Merlin shakes his head slightly, "You don't need me to answers that."
"That's where she's taken Guinevere," Arthur spoke his conclusion out loud and all Merlin could do was node in agreement.
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Hey, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry this chapter is quite short, but it feels right being the length it is. Hopefully the next chapter will be a bit longer. Until next time,
Blessed be,
TreeOfLife1997.