Chapter 10

Merlin's head was aching for the second time this week, although secretly he had been wondering whether he had merely dreamt waking in the first place. But no, that was real, he thought to himself as he forced his weary eyes open to find a pair of furious and anxious pair belonging to Arthur staring right back.

"What on earth happened to Merlin?" Arthur yelled, making Merlin wish he had remained unconscious. His head was very fuzzy and pounding, and Arthur's voice did nothing to soothe it.

"That's what I'd like to know!" Merlin said. As soon as he said that, a flurry of dark skin and coal hair blurred his vision before his ribs protested a painfully tight hug from Gwen.

"Oh Merlin, we were so worried about you," she cried, pulling out of the hug and glancing over him with a critical glare, as if trying to see if his experience had hurt him in anyway. Merlin was both touched and speechless by this act, for he had not had someone hug him in a long time.

Arthur, wanting to break the tension that was beginning to build, repeated his original question. "What happened to Merlin?" he repeated, before giving Merlin a smile to show he was glad he was ok.

"I remember a man pressing a cloth against my face, and trying to use magic to pull him off, when I blacked out," Merlin explained, placing his hand against his neck to rub against his neckerchief like he always did when he was stressed, only it wasn't there.

" Hey, where's my scarf!" he cried. Although he didn't have many good thoughts about his old life, the necktie symbolised to him this new chance he been given, proving it was not just some far fetched fantasy as always turns out to be the case.

"Don't worry Merlin, you dropped it in an alleyway during your abduction, so Gwen and I washed it," Morgana said with a smile, handing the treasured fabric back to the youth. Merlin beamed another of his sunny grins towards her, they were smiles that would light up anyone's day, and Morgana felt glad she had the chance to meet such a charismatic young person. Meanwhile Merlin had replaced the beloved cloth back around his neck, enjoying the scent of cleanliness and homeliness that lingered on it.

"We thought Merlin had been gone too long, and so we went to go look for him, when we found his neckerchief and a cloth soaked in Valerium, a potent sleeping drug." Gaius continued. "We followed the trail to a man who was standing with a chained Merlin, before Morgana used her magic to knock him off guard so I could grab Merlin," he concluded.

Merlin gulped. He hadn't realised how close he had been to never seeing his new family again. He began to wonder why that man had wanted him specifically though.

Almost as though he had read Merlin's mind, Arthur asked, "But who was he? And why did he want Merlin so badly?" The others also stared at Gaius in confusion.

The old man in question sighed, before producing the cloth that had been used to drug Merlin. "Do you recognise the emblem on this cloth Arthur?" he enquired.

Arthur, having been trained young to recognise symbols of power, studied the image of a winding snake for a few moments before replying, "It's the symbol of King Cenred."

"That is correct," Gaius agreed. "The man you saw trying to grab Merlin was the king of the kingdom just across our border. As to why he wanted Merlin, both Cenred and his queen, the Lady Morgause, crave power and revenge on Uther Pendragon, something which they have been plotting for for some time now. Morgause has recently begun to build a magical army, and if she has seen even a fraction if what we've seen Merlin do, she would have realised what a powerful asset he could be to her force."

The four teenagers pondered over Morgause's diabolical scheme, the youngest of whom was very glad the others had rescued him when they had. Merlin hated violence of any kind, and the thought of being someone's weapon made him shudder.

Finally Merlin spoke. " So what happens now? Will they leave me alone or will they try to catch me again?" His voice wavered a little on the last few words.

Gaius sighed. " I don't know Merlin. I just don't know."

Elsewhere, in a dark and gloomy castle, a resounding slap filled the silent air. Cenred cradled his cheek as he looked at the Lady Morgause.

"You had one job! Retrieve the warlock, and bring him here! How, may I ask, was that so difficult? He's only 15 for gods sake and he was unconscious!"

Morgause paused, panting after such a heavy outburst. She glared at the man she only

stayed with for power. Cenred stared back at her fearfully, before muttering,

"It would have been easy if it hasn't been for the other magic users."

Morgause's head snapped up. "What magic users?"

"An old man and 2 girls he said. At least two of them had magic. What was I supposed to do?"

Morgause sighed. If other people found the young magician before she did, she would have a hard time getting him to join her. Unless...

"Cenred, prepare your finest clothes. We are off to tell Uther about the sorcerer in his lands!"

Thank you to all my lovely reviewers! Love you! This will probably be my last update before season 5 so happy season 5! To celebrate I am offering delicious cookies on any of my stories with every review! Just stick the story title at the end of your review! Get yours before they run out!