A/N: Thank you GuestM Live and PadrePedro for reviewing!

Chapter 6

Arthur coughed weakly, the shallow movement jarring his bruised torso. His hands and feet were numb from being tied so tightly to the stakes in the ground, and the chill of the earth had leeched away what little body warmth he'd had. He was going to die here, having failed everyone. His people would be left defenseless because he'd taken the most skilled Lightspinners from them—and those friends were going to be enslaved or killed because Arthur had led them out into this treacherous world. And what was it all for? A long shot to rectify his father's greatest sin and redeem Arthur? There was no redemption, only condemnation.

The temperature dropped several degrees, and Arthur knew a Wraith was nearby. He twisted his neck up and around in search of it. Off to his left, the phantom was gliding toward him, wispy tatters trailing behind it and bony, amorphous appendages crooked in front. Arthur renewed his struggles against his bonds, futile as they were. The horrific specter loomed over him, opening its void-like maw wide as it inhaled sharply.

But then multiple arcs of blazing light scythes came shooting forth, and the Wraith screeched and retreated. Arthur gaped in bewilderment as his friends arrived—all of them. Leon dropped down by his head and cut his arms free; Elyan freed his legs. Arthur grunted as he sat up painfully. Sharp tingles filled his hands and feet in prickly discomfort.

"Are you all right?" Gwen asked worriedly.

He gave a clipped nod. "Are you?" He noticed the bunch of children with them and furrowed his brows in confusion.

She nodded in return. "We managed to escape the Roamers."

"And brought some friends…" Arthur said.

"Cenred took us to a Roamers' gathering place," Merlin put in. "We couldn't leave them."

No, of course not, though that posed a complication. One of many.

Arthur pushed himself to standing, wincing as the stabbing in his feet intensified. He tried to shake out his hands, but it didn't help. Gwen wordlessly took one hand and rubbed it between hers vigorously.

"We should move," Percival said. "The Wraiths might follow."

Arthur gave an involuntary shudder after his own close encounter. "Wraiths?" he queried.

"A bunch attacked the Roamers' encampment," Elyan explained. "Which was good for us, gave us the cover we needed to run, but Percival's right, we should find a place to lay low for a bit."

Arthur nodded and turned the opposite direction, each step sending spikes of pain through his feet, and his ribs ached at the slightest movement.

"I know a place," one of the older children spoke up.

"How far?" Merlin asked.

The teenage boy pursed his mouth as he looked north. "Not that far."

The others looked to Arthur for leadership, and his heart twinged inexplicably. "Lead the way…" he said, trailing off in question.

"Haleth."

"Haleth. I'm Arthur."

They went around introducing themselves, and then set off, following the lad across the countryside to an empty village. When he brought them inside a hut, Arthur thought that was it, but then Haleth knelt down and pulled up a trap door in the floor, revealing a tunnel below. He climbed down first, followed by the other children, and then the adults. The boy had spun a ball of light to hover over their heads and illuminate the darkness.

"You don't live here, do you?" Gwen asked.

"The elders of my village dug a network of tunnels after the Wraiths came," he answered. "We live in the center of them. I'm not supposed to go topside alone, but I hate being stuck underground." He dropped his gaze in shame. "That's how the Roamers caught me."

"How far to your encampment?" Leon asked, and Arthur noticed he was holding his upper arm, his sleeve bloodstained.

"Less than a mile."

Haleth started down the passage, and they all followed. It was a long slog, and Arthur felt each of his bruises more poignantly with each subsequent, lumbering step. Gwen scooted close and braced his shoulder, as did Merlin on his other side.

One moment everything was still and quiet, the next they were met with a row of men holding weapons trained on them.

"Stop right there," a commanding voice ordered.

"Father!" Haleth exclaimed, running forward.

"Haleth?" the man gasped in shock. They embraced fervently. "I feared the worst," the leader went on, earnestly looking over his son. His eyes darkened at the collar the boy wore, much like Freya's.

"I'm sorry," Haleth said contritely. "I was taken by Roamers. These Lightspinners saved us all." He gestured behind him at the group.

His father regarded them shrewdly. "You have my gratitude. My name is Hamon."

Arthur stepped forward and proceeded with introductions again. "We had been taken captive as well. We're fortunate your son showed us these tunnels to take refuge in."

Hamon hesitated at that. "I'm afraid we don't have much to offer you in payment…"

"We don't require anything," Arthur interrupted. "Just a place to rest for a bit before we move on, if possible."

Hamon nodded. "Of course, this way."

His men had kept their weapons up this whole time but now lowered them and escorted the strangers through the tunnel to a section that resembled their own underground fortress—lit with torches and signs of habitation like blankets and cooking utensils.

"Hamon," Gwen spoke up. "I know how difficult it is to just look after your own, but would you be able to keep these children?" she asked.

The man's lips thinned at the question. A dozen extra mouths was a lot to ask.

"They're all Lightspinners," Elyan pointed out. "They'll be a great asset."

"Indeed. Then why do you not want to keep them?"

"It isn't safe where we're going," Gwen replied. "And unlike Roamers, we would never subject children to unnecessary danger."

Hamon considered it for a long moment, then looked at his returned son. "Very well," he said.

He showed the group to an empty section where they could sit and rest, then took the children to another location. He returned shortly with water, which they all took a drink of. Then Merlin used it to clean the wound on Leon's arm while Gwen wet a rag and gently tended to Arthur's bruised face.

"I'm fine," he told her, even as his ribs twinged and he couldn't hide the grimace.

Gwen gave him a skeptical look. "You were beaten within an inch of your life."

"Nothing's broken," he said. "I did grow up with a physician," he reminded her. "I know how to evaluate injuries."

Gwen simply rolled her eyes and stopped prodding at his abrasions.

"How's Leon?" he asked, turning his attention toward his friend.

"It's just a graze and I cleaned it as best I could," Merlin replied. "I wish we had proper bandages."

"We don't have any supplies anymore," Gwaine put in. "And half our initial weapons."

"We could go back to the Roamers' encampment," Elyan suggested. "See if there's anything that can be salvaged."

Arthur hadn't been there, but any place that'd been decimated by Wraiths wasn't something he wanted to visit. Not to mention any Roamer survivors might have the same thought.

"Later," Merlin spoke up. "The Wraiths will scavenge for a while anyway. We should rest while we can."

Arthur nodded in agreement. He was in pain and exhausted, and he knew he'd have to reevaluate the viability of this mission, which was a decision he was happy to put off for now.

Lancelot sat with Freya in a far corner, away from the others. After being cramped in that cage, she had quickly put as much distance as she could between herself and other people.

Hamon returned and walked over to the two of them, which caused Freya to shrink away from him. The man stopped.

"Here," he said and held out some lock picks to Lancelot.

"Thank you."

Hamon left, and Lancelot turned back to his sister.

"Let me get that ring off," he said, scooting closer.

Freya tilted her head so he could get to the key hole, and he tried his best to pick the locking mechanism, but he couldn't get it. He pursed his mouth in consternation.

"I'll be right back," he said and got up to get Gwen. "Can you help for a minute?" he asked her, holding up the lock picks.

Gwen's brows rose in understanding and she nodded. She and Elyan's father had been a blacksmith, so they were both skilled in metal work, but Lancelot figured another woman would be less anxiety inducing for Freya.

Gwen knelt next to Freya and gave her a kind smile. "May I?"

Freya once again turned her head wordlessly, and Gwen was able to get the lock to click open with just a little fiddling.

"I'll get rid of this," Gwen said, taking the collar off. She cast Lancelot a sympathetic look as she left.

Freya reached a hand up to touch her throat. She still looked shell shocked after everything.

"Are you all right?" Lancelot asked quietly, desperate for something to say. Because of course she wasn't all right.

Freya didn't respond right away, but then she slowly nodded. "I never believed I would be free of Cenred," she whispered.

Lancelot's heart constricted. "I'm so sorry. If I had known you were alive, I would have searched until I found you."

She lifted doleful eyes to his. "Are our parents truly dead?"

He nodded regretfully.

She dropped her gaze in sadness, then looked up again. "You have light now."

Lancelot nodded again. "After Cenred killed our parents and I thought you were dead as well, I ran. A spirit seed found me in the woods and saved me." He paused, not knowing what to say next but unable to bear the silence. "Your, um, light animal, when you saved me."

Freya looked away in shame. "It's ugly."

Lancelot suspected it resembled the state of her soul. Some Lightspinners had an animal spirit, a form their light would take in an uncontrolled outburst but also one they could learn to harness. Like Gwen's horse. Percival's was a lion. Lancelot didn't have one yet, nor did the others as far as he knew.

He shifted closer and tentatively put an arm around his sister. "I didn't see ugly," he said softly. "I saw fierce and strong—a survivor." When she didn't resist his touch, he held her closer. "I'm so grateful you're alive."

She turned and curled into his side. "So am I."

They spent the night in the tunnels, and in the morning, Arthur announced they would be moving on.

"You can barely move," Gwen protested.

"We said we wouldn't burden these people, and I won't," Arthur rejoined stubbornly.

Gwen's expression puckered but she didn't argue further. All of them understood Arthur's reasoning, even if it was obvious he was stiff and hurting. But this was his quest, in a deeper sense than it was theirs, and Arthur had always held himself to an unyielding standard.

So they made their way through the tunnel back to the trap door, and then on toward the Roamers' encampment. Freya pressed close to Lancelot.

"We won't let any of those men near you again," he promised. He knew that if any Roamers were still there, Arthur would evaluate whether it was worth an assault to find supplies, but Lancelot would have to remain out of it for his sister's sake.

But as they got closer to the trashed marketplace, there was no sign of Roamers or Wraiths. Still, they crept forward cautiously, eyes peeled. The encampment looked completely abandoned, and gray husks of dead men lay scattered about. If no Roamers had survived the attack, none of them would shed a tear over it.

They spread out and began to pick through the detritus of trampled supplies and scorched sections. They found all their own weapons and took some extras as well. There was also food, plenty for them all to carry.

"We should take some back to Hamon's people," Gwen suggested.

Arthur nodded. "Be quick."

"Sit down," Merlin told him. "We've got this."

Arthur reluctantly leaned against a wagon, one arm wrapped around his ribs.

There were no animals around to pull a cart, but Elyan found a smaller one that didn't hold a cage, and they started loading it up. Lancelot was distracted between helping and keeping a worried eye on Freya, who was hugging herself and looking around nervously.

But they got out without incident and returned to the abandoned village with the tunnel entrance. Gwen and Merlin went down to inform Hamon of the cart, which the rest of them stayed topside to guard.

"Lancelot," Arthur called and cocked his head.

Lancelot gave Freya's arm a reassuring touch before going over to Arthur.

Arthur lowered his voice. "What do you want to do about your sister?"

He pursed his mouth. In truth, he hadn't thought about it, he was too happy to have her back. But their mission was fraught with danger and he couldn't drag his traumatized sister along with them. Yet he couldn't ask them to abandon the quest after they'd come this far—which was the other problem: it was a long way back to the fortress they called home. But Lancelot was also loath to leave his friends on such an important mission.

Arthur didn't say anything, just shared a meaningful look, and Lancelot went back over to Freya.

"We'll be leaving soon," he said.

Her brows knitted together. "I know."

"But we're not headed home. We're on a quest to find something to save the world from the Wraiths, maybe even close the Veil if possible." His jaw tightened with regret. "And it's dangerous. I'm sure Hamon will allow you to stay here, now that we've brought them food, and I will return for you when we've accomplished our task."

"If it's so dangerous, you might not return," she said.

Lancelot faltered at an answer for that.

"We can't be parted now," she went on. "Not after we've found each other again."

"I don't want that either."

"Then will you stay here with me?"

Lancelot's expression pinched. "I cannot leave my friends, not when the stakes are so high. They need every Lightspinner at their disposal if we are to have any hope of succeeding."

Freya bit her lip and glanced around at them. Her chin quivered as she said, "Then I will come with you."

His heart clenched. "I will not put you in danger."

"I will not be left behind. Not with strangers." She swallowed hard. "I feel safe with you."

Lancelot leaned down to kiss her forehead, then went back to tell Arthur and the others Freya would be accompanying them.

Gwen and Merlin returned with Hamon and several men, who looked stunned by the spoils they were being given.

"Thank you," Hamon said. "I owe you my gratitude again."

"I consider it a fair exchange," Arthur replied.

The men started unloading the cart and taking the supplies below. It was time to leave, but Arthur looked downtrodden as he gazed out at the horizon.

"We're so far off course," he said. "I have no idea how to even retrace our route or which direction the Valley of the Fallen Kings lies."

"You seek the Valley of the Fallen Kings?" Hamon interrupted.

"Do you know it?"

He nodded and pointed. "There is nothing there."

"Hopefully that is not true," Arthur murmured in response. "Thank you."

They exchanged nods, and then the lot of them set off once again on their journey.