Arthur was still unconscious when the sun set, it worried Merlin to no end. Gwaine lit a fire while he tended to his brother, the wound stank and bled terribly. The arrow must of been poisoned, by the looks of it, not a deadly poison, thank the gods. The younger prince placed his head on his brothers shivering forehead.

"He's got a fever we need to keep him warm" He swallowed, taking off his thick jacket and placing it over Arthur as a make shift blanket.

"I don't get it, why all this bugger over a cup?" Gwaine asked

"Because in the wrong hands it can be a terrible weapon" Merlin answered

"Not too great Cenred has it then" Gwaine mused

"Its worse than you can possibly imagine" Merlin snapped, checking Arthur's temperature again. At this very moment Cenred could be creating an immortal army, and if he was right, Morgause and Morgana would be helping him.

...

Uther paced the great hall, there was no sign of either of his sons. He'd sent the patrols to check the outer borders of the kingdom and still nothing. He was worried beyond belief.

"They should of been back by now" He growled

"Sire I'm sure there is an explanation" Sir Leon tried

"You know as well as I do they've been gone too long" The king snapped, "Search for them, I don't care what it takes, find them"

...

Merlin watched his brother tremble, gasping for air every few seconds, he couldn't stand it. He needed to try to heal him at least.

"We need fire wood" Merlin suggested hoping Gwaine would take the bait.

"You're right about that"

"Do you want to go and get some?"

"Not really"

"There's wolves out there...bears, boars..."

"Merlin, if you want to stay with your brother that's fine you know" Gwaine laughed standing up and stretching his legs, "I'll go get some damn fire wood, but if I get mauled by some wild animal gathering it, don't tell anybody"

Merlin forced a laugh as Gwaine left, waiting until he disappeared behind the tree line before he practically dove to his brothers side, placing his hand over the wound.

"Ge hailige" Nothing.

"Ge hailige!" Still nothing.

"Come on!" Merlin urged frustrated, "Arthur come on!"

He flashed back to the day when Arthur had been shot with that arrow, eh'd been helpless then as well. Thankfully Arthur's life wasn't in danger now but still, why was he so hopeless at healing magic? The next possible moment he had the chance he would spend every moment practicing it.

...

Arthur coughed, his throat felt painfully dry. Slowly his awareness took hold and he realized he was laying on the ground, funny, he didn't remember falling asleep. Something warm was covering his top half, he blinked his eyes open to see that it was Merlin's jacket. His brother was fast asleep, leaning against a tree not to far away. Gwaine as well. He felt for the leather pouch, it was empty.

"Where's the cup?" He asked, the two men woke suddenly, "Where's the cup?"

"Cenred's men, they took it" Merlin admitted

"Then what are we still doing here?" He cried

"You were unconscious" Merlin supplied

"Always an excuse" The elder growled as he stood only to give a small hiss of pain, his leg almost buckled, it would of had Merlin not come to his aid, helping him to his feet. His blasted leg would hardly take any weight but that didn't matter.

"We have to get back to Camelot"

...

Uther felt cold as he listened to Sir Leon's report. When the knight had returned, once again alone, pale faced and frightened Uther had at first feared his sons were dead. However the news he bought was not any better. An army of men that could not die, how do you fight such a thing?

"We must convene the council of war" Uther announced

"Sire it's no use" Sir Leon implored, "They will not die, we cannot fight them"

"Gather the knights prepare what ever defenses you can" Uther supplied desperately, he wouldn't fall to Cenred and his army, he wouldn't!

"But Sire-"

"Do it!" He bellowed

He wouldn't lose! He refused. Even as the army surrounded the city, he refused to give in.

...

The princes stood with their friend on the hill, looking over the burning remains of a village, it was not the first they had seen. Arthur insisted on going on, even with his limp getting worse with every step. When they came across a Camelot patrol they stopped, the second patrol to fall this way in a mere week.

"Arthur, there is not a single enemy body" Merlin pointed out, "Only Camelot's knights"

"you're right" Arthur muttered, "This wasn't a fight it was a slaughter"

"Who could of done such a thing?" Gwaine wondered aloud, Arthur turned to Merlin.

"An army of men who cannot die" He supplied, Merlin nodded.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, soon they would be home. However when the white walls of the castle came into view Merlin felt nothing but horror. The castle smoked, as did the surround town, they were too late, Camelot had been attacked. They made their way down to the road that lead to the city, it was littered with bodies.

"They never stood a chance" Arthur breathed

The town was the same, small fires still burnt and the air was thick with smoke and the smell of blood. Bodies, not only of knights but of peasants were strewn over the roads. Nobody was in sight, not a living soul.

"Gwen" Arthur said simply, heading for her house, Merlin didn't question him. Gwaine kicked open the door to the small cottage, the inside was dark and gloomy, Gwen wasn't there. Arthur wandered inside the little house, searching, he neared the back room, ready to look inside. A loud shout startled him as a dark skinned man with a sword jumped from his hiding place ready to attack.

"Who are you?" He sneered

"I'm Prince Arthur, this is my brother Merlin and our friend Gwaine" Arthur supplied, not lowering his sword, "Who are you?"

"Elyan" The man provided, "Gwen's brother"

"Where is she?" Arthur asked hurriedly, "Is she alright?"

"She spoke about you" He supplied shakily,

"Where is she?" Arthur asked again

"She was in the citadel when they came" Elyan replied, "They came out of nowhere, we fought and fought but they wouldn't die! No matter what hit them, they just kept coming..."

"There is still hope" Merlin interrupted, "Gwen was in the citdel, she should be safe"

"Sires..." Elyan said quietly, "The citadel... it's been taken"

There was silence for a long time after that. If the citadel had been taken, Camelot was lost, the enemy had her now and that meant the enemy not only had Gwen but their father too. Arthur ran out of the house, well limped, heading up to the castle, his brother, Gwaine and new friend Elyan right behind him. Merlin bit his lip, if his leg got any worse he would barely be able to stand. The infection was getting worse.

They managed to make it inside the castle without hassle, there were no guards, why would they needs them? A few soldiers patrolled the halls but the small group managed to avoid them. They made it to the second floor coridor before Arthur was forced to stop.

"Where now?" Gwaine asked

"Now uh...now we um..." Arthur stumbled over the words with glassy eyes

"Arthur!" Merlin grabbed his arm to steady him, "You can't go on"

"We must..." Arthur argued feebly, "Find the others..."

"You can't go on without treatment" Merlin whispered

"Gwen..father..."

"Elyan, go with Gwaine" Merlin ordered, "He knows the way to the dungeons, see if you can find them"

Elyan and Gwaine nodded, taking off down the hall.

"I'm going with them" Arthur announced almost falling over as he tried to stand, Merlin caught him.

"No you're not" He rebutted, looping one of the brothers arms around his neck, "You're coming with me"

Carefully Merlin deposited Arthur onto one of the benches in Gaius's dark chambers, ordering him to stay as still as possible. A small sound made his ears, a smashing vile, somebody was in the cupboard. Swallowing nervously he drew his sword and walked toward the cupboard, flicking it open.

"Gaius!"

"Merlin!"

He embraced the old man fondly, it was so good to see a friendly face. He almost forgot about Arthur until he gave a pained groan. Gaius looked over the wound hissing with disapproval.

"I need to redress this to reduce the inflammation"

"No, no just give me something for the pain" Arthur ordered

"Yes sire..."

"The king!" Elyan yelled entering the room, "Guards are taking him to the throne room"

"He's alive" Merlin sighed with relief, Arthur guzzled down the pain reliever Gaius handed him, standing up immediately.

"Alright, you two take Gaius and get to the woods beyond the castle" Arthur ordered, "Merlin and I are going to get our father"

He ran off before anybody could question it, Merlin groaned and took off after him.

I wanted to finish Part 1 in this chapter but I couldn't so you will just have to wait. I am really enjoying writing about this bit and I really, REALLY love hearing your thoughts