Muffled screaming could still be heard through the closed doors.

"Arthur, wake up, wake up!" Merlin shook him strongly, but Arthur would not come out of it.

Gwen was quieting the child, but she was in wild tears. She was crying and holding her child tightly as if she would never let him go. Her body was shaking. She was on the brink of breaking down completely. Terror for her child filled her bones.

Gaius's eyes were filled with fear and sorrow. Everything everyone worked so hard for, destroyed in an instant. Morgana managed to cause everything to crumble with one fell swoop.

"Here, I'll take the child, sit down." She insisted she was fine holding him, but Gaius took her by the sides of her arms and sat her down.

"How could this have happened!? How could she curse a child?" She began to work herself up even more. "I should have known, I should have known, she told me..." She doubled over, baby held to her chest, sobbing.

"You cannot blame yourself, Majesty! It's not your fault!" Gaius tried to reason with her.

"It is! I alone told Arthur to ignore his instincts. I'm the reason my child is going to die!" She grew hysterical. Gaius kneeled in front of her and looked her in the face.

"Morgana did this, not you. Morgana is the reason for all of this."

"Gaius, p-please tell me... tell me Mordred will live... promise me..." She begged for him to respond. When he did, her world stopped and split down the middle.

"I cannot."

Merlin sprinted from Arthur to Gwen. "Gaius! Promise her!" He was shouting at him.

"I cannot, Merlin! Morgana is a High Priestess of the Old Religion! How are we to ever know a way to undo it? We must just love Mordred for as long as he is with us." Merlin looked disgusted. He turned to Gwen again

"Then I promise. I promise he will live." He wasn't sure if Gwen even heard him.

He drew closer and took her hand. She lifted her head, leaned forward and hugged him with her free arm. He felt her cold tears stream down his neck into his shirt. She lessened her hug and sat back up, trying to collect herself.

"Merlin, what did Morgana mean when she said you knew about Gwaine?"

"She... erm... sent me a piece of his old cloak."

"Alright, but how did you know it was his? Or that he was alive?" Gaius kept a blank look, but he was panicking inside, just as much as Merlin was.

"I-intuition?" He got up and walked over to Arthur again, trying to wake him. Gwen's expression remained a suspicious one.

"Arthur!" Merlin slapped him loudly across the face. The king began to stir.

He slowly lifted his head and opened his eyes. His eyebrows were raised, looking around in confusion. His face jumped from Merlin to Gaius to Gwen to Mordred.

He looked down. He wasn't in his bed this time. His heart sank.

He got up from his seat and knocked his chair over on its side. His fists were slammed against the stone wall as he screamed. He slid down the stone onto his knees. His yells subsided into angry weeping.

Merlin saw the defeat on his face. He stepped forward and put his hand on Arthur's shoulder. The crying stopped and Arthur sniffled once. His head slowly raised and turned to Merlin.

He lunged at the him and threw him onto the floor. Gwen and Gaius gasped.

"Sire!" Gaius tried to get his attention, but Arthur began to punch Merlin repeatedly. His fists drove into Merlin's stomach and face. The serving boy bled from his nose and mouth.

Arthur, enough!" Gwen's voice stopped him. He looked at her, then back at Merlin.

Arthur threw Merlin up against the wall, took him by the shoulder and drew a dagger from its sheath. He put the blade up to his neck. A drop of blood from Merlin's mouth dripped onto the knife. His sniffling was the only sound left in the room.

"What did she tell you? What didn't you tell me!? WHY ARE YOU IN LEAGUE WITH HER!?" Arthur's cheeks were scarlet with rage.

"I-I'm n-n-not," Merlin tried to speak through his sobs and panting. "She only sent me something of Gwaine's."

"Then why did you not tell me?! Why?! After all that we have been through, why betray me now!?" Arthur's voice cracked and faded.

"I was t-trying to save you..."

"Sire, perhaps I can explain. Just calm down for a moment." Gaius stepped towards Arthur. Arthur whipped around, dropping his dagger on the floor.

"Gaius, my son is cursed to die by a sorceress! I will not calm down! Just tell me!" Gaius hesitated for a moment. He looked over at Gwen. She looked betrayed, almost as if she wanted him to say something to make it better, but knew he could not.

"She gave specific signs that said she would come. She knew I alone could interpret these signs. She sent Gwen visions and dreams. She cursed your child with a spell that only she could have cast. She sent the remains of a spell she put on Gwaine to me."

"No..." Merlin tried to utter as Gwen attended to his bloody face with a torn cloth.

"Yes. I am a sorcerer, Sire. I still practice magic and I still follow the Old Religion." Gaius looked into Arthur's eyes. The rage was neutralized. It was shock again. Betrayal and loss, but mostly shock.

"Then why did Morgana say that she sent it to Merlin?" Arthur's eyes pleaded for a response. Gaius didn't answer. Arthur turned around to Merlin. The serving boy stood up to face him in the eye.

Merlin stood in front of Arthur. The king's red eyed stare peered into Merlin's eyes. Merlin's breath shook.

"What are you doing?," Arthur asked.

Merlin raised his hand. Arthur looked down, his face illuminated by a small flame.

Arthur's face remained solemn. He looked up at Merlin. "You lied to me." It wasn't an accusation. It was a statement dripping with pain.

"I was born with magic, Arthur. I had to keep it a secret. It wasn't time for you to know. Especially not when Uther was alive. Morgana sent the spell to me because she knew I couldn't say anything. If I did, I could jeopardize-"

"Yourself..." Arthur uttered on a breath.

"No! No, you, Gwen, the Kingdom, everything!"

"Instead you jeopardized my child. For that, you will burn." His words were hard and cold. He turned to Gaius. "And you... you will be banished after sufficient time in prison."

He walked over to the doors, yelled for Percival and Leon, and told them to put Merlin and Gaius in the jail cells. They looked at him with furrowed brows, but Arthur nodded his head. They took them down to the dungeon.

Gwen was just looking at Arthur. Mordred was asleep in her arms. She laid him on the table. Under him was his blanket from his crib. He snored softly.

Arthur sank to his knees, then sat on the ground next to Gwen's chair. She kneeled next to him and they embraced each other. The screaming was gone. Every noise stopped. Silence became their worst enemy.

He pulled away from her and they looked at each other deeply. Tears soaked both of their faces.

"What are we going to do?" Gwen asked with complete sincerity.

"We're going to protect our child by any means necessary. Even if that means killing my sister." He answered back. She looked down, sniffled and nodded her head.

"What-What about Merlin?" His name slipping from her lips caused tears to well up in her eyes. Arthur looked to the side and thought for a second, then turned his head back to her.

"He is just another traitor. A prisoner. An enemy of Camelot."

"Is that how you really feel? Arthur, do you really-"

"This is how I have to feel, Gwen. This is the way I have to see it, to see him. I just never saw... I never would have imagined..." He couldn't finish his sentence. Gwen put her fingertips under his chin and raised his head up.

"Maybe you don't need to feel that way Arthur. How many years has he saved you miraculously? How many times has he saved us all?"

"He is a sorcerer. That alone is treason, not counting his other crimes. I don't know if I'm supposed to want this to happen or not, but he must face his misdeeds."

Arthur rose to his feat and pulled Gwen upwards. She took the baby into her arms. He awoke. She smiled quaintly.

As they walked into the throne room again, Arthur saw what Morgana left behind. The room was completely destroyed. The vases were smashed. The windows were cracked or shattered. All the banners were torn or in ruin. The gifts were scattered across the room.

He turned his gaze to the crib. It was once made of the whitest ash wood, crafted by the best woodworkers. Now, it looked to be made completely of interwoven blackthorn branches. The thorns on the crib protruded outward to pierce any who came close.

He walked closer to it. His hand slowly began to drift towards the thorns. Just before touching it, he felt as if some unseen force ran through his gut with a blade. He pulled his hand away sharply. Inside of the crib something caught his eye. Something black and shiny. A crow's feather.

He tried to pick it up, but a breeze came through the window and drifted it to Gwen where she held Mordred. It landed just on top of him. The Knights entered just as Arthur broke his frustrated look at Mordred.

"Sire, the prisoners are jailed," Leon told Arthur.

"Good. Guard them carefully." The knights looked stern.

"What did they do, Arthur?" Elyan stepped forwards towards Arthur.

"They are traitors to Camelot. They are sorcerers." Shock played over all of their faces. No words escaped from their mouths.

"I want you to send out search parties for Morgana. She and Gwaine cannot be too far from here."

"What are we to do with Gwaine?" Percival asked.

"Just bring them both to me alive. We don't know if Gwaine's loyalty was switched of his own accord."

They all turned around as they heard the doors open loudly. Lot and Mithian quickly strode through the room with Annis not far behind.

"Are you both alright?" Mithian asked emphatically. Arthur nodded at the knights and they departed.

"Yes, we're all fine. Come quickly to the council chamber and we'll discuss things there." Gwen went to follow them, but he stopped her.

"You need rest, Gwen. You and Mordred should go up to our chambers and sleep."

"I'll be fine! Arthur-"

"Gwen, please. I can handle them on my own," he said with a half smile. She nodded in agreement. Two guards accompanied her on her way up to their chambers.

The council room was in disarray after Arthur's last encounter. He walked over to the tipped chair and stood the it back up.

"Please, my lords, take a seat." Lot sat at the opposite of Arthur and Mithian placed herself next to him. Annis paced in the back of the room.

"I sent for my sorcerer to take a look at your child." Lot broke the silence.

"When he enters the city, send him back. I want no magic in my kingdom. I'll have my guard cleanse this place of it inside and out..."

"Arthur, it was your sister, not magic that did this."Mithian tried to reason with him. His look did not change.

"Did you even know that this was coming? It seems strange, even for her, to lash out of nowhere." Annis spoke up.

"That is the reason two of my subjects are imprisoned. They received messages from her but never told me."

"Treason," Lot said as he leaned back in his chair and looked away.

"Yes." Arthur's voice cracked. He turned his distant gaze to Annis.

"Amata is closest to you, Annis. What do you know about Morgana's capture?"

"The Sarrum lured her there by capturing something dear to her."

"What was that?"

"A dragon. Oh, how he boasted of it. He couldn't wait to tell everyone that he had captured a high priestess. The only problem was, he spoke too soon."

Arthur gave a prying gaze over his furrowed brow. Mithian and Lot listened on with great heed.

"He put them both in a pit like animals. They weren't fed well. One day, the dragon died from starvation. Morgana did not take well to it. The Sarrum went to see how his most prized trophies were doing, when he found a pit with only a dead dragon inside and his guards all dead... they all had blood running from their eyes, mouths, and ears. I had heard word that she quickly made her way to Orkney after that."

"But you did not see her?," Lot asked.

"No. After she escaped, few did."

"Neither did we, but I too heard she had gone to Orkney and Ireland," Mithian stated

"From who?" Arthur's stare at Mithian was sharp.

"From our court sorcerer. He keeps up to date on any going-ons in the magical community. He'd not only told us about where the buildings were being rebuilt, but who was there. "

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I told you we would let you know if a threat was coming. Morgana was in Orkney and Ireland. From such a distant we never imagined she could pose such a threat." Lot attempted to calm Arthur.

"She was at a magical site, which means she had access to even more power than she had before." Arthur stood up from his seat. Annis quickly walked over and put her hand on his shoulder. He looked into her ice blue eyes.

"We will find her." He nodded to her and sat back down.

"I would ask all of you to keep a sharp eye out for her. If you hear of her, in your kingdom, I want you to bring her to me. Alive," Arthur specified.

"I shall send word to my knights now." Annis left the room.

"You have the full support of Essetir, Arthur. We will be ready for her if and when she comes back."

"Thank you," Arthur said sincerely.

They stood up and began to walk out of the room. A glint of crimson caught Arthur's eye. He looked at the floor. Little scarlet drops of blood dotted a section of the floor.

Why did he feel so guilty? They betrayed him.

As he walked back into the throne room, he saw Mithian and Lot standing at the crib. He hesitated to turn the corner and chose to listen to them.

"It's hellish," Mithian said looking at the thorny crib.

"Should we allow Gethin in?" Lot ran his fingertips across the branches.

"Arthur said no magic in the kingdom. Still, I wish we could help."

"There's no saying that Gethin could even help here. She seems far more powerful than him. Besides, we need him to protect Carys if Morgana decides to pick a fight with us." His finger trailed off of the end of a thorn.

"I don't think we need to worry about our daughter right now. It's Arthur I fear that is in danger."

"Morgana will be recoiling right now. When she is ready to strike there's no telling where she will point her teeth. And with Arthur's guard up like this, I don't think anything will get close enough to touch him."

"That's the point, Lot. I fear he'll turn as cold as his father. I fear for another Great Purge. I fear for another Uther." She looked up into his eyes with concern.

"I don't think Guinevere would let that happen, my love." He took her hand and looked reassuringly into her eyes. They both walked out of the door. Arthur waited for the sound of the door to close before he came from the doorway.

Mithian's words pierced his heart and head. He tried the hardest he could not to become his father. He made so much effort, all to be ripped down by his sister.

His head and heart raged as one. How dare she? What did he ever to to her that made her hate him so much? Whatever the circumstances were, he needed to eliminate her. No. No, no, no... he couldn't... she was his sister, no matter how far from herself she was.

He had to stop before she made him into the thing he feared most; his father.

"We failed," Merlin whispered bluntly. The words bounced off of the wet, cold stone walls of the jail. Gaius said nothing. The night was finally silent.

"We did everything that we shouldn't have."

"Merlin, stop. We did the best we could. We tried to save the child. We just weren't quick enough." Merlin looked over at him. He got up and paced the cell. The iron chains on his hands dragged on the floor.

"I see why Morgana ran now. I understand her fear. She knew all along what would happen to sorcerers."

"Unfortunately, in both of your cases, you're both natural magicians. There was no running from it. She had to try and run from herself or this place."

"Do you think that's why she hates Arthur so much?"

"I think she hates Arthur because he had something she couldn't get. He could be himself and still be accepted. He also held a closeness with their father that she could never have. She assumed he would eventually become Uther."

"But he didn't. He cares for his people. He isn't without mercy."

"Merlin, look at the guests within the ceremony. He had commoners, noblemen, and royalty."

"So?"

"Don't you see what's missing? No magical people. In the times before Uther, it was tradition that priests and priestesses of the Old Religion would come forward and give the child gifts in the form of blessings. Morgana, it seems, wanted to keep the tradition alive."

Merlin sat there in silence. Everything felt heavy on him. The air did not float, it rested itself on his shoulders. His shackles pulled his hands downward. Perhaps the heaviest thing was his guilt. He felt as if he had betrayed Arthur, even though he knew everything he did was with good intention. How true was it that the road to hell is paved with good intentions? Morgana had good intentions for herself and her people.

He looked over at Gaius. "Everything that we all worked so hard for was destroyed." They both sat in the silence. "I just don't understand... how did those spells not work? Where was Alice?"

"She told me she would be on the balcony. I thought she would be able to slow Morgana down."

"Where did she go?"

"Probably hiding somewhere. The castle's in a panic, Merlin. The last thing she needed was for someone to recognize her."

"She's right here," said a soft voice in the jail doorway.

"Alice!" Gaius and Merlin exclaimed in unison.

"Where were you?" Gaius asked.

"I was watching everything on the balcony. There was nothing I could do. After she and her lover left, I fled."

"Her 'lover' was Gwaine," Merlin said with hurt in his voice.

"Is that how she knew? About your magic?"

"I don't know. It's possible, but I don't remember ever telling him."

"It matters not how she found out, only that she knows, and so does Arthur." Gaius spoke with a distant gaze.

"I figured that much. What has he said he would do?"

"I'm going to burn." Merlin's voice was low and definite.

"No, you're not. I'm going to get you out of here, both of you. You're coming with me."

"Where will we go?"

"I'm going to take you to one of the temples in a neighboring kingdom. You'll be among you're people. You'll be safe."

"That will be the first place Arthur will look," Gaius interrupted.

"Not if it's in his ally's kingdom."

"Caerleon? Annis still thinks we're traitors-"

"Essetir. I have friends there at one of Govannon's holy sites." She handed them both brown rough clothed cloaks. They threw them over themselves and awaited her.

"Onstyrian, onbregdan!" The door swung open and she entered the cell. Her hands wrapped around Merlin's shackles. "Ácwele!" They shattered and crumbled from his arms.

She led them through the door. They stepped over a guard on the ground.

"Is he dead?," Merlin asked.

"No, he's asleep."

Merlin followed after the older two. The sly couple slipped up the stairwell and past many guards. Something was on his mind. Asleep. Asleep? Asleep! The thought struck him.

"Alice, wait!," he whispered up to her. They all halted in the dark hall.

"What's wrong?"

"What happened to the spell we cast in the town?" She stopped and looked at him in thought. "It worked, didn't it? It's still jammed!" Merlin grew excited.

"No, it's not jammed. The crib is sign of that."

"But the spell didn't fail, we would have felt it"

"Yes, I suppose you're right..." Alice looked down in contemplation.

"Which means it's still maleable!"

"Yes, but it cannot be broken," Gaius interrupted.

The bells sounded. They knew they had escaped. Alice looked at Merlin and Gaius with slight panic.

"We can discuss this once we're outside of Camelot. Let's go!" She grabbed Gaius's arm and jogged down the hall with surprising agility. Merlin followed with a certain giddiness in his eye.

Adrenaline and hope filled his veins once more. He could save Mordred. The future of Camelot was reinstated.

The three ran through the shadowy corridors and halls, slipping past guards. Yells and echoes slithered through Camelot. Horses hooves and clanking armor sounded all around the trio.

They stopped just in front of the courtyard. The dark shadows of night cloaked them. Alice poked her head out of the entrance way. She leaned back into the darkness and nodded her head at her companions. They flew out of the corridor and into the open. Their cloaks flew behind them as they moved across the open area into the next shadow. Merlin looked up at the castle behind him. He wondered if it would be the last time he would see it. He turned back around and followed the other two down towards the gate, none the wiser to one king watching from his window.

Merlin, Gaius, and Alice walked through the lower town, trying to avoid the guards. For once, the streets were empty. The houses were silent. The tavern's lights were dim. Morgana's shadow stretched across the whole of Camelot, it seemed.

Near the stable was their objective: a large grate where water was to drain. Merlin tapped on the stone surrounding it, his magic causing it to crumble. The metal came loose and the three slipped through. Outside of Camelot was just as silent. They made their way down through the hills and into the forest line. The shadowy canopy allowed streams of moonlight to slip through the gaps and illuminate the way. After they were about a mile in, they stopped. Alice took off the bag from her back. Merlin began to set up camp while the older two sat and rested.

"What do we do now?" Merlin asked Alice.

"After tonight, we make for Essetir. If we continue through these woods, we should be there soon."

"How are you holding up, Gaius?" Merlin sat next to him.

"Surprisingly well. Although, I must say, I haven't done this much exercise in a long time. And you?"

"This is nothing. Arthur usually has me do more running than this," Merlin answered through a laugh. "We need to get some rest. We don't know if Arthur's search parties will be here soon."

"Right. As soon as we wake, we must go."

"What if we do cross path with Camelot knights? Or worse, Morgana?" Merlin asked with concern.

"It's doubtful for both. Camelot knights wouldn't come that close to the border and Morgana wouldn't be anywhere around here. She'll be gloating from a distance," Gaius answered. "Now, let's sleep."

Merlin put out the fire and they made their way into their makeshift shelters.

Gaius and Alice laid under one tent while Merlin was in another. Thick, woolen blankets were beneath them. It wasn't very comfortable, but it would do for a few nights. They would find food as they went, resting when they needed, all while hidden under the shadows of the woods. Not all was lost after all.

With that knowledge, Merlin finally surrendered to merciful sleep and let it overtake him.