I'm well aware these chapters are getting shorter. Hopefully though, they're still enjoyable. Thank you to everyone for following.

The Nightmare Begins

The sun was only just rising over the treetops, casting an orange glow over their black silhouettes. Yet, the Pendragons had been awake for two hours already, stood amongst the trees in a wood on a highway. Gwen could no longer feel her fingers, the cold having bitten them for too long by now; barely able to keep hold of the gun she had been given. She'd never had a gun before. Her father may have given her a knife for self-defence, but he'd never trusted guns. Thought they were more trouble that they were worth. Though, now there she was, standing in a forest at dawn, with four people she barely knew, at shooting practice.

'Girl, are you concentrating?' She came back to herself as she heard Uther's call to her. 'Do you think this is some sort of game? Think silver bullets are that easy to come by? Think that a ghost will just stand there and let you shoot it?'

'I'm sorry, sir. I'm sorry.' She fumbled with the gun, trying to get a better grip on it, accidentally pulling the trigger and firing at the ground as she did so.

'Son of a bitch.' Arthur jumped as the bullet hit the ground only inches from his foot.

'I can't work with this,' Uther snarled, turning on Morgana. 'This was your idea, Morgana, you sort this out. The girl has missed her past 5 shots now, and nearly shot Arthur. Merlin hasn't even been close to the target in the past hour.'

'It's cold. It's dark, and we're tired.' Merlin stood from the tree stump he'd been perched on, the gun beside his feet on the ground.

'You think that matters? You think anything out there will care if you're a bit cold, and it's early in the morning? And the dark? So, you can't hunt in the dark, is that it? You forget that most monsters will only hunt at night, when pathetic boys like you are hiding in their rooms with a night light waiting for their mommy to tuck them in.' Uther snapped, throwing his gun to the ground. 'I leave them to you, Arthur. You can train them.'

'Father…'

'No arguing, Arthur. You are the best hunter, they would do wise to follow you.' And with that, the older hunter left the clearing they stood in, storming away in the direction of the car at the roadside somewhere. As he walked away, Morgana noticed a worried glance pass between Merlin and Gwen.

'Just forget him. He does that.' Morgana shrugged, placing a hand on Merlin's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. 'He's just determined to hunt all these things, he hates anything that he thinks might slow him down. This includes pretty much everything; the law, friends, me and Arthur. Don't take it personally.'

'He was right to leave; we should never have brought you with us. You have no idea how to be hunters, either of you.' Arthur frowned.

'Have you forgotten that Merlin saved your life, Arthur? Or just casually ignoring it?'

'That doesn't mean he's a hunter. Killing a vamp is nothing compared to exorcising a demon, or fighting a ghost. And that's just the start. Do you think he could find a shapeshifter? Or a siren? He got lucky once. Father is right, they aren't hunters,' he said lowly, as if afraid he wouldn't be able to contain his frustration if he spoke any louder.

'Uther taught us, he can teach them too. Anyone can be a hunter, so long as they're determined, and want to learn. It's not a hereditary thing.'

'Yes, it is. Hunting is in your blood, or it isn't. There's no middle ground. It's not an amateur sport.'

'Hunting's not in your blood. The Pendragons weren't hunters until Uther.'

'What?' Merlin looked up at this, curiosity pulling him into the bickering. 'What do you mean the Pendragons aren't hunters?'

Arthur looked over at him, but merely rolled his eyes rather than making the biting remark he wanted to. Instead, it was the raven haired woman who replied, 'Uther was the first hunter in the Pendragon line. He wasn't brought up into this.'

'Then why? Why would you choose…this?' Gwen asked, holding up the gun as if to indicate her disapproval for the object. 'This life, why?'

'My mother died.' Arthur spoke after a moment or two of silence. He'd lost the previous anger in his voice, and it had been replaced by something softer. Almost vulnerable. Definitely more sombre. Merlin felt a sudden rush of sympathy for him as he spoke. 'A demon got her. Possessed her. Father didn't know anything about any of this; he had no idea what to do. The demon killed mom before he could do anything to help her. Then it vanished. No trace. Since then he's been determined to hunt these things, find what killed his wife.'

'I'm so sorry, Arthur,' Gwen whispered.

'He's been taking me from state to state since, hunting the damn thing. I was a child when she died, a few years old. He has no more clue how to find the damn thing now than he did then.'

'But what about…?' Merlin glanced over at Morgana as he spoke. 'What about you?'

She frowned momentarily, before laughing. 'I'm not a Pendragon. I'm not related to Arthur or Uther thankfully. My father was a friend of Uther; he was the hunter who taught him everything he knows. They worked together, actually, they were partners.'

'What happened to him….?'

'He died.' She stopped suddenly, silent.

Merlin opened his mouth to speak, not catching the warning glance he'd been sent by Arthur, and the shaking of Gwen's head. 'What happened? Was it a demon? Is that why you joined Uther?'

'I think we should leave now. You both clearly can't be taught anything else. You aren't focusing.' She turned, dropping her rifle on the ground and heading in the same direction Uther had left in only moments before.

She'd been out of sight only moments, having passed through the dark tree branches, before a thud was heard, as if something had fallen heavily. Arthur met Merlin's gaze momentarily, long enough for them both to realise they had the same idea, and ran after her, ignoring the branches tearing at them.

'Oh God.' Arthur dropped to his knees beside the collapsed body of Morgana, blood trickling down her forehead where she'd clearly hit something as she fell, damp leaves tangled in her dark locks. Merlin and Gwen just looked down at her, before glancing around cautiously, feeling their own heartbeats in their ears. The blonde man looked back to them as he held the woman's head in his lap carefully. 'Get Uther. GET MY FATHER.'