THE EDGE OF THE FOREST OF ESITIA – EDGE OF CAMELOT - BATTLEMENTS

It was when Arthur slashed his sword against one of the climbing bandits, sending him screaming and plunging through the burning evening sunset to the floor, that the king felt a hand on his arm.

Immediately he spun, with his knights fighting around him, with his sword outstretched.

"Woah!"

"Merlin!" Arthur cried in shock.

The manservant looked to Gwaine as the knight approached.

"Gwaine…" Arthur narrowed his eyes slightly, looking between the two of them, "The green knight, what happened?"

"The Green knight was no mystical creature." Merlin stated gravely.

Arthur looked at him in confusion.

"It was Marius, son of the Late Sir Alan, a man your father took some lands from it seemed…" Gwaine explained and stepped forwards.

Arthur shook his head slightly, for it was full of the hammering fight around them, "I don't understand…"

"These are his men." Merlin gestured to those trying to take the citadel.

There were not enough of them to accomplish it, but they did not seem to care…

Arthur had already seen some of his men be injured or worse.

No man could survive falling from the battlements.

"These men were given by Marius to Morgana." Gwaine said.

Arthurs eyes widened.

"He gave them to her, and in return she would give him back all the land he felt your father had cheated his father from…" Merlin explained, "And she turned him into the Green Knight so that he would have the power to kill you…"

"The challenge was one that was designed to lure you away from Camelot so that she could use these men to take the city… while Marius as the Green Knight killed you." Gwaine finished.

There was a pause for a moment and Arthur stared at them.

"Morgana…"

Gwaine stepped forwards.

"We followed her here, and we thought that she was going to come in through the siege tunnel near the north tower…"

"But it was locked; she must be trying to get in some other way… with this as a distraction…" Merlin gestured with his head to the men shooting over the walls, "We sent the guards down there to all the tunnels, but she is powerful…"

"She could very well be coming for you Sire." Gwaine stated firmly.

Arthur thought for a moment, his eyes in the distance.

Something snapped in the back of Merlin's head, a memory from when Gwaine first faced the Green Knight earlier that day.

The Green Knight towered over Gwaine while Merlin watched.

"It was the king who picked up the gauntlet and it is he who must take up my challenge, as he promised to do!" The Green knight bellowed, "Does he think himself too important now…"

"He was coming." Gwaine leant on his sword, "But he was reminded that he has a wife at home and a child on the way…"

"Morgana knows about Gwen and the baby." Merlin said suddenly, snapping out from his memory.

Arthur spun to face him.

Gwaine remembered too and straightened gravely.

Merlin stared hard at Arthur.

"She knows that Gwen is carrying your heir…"

Arthur's heart sputtered and faltered before it started to hammer.

His throat closed and turned dry, making his fall low and rough.

"Then she will go for Guinevere."

THE ROYAL CHAMBERS

Morgana sneered to herself as she pushed the door open and swept into the royal chambers.

Her eyes cast over the room, and narrowed when she found it completely empty.

She glared at everything around her, casting cold and possessive glances at everything she saw.

As she swept deeper into the room the door drifted closed, remaining boy open by a couple of feet.

Her footsteps were almost silent as she made her way towards the bed.

Her eyes narrowed further as she thought hard about where exactly Arthur would hide his precious serving girl, swollen with his child…

CAMELOT – THE GREAT HALL - INFIRMARY

"Tanya!"

"Gaius!"

The two turned from their work at the sound of voices.

"My lord!" Gaius arched his eyebrows as Arthur raced towards him.

"Sire!" Tanya curtsied without thinking.

They were surrounded by injured and dying men.

There were not as many as their normally were, for the attack was small, yet Merlin and Arthur were both now seeing with painful clarity that it had all been a smoke screen for Morgana's plan to shroud herself enough to get inside Camelot and kill Gwen.

"Where is Guinevere?" Arthur demanded.

"She is in the guest chambers…" Gaius started and Tanya stepped forwards.

"Is she alone?" Merlin asked anxiously, yet his eyes were firm.

Morgana would not win.

Tanya stepped forwards.

"I was with her Sire, but she sent here to tend to the wounded…"

Arthur flexed his jaw furiously, "Of course she did…"

He turned and raced from the room.

"Morgana knows about the baby, she is going to try and kill her…" Merlin hurried to explain.

"Morgana?" Gaius asked in shock while Tanya gasped.

"She turned Lord Marius unto the Green knight and promised him land if eh killed Arthur and have him men so she could attack the castle and sneak in…"

"Merlin!" Arthur bellowed.

Without a word Merlin turned and raced after him.

THE GUEST CHAMBER

"Your majesty!"

Mordred burst into the guest chambers in time to see Gwen stand turn to face him.

"Mordred…" Gwen gasped in shock and immediately walked towards him, "What is wrong, is it Arthur?"

"It is Morgana." He stated as firmly as he could considering how breathless he was after running to find her.

"Morgana!" Gwen's eyes widened.
"Yes." He continued, "I saw her… she was making her way to the Royal chambers to look for you… by now she must have found out that you are not there… she will be coming here, for you…"

Gwen straightened.

"We must get you out of Camelot… or to somewhere safe…"

"I cannot leave Camelot Mordred." Gwen stated, "I won't leave my people…"

"Not even to save your own life!"

"I have a knight of Camelot with me, and my husband the king… how is leaving the citadel better protection that that?" Gwen demanded.

"Because there is not person on this earth who has the power to save you now…"

The cold and sneering voice that was not Mordred's and yet answered came from the doorway, and made Gwen and Mordred spin to face who it belonged too.

Morgana sneered and stepped into the room, her lip curling back from her teeth in an icy snarl.

"Not even your precious Arthur."