:'( Only ten reviews so far for the last chapter. Where have you gone, my lovely people? Have I upset you in some way *Goes to hide under a desk* Enjoy the chapter...

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin

Chapter 15

Merlin stood, listening to Gwen's thanks with a smile on his face. He had to admit, he had been glad to see that the young maid hadn't seemed to have changed too much. He had avoided scrying the people closest to him during his time in the dungeon, instead focusing his attention on scanning Camelot as a whole. As tempted as he had been, he had known that watching his friends would hurt him more than it would help him. It would have made it that much harder to stay away if he had seen them up close.

As such, he had been somewhat shocked to see the subtle changes in Arthur when the two met again- both in his physique and in the way he held himself. It was as though the Prince had lost a small portion of that over-the-top self-confidence he had always been brimming with. Merlin had been scared that everyone he knew would have changed in some way. So seeing that same old gentle smile on Gwen's face, he had felt more relieved than he would ever let on.

"Someone's coming!"

As Kennard's warning sounded in the small cell, Merlin tore his gaze away from Gwen's, staring over towards the bars. He had been hoping for a bit more time alone with his friends, but it seemed like he would have no such luck. The young Warlock allowed his gaze to flit around the cell, his mind working frantically to pick through the spells he knew to find one which would be of use.

A few moments later, and he thought he had one which would work.

Knowing that they had to remain as quiet as possible, he looked over to Gwen, indicating the far corner of the cell as he did so. She nodded, and the two of them guided the two Knights over to the place he had pointed.

Once there, Merlin took his position, hoping beyond all hope that the spell would work. He had practised it a little in his dungeon prison, but casting a spell over four people was somewhat more tricky than casting it on one. He took a few deep, calming breaths and then, concentrating hard, he began to whisper the words of a spell which should make them invisible as long as they remained within a set boundary.

It worked well at first- three of the men barely even glancing in to what appeared to be an empty cell. But, when the fourth man froze, Merlin knew instinctively that something was wrong. It took him a moment to work out that he couldn't sense any magic affecting the four men. They weren't being controlled.

Panicking slightly, he began to mutter faster- words which would hopefully shield the people with him should anything go wrong.

"What is it, Michael?" The tallest of the men asked, looking between the last man and the inside of the cell.

The man named Michael frowned. He was a smaller man- weedy, with sparse ginger hair and a sinister set to his lips. Merlin didn't recognise him. Were these people working with Morgana?

"I can sense some magic over there."

Three sets of eyes turned to where Michael was pointing. A third man- this one Blond, and of middling height- narrowed his eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure, Tevin. Can't you?"

"I think I'm getting something," agreed the first man- the tall one- "but I can't be sure. We should check it out. Come on."

Merlin thought fast, cursing himself inwardly for not thinking to shield his magic's aura. He hadn't counted on encountering enemy wizards so soon- not when they needed to remain undiscovered for now. A second later, he switched to a new spell- one he had wanted to try for a long time now- and hoped beyond hope that it would work. He closed his eyes tightly, concentrating on surrounding his allies with the spell's power.

The next time he opened them, shaking his head to clear the rushing sound from his ears, was to the sight of his companions staring, bemused, around at Merlin's old bedroom. He let out a short, relieved whoop of laughter.

"Yes! That was the first time I've tried a transportation spell!"

Down in the cell, Michael approached the far corner with caution. There was definitely magic at work there- he was sure of it. His hand reached out slowly, only to sweep through empty air. Just at that moment, all traces of magic disappeared. He stood up straight again, looking around with confusion, until a slap around the back of his head sent him reeling.

"Idiot," muttered Tevin. "I told you there was nothing there."

Michael held back a biting comment about how the older man had said no such thing, but instead made a mental note to never inform Tevin of one of his hunches again. That slap hurt. Still, as the four of them walked back out of the cell, Michael couldn't help but look back towards that corner, his eyes narrowing slightly. There had, undoubtedly, been some form of magic there. And it was a type of magic he had never felt before- something unique. Not to mention that, just before Michael himself had reached the corner, he had been sure it had flared slightly. And was it his imagination, or had the smallest of breezes- one so small he had barely even noticed it- originated from the location in question?

Whatever had happened, Michael resolved to find out what it was.

Arthur stared at Merlin as the man sank back on to his old bed. His eyes narrowed marginally.

"I didn't know you could use transportation."

Merlin grinned elatedly. "Neither did I- especially not without the right jewel, or with so many people. But I guess there's a first time for everything, eh?"

"You mean we were just a test run? What would you have done if something had gone wrong?"

"Calm down, Arthur. We all got out alright. Isn't that what matters?"

"Merlin- that was downright reckless. You told me once that transportation was one of the trickiest forms of magic. What if someone had been hurt? Or left behind?" Merlin's smile faltered slightly, and Arthur lowered his tone. "Look- I know you may be feeling like you have to prove yourself or something, but there had to have been something else we could have done in that situation- something with less of a risk."

He felt Guinevere's hand on his arm, but gently pushed it off. A single look from him, and she moved away, nodding understandingly. This had to be done, and it had to be done now. He turned once again to the man in front of him.

"The Merlin of the past would never knowingly do something which would put any one of us in danger."

The excitement had completely faded from the young Warlock's face by now. Arthur continued, looking Merlin right in the eye.

"Could you have been sure that the spell was safe? Or was there another way we could have dealt with the situation?"

Merlin's eyes widened slightly, and he looked down at his hands, pausing for a few moments. Arthur knew what had happened to him- he had seen it before in the actions of rescued captives. They felt so elated when faced with freedom, that they were prone to taking risks they never would have taken before. It was human nature to push the boundaries after a period of time with such strong limitations. It wouldn't have been an issue, were it not for the fact that risk taking often led to the injury- or even death- of some party or another. The first time Sir Egon had gone on a mission after he had spent two months as a captive, the older man had launched an attack on a bandit's encampment before back-up arrived. His body had had to be taken back to Camelot later that day. Arthur was not about to see the same type of thing happen to Merlin. Especially not now.

Merlin allowed Arthur's words to sink in. Finding himself unable to look the Prince in the eye, he instead stared down at his hands. His mind wandered back to those brief moments in the cell when all that had gone through his mind was just how much he wanted to try the transportation spell, now that he had the opportunity and reason to do so. The truth was, numerous other spells had presented themselves at the time- spells to send the enemy to sleep, or to freeze time, or even to simply attract their attention to somewhere further away. Any of them would probably have been a wiser idea.

But no. He had chosen to perform an incredibly complex spell, without any practice, and on a greater number of people than any beginner should ever challenge. His increase in power, and his thirst to dip in to it, had resulted in him putting his friend's lives at risk. Arthur was right. Any number of things could have gone wrong. He may have known the words, but he was an amateur in that field of magic.

He looked back up at Arthur.

"I'm sorry."

Something in his facial expression, or even his tone of voice, must have convinced Arthur that he was deadly serious, because the Prince's expression softened, and Merlin could have sworn that, just for a second, the young Blond actually looked proud.

In that moment, Merlin made a promise. A vow. That he would never abuse his power again. He would never knowingly endanger anybody he cared about. Never. And if he did, then he would separate himself from them for all eternity if necessary. Whatever it took.

The tension in the room lessened slightly, as the Warlock and his Prince grinned equally wide grins. They were alive. And they were together. Now nothing would stand in their way.

A bell rang out across the city.

Merlin listened gleefully. It had been over six months since he had last heard the bells of Camelot. What would it matter if he took just a few seconds to savour the sound now?

Arthur and Kennard, though, had an entirely different reaction. Kennard, who hadn't spoken a word since his earlier warning, looked over at Arthur, alarmed.

"That's... the noontime bell, isn't it?"

Merlin frowned. What was so strange about that? So Morgana still had people ringing the bells- what significance did that hold?

"What about it?"

Arthur looked over at him, his eyes slightly wider than normal. "We came to get you some time after the fourth bell in the afternoon. It should be evening by now." The Prince's eyes flicked towards the window. "It's the wrong time."

The two Knights and Gwen started looking around nervously. Merlin, meanwhile, felt his breathing begin to speed up, horror dawning as he realized that, in a moment of panic earlier, he had mispronounced one of the words of the spell. That, coupled with the difficulty of transporting multiple people, meant that...

"It was me." He looked around at the others, a hand rising shakily to his forehead as he worked out the repercussions of his mistake. "The spell- I got it slightly wrong. I slowed us down."

Gwen stepped forward, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mucked up. It is noon. But it's noon of tomorrow- I made us skip almost a whole day!"

Dun, dun, DUNNNN! Bet you didn't expect that :P

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