AN: Not beta'ed... And I hope it's not too confusing. Anyway, thanks for reviewing and I hope you'll enjoy!

Chapter 10: Crossing Paths In a Dragon's Flight

The first fallen leaves crunched below her feet. The wind swept them against the ruins, piling them up, year after year, decade upon decade. Morgana eyed the cold stones suspiciously. A city in decay, a citadel once lost, she thought, and I'm about to bring it back to life. That she had more selfish reasons to do so didn't matter, the stones seemed to welcome her presence nevertheless. She smiled. The last person who saw that smile was dead. She hoped that all her enemies would have this in common one day.

It all started months ago as she was dragging herself through the forest, ready to give up, only fit to pass out and die. And then Aithusa came to her. In hindsight the following months were one clear path that lead to this point, this culmination of knowledge and acts. But it wasn't that simple, it never was. Morgana turned her gaze up and watched how Aithusa soared through the air. Their familiarity nowadays almost made her forget the trouble she had in the beginning. But she could be patient, caring and kind. She hadn't lost that gift completely and her soft hand and voice had slowly moulded Aithusa. He was a faithful companion, both temperamental and loyal when treated right, so much like herself really. And he was a weapon now.

He may not realise it yet, but Emrys' days were steadily numbering.

"I want to know how he knew about Emrys." Leon finally interrupted the silence. He had been doing that a lot lately. Honestly how did it come to this, he wondered, that between the three of them he was initiating a conversation. Again. Gwaine was bugging him by not acting like himself, but his friend seemed lost in thought. Merlin was hardly any better. Leon sighed and looked intently at his companions, but none of them met his gaze. They had only eyes for the roaring fire before them. He too had thought about everything that happened in these last hours, but it wasn't the time to dwell on the past if it meant losing that time to do something more useful for the future.

"He was there when Morgana mentioned his name." Merlin mumbled as he absentmindedly twirled his empty tankard around. It clattered on the wooden table next to him, echoing in the now empty tavern. The hike back had been horrible. Under his instruction they had been able to construct a makeshift stretcher to carry Tristan's body back. That had been a challenge, especially since the sea made every effort to claim them all. They had to wade back in the end as the path slowly disappeared once more below the waves. Merlin shuddered. The blazing fire and Duncan's spare clothes weren't helping. He was still freezing.

"Seems unlikely he remembered." Gwaine muttered and looked around. He dreaded this, he really did. Nortcliff had a way of dragging him back to the past and death didn't help its grasp. It felt too ... familiar. He felt fourteen all over again. He suddenly hated the sea, the cliffs and the cry of the gulls. When they had past the place where Merlin had almost fallen, Gwaine couldn't resist the compulsion to look down. He shuddered. They could have been carrying two bodies back instead of one...

"Or Morgana mentioned him now." Merlin said and finally looked up. It was the only explanation. He had been thinking these last hours: during the walk back, when they arrived at the Green Death Cap, when Duncan froze as he saw Tristan's body, when Maggie started to cry... He hadn't spoken a word, leaving Leon to explain what happened to the frantic onlookers. So he had all the time in the world to think, though he really hated pondering right now.

"Morgana was in those caves. Gaius said that a lot of sorcerers fled Albion using this as their last port. They left things behind. That's what she was looking for. Tristan followed her, eavesdropped before she caught him and condemned him to a slow but certain death." Merlin unfolded his theory.

"So you think she flaunted her plans to him?" Leon asked although he agreed that Tristan had learned of Emrys in the caves.

"Not to him. To Aithusa, you can talk to a dragon." Merlin stared into the fire again and tried to swallow away the bitter taste in his mouth. It was the only explanation. He felt betrayed. Aithusa was with Morgana. That explained everything: Kilgharrah's omission on the day he left, the sighting of a dragon here and Morgana's diabolical plan. Okay, he didn't know what she was planning, but she had Aithusa, right? Or was it again just a coincidence? He sighed. His life was too unkind for the existence of coincidences. It had to be connected.

"There's a third possibility, Merlin" Leon said as he thankfully accepted a glass of warm wine from Duncan. He handed the same to Merlin while Gwaine just grabbed a tankard and downed half of it. "I'm surprised you didn't think of that: Tristan saw Emrys."

"The Emrys isn't here right now, the twins won him in a card game last fall." Duncan interjected as he sat down besides the trio.

"Sorry, what?" Merlin almost spat his wine out.

"The Emrys, not much too look at but the most sturdiest ship that ever docked in Nortcliff."

"You have a ship named 'Emrys'?" Merlin muttered disbelieving. Of course they have, everyone's mad here.

"Yeah, weren't you talking about it?"

"We were referring to the sorcerer Emrys." Leon said clearing up the confusion.

"Oh, him." Duncan spoke softly now.

"You know him?" Leon asked hopefully.

"I know of him."

"I didn't." Gwaine suddenly said almost accusingly. Duncan sighed, "There aren't any drinking songs of him, so you were probably never interested. Besides Emrys' name was only mentioned here at one time."

"During the Purge."

"Exactly." Duncan toasted Merlin's understanding and took a swig from his glass before he continued. "He's as elusive and unreal as our fabled king, but if what Gwaine's said yesterday is true, then I'll keep my eyes open for change."

"What did you say?" Leon wondered as he looked at his fellow knight.

"I told him what kind of king Arthur is." Gwaine admitted and took a swig, "I probably should have told him about the Druids' prophecy of the Once and Future King."

"Wait, you believe that too?" Merlin exclaimed at the same time Duncan yelled, "He's the Once and Future King?"

Gwaine nodded, "I believe he is."

"So Emrys is walking about." Duncan mused and emptied his glass. "I'll have to get that rumour out then. Nortcliff will never be the same now, should have known with Gwaine coming back..." He trailed off as he patted the knight's shoulder and left them alone once more.

"Where is everyone by the way?" Merlin asked as he looked around. It seemed that he only now realised the tavern was completely deserted.

"It's the first gale blowing from the North. Everyone's out." Gwaine said as if it was self explanatory. He stood up and went behind the counter. "More wine or ale?"

"Nothing for me." Merlin stood up and put on his jacket again. It was finally dry, the fire did it's duty and now it was time for him to do his. "I'm going."

And for the second time in two days Merlin stalked out of the tavern. Leon cursed as he tried to put his boots back on. I'm tying him down from now on, he thought as he rushed out as well.

Morgana slammed the tome down on the stone slab. The dust flew in every direction and she brushed it away with an annoyed wave. She let out a frustrated growl. It didn't help that Aithusa chirped around like nothing had happened. One of these books contained the missing piece of the ritual, of this she was sure. It had taken her weeks to track down what had happened to the last sorcerer that guarded the citadel. It seemed that the Purge flushed him out, cowering fool. Morgana had no patience with cowards nor fools, but it seemed the fates didn't grant her an useful ally. And that was her weakness. Her pitiful brother had much better allies, though why Emrys would ever protect him was still a riddle. She snorted, that didn't matter. Arthur could summon all the allies he wants, it would only delay the inevitable: she'll smite everyone on her way to the throne.

At first she had sought a dragonlord, thinking the magic of their kind, combined with Aithusa's loyalty to her would be enough to persuade them to join her fight. She had used a crafty little spell of her own making to locate them, but it solely pointed towards Camelot. It wasn't a total failure, it did confirm her fear that Emrys was a dragonlord as well. Only he would be foolish enough to hide in the lion's den. Her foolish brother was of course as ignorant as ever. The more she thought about his misfortunate escapes in the last years the more she could see magic's imprint. Emrys dared to protect Arthur Pendragon. He would be sorry about it in the end.

No, the present didn't have any worthy allies. There were no other dragonlords left in existence.

"Merlin! Where are you going now?" Gwaine yelled in frustration as he tried to catch up with him.

"Merlin! Stop, please stop." Leon was beyond wary now as he grabbed Merlin's arm, forcing him to stop. The young man winced and Leon realised he really did have bruises from his near fall earlier. He quickly let go just as Merlin snapped.

"This town is utterly insane!" He started and raised his arms in frustration. "They have a total disregard for authority and they relish in plotting, but somehow they're also waiting for the Once and Future King. And they have a bloody boat named 'Emrys'!" Wait until Galahad learns this. "So to answer your question," Merlin faced Gwaine now, "I'm trying to leave this place by doing what Arthur assigned us to do: find out what Morgana's up to. I'm going back to those caves."

"You can't, the tide remember?" Gwaine argued, "Besides, it will be dark in an hour." Those arguments didn't seem to waver Merlin's strange determination since he opened his mouth to object, but Leon wouldn't have any of it.

"Get back inside, Merlin, or I'll knock you out instead." He said sternly and crossed his arms as if he were scolding one of the newest recruits, but when did Merlin become so stubborn?

"Arthur only said you could do that to Gwaine." Merlin protested crossing his arms to mirror Leon.

"Hey! What?"

"I'm sure he'll agree, with the way you've been acting lately." Leon wasn't going to back down and waited for Merlin to lower his gaze, " Now, let's get back. We'll leave at first light."

Merlin glared and pushed the thought about using magic right then and there away. He was tempted. But he could hear Gaius and Galahad admonishing him in unison. Reckless. Rash. Snarky. He sighed and looked away. Really he shouldn't be questioning Leon's authority, not when he knew the knight was making perfect sense.

"Fine, at first light then." He said instead of the spell that would blow his friends out of his way and turned around striding back toward the tavern.

"What's wrong with him?" Leon murmured and winced when the tavern door slammed shut.

"It's the town, mate," Gwaine said in a conspiring tone, "It changes people, I hadn't touched a drop of ale before I came here."

Morgana smirked as she ordered her books. It could not compare to the library at Camelot, but surely these books where far more interesting?

Although she could imagine the vast amount of magical information she could acquire if she would enter Camelot's library. Oh, it wouldn't be in a book titled 'Magic and Its Evil Uses'. Uther would have burned those books for sure. But those weren't the interesting books. No, the books she sought would have more cunning writers who wouldn't use such blatant titles. The one she was scanning now read 'Past Powers'. It stood next to 'Fall of Kings', 'Mornings in Winter' and 'Noble Knights and Their Houses'. If Uther had been smart he would have hunted down books instead of sorcerers. It was knowledge that stood at the beginning, not power. She was applying this idea now instead of rushing off to forge another alliance with an unworthy warlord.

"What is it Aithusa?" Morgana asked softly and caressed the frail wings when the dragon nudged her shoulder.

Look in this one.

You're sure? Morgana questioned him silently. Sometimes it felt wrong to snap their silence. They communicated on a different plain, one Morgana actually preferred. It reminded her so much of Mordred.

Aithusa send her an image of what she should be looking for. A needless reminder really, she had memorised the description of the missing rune so thoroughly she could almost draw it. But it had to be exactly right or the ritual would fail and the past would remain locked.

Morgana scanned through the pages, carefully following the writings. The familiar feeling of power surged through her fingers. She was close, so very close.

"Ah, your Majesty, it's good to have you back." Sir Roderick welcomed him amiably as Arthur sat down.

"My apologies for the late hour, I hope it wasn't too inconvenient." Arthur addressed the men and looked around the table. He knew the Old Council – as he called them behind their back – usually met before noon, not after dinner.

"It wasn't, we hope your other duties weren't too troublesome, Sire? Merlin said your absence was unfortunate but necessary because of the rebuilding of the defences."

"Indeed, it was. I trust you all had time to settle into your new tasks?" Arthur asked carefully and mentally kicked himself. He should have met with his Old Council before today, instead of leaving it all to Merlin. Who knows what kind of chaos it's in or how the Lords feel about the Round Table? But he hadn't heard of any difficulties, of course only Merlin would have known.

"It was a challenge at first, but we're most satisfied with your replacement as with our new mandate."

"Excellent, let's proceed then." Arthur smiled relieved and reordered the stack of papers before him, "The issue of the number of market stands..."

The meeting went well and efficient, much more efficient than Arthur remembered. That was just because he wasn't used to it anymore, he figured as they dealt with some minor complaints. That it was Merlin's influence didn't occur to him until they started discussing the mason's guild. If he didn't need them all to fortify Camelot further he would have been sorely tempted to banish them all on the charge of being a public nuisance. Of course he couldn't really banish people for that, Merlin wouldn't have lasted a week, Gwaine not even a day. Though halfway through his proposed solution – which he found rather adequate himself – Sir Roderick coughed apologetically and looked around. Arthur followed his gaze a bit nonplussed and saw several Lords nod encouraging.

"I don't think Merlin would approve, Sire." Sir Roderick said firmly.

Arthur was taken aback, "Do I need to remind you that I am still the King?" He folded his arms glaring at the men before him, waiting for someone to respond. They had changed. Of course Merlin just made them rebel against him, that little...

"Certainly, sorry my Lord, it's just... Lord Hawthorn, hand me that stack, if you please?" Sir Roderick was clearly uncomfortably, but passed a bundle of papers to his king. Arthur looked at them confused and ruffled through them quickly, "And these are...?"

"It's just part of Merlin's research. I scanned through it. I thought it was very adequate." Sir Hawthorn quickly clarified apparently reassured that Arthur wouldn't snap at him.

"Research? Merlin wrote this?" Arthur swiftly scanned through the papers in front of him, his anger abating quickly. Indeed ,it was Merlin's handwriting. He would recognize it anywhere. Where did he find the time to do all this?

"So what's the short version?" Arthur asked, surprisingly noting it was twenty pages long. And it was 'just a part' of the research?

"It describes a series of laws dating back from the First Registry of Camelot. Among other things it settled the monetary boundaries between the different masons. Of course those families are not the same ones as the masons today, but it gives a solid basis for a reconciliation instead of the temporary settlement your father initiated after the Purge..." Sir Roderick started, but Arthur wasn't really paying attention any more. This was really good, he thought astonished as he read some passages more intently until his eyes caught sight of something strange.

"Lord Hawthorn, what is this gibberish?" Arthur held up the parchment and pointed at some non familiar phrases.

"Oh, that? Excellent question, my Lord. I asked him that myself. It's an ancient quotation he found somewhere in those obscure books Geoffrey of Monmouth treasures. It's a vow made between the different guilds and still carries some authority apparently."

"I meant, what language is it?"

"Oh, that?" Lord Hawthorn was sounding nervous all of a sudden and scratched the back of his neck, "It's in the tongue of the Old Religion. In the ancient times it was used for many ceremonies, My Lord, not just for magical ones." He almost stammered the last words, but Arthur took no notice. Merlin could read that? Well, he did live with Gaius, it seems the old physician was right, some of his knowledge had been passed on. Who would have thought?

There.

The final rune was drawn. It was time to complete the ritual. She looked around the crypt. All the ingredients were in place and the final incantations had been found and tested. Morgana brushed her hair aside and rolled up her left sleeve. Almost all the rituals her sister and the High Priestesses before her used required some form of sacrifice, to balance what shall be given.

This one was no different and Morgana brought the blade to her arm.

Arthur was roaming the corridors again. He acknowledged he did that often lately, very often. But walking helped him think. After sitting pent up behind a desk ruffling through paperwork or sitting down listening at complaints and suggestions, his active mind needed some encouragement. And he wasn't pacing! Arthur grumbled as he thought of Guinevere's knowing smile when he said he was going for a walk. He knew she knew that he was pacing and he was definitely not pacing. He was just walking and thinking and not worrying about everything and certainly not about some exasperated manservant.

He should talk to Gaius, right? The old physician would be able to confirm Merlin's apparently busy schedule. Arthur sighed, leave it to Merlin to take his duties serious all of a sudden. He stopped and shook his head. No that wasn't true. Merlin always took his duties seriously even if he joked, mocked and groaned all the way between listening to my rants, the endless hunts, dangerous quests or stable chores. But where did he find all the time? Arthur hated not knowing something.

But Gaius would be busy, so that left Galahad. Arthur had the distinct feeling the knight was avoiding him. Now why would he do that? I'll ask him after I've enquired about Merlin. Well, after I've asked if he has any news concerning Emrys of course.

Aithusa sealed the deep cut on her wrist before it even became an inconvenience. Morgana took a step back to watch her progress so far. In the middle of the crypt there was a deep round basin. Its bottom was filled with white sand to contrast the dark colour of the stone. Along the edge she had drawn several runes, many of them were her own creation, manufactured by combining knowledge of her predecessors and Aithusa own unique signature. The energy she stored into these markings were worth it in the end. So was the blood that spattered the wooden pyre in the centre of the basin.

Defeating Emrys was worth everything.

Lauren was humming as she entered the dimly lit room. She was looking for cloth and linen in need of washing and had been at it all day, moving from room to room, opening abandoned chests and cupboards. She set down her basket and surveyed the chamber. After this her work was done for the day. To her left stood a large closet. That would be a good place to begin.

She opened the two doors and almost screamed if the figure in front of her hadn't pulled her closer and clasped her mouth. Lauren heard her heartbeat racing in her ears as she struggled against the strong hands.

"Please don't scream." A soft voice said and a moment later her fuzzy brain recognized Galahad with a shock. "I'll let go now, but please be quiet, Lauren." He smiled apologetically and lowered his hands.

The next moment Lauren hit his arm, "What are you doing in there?"

"Hiding." Galahad shrugged and inclined his head towards the door. He was still standing inside the closet.

"From whom?" Lauren asked curiously. She had recovered from her anger quicker than she anticipated, but it was Galahad. He was totally harmless and always polite, for instance he didn't whistle when she walked by.

"Arthur." Galahad sighed and tried to straighten his crumpled clothes, "He's being obnoxious and wants to know some stuff about Merlin."

"So? Why don't you tell him 'stuff about Merlin'?"

"Because Merlin asked me not to."

"And your solution is hiding in this closet? Forgive me Galahad, I thought Druids were smart." Lauren mocked and suppressed a giggle when Galahad glared at her.

"I wasn't in here long but I saw him coming up the stairs and – " Galahad explained but was caught off abruptly as Lauren in turn placed her hand on his mouth.

"Lauren? What are you doing in there?" Arthur stood in the doorway and looked inside the chamber with curiosity. He had been pac- no, walking in the hallway when he thought he heard some voices whispering. But it was just Lauren, standing in front of a large closet.

"Cleaning out this closet, my Lord," Lauren answered and lowered her hand while she mouthed 'be quiet' and turned to address her king, "You should see the state of it, Sire, vermin is just hiding everywhere."

"Have you seen Galahad per chance?" Arthur informed and ran his hand through his hair. He couldn't quite place Lauren's mischievous smile, but whatever she was up to wasn't his concern. Sometimes she reminded him of Merlin. His quirks were rubbing off on her.

"Last time I spoke to him he was hiding from you, my Lord." She said respectfully and the glanced inside the closet and smiled once more. "He's hiding in this closet actually." She stepped away from the doors and motioned Arthur to take a look.

"Really Lauren? Thanks for being your charming self." And with that Arthur walked away muttering something about pesky servant girls.

"Lauren!" Galahad hissed and carefully stepped out of the closet.

"What? It worked didn't it?" She smiled innocently and handed him her basked filled with linen. "You owe me one, Galahad, so be a dear and carry this for me."

"But Arthur..." Galahad protested when Lauren dragged him out. He was still hiding, he really didn't want to lie to his king anymore. And Arthur was bugging him with questions about Merlin's doings at the council. He could imagine the latest one's with ease. Do you know why he's not totally useless anymore, Galahad? Did you know he could read that sorcerer's gibberish?

Or he was bugging him with questions about Emrys. Is he in Camelot, Galahad? You said yesterday that you believed he wasn't here, but how do you know that for sure? It became harder and harder to keep a straight face under Arthur scrutinising glances.

"You know, for being one of the most important people in Camelot you have no idea how to manoeuvre around the castle, let alone the castle's politics." Lauren interrupted him amused and pulled him behind a tapestry which – to Galahad's surprise – hid a spacious staircase.

"Servant's route." Lauren hold the tapestry aside so Galahad could enter with less difficulty.

"Okay, so you know the castle better, but what do you mean I'm horrible at castle's politics?" Galahad relented as he shifted the basket to his other side so he could walk next to Lauren, "I'm not so bad, am I?"

"You not too bad for a newcomer but you should get a lot better. I mean, you're smack in the middle of it or at least very close to its centre."

"Do explain." Galahad was interested now.

"You're friends with Merlin."

"Everyone is friends with Merlin."

"Don't pretend you don't know better. Merlin trusts you." Lauren gazed upon him as if she couldn't believe he was this dense, "You share secrets."

"And why is that even relevant?"

"Because Arthur trusts Merlin."

"So?" Lauren let out a frustrated huff and without further explanation pulled Galahad through the next door.

"Lauren, where are you taking me?" Galahad protested as he reluctantly followed her – he really hadn't another choice – down an unfamiliar hallway, "Lauren? This is really heavy you know."

"Quit whining. We're here." She said and strode across the room they were currently in, unlocked a cupboard and took out parchment, ink and a quill spreading it out on a small desk, "I'm going to prove my point."

"You can put that down." She said and motioned Galahad to come sit next to her on the bench, "Arthur is the most important man in Camelot." She started and drew a crown on top of the parchment, "Next up is Gwen. Now if Arthur had chosen a Queen from a noble family, that family would have been the most powerful one in Camelot." She drew a second circle and with one glance asked if he was still following. Galahad nodded a bit insulted. Of course he understood.

"But he didn't. That's why Arthur gave Elyan the responsibility to cement good relationships with Queen Annis. So he'll be strong enough to manoeuvre here because he would have to learn it in Caerleon's court. And then you have all the members of Arthur's chosen council, the Round Table. And before the Round Table, there was the old council. These nobles are still very powerful." Lauren had drawn several circle's, each of them signifying a person and a council. She left an opening in the centre of the parchment, "Now who's missing?"

"Merlin."

"And where do you suggest to draw him? What kind of power and influence does he have?"

"How do you mean?"

Lauren sighed, "Just ask yourself this question: If one of these persons has a problem, who would they eventually go to for advice?"

"Merlin."

"Exactly. And Arthur knows that, he is an intelligent king sometimes. So when he appointed Merlin as a councillor he solidified something everyone already knew."

"That Merlin matters."

Lauren nodded and drew a final circle in the middle.

"Do you think he knows this?" Galahad asked as he studied the circles in front of him. Unconsciously he had known everything Lauren showed him, but it was quite enlightening to see it in a diagram.

"If he doesn't then he's a natural at these court games, he manoeuvres with great skill." Galahad frowned at this unexpected praise. It was quite obvious that Lauren admired Merlin, which was strange because he knew that a lot of servants liked Merlin, but this honest appreciation was something he hadn't encountered yet. He wondered if Merlin knew he had an admirer.

Lauren clarified her previous statement, "He does it in such a way that nobody really takes notice or is affronted by it, unless on specific order of Arthur."

"He bothers Arthur, though."

"Well, yes someone has to." Lauren admitted.

"So where does this place me? I'm here, right?" Galahad pointed at the Round Table.

"Exactly, but that's only your official weight. You have Merlin's trust, so every single one of these" Lauren pointed at the parchment, "have something to gain with your trust. It's not a bad thing, not all the time, but you need to be aware of this."

"Strange that you of all people are teaching me this." Galahad said and looked up as if he saw Lauren anew.

"Well, sometimes you need to take a step back to see something up close."

"Certain you're not a druid?" He teased.

"Positive, I just observe and listen. You have no idea what nobles talk about in front of their 'dim-witted servants'. We're not all fools."

"You're much too smart to be a servant."

"And you're a fool, Galahad. Didn't you listen at all?" Lauren rolled her eyes and looked insulted. That didn't last very long as the druid's only reply was an amused smile. He might not be too bad after all at these games if he knew exactly how to rile her.

"Now Aithusa!" Morgana ordered and watched how the dragon roared and exhaled on the wood. His hot scalding breath simmered through the air. A crackle and a hiss, another crackle and then a spark that leaped across the pyre. In mere seconds the whole roomed seemed to be burning. Morgana quickly took a few steps back because of its intensity. The runes were ablaze as well. She shielded her eyes from their light until they settled down.

The flames casted eerie shadows on the pillars encircling the room. The wood was burning slowly so it could feed the fire for many hours and after that the ashes itself will maintain the storming blaze.

Merlin couldn't sleep. His mind kept working. He needed to go, he needed to do something to make this restlessness stop. But Leon had threatened to tie him to the bed if he walked away again. Merlin thought he was joking, but he'd rather not find out. Well, not when Leon was awake. So he tried to breathe evenly, lolling the others into a false sense of security. That hadn't worked though. When he tried to sneak out, Gwaine stopped him with one stern 'Go to sleep'.

Okay, that wasn't the best of plans. Come to think of it, what could he do? He'll probably be able to tame the sea there, just long enough for him to cross and reach the cliffs. Or I could fly there. Merlin turned around once more and tugged his pillow. I wish it was dawn.

"Are you up already?" Gwaine asked tiredly as he watched Merlin put on his jacket and boots. He had heard his friend get up and was about to snap something along the lines of respecting someone else's sleep until he saw the faint light peering through the curtains.

"Dawn's only a half hour away."

"Fine." Gwaine huffed and threw his boot towards Leon. "Rise and shine, beautiful, our stubborn friend here decided it's morning already."

"I am awake, Gwaine." Leon muttered and threw the boot back. "It's kind of hard to sleep with the both of you are pretending to be asleep."

Merlin shook his head in annoyance and pushed the bolt aside, "Are you coming or not?"

"A man can't even dress properly." Gwaine complained as he fastened his sword to his side.

The shadows were disappearing one by one. At first Morgana didn't notice, but she saw one was missing when the first light of dawn creeping into the crypt through the smoke hole casted fewer shades than expected. Then the shadow of the pillar behind her flew into the fire. She didn't exactly saw it happening, she only saw the torchlight casting the shadow, then the next moment it was gone.

The flames rose above the basin's edge now and the smoke appeared thicker. It was more than smoke, she saw the shadows dancing there. Faster and faster shadows were vanishing, sucked into the fire attracted by that strange noise. The fire pulsed like a heartbeat now and Morgana grinned.

Da-thump

Da-thump

It was a heartbeat. The room was totally lit now, not because of the light, but due to the absence of shadow. Even her own and Aithusa's were missing.

Da-thump

"Good morning!" Tom greeted Merlin with a thoughtful smile as the latter entered the tavern, "My friend here and I were thinking of accompanying you to the cliffs. We've got a debt to pay to old Tristan. He's dead now, so we'll help you instead, since you were with him when he passed. Thank you for that. Gwaine, we're going with you," Tom said as he watched the others enter, "Duncan said you'd be going early. Five pair of eyes see more than three."

"Tom, I didn't know you could count." Gerard said in mocked awe before turning toward the three of them a bit more serious, "So lead the way, guys or do you want us to lead?"

Merlin just gaped from one man to the other. He couldn't really object their presence, not when Tom talked about a debt. That was taken pretty serious here. And Gerard swift jab at his friend prevented any protest. Gwaine was enjoying this, Leon just shrugged and looked thankful.

Da-thump

"It's almost completed." Morgana whispered as she watched how the smoke and the shadows turned and turned in each other.

Da-thump

The black fog swirled faster and faster, finally taking form.

Da-thump

A human form.

I will finally get rid of Emrys once and for all.

The hike down the cliffs was easier this time. Still Leon and Gwaine insisted on staying close by. Merlin fought the impulse to yell something insulting at the both of them. He wasn't a child, he could take care of himself and he didn't trip over everything including his own feet!

"So he died here?" Gerard asked. Merlin thought that question was a bit redundant. He could still see the bloodstains. Leon nodded and looked around once more. He walked the short distance towards the far end of the rocks and watched how the waves crashed below. He turned around and squinted at the cliffs in front of him. Nine, ten… fifteen caves he counted with one glance and that were just the obvious ones. How many more would there be? Which one had Morgana entered? It was an eerie place. He wasn't a superstitious man, but this…

"It's gives me the creeps." Gwaine muttered as he stood next to the older knight and followed his gaze. Leon couldn't have expressed it better. Tom and Gerard were out of sight, probably looking for torches or clues and Merlin was still staring at the bloodstains.

Why were you here, Tristan? What did you hear? Merlin was searching for the answer, but the rocks in front of him didn't give away any secrets.

Suddenly something hit him with an enormous force. He gasped and sunk on one knee. He looked around to see his attacker, but his vision blurred and he needed both hands to stop him from falling down completely.

He couldn't breathe. His head was bursting, his magic was screaming. He might be screaming as well.

"Merlin! Merlin! Leon, what's happening?"

"Don't know, Gwaine!"

"Merlin!"

Merlin vaguely heard people running and yelling. But they were miles and miles away. The smoke was too thick. It wasn't right, it was too black. His heart skipped a beat

Da…

…-thump

He couldn't breathe.

Okay, some of you may have questions... I plan on clearing them up in the next chapters. What are your thoughts on Morgana? Next post will be in August, I'll try to get it up as quickly as possibly, promise.