Merlin was trying to stop feeling impressed by what he was seeing, stopping himself from feeling amazed...but he was failing with every step. As he walked down the corridor he felt a shift in pressure around him, and after a few more steps he saw why; he was being transported around the castle pieces that were strewn through the sky. Each step he made took him to a different place. They seemed unconnected but Merlin knew that there was a pattern.

He had decided just to walk forward for a while. There were various turnings, but he knew that if he didn't know what the pattern was then there was no chance that he would go where he wants to. Chances are that going forward would be the wrong answer, which meant that he could use it to gain information about the right way to navigate the answer.

He thought of his brother, this would be something that Mordred would love. Figuring out how to solve the maze. This sort of this would have them entertained for hours dependent on the complexity (Merlin reminded himself that his focus was to get Arthur out, but a part of him still wished that he would have more time to play around with this). Merlin had thought about teleporting between sections of the castle, but he didn't have a clear enough view of where he was going to go, and he imagined that the Magic King had thought of this. Well, he was informing him of as much.

"If you teleport then I'll just change the rules. Whoever invented the teleportation spell was a moron. It breaks down the climax of any scene. Imagine going to save the princess by climbing the tower and you don't need to climb at all because you are suddenly at the top. It removes the drama," He had explained as Merlin continued down the corridor, trying to focus on what he was looking for, "So tell me a little about yourself Merlin. Something I don't already know."

"Tell me what you already know and I'll figure out something," Merlin smirked as he spoke into the air.

"Seven," The magic king replied as he sighed.

"Seven?"

"Seven points. When you reach one hundred I will tell my guards to find you. Ten."

Merlin sighed, "Has anyone told you that this is a bit insane?"

"Seventeen. Answer my question."

"Why haven't you sent the guards after me already?"

"Thirty. Do you want to get caught?"

"I don't think they would be able to navigate here if I haven't figured it out yet."

"...Twenty five."

Merlin smirked, "So I got something right?"

"Thirty four."

"I like that number."

"Thirty seven. You're a bit of an idiot aren't you?"

"And you're just bonkers."

"Forty three."

"What? Was that for being impolite? I'm sorry Lord Magic King." Merlin was somehow enjoying this, he didn't really understand why, but it was fun to have a rapport with this guy. Normally conversations he had would have ended a while ago, but even with the sense of impending doom revolving around this he still felt amused.

"Twenty two."

"I can placate you so easilly?" Merlin was grinning now, "Thank you my leige."

"Thirty three. No one likes a kiss ass Merlin. I sent my last servant to the stocks for that...of cause that works kind of differently now. The stocks are suspended in midair and fireballs are chucked at you instead of rotton fruit. Good times. Anyway, answer my question."

"Alright. So what do you want to know about me? I'm guessing that you have full access to my thoughts, so surely you can get all the information you want?"

"Thirty eight. I have access to everything you want me to have access to. You have a bit more control in this situation then you think you do Merlin. Tell me about whatever you want."

"What about-"

"Fifty three. You're boring. Stop asking me what's relevant. I want to see what you think is relevant enough to share with me."

"Ok. I have a mother and a brother...and Arthur. He feels a bit like a brother...though don't tell him that, I'll probably never live it down."

Then there was silence for a minute, and Merlin felt the building shake slightly. Not enough that anyone would normally notice, but Merlin wasn't anyone. Merlin felt it like a shiver passing through his body. Had he broken the game he seemed to be playing?

"Do you have any brothers?" He asked. Suddenly the shaking stopped, and all the candles that were illuminating the way went out.

"Seventy five." The voice muttered back. He seemed perturbed, and this told Merlin something about him...he just wasn't sure what yet. After a couple of seconds the voice said, "I'm bored now. Bye."

Then there was silence, and Merlin was alone in the corridor.

He needed to figure out how to get out of the maze, otherwise he was never going to find Arthur.

Arthur.

Why was he doing this?

Merlin stopped for a minute and sat down. He had been running on the momentum of everything for a while now and hadn't thought about it. Why did he have such loyalty to Arthur?

"I just do." He thought to himself. There wasn't any more reason he needed at this moment. Arthur was like a brother to him. He was annoying. Extremely annoying. But Merlin couldn't see his life without him now. He had become a part of his family and he knew that if he went back to his family without him then the picture wouldn't look right. There would be something missing from the image and he would never be able to stand it. It would be like if a couple of puzzle pieces were missing, it wouldn't be right anymore.

So he didn't have a choice. He had to get Arthur back, otherwise he could never live his life again. If the picture wasn't right, then he would not be able to look at it again. He needed Arthur.

He needed him.

He hated that so much. He hated that he had to do this. He liked his simple life. He liked it when it was just him, Mordred and his mother in their small little village doing the same things each day. It was so simple.

This wasn't simple. This was anything but simple.

"I don't like it." He muttered to himself as he felt anxiety starting to spread up him. He hadn't thought about it yet. He hadn't stopped and thought about what he was doing and now that he was he wasn't sure anymore. He was stuck. He felt like he couldn't breath.

He couldn't do this now. He was in danger. He just needed to carry on.

"Save it for later." He repeated in his head as he stood up and started to run down the corridor. He could be making a lot of noise. He didn't care. He just needed to run, he needed to get to thoughts out of his head so he could focus on what he needed to do. He just needed to run.

As he did the feelings started to fizzle away a bit and stayed in the back of his mind. He continued to run, not wanting to stop. He needed to figure out the way out of this maze.

"Maybe it's simple," He thought to himself, "Maybe I just need to keep running. He did talk about building up to the climax or something like that."

He ran, but nothing happened. He didn't really expect anything to happen. But running felt better than anything else he could be doing.

He then heard the laughter again, piecing through the walls and echoing down the corridors.. He slowed down and smiled, "You're back then?"

"Oh I never left," He heard the smugness emanate off of the voice, "I wanted to see what you would do if I left you alone. I must say, it was beautiful. True to form. You're quite an honest, simple person aren't you Merlin?"

"I wouldn't say I'm simple," Merlin replied. He felt a bit more relaxed now he had the voice to talk to again. He needed to keep up an act with him, he needed to appear to be doing fine even if he wasn't. That helped him to feel better as a result. Also, as much as this guy was the enemy...he was kinda fun to talk to. Merlin decided not to dwell too much on this due to the fact that he was an evil tyrant who had slaughtered a lot of people and had captured Arthur thus threatening to destroy his world. He decided it was probably best to not get too friendly with him for that.

"Oh sure. You have magic, powerful magic at that. But behind all that stuff, you are just a simple commoner aren't you? You are just another anybody. I like it, I do. I like something a bit different. There are too many stories about big strong heroes, too many about brooding heroes. Someone simple sounds like a good change." Merlin felt like the voice was leaning in towards him, like he was putting his face right next to his ear.

"Thanks...I guess." Merlin replied, as he continued walking.

"I like you Merlin. I'll give you a hint, see if you can figure a way out of this dungeon," The voice sounded calmer. Merlin was sure that his personality had changed again. Maybe he was also putting on a mask, but Merlin wasn't totally sure, "Earlier we were talking about you, and I told you something. What did I say?"

Merlin thought about it, he wasn't really sure. But then something popped into his head, "That I have more control in this then I think I do? Is it that?"

"Excellent. That is very good. Now what if I told you that was not just about your thoughts?" He heard some sincerity, some kindness in the voice. It was maddening. He did not know how to place this person. They seemed to change in a matter of seconds. There was no consistency.

Merlin didn't know why he did what he did next. He was feeling something inside of him that told him that he needed to do what he was doing.

He held his hand up and felt power rushing through him. Suddenly the building started to shift around him and it all lined up to form a neat coridoor with a door at the end. The rooms screeched together, and the lights were all glaring inside like a rainbow flying towards him, but it was all there.

"You know, I am mildly impressed. I mean I did basically tell you what to do, but you just managed to move around the castle that I am keeping afloat. You might prove a fun challenge when we finally meet in person. I think I might enjoy that." The voice laughed to himself, "In the meantime, I must tell you that when you open that door I will tell all the guards that you are in the castle. I can't let you wonder around freely. So I suggest you run, and hide, and try your hardest to become invisible, as otherwise there is no way you'll get your prince back."

Merlin walked towards the door. He didn't know what was going to happen, but he was going to get Arthur back.

"Oh, and just to warn you. I'm going to kill him if the guards find you before you find him."

He pulled the door open and was faced with a group of twenty guards all pointing weapons towards him.

"Guess that's that then," The voice laughed, while Merlin felt his world freeze inside of him. It was over before it started. He was done.