A/N: A little detour coming up but it'll come back around soon. ;) Thanks for reading. :)

Chapter 6

Meanwhile, a kingdom away, there sat an old wizard up in a tall tower, guarded by the dragon allies of his most hated enemy. He stared out into the black of the evening trying to focus on freeing himself from his bonds. If he could somehow get out of there, he could warn those in danger. However his enemy was clever and the chains that bound him to the floor in the center of the room had been enchanted. No spell could break them and his physical strength was nowhere near what it needed to be to break free.

"You know no matter how much you stare, it won't help you escape," a voice from behind made him whirl around.

"Why is it that you keep me here, Malik?" The good wizard asked.

"Because despite your old age, you can be very dangerous and we can't have you running off to help those who I've enchanted," his foe replied.

"There is some other part to your plan isn't there? Otherwise why keep me alive?" The chained man wanted to know.

"Well first off, I like to see you suffer, and secondly, you're absolutely right. I have bigger plans for you," Malik smirked.

"I wish you'd get it over with," the old man said.

"Now what fun would that be? Enjoy tonight's supper. Tomorrow night is a full moon and then I will end you," the evil wizard told him as a plate of what looked like slop was brought in.

"Lovely," the imprisoned man shook his head.

"Good night Merlin. Enjoy your last night on this Earth," Malik smirked and left the room, leaving the servant to watch the wizard eat. Over the course of the last several nights, this simple girl of about twenty had spoken with the sorcerer about many different topics and her often smiling face was a welcome change from his surroundings.

"So what do we have tonight?" Merlin asked.

"Venison stew. I wished I'd been able to cook it awhile longer. I'm sure the meat is probably not done enough," she sighed.

"Amelia, whatever shape it is in, I'm sure it's fine," the old man took a seat on the stool he'd been left and she leaned up against the wall.

"You're too kind, sir," she smiled.

"It seems this will be our last dinner together," he'd officially given up. Tomorrow Malik would undoubtedly perform a spell which would suck his powers away from him. Without them, Merlin would wither and die.

"You can't say that," Amelia looked distraught as he tucked into his stew.

"I'm afraid so," Merlin swallowed and took a sip of the ale she'd given him. He then watched as she walked toward the door. It had been locked behind her, as usual, but in the torchlight under the door she could see the guard had left his post. He took another spoonful of stew and thought it felt heavy but put it into his mouth and immediately his teeth came in contact with something metallic.

"What have you been putting in this stew?" He asked, spitting it out, and rubbing his jaw.

"What any good kitchen maid should, keys," she smiled a big smile that crossed her face and showed off her dimples. Merlin smirked.

"And how do we get out of here?" He asked.

"Well I paid off the guard by telling him, I needed some privacy tonight; told him to be back in an hour. So I think we've got at least another half an hour before he starts heading back up the stairs," she told him as she loosened his bonds.

"Privacy? Paid him off how?" The wizard was concerned she'd done something she shouldn't have.

"I told him that if he let me do this that I'd let him do whatever he wanted. He's been eyeballing me for some time so I knew that was my way in," Amelia just shrugged it off. Merlin knew from the scars he'd seen on her forearms that she'd been abused when she was younger. It was a shame at her young age that she would be ok with offering herself up.

"All right, let's go," she smiled and laid the last of the chains down quietly on the floor. They both made it to the door and she opened it a little to peek out.

"This is going to be tough. We've got at least thirty stairs before there is a place to duck into. There is a secret passageway out of here but we'll have to wait until dawn to make our escape."

"The dragons," Merlin nodded as he grabbed his wand off the wall. Malik thought he was being clever by putting it out of reach and making it practically useless but he'd pay for it now.

"Exactly. They hide during the day so that will be our best shot of making it to the forest before the sun is fully up," she said as she opened the door and quickly began the descent to the landing they needed to make. Merlin followed swiftly and they were able to make it.

"Now we need to get to the second door on the left," she whispered as she looked around. Most of the castle was enjoying the dinner party Malik was throwing so their footsteps sounded like a herd of cattle on the floor. However, they made it safely to the room and she locked the door behind them.

"That'll buy us some time. Now down through the trapdoor. You first," she insisted as she moved the carpet out of the way and exposed the door to their escape. Merlin pulled the metal handle and slipped into the dark tunnel that was only about two feet high. He pulled out his wand and cast a spell to light their way. Amelia pulled the carpet, up as far as she could before ducking in herself.

"We have to go about a fifty yards before it widens and we can walk. Meantime, get crawling," she urged and they set off to find the wide open space. They crawled in silence until they were able to stand.

"Now where do we go?" Merlin asked.

"Now we wait. The dragons will no doubt be called in to search for you. About a hundred feet ahead there is a human sized hole they will not be able to get through. They'll probably belch fire to make sure they've fried anyone who is back there so when the search is called off, we'll make our move," Amelia nodded.

"Very good. Then I guess I'd better transform back," Merlin said.

"Transform back?" She was confused.

"Merlin was my father's name. He usually referred to me as Junior," the wizard smiled and used his wand to reveal a much younger man in his thirties. He didn't get much of a chance to say anything else as Amelia leapt into his arms, planting one on him. He froze and she immediately pulled back.

"Sorry I don't know what came over me," she shook her head and tried to get him to let her go. Instead he pulled her close and kissed her.

"Never apologize," he smiled when they parted.

To Be Continued…