Arthur had waited for her for years the court had grown restless with Arthur being a king with no heir as of yet. Only Merlin was able to convince the king he needed to marry. He eventually married Morgana's maidservant. The court took the coupling as an unusual choice as she was not noble born but Arthur had found her kind and caring. She was the only person that was as close to Morgana as he was and this was his way of keeping a bit of the woman he lost. He kept the white rose she had left behind on his bedside table and had it preserved. After all these years her leaving him still left a bitter taste in his mouth. He felt just like his father had when she went missing when Uther was king except a thousand times worse and he had hired way more men than his father had to search for her. He would use whatever men he had and whatever resources he could to get her back.
He often thought he should feel guilty going behind his wife's back to try and find Morgana but he knew the Queen had her own guilty pleasure and he would never deny her the love she found in Lancelot. He smiled faintly; glad that she was happy and wished with all his heart he could be the same.
Arthur stepped into the glare of the sun pulling on his gloves before he mounted his horse. Every day he and Merlin would go out riding to nearby towns and far away ones disguised as peasants. Merlin thought it was good that Arthur took an interest in what his people were doing and sometimes they encountered trouble along the road but surprisingly they always escaped and Merlin would always have that annoying wry smile of his painted on his face for days after. Arthur however did not do these daily rides to watch farmers farm, children playing and the daily lives of his people. They were happy enough going about their daily business without him being there. He did it in the hope of seeing Morgana again or at least hearing of her. But there was never any sign of her nor any word. It was as if she had disappeared completely.
Merlin awkwardly helped the King up into his saddle but Arthur slipped and fell against Merlin's shoulder. Arthur's face had turned pale and he looked shocked to his core. He stared out over the courtyard as he held Merlin up so they didn't both tumble to the ground.
"I'm sorry Sire, I guess I was being clumsy again. What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." Merlin chuckled and stared out across the courtyard to where the King was staring.
He saw a young boy with curly hair, black as night and skin pale as the moon, the boy stared back at them with eyes that cut him to the bone. Blue and unyielding they held the same strength that Arthur's did.
"Guards!" Arthur yelled as the boy began to run "Grab that boy!" He pointed running after him as swiftly as he could across the courtyard.