Thanks to all those who showed an interest in the first chapter, I am pleased to be continuing this story and I hope you enjoy it :)

Before we begin the next chapter I'll explain some more of the story's context: it is AU from the beginning of series 3 and takes place a few weeks after Morgana has been found. No one is aware that she is evil yet including Merlin, though he is suspicious of her.

I hope everyone remains in character and that you enjoy this next chapter. I'm not sure how fast or slow these updates are going to be, as I'm quite busy at the moment but at the same time I would like to be on the way to finishing this by the time I go back to Uni (mid-September), so hopefully you won't have to wait too long for updates :)

Chapter Two

The Last Joust

Morgana's keen eyes scanned the crowds and competitors around her once more, but she still couldn't spot her prey. It was frustrating having this constant commotion surrounding Camelot, she was quickly growing tired of it. As soon as the unnecessary celebrations of her return and 'rescue' were over, everything was uprooted once more in preparation for the annual jousting tournament. Today was the final and there was one joust left before it was all over, then finally Morgana could get some peace and quiet. Not surprisingly, Arthur was one of the finalists.

It had been three days since Morgana had managed to sneak out of the castle and meet Morgause to at last bring together weeks of planned work. The day of travelling and then casting a powerful spell had been exhausting, but Nimueh had assured them that the spell had worked. There was no sign of it affecting Arthur yet but it was a slow process, it would take time. Arthur wouldn't have noticed that something had changed, that he had a new inner power, but it would grow.

You never know, today could be the day where everything fell apart for him, but for Morgana everything would slip into place.

There was one thing however that gave Morgana cause for concern. Just before they left the Isle of Blessed, Nimueh gave them one last warning.

"Beware of Merlin."

She didn't say why though. It was all part of her game, she had to give both sides an advantage. Morgana's advantage was that she now was aware that the manservant could cause problems for them, Arthur's advantage was that Nimueh didn't tell them how Merlin could disrupt their plans. Perhaps it was a bad idea to make her take part in the spell, but it was too late now, no turning back. Soon, nothing would ever be the same.

Morgana sat back in her chair, which was beside Uther's throne as always, and tried to pretend that nothing was troubling her. However she continued watching carefully for the troublesome manservant and the infuriating Prince, silently waiting while Nimueh's words of caution still echoed in her mind.

Beware of Merlin.

"Merlin! Merlin!"

Merlin sighed and followed the call of the irritated Prince, finding him in his tent pulling on his leather gloves.

"Yes Sire," he didn't bother trying to hide the frustrating in his voice.

Arthur glanced around him, "Well? Can you see what's amiss?" He asked.

"Several pleases and an awful lot of thank yous?" Merlin suggested.

"My lance Merlin! Where is my lance? How can I joust without a lance?" Arthur demanded.

"I often wonder how someone can be a Prince and a clotpole at the same time, but you seem to be managing it well." Merlin replied, he knew Arthur was stressed about the final, but he couldn't help irritating him just a little bit more. It wouldn't be an ordinary working day if he didn't.

Arthur decided to ignore this response. "Where have you been?" He snapped.

"Nowhere," Merlin said a little too quickly.

Arthur raised a suspicious eyebrow, oddly reminding Merlin of Gaius. "Merlin, what have you been up to?"

"I've just been out for a walk...in Sir Twyllo's tent."

"What?"

Sir Twyllo was a new Knight at the joust tournament this year and about to face Arthur in the final. He was a huge man, six feet tall and built like a bear. He hardly spoke to any of the other competitors and was rarely seen without his helmet on. When he did take it off his small, menacing dark eyes glared down at the servants who scurried past him and he gave ordered in low grunts, making him seem even more like a bear that had managed to squeeze itself into a suit of armour. No one had noticed anything suspicious about him however, a lot of Knights were quiet, private and bossy, what did it matter if he was too? He played a good game and that was enough to satisfy the crowds. Merlin was sure of one thing though.

"He's cheating Arthur, I swear it!"

Arthur sighed, "For the last time Merlin, Sir Twyllo is not cheating!"

"But haven't you noticed that his lance is longer than the others?"

"When someone is charging towards you on a horse pointing a weapon at you it's hard to notice the little things."

"But I've had time to look, and I'm sure it's longer than the others, that's why he always keeps it with him. And when I went into his tent I found his saddle, it screws into his armour so he doesn't fall off his horse. You can't deny that's not cheating!"

"No I can't Merlin," Arthur snapped, "but we've been through this before, you can't just accuse a Knight of cheating when you're a servant, no one will ever believe you unless you have proof. Even if what you say is true you'll have to answer to the fact that you sneaked into his tent and went through his belongings without his permission. And he probably has a normal saddle and an ordinary sized lance to show the King he's not cheating if we do accuse him. I'm not going to be embarrassed by telling the King someone's cheating the day I face him in the final, I'll look like a coward."

"But you're never going to beat him if he's cheating!" Merlin pointed out.

"You don't know that Merlin, perhaps this is the day someone shows Sir Twyllo cheating will still not bring him glory."

"But you could get hurt."

"I am well aware of that Merlin, we are jousting if you hadn't noticed." Arthur said, picking up his shield.

Merlin tried one last ditch attempt to win Arthur round. He had a bad feeling about this final. Arthur seemed to forget he was the Prince of Camelot, the heir to the throne, Sir Twyllo might not be cheating just for the glory of winning, he could be doing it to get close to Arthur. Everyone seemed to have vengeance in their hearts these days for the King or Prince of Camelot and a joust was the perfect time to create a terrible 'accident'.

"Gwen wouldn't want to see you get hurt," he said. If anyone could make Arthur see sense these days, it was Gwen.

Arthur glowered at Merlin and didn't respond at first, though his cheeks turned red at these words. No one could deny the two of them were growing closer by the day, but the topic was rarely discussed. "In that case you better give me something to defend myself with, for example a lance!" Arthur hissed.

That was enough to let Merlin know the conversation was over and if he pressed the matter he also might be at risk of injury. He hurried out of the tent and tried to find Arthur's lance, hoping that the Prince was right and this was nothing more than a Knight who wanted to take home some glory, even if it meant breaking the rules.

Neither of them noticed that as Arthur began to lose his temper, the shield he was holding began to heat up as if it was being held over a fire. It wasn't powerful enough for Merlin to sense it or Arthur to feel it through his gloves, but if they did it would have warned them that a missing lance was the least of their problems.

Arthur hoisted himself onto his horse, clad in all his armour and thankfully now with a lance. Merlin glanced round and saw Sir Twyllo doing the same. Even from a distance he looked huge, he could probably knock someone over without a horse in a joust.

"Be careful," he said to Arthur, unable to hide the worry in his voice.

"I'll be fine Merlin," Arthur replied, which to Merlin meant that he was feeling nervous too, but didn't want to show it.

Arthur lowered his visor and Merlin took a step back, preparing himself to use magic just in case the worse would happen. He was certain now that Sir Twyllo wasn't only cheating, he was up to something much more dangerous. He went to stand with Gaius who also looked worried, the last thing the physician wanted to do was tend to a severely injured Arthur. Gwen was somewhere within the crowds, looking equally concerned as Arthur steadied his horse, she too couldn't help feeling that something bad was about to happen. Uther in the meantime was feeling confident that his son would do him proud, while Morgana leaned forward in her chair eagerly, for some reason much more interested in this joust than she had been with all the others.

Arthur and Sir Twyllo faced each other on opposite sides of the arena and a man stepped forward between them holding a yellow and red flag. There was a pause as the crowds fell silent.

With a flurry of red and yellow, the flag was lowered and the man dashed out the way and the crowd erupted with cheers as Sir Twyllo and Arthur charged towards each other at break-neck speed, lances held out in front of them, ready to strike.

There was a crack as wood splintered upon armour and the whole crowd gasped to see Arthur almost unseated from his horse, dropping his lance in the process. It was as Merlin feared, no one could beat Sir Twyllo because he was cheating, not even Arthur. The crowd soon began cheering again though, it may not have been the winner they expected but what mattered was that they had a winner. Uther clapped with them, though he didn't look happy. Arthur pulled his horse to a stop, Merlin knew he would be disappointed, but at least the tournament was now at an end and the Prince didn't appear to be hurt.

No sooner had Merlin thought these words however, that Sir Twyllo turned his horse around to face Arthur once more and bent down to pick up Arthur's lance. For a moment everyone thought he was merely being chivalric, but there were gasps of horror as Sir Twyllo suddenly started charging towards Arthur again, who was now defenceless.

Almost instinctively Merlin leaped forward, preparing himself to use magic to stop Sir Twyllo.

The crowd cried out with shock as a sudden, invisible force threw Sir Twyllo off his horse. People were on their feet, including the King, as the man crashed to the ground and his horse reared up with fear. But no one was as surprised as Merlin, because the only way Sir Twyllo would have fallen off his horse like that was if someone used magic, but he hadn't cast a spell or uttered a word yet. Someone else had, someone close to the Knight.

Arthur gazed down with horror at Sir Twyllo, unable to believe what had just happened. Everyone was thinking the same thing. Did the Prince just throw a man from his horse without even touching him? How was that possible?

The only person who didn't seem fazed by this was Sir Twyllo, who had quickly pulled himself to his feet and aimed an attack at Arthur again, he no longer had his horse but he was still clutching the lance. Arthur instinctively raised his arms to protect himself from the weapon.

With a crack the lance split in two. Sir Twyllo fell backwards and there were more gasps from the crowd as they gazed down at the broken pieces. The King was frozen where he stood but Morgana sprung from her seat. Within the crowds Gwen covered her mouth with her hands, as if she was trying to stop herself from crying out in horror and despair. Merlin and Gaius could think of nothing else to do other than stare at Arthur, hardly able to believe their eyes.

Anyone who had magic could have caused Sir Twyllo to fall from his horse, but there was no denying who had caused the lance to split in two.

A terrible silence had fallen amongst the crowd. No one was quite sure how to react, some were wondering if what they had seen had actually happened. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, perhaps even if it wasn't they should all pretend it was. Because how else could they explain how the Prince, the son of Uther Pendragon, had caused a man to fall from his horse and then break his lance only by raising his hands?

Fear was taking over Arthur now. Sir Twyllo barely pulled himself back onto his feet when he was thrown to the ground again by an invisible force. Whether it was by command or its own fear Arthur's horse turned and charged out of the arena, some guards tried to step forward to stop him from leaving but they too were pushed back by a power that could not be seen. Those near by felt a wave of heat like a strong gust of wind as Arthur fled past them. The silence was broken as people cried out with panic and fear as they watched the Prince disappear into the distance. They all now felt that they were in great danger.

Could it be true? Did the Prince have...magic? Surely that wasn't possible, but why would he run if he wasn't guilty?

For what felt like an age the King stood and said nothing. His eyes were filled with something that couldn't quite be described. Was it fear, loss, anger, betrayal? Everything at once? He was trying to work out if perhaps there was a sorcerer out there who was playing some sort of cruel trick, or his son had just become what he hated most in the world.

What King Uther did look in that moment was terrifying, he somehow stood taller and his face was fiercer. For the first time people could see the tyrant that had killed so many innocent people for the simple crime of having magic. He had hidden behind the crown, assuring the people that he had done the right thing, but now everyone could see the monster he had become. When the crowds saw his cowered and fell silent, waiting for him to make a command. Amongst them Gwen was trying to fight back tears, terrified of what had happened to Arthur, and what might happen to him now.

At last Uther spoke, his voice seemed to fill the arena and echo around him. "What are you waiting for? Find him, find him!" He roared.

At once there was a scurry of activity as some guards tried to find themselves horses, while others rushed off on foot to try and find the Prince. Some of the crowds also left the arena in a panic, while others remained where they were, unsure of what they should do or what was going to happen next. In the carnage Sir Twyllo tried to sneak away, but a few guards rushed over and arrested him before he could escape. Morgana had silently got up from her chair and disappeared within the crowds. Uther didn't notice, he remained motionless, watching the chaos all around him.

Within all the commotion, Gaius spoke for the first time. He too had remained frozen to the spot, horrified by what he had just seen. In all his years of service, he had never witnessed this, and he had never imagined it would happen. "Merlin, what are we going to do?" He murmured. But when he turned round he found that his nephew had disappeared.

As soon as Arthur had fled his trusty manservant had followed him. Merlin pushed and shoved his way through the crowds, desperate to find the Prince before Uther's men did, his mind whirring with confusion and panic. He didn't know how it had happened, he had no idea what would become of it, all he knew was that he had to find Arthur.

The methods of Sir Twyllo's cheating were apparently real ways in which Knights tried to cheat in jousts and other medieval competitions, I also watched a couple of clips of jousts on Merlin to try and keep it true to its depiction in the show.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for reading, reviews are much appreciated :)