I have done a chapter by chapter plan of this story, it looks like it's going to be a short one in terms of the number of chapters, but hopefully not in the word count or in the amount of adventure! It's going to be quite fast paced I think, I hope that's ok. I will try and update twice a week :)

Anyway, onto the next chapter! Lots of dialogue in this one I'm afraid, my apologies if that bothers you, but I hope you enjoy it all the same, please review :)

Chapter Three

Fear

Merlin wasn't sure how long he searched for Arthur, every desperate second that passed felt like another minute lost, letting panic slowly take over his mind and giving Uther's men a better chance of finding the Prince first. What would happen to Arthur if the soldiers and guards found him? Did the King just want to make sure his son was safe, or was he going to arrest him, even accuse him of treason? If armed men found the Prince and tried to arrest him he might panic and attack them, making the situation all the more worse. And then what would happen?

It didn't bare thinking about, but right now Arthur needed his friends, not an armed guard. Merlin had to find him.

In the end Merlin did find Arthur first. He wondered if perhaps the Prince thought he had been struck by a mysterious illness that caused magic, in which case he would go to someone who would diagnose it and make him better. He would go to Gaius.

As soon as the thought occurred to Merlin he sprinted to the physician's chambers. Reaching it he found the door open slightly ajar and there was silence from within. Slowly, as if afraid of startling a wild animal, Merlin pushed open the door and stepped through.

"Arthur?"

No response, but he thought he caught a sight of movement in the corner of the room. He made his way further into the chamber.

"Arthur, it's me." It was probably obvious who it was, but Merlin had no idea what else to say.

"Stay away from me," came a muttered response from behind Gaius' large workbench.

The voice was more of an encouragement for Merlin than a warning. He slowly approached the workbench. "Arthur, I just want to talk to you."

"I'm not safe Merlin, leave before I bring this whole chamber down on top of our heads!" Arthur's voice was full of panic and fear, despite all they had been through Merlin had never heard the Prince sound so afraid.

As he reached the workbench he could see Arthur crouching behind it, like a prey animal trying to hide from the predator. The sight was a shock to Merlin, this was not the Prince he knew, since when did he run and hide? Mind you, using magic certainly wasn't the Arthur he knew either.

"I'm not scare of you," Merlin said.

"You should be," Arthur replied, hurriedly pulling himself to his feet as if ashamed to be found cowering in a corner, but he quickly backed further away from Merlin. His eyes were wide and terrified. "I'm a monster."

"You're not a monster-" Merlin began.

"Yes I am!" Arthur snapped, he sounded almost angry that Merlin wasn't afraid of him, "did you not see what I did out there? I could have kill Sir Twyllo!"

"It was self defence, he was trying to kill you."

"Those soldiers who tried to stop me running weren't trying to kill me, yet still I attacked them, I couldn't help myself, I could have destroyed the whole arena!"

Merlin tried to keep his voice as calm as possible and think rationally. Arthur had just had a scare, that's all, perhaps there was a simple explanation for this. "Maybe it wasn't you Arthur, maybe there was someone out there in the crowds, a sorcerer, who cast a spell to make it look like you were the one using magic?"

"No, it was me, Merlin," Arthur said in a whisper, as if he was terrified that someone nearby could hear him. "I felt it, there was some sort of...power building up inside me, heat ran through me as I cast those men aside as if they weighed nothing. I did it Merlin, I...I used magic." Arthur shuddered at saying the very word. He rubbed his hands across his face as if trying to wake himself up from this terrible nightmare. "I've been cursed, I'm a curse..."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be a curse-" Merlin tried to explain.

"But that's what it is!" Arthur hissed at him, "how else could I suddenly have...have magic? What do you think the King will say when he sees his son has this curse? When his son has become a monster!" He shouted. For a moment Merlin thought he could feel heat coming off Arthur, as you do when someone has a fever, but he chose to ignore it.

Merlin wanted to comfort Arthur, but he knew he was right to fear the King. He had no idea how Uther would react to his son having magic, would he try to explain it away? Would he accuse innocent people of cursing his son and have them killed in Arthur's place? Or would he accuse the Prince of hiding his magic for so many years and exile him, or worse, kill him? Perhaps his son having magic would make Uther realise that not all those who have it are evil, but Merlin couldn't let Arthur be captured to find out what the King's decision was. It wasn't worth the risk.

"What are you going to do?" He asked quietly.

"I don't know," Arthur admitted, "I thought Gaius might be able to do something to help cure me of this...disease. But the more I think about it the more I realise this is beyond Gaius' knowledge if it is a curse. Guards could come any minute and take me to my father, but I don't know what he will say. He could lock me away, or..." Arthur couldn't bring himself to say what his own father might do with him if he was accused of the crime of having magic.

It was surely too terrible a thought to be true, but if he turned himself in it would be too late to escape if Uther decided the only way to free his son from this curse and prevent chaos from descending on Camelot was to end his life. And even if Uther didn't kill Arthur but still decided to punish or cure him, how much damage would that do to Camelot, to see the King imprisoning his only son and heir or claiming he was cursed?

"You could always...leave Camelot?" Merlin suggested. "Until all the panic dies down and we find a way to help you, we could tell Uther we're going to find a cure for your curse."

It seemed like a reasonably good idea to get Arthur to safety, but the Prince shook his head, "No, I don't want to run from this. I already have today and I feel like a coward, I won't do it again."

"But-"

"That's a no Merlin!"

At that moment the two of them heard footsteps approaching the chamber. Panicking that a soldier had found them, Merlin grabbed Arthur and pulled him into the door that they were standing next to, which led into Merlin's bedchamber. He hurriedly closed the door behind them.

"Quick, hide!" He whispered, leaning his body weight against the door in a vain attempt to stop someone from breaking it down.

"Where? There's nowhere to go!" Arthur hissed back, but then they heard a tentative knock at the door and a female voice spoke.

"Arthur, is that you?" Said Gwen.

Relieved that it wasn't an armed guard, Merlin opened the door but closed it quickly as soon as Gwen entered the room.

"I thought you might be here," she said, her face was full of worry, she rushed over to Arthur, but he backed away from her.

"Stay away from me Gwen, I'm not safe!"

However Gwen didn't show any sign of fear. She took a calm stepped forward and took the Prince's hand. "You're not going to hurt anyone," she said gently. Her voice seemed to help Arthur down a little, though he still looked very uneasy. "What happened out there?" She asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I used magic and now I'm being forced to hide from my own father!" Arthur snapped.

"Did you see what happened?" Gwen said, turning to Merlin.

He nodded, "Yes, and yet I have no idea what happened, or how it happened. I saw just as much as you did, I saw Arthur use magic." He explained, Arthur flinched at the word.

"What should we do?" Gwen asked, her hand still holding onto Arthur's.

"I was trying to explain to Arthur the best thing for him to do might be to leave Camelot for a while," Merlin said, "but he doesn't want to."

"I can't just abandon Camelot like a coward," Arthur snapped again, then he took a deep breath. "I have to face up to what I've done. I must turn myself in to my father and hope that he shows mercy. I will not be hunted like a wild boar."

To Merlin's relief Gwen shook her head at this, "You can't do that Arthur, not until we learn more about how you managed to use magic. Perhaps the only safe option is to leave until we know you'll be safe and you have some answers for the King when you return to Camelot."

"But if I run away I'll be a coward."

"But if you run you'll survive," Merlin pointed out, he hated to say it but it was true. Running could be the only way Arthur could live through this. Uther did so many terrible things in moments of wrath, who knew how far his hatred of magic would take him? And Uther wasn't the only person they had to worry about either. "If you are cursed as you say Arthur, having you arrested is exactly what that person would want, we cannot let them win. And even if the King forgives you, what about the people out there in Camelot who despise magic like their King? They could decide to take the law into their own hands."

"He's right Arthur," Gwen spoke softly and sounded perfectly calm, but there was worry in her eyes. What she had seen that day had left her shaken and frightened for Arthur's life, magic scared her but she was not afraid of Arthur. "And there might be some people outside of Camelot who can help us."

Merlin nodded in agreement, "Druids cannot come into Camelot, but if we find some they might be able to help you, give some advice." And they could advise me too, Merlin thought to himself, because although he didn't want to admit it he felt scared for Arthur too, he had no idea what to do, but Druids might. He remembered how much they had helped Morgana once when she was so scared at the thought of having magic. He just hoped it wouldn't backfire as it did then. The future of Camelot was hanging in the balance and every decision could dramatically alter it.

Arthur was becoming restless, pulling his hand away from Gwen's he ran it through his hair and began pacing, his whole body was starting to shake. He knew they were right, but still he wanted to put up a fight. The thought of leaving Camelot was making him panic once more, this was getting all too much. "But how could I possibly do it on my own, even if there was help out there?"

Gwen glanced at Merlin and gave a small smile, "Who said you'll be going anywhere on your own?"

At these words, Arthur shook his head vigorously and took another step back. "No, you can't come with me, it's too dangerous!"

Merlin shrugged, "Most of the places I go with you seem to turn out to be dangerous Arthur, but it's never stopped me before, or you." He pointed out.

"You can't do this alone Arthur, and you won't." Gwen said determinedly.

At that moment the chamber door opened and all three of them jumped, they whirled around in a panic expecting to see guards marching into the room.

Instead they saw Morgana standing there, surveying the room, hands on her hips.

"Well, it sounds like I find myself a new maidservant," she said, but then smiled when she saw the fear on their faces. "Don't worry," she added, walking briskly into the room, "I won't tell anyone you're here. I heard voices though, you should be more careful, anyone could have found you."

"So it would seem," Merlin muttered, not able to hide the suspicion in his voice, but Morgana ignored him.

"Are you three really thinking of leaving?" She asked, Merlin didn't believe the sadness and concern that was in her voice.

Arthur nodded, "It seems that's the best option, and Gwen's right, I can't do this alone and I can't stay in Camelot. I must admit though I'm...I'm terrified."

"Don't be," Morgana said kindly, "you have your most loyal friends here to help you. Whatever happened out there Arthur, we'll get to the bottom of it."

"Did you see Uther?" Gwen asked.

Morgana nodded, "He's gone to question Sir Twyllo I think, he looked pretty angry," she admitted, "the guards are searching through the castle and the grounds for you, it won't be long until they come in here. Uther said I shouldn't help look for you, it was too dangerous, but I couldn't simply stand idle."

"Do you think I should run away Morgana?" Arthur asked.

Morgana sighed sadly, "It's up to you, Arthur. I can only imagine what you must be going through, I too would want to run away. But I don't know what Uther has in mind, all he wants to do now is find you. Perhaps when he does he'll try and get you some help, or try to cover the whole thing up."

But Merlin shook his head, he trusted Morgana even less with these words. She knew exactly what Arthur was going through and when she did she was too terrified to face Uther. "We can't take the risk," he said quickly, "you know the King could just as easily decide to imprison Arthur instead. We have all seen how blind his hatred of magic makes him, we cannot assume Arthur is safe anymore."

"But where will you go?" Morgana asked.

There was a pause, Merlin had to admit he had no idea where they would go if they did leave, but Gwen spoke first. "I think we should go and find the Druids, they have always sounded like peaceful people to me, Merlin seems to know a lot about them and Arthur is a good tracker, if we find evidence of them we could follow their tracks and find out where they're living."

"But what if they refuse to help the son of Uther Pendragon?" Morgana pointed out.

Merlin shrugged again, "It's worth a try."

Morgana folded her arms across her chest and studied Merlin and Gwen closely, then turned her attention to the Prince. "What do you want to do Arthur?"

Arthur hesitated, "I want nothing more than to run away from this monster, to hide and hope it goes away. But I cannot run from it because the monster is inside me. I don't think I could face my father, I don't want him to see what his son has become: a coward, a sorcerer, a monster. I think I need help and I don't think that help can be found within the walls of Camelot. I can't stay here."

There was a heavy silence, Arthur put his head in his hands as if he felt terribly guilty about what he had just admitted. Gwen squeezed his arm to remind him that they were still there beside him. Merlin watched Morgana carefully, relieved that Arthur had agreed to his idea, but worried about how the King's ward would react.

"Well in that case," Morgana said at last, "I'm coming with you."

"No." Morgana had hardly finished her sentence before Merlin responded. They looked at him, surprised by the harshness and distrust that was now in his eyes. He quickly thought of an explanation. "We can't have the King's ward leave as well, it's going to start looking like a kidnapping. Uther won't care if two servants disappear, but if his ward and his son vanish? It will only make things worse."

"I would rather stand by Arthur than Uther, and I cannot let my maidservant walk out into potential danger, I would have to go with her. So either I go with you, or Gwen stays with me. Besides, the King's ward might be surprisingly helpful when it comes to living out in the wilderness," Morgana added with a smile.

"I'm not going anywhere without Gwen," Arthur said quickly.

Merlin tried to hold back a sigh. It was either Morgana came with them or Arthur stayed behind. Neither sounded very safe, because he had no idea if Morgana could be trusted. She had begun working with Morgause and then spent months away from Camelot, what had happened while she out there in the wilderness? She could just as easily walk out of this chamber and turn them in to the King.

"You don't trust me," Morgana said suddenly, her eyes fixed on Merlin, he could feel them boring into him, reading his mind.

Merlin shrugged, "How do we know Uther didn't send you here to try and persuade Arthur to turn himself in?" He said.

"I would never do that!" Morgana snapped.

"No, she wouldn't," Arthur said firmly. "I trust you Morgana, you are like a sister to me and I would be grateful if you were by my side. Perhaps you could even persuade Uther that I am leaving for a while because I am ill and need to get well again, that would call off the search."

Morgana smiled broadly. "You're right Arthur, Uther might be able to listen to me, he certainly wouldn't trust a servant," at this her eyes flickered to Merlin and back again. Merlin felt his blood run cold. "Get some supplies ready while I talk to Uther. Some of the King's old stables are no longer in use, hide there, they won't think to look there, and I'll come and find you as soon as I can."

With that Morgana turned and hurried out the chamber before Merlin could argue against her decision.

"I hope you know what you're doing Arthur," Merlin muttered.

"I hope you do too, Merlin." Arthur replied solemnly.