Apologies for the delayed update, I struggled a bit with this chapter and I had a busy week, hopefully the next one will come sooner :)

During this chapter our four characters reach the border of Camelot. I don't know much about the layout of the Kingdom in the show, a map I found online helped a little but I've decided to use the map in my head that I apply to most of my Merlin stories when there's travelling involved. It's probably inaccurate but at least it's consistent!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter :)

Chapter Seven

Followed

"Has anyone seen Morgana since we left camp?" Merlin asked.

Arthur and Gwen shook their heads. "She can't have gone far Merlin, she's probably still out looking for Arthur, she'll come back soon." Gwen said.

Merlin nodded, but he wasn't entirely convinced. None of them had gone very far from the camp, yet no one had seen Morgana. The suspicion that had been resting in the pit of his stomach was lifting its ugly head again. What could Morgana be getting up to on her own that would take her so long?

"Surely if she was looking for Arthur we would have run into each other by now," he pointed out to the others in an attempt to share his anxiety, "so why haven't we seen her?"

But Morgana's faithful maidservant and friend shrugged her shoulders, "I'm sure there's an innocent explanation Merlin, she'll soon come back to the camp, if not maybe one of us could go and find her to let her now Arthur's returned?"

Merlin considered this idea, but then he realised something. If Arthur told Gwen about his magic, he could quite easily tell Morgana. And if Gwen went off to tell Morgana that the Prince had been found, she could also reveal to her mistress what had been discovered that day. Did he want that to happen?

Hurriedly Merlin turned back to his two companions, "Listen, I don't think Morgana should know about...me. Not yet."

Arthur raised his eyebrow. Hatred was still in his eyes. He didn't trust his manservant, it would probably take a long time for that trust to return, if ever. "Why not?" He demanded. "I think she has a right to know, as we did."

"Yes but..." But she also has magic and we can't trust her, Merlin thought, she isn't using her magic for good and I fear what will happen if she knows. She could tell anyone about me, and not all of them will be allies. If she knows I have magic she will hate me even more than Arthur and not just because I am the light and she is the darkness, as the prophecy says. She came to me once begging for help when she first feared she had magic, and I turned her away to get help from strangers, I could have told her about me just like I told Arthur when I felt he needed help, but I didn't. And she'll hate me for letting her face her fear alone, almost as much as I hate myself for keeping it from her. We cannot trust her.

Merlin longed to tell Arthur and Gwen these things, but he didn't. He wanted to share his greatest fears with them, that Morgana could become the enemy of Camelot and it is not his duty to reveal her magic, though he feels he must. He doesn't want any more deception. However all he says in the end is:

"I just don't know if she can be trusted."

Arthur snorted, "What could make her less trustworthy than you?" He snapped. The Prince's words were full of hurt, so much so that Merlin felt himself flinch at his words. He just hoped that one day Arthur would apologise for saying these things.

"Because I don't know who she'd tell about me, she could go back to Camelot and tell the King and then I'll be a wanted man." Merlin explained, which he supposed wasn't completely a lie, it was something he could imagine Morgana going. "Please, just leave it for a few days before I decide if she'll tell anyone or not. I can't stand another person hating me, and I feel as if I should be the one who tells her." Arthur gave him a long, hard look, telling Merlin that he didn't believe a word he said, he sighed. "There was a good reason for me not telling you or Gwen, wasn't there?" He continued, "because you could have told the King and have me killed. So please believe me when I say I have an equally good reason not for telling Morgana, at least not yet. Let's at least find her first and see where we go from there."

Gwen seemed more convinced by this, but Arthur was still giving Merlin a piercing glare. He was about to open his mouth to say something but before he could there was the sound of approaching footsteps and they all turned to see Morgana appearing out of the trees. Her eyes seemed far away and there was a small frown on her face, but when she saw the Prince they lit up and she smiled.

"Arthur, there you are! We were wondering where you had gone." She said cheerily. Arthur didn't respond.

"We were about to search for you Morgana, no one knew where you had gone," Gen replied light-heartedly.

"Yes, where have you been?" Merlin asked, trying to sound casual and failing.

Morgana shrugged, "Looking for Arthur, like we all were."

"But none of us saw you, you can't have gone far, we almost walked round the whole of the woods and didn't see you anywhere." Merlin pointed out.

The King's ward shrugged again, "I stayed in the woods to see if Arthur would come back, I hadn't gone far." Merlin wasn't convinced, and he knew Morgana could tell he wasn't convinced, but she changed the subject. "Is anything the matter? You all look very...shaken," she said.

There was a pause. Merlin turned round to look at Arthur. This was the chance for the Prince to tell Morgana everything, or show his manservant that a small grain of trust still remained.

Arthur sighed, "I'm just having a hard time at the moment Morgana, I feel as if I'm a danger to everyone yet I don't know when the magic inside me might strike. I'm a monster."

Morgana stepped forward and laid a hand on Arthur's shoulder, looking into his bright blue eyes that were still clouded with anger. "Not everyone who has magic is a monster, Arthur, and I don't think you're dangerous." She gave him a kind smile then frowned again, "are you sure there's nothing else the matter?" She asked.

Arthur glanced at Merlin, then shook his head, "No, there's nothing else." He said coldly.

Morgana too looked over at Merlin and had to try hard to hide a glare. She had been talking to her sister when Merlin had revealed his magic to Arthur so knew nothing of it and she had only departed from Morgause when she heard their footsteps as they entered the woods again. She was heading back to their small campsite when hurried voices made her stop and listen. She couldn't make out everything that was being said, but she could tell that Arthur was angry at Merlin for some reason, and here was a secret that Merlin didn't want Morgana to know because she couldn't be trusted. A secret so big that Merlin could have been killed by it.

Morgana couldn't comprehend what such a secret could be, but these words had made her angry. Whatever secret they were keeping she should know, it could be key to why Nimueh had warned her and Morgause about Merlin. It also confirmed her fears - Merlin was seeing through her facade, how much he knew she wasn't sure, but he knew she couldn't be trusted. That made her job harder than ever, and it made her turn against Merlin all the more. Why did he always seem to be against her? Why couldn't he trust her? He should be cowering before her and begging for forgiveness after he had poisoned her, after he had made her burn from the inside, but no, instead he glared at her as if she was the criminal rather than the victim.

Ever since Morgana had known Merlin she could tell there was something different about him. Once she saw that as a good thing, but now he was nothing but a peculiar fly that wouldn't stop buzzing around her head.

However Morgana managed to force herself to smile once more. "Well, as long as there's nothing else wrong." She said, "I suppose we should get going, the sooner we leave Camelot, the sooner we can get you some help, Arthur."

After having some breakfast the four remaining companions packed up all their supplies and left the woodland. The tension in the air was clear, but Morgana didn't question it and everyone else ignored it, though they seemed to know why it was there.

The rest of the day passed surprisingly quietly considering the events of that morning. Everyone moved in silence with their heads down. Every now and then Merlin glanced at Arthur, looking as if he desperately wanted to say something, but his words were caught in his throat like a fly in a spider's web, and his mouth remained shut. At night they rest at the bottom of a steep hill and the only sound was a small fire crackling in the darkness as they huddled around it, trying to keep out the cold night air. I took them all a long time to get to sleep, but when they awoke Arthur was still with them.

The next day was equally as tense and silent. The morning was dull and cloudy and seemed to reflect their mood, but by midday the clouds had been replaced by a brilliant blue sky and the sun was shining down as they reached the border of Camelot. Before them stretched a huge forest, it seemed shrouded with darkness. Without even realising what they were doing the four companions all stopped just before the border and stared up at the trees. Merlin had passed through this forest before when travelling from Camelot to other Kingdoms, but this time it seemed much more ominous than before. There was a sense that something was hiding within them, something none of them wished to face.

"I want you all to know that we are entering Odin's land and he will not be happy to see unwelcome visitors." Arthur said solemnly into the silence, "it has been many years since he has seen Camelot as an ally and my presence will be a threat to him." He glanced round at the three of them. "It's not too late to turn back."

"I'm staying with you Arthur, you're not going to do this alone," said Gwen without hesitation.

Morgana nodded, "Me too."

Merlin had secretly hoped that perhaps Morgana would think of a reason to turn back to Camelot, but there was a look of stern determination on her face. She wasn't going anywhere, and neither was he.

"I'm staying by your side as a friend Arthur, no matter what happens." Merlin said firmly. He could tell by Arthur's glance that he knew what Merlin was hinting at with these words. Despite his magic he was still going to be by the Prince's side and nothing was going to change that.

"Well, I have to admit, although it would be better for all of you to turn back, I'm glad you're still here." Arthur muttered.

Without another word the four companions walked silently over the border of Camelot and into the forest.

The trees did not seem as menacing as they did from the outside once they entered the forest. Light poured through the branches and they felt a little more protected from the outside world and rather than silence there was the sound of birds singing and the rustle of leaves as they strolled through the trees. Arthur's eyes were fixed to the ground, Merlin wondered if he was already looking out for signs of Druids. A secluded forest would be an ideal place for them to shelter and the soft ground made tracks easy to follow. However this reminded Merlin that anyone and anything out there now had clear tracks to follow them.

They moved slower than they did out in the open, the young Warlock soon found himself aware of every noise that wasn't made by their own footprints. Morgana seemed to be doing the same, as the sound of a squirrel scurrying through the trees made her jump out of her skin.

"You know Morgana," Merlin muttered so only she could hear him, as Gwen and Arthur walked a little further in front of them, "if you're scared you could still go back to Camelot. We're not far over the border, you could go back, no one would blame you, this is a dangerous journey."

"Scared?" Morgana laughed. Once she and Merlin may really have been laughing and joking about turning back from a dangerous mission, but her laugh was cold and bitter and the look in her eyes was not friendly. "I am not scared Merlin. If you are you can turn back, but I'm staying with Arthur."

Merlin tried to hide a scowl as he gazed at the ground, "No, I'm going to stay with Arthur too."

"Well that's settled then," Morgana muttered, and she picked up her speed, leaving Merlin to walk alone.

Night seemed to arrive quicker in the forest, they made good progress that day yet the forest still enclosed them. When the sun started setting they found a small clearing within the trees where they could build a fire and rest. While Gwen and Morgana went off to find twigs dry enough to light a fire with Arthur watched Merlin as the two girls walked off into the trees.

"You could light a fire even if it was pouring with rain couldn't you?" He said suddenly, he didn't sound accusing with these words, more curious.

Merlin nodded. "I could."

Arthur glanced up at the trees as the sun set behind the branches. "Well I suppose that might come in useful one day," he muttered to himself. Merlin said nothing, even though the Prince's face was still stern, he was relieved that these words about magic had not been spoken with hatred or anger. Perhaps Arthur was more willing to forgive than he would allow himself to realise.

When darkness came Merlin felt himself becoming increasingly uneasy, despite a fire being successfully lit without the use of magic. Perhaps it was just paranoia now that they had crossed over the border, but he had a nasty feeling that they were being watched.

The other three didn't seem to think anything was the matter and soon lay down to sleep. Merlin stayed up to watch beside the fire, but he finally managed to convince himself that there was nothing out there he should worry about, and he laid his head down to rest.

As soon as he did so he was sure he heard the sound of snapping twigs and rustling leaves, and suddenly found it very hard to sleep.

By the next morning Merlin's uneasiness had not faded, although there was no sound of any distant footsteps or feelingof unblinking eyes staring at them. Still he decided the sooner they left the forest the better.

"We should get going," he said hurriedly, while the other three were still sitting up, yawning and rubbing their eyes.

"Slow down Merlin, we haven't even had breakfast yet," Gwen pointed out, standing up and bundling up her blanket which she had been sleeping on.

"We can eat while we walk," Merlin replied quickly.

"What's wrong?" Morgana asked, her eyes narrowed with suspicion but also worry.

"Nothing, I just don't like this forest," Merlin muttered.

"Me neither," Arthur agreed reluctantly as he got to his feet. "I suppose the sooner we start walking the sooner we can leave this place."

However Gwen and Morgana successfully managed to persuade Merlin and Arthur to eat first, which they did so, nibbling on a few bread rations which were quickly becoming dry. Soon they would have to start hunting if they wanted fresh food to eat.

It was a chilly morning but the four companions quickly warmed up as they started walking through the forest once more. Merlin had just managed to persuade himself that he was just being paranoid and there was nothing to worry about, when Arthur suddenly stopped.

"Can you hear that?" He whispered. The others stopped too and listened.

In the silence there was a rustle of leaves and a snapping twigs, noises made when someone is creeping through the forest after you. Four pairs of eyes widened with panic.

"Don't run, they'll know we've heard them, just keep walking quickly, we might be able to lose them," Merlin whispered.

But the quicker they walked the closer the footsteps seemed to come. There was no avoiding them now, whoever was following them had found them and was gaining ground, they were not giving up. Merlin could feel himself start to panic more and more.

"Morgana, are you sure you told the King to call off the search?" He whispered hurriedly.

"Of course!" Morgana looked offended that Merlin was even suggesting it, but she looked worried and Merlin knew that there was every chance the King could have changed his mind.

"Should we turn around and fight?" Gwen said.

"I don't know..." Merlin began. He had no idea who or what could be following them, he hadn't dared look behind him to try and catch a glimpse, as he was afraid of what he might see. Should they try to lose them, try to talk to them or try to fight? Eventually the temptation became too great and he looked over his shoulder. A lone figure was moving not far behind them in the trees.

Merlin froze. He was sure he felt his heart stop and then start thudding at double speed. He thought he heard someone talk to him, ask him what was wrong, but everything was just a buzz in his ears. He was so shocked he was amazed he was still standing. He felt like he had fallen into a dream, for there was no other way to explain who was walking towards them. Eventually he managed to find his voice once more, and spoke a name he thought he'd never mention again:

"Freya?"