"ELYAN!" Arthur shouted as Elyan disappeared through the doorway.
"Careful!" Merlin cautioned as an arrow sped past Arthur's face.
"We have to get to him," Arthur said, leaping forward to where he had thrown his sword and tossing it to another flagstone. "He could be walking straight into a trap!"
"I'll catch him," Merlin said, tossing his belt to the last flagstone. He was farther along the room than any of the others.
"Just stop him and hold him back—don't go on without us!" Arthur ordered as Merlin dashed through the door and up the stairs to the next level.
As he threw the door open, a strange sight met his eyes: Elyan was fighting with an invisible foe. Or rather, Merlin realized, as he watched, the sword was enchanted to move on its own. It flew through the air faster and more freely than it ever could have done if it were wielded by a man. The fight was hardly fair, but Elyan was a formidable swordsman: as Merlin watched, he ducked under the spinning blade. He countered its blows repeatedly, but at last it flew forward, about to stab him in the chest. Merlin exerted himself, and at the last moment the blade slipped sideways, merely catching the outside of Elyan's left arm. Ducking under the sword again, Elyan leapt to the window and opened one of the wooden shutters. The sword lunged at him, he parried it, and it flew far out the window. Elyan slammed the shutter closed and thrust the wooden bolt home. Then he leaned, panting, against the wall. The sword blade pierced the shutter—and was still.
"Elyan! Are you hurt?" Arthur had caught up, and crossed the room toward his brother-in-law.
"I'm fine," Elyan panted as Merlin tried to get a look at the cut through his chainmail. "It's just a scratch." He laughed breathlessly. "Lucky that thing wasn't enchanted to have perfect aim!"
"He's alright," Merlin confirmed, and Arthur grinned and clapped Elyan on the back.
"You're a hero. Now stop with the heroics, and let's do the rest of this together!"
Elyan laughed again. "Yes, Sire."
000
"Who is it fighting the sword?" Morgana asked from her position by the crystal.
"Elyan," Gwen said dully.
"Really?" Morgana asked in mild surprise. "I would have thought Arthur would have been in the vanguard. No matter," she added, shrugging; "this means that we can have some more fun with Arthur before he dies. But isn't your brother eager to drag you back to your sham marriage?" she added. "Probably just to bolster his own social position in Camelot. It's useful, being the Queen's brother. How is he doing?" she asked.
"He has beaten it," Gwen answered. "He has survived."
"Not for long," Morgana smirked.
000
"Keep together," Arthur cautioned in a low voice as he led the way up the stairs. "It's very dark up here."
There was a grunt from behind him as Percival, being helped along on his bad leg by Leon, stubbed his toe. "No kidding," Percival grumbled.
"We're at the top."
"Are there any torches?" Merlin asked, feeling along the wall as the other knights joined them in the pitch blackness.
"Many," a feminine voice answered, and the knights reeled backward as light flared up all about them. "Gestedigaþ," she commanded, and Merlin found himself unable to move. He could not lift a hand or a foot; he could not turn his head or open his mouth. The only thing that would move was his eyes.
And what he saw was Morgana, standing over a crystal ball, with Gwen behind her, looking on impassively. Merlin couldn't move his head to see Arthur's reaction, but he heard him vocalize wordlessly.
"We did so hope you'd come," Morgana said, stepping around the pedestal on which the crystal sat. "Didn't we, Gwen?"
"Indeed," Gwen said calmly.
"And what shall we do with them, now that we have them?"
Guinevere smiled. "I'll leave that to you—Sister."
Arthur made a strangled noise that sounded like Gwen's name. Morgana smiled and stepped up to him. "You see, Arthur? With my help, Gwen has learned to see through your show of love to the evil that lies beneath it." She leaned in and said delightedly, "First she cuckolded you: now she killsyou. Fitting, isn't it?"
Arthur, unable to struggle, gave an inarticulate cry of rage as Morgana stepped back, gazing at him approvingly. "I think it will be more fun to save Arthur for last, don't you think, Gwen?"
"Certainly."
Was it possible for him to break the spell, Merlin wondered? Could he gather enough power to move, to stop Morgana? And could he do it without her noticing? He couldn't risk her discovering that he was Emrys…
"Gwen, would you like to do the honors on the first one?" Morgana asked, looking over the knights appraisingly. "…Gwen?"
She turned around to see Guinevere standing with the crystal in her hands and a look of determination on her face. "Gwen, what are you—"
"Do you really think I'm that stupid?" Gwen said scornfully, and hurled the crystal to the floor with all her strength.
The spell was broken in a moment, and the knights all brandished their swords. Morgana fled to the opposite side of the room, throwing her hand out in a gesture as if she would cast them all backwards—but the spell to hold them frozen must have taken up all her power. Nothing happened.
"How?" she spat at Guinevere. "How did you resist the mandrake roots?"
Gwen pushed back her narrow sleeve. On her wrist was the bracelet Morgause had given to her sister: the bracelet that kept away frightening visions. "You're not the only one who knows how to deceive, Morgana."
Morgana turned even whiter than before in her fury. "Well," she said at last, holding down her anger but still spitting out the words, "You never could resist a pretty bracelet, I suppose."
Gwen frowned. "Bracelet… cuckolded… You!" She took a step forward. "You raised Lancelot from the dead—You gave him that bracelet to give to me! It was a love spell! You manipulated me—and now you tried to do it again! To brainwash me, control my body against my will—!"
Morgana shrugged one shoulder, her lips tightly closed in anger. "Took you long enough to figure it out," she said.
Gwen's nostril's flared. She sprang at the table in the corner, snatched up the knife that lay on it, and flew at her. Morgana clutched at a stone that hung around her neck and cried out some word that was lost in a sudden rush of wind. Gwen was forced backward and the knights all shielded their faces as Morgana's robes flew about her and she disappeared from sight.
When the rushing had stopped and the room was quiet once more, Elyan stepped forward cautiously. He took the knife from Gwen's hand and threw it aside She turned and hugged him. "Thank you," she said quietly. He kissed her forehead. Gwen turned toward Arthur, who was looking at her with an ineffable and tender expression.
"Gwen?" he said, and opened his arms. She ran to him and they held each other tightly for a long time.
TBC
AN: Come on, you didn't really think I was going to let Elyan die and Gwen get brainwashed, did you? ;)
