So, unless I ask for fewer hours tomorrow, this story is going to go to a 'post when I can' status. I literally only finished this chapter a few hours ago and haven't even started the next one. We will just have to wait and see.


Chapter 13

Arthur didn't know whether he was trying to stop Merlin or follow him. Morgause shout of no had made him think that he had to do something. He wasn't far behind Merlin. He reached out to grab the back of his jacket as he ran through the door. He just about pulled his arm back and turn his right shoulder towards the door as it slammed shut. He knew that he wouldn't be able to stop himself at so short notice and braced himself for the impact.

He knew that in any other situation Gwaine would have probably laughed at him but instead he picked him. He was dazed for a moment before the realisation of what had just happened. Merlin had run into the trap that had been set for them and it was a big possibility that Morgana was here as well.

Arthur knew that he wasn't all one for thinking and so just stormed towards Nimueh, reaching for his sword. Morgause stood in front of him, pushing him backwards

"Don't do anything rash." She warned him.

"She has them both."

"And I can't say to you that I can protect you from anything that she would do to you. She is testing you."

"Do you not think I know that?" Arthur sighed. "You know this Isle. I need to get to them."

"Arthur, this isn't about playing the hero. Not now."

"I am not. A lot is at stake here."

"Do you not think I know that?"

"Merlin told me about something before he left for Drugonia," Arthur muttered. "He said that the dragons had told him about the battle for Morgana's soul. What if this is it? We need to get to them. We need to stop whatever she is doing."

It was like he had said something wrong because not long after he said his last word, the floor disappeared underneath him and he fell. The hole closed almost immediately as Arthur hit the ground. He groaned as he rolled onto his side. It took him a few moments to regain his breath but he slowly stood up. He felt grateful that he did manage to find the wall next to him.

He stood up and took a couple of deep breaths before turning to the new problem. He was somewhere, probably underneath the Isle, in the dark. He had no torch and no means to light a torch even if he did have one. In the darkness, he looked at his right hand that was still rested on the wall. He held it there as he began to walk, either to find the others or a way out. He didn't think he could do too wrong following one direction.


Morgause turned to Nimueh as soon as Arthur disappeared. This was bad.

"Why did you do that?"

Nimueh smiled at her. "He is right. The battle for Morgana's soul and the fate of Drugonia and Camelot has just begun. The players have entered the game. Let's see whether they come out of it as they went in or if they crumble with the pressure of the task ahead of them."

Morgause opened her mouth to say something else but closed it as soon as Nimueh disappeared. She cursed. Somehow she knew something like this would happen. That was why she wanted them to wait for her to return before they stepped onto the Isle. She wanted to know what Nimueh was planning. Now everything could end badly.


Merlin knew he was in a maze. The seemingly endless corridors just turned into each other and the darkness of the halls didn't help. He held his right hand to the wall as he followed the light he had created. He had hoped that the light would expel most of the dark but it only lit up a small area. Whatever magic that was used was powerful.

There were only two things on his mind as he walked.

The first thing that was on his mind was that he had to find Morgana as soon as possible. He didn't know how long she had been on the Isle and he didn't know what Nimueh had already done to her. He had a suspicion that she was the first to enter this maze but he was more worried about the state that he would find her in.

She ran from Camelot for some reason. What if Nimueh had played on that? What if she was a worse mess than she was before?

There was no denying it now. This was what the dragons had been talking about. This is what he tried to stop. Part of him wondered whether he could never stop it. Whether it was always going to happen. Maybe it was just down to the events that had happened. Everything just led to this.

The second thing that was on his mind was what Nimueh was planning. This was obviously the test. This is what everything was seemingly leading up to. But how was it all going to plan out? Was she going to pick them off one by one? Was this a divide and conquer technique? Was she just gone to let them wander around in the dark and allow them to attack each other as they became more and more paranoid? Or was there something in the darkness to get them?

Merlin stopped and spun on the balls of his feet as he heard a noise. He didn't know where it had come from but he was sure that it wasn't human. His mind turned to all of the books that he had read about magical creatures and couldn't think of one that related to the noise that he just heard. He turned back around and started walking again.

He could feel his feet get faster as his breath did and soon enough he found himself running down the corridor. It just felt like something was behind him, hunting him down. He turned a corner and heard this almighty crash. He looked behind him to see that the corridor he had just been down had been closed off. He let out a sigh of relief just as the ball of light went out.