A/N: Yes, it's been almost two weeks, but there will be another update next week, I DO promise.

This chapter is dedicated to Phoenix Risin, for reviewing, and being honest. Thanks X)

As always readers, R&R! I hope you like it, even if it didn't have quite the angst I envisioned it having.

Merlin POV

He was worried. There was no other word for it. When he had gotten Yara out of that magic-draining cell, he'd been convinced that a horse was a good idea. She had talked him down. The horses were guarded at night, to discourage and thieves from the lower town. She didn't want to get him in trouble.

Now, as Arthur readied the knights for their second day of search for the girl, Merlin was wishing he had insisted. There was no way for Yara Mair to outrun the knights of Camelot. Not on her own. They would catch her today.

"The girl will be fine," Lancelot murmured quietly as he passed Merlin with supplies under his arm.

"What will I do if Arthur does find her?" Merlin murmured back.

"Do what you feel is right," was Lancelot's reply.

Merlin mounted his mare and, with a click of his tongue, brought her beside Arthur's horse. The king looked sideways at him.

"You're being very quiet Merlin."

"Really?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've lost the fondness you seem to harbor for your own voice."

"Ha ha, very funny Sire," Merlin said, smirking. This felt normal, and for a second, Merlin was able to forget what they were doing in this gods forsaken forest. Then-

"Sire," Leon said suddenly. "I think she went off the path here." And, nodding, Arthur turned his horse into the trees. Reluctantly, Merlin followed. There was only the flicker of hope now that Yara could get out of this situation alive. And it was quickly going out.

Arthur POV

They rode for about an hour before Arthur caught sight of something ahead. A movement in the trees, the edge of a black cloak whipping out of sight. He pulled on the reins, bringing his horse to a stand-still; and sent his knights around. They would surround the girl and give her nowhere to run.

"Arthur . . ."

"Shush, Merlin," he said, annoyed. They were so close, he could feel it. He urged his horse forward, and heard Merlin's mare following behind him as he closed in on the figure. The girl was standing in the middle of a clearing, face to face already with Gwaine, Lancelot, and Percival. Leon and Elyan rode into the clearing as Arthur approached.

The sorceress turned, a drawn, hopeless expression on her face. "I suppose you've come to take me back," she said, voice full of defiance.

"That would be a reasonable assumption," Arthur agreed. The girl seemed surprisingly not-terrified (hopeless, yes, but not terrified), despite the fact that she was surrounded by Camelot's finest knights and her king.

"And I suppose that once you get me there, I face the death penalty anyway," the girl said. Arthur was stumped. There was something about this girl. He couldn't lie to her. He didn't want to kill her, but the laws stated that those with magic were to be killed. Magic was an evil thing, sorcerers had destroyed his family. So why should the girl come quietly.

"I am, as yet, unsure of your sentence," he said finally. "Magic is a severe offense against the crown and people of Camelot. I'm assuming you are aware of this." The girl nodded. Arthur heard a noise behind him, and turned to see Merlin dismounting his horse. Arthur raised an eyebrow at his manservant, who took his water skin and disappeared into the woods most probably to find a river.

Arthur turned back to the girl, to find that she was looking after Merlin with an odd expression on her face, almost like worry. "Aren't you going to go after him?" Even her voice was laced with worry, but that was absurd. Why would a sorcerer care about his manservant? His confusion must have shown on his face, for she spoke then. "Never mind then," the girl said, rubbing her lower arms. "Never mind."

Arthur felt his brow furrow, but quickly brought his mind back on-topic before he started worrying about Merlin again. That was not why they were here. "We will bring you back to Camelot," he said with as much authority as he could muster.

"Will you?" she asked. "I kind of like my head where it is, and I don't really like fire in the Summer. Seems kind of pointless, doesn't it?"

"You poke fun at the breaking of the law against magic?" Leon asked, sounding not so much as dangerous as incredulous.

"No," the girl said, turning towards the knight. "I poke fun at your over-blown reaction."

"Over-blown!?" Arthur asked, this time even he could hear the anger infused in the words. Everything this girl said confused and confounded him, and the king of Camelot was getting a little sick of it. Why could nothing ever be simple?

"Let's be honest. You have no proof that I did anything bad with the magic. I barely even got to practice my healing skills. As I said before, malignant magic is not my area of expertise. I am an enchantress." The girl seemed oblivious to the king's anger, which only incensed Arthur further.

"We are done here," he declared. "Elyan? If you would be so kind as to restrain our little enchantress?"

The knight dismounted from his horse, silver shackles in his hands. Silver and gold, very rare, very precious metals, that, if tempered correctly, could render a sorcerer unable to access their magic. Arthur was glad of this particular nugget of information from the Great Purge.

The girl scowled, but with the knights all around her, she would not dare do anything.

NO ONE'S POV

Merlin came back at that moment, and only Yara, Gwaine, and Lancelot noticed him wince as the shackles were clasped around Yara's tiny wrists, which were scarred beneath her long sleeves.

Yara, Gwaine, and Lancelot could also tell that he'd been able to find the river, because the hems of his sleeves were damp, but both of them also noticed that the water skin was just as full as it had been when he'd left.

But only Yara Mair noticed the knife Merlin slipped into the saddle bag through a slight-of hand.

A/N: I'm sorry if the last bit seemed a bit weird . . . it kinda felt weird to write. Anyways . . . tell me what you think. If you hated it, if you thought it mediocre (did I spell that right?), if it was okay, or so-so. (Or if you liked it . . . those are good too.)