They left the dungeons and made their way towards the throne room. At a fork in the road, Percival and Bri split off. Merlin watched them go anxiously. They carried on, finding larger and larger groups of soldiers ahead. They were drawing close. The fighting sounds must have reached the throne room, since more soldiers rushed to defend those that were falling.

Had they been alone, Arthur and his knights would have been overpowered by the sheer number of Sarrum's soldiers. But Merlin came, shoulder to shoulder with Arthur, and where Arthur slashed with his sword at the enemy, Merlin hit them with his magic and sent them sprawling and flying into walls.

Before the throne room doors they paused and looked at each other. Arthur nodded and at his sign Merlin stepped behind Arthur and spoke the words that broke the doors inwards off their hinges. When the splinters and dust settled, and they could see inside, they were met with a great hall full of armed men. Deep at the end of the hall, ensconced in the ornate wooden throne, sat Morgana in her dark robes and watched like a bird of prey. Sarrum, standing at her right, shouted commands to his men, and they attacked.

Hiding behind Arthur, Merlin went unnoticed.

Inch by inch Arthur and the knights gained entry into the hall. Steel crashed against steel and cut into cloth and leather and flesh. Men fell and were trampled underfoot. Merlin used no powerful spells, instead deflected a soldier here and another there, letting the crowd hide him as he slowly made his way to the dais.

Content that this was not a real threat and that Arthur was walking straight into her clutches, Morgana sat motionless on the oak throne and waited. She brooded over his survival in the caves. She brooded over the sight of him still alive. How had he managed it? It mattered not, since another opportunity was at hand, and she forgot her displeasure quickly. A restless eagerness overtook her, and she was tempted to kill Sarrum's men herself to hasten Arthur's arrival before her.

Suddenly, her eyes spotted a crown of white hair in the approaching circle of knights. She jumped to her feet, and already raised on the dais, she saw that which she feared: Emrys was amongst the attackers. She shrieked his name in displeasure and Merlin looked up and knew he was discovered.

He raised his right arm and in a booming bold voice he uttered the spell that knocked down like a wave an entire row of Sarrum's soldiers. He raised his hand again and repeated the spell, clearing the way between himself and Morgana.

He took long strides towards her and missed the awed look that Arthur gave him.

"Morgana!" Merlin shouted. "Your treachery ends now!"

Wide eyed, Morgana clutched a hand above her heart and the other shot out towards Merlin. She uttered her incantation and the stone ceiling began to crumble above their heads. Her voice rose higher and louder and the tremors came stronger and stronger.

Merlin barked out one command, eyes flashing, and Morgana was thrown back like a rag doll against oak throne. The throne fell backwards along with her unconscious body.

Amata's soldiers that remained standing in the hall looked around for guidance. They had seen the witch Morgana, who drove their master, being flung back like a leaf. They looked for Sarrum, needing his direction and finding none.

Arthur lost no time capitalizing on their confusion and struck them down one after another. His eyes scanned the hall for Sarrum, for he had not seen him since that first moment when they had stormed the throne room.

A shout near the doors alerted them, and turning he saw Sarrum with a knife against Guinevere's throat. Sarrum's face was livid with fear, like a cornered beast. He started moving backwards, pulling Gwen along as his ticket to freedom. Gwen had gone almost completely limp in his arms, acting like dead weight to slow him down.

"Sarrum, let her go!" Arthur called out.

"Stay away or I slit her open," he hissed. He backed further and further out. Arthur and the others followed them slowly. Once he reached the corridor, Sarrum picked up the pace, pulling Gwen along with a death grip on her throat.

"Emrys," Arthur shouted. "I need you!"

Glancing with regret towards where Morgana's body had fallen, Merlin rushed after Arthur.

"He's got Gwen!"

"We'll get her back," Merlin reassured him. "I promise."

They raced after Sarrum. Another turn and a short flight of stairs and he would be in the courtyard. If his men had horses ready, he could be gone before they got the chance to catch up to him.

They reached the courtyard before Sarrum had secured a horse and Merlin whispered a few words from Arthur's side and made the handle of Sarrum's knife glow hot. He cried out and dropped it, and at the same time Gwen kicked back against him and broke free. Gwaine and Elyan were on Sarrum instantly.

Percival and Bri came running down the steps toward Guinevere, and Merlin looking up at them, saw a dark shadow following behind. Morgana appeared at the head of the stairs. With her hand out she cast a spell that knocked Percival sideways and launched Bri into the air towards the drawn swords of the knights. Merlin rushed forward to break Bri's fall. She collided with him and they toppled to the ground. Merlin groaned in pain as his old joints hit the uneven paving stones.

"Are you alright," Merlin asked her when he managed to get air back into his lungs. She lay atop him, her head resting on his chest below his chin. He couldn't quite see her for his long white hair was in his face.

Bri pushed herself up and really looked at him. She brushed the strands of white hair away from his face. Her hand was warm on his cheek. "Gods, you're bony, Merlin," she whispered so softly that he almost didn't hear her at all.

Merlin's eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open.

"Don't gawk, Emrys, the great sorcerer. It's not very attractive," she told him pulling them both to their feet.

Meanwhile Morgana had stalked towards Gwaine and Elyan who were restraining Sarrum. The once powerful king of Amata whimpered as she approached, pulling at the knights' hands, a wild terror naked in his eye.

"You are no longer of any use to me," Morgana said. "Remember what I promised you?"

Sarrum's whimpers increased.

"I promised you would suffer all that you had me suffer. You will beg for death before long. It's too bad I won't be around to see it or prolong it." She pointed towards him, her hand like a claw, and spoke words while her eyes blazed golden. Sarrum's body spasmed violently. Gwaine and Elyan released their hold on him and his body dropped to the ground.

Merlin straightened himself and turned on Morgana.

"Stand and fight, witch!" he shouted.

Morgana's upper lip curled in a sneer, but there was fear behind her eyes.

"There will be another time, Emrys," she crooned. She raised her hands above her head and shouted into the sky and a swirl of dust and shadow enveloped her and in a blink, Morgana was gone.

Merlin growled with disappointment. He'd missed his chance. Morgana on the loose meant only more trouble. Behind him, the knights made quick work of Sarrum's retreating soldiers.

"The courtyard is secure, Sire," Sir Leon called. "We'll scour the citadel and drive out the last of them." He smiled, looking between Arthur and Merlin. "We did it, Sire. We did it."

At Leon's command, a group broke off and spread out over the corridors of the old castle.

Arthur had rushed to Guinevere and held her to him. He glanced up over Gwen's head and his eyes met Merlin's. Relief and gratitude shone undisguised in them, and Merlin's mirrored it all.

Gwaine stood where Sarrum lay on the ground. "Can you do anything about him?" Gwaine asked, his meaning unclear whether the doing something was to cure him or make his death quicker.

Merlin touched his hand to Sarrum's chest and shook his head. "Whatever she did to him, I would need to know what it was in order to reverse it." Sarrum's body twisted on the paving stones one last time and then was still.