I'm breaking this into parts. For some reason that has become my favorite thing. Sorry. I also tried to do something a little different with the poisoning, but I'm not sure if I succeeded.

This is for everyone who asked for poisoned Merlin (I think there were a few of you, but I don't have your names in front of me) and I hope you enjoy this.

Thanks for everyone who reviewed, alerted, and favorited last chapter.

I don't own 'em and drop me a comment if you can.

No one had heard of Lady Amelia. She claimed to be from a kingdom very, very far away, located deep in the woods, surrounded by a vast lake. According to her, her kingdom had been attacked by bandits, her knights fatally wounded, and her father shot dead by a dozen arrows. She begged, tears clinging to her dark eyelashes, for Arthur to help hide her, just in case her enemies came for her, and the king, the bleeding heart that he was, agreed readily. He even offered to send men out to this 'alleged' kingdom, try to get it back under her control, but Lady Amelia told him it was no use, the bandits had burned the castle to the ground, leaving the once vast kingdom a mere shell of its former self.

Merlin had listened to Lady Amelia's entire story, standing to Arthur's right, not believing a single word. There was something off about the woman, something he couldn't quite pinpoint, but it left a dark, hollow pit in his stomach. He aspired to keep an eye on Lady Amelia, finding it easier than he thought when Arthur assigned Merlin to her quarters.

"Give her whatever she needs," the king muttered as he dismissed the court, and Merlin readily agreed, noting the surprised look on Arthur's face. He didn't argue that much did he?

Merlin guided Lady Amelia through the castle, acting the perfect servant, gesturing to the kitchens as they passed them and saying, "Be careful of Cook. She acts all saintly, but I've seen her spit in food."

"Really?"

"Well, no, but I wish she would," Merlin retorted with a forced grin. Lady Amelia giggled softly, resting her hand on Merlin's arm. He glanced at her hand for a second, and she seemed to blush before removing it.

"Sorry," she muttered crossing her arms behind her back, looking around. "Camelot is so much bigger than my kingdom," she continued, a sad look crossing her face. "I will miss it."

"So, soldiers attacked your castle?" Merlin fished, mixing up the details to see if he could catch her in a lie.

"No, bandits," Amelia corrected softly.

"My mistake," Merlin murmured stopping outside of one of the guest quarters. He opened the door, leading Amelia inside. "Just find me if you need anything, my lady." He bowed, turning to walk out of the room, but stopped when Amelia called his name. "Yes, my lady."

Merlin turned back to her, his body completely tensing when she backed him into the door and kissed him roughly on the lips. He raised his hands, eyes wide, the kiss making the hollow pit in his stomach increase tenfold.

She pulled back, fair cheeks a faint pink, and stammered, "I-I am sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"It's fine," Merlin replied, voice monotone, reaching behind him to open the door. "Good night, my lady." He backed out of the room, running into the door. Once outside, he closed the door behind him and practically ran back to his chambers.

Merlin

"I'm telling you Gaius," Merlin started sifting through the ingredients, looking for thyme, "there's something off about Lady Amelia."

"Why do you say this?" Gaius asked curiously, accepting the jar Merlin handed him. He checked the label, throwing Merlin a tired look, and put it back, grabbing another jar, right next to his nephew's arm.

"It's just…" Merlin trailed off, toying with a jar of sage. He debated whether to tell Gaius about the kiss or not, but thought better of it and instead said, "She gives off a sort of dark vibe or something. I'm not exactly sure how to explain it, but I just feel wrong whenever she's around."

"Perhaps you are picking up on her ill feelings towards the people who destroyed her home," Gaius suggested taking the sage from Merlin's hands and setting it down next to the thyme.

"No, I don't think it's that," Merlin murmured absentmindedly alphabetizing the remaining herbs. "There's something about her that I…" he trailed off, eyes widening when he spotted a familiar figure standing by the doorway.

"You what, Merlin?" Gaius glanced over at him, no doubt noticing his faraway look, and softly asked, "What is it?"

"Freya," Merlin whispered dropping the jar he held in his hands. It shattered against the floor, sending glass and tealeaves everywhere, startling Merlin and causing Freya to vanish. "Freya," he called, missing Gaius' worried look, and rushed across the room, frantically looking for her. "Freya!"

"There's no one there, Merlin," Gaius said softly, approaching the younger man, resting his hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"I-I saw her, Gaius," Merlin responded quietly, vision blurring slightly, turning to face his mentor, ignoring his question. "She was standing right here." He gestured to the spot where she stood, silently begging Gaius to believe him.

"Perhaps I should tell Arthur you are ill," Gaius suggested worriedly.

"No, I-I…" Merlin trailed off, his eyes narrowing slightly as he asked, "You do believe me, right?"

"I believe that you believe you saw her," Gaius answered evasively, grabbing Merlin's shoulders and attempting to steer him back to his room. "I shall tell Arthur you are ill and make you a sleeping draught for…"

"I don't need a sleeping draught," Merlin snapped wrenching himself away from Gaius. "I know what I saw, she was standing right there. I saw her." He glared at his mentor for a few seconds before turning on his heel and heading towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

Ignoring the older man, Merlin threw the door open, slamming it shut behind him. Once outside he froze, resting his head against the door, feeling his anger drain from him. He was being stupid, yelling at Gaius like that. He knew Freya had died, had held her in his arms as she took her last breath, and had even made sure she had a proper funeral. There was no way he had seen her just a few moments ago. Not unless she decided to haunt him, but why would she start now, nearly ten years after her death? It just didn't make any sense.

Unless she was here to warn him, perhaps warn him about Lady Amelia. That would make a lot more sense, and it would explain the hollow feeling Merlin got every time he saw Amelia. Swallowing heavily, making a mental note to apologize to Gaius later, Merlin set off for Lady Amelia's chambers. He had to test his theory, see if Freya's sudden appearance was a warning, and perhaps learn what Lady Amelia was really doing in Camelot.

Merlin

When he arrived at Lady Amelia's chambers, he felt his stomach tighten when he spotted Gwaine, Leon, and Arthur exiting the room. He skidded to a halt, giving questioning looks to each of his friends, and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know, Merlin, you tell us," Arthur retorted crossing his arms, his face hard to read. Gwaine and Leon lingered in the background, both looking slightly worried yet also betrayed, eyeing Merlin cautiously.

"What did I do?" Merlin looked between the three men, involuntarily taking a step back.

"Seize him," Arthur said softly, uncertainty flickering across his eyes for a few seconds before resolve replaced it. Gwaine and Leon reluctantly stepped forward, both seizing one of Merlin's arms, and began marching him towards the dungeons.

"Arthur, what did I do?" Merlin called over his shoulder. "Arthur, please, just tell me what I did."

"Why didn't you tell me, Merlin?" Gwaine asked softly, his voice bordering on broken. "You're my best friend. You could have trusted me."

Oh no, they knew he was a sorcerer. How did they know he was a sorcerer? Did Lady Amelia figure it out and tell them? How did she even figure it out? Perhaps she was a sorceress and sensed the magic on Merlin and turned him in because he got in the way of her nefarious plans. Maybe that's why he felt so uneasy around her; the hollow feeling was because he sensed evil on her. He needed to break free, stop her, and immediately began struggling. The knights only held on tighter, their grips nearly bruising his arms.

"Arthur please!" Merlin screamed over his shoulder. "Please, don't do this! You can't trust her! She's evil…"

"I don't believe anything that comes out of your traitorous mouth, Sorcerer," Arthur snarled turning his back on Merlin. "You'll be hung at mid-day."

"Arthur, please!"

"Merlin," he heard someone calling his name. "Merlin, are you alright?"

"What?" he blinked, suddenly finding himself standing in front of Lady Amelia's door again, no longer being restrained. His vision was blurry so he blinked again, feeling a few tears roll down his face, clearing it, a concerned looking Arthur standing in front of him.

"I asked if you were alright," Arthur stated softly. "You've been standing here for almost ten minutes. Are you ill? Do I need to call Gaius? Why are you crying?"

"I-I…" Merlin drew in a shuddering breath, another tear rolling down his cheek. He dug his palms into his eyes, sniffing, feeling both relief and something cold and unsettling slithering through him. He cleared his throat and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I was just going to check on Lady Amelia when I found you here. What are you doing here?"

"I…" Merlin trailed off, wondering if Arthur would believe his suspicions about Lady Amelia. He flashed back to his vision, or whatever, and shook his head, dislodging the thought from his brain. "I'm here to check on her, too," he lied and strode by Arthur, heading towards the door. Merlin knocked softly, waited a beat, and threw it open only to freeze in the doorway.

Lady Amelia was gone.