"He killed Uther, using magic to do so. Now go, we are out of time!" Morgana responded, turning back around and rushing away from the area. It did not take long for the bells to begin, which broke Merlin out of his shock and sent him running down the corridor. He could think about this later. He needed to get out of there before any guards found him.
Merlin rushed down the hallway, the sound of metallic footsteps echoing through the hallway. They were likely a decent distance behind him still. It was night time, but the moon was out, meaning that it would be rather difficult for him to lose the guards should they catch sight of him. He needed to be quick about this. The bars blocking off the exit appeared in the distance. The young warlock threw his hand forwards and muttered a couple of words in a strange language, before the bars were blown off the entrance with a loud bang. He had just revealed his position, and he needed to get out of here right away.
His knapsack was now flung onto his shoulders as he gracefully ducked through the end of the tunnel, now making his way towards the forest. He heard shouts coming from behind him as he begun to weave through the bushes and branches. Something about someone spotting him. He wouldn't stop to find out what they had said.
His heart was beating rapidly in his chest as he was starting to get rather out of breath, he had been running for a while, but he could still hear footsteps in the distance. They weren't going to let him get away that easily. Right now it seemed like they had no intention off letting him escape. He couldn't afford to get recaptured, not if Camelot could end up destroyed because of it.
His foot must've hooked onto a root, because he found himself flat out onto his stomach before he even had time to register it. He didn't have time for this! He needed to hide away somewhere, before the guards were upon him. His foot was unhooked from the root, before he then slid himself down the ledge, placing his back firmly against the dirt wall, muttering a word in order to cover his tracks. Once he heard footsteps above him, he held his breath, pressing himself as close to the dirt wall as he could
'Please don't find me.. please don't find me..' were the thoughts that had been flashing across his mind the short eternity it felt like he had been standing there. The guards eventually carried on, and once they were gone, Merlin let out a deep breath of relief, sinking down to the ground. He needed a moment.
He was beyond dirty at that point. It must've rained in the afternoon, because he was covered in mud, which frankly wasn't a good look on anyone. He set the knapsack onto the ground between his legs, opening it as silently as he could, whilst he continued to listen for any nearby footsteps or sounds that didn't come from the forest. He was overjoyed when he saw that Gaius had packed him a change of clothes, food, and not to mention his book. There was also something that resembled a letter, but it was too dark to make out any of the words on the front of it.
His first priority would be to make his way to his old camp. Hopefully it hadn't been discovered, and it would be safe for the night. Once the sun rose, he'd begin his travel towards the sanctuary, and he would likely disguise himself as an old man in case any patrols stumbled across him. He pushed himself up to his feet, flung the knapsack back onto his shoulders as he made his way through the forest in the direction of the clearing and his camp. This would be a long night.
Eventually he arrived at his destination, and much to his luck his camp seemed untouched. He would have to spend the night awake, without a campfire, but he'd survive. His bum made contact with his straw bed, his back leaning against his trusted tree. The only thing that was familiar, and that didn't require an explanation or evidence in order to accept him. And then his mind begun to wander to what Morgana had told him only a few hours before.
His counterpart had used magic to kill Uther, and that seemed to be the main reason for why Arthur had carried on with his father's war on magic. It wasn't much different from what had happened in his own world. Morgana had been responsible for Uther's death, but he himself had been the reason for why it had happened. Though, it was unlikely that his death had been as discreet and gentle in this world, as it had been in his own. He wished Morgana had the time to explain more, but he could only assume that his counterpart had done something that resembled and execution. A life for a life. Uther's life for his mothers. He could understand, why he had done it. But it was still wrong, it was a mistake. He couldn't help but to feel that this world had been filled with so many mistakes with near irreparable damage, and that mistakes kept being made because of the past. The whole notion of 'A life for a life' was just wrong, and a sick way of executing justice. It was a vicious circle, where he took one life to repay for another, and in return it only further darkened Arthur's heart to magic, and made him intensify his fight against it, which caused even more deaths, which were then repaid by even more deaths.
He almost didn't dare to think about what could've happened if Uther had found out about his magic in his own world. Could things have turned out this way? Was he truly capable of doing these things? The thought alone made him shudder. Had he helped Morgana with her magic, instead of sending her to the druids? Was that why Morgana was still in Camelot, and was that how He had been found out? Had He killed his father before or after Uther? Had Uther been the one who turned his heart cold enough to murder his own father? But why had Kilgarrah still been underneath Camelot? Had his father helped Camelot recapture the dragon? Had He released Kilgarrah in an attempt to have Camelot destroyed, and then his father locked the dragon back up underneath the castle? Merlin had so many questions that were left unanswered, and he so desperately wished he knew the answer to them all.
Maybe someone at the Sanctuary could provide him with some answers to what had happened in the past. And perhaps he'd be able to break the vicious circle and help Arthur accept that Magic wasn't pure evil. Maybe this world was so different that their destinies had been completely altered, so that Arthur wouldn't end up dying and magic would be allowed once again.
There was one problem though. He had less than a year to make a change, before he had to make the choice between staying here, or returning to his own world. Less than a year to change Arthur's view on magic, and to end the feud that had been going on for several.
He feared that he wouldn't have enough time.
**A bit of a short chapter today, but it serves as a transitional and set up chapter for the next portion of this story. I would like to tell you how long I plan for this story to be, but that would take away some of the suspense, so you'll all just have to wait and see :)
A big thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows this story has gotten so far, we also have over 2200 views on this story! It's incredible and you guys rock!
Next chapter will be a bit longer, as it's the start of the 2nd part, so I hope you look forward to it!**