Hello, my Merlin fans, I am back! I know it has been forever.

I've been trying to write as much as I can. I am so sorry for not updating quickly. My family and work have been keeping me busy. They are my top priority. Plus, I have been distracted with YouTube and TikTok.

I hope you have patience with me and continue to read and review my stories. It means a lot to me. Anyways, here is the next part to the next episode "Excalibur." Do you think Sam will save Sir Owain? Read and find out!

Also, I do not own anything except my OCs Sam, Josh, and Courtney.

3RD POV

Morgana and Gwen nervously entered Arthur's chambers to see how he was doing and saw the crowned Prince of Camelot pacing back and forth with a fury that could tunnel through the stone floor.

Morgana took a deep breath and asked, "Arthur, can we talk about this? I know you are upset-"

"Upset? I am beyond upset, Morgana! I am furious! He shouldn't have picked up the gauntlet," yelled Arthur.

Morgana glared at him for interrupting her and replied, "You are the crowned Prince of Camelot, Arthur! Put an end to it."

Arthur dismissed the idea as he replied, "The challenge has been taken up. The fight cannot be stopped."

"Then fight in his place," Morgana said as she took a step closer in the hopes of remedying the dangerous situation.

"I can't."

"Why not?" Morgana challenged.

Arthur turned to Morgana as he was trying to explain like he was speaking to a child. "Owain picked up the gauntlet. Owain is the one who must fight. That's the Knight's Code." Arthur paused as the guilt and fear for his loyal knight tried to take over his voice, but he refused to let it. "He knew that."

Morgana looked shocked as Arthur was about to leave the room. How could he not stop it all and save the bloodshed? "But it's a fight to the death!"

Arthur stopped for a moment before saying the two haunting words the confirmed Morgana's fear. "I know."

Sam's POV

I walked down the castle's hallways and hoisted a huge basket of wildflowers in my arms. I wanted to surprise Merlin and Gaius with a beautiful bouquet for our chambers, but in truth, that was my cover. I had chosen to fill the basket with as many wildflowers as I could pick in order to enact my plan to save Sir Owain. I turned the corner and accidently bumped into someone so hard that I dropped the basket, forcing the flowers to fall across the stone floor. Only it wasn't an accident.

I looked up at Gwen and said, "Oh no! I am so sorry, Gwen."

She giggled and bent down to help me gather the flowers. "It's alright, Sam. I didn't see you either."

I looked down to see that our collision had made Gwen drop Morgana's token for Sir Owain. I almost couldn't conceal my smile at the sight of the red cloth. It was why I had planned to bump into Gwen with a petal-filled distraction. Such a token bestowed to a lady's champion was the perfect conduit for my protection spell. I quickly snatched the strip of cloth and whispered my incantation into its thread.

When all the flowers were picked up, I unraveled it from my grasp and saw the magic had seeped into the red seams. Now, once Sir Owain wore it for battle, instead of being killing by the Black Knight, the spell would take effect and put him into an unconscious state. Very Sleeping Beauty, except instead of a spinning needle, it would be a sword. And instead of a kiss, Sir Owain would wake up on his own within a day. I was very proud of myself for finding the magic to pull this off. I could change the episode and save a life. Plus, I could prove to that overgrown lizard that I could save everyone!

"Thank you so much for helping me, Gwen," I said and held out the spelled cloth to her. "Did you drop this? I saw it on the floor."

Gwen's eyes widened as she grabbed cloth out of my hand. "Oh, that would've been a disaster. Thank you, Sam. Morgana wants me to give this to Sir Owain before he battles that Black Knight."

We said goodbye and started going our separate ways, until Gwen called out to me again. "Do you think Sir Owain will win?"

I smiled and replied, "With Morgana's token, I know he will."

3RD POV

While Sam's 'accidentally' collision with Gwen was occurring, Merlin and Arthur were in Sir Owain's chambers. The knight was already awake, ready for battle. Merlin was trying Sir Owain's cape around the knight's neck as Arthur was speaking to the young knight. Arthur knew Owain was a great knight, but he was worried about Owain's ego. His ego and cockiness will be his downfall.

"You've never fought in mortal combat before. It's different. It's not like the training I've been giving you," Arthur said behind the knight.

Owain rolled his eyes as he said sarcastically, "Yeah, I know."

Merlin cringed at the cockiness as a stern Prince grabbed Owain's shoulder to turn to face him. "Listen to me. The problem is, we've never seen him fight. You have to quickly get the measure of him."

"But I have the same advantage," Owain countered. "He's never seen me fight."

Arthur looked at Merlin and shared a look. Owain is a good fighter indeed, but this is not an ordinary knight. "True," Arthur agreed.

Owain smirked and stated, "You've watched me."

"Yes."

"And?"

Arthur sighed before placing his hand on the knight's shoulder. "And I know no one braver. Remember, all it takes to kill a man is one well-aimed blow."

Merlin eyes snapped when he heard the doors opened. He smiled when Gwen walked into the room. He did not know why his heart flipped a little when Gwen smiled back at him. Gwen turned to Owain before curtsying. She held out in her hand the red cloth that Sam secretly placed a protection spell on it.

"The Lady Morgana asked me to give you this token." Arthur looked at the ribbon with curiosity as Owain retrieved it out of Gwen's hand. "She wishes you to wear it for luck," Gwen said.

"You can thank her, and tell her I shall wear it with pride. But I won't need luck."

Gwen looked at both Merlin and Arthur as the three of them a one thought in mind. Sir Owain will not win this battle.

SAM'S POV
The day had arrived, when Sir Owain would battle the Bead Knight, Tristan. I knew my plan was going to work. It had to. I was finally going to save a life and change an episode. I was standing with the other gardeners waiting for Sir Owain to enter the Tournament Grounds. Tristan de Bois was standing there waiting for his opponent. I felt a chill going down my spine when I felt his dark, lifeless eyes find mine.

One of the gardeners, Cristela touched my shoulders, causing me to jump. "Are you alright, Samantha?"

I shook off the feeling and replied to my friend, "Yeah, I'm just a little nervous."

Cristela smiled and said with comfort, "Do not worry, Sir Owain will win this battle. He is a very skilled warrior."

I smiled back before returning to face the arena. I had to prove Cristela right. My magic must save Owain from death if he did lose the fight.
The feeling of anticipation hit the crowd as Arthur and Merlin walked into the tournament grounds with Sir Owain. Arthur looked like he was giving Owain some last advice before he could go into battle. I could tell that Owain was slightly nervous. I quietly said a prayer to God that my magic plan worked and that I could save Owain from death. I excused myself from the other gardeners and rushed over to Merlin and Gaius.

"Sam, are you ok?" asked my brother.

"I'm fine, just hoping Owain will be ok."

Gaius looked over to me and whispered, "If your magic telling you something?"

I remembered I made an excuse of my knowledge to the show saying my magic was giving me feelings of what will happen in the episode. "I had a bad feeling this morning so I secretly enchanted Morgana's token to protect Sir Owain. If the Black Knight stabs him, the spell will make him unconscious, not dead," I explained.

Gaius looked at me with disproval. "Samantha, didn't you learn when Merlin saved Gwen's Father? She was accused of witchcraft."

"I made sure no one would know. Trust me, I was very careful."

Before Gaius could reprimand me more, Arthur stood up from the stands and said in a loud voice, "The fight shall be to the knight's rules! To the death!" Owain glared at the Black Knight before placing his helmet on his head. I looked at Morgana's token that was wrapped around his arm. It's now or never. Arthur nodded his head before declaring, "Let battle commence!"

All at once, Tristian swung his sword at Owain like a wild animal. I cringed at the sound of metal swords slamming on the opponent's shield. Tristian was overpowering Owain as he kept slamming his sword against the
shield.

I looked in the stands to see Morgana and Gwen looking so afraid for him. Morgana grabbed Gwen's hand for support. "Come on, Owain," Gwen said softly.

Owain suddenly attacked the Black Knight. However, the Black Knight was amazing in defense. Arthur stood up on his feet and called out to Owain, "One well-aimed blow!"

I held my breath, knowing the final moment was about to happen. I looked at the token around Owain's arm. Here we go. I grabbed Merlin's arm when I saw Owain stabbed Tristan in the gut.

Merlin smiled and cheered, "Yes!"

"Merlin, this isn't over," I thought in his mind.

Merlin stared at me with confusion before looking back at the battle. His eyes widened in shock when he realized that the Black Knight did not fall from the stab. Tristian kept on fighting Owain. He tripped Owain, who collided with the ground. I covered my mouth as the Black Knight raised his sword up in the air and plunged his sword down into Owain's chest. The crowd gasped in horror as Morgana's favor fluttered off of Owain's arm and flew across the ground.

To my own horror, Owain was bleeding... profusely. He was dead! Truly dead as though he had no magical protection at all. My mouth dropped, but only silent despair came out. No, this wasn't right. I knew I did the right protection spell on Sir Owain. I was so sure of it! This couldn't follow the episode! I was supposed to change it and save everyone.

Merlin looked over before thinking to me, "Didn't you say you used a protection spell to keep Owain safe?"

I was still in shock, unable to speak or think to him. I snapped back into reality when Tristan faced the crowd. Uther tensed up as Tristian started to remove his glove. He threw his gauntlet down to the ground as he called out in a dooming voice, "Who will take up my challenge?"

Arthur glared at the Black Knight. He had killed one of Arthur's best knights and the prince was more than ready to bolt over the barrier of the stands to grab the gauntlet to accept the challenge. However, before he could jump, Uther grabbed his son to stop him. Arthur turned in angered disbelief as Sir Pellinor jumped over the stand and picked up the Black Knight's gauntlet.

"I, Sir Pellinor, take up the challenge," he said firmly.

The Black Knight glared at Pellinor before saying, "So be it. Tomorrow we will fight to the death."

Merlin pulled me behind him as the Black Knight was passed us and out of the arena. Merlin turned to Gaius and asked, "Should we tend to his wounds? He took a hit."

Gaius looked confused. "Owain didn't land a blow."

"No, I saw it. The sword definitely pierced him."

"I saw it too," I said in a meek voice.

Gaius' eyes expanded as he asked, "Are you sure?"

"Our eyes are quicker than yours. He should be dead."

Gaius looked back at the retreating knight as said, "Perhaps he already is."

I looked back at the now dead Owain as the other knights went to collect his body. I didn't understand. Why didn't my magic work and save him?

After the battle with the now dead Sir Owain, I told the gardeners that Gaius needed me. Thank God, they allowed me to have the rest of the day off. I sat in my room with the magic book I had used for the protection spell, trying to find out what went wrong. Though, if I was being honest with myself, I was scared to find out if my magic wasn't powerful enough, or worse, not working anymore. I looked at an unlit candle next to my bedside table.

"Nafi countyla katherina lama."

I felt my eyes warm as the candle flickered to life. I took a deep sigh of relief. So, my magic was working. However, that didn't explain why my protection spell failed. What made even less sense was that I did that exact same spell with Arthur when Sophia tried to make him fall in love with her and it saved Arthur... so why didn't it work this time? I knew Nimueh was involved in this, so maybe she made sure my magic wouldn't work. Maybe she somehow blocked my magic so nothing could stop her from killing Arthur or Uther?

I spent hours researching before Merlin opened our bedroom door. "Sam? Gaius wants us to go with him to the burial vaults." I sighed before hiding the spell book back in the floor wood. "Have you been looking through that book all day?" asked Merlin.

"I was trying to find out why my protection spell didn't work."

"I'm guessing by the circles under your eyes that you had no luck?"

I yawned before replying, "Ding ding ding, we have a winner."

I grabbed my brown cloak and walked out of the room with Merlin. We walked through the long corridor and passed the throne room. If we waited, you could hear Arthur and his father yelling at each other about Uther stopping him from picking up the glove. We walked in silence until we reached our destination and found Gaius waiting for us at the burial vaults.

We started to enter the tunnel corridor to the Burial Vaults. It was dark, cold and very creepy. I felt a chill ran over me like I somehow walked over my future grave.

"Are you sure we should be doing this? Do we have anything else we can check out first?" I asked meekly.

Merlin smirked at me and asked sarcastically, "Scared little sister?"

I chuckled nervously and replied, "Who me, scared? No, I'm not afraid of anything. I laugh at the face of danger and being scared, ha ha ha!"

Suddenly, the door to the entrance of the tunnel corridor slammed right behind us, enclosing us into darkness. I admit, even trying to harness my inner Simba, I was so anxious that I accidently made a small shriek and grabbed my brother's arm. I looked at both Merlin and Gaius who seemed amused at my misfortune. I cleared my throat and released Merlin's arm.

"I knew that would happen," I said as confidently as I could.

Gaius nodded his head and said, "Must've been a gust of wind." Looking around in the dark, he sighed, "We should've brought a torch."

Merlin saw an unlit torch and said, "Leohtbora."

I smiled as it lit up with a warm flame. Merlin grinned as he grabbed the torch from the wall and handed it to me as he lit another one for himself.

Gaius smirked before saying, "Huh. Handy!"

"The wonderful things we do with magic," I mused.

We walked down the steep narrow stairs down to the graves. I nearly slipped a couple of times. We got to the gated door of the grave's entrance as Gaius used his key to unlock the bars. Normally, I could say a prayer for these souls, but I just wanted to find Tristian's empty tomb and get the heck out of here.

"What are we looking for?" asked Merlin.

I looked around the graves before Gaius called out to us, "Bring your torches over here."

"Did you find it?" I asked hopefully.

Merlin looked confused as we walked over to our uncle. "We're breaking into someone's grave?"

We finally found Tristian's grave… or what was left of it. The tomb was indeed opened. The tomb's stones were scattered across the stone floor. We were stunned as Gaius said, "We're too late. I think someone's already broken out."

I gulped as I tried to quietly hint out, "Why do I have a feeling that dark magic was involved?"

After making our discovery, we rushed out of the burial grounds and back to the Physician's Chambers. Gaius instantly went to his books, searching for something of great importance. I wanted to scream so badly that Nimueh was responsible for this, but I needed proof. Unfortunately, apart from my show knowledge, I was empty handed.

"Tristan de Bois was the brother of Ygraine, Uther's wife," said Gaius.

"That's who's tomb was destroyed?" I asked, feigning confusion.

"And Ygraine is Arthur's mother?" asked my brother.

"Ygraine died in childbirth." Gaius was flipping through the pages as he said, "He blamed Uther and came to the gates of Camelot and challenged him."

"To single combat."

Nodding his head to Merlin, Gaius found the passage and said, "Uther won. But in his dying breath, Tristan cursed Camelot to one day suffer his return. I thought it was the ramblings of a dying man."

I looked shocked as I said, "Uther killed his brother-in-law? And Tristian cursed Camelot in order to kill his nephew? That's one messed up family tree."

Merlin smirked but Gaius was not amused. My giggling stopped when I saw Gaius giving me a stern look. Merlin cleared his throat was said, "Men don't just rise up from the dead, though, no matter how angry they are."

Gaius turned to the page and found what he was searching for. "It's my guess we're dealing with a wraith."

"A wraith?" asked Merlin.

I was trying to remember what a wraith was, but my mind was drawing a blank. "What's a wraith?"

"The spirit of a dead man conjured from the grave."

"So this is the work of a sorcerer?" asked Merlin.

"Or sorceress," I hinted out.

Gaius looked at me. I was hoping he would figure out I was trying to say it was Nimueh. Shaking his head, he said, "Powerful magic can harness the grief and rage of a tormented soul and make it live again."

Looking determined, Merlin asked, "How do we stop it?"

"We can't. Because it's not alive, no mortal weapon can kill it."

"We have to do something," I said.

Gaius shook his head at me and replied, "Nothing can stop it until it has achieved what it came for."

Looking at the picture of the wraith, Merlin asked, "And what's that?"

"Revenge."

Looking up in shock, my brother asked, "On Camelot? What does that mean for Sir Pellinor?"

Gaius grimly answered, "I'm afraid it doesn't look good."

No, I will not let another person die. I grabbed my spell book and rushed into my room. I wasn't aware of the confused and concerned looks of my brother and uncle. I grabbed a red cloth identical to Morgana's token. I looked through the pages of the book until I found what I was searching for. It was another protection spell but even more powerful than the previous one I used for Sir Owain. Instead of saving someone from injury by faking it to the attacker, this spell should make the subject invulnerable to attack all together.

I looked at the red cloth and said, "Hissa Mimi Niffalpa Loop."

I felt my eyes warm and every ounce of energy flow out of my body and into the cloth. The red turned into a golden color and I smiled. I went to place the spell book back in its secret hiding place when I lost all strength and fell to the floor. Well, that's not a fun side effect. It felt like my bones were made of lead with zero muscle to move my body. I groaned in a pathetic effort to roll myself over. Stronger the spell, harder the toll.

It took a lot longer than I was hoping to regain enough strength to not only stand up but to even walk out of the room. The moment Gaius and Merlin saw me, I knew I must look like complete crap.

"Sam, what happened? Are you alright?" asked Gaius with immense concern.

"You look like someone ripped your spirit out of your body, beat it up, and then shoved it back in!"

"Vivid," I grumbled to Merlin and replied, "I cast a stronger spell to protect Sir Pellinor. Took a lot out of me." I stopped at the table to catch my breath. "A lot more than I was expecting, actually."

"Sam, that was incredibly dangerous! You risk not only getting caught but hurting yourself to cast such powerful magic," said Gaius sternly.

I looked at my uncle and said, "Gaius I had to try! It's my fault Owain died and I won't be responsible for another life lost."

Merlin looked at me and said, "Did the dragon say something to you?"

My silence gave him my answer. I took a deep breath and said, "I have to do this."

I finally managed to walk out of the room, finding more strength with every step, and went to find Sir Pellinor to give him the token. He was in his tent, getting ready for the fight of his life. I was stalled when I saw Arthur was already with him. "Remember Pellinor, to kill a man is one well-aimed blow," I heard Arthur say to him.

Sir Pellinor nodded his head and said firmly, "I promise. I won't fail you, my Lord."

I cleared my throat to announce my presence and felt my face redden from embarrassment as I held the golden cloth. "Sir Pellinor, I was asked to give this to you for good luck," I said timidly.

I looked down at my feet to hide my weakened state. I needed to convince Pellinor to take the enchanted cloth for his protection without drawing attention to myself. Just take it so I could go sleep through the night and regain my strength. I saw a pair of boots come into my vision before I looked up to see Sir Pellinor in front of me. I studied the knight's face and I had to admit it, he was really cute. Why does my face feel so warm all of a sudden?

He took the cloth out of my hand and said, "Thank you my lady. I will wear it with pride and honor. Tell whoever gave you this token that I thank them as well."

I nodded my head. Before I could leave, Sir Pellinor grasped my hand and brought it to his lips. I felt like I couldn't breathe and the room was getting warm. Well, Sir Pellinor is very chivalrous. Someone cleared his throat snapping me out of my dreamlike state. I turned my head to see Arthur was looking at us very sternly. I completely forgot he was in the room. Was it just my imagination or was he glaring at Sir Pellinor?

I cleared my throat as the knight released my hand. "I better return to Gaius. Good luck, Sir Pellinor." I looked at Arthur before I said, "Prince Arthur."

I rushed out of the tent as best I could and was very pleased that my legs didn't fail me. I really hoped that my magic would work this time.

It was time. I was standing nervously as I watched Pellinor fight Tristan in the area. Pellinor was doing surprisingly well, better than Owain. The crowd was cheering at the excitement. I looked to Pellinor's wrist and saw my spelled cloth was tied around it.

Merlin looked at our uncle and said, "Maybe you were wrong."

"I hope so."

I just hope my plan worked this time. Merlin could sense my uneasiness and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I smiled at him before looking back at the fight. I held my breath as I saw Sir Pellinor run his sword right through Tristan. Everyone fell silent, waiting for the Black Knight to fall. However, Tristian was not killed. He was still standing, unharmed.

I looked at the stands to see Gwen and Morgana talking, saying they saw the sword go through Tristan. I looked at the cloth around Sir Pellinor's wrist again. The protection spell had to work this time. It had to! Sir Pellinor was in shock and didn't protect himself as Tristan ran his sword through the knight, breaking through my spell like it was butter... killing Pellinor instantly. The crowd gasped in absolute shock and I felt my whole body turned cold.

Even with my powers, I couldn't save his life. Maybe the dragon was right. I heard wailing coming from the crowd. I looked to see a woman falling down to her knees sobbing at the sight of the dead Pellinor. I could hear her say, "My son! Not my son!" I realized that must be Pellinor's mother and she just watched her son die right in front of her. I felt tears sliding down my cheeks. It's my fault, all my fault rang through my head.

I heard something hit the ground and I turned to see Arthur had tossed his gauntlet down at Tristan's feet. Uther couldn't stop his son in time.

Arthur was furious. He lost two of his men and now the Black Knight was going to pay.

In a loud and clear voice, he said, "I, Arthur Pendragon, challenge you."

Tristan nodded his head and said sternly, "So be it."

"Single combat. Noon. Tomorrow."

I watched as the Black Knight left the grounds. I looked back at Arthur to see him glaring at the knight. Suddenly a thought came into my mind.

I had to find a way to make sure Arthur was the only one to wield Excalibur!

So Sam's magic is not working as she thinks. Now she is worried that the episode will remain the same. What do you think she will do and what will happen next?

That's the second part of the episode Excalibur! Only one more to go in this episode! Now to my Red Rose Nightmare chapter! It will take a while before I update both stories. Please like, follow, and comment on this chapter! If you have any suggestions or ideas for future episodes, let me know. Until then…

Grapejuice101