Merlin knelt down at the shore of the creek filling up Mithian's waterskin. He looked around wondering if she had left a clue for or something. Why else would she be so persistent that he filled up her waterskin? He knew something wasn't right and he was getting frustrated that no one was listening to him.

That's when he saw it. Etched into the face of a small boulder was a single word. A name. A name that made all his feelings make sense. "MORGANA" was written clearly for anyone to see should they go to the creek.

The warlock dropped the waterskin and began running back to the campsite. He only got a few feet before he felt a force pull him back and toss him to the side. As he fell, his head connected to the trunk of a tree. He felt a wave of dizziness wash over him as he turned over to face his enemy. Morgana was slowly inching toward him disguised as Hilda, hand held out as she cast a spell against him. He could feel his throat tighten as slowly lost to ability to draw a breath. Without thinking properly, he held up his hand and cast his own spell.

Morgana flew backwards, landing several yards away against two trees. As she fell unconscious, the ageing spell faded away, leaving behind any trace of Hilda.

Merlin lowered his hand and closed his eyes, welcoming the realm of darkness that surrounded him. The last thing he heard was someone shouting his name.

Arthur looked around the camp wondering where Merlin and Hilda had gone. Mithian mentioned that his servant had gone to fill up her waterskin, but had no clue as to where her maid had gone. Which he admitted was kind of odd, since Hilda hadn't left the princess' side since they arrived in Camelot. To have her wander off now at the most crucial point of the mission was unsettling.

"Leon make sure the men are ready," Arthur ordered, picking up his sword. "I want to leave as soon as I come back with Merlin and Hilda. The oaf is probably chattering her ear off about his 'funny feelings'."

"Of course, Sire," Leon bowed before walking over to their small platoon of knights.

Arthur stood on a cliff that gave him the perfect view of the creek and the clearing surrounding it. It didn't him long to spot Merlin and Hilda. But something wasn't right. Merlin was on the ground, lying next to a tree while Hilda was slowly moving toward him. Her hand was outstretched.

At first, he wondered if she was trying to help because the clumsy oaf fell over his feet. No, it was something else. Merlin's hand was at his throat and was twitching as if he couldn't breathe. The old hag was using magic to kill him.

The king didn't have time to consider why this was happening. He just knew he had to stop her. He began to make his way down the cliff, only to stop. Something told him to stay still and watch. So he had. He watched as Merlin raised his own hand, aiming it at the sorceress. Despite the distance between them, Arthur could have sworn he saw Merlin's eyes change colour as Hilda was thrown backwards by an unseen force, flying through the air for several yards.

"MERLIN!" Arthur shouted as he finished his trek down the cliff. He was unsure if it was in anger or worry. Anger that his best of ten years had magic. Worry that his best was hurt and unresponsive.

Once safely down the cliff, he ran straight to Merlin, hoping he wasn't too late. He dropped to his knees and began assessing his friend for injuries. He had a pretty nasty gash just below his hairline and was breathing quite erratically, but other than that he saw no signs of injury.

He shook Merlin's shoulder in an attempt to rouse the younger man. "Come on, Merlin! Wake up! You have some explaining to do!"

Unfortunately, his attempt had failed and he had no other means of trying to wake him. He needed to get the clotpole back to Gaius. The physician would know what to do.

"ARTHUR?" A voice shouted in the distance.

Arthur looked back at the cliff and saw Gwaine and Percival standing there. "Come help me. Merlin's been hurt."

The two knights made their way down in no time and were quickly at Arthur's side.

"What happened?" Gwaine asked.

Arthur hesitated for a second before answering, "I don't know, but Hilda is hurt also. She several yards that way." He pointed in the vague direction in which he saw her land. "Gwaine, go check on her. Percival help me carry him back to camp."

Gwaine gave Arthur a nod before jogging over the the elderly sorceress. Percival easily picked up Merlin and tossed him over his back. Arthur stood back up, feeling his stomach churn. He didn't want to tell them what he actually saw, because he still wasn't too sure himself. He needed to talk to both Merlin and Hilda before telling anyone else.

"Arthur," Gwaine called out. "Get over here. We have a problem."

The king ran over to where Gwaine was standing. The knight had unsheathed his sword and was pointing at, "Morgana?"

Author's Note: Sorry for such a short first chapter. I promise future ones will be longer. But I hope I grabbed your attention with this opening at least

I always wondered what might have happened if Merlin had accidentally used his magic to stop Morgana from choking him to death and what if Arthur ended up seeing the whole thing? I went looking for a fanfic that had this idea or at least something similar but couldn't find one, so I decided to write it myself.

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