Chapter 2

Arthur woke up in the forest feeling very unlike himself. It was cold, the trees bore no leaves and the ground was wet. Winter.

Arthur sat up, his ribs protesting with a violent twang of agonising pain. But whatever injury he's procured was not what felt strange. Something was missing.

He looked around, surprised and confused to find Percival asleep next to him but no one else in sight. Why would the pair of them be in the forest in winter alone looking like they'd just gone through a mighty battle.

"Arthur," Percival woke and sat up, "You're awake. What do you remember?"

"Agravaine," Arthur managed and although his mouth spoke the words, his brain was still confused, "The citadel."

"It was taken, sire. By Morgana."

"Where's Elyan?"

"He stayed to fight off some of Morgana's men. They followed us out the castle and we weren't moving quick enough."

"Camelot is taken?"

"Yes, sire. We're moving north. Hopefully we will find the others along the way and rest somewhere safe until we regroup."

Arthur nodded numbly. He remembered the battle. It had been during a feast. Gwaine charged in, warned them of the attack and then there had been only fighting. But Arthur still felt incredibly strange and his brain was working over time to figure out why. He and Percival were clearly fresh out of a battle. And with all these things happening right there and then, it made no sense that Arthur felt the way he did. That this had happened before. Long before.

"Are you alright?" Percival asked, "Is it your ribs?"

"I'm fine. We should keep moving."

As they stumbled through the forest, the feeling never left. Something was wrong. Arthur was sure of it. But if this had truly happened previously, why couldn't he remember what was to come? And why did it feel different?

"This is the border," Percival stopped after an entire day of walking silently, "That's Lot's kingdom. We might be safe if we get in unnoticed."

"We rest at the first village we find. Beg for shelter. And hope we haven't been tracked."

It took them another half day to reach a village. It was small and tucked away in the valley.

"Can we help you?" a young man appeared, looking at the pair wearily. They probably looked a bit peculiar, stumbling in with their chainmail on.

"My friend is injured," Percival said, tactfully concealing Arthur's identity. Technically with Camelot at war, they were trespassing in Lot's kingdom, "We would be eternally grateful for somewhere to rest while we tend to his wounds."

"You've come from Camelot?"

"Will," a woman appeared, scolding the man, presumably Will, "Leave them be. Of course, you can rest here."

"Thank you," Arthur said genuinely. He was staring at the people, their faces were strangely familiar to him.

"Follow me," she led them towards a little hut, Will following them suspiciously.

"You said one of you is injured?"

"My ribs," Arthur explained, "I think they're broken."

"Sit down, let me see. Will, fetch some clean water."

"When did we become slaves for Camelot runaways?"

"Will," the woman said warningly and he left.

Arthur and Percival shared a look and Arthur stood up, "We won't bother you any longer. Thank you for your time."

"At least let me see to your wounds," the woman pushed him back down again, "Ignore Will. He's always been uptight. But he's a good man."

"We're sorry to intrude on you. We appreciate you letting us into our home."

The woman smiled, "I'm Hunith."

"Pleasure to meet you, Hunith," Percival said when Arthur froze unsurely, words failing him, "I am Percival and this is-"

"I know who you are, King Arthur," Hunith said, "Do not fear. You're safe here."

"How-"

"This may not be your kingdom but you are still a king," she said knowingly.

"Have you been to Camelot?"

"Not recently. I have a friend there. Lift your shirt."

Hunith tended to Arthur carefully, ignoring Will when he returned with water and watched over everything suspiciously.

"There," Hunith finished wrapping bandages around him, "Get some rest, I'll make you something to eat."

Arthur lay back, thankful for the chance to pause for a moment and hoping that bit of sleep would stop whatever fog was clogging his mind.

But when he woke up, not only did he have to deal with the continued uncomfortable feeling, but also the presence of his banished ex-fiancee sitting at his bed side.

So really, having to flee Agravaine and his army was a welcome distraction from the chaos of everything, even if Guinevere was accompanying them. They ran through the forest and into a nearby cave system that Will had begrudgingly told them about.

The three of them were able to get quite a bit of distance between them and the army.

"They're catching up," Arthur fretted.

"We can't fight them," Percival said, "There are too many."

"We've no other choice," the king looked around.

"Arthur," Gwen said worriedly. Torch lights were illuminating the walls as the army weaved their way through the corridors towards them. "We need a decision."

"How much force would it take to bring the ceiling down?" Arthur asked Percival.

Percival reached out to feel the stone and looked around, "Not much. But we wouldn't be able to control it, we could get caught in the collapse."

"If we don't try we'll be slaughtered where we stand. Guinevere, run. Get out of here. Find Sir Leon. If we don't catch you up, tell him what happened."

"Arthur-"

"Go, Guinevere."

"I- I'm sorry, for-."

"Not now."

"If I never get the chance to tell you again," she said desperately, "I love you, Arthur. I'll never forgive myself for what I did and I'll regret it forever."

Arthur took a deep breath, "We don't have time. Run."

He ignored the heartbroken look on her face as she nodded and fled. Arthur turned to Percival, "Ready?"

With Percival's strength and the softness of the stone, it didn't take too long for the cave system to start rumbling around them. Dust started to fall and the rock began to crack. One last strong blow from Percival for good measure and the pair of them ran, praying they'd be fast enough to beat the collapse.

It was closer than they would have liked. Crumbling rock directly behind them the whole way out as if it was chasing them. The light of day outside was a great relief. They jumped out, scrambling a safe distance away and catching their breath. Gwen was waiting for them, hands clasped together anxiously. Arthur and Percival clapped each other on the shoulder. They were both littered in bruises and cuts where debris had caught them.

"Should we wait to make sure no one survived?"

"I don't think anyone can survive that," Arthur said, "Besides, it was collapsing behind us, there's no way for them to follow us."

He took a second to mourn his uncle, or the man he'd once thought his uncle to be, before steeling himself, "We have to find the others."

It took them three days to find Camelot's army. Three days of walking pretty much in silence, stopping to rest only when their legs could no longer hold them up and surviving only on the food they managed to kill along the way. Three days of Arthur walking with an awful sense of déjà vu. It was like when you're getting ready to leave somewhere and you had the feeling that you'd forgotten something. Something very important was missing.

"Tell me again what happened when Morgana attacked," Arthur requested while they were sitting around the fire one night.

"You were injured in the battle," Percival explained in confusion, "Your ribs broken when you were fighting. We took you to Gaius, he'd set up an infirmary in the hall. But without many supplies there was very little he could do."

"Who took me to Gaius?"

"I did. Gwaine caught up with us on the way and we met Elyan in hall."

Gwen looked up at the mention of her brother.

"And where was Leon?"

"Leading people out of the citadel to get them to safety."

"Alright," Arthur motioned for him to continue.

"There was no way you could continue to fight in your condition," Percival said, "You could barely hold your sword. Gaius gave you something to help with the pain but it must have been too strong or something because it made you loopy. We had to get you out the city."

"You had me flee like a coward and leave my people to be slaughtered?"

"We got you out alive so that we could regroup and retake the kingdom," Percival said, looking very uncomfortable that it was him that had to have this conversation, "My lord, if you had remained in Camelot you wouldn't have stood a chance," he cleared his throat awkwardly, "Gwaine remained in behind to give us time to get you out. Elyan came as far as the forest but we were being followed."

"What happened to him?" Gwen asked, voice wavering.

"He stopped to give us as much time as he could. I don't know if he escaped or was captured. Perhaps he found Sir Leon."

Arthur had stopped listening. He was going through a list of everyone in his head, trying to figure out who was missing. Percival and Guinevere were here with him, Gwaine and Gaius back in the castle, Leon and Elyan hopefully somewhere in the forest. Who was missing?

"Who have we forgotten?" he asked out loud, "Someone's missing."

"Arthur?" Gwen asked.

"I'm sure of it. I can feel it, someone important. What aren't you telling me?" he asked Percival.

"You know everything I do, sire."

"Perhaps it is your uncle's betrayal getting to you," Gwen said gently.

"No," Arthur shook his head.

His knights, Guinevere, Gaius. Agravaine. That was everyone. Wasn't it?

"I need a moment," Arthur stood up. Gwen wasn't entirely wrong. He'd long ago got used to the heartbreaking feeling of betrayal. Those he loved had turned on him more times than he could count. But he never healed properly before it happened again. He had no one left now that he could trust and he was tired of being blind-sided at every opportunity. His family, the woman he loved.

And now his kingdom had been taken from him. He'd never felt so alone. Perhaps it was just the stress of losing his throne to Morgana, or the guilt of abandoning his people.

It felt like something else.

"Sire," Percival approached him cautiously, "Is everything alright?"

"It's perfectly fine."

"We will find Leon and the others," Percival said, "We know the citadel better than Morgana's men, we can take the kingdom back."

Arthur nodded.

"Something's on your mind. Is it Agravaine?"

"Everyone I love betrays me. What have I done wrong?"

"Nothing," Percival said, "I know a thousand men who would die for you without question if the need arose. Those who betray you are just jealous. They crave what you have for themselves."

"And I let them take it. Time and time again. I'm a weak king."

"Trusting people doesn't make you weak. Taking advice from others is a sign of strength."

"And it lost me my kingdom. Cost my people their lives. Perhaps Morgana should keep the throne."

"You are Camelot's rightful king," Percival insisted, "Your people are relying on you."

"To save them just to let them down again? How many times must I go through the same thing?"

Percival sighed sadly, "We answer to you. It is you that earned our respect. You that we have sworn to protect."

"I appreciate that, Sir Percival," though Arthur didn't feel reassured at all, "Get some rest."

They found the knights the next day. They'd made up a camp where they were caring for the citizens who had escaped with them. Elyan wasn't among them, much to everyone's concern but with any luck he was captured not killed. Sadly, there was nothing they could do until they had control of the kingdom again. Their plan was made quickly and the knights readied for battle.

They snuck into the castle and Arthur stood beside Percival, Leon and Guinevere, ready to barge into the throne room. This was the part of the plan that would be a struggle. The rest of Arthur's knights were fighting for control in the rest of the citadel but for the war to be won, Morgana had to be killed. How they were going to do that when she was a powerful sorceress was yet to be figured out but they had to try.

"Welcome, dear brother," Morgana gloated from the throne. A man was standing behind her smugly, sword in hand.

"It's been far too long," Morgana stood up and stared walking towards them, "I apologise if you've had a difficult reception. It's hard to know who to trust these days."

Arthur nearly scoffed. He knew that more than anyone. He sheathed his sword and closed the distance between him and his sister, "What happened to you, Morgana? I thought we were friends."

"As did I. But alas, we were both wrong."

"You can't blame me for my father's sins."

"It's a little late for that," Morgana sneered, "You've made it perfectly clear how you feel about me and my kind. You're not as different from Uther as you like to think."

"Nor are you," Arthur shot back.

Morgana bristled, "I'm going to enjoy killing you, Arthur Pendragon. No one can save you now."

Arthur pulled out his sword and prepared to fight, heart heavy.

"Your blades cannot stop me," Morgana smiled, "Hleap on baec."

That was it.

They were thrown backwards, colliding heavily with concrete walls and falling to the floor unconscious.

Arthur awoke at his own execution. Morgana was grinning at him smugly from the balcony, the man from the throne room beside her. There wasn't a single red cloak in sight and the people stood in the crowd were watching with tears in their eyes. People were clinging onto each other for comfort, gawping at Morgana in terror or looking at Arthur in devastation.

The king kept his composure until the end, for the sake of his people. He was tied to a pyre, presumably so Morgana could watch him die the way her kind had been killed in the past. When the fire was lit, his breathing quickened and he tried not to let his fear show when inside everything was falling apart.

And as the flames reached his body and began to engulf him, the name he'd been searching for all week finally reached him. The name of the person who'd been missing from the story.

"Merlin."