A/N: This is the beginning of a 4 part chapter.

Chapter 6: Arthur and Aredian (Part I)

It had been weeks since the traitors had fled Camelot. The whole kingdom had now been searched, yet no trace of them had been found. The tracks that led out of Camelot the day of their escape were obviously a ruse, but they were followed only to end up nowhere. They had been stuck. The sorcerers wouldn't have left the kingdom (as much as he was loathed to admit it, neither Merlin nor Morgana were cowards), so most likely they were using magic to hide. Arthur pondered all this countless times, yet he couldn't come up with a solution.

Arthur knew he shouldn't be thinking about all this. He should be enjoying the celebration of the knighthood of Sir Vidor and Sir Caradoc. But he looked over to the man standing beside him, the man who had been with him for weeks now, the man who had followed him wherever he went, Aredian. He had a serious look on his face, as if pondering the same problem as Arthur was. But then he again focused on what his father was saying.

"You will find no one who better embodies these values than my son, Arthur. Follow his example, and you will prove yourselves worthy of your title." Arthur was pleased to hear such praise from one of the only two men whose opinions he truly valued, but he didn't show it. The look on his face was still grim, as it had been since he suffered betrayal from his sister and servant. But then, finally, something happened that would bring him out of his weeks-long quest.

A knight, whose whole body from top to bottom was covered in armor, entered the room. All the knights of Camelot raised their swords. He moved ahead of them all. The knight approached and dropped a gauntlet at his feet. Arthur picked it up, thinking it would at least be a brief respite from his worries. But he still said, grim as ever, "I accept your challenge. If I'm to face you in combat, do me the courtesy of revealing your identity."

The knight removed the helmet, and everyone, including Arthur, was shocked when they saw it was a blonde woman. She then said, "My name is Morgause." She was then escorted to guest chambers.

The next day, at a meeting of Arthur, his father, and Aredian, the court librarian Geoffrey informed them that there was no legal precedent for a woman being forbidden from issuing a challenge. Uther still insisted that Arthur withdraw; however he refused. Aredian said, "The woman killed five guards alone. She is dangerous, and we have to focus on what really matters, curing the land of the scourge of sorcery."

Arthur retorted, "I am a knight first, Aredian. I cannot demand that my knights uphold the code, then be seen to break it myself. As for the fight against sorcery, we will continue it. However, we have no new information. The best we can do is wait." Aredian, although not pleased by this clear waste of time on such frivolous matters, still couldn't help but congrue with Arthur. They had to be patient. The sorcerers would resurface sooner or later. So he said, "Of course, sire."

The following day, at the tournament grounds, the fight was set to begin. Uther announced it. Arthur went to Morgause and offered one last chance to withdraw. Unsurprisingly to him, she refused. The fight began, and what a fight it was. He hadn't fought such a worthy opponent in quite some time. But she made a small mistake that allowed him to disarm her. But he allowed her to pick up her sword.

Witnessing this, Aredian was not pleased. He thought himself an honorable man, but that honor was to a certain end, the elimination of the evil of sorcery. Arthur was also honorable, but in a different manner. He stuck by principles such as the Knights Code. What's the point? Who even wrote those damn rules? Why was it so necessary for Arthur to follow them? But he still admired the conviction with which Arthur operated. Despite his flaws, his initial impression of him was accurate.

Arthur, though, had made his mistake. This Morgause was ruthless. The moment she picked up her sword, she used a manuever he hadn't seen before to disarm him, and then she pinned him to the ground with her sword. She said, "Make me a promise, and I will spare your life." Arthur said, "What is it you ask?" She replied, "Come to me three days hence and accept the challenge I set to you." Arthur asked, "And the nature of this challenge?" She answered, "That is for me to decide. Do I have your word that you will accept, no matter what?" He replied, "You have my word."

Arthur was inconsolable. This wasn't like when his dearest had betrayed him. No, he channeled that into rage. This was different. Aredian had tried to reaffirm his faith but failed when a thought occurred to him, and he moved to swiftly voice it, saying, "What if she was an enchantress, Arthur? You are the greatest swordsman in the kingdom. It makes sense. Why else would she ask this nebulous challenge of you?" Arthur replied, "Don't patronize me. I lost fairly, and I will honor my word." Arthur's honor was starting to annoy Aredian.

Arthur went to congratulate Morgause as she was about to leave. She made a strange comment about Arthur's horse and then said that she expected to see him in 3 days, and when asked how, she merely said that the path would become clear to him. And just before she departed, she made a comment suggesting that she knew his mother. After a moment of thinking about it, he realized Aredian was right.

He immediately made his way to him and said, "You were right. She enchanted my horse before she left. She implied that it would guide my way to her when the time comes." Aredian smiled and said, "Then that is exactly what we will do. The horse will lead us to her, and then we will eliminate her." Arthur made a slight frown before saying, "I did give my word." Aredian was about done with Arthur's foolishness and said, "What matters more? Ridding the land of evil or your word?" Arthur had no choice but to say, "You are right, Aredian, as always."

Arthur had expected to gain his father's immediate sanction for this mission, but he refused, saying it was too dangerous. Arthur was furious and said, "What happened to you, father? You used to lead the charge in the fight against magic, a fight in which courage is our greatest weapon. Let not the betrayal of worthless sorcerers make you reconsider." Uther replied, "I won't let you risk your life. Guards, escort him to his chambers. Under no circumstances will he be allowed to leave." Aredian gave a disapproving look to the king before leaving the room.

At night, Aredian made his way to Arthur's chambers. Arthur gave an odd look at Aredian before saying, "You look," he paused before continuing, "slightly different." Aredian then raised his shirt to show the rope wrapped around his belly. Arthur smiled. They took the necessary supplies, and Aredian held a rope with which Arthur climbed down the tower. Aredian made his way out of Arthur's chambers and to the stables, where he and Arthur took their horses and set off.

They followed in the direction in which Morgause had left until they encountered a crossroad where Arthur's horse was intent on following a particular direction. They complied; however, Aredian said, "You realize we have to put down this horse. It is enchanted after all." Arthur said, "Of course. I only wish I had managed to stop her before she cursed this innocent creature." Aredian chuckled before saying, "Those with magic don't care who is innocent or guilty. They will kill anyone regardless of what they have done to advance their goals." Arthur nodded.

After riding the whole day, the two made camp to rest. Arthur said, "Morgause said that she knew my mother." Aredian dismissively replied, "She's trying to lure you into her trap. Maybe she wants to enchant you." Arthur said, "Maybe." Aredian asked, "Your mother, what was she like?" Arthur replied, "I never knew her. She died before I opened my eyes." Aredian said, "I'm sorry." He then added, "Maybe you're lucky. I wish I never knew my mother."

Arthur asked, "Why?" Aredian replied, "She," pausing for a second before continuing, "was a witch. I was 23 when the great purge began. I never liked magic; I found it unnatural. My mother was horrified when she learned of the news." Arthur sat silently as he continued, "When the soldiers came to apprehend her, she used her terrible magic on them. She killed 25 good men, but in doing so she also killed my father and two sisters, the younger of whom was just 3 years old."

Arthur was horrified but wasn't surprised, so he said, "Magic corrupts anyone who uses it." Aredian nodded before saying, "I knew that I was the only one who could stop her. She ran over to my dead sisters and began to weep. How dare she mourn her family after brutally murdering them? I was enraged. So I grabbed this dagger," he said as he pulled out a shining metallic dagger and continued, "and stabbed her in the back, right into her heart. I cleansed the world of her evil."

Arthur said, "You did the right thing." Aredian replied, "I know. They called me the 'witchkiller' after that which eventually became 'witchfinder'. I am proud of it, of all I've done." Arthur forced himself to smile. He wondered that when the time came, could he feel proud of himself after murdering his own sister? or half-sister, it didn't really make much of a difference. But he knew he had to do it regardless of his feelings on the matter. He couldn't become like his father, a coward, just because he was betrayed. No, he decided, he would be stronger. Aredian finally said, "We should get some sleep."

The next morning, the enchanted horse led them through a waterfall to what looked like an abandoned castle. They proceeded to enter it. It was empty, and Arthur said in frustration, "There is no one here." Then the sorceress walked down the stairs in a red dress and said, "You kept your promise."

Morgause had heard of the once and future king and was surprised to hear that it was Arthur, the son of the man who had started the great purge. But now it seemed that her faith in him had been justified. He had proven himself honorable by keeping his word. Her plan was quite simple. Give Arthur a meeting with his mother, who would inform him of the circumstances of his birth, which would hopefully make Arthur reconsider his stance on magic. It seemed her plan was working.

But then, the man who he had come with said, "Or so you think, witch!" And then Arthur started aggressively attacking her with his sword. She used her magic to dodge his attack, which gave her just enough time to grab her sword. And they fought. Arthur fought much more ferociously than in their previous fight. She could see the hatred in his eyes. She was forced to admit that she was wrong. Arthur could not be the once and future king. He loathed magic as much as his father, if not more.

Aredian took his dagger, carefully and inconspicuously made his way behind Morgause's back as she continued to fight Arthur, and attempted to stab her in the back. She barely managed to dodge, but her right arm was bleeding. Morgause was now forced to contend with the fact that Arthur was not only an enemy of magic but a dishonorable one as well. Regardless, she was outnumbered, so she yelled, "Bedyrne ús! Astýre ús þanonweard" and she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Arthur was furious. They missed their chance. The sorceress had escaped. For the second time, he had failed Gwen's memory. He had failed to punish what had killed her. But he was determined he would not do so again. Magic would suffer, he swore to himself once more.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review if you have any thoughts, positive or negative.