"Do you think she works for Morgana?" Arthur asked, pacing in front of his throne.
"Bendrui are practised in potent magic, Sire," Gaius stated, looking at the drawing Merlin had given him of the tattoo he saw. "If she called Merlin by his real name, then that can only mean one thing, Morgana must have told her who Emrys is in an attempt to lure him out."
"Merlin, I can't allow you to meet with her," Arthur decided, looking at his servant.
"What if she isn't working for Morgana," Merlin asked. "What if she can actually help me protect you? I have to meet with her, Arthur."
"It's too risky," Arthur stated.
"Then have Mordred come with me," Merlin suggested.
"This woman told you to come alone," Gaius pointed out
"He can hide, and if things go bad, he'll come out of hiding," Merlin said.
"I forbid you to go, and that's final," Arthur ordered, not even pausing to consider Merlin's idea.
"I'm going to go whether I have your permission or not, Arthur," Merlin stated matter-of-factly. "I have to know what she knows. You can either work with me, or I'll just sneak out the next chance I get and go anyway."
Arthur rubbed the back of his head and inwardly groaned. He knew Merlin was right and locking him away wouldn't do any good. The younger man would just break out. "Fine. What do you propose we do?"
"Have Mordred come with me," Merlin said, repeating himself. "He'll find a place to hide, watch the interaction. If he or I suspect anything, he'll come out, and together we'll take care of her."
"Fine," Arthur unwillingly agreed. "But if anything goes wrong or either of you wind up hurt, I'm locking you up in the stocks for the next month."
Merlin knew the king was joking, but on the off chance he wasn't, he'd have to make sure he was extra careful. "Understood, Sire."
Later that night, just after the sun finished setting, Mordred met Merlin at the castle's gate. Instead of his usual armour and chainmail, he wore a blue tunic and a coat. "You ready?" he greeted.
"Yeah," Merlin said. "Let's get a move on."
An hour later, the two sorcerers approached the temple. Mordred stayed back and hid behind a pillar, while Merlin forged ahead. As he entered the temple, he saw the woman kneeling in front of the statue. Merlin cleared his throat, making his presence known.
The woman turned around and quickly bowed. "Great One."
"Please, that's not necessary. You don't have to do that," Merlin said, gesturing for her to stand up. "I never got your name."
"My name is Finna," the woman responded as she stood back up. "It's an honour to meet you, Emrys."
"How do you know my name?" Merlin asked as he began moving closer to her.
"From my master," Finna replied. "Alator of the Catha." Merlin felt some of the tension leave him, relieved to know that Morgana wasn't behind this meeting. "He sends you his greetings. But also a warning. A great battle nears. The fate of Camelot rests in the balance. Only you, Great Emrys, can ensure the triumph of the Once and Future King."
"What do you mean?" Merlin asked.
"The time of prophecy approaches," Finna stated. "As does your destiny. A single moment written hundreds of years ago is soon to unfold. You must be prepared."
Merlin had known this was coming. He'd been feeling it for months now. "How can I prepare when so much has changed?"
Finna opened her mouth to speak but closed it once more. The air around them became more dense. Something was coming. Something or someone other than Mordred was watching them.
"It is no longer safe here," Finna declared. "Once it's safe, come find me. I will give you what you require for the coming days."
"I will find you," Merlin promised.
Merlin sat across from Arthur and Gaius in his chambers, recalling his meeting with Finna. "... I need to go find her so I can find out what she has."
"Did she say what it was?" Arthur asked. "A sword? The location of Morgana."
Merlin just shook his head. "I don't know. We didn't get that far before she took off."
"Any idea why she left?" Gaius wondered.
"No clue," the young warlock answered. "But whatever she was feeling, I felt it too. Someone or something other than Mordred was watching us."
"What about where she went?" Arthur wondered. "Do you know how to find her?"
"Not yet," Merlin replied. "But I will. I'm sure she left a way for me to track her. I need to hurry if I'm going to catch up to her."
"I'm coming with you then," Arthur said. "If this is about both of us, I need to know what she knows firsthand."
The Magical Advisor just nodded. "Okay. We'll leave at first light."
Arthur watched as Merlin wandered the woods surrounding the ruined temple, looking for a sign about which way the Finna woman went. He didn't like this one bit. Something felt off about the whole thing. This could still be a trap. But he also had to trust Merlin in these matters. He did appoint him Magical Advisor for a reason.
"Over here," Merlin called out from several feet away. "I know where she's heading. We need to head west for three miles."
"Are you sure you can walk that far on foot?" Arthur asked as he walked over to where Merlin was. "We can still go back and get the horses."
"I'll be fine," Merlin said. "Gaius gave me quite a few tonics and poultices to help. Besides, I could use the exercise."
Arthur gave him a worried look. He really didn't need his best friend hurting himself more. "Fine, but one mishap, and I'm dragging you back to Gaius."
Merlin waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about me, Arthur. Let's get a move on."
Merlin leaned on the tree as he looked at the burn marks that Finna left to guide him. He and Arthur had been travelling for most of the day, barely stopping to rest.
"Why don't we rest for a moment," Arthur suggested, seeing how tired Merlin was becoming. "You look like you're ready to fall over."
The warlock shook his head. "No. I'm good. We're almost there. Just a few more miles."
Arthur watched as the younger man pushed himself off the tree and began walking, or, in his case, hobbling. The only thing keeping him from falling over was his cane, but just barely. Whatever tonics Gaius had given him weren't helping. Despite being king, he couldn't force the warlock to stop, even for a moment. The man was too stubborn.
"Fine, but once we get there, you're resting," Arthur said
Merlin didn't answer as he trudged on ahead. He knew Arthur knew he was exhausted. He couldn't hide his laboured breathing or his hobbled steps. But he couldn't rest. He needed to reach Finna. He didn't know how he knew, but he knew Morgana was after her as well. Whatever Finna had couldn't fall into the wrong hands.
As the sun was beginning to set, Merlin and Arthur finally reached Finna's campsite.
"Stay back, Arthur," Merlin said. "Let me talk to her first, alone."
"Not going to happen," Arthur said. "I told you I was coming with you. That means all the way."
"Fine," Merlin said, too exhausted to argue.
Together, they walked into the campsite, just as Finna was adding more wood to a dying fire.
"Finna," Merlin greeted.
"Master," Finna greeted in return as she bowed.
"Don't—don't do that," Merlin said, clearly uncomfortable with being bowed to.
Finna stood up and looked at Merlin, then at Arthur.
She frowned. "Why is he here?"
"He insisted on coming," Merlin said as he leaned against a nearby tree for extra support. "He needed to know what you do since it concerns him."
"I-" Arthur began to speak, only to be interrupted by three Saxons coming out of nowhere, charging with their weapons drawn.
Merlin, with his already limited energy, pushed himself away from the tree and aimed his cane at one of the men as his eyes glowed gold. His magic flung the man backwards into a tree, killing him instantly. Before he could muster up the energy to do anything else, one of the remaining Saxons launched a bolt at him. He felt the bolt hit his side as it pushed through his skin. Time seemed to slow as he began to fall to the ground, dropping his cane as he went. The world around him started to dim. All sounds became muffled. The only thing he could focus on was the new source of pain radiating from the right side of his torso.
Arthur watched in horror, unable to stop what was happening. All he could do was rush to aid his best friend, catching him as he fell. As he slowed Merlin's fall, Finna quickly took care of the two remaining Saxons before coming over to assist in caring for the young warlock.
"It'll be okay," Arthur promised, holding Merlin's head in his lap.
"They won't be alone," Finna stated, as she wrapped her hand around the bolt.
Merlin couldn't really hear what was being said, but he got the gist of it. So he nodded, unable to form words at the moment.
"You'll want to bite this," Arthur said as he put a folded cloth in front of Merlin's mouth. "It'll drown out the screaming."
Merlin bit into the cloth just as Finna ripped the bolt out of his side. He groaned in pain as he swallowed the scream he so desperately wanted to release. After a brief moment, the pain went from burning hot to just above a dull throb. He was still badly wounded, but he could focus his thoughts and understand what his best friend and new friend were saying to him.
"We need to get you out of here. Morgana cannot find you," Finna pointed out. "Can you walk?"
Merlin spit out the cloth as he placed his hand over his own wound and nodded. "I think so."
"Merlin, don't be stupid," Arthur said. "The journey here alone has exhausted you. There is no way you can walk. We have to find another way to get you out of here."
Merlin realized that his friend was right. He didn't know how far they were going to have to go. But what other choice did they have? "How else are we to get away?"
Arthur thought for a moment before speaking. "Finna, grab his cane. Then help me get him to his feet. We'll carry him together."
"There's an old watch tower a few miles north of here," Finna said as she picked up the cane. "We can take him there."
Arthur nodded. "Okay. We'll head there. Hopefully, there will be some supplies we can use to at least slow the bleeding."
The king and sorceress worked together to get Merlin to his feet and carry him away.
Author's Note: I hope everyone reading this is enjoying the story so far. I would love to hear your thoughts on what has happened so far. After this chapter, there are one or two more chapters to go. I haven't decided quite yet. So stay tuned to find out what happens next