6. Foiled Plots and Revelations

~ Gaius ~

"Arthur!" Gaius cried out in warning, rushing forward when Gwen launched herself at Arthur.

Having heard his cry Arthur spun around but it was too late and Gauis could only watch in horror as Gwen brought the knife down, burying it in Arthur's chest.

"Arthur!" Gaius cried out the King's name again as he rushed across the room, cursing his age and lack of agility that he had been unable to stop Gwen's attack in the first place.

Arthur had staggered back, heartbreak splashed across his features as he looked at Gwen with shock at her sudden betrayal. His hand had come up to clutch at the wound and as Gaius got closer he realised – with no amount of relief – that the wound was higher and nearer to Arthur's shoulder than he had first feared. A wound that was less life-threatening – although only a proper examination would tell.

As Gwen moved to attack Arthur again – this time with a fork clutched in her grip Gaius lunged forward, throwing his arms around Gwen and pulling her back against him with all his strength.

Gwen let out a scream of anger at his actions, twisting in his arms and fighting with everything she had. Kicking and scratching and bucking like a wild horse.

Arthur recovered from his shock and quickly moved to help Gaius, using his superior strength to pin her arms to her side and allowing Gaius to step back. Gaius fumbled in his inner pocket and pulled out one of the many potions he always made sure to have on hand. Using a corner of his own sleeve he soaked it in the liquid and held it to Gwen's nose, covering her mouth to ensure she would breathe in the fumes.

Almost instantly her struggles ceased and soon she lay limp in Arthur's arms while he looked down at her, shaken.

Gaius jumped into action, instructing Arthur to lay her on his bed. He started with the basics, taking her pulse and checking her over for anything that would explain her out of character behaviour. While checking her head for any injuries his fingers brushed over a lump in the back of her neck. He felt something move under his fingers and quickly snatched his hand away.

"Gaius?" Arthur stepped forward.

"Help me turn her over." They rolled her and Gaius pushed back her hair to discover a writhing lump of flesh in the back of her neck.

"What the hell is that?" Arthur exclaimed as he reached out to touch it. Gaius slapped his hand away.

"I have no idea," Gaius answered gravely. "But whatever it is, I have a feeling it is connected to her attempt on your life."

He turned to Arthur then and stepped forward to better inspect the wound on Arthur's shoulder, relieved to note that Arthur had yet to remove the blade.

"This will require a closer look, sire."

Arthur waved him off, "I'm fine, tend to Gwen first."

Gaius gave Arthur a long look, judging his sincerity before conceding with a nod.

"We will need to get her down to my chambers before I can see about removing whatever that thing is."

Arthur wasted no time after that to gather Gwen back into his arms, ignoring Gaius disapproving glare at putting more pressure on his damaged shoulder. He only let a small grimace of pain twist his features, before striding quickly out the door, leaving Gaius to struggle to keep up.

They turned a few heads during their mad dash through the halls but Gaius only spared a moment to pull aside the first errand boy he spotted, sending him to fetch Elyan and the rest of the knights to update them of the situation. He knew they would want to be involved in this and he would feel better about having them around to protect Arthur in case any more attempts were made at Arthurs's life.

Once Gwen was lying on his operating table Gaius gathered together his instruments, sterilising a small blade in the fire before approaching the strange lump on the back of Gwen's neck. Arthur hovered over his shoulder.

"If you are going to loom, make yourself useful and hold her down. We have no idea what effect removing this might have."

"Should we be doing this then?" Arthur asked, alarmed. "If it could hurt her more perhaps we should wait."

"I'm afraid that leaving that thing in her will do more harm than good as it is most likely the work of dark magic."

Arthur hesitated a moment longer before moving around to the other side of the table and laying his good arm across the back of Gwen's shoulders, ready to pin her to the table if necessary.

Before making the first incision, Gaius had the idea to rub the area with a poultice and was satisfied to see the writhing mass fall still. He wasted no more time after that, stretching the skin taut before quickly and cleanly cutting the lump open. It revealed what could best be described as a tiny snakehead. He heard Arthur's gasp of disgust but remained focused on his job, switching tools for a pair of tweezers to pull the creature carefully from Gwen's neck, making sure he didn't leave any of it behind in the wound.

Handing a clean piece of cloth to Arthur with the instruction to press it firmly against the wound, Gaius brought the snake's head to the fire and threw it onto the flames, satisfied to see it burn up.

Turning he took over from Arthur and started to carefully stitch the wound shut, grateful that Gwen remained knocked out while he passed the needle through her skin.

"What the hell was that?" Arthur asked after a silent minute of watching Gaius work, his patience clearly at its end.

"I cannot say. At least not with any certainty but I fear this is the work of Morgana."

"Morgana?" Arthur paled a little at the mention of his mad sibling. "What would she want with Gwen? How did she even manage to kidnap Gwen from Camelot?"

"I'm afraid this might be my fault," Gaius said, feeling incredibly guilty for the part he played in Gwen's condition.

"Explain," Arthur demanded at Gaius' confession, eyes narrowing.

"She was helping me this morning with my medicines. I was out of many key ingredients for my tonics and she offered to collect the necessary plants needed." He bowed his head as guilt washed over him but Arthur seemed to relax at his explanation.

"You cannot fault yourself for this. You couldn't have known Morgana would target Gwen in such a way."

"Yes, but I had my suspicions on who was responsible for the disappearance of Merlin and still sent her out into the woods. I just didn't wish to have them confirmed this way,"

"What did Morgana do to her?" Arthur asked, looking back down at Gwen and reaching out to brush a stray lock of hair off her face.

"I'm afraid I don't know but if I was to guess, I would say she used whatever creature we found in the back of her neck as a way to control her and sent her back to harm you, sire."

"She tried to use Gwen to kill me?"

"It very nearly worked, who else would you let get so close to you? The perfect assassin."

Arthur clutched at his wounded shoulder, looking as though he had only just realised how close the blade had come to piercing his heart.

Tying off the last stitch Gaius wiped away the remaining blood from Gwen's neck and washed his hands before stepping around the table to get closer to Arthur.

"Now let me see that wound of yours." Arthur nodded and sat on the stool Gaius directed him to. Gaius took up a pair of scissors and carefully cut Arthur's shirt away from the wound. The whole left side of his shirt was soaked in blood that would never be scrubbed out so he had little guilt in doing so. Arthur helped him by shrugging out of the rest of the soiled garment until his torso was bare.

Gaius probed around the wound gently, carefully examining the way the blade had pierced Arthur's shoulder and was satisfied to realise he could treat the wound with his current supplies, before pulling the blade from Arthur's shoulder without warning.

"Ahh, shit– Gaius!" Arthur let out a yell, glaring at Gaius, "warn me first!"

"It was better to remove the blade while you were relaxed, Sire" Gaius replied, handing Arthur clean cloth to press against his shoulder before quickly threading his needle with thread and indicating Arthur lower the now soaked cloth.

Gaius cleaned the wound first and made quick work of stitching it up, ignoring Arthur's grumbling protests, and thanking whatever gods had made Arthur so lucky. By the time he had finished tying off the last stitch, Gauis felt exhausted and slumped back on his own stool, feeling like he had aged 10 years in the past hour. Even without Merlin around to cause mayhem he was still right in the thick of it.

They were interrupted when Elyan burst through the door with the rest of the knights hot on his heels. They all start firing questions before they were all fully through the door.

"What's happened?"

"Is the king–"

"Gwen!"

Elyan's voice is the loudest as he spotted his sister lying face down and still on the table. He rushed to her side, looking up at Gaius in panic once he saw the stitches in the back of her neck.

"She is only knocked out and should wake soon," Gaius reassured. He hesitated for a moment before adding, "however, we have just come to the discovery that she was kidnapped by Morgana."

"What!" Elyan's shout was echoed by the other knights.

"How did this happen?" Leon asked, a tad calmer than the rest.

"She was taken from the woods when collecting plants for me," Gaius admitted.

"You should have never sent her!" Elyan spat accusingly and Gaius lowered his head, feeling the guilt for the part he played in Gwen's current condition.

"Gaius isn't to blame here," Arthur spoke for the first time, his voice loud and commanding. "Morgana is. Fighting amongst ourselves isn't going to help anything."

There was a tense moment of silence in the aftermath of his declaration but eventually, Elyan nodded his agreement, knowing that Morgana was the real person to blame in this situation.

A groan then broke the silence, and they all looked over to see Gwen stirring. Elyan rushed over, closely followed by Arthur and they both hovered over her as she blinked her eyes open.

"Elyan?" She mumbled, blinking more and reaching up to rub at her eyes before flicking her gaze up to spot Arthur and across to meet Gaius' own gaze.

Gaius stepped forward. "How are you feeling Gwen?"

"I– my head feels all fuzzy, I don't–" She started trying to roll over and push herself up but was stopped by both Elyan and Arthur.

"Don't try to move." Gaius scolded gently, "you've had quite an ordeal."

"What do you mean? I don't remember…" Gwen frowned, looking at Arthur for answers before her eyes were drawn to his bare chest and the freshly stitched wound that stood out starkly against his shoulder.

"Oh, Arthur! You're hurt, what happened?" Arthur opened his mouth to answer but faltered at getting the words out. He looked over at Gaius pleadingly, who sighed before launching into his explanation for the third time, taking the time to reassure Gwen she was not to blame for any of her actions while under Morgana's control.

Gwen took the news surprisingly well, only a flicker of some indeterminable emotion crossing her face at the mention of Morgana – the expression too quick for Gaius to properly read it.

When Gaius had finished his story, Gwen turned to Arthur, her expression now distraught.

"I am glad Gaius was able to stop me. I just– I'm so sorry. You know I would never hurt you." Gwen said to him, her eyes wide and scared and he was quick to comfort her.

"All is forgiven, Gwen. I know you aren't to blame." Arthur placed a hand on her shoulder and Gaius saw Gwen visibly stiffen under his touch.

"Are you still in pain?" Gaius asked her, concerned he might have missed something in his hasty examination of her.

"No!" Gwen denied quickly, and Gaius felt his eyebrow rise at the clear lie.

"I just– I am merely tired." She amended quickly, leaning heavier against Arthur's touch, "A good night's sleep should set me right."

"I'll help you to your room, Gwen," Elyan immediately offered.

"Are you sure it's okay? For her to be walking so soon afterwards?" Arthur asked, looking at Gaius for approval.

"Yes, yes, that should be fine." He levelled Gwen with his sternest expression then. "But I expect you to take the next few days off to rest and recover. I will be by in a couple of days to check the stitches and ensure there is no lasting damage from your possession. In the meantime, I will do my best to research what type of creature this could have been."

"Thank you, Gaius." Gwen offered him a stiff smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Perhaps she was in more pain than he had first figured but she didn't say anything so he let it be.

With Elyan's help Gwen slid off the bench and stood, looking better already but after a few steps unaided she fell into one of the many workbenches, knocking over the many small potion bottles that had been sitting there.

Arthur rushed to catch her before she hit the ground, handing her to Elyan when his bad shoulder protested at the added weight.

"Oh, Gaius, I'm sorry–" Gaius waved off her apology.

"It's quite alright dear, go and rest."

Elyan disappeared out the door with her moments later and they all listened to the sounds of their footsteps retreating.

"So you are certain that Morgana is behind this?" Arthur asked once the footsteps could no longer be heard.

"Yes," Gaius sighed, leaning heavily against the table behind him. "The type of dark magic used and you being the target of said magic makes the conclusion rather certain."

"So does that mean she is the one behind Merlin's disappearance?" Gwaine asked, his eyes drawn to the jar sitting behind Gaius that held Merlin's ear. Gaius bowed his head, not even wanting to confirm or consider the implications of Merlin being at Morgana's mercy.

"She will not get away with it this time. We will find her and save Merlin." Arthur announced, but Gaius couldn't find it in him to believe that everything would work out okay when all evidence spoke to the contrary.

He knew Morgana harboured a personal grudge again Merlin, for his part in stopping Morgause's plans for taking over Camelot by poisoning Morgana herself. She had become twisted by hate and her desire for revenge on Camelot.

So if Merlin was still alive – Gaius could hardly allow himself to hope – he was sure to be suffering. Even if Arthur were to find Merlin and bring him home, there was no knowing how much of Merlin would be left to save.

~ Gwen ~

Gwen bid her brother a good night at the door to her quarters, mustering her most genuine smile and reassuring him multiple times that she was feeling better and only required rest.

Her smile dropped the instant the door closed and she started to pace, agitated and angry beyond measure at her failure to kill Arthur. She had been so close to plunging the knife into Arthur's heart when the old fool of a physician had shouted his warning. And now she would have to deal with their overbearing concern and the increased security that would surely be put around Arthur.

Her next attempt would have to be more cautious. But she already had in her possession the means for her next plan to kill Arthur.

Gwen pulled the vial of aconite from her robes, smiling at her own cunning deception – stealing the vial of poison from under the noses of Camelot's best. It was a wonder they managed to protect their King at all.

Now all she needed was to find an opening.

She continued to pace, her mind running through all options she had available to her. Her time as Morgana's handmaiden had taught her the ins and outs of the castle and the kitchens of Camelot were as familiar to her as the back of her hand. She need only to let a few drops of poison slip into Arthurs's wine or on his food and watch the rest unfold.

But she would have to wait until the time was right, no matter how much it pained her to do so. She had already failed once and could not afford to make the same mistake twice.

She would kill Arthur Pendragon, or die trying.

. . .

Gwen's opportunity to put her plan into motion did not come until two days later.

She had been acting out her days, as usual, playing at being the sweet mannered Gwen the Knights and Arthur expected her to be and avoiding Gaius' shrewd gaze. And as the days passed they had begun to relax their guard once again.

But it had been hard, defying her mistress's wishes by not acting sooner. She could feel the pressure in the back of her mind increasing, the pain of not being able to fulfil her order mounting with each second she had to wait. Her mind focused only on the steps that needed to be taken to end the King's life. But today, she would finally be about to set her plan in motion.

With Arthur stuck in one of his many council meetings and the rest of the knights out patrolling the forest she was free to roam the castle without a chaperon.

Slipping through the hallways, Gwen made her way to the kitchens and set herself to work, cleaning and preparing the vegetables for a large pot of soup the cook was preparing for supper that night.

No one gave her a second look, more than used to her presence in the kitchens and she used her menial task to watch as Arthur's new manservant entered, right on time, and began putting together a plate of food for Arthur's lunch.

Collecting the leftover scraps of vegetables in her apron Gwen took them to the large pig bucket by the wall that, by chance, brought her right next to where the boy was arranging Arthur's plate onto a tray, and carefully pouring a glass of wine.

Disposing on her scraps Gwen turned and let herself stumble into the boy, knocking the flagon of wine out of his hands to spill on the ground. The rest of the kitchen turned at the noise but quickly went back to work after a sharp command from the head cook.

"Oh goodness, I'm so sorry!" She gushed as the boy regained his footing. He turned to her with an angry expression, before it shifted to one of deference and apology when he realised exactly who had stumbled into him. Being the favoured servant of Arthur had its perks.

"The mistake was mine, please don't trouble yourself," he immediately responded, going to his knees to soak up the spilt wine with a nearby rag. Taking full advantage of his distraction, Gwen pulled the poison she had kept close the past few days and checked for witnesses before carefully tipping a small amount into the mostly full goblet of wine, letting a few drops spill over the neatly arranged food as well.

Satisfied, Gwen tucked the bottle away again, before stooping down to help finish cleaning the spilt wine, hiding the cruel smirk that tugged at her lips at the thought of her Mistresses wishes soon being fulfilled.

Arthur would be dead before the day was over.

. . .

She was out for a walk with her brother when the news came.

The knights had ridden back from their daily patrol not long after her trip to the kitchens and she had met them in the courtyard of the castle with a basket of freshly baked bread.

The mood around them was sombre, their bleak expressions making it clear that the hunt for Morgana and Merlin had not gone well. Gwen had hidden her satisfaction that the news brought her behind a mask of sorrow, offering false platitudes and looking forward to the moment she could shed her mask and return to her Mistress with proof of Arthur's demise.

Then, playing her part and furthering her alibi, Gwen had then pulled Elyan to the side, convincing him that a stroll through the gardens would distract them both from their troubles. Gwen knew that as they walked Arthur would be receiving his mid-day meal and she could hardly wait for the scene that would follow as the poison did its job.

In the end, she only had to wait a mere half-hour before Gwaine came tearing around the corner, stopping in front of them long enough to gasp out his message.

"There has been another attempt! Arthur's been poisoned!"

Nothing more needed to be said as they all ran into the castle, following Gwaine to Gaius' chambers.

Piling through the door and down the steps, Gwen pushed her way from behind Elyan, eager to see the king dead.

But instead, she saw Arthur standing beside Gaius and Leon, looking as hearty and hale as ever.

"How are you still alive?" She asked, a little sharply, her mask slipping in her aggravation at him somehow evading death again. At the strange looks she received, Gwen changed her tone.

"I mean– I thought you had been poisoned?"

"Someone tried." Arthurs expression was grave. "My new manservant, George, insisted he taste test my meal before I ate it."

"George ingested the poison that had laced Arthurs food. He is in a bad state and I fear he won't last the night." Gaius elaborated and Gwen then noticed the man lying on the cot in the corner, pale and shaking, but dismissed him just as quickly.

She grit her teeth in frustration. Her carefully executed plan foiled – and by a serving boy no less.

"Any idea how it got there?" Elyan spoke up from beside her.

"We don't know who did it, but I have my suspicions," Gaius said, his gaze now fixed unwaveringly on her and told her all she needed to know of his 'suspicions'.

She narrowed her eyes at him, immediately shedding any pretence of being Gwen. It would serve her no longer to play at being loyal, not when her Mistresses order were ringing in her ears.

She saw the old man's eyes widen in response and knew she only had a few moments to act before the old fool alerted the others.

Turning to her brother, Gwen pulled his sword from his sheath and shoved him backwards into Gwaine and before anyone could react to her strange behaviour she lunged at Arthur, the tip of her stolen blade aimed at his heart.

But as sudden as her attack had been, Arthur's battle-hardened reflexes were faster and her sword met empty air as Arthur twisted out of the way, albeit, barely. But Gwen simply changed attacks, slashing the blade upwards, towards Arthurs now unprotected neck – only to cross swords with Leon instead, as he leapt to the defence of his King.

The clang of metal was loud in the confined space and she could see the stunned faces of the knights around her as she pressed forward, forcing Leon to hastily back up due to his awkward stance.

With a shove she had him stumbling back into one of the nearby tables but barely gave him another glance before turning back towards Arthur, who was pulling his sword, the movement awkward due to his injured shoulder.

Lifting her sword she swung it down at his unprotected head, but once again, Arthur's reflexes saved him – his sword coming up in the nick of time.

"Gwen… why?" Arthur asked, expression open and raw with grief.

"There is no more Gwen, she was simply the mask I wore. That person you know no longer exists," she told him cruelly, and to prove her point she swung her blade around for an upward strike that Arthur countered sloppily, clearly unwilling to hurt her.

They started to circle each other, and Gwen saw Leon and Gwaine prepared to jump in to help but Arthur motioned them away.

"Don't interfere. Despite what she says, she is still Gwen, and we can't risk hurting her body."

"It is rather pretty, isn't it," Gwen smirked, running her free hand down her neck and chest suggestively. As expected, her action had Arthur look away in embarrassment and that was when she struck, immediately putting him on the defensive and pushing her advantage.

Growing up as a blacksmith's daughter she knew her way around a blade and her driving desire to see Arthur dead had her maintaining the upper hand in the fight. She could also see that Arthur's shoulder was still weak giving him trouble so she focused her attacks on that side, looking for an opening that would enable her to strike the killing blow.

It didn't take long until the opportunity presented itself and she thrust her blade towards his unprotected stomach. But Arthur did the unexpected, stepping forward to meet the blade and she felt the edge of her blade meet flesh before Arthur's arm clamped down over hers, rendering her fighting hand immobile while his own sword came up to rest against her neck.

"Surrender," he demanded and she looked up to meet his eyes, seeing the pained conflict within them. It was clear he wouldn't have what it would take to kill her. No wonder her Mistresses wanted him dead. No one this weak should be ruling Camelot.

It was a weakness Gwen exploited by feigning defeat, letting herself sag in his grip, feeling him relax a little as well, the touch of his blade on her neck falling away slightly.

"Never." She spat the word in his face before gripping the blade and pushing it away, heedless of the sharp blade cutting into her palm as she rocked her head forward, headbutting Arthur.

The angle was awkward but it was enough to have him stumble back, dazed and with blood pouring from his nose. She pulled her arm free and raised her sword for a final blow when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind, lifting her off her feet and squeezing tight enough that she was forced to drop the sword.

Screaming in rage she bucked and struggled against the hands holding her back, using her feet to kick out at anyone approaching her from the front while throwing her head back to hit the person behind her.

But she was only lifted higher off the floor, the massive arms holding her fast and no amount of struggling seemed to loosen their grip. She could only feel it tighten until she struggled to draw breath, eventually falling limp with exhaustion. But not defeated, not yet.

She glared around at the knights around her and delighted in how they flinched back from her gaze except for Arthur who stepped forward, his expression soft.

"If you are still in there Gwen, don't worry, we will free you soon."

She sneered at him. "You will never get her back. To remove me would be to kill her."

Arthur ignored her, gesturing to Gaius who came forward, a soaked rag in his grip and she began to struggle again with renewed fervour, knowing that once they knocked her out she will have failed in her mission.

"You will all lose! Morgana will kill you all!" She screamed when she realised there was no chance of her getting free before her voice was muffled by the cloth pressed down over her mouth and nose.

And then she could do nothing but inhale the sweet-smelling concoction and feel her body fall lax, her mind slipping away into darkness.

. . .

Gwen woke with a gasp, twisting her head away from the offending smell that was being wafted in front of her nose.

"Oh, god! What is that?" It smelt like a pigsty during a hot day and Gwen covered her nose with her hand before opening her eyes to find the worried face of Gaius in front of her, Arthur and her brother hovering behind him. She then realised her position, lying on one of the patient tables in Gaius' quarters.

"What is it, what happened?" Gwen asked at once as she pushed her self up, confused and concerned at how she had gotten there and no recent memories as to why.

Her hand throbbed as she pushed against the table and she looked down to see bandages wrapped around her left hand.

"You don't remember?" Gaius asked and she shook her head but stopped when her neck hurt at the sudden movement.

"You were possessed."

"Possessed?" Gwen repeated faintly, looking up at Gaius, thinking she may have misheard.

"By Morgana. She used dark magic to ensnare you and–" Gaius cut himself off, looking hesitant to continue.

"And what? What did I do?" She had a feeling she wasn't going to like the answer.

"She sent you back to kill Arthur."

"I would never!" She exclaimed, expecting the knights to refute Gaius' words, but when everyone remained silent she looked over to Arthur. At closer inspection she realised just how beat up he seemed to be, the left side of his shirt stained with blood and his face swollen like he had been punched.

It was all the evidence she needed to know that Gaius' words were true and she curled in on herself in horror at having been used in such a terrible way.

Gaius' words had also unlocked something in her memory and Gwen felt her missing memories begin to drift back to her from the past few days.

"I– I'm so sorry, Arthur, I'm–" she sobbed, remembering her attempts on Arthur's life, tears running down her cheeks at the thought of either of them being successful. As it was, her actions had caused the suffering and potential death of Arthur's current serving boy and she sobbed harder at the knowledge of her sins.

She felt her brothers arm slide around her shoulders and she turned to bury her head in his shoulder, accepting his comfort even though she felt undeserving of it.

She could hear the rest of the knights talking around her, but was too overwhelmed to pay them much attention, trying to reconcile the version of herself she had been under Morgana's control with who she was now. Her neck throbbed again and she pulled away from her brother a little, reaching up to gently touch the back, only to pull her fingers away in horror.

"Gaius!" Her shout had the conversation around her halt and every one turn towards her with cautious gazes. It stung to see such distrust in their eyes but knew it was well deserved, especially with that thing still in her neck – the very thing that had taken over her mind.

"Gwen, what is it?" Gaius asked, stepping towards her.

"The thing in my neck. It's still there."

"I know, Gwen." Gaius looked grim.

"But that means I could still be…" Gwen cut herself off, too scared to think of herself still under Morgana's control. "Can't you remove it?"

"I am afraid it would simply grow back again, like the last time."

"Then how do we remove it for good?"

"I believe we would need to destroy the main body of the beast. From the research I have been able to do, I believe the creature that was used to control you was called a Fomorroh." The name tugged something loose in Gwen's memory and she frowned, remembering the inside of some sort of shack and Morgana summoning a creature, a writhing mess of snakes, the head of one being cut off and–

She cut off the memory, her skin crawling at the thought of what had been done to her.

Gaius was still speaking. "It has the ability to control people's minds and–"

"That's it." Gwen interrupted, "I remember Morgana tell me and Mer– Merlin!" She gasped his name, the memory of seeing him tied to the chair opposite her suddenly sharp in her mind.

"You saw Merlin? He was still alive?" Arthur asked, speaking to her for the first time since she had woken up.

"Yes, he was with me in the shack Morgana had us in. He was…" She trailed off, not wanting to voice the true extent of Merlin's condition. "He wasn't looking good."

And that had been two days ago. Gwen didn't even want to speculate on what he'd had to endure since then.

"Could you lead us to the shack you described?" Arthur pushed and after a moment Gwen nodded, remembering – more or less – her route back to Camelot. The change in Arthur's demeanour was immediate, his expression flooding with relief and then with steely determination.

"Be ready to leave in 10 minutes," Arthur said before be began to bark commands to his knights, who rushed from the room to prepare for the battle ahead.

Arthur started after them, only turning back briefly at the doorway to meet Gwen's eyes from across the room, his expression softening slightly.

"It's good to have you back, Gwen."

She gave him a small smile in return, before standing from the table, more than ready to go save her friend.

"Let's go save Merlin."

Hello! I'm back from the dead with another update! I am SO SO SORRY that you all had to wait so long for another update (and on such a mean cliffhanger), I hope it was worth the wait.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful love and support you have continued to show me for this story! Every comment (ya'll are honestly so sweet!) really motivates me to keep chipping away at this story! And I have the rest of the story planned out, it's just a case of writing it now and I hope to not keep you waiting as long as I did last time! Wish me luck!

(Also, you could probably tell, but I suck at writing sword fights LOL.)