Okay all, here's the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed and added me to their faves and alerts lists. I'm extremely grateful.

WARNING: This chapter will be depressing. Implied rape, lot's of violence and whump on all concerned. So if that disturbs you, please feel free to ignore this chapter. Although important things may crop up in this chapter.

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Sing Me To Sleep.

Chapter 6.

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It had been two days, and some other survivors of similar attacks by Southrons, had arrived in Camelot. An old woman and her grandson, who had escaped from a village on the very border of Camelot had told Arthur of how the Southrons had attacked their village and destroyed everything, taking people as slaves. A teenage girl and her small sister came from another village telling the same story. One old man told Arthur how his whole family, his wife, children and grandchildren, had all been burned alive in their home by the Southrons when he refused to give up his younger daughters and sons to their army as slaves. Arthur was determined to get his father to allow him to stop the Southrons. Even if Merlin were not their captive, he knew these men would soon make their way to Camelot, pillaging and capturing innocents as they went. It would leave many orphaned and many more dead. Arthur took a deep breath outside the throne room and walked in to see his father.

"Father?" Arthur questioned. Uther looked up at his son, from his papers.

"Arthur! What is wrong my son?" Uther asked him.

"I've had reports that the Southron army are pillaging outlying villages and taking men, women and children as slaves. They're heading through our borders, burning and destroying everything in their path as they go. I believe that their goal is to get to Camelot." Arthur replied. Uther frowned, looking angry, as his leather clad fists clenched on the table.

"How did you come by this information?" Uther asked.

"Children from Ealdor, on the border of Escetia, managed to get here after the village was attacked two days ago. They're not the only ones. Others have managed to escape from villages over the border in Camelot, to tell us the same thing." Arthur replied. Uther frowned, remembering that Merlin had been from Ealdor.

"That servant of yours, the traitor, Merlin, was from Ealdor, was she not?" Uther asked.

"Yes. One of the children who came here was her daughter." Arthur replied. Uther felt his blood run cold, but his face showed no expression.

"The child of a magic user is living in our kingdom?" Uther asked angrily.

"She's a little child. She's shown no signs of magic. She's a frightened child who lost her mother to the Southrons, and we are losing citizens to them every day." Arthur replied. Uther took a deep breath.

"Gather a force so that the Southrons can be stopped. If Merlin is found, she will be executed. As for the child, as you say, she is just a child. I'm sure she is with Gaius, leave her with him. I have more things to be concerned about then a child." Uther stated. Though he felt a need to see this child, this girl, and speak to her. This was his granddaughter. But he knew nothing about her, except that she was a girl. Arthur nodded and made to leave the room. "What is this child's name Arthur?" Uther asked, before he left. He could see the questioning look in his son's eyes. "I should know the name of a child staying in my castle." Uther added.

"Her name is Freya. She... she looks a great deal like her mother." Arthur said. Uther caught the fondness in Arthur's tone, and even a touch of longing. Uther watched his son leave the room and sighed, wondering if this crusade was worth his son's unhappiness. But for now, he had an opportunity, to speak to and get to know his granddaughter.

xXxXxXx SOUTHRON CAMP xXxXxXx

Merlin awoke chained to a bed. She found she was dressed in some sort of blue, sheer outfit. She wasn't sure how long she had been unconscious. All she knew was that she didn't like the position she was in. Helios entered the tent and looked at Merlin.

"So you're awake now. That's good. I expect my slaves to bow to my will. You can't do that while you're unconscious." Helios said. Merlin tried to sit up but found her ankles were also chained.

"I will never bow to you." Merlin stated angrily.

"You will. All my women bow to me eventually." Helios replied.

"I'm not your woman. I never will be." Merlin said. Helios smirked.

"Didn't you hear? Morgause gave you to me. I can do as I wish with you, so long as I don't kill you." Helios said. His voice was calm, but Merlin took note of the predatory gleam in his eyes.

"Whatever you do to me, you will never own me. My heart and soul belong to someone else. You won't make me yours." Merlin stated.

"I don't need your heart or your soul. If I want your heart, I'll just cut it out. You forget, we Southron men take what we want." Helios stated. He unbuckled the great leather belt that he was wearing and dropped it to the ground. Merlin glared, as she tried to get one of her hands free, by tugging on the chain that kept her tied to the bed. Her magic was still weak. She knew she would be defenceless unless she could escape now. "You won't escape. Morgause enchanted those chains to keep you bound. Until she decides to kill you, I can do as I wish with you, and none of it you will like, sweet lady." Helios stated. He removed his leather vest. Merlin felt fear rising up in her stomach and chest. She yanked at the chains on her wrists and ankles more vigorously now, but she couldn't remove them. "I told you they won't break. Morgause enchanted them." Helios said.

"If you do this, I will get free and I will make you pay for it. I swear it. I will kill you and it will be painful." Merlin hissed.

"Morgause will kill you long before that can happen girl. Did you expect to be captured and nothing would happen to you? You are not Prince Arthur's maidservant anymore. You are just a pretty peasant girl. Pretty peasant girls are good for one thing and I will make use of you. Over and over again. And that will be painful. Just so that you know." Helios replied, as he undid his leather pants.

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Mordred and Kara were chained with Hunith somewhere in the caves when they heard Merlin's screams. They knew it was Merlin. Her screams of pain and terror filled the cave, and her magic shook the earth in her fear. Kara gripped at Mordred, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"They can't... they can't hurt Emrys. We have to stop them." Kara whispered.

"There's nothing we can do." Mordred whispered back, tears streaking down his own cheeks as he heard the pain of his mentor, the only family he'd had for years, and knew he couldn't save her.

xXxXxXx CAMELOT xXxXxXx

Freya was wandering the halls as she explored what she deemed as her home, until her Mother came for her. She walked into a tall man. He was older, and wore a crown on his head, and Freya knew this was King Uther. She felt a strange prickle of nerves, knowing that if this man knew she was born with Magic, that he would kill her.

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Uther looked down at the child. There was no way this was not Merlin's daughter. The child was her image, but he saw parts of Arthur in her too. Her nose and ears were Arthur's, and the quizzical look on her face reminded Uther of when Arthur had been curious as a child.

"Hello." Uther said to the girl. The girl looked at him and Uther looked back at her, his granddaughter, wondering why she looked at him so strangely. She curtsied as best she could.

"Hello Sire." The girl said to him. She looked at him with a slight hint of fear in her eyes.

"Your name is Freya, yes?" Uther asked. He knew it was. Freya nodded. "Do you play chess child?" Uther found himself asking. He hadn't wanted to ask that. Rather, he wasn't sure why he was asking her. She was the child of a commoner and a sorceress at that. The girl smiled at him, Uther knew the girl had her mother's smile.

"Yes your Highness, I do know how to play." The girl replied. Uther bought the child to a chess board and sat her in front of it. He sat the other side, and gestured for her to make the first move. The little girl looked at the pieces carefully, thinking about her strategy, and then she moved a piece.

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Arthur found himself near his father's drawing room, and saw Freya sat in front of the chess board, as he had once been as a child. It was when Freya moved her Queen that Arthur realised that Freya was playing against his father.

"Checkmate, Sire." Freya said softly. Arthur saw his father look at the chess pieces and smile.

"That is the first time I've been beaten at chess in nearly sixteen years. Who taught you to play child?" Uther asked.

"My mother, your Highness. Her mother, my Grandma Hunith taught her to play and my Mother's father, taught her." Freya replied. Uther frowned and nodded his understanding.

"So you have a grandfather. What is his name child?" Uther asked.

"His name was Balinor Your Highness. He was killed years ago, before I was born, Sire." Freya replied. Arthur felt his heart constrict. Merlin had sobbed over Balinor, and Arthur had told her no man was worth her tears. He had never thought she was crying for her own father. He felt a coil of dread climb up into his gut as he watched his father set up the chessboard again.

"Would you like a rematch child?" Uther asked. Freya smiled brightly and nodded. Arthur noted that Freya had Merlin's smile.

xXxXxXx ONE DAY LATER xXxXxXx

Arthur knew that Morgana was supposed to arrive back today. He heard from the guards that Morgana was riding into the courtyard and he went to greet his sister. That was when he saw Freya running ahead of him, wearing a blue dress, obviously gifted to her by Gaius. She ran down the steps of the courtyard and towards Morgana's horse, as she dismounted.

"Auntie Morgana!" Arthur was shocked to see Freya run straight into Morgana's arms and hug her tightly. Morgana hugged her back. Lancelot, Gwaine and Percival looked at the child with familiarity.

"Uncle Gwaine! Uncle Lancelot! Uncle Percival! I haven't seen you for so long!" Freya exclaimed as she hugged each of the three men in turn. Morgana looked up at Arthur and could see the look of betrayal on his face, but before she could call out to him, he was gone.

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Merlin was shaking again as they dragged her over to Mordred, Kara and her Mother. For the last three days she was taken away to be chained with the others, she wasn't sure why. The man was maybe trying to torture her family by seeing her distress. She wanted so badly to ease their pain, but every night she was dragged back, kicking and screaming, to Helios' bed, where she was subjected to the worst humiliation and pain she could ever have imagined. She felt soiled and dirty and she wasn't sure if she could ever return to Camelot, or Arthur's side, after this. It felt like her destiny had somehow been soiled, destroyed, with the horror of her suffering. She hated herself, but she hated Morgause and Helios even more. She never thought she could hate until now. Now she knew what hatred and vengeance were, what they could be. As she was chained beside her family again, they tried to get her to speak. She had not spoken since that first night.

"Merlin? Talk to me. Please, my daughter." Hunith pleaded gently.

'Emrys! Please talk to us!' Mordred begged mentally.

'Please Emrys.' Kara also pleaded. Merlin looked at them then. Her blue eyes filled with pain and horror.

"I will kill them. Morgause and Helios. I will kill them both and I will watch their faces as they die. They took what was good about me, and they've turned me into something disgusting, something ugly and dirty and sick. I will watch them suffer as they die and they will know then exactly what they have done." Merlin whispered, her throat hoarse with her screams of pain from the last three nights. Hunith and Kara allowed tears to come to their eyes. Mordred looked at his mentor and nodded.

'I will help you Emrys. I swear to you that I will help you make them pay. No matter how long it takes. We will destroy them as they've tried to destroy you.' Mordred promised mentally.

'Thank you Mordred. You are like my son, my brother, the only ones I've ever had. We will kill them both.' Merlin promised back. In that moment, a pact of vengeance was made on Merlin's pain and Mordred's anger, but neither of them knew if they would survive long enough to escape. The pact was all they had now, and they would do everything they could to keep to it.

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Okay, that's the end of this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it, no matter how depressing it was. Please R&R and let me know what you think and I will be updating as soon as I can.