Hello all! It's been more than a week, but I am still alive! I've been having horrible insomnia lately so I figured with all these extra hours concious I might as well post a brand new chapter. Also please wish me luck as I've had 0 sleep and I have an 8 hour shift tomorrow. Oh dear.

Chapter 6

"I've not harmed your friends, knight." Morgana sneered. "They are merely asleep and oblivious to your incessant wailing."

Lancelot stalled, startled by the sudden realization that the witch may be telling the truth. He didn't want to believe her and let his hopes grow only to be crushed brutally should her claims prove to be false. However he couldn't shake the optimism that kindled in his gut like fire.

His friends may not be dead.

He took a breath to calm himself, building up a mask of apathy before looking to Morgana once more. Is this the face of a liar? He questioned his judgement. Behind the cold, harsh exterior, her face held the innocence of a girl lost and confused; a girl he knew well from the stories Merlin would share. They were stories of a princess strong and kind before the corruption of Morgause tainted her heart.

Mask anew, he faced her head on. "How do I know you're not misleading me?" He asked her, doubting her integrity.

She smiled as if she'd been waiting for that particular question all along. "You'll just have to take my word for it."

"Just let me check them over! What harm can that do? Then you'd be free to do with me as you wish." He begged, desperate to see if the others were truly alright.

Morgana laughed. "No harm!? I let you loose so you can make a feeble attempt to run me through? I really do not think so." Pausing as she walked right up to the man struggling against his invisible barriers once more, she added, "I already have you exactly where I need you, free to do with as I please."

"Now on to the business at hand," she continued her rant as Lancelot slumped in defeat. "I have a message for my dear, sweet brother, and I need you to pass it on for me."

Brows drawn in confusion, Lancelot questioned, "Why don't you just tell him yourself?" He nodded towards Arthur's sleeping form mere metres away, not understanding why Morgana needed him to play messenger.

"Do you really believe Arthur would listen to me?" She implored bitterly. "Or rather, should he be in your place, struggle endlessly against my spell and block his ears to anything I have to say?"

She hesitated for a moment, awaiting a response. When none was received, she sighed and pressed on in a softer tone. "Once, he would have. But now-You see this is why I have to speak through you. Out of all the peasants my brother's knighted, you are the only one with enough of a brain to actually cast aside your hatred of me to hear the words I am saying. You're the only one clever enough to realize when you've been trapped."

Lancelot wasn't sure if she was paying him an indirect compliment or not, but he saw the truth in her words regardless. He knew the other knights, his brothers, were not stupid as Morgana had put it, but he also realized how they would act should they be in his position now.

Gwaine would scream and shout, refusing to listen and attempting endlessly to wake the others. He'd threaten and curse the witch in a hundred different ways and would never realize the purpose of her visit. All he would see is his friends in harm's way.

Leon had known Morgana before, bearing witness to her fall to Morgause. He would indubitably ignore her requests based on his deep-rooted distrust of anything magical, blaming her rantings on the magic that had corrupted her in her quest for power.

Percival would most likely remain silent. He would not however, take her words to heart. The large man was protective to a fault and couldn't be swayed by the trickery of someone who had put his friends in danger. Mutely, he'd struggle against his bonds, impatient to get his hands on the imposing threat.

With a heavy sign, Lancelot realized that she was correct to a certain degree. He held no prejudice against magic and his pure heart called to him, willing to listen to anyone. "What is this message then, Morgana?" he questioned tiredly.

She smiled fully this time, reminding Lancelot of a feral dog baring its teeth, almost making him regret agreeing to hear her out.

"I knew you'd see the light. I am aware of a man holding Arthur under his protection. A man named Emrys. I care not if you know the name, but do not deny you know nothing of why Arthur succeeds in every trial."

At the name Emrys, Lancelot froze, heart stilling. He knew the lengths Merlin went to to protect the King, how much he'd sacrificed so that Arthur could make it through the very occasions Morgana spoke of. He also knew that under absolutely no circumstances could she find out what Merlin's destiny was-that he was Emrys.

"I want to have a fair duel against him-without this Emrys guarding him like a lap dog. One on one, on my own terms, and we will see who the rightful victor is." She announced in determination.

Of course, without Merlin's aid, Arthur wouldn't stand much of a chance against the dark magic wielded by his half-sister. Lancelot let out a shaky breath; whatever he had been expecting, this was much worse. "Why would I pass on a message to my friend that sends him to his death?" He asked, perplexed.

The witch smirked. "Losing your faith in your King so quickly? I don't blame you." Her expression changed from amusement to something darker as she leaned in to Lancelot's face, staring him straight in the eyes. "You will tell Arthur to meet me at Ealdspell Ende at high noon tomorrow, or I will slaughter them all as they sleep, leaving you trapped here as their corpses rot and animals come to claim the bones."

She spoke with a mad gleam in her eyes and Lancelot had no trouble believing her this time. He simply nodded in submission, and with the same whirlwind of magic and dust, she disappeared as quickly as she had arrived.

The knight remained frozen in place a moment more before he noticed the spell he'd been trapped under had gone with her. He dropped to his knees, legs weak with shock and breathed deeply, trying to calm himself.

"What am I going to do now?" he muttered to himself despondently.