Here is the second book for this series. I have three chapters written right now but I am slowly getting it done. Already it will probably be longer than the last book. If you haven't read the first book, I suggest you do so that you understand the world a bit better. Other than that, have fun!

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

Morgause paced through the room, muttering to herself. Cenred stood uncomfortably in the background. It was times like these that Cenred hated having Morgause around. She got upset over the littlest of things. They knew where Emrys was, so why was she so angry. Some flowers were set on fire as Morgause walked past them. He eyes were flashing gold almost every second. Cenred swallowed and tried to decide if he should talk to the witch or not. While he didn't fancy being turned into a pig, he also hated being kept in the dark about things. After all, he was the king; he had the right to know if anything was going to get in the way of his plans.

"My dear, what's the matter?" he asked quietly. He winced as his voice echoed around the room. He should really get more furniture in this castle. But Morgause had also set fire to most of the pieces that were currently in the room. They were just simmering innocently. The guards didn't move to put the fire out. They knew better. When Morgause was in a mood such as this, it was best to keep out of her way and as inconspicuous as possible, unless you wanted to end up with a broken neck or in the body of a worm

The only one who wasn't cowering in the corners was the little girl Emrys often hung out with, Frieda or something like that. Freya? Well, it didn't matter. She was busy jogging behind Morgause, trying to keep up with her. A wine cup was in her hand, within reach for Morgause whenever she needed.

"Not now you idiot. There is something wrong here and I can't figure it out," Morgause snapped.

Cenred sank back against the wall. Well, at least he wasn't a cockroach. Sometimes, he really hated how much he relied on Morgause. He couldn't wait until he secured Camelot. Then he might finally be rid of the woman. She was beautiful, but she also was very demanding. Cenred only really needed her to take Camelot and that was it. But it was taking a very long time. Maybe he should just kill her now and cut his losses. Did he really even want Camelot anymore? It seemed like a lot of work to secure one kingdom.

"She's back. She shouldn't be back. I thought I got rid of her," Morgause continued to mutter, her hands waving wildly around.

"Iseldir said something about Nimueh," Freya said quietly. "Is she the one causing problems?"

Morgause stopped suddenly. The girl barely managed to stop herself in time, sloshing wine over the brim of the cup. Morgause's eyes flashed once more. One of the chairs splintered and then burst open, shards of wood flying in every direction.

"That witch wouldn't dare to try something so stupid. I know she hates Camelot, but she can't possibly hope to control the monster," Morgause said. She whipped around to Cenred. Cenred shrank back under her glare. "Bring me Iseldir. I need to know what is going on," Morgause snarled. Cenred turned to the guards.

"You heard her. Bring us the druid," he demanded.

Freya scampered over to the table to pour more wine for the pair. She knew that Morgause was in a foul mood. On the table, a small moth was perched, fluttering her wings in the dim light. Freya carefully picked up the moth, letting it perch on her finger.

"Has it started? Are we going to be free?" Freya whispered. The moth continued to flap her wings. "Go tell Merlin I'm waiting for him," she whispered before gently blowing the moth off her finger. The moth fluttered through the open window and out into the light, a light that Freya hoped she would one day be able to feel as well.

oOoOoOo

Leon rested his head on the table, trying to stave off an oncoming headache. This was too much work for one person. He should have never agreed. He should have at least gotten someone else to help with this. Lancelot was a good party planner, right?

"What's wrong, Leon?" Merlin asked, putting down his book and looking expectantly at the knight.

Leon sat up and smiled. He reached over to ruffle Merlin's hair. Merlin squawked and tried to duck away from Leon's hand. But he managed to catch the boy and was busy messing the hair up. Merlin couldn't help but let out a little giggle.

"I am in charge of organizing this tournament, once again," he said, trying his best to sound happy.

Merlin would worry if Leon weren't feeling happy. And then Merlin would try to cheer Leon up. The last time this happened all the royal horses had been turned atrocious shades of pink, blue, orange, and green. Luckily, Uther was in bed sick and Gaius and Morgana managed to change the horses back before he noticed. Arthur had told the people that they had been experimenting with a new shampoo that turned them different colors. Leon didn't need another incident like that to happen.

"Well that's because you're so good at it," Merlin said cheerfully. Thank the gods it worked.

"I may be good, but it's next week and things are just getting more and more hectic. Sir Boris wants a bigger room. The inns are overflowing and Gwaine is having a bit too much fun at the taverns," Leon sighed.

"What's he doing at the taverns?" Merlin asked excitedly. Leon constantly wondered how much exposure to Gwaine the young child should have. Gwaine was a bad influence. But he did seem to care about Merlin. But he was also a bad influence. At least Lancelot was there to counteract whatever Gwaine was doing.

"He's just being Gwaine, but much more ferociously," Leon said, trying to preserve Merlin's innocence just a bit longer.

"Well are you at least excited for the actors that are coming in a few weeks?" Merlin asked, returning to his books. Leon froze.

"What actors?" he asked, suddenly in a panic.

"You know, the ones that are coming from across the sea? King Uther asked you to plan this about three months ago," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Leon opened and closed his mouth a few times.

He vaguely remembered Uther asking if something was done. But Leon had been so frazzled when the competition grounds were set on fire (Merlin had a nightmare) he just waved him off and told him he would take care of it. Was that when he was told about the actors?

"I'll be right back, Merlin. Don't wander off," Leon gasped as he ran from the room. Merlin looked up at the chair that Leon once occupied.

"I wonder what happened?" Merlin said to himself. He shrugged his shoulders and continued to read.

Leon, meanwhile, sprinted through the halls. He wasn't really sure what he hoped to accomplish and how, but he had a feeling he would be without a job very soon. He turned the corner and skidded into Morgana. Morgana let out an oomph and stumbled back into the wall. Leon managed to catch her before she completely toppled over.

"Sir Leon, in a rush for something?" she asked sweetly. Leon shook his head.

"Nope, everything is completely and totally under control," he said, trying not to let his panic show.

Morgana let out a laugh.

"Unless Merlin's accidently set something on fire or turned more animals various shades of pink, I do think everything is under control. The actors and the company they are traveling with will be staying at the Rising Sun. They are putting on three plays and having a feast after the second play. The nobles traveling with them will be staying in the west wing of the castle and all dietary restrictions have been given to the cook. They will be here for a week before returning back home and all the nobility here have donated a little something to support them. You gave four pieces of gold and a chicken. Anything else?" she asked. Leon opened and closed him mouth several times.

"How did you—" he asked. Morgana snorted.

"You people seem to forget I can see into the future. And I knew that organizing a tournament and a visit would be too much for you to handle. So I took over the duties," Morgana replied. Leon relaxed.

"Oh thank the gods. I thought I was going to be fired for this," he said. Morgana shook her head.

"Uther isn't a very big fan of plays. He thinks they promote immoral actions among to people. He probably wouldn't have cared."

Leon nodded and was relieved with how things were turning out.

"Morgana, you are a saint," he said.

"Thank you, but you can let go of me now," Morgana said. Leon looked down at where his arm was still wrapped around her waist and blushed.

"Sorry, milady," he said with a bow. Morgana shook her head.

"No problem. You should probably get back to Merlin, make sure he's not getting into trouble," she said before trotting off.

Leon walked back to his room and sank back down in the chair. His headache wasn't receding any.

"Are you better now?" Merlin asked.

"Yes, Merlin. I'm fine now," Leon responded, starting his work with the tournament again. Morgana truly was a miracle worker. She would be a valuable asset to the court when Arthur became king.

oOoOoOo

Valiant huffed as he continued a bit farther down the road. If the rumors were true, then this tournament could be his ticket out of a life of being just a subpar peasant. He had heard one night at the tavern that the lovely prince of Camelot had managed to convince the king to allow peasants to begin joining the noble line of knights that had dominated Camelot's society for so long. Now, Valiant had a chance of becoming one of them. Oh the power it would give him! Valiant could see it now, the women, the wine, the money. It was enough to make him grin with glee.

There was just one problem, Valiant had never been the best fighter. He just didn't want to sit there and practice with a sword until his arm fell off. He much preferred to be in the company of some lovely ladies. But he would still try to get into the tournament and win this thing. Ever since he had found out, he had been working hard to improve his technique. He might just have a shot of getting far enough to be considered for knighthood. Then, all he had to do was sit around and do patrols every so often. It was perfect!

A twig snapped and Valiant whipped around, sword at the ready. What he saw was a beautiful young woman. She had long, dark, flowing hair and piercing blue eyes. Valiant almost thought she was a fairy, come to take him away.

"What do you want?" he asked, still pointing his sword towards the woman. The woman giggled.

"Such a useless weapon will do nothing for me. Even if I didn't have magic, the blade looks like it's about to break," she said. Well that was a bit rude. Sure he had found his blade in the trash. It was also so dull it probably wouldn't cut butter. But she still didn't have to point it out!

"I have somewhere to be. I will not be stopped by the likes of you," Valiant said, putting away the sword and continuing on.

"Oh, I think you'll want to stick around," the woman said.

"I have no interest in being seduced by you, foul creature," Valiant spat, walking faster. The woman let out a harsh laugh.

"Oh believe me, you aren't really my type."

Valiant tried to ignore her, but the woman was persistent. "My name is Nimeuh, and I hear you want to enter the tournament being held in Camelot," she continued. Valiant stopped and turned around.

"So, what of it?" he snarled. Nimueh let out a laugh and leaned casually against a tree.

"Oh calm down, will you. I just think that you and I should team up to cause a little mayhem," she said sweetly.

"I'm listening," Valiant said, stepping forward. He did like reeking havoc. The only reason he wanted to be a knight was so that he could have power. Nimueh pushed herself off the tree and sauntered over to Valiant. One of her hands began running up and down his arm.

"Well, I have a little surprise that will throw Camelot into a bought of chaos. But, some new information has reached my ear, evidence which could thwart my plan," she explained.

"And how am I going to help your plan?" Valiant said, his eyes narrowing, looking for any indication that Nimueh was going to hurt him. Nimueh sighed and dropped her hand.
"I need you to get into the king's good graces. I need you to win the tournament, and then I need you to kill the prince," she said casually. Valiant let out a laugh.

"I hate to break your impression of me, but I won't be winning the tournament," Valiant said. Nimueh spun around, a smile on her lips.

"Who said I wasn't going to help you with that," she said, pulling a shield from behind her. Valiant's eyes widened. That shield was not there a second ago.

"How did you—"

"I'm magic, remember?" She pulled back the canvas covering the shield to reveal three snakes, intertwined with their fangs bared. "All you have to do is to give the order to kill, and these little darlings will spring out, and kill your opponent. But be careful, if you're caught, I won't be helping you out. Use it sparingly," she instructed. Valiant took the shield and held it in his hands, grinning like a mad man.

"How will I remain in the good grace of the king if I kill his son?" he asked.

"Simple, you will claim that you did everything in your power to stop the creature from killing him, but in the end, her magic was too strong," Nimueh sighed dramatically.

"Then I will go and win this tournament," Valiant said smugly. He was about to turn and walk away when Nimueh called him back.

"You might have a shield that can kill, but you still need the skills to get you close enough to your opponent to do it," she said, pulling out a sword for the tree. "Here, this will give you the endurance of ten men, and the fighting skill of whatever opponent you face. Their moves will become your moves. Good luck, my dear," Nimueh said. Valiant took the sword and grinned. He examined it. It was lovely and well crafted. Already he could feel the power filling his veins.

"Hey, how will we—" he looked up to see Nimeuh was gone. Valiant shook his head and continued to Camelot. He wondered what the witch was planning the kingdom, and decided that he really did like the idea of being a favorite to the king. The power he would wield. And just over the hills, he could see the white towers rising from the ground, the place where he would make his name.

oOoOoOo

Morgana shot out of bed, stumbling back against the wall. Her breathing was heavy and her eyes were darting around the room, trying to find an invisible intruder. The door to the antechamber flew open.

"Morgana?" Gwen asked, she was holding a candle. Morgana took a few deep breaths and straightened out her nightgown.

"I'm sorry, Gwen. Did I wake you?" she asked.

"Yes, but are you alright?" Gwen asked. Morgana sank onto the bed.

"I don't know why, but I keep seeing two women, both of whom are coming to Camelot, both of whom want to destroy it," Morgana said. Gwen sat next to her.

"Do you want to tell Arthur?" Gwen asked. Morgana shook her head.

"I've never seen their faces or even heard their voices. We need more information. Maybe tomorrow I can ask the Great Dragon to see if he knows anything about this," Morgana replied. Gwen nodded and relit the incense that was supposed to help suppress Morgana's visions.

"We'll figure this out, we always do," Gwen said before slipping back into her chambers. Morgana lay back on the bed. Ever since Ulric, she had been having more vivid and more violent dreams. His appearance in Camelot had started something, something big. And Morgana didn't like where it was going.