Title: Where Echoes Meet: Chapter four
Fandom: Merlin – Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover.
Summary: Buffy, Willow and Giles are sent back in time to the court of King Uther of Camelot. (In my version of their world, Arthur and Merlin are history, not legend.)
Pairings: Merlin/Arthur (Eventually.)
Rating: PG for this chapter.
Warnings: Descriptions of dead cows in this one - just incase anyone needs a warning for that. XD

Minor spoilers for S1 E10

AN: Just like last time, I'm so sorry it took me so long to update this. Last year RL was bad, this year has it been a lot worse and I haven't had the time or mental energy to put much effort into writing. Things in the real world seem to be going a lot better for now, though, so I will try my best to keep working on this. Thank you to everyone who has been patient and stuck with me.

It's been so long since I posted that it might help to go back a bit and read again before you start on this chapter.

I am also posting this story on my live journal (.com) where it also includes the pictures and graphics that accompany the story. Obviously I can't post those here so come over and say hello if you want to see them.

Gaius and Gwen were huddled together by the door of Gwen's house, talking quietly about the best way to smuggle Uther's doppelganger into the castle, while Buffy paced restlessly in front of Willow and the man himself.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" She whispered to Giles, urgently, and grabbed a hold of his sleeve. Gaius was making a move towards them with the intent of throwing a large pale blue cape around her watcher and herding him out of the door but he caught the worried look on Buffy's face and stepped back, nodding in understanding. He bowed graciously and rejoined Gwen at the window with a sigh. Buffy thanked him with a smile and waited until he was out of ear shot before she continued.

"Giles, I have a bad feeling about all of this. Us getting involved with history this way could blow a great big 'end of the world as we know it' hole in the space-time continuum. Or something." It felt like a lame argument to make but it was the best she could come up with. "And I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure that would be a bad thing."

Giles smiled affectionately at her tendency to over react and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "This isn't Star Trek, Buffy. I'm sure I'll be fine. I'm looking forward to it actually."

"That's the part that worries me." Their smiles grew as they both resigned themselves to the inevitable. "Alright. Go. But stay close to Gandalf and, please, be careful."

"I suppose there's no need for me to ask where you're going." Giles probed, and looked over his shoulder to make sure he hadn't been overheard.

"It really should be obvious at this point."

"Of course. You should keep in mind that you need to tread with caution, too. If Arthur and his men suspect anything is amiss, I'm afraid they won't hesitate to arrest you. Or worse."

Buffy shot him a look that said They'd have to catch me first.

"Humour me." He pleaded with her and tightened his grip on her shoulder. "Let me at least pretend that you aren't about to run headlong into another heap of trouble."

"I promise." She said and crossed her heart solemnly with her right hand.

"Right. Well, then. I best be off. Wish me luck?"

"Lot's of it." She made an elaborate sprinkling motion with her hands and patted him on the chest.

Giles laughed and bent down to hug her lightly then gave the thumbs up to Willow before he hastily left with Gaius and a very nervous looking Gwen. As the door closed behind them Buffy turned to Willow who, once again, was grinning from ear to ear and gently running her hands down the sleeves of the beautiful green velvet dress that Gwen had borrowed from the Lady Morgana. "What are you smiling about?" She asked her friend, not unkindly.

"Oh I don't know," Willow swished the skirt from side to side like a ten year old wearing her favourite party dress and danced her way closer to Buffy. "It could be the fact that we're in Camelot and we just made BFF's with the greatest sorcerer who ever lived."

Buffy wasn't fooled and folded her arms across her chest and smiled accusingly at the redhead. "Or could it possibly be the fact that we're in Camelot and a certain queenly brunette just spent the last half hour dressing and undressing you like Medieval Princess Barbie? Don't think I didn't notice you making goo goo eyes at Gwen."

"She has really soft hands." Willow beamed even more brightly back at Buffy, completely unabashed. "Okay." She sighed. "We should probably leave the futile crushing on royalty aside for a minute and get back to business, huh?"

Buffy merely nodded in agreement and Willow tried her best to tone down her obvious excitement. "What's the plan?"

"We go hunting." Buffy glanced down at the folds of delicate gold and cream fabric hanging across her own body and pouted heavily with regret. "But, first, we have to get rid of the dresses."

"Sometimes I hate our life." Willow whimpered and hugged herself in protest at the thought of parting with the gown so soon.

Leaving his boots behind in his quarters had been a stupid mistake; in doing so Torphin may well have given the hunting dogs a scent to track and he knew it wouldn't be long before they would set off running with their noses to the ground while Arthur and his men followed close behind. Torphin dare not be left exposed on the open land around Camelot any longer; he needed a place to hide from both the prince and the sun, fast.

Fortunately for the vampire he had happened upon the mouth of a tunnel just before daylight broke above the horizon where a small stream bled faint crimson water from inside, taunting him with the possibility of a meal. Impulsively, he had followed into its depths, wading into the shallow current as he went, extinguishing any trail.

After a while, and safe from the slowly rising sun, the tunnel had widened into a seemingly endless cavern that wound down deeper and deeper back into the centre of the city. He followed it for a long time until eventually the stream grew a little stronger as he neared it's source, as did the smell of blood. Hunger pushed him forward until he found the tunnel's core where countless more passages branched off from all sides and faded into mouths of impenetrable darkness.

He easily navigated away from the stream to follow a path around the sharp rocks rising up from the earth as the putrid stench of death filled his nose and excited him. On closer inspection, Torphin was bitterly disappointed to find nothing but the remains of multiple cows strewn all around in various stages of decay. Some had been reduced to piles of broken and crumbling yellow bones that collapsed and turned to powder beneath his feet, while others, somewhat fresher, were covered with bloody rotting flesh that still clung in ragged strips to hollow skulls and severed limbs. In his previous life as a human he would have vomited in sheer terror on being surrounded by such carnage; the stench alone would have haunted him for weeks after, but now, with demonic bravado coursing through him and making him fearless, he saw only an opportunity to conceal himself from his enemy. He resigned himself to the fact that this second hand feast belonged to something else; he would not feed this day and his stomach growled with need.

He paced for a while in the quiet darkness of the cave with his sodden tunic stuck to his thick legs, and his mind repeated the events of the previous night in a continuous loop, taunting him over and over with a replay of his failure. It was embarrassing; the way Uther, a mere human, had managed to fight back so fiercely. Torphin cringed inwardly and clawed at the dark stubble on his face as he moved among the bones of the dead cows. There was no point in rehashing the entire debacle right now, he had more pressing concerns to worry about. Like the fact the he had no idea how he would be able to reunite with the Order without getting caught by Arthur and his men, or what would happen to him even if he did.

He was sure that should he succeed in finding his brothers, their master would not take lightly to his incompetent failure and Torphin feared for the future of his own existence. No punishment that Arthur and his knights could meter out would match the wrath of a disappointed Heinrich, even on a good day. The thought of what might become of him was enough to fray his nerves completely.

If nothing else, he could at least thank his good luck in finding the cave in which he now hid; no one would ever think to look for Uther's would-be assassin right under the King's own nose. He looked up at the huge mound of smooth rock in the centre of the cavern at the last remaining dragon sleeping peacefully atop it, oblivious to his presence. Yes, this was as good a place to hide as any, he was safe for now. He settled himself more comfortably among the remains of the bloodied corpses and began to plan his next move.

"No. Absolutely not. I can't believe you would even suggest such a thing!" Arthur turned his incredulous gaze on Merlin where he stood in the doorway of the stable. He worried for a moment that the prince thought he had gone completely mad. Maybe he had, it had been an incredibly bewildering couple of days after all.

Merlin still had no idea why Willow and her friends had been thrown back in time to Camelot but the more he thought about it the more he was convinced it was for a good reason. The fact that Uther had been attacked so viciously in the night, and by a creature they knew all about no less, only secured his belief that they were here to help. It would be easy to believe they were the cause of the problem, as he was sure Arthur suspected, but he hadn't sensed any malice in their presence at all. He just knew they weren't the enemy.

Merlin straightened to his full height, confident in the belief that he was right, and folded his arms across his chest, letting Arthur know he wasn't about to back down but Arthur cut him off before he could begin his argument again.

"They are girls, Merlin. Tiny, fragile looking ones at that. Why on earth would I let them come with us?"

"Did you learn nothing in Ealdor?" Merlin asked a little too loudly, making the horses whinny and the assembled knights bristle at his show of disrespect.

Arthur visibly blanched at the memory of Morgana, Gwen, and the woman of Merlin's village fighting beside them and fearlessly defending their homes. Merlin enjoyed watching him squirm for a second and pressed on, knowing Arthur, in his embarrassment, would at least give it some thought.

"If nothing else, their knowledge about vampires could come in very handy. Do you even know what their weaknesses are? How to kill one? I certainly don't."

"Vampires." Arthur scoffed. He shook his head and pulled the reins of his horse tight as he threw himself up across the it's back and settled himself comfortably in the saddle. "I'm still not convinced they even exist."

"I can promise you, they do."

Merlin and Arthur's heads both shot up at the sound of Buffy's voice interrupting their argument for the second time today. She walked into the stables and past the knights readying their own horses as if she had every right to be there and Merlin was flooded with conflicting feelings of both nervousness and respect.

She had an air of power about her, albeit different to the kind that surrounded Willow, and it made him a little twitchy. On the other hand, though, he liked that she was so matter of fact and didn't seem to be afraid of Arthur in the same way that he wasn't. It was something they had in common and probably one of the reasons why Arthur appeared reluctant to take her seriously. Merlin couldn't help but find the whole thing amusing.

"You again." Arthur huffed and shot an exasperated look at the knights as they all battled with the urge to keep their eyes from drifting towards Buffy's chest which was once again clad in her own, far more revealing, clothes. They didn't even register Willow standing close behind her, still stubbornly clad in flowing green velvet.

"Hi." Buffy waved to them all, enjoying the obvious discomfort her presence had caused "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation and I know you're in a hurry so I'll make this simple. I know you're angry and you're out for blood but the only blood that will be spilled is your own if you go after these guys unprepared." Her voice easily carried over the gentle snickering of horses and all eyes were suddenly on her as she addressed the prince. "You have no idea what you're up against. Vampires are very real, they're strong, and they're fast and I know how to fight them. We're coming with you whether you like it or not.."

"Thank you for your concern but I'm sure we will be fine. I won't endanger your life by allowing you to accompany us out there." Arthur said. "My Lady." He added as an after-thought.

"Because I'm so tiny and fragile?" Buffy raised her eyebrows at him knowingly and Merlin recognised the look of determination on her face. Arthur was a fool if he thought she would be talked out of joining them so easily. "I could kick your knight in shiny metal ass."

"How dare you threaten the prince!" One of the knights who hadn't yet mounted up stepped forward angrily. He moved to unsheathe his sword but Arthur held up his hand signalling for the man to step back.

Arthur chuckled at Buffy's bravado. " You think you could beat me?" He asked, raising his own eyebrows at her challenge.

"With one hand tied behind my scantily clad back." Buffy matched his countenance and thrust her hands on her hips, refusing to back down. Merlin had to hand it to her, she was every bit as arrogant and fiery as Arthur himself. He could understand why she had taken the position of leader among her friends, it also left him with the impression that there would be a lot of heated clashes in their future if Arthur relented and let the girls go with them in the hunt for Torphin.

The knight who had stepped up to defend Arthur pressed forward again impatiently and turned to him, vibrating with anger. Merlin started to worry that this wouldn't end well as Buffy glared at the intrusion.

"Sire, with all due respect, if we want to catch up with the Order of Aurelius we have to move out, now. We don't have time to indulge the deluded fantasies of your manservant and his... Whore!"

No this definitely wasn't going to end well. Merlin briefly hid his face behind his hands as Buffy immediately let fly with a kick that sent the burly knight stumbling back and collapsing against his disgruntled horse. Everyone around the stables gasped in shock but she didn't give him time to recover before she charged at him again. She yanked him up in the air as if his armour clad body weighed nothing at all and threw him over her shoulder where he landed flat on his back in a graceless heap, completely winded and clutching his ribs. She pounced on him, then, straddling his torso and pinned his arms above his head as he writhed in pain beneath her and gasped for breath. "For the last time! I am not a whore!" She barked in his face and tossed her hair out of her eyes before standing once more to brush the sawdust from her jeans.

A few of the knights found themselves unable to stifle their unmanly giggles while others shuffled their feet nervously waiting to see how Arthur would react so that they could follow his lead. This tiny blond woman had just made a fool of one of the best knights in Camelot and they weren't quite sure what to do about it. Merlin tried his best not to look smug or utter the words I told you so but Arthur caught him anyway and Merlin pursed his lips, trying not to smirk.

"Alright. You win." Arthur said. It was obvious that he was impressed with Buffy's display of strength and skill but he would be damned if he admitted it out loud. "She rides with us. If anyone has any objections, I suggest you take them up with the lady herself."

He cleared his throat and held out his hand for Buffy to take, startling her a little when instead of shaking it cordially, he yanked her up with a mighty pull to sit behind him on the horse. Buffy squeaked and thrust her arms around his waist as they made their way out of the stables, leaving the shamed knight to haul himself up off the ground.

Merlin tracked the pair as they passed by. Buffy was clinging a little too tightly to Arthur than was entirely necessary but Arthur wore so many layers of clothing beneath his armour plate that he probably hadn't even noticed. From the corner of his eye Merlin could see that Willow was gazing at him thoughtfully. She winked, making him blush, but he didn't have time to contemplate why as one of the stable boys presented him with the same stubborn mule he had been forced to ride the previous day and he was forced to climb up into the saddle before Arthur got to big of a head start. He extended his hand to the witch and invited her to hop up behind him.

The three remaining monks of the Order of Aurelius were waiting impatiently in the ruins of an old building nestled at the foot of the White Mountains, cloaked in the dense forest that grew around Camelot's heart.

Fallen trees and vines had wrapped around the building, destroying much of the walls and roof but the four vampires had found sanctuary within the confines of the only surviving tower. Asa had taken a position in a high window on the east side of the derelict structure; keeping his eyes closed and listening to the sounds of the forest spread thickly below.

After the long trek to this place in the dead of night he could finally relax for a few moments, safe in the knowledge that he would smell the scent of frenzied hunting dogs or hear the heavy footfalls of horses long before the accompanying search party deemed it necessary to employ even a modicum of stealth in their approach.

He rolled his tired shoulders and breathed an unnecessarily deep breath; taking in a lungful of the moist breeze wafting against his face. A heavy cloak hung around his head and shoulders and the canopy of trees, even taller than the tower itself, protected him from burning in the morning sun.

Away from the hustle and bustle of castle life he felt content, if only for a minute. The constant vigilance required of an impostor in Uther's court had not been easy on any of them and he was glad to see the back of the monarch and his endless questions about the new religion. Questions he had despised answering in his role of holy man. The irony of a vampire taking such a position was not lost on Asa and was something that had become his only source of amusement in the long months serving the Pendragon household.

Beneath his perch on the window ledge was a great yawning hole in the floor where the beams and floorboards had rotted away granting him access to the sounds of his brothers pacing and planning, nervously, in the lower room.

Their leader, Heinrich, moved back and forth across the length of the dusty floor as he gave voice to his thoughts, while his henchman, Ihon, sat idly sharpening the heavy metal claw adorning the index finger of his right hand.

In the corner of the room where the light did not yet reach, a young boy nestled under the cover of Heinrich's own blanket and slept soundlessly; his chest unmoving without the need for air.

The boy was a strange one and Asa was more than a little unnerved by him. They had picked him up in France the previous year when he had made the mistake of picking Heinrich's pocket. He was caught almost immediately but refused to defend himself or even speak, no matter how much coaxing came from Heinrich. Instead of killing the street urchin right there and then, as both Ihon and Asa believed he should have done, Heinrich had laughed and cupped the young one's dainty face gently in his own callused hand. He had been sickeningly enchanted by the youth and decided he would keep him as a pet; the boy was changed that night and Heinrich had given him the name of Luc. He had remained mute to this day but Heinrich claimed he could communicate with him more than adequately. Asa didn't want to know how.

He scanned along the length of the young boys torso and up to his pale face. The teen was suddenly wide awake and staring straight at Ihon, unblinking, and obviously making the giant feel uncomfortably small with just a look, it was a talent of Luc's that was only aided by his eerie silence. A shiver ran down Ihon's back and he snarled a toothless growl at the boy he loathed so much. "Go back to sleep, Shadow." He said, and spat on the ground.

Heinrich turned on the spot, looking from the heavily muscled Ihon and back down again to his beloved Luc. "I've told you before; don't call him that. He doesn't like it!" He snapped.

Ihon flinched slightly at the sound of his master's tone and returned his attention to sharpening his clawed finger and muttering under his breath. "How would you know?" He growled quietly. "The creepy little bastard never opens his mouth."

Across the room Luc remained silent and closed his eyes feigning sleep once more; although the tension in his recumbent pose remained. Ihon continued to grumble and complain under his breath about how it was just so damned unnatural that every time any of them turned around, Luc was there, silently waiting in the background, anticipating Heinrich's every need with unnerving accuracy. Their leader never had to ask for anything. Luc just knew what he needed and presented it to him before Heinrich had even expressed them.

Eventually Heinrich would hear no more from Ihon and he thundered across the room to yell in the vampire's face. "Enough! We have more important things to worry about!" He snarled impatiently and resumed pacing back and forth although this time with more vigour.

"Ah, yes." Ihon lifted his head once more, having a new target for his temper. "How could I forget our good brother Torphin. The useless piece of horse shit!" He threw his knife angrily at the ground, embedding it in the dirt. "If you had only allowed Asa to do the job in the first place we could be back in Camelot by now, feasting with Uther in the great hall and celebrating his rebirth." Heinrich was clearly frustrated. He could not dispute the fact that Ihon was right.

Asa turned fully on the ledge and looked down through the floor, suddenly far more interested in the turn of the conversation. The lookout had been desperate to take on the task of changing Uther Pendragon himself but Heinrich wouldn't hear of it. Torphin was the new boy, he had to prove himself and his worth among the Order. As far as Asa and Ihon were concerned the only thing that Torphin had proven to anyone was what an incompetent layabout he was. They knew that already so why waste more time sitting around waiting for his return?

Asa leapt down through the hole in the floor, landing gracefully on his feet without making a sound. "Sire, I think I may have a solution to our problem." He spoke quietly and inclined his head towards Heinrich, waiting for permission to continue, but it was Ihon who spoke first.

"If by problem you mean that demented wretch, Torphin, we're all ears."

Asa smiled and shared his plan with the small but suddenly rapt audience.