BOOK 1: MERLIN

Chapter 1: Still Enchanted

Merlin peaked his head round the material of the tent that Arthur was preparing in. Hopefully Gwen would arrive to break the enchantment before it was too late. Finally, he saw the material being pushed back, and Gwen rushed into the tent, obviously out of breath. Arthur glanced up at her, indifferently. "Oh," he said, finally acknowledging her presents "Finally come to wish me good luck?" he asked "But I really don't think I need it anymore."

Shut up Arthur, you arrogant prat, otherwise she'll never kiss you. Merlin thought, as he witnessed his friend's actions. Gwen sighed and answered, "No Arthur- I have not come to wish you luck. Arthur looked at her, perplexed.

"Well honestly, that's rather rude," he said. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Then let me make amends," said Gwen as she walked towards the Prince and threw her lips onto his. He looked astonished at first, however, after a few moments, he closed his eyes and dipped Gwen, depending the kiss. Merlin sighed in relief. At least Arthur's life was no longer in danger. Although inside, he felt something in the pit of his stomach as he watched the two of them kissing. It felt very familiar- anger. He backed away from the tent and let the fabric fall in front of Arthur and Gwen, hoping for the best.

Merlin watched nervously from the sidelines as Arthur once again stepped out to fight. He looked on top of the world and ready to conquer anything. Merlin noticed him glance subtlety towards the benches and wink, however, Merlin missed who the wink was for. The fight began, and Arthur quickly took a swing for Olaf, making him jump out of the way of his sword. Olaf then attempted to swing for Arthur, but he blocked his attack with his shield. Pretty soon, Arthur had Olaf cornered, however, something was distracting him. He looked over to the benches again and smiled, his eyes obviously in awe at the object he was starring at. Merlin followed Arthur's line of vision and gasped at the person he was looking at- it was Lady Vivian.

"Oh no," he whispered to himself. He had to stop the fight. But how? He had to use his magic somehow. Releasing a long frustrated sigh, he pushed past the people sitting in his row and ran to an inconspicuous part of the arena (is that what it's called?). He noticed Arthur was on his back after being tripped over by Olaf- he had to act fast.

Afeallan aderian he whispered. He watched Olaf fall flat on his back as he attempted to swing his sword at Arthur. The spell had worked a lot better than Merlin anticipated, as Olaf seemed to be rendered unconscious by his 'sudden fall'. The crowds cheered as Arthur stood up. That was the first problem sorted. Now he had to try and find a way of postponing the fight till the morning so he could try and find a way of breaking Arthur's enchantment. He looked over at the King- he would never agree to such a thing willingly. After all, according to the rules, the fight was to the death. This was the part where Merlin was jumping for joy at the fact that he was a sorcerer. He had always been taught by Guias not to use magic for mind manipulation reasons; however, every situation calls for an exception. Merlin closed his eyes tightly and muttered under his breath, geefnan ic becweþan.

He tried to order the King to stop the trial in his mind, concentrating as hard as he could. He heard the King stand up and announce,

"This tournament will be postponed till dawn, due to King Olaf's sudden condition. We will have him assessed by our Court Physician and will recommence tomorrow."

Merlin sighed in happiness, despite the gasps and moans from the audience. As he turned around, Merlin felt a strong hand make contact with his face, sharply. When his eyes adjusted to the shock, he noticed Gwen standing in front of him, her eyes red and puffy, but more importantly, full of rage and sadness. He looked at her with pity.

"Gwen, I..." he tried to explain, but she had already started to run from him. He sighed deeply, feeling the horrible responsibility of breaking Gwen's heart. He assumed that Arthur had rejected her after Merlin had made his exit. That would explain why he still seemed to be in love with Vivian. He would mend Arthur and Gwen's relationship. But first, he had a very important visit to make- to the dragon.

Well, this is my first attempt at this, I was just waiting for the right sort of storyline, and this just seemed perfect when I watched the episode. Please be nice, seeing as it's my first one, but constructive comments are more than welcome.

If you do review (please do) please tell be how graphic I should make this story later on. I'll make it as grafic as you guys want it (even though I'll be really bad at it!)