AN: This story is a re-write of another story of mine titled The Broken Path. There have been a few very distinct changes from that story, and while I consider the story to still generally be the same story, the fact that I'm re-writing it in it's entirety convinced me to upload it as a different story. As it is, if you are new to this story, please read the AN because there will be important notes per chapter.

Ariel followed the boy, invisible and silent. And annoyed. Incredibly annoyed. Although, not necessarily with the boy she was following (at her age, they were all children). No, she was annoyed with the boy's supposed friends.

She watched Merlin as he polished the King's armor, not even a hint of a smile on his face. It was wrong, all wrong, Merlin had always had such a bright smile, such a bright presence. But it was dimming, he wasn't any less powerful than before, no, he was still growing steadily more powerful, but his happiness, no, his happiness, his joy for life, that was fading away. He was suffering, that much was clear. He may be suffering in silence, but that didn't make his suffering any less. No, in Ariel's opinion, the silence only made it seem so much worse. The poor boy felt as though there was no one he could turn to, no one who would give him the comfort and acceptance that his heart and soul were desperate for.

She understood why he was so cautious. She wasn't a fool, nor did she take ignorance lightly. She had done careful research before coming to Camelot to find the boy. Some of the research was perhaps slightly… illegal, and perhaps also a little immoral. But she just wanted to help the boy. She wasn't even going to make an attempt on the King's life, which was what the majority of magic users tended to do. It seemed a bit short-sighted of them, in Ariel's opinion. Every failed attempt on the King's life, at least the ones that the man was aware of, only made the man more bitter.

Change could happen in any number of ways, and Ariel was well-enough acquainted with life to know that violence could be one of those ways, but violence was rarely the best way to bring about change. Not if you wanted that change to be accepted and nourished. Not if you wanted that change to last.

But it was too late, too late to change what others had already done. The past was the past. It was somewhat unfortunate though, that sometimes the past determined the present, and the present the future. She wondered what would happen if the boy ever did tell his King his secret… Like every other magic user she believed in the prophecies of Emrys, but she also walked through the paths of the past, and she understood that prophecies were made and broken on the choices of the people they were built around. No path was set in stone. No matter how much certain dragons liked to proclaim they were.

No, she feared that Emrys' prophecy was faltering. Not necessarily for lack of trying, oh had the boy tried and tried, but every step he took was haunted, and every time he so much as hoped for the future those hopes were dashed to pieces. She didn't like the consequences she could see should the boy speak up now. Yet, even with all the research she had done she couldn't say that there had ever been a time when the boy had truly had an opportunity to step forward. Worse, she understood why the boy didn't speak up, for all that he loved his friends, and for all that they professed to care for him, they did not always treat him the way anyone deserved to be treated. It was so easy to wonder if they truly cared for him when he was so casually treated as dispensable.

They had abandoned him. That had frustrated her to no end. When was the last time that Merlin had ever abandoned any of them? When had he ever failed them? But they had left him there, hurt and alone in those caves. If they had noted his absence they had made no effort to find him. She understood their urgency to help their King. She did. But Merlin was supposed to be their friend.

But Merlin… He had been devastated. And that wasn't the worst of it, no, the worst was that he had also been resigned to it. As though he wasn't even surprised, at least not completely. He had been hurt yes. But not surprised. And that hurt Ariel, it hurt Ariel to see this boy, this beacon of hope, so utterly devastated. He was a hero.

A hero to people that Merlin probably didn't even realize existed. A hero for his friends who didn't know what he did for them. A hero to those people in hiding that heard whispers of his great deeds. A hero to the common servant who watched a boy give his all for a King.

But they were going to destroy him.

Oh, he would continue to give them his all. Give them everything that he had, and do it willingly. But that didn't change the fact that it would destroy him in the process. That they would destroy him in the process.

It made Ariel furious.

They were all fools.

They weren't completely at fault, no she realized that the boy held some culpability. There might have been times when he could have spoken up, if not about his own magic, in more stalwart defense of others. He had made mistakes, though it was so difficult to see mistakes as they were being made. Hindsight was not a gift given in the present, only in the future. There were also some knights who would protect Merlin with their lives, no matter what oaths they had taken, if they knew the truth. They tried to protect him, even now. Rationally she knew that, she knew that they cared for him. But she was still so very angry. Angry at their abandonment, angry at their ignorance, angry at their prejudice.

She wanted to do something. Wanted them to know all that she knew, all the knowledge and understanding that she had gathered with her… very much illegal and slightly immoral research. Except, to do that would be very illegal and somewhat immoral. Well, more so than her acts already were.

But she would do it anyways. The poor boy had been alone for far too long. And if things didn't go as she hoped, well, then she would drug the boy and save him from the consequences of her actions.

Though he wouldn't thank her for it. She was nowhere near as powerful as Merlin, or Morgana or Mordred for that matter. But the boy often forgot to take care of himself and that made it easier to get to him than it should be. After she finished what she had come here to do she would have to make sure that that was corrected.

Because someone had to do something. The path they were on now was leading them to ruin and despair. Something had to change.

And Ariel might not be the right person for the job, but it seemed that she was the only one who was willing to do it.

She watched a little longer. Planning, thinking, considering.

She had walked the paths for a long time, just as her mother had before her. But there were limits to what she could handle. There was no way she could maintain more then ten people on the paths, and the more powerful the individual, the more energy it would take.

King Arthur, of course. The King was the other side of Merlin's coin. The one who shared much of Merlin's destiny. He was also Merlin's best friend. So yes, she would bring Arthur.

Gaius already knew most of the story. He did not need to see the path to be willing to support Merlin, but he would hopefully be a calming force, a voice of reason. She would be present, to a degree, but she did not think that her presence would have much of a calming effect, quite the opposite actually. Given, that for a certain value of captivity, she could be considered their captor. Sort of. Alright, so she was going to be holding them captive. Completely. She was not fool enough to not recognize that she was perhaps no better than those who sought to kill the King. Good intentions did not suddenly make her actions good or kind.

Sir Gwaine. The boy was so very protective of Merlin. He would knock sense into Arthur if necessary, and while she hoped that it wouldn't be necessary she also wasn't going to hold her breath. And if he wasn't capable of helping the King see sense, Ariel had no doubt that he would do his utmost to protect Merlin. Or at least she desperately hoped so, her time on the paths had led her to believe that was a highly likely outcome. Merlin had never put it to the test though, too frightened that perhaps Gwaine wouldn't.

Queen Guinevere. The poor girl. If Gwaine failed to calm Arthur, Ariel knew that Gwen was the one who stood the best chance, a better chance than Gwaine actually, but Gwen had been so painfully hurt by Magic, and while she had a sensible head on her shoulders that was not always enough when it came to scars and pain left behind by former experience. But she was Merlin's friend, the first one he had made in Camelot, and Ariel felt that that had to count for something.

Sir Percival was her next choice. He was a calming presence, and so long as children weren't in danger, slow to anger. It did not hurt that Lancelot's last request of Percival had been to keep Merlin safe.

With the King, Sir Gwaine, and Sir Percival all a part of the group she was targeting it would be wise to add Sir Elyan and Sir Leon as well. It was a close knit group, and it would be best to minimize any potential future divides, there were too many secrets as it was, it would do no good for the round table to have another secret dividing them.

That took her total to seven, and she was reasonably confident that she could still handle at least three more. Though she wasn't sure that there was anyone else that really needed to know.

She paused in thought. Her eyes skittering over Merlin as he put Arthur's armor away, moving on to cleaning the chambers.

Arthur was not the only one whose destiny was entwined with Merlin's. There were two others. Mordred and Morgana.

She thought it over carefully. The two of them were a dangerous choice. Walking the paths was an eye opening experience, it wasn't possible to walk another's path and to not come to better understand them. And while that could be good, it also meant that weaknesses could be exposed. Ariel desperately wanted to help Morgana return to her senses, how could she not? Morgana was a girl lost in a world that feared her, that hated her. Was it truly a surprise that she had learned to hate it in return? She was so lost in her hate that Morgana didn't even realize that she was still afraid.

But to bring Morgana would be to put Merlin at risk.

We can find another way. She had heard Merlin tell Morgana that, desperate and hopeful.

There is no other way.

Morgana had turned her back on Camelot. And Merlin had turned his back on Morgana. But how many nights had he mourned his mistakes? Mourned the loss of Morgana as she had been?

It's… lonely. To… be more powerful than any man you know and have to live like a shadow. To… be special and, and have to pretend you're a fool. I know how it feels. I understand.

Morgana could never be the woman she had once been, too much had happened for that to happen. Too much had been done. But Morgana's path was no more set in stone than Merlin's.

If there was another way, would Morgana be willing to take it? Even after she had gone so far down her path?

Could Ariel risk that?

Mordred was a different sort of danger. Ariel understood why Merlin didn't trust the boy, and Ariel was hesitant to show Mordred anything that would expose further weakness, to show Mordred anything that would anger him to the point that he would turn his back on Merlin. She did not want to compromise Merlin more than she had to.

You could never understand. Do you know how it feels to be a monster? To be afraid of who you are?

She cursed the dragon. Twice there had been people who could have understood Merlin, who Merlin could have offered understanding too, but both times the Dragon had looked at the possibilities, the prophecies and warned him to stay away, speaking of destiny and fate as though they were set in stone, as if there was no such thing as choice. He had failed to impart to Merlin that anything seen, anything dreamed, was a possibility, not an inevitability. And it had taken an undue toll on Merlin. She wished she could force Kilgharrah to see, to see the trials Merlin had faced, some due to the Dragon's own pride. But she was nowhere near powerful enough for that. Perhaps someday Kilgharrah would see what his pride and his stubbornness had cost the last Dragon Lord, but it would not be at her hands.

Why am I like this? Please, I need to know why!

She closed her eyes. Oh Goddess, forgive her if she chose wrong. But she could not let any of her kin suffer, could not refuse to grant her kin a second chance.

If she chose wrong, let the Goddess grant her the strength to right her wrongs. To curtail the suffering that she could cause.

She had chosen her side in this conflict. She stood with magic, and so she would offer Morgana and Mordred a second chance, she would do the only thing she could do to show them that there was another way. But she also stood with Merlin, with Emrys, and she would stop them, or give her life trying, before she allowed them to hurt him.

She pushed away the fear of choosing wrong, instead focusing her energy on the fact that she had a plan. She allowed herself to smile. This was going to work. This was going to be fun. Though to be fair, it might also be a little difficult.

She was going to have to drug Merlin. The Goddess knew he would try to stop her if he knew what she was going to do. To be perfectly fair, he would likely try to stop her even if he didn't fully understand what she was going to do. Her upcoming actions weren't exactly what Ariel would call innocent.

The drug would have to be strong enough to keep him asleep for at least 24 hours without causing him harm. Which was more difficult said then done. The boy could be effected by poisons and drugs, but none of them ever worked on him quite right. The magic that was a much a part of him as his flesh and blood always tried to protect him.

She only needed one night for her little machinations, but she would need the day to prepare her chosen subjects. She didn't want the boy to get in her way.

She was doing this for his own good after all.

Even if that didn't make her actions right.

She really shouldn't have enjoyed drugging Merlin as much as she had. It had been more difficult than she had anticipated to drug him in the first place, so perhaps it wasn't a surprise that she was so gleeful at being able to drug him at all.

If the boy ate it would be so much easier. But he had skipped breakfast again, for the third day in a row. She would need to have words with those friends of his. Not that it was their fault, Merlin was an adult, and it was his responsibility to take care of himself. But a friendly reminder that his health was just as important as anyone else's, that he was just as important as anyone else, wouldn't hurt. He needed to eat and sleep just like any other living creature.

He had definitely succumbed to the drug faster than was normal, which meant that the boy was running on Magic, his energy must have long ago run out.

She wondered if it also meant that Magic was helping her, if Magic saw her intentions, her hopes, and was standing behind her.

Her spells were coming stronger and easier than normal, and while it was possible that her conviction was that powerful, it could also be Magic giving its tacit approval. Whether or not that was true, Ariel didn't know, but she wanted to take it that way, wanted to believe it was true. It seemed less a betrayal if Magic supported her. Merlin was Magic, and Magic loved Merlin.

She expected that Merlin would stay unconscious for the 24 hours she needed him to stay unconscious for. Particularly since no one had thought to remove Merlin's neckerchief from his neck where she had spread the drug. After all Merlin didn't so much seem drugged as he seemed exhausted, and Gaius was all too aware of Merlin's propensity for pushing himself to his limits. The drug was merely ensuring that Merlin recover the energy he so desperately needed.

She was really doing the boy a number of favors.

It was somewhat gratifying to see how worried Arthur was. He and Gwen had jumped to Merlin's side the moment he collapsed in the middle of serving them breakfast, completely uncaring of the eggs all over Arthur's shirt and the sausages that had ended up in Gwen's skirts. Neither had noticed the subtle touch of her magic on their skin.

Once Merlin was unconscious most of the magic was rather easy. None of the Knights noticed her magic when it brushed against them during their training, and if they did, they had no way of recognizing it for what it was. She made sure to only mark them when they were further away from Mordred, who would be able to recognize it for what it was if he noticed. It would be difficult to mark him, Morgana, and Gaius, who did know Magic and would be able to recognize a marking for what it was if it wasn't done carefully enough. Thank the Goddess she didn't have to mark Merlin. His Magic would know the second another Magic tried to touch it.

Magic and Luck were both on her side though when Ariel transported herself to Morgana's side. The woman was in the middle of a complex piece of magic, one that Ariel had no qualms about accidentally disrupting. During the small backlash Morgana didn't seem to notice when magic not her own marked her. Ariel left as the girl started ranting.

Ariel was almost surprised that the experience didn't give her pause about adding Morgana. Instead it had only reaffirmed her decision. Morgana was so very lonely, so very scared. Her only companion Magic, a Magic that wanted so much more for Morgana than Morgana had found for herself.

Gaius was next, busy in his rooms making different potions, a small worried frown on his face, as he kept glancing towards Merlin's room where the boy was asleep. Between his own preoccupation, the warmth from the fire warming the potion, and the fact that even asleep Magic emanated from Merlin, Gaius didn't notice when a Magic that was not his or Merlin's touched him.

Which left Mordred.

Mordred who upon hearing of Merlin's collapse had treated everything with faint suspicion. Ariel couldn't completely blame him. Mordred had to know of the affinity Magic had for Merlin, recognized that Magic often bolstered Merlin's nonexistent energy. She thought she felt Mordred probing at Merlin's magic, as though looking for something wrong. It was good that Ariel hadn't used magic to achieve her purposes, Ariel had no doubt that Mordred would have been able to track the magic back to her. As it was, Mordred was lurking closer to the physician's chambers than he normally did.

As though he was trying to ensure that whatever threat that had caused Merlin to lose consciousness would not be able to reach him in his weakened state. It was thoughtful, and kind, and Ariel was grateful that there was someone who wanted to protect Merlin so adamantly, even if Merlin himself wasn't quite as grateful. It was also another reaffirmation that Mordred deserved this chance, deserved to understand.

Ariel just hoped that it wouldn't end poorly.

It was however, unfortunate that her marks, while they wouldn't hurt anyone, would however use a small portion of their energy to sustain themselves. And that meant that everyone was just a tad more tired than normal. Normally this wouldn't be much cause for concern, it wouldn't even be all that noticeable, except Mordred was on alert and looking for threats.

She could only be grateful that Mordred was splitting his time between the group and the hallway outside the physician's chambers.

But it would be dangerous to mark him right now, his magic was too close to the surface, between reaching out constantly towards Merlin's magic and trying to stay alert for any threat to the others. In Merlin's absence Mordred was the group's best defense against any magical attacks, and whether it was due to his own friendships with the group, or due to the fact that Mordred knew that Merlin would be upset if something happened to them while Merlin wasn't there to protect them.

Ariel wasn't sure if Mordred was afraid that Merlin would be angry if he failed to protect the others or if Mordred just wanted to earn Merlin's approval. Ariel thought it was probably a mixture of the two.

The more she watched the druid the more she realized that there was a third part. Mordred looked up to Merlin, yes, but it was more than that. Mordred looked at Merlin and saw the possibility of more, of friendship, of family.

If nothing went wrong then perhaps Ariel would be able to help Merlin realize what he was missing. But that would have to wait.

One plot at a time.

She needed to mark Mordred, but she also needed to gather them all together in one place. It would be difficult enough to pull Morgana along, she didn't need to make her life any more difficult by having to pull the others from different places. Thankfully Morgana was currently isolated, she just needed to bring the rest into an isolated area.

And then Mordred did half her job for her.

"Gaius."

Gaius looked up as Mordred slid into the Physician's Chambers. "Yes, Sir Mordred?"

"Have you really found nothing to explain Merlin's collapse?"

Gaius sent the boy a small smile, though his eyes couldn't hide his worry. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, if a person pushes their bodies too far their body will do what it has to to get the energy it needs."

Mordred frowned, "I understand that. But Merlin…"

"Is still human."

"Yes, but in all the years he's pushed himself has he ever collapsed this way?"

Gaius pursed his lips, "No, but he's been particularly stressed as of late." Gaius sent Mordred a fairly pointed look, but Mordred ignored it.

"Please, may I at least look him over. Just to ensure that there has been no foul play."

Gaius hesitated, but then nodded, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

Mordred nodded, grateful. "Thank you, Gaius."

Ariel followed Mordred as he slid into Merlin's small room. He glanced around somewhat dispassionately, "You deserve far better than this, Emrys." Mordred moved closer to where Merlin slept, his eyes darting over him. Mordred closed his eyes, hiding the flash of gold, but Ariel could feel the power move out of him. Mordred tilted his head, his hand moving forward. Ariel frowned when his hand moved unerringly towards Merlin's neckerchief. Mordred was frowning when he opened his eyes. He quickly but gently untied the neckerchief from Merlin's neck.

He eyed it gingerly but then pulled it up to smell it. He coughed, pulling away. It wasn't a strong smell, not enough that anyone would notice it if they weren't looking for it, but the concoction did smell almost sickly sweet.

"Gaius!" Mordred turned towards the main chamber. "I've found something. I think Merlin's been poisoned!"

The two of them muttered together over the neckerchief before Gaius sent Mordred to inform the King of what they'd found. "It's possible that this was someone who recognized Merlin and meant to hurt him, but it could also be someone trying to get Merlin out of the way in order to get closer to the King."

Arthur listened intently as Mordred told him what he and Gaius had found, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Gather the Round Table Knights, have Gaius come as well to report on anything else he's found. It's important that we recognize any possible symptoms, we don't want anyone else poisoned." Arthur tilted his head thoughtfully, "I want you there as well, you were the one who realized that something was wrong."

Mordred nodded, looking somewhat nervous. "Of course, Sire."

In the end it was all too easy to mark Mordred. The boy was tense, his magic prodding insistently at Merlin, trying desperately to rouse him. The rest of the knights and Gwen all gathered into the chambers, their eyes serious. She pushed a small nudge of magic at the fire, causing it to spark and jump. Mordred's magic flared and Mordred was too busy pulling his magic back under control to notice her light touch.

She beamed brightly, this was far more enjoyable than she had expected it to be. She thought it best not to dwell too long on how much she enjoyed plotting. Plotting was not something she should grow accustomed to.

She frowned when she realized that Gaius still wasn't there. She hoped he hadn't found a way to wake Merlin. That would make everything so much more difficult.

She was appeased when Gaius hurried in, a thin frown marring his face. He would look much happier if Merlin had woken. She was even further appeased when both Arthur and Gwaine asked after Merlin. It was nice to see evidence that they cared about him. Mind, she felt the tiniest bit guilty for being the cause of their worry, but it was for a good cause.

She ignored them as they all settled down, it was important that she do this right, after all, doing it wrong could very easily destroy their minds, and that would be unpleasant for everyone involved. Merlin would most definitely murder her. Mind, he might murder her anyways. She grinned cheerfully at the thought and had to stop herself from whistling aloud. Oh dear, her mind was becoming quite morbid in her old age.

She did, however, notice when Mordred stiffened his eyes carefully roving over the room. She hurried her pace, still carefully weaving her magic. She was counting on Mordred not drawing any overt attention to her.

She felt Morgana's magic stirring, and she winced, as Morgana's magic lashed out, trying to figure out what sort of sorcery was pulling at her magic. Mordred was similarly starting to push at her with his magic. She diverted both of their attacks, grateful that neither knew exactly what they were facing. She was no regular witch, she was a walker of paths.

She was so close.

Gaius had stiffened as well, the power in the room swelling so that even he could feel it. He stood abruptly, his voice cracking, "Sire."

She was so close, she could not let this end before it had even truly started.

She used the tiniest bit of spare magic to knock both Mordred's and Arthur's chairs backwards. Several Knight's jumped and Mordred's attention was diverted for just an instant, checking his King for injury both with his eyes and with tendrils of magic.

Morgana's magic made another angry attack, and Ariel could feel Morgana's fear. She did not want to be helpless again, but she didn't know what sort of magic was being weaved, did not know how to combat it.

Mordred froze and Ariel could feel his magic caress her own where it was marking Arthur, she could feel him trying to pry it off, but he was being careful, afraid of what ripping it off could do, it was always dangerous to stop a spell in the middle of being cast, it could always have unexpected but dire consequences.

It was too late now anyways. Her spell was woven.

She moved until she was on the other side of the room from the fire, before causing the fire to flare once more. Arthur pushed himself away from the fire, trying to reassure Gwen that he was fine.

Gaius and Mordred were both bracing themselves. The power in the room was thick enough to choke on. She let her invisibility fall away. There were a few started yells, Gwaine and Leon both actually managed to draw their swords.

She smiled at them, "Vea ala gifte."

She giggled a little bit as they all slumped into unconsciousness. Weaving a spell that powerful always left her feeling a little drunk.

She was having far too much fun.

She felt her magic pulling her into her own spell, into the past. It was time to walk the path.

She really hoped that Merlin didn't kill her once this was all over.

AN: Alright, for anyone who knows anything about my other story, or who followed the chapter update from the last story to get to this story... I have the next few chapters re-written... They'll go up one at a time as I get the chance to edit them. This project comes second to college and work, but it will NOT take me three years to get to the next chapter... (If all goes well it shouldn't even take much longer than a week... but I'm not making promises...)