Shivering, he stands in the firelight cave. Dark, long shadows cascade over the walls, created twisted and haunted images. It felt like they were externalizing his thoughts and fears. For a brief moment, Merlin feared his magic was doing something odd and indeed the shadows were contorting to his mind.

Aithusa's broken body and spirit weighed heavily on Merlin. It was wrong that the once majestic beast couldn't speak and was so traumatized. What had happened? The warlock wasn't sure he wanted to know.

Tears pricked the corners of his eyes and in the frigid air; they froze, making the skin burn. Blinking, Merlin's eyes nearly froze together. He was sure a few eyelashes stuck to his cheeks.

Shaking his head, he wandered back the way he had come. He had to find Arthur and Gwaine; they must regroup with the others and get out of the caves and get back to Camelot. Hearing voices up ahead, Merlin slowed down. Recognizing the King's voice and that of Morgana's mocking words, panic and dread filled his heart.

"You are right to cower before my hand. I am more powerful than you can ever imagine."

"And yet with all that you choose to do nothing but hate." That had been Arthur; Merlin could hear the pain and exhaustion in his King's voice and it made him quicken his steps.

"Uther taught me well. Goodbye Arthur Pendragon."

Nearing the corner that led in to the next chamber the young warlock yelled out "Arthur!" He reached the edge, looking down to find Arthur down on the floor bleeding from several wounds to his side. Standing over the injured King was Morgana and Mordred who had his sword drawn and pointed at Merlin. Even as the raven-haired man looked up he was in no position to defend himself and could do nothing before Morgana lifted her hand and threw him against the stone wall.

Merlin screamed as his head cracked. The warlock felt the warm lifeblood trickle down his back, but it gave him no comfort, even though all Merlin really wanted was warmth. It made cold chills go up his spine and goosebumps cover his arms. With rapid flickers of his eyelashes, Merlin tried to keep himself from falling into unconsciousness. But, it was hard.

His head pounded with pain; darkness closing in all around him beckoning him closer, calling him to sleep. He must sleep, he must rest; his body is calling for it and yet blurred movement and voices nearby were enough to hold him back. It was Morgana bidding her brother goodbye but even as she began to voice the spell that would kill Camelot's beloved King, Mordred had moved up behind her and knifed her in the back.

Merlin, who had had his hand raised; trying to work up the strength to voice a spell to protect Arthur, dropped his suddenly heavy hand to the ground as Morgana fell and lay still. "Arthur…" he whispered, watching through blurry eyes as Mordred picked up the King's unconscious form and carried him out. That was the last thing the warlock saw before he lost consciousness.

XoXoXoXo

Aithusa came padding in to the chamber, so obviously filled with concern over her mistress and caretaker. Morgana was in many ways the dragon's one true friend. She was the only one that cared enough to look after the young dragon. When Aithusa saw Morgana's unmoving body she let out a wail that seemed to fill the caves. It was clear she was in distress at seeing her caretaker so close to death.

Stepping up next to the sorceress's body, Aithusa simply breathed on her and then began to nudge her. It took only a moment before Morgana groaned and then opened her eyes; smiling when she saw who had saved her. "Thank you Aithusa," she whispered, holding a pale hand out to stroke the dragon's head.

Mordred stumbled back into the cave. A slight guilty look was in his eyes for what he did. Even though it had been part of the plan, the druid teenager didn't like it. His head was bent and he was trying to wipe Arthur's blood off of his gloved-hands. Hearing Morgana, he looked up.

"Morgana," he squeaked. "I-I am sorry. But, it seemed to work. I told them that Merlin was dead. They believed it for the most part. They are too worried about Arthur and Gwaine to see for themselves."

Going over to the body, the boy bent down and pressed two fingers to the side of Merlin's neck. He had to make sure Merlin lived. Feeling the pulse, he sighed with relief. "He's alive," whispered the boy.

A little unsteadily Morgana managed to climb to her feet, using the rock wall to help steady herself. If Mordred had knifed her out of spite, she would have wasted no time in killing him, but it had been her idea in the first place so even though her back felt like it was on fire, she couldn't blame the teen.

"You did well Mordred. While I would have preferred to see Arthur dead, Merlin is an acceptable consolation prize," Morgana replied.

Mordred sighed. He had been afraid Morgana would've been displeased with the action, even if she had instructed him to stab her. Mordred didn't really want to see Arthur dead. The King had, after all, saved his life when he had been but a little boy. He felt indebted to the man.

"His demise will come," replied the man. "Don't worry Morgana. Without Merlin in his presence, he surely will fall swiftly."

"I must go, Morgana. They want me to accompany them," said Mordred but the turbaned teenager didn't move. He didn't want to leave her – he'd just found her after all.

"Don't worry, Mordred, I'll look after her," said a new voice as he entered the cave. Moving the hood of his cloak, Tristan looked over at Morgana and smiled. He then glanced at the unconscious form of Merlin. And Merlin, he added to himself.

Pursing his lip Mordred nodded his head, rising to his feet once more. "You take care of her." he warned in a tone of voice that said he would come after the man if something were to befall Morgana, before he walked off to rejoin the group of Knights who would be taking Arthur back to Camelot.

"I will, don't worry," the man promised. After Mordred had gone, Tristan bent down and picked Merlin's limp body up, cradling him in his arms. "Shall we depart?" he asked, knowing that it was possible a Knight or two could return to find Merlin even if they believed him dead. Arthur would be distraught that was for sure but he would want a proper burial for his friend and that meant someone would have to come if just to collect the body.

"Not yet." Morgana replied, stroking Aithusa's head. "Someone will return looking for him," she then smirked a little, "Let's give them something to find."

Tristan frowned. "Like what? If they see us or Merlin, your plan won't work," asked the man with a cock of his head.

Morgana walked over to Merlin and knelt down beside the young man. She reached into his pocket and pulled out his red neckerchief, holding it up for Tristan to see. "We'll give them someone only it won't be Merlin but the body will be so burned and unrecognizable that they think it will be him," Morgana said.

She rose to her feet after instructing Tristan to grab the boy's unconscious form. This was going to be so sweet. If she couldn't hurt her dear brother one way she would hurt him in another. Morgana knew Arthur's true feelings for his manservant; theirs was a relationship well beyond the normal master/servant camaraderie. If Arthur thought that Merlin was dead then he would be devastated and more vulnerable and Camelot? It would be just too easy to take.

The walk back to the main chamber didn't take too long. It was where all of the slaves; including the Knights had slept and worked. Now all that was left were the dead bodies of some of the Saxons who had been working for her. Almost immediately she found one that would do nicely. He was as tall as Merlin; same build and hair color. The eyes were brown instead of blue but a simple spell changed that rather quickly.

Morgana tied Merlin's red neckerchief to the dead guard's neck in the same style and fashion that the manservant usually tied it. "Light a fire," the High Priestess instructed. "Someone will return for him soon."

Tristan watched with wide eyes. When she asked him to light a fire, he grabbed one of the torches from the wall. Thrusting it under the wood that the dead man's body rested on, the man watched the body become engulfed with flames. Wordlessly, he put the torch back.

The shouts of a man echoed towards them. "I've got to find him!"

"He's dead, Gwaine," another man called. "And you're hurt. You need to rest."

"Not until I see his body and take him home for a proper burial, Leon," said the man named Gwaine. His voice was filled with strife. "He deserves it."

Tristan turned to Morgana. "We ought to go," said the man. He went over to Merlin and picked up his light body. "Come on before we're found."

Morgana nodded her head agreeing with the suggestion to leave. She wanted to see the look on Gwaine's face but it wouldn't do if they were caught. Then again she did have magic and she did have Aithusa so even if they were caught she could easily dispatch those in her way, but still…if those men saw Merlin then the deception wouldn't work.

"Follow me," she said, leading the way further in to the cave. She must find Aithusa first and she knew exactly where her friend would be. Yes her plan would work; she knew it would. All she needed was time and time was something she had plenty of.