Thanks to all of you who have kept reviewing. I am glad who have liked but sadly and inevitably all good things must come to an end… Or sort of one anyway.

Hope you enjoy this chapter

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Arthur was devastated. She was gone. She was well and truly gone. He would never see her again. He had been too late. He couldn't stop her from leaving him and now he had lost her for the third and final time. What hurt most was the fact that Merlin had been the last face she had seen at Camelot. Feeling his heart break, Arthur stared at the space that Alethea had been stood only a few minutes ago. How could she have gone without saying anything? She couldn't just leave him. There had to be a way to bring her back, there simply just had to be.

Staying where he was, Arthur felt a lump in his throat. He never cried, and he had no intention to start now, but the thought of never seeing her again was simply too much. He had buried her once, killed her and now he had been unable to stop her. He would never see her eyes or hold her in his embrace. He would never be able to get her on good terms with his father or persuade her to stay in Camelot just for a little while longer. He would never watch her sleep or make her smile again. He would never be able to take her with him around Camelot or teach her to ride or even have a friendly sword match against her. There had been so much he had been planning to do with her during her stay, but fate had been against him right from the start. Arthur did not believe in destiny and yet he knew that they were not destined to be together.

Arthur had no idea just why she had gone. Had it been his fault? After all, he had been the one who had set events in motion. Was it he who had made her feel like she had to leave? Or was it the fact that he loved her and had not told her? She knew of his feelings and had written hers down on a piece of paper. She seemed to have more courage than any of his men. If she could leave now just when she could have everything then she was brave indeed. She could have had fame and friends in high places and yet she had chosen to find a way to her own time. Was she there now, with her friends and happy being in a safe place? Or did she feel guilt and regret and loss like he did? Did she even remember him? These were questions that Arthur would never actually find the answers to.

Time must have passed by and Arthur still did not move. He had devoted so much time to her. He had done everything that he could to save her from the executioner's axe and yet had found that his attempts had been in vain. He had never felt so broken as he had done when he had carried her lifeless body to the woods and buried her. He had not known then that he had loved her as much as he did. He still could not shake the memory of her still and peaceful body lying in the ground. And he had then spent two slow months trying to forget her and becoming the heir to the throne, just as everyone wanted to be. He had done everything to try and take his mind off of her and yet he still thought of her each day. When Camelot began fighting among themselves, Arthur knew the main reason. He had distanced himself from his father because of what Uther had done to Alethea and had somehow managed to cause civil war. He didn't regret that day though. That day had brought her back to him, even if he had unknowingly nearly killed her. When he had discovered just exactly what he had done, Arthur would have done anything to save her, even if it cost him his own life. That was just how much she meant to him.

He had spent so much time by her bedside afterwards and he could never forgive himself for the pain he had inflicted on her. He had rarely left her bedside during her recovery and had soothed her as much as he could. He had done everything that was humanly possible to keep her alive. He hadn't realised that she had felt like a bird in a gilded cage. He had been too wrapped up in his own guilt to notice her misery and then he had been busy trying to get his kingdom back to how it originally was. He had not realised at the time just what he was doing to her. Now it was too late to change anything. Aware that he was not alone, his sadness soon turned into anger.

"How could you? How could you do this to me Merlin?"

"I… Arthur, I did what I could." the young man answered.

"You betrayed me. You never had any intention of persuading her to stay here, did you?"

"I did. I wanted her to stay almost as much as you did. Do you really think that you were the only one who wanted her to stay?"

"No, but I asked you…" Arthur was cut off.

"And I did what I could. It is not my fault that she came and asked me to show her the way to her one way ticket to home. Perhaps if you had not nearly killed her then she would have stayed."

"I did not know that it was her at the time."

"I wasn't referring to that. It was your fault that she got into this mess in the first place!"

"You forget your place Merlin…" Arthur warned, all too aware of just how much his servant's words were cutting through him.

"Do you think it is easy knowing that she will not return? She was a very good friend to me, right from the day she arrived. Perhaps if you had not pushed her away…"

"Pushed her away? Merlin, I loved her more than even life itself. Why would I make her leave?"

"I do not know, but she left for a reason."

"She missed her home, I can understand that, but why today of all days?" Arthur asked rhetorically. "You know of science. Is there a way to bring her back?"

"Only by magic."

"The portal?"

"Looked to be magic."

"Who?" Merlin said nothing. "Who Merlin? I do not care if it is against the law. I need her back!" Arthur said, shaking his servant by the shoulders. Merlin still said nothing. He could not tell his secret and even if he did reopen the portal, he would unleash more than one person. He had sent Alethea home but he had also probably sent her into the arms of a murderer.

"Fine. There is no way?"

"No way at all Arthur."

"Then she has gone from us forever."

"It would seem so." Kicking the ground, Arthur saw something in the grass where the portal had been. Going over to it, he bent down and found a silver pendant reflecting the sun. It was hers. Sighing as he picked it up, Arthur walked back to where his horse was happily munching on some grass and took the reigns. He was no longer in the mood for riding and instead began to slowly walk back towards Camelot, his shoulders slumped with his servant walking beside him in silence.

Night soon fell on the kingdom of Camelot and a solemn Arthur attended the feast. It had been difficult being in his room without thinking of Alethea and now he was at the feast which she had promised to attend with him. Merlin was nowhere to be seen and Morgana was avoiding him. Even Uther seemed to stay away. It was almost as if everyone else had known that Alethea was leaving except him. Left to wallow in his misery and self pity, Arthur sat down on one of the tables, simply watching as the world moved without him. He had been given so many chances and now he was regretting not taking them. How could he not regret them? Perhaps if he had said something then she would have stayed. Or perhaps she would have gone anyway. Drowning his sorrows, he was completely unaware of his men carrying him to his room or of time passing by.

Merlin, on the other hand, had returned to Camelot after his argument with Arthur and had gone up to his room. He didn't know which felt worse. The guilt of deceiving Alethea or the guilt of being disloyal. He knew he could soon bring Alethea back, but he also knew that there was a risk of bringing Nimueh back as well, for he had near enough used the same spell to make her disappear. He didn't know exactly what to do. He knew that he certainly could not face the feast tonight. Claiming that he was ill, Merlin was told by Gaius that he was to stay in his room. That had suited Merlin fine. He had wanted to finish reading Alethea's book anyway. It may just cheer him up reading all of the mistakes that were believed by her.

It was as he opened the book and flicked through the last few pages that a small slip of paper fell out from between the paper. Picking it up, Merlin saw what it said and immediately guilt swept over him. He had betrayed her and he had thrown her out of the pan and into the fire. He had stopped her from having to choose between him and Arthur, but at the cost of her freedom. The note said just three words, and Merlin simply placed the paper back in between the pages. Question was, what mattered more: Alethea or the future of Camelot?

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At the same time as Arthur had received his letter, Morgana and Gwen had found theirs. It had been yet another good day at the tournament and Arthur had won yet again. No surprise there then. Morgana and her maid had then gone to Morgana's chambers to get ready for tonight's feast. As Morgana had been brushing her hair, Gwen was finding a gown when she had found the two letters.

"What've you got there?"

"Two letters. One for you and one for me."

"Who from?"

"I can't say that I recognise the writing." Taking the letter from Gwen, Morgana opened it and began to read, smiling slightly before her face fell. This was not good news. If Alethea was gone then Arthur would be devastated and with that sorceress, Nimueh was it?, still on the loose then Camelot had no hope. If anything, Alethea could probably have helped them to defeat her. Now hey would have to rely on brute force, and what good was that against magic? Someone once said that you had to fight fire with fire and yet practising magic was against the law. Even helping a magician carried the death penalty, so what could they possibly do?

Re-reading the letter just to make sure that she had not missed anything, Morgana then folded it and placed it on her dressing table. Looking over to Gwen, she found that her friend was smiling softly. Both were about to say something when they heard a horse galloping as fast as it could towards thee forest. They didn't even need to look to know that it was Arthur. Truth be told, Alethea's disappearance had not really surprised either of them. Gwen had suspected that something like this could happen and Morgana had simply just been able to tell. In fact, both of them had noticed Alethea and Merlin vanishing during Arthur's turn in the tournament. They hadn't thought much of it until now, and even if they had they couldn't have warned Arthur in time. Now all they had to do was hope that the prince would not mope around the castle for months on end.

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Why was it that everything had to go wrong? Each of her plans had always failed because of that poncy idiot who thought he knew everything of the old ways. How could a boy actually manage to defeat her? That wasn't right. It couldn't be. A boy who looked like he was snatched from his mother could not defeat a powerful sorceress who had spent half of her life studying the old religion. The fact that she was now using magic for evil had nothing to do with the fact that this nitwit could somehow outdo her.

Things had been going fine. The plan was going perfectly. Alethea had been the good little soldier, fighting her way through the crowds who were fighting among themselves until she had reached the Prince. She hadn't suspected that her soldier would turn against her. She hadn't expected Alethea to start doubting her words and stop her fight. In fact, Nimueh had been hoping that all of her hard work would have paid off and that she would finally get her revenge on the man who had caused the death of so many of her kind, and she would not have to get her hands dirty. After all, the young Pendragon was not destined to die by her hands. It had been too much to ask.

Even the dragon was defeated by the rabble of peasants and noblemen. Yes, some of the castle and half of Camelot had been burnt to a cinder but the royal family still lived. That was no good. And Alethea had changed her mind and the blonde prince had gone and killed her. Oh, it had been fun torturing his mind, making him choose between his father and the girl he loved. Nimueh had known that Alethea would have a use no matter what. Of course, she had had no intention of healing Alethea. After all, Nimueh did not specialise in making people happy, only in creating chaos and misery. After all, what was the point in magic if you couldn't use it to cause trouble?

Even as a girl Nimueh had enjoyed causing trouble, and now she was stronger than ever. She had not enjoyed seeing her kindred slaughtered by King Uther and ever since she had been bent on revenge. She would probably have already had it by now if that idiot had not have stopped her attempts. She had tried to remove him from this Earth and that hadn't worked because of the prince. Damn him and his conscience! If only she could find a way to remove Merlin, Arthur and Uther at the same time and leave Camelot open for her to takeover. If only she could do that then she could have her revenge and bring magic back to the Kingdom at the same time. She would kill two birds with one stone.

She had had Arthur and Uther both at her mercy that day. She held the power of life and death in her hands and so had decided to make most of the situation. She would probably have managed to kill Uther, remove Arthur and finish Alethea off at the same time. After all, Alethea had gone and served her purpose, even if she had failed her task. What Nimueh had not been expecting was for Merlin to arrive and for her to be suddenly catapulted to…well, wherever it was that she was.

She was basically nowhere. She was surrounded by trees and grass which could quite frankly be anywhere. There was hardly any noise and there were no birds singing, nor were there any clouds in the sky. She'd tried using her magic but it wasn't strong enough to get her away from this place. She had gone and used most of her reserves during the fight for Camelot. She made a mental note that next time she might be as well as to raise an army before attacking such a strong fortress. That way she may just have a chance of actually succeeding.

Having no idea how much time had passed by, Nimueh was formulating a plan for revenge on Merlin. Alethea was kept out of the picture as she would be dead and buried by now. Well, Nimueh had brought her out of her own time, allowed her to trick herself, capture Arthur's heart and then be helped to escape. Nimueh had seen everything that would happen because of this one girl. She had known that she could easily make use of her and had taken Alethea out of her time slightly earlier than she was supposed to go. Yes, she had been always fated to be brought back to the Golden Days of Camelot, but Nimueh had just tweaked it slightly so that the girl could be used to her advantage. It was as she was planning that Nimueh noticed a strange rippling in the air and a portal formed. Looking on the other side, she found the girl stood there with tears in her eyes. She was alive? And leaving… Hmm, now this most certainly could be used to her advantage, especially since her reserves of magic were now fully restored…

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Alethea had hesitated when she had reached the portal. She knew that this was her last chance to actually stay in Camelot for a little longer and she so wanted to stay a little bit longer. She didn't though. Her need to see her family was far greater than that of staying. She had wanted to stay and help Arthur and Merlin defeat Nimueh when she inevitably returned. She had wanted to stay and enjoy watching tournaments, knights being trained and seeing the mythical creatures that existed here in Camelot. She wanted to get on good terms with Uther and friends with Morgana and Gwen. In fact, she changed her mind. She wanted to stay just for a little bit longer, but her feet would not listen and she was dragged through time.

Landing in yet another disgruntled heap in the middle of somewhere, Alethea checked that no bones were broken and smiled slightly before realising that her necklace had gone. She'd lost it, probably when travelling and she was not going to have the chance to find it. Sighing as she realised that she hadn't had the chance to change her mind, she looked back to the portal to find it disappearing. She ran towards it but she was too late. It had already gone.

Tears of frustration formed in her eyes. She had gone and lost her chance to stay in a place of legend. She would never see any of them again. She could remember everything that had happened and in some respects that was worse than actually forgetting. She didn't want to remember Arthur's touch or Merlin's laughter or anything else like that. It was just too painful. Looking at the gown she was still wearing, Alethea sighed. She hadn't had the chance to get changed and so she had left her t shirt behind. She'd left three things now and she was sure that not one of them out of Gaius, Morgana, Gwen, Arthur and Merlin would actually forget her. She was also sure that she would not forget them. Sat on the ground, she looked around her, trying to work out just where exactly she was.

It was very quiet which was unusual for her hometown, and there were no buildings to be seen. There were trees everywhere but there were no birds. The sky was a pale blue with light coming from somewhere. She couldn't be home, could she? After all, this was nowhere near what her home was like. She was nowhere that she actually knew and it was then that she noticed that she was not alone. She was being watched by the one woman who had caused so much trouble and Alethea felt fearful. She had not done as she was asked and there was no doubt that she would pay for her disobedience.

"Hello Alethea."

"Nimueh…" She whispered. She was anywhere but home and for one moment Alethea wondered if Merlin had actually intended this before a bolt of energy caused her to fall into darkness, Nimueh's laugh ringing in her ears…

When she came to, Alethea found herself to be tied up tight with rope whilst Nimueh stood watching her, a cruel smile on her lips. Alethea went to speak but found herself gagged. She could not move nor could she speak. There was nothing she could do to stop Nimueh from putting her plan for revenge into practise.

"I should thank Merlin when I see him. It'll be his fault that Camelot will be ruled by a sorceress and not Pendragon's. And the best bit will be the fact that it won't be me who does it." Alethea's mind began to figure out just exactly what Nimueh was going to do.

"It will be you. You needn't struggle. I'll let you out in good time. And besides, you want to return, do you not? I can do that for you." The air began to shimmer again as Nimueh incanted some words and began to change. Alethea stared wide eyed. Nimueh was no longer there. Instead Alethea was staring at a mirror image of herself.

"I would stay and keep you company, but I have things to do. See you later." And with a wave, Nimueh was gone. Alethea screamed out but was choked by the gag. She struggled to break herself free but it was no good. Camelot would lose it's King and Arthur would lose his life and there was nothing she could do.

Nimueh, on the other hand, smiled. It was dark when she arrived in the castle and now all she had to do was string Arthur along. How hard could that be? Smiling, Nimueh walked through the corridors. She had returned and this time there would be no stopping her.