Freed

Journey

Merlin had quickly packed his things so that he could get a head start on the journey. He and Gaius shared an embrace, and then Merlin set out to fulfill his destiny. He managed to avoid anyone else on the way out of the castle for fear that they would try to come along. However, this luck did not last. Gwaine just so happened to be in the stables at the time that Merlin arrived.

"Ah Merlin, I see you're heading out on your big quest."

"I am."

"And I assume you're doing this alone?"

"I was hoping to."

"Right. And what makes you assume that I'll allow you to get past me?"

"I could get past you with a snap of my fingers," Merlin smirked.

"So what? Do you think you're this big powerful warlock now?"

"Umm yes, that's exactly what I think."

Gwaine broke out in a smile abandoning his charade.
"Then I guess you would be right. I expect to see Magic back here tomorrow night. Courage and Strength can't do it without you."

Merlin chuckled, thinking back to that adventure. Ever since Merlin's magic was revealed and they were all on good terms, the trio had sometimes called each other by those names. It always seemed to make them smile. Merlin reaches out and shook Gwaine's hand.

"Take care, Gwaine."

"You too, my friend."

Gwaine gave Merlin a pat on the back and allowed him to leave.

The journey was peaceful and uneventful from that point forward. He didn't run into anyone else, and he knew the way quite well. He decided that he didn't want to stop until sunset, which allowed him to make excellent time. He would only be a couple hours ride from the caves in the morning.

The journey gave him plenty of time to think. He thought about the kingdom and his destiny. He thought of all his friends that he was meant to protect. As he looked around at the trees surrounding the trail he could recall some of the banter between him and Arthur on many journeys through these woods. He thought of Morgana. He remembered that way their lips met and their magic collided. He still didn't know quite why he kissed her. He truly wanted to believe that he did it to reassure her and to get her to stop worrying, but the truth was he was worried about himself. He didn't want something to happen to him and not ever let Morgana know how he felt. With all his heart, he also didn't want to leave her. He had felt heartbreak before, and he couldn't bare the thought of Morgana going through that as well.

As his thoughts stretched on so did the time. Eventually, after he was already weary from travel, he looked up to see the sky starting to dim. Knowing where he was, he gave a slight smile. About ten minutes up the road was a clearing right next to a stream. On many occasions he had camped there overnight, so that's where he headed.

When he arrived he found it vacant as ever. He tied up his horse, and began to set up camp. Merlin's plan was to get all the work done before stopping to rest. He lied out his bedroll and gathered some firewood. Afterwards, he decided to head to the stream and fill up his water.

After a long day's riding in the heat of the day, nothing looked better than fresh water. It was cool to the touch and he used it to wipe some of the grime from his face. Then he drank. He drank handfuls and handfuls of water as if he hadn't drunk anything all day. He smiled, finally feeling refreshed and relaxed. He felt as if he had gotten the strength he needed to believe that everything would be okay.

Of course, that only lasted a minute.

Just as Merlin stood up, he could feel that something wasn't right. He was dizzy and lightheaded and his limbs felt heavy. At first he figured that he stood up too fast and that he was exhausted. He walked over to where he set up camp as the world began spinning. He soon gave up and sat against a tree. What was happening to him? He was fine just a minute ago!

"It's amazing how just the tiniest bit of my potion is enough to nearly incapacitate even the strongest warlock."

Merlin could already feel the dread forming in the pit of his stomach before looking up. He knew that voice. That voice had haunted his dreams for the past year. Now it was back.

Edith crouched down in front of him as Merlin found the strength to focus his eyes on hers. Although he was terrified, he held her stare. He would not be weak in front of her.

"I find it so funny that potions are often overlooked. Most sorcerers want to cast spells all the time. They just want to feel the power leave them I assume. However, from my experience potions are just as effective and much less energy consuming. For example, a few drops of this will make its consumer very weary. It would be hard for it's consumer to even move."

Merlin tried to lift his head more to look at her better, but he realized he couldn't. He couldn't even find the strength to talk.

"Now, say one was to have a few gulps of it, they would be temporarily paralyzed and surely rendered unconscious. Let's see if it works, shall we?"

Edith tilted Merlin's head back and poured the contents of this vial down his throat. He tried to cough some of it up, but it was no use. He had already had enough. He vision blurred and everything went black.

***

The day was packed with meeting after meeting. Morgana had done her absolute best to be a stand in for Court Sorcerer. They had gone through so much battle planning that Morgana thought her brain might explode. Sure she was good at strategy, but she always used to work alone or with Morgouse. Now she was on a council full of people who all had their own opinion to weigh in. Fortunately, they seemed to get everything done that they could.

As she made her way to her room, she still had plans and places running through her head. Right now, the biggest thing they needed was intel. They needed to know where to attack from and how big the opposing army was. In the back of her mind, Morgana knew that wasn't the only thing that they needed. They needed Emrys. If the prophecies were true, they wouldn't stand a chance without him. Camelot needed Emrys, but she needed Merlin.

Before closing her eyes and falling asleep, she sent up a silent prayer that he was okay. No matter what happened, Merlin needed to be safe.

There was a clearing next to a stream. Morgana could've sworn she had seen it before. Her attention was drawn to the water for some reason. It seemed to sparkle in an oddly foreboding way.
Something was wrong.

The scene changed. She could see a necklace dangling with a glowing golden stone. There was a strange power radiating off of it. It was then that she noticed it was around someone's neck. Their chest was rapidly moving up and down in a panicked pattern. Before her eyes made it up to their face there was a noise behind her. She turned around to see a figure walking out of the woods with the same strange necklace. It was the last person she hoped she would ever see: Morgouse. She strode towards the body in front of her. It was then that the pieces fell into place. Morgana's sister was alive and was very much involved. She couldn't conceal her panic when she realized whose body she had seen just a moment ago.

"Merlin!"

So... remember when I said I was gonna post more often? Sorry about that. Not gonna lie, I've probably been a little preoccupied with watching WandaVision. Great show by the way! Anyways, again I will try to do better! Thanks for bearing with me!