Was it Worth It?

4. A Leap of Faith

Hello hello, I hope you liked the ending of the last chapter, I know I had fun writing it. I'm excited to see where this is going (even though I already know.) I just like to think about how much fun I'm going to have writing it. Anywho, let's continue! ~alex

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The next day went by in a blur, Merlin woke up at daybreak, meaning that most of the kingdom was still sleeping. He used that time to walk down to the castle gardens, he always loved going there. Much like when he left there were four quadrants filled with beautiful flowers in a variety of colors. Merlin smiled and sat underneath the large cherry blossom tree in the center of the gardens. He closed his eyes and stayed there, getting lost in his thoughts. It had been a couple hours when Arthur's new servant, George, ran up to him. George went to grab Merlin's arm but the warlock's hand grabbed onto the servant's hand, he then twisted it and opened his eyes. George's eyes were comically wide but you could see the pain, Merlin recognized him and let go of his arm, George cradled it to his body before telling Merlin that Arthur needed him in the throne room.

While Merlin was walking to the throne room, George trailing behind him, he was going over why the king would want to see him. When they got to the door George's arm had started to bruise from where Merlin had grabbed it. Merlin pushed open the doors and walked inside, Arthur and the members of the court were seated around the Round Table. Their conversation stopped abruptly and looked to the door. George scurried over to stand behind Arthur, but not before the king noticed the bruises on his arm.

"George, what happened to your arm?" Both Merlin and George looked up in surprise at this question, but George just raised a finger and pointed at Merlin. Arthur turned to give Merlin a confused yet pointed glare, but he just shrugged it off. 

"He snuck up on me. Five plus years of living alone while being hunted by Morgana gives you reflexes that are hard to let go of." Arthur just sighed and beckoned the warlock over to the table. On it were large maps showing the areas surrounding Camelot, marked where the known places that Morgana had been holed up in in the past. 

"Merlin, I have called you in here because we need your help narrowing down the search area for Morgana." Merlin thinks for a moment before narrowing his eyes.

"What makes you think that I would know any more than you? After all, I am just one man." Arthur suppresses his shock and opens his mouth to talk before closing it again, looking similar to a fish out of water.

"Well, I just assumed that because you had magic you would have been in contact with Morgana, maybe even been to her headquarters." Merlin stayed still but you could tell that the more Arthur said the angrier he became.

"Let me get this straight," Merlin tried to swallow his anger long enough for him to talk with Arthur, "You think that just because I have magic, I would have been talking to Morgana, maybe even in league with her, simply because we have one thing in common? Completely ignoring the fact that we have tried to kill each other on multiple occasions." Merlin stared down Arthur, forgetting the presences of the other court members. Arthur swallowed nervously, but tried to maintain his cool. He could not let the others think that he was not in control of the situation, lord knows they already thought that because of what happened yesterday. After Merlin realized that Arthur wasn't going to respond he scoffed angrily.

"Yes, I have been to Morgana's current hide out, but as a prisoner only. She tortured me in ways you wouldn't be able to comprehend. She wanted information about the inner workings of Camelot, and after five months when I managed to escape without giving her anything she sent out groups of her men to try to find me. To try to kill me. Morgana and I are not friends, I have the scars to prove that. So yes, I know where Morgana is staying, and if you can give me one good reason to trust you then I will mark it on the map." The members of the court erupted in hushed whispers, Arthur managed to disperse of them quickly before turning back to his former servant.