Merlyn's Final Truth

The Secret Sharer P3

Gwaine, like the true hero he was, had managed to find an entrance into the caves, waving a blazing torch around the twisting tunnels. Merlyn scraped a bit of the mud off her shoe as they started into the blackness, her heart pounding in her chest as she realised that it matched what she'd found on Agravaine's boot. Gwaine had been right; Gaius had to be somewhere along this path.

It wasn't too long before a loud shout came from behind them, a bald man flying at Gwaine. His bare chest was littered with intricate markings, but Merlyn had no time to examine them as a blade was brought down, blocked by Gwaine's torch. The knight waved the fire at the stranger, forcing him back, giving Gwaine just enough time to draw his sword. They fought, Merlyn barely able to keep up with the sound of blades crashing together, but eventually Gwaine was tripped, his sword skidding out of his hand. He lay there, completely defenceless.

With a surge of gold, Merlyn watched the bald man fall forward, knocking himself out on the cave wall. She helped Gwaine to his feet, smiling obliviously at their luck. At least they knew they were going the right way.

~

Eventually, the path split; Merlyn knew that it was time that she and Gwaine went their separate ways. She was glad to have brought him: this search would have taken far too long on her own.

"We should split up." She stated, looking down each dark path. There was no way to know how long they had been in the tunnels; she didn't want to risk staying in them any longer than she had to.

"Yeah." Gwaine agreed, watching as Merlyn headed towards the left path.

After a few steps, however, she paused, turning back to her friend. "If you find him, don't wait for me."

With that, she plunged into the darkness, magic lighting her way. Gwaine would understand what was important.

~

Morgana couldn't say she was very surprised to see two horses outside the cave entrance, their dark manes glistening in the sun.

"The black horse belongs to Gwaine. He's a hothead. We've got to be careful of him." Agravaine reported, staggering down from his own horse.

Ah, yes. Morgana remembered Gwaine. He'd almost been executed, for breaking one of Uther's pompous codes, or something like that. A friend of Merlyn's too. Agravaine was right, for once. He'd never stand a chance.

"Go to Gaius." She ordered as they entered the tunnels. "If he lives, we're all in danger."

"You can rest assured, he won't breath another word." Her traitor promised, although Morgana wasn't stupid enough to trust his words. Agravaine was not anywhere near as capable as he thought.

She nodded anyway. "I'll deal with Merlyn and this hothead." She sneered, praying that she found them before they reached the physician. It was time for Merlyn to be dealt with once and for all.

~

Now, Gwaine wouldn't say that he was one to jump to conclusions. He liked to think he was a rather reasonable man. However, as his tunnel opened up to reveal Agravaine standing over a rather still Gaius, knife in his hand, the knight couldn't say that he wasn't a little bit suspicious.

"Agravaine!" He cried out sternly, hoping that he wasn't too late. Drawing his sword, he pointed it directly at the potential traitor. "So it was you. You abducted him."

"What? No!" Agravaine claimed, but Gwaine couldn't quite believe him.

"Then what are you doing?" He questioned, pointing to the knife with his far larger blade. If it came to a fight, Gwaine was quite confident in the outcome.