It took Eve a while to recover her equanimity. She was embarrassed to have cried before Morph, but the strange moment of affection from him had taken her by surprise. Why had he been so ... gentle? From what she knew of him, he was abrasive, testy, and not particularly affectionate to anyone. But he'd been kind to her in that moment.

She pulled away from her, rubbing her eyes. Morph stepped back, flicking his wings once before they pulled back over his shoulders. "Are you alright now?" he asked her.

She nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

He nodded a few times. "That's good." The young man looked at her for a while before daring to ask, "What happened?"

Eve breathed slowly before explaining what happened to Jack. It took a little doing, since she couldn't keep the sight of Jack falling into the moat from her mind as she related the story. He listened silently, his eyes narrowing in anger when he heard about Jack's threat to Eve's mother. "Idiot," he said when she'd finished. "He underestimated you because you're a girl. I blame myself for letting him knock me out, but I thought he could be trusted. I guess I was wrong."

"It's alright," Eve said. "You can't blame yourself. Let's go to the castle. I want to get Lana out of there."

Morph flew Eve over the moat. They didn't want to waste time getting to the bridge when it was simply faster letting him fly them. A little more frightening, yes, but much faster. Once on the other side, the two ran into the castle and quickly found the stairs going down into the dungeons. Heart-broken sobs caught Eve's ear, and she grabbed Morph's arm. "That's Lana!"

They ran through the dungeons until they found Lana huddled near a wall, sobbing. The giant Rebecks's body lay on the ground near her. "Lana!" Eve yelled, running to her. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Lana let Eve embrace her, burying her face in Eve's shoulder. She seemed hardly able to react to Eve's touch. Morph stood by awkwardly, his feathery wings fluffing anxiously. "Lana, please. You've got to tell me what happened!"

Finally, the bard looked up, her face streaked with tears and her nose running and red. "I ... I killed him," she stammered. "I didn't mean to. I sang, and he just sat there, then I told him to lay down and never wake up again, and he stopped breathing! I've never done anything like that before. I don't—I don't understand why it happened."

Eve tensed. She knew that Merlin had transformed her into a siren to save her, but she hadn't known it would make her song hypnotize anyone who heard it. How could she explain what had happened to Lana without mentioning the fate of her mother? Who knew if she would remember Ellen's death if Eve made any mention of it? There was no Merlin around to remove her memories. "Merlin had to ... he had to save you," she said tentatively. "There was only one way he could, and that was by turning you into a siren."

"A siren?" Lana stared at her as if she'd taken leave of her senses. "One of those hypnotizing bird-women?"

"You don't look much like a bird," Morph put in helpfully.

Eve glared at him, and he shrugged. He obviously didn't understand the full gravity of the situation. "Yes, a hypnotizing bird-woman," Eve answered. "Except you don't look like a bird." She sent Morph a significant look, and the young man gave a sly wink. "You just have the hypnotic voice that they have."

"You mean I can make people do whatever I want them to with my voice?" Lana asked, a frown crinkling her brow. "Even tell them to lay down and die ... and they have to listen to me?"

Morph leaned against the bars of a nearby cell. "It would seem so. Stronger minds are probably more resistant to your powers, but someone mentioned that this giant wasn't too swift. Most minds would resist someone telling them to essentially commit suicide. If you convinced them to do it because they think it will be good for themselves, that's another story."

The poor minstrel's eyes had widened with each of Morph's sentences. "I—I don't want to be able to do that!" she wailed.

Eve stood up, brushing off her clothes. "Then don't," she said. "I'm sure you'll be able to learn to control it. Once this is all over, I'm positive Merlin will teach you."

Lana stood as well, dragging her fingers through her hair. "There will be no need," she said decisively. "I won't ever use my magic again. It's too dangerous and uncontrollable. All he'll need to teach me is how never to use it again."

Morph interrupted a trifle tentatively. "I hope I'm not interrupting," he said, "but I think you should know something."

The two girls turned to him. "Who are you?" Lana asked.

He swept a bow, his wings extending out to the side. "I am Morph. You must be Lana-a-Dale. It's a pleasure."

She blinked. "Hello."

Morph turned from her to Eve, who was watching the introduction with an amused smile. "Eve, it's Gwaine and Emrys," he said. Her amused smile disappeared. "They're both unconscious. I can't even communicate with them. They may be dead."

"How the devil do you know that?" she exclaimed.

The young man ducked his head, his white skin turning red. "I ... I can communicate with people in their sleep. And see their dreams, and even dream them for them, if I have to."

Lana laughed. "Like the Greek god, Morpheus! You even almost have his name!"

Morph coughed. "Yes, a little like that."

Seeing the boy's discomfort, Eve changed the subject. "What could have happened to them on the beanstalk? I thought they'd be safe there!"

"Don't you remember that Jack trapped them up there?" Morph reminded her, some of his earlier arrogance returning. "It was a trap from the very beginning."

Lana interrupted before Eve could snap at him. "Did the giant hit you?" she said, nodding at Morph's fat lip.

Morph touched a finger to his lip with a wince. "No. I said the wrong thing to the wrong person," he said, sending Eve an apologetic look. It was rather nice knowing he was too afraid of getting struck by her again to cross her too much. "I guess we'd better be going back to the beanstalk now."

Lana laid a hand on Eve's arm. "Go without me," she told them. "Carrying two people will only slow you down, and it seems like haste is needed to rescue Emrys and Gwaine. Hurry, go on! The giants are dead, nobody can harm me. I'll follow along as best as I can. Then we can all leave this place together."

"It's the best plan," Morph agreed.

Although Eve was loathe to leave Lana behind again, she knew they were both right. If someone was attacking the brothers, chances were they were in terrible danger. Haste was in their best interest, and Eve couldn't imagine letting either of them die. And Rampion was with them, whether Morph had mentioned her or not, so she was in danger as well. "Very well. Stay safe, Lana."

The bard smiled at her. "You as well, Eve. Save those brothers and show Emrys he's not better than you." She gave Eve a conspiratorial wink before shooing her away. "Now go!"

. . . . . . . . . .

Emrys groaned in a low voice, trying to figure out why everything hurt. Something dug into his cracked lips, and his eyelids felt heavy. Forcing his eyes open, he struggled to remember where he was and inhaled sharply when he saw someone lying on the floor, not far from him.

His heart slowed from a rapid beat when he saw that the other figure was only Gwaine. He was bound and gagged near Emrys, and he seemed to be completely unconscious. It took Emrys a moment to realize that he too was bound and gagged. Did that mean that his brother was still alive? Wild hope flowed through him. Nobody would bother tying up a dead body. His spell had worked!

Reality came crashing down. Alive or not, the two brothers were trapped and tied up. Nimueh could just come by and get them whenever she wanted to, which made him nervous. He would have to free himself and Gwaine, and find Rampion as well. But first ... he would have to escape himself. And not set off any magical alarms—if there were such things—that would bring Rumpelstiltskin down on him.

Emrys rolled onto his side, tearing at the ropes wrapped around his wrists with his fingertips. Nothing. They were well and truly tied, too knotted for him to release. Apparently, Rumpelstiltskin didn't want them dead quite yet, so even if he did come back when Emrys used magic, he wouldn't kill them. Probably. There was no time to reconsider.

Focusing, Emrys concentrated on summoning the flames to his fingertips. They licked at his hands, and he forced them down toward his wrists. It was excruciatingly painful, as it emphasized a massive headache he had and the flames were burning his arms. But at last, he felt some success when the fire started licking at the ropes around his wrists.

It took another five minutes for the flames to entirely burn through the ropes. Once that was accomplished, he chafed his wrists until the feeling returned to them before removing the gag from his mouth. Emrys stuck his tongue out in distaste at the dry and disgusting taste in his mouth. "I don't like being gagged," he muttered to himself.

Then he crawled over to his brother, putting his fingers to Gwaine's neck. Relief nearly overwhelmed him when he felt a pulse in his neck. "Thank God," he whispered. His spell had worked. He quickly forced himself back into a business-like state of mind and untied Gwaine, removing the gag from his lips. Emrys tried everything to revive his brother from chafing his wrists to slapping him. When none of those bore any fruit, he sat back on his heels. "I'm sorry," Emrys told him. "I have to leave you here. Rampion could be in trouble."

Obviously, Gwaine gave no response. "Stay safe," Emrys said, feeling a little silly, but he had nearly lost his brother once. What would happen if he were killed while Emrys was off chasing after a girl he barely even knew?

Forcing aside his doubts once more, Emrys left his brother in the empty room and ran out into the hallway. He had no idea where Rampion was, but he had to find her. Something told him she was in trouble, worse than he and Gwaine had been in. Rumpelstiltskin had been targeting her specifically.

But there was no way Emrys could find her on his own. Closing his eyes, he reached out with his magic, whispering in Welsh. He didn't know what the Welsh word for Rampion was, but he simply used the English form of her name. Hopefully, it would bring about the same result and not make the spell backfire horribly.

When Emrys dared to open his eyes, a glowing trail of light led the way along the stone floor of the hall. He grinned. "Thank God for Father's lessons," he said. A tracking spell had been one of the simplest spells to learn.

He tugged on the sleeves of his robes—he'd burned them badly with his spell, but a sorcerer didn't look dignified without his robes—before setting off. The trail of light was weaker in some areas than others, making it a little difficult to follow, and he had to squint in some spots to see it. This is not fun. The whole time, Emrys was thinking about his brother, laying on the floor in that room, unconscious, unarmed, and alone. How could he leave him there?

"—in exchange, I would return your father to you, unharmed." Rumpelstiltskin's voice jarred Emrys back to reality. It was coming from an ajar door not far from him, and the sorcerer approached slowly, listening.

"But I can't ..." Rampion was stammering, struggling. "I'd have to exchange my own life?"

Emrys's heart nearly froze. She was actually considering giving her own life? He wondered if he would even consider giving his own life in exchange for his father's safety. But they were supposed to be rescuing them! Why would she want to do such a terrible and one-sided deal?

"That's the price," Rumpelstiltskin responded, and Emrys swallowed dryly.

"O-oh. Then ..." Emrys heard Rampion taking a deep breath, steeling herself. Preparing to take the deal. It was now or never for him to stop her.

"Rampion, no!" Emrys cried, slamming open the door and running into the room. Rumpelstiltskin now resembled a hideous imp, and he idly wondered what was his original form. "You can't!"

The girl turned to him, her face contorted in grief. "Emrys, leave me alone!" she said. "I have to. Don't you see? I have to save him. I must save my father!"

Emrys shook his head. "We will save him," he told her. "But not this way. Do you hear me?" He grabbed her arms. "Not this way. Not in exchange for your life. Life is precious, Rampion, and your father would never ask you to trade your life for his. There's always another way. You just have to trust me. Trust us. I won't let you down."

Rampion was sobbing, unable to look him in the eyes. "I just don't ... don't know."

"Enough!" Rumpelstiltskin snarled. "Do you decline or accept my deal, girl?"

Emrys could do nothing else. He stepped back, knowing the final decision was up to her. "Just remember that this deal won't save your mother," he reminded her quietly.

Rampion looked down, her curtain of red hair concealing her face from view. Then she raised her eyes to Rumpelstiltskin, a strange look of resolve coming over her face. "I will not accept your deal," she said. "Now, begone!"

Rumpelstiltskin sneered. "If you won't accept my deal, you'll lose your life anyway. Prepare yourself for death!"

Emrys saw Rumpelstiltskin forming some manner of spell in his hands and acted before he'd truly thought it through. He jumped in front of Rampion, absorbing the massive strike of magic. It sent both him and Rampion flying backwards, and they slammed into the wall. Emrys groaned, rolling onto his stomach and laying his forehead on the floor. Everything hurt.

"Em!" It was Gwaine's voice. He and Eve appeared in Emrys's line of sight and Gwaine rolled his brother onto his side. "Em, are you alright?"

"Pay attention!" Morph yelled. Emrys raised his hand and absorbed another blast from a furious Rumpelstiltskin.

"You should never have survived!" the magician raged.

Morph stepped between them. "I am the god Morpheus," he said. "I am far more powerful than you. Now leave, or I will put you into a sleep you will never wake up from."

The imp made a face. "Very well. But this isn't over. The girl will make a deal with me." He pointed a crooked finger at Rampion. "It has been written, and it shall happen. The Story cannot be without its protector forever." A shadow surrounded him and took him from sight. When it dispersed, Rumpelstiltskin was gone.

"Well." Gwaine rubbed his forehead. "That was all very exciting. Em, are you alright?"

Emrys scowled. "Don't call me that," he mumbled.

Morph pulled Emrys's closing eyelid back and peered at him thoughtfully. "He'll be fine," he said after a moment. "But you need to rest to recover your magic. You used up quite a lot of it, protecting yourself and Rampion from that imp. May I?" He indicated Emrys.

"You want to put me to sleep?" Emrys asked, frowning. "Will it hurt?"

Morph gave an irritated huff. "Of course it won't hurt. It'll just hasten you to the realm of dreams and increase your ability to restore your used-up magic. If it hurt, it would be totally useless."

"Alright, then," Emrys conceded, though it still wasn't sitting well with him. "Put me to sleep."

Morph laid his black-gloved hand on the sorcerer's forehead and started whispering in Ancient Greek. Emrys didn't understand any of it, but against his will, his eyes slid closed. He was asleep before he knew it.