Will banged his head on the rocks behind him on purposely. "I can't believe we got caught," he groaned for the tenth time. "How could we have been so stupid?"

"For the last time," Guy said through gritted teeth, "how could we have seen it coming?"

Their captors had left them in a dark cave. None of them were chained up, but the bars covered the exit and prevented them from escaping. The prisoners consisted of Will, Guy, Rapunzel, Morgana, and Rachel.

Rapunzel twirled a curl of her shoulder-length blonde hair around her finger. "Come on, Will," she said. "You're a thief! Can't you think of any way to get us out of here?"

The former outlaw made a face. "If I could, I already would have."

"I hope Merlin's alright," Rachel said, interrupting the argument.

Rapunzel stood up, crossing her arms. "He's probably in a far better state than we are," she told her bluntly. "I mean, this couldn't get any worse."

Of course, the instant she said it, the barred door swung open and several masked men entered. Morgana raised an eyebrow in a disinterested way while the others got to their feet. Guy stepped in front of Rachel protectively, and the short Guardian looked around him. "What do you want?" Guy demanded.

One of the men laughed, the sound echoing throughout the empty cave and muffled by his mask. "Funny boy, aren't you?" he said. "Like you have any right to make demands of us." He drew his sword and pressed it towards Guy's throat. "Listen to me, Gisborne. You have no right to be making demands, since you are the prisoners here. Now move aside."

Those words showed exactly what the men had come for, and Guy straightened his shoulders. He crossed his arms. "You'll have to kill me to get to her," he said.

The man looked at him, and Guy couldn't see his face. That was perhaps the most unnerving part. The inability to gauge how far he could push this man was frustrating. If he went too far, he would be killed. But if he didn't take a stand, they would drag Rachel from the prison and he would never see her again. The sword pressed uncomfortably close beneath Guy's chin, drawing just a little blood. "That is a simple task," his captor answered. "Any last words?"

"Enough!" Rachel interrupted. She stepped out from behind Guy, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "There will be no killing today. I'll go with you."

The guard lowered his sword reluctantly, Guy's blood on the very tip. Guy rubbed his throat where the blade had nicked it, watching his wife. What was she doing? "Good choice, woman," the man sneered. He sheathed his weapon and grabbed her by the arm. Roughly, he pulled her towards him.

Guy lunged for them, his own safety forgotten. Another of the guards brought the butt of his spear into Guy's stomach, knocking the wind from his lungs and sending him sprawling. The point pressed into his back, holding him down. The man holding Rachel looked at Rapunzel with a smirk. "Don't get too comfortable," he told her. He brought his finger across his neck in an unmistakable way. "Your time is coming."

"If it means getting out of this damp and leaky place, I'm all for it," she retorted. When the man moved to slap her, she stepped out of reach. "What, don't like your oh-so clever retorts being shot back at you? What a pity."

The man snarled as he pulled Rachel towards the exit. For a brief moment, her eyes met her husband's and she gave him a sad smile. It was a smile of farewell, and on the ground, clutching his midsection, Guy could do nothing as they dragged her from the prison and locked the others back in behind her. "NO!" he yelled, lunging again. The pain in his abdomen flared up and he fell into the dust.

"Oh, you silly man," Morgana said with a sigh. She rolled him onto his back and pressed her hands over his stomach, feeling. "You've gone and gotten your ribs cracked. Don't go lunging around or you're likely to make them far worse."

"Rachel," Guy panted, trying to push her hands away. "What are they going to do to her? Why did they take her?"

"It's got something to do with us Guardians," Rapunzel said logically. "That's why he threatened me."

A sharp inhalation from Will made everyone look at him. His normally-pale skin was ghostly white. "What if," he said, "they're the ones who killed Morgiana and Aphrodite?"

The instant the words passed from his lips, he looked like he regretted them. Guy leaned his head back, accidentally banging it against the ground behind him. "They're taking her to be executed."

"Not necessarily," Rapunzel said. "They could have just as easily killed her here, instead of dragging her off. So they want her for something. You know what I think? I think we're bait."

"Bait for whom? Merlin?" Morgana said.

"But they shot Merlin," Will argued.

Guy felt realization flood through him—realization and horror. "It's not a trap for Merlin," he said. "It's a trap for the children."

Rapunzel's face paled. "Oh, man. You're right. They came after Rampion. But why do they want them? What could they possibly want from kids?"

Will shook his head in bemusement and a little fear. "May God protect them," he whispered.

. . . . . . . . . .

The Story door spat them out into the a strange abandoned alley in a city. Emrys landed on top of Gwaine, while Rampion's hair was wrapped around Eve's arms. The only ones who landed on their feet were Merlin and Lana. The bard giggled at the sight of her friends sprawled out on the ground. "You are so clumsy!" she said as she helped Eve to her feet.

"Clumsy!" Eve said hotly. "I am not clumsy."

"Let's argue about that later," Merlin suggested. A frown lurked on his brow as he looked out at the street beyond the alleyway they stood in. "Oh, why can't there be a sign that says 'You're in this Story'?"

"That would be too easy, I guess," Rampion said with a sigh. "You don't know where we are?"

Gwaine interrupted them. "Look!" he said, pointing. "Swans!"

When Merlin saw the six birds above them, he grinned in satisfaction. Eve cocked her head, unable to think of which Story they could be in. She simply hadn't been doing it for long enough, she supposed. "It's the Six Swans Story," Merlin said when he saw them all looking at him.

"That helps," Emrys said with a sigh. "What's the Six Swans Story?"

"In short, a girl and her six brothers are despised by their stepmother, who turns the boys into swans. The boys retrieve their sister and she makes them bramble shirts to save them and turn them into humans again. She's nearly executed, but her brothers save her, and the youngest has a swan wing for an arm since one of the shirts was unfinished," Merlin completed. The entire Story was related in a single breath. He inhaled slowly before going on, "Of course, since we saw the six swans, that means we're in the midst of a Story. Except, that shouldn't be, unless the time in The Story is completely thrown off ..."

"What do you mean?" Lana asked with a frown.

"All the Stories are supposed to run at the same time," Merlin explained. "Which means they should all be beyond completion. Since we saw the six brothers, that means that Elisa has not yet completed the shirts. And if she hasn't finished the shirts, that means their Story is still in progress. Which is bad."

"Because ...?" Rampion questioned.

"Because, it means the situation in The Story is worse than I thought," Merlin answered. "Follow me. We're going to trail after those swans."

"No need." Eve gasped as someone wrapped an arm around her waist, pinning her arms to her side and pulling her close. A knife pointed at her throat. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

Seeing the look of panic in Eve's eyes, Merlin raised his hands placatingly. "There's no need for that," he said. "My name is Merlin Emrys. These are my sons, Gwaine and Arthur. Two of the girls are children of Guardians. The girl you're holding is Eve Andric. The one with the hair is Rampion Scarlet, and this one is Lana-a-Dale. I'm trying to determine who's killing the Guardians."

The restrictive arm loosened just a little, and the knife wasn't as close to Eve's neck. "I'd like to believe you. We could use all the help we can get, but you'll understand that the situation here isn't the best." A powerful accent seemed to weigh on his words. Eve didn't know what kind it was, nor did she particularly care with a knife at her throat. "I'd appreciate some proof that you are who you say you are. Produce a Story door and send it away again."

The expression on Merlin's face showed his annoyance at being told what to do, but he forced a smile and waved his hand. A Story door appeared before them, and disappeared from sight. In the silence that followed, Merlin shot wind at Eve's captor, forcing them apart. She stumbled forward and Gwaine instinctively grabbed her, placing himself between her and the man with the knife.

The young man seemed to have little interest in reclaiming his prisoner, though. In fact, he looked absolutely horrified. "Lord Merlin!" he exclaimed. "Forgive me! Vergib mir!"

"Vergib what?" Emrys said, scratching his head.

"'Forgive me' in German," Merlin translated absently. "It's no bother," he added to the young man. "If you had injured Eve, that may have been a bother, though, so I'm very glad that you didn't. Perhaps you can tell me your names and the problem you're experiencing?"

The young man nodded. "I'm Eric. From oldest to youngest, this is Evan, Edwin, Edmund, Edward, and Eli. We've only got a few hours left until dawn, so I'm afraid this will have to be rather quick."

"Where's your sister, Elisa, I believe?" Merlin asked.

Eli shifted uneasily. The oldest was probably Lana's age, while the youngest, Eli, was only about fourteen. All had curly blond hair and pale skin, and their eyes were a dark blue. "She's being held prisoner," he admitted. "By our stepmother."

"In the castle, I assume?" Merlin guessed.

"It gets more complicated," Edwin said, glaring at Eli. "Our stepmother has controlled Elisa's fiancé. He's completely under her control. We try and get close and his soldiers have orders to drive us away or kill us."

Gwaine stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Sounds like you could use a hand," he said. "Perhaps we could get into the castle for you?"

Eric frowned. "It would be dangerous. There may be another sorceress lurking in the castle as well."

"Nimueh," Merlin growled. "Don't you worry, I'll be taking care of her. It's something I've done before. But if she's here, does that mean that some of you are Guardians?"

"Elisa is," Evan said. "And I am. Is that something important?"

If possible, Merlin's expression grew grimmer. "There have been an alarming number of Guardians imperiled," he told the brothers. "I intend to rescue your sister and stop Nimueh before she can endanger anyone else. The six of you can be our back-up. Once we learn the location of Elisa and are able to smuggle her from the cell, we'll bring her to you. You must take her as far away as you can, do you understand? Both of you," he added, looking at Evan. "Otherwise, your safety cannot be guaranteed."

"How will you get into the castle?" Eli asked.

Merlin gave a small smile devoid of any humor. "I'm a sorcerer, Eli. I can change my appearance at will. And I'm sure I can figure something out for the others. Lana, my dear, would you be willing to be a bard to get in? I could be your associate."

"I'd love to!" Lana said enthusiastically.

He nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Eve, Gwaine, I'm going to need you to pose as servants. You'll look like this ..." He waved a hand at them, and Eve felt herself change. Her clothes were no longer quite so nice—in fact, they were quite tattered. When she touched her hair, she found that her luxurious black locks had been cut off. Gwaine looked even worse; Merlin had added a broken nose to his disguise. When Merlin saw the worried expressions on their faces, his smile gained a little amusement. "Don't worry. I'll return you to your ordinary selves when we're finished. Rampion, Arthur, you two are the most conspicuous."

"I'm conspicuous?" Emrys stared at Rampion's massive curls of red hair.

Eric was watching with some concern. "Are you sure that you can handle it?" he asked. "I'd hate to see my sister's life placed in jeopardy."

"Trust me," Merlin said. "We'll succeed. I would trust these people with my life." Eve noticed that he refrained from calling them children. Well, it was only fair, considering that Eric and his brothers were all around their own age.

"I don't see that we have any choice, bruder," Eli said quietly. "Who knows what our stepmother is doing to Elisa?"

Eric seemed to come to a decision. "Do it. But do not make her speak a word," he added as a warning.

"Oh, come now, lad," Merlin said in exasperation. "I may look young, but I'm not an idiot! I know the fairy tale. If she speaks, she kills you. Yes. I'm aware. But I'm sure she's quite aware of that. Before we go, might I ask why your Story is so far behind everyone else's?"

Eric shrugged. "I was not aware of any difference."

"Of course not," Merlin muttered. "That would've been too easy. Alright, my faithful friends, let's go and rescue a Guardian who can't even thank us properly or she'd kill her brothers. Who are swans. I don't think anything in The Story is normal." He sighed. "Let's go."