*My computer is being stupid so no Gif, love y'all  though*

"You have visitors," Merlyn tells Arthur as they arrive back at camp. The born king glances at her curiously before looking forward again. His body relaxes and his eyes light up slightly at the sight of his life long friends waiting for him. "Go, talk to them, I have things to discuss with Bedivere"

"Things? What things?" Arthur asks as they dismount their horses.

"Things that do not concern you at the moment," Merlyn says with a small smirk. All Merlyn wants is for Arthur to focus on defeating his uncle and becoming king. She worries if his attention is on much else then he would fail and she couldn't let that happen.

"Are you hiding things from your king?" Arthur questions teasingly. The two tie their horses off before walking inside. 

"You're not king yet, love" Merlyn says patting his back. She then nods to Arthur's friends who nod politely back. Merlyn could see curiosity burning in their eyes but ignores it for the time being.

She turns towards Bedivere and motions for him to follow her. He moves away from his horse and enters the room Merlyn chose for their discussion. Only when she had his attention did she start.

 "You fought for Uther, did you not?" Merlyn questions glancing towards him.

"I did," Bedivere nods. "I was in command of his armies but fled when Vortigern took over," 

"Do you believe there are men in the army that will be loyal to Arthur?" Merlyn questions.

"There are men who are loyal to the crown, no matter who wears it" Bedivere explains. "There are also men who simply want a paycheck. Others are loyal to Uther but are too afraid to go against Vortigern and then the ones who are loyal to the current king" Merlyn slowly nods. "I know some who will be loyal to Arthur,"

"Can you get to them?" Merlyn questions. "We need every man"

"I'll spread the word"

"Discretely" Merlyn says quickly. "Word will get out but hopefully not until it's too late," Bedivere nods. "When this battle is over, continue to recruit. We will need to build the army. We will still be at war"

"Mordred" Bedivere names.

"And Morgana, Morgause" Merlyn adds to the list. "We are severely outnumbered" She whispers.

"We take down Vortigern and Arthur becomes king, it will be a giant step in our favor" Merlyn nods in agreement. "Then with you and Arthur working together, you'll be unstoppable"

"Arthur will stay in Camelot, he will protect the people" Merlyn says sternly while eyeing him.

"Are you keeping him in Camelot to protect the people or keep him away from the action?" Bedivere questions raising an eyebrow.

"If he dies, all is lost" Merlyn tells him. "He's far too important"

"So are you," Bedivere reminds her. "You two are stronger together than you will ever be apart. If you wish to win this war, you're going to need him by your side"

"We'll debate Arthur's future roll in this war after he becomes king," Merlyn decides her tone demanding Bedivere to drop the subject.

"As you wish," Bedivere steps back. "Just remember, Arthur isn't Uther. They don't have to share the same fate." Merlyn lowers her gaze towards the map. Bedivere says no more and leaves the room to herself.

Merlyn sighs slowly before leaving the room as well. She hears Arthur talking to his friends and decides to leave them on their own. She continues onward when a young boy appears in front of her.

"Are you the elf?" He asks tilting his head. Merlyn slowly grins and nods to the boy. She kneels to the ground and tucks her hair behind her ear. "Wow" He eyes looking at her ears.

"What's your name?" Merlyn asks.

"Blue" He tells her.

"Pleasure to meet you, Blue" She says holding his hand out. "My names Merlyn" Blue's eyes widen obviously having heard the name before.

"I thought you were a man," He blurts causing her to smile and laugh quietly.

"Blue" Arthur scolds from behind Merlyn.

"It's alright," She reassures the bashful boy. "You're not the only one to think that. A rumor that was spread as a practical joke," She says winking at him. The boy relaxes whilst grinning.

"Run along, Blue" Arthur shoos him away. The boy races off. Merlyn stands and turns towards Arthur. "I want you to meet some people" He says. She nods following him to his friends. "Merlyn this is Wet Stick and Back Lack" He introduces his friends.

"Gentlemen" Merlyn nods towards them.

"Milady" Wet Stick nods to her.

"Merlyn is just fine," She assures him. "We have planning to do, this way" She leads them towards their designated battle room.

The men sit around the table with the map and figures in front of them. Arthur stands behind them and paces slightly as he explains what is going on and what he's thinking. Merlyn stays in the background and watches Arthur.

It isn't hard to tell that Arthur is meant for this. He's a natural in battle strategy and leading the others. He's done it his whole life but now there's more at stake.

"Merlyn," A voice whispers as if the person were right behind her. The wind picks up slightly and Merlyn can feel the magic in the air intensify. She knew someone was with them but not physically. "Merlyn," It whispers again but further away. Merlyn's eyes look out of the camp and towards the woods.

Glancing back at Arthur she decides to follow the voice. She leaves without drawing an ounce of attention. Everyone too engrossed in the conversation to notice her absence.

"Merlyn," The voice lures her into the forest. The further she got into the woods, the more the sense of magic seemed to intensify. "Merlyn," It whispers in front of her.

About half a mile from camp, Merlyn comes to a stop. She instantly notices a shimmering light not far in front of her. The voice whispers from behind the shimmering colorless wall. Knowing what would await her on the other side, Merlyn takes a calming breath.

Hesitantly, Merlyn steps through the wall and is pulled into the The Veil. The Veil is a place where only those with magical connections can go. A place where you are neither living nor dead. A place sorcerers use to talk despite being a world away.

"Mordred" Merlyn greets tensely. Her former friend gives her a small smile. "You've become bold since our last meeting," Merlyn notes. 

To invite an enemy into The Veil is a bold move indeed. If Merlyn were a weaker sorcerer, Mordred would have little problem trapping her in The Veil. 

This would prevent her from aiding Arthur which would allow Mordred and his allies a better chance at winning the war. However, Mordred and Merlyn are practically matched in power. Neither would attempt to trap the other, the consequences were too high.

Even if Mordred was able to trap Merlyn in The Veil, the amount of energy and magic it would take would be so high he would be lucky to live once returning to the mortal world. If he did live, his magic would be weak leaving him vulnerable. Vulnerable is not something Mordred can risk.

"And you've grown careless" Mordred states. Merlyn raises her eyebrows at him. "Allying yourself with that boy," Mordred spat. Merlyn smirks. "Fighting against your kind" He growls.

"No!" Merlyn snapped. "You're the one going against your kind! You're the one giving into the darkness, not I!" She glares at him fiercely. "If you had things your way the people would diminish and the world would perish. That is not how I taught you, that is not how Zachariah taught us"

"You and Zachariah had the potential to control the world, to rule it. Yet you'd rather live with them as if they were your equals. Zachariah was weak, he didn't deserve to be king." Mordred spat.

"And what of me?" Merlyn asks causing Mordred's face to soften in the slightest bit.

"I do not wish to kill you, Merlyn. I never did," Mordred tells her. She keeps her emotions controlled but for a moment she can see the small boy that she took under her wing. The man that used to be her closest friend. "You're making a mistake with Arthur, you will not win this war"

"We will," Merlyn says confidently. "And if you force my hand, Mordred, I will be the one to end you" She says fiercely.

"If only you protected Zachariah and Uther with such.. ferocity" Mordred smirks. "You couldn't protect them from my hand... how will you protect your precious born king?" Mordred wonders.

"I will give you one last chance to put this madness behind you, Mordred" Merlyn offers him. "Give up your ambition for power and control. Live out the rest of your days in peace,"

"Peace has never been in my vocabulary, you know this" Mordred tells her. "I will forever cherish the moments we had together but now, you are my enemy" Mordred says gravely. "You stand against me and I will take you down. Worry not, old friend, I will make it quick"

"You assume I'll go quietly. That I'll simply lay my arms down and allow you to take my life?" Merlyn asks causing Mordred to slowly smirk.

"You are, without a doubt, one of the strongest sorcerers in existence" Mordred praises. "But even you are predictable," Merlyn slowly frowns her eyebrows. "How incredibly brave, or rather stupid, of you to leave the protection of your camp and venture into the words"

While Merlyn's consciousness and soul is in The Veil, her body is still in the mortal world. She sits in the grass, her legs crossed and her eyes glazed over. Her magic can fight and protect her in The Veil but her body is defenseless.

"Blue," Arthur calls walking up to the small boy after the meeting. "Where's Merlyn?"

"Dunno" Blue shrugs. "Figured she was with you lot," He says before continuing on his way. Arthur presses his lips together his eyes looking into the forest.

"Something wrong, boss?" Wet Stick asks coming up beside him.

"Yeah, I'm sure everything's fine," Arthur nods grabbing a random sword and wrapping the belt around his waist. "Fancy a walk in the woods?" 

"I was just telling Back Lack how much I fancy a stroll," Wet Stick says readjusting his own belt.

"Going somewhere?" Back Lack asks sensing something was happening.

"I was just telling boss here how we were talking about walking in the woods," Wet Stick says giving him a look.

"Oh, are we going now?" Back Lack asks.

"Now is as good a time as any," Arthur nods walking out of the camp with his two boys behind him.

"Hey boss," Wet Stick calls out. Arthur looks over at him. "Tracks" Arthur walks over to him and picks up on the trail. Wet Stick leads and soon they find her but she's not alone.

A man, looking no different from a common peasant, is holding a sword up. In front of him is Merlyn, sitting on the ground, making no move to protect herself.

Without hesitation, Arthur unsheathes his sword and launches it right into the mans chest. The man makes a deathly sound before falling dead. Only then do they realize he wasn't the only one. Four more men come out of hiding and attack the boys.

Arthur ducks under a swinging sword and kicks his foot into his chest. The man falls to the ground allowing Arthur to kick the sword out of his hand. Bending down he quickly picks it up and kills the man on the ground before defending himself against the second man. While his second opponent is more skilled than a peasant he is no match for Arthur and falls quickly.

"Are there anymore?" Wet Stick asks looking around.

"Search the area and be careful," Arthur orders them. Wet Stick and Back Lack nod separating while Arthur moves in front of Merlyn. The first thing he notices is the cloudy tent to her eyes. Something felt off and it left an uneasy feeling in him. "Merlyn," He says softly whilst kneeling in front of her.

Her mouth moves as soundless words leave her lips. He felt as if she were in the middle of a spell yet this didn't look like the other times she used magic. However, he doesn't have a big background in sorcery, so what does he know?

"Merl-" Before Arthur could finish saying her name her eyes return to normal as she releases a loud gasp. She breathes heavily and her eyes dart around wildly. "Hey, hey, hey," Arthur says instinctively reaching out. His hands cup both sides of her face forcing her to focus on him.

"Arthur" She breathes slowly relaxing.

"It's alright, darlin'," He says tenderly. "I'm right here," She gives him a small smile and leans forward to connect their foreheads. She breathes in deeply, committing his smell to memory, before slowly releasing it. "Do you wanna tell me what happened?" He asks.

"Mordred," She whispers to him. "He's coming to Camelot, we have to move quickly"