Arthur wanted to find Merlin. He needed to find Merlin. He was going to find Merlin, no matter what.

Arthur decided to confide in the Knights. If he could trust anyone, it was them. And Merlin, but he wasn't there at the moment. 

The king called for the Knights to meet him at the Round Table.

"Merlin is missing," Arthur began, once the formalities were over.

Instantly, Gwaine rolled his eyes. "No kidding, Princess."

The king sighed. "Would you let me finish?"

"Oh, go ahead." Gwaine was sarcastic, but there was no humor in his voice.

"Though the court has advised me against it, I am going to set up an official rescue mission."

"You know where he is?" Leon asked.

Arthur pursed his lips. "Well, no, but I plan to find out."

"That's not good enough." Gwaine's eyes were watery.

Arthur sighed. "Gwaine, I-"

"You don't realize, do you? He means so much to us, to all of us! I know nothing about him! None of us do! Nothing of his past. We have no leads!" Gwaine was yelling now. "Who would take him?" 

There was an unspoken 'why' behind Gwaine's question. 

It was then that Arthur began to realize how important Merlin was, not just to him, but to everyone. The king had only been thinking of his own pain. Not the knights' pain, not the servants' pain. 

"Gwaine, I understand, we all do," Arthur received nods of agreement from the knights. "After all, who would wan't to take Merlin, of all people?"

Lancelot shifted in his chair.

"The only reasonable explanation is that someone, maybe Morgana, took him to find our secrets."

Lancelot was now wearing a frown, his expression was almost of conflict. In the knight's mind, there was a battle going on, and neither side was winning.

"Lancelot, if you know something, please enlighten us," said a slightly irritated Arthur.

Lancelot looked flustered, at first, then, to Arthur's incredulity, he started to deny it. "Sire?" The knight asked, faking innocence.

The king would have rolled his eyes if he had not been so full of grief. "Lancelot, I will personally let Gwaine run you through with his sword if you are withholding important knowledge that could help us find Merlin."

Lancelot, after a long pause, gave in, and sighed. "Okay, but I can not tell you the whole truth, for it is not mine to tell."

Arthur was about to protest, but he thought the better of it, when he saw the look upon his friends face. "Go on, then," he said.

Lancelot was choosing his words carefully, trying not to expose everything he knew. "There is this warlock. Well, he is an extremely powerful mage, possibly the most powerful-"

"Emrys," interjected Percival.

Everyone stared at the man.

"What? I've heard of him from the druids." Percivial shrugged, almost nonchalant.

Lancelot continued, "Yes, well, he is supposed to be 'Morgana's doom.' He is also said to be the one destined to bring magic back to Camelot, and unite the land of Albion."

"That's not important, or anything." Arthur massaged his temple.

"What does he have to do with Merlin?" Elyan asked.

"Merlin is supposed to, um, know this sorcerer and his whereabouts. I wouldn't be surprised if Morgana is trying to torture information out of him," said Lancelot, looking down, like a child, about to be scolded.

Arthur was furious. At the very idea of his friend being hurt. At Morgana, at this Emrys, for putting his friend in danger, and even at Merlin, for acquiring such information in the first place.

"How," Arthur asked in a shaky voice, "did he acquire this information?"

Lancelot just looked down and shook his head, sadly. "It is not my place to say, sire."

"Okay." The king took a deep breath, pulling himself together. "Luckily, we have eyes on Morgana's whereabouts. Lancelot, is Merlin loyal enough to this warlock to not have ratted him out?"

"... Yes."

"Then he is still alive. We must find Morgana's fortress, and get Merlin back safely."

Morgana was worried. Merlin should have broken sooner. The boy was stronger than she had thought, and Morgana didn't easily underestimate people. The witch's Wishful Thinking spell, should have turned Merlin to her side almost immediately. 

Morgana had threatened Arthur to break the boy, finally finding a weak spot. She would do what she said she would, no matter what, but Merlin didn't need to know that, quite yet.

Morgana came to the cells a little late, just to tease the servant. She liked teasing people. It was almost as fun as watching the light go out of their eyes. 

Merlin was asleep and he must have been having a nightmare, for he was crying. He was almost cute, like a sad puppy. 

Pathetic.

Morgana was tempted to use the saphire, but she didn't. Not yet. Instead, she used the whip to wake him up, flicking her wrist almost lazily. "Hello, little bird!" The witch said in a falsetto, singsong voice. " I hope you are ready to chirp!"

When Merlin woke up, he felt pain. That wasn't unusual. "Hello, Morgana," he greeted, trying for a cheery smile. "Let's get started, shall we?"

"Yes," she replied, "let's."

The warlock felt different today, almost cheerful, the way one gets when one has power over another.

Merlin began talking immediately. "Okay, I'll start with the legends and prophecies. It's easier to explain it, that way. Forget everything you think you know about Emrys."

She started to protest, but the young man cut her off.

"Just do it, okay? It would be a lot easier for the both of us." Merlin smiled his trademark grin, with a hint of malice. He hadn't smiled in a long time, and the falseness of it felt foreign on his face.

"You are in no such place as to tell me what to do."

Merlin laughed, because everything was funny, to him, in the kind of way that makes your stomach sick. It was funny in the way that made you want to die.

The warlock continued. "Emrys is said to be the most powerful person in the world. He doesn't just have magic, he is magic. I was told that he was born with his eyes glowing gold. He could move objects before he could walk or talk."

Morgana looked at me suspiciously, "You know him well."

Merlin laughed again, to the point where he was almost crying, and he would have put his hands to his head if he wasn't chained by his arms and legs. He soon realized he was becoming hysterical, laughing like a madman running to and from death.

He quickly resumed his tale. He couldn't afford to go crazy, yet. "Emrys can control the weather, along with most other parts of nature."

Morgana's eyes widened at this.

Once again, Merlin found it funny. But he could not laugh, not without arousing suspicion. He wanted to save the major plot twist until the very end.

"He is destined to bring back magic, and unite the land of Albion. He is very loyal to Camelot, and will do almost anything for it."

At this, Morgana laughed. "Well, he is obviously not that loyal, if he has just left you here to rot."

Merlin smiled. He smiled, because he knew that, one day, Morgana would regret everything she had done.

Merlin stopped smiling, and, once again, continued, as if nothing had happened. "He is said to be your destiny and you doom, Morgana. But do not think for a second that you will be the last. Emrys will face many foes. He is immortal, blessed by the Triple Goddess."

The man watched as Morgana's eyes betrayed her excellent poker face.

The warlock smirked. "It is... difficult, for Emrys to contain his powers. As a result, he doesn't like many to know his identity. That, and the ban on magic, of course. He is too young and inexperienced to know how too control his powers, and there is no one to teach him. He is alone in the world, no one to match his power."

Morgana looked sad, as if she could empathize with Emrys.

Merlin was not sure if this was good or bad.

Then, she got up. Her face showed no trace of the emotions she had earlier expressed. "We shall continue this tomorrow," she said. Morgana was gone.

In her chambers, Morgana smiled. Merlin had given her even more information than she had expected.

Emrys was young and unskilled; Merlin had told her that. Emrys was insane and easy to take advantage of; Merlin had implied that. Merlin had also showed Morgana that he was finally breaking. He was hysterical.

If Merlin kept talking at this rate, Morgana would not even get to use her stones.