The year: 913
[Two years after Arthur's coming of age ceremony]

The Enchanted Forest,
Eastern boundary of Essetir,
Albion

[Merlin's POV]

It had been three days since the carriage carrying Morgana and Guin had gone missing. Arthur was beside himself when the lady and her handmaid (who the prat had started developing feelings for) failed to show at the jousting tournament held by King Atherol the 4th (my supposed biological father) at Willsden. 

Due to bad weather, the carriage carrying Lady Morgana had taken a break and decided to join us when the skies cleared.

What only a few- and by few, I mean Guin and myself- knew was that that was only part of why Morgana had decided to hang back. For a while now, Morgana had been obsessing over the delicate fabric and needlework produced in the quaint little village called Yokr. Apparently, the women there were gifted seamstresses, and Morgana, who had a talent for the same, wanted to pay them a visit. Uther had been apprehensive about letting Morgana visit the village as the place was known to be frequented by magic users. Since it fell in the kingdom of Essetir, which was kinder to magic users, Uther's hands were tied; he couldn't do anything about it. 

"It's nice to know that you are good at something, but it's even better if you can learn and grow." Lady Morgana had said with a twinkle in her eyes the day we had left for the tournament. I was sure she had taken a detour to visit Yokr without her guards. Morgana liked to defy Uther; she did it every chance she got. This habit landed her in trouble more often than not. Despite that, she kept doing it. I recalled what she had said a few days ago. "One day, Arthur will stop being a daddy's boy. Mark my words, Merlin, and that will be the day he will see Uther's true face." I didn't know why she had said that, but the seriousness of her words made me wonder what she meant by it. 

Even after a day, when Morgana had not arrived at Willsden, Arthur sent a young page back to where they had stopped; he returned with bad news.

"The locals haven't seen them for a day and a half, my lord. They said they didn't know who she was when she insisted on going for a ride and left on horseback with her handmaid as her only aid. When the guards realized she was absent, they asked about it and immediately left in search of her." The page was cowering in fear when he relayed the information. 

"Good work. Now go fetch my knights," is all Arthur had said. The brat was highheaded and spoiled but never unfair, unlike Uther. 

At times like these, when Arthur's true nature shone through, I truly wanted to believe the serpent imprisoned under Pendragon Castle's grounds that kept reminding me time and again: Arthur will not just be a king; he will be the savior of Albion. A man who will live for his people and shield them when the time comes. Trust me, Merlin, if you fail Arthur, Albion will be no more. 

As soon as the page boy had delivered the bad news, I told Arthur what I knew. We set off for Yokr immediately. I knew the place like the back of my hand; for I was born here. However, we left when I turned three. Of course, it must have been partly because of magic in my blood that I never forgot it.

Alas, Morgana and Guin weren't there. We widened the search area to Willsden and Essetir. It wasn't easy for the twelve of us, Arthur, his ten trusted knights, and me, to cover the region like we wanted to since Arthur had decided to keep Morgana's disappearance a secret from Uther. His reasons were valid, first, if the king came to know that Morgana had defied his orders and gotten abducted as a consequence, it would make the lady's life in the palace difficult on her return, and second, on an off chance that her abductors did not know who they had captured, exposing that she was Uther's ward would be detrimental to our cause. 

Day three of our unsuccessful search and rescue brought us to the border of the enchanted forest of Brécheliant that lay east of Essetir. It was no man's land. No one dared to enter it even during day time. It was said that the forest was what remained of the old world. The woods were so dense that not a let ray of sunshine reached the ground. The land sheltering the forest was rumored to be covered in life-sucking creepers that thrived on human fear and poisoned the trespassers' bodies and minds.

"Sire, anyone with even a lick of survival instinct would not dare to enter this place. I don't think it's wise to risk our lives and waste precious time exploring Brécheliant." Lancelot had suggested. He was undoubtedly Arthur's best knight. No one, except Arthur himself, could stand against the knight and win in a battle of wits, courage and strength. Over the years, he and I had become close as well. In fact, if there was someone other than Arthur I could trust, it was Lancelot. 

"Morgana is smart, and Guin is strong, loyal, and resourceful. If we haven't found them so far, so there is a chance that they may have escaped. And knowing Morgana, she isn't afraid of taking chances. She may have decided to enter Brécheliant to avoid capture."

"Arthur is right," I added, not only because what the brat had said was right but because I could sense Morgan's presence. 

The piece of fabric that belonged to Morgana once had never left me. I had, for reasons I dared to admit only to myself, taken to carrying it with me.

The day we left for Yokr, I had tried locating Morgana with the help of a tracking spell, the same one I had used to find her on the day Arthur was officially bestowed the title of the crown prince of Camelot. Unfortunately, the spell did not work this time around. 

The lace fabric, which was now placed over my heart- out of sight from the prying eyes of everyone who would label it as scandalous- vibrated with a kind of energy I associated with magic. If I had any doubt whether we would find the lady and her handmaid in Brécheliant were dispelled when Sir Gawain, a tall, almost too unrefined to be molded into what is expected of a knight, yelled, "Merlin, do you recognize this?" he dangled what I knew was a piece of women's stockings in front of the men's faces. 

A strange- under any other circumstance it would have been amusing- mix of expressions clouded the knights' features. Those of us who had sisters or wives knew what the item was, while others who were either unmarried, virgins, or had only brothers to boast about, were clueless. 

I was probably the only exception to it. Though I was an only child and (unfortunately) a virgin, there were times I had to disguise myself as a woman to get out of sticky situations. This had wisened me beyond my status. 

"That's... " Arthur blinked and neared the piece of clothing, but before he could reach for it, I got hold of it, "It's Guin's!" I lied, pocketing the item, "It's a special pouch I knit for her to carry coins." I turned to Arthur, "It's your call. My lord, are you man enough to enter what could be-" I swirled around with a flourish, "-your doom?"