Royal in Hiding

Chapter 13: Welcome to Hell

To say that Merlin's and Arthur's men were exhausted would be an understatement.

"These mountains are hell on Earth." Arthur complained to Merlin as they walked around the camp.
"I told you so." Merlin muttered.

Then the Magician stopped suddenly.

"What now?" Arthur asked impatiently and clearly under a lot of stress.

"I-I don't know. I'm unfamiliar with the presence. But it's, alluring." Merlin murmured and looked toward the east. Arthur followed his friends gaze. What he saw made his eyes widen.

"Well Merlin, you would be unfamiliar with naked women wouldn't you?" Arthur joked as he stared at the women appearing from the wood of the cold mountain in absolutely nothing.

Arthur straightened purposefully started towards them.

"Arthur don't, they aren't women." Merlin pleaded as he warily watched his men slowly stand up.
"Oh Merlin, they are the definition of women." Arthur assured his friend before he started towards the women again, joined by an army of men.

Merlin slowly made his way to stand next to Arthur, staring at the women coldly. Next to him Ladies Arabella, Emelyne, and Imayn watched the with the same eyes as their King.

"Hello ladies, what are you doing all alone out here?" Arthur asked, his ego making an appearance.
"Alone? We have you." The woman in front stated as though it was obvious.

Her voice was silky and sweet. It was like a song, enjoyable. Her skin was pale and her eyes were small. Her dark hair was soft despite the fact that she just came out of the forest. Her body had all the right curves in all the right places without a single imperfection.

She was so wrong.

"Yes I suppose you do." Arthur indulged the angelic woman.

Her eyes flashed.

"You mean that sir, truly?" She asked sweetly. "I have, all of you?" She finished with a sultry tone.
"Yes." Arthur almost moaned. All of the men started inching closer.

The women started singing and it became startling clear exactly what they were.

In an instant, Merlin had trapped his men and drawn his sword. Mordred and the women knights followed suit.

"You are far from home Sirens." Merlin hissed at the group, whose eyes went red and their face contorted into something that wasn't human anymore.

"That is not okay..." Arthur said from behind Merlin, slowly being coaxed out if his trance.

"We come at the Kings request, in payment, we get a large sum of men to bring home with us." The woman infront spoke again, it became obvious she was the leader.

"It seems that the false King is growing desperate. Employing mercenaries and now Sirens? What next, Lions?" Merlin taunted, angering the sirens to their true forms.

They attacked but her was faster. They hadn't known that he had called the dragon from earlier to them, the dragon arising from behind a peak with a roar.

The Sirens glared at the sky but as fire erupted from the Beasts mouth their glares became terrified glances over their shoulder as they ran back into the woods and down the hill, probably towards the water.

Merlin let the men free of their restraints, all of them walking back to the camp in a daze except Arthur.

"What were they?" He pondered aloud.
"Sirens Sir." Mordred answered as he resheathed his sword.
"But they live on the sea, why come here?" Arthur asked, turning to Merlin.
"Draegan hired them." Merlin mused.
"How is this not worrying you?" Arthur asked in shock.

Merlin chuckled at his friend and explained his reasoning. "The first person he hired was a skilled magician that had the added benefit of a vendetta against the Pendragons. The hire was a group of Sirens that I managed to fend off by calling a dragon. He's getting sloppy, I have no doubt that he'll hire a troll next or something equally as stupid. At that point all I'll have to do is say boo and it will run.

He is terrified of our force Arthur! Don't you see, he thought we would have turned back by now but since we haven't he is becoming fearful. We have the best men in all the kingdoms and he knows it, he knows he won't win this land fight because he can't take us by surprise again." Merlin explained as they walked back.

"So, we just have to endure and the battle might as well be won?" Arthur clarified.
"Knock on wood Arthur." Was Merlin's response before he left to sleep for the night.

Meanwhile, Draegan was pacing the width of his throne room. His Sorcerer and Sirens had both been woefully unsuccessful in making any damage on Arthur and his advance with the Lost Prince.

He was running out of pieces in this game of chess.

"You are an idiot." A woman spoke from the door as she stormed in.

Her dark hair was unruly and her dark eyes were filled with danger and chaos.

She herself was powerful, a force that Draegan had heard of but never met.

She was Morgana Pendragon.

"How did you-"
"Get in? Your security is so weak a child could make out with the castle riches without being stopped." Morgana cut him off with a demeaning look in her eyes.

"I'll call the gaurds." Draegan threatened but even he knew it was empty, she just called him out on it.
"No you won't, you need me to take care of that Prince and King that are basically on your doorstep." Morgana pointed out as she grabbed an apple from his table and watched it rot in her hand.

"Why should you accept your help?" He asked carefully.
"Because I killed Uther Pendragon."
"Yet his inexperienced son evades you?" Draegan reminded.

The apple turned to black dust.

"Because right niw, I'm your last hope." Morgana hissed. "Deal with the devil baby, it will fuck you in the long run but who cares if you get what you need when you need it." She whispered into his ear.

Draegan didn't know when she had gotten so close to him and wasn't completely sure that he really cared. What he did know was that if this had been a fame of archery, her arrow would have hit the target dead center.

So maybe that's why he entered the deal without knowing what he had to give up in return.

Circumstances, Morgana thought triumphantly as she strutted out of the throne room, make all the difference.