The knights had decided to split up. One group composed of Gwaine and Percival, the other of Elyan and Leon. Not that is was likely the two men would be around the village, but the knights of Camelot needed to do something. Lancelot would stay at the Inn, in case Merlin and Arthur arrived back there. Lancelot hoped they did, for their own sake. If the knights found them, completely unruffled, in some other part of the town, it would be more difficult to answer some of them questions that might pop up. It would be much easier if they appeared at the Inn, that way, Lancelot could make up a story, and they could make themselves look ragged, or something, to ease the suspicions of the knights. With Lancelot's luck, the chances of that happening, and everything going smoothly were small. Unless Merlin had a plan, but Lancelot doubted Merlin was thinking straight when he disappeared with Arthur. Maybe, thought Lancelot with a smirk creeping up his face, he's already disheveled, and all I'll have to do is make up a story... Lancelot waited for a few hours, and it was reaching evening when...
BOOM. Suddenly, Lancelot heard a crash as loud as thunder. Well, maybe not quite as loud as thunder, but, you get the point. It came from the hall. Lancelot peered closer, and.... Merlin fell out of the small broom closet, and landed sprawled out on the ground, face first. "Merlin!" Exclaimed a familiar voice. "You clotpole! We were supposed to make a subtle entrance!" Merlin was still on the ground, his voice was slightly muffled. "That's my word!" He said in fake offense.
Lancelot burst into laughter. Arthur and Merlin both jumped at the sound. Once they saw that it was Lancelot, they relaxed a little. The two men still seemed perplexed, though, at the joyous and humored laughter erupting from the knight's mouth. When Lancelot finally gathered spoke, his tone contradicted everything he said. "You two," he said, joyously, slightly out of breath, "are the biggest idiots in all of Camelot," he said, laughing occasionally. "No, scratch that- the biggest idiots in the world! The emperors of idiocy!" Lancelot was smiling, and occasionally laughing. Just then, he realized how relieved he was to see the two men. As soon as Merlin had gotten up, Lancelot embraced both men in a jolly hug. Though they were startled, Merlin and Arthur didn't pull away; they felt they owed Lancelot a hug, at least. After a few minutes, they went to the sitting room, and, well, sat.
Soon Merlin and Arthur noticed the absence of the other knights. They both gave Lancelot inquisitive looks. Arthur raised a single eyebrow. "Where are the knights?" He asked. Lancelot's face grew serious, and, in a business-like fashion, he escorted the two men to the sitting room. "Okay," Lancelot started, "the other knights are out looking for you around town and in the forest. They didn't know what else to do. We need to some up with something- some sort of excuse or explanation- to explain your sudden disappearance- and, of course, your reappearance..." Lancelot's voice trailed off. He was staring, wide-eyed at the front door of the Inn. After a second, or so, Lancelot spoke. "Shit." Arthur and Merlin turned around to see a pair of knights, with their arms crossed, standing in the doorway of the Inn. "Hello Percival," Merlin said, "Gwaine."

S'il vous plait
ne pas avoir de relations sexuelles avec des pommes de terre
(I'm not sure if that's grammatically correct, but I can't ask my French teacher)

Percival and Gwaine were stuck. It obviously wasn't Gwaine's fault. He just- well, let's start at the beginning.
When the knights headed their separate ways, hoping to find Arthur and Merlin, Elyan and Leon got to search the bordering forest, which left Gwaine and Percival with the entire town of Aldea to look forward to. Now, this, in Gwaine's opinion, wasn't fair. The chances that they would find Arthur or Merlin anywhere near Aldea weren't likely, especially if kidnapping was involved. But actually in the town? That chance was one in a million. No, one in an infinity! That is to say, highly unlikely. Percival didn't look happy about this, but he didn't say anything. He just set off, leaving Gwaine rushing to catch Percival, who had long legs, and Gwaine didn't think that was fair, either. "C'mon, you can't seriously be okay with this. It isn't fair!" The knight whined. Percival sighed. "Life isn't fair," and you know it. That was the meaning behind his words. It was true, Gwaine did know, but he still had the right to complain. So why did he shut up after that?
     Aldea was a reasonably small town. So, they could spend a reasonable amount of time investigating each place. When they arrived at the first place, they discovered it was a cobbler's shop. "It doesn't mean they couldn't be in there," said Gwaine, "we need to check every place." So, they entered through the unlocked door. As soon as they stepped in, the atmosphere changed completely. Outside, it was beautiful, but bland. In here, there was a feeling of home, of warmth. It might have been the fire, crackling, even though it was only autumn. It also might've been the fact that there were no cool colors. The walls were the color of mahogany, the wooden rocking chair was brown, shoes of various warm hues were neatly arranged, on shelves, or anything they would fit on. The rug was bearskin, and tinted a warm red. A jolly voice called out from a room in the back. "Be there in a moment!" It was a male voice, and the cheerfulness of it was... unfamiliar to the two knights. Gwaine and Percival examined their surroundings. Nothing was out of order, except a suspiciously bad smelling shoe that Gwaine put down as soon as the cobbler walked in from the back. He was a stout, potbellied man, with a bald head (just imagine Vizzini from Princess Bride, but nice). "Hello," he said with a thick accent, "name's Bart Bartley, how can I help you ?"(Was that offensive? Please don't be offended)
     Gwaine and Percival were more prepared for battle than they were for social interaction. "Oh, um" Gwaine said, "we were just looking for our friends. Two men, both around six feet, one has blond hair, one has black. They look pretty ragged. Do you know if you've seen them?" Bart looked at the two knights, bewildered. "The one with black hair is rather clumsy," added Percival, helpfully. "Eh, no, I don't think so. Sorry, boys." Percival and Gwaine had expected such, and did not complain, but thanked the man for his kindness. And left the first shop, out of many, in the seemingly small town of Aldea. One in an infinity. Or, at least, that's what it seemed like to Gwaine and Percival. When they stepped out, Gwaine sighed. "This will take a while," he said.
     So they went around the village all day, going into every shop, and knocking into every door, until there was one building left. There was a large sign hanging beside the door.

A P O T H E C A R Y
{HERBS}
{OILS}
{POULTICES}
{MORE...}
WE ARE CLOSED RIGHT NOW

There were lanterns lit, and voices could be heard, indiscernible. It was dark by then, so they couldn't really expect to enter every house. But, as we know, Gwaine wasn't one for following the rules. He didn't do anything too drastic, he just knocked on the door. Immediately, the voices stopped. After almost twenty seconds of agony, the door creaked open, to reveal a dreadfully old-looking lady, slouching so much that it looked like she was bent in half. "May I help you?" She asked, sizing up the two men. They did look slightly intimidating, especially to an old lady. "Uh, I'm sorry to bother you ma'am," said Percival, glaring at Gwaine, "but we were wondering if you've seen our friends. They're both around six feet tall, on has dark hair, on has light, and the dark haired one is slightly taller than the blond... have you seen them?" The lady furrowed her brows. "Where did you say you two were from?" Percival looked down at Gwaine. "We didn't."
"Oh, of course! I apologize, my memory isn't so great, these days. Would you like to come in? It's awfully cold out there."
The sudden change in the old lady's mood was abnormal. It made Percival uneasy. "I'm sorry, but we really must be going. We need to find our friends." The woman smiled. "Please, I insist!" And the knights, unwillingly walked into the house. Literally. They had no control over their legs. "What the-?" Started Gwaine, before his mouth... stopped working. That was slightly alarming. Percival tried to speak, but his vocal chords were also muted. So, they silently and unwillingly walked into the apothecary shop.
The walls were covered with shelves of herbs and oils and things that Percival and Gwaine had never seen or heard of. In the middle of the room, there was a large cauldron, suspended over a green flame. That wasn't normal, was it? Honestly, Percival could hardly be surprised anymore. In fact, he would be more surprised if they walked in to find a completely normal shop. The two knights were forced further into the room, until they were so close to the cauldron that hey could feel the heat rising off from it. It was quite uncomfortable. "I'd like to thank you two," said the old lady, "if you hadn't come around, I'd've had to go find you! My old bones just aren't the same as they used to be. You'll understand, when you're older. Well," she chuckled, "if we let you live that long." Gwaine and Percival would've asked what she meant, but, as previously stated, their voices had left them. "Now," she continued, "if you'll just come over here, it would be a great help." Of course, the two men had no choice but to comply, going to one side of the cauldron, where two chairs were placed, back to back. They sat down, and let themselves be tied up by the old lady. "I'm sorry, boys, but it's always important to take precautions. What if my magic failed? What if I needed to take a break? It is pretty exhausting, y'know, maintaining a spell for a long period of time." The two knights, of course, didn't say anything. The old lady stood back, pleased with her work. Indeed, the knots were excellently tied, and with her old joints, it must have been a miracle. Suddenly, the old lady shouted: "Morgana! You can come out, now!" And the Lady Morgana, sorceress and enemy of Camelot, stepped out from between some shelves in the back. The knights' eyes widened, and the old lady took notice. "Oh, resurrection is my specialty," she chuckled. "It's more difficult when they're killed the way she was, but I managed."
"With a few quirks," complained Morgana.
"Well, you're alive, aren't you? I did the best I could, under the circumstances. You're lucky I found you when I did, or it would be worse."
"I know. You've been saying that since I've Awoken."
"Because it's true! Now, stop complaining, we've got to take care of these two."
Percival and Gwaine had been watching the two argue back and forth. They were still in shock, having believed Morgana to be dead. It would have been amusing, if they weren't tied up, under the mercy of two witches, who obviously didn't care much for the knights. "What do you want with us?" Percival asked, realizing that the enchantments has been lifted. The old lady chuckled. "Well," she said, "it's quite simple. We want your bodies." The knights blanched. "No, not like that, you idiots," spake Morgana, repulsed. "We need to be you. It's our only way to get to Emrys. You see, I want revenge, but we need to be able to get close to him. Emrys would probably kill me on the spot, but he trusts you two. It's quite funny, actually."
"Now, now, don't tell them the whole plan. Too much known for them is too much lost for us," reminded the old lady.
"Fine, let's just get to the spell."
     The old lady ripped out some hair from each of the mens' heads, and put them in the bubbling cauldron. Immediately, both women started chanting. "agnos rite celebrabitis," spake the witches (don't look that up). Over and over again, they chanted, because that's sort of the point of a chant. The liquid inside the cauldron starting bubbling, and giving of a sort of blue steam. Suddenly, the bubbling stopped , and the steam was suspended. The old lady grabbed a large wooden spoon, and stirred the mixture around. It was sky-blue and as thin as water. "Perfect," said the old lady, "Now, I want to be the big one. It's been years since I could stand up straight."
Morgana sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. This one has more hair, anyway."
     The old lady grabbed two goblets from one of her many shelves. She dipped the goblets into the blue liquid of the cauldron, and filled them to the brim. She handed Morgana one, and kept one for herself. "Do you remember how to do the spell?" The old lady asked. Morgana nodded, impatiently. And so they performed the spell. They didn't speak, but they made many motions, and seasoned the goblets with many herbs and oils. When they were done, their eyes flashed gold, and they simply drank the liquid from the goblets. At first, nothing happened, but soon, pain was shown on the women's faces. Their bodies slowly disfigured, both of them stretching taller. Their hair grew shorter, and their muscles larger. Soon, they were the perfect image of Gwaine and Percival. When Morgana spoke, it was with Gwaine's voice. "How do I look?" She(he?) asked, smirking. She did look quite good. The two women(men?) left the knights there, tied up. After all that not-dead-Morgana had said, Percival and Gwaine came to the obvious conclusion. So obvious, that they wondered why they hadn't realized it before. The way Lancelot was so careful with what he said. Merlin "has contacts" with Emrys. That was why Arthur was so angry, earlier. How very ironic. Because- this was painfully obvious- Lancelot was Emrys.

Another transition... more French? Okay. S'il vous plait, mange enfants des ma mere. That's definitely not correct. I want you to eat my siblings.

     Elyan and Leon were kind of lost. Only a little. Well, a lot, but it doesn't matter. They were trained knights, and grown men, who didn't often become lost, so they weren't prepared for something like this: something completely unpredictable.
Of course, they had scoured all of the forest bordering Aldea, but that only took a little while. So, being the geniuses they were, they decided to look at little further into the forest. Of course, they needn't have bothered the other knights with this information. It wasn't like much stood against a Knight of Camelot. Except nature. Nature could take down two knights of Camelot. Nature is a powerful force. You see, it was obviously Merlin's fault. His clumsiness must have rubbed of on Elyan and Leon. Because they both tripped over the same branch. Now, why is this a big deal? can't they just get up? No, because they proceeded to fall down an extremely steep hill. And into a hole. Yes, a hole. It was around ten feet deep, and looked suspiciously- although, the universe was rarely that cruel- like the hole Arthur had fallen in, just a week ago. It was easy enough to get out of the hole, but immediately afterwards, it started pouring down rain. Out of the blue! That wasn't normal. It wasn't over, either. The wind had become so strong that trees were falling down left and right. The two knights had to lie on the ground to prevent themselves from being blown away. Somehow no trees or other specimens of nature had fallen on Leon or Elian. And, as sudden as it had started, the miraculous storm stopped. The two knights felt it safe to get up again. When they did, Elyan rubbed his eyes, making sure he was seeing correctly. "What the hell?" He asked. Obviously it was rhetorical, because no human could explain what had just happened.
      The two knights looked around their surroundings. This definitely wasn't the same forest the windstorm had rampaged, just a few minutes ago.  It wasn't exactly a forest, either. It was- well, Elyan didn't know what to call it. The knights were surrounded by walls of horizontally stacked trees. Elm, oak, and redwood. Hundreds of trees, stacked to the sky. They formed barriers and walls, creating a gargantuan tree-labyrinth. Nature wasn't that powerful, was it?

I apologize for all the setting-transitions. Y'all must hate me.

     Morgana and Grímhildr were ready. They had transformed into the two knights, leaving the real Percival and Gwaine trapped. There was only one problem. "What about the other two?" Morgana asked, for the seventh time since they started walking over to to village Inn. "If you ask me one more time, Morgana," threatened Grímhildr with her thick accent, "I will personally escort you back to where you came from. We've been over this: they are weak and stupid . It was easy to put a confusion charm on them. They're lost in the forest somewhere. I'll bet on it." Morgana sighed, frustrated, but stopped nagging the older witch.
     "Now, remember, you're in disguise," said Grímhildr, condescendingly, "so act like it. Don't sneer, scowl, or whatever else the kids do these days." Morgana sighed. "As you wish, my lady," she said, mockingly. Grímhildr scowled, and started the type of rant that could only be associated with the elderly "I used to be addressed that way all the time, you know," she said bitterly, "but then... I was exposed, and I had to flee. One day, I will go back to that wretched place, and they will rue the day they ever turned against me."
"Grímhildr, you've told me this at least a dozen times," said Morgana impatiently. The witch didn't listen. "I was beautiful. The most beautiful lady in all the land! Can you believe that? The king wanted me, oh, he wanted me terribly. Well... that wasn't exactly his doing... but I became queen! Until they decided they didn't want me, anymore. Kind of... killing a few people isn't that big of a deal..."
Morgana sighed. Once Grímhildr went on one of her rants, she couldn't be stopped. The sun had long since set, and the spell had a 24 hour time limit. Already, one of their short, precious hours had been wasted. They needed to hurry. "Grímhildr!" Morgana had reached her/his last nerve. Listening to people complain really pushed her buttons. "We need to hurry! We don't have time!" Grímhildr stopped, and sighed, irritated. "Fine, it's just right there anyway," she/he said, pointing across the dirt road. Gwaine/Morgana sighed. "C'mon, let's go."
     When they went inside, they heard Lancelot talking in hushed, exited tones. "...to explain your sudden disappearance- and, of course, your reappearance..." Just then, the knight saw them. Well, he didn't see Morgana and Grímhildr. He saw Gwaine and Percival. Lancelot stared, obviously unsure what to do. Finally, Emrys and Arthur turned around. They both gulped. Emrys was the first to speak. "Hello Percival," the boy nodded in their direction, "Gwaine." This was going to be too easy.
     Arthur, Merlin, and Lancelot all looked uneasy. Gwaine and Percival didn't know about Merlin's magic. And, presumably, they had heard something that could make them suspicious. Morgana tried not to smirk. This was a game, and she had the upper hand. She prepared herself for acting, and started.
     "Merlin, Arthur," 'Gwaine' said, uncertainly, "you're back! Where were you? You scared me." He looked over at 'Percival.' "I mean, um, us." The acting was nearly flawless. "What were you talking about?" Asked 'Percival' with narrowed eyes. Lancelot took over quickly. "I was asking them where they'd been, and if they could explain their disappearance. They, sadly, do not remember anything. Right?" Lancelot looked at Arthur and Merlin demandingly. "Uh, yeah," said Arthur, "one second we were in the sitting room, and the next, we were back. But I guess some time has passed." The king chuckled. It was a good lie. If the receivers of the lie were actually Gwaine and Percival, they probably would have bought it. But, as we have established, the two people speaking to Lancelot, Arthur, and Merlin were not Gwaine and Percival. And they knew that Merlin and Arthur had disappeared of their own free will, because they had sent a spy to the Inn. But, as we have also established, Morgana and Grímhildr needed to act their part convincingly. So, for the time, they accepted the excuse.
     "We're just glad you're okay," said 'Percival,' in a sincere-sounding voice. "Yeah," agreed 'Gwaine.' Merlin looked at Gwaine for a second, the warlock's head tilted. But, he quickly resumed his prior position, when Arthur spoke. "Where have you two been? Lancelot's been interrogating us, so we've not been able to ask about the events that happened here." Lancelot looked at Arthur like he was losing his mind. Of course he had told Arthur where the knights had gone! Merlin, however, understood. "Yeah," said the sorcerer, trying to make a joke, "where have you guys been? Off partying, I suppose?" Percival laughed. "Yep, you know us," he said, poking Gwaine's should, "We're always partying and getting drunk, aren't we?" Gwaine laughed, too. "That's funny," he said, uncertainly. Merlin's head was tilted, again, in an almost birdlike manner. His eyes were slightly narrowed. he looked... perplexed. He maintained this expression for only a split second, and only Arthur noticed his change in demeanor. Well, maybe Percival did, too, but that was only because he was staring intently at Merlin, as if he'd never seen anything so peculiar. Arthur noticed this, and it was his turn to narrow his eyes. For whatever reason, he didn't like Percival staring down Merlin like that.
     Lancelot, noticing the tension, cleared his throat. "Have you two seen Elyan or Leon?" The knight asked. Gwaine shook his head grimly. "No, I haven't seen them since we split up." Lancelot sighed. This was a problem. The other two men had not been seen since the group had split up. It had been almost sixteen hours since Merlin and Arthur's disappearance. No one had eaten or rested since then, and they were all exhausted. The fact that Leon and Elyan had not returned yet was alarming. Were they injured, trapped... dead? No, they couldn't be. However stupid the knights of Camelot were, they were still knights, and even if they were injured, it wasn't likely that they were dead. Yet. And, as far as knights go, that was an achievement. 
     Merlin cleared his throat, and tried to keep their act standing. "What do you mean?" He asked, though he already knew the answer. Lancelot finally comprehended the act, understanding why Arthur and Merlin were playing the fool. "Oh," he said, "That's right: I've not told you, yet. I seemed to have forgotten. I'm sorry!" Then, Lancelot addressed Gwaine and Percival. "I've been drilling them for questions, and I forgot that they weren't there when we decided to search for them. What a fool I am!" Yeah, Lancelot's acting was a little... enthusiastic. Luckily, Gwaine and Percival seemed to buy it. "Well," Gwaine spoke with the same enthusiasm, "I suppose we should tell them, then!" It was laughable. Two separate groups, trying to fool each other, and, somehow, (kind of)succeeding, each with a unconvincing façade. Well, it was laughable to an unaffected bystander. And, unfortunately, none of the men in the room had that privilege. So, Merlin, Arthur, and 'Percival' were freaking the frick out. Percival, being right next to Gwaine, stomped on his foot, which caused Gwaine to let out wide range of obscenities from under his breath. Merlin and Arthur took a less painful approach, by just giving a warning look that said 'chill the frick out.' Lancelot got the message, and decided to let Arthur and Merlin do the talking. Merlin had been keeping an enormous secret for his whole life, so he was a skilled 'actor,' and, Arthur... well, Arthur was the medieval equivalent of a politician.
     "So," continued Arthur, "What did happen after we 'disappeared?'" Merlin followed up with: "Yeah, I'm kind of feeling left out, so if you guys would like to share, that would be amazing." Neither Gwaine, nor Percival looked eager to speak, so Lancelot decided to play his part, by just recounting the events of the last few hours. "Well," he began, "When you two vanished, we'd no clue what to do. I mean, it's not every day someone just vanishes into thin air. Although it was not likely, there was a chance that you might've been in the village, or maybe the surrounding forest. So, after a little discussion, we decided to split up and search for you. I stayed at the Inn, in case you returned(which you did). The other four knights split into two groups: Elyan with Leon, and Gwaine with Percival. They flipped a coin to decide who searched the town, and who searched the forest." Lancelot stopped there, feeling that he needn't go into the intricate details that he barely knew himself. After all, it was just an act to convince Gwaine and Percival of Merlin and Arthur's ignorance. Sometimes Lancelot wondered if the stress of lying was worth it. But, as previously said, it wasn't Lancelot's choice; it wasn't his secret to tell. If Merlin didn't share his secret, Lancelot would support that. But, if the knights found out of Merlin's magic, Lancelot was almost positive that they, although being a little hurt, would stay loyal. Merlin had helped them so many times, and not just with his magic: Merlin truly was a loyal friend.
     ANYWAY, Gwaine and Percival(Morgana and Grímhildr) had realized that the warlock's façade was crumbling. It was too good. As Merlin grew more desperate, he also grew easier to crack. And with his emotional defenses down, his magical defenses would be weaker. It wouldn't last forever, but it would last long enough for... revenge. It was perfect. However, they still needed to wait, and keep the trust of the men for the plan to work. Hurting and weakening Merlin emotionally was crucial, and no spell would work on as powerful a being as the great Emrys. So, sadly(for them), they had to wait. They couldn't wait too long, or the spell would wear off. It was very stressful(like my life). It would all be worth it, though, for both of the women, if their plan succeeded.