AN: I could own Merlin, but BBC would have to give it to me.
This is kind of crackish. I know, I have other stories to update. I'm procrastinating a little.
Arthur stared as the sorcerer's eyes glowed and he prepared to cast a spell. All of the knights were restrained as well as him, bound in his own throne room. He felt incredibly helpless. How was he going to get out of this one?
Suddenly, the door creaked open. Arthur felt a tiny spark of hope. He had no idea who it was, but anyone had to be better than no one.
And then that person came into view, and just like that Arthur's heart dropped like a stone. It was Merlin. And he looked drunk. Not only did Arthur not see any way he could help, but his servant was now in as much danger as them.
Merlin blinked at the scene in front of him, silently cursing Gwaine for dragging him down to the tavern for his birthday. He really needed a clear head for this. And then the knight had gone and left him there! He spotted the alcoholic with the other knights who were restrained by the sorcerer. Great.
"This," he groaned, "is why I don't drink often."
Strangely, the sorcerer bristled at his tone. Apparently he was perturbed that the servant wasn't terrified of him.
"Who are you?" he demanded. Merlin saw his grey eyes flash angrily.
The servant yawned. "'M Merlin. And you are?"
He sauntered closer to the surprised wizard. By now, everyone in the room looked shocked.
"Merlin," Arthur hissed. "What do you think you're doing?"
Merlin held a hand up to cut off the king. "Arthur, just leave this to me."
The king's eyebrow would have made Gaius proud. "Merlin, don't be an idiot. Stop talking before you get yourself killed."
Merlin sighed. He still hadn't taken his eyes off the sorcerer.
"He doesn't get it, does he? He thinks they all attack without reason. But there's always a reason. What's yours?"
The sorcerer looked taken aback, but quickly morphed his expression back to anger. "What do you know, servant? You think you understand me? Your king, who you revere so much, is a murderous tyrant, son of another murderous tyrant! Tell me you have not seen what he has done?!"
Merlin grimaced and rubbed his head. "So, revenge then. Not exactly original."
If Arthur's hands had been free, he would have facepalmed. What was wrong with his servant?! Did he have a death wish?
The sorcerer seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "How dare you?" he snarled. "You have no idea what it's like! You trust him blindly-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard it before," Merlin interrupted, waving it aside. The knights' eyes were wide. They had always knew Merlin had a reputation for witty retorts regardless of the consequences, but this was pure insanity. Gwaine was starting to regret sending his friend to the tavern.
The sorcerer looked positively murderous. He raised his hand, pointed at Merlin, and began to speak words of the Old Religion.
Arthur threw himself against his bonds, sensing the others do the same, but he was dimly aware that it was no use. Merlin was about to be shot down before their eyes, cursed on the spot, and they were helpless. Arthur wanted to look away, but found it was impossible.
And then, to further everyone's astonishment, before the sorcerer could finish his spell, Merlin calmly reached out and yanked a ring off of the other man's finger.
Instantly, the glow died down from the sorcerer's eyes, but the absolute shock remained. Merlin appeared not to notice, he was too busy studying the ring.
"Hmm. A magic conduit. A very powerful one, by the looks of it. But without someone to use it, it's useless."
He looked back up at his frozen opponent. "And without this, you really aren't that powerful, aren't you?"
The sorcerer merely stared at him, open-mouthed.
Whistling, Merlin strolled over to where the king and the knights were still bound. "Just gonna borrow this," he said, picking up the king's sword from where it had fallen out of his reach. Placing the ring on the floor, he raised the blade directly above it, and then brought it down on the piece with a sharp shing of metal on metal. The ring cracked, and immediately Arthur felt the curse binding him break.
"You're welcome," Merlin said, tossing the ring at the king. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go finish having my day off."
And with that, he strolled to the end of the room, yanked open the door, and left, leaving the shocked silence behind him.