What do you MEAN, I've got a current event article I should be working on?
This story is an expansion of my drabble of the same name, which can be found at #6 in my drabble series, Sweet and Sour. You don't really have to read that if you don't want to, although by all means, feel free to see where the idea came from. Jameson1155 requested it turn into a full story, and it sounded fun, so here we are :) Besides, I've already written a story where Merlin gets capture... Arthur needs a turn, right?
As all my work, this is unbetaed, thus all mistakes are mine. Enjoy! And let me know how/if you like it - reviews are love :)
Chapter One: Warning Bells
It had been a long couple of days. So long that Merlin almost slept right through the warning bell. Almost.
Someone scruffy, unfamiliar, and wild-eyed burst into the antechamber, waving a candle about dangerously and shouting for Merlin to "Get up, get up!" Merlin was already pulling his boots on.
"What's this about?" he asked, trying to shake the sleepiness away. He had a really bad feeling that rest wasn't in his near future. He peeked out the window; dawn was creeping up on the horizon. If he was tired, he imagined Arthur would be downright irritated at the early wake-up call.
Arthur. Merlin looked over the servant's shoulder into the main room. Arthur wasn't in bed.
"The prince is gone!" the servant shouted frantically, his hands shaking so badly it was a wonder he could hold on to the candle at all. Was it really necessary, what with the sun coming up already?
Then it hit Merlin. The prince, as in Prince Arthur, was gone.
He was on his feet and out the door in a heartbeat. "Where are you going?" the man screeched.
Gwen met him in the hall, pale and dressed in her nightgown still. "Is it true?" she whispered, her face openly begging him to tell her it wasn't. He gave a noncomittal jerk of the head - he knew no more than she did. For all they knew, Arthur had gone for a ride without telling anyone.
Except that wasn't like him, and the warning bell indicated that there was decent evidence to the contrary.
Together, and with only a little bit of trouble, they located the great hall, where King Olaf was deep in converation with a palace guard. Merlin waited impatiently for them to finish before he approached and dared to ask, "What's going on? What's happened to Arthur?"
King Olaf looked at him distastefully. "We are currently trying to figure that out," he explained, and Merlin, generally speaking, didn't mind Olaf so much in comparison to some kings, but right now he wanted to kick the patronizing cretin into next week. He could probably do that, if angered enough. "You see, boy, that's what the alarm is for."
"Yes, I am aware of that," said Merlin, trying to keep the contempt out of his voice and failing, because he never practiced such things. "What I want to know is, what are you doing to figure that out, and when did this happen? Your Majesty."
The distaste turned to coldness. "I assure you, we are doing everything within reason to find Camelot's prince and return him safely to this castle. As for when it happened, I would once again like to stress the concept of a warning bell, which naturally we sounded as soon as we discovered the missing prince."
Merlin didn't know which grated on his nerves more: that Olaf couldn't be bothered to refer to Arthur by name, or that his answer was in no way satisfactory. Of course they hadn't sounded the alarm the moment they found Arthur was gone. And what was more, when they discovered this was very unrelated to when it happened.
"Please, Your Highness," said Gwen in a much softer tone than Merlin found himself capable of using with this man right now, "is there anything we can do to help the search?"
She played the part of loyal and obedient servant well, Merlin thought. No one who heard her would have guessed her real reasons for caring about Arthur, but he knew that inside she was aching with fear.
"I'm afraid not, dear woman," said Olaf, a little more kindly. "The guards are searching the lower town, and I'm afraid that is all we can do for now. I wouldn't want for you and your... friend... to get lost."
Merlin didn't know exactly what he had done to make Olaf take a disliking to him - honestly, the king had started it - but he decided to smile widely when Olaf said this. "That's very thoughtful of you," he said, and if it sounded a little mocking, that certainly wasn't his fault.
All day, all bloody day, the only thing on his mind was Arthur, Arthur, oh dear God, please don't say I failed him already, Arthur, where the hell are you?
Finally, long after noon and close to dinner, Merlin heard a commotion in the courtyard and arrived just in time to see two guards drag a third before the king and force him into a kneel upon the steps going into the castle.
"This man," said the one on the right, "is responsible for the kidnapping of Prince Arthur of Camelot. Merlin's heart lurched. Kidnapping. Naturally it was what he'd been assuming all along, but hearing it...
Kidnapped.
The man continued, "With some persuasion, he has confessed to capturing the Crown Prince and placing him in the hands of bandits, in return for a portion of the money they acquire from a ransom."
Merlin noticed that the kneeling man's fingers were bent at various odd angles. He winced; persuasion, indeed. Nevertheless, he found it extremely hard to be sympathetic.
"Do you deny this?" grunted Olaf. The guards forced the rather rotund man's chin up to look into the king's eyes. He whimpered.
"N-no, sire," he stuttered, his eyes darting every which way. "But I-"
"Do you know which way the bandits have gone?" demanded Olaf.
The man tried to struggle out of the guards' grasp. "I don't," he gasped, "b-but please, they're supposed to come back later, when they have the money! You c-could set a trap for them, when they-"
"Fool," said Olaf in disgust, "you are a fool to trust bandits to stay true to their word! They will not return, let me assure you, and if they did, it would be to find that you're rotting in a prison cell. Take him away!"
And they did. They dragged him, howling, up the steps and into the castle. His protests died away. Seemingly satisfied, Olaf swept back inside. Merlin blinked at where the king had just been, then charged after him.
He was intercepted quite forcefully by Gwen.
"Sorry!" she squeaked as he rubbed where her foot had connected with his shin. "I heard something going on outside. Has anyone found out anything?"
"It was a kidnapping." Her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth. He spoke before she could. "They caught one of the men responsible."
Gwen brightened with hope. "That's great news, then!" When he didn't share in her joy, her face fell a bit. "What is it?"
"Gwen, they still don't know where Arthur is. He's with bandits, and they want to ransom him off. I don't know if that means to Uther, or to whoever bids highest."
Understanding the implications far too well, Gwen covered her mouth. "What are we going to do?" she said around her hand. The fear was back in full force, for her. Merlin felt it twisting around in his stomach like a great serpent, waiting to strike him, no doubt at the worst possible moment. So far it hadn't really hit home. Some part of his brain refused to allow the rest of him access to the knowledge that, somewhere, some thugs were probably beating up the other side of his proverbial coin.
The serpent reared its head threateningly. Merlin closed off that part of his brain even more forcefully and hushed the snake back down a bit.
"We're going to go to Olaf," he said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. "He said he'd do whatever it took to find Arthur, and I'm going to hold him to that."
This time they were close enough to the throne room to find it in one go. The only guards this time were the two at the door. Aside from a couple of servants serving him dinner, Olaf was alone. This struck Merlin as very odd, so soon after the incident on the steps.
"Have you sent out the orders?" asked Merlin.
Olaf took a long sip of wine, and a serving girl dabbed at his face with a handkerchief. "Orders?" the king echoed absently, waving for someone to bring him more chicken. It seemed servants alternately brought him food items and hand-fed them to him. One thing that could be said for Uther, he dined far less helplessly than King Olaf.
"Yes," said Merlin through gritted teeth, "the orders to extend the search. Obviously Arthur won't be in the lower town, not if bandits have got him." It was his turn to be a little patronizing.
"That's Prince Arthur to you, boy," reprimanded Olaf sharply. "And I haven't given any such orders, why would I? He is not my problem, as it happens. My knights and guards are here to protect my kingdom, not to run after a foreign prince who should be able to look after himself. Camelot's greatest knight, indeed."
Gwen inhaled sharply behind and to the left of Merlin. Merlin gaped. "You're supposed to be Camelot's ally!" he cried. "Do you really mean to do nothing?"
"That," said Olaf, speaking around a mouthful of chicken, "is exactly what I intend to do."
At last Merlin allowed himself to panic.
Which means that next chapter, he may or may not lose it a little. :) See you on the other side of Chapter Two!