The guards were dragging a body from the sound of it. Arthur started from his bored, half-aware state. Chains and manacles held him in place, but his instincts were still keen. They had taken Merlin hours ago, and the silence in his solitary cell had echoed around him with the tormented screams he could not hear. His eyes still peered intently through the darkness although he knew any light was likely to blind him.
There was flare of gold and the guards came around the corner. Merlin's dark head was lolling as the dragged him by the shoulders. They dropped him face down in the cell directly across from Arthur. He went down with a whuff of sound and a groan, that ended in a pained gasp. Then silence. The guards were gone before Arthur could even open his mouth.
"Merlin, he said, as loudly as he dared. He could smell blood.
"I'm fine," came a rasping voice that brought a sob of relief from Arthur's deepest heart. He quickly stifled the sound and he coughed to cover the tightness in his throat.
"I'm fine." said Merlin again.
"I wish I could believe that."
"Arthur!" His servant's voice held a note of panic and his voice was trembling.
"I didn't…I didn't tell them…"
"No more, Merlin," came Arthur's unusually gentle reply. "No more of that, " he repeated as calmly as he could. "I know." The terror in Merlin's voice was enough to convince him that he didn't really want to see what they had done to him. Perhaps the darkness of the cell was a blessing.
"How badly are you hurt, Merlin. Can you walk?"
"Planning an escape, huh? Count me out. Well, for the next little bit…"
Merlin's voice trailed off and Arthur strained to hear if there was any further reply.
Although he had already gauged that the cell across from him was beyond the grasp of his arm, however hard he shoved against the bars, he still extended a hand towards his servant. He wasn't quite sure why he did it.
"Merlin?"
Silence.
"Don't think you can milk this into a week off of work," he said in his best bravado voice. The prince thought he heard a weak sigh in reply, that might have been a groan or a laugh, but he wasn't sure.
He heard Merlin shifting himself, and there was sudden inhaled gasp, and a burst of coughing. Merlin hacked and fought for air and Arthur listened in growing horror. The smell of blood grew stronger.
"Ribs …," breathed Merlin after a long moment, while fear grew like dark pit in Arthur's consciousness. "Give me…a minute " He words strained between his coughs and Arthur's chest clutched in sympathetic pain. It galled him that he had nothing to offer his friend other than his understanding attention.
"I'm here," said the prince, with a heavy heart.
"I'm fine," said Merlin once more. His voice spasmed at the end of the word. Arthur could hear a faint gasping gurgle; it tore at his heart. He would have preferred a thousand wounds in battle, than to hear that sound. And he prayed that the horrible sound would keep going. It meant his companion was still alive.
"Merlin," he called again, hoping his servant was still conscious. But he heard no more words. All he could hear was his servant's unfiltered groans and mutterings as he wandered in an injured delirium. The gasping sound that tore at his heart continued. The prince tried to rouse his friend, every few minutes, but there was no response. The darkness seemed to thicken between them, as Merlin failed to answer again and again.
Arthur knew they must have whipped him. The smell of blood and the difficulty breathing from broken ribs pointed to a weighted lash. Although there was a part of Arthur that understood what must have happened to Merlin, there was another part that bled along with him.
Arthur cursed. He cursed the darkness and his inability to help his injured friend. He cursed the betrayal of Morgana. Arthur swore he would never forgive Cenred. He swore, by all he held holy, he would never forgive Morguase. Never.
Merlin coughed again, an agonizing gasping sound. His servant's breathing grew fainter in the darkness.
"Merlin," Arthur called, a sudden dread seizing him in a way he could not explain. "Wake up, Merlin, Do you hear me, you …you listen to me, you idiot."
He would have given half his father's kingdom to hear his servant say, he was fine, just one more time. Merlin always said he was fine. The silence burned his heart, hope fraying at the edges of his reality.
"Please, Merlin," and the prince knew he stood on the brink of disaster, in the terrifying quiet between them.
Just one more time.
"