Uther Pendragon King of the UK and the Commonwealth was dying, he had had a massive heart attack and it was just a matter of time. He was led in a hospital bed, his son and daughter was by his side. Uther had been semiconscious since he had been found lying by his desk in Buckingham Palace. He opened his eyes and looked at his children and in a voice almost too quiet to hear spoke to them.
"Your brother"
"Merlin is dead father, he died years ago" Arthur said gently. Both children had had a difficult relationship with their father but now was not the time for that to make any difference. Merlin their brother had died when he was five years old. He had suffered a head injury when his mother and he were shot, Hunith, Uther second wife and Morgana and Merlin's mother, had died and Merlin had recovered, but suffered from epilepsy, a year later he had died from a seizure.
"No, he's alive, didn't want him to disgrace our name, it was wrong of me" Uther looked up at a disbelieving Prince Arthur. "You will be King soon….. look after you sister and brother" the King rested to catch his breath "You will be a great King….tell Merlin I'm sorry I know he hates me" after a long pause when neither Arthur or Morgana spoke unsure what their father was telling them Uther spoke one last time "Love you all, did show it, set Merlin free" with a shaking hand he tried to get something from his neck. Arthur realised it was a small key "Tell you everything" with that the king died.
Arthur and Morgana sat there string at each other in shock until eventually Morgana spoke "This is a cruel joke, tell me it's a cruel joke it can't be true"
Arthur shook himself "I think it was, we need to make sure" Arthur called the doctor in and his Police protection officer, who had waited outside the room to give the family privacy.
Arthur turned to the doctor and the Police protection officer "Can we please delay the announcement of the Kings death? My father told us something important that we need to investigate before his death become known. I'm sorry but I cannot disclose more."
The doctor looked at the new King "Of course your majesty, we would never announce it anyway that would be for the Palace to do."
Prince Arthur turned to his sister and offered her his arm "Would you come with me. I need to get this investigated"
Morgana nodded, as Arthur turned to his protection officer "Get me the Police Commissioner please tell him it's urgent I will meet him at Buckingham Palace, and can he contact the Prime Minister. Also we need some way to get back to the Palace without the reporters outside knowing."
The protection officer, Percy Strong, who had been with Arthur for several years nodded "Will do your Majesty"
Within minutes the two royals were leaving from the back of the hospital in an unmarked police car with the windows blacked out and on their way back to Buckingham Palace.
Arthur turned to Percy who he considered a trusted friend "I think you should know, as I suspect you will be with us for most of this, the Kings last words suggested that our brother Prince Merlin is still alive, but shut away, he didn't say where and we need to find him. I have no idea if he's by himself but I assume he must have someone with him as the King was often away. If this is true we need to make sure Prince Merlin is safe before the news gets out"
Percy looked as shocked as the other two "I'm sorry Sir but that sounds like something from a Dickens novel, surely he couldn't get away with that in this day and age." Percy added a further "Sir" and looked apologetic.
Morgana looked up "If anyone could Uther could, please god Merlin is alright, if it is true he has been shut away for sixteen years! That doesn't bare thinking about"
As the car swept into Buckingham Palace and round the back where the Royals could disembark without being seen they were met by further staff. Morgana's protection officer got out of the front of the car and joined them, like Percy, Lance had been with the Princess for years. Arthur went straight up to his father's office and with Morgana started to look through the desk for clues. They could find nothing other than official documents, which Arthur knew he would have to go through soon.
"I suspect anything will be in his private office at Windsor" Arthur concluded.
The phone rang and it was the Prime Minister he started by offering his condolences, Arthur cut him off and told him what his father had said "I don't want the Kings death announced until we have had chance to find my brother. If it is true he may be in danger if his guards think they are going to be held responsible"
"I agree, I will asked the hospital to say your father is stable for now" The PM agreed. "Is there anything I can do?"
Arthur said he was waiting to speak to the Police Commissioner "One of us will keep up you informed. But we need to keep a tight hold on this"
As soon as the Police Commissioner arrived Arthur held a meeting with him and Morgana. They were soon all on their way to Windsor Castle where Arthur started checking through his father private desk and safe. It was in the desk that he found the box that the key had been for. With shaking hands he opened it and took out the contents. The first thing he found was what appeared to be a very recent photograph, printed out on a copier. Arthur stared at it shaking. It was his brother as Arthur last remembered him a small child with a mop of unruly almost black hair and large cerulean eyes, Merlin had always been small for his age. He had the cheekiest grin that had always cheered Arthur up no matter what. Arthur placed the photo down reverently and went on to a series of dairies. Opening the oldest he started to read. The entire contents were about his youngest son and started from the day Merlin had his first seizure in public.
'I have never been so mortified, this is not the behaviour of a Pendragon, it's hard I know it's not his fault but I don't feel that this must be allowed to happen again' Arthur's gut clenched as he read it. No concern for his small son at all, just the Pendragon image.
Arthur flipped through to the date that Merlin had died the day after Merlin's fifth birthday, as he read longer entry his blood ran cold and he felt the blood drain from his face. 'Well it's done, no going back now, Merlin had a good time for his birthday yesterday and Arthur and Morgana will have good memories. Merlin cried as I told him he had to stay in the room that would be in his home from now on. His people have been carefully selected will ensure his is looked after and I will not have to fear another episode in public. He was a good boy before the shooting and I will not see him suffer' Arthur heard Morgana gasp as she read over his shoulder.
Before he handed the book over to the Commissioner he went forward to the day of the funeral. He would read every entry later 'A good send-off fit for a Pendragon, the children cried despite my warnings not to, but it seemed to touch to common people's hearts. The boy seems to be settling in, the men say he has leant to keep quiet. Who would think to look for him under their nose's. I always knew I would find a use for the rooms.'
Arthur handed the Commissioner the books "It's true, he actually did it! All this time we thought he was dead! And all the King was concerned about was the Pendragon image"
After the commissioner had read the entries he looked up at the two Royals "Your Majesties, someone needs to read these books through to gain any hits were your brother Prince Merlin is. For now I think your father's death remains unannounced, we have no idea who these carers are, or how they will react to hearing of his death."
Morgana looked up "I will start reading them now, I know all the residences well, if Arthur helps me we can hopefully gain some clues."
"Much as I hate to ask you I think you're right" the Commissioner replied "who else can you ask that you trust"
Arthur looked up, I'll get Percy to read them after us, and he knows the palaces well. It must be one of them, but which I don't know. How can you hide someone in plain sight for sixteen years?"
"I'm sorry your majesty it must be an awful shock to you both" the Commissioner stated. "I will contact the PM and update him, I will also arrange some people so when we find the Prince he has support. But I will stay here until you have some idea"
…..
Hidden away a young man was sitting at his desk staring at the card in his hands, the King had sent it to him the day before for his twenty first birthday along with the cake that he sent each year. All it made him think of was the birthday he had had before he was shut in this room, it was a vague memory now but one he had kept alive from one year to the next. He remembered his brother and sister playing with him and the presents. He knew from the cards he had put away that he had been in this same room for sixteen years.
Merlin stood up and walked over to the large chest on the floor, all he had left of his childhood, he had refused to let them take the chest away, it was his last real act of rebellion, he must have been ten at the time. The King had come in and told the others to let him keep it. Opening the lid he looked in at the teddy and the soft plush dragon and the knights on horseback and some other odds and ends. Picking up the worn teddy he cuddled it. It reminded him of the other person he half remembered his mother. He closed to lid and went to the book case and took out one of his favourite books to read once more. All his books had been read over and over again. Now of course he had a Kindle which had thousands of books on, but he preferred the touch of paper.
When he had been smaller he had had lessons with the same woman who cooked for him, she had taught his to read and write and do his sums. Once he knew that he taught himself by reading everything he could. After all what else did he have to do? Merlin had asked for a computer, once he had read about them but the King had said no. He was frightened that Merlin would reach out to the outside world. He hardly ever saw the King, who he knew was his father. Instead he had the woman called Catrina who cooked and cleaned, although he was expected to do most of the cleaning and he had learnt to cook as well, it killed the time, so except for collecting his dirty clothes she didn't need to do much now. There were six men that seemed to take it in turns to sit outside, when he was small they sat in the room with him and made sure he kept quiet but as he got older they stopped bothering him. He knew the boss was Agravaine, who he knew was a sort of Uncle, Valliant. Cenred, Odin, Helios and Beroun, then men he had worked out over the years had all been in the army together. The only other person he ever saw was his doctor a very strange man called Edwin Muirden, who had also been in the army with the others, He saw Merlin once a month and if ever he had a seizure . Merlin could actually go days without speaking a word to anyone.
His room was about twenty foot by twenty foot he also had a small kitchenette and a shower room with toilet. There were no windows just walls. He was thin and spindly, he had been told by the doctor to exercise as much as he could so had a list of exercises and an exercise bike that he used for an hour every day. He also took tablets, for his epilepsy and things like vitamin D which he found out he needed as he was getting no sun. As he got older he read about his diet and asked for fresh vegetables to try to keep well. It was a strange life but all he knew.
Merlin realised by looking at himself and the men that looked after him that he was weaker than most and they often called him weedy, he was also very pale skinned. Once several years ago he had got it in his head to try to get away. The attempt was a disaster, he had been stopped by Valiant, who had beat him black and blue laughing at him as he did so. He had also ended up with a broken arm which had meant he could do lots of the things for himself. The King had been very cross and had removed all his books for two weeks, he never tried again.
He had been given a radio just after that, but had to keep the volume down, he didn't mind that, the radio actually gave him voices to listen to and he loved to sing and as long as he kept his voice down so the men the other side of the door didn't hear they didn't mind.
It was after he got the radio that he found out he wasn't alone, there were other people out there who had seizures, he listened as these people told him he wasn't bad, something the King had always told him. The king had said that's why he had to stay in the room because he was a disgrace. It was then that he began to feel hatred towards his captors.
Then this very morning he heard that the King was ill and in hospital, he wondered what that would mean for him, but he was too frightened to ask. He knew from the news that his brother and sister were at his bedside and very upset. But Merlin wasn't he was just worried, then Cenred had come to see him and said if the King died then so would Merlin, as no one else cared enough to keep him alive, after all who else had visited him. That without the King paying for his food and care he would be left alone to die all alone in this room.
But Merlin had a small spark of hope, he had heard how nice his brother and sister was from the radio, surely they would allow him to live and perhaps even visit him sometimes.
