A/N: Just a quick little number I wrote a while ago and only recently rediscovered sitting on my hard drive. For those waiting for NCIS updates, I promise I'm working on the new chapter, but it's slow in coming and giving me more than a little bit of trouble. As usual, this has no beta, so all mistakes are my own. I also feel it is prudent to point out that some of the dialogue during the dungeon scene was pulled directly from the show. No copyright infringement is intended. That being said, enjoy this little whumpy alternate scene.
"I think you're lying."
"I'm not!"
"I don't believe you!" Halig leaned in, his breath hot on Merlin's face, and the young warlock flinched backward, squeezing his eyes shut as the chain links in the bounty hunter's hand clicked against one another. The man drew back his fist and Merlin closed his eyes, repeating to himself silently that no matter what happened he wouldn't allow Freya to be put back in that cage.
The blow snapped his head to the side, hot agony radiating from his jaw. Almost without pause the fist wrapped in heavy chain caught him across the face, splitting his lip. Merlin stoically remained silent, but tears of pain stung his eyes and blurred his vision.
Blow after blow rained down on him. Halig was thorough and cruel, pummeling every inch of Merlin he could reach. Finally he paused, breathing heavily and admiring his handiwork. Merlin sagged in the chair, only the guards' grip on his upper arms keeping him upright. Blood ran from his nose, split lip, and a gash that had opened above his left eye, which had already swollen shut. He was breathing in shallow pants, his teeth clenched and eyes crinkled in pain. Halig smiled. "Ready to talk?"
"I don't know what you want from m-me," Merlin gasped weakly. "I haven't seen the girl. I already told you." The sorcerer was beginning to see black spots in his vision, dancing at the edges, when approaching footsteps came from outside the room and Arthur rounded to corner.
The momentary look of shock on the Prince's face was quickly replaced with anger and he caught Halig's arm as the bounty hunter swung it back again. "Halig, what do you think you're doing?"
Halig turned, wrenching his arm from Arthur's grip, obviously unhappy with the interruption. "We caught the boy behaving suspiciously, Sire," he said by way of reply. "He could be harboring the girl, and he's gonna tell us where." He lifted his arm again but Arthur firmly grasped his forearm, stepping between his injured servant and the man who would continue to cause him harm.
Arthur was glaring daggers at Halig. "Leave him alone. Merlin is my servant. He has my absolute trust. If you have a problem with him, you come to me. Do you understand?"
There was a pause, and vaguely Merlin wondered if it would come down to a fight. But then his abdomen gave a particularly unpleasant twist of pain and he moaned, folding in on himself and forgetting about the other people in the room.
Finally Halig relented, slumping visibly despite the angry tension in his shoulders. "Sire," he spat, bowing half-heartedly to Arthur before turning toward Merlin. Leaning down, he let his face drift within inches of that of the serving boy. "Goodnight, Merlin. Don't forget your dinner."
Arthur watched closely as the bounty hunter straightened and whirled, storming out of the room. Once his footsteps and those of the guards had faded, he turned to Merlin, kneeling in front of his friend. "Merlin, are you all right?"
"Fine," came the sarcastic response, "absolutely peachy, thanks."
The prince rolled his eyes and carefully reached for Merlin's face, turning his head to one side and then the other as gently as he could. The split skin above his eye looked nasty and was still spilling blood over half the boy's face, but most of the wounds were superficial. He forced Merlin to let him feel for broken bones or signs of internal bleeding and found nothing that made him concerned. "You're lucky, Merlin. Halig would have killed you if I hadn't arrived when I did."
"My hero." Merlin spat blood from his mouth and then made to stand, swaying a little but keeping his feet.
Arthur hovered a few feet from his servant, ready to catch him if he fell. He rolled his eyes again at the comment. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."
Merlin sighed wincing as the smile that tried to grace his swollen face pulled at his split lip. "It's all right. Thanks for stopping him."
"Why did he think you knew where the girl was, Merlin?" The young man remained silent, glancing down, and Arthur caught sight of several sausages among the hay. "Are those my sausages?"
He didn't find out until years later that Merlin HAD, in fact, known where the girl was, although part of him had suspected as much all that time ago. It was one of the many things that Merlin had told him after revealing that biggest of secrets. And Arthur had keenly felt the guilt of being the one to kill the only woman Merlin had ever truly loved, despite Merlin's insistence that it wasn't his fault, he hadn't known.
One morning a year after the telling of that particular story, the King and his warlock rode out in the early morning. To hunt, Arthur had insisted, but Merlin had suspicions, and all too soon he recognized the route they took through the trees. The lake loomed into view just as the sun broke through the clouds canopy, bathing the water in a warm glow and setting it to sparkle like diamonds. Merlin climbed off his horse and waded into the clear, cool water, leaving Arthur standing on the shore.
The King of Camelot would later swear that he saw the face of a young woman in the water, smiling gently up at Merlin.
When the warlock came back to stand beside his king, he was smiling brightly despite the tear tracks on his face. He clapped Arthur briefly on the shoulder, wordless forgiveness and understanding passing between the two men on the shore of the lake before they both mounted their horses and rode for home.