Summary: Merlin is thrown off a cliff.
Missing The Ground (Part 1) by frostygossamer
Villainous Sir Badrot and his two beefy henchmen stood on the cliff edge, looking down on Prince Arthur and his knights at the cliff foot far below. One henchman held Merlin firmly by the leather collar secured around his neck. The other man gripped the upper arm of a beautiful country maiden in each enormous hand. Merlin stared ahead in stoic silence, the two girls whimpered pathetically.
Arthur glared up at Sir Badrot, daring him to make good his threat.
"Choose", Sir Badrot shouted at him. "Choose who will die. The boy or the women."
As he spoke, the two henchman dragged their prisoners nearer the edge. The poor girls screamed and sobbed. Merlin remained composed.
Down below, Arthur cursed. The cliff had proved impossible to scale and Sir Badrot's determination was deadly. What an invidious choice to have to make. And yet there was only one choice possible.
Firstly, the rules of chivalry demanded that the safety of any female, whether a lady, a lowly woman or even a mere girl, took priority over that of any man or boy.
Secondly, there were not one but two women at risk and only one boy, so the laws of common logic decreed that saving two lives would be better than saving one.
Thirdly, the two females were members of a large family, all of whom would miss them and be angered by their loss, whereas Merlin had only his mother to grieve, and she wasn't even a citizen of Camelot.
Much as it upset Arthur to lose his favourite servant, and almost friend, in this dastardly way, his choice was obvious. It was a decision anyone would have taken, and no one would have wanted to take.
Of course there was one factor that might have swung it in Merlin's favour, but it was a factor of which Arthur was still as yet unaware. Merlin was a sorcerer, a sorcerer of great power, and one who would be a huge asset to Camelot and its future. This factor would have quite reasonably outweighed all the rest, if only Arthur had known about it. But he didn't.
"I'm sorry, Merlin", he yelled. "I am truly sorry", and he lowered his eyes, as did all his knights, none of them wishing to see Merlin's poor skinny body hit the ground.
And thus none of them was actually looking when it happened.
End Of Part 1
