Merlin awoke to the sound of the creaking door being opened. He looked up through squinting eyes at the silhouette that regarded him. His eyes were squinting, not because of any light, for there was none in this godforsaken little cell, but because of the bruises that covered his face. Merlin slowly got to his knees, swaying as he looked up at his captor, even as the man knelt down next to him, regarding him almost as if he was a prize side of beef at the market.

"not sayin' nothing" Merlin said through ragged breaths. The man laughed at him.

"I must say, I really am impressed. Most servant's don't even last an hour under my… persuasive techniques, even those with magic fall within a day, or no more than two. You on the other hand, you're something of the find, the exception rather than the rule" the man said, his cultured voice whispering around the room.

"Glad t… to disappoint" Merlin told him. The man laughed then grabbed the back of Merlin's blood splotched hair before yanking it, and his head back.

"Don't think for one moment you can get the best of me boy. I have broken far better and nobler than you in the course of my career" he hissed into Merlin's ear. Merlin closed his eyes, waiting for the blow or kick he knew was coming. Instead the man, still clutching Merlin by the hair yanked him to his feet.

"Why are you so loyal to a King that treats you like dirt?" the man suddenly demanded.

"I doubt you understand that concept" Merlin replied through gritted teeth, wincing as the cuts on his lips split open again. The man laughed at him then and suddenly let go of Merlin, allowing him to drop to the floor like a marionette who's strings had been cut.

"You really think you can out last me?" asked the Man.

"I will die before I betray my King" Merlin told him. The man slowly knelt down again.

"And yet, your king has betrayed you Merlin" he said, almost gently. "The shadows whisper to me, the search is off, your King has abandoned you" he explained.

"Good, then he can get on with his life" Merlin replied.

"You are insufferable! You feel no malice towards him? At all?" he demanded.

"I feel no hatred towards anyone. Not even you" Merlin said. "Arthur was right to call off the search, it's what I would have done in his place" Merlin said. The man punched him around the face hard, opening a sore on his cheek.

"Oh you will learn to hate me, I promise you that" he said rising. Merlin, trembling looked up at him.

"Fear you, maybe, pity you, you already have my pity. But I will not hate you" Merlin told him. The man snarled and then kicked out, causing Merlin's already damaged ribs to protest even more. Merlin gasped and fell forwards, taking short breaths, fighting to remain conscious.

"As I said Merlin, you will learn to hate me" the man said before turning and leaving the dark cell.

Merlin remained leaning forwards for several moments, before the pain finally began to subside. It was blind pure stupid luck that the cuffs he had placed around Merlin's wrists were enchanted to be used on sorcerers and magic users, designed to effectively prevent any usage of magic. It made the transport of magic users a lot less dangerous, for while they were bound within these cuffs, they were, for all intents, normal people. Merlin looked at the intricate design that spiralled around them, realising that his wrists were probably the only part of his body that hadn't been beaten or cut in someway. Slowly he sat back up, attempting to take a deep breath, wincing at the very sharp pain he felt. Slowly he went over the days he had spent here, in this unknown place, with his captor his only company.


It had been a quiet enough morning, Merlin having got up a little earlier to collect some herbs for Gaius that the man had been running low on, and the fact was, Gaius hadn't been well the day before, and there was no way Merlin was going to let his friend and mentor have to go through the whole collecting of herbs in the chilly morning. So Merlin had picked up the basket and gone himself.

He remembered going down to the little stream that ran just southwest of the city, Gaius had taken him there several times to collect Belladonna, which was one of the herbs he was running low on. He'd been picking them, gently placing them in the basket just the way Gaius had shown him, soon finding himself absorbed in the process. So absorbed in fact that when the shadow fell across him he hadn't noticed at first. He'd dropped the basket and turned, only to see a flash of gold in the eyes of a brutal looking man before the world collapsed into darkness.


When he'd awoken it had been in this same cell. And the first thing he noticed was the cuffs around his wrists. He'd attempted to remove them with his magic, had in fact felt his magic rise up inside him only to suddenly die away. He's tried again, and then a third time with no success, and eventually tried the physical approach. Banging them on the walls, the floor, even the iron door, all it had gotten him was a bruised knuckle and cuffs that were none the worse off. Giving up on the cuffs for the moment he decided to take a mental note of his physical condition. There was a slight bruise on his left side, possibly from where he'd fallen, and he also realised that his Neckerchief was missing. The bright blue one Arthur had given to him months earlier. Merlin had never found out why Arthur had given him that, but still, he'd treasured it. It wasn't every servant who received gifts from their king. With a sigh he'd taken to exploring the tiny room. There was no window, and the only light that entered it was from the hallway outside through the small barred window in it, apart from that there was nothing, no bed, no bucket to relieve himself, not even a small mound of straw. The floor itself was tiled in smooth stone, cold to the touch, which drew Merlin's attention to his bare feet. Why his captor, or captors had taken hi shoes was a mystery. They weren't exactly the height of fashion.

He'd turned his attention to the door then. Pulling it withal his might, of course it did not budge, either locked with a key or magically Merlin didn't know, but to be honest, looking at the rust on it, he had a good idea it was being held closed with magic. So finally he had settled himself down on the floor, leaning up against the wall and waited. There was nothing else to do. He lost count of the hours he'd waited there until finally the door had opened and the man from earlier had walked in. He regarded Merlin with a small amount of interest.

"You're awake I see" he said as he stepped into the small room.

"And you're a master of observation I see" Merlin countered, feeling his anger rising ever so slightly.

"Ahh, so I was right. You are the Kings servant then" the man stated.

"The king? Are you serious?" Merlin asked.

"Don't play games Merlin, if anything is a famous as your beloved Arthur, it is the… rapport you share with him. How many servant's do you think could get away with the arrogance you seem to possess?" he asked. "That's probably why the people love you just as much as him" the man said.

"Who are you?" Merlin demanded.

"Who I am is not important, what I want however, well that is very important" he replied. "And you, Merlin, are going to tell me everything about your lord and master"

"I seriously doubt it" Merlin said with a chuckle, the man had reached forwards then and grabbed him roughly.

"Oh you'll speak Merlin, because believe me, I always get what I want, no matter what I have to do to get it" he had said.


The man had been true to his word, the beatings had begun that day, followed over the course of several days by more extravagant torture methods, whipping, and knives, among some of his more deadly methods. Merlin had not broke by the end of the first week. And had promptly been knocked unconscious again.


When Merlin awoke the second time, he found he had been stripped of his tunic and was hanging in another room, torches flickering on the walls. The man was sitting on a chair, regarding him, a cruel smile breaking his features.

"Welcome back Merlin" he said as he stood. Merlin found his gaze going over to a nearby table with an assortment of devices arrayed upon them. Some he knew from descriptions in books Gaius owned, other's he could hazard a guess at and still more he had no idea of. The man had chuckled and picked up a nasty looking device and turned towards Merlin. He'd approached him, allowing Merlin to see the sharp blade like protrusions from it.

"I call it Cat's paw" the man had said as he rubbed the leather part of it on Merlin's arm. "For like a cat it can be a soft, almost pleasurable creature" he said, then whipped the device around and raked it down Merlin's arm. Merlin had screamed as the blades drew blood. "Until it shows it's claws that is" the man had finished, turning away while Merlin had hissed in pain. Laughing the man had placed it back on the table, before he picked up a studded glove. The knuckles of the glove were studded. Slowly he'd put it on, then turned back to Merlin before punching him hard in the face. Merlin felt skin break, and was sure a tooth cracked.

"Now, Merlin. Why don't we have a chat?" he asked.

"Go to hell" Merlin had muttered.

"I was hoping you'd say that" the man had replied.


The beatings had continued almost daily from that point. Merlin had been unconscious for the majority of most days, and the fact he only ever saw either this cell or the torture chamber, he'd lost track of the days. He didn't even know if it was night or day. But that didn't matter to him. All that mattered was getting out. However Merlin was sure that day would not be today, as the rusty door opened again and the man stepped back in.

"Time to talk Merlin" he said. Merlin tried to back up even more, but it was no use. The man, laughing walked in and grabbed Merlin roughly by the arm before dragging his protesting body out of the cell.