I want to thank all of you for reviewing, favouriting and following my story! Yes, I said it would be just two parts. Unfortunately, Agravaine won't let me and he's holding me hostage until I write part three. –Shudders-
I promise, the reveal will come in the next part!
Just A Dream. Part Two
Warnings: Abusive!Agravaine, Whump!Morgana, Whump!Merlin, Reveal!Fic… Mergana.
Contains explicit abuse, somewhat explicit mature abuse scenes, dark cruelness… Psychological /mental abuse, physical abuse… But luckily also some cheesy humour that not every might understand!
If you've ever experienced sexual abusive, or any form of physical/psychological abuse in your life, I advise you against reading this, just in case! I'm not sure if this might bring back memories or trauma of abuse, for I've never experienced abuse myself. Thus I can't say what reading this might or will cause to those who have.
'You know what, Morgana? I'm sure Morgause never told you, but there's something… peculiar about your little bracelet,' Agravaine said. Merlin was standing parallel to them, invisible and silent as usual when Morgana was dreaming. Morgana was once again tied to the wall, but this time much lower, so that she was forced to sit. Her bindings limited her greatly: she couldn't get up, she could hardly move her feet to find a more comfortable position and she couldn't move an inch forward, or to the sides.
She gazed up at him with pure fear and agony in her eyes and Merlin could only just in time tear his gaze away from her to find that Agravaine had stopped pacing. The man, Arthur's ill-made uncle, was facing the bound witch with a perverted grin on his face. His eyes sparkled in cruel delight that made Merlin sick to his stomach. He wanted so badly to grasp the man at his neck and rip his head off, that his hands and fingers itched. The intense feelings of wanting to hurt someone so cruelly surprised him, but he didn't brush them off.
'You see, Morgause didn't know for sure that you would stay on her side. So she put an enchantment on your healing bracelet.' Agravaine continued, while Morgana scowled at him and followed his every move with her eyes. To Merlin's discomfort, Morgana wasn't clothed. Her gaze was cold and somewhat lifeless, just a shadow of the powerful witch that she'd once been. He failed to understand why she didn't use her magic to free herself.
'Yes,' Morgana spat, one of the rare moments when she actually seemed to fight back, even if just verbally. 'It blocks my dreams.' she said triumphantly while she glared at the man who'd held her captive for God knows how long. Agravaine laughed, a cruel, bellowing laugh that caused goose bumps on Merlin's skin and shook his head slowly, tauntingly.
'No, my sweet, defenceless Morgana. It's true that the bracelet blocks your dreams, but it also does something… extra. It's enchanted to intensify the darkness that spirals within you. And every time you use magic, or someone uses magic on you, it would be loaded and become stronger. Piling up its power until all that was left of you would be darkness.' the man, his tone cruel and low. Dangerous.
Merlin and Morgana gasped simultaneously. Morgana shook her head and tears rolled down her cheeks, leaving wet streaks on her bare skin. 'And you know what activated it, Morgana?' Agravaine whispered lowly, while he kneeled dangerously close to her still form. 'Hemlock, Morgana. The poison did the trick.' She began sobbing, clearly deprived of all hopes of ever escaping. Merlin staggered backward, all air knocked out of his lungs by the invisible force of shock.
'No,' he whispered slowly, more to himself than to the occupants of the room. He shook his head, trying to grasp it, to wrap his mind around it, but his brain just wouldn't obey and his heart was one big mess. He'd caused this. He'd caused Morgana to go evil. His hands tightened into fists, so tightly that his nails cut into the soft flesh of his hand palms. He blinked the tears away and straightened himself. 'I'm going to fix this.' he said to no-one in particular, more to convince himself than to make a point.
He wanted to wake up, so that he could get on his way. He had to get to Morgana as quickly as possible. Even if Agravaine wasn't alive, even if Morgana was all right in her hovel, he had to remove that bracelet. It didn't matter how far he had to go to do it, for Arthur would come to accept magic without him. He'd played his part in destiny.
'Even Emrys can't save you now.'
Merlin gasped and shot up in his sleeping bag. He blinked and tears that had yet to spilled slowly crept from the corners of his eyes to his cheeks, they fell on the ground and disappeared. The warlock stubbornly wiped the tears away, but more just kept coming. It was like an endless waterfall.
When the tears finally stopped, Merlin looked around. Nothing had moved in the forest that surrounded him, apart from some night creatures and leaves. He hadn't come across any bandits or thieves on his journey. Nor had he seen any druid camps. When he'd been an hour from Camelot, he'd already convinced himself that seeking out Morgana would be pointless.
Even if he would find her, she hated him and desired nothing more than Arthur's head presented to her on a silver platter. But now, after this dream, now that he knew the truth, he knew that it wasn't pointless. It was everything but pointless. Agravaine knew who he was and it wouldn't be long before something bad would happen.
Merlin didn't know what Agravaine was capable of if Morgana wouldn't give in. What if he killed her, poisoned her slowly, burned down the entire hovel with her shackled inside it? He would never forgive himself if he would be too late to rescue her, or if he hadn't searched for her at all. The warlock took a deep breath and tried to calm his trembling body.
Morgana's mere whinnied, affected by Merlin's distress. He got up and stroked her neck, desperate to comfort at least one of them. He ended up burying his head in her neck, his breathing coming in painful gasps, trembling all over. She cavorted, standing up on her hind legs and whinnying like there was a fire blazing around her.
Arthur's ex-manservant quickly tugged the reigns, but before she calmed down, something flew out of one of the saddle bags. Merlin could see that it was translucent, even without more than the moonlight as a source of light and how it soared through the air in a wide bow, landing in the bushes not far away from them.
Thorn bushes, great. Merlin thought, but he knew that he couldn't leave it here, whatever it had been. It had come out of the bag that Gaius had stuffed with magical objects, so it had to be of great importance. After fighting with the thorn bushes, bringing him more than a few scratches, Merlin had finally found the object. He'd thought that it would've been broken, soaring through the air and hitting the ground like that, but it was intact.
He sat on his knees while he brushed the dust and earth off it and his heart sped up when he saw that it was the Crystal of Neathid. He could use it to see the future! The warlock gazed into in intensively, but all that it brought him were visions of what had been and not of what was yet to come. The crystal forced him to re-live his last encounter with Agravaine, how he'd felt his magic soar through him when he'd used it to end his life. He re-lived poisoning Morgana, forced to feel all of his doubts and the hurt of his betrayal yet again.
The crystal slipped through his numb fingers and Merlin gasped, feeling chilled to the bone. Why, why was the crystal showing him this? He tried to pick it up without looking at it, but as soon as his fingers touched it, his gaze was forced into the crystal's way. He re-lived his conversation with the Cailleach.
Your time among men isn't over yet, Emrys, even if you want it to be.
Merlin gasped and tore his gaze from the crystal once again. Even though his fingers were numb and his body was chilled to the bone, he lifted his arm and threw the crystal away, watching it sink in the nearby creek. He trembled and couldn't keep his teeth from clattering. For some reason using the crystal made him feel cold, lost and alone.
He sat in silence for a few minutes, struggling to compose himself and to regain control over his emotions. Finally, he reminded himself why he'd left and where he was going. He got up and walked over to the mere on unsteady legs, almost falling over and barely able to catch himself before he would collide with the ground.
He grasped the saddle for support and leaned forward, toward the mere's twitching ear. 'We're going to get Morgana.' he whispered into her white, pointed ear. It twitched and the mere whinnied softly and shook her manes. 'I don't know if you remember her, but I'm going to rescue her.' he decided stubbornly. Now I'm talking to a horse. Merlin thought mockingly to himself, raising his eyebrows.
Shaking it off, Merlin climbed in the saddle and kicked the mere's flanks a little too hard. He cringed when the horse wailed. She galloped away at full speed and Merlin clung to her manes to prevent himself from slipping off the saddle. The wind lashed at him and Merlin cowered and buried his head in the mere's neck, trying to use her as a shield.
They weren't very far away from Morgana's hovel.
When Merlin had decided against searching her, only a few hours ago, he'd decided to go to Ealdor. He'd turned around, going to the south instead of the east, were Morgana's hovel was positioned. Now he directed the horse toward the east again, not even struggling to keep her under control. He remembered how he'd seen, in the Crystal of Neathid, that the horse had pranced when Morgana had tried to get on her back.
It took him only three hours to reach the small clearing and he could already see the heavy stones of her hovel. Merlin swallowed heavily and felt the contents of his stomach moving upward. He swallowed again and drank some water, hoping that he wouldn't get sicker. He tied the mere's reigns to a low-hanging branch, hoping that he would return with Morgana quickly.
If Morgana was fine and didn't want to come back with him, then there would be nothing that he could do against it. He wasn't going to force her, but he did want to take the bracelet. He would take it far away from her - bury it, throw it into a lake, fling it off a cliff - if it wasn't in his power to destroy it.
He took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders and held his chin high as he almost marched toward the hovel. Just in front of the door, Merlin leaned his head against the door and stayed completely silent as he listened. He couldn't hear anything. He was about to step back and leave when he heard a strangled sob. Or at least he thought that was what he'd heard.
He took a few steps back and was about to kick the door out of his hinges – it didn't look very strong, nor heavy – when he considered something that had been in his mind for a while now. What if this was simply a trap, set up by Morgana to kill him? Merlin shook his head and chased the doubts away. Even Morgana wouldn't torture her mortal enemy with these cruel dreams.
Instead of destroying the door, Merlin decided that he should try to open it, first. He pulled and nothing happened. A strange feeling of resistance swelled against his skin and Merlin realized that he couldn't open the door on a normal way. He felt hesitant about using his magic, because whoever was in there, would know immediately that he had magic.
Merlin sighed and braced himself. He stretched out his hand, palm facing the door and focused. He closed his eyes, sent a quick prayer to whoever was listening and felt the magic rushing through his body. It exited through the palm of his hand and hardly showed any visible signs. When he tried the door again, it opened smoothly, without any of the resistance that had hung around him seconds ago.
What he saw inside the hovel, wasn't what he'd been expecting. He'd expected Agravaine to be present, so that he would've had to fight the ill-made man in order to save Morgana. He'd expected Morgana, waiting for him with a wide, cruel smirk on her face, ready to strike. The little part of the inside of the hovel that stretched out in front of him, was a table, a window and the thing that Morgana had tied him to when she'd captured him so long ago.
'Morgana?' Merlin called out softly, his voice uncertain. He walked inside, his senses on full alert, ready for any sign of traps. He heard a gasp and whirled around. There she was, her limbs tied to the corners of her bed. Naked. Her back was on the bed and her legs faced him. Because she was tied, they were spread. Merlin gulped and looked away. Not that he could've seen anything through the blood that had stained her.
Perhaps if he'd seen her naked in another situation, anything but this situation, he would've felt aroused and his body might've even reacted to the sight of her beautiful pale skin and her raven-black hair. But now his stomach seemed to lurch forward, ready to empty itself. Merlin paled and swallowed heavily.
'Merlin!' she gasped in disbelief. For a second Merlin could see the pure relief in her eyes and on her expression. Then her eyes darkened and she scowled at him. 'No,' she said icily. 'This isn't real. You're just an illusion. Agravaine is somewhere near laughing at my hope, waiting to crush it.' she said softly while she shook her head. A tear slipped out of her eye and trailed over her cheek.
He shook his head and ran to her side. 'No, Morgana, it's really me. Merlin. I'm going to get you out of here.' he urged her. When he stretched out his hand to untie the rope that kept her bound to the bed, she bit in the flesh. Merlin gasped and wrenched his hand out of her mouth. Morgana stared at him, her face pale and evident fear in her eyes.
'Please Morgana, I just want to untie you…' Merlin begged desperately. Morgana's eyes widened and Merlin slowly stretched out his hand again. He fumbled with the double and sometimes triple knots, but finally managed to untangle all of them. He breathed out in relief when the colour returned in her hands and feet, whoever had tied the knots clearly didn't care if they cut off the blood circulation or not.
'Come on, I'll get you out of here.' he whispered after she'd wrapped the sheet that she'd been laying on around her naked body. Even though she seemed hesitant, she didn't jerk back when Merlin reached out to her to take her into his arms. She gasped and Merlin froze, thinking that he'd startled her. 'Merlin, look out!' she yelled and before Merlin could even understand that they were in danger, he felt something heavy hit his head and spiralled into a world of endless darkness.
x.X.x JUST A DREAM x.X.x
He woke up with his back strained against a wooden beam. Merlin blinked groggily to clear his vision and tried to remember how he'd ended up where he was now. When he looked around, he remembered how he'd untied Morgana and how something – someone – had hit him on the back of his head.
Seconds later he saw Morgana, tied to another wooden beam not far away from him. She wasn't naked anymore – whoever had knocked him out had apparently thrown a black cloak over her naked form – but she had bruises on her skin and her lips were swollen and purple with bruises. Her eyes were red and puffed up, they were filled with tears when his blue eyes met her pale green eyes.
'Whuthappnd?' Merlin asked, his head hurt and he was barely able to form words correctly. He tried to focus on one thing, anything, but his head hurt too much and the thoughts spun freely through his head, causing his headache to get much worse. 'He knocked you out.' she whispered and Merlin could barely hear her as he pulled at the ropes that kept his hands bound together.
They were tied behind his back, so tightly that they began to tingle. It cut into his flesh and Merlin winced at the pain, combined with his headache. Stars danced in his vision and Merlin slumped against the beam, searching for support. 'Who?' he asked, fearing that he already knew the answer.
Morgana swallowed and blinked away the tears that were in her eyes. She looked down at her lap and Merlin pulled at the ropes again, only to feel the stinging pain around his wrists again. 'Agravaine.' she said softly. He could hear the fear in her voice, no longer hidden. She hung her head and Merlin stared at her.
He swallowed softly and cleared his throat, which felt dry and uncomfortably. 'But… Agravaine is dead.' he said slowly, wishing and praying that this was just one of his nightmares, that he would wake up in his bed in Camelot. 'I killed him.' he said awe-struck.
Morgana's head shot up and she stared at him bewildered. 'Looks like you didn't do a good job.' she said after a few seconds of silence. Merlin let out a strangled laugh, a humourless, hopeless laugh and shook his head. 'You're right. I suck.' he said, in a lame attempt to cheer her up.
The corners of her lips curled up just a little bit, but Merlin saw it. He sighed and looked around the room. Everything that was sharp, pointed or could other wisely be used as a weapon was far out of his reach. He brought his attention back to Morgana, who was eyeing him warily.
'Where did he go?' Merlin asked, shuffling around a few inches, trying to find a more comfortable position. Morgana shrugged and averted her eyes. Her hair was tangled together, dirty and in a bad condition. The bruises on her face and neckline, the only parts of her body that were visible to him, concerned Merlin greatly. What bruises and wounds, either physically or emotionally, did the cloak hide?
'I have no idea.' Morgana spoke with resentment. Her eyes were fixed on him and for the first time, Merlin glimpsed a part of the old Morgana deep within her somewhere. 'He usually stays away for two or three days. I suppose that he's searching for something new to torture me with.' she said. She didn't sound afraid, or resentful. Her voice sounded lifeless, stripped of all emotions, when she spoke about the torture.
Merlin breathed in deeply and already regretted what he was about to ask her. 'How long?' he managed to bring out on a strangled tone. Morgana stared at him, no understanding in her eyes whatsoever. He realized that she didn't understand what he was talking about and cleared his throat, shuffling over the hard floor uneasily. 'How long has he… been doing this to you?' Merlin asked uneasily.
'Oh.' Morgana breathed in understanding. She rested her chin on her legs, that were pulled up against the rest of her body. 'Three, maybe four.' she muttered, staring off into the distance as if she wasn't really there. Merlin frowned and tried to wrap his head around it. Days, weeks, months? … Years?
When I get my hands on Agravaine, he's going to wish that he was never born… or resurrected… or something. Merlin thought lamely, barely being able to form full sentences with his hurt head. Merlin sighed and pulled his knees up, resting his head on them just like Morgana did. He tried to silently use magic, but he felt nothing. He didn't feel the rush of power going through his body and soaring out like a flowing river. He didn't even feel something stir inside him.
He leaned his head against the wall again, perhaps if he held it high and straight, it wouldn't hurt so much. 'Haven't you tried to use magic?' Merlin asked, after a bit of hesitation. Morgana's head snapped his way and glared at him. Merlin cringed and wished that he'd kept his mouth shut.
'My magic hasn't worked for four years. It's just gone, Merlin.' she sneered at him. But he could see that she was just concealing her hurt and sorrow with anger and not soon after he'd noticed this, her shoulder started shaking and he watched her sob. 'Shhh…' Merlin whispered soothingly, but the effect was lost because he couldn't get near to her, to hold her comfortingly.
'It wouldn't matter if it did work, anyway. The ropes neutralize magic.' Morgana stated, once again she sounded deprived of all hope that she was ever going to get out of here. Merlin felt tears welling up in his eyes, he blinked them away and felt them rolling down his cheeks. It was officially over. Without his magic, he wouldn't be able to defeat Agravaine. He wouldn't be able to untie Morgana and release her, even if that would mean that he would be killed. There was nothing that he could do.
x.X.x JUST A DREAM x.X.x
Three days had passed. Agravaine had returned a day ago, forcing Merlin to watch while he tortured her. He'd kept using some kind of a spell, just one word, that slipped out of Merlin's mind every time he tried to grasp it. Though Agravaine's eyes had flashed golden and Morgana had writhed in pain, it hadn't caused any visible damage.
She would keep on choking out: 'Burning… inside!' and not long after that she would lose consciousness. Then Agravaine would do the same on Merlin, who lasted longer than Morgana, but was damaged more because of the length of the torture. They were tortured at least four times a day, sometimes even going to as much as eight, but Merlin was determined to not let Agravaine win.
Every time, he felt a little part of his magic slipping away from his grasp. He began feeling colder and colder inside, as if he were slowly freezing to death. He watched Morgana, who was still unconscious from their last tortures and resisted the urge to wake her. She needed the sleep and he rested against the wooden beam behind him, even though he kept a close eye on her breathing.
Agravaine had gone off now and Merlin was thankful for the respite. He gazed up at the ceiling silently and pondered about ways to get out of here. He couldn't think of any. All that he could hope was that Arthur would change his mind and search for him. But why would the king search for him in Morgana's hovel? Merlin sighed and blinked away the tears that were yet again filling up his eyes.
The pain he felt was almost physical. It resembled the pain that Agravaine caused with his spell: a feeling like someone was slowly pulling your insides out with a dull blade that had been lighted on fire. Merlin gasped and more tears followed the previous ones. He was going to die here, he knew that and there was nothing that he could do about it. He'd given Morgana hope and now her hope would be crushed.
In the times that Agravaine was gone, collecting suspicious looking herbs and other things, Merlin and Morgana had shared brief conversations, interrupted by tears, gasps of hopelessness and the residue pain of their torture. All that Merlin could understand from the things that Morgana had stammered, was that she'd never meant for this to happen. What "this" was, Merlin couldn't be sure. It could mean everything that had happened over the course of years, when she'd attacked Camelot, or him being held captive by Agravaine.
More tears leaked out of his eyes and Merlin didn't bother to blink anymore, knowing that he couldn't stop crying anyway. Maybe he would never stop.
'Don't cry, please…' Morgana whispered softly, her voice filled with concern, genuine concern. Merlin chuckled humourlessly and blinked. He wished that he could reach out to her, to hold her hand, to hold her. He wanted to protect her from not only Agravaine, but from all bad things from the world. Too bad that I can't even get her out of her own hovel. Merlin thought to himself sarcastically. He glanced at Morgana and judging by the way she looked at him, she felt the same way.
'I'm sorry.' Merlin apologized softly. Morgana shook her head and opened her mouth, obviously to protest. 'No,' Merlin quickly said. 'I wanted to free you and I screwed up. And now I can't even get my hands out of these stupid magical ropes.' he said resentfully. He hadn't told Morgana about his magic, even though he wanted to. God, how badly did he want to confide in her! But it would only spark hope, hope that would be crushed, so Merlin remained silent about his secret.
Morgana sighed and wriggled around, trying to move her hands, but they wouldn't budge even an inch. Her robe, that had been wrapped around her clumsily, slipped off and revealed a curved, pale leg. Merlin blushed and averted his eyes. Regardless of the situation that they were in, Merlin had begun feeling… strange, about Morgana.
'I'm so very sorry for poisoning you, Morgana. I would give anything to reverse it, even my life.' Merlin mumbled, more to himself than to her. He glanced at her uncertainly and was greeted by a compassionate and forgiving expression. 'It's all right, Merlin. I still don't understand why you did it, but you saved Camelot.'
She smiled at him hesitantly and he smiled back, eternally grateful that he'd been forgiven – for real this time. Then he realized what she'd said and stared at her. He swallowed, cleared his throat and licked his lips. The actions only made his throat hurt even more and his lips were dry and chipped.
'You don't understand? I don't understand why you used your magic in the first place.' Merlin said slowly, carefully. Even though Morgana's mood seemed stable right now, he knew that it could change in just a second. He wasn't angry with her anymore, he was just trying to understand her.
'What do you mean?' she asked, not angry, confused rather. Merlin stared at her while the seconds ticked away. It took him long enough to realize one thing and a bit longer to realize another thing. 'You didn't know…' he breathed softly. Guilt crashed down on him and his shoulders slumped even more. He stared down at his lap, completely still for just a second.
'Didn't know what? Merlin? Merlin!' Morgana urged when the warlock stayed frozen in his place. His face became even paler than it already was, making the circles under his eyes even darker. His eyes seemed lifeless, it was as if he wasn't really there at all. Finally, he swallowed and looked back up, barely daring to look into her eyes. 'You… you were the vessel. To the enchantment. To put everyone to sleep.'
He'd explained it in a few sentences, but it was more than enough to make Morgana cry and sob again. Merlin looked at her worriedly, hearing how she kept on whispering "No" over and over again. He was afraid that she was in shock and feared that she would stay in shock. Morgana shook her head and looked up at him.
'I thought…' Merlin began hesitantly, his voice hoarse. He swallowed and licked his lips. 'I thought that you'd used your magic against us.' he fought against the tears and pushed back the various emotions that fought for dominance within him. 'You… You had to die. So that the enchantment would be broken.' he whispered softly, averting his gaze in shame.
How could he have thought that she would choose darkness over Camelot? Surely, she had eventually chosen darkness, but that after a year with Morgause. Not to forget the enchanted bracelet that was still around her wrist. Morgana followed his gaze to her bracelet and laughed humourlessly.
'Morgause enchanted the bracelet. Every time it comes in contact with magic, it's loaded. To keep me evil.' she explained. Merlin nodded, for he already knew that and creased his brow. 'Agravaine used magic against you. Doesn't that mean…?' Merlin asked hesitantly, leaving the sentence half-finished in fear of her answer.
Morgana nodded. 'It's loaded. It must be a million times stronger than before Agravaine captured me. Don't worry,' she reassured him when Merlin's eyes became as wide as platters. A quivering smile appeared on her face. 'As long as I can't use my magic, it won't do anything.' Merlin nodded and feared the day that her magic would return. If it would return at all.
Her smile faded and her gaze became solemn, sorrowful. 'But if you'd just explained it to me, Merlin… You wouldn't have had to poison me. I would've taken it myself.' she said sadly. Merlin forced the tears that were in his eyes away and nodded. If he'd known that she'd become the vessel without consent, he wouldn't have poisoned her. He would've taken her far away from Camelot. If that hadn't worked, he was sure that he would've found another way, or at least died trying to find it.
They smiled at each other and Merlin opened his mouth to say something. He would've never thought that he would say it to Morgana, but he was just about to. Then, the door opened and Agravaine stepped into the hovel. Merlin bit his tongue and squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to swallow back the words.
Agravaine smirked at them and Merlin narrowed his eyes at the cruel man. He couldn't believe that this was Uther's brother – at least he guessed that it was Uther's brother, since Ygraine's brother had been killed by Uther himself – but on the other hand, Agravaine possessed the same cruelty as Uther had. 'Look what I found!' Agravaine said fake-cheerfully while he held up his hand.
Merlin felt all colours leave his face when he saw the metal poker that Agravaine held in his hand. There was no doubt about it where it would be used for. Agravaine's cruel smirk widened when he saw Merlin's expression. Merlin dared to glance at Morgana, who looked just as sick as Merlin felt. Agravaine started a fire in the fireplace with a gesture and laid the poker into it.
The crackling sound of the fire sickened Merlin and he fought against the impulse to wriggle against the ropes. He knew that it was no use. He stared at Morgana and she stared back and the understanding that had blossomed between them deepened even more. "You're going to be fine." Merlin mouthed to her, a silent promise that he wasn't sure he could keep. Morgana shook her head, probably assuming what Merlin would do to protect her.
In the half hour that it took for the poker to heat up, Agravaine tied Morgana to the bed and forced Merlin to watch how he raped her. He thrust his manhood into her time after time, not being gentle at all. If Merlin did even as much as averting his gaze, Agravaine would carve in Morgana's bare breasts with a small dagger.
Merlin's stomach lurched upward when he accidently averted his gaze for the third time. Agravaine grinned while he drove the dagger slightly deeper into Morgana's right breast. Morgana gasped, but kept her lips firmly together, determined not to scream or plead. Merlin forced himself to watch and flinched when Agravaine dug his nails into Morgana's breasts.
Morgana arched her back, in an attempt to move higher so that she could escape the pain. Agravaine pushed her back on the bed and slammed his knee between her legs. Morgana cried out through her lips and Merlin winced, wishing that he could use his magic so that he could scrape Agravaine's insides out of his stomach, slowly, agonizingly slowly.
The intensity of his hatred surprised Merlin. He could easily cross over the edge of light and darkness to brutally murder Agravaine. He wished that he could let him go through the same pain as he was causing Morgana. But as long as his hands were bound, he couldn't do anything. He tugged at the ropes again and Agravaine smirked wolf-like when he saw it.
The ropes didn't give away an inch. Agravaine replaced his knee with his manhood and poised it just in front of Morgana's core. 'Do you like watching, Merlin?' Agravaine asked tauntingly. Merlin let the air in his lungs escape through his teeth. 'Yes.' he replied hoarsely and emotionless.
'Do you like it when I do this?' Agravaine asked, while he thrust his manhood into Morgana's core so harshly that Merlin saw blood trickling onto the inside of her thighs. Merlin licked his lips and forced himself to reply. 'Yes.'
They'd been through this game a few times before. Whenever Merlin didn't watch or reply with a positive answer, Agravaine would inflict pain on Morgana. It hurt him to say it, it hurt him that Morgana was there to hear it, but he didn't want her to get any more hurt than she already was.
'And would you like to do this yourself?' Agravaine asked while he took one of Morgana's nipples between his fingers and squeezed hard enough to make her wail. He grinned darkly at her and squeezed again and again, all while he kept on thrusting himself inside her time after time.
'Yes.' Merlin replied, hearing how his voice started to break. He forced himself to keep looking and he balled his fists. How he'd love to strangle Agravaine with his bare hands, with Morgana watching, knowing that he was doing it for her and not for himself.
'Very well then. I know what game we'll play next time.' Agravaine said before he untied Morgana. She cried when her feet touched the ground and almost collapsed, when Agravaine roughly kept her up on her feet. He tied her to the beam again, while she was still naked and covered in blood and tied the ropes too tightly. 'Now…' Agravaine told them with a cruel smirk.
He took the hot poker out of the fire and blew at it, causing the metal to turn from bright white to bright yellow. Merlin saw Morgana wince and he tried not to look at the places where the old burn marks had been on her skin. Agravaine had always healed them, or at least the marks, when he was done. Merlin, however, was covered in burn marks, some were infected, because Agravaine just pierced straight through his clothes.
Merlin shuddered and wriggled with the ropes when Agravaine walked toward Morgana. He pointed the poker at her and just when he wanted to bring it down, Merlin yelled: 'No!' Agravaine leaned back and watched Merlin curiously. Morgana protested, but he ignored her. He raised his eyebrows. 'Yes, Merlin?' he asked heartlessly.
'I'll take her pain!' Merlin said quickly, before his fear could get the best of him. Agravaine smirked wolf-like and nodded. 'So be it.' he said solemnly while he advanced on Merlin. The hot poker burned through Merlin's shirt and burned his skin. Merlin couldn't keep his lips together and screamed, his scream echoing through the hovel.
The second time, Agravaine used that spell again and Merlin wriggled around. He didn't have any breath left to scream and just wailed whenever the poker hit him. He subconsciously tugged at the ropes and even though he was blinded by the pain, realized something. They were moving. Instead of cutting through his skin, the ropes rubbed over his wrists, causing them to burn slightly.
After twenty more times of being stuck with the poker, combined with the spell, Merlin was almost unconscious, but he'd figured it out. The ropes neutralized magic, when it came from the one they bound. When it came from an outer source, the ropes had to put up a resistance. A resistance that was slowly destroying them.
It had taken them three days to get this loose and he could only move his wrists a few inches. How long would it take before they were loose enough so that he could free himself? Merlin feared that he wouldn't live long enough to see that day. Agravaine left, leaving Merlin heavily wounded and Morgana sobbing softly.
'My hands are going numb.' Morgana sobbed. Merlin looked up and through blinding tears, he could see how they were turning a deep purple. He shook his head softly and closed his eyes. If Agravaine waited for two more days before coming back, Morgana would lose her hands. Merlin coughed and for a second he thought that he was going to cough up a lung.
'It's funny, you know.' he blabbered, barely conscious. Morgana watched him worriedly and opened her mouth when Merlin quickly continued. 'I was supposed to have a great destiny, help Arthur, blabla… the Cailleach told me herself. And look at me now. Trapped with the beautiful Lady Morgana, in her tiny little hovel, with Arthur's uncle torturing us. Life's really gentle on me!'
Merlin laughed stupidly at Morgana, his words slurring as if he was drunk. Morgana laughed back uncertainly, more so to play along than that she really found it funny. Her pale green eyes, widened with concern, were the last thing that Merlin saw before he felt like he was being dragged under water.
x.X.x JUST A DREAM x.X.x
'Merlin, wake up! Please! Oh God, please wake up!' Morgana's breaking voice dragged him back to consciousness. Merlin groaned and groggily opened his eyes. All he could see was a blur. He blinked a few times and even though his body ached all over, he managed to clear his vision.
'Thank the Gods!' Morgana breathed when he looked in her way. Merlin tried to smile reassuringly, but his head hurt too much. His stomach rumbled and he tried to laugh, causing the ache in his head to worsen. 'Ow!' he muttered when he leaned his head against the wood, still looking at Morgana with his eyes.
'Keep talking.' Merlin muttered tiredly, fighting to keep his eyes open. He feared that if he would close them, he would be closing them forever. Morgana blinked and opened her mouth. 'My hovel is not tiny.' she said firmly. This time, Merlin did laugh and winced at the pain that went through his chest.
'And I don't think that I'm beautiful anymore.' Morgana mumbled to herself. Merlin heard her and glanced at her in disbelief. 'Of course you're beautiful!' he protested loudly. Morgana smiled softly and Merlin realized that she'd only said it to get him talking.
Then his eyes widened. 'Oh God. Did I really call you beautiful?' he asked, faking horror in his voice. Morgana laughed, her eyes glimmering. 'Yes, you did. Who would've thought.' she teased. Merlin grinned, ignoring the pain that it caused.
'You're right. We could've drank each other's blood and look at us now.' he said with a smirk. Morgana smirked back and the two grinned at each other.
'What was that about having a great destiny?' Morgana asked curiously. He could see that she was genuinely curious, it wasn't just to keep him awake and talking. Merlin debated in his mind what he was going to tell and what he was going to keep a secret. Finally, he had his story.
'Well…' he said with a bit of hesitation. He cleared his throat and once again winced at the pain in his throat and chest. 'When I came to Camelot, someone told me that my destiny was to protect Arthur. Arthur and I couldn't stand each other at the time, so I accused them of being idiots, or that they were talking about another Arthur. I couldn't imagine protecting that arrogant prat.' Merlin said.
Morgana laughed and encouraged by this, Merlin kept talking, a bit of humour lacing his voice now and then. 'So I was made his manservant. Can you imagine? He forced me to hundred chores a day! But I did them all.' Merlin said proudly. Morgana laughed. 'Not arrogant at all. No, very modest.' Morgana teased. 'Hey!' Merlin yelled at her and she stuck out her tongue at him.
She batted her eyelashes at him, looking very innocent. Merlin admired her beauty, her strong form for a few seconds before he realized that she was looking at him expectantly. 'Right. Where was I? Oh, I became his manservant. I saved his ass many times, you know. You don't have to believe me, though.' Morgana rolled her eyes, but smiled at him.
Merlin got more serious and eyed her carefully. 'So then the veil was opened and we had to close it. I was going to sacrifice my life, before Arthur could sacrifice his life. But the Cailleach stopped me and told me…' Merlin squinted, pretending that he was trying to remember the exact words. The words had been burned into his memory, there was no way he would forget them.
'Oh, right. "Your time among men isn't over yet, even if you want it to be."' Merlin said, hesitating at some point. He'd left his druid name out of it, he didn't think that Morgana was ready for that yet. When he'd shown up in his disguise as an old man, Morgana had been scared to death. 'And then Lancelot sacrificed himself, instead of Arthur or me.' Merlin finished.
The silent And then you resurrected him and turned him against us. hung in the air, but neither of them said a word. Eventually, Morgana cleared her throat and shuffled with her feet. Merlin was leaning his head against the wooden beam again, pretending to look at the ceiling.
'Do you want to know what she told me?' Morgana asked hesitantly, calling Merlin's attention back to her. He nodded silently and watched her as she seemed to hesitate. Merlin smiled at her encouragingly, but when she spoke, he wished he hadn't.
'The one they call Emrys, he will be your destiny and he will be your doom.'