Chapter 2 – A Decision
Screams filled the air, stabbing through Arthur's ears, making his head throb blindingly within his skull, and making him want to push the heels of his hands into his eyes to block out the sights around him.
Merlin was lying on an old hospital bed, stretched out on a thin, lumpy mattress, his wrists strapped down beside his hips. His ankles were similarly restrained at the end of the bed, and a thick, brown leather strap stretched across his chest and the tops of his arms, holding him flat against the mattress.
Nurses and doctors surrounded the young man, all injecting him with thick, rusty syringes dispensing a watery, slightly yellow substance. Merlin was crying, sobbing and screaming all at the same time, trying and failing to struggle away from the multiple injections.
The sedatives, though, had no effect on the poor creature, and he continued to sob with broken, hitched little breaths, tears leaking down the sides of his face, his wide, tortured blue eyes seeking out Arthur's own, slightly lighter, blue orbs, trapping him in his pained, pleasing gaze.
"Arthur!" he begged, struggling against his restraints, his fingers stretched wide as he tried to reach out to the frozen, horrified prince. "Arthur! Please!"
"MERLIN!"
Arthur woke with a jolt, his screams piercing the air. The prince's expensive and luxurious silk pyjama bottoms and Egyptian cotton sheets were soaked with sweat, and tears were streaming down his face. He had scratched desperately and violently at his arms, chest and face during his nightmare, and his skin was marred with bloody scrapes.
The sound of footsteps rushing across the room dragged him harshly from the memories of his dream, and he looked up to see Gaius, the palace doctor, hurrying towards him from the door, a wet cloth clutched in his hand.
"Your Highness," Gaius said, wiping the sweat from the young prince's face with the cold flannel. "Are you alright? You have been screaming for quite some time."
"I'm fine." Arthur lied, trying to push the fussing hands away from his face. At Gaius's raised eyebrow, however, he added "It was just a dream."
"May I ask what it was about?" Gaius pressed, making it clear that this was in no way a request.
"It was nothing." Arthur replied, earning himself another infamous raised eyebrow from the physician. "Just somebody I met yesterday."
"Will you tell me who?" Gaius asked, an enquiry promptly ignored by the prince.
"What time is it?" Arthur asked instead, feeling around on his bedside table for his watch.
"Quarter past eight." Gaius responded, jumping back slightly when Arthur suddenly threw the duvet away from himself and jumped out of bed. "May I ask where you're going?" Gaius asked with slight exasperation as Arthur hurried towards his wardrobe, pulling out a pair of jeans and a plain blue t-shirt.
"No, you may not." Arthur replied as he hurriedly pulled off his sweaty pyjama bottoms and pulled some clean underwear.
Fifteen minutes later, Arthur opened the door to his black Audi TT and jumped into the driver's seat. He was wearing the jeans and blue t-shirt, with a plain red hoodie, which he had thrown on as fast as he could, without bothering to shower or wash before running past a stunned Gaius and out of his bedroom door.
The engine roared to life, and Arthur pulled on his seatbelt while already speeding through the open gates of Clarence House.
"I want to see Merlin." Arthur demanded, storming through the doors of Marshworth and slamming his hands down on the reception desk.
"Excuse me?" The receptionist said, her eyes raking over Arthur's attire. "And who are you?"
"I'm Prince Arthur." Arthur snapped, removing neither the baseball cap nor the hood which currently covered most of his face.
"You're Prince Arthur?" The receptionist sneered, smirking in amusement. "Sure. And I'm the Queen of Sheba."
"Well, Your Majesty," Arthur replied, finally removing his hat and hood. "Nice to meet you. Now, where the hell is Merlin?"
The receptionist's grey eyes widened comically, and she anxiously ran her hands over her brown, slightly greasy hair, which was tied back in a tight bun. After a moment, during which her mouth opened and closed gormlessly a number of times, she grabbed the phone from next to her and began barking frantically at whoever answered.
"Grant!" She shrieked, not even attempting to lower her voice. "Prince Arthur's here. He wants to see Emrys!" There was a brief hesitation. "No I'm not bloody kidding! Just get him ready, Grant, nice and safe. I'm bringing His Royal Highness straight to you."
She slammed the phone down before hastily standing up, straightening her skirt and fluttering her eyelashes in what, Arthur realised with a jolt of horror, could only be described as a flirtatious manner.
Arthur followed the receptionist down the corridor, forcing himself not to look through any of the tiny windows into the numerous cell-like bedrooms. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, but was actually little more than a couple of minutes, Arthur and his frantic escort stopped outside one of these rooms.
After the door had been opened, Arthur stepped into the room, his eyes widening at the sight in front of him.
Merlin was lying on the bed, staring silently out of the window opposite the door, his wrists and ankles strapped down tightly with thick leather restraints, just like, the prince realised with revulsion, in Arthur's dream. From where he stood by the door, Arthur could see that the skin beneath these leather straps had been rubbed raw.
"You." Arthur said, pinning the nearest nurse with his stormiest, most Uther-like glare. "Untie him, and then leave us alone."
There was a brief moment when all of the staff in the room stood, frozen, unsure of how to proceed. However, when Arthur barked "NOW!", there was a flurry of movement in which they all rushed forward together to release the small, skinny young man on the bed, and, barely a moment later, Arthur found himself alone with Merlin.
"Hey." He said quietly, stepping forward to where Merlin had yet to move from his position staring blankly out of the window. "You ok?"
Merlin turned his head slowly to look at Arthur, his brow slowly furrowing in confusion as he raised himself shakily into a sitting position. "What are you doing here?"
Arthur laughed hollowly, shaking his head. "I have no fucking idea." He responded honestly. "I just woke up and I had to come."
Merlin just nodded, as though Arthur had said nothing out of the ordinary, continuing to warily survey the blond. Both remained silent for a moment, simply watching each other quietly, before Arthur finally spoke.
"Merlin, how long have you been here?"
"Dunno." Merlin told him with a shrug. "I know it's been years. You just stop counting after a while."
"Ok." Arthur said, taking a deep breath. "Why are you here?"
"That's really none of your fucking business." Merlin replied without any hesitation.
"Ok, then." Arthur said, thinking. "Are you dangerous?"
"To other people?" Merlin asked. Arthur nodded, watching Merlin carefully, searching for any sign of dishonesty. "No." Merlin responded. "I've never hurt anybody, and I don't think I ever really wanted to."
"That's ok then." Arthur said with a sigh of relief. "That's good." He hesitated, pushing his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans. "Look," he continued. "I'll be coming back. I promise." Merlin nodded, still cautiously watching the prince. "Just hold on for me, and everything'll be fine."
Merlin nodded again, and Arthur waited one brief moment longer, staring intently into the other man's deep, slightly cared, blue eyes, before stepping backwards out of the room with a nod and a small, brief smile.
