Chapter 2: Why Didn't You?

Arthur scurried into his chambers, pleading that his father would not be waiting for him. Oh this was bad, very bad! He just let a sorcerer go free! What was he thinking? It was an enemy and yet…he felt sorry for the boy.

"Arthur." The prince froze, glancing towards the chair by the glowing fireplace in his room. In the chair sat a man with greying hair and dark eyes. A crown sat atop his head and Arthur quickly bowed his head.

"Father. I…I didn't know…"

"Stop stuttering, Arthur," the old king spat, keeping his eyes on the blazing fire. Arthur wished he didn't. The fire only seemed to make his father's eyes glow with even more hatred. "If you want to be the future king you must be direct and confident." Arthur bowed his head again, apologizing. The room grew dead silent once again and Arthur was just wondering what to say next when his father suddenly spoke. "I've signed you up for the Sorcerer Killing Academy. You will become a great protector of Camelot, kill your first sorcerer, and prove yourself to me or I will disown you as my son and you shall lose your title as prince.

"Father I…" Arthur trailed off, shaking his head to himself. There was no arguing. It had to be done, even if he couldn't kill a sorcerer. "I understand. Thank you, Father," Arthur continued. With that his father got up from his seat and strolled towards the door.

"Do not disappoint me, Arthur," the king ordered before slamming the door and leaving Arthur alone with the crackling fire. The young prince collapsed on his bed, burying his face in his pillow. Great, he was going to be killed by a sorcerer anyway.

The next morning Arthur stood in the training hall with several other students. They were called, Lancelot, Gwaine, Percival, Elyon, and Leon. Arthur had seen them all many times before outside his window during the battles with sorcerers. They were all fierce fighters and Arthur suddenly felt insecurity run up and down his skin. These men were far more skilled than he and they all have experience. What experience did Arthur have other than shooting down a sorcerer and then failing to kill it?

"Welcome to Sorcerer training!" a familiar voice hummed from the doors. An old man Arthur recognized as the kingdom's physician and trainer stalked into the room. "My name is Gaius and I shall teach you how to slay sorcerers."

"Already done that, mate," Gwaine muttered under his breath. A few chuckles left the mouths of the others. Gaius ignored them and continued his speaking.

"The one to pass the class will get the chance to battle and kill his first sorcerer in front of the entire kingdom," Gaius went on, eyeing each of them carefully. "Now, to get to the point let's begin!" The old man snapped his fingers and a door opened behind him. Flames spewed from the cage doors and a man stepped out from his cage. It was a boy younger than the one Arthur had shot down. His hair was a curly mess on his head and his eyes glowed a bright gold as he glared hatefully at them.

"What?! No training?!" Leon shouted as a fire ball was shot at his head.

"I do remember the most of you complaining on how you all are fairly well at slaying sorcerers already. Why should I teach you if you claim you know everything?" Everyone sent a hated glare in Gwaine's direction. Their focus was brought back to the matter at hand when another fireball flew at Percival. Everyone dashed from the center of the room and towards the rack of weapons. Everyone managed to grab themselves a sword. Well, except for Arthur. He was left with a small knife and a bent shield. "Arthur, get moving!" Gaius shouted. Arthur glanced up, realizing that the sorcerer had managed to smack everyone else to the side and was now coming towards him with those glowing hateful eyes. Arthur froze in terror, hiding behind his shield as balls of fire slammed at him. Finally, the sorcerer managed to smack away the shield, leaving the young prince defenseless. Arthur closed his eyes, preparing for his long overdue death when suddenly, a cry was heard in front of him. He peaked open an eye to see that Gaius had slapped a bracelet to the sorcerer's wrist and was now dragging it back into its cage. "Rule one, Men! A sorcerer will always, always go for the kill."

"So why didn't you?" Arthur pondered as he stared down at the cut up net laying on the ground. He had ran back to the spot he left the sorcerer right after training. He didn't know why he was bothering with such a thing.

"Forbarne! Acwele!" he heard a hoarse voice scream in an ancient language as Arthur shuffled through the bushes. The prince's face grew pale as he saw the bright golden eyes staring back at him. This was it. The sorcerer was going to kill him. He waited for the fireball, frowning when nothing came his way. He glanced at the horrified and confused creature in front of him. What was happening? The sorcerer shouted the words again, but his eyes just dimmed back to a bright blue.

"What's happened to your powers?" Arthur murmured, stepping closer to the sorcerer. The sorcerer tried to pull away, but stopped when a flash of pain thrashed his body. Arthur grabbed the young man's arms, holding him up so he wouldn't fall over. As he waited for the pain to stop, Arthur looked over the frail body in his arms. The Sorcerer's black hair was tangled and covered in dried blood. A hint of guilt flew over Arthur's heart as he realized that the burns were worse than what he originally thought. They were deeply engraved into his skin, leaving marking that…

"Sorcerer, say a spell," Arthur ordered, realization dawning on him. The sorcerer that he was still cradling in his arms frowned at him, distrust clear in his eyes. Arthur let out a long sigh and asked again, this time more threateningly. Without hesitation the sorcerer murmured a string of strange words and Arthur watched, waiting for his theory to show truth. As the sorcerer's eyes glowed so did the markings on his body from the net. The sorcerer's pale skin was completely decorated in the gold glowing patterns now and as he continued chanting the spell the glow only grew uglier. The light seemed to be burning him, turning his flesh raw. "Stop," Arthur ordered finally and the sorcerer collapsed against his chest, gasping in pain. Arthur gently lay the man in the soft grass and pulled out a medical kit from the bag he had been carrying. When he reached out with a wet rag the sorcerer tried to pull away, but he was too weak to even swat a fly. Still; Arthur needed him to stay calm and trust him. "Listen, I'm just going to bandage up your burns and those other wounds. They'll get infected if I don't." The sorcerer stared at him, breathing heavily. Arthur took the silence as an invitation and started to reach out again.

"Astrice!" screamed the sorcerer. His entire body lit up again and the anti-magic symbols burnt in his skin burnt it all out.

"Stop!" Arthur shouted, clutching the sorcerer by the shoulder's roughly. "Those symbols are trying to suck away your magic. If you keep trying to use it you'll only hurt yourself more! I…I've never seen this happen before though. Your magic should have been long gone and you act as if it's killing you." The warlock lowered his eyes to that and Arthur suddenly felt his heart skip a beat. The sorcerer had begun shaking now; not in pain, but in fear. His blue eyes were beginning to water and Arthur loosened his grip on the young man's body so the touch was more gentle and trusting. "Hey, I'm going to fix it. I promise," Arthur whispered softly. "Just give me a chance." Silence filled the air once again between the two and Arthur waited to hear more word of magic sprayed at him, but instead he heard a small voice.

"I'm Merlin," the warlock stated, his voice shaking. Arthur smiled, ruffling Merlin's hair.

"I'm Arthur Pendragon. Now, let's take a look at these wounds," said Arthur as he began to brush the wet cloth against Merlin's skin. A pained hiss left the warlock's lips, but Arthur carried on. He let his fingers weave cloth and bandages around the wounds and dabbed some homemade sab on them.

"Thank you." Arthur stopped momentarily, taking in the words just uttered by the half conscious sorcerer. Never in his life would he have thought to hear such words from a sorcerer. He pulled back, admiring his work slightly and smiled down at the tired Merlin.

"Well, Merlin, I think that does it for now. I've got to go, but I'll be back tomorrow," Arthur said, getting up from his spot next to the young man and making to walk away. A hand wrapping around his wrist stopped him. He looked down to see Merlin staring at him with fear.

"You'll come back?" he asked. Arthur ruffled Merlin's hair again with a smile on his face.

"It's a Promise."