Endure
Chapter 2
Arthur was on his feet and standing protectively in front of Merlin in an instant. Merlin was so startled he quickly whipped his head in the direction momentarily forgetting the pain the movement would cause. He cried out as the spikes scraped against the raw skin of his neck and he gasped for air. Arthur had a harder time concentrating on the man in front of him when he heard merlin cry out but kept his stance nonetheless.
The figure moaned and struggled to his hands and knees. One look at the man and Arthur knew he would be a challenging opponent. His bulging muscles could clearly be seen due to the cut off sleeves of his shirt. Even on his hands and knees he looked tall. He was broad shouldered and radiated strength. His almond brown hair was cropped short and what features of his face that could be seen under his stubble were angular and masculine.
The man lifted his head and Arthur's knees nearly buckled. Percival. It was Percival.
"What…How… What are you doing here?" Arthur finally strung the words together.
"Rescuing you Sire," Percival replied brightly.
"What is the plan? Where is everyone else? Wh-" Arthur's interrogation was cut off by Percival.
"Sire! If you would…"
"Of course. Continue." Arthur took a breath.
"Being captured was part of the plan," Percival whispered. "But I would like to make sure you and Merlin are tended to first before we get into the details."
Arthur blanched. Merlin! He had forgotten about Merlin. He whirled around to the spot where he had left Merlin. Merlin was no longer sitting against the wall but was crumpled on the ground barely holding up his head. Arthur rushed to his side.
"Merlin," Arthur quietly said his name, remembering the last time he tried to get the servants attention.
"Ungh…" was Merlin's only response.
"Percival! I need your help," Arthur was nearly shouting now.
Percival rushed to Merlin's side, surveying his friend. Noting the most severe injuries to avoid, Percival gently lifted Merlin to a sitting position. All the commotion had startled Merlin and an unexpected but understandable anxiety attack reared its ugly head. Merlin's breathing was heavy and erratic; it was causing unnecessary pain in his neck, so he tried to calm himself. He closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing. It wasn't working.
"Merlin… Merlin… Merlin, look at me!" The king finally shouted in an attempt to catch his friend's attention.
Merlin flicked his eyes open. Arthur was right in front of him. Arthur gently placed his hands on Merlin's shoulders. "Merlin, you need to relax. Calm your breathing. Everything is going to be ok. We're getting out of here soon." Arthur paused. "Look who's here," Arthur turned his head slightly to the side and Merlin followed his gaze.
Merlin let out a breath as his eyes locked with Percival's. "Just a little longer Merlin and I'll have you out of here. Ok?" Percival soothed.
Merlin's breath slowly returned to a more natural pace and he smiled tentatively. Although it looked more like a grimace as the pain in his neck came back to his awareness again.
"Percival, do you think you can pick the locks on our manacles?" Arthur asked hopefully.
Percival merely smiled and sat down. He proceeded to take off his left boot, turned it upside down and shook it. A few small metal rods tumbled out onto the stone floor. Lock picks.
"Knew we could count on you," Arthur sighed in relief.
Percival started with Arthur's manacles and had them off quickly. Then he went to work on Merlin's. Again the manacles were no match for Percival and were off in no time.
Percival surveyed Merlin again, noting the neck device he turned to Arthur, "We need to get that off him."
"I know. But how do we do that without hurting him more?" Arthur was reluctant to put Merlin through any more pain.
"Good thing I came prepared," Percival replied. He pulled off his shirt only to reveal a second shirt underneath. Much to Arthur and Merlin's surprise he pulled his second shirt off to reveal a third shirt.
"How many more you got on?" Arthur asked with a grin.
"That's it. I only hope it's enough." Percival responded.
"Enough for what?" Merlin was confused.
"We assumed you would be injured so Leon had this great idea. He told me layer up, to use the shirts as bandages. It's been dreadfully hot to be honest. Glad to be rid of them." Percival winked. Percival handed one of the shirts to Arthur and they began tearing them into strips. When they were finished they both turned to Merlin.
Arthur spoke first, "We should wrap the strips around his neck to keep the spikes from causing any more damage to his skin."
"Once we have done that I can try to pick the lock on the back of that hellish collar. Although, I must warn you my picks look a bit too big for that lock, but I'll try." Percival spoke with blunt honesty.
Arthur and Percival began the tedious process of wrapping Merlin's neck with the make-shift bandages. Merlin held as still as possible, but it was difficult not to fidget when two hulking figures stood over him accidentally knocking about the neck device. Finally, Arthur and Percival stepped back from Merlin. Merlin gave a sigh of relief.
"Ok. Percival. You're up," Arthur gestured to the lock on Merlin's neck device.
Merlin swallowed heavily. Arthur saw the trepidation sweep across Merlin's face. "Just tell us if we need to stop Merlin. Ok?"
"Ok."
Percival knelt down behind Merlin and considered the lock. He knew it would be a long shot, but he had to try. Merlin looked so miserable. He set to work. Percival tried his hardest to not jostle the device but lock picking wasn't always easy. Merlin cried out as Percival unintentionally pushed into the lock too hard.
"Sorry, Merlin. I'm trying to be gentle."
"I know. It's ok." Merlin replied softly.
The third time Merlin cried out Arthur flinched. Percival was trying his best but is just wasn't working. His frustration was getting the better of him and this time he pushed harder than he had any time before.
"Stop! Percival please stop!" Merlin cried.
Percival sighed sadly, "I'm sorry Merlin."
"It's ok. I'll just have to wait I guess." Merlin was close to tears. "How much longer Percival? Until we leave?"
Percival looked pained when he answered, "Another day."
Merlin slumped slowly toward the floor. "I don't know if I can make it that long. I just want to rest my head but…"
Arthur looked thoughtful for a moment and then brightened with an idea. "Ok Merlin this is what we're going to do." Arthur stood and strode toward Merlin. He knelt down in front of him. "Percival can you sit behind merlin and support his back and neck? I'll support him in the front."
Arthur gently placed his hands on the sides of Merlin's face. "Arthur…"
"Shut up Merlin. Do as I say." Arthur stared into Merlin's eyes and Merlin gave in. Percival took his place behind Merlin and tucked his knees up to his chest so Merlin had something to lean against. He placed one hand on the back of Merlin's head and the other under the neck device to support him.
"Relax Merlin," Arthur ordered. Merlin sighed and reluctantly relinquished control of his body, trusting his friends to keep him safe. It wasn't exactly comfortable but it was the first time in two days that Merlin was able to "lean" his head back without fear of impaling himself on the spikes of the device. He closed his eyes, relishing the feeling of safety.
"Thank you," Merlin whispered so quietly that had Arthur and Percival not been inches from his face they would not have heard it.
Arthur noted that even in the uncomfortable position it did not take long for Merlin to fall asleep. Merlin must have been terribly exhausted. He couldn't even begin to imagine the pain he must have been in.
Once Merlin was asleep Arthur looked up to Percival. He was leaning against the wall looking quizzically at the king.
"What?" Arthur asked defensively.
"Nothing Sire," Percival nodded. "I am honored to be one of your knights."
Arthur merely nodded his thanks. "So, another day huh?"
"Unfortunately Sire," Percival confirmed.
"Care to elaborate?" Arthur looked at Percival pointedly.
"The plan was for me to get captured and find my way to you. We weren't sure if I would be able to get to you the first day or not so we gave ourselves some extra time," he explained. "Once I found you I was to ready you for departure; tend to wounds and fill you in. The others intend to infiltrate at dusk tomorrow. We were able to scout out the place a bit and found a nice tunnel system. They're a bit hard to get in and out of, thus the reason for our delays. We have horses hidden in the woods ready and waiting," Percival concluded.
"Well that sounds like a good plan to me except," Arthur began but then paused to look at Merlin. "How is he supposed to ride a horse with this infernal device on him!?" Arthur was practically fuming with frustration.
"Sire, I have smaller lock picks in my pack," Percival reassured him.
Arthur looked at Percival "It's been a long week Percival. Forgive me."
"No need to apologize Sire. I understand."
Arthur's arms began to burn after about an hour of holding Merlin's head up, but he did not let go. He did not even think about it. Merlin had suffered greatly, much of it in the name of Arthur. He owed him so much; the least he could do was suffer the burning in his arms as his friend finally found relief in his sleep.
Arthur and Merlin had lost the ability to track time many days ago, but it seemed Percival was very aware of the hours ticking by. It was almost dawn Percival realized, he and Arthur had spent the night in silence. He thought Arthur must be getting tired by now but said nothing.
Arthur hadn't realized how much noise there had been when Merlin had been awake. He and Merlin had been talking almost nonstop for the last day, just to keep Merlin awake. He was enjoying the peace and quiet especially since he knew Merlin was getting some much needed rest. But he knew he could not go on like this for much longer. Arthur's arms had gone numb hours ago and his legs were cramping from sitting in one position for so long.
Percival seemed to notice the kings distress, "Sire, I think I can hold him by myself for a while if you need a break."
Arthur contemplated this, then nodded. "Thank you Percival. Are you ready for me to let go?"
Percival adjusted a bit, "I'm ready."
Arthur slowly leaned away from Merlin and crawled over to the opposite wall. Resting against the wall, he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep. Hours later Arthur woke to the sound of soft voices. He cracked his eyes open slightly. Percival still sat against the wall and Merlin was still resting back on him. Arthur wondered how the knight was able to persuade Merlin to stay in his spot against Percival. Arthur realized that maybe Merlin was just that tired. He also had to concede that Percival was rather convincing at times. Everyone knew he was gentle giant but he was still someone you did not want to cross. Arthur was content to lay there and listen to the quiet tones of their conversation. He felt refreshed after his nap but it would be some time before he ever felt the same again. When he finally grew restless, Arthur slowly sat up. He did not want to startle Merlin.
"Nice of you to join us Arthur," Merlin greeted him.
"Good to see you too Merlin. I see you are finally showing signs of self-preservation," Arthur observed while gesturing to Merlin's current position.
Merlin gave a small smile, "Just being selfish I suppose. You must be rubbing off on me."
Arthur glared at him then turned to Percival, "How long was I out?"
"Several hours. It won't be long now Sire. Maybe two more hours," Percival guessed.
"Thank goodness," Arthur replied. He looked at Merlin, "How long have you been awake?"
"Um. Not sure. Percival?" Merlin asked.
"You've been awake about three hours I think." Percival supplied.
Arthur nodded. "Merlin I know you may not want to but I think now is a good time for me to tend to some of your other wounds."
Merlin groaned. "Arthur it's really not necessary. I'll be fine."
"You have a fever Merlin," Percival added.
"That settles it," Arthur said authoritatively.