Thank you so much for the fantastic support once again, it means a lot.
Gaius strode with purposeful steps down the corridor, trying to deny that he was worried. It was nothing unusual that Arthur had left the feast before some of the stragglers, and Gaius had seen the way he almost seemed to have trouble keeping his eyes open. He knew how hard the prince had worked to make sure that he was ready to take on the responsibility that his father was pressing upon him, and that coupled with the late hour was clearly taking its toll, even if Arthur would never admit it out loud. But Gaius had felt a flash of concern when he saw Arthur collar Merlin, dragging his servant out with him. Merlin's face was pale, and although his eyes were shining with mirth as Arthur stumbled slightly – clearly believing his master had had a little too much to drink – they were lacking the normal sparkle that Gaius had come to associate with his ward.
Something was wrong. When the physician realised that Nimueh was also nowhere to be seen, he had quickly excused himself from the hall and set off after the two young men, adamant that he was going to put his mind at ease before retiring for the night. But when he saw there were no guards present in the hallway leading to Arthur's chambers, Gaius felt his step falter momentarily. It only took him a few more steps before he could hear pained gasps coming from the room. Calling for help, he moved as quickly as he could, thankful that someone had been in earshot considering he could hear the clank of boots behind him even as he pushed open the door.
"Merlin!" Gaius didn't think he had ever moved so fast. Merlin was stretched out on his back on the floor, hands chained to the table above his head and ankles also chained together, his body twisting as he clearly tried to escape from something.
"A'tur..." He mumbled, nearly incoherently as tear-blurred eyes turned to face Gaius, his back arching as he let out another gasp of pain.
"Get the King." Gaius ordered the guard who had followed him, dropping to his knees and reaching out for the manacles holding Merlin down. As soon as he touched one, he dropped his hand in shock, staring at the slightly red skin where it had burned him. He felt his breath catch in his throat, knowing only a powerful enchantment could make the manacles that painful. Brushing Merlin's hair back from his forehead, he peered into the boy's eyes, his heart clenching at the agony he felt there.
"G'us... magic... can't use it, she did something..."
"Shh, Merlin, just lie still now. Stop moving, you'll make your wrists worse.."
"A'tur... have... Gauis, I have to go after him..." Gaius pushed his hand down on Merlin's shoulder as the young warlock tried to rise, only to fall back with a cry as the manacles held him down.
"What is going on?" Uther's demanding voice signalled his arrival before the guard even had time to announce him and Gaius turned, still holding down Merlin as he did so.
"The prince has been taken, My Lord. Is that right, Merlin?"
"Have to go...stop her...Arthur...Gaius, can't..."
"Merlin, shh." Gaius reached up to the table, finding a piece of cloth there and carefully wrapped it around his hands. Protected as well as he could be, he prised open the manacles and unbound Merlin's feet. There was a sharp intake of breath as the two men looked at the raw and blistered skin around Merlin's wrists. But even though he was free, Merlin curled up on himself, whimpering as he did so. Gaius felt his heart drop. Why did he get the feeling the manacles were not the only thing Nimueh had done to make sure Merlin didn't follow her? If she had managed to stop the warlock's magic as Merlin had mumbled, he would have been defenceless.
"Merlin, look at me?"
"What is going on!" Uther thundered, moving across the room and grabbing Merlin by the front of his shirt, bodily lifting the boy from the floor for a split second. "Where is my son?"
"Tried...tried to stop her..." Merlin mumbled, almost sounding feverish as his eyes flickered, clearly trying to cling onto consciousness. Something caught Gaius' eye though.
"Sire, let the boy go, can't you see she's hurt him?" His worry for Merlin meant Gaius was prepared to overstep his normal boundaries when it came to Uther. Sliding one hand behind Merlin's back, he prised open Uther's fingers, supporting his ward's weight as Merlin all but collapsed onto him. Cushioning him as comfortably as he could, Gaius slowly drew back his sleeve, making sure he didn't touch Merlin's wrist as he did so. There was a strange pattern on Merlin's arm, and the physician felt a wave of fury flash through him.
"You, guard. Go to my chambers and fetch me my medicine bag. Hurry, man."
"I've seen this mark before..." Uther mused thoughtfully, crouching down next to them, his hand hovering over the mark. Merlin whimpered and flinched back, losing his grip on reality as the seconds slid by. Gaius knew it would only be moments until he was out cold.
"You have, Sire. Do you remember the hex that the witch cast on you during the war with Mercia, before Arthur was even born?"
"That was hard to forget." Uther said slowly, something akin to respect shining in his eyes as he looked down at his son's manservant. Gaius nodded sagely, glad for once that Uther's negative experience with magic would mean that he wouldn't try and push Merlin too hard. After all, when the King had been hit with this same curse, he had screamed himself into unconsciousness. Merlin had suffered that and the manacles, and was still somehow making sense. But still, it came as a surprise when the King rested a hand on Merlin's shoulder.
"Marvin..."
"Merlin."
"...I need you to tell me what happened. Where's Arthur?" Merlin somehow managed to force his eyes open, and Gaius was just thankful that he seemed lucid enough to not accidentally mention his magic in front of the one person who would kill him here and now for it, regardless of what else was happening.
"Cara. She was here... she had done something to Arthur, he just collapsed and she took him... Gaius, she took him! I tried to stop her, I tried, I really did... but she..."
"Calm, Merlin, keep calm." Gaius subtly removed Uther's hand, knowing that it was doing nothing to keep Merlin calm. The guard came back in at the same time and Gaius nodded his thanks as he took the medicine pouch from him, rummaging inside for something.
Uther had stood up again, pacing the room and occasionally sending Merlin glances out of the corner of his eye. Considering the blistered skin encircling his wrists and the marks up his arms that would only fade when the power of the hex did, even Uther couldn't deny that Merlin had no way of being able to stop the witch.
"Gaius, she had magic. She said Arthur was hers..." Merlin whispered, twisting his head on the floor to look at his mentor. Gaius knew what Merlin was getting at, this was the threat that had kept him awake the night before. But Uther froze.
"Arthur was hers?" Fear filled eyes glanced at Gaius. "Nimueh."
"It must be, My Lord." Gaius muttered distractedly, not wanting to admit that he knew the witch had already been in Camelot.
"But why put such a strong hex on the boy? The manacles alone would have been enough to stop him from going after them, it's not like he even had a chance to stop her. Especially considering the effect the chains had on him." Merlin was almost forgotten about as Gaius slowly looked his king in the eye.
"You weren't the only one she felt betrayed her." He said slowly, and Uther's eyes softened. He repeated his earlier actions and clasped his old friend on the shoulder.
"Do what you can for the boy." He swept from the room as he did so, leaving Merlin staring after him. Gaius was thankful to see the marks on his arms were beginning to fade, meaning the agony crashing through him would also begin to subside. Uther had understood what Gaius had been trying to say. Merlin hadn't only been hurt for trying to stop Nimueh and protect his master. He had been hurt as a punishment for Gaius siding with Uther all of these years.
"Gaius?" Merlin's trembling voice caused the physician to finally find what he was looking for in his bag and he slowly navigated himself back down to his knees, ignoring the way his joints were protesting that very movement. He was getting to old for this.
"It's alright, my boy." He said softly, sliding a hand behind Merlin's head and titling it up slightly. "We'll find him. Right now, you need to drink this..."
"No. Need to get out there after him..." Merlin was already trying to push himself upwards. If it wasn't for his injured wrists, he might have succeeded. But as soon as he put his weight on his wrists, he fell back again with a moan. Gaius replaced the hand on his shoulder, keeping him down.
"It will just get rid of the pain, Merlin, then you can go after him." Merlin seemed to give in slightly, letting the physician pour the draught down his throat even as he coughed slightly at the taste.
"Gaius..."
"Give it a moment." They both just sat there in silence for a long moment before Merlin suddenly slumped against the physician. In an uncharacteristic display of affection, Gaius combed his fingers through Merlin's hair.
"I'm sorry, Merlin."
"For wha'?" Merlin slurred, trying to sit back up again but finding that his limbs no longer responded to him. He twisted his head until he could shoot Gaius a hurt look but could do no more as his eyes slid shut, the sleeping draught taking effect.
"For everything," Gaius murmured, motioning to the guard again. "Do you think you can help me get him back to my chambers?" The man nodded, gently scooping Merlin up of the floor as if he was nothing more than a child rather than a grown man. Gaius sighed heavily. He knew it was Nimueh's fault that his ward was suffering and that Arthur was missing. But somehow, hearing Merlin's whimpers still ringing in his ears, the old man felt a flash of guilt.
Slowly climbing to his feet, Gaius felt his heart sink as he glanced out of the window. Arthur was out there somewhere with an exceedingly powerful witch who wanted his father to suffer. Merlin had been defeated by her, Uther was no doubt about to fly into an epic temper when it quite dawned on him that the prince wasn't about to just coming waltzing back through the door after defeating Nimueh, and there was nothing he could do about it. He could only hope that he could make Merlin listen to reason when the boy awoke and stop him from going on a fruitless search for his master.
Making his way towards his chambers as quickly as he could, Gaius didn't think that was going to happen, somehow. It was the reason why he had drugged the boy. His body needed time to recuperate after such a vicious hex, and Gaius knew that given the chance, Merlin would have been saddling a horse the second Gaius had released him from the manacles. Once the warlock awoke, things would be different, but right now, Gaius had wounds to dress.
In a way, as he dipped a long bandage in a cooling solution and began to wind it around Merlin's burnt wrists, he was glad. This he would help with. He knew how to do this, he could help Merlin. Give him a wound and he could dress it. Give him a missing prince, a vengeful witch and a prophesied warlock, and he was way out of his depth.
"What have you got yourself into this time, my boy?" He asks Merlin's still body, watching his ward breath steadily. Something stirred in Gaius' gut and he leant forward, adjusting the blanket covering his ward. Whilst Merlin breathed, Arthur still had a chance.
MMM
His eyes forced themselves open the smallest of cracks, Arthur having to fight against his body to make them do even that. He was curled up, shivering in the cold. He could tell that he was in some sort of cave somewhere, but where was another matter entirely. Very slowly, he managed to force his head off the ground, but could only hold it there for a split second before he collapsed back down again. His limbs felt heavy, he couldn't so much as lift his hand, let alone use it to hold his sword. Arthur groaned. The sword, he now realised, that was definitely not with him.
The prince coughed slightly, trying once more to look around him. It was definitely some sort of cave, or perhaps a ruin at a stretch. Damp and cold, he knew in that one look around that no one would be able to find him. There was a feeling in the air, one he couldn't place but found that it was sending goose-bumps up and down his arms. Hugging them closer to himself, Arthur didn't try and move again, but let his mind wonder.
What had happened? He remembered not feeling too good towards the end of the feast, an exhausted heaviness in his limbs that he had never truly experienced before. He remembered dragging Merlin out, determined to just go to bed before he made a fool of himself in front of the kings. Everything went hazy after that, he vaguely remembered someone being in his room, then just snatches of Merlin trying to sound threatening...
Merlin!
Arthur forced himself up right again, managing to hold the position for a few moments before his shaking arms gave out and he ended up on his side again. Merlin was nowhere to be seen. Did that mean the boy had just been left behind, or had something else happened to him? Arthur growled softly, hoping nothing had happened to the loyal fool.
"So the prince awakens." The voice came out of the darkness, and Arthur shot up again. This time, he ignored his body's violent protests to the movement and forced himself to at least stay sitting. Pressing his palms to the floor, he balanced himself as he looked around for the voice.
"Who are you?" He tried to call, but it came out as more of a croak, causing him to start coughing once more to try and clear his throat. Now he was glad of the darkness, hoping that the owner of the voice wouldn't see his flush in the dim light. He hated sounding or appearing vulnerable, something he had strived never to do since he was old enough to hold a sword.
"I'm an old friend of your father's, little prince. You could say he knew this was coming." Something in the tone of her voice made Arthur automatically tense. There was only one reason people tended to go after his father, and that was regarding magic. Put him against another knight, and Arthur was more than confident about who would walk away the victor. Put him against magic, however, and the prince knew he really didn't have much of a chance.
"What did you do to my manservant?" He had to admit that he was proud of how strong his voice came out as he spoke, but Arthur couldn't deny that he flinched back as a woman stepped from the shadows. She was dressed in a deep red dress that looked like it had seen better days, a blue cloak wrapped around her shoulders. But it was her expression that made Arthur shudder despite himself, the way she stared at him as if she was some kind of predator. And the prince was her prey.
"None of your concern, little prince." She was in front of him before Arthur could react, bending down and stroking a finger down his face. "You do look like your mother."
Arthur's breath hitched slightly, but he refused to rise to the bait. Instead, he brought his hand swinging up and caught her by the wrist, holding on tightly as he forced it away from his face. She let out a small gasp, but then began to laugh.
"The fledging has learnt how to fly." She mocked, but Arthur held on tightly, forcing her away and standing up. His legs threatened to give way and his vision swam slightly, but he refused to back down.
"Where am I? Answer me! What do you want from me?"
"Oh little prince. I want nothing from you. Just having you here is enough." Arthur frowned, totally confused. But before he could do anything, the woman's eyes flashed in the dark and he winced as he was thrown backwards from her. His back hit the cave wall behind him and his hands were pulled to his sides, pressed against the cold stone. Trying to move, Arthur realised that she was somehow pinning him in place.
"Whatever you're planning won't work. The Knights of Camelot will find me."
"No they won't."
"Merlin will find me." Arthur didn't even register what he was saying, but he did see the smirk emerge on her face at his struggles against the spell. "You'll pay for this!"
"Looks like his mother but sounds like his father. Such a shame." Arthur fought against the spell holding him in place, trying to suppress the growing fear as she walked towards him, pulling a small phial out of the folds of her cloak and coming to a stop right in front of him. Neither of them said anything for a moment, both watching as Arthur attempted to pull his hand away from the wall.
"What do you want?" Unlike before, Arthur's voice suddenly wasn't sounding so certain, and Nimueh smiled at him, stroking his hair back from his face before titling his chin up. Arthur had no choice but to let her move him, although he did clamp his mouth shut when she raised the bottle.
"Now, now, Arthur." She chided gently, pressing on his jaw with a whispered word of magic and forcing his mouth open. "Did Gaius never teach you to take your medicine like a good boy?"
Arthur tried to wrench his head away, tried to do something as she poured the liquid into his mouth. Her free hand ran lightly down his throat, and Arthur automatically swallowed.
"There's a good prince." She released the spell on him and Arthur went crashing down to the floor. He shakily tried to raise himself to his hands and knees, wondering what on earth she had given him considering he couldn't seem to feel any effects. Nimueh crouched down beside him and let her hand rest on his back. All she had to do was whisper a word and Arthur collapsed back down onto his stomach once more.
"What do you want?"
"All in good time, Arthur." Nimueh whispered, her eyes flashing and Arthur immediately slumped where he lay. She sighed as she straightened up. This boy belonged to her. She would prove to Uther once and for all what a mistake he made when he turned against the magic he had invited into his home. And the stubborn young man at her feet was key to that.
But as she turned and left the cave in a swish of her cloak, knowing the prince would be going nowhere for a while, Nimueh frowned slightly. It would have been easier to take her revenge if Arthur wasn't fighting her every step of the way.
MMM
"Gaius?" The old physician looked up sharply, his face softening into a smile when he caught sight of Merlin. He was coming slowly down the stairs, an old blanket wrapped around his shoulders and the tops of the bandages poking out of his sleeves. His face was pale, but his eyes looked clearer.
"How are you feeling, Merlin?" The warlock shrugged, a small smile on his face that by no means met his eyes. Gaius returned the smile sympathetically, knowing it was a foolish question.
"How is your magic? What did she do?"
It's back, I think." This time, the smile was far more genuine and Gaius found that he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Merlin had never followed the normal rules when it came to magic, and Gaius knew if the boy was to ask for any advice or how to get the magic back, the physician wouldn't have the answers. Merlin was certainly a mystery that he hadn't encountered before.
"I bumped into her at the feast, Gaius, she offered me a drink. I knew I didn't want to drink it, yet found that I was doing so before I could stop myself, I don't know why. I guess she got me the same way that she took down Arthur. She drugged it. The magic is a bit erratic; don't go into my room for a while, the smoke needs to clear. But it feels like it is back. Has there been any news on Arthur?" The smiles slipped from both of their faces as Gaius pushed over a stool, encouraging Merlin to sit down. Now the sedative had worn off, he wasn't sure if the pain relief would be as effective, and the last thing he wanted his ward to do was wear himself out. He already felt like he had failed in protecting the boy considering the state they had found him in, Gaius was not about to let anything else happen to him.
"Uther has summoned the Knights, they are riding out at dawn tomorrow. The talks with Bayard have been suspended, and I know Uther is blaming him for bringing Nimueh here."
"But she tricked us all, he can't blame Bayard, it would lead to..." Merlin suddenly froze at the way Gaius was nodding. "It would lead to war." He finished lamely, eyes downcast as he fiddled with the corner of the blanket. "That's what she wants, isn't it? To completely destroy Uther?"
"Merlin, this fight has been going on since before you were born. Yes, Nimueh wants to destroy Uther. She is not the only one, you've seen yourself in the short months that you have been here what his attitude to magic is like, how many people he has wronged..."
"But why Arthur?" Merlin pressed, looking up again and staring at Gaius intently. "She was here, no one knew. If she hadn't have come for Arthur, I probably wouldn't have got the sense that something was wrong. I wouldn't have even realised at the feast that my magic was trying to warn me of something. Why didn't she just kill Uther?"
"Things aren't necessarily that straightforward, my boy."
"Gaius?"
"Yes, Merlin?"
"What did she mean about Arthur being hers? I saw the look in her eye when she said it, she truly believed what she was saying, it wasn't just some random threat. She thinks she has a right to Arthur, doesn't she?"
"Merlin, you trust me, don't you?" Gaius' voice was heavy as he made himself look his ward in the eye. Merlin nodded, a frown appearing as he scooted forward on his stool, clearly trying to brace himself for whatever it was that his mentor was about to say. "Then trust me when I say some secrets are better left at that, a secret."
"But..."
"I will not lie to you, Merlin. But this isn't my secret to tell. Not even Arthur knows it and he is involved. Please, do not ask me."
Merlin opened his mouth, looking like he was about to ask the very thing that Gaius had just asked him not to. The boy hadn't been in Camelot long enough to be told the true circumstances of Arthur's birth. Whilst he and the prince might have been heading towards a friendship greater than time had seen, Gaius knew it was not there yet. He wasn't sure how Merlin would react to finding out Uther had once used magic himself, and he didn't want to risk everything. Merlin seemed to read the expression on his face and closed his mouth again, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Where do I start?"
"What?"
"Arthur, Gaius. She took him from Camelot with magic, they could be anywhere. Do you really think the Knights will be able to find him if she believes that Arthur is hers? I don't know what is going on, but it is clear she has been planning this for years. She's not just going to leave him for the knights to find, and her magic is powerful. I'm the only one with a chance."
"I don't see how you can help..." Gaius replied with a pointed look at Merlin's wrists. The warlock followed his gaze, swallowing hard as he picked at the edge of the bandage. It still hurt, but Gaius' cooling solution was working wonders.
"I'm going, Gaius. You can either tell me where to start looking, or expect me to be gone for a very long time." Despite Merlin's words, Gaius had to smile. He should have known that just because the boy had been defeated once didn't mean that he was about to sit back and let Arthur be taken without putting up a fight. The wheels of destiny had begun to turn, and it was going to take more than a vengeful witch to stop this warlock.
With a sigh, he motioned for Merlin to join him on his side of the table and explaining all he knew about Nimueh, pulling down various books and maps as he did so. It had been over twenty years since he had last seen the witch, there were numerous places he could think of straight away that she might be hiding. Or she could be somewhere completely different, Gaius had no idea. But he trusted Merlin, knew that if anyone would be able to find the missing prince, it would be him.
It was early afternoon by the time Gaius ran out of information to tell Merlin. Arthur had been taken some time in the night, Gaius' sleeping draught keeping Merlin asleep until just after dawn. But the boy clearly thought he had been sitting around for too long, and as Gaius shut the last book with a sigh, Merlin stood up.
"Wait..." Merlin turned to look at him expectedly and Gaius sighed, running his eyes critically over his ward. "You look awful, Merlin."
The warlock gave a short laugh. "I can't say I feel much better. That spell, Gaius, I've never felt anything like it. She almost sounded like she was sorry for what she had to do to me, I can't explain it."
"She knows of your destiny, Merlin."
"Then why is she trying to stop it?" Merlin yelled, his magic causing a candle to flare up for a moment before the gold tinge left his eyes. Gaius didn't say anything. He didn't know what Nimueh had given Merlin to make his magic play up and the last thing he wanted to do was scold the boy.
"Sorry." Slumping back in his seat for a moment, Merlin dragged a hand through his hair, feeling slightly guilty that he had lashed out like that. The magic was back, of that he was sure. But he could still feel the last remains of whatever it was she had slipped into his drink. It was back, but not quite under his control.
"Get some rest, Merlin. You can leave in the morning."
"But she could have taken him anywhere by then!"
"She could have taken him anywhere the second they left Camelot. A few extra hours won't make a difference to Arthur. But it will give your magic time to calm down, your wrists a few hours longer to heal. And you already look dead on your feet. You won't even make it past the guard on the main gate in this state." Merlin sighed, looking defeated as he softly nodded, standing up once more.
"I'll get some sleep then." Dragging his feet, Merlin made his way up the stairs without a backwards glance. Gaius sighed, turning back to what he was doing before the boy had come down. He soon became engrossed in his task, not realising that Merlin's bedroom door hadn't shut properly and the warlock was watching him.
Within just a few moments, Merlin had packed everything that he thought he would need and was sitting on his bed, skimming through his spell book. He was trying to find something, anything, that would give him a chance of even getting close to Arthur.
But his concentration was split. Gaius hadn't yet learnt that Merlin didn't simply back down when he was told. He had gone up the stairs with another agenda in mind. The moment the physician left the room, or turned in himself, Merlin was gone. He was not going to simply sit and wait for morning like a good servant would before going to find Arthur. It would be even harder then, for he knew that was when the Knights would also be leaving and knowing his luck, it would mean that he ran into them the second he stepped foot in the forest. Part of him realised that was what Gaius wanted, he wanted the warlock to be escorted back, for it would mean that he wouldn't be thinking of going up against Nimueh.
Merlin may have seen enough of the Knights since being here to know that they were good, but as he sat waiting for Gaius' concentration to slip, he knew they were not good enough.
He was Arthur's only chance.
