A/N: So here we are with Chapter 3! It probably took me about twice as long as it should have to finish this chapter, as my sister insisted on sitting at the desk in my bedroom as I was typing and singing everything from the Bee Gees to OneRepublic (Completely off-key, I might add). Needless to say, it was very difficult to concentrate.

Anyway, thanks again to rmatri540 for providing the prompt for this story. Enjoy!


Gwaine sighed as the echoes of Geoffrey's departing footfalls faded away.

"Well, I suppose we better get a move on, then," he said, bending down to pick up a few of the books.

But Merlin hardly heard him. He was just staring at the pile of books before him. He could feel the magic radiating from them; rolling over him in waves.

"Merlin," Gwaine said.

Merlin looked up to meet the knight's gaze.

"Are you sure you're alright, mate?"

"Of course," Merlin answered, picking up a couple books of his own and heading over to the bookshelf on the opposite wall.

"No. Something is definitely up with you," Gwaine pressed.

"What makes you say that?" Merlin asked, as he placed the books on the shelf before turning back for more. All the while, he tried to avoid making eye contact with Gwaine.

"You're just not yourself today. You're daydreaming, not saying very much-"

"I'm just a little tired," Merlin replied.

Gwaine raised his eyebrows and flashed Merlin a smile that clearly said that he didn't believe it.

"I'll find out one way or another," he warned. "You could make things a whole lot easier for the both of us if you just told me now."

"There's nothing to tell, Gwaine. Really." And then Merlin tried for one of his usual smiles in an attempt to look more convincing. But Gwaine just shook his head and turned his attention back to the books.

"I wonder if there's anything in one of these books that we could use on the princess the next time he refuses to give you some time off," Gwaine commented, turning a particularly large volume over in his hands.

"What?" Merlin's head snapped up in shock.

"Easy, mate. I was only joking." Gwaine placed the book on one of the higher shelves. "Magic is definitely not something to be messed with. It's far too dangerous."

Merlin nodded and went back to work. "Right."

"I know that better than anyone," he thought to himself.

There was silence then for another minute or so as the two of them worked to replace all of the books onto the shelves. Merlin was finding it harder and harder not to crack open any of the texts that he was putting away. The temptation was almost too much. It probably wouldn't be the wisest thing to do, though. Not with someone else standing in the room with him. Geoffrey may not have specifically told them not to open the books, but Merlin was pretty sure that it was implied.

Then, Merlin picked up a large leather-bound spellbook. The title was printed in an ancient language, one that Merlin did not recognize. And as he ran his hand over the worn cover, he could feel the magic within, almost like a pulse or a heartbeat. Like it was alive.

This book felt different from the others that Merlin had touched so far. The magic radiating from it felt so strange. So old.

Glancing over his shoulder, Merlin watched as Gwaine stood on one of those boxes again and started to organize the books that he had placed on the top shelf. Then he turned back to the book in his hands and very slowly began to lift the cover.

"You don't think Geoffrey wants these in any particular order, do you?" Gwaine suddenly asked, causing Merlin to snap the book shut quickly.

"Oh, um...No, I don't think so. He didn't say anything about it," Merlin replied quickly.

"Yeah, I suppose there's really no reason for it," the knight said. "It's not as though anyone is ever going to read any of these. Why we're even bothering to keep them is beyond me."

"Uh huh," Merlin said absently, still staring intently at the spellbook.

Gwaine raised his eyebrows. "Find something interesting there, mate?"

"What? No," Merlin replied quickly, shoving the book onto the shelf and turning around to pick up some more. There were still a lot of books to shelve.

Gwaine just shook his head and turned back to his work. He needed to figure out some way to get Merlin to talk. Jumping down off the box, he looked up at the work he had just done. The top shelf was now full of books. He then turned to the opposite wall, where a completely empty bookshelf stood waiting. Sighing, he picked up the box and walked over to the corner where it had been stacked with the others. He wanted to exchange it for a sturdier container, as the one he had now felt as though it would soon collapse under his weight.

The knight pulled another box off of the stack to reveal an open box underneath. Peering inside, Gwaine saw that it had been filled with many strange looking objects that he guessed were most likely magical in nature. But then he saw something that he recognized. And he smiled as an idea suddenly came to him.

Meanwhile, as soon as Merlin was sure that Gwaine was occupied once more, he grabbed that same book off of the shelf and didn't hesitate to open it this time. He flipped to a page somewhere in the middle and stared down at all of the unfamiliar words that covered the old and yellowed pages.

And suddenly, it was as though the magic from the book was pouring out of the pages, washing over Merlin and through him, creating an odd sensation that made Merlin feel slightly dizzy. He couldn't quite explain the feeling. It was almost like the magic from the spellbook was somehow competing with his own magic. Merlin didn't like it. He made to shut the book.

But then something clapped onto Merlin's left wrist. Confused, he looked over and immediately recognized it to be a manacle.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to place you under arrest," Gwaine's voice said from behind him.

Merlin dropped the book and whirled around to face the knight, suddenly terrified.

Gwaine laughed at the startled expression on Merlin's face. "Joking," he said quickly, realizing how badly he'd frightened the young man. "But I do have to wonder what you're doing reading a magic book," the knight continued, bending to scoop up the dropped book and replacing it on the shelf.

"I...nothing. I was just curious. Now can you please let me go, Gwaine?" Merlin held up his wrist.

The knight smiled and held up his own wrist. It, too, had a manacle encircling it. Gwaine had joined them together. "Not until you tell me what's bothering you."

"Gwaine," Merlin said exasperatedly. "We don't have time for jokes right now. Now please-"

But Merlin immediately stopped speaking when he caught a closer glimpse of the shackle on his wrist. There were strange markings engraved all around the metal. Symbols of the Old Religion. Recognition dawned on the young warlock then, and panic began to rise up within him. These were no ordinary cuffs. These were magic-suppressing cuffs.

"Gwaine, please take it off," Merlin said hurriedly. He could feel his magic retreating deep inside of him. He suddenly felt colder, emptier. But that wasn't all.

Because Merlin could still feel the foreign magic from that spellbook moving through him. Only there was no place for it to go. It was trapped inside of him like his own magic was, being pushed down deep inside, and it was making him feel ill.

"Gwaine, please!" Merlin said desperately. A dull pain was starting to form in his chest and radiate outwards to the rest of his body.

Gwaine was confused by Merlin's reaction to the manacle. But seeing how distressed the young man seemed to be by it, Gwaine held out the key he had been holding in his unshackled hand and unlocked Merlin's manacle.

Merlin wrenched his wrist free from the shackle and immediately recoiled away from the metal, breathing hard.

"Merlin," Gwaine said urgently. "What's wrong? Merlin?"

Merlin just shook his head as he squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm...fine," he finally managed to get out between breaths for air. "I'm sorry, Gwaine. I just..."

"Panicked?" Gwaine supplied.

Merlin just nodded and Gwaine frowned as he placed a firm hand on Merlin's shoulder. "I didn't mean to scare you, mate."

"You didn't," Merlin replied quickly, opening his eyes at last to meet Gwaine's concerned gaze.

"Merlin," Gwaine replied, unconvinced. "What is wrong? It's not like you to be so jumpy. What are you afraid of?"

"Nothing," Merlin answered, in as firm a voice as he could manage. "Let's just finish putting these books away. It's freezing down here."

"Right," Gwaine agreed, realizing that he was probably not going to get anything out of Merlin at the moment. He turned away to face that pile of books again.

"Really, Gwaine," Merlin said then. "I mean it. I'm okay."

Turning back to get a good look at his friend, Gwaine saw that Merlin had somehow managed to plaster a smile onto his face in the last few seconds. And it almost looked convincing. He may have actually been fooled by it if he hadn't just seen the panic in Merlin's eyes only moments before when he had had that shackle on his wrist. And it bothered him immensely that the mask Merlin was currently wearing was so believable. Had he actually fallen for it before? At a time when he didn't know any better? Of course, the answer to that was probably yes. Merlin hated bringing any sort of attention to himself, Gwaine knew. If something was ever bothering him, he would do everything in his power to keep it to himself.

After a moment of consideration, Gwaine decided to leave Merlin alone for now. Give him the chance to calm down. Then maybe he would be more willing to talk about whatever it was that was bothering him. But, Gwaine thought to himself, as he turned back to his work, there was no way he was going to let this drop.


Merlin tried to focus on the task before him. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. As soon as the cuff had been removed from his wrist, his magic had begun to spread throughout his body once more, and the pain in his chest had immediately receded. It was exactly what was supposed to happen with the removal of magic-suppressing manacles. But something still felt off, and Merlin began to feel nauseated.

"Probably just a side effect," he thought. "It'll go away."

And so Merlin did his best to ignore the sickening feeling in his stomach as he moved to help Gwaine finish the job. He was no longer interested in reading any of the volumes that he was shelving. He just wanted to get out of the vaults as soon as possible. Then maybe he could warm up by the fire in the physician's chambers. Because it was far too cold down here, and Merlin could feel shivers running down his spine.

Although, he reflected, that might not be entirely due to the temperature of the room.


A/N: Thank you so much for all of the follows, favorites, and reviews for this story! I really appreciate all of the support! Until next time! :)