The Crystal Cave

[Missing scene for the Crystal Cave]

"What was that?"

Merlin's question vibrated through the cavern; the crystal cave. Hollow, desperate and full of pain. The sound bounced off the walls, and came back to him. It reached into his head with sharp claws while he lay on the cold rocky floor, shielding his head in a faint attempt to push it away. Not just the sound, but the pulsing fluctuations of the crystals also, as they reached inside of him, making contact with his magic. They pulled him towards them, willing him to see.

There came no answer to his question, only his own ragged breath.

He held onto his head with both hands at first, then clasped them over his ears to silence all sound. Merlin clambered to his knees. His head started to pound relentlessly the moment he sat up, and he couldn't stop a moan escaping his lips. The images from the crystals overwhelmed him once more, and they came in rapid succession, until they left him dizzy and disorientated.

Concentrate, he had to concentrate on his breathing, and his disrupted magic. The crystals were so strong, and so eager to make him see. His own magic seemed no match for them, and Merlin felt panic bubble up inside, and he wondered if they could feel it as well.

Sweat soaked his shirt, while he felt cold. His whole body started to shake like a leaf, and to make it stop he hugged himself, tight. Tears fell down his cheeks without any sense of control. And there was no one around to guide him. The man named Taliesen was gone, as if he'd vanished into thin air. He really had to get out of this cave if he wanted to save what was left of his sanity.

Merlin slowly started to drag himself up the steps to the light, still on his hands and knees, too weak to stand up, too weak to do more than concentrate on keeping control over his body and mind. He was so exhausted, all he wanted to do was lie down and sleep for a moment, but he knew he couldn't. He had to find his way outside, his way back to Arthur.

It felt like forever when he finally stumbled out of the mouth of the cave, into the forest. And even though the fresh air instantly woke him from exhaustion, the images the crystals had produced kept on coming. Not as hard and fast as inside the cave, but they insisted that he listened to them. They were not going to be ignored. And Merlin knew he had to face them, sooner or later.

Thank goodness he could still remember where he'd left Arthur. He should never have left him in the first place. What if those mercenaries had come back while he was gone? He'd trusted a strange man just because this man had saved his friend. Arthur was right, he was an idiot.

A sigh of relief escaped him when he reached Arthur, who was still lying in the exact same spot as where he'd left him. The prince was snoring softly, looking peaceful, alive and totally unaware of Merlin's inner turmoil. His struggle to keep a clear head was getting harder once more. The image of Morgana killing Uther throbbed like a hammer against the inside of his skull. Was this really the future shown to him? What could he possibly do to stop it?

He had to sit down to think about it. To rearrange those images, keep the headache at bay. They were shown to him for a reason, so should he embrace them instead of fighting them? Gaius might know the answers? He might even know about Taliesen, they probably should...

Something soft impacted with Merlin's head so suddenly, it startled him enough to make him jump and look around. His mind finally unclouded he saw Arthur stare at him, his brows raised. At the same time he realised Arthur had thrown his own jacket at him.

"You look like a startled stoat." Arthur stated.

"Yeah? Well, at least I don't look like a bone idle...toad." Arthur's statement had definitely pulled him out of his catatonic state. But Merlin feared it wouldn't last long, so they really had to get out of here. Back to Camelot. He quickly pulled on his jacket. "Let's go."

"You're saying I look like a toad?"

"Yeah. And maybe one day you'll magically transform into a handsome prince. Since magic's outlawed, that'll probably never happen. Come on, let's go."

"Merlin. I'm the one who gives the orders, remember?"

"Yeah," Why did it always have to be so difficult with Arthur. "You ready? Let's go."

For the first time in his life, Merlin didn't wait to see if the prince followed him...