It's Friday! And that means update day!
I know with a lot of stories I post more often with this, but for the first time ever, I'm writing whilst posting. And have just survived almost a full week at university for the first time, so my writing time has plummeted. I figured you would enjoy steady ones that keep going than loads that then stop!
Merlin gazed into the dying fire, trying to shake the images from the day before out of his mind. Part of him remembered what Arthur had said about Freya being an image, but he couldn't get her out of his head, the vice like grip as he had been drawn out into the water. More than that, the warlock was paranoid about what he had said. He had gathered from the rest of the Knights he had been delirious, babbling on about something magical following them, but for the life of him, Merlin couldn't recall the words he had spoken. He only hoped he hadn't gone too far down the magical route and revealed how he knew. But then again, if he had, the Knights would surely be treating him differently?
"Do you think the prince will be long?" Hearing the muttered tones of Sir Tristam, Merlin glanced around the cave in surprise. He hadn't even noticed Arthur had gone. He was obviously really great at fulfilling his destiny, he didn't even know where his destiny was. It was always so much easier to protect him when they were in Camelot, not to mention when Merlin was at his full strength rather than being haunted by memories of the girl he had loved trying to drown him. It tended to affect his ability to think clearly, although he knew full well what Arthur's response to that would be, he had never been able to think clearly.
A small smile playing fondly across his lips, Merlin bent down and picked up the small stick resting by his feet, poking it into the smouldering remains of the fire and watching as it smoked. There wasn't enough heat left in it to be able to do anything more, the knights had been unable to find enough dry wood in order to keep it burning for long. That was another thing that was unnerving the warlock, making him shudder and pull the blanket further around his shoulders just thinking about it. The rain had yet to ease up in the slightest. He knew winter was fast approaching, another week or so and it would be here, yet this was unlike any storm Merlin had ever encountered. Not only had it come out of nowhere, almost literally, there was also the strange sensation he could feel as it landed on him. That alone told him it must be magic, his own magic was reacting against it. That just served to heighten the servant's curiosity though, for the others didn't seem to be showing any symptoms of anything happening to them. So why on earth was Merlin's magic trying to protect the warlock? Or the more worrying question, at least to Merlin's mind, was what was it protecting him from?
Merlin was so lost in his troubled thoughts, he didn't feel the increasing discomfort in the pit of his stomach until it reached full blown proportions, knocking the wind out of him as he gasped. Sensing some of the men turning to look towards him, Merlin smiled tightly and shifted his position, shielding himself from them. Allowing his defences to be lowered, the warlock embraced the feeling, knowing it was his magic trying to tell him something. There was something happening, something that involved Arthur, something that was dangerous. Shutting his eyes to get a better feel of what was coming, Merlin suddenly jumped to his feet, startling everyone in the cave as he yelled for Arthur.
"Merlin, calm down. He has gone to find some food."
"I have to go after him." Dropping the blanket from his shoulders, Merlin scrambled forward, trying to hide the tears building up in his eyes as the discomfort continued. The prince was in danger, that much his servant knew. And what worried Merlin even more was that he knew the threat was a magical one, that was why he was able to sense it. It was something that had developed over the years they had been together, whenever something magical was about to happen to Arthur, Merlin knew about it, providing they were in a certain range. Arthur would be furious to learn his servant had cast a spell on him, but Merlin had found it a necessary – and useful - way of keeping an eye on the prince when he was off doing other chores. The hard part was coming up with an excuse of why he had just happened to turn up in the nick of time every time it happened.
"Merlin, you're in no state to go anywhere. Sit down."
"You don't understand!" Merlin yelled, forgetting the fact he was only a servant in the company of Knights. Something he should have learnt from Arthur by now, yelling didn't tend to get him anywhere. Taking another step forward, the warlock sunk to his knees as the sensation grew even further, taking his breath away. This was more than just Arthur being in danger, this was Arthur dying. Crawling forward, Merlin decided if his legs weren't going to take him, his knees would just have to do the trick.
He had only made it half way across the cave when a pair of legs stepped in front of him, blocking his way.
"Get out of the way, I have to help Arthur."
"Remember who you are addressing, Merlin," Percival responded coldly, his eyes flashing dangerously as he watched Merlin try to crawl around him.
"Don't lose your temper, Percival, he is obviously still delirious." Leon's tones, whilst calming and trying to prevent things from spiralling out of control, did not have the desired effect on Merlin.
"I'm not delirious. Something has happened to Arthur, I have to go after him!" With a sigh, Leon rose from where he had been sitting, crossing the cave in a few strides and standing over the servant. Merlin was obviously worse than they had feared, they had hoped he was better this morning. But looking down on him now, Leon took in the flushed complexion with an inward groan. Arthur would never forgive him if he let the boy go running around in the rain now, after everything that had happened. As Merlin crawled forward once more, determination apparent on his face, Leon knew they wouldn't be able to talk reason into him.
Moving behind Merlin, he hooked his arms under the servant's shoulders, and with one movement, pulled him to his feet. He didn't let go, however, and continued to hold Merlin fast as the boy began struggling earnestly against his hold.
"You don't understand, Arthur is in trouble."
"So you've said."
"Damn it, let me go, I have to help him!"
"That's enough." Percival snapped, moving to stand in front of the pair. Seeing the look in the Knights eye, Merlin dropped his head. He knew by his expression that he had gone too far. Whilst when he was Arthur he was treated as an equal rather than a servant and things were generally better with this group of Knights compared to the rest of them, they were still nobles, whilst he was a servant. It appeared Merlin had just found his line, and in true Merlin style, hadn't just stepped over it, but taken a running leap and bounded over it.
"I have to help him," Merlin whispered pleadingly, looking Percival in the eye in a desperate bid to make him understand he was being earnest. None of the knights were prepared to help him though, they clearly thought he was still delirious.
"Merlin, we are going to the back of the cave. Are you going to stay there?"
Nodding mutely, Merlin allowed himself to be pulled to the far side of the cave. As Leon sat him down, Merlin bit his lip. The feeling had intensified once more. Watching him through narrowed eyes for a moment, Leon finally turned away from the servant with a sigh, thankful he seemed to be staying true to his word. What he hadn't been expecting, however, was the second Leon turned away, Merlin sprang to his feet. Ignoring the feeling as much as he could, he sprinted full speed towards the entrance of the cave, hearing the surprised shouts of the men behind him.
He had just reached the entrance to the cave when a hand grabbed his belt, pulling the warlock to the ground.
"I have to go!" Merlin practically screamed, wriggling as much as he could. But whoever had caught him was not letting him go again, pulling him to his feet and wrapping one strong arm around the warlock's chest, preventing him from going anywhere. Lashing out, Merlin felt his foot connect with a shin and heard the muffled curse, but the arm did not slacken.
"Someone help me." Owain grunted, allowing Merlin to identify his captor. Tristam and Percival quickly ran over and each grabbed one of Merlin's arms. Between the three of them, they managed to pull Merlin back again, but the servant was not making it easy for them, struggling with what little strength he still had.
"You have to stay, Merlin." Leon said, clearly prepared to trust the boy, despite his furious struggles. Percival, however, was still annoyed with the servant and was not prepared to let him go again.
"Get the rope," the man ordered, causing Merlin to jerk his head up in horror. Whilst he could escape a rope better than he could escape the men, it was going to take time in order to work the magic without them seeing, something he knew Arthur didn't have a lot of left.
"No!" The warlock screamed, all rational thoughts driven from his head as the feeling gave another throb. Arthur was seriously running out of time. "No, you can't! No!"
The Knights, however, had all seen how flushed Merlin was and how bright his eyes were. They were almost certain Arthur was fine, Merlin's delirium had clearly not passed as much as they had hoped. Shutting their ears to his pleas, Gawain fetched the rope from the saddle bag and carried it over. He was about to give it to Percival when Leon jumped in.
"I'll do it," he said softly, holding his hand out. He could see how frustrated Percival was and didn't want him to take it out on Merlin, it wasn't the boy's fault he was sick.
"Please," Merlin whispered, tears leaking from his eyes. His voice was hoarse and sore, he couldn't carry on screaming any longer, he simply didn't have the strength length. "Please, something is wrong."
Leon just sighed and nodded at the men holding Merlin. Whilst the servant had no idea what the signal was supposed to mean, he soon found out as, working as one, the three of them swept Merlin's legs from under him, pinning the warlock to the ground. His strength leaving him, Merlin shut his eyes as his cheek was pressed to the cold ground, unable to put up any more of a fight as Leon gently tied his wrists behind him. Pulling him into a sitting position, the men rested him against the cave wall before Leon then lashed his ankles together. Stepping back, a look of sadness crossed their faces as they watched the subdued boy. The fight had left him completely, his head hanging as the tears continued to fall from his eyes.
"What if he does have a point?" Tristam eventually muttered, his eyes not leaving Merlin.
"He doesn't." Percival responded shortly, turning back to what was left of the fire.
What the rest of them didn't realise, however, was that whilst Merlin may have looked subdued, he was far from it. The warlock instead was thinking furiously about what he could use as a distraction whilst he made his escape. If it came to it, he would knock them out, he simply had to get to Arthur, but would rather not to be met with hostile suspicion when they returned, especially as they all, with perhaps the exception of Percival, genuinely seemed sorry for what they had to do. If he was honest, Merlin could see how it must look to them, a servant screaming he had to help his master, after having been spouting nonsense for the majority of the night. If only he could remember what he had said…
As the tree he had tied the horses' reigns to gave a creak of protest against the buffeting wind, Merlin's head jerked up. That was it. With half a glance towards the men, the warlock knew this was his chance. Taking a deep breath, he allowed the magic to fill him up, his eyes subtly changing colour. In a second, the branch from the tree snapped off, causing them to all jump in surprise and rush over. It wasn't just the fallen tree they had to worry about, but the fact the horses were now lose. Another flash of his eyes and the ropes slid off the warlock. A third flash, and time slowed down dramatically.
Jumping to his feet, Merlin sprinted across the cave, around the back of them men and out of the opening as time once more resumed itself. He hoped in all the confusion, it would take them a while to realise he was gone, by which time he would have found the prince. Merlin knew if they caught him again now, he wouldn't be given the chance to escape again. Pelting through the forest, the warlock was in full sorcerer mode as he automatically dodged exposed roots, despite the fact he couldn't see a thing through the driving rain. With a flash of his eyes, he knew he was being drawn in the right direction, that Arthur was close by.
What he hadn't banked on, however, was quite how close the prince was. With a sudden whoosh, Merlin found himself flying over something solid, hitting the ground hard. Rolling, Merlin peered over his shoulder, blearily squinting back into the rain.
"Arthur?" His breath catching in his throat, Merlin scrambled through the mud on his hands and knees, bringing himself level with Arthur. Hands shaking, Merlin gently rolled him over, trying to ignore how laboured the prince's breathing was and how pale his face was. As the Dragon had once said, if Arthur was still breathing, there was still a chance to save him.
"What happened, Sire?" Merlin whispered, his eyes searching for what could have put Arthur in this state. A small red stain on the back of his leg gave the answer away, and within a matter of seconds, Merlin found himself staring at a puncture mark. Normally, he knew the way to deal with any poison was to suck the venom out, but there was something wrong. The area around the wound was an eerie green, and the warlock knew within an instant this was no ordinary bite, meaning ordinary methods would not work in curing him. Magic was needed.
Pulling the prince back into the shelter of the trees, Merlin glanced around him cautiously, making sure none of the Knights were nearby. It would do him no good to be caught as a sorcerer now, Arthur needed him. Examining the wound again, Merlin wracked his brains, mentally searching through his book for something that would help him cure the prince. A number of spells jumped into his head, but the warlock dismissed them all. He couldn't use them unless he knew what had poisoned the prince, it would kill Arthur otherwise.
Deciding he would be better off if he actually did discover what had put Arthur in this state, Merlin glanced at the prince once more before heading towards the small clearing of trees he could see just in front of him. He had been around Arthur long enough to know that is where the prince would have headed too.
He knew instantly that this was the place. The hairs on the back of his arms stood up, the air was vibrant with the use of powerful magic. Shuddering slightly, Merlin let his own power fill him up as he realised it was a dark magic that had been used. He had obviously been right in thinking that there was something following them, but judging by the darkness surrounding the clearing, they were no friend. Barely visible by a tree stump, a common snake lay dead in the grass, so ordinary that Merlin spared it little more than a glance as he began searching the clearing.
Within a moment, however, he stopped and straightened up.
"You can't be serious." He moaned out loud, walking back over and crouching by the snake. Sure enough, a small trickle of goo was running from its limp body, the same colour as the wound on Arthur's leg. The snake had been no more than an ordinary snake, but someone had cast a spell in it to make it swell and become lethal. Merlin had read about it in his spell book, it was a dark art, one that often involved sacrifices of some sort. What the warlock had been slightly more grateful about, was that an animal was often more than adequate. Whilst he protested greatly to the killing of anything without a reason, something the prince could testify from all of their disastrous hunts, Merlin was more prepared to accept that than the fact they had a cold blooded murderer following them.
"Right," the servant continued, thinking out loud as his mind raced through the spells he might need. Knowing Arthur was running out of time fast, Merlin jogged back to where the prince lay, trying to ignore the fact his breathing was becoming weaker. Placing his hand over the wound, Merlin concentrated all of his magic into his palm. Sensing more than seeing it glow iridescently, Merlin let the words roll of his tongue almost without thinking about them.
"Duco virus ex suus somes." A beam of light shot from the warlock's hand, striking Arthur directly where the wound was. For a moment, nothing happened, then suddenly, a strange hissing sound filled the air. Glancing about him to once more check no one was around, Merlin watched almost in fascination as an image of the snake rose from Arthur's leg, the green being sucked back through the wound and forming in the air. Without warning, it lunged for Merlin, but the warlock dodged to the side, watching the apparition closely.
"Absum," Merlin snarled, his eyes flashing golden as they glinted dangerously. The snake paused for a moment, before twisting awkwardly and dissolving into thin air with a hiss. Rocking back on his heels with a sigh of relief, Merlin blew out the breath he didn't even know he had been holding. The second the colour had disappeared from Arthur's leg, the prince's breathing had once more begun to even out, a small amount of colour trickling back into his cheeks.
Rolling him over, Merlin awkwardly sat Arthur up, leaning him against the nearby tree, but unable to hide his smirk as the prince's head just flopped forward again.
"I told them you were in trouble, but did they believe me? Oh no, I'm just the servant." Feeling the need to tell Arthur what had happened despite knowing the prince couldn't hear him, Merlin continued to rant about the way the knights had prevented him coming out after his master. He didn't blame them, not really. Even he would have wanted to stop himself if it wasn't for knowing how much danger the prince was in, and was actually rather grateful they didn't appear to hate him. He had certainly overstepped his servant boundaries with the way he had spoken to them.
As Merlin unloaded all the concerns off his chest and onto the prince, he eventually noticed Arthur was beginning to stir. It was just the odd movement here and there, but it was met with great delight in Merlin's eyes, a grin splitting from ear to ear.
"Arthur, can you hear me?" Merlin called, a slightly commanding tone infiltrating his tone as Arthur moved yet again. "Sire? Open your eyes, Arthur."
A sudden sound from behind him made Merlin jump almost a foot in the air, he had been so focused on the prince that he had failed to notice what was going on around him. Glancing at Arthur, he saw his brow crumple, a clear sign that the prince was beginning to come around.
"Don't go anywhere," Merlin yelped, jumping to his feet and sprinting back to the clearing. Spinning slowly around in a circle, the warlock increased all of his senses, trying to work out where the noise was coming from. Magic rushed to his defence, his fingers were almost sparking with invisible energy as he tried to locate the noise. Merlin was completely adamant it was the sorcerer back again, they couldn't have gone far if they had been around to maintain the spell to make the infection spread, it was not something one could just leave. But that would mean they knew the servant possessed magic, maybe they were here for him this time? A small part of Merlin's brain made him think that whoever was following them had already known about his magic, why else would he be the first person they tried to kill, he was just a servant among knights.
As his hearing suddenly picked up on footsteps all around him, Merlin felt his breath catch in his throat. He was surrounded. If it was the sorcerers, no matter how powerful the young warlock was, he knew without a doubt he couldn't defeat this many. He had just considered making a run for it when a voice floated into his sharpened hearing. It was whispering, but Merlin could hear it as clearly as if the speaker was yelling.
"Remember, he is sick, we don't want to hurt him, just get him back to the cave. The prince will be able to calm him down when returns, but until then, don't listen to a word he is saying, he doesn't know what is coming from his mouth."
With a groan, Merlin let his magic reside. The Knights had found him. Wondering whether it was still better running for it anyway, Merlin braced himself, but before he could move, a shape came hurtling out of the trees to his left, slamming into the warlock before he had time to so much as think of moving. Hitting the ground hard, Merlin lay winded for a moment as his assailant climbed back to his feet.
"He's down!"
"What part of `don't hurt him`, didn't you get, Percival?" An angry looking Leon quickly came striding from the trees, his eyes flickering in concern to where Merlin was still trying to regain his breath.
"Couldn't you see he was considering running again?" Percival snapped back, and for the first time in many hours, Merlin felt the urge to smile. The thought had barely even made it into his head, and yet the Knights had known. No wonder they were the best in the land, it came as no surprise that they had found the warlock. Magic aside, they seemed to know what he was going to do before Merlin himself did.
"Fine, hold him down." As the men advanced on him, Merlin suddenly gasped as the strangest sensation overwhelmed him. He just about registered that it felt like magic, dark magic, before his vision turned red. When it came back again, he could see Leon and Percival standing over him. Leon had a knife in his hand.
"We have to kill him before the prince reappears."
"No!" Merlin yelled, scurrying back away from the men. He could sense the rest of them moving in behind him, all armed and intent on killing him. Jumping to his feet, Merlin spun wildly in a circle, his eyes wide with fright. Seeing a gap in the knights, he went charging through, not registering their surprised looks. He had no idea where he was going, only knew he had to get away from them as fast as he could.
Back in the clearing, Leon and Percival exchanged surprised looks. They had got as far as beginning to crouch down before the servant had completely flipped out, acting as if he was terrified of them. They were completely unarmed, Leon hadn't want to scare him further, yet considering the look in Merlin's eye, he may as well been standing over him with a knife.
"We have to find him," Leon stated wearily, spinning on his heel and following the crashing sounds that the fleeing servant was making. He really wasn't being too subtle about it. Following the noise, Leon suddenly jumped in surprise as a voice drew his attention.
"Leon? What's going on?"
"Sire?" Leon gaped, his mouth almost hanging open as a pale prince suddenly limped from the trees. He looked a little unsteady on his feet, but apart from that, completely fine. It just showed how bad Merlin truly was.
"What happened?"
"I don't know," Arthur admitted, looking around him. "There was this snake, and I think I killed it, then everything went dark, I must have hit my head. But it was as if something was protecting me, Leon. It was weird. Anyway, why are you out here?"
"Merlin. He's completely flipped out. It started in the cave, he was adamant that you were almost dying and then he slipped through our fingers. We just found him again and he looked as if we wanted to kill him. Arthur, I have no idea what is wrong with him."
"I think I do," Arthur muttered, more to himself than his knight as he shivered. The coldness, however, was not only coming from the rain, but from the very feeling of the air. There was something dark about, and considering Arthur knew there was more to him blacking out than just hitting his head, he had a horrible feeling something had been done to Merlin.
"Come on then, let's find him." With a heavy heart, Arthur joined his men in the search for his servant. If it was indeed what he thought it was, they were in big trouble. For Arthur had no idea how he was supposed to deal with a magical threat and not hurt Merlin at the same time. Something that was not going to be made easy if Merlin had it in his head they were out to kill him.
They had only been searching for a few moments when Tristam and Owain came running into view, concern etched on their faces.
"We've found him, he's down by the cave. We think he thinks he is hidden."
"Typical Merlin, he never was any good," Arthur muttered, heading towards his men as he spoke. "Don't let him know we know where he is. Get the rest of the men and we'll surround the area. We have to keep him from hurting either himself or us and it is crucial we get him out of the rain and into the cave."
"Sire?" Owain asked, surprise lining his voice at the prince's sudden reappearance. "What's going on?"
"I think there is something magical about the rain and it is affected Merlin somehow." Arthur stated boldly, knowing he had been hiding his suspicions from his men for too long, especially as it seemed it was beginning to affect on of their own.
"But why Merlin?"
"Because he always finds trouble, come on." Leading the way, Arthur ran silently towards the place Tristam had pointed out. Sure enough, Merlin was huddled beneath a tree, his posture showing how frightened he was, yet he clearly thought he couldn't be seen. Silently gesturing, Arthur lead his men carefully followed, ready to run for it if Merlin showed signs of bolting. He only hoped getting him out of the weather would be enough.
Closer and closer they crept, until they were almost upon the boy. Gesturing to his men to stay where they were, Arthur stole forward alone. He was hoping he would be able to talk some sense into Merlin and this would all go smoothly. As soon as he came into view, however, Merlin shrunk back, his eyes darting around as if looking for escape.
"Please. Please don't, don't hurt me. It wasn't my fault, I swear I didn't do anything." Blinking in surprise at Merlin's words, Arthur paused momentarily, giving the warlock just enough time to make a dash for it down the hill. What he didn't know, however was that he was heading straight for Leon and Gawain. Within seconds, they had both leapt upon the servant, holding him down.
"No! Please! Stop! Please! Don't kill me!" Shutting his ears to Merlin's screams, Arthur ran swiftly over, knowing by the look on their faces this was distressing his men as much as it was him. Arthur couldn't work out why Merlin was so adamant they would want to kill him, what had he to hide that was that dangerous? Shutting his eyes, Arthur swallowed hard. He couldn't do this.
"It's alright, Sire," Owain suddenly said softly in his ear as he jogged past the prince. Squatting down next to Merlin, he calmly pinned his hands behind him in one of his own, the other being used to push Merlin's head closer to the ground. Arthur had no idea what the man was doing, but something was happening to Merlin. He seemed to be calming down, and the small amount of him the prince could see appeared to be relaxing, his breathing evening out once again. Within a few moments, Merlin had fallen completely still, causing Owain to stand up again. Within seconds, Tristam leapt forward, a rope trailing from his hand. As the three knights tied the servant's hands, Arthur stared at Owain in surprise.
"What did you do to him?"
"There is a way, my Lord, to get through to someone under an enchantment. After what you said about the rain, I didn't know it would work, but had to try." Seeing Arthur's face beginning to cloud over, Owain pressed on. "It is merely talking them down, Sire. Constant repetition of the fact they were safe, that no one is going to hurt them, directly into their ear is supposed to free the brain from a magical hold. I'm glad it worked."
"How on earth did you know that?" Arthur asked, his eyebrows raised as he stared at his Knight in astonishment.
"An old man told me after I lost my wife, Sire. Like I said, I didn't know if it would work, I can't guarantee how long it will last, either."
"We need to get him out of the rain, Sire." Leon called, making Arthur look around. Merlin was standing, his hands tied in front of him, Leon holding the other end of the rope, clearly a precaution should the servant run again. Merlin, however, looked like he had no intention of running, his head was down, his shoulders slumped.
"Come on then." Arthur responded, leading the group up the hill as Leon led Merlin. He couldn't face the haunted look in his servant's posture.
Ops... Sorry Merlin!
Let me know what you thought?
