Title: To Serve and Protect
Author: Ultra-Geek
Summary: After something terrible happens, Arthur, Gwen, Gwaine, and Lancelot take their turns in protecting their protector, watching over their watcher. Merlin's the one in trouble, now, and it's up to them to save him.
Warnings: SPOILERS FOR MOST OF THE SERIES, INCLUDING SERIES 3's FINALE.
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to Shine and BBC – I've got nothing.
AN: Chapter four, as promised! Again, thanks to all of those who reviewed anonymously or had the PM feature disabled so I couldn't respond personally. And, look! Within a week! : ) Enjoy!
"Mighty Emrys," Cor crowed, laying the blade across Merlin's bared throat, "Time to die."
"Hey!"
A woman's shoe flew out, and with frightening precision, slammed the side of Cor's head. The dagger fell to the ground with a clatter, but the sorcerer kept a tight grip on the staff, staggering back in surprise from Merlin. Arthur froze, and turned his head to his left.
Gwen, clutching her other shoe in her hand, glared at Cor with murder in her eyes. "You will not touch him again," she said.
Gwen, somehow, had managed to stay standing throughout the torrent. She stood, barefooted and terrified, and so very brave. Arthur could see the white knuckle grip she had on her shoe. He could see the way her lips pressed together in a hard line. Arthur struggled anew against the stony hands holding him down.
"How dare you," Cor said, and the anger melted away, and he laughed, an even scarier tone, "You are brave, little one, but it will cost you your life."
Gwen took a deep, shaking breath, and began to walk towards the sorcerer. "Gwen, no!" Arthur yelled, "Guinevere! Stop!"
"Listen to your prince, Guinevere," Cor said, a slight sing-song lilting in his words, "Step away. This does not concern you."
Gwen continued forward. Cor stumbled back, apparently to shocked to do anything. She stopped when she stood in front of Merlin, and stared at Cor. When she spoke, there was winter and iron in her voice, "You have taken me from my home, and endangered my friends," she said, "You have tortured Merlin, one of the kindest, most wonderful…It concerns me, you foul monster."
"Stand aside," Cor repeated.
"Gwen!" Arthur bellowed.
Gwen swallowed, and said, "No."
"Fine," Cor snarled, and raised the staff, "On your head be it."
Lightening flew from the pulsating, glowing staff, straight for Gwen and Merlin. Gwen screamed, and threw herself in front of the bound warlock, wrapping her arms around his neck and covering his body with hers. The lightening slammed straight into her, sending dust and smoke flying and making it utterly impossible to see what was happening.
"No!" Arthur yelled, and his heart all but leaped from his chest. He stared, too scared to blink, too grief stricken, hoping, praying, wishing for some silly and stupid miracle to happen. The smoke began to clear. He couldn't believe his eyes at the sight that appeared - Gwen, clinging to Merlin, shaking like flower in a windstorm. Still standing, still protecting, still living.
"I…I don't understand," Cor was muttering, staring at the staff, "I have Emrys. I have him. Why are they not…how?"
"There is breath in him yet," Gwen said, her voice small but steely. She continued to cling to the front of Merlin's shirt. Both of their clothes were singed and blackened, Gwen's curls floating in the breeze and Merlin's face covered in ash. She glanced upwards at the sorcerer, "And you cannot have him."
Cor, apparently unready to deal with such a development, howled wordlessly and vanished with a loud bang.
Arthur pushed himself to his feet immediately, the stones' granite fingers disappearing back down into the floor.
He and Gwaine both dashed on unsteady legs to where Gwen stood, Merlin's forehead leaning against hers. "Cut him down," she whispered, eyes shut, crying quietly. All of the fight had drained out of her, and she looked like she may fall at any moment, "For God's sake, cut him down."
She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a rumpled and stained bit of fabric, and pressed it to Merlin's bleeding nose. Distantly, Arthur realized it was Merlin's neckerchief. Staring, Arthur couldn't move. He couldn't make his feet walk forward. Gwaine, however, jumped forward and began to saw at the ropes with gusto, using Cor's dropped dagger. Arthur swallowed thickly, "Is he…?"
He couldn't finish the question. Gwen, cupping a hand to Merlin's cheek and still not moving, said, "As I said, there is breath in him yet. B-but he won't wake up."
Of course, that was the point where they were all brutally reminded of the fact that they hadn't been alone in the courtyard. Luckily for them, Thom and his bandits had been equally stunned, which had given the three prisoners time to get Merlin free. However, they'd now regained their wits, and were less than pleased.
"He didn't pay us!" Thom yelled, "That cheating scum didn't pay us!"
And then his gaze landed on the center of the courtyard, eyes narrowing. Arthur grabbed at his belt, searching for a sword hilt that wasn't there. "Gwaine," Arthur said, "Get Guinevere and Merlin to safety."
"Already on it," Gwaine answered, throwing the unconscious boy over his shoulder and grabbing Gwen's wrist.
She pulled away from him sharply, and called to Arthur, "I'm not leaving you."
"Yes, you are," Gwaine said.
Arthur nodded, "Gwen, go, please. I'll be alright."
She hesitated, and then allowed Gwaine to pull her from the courtyard, and out of the gate.
Arthur watched them go, and then, finding himself quite out of options, surveyed his competition. There was Thom, plus three wielding swords, two with clubs, and two on the walls with crossbows. That made it eight on one. "Well, then," Arthur muttered, "Right where I want them."
Then, he charged.
Lancelot, while circling the castle, had found an entrance near the back that was unguarded. He had circled back around to tell Arthur of this, but when he returned there was no prince to be seen. Lancelot could only assume that he was still surveying his half of the castle. Two minutes later, and he began to get concerned. One minute after that, and he was anxious. Not thirty seconds later, Lancelot had come to the conclusion that something had gone terribly, terribly wrong and that if he, being Lancelot, didn't take action soon, then something even worse would happen and everyone, being all of Camelot, would know that it was his fault.
It was then that something distracted the guards on the walls, and they left their posts. Lancelot paused – was this really going to be this easy? Was he really just going to saunter in through the front door? No. That was ridiculous. He was going to run, half crouched and bent with his sword drawn in through the front door.
Of course, it was as he was approaching the gate that the sky seemed to suddenly close in on him, grabbing him and tossing him into the air and throwing him all of the way back into the trees. His head smacked the ground, and Lancelot saw stars. It felt like a thousand pounds were pressing against his back, pinning him to the ground. Distantly, someone was screaming.
Then, it stopped. He pushed himself to his feet, staggering only for a moment, and turned to look at the castle again. He ran forward, remembering that feeling of something awful going to have happened, and could only conclude that it had. And, thinking back on the terrible force that had sent him flying, Lancelot assumed that something awful had happened to Merlin. There were bandits fleeing from the castle, pushing past him, yelling things like, "I don't care how much we're gettin', s'not worth this!"
They were in such a hurry they left their horses behind. Four of them, actually, all fully tacked. It was too big of an opportunity to miss. After all, Gwen could always ride double with Arthur, or Lancelot. But she'd probably go with Arthur. Then again…
It took a moment to calm them – whatever it was that happened before had spooked the animals. But by the time Lancelot had gathered all four, there was suddenly someone shouting his name. Lancelot looked up to find Gwaine and Guinevere running towards him. Gwaine had Merlin thrown over his shoulder.
"Where have you been?" Gwaine snapped as they came up to him.
"I've been on my way," Lancelot said back, "But then I saw the horses, and – what's wrong with Merlin?"
"Long story, mate," Gwaine said, "But right now, Arthur is currently fighting a castle full of bandits, so let's deal with that first."
"What?"
"Arthur. Castle," Gwaine said, shoving the limp Merlin onto a horse, "I'll stay with them, you go and find him."
This ended with Arthur and Lancelot, pressed back to back, swords out and whirling. As most of the bandits had fled, it was actually not the worst odds that Lancelot had ever had stacked against him. It was only a matter of time – and jabbing, cutting, and stabbing – until Arthur and Lancelot were sprinting back to the horses, the remaining bandits deeming them unworthy of pursuing.
On the ride back to Camelot, every snapping twig was the bandits creeping up on them. Lancelot thought he may go mad from the stress of it. Gwen, in small sentences punctuated by tears, told what had happened since she, Merlin, and Gwaine had left the city walls.
"And they…Merlin, I just…" she broke off into a sob, "They thought he was…was Emrys or someone, and now…" she was crying too hard to speak. Lancelot wanted to reign in his horse, pull Gwen from hers, and hold her in his arms until she calmed. He didn't, of course, and waited for Gwen to continue. She didn't. Lancelot didn't necessarily need her too, though. He could fill in the blanks well enough on his own, and it all added up to Arthur knowing about Merlin's magic.
It made Lancelot sick to think about.
Gwaine, for his part, uttered not a word. Merlin sat in front of him, limp and dangling as a corpse. From time to time, Lancelot watched as Gwaine would reach forward, snag Merlin's wrist, and check for a pulse. Then, Gwaine would breathe a small sigh in relief, followed by an answering chorus of sighs from Lancelot and Gwen.
Arthur rode ahead of them. He didn't look back, not once.
Upon galloping into the courtyard of Camelot, Arthur had a servant running to find Gaius before he was even off his horse. It surprised Gwaine, in a vague sort of way. After all, he had taken Arthur's silence the entire ride back as a harbinger of bad things for Merlin. He spent no more time in thinking about it, though, because had bigger problems to deal with than Arthur's mood swings.
Namely, Merlin.
His friend hadn't stirred. Gwaine was sick just thinking about it. He pulled Merlin down off of the horse, and began to walk up the stairs, moving slowly to avoid jostling the younger man any more than necessary. Leon, Percival and Elyan on either side of him, came jogging down the stairs. Arthur, upon seeing the knights, spoke for the first time that evening. "All's well here?"
"The king knows naught of your absence," Leon said, and Gwaine could feel the older knight's eyes following him up to the castle, "What's happened to the boy?"
"He's…"
"They knew he was Arthur's servant," Gwen said from where she stood with Elyan's arm about her shoulders. She hugged herself tightly, and said, "So they went after him the most."
Gwaine was impressed. It was a decent lie, thought up on the spot. But then he was in the door and around the corner, all the conversations drifting away. It wasn't long before Gwen and Lancelot, and even Arthur, had caught up and followed him through the castle. "I can take him," Arthur said suddenly, "If your arms are tired. You must be sore."
"I have him."
"I only meant –"
"I said," Gwaine growled, "I have him."
Gwaine didn't know what Arthur planned on doing with Merlin. He didn't want to find out, not yet. When they reached Gaius's room, the physician was waiting for them. "Put him on the bed," the physician said, "What happened?"
Gwen told most of it, with Gwaine interjecting details. Lancelot added in his and Arthur's part in things at the end. For the most part, Gaius didn't react, save to grow paler and graver with every word. At the end of the tale, Arthur abruptly stood and swept from the room. Lancelot followed him almost instantly. Gwen fetched a few bottles from Gaius, and then was ordered to return to her chambers to sleep.
That left Gwaine and Gaius. "I tried," Gwaine said, and the words were cheap and hollow, "I tried to stop it, Gaius, but –"
"No, don't do that," Gaius said, "I know you did everything in your power to help him. But there's nothing for you to do here, now. Go and rest."
Gwaine wanted to protest more, but before he could, Gaius turned around to tend to Merlin. "Oh, my boy," Gaius muttered, bending over to quietly examine one of the bruises on Merlin's face. Gwaine couldn't look, and fled to the hall.
It felt like his heart was on fire. Every time he blinked the image of Merlin tied and screaming flashed out at him from the dark. Every action he'd taken over the last days replayed, again and again, never ending, all leaving Gwaine with a single conclusion – he should have protected Merlin better. Thinking of Merlin, quiet and still, in the room behind him, made his lungs constrict and the back of his eyes burn.
If this is what friendship did to you, then Gwaine thought it was stupid. Really stupid. Really fantastically stupid. When this was all over, he was going to make Merlin buy him an entire barrel of ale. Maybe two. Possibly three. Or maybe Gwaine would just hug the idiot. He'd sleep on it, and see how he felt in the morning.
His line of thought, however, was abruptly interrupted when he realized he was walking into a rather intense conversation between Lancelot and Arthur, the air burning between them with tension.
"I am loyal to you, Arthur, and I have sworn my fealty to you," Lancelot was saying, "But if you make certain decisions about him, I will be honor bound to take certain actions."
Arthur looked at him, and then said, "Noted."
Gwaine cleared his throat. They both whipped their heads around to stare at him. Arthur, without a word, pushed past Gwaine and back into Gaius's rooms. Gwaine and Lancelot stood in silence, staring at each other and not speaking. Finally, Gwaine couldn't take it anymore, cracked his neck, flipped his hair, and said, "Did you know about Merlin?"
"Did I know what about Merlin?" Lancelot said, and then narrowed his eyes, "Why? Did you know?"
"Depends," Gwaine said, squinting a little, "On if what I know is the same as what you think you know."
"Unless you think you know what I know, but you really don't know," Lancelot said.
"But I don't think I know, I know I know. But what I need to know now is if you know what I know, because if you do know then there are some other things I know you need to know," Gwaine said, "You know?"
"Yes. No. I mean," Lancelot said, eyebrows drawing together, "What?"
"Sire, perhaps you should go," Gaius said lightly, from where he stood at Merlin's side, "You look like you could use some rest yourself."
"I'm staying," Arthur said, shutting the door behind him. He was dizzy, and felt like he did after getting a concussion. Floating, not quite real.
"I've been informed as to the manner in which Merlin was attacked, there is nothing you will be able to do here."
And it was suddenly clear to Arthur why Gaius was trying to get rid of him. "Are you going to use magic?" he asked.
Gaius flinched, like he'd been struck. "Of course not," he said, "But all the same, you should –"
"Do not lie to me, Gaius!" Arthur snapped, and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I am done being lied to. I know about Merlin. I know. I know about the magic. I know that he's been lying to me, I know that Gwaine and Lancelot have been lying for him, and that you have been lying. I am finished with it. I will have the truth."
Gaius was quiet, staring at Arthur intensely, an eyebrow raised.
"You will tell me what's wrong with Merlin, what the sorcerer did to him," Arthur growled, "Now. And it is not a request."
"From what you and the others have described," Gaius said, slow, refusing to look at Merlin, sounding impossibly old, "It sounds as if this Cor sought to steal Merlin's magic from him. But he's misunderstood – Merlin does not have magic. The magic is a part of him, woven into his very being."
"What do you mean?" Arthur asked.
"It is not a short story," Gaius warned.
"Then you best start talking."
And talk Gaius did. He told Arthur of many days, starting with the day that Merlin had come to Camelot. There were holes in his narratives, things the old man left out. Arthur wanted to call him on it, but didn't. He was too busy listening to a tale about a boy from a small village, born to great powers and an even greater destiny. Finally – for Gaius hadn't lied, it was a long story – Gaius finished, and waited for Arthur's reaction.
"He was born with it," Arthur said slowly, "He did not choose it. It…chose him?"
"Yes," Gaius nodded, "And, clearly, Cor did not understand that."
"How so?"
"By ripping Merlin's magic from him, Cor was also…" Gaius paused, leaning heavily down on the table and closing his eyes for a moment. Arthur didn't pressure the old physician, and merely waited for him to speak on his own accord. Eventually, Gaius did, "The magic is so entwined with Merlin, that when he ripped out the magic, he effectively ripped out Merlin's soul with it. What we have here with us is a body, a shell, and nothing more."
The sheer power of Gaius's words sent Arthur's knees weak, and he sat down heavily on a chair. He looked over to Merlin's still form, where the only movement was the slight rise and fall of his chest. Arthur felt his heart stutter, and thought of the glowing staff. No, he corrected, not a staff, but Merlin's spirit, his soul, his very being. Arthur ran his fingers through his hair, and thought of Merlin – loyal, clumsy, idiotic Merlin. Lying, sneaking, magic Merlin.
Really, in the end, there was only one thing for him to say.
"How do we fix it?"