Disclaimer-I don't own Merlin

Sorry for the delay in the update, I've been on best friend duty all weekend.

Anyway, thank you everyone for kindly reviewing, here's the next chapter.

Chapter 7-Gwen and the Gulon

The Prince was on his feet in an instant and quickly pulled on a tunic, shoved on his boots and grabbed his sword before rushing out of the room. The two girls followed after him as he led the way to the stables and hurriedly jumped onto his horse.

Morgana and Gwen followed suit and Arthur was far too concerned with Merlin to tell them to stay in the safety of the castle. Besides, Arthur would need Morgana's assistance in order to find the right part of the woods.

Pulling back for a moment, Arthur allowed the seer to move in front of him and take the lead since he had no idea where he was going.

They moved as fast as the horses could possibly go but it still felt as though they were moving at a snail's pace. As they rode, the most horrid thoughts tormented the young Prince's mind. Anything could be happening to Merlin right now. Arthur silently swore that he would kill anyone who so much as tried to harm his Merlin; yes that's right Merlin was still his, even if they weren't together physically the warlock belonged in the Prince's heart.

***

Hunith smiled to herself as she watched her son leave. She had been beginning to think that Merlin would never return to Camelot. It seemed her son was more stubborn than she realised but finally he had called it a day and decided to set out after his Prince.

Hopefully Arthur would be pleased to see her son. She knew that the two young men loved one another dearly but could Arthur forgive Merlin for the pain he had been put through for over a year? She certainly hoped so, but the Prince was a proud person, she feared that might affect his reaction to Merlin's sudden appearance.

Of course, with the Lady Morgana and Gwen around things shouldn't be too bad. The two girls would ensure that they finally allowed themselves to be together despite the difference in their social stations and Merlin's sorcery or anything the King had to say.

The two of them needed each other. During his time in Ealdor, Merlin had rarely smiled or even spoken. He never practiced his magic anymore and on the times when Hunith had asked him to do something magically it hadn't worked. It seemed that Merlin needed the Prince for his magic to work.

As to the state Arthur had been in during Merlin's absence, Hunith could only guess. She wondered if he still kept Merlin's neck scarf. Her son certainly kept the Prince's pendant, not once had he removed it from where it hung at his throat.

She sincerely hoped that everything would work out between them; her son's happiness meant everything to her.

***

Since Merlin had returned to Ealdor all he could think about was his life in Camelot not with the Prince, but with Arthur. It wasn't the royal title he was in love with, it was the man.

Without the man he loved, Merlin had felt terribly lonely and depressed. He tried to hide this from his mother and the other villagers but he was sure they could see through his pitiful attempt of a façade. Life just seemed meaningless when it ought to be precious.

Even his magic suffered from being away from the Prince. Merlin had tried to call upon his magic on the odd occasion but the most he could do was make an object wobble; though that could have been the wind rather than him. He wasn't sure why his magic was now pretty much nonexistent but he instinctively knew that it would return to normal when he was reunited with Arthur.

After a long and lonely time, Merlin had given up trying to forget about Arthur. No matter what he tried, the blonde was a permanent fixture on his mind. So he finally decided to go back. He did fear that perhaps Arthur was stronger than he and had moved on but he at least had to try and fight for the heart of the man he loved.

When he informed his mother of his plans she had positively beamed at him and he had found himself smiling too. He had packed as quickly as he could and kissed his mother goodbye before setting out on foot.

He was by a wood not too far from Camelot when he was taken by surprise when three large men jumped out at him. A blow to his head knocked him unconscious.

When his senses returned to him and he was able to open his eyes, Merlin found himself in the shape of an 'X'. His left wrist and ankle were tied by an itchy piece of rope to one tree whilst his right hand and foot were tied to another tree.

Looking down at himself Merlin discovered that he was naked and promptly blushed at the thought; it was only Arthur who should see him in such a way, no-one else.

He tried tugging at the rope which made them dig deeper into his flesh causing him to let out a moan. His sound of pain had alerted his attackers to the fact he was now awake.

"Well look here boys." The apparent leader of the group said. "Our little friend is finally awake."

"He doesn't look that little to me." One of the others commented as he openly gawked at Merlin's groin.

The third member of the group said nothing; he merely leered at Merlin with an amused glint in his eye.

The leader of the group was the largest of the three with a bald head and long black plaited beard that reached his navel. He wore a necklace of teeth around his thick neck, a variety of animal and human by the looks of things.

The second man was shorter than the other two but still very muscular. He had a thick ginger moustache and matted hair that reached his elbows.

The last of Merlin's attackers was the tallest. He had a slender frame but still looked strong and muscular. He had black hair that reached the nape of his neck and a scar running down the left side of his face.

"Might we have the pleasure of knowing your name boy?" The second man asked as he stepped up to Merlin, his horrid breath streaking across Merlin's face.

Without answering the man, Merlin turned his head to the side and looked at the ground.

"Rude." The second man commented before kneeing him in the gut.

Merlin grunted in pain and would have clutched at his stomach if his hands had been free.

"Now now Harsco." The leader of the chided. "Play nicely."

Harsco stepped back and the leader moved forward. As his two cronies looked on the leader gripped Merlin by the chin and forced his head up to look at him. He turned his head at different angles so he could properly admire Merlin's face.

"You are quite beautiful already." The leader commented. "But I'm sure we can improve you somehow, isn't that right Brutus."

The scarred man, Brutus, smirked in response before stalking closer to Merlin. He moved like a shadow and stared down at the warlock brandishing a dagger. He raised the blade and traced it lightly over Merlin's face, not pressing hard enough to cut but enough for Merlin to feel the touch.

Brutus gently trailed the knife down further before making a shallow cut across Merlin's ribs. Merlin winced as the cut was made and held his breath as he received eight more, four on his left side four on his right.

As the tiny rivers of blood trickled over Merlin's pale skin, Brutus watched with a sick fascination before moving lower and slicing across Merlin's thighs. He made six cuts on his left thigh and six on the other.

"Brutus is rather fond of symmetry." Harsco informed him.

Settling himself on his knees, Brutus watched the blood flow before leaning his head forward and darting his tongue out to lick up the crimson liquid. Merlin shuddered at the contact and tried to move back but his restraints wouldn't let him.

"Enough." The leader commanded and the ever silent Brutus moved away.

The leader walked behind Merlin with a whip in his hand. With his eyes tightly shut, Merlin tried to ready himself for the pain. However, when the he received the first lash across his back he couldn't control the scream that escaped him. The leader was relentless and continued to strike him all across his back, arse and the back of his legs. The louder Merlin screamed, the more enthusiastic his torturer seemed to become.

He finally put the whip down and stepped behind Merlin to whisper in his ear.

"You scream beautifully." He complimented. "And you look all the more desirable when you're covered in blood."

"Let me have a turn sir." Harsco begged. "I'll add some fine bruising to the boy."

"Yes, he is rather pale." The leader said thoughtfully. "A dash of blue and purple ought to sort that out. Proceed Harsco."

Harsco grinned as the leader moved out of the way. He then stepped up to the naked boy and rained his punches down on him. Merlin bit down on his bottom lip in an attempt to stifle his groans of pain.

"Lovely." The leader praised once Harsco was done and a number of different coloured bruises started to form on Merlin's pale skin. "But we're not quite finished yet. Brutus, back to you."

With a smile that made Merlin's stomach churn, Brutus took hold of a piece of wood and lit it on their little camp fire. Merlin's eyes widened in panic and he struggled frantically as Brutus stepped nearer. The three men only laughed at him before Brutus swung at Merlin with the flaming branch. He screeched as he felt the fire on his bruised and bloodied flesh. Before he even had a chance to properly take in the pain Brutus was delivering another fiery blow.

Merlin's cries of pain sounded throughout the forest with only animals to hear them causing them to run in fear in the opposite direction. All apart from one creature that moved closer to the agonized sounds.

***

The seer, the Prince and the handmaiden were nearing the woods in which the warlock was held captive.

"He's in here!" Morgana called over her shoulder as she urged her horse to ride faster.

"Do you know where?" Arthur asked desperately.

"I will find the place." She told him confidently.

When the three of them arrived on the scene, they found Merlin tied up and being beaten by all three men whilst an unknown created lurked in the shadows slowly coming towards them. The creature, which Gaius would call a Gulon, was as big as a dog with a face like a cat. It had incredibly sharp nails, long brown hair and a tail like a fox. Were it not for the long claws, it would have looked completely harmless.

"The next person to touch him dies first!" Arthur growled as he and the two girls made their presence known.

At the sound of the Prince's voice, Merlin's head shot up and a weak smile lit up his face before Brutus smirked wickedly before punching him in the face and knocking him unconscious.

Brutus had barely pulled his fist back from Merlin's face before his head was swiped off his shoulders in one swift blow. The dead body crumpled to the ground and his two living companions suddenly looked worried. They reached for their swords and tried backing away from the murderous Arthur.

As they stepped back, the Gulon crawled out and dug its claws into the side of Harsco's leg. The ginger man howled in pain before Arthur stabbed him through the chest. He collapsed to the floor his hands scrabbling at his bleeding upper body whilst the Gulon continued to scratch at him.

Arthur then faced the leader. Their swords clashed together a few times before the Prince knocked his opponents out of his hand. He then took a firm hold on the other man before plunging the sword deep inside of him. Arthur then pushed the dead body away. Looking back to the other man he saw that he was now dead also.

The Gulon looked up at Arthur and linked a few times before sniffing around his feet. Arthur held his sword ready in case the creature attacked. The Gulon wrinkled its nose in what appeared to be disgust before trotting over to the girls. It sniffed at Morgana and let out a small yelp before cautiously approaching Gwen. She held still as the Gulon circled her. The creature then stared up at her before sitting on its hind legs. It gently licked the back of Gwen's hand before running away back through the trees.

Coming back to his senses, Arthur crossed over to Merlin and cut through the ropes before catching the injured boy in his arms. Morgana collected Merlin's bag of belongings and pulled a pair of breeches out of it to cover the naked boy.

Arthur carried his precious load through the trees whilst the girls followed behind leading the horses. When they were out of the woods, Arthur gently laid the wizard down on the grass so they could examine him.

"He should be ok." Gwen told him. "His cuts need cleaning. The bruises will heal themselves. I think Gaius ought to look at the burns, I'm afraid I know little about how to treat them."

"Here." Morgana said as she took a flask of water that was loaded on one of the horse's saddles. "We can clean the cuts with this." She then ripped off a few strips of her nightdress to use as bandages for the worst of the cuts.

"It will hurt him too much to ride back on a horse." Arthur pointed out. "Camelot's not too far. You girls go on ahead, I'll carry him."

"We'll make sure Gaius is ready to help when you two return." Gwen told him.

He nodded at them in thanks before they sat astride their horses and took off, Arthur's own horse trotting along beside them.

"I'm sorry I didn't arrive sooner." Arthur apologized in a whisper to the sleeping boy in his arms.

He made his way down the path and continued to talk the warlock just incase he could hear anything. A little way before the gates of Camelot, Merlin stirred in his arms and let out a small whimper as he opened his eyes.

"Arthur?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes Merlin, it's me." Arthur told him comfortingly. "I'm here, you're safe now."

"Love you." Merlin managed to wheeze out. "Was coming…coming back…don't want…t-to be…alone anymore."

"Sssh, just take it easy baby." Arthur soothed. "You won't be alone anymore, I promise."

Merlin managed a small smile as he clung tightly to the Prince. His eyes drooped and he fell asleep again as they passed through the gates. Arthur quickened his steps so that he could get Merlin to Gaius and have him treated as soon as possible.

As Gwen had said, she and Morgana had informed Gaius of what was happening and he was already prepared for their arrival. As instructed by the physician, Arthur gently laid Merlin on the bed so that Gaius could tend to his wounds. The Prince stayed by his side the whole time waiting for his warlock to awake.

To Be Continued

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