I know I've uploaded a lot recently but I'm trying to keep this one regular and the others just…appeared… Brace yourself for Gwaine being awesome, Arthur being a bit of a prat and Merlin being too selfless for his own good…sounds like a normal Merlin episode! I feel guilty about neglecting Percival…going to have to write him into Fury of a warlock somehow…. Anyway Enjoy!
Gwaine looked over at Emrys, frowning in worry. Normally, he'd respect Arthur's decisions in everything but letting Camelot's warped justice system getting a hold of this sorcerer…warlock… went against the grain. Gwaine had never personally seen the danger of sorcerers until he had come to Camelot but he was willing to bet that this one honestly didn't have a desire to wreak havoc in Arthur's kingdom. While he couldn't exactly jump in the way of the guards sent to help in containing the warlock, he could at least let the guy know what was going on. By the looks of things Emrys seemed to have fallen asleep on his horse.
He bent down and took a loose cobblestone, big enough to do the job but small enough to remain unnoticed as it flew through the air. It hit its target, bumping against the exhausted warlock's head and waking him up fully. Emrys bolted upright in his saddle, startling his horse at the sudden movement. Tensing at the man's animation both Arthur and the guards tensed where they stood.
"Oh! Umm… hello," Emrys greeted them, dazed. Leon gave him a strange look and he realised what situation he was in.
"Arrest him," Arthur ordered. Emrys wrenched his hands out from the rope holding them and reached for the reins, kicking his horse into action. With a cry, the animal followed its rider's command and sprinted to the right and through a gap between two market stalls.
Merlin heard Arthur's shouted orders and frantically planned an escape. If he could get to the postern of the southern wall he could double back and make his way to the citadel as himself from there, ditching the cloak and make his way to Gaius' chambers. At least that was the plan until a body of armour crashed into his side, knocking him off his horse.
Merlin and his assailant crashed to the ground, Merlin bearing the brunt of the fall and the weight on top of him knocking all the wind out of him. Gasping, he scrambled to his feet only to be wrenched back down again by a strong grip on his arm. Looking up he saw Arthur standing over him with his sword pointed at his chest. Well of course it had to be him, Merlin thought grimly to himself. Only a noble dollophead could decide to fling himself at a powerful sorcerer.
His eyes darted for an escape and without much effort, he encouraged a rope to come to his rescue. Arthur had no time to react as the rope wrapped around his sword hand and wrenched it away from the sorcerer. Merlin stumbled as he shot back up again, reminded once more of his wounds. Clutching his side, Merlin moved away from Arthur, barely aware of which direction he went in.
His hands pressed against his side where the wound had been opened from his fall. Wincing, he stumbled into a square, realising dimly that this was where he'd first seen Freya in her true form. With an effort he threw the thought aside before he reminded himself that that was where she'd been fatally injured – by Arthur – and the same thing may well happen to him. Struggling to focus, Merlin realised with a sickening dread that despite his efforts, he'd been surrounded. He turned round, noticing Arthur's arrival and deflated, realising that this, finally was the moment he'd been dreading since he arrived in Camelot all those years ago. This was the moment he'd be arrested and he knew all too well what would happen after….
Merlin straightened and spread his hands facing the floor, hoping to convey his surrender. There was no way he could endanger the lives of all these people to get himself out of hot water. His escape was a desperate attempt from the start but he wasn't going to harm people that got in his way. As noble as these thoughts were, it didn't stop Merlin from searching for an escape, anything that could get him out of this mess. Across the square he could see Gwaine looking on with regret.
Merlin tensed when he sensed something coming closer. This wasn't just a threat, it was magic and his magic rebelled against it. Spinning around his gaze fell upon a guard taking a step forward from the ring that had surrounded him. His gaze fixated on the contraption in the guards hands. He could feel the magic coming off it and his senses shied away from it, his reaction almost painful. He knew what it was for. It was why the sight of it terrified him. His eyes darted from Arthur to the advancing guard.
"Don't do this," he said, his tongue feeling heavy. He started breathing harder and his hands trembled. Swallowing he tried to regain some composure but the damn thing kept coming closer. He gasped and the guard stopped in fear as Merlin's magic flickered, bathing his form in a soft golden light. For a brief moment, he let it flicker around him, offering some comfort but he reined it in. He knew how tempted he'd be to reconsider his promise not to hurt anyone. By the look of it, Arthur and the knights knew it too.
"Wait." Everyone had already stopped anyway but his change in tone caused Arthur's eyes to narrow suspiciously. Usually when a sorcerer sounded determined, it meant no good to those around him. Merlin focused on his breathing and implored to his friend.
"Arthur." The man in question grasped the hilt of his retrieved sword and clenched his jaw at being addressed. "Arthur, you do it."
His voice had come out choked and if he didn't already feel so horrified he was sure he'd have blushed to hear himself sound so strained. There was no room in his head to think of that.
Slowly, assessing the new situation, Arthur stepped forward and took the constraints from the guard who was only too happy to assign the task to someone else. His eyes peered into the darkness of the hood of the sorcerer, not entirely sure what he was looking for. Merlin concentrated on looking at Arthur's face rather than at his hands. It was why even though his nerves were screaming he could allow the thing in Arthur's hands to get so close to him without his magic revolting again.
Soon enough, Arthur was barely a step away from him, close enough to hear his rapid breathing. Arthur undid the clasp and the sound of the metal creaking was enough to break through Merlin's fragile composure. Arthur froze as he saw magic flicker in the sorcerer's eyes under the hood. Despite the light that he'd been trained to view as threatening and deadly, the gold from the sorcerer only highlighted the fear in Emrys' wide eyes.
"Get it over with," he pleaded. Arthur swallowed, now having to harden his resolve for a completely different reason than caution and followed through.
Merlin knew that when the collar closed around his neck, it wouldn't be pleasant. Even so, he wasn't prepared when the inevitable finally happened and for the first time in his life, his magic was blocked from him. His whole world stopped, all thoughts were banished from his mind apart from the thing around his neck.
Merlin didn't realise anything that was happening until he heard a cry of alarm. Looking up and opening the eyes he hadn't realised he'd closed, the world froze around him. His magic had lashed out. It wasn't going to be cut off without a fight. He could feel it ripping through his restraints and he could feel a terrible burning as the collar retaliated. Not giving the pain a thought, he searched for the source of the familiar voice and saw Arthur hovering in mid-air, about to be thrust away by a circle of energy with Merlin at its centre.
He watched in a daze as everything within twenty feet of him was pushed back violently. He barely took in the image of Arthur standing, unharmed when the pain hit him. It seemed that every particle of power he had sent out was returning to him like a dagger embedding in his skin. Merlin crumpled in on himself, trying to hold himself together even as he roared into the sky.
Merlin finally became aware of the ground beneath him. It felt softer than it should. Slowly, he cracked his eyes open and realised that beneath his hands, he had crushed the stone. Shuddering at the thought of his capabilities, his next came like a bucket of ice.
Where was it?
Frantically, he felt his hands and chest, hoping that something would give him a sign of hope because this couldn't be the end of it, it just couldn't, what about his destiny? He wasn't aware of the people around him, watching him with the uneasy thoughts of watching an insane man.
Perhaps they were, mused Arthur. Once people turned to the corrupt art of magic, who knew how much of their soul was left?
He looked towards the fallen sorcerer and the carnage surrounding him. Dimly, he noted that everyone that had previously stood around the sorcerer had been thrown back apart from him. He briefly wondered why before casting those thoughts away. Wondering at a sorcerer's motives would do no good, there had to be a reason and no one could know a sorcerer's mind, it was what made them such formidable enemies.
Admittedly, this one didn't seem formidable Arthur mused. Over the past few days he had been wary, annoyed and somewhat amused by this sorcerer, but he hadn't felt frightened. He'd like to put it behind his vast experience with dealing with sorcerers out to kill him but he knew that wasn't it. This man had showed no intent to harm Arthur. His eyes narrowed. There he was, considering a sorcerer's motive. They didn't need motive. His father had taught him that.
He continued attempting to convince himself of the righteousness of his own and his father's actions as he watched the contained warlock being taken away by a small army of his knights.
