Thank you so much once again.


Merlin came round to the sensation of moving. To start with, he wondered if he was dreaming but as sharp pain lanced through his foot as it caught on something, he knew it was actually happening. Unable to stop himself, a soft groan escaped him as he tried to open his eyes. It was more of a challenge than he was happy about, especially when the flickering light from the torches caused his head to pound with more intensity than before. He only became aware of the hands gripping his arms when the hold tightened, his guards clearly realising that he had woken up.

This time, struggling didn't even cross Merlin's mind. It was too much of a fight to stay conscious and he found himself grateful that he hadn't eaten anything for a few days for he was sure he would have brought that back up by now otherwise. Something told him the guards wouldn't have taken too kindly to that. But although the thumping headache could be accounted for due to its collision with Cenred's throne, Merlin had no idea why every inch of him felt like it was in agony. He wondered if the beating that Dakor had given him before was finally beginning to catch up on him.

Thinking was painful though, and Merlin proceeded to just let himself hang limply as he was dragged along. No one was talking to him; no one was taunting or mocking him so Merlin could only assume their orders were simply to move him to his new destination. As the air turned cooler and a shiver passed through his body before he could control himself, he thought they must be re-entering the dungeons. Despite most occasions that meaning something bad, Merlin was actually relieved. Hopefully it meant they would be taking him back to Arthur.

Unless, of course, Arthur had taken this opportunity to run.

Despite wishing with all his being the prince had fled, Merlin was almost certain that was not the case. After all, he was still alive. He knew Cenred would have had men watching Arthur to inform him what the prince did once the cell door had been left open and word would have been sent immediately if Arthur had ventured outside of the cell. Merlin wasn't sure whether Cenred would have stayed true to his word and actually let Arthur go, but he did know he would have made sure that Merlin was the one to pay the price for it, just as he had promised.

Merlin tried to stop himself from thinking and to focus more on getting his feet under him when they started down the stone steps that led to the dungeons, hitting every step as they moved. But that was too much effort and by the time they reached an open cell, Merlin was panting with the effort of staying conscious, his vision swimming somewhat alarmingly. He had to make sure no one had hurt Arthur though.

"Merlin?" A voice breathed and the warlock didn't know whether to laugh or cry at hearing it was Arthur. The prince hadn't gone anywhere. But that also meant he didn't have to do this alone.

"What have you done to him? You cowards, I'm…" There was the sound of a small scuffle followed by a gasp of pain from Arthur and it was enough to cause Merlin to look up to see the prince drop to his knees from a blow. It was clear he had gone for one of the guards and that had been enough for them to simply punch him.

"I'm alright," Merlin croaked, only to let out a soft cry as his guards simply let go and he hit the stone floor, hard. This didn't make any sense. His head was the only thing that had sustained more of an injury than when he left. But that had caused agony to shoot through the majority of his body and Merlin found himself curling up with a whimper, ashamed at himself.

"Get out," Arthur ordered through gritted teeth and Merlin had to wonder how angry he was looking considering the guards did as they were ordered. They were laughing though, and the clang of the door locking and the bolt being driven home did nothing to help Merlin's pounding head. He thought he should probably move but before he could turn the thought into an action, gentle hands were turning him over.

It was only as Arthur's concerned face seemed to blur slightly did Merlin realise his eyes were filmed with tears. He tried to blink them away before Arthur noticed.

"What did they do to you?" He asked softly, and Merlin made to grin. He wanted to say nothing, just that Cenred had knocked him out. But as he lifted a hand to support his own weight, he finally looked down at himself. He seemed to be covered in blood.

Merlin knew his breathing picking up to sharp gasps would do nothing to help his ribs but he couldn't help himself. Shakily, he grasped the edge of his shirt and tugged, wrenching when the material didn't seem to want to move the way he needed it to. Eventually, though, his stomach was revealed and Merlin could only stare. Cenred had quite clearly set his men on him while he was still unconscious. Every inch that he could see was bruised in some way, and Merlin was sure one was shaped like a boot, a small cut at the top of the bruise making him believe he had been kicked.

"You didn't know, did you?" Arthur asked softly, clearly having watched his reaction.

"He had knocked me out," Merlin whispered, transfixed by the horrifying site. A hand gently closed over his and Arthur tugged his shirt back into position, hiding the damage.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Merlin hated lying down like this and was trying to shift in order to sit himself up. Arthur's hand on his shoulder stopped him. It was almost embarrassing. He could tell Arthur was putting no force behind his action at all, and yet it was more than enough to keep Merlin down. He felt as weak as a kitten, and it somehow made it worse that Arthur wasn't teasing him about it. It showed how serious it seemed to be.

"If you didn't feel it, then you didn't bring it upon yourself. He did this because of me. I don't know if he still wants me to talk or is trying to goad me into doing something that will get you killed."

"Don't let him, Arthur," Merlin said softly. He didn't mean because he didn't want to die, but because he knew what that would do to his prince.

"Merlin…"

"Arthur, don't." Somehow, Merlin managed to lift a hand until he grasped at Arthur's wrist, clutching on with the strength he had. He knew Arthur only had to so much as move and he would have broken away, but he didn't. "Camelot needs you."

Arthur pulled away, but his movements were gently before he backed away to the other side of the cell and returned with two small dishes.

"They fed me. Here, drink." Merlin let his eyes fall shut as a cup was pressed to his lips and he could feel the gentle trickle of water running into his mouth. He swallowed greedily, trying to gulp down more only Arthur wouldn't let him. A soft whine escaped him.

"You'll make yourself sick. Slowly, Merlin," there was a firmness in Arthur's tone that Merlin knew meant only one thing. The prince was trying to take control of the situation again and Merlin found himself smiling. He knew when Arthur was truly determined to do something, not a lot could stand in his way. If Arthur held onto this mood, Merlin knew they would be out in no time. He obeyed, taking the water at a slower rate and sighing in relief by the time Arthur lowered it again. It didn't initially dawn on him that the water had just been finished, he just knew it was one of the most soothing feelings he had ever felt.

Before he could get over it, however, Arthur was helping him sit up. Merlin knew he had gone pale by the time they had him resting back against the cell wall and he was breathing hard again. But he remained conscious and lucid and judging by the look on Arthur's face, he didn't think that would have happened. Merlin felt himself feeling proud over such a small accomplishment, glad that it wasn't making him look weak in Arthur's eyes. But when the prince raised the bowl of food, Merlin turned away.

Just over half had gone and Merlin knew they had only ever been intending to feed Arthur. The prince had somehow forced himself to stop, although whether it was to save the food for Merlin or for later, Merlin had no idea. But he did know how hard it must have been; the rations were meagre and they hadn't eaten for days. Arthur lifted it, but Merlin shook his head, weakly pushing the prince's hand away.

"Merlin," Arthur began, the scolding tone more than obvious in his voice. Merlin shook his head and was rewarded with a stabbing pain in the back of his skull.

"Can't," he grunted, knowing that if he put anything other than water into his stomach right now, he would only bring it back up. Arthur looked as if he was going to argue but then seemed to look again at his servant. Judging by the sigh, Merlin knew he had understood why he was refusing food.

"You have it," Merlin whispered, trying to push the bowl at Arthur. It was Arthur's turn to shake his head this time, setting it down to one side.

"You'll want it later," he promised, hands reaching for his servant again. Merlin let himself be pulled forward, but as Arthur reached for his shirt, he tried to pull away. He didn't want to see what Cenred's men had done to him. But more importantly, he didn't want Arthur to see. For if the king had done it to try and goad Arthur, seeing the full extent of his injuries would be a sure way of firing him up.

"Merlin, you've lived with Gaius for however many years now. At which point did you learn that leaving injuries untreated ended well?"

"Nothing to treat them with," Merlin argued, but knew the effect was somewhat lost by how weak his voice came out. Judging by the look on Arthur's face, the prince had absolutely no intention of listening to his servant and proceed to manhandle him out of the shirt. Despite Merlin gasping by the time he was resting back against the wall, he knew Arthur had been as gentle as possible. Arthur sucked in a sharp breath as he clearly fought to control his anger but Merlin refused to look. Right now, he felt weak and humiliated that Cenred had managed to use him against Arthur like this. He would look when he knew he could handle it. But right now, he would do anything to be back in Camelot with Gaius. The physician would know what to do.

"Wrong again," Arthur responded, and Merlin realised he had moved. It alarmed him to notice that he wasn't paying any attention to what was going on around him. Maybe that was good in the long run, for it was distracting him from the injuries. But it was only then he realise that Arthur had pulled over the remains of his own shirt and Merlin noticed they seemed to be wet. It seemed the prince had put the rest of the water to more good than Merlin had originally thought.

"This is going to hurt," Arthur warned. Merlin wasn't even sure if he answered or not, but just closed his eyes and leant back against the wall. What was the point of arguing? Arthur usually won and he had been right; Gaius would be furious if he learnt Merlin had refused to treat his own injuries. The fact that Arthur was still here meant Merlin knew he wouldn't go without him, and he refused to slow the prince down when they did finally get their chance to get out.

Arthur spoke softly as he treated the wounds, telling Merlin how they were going to get out of here and that Cenred wouldn't be allowed to hurt him again. Despite the fact that Arthur was just as much of a prisoner as he was and hurt as well, Merlin found that he was believing him. There was a note to Arthur's voice that was making Merlin remember who he was talking to. This wasn't just the Crown Prince of Camelot. This was the Once and Future King of Albion and Merlin just knew that Arthur was going to find them a way out.

Although Merlin knew it was more than just his stomach that was hurt, he flatly refused to let Arthur tend to any more of the wounds. He was humiliated enough at feeling so weak, he was not going to go further than that. Especially considering he didn't trust Cenred not to be keeping an eye on them and waiting for the opportune moment to enter again. Although there might not have been much Merlin could physically do, he was going to make sure that Cenred didn't get a rise out of him again.

"Get some sleep," Arthur said softly, his hand resting momentarily on Merlin's shoulder before he backed off to give the servant some space. Merlin had a retort on the tip of his tongue, but his body betrayed him and he found his eyes were drifting shut before he could say it.

It was a loud noise that awoke him this time. Letting out a soft gasp as he returned to alertness, Merlin's quick eyes took in the situation. Arthur was standing protectively in front of him, and the cell was filled with guards. Merlin thought he could make out Cenred standing behind all of his guards, watching with interest.

"Out of the way, princeling," Cenred called and Merlin knew instantly they had come for him again and that Arthur was refusing to let him be taken without a fight.

"So you can beat him to an inch of his life again?"

"You should have more faith in your servant, prince. He's apparently tougher than he looked. Besides, you're the one who decides if he lives or dies, not me. But if you won't talk, then what is to stop me from hurting him just because I can."

"He's just a servant."

"Really?" It was a different voice that answered this time and Merlin felt the hairs on the back of his arms stand up. He saw Arthur slump slightly before he regained his defensive position. Merlin knew why though. Arthur wasn't worried about fighting the men. But Morgause was a different matter entirely. Merlin was just glad that he had warned the prince before she had appeared though, for he wasn't entirely sure how Arthur would have reacted otherwise.

The men parted to let the sorceress walk through. There was a sneer on her face but Merlin was sure he saw something that looked a little like respect in her eyes. He thought he knew why as well. It didn't matter what Cenred had thrown at them, Arthur was still strong and fighting. Considering she had first introduced herself by engaging him in combat, Merlin knew that physical actions spoke to her more than words. She knew how to do subtle, but she also respected strength. Unable to stop himself, Merlin found that he was using the wall as leverage as he tried to stand. He wouldn't let Arthur face this alone.

"Morgause," there was a quiet sense of resignation in Arthur's voice as he addressed her. Morgause smiled, but it was full of danger.

"Prince Arthur."

"What are you doing here? Why work with a man like him?" Arthur jerked his head towards Cenred and the man made to take a threatening step forward, but Morgause held out her hand to stop him.

"Needs must. I would ask you why you are protecting your servant. It's what we have to do to survive, is it not? One cannot simply give in."

"What do you want?"

Merlin blinked as he stared at the back of Arthur's head. For the first time since this ordeal had started, Arthur sounded tired. He sounded as if he was drained from the fighting, his back and the mind games Cenred was playing. If it wasn't for how rigid he was standing, Merlin would have thought he would have given in.

"Revenge for my family. For my sister and the way she was treated."

"I didn't know you had a sister."

"You wouldn't. Uther had her destroyed."

Merlin found himself swallowing hard. Unlike Arthur, he knew precisely who Morgause was talking about. He had known that Morgana would still be here somewhere, but he never thought that Morgause would have been so open with talking about her in front of Arthur. But it was the word choice that truly had Merlin worried. Despite Morgause turning Morgana to her side, it was clear she still held a great hatred for the Pendragons for keeping them apart all this time.

"What has that got to do with me?"

Merlin found that he was pushing himself away from the wall, allowing his magic to build. Whatever had been happening up till now, Merlin had a feeling it was about to get worse. Judging by the way Cenred stepped forward, he thought the man might agree and wasn't prepared to let Morgause ruin his fun.

But he was too late.

Even as he tried to stop the witch, Morgause's eyes flooded with gold as her hand rose and Merlin knew their time was up.