I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to respond to all of the reviews and that this is a day late, real life has kicked back with a vengeance. Only one more chapter after this!
Arthur had always assumed that getting out would be harder than getting in because everyone would know they were there and they had no idea what state Gwaine and Merlin would be in. But in actual fact, the opposite was true. The bandits had been stunned and taken aback by the knights surprise attack and those who hadn't stood and fought had fled. They were used to their victims being asleep or restrained when they attacked, they were no match for the Knights of Camelot. Those with any sense disappeared as soon as they could. But as soon as his sword had driven through the sorcerer, Arthur had felt an almost shimmer in the air. He shivered, knowing that it was magic that he was feeling.
Rather than helping Merlin straight away, Arthur had found that his eyes were locked on where he knew they had come through; where he knew the shield to be. As he watched, the air seemed to glow momentarily before the forest beyond came back into sharp focus. Arthur knew there was going to be no worry about passing through magical boundaries this time, the shields had dropped. Hauling Merlin to his feet and checking that the man would be okay to run, Arthur shoved him towards Lancelot. His knight took the hint, taking Merlin's arm and propelling him forward until he was being covered by the other knights. Glancing around, Arthur looked for Gwaine. Any worry he might have felt disappeared when he saw the man drop the bandit he was fighting simply by punching him in the face. Whatever injuries the pair of them had wouldn't cause any trouble until they were far away from here.
Giving the order, Arthur took up the rear as he made his men move from the area. He would send a patrol to flush out the remaining bandits when they got back to Camelot, but right now he knew their survival meant more than defeating the last few men. Once the bandits got over their surprise, there would be no telling how well they would work together and Arthur had no desire to still be around to find out. Although Gwaine let out a half-hearted protest at being dragged away from serving his own justice to his captors, Arthur knew that Percival and Elyan wouldn't let him turn. Not with the former standing directly behind Gwaine and the latter having a grip on his arm and pulling him along. Merlin was between Lancelot and Leon and with him taking up the rear, Arthur knew they had done it.
They ran until they made it to the horses. Ideally, Arthur wanted to go further, but Merlin was looking pale and if he was completely honest, Arthur didn't feel brilliant himself. He didn't know what that pendant had been, but it had left him cold and shivering, almost feeling as if the life had been sucked out of him. The run and the adrenaline had helped, but he wasn't sure he could keep up the pace.
"Elyan, Lancelot, scout the area for a place to camp, we rest here for the night." The two men disappeared with a nod but Arthur was distracted by the fact his servant was staring at him in incredulity.
"You're not making us run the whole way back to Camelot?"
"And have you faint like some damsel and then Gaius have my hide for it? No. You're struggling to keep pace…"
"I am not!"
"And I'm the prince, so what I say goes. We're resting here for the night." Arthur tried to meet Merlin's gaze steadily as the man stared at him, but there was something in Merlin's expression that made Arthur feel like his servant could see straight through him. The fact that Merlin turned away with nothing more than a muttered prat (Arthur knew how long Merlin could and would argue for if he truly wanted to) indicated that he seemed to realise Arthur was not feeling his best. Luckily for the prince, Merlin didn't say anything to the others but moved over to the horses and began stroking one softly.
Glancing around, Arthur saw that Gwaine had spread himself out on the ground.
"Aren't you planning on helping?"
"With what? I'm the rescued captive, remember? I should lie here and regain my strength from the trials and terrors that I might have been through."
"You're fine and you know it." Arthur knew that his knight was fine; he could see it in the relaxed way that Gwaine was laying. The man shot him a trademark grin.
"But you don't."
"How's your head?" Merlin cut in, almost seeming to be oblivious to the conversation that was going on around him. Despite his attempts to play the "poor me" card, Gwaine simply shrugged.
"Can't feel a thing."
"You dropped like a stone though," Merlin muttered, kneeling down next to Gwaine and his fingers beginning to probe the back of the knight's head. Arthur left them to it. Despite Gwaine's carefree words, there was genuine concern in Merlin's voice. They might not have been through things as badly as Gwaine was trying to make out, but they had been through something. And for all of his flaws, Arthur knew that Gwaine would have tried to protect Merlin. The chances were that he had been made to pay the price for that in one way or another.
Elyan and Lancelot returned quickly, having found a safe place to camp and the whole group shifted. Gwaine and Merlin seemed to be talking quietly, and Arthur left them to it, helping Leon secure the horses while the others disappeared into the forest to find them some food. It seemed like days ago they had left Camelot to come on a hunt simply to unwind for a few days. Now, Arthur was kicking himself for ever thinking that would be a good idea. Trouble followed them like a plague, he should have known that it would never be that easy.
Before long, the fire was crackling and the knights were sprawled around it, all having eaten their fill. Percival was still picking at bits, but Arthur knew the rest of his men felt fit to explode just the way he did right now. It was only when the conversation lulled that Arthur knew the time had come. He sat up a little, instantly drawing everyone's attention with his movement. But it was Merlin and Gwaine, sprawled comfortably next to each other that he fixed his gaze on.
"Why did he take you two? He said what he wanted, and not meaning anything by it, you aren't the ones that would have fulfilled that criteria." It had been niggling away at him ever since they had been taken as to why. He hadn't let the thoughts consume him, knowing that he needed to focus on finding his men before he could think about why they were missing in the first place. But now they were both safe and well, Arthur could no longer deny that he felt as if there was something he was missing.
His thoughts were only confirmed when a somewhat startled look shot over Merlin's face. It was almost as if he had hoped there would be more time before that question was asked, despite surely having known that it was coming? The sorcerer had announced to them all what he was planning, it wasn't exactly a secret. Why would Merlin think that they would somehow be able to get away with not saying why they had been the ones taken? Arthur had felt the power of that man. It wasn't a mistake – he could have taken them all down to get to who he wanted if the case came to it. He had selected Merlin and Gwaine.
Gwaine, however, just offered a shrug, flipping a piece of hair out of his eyes and giving Arthur a lazy grin across the fire.
"He needed to practice before taking you on," he remarked casually. Arthur stared at him, wondering if he was telling the truth or not. Gwaine held his gaze impassively, the rest of the men watching one or the other as they waited for someone to give way first. Eventually, Arthur sighed and looked away.
"Still don't get what taking you would have done," he muttered, but his tone was teasing. He couldn't tell if Gwaine was telling the truth or not, but he had certainly answered quickly. That meant he had either been thinking about his answer for far longer than Merlin, or it was genuinely what had happened. If he was after someone with power in their blood, a king's blood certainly would have been strong. Maybe it was the sort of thing that he did need to practice?
But although he put it to the back of his mind and let the conversation drop – seeing the way Merlin visibly relaxed as he did so – Arthur knew that he hadn't truly let go completely. He was still sure there was something he wasn't being told.
MMM
Arthur was right, Gwaine had been preparing the answer to that question. He had been thinking about it ever since they had been taken, never once doubting that they would somehow get out of there, although whether it was on their own or with the help of their friends he hadn't quite been sure. But he had got this far into Camelot with only Merlin knowing about his birth, and he wanted to keep it that way. The knights had a reputation because they were not noble, yet they had been chosen by Arthur himself to help save the kingdom. While most saw him as a man who only thought about where his next drink was going to come from, Gwaine knew that it would undermine what the knights stood for if it was revealed that he was a noble after all and that everything they knew about him had been based on either lies or assumptions.
Technically no one had ever asked about his lineage, therefore he had never lied.
But now it felt like he had dug himself a hole. He didn't want them to know, not without revealing that he had been concealing himself for the whole time. So Gwaine did what he did best and said the first thing that came into his head, knowing that slipping in a sideways compliment would feed Arthur's ego enough for him to back down. It was hard not to grin when he saw that it worked, But Gwaine quickly switched his gaze from the prince to his servant.
To say that Merlin looked relieved at the change in conversation was an understatement. He visibly relaxed, and Gwaine knew that he can't have been the only one to see it. They might pretend to Arthur that it had been a mistake, a trial run or something along those lines, but Gwaine knew that was not the case. The sorcerer had taken him because he had noble blood. Just because the others didn't know that fact didn't stop it from being true. It hadn't been a mistake; he had been selected.
But if the maniac had been right about him, then who was to say that he hadn't been right about Merlin as well. Gwaine was sure that his friend wasn't of noble birth. It was something to do with power. Yet Merlin was a servant. A servant in the presence of knights. Out of their whole group, he would have appeared to be the least powerful when the man attacked.
Unless, of course, the power wasn't obvious for everyone to see. It could be something under the surface, something that Merlin kept hidden and close to his heart. Gwaine knew that he wasn't the only one hiding things, but if Merlin was closing up that much, he knew that he was going to have to wait until he got the chance to question him. Something told him if he tried it now, Merlin would bolt.
Gwaine didn't try until late the next morning. He knew that he would get nowhere if he had tried earlier. There was a time as they all bedded down that had had him scooting closer, but then Leon noticed that Arthur was shivering (although trying to hide it, an indication it was from the pendant rather than natural causes) and he knew not to distract Merlin when he had his master to sort out. But when dawn came, the group split up.
Percival went looking for supplies for their journey while Arthur, Leon, Elyan and Lancelot all began scouting around, making sure there were no more surprises waiting for them when they set off. No one had seemed to think about Gwaine and Merlin, clearly believing they would be better for some rest after the last few days. On some occasions, both would have protested at being treated like they were weak, but all was silent. Gwaine had a feeling Merlin was staying behind for almost the same reason he was. He wanted to question Merlin, but Merlin was hoping to avoid those questions from the others.
"Merlin?" Gwaine approached as the servant looked up. He seemed to see the seriousness lining Gwaine's eyes and the knight wasn't sure whether to be hurt or not as Merlin seemed to gulp. He must have been able to tell what was coming as he suddenly stood.
"I'll check the horses…"
"Oh no you won't…" Gwaine leapt forward and gently took his arm, exerting pressure until Merlin had no choice but to sit back down again. He looked up nervously, chewing his lip.
"You know what I'm going to ask, don't you?"
"Gwaine, please, don't."
"You know why they took me. You know it wasn't some mistake or some trial run so that they would be able to take Arthur without a problem. You know it was me they were after. Which means that you also were not a mistake." Gwaine made sure that he kept his voice gentle, knowing that Merlin clearly had something he didn't want the others to find out about. But it was only sitting next to him now that he realised that he had it wrong. Merlin didn't want them to know because of some reason the same as Gwaine's. He didn't want them to know because he was genuinely afraid of what would happen if they did.
Gwaine felt his heart begin to beat a little faster as pieces began to come together in his mind.
"If it was my blood because it was noble, then they wanted you because you have some sort of power flowing through your veins. The cuffs in the hut…How did you get out of them? They just used rope for me."
"Gwaine, please…" There was a wild desperation in Merlin's eyes now and Gwaine felt himself thinking about everything they had been through. The curse that the sorcerer had used to first take Merlin down. The way the separated them… Using them against each other as if they thought that Merlin had as much chance of escaping as Gwaine. How still Merlin had gone when the pendants had been put on them (Gwaine might have been trying to find a way out, but that didn't mean he would stop watching his friend!), making it obvious the pendant was doing something more to Merlin than it was to Gwaine. The fact that he had been cuffed rather than just tied, and the feeling of magic in the air when Gwaine had slipped into the hut. He knew the magic was coming from the cuffs, he could almost feel it. But why use magical cuffs on a servant unless…
"You have magic, don't you?" Merlin paled faster than Gwaine knew was healthy and looked like he was going to either back away or run. Gwaine reached out, closing his hand around Merlin's wrist to keep him still.
"I don't know what you mean! Let go of me!" Gwaine suddenly realised how threatening his actions might have seemed and swiftly let go, lifting his hands apologetically. He knew he was right. If he wasn't, Merlin would not look like he was about to have a panic attack or about to run as fast as he could in the opposite direction.
"You know how much I've travelled around, Merlin. I've seen a few things on those journeys. Some things that even Gaius wouldn't be able to provide a scientific explanation for. Do I look like I care?"
Merlin's breathing edged back from hyperventilating as he stared at Gwaine. The knight simply shrugged.
"I'm right, aren't I? Don't lie to me, Merlin. Not you. Not after everything we've been through and everything I've told you. You've kept my secret, I'll keep yours. I just would like to know."
Looking as if he would rather do anything but, Merlin lifted a cupped hand to his mouth. He whispered something, and although his eyes were lowered, Gwaine was sure they flashed gold. When Merlin opened his hand, a small flower was resting on his palm before he whispered something else in a language Gwaine didn't understand and it vanished again. Fearfully, Merlin's eyes lifted to meet Gwaine's.
"Well, that proved Arthur right, you really are a bit of a girl, aren't you? Flowers, Merlin? Really?" He kept his tone light and friendly, and Merlin suddenly relaxed, laughing. Gwaine could see the tension visibly drain from him and his eyes lit up with a sparkle. Thinking back to what had happened and who Merlin had called for, Gwaine groaned.
"Lancelot knows, doesn't he?"
"He's the only one, apart from now you." Merlin mumbled, making sure that he kept his voice low. Gwaine let a grin spread over his face that put the alarm back into Merlin's expression. Gwaine simply shrugged, his eyes sparkling.
"This is going to be fun."
There was something in his words that seemed to make Merlin finally realise that he really didn't care and the warlock laughed.
By the time the others got back, the two were plotting.
