Trust: Chapter Nine

Thanks to everyone who've reviewed! I'm so sorry to leave it there last chapter, but, here is the next one! I may have left out a few points I made in my head when I wrote the plan for this, is you see any gaps in my plot line thus far, let me know! :D

Anonymus review replies:

Andi - Yay! Arthur did come to his senses! Thanks for your review, I haven't heard from you in ages! I thought you'd forgotten about me XD Uther may not be known for his listening skills, but, he's also known to be as thick as an elephant's skin sometimes, so, I think the chances could be pretty good. You'll have to read on and see! :D Thanks again x


One set of frustrated topaz eyes burned into a younger set of emeralds. Father into son. Uther Pendragon had dropped his hand and now stood face to face to a still panting Arthur. How dare his boy do such a thing! Did not he understand how much of a fool he was making both himself and the king look?

Gaius finally reached the steps, not panting or out of breath, but with a rather calm expression on his face. He quickly stamped on a frown and moved further along the balcony of the royal household, looking at Uther.

"What is going on, your highness?" he asked, his voice tainted with confusion, fake confusion, but convincing none the less.

"I could ask the same question" replied Uther through gritted teeth, "Care to explain, Arthur?" The prince dropped his expression of frustration for his father's actions - despite the fact that Arthur had caused them by telling the king Merlin was a sorcerer - for one of controlled charm,

"I was wrong, father. We need to stop the execution. Merlin isn't guilty; he's not a sorcerer" explained Arthur, his words identical to those he's rehearsed in his head as he ran. The king just stared at his son with daring eyes, daring him to enrage the king just the tiniest bit more,

"But you saw him Arthur" he replied and the boy looked down, running his hand through his hair in the hope that he'd look embarrassed,

"No, my lord. I was wrong" and he finally realised he had no idea what he was doing; "You don't even know what happened". The king noticed how nervous his son was and feelings of mistrust clouded him. Was Arthur lying to him for the boy on his knees down on the stage?

"Then tell me" he replied, tilting his head intimidating at his son. Arthur swallowed and replied,

"Yes, of course", he took a deep breath, "We were in the forest, hunting. It was just me and Merlin. The night before last, this was. We heard screaming, and when we followed the noises, we saw a group of girls". Uther nodded, following along, and Arthur thought it was best to leave out that they were druid girls,

"They had been kidnapped by a gang of thieves. Murderers. They were abusing them, and hurting them, and they were only just come of age, father. It was sick. They took them into an underground cave…"

"They took them into an underground cave…" repeated Uther, gesturing with his hand for Arthur to get a move on. Everyone was looking at the prince. Morgana, her face shocked and confused as this was the first she'd heard of how Arthur discovered the warlock's secret. Gaius was listening with little interest, already informed on such a matter. Uther was only impatient. Everyone else, like a judging crowd, watched without hearing.

"We pursued. And I fought them. I killed them all, with the only loss being that of a child. The women escaped, but we got trapped. And-and then the cave began to collapse" lied Arthur, "I was hit on the head by a falling rock".

"And what does that have to do with anything?" asked Uther, his patient thinning with his childish son. Arthur thought for a moment, but his mind was blank. The king would see through him any minute.

"He came to me earlier yesterday as he was suffering from terrible head aches, sire" interrupted Gaius. He came to Arthur's rescue, and the king took everything with a serious intake now there were two supporting the story, "When I investigated, he told me how he was hit by the rock and I discovered that it affected his mental health. He's suffering from short-term amnesia, my lord".

"Amnesia?" asked Uther, his voice no longer patronizing,

"Yes. When he awoken to find himself in a collapsed cave with Merlin unconscious besides him, he panicked. Due to the amount of adrenaline in his system, his mind made connections to fit the gaps in his memory. He hallucinated, my lord. He believed he saw Merlin use magic, but he, in fact, made it up without realising. Since then, he has been suffering with only few symptoms such as forgetting things quickly, mood swings and headaches".

Uther nodded his head, only hearing truth in the physician's words. Arthur had been switching between being very distant to annoyed, snapping at his knights often, since he'd returned from his trip.

"He has been forgetting things, my lord" interjects Morgana, her voice considering, "I was speaking to him only yesterday morning and he suddenly turned and accused me of sneaking up on him. Hasn't he been doing similar things to you and your men, Sir Lucan?"

The knight stuttered as he was involuntarily involved in the conversation,

"Oh…um…actually, that is right. We were speaking over new patrol plans only yesterday and he kept asking us to repeat what we were saying, my lady" he replied, blinking at her from under his eyelashes. She smiled at him before turning back to Uther and shrugging,

"It would seem Arthur does have a problem with his head" she finished and Uther nodded to her, his eyelids getting closer together as he considered them all. Gaius had never lied to him before, in fact, Gaius was one of the most loyal men under the king's control, being trusted with even the darkest of secrets such as the conditions upon which the prince was born. And Morgana, she hadn't crossed him upon this issue, and her judgement was one of the most important to the king. And it was so very hard to turn away the word of a knight.

"It really is unheard of, father. Merlin is just a servant, and a terrible one at that. If he were a sorcerer, why would he spend all his time doing such a thing? And the way I treat him, why would he put up with it? Just think about it father. He spent a day in those dungeons, in all their glory, when he could just undo the lock with a single word. And even now, he just had his head on a block ready for it to be chopped off. He could just throw the executioner through the air without a second thought, but he didn't. There is no way Merlin is a sorcerer, my lord" ranted Arthur.

"I made a mistake that shamed us both, father. And I will willingly take punishment for such an act, but Merlin is innocent". Emotion finally leaking into his words, the prince finished on the line, "Merlin doesn't deserve this, father, please".

Uther was silent for a moment, more thoughts going through his head then anyone there could comprehend. It seemed something in Arthur's voice finally convinced the king, as Uther muttered with a dark voice,

"You will spend the next few days in the cells for your foolish behaviour, Arthur. You have made not only yourself but me look like an idiot. I'm disappointed in you". Arthur nodded his head, diverting his eyes. A feeling of guilt overcame him, but it was drowned out by joy. And by amazement. He held no confidence that his arguemnt would really work.

Turning back to the crowd, Arthur looked to Morgana who was smiling at him with her eyes. 'Thank you' he mouthed and she smiled at him, before indicating with her head for him to go back down the stairs to the courtyard. He smiled thankfully at her, and putting a gracious hand on Gaius's shoulder as he pasted, raced down the stairs.

"People of Camelot. My son has come to us, this very moment, to inform us that he made a drastic mistake. The boy, Merlin, is in fact innocent of the crime he was committed for. My son will be punished for his wronging against you all" announced Uther and he looked at the executioner who was leaning on the handle of the axe that was securely in the ground.

Uther merely nodded, not giving any instruction. The executioner exhaled, his voice annoyed and gestured for the guards to return and take the warlock from the stage.

Merlin couldn't get to his feet, his legs still shaking, and his eyes blinded with all the raw emotion that having his head on the block brought. As one of the guards gripped him by his shoulder, he was heaved up to full height.

The crowds were all shouting over each other, the gossip too new to ignore. The drummers had stopped, already beginning to pack their things up. Pulling up his axe, the man in the leather mask strutted off the stage, his axe over his shoulder, muttering in frustration to himself.

Jingling like the cathedral bells of the kingdom, the keys were again brought out, only this time; they were used to remove the shackles from Merlin's hands. He felt as they were peeled from his rubbed-raw wrists, blood staining their insides. The same knight that brought the warlock out came to his side, taking him by his arm and looking at him with apologetic eyes,

"Come with me" he muttered, his gaze drifting from Merlin to the crowds, all staring at the two of them, searching for answers. Merlin kept his eyes to the ground, shuffling forward weakly. As the two men came to the stairs, the knight let go of Merlin and stepped down the steps, walking off to the left, clearing a path into the castle.

The crowds all seemed to drift away from the courtyard, slower then they should have, still expecting something exciting to happen. Merlin didn't realise how much the knight was supporting him, feeling weak in the knees as he stood on the stage alone.

Dropping down onto the first step, exhaustion seemed to engulf the warlock. Spending so long without any nutrients in his system was finally taking its toll on his mind as it burst in disagreement to Merlin's choice of refusing food. He pushed his temple with his hand, instinctively putting pressure on it in the hope to dull the pain, only to feel his eyes close as he rocked where he stood and tipped forward.

He felt as his feet left all things solid, only for a moment, and then they touched back to Earth. He threw his hands out in front of him blindly, in the hope of stopping his body hitting the ground. But it never did. He felt the hard softness that only a human touch can hold wrap around his chest and right arm. He didn't open his eyes, still holding his head, as he felt himself get levelled.

He heard as someone scuffled forward, a late attempt to help him.

"Its okay" said a voice that made Merlin open his eyes, "I have him". The knight stopped, nodded his head to the prince and went back to removing the crowds from the doorway to the castle.

Merlin looked around, not expecting to be so close to Arthur. Emerald met Sapphire. They looked into each other, right down to the very core.

"Come on" muttered Arthur as he looked away. The light seemed to suddenly dull around Merlin and he looked to the ground, swallowing despite his throat being drier then a river in a heat-wave. The prince pulled the warlock's arm around his neck and supported Merlin with an arm around his waist, walking the weak boy up the stairs of marble into the castle of his father.

Uther looked down at his son and the warlock, his eyes accusing and his mind scolding the boy. He wasn't blind; he saw something more there then the naked eye would catch. But that matter would have to wait, for now, the king had an appointment with his physician.

Turning to Gaius, he smiled at the very man and gestured with his arm for Gaius to lead the way back into the castle. Nodding, Gaius did so.

A/N: Not much of a cliffie last line, huh? I couldn't think of anything clever so I thought, 'ah, frig it' :D (I've given up swearing XD)

Yay for Merthur! Finally we might get somewhere non-dark, eh?

Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnnn! For Uther and his thickness yet all knowing mind! Ooh, that was complete improv at the time! XD

Gaius lied, yep, and it wasn't even true lies! Yeah, I sort of made all that up and it probably false in real life, but, it's clever mumbo-jumbo so Uther bought it! :D

If you know who 'Sir Lucan' is, I love you!

Review please x