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A Game Well Played

Chapter Nine: Caught

Arthur dug his heels into his horses side, urging the beast to go a bit faster as Camelot fell back into the distance. Thankfully, his father had bought the hastily improvised story that he had made a bet with Morgana and lost – resulting in a need to travel out of Camelot to purchase enough silk for two new dresses. It had been a half-baked plan and even Arthur was surprised that it had worked. Then again, his father was well aware of Morgana's stubbornness and if Arthur's tale had been the case, he would have more than likely been just as urgent to get out of the city – he had grown up with Morgana and he knew that Morgana usually got want Morgana wanted – unless she was speaking out against punishment of someone with magic or if it would infringe on her own safety. Otherwise, his father's ward got want she wanted, and regardless of the situation, she wouldn't give up. It only stood to reason that Uther had allowed Arthur to leave Camelot with naught but a chuckle and a reprimand against gambling.

Morgana had also insisted on coming along, as had Gwen. While Arthur had managed to persuade Gwen to stay as he didn't want her to get hurt (and yes, he knew that Merlin was Gwen's friend too and he promised that he would bring the idiot home safe and sound), Morgana had been much more difficult to dissuade from accompanying him – and by difficult, he meant more along the lines of impossible. As he had previously reflected, Morgana was expert at getting her way. Upon finding out why her maidservant hadn't been at work and learning that Merlin was still in the clutches of King Cenred, the headstrong young woman had demanded Arthur let her come. "You might be going to save Merlin," she'd said, a teasing lilt to her voice, "but who's going to watch your back?"

"I can take care of myself, Morgana," Arthur had reminded her a bit patronizingly and she had glared at him, but this glare seemed a bit different, not exactly the teasing look that he was used to being sent in his direction. He quickly shook off the feeling, sure that his overly-stressed mind was just playing tricks on him. Of course Morgana wasn't really angry with him; she was just making a point – that he wasn't going to stop her from accompanying him and helping their – her – friend.

"Right," Morgana had said, a smile lighting up her beautiful face again, "I'm sure you can." Sarcasm was rich in her tone and Arthur rolled his eyes. "But since we're not going on a rescue mission at all, but a foreign silk-hunt, I'm assuming you'll need my help picking out the patterns and colors, yes?"

"Morgana," Arthur huffed, exasperated.

"I've already cleared it with Uther – I'm coming with you, Arthur Pendragon."

And that was that. Morgana was now riding behind him, her white mare's hooves kicking up dirt as she galloped alongside Arthur and his horse. "How do you know where he's being held again?" Morgana asked, her voice raised as she spoke into the wind rushing past their ears. "Cenred could have him anywhere, right?"

Arthur's gut clenched even tighter into the frazzled little knot it had managed to tie itself into at the reminder that Merlin – stupid, clumsy, well-meaning, friendly Merlin – was currently locked away in a cell somewhere, injured and at the mercy of a brute like Cenred. Forcing his thoughts away from such dark places, Arthur responded, "He wouldn't necessarily take prisoners to his main castle, would he? After all, that's much too obvious. But he still wanted me to be able to work it out, more than likely so that I'd walk into a trap."

"Of course," Morgana said, her voice pleasant but a bit forced. Arthur knew that she was worried about Merlin, too – not that he was worried, of course, that was preposterous – and didn't pay attention to her strained tone.

"There's a castle that's been mostly abandoned, although we've gained some reports from patrols and spies that Cenred has been known to use the Castle of Fyrien as almost a second home. It's the perfect hideout for a coward like Cenred."

"What does he use this castle for?"

Arthur's voice was grim and he forced himself to look straight ahead as he answered the question. "Mostly we figure for holding prisoners of war, people who he wants to make sure are extra secure. But mostly as a hideout. I'd stake my life that Merlin's being kept there."

Morgana didn't answer and Arthur glanced over to see that her face was determined and maybe even a bit angry.

"Don't worry, Morgana," Arthur said, reaching over with one hand and lightly squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. "Merlin will be fine. You'll see."

They rode in relative silence until night fell and then they set up camp. Tomorrow, about midday, Arthur predicted, they'd reach their destination – and, as he'd told Morgana, who seemed supremely interested in the new information, they would take Cenred and his men by surprise through a secret tunnel Arthur knew about that let out near the sea. This time tomorrow, Merlin would join them at the campfire. Arthur just wouldn't accept anything less.


"Sister."

Morgana walked forward at Morgause's quiet call, encircling her arms around the blonde woman's shoulders. It was late, maybe midnight, and Arthur's watch was over. Morgana had heard her sister's voice in her head shortly after Arthur had fallen asleep, telling her to meet Morgause a bit deeper in the forest. Morgana had been relieved, confused as she was about the change of events. Imagine her surprise when Gwen returned, claiming that Merlin's life was on the line.

The sisters pulled apart and Morgana asked, "What happened? I thought that Gwen's brother was to be the bait. What does Merlin have to do with this?" She paused, gathering her thoughts. "Why did Cenred's men take him, too?"

"I thought you wanted revenge on the boy who poisoned you," Morgause said softly, eyes searching Morgana's face.

"I do – of course I do," Morgana hissed, anger lacing her words. "But I don't understand. I thought this was about Arthur, not Merlin."

"It was," Morgause agreed, blonde hair bobbing as she nodded. "But there have been some very… interesting developments, Sister."


"How are you feeling now?"

Merlin winced at Elyan's question. He knew that the man was just trying to be nice, which he was grateful for, especially since they were imprisoned in a tiny, dark cell, but he wished Gwen's brother would let him rest – the small, polite stream of conversation he'd started up an hour or two ago was draining Merlin of his energy. He really wanted to sleep. "'M fine," he answered. In actuality, Merlin's head was spinning, his stomach rolling dangerously, his vision – not that it was very great in the dark, anyway – was blurred. On top of the symptoms of the concussion that he knew he had, he was also weak, small shards of pain still shooting through him at random intervals, although the pain had been coming less and less frequently as time wore on. He assumed the latter was an after-effect of Morgause's torture.

"You're a terrible liar," Elyan observed.

Merlin grunted, letting his eyelids droop a little more. "You'd be surprised," he remarked, trying to ease the spinning of his head. No matter how hard he'd tried – speaking the spells in his mind, of course, and averting his eyes from Elyan – he hadn't been able to perform any magic to escape from the chains or cell. He didn't understand. When Morgause had confined him in the Serkets' nest a few months prior, while the chains had been unbreakable, Merlin had still been able to use his magic, just not to break his bonds. Perhaps the chains had also made him a bit weaker, but not like this – now his magic simply refused to cooperate and it scared him. It would be terrible enough not being able to use his magic on a normal day, in a mundane situation. But here, while he was at the mercy of Morgause? It was absolutely terrifying.

"Merlin?" Elyan said for what seemed to be the umpteenth time.

"What?" Merlin responded a bit crabbily. He really wanted to rest his eyes… if only for a minute.

There was the sound of the clink of chains as Elyan shifted. "You awake?"

"Mmph," Merlin muttered.

"You need to stay awake – if you've got a concussion, sleeping will only make it worse."

"How do you know so much?" Merlin asked blearily. Now that he thought about it, he might have heard Gaius saying something similar before. Thankful for Elyan's effort to keep him awake, Merlin opened his eyes a bit wider and gripped the chains holding his arms above his head, using them to pull himself up a little straighter. He would stay awake.

"I've had a hell of a lot of head injuries in my life," the other man said, a hint of a smile in his voice.

"Oh yeah?" Even sitting up, the pressing darkness made it difficult not to succumb to sleep.

"Yeah," Elyan acknowledged. "The first time was when I was eight. Gwen and I were helping Father with the forge. There was a hammer lying in the floor…"

Merlin leaned his head back against the wall and listened to Elyan's voice, soft and melodious, kind of like Gwen's, he mused, as he began to recount some of his more harrowing adventures. Thankfully, the tales were rather gripping, and gradually Merlin's urge to sleep waned a bit until they were both sitting, quiet and lost in thought, once again.


Morgana gently fingered the ring Morgause had given her. When she and Arthur had reached the secret entrance, she was to drop it and it would alert her sister – and by default Cenred and his men – as to where they were at. Then Cenred would capture them and Morgause would have Prince Arthur in her clutches – and Morgana would be next in line for the throne.

A small shiver went through her at the thought – or maybe it was at the memory of what Morgause had revealed to her in the shadows of the trees last night. Merlin, a sorcerer. It seemed such a foreign idea, so impossible, but at the same time, it just… fit. It certainly explained why he had been able to foil their plots in the past, how he had managed to escape from the chains – although Morgause had upped the spell on these chains since then – and how he had known that Morgana had been the vessel of the sleeping spell on Camelot last year. It explained so much and made Morgana hate him all the more.

He was like her, with magic, yet he chose to protect those who would kill him in a heartbeat if they knew. He protected a kingdom, king, and prince that stood against everything that he was. He had stopped her plans to kill Uther and overthrow Camelot when he should have been aiding her. He was a traitor and he would pay.

She followed behind Arthur as he snuck around the large, foreboding castle that jutted from the landscape imposingly. She knew that Arthur wasn't going to face any trouble out here – it was inside the Castle of Fyrien that the prince would be caught. A small twinge of guilt tried to rise to the surface as she remembered what Arthur had once been to her – a friend, like a brother (oh, how too true that was!), someone she could count on. She knew that after Morgause and Cenred were done with him, Arthur would most certainly die. Could she really do that to him? She thought about the way that he sought to protect her, not wanting her to go on the quest to "save" Merlin.

No, she told herself stoically, he is just set in his ridiculous mindset that women are weak. It's not like he actually cares about me.

And she shoved all doubt about Arthur out of her mind. His death was the only thing that would place her next in line for the throne. Besides, she had already invested far too much into this plan and getting rid of him. She wasn't about to get cold feet now. This was who she was now, not the same naïve girl that had once thrown a fit at Arthur because she thought he wasn't going to rescue her maid. Now she was stronger, wiser, and understood more of her power.

Yes, if Arthur knew she had magic, he'd desert her in a heartbeat, she decided, however untrue that might be. She hardened her heart and no more second thoughts even thought about entering her mind. When the entrance to the tunnel came up, the ring slipped out of Morgana's fingers and hit the stones below with a muffled clink and she smiled. Soon, she would be second in line for the throne. Soon, she would be queen. The idea was enough to quell any further doubts that may have cropped up otherwise.

"Morgana, maybe you should stay out here and keep watch," Arthur whispered as they inched closer to the mouth of the tunnel.

"You mean keep out of danger?" she said peevishly, eyes darting around for any sign that the ring had worked and that Cenred's men were on their way. "Please."

"Morgana—"

"Merlin's in trouble and I'm not going to stand by and watch," she said, a bit surprised at how easily the blatant lie escaped from her lips.

Arthur smiled ruefully. "He's lucky to have you," the prince commented. Morgana almost laughed at the irony.

They entered the tunnel, which was dark, musty, and smelled terrible. The stench probably had a lot to do with the skeletons that lined the walls – remnants from an old battle Arthur had told her about, the very battle that had provided him with the information about the secret tunnel in the first place. Cob webs lined the walls and a cool draft, probably from somewhere within the castle, swept through. If she hadn't known what was going on or if she hadn't had any control over the situation, Morgana would have been scared. As it was, she didn't make a sound, only followed Arthur deeper.

"The dust is covering everything," Arthur whispered softly. "This is good – it means no one has been here in a long time."

Morgana nodded, distracted, and then let out a little yelp of pain as she stepped on one of the loose bones littering the floor and pitched, face-first, ankle twisted, to the ground.

"Morgana!" Arthur muttered, dropping down beside her.

She shook her head. The pain wasn't really that bad and she knew that her sister could heal it with magic in an instant. She was mostly embarrassed and irritated at herself for tripping like that – like Merlin. The thought of her would-be killer waiting in the dungeon spurred her into action and she climbed to her feet without Arthur's help.

"You alright?" Arthur asked.

Morgana limped forward, chuckling. "I'm fine." Her voice was tight and she knew it. If Arthur noticed he didn't have time to mention it because at that moment, a flicker of light shone at the other end of the tunnel – they'd been found.

"They must have heard me scream," she said in a high voice, mentally rejoicing at how easy this had been. A few minutes later, she was still in awe about how simple capturing the great Prince Arthur Pendragon was proving to be. He fought valiantly for a few minutes, but when she'd been grabbed by one of Cenred's men – Arthur, of course, unaware of where her loyalties truly were – he hesitated only a second before dropping his sword. The two were then tied with hands behind their backs, pulled by a sea of soldiers – more like stinky bandits, she thought, wrinkling her nose (at least Camelot's knights smelled decent) – toward the direction of the throne room. From there, they would part ways – Morgana, to be released with her sister, and Arthur, to the dungeons with Merlin.

Everything was going to plan.


A/N: Hee hee, I guess you can kind of see how I've quirked a few things in the episode, yeah? Morgana's ankle is still sprung and it was she instead of Gwen who screamed. And no, Gwen didn't come along because I don't think Arthur would have let her – especially if he feared she would be used against him. Also, Morgana is on the dark side, so no switcharoos, but I do think that she should have a little more of a heart than they show on the show, you know? LOL, that rhymed… Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed it, and the part that you've (probably) been waiting for, Merlin and Arthur reunited, will be here next chapter! Please review! :)

~Emachinescat ^..^