MelissaKatherine: hahahaha, poor Merlin, everyone is allowed to have a bad day ;) Thank you!
Nonsuch and Me: well, what can I say, thank you very much! :)
Grayember: I know, things are definitely not looking good ;) Thanks!
Owensheart: I don't know about that, the situation seems to be getting out of control... We'll see ;) Thank you!
JoHnLoCkHoNk: Well, Arthur is not dead yet! Don't go giving me ideas... ;) I hope you'll be happy with the ending, though we still have a loooong way to go! Thank you so much!
CHAPTER 9
Arthur only took a second to grunt in pain at the unexpected intrusion on his side, but he decidedly ignored it and turned around to defend himself. His attacker was so surprised he couldn't even react, and Arthur took advantage of his slowness to give a mortal blow to the man's neck.
"Arthur!" he heard his lover shouting, running towards him, and he wanted to respond to him, but he couldn't find the strength to do it. He clutched his side and tried to take a step, but his knees buckled and before he knew it he was kneeling on the floor. He could feel the blood flowing between his fingers and he had seen enough battle wounds to know it was serious.
Merlin was almost reaching him when they were found by a couple of Essetir's knights, as they were not so hidden anymore and they had heard Merlin's shout.
"There's two of them here!" one of the men shouted, as he reached Arthur before Merlin did and put his sword to his neck.
"Don't!" the other man warned him, as he moved to grab Merlin and hold his arms against his back. "This one called him 'Arthur'. What if he is King Arthur?"
"Oh, Cenred would be very very happy with us if we'd bring him the King of Camelot in person" the first knight answered with a wicked smile that made Merlin's blood run cold. "So are you the King? Speak!"
Arthur remained silent, and with just a quick glance at Merlin he ordered him to do the same. If they were to die so be it, but they were not going to be those men toys. And maybe they could make time so their knights would find them before it was too late.
"I asked you a question, you arrogant bastard!" the man grabbed Arthur's hair and pulled, making him straighten while on his knees and yelled at Arthur's ear. "Oh, so you're not going to say anything, are you?"
Arthur didn't utter a word but he unconsciously gasped at the pain both on his scalp and on his side, that kept bleeding, and Merlin couldn't stand it anymore.
"Stop! You're hurting him!" he ordered with a confidence that didn't match with his servant position to the eyes of the two warriors.
"Shut up, Merlin" Arthur warned him.
"Yes, Merlin, you better do what you're told" the man holding him threatened with an irony in his voice that showed Merlin how much fun they were having with this. They were not like Camelot's men at all: they didn't fight for the honour or for the safety of their people. They took pleasure in all the violence that surrounded their lives. And just that thought made Merlin sick with repulse.
"We don't need that one, he's not even a knight, take care of him" the knight holding Arthur said, and Arthur felt like a giant fist had closed around his heart.
"Alright" Arthur spoke for the first time, with a little difficulty because of the pain. "Yes, I'm King Arthur. Now you've got what you came for, please let my servant go"
"No, Arthur" Merlin, not to Arthur's surprise, immediately protested.
"Have you still not understood nobody has asked for your opinion?" the man holding Merlin asked, squeezing his arms more strongly, intending to hurt.
"It's me you want, alright?" Arthur insisted, making a big effort to sound strong and authoritarian. "You want to take me to Cenred? I'm not going unless you let him go"
"Arthur, stop it" Merlin pleaded, not having any intention of letting his lover sacrifice himself for him.
"Don't listen to him, just let him go" Arthur pleaded, trying to ignore the pain he could see in Merlin's eyes.
"Arthur, I'm not letting you do this for me!" Merlin shouted.
"Please... you don't need him" Arthur insisted, paying no heed to Merlin's words.
"Arthur, no!"
"Alright, that's enough" the man holding Merlin pushed him until he was on his knees and brought a knife to his neck. "Your king is right, we don't need you"
"Don't touch him!" Arthur shouted at the top of his lungs, panic for his lover not giving room to be level headed, and tried to stand up, ignoring his wound and the strong grasp the knight had of his hair, though he couldn't.
"Well, well, look at that" the knight holding Arthur laughed. "Could we have found the King's weak spot in this poor little servant?"
"Don't hurt him, please" Arthur begged, his voice no more than a desperate whisper now. "I'll do whatever you want, just... let him go"
"You will come with us willingly if we let the boy go?"
"Yes! Yes, I'll go with you. Just... let him go. Please" Merlin's heart ached at his lover's pleading, because he knew he was only doing it for him.
The two men looked at each other and finally one of them nodded. The knight grabbed Merlin's arms again, this time to make him stand, and pushed him away from the scene.
"No, Arthur!" Merlin yelled, unable to stay quiet at his lover's sacrifice.
"Merlin, for heaven's sake, get the hell out of here. That's an order!" Arthur yelled back, as angry as Merlin had ever seen him before, and trying to use his power as his master over him, something he had never done since the moment they became partners.
Arthur should have known Merlin was not going to start obeying him just when his life what at stake, he thought as he saw the brunet turn around abruptly and disentangle himself from the grip that kept pushing him away. Taking advantage of the distraction, he knocked the sword out of the knight's hand and grabbed it to point it at the man's chest.
"You let go of the King or I swear I will kill your friend" he threatened the man still holding Arthur who, to his surprise, just started laughing.
"Be my guest, I couldn't care less. Taking your king to Cenred is much more important for me, I can guarantee you that"
Merlin stood still for a second, looking at the man in surprise, as he had surely not expected this. The man he was threatening with the sword, though, was quicker to react and threw a punch to Merlin's face that knocked him out of his feet, and it was easy for him to snatch the sword back from Merlin and point it at him in return.
"Alright, you pathetic boy, I'm tired of this game" he threatened, and raised the sword with the intention of embedding it in Merlin's chest and ending his life.
"No!" Arthur shouted, and this time, when his lover was about to be slaughtered right in front of his eyes, no force of nature could have stopped him: he escaped the man's grip and ran without a second thought.
Before the knight threatening Merlin could know what was happening, Arthur jumped on him and knocked him off, sending both of them to the floor at Merlin's feet. But the man was in perfect health while Arthur was badly wounded, so he reacted more quickly than him and pushed his fist on Arthur's wound, intending to hurt him as much as possible.
The yell Arthur let go at the pressure of the man's fist was something Merlin would never forget, so full of pain and desperation it was. The wicked knight would not let go, and a rage like Merlin had never felt before took possession of his heart, clouding his mind and making him act on pure instinct.
"Stop!" Merlin yelled at the top of his lungs, unable to resist it any longer, and before he knew it, his arm was stretched in front of him and, without even the need to throw a spell, from his hand came out a force that felt like an explosion that killed the two knights immediately, but spared Arthur from any more harm than what already had been inflicted on him.
As Merlin panted with the effort and the adrenaline cursing along his veins for what had just taken place, he looked at Arthur. The bleeding on his side had intensified and the pain was evident by the way Arthur had unconsciously curled into a ball before losing consciousness. Merlin wondered for a second when exactly had Arthur become oblivious of what was happening around him, and he allowed himself to hope maybe Arthur hadn't discovered his big secret. But he would have time to think about that later, Merlin thought, as he swiftly kneeled at his side to take care of him.
What he didn't know, though, was that the last thing Arthur had seen before losing consciousness was a strange brightness in his lover's eyes that made them look as if they were made of gold. After that, all was darkness.
