Just a quick announcement before the chapter begins. These chapters are gonna be much shorter than I had originally planned due to my shocking lack of free time, but I promise that they won't be much shorter than 1,000 words. I'm really sorry. :(
Aaaaaaaand I still don't own Merlin.
"We have to secure the boy Prince and make sure that no one takes him from his room," Arthur had not stopped talking ever since they had left the room, whether he was spouting orders to some servant or guard, or just talking out plans to Will, who had been trying to listen, but it was too much talk and not enough action for him. Plus, the very plan the prince had talked about implementing seemed as useless as if they were just sitting in a room, drinking ale. Merlin wouldn't be found in a tavern, nor in any cheap inn, nor found in the bed of a young pretty girl. He also wouldn't allow himself to get murdered or kidnapped. They were approaching the search completely wrong!
"But I guess we could leave that for a little later." The Prince continued his never ending rant, earning an annoyed sigh from the servant.
"You there!" Arthur barked at a guard who had been eating his lunch in peace until just then. The sandwich dropped from his hands as he immediately stood. "Check in the whorehouses at the edges of the lower town-"
"Sire-" Will tried to get the Prince's attention, but it was no use. It was as if he was talking to a brick wall.
"-then check in the houses just outside of the-"
"PRINCE ARTHUR!" But the prince was too stubborn to listen to a servant.
"-city and check with the guards to see if they've seen any suspicious carriages leaving or entering. What do you want, Will? I'm a bit busy trying to find your master. You know, the one you were supposed to keep an eye on at all times?" The prince's eyes were blazing as he glanced back at the servant who walked slightly behind him.
Will felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment and shame. His gaze dropped to the floor, his long brown hair falling over his eyes. The back of his eyes began to prick with tears when a familiar voice echoed down the corridor.
"Prince Arthur!" Gwaine's heavy, uneven footsteps grew louder until the commoner and the prince felt a large hand clap them on the shoulders. The smell of ale stung their noses and the Prince coughed in surprise. "I couldn't help but to overhear-"
Will stifled a snicker, and the Knight shot him a playfully sharp glance.
"-that my dear friend, Merlin, the Sorcerer Prince of Essetir, has gone missing. Is this true?"
A sticky, wet substance clung to Will's shirt where Gwaine rested one of his hands. The servant gave his friend an exasperated look. Gwaine's blood would once again stain his only shirt.
"It is true," Prince Arthur tried to shrug the hand off, but the knight held on. He wore a brown, leather jacket with a white, thin, cotton shirt beneath. His pants were black and looked slightly too large for him. His dark sheath was strapped to his new belt, making him look rather regal, which was quite abnormal for the knight.
"GWAINE, I'M GOING TO KILL-" Lancelot slowed his pace down so that he would not barrel through the small crowd in the middle of the hall, with Percival following closely behind. They bowed stiffly to the prince. "Prince Arthur. What a pleasant surprise." Lancelot grabbed the drunken Knights arm, who looked at him, a little confused.
"Wha-"
"Please excuse my inebriated friend. He's had a rough time of it-"
"Bullshit!"
"-and he drowns everything out with liquor."
"That's true enough. But hey," Gwaine planted his feet firmly in the ground, "playtime's over. Merlin's missing."
Lancelot and Percival froze. For a second, they processed what they had just heard, confusion passing over their faces, then realization, then determination.
"Alright," Lancelot nodded. "It would be best to split up. Gwaine, you take the lower town. You know the people there better than we do, and I'd even got as far as to say they trust you. I'll take the castle. It'll be easy for me to get around here, seeing as I can handle the lords and ladies. Percival, go with Gwaine. He's a great knight, but I don't trust him around taverns."
"Hey!" Gwaine protested, hands on his hips.
"Will, see if Mordred can track him down with their magic bond. We meet back in two hours at this spot," The Knights split up immediately, going their separate ways, darting in and out of the halls.
The servant grabbed Lacelot's arm."But Lance, you know their bond isn't strong here. Nor will it work unless Merlin's conscious."
"Exactly," Lancelot grabbed his shoulder in reassurance. "You'll be able to find him easily if he is conscious! It would make the search a lot shorter. After the search, Sir Gwaine is going straight to the court physicians," He said, eyeing the bloodstain on Will's shoulder.
"And," Prince Arthur stepped forward, not liking it one bit to be left out like this. "What about me?"
"If you would like, sire, you could go with Will and Mordred to keep them safe."
He nodded, charging forward towards the room where he knew the young prince was staying.
"I still don't understand why my search parties weren't enough," He mumbled to himself.
Will bit his lip. "If I may, sire?"
"What is it?"
"When Merlin was younger, he used to get into fights practically every day. Mostly, it was minor; a bully who had been caught going too far, a thief who stole a poor mans precious gem, things like that. Physically, he wasn't strong, but he refrained from attacking the boys with his magic because he didn't want to hurt them. He always came home with a bruise, a scratch, or a black eye, but he hated the look of disappointment in his parents eyes when they saw his injuries. So he started hiding in small crevices in walls, in crates or barrels, or any other dark place that would shield him until he could cast a spell to heal himself or at least cover his wounds. While your men are looking on the main routes, we'll look on the winding alleys and nooks and crannies of the city."
"And what is the 'magic bond' thing that Lancelot said was between the two princes?"
"Their magic connects them by telepathy," Seeing the look of confusion on the prince's face prompted him to explain. "They can speak to other magic users, and in rare occasions, non-magic users, by just simply thinking about talking to each other. It's a very complicated magic, but the boys are better than naturals. They were almost instantly bonded. The kind of bond that they have not only allows for communications, but they can also sense where their brother is, even if he is miles away, although the connection gets weaker with distance. But if one of them were to loose consciousness, it would be like sending a letter to a non-existent person. Mordred's brain would go into overdrive trying to find a passed out Merlin, which is why we have to stop after two hours."
The prince paused at Mordred's door. "What happens if Mordred surpasses his abilities?"
"Best case scenario; he needs a nap. Typical scenario; he passes out. Extreme scenario; his brain destroys itself."
"What?!"
Will reached passed the prince and knocked on the door. Mordred answered it, fully dressed with his cloak tied clumsily around his neck. He seemed to know exactly what was going on, and, frankly, that made Prince Arthur uneasy. The boy sorcerer took the servants hand and, with one weary look at the Camelotian Prince, began dragging them out of the castle and towards a lower, unsavory part of the city, which had been devoid of life for a long time.
It had formerly been a small portion of the city which ensured magical travelers safety and comfort. A while back, there had been a riot in which non-magical citizens marched through the streets and slaughtered more than half of the residents and travelers, men, women and children alike, before the guards could stop them. After the uprising, the king had decided it best to incorporate sorcerers into the main population instead of isolating them in the one part of the city. Now, the ruins marked the deaths of hundreds of innocents, and served as a graveyard for the unclaimed travelers. Decomposing bodies lay crumpled amongst the stones.
Yet these scenes didn't cause young Prince Mordred's footsteps to falter even a little. He trudged through the wretched streets, surging forward, following some unseen path. Suddenly, with an aggravated huff, he stopped. Crossing his arms, he sat on one of the stones and began to cry. Arthur stumbled back in surprise, unsure of what to do to quell the sobbing of a child. Will stepped forward and knelt down in front of the boy, rubbing his shoulder.
"Mordred," he began softly, "what happened? Did you loose the connection?"
The small boy nodded, miserably.
"That's alright. We'll find him. I'm sure-"
"Prince Arthur! Sire! Help!" Damian and a guard - Will remembered him before. Gany-something was it? - came sprinting towards their group of three.
Arthur looked up in surprise. The former servant and the guard seemed quite distressed enough for it to even be heard in their voices alone.
"Oh, thank the heavens you're here. It's Prince Merlin, sire!" The peasant tried to grab his arm and tug him in the direction he had come from, but he shrugged the hand off and followed his lead. "We found him shoved into a hole in one of the walls, severely- wait, is that Prince Mordred?" He froze, looking at the child among the ruins, who now stared at the ex-servant, following closely behind the golden haired prince's cloak.
"Yes, Damian. It is. Continue." He ignored the look of confusion and exasperation in Damian's eyes.
"Why did you have to bring him into this?! This is no place for-"
"Are you doubting my judgement, peasant?" Prince Arthur spat the word with disdain. Damian blushed in embarrassed horror.
"Of-Of course not, sire."
"Why are you even here in the first place?!"
Just as Damian was about to answer, a shout cut him off.
"Over here!" The guard, Gany-something, now stood in front of one of the crumbled structures. It was more intact than most of the others, and obviously had been a cozy home at some point before the riots. No corpses were strewn in the rubble, but the guard named Tristan sat on one of the stones, his head bowed down to rest in his lap, a cloaked lady casting some kind of healing spell on his bloody head wound. Damian's brother, Gili, was trying to carefully pull the beaten body of Prince Merlin from the wall, casting spells here and there to insure the Prince's safety and lessen his pain.
"Merlin!" Will sprinted over to his master and immediately began to help the exhausted looking peasant sorcerer extract him from the wall. His arm lay at a twisted angle, his nose was swollen and purple, and a deep gash caused blood to trickle down his neck and drip onto the gray, dry stones beneath him. As they set him slowly on the ground, the wound began to heal itself, skin regrowing over it and sealing it shut. Not even a scar was left. Gili looked over to Mordred, whose eyes still glowed golden as his other wounds beneath his torn shirt began to heal as well.
"Incredible." The older sorcerer remarked as he watched almost every scratch disappear from the prince's body. Prince Mordred gave Gili a small smile. Tristan stood up and stretched as the woman was finally satisfied with her work.
"You might need to be careful for a few days." She said. Arthur's head spun towards her, instantly recognizing the voice.
"Morgana?!"
His half sister turned to him, flicking her hood back and shooting him a sarcastic, sisterly smile. "Hello, my dear brother! It turns out you're not the only royal who found out about the missing Prince."
"You shouldn't be out here!" He hissed at her, grabbing her roughly by the arm and trying to drag her away from the others. "It's dangerous. Go back to your room and...play with dolls or something."
Morgana planted her feet firmly into the ground, her chin held high. "Or what? You'll tell our father?" She smirked.
Arthur blushed in frustration.
"Plus," she yanked her arm out of his grip, "you're the one who should be worried about your safety. I could always beat you in training. You're all brawn and no brain."
Morgana spun on her heel and walked over to the others. Gili looked thankful that she had returned. Quickly, he snapped Prince Merlin's nose back into place, and the unconscious Prince groaned. "We should get him back to Gaius. I don't trust myself with the rest of his injuries."
"I'll bring him to the court physicians." Will gently picked him up from the cold, hard ground. Mordred followed close behind.
"I'll show you the way!" Damian stepped forward, leading the servant towards the castle.
"And you," Prince Arthur turned to his half sister, "should be back to your chambers before anyone notices you're missing."
"Oh, hush brother dear!" She patted him on the cheek as one would a child. "It's not as if I had ever left my chambers in the first place."
And with that paradoxical revelation, she disappeared, leaving the rest of the men alone with their confusion.
Heya, guys!
Long time...no see. He he he.
Yeah, sorry about that.
I've been just about DROWNING in shitty grades and homework, just like the last time, but I've also been really REALLY sick for the last two months. Anyway, while I was sick, I stumbled upon a fandom called "Homestuck." I'm sure that many of you guys have probably seen a few of the fans or heard about it. My friend sent it to me in the video form, which is done by the amazing channel of CoLabHQ. They are FANTASTIC at reading it and have truly become the voices of the characters for me. But, I went to far into the fandom. And now I'm stuck. In the fandom. EVERYTHING IS HOMESTUCK, SUPERNATURAL, OR MERLIN, I SWEAR. It's really quite bad. *Laughs nervously and rubs back of neck*
To those who are in the Homestuck fandom (and have gotten into act 6) and actually LIKE my shitty writing for some insane reason, please check out my fanfiction, "Mituna: Overload". If you do, I'll bake you a million virtual cookies from scratch (and, yes, I just realized that pun when I typed it).
For those of you not in the fandom: Run. Run as fast as you can... to your computer to watch the videos or read the webcomic on MS Paint adventures. It's fantastic and insane and the best, I swear. Just get passed the first two acts!
Okay, so this chapter was actually really awkward to make, due to the long break. So, if it shows through, please tell me!
Anyway, onto the...
Review Responses:
mersan123: Yeah, I keep on hurting poor Merlin! God, I really should feel terrible about that...but I don't. What exactly does that say about me? Hmm. *sweats nervously*
MerlinMorgana1579: Yeah, I'm terribly sorry! Go check her stuff out if you... you know what? JUST CHECK OUT HER STUFF.
Thanks again to my wonderful beta, MerlinMorgana1579, for fixing all of my screw ups!
And THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!
You are fantastic and awesome to stick with me. I know my writing is very VERY far from the best out there, so thanks for taking time to read this!
And... you know... it would only take a few seconds to click on that review box/ button over there. If you did... you know... I would love you for all of eternity... and I would bake you (another) million virtual cookies.
Thanks for reading, and I'll see ya next time! (Hopefully, that won't take months again. I'm really sorry about that. BLAME HUSSIE. AND SICKNESS.)
REM