9. Warlock

"You won't get anything from us," Gwaine said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. Cenred was next to him in a second, with his blades crossed at his throat. Gwaine just shrugged at him and waited for Morgause to continue.

She paused, a little annoyed, but quickly regained her focus. "I have it on good authority that one of you," she held up her hands and pointed at Merlin and Gwaine, who were flanking Arthur along the wall, "has magic."

Merlin did his best to keep a straight face, but Gwaine just donned an amused expression. Arthur glanced between the two of them, completely sure Morgause was out of her mind.

With a jerk of her head, Morgause instructed Cenred to remove his weapons from Gwaine, which he did, holding them at his sides as she continued. "Now, I need someone with magic for a little experiment I'm performing, and you're the closest thing we've got, so I guess you'll have to do." She jerked her head back toward the wall, and there was no time to react before Cenred's blades were crossed again, this time millimeters from Arthur's neck. "You will tell me who it is, and you will comply with my requests. Or the Crown Prince of Camelot will no longer have a head on which to place that crown."

"This is preposterous," Arthur said through gritted teeth. The pain in his head was still constantly pounding away, but he felt the need to handle this situation himself. "You of all people know how my father and I feel about magic. These are two of my closest men. A knight. And my personal servant. Don't you think I'd know if they had magic? Besides…look at them."

"Ah, thanks for the compliment, Arthur," Gwaine said as he took a step forward. He wasn't sure if anyone in that cell had magic, but he knew he and Arthur didn't. He wasn't as sure about Merlin. It was still within the realm of possibility. He sauntered up to Morgause and flicked a lock of her hair across her shoulder. "It's me."

Morgause watched him warily as he approached her, but didn't move to stop him from touching her. "Really?" she said with a soft tilt of her head, "Then how about you show us what you can do, hmm?" She reached out and grabbed his wrist, digging her nails tightly into his skin. "Impress me. Or your prince dies."

Merlin let out a small breath that he had been holding, and then closed his eyes, trying to think of some possible escape. He could only think of one, but he figured he'd wait until he saw what Gwaine had up his sleeve first.

Gwaine shook his arm from Morgause's grasp and took a few steps back from her, giving an exaggerated bow. Cenred scoffed and repositioned his swords, hoping the sound would quell Gwaine's humor. Gwaine shot Arthur a glance and then turned back to Morgause. "Wouldn't happen to have a deck of cards would you?"

"Gwaine…." Arthur's voice was low, frustrated.

Gwaine held up a hand to quiet Arthur. "It's just, I work so much better with cards. After all, I'm supposed to be impressive, right?"

"That's enough," Morgause snapped as she stepped forward and grabbed the front of Gwaine's shirt. "Are you, or are you not the warlock?" He shrugged again and she back him up against the wall, nails digging into his chest through the fabric.

"Oh, is this how we're going to play?" he said, forcing a grin. Morgause huffed and slapped him across the cheek before retreating a few steps. Then her gaze fell on Merlin.

"You've been awfully quiet, servant boy. Hiding something, are we?"

Both Gwaine and Arthur jumped to Merlin's defense before he had a chance to. "Of course not," Arthur mumbled exaggeratedly, while Gwaine jumped bodily in front of Morgause again.

"I'm losing my patience with you," she said as she pushed Gwaine out of the way and wedged herself in between Arthur and Merlin. One of her hands reached up to trace the edge of the blade at Arthur's neck. "If you're hiding something, and you don't tell me, all I have to do is snap my fingers and Arthur dies where he stands. You don't want that, do you?" She held her other hand in front of Merlin's face ready to snap.

"No," Merlin's voice came out soft and frightened at first, but it gained strength as he continued talking, "Put the swords down, I'll tell you what you want to know. I-"

"Don't listen to him. Not right in the head, that one," came Gwaine's voice.

At this point Arthur had almost forgotten his imminent death and was kind of intrigued by Gwaine and Merlin's reactions. Morgause and Cenred shot each other quick, annoyed glances. She could still do this without Arthur. She sighed and waved a hand at Cenred, "Kill him."

Just as Cenred moved into action, Merlin lunged at him, surprising him enough to cause him to stumble, but he didn't lose his grip on either of the swords like Merlin had hoped. "WAIT!" Merlin yelled and held up his hands, stepping into the spot where Cenred had been. Flames burst from both his hands, scorching the stones where they hit the walls. Morgause held up a hand, stopping Cenred in his tracks.

Gwaine shook his head at Merlin, and Arthur's eyes widened just a little as he took in the scene before him. "Wait," Merlin said again, quieter, to Morgause. She nodded back at him almost imperceptibly.

Merlin gave Gwaine a fast, sad smile and then turned to Arthur. Arthur stood there, unable to move. He couldn't even look at Merlin; he stared past him and focused on random spots on the hallway walls. He set his jaw angrily and barely felt the one or two hot tears that streaked across his cheeks. He felt betrayed.

Merlin was hyperaware of all of the other people in the room, but he couldn't leave it like this. He leaned forward, putting his face right next to Arthur's ear. Arthur still didn't move. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. This isn't how you were supposed to find out," Merlin whispered. He couldn't think of anything else to say. He dropped his lips to Arthur's neck and brushed a light kiss there before pulling back.

Cenred sheathed his swords and grabbed Merlin roughly by the arm, jerking him out of the cell. Morgause followed and closed the door behind her, smirking at Arthur, who was still catatonic against the wall.

Gwaine stood in the center of the cell running his hands through his hair, his gaze bouncing from the figures receding into the dark at the end of the hallway and Arthur's stunned expression. For once, no witty remarks came to mind. He was convinced Merlin was a dead man. He and Arthur might as well be, too.