"Merlin, I thought you deserved to know." Arthur finished. He studied his servant, waiting for a reaction to what he had just told him, waiting for some type of shock or fear to appear on Merlin's face. But it never did. Merlin just looked up from the spot on the ground he'd been studying while Arthur told him and looked straight into Arthur's eyes.
"You thought that I expected you-" Merlin paused for a while to collect the emotion that was boiling up. "-to betray Camelot? For ME!?"
Arthur realized that if anything, Merlin was looking insulted, angry. That really didn't make sense. Of course nothing about Merlin really ever had.
"Well- yes." Arthur said shortly, he had never had to deal with a situation like this before and even though the whole time he was telling Merlin he had kept a serious, stone face, he found now that he could no longer keep it up. His carefully controlled emotions were now breaking down to shocked confusion.
"Arthur… it doesn't matter what these men will do to me." Merlin raised his voice a little; drawing strength from a place deep inside him."I know your dedication to Camelot. And if you think that I would ever let Camelot fall… because of me… everything I've done is for nothing."
The warlock's eyes were shining with inner light, looking the prince in the eyes. What Arthur saw in them amazed him, there was fierce dedication, loyalty and friendship, the likes of which were so true and raw they almost made Arthur jump back in surprise.
"I won't be able to tell them anything… you realize that Merlin?" Arthur said sadly, making sure he was being clear. He didn't want to give Merlin false hope or promise, his servant was far too good of a person to be lied to at a time like this.
"Yes, Arthur. I understand. I know it will be difficult, I know it will hurt." Merlin said, at this he actually gulped and looked into his lap. He couldn't let Arthur feel guilty for what might happen though- if the worst were… to occur Arthur would have to move forward without him to be King –he needed to tell him it wasn't his fault. He need to say that he had always been prepared to give his all to protect Camelot and it's Prince, that he had been protecting it and Arthur since he had arrived. But most importantly, that he forgave him. "You don't need to worry... I've faced a dragon with you, I've stood with you to protect my home, I've drunk poison for you- this is no different!"
Arthur visibly shifted his gaze away from his servant when he mentioned the poison incident. That was one thing he wished he couldn't remember. He studied a rather uninteresting pile of leaves to his left, trying to come up with something appropriate to say in response to such fierce loyalty. Somehow, he couldn't find any words to say. He heard Merlin visibly sigh and he realized that he had to say something.
"You sound like a knight, Merlin." He smiled a little, deciding to lighten the mood. "Very unfitting."
Instantly, his servants face formed a small grin, chuckling at the prince's comment. "Perhaps, Sire." Smiling a knowing smile and laughing, Merlin looked like he was ready for afternoon of playing around, not facing pain against evil men in the middle of a, perhaps even evil itself, forest.
Slowly, the knights along the Prince's sides began, one by one, waking up from their head-damage induced small coma by the laughter coming from the prince and Merlin. The first one to come to conciousness was Sir George. The knight looked up and he immediately took in their surroundings.
"Sire are you alright?" He asked, formality seeping through and ending the moment between the Prince and his servant. Merlin looked down and the Prince took this as the end of the amount of emotion that the servant had shown.
"Yes, I'm fine Sir George. Any injuries?" Arthur asked the five remaining knights.
Sir George looked around checking each knight slowly, before resting on Merlin. "Boy, how are you awake?" He asked him, not unkindly.
Merlin simply shrugged, he was emotionally exhausted from the conversation that he had just had with Arthur and he really didn't feel like responding to the knight's questions.
"Sire, have you thought of means of escape?" Asked another knight.
"No, there is a guard in the morning to check us and Mordaith comes a few times a day. We are also in the center of the camp so it makes it… difficult." Arthur summed up. In actuality, he hadn't really thought about an escape plan, he had been too focused on Merlin. But he definitely couldn't tell them that.
For the next half and hour, the knights and Arthur debated different ways to evade the people of the camp and escape, but no matter which way they looked at it, it seemed that there was no way to escape from the wretched Forest of Anobaith. Arthur, at the end, firmly decided that the only way they could leave would be if a miracle happened. As Arthur thought, only the hum of Sir George and Sir Anor talking filled the forest, before even that ended. Arthur looked up, curious to see what had made the men quiet from there usually endless debating, only to see Merlin. He was standing up, despite his feet being tied in a rather tight knot and staring off into the distance, at the camp.
"Merlin, what are you-" Arthur stopped as he realized what his servant was looking at. It was almost night time in the forest and a fog had gathered in the woods, blocking his view earlier but now he could see clearly. Out of the fog, Sayodin and then Mordaith appeared, the fog curling around them as they exited it as if it didn't want to let them go. There faces were stone and each had a dangerous and triumphant look in their eye. Even from where Arthur was tied to the tree in the center, he could see Sayodin's eyes twitch hungrily and hatefully to Merlin, who was showing no fear.
No…Arthur thought, a hundred anger-filled thoughts came through his head, directed at the evil men approaching him. They reached them quickly, too quickly. And Mordaith surveyed the awoken knights.
"What is it you want, Mordaith?" He hissed out, though he knew exactly what he wanted.
"Oh, nothing. We're just going to borrow Merlin here." Mordaith clamped a hand on Merlin's right shoulder and tightly gripped. Arthur couldn't see Merlin's face but he was sure he was holding back a grimace.
The knights around Arthur looked confused. They wondered what the leader of a potential military threat, an evil man, would want with Arthur's clumsy servant? What use was he? The Prince could feel their looks on his back, but he ignored them, using years of practice. He controlled his face and lowered his voice.
"Fine. He is just a servant." Arthur said, stonily. Merlin did not react, it was what he had been expecting but the knight's did. Arthur usually fought for every life and was far more caring then his father and him just abandoning someone they had seen him act fondly with, confused them endlessly.
Mordaith raised his eyebrows, doubting the Prince's nonchalant statement. "Oh really?" He pulled out his jagged bone knife out and twisted it in the air, catching Arthur's attention. "If that's the case, I suppose… we could get rid of him for you." He brought the knife in front of the boy's throat. Merlin visibly stiffened, he would admit it, he was scared. He had been prepared to die for Camelot, for Arthur, but if Arthur let this happen, it would be for nothing. Nothing at all. He looked at Arthur, eyes reverberating fear that he wasn't sure he should show the Prince and his magic clawed at him, luring him to use it, to save himself, but he couldn't. Not with the Arthur and the knights staring back at him. It was in Arthur's hands now.
There we go! Dadadaaaa. Reviews mean a lot to me… : )