Author's Notes: I LOVE YOU ALL! I would like to thank chele the original for the continued perfect reactions and I would also like to thank a new reviewer to this story for an amazing review, GoldenFireFish you made my valentine's day with you description of my story as a dark chocolate kind of good. This one's for you two. I still own nothing.

10. Actually Rather Intelligent

It was the dead of night when Arthur was finally forced to call a halt to his men. It was too dark to continue, let alone follow the trail they had found. Arthur sat down by the fire they had started and began to absently break branches. Leon sat down next to him.

"Sire, it'll be alright. We'll catch him." Arthur nodded absently. The two squires were feeding the horses nearby. Bedavier nudged Galahad.

"What are you thinking about?" The younger squire shook his head.

"I'm just worried about Merlin. I don't trust that lord." Bedavier nodded. Having grown up with him Bedavier knew that Galahad had a knack for weeding out people with bad intentions just by watching them for a few hours.

Bedavier was worried too. Merlin was a sweet kind soul, one of the few who did not make fun of him for his habit of reading in the armory when his work was done. In fact Merlin had recommended several fascinating history books to Bedavier.

They were all worried about him, and as the night wore on the pile of demolished sticks around Arthur grew. Leon was left to his own ponderings as he sat on watch.

Now here is one thing most people, be they knight or prince or servant, did not realize about Sir Leon. Despite all evidence to the contrary he was not in fact, and this is a shocker, blind deaf or dumb. He was actually rather intelligent in most respects. He was a skilled strategist and swordsman. He was literate and did on occasion enjoy a good book. But most important of all he paid attention where few others did. He listened to the gossip that flew around the castle, passed from servant to servant to townspeople alike. He saw things he could explain, and many he could not.

The fact that most of these unexplainable events had at least a small connection to Merlin had not escaped his notice. In fact it had all begun to make sense after the events of two weeks pervious, when yet another evil sorcerer this one went by the name Cornelius Sigan had attempted to take over Camelot. When the battle had been won Leon had been helping to inspect the damage done to the citadel. Events had begun to fall into place in his mind when he discovered the door to the cell Merlin had been locked in earlier that day on the floor. Of the cell opposite his. Since then Leon had been keeping a close eye on Merlin. But he had been nothing but a silent help to all of Camelot, a shadow protecting the prince and all the people.

But something else had caught Leon's attention about the surprisingly secretive and competent servant. He really was just that innocent. His act, the innocent clumsy farm boy turned servant, was not an act at all. It was who he truly was. That was why Sir Leon saw Lord James as such a threat to the boy. That kind of innocence was hard to come by and it was part of Leon's duty as a knight to protect the innocent. Especially when it was a friend to whom he, all of Camelot, owed their lives to many times over.

The first thing he noticed was that, while he was not uncomfortably cold, there was a definite chill creeping into his skin. The comfortable fog that clouded his mind was starting to slowly but surely clear away the cobwebs it had brought with it. He shifted and froze. The fog remained but panic cleared some of it away. He could not move his arms. His sleep clouded eyes refused to open but he had other ways of figuring out what was going on. He flexed his fingers, they still worked. He clenched his hands into fists and felt something brush against them. He grabbed hold of it and carefully ran his thumb over it.

Rope, well made and not as rough as it normally was when he found himself in similar situations. That had been happening a lot lately; maybe he should try to figure out why that was… He shook himself mentally.

'Focus Merlin!' He yelled inside his head. Following the rope down to his hands with his fingers he discovered his wrists were tied together above his head. It was then it occurred to him that he was laying on a bed. That was definitely not his bed. He felt something brush against his face and jerked away from the touch as much as he could.

"Shhhh, my little angel. I won't hurt you." He knew that voice. The fog was rapidly clearing away and he forced his eyes open.

Lord James felt his breath catch in anticipation as sleep clouded gem colored eyes snapped open, only to slam shut once more as the light hit them. He stroked his angel's cheek. Those lapis lazuli eyes blinked rapidly, confusion and the still present sleeping potion clouding their depths. The boy beside him groaned and once more tried to move his hands to bring them to his no doubt aching head. Lord James stroked his hair out of his eyes.

"It's alright my pet, the potion is still working. Give it time to wear off." The elfish servant frowned.

"Potion?" His voice was still weak and scratchy from the damage inflicted on his throat the previous day. The lord frowned. This flaw would repair itself over time but he did not want to be reminded of any imperfections while he watched his prize laid out before him.

"Shhh. You shouldn't be talking my sweet. You'll ruin that pretty voice of yours. I was talking about that potion I gave you when you fixed up my hand. That was so sweet of you. I slipped it into your tea when you weren't looking." Merlin's mind was still in a fog as he tried to process what the lord had said. His eyebrows rose rapidly as he began to understand.

"Why?"

"Because it makes this so much easier." And the lord leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"You're mine now. All mine." Merlin jerked away from the feel of the lord's lips right behind his ear. The lord laughed darkly, his fingers brushing along Merlin's side. It was then he realized that his shirt was missing. Merlin fought back, struggling away from the falsely kind lord. When Lord James forced his mouth to Merlin's Merlin decided he had had enough of this. He brought his knee up hard and as the lord rolled away in pain he angled his elbow up to meet the lord's nose with a satisfactory crack.

The lord let out a cry of pain as blood blossomed from his nose. He brought the hand that was not trying to stem the flow of blood up to Merlin's throat. Merlin tensed, but instead of wrapping his strong fingers around the slim expanse of skin he stroked his thumb along the fragile skin there and smiled. The blood dripping down his face made him look near insanity. His fingers continued to run up and down Merlin's neck.

"You're a fighter, I can fix that." Before he could do anything else there was a knock at the door. Lord James didn't miss a beat.

"Yes?" The door inched open and a man Merlin did not recognize stuck his head around the door. He was oily with lank hair and beady black eyes. He sidled into the room and bowed. His voice was as oily as his hair.

"I must apologize for the interruption my lord but it is important." Lord James, his eyes never leaving Merlin's, nodded.

"So speak." The greasy man hesitated.

"My lord, I'm not sure if your newest toy should hear this." Merlin opened his mouth to protest that he was not a toy, nor did he belong to anyone but lord James moved his hand from Merlin's neck to his mouth. Seeming to forget the blood on his hand, he stroked it through Merlin's hair as his nose continued to drip blood.

"Shhhh, my pet. No talking." Merlin bit the lord's hand, hard. The lord drew back and slapped him, not very hard but it still hurt. Merlin glared.

"I belong to no one." Merlin really wished his voice was working better as he croaked his defiance. It would have been much more impressive if he could have shouted it. The lord smiled and stroked the cheek he had so recently slapped, trying to soothe the reddened skin there.

"I'll fix that attitude of yours soon enough my pet. But for now I'll have to make you obey." The lord grabbed a piece of cloth from where it lay folded on the table beside the bed. Merlin struggled harder as the lord bent over and tied the cloth, Merlin's own scarf, around his mouth. The lord then leaned down and pressed a kiss to Merlin's forehead as the boy struggled against his bonds. But as the lord sat back he seemed to remember something.

"Oh yes I almost forgot." He then pulled a familiar corked bottle out of his pocket. He pulled the cork from the bottle and then pulled the makeshift gag down to hang around Merlin's neck. He pressed the bottle to Merlin's firmly closed lips. He sighed as Merlin continued to resist.

"Very well my stubborn little angel. I can do things the hard way if you wish. Just remember you brought this on yourself." The lord reached his free hand up to Merlin's bound wrists. He found the injured one and squeezed hard. Merlin gasped in pain and the lord tipped the potion down his throat as he coughed and tried to spit it out.

It didn't help that Lord James was stroking his hair and attempting to sound comforting. Merlin just found it creepy.

Once he was sure his angel had his breath back Lord James gently lifted the cloth back up to his mouth. He fought back but despite his best efforts the old drug, still not fully worn off, made his movements slower than they should have been. Lord James stood, running his hand along the length of the boy's body before he turned to the door ignoring the kick that his pet tried to hit him with. The greasy man, Richard, bowed and followed him into the hallway.

Why did you choose to interrupt me you slimy little toad?" Lord James snarled as he whipped the blood away from his face with a handkerchief. The greasy man cowered.

"My apologies my lord but a party of knights was sighted making camp not far from here sir." The lord stiffened.

"Now why would they do that? He's a mere servant to the prince." The greasy man fidgeted.

"I got word from one of my friends inside the castle that King Uther and Price Arthur are both close to the Lady Morgana who is friends with several of the servants, perhaps she…" The lord cut him off with a raised hand.

"Lady Morgana. I knew I should have killed her when I had the chance. Never mind that now. We will be ready for them." The lord was sure to lock the door before walking away to talk to his guards. The greasy man hesitated, looking worried before he followed the lord down the hall.