Arthur entered the hall, looking around until his eyes found his father, his heart sinking at the sight. The king sat alone, with only two guards standing nearby.
"Oh, there you are Arthur." Uther announced, looking pleased.
"Father." Arthur managed to choke out. "Run now, please!" he begged.
Arthur felt all hope plummet when Uther simply looked at him like he was insane.
"What's going on son?"
"Please go!" Arthur pleaded.
"Guards!" Uther yelled, backing away as he watched his son's face distort into an expression he had never seen, it was a look that scared him. The guard's immediately approached, but they were of no threat to the Prince. With just a wave of his hand the men were gone, and the two royals were left alone.
Uther stared at his son in shock. There was no way that his son had just used magic, surely he was mistaken. He had to be.
Arthur felt hot. It was like the power was growing bigger becoming harder to fight. "Father." He hissed urgently
"Stop this at this moment Arthur!" Uther growled.
"I can't!" Arthur choked "I'm sorry! I can't!" The Prince felt helpless as his own hand lifted up menacingly.
"Arthur. Stop!" The King cried.
With a loud clamor the door to the hall flew open, and Arthur turned to see Merlin who had just entered. The boy was clutching to his walking cane, swaying slightly as if being fatigued. In moments he was horrified to find that all the power that had originally been aimed at the king had just been released towards a new target. Before he could utter a word the magic struck Merlin, and the boy flew back striking the back wall with dreadful force. In an instant Merlin was lying boneless on the floor.
"Merlin!" he screamed.
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"Merlin!" Lancelot's yell echoed throughout the hall.
Arthur just stood there, looking at Merlin who simply laid still. "No, not again. No. no!" He hissed harshly as he started to disappear. Before anyone could do anything to stop him, the Prince was gone. Vanished.
Lancelot rushed forward and landed on his knees beside Merlin. Carefully he touched him, but stopped when he heard a cry escape his friend's lips.
"Merlin?" Lancelot breathed, relieved that the boy still lived.
"I'm alright." Merlin groaned as he opened his eyes, his hand reaching out to seek the knight beside him. He was about to try and speak again, but then Gaius was there, his stocky frame looming over him.
"Don't move son. Let me have a look at you." The old man ordered as he slowly knelt down.
As fast as he could Gaius gently examined Merlin. "There are some broken ribs I'm afraid. I need you to keep still so that I can bandage them."
"No time." Merlin hissed as he tried to straighten himself up. As would be expected the young man let out a cry of pain.
Uther who had been across the room was quickly approaching. "What was that Gaius?" The King spouted sounding desperate to know what was going on.
"Sire. Arthur came into the possession of a very dangerous object. It is trying to take over his mind."
"What? How can this be?" Uther growled looking both shocked and furious.
"Yes Gaius, did you find out what it is?" Merlin asked hopefully.
"Yes. Gwen was able to explain the details of what happened, which led me to this book." Gaius answered as he held up said object, before lowering it to start sifting through the pages. Quietly they all leaned forward to see what the older man was about to show them.
"That's it" Gwen exclaimed from behind the group. She recognized the illustration on the aged paper as that of the pendant.
"It's called The Eye of the Demon. It is very old. Once, many years ago, a Priestess of the old religion captured a powerful demon in that same pendant. It says here, that whoever wears the charm is doomed to lose himself. Over time the demon will take over his mind fully."
The group let out a collective gasp of shock.
"Is there any hope of riding him of this…demon?" Uther asked.
"There is a spell but…" Gaius halted his explanation as Merlin lowered his hand over the page.
Quietly, Merlin let his magic show him the spell, and his angular face creased with determination. It was a difficult spell to do, and he was weakened physically, but he knew what needed to be done.
"I can do it." he said confidently as he moved his hand away.
"Are you sure Merlin?" Gaius questioned hesitantly, looking doubtful.
"Yes."
"What can you possibly hope to do boy?" Uther asked, sounding confused.
"I can save him." Merlin stated firmly, and the power behind those words gave Uther a shock. The King looked, really looked at the manservant before him. He wasn't the same, the boy, the servant was gone. This was the other Merlin he had witnessed before, the man who always stood behind his son. Even when those brilliant blues eyes were blind, they contained such wisdom. Right now the young man was standing taller than ever, his posture now straight despite the pain it must be causing him. Uther noticed that even when Merlin usually looked thinner and smaller than Arthur, the real Merlin was quite tall.
"I can save him." Merlin repeated.
Uther's eyes widened as Merlin's irises reflected a hint of gold. He would have to be blind himself to not see the magic swirling around in them. It was a pure strong magic unlike anything Uther had ever felt before. It tingled across his skin, and the King couldn't help but turn his head away. With a deep breath Uther closed his eyes and decided to ignore the blatant magic "Go, save my son." He whispered.