As promised, here's the next chapter
So I just finished this and I haven't edited it yet so it may be riddled with mistakes - but it's incredibly late and I just wanted to get this out to you guys. Bare with me :) I'll look over it when I get home tomorrow, in the mean time, I hope this lives up to your standards lovely readers~
Oh, one thing though - Morgause and Cendred are still alive in this story; just think that basically season 3 and half of season two has not happened yet :p
Enjoy!:
"There," said Nathaniel, motioning to a particularly dense section of foliage, marked by a towering, century-old oak, "Imiya's glade. The river runs by a cave not too far in, I would make a guess that that is where they're waiting for the exchange. His words hung thick in the air, having broken the quiet trance of the forest.
The entire walk had been cast in a brooding silence, the usual banter and almost boyish spirit that flowed between the knights having been tainted by an infallible darkness. As a collective, the knights kept a respectful distance from the crown prince, their own actions and thoughts sobered by the apparent, though carefully restrained, pain and anger of their future king.
"Thank you," said Arthur, marking the second time the silence had been broken since leaving for the outskirts of Ealdor, "your actions will not go unrewarded, take care when travelling back."
Nathaniel drew his lips into a terse frown, "I fear you may think cowardly of us, but believe me, we would have acted sooner had we any adequate weapons or amour. We have families to take care of but we were going to come anyway, we just couldn't come unprepared. Merlin is a friend, I will not abandon him, despite any.."
Pausing, the blacksmith levelled himself with the Prince, making direct eye contact and deliberately adding depth to his next words, "..differences he and I may share."
Knowing that he was referring to Merlin's.. abilities, Arthur kept eye contact, "Merlin will be safe with us. You have no protection, no means of defending yourself, head back to Ealdor, we will think no less of you."
Catching the subtlety of the message, Nathaniel stepped back.
"I am glad. Good luck sire."
With a brief nod at the knights, Nathaniel left.
Turning back to the glade, Arthur gripped his sword. Merlin. Merlin was in there and had been there at the mercy of bandits. He was most likely thirsty, starved, beaten, undeniably mistreated and abused and the knowledge made the prince feel a bitter, almost animalistic anger, both at the captors and at himself. Maybe, just maybe had he been a better friend, someone as equally giving and deserving of his manservant's unquestionable loyalty, Merlin would have trusted him with his magic, would have never have even begun to believe that Arthur would ever want him to leave his side.
With a swish of hand, Arthur withdrew his sword from his sheath and broke into a determined stride, the knights following closely behind.
-x-
Morgan, having been jolted from his nap by the wayward splashing of a rather large man in the river, scowled.
"Quit it, what if they come n' all they see is youse splashing around in the river?"
Balgore, the other man, promptly rolled his eyes but stepped out of the river regardless, shaking the remains of the water off his body in the process.
The two had been given orders to stay behind for a few days in order to see if they could manage to gain some extra gold, in the chance that the villagers from Ealdor turned up with the ransom for the dark-haired boy. Of course he had already been sold, but they didn't know that – and they would be expecting an exchange, not an ambush if they came.
Balgore had been about to retort when his mouth contorted into an 'o' at the sight of a knight emerging from the shadows, sword placed swiftly at throat of his fellow bandit.
Before he could fully process this, he felt the coolness of a blade touch his neck and immediately knew that the battle had been lost.
A blonde man walked towards Balgore, raising the tip of his sword to his throat, replacing the blade of the knight behind him. Immediately, he recognised the colours and signet of Camelot. This was the crown prince of Camelot.
"Where is he?" said the prince in a low voice.
Sweating, the bandit cursed his luck. He didn't know who "he" was, but they had obviously thought that he and Morgan had something to do with the disappearance of most likely one of their fellow knights. He wasn't certain, but he was pretty sure that was a crime punishable by death.
"I, er, I don't know what you're talking about," he stammered, "we haven't seen no knights of Camelot since just now, um, sire."
The prince growled, pushing the tip of his sword closer so that it was very nearing the point of drawing blood, "I am talking about Merlin, the person you took from the fringe of Ealdor."
Balgore panicked. Whereas before they might have had a chance of escaping alive due to the fact they really hadn't seen one of the knights, he definitely knew that they had taken this Merlin. Oh god, he thought, who on Earth had they kidnapped for the Prince himself to come find him.
"Uhmm," he spluttered, "we didn't know he was important n' all, I swear! Otherwise we wouldn't've touched 'im, would've let him right alone!"
"You're missing the point," hissed the Prince, "Where. Is. Merlin?"
"We don't 'ave him anymore!" Yelled Morgan, "don't hurt us, he's with Finnigan, ask Finnigan!"
Turning around, the Prince faced the other bandit, "Who's Finnigan?"
"He's the King's personal servant, a slave trader in his spare time."
There was an indignant hiss from one of the knights and the blond, sword forgotten, grabbed the bandit by his shirt, "You gave Merlin to a slave trader?" he growled, eyes darkening dangerously.
At that point, a scrawny man stumbled into the scene, staring blankly as he took in the scene of the confrontation before him.
"Oh." He said quietly, before turning around, scrambling to exit when Sir. Bedevere caught him by the scruff of his shirt.
"That's him," shouted Balgore, "that's Finnigan!"
-x-
Cendred stood by his throne room window, hands clasped behind his back as he briefly contemplated the evening ahead. He smiled. Morgause would be pleased with him and perhaps she would act a little less hostile, allowing him that more closer to her.
"Cendred," came a familiar voice from behind, "I hope you bring me here for good news," she drawled.
The King turned around, bending slightly to kiss the hand of the sorceress, "My lady," he murmured, "what would you say to a chance of destroying the Prince of Camelot."
Morgause perked with interest, immediately adopting a more welcoming manner, "My lord," she purred, "what have you?"
"I remember the Lady Morgana telling me of the closeness of the Prince and that servant of his, the one that accompanied him on his last.." Cendred darkened, reminded of their last failure, "..trip here."
At the mention of the Prince's servant, Morgause narrowed her eyes, "Go on."
"My servant Finnigan dabbles in the slave business. He went to acquire some more stock from and noticed him. Bandits had taken him from Ealdor."
Walking over a bundle lumped on the floor, Cendred withdrew the cloth revealing a battered, chained and inebriated raven-haired man.
"I thought you might like this. He's sedated as of now but when he wakes, you're free to cause as much pain to him as you like."
Morgause smiled coyly, "I like the way you think, my lord."
"Sister," she called.
Immediately, the Lady Morgana appeared by the door, gasping as she saw the crumpled form of the familiar body on the floor.
"Is this the man who poisoned you?"
At the mention of the betrayal, Morgana darkened considerably.
"Yes," she spat, "that's Merlin."
Morgause smiled, "then we have a treat for you. You may make him feel the pain he made you feel ten-fold, let him truly appreciate the sheer power of magic."
The seer smirked, "no, we can do more than that. Let Arthur know of this and he will surely come to try save him. We can have them both, and with Arthur's death we can crush Uther."
Smiling proudly at her sister, the sorceress moved towards a stone basin filled with a liquid substance. Eyes glowing, she began to chant, "scéawung mec bæcern Arthur Pendragon."
An image conjured in the liquid, showing the Prince and a company of men, his knights and a peasant, walking in forest.
"Your servant," snapped Morgause, "bring him here."
Cendred obliged, "Finnigan."
The servant entered through the door, bowing.
"Sire, Lady Morgause, Lady Morgana. How may I be of service?"
Morgause beckoned him closer,
"You were the one who bought the Prince's manservant? "
Finnigan smiled, "Yes my lady, it was I. My acquaintances were holding him for ransom for the village of Ealdor."
Morgause turned back towards the basin, narrowing her eyes.
"I believe Prince Arthur is going to meet with them now. You are to go back and reveal to the Prince that he is here, and under no circumstance must you tell him that you were told to tell him, make it seem like an accident."
Finnigan whitened, "but my lady, surely if I do so the Prince will kill me."
With a sweep of her elegant gown, Morgause glared icily at the servant.
"You dare defy me?"
Before he could respond, the sorceress raised her arm and the servant felt a crippling pain course through his body.
"Do. Not. Fail." Hissed Morgause, before launching into a flurry of words.
Within seconds, Finnigan found himself outside Imiya's glade. Trembling, he stumbled inside.
-x-
Angered by the fate of his friend, Sir Kay moved towards the slave trader, sword in hand. Arthur though had beat him, and held the servant under knife point.
"What have you done to him?" shouted the prince, "Where is Merlin?"
Finnigan trembled, the remnants of pain from Morgauses spell however was enough to encourage him forward.
"I don't uh, I've sold him already," he gulped, "to a knight in Lord Cendred's castle."
Arthur let out a strangled noise. Cendred's kingdom was perhaps the most hostile place he, as the Prince of Camelot could find himself in. Merlin, as the prince's personal manservant would be no doubt killed if he were to be found out.
Screaming, the Prince raised his sword, bringing it down with a fury of force, stopping however, just before striking the shivering slave trader. Breathing heavily, he motioned towards his knights and walked out into the forest.
They were going to Cendred's Kingdom.
-x-
Merlin screamed as a second bolt of what felt like fire coursed through his veins, convulsing on the ground as both sisters stood above him.
"Please, Morgana," choked Merlin, his voice coarse from screaming.
Morgana smirked, "How does it feel, Merlin, to know that you're going to die?"
Morgause laughed, "In due time sister, but I want to play with this one a little more."
On cue, Morgause flicked her wrist, this time lacerations appearing on the warlock's back, blood seeping into his already blood-soaked clothes.
Screaming Merlin bit back the incentive to use his magic. He was weak from both the sedation he had undergone, and the pain that Morgause had caused him. He knew that if he were to reveal his magic now, he wouldn't be strong enough to hold off both Morgause and Morgana, and once they knew, they'd find a way to restrain his magic. No, it was much better to wait for the opportune moment to catch them off guard, and to escape. In the meantime, Merlin let out an agonized sob as he felt another torrent of pain surge through his body.
-x-
The time came later in the evening. Just as he had felt that he was on the brink of death, that the pain was too much and that he would have to defend himself with magic, Morgause had suddenly called for the guards and he had been thrown into a cell.
Taking a moment to nurse his injuries, Merlin limped towards the metal bars, struggling to hold himself upright.
Whispering a spell, Merlin felt the magic course through his fingertips, taking with it however, some of the little energy he had left. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Merlin stumbled through the dungeon and into the night.
Upon sneaking through the sleeping kingdom and into the outskirts of the main city, it became apparent to the warlock that he would need to rest. Stumbling into the forest, Merlin used the last of his energy to cast a concealment spell before collapsing.
-x-
Upon finding out that Merlin had escaped, Morgause screamed, and with a flick of her wrist, killed the messenger.
"He could barely stand," hissed Morgause, "your guards are completely incompetent. Our plan is ruined."
Cendred grimaced. He didn't understand how the boy had managed to escape, but it had reflected badly on himself.
A few days later however, their plan had in fact come to fruition.
"My lady, I bring good news. Arthur and his knights were captured last night, they had been wearing peasant clothing in order to disguise themselves. My knights however were waiting, they did not stand a chance."
"Well," purred Morgause, "I suppose it matters not about the servant, the Prince is the main prize. Bring him to me."
Cendred sent for the prisoner, and a moment later the Prince entered, restrained by two of Cendred's knights.
Morgause smiled, "Prince Arthur," and then promptly raised her hand.
-x-
Merlin woke up to a sharp pain in his ribs. Testing out his limbs, tears sprang to his eyes as the soreness of his injuries took their toll, allowing no mercy as the warlock stretched himself out and attempted to stand.
He had been resting in the forest in the past few days, deciding that it was near impossible for him to travel any further without letting his injuries heal enough to let him walk further than a mile. Stomach rumbling, he cast his ageing spell and once again Merlin hobbled into the marketplace to see what he could steal for his next meal.
Although he kept a low profile, for fear that someone would recognise him despite his aged appearance, Merlin often stayed in the marketplace for longer than necessary, choosing to listen to the conversations of merchants to see if he could gather any information on the situation regarding himself.
He had heard nothing interesting so far until today.
"Did you hear Maurice?" asked the portly woman.
"I got no time for yer gossip woman," growled the merchant, "got things to sell."
"Oh but it's important," huffed the woman, eager to share her gossip, "we could be at war soon, with Camelot."
Merlin gasped at the mention of his old home, listening intently. He may not be welcome there, he thought, with a stab in his chest, but he would still protect Camelot. He would still protect Arthur.
"Oh yeh?" said Maurice, intrigued by the news of war.
"Oh yes," said the woman, "Prince Arthur and his knights were caught trying to infiltrate our city, no doubt they were trying to pull a secret siege. I mean we have been at tension for some time. They're being kept at the castle as we speak."
Merlin blanched.
Arthur.
Arthur was in the castle with Morgause.
Yep. Wrote that in the middle of the night so i'm not sure on the quality x) let me know I guess.
Do you like where the story's going because i'm not quite sure myself :/