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"Let me out!" Arthur growled at his father through the bars. Uther had not even come into the cell, knowing that Arthur was in one of his brash moods and was not quite sure what to expect from the furious prince. The king had decided that it was safer for everyone if he remained on the other side of the door.
"No." The king said grimly, earning an expression full on anger.
"Let. Me. Out." The prince's snarled dangerously, fists clenching around the bars.
"I said no, Arthur. I will not let you throw away your life by going chasing after a servant because he has associated himself with a sorcerer."
"Merlin didn't associate himself with anyone. He was kidnapped by a sorcerer. There's a difference. He'll be killed if I don't go!"
Arthur was furious with his father but also with himself. By letting himself get caught, the prince was well aware that Merlin might already be dead; the letter had made that much clear.
"And you will be killed if you go. And then who will save him? So either way, it looks like you will need a new servant. Better one life lost than two."
Uther's adamant manner about the whole situation meant that Arthur's anger was reaching dangerously high levels.
"You can't stop me!" Arthur yelled, "I won't let him die." He added more quietly with determination.
"Ican't stop you?" The king scoffed with a laugh, "Have you seen where you are, Arthur? You're not going anywhere. I'll see you're let out when this is over."
With those final words, Uther turned on his heel and marched out of the dungeon, his cape billowing majestically behind him. The thud behind him made him realise that Arthur had thrown himself at the bars in frustration, making the King wonder just how much his son cared about his servant.
Arthur watched Uther's retreating back, wanting desperately to blame his father for everything but knowing deep down that Uther only wanted to protect his heir.
Pacing back and forth, it took him only a few attempts to realise that his cell was ten steps long and ten wide. Eventually, the prince's frustration slowly started to melt and he sank against the wall, head in his hands.
"I'm so sorry, Merlin." He whispered. He'd let his servant, his friend down.
*
"Uhh…" Merlin couldn't help groaning as he painfully returned to consciousness for the second time. This time, it wasn't just his head that hurt, wasn't just that he was freezing but he was also really uncomfortable.
Shifting his position slightly, Merlin realised with a start that he was slumped against a wall, his hands suspended above him in iron manacles that cut deeply into his flesh. Tugging slightly, Merlin tried to pull against the chains but to no avail.
As his vision cleared, the young warlock decided he would risk using magic once more, determined to get out before Arthur turned up and got himself caught in a trap.
His eyes flashed golden as Merlin focused his mind on the shackles above him and released the magic within him.
Only too late did he realise the blue shimmering light that surrounded the manacles. His magic not only had no effect but also backfired on him, sending shocks rippling through his body. Wincing, Merlin heard a soft laugh as Claton entered his vision, standing at the far end of the cave, leaning over a basin inset in stone.
"Anti-magic manacles, Merlin." He said softly, "You aren't going anywhere."
Merlin could only watch in defeat as Claton continued to mutter to himself whilst waving his hand over the basin. He paused, staring, and then cursed to himself. From the other end of the cave, Merlin could make out only a few words but was definitely sure that he heard both Arthur's name and Uther's.
"I should keep true to my promise and kill you for that." Claton said suddenly, turning to the perplexed boy. Merlin couldn't work out what he had done now to cause this sudden change but Claton seemed to want to enlighten him as he strode down the cave menacingly.
"I made it quite clear that he was to tell no one. All right, he didn't technically but what fun is it for me if the Prince is locked in a cell in Camelot's dungeons? I need him here, trying to rescue you."
Merlin grinned cheekily up at the man looming over him with a mockingly raised eyebrow. He knew it was a risk goading the man but he couldn't resist it.
"Looks like your plan failed after all. Why don't you let me go now?" He asked with an innocent voice.
Claton bent over and seized Merlin by the shoulder, his fingers biting into the bare flesh and causing the boy to cry out.
"Don't you worry. My fun is far from over!"
Raising the boy just high enough to cause his arms to bend at a painful angle, Claton dropped him again, smirking with satisfaction as Merlin hit the ground hard.
The sorcerer strode back into the middle of the cave and started chanting something under his breath. Although he didn't understand the words that the man was using, Merlin felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up; it was raw power that was being used, that was for sure.
A strange wind seemed to appear around the sorcerer's feet and Merlin realised that it was similar as to what the witch disguised as Lady Helen had used when he had first seen her. As that realisation hit him, Merlin knew exactly what Claton was about to do.
Just before he disappeared, Claton looked over his shoulder at the warlock slumped against the wall. The younger man seemed to realise that he was stuck for the time being and had gone back to tugging on the chain, as if hoping they would break. An evil grin crossed his face.
"Don't go anywhere whilst I'm gone!" He called back jeeringly.
Before the struggling Merlin could respond, the man whipped his head upwards and disappeared into thin air.
Merlin stared at the spot where he had disappeared, a mixture of relief and fear spreading through his aching body. Relieved, for he had a much higher chance of getting out of here without Claton around but fearful because he knew that he was going after Arthur and he hadn't seemed happy with the prince. For the first time since they had met, Merlin was glad Uther was around. He knew all too well the only reason Arthur would be locked in a cell was because his father was trying to prevent him from doing anything rash.
Trying to take advantage of the lack of sorcerer breathing down his neck, Merlin twisted awkwardly and braced himself.
Throwing all his weight forward, he strained against the chains only to have them cut into him painfully. After repeating this a few times, Merlin realised that he wasn't going to get out like this. He could already feel the warm trickle of blood running down his arms where the metal had bitten into him.
Yelling out in frustration, Merlin decided to use magic again. So maybe Claton had cast a spell on them to prevent him from using magic to escape but hadn't everyone always told him that he was powerful?
Letting his magic build up, Merlin breathed in deeply, every ounce of him focused on the shackles above his head. Trying to keep calm, he slowly exhaled, releasing the magic as he did so. Almost immediately, he could feel the magic being channelled back into him, sharp shocks coursing through him. Yet the warlock refused to stop, continuing to reach down into the part of him that he didn't really understand. Eventually there came a time where he simply had no magic left to send out and it was only then that he succumbed to the piercing darkness, allowing it to stop the pain