Hi Everyone!

I'm so incredibly sorry that its been so long since i've posted a chapter, I've just started my final year at Uni, so the past few weeks have been all moving back to uni and quitting my job at home and finding a new job and lectures and scary grown up-ness.

But... this is Merlin's P.O.V

just a recap for everyone, the past 2 chapters, 12 and 13, have shown Arthur's and Merlin's respective journey's from meeting each other back to the present day, which is where we started the story.

Please enjoy, and i will try to post again soon now i'm more settled :)

Chapter 13

Time seemed to stand still. He had watched the light change, hunched against the wall of his cell, the afternoon sun growing ever dim, the darkness enveloping the sky, the crescent moon washing pale stripes across his face. He had hugged his arms closer to his knees as the sky had lightened and dawn had broken. As the sun rose Merlin pulled in on himself even tighter, shutting out the brightness that streamed through the barred window. He raised his head from the crook between his knees when he heard the heavy metal door of his cell being opened, and he hastily wiped at his eyes and cheeks, trying to clear the tear tracks. He unfolded his long limbs that were curled tightly around him, and felt his muscles protest at the movement.

He stood shakily and brushed his hands self-consciously down his ragged clothing. A man in a pale blue shirt and grey trousers, a plain tie loose around the collar and his shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbows, stepped into the cell. Adding that to the hard look on his face, Merlin assumed he was a detective, which he confirmed by saying "I'm Detective Inspector Agravaine"

The man's eyes were cold, and seemed to bore into Merlin, routing out every wrong thing had done to be laid bare before his judgement. Merlin shivered and dropped his gaze to the floor. He tried to stand firm, to draw his armoured shield to protect him, but his trust in himself, his belief that he didn't need anyone else, had been shattered, and he felt so alone.

All his life he had never needed anyone else. Every time he had even had a thought to trust someone, they would crush his spirit and his soul, turn it to stone and chip away at it until they had made him into living statue, cold and hard and unfeeling.

All the suffering had hardened his heart, and turned against any kindness or hope, and he had only seen people as tools, to manipulate with his false charm and wit, take what he needed and leave all emotions behind.

But Arthur was different; he had stumbled into his life, quite literally, and had been open and vulnerable with Merlin, making it so easy for Merlin to take and manipulate him if he had wanted to. But no one had ever been like that with merlin before; there had always been a price that Merlin had had to pay. Arthur had flipped all of Merlin's beliefs on their heads, had soothed all his fears and his hurt, and had firmly wedged himself into Merlin's affections. In those blissful few hours they had spent in each other's company, Merlin had felt so much more for Arthur than he had ever felt for anyone else.

DI Agravaine had simply gestured to Merlin to follow him and led him down the corridor to a door labelled interrogation room 3. The Detective pushed the door open wide and let Merlin walk in to the oppressing silence. He looked fearfully around the room, as if the bland walls hid demons that would crawl out at the slightest provocation. Agravaine strode around the small table that was placed in the centre of the room and sat in the comfier looking of the two chairs placed on opposite sides of it. He simply looked at Merlin has he shuffled meekly over to sit in the other chair, tension showing in the lines of his shoulders.

Agravaine still did not utter a word.

"Maybe" Merlin thought "he was trying to get Merlin to blurt out his wrong doings".

But for all that Arthur had changed him, and for all being away from him had broken Merlin, he still had an ingrained wariness of all police, and this detective just gave off an air of unjustified cruelty. Merlin shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and his gaze moving restlessly, alighting anywhere but Agravaine's face.

Agravaine cleared this throat, and leant forwards slowly to stare intently at Merlin, who had looked around at the noise, and now was trapped by Agravaine's focus, his eyes sharp and unblinking. He shuddered internally, as he drew the shutters up and laid his mask of indifference over the top. Agravaine sighed and blinked once, breaking the hold of his gaze.

"So, Merlin Emrys, you are homeless, is that correct?"

Merlin kept silent, not even letting a shadow of an expression cross his face.

"Does the knife belong to you? Or were you keeping for someone else?"

"Was it you friend Arthur Pendragon's?" Merlin felt a brief shock at hearing Arthur's name, and Agravaine zeroed in on him. He squashed the emotion roughly.

"Where did you get the knife from?" Did you steal it?"

"You know could get up to 4 years in prison for possession of an offensive weapon in public?"

"I you explain to us why you had the weapon in your possession in the first place, then that sentence could be reduced"

Agravaine kept talking, his questions coming thick and fast, but Merlin did not listen to him. He knew what Agravaine was doing was highly illegal; there was no tape recorder, there was no lawyer present, and there was no way Merlin was going to say a word. He shifted in a suitable position of boredom, slumped low in his chair, lids heavy and a curl of derision on his lips, and he hoped it would frustrate Agravaine enough, so he would be taken back to his solitude.

Agravaine narrowed his eyes, and opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment, there was a sharp knock on the door. Officer Elyan peered cautiously around the door.

"Sir, can I have a word?"

Agravaine nodded sharply and strode out of the room without even glancing at Merlin. Merlin watched him go, and then slumped even further into his seat.

He wanted to get up, press his ear against the door and listen with intense curiosity, but he really really didn't want to make the situation any worse than it already was. He sat, drumming his fingers on the table in a mindless rhythm, trying to perfect his air of "I don't care"

"WHAT?!" Merlin sat bolt upright at the shout from outside.

He stared at the door, trying to see through it to the heated sounding argument beyond. It didn't work. All there was was the dull wood, and muffled sounds of angry voices

The door suddenly slammed open and bounced off the wall, leaving a sizeable hole in the plaster, and just narrowly missing hitting Agravaine as he stormed back into the room. He stood with his arms crossed and his stance wide, everything about him reading hostile and dangerous to Merlin. He muttered something almost sullenly, like a small child who never gets his own way. Merlin just looked at him none plussed, too scared to speak.

"I said, you're free to go"

Merlin almost let his jaw drop; Agravaine looked like your typical dirty cop, making Merlin loathe him instantly, so why would he suddenly decide to let Merlin go?

"why? I thought you'd all but put me in prison, I mean, you seemed pretty certain i was guilty whether I said something or not"

Agraviane huffed out a sighed, as if it pained him to talk to such low life "Well, apparently our evidence has gone missing, so we have nothing to hold you with" He turned towards the door, dismissing Merlin entirely. "sign out at the desk to collect your belongings" He disappeared out of the door.

Merlin stood tentatively, expecting Agravaine to return at any moment and laugh at him for foolishly thinking he was being serious.

When no one came back for him, he walked with more confidence out of the room and to the desk where only a short while ago he had stupidly pleaded for the police to help him.

There officer Elyan was leaning over the counter, scribbling notes into a set of files, shuffling them about, and glancing from one to another, a slight frown on his face. Merlin cleared his throat. Officer Elyan slowly placed the files into a neat pile, before looking up at Merlin, as small apologetic smile on his face.

Merlin wanted to glare at him, to scowl, or reach out a hand and punch that smile right of his face, but that would not be the cleverest thing to, seeing as he was still in the police station, and had just been released. Bloody hell, it was like Arthur had used up his quotient of kindness and patience for the year, and now Merlin could even muster a sarcastic quip anymore. If he ever saw Arthur again, he wasn't quite sure whether he wanted to punch him or kiss him.

"I was told to come and collect my belongings?" hoping they had his blanket and spare change, otherwise he was in for a rough night.

Elyan ducked under the counter and produced a large pile of clothing. Merlin opened his mouth the protest that these weren't his, but Elyan just widened his smile and urged the pile into his hands. Merlin was struck dumb, and when Officer Elyan asked him the sign the form that he pushed across the desk, it was all he could do to juggle the clothing pile into one arm and lean forward to hastily scrawl his signature across the line.

"It's strange, how your knife has gone missing, almost as if someone had removed it on purpose."

Merlin jolted slightly at the voice at his ear, the words throwing him even more off kilter. He leaned back to look Elyan in the eye, pen still poised over the freshly signed paper.

"It's in the dumpster on Camelot road" He whispered, his eyes darting up to the camera in the corner. He pulled the paper from Merlin, and stood up fully, feigning bored nonchalance, but his eyes showed compassion and caring.

Merlin backed a few steps away from the counter, his bundle clenched tightly to his chest. He didn't know whether to smile, or sob in relief, so he just turned on his heel and fled. He almost ran all the way the Camelot road, the doorway where he and Arthur had met passing in a blur.

He had got to the road, well it had been more of an alleyway really, and located the dumpster about half way down. The knife, his knife, had been placed at the back, not at all hidden, which meant officer Elyan had known Merlin would be the first one here, and so had probably only removed the knife from evidence whilst he was being "interviewed" by DI Agravaine.

Merlin had been speechless. That a relative stranger, someone who represented everything that Merlin had feared and resented, had risked his own career for someone as worthless as Merlin, had made him think he may not be so worthless after all.

Merlin had set the knife down along with his pile of newly acquired clothing. There had been enough for Merlin to shuck all of his ragged clothes, changing efficiently in the cold afternoon. He had wrapped his knife tightly in corner of the new blanket and counted his change. Five pound coins jingled in his palm. He was back to how he had been, like Arthur had never been in his life. Well, he shouldn't be so sentimental; Officer Elyan had now fed him for the week. He had put the money with his knife and had hunkered down in the alley with the blanket tight around him, to fall into an exhausted sleep.

When he woke, his new clothes did nothing to hide his lack of hygiene. Jesus he reeked.

The week passed much as it had before he had ever known Arthur Pendragon, thievery, trickery and restless sleep. When he dreamt, it was of Arthur, of safety and crooked smiles, companionship, arrogant humour, warmth and comfort. It was always bittersweet comfort, a show of what he'd come so close to having.

He tried to sleep as little as possible, but then the demons came, and he hated them.

He still held out a desperate slither of hope that he would be saved

"I'll find you, I promise!"

That Arthur would save him.