Merlin had stood uncertainly in Acrotus' chambers as the man claimed that he was going to make sure that Arthur was alright. Merlin had tried to protest, tried to claim that as the man's servant, it was up to him to check on the prince. But the look Acrotus had given him was enough for Merlin to bite his tongue. Not only was he a servant trying to argue back against a noble, he was still also shaking slightly from Arthur's rough behaviour. He knew that when the royal was worried, he would lash out, but never before had he been on the receiving end of it in such a way. It was as if Arthur had been genuinely terrified for Merlin's safety, and judging by their confused attempts at a conversation, it was not because of the rapist that Arthur was worried.
Sighing, Merlin rested his head in his hands as he sunk into a chair, feeling exhausted. He still hadn't yet worked out why Arthur had returned from the hunt on his own. The rest of the Knights knew better than to let the prince out of their sight, and he knew they must be going out of their mind over the fact that Arthur was once again missing. But Merlin knew he couldn't think about them at the moment, he had to work out what it was that had Arthur so terrified. He pressed his palms into his eyes as he tried to work it out, knowing that he wasn't going to have time once Acrotus returned.
Acrotus. Merlin suddenly frowned, his heart giving a thud of alarm. He could just about recall the look on Arthur's face as the knights had taken him from Camelot, the wild look of horror that had been obvious even from the distance that Merlin had been at. Once Bromley had claimed him and immediately began treating him like nothing more than a whore, Merlin had thought that was what had caused the look, especially considering Bromley had said that he knew Arthur of old. But just now, their conversation in the corridor… Arthur had said that he hadn't be referring to Bromely.
Then who?
The roof of his mouth going dry, Merlin slowly lifted his head, staring around the room that he was in. He had found sanctuary in this room after Bromley's attack, but what if his sanctuary was Arthur's hell? What if…What if it hadn't been because of Bromley that Arthur had looked so terrified, but Acrotus? What if they had met before…What if Acrotus was in some way responsible for what had happened back in that place? It would certainly explain how wild Arthur had been out in the corridor, and now that he was thinking about it, the prince's face had gone even paler when he saw Acrotus, and his eyes had been begging Merlin not to go.
Jumping to his feet, Merlin snarled. He had trusted Acrotus, he had believed that the man had been trying to protect him in some way. In a way, he had hoped that because it was trying to protect the servant, it meant that he was a friend of Arthur's, that he would be able to offer the prince the support he so desperately needed right now. Yet all of this time, he was potentially just trying to plan a way to get Arthur back in his grasp… Feeling furious with himself for not realising, for not sensing that something was off, Merlin stared about him.
If Acrotus was truly here in order to do something to Arthur, then there must be some sort of evidence, some equipment or even just chains, everyone knew that Arthur would never go quietly with someone that he hated. The evidence could have been right under his nose this whole time, and Merlin would have never noticed. Fast as he could, he began opening every cupboard door he came across, lifting the lid on the man's trunk and even going as far as pulling the covers back from the bed, searching for anything that would give him the proof that he needed to go to Uther. The king might not have trusted him normally, but he had acknowledged what Merlin had done for Arthur, surely he just had to listen?
But it didn't matter what Uther would do unless Merlin could find something. So far, there had been nothing, no sign whatsoever. Yet now the thought had lodged in his head, Merlin was certain that he was right, adamant that Acrotus somehow responsible for what had been done to Arthur. His eyes fell on a tiny cupboard inset in the wall next to the bed, and feeling the roof of his mouth go dry, Merlin slowly approached. It came as no surprise that it was locked, but that didn't stop the warlock. One thought flickered through his mind and an almighty spark shot from his fingertip. Yet nothing happened, the magic didn't work. Instead, Merlin just felt incredibly light headed and truly thought that he was about to pass out.
He was forced to reach out a hand to steady himself against the bed as he waited for the sensation to pass. With no idea that Acrotus had been drugging him every single time they had eaten or drunk together, Merlin tried to calm the rising panic as he realised that his magic was barely in his control. Now was not the time for it to be acting out, he didn't have time for his powers to become temperamental on him when he had to prove that it was Acrotus behind Arthur's attack. The dizziness passed and Merlin glanced up, only to find a small smile flickering onto his face. His magic might have been acting up, but the door had still opened, a huge burn resting over the hinges of it. Even as Merlin watched, it opened a little further, before falling off and landing on the floor with a bang. His magic was working – just in its own way rather than the way Merlin wanted. Not able to think about himself for now, Merlin took a step forward back towards the cupboard.
For a moment, Merlin just frowned, stretching out his hand and letting it ghost over the bottles that were resting within. But then his eyes widened and he felt as if someone had driven their fist straight into his gut. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have forgotten? He could have stopped all of this the second that Acrotus introduced himself, for that was not the first time that he had heard the man's name. Dunran had mentioned it the very first time that Merlin had met him, claiming that if Arthur hadn't been sold to him, he would have taken the prince for himself.
Acrotus wasn't just involved in this; he had orchestrated it, clearly. It seemed so long ago now since Merlin had first stumbled across the building that had been holding his master prisoner that most of his memories from that time were slightly hazy. He had blocked from his mind most of what had happened, so busy focusing on trying to cure Arthur that he hadn't let himself think about the way that he had found the prince. But ever since Arthur had left on that hunting trip, he knew there had been something stirring in the back of his mind. Bromley's attack had stopped him thinking about it too much, too shaken up to think about Arthur as he believed that the prince had been safe with the knights.
But the danger had just been waiting for him at home instead. Small potion bottles were lining the cupboard, so many crammed into the tight space that Merlin didn't even want to think about what damage they could do if they were used to their true potential. No doubt Acrotus had plans for each and every one, and Merlin stumbled back. Not realising that he was too late, that it was the contents of this cupboard that was making his magic act up, Merlin knew that he had to get out of here. If Acrotus had come for Arthur, not only was the prince in danger, Merlin knew that he too could possibly be a target. After all, he had walked straight into that place, ripped it to pieces and walked out again with Arthur. If Acrotus was the man behind it all, surely he would know something?
Hurrying over to the door, Merlin pulled it open, glancing up and down the corridor as he checked for Acrotus' personal guards. He didn't know whether to be relieved or not when he realised that they were nowhere in sight. Whilst it meant that he could escape the noble's rooms without them stopping him, part of Merlin's mind wondered whether they were with their master and all three were in Arthur's room. Anger caused his magic to spark again, and Merlin found himself ducking as a beam of light shot into the ceiling above his head, causing a crack to appear. Whatever was going on with him, now was not the time to be using magic, clearly. Instead, he made to take a step forward, and froze.
Acrotus was standing barely a few paces from him, an amused look on his face.
"Going somewhere, Merlin?"
"What have you done to Arthur?" Merlin knew that there was no way that the man could have just missed his display of magic. If Acrotus hadn't known beforehand about the servant's power, he did now, and Merlin was going to put that to good use. He had come too far with rescuing Arthur and then trying to get him back on the right track to lose him now, and if he had to use his magic to threaten someone again, then so be it. He was not the same person that he had been when Arthur went missing.
"I know that it was you who poisoned him back there. I know that it was because of you that he almost died, that you had bought him the way that you would buy a piece of cattle at market. Arthur is not a slave, he is the future king and I won't let you hurt him." Acrotus hadn't answered his previous demand, so Merlin tried to make it more obvious just how protective he was feeling right now. He took a step forward, only to feel his arms grabbed from behind. Gritting his teeth as they were pulled behind him, Merlin dived for his magic.
"You don't think that your tricks will work, do you? Have you not noticed how out of control you are, sorcerer? You've been sampling a very special drug for me over the last few days, and I would like to see you try and get my men off you." There was a cold note to Acrotus' voice that Merlin had certainly never heard before, and he realised that the man had been acting for the whole time that he had been in Camelot. But right now, his face had morphed into an expression of fury, yet there was also a sense of smugness. Merlin realised that this was what Acrotus had been waiting for, he wanted someone to know all that he had done, the way that it had been him who was responsible for breaking the Crown Prince of Camelot. Growling at his own stupidity for not realising before, Merlin let lose a stream of power.
Only to gasp and almost drop to his knees if it wasn't for the hands holding him as the magic backfired, another wave of dizziness threatening to overwhelm him as his stomach rolled. Breathing in heavily through his nose, he tried to control himself and therefore didn't notice Acrotus approaching him until a hand grabbed him by the chin, tilting his head up.
"Like I said, I've been drugging you. You're mine, Merlin, and very soon, Arthur will see how under my control you are."
"What have you done to him?" Merlin gasped, his feet scrabbling as he was pulled upright again and dragged back into the room. The dizziness had been worse this time, and his head was still reeling even as his back hit the wall. Realising that his hands were being pulled above his head, he tried to lash out again.
This time, he did lose the contents of his stomach, only just missing Acrotus. Acrotus might have been lying ever since he had arrived in Camelot, but Merlin knew that he had been telling the truth about drugging the warlock. Merlin had never felt like this before, he had never lost control of his magic to such a great extent, and it terrified him. Not only because it left him at Acrotus' mercy as the man's thugs shackled his hands above his head after forcing him back into an upright position, but because it meant that he wouldn't be able to protect Arthur.
Biting the inside of his cheek, Merlin used the pain as a way of forcing himself to focus, trying to get his magic to respond to him rather than being controlled by whatever it is that Acrotus had put into his body.
"I simply gave him a reminder of his place and told him that unless he did exactly as I said, you would be the one to pay the price."
"No…" Merlin moaned, knowing that Arthur was just as protective over him as Merlin was over the prince. He had been Arthur's grounding force whilst he had been trying recover, and he knew that in the prince's mind, that was still true. For Arthur, if something happened to Merlin, he had no way of recovering from it without his servant. For the prince's sake, Merlin had to fight this drug off.
"He's coming here, you'll be able to see him for yourself in a very short space of time. I'm sure that he has recovered enough to be able to untie himself. Actually, no, I don't think you will see him." Merlin frowned, not liking the way that Acrotus was talking as the man gestured to his men again. One moved forward, his large hands wrapping around the side of Merlin's neck and forcing his head straight. Out of the corner of his eye, Merlin could see Acrotus going to the broken cupboard and pulling something out. He moved back into the warlock's vision, and Merlin clamped his mouth shut.
Acrotus chuckled at the act of defiance, but simply nodded again even as he pulled the stopper out of the bottle. The second man pinched Merlin's nose with one hand and prised his jaw down with the other. It didn't matter how much Merlin struggled, with no magic, he could do nothing as Acrotus tipped the contents of the bottle into the warlock's mouth before his henchmen forced Merlin's mouth shut again. The hand holding his nose stayed where it was as the other hand covered his mouth, meaning that he was unable to breathe until he swallowed.
Merlin fought for as long as he could, but even he needed air. One single hot tear rolled down his face as he swallowed, the drug's effect almost immediate. He felt his stomach roll again and he let out a long groan, the man's hand moving away swiftly as he seemed to realise what it might mean. But Merlin had nothing left to bring up, and found that he was fighting consciousness instead. His eyes were rolling and already he could feel the edge of his vision begin to blacken slightly. The hands holding his neck disappeared and his head flopped forwards.
"You won't win." He managed to whisper, startling himself with how weak his voice sounded already. "I'm not the only one protecting him."
"No, but you'd be amazed at how much he cares about you. You got him out of that place, Merlin, never underestimate that. He won't let anything happen to you, for even if it has been months, you are still his lifeline." Merlin mutely shook his head, not having the strength to talk now even if he wanted to. He didn't want Acrotus knowing how true his words were, that Merlin had just been thinking the same thing himself.
"I have you here, Merlin." Acrotus had moved closer now, whispering in the warlock's ear as Merlin struggled to stay awake. "And within a very short space of time, he will know that. All he will see is his servant at my mercy, he doesn't need to know what it is that you can do unless it suits me. I can't have you trying to warn him of anything, trying to talk him out of doing anything rash now, can I?"
"I won't…"
"Shh, Merlin. You've been through quite the ordeal. Just sleep now." The same soothing note that had been in Acrotus' voice as he tried to get Merlin to calm down after the rape was back again, and Merlin struggled weakly, trying to resist. But as Acrotus chuckled slightly, pulling back, the drug had taken hold completely. Merlin sent one last wild attempt at magic spiralling into the room before he lost consciousness, all of his weight hanging from his wrists.
He didn't know that his magic had taken hold of both of Acrotus' thugs and thrown them backwards into the walls, knocking them out. He had no idea that a spiral of it went shooting from the room, flowing through the castle until it reached Arthur. Even as the prince threw himself forward yet again, desperately trying to free himself, the magic wrapped around the cords binding him and caused the threads to start unravelling.
As Arthur struggled yet again, the bindings suddenly snapped and the prince was sent tumbling forward, wrenching the gag free at the same time before leaping unsteadily to his feet.
All Merlin knew, however, was the darkness that had claimed him and the belief that he had somehow failed Arthur after all of this time.