"O drakon, e mala soi ftengometh tesd'hup anankes! Erkheo!"
Merlin had been summoning the dragon for a few years now. Even more so during the last year when he had been searching for Arthur. The great beast had tried to help, but when it became apparent that Merlin was getting so desperate it was almost borderlining upon abusing his powers, he had firmly told the young warlock only to call him in an emergency.
Merlin couldn't help but feel that now was such a time.
Yet despite the words flowing from his tongue with the same ease that they always had, Merlin skidded to a stop from where he was running into the centre of the field. Doubling over, the young man coughed harshly, his hands resting on his knees as he panted for breathe. By the time he felt as if he could straighten up again, Merlin found himself falling victim to a wave of dizziness, stumbling where he stood. Could the potion have affected every aspect of his magic as well as just the part that enabled him to say spells? He couldn't even be sure whether his summoning would be heard or not, for the blood was pounding fiercely in his ears and Merlin realised his stomach was churning.
He managed to move just in time to throw up in the trees, using the trunk of one as support as he shakily wiped his hand across his forehead, grimacing at the cold sweat that he could feel building there. Whatever Acrotus had done to him was far more serious than Merlin had initially believed, but he still couldn't help but think there was a positive side to the fact that he had just been sick. At least that meant some of it was out of his system now, which could only help speed up the recovery process. Not having the strength to walk back out into the centre of the field, Merlin moved a few paces away and slumped against a tree, his eyes on the sky.
When almost an hour had passed and there was no sign of Kilgharrah, Merlin sighed. It seemed that the potion truly had affected all types of magic. Pushing himself away from the tree, the warlock looked longingly back towards Camelot. Now he didn't know what to do, he had been assuming that Kilgharrah would be the ones with the answers and tell him whether he needed to stay by Arthur's side or not. But until he knew precisely what was happening with his magic, Merlin knew that he couldn't risk it. He couldn't give Acrotus any sort of leverage, and not being able to control himself would be doing just that.
Turning his back on his home, Merlin had just taken a few steps into the forest when an almighty gust of wind almost knocked him from his feet. For the first time in days, he genuinely smiled as the Great Dragon came to land neatly in front of him.
"You have been shielded, young warlock."
"I… what?" It didn't come as any surprise to Merlin that Kilgharrah knew that something was wrong. Especially when it came to magic, he just seemed to have a sense about what it was that Merlin was calling him for. But although he knew that his magic was messing up, the creature's words still took the warlock by surprise.
"What do you mean?"
"I am sorry to have kept you waiting, but I couldn't find you. Am I correct to believe that something has tampered with your magic?" Merlin glumly nodded, hating the fact that Acrotus had been able to overpower and trick him for long enough to result in this. If it hadn't been for Bromley's attack shaking up Merlin more than he was ever going to admit, he might have been more focused, he might have been able to see the madman for who he truly was. But because of that, he was now feeling like he couldn't return to Camelot whilst just praying that a shield he didn't even understand was enough to keep the prince safe.
"It was a drug, I couldn't stop him. I couldn't use my magic at all to start with, and then it went absolutely wild. I didn't hurt anyone, it still seems to be protecting Arthur."
"Of course it is. Protecting the Once and Future King was what your magic was designed for, Merlin. It will never turn against him, not unless someone breaks your spirit completely."
"That's what I'm afraid of happening. The man behind this… he's the one that was responsible for what happened to Arthur. He had him taken, he had him whipped, beaten and raped. Drugged and abused for days whilst I tried to find him, and now he is back. He's here in Camelot, and he has Arthur again."
"You say that your magic is protecting the prince?"
"Yes. No. I don't know, I hope so. It just happened though, I didn't tell it to do anything. Can I be near him?"
"No." Merlin sighed, running a hand through his hair and leaning back on the tree at the blunt response. He had thought as much.
"So what do I do?"
"The fact that your magic is already acting of its own accord despite the drug still being potent is a good sign, young warlock. You just have to give it time, give your magic time to heal. The poison has got to within the very heart of you. I assume that you struggled to call me?"
"I couldn't breathe."
"I thought as much. Like I said, I heard your call, but it was like your presence was shielded from me. I had a general direction, but I didn't know where you are. No part of your magic has been untouched by this."
"But what about Arthur? How was it that I was able to protect him?"
"Because, young warlock, your foe has underestimated you. You are too strong for a mere potion to keep down. The magic went wild because he wished it too, he wanted you to be revealed. Yet you could still chose how to force it to act. It was your wishes that caused it to protect Arthur, your will power that meant you could summon me despite it trying to stop you."
"So what do I do?" Merlin barely realised that he was sounding younger than he had done for years. For so many months now he had just been purely focused on finding Arthur and then helping the prince to recover. But now that was done, and he was potentially the danger to the prince, he simply had no idea how he was supposed to be reacting.
"Nothing. You do nothing. It will take three days for the potion to leave your body."
"What?!"
"It should take two weeks, Merlin, but I will give you an enchantment that will help you heal. Until then, if you want to stop my old jailer from taking your head off, you must stay away. Your magic is unpredictable, even the man who administered it will not truly know what the effects are for they vary from person to person."
"I can't just leave Arthur there! This man will do worse than kill him. Please, I have to go back."
"If you were simply going to ignore my warnings, Merlin, why did you summon me?" Merlin bit his lip, staring at the creature. In his heart, he already knew that he would listen to what Kilgharrah was saying, that he would stay away. But he had been desperate to come out here and to be told that everything was going to be fine, that he would be able to stay by Arthur's side straight away with no worries.
Now he just had to face up to his worst fears of leaving Arthur alone with the man who had put him through absolute hell.
"Will my shield hold?"
"I cannot say. But I imagine so, it came instinctively to you rather than being part of any spell. You are not concentrating on it, it is not stealing your strength, therefore you should be able to keep it active." Merlin nodded slowly, taking a small step towards Camelot and gazing up at what he could see of the castle from the field.
"I can't lose him."
"Your destiny does not imply that you will, not like this. Come away with me, Merlin, heal and come back stronger. Or stay here and risk being the one thing that destroys him."
"I would never hurt him, he's my friend. My best friend."
"But you cannot control your magic. Come." Hating what he had to do, Merlin slowly turned on his heel and walked back over to the dragon. He didn't seem to be able to tear his eyes away from the castle, and Kilgharrah was forced to take hold of the back of Merlin's shirt and lift him onto his back, realising that they would have been there all night if he had waited for the warlock to react. Luckily, Merlin had enough sense to grab hold as Kilgharrah rose to his full height.
"I won't be long, Arthur, I promise." Merlin's vow was nothing more than a whisper on the wind, and the dragon knew that he had to get the warlock out of here. With one powerful beat of his wings, he shot into the sky and angled himself towards a distant mountain range. If anyone came looking for the warlock, it would take them days to reach them, and that was presuming they knew of his whereabouts. Either way, it would give Merlin plenty of time to rid himself of the poison running through his body.
Kilgharrah flew for a steady hour, not even attempting to engage the warlock in conversation. He knew that part of the man's mind was back in Camelot, still continuing to watch over his prince the way he had done for all of these months. After all, Kilgharrah knew that it was no accident that meant Merlin had felt some of what Arthur had been going through whilst he was still held prisoner.
Landing at the edge of the cave, Kilgharrah let Merlin slide of his back before tucking his wings into his body. Edging his way in, he blew gently on a small pile of rocks, heating them. It was the equivalent of having a camp fire, and Merlin smiled gratefully at him, crouching down and holding out his hands towards the heat.
"Thank you."
"This enchantment will make things painful for you, Merlin. Are you sure you want to go through with it?"
"It's either that or wait a couple of weeks. Arthur doesn't have a couple of weeks, and has been through more pain than either of us would ever be able to comprehend. I have to get back to his side, I have to make sure that he is safe."
"Very well. You should sit down and make yourself comfortable, I'm not sure how much movement you will have afterwards." Merlin knew that he barely was able to conceal the alarm that shot over his face at the dragon's casual words. But he shrugged off his jacket, curling it up under his head and lying down, body tucked close to the stones. The dragon blinked on large eye at him before seeming to sigh, letting his breath wash over the warlock.
Within just a few minutes, Merlin found that he was drifting off to sleep, the warmth of the rocks and the magic working its way soothingly into his body and forcing him to let down his defence. Maybe Kilgharrah had got it wrong when he said that it would hurt, maybe he just didn't know how a human's body would react to a spell like this. Allowing unconsciousness to flood through him, Merlin relaxed.
Only for his body to start writhing and arching a few moments after that.
A couple more minutes later and the screaming started.
MMM
Arthur was in a strange place. He wasn't quite awake, but he wasn't asleep either. What he couldn't work out, however, was just how safe he was feeling. He hadn't felt like this for a long time, even with being back in Camelot in his own room. But why did he feel like this, he could vividly remember what was happening to him before he had passed out. And Merlin… Merlin had been chained to the wall and forced to watch as Arthur had been violated.
The prince felt the heat rising in his cheeks as his face burned in humiliation. It was bad enough that it had been done to him, but Acrotus had made a point, much as Arthur was loathe to admit it. He could handle it now. He had only passed out because he hadn't fought to stay conscious, knowing that letting the black overtake him would be a sure and easy way for the torment to stop and therefore free Merlin from having to watch it. Arthur just hoped that the maniac hadn't then tried to take his frustrations out on the servant instead.
Try as he might, Arthur simply couldn't get his eyes to open in order to look. But rather than that worrying him, he almost felt relaxed by it. How, Arthur didn't know, but he somehow understood that the feeling of safety was genuine, that nothing was going to be able to touch him.
"Have you found the brat yet?"
"No, Sir." Arthur just hoped that the force keeping his eyes shut also stopped the whimper from slipping past his lips. He knew that voice, there was no way that he had to see the man in order to know that it belonged to Acrotus. After all, it wasn't that long ago when Arthur had been forced to look away, punished if he looked at those beating him. They had given up after a while, realising that the prince wasn't talking and even if he did, he had seen so many people he wouldn't have been able to recognise them all. But Acrotus was almost as recognisable by the sounds that he made as Dunran had been.
Arthur had never before been one to admit when he was scared. But knowing that Acrotus was in the room with him, and that he sounded angry, was enough for the prince to feel nothing short of terrified.
Only one thing gave him hope though.
If he had sounded that furious, and was looking for a "brat", did that mean Merlin had managed to escape? If Merlin wasn't here, Arthur knew that the man wouldn't be able to do anything to touch him. Oh, he could beat him all he liked, but considering the pain that Arthur was used to, he wouldn't feel it. With Merlin gone, it meant that he couldn't be humiliated in the same way, and that was enough for the prince.
He heard footsteps getting closer to what he presumed was a bed and found that he was biting the inside of his cheek to stop him from flinching. Arthur had a feeling that even if he did flinch, no one would be able to see it. The shield (if that was what it was) was peaceful and calming. Arthur didn't feel anything, but he suddenly heard a grunt and a curse.
"I want him found!"
Somehow, Arthur knew that Acrotus had just tried to do something to him. But rather than succeeding, he had been stopped by whatever this force was.
Magic.
There was no other explanation for it.
Arthur couldn't truly relate the feeling of safety he was getting with magic, not after everything else it had done to him, especially the burn on his shoulder. Magic had only ever been used to hurt him, to make sure that he didn't escape either physically or mentally from the torment that he was being put through. So why on earth did he find that he was trusting in the safety of the shield, letting it protect him rather than trying to fight against it? But as Acrotus swore and cursed, Arthur found that he was inwardly smiling.
Whatever this magic was, it was strong. Strong enough that for all his powers and men to do his bidding, Acrotus couldn't get close to him. Allowing the feeling of safety and peace spread through his body once again, Arthur let himself relax back into the bed. He was warm, comfortable and sleepy. But most importantly, he wasn't hurting right now. That had been such a rare thing lately that he immediately decided to make the most of it and let sleep claim him.
But just before he drifted off, and as Acrotus swore again, a thought flickered across Arthur's mind that made him frown in concern.
Merlin was missing.
There was a magical shield over him.
Magic was being used and Acrotus was being stopped.
Yet Merlin was gone.
If someone was protecting him, then why weren't they protecting Merlin as well? Maybe they were and had taken Merlin from the room? But why would they have taken Merlin from the room and left Arthur there, it was obvious who was under the biggest threat from Acrotus considering everything that had happened to him over the last year. Ever so slightly, Arthur managed to shift position on the bed before completely falling asleep with one last troubling thought echoing through his mind.
What if Merlin was gone because of the shield?
What if…
… what if Merlin had been the one to put the shield there in order to protect Arthur whilst he ran? After all, Acrotus had made it quite clear that he had no qualms about killing the warlock. What if that was what the man had meant when he had said that Merlin had his own value.
As Arthur's body completely gave in to the pull of sleep, a single tear trickled from the corner of his eye as he tried to figure out what was going on.
