Heyo everyone! How are you doing? Many thanks to the people who are still here, to the people who reviewed, and the people who followed. Hopefully, this chapter can answer some questions we've all been asking. Let's get right to it!
Disclaimer: I do not own BBC Merlin. BBC Merlin does not belong to me. Everyone knows that. Just borrowing the characters. Except for Osric. He's my OC.
"You have no idea, how hard it is, to not break character, conceal my telltale magic in my eyes, and keep my mouth shut. Tiring work." the man, Osric, laughed. With a flick of his wrist and flash of gold and a murmur of a spell, he had Merlin and Arthur trapped in each of their own transparent prison box. One sealed prison box could fit two people and its edges were black. Merlin knew that these boxes weren't made of glass, but they were enchanted.
His head pounded. Merlin groaned. He could tell that this Osric talked too much.
"First, I had to teleport into the castle, but I landed myself in the armory. So, I took Excalibur because some servant forgot to put it back in its proper place. Then I teleported into the king's chambers, put a sleeping enchantment on him, took a few of his possessions, left a ransom note, and then teleported back to this castle. Exhausting."
The sorcerer's eyes flashed gold. On the left of Merlin, Percival, Gwaine, and Lancelot appeared. On his right, Elyan and Leon materialized. They looked disorientated, and thankfully, uninjured. All of them were also in their individual transparent prison boxes.
Elyan, Percival, and Leon were the most surprised. Gwaine pounded on the walls while Lancelot gave Merlin a reassuring smile. Then the knights saw their king, or rather, kings, and looked at them oddly.
Then the sorcerer went on about putting binding spells, immobilization enchantments, illusion magic on Arthur. Apparently, he had extracted Arthur's soul from his body and his shell of a body was somewhere else. Merlin listened with half an ear; he was too focused on forming an escape plan with the real Arthurs and the knights. Then they would figure out how to find Arthur's body. The knights, eyes wide and jaw dropped, continued to listen as their anger built up.
"Now, I didn't want to jeopardize my raw magic and I knew once the king has been reported missing, the famous Emrys and the Knights of the Round Table would surely come to rescue their king. I was right. But I got to hand it to you: I expected a few more days before the rescue party arrived. It took you two days, and under urgent circumstances, my illusion spells aren't as… efficient as before."
He opened his palm and Excalibur flew to his hand. Osric clutched it like it was the source of all power.
"Oh Emrys, you cannot possibly fathom how hard it was to contain my excitement. The legendary warlock, Albion's future king, Camelot's knights, how clueless you all seem to be. I tried ushering you in the right direction as fast as I could, and I had to keep you from figuring out my plan."
The two Arthurs shakily stood up, glaring piercing daggers at Osric. However, Osric just grinned. Merlin finally understood what had happened since the start of their rescue mission. The tunnels were used to separate Merlin and the knights so he could find Arthur alone. Lancelot and Leon somehow went missing, forcing the remaining knights to go after them. The black smoke chased Merlin into the library where he could find the spell book. Screaming victims would lure Merlin to the throne room, which will lead to him attacking the real Arthur. It was all a scam. Merlin felt so foolish for falling into the most obvious trap.
"You know, you are a smart man Emrys. You are careful and clear-headed. But when it comes to your friends, your king, it's like all rational thought just abandons you." Osric rubbed the hilt of Excalibur and grinned at Merlin, "I shouldn't be surprised. After all, a desperate man is easily blinded."
The knights searched for their weapons, but to no avail. The sorcerer had completely disarmed them. Merlin felt like a boulder had sat on him, physically and mentally.
"Now, let's see," Osric levitated the prison box, that contained the two Arthurs, to the front. "Which one of you is the Once and Future King?"
Osric does talk a lot, but it's a good thing for our heroes, right? The more talkative he is, the more likely he may accidentally spill some secrets. Did this chapter clear some things up? I guess there is one more question to add on to the list: why does Osric want to know which Arthur is the Once and Future King?