A/N: The note is here at the beginning so you'll know from the start why this is such a ludicrously short chapter, especially compared to the other chapters I've published. I'm currently taking a month-long(ish) hiatus from this story so that I can participate in Febuwhump on Tumblr. I did want to give you something this week, so I am offering this nugget of a scene to go along with this note. More information about Febuwhump and when updates should begin again in the end author's note!
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The Power of Three
Chapter Eleven: A Remedy to Cure All Ills, Part Four
Arthur wasn't there when Merlin was arrested and brought to his father. He didn't want to risk his father getting suspicious and thought it best to make himself scarce. Instead, he let himself into the dungeons and sequestered himself away on a stool in the corner to wait for Merlin's arrival.
Nearly an hour later, the door swung open and three figures appeared, the one in the middle being held by the others. Arthur watched from the shadows as the guards shoved Merlin into the same cell Gwen had been held in. One followed him in and shackled his wrists to the chains in the floor. Metal squealed and clanged as they locked him in, and then they retreated up the stairs. Arthur had no idea if they'd seen him waiting there, nor did he care. There were more important matters to deal with.
Arthur grabbed a torch from a wall sconce and hurried over to the cell, where Merlin was just picking himself up, more than a little ruffled. Arthur noticed with fury when he turned around that there was a red handprint standing out starkly on his left cheek.
"Merlin! Did my father-"
Merlin waved him off, coming as close to the bars as the chains would allow. "No, one of the guards was a bit too enthusiastic when they were arresting me. Apparently, I was impertinent." He gave Arthur a strained half-smile.
Normally, Arthur would have made a snide comment about how Merlin's impertinence didn't surprise him at all and that he wasn't aware that Merlin could be anything but, but instead he demanded, "Which guard? Who was it?"
Merlin shrugged, uncomfortable. "It doesn't matter. We have far more important things to worry about."
Arthur knew he was right and tried to quell the sudden protective energy that had consumed him. Since when had he cared so much about what happened to Merlin? The answer was fairly simple and hard to swallow: Almost since Merlin set foot into Camelot. He drove Arthur mad, never did what he was told, and his very presence was illegal - and yet, absurdly, he had swiftly become an irreplaceable part of Arthur's life, no matter how many times the prince threatened to replace him.
As quickly as he could, he told Merlin all that had happened - about Edwin blackmailing Gaius and then somehow finding out that he had told him and Morgana, and how the king had believed Edwin over them. Merlin was fidgeting nervously, the chains clanking, by the time Arthur had finished. A dark look brewed in his eyes. Arthur understood it for what it was - Merlin felt betrayed, and rightly so. Not only had Edwin pretended to be his friend and then turned against him in an instant, but he was also another sorcerer who had come to Camelot for evil instead of good, as Merlin had hoped.
"Right," Arthur transitioned, clapping his hands together once. "Can you magic yourself out of the chains?"
Merlin looked puzzled. "I can, but why?"
Arthur regarded him blankly. "So you can escape. Or do you fancy being executed at first light?"
Merlin winced. "If I escape, that will either just prove that," he lowered his voice to a whisper, "that I do have magic, or your father will think you helped me escape like you did Lancelot, and then you'll be in trouble."
"So you're just going to die for being a sorcerer so that no one will know that you are actually a sorcerer?"
Merlin scoffed. "Not if I can help it, not anytime soon, anyway. We have to find a way to prove that Edwin is lying and that he's plotting to kill the king."
"I agree," Arthur said slowly, "and Morgana's already tailing him, trying to catch him in the act or find some sort of proof that he's using dark magic."
Merlin furrowed his brow. "You said that your father plans to retire Gaius. Did he say when?"
Arthur thought back. "Immediately," he responded apologetically. "But at least he's not being implicated by Edwin's accusations against you - what?" He broke off at the look on Merlin's face.
"Why didn't you mention this before?" Merlin demanded. "If he's taking Gaius's place today, then he'll set his plan into motion now. He's going to kill your father tonight!"
Dread poured over the prince like cold water. "What - no - you think he's going to try now, after he's just been accused? Even if my father sided with him, that's too brash-"
"Don't you see?" Merlin asked desperately. "He doesn't care about the little details like that. If he's as bitter and vengeful as you say, then he's going to take the first opportunity he gets to take his revenge. And anyway, do you really want to risk it?"
Arthur felt a sudden, strange swell of gratitude toward Merlin, paired with something akin to affection. It was an unusual, almost uncomfortable feeling, but it came with the realization that Merlin had nothing at all to gain from stopping the king's death. In fact, he would gain more from letting him die. But because Uther was Arthur's father, and because he cared about Arthur, he was doing everything he could to save the life of a man who would see him dead - who had just sentenced him to hang an hour ago!
"What should we do, then?"
Merlin responded with a question. "Did you say that Morgana was following him?"
"Yes." His eyes widened. "If he's really as desperate as you believe, and he's already this close to his goal, then he won't hesitate to hurt her to get to my father. If he sees her-"
Merlin's eyes flashed gold. Without uttering a single word, he'd cracked the shackles off of his wrists and nearly blew the cell door off its hinges. Arthur dove to the side just in time to avoid being bludgeoned.
"Merlin!"
"Oops."
Arthur had gone from being grateful for the loyalty of his manservant to wanting to strangle him in seconds. Side by side, they raced up the stairs of the dungeon, hoping that they would find Edwin in time to save two of the most important people in Arthur's life.
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A/N: More info on Febuwhump and this story's future - If I continue pumping out stories for Febuwhump at the same rate I have been, I should be done and back to this particular story by mid-February.
However, starting on the second day of February, there will be other new Merlin content published, courtesy of Febuwhump (I'll be posting it on Tumblr, but will also post it here and on AO3). 10 of the 28 new stories, all of them whumpy, are Merlin. These include the much-requested extended version of my drabble series "The Neglected Neckerchief" as well as the long-awaited finale in the "Frozen Revelations" / "Chilly Confrontations" trilogy. There will also be an Arthur whump piece (gasp!) and a Morgana piece, but the other eight will be more standard Emachinescat, with Merlin whump galore! :) (I'm also doing 8 stories for MacGyver, 6 for Tales of Arcadia, and 4 for Psych.)
Anyway, I want to thank everyone who has reviewed, read, favorited, and followed so far! I'll do a more specific thanks next time I update, which, as I said, will hopefully be around mid-February! When I update again, I will probably just re-upload chapter 11 with the full ending of this episode rather than add onto it in another chapter. Oh, and don't worry, I haven't lost my spark for this work, but it is good to take a short break and work on a series of smaller, (mostly) unrelated projects. I think this will help me not get burnt out on a big work like this as easily, in the long run.
Thank you all so much for your continued support. I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but I do hope you understand!
See you all in February (or sooner, if you check out any of my Febuwhump stories! ;) )
~Emachinescat ^..^