A/N: Don't own.
Merlin woke in almost complete darkness.
The light from a grate in the roof did very little to illuminate the room, but he didn't dare use magic to light it any further. He didn't know who was watching or where his friends were.
He pressed his hand against his torso with a small measure of pressure, feeling along his ribs. They were mostly bruised, not broken, but damn did they hurt.
He also had a hell of a lot of pain radiating from his left wrist and shoulder. He didn't think either were broken, but he was pretty sure his shoulder was dislocated. His left leg was also sore, but again undamaged in any real way.
He was stripped down to his top and trousers, his shoes, socks, jacket and neckerchief missing. Even his concealed knife had been taken.
He shuffled over to the wall with intentions to slump against it, when he heard something clank.
Wait, what?
His uninjured hand slipped down to his ankle to find a manacle, thick and engraved with runes, anti-magic runes. How could they know? He followed the chain to where it met the wall. It was long enough that he would be able to walk around the whole cell without it catching, but still restraining him.
There were two holes in the cell that he could see, only one was large enough to fit a human, and neither were accessible.
The vent on the ceiling was more than five times his height above him, way out of his reach, and the second was knee to mid-thigh height if he was standing. But it was very much sealed, with large metal bolts about three fingers apart from each other all the way around it, and far too small for him to fit through.
He ran his hand around it, eventually finding a trail at the bottom. It was sludge and... seaweed?
He stumbled backwards, realising the floor was not just cold but damp against his bare feet, and in looking up, he saw a definite line, even in the dark. Was that smell salt?
Oh gods.
This cell was tidal.
They were going to drown him.
He sank back against the wall pressing his eyes closed and letting his eyes fall closed.
He had to find a way out.
He didn't mean to fall back asleep.
His head just spun so damn much.
Sorry this one is short.
Please R+R.
Thank you to everyone who has already reviewed and/or voted.
Vote still open, currently:
Arwen- 2
Gwenlot-1
Also thank you Simthemuse (AO3) who suggested Arwenlot. I'm not planning on it but it made my day to know that straight to poly was the idea someone had. Just, straight there. Why AB or AC when you can ABC.