Without a second thought, Gwaine ran after Merlin. He had no idea what had happened but was determined to find out. There was a lot he had yet to learn about these people, but it made sense to think these scenarios were not commonplace. Another contributing factor in his insistence to chase after the reckless sorcerer was Merlin's apparent desperation to throw himself right into the arms of danger. After all the times the young man had tried to get himself killed, Merlin would have to get used to being trailed because Gwaine wasn't about to let him out of his sight.
"What's wrong?" Gwaine asked finally catching up to Merlin.
"We aren't sure." Merlin said honestly. "The scream-"
"What scream?" Arthur cut in. He and the other knights had followed their quick pace and were breathing hard. Gwaine couldn't care less that Arthur and the knights where there. If Arthur did anything to Merlin Gwaine would give Arthur hell.
It was the only thought keeping Gwaine calm in Arthur's presence.
"You should go back to the room, Arthur. It may not safe." Merlin replied not answering Arthur's question. He couldn't afford to focus on Arthur and his safety. He had no idea what they were walking in on. To Arthur, this was just another time when perfectly timed jabs with his sword would save the day. He knew nothing about battling magic with magic, and now was not the time to teach him.
"Need I remind you who makes the rules Merlin?" Arthur's tone was short and his temper was wearing thin. He was slowly becoming convinced that everyone had simultaneously lost their minds. "Now answer my question."
Merlin clenched his jaw in unspoken frustration. Arthur wasn't going to give this up.
"The Druids can communicate through their minds. It is an ability I share also." Merlin stated as they swiftly turned a corner to a tunnel that looked the same as the one they fell into. It was dark and rough, lacking the smooth floor the Druids constructed throughout the main halls of the complex. "There was a scream each of us heard. Catherine only knows the general area it came from."
They walked several more steps before Merlin spoke again. "Please go back to the room." He battled with whether he should say the next thing or not. Against his better judgement he decided to throw caution to the wind. "I can't focus on helping Catherine if I have to worry about your safety."
Merlin glanced towards Arthur after his words. The growing redness in his face was an indication to his swelling frustration.
"Then don't." Arthur snapped. "I am more than capable of looking after myself. I don't need a sorcerer to do it for me."
"I think Merlin is right." Gwaine said sternly.
Arthur scoffed. "What else is new."
Merlin once again felt guilt for Gwaine's decision to leave the knighthood. He glanced to his loyal friend. "Gwaine, I would need you to return as well"
The ex-knight shook his head furiously. "No way in hell I'm letting you slip away to battle whatever is down there by yourself."
"I would be with him." Catherine snapped feverishly. "If you all insist on accompanying us then you need to keep you own matters to yourself and stop bickering like children. There could be people's live's at stake- my people's lives."
Her voice choked out, expressing her deep concern. Her outburst effectively silenced the group and they proceeded to walk in silence. Arthur's hand clasped tightly around the grip of his sword. He took a side glance at his Knights and saw they were doing the same thing. Merlin had moved ahead of them trailing Catherine while Gwaine was attached right at his side. Catherine suddenly put her hand up to stop them.
"What's wrong?" Merlin's eyes roved the dim tunnel but saw nothing to indicate anything was out of the ordinary.
Apparently, that was the problem.
"There should be guards here at all times." Catherine replied. "This tunnel can lead to the surface if you can navigate it properly. We keep guards here at all times. They are not to leave until relieved."
An uneasy feeling entered the group as they continued on slowly and carefully. The tunnel continued to be enveloped by darkness until the only light was from the hall behind them. Merlin and Catherine glanced at each other and both cast a spell for light. Arthur realized then that he could no longer see the walls of the tunnel to his left from the small amount of light offered by the flames. The group continued to walk near the right side of the tunnel as it continued to widen.
"Hello?" Catherine called out into the darkness. Her voice eerily rebounded from the walls. Several moments passed before they suddenly heard a quiet, barely perceptible response.
"Help us."
Even though he had no way to see in the cavern other than the light held in their palms, Arthur began walking into the inky blackness towards the source of the voice. He would have continued had Merlin's arm not stuck out in front of him. He sent a glare to Merlin, but the man wasn't looking at him. In fact, he wasn't looking at anything. His eyes were shut tightly. Above them were tightly scrunched eyebrows as though he were on the verge of feeling pain.
"Something feels wrong." Merlin said simply. Arthur was about to roll his eyes until he continued.
"It feels dark."
"Please." The voice came again. It seemed more desperate.
That finished it for Arthur. He was tired of standing by idly while Merlin decided what to do. Arthur was a man of action and a damn king for that matter. He pushed passed Merlin and ran towards the voice.
"Arthur wait!" Merlin shouted after him.
"I'm not going to stand idly while-"
Arthur cut off his words as fear gripped his voice. Movement off to his left caught his attention. Suddenly, a winged beast emerged from the blackness. By the quick look he got it was easily the size of a horse. Arthur continued to run, but wasn't fast enough to avoid it. It lunged for him with claws swinging towards his neck. Gwen's smiling face flashed across his mind in what he thought would be his last moment of life before it was torn away.
Before the beast managed to reach him, Arthur was catapulted out of the way as a body came launching at him at an incredible speed. It shoved him forward causing him to tumble gracelessly to the ground. Arthur felt the air leave his lungs as he landed on back. That coupled with a heavy weight crashing into his stomach not a second later nearly caused him to vomit. He quickly shoved the limp form off himself and tried to draw in even the smallest breaths. His lungs ached as he gasped for air. Glancing over to what had landed on him, Arthur saw a black mop of hair and pale skin.
Of course it was him.
Only Merlin could be stupid enough to save Arthur while almost breaking his ribs at the same time. Merlin began getting to his feet, but stumbled and fell to his knees. His face was scrunched up in a pained grimace. As Arthur tried to regain proper control of his breathing he felt his heart in his throat at the look of fear on Merlin's face. Merlin's eyes suddenly widened and lit up with gold. Merlin extended his hand and pushed his magic passed Arthur towards where the beast had landed. Arthur looked just in time to watch as it rammed full force into a shimmering barrier. A cry came from Merlin as he shoved the barrier at the beast. The immense surge of power was followed by a loud thud as its body rammed into the wall. The beast fell to the ground where it didn't move again.
Not even a moment passed before Arthur was being pulled and poked at by a frantic sorcerer.
"Arthur, are you alright?" He heard Merlin ask while feeling Merlin's hands pull at his shirt, checking for any sign of an injury.
"Get off me Merlin. You did more damage than anything else." Arthur answered brusquely, shoving Merlin's hands off him. Gwaine came into his line of vision followed by the others.
"What the hell was that?" Gwaine had his sword extended towards the very still body. His eyes were wide with fear as though he worried any second it would spontaneously resurrect.
"Good lord Merlin." Arthur was surprised to hear Percival speak to him at all let alone with a great level of concern laced in his voice. "Are you alright?"
Arthur was confused and sat up quickly which agitated the headache he was steadily gaining. Merlin was struggling to get up to his feet, but before he succeeded Arthur saw what Gwaine had been gaping at. Blood covered Merlin's back and soaked through his shirt turning it a murky red which contrasted sharply with the emerald green. The beast's claws hadn't hit their original target, but they had hit something. When Merlin pushed Arthur out of the way he had used his own body to shield him. The beast had easily torn Merlin's shirt in ribbons. Beneath the tattered shirt ran deep lacerations down the length of his back. Merlin winced as he finally stumbled to his feet, steadied by Gwaine who was being mindful of his newly acquired injuries.
"It's not that bad." Merlin said in a small voice as though it was just a splinter.
"Not that bad?" Gwaine's voice held what seemed to be barely contained anger. "You're lucky that you're not dead right now."
"Gwaine-" Merlin began but was quickly cut off.
"Stop, Merlin. You seem to forget far too often that your life matters too."
"Please Gwaine, not right now. This isn't the worst injury that I've ever received." Merlin said wth finality.
In reality, his back hurt like hell and he was starting to feel light-headed from the blood loss. He was nearly certain the only thing that was keeping him conscious was the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He had been lucky that the injuries for the most part seemed superficial.
Merlin looked to Gwaine hoping he would drop it, but suddenly realized that his assurances were doing little to quell his friend's anger. Gwaine raised his eyebrows, channeling the look Gaius gave him every time Merlin disregarded his own injuries.
Merlin let out a long sigh. "We need to focus on the other people here."
Arthur had been helped to his feet by his Knights. They gave him a quick check to ensure he was still together, but their focus was entirely on Merlin and Gwaine's conversation.
"Are you going to help or continue to mother me, Gwaine?"
Gwaine gave him a pointed look which Merlin matched. Gwaine held onto it for a few moments before he let out a breath he seemed to have been holding, his tense frame relieving some of the tensions his shoulders held. "You scared me, mate."
Merlin suddenly became very interested in the ground. "I know. I'm so-"
"Don't apologize." Gwaine said placing a hand on his shoulder. "Let's help these people so we can get you all healed up."
Merlin smiled and gave Gwaine a small nod in agreement. He extended out his hand and uttered a spell. A blue shining orb grew inside of his palm. Merlin then directed it up into the air. The cool lighting allowed for quite a bit more of the area to be seen. Several bodies littered the edges of the tunnel. From where they were located they could not determine how far their injuries extended.
Gwaine gave Merlin a small nod and walked towards the fallen people. The knights followed out of habit in order to offer their help as well. Arthur tried to move but was stuck where he stood. He remembered that orb. It was the same light that shown in the cave when he went to retrieve the Morteous flower to cure Merlin. Arthur nearly staggered backward after seeing it. Memories lost to rage in the aftermath of Merlin revealing himself as a sorcerer came rushing back.
Merlin had drank the poison meant for Arthur.
Why would a man intent on destroying Camelot bring about his own destruction in such a way. Surely allowing Arthur to die would open up other opportunities to bring about Camelot's downfall. It would have triggered war between Camelot and Mercia as Uther would have executed Bayard on the spot.
The light glowed innocently above their heads. Arthur remembered how it lead him to safety, but how could Merlin have possibly done that when he had been dying? Perhaps it was rather common spell among sorcerers. The problem was Arthur never felt anything when around any other spells. This one stimulated the same feeling of hope he had felt in the cave when he had needed it most. Why was this blue orb different?
"It was a wyvern."
Catherine had been examining the creature after she had checked on Merlin. Her words were enough to bring Arthur back into the moment.
"No." Merlin said in disbelief. He walked up and examined it. He knelt down slowly as to not jostle his torn back any more and placed a hand on the wyvern's slack face. His eyes held a sadness.
"There is dark magic here. The residual effects still cling to its body." Merlin removed his hand and stared up into Catherine's eyes. His eyes held a heavy sadness. "Wyverns may be wild, but they are a noble breed."
Arthur glanced at Catherine to see her response. "Indeed."
"Who would have done this?" Merlin pondered out loud.
It wasn't an answer that anyone had.
"Catherine," Gwaine shouted. He was kneeling next to a prone woman who was dazedly looking around the room. "They are alive but require a physician."
"That is good news." Catherine stated walking towards Gwaine with Merlin trailing close behind her. Gwaine made to stand, but was stopped as a cold hand wrapped itself around his wrist.
The woman's eyes darted fearfully around the room. Gwaine knelt beside her and placed his free hand on top of hers.
"You are safe now." Gwaine assured. The woman looked visibly relieved as she released Gwaine's wrist. "What do you remember?"
"I remember that we were attacked by a wyvern."
Gwaine nodded. "Merlin here was able to take care of the problem."
The woman looked visibly relieved. "We nearly had it under control. It had backed into a corner. That was when the second-"
Gwaine's face when slack. "Second?"
Everyone's stomach dropped after he said that. Gwaine stood and immediately unsheathed his sword and was followed by the other Knights and Arthur. There was a deep growling, one that could be felt in the chest that droned through the quiet of the cavern. He and Catherine immediately turned around to be met with a beast three times the size of the other stalking out from the shadows and towards the group. It sniffed the air and pulled its jowls upwards, showing off its yellowed front teeth that had to be longer than his own finger. This wyvern was easily a quarter of the size of Kilgarrah. Merlin was unnerved staring at the great beast. He didn't know it was possible for them to get that big. He reached frantically for the familiar pull he accessed when he controlled Kilgarrah. It was the rope binding them together as kin. Although it was harder to find within a wyvern, Merlin felt it.
"Nun de ge dei s'eikein kai emois epe'essin hepesthai!" Merlin shouted at the beast.
Catherine's eyes widened in confusion at the words that came out of Merlin's mouth before she realized she had heard that tongue before. It was spoken only by a people thought to be wiped out during the reign of Uther.
Dragonlord.
To her amazement, the wyvern lowered its head reluctantly in submission. All the tenseness in Merlin's shoulders left. It was under his control now. He glanced to Catherine who was looking at him as though it were the first time she was seeing him.
Merlin rubbed the back of his neck. "A little trick I picked up from my father."
"It is quite a trick to pick up." Catherine said picking up on his reasoning for his lack of depth when he glanced quickly to Arthur and back.
"You don't have a father."
Apparently, Merlin hadn't thought it entirely through. Right, all Arthur knew was that his father wasn't in the picture. He whipped around to find Arthur looking like he had been punched in the gut.
"Arthur, I-" Merlin seemed to be struggling for the right words to say. He clenched his fists and looked away from him. "It's complicated."
A stab of betrayal sunk into his gut from the discovery of yet another lie. Arthur shook his head in disbelief. When he looked at Merlin again, his eyes darkened. "And to think that I was beginning to trust you again."
Merlin's eyes widened. "You can trust me."
Arthur snorted. "I obviously can't if you wouldn't even tell me about your father."
Merlin threw his hands up in frustration. "You haven't given me a chance to!"
"Tell me Merlin." Arthur sneered. "What would a good reason be for me to listen to anything you have to say?" Arthur's tone was one of warning, but Merlin didn't care. It was his turn to say what he needed to.
"Because we were friends, Arthur. I never let you use your title against me before you found out about my magic, and I'll be damned if I let you use it against me now." Merlin felt his heart rate speed up with his angry words.
"You can't speak to me like th-"
"I just saved your bloody life! You owe me this." Merlin interrupted. His fists were clenched tightly together. He felt his magic roll in reaction to the bitter frustration he felt towards Arthur.
"All you have done is sit back and make assumptions of who I am, what I have done, how I must have been plotting for years to destroy Camelot because I'm a bloody sorcerer and what else would I ever think about other than that. Did you ever stop to think that maybe I am still the same person?"
"Merlin-" Arthur began again, but was cut off by more of Merlin's rant.
"I know I lied to you, but I was never given any indication that I could tell you. I have been your servant for years and all the while I have stopped anything that threatened Camelot just to keep a clotpole of a king alive to fulfill both of our destinies. Every day I lived with the worry that someone would find out and I would be forced to leave my home or that I would be sentenced to burn at the stake. Did you ever think about how I felt? No, because you only thought about yourself!"
Merlin breathed heavily through his nose trying to calm his rage before it manifested through his magic. He glared at Arthur and realized a wide eyed look was on his face. His tense hand gripped the hilt of his sword firmly. His gaze was fixated on something past Merlin. It was then that Merlin heard growling behind him.
Damn
Merlin turned around quickly. The wyvern shook his head as though trying to overcome his control which was impossible. There should be now way it could possible stop the hold Merlin had over it unless there was something else at play.
Merlin grasped for the distant connection between himself and the beast. "Nun de ge dei s'eikein-"
The wyvern suddenly lunged at Catherine who had been edging around it. It sent her flying into the cavern wall. Her body fell limply to the ground. The wyvern continued to stalk towards Catherine. Merlin frantically continued.
"Kai emois epe'essin hepesthai!"
It turned its attention quite suddenly from Catherine to Merlin. Red eyes bore into Merlin's as it began walking towards him.
"S'enthend' apokhorein nun epello-o-o!" Merlin continued, but to no avail. Before Merlin could think of a spell, the beast was on top of him pushing Merlin's torn back into the rocky ground. Crying out, the pain momentarily overwhelmed him. Black stretched across his vision. Hot breath coupled with a rotten smell rushed over his face. When his vision finally returned Merlin stared at the beast's giant maw and resisted the urge to gag.
Staring into the cold dark eyes of the beast, he felt the dark magic flowing through its veins. It contrasted heavily with his own magic. The feeling of such a heavy and thick wrongness was suffocating. Merlin struggled to bring any of his magic to the surface but the dark magic cut into him, stopping him from focusing on anything. He struggled to think properly, but his mind became muddled and heavy.
Without warning, the beast dragged its long claws diagonally across Merlin's chest. He couldn't resist the urge to cry out in pain as the claws slowly followed its directed path slicing deep into his torso. It was as though it knew of the pain it was causing and was relishing in feeling the pull of flesh rip underneath it's piercing claws.
Merlin vaguely heard shouting and felt as the claws in his chest tensed up. It's weight was suddenly off Merlin. In his dazed state he saw the hilt of a sword buried deep in its side. The blow hadn't been fatal to the beast and Merlin watched as it stalked towards Gwaine who was now defending himself with a small dagger. He was standing between the beast and Merlin. The beast launched its attack against Gwaine before he had a chance to do anything. Gwaine was sent flying towards Merlin as the beast swiped its claws at Gwaine's legs, knocking him off balance. Merlin looked dazedly at the Knights and Arthur. They had been edging around the fight, but they had yet to find an opening to attack.
Merlin's attention was brought back to Gwaine as he heard an enraged yell. Gwaine held the dagger defensively in his hand when he looked to Merlin with fear etched on his face. Merlin saw a trail of blood coming from Gwaine's leg and saw that it was pointed at an awkward and unnatural angle.
With newfound strength, Merlin created a barrier between Gwaine and the creature just as it lunged at Gwaine. A gentle shimmer was the only indication it was there. The wyvern hit it with full force and continued to throw itself at the shield. Each time the beast rammed into the barrier its strength dulled. Merlin poured all his strength into maintaining it, but knew it wouldn't last long. He glanced at the ceiling and got an idea. It was stupid and wildly unpredictable, but it was the only plan he had.
"Gwaine, do you trust me?" Merlin asked shakily, trying to maintain the barrier. He felt blood pooling on his shirt and didn't dare look to see how much was there.
Gwaine pulled himself closer to Merlin. A shaky laugh bubbled from his chest as he looked at his broken leg.
"Right now I think that's my only choice."
Merlin dropped the shield entirely. The wyvern started towards them again, hesitant at first. It gained more confidence as it realized the barrier had been removed.
"I take that back." Gwaine's tone held nothing of his typical cocky attitude. "I don't trust you."
Merlin ignored his protests and launched all his power towards the ceiling of the tunnel. Rocks immediately began to fall around the room. Merlin shouted and let his magic loose with the sole intention to keep those in the tunnel safe. Blackness edged on the corners of his vision. His eyes frantically roved to find Arthur. They locked onto his king just before he passed out completely. Terror had taken hold of his facial features. Merlin had one last thought before he lost consciousness completely.
Arthur never expressed fear.
"MERLIN!" Arthur shouted, but his voice was lost in the loud noises of the rockfall. Rocks began to fall on top of the beast and around them. Arthur ran forward to get Merlin and Gwaine out of the way when he felt a giant force push him back. Arthur and the rest of those in the cavern were thrown unceremoniously away from the destruction that rained around them. Arthur saw one last glimpse of Merlin's prone form before the ceiling fell on top of him and Gwaine.
The vast amount of damage Merlin had wrought with his own hand was staggering. Arthur attempted to run forward only to be stopped by an invisible force. He ripped his sword out of its sheath and began to slash at the barrier, but to no avail. Rocks continued to fall until there was no sight of the monster and definitely no sight of Merlin and Gwaine. They were lost beneath the bone crushing weight of the boulders.
When the rocks finally settled, Arthur's sword slashed past where the barrier had been. He wasted no time in running forward. His Knights followed him, stumbling over the rocks that littered the ground and blocked the now decimated cavern. Every second that passed Arthur felt more panicked.
Arthur forced himself forward towards his knights who were attempting to search through the mess. Hesitance stopped him in his tracks. What state Merlin and Gwaine would be in? He made to clear his throat of the dust he inhaled and nearly choked as bile rose up.
They were just about to move a large slab of rock when they heard footsteps behind them. He turned around and came face to face with some of the parents of the children who had been playing in the tree. They had been accompanied by healers and what seemed like guards that were checking over those who had been injured upon arrival. Each Druid seemed apprehensive to help in anyway necessary.
"Let us, Sire." One of the fathers said respectfully. Arthur and the knights stepped back and watched as several of them muttered a spell in unison. The large rock lifted and Arthur could see a dim blue light from the cracks in the rocks.
"They're under here." Elyan shouted. More Druids gathered to help. They stepped forward and each began to pull rocks away one at a time. The blue light grew brighter and they could just make out a figure. The final rocks were cleared away. To everyone's amazement, Gwaine was sitting up with his leg still bent at an awkward angle. He was leaning over a Merlin's prone figure and applying pressure to his wounds as a small blue light flickered about his head. He was pale and seemed to be fighting to remain awake through the pain. Merlin on the other hand was unconscious but Arthur found comfort in seeing the steady rise and fall of his chest.
Several healers wasted no time and rushed forward into the small space to aid Gwaine. He nodded at them and was pulled out as gently and quickly as possible. They laid him down and several tended to his injuries while the others rushed in to get Merlin. As soon as everyone was clear, the small opening Merlin and Gwaine had been in collapsed upon itself.
Arthur felt the driving need to ensure Merlin was alright. He pushed aside the feelings of betrayal and his own pride realizing just how much Merlin was willing to sacrifice today. There was truly no way that Arthur could believe Merlin was anything other than good. All Merlin had said when Arthur had been blinded by his own rage was true. Today was yet another example of his servant's selflessness. Arthur in no way deserved what Merlin had done for him. The idiot could have simply let the beast kill him, but he didn't. He had put himself in harm's way to keep Arthur safe.
A crushing guilt for his actions overcame him. If Merlin was permanently hurt from today it would be because of Arthur.
Arthur automatically gravitated towards Merlin while the healers were moving him to a gurney. Catherine, who had been awoken a few minutes prior by healers, hovered by him. They lifted him up in a stretcher and began to transport him to what Arthur was certain would be an infirmary of some sort.
"Merlin, can you hear me?" Arthur heard Catherine call to Merlin as she grabbed his hand maternally. At her words Merlin's eyes fluttered open and immediately closed again as he grimaced.
"I think I owe you a new ceiling." His words came out just above a whisper. Catherine smiled and gave a half laugh.
"You can fix it just as soon as you are done bleeding."
Merlin gave her a small nod. A smile played on his lips even through the pain he was experiencing.
"Is everyone safe?" He asked concernedly.
"Yes, Merlin." Catherine confirmed. "Because of your actions everyone will be able return back to their families. You have done us all a great service tonight. You have my undying gratitude for keeping my people safe."
They continued walking. Arthur nearly followed before he stopped himself. Would Merlin even want to see him after everything he had done? Arthur hadn't been deserving of Merlin's friendship before when he had been his manservant, yet Merlin gave it freely. Now, all wanted was for Merlin to see him as a man he could respect once more. Arthur yearned to go back with what he knew now.
Not that it mattered.
Merlin had lied primarily to keep himself alive. Judging by the reaction Arthur had, Merlin was obviously justified in keeping the secret to himself. Arthur had refused to believe Merlin when he was telling him the truth from the beginning. Now, Arthur was attempting to reason with himself to lessen the severity of his actions, but he knew of what he had done. His inability to believe the person he trusted most showed the man Arthur Pendragon was.
He was now more determined than ever to change that.
"It's amazing." Arthur heard Percival mutter. He turned around and gave Percival a questioning look. Percival took notice and continued on.
"He kept everyone alive."
"He thought of everyone." Elyan added.
"Everyone except himself." Arthur said to himself, filling with a burning shame. The knights around him were quiet. There were druids buzzing around, working frantically to help everyone else. The chaos around him didn't register to him. It was as if he were no longer in the room. He felt disconnected from himself, like he had just woken up to find the world around him had change forever.
In a way it had, in fact, been altered indeterminately.
"Sire," Percival began slowly. "I believe it would do us good to follow them to ensure we do not lose our way in the tunnels."
Arthur took a second to register what Percival said. He nodded when he finally processed it. They began walking. Arthur was forced to put one foot in front of the other and continue on while his thoughts rushed around his head.
All Arthur knew at that moment was that the core belief his father had raised him to believe and he had held steadfastly was all a lie.
I have to say it again. THANK YOU! You are all wonderfully supportive and kind. There is still quite a bit of the story to go. I hope you continue to read and review. Any feedback from all you wonderful people is always welcome.