Thanks for the love of the last chapter, keep it up! Here's the next installment, enjoy!
A kneeling figure with his head bowed spoke in a low, grating voice, "I failed you, my Lord. It won't happen again."
"It had better not."
"I will return to find the sorcerer and the prince."
"How did they evade your capture?"
"Prince Arthur. He is a stronger adversary than I anticipated."
"You are rumored to be the best mercenary in the land, yet you cannot complete your one task."
"Apologies, my Lord."
"Find them. Now."
The figure stood, head still bowed.
"Of course, my Lord. I will kill the Prince and capture the sorcerer."
"Wait. No."
"My Lord?"
"This Prince Arthur. I have heard of his destiny."
"It is true he is to follow a path of greatness, my Lord. The best this land has ever seen."
"I see."
"I am at your service, my Lord."
"The most powerful sorcerer of our generation and the supposed greatest King this land has ever seen. Imagine that."
"Imagine what, my Lord?"
"Imagine if this sorcerer and prince were within our ranks."
"We would be unstoppable, my Lord. Prince Arthur has been coveted by many adversaries."
"And you say you have wounded him."
"Yes. He will be weaker."
"Good. You have a new assignment. Capture both the sorcerer and the prince. Bring them to me."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"Arthur!" Merlin circled the clearing, "Arthur!"
No reply but the gust of the wind.
Merlin felt his heart flutter in his chest. He was alone in the middle of the forest, the night growing darker, and missing his friend and master who so happened to be the future King of Camelot.
Shouting his name was getting him nowhere. Merlin calmed himself and racked his brain. He'd only been gone for five minutes. Arthur wouldn't have wandered off. That meant he was probably abducted. The frost growing in Merlin's chest grew.
Judging the scene before him, Merlin deduced that he was ambushed. Arthur was a trained knight, the best of Camelot. No attacker would have confronted him from the front, that would be suicide. Arthur would have disarmed him immediately. Furthermore, no attacker could have ambushed him from behind without the prince noticing. Arthur was always on alert, he could hear and spot things that Merlin was ignorant to. That meant the attack had to have been from afar, something to incapacitate the Prince without making direct contact.
A dart perhaps.
Merlin felt his spirits fall. He had an inkling it was the Black Knight, but his small hopes were trying to avoid that conclusion. Now, he was sure. After Arthur proved to be a formidable adversary against the Black Knight in their first battle, the mercenary knew the only way to rid of him would be to use his dart from afar.
Merlin gripped the silver steel of Arthur's fallen sword. He brushed the dirt off. The blood was probably on account of his wound.
"Think, Merlin, think!" he cursed at himself, "Why would the Black Knight take Arthur if he was trying to kill him?"
The answers were unclear, but there was a bigger problem at hand: find Arthur.
He wielded the Prince's sword and sprinted into the trees.
Branches and leaves whacked his face and body as Merlin tried to navigate himself through the forest. His heart was pounding, his adrenaline pumping.
"Arthur!" he kept calling, throwing caution to the wind, "Arthur!"
He felt he was running in circles. A panting Merlin stopped, catching his breath as his desperate search continued. Every minute that passed made the icy pit in his stomach grow with concern.
He was about to lose all hope-
Thwip!
A dart zipped through the air and pierced the tree bark right beside it ear. A few centimeters to the right and it would've pierced his skin.
Merlin dove to the floor. He crawled across the mud rapidly, finding cover in the brush.
The Black Knight.
Merlin dared poke his head up slightly to find the mysterious mercenary. He saw nothing.
Thwip!
Another dart zipped his way. He just managed to duck in time and scurried forward to another bush. His hand was gripping the hilt of the sword so tight, his knuckles were white. Merlin controlled his breathing, knowing he needed to defend himself and find Arthur.
Merlin searched his mind for a useful spell. The dart flew westward of him, meaning he had pinpointed the Black Knight's location.
"Ástríce!" he shouted, raising his hand and casting the spell towards the mercenary's direction.
Nothing happened.
"What?" Merlin felt dread wash through him. He looked down at his hands in shock.
You're-you're just nervous. Relax, Merlin, relax and cast the spell again.
Merlin took a deep, rattling breath and chanted again.
"Ástríce!"
The only thing he felt was a sharp stinging in his neck. Merlin flinched, reaching a hand towards the painful spot. It was the exact area in which the first dart struck him.
"Then what were the contents?"
That question rang through his empty mind.
"No," Merlin whispered to himself, "oh no…"
He was powerless. The dart must have contained an inhibitor for his magic.
The Black Knight was closing in around him, Arthur was still missing, and Merlin had no way of defending himself.
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