Chapter Eleven: Captured

They left the Druid camp the next day. Menw didn't even show up to see them off. The only thing Arthur and his knights got as a farewell were suspicious looks from the Druids. In Gwaine's case, there were a few winks and giggles from Druid girls, but Arthur chose to ignore that. All in all, the Druids quite obviously were glad to see the backs of the Camelot men. Well, Arthur for one was grateful to be back in the saddle of his destrier. Fondly, his fingers ran through Pomers' mane, hair bristly under his fingers.

"Are you sure you're up for this, my Lord?" Leon's worried gaze wandered over Arthur.

The king rolled his eyes at his knight's mollycoddling and sighed, "I'm perfectly alright."

Which was a big fat lie. As it were, the stab wound in Arthur's side still throbbed painfully with every beat of his heart, the cut in his back stung under the chainmail, and his whole body was sore. On the upside, though, he wasn't dying anymore and Arthur thought it perfectly acceptable to classify that as 'alright'. Leon's sceptical look told him something else, but the knight at least had the decency to drop it.

"By the way," Gwaine had led his horse beside Arthur's. "You should probably take this."

Arthur furrowed his brow as the knight offered him a sword. "What?"

Gwaine grinned at him. "Went to gamble with a couple of Druids yesterday. I was lucky."

Now the king sent him a doubtful look. The knight chuckled and added easily, "Okay. Fine. I might've cheated. But just a little bit."

Arthur groaned as he heard that. "You do realize knighthood is connected with a code of honour, don't you?"

"So… you don't want it?" Gwaine innocently pursed his lips.

He already pulled the sword away from Arthur. The king threw him a disgruntled look and snatched the sword from him.

"I didn't say that."

He eyed the sword critically. The scabbard was made of simple leather. Arthur pulled the sword. The metal was a bit dull as he testily swung it around. The sword wasn't balanced right, too much weight on the front. The leather wrapped around the grip felt rough under Arthur's fingers and the guard was chipped at places. Despite it all, the royal grinned down at the sword. Having it in his hand instantly made him feel a lot better. The smile still curled his lips as he turned to Gwaine and said,

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Gwaine laughed and clapped Arthur on the shoulder. "After all, what is the Princess without her pretty jewellery?"

Arthur had sheathed his new sword again and now swiped with it, scabbard and all, after the knight. Gwaine laughed and directed his horse away from Arthur. The smile still curved Arthur's mouth, though, as he fixed the sword to his belt.

They soon left he Druids behind and rode through the thick forest. The next village was a two days' ride away. Maybe they'd find more information on the Lake of Avalon there. If they were lucky, they might even stumble upon some farmsteads on the way there and see if they could find out anything. Truth be told, Arthur doubted that they would find the lake. Even if, he was still sceptical that Emrys existed at all. But at least now he could do something. Sitting around, not able to do anything, had played tricks on Arthur's already frayed nerves. The royal grabbed the reins in his hands and felt strangely at ease. Maybe it was the silent forest around him, the sword at his side, or a quest lying ahead of them, but Arthur felt calm. At least now, every metre forward meant he was getting closer to regaining Camelot and freeing his people.

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It wasn't even half a day later, they had just resumed their way after a short break for lunch, that inevitably Gwaine's present came in handy. Things abruptly went south, but it wasn't like Arthur hadn't expected it. After all, they were still dangerously close to Camelot castle. The loud staccato of hooves thrummed against forest floor and the sound instantly pushed Arthur and the two knights into high-alert.

"Fuck!" Gwaine cursed as a group of men broke through the thicket of the forest.

Leon pulled his sword. Arthur quickly followed suit, unsheathed his new sword, and faced the attackers. At least, Arthur thought wryly, this time not knights. He could tell as the men were clad in worn leather armour and cheaper quality garbs. Three of the attackers were on horse, though the rest were foot soldiers. The men quickly surrounded them, battle axes and halberds in hand. Arthur counted ten of them, but who knew how many still hid in the bushes. Either way, not the best of odds.

"Take them down," Arthur ordered his knights.

Gwaine swirled his sword through the air and swiped it at one of the mounted men. Arthur didn't have time to see how that worked out, because now a halberd was thrust at him. The king raised his sword and with a screeching sound the halberd's head slid along his blade as he fended off the attack. The halberd got close enough that Arthur spied the Pendragon crest on its metal head. His heart sunk. They weren't dressed in Camelot livery, but these were his own foot soldiers attacking him. Morgana's enchantment still held them captive. Sure enough, Arthur spied clouded over, milky-white eyes.

The halberd jabbed at him again. Arthur twisted to the side to avoid it. Instantly, his injury protested at the movement. He gritted his teeth and thrust his sword downwards. With the bulky halberd, the soldier wasn't fast enough to parry. Arthur's sword slid into the man's neck and down into his chest. Blood gushed as Arthur pulled the sword free again and the soldier sagged to the ground, dead. Already, another soldier took his place, sword held at the ready. The royal directed his destrier into a side pass to gain a better angle. The man swiped at him, but Arthur easily blocked the attack. He brandished his sword and placed a series of hard blows. With the advantage of his higher vantage point on the horse, the soldier quickly faltered under the onslaught. Another hard strike and he lost his grip on his sword. Arthur just wanted to place the final blow as, through the corners of his eyes, he saw a quarterstaff rushing towards him.

Arthur yelped as he took a hit in the side, sending a wave of white-hot pain through his stab wound. The previously disarmed soldier used his distraction, quickly grabbed Arthur's leg, and pushed violently. Still paralyzed by the pain, the royal lost his balance and fell from his horse. All air left him as he brutally landed on his back. There was no time to regain his bearings, though. The quarterstaff swiped at him again, shortly followed by a sword as two men attacked him. Arthur rolled away from the attacks and in one fluid movement got in a crouching position. He swirled his sword and sliced into an exposed side. A strangled groan left the soldier as blood soaked into his garments and he sagged to the ground.

Arthur sprang up, sword at the ready. The fallen man was quickly replaced by more attackers. By now, it was quite clear that the king was their main target. The soldiers had isolated him from Leon and Gwaine who were slicing into their own opponents. Arthur's breathing was fast now and the throbbing pain in his side agony. He again thrust his sword forward, but the king was slow and the attacking soldier managed to dodge. The king raised his left arm and diverted another attack with his vambrace. At the same time, Arthur aimed his sword at another man's side. Slow again. His blow was well-aimed, but only scraped the leather armour.

Arthur jumped back and now breathed heavily. His attackers, though, left Arthur no time to regain his breath. With force, the soldiers pressed on and the king was forced to retreat under the onslaught. Damn. Not only was he slow but already exhausted. A sword rushed at him and where he normally would easily dance out of range, Arthur now stumbled back, fighting to keep his balance. The attacking soldier followed with swift sword strokes. The king sidestepped the attack and forcefully rammed the heel of his left hand into the soldier's chin. A painful groan left the man and incapacitated him momentarily. Quickly, though, another man took his place and slashed his sword at Arthur. The royal blocked and metal scraped over metal. Arthur gritted his teeth as his stupid side acted up again. Anger boiling up, the king ignored the pain and pushed with all his force. The foot soldier stumbled and without much finesse, Arthur rammed his sword forward. The blade's point slid into and through the soldier's throat. Arthur pulled it back. Blood spurted from the wound while a gurgling sound escaped the soldier's mouth. Arthur watched, breathing laboured, as death grasped the other man.

"Arthur!"

He whipped around, but Leon's warning had come too late. Arthur's eyes widened. One of the foot soldiers had snuck up on him. The metal head of a mace crashed brutally in Arthur's right shoulder. His gardbrace took the brunt of the force, but he was still thrown to the side. Pain throbbing in his shoulder and down into this arm, Arthur sagged to his left knee. The soldier didn't hesitate. He brought his mace down again, this time aiming to cave in Arthur's head. Arm burning with pain, Arthur brought his sword up, but knew he wouldn't be able to parry such a hard blow.

A second before the soldier's mace could crash into his head, someone tackled into Arthur's side. A surprised gasp left him as he was forcefully pushed to the side, two arms wrapped around his waist. He crashed to the ground with the other person tumbling on top of him.

"Damn it," groaned a rather familiar voice.

Arthur blinked his eyes open, heart racing in his chest. The person had already scrambled up again and now stood, with his back to Arthur, between him and the attacking soldiers. Arthur spied short black hair, a brown jacket, and a tall, gangly form. Really, he didn't need to see his face to know who exactly that was.

"Merlin!" Gwaine had spotted the man as well.

Wild look on his face, the knight raced towards them. Merlin ignored Gwaine's call. The foot soldier had raised his mace again and now swung it at Merlin. Raw panic descended upon Arthur as he saw the lethal weapon rushing towards an unarmed Merlin. Merlin didn't shy away, didn't stumble, he simply raised both hands and hissed,

"Ástríce!"

Arthur watched, heart thundering in his chest, as the foot soldier was violently hurled away. The man's shocked yell was cut short as he impacted hard with the ground. A crunching sound followed and Arthur was pretty sure the man wouldn't get up again. This pushed the remaining soldiers into action and they attacked at once. Merlin still would not abandon his post. Elegantly, the sorcerer moved his fingers, golden sparks dancing over alabaster skin, and Arthur felt pressure in the air that made his ears pop. The storm of magic grabbed the soldiers and easily hurled them away. Arthur's blood had frozen over in shock as he stared at the straight back of the sorcerer. Another soldier attacked, but suddenly Gwaine was there and instantly laid into the man with angry strokes of his sword. The man flayed about with his own sword, obviously outmatched by Gwaine's skill.

Arthur still lay on the ground, body throbbing in pain, as Merlin turned around. For some absurd reason, Arthur had expected to see fear mirrored on Merlin's face. He had seen the man during quite a few quarrels and Merlin had usually blanched at the first sight of a sword. Then he had hid behind a tree and left the fighting to Arthur and the knights. Now, Merlin stepped towards Arthur's fallen form and there was a calm, almost cold look on his features. With that grim expression, Merlin looked like a soldier who was accustomed to, even comfortable on, a battle field. The sorcerer crouched down beside Arthur, a hand firmly holding him by the arm. Arthur was hit by the irrational urge to grab that wrist and pull the man into a hug. Merlin's penetrating gaze swiftly wandered over him as if checking for injury.

"Are you hurt?" Merlin asked and even his voice was collected.

This finally managed to pull Arthur from the stupor he had fallen into. Anger reared its head and he brusquely pushed that hand away from him.

"Don't touch me!" he hissed at the sorcerer.

Merlin flinched at the sharp order. His calm mask cracked as an injured look washed over his features. Disappointment was there as well, not surprise though. Fury still seething, Arthur pulled himself up. His side protested at the movement and was now joined by a painfully bruised shoulder. Arthur pressed on and struggled to his feet. Black dots shortly danced in his vision. He tightly gripped his sword and Merlin took a cautionary step away.

For now, Arthur ignored the sorcerer. He looked around, but the fighting had died down. His enemies were scattered or lying dead. Leon cleaned his bloodied sword on the cloak of one of the soldiers. The knight seemed to be unharmed, Arthur noted in relief. His gaze then slipped to his other companion. Gwaine was unharmed as well and just pulled his sword free from the chest of his last opponent. The knight then turned to Merlin and a wide smile instantly split his face. Hastily, Gwaine ran to Merlin and wrapped him up in a tight hug. A jolt of anger ran through Arthur as he saw his knight embracing a sorcerer.

"Mate," Gwaine laughed and beamed at Merlin. "It's so good to see you again."

The sight made Arthur's fury spiral up even further. His fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword. Leon, surprised look on his face, carefully stepped over to them as well. Arthur ignored both knights and now raised his sword at the sorcerer.

"Gwaine, step away from him," he ordered sharply.

The knight looked up and surprise flittered over his face as he found Arthur with his sword raised threateningly. In a second, the surprise was replaced by anger and Gwaine snapped,

"What the fuck are you doing?!"

"What do you think?" Arthur snapped at him. "I'm arresting a known sorcerer."

By now Merlin had turned to him as well. Fury clawing at him, Arthur watched as Merlin's gaze wandered over Arthur's sword that was threatening him and then slowly up to Arthur's face. His stomach twisted strangely as he looked into Merlin's deep blue eyes. Maybe it was a spell, but right now Arthur wanted to just forget everything that had happened, forget who this person was other than his… friend.

"Gwaine," the king hissed, never taking is eyes off Merlin. "Step away!"

Instead of obeying, Gwaine stepped in front of Merlin. Thunderous look on his face, the knight snapped,

"You're not going to arrest anyone! Are you mad? Merlin just saved your life, in case you didn't notice. Again. Leave him the fuck alone!"

Arthur's patience had run out. He threw Leon an expectant look. The knight blanched, but there really wasn't much he could do but obey the unspoken order. Reluctance was clear on his face, still Leon grabbed Gwaine by the arm and wrenched him away. The man struggled in Leon's tight hold.

"What the hell, Leon?! Lemme go!"

Arthur ignored them and had eyes only for the sorcerer. There was still blood on Arthur's sword as he trained its point right at Merlin's chest. Arthur took a threatening step forward and the sharp tip made contact with the sorcerer's blue shirt right above his heart. Merlin arched his eyebrows, but still that calm expression veiled his face. Slowly, the sorcerer raised his hands as if seeking clemency. Maybe Arthur would've listened to that twinge of guilt in the pit of his stomach if he hadn't just seen Merlin take a man's life with just a wave of those very same hands.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur inquired, lethal tint lacing his voice.

Merlin's deep blue eyes gazed at him searchingly. What he was seeking, Arthur didn't know. The man still looked exactly like Merlin, like his friend. Arthur gritted his teeth as his heart clenched with confusion. Then the sorcerer spoke, voice controlled and unreadable,

"I saw you fighting. And then you fell."

It didn't explain anything. Or everything. Arthur's thoughts swirled and he had to force himself to keep on track. He bored his sword tighter against Merlin and saw it slicing through blue fabric. Through gritted teeth, he fumed,

"Did Morgana send you?"

Merlin shook his head and now a frown appeared between his eyebrows as he scanned the king. Painful disappointment lurked behind those deep blue eyes.

"You think she is my ally?"

Arthur's fingers angrily flexed around the sword's hilt. He could feel its blade scraping over skin, probably cutting into it. Voice deathly cold, he commanded,

"Tell me the truth now. What are you doing here?!"

Merlin pursed his lips in contemplation. The sorcerer's gaze left the king and grew glassy as if it fixed on something beyond Arthur's own sight. If the sword against Merlin's chest unsettled him, the man didn't show it. Startlingly blue eyes flashed back to Arthur and bored into him, still searching.

"Three weeks ago," Merlin finally replied. "I felt something. Something shifted in the land's fabric."

By now Gwaine had stopped his struggle against Leon's grip. With wide eyes he stared at Merlin. Carefully, the knight asked,

"What do you mean?"

"It was strange." Merlin peered at Gwaine. "I could tell something had happened in Camelot. That's why I came back and…"

His gaze wandered to Arthur's. The sorcerer seemed troubled, as if confused by his own actions, as he added, "Tried to find you."

Arthur's hard gaze cut into the man and he didn't take his sword away from him. What was Merlin up to? This could very well be a trap for Arthur, spun by Morgana. Leon, always the voice of reason, cut through his musings,

"Sire? We should leave. Who knows if they had company."

Arthur blinked and once again looked at the fallen men around them. Slowly, he nodded.

"You're right. We need to move."

Which still left him with this problem, Arthur thought as he stared at the dark-haired sorcerer. He hated himself as he wanted nothing more than sit by a warm camp fire with the man, laugh, and, as they had done so often before, share stories of their latest adventures. Arthur's heart gave a twinge at the thought. He had no choice. He didn't. None. The king clenched his jaw in displeasure. Swiftly, Arthur took his sword from the sorcerer's chest and sheathed it. He stepped over to one of the fallen foot soldiers and pulled a thin leather belt from the man's corpse. Merlin watched his proceedings through wary eyes. Arthur ignored it and harshly grabbed the sorcerer's wrists, bunching them together.

"Hey," Gwaine instantly complained. "What're you doing?"

"He's coming with us," Arthur told him poignantly while he tied the leather belt around Merlin's wrists, securing them together.

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