Title: The legend of a Warlock who Served the Once and Future King

Author: Lamiabellascrittore

Words: 3,200

Rating: T+

WARNING: Eventual violence, adult situations, sexual content and more violence. Love it, deal with it or don't read it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, or any of the characters. If I did there would be a season six, seven, eight, and so on, and a movie, of course.

Spoilers: Possibly.

Summary: Merlin and Arthur go on a mission that was supposed to be strictly reconnaissance. However, nothing ever goes as planned, and they get separated. Merlin is kidnapped by Morgana and Arthur must find a way to rescue his ever loyal servant. But, will Arthur still save Merlin after he learns Merlin has magic? This story is building up to the battle of Camlann. The sequel to this one.

A/N: Okay, so this is my first Published Fan Fiction. Please read and review, if you enjoyed it I will continue. Please be kind. ;)

I hope you enjoy...

Chapter 12 :Part 3

A Bargain Struck

He was lead down a long winding staircase that went down several floors, before they entered a long cold and dark hallway. On each side it was bordered with large and small cells. Nearly each one housed one or more persons. Most likely magic users. Merlin cringed. Morgana was no better than Uther.

She needs to be stopped. He grimaced. How was he going to kill her, though, when his body screamed for just one more touch, one more kiss, while his brain and heart burned with a need to end her? Unfortunately, there was no way to train his heart to be impenetrable, and sometimes it takes more time for you hear to accept what your brain already knows. And he knew what she was. He has known for a while, but he chose to believe she could change. He wondered how many times he has forgiven her just because he didn't want to lose her. Even if she didn't deserve it. Merlin learned long ago to listen to people when they were angry because that was when the real truth came out.

Cedric and Liam stopped at the end of the hall and opened the doors of a large cell. Merlin was pushed aside as Liam placed a bucket of water just on the inside of the cell to the right of the door. He motioned to Merlin and then the cage, waiting impatiently for him to step inside. The moment he was the doors clanged shut.

"Cedric will be back with a fresh pair of clothes." Liam said gruffly.

They left him in the dark taking their torches with them. Merlin sat down heavily against the bars of the cell door and looked around. His eyes adjusted sluggishly to the dark. Without access to his magic he once again felt rundown. His aches started back up with a fierceness he hadn't felt since before he had bathed in the healing waters.

He looked down at his chest and lifted his shirt. Sure enough, blood seeped from his newly sealed scars. The deeper wounds seemed to have reopen. Merlin guessed the powers of the waters could only heal so much. He tugged the shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor. He groaned. His head fell back against a bar for support.

"Merlin!" A young voice exclaimed, relieved.

Merlin's head jerked up, swinging around to pinpoint the voice. Dizziness swamped him and his world tilted. He pressed his palm to his eyes. He shook his head and squinted into the darkness. The shadows giving way to more defined shapes.

"William?" Merlin asked. He looked around the cell, searching for the others.

"Yeah, it me." William assured. He shifted in his spot against he far wall. A rush of Deja Vu hit him.

"Where are your brothers." Merlin asked once he noticed what was missing.

Silence...

"William?" He asked cautiously. "Where are they?"

"I-I don't know." William whispered.

"What happened after I was taken away?"

Silence.

"William." Merlin snapped gently. "I can't help if you don't tell me."

"A man. Named Jerrod, I think, and another skinny man with dark eyes, who just watched." William spoke softly. "Jerrod-" He took a deep breath. "He wanted to take me somewhere." He shivered. "Said I was just what he was looking for. He was very... um... friendly." he stressed the word. "And when he started to drag me away, Darrin tried to stop him. But he didn't know-" William cut off, voice cracking. "He didn't know that-"

"He didn't know that Fredrick was a sorcerer of dark magic" Merlin finished for him.

He sighed and leaned his head back against the bars again. He was exhausted. Maybe that explained why he had such a sudden wave of rage for the two men. He some how knew they were lecherous beasts. But he knew he couldn't blame his blood lust on that. His rage came from something far deeper, and far darker. It stemmed from being in love with a woman who would rather watch him burn in agony, than die in peace. Fro being tortured and humiliated. From having to do the horrible things he has to do to survive. Even as a young boy Merlin has had to fight against his own darkness.

"He cast a spell I have never heard before and Darrin fell to the floor." Williams breath hitched. "He didn't get back up." William swallowed. "They were furious." He murmured. Remembering the look of malice in their eyes.

"What about James?" Merlin asked lifting his head to look at him, dreading the answer.

William shook his head. "James got them away from me, and he told me to run. So I did." William said sadly.

"Okay." Merlin said tiredly. "That's good." He stopped. What about any of this was good? He couldn't exactly say everything was going to be alright, because he didn't know that. Merlin watched the young boy brooding in the corner. His leg were pulled up to his chest with his arms wrapped around them, with his chin resting on his knees.

"Its not your fault William." Merlin said from his spot on the ground near the door.

"But it is isn't it?" William said aggravated. All of his eleven years it has only been the three of them, and they always protected him, even at the cost of their own lives. "They were protecting me. I got them killed."

"How old are you Will?" Merlin asked gently.

The boy shifted. "I'm Eight." He said almost defensively. Merlin chuckled in spite of his thoughts. When Merlin was eight he had been faced with a problem nothing but death could solve. Williams situation wasn't much different.

"You don't know that their dead." Merlin said. "Your old enough to fight for what you love, so do it. Don't give up so easily." Merlin grunted sat up and pulled the bucket of water towards him. "Never give up hope until you see proof." He hated to be so candid with him but William was in a dangerous position and he was either going to survive this or die from this and he rather liked the kid so he better toughen up. "If someone dies to protect you its their choice, and its not your fault. They did it because they believed your life to be worth the risk. So make the best of what you have and don't let their sacrifices go in vain."

Merlin reached into the bucket and found there was no rag. He sighed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the red neckerchief, almost identical to the one he wore back in Camelot, and dunked it into the water to wash the blood from his hands.

Once they were relatively clean, he squeezed the neckerchief out and went about wiping the blood from his face and neck before further cleaning the reopened wound on his chest. It stung but the pain was not nearly even a lick of the pain he has experienced the last few weeks and he didn't even hiss in a breath from the searing pain the pressure of the cloth caused.

He tossed the neckerchief to the ground beside the bucket of rose tinted water. It landed with a wet splosh. The red coloring tinted even darker red from Merlin's blood, soaking nearly every inch. There was nothing to be done about his cloths. The only saving grace was that his pants stayed relatively clean. Still he had to wait in the cold and musty dungeons with out a shirt until Cedric chose to bring him some cloths like Morgana had ordered.

"What happened when they took you away?" William asked quietly.

Merlin was quiet for a second contemplating an answer suitable for him to hear. "I had to take a test." he dint know what else to say. That wasn't a training session, or a test. It was a beat down to cull out the weaklings.

"What kind of a test was it?" He asked wrinkling up his noes.

Merlin didn't answer. He knew sooner or later Morgana would toss them all into that ring and William would find out. William thankfully took his silence as his way of saying he didn't want to talk about it. Soon Williams breathing evened out, finally feeling safe enough to sleep now that Merlin was there. Merlin, himself however, couldn't sleep. Instead he got lost in a haunting memory, one he hadn't thought about it years. The first time he had killed... memories could be the worst kind of torture.

There were rumors going around his village about a woman's son who could do magic. Soon it brought a pair of mercenary's to the village. Merlin had assumed they came to eliminate the source of it. Starting with Merlin's mother, having birthed him. But no. they had other plans. They wanted to take Merlin and use him as a weapon. As most greedy people did when they found out he had power.

In the middle of the night the two men dragged them from bed and into the forest. Merlin was only eight years old, no older than William was now.

Merlin shivered at the memory. He remembers the feel of the dagger that was shoved into his hand. The uncomfortable feel of its weight. The mercenary and his partner, he later learned their names to be Wallace and Gregory, were cruel men bent of eradicating the world of magic one person at a time, not caring whether it be man, woman, or child, and they weren't above using a sorcerer to take down another sorcerer.

"Do it." The man, Gregory, growled. He pressed the blade in Merlin's hand closer to his mothers neck. Merlin tried to tug his hand away. He didn't want to hurt her. The man growled and leaned down intimidatingly.

"Do it, or ill cut your throat instead." Gregory's fetid breath ghosted over Merlin's face and clogged his breathing. He smelled like dried blood, rotten meat and bad hygiene. A smell he would never forget, as it haunted Merlin's childhood nightmares.

"No." Merlin gulped.

"You think you have a choice, that's sweet and all, but its time you take the knife and do what you were born to do." He sneered. "Kill like the monster you wore born to be, little one."

Monster. Monster. The word echoed inside is eight year old's mind. Warping and manipulating his thought's like clay. Merlin looked at his mothers tear stained face. Her terrified eyes stared at him unwaveringly. She nodded just a little trying to convey to him that it was alright, that he could do it. Merlin shook his head he couldn't. This was his mother. The woman he was supposed to protect above all others.

He squared his shoulders and threw the knife to the ground. He centered himself. His tiny body trembled with anxiety and fear, but he still stood against the bad men. With a powerful cry his eight year old voice shouted, sending out a shock wave of power that blasted the two men back. They were dead before they hit the ground.

It wasn't until a year later that he found he was fascinated by the ability and strength he possessed and it terrified him. Kill like the monster you born to be. Gregory voice whispered in his mind. Even after all this time he haunted Merlin.

That familiar bubble of hot seething rage grew in the depth of his mind about to pop, reminding him of the hold Morgana had on him. His madness seemed centered around her. This plan of his was going to be the hardest thing by for he will ever have to do. And if by some miracle he survived his gambit, he was going to demand a whole year off from his servant duty's.

Thinking of Arthur, Merlin wanted to somehow write him a letter and let him know what he planned. At least as much as he dared to tell for fear someone else will read it. He needed paper and something to write with. When Cedric brought his clothes, he needed to ask him for a favor.

Merlin shook himself of the last threads of the devastating memory dissipated. The clang of iron bars and quiet footsteps alerted him, and snapped Merlin painfully back to the present. Torch light came into view fallowed by Cedric, the guard assigned to bring him clothes. He shoved the small bundle through the bars and dropped them on his lap. Merlin scrambled to his feet, dumping the clothes on the Dirty dungeon floor.

"Cedric," Merlin hissed, reaching through the bars and grabbed on to his armor. "Wait."

Cedric turned back to Merlin with a sneer. "What?" He growled lowly.

He looked behind him. Merlin wanted to laugh for some insane reason. Even Morgana's men were frighted of her. He didn't blame them, any woman's ire was bad, Morgana's was even more so. She was a woman who fed her demons.

"Do you know what happened to the two other boy that came with us? Darrin and James?"

Cedric paused at the name. He had heard about the incident. He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I haven't seen them." And if he was being honest, he didn't think they were okay. Merlin looked at him. He could tell from the hard set of Cedric's jaw, to the obvious unspoken words that carried under what he just said. He didn't think they were alive. He shoved the pain down and grabbed onto his armor tighter when he turned to leave.

"Wait! Can-um- you get me some parchment, maybe?" Merlin asked uncertainly.

"Why? Gonna write a suicide note?" Cedric sneered. Merlin tensed, looking at him unfavorably.

Cedric wasn't a bad man, but he had a certain notoriety to keep up if he was going to survive in Morgana's camp. He looked at Cedric with a deep knowledge that astounded him. Maybe Cedric's assumption was right and Merlin was the man he thought he was. Either way he was determined to find out, and if he was right, he would either kill Merlin, or take him away just so Morgana doesn't get her claws any deeper into him. Cedric could see Morgana's influence thriving, and it would with what he has been through. If Morgana succeeds in bringing Emrys to her cause, there would be no room for peace.

"Can you?" Merlin said, ignoring the comment, and grit his teeth.

"Maybe." Cedric said, shaking Merlin off his arm and crossing them over his wide chest. "What are you willing to do for it?"

This stopped Merlin. He knew he needed to trade something for it, but he honestly never thought he would get this far to actually need that something. Idiot, a voice that sounded an awful lot like Arthur's hissed in his head.

"I saw the way you were watching the brothers, Jerrod and Fredrick." Merlin stated. "I saw the way you reveled in their pain. You seemed unusually satisfied seeing their blood." Merlin observed softly. He took a step up to the bars. "What did they do to you?" Merlin wondered as he watched Cedric's eye twitch. Merlin tilted his head to the side, watching him with narrowed eyes. "Or was it someone you loved?" Merlin surmised. "A younger brother, maybe."

Cedric clenched his hands at his side. Merlin waited. Now knowing Jerrod and Fredrick's kind of perversion, from what William had said, and what Merlin could surmise, he would hazard a guess he was spot on.

"What is your point?" Cedric rumbled.

"I have a proposition for you. You get me some parchment, and deliver a letter to same place Morgana found me at in the woods. You were with her, you should remember it." Cedric nodded. "And for your troubles, I will exercise your demons." Merlin bargained, referring to Fredrick and Jerrod.

Cedric looked at him for a long while. "Are you sure you can do that? Be an assassin?"

Merlin nodded. "You give me the an opening and it will be done, as long as you hold out your end of the bargain."

"There is a party tomorrow night. The royals and nobles will be gathered to view the contenders in the culling. You might be able to slip away for a few moments unnoticed, and as long as Morgana isn't there," He paused. "It could work."

"Do we have an accord?" Merlin insisted. He was being ridden my an urgency he didn't understand, but obeyed nun the less.

He nodded once. "Yes."

"Good. Bring me the parchment as soon as you can." Merlin said. "And tomorrow night, be sure to supply me with a weapon."

"A weapon?" He asked confused.

"I can't use my magic." Merlin said through the bars exasperated, tapped a finger against the collar around his neck. " I need a weapon." He bent down to pick up the small roll bandages that were brought with the clothes, probably for his raw knuckles, but he instead wrapped it around his chest.

"Right." Cedric said. Still staring at the wounds on Merlin chest and the blood slowly seeping from the lacerations. He then he glanced at Merlin's wrists. There were red angry wounds around them from the cuffs he had worn for so long. "Will you be able to do this?"

Merlin tossed his shirt over his head covering the bandage. He faced Cedric through the bars, "Do not make the mistake of underestimating me." Merlin said softly.

Cedric nodded, looking at him warily. "I'll be back as soon as I have what you asked for. Be ready for tomorrow night."

"Don't worry about me. Its you that needs to take care not to get caught." Merlin said seriously. Merlin was more than familiar with Morgana's anger.

He watched Cedric leave, plunging the cell once more into darkness. Merlin sank down to the floor to catch some sleep and wait for him to return.