*ATTENTION IMPORTANT* THE LAST CHAPTER I MADE AN ERROR AND POSTED AN INCOMPLETE VERSION OF CHAPTER 27, THIS IS FIXED NOW AND THE CHAPTER IS LONGER, HAS FEWER ERRORS AND FLOWS BETTER, IT IS ALSO LONGER. I ENCOURAGE YOU TO REREAD IT IF YOU DID NOT SEE AN AUTHOR'S NOTE THE FIRST TIME AROUND.
Alright now back to regular AN, I am extremely excited for this chapter to say the least, and also very anxious at what y'all will think. I would like to say guys that if you ever want to chat about this story, give me ideas, pester me for an update or with questions, or even just to threaten me or tell me who your favorite character is feel free to PM me if I'm not asleep I will probably respond within an hour or two, though forgive me if I don't reply to anything for a couple days, I go to college in the southern United States, very close to Florida and we are getting the edge of Hurricane Irma and our wifi and power might get knocked out, I should mention I am perfectly safe and not in the danger zone anyway PM me if you want to chat about the story! I would love love love it if more people talked with me about it, shout out to those who already are, you know who you are. Anyway, let's get on with the chapter. Enjoy!
*Merlin POV*
Two days after Merlin and Richard had talked and the incident with the assassin had occurred Richard had increased the security around the castle an impressive amount, this, however, meant that many guards and knights were pulling double shifts, causing rising tensions between the men, Merlin needed to figure out the charm that had been around the assassin's neck soon or the men might start fighting out of irritability and sleep deprivation. Between the council meetings, training with both sword and magic, and preparing for the coronation Merlin hadn't had much time to look at it, which was why he had stayed up through the night studying it. All he could tell so far though was that it was enchanted and that is was very, very powerful, it worried him that such a thing was in the hands of his enemies and he didn't even know what it was. Andrew wondered in a few minutes after he had given up and was instead studying the dagger. He tutted at the sight of the king, disheveled and obviously exhausted at his desk.
"Did you not go to sleep last night?" he admonished, placing the tray of food on the corner of the desk.
"No, I was too busy, the sooner I figure out how that assassin got in the sooner the men can stop pulling double shifts and get some sleep." He said, yawning as he finished.
"Well, you need to get sleep too." Andrew fussed, frowning at the king.
"I'll be fine." Merlin said, waving him off, he yawned again and Andrew gave him a pointed look. Soon Merlin was dressed for training and left after shoveling down some eggs and bacon, Andrew smiled to himself when he noticed that the King had eaten more than he had when he first got here.
After training with the knights Merlin bathed and dressed in his armor, the trial for the knight who had attacked Richard was today and he had to look the part. He turned from inspecting himself in the mirror to see Andrew. The servant held a folded blue cloth, on it was a gold circlet, Merlin's crown. It was rather plain but still finely made, made for a prince. The circlet was supposed to have been given to him on his 16th birthday, the day he would have officially been named Crown Prince. Now he would only wear it until his coronation which was in a week's time, then he would have his father's crown and his status as King would be official. Merlin gently picked it up and rested it on his head, it felt strange and, perhaps because of the task he had ahead of him, extremely heavy. Next, Andrew unfolded the cloth and revealed that it was a cape, identical to what the Arian Knights wore. Merlin took it and clasped it onto his shoulders, now he truly looked the part.
His father's sword completed the look and while Merlin certainly looked like a King he didn't feel like one. He feared the task ahead because everyone was watching, this would set the tone for his reign, would he be a merciful king or a harsh one? That was what everyone would find out today, not to mention a man's life rested in Merlin's hands. Merlin could justly sentence the man to death, after all, he had threatened a guest of the King and harmed his Head Knight, both of which were punishable by death. Trying to summon Arthur in his head as a guide as to what decision to make Merlin left the room, it was time to let the people know what kind of King, what kind of man, he was.
When Merlin reached the throne room he was surprised at the number of people who had come to see the trial, including the council, he could feel Lord Malcolm's eyes on him as he walked past. He smiled softly at his friends off to one side as he took his place on the throne. He signaled to the guards for the trial to begin.
Two guards dragged the prisoner in, his hands were shackled behind him and his clothes were wrinkled and torn in several places, he looked exhausted and filthy from his time in the dungeons. The guards forced him to his knees before Merlin.
"Sir Eric you have been charged with drunken and disorderly behavior, attacking a royal guest, and wounding the Head Knight of Aria." Merlin began, staring down at the man, the prisoner kept his head bowed.
"I did not want to hurt Sir Richard, I- I didn't recognize him I was too drunk." He said, shaking his head, "I never meant to hurt Sir Richard and I never meant to cause you any insult Sire."
"And your attack on Sir Gwaine? Do you have any remorse for your attack on him?" Merlin prompted, hoping that maybe the man would just blame the alcohol and ask for forgiveness, maybe then Merlin could forgive the man completely.
"My only regret is that I did not kill him." He growled, Merlin sighed but the man continued "The "Camelotians are nothing but scum, filth that should be destroyed." For the first time, he looked up, glaring in the direction of Merlin's friends, he spit at the ground at their feet. Gwaine glared at the man and stepped forward, Leon grabbed his shoulder and shook his head, it wasn't worth it.
"Then you leave me no choice." Merlin said, and everyone watched intently "You Sir Eric are hereby stripped of your knighthood and banished from Aria, you are to leave by dawn and never return on pain of death." He said, he was giving the man the only mercy he could by not sentencing him to death, he could go to some other kingdom now, build a new life and hopefully, his hatred would die. The guards immediately hauled him to his feet.
"I am not alone in my hatred for those scum!" the ex-knight yelled as he was dragged from the room. "You will see!" the guards finally got him out of the throne room and the doors slammed closed behind them.
*Leon POV*
Leon was the last one out of the armory that day, he was just slower, he was busy thinking about his King. Was he safe? He was anxious at having not seen his King in so long and not knowing if the man was safe, perhaps he could find someone who could scry on him, would he be executed for having someone spy on the King using magic? That brought him to another issue altogether. Arthur was going to be furious with Merlin, and could he really lie to Arthur for Merlin? When would they go back to Camelot? When he had agreed to help, he had fully expected it to take a few months but now he wondered if it would take more time because of magic, or would it take less? These questions plagued him as he finally dragged himself out of the armory, if there was one thing he knew it was that he would need to be prepared for whatever was coming.
*Gwaine POV*
Gwaine was walking down the hall whistling to himself when he saw Richard coming towards him. The knight nodded to him and was about to move on when Gwaine stopped him.
"Richard." He said, and the knights stopped in his tracks "Can I call you that or should I call you Sir Richard?" the roughish knight asked.
"Richard is fine Sir Gwaine." He replied, looking at him quizzically, likely wondering why the knight had stopped him.
"Just call me Gwaine, all my friends do." Gwaine replied, grinning, then in a rare occurrence his face turned serious "I just wanted to say thank you, for the other night, and I'm sorry you got hurt, it should have been me, it was my fault" Richard shook his head.
"It was in no way your fault Gwaine, Eric was drunk and stupid, though that is still no excuse for his actions, he will be punished properly I assure you of that."
"You still shouldn't have taken that blade, you could have been killed." Richard studied the knight silently for a second.
"I was right about you Sir Gwaine, there is more than meets the eye. When I first met you I thought you were some drunk that used his nobility to get a title, but when I saw that you were friends with my prince and he trusted you I knew there had to be something more to you, something deeper, and now I see it. You care about others and you want to protect them, even when they can protect themselves, you are one of the few noblemen I have met who deserve the title."
"I'm not a nobleman." Gwaine objected and Richard just smirked.
"Do you really think I wouldn't research the men my King trusts so much?" he replied before walking away and leaving a stunned Gwaine in silence.
*Merlin POV*
After reassuring Richard and his friends that he was fine at least three times each Merlin finally made it to his chambers, Andrew came in but Merlin dismissed him, wanting to be alone. He collapsed on the bed, wanting to relax for a moment before bathing and dressing for bed. But the exhaustion from staying up the night before combined with the activities of the day soon had him drifting off into a blissful slumber.
*Arthur POV*
Arthur and five of his knights departed the main camp with instructions that if they did not return in a week to return to Camelot with word of what happened.
"Sire, are you sure this is the best course of action?" Sir Bedivere questioned, "we are going against sorcerers, it would be safer if you stayed behind."
"Enough Bedivere, we discussed this before, there is no one better than me to lead this mission and lead it I shall, we will sneak in, find the Knights and Merlin and leave with them." Arthur replied with a false confidence, in truth he knew this would likely be a suicide mission but he had to try, those men trusted him, and were his friends if he didn't try to save them what kind of King was he? What kind of friend was he?
Hours later, under the fall of night, they reached the city. They wore no capes, only because they would give them away and make their mission harder. They rode past the city guard with plain cloaks draped over their armor so they looked like mere travelers. Then came the first obstacle, getting into the castle. They wouldn't be able to sneak past the guards and they certainly couldn't climb the walls, they were far too tall and there were guards patrolling, instead, they would have to get rid of the guards. Arthur, still in the cloak that hid his armor walked up to the guards.
"Good evening gentlemen." He said and the guards looked at him suspiciously.
"Good evening." One of them replied. "Can we help you?" he asked, not unkindly but with a tone that suggested he was taking no nonsense.
"I was hoping so, I wanted to inquire after lodges for the night. I am a traveler and have stopped in the city for the night and was wondering if I could trouble you for a bed and a hot meal." Arthur said, taking a step back, the guards unconsciously followed him, perfect.
"There are inns in the city, why come to the castle?" one of them asked, confusion taking over from suspicion.
"I am low on coin at the moment and hope to trade some of my wares in the market tomorrow, alas no one will lodge me without immediate payment." Arthur lied, one of them bit his lip nervously and was about to reply when suddenly Arthur's knights sprung up behind them, knocking them out.
"Good work," Arthur said and began searching the men for keys to the gate, this wasn't the main gate to the castle so it did not require it to be lifted inside, instead it was a much smaller gate that was mostly used for servants. Finally, he found the keys and the group entered the castle grounds after hiding the bodies of the guards in some nearby shrubbery. After using the guard's keys again, they succeeded in infiltrating the castle. The group huddled together in the hall.
"You four go to the east, try to find an entrance to the dungeons and try to find the others. You," he said, pointing towards Sir Gavin. "Come with me." The young knight nodded eagerly and Sir Bedivere looked as though he wanted to argue but wisely kept his mouth shut. "Meet back in front of the gate in two hours."
The group separated and Arthur and Gavin went West, soon the two came on a turn and Arthur pointed down the hall.
"You go that way, see what you can find." The knight obeyed and Arthur was left alone, he heard heavy footsteps and realized it was probably guards making their rounds. He spotted several doors further down and ran for them.
Arthur snuck into the nearest room and had to suppress a curse when he saw that is was the servant's quarters, a row of bed on both sides held sleeping figures. He didn't see any armor, boots, or weapons and knew it couldn't be the barracks, therefore it was most likely the servant's quarters. He would never find his men alone but perhaps if he woke one the servants he could force them to tell him where Merlin and his men were, though he was sure that his men were in the dungeons, he would just first ask about Merlin. Drawing his sword as quietly as possible he snuck over to the nearest bed. He held the tip of the blade to the servant's throat and shook him awake, holding a finger to his mouth to signal to the man that he should keep quiet. The brunet servant woke with a start and was about to cry out but stopped himself at the sight of the blade. Arthur felt guilty at the fear in the man's eye but motioned him to rise, he did so and Arthur pulled him the side, not wanting to alert anyone else to his presence. He grabbed the man by the front of his shirt to prevent him from running.
"I'm looking for someone." Arthur said quietly "you can either tell me and go back to sleep and pretend this never happened or you can refuse and we will do this the hard way." The guilt Arthur felt rose, he didn't want to threaten this poor man, it wasn't his fault that Merlin was a captive here, but he had no choice, he had to find Merlin. The man looked at him in apprehension but said nothing.
"There's a boy, well a man now, his name is Merlin." The servant's eyes lit up in recognition at the name, good, at least Arthur wouldn't have to explain who Merlin was, it would have taken more time. "Where is he?" he growled, as menacing as he could make himself sound. The servant's eyes changed from those of recognition to those of someone angry yet determined.
"I will tell you nothing." He spat, and Arthur frowned, Merlin was just a prisoner here, why was this man so angry at Arthur wanting to find him, he was just here to save him, the servant used his pause against him, however. The man started yelling loudly as he tried to get out of Arthur's grip.
"GUARDS! GUARDS!" he hollered and Arthur swore, loudly. He pulled the man in, spinning him around and pressing him against his chest, a sword to his captive's throat. The servants awoke and several of them screamed before fleeing the room, seconds later guards began pouring in, swords drawn. Arthur was quickly surrounded, though none of them dared attack, they didn't want to risk the servant.
"I just want Merlin." Arthur said, trying to begin an exchange, instead the guards seemed to only get angrier. They tightened their grips on their swords and glared at him.
"Get the king." One of them growled to one of the men at the back, the guard nodded before taking off, running to get the King of Aria. Arthur couldn't help but wonder if any of these guards had magic, this only made him eye them warily as they all waited in silence for whoever was coming.
*Merlin POV*
Merlin awoke to muffled arguing, the first thing he noticed was that he had fallen asleep with his finery, chainmail, and cape still on, the thin crown had fallen off onto his pillow. He grabbed it before making his way to the door and opening it, he was greeted by the site of his guards arguing with a third guard.
"There's a man in the servant quarters I must speak to the king." He said, exasperated. He then spotted Merlin and hastily bowed. "Sire, I'm sorry to disturb your sleep but there's an emergency." He said.
"It's fine, what's going on?" he questioned, worried, just then Sir Nathan rounded the corner and frowned at the sight before the young king's door.
"Sire, is everything well? I was coming to check on you." He said, approaching quickly. Merlin turned to the guard for an answer.
"I was on duty near the servant's quarters and we heard one of the servants call for us, next thing we knew all of the servants were running from the room and we went in. There's a man in there, he's holding your servant, Andrew, hostage and demanding to see you, Sire." He reported, the words coming out so fast Merlin was barely able to understand, but he got enough. Immediately he took off towards the servant's quarters, Nathan and the three guards right behind him.
Merlin stormed down the hallway his cloak billowing out behind him. Realizing he was still carrying the crown he put it the only place he really could, his head. Soon they arrived at the servant's quarters and Merlin sent a wave of magic at the door, blasting it open. Merlin was furious, someone had broken into his home and was threatening his servant, his friend.
"What's going on?" he demanded, his rage barely withheld. He looked around the room and found that the guard were all looking towards a figure in the middle, sword pointed towards the man. The man himself was holding Andrew hostage, a sword pressed to his throat. It took a second for Merlin to fully process who stood before him, it was Arthur.
*Arthur POV*
Arthur whirled around as the door blew open and a strangely familiar voice demanded to know what was happening. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Merlin and unthinkingly went to grab him and pull him behind him protectively. The second Arthur went for Merlin the guards closed ranks, blocking him from the man, one man even let out a low growl. A knight who had been standing behind Merlin stepped in front of him, drawing his sword. Arthur recognized the knight to be Sir Nathan, one of the men who had come to Camelot to ask for his help. Arthur briefly wondered why they were so protective of Merlin, was he not just a prisoner to them? If that was the case why was Merlin the one demanding to know what was going on, which led him to his next question, what was going on? The guards were in defensive positions, defending Nathan? No, defending Merlin, but why- one of the guards shifted slightly and Arthur was able to get a good glimpse of Merlin and his thoughts were cut off.
There stood Merlin, with the air of a king, like what Arthur had seen in his dreams, only it was also mixed with a fury that Arthur never thought could come from someone as kind as his servant. Merlin glared at him before a flicker of recognition shot across his face and he paled considerably, but that wasn't the strangest part. Above anything else, the guard's behavior, the air around Merlin, even the door being blown off its hinges, the strangest thing was Merlin's clothes.
He wore chain mail and armor, strangely thin armor that Arthur felt wouldn't protect the man from anything. Around his shoulders sat a deep blue cloak that disappeared behind him and when Merlin shifted slightly he caught a glimpse of a silver dragon and he realized it was likely the crest of the House of Ambrosius, but why would Merlin wear that? It finally sunk in when he saw the final piece the puzzle, a thin gold circlet on Merlin's head. Merlin was the long-lost prince.
In his shock, Arthur's grip on his sword loosened, the guards took advantage of the distraction and surged forward, yanking the servant away from him, his sword clattered to the ground as two of them grabbed him from behind and forced him to his knees, pinning his arms to his sides, a third picked up Excalibur. Arthur barely noticed any of this, however, too busy staring at Merlin.
"Merlin?" he whispered, his voice breaking with betrayal. Then one of the guards hit him across the back of the head and everything went fuzzy. The last thing he heard or saw was Merlin yelling and running forward as he fell to the floor, then everything went black.
*Merlin POV*
Merlin watched in horror as Arthur finally put the pieces together. A range of emotions crossed his face, amazement, curiosity, anger, and finally the most heartbreaking one, betrayal. Then the guards surged forward and pulled Andrew away, another yanked away Excalibur while two others came up behind him and grabbed him before forcing him to his knees. He was too busy trying to figure out what to say to Arthur to stop one of the guards as the guard hit him with the pommel of his sword. Merlin ran forward yelling at the man for his actions as Arthur fell to the ground, he couldn't catch him in time and Arthur's head hit the ground. Merlin fell to his knees beside the limp blond and lifted him into his arms gently.
"Arthur, Arthur come one wake up." But he didn't, the steady rise and fall of his chest Merlin's only comfort.
For two years I've been building up to this chapter, two years of crafting and twisting, placing subtle things so it could all come together in this chapter, the entire story formed around one scene, and it's finally here. I have played a massive game of figurative chess with the characters and items, constantly putting new pieces on the board and moving others, ensuring that everything is where it needed to be and in the end it was and I hope you all are as happy with this chapter as I am. So please even if you have never reviewed
So please even if you have never reviewed before and you think this story is just meh, please review and tell me what you think of this chapter.
Thank you all for the continued support, see you next time!