AN: So this Author's Note is going to take a more serious note than normal guys but I feel the need to say this. Wear your seatbelt, I don't care if you're going for a short little drive across a parking lot, wear your seatbelt. I say this because I was in a wreck last Wednesday and if either me or the driver hadn't been wearing our seatbelts we would both be dead or in the hospital, and if you don't care if you die do it for the others in the car because with the way that wreck happened if the driver had not been buckled she would have killed me too, because our car was on its side, my side of the car was on the ground hers was in the air and if she hadn't been buckled then she would have fallen on me and either hurt me or killed me and then the car would have flipped and I don't know what would have happened, honestly it was a miracle the car didn't flip in the first place. SO yeah, long story short WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT. Now on to less serious stuff.
Sorry I didn't update last week much is going on with school right now and I have begun to DM a D&D campaign so that took some time too. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter! To all the people that messaged/reviewed asking for an update here it is! And to the people that asked if I was leaving it, absolutely not, I actually have it arranged with a friend that if I somehow die she will finish this so yeah, I'm pretty dedicated to this story.
*Merlin POV*
Merlin cradled Arthur's head in his lap, checking for any visible injuries, finding nothing he sent a small probe of magic into Arthur, checking for any swelling of the brain. He found none and allowed himself to relax slightly. He glared up at the guard who had hit Arthur.
"Why did you do that?" he growled, "He was unarmed and unable to escape, you could have hurt him!" he raged, his fear of Arthur's reaction and the thought of Arthur being hurt turning into anger towards this man who had hurt his best friend, and perhaps he was being unfair, but he couldn't find the will to care about that at the moment. The man stepped back slightly, surprised at his king's reaction.
"I-I'm sorry Sire I merely thought-" he began.
"I know what you thought." Merlin interrupted, not wanting to hear the man's excuse, he then turned to the man holding Excalibur. "Put that down." He ordered, and the man immediately obeyed, not wanting to get yelled at as well. "have the servant's prepare a guest chamber." Merlin ordered one guard.
"But sire should he not be taken to the dungeons? He broke into the castle and-" the guard argued but a sharp glare from both Merlin and Nathan shut him up and he nodded before running off to find some servants. Merlin turned to a shaken-looking Andrew.
"Are you injured?" Merlin asked and the servant shook his head no Merlin nodded, he hadn't expected Arthur to have wounded the man, though he wouldn't expect Arthur to take a man hostage either. Something then occurred to Merlin and he cursed.
"Search the castle, Arthur isn't stupid enough to have come alone, don't harm anyone you find, just put them in the dungeon," Merlin ordered a nearby guard who nodded and ran from the room, several others following. The guard who had been sent for the servant returned a few minutes later.
"The room is being prepared now." He said, bowing to him, Merlin nodded before casting a levitation spell on Arthur and picking up Excalibur, he trusted no one with the legendary blade. Merlin's guards and Nathan followed him to the wing of the castle reserved for guests, to the corridor where the Knights of Camelot now slept, unaware of the proximity of their king. Merlin used his magic to quickly take off Arthur's armor, handing it off to one of the guards with the order that it be cleaned and polished. He kept Excalibur with him, reluctant to allow Arthur the blade when he would may wake in a panic. With the order to have guards at the chamber doors, to treat Arthur with respect, and to lead him to Merlin when he awoke, Merlin left the room, finally heading back to his own chambers.
*Gavin POV*
Gavin slipped down the hallway the king had ordered him to go down, soon he began seeing doors in the passage, poking his head in one he found it to be a storage room. He continued a way before coming on another intersection, one hallway branched to the right while the other went left, hearing running footsteps he hurled himself into one of the storage rooms and waited, the steps faded to the right hallway and a minute later Gavin followed slowly. Creeping down the hallway as silently as he could he spotted a dark alcove up ahead, just in time it seemed as he heard even more steps rushing towards him. He wandered down the hallway for some time, turning on occasion and making sure he knew the way back, about an hour later, having still found nothing he decided to make his way back. He had just passed a set of oak doors that he recognized from his first pass when he heard steps leading his way, he quietly slipped in the room, closing the door behind him. He slipped into the room and positioned himself behind the door so that no one would see him if they entered. He gave a quick look around the room and found himself in a bedchamber, a very nice bedchamber. A room fit for a king.
*Merlin POV*
Merlin walked back to his room, exhaustion making his eyelids droop, Nathan watched him carefully the entire way, Merlin's guards a respectable distance behind the two. When Merlin made it to his room he went in, nodding at a worried looking Nathan before disappearing. Normally he would be too wound up to sleep after what had just happened but due to the events of the past few days, his exhaustion was too much for him. He undid the sword belt and let it fall to the floor. Merlin then reached up to undo the clasp around his neck. Before his hands could reach his neck however someone grabbed him from behind and pressed a sword to his throat.
"Don't say word, don't cry out." A slightly shaky voice said. Merlin froze and slowly dropped his hands to his sides.
"Who are you?" he asked, his voice cold "did my uncle send you?" there was a slight gasp behind him and suddenly he was being whirled around, the man slammed Merlin against the bedpost and put the sword back to his throat.
"Merlin?" the voice asked, confused. "You're King Arthur's servant, aren't you?" Merlin blinked as he stared at his attacker, it took him a second but he finally recognized him to be Sir Gavin, a newer knight of Arthur's.
"What are you doing here? How did you get in here?" Merlin asked, a slightly panicked feeling rising in his chest, he didn't want to use magic against this man as Arthur may only use it against him but if the knight connected the dots and figured out who and what Merlin was…
Fortunately, the man seemed too shocked to figure it out quite yet and answered Merlin's questions.
"I came with King Arthur, we came to rescue you, and the others that traveled with you" Here Gavin paused, "Why are you dressed like that?" a flicker of betrayal and disbelief lit his eyes, he pressed the sword further into his neck. Merlin frowned in confusion, rescue them? They had come of their own free will… unless, unless Arthur had somehow found out, found out that Aria not only allowed magic but embraced it.
"Sir Gavin, take the sword away and we'll talk." Merlin tried to reason but Gavin shook his head.
"Explain first and then we can talk." He replied. Merlin thought quickly, he couldn't tell the man the truth, not when there was a sword pressed to his throat. For once he was grateful for the increased security, specifically the guards outside his chambers, 4 of them if he remembered correctly, but two would be enough. His eyes flashed gold and the hilt of the knight's sword glowed red hot. The knight cried out in pain as he jerked his hand back, letting the offending object clatter to the ground. Merlin then jumped further back, towards the back wall.
"GUARDS!" He cried and seconds later his chamber doors burst open to reveal the four guards, weapons drawn, they took in the scene in seconds and two ran for Gavin while one went to Merlin, the fourth blocked the exit. Gavin lunged for his sword but he was too late as one of the guards kicked it, sending it spinning under the bed. The other guard who had gone for Gavin held his sword to the intruders throat. The guard with Merlin positioned himself in front of the king, ready should the attacker get past the other two.
Gavin remained frozen where he was, his arm still stretched out to get his sword, he seemed to be calculating something in his head. Merlin pulled out the last card he had, not wanting the knights to hurt himself or someone else in a last desperate attempt.
"We've already captured Arthur." Merlin said, wincing at the term he had used "There's no point in fighting, "you'll only be wounded." The knight seemed to weigh Merlin's words for a second.
"Why not take me by force?" he asked, glaring at Merlin "I am unarmed, you are obviously at an advantage."
"I don't want you to be hurt, you do not fully understand the situation, I see no reason that you should be blamed for ignorance." Merlin tried, Gavin scoffed in response.
"I will tell you what I understand, Sorcerer." He spat, anger flaring in his eyes as he straightened up, "You are a traitor to Camelot, a liar, and a spy. You disguised yourself as a servant in Camelot and lured King Arthur here, to this accursed kingdom." The guard who had kicked the sword out of the way grabbed the knight by the shoulder and forced him to kneel.
"Silence scum, you will hold your tongue before the king or it will be cut out." He growled the knight's eyes widened at the revelation that Merlin was in fact, King.
"Do not make such threats," Merlin said glaring at the guard, he then turned to the knight "You will not be harmed if you do not fight." He said but the man just eyed him warily, saying nothing.
"Take him to the dungeon and assist the others in searching the castle." He ordered the two near Gavin, they nodded before hauling the knight to his feet, pinning his arms behind him as they marched him from the room, the other two guards turned to him for instructions.
"You two go back to your posts, I am going to try to get some rest, it appears tomorrow will be busier than I thought." The guards nodded before bowing and leaving, closing the chamber doors behind them. Merlin quickly shed the rest of his finery before throwing on his sleeping clothes and collapsing into bed, falling asleep within seconds of his head hitting the pillow.
*Bedivere POV*
After reluctantly separating from his king, Bedivere lead the men with him to the east, after a series of randomly chosen twists and turns, which they made sure to subtly mark in order to make their way back, they turned a corner and Sir Bedivere heard footsteps and looked around the hall, there was nowhere to hide the only choice would be to stand and fight, they drew their swords and waited for the steps to round the corner.
*Gwaine POV*
Gwaine wasn't quite sure how he felt, Sir Richard knew he was nobility. How had the man found out? Would he do anything with the information? Use it against him? He quickly dismissed the idea of Richard blackmailing him, the Head Knight of Aria was an honest man, one who would not stoop to blackmail. He would try to talk to him, he decided, make sure he wasn't going to tell anyone else his secret.
His footsteps echoed off the stone walls of the silent hallways, it was late and he was returning from going to the tavern again with Nathan and few of the others. He heard a slight noise ahead and tensed, he had just passed a patrol a few minutes ago, no one should be in this hall. He gripped the hilt of his sword, reluctant to draw it if there was no threat and it was merely a servant working late or something, he didn't want to frighten anyone. He drew his weapon partially out of its sheath and rounded the corner, freezing at what he saw.
There before him, weapons drawn and one with a sword leveled at his throat stood four men, men he recognized as his comrades-in-arms. The one who had a sword to his throat was Sir Bedivere and the fact that he was here… Arthur would likely be nearby.
"Sir Gwaine?" Bedivere hissed, and angry confused expression on his face. Gwaine had never really gotten along with Bedivere, the man was very traditional and was cold towards the knights who were not born into nobility, never quite accepting them. But that wasn't Gwaine's only problem with the man, he had been one of Uther's most trusted knights, he had hated Gwaine and Lancelot especially when they first joined the Knights of Camelot, no doubt remembering their banishments. He also despised magic, despised anyone who used it and that was the most dangerous thing about the man, especially here, in Aria, near Merlin.
"What are you doing here?" Gwaine asked, alarmed, he had to get Bedivere out of here, or unarmed. The other knight lowered his sword, but did not sheath it, Gwaine kept his mostly drawn, sensing trouble.
"We're here to rescue you, you fool." He hissed "And keep your voice down we don't want to be discovered."
Oh yes he did, he definitely wanted them to be discovered, the sooner these men were unarmed, the sooner everyone in this castle was safe, so he ignored the last thing that was said, in fact, he raised his voice a little bit.
"Rescue us? We don't need rescuing, we came here of our own free will to aid Aria in its war." He said back and Bedivere winced at the volume and Gwaine thought he heard noise from the hallway he had just come down.
"Then you are a bigger fool than I thought." Bedivere growled "Arians have magic" he spit out the word, as if disgusted with himself for even saying it.
"I know," Gwaine answered, an underlying defiance in his tone and Bedivere's gaze filled with shock quickly replaced by a burning rage.
"Traitor." He growled, his voice low and dangerous, suddenly he brought his sword up, ready to strike Gwaine but he was prepared for this and in a second ripped his sword from its sheath and jumped back, dodging the blow.
"I am not a traitor, but I will stand by my friends." He replied, he wasn't betraying Arthur, he was defending his friend, he was defending Merlin. Before either of the men could speak however there was the sound of running boots and suddenly from around the corner came 5 Knights of Aria, two of them Gwaine recognized from the night at the tavern, they had been companions to the Eric, the ex-knight who had attacked him, and wounded Richard. They all had their swords drawn and the one at the front of the group stared at the scene in growing anger. Gwaine and Bedivere had both turned at the sound of the steps, turned so that they were facing the Arian knights, swords drawn and angry expressions.
"I knew it!" the Arian knight hissed, glaring at Gwaine "You were planning this the entire time! Gain our king's trust and let your friends in to kill him." The other knights behind him looked furious. Gwaine had to figure out how to clarify the situation, how to get them to calm down but then he saw something in the Arian knight's eye, a gleam of triumph. That gleam told him that the man had been looking for something to bring him down, to destroy him, there would be no getting out of this without a fight. But then Gwaine saw his saving grace, Thomas, walking down the hallway, on his way back from the tavern. Thomas saw the situation and hurried forward, drawing his weapon as he ran.
"What's going on?" he barked, coming up beside the other Arian Knights.
"Sir Gwaine" the knight sneered, "has allowed more knights of Camelot into the castle, they no doubt plan to kill the king." Thomas looked at him.
"What is the meaning of this Gwaine, does he speak the truth?" he demanded, his voice lined with doubt, doubt in the other knight's story or in Gwaine, he couldn't know.
"No, I did not let them in, I just came across them myself, I don't know how they got in but I can tell you they're not here to kill anyone." He said, trying his best to calm the situation as well as avoiding saying Merlin's name, it would only make Bedivere realize exactly who Merlin was in Aria and therefore make the situation worse. Thomas hesitated, Gwaine didn't know the man well, or his twin for that matter, hadn't had much chance to get to know him, neither had Thomas gotten to know Gwaine. The man seemed torn, trust the men he had fought side by side with or trust Gwaine, a man he barely knew. Gwaine couldn't fault him for what he said next.
"Forgive me Sir Gwaine but that does not look to be the case, lay down your weapons and surrender, you will not be harmed, I cannot promise the same if you fight." He said, his voice cold. Gwaine hesitated a second longer, eying the Arian knights and Bedivere cautiously, finally, he nodded and laid the sword on the ground. Bedivere had been silent during the exchange, likely calculating his odds and their best options, Gwaine expected the man to fight, even if it got them all killed but to his shock he motioned for the others to surrender as he laid his own weapon on the ground, a strange gleam in his eye as he looked at Gwaine. Immediately the Arian knights took their swords and arrested them, being none too gentle with them. They hauled them to the nearby dungeons and left them in the cells, Thomas muttering to the others to post guards at the chambers of the other Camelot knights, just in case.
Once the Arian knights had left Gwaine whirled on Bedivere.
"What are you planning?" he growled, slamming the other knight into a wall, the two had been put in one cell together while the rest of the men with Bedivere had been put into another. Bedivere winced slightly at the impact with the wall but merely glared at the him and said nothing.
"Why did you surrender? Where's Arthur?" he asked, growing panic rising in his chest, Bedivere had surrendered, something he would only do if he knew they would be rescued, which lead to the question of Arthur, he wouldn't have been on the sidelines on this, he would have gone with them, meaning he was somewhere in the castle right now, he should have warned Thomas.
"I will tell you nothing traitor." He growled and Gwaine glared at him.
"I am no traitor, I have not betrayed Arthur." He replied back and the other knight smirked.
"You are helping a magical kingdom to fight and gain more power, maybe you are under a spell, though knowing you Gwaine you are doing it because they've offered you ale. You have no sense of honor, no sense of duty, you are nothing but a drunk with a little bit of skill with a blade, had Arthur not been desperate he never would have considered knighting someone like you, like the others." He said, doing his best to hurt Gwaine, purposefully leaving out Gwaine's title, and using his past against him. Bedivere saw that his words struck home and smirked at him. "the King will punish you for your betrayal Gwaine, and I will watch and know that finally Camelot is being restored to order, that foolish servant will be next."
*Arthur POV*
When Arthur awoke, it took a moment for him to fight through the fog of pain and to process all that happened. Once he did he shot up in the bed he was laying in, his head spun slightly at the dizzy feeling that came with sitting up quickly. A bed, he was in a bed, that was unexpected, he would have expected to be chained up in a dungeon somewhere. Instead, he was on a large feather bed that had royal blue covers, blue like the capes of the Knights of Aria, blue like the cape that Merlin wore. Looking around the room he was surprised at how spacious it was, a small dining table was off the left with a desk and chair a little way away, a dresser and window were on the other side.
Arthur swung his legs over the bed and was surprised to find lush carpet instead of the cold floor he was used to, he wriggled his bare toes for a second, taking pleasure in the warmth of it. Walking over to the window he saw the city of Aria below him, the people going about their day and from the position of the sun in the sky Arthur figured it was around midday. He watched the people silently and recoiled slightly when he saw and young girl giggling as her eyes glowed gold and a sphere of water was thrown at a small boy. The boy looked frustrated before his eyes flashed too and a bucket of water fell on the girl's head, making her shriek as the cold water soaked her. Arthur felt repulsed yet intrigued at the same time, he tried to force himself not to watch yet he couldn't help himself, there was something so innocent about the children. They probably hadn't been corrupted yet.
He looked around the room and frowned when he realized that his armor and sword had been taken, reasonably he supposed but still annoying, he quite liked that sword. Now he just had to figure out what the hell was going on, based on the clothes he had seen Merlin in last night… no surely he was wrong, Merlin was, well, Merlin, he couldn't be some magic-wielding prince, or was he the king, the guards had said king, did Merlin somehow have a son and he was the long-lost prince? No that wouldn't make sense, if Merlin truly was royalty than he was the prince, but then why had the guards said king? Arthur's head pounded, the hit on the head from the night before and trying to figure everything out giving him a migraine. Giving up on trying to figure things out on his own he went for the door.
He tried the handle but found it locked from the outside, then he realized he was still probably a prisoner, a well-treated one, yes, but still a prisoner. He knocked on the door and heard a jangle of keys a second later, the door swung open to reveal two Arian guards glaring at him. They said nothing but one motioned for him to follow and when he did the other fell behind him, confirming Arthur's thoughts of being a prisoner. As they walked through the halls Arthur couldn't help but admire the architecture and decorations. He warily noted the many patrols and guards they passed, almost all of who watched him with equal wariness. They soon reached a large set of double doors that had two guards standing in front of it. The guard leading the way motioned for them to open the doors and after a glare at Arthur, they did so, and a site greeted Arthur that confirmed his fears.
Merlin stood at a table covered in various charts and maps, he was surrounded by knights and what looked to be councilors and they appeared to be discussing something. Merlin was in deep conversation and appeared to be arguing with one council member, gesturing to a spot on a map. It took a few minutes but Merlin finally looked up when the room was completely silent, everyone staring at Arthur, the knights in the room rested their hands on their swords, and looked to Merlin for direction. Merlin met Arthur's eyes before straitening up.
"Leave us." He ordered and one by one the councilors and knights bowed and left, the knights sending warning looks to Arthur, finally, it was only him, Merlin, Sir Richard and four guards left. "I said leave." Merlin said, looking at Richard who stared straight back, unmoving, this went on for a minute before finally Richard bowed and left, not looking at Arthur. The guards stayed and Merlin gave them an annoyed glare. "That includes you."
"But sire-" began one, looking at Arthur cautiously but Merlin cut him off.
"I said you are dismissed." He said, his voice warranting no argument. The guards reluctantly bowed and left, giving Arthur one last glare before closing the doors behind them, leaving the two alone.
AN: I know I know, how could I end it there? It just fit, that's how, I know you were all looking forward to this chapter having the Merlin/Arthur convo but it didn't work out, though it will definitely be next chapter! (obviously). Hope ypu enjoyed and please review till next time! Wear your seatbelts!