a new character enters the story
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Merlin sighed heavily as he stared at the building in front of him across the street. In his hands, he held a kind of business card with a name, an address and a drawing of a half moon and a full moon. He looked at it for a moment longer, then he nodded, convinced, and crossed the street.
He went into an alley, where he knew the entrance to the building was. It was officially a photography studio, but Merlin was interested in what it wasn't.
He reached the door, where there was an intercom with the various names of the photographers, but Merlin was not looking for a name, but for a sign, and he found it. On the right side of the intercom, not visible if you weren't looking for it, the sign of the crescent and full moon of the business card was engraved. He stroked it with his fingers. Then he took the pendant of his necklace and placed it against the symbol.
After a click, a hidden door opened from the wall next to the studio door. Merlin swallowed… he was really doing it...
He took a deep breath and entered.
The room he was in was bare, no furniture. Merlin frowned, confused, he had expected something mo…
Suddenly, an arm circled his neck and a gun was pointed to his temple. His heart stopped beating. He couldn't move as scared as he was…
"Who the hell are you, mate? How did you manage to enter?" Said the male voice behind him.
"I-I'm Merlin and I'm looking for a person…"
"And who is you are looking for?"
Merlin hesitated, not knowing whether it was wise to reveal that information to this stranger who was threatening him.
The man pushed the gun even closer to his temple and Merlin understood the message.
"I'm looking for Robin the Archer"
He felt the stranger tensing behind him. "How do you that name?"
"It's written on the business card in my pocket, including where to find him"
He felt the man's free hand rummaging in his pockets and pulling out the card. He hummed from behind the brunet, as he was supposedly reading it. Then, he removed the gun and stepped in front of Merlin, who found himself looking at a tall man with long soft brown hair and the hint of a beard, wearing a black leather jacket.
"What do you want from The Archer, mate?" He asked sternly.
Now Merlin was fed up. This guy had threatened him with a gun, and now was questioning him? He was not doing this anymore, and before he could stop himself, he opened his big mouth.
"I'm not your mate! I've already told you my name is Merlin, rather who the hell are YOU? If you're not Robin the Archer, sod off!"
The brown-haired man stared intently into his eyes, expressionless, and Merlin really thought that this time he would shoot him ... so he spent a few moments saying goodbye to his mother, his uncle Gaius, Gwen, Lancelot and Freya in his head, when suddenly a radiant smile opened on the stranger's face, who threw back his head and laughed aloud.
"Oh, I REALLY like you, kid…" He looked him over, stopping at his middle section, and smirked, "... I like you a lot..."
Merlin stepped back indignantly and snapped his fingers in front of the other's face, "Hey, you, where the hell are you looking? My face is up here! Incredible! Until a few seconds ago you were using that gun against me and now you're flirting?!"
The man put the gun away and smiled, "Don't worry, my little dove…that gun is no longer a problem for you, but I cannot say the same for my other gun further down... if you know what I mean... "
Merlin gaped and made a face between disbelief and disgust, "Oh my God, you are a pervert and a weirdo!"
The other laughed, "Pervert and weirdo…aye, that's me…but in public you can simply call me Gwaine…" He made a half bow, "…at your service"
Merlin slowly shook his head, but couldn't help himself but chuckling, "Hello, Gwaine…nice to meet you, I think…So you are not The Archer?"
Gwaine turned slightly more serious, but maintained a friendly expression, "No, I'm not…"
"Do you know where I can find him?"
"Before that, please little dove, can you tell who gave you that business card? Only a few people have it ... this is a very delicate matter..."
Merlin wanted to protest, but deep down he knew Gwaine was right. He was in the headquarters of one of the most important Vampire Hunter and therefore it would be Gwaine to risk more if he was not careful... after all, for what he knew, Merlin could be an enemy... he had to give Gwaine a reason to trust him...
"My father left it to me before dying... along with this..."
Merlin showed him the pendant, shaped like a dragon, the key to get in there...
Gwaine widened his eyes, "That's impossible…I know very well who that symbol belongs to... but he had no children... Merlin, who was your father?" He asked, hesitant but anxious.
The brunet swallowed, but held his head high, "Balinor…Balinor the Dragonlord…"
Saying that Gwaine was shocked would be an understatement, "Unbelievable! The Dragonlord? Do you know who your father was?"
"Yes. He was a hunter..."
"No, dove, he was not a hunter; he was THE Hunter ... the best ... the king! Everyone knew who he was, although no one really knew the man behind the name. In fact, nobody would have dreamed he had a son ... wow ... I'm sorry he died, Merlin, truly..."
Merlin shrugged, "What can I say? He died doing what he loved, for those he loved. He could not have had a better death. However, I have answered your question, Gwaine. Now it's your turn... Where is The Archer?"
"Sorry, Merlin, but you won't find him…he is dead!"
The brunet's shoulders slumped, sadly, "Oh, shit! Wait, usually, after the death of a Hunter, his headquarters pass to his heir / son ... so, who are you? Why are you here?"
Gwaine smiled, "I am his heir ... The Archer was my father and Balinor's best friend..."
"Oh? That's why my father left me written to seek The Archer if I needed help... They were friends! Anyway, I'm sorry too, Gwaine, for your loss..."
"Nah, don't worry about it…he died for those he loved too…" His gaze got lost in the memories for a few seconds. Then, he shook his head and said to Merlin, smiling, "So you're here because you need help? I may not be my father, but I can still help you. Come into my office"
Merlin was surprised, when Gwaine reached the end wall of the empty room, touched a brick and opened a secret door, which led to a huge modern and technological office. There were screens, weapons on the walls, a bar, many sofas and a desk.
"Do you mean that you are a Hunter too, Gwaine?"
The other grinned, "Aye…My code name is The Green Knight!"
00000
"So, why Green Knight?" Merlin was sat on one of the sofas, facing Gwaine, who was sat opposite him. A coffee table between them.
"Well, green because I'm Irish; knight because saving damsels in distress is definitely my stuff…"
Merlin scoffed, "I am NOT a damsel in distress!"
Gwaine flirty smiled at him, "No, you're not... you're the fierce dragon that awakens my most animal instincts inside of me"
The brunet blushed and looked down. He couldn't help himself; Gwaine was a very handsome guy and he liked the way he was looking at him…as if Merlin was something precious and rare.
Suddenly, Gwaine turned more serious and looked at Merlin in the eyes, "Ok, Merlin…I think it is time to tell me what is troubling you, so much to believe you need a hunter..."
Merlin looked down at his hands on his knees, swallowing.
"I-I think I have been hypnotized and enchanted by a vampire..."
Gwaine was very serious, almost business-like. He was so different from the playful man of before, but somehow, Merlin felt safe with this other version of him…he was more than sure that Gwaine would always protect him from harm.
"What makes you think so? I don't want you to think I don't believe you, but if you have really been enthralled by a vampire, Merlin, you should not remember or realize it... that's why these creatures are so dangerous..."
"My father never wanted for me to become a Hunter; nevertheless, before dying, he explained to me how to recognize the signs that the power of a vampire leaves on a victim, but did not teach me how to fight it..."
"Of course, how the fight them is taught in years and years of Hunter training ... and what are these signs?"
"Memory lapses, sometimes very long; inexplicable marks on my skin; the feeling on my skin, in my heart, that something dark and terribly wrong is crawling in my gut, at night, and even worse, when I'm awake..."
Gwaine narrowed his eyes, "Aye, that's the feeling that those filthy things leaves on you…but something tells me you are not telling me everything…"
Merlin didn't speak…
"Merlin, I can't help you if you aren't honest with me…please, trust me…"
"I'm sure it's nothing…just dreams"
Gwaine seemed more interested all of sudden, "Dreams, huh? Tell me about them…"
The brunet was a bit embarrassed, "W-Well…in these dreams I have…hem…intimate and sexual intercourses with someone…a boy…but everything's always so blurry, I can't never see his face. I know they are dreams, but sometimes they seem so, so…"
"…real?" Gwaine finished for him.
Merlin sighed, "Yeah…so real, as if they were forgotten memories…"
"That's because they are…" Gwaine smiled, "You are definitely a Hunter's son, Merlin. There are no doubts"
Merlin frowned, confused, "What do you mean?"
"In order to explain this, let me tell you where Hunters come from…Once upon a time…"
At that, the brunet laughed, and soon Gwaine followed him.
"Shut up, Merlin, I'm trying to be serious here…" He coughed, "…I was saying…yeah…once upon a time, the world was divided between vampires, followers of the darkness and magic, and human, capable of being both evil and good. The balance was unstable, given the abundance of evilness. Therefore, nature decided to turn some vampires into creatures at the service of goodness... and so it was how the Hunters were born, a kind of good vampires. Over the centuries, laying with humans, the Hunters lost their vampire's powers, like magic, bloodlust, immortality and silver allergy, etc... but they developed a kind of immunity against one of vampires' strongest powers, i.e. hypnosis. A Hunter can feel it in his blood and bones when a vampire is near, like the call of a kin, and after due training, he also learns to eradicate that evil influence. For example, our fathers could not be hypnotized, as strong as they were; I am able to recover after about 10-15 minutes…"
"And all this is possible thanks to our blood, our linage?"
"Yes. Only the descendants of the first Hunters, the turned vampires, have this ability, which makes them able to fight vampires. This is also why the Hunter profession is only inherited from father to son. In your case, Balinor didn't train you to be a hunter, therefore you don't know how to get rid of the effects of a hypnosis… But nonetheless, your blood, which carries the genes of the Hunters, feels the unwelcome presence of a vampire's black magic and thus tries to get rid of it ... your dreams are simply the result of your body, of your mind, fighting these evil powers... and only the son of a hunter can do it. And let me tell you, Merlin, that the fact that you can do it, despite not having any kind of training, is amazing, really, no wonder you're The Dragonlord's son!"
Merlin smiled shyly at that, "So, if I had had a training, I would have already been able to get free, right?"
"Aye, I think ye would have"
"Do-Do you think my father made a mistake by keeping me away from all this, from who I'm?"
Gwaine took a deep breath and needed a few minutes before answering, "I don't know. I love my job, really, I have the time of my life kicking some vampires' ass…but sometimes, just once in a while, when I'm alone at the end of the day, I can't help but wonder what my life would have been like if I had been normal, if I hadn't had to travel constantly to hunt or if I could have had the luxury to have friends and a family…"
"Hunters can have a family, Gwaine…"
His smile was a bit sad when he answered, "They can, but what kind a life is that? Always away, not knowing if you'd ever come back to your loved ones, always scared that a vampire would find out about your true identity and therefore tracing back your family. It's not easy, Merlin. That's why, despite the fact that right now it would have been easier for you if you had had a training, you shouldn't blame your father. He did all he could to keep you safe, to make sure you would live a happy normal life. He may not have acted as a Hunter who has the duty to train a new one, but he has acted as a true father who wanted the best for his child. Besides, he didn't leave you completely hopeless. He left you a way to find help in case you needed it…"
Merlin hadn't noticed a tear had escaped from his eyes until he felt Gwaine's finger catching it and then caressing his cheek. He couldn't breathe, his heart was beating too fast. Gwaine was looking at him so intensely that it was as if he was memorising every detail of his face, as if Merlin was holding his entire universe. The brunet blushed, especially when Gwaine whispered sweetly, "Don't cry, my little dove" and leaned down toward his lips- intent clear.
At the last second, when they were about to touch, Merlin coughed and moved his face away, "Thank you for you nice words, Gwaine…I really needed it. And you're right, my father left me all I would need in a box: the business card; the key to enter here; a journal; some silver provisions and his dagger"
Gwaine too coughed, embarrassed, but tried to get hold of himself, "The dagger was your father's favourite weapon. Every Hunter has one. Mine is a silver sword. And guess what, my father's were a bow and arrows!"
Their laugh broke the previous tension created by the almost-kiss.
"So, what do we do now?" Asked Merlin.
"Now, I'll help you clean your mind from the vampire's influence…"
Merlin beamed, "Can you really do it?"
Gwaine faked an offence expression, "Who do you take me for, boy? I'm not a rookie…I'm actually one of the best hunters in the world!"
Merlin laughed loudly, "Riiiight…then show me what you got, my big bad Hunter..."
The other smirked, "Don't tease the wolf, little lamb... you could get bitten..."
When they stopped laughing, Gwaine turned serious.
"Ok, Merlin, here's what I'll do. I'll inject into your veins a potion made primarily of silver – it is not harmful, do not worry. It was created especially for these situations - that will eliminate black magic out of your body, allowing you to remember everything"
Merlin swallowed, nervous, but he trusted Gwaine, so he nodded.
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Merlin was lying on the couch in Gwaine's office, who was inserting the drug into him with a syringe. After only a few seconds, the brunet could already feel his body burning, sweat dripping from his forehead. He squirmed, but Gwaine's strong hand on his heart reassured him.
"Take it easy, Merlin ... it's fine. It's normal ... opened your mind and remember..."
Merlin did it and closed his eyes.
Then, images and words invaded his mind. Confused at the beginning, then more and more clear.
A living room illuminated by the light of a fireplace…
…chains…
…"I love you, Merlin. I have always loved you…We'll marry and hopefully soon, you'll bear my children"…
He started shaking on the sofa.
…"All I want is you!"…
…"No, please…stop!"…
…"Oh, my love, the best part is yet to begin"…
It hurts when something penetrates him.
…"After this, you won't even remember I have taken you against your will…You'll learn to love me, Merlin, do not doubt it!"…
"Come on, Merlin, try harder…try to see who's doing this to you!" Gwaine's voice preached the fog.
Merlin frowned with his eyes still closed, sweating, and concentrated even more to see the monster.
…Blond hair…white skin…long fangs…beautiful blue-sky eyes turning bloody red…
…"you were born to be mine! My 'Bride'"…
…ARTHUR!...
Merlin jerked up suddenly, panting heavily. He was shaking. His eyes were wide with shock. His heart had gone mad.
He could not believe it: Arthur was a vampire! And he had been strongly molesting him for months now... and then all these talks about children, marriage...
Oh God!
Merlin could not help himself and threw up.
Only when he stopped, he noticed Gwaine's hand stroking his back, supporting.
"Hey, Hey, dove, clam down…it's over…shh…I'm here now…"
Without even thinking about it, the brunet threw his arms around the older man's waist, buried his face against his chest and cried. All the while, Gwaine hugged him back and whispered sweet words at him, trying to console him.
It worked and after a few minutes, Merlin raised his head, finding himself face to face with Gwaine's loving smile.
"Hello, there…" Said the Irish man.
Merlin snorted, his eyes red and his voice hoarse, "Hi..."
"Do you feel like telling me what you have seen?"
Merlin nodded and told him everything. He told him whom Arthur was, his drastic change, his rapes and intentions toward Merlin, his manipulations…but it was when Merlin mentioned that Arthur had confessed to be the new Prince of Darkness that Gwaine's face turned very dark.
The brow-haired man stood up abruptly and kicked the armchair, screaming, "SHIT!" repeatedly.
Merlin was speechless and slightly scared, "Gwaine? What's going on?"
The hunter sighed, purred some whisky into two glasses and handed one to Merlin, before returning to his seat on the cough in front of him. The brunet accepted the drink grateful. He wasn't a drinker, but in that moment he really needed it.
"Sorry for my reaction, Merlin…I didn't want to frighten you…it's just that…Are you absolutely sure this Arthur called himself 'Prince of Darkness'?"
"Positive…why? What does that mean?"
"There are two wicked authorities in the dark world: The Devil, underground among the dead, and the Prince of Darkness, on earth among the living. A creature of pure evil, ruler of all the evils of this world, powerful beyond imagination, the cruellest and strongest of the vampires. He is immortal and if he is about to die, like all vampires, he can transmit his powers to a human." Gwaine sighed deeply. "... Now, the reason why I'm so pissed off is because I thought I had killed the last prince of darkness!"
Merlin frowned, "What?"
"His name was Mordred. A real bastard and a traitor. He used to be a Hunter, who betrayed his brothers by embracing the darkness and the power offered him. He is the one who killed your father... I'm sorry, Merlin"
The brunet pursed his trembling lips; by doing so, he also stopped the tears that threatened to flow. He took a deep breath, "Okay...thanks for telling me. Go ahead..."
"A couple of years ago, he killed my father too and I swore to get my revenge. But destroying the prince of darkness is not an easy job. He is not an ordinary vampire: he is smarter, stronger, faster. However, a few months ago, I managed to corner him. I managed to trap him and to shot him to death. We were in an area of town with no one around to whom he could have passed his powers once dying. But obviously I was wrong about that. My opinion is that your old Arthur found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. That little shit of Mordred must have found and bit him…It's the only explanation"
Merlin put a hand on his mouth, shocked. "Oh my God…and-and what should I do now?"
"You, my dear friend, are in grave danger. If what you have told me is true, you have caught the eyes of the Prince of Darkness, and a vampire in love is a hundred times more dangerous than a normal one. They become very possessive and obsessive when they find their 'bride' and the person they choose as the bearer of their children... and to Arthur that person is you, little dove..."
All colour faded from Merlin's face, who now was dying with fear, especially because Arthur had proven again and again that he was totally determined to take Merlin away to his castle to make him his own.
"How do I stop him?" He whispered, almost without being heard.
Gwaine leaned against the sofa back, looking intensely at him. "I could hide you. Hunters have many secret hiding places where you could go, until I kill Arthur. But I warn you that in this case, you will have to give up your life, university, your family and friends for an indefinite period of time. Not to mention the fact that I'm not even sure it will work: Arthur will chase you, he will look for you to the ends of the world, and to be honest, it may take me years to kill him"
Merlin swallowed, "Or?"
"…or you could help me kill him by letting things going on like this…"
"WHAT?!"
"Listen, killing Arthur won't be easy. I'll have to be steps ahead of him and he tends to tell you his plans when he…is with you, probably confident that you won't remember anything after. You could tell me his secrets, allowing me to plan an attack, hopefully before he takes you to his castle, because after that I'm afraid I won't be able to find you anymore. No one has ever found out where the Prince of Darkness's castle is…"
Gwaine saw Merlin's lost and frightened expression and so he kneeled in front of him and took his cold hands in his warm ones, "You can choose whatever you want ... Just know that whatever you choose, I will be there for you, I'll do all I can to keep you safe. You are not alone. Do what your heart tells you to..."
Merlin couldn't breathe. He stood up, letting their joining hands fall, and walked to the open window, breathing in fresh air as he thought.
On one hand, he wanted to choose the first option, because the thought of being unwillingly touched by Arthur again made him want to throw up. But choosing that meant to leave everything behind and even if he could find the strength to do it, he just couldn't abandon his family and friends, because he knew that Arthur would hurt them in order to find Merlin.
On the other hand, if he chooses the second option, he may be able to help Gwaine stopping Arthur once and for all, even if the sacrifice was his own body, at least for a bit longer.
He was so confused and so scared, but then Hunith, Gaius, Gwen, Lancelot and Freya's faces appeared in his mind, and the choice was made.
He turned toward Gwaine with all the strength he could master, "All right, I'll help you…"
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A week later, Merlin was walking in the park one afternoon, thinking. He and Gwaine had met almost every day, sometimes at a café, others at the cinema, and they talked about everything, not just about vampires. They started to get to know each other.
Merlin felt very happy at the thought of the brown-haired man, who was becoming more and more important in his life. He was exactly the kind of person Merlin could see himself spending the rest of his life with.
Regarding their plan to kill Arthur, Merlin had agreed to ingest a higher dose of potion against hypnosis, which together with his Hunter blood would prevent Arthur's powers to control him. This way, if the blond were to tell Merlin an important information, especially in regard to the location of his castle, Merlin would be able to report it to Gwaine.
The brunet was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't see the figure shadowing his path.
"Hello, Merlin…"
He jumped with fright and rightly so, because the person in front of him was Arthur Pendragon, his nightmare.
"A-Arthur, what are you doing here?" He asked, trying to sound normal.
The blond smiled, "I was looking for you"
"Why is that?"
Arthur narrowed his eyes, suspicious, "Because if I remember correctly, I have asked you to come to my house yesterday, but you didn't come…I was worried"
Merlin swallowed. Crap! He had completely forgotten about that…usually his body would have taken him to Arthur's house without him even realising it, due to the hypnosis, but now that Merlin's mind was free, he had to remembered it by himself, and he didn't.
He had to think about something; he couldn't allow Arthur to suspect he had no power over Merlin anymore. "Well, ehm…you see…ehm…I…"
Before he could tell a lie, Arthur's face darkened all of sudden and stepped closer to the babbling brunet. He sniffed him and growled.
"Whose smell is this? It's all over you!"
Merlin's eyes widened. It must have been Gwaine's smell…they had spent A LOT OF time together after all…and Arthur had never smelled Gwaine, so he couldn't recognize it.
He tried to play cool, "Are you suggesting I stink?"
He was rewarded with Arthur's coldest gaze, "Don't you dare make fun of me, Merlin..." He grabbed his arms and shook him, "Tell me who you were with!" He yelled.
Merlin was panicking, "None of your business... Arthur, let me go. You are hurting me!"
"NONE OF MY BUSINESS?! YOU ARE MINE!"
Merlin slapped him hard on the face, "I belong to no one!"
Arthur chuckled darkly, "It's my fault you tend to forget it. For now your mind can forget about me... so I want to ensure that your body cannot..."
Before Merlin could understand that statement, Arthur grabbed him by the waist and, using his inhuman strength, dragged him away from the main path of the park and laid him behind some trees, where nobody would hear or see them.
Merlin started struggling immediately. He didn't care about his and Gwaine's plan in that moment, he just wanted to go away. He was about to kick Arthur, but the blond managed to block his attack easily.
"It's all right, love…I won't hurt you…"
With his speed and strength, Arthur was soon inside of Merlin, who screamed and tried to punch the blond, failing miserably. He felt so helpless, in trap and like suffocating. He wanted to cry, but he would never give the bastard the satisfaction.
Soon, Arthur came and collapsed on Merlin, panting.
The brunet had his face turned away, staring at the leaves above him, hoping that was one of his nightmares, that he wasn't really there. But, unfortunately, a too real hand took hold of his chin, turning his face toward Arthur, who covered his lips with his own immediately, smiling into the kiss.
"Oh, love, what you do to me…I can't have enough of you…mine…you're all mine!"
Seeing that the brunet remained expressionless, the blond sighed heavily. "All right, then...you will forget what just happened, but you will never forget to come to my house every week again...NEVER!"
After saying this and a last kiss, Arthur got up and walked away, not knowing that his powers no longer worked on Merlin, and not having realized that in the heat of the moment he had forgotten to use a condom.
00000
Later that evening, Gwaine opened the door of his house after hearing someone knocking. He found himself facing a pale Merlin with leaves in his hair; he was shaking.
"Merlin, dove, what happened to you? Come in..."
As soon as he had entered, Merlin looked at Gwaine with determination. He was tired of feeling powerless.
"Teach me, Gwaine... teach me to become a Hunter!"
What do you think about this Gwaine?