When Arthur stopped his car in front of Gaius' house, Gaius was already waiting for them in front of his house. He could see right away that Merlin was nervous and anxious, and Gaius felt responsibility to help Merlin in the right way. After Hunith's visit he had read everything he had found from his books that could even possibly help him understand Merlin's situation more. He had found something, but most of his books were so old that this kind of subject wasn't very well covered. There wasn't much research of sexual abuse towards boys. Boys that had already hit puberty weren't traditionally considered to be victims, even if incest was viewed at least a bit more seriously, and the research and educating for example psychiatrist was still developing even today. It hadn't helped much even when Gaius had called some of his old colleagues and through their recommendations to few younger psychiatrists and doctors. In the end Gaius had found his research more of something to do rather than help him with the situation.
While reading, he had tried to keep his feelings at check by being at least a bit annoyed at Merlin for not telling him, but when he saw Merlin, he couldn't do that anymore. Arthur followed the boy he considered to be the closest he had to a family to the door to greet Gaius, but Gaius' focus was on Merlin. Even if Gaius noticed that he looked a bit healthier than normally, he looked somehow smaller. His shoulders were hunched and he looked like he wanted to hide. He didn't look at Gaius either and a sudden hurt that maybe Merlin was afraid of him now hit him, he was after all an older man too…
At that moment Gaius threw all he had read and heard out of the window and moved by pure instinct to give Merlin a hug. Merlin didn't move and he didn't tense but he didn't hug him back either. Had Gaius known how violently Merlin could react to this kind of contact, he wouldn't have felt his hurt grow.
"I'm sorry…" was the only thing Merlin said and Gaius almost missed it for it was so quiet. "My dear boy, you have nothing to apologise." He said without even thinking and soon he felt Merlin nod a little against his shoulder. Gaius felt a bit better at that, at least Merlin didn't seem afraid of him after all. He took a step back to an arm's length, keeping his hands on Merlin's shoulder. With tilting his head a bit down, Gaius got Merlin to look at his eyes. "You go make us some tea and we will play some scrabble." He said as gently as he could. Merlin tried to smile at him failing horribly but went in and upstairs to boil the water.
"Please, take good care of him. I'll call you as soon as it's over." Arthur told Gaius with a serious tone as soon as Merlin wasn't in the hearing range anymore. "You do that. We should go to have some dinner afterwards, I have a nice place in mind." Gaius replied and Arthur nodded at him as seriously as he had sounded. When Arthur turned to leave Gaius yelled after him "I wish you strength, be brave!" Arthur turned to him and smiled with a bit more confidence. He would be fine, he would not be alone and he had more family to come back to after his father had been sentenced.
He sat on the driver's seat, Hunith sitting next to him and they looked at each others briefly. The looks spoke of the same feelings of anxiousness, betrayal and worry but at the same time they both knew, that Merlin was safe and in good hands. Knowing that they understood each others made them feel better and Arthur started the car. They weren't alone. Whatever would happen today and how hard it would be, they would be alone.
When Merlin finally returned downstairs with two cups and a teapot (he had been as slow as humanly possible) Gaius was already sitting in the table with scrabble laid down for them. He didn't comment on how much time Merlin had taken but instead smiled at him and motioned him to take his letters first. Merlin had trouble of looking at Gaius and he couldn't be bothered to try his best on making up words from seven random letters, but he started regardless. At least he wouldn't have to talk yet.
"You should have told me." Gaius said while arranging his second word 'TAX' to Merlin's 'TAME'. Merlin flinched and remained quiet but Gaius didn't call him for it. He just wrote his points down. To Merlin that was the tiniest bit comforting. That Gaius wasn't looking at him or addressing his weird behaviour. "You know that you are like a son to me, I wouldn't have judged you and I would have done everything in my power to help you. I still will." Gaius continued like stating the weather and now Merlin felt ashamed. It wasn't like he hadn't thought this all in the past weeks, but hearing it from Gaius made it worse. "But what is truly important to me, is that now you are safe."
So many feelings rushed to Merlin hearing Gaius say that. He broke down and he babbled for God knows how long about how he had been afraid to tell and how he had been so stupid and how he had no idea of what to do and how scared he had been and how Gaius' garden had been the only place he could relax and how even now he was so afraid because he didn't know what would happen in the future…
Their tea was long cold when finally Merlin's voice broke down to sniffling. He felt embarrassed for acting like this, but Gaius just listened all Merlin had in his heart and when he seemed to have said everything, Gaius patted Merlin's hand across the scrabble board. "Whatever will happen from now on, I will be here for you. And so will Arthur and your mother and Gwaine… we are here for you."
After a while Merlin was able to calm down enough to have a conversation and they talked for a good while of everything. Merlin was shocked to hear Gaius confess how worried he had been when Merlin hadn't showed up and how he had been ready to try to contact Merlin's parents. How he had thought Merlin had again created trouble for himself and how much he regretted that he had so completely misunderstood what had been going on. How much he regretted not making Merlin tell him more of what was making him so depressed at times.
Merlin in turn assured him that he wouldn't have told and that he was happy this way. How Gaius' home was his sanctuary, how he felt safe here. How visiting here had been the highpoint of his week and how much he had been trying not to disappoint Gaius. How proud he had been able to feel at times when Gaius had praised his work and how much of a relieve it had been when he had been accepted as he was.
Gaius was horrified when Merlin told him how he had been afraid to sleep or eat and how he had thrown everything he had eaten every time he had been violated. Gaius had told him how he was glad to see Merlin putting on some weight and how Merlin had nothing to be ashamed of. How he was still himself and how he in no way was dirty or unclean. How he was proud of him and how brave Merlin was now that he had told the truth.
At some point Merlin realised that a huge weight had left him. He wasn't even sure why he had been so worried of meeting Gaius and it was easy to tell him things he had not even been able to think himself for they had felt too heavy. For the most of the conversation he had even been able to forget that the court was taking place right now.
When they both felt there was not much left to say at the moment, Gaius boiled them some new hot water and they started their scrabble from the start "I would have won this one too easily…" Gaius teased him and Merlin felt much lighter and ready to move to lighter topics. He really loved this old man like a father and he felt suddenly so lucky that he had chosen this garden all those months ago.
When Merlin was trying to make his fourth word Gaius changed the topic. "I should congratulate you for getting together with Arthur… " He said in a tone full of smile. Merlin looked up from his letters and managed to knock them down. He tried to collect them as fast as possible while blushing deep red, but he felt it hard not to smile too. He was actually more worried of Gaius seeing his letters than of what he had said. When he had collected all the letters he managed to say "Umm, did Arthur tell you…?" not looking at Gaius.
Gaius laughed a little at him and replied "Well, I asked him. But when a young man shows to your doorsteps and asks you to take care of someone like Arthur did, there is not much to ask." Merlin blushed but couldn't hide his smile. He truly was happy to have all these incredible people around him. He just wished he could be worth of them someday.
The court house was exactly as Arthur remembered it. He had visited there few times with his father and once with his school. The big entrance, the huge pillars and cold stone floors were nothing new to him, he was used to pompous buildings and people who felt they were so important they needed doors at least twice their height, but Hunith obviously wasn't. She looked uneasy and she kept looking around herself in a way that made Arthur want to tell her to stop that and look like she belonged so that they wouldn't give a frightened appearance. So they wouldn't look like they accepted that these people around them were more important than them, but he held his tongue. He decided he would determine his own value without approval of people around him.
They met Iseldir five minutes before the arranged time and Iseldir let them to a small and comfortable room. It was very much the style the rest of the building allowed with polished dark wood and leather. Iseldir offered them some refreshments and he told them briefly what to expect, gave Arthur some general instructions and just kept them company for a surprisingly long time. It was nice, he was nice and Arthur found him calm and factual, but he couldn't help but think that he wasn't very helpful. Somehow he seemed to give quite a little input. In a way it felt like he trusted Arthur and Merlin and had no doubt of their case which was of course reassuring, but some guidance would have been very welcome even if Arthur had already thought it through in his head. Hearing that someone who really understood how this all worked to tell him advice would have given him confidence.
Twenty minutes before the trial started, Iseldir told them he was sorry, but that he would need to excuse himself now. He took a pile of documents from his table and led Arthur and Hunith to the right door. They would still have to wait for a couple of minutes before the doors would open when Iseldir left them.
The waiting was agony. Arthur just wished he could march in right now, tell what he knew and be over it, but he tried to tell himself that the waiting was an obligatory evil and that it was part of his battle, to not let his nerves get the better of him. Hunith seemed to think along the same lines and she made an attempt to comment on how the building looked like and Arthur kept hmming at her when he heard her pause. He didn't really listen the words after the first sentence. Unknown to him, Hunith stopped talking after she had asked if Arthur was a purple striped giraffe with three heads and Arthur had nodded at her and hmmed.
When the doors finally opened, Hunith looked like she wished they could hold the trial in the small room they had sat previously if this huge hall was the other option. Arthur wasn't too interested of the setting here either, he briefly felt a bit clad he wouldn't have to get too close to his father, but mostly he just concentrated on who were going to be present. It was not many. As Iseldir had told them, the hearing would be held as privately as possible with minimum amount of people inside to protect Merlin's privacy. There were two man approximately at Uther's age and Arthur knew one of them to be CEO of Uther's company and the other Arthur knew he had at least met, so he must be someone important too. He gave half a thought of how much Uther would really be affected if he was found guilty, but he couldn't make himself feel that there was something his father didn't deserve for what he had done.
There were also some people gathering around who most probably worked here, like a woman who looked so stereotypically secretary that it should have been insulting. Following their movements gave Arthur something to focus on for few minutes and soon enough some very familiar faces appeared to really catch his attention. Leon stepped in with Gwaine who looked weirdly stiff in his very neat uniform that Arthur suspected belonged to Leon. The moment Gwaine spotted them, he said something to Leon and started to walk towards them. When Gwaine was only few paces from there, Arthur could see the pockets had been ironed. So definitely Leon's then… Arthur gave a pointed look to the pockets and Gwaine grinned at him for noticing. Hunith smiled at Gwaine sadly. She had clearly decided that she would be strong too but she couldn't hide how much this all hurt her.
"Welcome to the madhouse! This will be a whole circus from now on, let me warn you." Were Gwaine's choice of words and Arthur could hear from Gwaine's tone what he really thought of this all. Arthur had been raised to see value in being proper and respectful to this kind of systems when it didn't suit him better to act like he was above them, but right now he felt he understood exactly from where Gwaine was coming for. It did feel pointless to even let Uther's lawyer (who Arthur had seen couple of times. Gwaine's explanation of him had done nothing to change his opinion of him…) blame it all on Merlin.
"It might be, but there is nothing even my father can do to make the truth go away." Arthur replied smoothly and he saw Gwaine first look at him in amazement and then he smiled. Not that ridiculous grin or comforting smile, but a very openly tired, but honest smile. "Yeah, Arthur, you are right." He again felt respect for this boy over ten years younger than he was. He rarely admitted anything this easily without at least wrapping it in a joke, but today he could made an exception. It shouldn't surprise anyone that he was not a fan of juristical system, but there was just something really sure that the right thing would happen in Arthur's eyes and right now, Gwaine really wanted to trust that sureness.
They had just about five minutes before Leon waved Gwaine to come back, but in those five minutes Arthur felt he got more advice and encouragement he had gotten from Iseldir. At some point Gwaine suggested in a low voice that Arthur should think if he wanted to explain his and Merlin's relationship for Merlin had not mentioned it. That was something Arthur had been wondering, if Merlin had told they were dating or not and getting to know the answer was a relief. He had prepared himself for the both opinion of course, but eliminating one of them before hand, even if just for few minutes still felt very good. This way he didn't feel that much like he would lie deliberately.
The only dilemma left, was that this option held two options inside it. Had Merlin told about their relationship, Arthur would just stood tall and tell how proud of their relationship he was regardless of how strange it sounded. Now, he had the opinion of telling himself or avoiding mentioning it if not asked straight. Telling to his father's face how much he loved Merlin was tempting. Arthur could imagine how satisfying it would feel to be honest with the one thing that mattered the most in his life to the man who had hurt them both and was himself unable to show his love, if he had any love in his heart at all. But time after time Arthur had labeled that as risky and unnecessary complicated not to mention how much of a revenge it would seem. Doing something just to declare war against Uther was something he didn't want to do and the warm and good feelings he had towards Merlin were the last thing he wanted to use as a weapon, so he ruled that out fast, again. If no-one would ask him or if it wasn't absolutely necessary to tell about their relationship, Arthur decided to leave it out of this discussion. That he was together with Merlin didn't change the way he would tell things here and while he wouldn't call Merlin his brother either, he had thought many ways of how to circle around certain topics.
"I'll see you afterwards. Good luck!" Gwaine told them cheerfully before he returned to Leon. "Aren't we supposed to say that to him?" Hunith asked from Arthur quietly, but Arthur smiled. "It means he doesn't need luck." he said before he and Hunith took a seat on one of the long benches that were build to form half a circle, near the front and in the middle, next to one of the isles that cut the benches in four parts.
The beginning was painfully official and slow even for Arthur and he took a hold of Hunith's hand somewhere in the midst of judge and the lawyers and finally Uther (escorted by Percy and Elena) walking in and someone announcing this all while the secretary they had seen take her seat a while ago, typed everything in impossible pace with a typing machine that made more noise than should have been legal in Arthur's opinion. Ok, he might have been slightly on the edge here, but the clicking sound got on his nerves.
Uther looked as stern as ever. He was wearing a very expensive suit and he was not looking at all like a typical criminal. He looked like this all was more of an inconvenience than anything else. Even Percy standing right behind him didn't make Uther seem uneasy in any way and Arthur could see every lesson of appearance his father had hammered in his head while he had grown up taking place right there. Hunith's hand trembled slightly and Arthur tightened his hold of it. He could relate how this felt for her. He had prepared himself to every feeling he had thought he might have when seeing his father probably the last time, but strangely enough, he had felt so much and imagined the worst so many times that now that he was actually looking at his father, what he felt didn't seem like much.
"I'm sorry I'm this pathetic…" Hunith whispered softly at some point but Arthur shook his head at her. There was nothing pathetic in her behaviour and the more Arthur had time to think about it, the more sure he was that he would have to deal with emotions Hunith was dealing now, later. Right now it would still serve him that he was able to be calm and he focused on Hunith's hand instead of Uther. It was warm and it helped Arthur feel secured.
When Iseldir started to tell the court room what had happened to Merlin, Uther still remained indifferent and soon Arthur felt Hunith's hand tighten a bit and one quick look to her face told him what exactly Hunith was thinking. This man didn't regret at all what he had done and once Arthur looked at Uther again, he felt his own anger rise. That man really didn't care about anyone else than himself and what was more painful than the words Iseldir spoke, was the realisation that he had known it all along.
Iseldir spoke of how Uther had stalked and courted his step son for weeks before actually making his move. How then he had forced Merlin to sexual contact with him while Merlin had been just a fourteen year old boy. He spoke about verbal abuse and how in the end Uther had raped Merlin multiple times with more and more violent traits that included beating him up and handcuffing him to his own bed. While listening all this made Arthur feel sick, it just didn't sound even close to what he had seen. How Merlin had made himself sick by not eating or sleeping. How much Merlin feared even normal contact or how dirty he felt. Arthur was glad he had come. He could be the one who told about those things even if he might not have much to add to the discussion.
In the end of his speech, Iseldir made demands that Hunith's divorce would immediately take effect, that both Arthur's and Merlin's custody would be lifted to her and he also made demands for compensation money sky high alongside with child support and Uther's immediate imprisonment. Arthur couldn't agree more to the divorce and custody part and even if he had trouble understanding what going to jail really meant for his father, he was sure he deserved it, but the talk of money somehow felt out of place. It felt unnecessary and when Arthur looked at his father's uncaring and calm face, he thought that Uther could keep all his money for all Arthur cared as long as he would stay away from his and Merlin's life from now on. The only thing that kept Arthur from losing himself to his anger was Hunith's hand that held his as much as he was holding hers. Still right then he knew he hated this man. It was not just that he was angry, it was pure hate.
After that the judge, a middle aged, plump woman who looked like her favourite phrase was 'no nonsense', gave Uther a chance to tell if he was guilty or not guilty for the charges pressed at him and Uther answered 'not guilty' without batting an eyelash. Arthur wanted to scream at him how despicable he was, but he bit his tongue and concentrated on Aredian's turn to tell how Merlin had had multiple lovers and that his stepfather had just done his best to try to keep Merlin home and safe. He had picked Merlin up from school, but even then Merlin had skipped class to see his boyfriends. In the end he had, like Uther had feared, gotten in deep trouble. As Merlin had begged him to not tell anyone, Uther had kept his secret, which he regretted now. Aredian also hinted (not very subtly) that Merlin had made this story up and now, Hunith had applied for divorce and as a poor country woman she had seen a chance in this to get some good money and Merlin had jumped to the chance to play along to save himself from being blamed.
Aredian wasn't expensive for nothing. His voice was smooth and persuade. If Arthur hadn't known the truth he found himself believing that he would at least consider if this bullshit was true and when he looked around to see how the few others in this room thought. He felt suddenly scared that they would believe Uther over Merlin who wasn't even here. Soon, however, he saw Gwaine who had a laid back posture and a sarcastic smile plastered on his face and Arthur immediately relaxed. Gwaine saw it too and he wasn't worried.
Arthur looked at Hunith who looked so worried Arthur had to do something. He squeezed Hunith's hand making her look at him. Arthur smiled at her a bit and shook his head. Hunith seemed to understand and she took a deep breath and seemed to steal herself once more. When the prosecutor spoke again, Arthur was glad to hear his voice. He denied his colleague's story not only as absurd, but flat out lying and that the defence was ignoring the evidence that proved what had happened.
The judge then cut this discussion in order to hear what had happened from the victim himself. Arthur tried to steel himself for this the best he could. He knew this would be the part where he could do nothing but listen what Merlin had said to the lawyers and to the police when Arthur hadn't been there.
Some assistants rolled a big tv screen to the front of the court room so everyone could see it and too soon Arthur was watching a video that showed only Merlin looking pale, scared and deeply ashamed. Oh how much Arthur wanted to take that Merlin in his arms and tell how everything was alright. He wanted to cover Merlin's ears and press him to his chest so he wouldn't have to do this, but when the video started to roll and he heard Iseldir's voice asking Merlin to tell from the beginning what had happened, Arthur remembered that Merlin had already done that. That he was probably drinking tea with Gaius at the moment. That he couldn't- shouldn't protect Merlin from everything. That Merlin had managed on his own and that had probably been as important to him as being here now was important to Arthur.
Still when he listened Merlin tell in a flat voice how Uther had first come to his room once or twice a week to touch him, how he had told Merlin that if anyone found out he was gay, everyone would hate him. How Uther had told him that he was keeping Merlin out of trouble by giving him what he wanted. "I never felt it like that, but I thought doing as he told me was the price I had to pay for it was my fault I liked boys… I tried not to, but I never could make myself interested in girls." Merlin was sounding like he was somewhere far away and to Arthur, he was. How had it happened, that even after he had come to a conclusion that he himself might be gay and that there was nothing wrong with it, Arthur hadn't been able to make it known to Merlin that there were other opinions than his father's?
"It was when my mother started to work at nights when he told me to suck him off. He was furious at the first time because I had stormed off from dinner table. He didn't like when I didn't do as I was told or if I misbehaved." Merlin continued looking almost bored and somehow, almost dead. At least his eyes were and as it slowly crept into Arthur's consciousness what it really meant that Merlin had sucked his father off since… since that dinner Arthur had almost forgotten until now. How long had it been… almost one and half years. Arthur felt sick. He suddenly remembered Merlin's face when he told Arthur 'what does it matter? He has done everything' and Arthur felt his jaw tighten painfully. He had a strong suspicion that he would find out exactly what 'everything' meant today.
"What does it mean when you say you 'misbehaved'? And what would he exactly do if you 'misbehaved'?" Iseldir's voice asked from somewhere outside of the picture and Merlin glanced at a spot on the right side of the camera. "Sometimes… I'm not even sure, but if I didn't do as I was told right away he would be more… harsh, and once I think he got a call from school that I had slept in one of my classes… If I told him 'no', it was always a bad thing. I suppose that if I just kept studying and did what he told me to do and stayed home, it was over sooner."
Hunith made a strange muffled sound from her throaty and when Arthur tore his eyes off from the screen, he could see exactly what Hunith had understood. The way Merlin had been studying and the way he had refused to go out to see friends, to swim to get his own driver's license… It had been because he had tried to 'behave'.
"Was there ever a time he wouldn't come at all?" Iseldir asked and Merlin slowly shook his head. "No… always when the school was ending and exams were nearing he would leave me to study, but if he was at home, I can't remember a week without being touched at least in his car. I never knew what to do to please him enough to let me just be." There was this bitterness in Merlin's tone now that sounded almost like he was angry at himself for not being able to please his stepfather enough not to rape him every week. Arthur tried to make himself a mental note that he would have to make Merlin believe that in no way nobody should feel that they should study more so they wouldn't be raped in their own home, but he had no idea of how to do that.
"Did you ever tell him to stop? Or that you didn't like what he did to you?" Iseldir continued and Arthur glanced at his father. He looked as stoic as before, but Arthur, who had studied his father's expressions for all his childhood could see the distaste on Uther's face. Arthur turned his eyes back to the screen just to see Merlin start to shake his head, but then he froze and an expression broke through. He looked like he was trying to catch something from his memory and eventually Arthur saw a spark of anger and then Merlin spoke.
"I did. Once. I thought I was at my limits then…" Merlin gave a humourless chuckle and there was something in his eyes that scared Arthur. Self loath mixed in with something that told Arthur how much his father had been able to twist Merlin's view of himself and the world he was living in. Merlin frowned and looked like he needed an enormous amount of will power to open his mouth again. "I begged him to stop, I told him it hurt and that I couldn't take it anymore, that I got sick, but he didn't listen. It just made him angry and he…" Merlin kept looking a spot on the table a bit right from the camera and he started to move slightly back and forth and Arthur could tell he tried not to do that. He was truly afraid of what Merlin would say next.
"He entered me and after that he made me… 'clean after my own filth' I'm quite sure were the words he used." Merlin's voice was bitter and his breathing looked a bit shaky. He crossed his arms in front of him and shivered slightly. "Can you tell me what it meant to 'clean up your own filth'?" Iseldir asked when Merlin didn't continue. Arthur found an irrational anger towards him for making Merlin answer to these kind of questions, but he soon found other things to concentrate when Merlin glanced where Arthur now suspected Iseldir sat. "…With my mouth. I threw up on his feet after that, so I'm quite sure he got the message, but he just left. It was no use to try again." Merlin said with more sarcasm than anything else and in the middle of his sentence he fixed his eyes on the left side of the camera and Arthur realised that it must be where Aredian had sat. He could just imagine how he had looked at Merlin. Smug and belittling and Merlin was shielding himself against that. He felt momentarily proud of his love before the words sank.
The thought of Merlin, on his knees, sucking his father's… that had been in his rectum, oh God. Arthur would never, ever make Merlin- no, he wouldn't even suggest that he took anything in his mouth or inside him at all! How could- how could anyone do something like that and how… how had Merlin been able to continue on after that? How must have that felt? How horrible and the day after he had probably eaten breakfast with Arthur or maybe later or in Arthur's car and he had not even noticed…
When he returned to this time and place, Arthur noticed that he was leaning against Hunith and that he was shaking all over. Hunith had also pressed herself against him. She looked almost green. Arthur didn't move.
There were a series of questions and answers and it seemed to take forever. Snippets like "Then he would put… it… inside me. Sometimes he was more careful but the other times I had to be careful not to get any blood on my sheets." "And would he help you afterwards if you bled?" "No. He didn't care." or "How long it could take for him to come and free you?" "He wouldn't. I know how to break them with scissors." kept ringing in Arthur's ears and he could not make any real order to them.
At some point Arthur looked at his father and he looked like he wanted to tell Merlin to drop that insolent tone and Arthur knew, that if this had happened to him, he would not have begged or pleaded it to end. He would have told his father that if it didn't end, he would kill him. And that would not have been an empty threat. It felt scary and the amount of anger that was swirling inside of him made him doubt himself as a human being, making him feel relieved on a whole new level that it had never happened to him, but what felt really scary was that even at the age of seventeen his first thought had been to take care of everything by himself. Had his father raped him at the age of fifteen, he would surely not thought of telling the police.
Arthur could barely understand that the story had turned more focused one and it was about the night Arthur had found out and soon followed by the day the police came. Arthur listened when Merlin told how Uther had picked him up from school and how he had tried to struggle in vain. Even from that Arthur had not been able to save Merlin… he had known but he had tried to protect Merlin and failed. Hunith's hand was squeezing his almost painfully and Arthur wanted to beg for forgiveness from her, from Merlin and from the judge. Why had he been so stupid?
His hearing started to work when he heard his own name "…Pendragon and I don't care what you think happened as long as I never have to go back to that house." A wave of fear crashed in his heart but he soon realised that it was not him or their home Merlin was talking about, but his father and his house. A strong shame of his own family name strangled Arthur and he hated, hated the fact the he was son of this man who still looked like he was the king of the world and whatever he would say or do, must be justifiable. It was revolting.
Iseldir stopped the recording and there was a moment of silence before he started to list all the evidence they had been able to find from Merlin's room that backed the story. They showed a picture of the broken handcuffs that Uther had used and Arthur could almost feel their edge against his wrist. He couldn't imagine what Merlin would have felt if he was here. They showed evidence bags with Merlin's torn, bloodied shirt and lube and the key to the handcuffs Arthur had no idea where he had dropped it after he had freed himself with it.
Soon, however, they focused on the photos Arthur had heard Merlin only mention once. When one of the assistants started to prepare something on a laptop that was connected to the tv, Arthur knew he would see them and he really didn't want to. He was sure Merlin wouldn't want him to see them and he wanted to respect that and besides, he was feeling sick enough as it was. He looked at Hunith who looked like she was about to faint and she was squeezing her shirt from where her heart was and Arthur saw right there how painful mother's love towards their child could be. He remembered Morgana once telling him how their mother had begged her doctor to save her child even when she was dying herself. Even if Morgana had been able to convince him then that she didn't blame him for killing their mother, he just now believed what she had said was true.
Too soon Iseldir started to talk and the photos flashed on the screen as he pressed a button to change them. This time Arthur couldn't stop from hearing every word that was spoken. "The photos date as far as august two years ago. At first they seem like normal photos even if over ninety percent of photos taken of the family members centred around Merlin…" Arthur found his eyes glued to the screen. The photo viewed there was taken clearly without Merlin knowing about it because he looked like he was talking to someone on his left side, but what kept Arthur looking at it, was how Merlin looked like. His expression was open and his posture relaxed and his eyes… they were bright and alive and Arthur could just think 'He really used to be like that…' and it broke his heart.
"but they change soon to something a stalker would take and come more frequent after february, a year ago. After, as Merlin told us, the abuse escalated to the first intercourses." Iseldir continued and the photo was gone replaced with one where Merlin was showering and Arthur again turned his gaze away. He couldn't see it like this, just couldn't. He kept his eyes on Hunith's face and he could see how she kept taking everything in. Even if it all hurt her. Her face was still greenish and her lips just a thin line.
"Seeing these photos leave no doubt of what has happened. Merlin has been sexually abused and raped based on Merlin's interview and these 247 photos, we have estimated that the number of rapes would be somewhere in between two hundred and two hundred and fifty. This would be a story of one of those." Iseldir was still talking, but soon Arthur realised that it was from the video again.
"I know this must be hard for you, but can you look at this picture and tell me if you recognise it?" Arthur felt every nerve in him to focus on Merlin's reply he was sure would follow. "Yes." came with a quiet, shaky voice. "Can you remember what happened that day?" Iseldir's voice made Arthur squeeze the edge of the bench in order not to hurt Hunith's hand. He dreaded the answer. "Yes" There was a pause that seemed to drag and be too short at the same time.
"I was already asleep… I usually waited till late, but that night he came later than usual. Probably because my mother was home, so I was already sleeping." Arthur wanted to cover his ears but Hunith had tightened her hold on his hand and he didn't have heart to rip his hand off from hers. "I- I don't sleep in my bed… and he didn't like that. I screamed because I took a fright, but he silenced me quickly." At this point Arthur made the mistake of looking. He had thought the video was again playing, but it was just the sound. On the screen there was a photo of Merlin that would never leave Arthur's memories.
It was a picture of Merlin, his pyjama, that overly large and childish one with stars that Arthur had found funny, pulled up revealing Merlin's way too thin form. His pants pushed down and his arms stretched as long as they could, cuffed to his bedpost. Even if his face was blurred, Arthur could tell that his head was bent down and he was biting his pillow. There was a hand holding Merlin's hips still and a penis stretching his hole open. It was a bit dark, but Arthur could clearly see bruises on Merlin's side and his wrists appeared to be red from friction. Arthur looked away, but it didn't help much. The picture was burned to his mind and he remembered Merlin's distress last night and now he fully understood what he had said. 'Please don't think any differently of me.' It hurt. Arthur wanted to leave. He wanted to see Merlin right now and take him far away. He felt horrible being in the same room as his father and he felt that he either had to hit something or cry. Maybe both.
"How did he make you silent?" Still Arthur could hear Iseldir's voice painfully clearly. "He put his hand… on my mouth. I couldn't make a sound anymore." Hearing that, Arthur felt almost glad that Merlin had screamed the other night. At least he had been able to. "And what happened then?" Iseldir asked and Arthur seriously didn't want to know. "He took me to my bed and cuffed me. It was the third time. He was angry, so it hurt more than usually. I didn't want to yell anymore so I bit my pillow instead." Merlin's voice was breaking but he still continued. "He showed me this picture. He told me I looked… like a whore. Then he told me to kiss him. I didn't. I told him no… I- He pressed my neck. He did that sometimes but this time I hadn't yelled. I remember seeing white dots and then it all disappeared. It hurt. I couldn't breath."
There was a pause and Arthur felt that he couldn't breath either. Merlin's voice was at points almost bored and Arthur wanted to shake him and get him to cry or whatever just to make that horrible surrendering of his faint voice stop. "He let me go that night, but I couldn't move. I- I threw up before I got to bathroom and I was dirty… I- After that I thought that he would kill me if I didn't do as I was told… I cleaned up and I slept few hours. I tried to act like nothing was different. I don't think I succeeded very well…"
Arthur was feeling ill and he almost wished he could just kneel over and vomit like Merlin had done just previous night. He was still leaning on Hunith who now looked more pale than green, but in her eyes there was fire that told Arthur that she would never forgive his father.
"The story heard before of Merlin having multiple lovers, was absurd and insulting even before the police was able to find these photos from Uther Pendragon's cloud, taken with the same phone model that the man in question had used all this time until he 'accidentally' dropped it from fifth floor after he had been brought to the station. I hope no-one in this room will doubt, if Merlin was a willing participant and let someone in their house, during the night even if the house was secured with an automatic alarm system." Iseldir ended his turn to speak with more emotion he had shown in the whole court together. He cared and he didn't want to see anyone to belittle this kind of crimes. Arthur could see that now and somehow, it made him understand the demands of compensation money. It wasn't putting a price tag on Merlin's suffering, but making sure it was recognised how much Merlin had gone through. Even if he or Merlin or Iseldir couldn't speak so that everyone understood how horrible his father's crime had been, money was an universal language and it would speak volumes to even those who failed to see what this all really meant.
"Still I fail to see where is the evidence that the boy, who was no doubt violated, was indeed raped by my client." Arthur snapped his head towards Aredian who had stood up and looked as calm and calculating as ever. "If the recording of Merlin's interview would have been shown from the beginning, we would have seen that Merlin admitted that he had indeed let someone in." Aredian marched to the front of the tv and Iseldir gave him the remote he had been holding with a face that said 'Here, you are welcome to try and make a fool of your client on top of everything'.
Arthur was highly confused when he listened how Merlin admitted that he had let someone in their house at night. It felt absurd and out of place. Like he was now listening to an entirely different story. He barely concentrated on the part where Aredian asked about Gwaine and he could almost hear gears turning in Hunith's head. Arthur tried to remember if their alarm had gone off… During the last year at least he hadn't been out of the house if Merlin hadn't been with him and… oh. Arthur almost laughed out loud when he realised what this was all about. The defence really was weak.
With that thought Arthur relaxed. He could understand now why Merlin had looked so confused in the video and even if Merlin had failed to tell the whole story, well, that was why Arthur was here. He now felt that he could do something for Merlin and the thought made some of the tension leave him. Hunith was now looking at Arthur in confusion and Arthur just gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand to let her know it was all right. He would explain it later.
When Arthur started to listen again, there was some kind of discussion of how Merlin himself had the exact same phone model than Uther and that had never been investigated. Aredian told how Merlin's phone was also connected to the same cloud and Arthur remembered how his phone had asked if he wanted to automatically copy everything to their cloud every now and then. He had been very, very careful not to do that, but Merlin might not have noticed that kind of thing. The cell he had now was after all, his first.
At this point Aredian started to… well, he should have questioned Uther of what had happened, but it was more like he kept feeding him the correct answers. Hearing his father tell how he had time after time warned Merlin from getting involved with men he didn't really know and how he had found lube and items like handcuffs from Merlin's room and how Merlin had promised it would end, made Arthur's skin crawl. It was just not right. Not in any way. Anyone who knew Merlin or had seen him in their home would have been able to tell that nothing in this story added up. But still Uther kept pointing out why all the evidence couldn't be connected to him with Aredian's help.
The handcuffs had not been bought with his credit card and couldn't be proved belonged to him. The key for them had been found from Merlin's room and had no fingerprints from him. Lube, bandages and even a condom had been found from Merlin's room. This was the first time he had seen the photos in his life. How he had made a mistake by not seeking professional help for Merlin earlier and how his reaction had not been the best when he was in the middle of dealing yet again with his stepson and his son had barged in, but that was all he was guilty off.
'For the love of…' Arthur thought and wished he could just raise his hand like in school and tell them what he knew when the discussion dragged.
Luckily he didn't have to because Iseldir kept pointing out exactly what Arthur would have wanted to, like how on earth Merlin had stalked himself or how the 'boyfriend' could have broken in repeatedly after the alarm was already on. Iseldir kept dodging some of it by pointing out some details that had not been investigated and just before Arthur was ready to bang his head on the bench in front of him, the judge ended the discussion between Iseldir and Aredian and reminded that there was a witness and that maybe he could light some of the questions the defence obviously had. That was sarcasm if Arthur had even heard one even if it was way more polite compared to the tone Merlin used.
When Iseldir said Arthur's name, Arthur knew that this was it. He tried to remember everything he had thought in advantage and during the trial when he walked to the witness' stand. He couldn't look at his father, but he knew that right now, he had the undivided attention he had graved when he had been young. And right now, it only fed the small satisfied feeling of revenge inside of him.
The first thing to do was to repeat after an oath to tell truth and only the truth. Arthur had known this and Iseldir had also prepared him to this and Arthur repeated with pride that he knew he would do so. Unlike his father. They might share name and genes, but today he would show that he was a different man than his father.
Iseldir first asked him to describe the day Uther had been arrested. It was easy because Arthur had told that one already to Gwaine and Leon and after that he had rearranged the story in his head at least ten times. He told how Merlin had not returned when he usually did and how he had checked the places Merlin usually was and when he had not found him, he had known his father had taken him home. "And how did you know this?" Iseldir asked and Arthur realised he was helping him to stay on the plot. That's why he hadn't given many advices before, because he had known he would be there for Arthur.
"Because I already knew what my father had done to Merlin. I found out a week before the day of the arrest." He replied and waited for the next question. Iseldir asked him to tell about the night he found out and Arthur did. He told what he had heard and what he had heard with confidence that he remembered everything exactly as it had been. After that Iseldir asked him to return to the day of the arrest and Arthur told how he had found Merlin's things scattered around and how he had found his door locked, how he had gone through the closet and what he had seen and what his father had said ending the story to their fight.
"And you have no doubt, that Merlin was telling the truth? That it was indeed your father who had done this all to your step brother?" Iseldir finally asked and Arthur answered without hesitation "No. I know what I heard and what I saw myself. After that so many things started to make sense and even if I tried to find any other explanation to what I first heard, there was none and after hearing Merlin's side of the story, there was even less. I trust his word completely."
Iseldir gave him an approving nod and told the courtroom that he had nothing to ask anymore. Then it was Aredian's turn. "So… you saw everything that happened, is that correct?" he started and Arthur was vividly reminded how he had shaken this man's hand in his birthday party and how Aredian had said 'So… you are fifteen now, almost a man then.' and Arthur had been as sure as he was now that Aredian did not wish him well.
"No, as I said, I heard everything through Merlin's closet door." He said after adjusting his brain to deal with someone who could and would use everything he said against him. "Oh? But I'm fairly sure Merlin stated that you saw him." This was not a question but Arthur answered anyway "I did see him afterwards, I am sure he meant that." Two question and Arthur was already feeling like he was standing on the edge of a blade. He felt that one word out of place could destroy everything, but he had to keep looking sure so he just kept looking Aredian straight into his eyes. "So you heard your father raping your step brother through a door?"
"Yes." Arthur was quite sure he had been quite clear on that already. "A closed door, an actual door, not for example a sliding door or a louvered door?" Aredian didn't let go of the subject. "A closed, normal door." Arthur repeated and failed to see how it mattered, but he was getting nervous. Aredian was after something, he always was. "And you are still absolutely sure that it was your father's voice?"
"I know my father's voice." Arthur answered feeling like soon he would have to defend his intelligence as well. "And he was upset, right?" Arthur fought the urge to look at Hunith or Gwaine for some support, he had to keep on looking at Aredian in order not to falter. "He was." Arthur tried to remind himself of how he had survived his father's interrogations for years. The first rule had always been to only answer what was asked.
"Tell me, how can you be sure that he wasn't upset to find his step son yet again from a compromising position?" At that question Arthur almost heard a snap inside his head and he found some sarcasm he was sure he had Merlin to thank for. "Then I suppose he was also jumping up and down on Merlin's bed and ordered Merlin to kiss him just for good night."
Arthur heard some murmuring and something he identified to be a muffled snort of laughter. Arthur almost wanted to turn to roll his eyes at Gwaine. Aredian looked very much displeased. "Then, tell me how can you be sure there was no-one else in the room? If I remember correctly, the demand for a kiss was 'barely audible' in your words and you left the closet for quite some time before you went to talk with Merlin. Maybe it was enough time for the boyfriend to leave?"
Alright, Arthur was now officially fed up with this 'boyfriend'. What the hell was this story they were supposed to believe anyway? That Merlin had been having sex with someone who kept extremely quiet while Merlin's step father was standing next to them telling how Merlin was destroying their home only to ask him to kiss before the said step father left the room and then again kept extremely quiet and then what? Hid under the floor or something until morning while Merlin made a spectacular act for Arthur and then vanished into thin air after the alarm was turned off?
He was very close of just snapping that he happened to know that Merlin only had one boyfriend, but luckily, Aredian had mistaken his silence. "I understand that you would want to protect your brother and that is very noble of you, but to me it seems that you saw nothing. Not the day the arrest took place nor the week before and still you made this assumption in order to help him, but I want you to understand that what you say today could lead your father going to prison for a crime, which was of course horrible, but one he didn't commit." Aredian's voice was almost pitying. Like he was talking to a child who didn't understand fully what he was doing.
Arthur looked at him with some new calmness. He saw now what he had to do. When he had been made a captain to his football team, many in the team had opposed to it. He had been young and there were players who had played longer than him. It had taken almost half a year to build himself authority that surpassed what came with age and years of playing. Authority that had made the others, even those in their final year, respect and listen to him and now he would have to gather that same authority and show everyone here that he was not a child. That he knew what he was talking about. That this was not a case of a word of a respectable adult against two kids, but one word against two words.
"I am not going to answer anymore questions of a person who does not exist. Merlin had no boyfriends who sneaked in. There was no other compromising position to find than the ones my father had caused himself." He kept his voice calm, deep and clear. The way he knew he could be heard halfway across a football field. He held his posture and his head high. He was not going to argue about things that did not matter or were not true.
"I would appreciate if you answered my question. Was there enough time for someone to leave while you were in your own room?" Aredian did not look impressed, but Arthur knew he wouldn't need him to be. It was the judge and the jury he needed on his side. Aredian could be the petty bully who lost his credibility. "And I would appreciate if you let me finish explaining before you ask me more pointless questions." He replied with same tone he used when someone whined at him that they were tired in the middle of warm ups.
"Pointless? Even if Merlin himself confessed he had let someone in your house?" Aredian still tried and Arthur almost smiled for he had forgotten that one. "That would have been me. Merlin let me in when I set our alarm off and the door locked automatically." This time Arthur let himself look at Hunith. She looked decades older than she really was and she was still pale, but she looked at Arthur with pride and Arthur took it all in feeling a bit taller than before and he again fixed Aredian with his gaze.
"You? You are telling me that you were outside of the house in the middle of the night and you set off the alarm of your own house?" Aredian was losing his plot, Arthur could tell and when Aredian glanced at Uther, Arthur saw a look that said 'this is as far as I can go with this bullshit' and Arthur knew. Aredian had made the best of what he had, but he had known all along what had really happened. He had used his education and position to try and lift this crime off Uther's shoulders because he was paid for it handsomely. Arthur could now see why Gwaine had felt like he had.
"Yes. It's an old trick really. My sister invented it years ago when the system was installed and she watched when it was tested. If the detector that tells if the door is opened is wrapped in tinfoil before the alarm is set, the door can be opened without causing an alarm. The tinfoil just have to be removed only after the alarm has turned off itself in the next morning." This felt extremely good and Arthur knew he was just now doing what he shouldn't by telling more than he had to, but he was sure it didn't matter anymore. He had seen Aredian already give up.
"And Merlin couldn't have used this same trick to let someone in?" he asked, but Arthur had answer to that too. "No. It only works on the garden door and can be used only to go to garden and back. If someone goes too close to the fence, the alarm goes off and the door locks automatically. It can't be opened even with keys from the outside. I went to try out a new technique and kicked my football too far. For my luck, I had tried to get Merlin to stop studying for a second and come out to help me, so when he heard the alarm, he was by the door faster than my father."
"What if someone was already in the garden before the alarm turned on?" Aredian still tried, but Arthur had the upper hand and now he could look at Aredian with mock pity. "I see you have not seen our garden. There are no places to hide. Not even after dark, we tried very hard to play hide and seek in the garden when I and my sister were young, but it never worked out. besides I could see our whole garden from my window so I would have seen if there was someone climbing over our fence."
And that was it. Aredian had no further questions and Iseldir was also happy. Arthur walked back to sit next to Hunith feeling high of relief that it was over, empty in a way like all of his energy had been sucked out of him and still feeling like he could have told a lot more. He just wasn't sure what that more was at the moment.
Aredian made a weak attempt of asking why Merlin had skipped school and where he had been when he was supposed to be helping school's football team during the summer. (He had a signed document from Arthur's coach stating that Merlin had always left for most of the practises) Iseldir brushed that off as not relevant because all the pictures were taken in Merlin's room and most of them during night time. He also pointed out that the first story Uther had told had stated that Merlin's 'lovers' visited during daytime. The story had changed when the photos were found and it had turned out that they were mostly taken after dark. Aredian of course told that that was what Uther had assumed, but it didn't change anything.
The judge ended the discussion and Uther was found guilty of all charges. The court would take a half an hour break and after that they would gather again to decide of the penalty.
Percy took a hold of Uther's shoulder just when Arthur finally managed to look him straight in the eye. He still looked hard as steel and utterly disappointed. Of the decision, of the court and of Arthur. It was painful. Not that they had won or that Uther would be punished by what he had done, but Arthur felt this was the moment when the bridge between him and his father was really burning and the finality of it hurt even if he didn't want to ever see this man, who had caused this in the first place, again.
Arthur kept watching his father until the door behind him closed. He was now seeing his relationship with his father how it really had been. Mentally abusing and lacking most of the love and warmth it was supposed to have. The same warmth and understanding that he had had tenfold from Hunith in these past two weeks. He felt Hunith's hand on his shoulder and he wondered when she had let go of his hand. Probably just now. His hand felt numb and his mind too. He hugged Hunith and she hugged him back. They clinged to each others until Gwaine sat to the bench in front of them.
"Brilliant, Arthur, absolutely brilliant." He said with gentle tone and Arthur had to smile a little bit. Some things that he felt he could have told kept nagging in his mind now, like how much Merlin had hated the handcuffs or how his mood always turned sour when his mother left the house, but if Gwaine was happy with him, then maybe he could just stop wondering what he could have done. They had won after all.
It was still sinking in, but they had won. It didn't feel as liberating as Arthur had expected it to feel, but he hoped that when they could get out of here, to eat and to Merlin and Arthur could say he would never have to see his father's face ever again, that would truly sink in.
Gwaine offered them some snacks he had made and some coffee from a thermos because they didn't have enough time to leave the courthouse and actually Arthur didn't want to. He didn't want to leave just to come back in minutes. He ate a little, but he didn't feel like eating even if he was hungry. He again understood Merlin a bit better.
Gwaine also invited them all to his place to a party in the evening. "But I warn you. I'm gonna be drunk and annoying as hell." He said with good humour. Hunith looked a bit sceptic, but Arthur could tell that she was not taking Gwaine seriously. Arthur could have corrected her opinion of Gwaine who she had only seen acting as an officer, but somehow he didn't have energy for that. He was quite sure Merlin would like to go and so he said that he would come if Merlin would. Hunith then agreed that the boys could come, but she herself was too tired so she would pass. She also made Gwaine promise that he would send the boys home before ten and Gwaine agreed with a tone that Arthur was quite sure he used on his own mother when he wanted to make her believe that he was not going to get in trouble.
Too soon the court started to gather again and Gwaine had to go, but before he did, he told Arthur that he was proud of him. That meant so much and even if Arthur only managed to nod, with every step Gwaine took towards his own seat, Arthur felt his soul return to him. He wished someday he could talk with Merlin of what had happened today and he would hear him tell the same thing. That gave Arthur even more strength. After this his new life with Merlin would truly start.
First Iseldir made demands of all the costs that had been caused by their sudden moving. It was not much, but it was more for the sake of principle than anything else. Aredian pulled out a document that listed all the costs Hunith had covered by using her husband's credit card. "I fail to see how it was necessary to take the most expensive room of a quite nice hotel, may I add, and the amount of room service, new clothes, cab rides… Let me ask how this doesn't sound like someone who is taking advantage of their husbands money?"
Hunith squirmed at that and Arthur could tell she regretted of using that much money. He wanted to tell her how it really was nothing. His father had stayed at hotels when he had been working late and well, money had never been an issue in his home, but he didn't have to for Iseldir pointed out that she had also left a very expensive wedding ring, jewelry and the said credit card behind as soon as she had bought a new house for them with her own money.
When the costs caused by their moving and child support had been granted to them, Iseldir moved to compensation money. For that he asked a nurse who had examined Merlin to come to testify and soon the tv was again at its place and Freya was standing where Arthur had stood about an hour ago. Her hair was open and she was dressed to straight navy blue pants and a white, loose blouse, buttoned up to her neck. She looked so very different to how Arthur had seen her. She had looked comfortable then and somehow warm, but now she looked very much out of her element and pale in a way that made Arthur sure her hands were cold.
"In my medical examination just hour after the last rape, I could find clear evidence of the rape. All the classic signs were there. Merlin had bruising on his thighs and wrists and genital area. All a proof that his legs have been opened forcefully and his hands forced to a position where they could be cuffed. There are also chafes caused by the handcuffs."
Iseldir was changing pictures on the tv screen in a steady pace. There were pictures of Merlin's wrists, legs, side and neck against a white background. The bruising looked horrible and even if Merlin was still thin, he wasn't this thin. Arthur shuddered on the sight. It had been so easy to forget how sick Merlin had actually looked just a week ago.
"Alongside of those, there were also clear signs of violence. In this one we can see a very telling pattern." Freya continued and Arthur noticed she sounded much more purposeful now. Iseldir changed the picture and it was of Merlin's neck. "These spot like bruises have been caused by the predator when he has taken a hold of Merlin's neck. He told me that used to happen if he made too much noise." She arranged her hand to match the bruises and Arthur could see in his mind's eye how his father's strong hand squeezed around Merlin's thin neck. "A force needed to make this kind of bruising is intense and powerful and against a surface can prevent one from breathing. It can even damage larynx and in worst case scenario, brake the neck."
Arthur felt like ice was being poured into his heart. Hunith inhaled sharply next to him and Arthur had to repeat in his mind 'Merlin is safe, he is with Gaius' many times before he could again concentrate. By then the discussion had turned to the cut on Merlin's back.
There was a picture of Merlin's shoulder, the bandage removed. It didn't look as bad as it had looked when Arthur had cleaned it, but he knew it still hurt and seeing it reminded him of that. "I see it highly disturbing that nor did the predator stop, when Merlin was bleeding, but he continued and the only first aid was an attempt, a very poor attempt to stop the bleeding. Sexual activity, the fright, high stress and pain together with bleeding could have caused a shock." There were some new pictures, Merlin's fallen chair and the shirt Merlin had wore, stained with blood. Hunith raised her hand in front of her mouth. Arthur saw her holding back tears. He wished she would cry so Arthur didn't have to, but she didn't and soon Arthur had to wipe his eyes on his sleeve.
He barely lightened when Iseldir asked about Merlin's weight and Freya told how unhealthy that was. How the predator had surely noticed that because even if it showed unusually little from Merlin's face, seeing him naked didn't leave much to think about. Merlin had been malnourished and close of really being in danger because of it. Iseldir also pointed out that he had interviewed the maid who was responsible of cleaning Merlin's room and she had told that when she had first found traces of vomit, she had not thought much of it, but when it had become a regular occurrence, she had told her employer, Uther Pendragon and he had told it was nothing and that he would take care of it. There was a picture of Merlin from neck to waist and looking at the bruise on Merlin's side didn't help Arthur to stop the water from squeezing itself out from his eyes. It just looked so horrible. Arthur hoped, from the bottom of his heart that he had not inherited his father's tendency to violence. He could never live with himself if he ever caused damage like that to anyone.
After Iseldir had thanked Freya, Aredian tired to belittle everything they had seen and he even asked if Merlin had been evaluated by a psychiatrist. He had vomited and cut himself and he didn't think it was unreasonable at all to ask if most of the damage had been caused by himself. Freya looked at Aredian like she was askin if he was stupid and Arthur saw a fire inside of her that he found he liked very much.
"Most of the damage we have seen today would have been impossible to cause to oneself. I have an analysis of the bleeding patterns written by our forensic doctor that I have sended to you, but even I can tell that strangling oneself is quite impossible." Aredian didn't even bat an eyelash, but he didn't argue either. "Still you recommended a psychiatric help for Merlin, is that correct?" He asked instead, but Freya didn't falter. "Yes, as I am instructed to for every victim of a crime that need my help. It is not for evaluating the victim, but to give them all the help they might need to recover."
That was kind the end of that. Aredian was out of things to do. He obviously tried at least to keep up a facade that the sentence had been false and that an innocent man was being punished for the sake of appearance, but he could do nothing to prevent Uther going down, that much was clear.
After Freya had left, the judge asked if they were going to hear another witness or not. At this Arthur perked up and he saw Aredian take a posture that suggested that he was done and ready to leave himself. "Yes, your honour, we will." Iseldir said calmly and the judge nodded. "There was quite a lot of confusion along the way. May I ask why?" she continued and now Arthur was curious too.
"The witness was undecided and unsure, but she is here now and I would like to ask in a person who can tell us that this was not the first offence of Uther Pendragon."
It felt like the time had slowed down and when Arthur looked at his father, he saw something he had never seen. His father was scared.
A slender woman with black hair and long black dress stepped out of the same room Freya had disappeared just minutes ago. Even if Arthur had already guessed who the witness was going to be, he had to actually hear the name before he could recognise her.
"Morgana Pendragon, please, tell us what you told me yesterday." Iseldir said. Morgana's eyes were cold with hate and loathing. Her once beautiful black curls were now in a messy dreads and she had far more makeup Arthur thought looked good. He black dress looked a bit worn and not meant to look beautiful in the beginning with. She stood tall and her heels clicked when she walked. Uther Pendragon looked scared and… betrayed. Like his children were letting him down and not the other way around, Arthur realised.
"When I was 15, I learned that I was not a child of the woman I had alway thought was my mother. My dear father had had a fling and he had taken me in, never telling me or my brother anything about it. His fateful wife, who was kind enough to take me in, died giving birth to my half brother, Arthur. When I was 14, that man who dared to tell me he loved me, started to touch me in a way I didn't like nor understand at that age. When I told him at my 15th birthday that I didn't want him to touch me anymore, he pushed me to a wall and told me that I had no saying on the matter. I was a daughter of a whore who had left me to him and he had been kind enough to raise me."
The way Morgana said 'my dear father' sounded more like poison dripping from her mouth rather than words. As she continued her voice kept growing louder and angrier. "He made me stay at home, he made me cut ties with my friends and he made me suck his dick every time he was not pleased with me. And I made sure he was never pleased with me. He told me to behave and I told him to go suck his own dick." There was a bitter madness in Morgana's eyes that made Arthur's skin crawl. "I even kissed a girl once just to make him mad. He hit me for that." Arthur saw the scene play in front of his eyes. Yes, there had been a girl. Someone blond and… no Arthur couldn't remember very well.
"After that he raped me. He told me it was for my own good. To get me realize that it was better with a man." Morgana made a sound that sounded like a mockery of a laugh. "I believe that the term is 'a corrective rape'."
There was a small pause and during that Morgana saw Arthur. She looked him straight in the eye before she turned her gaze away and continued. "After that I set him up with my friend. We loaned her father's video camera and I provoked my dear father to rape me again. I showed him a copy of the video and I told him that if he didn't pay my tuition, living and well, let say 'generous' pocket money, I would send the video to the press. My apologies, father, I promise I will burn the tape after this. After all, I don't need it anymore." Her tone was mocking and bitter. This was what Arthur had been afraid off. It had also happened to his sister. Or half sister, as he had just learned, but that didn't make any difference in his mind. To him Morgana was his sister he had known years ago and the way she had looked at him… He would have to talk to her after this. To appologize if nothing else. He couldn't let her go this time.
The judge cleared her throat "I have to ask, miss Pendragon, you were not willing to press charges, is there a reason for that?" Morgana flung her hair to her shoulder and looked at the judge "I have been paid well for my troubles and it seems that my dear father has a pattern and now I get to see him punished for that. I have had my reward of coming all the way here." She smiled in a way that would have made a weaker person run. "I see… Is there any questions for ms. Pendragon?" The judge asked but Iseldir seemed happy with what he had got and Aredian had nothing to say to her. He made one final show to make Uther sound not guilty and the witness unreliable but when Iseldir gave the judge one last evidence back with a memory stick and stated that the movie Morgana had filmed was in whole in that stick, the final nail had been hammered to Uther's coffin.
The judge concluded the hearing by finding Uther Pendragon guilty on all charges and granting Hunith her divorce and Arthur's and Merlin's custody. Uther would sit in a prison for a long time and he would have to pay a large compensation for Merlin, his mother and Arthur. They had won and now they could go home.
A/N Yes! The legal proses is now behind me! Finaly! It was a bit painful to write, to be honest. All the time I wanted to have more information and it really pains me that I was not able to get all the information I would have wanted. So, do not take this as a sample of real trial, I have used laws from here and there and used some imagination just for the sake of drama. For example if Arthur was going to stant as a witness, he wouldn't have been able to sit in the trial and listen everything Merlin said... He would have waited in a separate room like Morgana did.
Morgana, yes, she is finaly here! I have to say I'm waiting for few more reviews I normaly get ;) So many have asked me about her beforehand. And before anyone asks, yes, she will appear again :)
I have had some crazy days at work and seriously, you who have reviewed me are the only thing at times that had kept me from just buying a bottle of wine and opening Netflix... I still have two weeks before my university starts and until then I'm slave to my job. Even after that I actually have to work at least two nights a week to keep my head above my rent... Ok, I'm complaining, sorry. My point was that I really enjoy every review and that your effort really warms my heart :) I can have the same good feeling from you guys than from entertainment and I really, truly thank you all for your kind words, ideas and speculations, I love to read those :) Have a nice day and see you soon!
EDIT! ...? What on earth happened?! I uploaded this chapter almost two days ago and well, I went to sleep and then to work and I checked if I had gotten reviews and I had gotten some, so I was just happy that I would have something nice to read when I get home. Then I went to another work and then I slept. So now that I woke up, I started to read them and I noticed that they weren't for this chapter. I also got one review that asked me to update soon. It was very nicely phraced, but my thought was like '...but I just updated?' So, I looked a bit better and I noticed that this chapter's statics said it had zero views... I was very much confused. I logged out and seached my story from ff and it turned out, this chapter was not there. So I'm now uploading it again. If it's now here twice, I will erase the other. So, I'm sorry for the confusion!
mersan123 I'm so happy that you liked Susan! And that Aida reminded you of your actual daughter :) I added the muffins just because you told me you bake them, I actually made that scene mostly based on the info you gave me :) Gwaine may seem like he has no care of the world or sense of what is the right way to aproatch things, but he does have a very definite sense of moral. Drinking is alright, but not when it's clearly for distracting oneself from things that should be addressed. He has done that himself and is not proud of that... The trial was not easy to even write. I hope I was able to write it well enough... but truly those kind of things are stressing in every way possible. After this, we will get to some lighter times. I hope you will enjoy them :)
Chibi . warlock Now I want muffins too... I wish I could bake muffins... But I'm happy that you liked that scene, even if it was a bit filler in between ;)
GuestChacha Talent, genius... those are not words I have associated with myself, but thank you :) I'm flattered. You quessed right, Uther would have tried to speak to his son amog other things, but Aredian (not very) kindly adviced to keep his mouth shut. For Merlin getting cold, I meant like indoors temperature cold, like when it's about 18 celsius inside and you feel cold but there is no danger of getting any serious effects really. So no worries, Merlin is alright in that sense :) About the surnames, I think at that period of time only nobles had surname, the comon folk were adressed with one name and maybe with some kind of ending like 'someone's son' or 'of the place he was born' like 'Hunith's son' or 'of Ealdor'. People use Emrys in fanfiction as a surname because it was the only other name we ever saw in the show to addres Merlin. I have avoided that because it's not actually his surname, its original mening is 'the immortal one'. It was very interesting what you said about reviewers and I have to agree, it's not like I'm a professional writer and this is very different from actually bublishing something. Here I can modify my story as I go based on comments and I don't have to make a complite story before bublishing. That is so nice and I really value your comments. Thank you again for them all :)
Skypeoplephoenix732 I often feel lazy like that, circling around something, especially if I'm heading to other way, feels so taxing... climping over something feels easier in comparation even if t might take more time and might get me dirty or whatever, I still do it... I'm simple like that. It is so tragic that there are people feeling like that and I think it's one big side of these kind of crimes, the victim feels that they are tainted or dirty or at fault for much longer than the actual crime lasted... My happy ending includes some serious healing on this aspect even if it won't be complite... You just gave me a new disturbing image of you consuming a chocolate filled dettybear. Thanks for that...
Angel Dove1 I guessed it was you, but thanks for telling :) I dug a lot of humour of those 'girl' jokes in the original series, I have a very simple sense of humour... I actually told myself the same thing about Gwaine and Percy that you did :D But even after that I kind of made a change that would have corrected that on slip up... I wonder if you remember what that was... ;D (It will be mentioned later again...) Great that you liked the last chapeter, It was indeed a filler, one day took a whole chapter and all... but I kind of wanted to show the anxiety and well, i wanted to write something lighter at this point. I'm a bit selfish that way... It is so sad that Merlin continues to think himself asd something dirty, but that feeling follows. A very long time. It will take a lot of time to see himself how people arond him react and slowly it will chnage his way of seeing himself. It helps that he has seen how someone who doesn't know him reacted. In his mind, Susan had no reason to sugarcoat anything, so she must have been honest with her way of reacting. It's also important to entablish their relationship to the outide world, it helps to entablish it in their own minds too. (sorry for the preatching by the way...) I'm so happy that you liked Aida, she will appear later, I hope you will find that scene cute too :) You are right, Merlin is brave, but some of that being able to go out alone is because 'outside' has never been the threat for Merlin nor being alone. His conscious brain told him that it was dangerous to go outside alone, but when few days passed and his feelings started to suffocate him, it was quite logical thing to do, to get out. I really love your comments, just to let you know :) I have done my best to keep Arthur depending on Merlin, it would have been too easy to let Merlin just be the one in need of comfort, but really, that would not be healthy. In my opinion, letting one in any relationship be the one who constantly needs support and the other be the one who always supports the other, there will be unbalance that will cause one to feel tired and one to feel weak and failed as a human being, being one who cannot stand on their own feet... I wanted to make their relationship a good one. You summed up so well what Arthur was feeling! I hope I managed to write the them well in this chapter too :)
Insanereviewer I know all about the first few weeks of semester with a new class, so no worries :) I hope you are doing well and you have nice class with nice parents! I'm so glad that the legal prosess is now behind me! i don't have to try to sound like I know about it anymore... I hope it seemed close enough till the end :P I hope not many have taken it too seriously, as you said, this is fiction and well, if this was a real book, I would have done actual reseach and called to maybe to some lawyers and interviewed them or something, but for a fanfiction... maybe no even if I'm highly interested at this point. I wish I had a friend in the deartment.. anyway, So nice that you still like Percy :) About Merlin going to Gaius, it really is better. Being with Gwen and Elyan especially alone... that would have been painfull for all of them. If Arthur had been there, he could have spend some time with Gwen and Elyan and Merlin could have lingered around so he wouldn't have been alone (I wouldn't leave him alone at home for such a long time with nothing else to do but worry...) but with no need to try to be social, but even then going to Gaius was better opinion I think :) Someone recomented me the Law and Order, but I can't find it from my country (maybe I could buy it, but I don't want to buy tv-series I have not seen at all...) I could have really used that... About jury... you might have noticed that I just didn't mention it much in this chapter. That is because we have a different system here and I have no idea how jury really works... :P You had very good points about this chapter in your review, I hope I met your expectations :) yeah, going out dd goo for Merlin, sometimes we need just some fresh air and space to move to get ourselfs to function. Especially in this kind of situation. Going ou as he pleased was also something he wasn't able to do in Uther's house, so testing his old limits and learning to trust that he has the freedom he deserves now is also an important thing to do. About Aida... I have read a lot of books, fiction, comics... you name it with very un-childlike children and I did my best to make Aida to seem like an actual child. I actually made her six because I have taught mostly seven and eight years olds so that age group is something I'm very familiar with. Still I don't have my own children nor any of my relatives are at that age so I have very little experience of how children behave at home... so I'm happy that you compared her to someone you actually know :) Your reaction to the favourite colour thing was very interesting, I did indeed add it because I wanted to bring up this way how much Merlin had lost of himself. Every kid has a favourite colour and even if it's not that important maybe for boys at that age anymore, it's still so close that it's not something many just forget that existed... Yeah, Arthur is more I-have-already-decided-so-it's-like-this kind of guy. He knows he's not dangerous for children, so he hadn't even thought about the posibility of Merlin feeling like that, so good thing Merlin opened his mouth and spoke him mind without botlling it up first :) Also Hunith... I want her to do the right thing now that I don't need to write her missing things for the sake of the plot anymore... :P If she had kept Arthur's and Merlin's relationship a secret, eventually it would have made troubles. In many way and one being that it would have strengthened the believe that this part of him was something shamefull and needed to be kept hidden for Merlin. Yep, Gwaine thinks drinkin a bit it harmless or even a good thing, but he didn't want Merlin to drink for his anxiousness. Let's see how drunk he will get Merlin when they can finaly celebrate though... ;) It was so much fun to use the word cretin, so thank you for giving it to me :) So great you liked Merlins comment on Arthur's guestions! It makes me happy :) Again your analysis on Merlin's feelings is spot on, maybe we think alike because we are both teachers? Just a thought :) Aaaand, Morgana! Now, I want all your crazyest theories! Bring it on! And comments. If I don't get comments of Morgana I will start to pount!
Guest Hi! That was very nicely phraced way to tell that you like my story and want more :D I really liked it and Thank you, for maybe if not for your comment, it would have takem more time d´for me to find out that I had screwed up posting this chapter... I hope you liked the chapter!
Kao No worries, as it turned out, I was late too... I just don't get along with computers... I'm sorry to say that I still couldn't make the links work, I tried to replace all the spaces you had left with dots and I tried to just erase them, but it didn't work. I also Googled it but I couldn't find them thatway either. i'm sorry for the long scene, but we will get more Merlur in the future, so just hang in there :) Also now you can just enjoy the rest of the story with no my poor attempts to write legal stuff :P Oh God, months of this... no, I'm not writing that! This was long enough as it was... I hope not many were bored... Gwen, we will see Gwen quite soon :) You are right, Merlin copes better when everyone around him are acting normaly. That was why he needed to get out in the last chapter. He has actually coped Uther because everyone were acting normal around him (because they didn't know...) and he is used to that. he is not used to everyne stressing and fusing around him... The psychiatric thingy was the part I somehow erased and so it never happened... it was still mentioned that Freya did suggest it and well, I left it to Merlin to decide and at least for now he doesn't want that, so... It's not a mandatory thing. At hear at least it's not. Also I could have written at least three chapters worth of phsychiatrist and the meetings and medications.. but I passed. I'll mention the theme at some point, but I decidid not to go there this time. I hope this annoyingly long court scene didn't feel too painful for you, I promise some Merthur in the next chapter!