"ENOUGH!" Arthur shouted as he stepped inside and charged forward, pushing himself from Leon.
"Arthur.." Uther looked over his son in surprise, hot iron in hand. "What are you doing here?"
"What are YOU doing?" The prince kept his gaze on his father, because he feared if his glance would rest on Merlin for more then a few seconds he will break down and cry himself.
"Guards!" Uther called out firmly, and Arthur guessed it was to "escort" him out of there.
"They are not here, father, you sent them away." The prince hissed. "Now explain to me, why you are torturing my manservant!?"
"How dare you speak to me in such tone..?" Uther said with his usual eerie calm voice as he stepped closer to Arthur, but the young man stood his glare. "You cannot question my judgment and I don't need to explain myself to you." He said matter-of-factly, as if it simply annoyed him how he has to keep repeating that, and it crossed the prince's mind how similar the man's gestures are to that of a crazed one.
"He's done nothing wrong." Arthur said more quietly. He was getting desperate. He also guessed as much, that yelling wasn't going to help him convince his father. He would just become more vehement in his conviction – whatever that was right now.
"Oh really? I made him your manservant. And what a fool I've been.. He fooled us all!" he said looking over at the shivering bloody form that just barely looked up at them. Face glistering with tears and sweat; and blood from the side of his face, all to vanish and dirty the short beard on his jaw, the rest of his body a bloody mess of wounds and dirt. Merlin looked pleadingly at them. Eyes going out of focus from time to time; breath coming out in moaning pants; the burn marks painfully ripping at his senses. The scent of burnt flesh eerily filling the air.
"All this time he's been against us."
"Against us?! Father.." that just didn't make any sense.
"He's a dragonlord's son!" the king shouted.