I have received so much response to the first chapter as a thank you I have posted the second chapter early. Hope you enjoy.
…Arthur and Morgana sat down until every diary was read, writing down every clue they could find, then they compared notes. They were both convinced Merlin was somewhere in Windsor Castle. Looking at the dates in the past year when Uther had written of visiting Merlin, and double checking they found Uther was in residence on each occasion. Morgana was the first to wonder if the access to Merlin's room or rooms was from their father suite. After all that would be the most discreet.
They had also found a list of what appeared to be wages paid with initials identifying who they had been paid to. This was handed over to the Commissioner.
They waited for several specialists to arrive, before setting out on the search, after all this was a police matter and care needed to be taken to preserve evidence. The siblings sat and thought about the past years dreading up memories.
Arthur knew Uther had married the love of his live Ygraine De Bois, his mother, a French millionaire's daughter, and that it had taken them four years before finally after IVF. After which they had a baby son, Arthur. By then they were King and Queen. That had been twenty six years previously. During childbirth Ygraine had died of amniotic fluid embolus, a rare complication, nothing had been able to save her. Although they had been very lucky that Arthur had not suffered any lasting effects. One thing about the modern age was although his father had refused to talk to him about his mother there was enough records in the public domain for him to find out when he was old enough.
It was to everyone's surprise that Uther had remarried eighteen months later to Lady Hunith Emrys, who had found out to late that the King had married her to be a mother to his son. Arthur had loved her from the beginning, she had been a kind and gentle mother to him, a balance to his father's very strict discipline. Uther had refused to allow Hunith to use the title Queen instead the term Consort was used. Uther would visit Hunith in her chambers in order that she could supply the spare to the heir and ten months after their marriage Morgana was born. And two years later Merlin was born after that Uther made no pretence of sleeping with his wife. They had completely separate chambers, Arthur knew that Hunith had ever been in her husband's rooms, a fact that had come out when he had asked her about something in his father's personal office.
They had enjoyed their early childhood together bur that changed all too soon. When Merlin was four that he had gone with his mother to open a children's hospital and they were attacked in the way home. The other children were at school so didn't go. Despite every effort of their protection men Hunith was shot dead and Merlin sustained a head injury.
Arthur remembered that from then he was not allowed to even play in the garden unless there was a large police presence. For Morgana and Arthur, as well as poor Merlin their lives changed completely, they no longer had the comforting presence of their mother, only a father who expected the best of them at every turn. They were Pendragon's and that had to always be remembered.
It was strange to think that except for the study Uther's children had ever gone anywhere else in their father's chambers. The study was used for lectures on behaviour and what was expected of them. It was also the place Uther had told them that Hunith had died. Arthur could remember his step mother's funeral it had been a quiet affair, unlike the State funeral of Queen Ygraine, he had been nine years old and Arthur remembered walking by the side of Morgana who had been six. Merlin was still in hospital.
Nine months later Merlin had been with the family at a visit by the American President, too good a photo opportunity for Uther to show what a caring father he was, when Merlin had his first seizer in public. Uther had been mortified. Merlin was not seen in public again with his family.
The day after his fifth birthday Merlin had died, and once again the children were told in this very office. His funeral had been a very sad one, but with the public outpouring of grief for the small boy, Uther had been forced to make it a grand affair. Arthur could remember standing in this very office with his sister the day before the funeral and being told not to be seen crying in public even though they were only ten and eight. They had both sobbed their hearts out regardless.
Arthur was pulled out of his memories as the Commissioner spoke "Your Majesty, the team are here now, shall we look around the rest of the chambers?"
Arthur nodded he had already insisted he be present when the search was undertaken, then he turned to his sister "You needn't come Morgana why don't you have a rest, I'll have you called if we find anything."
"No way! I want to be there if you, when you, find Merlin, he's my brother as well" she insisted. She could never remember hating her father as much as she did at that moment, and to think she had sat with him while he died.
Arthur put his arm round his sister in a rare public show of affection, after all Uther was no longer there to tell them how to behave, "OK come on"
They walked out of the office and along the corridor to the sitting room, it was full of photos of Ygraine, a few of the children but only one of Hunith and that was in a group photo taken when the children were small. As the old castle walls were very thick the police checked the panelling and checked thick, they had done the same in the office. After that they went through to the bedroom. Nothing was found there either.
Arthur noticed the photo of his mother by the bed, again nothing to show Hunith had been in his life. Arthur was incensed at the disregard his father seemed to have for his second wife. Arthur had loved her like a mother, in fact she had been more a parent to him than his father. He hoped that Morgana hadn't noticed but suspected she had.
There was a couple of large store rooms and a small kitchenette as well as a high spec bathroom. All were checked thoroughly. The end of the corridor was a panelled wall, on closer inspection the police found a concealed door. Behind the door was a narrow stone stair case. Although it looked like it was built at the same time as the castle, either as a servant's access or an escape in case of siege, it was clear it had been used in recent years. The police went down asking the Royals to wait until called. The stair way clearly went down from the rooms on the first floor and down through the ground floor to the cellar area. As the police got to the cellar area there was a short tunnel at the end of which there was two locked doors. One led to a tunnel, again used, the other was where they found what they were looking for. The police were armed and had already had their guns out. As they opened the door a man stood up in surprise, seeing the armed men he put up his hands. In front of him was a monitor with several views of room beyond.
Arthur and Morgana were waiting for news with the Commissioner when there were noises from below and shout came up for the paramedics. The Commissioner stopped Arthur from moving "No Sir, you must wait here, you will be informed when it is safe."
Once the paramedics had gone down the stairs Percy stood in front of the door, he knew just how impulsive and determined Arthur could be. The protection officer didn't want the as yet uncrowned King to put himself in danger. Morgana gripped Arthur and the two looked at each other in fear and apprehension about what was going on. Was their brother alright, what condition would he be in, had his guards hurt him when they had been discovered.