Thanks to Lady Clark-Weasley of Books, Glittery-excuse-for-a Fae, Ikchen, Siany-T and Hogaboom! Sorry I took so long to update! Been busy with owrk experience. Ooh, I feel so greedy! I ate ten chocolate chip biscuits! I was soo hungry! I'm gonna get fat. :( Still, on a happier note! Merlin is on in two days and it looks fab!
Gwen waited somewhat quietly as the guards bashed down the huge wooden doors to the Great Hall; patience was usually her virtue but today that was not the case, today someone she liked – someone she even loved – could be in danger. The handmaiden shifted restlessly from foot to foot as, with one final whack, the doors fell open and there was a massive clattering as the pile of furniture behind them tumbled. The three guards hurried in first bidding her to stay still for safety. She didn't listen however, rushing passed them.
The hall was empty. This obviously surprised the guards and not just her. Why on earth would the doors be barricaded if there was no one inside to barricade them? It made little sense. Not only that but she was sure this was where she would find Merlin. Another servant had informed her he'd seen the boy slip into the room earlier on in the day. So why wasn't he here now?
Her brown eyes scanned the entire area anxiously, hoping to see something, anything! And that was when she did. A pale hand stuck out from behind one of the pillars. She gasped and practically sprinted over, picking up her skirts in a very inelegant way. As she grew closer she saw the hand was attached to an arm clad in a very familiar material which led onto a torso on which was the head of…
"Merlin!" she breathed in horror. His face was horribly white, like snow, and his eyes were closed. The handmaiden crouched by his prone form and shook him gently. He did not rouse. His head flopped limply to the ground and she quickly leant forward to cradle it, worried the drop would hurt his neck. "Please, Merlin, wake up!" She felt his pulse – it thumped steadily.
"Stand back, girl." A heavy hand dropped on her shoulder and pulled her back.
"No, sir, I need to help him," Gwen protested, turning to the guards, terrified they would take her away from the boy.
"I know. Let me lift him up and I'll take him to the physician." The man offered her a friendly smile and the handmaiden breathed a sigh of relief. That was her next step of action but she would never have managed Merlin's weight on her own. She shuffled away, still reluctant to leave her friend's side, and watch the guard scoop the body up with a grunt. Hopefully Gaius would be able to work out what was wrong.
Nimueh smiled condescendingly at Arthur, as if she was correcting small child on something very simple and basic they'd got wrong. Not surprisingly, her manner was not appreciated by the prince. He glared at her. She chuckled at his expression, ruby red lips perfectly shaped.
"Oh, Arthur, you are amusing," she used her most patronising tone. "Didn't you know? This bird is Merlin."
"Yeah, I know," the prince nodded, raising one eyebrow. Why was she telling him something he knew?
"You do?" For a moment the sorceress looked wrong-footed but then she relaxed back into her calm demeanour. "I don't think you understand, young prince, this bird is not only a species of Merlin but he is your friend, your manservant, Merlin."
It was official; the wicked witch of Camelot had lost it. If she really thought that that falcon was Merlin then she needed her head testing. He couldn't believe she believed it herself let alone trying to get him to believe it. It was absurd.
"Are you kidding?" His incredulous tone of voice didn't hide his disbelief. Once again Nimueh looked shock but rather than returning to neutral after she'd gotten over her surprise her face morphed into one of fury. Arthur would go as far to say she looked livid.
"Do you mock me? Do you not believe my words? How can you not? How can you not see that your manservant is a sorcerer? He used magic to transfer into that falcon and I have trapped him there! Are you so ignorant?"
"Obviously," Arthur snapped, quite offended. There was no way on earth Merlin could possibly understand magic let alone be a sorcerer who could claim animals' bodies.
The prince stared at Elsu, confined in the cage and obviously still in pain from whatever Nimueh had cursed him with. Arthur pitied the creature greatly and would like nothing better than to break his bonds and free the falcon. Merlin would never forgive him if any harm came to the bird – it was practically his baby. But he couldn't free himself, not with the vile tradesman standing guard over him, scrutinising his every move. Arthur couldn't believe he'd trusted the man and let him into the castle; he was usually such a good judge of character.
Merlin was astonished. Arthur completely did not believe anything Nimueh said. The warlock was sure now, short of performing a spell right in front of the prince's eyes, that the other man would never believe him capable of magic. It was both good and bad. Good because then no one could tell Arthur that Merlin was a wizard behind his back but bad because the future king of Camelot could not even entertain the idea his clumsy servant was actual a sorcerer. Merlin felt quite insulted. Still, he was not one to hold grudges and decided to be glad of Arthur's disbelief. Right now he needed to focus on escaping.
Bedivere trod carefully, his leather shoes barely audible on the rocky ground. He could hear people talking. They were up ahead, somewhere in the dark. That was the thing, Bedi had forgotten to bring a torch or any form of light so he was walking in complete blackness – he was blind. It was unnerving to be in the narrow space with no light but the boy persisted with his quest because he didn't want to go back. Firstly, he didn't want to face the King's wrath and secondly he had a funny feeling that Merlin was in trouble. It was some kind of intuition he had.
Plunging farther into the gloom, the tradesman's son braced himself. He was having a horrible flash back to that day in the wood. Except this time, instead of hesitating and turning back, he'd rushed headlong into the unknown; into danger. Bedivere was certain that this cavernous place was the one he had dubbed the gates of hell. He was also sure that at the end of this tunnel he would find the woman he despised - hopefully Merlin and Arthur too. The child didn't even spare a thought for his missing father.
The passageway widened finally and a haze of soft green light illuminated the jagged stone walls. Despite the ominous colour, Bedivere couldn't help feel warmed and excited by the glow. It meant he had almost reached his destination. Creeping up to a rock jutting out from the edge of the cave, he peered round it and stared. Beyond the boulder was a massive chamber full of empty space. It stretched upwards for what seemed like miles. The boy gaped in awe. And then he regained the use of his brain, scanning the lower part of the cavern to take in the people there. Immediately, his gaze sought out Nimueh, then Arthur, then his father but he could not see the Elsu-Merlin creature anywhere.
Getting more desperate in his searching for the warlock, his eyes finally landed on the cage. He was surprised he had not noticed it before considering it was resting so close to him and glowing – this was the object the cast the emerald light – but he guessed that was the reason he had not observed it properly, believing it to be just a lantern. Behind the bars he could just make out the dark silhouette of a bird – a falcon. Bedivere felt his heart leap with anticipation. Merlin may have been caught but he could do something about that. The evil witch had her back turned and was obviously not concentrating on the bird, her attention caught by the sitting form of Prince Arthur. They were deep in conversation. It was time for the youth to act. Maybe it would finally be his chance to save the day.