Thanks to Lady Clark-Weasley of Books, Hogaboom, Ikchen, xXStephRheaXx, you-shall-never-know-me and a special thanks to llivla for such amusing reviews! Not much humour in this chapter. Sorry!
Elsu was agitated. Although the pain had subsided he still jerked and twitched every second or so. Merlin really didn't blame him; the bird was in shock. Not many creatures could expect to experience that much agony and torture in the first few months of life – and survive it. The warlock was proud of his animal companion but he wished that he'd never put him in this situation in the first place. He couldn't believe he'd been so stupid as to think that Nimueh wouldn't realise he was in Elsu; she was such a powerful sorceress that she probably knew he could do it before he did. So, because of Merlin's stupidity, the two of them – man and bird – were now bonded together in one body completely and utterly helpless.
Racking his brains, Merlin tried to come up with a plan, anything that would allow him to either return to his own body or escape as Elsu. The problem was that as a bird he could not speak and therefore he could not say the words of a spell; it was physically impossible. But, he told himself - the revelation long coming – as this gifted warlock destined for great things, as he'd been told many times, he didn't always have to perform magic with his mouth. Sometimes all he had to do was react on instinct. And what was his instinct telling him to do now? Escape…
Bedivere was now upon the cage, his light footedness had allowed him to get almost unbearably close to Nimueh's evil presence but yet she still hadn't noticed. Forcing himself to breathe quietly and steadily and bidding his galloping heart to be silent, the boy reached out towards the shining green bars. Then the bird inside turned. The look in its eyes was so strong yet wrought with agony that Bedivere almost fled. He was sure that those piercingly intelligent eyes were trying to tell him something important but he could not decipher what. The falcon's irises grew impossibly big and his whole frame shook. Merlin obviously didn't want him touching the cage. The boy backed away slowly. So much for saving the day.
Just then the bars of the prison began to shift, bending outwards like a great gaping mouth. Bedivere expected the metal to be shrieking in protest but the movement was silent. Soon the gap was big enough for the small falcon to slip through, and it did. The squeeze looked awkward – the bird's wings twisted at strange angles – but he was through. The tradesman's son smiled with relief. This relief was short lived however as the merlin shot towards Nimueh, practically dive-bombing onto her head. Then Elsu proceeded to rake mercilessly at her head. Bedivere guessed, hoped, that this was the animalistic side of the falcon coming out rather than Merlin's doing.
In this time, Bedivere realised he was meant to act. He darted passed the witch and the falcon who were now fighting viciously towards were Prince Arthur lay shackled and guarded by Fabien. Up to this point the youth had not given a thought to his father but now, seeing him so close, the boy had to think twice. The tradesman had taken up a defensive stance, a dagger that had come from nowhere in his hand. His face was full of malice as he lunged. Bedivere took that as a signal, this was no longer his father; Fabien's mind had been warped beyond recognition. He was now just Nimueh's lovesick drone who would do her bidding to the death.
Aptly, the youngster leapt to the left, flinging himself out of the path of the sharp weapon. He hit the floor hard and rolled before flying to his feet once more. Then, unarmed, he faced his attacker. They circled for a moment, oblivious to the other battle raging just a few metres away, eyeing their opponents up. Fabien lurched forward again, attempting to slam the dagger into his son's stomach. He missed – just. Bedivere was terrified, his heart pounded in his ears, but he had to win this fight: for Merlin, for Arthur, for Camelot.
Thinking quickly, the boy calculated the man's weaknesses and his strengths. Obviously he had the weapon and he was much bigger and stronger but that made him slower. If Bedivere could use his agility to get the blade of his father then he may have a chance of winning.
Bedivere feinted to one side and then the other. This served its purpose in wrong footing and confusing his opponent. The boy then dived round the large form of Fabien and leapt on his back. From there he reached forward and plucked the dagger from his father's unsuspecting hand. Fabien began bucking and lashing out wildly, Bedi found it was like trying to ride an unbroken horse who just wanted to unseat you. He held on for dear life. There was only one way to finish this; one way he could win. Taking a deep breath, the young boy closed his eyes and plunged the blade straight through his father's back. Fabien toppled like a felled tree.
Barely giving himself enough time to think about the fact he'd just murdered his own father, Bedivere climbed off the now prone form of Fabien and hurried over to Arthur. When he discovered that the young man was shackled he returned to the dead man's side and rummaged in his pockets. As he did this he found the dagger still in his grip; the tip glistening oily black in the dim lighting, a warm substance dribbled down the handle and onto his skin. Suddenly he felt very sick.
"Are you okay? Have you found the keys?" Arthur called over to him, noticing how still the boy had gone – almost like a statue. He desperately wanted to escape his bonds and drive a sword straight through Nimueh's heart. Glancing over to the said woman now he saw that little Elsu was giving the sorceress a run for her money. He was astonished that the animal hadn't already fled. Why on earth would he be fighting a human? What was in it for him? Arthur refused to believe that Elsu was doing it out of loyalty to him that was ridiculous, only Merlin would do something that stupid. And there came that entertaining idea once more that Merlin was Elsu. But that was ludicrous…wasn't it?
"I've got them," Bedivere threw down the disgusting weapon and grabbed the keys from his father's pocket. He could still feel the warmth emanating from the corpse but Fabien was definitely dead, the boy had felt for a pulse. Then he stumbled over to the imprisoned prince to set him free.
Once Arthur had use of his hands and feet again he felt he could do something worthwhile. Looking around on the ground he searched for the dagger the boy had previously discarded. As he thought that he realised that he didn't even know the child's name. He hadn't bothered to ask at the castle, not deeming a tradesman's son worthy of his attention, but the youth had just saved his life by killing his own father. That should surely earn him some merit. It should also earn him the chance of getting out of here alive, Arthur realised. The mission he had wanted to undertake was suicidal and that was unfair on the youngster. He could continue this fight some other time; Nimueh wasn't going anywhere after all.
"What's your name?" the prince asked, quickly.
"Oh…um, Bedivere, my lord," Bedivere stammered, startled by the sudden change of subject.
"Okay, Bedivere, we're going to get out of here, alive." Arthur nodded more to himself than his young rescuer and began to run; making sure that the boy was following. The two of them careered passed the warring sorceress. Arthur barely noticed that she didn't even spare him a second glance, he'd served his purpose after all and she had who she wanted right within her sights.
In the dark, narrow tunnel again, Arthur found that he did not know which direction to go. The winding passages all looked endless and the same. Bedivere obviously noticed his hesitation and stepped forward.
"I believe it is that way, Prince Arthur."