No. 26—No One Left Behind
Separated | Rope Burns | "Why did you save me?"
Arthur burned, worry and fury making him shake. Just one patrol, one patrol without trouble. Why couldn't they just have one nice peaceful patrol?
The mercenaries that had captured Arthur—and Merlin, naturally, the idiot couldn't keep himself out of trouble even when Arthur yelled at him to run away—hadn't gotten the rest of the knights, which hopefully meant that soon the two would get rescued.
The mercenaries forced him onto the wooden floor of the abandoned castle they'd dragged him to. Several of the stone floors had collapsed, necessitating the wood floors. A middle-aged man lounged on a wooden throne.
"King Arthur," the man said. "And his weird scrawny manservant."
"Hey!" Merlin exclaimed.
"Merlin," Arthur said through gritted teeth. He turned to the man in charge. "Let us go." Though given the fact that the mercenaries had been elaborating on exactly how they would torture both of them, he didn't think that would go over well. Still, he had to try.
The man on the throne laughed. "But I've only just gotten you! You can't expect me to do that. I need information and, luckily enough, you two can give it to me. Maybe I can even get the queen to surrender now that I've got you." The man lounged against his throne and snapped his fingers. "Take them to separate rooms and interrogate them."
"Wait, no!" Arthur pushed his boots against the wooden floor. "Don't! Leave him alone, he's just a servant! He doesn't know anything!"
The mercenaries dragged him out in a different direction than Merlin. In a nearby room, they strung him up by his wrists with chains.
A large shirtless man bursting with muscles strolled in, a whip in his hand. He smiled and ripped Arthur's shirt from him. Arthur's armor had been taken immediately upon his capture.
A hook-nosed man crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Hello, your majesty. My name is Helic, and I'll be your companion for the next few months. Tell me, how many knights does Camelot have?"
"Where's Merlin?" Arthur demanded.
Helic smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that."
The large man strode behind Arthur and snapped the whip against his back. Fiery pain spread across his skin.
The man kept beating him. Fire spread through his entire back. He kept his mouth closed even though groans threatened to burst forth. Blood streamed down his back and soaked into his pants. Shaking spread through him with the effort of keeping the screams in.
A distant scream broke through Arthur's concentration. He'd never heard him scream before, but it had to be Merlin.
"Let him alone, leave him—aah!" The whip drove into an open lash wound on Arthur's back.
The door burst open. Dragoon stood in the doorway. He was wrapped in a ratty blanket. He shouted a magic spell, blasting everyone in the cell back except Arthur. Another spell broke Arthur's bonds. He slumped into the sorcerer's arms, darkness closing in on his vision.
"Why are you saving me?" Arthur asked. The man had contributed to the death of his father.
"Because you are halfway decent as king," Dragoon said. "Come on, let's go." He slung Arthur over his shoulder and shuffled out. The mercenaries cringed away as they shuffled out of the castle.
"Wait! We can't leave Merlin!" Arthur struggled, biting back a cry at the hot pain that washed over him.
Dragoon froze. "Merlin is…already out. I…rescued him first."
"Liar!" Arthur said. "You haven't had the time." As he struggled, the blanket fell from Dragoon's shoulders, revealing Merlin's clothes.
Pieces fell into place in Arthur's mind. The oh so familiar eyes, the odd insults and strange actions when he supposedly enchanted Gwen and Arthur, the tears in his eyes when Uther died, Merlin's absences whenever Dragoon was around. Arthur trembled with a mix of anger and devastation. "Merlin!" he bellowed.
"Explain later, run now!" Dragoon—or Merlin, rather—ran, hauling Arthur with him.
Arthur didn't have the energy to argue further.