A/N: Hello! Ugh, I know I must suck for not uploading sooner, but things were hectic at home for a while (nightmare visits from relatives are NOT enjoyable lol)
Anyway, thanks again to all who voted, you all make my day you really do ^_^_^_^ and the verdict is:
Option B- He follows Cyrus, the cloaked figure, to see where they are headed and confront them about the plan to take over Camelot.
Again, I'm sorry if that isn't what you originally voted for, but I hope I did this chapter justice and that you all like it anyway =D
Enjoy!
Merlin glanced at Brydan's retreating back, then turned to Cyrus, who was quickly disappearing through the throng of trees.
I have to find out who Cyrus is, he thought desperately, setting off after the cloaked figure. I need to know what they intend to do now the stone has been destroyed. So Merlin followed Cyrus through the forest, trying to keep as quiet as he could as he stepped on twigs and rustled through bushes.
They hadn't been walking long when they came across a narrow stream. Merlin hid behind a tree and positioned himself so he could watch what Cyrus was up to without being seen easily. When he poked his head around the trunk of the tree, he saw that Cyrus had let the cloak fall to the floor.
Cyrus was a woman, which wasn't what Merlin had truly been expecting. She was kneeling on the ground with her back to him, her hands in the stream, cupping water to splash on her face and arms. Merlin saw she had the same magical brand that the other members of the camp did, but on the top of her back. When she stood up, she turned and picked up the discarded cloak to dry herself off.
She wore a long revealing dress that was made of a peculiar, pale silver material, that seemed to shimmer, like water when hit with the suns rays. It was tied at the back of her neck and trailed down her front, only just covering her womanhood, to create a 'V' shape below her navel. The dress left her back completely bare and fell down to her ankles. It had long slits, running down in front of each leg which started at mid thigh and revealed black leather sandals, strapped to her knees. She had a crop of short, straight, jet black hair, that had a dark blue hue to it when the sun caught it. Her skin was pale, which caused her violet eyes to shine unnaturally bright and her painted lips to glow ruby red.
She dropped the cloak after she'd dried herself and smirked. "I know you followed me Emrys." Merlin grimaced and hid himself fully behind the tree. Her grin widened. "Come forth and ask the questions that you desperately want answered."
He sighed. There's no point in continuing to hide, he thought, she already knows I'm here. He stepped from behind the tree to reveal himself. She took a few steps closer to him, her eyes travelling his body, scrutinising every last inch of him. A hundred questions were buzzing through his head, but there was one that stood out from all the rest.
"Why were you in my bedroom?" He knew it had been her, the one in the grounds and in his bedroom last night.
"I wanted to retrieve the stone," she told him in a soft, but dangerous voice. "But when I saw that you had destroyed it, there was no longer any reason for me to be there."
Merlin frowned. "Why didn't you kill me?"
"It was never, nor shall it ever be, my wish to harm you, Emrys."
"But you wish to harm Camelot?"
She smiled. "Not Camelot, just it's King."
Merlin shook his head. "You can't do that. Arthur isn't ready to become King."
She cocked her head to one side and stared at him curiously. "You would protect Uther? The man who would burn you at the stake within the blinking of an eye if he were to discover your secret, the man who must perish for magic to be restored to the realm… you would protect him?"
"Arthur isn't ready to become King," he repeated firmly. He knew he lived in a Kingdom where his powers were punishable by death... but if Uther was killed before Arthur was ready to become ruler, Albion would never be born. He frowned as a thought struck him. "You said you wanted to overthrow Uther... ah, you want to claim Camelot for your own," he said, realisation dawning on his face. "You want to name yourself ruler." She said nothing and simply smiled, her eyes glinting maliciously. "Arthur would have returned to a Kingdom that had been thrown into chaos. Camelot would be weak and you would have been able to take over easily."
"You're smarter than you look," she said sneeringly.
Merlin ignored the jibe. "I destroyed the stone," he said with a small smile. "Uther cannot suffer at your hand now."
"Perhaps not at the moment," she said. Then she smiled wickedly. "But you can suffer."
She whispered words of the Old Religion and Merlin heard what sounded like a multitude of whips cracking the air. Two grey whirlwinds appeared on either side of Cyrus and from them materialised two of the large men from the camp. They rounded on Merlin and leered, cracking their fingers, which seemed to be itching to curl around his throat.
As they advanced, he barked instinctive words of magic, which sent large balls of light hurtling towards his foes. This would usually cause an enemy to be knocked backwards and thrown off their feet, but not these men. They grunted in pain as the ball of light hit them, but they were otherwise un-phased, shrugging off the magic and continuing their advances.
Cyrus laughed. "You will have to do better than that to defeat my men!"
Merlin's heart was pounding against his ribcage. She must be the leader of this cult, he thought as he tried to back away from the large thugs.
But his path was blocked. Before he could turn around, he felt someone wrapping their arms around him, keeping him from escaping. He half hoped that he it was a huge metal claw that was binding him; something to signify that it was all a dream. But it was two huge, beefy arms that bound him now.
He heard a throaty cackle. "No where to run now, boy." It was Brydan. He must have appeared behind him to block his escape route.
Cyrus laughed as she watched him struggle. "Uther may not suffer the visions," she said, an evil glint in her eye, "but there are always other ways we can gain control over Camelot, all of which require you incapacitated." She whispered words of magic in a tongue that was foreign to Merlin. Her eyes shone gold and a pale lilac mist seeped delicately from her fingertips.
"You said you didn't want to hurt me!" Merlin yelled, panic setting in. as he watched the mist waft toward him.
"It will not harm you in any way," she told him as the mist crept closer. "It will merely render you unconscious." Cyrus stalked ahead of the mist, which was now mere inches away from his face, her dress fluttering fluidly behind her. She leant in close to his ear. "I want you bear witness to the fall of Camelot," she whispered. "A new age is dawning!"
"No!" He yelled. Then the mist was upon him. It entered his mouth and nose, dulling his senses, making his eyelids grow heavy and causing his knees to buckle. Brydan held him and prevented him from falling to the ground. He tried to fight the effects of the mist, but it was useless.
The last thing he remembered was a pair of vivid, violet eyes staring at him and a pair of red lips, twisted in a vicious sneer.
~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~
When Merlin woke, he found himself in an enormous cavern, crudely sectioned into cells with magically conjured bars; they were engulfed in a bright blue flame, so escape was highly improbable. He saw, through the mouth of the cave, that it was the middle of the night. He could just about make out the outline of other prisoners and people walking around that must have been the guards.
"Finally woke up then?"
The voice made him flinch and caused him to frantically search the cell for the individual it belonged to. He saw by the dim light, he was sharing the cell with a withered looking old man. He had a large, shaggy mane of grey hair and wore clothes that were tattered, and so dirty, they looked like they hadn't seen soap in a long time.
"Who are you?" He managed to ask.
The old man only snorted. "Names. What do they matter?" He laughed. It was short and humourless. "That's not the question you should be asking, boy." His voice was low and husky, his tone hard and sharp.
Merlin frowned. "What should I be asking then?" He asked testily. Merlin had had a rough day, and he was in no mood for any lip from anyone.
The old man crawled over to him, until their faces were only a few inches apart. Merlin could smell that hygiene wasn't something this man focused on. "The question is 'how do we escape'?" The old man said.
Before Merlin had a chance to answer, the old man had crawled away to a dark recess at the back of their cell. He placed a hand on a stone and muttered a short incantation. The stone melted away, merging with the surrounding rocks to create a dark, narrow tunnel that sloped downward slightly.
The old man crawled forward, but before entering the tunnel, he turned to face Merlin. "Are you coming?"
Merlin frowned again. "Where?"
He sighed impatiently. "Are you coming or not?" He asked again, this time, more aggressively.
"Where?" Merlin repeated firmly.
The old man grunted in frustration. "Fine. Stay here and get killed if you want!" And with that, he began crawling slowly through the narrow passageway, away from the makeshift dungeon.
"Wait! Where are you going?" But Merlin got no answer.
He began to make his way over to the tunnel to follow the old man, but stopped.
How do I know I can trust him? Merlin thought as he stared down into the dark tunnel. Just because he was a prisoner like me, doesn't mean he has good intentions.
Merlin sat down and wondered whether it would be in his better interest to stay or escape. As he pondered this, screams erupted from several other cells in the cave. Screams of terror that were mingled with malicious laughter. The noise was magnified by the cave and the slimey walls distorted the sound, making it seem grotesque and inhuman. They're torturing the prisoners! Merlin realised.
He was torn.
If I stay here, I'm sure to get tortured by these brutes. I'm definitely no match for them physically and my magic was almost useless against them earlier… On the other hand, if I go down into the tunnel, I could be walking into a trap, well, crawling into one. Although I think I'd have a decent chance of defending myself against that odd old man, even if he does have magic… I guess I have to pick the lesser of two evils.
YOU DECIDE!
Option A: Merlin stays in the cell and waits to see what the guards will do to him.
Option B: Merlin takes his chances and follows the old man into the dark tunnel.
Thanks for reading ^_^ and vote for what you want to happen!
