I know, I know.. I made you wait ridiculously long, but first I had exams, then I got really lazy followed by no idea what to write... this finally came to mind today so I hope you'll like it and forgive me for the delay. Also, sorry for any mistakes I have only quickly read throught it again so there probably are still some mistakes, hope it's not too bad and I'll try to revise soon!
Thanks for the lovely reviews until now and pls keep it up. =)
Disclaimer: Still don't..
Chapter 10
Not for the first time that day did Merlin wonder why oh why he'd accepted the 'mission' King Arthur had given him. Of course, at first he'd been thrilled to be able to help and do something, but that had changed pretty fast. It certainly wasn't as much fun as he'd thought it would be, but then again how could he ever have believed that being bait would be exciting? Terrifying, yes, exciting not so much.
Now, as he was running away from an army of bad guys, with no weapons, pretending to be Emrys, he just wished he hadn't woken up yet. He could still be blissfully unconscious without a care in the world…
Flashback
"Rise and shine sleepy head."
The irritatingly cheerful voice roused Merlin from his deep slumber, and judging by his splitting headache he hadn't been out that long. Groaning he slowly opened his eyes, clutching his aching head with his hand, blinking rapidly to re-accustom himself with the blinding light, before he could finally make out what or rather who was with him.
Hovering only inches above him was King Arthur, smirking evilly, "Now, you know just how it feels to be woken up like that every single day." Righting himself the blonde then only told him to get his ass out of bed and to join them in Gaius' chambers pronto.
Flashback end
Looking back Merlin cursed his own stupidity for following that order. Normally he had no problem with simply ignoring everything Arthur told him to do. Even now he couldn't say what came over him in that moment…
But instead of going back to his well-deserved rest he had practically crawled out of bed, made himself a little more presentable and joined the group in Gaius' chambers. Apart from the normal inhabitant, only King Arthur and Emrys had been in the room, which in itself was strange as Uther had made it quite clear, several times, that he didn't want them to be left alone while roaming his castle. Anyway, right after Merlin had joined them Arthur had presented his proposition, which at the time sounded rather exciting and reasonable.
All he had to do was distract the enemy while the future people would prepare a devastating blow, which would apparently cripple their opposition forever. Not that anyone knew what that plan entailed exactly, the only part Emrys and Arthur had disclosed was Merlin's fun trip to the enemy's stronghold. And wasn't that just reassuring? But again Merlin had ignored the numerous ways he could quite possibly die on that mission and accepted it. Now, being where he was, he himself wondered if he truly had that mental affliction, because he couldn't think of any other reason why he'd be where he was otherwise.
At least at first things had run smoothly, he'd left the castle and walked through the barrier with one of those armguards. In stage one of the plan Emrys had made sure he looked just like him, which honestly wasn't that much work, and led him close to where he was supposed to go. There he'd been left alone and waited for his signal that was given shortly thereafter. With a last deep breath Merlin had then started stage two and stealthily walked into the camp. Well, okay he'd made quite some noise, but none that would have been overly suspicious and with that that stage was complete. Successful infiltration of enemy territory, check.
It was stage three where things had gotten tricky, which incidentally was the one Merlin was stuck in now. As one can guess, being confronted by the entire army had not been part of the plan; at least Merlin really hoped it hadn't. They had told him to lure away the leaders by approaching and taunting them, while the rest would be distracted by something or other. Without them the group would be far easier to defeat, as they were the most powerful ones. (Another point during Arthur's explanation where Merlin should have said "thanks for asking, but no thanks.")
Well, he had actually and surprisingly managed to fulfil his task, but unfortunately for him the others apparently hadn't. How he could know that? Oh, just because of the five or six hundred additional pursuers he had on his tail. Running like mad Merlin could just make out Camelot's silhouette in the distance and prayed that he would reach and pass the invisible barrier in time. And then he would throttle whoever had ruined the plan.
Squinting at the castle again he saw tiny movements on the battlements and hoping that the guards could help him some way he started waving frantically, just before he had to avoid another fire ball and hurried into a denser part of the forest.
.
Up on the battlements Prince Arthur had kept watch for anything unusual for what seemed like hours. After Merlin and the others had left the castle, he hadn't had much other choice than to stare at their approximate location. While he really hoped that the whole thing worked and they'd be rid of the future people again, he had a sneaking suspicion that something wasn't going accordingly. And if he had to guess he'd say it was most likely his manservant's fault…
A short time later he found his thoughts confirmed when he spotted said imbecile running for his life in front of several hundred sorcerers, who were throwing spell after spell after him. But then again Arthur was pleasantly surprised as the raven-head didn't stumble once, well that was before the boy waved like a maniac. Cue face-palm.
"What is it, Arthur?" his father, who had just appeared next to him, questioned.
"Nothing father, I just saw Merlin tailed by a lot of sorcerer, it seems the plan has failed." Turning to look where his son pointed to, Uther frowned and studied the forest as if his eyes were able to look beyond the foliage. However, they didn't have to wait long till Merlin burst out of the woods and dashed toward the gates.
Unfortunately, only moments before he reached safety one of the spells struck Merlin in the back and a myriad of ropes promptly bound him, effectively trapping him on the ground. Swearing profusely Arthur hurried to get off the battlements and to the gate, followed distantly by Uther, who walked without haste.
When the prince arrived at the gates Merlin was still on the ground squirming unsuccessfully against his bonds. In the meantime his pursuers were cackling maliciously and taunting their fallen adversary. As of yet none of them made a move to further attack Merlin, they obviously enjoyed seeing him sprawled on the ground helplessly.
Trapped within the barrier Arthur desperately tried to get to Merlin, which only made the sorcerers laugh louder. Gritting his teeth upon realising there was nothing he could do, the blonde stared at his servant and bellowed "Merlin, you idiot, do something." From his position on the ground Merlin looked up at his master with an expressing that clearly said 'I'm trying you prat.' before he continued his useless escape attempts.
"Let's just kill him already." hissed someone in the crowd behind him, whereupon Merlin redoubled his efforts. Then they started arguing how to kill him and hearing most of the possibilities he wasn't really keen on actually experiencing any of them. However, his time was running out and he still hadn't found a way to escape.
Before he could make a decision, they did, and without dallying further they hurled another spell at him, only that this one was meant to be the last one he ever felt. Gazing at his prince, he saw Arthur's horrified expression as he was staring at whatever came his way, and he thought that it couldn't end like this.
Making a split-second decision Merlin's eyes flashed golden, his bonds fell away and he was simultaneously flung forward by an invisible force, right through the shield and into safety. Behind him the spell hit the barrier only a second later, followed by the screams of the sorcerers. It seemed even they were confused, shouts of "You said he didn't have magic yet" and wails of "How could you have let him escape" penetrated Merlin's ears, his eyes though were fixed on Arthur. While the group in front of the gate threw a few last insults and disappeared shortly thereafter, as they still hadn't figured out how to break the barrier, Arthur remained exactly where he was for once speechless and stared at his servant in disbelief. His father, on the other hand, wasn't so easily silenced.
"You." Uther bellowed in rage "I knew it! You're a lying sorcerer." And pushing Arthur aside he drew his sword and pointed it at Merlin's throat. "All this time you've been plotting against Camelot, admit it!"
Not knowing what to do Merlin remained stock still and for a moment he was distracted by the irony of the situation, he'd just escaped certain death and now he was right back on the brink of death. Oh joy. Just when he was about to give his 'I'm innocent and here to protect Arthur' speech, another Merlin appeared from beyond the woods, redirecting the attention of Uther and the others.
He approached them, apparently oblivious to the hostile atmosphere, having only eyes for his counterpart and exclaimed "Oh thank god, we changed place back there before they got me- or yo-" and with that said he promptly stumbled over his own feet and fell face first into the dirt.
Uther, still with his sword at Merlin's throat, stared at the other one dumbfounded, before realisation struck him. "You're Emrys!" he shouted disbelievingly at the one kneeling in front of him. Nodding frantically for a moment, before realising that his future self would behave more dignified Merlin quickly confirmed that statement.
"But when?" questioned the king while removing the sword from his throat. He was still not comfortable with the sorcerer, but it was clear that he had no right to kill this one...unfortunately.
Wide-eyed Merlin tried to make something up, but thankfully his older self saved him once again, faking awed enthusiasm. "Oh it was brilliant, the moment I ran into the woods, he swooped in out of nowhere and took over, while I hid behind a tree."
"Yep, that sounds like our Merlin.." muttered Arthur quietly, although the relief in his voice was palpable.
"Then why did you still pretend you were him?" inquired Uther gazing at 'Emrys'.
'Uh-oh, good question…' Merlin thought, 'Our enemy doesn't know that I already had magic in the past, so they weren't afraid of you as soon as they guessed who you were. And you didn't want to use any, so that they would still think you had none for future strategies…" startled at the other voice in his head, which was his own, but not really, he quickly relayed what he'd been told; an edited version of course.
Satisfied with the explanation Uther only nodded and walked off. Arthur then proceeded with his own interrogation; a little confused he directed his question at both of them. "So, why exactly did the plan fail?"
"Unexpected developments." Answered 'Merlin' succinctly.
"Which means you tripped fell and they saw you before they should." Replied Arthur barely able to restrain his laughter, which quickly got impossible as both Merlin's glared at him perfectly synchronic and strut off together towards the castle.
Please let me know what you thought! :D
