I know that I just updated, but this is a very short chapter. Originally it was going to be part of another but then I decided that it really didn't fit anywhere else so I decided to give it its own chapter. Hope you like it.

The first time the whip descended on Merlin's thin back Arthur had only been able to watch in horror. And for the smallest of moments Arthur had irrationally thought that maybe the boy hadn't been able to feel it. But Merlin's body flinched badly and he gave a grunt of pain.

Arcturus turned his head briefly to grin at Arthur and then returned to his torment of Merlin.

The second time Merlin flinched and grunted again but this time he seemed more prepared for the blow. Meanwhile Arthur was already struggling uselessly against his chains in order to get to Merlin and kill the son of a bitch that was doing this to him. But even through his anger Arthur was impressed with Merlin's ability to hold in the pain, though, he almost wished that the boy wouldn't because after five strokes Arcturus seemed to be getting bothered by the boy's resistance.

The sorcerer kept bringing the whip down harder and harder, so hard, in fact, that the prince was almost afraid that the poor servant would be split in two with the force of them. It certainly felt that way for Arthur.

Even at the very first stroke Arthur could almost feel it; it was like he could feel the strength of the blow hitting Merlin so hard that it reverberated back to him. Each time that Merlin grunted in pain the same pain would seem to echo in Arthur's soul. Arthur knew that it was silly but it was like he could feel the poor boy shattering, it was almost like as Merlin broke apart so did he.

But no matter how hard he struggled or how many curses he threw Arcturus' way the man wouldn't stop; and so Arthur would yell louder. But after the fourteenth strike Merlin let out a cry of pain—not a scream—but that small cry could only begin to touch the surface of expressing the pain he must be feeling.

And that's when Arthur stopped shouting and cursing and started begging. He didn't care about Camelot anymore; there was no room in his heart to care about anything other than the innocent and suffering servant across from him. Arthur didn't care what it took he just wanted this torture to end; and so he begged.

"Please stop, please just leave him alone! I'll do anything, just stop!" Arthur screamed. But it was all to no avail; the sorcerer didn't even glance his way at those words. Arthur didn't know what to do; Merlin was practically hanging from the chains again and it seemed that each time the whip came down it came down harder. His back was just a blur of blood, how could someone so small lose so much blood?

Arthur wanted to do something but there was nothing to do. He was yelling and screaming all the time now; trying to get the monster torturing his servant, oh hell, his friend to stop.

Then the most horrible and heartbreaking sound he had ever heard wrenched through the air. Merlin screamed. And just like that Arthur stopped. He stopped struggling, he stopped yelling, he stopped begging, and he had long since stopped cursing. He stopped protesting at all because he simply didn't have the energy to.

Arthur became quiet because Merlin had screamed a scream of pure and utter agony and Arthur no longer had anything left in him to struggle. With that one scream, and indeed the ones that followed, Arthur was sapped of his strength because he knew that nothing he did could stop those horrible sounds.

Those screams had pierced his very soul, had cut to the core of his being because in the few months he had known Merlin; all the times that he had seen the boy suffer, everything that he had gone through; Arthur had never even begun to imagine that he could make a sound like that. He hadn't known that someone so innocent could suffer so much.

And that's why when Merlin finally slipped into the arms of unconsciousness that Arthur was relieved. Of course he was still frightened about the amount of damage that had been done to his friend, but he was immensely glad that the damage had stopped, for now at least. He had no idea if this monster would continue tormenting his manservant or not, and, currently, he didn't want to know.

Arcturus had stopped flogging Merlin when he saw that he could no longer feel it, so he coiled up the bloody whip and tucked it somewhere in his cloak. Then he went over and inspected the boy's back; as if to evaluate the quality of his work.

Once he had finished his analysis he walked over to where Arthur was chained up. He leaned in once more to whisper in Arthur's ear, who was still staring shocked at Merlin's abused, torn, and bloody back.

In a soft and eerie voice he said, "I told you I would make you scream."

And with that he smiled at Arthur and then turned and walked out of the small cell; leaving the prince with nothing better to do than stare at his servant's mangled back.

Well, there it is, I just wanted to give you Arthur's POV of that part in the story. Next chapter should be much longer. Bye for now.