AN:Merlin is mine as much as the country of Canada is. (Just to clarify, that is NOT AT ALL)
Sorry for the delay! I was kinda busy today.
Thanks to Kermit's Rainbow Connection for pointing out a plot hole. I'm working on fixing it. Also, I fully admit that I am keeping Morgana alive just a little longer so that she can bitch out Agravaine.
Arthur waited until the shock wave-like phenomenon had passed over him and his knights. Then he raised his head, looking to see if anyone had gotten hurt. All the knights appeared to be fine. His eyes landed on his servant, who was still clutching the stained sword.
"Merlin!"
Merlin appeared to have fallen backward slightly, and he was grimacing and rubbing his head. Arthur remembered his head injury.
"Don't tell me you've hurt yourself again?"
Merlin, who had been lost in his own thoughts and the aching in his head that had just been made worse by his sensitivity to magic, was dragged back to their current situation by Arthur's voice. He rolled his eyes, and realized he was still holding Excalibur.
"Is that what I think it is?"
He realized Arthur was looking the bloodied sword in his hand.
"Um..."
The knights who knew of Excalibur from the "Cup of Life incident" were now staring at the sword as well.
"Where did you get that?" Arthur had looked for that sword after defeating Morgana's immortal army, but it had disappeared.
"Um..."
The truth was, after he had tended to all the injuries, he had gone off looking for extra herbs to see if there was anything useful for the journey home. After a while, he'd come across Excalibur held against a large, majestic oak with vines that were too conveniently placed around the sword to be natural. Someone had clearly put it there, and that someone clearly had magical abilities, because they had removed it from the stone. Looking closer, he saw a small druid symbol carved at the base of the tree.
Not exactly sure who had moved it but not wanting it to fall into the wrong hands, he'd removed it from its spot. He'd returned to the camp, hoping he could stow it away in his bag before someone would notice, only to find Morgana very much awake and about to unleash her anger onto his friends. So, he'd done the first thing that came to mind. He used the sword.
But somehow he didn't think it was best to tell Arthur he'd put the sword in a rock and it had just been removed by a druid.
"I found it in the armory a few days ago," he invented. "It had gotten buried under some stuff. I guess it had been sitting there this whole time. I was going to give it to you but, well, I was distracted by...stuff."
Arthur rolled his eyes. Trust Merlin to call nearly getting murdered "stuff".
His gaze lowered, resting on Morgana's limp form.
"Is she dead?"
Elyan stooped down to check.
"She's still alive, but barely." He looked up to Arthur. "She won't last much longer."
Arthur nodded, running a hand through his hair. It felt strange - he had been living under the constant threat of Morgana's revenge for a year, and now it would soon be gone.
He turned to Percival and Leon. "Go search the forests, just to make sure there's no more mercenaries around."
The knights did as he asked. Before long, they returned, bringing with them an unconscious Agravaine, who they promptly tied up a ways away from Morgana. Gwaine offered to keep watch. He really only wanted to be there when the traitor woke up. No one messed with Merlin and got away with it.
0o0
Agravaine blinked himself into consciousness, and then wished that he hadn't. Whatever magic Morgana had used hadn't left his system since it crashed into him in her fit of rage. It made his head turn, he felt hungover but ten times worse. Every light was blinding, every sound deafening. When he was able to focus, he saw the faces of Arthur, Gwaine, Percival, Leon, and Elyan hovering over him.
"Hello, uncle," the king said pleasantly. "We found you a little ways up the slope. You will return to Camelot, where you will await execution for treason and attempted murder."
"But until then, we'll make sure you're comfortable," Gwaine said.
Agravaine's throat felt dry. "Treason? There must be some mistake-"
"Oh, no we're quite certain," Arthur said. "Percival, bring the man some food, will you?"
Behind the knights, the noble saw Merlin sitting by a campfire. He waved to Agravaine, who was starting to get a sense of foreboding. The knights were acting too pleasant. Agravaine had expected them to be furious. After all, they were practically Merlin's older brothers.
Percival handed him a bowl of soup. Agravaine gave him a bewildered look. His hands were tied behind his back!
"Oh!" Percival made an exaggerated face of realization. "You'll need help, won't you- oops!"
The bowl had "accidentally" slipped from Percival's hands. Agravaine flushed as his front was splattered with stew.
"Sorry about that," Percival said in an unconvincing tone. "Here, let me try this again!"
Feeling humiliated but scared to refuse, Agravaine opened his mouth so Percival could feed him like a child.
The taste was foul. But after a moment, he didn't care so much about the taste so much as the burning sensation filling his mouth. He gagged, which did nothing to improve his situation.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I put to much spice in that?" Merlin said in a falsely innocent tone.
He didn't dare say anything. His mouth was so uncomfortable, he wished he had water.
Almost as though reading his mind, Elyan chose this moment to pull a water skin out of his back and tip a big sip.
"Thirsty, anyone?"
The knights passed the water around, not once glancing at their prisoner. When they were done, they poured what was left over them to cool off. Agravaine's mouth felt drier just looking at the droplets showering down the knights and soaking into the dirt.
"Oh, looks like we'll need more water," Arthur said. "Gwaine, why don't you go get some more? And bring the prisoner, why don't you? He won't have many more chances to stretch his legs!"
Gwaine untied Agravaine from the tree, keeping his hands bound, and attached a rope. Agravaine's humiliation grew. He was not a dog to be kept on a leash!
But he soon discovered the true reason Arthur had made that suggestion. As Gwaine pulled him along, Agravaine constantly tripped over roots and branches, and without his hands to catch himself, the falls were painful and unpleasant.
"Get up," Gwaine would tell him sharply whenever this happened.
The stream was worse, the mud made him more prone to slip. By the time they returned to the camp, he was bruised and battered.
They tied him to the tree once more, in the same spot where he was facing Morgana. Just as Gwaine walked away, Morgana's eyes fluttered open.
She was dying, bound, and too weak to free herself. But she was still able to give Agravaine a glare that made him wish he was still being tormented by the knights.