AN: Happy New Year everybody!

So, I've mostly recovered from the finale, I finally worked up the courage to watch it again today which was both really difficult and slightly helpful for my closure game. I also wrote a one-shot post 5.13 story for anyone who feels the need for some reunion stuff. Trying to not spoil anything, hopefully I haven't failed completely...

Anyhoo, the idea for this bit was from the wonderful PhantomTrancyVongola. Well, sort of. So, if you don't like it, blame them :) Just kidding, but I do want to thank them for some much needed support and inspiration!

And I still don't own Merlin. If I did, there would so be a movie to follow up that finally, and I would definitely kidnap the actors until it was finished. I'm not creepy at all... ;)

Chapter Twenty-Four: Father and Son

Even though it was dark and there was almost no chance of the guards finding them in the woods, Arthur was still nervous until they reached the safety of their camp. Merlin had obviously exhausted himself in their escape, making Arthur's protective side rear its head like a mother bear protecting a young cub. He kept a hand on Merlin the entire journey back, stopping his stumbles and finally guiding him back to their corner of the camp where their bedrolls were still set up. Merlin collapsed the second he reached the bed, allowing Arthur pull the blanket around him while Lancelot, Percival, and Gwaine helped get Gwen and Elyan settled.

Elyan had made it quite clear from the moment they reached the forest that he would be joining their troop. Gwen had wanted to help as well, but both Lancelot and Elyan had been fairly adamant that she remain out of the city and away from harm. She had begrudgingly agreed, on the condition she was at least allowed to stay with them at their camp and help in whatever other ways she could. Although Merlin had not participated much in the conversation, Arthur could tell that he was happy about the expansion of their little troop. He looked incredibly peaceful curled up under the small blanket, something that seemed so uncommon in their busy life. Arthur murmured "Goodnight." to their newly expanded gang before curling up beside Merlin, ready for some well deserved rest. He was just drifting off to sleep when Merlin whispered, "What did you mean?"

"What?" Arthur asked, looking over at Merlin, almost thinking he must have dreamed the words as Merlin looked sound asleep, his eyes still closed. Apparently he wasn't asleep quite yet as his eyes opened and he looked back at Arthur, saying, "When you said you knew what it was like to be locked up underneath Camelot. Why would you know that?"

Arthur had almost forgotten saying that. Of course Merlin wouldn't know about Uther using imprisonment as a punishment for Arthur, but it wasn't something he really enjoyed talking about. Still, Merlin had never kept secrets from him, there was no reason he shouldn't tell Merlin about his past. He took a deep breath and said, "When I had disagreements with my father when I was younger I would often end up in a cell for a couple of days. I think Uther thought it would force me to agree with what he thought, and for a while it worked. I was only a child, the darkness terrified me. I used to have nightmares of being stuck down there, alone in the dark. So I know what it's locked up in the cells, Merlin. And I know how terrible it can be."

Merlin's eyes were fixed on Arthur when he looked back at him. He still looked tired, but his weary gaze was completely focused on Arthur. He took Arthur's hand as he replied, saying "I'm so sorry Arthur. I never thought Uther would have done something like that to his own son. I wish I could have been there to help."

Arthur smiled at Merlin's desire to save him from his childhood traumas. "Merlin, you can't feel bad for not protecting me from every tiny childhood trauma. If you had I wouldn't have ever learned to protect myself. I would have been some terrible, spoiled brat."

"Are you trying to say you aren't a spoiled brat?" Merlin asked with a smile, his eyes closed once again.

"And yet you still love me." Arthur replied jokingly.

"One of my many talents." Merlin said with a smile.

"Go to sleep, Merlin." Arthur said, ruffling Merlin's hair and earning one more disapproving stare before Merlin turned and snuggled back into him. Arthur smiled fondly at the back of Merlin's head and was about to close his eyes as well when he heard Merlin whisper, "I might not have been able to protect you then, Arthur, but I will now. I promise."

Arthur wrapped his arms around Merlin's slim waist and nuzzled the back of Merlin's neck as he whispered back, "I know Merlin. And I will do the same for you. I love you."

"I love you too, Arthur." Merlin whispered back, squeezing Arthur's hand. "Never forget that."

There was angry. There was furious. And then there was what Uther was feeling right now. Emrys had crept under the noses of him and all his men and taken not only his own man back, but he had freed every single prisoner in his dungeons. Uther was tired of the humiliation, tired of the failure, tired of losing. And Arthur was the symbol of all he had lost. Arthur was his son, his heir, and Emrys had taken him. Uther wanted him back.

He knew he hadn't always been the best father, but he loved his son and knowing that he had been stolen from him was more painful than any hit to his pride. Seeing Arthur again had made him miss him even more. Sorcery had twisted his perfect son, taking away the one last piece of Ygraine Uther had.

Emrys had used Arthur against him. He had found Uther's greatest weakness. He couldn't kill Arthur like he could the rest of Emrys' followers, but he also couldn't let his son continue to defy him with his every action. He needed to get Arthur back, safe away from the powers that had taken his mother and twisted his heart. He would free Arthur, no matter what it took.

Leon thought he would never see the king angrier than on the day that Arthur walked away from the castle after Merlin, Percival, Lancelot, and Gwaine. He had been wrong. When all the knights had been called into the throne room for the second time that night, Leon was almost expecting steam to pour out of Uther's ears as he blamed almost everyone but himself for the escape that had happened earlier that night. That of course hadn't been all he wanted to say, the king had ordered all of them out into the woods, searching for any signs of the thief and his friends. Uther had been more focused on Arthur than usual, but otherwise the speech was something Leon had heard many times before. 'You all have failed me for the last time, get out into the cold, wet, dark forest and bring me Emry's head, blah blah blah.'

Leon sighed as he joined the throngs of me leaving the city to search the pitch-black forest for someone who had been spending ages not getting caught. At least it wasn't raining this time. Leon knew he probably should have been more worried for Arthur and his friends, especially now that so many of the knights who had been loyal to Arthur were gone, replaced by men who either worshiped Uther or the gold he had promised them.

Still, the thought of the idiots Uther had hired finding any hint of the thief or his friends seemed a ludicrous idea. So, when one of the men called out that they had found a trail, Leon had been certain it wasn't actually the trail they were looking for. It had to be an animal, right? Leon tried to reassure himself as he followed the men down into the forest, but with each step he took he felt his stomach drop even more. The men were too excited to be deterred as they raced further and further into the woods, before coming to an abrupt halt. Leon had to push his way up to the front line, using his higher rank to finally learn why they had stopped. It didn't take him long to figure out why.

Just ahead of them, in the forest, a fire was flickering. And through the trees Leon could just make out the silhouettes of a group of men most of which appeared to be sleeping, all unaware of the group of knights sneaking up on them.

Arthur should've known it wouldn't have been that easy. It felt like he had just fallen asleep when Gwaine's hand was on his mouth, silencing him as he shook him awake. Arthur could barely hear him as he whispered, "We're surrounded. Wake up Merlin, we have to move."

The peace Arthur had felt vanished instantly. As he jolted into wakefulness he realized immediately that Gwaine was right. The trees on all sides of their small camp were rustling unnaturally, and if he listened very closely he could almost hear the whispers of the men who had found them. He hated disturbing Merlin from his much-needed rest, but all the rest in the world wouldn't help Merlin if they were caught. Mimicking Gwaine's method of waking him, Arthur crouched beside Merlin and placed his palm over his mouth before gently shaking him. At first it didn't seem this would work, so Arthur began whispering Merlin's name in his ear repeatedly until the young warlock's eyes flickered open.

"They've found us, Merlin. We have to get out of here." Arthur said quickly, removing his hand from Merlin's mouth when he was certain he understood the direness of their situation.

"Do the others know?" Merlin asked, sitting up slightly.

"Gwaine's waking everyone else up now, but we're surrounded. If we don't think of something fast, it won't matter whether or not we're awake, they will catch us."

Merlin nodded, his eyebrows knotted together in concentration. "What we need," he mumbled, "is a distraction." He then smiled a slightly wicked grin, watching the slowly dying fire as he said, "When I say now, I need you to close your eyes, alright Arthur?"

"Alright, but how will the others know to close their eyes?" Arthur asked, hoping Merlin had thought this plan of his through.

"I can let Percival, Gwaine, and Lancelot know with the connection we share. Hopefully they're close enough to Gwen and Elyan to let them know my plan as well…" Merlin replied. He then closed his eyes and remained silent. Arthur had never received a mental message from Merlin, but he knew that Merlin used this as a way to communicate with Percival, Lancelot, and Gwaine when they snuck into Camelot. After a brief moment of concentration, Merlin opened his eyes again and smiled at Arthur. From somewhere across their little camp Arthur could just barely hear the faint hiss of a whisper. Hopefully that was someone explaining Merlin's instructions to their newest members, and not their enemies already upon them. Merlin seemed optimistic about their chances as he took Arthur's hand and said, "As soon as I tell you to open your eyes again, we're going to have to run. I may need your help when we get to that stage, as I'm still rather worn out. I should be able to get us out of here, but I don't know how much more my magic can handle before I completely exhaust myself."

Arthur nodded and squeezed Merlin's hand in reassurance as Merlin turned back towards the fire and took a deep breath before shouting "NOW!"

Arthur clenched his eyes shut, so he couldn't see exactly what Merlin did, but even with his eyes closed he could feel the heat of the flames Merlin must have conjured. If he had kept his eyes open, he would have been momentarily blinded by the huge pillar of flames that roared to life in the once dying fire-pit, scorching the sockets of all the men gathered around their little camp. But, his eyes were shut, so all he saw was a brief change in the darkness behind his eyelids before Merlin was pulling him up, shouting at the others to run.

Arthur's eyes blinked open as he followed Merlin into the forest, Merlin using his magic to push away the knights in their way, although most of them were easy to get past as they stumbled about in the forest, swinging their swords blindly in an attempt to stop them. Once they were through the line of men Arthur turned around quickly, to see Lancelot pulling Gwen right behind them, followed closely by Percival, Gwaine and Elyan. Arthur smiled as he turned back to Merlin, planning on telling him that his plan had worked, but that smile was quickly wiped away as he saw Merlin's face. He looked gaunt, so much worse than he had when they had returned from the castle. He was already panting, and didn't look like he could continue running for long, which wasn't good. From the back of the group, Gwaine was yelling for them to go faster. Apparently the knights had solved their problems quickly and were once again on their tails.

As Gwaine shouted at them to move faster Merlin's eyes had shut momentarily, as if he was trying to suppress tears. Arthur's hand was still entwined with Merlin's keeping them together as they ran, so each time Merlin stumbled, each time he slowed, Arthur went with him. Arthur was on the verge of picking him up and carrying him, as that would be faster when Percival was at his side saying, "We need to hide. If we can get to the Valley of the Fallen Kings we might stand a chance."

Arthur nodded, giving Merlin's hand a squeeze and whispering "not long now" with a smile before turning in the direction of the supposedly-cursed valley. Hopefully the curse would be enough to frighten at least some of the knights, maybe drawing them off their scent long enough for them to find shelter in the many caves and crevices in the valley. And if that didn't work, at least the valley was narrow enough that the knights wouldn't be able to surround them, and their lack in numbers wouldn't be quite as much of a handicap. The hand that wasn't still clinging to Merlin reached down and clasped his sword's hilt, reassuring himself of its presence in case they needed to do battle.

Lancelot and Gwen had taken the lead by the time they got to the Valley of the Fallen Kings. Arthur and Merlin were right behind them, although Arthur could tell Merlin was struggling to keep up. Percival had moved behind Merlin, and looked as if he was preparing to catch Merlin if he fell, which both reassured and terrified Arthur as he realized how bad Merlin must look if he had triggered such behavior in the others. Elyan was right beside Percival, while Gwaine took up the rear, keeping them updated on the proximity of their pursuers. It seemed the knights were more afraid of Uther than the legends surrounding the valley as they poured in behind Gwaine, still on their heels. They wouldn't be able to hide with them so close, and Arthur knew Merlin wouldn't make it much further. It was time to fight.

Arthur could sense Merlin's panic as he let go of his hand, but he knew that it was the right thing to do. Elyan had almost ran into him when he stopped, just barely skidding to a stop as Arthur turned, one hand on his sword hilt, eyes gleaming as he prepared for battle. It didn't take the rest of them long to figure out what had happened, and soon the rest of their group was gathered around him, Merlin tugging on his arm and shouting, "Come on, Arthur! We need to keep moving!"

"You're exhausted, Merlin. Don't try to argue with me, you look terrible. And we can't keep running forever. I can hold them off here, give you time to get away. They won't kill me, the king won't want me dead, and you lot will be able to hide. At least here I will be able to fight them one by one, instead of out in the open where I would be surrounded and subdued in an instant."

"I'm not leaving you, Arthur! If you stay and fight, so do I!" Merlin yelled back, his voice slightly hoarse with desperation.

"Then when they overpower us, you will die, I will be taken back to my father and locked up for the rest of my life, and the people will continue to suffer. If you run now no one will have to die, and one day we will be reunited once again. So run now, Merlin. I won't let you die."

Merlin didn't run. Arthur could see the knights approaching; they didn't have long enough to fuss about what would happen. He growled in frustration and turned instead to Percival, hissing, "Get him out of here!" Before drawing his sword and charging towards his father's men. He could hear Merlin shouting behind him, but the shouts got further and further away and were soon drowned out completely by the clashes of steel against steel as he held back the men sent out to track them down. All he could do was pray his plan worked as he dispatched man after man, doing his best to only wound and not kill, hoping Merlin would be proud of him. His skills had not faded at all with his time away from the training field, and he was more than a match for most of the men pursuing them. But there was only so long he could hold off most of Camelot's army. His own exhaustion caused him to stumble, allowing the knight he had been fighting to gain the upper hand. His sword was quickly knocked away as he fell to the ground and Uther's men surrounded him. He recognized a few of them, but there were many new faces in the ranks of knights he had once trained with. He couldn't help but smile when he realized none of the men had continued past him once he had been subdued, meaning that his plan had worked better than he had ever hoped. Merlin would be safe with all the knights focused on him.

He tried to focus on that as his arms were pulled behind him and chained behind his back. While some of the older knights looked almost guilty at the rough treatment of their prince, the newer ones looked almost gleeful as they pulled Arthur to his feet and began shoving him back towards Camelot, and his father.