AN: Ok, so I'm headed back towards College, which unfortunately means fewer updates. I will do my best to keep working, but it may take a while.
In other news, we are approaching the grande finale. This isn't it, but it is coming. That might go a bit faster as well, as I've kind of had it planned since August.
Well, hope you enjoy me being horrible to Arthur! And thank you all for the lovely reviews for the last chapter. Sorry I didn't get around to answering them. I've just been a bit busy finishing all the things I needed to finish before I left. But I still do love you all for reading and everything else! Reviewers are why I make time in my schedule to keep writing :)
And I don't own Merlin. I'm not feeling any clever comments coming on today, sorry.
Chapter Twenty-Six: The Prince in the Tower
Arthur didn't really know what he expected when the door to his little room swung open, but it definitely wasn't the massive man with a scar across his left eye. It must have taken about five cows to make the man's outfit, he was covered from head to toe black leather and was probably about the same size as Percival. He didn't say a word to Arthur as he marched across the small room, a set of shackles in one hand and a large wooden mallet in the other. Two other guards had entered behind him, and had quickly moved to Arthur's sides, holding him so he couldn't interfere with the large man's work. Arthur could feel his heart rate rising with each vicious swing of the mallet, as he watched the man affix a hook into the wall. When the brute had finished he attached the shackles to the hook, sliding it through one of the holes in the chain. The addition to Arthur's current chambers changed the mood entirely. It was clear now that he was a prisoner, not just an ill-treated guest, and that the king's plans for him were none to pleasant.
As soon as the large man was finished, the two guards holding him quickly escorted him towards the new addition to the room. He tried to pull away, but the moment he started struggling the leather-coated brute had moved to help his two smaller colleges. Arthur stood no chance against the three of them, and it wasn't long before both his wrists were encased in cold metal, his back pressed against the wall. The three men left then, still in silence, leaving Arthur alone once more in the tower. He wasn't left alone long though, and by the sounds of footsteps it sounded like he was about to be joined by about half the army.
It wasn't the army. Of course it wasn't the army. It was Uther, followed by the same two guards. A servant darted in behind the rest of the party, carrying a clanking bag and keeping his head down. It showed how much Arthur had changed in the past year that he had felt sorry for the poor man who looked like he wanted to be about as far away from the tower room as possible. A year ago he wouldn't have even noticed him, but now he couldn't help but side with the servant. Working men like him were what Camelot was made of.
Uther on the other hand, only had eyes for him. He was watching Arthur with something that looked suspiciously like pity. Arthur had suspected anger or hatred, but not pity. Nothing the king was doing made any sense to him. He supposed he should have gotten used to it by now, but it seemed he would never understand the man who he had once called father.
"Arthur, I hope you're not too uncomfortable. Once this treatment is over you will be able to return to your chambers." The king said, talking slowly like he thought Arthur was somehow mentally unstable.
"What treatment?" Arthur asked, trying to push himself further back into the wall. He wasn't scared exactly, Arthur didn't get scared, but the insane glint in Uther's eyes was rather unsettling.
"I would have thought it obvious, Arthur. You are still under Emrys' spell. My treatment will break you from his magic and return you to my side. It will be painful, Arthur, and I am sorry. But you will thank me in the end."
"I'm not under any spell!" Arthur shouted, trying not to think about why his father had pulled out two gauntlets from the clanking bag. "What is it going to take for you to believe that! I agree with Emrys. Not because he's enchanted me and not because he's feeding me some potion or whatever other garbage you think. He is an amazing man, he cares about everyone, he treats everyone equally regardless of status and strength, and he would never use his powers to force someone too feel or think what he wants them to. That's not the kind of man he is."
"You may not be able to see it, Arthur, but you are under a spell." Uther said as he finished putting on the second gauntlet, flexing his fingers menacingly. "And I will free you from it."
Arthur didn't have time to respond before a metal encased fist rocketed into his stomach. He barely had time to regain his breath before the other fist slammed into his shoulder, causing his head to knock back against the wall. The first fist was back again, slamming into his other arm, and Arthur couldn't suppress a scream as he heard then felt the bone his father had hit snap. He blinked through tears as the pummeling stopped and Uther stepped back, still watching Arthur. Arthur's vision was still blurred slightly from pain, so he could only hear the clinking that meant the gauntlets were coming off. Whatever this treatment was, he definitely didn't like it. His tears were beginning to dry as he felt Uther's callused hand on his cheek.
"If there was another way, I would have taken it." Uther whispered, as he stroked Arthur's cheek lovingly before drawing back his hand and socking Arthur right in the eye. The hand was back quickly, gripping Arthur's chin and pulling his head up so he was forced to meet Uther's gaze with his one good eye. "Has he released you?" Uther asked, still speaking slowly, "Was it too much for him? Do I have my son back?"
Arthur took a deep breath and replied, "The only… person… who won't let me go… is you, Father." Arthur growled, gasping between every few words. Uther sighed, dropping Arthur's head so it fell back against his chest. Arthur could no longer see him but he could hear his disappointment as he said, "That's enough for today. Get the prince down and get Gaius up here. We can't let this treatment permanently injure him."
There was a chorus of Yes Sire's as the men all jumped to do Uther's bidding. Arthur just barely kept from screaming in pain again as the chain was pulled off the hook and his broken arm dropped back to his side. He curled around his broken arm, protecting it as he fell down to the cold ground. He didn't even hear the door slam as his visitors left. He remained curled up on his side in silence for what felt like an eternity before the door opened again, allowing Gaius and the small serving boy into his cell.
"Arthur!" He heard the physician shout, "What happened to you?"
Arthur did his best to uncurl from his fetal position, not wanting to be seen as weak. He managed to pull himself up to a sitting position, his arm still cradled against his chest as the servant answered for him.
"The king beat him up! Said something about breaking a spell. He hit him all over wearing gauntlets!"
Gaius scowled and set about poking and prodding Arthur, pulling things out of his pouch and spreading them out on the floor of the tower room. Arthur tried to remain stoic as Gaius began examining his arm, but there was nothing he could do to keep quiet as Gaius tried to get him to move it forward.
"Your arm is broken." Gaius stated. "Your father broke your arm to free you from a spell the son of Balinor didn't set on you. What is wrong with this kingdom?"
"Well, for one, we've got a crazy man on the throne." Arthur said, trying to laugh but stopping when he realized how much it hurt.
"Sshh, Arthur. Let me fix you up before you go and injure yourself further."
Arthur nodded, letting Gaius do his thing as the pain slowly eased. It might not have been quite as good as Merlin's magic, but the draught Gaius gave him really did make him feel better. It took a while, but eventually Gaius finished, sitting back and allowing Arthur some space to breathe.
"I brought you some water and bread as well, my lord." The servant said, passing the food and water skin over to Arthur
"Thank you." Arthur said, taking the sustenance and watching the servant. He couldn't be much younger than him, and had dark hair and blue eyes like Merlin. Besides that he didn't look at all like his warlock, he was too short and slightly rounder, and his ears were completely hidden beneath his hair. Arthur smiled at him and said, "You can call me Arthur, by the way. What's your name?"
"I'm Henry, s-Arthur." The servant said, smiling back. Gaius seemed to be pleased with this, smiling at the both of them.
"I'm glad to see Emrys has had some effect on you, Arthur." Gaius said with a smile.
"He really has, and his name is Merlin. You seem to know a little about his parents, he keeps his name to remember them. I'm guessing he'd want you to call him that too."
Gaius nodded, looking lost in memories for a moment as he sighed, "I was good friends with his mother, Hunith. She was a wonderful woman. I still can't believe there son made it out alive. I went out to meet him when he was still a baby. Hunith and Balinor didn't know what to do with a toddler who could do magic. They were having trouble keeping his gifts a secret. He would make bright lights and strange clouds whenever he was happy. Apparently he once almost started a flood with a tantrum. I didn't see any of his bad side though. He was a sweet little thing. I built him a grave in Ealdor, I never thought he could have survived."
"You met Merlin as a baby?" Arthur said, completely taken aback by this new discovery.
"I only saw him the once, but I was friends with his parents. They were some of the best friends I ever had. I will do whatever I can to protect their son as I couldn't protect them."
Arthur smiled back at him. It was good to know there were still a few good people in this castle. "I'm sure Merlin would be glad to get to know you. There's no one else left who can tell him anything about his parents."
Gaius smiled up at him as he continued to bind his wounds and said, "In all my years of watching over you, Arthur, I have never been more proud. You've done what I was too afraid to do, you stood up to the king. He might actually listen to you, eventually."
"You mean after he beats me half to death. I wish he could understand!" Arthur shouted in frustration. "He won't even give Merlin a chance, no matter what he does."
"It may be too late for your father to change, but that shouldn't stop you from doing the right thing." Gaius said with a sigh. "At least Camelot can be assured that in the future, things will be better."
"I don't see how they could get much worse." Arthur said with a grimace as Gaius handed him one last potion.
"Drink this, it will help you sleep. I'll do my best to talk some sense into the king." Gaius said, gathering his equipment together and moving towards the door. "I'm guessing your guards have orders to pull me out if I don't leave soon, so I should be on my way. You are doing the right thing, Arthur. Remember that."
Arthur simply nodded as the man who had been mending all his wounds since he was a mere babe left his little prison, Henry following him. As the door slammed shut and the lock clicked into place, Arthur tilted his head back and downed the final potion. The effects were almost immediate, sending him into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Leon didn't like how quiet the castle had gotten since Arthur's capture. Besides the king and the knights, no one seemed to know the prince was once again residing in the castle. Leon had expected Uther to make some show of it, bragging about how he had finally won one battle against Emrys, but almost no one saw Uther all day. Even though it made Leon nervous, it did make it much easier for him to carry out the first part of Arthur's plan. He had kept the blue-gray stone with him ever since Arthur had told him of its power, and now it seemed he had the perfect opportunity to use it.
Getting out of the castle was simple for him, he was always being ordered out on patrols so when he rode past the guards watching over the gates they didn't spare him a second glance. As long as he was back before dark, no one would find his trip suspicious at all.
He waited till he was in the cover of the trees to squeeze the small stone twice, just as Arthur had instructed, then rode off in the direction of the lake where he would hopefully meet Emrys and help plan Arthur's escape.
Merlin had been sulking all morning. He was still slightly angry at all of his friends for keeping him from going after Arthur the night before. He had tried to persuade them that he was ready to go as soon as he woke, but Percival had threatened to knock him right back out if he didn't agree to stay put and form a plan of attack. Merlin had tried arguing that their plan for rescuing Lancelot had failed about as soon as it started, so they might as well go in without one as that seemed to work just as well, but Percival had been adamant. Merlin might have considered using his magic to keep Percival back and running off to the castle by himself, but in the end he decided his best chance to get Arthur back would be by working with his friends, not running off alone. Still, sitting comfortably in the woods and talking just didn't seem good enough to Merlin. He needed Arthur back.
He had been fiddling with the blue-gray stone he wore around his neck all morning, wondering where its pair was, when he suddenly felt it flare twice. His eyebrows creased in confusion. Why would Arthur want him to go to the Lake of Avalon? Could he have escaped on his own, or had he cracked and told him father how to find him, or was it even purposeful? Perhaps he was playing with his as well, and had accidently squeezed it twice, not really thinking. Still, if there was some chance that Arthur had gotten out and wanted Merlin to meet him at the lake, how could Merlin refuse? He stood up suddenly, earning looks of worry and confusion from the rest of the group as he said, "We're going to the Lake of Avalon."
Percival, Lancelot, and Gwaine exchanged a worried look at his announcement while Gwen and Elyan simply looked confused. Merlin sighed, and turned, walking in the direction of the lake. He would go alone if no one else was willing to listen to him. It wasn't like he was planning on going to the castle, he just had to check. He knew he had felt the stone flare, which meant Arthur wanted him to go to the lake. And if that was what Arthur wanted, that was what he would do. He had already failed Arthur too many times, he wasn't going to ignore him this time. He hadn't gotten more than ten feet from the small circle when Percival, Gwaine, and Lancelot were rushing to his side, looking like they were planning on pulling him back.
"Are you sure that going to the lake is a good plan, Merlin?" Gwaine asked, still smiling even if it looked a little pained, "You know what happened last time you went."
"Arthur's not going to be there, Merlin." Percival said, gripping Merlin's shoulder to keep him from walking further from the camp. "Uther would never let him out of the castle now that he's got him back."
"Come back and help us plan." Lancelot said, offering a sympathetic smile, and moving in front of Merlin. "As soon as we come up with something we can go get Arthur ourselves."
Merlin just glared at them, trying to think of the least harmful way to get them out of his path. But he didn't want to be forced to use his magic on them, he just needed them to see reason, so he took a deep breath and said, "I know, ok? I know Arthur won't be at the lake. But he sent the signal. For some reason he wants me at the lake, so that's where I'm going. And it won't be like last time. You lot can come with me, and we can stay hidden until we are certain that this isn't some trap. But I have to go, and I will go with or without you. You may be stronger than me physically, but if try to stop me from getting to the lake now I will use magic to get past you. I think you all know better than most how powerful I am, and I will make it past you."
Percival still looked like he was planning on holding him back, but Lancelot and Gwaine seemed to be less sure. As he took another step forward and Percival's grip on his shoulder tightened, Gwaine shouted, "Wait! Before you blast Percival, can we think about this?"
Merlin sighed and glared at Gwaine, trying to imply that if he didn't think fast, Merlin would blast him as well.
"Merlin may have a point, Percy. But Percy also has a point. The lake is where you got caught last time, and none of us want to risk that happening again. So we need to be careful. But I think we should go. Arthur wouldn't have betrayed Merlin, and we can stay hidden well enough that even if it is some sort of ambush we will be able to get away before they see us. We're in better shape than we were last night, we can handle some sneaking and running. Arthur's smart, he probably has some sort of plan, and if he's trying to get Merlin to go to the lake there must be a reason. He wouldn't risk Merlin's safety, I think we all know that. So, I say we go to the lake, but we also go carefully. We've done much more dangerous things before."
Merlin smiled at Gwaine, glad that he had understood what Merlin was thinking. Lancelot had nodded as Gwaine finished, and even Percival gave a quick nod, moving to the lead of the group and walking in the direction of the lake. Lancelot squeezed his shoulder as he went back to explain to Gwen and Elyan where they were going and why, as Merlin turned to Gwaine and said, "Thank you." Before following Percival as well. Gwaine just shrugged and said, "Arthur's a good man, Merlin. And we are going to get him back. But you have to believe that we are on your side. We want him back as well, probably not nearly as much as you do, but we also don't want you to get hurt. Please, trust that we really are doing our best to get him back."
"I know." Merlin replied, looking over at Gwaine who had joined him in following Percival. "I understand what you all are doing, I swear I do. It's just hard to remember that my safety is important when Arthur's in trouble. I'm supposed to protect him. I promised him I would."
Gwaine put his arm around Merlin's shoulder, squeezing him close and saying, "He's going to be fine, Merlin. He'd be a lot worse off if you go and get yourself killed trying to save him. And I'm sure Uther won't do anything too bad to him. No matter what else has happened, he is still Arthur's father."
"I hope you're right, Gwaine. I really hope you're right." Merlin mumbled as they continued walking. Luckily they weren't too far from the lake, but it still was a good walk before they reached it. The rest of the way they walked was in silence, Percival leading, Merlin and Gwaine behind him, and Lancelot, Gwen, and Elyan at the rear.
Merlin almost ran straight into Percival when he stopped. He hadn't realized how close they were, but now that he really looked he realized he could see the lake shining just ahead of them, through the trees. He crept forward to get a better look at what was going on by the lake, as Percival was staying rather quiet. As he peered down at the bank, he saw a single solitary figure looking out over the water.
It wasn't Arthur.
The hair was all wrong, and the way he was shining made it clear that he was wearing armor. So, it was a knight? Did that mean this was a trap? But then why would they send only one knight? Lancelot was the first to speak as he leaned further around his tree and said, "Wait a minute, isn't that Sir Leon?"
Sir Leon? Wasn't that the knight Arthur introduced him to? So then Arthur had sent him! Merlin couldn't help but smile as Gwen confirmed Lancelot's claim, and began to head out of the trees and towards the bank. Lancelot was quick to follow her, and Merlin was right behind. Percival stilled looked worried as Merlin ran past, but if this man had a message from Arthur Merlin needed to hear it. It wasn't long before Leon noticed them, looking up from his position at the lake and looking quite relieved to see them.
"Guinevere?" Sir Leon called out as they approached him. "What are you doing with Emrys?"
Before she could reply, Merlin cut her off, saying, "Arthur sent you, right? Is he ok?"
Leon smiled at Merlin and said, "Yes. The prince sent me. The king is keeping him locked in the east tower, but as far as I know he should be fine. King Uther still thinks that you have some type of spell on him, so I think he's planning on keeping him locked up until he finds some way of breaking the spell. He's under constant guard, but the king still trusts me. I have some control over who gets put in charge of watching him, and I have free range of most of the castle. I don't have the key to his room though, only the king has that, and I doubt he would give it to anyone unless he has some specific instructions for them."
"That won't be a problem." Merlin said, finally feeling a bit better. "I can open the door without a key, the bigger problem is getting there and getting out."
"I think I could get you in." Leon said, surprising Merlin. "Uther still has patrols leaving and looking for any signs of you almost constantly. If I lead one and meet you somewhere, could you take care of the rest of them? If I leave with four men and come back with four men the guards at the castle gates shouldn't notice anything."
Merlin's smile grew the entire time Leon spoke. Now they knew exactly where Arthur was being held and had a way into the castle. Getting Arthur out could get tricky, but with Leon's help it just might be possible!
"We can handle four men." Percival interjected, coming to stand next to Merlin. "Just tell us when and where, and we will take care of the rest."
Leon smiled back at Percival and said, "Two days time, at noon. I can lead the men back here, if that works. I'll just need a little time between now and then to see if I can't figure out anything else about the king's plans for Arthur. If anything changes, I'll let you know."
All Merlin could do was smile and nod. It wouldn't be long now before Arthur was safe with him once more.