The caves. All light seemed to be swallowed within its vast depths and the steady drip of water echoed ominously as the group entered the dank cave.
A few steps in and Arthur heard a pitiful yelp from behind him. He spun around to see Merlin sprawled on the floor. He helped him up without a word, but kept a fast hold to the blue material of his servant's sleeve, for which Merlin was silently grateful.
"Arthur…" Whispered Merlin. "Arthur, this doesn't feel right…"
"I need you to be quiet Merlin." Snapped Arthur, listening intensely for any sounds around him, but he knew what Merlin meant. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled and he felt a shiver pass through him. He found a discarded torch at the mouth of the cave and lit it with the stones in his bag.
The flickering light lit up the cave with an orange glow. He had let go of Merlin to light the torch and now he felt a gentle tug on his own sleeve as Merlin latched himself onto Arthur.
As they walked deeper into, what felt like to Arthur as, the mouth of a hungry creature, he wondered why anyone would want to live here. He could find no redeeming qualities in the cave's interior whatsoever.
The deeper they went the more signs there were of someone previously being there. Burnt out candles, ashes and burnt logs from a fire, small animal bones that had probably been thrown to one side after eating. A voice behind them made Arthur spin around, pulling his sword out in one swishing movement, assuming an aggressive stance.
"Arthur Pendragon." The hiss echoed from the shadows and was shortly followed by a man. His straggly brown hair fell to his purple robed shoulders and an ugly scowl creased his thin face.
"Are you the sorcerer that set fire to the homes in Camelot and that house in the forest?" Demanded Arthur, straight to the point.
"You're supposed to be dead." Stated the man bluntly, danger etched into his gravely voice.
"I'll take that as a yes." Muttered Arthur. If Merlin could have, he would have glared at Arthur. Now was not the time to make smart remarks.
"But don't fret. For I can kill you now instead." Leered the sorcerer.
"I do not intent to harm you, nor fight you." Arthur remained calm although his insides were squirming in warning. "Now. You will help me or I will take you back to Camelot and my father will not be so lenient."
The sorcerer's fierce expression broke into a raucous cackle. "You think you could overpower me? I could kill you with a flick of my wrist." He smirked and leaned in closer to Arthur, who clutched his sword harder. "Now. How would you like to die? I'll give you a choice. I can make it quick and painless, or I could burn you like all those innocent people your father has had burnt."
"I am not my father. What do you hope to gain by killing me?" Asked Arthur, his posture tense.
"If I kill you, it will break Uther Pendragon's heart. He will know what it feels like to have his own family taken from him." Snarled the sorcerer.
Arthur roared out a battle cry and launched himself at the sorcerer, sword thrusted forwards. The knights followed his lead instinctively. The sorcerer whispered a single word and the knights and the prince were forced backwards, falling to the ground. Arthur moaned in pain.
"Leave them alone!" Merlin had meant to sound intimidating and strong, but all he managed was a weak yelp. He felt incredibly vulnerable, standing alone in the darkness, unable to see this opponent.
"Shut up Merlin!" Growled Arthur, heaving himself to his feet, only to be knocked down again by some invisible force.
"And who are you?" Asked the sorcerer in a way that suggested he really couldn't care less.
"Leave him alone." Merlin repeated, a little more confident than the last time. There was silence as the sorcerer stared at him. Studied him.
"Oh…" Breathed the sorcerer, before laughing manically. "Well if it isn't little Emrys." The last word echoed round in the cave and inside Merlin's head. He stiffened.
"Who's Emrys?" Arthur demanded, confused and still unable to stand. It felt as though an invisible hand was forcing him to the ground.
"The mighty Emrys. Ha! You're just a boy! You can't possibly be who the Druids think you are." The sorcerer snorted, amused.
"Leave now." Merlin's voice was low and dangerous. If Arthur was going to find out his secret, he might as well save his royal arse one more time.
"Your little magic tricks are no match for me." His voice was decidedly unconcerned. He stalked closer to Merlin, who stood nervously, fidgeting from one foot to the other. "The Druids spoke of a powerful warlock who will bring magic back to Camelot. One who will stop the slaughter of our kind and put an end to this suffering. But you…you act as a lowly servant and do nothing to stop the burning of their lives."
Merlin mumbled something that sounded something like, "Need to protect Arthur." Arthur, still on the floor, was listening to every word the pair were speaking. It didn't make sense…Merlin? Warlock? Why was he referring to Merlin as Emrys? The man was obviously delusional. Arthur struggled against the invisible force keeping him to the ground and, when his attempt failed, propped his head up on a rock so he could see his manservant and the sorcerer. The robed man was standing far too close to Merlin for Arthur's comfort.
"Get away from him!" Snarled Arthur. They both ignored him.
"Now I will have the pleasure of killing you and the prince." The sorcerer chuckled menacingly and then whispered a few strange words, his eyes flashing golden. Merlin screamed in pain and Arthur watched, horrified, as large blotches of blood seeped into Merlin's blue tunic. He clutched at his stomach, whimpering. The sorcerer repeated the words and Merlin screamed again as his sleeves now stained red.
"Merlin!" Yelled Arthur, struggling with all his strength.
"And now, Emrys, you will bleed to death as your beloved prince watches. You are blind, alone and dying." He threw a smug glance at Arthur. Arthur could see no escape. They would all die here. He flicked his eyes towards his knights, all of whom seemed to be unconscious.
"Stop it!" Arthur shouted at the sorcerer. "I'm the one you want to kill! Leave Merlin alone!"
"Why do you not protect yourself Emrys?" The man studied Merlin curiously, who had now sunk to the ground, gasping. "Use your magic for the last time why don't you?"
Arthur realised this man had obviously mistaken Merlin for some sorcerer.
"I have no magic." Merlin's voice was hoarse with pain.
"What? You…Oh I see…The prince does not know of your magic?" Merlin said nothing, just sank lower to the floor. "Oh just imagine," said the sorcerer in a mocking simper. "Your last moments alive and Prince Arthur finds out about your little secret. You will die with him hating you. Hating you for lying and for having magic."
"Shut up." Snarled Arthur. "Stop lying. Merlin doesn't have magic. I don't hate him. Don't listen to him Merlin!" Merlin was now caved in upon himself on the floor, gasping with pain as blood slowly drained from his body. Arthur had never felt so helpless.
"If you don't fight back Emrys, I will only kill Arthur faster." Said the sorcerer, leaving the now sobbing Merlin to hover over Arthur. "I really can't wait any longer. Say goodbye Arthur Pendragon." He raised his arm to cast his fatal spell but he was quite suddenly blasted backwards as harsh words echoed around them. Arthur snapped his head to Merlin, who was now leaning heavily on the cave wall, his arm slightly outstretched, his eyes fading from a bright gold.
Arthur gaped at Merlin. He had magic. Merlin had magic.
He wanted to shout, scream at Merlin.
But as he gazed at his manservant, his anger stuck in his throat.
The torch that Arthur had dropped in the general panic lit up his manservant's face. Merlin's unseeing eyes were filled with pain and fear. Fear of him, Arthur realised. Fear of what Arthur would do to him. Tears leaked down his pale cheeks and dripped from his jaw. His shirt was saturated with blood that leaked from unseen wounds. His thin limbs were shaking as he slowly slid back down to the floor. His anger and questions could wait.
Arthur found he could now move and, after locating the unconscious sorcerer, made his way over to Merlin.
"Merlin?" He asked hesitantly. Merlin tried to push himself away from Arthur using his legs, but his back was pressed against the rocky cave wall.
"I'm s-s-sorry Arthur." Stuttered Merlin in terror. "P-please, I just…I d-didn't…"
"Shh Merlin. It's okay. Calm down." Reassured Arthur softly, settling himself closer to Merlin.
"P-please. I'm sorry. I'll l-leave. I p-promise." Blood loss and panic were causing Merlin to shake uncontrollably.
"You're not going anywhere." Arthur said determinedly. For the moment, he didn't care that Merlin had magic. That Merlin had lied. That wasn't important right then. "Come on. We need to do something about your wounds. If you keep bleeding then…well…I don't want to have to look for a new manservant." He scoured the cave for the bag that Merlin had brought, briefly checking the knights to confirm they were still alive. They were fine, unconscious but alive.
"Take your shirt off Merlin. I need to stop the bleeding." Arthur didn't add the I think out loud. He had hardly any medical training, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try.
After slight hesitation Merlin struggled with his tunic feebly before Arthur gently pulled it over his head and put it to one side. He also tugged the ever present neck scarf from his neck and added that to Merlin's shirt. Merlin's eyes were drooping.
"Merlin? You need to stay awake I think." Arthur said uncertainly, pulling bandages from Merlin's bag. Thank goodness Merlin thought to be prepared.
He then turned his eyes to take in Merlin's bare chest. What he saw made him gasp and a sudden need to vomit. He was drenched in the vibrant red blood and deep gashes were slashed across his chest and arms. Arthur restrained the urge to go find the unconscious sorcerer and kill him, Merlin needed his help now. Warlock or no warlock, Merlin was his friend and he was not going to die.
Hello! Sorry for the morbidly angsty chapter! I hope this chapter was okay! -fingers crossed!-
I started to write this chapter, then rewrote it because I wasn't happy with it.
I now have a tumblr account that I have dedicated to this account on Fanfiction on which I shall be posting sneaky previews, outtakes and other general stuff...I shall probably post the original chapter 6 on there at some point. I shall post the link to my tumblr account on the next chapter, as tumblr is down at the moment! .
But if you're at all interested, check it out! (Once I tell you what the link is!)
Please review! It only takes a few seconds! =)
Thank you for reading!
xx
ALSO! IMPORTANT QUESTION HERE!
As you might be able to tell, I generally make my stories up as I go along with only a vague plot line in my head (You can see this as I only decided to make this a FINDING OUT ABOUT MERLIN'S MAGIC chapter as I was writing it.) SO. Do you think I should eventually give Merlin his sight back? I think it would be quite nice, poor Merlin...sorry Merlin!