AN: WOW. I think this is the fastest I have ever gotten subscriptions to a story! Thank you all so much!

And an even bigger thank you to everyone who reviewed! I got lots of anonymous reviews so I couldn't respond, but I appreciate them very much! Thank you!

So, whump starts in this chapter. Nothing to terrible, but it happens, just as a warning. Hope you enjoy!

And I do not own Merlin. Which is really for the best.

Chapter Two: The Missing Prince

Merlin sat in the cell he had been left in, knees curled up under his chin, wondering what was happening in the castle around him. He figured he would find out soon enough, as either Arthur or Uther would be down to yell at him soon, depending on how well the plan had went. He wanted Arthur and Gwen to be safe, and far from the castle, but he couldn't help but shiver when he thought of what the king would do when he discovered his son was missing. It turned out he wouldn't have to wait long to find out what would happen when he heard a commotion from the direction of the stairs, and soon was greeted by a very angry Uther with a few guards trailing hesitantly behind him.

"WHERE IS MY SON!" The king yelled, grabbing the bars of Merlin's cell. Merlin didn't respond he just shrank in, pulling his knees closer to himself and praying that maybe Uther would leave after just yelling at him. At least now he knew that Arthur's plan had been successful, and that Gwen would be safe. Merlin clung to that small bit of relief as he heard Uther order one of the guards to open the door to his cell.

There was some fumbling and rattling of keys before the barred door swung open, and the fuming king entered the small cell. Merlin kept his eyes squeezed shut as Uther's booted foot connected with his side, causing him to uncurl slightly for a moment, before pulling in tighter than he was before.

"Your little stunt was obviously some half-baked plot to give them time to escape; so you must be working with the witch. And I you know something. Tell me the truth, and I will make your passing as painless as possible. Where is Prince Arthur?" Uther shouted down at him, towering over Merlin as he curled into the smallest ball he could and whispered, "I don't know."

Merlin felt a gloved hand curve around his neck as he was pulled upwards, till he was facing the king. He struggled for breath as the grip tightened, cutting off his airways.

"You're lying to me again, boy. And I am going to find out what you know one way or another." With that, he dropped Merlin and turned back to the guards. "Make sure he is given no food or water. No one is allowed to see him without express permission from myself." He then exited the cell, and waited as it was locked, turning back to the corner Merlin had pulled himself into and saying, "Do you realize what you have done? Arthur is in danger now, and it is all your fault. I thought you wanted to keep him safe?"

With that he walked away, leaving Merlin alone in the darkness, Uther's last words still echoing in his mind. Had the king really noticed Merlin's constant struggles to protect the prince? And what if the king was right, and he had just allowed Arthur to put himself into great danger? He hoped that Arthur took his advice, and went to Haldor. At least there Lancelot would also be able to help protect him from any who might recognize him as the prince of Camelot and wish to harm him for his title.

Merlin couldn't help thinking about how he had failed his destiny. Everything was going totally wrong. He wondered what Kilgarrah would say if he knew what Merlin had done. He had only wanted to let Arthur be happy, to give him a chance at a normal life, and now he could have put his life in danger? Hoping that the king was wrong and Arthur would be safe, Merlin curled up and fell into an uneasy sleep, alone in the dark cell under the castle that, until this night, had been home to the man he loved.

Arthur and Gwen ran. Arthur had thought about going to the stables and getting a horse while Merlin had the guards distracted, but he decided he didn't want to take the risk, so they were forced to leave the city on foot. Arthur had been at the entrance to the dungeons when he heard the warning bell sound. For a moment he feared his plan would be over before it had even begun, until, from his hiding place in one of the larger alcoves, he heard a guard summon the two positioned in front of the entrance to the prison away from their posts, saying that the king had called them all to the courtyard. Realizing that this must have been Merlin's distraction, Arthur moved quickly, heading down to the currently unguarded cells. It didn't take him long to find Guinevere and help her out of her cell. He was glad his father hadn't had the foresight to take his keys from him when he locked him in his chambers, making it easy for the prince to open the door and lead Gwen away from the prison.

Merlin's distraction seemed to have worked perfectly, as Arthur was able to lead Gwen out of the city without a single incident. He wondered what his manservant could have done to distract the soldiers so completely, and a small tinge of worry formed in his stomach as he thought about what might happen to Merlin once he was gone. But, he couldn't think about that now, he needed to get Guinevere to safety. He didn't stop running, holding her arm to make sure she didn't fall behind, until they had made it far enough into the woods that they could barely see a foot in front of them. It would be near impossible for his father's men to follow him if it was so dark, as long as they lit no fires, so they should be safe until morning when the knights would be able to look more carefully for any signs of travelers.

When he finally deemed it far enough for them to be able to safely take a rest, he turned, pulling Gwen into a hug.

"Arthur, thank you. I thought I was going to die." Gwen sobbed, clutching to Arthur as if her life depended on it.

"It's alright Gwen," Arthur replied, "You know I would never let that happen."

She nodded, sniffling quietly before she asked, "What are we going to do?"

"Merlin said we should try to head to the east. Lancelot is living in a small town called Haldor, he should be able to help us until we can decide what we want to do."

"Lancelot?" Gwen replied, sounding strangely happy and nervous all at the same time. Arthur's brows wrinkled at the strange reaction, and he was glad it was dark enough that Guinevere could not see his concern for the way she said the other man's name.

"Yes, Lancelot. He also suggested Ealdor, but the people there will have a greater chance of recognizing me, so I thought we should try this Haldor place first. We should keep moving. The knights will probably be after us soon, and they will have horses. They will be much faster than us, so we should get as far from the castle as we can while it is still dark."

Guinevere nodded, and let Arthur pull her through the dark forest, in the direction Arthur hoped was east. He tried not to be distracted by the sniffling behind him that only began to stop when he heard the sounds of a river ahead. Arthur was exhausted, so he decided that this would be as good a place to stop as any, spreading out his cloak for Guinevere to sleep on while he found a tree to lean back against and fell into an uneasy sleep, each rustle of leaves sounding like approaching knights, every whisper of wind becoming orders yelled by the men pursuing him.

Merlin woke when a bucket of icy water was dumped on him. He shot up, gasping and shivering to see Uther glowering over him, a guard on either side, one of them holding a recently emptied bucket. As he got a sense of his surroundings, Merlin realized that he was incredibly thirsty. He tried to pull some of the water dripping down his face into his mouth with his tongue, hoping for a small amount of relief when he was pulled upwards and out of his cell, into a different room with a chair that he was tied into by the two guards while Uther watched. Once he was secured, Uther nodded at one of the guards who, on his king's signal, punched Merlin quite hard in the stomach.

"Where is my son?" Uther asked, his voice much more calm than it had been the night before. Still angry, but more demanding than furious as it was the last time he asked that question.

"I don't know." Merlin replied keeping his eyes locked on the kings. He had been lying since the day he got into Camelot; he should be pretty good at it by now. Plus, in a way it was true. He wasn't sure where Arthur was, he just had a few very good ideas of where he was probably heading. His answer got him another punch in the stomach and a slap, before Uther grabbed his face and turned it so he was forced to look at him, saying, "I demand you tell me where Prince Arthur and the witch went."

"Gwen is not a witch, she's innocent." Merlin replied. This probably wasn't the best answer, as it got him a punch in the face by the king himself before the two guards he brought with him started pummeling him. He felt a trickle of blood slide down from his nose where Uther had hit him. That couldn't be good, Merlin thought, what if his nose was broken? The king probably wouldn't allow Gaius to treat him, seeing as he kind of wanted Merlin dead.

"You're obviously working with her; tell me what her plans for my son are!" Uther said losing the calm he had at the beginning of the conversation.

"Gwen's plans for Arthur? Well, she probably plans on caring for him, maybe having a nice wedding, and one day even a baby, a prince or princess of their own. But she didn't use sorcery to make him feel want that as well. Can't you see that they love each other?"

Again, this probably wasn't the best thing Merlin could have said in this situation. Uther apparently lost any restraint he had, and was choking Merlin, his hand locked around Merlin's neck while he struggled and gasped for air. Merlin could barely see the guards looking confused behind the king, as his vision began to go blurry and he realized that if he didn't get air soon he would probably die. Luckily, it seemed the king did not want him to die quite yet, and he released Merlin, allowing him to regain his breath in great gulps.

"You will tell me her plans eventually boy. See how you like going a few days without food or water, maybe that will loosen your tongue." With that Uther left, and Merlin was pulled back to the cell he had been in the night before. He was still coughing when the guards locked the door, his body aching from Uther's interrogation session.

Merlin shifted slowly, moving away from the door and into the corner where he had been curled up before being dragged from the room. It was slow going as each move caused his chest to scream in agony, and he was trying to keep one hand on his bleeding nose, in a hopeless attempt at stopping the blood. When he had reached the corner, he pulled himself into a sitting position, his back leaning up against the wall furthest from the door, and tried to assess his injuries. His ribs where sore from where he had been punched; they didn't seem to be broken, but it was difficult to tell. His nose on the other hand, hurt so much that it was hard to touch it, let alone figure out whether or not it was broken. He wondered what Arthur would think of him with a crooked nose, but then realized it probably didn't matter seeing as Arthur was hopefully miles away and in love with someone else. As there wasn't much to do in his empty cell, Merlin curled up and tried to get some rest before the king could come back and question him again.

Arthur and Guinevere arrived at Haldor after two days of walking through the woods. They had had to pass by a couple of towns; Arthur keeping his hood pulled down to make sure no one would notice him. They tried to stay to the woods as much as possible, even avoiding roads so as to stay inconspicuous. It was slightly hard going but they managed to move quickly enough. Arthur had packed most of the gold he kept in his room as well as some of the other valuables he kept around, so they were able to purchase food when they arrived at one small village that hopefully was far enough from Camelot the knight's wouldn't question its people about the presence of two strangers passing through. Arthur was still worried about people following them though, and it was very difficult for him to relax when it seemed as if every eye was watching him, every movement some enemy about to attack.

It was much easier to stay to the woods, for him at least. Ever since he was a child he had loved going out into the forest, spending time running through the grass and brush, climbing the trees when his guard was far enough away to stop him, it had been so freeing. In the city he always had to behave like a prince, but out here he could be whoever he wanted. He squeezed Gwen's hand as he thought about this, realizing that he finally had no one's expectations to live up to except his own.

It did not take them long to find Lancelot once they Haldor. It was a small town, slightly bigger than Ealdor if Arthur remembered the village Merlin had grown up in correctly, but still so much smaller than the sprawl that was Camelot. It seemed Lancelot had helped almost every citizen of the town in some way or another, and all were happy to point them in the right direction, after making sure that they were friends of his and meant no harm. Lancelot seemed quite happy, though very confused, when they finally reached the small house he was living in. He shook Arthur's hand and, after a brief awkward moment, patted Guinevere on the shoulder. Arthur couldn't help but wonder if there had ever been something between these two, and whether it might be best for them to head over to Ealdor, where Gwen wouldn't be tempted by any handsome would-be knights.

After they had exchanged greetings, Lancelot asked, "What are you two doing here? Shouldn't you be in Camelot, Arthur?"

Gwen looked away, a slightly guilty expression on her face while Arthur responded, "It is a long story, Lancelot. Do you think we could talk inside?"

"Of course!" Lancelot said, noticing the serious expression on Arthur face, "I'm still working on the house a bit. A friend of mine was helping me build a place of my own, but he had to work today, so it's just me here. I know it's not much, but it is nice to finally have a place of my own."

"It's lovely." Gwen said with a smile. Arthur felt that same suspicion swirl in his stomach but ignored it and turned back to Lancelot saying, "My father accused Gwen of using enchantments to make me fall in love with her. He was going to have her executed, so Merlin and I got her out. We were hoping you could help us start a new life together."

Lancelot's expression morphed from happy to horrified when Arthur mentioned the threat to Guinevere's life. He quickly grabbed Gwen's shoulder and asked her if she was alright. When he received a nod and a nervous "Yes, I'm fine." he turned back to Arthur and said, "So you left Camelot, left your kingdom to be with Gwen? I hope someday I can find someone who will love me the way you two love each other. You said Merlin helped you, is he with you?"

"No. Merlin simply distracted the guards so we could get by. He is still with Gaius, back in Camelot." Arthur responded. He was surprised at how much sadness this statement filled him with. Ever sense he had left Camelot, the absence of his dark-haired manservant had been painfully obvious. As the days went on it only got worse and worse. They had almost been inseparable before they left, it was strange going so long without calling him an idiot or being called prat, clot pole, dollop head, or whatever other strange insult Merlin seemed to come up with daily. He had to remind himself that he should be happy, he was finally getting what he wanted, a life with Guinevere to do with what he pleased, but he couldn't help feeling that there was a Merlin-shaped hole in his new life.

"Ah." Lancelot responded, "That makes sense. Well, if you two need a place to stay for a while you can spend some time here. There is room. Or I could ask around town, I'm sure someone has an extra room you could use if you help out around here, do a little work in the fields or something. I've been working with my friend, Percival. His family owns a farm just at the edge of the village. They always could use extra hands, especially as one of Percival's sisters is expecting again. Gwen might be able to get some food helping take care of the children as well, they do have quite a lot of young ones running around down there."

"Sounds splendid, don't you think?" Arthur asked Gwen. He was still a little nervous about working on a farm, but he was ready to try anything in order to be normal. Gwen nodded, saying, "As long as you think you will be able to handle working on a farm, Sire."

"There is no need to call me that anymore, Guinevere. Please, stick with Arthur. We will need to be discreet as well, Lancelot. The fewer people who know who I am, the better. I am almost certain my father will send forces looking for me, and although we may be slightly safer now that we have crossed the borders, we are by no means out of harm's way. I do not wish to bring harm to you or this village; I simply seek a good place to start a peaceful life."

"Of course, Arthur. I'll let you two get settled in before I show you around town, introduce you to the people. Might not want to call yourself Arthur, though. Even around these parts you've made quite the impression. Someone might suspect something."

"That is a good idea. How about Will?" Arthur suggested, noting the strange look in Guinevere's eyes as he chose the name of the boy who had been Merlin's best friend from Ealdor. "You might want to tell them I was the son of a lord, who was disowned when he fell in love with a servant, just in case they notice something strange and start to question who I really am."

Lancelot nodded before leaving Arthur and Guinevere to lay down their meager belongings in the small room he had led them to. It wasn't much, there wasn't even a bed, but Arthur guessed he would have to get used to peasant life and everything that went with it, no matter how uncomfortable it would be.

Merlin was left alone for the next two days. It was incredibly lonely, and he was starting to get worried about the cough he had developed the first day that just didn't seem to be going away, but he was happy the king left him alone. The part that was beginning to get truly unbearable was the thirst. Hunger as well, but the thirst was the worst. His mouth felt dry and crinkled, even after he had squeezed all the water from his still wet clothes, sucking into his mouth after the first morning. He was starting to worry that Uther had forgotten about him, and that he would be left here to die from thirst and hunger before anyone could save him.

Just as he was beginning to contemplate attempting to use magic to get out and find something to drink, the door to his cell swung open and a filled water-skin as well as a slightly molded piece of bread were flung in. Merlin moved to them as quickly as his aching body allowed, taking first the water-skin and gulping its contents down. Even though the water was lukewarm and stale, it felt like heaven to his dry, parched lips. He could almost feel his mouth swelling from the stream of liquid spilling into him. Once his mouth felt like a mouth again, he turned his attention to the bread, ripping it apart like an animal. He devoured every last piece until there was nothing left, then turned his attention back to the water-skin, finishing every last drop. The bread had done very little to slate his hunger, instead painfully reminding him of the dull throb in his stomach. He groaned slightly and moved back to his corner, waiting for what would happen next. He was pretty certain they wouldn't just give him food and let him be; so he prepared himself for the inevitable questioning he assumed would soon follow.

Merlin didn't have long to prepare as his cell door banged open was more, and two guards entered. They moved over to where he was slumping and pulled him up; taking him to a room he had never seen before. He had to admit, he was happy he had never been in this particular room, and was not keen on entering it again. It looked a lot like a torture chamber, the walls were filled with knives, whips and other strange devices whose purpose Merlin did not want to learn. Once in the room, the guards pulled of Merlin's coat, shirt, and neckerchief, leaving him naked from the hip up, and took him over to a wall with a pair of shackles built into it. He tried to struggle, but his feeble attempts did nothing to stop the two, larger knights dragging him forward. When they reached the wall, they locked him in the shackles, so his back was facing them and his face was pressed up against the stone. Only when he was secured did he hear the voice he had been expecting sound behind him.

"Where is Prince Arthur?" Uther asked his voice as cold as ever.

"I don't know." Merlin responded. As soon as the words left his mouth he felt a whip crack against his back. He managed to hold back the scream that was threatening to break free as blood began to trickle down from the fresh wound the whip had left open.

"Why did you help the witch?" Uther questioned once the whip was back on the ground.

"Because Gwen and Arthur are my friends. They deserve to be happy." Merlin said, closing his eyes and waiting for the impact of the whip. It didn't take long, this answer getting him not one but two lashes before the cord fell to the ground.

"Where did she take him?"

"I don't know."

Crack

"WHERE IS HE?"

"I don't know."

Crack

"TELL ME WHAT SHE DID TO MY SON!"

At this point Merlin could barely respond, so he just shook his head, mumbling out "No." before the whip struck again. This pattern went on until Merlin could tell his back was a bloody mess. Uther would question him; he would do his best to respond negatively, the whip would rip through his skin. It wasn't until he was slumped in the chains and lost the strength to even mumble answers to Uther's questions that he was released from his chains and dragged back to his cell. Every movement caused his body to ache and burn, as the bloody mess that was his back was stretched by the guards. He let out a feeble cry as he was tossed back into his cell, as his guards did not seem to be worried about his wounds and had pushed him so he landed back down on the rough stone ground. Merlin only had the energy to flip himself over onto his stomach before darkness overcame him and he fell into a troubled sleep.