A/N – It's good to see you all again! Sorry there hasn't been much action from Arthur and the knights, but there'll be some next chapter.
I decided to try meditating yesterday. You're supposed to think of nothing, so me being me, I wrote the entire chapter in my head. Damn Lotus position.
When Merlin is on his way to the cells I probably get the geography of the castle quite wrong, but if you are happy to watch a show with MAGIC and DRAGONS then I'm sure you can believe this. Just nod and smile.
*Warning for deaths at the end* *No, not character deaths, calm down jeez*
"They may be called the Palace Guard, the City Guard, or the Patrol. Whatever the name, their purpose in any work of heroic fantasy is identical: it is, round about Chapter Three (or ten minutes into the film) to rush into the room, attack the hero one at a time, and be slaughtered. No one ever asks them if they want to."― Guards! Guards! , Terry Pratchett
Rain fell, like a bucket being emptied, on the cobbles. Merlin felt water seep into his boots as he put his foot in a puddle. He was taking a shortcut through the courtyard and wasn't paying close enough attention to where he was running. Grimacing, he carried on, trying to ignore the horrible squelching noise coming from his socks.
Merlin had noticed something... strange. Apart, of course, from the fact that Morgana lay unconscious in her chambers, and Arthur was in the dungeons, and this blasted rain, the castle had seemed to be running smoothly until a few minutes ago.
Howling wind whistled eerily through the portcullis, and Merlin decided against investigating – finding Arthur was the more pressing issue.
Footsteps echoed against the stone walls and roof of the corridor that led to the dungeons. This was really strange. Merlin couldn't quite put his finger on why, though.
When suddenly, he realised. On a journey from one end of the castle to the other – a castle that contained close to five hundred people - Merlin had not encountered a single guard, cook, servant, blacksmith, armourer or even one of Morgana's numerous henchmen, since he woke up that morning. This was not a random attack. There was a plan.
Tarrian hammered on the solid wooden door.
"Let me out! Let me out or I swear you will regret it dearly!"
"Oh, I'm sure I won't." Ignitrus' voice slithered through the cracks at the side of the door frame, "But I know that you will, my friend. Very, very dearly."
Somehow, Ignitrus must have found out about the guards that didn't turn to Morgana. The guards had split three ways – the loyal and honourable followed Arthur, the easily influenced, who had been affected by Morgana's sob stories followed her, and the power-hungry followed Ignitrus. When Tarrian ran yelling into the armoury, he found around two dozen of the Resistance guards there on their break, leaving eighteen still out patrolling the castle. That was the name they had given themselves – The Resistance. He quickly sent the remaining followers of Morgana on errands to the other side of the castle. They couldn't be trusted. He didn't know whether they were chasing or rescuing, only that on the way he had found the royal seal of House Ignitrus lying on the ground, covered in blood.
If Ignitrus was injured, Tarrian would, of course, help him. He would, however, very unfortunately, die of his extensive injuries. If Ignitrus was the one who had been doing the injuring, then he would also, very unfortunately, die of his injuries. Just... not the ones sustained in the attack.
Tarrian had wanted only the guards he would trust with his life to protect him on a mission like this.
However, they were now trapped in the armoury, as just as they were getting ready to leave, the huge, siege-reinforced doors had swung shut. Tarrian couldn't believe he had been that stupid.
"I will never be your friend, Ignitrus. The time for reconciliation has passed. Too many souls have been murdered with your hands."
"Ouch, Tarrian Blackcoat, that almost hurt. See you soon – well, I suppose for you it will be a lifetime. The next time I see you, I will have control of the castle, and you and your Resistance Guards will all hang." With that, Ignitrus walked off down the corridor, in the direction of the cells.
A young man with curly black hair pulled him away from the door, and he looked down at his bleeding knuckles.
Merlin felt his heart beating louder and louder in his chest as he crept around the last corner before the cells. This was where he would find out what had happened to the guards. Two paces in front of where he was standing was a store cupboard, which may or may not contain the bodies of the eight guards that should have been patrolling this corridor.
A shadow moved in the dying firelight and Merlin flattened himself against the wall.
"Ignitrus should be here soon. If we start walking up the corridor now, we'll save ourselves some time." Footsteps came closer.
Merlin ran forward and wrenched open the cupboard door, shoving himself inside. He pulled the door shut, leaving only an inch open so he could watch the passing guards.
They both had a strip of yellow cloth tied around their arms, which Merlin recognised as the colours of House Ignitrus. Virius Ignitrus, to be exact. Waiting until they had passed, Merlin was about to leave when he heard something.
Splash.
He looked behind him, and could just make out in the dingy light, the bodies of the eight guards. They were piled on top of each other and none of them had the strip of cloth tied around each other. The ones with swords appeared to have had their throats cut, and the ones without them had their necks bent in strange ways. The splash had been a drop of blood into a small pool of water, under the window.
Merlin steeled himself. They were just bodies. He had seen one of them cheering as Gwaine was hit with a sword in a fight earlier. He quickly grabbed one of their swords, then rushed out and shut the door behind him.
He held the sword in front of him, and stepped around the corner.
As always, hope you enjoyed! Seeing as I didn't nag you for reviews last chapter,
PLEASE REVIEW.
Thank you and see you soon, fellow Merlinians!