Hey guys!

So, I know the story's getting kind of heavy now, and I can only apologize, because it's not quite over yet. Don't worry though, we all know that sooner or later, Arthur will be Merlin's knight in shining armour and save him from evil Mordred.

Anyway, I won't keep you any longer, so enjoy!

Megz

oxox

!TRIGGER WARNING!

DARK AND VIOLENT SCENES

Merlin walked to school, keeping his eyes trained on the floor. It had been a week since the incident in the canteen, and a week since Mordred had started tormenting him again. It had also been a week, since the last time he'd spoken to any of his friends. He knew he shouldn't distance them the way he was, but it was like an instinct. He didn't like other people having to share in his pain. It was his to deal with, and his alone. Morgana and Gwen had tried to help, of course, but it was almost too easy for Merlin to deny their comfort. So eventually, having no idea what was wrong with him, they'd just given up, because there wasn't much more that they could do, if Merlin wasn't going to tell them anything. Any time they tried to start a conversation with him, he'd just stare blankly ahead, until they left.

Arthur had not been as easy to ignore, though Merlin wasn't sure why. It wasn't as if they'd ever really been close or anything. The first thing Arthur had said to him when he'd walked into Science on Friday, had been an apology, but Merlin hadn't said anything. It wasn't that he was angry at Arthur, or that he couldn't forgive him, because he could. He completely understood what'd happened on Thursday in the canteen, and perhaps that was the problem. He could understand why Arthur wouldn't stand up for him, for someone like him. Arthur was one of the most popular boys in school, and Merlin was nothing more than dirt under his shoe. He understood completely.

Most of Merlin's days in the past week had been spent in numb loneliness. He would go to school, sit in his classes, waiting for his lessons to be over. He would speak to no one, and no one would speak to him. The only conversations he had were with Mordred, and they tended not to last very long. Just long enough to push Merlin further onto the brink of something . . . though he didn't know what. At lunch, he would sit by himself, as far into the corner as he could get. He wouldn't look at the others around him, living their happy lives, instead, he would stare out of the window, and he would think of nothing in particular. More, of trivial things. Unimportant and small things. To take his mind off of everything.

He would walk home alone, provided Mordred didn't get to him first, and he would go straight up to his room when he got there. And then, he would throw himself onto his bed, where he would lie, for hours on end, staring up at the ceiling. The only time he rose was when Gaius called him down for dinner. Merlin could tell the older man was worried about him, but if he wasn't going to talk about it, then he had a feeling that Gaius wouldn't either. He wouldn't go anywhere near his laptop, completely unaware of the messages stocking up on his AskMe account, asking what was wrong.

He wasn't even talking to Alice anymore. He'd stopped getting books from her, and didn't step one foot into the library, which even Merlin himself found strange. Usually, when he was feeling the way he was, the library would be his sanctuary, a safe place that he could get away from it all. But now, he just didn't see the point.

Suddenly, a hand was in his shirt, pulling him into a darkened alleyway. Merlin was hardly even surprised, and it took him less than a second to identify who his attacker was. He winced, as he was pinned against a cold, steel fence, and he felt it digging into his back. And when he opened his eyes, he found himself staring into the equally cold eyes of Mordred.

"You know, you're not looking so good, Merlin," Mordred began, and Merlin didn't say anything, because he'd learned by this point that Mordred only got worse when he replied. It was far better to just stand there and take it. He deserved it, after all. After everything he'd said to Arthur, and after everything that'd happened with Will. "Where's your precious Arthur now? He's not coming to save you, Merlin. And do you want to know why? Because he doesn't care. He doesn't care about you, no matter what you might have deluded yourself into believing. Look around! He's not here, is he? He hasn't asked about you, and I doubt he'd even notice if you weren't to come into school today . . ."

Merlin caught the sinister look in Mordred's eye, and for a split second, he wondered if that last bit had been a threat. But surely . . . no. Mordred had done some terrible things to Merlin, but he would never go that far, at least, he never had before. Then again, Merlin wouldn't really be surprised. He knew of Mordred's reputation outside school, and had heard of the terrible things he'd done, the fights he'd been involved in. It wouldn't be completely beyond him to take his torment of Merlin one step further.

"But that would be too easy!" Mordred laughed, and Merlin felt himself sigh with relief, though he knew the worst was still yet to come. "We wouldn't want the fun to be over that soon, now, would we? I've had fun, this past week, and for it to be over so soon, we were just getting to know each other again! Though I'm sure you haven't forgotten the last time, now have you? I like to think I leave some kind of an impression on people . . ."

Merlin still refused to say anything. Mordred liked to talk, and usually, if Merlin didn't reply, Mordred would eventually run out of things to say, and leave. So he just stood there, and took it most of the time. He'd had to live with Mordred tormenting him for long enough now, he knew how it worked. But, there was something different this time. Mordred was being a lot more personal about it this time, and a lot more vicious.

"Well? SAY SOMETHING!" Mordred yelled, making his point by slamming his fist into the fence behind Merlin. Merlin winced again, trying to pull himself as far away from Mordred as he could, squirming against the fence, but to no success. Mordred kept his fist at Merlin's side, and his other hand fisted in his shirt, and Merlin knew that there was no getting away. Still, he didn't want to give Mordred the satisfaction. He thought that's what it was, thought he was being strong, by not bending to his will, but the truth was, that Merlin was trembling with so much fear that he didn't think he could speak even if he tried.

"Merlin, I'm not going to ask again," Mordred spat, and Merlin could feel his whole body shaking, no matter how much he tried to calm his nerves. He'd thought that he knew exactly what Mordred was capable of, thought he knew him, but this time had already been so much worse, and Mordred hadn't shown any signs of stopping anytime soon. And the truth was, Merlin really didn't know how far he was going to take it this time. Mordred's words from the week before were being chanted in his mind like a sick mantra; "You have no idea what I've got planned for you.".

"Oh, I see . . . ." he continued, tilting his head to the side, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "You think that if you don't say anything, that I'll eventually stop, and leave you alone. Nice try, Emrys, but all you've done now, is show me how much I'm getting under your skin. Don't worry though, we're nowhere near done here. In fact," Merlin began to squirm again, when he say Mordred fumbling in his pocket for something. He pulled it out of his pocket, holding it up triumphantly, and Merlin gasped at the pocket knife in Mordred's hand. "Let's take it up a notch, shall we?"

Mordred hadn't been lying, Merlin really hadn't expected this. Normally, Mordred simply tormented Merlin, occasionally shoving him a little, but never anything serious. He mostly liked to stick to psychological torment, getting into Merlin's head, and Merlin had to admit, he was surprisingly good at that. Obviously though, Mordred had really thought it through this time. And Merlin really had no idea what to expect anymore, which scared him more than anything. Because if Mordred was willing to pull a knife on him, then there was no telling how far he'd take it this time.

"I'm just trying to help you, Merlin," he continued, his voice turning scarily soft, as he ran the blunt end of the knife along Merlin's pale neck. "You're not well, and you need to realize that pining after Arthur isn't healthy. He's never going to be interested in you, when are you going to get that into your thick head? It's sick, your obsession with him. I see you, watching him, I know how you feel about him, even if you won't admit it. And it freaks him out, Merlin, he's just too polite to say so. You just . . . you need to learn."

Mordred made sure to put extra emphasis on the word "learn", by quickly turning the knife around, and slashing Merlin's neck. The taller boy winced again, kicking out, but Mordred held him still, he was surprisingly strong for someone of his height and build, and fighting back was pointless. He barely even felt the sharp sting of the knife the second time, and didn't even react. Mordred had obviously already grown bored of that particular activity, and brought the knife up to Merlin's cheek. That was when Merlin really started to squirm.

He thought he deserved Mordred's torture, that, somehow, he'd been asking for it. Maybe he'd done something, said something that he shouldn't have, or done something to anger Mordred in some way? Maybe he'd been "flaunting his sexuality", or something? Maybe he'd somehow made Mordred uncomfortable? It was his own fault that he was treated like this, it had to be. To think that Mordred did it for no reason at all didn't make any sense.

He wasn't going to tell anyone about what Mordred did to him, he was too embarrassed for other people to find out. So he would let Mordred hurt him, just not in places that people could see. Most of Merlin's pain inflicted by Mordred was internal, so it was easy to hide. But now Mordred was trying to mark him in places that people would actually see. There would be no hiding a giant gash on the side of his face, Merlin knew that.

Still, it wasn't like he could stop him. Once Mordred had an idea, he followed through on it, and there was no stopping him them. He held the blade to Merlin's cheek, and slid it down the pale skin slowly, applying just a little pressure. The cut it produced was thin, and shallow, but it was still noticeable. Luckily for Merlin, he wasn't bleeding that much, and it wouldn't take long to clean the cuts. That was no comfort to him, though, as he was finally beginning to feel the sting of the open wounds.

"I just want to remind you, Merlin," Mordred said, taking one step back from Merlin, and calmly wiping the bloodied knife on his blazer. He flicked it again, and put it back in his pocket, straightening his clothes. "I just wanted to remind you, of who you really are. And now, every time you look into a mirror, you'll see those scars, and you'll remember. Because I fear you're in danger of forgetting your place in this world. You are not equal to us, do you understand me? Not to me, not to Arthur, none of us. And while Arthur allows you to talk to him now, allows you to delude yourself into thinking that you've got even the smallest chance with him, you can't, and you don't. Okay? Because you're not like us. You're not popular, you're not rich, and you're certainly not attractive, especially now you've got those ugly scars.

Do you understand now? Do you see? Arthur's not interested, and eventually, he'll drop you on your head, and you'll realize that I was right. He's playing a game with you, because that's what he does, he plays games. He gets inside people's heads, people like you, and lets them believe that he's interested in them. He makes them believe that there might finally be hope for them, like they have a chance to be something else, to rise up from their status. But that's all it is, a game. And it will never be anything more.

You're nothing, worthless. And I can't understand how Morgana can stand to be near you. Someone of her standing, being friends with someone like you, it doesn't make any sense. But then again, I guess she always was a little messed up. And Gwen, well, I guess Morgana just wants to look after the needy and desperate -"

"You can talk about me however you want, I don't care," Merlin said sternly, taking a threatening step towards Mordred, and trying to look as tall as possible. He knew the cuts were now beginning to bleed, but resolved to clean them when Mordred had left. He didn't want to appear weak, although it was a little too late for that now. "But if you ever talk about my friends like that again, I'll -"

"You'll what?" Mordred laughed bitterly, closing the space between him and Merlin, and looking up at him menacingly. And Merlin honestly didn't know what he'd been thinking. He'd just become so overcome with anger, but now he knew it had been a mistake, and Mordred was going to make him pay. "I think you misunderstand who's in charge here, Merlin. I've tried to explain, but clearly, you're just not getting it. Maybe this will get through to you . . ."

And before Merlin even knew that was going on, he felt Mordred's fist collide with his face. The blow sent him tumbling to the ground in a crumbled heap, and Merlin kept his eyes glued to the floor. His cheek was now stinging even more than before, as it was on the same side as the cut from Mordred's knife. It was going to be hard to draw attention away from that. Not that he was talking to anyone anyway, so it didn't really matter. Plus, half the school probably wouldn't notice if he was on fire.

"Do you understand now?" Mordred emphasized the word "understand", with a sharp kick to Merlin's side, causing him to curl his body in pain.

The pale boy on the floor nodded slowly, and Mordred grinned, wiping down his clothes, before strolling out of the alleyway, as if nothing had happened. Merlin wiped the blood off of his face with the back of his hand, and hoped and prayed that he could just get to school without being stopped by anyone.

A few hours later, Merlin walked into Science. He tried to ignore the gasps at his colourful bruises, and made his way to his seat, where Arthur was already waiting for him. He flung his bag down in silence, and started pulling out his books. Arthur now knew that Merlin didn't want to talk to anyone, but he was getting worried, and when he saw Merlin turn to look out of the window, his voice caught in his throat.

There was a long, thin cut down the side of Merlin's face, and all around it were dark, quite intense bruises. Merlin quickly looked away when he noticed Arthur's eyes widen, and winced, as he'd tried to turn too quickly, and his side was still hurting. Arthur noticed the wince and the hand that flew to his bruised side. Something was definitely wrong with Merlin. He'd suspected it the past week, but he'd thought it was just about what had happened in the canteen, and that Merlin was angry at him. But it was becoming clear now that it was more than that. Someone was hurting Merlin, and Arthur was going to find out who.

And as Merlin loosened his tie, Arthur suddenly felt a flash of powerful anger, as he saw more cuts dashed around Merlin's scrawny neck. These were a little deeper, but obviously, the person who'd done it, had known exactly what he was doing, as he'd avoided all of Merlin's major arteries. Arthur wasn't sure whether that made him angrier or not. Because, clearly, the person had wanted to cause Merlin as much pain as possible, but not kill him. It was more an act of torture than anything else, so they'd obviously done it before.

"Merlin, who did this to you?" Arthur asked, concern in his eyes. Usually, Merlin would have ignored him, but this was different. He rubbed his neck self-consciously, and pulled his tie back up. Still, he didn't look at Arthur. He feared that if he looked back into those kind, comforting blue eyes, that he might break. And he couldn't let that happen, he wouldn't let that happen. Arthur didn't really care about him, it was all just a game. Just a game.

"It's nothing, Arthur." he muttered, and realized with surprise, that those were the first words he'd uttered to Arthur in weeks. He doubted the blonde had noticed the difference.

"That, is not nothing," Arthur replied sternly, pointing to Merlin's neck. He'd managed to clean the cuts, and make them slightly less raw-looking, but they were no less noticeable, and no less intense.

"I fell, okay?" Merlin lied, and he could tell that Arthur didn't believe him. Hell, he wouldn't even believe it himself if he'd been told the same thing. It might have explained the bruising on his face, but the cuts were clearly from a knife, nothing else.

Merlin felt his breathing hitch, as Arthur cupped his face in his hand. He guided Merlin's face to look at him, and Merlin was so close to breaking, when he saw the earnest look in Arthur's eyes. He wanted nothing more than to break down and cry, as Arthur held him. He'd tell him that it was all going to be okay, and that Mordred had been wrong. In a perfect world, that's what would happen. But Merlin was already fully aware that he didn't live in a perfect world.

"Merlin, please, I-" Arthur began, and Merlin desperately tried to ignore the break in his voice. Shaking his head, he pulled away from Arthur's comforting touch. His heart sunk at the loss of contact, but he continued to stare straight ahead, waiting for the lesson to start.

"Leave it, please."

"I'm telling you, Morgana, I'm really worried about him," Arthur said, holding his phone to his ear as he casually walked out of school. The school day had just ended, and Arthur was making his way home, on the phone to his sister. As soon as the bell had gone, he'd told Morgana about Merlin's cuts and bruises, as, instead of being in Science class, she'd been off in a secluded hallway, doing unspeakable things with Leon. And she'd been just as shocked as he was.

"So am I, Arthur, but I don't know what else we can do. I've never seen it this bad before."

"You mean this has happened before?" Arthur asked, getting out of the gates, and leaning against it. He was waiting for Morgana to get out of school, so they could walk back together.

"A couple of times. He'd stop talking to us for a few days, and completely shut off, and then he'd be back. But he's never explained it to us. Gwen thinks that someone's tormenting him, and to be honest, after what you've just told me, I agree with her."

"So do I, but we have to do something. I can't just sit and watch him suffer like this," Arthur sighed, and he could practically hear Morgana's smile through the phone. "What?"

"You really do care about him, don't you? I mean, I always knew you cared, but . . . he means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

"Yes, yes he does," Arthur replied, and Morgana could hear the sincerity in his voice, and knew that he wasn't lying. She was glad though, because there was no one more deserving of Merlin than Arthur, and vice-versa. "So now you see, why I can't just stand by and not do anything. I know I haven't exactly been that . . . involved with him before, but I want to help now. I'm tired of being someone that I'm not, if these are the consequences. I need to start thinking about other people, and I realize that now. I'm sorry."

"Arthur . . . you were never a bad person, you know that. Yes, you made some bad choices, but deep down, I know you still cared. The person you pretended to be just wasn't you, and I never lost sight of that fact, I never stopped believing in you. You just didn't stand up, that's all I ever wanted you to do. To just stand up for what you believe, and what you wanted."

"I know, I should have tried harder, I just . . . " Arthur's voice trailed off, as he saw Merlin come out of school. His cuts and bruises looked even worse in daylight, a startling comparison to his pale and pasty skin. He made his way towards the gate that Arthur stood outside, and the blonde tried to keep his voice low. "Morgana, I have to go, Merlin's coming, and I want to see if I can sort this out once and for all. Will you be alright by yourself?"

"I'll be fine, Leon was going to walk with me anyway," Arthur rolled his eyes, "But what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to follow him, see if I can find out who it is that's been doing this to him," Arthur replied, keeping his eyes on the ground, as Merlin walked past. The other boy didn't even glance at him, and carried on walking. Arthur waited about a minute, before walking after Merlin.

"Okay, just . . . be careful?"

"Oh, you know me Morgana, I'm -"

"Yes, I do know you, Arthur Pendragon. That's the problem."

Well? Let me know what you thought, please? REVIEW! :D