Chapter 12

The six riders had never been on a more urgent mission, and it was only as Gwaine indicated to them that they were nearing the stronghold that they finally slowed their exhausted horses to a walk. Merlin and Lancelot both gave a little start, as they saw in the moonlight the same building that Merlin had seen in the crystal. They left their horses tied up a safe distance away, and crept silently towards the building, barely making a sound as they went. Arthur had trained them well, and they were able to communicate perfectly well by signals, and the two men who were standing on watch outside both fell noiselessly before either of them realised anyone was upon them.

The fact that it was just after midnight when they arrived meant that most of Alvar's men were sleeping, but still they took no chances, knowing that they must reach Arthur without raising the alarm if they were going to get him out alive. And Merlin was grateful that he had wandered around the stronghold so much in the dream as it meant that its layout was still fresh in his mind, although it did leave the knights – other than Lancelot – wondering how it was that Merlin seemed to know where he was going. But they almost came undone when they suddenly heard the sound of two voices around a corner that was just ahead of them, and all they could do was stand absolutely still in the darkness and listen intently, all standing poised to spring should they be discovered.

Merlin, although he had seen where Arthur was being held, still had no idea of who it was that was holding him. The first voice they heard speak was unknown to any of them, but Merlin immediately recognised the second as that of Alvar.

"You will not have to wait too many more hours for what you want."

"We have already waited far too long". All of them could hear the impatience in Alvar's voice, and then the first voice spoke again.

"You can hardly blame me for that. He's held out far longer than any I have dealt with before now."

"Yes, but will he yield?"

Merlin and the others then heard the first man laugh, and all of them were repulsed by the sound of it.

"Have faith, Alvar – I've never known anyone who hasn't done so in the end."

"Anyone that you haven't killed in the process, that is."

They heard the same laugh again.

"Don't worry. I know my craft! We've stripped him of every shed of dignity he had and finally drained him of every last drop of strength. He has nothing left in him to resist us any longer. Just you wait and see"

Leon and Percival had to take hold of Gwaine at this point to restrain him from simply leaping out and striking them down where they stood. But they didn't have to endure hearing any more, because Alvar had only one more thing to say.

"Tread carefully. I do not want to hear that you have accidentally killed him before we have the information we need."

They all held their breaths as they waited to see whether they would be discovered, but what they heard was a door close, and only one set of footsteps, which were heading away from them. They quickly resumed their mission, and soon Merlin found himself standing at the top of the set of stone steps that he had feared so much in his dream. Gwaine and Elyan were left at the top on look out as the others quietly and carefully descended the steps down to the corridor below, taking with them a lit torch from a holder on one of the walls near the top of the steps. Merlin went first, holding the torch, and he felt himself trembling as he approached the large wooden door which had terrified him only hours earlier.

Merlin pushed the door, heart pounding, and – as in his dream – it swung open before him; there had been no need for it to be locked as its prisoner could not escape. But as the door opened, they all coughed or put their hands to their mouths, as they were met by the unmistakeable stench of decay and death, mixed with the smell of stale sweat and fresh blood, and each of them peered into the darkness before them. Merlin lifted the torch, and there, towards the back of the cell, was the figure he'd seen before, not staring at him this time, but with his head hung low.

Lancelot's reaction to what he saw was similar to that of the other two: it was a strange mixture of terrible disappointment that they hadn't found Arthur together with relief that the pitiful wretch hanging there – bloodied, bruised and unkempt – wasn't him. But the truth was that they simply didn't recognise him in the state he was in, and all three of them were suddenly shocked to hear Merlin whisper just one word, Arthur, and hurry towards his friend.

Arthur had heard the door open. He didn't even have the energy any more to open his eyes and brace himself for the punch, kick or slap or the icy water that would jolt him back, as it always did, to full consciousness. All he could do was wait for the inevitable – but it never came. Instead he felt strong arms around him, supporting his weight and relieving the pain caused by the iron bands cutting into his wrists. He heard himself groan again, as pressure was put on an open wound on his chest, and he felt the grip around him loosen slightly, as if someone actually cared about the pain he felt. As the manacles were opened and his arms were lowered, he was vaguely aware of voices – not harsh or mocking voices, but ones that spoke in whispers and with urgency. And even as he was being lowered to the ground, he was already surrendering to the sleep he so desperately needed. But before he had succumbed to it completely, he felt his head being raised slightly and a leather water bottle being put to his lips, and he drank the cool water that was offered to him, and found he wasn't stopped from drinking all of it. The water container was then replaced by a small glass bottle, and a strangely familiar voice who spoke his name urged him to drink once again. This time there was the sweetness of honey together with a strange taste he couldn't identify, but he obediently drank it all down. And then, as his head was lowered, and even before the numbing effect of the drugs began, Arthur finally welcomed the oblivion that his body and mind craved, and he fell into the deepest of sleeps.

Lancelot was the first to speak again: "We're going to have to carry him."

"Let me bear him. I can manage him by myself, and it will make it quicker and easier to make our escape." If there was one thing that Percival excelled at, it was carrying heavy burdens, and Leon and Lancelot both help lift Arthur and lay him over the burly knight's shoulder, although it looked as if he barely felt the prince's weight. They quickly rejoined Elyan at the top of the steps, and the mystery of Gwaine's whereabouts wasn't entirely solved by Elyan telling them that he'd had some idea and had told him that he would meet them outside. They all knew it as vital that they made no noise or cause any disturbance now that they had Arthur with them. As they crept back through the dark corridors of Alvar's stronghold, Merlin – mindful of Arthur's condition – whispered to the others, "We have to get him back to Gaius as soon as possible."

Leon nodded and whispered back, "And we can't risk resting on the way back in case they find Arthur is gone and pursue us." They all knew that they would be outnumbered by however many men Alvar had, and that Arthur would be left vulnerable if they found themselves in a fight.

And if there was one thing that Gwaine excelled at, it was knowing how to make the swiftest possible escape from a difficult situation. They found him outside the stronghold with fresh horses for them all. Before they had gone inside, he had spotted nearby a dozen of Camelot's horses, taken in the ambush ten days earlier and Gwaine was not one to look a (literal) gift-horse in the mouth. Gwaine took one look at the figure slung over Percival's shoulder, and whispered with feeling, "So, it is true then – he's alive?" It was only then that the others, despite their concern for Arthur, finally allowed themselves to smile, and Merlin simply answered him, "Yes, it is true." And with that they made good their escape from a place that none of them ever wanted to see again.