Chapter 9

Warning/s: None. Some mild torture but nothing too graphic, I think.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

A/N: First of all, sorry for the long wait. This chapter just didn't come easily, for some reason, and then suddenly I managed to write it all in one go! So here you are :)

Secondly, I did check through this but it was rather rushed as I hate re-reading my writing (as they say, you're your own worst critic) but I think all errors have been spotted. If you see anything, please let me know about it in the reviews.

Thirdly, thanks to everyone's support in the story. I wasn't having a brilliant night around a week ago and I got a review and it cheered me up so much. I appreciate you all.

And, as always, please let me know what you thought of this chapter in the reviews!

Merlin awoke back in his cell, his whole body aching and dripping wet for some reason. He was freezing, and moving any of his joints was painful. He whimpered as he tried to sit up, but then fell back down again.

"Aw, poor little Merlin," Morgana simpered with mock sympathy. She approached quickly, wearing a red dress that he hadn't seen before. It suited her well, he noticed, but usually her dresses were black or deep green.

"What's the special occasion?" Merlin grunted through his pain.

"I've been gifted this by an old friend," Morgana smirked. "I thought I'd wear it to show my gratitude." She twirled like a she was a young girl again.

Merlin couldn't help noticing that it was exactly the same shade of blood, and wondered whether she didn't want to stain any of her other dresses. She was holding the emorragh once more, and one of the spikes was already prominent.

"I've been saving this one," Morgana grinned. "It's very special, this one. You think of a question and press it to the victim's head; then the answer appears, in burning letters on their back."

Merlin groaned internally: he had been managing to conceal the answers throughout this torture but now it wouldn't matter, they were to be forced from him anyway.

"Unfortunately, it can only answer the questions that the person has answered before," Morgana sighed. Merlin's heart leapt. He had never been questioned on Camelot's defences before. "But I can cause a great deal of pain and find out a lot, still."

Merlin's heart sank again.

The day had dawned clear and bright, a cold sun rising quickly in the sky. It was a good day for riding, with no mist and a light breeze to keep the horses and men cool.

They had risen at dawn, just as the sun was breaking over the horizon, and while the horses drank and ate, they did the same. They were off as soon as was possible, eager to use as much of the day as possible.

As they rode, the knights talked amongst themselves. Sometimes they talked of the path they were taking, or they teased each other light-heartedly, but soon the conversation swung around to Merlin, as it inevitably did on this quest.

Rather than lamenting the servant boy, who was a great friend to them all, Arthur quickly made sure that their conversations were full of anecdotes about the strange man.

Percival, usually quiet and more of a receiver than a giver, was currently contributing to their conversation heartily. "So, me and Gwaine were hiding in the alcove, and let me tell you, that alcove was only meant for one-"the knights guffawed – "and Merlin was casually leaning against it, with his coat spread out to cover us, as he was talking to Mary."

"Mary, the head cook?" Arthur asked, thoroughly amused by this tale. He realised that he only knew about half of what happened in Merlin's life, and resolved to spend more time getting to know Merlin when they found him.

Percival nodded. "Yes, that Mary, and she was questioning him about the missing pies. Well, me and Gwaine were holding one each and Gwaine had part of one stuffed into his mouth. Merlin was trying to persuade her that she must have miscounted, when Gwaine dropped his pie.

"Well, Mary saw it splatter on the floor and thought Merlin had stuffed it up his top or something, and it had fallen out. She started scolding him and me and Gwaine were trying not to laugh, when Gwaine choked on his pie.

"Mary pushed Merlin out of the way, and she found us. There was a moment when none of us moved, and then Merlin ran down the corridor, I ran after him, and Gwaine tried to run in the opposite direction, but skidded on the broken pie and fell over.

"Me and Merlin didn't know this and kept running. We escaped to the courtyard, and then wondered where Gwaine was. We searched around for him but couldn't find him anywhere. So, later on, Merlin comes bursting into my chambers and tells me I've got to go down to the lower town."

"I think you can stop there, actually," Gwaine interrupted, turning scarlet.

"No, carry on," Arthur said curiously.

Percival grinned. "I went with him, and lo and behold, in the stocks, being pelted with pies…is Gwaine."

The others roared with laughter while Gwaine hid his face in shame. "And then me and Merlin joined in!" Percival finished. "And Merlin has a surprisingly good aim!"

"It took me weeks to get all of the apple out of my ear," Gwaine grumbled.

Merlin was yanked up by Morgana, and she positioned him into a kneeling position. He was dry now but still felt as though he was frozen, and his muscles screamed in protest at every moment.

Morgana crouched down in front of him, the emorragh flashing the small beam of light that came through the miniscule hole in the cell's wall. "I will break you," she muttered. "I will."

"Have fun," Merlin replied, certain that she wouldn't learn any information from him.

Morgana glowered, her eyebrows furrowing together. She straightened up in a flash and stalked over to the cell door, retrieving the emorragh from outside.

Morgana muttered something to the device and it glowed gold, emitting a bright blue light. Merlin wondered how it worked; he was rewarded with an answer a few seconds later.

The spike was pressed gently to his temple, and he heard Morgana's voice in his head as clear as if she'd spoken aloud. What's your name? Then there was an odd feeling: like his head had swollen, and then something, like a small ball, travelled through his brain and down his neck.

Then there was searing pain in his back, as if he was being scorched or branded. He cried out, the scalding agony too much for him to cope with, and he felt it travel along his back, spreading out slightly in elegant curving strands of fire.

"Very good," Morgana praised the emorragh. Merlin couldn't see, but on his back, in angry, red letters, was "MERLIN", as if he had been branded with a white-hot iron.

She loved this torture; it could be both physically and emotionally exhausting. She knew what questions to ask now, which questions would tire Merlin's mind as well as cause him excruciating agony.

She hadn't taken the spike from his head and asked another question. Who do you love the most?

No, Merlin thought desperately, no, you can't have that, you can't have that.

There was nothing he could do to stop it though: he felt the idea being dragged through his head and down his neck, and when he concentrated the best he could through the burning pain, he could shape the letters being formed: F-R-E-Y-A.

"Freya?" Morgana asked, an evil undertone to her voice. "Who's Freya, then?"

Merlin breathed out shakily, a combination of the pain and the memories. The fire was sinking back into his back and slowly fading away. His back was throbbing from what he guessed was probably the remnants of the 'letters' as Morgana had explained earlier.

Gwaine swore loudly. Arthur didn't bother to tell him off: he felt like swearing too, but he was the king, and that would be undignified.

"We'll have to swim," Leon pointed out, dismounting.

Ahead of them was a fairly large lake: the other end of it was visible so it wouldn't be too far, but Arthur was wary of lakes. They could look fine but be incredibly deceiving.

"I suppose," Arthur agreed, dismounting as well. "We'll have to lead the horses as we go."

"Can horses swim?" Elyan asked. Unlike the rest of them, he hadn't had the chance to spend a lot of time around horses.

Percival answered him. "They're natural swimmers, they'll be fine, we'll just have to steer them in the right direction."

Arthur was the first to plunge into the water. He shivered. It was cold and dense, and his horse seemed quite reluctant to go in too. He had learnt from a young age to do the things that were unpleasant as well as the things that weren't if they were necessary, so he headed on.

The splashing behind him confirmed the entry of the other knights, and with a few indignant whinnies, they were soon halfway across the lake.

The water had started out only being up to their waists, but now it was nearly at their necks. Suddenly the ground slipped away and Arthur nearly slipped under the water. His stallion started, but still had his hind legs on the lake's sandy bed. "Careful!" Arthur shouted back. "The bed gives out suddenly."

The knights shouted words of gratitude from behind, and Arthur looped the reins around his elbow so he could swim. He swam as quickly as he could with his armour on and whilst leading a stallion, thanking his childhood tutor for insisting he learnt to swim well.

Morgana put the emorragh down outside the cell carefully. It had served her well and Merlin was in considerable distress: the simple reason for it failing to get Merlin to the state she wanted was that she ran out of questions. She had questioned him about his family and friends he had lost, but the wounds he had gained from their losses had long since healed over.

Nevertheless, Morgana was sure that he was near his breaking point. The letters on his back had scarred now, still faintly visible, all of them criss-crossing with each other, but still angry and painful when touched: Morgana knew that from past experience of using the emorragh.

The whip was still curled up and waiting outside Merlin's cell door. It wasn't her favourite form of torture, due to the mess and blood, but it was incredibly effective, and with her magic she could snap her fingers and close up the wounds, and clear up any gore.

Morgana picked it up and headed back into the cell, summoning ropes to circle around Merlin's waist and pull his arms to the side, securing him in place. His back was still red and raw, and the outlines of the letters still clear.

Morgana had learnt to handle a whip at seven, determined to outshine Arthur in any way she could even then, and now she was much better than any other woman or man in the land. Her aim was fantastic and she knew just how to flick her wrist to put all of her force behind the hit.

Her first strike resulted in a deep laceration across her back, blood trickling from the cut instantly, and a howl of pain from Merlin. She had struck straight across the letters that had been burnt into his back, and her second landed just slightly above the first, and the third slightly below, all three hitting the scorched words.

Morgana wasn't a big fan of gore, but there was something about the cut of a whip that she liked, the way it sliced skin apart so neatly. She was tired today though; using the emorragh actually devoured much of one's energy, and she could only managed another eight or nine lashes before she felt light-headed. She would have to end for today, and admired the mess on Merlin's back, and the way he was still whimpering and moaning, his body jerking in pain, as she cleared the whip of blood.

He could stay like that tonight, Morgana decided. Maybe by the time she came down the next morning, he would have been broken by the pain and discomfort.

The knights were all sopping wet, but the night air was warm, and if it stayed that way, they would be dry by the next morning. The horses had dried remarkably quickly, and they were settling down for the night, preparing for an early start the next morning.

Morgana flopped onto her bed. She never bothered to change into nightclothes or brush out her hair like she used to in Camelot. She preferred it this way: it was peaceful and private. She fingered the dagger that always lay next to her on the table and smiled. Tomorrow, she would use it.

A/N: Replying to guest reviews!

MadScientist2604 – Thank you thank you thank you! That is such a sweet review! Aw, you're so nice, honestly! And that is a massive compliment to pay me and the story. You are lovely! You can stop running around the house and sit down and soak up the new chapter now!

Stormbringer95 – Thanks for reviewing! I hope this chapter is as great as the last :)