Chapter 14

Warning/s: None that I can think of?

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

A/N: Ahhh this story is nearly over! Only two more chapters (after this one) and then the sequel! Well, that's scary. I'm scared. Are you scared? I'm scared.

Sorry. I'm in a weird mood.

Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying the story still and please leave me some feedback so I know what you all think of the story!

They proceeded in a line, all of them riding at the same pace. Arthur was dead in the middle, Gwaine next to him on his left, Elyan then Percival on his right, and Leon next to Gwaine.

Percival was the first to split off from the group, with a quick nod and a small nudge in his mount's sides. That was when they got within a hundred yards of the castle, just about to enter the odd circle of sand. And then another twenty yards in, having just breached the grey substitute, Elyan and Leon split off, exchanging looks with their King. That left Arthur and Gwaine, heading as quietly as possible to their destination. They slowed to a trot as they neared the building.

Percival was attacking from the back where, they suspected from the layout of the castle, the cells would be. Arthur's instinct led him to believe that was where Merlin would be, so Percival had been sent to find him. He was the only knight out of all of them who he felt could face Morgana and maybe hold her off a little with pure brute force; aside from that, he could carry Merlin like he weighed no more than a child and was the most knowledgeable about medicine out of them – excluding Merlin of course, but he wasn't exactly an option right now.

Elyan and Leon were attacking from the side, where Arthur had spotted some rotting stones. Their plan was to burst in and take Morgana by surprise at the same time that Percival managed to get in the back somehow – Arthur suspected there would be a grate like in Camelot – and then he and Gwaine would come in from the front. Hopefully Percival wouldn't need to deal with Morgana at all, but if the worst came to it, they wouldn't be far away.

It seemed a simple enough plan, but this was Morgana they were dealing with, and Merlin who they were rescuing, and Arthur's palms were sweating more than they ever had before. More because of Morgana, of course. Not Merlin. He was just his servant; Arthur didn't care for a servant. Of course not.

Just as the group had predicted, there was a metal grate around the back of a castle, which blocked off the entrance to a tunnel which clearly led into the building. Percival was relieved that he wouldn't have to find some other way of breaking in, because that would only complicate the entire plan and maybe even cause it to fail. It even seemed big enough to accommodate him, which was a stroke of luck. For a second Percival was suspicious; everything seemed to be too perfect and in his opinion, when things seemed perfect, it was a trap. But Percival pushed those negative thoughts away because even if it was a trap, they needed to get Merlin out.

It was old and rusty, and Percival had no problem in ripping it off. The tunnel was a little smaller than he had estimated from the outside, meaning that Percival had to crawl through it, but he still managed to get through with relative ease. He had to pause once or twice when his sword belt shifted and made it near impossible for him to move. Once he reached the edge of the damp, dark tube, he waited for the signal. His breathing sounded loud and heavy to his own ears, and he hoped it was just paranoia that was making him think that.

He used the waiting time to get his bearings. The tunnel seemed to open out into a small room, which fortunately for him only had a doorway or no door. Again, Percival's suspicions were raised, but it was entirely possible that Morgana hadn't bothered to make any defence against intruders because this castle was damn near impossible to find.

He was only there for a couple of minutes when he heard a great crash and two roars – the signal. That meant Elyan and Leon had burst through the rotting part of the wall, kicking the bricks out of their way, and that Percival needed to move now while Morgana was – hopefully – distracted.

He scrambled out from the tunnel, only to be met with the back of a well-built bodyguard of Morgana's. The scuffle he created when he tumbled out made the bodyguard turn around, but before he could even draw his sword, Percival cut him down easily, not even having to use both of his arms. He took a moment to glance around him, checking for any more enemies, and then once he thought the coast was clear, headed down the corridor. He didn't grab a torch from one of the holders in the walls just yet, even though it was incredibly tempting to, in case it would result in him getting spotted.

But luck seemed to be on his side – again with Percival's suspicions. He was started to get tired of them himself now – and he ran into nobody else on his way. From the yells and clangs of sword on sword behind him, he suspected that Elyan and Leon had more than their fair share of bodyguards attacking them. He sent a silent prayer for them and carried on. In any other situation, he would turn back and help them to fend off any attackers, but his job was to find Merlin. And if the desperation in Arthur's eyes was anything to go by, he'd rather die fighting than have Merlin stay here.

At the end of the corridor, there was a set of stairs leading downwards. He guessed that was where the cells or dungeon would be, if there was one. He hoped that he was getting close to where Merlin was, and grabbed a torch now. He kept his other hand clenched tightly around his sword. Of course, all of his assumptions were based off what Camelot's own castle was like, and Percival had never been in any others. He had no clue if Camelot was the archetypal citadel or if it was in fact, an odd one out.

He was right – there were lines of cells down here. Most had their doors falling off from age, others were filled with decomposing corpses. Percival screwed up his nose at the smell, shuddered and called out hesitantly, "Merlin?" He couldn't be one of the decomposing corpses already – it took some time for bodies to rot – but as Percival cast his gaze down the cells, he saw that the bodies were becoming fresher and fresher. He hoped Merlin wouldn't be the freshest one.

He thought he heard a whimper, but wasn't sure. He walked another few paces forward and tried again, and this time he was sure he heard his name being whispered, a gentle, questioning, hesitant, "Percival?" He ran down the line of cells, shining the torch into each and every one of them, looking out for that familiar black hair, until at last he came across Merlin.

"Merlin!" he cried out in joy, and fiddled with the door. "It's locked!" he called in desperation. Merlin was curled up on the floor, but the dim lighting made it near impossible to see if – and how – badly injured he was. The servant glanced up at him, and stared for a few seconds. He couldn't trust his own brain any more, but finally he had to accept that this was real. Mainly because he feel the heat coming from the torch that the giant of a knight was holding.

"There should be a bottle on the table behind you," Merlin wheezed finally. Percival frowned – he did not sound healthy at all. His heart had initially jumped with joy but now it had sunk down to his stomach, worried sick about the manservant. "Can you pass it through the bars to me?"

"Of course." Percival turned around and shone the torch over the table, and saw a small bottle containing blue liquid almost immediately. He ran back over to the cell door and passed the bottle through the bars to Merlin as quickly as he could, worried that his clammy fingers would allow the bottle to slip from his grip and smash on the floor.

Merlin took the cork out slowly, his hands visibly shaking, and swallowed the liquid, wincing at the movement it caused his body. "What is that?" Percival asked curiously. He had never seen anything like it. He rattled the bars again, gritting his teeth at his inability to do anything. He would have set the torch down in the cell to give Merlin some light, but there were a few twiggy clumps of straw scattered around and the last thing Percival wanted to do was start a fire.

Merlin set the bottle down vehemently. "She gave me this poison thing which blocked my magic. This is the antidote for it." Percival couldn't help but notice how nervous Merlin sounded.

"Will it take time to come back?"

"Should be pretty soon." Finally Percival realised why Merlin wasn't meeting his eyes and keeping his voice low and pleading.

"Our priority is getting you out, Merlin. We don't care about your magic, especially not right now."

Merlin glanced up. "Thank you," he said softly. He shivered and flexed a few muscles. Percival watched, fascinated, as several golden strands of what looked like dust circling around Merlin's body. Then a few seconds later, Merlin announced, "I think my magic's come back. Go back a bit?"

Percival retreated hurriedly, and couldn't help but jump when Merlin raised a hand and the metal door flew off. "That's one way to do it," he muttered, rushing in. He quickly lit the brazier outside of the cell and dragged it inside so he could see Merlin better.

"Oh, Gods," Percival muttered, taking in the extent of Merlin's injuries. He knew a little about healing, but he wasn't prepared for this in any way. He only knew one thing for certain: Arthur was going to be a wreck.

Arthur was secretly glad that he had Gwaine with him, because he wasn't sure that he would be able to fend off so many soldiers by himself. Of course, if he was ever questioned, he would deny that and insist that taking down those bodyguards was the easiest thing he'd ever done and Gwaine only served to make it even more of child's play. He hoped that Leon and Elyan were having the same success as them; so far they had slain all of the bodyguards that had come their way, and were carrying on the same way. They would be facing Morgana in no time, a prospect that didn't exactly thrill Arthur. But the quicker they defeated Morgana, the sooner they could save Merlin.

The two were synchronised in their movements; they slayed the last of the men simultaneously and then jogged along the long, winding corridors together, seeking Morgana.

"I'll bet anything that Morgana's in there," Gwaine muttered a few minutes later as they approached what looked like the main hall of this dilapidated castle. Arthur nodded, and was saved from having to think of an answer on his feet when Elyan and Leon approached from the opposite direction, grins on their faces.

"All down," Elyan said, only a little out of breath. "We checked all over, including your side."

"Thank you," Arthur said with a smile, clasping Elyan's wrist and then Leon's. "We think Morgana is in there." He indicated the room with a jerk of his head. "I want to go in there alone."

"Are you sure, Sire?" Leon asked, just a hint of doubt in his voice. He trusted Arthur with his life, with the lives of everyone in Camelot, but he more than anyone else knew how strong Morgana had become. "Morgana is a dangerous enemy."

"I know," Arthur said, exhaling sharply. "But I must be the one to do this." He saw the understanding nods of the knights around him and felt a rush of gratitude for how loyal they were to him. "Keep on guard for any more of Morgana's men," he said curtly, letting his usual kingly demeanour take over. He couldn't become too sensitive, and anyway, he fought better like that. "We'll find Percival and Merlin after Morgana no longer poses a threat." If she no longer poses a threat, Arthur added to himself, but didn't say out loud.

A/N: Please leave me some feedback and let me know about anything that you want to see in the next part of this series! I have the basic plot fanned out but please tell me if there's anything you specifically want to see :) I think it's fairly obvious where this story is going now, so the next story is going to be hurt!Merlin and caring!knights.