Hidden Motives

A/N: Thanks very much for all the reviews. As always, I really appreciate them. As I said a couple of chapters ago, I'm going away, so this will probably be my last post for about two weeks. But then it'll be back to business. I think there are probably about seven or eight chapters left after this one, so we are on the home stretch. Toying with the idea of a sequel at the moment, but can't work out what to put in it just yet!

Anyway, enough jabbering from me. Hope you like this chapter! Please review! I'll speak to you in a fortnight!

Chapter 22

Arthur walked the streets of Camelot with Gwaine beside him. In his guard uniform, striding purposefully passed people, it was easy to blend into the general bustle of the city. No-one questioned them, no-one stopped them. They were free to go where they wanted to. If only they knew where it was that they wanted to go.

Arthur was trying not to think about the situation too much, except to try and work out where Merlin might be. If he widened his reflections to Lancelot, Gaius and what might be happening to his manservant, he either felt a surge of hot anger, or a rush of chilling fear. Neither of the emotions helped in his search and neither of them provided him with any clarity of focus. Even so, he was constantly aware of both of them bubbling away in the back of his mind, ready to explode out, the moment he gave them attention.

'We need to narrow down our search,' he murmured to Gwaine. 'Do you think the knights will know anything?'

'Worth a try. We'll be able to talk to one of them. Come on.' He strolled forwards and then took the route to the stables. Being in such familiar territory gave Arthur a sense of connection to his life which now seemed such a distant memory, but also served to make him nervous. Anyone who came down here was likely to know him quite well; he ran the risk of being recognised. Gwaine seemed unconcerned by that and walked confidently on. When he got to the stables however, he walked right past them. Arthur frowned. The road he was heading down didn't seem to lead anywhere, but they had gone no more than a few metres further on when Gwaine turned round and began pacing back the way they had come.

'What are you doing?' Arthur hissed, keeping in step with him.

'Well, what did you expect? Me to stand in the castle courtyard and just shout for Elyan or one of the others? Subtlety is not your strong point.'

'Coming from you?'

'So far, not a single person who's after us, even knows I'm here,' he pointed out with a grin. 'Can you say that?'

Arthur raised his eyebrows and then sighed.

'So marching back and forth is…?'

'A signal of course. One of them will be watching; give it two minutes and they'll be here.'

Sure enough, they soon spotted Leon striding towards them. Arthur went to greet him, but was stopped by a punch in the arm that Gwaine gave him. Leon didn't even acknowledge that they were there. Instead he walked into the stables and out of sight.

'Give it a moment,' Gwaine whispered. Seconds later they heard a sharp whistling coming from inside the stables. 'All clear.'

'Sire,' Leon said, the moment that Arthur stepped through the door, leaving Gwaine to keep lookout for them. 'It's good to see you.'

'You too,' Arthur nodded, although he couldn't quite muster the same enthusiasm. Nothing about the situation seemed good. 'Is there anything new to report?'

'Nothing. Sythe is still acting like you. He and Uther are putting together plans to find you and the others. They don't seem to have any leads yet. As soon as they do, I'll let you know.'

'Thank you.'

Leon nodded and then looked expectantly at Arthur and then at Gwaine.

'Is there a particular reason you wanted to meet?' he asked hesitantly. 'Have you found a way to defeat Sythe.'

'No,' Arthur replied solemnly, trying to keep the despair out of his tone. It felt like such a long time since he had had to be a Prince addressing those who were under his authority, that he had almost forgotten the importance of exuding confidence and hope. It seemed much more challenging than he ever remembered in the past. 'We need your help.'

'Of course.'

'Merlin's missing.'

Arthur explained what had transpired earlier to a shocked and confused Leon. Nothing, however, shocked him more than Lancelot's refusal to cooperate.

'But surely he knows that Merlin is in danger?' the knight asked.

'Oh, he knows,' Arthur nodded. 'But for some reason he won't back down. Whatever Merlin's told him, he's convinced it can't be shared.'

There was an uncomfortable pause before Leon, gingerly spoke again.

'Sire, is it wise to go against Merlin's wishes in this instance?'

'It's Merlin. It's always wise to go against his wishes,' Arthur muttered in frustration. It wound him up no end that his knights seemed so willing to follow Merlin's instructions, even the ones that were sheer lunacy. Leon said nothing else, instead waiting for Arthur to continue. 'Have you heard anything in the castle or the town about Merlin? Is there anything happening that he could be involved in?'

'It would be easier if we knew more about why he left. Have you no idea?'

'None. All Gaius said was that he thinks he's helping.'

'And what would helping look like at this point?'

'I don't know,' Arthur sighed, 'convincing my father, but he must know that that won't work. He won't listen to Merlin, not a chance. He's convinced he's a sorcerer's accomplice out to destroy the Pendragon blood line.'

'Then what else could it be?'

From the door, Gwaine called across. 'The one thing that would help the most would be getting rid of Sythe. Maybe he's doing that.'

'How is Merlin supposed to defeat a sorcerer?' Arthur asked incredulously. 'He knows full well that he wouldn't have a chance, not unless he's planning on talking him to death.'

'Maybe he is,' Leon said musingly. Arthur fought the urge to roll his eyes.

'What do you mean?'

'How does Merlin always resolve conflict?'

'He avoids it,' Arthur replied.

'But if he's forced into it?' Leon pressed. Arthur just stared at him. 'Diplomacy, talking it through. He resolves things peacefully.'

'You think he's somewhere trying to convince Sythe to just go home?' Arthur asked, unable to keep the scepticism out of his voice.

'Well why else would he leave without saying anything?' Leon asked. 'If he'd found something that might help to defeat Sythe then surely he would have taken you with him. If he was leaving Camelot for any reason, he'd want you with him.'

'He's got a point,' Gwaine added. 'What would be the things that you'd stop Merlin from doing? The things that he wouldn't want you around for?'

'I just don't see him walking up to Sythe,' Arthur murmured, but the words had put doubts into his mind. Would Merlin really confront the sorcerer? The unease that he had been pushing down for the last hour or so rose up with a potency that made him clench his fists tightly at the side. Merlin had been known to do stupid things; facing off against a sorcerer wouldn't be that unbelievable. 'Where's Sythe now?' he asked slowly.

'He's spent the morning with your father, but a while ago he headed towards-'

'The armoury?' Arthur asked, his heart sinking.

'Yes, but how did you know?' Leon asked with a confused nod, but his face cleared with understanding a moment later; Gwaine had filled the knights in on all the events so far when he'd met up with them earlier.

Arthur looked back at Gwaine, trying not to show the fear that had risen up in him at the thought of his prison, and worse, the thought of Merlin being trapped in it.

'Nah,' Gwaine said, picking up on Arthur's thoughts. 'He can't have captured Merlin; the knights would have been told. There'd have been a commotion.'

'Not necessarily,' Arthur sighed. 'Merlin keeps on saying Sythe's playing a game with us. Holding Merlin secretly would make it more interesting. It would draw us in.'

'A trap?'

'Maybe.'

'So, are we going to walk into it?' Gwaine asked cheerily.

Arthur thought about it. He'd been known to walk into traps before, but only when the odds were highly stacked in his favour.

'Sythe doesn't know how Merlin and Lancelot got into the ruins,' Arthur pointed out. 'He won't be expecting us to go through the great dragon's cave. He won't even know about it.'

'You hope,' Gwaine told him.

'Sire, I'm not sure that this is a good idea. Just because he went to the armoury it doesn't mean he's gone to the ruins. We don't even know if he has Merlin.'

'If he doesn't then we don't have anything to worry about; we can just check and then leave.'

'And if he does?' Leon pressed.

'If he does, then we have to get Merlin out of there.'

'Sire-'

'I'm not leaving him in there,' Arthur interrupted firmly.

'Then let us go,' Leon said urgently. 'Camelot will not have a future if anything happens to you and we are in the best possible position to confront Sythe. He doesn't suspect that our allegiance is elsewhere.'

'No, none of you are to reveal your true thoughts to him,' Arthur told him forcefully. 'He is too powerful and I will not risk lives unless we are guaranteed at a least a chance if success.'

'But if just one of us went with Gwaine, My Lord,' Leon persisted. Arthur shook his head.

'Merlin has already risked his life to rescue me from Sythe. I won't sit by idly like a coward.'

'With all due respect, my Lord,' Leon said hesitantly, 'Merlin isn't the Crown Prince.' Arthur knew that Leon meant nothing against Merlin in the words he said, but they sent a tremor of anger through Arthur that he had to control. Arthur hated it, hated the divide that was always put between him and others. He understood of course, that his safety was important to Camelot, but he couldn't let that stop him from fighting for those he cared about. Yes, he was the Crown Prince, but the fact of the matter was that Merlin had never rescued him because of his title; Merlin had rescued him because they were friends. That was why Arthur wasn't being left behind; he was going after Merlin as a friend, not as a Crown Prince.

'I'm going,' he said firmly, 'and that is an end to the matter.'

'Yes, my Lord,' Leon reluctantly nodded. From the corner of his eye, Arthur saw Gwaine shaking his head in amusement, but he knew that the knight understood completely where he was coming from. 'But let me come with you both,' Leon continued after a moment's pause.

'No, I can't risk your allegiance being revealed. We still need people on the inside for when we do take the city back. Don't compromise your position, any of you.'

Leon nodded his assurance. 'We will be careful, Sire. I'll head back to the castle and inform the others of what's happening.'

'Thank you.'

Leon disappeared from the stables a few seconds later, leaving Gwaine and Arthur to make their way into the castle. This time they chose an obscure entrance that could only be reached through one of the old drainage tunnels of the city. Arthur had used it on occasion to leave the castle undetected when he had a mission that required secrecy. It didn't get them very far into the castle, and it was still a long way from the dungeons and the dragon cave, but it at least meant that they could avoid the courtyard area.

They were forced to move much more slowly than Arthur would really have liked. Running or even walking too quickly would arouse suspicion, which meant that Arthur was stuck walking around Camelot at what he considered to be a very leisurely pace while his brain tried to use the time to create various scenarios for what was happening to Merlin, or what they would find when they got to the ruins. Part of Arthur was hoping that Merlin would be there –at least that way he knew where he was-, but the other part was hoping that the ruins revealed only the empty darkness that Arthur had grown used to. At least that meant that Merlin was still safe somewhere, although it did nothing to help allay the desperation that Arthur felt to find out exactly what his manservant was doing.

They had to find him.

'How did they do it?' Gwaine asked for the third time, turning around on the ledge again, the end of the rope in one hand. The torch that they had brought with them lay flickering on the ground, casting shadows all around them.

'I don't know,' Arthur replied, also for the third time. He was currently wrapping some rags of cloth that they had found close to the dungeons around his blistered hands; climbing down the rope would be tricky without some extra padding. At Gwaine's emphatic sigh, Arthur refocused his attention on their surroundings and looked again, scouring the rock face and the walls for anything that they could possibly use to tie the rope, but there was nothing. No protruding rock, no heavy boulders on the ground or in the tunnel.

'But you were with them!'

'I was a little preoccupied at the time,' he protested, tying off the final rag. 'I just remember getting to the top and both of them had the rope in their hands. They must have untied it.'

'From where?'

'I don't know.'

'What do we do then?' Gwaine asked with a sigh, finally giving up his attempt to find somewhere where they could secure the rope.

'You'll have to lower me down.'

'What?' Gwaine asked.

'Don't worry; I'm sure you can manage to hold my weight,' Arthur replied, a bite of humour in his tone.

Gwaine grinned at him.

'And I suppose if it's the other way round I might find myself plummeting to my death.'

Arthur didn't bother arguing with him; he was quite certain that he'd struggle to take Gwaine's weight on his own, especially in his current state.

'At the risk of sounding too much like Leon,' the knight continued after a moment, 'is it wise to send the Crown Princess into a dark tunnel with a sorcerer possibly lurking at the other end?'

'Gwaine,' Arthur said warningly.

'You know that Merlin would give you that disappointed puppy look if he knew what you were doing. You'd get a lecture.'

'Well, if he's going to run off, knowing full well that I wouldn't want him to; I'm going to do the same to him. See how he likes it,' Arthur argued, throwing the length of rope into the darkness.

'There's such maturity in your thoughts and actions, Sire,' Gwaine nodded sombrely, 'you'll make a great King.'

'I forget that I'm in the presence of such a wise and mature Knight of the Realm,' Arthur replied wryly as Gwaine wrapped the rope around himself and dug his heels in. Arthur slowly moved backwards and began to lower himself over the top of the ledge.

'Just be careful,' Gwaine, finished more seriously, some strain coming into his voice as Arthur let his full weight rest on the rope. 'I don't want Merlin to give me that disappointed puppy look either.'

Arthur gave him one last smile before he lowered himself into the darkness. Thankfully, the rags seemed to do the trick; his hands, though they were painful, were able to cling onto the rope as he made his way further down. The light from the torch, high up on the ledge, did little to light up the space around him and Arthur suddenly realised that finding the tunnel that he had come through the day before might be a little tricky. Eventually, however, he spotted what looked like an opening and a narrow protrusion that jutted out underneath; it seemed much smaller than Arthur remembered.

'Gwaine,' he called.

'Scared already?'

'Listen to me. I'm going to have to swing; can you hold the rope if I do?'

'Wait a moment.'

Arthur waited, surround by dark shadows and cold air that chilled his tired body. He felt like he was floating in nothingness; like he was trapped in some sort of limbo, with only the echo of his voice in his ears. After several seconds, Gwaine called an affirmative and Arthur began to swing. He tried not to think about the fact that it was only Gwaine that was keeping him from falling to his death and instead focused on timing his jump.

He made it…just, his hands wind-milling backwards for a few terrifying seconds before he regained his balance. His foot caught, however, on a pile of rope that was curled up on the ledge. In confusion, he crouched down and studied it; puzzled as to where it could possible have come from. Did this mean that his instincts were right and that Merlin was down here? But even so, how could he possibly have untied the rope, unless he had had help from one of the other knights. Surely Leon would have said something when they met before. Unless, of course, more of his knights were keeping Merlin's secrets

'I'm assuming you haven't plunged to your death,' Gwaine's voice called from above. Arthur replied an affirmative and assured the knight that he was fine and would be back shortly. The man's reply was swallowed up by shadows as Arthur made his way into the tunnel once more.

This time, his trip through the tunnel was filled with an undeniable dread, rather than the deep relief that he had experienced last time. Last time, he had been revelling in the fact that he had been rescued, and overjoyed at finding that Merlin was alive after all. Now, for all he knew, he was heading into a situation that could bring that possibility back to him as unchangeable reality. If Merlin was here –and the closer Arthur got, the more he believed it- then there was every chance that he was currently dead or dying. He would most definitely be a prisoner, of that Arthur had no doubt –instinctively he checked the sword and dagger on his belt- but as for what Sythe would do with him…that was open to all sorts of horrible imaginings.

Arthur still didn't understand why Merlin had done this. If he was honest, he actually felt quite angry at his friend; if he wasn't so worried about the manservant's safety, Arthur would probably be cursing him for being arrogant enough to try and carry out a plan on his own. How could he even contemplate doing something like this without Arthur? That was the question that was bothering him. They had always, in the past, worked together on missions and quests. Hell! Half the time, Merlin came along when he was categorically told that he was not to follow. And always -though Arthur had yet to admit it to Merlin's face- having the two of them together ensured the success a mission which, if taken on individually, would have been a disaster.

Their shared history spoke for itself: they were better together. Arthur knew it and Merlin knew it. Why then, had he decided to go it alone this time? What could be so awful or so dangerous or so ridiculous that Merlin had chosen to leave Arthur behind?

He hated not knowing; hated Merlin's foolish bravery; hated the fact that, once again, Merlin had proved himself to be a riddle that Arthur just couldn't puzzle out.

He was still deep in thought when the first echo of voices reached his ears. He froze instantly, feeling every fear slot back into place in his mind. Merlin was here, captured, alone, probably injured. He had to save him.

He crept further forward and saw light swallowing the darkness of the tunnel up ahead. The huge cavern lay ahead of him, the place where he had been confronted by his very worst fears; the place where he had felt a despair unlike anything that he had ever experienced before. For a split second, he froze. He never once considered turning back, but for a small moment he found that he had to use sheer will power to propel himself forward. The sound of Merlin's voice, however, spurred him on. His friend sound worried, scared maybe, but he didn't sound weak; whatever Sythe was doing to him, it had yet to really hurt him and for that Arthur was very grateful.

He tried to focus on what was being said, but the echoes in the cavern and the way they funnelled down the shaft he was in, made it impossible to discern words. What Arthur could make out, was that Merlin was talking a lot, even for Merlin. He strained his ears trying to listen out for Sythe's voice –technically his own as the sorcerer was still disguised- but all he could hear was Merlin. Maybe their luck would turn and Merlin would just talk Sythe to death; Arthur had felt like it could happen to him on more than one occasion.

At last, Arthur reached the end of the tunnel and carefully pulled himself into the light of the cavern. The glare blinded him for several seconds and he stumbled forward, his sword scraping along the floor as he got up. Inwardly he cursed himself; how many times had he yelled at Merlin for doing something just as stupid? Instantly, Merlin's voice disappeared and the hall was filled with an expectant silence. But as shapes began to focus into something more recognisable, he heard his manservant's voice break it.

'Arthur, get out of here.'

'What are you doing here, Arthur? Run!'

Arthur frowned in confusion; the voice had seemed to come from two different places. He blinked furiously; trying to bring the world into sharp clarity.

'Don't do that!' Merlin said dangerously.

'What?' Arthur called, but it didn't seem like Merlin was talking to him.

'Oh no, don't try it. You've done enough already.' Merlin again.

Try as he might, Arthur couldn't work out what was happening, but as his eyes finally adjusted to the light of the room, he felt a wave of nausea pass through him. He stumbled forwards, looking in alarm between the two men in the cavern. They stood several metres apart and were both facing him, still someway across the room from where he was.

'Arthur,' the one closest to him said, his hands held out in a plea for calm, 'it's me.'

'No, don't listen to him. He's Sythe,' the other said, glaring at his counterpart. Arthur looked at them, studied them. They were wearing exactly the same clothes, right down to the bandage that caused the breaches to broaden slightly below the knee.

A familiar horror swept through, Arthur, but this time he felt like he was watching from a great distance; seeing events unfold, but not really being part of them. He scoured their faces, looking for some sign, anything, but they were both staring at him with that sense of quiet urgency; waiting for him to make a decision.

'Merlin?' he asked, looking back and forth at them.

'Yes?' they replied in unison.

'Sythe?' he tried, fury in his tone. Both of them looked at the other.

'Stop this!' the Merlin closest to him called; turning in fury on the mirror image of himself. Would Merlin react like that, Arthur wondered? He rarely saw Merlin angry, but he'd seen him frustrated, seen him shout, and often it would be to do with injustice.

'Just let him go, Sythe,' the other returned. 'You won't be able to keep this up; he'll be able to tell. Please, just let him go.' Arthur heard the sincerity in the voice, the desperation. He felt panic rise in him as he realised that he didn't have a clue who the real Merlin was. How could he ever be sure? Arthur looked again, willing himself to spot something, anything, any sign, but there was none.

'Listen,' the first said desperately, looking hard at Arthur. 'The first time we met, I-' He stopped suddenly and whipped his face round to stare at his counterpart, before turning back to face Arthur. There was a look in the man's eyes, a desperation, a fear, an inevitability, but also an undeniable determination. In a split second, the man's hand was up in the air, held out towards Arthur, his mouth opening.

Arthur knew that pose, had seen it countless times before in the sorcerers who had attacked Camelot in the past. His battle instinct kicked in. Automatically, his hand went for his sword, but he knew that it would be useless at this range. Instead, he pulled out the knife that he had slotted into his belt earlier. Without pausing to think, he took aim and flung it at the man whose hand was held up in attack. It was his only defence against magic, one that he wasn't sure would be enough.

The movement was quick and the attack sudden, but even so, Arthur saw the slight change on the face of his attacker. A darkening of his eyes, the beginnings of a sigh leaving the man's lips; an admittance of defeat, even as a blue light began to surge towards Arthur. Was Sythe, the powerful sorcerer, really so terrified of a small blade which, in all likelihood from this distance, would miss its mark?

Arthur frowned, but suddenly became aware of movement from the other side of the room. His eyes flickered across to Merlin, only to be met with an expression that he had never once, in the all the years that he had known Merlin, seen on his friend's face. It was a glare of malice and vicious intent that was contrary to everything that Arthur had ever seen in Merlin; as if the version of his manservant standing there was the opposite of his friend in every way: the darkness to his light, the evil to his good, the anger to his compassion.

But what was more, the man across the room also had his hand outstretched; his lips were also moving, his gaze was also fixed upon Arthur, but there was so much more darkness in it. From his hand, a glow of green energy began to smoke and bubble, before hurtling towards Arthur with such speed that he could do nothing but stand and wait for the impact that he knew was following. Blue and green; the power –the magic- rushed towards him from two sides, pushing out all thought and reason. The blue light reached him first, just as the dagger he had thrown embedded itself deep in the shoulder of the one closest to him, slicing through the chainmail under the force of the attack. Arthur heard the cry, but his senses were overruled by the sensation of light enveloping him, cushioning him, moulding itself around him. Like a shield, he realised.

Exactly like a shield. The green fire crashed into him, with so much force that it shook the ground beneath him, but Arthur felt nothing on his body; the shield kept all danger from him.

A shield of blue; a shield of light; a shield of goodness; a shield of deep compassion and affection. A shield that reminded him only of Merlin.

With a sense that this moment would stay with him forever, would be the making or breaking of him, would be the pivotal point in his life, Arthur turned and looked at the man who had protected him with a shield of magic, even as that man clutched at his shoulder, his face white with agony. Arthur looked at him and saw exactly what he knew he would see and exactly what he didn't want to see.

He saw Merlin.

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