I shall be honest: I have only two more chapters after this one, I'm thinking, along with an epilogue.
Fear not, I have it planned out. And maybe a sequel. MAYBE.
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Agravaine woke unpleasantly, with the uncomfortable sensation of fear mixed with apprehension.
Well.
That was never good.
His thought process was muddied, and there was a blank spot in his memory before waking. That was also not good. He had to have the information, all the facts straight and a non-contradictory story that was a perfectly reasonable explanation for why he was, apparently, unconscious. More importantly, he had to be sure this wasn't connected to -
"Do you think they'll find Merlin?"
It was Guinevere speaking. So they had noticed Merlin was missing. But did they connect Agravaine to the disappearance?
"I have no doubt."
Gaius. That probably meant he was in the infirmary. That felt about right, considering the pounding headache he was experiencing. A hit to the head?
What had happened?
"Staring at him isn't going to wake him."
It took all of Agravaine's self control to not tense up. Warning Guinevere not to stare at him? Unless she had had a change of affections, that meant she wanted to speak with him. This was looking worse and worse.
"I know - it's just that I...I can't believe it. He - he threatened Merlin."
Oh, no.
The armoury.
The damn armoury.
This wasn't bad. This was disastrous.
There's nobody here. I think we can do without the pretend for once.
It had been a setup. Merlin must have told them, asked for help, and set them where they could hear Agravaine plotting treason. It was a dangerously effective plan, one that Agravaine had to admit he would have been proud to have thought of it on his own. A secret meeting, getting Merlin to say a few things that made it sound like he was plotting against Arthur (or, more believably, Agravaine, since even he could admit it was damn near impossible to believe that Merlin would turn against Arthur), while his nephew listened in, severely damaging the bond between them and making Agravaine look like a concerned, loyal uncle who was regretful of the damage he had reluctantly wreaked…
But that chance was long gone now. Arthur knew he was a traitor, perhaps not to the fullest extent, but a traitor nonetheless, and he knew his uncle had arranged to have his best friend killed. It was not something Agravaine could see Arthur forgiving him for, no matter how fast he talked.
Which meant he had to get out.
But how to do that?
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With a sigh, Guinevere turned away from watching Agravaine and checked on Percival again. Gwaine had given a good punch. Percival's jaw was broken in three places and had nearly been dislocated. It was sheer luck that Gaius had deemed the breaks to be nothing major, and with a bit of luck they would heal without leaving lasting damage.
Gwen really couldn't blame Gwaine, she supposed. The second emotion she had felt - after the mind-numbing, blinding panic for Merlin - had been rage against Agravaine. Were he not already knocked out, she would have liked to give him a good punch, no matter how unladylike it was.
After all Merlin had been through - and, judging solely from his scars, it had been a lot - it was unfair that right after they saw how much he really did he would be -
No, she couldn't think like that. She wouldn't think like that, because it wouldn't happen. Bedivere would lead them to this woodsman, they would rescue Merlin in time, and Agravaine would be outed for the traitor he was.
Gwen shot another glance at Agravaine, this time more heated. It was still hard to believe the words he had said in the armoury, but she had no doubt they had been true, every one of them.
You mean you'll kill me.
Yes.
The worst thing was, Merlin sounded almost bored, like he was used to being threatened. Like it was so commonplace he actually didn't see the need to invest the effort into being scared.
Guinevere couldn't imagine ever growing so used to death hanging over you every second of the day that you ceased to care.
Then a thought occurred to her.
"Did you know, Gaius?"
Gaius looked up at her, and he frowned. "What?"
"Did you know. About…" Gwen gestured to Agravaine.
She saw the way he hesitated, and realized that scenarios were running through his mind; what would happen if he said yes, what would happen if he said no, how would she react, what other questions would she ask…
Finally, he looked at her and nodded. "I...suspected. We both did, but there was no proof. Merlin wanted to speak with him, if only just to confirm…"
Guinevere let out a breath. Then she said, quietly, "That's not all you knew about."
Gaius looked at her with wariness.
"The...scars."
Gaius' face changed, shock suffusing his features with a hint of - was that panic?
"We know about them," she went on, hoping she was doing the right thing. It was hard to pry into what Merlin obviously wanted to be kept secret, but the memory of those scars, the burn and the serket sting were all clamoring for attention. "he showed them to us, though I don't think he meant to. He said you knew." She tried to keep the sense of betrayal out of her voice. It was one thing to keep a few training accidents covered up, small cuts and bruises, but Merlin's injuries were so severe he had to have known what was happening…
Gaius closed his eyes and visibly swallowed. He was silent for a handful of heartbeats, then said in a low voice, "I…helped him as often as I could, but there was always...something. Some assassin, some creature, some sorcerer...There were days when…" here he paused, and made an obvious effort to keep talking, "when he would vanish, and I would have to say he was at the tavern or picking herbs when I knew he wasn't. Times when all I could do was hope…that he would come back safe. Usually, he does….usually."
Guinevere felt her heart breaking. Gaius looked up and seemed slightly startled to see her there.
He sat for a moment, then gave a small, sad smile. Taking a deep breath, he stood and went over to the vials of all his potions.
Guinevere thought, as she stared after him, that while Merlin had grown used to the ever-present danger of his own death, Gaius certainly hadn't.
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Agravaine felt mildly surprised.
When Merlin had told him a lot of people had already tried to kill him, he had taken it for a bluff, an attempt to intimidate and perhaps dissuade Agravaine from killing him.
However, it sounded like he had been telling the truth. The simple fact that he was still alive after what sounded like a veritable army of enemies told Agravaine three things. One, Merlin had not been lying. Two, if he hadn't been bluffing about that, it could be assumed he had meant every word in the armoury. Three, Merlin was infinitely more dangerous than he was assumed to be. After all, the army of enemies didn't disappear into thin air, and Agravaine got the feeling they wouldn't have just gone away politely after their plots had been foiled. The bumbling servant may have had a body count to rival Arthur.
Those three things made Agravaine exponentially more unsettled about Merlin's parting words. He spared a thought that it had been far easier to ignore when he had believed it was only a bluff.
Well.
If he wanted to escape from a castle where there were many, many people who would be only too glad to cut his throat, either from threatening Arthur or killing Merlin (if he was dead, which was uncertain, but he certainly didn't care to stay and find out), he had to move fast.
Opening his eyes a crack, Agravaine saw exactly what he needed. Perfect. He would have to move quickly, something he was sure would be excruciating, but there wasn't really another option. He had to take immediate control, and hoped he was fast enough.
Without warning, Agravaine' eyes shot open and he grabbed the ceramic bowl on the table near him. He raised his hand, and threw it down on the floor.
The shattering of the bowl made Guinevere and Gauis whirl around, but Agravaine leapt up, scooping the largest shard of pottery from the floor, and pulled Guinevere toward him before she could react.
He brought the shard up to her neck and growled, "Do not move."