Save yourself, I'll hold them back.

Merlin was pushed to his knees by Cenred's throne in the great hall, his hands were manacled behind his back and the gag was pulled back into his mouth. It tasted of blood and Merlin hissed as it brushed his lacerated lip, the room he was in was dimly lit and he was kneeling nearly in the shadows. He felt Cenred's fingers twist into his hair and the king began running his fingers through it, Merlin flinched in revulsion and tried to pull away, but couldn't. "Now, Merlin." Cenred whispered into his ear. "If you try to warn your little friends, you'll be the first to die." Merlin glared straight forward - he was going to get Arthur out of here if it killed him.

They waited for about five minutes before Merlin heard footsteps and saw several armor clad men appear around the corner - at the forefront was Arthur. Idiot. He felt Arthur's eyes on him and quickly angled his head so that the shadows were hiding his mutilated eye socket, he knew that if Arthur saw it he would be distracted and Merlin knew that the king would die if he made one slip up.

Merlin tried to shout to Arthur to run but all that came out was a muffled yell, Cenred tightened his grip on Merlin's hair a bit further in warning. However Arthur stopped about a foot in front of where Merlin knelt. Yes! Had Arthur heard him? Get out of here, get out of- but then Cenred chuckled in that nasty way of his and said "You disappoint me Arthur, your little servant boy was so sure that you wouldn't't come for him, clearly he merits you with more intelligence then you possess." No, I was wrong! Arthur isn't just an idiot he's incredibly gullible too!

On some signal, the soldiers moved forward to surround he Camelot knights and light bloomed into life around the room, causing Merlin to squint. "Cenred, let him go." he heard Arthur demand in his most dangerous voice - the one where it was trying to sound contained. Merlin shifted his right leg, he couldn't use magic but he could still give Arthur a chance to escape. When he moved however, a wave of blinding pain went slamming into him from his injured leg and ankle. Merlin gritted his teeth hard against the pain, determined not to let Arthur see his pain. But it appeared that Arthur and Cenred had continued the conversation while Merlin was preoccupied with not yelling out in agony. Cenred`s knife was suddenly moved to his throat, Merlin sucked in a breath, Arthur was staring at him in panic and indecision - Cenred was using him as leverage. Merlin shook his head at the blonde king - telling him to leave him and run.

When Arthur dropped his sword however, Merlin decided that it was time to act and sent a kick backwards as hard as he could and was rewarded with a satisfying grunt of pain from Cenred. Merlin heard the knights behind him take the opportunity as he hoped they would, by fighting for their lives. He scrabbled to his one good foot and ran at Cenred, who had staggered back, he charged into him, knocking him to the ground. The problem was that Merlin's hands were still chained behind his back and without his magic; his fighting skills were a bit limited.

Suddenly hands were pulling him off the king and Merlin was being tugged backwards by what he soon realized was Arthur. He stood panting, both men staring at each other - Merlin staring in irritation and Arthur in horror as he finally saw Merlin's bloody socket. That horror, quickly turned in anger as his gaze fixed on Cenred in murderous fury, he took a step forwards but Merlin placed himself between them and jerked his head towards the exit.

"Oh, right." Arthur stepped back and pulled Merlin's gag down, he gasped in relief.

"You utter prat!"

Arthur looked back in confusion at Merlin who glared at him. "You shouldn't have come!"

"I wasn't going to leave you was I? Cenred sent me your eye, Merlin - your bloody eye! Don't you think that made me a tiny bit concerned?!" cried Arthur.

Merlin gaped, he hadn't expected that. "He sent . . . he sent you my eye?" Arthur nodded. "That's . . . well that's just rude."

It was Arthur's turn to gape. "Rude . . . he cuts out your eye and all you can say is that it's rude?"

"If you two have quite finished?" Merlin gasped as he felt a dagger pressed against his throat from behind, a leather clad body pressing itself against him. "Nice little stunt you tried back there my pet, but it didn't quite work did it? I was so looking forward to breaking you in, you would have made such a good little pet." hissed Cenred in his ear.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." The knights had won their battle against Cenred`s men and were now backing Arthur, all of which had their swords drawn and were pointing them at Cenred.

"All of you drop your swords, unless you want little Merlin spilling out all over the floor." Cenred`s tone had a hint of desperation to it now - he knew that he was cornered.

"No, Arthur don't!" yelled Merlin as Cenred began dragging him backwards.

"Oh yes, Arthur do!" hissed Cenred in a mocking impression of Merlin's panicked tone.

Merlin closed his eyes so that no one would see the flash of gold in them. Cenred screamed in pain as the handle of the dagger turned red hot, Merlin could feel the king's confusion - he knew that he shouldn't have been able to work magic, but he could and had. But Cenred made one last attempt to ruin Arthur even as the metal scorched into his hand - he plunged the hot dagger straight into Merlin's chest and let it go with a yell of savage triumph. Merlin felt everything go a blinding, agonizing, hot white for a second and then he collapsed.