A Real Nightmare
But would he arrive in time?
Merlin turned away from his tools and crossed his arms with a smile.
"What did you tell him?" Asked the warlock.
"Tell who?" She played the fool but he knew better.
"Agravaine."
She blinked. How did he know? She had kept his eyes on him and all he had been doing was preparing the torture tools. Little did she know that he didn't even have such tools. The water in the bowl wasn't even for cleaning anything but for practicing the ancient art of scrying. Morgana's hovel had been shielded from such magic but only for the outside. He had been waiting for Agravaine to come but, despite it being setup, he hadn't intended it to become so emotional.
"Will he tell Arthur where we are? I hope he does because that's what I'm counting on." Merlin informed her.
"Why? What do you want with me?"
"When they get here, I won't be around. They'll find you sleeping, unharmed, and someone else in those chains. Which reminds me…"
He approached her empty handed and carefully, almost hesitantly, placed a warm hand on the small, shallow cut. She could see that he was averting his eyes and she almost smirked. This powerful sorcerer was still part manservant.
"Purhhaele dolgbenn." The skin sew itself back together.
Merlin left the hovel and allowed her to think for a moment. Nothing was making sense. One moment he was angry and vengeful and the other he was cunning and healing her wound. If the reality wasn't so severe then she may have deluded herself into thinking that he still cared about her. Maybe it was the same courtesy she had shown him when he was her prisoner. It all boiled down to a powerplay of sort. He wanted her to die at Arthur's hand and the prat would probably do exactly that. Merlin was pulling the strings and the puppets would dance. However annoying, she had always admired him as a worthy opponent of her game but now she was losing.
The door opened again and Merlin was dragging a body inside. The face was familiar but the name didn't come to mind.
"You remember Morris, don't you? He was Arthur's manservant before I took his place. What would Arthur make of it?"
Arthur would find them. She would be sleeping and Morris would be hanging from the ceiling.
"You'll be put in the dungeon and, without your magic, who knows what will happen?" Merlin took a lot of pride in his plan and eagerly continued, "Well, that's not entirely true. I've seen how Agravaine looks at you. What do you think he'll do once he realises you're powerless?"
Nothing scared her more than the idea of being in the presence of Agravaine without her powers. She was well aware of the man's infatuations and thought she had made it clear that it wouldn't happen. Without her magic she was just a woman and he might attempt to force himself upon her.
"Merlin, please. I beg of you, please don't do this." Her pleading wiped the smile right off his face.
He knew she was guilty of crimes worthy of death but he could still recognize genuine despair when he saw it. This wasn't something to be proud of anymore. She was supposed to fight him to the very end and allow him to savour sweet victory. Instead she was begging for him to spare her life and not only did it take all the fun out of it, it also destroyed all the pride he took in it. He felt something else instead.
"Swefe nu."
Her body went limp and it was safe to assume that she had gone into a deep sleep like before. He couldn't deal with an emotional Morgana. It made his heart have second thoughts. As much as he wanted to destroy her, as much did he want to keep her safe. He thought the latter to be foolishness as she would undoubtedly kill him the first chance she got. Merlin convinced himself that the pain he felt was a weakness that needed to be disposed of. This might hurt him but it was necessary and things would get better afterwards.
Although he hated hunting, Merlin had no trouble hearing Arthur and his Knights approach. It was tempting to strike the King of Camelot down but Merlin hadn't the heart to kill Morgana and Arthur did. It still didn't feel completely right. In the past he couldn't let her die and even now his feelings were rebelling against him. One strong thought kept him from interfering. If she didn't die then she would kill him. Arthur, Agravaine and twelve Knights slowly moved towards Morgana's little hovel. The King peered through the window and didn't like what he saw. Morris was hanging from the ceiling, dead, whilst Morgana slept in her bed.
"Merlin's not there." The King informed his advisor and informant.
"Then he must be close." Replied Agravaine.
The Knights spread out and moved further into the forest like Merlin thought they would. Merlin had found a place to hide in one of the places where no one ever looked. Up in the trees. When the knights were spread thin Merlin saw opportunity to strike. He got down from the tree and silently moved towards one of the knights.
"Swefe nu."
The Knight fell into a deep sleep and Merlin pulled him to the other side of a small cliff. He took the unfamiliar Knight's armour and, by use of the Blood Crystal, took his likeness which helped with wearing the armour. Merlin then proceeded with killing the stripped knight and hid him in a ditch. The warlock went back to Arthur who had remained at Morgana's hovel and soon the others returned as well.
"He's not here." Sir Leon concluded.
"Time to wake the demon." Arthur sighed with a wry smile.
"Would it not be better to kill her?" Asked Sir Leon.
Merlin noticed Agravaine flinch and step in like he thought he would.
"To find Merlin it may be best to bring her to Camelot and face public execution. That way we decide where to fight and prepare appropriately." Said the slithery bastard.
Arthur agreed with his uncle and went inside with several knights, leaving Merlin outside. He could hear the ruckus inside and when the door next opened Morgana was being dragged along by her hair.
"I'm going to kill you!" She threatened them but, stripped of her magic, it lost its edge.
"Torturing Morris apparently drained her of her magic." Arthur stated as he pushed her into Percival's arms who then restrained her.
It took Merlin great effort to do... nothing. He had seen Arthur be more kind to the people he bully than how he just treated Morgana. Arthur at least decided to bring Morris back to Camelot so that he may be buried properly.
As they travelled towards Camelot the Knights took turns to guard Morgana. Merlin initially saw a lot of anger in her but it had changed an hour later. It was his turn to guard her and he could tell that her mind was elsewhere.
Morgana didn't care who guarded her. Sir Leon, whom she had known the longest with the exception of Arthur, wasn't kinder than others. If anything he was the least kind. She was their prisoner but refused to show fear and choose to glare at her captors instead. It was a tactic that worked for a while but other thoughts soon claimed her mind. Merlin had done this horrible thing to her and she wondered why or rather why this? It seemed that no matter which way she turned, every step was a step away from him. He hated her more than ever before and it hurt. He had trapped her so that Arthur would kill her. Flames would burn her, smoke would smother her and in a distant corner of her mind there was fear. Having seen so many sorcerers burn and having heard their screams made her shudder. Before the darkness something else might happen. If Agravaine realised how weak she was then he might try and have his way with her. She'd rather die than be defiled by that slippery eel. Seeing Agravaine as an enemy left her all alone. Although everyone saw her as the enemy, Merlin was the one with a dark mind. Her goal was clear as day but what he hoped to achieve with this she did not know. If her execution was his way of torturing her mentally, then he did not know how much it hurt her that he was the one that did it. She wondered if he would ever mourn her loss. Sadly enough, she didn't think that he would.
In Camelot, Arthur taunted her by bringing her to the throne room before anything else
"Anything you want to say before you're put in the dungeon?" He asked with an air of superiority.
"He's not in league with me. He enchanted me. I didn't wake until you grabbed me." She explained.
Merlin wasn't a potential ally anymore but if she managed to gain Arthur's trust, she could retake the throne and protect herself from the vengeful warlock.
"Sorceress, nightmares, I don't know what goes on in that head of yours once you close your eyes." Said Arthur, "Nor do I think I want to."
Morgana glared at him as she was taken to the dungeon. All she could hope for was that her magic would return before her execution.
