Warnings: Rape, foul language, aftermath rape.

"I'm going to kiss Charlotte goodnight, and then I'll be back." Merlin whispered, snuggling closer to Arthur's warm body before pressing a kiss on his shoulder. He wriggled from underneath the heavy blankets as he heard Arthur say,

"Hurry up love, I miss you already."

Merlin smiles softly as he threw on a dressing over his night clothes and told Arthur he would. Every night he would kiss their daughter of five goodnight or otherwise he wouldn't be able to sleep. Normally Arthur would come too, but he felt that a cold was upon him and he didn't want to infect their daughter, no how many times Merlin had already told them that a cold could hardly do any harm. Arthur still stuck with his answer and so Merlin was now trudging around the empty castle corridors towards his daughter's chamber.

When opening the chamber door, he saw that the candles were still lit and his little Princess was sitting on the bed, looking at the book full of pictures that she got for her last birthday. "Still up?" Merlin said softly when he walked up to the bed and it attracted the attention of the little toddler.

"Daddy!"

"What are you doing Princess?" Merlin sat down and Charlotte immediately wrapped herself into his side, showing the picture book. "Can you tell me the story daddy?"

Merlin accepted the book and placed it on his lap. He spread one arm around his little girl, moving her even closer, and began his story that he made up with the help of the pictures. Charlotte was captivated and was already imagining the world from the story, up until they were loudly interrupted by the door opening and a guard entered.

"Sire, there are –"

The rest of the sentence was lost when the guard was impaled by a sword and there were only gurgles left.

"Daddy!" The little girl screamed and Merlin immediately went into action mode. He picked up his daughter from the bed and went towards the tapestry, very aware of the men coming into the room. His first instinct was the safety of his daughter and husband, his would come second. He pulled the tapestry away and revealed a hidden passage way, something he had shown his daughter a couple of times so she knew where to go if she ever needed one. "Go to papa." He said as he let a blue orb appear with his magic that would guide her and illuminate the way. He pushed her further in and then stepped back to seal the entrance door with his magic, while trying to ignore the loud screams of his daughter. He turned to the men creeping up on him and was ready to throw a spell, but it seemed that they had expected that, because they did exactly the same and Merlin was lifted up and smashed head first against the wall.

His vision blurred, his head pounded, and he could barely hear the warning bells before something cold enclosed around his wrists and he could barely breathe anymore.

"Not so mighty now," A dark voice spoke. Merlin blinked heavily, trying with all his might to stay awake.

"Take him to the bed." The voice ordered.

Merlin felt himself lifted off the ground and dragged towards the bed where he was thrown face down on with a heavy thud. There were hands on his body and he was turned over and his hands were grabbed by the shackles and brought above his head and fingers started to bring up the night gown until his navel.

"N-no," He could barely manage to say. He was immediately silenced by a slap across his face.

"Don't talk, you son of a whore." The dark voice grunted and untied his own breeches. He forcefully opened Merlin's legs and shoved his cock right in. Merlin screamed out in pain, he was sure the man had torn him in half

"Silence him!"

Merlin's mouth was filled by a filthy cloth and two different hands were covering his mouth.

Merlin struggled, trying to get away from whoever these men were and trying to channel his magic but he couldn't grasp it. He knew it must be the iron's doing.

"You filthy whore, you and your good for nothing husband." The man panted above him. "Exiling me, and thinking I would just let it happen. Now he has a reason too, and you just see if your husband wants to touch you again now."

Tears streamed down Merlin's face and his breathing went harshly in and out his nose. His struggling became wilder, and he felt one of his hands slip a little bit out of the shackle. He tugged harder and with the little blood that came free from his struggles he accomplished to free it and to let slip it out of the shackle. He immediately felt his magic return a little bit to him again, although it was still limited.

With one burst of magic he managed to send everyone around him flying backwards and he scrambled off the bed, running as hard as he could to the door and out into the corridor where he fell down onto his knees and pulled the cloth out of his mouth and hurled every content out of his stomach.

"Merlin!"

Arthur came running with a large group of Camelot guards and knights towards him and gave orders for them to go into the room, before falling down onto his knees next to Merlin, who cowered away from him.

"Merlin? Love?"

Merlin's breathing became more and more laboured. He didn't want Arthur to touch him, not after what had happened.

"Merlin –" Arthur began again, but then saw the bloodstains on Merlin's night gown and he gasped. Then he was overcome with fury and stood up with his sword drawn and ran into the room.

~oOoOo~

"He won't let anyone near except Charlotte and Gwen, Sire. It's possible that the attack triggered something in his brain that he won't let males near him. I couldn't even examine him, Alice had to do that and even that wasn't an easy task as you know."

Arthur looked sadly towards the bed where his husband was lying on, his back turned towards Arthur.

It has been two days since the attack and Merlin hadn't said a word since. He was desperate to comfort his husband, but every time he came as close as five feet, Merlin started to whimper and trying to get away or curl into a tight ball, so he kept his distance. It went like that with every male, and even females were a problem to some extent. He only allowed Gwen and Charlotte near him, but their daughter didn't understand why her daddy wasn't saying anything.

The attack was led by Lord Mangus, a nobleman who he had exiled not yet a week ago for an attempt to rape a woman in the lower town. If he had known what he would do a week later, Arthur would've executed him immediately. And still did on the night of the attack, including his followers.

"Papa?" The small voice came from below, pulling Arthur from his thoughts and making him look down to see the sad face of his daughter. He nodded first at Gaius who bowed and left the room, before Arthur bent down to be on his daughter's eyelevel.

"Is daddy still sick?" Her bright blue eyes, just like Merlin's, looked towards the bed. Arthur brushed the dark blonde hairs out of his daughter's face and nodded sadly, and she hugged her teddy - Aithusa - close to her chest.

"Maybe he gets better by one of your great kisses." Arthur suggested, having no idea how else to handle this situation. He had seen that their daughter had a good influence on Merlin, but it still wasn't enough for him to speak to either one of them, or anyone for that matter.

Their daughter immediately nodded and wanted to run to the bed, but Arthur grabbed her hand in his, stopping her for a second. "Careful, remember?" Charlotte waited a moment, before nodding again and was now walking in a slower pace towards the bed and climbed on top of it where her father could see her. Arthur watched anxiously at the scene in front of him.

Charlotte went slowly to Merlin and placed Aithusa down, before pressing a kiss on Merlin's temple. "Don't be sick anymore daddy." She added and went to pick Aithusa up again and placing it down closer to Merlin's chest. " 'Thusa will help you get better. Just like when I'm sick!"

Merlin didn't answered, nor looked at his daughter. But he also didn't anything to get away from her and Arthur thought that was good, he wouldn't know what to do if he wouldn't even let his daughter near, nor would he know what to tell Charlotte. He had spoken with Gaius who had seen some cases like Merlin's and told him that it could take week or months or even years before the victim of such thing would feel like themselves again, and even then it would usually be still a sensitive subject.

"Get better soon daddy," Charlotte hugged her father to her best ability and then shuffled off the bed and walked up to Arthur who bent to pick her up.

"I think daddy liked that, sweetheart."

The small girl buried her head into Arthur's neck and started to sniffle. "I don't want daddy to be sick anymore."

"I know, darling." Arthur rubbed a hand over the back of his daughter. "I know."

~oOoOo~

After nearly two weeks, Merlin made eye contact with Arthur for the first time and it made Arthur's breathe nearly still. He didn't dare to say or do anything to spoil the moment. Merlin had quickly turned away again, but Arthur felt that the first obstacle was passed.

A month later was the first time Merlin said something, not to Arthur, but Charlotte and Arthur's heart jumped at that, while Charlotte clung heavily around his neck squealing with happiness.

Two weeks after that, Merlin came into the room and sat down on the other side of the table where Arthur was eating his dinner with Charlotte (Since the attack, Merlin usually ate in another room), and Arthur's hand froze mid-motion to his mouth.

A servant set down a plate of food, but Merlin merely pushed his food around and still had difficulties with talking at Arthur. Still, Arthur thought it was progress.

Four months after the attack, Arthur had pursued Merlin to take a walk with him, Merlin kept some distance between them at all time and only said a few words here and there, but at the end of their walk Merlin had hugged Arthur out of the blue, but then scrambled off as soon as possible. Still Arthur had the biggest smile on his face and ran off to Gaius to tell him what had happened.

It was nearly six months later that Merlin had said more than two sentences to Arthur and even told him that he loved him. Arthur wanted to throw a feast just then and there. There was still slow progress between the two men, but there was progress and that was the most important thing for Arthur. He was also proud of Merlin for opening up more to their daughter in the past six months, because Arthur didn't know how long he could take looking at that sad little face on a near daily base. Merlin was more comfortable with his daughter than with Arthur, but Arthur didn't mind that as much, he was all too happy for their daughter.

A year after the attack, Merlin had grown closer to Arthur again and they were speaking regularly now, not quite as before but they were getting there. Arthur only missed his husband very much during the nights, as he just wanted to hold him, but Merlin hadn't spent one night in their bed together. He couldn't.

But that changed when Arthur was walking Merlin down to the hall to the room Merlin had called his own for the past year. Arthur had opened the door for Merlin and leaned in for a goodnight kiss which they had done for nearly a month now, but Merlin had stopped him by putting his hand over Arthur's and whispered, "I want to spent the night with you, Arthur."

All Arthur wanted to do was to ran with Merlin in his arms to his room, but he contained himself and instead offered his arm, which Merlin took.

They didn't had sex, and Arthur felt that his husband was tense so he had kept his distance. That didn't take away that that night was his best night's sleep in a year.

It happened more often over the months that followed and it seemed that with every passing night, Merlin came just that little bit closer. And one night, he even pressed his chest against Arthur's back.

Arthur knew that there was still a long way to go, but at least they were moving towards the end.

THE END.