Arthur hears the commotion a street away, and it has little to do with his elevate senses and more with the huge ruckus and random running men in front of the Digital Camelot C.O building. Arthur hears a man jumping on the roof of his car and with little thought he opens the door, and catches the ankle of the trouble maker. The strange man falls to the floor, and Arthur feels guilty as soon as the other touch the ground. The young Pendragon kneels to pick the lovely young man who is speaking gibberish after the fall. The stranger sports a dirty face and a bloody mouth and forehead (thanks to Arthur) and other scratches, but he still looks beautiful to Arthur. The messy raven hair, the fair skin and a spirit that can't be silence even through sleep.
When Leon reaches Arthur, Leon who works on floor twelve and only descends at night for group hunts. He tries to retrieve the man who Arthur holds -is then when Arthur understands that regardless of how intriguing the raven-haired man on his arms looks, that man must had done something big. Arthur carries the unconscious young man while Leon walks next to him and explains what had happen.
"He is a hunter" Leon informs, and Arthur has to stop to understand. It is a hard true to believe. The young man looks small, slender with little build, and overall delicate. Thought, Arthur could identified the form of a runner, and the young man had offer plenty of proof with the incredible display of evasive tactics, he still doesn't look like a hunter –or even a trainee.
"Your father discovered him." Leon continuous, and Arthur is not sure how to place the new piece of information. Uthor Pendragon does not chases hunters, specially no trainees, he only socializes with clan leaders. The young Pendragon couldn't imagine a scenery in which his father would, or would order, to chase the poor hunter trainee.
"The hunter broke our security, reach a fourteen level office; he confess to had 'observe' the King's movements, but that is all he said. He appears to be immune to Morgana's eyes."
Arthur tries to swallow all the new information. He is not holding an unlucky hunter trainee that was in the wrong time on the wrong place. No, Arthur is holding a specialized high level hunter who broke at the very least a 'blue code' alone inside of a building patrol by vampires. The blonde man forces the unconscious body into Leon's arms.
They walk through the building's glass doors, which filtrates UV rays and protects the vampires who reside inside. Morgana walks on their direction with a predatory expression, and pulls the hunter out of Leon's arms. The woman shakes the unconscious man who open his eyes and close them again. Uthor acknowledges his son, and describes to farther detail Leon's explanation.
Arthur does his best to hide his surprise and worry. The hunter's appearance and Morgana's vision had occurred too close to each other to be a coincidence.
"What is going to be done with him?" Leon asks the golden question. The hunter is awake now, though highly disorient and looking like he is about to be sick all over Morgana.
"Can't kill him, free him or hypnotize him." Morgana establishes, eying the hunter who keeps tilting his head back and forth. It looks strange but Arthur could catch a seven second hold-breathing pattern, the hunter is trying to stabilize himself.
"Keeping him captive can be more difficult than imagine…" Uthor contributes, and Arthur understands –the hunter was fairly close to escape while he was being supervise by Morgana and his father. "He shouldn't be too hard to fight, but he is defiant and an expert fleeter."
"I…I'm go-going to …be sick..." The hunter croaks out, and Morgana drops him like it had burn her. The man holds his weight on his knees and tries to stop the room from spinning. He seems in better shape than he should, already recovering and Arthur (and most likely the rest of the presents) could tell that his energy was returning.
"We should move." Leon says.
"We should move him." Morgana corrects. Arthur tries to think of a place safe enough to keep the hunter in and others out. The Pendragon family has plenty of hide-holes that ensure their customers to not be found, but it shouldn't be hard for the hunter to break out. There is a dungeon that is patrol by a gang of werewolves, but it would difficult access to the hunter. All options seem to have an unsatisfactory down side.
"He should reside at a 'nest'" Morgana informs. Arthur scans the scenario. A 'nest' is a Pendragon's or elite's home. It had been secure inside out with mechanical alarms and magical barriers, strategically position to facilitate both fast access to the home and shelter from unwanted eyes, because it is an elite's home –mark to the point that any magical creature or hunter would not be forgiven if trespass the property- trespassing is enough reason for the home's owner to kill the intruder and even start a war with whichever clan the creature belongs to, and if it isn't the perfect option whoever prisoner were to spend time on a 'nest' and escape could not be help by others –or there would be consequences for the helper/helpers.
The four vampires and the hunter move to a more private room, sound prove and lead curtains, and Arthur continues the conversation.
"Who should be responsible for him?"
"The safest option is our security chief." Uthor informs calmly. Arthur's eyes widen and he is ready to argue that he does not had time for babysitting, but the young Pendragon knows better than to question the 'King's' direct order and simply agrees. He glances at the very disorient hunter, so small and vulnerable, and he concludes it shouldn't take too much effort to keep him down.
Full consciousness comes slowly and in broken pieces to Merlin, something that only occurs when he is on constant movement while unconscious.
Merlin can't remember how did he got knock out, but he remembers being carried by strong arms and blue eyes looking down on him. Merlin remembers being violently shake and that he tried to talk against the treatment, but he can't recalled if it work or not. The next time was the smell of male cologne and the soft 'hum' of a motor. The young beaten man wakes up to discover that he is on a big bed with soft tick red covers, inside of a luxurious warm apartment, and there is a blonde man staring at him. Merlin tries to move slow, unable to remember who the other male is or identify him as a treat, but to the hunter's surprise he is more hurt than he expected it and any movement appears seems to be too soon. Merlin lets his body return to its initial position and opts for staying immobile. The young hunter knows that he should allow the blonde man to have the first move, word, decision, but is impossible for Merlin to stay silence for too long.
"Who are you?" The simple question cause the blonde man's eyebrows to shot upwards.
"Do you think you are in any position to ask questions?" Merlin internally sighs. The blonde man is an enemy and Merlin is a hostage.
"Well, I just did!" Merlin tries to uplift their mood. A mad keeper is a hard keeper. The blue eyes of the man sitting across the bed switch to an angry red, but Merlin knows it has nothing to do with his commentary. The vampire has simply notice that he is not talking to a human. The hunter lets the vampire try to pin point his spices, and patiently waits until the blonde vampire fails.
"What are you?!" Merlin hums at the so familiar question.
"I'm a Merlin! And you?" The blonde man looks shock and then mad, as if Merlin had insult him.
"That is not way to answer to the man that has your life in his hands!" Merlin makes an 'oh' with his lips, and feels the magic within him awaking and slowly healing his body.
The expression of the vampire soften for a moment. "Listen, Mer-lin." The man passes a hand over his blonde hair, and Merlin notice something that escape him while he was trying to stay alive –blonde vampire is very so much handsome.
"Merlin!" the man looks up as a sign that he is paying attention. "You are not going to survive this. No, if you don't collaborate. With the information you must had, I'm sure you could get a deal, a good deal; that means you live. Acting dumb would only make things longer and more complicate it for you."
Merlin looks at the blonde man for a moment, he looks earnest.
"What is your name?" The vampire is once again surprise by a simple normal question, but in the other man's defend their circumstances were not normal.
"Arthur Pendragon" Merlin decides not to exclaim 'great, another Pendragon!' out loud.
"I talk and I'm done" the hunter could not help but to shiver at the idea, and Arthur's expression softens again.
"You could make a deal, if the King promises to honor it, then you would survive." Merlin couldn't stop his mouth, and before he knows it those words are out.
"Because, the 'King' is so kin at honoring his promises!" Arthur's sour expression that changes to madding angry in less than a second is what reminds Merlin something very important. One should never ever insult the King in presences of the Prince.
"DIE" Arthur turns away, and part of Merlin would like to go and smooth the vampire's mood –he was simply trying to help. But that would bring more complications. Merlin would end up talking of the onetime King Uthor broke a promise and the tragedy of the Last Dragon's nest occurred.
Merlin crawls higher until he reaches a tick pillow. The hunter needs sleep if he is planning to run away.
The young raven-haired man knows that Arthur won't kill him, not yet at least, and with their first and last conversation Merlin expected for their contact to be left to the minimum. Merlin had not taken to account that he is not in any random apartment, or sleeping in a random bed, he was in Arthur's apartment and therefore sleeping in Arthur's bed. The blonde vampire shoves the sleeping man out of his bed.
"Now smells like Merlin!" The vampire makes a few sound of repulsion, but Merlin had been told by other vampires that he has a nice eatable smell (which it was meant to be a complement). Merlin himself makes fake painful moans, he would be in more pain if it wasn't for his magic and its healing abilities, but Arthur doesn't know that. The vampire rolls his eyes.
"Go to the sofa. Merlin" The hunter stands and limps out of the room until he finds the sofa. Merlin sits, he decides to look for possible weapon or exits when Arthur is not sleeping one room away.
The hunter sleeps again.
Time passes, or it should, but Merlin is again here. 'Here' is a strange place, it looks awfully a lot like Merlin's home, and the woman knitting blankets looks too much like his mother. Merlin sees Little Merlin untangling yarn. A scene that often plays on Merlin's memories. It looks like any other lazy afternoon in the Ambrosius' household, but that afternoon was different.
Thankfully Merlin is awake before his dream could continue. The hunter feels movement, but his very human senses can't find the source of movement. His memory tells him that must be the vampire Arthur, and his very non-human senses tell him that no else had enter the apartment.
"Hey!" The voice surprises Merlin even when he is aware of the other presence. The blonde man makes a 'pks' noise and moves to face the figure on the sofa.
"I need to go." Arthur says and moves to the door.
Merlin is worry at the lack of threats: 'don't even think about running!' or 'if you try to escape I will personally separate each of your limps from your body,' and it could only mean one thing; warnings are not necessary. The hunter checks his body, most has heal, and he stands ready to scan the place for exits or weapons or food.
Arthur's room is lock, the living room completely sealed and all hidden weapons too heavy for Merlin, the bathroom window might budge with the right kind of tool but is still too small for Merlin to fit, closet room lock, broom closet has some bleach but there is only a six oz bottles (a little less than haft the side of the water bottle), and Merlin would had lost all hope, but there is the kitchen.
The kitchen has no windows, it is paint it completely white and furnish with black and shiny kitchen supplies. It looks like a cover from a modern house kitchen special issue. The wall across from the door, over the stove, and right on the center of the wall -the magic shield is really weak. A blind point, that is cover by a 'who knows how tick wall' that leads to 'who knows where?' but is the closest to an exits that Merlin could find. 'How? When? And what now?!' questions could be solve later.
As far as Merlin could see the kitchen is full with possible weapons; knives, toaster, freezer's motor, pans, fire, cinnamon, hot water, ice cubes, pots, wood, metal, more knives...Merlin could make something out of it.
However, the best discovery is food. Normally, vampires only store food that they can eat -though, vampires can eat most foods, they strongly prefer only blood. Merlin is lucky that Arthur is not the case, if the five stars restaurants' containers are any sign. Expensive chocolate on the cabinets, sushi, orange duck, spaghetti with so much basil -no garlic though-, medium-rare blue cheese steak, and so many more things that Merlin does not know its names. He tries a little of everything before returning to the sofa.
The hunter enjoys the bliss of eating so well, and he tries to ignore for a moment his situation.
Merlin tries to not feel trap on the apartment, fear has never hurry any progress, and drops his chest over his knees. A hand touches Merlin's left brown boot, and he slowly works to unfasten the many leather strips that secure the shoe. Merlin's finders wonder in the strip's hidden pocket until his finds a small crumble piece of paper. Four sentences with his mother's handwriting, the letters so small to fit on the tiny paper -is barely readable.
Merlin reads the instructions one more time before breaking the paper and swallowing it.
Digital Camelot
Level 14,
Office 03.
Find Gaius.