Chapter Nine

Morgana smiled, slow and sinister. "Do you want to know what I am going to do to Arthur?"

"Nothing," Merlin rasped. His throat was hoarse from screaming but he wouldn't let her taunts go unanswered. "I won't let you."

A bout of pain struck him and her cruel laughter echoed around the hut. "You think you can stop me?"

Merlin sucked in a heaving breath. He forced himself to raise his head and glared at her defiantly. "When have I not?"

Morgana's eyes narrowed. "I admit, I was at a loss to explain why my every attempt on Arthur's life failed, but I did not know then what I know now. I underestimated you."

Merlin smirked a little. "Everybody does."

"I shall not make that mistake again. You shall remain my prisoner until Arthur is dead. With your magic bound, Arthur is defenceless."

"You will not hurt him."

"The agonies that Arthur will suffer before I finally allow death to claim him will be… unimaginable."

Without warning her eyes flashed gold. Merlin's body contorted as magic wrenched at his insides. His every nerve ending was set alight. The scream caught in his throat this time, choking him, denying him oxygen. Suspended by the chains around his wrists he writhed helplessly, hopelessly. Death beckoned. He craved that sweet oblivion and almost forgot why it was that he fought so hard to live.

But Arthur's name rose in his mind.

He vowed to hold on, just a little longer.

After an eternity Morgana gave a careless flick of her hand and the spell released him.

Merlin slumped. Blood trickled down his arms but he could barely feel the damage the manacles had inflicted. It was nothing compared to Morgana's magic.

"Well, unimaginable to most," she said. "Though once I'm through with you, you will have a fair idea of Arthur's suffering."

Merlin lacked the strength to get his feet under him again. He couldn't stand to face her, but he refused to be cowed.

"You… will not… hurt Arthur."

"Just try and stop me." She spread her arms in invitation. "Come on, Merlin. Do it now. Strike me down."

He tried, tentatively, to draw upon his magic. It rose slowly and Merlin almost dared to hope, but before he could give voice to a spell his magic flinched away from the cold metal encircling his throat. Merlin tugged at it harder, but his magic coiled tightly in the centre of his chest again and refused to be summoned.

Morgana smirked. "You see, Merlin? For all your bravado, you are helpless against me." She leaned closer. "I think I will begin by stripping the flesh from Arthur's bones."

Merlin jerked at his chains, a snarl on his lips.

"I shall use the dagger he gave to me for my birthday. The blade will slice through his skin like butter and his blood will spill like wine. He will try to be brave at first, like Daddy taught him. But as the blood pools beneath him and the crows begin to feast upon his raw flesh he will no longer be able to contain his cries."

"No," Merlin growled.

"Naturally, that much pain and blood loss should be enough to kill a man, but Arthur will not be so lucky. My magic will preserve him long enough for him to feel every bone in his body shatter like glass. I will tear him apart, piece by piece, but I will leave his eyes until the last. He will watch as I reach into his chest and crush his beating heart within my fist. Still his soul will linger, just long enough to feel his body go up in flames. Then, at long last, Arthur Pendragon will be dead, and I will assume my rightful place upon the throne of Camelot."

"I will never let that happen."

"You won't have a choice. You will bear witness to Arthur's destruction and then you, too, will die. Painfully."

"I won't let you kill him."

Morgana just laughed.

"I won't let you!"

"Oh, face it, Merlin. Arthur is going to die and there is nothing you can do about it."

Merlin clenched his fists. Molten rage was bubbling up within him, wild and reckless and thirsty for blood. Instinct summoned his magic and suddenly the barriers were gone.

Merlin did not hesitate. Every ounce of his strength and power and fury was poured into a single blast of magic.

There was an almighty explosion in the hut-

And Merlin woke up.

The reality of new, familiar surroundings registered a split second too late.

ooOOoo

Arthur had only been gone from Camelot for a few days, though looking at the enormous pile of work that awaited him you would think entire months had passed. He didn't want to leave Merlin but he had been distracted from his duties ever since Merlin had gone missing and he knew it was time to begin making up for it.

He was bogged down in meetings with his councillors and audiences with his citizens and stacks of papers to be signed and legislation to be reviewed and army reports to be read and supply requisitions to be approved, and all the while the only thing he could think about was his servant. The burden of being King had never seemed so heavy before and Arthur was beginning to realise it was because Merlin had always been there to share the load.

He needed Merlin by his side.

Come the late afternoon, his councillors were droning on about something Arthur cared little about and was only half listening to. He found himself longing for one of Merlin's well-timed interruptions – his sudden bouts of clumsiness never failed to disrupt the court and divert conversation to a new topic.

An explosion was not exactly what he'd had in mind.

The thunderous boom stunned the room to silence. The aftershock that swiftly followed shook the ground beneath them. Debris knocked loose from the ceiling rained on their heads.

"We're under attack!" someone yelled.

The warning bells began to clang.

Knights burst into the court, swords at the ready.

"There has been an explosion in the east wing of the castle, my lord!" Sir Leon reported.

"Casualties?"

"Unknown, sire."

"Are we besieged?"

"No, sire. There is no enemy at our gates."

Arthur remembered Merlin's warning. He should have listened to him. "Unless the enemy is already within our walls."

"Sire?"

Arthur drew his sword. "On me!"

He led the knights out into the hall and they made haste toward the east wing. Arthur's mind whirred through the possibilities, trying to imagine who the traitor could be. But if they had truly meant him harm, why had the explosion occurred so far away from the throne room?

Unless he wasn't the target.

Arthur's heart filled with dread when he realised where they were headed. The trail of destruction led them directly towards the physician's chambers. To Merlin.

He broke into a run, pulling ahead of his knights.

When he got there he stopped short. He could only stare in shock.

The chambers weren't there anymore.

The door had been blown from its hinges and lay in broken splinters at the end of the corridor. The walls were a mess of crumbled masonry; even the outer walls of the castle had not been able to withstand the force of the blast. Arthur could see out into the courtyard below where the shattered contents of the physician's workshop were strewn amongst fallen stones. Soldiers were helping to pull wounded civilians out of the rubble. Most were able to hobble away, battered and bruised but otherwise unharmed. Others were covered in blood, unmoving – dead or unconscious, Arthur didn't know. Normally those who were injured would be brought straight here to the physician, or else Gaius would be summoned to the scene.

But if Gaius had been in his chambers at the time of the explosion the chances of survival were next to none.

Maybe he had been out on his rounds, or gathering supplies. Arthur dared to hope so.

Merlin would not have gone anywhere, though. Last night Gaius had given him a sleeping draught when it became clear that Merlin was not going to fall asleep willingly, and he had still been unconscious when Arthur checked in on him briefly at lunch time.

If he was the intended target…

"Search for survivors," Arthur croaked.

His knights fanned out, picking their way carefully across the wreckage.

Arthur waited with bated breath, terrified that all they would find would be Merlin's remains. He didn't know how he would cope if he lost Merlin again so soon after finding him.

"Here!" Elyan called. The other knights joined him in pulling stones and splintered wood away from an oddly-shaped mound in the rubble.

Golden light blinded them, making the knights recoil in alarm.

"What was that?" Leon demanded, drawing his sword.

Gwaine knocked his sword arm away. "No, don't! It's Merlin."

Sure enough, Arthur recognised the glow from the shield Merlin's magic generated when he felt threatened.

He breathed a silent sigh of relief. Merlin was alive. "Alright, everyone stand down. I'll handle this."

He took the place of his knights and pulled away the last of the debris. "Merlin?" he called, laying a gentle hand on the surface of the shield. It buzzed against his skin, almost in recognition, and after a few moments the shield dropped to reveal one skinny, golden-eyed manservant. He was huddled into a ball, peeping out at Arthur over knobbly knees.

"Hey, Merlin," Arthur said. "You okay?"

He gave a hesitant nod.

"What happened?"

Merlin shrank in on himself a bit and didn't meet Arthur's gaze.

"Was this deliberate? Did someone attack you?"

Slowly, Merlin shook his head twice.

"It was an accident? Who- oh." Arthur remembered the crater back at Morgana's hut. "You did this? Merlin-"

Merlin cringed away, ducking his head under his arms as if to ward off a blow.

"No, I didn't – I'm not mad." Well, he was trying not to be, even though Merlin had just blown a hole in his castle. "I just want to understand what happened. Did someone try to wake you, or…?"

Merlin shook his head. Arthur scrubbed a hand through his hair, trying to curb his impatience. Merlin was far easier to handle when he was chattering incessantly.

"Show me. Come on, Merlin, I want to help but I can't unless you tell me what's going on in that head of yours."

It took some time, but finally Merlin reached out a trembling hand and touched his fingertips to Arthur's forehead. He closed his eyes.

A memory that wasn't his own slipped into Arthur's mind. He watched Morgana taunt his servant and heard Merlin's stubborn defence of his king. It was the sort of stupidly brave thing that Merlin would do – defy a sorceress when he was at her mercy because he was too loyal for his own good – but it cost him dearly. Morgana's eyes flashed gold and as Merlin screamed the entire scene imploded into darkness. Arthur felt an echo of the pain Morgana had inflicted on him and an involuntary cry escaped his lips.

"Sire!"

Arthur kept his eyes firmly closed even as he waved off his knights. "No, I'm fine." He wasn't – it hurt, and he felt sick as his vision returned and he was forced to listen to his sister describe in detail the tortures she had planned for him. But he would not break the connection until Merlin was ready.

When he concentrated, Arthur could sense the rage that Merlin had felt at Morgana's words. Arthur noticed the collar again, wondering at its significance, but he was distracted by the build-up of magic as Merlin prepared to fight back. Arthur braced himself.

The scene abruptly changed, bringing the physician's chambers into focus shortly before everything exploded.

The memory ended with a flash of gold as memory-Merlin threw up a hasty shield and the roof caved in. Even within his protective shell the noise of falling masonry was deafening.

Merlin's hand pulled away and Arthur opened his eyes. "You had a nightmare," he surmised.

Merlin nodded.

"Was it a memory?"

Another nod.

The pain he had felt… he knew Merlin had been shielding him from experiencing the worst of it, and that was just a fraction of the torture Merlin had faced at Morgana's hand.

Two months.

God. No wonder Merlin was so messed up.

"I'm sorry, Merlin."

Merlin frowned, his gaze skittering around to the destruction all around them before returning to Arthur's face. He tilted his head as if to say Shouldn't I be the one apologising?

"If I had found you sooner…"

Merlin shook his head, touching his palm to Arthur's cheek in a clear gesture of forgiveness.

"You're safe now though, you know that, right? No one is going to hurt you."

Merlin pulled back immediately, fear and distrust leaping back onto his features.

"What is it? Merlin – Merlin, if you would just tell me what's wrong maybe I could do something to actually fix it!"

Merlin remained as tight-lipped as ever and Arthur's annoyance crept back in.

"So what's your solution, then? Keep blowing up my castle and hurting innocent people until the threat is destroyed, along with everything else in my kingdom?"

Merlin flinched at his tone and the shield abruptly snapped back into place, blocking Arthur out.

"Merlin. Merlin!" He rapped on the shield and it repelled his hand with a sharp shock of warning. He shook out the sting, on the verge of snarling with frustration. "Merlin!"

"Fabulous work, princess," Gwaine drawled sarcastically. "Anyone ever tell you you've got a great bedside manner?"

"He's being stubborn!"

"He just spent two months being tortured by someone he used to consider a close friend. Is it any big surprise that he's got trust issues?"

"When have I ever given him reason not to trust me?"

Gwaine raised his eyebrows as if to say 'Remember that time you found out he had magic and nearly beheaded him on the spot?'

"Don't answer that," Arthur snapped. "Since you're such an expert, you stay with the accident waiting to happen. Percival, go and assist with the rescue effort. Elyan, find Gauis and bring him back here to help with the casualties. Leon, ensure that the people know that we are not under attack – tell them one of Gaius's potions backfired but the danger has passed."

"Yes, sire," the knights chorused.

"Where are you going to be?" Gwaine asked.

Arthur didn't answer him because the truth was he didn't know. He just needed to be away from here. He needed space to think.

He tried his chambers first, pacing back and forth on the perfectly polished floor, but the room was too clean. His replacement servant must have snuck in again when he wasn't looking; Arthur had told him more than once in no uncertain terms that he didn't need a new manservant because Merlin was coming back. He had been quite happy to let his chambers disintegrate into a chaotic mess if it meant he would be able to pester Merlin about cleaning it up when he was found.

Of course, if Merlin tried to use a cleaning spell now he could very well blow up the city.

Arthur cursed, turned on his heel and stalked back out into the corridor.

"Arthur! There you are."

Agravaine was hurrying towards him. Arthur almost asked him to leave him be, but reconsidered. He needed advice and Agravaine had provided valued counsel in the past. Arthur was too close to this; he needed an unbiased opinion. He slowed his steps, allowing his uncle to catch up.

"I heard the explosion from beyond the city walls and came as soon as I could." Agravaine was still in his riding gear - he had heard that there was a dispute in a local town that required royal oversight and had taken the day to deal with it in Arthur's stead. "After witnessing the scene in the courtyard and seeing the damage to the citadel, I feared the worst. I am most relieved to find you unharmed."

"It was not a premeditated attack, uncle," Arthur assured him. "Just a simple accident."

"An accident?"

Arthur explained what had happened.

"Your servant had a nightmare," Agravaine repeated.

"Yes."

"And nearly destroyed half of Camelot."

"It wasn't that bad."

"Twelve people were injured, Arthur. Three of those will require intensive care."

"Merlin didn't mean to hurt anyone."

"But he did. His magic did. I know he has been a loyal servant, sire, and because of that loyalty I was going to support your move to legalise magic, despite my strong misgivings. But now… Arthur, innocent people have been hurt."

"It was an accident. It would never have happened if Merlin was in full control of his magic. He has been through a terrible ordeal; he just needs time to recover."

"At what cost, Arthur? This time we were lucky no one was killed. But what is to stop Merlin's magic from lashing out again? He is a powerful sorcerer – if this is his response to a mere nightmare, what will happen if someone startles him, or makes a loud noise, or looks at him the wrong way?"

"Merlin would never intentionally harm anyone."

"Not intentionally, no. But you said so yourself; he is not in control of his magic. That makes him dangerous. I'm sorry, Arthur, but you must face the truth. Merlin is a threat to your kingdom, to the safety of your people. Your father would never have allowed magic to run rampant in this way."

"I am not my father, and I will not execute a man for something that is beyond his control. Besides, Merlin is a friend of mine and I owe him more than I will ever know."

"I understand that, sire. But you have a duty to Camelot; you cannot allow your personal feelings to get in the way. You cannot hold his life above the lives of your citizens."

Merlin would not want him to, either. Merlin had proven more than once that he would lay his life down for the people of Camelot. If he had another freak-out and accidentally killed someone he would never be able to forgive himself.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Return the boy to his mother. He could be retired on a full pension and she could care for him. He would be beyond our borders; Camelot would be safe."

"Ealdor wouldn't stand a chance against his magic."

"Then he must be placed somewhere where he can do no one harm."

"I won't exile him. I'm the only one who seems to be able to get through to him. I want Merlin back, the real Merlin, safe and whole, and if I send him away he will be lost to us forever. If he stays there is a chance I can draw him out. He can recover from this, I know he can. He just needs time."

"And a space that can hold him."

"Yes." Unfortunately, Merlin's magic was volatile and Arthur couldn't think of a single room in the citadel that could withstand another explosion of that magnitude.

"I have heard stories of a cavern, deep beneath the castle, where a dragon once dwelled."

"The Great Dragon, yes. But he was a prisoner."

"He was a creature of magic and a danger to the people. Your father spared his life, but locked him away for the sake of the kingdom."

"You really expect me to put Merlin in chains? How is that any different to the way Morgana treated him?"

"If he stays willingly the chains would not be needed. I know it is not ideal, Arthur, but I cannot see that you have any other choice. You are the king; you must act in Camelot's best interests."

Arthur sighed. His wished there was another way, but if there was he couldn't see it. "You're right, uncle."

Agravaine bowed, the slightest smile touching his lips before vanishing as though it had never been. "I'll make the necessary arrangements immediately."

ooOOoo