I do not own Merlin. All rights belong to the BBC.

Firstly I'm so sorry this took so long to update. I promised myself I wouldn't be a slow updater and yet I've left it for over a month due to some unscheduled January craziness!

Secondly, thankyou so much to everyone who has reviewed and is following/favouriting etc. I'm glad you are liking this so far

Chapter 4

'He knows nothing?' Morgana repeated slowly, her eyes locked on the dark king,

'No, My lady' Cenred replied, 'I did as you asked; took the king and his manservant. My general questioned him all day, Arthur knows nothing.'

A mixture of impatience and irritation flickered across the sorceress' face before dissolving back into an impassive mask, 'And the servant?'

'He suffered greatly at Camelot's ignorance. He barely lives '

Arthur must really know nothing Morgana thought to herself, he would never allow Merlin to suffer- that she knew for a fact. Merlin meant everything to her brother.

She appraised the man before her; confident but unsure- she made him nervous, and she loved to relish in that fact.

'Ensure that he does' she snapped at him harshly, 'It would be unfortunate for you if he should die because you could not control your men's greed for cruelty'

Cenred blanched at the Sorceress' words, unease rising in his chest, 'Of course, my lady'

Morgana stood from her chair and made to leave the room, 'Tomorrow you will question the servant boy' she said, walking towards the open door, 'Let us see if he knows something his master does not. She turned back to look at the king, grinning spitefully.

Her smile quickly faded into a mask of threatening severity, 'find me Emrys, Cenred, only his blood can ensure us victory. If you should fail, then this alliance will no longer hold any value to me, and those whom I do not value I do not keep alive'. With that Morgana swept from the room, black robes billowing behind her, the words of her threat hanging still in the air.

'My lady' Cenred murmured faintly, inclining his head towards the now empty doorway. He took in a deep breath and stood himself up straight before turning around to make back for the dungeons. He would find Emrys, even if it meant capturing every soul in Camelot.

It was three days now since Arthur and his knights had ridden from Camelot. That was days too long. Gwen paced restlessly through the castle corridors, her fingers fidgeting anxiously with the apron of her dress.

Where were they?

They were only supposed to be away for a day at the most. A day of hunting, that was all. But when night fell on the first day and her friends did not return, Gwen felt a twist of unease start up in her chest. This unease had come to consume her after two more nights passed with no sign of a red cloak or the sound of hooves on cobbled stone.

Unease soon became panic at the arrival of a bruised and exhausted Gwaine, Leon and Percival. They had managed to evade capture after the party was attacked by bandits, but their horses were stolen and they had, had to walk back to Camelot with no food and no water.

They had not seen nor heard from Arthur or Merlin since the attack. Gwaine had returned to where he had seen them last but they were not to be found. There had been no signs of a struggle.

Gwen felt a new feeling creep into the pit of her stomach and coil around her chest. A feeling that was slowly spreading through all of Camelot.

Fear.

Arthur had held Merlin all night, cradling him against his chest to keep him warm and placing soft kisses in his hair to soothe him when he cried out.

Merlin was weak; he had lost too much blood. His skin felt cold against Arthur's, his breath coming out in short pants as he shivered against the king's warm body.

Arthur was afraid. Merlin was dying and he couldn't stop it. There was nothing he could do and it terrified him. His heart ached in his chest at the thought of a life without his ridiculous manservant; he would be so alone.

'I should have told you more' he whispered into the tangled mop of black hair, 'I never told you enough, Merlin, how much you mean to me'

Arthur looked down at the small body in his arms. His hand came up ghost over the bruises on Merlin's face before resting it there against his cheek, his thumb tracing lines over the soft lips that were drawing in air in quick, stuttering breaths.

Leaning down so that their heads were almost touching, Arthur took in every detail of Merlin's face, committing them to memory, never to be forgotten.

'I love you, Merlin' He whispered fervently, 'Do you hear me? I love you'

Fresh tears pricked at Arthur's eyes as he leant down to gently brush Merlin's lips against his own, before sitting back up and pulling his servant into his chest as closely as he could. He felt the grip on his shirt tighten as Merlin lifted his head to burrow into the crook of his neck, resting there and sighing quietly.

A small smile managed to flicker its way across Arthur Pendragon's face.

Merlin couldn't breathe. It felt as though someone had crushed his chest and buried him under a pile of rocks. The only way he could get in air was in short, aching gasps that sent pain ricocheting through his whole body, or what was left of it.

He was vaguely aware of someone rocking him gently, speaking soft words into his hair. He had tried to speak back but he couldn't find his voice. His body felt heavy, like someone had weighted him down. He was so tired. He wanted nothing more than to sleep but he knew that if he did he might never wake again.

And so Merlin fought the darkness that threatened to pull him down. He focused Arthur's soft voice as it spoke to him, trying to clear the fog in his brain so that he could make out the words.

'..you Merlin. Do you hear me? I love you..'

Somewhere from within Merlin's battered chest a heart swelled and began to thrum loudly. Clinging onto the king's shirt tightly, he mustered all the strength he could find to pull himself up and bury his face into Arthur's neck. I love you too, Arthur, he thought with all his might. He hoped Arthur understood.

He rested there for a long time, breathing in the scent of his king; leather and horses, and something inexplicably Arthur that Merlin savored in. He dreamed they were back in Camelot in Arthur's chambers. He had snuck out in the early hours of the morning and crept into the king's bed, cuddling up to him under the sheets, feeling warm, strong arms surround him, trapping him against his chest. He would lie and listen to the steady beat of Arthur's heart, feeling it pulse into him, connecting them.

The heartbeat began to quicken, however, at the sound of a key scraping in a lock. It sounded far off to Merlin through the haze in his head. Arms coiled around him protectively before they were gone altogether. Agony seared through his body as someone wrenched him from Arthur's grasp and threw him against the wall. He cried out at his arm collided sharply with the rough stones and he doubled over as the throbbing heat washed over him, clutching his limb to his chest defensively.

He was forced up onto his knees and a calloused hand slapped him sharply across the face.

'Open your eyes' someone commanded.

Blearily Merlin pried his eyes open. He focused on a pair of dirty black leather boots. Lifting his heavy head slowly his gaze travelled up the man's body in front of him until he was looking into the dark eyes of Cenred himself, who was assessing him with a look of impatience and abhorrence.

Chains rattled somewhere behind him and he heard Arthur's grunts of indignation as he was surely being strung up as Merlin had the day before.

Merlin began to tremble; only this was not from the fever. He realised what was going to happen next, and as Arthur's cries of agony filled the small room a new pain wrenched in Merlin's heart.

'Who is Emrys?' the king hissed

Merlin glared at him viciously, he could feel the anger rising in his chest and the swell of magic bubbling in his fingertips. The pain of his injuries began to dull as the power coursed through his veins.

'You will not harm Arthur' he growled, his voice low and threatening.

Cenred looked taken aback by Merlin's sudden burst of anger. He had clearly heard the warning in the servant's voice and was now appraising him warily.

'Or what?' He queried back scornfully, his twisting smile mocking the seemingly harmless man before him.

Merlin suppressed a growl as he fought to control his temper, and his magic. Behind him Arthur screamed again and his anger faded slightly as sorrow and concern fought to take its place.

No more he thought to himself. He knew what must be done.

Merlin had sworn that he would not break. And yet here it was- the one thing that could break him- Arthur suffering at his hands. His silence.

Static rippled through the small room as the earth was drawn of its power. A pair of blue eyes flashed gold.

It was time for Cenred to meet Emrys.

Arthur didn't really see what happened then. He heard shouts and a gust of wind in his face, and then Merlin was in front of him, stroking his hair. And then his chains were gone and he was kneeling on the floor holding his side and gasping for breath,

'Arthur?' A concerned pair of sapphire eyes pierced into his, 'you ok?'

He nodded and let his gaze slip past Merlin's face to behind him, where Crone, Cenred and his general were all slumped against the wall, out cold.

Arthur's brow furrowed in confusion, 'Merlin' he asked, 'How on earth did you do that?'

He moved his gaze back to capture Merlin's eyes again, but they were now staring at the floor. Merlin's face was crumpled and defeated. He looked scared. And guilty.

'I'm sorry Arthur' the manservant whispered, 'I love you'. A tear rolled down his cheek before he flung himself over the king protectively, shouting something Arthur could not understand. The wall of the dungeon blew outwards, sunlight streaming in, blinding them.

And then Arthur realised. He recoiled from Merlin's embrace as his eyes flickered from the hole in the wall back to his servant's face; a face that looked entirely different in the new light; powerful and knowing.

Dangerous! Arthur's mind whispered to him. Merlin was a sorcerer. MERLIN WAS A SORCERER!

Lemme know what you think, wanted to get it up so wrote in in a bit of a hurry! Next chapter will be up soon I promise!