Author's note: Thanks to all of my lovely reviewers and followers and those who favourited. I am again sorry for this short chapter but unfortunately, I don't have the time now to simply write down longer chapters and I am also sorry for the lateness.
Let's get on with the story.
Chapter 38
A Prince in Shackle
The two kings were eating the stew which Merlin had cooked by the side of the campfire silently. Arthur was feeling a little bit nostalgic thinking of the days when he and the man sitting opposite to him were used to camp together just like this only a few years ago.
In the depth of the darkling woods, at the feet of the white mountain, near the ridge of the ascetir, they had camped.
They had always been together in those adventures. Him and his best friend. Always protecting each other. Things had been so much simpler back then. But now, there's so much differences between them and a million miles of distance.
Although one thing hadn't changed. The taste of Merlin's stew. It was still as delicious as ever. Arthur had always said that Merlin was a terrible cook, but in reality Arthur and his knights had always enjoyed his cooking. In fact, to Arthur, Merlin's stew tasted far better than cook Audrey's stew ( of course, Arthur wouldn't say that to her. Audrey had always been proud of her cooking skill and she wouldn't like to hear that someone's stew was better than hers and an angry chief cook wouldn't be healthy for a king ).
Arthur silently finished eating and Merlin, with a silent flick of his hand, cleaned up the dishes. The king of Camelot had become accustomed to the frequent use of magic during his long stay at Arcaenia but still, seeing his former best friend using magic so casually was something Arthur couldn't get himself over with.
" Shouldn't you get some sleep? " Merlin's question brought Arthur out of his reverie
" Huh? " Arthur blurted out.
" Shouldn't you get some sleep? " Merlin asked again. " You've rode through all day after all. "
" What about you? Haven't you rode? I was just following you or was that just a illusion and you were here all this time? " Arthur said in a light tone.
Merlin chuckled at that and Arthur's heart fluttered with joy. The sound of his friend's chuckle reminded him of the old days.
" No. No. That was me. But I am different than you. My magic gives me more stamina than any average person. The same... couldn't be said for you. " Merlin spoke his last words in an unsure tone and Arthur was not sure of what to make of it.
So, he just said, " Oh. " As he had no idea what his response should be.
" Where are you going actually? You're riding for several days as if hell itself was behind you. " The king of Camelot asked the question which he had wanted to ask Merlin from the day when he had started following him.
" What do you think? " Merlin questioned back without looking at him while stroking the campfire
" From the route you have taken, my guess is that you're planning to go to Amata. " Arthur said while looking at the fire just like Merlin.
" Correct. " A small smile spread on Merlin's face.
" Why are you going there? " Arthur asked. He was now looking at Merlin who was still stroking the fire.
This time, Merlin's head shot up and Arthur's eyes met his. He was wearing an incredulous look on his face.
" It's confidential. " Merlin said calmly.
" Can't you tell me? " Arthur asked nonchalantly.
Hearing Arthur's question, Merlin raised his right eyebrow which was a perfect imitation of Gaius' eyebrow of doom.
" Why should I tell you? " Merlin's voice was as cold as ice.
Arthur knew that the conversation wouldn't be easy and he might be rejected several times. So, he had prepared himself to present a strong argument.
" Because I am Arthur Pendragon, king of Camelot, leader of the southern alliance and also your new ally. I have the right to know why you're infiltrating Amata when it's common knowledge that Sauron has closed off the border for indefinite time? "
Arthur felt a sudden sense of triumph when he saw that Merlin was clearly at a loss of what he should say.
" I'm awaiting your answer, king Merlin. " Arthur said.
Merlin stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. Arthur also stood up and looked at each other eye to eye for a couple second s and then, the warlock said,
" It is an internal matter of Elmet which does not concern you. So, I have no need to answer your question. "
Merlin's haughty voice made Arthur want to slap Merlin at the back of his head so that some sense could be knocked inside Merlin's thick headed skull.
" But it won't remain an internal matter when you will cross the border. Sauron's allies and he will take it as an act of war and as we're your allies now, we might got ourselves plunged into a war again that we didn't bargain for. "
Arthur stopped a little to take his breath and said again, " So, why can't you tell me about your midnight adventure, Merlin? "
Merlin didn't answer instantly. He didn't speak for a while. He just kept starting at Arthur. Arthur felt a bit unnerved by Merlin's piercing gaze. His eyes looked like as if he was for something inside Arthur but was unable to seek it out.
Still, Arthur didn't break the eye contact. He patiently kept looking at Merlin's blue eyes, waiting for the northern king's reply and finally it came.
Merlin took a deep breath and spoke up.
" Why do you have to make this simple thing so difficult, your majesty? " Arthur could sense a hint of anger veiled within Merlin's polite tone. " I have said that this was an internal matter of Elmet and it will remain internal. If I fail to keep the consequence of my actions under control, then you can kiss our alliance goodbye if you want and publicly denounce me as a warmonger. Why do you keep bothering me is beyond me, your grace. "
That broke the dam for Arthur. He couldn't hear it anymore. Merlin's words were sharp like his sword's edge and he had enough of it. He yelled out in exasperation.
" Because I'm your friend, Merlin. How many times do I have to tell you? I want to help you. I want to be there for you like you have always been there for me when I needed you. Why don't you understand it? "
Merlin looked at him for some time and then he said, " Yeah, you're right. I don't understand it. I don't understand why you are behaving like this. Like we've been friends some years ago. We've already been through this, your grace and I've made myself very clear that we've never been friends at all at any time.
Which part of it don't you understand? WE'VE. NEVER. BEEN. FRIENDS. "
Merlin's last words were almost a yell and that made Arthur take a step back.
" Merlin, please... " But he wasn't given the chance to finish his words. Merlin interrupted him.
" Go back to my city, Arthur Pendragon. If you ever try to interfere in my business, I promise you that the outcome won't be pleasant. And I mean it. I don't need you by my side. I'll never again need you by my side. You're nothing to me. So please, in the name of our creator, I beseech you to leave. Your presence is not welcome here. "
By the time, Merlin was finished, despair had darkened Arthur's mind. He knew that this was it. There was no way to get his friend back. Merlin had become cruel and hard. Nothing would ever melt his icy heart. He would never get the love and respect he had once got from his best friend, from his brother. He had lost utterly and completely.
He just gave Merlin a short nod and began to walk away. As soon as he had turned his back, he heard an all familiar sound and instantly he knew he was in danger but before he had any time to react, someone yelled frantically, " Arthur! Look out. "
He was soon grabbed by a pair of firm hands ( Merlin's? ) and was pinned to the ground. A couple of crossbow bolts went over his head and before he knew it, they were surrounded by nearly three dozen men.
It happened so quickly that Arthur barely had any time to understand it. One of the men who was the pointing a staff toward Merlin ( who was just getting up from the ground along with Arthur ) chanted a foreign word and green slime like stuff came out of the obviously magical object hitting Merlin directly on his face.
Merlin fell on his knees screaming like a maniac and before long, Arthur's vision became blurry after receiving a sudden burst of shock which probably came from his behind. And then, finally, darkness claimed his consciousness.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Mellisandre was nearing the grand archive of Amata in which his nephew Tommen Erestris was locked up. The younger prince had begun to show signs of having strong magic. Much stronger than his father and elder brother.
During Sarrum's reign, Tommen was trained to become a skillful mage and those training weren't in vain. Even in seventeen, he showed immense skill in handling the power of arcane arts.
Hadn't Sauron and Tommen disagreed regarding the revolution of Amata, Mellisandre was sure that his younger nephew would now have been sitting beside Sauron as the prime mage of Amata, a post which was now filled by Mellisandre herself.
The red haired woman wasn't sure why Sauron was even bothering to keep Tommen alive. The boy would never agree to help the revolutionary cause. She had told Sauron that her magic's progress on the boy was slow but in truth, Tommen was completely immune to Mellisandre's manipulative magic.
He failure bothered her endlessly. Her nephew was less than half of her age and yet, the boy was repelling her magic even with the magic binding shackles around his legs.
Sometimes, she was tempted to kill Tommen herself and remove the threat to the revolution once and for all. But she knew that his other nephew wouldn't be happy if she did that. It was highly probable that Sauron still loved his brother and her head would roll before she knew it if Sauron became aware that she was even thinking of killing his brother.
While thinking about all these things, Mellisandre had reached the door of the archive. With a touch of her hand, she unlocked the door and entered the huge circular room filled with tomes of new and old eras.
Tommen was reading a tome at one corner of the room sitting on a heavy wooden chair. Sauron shackled his legs with a long magic binding chain which deprived him of using magic but gave him the freedom of walking around the archive.
When he saw that she had entered the room, he stood up and gave a short bow.
" My dear manipulative aunt had come to visit me. What an honour! " Tommen said in a mocking tone.
Mellisandre's lips quirked upwards. The boy was insolent, she would give him that. Every time she came to visit him, he always mocked her. Sometimes, it became too hard to contain her rage and not slap the boy.
She tried to keep her face neutral and when she was close enough to the prince, she said, " Sauron sent me to check on you. "
Tommen smiled a little and his hand went through his brilliant white hair ( which he got from his mother ) and said, " My brother seemed exceptionally happy today for his new guests, isn't he , aunt mine? "
That was one of the mysteries of Tommen Mellisandre was still unable to crack. Even being in chains, Tommen was able to get all the news of the palace. He was completely isolated. None came to visit him. Still, he knew everything about the palace's events, From kitchen to throne room, nothing was unknown to Tommen Erestris.
" How did you know about that ? " Mellisandre knew she wouldn't get the answer but she asked nonetheless.
" That's my business, dear aunt. I won't tell you. But tell my brother that keeping the phoenix king and the king of magic captive for prolonged hours wouldn't be good for his health. " Tommen said while keeping his face neutral.
" Are you threatening the king, boy? " She tried to sound intimidating but Tommen looked unfazed.
" No, I want the best for him. I love him and only want him to understand the futility of his cause. If I had been given the chance to talk to him every day, I would've stooped him from walking the dangerous path you all are forcing him to walk. " Tommen sounded angry and the witch couldn't help feeling a bit unnerved by the deep foreboding tone of her nephew.
" What do you know of the world, boy? You know nothing. " She said angrily to silence the price.
But the prince didn't stop. He yelled back.
" I know everything, you bitch. Just tell my brother what I've told you and go resume fucking general Strauss and Reynald. "
Mellisandre fell from the sky.
How?
How did he know?
How did he know she was having a go with his nephew's two generals?
She thought it would be better if he didn't question him about that and without spending a word, she went out of the archive leaving a grinning prince behind whose red eyes were glowing with mischief.
He went back to his reading when the great stone door of the archive closed shut with a heavy thud.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
That's all for today, folks. I hope you have liked it. Only 26 reviews to reach the 500 landmark. ( Hint! Hint! ) Please tell me what you think of Prince Tommen. Next update will be within ten days.
Today's question: What do you want to be the final outcome of the song of ice and fire? My wish is that Aegon Targaryen ( young Griff ) become the king of Westeros with Sansa as his queen and Tyrion as his hand. Daenerys will die in the war of Westeros as Bran will warg her dragons to destroy her army. He will become a knight on dragonsback. Jon will become the new king in the north. Gendry will die while protecting Arya in the war of Westeros and Arya will become the first lady ranger of the night's watch. Also all the Lannisters except Tyrion will die. Also Brianne and Mellisandre will die too. What are your wishes?
Next chapter: Into the lion's den. See you soon.
Be safe and have a good day ( or good night ).
Adios.
- Assassin of Syria.