DISCLAIMER:
The characters in Merlin
(BBC) belong to Shine
Television and the BBC, etc., i.e., not me.
I'm just borrowing them for a
while to spin a tale
With
Power… Arc I: the players
Part 1: The Hostage Prince
By firewolf
July 2009
@>;-'-
One of the most curious
sights which greeted the young man when he entered the destined city
was the courtyard stocks. Having passed through several other larger
villages and smaller cities in his track towards King Cendred’s Capital
City, Merlin had thought he understood the system of punishment by the
sentence of time in the stocks.
However, King Cendred’s City must have been very special, or perhaps
‘very proper’ was the word for it. The children didn’t throw rotten
market produce at the rather attractive blonde man who stood in the
stocks. In bizarre contrast, the young boys and girls appeared quite
content to sit around and talk to the man while they showed him toys or
various interesting things they’d found or picked up. The man had a
nice laugh too as he spoke to them kindly. Not at all like punished men
seen in other cities who’d be cursing a blue streak as they were
splattered with rotten vegetable and fruit. As he walked past this
curious spectacle, Merlin wondered rather belatedly what the man’s
crime had been. But his attention was quickly pulled back to his quest
for his mother’s brother in this huge city.
As first impressions went, Gaius had seemed very pleased with him at
their meeting. Especially when Merlin had saved him from a near fatal
fall by instinctively stopping a pocket of time surrounding the
physician and dragging a sofa into position to catch the man before he
hit the ground.
“What did you just do? Tell me. I heard no spells. That was—that was
amazing! How were you able to do that?”
Merlin had kept his magic secret all his life, but Gaius had such an
encouraging expression of delight and interest in his eyes—and he was
his mother’s brother after all… “I’m—not sure exactly how I did it. I
was just—born like this.”
And with this confession, Merlin’s world suddenly expanded as Gaius
brought down old books and tombs and began to share with him the
knowledge of ages; of Magic, and the Old Religion. However, from time
to time, he’d hear the old man lament of years past; before Merlin was
born when his old home, Camelot, was brought through a terrible Purge
by a King who in mad grief for a lost wife persecuted and killed all
magic users, and destroyed or confiscated all magical tomes to be
found; the few books which Gaius had, survived only because he had
managed to hide them. With the end of the war between Uther and Cendred
though, the books which Camelot’s chief archivist, Geoffrey, managed to
keep safe were all transferred to King Cendred’s library where they
were even just as inaccessible.
“Gaius, thank you, really. But I came to learn from *you* to be a
*physician*. Not a sorcerer.” Merlin told him softly. “I mean—its okay.
I suppose I’m—I’m glad that I—that I’m not a monster like I thought I
was…”
“Don’t ever think that!” Gaius told him firmly, and then sat back at
last to look him over before sighing, “Don’t misunderstand me, I am
glad to have you as my apprentice, especially since you’re so excited
and eager to *be* a physician. And at the end of the day, I feel it is
far safer that you have no wish to embrace power and become a sorcerer—”
“With power comes responsibility, Gaius.” Merlin interrupted him
respectfully. “During the war, a Knight said that to me once. And
while, yes, I guess I should develop these freaky—my powers too and
learn how to control them, I think I have more direction in my life if
I focus on healing. I’m sure these powers can be a great asset here
too.”
Gaius smiled at him. “Hunith must have been so proud of you, Merlin.
And that Knight was very wise.”
“They were good men. They made sure they kept their soldiers in line
and our village never suffered very much to be occupied by an army.”
Merlin told him earnestly. “I’ve always heard stories from the elders
of how bad it could be during a war. But they made a difference.”
“Well—yes…” Gaius’ eyes turned introspective for a moment. “The
Knights’ discipline and honour do make a difference, but in some things
they have little power to interfere.”
Merlin blinked at him curiously. And Gaius’ expression went sad as he
led him towards the window which looked out into the courtyard. “Did
you see the young man in the stocks when you passed the courtyard?”
“Yes? I thought it was rather unusual.”Merlin admitted thinking of the
handsome blonde stranger. “I’ve passed through smaller cities where the
one in the stocks would usually be pelted with rotten fruit and
vegetables.”
“Well, it actually is the same here, but not with this particular man.”
Gaius looked out sadly at the scene of the children who laughed and
entertained the young man in the stocks. “He is the King’s hostage.”
“Wha—?”
Gaius eyed him disapprovingly. “Merlin, you were a boy during the war.
And while the Knights were in control enough to protect your fellow
villagers, didn’t you think there would be consequences?”
“I was hardly oblivious to the ravages of war, Gaius.” He protested
with some exasperation. “I helped the village healer and we attended to
many of the dying, the maimed and the injured. And the village is no
longer one of King Cendred’s outlying hamlets, so we’re receiving a lot
more attention and assistance now.”
“And what do you know of former-King Uther’s forces?”
“Urm…”
“That young man—is Uther’s son.” Gaius nodded to the golden haired
figure bent over in the stocks. “And he has been one of the casualties
of that dreadful war. The King is able to command his utmost obedience
since Uther has been held in one of the towers.”
“Urm—what does the King do with him?” Merlin asked cautiously as he
stole a glance at the young man. Merlin could somewhat guess it
wouldn’t be an answer he would be very pleased with. But from Gaius’
expression, Merlin knew the older man didn’t want to tell him.
“Gaius, I’m hardly a starry-eyed innocent. I’ve helped the village
healer take care of men fresh from a battlefield. I’ve handled the
dead. I’ve cleaned and washed terrible wounds and I’ve—” Merlin
swallowed at the memory, “I’ve even helped to—to amputate limbs that
have been too damaged or diseased to save.”
Gaius just looked at him for a moment then petted his shoulder
companionably. “You will learn in time. Now—since you’re here to handle
the stairs for me too, perhaps you can do a service for this old man
and bring this to our friend out there.”
“A cream?” Merlin looked at the small jar with its semi-solid whitish
content. “Isn’t this used by ladies?”
“Mostly, but today’s sun is hot and the King’s hostage has quite fair
skin; he will need its protection.”
“Won’t you even tell me his name?”
“Why don’t you ask?
“I—when I once lived in Camelot, I had a hand in raising the boy. And
here, King Cendred allows me the mercy of tending to him as well…”
“Oh—he had no mother, had he?” Merlin asked softly as he stared at the
jar, having remembered Gaius’ story of Camelot’s Purge.
“No, he hasn’t. And Merlin, given his situation he has no friends in
this kingdom; it is very hard for him to warm up to anybody. But he is
a good man.”
Merlin glanced out the window to stare at the children who still sat
around the man despite the sun. “I think I can see that.”
*~*~*
“Hello?” Merlin held back his gulp when the Blonde man lifted his head
to let him see that he had just as attractive a face as he did a body.
“You’re new here?”
“How did you guess?” Merlin stared at him in surprise.
“Oh—the country bumpkin, out of town-sey look can be easily spotted at
ten paces.”
“Hey!” Merlin would have taken insult if it were not for the wide grin
the man was giving him with the children’s chuckles and chortles.
“Well, Gaius sent me—”
“So you’re Merlin?”
Merlin’s jaw dropped. In this instance, he now understood why Gaius had
so much respect for this man. The children obviously loved him and he
apparently had a good memory for other people’s matters and concerns.
“You certainly don’t look like much in real life.”
“What? And I can’t imagine why Gaius asked me to introduce myself to
such a prat!” The children laughed again, which made Merlin forgive him
a little. It suddenly occurred to him that the man was just
entertaining the kids.
“Well, you have the advantage over me. And I usually like to know who
I’ve got my hands on before I start applying medication.” Merlin pouted
at him mock-sullenly as he showed off the jar in his hand.
“Oh, bless Gaius. I thought I was beginning to feel my face and hands
burn with this blasted sun.” He squinted up at the said orb of light.
“Well?”
“Arthur.” He waved a hand with a grin.
“Okay then, Arthur. If you know the drill, keep your eyes closed, and
we’ll see about saving your skin from freckles, right?”
“Whatever you say, Mer-lin.”
*~*~*
Given his own little room in Gaius’ home, Merlin found himself
completely enchanted by the view of the city outside his window. His
eyes, though, were unconsciously drawn to the stocks again where Arthur
still stood, making him wonder what he had done to make the King punish
him so. At the least there seemed to be a guard nearby, so Merlin was
glad the man could still have some company since the children had
already long been dragged away by their parents.
Arthur’s situation puzzled Merlin. He remembered then Gaius’
evasiveness in describing his position in court. He was the King’s
hostage, but just what did that mean? Unfortunately, Merlin was to have
his innocence irrevocably shattered when he was awakened in the middle
of the night by a very uncomfortable feeling.
Some instinct dragged him out of bed to the window where he looked out
to have his eyes gravitate towards Arthur’s corner. He noted
immediately that the guard wasn’t there anymore. Then he saw them, six
vague shapes surrounding Arthur. One stood on a crate in front of him,
another was positioned directly behind and Merlin’s sleep numbed mind
didn’t immediately register the significance of the thrusting humping
movements they were making. But when recognition struck, he was quickly
dragging on tunic, pants and boots and rushing out into the courtyard.
“Hey! That’s enough of that!” He arrived in time to watch as the two
men stepped aside to make way for two others. However, these men made
no move to tuck themselves away, but continued to stroke their spent
though re-enlivening cocks.
“What is it to you, heh?”
A strong whiff of alcohol drifted over the breeze to him. Merlin
immediately knew that these drunken louts must have bribed the guard to
leave Arthur unattended for them to play with. “I’m saying that’s
enough. I don’t think rape counts as part of the punishment in the
stocks.”
“Merlin?” Arthur looked at him in surprise, then glanced around at the
crowd of distinctly larger and heavier set men surrounding them. “I
can’t believe you didn’t bring a Knight with you.”
“Too late for that now, we’ll be gone before you’re half way back.
Won’t we boys?” The drunken laughter sounded unnaturally loud in the
stillness of the night.
“And we’ll still have time for another turn.” The two who had started
to approach Arthur when Merlin arrived, turned their attention back to
him.
“No, you’ll leave him alone, right now!”
“Oh yeah, so who cares what you think?” One of the louts approached
with a raised fist.
Merlin’s lips lifted in a dangerous smile and his eyes glowed.
*~*~*
“Rabbits?” Arthur asked conversationally while Merlin poked around the
discarded clothing to pick out a handkerchief which he promptly
magicked clean with a thought.
“Well, I didn’t want to add to the rat population if this lot ran
away.” He offered as he started to wipe Arthur’s face gently to clean
him of the men’s semen.
Looking at the small huddle of bunnies which shivered as they stared up
at them fearfully, Arthur chuckled slightly as he looked back up at
Merlin. “I don’t think they’ll run away from the only one who will know
to turn them back instead of throwing them into a pot of stew.”
“Turn them back? I suppose I could, if I feel like it.” Merlin sniffed
as he moved to the rear of the stocks and tried to salvage Arthur’s
ripped trousers.
“Merlin?”
“Yeah?”
“About—I—”
“It’s okay.” He interrupted Arthur. Now thinking of Gaius’ words again,
Merlin had a sense that Arthur had faced much more and worse
humiliation since he became King Cendred’s hostage. And it made him
consider again how his village had fared during the war, and how the
occupying army hadn’t—there had been no occurrences of rape or even
outrage in his village—He hissed angrily when he saw the blood
trickling down Arthur’s legs along with a veritable stream of come.
A familiar sound of clanging armour brought Merlin’s eyes up to see a
crowd of Knights come running up to them. Taking in the scene
immediately, the Knights were quick to round up the suddenly panicking
rabbits before they turned to face them.
“Prince Arthur?! Were—did they?”
“What do you think?!” Merlin brandished the come and blood stained
handkerchief at them angrily. For the first time ever, Merlin felt
disappointed in a Knight. In his village, they had always managed to
control their men, but here in their own city? Why—?
“Merlin!”Arthur called to him sharply, and then softened his tone as he
looked at the bowed heads before him. “They cannot be everywhere all
the time. These—” he pointed a chin at one of the rabbits. “I could
feel their eyes on me for a while now. And they’d probably been
watching the guards to judge when the Knights’ patrol would be furthest
away from me. It’s not their—”
“Sire, forgive us. But the boy is right. We could have been more
vigilant. It is unforgivable that we allowed another—’incident’ like
this.” One of the knights knelt before him sorrowfully.
The whole situation was too bizarre for Merlin to handle this early in
the morning. So he just slipped back into ‘healer’ mode to take care of
his patient; which was to clean Arthur up, heal what injuries he could
with magic alone and restore his clothing as best as he could. However,
as gently and clinically as Merlin could handle this, he wasn’t able to
help the tremble in his hands as he wiped away the streaks of come and
blood which trickled down Arthur’s legs from his arse.
He understood what rape meant. Merlin had discussed treatment of its
injuries and the counselling which needed to be offered to survivors
with the healer in the village. But he had never encountered a victim
before.
“Merlin, you will turn them back, right?” Arthur asked him cautiously
having sensed his unease, and perhaps correctly guessed his lost
innocence.
“Are you sure I have to?” Merlin glared at the rabbits angrily. His
eyes glowed again, making the knights who were holding the bunnies
watch him quite fearfully.
“Yes, I think you have to. And—come on, really? Rabbits? How can you be
heartless with rabbits?” Arthur wheedled with him. “Look at them!”
And yes, Merlin had to stifle a snort, because it did look rather
ridiculous; this crowd of fierce armoured knights carrying a bunch of
terrified bunnies. One of the Knights even yelped and had to hold the
rabbit in his hands away from his body because it started urinating.
That was entirely too pathetic.
“Oh, all right. As long as they’re punished for…”
“We will certainly see to it, m’lord.” One of the knights told him
fiercely. “So if you could please—? It is rather—difficult to stay
angry with them the way they are.”
And that was, unfortunately, too true. With their wide terrified eyes,
quivering nose and drooping ears, the rabbits did look rather
devastatingly cute and heart meltingly pathetic. Merlin had to admit
that it was hard for him to maintain his angry countenance. Then,
another rabbit urinated.
“Oh for—” this was entirely too sad.
Merlin waved his hand negligently while his eyes glowed and the six
knights who held bunnies suddenly had in their arms now very sober
naked men. For what they had done to Arthur, Merlin couldn’t master a
single thought of sympathy for these louts who were dragged off
struggling and crying for mercy by their respective knights. Although…
“Erm—their punishment? It’s not going to be something—permanent, is
it?” Merlin asked the remaining few knights with them nervously.
“No. But it’ll be something they’ll not forget in a hurry.” One of the
Knights’ eyes gleamed in promise before he focussed on Merlin again.
“Say? Are you from Ealdor, m’lord?”
Merlin looked around him before he realised that the Knight was
addressing him. “Oh! You were talking to me. And I’m not a lord. I’m
just Merlin.”
The Knight smiled at him warmly. “I thought I recognised you. You were
the boy with the healer.”
Merlin stole a glance at the two swords which rode on the Knight’s
hips. “Sir Balin? Did I get that right?”
“Aye, you’ve a good memory lad.” The Knight frowned at him, “Though I
didn’t remember you being magic.”
“Oh, er—well?” Merlin raised a hand to scratch his head in
embarrassment. “I thought I was just weird then and I kept it secret.”
Arthur laughed at him. “I thought there was just—something about you
when I first set eyes on you, Merlin. But believe me, you’re still
weird.”
“Hey!” Despite his annoyed tone, Merlin did appreciate how Arthur had
easily broken the tension. However, the whole situation brought down a
whole avalanche of questions upon Merlin’s poor sleep deprived brain.
Noticing this, Balin made a gestured of parting with Arthur, and at the
same time offered to escort Merlin back to the Physician’s quarters.
Seeing how it was dark and he was still new to the city, Merlin
gratefully accepted the offer.
“When you’re out of this, come by Gaius’?” Merlin offered softly in
parting to Arthur. “I want him to check that I’ve treated you
correctly. I—I won’t say a word to anyone else.”
“I—I will, thank you.”
Balin and Merlin left Arthur with the last three Knights, two of whom
Merlin saw stride towards the returning guard who had stopped in his
tracks upon seeing them. Merlin could well guess that the Knights would
take suitable revenge upon the man for his dereliction of duty.
Merlin could only stand to be silent for as long as they remained in
view of the stocks. Once they rounded a corner, he turned immediately
to the Knight walking with him.
“I am still very much a novice as a healer, but even I know Arthur’s
response is hardly normal.” He stated very bluntly. “This is far from
the first time something like this has happened to him.”
The knight could not meet his eyes. And he seemed to be struggling with
a decision.
“Sir Balin, I am apprenticed to your Court Physician. And I have a
sense now that I will be seeing to the comfort and needs of your Prince
quite often. Anything you tell me will be kept in strict
patient-physician confidence. But for his own good it is best that I
*know* the real situation.”
“Merlin…” Balin looked up at him uncomfortably. “We—we do appreciate
what you’ve done for Prince Arthur…”
“I would have assisted anyone in the same situation.”
“No one else would dare to, Merlin.” Balin told him urgently. “For this
would attract the King’s disfavour.”
“What?”
“For your own safety lad, it is probably best if you avoid contact with
Prince Arthur.”
“But for you Knights, it’s okay? Why?”
“With us, the King has our oaths of fealty to be sure of our loyalty.
We—under his command, we have—every one of us—done—done terrible things
to the Prince…”
Merlin’s blood turned to ice at that shameful confession. “And you
can—you really cannot do more than secretly protect him from others?”
“When we can catch them… as you helped us to do with those cowards. The
King will do nothing, and we cannot act on hearsay.” Balin sighed
bitterly. “But as it is the Knights’ prerogative to punish any wrong
doing when we come upon it we are never questioned. Those louts cannot
complain.”
“Power and responsibility…”
“You—you were the boy I said those words to? And you remembered our
talk?” Balin looked stunned at this revelation.
“It is why I am here; to learn from Gaius to be a physician and not
just a simple village healer.”
“Oh... You must be so disappointed in me now.”
Merlin shook his head. “You told me something else that day. That power
can also corrupt. And so limits are appreciated and should be welcomed.
For absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
The Knight stared at him for a long moment before reaching over to
playfully tousle his hair. “You grew up well, lad. I can scarcely
believe this used to be a tiny scamp of a lad who I used to carry on my
shoulders to pick flowers for the healer.”
“Hey. They were medicinal herbs and you know it.” Merlin ducked away in
embarrassment. “And you’re avoiding my questions, Sir Balin.”
“Tonight, maybe” Balin admitted. “But we will talk again. I promise
you, Merlin. I am not the only one involved here. I’ll need to clear
the grounds with the other Knights first. Then I will tell you
everything.”
They had reached the door to Gaius’ quarters, so Merlin let it go for
now. “I’ll hold you on this promise, Sir Balin.”
The Knight gave him a genuine smile. The first he had this whole night.
“I’ll count on it, m’lord. But—do keep your head down. If you really
wish to help Prince Arthur, it would be advisable not to attract the
King’s or the Court Sorcerer’s attention.”
Merlin nodded in understanding. Then he belatedly caught the added
warning. “Wait? Court Sorcerer?”
Balin, gave him a look of askance before he remembered Merlin was
completely new to the City. “Oh, I assumed since you were magic, you
were already aware of the King’s Sorcerer, Edwin Muirden. He is as much
an enemy of the Prince since he hates Uther Pendragon. I believe Gaius
would best tell you about the man.”
The Knight didn’t seem to want to say anymore, so Merlin bade him ‘good
night’ and returned to his bed. He couldn’t go back to sleep though.
Instead, Merlin found himself drawn to his window again where he could
watch the knights as they kept Arthur company. Even from the distance,
he could see the guard quaking in his boots where he stood nearby. It
was quite obvious that the Knights had promised dire retribution, but
of course, they weren’t going to extract it while he was still on duty.
Turning away from the window to stare at his bed for a moment, Merlin
knew his head was too filled with questions to let him have any restful
sleep without answers. So he made his way back to the main room and
started making breakfast, casting a spell around himself to stay as
quiet as a mouse so that he wouldn’t wake Gaius. However, considering
the racket he had made running out of his room earlier without waking
the man, Merlin also supposed it would take a natural disaster
occurring right in the room to disturb the aged man’s sleep.
*~*~*
Gaius emerged from sleep to the delicious smell of fresh bread and a
savoury soup on the fire. “Merlin?”
Merlin turned to grin and speak to him, but from Gaius’ puzzled
expression he was suddenly reminded of the pocket of silence he had
surrounded himself with. “Sorry about that.” He waved the silence away.
“I didn’t want to make any noise and disturb you.”
“And this is also something you can do without a spell?” Gaius shook
his head with a wry smile. “I suppose it’ll just have to be something I
need to get used to. I’ve only ever known learned wizards and sorcerers.
“When did you learn to cook?”
Merlin shrugged as he laid a platter of bread and a bowl of soup on the
table for Gaius. “I learned about medicinal herbs from the healer, and
my mother taught me of the other herbs in the kitchen. Sometimes it
seemed useful to me to hide the medicines in the food to make it more
palatable. After all, we already ‘cook’ the medicines in some way when
we prepare them. And of course to do that I had to learn what could
work and what wouldn’t destroy the medicines when combined with food.”
“And were there many foods you could use?” Gaius asked curiously as he
broke some bread to dip in his soup.
“Soups and liquids seem to be the best medium.” Merlin admitted as he
accepted the offered bread. “Or at least the villagers responded better
to that. They’d rather ask me for something they could put in their
soups and stews rather than drink the distilled concoctions neat. It
saved us from having to do a lot of brewing too. But it does use a
whole lot more herbs and it is a bit more difficult to control the
dosage that way.”
“Interesting…” Gaius mumbled thoughtfully though with a tone of
excitement. “Merlin, m’boy. I can see us working together wonderfully.
While I can teach you more about human anatomy and herbs, I think you
can teach this old man a bit of innovation.”
Merlin blushed into his bowl, and concentrated on eating for a while.
This was exactly what he had been looking forward to when he came to
Cendred’s City to seek an apprenticeship with Gaius. However, there was
the incident last night which reminded him that there was going to be
more things in his life than books and medicinal knowledge.
“Will you tell me about Edwin Muirden?” Merlin asked Gaius casually as
the man was mopping up the last of the soup in his bowl with a piece of
bread.
Gaius almost dropped the bowl, “Where did you hear that name?!”
Merlin took in the fearful look in Gaius’ eyes and raised his hand to
placate the man. “I haven’t met him. I was just told to watch out for
him.”
Gaius raised an eyebrow at him and Merlin could see that he clearly
wasn’t going to get away with very much at all under this man’s
tutelage. “Why don’t you start from the beginning?”
As Merlin had expected, Gaius’ expression was grim as he heard him
explain why he had been up so early that morning. “So, this isn’t an
isolated incident, is it, Gaius?”
Gaius gave him a long look before sighing, “No, unfortunately it is
not. Ever since he came into King Cendred’s possession, Arthur has led
a very perilous life.”
Merlin couldn’t help bristling a bit with the word ‘possession’. “He’s
essentially Cendred’s slave, isn’t he.”
“As much as Cendred’s able to enslave him,” Gaius shook his head. “For
all the abuse and horror Cendred heaps upon him, Arthur still won’t
break and this infuriates the King.”
This declaration made Merlin gulp as his imagination went a bit wild to
wonder what else Arthur could have been subjected to. Last night, he
had seemed to just shrug off his gang rape, and Merlin could not
imagine it to be a normal healthy response to such a devastating
violation.
“Arthur only bows to Cendred because his father is his prisoner, and
the whole Kingdom knows this. The man is far from a broken slave.”
Gaius told Merlin sadly. “But that does not mean the King does not
continue to try.”
Merlin swallowed hard. Sir Balin had promised to seek clearance from
the other Knights to tell him more about Arthur later, so he really
didn’t want to go into the medical treatments Gaius had to administer
to the captive Prince. However, he still didn’t see where Edwin Muirden
fitted into the situation yet, apart from being an enemy of Camelot’s
King. Unless…
“Does the King have his Court Sorcerer help him when he punishes
Arthur?” Merlin asked in a very small voice as it suddenly occurred to
him what horrors a sorcerer might inflict upon a helpless man.
“Muirden…” The distaste in Gaius’ utterance of the man’s name could not
be clearer. “Fortunately, no, Cendred wouldn’t let the man so near
temptation. Muirden absolutely hates Uther Pendragon, and would kill
Arthur in front of his father in the most painful way possible if he
were allowed to get his hands on him without fear of consequences. It
is only because he seeks favour with the King that Muirden avoids
Arthur as much as he is able to. But—”
“Yes?”
“Muirden is responsible for the—toys that Cendred uses to control
Arthur and keep him alive.” Gaius admits. “You probably wouldn’t have
noticed them with him in the stocks, but Arthur wears manacles about
his wrists and ankles and a ring of steel around his neck. They can
only be removed by the King and it keeps Arthur within the City and
tethered to the castle, such that he is forced to return when the King
calls upon him.”
“Otherwise, he’s allowed to move about.”
“Not really very much, but ‘yes’ the King grew bored with keeping
Arthur at his feet after the first year. For his own safety though,
Arthur usually stays in the company of the Knights.”
“About them—?” Merlin couldn’t help his curiosity, “What’s the deal?
Doesn’t Cendred know they are his friends?”
“Fortunately, no.” Gaius looked him in the eye. “And you must promise
me you’ll help them maintain this illusion. I’m in fact quite surprised
they let you into the secret so quickly.
“Merlin, please do not judge them harshly, but—Cendred uses his knights
regularly to rape and abuse Arthur.”
“What?!” Merlin came to his feet in outrage and anger. “But—”
“Merlin! Listen to me!” Gaius grabbed his arm firmly. “The Knights are
under *oath* to obey their King.”
Merlin took a deep breath and thought about the easy friendship
displayed between the men the previous night. “They—they profess to
protect Arthur when they can…”
“And the King believes his Knights only jealously guard their
privilege. It was a claim of favour the Knights made early with
Arthur’s incarceration here.”
“To protect him from the depredation of others…” Merlin caught on at
last. “But that’s—that’s still horrible. And the—the illusion they
maintain? It is that he is the Knights’ whore?”
“Merlin…” Gaius gave him a very sad look. “No one hates this more than
the Knights themselves. But that is their only option. And Arthur—he—he
tries his best to take care of them too. He gives them his consent
before every session that the King demands of them.”
“He what?!” Merlin stared at Gaius in stunned incomprehension. This was
almost too much for his mind to handle on so little sleep. That of all
things, it was Arthur who was concerned for the sensibilities of the
Knights that he’d—That thought sparked a memory in Merlin’s head of a
time during the war, when he and the other children had hounded a
receptive Knight to tell them what it meant to be a Knight.
One particular line in the Knight’s recitation of his creed surfaced in
Merlin’s memories now: ‘To never do outrage nor murder.’ And he
remembered how shamefaced the knights were after Merlin had confronted
them. Oh, certainly he could see how they could easily turn the tale
around with the louts from the previous night to make it appear that
they were embarrassed they had needed a stranger to rescue what was
theirs. However, Merlin could see that they really were greatly ashamed
about their situation with Arthur.
And Arthur—that he would give them his consent… The very idea—the man’s
generosity and dignity in looking out for men who should have been his
enemies… It boggled his mind.
“They do not take Arthur’s consent as complete absolution for what they
are commanded to do to him, Merlin.” Gaius told him softly, “They
cannot accept it. But it is all Arthur is able to offer them.
“You will see that I counsel a Knight or two every so often to make
sure they don’t fall upon their swords in their distress.”
“I will support them as well, Gaius.” Merlin assured him firmly. The
situation the Knights were in… He could now understand the nightmare
they were caught in because of their King. Without even meeting the
man, Merlin could feel hatred build in his heart for the King who won
the war against Camelot. He had to wonder though how different his life
might have been if Camelot had won and the lands were under the control
of a King who hated magic.
A knock on the door interrupted them from saying more, and Gaius opened
his door to find a grinning guard politely asking him to attend to some
business in the market place. Out of curiosity, Merlin followed, and
like the other citizenry who stood surrounding the bewildered
merchant’s pig pen, completely doubled over in laughter at the sight
which greeted them.
The six drunken louts from the previous night’s adventure were lying
naked in the muck, on or under the massive pigs and screaming for their
indifferent audience to help them out. From the twisted nature of some
of their limbs, Merlin could tell that their legs were broken. And
really, as a healer, he knew he should show more sympathy. However,
even Gaius was hesitant to lend any physical assistance. And Merlin
could tell by the hard gleam in his eyes that his teacher did make the
connection between Arthur’s rapists and the punishment the Knights
meted out to them.
“Please! We’ve—we’ve broken legs, and we need help.”
“Well—if you’re going to be amorous with—” Gaius made a disgusted wave
at the men’s companions, “I’m not surprised you broke a limb or two.
But I’m still not stepping into that muck. These old bones couldn’t
stand it if I slipped and fell.
“But if you’d accept the help of my new and young apprentice…”
Merlin’s first instinct was to protest before he caught the twinkle in
his mentor’s eyes. The six men who had shown a bit of relief to hear
that the old Court Physician had a young apprentice to help him, turned
as one to look upon Merlin and collectively blanched when they
recognised him. Merlin gave the men a very speculative and evil look as
he let his eyes drift over the pigs and back at them.
“Oh, certainly, Master Gaius, I could—” Merlin started to wave a hand,
only to have the six men scream ‘No’ and claim that they could get
themselves out and take care of their own injuries.
“If you’re sure…?” Gaius looked upon them uncertainly.
“We are! We are!”
“Very well, then. If you need me, you know where to find me.” Gaius
turned away and slung an arm around Merlin’s shoulders to lead him off.
Merlin couldn’t resist letting his eyes glow for just an instant as he
gave the shivering men one last glance before he departed with his
teacher.
Later that morning, when a guard was helped to and left at Gaius’
clinic by his concerned friends; Merlin watched Gaius put on a
masterful performance as he clucked over the man’s broken arm, hand and
fingers before he started asking Merlin how many times he had helped
his village healer amputate limbs.
The guard had gone very white as the two men just went on and on as
they talked about diseased limbs and the process of amputation and the
treatment of stumps, and helping soldiers adjust to losing limbs. By
the time Gaius and Merlin were done splinting the guard’s broken arm,
hand and fingers, the man had fainted. And Merlin had to pay a visit to
the guard house to get the man’s friends to carry his dead weight back.
“Is he all right? It wasn’t very serious, was it?”
“Not at all,” Gaius told the guards innocently. “He has to be careful
with the limb of course, and keep it immobile as much as he can to
allow the bones to knit properly. He should come back to me immediately
if he thinks he has any problems. After all we don’t want him to lose
the arm.”
One of the old guards rolled his eyes at the suggestion. “It’s not like
he made a complete mess of his hand or arm. I’ve seen enough breaks to
know they were clean breaks.”
“So what happened, he fainted from the pain?”
“Probably just the nerves,” Merlin shrugged just as innocently.
*~*~*
As asked, Arthur did come to see Gaius to have a proper check up after
he was released from the stocks later that day. And Merlin saw for
himself then, the black manacles with steel rings that reeked of dark
magic clamped over Arthur’s wrists and ankles, and the equally
malevolent steel necklace with its blood red pendant. They kept their
talk casual as Arthur lay nude and upon his front on Gaius’s
examination table. Merlin concentrated on applying a soothing cream to
the chafe marks around Arthur’s neck from the stocks, while Gaius
conducted the more intimate examination.
“Was there any tearing, Merlin?”
“I healed it all right, didn’t I?” Merlin asked nervously as he took up
one of Arthur’s hands to examine the manacle and check the skin under
it for chaffing as well.
“Yes, you did.” Gaius directed the next question to Arthur. “Do you
feel any discomfort?”
Arthur sighed theatrically as he looked over his shoulder, “Only the
discomfort of a physician poking around my arse. Gaius, I’m fine
really. I’m only here because my *nursemaids* insisted I come.”
Merlin stifled a laugh at the outraged snorts he could hear from
outside the door at the Prince’s raised word. He returned his attention
on the manacle to examine it in finer detail. However, when he tried to
touch it Merlin had to snatch his hand back as it burnt his fingers.
“Ow! This thing bites.”
“It does?” Arthur looked down at it in surprise and touched the manacle
Merlin had been handling with his other hand. “I’ve always thought it
felt warm to my touch, but—” His eyes widened a bit to see the blisters
which were raised on Merlin’s fingers. “They’ve never done that to
anyone who’ve touched them before. Are you all right?”
Gaius wiped his hands before he approached Merlin to take his hand in
his. “It’s your magic having a bad reaction to this, isn’t it?”
“I—I guess so.” With a slight glow of his eyes, Merlin healed the
blisters on his fingers. “I never knew I could have this kind of
reaction to magical objects before. But then again, I’ve not handled
any magical objects before either.”
Gaius tapped on one of Arthur’s manacles thoughtfully. “Well, I would
imagine that this is warning enough that you should try to avoid
Muirden since he was the one who cast the spells that created these.”
*~*~*
For the days and weeks that followed, Merlin didn’t give the Knights or
Arthur much thought. While he did meet with other Knights on his rounds
with and for Gaius as the new practicing apprentice physician, he
didn’t see Arthur again. Cautious queries with the Knights he met,
unfortunately, yielded very little too since they apparently weren’t
ready to trust him just yet.
Still, as Gaius’ apprentice, Merlin did have more than enough to do
with his studying, patient consultations, the regular medicine delivery
rounds, brewing, and his frequent expeditions to gather herbs. He
thought little more about the captive prince as time passed very
quickly. And before he knew it, Beltane was upon them and the castle
was gearing up for a feast.
Merlin had never been in the castle proper before, and he had never
seen King Cendred either. But with this important celebration, there
was to be a feast which Gaius was required to attend and he could bring
Merlin. It was a grand affair which the country boy had never seen in
all his life. The great hall, as Gaius had called it, was filled with
Knights, noblemen and richly dressed women. At the head table, the dark
haired King regally presided upon the entire affair with a hooded man
standing nearby in attendance.
Merlin tried his best not to stare at the King and at the man who he
guessed was the Court Sorcerer Gaius had warned him to avoid. However,
he couldn’t help himself from studying this man who could be so
casually cruel to his hostage. At first glance, Merlin didn’t see
anything in this regal dark haired man which would smack of cruelty.
While he was not an aged man, Cendred wasn’t very young either, but he
had a handsome and intelligent face which Merlin thought should have
reflected a strong and noble King.
However, even amidst the song and celebration, it seemed the King
couldn’t resist the opportunity to humiliate Arthur. The prince was
displayed seated nearly nude upon a red cushion at his feet. The only
modesty the King had allowed his hostage was the tiny white loin cloth
that only barely covered his sex. Apart from that, Arthur also wore a
long chain which linked his wrist manacles and was looped through the
steel ring around his neck. It seemed to Merlin, that everyone in the
hall tried not to notice the young man, save for the Knights who
solicitously served their King and casually offered food and drink to
Arthur as well.
As much as Merlin enjoyed the party, he did not enjoy the spectacle
Cendred was trying to make of Arthur. Gaius eventually noticed his
discomfort and subtly indicated to Merlin that they could start making
their move to leave. However, as they made their approach towards the
King to pay their respects before they departed, they were intercepted.
“Gaius, is this your new apprentice?” A silky purr brought the two men
swinging around and instinctively on guard against the approaching
figure.
“Muirden.” Gaius, didn’t bother to hide his dislike of the man, “I
didn’t believe you had any interest in this old Physician’s activities.”
“Gaius, old man, I’m always interested to meet new magic users who come
to our fair city.” Muirden removed his hood then to reveal his heavily
scarred face.
Merlin couldn’t help staring for a moment before he caught himself and
looked away. “Forgive me, I—”
“No, no. It’s quite all right. I’m used to facing this sort of reaction
from those I meet for the first time.” Muirden waved off Merlin’s
apologies magnanimously. “So I hear you are the new sorcerer in the
area.”
Merlin dismissed the suggestion. “No, really I have no interest in
that. My ambition is to be a physician. And I believe I’ve found the
best teacher in Gaius.”
“Oh, but haven’t you even thought to explore and test your limitations?
Perhaps you could be far more?”
“No, really I—”
And like that night when he was awakened from a deep sleep to discover
Arthur being gang raped, an uncomfortable feeling grabbed Merlin’s
attention and brought his eyes towards the King who was about to
receive an approaching noble woman. A rather stunning beauty of a woman
with long black tresses and pale skin, whose pretty face suddenly
twisted into hate as she swung back an arm to throw a dagger at the
King; a woman whose scream of rage immediately changed into fear when
the King jerked Arthur up from the floor and onto his lap just as she
released her hold on the blade.
Merlin instinctively stopped time without a second thought. And before
he was truly conscious of his own actions, Merlin had raced past the
suddenly immobile men and women in the great hall to launch himself at
Arthur and the King to drag both of them out of harm’s way. He had
never thought to try and measure how long he was able to make time
stop. Merlin had never purposefully stopped time before, so he never
knew how to deliberately call on this ability. He just knew he could
always make it stop long enough. So as he fell to the ground with the
two men he just saved, time restarted again and the dagger continued on
its path to drive straight through the King’s now vacated chair.
“How—?” The would-be-assassin stared from the empty chair to where
Cendred, Arthur and Merlin lay sprawled on the floor.
The King reacted first. “Guards! Seize that—” Before he could finish
his sentence though, the dark woman disappeared in a swirl of blue
flames.
Arthur stared from the chair to where Merlin still lay under him.
“You—how?”
“How did you do that boy?!” Muirden came striding up as the three men
started climbing back on their feet. “How?! I heard no spell! How did
you get—?!”
“Enough, Muirden.” Cendred turned to face Merlin directly. “This young
man saved my life, and that of Arthur. Who are you?”
“I—” Merlin gulped, suddenly tongue tied to be confronted by the King.
A man whose attention he didn’t exactly want to attract.
“He is my new apprentice, Sire.” Gaius strode up to put a possessive
hand on Merlin’s shoulder. “My sister’s child, Merlin. And he came here
to learn how to be a Physician.”
“Gaius, you’ve found a rare treasure and you don’t want to share him?”
The King raised an eye brow at them. If the expression was from anyone
else, Merlin would have called it teasing. However, up close, Merlin
found himself on guard again because the King’s eyes were anything but
teasing as he regarded him.
“He saved my life, Gaius. I would have him rewarded.”
“Er—there’s really no need, Sire.” Merlin coughed uncomfortably, he
seriously didn’t want to stay under the man’s scrutiny. “I am training
to be a Physician, Sire. So it’s only natural I strive to preserve
life.”
“Don’t be modest, boy. You shall be rewarded.”
Merlin gulped. “No, honestly, you don’t have to, Your Highness.”
“No, absolutely. This merits something quite special.”
“Sire, really. I’m already very busy with my studies. And I’m happy
continuing with the work I have under your Court Physician.”
“You shall be awarded a position in the Royal Household.” The King told
him determinedly. “It will not be a position which will take a lot of
your time and interrupt your studies; it’ll be only for a few hours in
the mornings and maybe some evenings.
“You shall be the caretaker of my—favourite.”
“Sire?” Merlin stared at the King who smiled at him, then let his eyes
drift towards Arthur. As Merlin looked at Arthur too, he could read the
man giving him a very distinct ‘Oh, shit’ expression.
‘Oh, shit.’ Indeed.
*~*~*
Later that evening, Merlin was looking mournfully up at Gaius as they
sat on his bed and stared at his new blue and red livery which came
with a ridiculous feathery hat that the young physician was determined
to ‘accidentally’ burn at the earliest opportunity.
“I suppose it could be worse.” Merlin told the sympathetic man. “I
could have been his manservant.”
Gaius mock shuddered. “You would live in the stocks permanently if that
happened.”
“No, instead—well, at least I can better help take care of Arthur like
this.”
“Merlin—” Gaius heaved out huge sigh as he petted his apprentice on the
shoulder, “I know you’ve had a rather sheltered life until now, but—”
“Gaiiiiiuuuuuussssss.” Merlin moaned, as he buried his face in his
hands. “I know, okay? I can remember how both the King and Muirden
stared at me. They looked like they wanted to eat me up!”
“You did magic without using a spell, Merlin. They’re—well…” Gaius
didn’t know what to say to comfort him. “At the least you can be
assured they won’t try to hurt or harm you. Neither would dare. With
your natural powers, you’re entirely unpredictable. And—”
Gaius’ eyes gleamed a little in excitement. And while that made Merlin
feel a little sour, it also sparked an answering interest in him too.
“Yeah, yeah… you ‘negotiated’ our free and easy access to the King’s
library so that my studies won’t be neglected despite my extra duties,
and we’ll have a nifty huge suite of rooms near it too.
“It’s also a good thing your old friend Geoffrey is running the
Library, isn’t it? So he’ll know how to quickly direct our attention to
books he thinks might interest us.”
“One takes what advantage one can.” Gaius tapped him on the nose.
“Merlin, I *am* also worried about Muirden. He lives away from the
castle, so it is best that we move into the castle. We will be far
safer there where there are guards, knights, maids and servants
regularly about, rather than these quarters.”
“We’ll also be nearer Arthur.”
“Yes, we will.” Gaius smiled at him, “And you know, my boy, about that
strong feeling you had before which led you to saving Arthur those two
times?”
“Yes? What is it, Gaius?” Merlin asked him. “Why him? I never met him
before I came here. But I feel—I don’t know why I feel this about him.”
“I don’t really know either, Merlin. Perhaps your stars and Arthur’s
are just intertwined and you were destined to meet and be—friends. Lord
knows the boy needs a real friend.”
“Yeah—I—I suppose I could be that.” Merlin smiled at him.
“Well, you best get to sleep then.”Gaius tousled his hair. “We have a
long day of packing and moving tomorrow.”
“Oh—I think we can get this completed quickly enough.” Merlin waggled
his eyebrows at him as he waved his hand.
“Well, don’t you start without me? I’d like to watch!” Gaius told him
eagerly.