Archive of Our Own ^beta

Arthur hurtles down the cold stairs at a furious pace. To hell Aredian! To hell his damned “interrogation”! To hell his father, blind to the point of letting a stranger torture his people, even Gaius, his oldest and most loyal friend, for God’s sake!

To hell all of that! Nobody has the right to lay a finger on his manservant… His Merlin! Poor little Merlin already gets enough bruises just by tripping over his own shadow.

Honestly, what kind of sick joke is that again? Merlin, the boy who pets unicorns, who has trouble killing a single rat, who cries when Arthur slaughters wild beasts on a hunt trip (One would think he would have stopped to come after the first time, but he still follows Arthur everywhere, not that the prince thinks it isn’t a good thing, after all Merlin is his manservant, and yes hunting is only for nobles, but he is the Crown Prince, and again, Merlin is his servant, and as a prince he doesn’t have to answer the likes of… Well… Anyone!) That Merlin, an evil and dangerous sorcerer? That Merlin, a twisted agent of the very origin of the world’s corruption?

Utterly ludicrous!

He finally arrives before the dungeon where Merlin is locked. He can barely distinguish his form in the darkness of the cell, sitting against a wall.

“Merlin, are you alright?”

No answer. He rummages through his keys.

“Good news! Morgana found a way to make the king see some sense. You should have seen his face when his so-called Witchfinder started to vomit frogs and toads!”

At last, he finds the right key.

“He’s dead, now. Aredian, I mean. He fell out of his window. He’s dead. He won’t hurt you or Gaius or anyone anymore.”

He manages to unlock the cell’s door. It opens with a loud grinding.

“You’re free to go. Come on, let’s get out of this stinking place. Gaius is going to want to examine you after your night with that madman. You know, I might even grant you a free morning, since it looks like you didn’t have the time to sleep down here.”

Merlin doesn’t reply. Arthur frowns.

“Did you get your tongue cut last night or are you seriously sulking? Alright! I’ll give you the entire day, are you happy? Now, get up!”

Merlin stays still against the wall. Arthur sighs as his eyes are getting used to the dark. That’s when he sees the manacles.

“Merlin, honestly, couldn’t you just tell me you’re still attached?”

He enters the cell and approaches while searching for the key to open the manacles. He kneels in front of Merlin and notices the gag. He immediately lets the keys down and begins to untie it.

“Fuck! Sorry, I didn’t see… That bloody bastard! What kind of interrogation needs the accused to be gagged? I wish I had killed him myself!”

He throws the gag away.

“There you go! Feeling better? Now, the manacles.”

He takes the keys back and tries again to find the right one. Not an easy task to accomplish in the shadows. He should definitely have brought a torch.

“Merlin, I do imagine your jaw might hurt, but you can shut your mouth now, you know. Fuck! It’s all wet here! Did you piss yourself or is there a leak in the wall? Anyway, it smells! You’re good for a bath. Maybe if you ask politely Morgana might lend you some of her new perfume!”

Merlin still won’t even look at him.

“Merlin, I know you are upset, but talk to me!”

Still no answer.

“Look, I… I didn’t know Are… I didn’t know he arrested you until Morgana told me. I… I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you earlier. You were… Not wrong about him… Ah! To hell that too, you were right, Merlin, and I’m sorry! Are you happy now? Now can you at least look at me for the love of…”

He never finishes his sentence. He simply takes Merlin’s face between his hands and hold it up to his.

And at this exact moment, his world collapses.

After that, nothing matters.

After that, when Morgana comes down to the dungeon accompanied by guards with torches, she finds her brother hunkered down in a pool of blood, hugging the body of his dearest person, its eyes staring into the void.