Chapter Text
Just because I like his relationship with Merlin, Lancelot is still alive in this, but otherwise it's set after Uther's death and Arthur becomes king.
Merlin woke up all at once in a panic, his arms jerking against the chains that bound him and his eyes flying open, trying to figure out where he was. It appeared to be a cage, and his situation became clearer as he started to focus on what was around him. He was hanging by his arms from the top of the cage, with only enough give to barely support his weight on the floor. He was sure this position would quickly exhaust him. The cage was large, and inside a room that might have been a castle dungeon, but Merlin knew it was not Camelot's dungeon. He wasn't sure where he was.
"Ah, you're awake," a familiar voice said pleasantly, thought the tone held a hint of animosity too intense to ignore.
Merlin's head whipped around, finding Morgana entering from the doorway behind him. "Morgana?" He asked, bewildered. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in his own bed after making sure Arthur was settled for the night. "What have you done? Why am I here?" A sudden concern that he was not the only one in her clutches gripped him, and he sincerely hoped he was the only one she had taken captive.
Morgana did not look particularly healthy. In fact, a sort of crazed expression now permanently adorned her face, and her torn and ratty dress did nothing to provide her with the regal status she seemed to believe she was owed. "It's a bit of a funny story, Merlin," she replied conversationally. "I had you abducted during the night and brought to me so we could have a little chat. You see, I would hope that we could talk without any further lies, but perhaps that would be asking too much. After all, you lie to your friends more than anyone else."
Merlin hesitated, his eyes narrowing. Where was she going with this? "What do you want with me, Morgana?" He demanded. He reached for the comfort of his magic, just to reassure himself he wasn't helpless, but it was then that he realized he couldn't feel it. His eyes widened in horror even as he tried to school his expression.
Morgana was watching him closely, and she smirked at his distress. "Do you like the chains? I had them specially made. They imprison the wearer's magic so it cannot be accessed, and any attempts to use it result in horrendous torment. I find them extremely effective."
It was probably pointless, but Merlin couldn't help but try. "Why would you kidnap me and bind me up in such chains?" He asked, doing his best to sound confused.
Morgana laughed, seeming genuinely amused. "Let's start at the beginning, shall we? You see, young Merlin, I found a rather interesting artifact recently. You could call it a compass of sorts. It leads the user to the most powerful magic that is near at hand. Now, I am no fool. I am well aware that some form of magic has been protecting Arthur and Camelot these past years, and I tracked down this artifact with the hope of locating that particular magic user and convincing them of their misplaced loyalty." An ugly sneer crossed her face and she circled around to face Merlin head on. "Imagine my surprise when I entered Camelot - in disguise of course - only to have this artifact lead me directly to you, my brother's lap dog."
"It's a mistake," Merlin insisted, though he feared it was useless.
Chuckling, Morgana shook her head. "Now, that's what I thought, until I hid in the washroom and watched you complete a load of Arthur's laundry in mere seconds with your magic."
Merlin closed his eyes and felt his head tip back, a mixture of horror and chagrin sweeping through him. Hadn't Gaius always warned against him doing his chores with magic? He even knew the instance Morgana was speaking of, as it had only been yesterday. He wouldn't normally have risked it, but Arthur had needed more chores completed than usual because of addition training of new knights he was expected to prepare for, so Merlin had been busier than he otherwise should have been.
"All it took was a little coin in the right hands and I ended up with an unconscious sorcerer stolen from the heart of Camelot strung up before me," Morgana finished, looking him over appraisingly. "You have betrayed your kind, Merlin, not least of all myself. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I tried to help you," Merlin countered immediately, his eyes sad. "I was warned that you would be Camelot's greatest enemy, and yet I still tried to save you, Morgana. I lead you to the druids, did I not?"
"You let me think I was alone," Morgana hissed. "I was terrified, and all you did was pretend to be my friend and stab me in the back."
Merlin winced, knowing exactly what she meant. "I had to," he replied softly.
"You did not have to poison me!" Morgana shrieked, slapping the warlock across the face.
"You were the source of the sleeping curse on Camelot!" Merlin yelled back. "I had to stop it or all would have been lost! I'm the one who gave Morgause the ability to save you, so don't you dare make it seem like I wanted you dead. Morgause only stopped the attack in exchange for the ability to save you, but without you the attack would never have happened. I tried to help you, Morgana, but you were continually stepping outside my reach."
Morgana considered him for a moment, looking as though she was actually listening to his words. A beat later, however, she reached behind her back and pulled a coiled whip out of her belt, unfurling it with one sharp snap and eyeing him with a smirk. "Whatever you may believe about your intentions," she stated matter-of-factly, "you still betrayed me, Merlin. You betrayed your people by siding with the Pendragons. Arthur may be king, but nothing is better. Nothing will ever get better until I sit on the throne, and like it or not you will help me in that quest."
"You have noticed the fact that nobody's been burned at the stake since Arthur became king, right?" Merlin asked desperately. That was more due to lack of opportunity than anything else, but Merlin liked to hope that Arthur would be a gentler king than his father.
"It's only a matter of time," Morgana countered, shaking her head.
"What makes you think I'll help you?" Merlin demanded, his gaze bouncing back and forth between the whip and Morgana's half crazed eyes.
"It's simple," Morgana told him with a smirk. "Either you succumb to your torment and agree to join me, or I use you as bait to kill my dear brother and make you watch before killing you. Either way, I will come out on top."
"That will never happen," Merlin bit out, steeling himself for the bite of the whip he now knew was inevitable.
"We shall see." Morgana lifted her hand, and with a quick flick of her wrist tore open both Merlin's shirt and his back. The hiss the warlock managed to release instead of a scream was music to her ears.
Arthur had checked with everyone who could possibly know where Merlin had gotten to, and nobody had seen him. Gaius was clearly concerned but trying not to show it, and nobody else had seen Merlin since mid-afternoon the day before. Arthur himself had last seen Merlin after going to bed, and Gaius had confirmed that Merlin had made it back to the physician's quarters in one piece. So what had happened overnight that no resulted in the servant being nowhere to be found?
Lancelot seemed the most concerned, and had quickly become Arthur's right hand man in the questioning of everyone who might have had occasion to see the servant. They had moved from the castle to the lower town, but nobody seemed to have seen Merlin there either. Arthur was about to return to the castle when Lancelot emerged from the market with a shopkeeper at his side, the man nervously wringing a cap in his hands.
"Yes?" Arthur asked, a touch of his impatience seeping into his tone.
"Just tell him what you told me," Lancelot told the shopkeeper gently.
The shopkeeper took a deep breath, then blurted out his story. "Right, so last night I'm closing up, and it's not too late so I goes to get drinks with the lads, yeah? Only I don't want to get too sloshed, so I leave a little early and start to head home."
"Around midnight, correct?" Lancelot prompted.
The shopkeeper shrugged. "'Spose. I mean, I close up around nine and couldn't have been in the tavern for more than a couple hours. So, midnight's prob'ly close."
"All right, and?" Arthur asked, trying to urge the man back to his story.
"Right, so as I'm walking home, I sees this big burly guy walking through the lower town. The shadowy type, you know? He's quiet too, like way too quiet for his size, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I got right out of his way, but he was heading to the castle. Whatever he was here for, he didn't stay long, cause he went past me again before I even got home, and he was carrying some big sack with him." The shopkeeper hesitated, then added, "I 'spose I thought he might've been up to no good, but he was a big'un, and I didn't want to risk me wife not having a bread winner."
"Thank you for your information," Arthur thanked the man, motioning that he could leave, which the shopkeeper did eagerly. Turning to Lancelot, Arthur raised an eyebrow. "You think Merlin was kidnapped?" He asked incredulously. "Who would kidnap him? I mean, of all people in the castle, why Merlin?"
Lancelot gave Arthur a skeptical look. "Sire, only a fool would be unaware of the significance Merlin holds. Regardless of any friendship you might attempt to pretend does not exist, Merlin is your servant. That makes him valuable, and potentially a way to lure you into danger. It would hardly be the first time you've gone out to rescue him, and even without proof something's wrong, you've still spent the better part of the morning looking for him."
Arthur shifted uncomfortably, but nodded. "I suppose that is true," he admitted. "Should I be anticipating some kind of ultimatum or ransom demand, then?"
Lancelot shrugged. "That I don't know. Perhaps a patrol could look into it? I could take a few men who would be discreet about such a search to see if this man left any trace behind, and that way you will be free to perform your kingly duties. Should we find anything, we will let you know immediately."
Arthur nodded again, recognizing the wisdom in Lancelot's suggestion, despite his desire to go find Merlin himself. Pursing his lips, he asked, "Who do you want to take?" Before Lancelot could reply, he added, "Sir Leon is needed for a meeting today with some of the younger knights, so he would not be free for this venture."
Lancelot shook his head lightly. "I was planning to keep it small, sire. In addition to myself, perhaps simply Sir Gwaine and Sir Percival?"
Arthur smiled slightly. That's exactly who he'd have chosen to go after Merlin in lieu of himself. "That shouldn't be a problem. I believe they are both on the training grounds at the moment, so please locate them and head out as soon as you can. Report back whatever you find."
Lancelot bowed his head and took his leave of the king, hurrying to find his two friends. He had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach, and if he had anything to say about it, then no harm would come to Merlin.
It had not been a short process, but Morgana had finally succeeded in getting the pained screams out of Merlin she wanted. The physical torment she inflicted grew more aggressive with each passing hour that he refused to answer any of her questions, but that was to be expected. She got the best results out of him when he was too exhausted from the whip to even register further pain. During those moments, she would use her magic to seal the wounds that wept blood. She didn't want him fading away entirely. There was also the added benefit of the cuffs he was chained in rendering the use of any magic on his body, even if it was not his own magic, excruciatingly painful. No matter how far gone the warlock seemed to be, a brief moment of Morgana sealing his wounds always brought him back around, a scream on his lips.
"How long do you plan to keep this up?" Merlin demanded, pleased with how strong his voice was despite how weak he felt.
"Until I get what I want," Morgana growled, preparing to strike with the whip once more.
Merlin shook his head sadly. "Then you'll have to kill me."
"We'll see," Morgana smirked, then the whip began to fly once more.
Arthur had had difficulty focusing on anything all day, but his tenuous hope left as soon as he saw Lancelot's face as the patrol returned that evening. "What news?" He demanded, ushering the three knights into the council room and shutting the door behind them. The room was empty now save for them, which was probably good considering how worried the king was right now.
Lancelot shook his head. "Sir Percival identified what we believed could have been a trail just outside of Camelot, but it proved to lead nowhere. It is possible that the man met someone, or that he simply was not responsible. We found nothing conclusive. We did some scouting out in various directions looking for signs, but nothing could be found. I'm sorry, sire. We could always go out again, perhaps in a different direction this time."
Arthur pursed his lips and shook his head. "No, that would be a waste of time," he admitted reluctantly. "If there's no trace, then there's no trace. I don't want to have the lot of you chasing around after nothing." He sighed and scratched absently at the back of his head, the motion remarkably similar to that of his missing servant. "I'll send out some additional patrols to scout out, just as a precaution, but it'll have to be part of the regular patrol schedule." He sighed heavily and rubbed at his eyes. "I'll talk to Gaius and see if he has any other ideas in the meantime."
"You're not giving up though," Gwaine stated, raising and eyebrow despite the fact that it hadn't been a question.
"No," Arthur said firmly. "I have no idea where he could have got to, but we are going to find him."
"I will advise the patrols of the trail we originally followed," Percival offered. "Perhaps they may see something if I give them a better idea of what to look for."
Arthur nodded in agreement. "Good idea, thank you Sir Percival. You may all go. I'm going to go find our physician." He gave a wry smile as the three knights turned to leave the room. He didn't really expect Gaius to know anything that could be helpful, but it was all he could think to do.