Merlyn - Arthur x Female Merlin [1]

Chapter Twenty-Three: Too Late

Arthur charged towards the castle, he had the flower; he was alive now he had to ensure that Merlyn was alive. However as he got to the drawbridge a line of knights stood waiting, each with a solemn look on their faces. Arthur noticed Leon at the helm. Arthur couldn't understand what was going on. He needed passed!

"Inform the King: Arthur has returned to Camelot" Leon ordered another knight who swiftly turned and began to run towards the castle to tell the King. Arthur knew that he would have to pay but he had to get the flower back to Gaius first.

"What are you doing? Let me pass" Arthur demanded, his grip tight on the horse's reins. He had to get to Merlyn!

"I'm sorry, sire" Leon said, Arthur could tell that Leon truly meant it; "You're under arrest, by order of the King." Of course he was.

~8~

Arthur was on the verge of hitting his father in anger. He hadn't allowed him to go to Gaius so the precious, life saving flower was still in his pouch on his him. He had immediately been taken to the dungeons where he was able to remove his chain mail leaving him only in a shirt and trousers with his boots and his belt that still had his pouch of it. Eventually, Uther had come down to the dungeons to once again lecture Arthur on his behaviour.

"You disobeyed me" Uther said in anger.

"Of course I did, a woman's life was at stake." Arthur replied sharply before he calmed down and calmly spoke, "Do not let Merlyn die because of something I did."

"Why do you care so much? The girl is just a servant" Uther asked suspicion once again in his eyes. Uther had noticed the strange closeness between Arthur and his servant but it had never done any harm so he had let it go ... so far. But Arthur's sudden need to save her troubled the king. He feared his son was going to get romantically involved with the girl and that was something Uther could not allow. Royalty was not supposed connect with peasants in any form.

"She has saved my life so many times ever since we met her, I own her my life - I am forever indebted to her" Arthur quickly spoke, having to justify himself before his father got any crazy ideas about Merlyn and him. "This time she knew the danger she was putting herself in, she knew what would happen if she drank from that goblet but she did it anyway. She saved my life!" Reaching into his pouch Arthur cradle the flower gently before he held it out to Uther, he was literally holding Merlyn's life in his hands.

"Gaius knows what to do with it" Arthur said as his father took the flower between his fingers. "Put me in the stocks for a week, a month even, I don't care. Just make sure it gets to Gaius. I'm begging you." Uther studied the flower before he looked up and studied his son. Suddenly, Uther crushed his fist.

"NO!" Arthur shouted as the flower disappeared into his father's fist. He couldn't believe it. After everything that he had gone through his father had just made it worthless. He had ripped Merlyn's life away from her.

"You have to learn there's a right and a wrong way of doing things" Uther said, Arthur couldn't believe that Uther was unnecessarily killing Merlyn to teach him a lesson, "I'll see you're let out in a week. Then you can find yourself another servant." He didn't want a new servant! He wanted Merlyn, full stop. Uther swept out of Arthur's cell and dropped the crushed flower outside of it. The cell door was slammed shut. Even before Uther had taken a step Arthur rushed to his cell doors and dropped to his knees. He reached between the bars and stretched for the crushed flower - he was terrified that someone would step on the flower and destroy whatever is left of the precious flower. However, as he stuck his arm through the bars his heart dropped to discover his fingers barely brushed against the flower.