"If we're going to get Merlin out it has to be during a time when he's not under Gailyn's enchantment. None of us have any idea how to lift it and carrying a limp body around will make it much harder to escape."
"I've occasionally been ordered to bring Merlin food. During that time Gailyn always lift the enchantment so he can eat."
Arthur paced thoughtfully. "Are there specific times you go down?"
Gwen shook her head. "It's very unpredictable. We would have to wait."
"Toby can't afford to wait," said Morgana.
"Also," Gaius began. "The demonstration is going to take place within the hour. After this Cenred and his men will have no reason to stay. I'm afraid you have even less time then you think you do."
"The demonstration..." the prince thought aloud. "The enchantment will have to be lifted for Merlin to perform magic."
"True..." Gaius answered. "But you're forgetting this would best be done in secret. Not only do you need to have time to get out of the citadel, you need to have time to come here first. If you take Merlin from the middle of the demonstration you'll have the whole of Camelot pounding on my door."
"You're right, Gaius."
"But what other time is there?" Gwen asked, urgently. "If the demonstration begins within the hour and Merlin leaves right after, we don't have any other choice."
"Guinevere is also right. We must get him out now. Since bringing him here might give us no method of escape... maybe we shouldn't bring him here."
Morgana stood. "I'm not aiding you in this mission if you don't intend to cure Toby!"
"Of course that's not what I'm suggesting! What if we move Toby somewhere that would make it easier for Merlin to heal him on the way out. Somewhere they wouldn't expect us to go."
"Yes!" Gwen said. "We could bring him to my house. That way Merlin could heal him on his way out of the city."
"Are you sure?" Arthur asked, hesitantly. "I don't want to put you in that kind of danger. If my father found out..."
"Well then he'd better not find out," she responded.
Arthur nodded in understanding. "We can prepare some previsions to store in your house."
"That's something I can take care of," Gwen added.
"Good. If we manage to make it to your house undetected, Merlin can stay there for a while before it's safe to get him out."
"But how are we going to get him there in the first place? Aren't you forgetting this demonstration will be in front of the high court? Are you just going to snatch him from under Cenred's nose?" Arthur didn't have an immediate response to the old man's words. "Arthur, if there's one thing you shouldn't do, it's underestimate Gailyn. I thought I recognized his name, so I did some research. He's a known sorcerer, Arthur, famous for his spells of manipulating the human mind. I wouldn't like my odds if we were forced to fight."
Arthur bit his lip. "Well... then we'll need to be very discrete about this." As the words tumbled out of Arthur's mouth, he knew what he was proposing was impossible. There was no way to be discrete. When Merlin wasn't under the enchantment he was followed closely by Gailyn's watchful eye. Taking Merlin without him noticing would be impossible. "Maybe being discrete isn't the answer," Arthur proposed. "I don't think there's a way to make this completely clean which means what we need to do is make it as noticeable as possible."
"What do you mean?" Gwen asked, curiously.
"I mean, we need some sort of diversion. We only need everyone to be confused for a moment. In that moment we can make a break for it, get Merlin to your house before they begin a search."
"What will we do after he makes it to my house?"
Arthur paused. What were they going to do? In his head, he had pictured Merlin and himself running off into the woods, safe from pursuers, but that didn't seem realistic. Where could Merlin go that would be safe? Also, what was Arthur thinking? He couldn't run off into the woods and abandon his kingdom... could he?
"That's something we'll figure out when the time comes. For now, let's focus on getting him there." Arthur paced the length of the cot. "Now, to be perfectly honest, I might be the perfect diversion."
"You?"
"Yes. Merlin thinks I'm dead. He thinks he killed me. If he sees me there... it could cause a scene."
"Alright," Gwen said. "We'll leave that up to you. Morgana, Gaius, and I will prepare for your arrival. We'll bring Toby down to the lower town."
"Okay... okay..." Arthur said, more to himself than to anyone else. "This could actually work..." He paused to address the group. "Is there anything we're forgetting? Anything that could go wrong?"
Morgana answered by revealing the thought that was on all their minds. "Everything could go wrong," she said.
"It's never stopped us before," Arthur retaliated. "Why should it stop us now?"
<<>>
Arthur peered through the small crack in the door. He couldn't see much, but he could hear the nervous whispers of the council members. As quietly as possible, he slipped through the servants entrance, careful not to disturb anyone. If he was spotted too soon, their entire plan would fall apart.
"My Lords!" Gailyn stood in the center of the room, a hand on Merlin's shoulder.
Arthur observed the boy's face. It looked empty, defeated, almost accepting of his cruel fate.
"Merlin came into my care some time ago, a child with the ability to use magic with ease. Many sorcerers spend years perfecting what he could do before he could talk." He turned to smile at the Camelot king. "King Uther, I know that you have fought long and hard to rid your kingdom of my people..." there was a hint of suppressed aggression in his voice "... but know this, My Lord, this boy did not make a choice to study magic, it's what he is. I mentioned to you that he was a warlock, but I'm unsure if you know exactly what that means."
Uther narrowed his eyes at the man.
"I mean no offense, I assure you! Why would you have need of that knowledge? There hasn't been one born in thousands of years. They became near extinct, the last known perishing or disappearing during the Great Purge. You cannot purge their magic with the mere force of a flame." He smiled again, more sinister. "The method of killing a warlock is known only to a select few."
Arthur frowned. It was almost as if Gailyn knew of his father's attempt on Merlin's life.
It was Cenred's turn to speak. "Like you, Uther, I began to fear the power of magic. It can threaten the very root of a stable monarchy. However, I decided to take a different approach. I decided not to fight magic with fire, but to fight magic with magic."
"Merlin has been able to subdue many magical threats that Essitir has faced while he's been under our care. We feel it is his purpose."
"As long as you have control of it," Uther scoffed.
Gailyn sighed and nodded his head in defeat. "That is something we have struggled with in the past." He chuckled and caught Merlin's eye. "However, I think we have all learned from this experience. I believe we won't have as much trouble in the future."
"Very good then," Uther said, leaning back in his seat. "Proceed."
Gailyn unsheathed a knife from his belt and swiped it swiftly across the warlock's cheek. There was a collective intake of breath from the audience and a penetrating hateful glare from Arthur.
"Behold My Lords! Merlin," he said in a much smoother tone,"fix up your face."
Arthur watched as, just as he had acted in the dungeon, Merlin's held out his hand in concentration until a shine of glowing gold appeared in his outstretched palm. He brought it to his face, keeping the glow in place until the cut was no more. The crowd watched on with awe.
"Pardon me Gailyn," came Cenred's wicked drawl from somewhere to Arthur's left. "Don't waste our host's time with these preliminary tricks. I'm sure the king will want to see what it can do on the battle ground."
Gailyn nodded, nervously. "Of course, my apologies."
It seemed to Arthur that Gailyn was just as scared of Cenred as Merlin was scared of Gailyn.
Gailyn gestured for a group of chained men to be brought forward. "Have them unchained," he ordered. "From my understanding, these are some of Camelot's most hardened criminals, assassins, and thugs. Most were a painful chore to find and and even bigger pain to capture." He paced around the men. "After all, it looks as if none of these men went down without a fight. From what I hear, even knights were lost in these missions." He turned away from them. "Provide them with weapons." A few of Cenred's men emptied bags of swords, axes, and shields onto the floor at their feet. The rugged criminals stared at the weapons apprehensively. "I wouldn't delay any longer," Gailyn informed them. "You'll be dead in a few minutes anyway. Merlin, you are to kill these men."
This order forced the men into action. They scooped up the weapons from the floor. One man made a break for it, running in the direction of the door which was guarded by two knights, but with a swipe of Merlin's hand he flew back to join the rest of his companions.
"Don't make it too quick, Merlin. Make a show of it."
There were eight men in total who began to circle Merlin. Arthur tensed, ready to step in if need be, only Merlin seemed more than calm. As the men surrounded him, he closed his eyes. Then, out of nowhere he struck. A hand shot in the direction of the closest man whose sword flew into the air. He was then greeted by a gust of wind with no source which knocked him off his feet. Merlin honed in on the next two men, two muscular crooks with axes. Their weapons swung wildly around their heads. Arthur thought this was a strange method of attack until he noticed Merlin's hands moving in rhythm with the blades. He brought his hands together in one resounding clap that swung the crooks blades into each other's bodies. They cried out as they fell to the ground in a pool of their own blood, incapacitated, but still alive. It was then that the remaining five men realized they would stand a better chance if they attacked together. The warlock was quickly ambushed from all sides, the thugs screaming bloody murder as they ran towards him. Arthur felt a familiar feeling drift thought the air, as if time itself was slowing. His eyes could move slightly, but his limbs were heavily glued in place. He saw Merlin moving through the semi frozen men with ease, hitting them with the blunt parts of their own weapons.
When time resumed, Merlin had returned himself to the center of the groaning men. He looked to Gailyn for approval. Arthur followed his gaze. The thin man shook his head and motioned with his hands. The meaning was clear: it wasn't enough.
As the criminals recovered and regrouped, Merlin readied himself for another attack. A tear escaped his eye, then another. Soon he began to tremble before the oncoming men.
A rather tall and boastful one sneered. "Is the little one scared? There, there, little magic boy. I promise we won't make it too painful."
It happened quick. Missing a second would have meant missing the moment. Again, Merlin closed his eyes. Arthur waited for him to move his hands, move his body through a slowed time, but instead all he did was scream. A loud and strangled scream that had reached the end of its rope. Echoing the scream, was a resounding crack, similar to the one Arthur had heard that night in Gaius' chambers. There was a brief silence before each man began to fall one by one. Some emitted puffs of gurgles and gasps as they fell to the floor, each one of them with a broken neck. After each one had settled on the floor, the only sound in the room was Merlin's anguished sobs.
The courtiers stared in disbelief, horrified at the ease with with eight lives had been snuffed away. Cenred sat slumped back in his seat, relishing in the discomfort of the neighboring king and his court.
"Well, Uther... Are you satisfied with our little demonstration?" he coed.
The king took a moment to form his answer. "I want it dead. I want it dead, Cenred. It is unlawful to keep such a thing in your possession."
Cenred rose from his chair and shrugged. "If you insist, great king." He came up from behind the boy, unsheathing his sword. With one swift strike, he plunged the sword through Merlin's heart. The boy gasped and fell to his knees.
The courtiers recoiled. Uther stood. "What are you doing!?!"
However, to their astonishment, the golden light returned to Merlin's eyes as the wound began to heal itself.
"That's impossible!!" Uther shouted.
"You're right!" the younger king mocked. "Shall we try again? Hmm... how about..." This time he drove the sword through Merlin's gut. Again, the golden glow encased his wound.
"Cenred..." Gailyn tried to interject. "He's had enough!"
But Cenred wasn't finished. "I came here in peace, Uther Pendragon, and that is how I intend to leave. But, now you know. Now you know the power I wield over your miserable little kingdom. You'd better tread carefully from now on for if I even feel the slightest bit threatened it will mean war and doom for your kingdom."
Knights from both sides readied their swords with the rising tension.
"Tell your knights to put away their swords or you'll find more than just those captured knight's remains along the border."
"I thought you didn't come here to make threats," Uther growled.
"It's simple, great king. I lied."
Uther had had enough. "Guards!" he called. "Restrain them!"
Chaos erupted. The elderly courtiers fled the scene at the red caped knights clashed with those clad in dark leather.
Arthur jumped from his hiding spot and ran in the direction he had last seen Merlin. This was the best diversion he could have hoped for. Out of the corner of his eye he saw panic in Gailyn's eyes as he approached the warlock. He thought he heard him shout his name, but it was too hard to tell over the din.
He reached Merlin and pulled him up from his seated position. Arthur could still see flecks of gold in his shocked eyes.
"Arthur? Wha-"
"I don't have time to explain!" he shouted. "We're going to get you out.
Merlin shook his head vigorously. "NO! NO!" He gestured to the corpses at his feet. "Look at what I've done! Look at what I am!" He grabbed the front of Arthur's chainmail. "You're not even real!" he sobbed. "You're just another one of his tricks! But, Gailyn, I don't need them anymore! Stop! Please! I'll go with you, you don't have to do this!
Arthur grabbed his hands. "Merlin it's me, it's Arthur! It's not a trick. Gailyn lied to you! I'm alright! I'm alive!"
"No!" Merlin shoved him away. "I'm not going to mourn again. I can't do it! It hurst too much."
Arthur grabbed his shoulders. "Merlin, listen to me! You don't trust me right now, that's okay. I didn't trust you at first either. After you used magic to save us from those men in the woods... I'll admit it, I was terrified. I thought you were some sort of spy for the enemy... well, I guess that's sort of true, but not the point I'm trying to make!" He took a deep breath before continuing. "Do you remember what you did when I was shouting, when I was wary of your intentions? Do you remember?"
Merlin nodded. Arthur reached into his pocket and pulled out the wilted pink flower. It had suffered in the dark for a few days, evident by the crumpled leaves and the missing petals, but the color, although faint, still shown through.
"You said: 'I don't hurt you.' You said it and you meant what you said because that's who you are. You're not a killer Merlin." He placed the blossom in Merlin's hand. Instantly its petals returned and the color vibrated in waves of orange rose. "That was the moment, Merlin. That was the moment I knew that there was nothing to be scared of. In my head I still mistrusted you, but in my heart I knew. So know me now... I'm not a trick. I'm here and I'm real and I don't hurt you."
"Okay..." Merlin mumbled through tears of relief. "I believe you."