Fic: Framed
Title: Framed
Fandom: Merlin
Words: 2919
Rating: G
Summary: In which another wizard senses Merlin's magic, and frames him as part of an attempt to get Merlin to join him.
Prompt: 'Innocent" (for the
tvrealm Big Bang challenge)
Characters/Pairing: Merlin, Arthur, Gwen, Gaius, Uther, OCs.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Author's Notes: This is the longest fic I've ever written, and it's not even for a fandom that I really actively participate in. Huh. Anyway, I started this monthings ago, but I was finishing it off instead of writing my NaNoWriMo, which I'm rather behind on, so the ending is a bit rushed. But never mind. Also, this unbetaed, so please forgive any errors.
Sometimes Merlin wondered exactly how these people continually got into Camelot. Well, sure, they had magic helping them, but half the time it seemed like they just sauntered on in and poisoned the King’s food or left some kind of dangerous portent under his bed.
The castle had not been almost entirely searched, and Gaius and Merlin’s quarters were one of the last places remaining. Merlin wandered along behind Prince Arthur and two armed guards; it was getting fairly late in the evening and Merlin was rather hoping once his things had been searched he could have the rest of the night off. The search had been going on most of the day, so he’d had no time to grab anything to eat. He was ravenous, now.
Merlin helped himself to a handy loaf of bread as the guards headed towards his room. One of them threw open the door and Merlin nearly choked on his mouthful when he saw the view beyond: the wizard they were hunting, Yeldu, was sitting up on Merlin’s bed, a grin on his face.
He looked past the guards and straight at Merlin, the grin widening. “Merlin! Thanks for the bed! It served pretty well as a hiding spot as well! At least, up until now.” He laughed heartily; the presence of Arthur and the guards clearly didn’t perturb him in the slightest. “Well, I suppose my game is up. I’ll be off then!”
“Quick, seize him!” Arthur’s guards sprang into action at his order, but they weren’t fast enough. The wizard’s eyes turned gold, and with a muttered incantation, he disappeared from the room. Arthur spun around to look at the door, as though he expected to see Yeldu disappearing out of it, but of course the corridor was empty.
With the wizard gone, Arthur’s eyes fell on Merlin. His expression was angry, mostly, but Merlin could detect a small trace of hurt or betrayal in the Prince’s eyes. Sensing what Arthur was thinking, he quickly tried to defend himself.
“This isn’t what it looks like! I had no idea he was here!”
Arthur cut him off. “Merlin, are you completely insane?”
“No?” Merlin ventured.
“That man not only uses magic, but he tried to kill my father! What on earth were you doing protecting him?”
“I - I wasn’t! I’ve never even talked to him before!”
“Then how did he know your name? And that it was your room?”
“I don’t know! You’ve got to believe me!”
Arthur looked as though he wanted to, but as usual he let his duty prevail. He motioned to the guards to take Merlin away. As the guards took him by his arms and led him out the door, he turned his head back and appealed to Arthur, but the Prince bit his lip and turned away, tuning out Merlin’s protests.
A few minutes later, Merlin was deposited in a cell in the dungeon, to await trial the following morning. He was still hungry, so he sat on the make-shift bed at the back of the cell and clasped his hands to his stomach, willing it to stop grumbling at him. It didn’t do any good. He briefly considered using magic to transform something into food, but the only things surrounding him were straw and dirt, and transformation spells were tricky; he didn’t want to end up eating horse manure or something equally undesirable.
Thankfully, about an hour later, Gwen appeared with a tray of food in her hand. Merlin breathed a sigh of relief as the guards unlocked the door and she entered the cell. As Merlin hoed into the very basic meal provided, Gwen quizzed him on the events of the afternoon.
“Merlin, Arthur said you were hiding the sorcerer in your room. Is that true?”
“Course not,” Merlin replied. “It doesn’t make any sense. Think about it, Gwen. He used magic to vanish right before our eyes. He didn’t need to hide at all. So why did he wait for us?”
Gwen bit her lip as she mulled over Merlin’s words. “Have you ever seen him before? Could you have done something to offend him and he was getting his revenge?”
Merlin shook his head. “I’d never seen him before today.”
Gwen sat with him a while longer, but neither of them could come up with any other ideas as to what reason Yeldu would have had to frame Merlin like this. Once Merlin had finished his food, Gwen picked up the tray and bid him goodnight. She promised she would talk to Arthur about it; there had to be something they were missing, something that would make everything make sense.
~*~
Gwen found Arthur sitting on his own, a sour look on his face. “Rough day?” she asked, announcing her presence with a bit of small talk. Arthur’s expression immediately softened at the sight of her.
“Gwen, you and Merlin are friends. Would he really do that? Hide someone who had been using magic, and tried to kill my father? I thought... don’t you dare tell him I said this, but I actually thought we were sort of friends.”
“I don’t think he would,” Gwen replied honestly. “I think something odd is going on here.” She repeated to Arthur what Merlin had told her. “So if he could escape so easily, why was he waiting to be found? It’s almost like he wanted Merlin to get into trouble.”
Arthur pondered her question, but couldn’t come up with any further explanation. He thumped a fist on the arm of his chair in frustration. “It doesn’t make sense! And my father will sure as anything have Merlin burnt at the stake tomorrow if we can’t explain this.” He took a breath, and then looked up at Gwen again. “Sorry, Gwen.”
Gwen shook her head slightly, indicating that he didn’t need to apologise to her. She placed a hand gently in his, and he wrapped his fingers around it.
“We’ll figure something out, Arthur. I promise”
~*~
Merlin had been thrown in the dungeon before, but every time he left, he forgot just how uncomfortable the beds were (if you could even call them beds). He tossed and turned, but whichever way he lay, something seemed to be sticking into him, or otherwise preventing him from falling asleep. And then, just when he thought he was finally dozing off, a quiet snicker in the far corner made him jerk awake again. He sat up, and as his eyes adjusted, he saw to his astonishment, Yeldu sitting in the corner of his cell.
Merlin was about to call for one of the guards, but Yeldu cut him off, saying, “There’s no point. They won’t be waking up any time soon.”
Merlin’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”
Yeldu pretended to look wounded. “Merlin, I’m not a hard hearted man. They’re just asleep.”
“You tried to kill the King.”
Yeldu’s expression darkened. “How many of our people has he murdered, Merlin?”
“Our people? What are you talking about?”
“Merlin, I sensed your magic the moment I entered Camelot. You have a great gift, honestly, you do. Why do you waste your time here?”
“Because I have friends here. And I enjoy my work.” Yeldu simply scoffed in response, so Merlin pressed on, “Why did you wait for me?”
“Because now that you’re in this trouble, I can save you. Come with me and hone your skills, be a part of the movement against Uther Pendragon.”
“Are you crazy? No, I’m not doing anything of the sort.”
“Then I guess come tomorrow, you will burn.”
Yeldu made to stand up, and was probably about to disappear again. “Wait!” Merlin called out. A plan was forming in his head. If he went with Yeldu, he could find out where the wizard was hiding. If he knew where Yeldu was hiding, then perhaps he could escape back to Camelot and lead Arthur there. Yeldu would be apprehended and perhaps Merlin would be pardoned.
Yeldu turned back to Merlin, a smug look on his face. “I thought you might change your mind.”
“How do I come with you?” Merlin asked, hoping he sounded curious enough.
Yeldu grinned and held out his hand. “Hold on tight.”
Merlin hesitated for a moment before taking Yeldu’s hand. When he did, it was clammy, and he grimaced, telling himself not to pull away again. Yeldu gave Merlin’s hand a bit of a shake, and seemed convinced that Merlin’s grip was tight enough. Yeldu muttered an incantation and a second later, Merlin felt his feet ripped out from underneath him as his whole body seemed to fly backwards. A strong wind seemed to be pushing him through a dark tunnel. He tried to turn his head to see where he was going, but the force of their speed made it impossible.
Suddenly, it all stopped. Yeldu landed gracefully, but Merlin hit the ground with a thud as his legs gave out underneath him. He took a few deep breaths, trying to quell the queasiness in his stomach.
“It can be rough the first time,” Yeldu assured him.
“Where are we?” Merlin asked, looking around and realising he couldn’t really pinpoint their location any more specifically than ‘in a forest’. There were two other men sitting around a fire, and makeshift tents were erected behind them.
“Furik, Mallon, this is Merlin,” Yeldu addressed the other two men. “He’ll be joining us.” The two men looked up briefly, but for the most part ignored Merlin. Yeldu continued, “To answer your question, Merlin, we are one of the forests to the north of Camelot. As you may have gathered, I can travel much faster than the average man, but my power only extends to a certain distance.” Yeldu paused, and cocked his head to one side as he looked at Merlin. “But you must be tired,” he said patronisingly. “Please, rest for a while.” He motioned to one of the tens behind the fire.
Merlin made his way towards it, and turned around to briefly nod to Yeldu in acknowledgment before ducking inside. It was slightly unnerving that there was a tent set up for him before he arrived, but he assumed Furik and Mallon had been tasked with it while Yeldu returned to Camelot to retrieve him.
Merlin lay down on the uncomfortable makeshift bed. He already knew he wouldn’t be doing any sleeping, so instead he linked his hands behind his head and gazed up at the ceiling of his tent. He had probably been lying there for an hour so when he heard the hiss of the fire being doused and the sounds of the other three men making their way to bed.
When he was certain he could hear no noises from the other three tents, Merlin sat up, wondering what to do now. He didn’t know where in the forest they were, so he knew he couldn’t just wander blindly out of the camp and back to Camelot. Mallon and Furik would catch up to him in moments. He wondered if he could replicate Yeldu’s transportation spell. He closed his eyes and pictured Camelot, and then muttered the words... a moment later he was feeling that same pulling tearing sensation again as he was ripped from his tent and plummeted through that dark tunnel. He landed with a crash a few moments later. He was on the outskirts of the city, but it was better than nothing. Rubbing his bruised shoulders, he tried again, this time keeping his mind focussed expressly on his bed. To his surprise, on the second attempt, he landed exactly there.
The city bells were ringing out and Merlin wondered if it was his escape that was warranting the emergency. If so, Arthur and his knights would be out searching for him, and there would be no point in trying to look for Arthur now and getting caught. But if he waited until the morning to find Arthur, Yeldu would have enough time to realise he had gone, and then he probably wouldn’t stick around waiting for him to return.
Merlin decided he had to risk it. He knew how to get around the castle without being seen. Hopefully, Arthur wouldn’t be too far away. And hopefully, he’d be willing to listen to Merlin.
It took about half an hour of dodging guards and hiding around corners before Merlin spotted the mop of blonde hair. Arthur had two other guards with him, and Merlin wondered whether he should just get the attention of all three of them, or try to get Arthur by himself. He eventually decided he didn’t have enough time for anything complicated, and would simply have to cross his fingers the other two guards didn’t try to kill him before he gave Arthur the information he had.
“Arthur!” he called, and then flinched as the two guards swung around, swords pointing straight at him. Arthur looked pretty mad himself. Merlin held up his hands.
“Please, just... stop pointing those at me. I know where you can find Yeldu.”
The two guards kept their swords pointed at Merlin, but Arthur lowered his slightly, looking at Merlin warily.
“Where?” he asked.
“He’s in the Northern Forest. I don’t know exactly where, but in the Northern Forest somewhere.”
“And you know this, how?”
“Because he appeared in my cell, and dragged me back there with him. I got him to tell me where we were before I escaped.”
“And how did you escape, exactly?”
“Even almighty wizards have to sleep sometimes,” Merlin replied.
Arthur was still looking wary, but he turned to his guards and ordered them to gather the rest of the knights and send a group to the Northern Forest. When the guards had left, Arthur looked back Merlin.
“You’d better be telling the truth, Merlin. If Yeldu is found based on your information, we may be able to get you a pardon. If not...” He trailed off ominously.
“Why would I lie?” Merlin asked innocently. Arthur glared at him, and stalked off to join the knights as they went on their search. Realising his job was now essentially finished until the guards showed up again, hopefully with Yeldu in tow, he wandered back towards his quarters.
Gaius was there when he walked in, and jumped at the sight of him. “Merlin! Where have you been! The whole palace is in an uproar!”
“I know,” Merlin replied. “Yeldu came back and sort of... kidnapped me. But I’ve told Arthur where he’s hiding, so they’ve gone to search for him. Arthur said if they find him based on what I said, I should be able to get a pardon from the King.”
“Well, let’s hope so.” Merlin noticed Gaius was subconsciously wringing his hands. He would forever be touched by the amount of concern Gaius continually showed him.
“I think I’m going to get some rest,” Merlin said, “it’s been rather a long night.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll call you if Arthur or anyone comes back.”
Now that he was relatively safe, Merlin found that he fell asleep nearly as soon as his head hit the pillow. It only felt like minutes later when he was woken up again, though. Arthur and the knights were back, and they had been successful in capturing both the wizard and his sidekicks. Merlin wondered how they had prevented Yeldu from simply casting his travelling spell and disappearing, but this question was answered when Merlin saw the gag in the wizard’s mouth. Clearly one of the knights had been quick-thinking.
Yeldu and the two other men were dragged before Uther immediately. Uther’s sentence was passed quickly, and then they were dragged off again down to the dungeons to await their executions. Once they were gone, Arthur stepped forward.
“Father, as you know, my manservant, Merlin was also implicated in this case,” he said, and Uther nodded his agreement. He seemed about to open his mouth to cast a judgement on this as well, but Arthur quickly cut him off. “Father, it was thanks to Merlin that we were able to locate Yeldu and his two men. Yeldu stole Merlin out of the dungeons last night, and told Merlin where they were going. Merlin was able to escape and come back here. If not for him, Yeldu would probably still be plotting your demise, Sire.”
At this, Uther stared at Merlin for what felt like a very long time. His expression was tight-lipped, and Merlin had no idea what the King was thinking. Finally, though, he nodded, seeming to agree with Arthur.
“Very well. Since you did help to bring the real criminals to justice, I will pardon you this time, Merlin. However, any more fraternising with wizards or other magical folk, and I will not be so merciful.”
Merlin inclined his head. “Thank you, Sire.”
At that, Uther stood and left the throne room. Merlin grinned at Gaius, who smiled back. The physician’s relief was clear. Merlin turned around again when a hand clapped down on his shoulder. It was Arthur.
“Why exactly did Yeldu want to kidnap you, of all people?”
Merlin shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe he felt sorry for me? You know, having to work for you?”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “Well, try not to get into any more trouble with wizards, all right?”
“I’ll try my best,” Merlin replied, grinning.
This was more like it. Life was once again back to normal. Well. As normal as it could be in Camelot.
Fandom: Merlin
Words: 2919
Rating: G
Summary: In which another wizard senses Merlin's magic, and frames him as part of an attempt to get Merlin to join him.
Prompt: 'Innocent" (for the
tvrealm Big Bang challenge)
Characters/Pairing: Merlin, Arthur, Gwen, Gaius, Uther, OCs.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Author's Notes: This is the longest fic I've ever written, and it's not even for a fandom that I really actively participate in. Huh. Anyway, I started this monthings ago, but I was finishing it off instead of writing my NaNoWriMo, which I'm rather behind on, so the ending is a bit rushed. But never mind. Also, this unbetaed, so please forgive any errors.
Sometimes Merlin wondered exactly how these people continually got into Camelot. Well, sure, they had magic helping them, but half the time it seemed like they just sauntered on in and poisoned the King’s food or left some kind of dangerous portent under his bed.
The castle had not been almost entirely searched, and Gaius and Merlin’s quarters were one of the last places remaining. Merlin wandered along behind Prince Arthur and two armed guards; it was getting fairly late in the evening and Merlin was rather hoping once his things had been searched he could have the rest of the night off. The search had been going on most of the day, so he’d had no time to grab anything to eat. He was ravenous, now.
Merlin helped himself to a handy loaf of bread as the guards headed towards his room. One of them threw open the door and Merlin nearly choked on his mouthful when he saw the view beyond: the wizard they were hunting, Yeldu, was sitting up on Merlin’s bed, a grin on his face.
He looked past the guards and straight at Merlin, the grin widening. “Merlin! Thanks for the bed! It served pretty well as a hiding spot as well! At least, up until now.” He laughed heartily; the presence of Arthur and the guards clearly didn’t perturb him in the slightest. “Well, I suppose my game is up. I’ll be off then!”
“Quick, seize him!” Arthur’s guards sprang into action at his order, but they weren’t fast enough. The wizard’s eyes turned gold, and with a muttered incantation, he disappeared from the room. Arthur spun around to look at the door, as though he expected to see Yeldu disappearing out of it, but of course the corridor was empty.
With the wizard gone, Arthur’s eyes fell on Merlin. His expression was angry, mostly, but Merlin could detect a small trace of hurt or betrayal in the Prince’s eyes. Sensing what Arthur was thinking, he quickly tried to defend himself.
“This isn’t what it looks like! I had no idea he was here!”
Arthur cut him off. “Merlin, are you completely insane?”
“No?” Merlin ventured.
“That man not only uses magic, but he tried to kill my father! What on earth were you doing protecting him?”
“I - I wasn’t! I’ve never even talked to him before!”
“Then how did he know your name? And that it was your room?”
“I don’t know! You’ve got to believe me!”
Arthur looked as though he wanted to, but as usual he let his duty prevail. He motioned to the guards to take Merlin away. As the guards took him by his arms and led him out the door, he turned his head back and appealed to Arthur, but the Prince bit his lip and turned away, tuning out Merlin’s protests.
A few minutes later, Merlin was deposited in a cell in the dungeon, to await trial the following morning. He was still hungry, so he sat on the make-shift bed at the back of the cell and clasped his hands to his stomach, willing it to stop grumbling at him. It didn’t do any good. He briefly considered using magic to transform something into food, but the only things surrounding him were straw and dirt, and transformation spells were tricky; he didn’t want to end up eating horse manure or something equally undesirable.
Thankfully, about an hour later, Gwen appeared with a tray of food in her hand. Merlin breathed a sigh of relief as the guards unlocked the door and she entered the cell. As Merlin hoed into the very basic meal provided, Gwen quizzed him on the events of the afternoon.
“Merlin, Arthur said you were hiding the sorcerer in your room. Is that true?”
“Course not,” Merlin replied. “It doesn’t make any sense. Think about it, Gwen. He used magic to vanish right before our eyes. He didn’t need to hide at all. So why did he wait for us?”
Gwen bit her lip as she mulled over Merlin’s words. “Have you ever seen him before? Could you have done something to offend him and he was getting his revenge?”
Merlin shook his head. “I’d never seen him before today.”
Gwen sat with him a while longer, but neither of them could come up with any other ideas as to what reason Yeldu would have had to frame Merlin like this. Once Merlin had finished his food, Gwen picked up the tray and bid him goodnight. She promised she would talk to Arthur about it; there had to be something they were missing, something that would make everything make sense.
~*~
Gwen found Arthur sitting on his own, a sour look on his face. “Rough day?” she asked, announcing her presence with a bit of small talk. Arthur’s expression immediately softened at the sight of her.
“Gwen, you and Merlin are friends. Would he really do that? Hide someone who had been using magic, and tried to kill my father? I thought... don’t you dare tell him I said this, but I actually thought we were sort of friends.”
“I don’t think he would,” Gwen replied honestly. “I think something odd is going on here.” She repeated to Arthur what Merlin had told her. “So if he could escape so easily, why was he waiting to be found? It’s almost like he wanted Merlin to get into trouble.”
Arthur pondered her question, but couldn’t come up with any further explanation. He thumped a fist on the arm of his chair in frustration. “It doesn’t make sense! And my father will sure as anything have Merlin burnt at the stake tomorrow if we can’t explain this.” He took a breath, and then looked up at Gwen again. “Sorry, Gwen.”
Gwen shook her head slightly, indicating that he didn’t need to apologise to her. She placed a hand gently in his, and he wrapped his fingers around it.
“We’ll figure something out, Arthur. I promise”
~*~
Merlin had been thrown in the dungeon before, but every time he left, he forgot just how uncomfortable the beds were (if you could even call them beds). He tossed and turned, but whichever way he lay, something seemed to be sticking into him, or otherwise preventing him from falling asleep. And then, just when he thought he was finally dozing off, a quiet snicker in the far corner made him jerk awake again. He sat up, and as his eyes adjusted, he saw to his astonishment, Yeldu sitting in the corner of his cell.
Merlin was about to call for one of the guards, but Yeldu cut him off, saying, “There’s no point. They won’t be waking up any time soon.”
Merlin’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”
Yeldu pretended to look wounded. “Merlin, I’m not a hard hearted man. They’re just asleep.”
“You tried to kill the King.”
Yeldu’s expression darkened. “How many of our people has he murdered, Merlin?”
“Our people? What are you talking about?”
“Merlin, I sensed your magic the moment I entered Camelot. You have a great gift, honestly, you do. Why do you waste your time here?”
“Because I have friends here. And I enjoy my work.” Yeldu simply scoffed in response, so Merlin pressed on, “Why did you wait for me?”
“Because now that you’re in this trouble, I can save you. Come with me and hone your skills, be a part of the movement against Uther Pendragon.”
“Are you crazy? No, I’m not doing anything of the sort.”
“Then I guess come tomorrow, you will burn.”
Yeldu made to stand up, and was probably about to disappear again. “Wait!” Merlin called out. A plan was forming in his head. If he went with Yeldu, he could find out where the wizard was hiding. If he knew where Yeldu was hiding, then perhaps he could escape back to Camelot and lead Arthur there. Yeldu would be apprehended and perhaps Merlin would be pardoned.
Yeldu turned back to Merlin, a smug look on his face. “I thought you might change your mind.”
“How do I come with you?” Merlin asked, hoping he sounded curious enough.
Yeldu grinned and held out his hand. “Hold on tight.”
Merlin hesitated for a moment before taking Yeldu’s hand. When he did, it was clammy, and he grimaced, telling himself not to pull away again. Yeldu gave Merlin’s hand a bit of a shake, and seemed convinced that Merlin’s grip was tight enough. Yeldu muttered an incantation and a second later, Merlin felt his feet ripped out from underneath him as his whole body seemed to fly backwards. A strong wind seemed to be pushing him through a dark tunnel. He tried to turn his head to see where he was going, but the force of their speed made it impossible.
Suddenly, it all stopped. Yeldu landed gracefully, but Merlin hit the ground with a thud as his legs gave out underneath him. He took a few deep breaths, trying to quell the queasiness in his stomach.
“It can be rough the first time,” Yeldu assured him.
“Where are we?” Merlin asked, looking around and realising he couldn’t really pinpoint their location any more specifically than ‘in a forest’. There were two other men sitting around a fire, and makeshift tents were erected behind them.
“Furik, Mallon, this is Merlin,” Yeldu addressed the other two men. “He’ll be joining us.” The two men looked up briefly, but for the most part ignored Merlin. Yeldu continued, “To answer your question, Merlin, we are one of the forests to the north of Camelot. As you may have gathered, I can travel much faster than the average man, but my power only extends to a certain distance.” Yeldu paused, and cocked his head to one side as he looked at Merlin. “But you must be tired,” he said patronisingly. “Please, rest for a while.” He motioned to one of the tens behind the fire.
Merlin made his way towards it, and turned around to briefly nod to Yeldu in acknowledgment before ducking inside. It was slightly unnerving that there was a tent set up for him before he arrived, but he assumed Furik and Mallon had been tasked with it while Yeldu returned to Camelot to retrieve him.
Merlin lay down on the uncomfortable makeshift bed. He already knew he wouldn’t be doing any sleeping, so instead he linked his hands behind his head and gazed up at the ceiling of his tent. He had probably been lying there for an hour so when he heard the hiss of the fire being doused and the sounds of the other three men making their way to bed.
When he was certain he could hear no noises from the other three tents, Merlin sat up, wondering what to do now. He didn’t know where in the forest they were, so he knew he couldn’t just wander blindly out of the camp and back to Camelot. Mallon and Furik would catch up to him in moments. He wondered if he could replicate Yeldu’s transportation spell. He closed his eyes and pictured Camelot, and then muttered the words... a moment later he was feeling that same pulling tearing sensation again as he was ripped from his tent and plummeted through that dark tunnel. He landed with a crash a few moments later. He was on the outskirts of the city, but it was better than nothing. Rubbing his bruised shoulders, he tried again, this time keeping his mind focussed expressly on his bed. To his surprise, on the second attempt, he landed exactly there.
The city bells were ringing out and Merlin wondered if it was his escape that was warranting the emergency. If so, Arthur and his knights would be out searching for him, and there would be no point in trying to look for Arthur now and getting caught. But if he waited until the morning to find Arthur, Yeldu would have enough time to realise he had gone, and then he probably wouldn’t stick around waiting for him to return.
Merlin decided he had to risk it. He knew how to get around the castle without being seen. Hopefully, Arthur wouldn’t be too far away. And hopefully, he’d be willing to listen to Merlin.
It took about half an hour of dodging guards and hiding around corners before Merlin spotted the mop of blonde hair. Arthur had two other guards with him, and Merlin wondered whether he should just get the attention of all three of them, or try to get Arthur by himself. He eventually decided he didn’t have enough time for anything complicated, and would simply have to cross his fingers the other two guards didn’t try to kill him before he gave Arthur the information he had.
“Arthur!” he called, and then flinched as the two guards swung around, swords pointing straight at him. Arthur looked pretty mad himself. Merlin held up his hands.
“Please, just... stop pointing those at me. I know where you can find Yeldu.”
The two guards kept their swords pointed at Merlin, but Arthur lowered his slightly, looking at Merlin warily.
“Where?” he asked.
“He’s in the Northern Forest. I don’t know exactly where, but in the Northern Forest somewhere.”
“And you know this, how?”
“Because he appeared in my cell, and dragged me back there with him. I got him to tell me where we were before I escaped.”
“And how did you escape, exactly?”
“Even almighty wizards have to sleep sometimes,” Merlin replied.
Arthur was still looking wary, but he turned to his guards and ordered them to gather the rest of the knights and send a group to the Northern Forest. When the guards had left, Arthur looked back Merlin.
“You’d better be telling the truth, Merlin. If Yeldu is found based on your information, we may be able to get you a pardon. If not...” He trailed off ominously.
“Why would I lie?” Merlin asked innocently. Arthur glared at him, and stalked off to join the knights as they went on their search. Realising his job was now essentially finished until the guards showed up again, hopefully with Yeldu in tow, he wandered back towards his quarters.
Gaius was there when he walked in, and jumped at the sight of him. “Merlin! Where have you been! The whole palace is in an uproar!”
“I know,” Merlin replied. “Yeldu came back and sort of... kidnapped me. But I’ve told Arthur where he’s hiding, so they’ve gone to search for him. Arthur said if they find him based on what I said, I should be able to get a pardon from the King.”
“Well, let’s hope so.” Merlin noticed Gaius was subconsciously wringing his hands. He would forever be touched by the amount of concern Gaius continually showed him.
“I think I’m going to get some rest,” Merlin said, “it’s been rather a long night.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll call you if Arthur or anyone comes back.”
Now that he was relatively safe, Merlin found that he fell asleep nearly as soon as his head hit the pillow. It only felt like minutes later when he was woken up again, though. Arthur and the knights were back, and they had been successful in capturing both the wizard and his sidekicks. Merlin wondered how they had prevented Yeldu from simply casting his travelling spell and disappearing, but this question was answered when Merlin saw the gag in the wizard’s mouth. Clearly one of the knights had been quick-thinking.
Yeldu and the two other men were dragged before Uther immediately. Uther’s sentence was passed quickly, and then they were dragged off again down to the dungeons to await their executions. Once they were gone, Arthur stepped forward.
“Father, as you know, my manservant, Merlin was also implicated in this case,” he said, and Uther nodded his agreement. He seemed about to open his mouth to cast a judgement on this as well, but Arthur quickly cut him off. “Father, it was thanks to Merlin that we were able to locate Yeldu and his two men. Yeldu stole Merlin out of the dungeons last night, and told Merlin where they were going. Merlin was able to escape and come back here. If not for him, Yeldu would probably still be plotting your demise, Sire.”
At this, Uther stared at Merlin for what felt like a very long time. His expression was tight-lipped, and Merlin had no idea what the King was thinking. Finally, though, he nodded, seeming to agree with Arthur.
“Very well. Since you did help to bring the real criminals to justice, I will pardon you this time, Merlin. However, any more fraternising with wizards or other magical folk, and I will not be so merciful.”
Merlin inclined his head. “Thank you, Sire.”
At that, Uther stood and left the throne room. Merlin grinned at Gaius, who smiled back. The physician’s relief was clear. Merlin turned around again when a hand clapped down on his shoulder. It was Arthur.
“Why exactly did Yeldu want to kidnap you, of all people?”
Merlin shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe he felt sorry for me? You know, having to work for you?”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “Well, try not to get into any more trouble with wizards, all right?”
“I’ll try my best,” Merlin replied, grinning.
This was more like it. Life was once again back to normal. Well. As normal as it could be in Camelot.