Potion of Love Chapter Nine: Merlin Fanfiction
Title: Potion of Love
Rating: NC17
Pairings: Merlin x Arthur
Summary: Arthur was the most eligible bachelor in Camelot. A village girl wants to become queen and with the help of a sorceress she sets her plan in motion slipping him a love potion, but what will happen if it doesn't go quite as expected? Slash ensues Merthur
Notes: Disclaimer, I don't own Merlin. You guys are just amazing, you have been so patient and I apologize for taking so long. It has been too long since I last worked on this story that I had to reread my previous chapters to get the feel of it again. This chapter gave me quite a challenge in the order of things. "The Servant of Two Masters" episode and what happened in the first 2 episodes of Season 4 were a big influence on how Arthur behaved, so keep that in mind when reading it and don't hate me.
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Potion of Love
Chapter Nine: Tons of Stupid Decisions
Arthur stood in his tent; he stared at the closed flap and then turned his gaze to the other side of his tent. He moved to the small table and chair Merlin had placed in his tent and in one angry movement flipped them over. He was frustrated and tired. Rushing out of his tent, he went to look for Merlin.
Everyone was sleeping, scattered around the camp, and he moved through them calling out Merlin's name. He called out just loud enough for Merlin to hear, but trying to not wake anyone. Arthur didn't want any more distractions, he wanted to find his friend and explain himself. He wanted to tell Merlin that he wanted more than what he probably thought he did.
Arthur had really made a mess of things now. He had lost complete control and forced Merlin to sleep with him. Even though Merlin had felt pleasure at the end and even gave him the impression that he was ok with it, he probably was only responding to some twisted duty he thought he had to do as his manservant.
Merlin wasn't in camp; it was obvious as his failed to reply to Arthur's calls. Arthur made his way into the woods in hopes that if Merlin had run off to gather his composure he wouldn't have run off too far. It was very difficult to see in front of him and Arthur didn't like that he had left his sword in his tent.
A few ways off, Arthur could hear someone's voice. At first he had thought it might be Merlin, but the voice sounded very different. He cursed himself for letting Merlin walk out of the tent and slowed his pace trying to silence his approach.
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"This will be perfect, don't you agree Merlin?" Evelyn sarcastically asked the unconscious Merlin as she moved the boulder to hide the opening. She had dragged him with little effort and pushed him under a hallow tree, thanking his thin figure. Evelyn got up and dusted her dress as she moved back. She had barely walked a few paces when she froze in her tracks, Evelyn heard someone call out to her.
"Show yourself." Arthur's commanding voice echoed in the darkness. "I am armed and won't hesitate to strike." The King called out as he stepped closer. She could see his form in the darkness in front of her. Evelyn cleared her throat as fear of being discovered ran through her.
"It is only I sire, Evelyn your servant…" Evelyn struggled to say as she moved the dirt below her feet, trying to hide the tracks the boulder had made when she had moved it.
"What are you doing out here?" Arthur questioned as he realized it was the female servants he had brought with him and not some bandit. He had hoped his bluff would scare off such bandit, but there was no Merlin or anyone doing him harm. He looked into the darkness trying to make out Evelyn's form.
"Are you out here alone? I thought I heard someone talking?" Arthur asked as his eyes moved past her, into the darkness behind her as if trying to catch another shadow that belonged to his friend. Seeing nothing but trees, he turned his gaze back to Evelyn.
"I had to go to the bathroom, sire." Evelyn quickly replied as she regained her confidence that the night would hide her evil deed. Arthur stepped aside to allow her to walk past him. She made her way back the rest of the way, a triumphant smile slowly creeping on her face.
"Wait! Did you see anyone else come this way, my manservant, Merlin perhaps? He might have come running this way not to long ago." Arthur asked hopefully as they reached the safety of the fire. Evelyn moved to say no, but then changed her mind.
"I saw him, he seemed troubled. I asked him what was wrong and he said he needed some time alone and ran off that way." Evelyn replied as she pointed to the opposite direction she and Merlin had been. Her plan to get rid of Merlin was beginning to take form. She had sounded convincing for the King thanked her, threw more wood into the fire, and moved to his tent.
Arthur stood still for a few moments in the entrance of his tent. He looked into the darkness again, his eyes filled with worry and guilt. He would give Merlin some time to himself and tomorrow he would make the best to set things right. Arthur signed and sat on his bed. He had no intention of sleeping, his mind was too full of Merlin to let sleep in.
Evelyn lay on her blanket and moved to sleep. She knew she could only fool the King for a short time. Tomorrow when Merlin failed to show, Evelyn was sure the King would search for him. Would they find Merlin? Had she not hid the tracks well enough? Covering herself with her blanket she went to sleep. Tomorrow she would get up before everyone else and make sure she hid any tracks she might have left.
A few feet off, Gwaine lay on his blanket, his back was to Evelyn. His hand rested on his sword next to him. His ruffled features remained indifferent and his eyes were closed. Suddenly his eyes opened and as he gave a quick glance back to her direction his eyes narrowed with suspicion. Gripping his sword tighter, Gwaine set his gaze back to where Evelyn had claimed Merlin had run off to.
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When the tiniest light began to stream through the trees, the camp was filled with movement. The knights gathered their belongings and some went back to their posts. Gwaine, already in his armor, came out of the woods and looked around for Evelyn. When he failed to find her, he walked towards the direction she had gone the night before.
Just when he was about to vanish into the trees, Arthur came out of his tent and his gaze fell on the knight. "Gwaine, have you seen Merlin?" Arthur called out to him making Gwaine retreat his steps and move back to camp.
"No, sire." Gwaine replied, his voice filling with raw emotion. He wanted to find his friend. Evelyn had claimed Merlin had gone the opposite direction Gwaine had seen her and the king come from. Gwaine had been woken up by their talk and had managed to catch a few things she had told the King. Thus he had spent the whole night looking for Merlin in that direction.
Gwaine's head was filled with questions. Why had Arthur been out in the woods with Evelyn? Why had Arthur asked her if she had seen him? What the hell had happened between Merlin and Arthur?
Arthur, who was already in his armor and wearing his sword, gave a quick glance around the camp and then stared back at Gwaine. "We sort of had a fall out last night." Arthur said as if he had heard the questions running inside Gwaine's mind. He ran his hand through his hair and then rested it on the hilt of his sword. "He hasn't returned." The worried King finally spoke the words that had kept him awake throughout the night.
Gwaine's face was covered in pure rage. "And you didn't think about looking for him, knowing well what could befall him." He sneered as he pushed the King back and made his way towards his original destination.
Arthur followed him without saying anything; the emotions on his face were enough. They had not walked more than a few feet when they bumped into a very surprised Evelyn. Gwaine rushed over to her and grabbed her by the arm. "Where is Merlin? What have you done with him?" Gwaine's voice reached a dangerous low as he shook Evelyn by her shoulders and banged her against a tree.
"I…don't know…what…" Evelyn struggled to speak as she was shaken to her very core. The hatred on the knight's face scared her. She was almost tempted to run off into the woods and tempt the dangers as she had left Merlin to do. Just then Arthur stepped towards them and pried Gwaine off.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Arthur demanded as he pushed Gwaine further away from Evelyn. "Are you mad?" His voice echoed in the silence that had now spread throughout the camp.
"I heard her tell you that Merlin ran off that direction." Gwaine yelled as he drew his sword and pointed behind Arthur. "There are no tracks to back up her claim. The only tracks lead this way." Gwaine said a bit more calmer.
"That doesn't mean she had anything to do with him not coming back to camp. What reason could she possibly have to hurt Merlin?" Arthur yelled back. He wanted to blame someone for Merlin not returning, but he was the one at fault. "Maybe he ran off back to Camelot." Evelyn couldn't help but sneer at the knight as her fear was slowly replaced with anger. How dare he touch her, she wasn't some tavern whore.
"Merlin would never abandon his friends or duty." Gwaine half growled half yelled. "Maybe you should help search for him instead of standing here accusing people of things that don't make sense." Arthur replied as he motioned for Percival and the rest of the knights to follow him. He ordered for two of the knights to stay behind with Evelyn and Simon in case Merlin returned while they were out searching.
They searched for hours, but came back empty handed. No other tracks could be found besides the ones in the camp that belonged to Merlin. Those few they did find were Arthur's and Evelyn's. The sun was getting quite high when the knights returned to camp, tired and worn out. Arthur and Gwaine refused to stop the search and were about to continue on when one of the knights approached Arthur about the need to go on with the trip.
Arthur's heart yearned to find Merlin, but he knew they were wasting too much time. He was left with no choice. His people depended on his finalizing the treaty with Lord Godwyn. That treaty was vital to persuade the rest of the five kingdoms to take part, ensuring that his people didn't starve to death. With a heavy heart Arthur gave in to his responsibilities as King and ordered that they depart on the rest of their trip.
Once the camp was packed up and everyone was mounted, Gwaine came up to Arthur's horse and declared that he was going to stay behind incase Merlin returned. He refused to end the search and to put his duty before his friend. Arthur didn't say anything just nodded.
Arthur moved his horse to the front of the line. He planned to lead them the rest of the way and double back to help Gwaine with the search. Arthur hadn't told anyone this so he didn't blame Gwaine when the knight gave him a look of disappointment and annoyance.
Gwaine lead his and Merlin's horse to a path a few ways off the campsite and set on foot with sword at the ready. Though the rest of the knights had ruined any tracks he wished to find, he was sure he would find Merlin. He knew Merlin had not run off on them, he would never leave his friends. Just as Merlin was his only true friend and he would never abandon him.
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Merlin woke to nothing but darkness around him. He could feel the soft earth underneath his fingertips and when he tried to move his legs he found he was bound. As he opened his mouth to cry for help he discovered he was gaged as well.
He tried to remember what had happened. Someone had hit him on the head with a piece of wood. And that someone had gone to a lot of trouble to tie and gag him. But where exactly was he? A flash of gold shimmered in his eyes and the gag and the bounds fell to the ground. He moved around pushing against the walls of his small prison. One side gave way slightly and he pushed harder to find himself inside a hallow tree. Pushing away the rest of the boulder, that had blocked the opening, he crawled out.
Merlin got to his feet and leaned against the tree. His head hurt and his vision was a bit groggy. He rubbed his head and breathed in as his fingers came back with blood on them. He looked around and back to the tree and saw his jacket, belt and handkerchief. They had tied him with his own things. Grabbing his things he started to walk towards what he hoped was the direction of camp. It was daylight now so it didn't take Merlin long to spot the remains of a campfire. He was back in the location where Arthur and the rest had camped for the night, but there was no Arthur and no camp.
Merlin rubbed the side of his head again as he felt a wave of dizziness start to come over him. He looked around unable to take in the meaning of the empty woods, Arthur wouldn't leave him. "I can't believe that he actually left me behind," Merlin called out to himself as he walked further into the center of what had been their camp.
He was startled by a noise behind him and he spun around moving back in the process. Merlin tripped and fell to the ground, his vision blurring with the sudden movement. He looked up at what seemed to be a man with black short hair riding a black horse. Once his sight became clearer, Merlin could see that the clothes he wore gave an air of importance.
"What do we have here? A stray?" the man mocked as he got off his saddle and moved towards Merlin. Merlin crawled back away from the man, for some reason the look in the man's eyes didn't fit well with him.
"Aw, don't run away." The man said and Merlin couldn't help but remember a particular prat who had told him the same long ago. "I don't like my game to flee, I rather enjoy when they put up a fight." The man continued as he bent down and grabbed Merlin by his leg.
Merlin kicked out and staggered to get up. "Now, that is more like it." The man laughed as he rubbed the area Merlin had kicked and got to his feet. As fresh blood ran into his' eyes it made it difficult for Merlin to see again. He ran, but had not run far when he felt something hard hit his chest and soon found himself on his back. Another man, a bit older and slightly taller, had come out behind a tree and swung his arm, landing a blow to the unsuspecting Merlin.
"Nice catch, bring him here." The younger man ordered. Merlin was then lifted off the ground and swung over the taller man's shoulder with ease. Everything happened so quickly, Merlin didn't have time to argue. He was then thrown on the ground again in front of the dark haired man.
"What do you want?" Merlin said as he looked between both men. "I have no gold or anything of value." Merlin stated as he half lay half sat on the ground.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that." The man told Merlin as he kneeled down beside him and ran his hand across his face. "I think you will be quite useful to me." Before he could say anything more, Merlin felt the darkness creep around him and he lost consciousness, the blow to the head finally taking its toll on him.
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They had only traveled a few miles when Arthur brought his horse to a halt. "What is it, sire?" Percival asked as he stopped his horse beside his king. Arthur turned his horse back. Giving the order for Percival to take them to Lord Godwyn's kingdom over his shoulder and that he and Gwaine would follow shortly after finding Merlin, he was off.
Arthur made his way back to camp. He didn't know why he had let his duties get the worst of him. He couldn't leave Merlin, even if there was a slight chance Merlin had run off on his own because of what he had forced on him. Arthur couldn't leave him again alone in the woods. He would drag Merlin back with him.
He pushed his horse hard as its hooves hit the ground with force. The trees and the surrounding landscape passing like a blur as Arthur made his way back. He hoped Merlin would prove him wrong again and tell him he had fallen asleep somewhere and lost track of time, like he seemed to do quite often nowadays.
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Author's Note: I almost didn't want to post this chapter, but I am happy with at least half of it so hope it wasn't much of a disappointment. I will never ignore this story again. Chapter 10 well be up in a few days. Chapter 11 will have tons of fluff and more slash like I promised, as well as a nice little "kiss and make up" scene for Arthur and Merlin. If you wanted to slap Arthur for being so dump and believing someone who he barely knows over Merlin and Gwaine good for you. That is exactly what I wanted. It's quite unbelieving how after so many years Arthur still doesn't believe Merlin 100% in the stuff he says and does. Also I apologize again, I was supposed to post this on Sunday night, but really wanted to give it another run through before posting it.