The Tournament of Gladiators

Eight~Doubt

      Merlin groaned, reaching up to his head, gently touching the throbbing spot just above his neck. He hissed in pain, bringing his fingers in front of his face, where he could see the red staining them. He was bleeding. Great.

As his vision cleared, the first thing Merlin noticed was that he was in the most ornate room he'd ever been in.

The second thing he noticed, was that Thane was sitting in a large chair right in front of him. Merlin muttered a curse, scrambling to his feet.

"What do you want with me?" He questioned, while Thane sat there calmly. He watched as Thane leaned forward, lazily rising to his feet. He strolled over to a small window that overlooked the arena.

"I want to make you suffer, boy." The way Thane said it made it seem as if he was simply announcing he wanted to eat pork for lunch today, instead of declaring he was going to hurt someone.

Merlin swallowed the lump in his throat. "Why? We've never met, I've never done anything to you." Thane chuckled dryly.

"It's not what you did to me, Merlin. It's what you did to my teacher." Merlin raised an eyebrow, unsure of what the man's words meant. "Perhaps you remember her. You murdered her on the Isle of the Blessed." Merlin's eyes widened. "Yes, Merlin. I know that you killed Nimueh. She was my teacher, ever since I was a boy."

"But, I didn't kill her! How could a simple servant kill a powerful sorceress?" Merlin stuttered over his words, trying to keep his secret safe. The look on Thane's face said he didn't believe a word that left Merlin's mouth.

"You know good and well that you are perfectly capable of doing many things, sorcerer. I don't know how you became powerful enough to destroy Nimueh, but I assure you, I will not be so easy to dispose of." Merlin resisted the urge to sigh in relief. As much as he was horrified about what this strange man knew, Thane didn't know the extent of Merlin or his destiny. "You know," Thane began with a small chuckle, "when I first saw you and the knights of Camelot, I had no idea who you were. You were only here as a gladiator, to participate in my tournament. But I could sense something about you. I could sense Nimueh's blood on your hands. I could sense the magic in you that you killed her with.

"Fine." Merlin began hesitantly. "Let's say I am a sorcerer. Why keep me alive? Why make me fight?"

"Like I said before, I want you to suffer at my hand. To know pain." Thane moved back to his chair, sitting in it. "And," he began, waving his hand. "I know just how to do that." A golden glow flashed as Thane muttered a spell, the golden light forming into a sphere that hovered in front of Merlin. "I bet you were hoping that you could save your friends, weren't you?" Merlin gasped as an image appeared in the orb, revealing first a disheveled Arthur, then the rest of the knights, held in the cells.

"No..." Merlin said quietly. The escape plan had failed. He had failed. "No, let them go! It's me you want, Thane, they shouldn't have to suffer because of me!" Thane simply smiled, his black eyes crinkling in the corners.

"Oh, but I'm afraid they do have to suffer." He began, his filled with mock pity. "Because when they suffer, you suffer." Thane paused, gauging Merlin's reaction. He was furious. Merlin raised his hand, prepared to end Thane then and there. "Ah, ah, ah, sorcerer. I've ordered every single person in my palace to end your little friends if you lay a single hand on me."

Merlin clenched his jaw, his hand dropping back to his side. "Then what do you want?" He growled.

Thane nodded in satisfaction. "That's better. Magic is... illegal in Camelot, is it not?" Merlin said nothing, dropping his gaze to the floor. Thane chuckled. "Thats what I thought, Imagine Prince Arthur's horror when he finds out that his precious manservant practices sorcery!"