To You I Pledge (BBC Merlin)

Chapter 5 - Waking

If there was one thing Arthur knew it was that if his father found out about the bindings being removed from someone other than him there would be hell to pay. There would probably be hell to pay anyway, but it would be worse if it did not come from him, which was why he placed the braces and the collar back in the leather bag from which he had first seen them produced and, leaving Gaius with Merlin, walked directly to his father's chambers.

"I had them removed," he said, placing the vile things on the table next to his father's chair and firmly taking responsibility for everything.

They were alone, but he knew that would not temper his father's reaction.

"Are you a complete imbecile?" his father asked, rising to his feet. "Those are the only things that protect us against that boy's power."

Arthur actually laughed at that; not a nice sound even in to his own ears.

"That boy was dying," he said, not willing to back down on this. "He is no more capable of harming anyone than a new born, not that he would even if he could. That room will be more than enough protection, not that I understand how. Ask Gaius if you think me soft in the head; he has whole theories about Merlin and his need for magic."

"Gaius has already proved himself a traitor," Uther started to tell him, but he was not having that.

"Gaius is your most loyal subject," Arthur decided he was not about to mince his words. "That old man would give his life for you in a second and his only fault is that he loves Merlin like the son he never had. If Gaius had ever thought Merlin was a danger to Camelot he would have, at the least, sent him away, and you know that as well as I do."

He was not used to speaking quite so harshly to his father, but he knew that Uther needed to hear it. No one else would dare tell the king what was right and true, which left only him.

"If you order those back on Merlin he will die," he was not going to give his father a chance to start ranting at him. "Go and see for yourself if you must. He was not healing, he was just lying there and that was a death sentence. You gave me your word he would have a fair hearing and that would be impossible if he dies."

Merlin brought out the best and worst in him and he could not let Merlin down.

"Merlin has never done anything except save my life and yours," he said with all the vehemence he was feeling. "The least you can do is know the man you intend to condemn. Take off your blindfold, father, and be the king I know you are."

Then, without giving his father time to reply, he turned and marched out the way he had come. Everyday he had Merlin was precious and he did not know how much longer he would be allowed that, but his father was watching too carefully; there was no way that Merlin could vanish like the druid boy had. He was as stuck as Merlin in that room all that way at the top of the west tower and he felt completely trapped.

~*~

Waking up was more of a gradual thing than what he was used to and Merlin was sure he heard people talking at times, but that had stopped when he finally opened his eyes. He had enough time to think about how lovely and soft wherever he was, was and quite how terrible he felt, before it dawned on him that he was surprised to be alive. That opened the flood gates to his memory and he recalled what had happened, at which point he did his very best to force his eyes to focus and find out what was going on.

Something wasn't right, that much he knew. He might have been lying on a comfortable bed, but the world felt wrong, muted somehow, as if it wasn't quite real. What he really did not expect to see when his eyes finally decided to obey him was the King, standing next to what seemed to be a four poster bed, glaring at him. The King was alive and whole, but there was no sign of Arthur and Merlin felt an edge of panic.