Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights belong to their respective owners.

Set during 3x07. I always thought that episode could have been so much darker, so thought I would expand on it.

As soon as he had been taken from the room, Merlin found that he was struggling in earnest. He knew Arthur had also been dragged to his feet, but he could hear the prince yelling behind him. How did they know Cenred wouldn't just run Arthur through right now and be done with it? He could see Gwen and Morgana (he wasn't too worried about the latter) being dragged around the corner, Gwen craning back to try and stay with them.

But as soon as they were out of sight and Arthur had yet to appear, Merlin let out his own yell. He pulled against the men pushing him along as hard as he could, allowing his eyes to flash as they called instructions to each other. The man who had been rushing towards him suddenly tripped and stumbled as the floor spontaneously appeared to be uneven. Those holding his arms let go with curses and Merlin simply ran. He wasn't planning on going far, not when Arthur was still in danger, but he needed some space in order to work his own magic enough to get them out of this mess.

Fate, however, had other ideas.

Merlin had barely got a few paces away when he felt something wrap around his neck, yanking him to a stop. He tried to move forward, backwards, anywhere… but he was held fast, only succeeding in choking himself every time he tried to move. Awkwardly twisting his head around, Merlin frowned when he realised there was nothing visible there. He was being stopped by magic. As soon as he realised that, he let his gaze continue and saw the smirk on Morgause's face, her eyes burning with magic and her hand extended towards him. As Merlin struggled to breathe – even he needed air to work magic – her smirk continued. Something told him that she was planning to kill him where he stood.

"Merlin!" The yell sounded from back towards the hall and Merlin dropped to his knees, coughing and choking as the magic abruptly disappeared as swiftly as it had come. He glanced up, but Morgause had disappeared. It was clear she wasn't quite ready for Arthur to be made aware of her involvement just yet. Thinking of the prince and the yell made Merlin twist back and he winced at seeing Arthur being bundled out of the hall. Men were surrounding him and from what little Merlin could make out of his face, he knew their grip was bordering on painful. Surrounded and with his hands bound, there was nothing Arthur could do other than glare. But glare he did quite spectacularly and one of the men who had originally been holding Merlin shifted awkwardly.

"Run, you fool!" Arthur shouted, struggling himself against the men holding him. For a split-second, Merlin could only stare. Surely even Arthur didn't think he could take on those sorts of odds? But then the prince met his eyes fleetingly over the heads of the guards and Merlin understood. He wasn't trying to win; he was trying to buy Merlin time to run. Still needing space to work his magic and wanting Arthur to think that he was actually doing as he was told for once, Merlin tried to get to his feet.

However, he was clumsy on the best of days and having his hands tied behind his back only added to that. He barely got his feet under him when two of the guards seemed to realise what was going on. Merlin stumbled forward a step as Arthur yelled obscenities, clearly trying to get the guards to focus back on him. But Arthur was cut off when someone delivered a sharp blow to the prince and Merlin knew his time was up. He didn't get the chance to take another step before the guards had reached him, harsh hands reaching out and taking hold of his arms. Considering he was bound, Merlin didn't think they needed to be quite so biting in their grip, but he was wise enough (for once, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Arthur added in his mind) not to say anything. They whirled him around and started forcing him back towards Arthur when Cenred appeared.

Arthur stopped struggling, lifting his chin to stare the king straight in the eye as Cenred walked forward. To Merlin's discomfort, he moved towards the warlock and didn't stop until he was directly in front of him. Reaching out, Cenred grasped his chin, holding him firmly as he tilted his head first to one side and then another. Filled with rage over the fact that this was the king who would have let his village burn, Merlin managed to yank his head away and glared defiantly at the man.

"Merlin…" Arthur's voice was quiet and warning, clearly believing that his servant was about to do something stupid. Cenred, however, just chuckled as he glanced between the two restrained young men.

"This could be interesting," he murmured, more to himself than either of his prisoners. "Very interesting indeed…"

"Leave him out of this!" Arthur yelled, fighting again as he clearly heard a threat in Cenred's tone that Merlin hadn't picked up on. The warlock never saw the blow coming, but as Arthur seemed to make headway with his guards, Cenred backhanded him sharply. Merlin thought he would have fallen if it wasn't for the grip of his own guards and the gasp escaped him before he could stop himself. Arthur fell still and Cenred nodded approvingly.

"I can see you understand how this is going to work. You misbehave, Prince Arthur, I take it out on your little friend here. Congratulations, boy," Cenred spat, his hand fisting momentarily in Merlin's hair. "You just got promoted to whipping boy. Take them away."

His head reeling – although Merlin told himself it was from the blow rather than the sick feeling in his stomach that seemed to be telling him how much trouble they were in this time – Merlin didn't offer a protest as the guards bundled him along. He was too busy focusing on not tripping over his own feet that Merlin didn't truly take notice of their surroundings. He was aware of Arthur being forced to move just in front of him and simply hoped the prince was thinking of ways to get them out of this, for at that moment in time, Merlin felt numb.

Worry for Gwen coursed through him and he could only hope Cenred had no further interest in her now that he had his prize. Of course, Arthur wouldn't be thinking along the same lines. Not only did he love the woman and therefore worry about her more than her friend did, he would believe Morgana was with her. And having the ward of Camelot was a prize for any king, regardless of whether they also had the prince as well. Merlin knew the chances were Morgana was in on it and was probably with her sister right now even as Merlin was jolted to a halt. The men held him fast as one unlocked a cell door and then they tried to force him in.

Merlin, however, was not planning on going quietly.

He simply dug his heels in and flatly refused to move even when the men gave him a fierce shove in between his shoulder blades. Merlin stumbled, but then instantly locked his legs again. They were not going to lock him up that easily. He heard a low chuckle from behind him and knew that he was scoring good points with his master. If there was one thing that Arthur could vouch for, it was that his servant never did as he was told and was certainly not meek and obedient like other serving staff. Merlin would fight back with everything that he had and Cenred was a fool if he thought he could use the warlock as insurance against Arthur.

What he didn't quite think through, however, was that he was a man of light build and clumsy by nature. His hands were bound and he was surrounded by burly guards who had no intention of letting him make their job any harder. One simply took him by the scruff of his neck and Merlin only just prevented himself from crying out as he was forcibly thrown into the cell. He landed heavily, scraping his knees and chin as he hit the cell for but didn't let a sound escape him. He wasn't going to give them that satisfaction.

The guards followed him in, one of them seizing Merlin by the scruff on his shirt and dragging him over to a corner. Merlin didn't struggle this time, he was too preoccupied watching the others wrestling Arthur in. Although the prince didn't seem to be openly struggling (Merlin knew he would never admit to it, but it was obvious Arthur wasn't prepared to risk Cenred making good on his threat until they had more of a plan than just futile resistance), Merlin could also tell that he wasn't making it easy for them. The prince's limbs were stiff and uncoordinated and the guards were forced to work as a team to get him over into the other corner.

Merlin froze when he felt the cold steel of a blade pressed against his wrists, but then realised the guard was cutting away his bindings. He pulled them away slowly, forcing the rope to rub against the already raw marks on Merlin's wrists, but the servant didn't notice. He was too busy watching Arthur and wishing there was something he could do to help. He too was having the ropes cut away, but the men were holding him fast while another unfurled a set of manacles from the wall. It was clear Cenred knew of Arthur's reputation and knew that no amount of threatening his servant was going to make Arthur sit quietly in a cell.

Merlin's guard moved away once he was free and the warlock cursed, wishing there was something he could do as they began to lock Arthur's wrists into the cold metal. He could have used magic to free Arthur from rope, claiming to have just untied it. This was going to make things hard.

Unless…

Merlin grinned as he glanced down, making sure that he couldn't be seen. He let his eyes flash and the lock on the one wrist they had secured sprung open. Arthur didn't need telling twice and instantly lashed out, punching the man closest to him. For a split-second, Merlin thought that it had worked and was already rising to his feet in order to join the fight.

But then the men simply piled on top of Arthur. One drove his fist deep into the prince's stomach and as all the air was driven from Arthur, they wrenched his hands back up and secured them. Merlin ran forward, throwing himself on the back of one of the men but he could have just blown sand at them for all the good it did. The man reached around, grabbed his shoulder with one hand and even as Arthur yelled out a warning, Merlin found himself ripped off and slammed onto the floor. This time, rising was not on his agenda as he focused on getting the air back into his lungs. With one last kick to Arthur's midriff, the guards left, leaving a gasping servant on the floor and a firmly restrained prince in the corner.

"Great," Arthur muttered, leaning back against the wall as he began testing the cuffs. "Just great."

Merlin wasn't sure whether Arthur either wanted or would appreciate an answer, so he stayed quiet as he shakily sat back up again and felt his back. To his surprise, no skin was broken considering the force he had hit the floor with, but he knew for sure he was going to have an impressive array of bruises there before the day was out. Arthur saw his movements.

"Are you alright?" He said quietly, an unspoken concern in his tone. Merlin shrugged.

"Been better." He was aiming for the light hearted tone that he was used to sharing with Arthur, but he wasn't entirely sure he managed to get it. But neither of them mentioned the way his voice seemed to tremble. Merlin hated that he was coming across as weak when he was the most powerful warlock to walk the earth. But right now, he was helpless.

Both Morgana and Morgause were here, and he had never really considered just how strong they were, especially together. Then there was Cenred who seemed to have a sadistic side, Arthur being locked up (and Merlin wasn't entirely sure whether that was simply the best place for the prince until they had a proper plan). Especially when he then considered they had no idea where Gwen was even being held. If he could just free Arthur –regardless of the fallout over the revelation of a certain secret – and they could get out of here, then that was what Merlin would do. But he knew this was about more than just them – and there was no way he could risk someone else getting to Gwen while Arthur was busy yelling at him for being a liar.

Never before had he felt so stuck and Merlin hated it.

Although judging by the scowl on Arthur's face, the prince wasn't enjoying it either. For someone used to lording it over others and having the run of the castle, being locked up and shackled like a common criminal was a blow to his ego if nothing else. It was a constant reminder over the fact that he had lost and Merlin was sure that was precisely why Cenred had done it. He too was a king, he knew how to play this game.

Yet Merlin didn't. He didn't know precisely what Cenred had meant when he said that he had been promoted to whipping boy. As he quietly voiced that out loud, Merlin watched as a series of emotions flickered over Arthur's face. Most prominently, however, seemed to be regret.

"It's my fault he hit you."

"I know most things are your fault, but you do realise not everything is about you, right?"

"Merlin," Arthur groaned and the warlock allowed himself a grin at hearing his master sounding more like his usual self. There was a slight pause, then Arthur huffed a laugh as he seemed to realise what his servant had done, and done successfully as well. But the smile didn't last long and Merlin realised that regret was back on his face. It wasn't an expression he was used to seeing on Arthur. Sadness at times, and anger a lot. But not regret.

"You were hit because I struggled. Everything I'll try, he'll take it out on you."

Merlin knew what that tone of voice meant when Arthur sounded like that. It meant that he was actually taking his role as a prince and Merlin's master seriously. He was not about to let Merlin get hurt if there was a chance he could do something to help him. Or as the case appeared to be this time, not do something to help him. While Merlin was touched that Arthur would consider his health above his own freedom (he knew it wasn't just vanity, Camelot needed a Crown Prince), Merlin also knew he couldn't let Arthur think like that. They needed to get out of here, and Arthur doing as he was told was not going to help matters. Merlin shrugged, letting a slight scoff escape him.

"You call that a hit? Your flying goblets that you throw when half-asleep have more power than that. That was nothing, Sire."

His voice was light, almost too light considering what they were talking about. Arthur looked at him steadily for a long moment and Merlin found that he wanted to squirm. It was a look like that which not only made Merlin feel as if Arthur could see straight through him, but it was also the look that made him truly trust what sort of king Arthur would one day be.

But for that to happen, they needed to get out of here.

It seemed that Arthur knew he was lying and trying to put on a brave front, there was a look in his eyes that indicated he knew Merlin wasn't being honest. But he managed to smile and nodded.

"Come on then. See if you can make yourself useful and get me out of these." Arthur wasn't dismissing the threat to Merlin. But he was also accepting that Merlin was prepared to take the risk and therefore any subsequent consequences if Arthur was. It seemed that the prince couldn't back down from anything, and if his servant wanted to try and escape, then there was no way he was going to sit back and just watch.

Merlin rose into a crouch and moved to beside his master, fingers reaching out to brush across the cuffs. If he could get the angle right, he would be able to use magic in order to force the hinge and then he could just pretend that it was his own strength all along. Arthur clearly thought there was a chance at forcing the lock if he had asked Merlin to try.

Hoping beyond hope that this was the chance they needed in order to get out, Merlin started feeling for weaknesses in the metal. Arthur sat quietly and the warlock realised just how out of the ordinary this was. Arthur seemed to be accepting that his best chance of getting out right now rested with his servant. The same servant, Merlin couldn't help but think, who would be the one to take the brunt of Cenred's anger if this went wrong.

But still, Camelot needed her prince and Merlin needed to once again save his destiny. He would do whatever it took in order to make sure Arthur returned to Camelot in one piece.