The Price of Loyalty

Chapter One:

"This had better be everything you have promised, Merchant Fendrel."

The man bowed low. "It shall be, your Majesty. You have already seen what it can do on a small scale; now your entire city will benefit from its use. You will not be disappointed."

"We shall see," Uther said. Despite his attempt to sound unconvinced, Gaius could tell that the King was feeling a great deal of anticipation and excitement over this. His smile had begun at the first demonstration, when the condemned woman had screamed as the crystal touched her skin, writhing and shrieking in agony until death finally claimed her. The smile was hidden now because the more pleased Uther appeared the higher price the merchant would surely ask. But Gaius knew it was there, and it made nausea roil in his gut.

King Uther reached out for the lever and Gaius braced himself, hoping desperately that Merlin would not choose this moment to return from the herb-picking task Gaius had set him.

Uther threw the lever and at first nothing happened. Then a low hum began to emit from the device, slowly building in pitch and volume until it was a painfully high whine that had all the inhabitants of the court covering their ears in an attempt to block it out. It passed into the realm of inaudibility, and abruptly stopped.

"Well?" Uther demanded, glaring at the merchant.

The man just smiled. "Patience, your majesty."

Uther opened his mouth to reply – and a violent concussion shook the air.

Gaius staggered backwards, a hand flying to his forehead as a sharp stabbing pain shot through his skull. He forced himself to hide his reaction quickly, aware that besides Arthur's faint wince no one else in the court had felt anything other than the movement of air. Uther knew of his past, of course, so even if someone had noticed Gaius doubted that he would be in any danger of arrest or execution. But it wasn't his own safety Gaius was concerned about; it never was. He feared for Merlin.

"Your city is protected, my lord," Fendrel announced. "That for which you have strived for many years has at last been achieved here this day."

"I will be the judge of that," Uther replied coolly. "Arthur, send out patrols. Search the city, and round up all of those who show signs of having been affected. If anyone attempts to flee, arrest them immediately."

Arthur dipped his head in obeisance. "Yes, sire." He left the throne room, his knights following him out.

Gaius swallowed, trying desperately not to panic. It was not working very well.

As soon as he was able to excuse himself without attracting undue attention or suspicion, Gaius hurried back to his chambers.

Please let Merlin be there, he thought. Or better yet, let him have been outside the city walls when it happened.

By the time he rounded the last corner Gaius was practically running, but the sight that greeted him stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Merlin…"

He dropped to his knees beside the fallen boy, trying to hold back his dismay and stay calm, professional. It was hard. Merlin was sprawled out awkwardly on the floor of the hallway, limbs askew and a basket of herbs, which had spilled its contents everywhere, lolling away from his limp hand. Blood trickled from his nose and his face was ghostly pale. Small mercy that he was still breathing.

He had clearly been knocked unconscious by the shockwave that had radiated through Camelot from the device, and the fact that Gaius had been expecting it didn't make the situation any easier to bear.

"Oh, my boy…" Gaius exhaled sadly, wishing he had been able to warn Merlin what was going to happen. The pain would have hit him out of nowhere, taking him completely off guard. What Gaius had felt was bad enough, and he practiced magic only infrequently. Merlin was a warlock, though – born of magic, for magic, and his use of magic was as natural to him as breathing. The blast could easily have killed him and direct contact with any of the crystals for too long certainly would.

It wasn't safe for Merlin here anymore, if it ever had been.

Gaius moved Merlin into the comparative privacy of his chambers and tended to him as best he could, though he knew of no potions or remedies that could counter the effects of the device. His own head ached mildly in the background, a constant reminder of what now stood proudly in the throne room, and what could befall him if he ever again attempted to use magic.

As he gently cleaned the graze on Merlin's forehead, which must have been inflicted when he collapsed onto hard stone, Gaius heard a low moan. Merlin's eyelids fluttered, and his fingers twitched.

So strong, Gaius thought in wonder, for one so young.

Merlin mumbled something incoherent.

"Merlin?" Gaius encouraged, absently stroking back his hair in a soothing gesture. The boy was like a son to him, and Gaius loved him as such, even if there was no true blood between them. "Time to wake up."

"M… Arthur… own breakfast… once… wouldn't kill…"

"For me?" Gaius coaxed.

Another moan, but Merlin cracked open an eye obediently – and winced at the light. "Ow."

Gaius's brow creased with sympathy. "I'm sorry, Merlin."

"…wha'… happened…?" he groaned, lifting an uncoordinated hand to cradle his head.

"You were knocked unconscious," Gaius said simply.

"Don't… 'member… anyone… was jus'… walking back… and then… hurt…"

"Do you think you can sit up?"

Gaius assumed the sound he made in response was intended as a 'no' but Gaius started to pull him into a sitting position anyway, and Merlin did his best to help. Once they had managed it Merlin closed his eyes and tried to bring his breathing back to normal.

"Ungh… feels like... been training with… Arthur… for five days straight… and then hit with that… fire blast… from Nimueh again… about twenty times…" He forced his eyes open and they skittered around the room for a moment before focusing on Gaius's face. "What was it?"

"King Uther," Gaius explained, "has turned on a device which repels magic."

Merlin stared at him without comprehension, so Gaius went into greater detail. "A merchant arrived in Camelot this morning with a heavily laden cart, and requested to speak with the king. He claimed that Uther would be greatly interested in what he had found, and unfortunately he was right. Apparently this Fendrel character was exploring the crumbled ruins of an ancient city, and discovered a device that is both a weapon and a shield designed to defend a city… from magic." He paused, allowing his words to sink in.

"How?" Merlin croaked.

Gaius handed him a cup of water. "The device actually consists of a few parts. There is the main hub, which now resides in Uther's throne room at the heart of Camelot. There are five smaller 'nodes' as Fendrel called them, in the form of whole crystals set within tripod-like brackets, which have been set up at strategic points along the outer wall. When the device is activated, the nodes link to the hub and create a bubble around the city. Any purely magical creature on the outside is unable to pass through, and any person with magic struggles and weakens greatly if they attempt to enter."

Merlin's widened as the implications started to hit him, but Gaius hadn't even told him the worst of it. "Anyone inside the city who has magic will have been struck a blow similar to what you felt at the moment the bubble was formed. Arthur and his guards have already been sent out to find all those who were affected. Even if a person manages to stay hidden, their strength will be sapped the longer they remain in the city, and if they get too close to the hub or the nodes they will experience dizziness and feel sick."

"Gauis-"

"That is not all," Gauis said darkly. "There are smaller crystals, of finger length and thickness that can be worn on a chain around the neck to provide personal protection for the wearer. Uther has one and… Arthur has the other."

"Arthur," Merlin echoed.

"For any person of magic, direct skin contact with a crystal causes extreme pain and will kill them if contact is maintained for too long. The Druid woman that Uther had locked in his dungeons… they tested the crystals on her, to see if the merchant was telling the truth. She took half an hour to die."

Merlin closed his eyes, grieving for a woman he didn't even know but sympathised with all too well.

The woman had been caught using magic to try to heal her child who had suffered a bad fall and cracked his skull. A mother could not have been expected to do nothing, even though she was in the bustling market of Camelot at the time. The guards had arrested her before she could finish her spell and the little boy had died. She had been sentenced to be burned at the stake tomorrow morning.

"I know," Gaius said heavily, squeezing Merlin's shoulder. "I know. But there was nothing we could have done to save her. Right now, we need to worry about saving you."

Merlin looked up at him, a hopeless expression in his eyes. "What can we do?" he asked. "Destroy the device?"

Gaius shook his head. "It is too well guarded and getting close would cripple you before you could do anything anyway. I am afraid that there is only one option. You must leave Camelot. Tonight. We'll sneak you out through the underground passageways-"

"Gaius!" Merlin objected, horrified. "I can't just leave! My duty, my destiny, is here with Arthur!"

"My boy, to stay is suicide."

"We don't know that for sure," Merlin argued. "As long as I don't touch any of the crystals-"

"Merlin, you don't just have magic. You are magic. The device knocked you unconscious when you were nowhere near it. If someone else had found you before I did, you would have been discovered for who you truly are and probably killed immediately. The longer you stay, the worse the symptoms will become. You won't be able to hide what it is doing to you."

"I'm a good liar," Merlin stated stubbornly. "I've kept my secret this long; I don't intend to be caught now."

"It is too dangerous."

"It has always been dangerous," Merlin exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air. "If I wanted to live a safe, risk-free life then coming to live in Camelot was about the stupidest decision I've ever made. But I have a purpose here, Gaius. I have to protect Arthur and help him become the sort of King who would never allow this device to continue being used. My presence here is more important than ever. Besides, if I leave, Uther will have won. I refuse to let that happen."

Gaius admired his ward's conviction, but he could not in good conscience let Merlin stay here. He had promised Hunith that he would look after the boy. "Merlin-"

"Merlin!" A guard burst into their chambers. "Arthur demands your presence immediately. He is in the courtyard."

Merlin nodded. "I'll be right there."

The guard withdrew and Merlin made to get up off the infirmary bed. Gaius gave him The Eyebrow of disapproval, but the boy seemed to have grown rather immune to it in the time they had known each other.

"You are not well," Gaius said sternly. "You need to rest."

"If I don't show up Arthur will be suspicious, which is the last thing we need right now," Merlin pointed out.

As much as he wanted to, Gaius couldn't argue with him on that one. He couldn't help fretting though, when Merlin swayed unsteadily on his feet and pain lingered in his eyes from what had to be a terrible, persistent headache.

"I'll be back later," Merlin promised, offering a somewhat forced smile of reassurance and heading for the door.

"Merlin."

He looked back.

"Be careful."

ooOOoo