I actually wrote this about three months ago. Got hired to illustrate a comic and I just finished it. I actually sat down and wrote the whole story in one sitting from front to back which I have never done with a story before. I just have to edit and extend some scenes and it should be done soon.

Bird in a Cage

Intro

...o0o...

Rumors had reached Camelot court about how Slavers had crossed the border and had been taking young people from some of the border villages. It wasn't an uncommon practice for this to happen because certain people were worth good money on the market.

Slavery was illegal in Camelot but not in a lot of the neighboring kingdoms. It wasn't unusual to see an auction or two on market day. A lot of the farmers and servants were bought and sold instead of hired and paid a small amount to cover for food and board. Since the kidnapping was only in the villages too close to the border you could guess the slavers weren't originally from Camelot.

Uther had sent his son to investigate this grievance that had been brought to his attention. Arthur had taken his most trusted knights and Merlin to investigate. They'd followed the trail left behind from one of the villages that had three young men taken. The tracks left by the cart led beyond the marker for the border.

"Dam they crossed the border back into Olaf's lands." Gwaine swore when he spotted the direction the trail had disappeared into.

"Should we still go get them?" Elyan asked not knowing if it was a good idea.

"I'm not allowed to cross any further unless I want to risk war." Arthur exclaimed in frustration. To come all this way only to be foiled at the first turn. They had signed a treaty with Olaf that stated no members of the royal family were allowed to enter without strict permission from the king. In return they got grain to help them last the long winter months.

"We should head back to Camelot and inform the king." Leon suggested so that Uther could organize an agreement with the other king.

"I agree." Lancelot nodded at the plan to turn back.

"I guess you are right. My father can write King Olaf a letter informing him of the situation." Arthur turned his horse around.

"We should stop to eat." Percival suggested, emphasizing his point with the loud gurgle of his stomach.

"No point." Merlin exclaimed with a shake of his head. "We're out of supplies." He turned the bag over to show there was nothing in it.

"That isn't possible. Let me see." Arthur cantered his horse over and grabbed the supply bag. Finding it to be so light it must only be filled with air.

"I warned you guys not to eat too much and make the supplies last longer, but no. No one ever listens to me." Merlin put his hands on his hips.

"I told you to pack for a two week long trip. You didn't pack enough." Arthur complained.

"Oh I packed plenty. If you guys weren't so gluttonous we would still have plenty of food left." Merlin crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "You took snack breaks at least twice a day and were too lazy to go hunting when we made camp to restock the supplies you ate."

"The main market of Mercia really isn't that far from the border." Percival commented. Since he wasn't originally from Camelot he was familiar with the area.

"You can't go. You are gather too much attention to yourself because of your size." Elyan pointed up at Percival.

Gwaine swung an arm around the manservant's shoulder. "Me and Merles here will go. We'll blend right in." The knight reached into his pack on his horse where he'd stuff some of his old clothes from before he came to Camelot. "I even brought a change of clothes."

"I don't know." Arthur stroked his chin in thought. The knight wasn't the most responsible. He knew he would never let anything happen to Merlin though. "Alright be quick about it." Arthur reluctantly agreed since he was so hungry. Handing over a bag of gold for them to buy some supplies. They were all starving and the closest forest was on the other side of the border anyway so they couldn't just catch something to eat.

Merlin looked in the bag to see how much money they had to spend and sighed. "Arthur you can't just give use a full bag of gold and expect us not to get asked question. Peasants do not just walk around with this type of currency."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Did it ever occur to you that I only carry gold on my person."

"Does anyone else have any silver or copper pieces? I'll give you gold for it." Merlin looked around at the other knights.

"I've got more reasonable money?" Lancelot volunteered his coin purse.

"What about gold isn't reasonable?" Arthur asked himself and received blank looks from the others.

...

After only a short walk once they crossed the border they reached the village that housed the market. Merlin would describe it more of a small city than a town or village. Wayland was booming with people from what he could see entering and exiting.

The guards at the entrance gave them suspicious looks but allowed them to enter with no problem.

Merlin had to drag Gwaine away from a tavern that was on the way. The knight mumbled "Just one drink" but the warlock wouldn't budge. The market was one of the biggest Merlin had ever seen. Many farmers and merchants travels far to trade here. Since Mercia was right on the border with Camelot it was a good trading hub.

He had some meals in mind that Merlin could make so he headed to stalls that had items he could use in them. He was trying to buy some bread and was shocked at the high price the man was trying to sell the item for.

"That is way overpriced!" Gwaine exclaimed with outrage. He was trying to take advantage of his friend. He lightly shoved the servant out of the way so that he could deal with the merchant himself.

Merlin was standing behind the knight while he tried to haggle with the merchant. He could hear a bunch of wagons rolling into the market. He expected to see more food arriving but when he turned he noticed they didn't hold food but people.

"Aw, Gwaine." Merlin tugged on the man's threadbare tunic to gain his attention.

When Gwaine saw what had gained the manservant's attention he grabbed Merlin by the arm and dragged him out of sight. He observed from the shadows the three cages led by 6 slavers at least. They outnumbered them two to one. More than that actually because Merlin was no use in a fight.

"We have to do something." Merlin demanded while tugging on the rouge knight's tunic. There was at least 20 people in residence of the cages. Merlin couldn't just leave them there to rot. He knew what it felt like to be one of them. The despair that takes over you thinking you'll never be free again. Not knowing if or when you would see your loved ones again.

"What we need to do is go back and collect the others. We can't do anything when it is just the two of us." Gwaine argued using his common sense for once.

"Ok." Merlin agreed since he knew the slavers would be there till morning. Forgetting about the bread they headed back to the others.

...

"Where's the food?" Percival asked as soon as they returned. His stomach felt like he was eating himself.

"We saw the slave traders in the market place." Merlin informed them slightly out of breath since they had rushed to make their way back.

"So they did cross the border." Arthur contemplated out loud. "I guess there is nothing else we can do then. Might as well head back to Camelot."

"What do you mean we're heading home? What about the slavers?" Merlin asked with his hand on his hips.

"We can't do anything now that they are on the other side of the border." Arthur replied calmly.

"They are right there!" Merlin pointed in the direction he'd just come from. "You aren't just going to let them get away are you?"

"Since they crossed the border the Slavers are King Olaf's problem." Arthur replied back.

"You are just going to leave the Camelot citizens in their hands." Merlin said with disappointment in his voice.

"I can't do anything for them right now." Arthur sighed. He didn't like the tone of voice Merlin was using. It sounded like he was disappointed in him not just the fact that they couldn't stop the slavers.

"Think about what's best for the people instead of the stupid treaties." Merlin spoke his mind forgetting about his station once again.

"We're heading back to Camelot in the morning. That's the end of it." Arthur said with conviction. He'd never seen Merlin this angry over something that didn't directly involve him before. Why did this matter so much to him?

Merlin stomped off to sulk.

The prince was going to go after him but Gwaine stopped him. Saying that Merlin needed some alone time.

.

Merlin stomped into a field to calm down. Flopped onto the ground with a sigh. He shouldn't have spoken to Arthur like that. Sometimes he forgot he was his master and not just his friend.

He pulled down his neckerchief so that he could get to the burn mark just bellow his collar bone. Merlin always wore high necked shirts to hide it. When he had managed to make his way back to Eldor as a child his mother had given him his first one to help hide it.

Many people thought it was a fashion statement but it really wasn't.

He remembered when he was a child...

o0o

~ His mother was the closest thing the surrounding villages had to a doctor.

No one could really afford to pay her what she deserved for her services so she took what they could offer. It was never enough to actually support them, just a couple food items for her trouble so she still had to work the fields to make ends meat.

Hunith had been called to one of the neighboring villages to help deliver a baby. She was told it may take a couple days so she decided she had to bring her son with her since she didn't have anyone she trusted enough to leave him with the certain talents he possessed.

.

Radley was situated in a wetlands area. It was surrounded by ponds with reeds surrounding it. There were a couple meadows to hence the name of the village that meant meadow of reeds.

They arrived mid afternoon and were greeted warmly by the family. Merlin starred in fascination at how big the woman's stomach was. Since the women hadn't gone into labour yet all they could do was wait. Hunith checked the women over and concluded it could be any minute now.

It didn't happen that evening though so they settled down for the night.

In the morning Merlin went to explore the town. He tried to join some of the village children but they rejected him. Merlin had ran into the hut he had left his mother in. His eyes widened at the sight of the yelling women.

Hunith had immediately tried to escort him out since this was not something a boy his age should witness. The pregnant woman she had been hired to look after had finally gone into labor. "Go play." She pushed him out the door and then locked it not wanting to be disturbed again.

Merlin frowned at the closed door. He had tried to play with the other children but they wouldn't allow him. He was strange and mysterious to them. So he had made his way to a meadow to play alone.

Looking around to make sure no one was looking he felt it was safe.

His mother had always warned him to never let anyone see him perform magic so he always made sure no one was around when he performed it. She told him to never perform magic, and Merlin took it as never do it when anyone else was around.

Concentrating on his hands he conjured some fire. It was surprisingly cool to his touch. The destructive force was completely under his control and harmless to himself. Biting his lip in determination he managed to make the fire turn into the shape of a bird. He smiled to himself at his accomplishment. It was becoming easier to control his powers every day.

What he didn't know was a villager had seen him.

.

Wilhelm had gone to the woods to collect some fire wood.

Catching sight of the small child alone he stopped in his tracks. It wasn't safe for children to wonder so far away from civilization. He was making his way over to herd the boy back towards the village when he saw what he was doing. Dropping his axe he ran back towards the village.

That was no child but a demon.

Immediately when he got back Wilhelm grabbed a horse and rode towards the town to get help.

…

Merlin had wondered back towards the village once he had started to get hungry. He put a hand on his stomach when it let off a large growl in displeasure.

A man on a horse rode back towards Radley followed by a large caravan. It was unusual to see these in villages this small. "There he is." The man pointed towards him. "That is the boy I saw performing magic."

Merlin's eyes widened at the accusation. It was true but he was still surprised. He had been so careful checking no one was watching him.

He tried to dash away just like his mother had taught him. She said if anyone ever discovers your powers you must run as fast and faraway as you can. But he hadn't gotten that far when one of the villagers had grabbed his arm and started to drag him towards where the caravan had been parked.

A large man climbed down from his seat in the carriage and stepped down to observe him closer. He had a hard look about him. There was a bad air that surrounded his person.

"Demonic magic user. He's just a little kid Jagger." One of the other slavers scoffed at what they traveled so far to retrieve.

"Age isn't everything. Whose boy is he?" Jaggar asked looking at the village occupants.

"I think he came with that healer women. He doesn't belong in this village." A woman from the crowd answered.

It wasn't until he was dragged closer that Merlin had realized that the caravan was actual a cage covered with fabric. It didn't hold food at all but other people that he could see peeking out with a look of despair on their faces. He gulped when he noticed the chains they sported.

Jagger looked the little boy over as he struggled against his men's hold. He had this feeling there was a lot more to the boy than met the eye. Even if he didn't have any magic he could get something for him. "I'll take him." The man exclaimed. "Put him in with the others."

Merlin started to panic. His eyes flashed gold and the man trying to manhandle him into the caravan was blasted back away from him.

"Hold him down!" The bad man yelled at his minions. He retrieved something from the pocket of his coat. A one of his men pinned the boy he put the collar around his neck.

Merlin went limp when he felt something cold snap around his neck. It felt like he had just stopped, like his blood had stopped flowing or something else.

He was thrown into the cage roughly. A man climbed in after him and attached at shackle to his ankle. He slammed the cage door on his way out.

.

Hunith had just exited the hut after finishing performing the birth. It had gone very well considering her minor teachings from when she was a young women. She was wiping her hands on her apron to clean off. She was going to ask someone to point her towards the nearest river when she heard her son's voice.

"Mother!" Merlin yelled using the bars to prop himself up as he grasped them in his hands.

"Merlin!" Hunith yelled back in terror as she realized her son was in the caged carriage. She ran over and grabbed his hand that he had reached past the metal bars. "What is the meaning of this?" Hunith demanded.

"Who are you?" Jagger asked the women.

"I'm his mother and I demand you release him at once." Hunith hissed with conviction.

"Well your son was caught performing magic." Jagger answered the reason for his imprisonment.

"You will release him." Hunith pulled a dagger that she kept on herself for self-defence.

The man only laughed before holding her wrist making her drop the weapon. "You dare threaten me." pulling his hand back he slapped the women across the face hard enough to make her lose her footing and fall to the ground. Looking down at the fallen women in satisfaction. "Let's head out." Jagger turned around and climbed back up into the driver's seat. Snapping the reigns he set the carriage in motion.

Hunith held her burning cheek as she watched the carriage disappear further away. The villagers gave her a wide berth as if she was some foreign creature that they didn't know what it was. Seeing no point in staying in this village a moment longer. Climbing to her feet she started to follow the path her son had been taken.

If it was the last thing she did she would get her son back.

...

Merlin huddled in a ball. He received sympathetic looks from the other occupants.

The barred walls were drafty at this time of night. They didn't keep any heat in, he felt his teeth chattering. He huddled into a fetal position for warmth.

.

He snapped awake when the carriage stopped moving. The cage door was opened and a man came in with bowls full of food. Peaking at the contents he wrinkled his nose at the foul smell coming from it. Merlin felt his stomach turn.

"You better eat up kid. That is all you will be getting to eat." The man exclaimed. Climbing back out and shut the door with a twang as the lock clicked. It seemed that the slavers had made camp for the night.

Just as everyone was starting to drift off they were all herded out of the cage attached to one long chain so that they couldn't easily run away from each other.

"Stand in a line." They were instructed. Merlin tried to peek around the adults to see what was happening. The cry of pain scared him. He clutched to the robes of the man in front of him who turned and patted him on the head. "Don't worry the pain should only last a second." The man whispered to try and comfort Merlin which might've worked if there wasn't another cry of pain at that exact moment.

Once he got to the front of the line he could clearly see the man with the hot poker. The bearded man that had comforted him only grimaced when the hot metal touched his skin and didn't make any sound. "You're next boy." The poker man indicated Merlin tried to back up but he just ended up running into another slave behind him. He was pulled forward by his wrist.

Pulling a hot poker from the fire.

Merlin had to be held in place. He struggled in the man's grip to get away from the hot poker. "Hold still boy. You don't want me to miss and have to do it twice." Merlin froze at hearing that and the man took the chance while he was quite. Placing the hot poker right below his clavicle he burned the S into his skin to mark him as a slave.

Merlin cried out in pain. It only lasted a couple seconds but it was still too long a time. He was brought back to the carriage to sleep off the pain.

.

When he gained consciousness again the carriage was moving again.

Merlin looked around trying to figure out where they were. He could tell from the colours of the flags on buildings they had passed that they had left Cendred's kingdom. The red flags waved in the wind.

He frowned when he saw the bruise on the cheek of the women across from him.

The man from before was walking by the carriage.

"What are you going to do to me?" Merlin called out to him.

The bad man walked back over to stand by the side of the cage. "I'll be bringing you to Camelot. You should fetch a fair price there." He said contemplative.

Merlin shuddered at the name. The way his mother talked about Camelot made it sound like a dangerous and scary place.

"What's your name kid?" The bad man asked curiously.

"Merlin." He sniffled.

"Named after a falcon are you. Little birdie." The bad man smirked as he looked down on him. "You're caged now with nowhere to fly." He laughed then walked away.

Merlin rested his head against the cold metal. He knew he had to get away.

His mother had mentioned once that Camelot was a three day ride from Eldor. They had been a little further than that. This is the second night they had stopped so it seemed he was running out of time. If they got him to Camelot he would be killed for sure.

How could he possibly escape without the help of his magic? It was a hopeless situation.

...

The next night when they had stopped to set up camp. Camelot knights swarmed the slavers in the middle of the night. Horses surrounded the carriage and blocked every exit.

Merlin shrunk back from the red cloaks marking these men as Knights of Camelot.

"Surrender." Once of the knights called.

"Slaving is banned in the Kingdom of Camelot." What was the head knight announced as his men arrested what slavers they could catch.

The trading of human life's for money was against the law in the Kingdom of Camelot. Bounty hunting was a different matter. Anyone who was wanted by the crown was an exempt from this law since they did something to deserve it. Anyone who performed magic automatically fell into this category.

In self-defence the slavers pulled out their own swords against the knights. Swords clashed all around. The slavers that still could fled their cargo in self-preservation knowing they were no match against the highly trained knights. Not willing to risk their lives for money since if they were dead they couldn't spend it. They could always collect more but they wouldn't be able to if they were imprisoned.

"You've escaped this time Little Birdie." Jagger exclaimed as he two abandoned them.

A knight cut the chain connecting the slaves to the carriage.

In all the excitement Merlin took the chance to slip away. Once he got to the safety of the tree line he peaked through the bushes as the knights rounded up the slaves. Taking their statements; he hoped that all of them were returned to their homes.

Merlin couldn't risk trusting his safe return to the knights. Jagger had not been quite about why Merlin had been taken or why they were headed into Camelot. If one of the other slaves revealed he had magic the Camelot knights would turn on him in a second.

It was ironic how he was saved by the same people who would prosecute him if they knew what he was.

.

He followed the tracks left by the carriage back the way they had come. Merlin could only hope that he could find his way back home to Eldor. Back to his mother. He missed her desperately.

The trek was exhausting him. He felt tired and hungry. It seemed impossible to get back. It was too far. He collapsed to the side of the road once night hit again. His stomach was growling at him and he only managed to find some berries to settle it.

The next morning he set out once more.

.

He froze when he noticed someone else coming towards him. They were silhouetted by the light of the sun so he couldn't tell if it was a man or a women. Shielding his eyes from the sun he squinted at the approaching figure. He recognized the persons walking pattern.

"Mother!" Merlin yelled running full speed towards her. She threw her arms around him.

"Thank god." Hunith cried as she held her son. Her worst fears had come true when she had seen him in that bounty hunters cage. "I thought I would never see you again." She rested her head on his and ran her fingers through his hair.

"I hope you learnt your lesson." Hunith berated him as they walked home holding hands.

"I have." Merlin replied; at that moment he actually meant it but it was too bad he was too young at the time to truly remember his conviction. ~

o0o

...TBC