Author's note: This chapter makes me feel horrible for Merlin. I'm giving you warning that there is a rape scene. Rape is horrible, disgusting, and inhumane. I hated writing it, but it was essential for this story. I do not condone rape at all. I have friends and a family member who have been and it something I would never wish upon anyone. If this offends anyone, I deeply apologize and I promise that there will not be another scene like this in this story again. It was difficult to write and I apologize again. I left notes in bold for anyone who doesn't want to read it. Again, I apologize.

Warnings: There is a rape scene. I will be marking where it is so those who are uncomfortable with reading that don't have to. I hated writing it, but it is essential to the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for minor OCs

When he awoke, the dragon was not there.

Instead, he found himself alone. He didn't know exactly where he was, other than the fact that it was dimly lit. He had a feeling it was a cave of some sort, but he couldn't be for certain. It was unusually warm for a cave, with tapestries and torches hanging on the walls. He found himself on a large bed with blankets as red as blood.

He shivered, wondering why on earth a dragon would need a bed. Standing up, he walked around the room, eyes widening. It was a rather large cave, very spacious with furniture of all sorts draped around here and there.

"This cannot be happening," he rubbed his temples, almost tempted to hide under the bed. "This cannot be happening."

But it was. As much as he didn't want to admit it, there was no use in denying it. He swung his legs off the bed, taking the cave as a whole. Just as he thought, it was a lot more spacious than he thought. The dragon was nowhere in sight, which was a relief and unnerving at the same time. He didn't want to see him, but he also didn't want to keep waiting for him to return.

He thought of his mother and Gaius, Will and Freya, the village. He could almost feel the tears burn the back of his eyes, but he wiped them away. "Crying won't do any good," he reminded himself, taking a deep breath. "I need to find a way out of here."

He wandered past the furniture, into one of the darker exits of the cave. He could hear water dripping in the distance; the rocks that made the wall glistened and shine like the stars in the night sky. The ground was damp and he shivered, wrapping his thin cloth jacket tighter around himself. He could hear bats and possibly other animals make noises.

"Creepy cave," he felt around the walls, wrinkling his nose at the wet feeling on his hands. He was now missing the warm bed. Well, just a little. If he could find a way to get away from the dragon, then that would be great.

He frowned then, remembering the village. If he left, the dragon would go back on his word and kill them all. He didn't want that for Gaius and his mother. Nor for Will and Freya, who had their whole lives ahead of them; and with a baby on the way too, it would be selfish. He couldn't do that to them. He had to go back or, at least, try and find a way back. He had no idea where he even started.

'What if the dragon comes back and is mad?' he began to walk even faster, breaking into a run. 'What if he thinks I ran away and attacks home?'

He suddenly found himself sprinting through the cave, almost slipping a few times on puddles of water. The bats above his head chirped at the sounds of his heavy breathing, but he found that he couldn't care. He had to find his way out and back to where the dragon put him.

He continued to run, feeling a small surge of relief when he saw the glow of the tapers on the wall. He followed them, the image of the furniture appearing. He couldn't see the dragon, which was both relieving and rather taxing at the same time.

"There you are."

He jumped, immediately whirling around to see the dragon standing before him. He was in his human form, though he was now wearing a dark brown shirt and boots. He looked at him with a smirk, his blue eyes occasionally flashing gold. Merlin's heart leapt into his throat and he jumped over the couch, trying to distance himself from the creature. The dragon only raised an eyebrow when he grabbed the nearest object and pointed it at him. "A pillow? Is that the best you can do?"

He glared at him. "What do you want from me?"

"Excuse me?"

"You brought me here, so what do you want?" he almost threw the feathery object, though he had a feeling he was just humoring the dragon. "Answer me!"

"Patience is a virtue, or so they say," the dragon let out a dark sounding laugh. "I brought you here to entertain me."

He moved further behind the couch, the dragon moving forward with each step. "I don't know how to entertain," he protested, not setting down the pillow. "I can't sing or make jokes! I don't even have any acrobatic talents!"

The dragon only smirked. "You can dance."

"What?"

He laughed humorlessly, crossing his arms. "I first saw the night of my father's celebration. I was just passing through, trying to decide if I wanted to pick any of you off or just leave you all alone, but then I saw you."

He gulped, not knowing whether to feel creeped out or scared. "So you were stalking me?" the dragon blinked, as if he didn't register this new team. "You were watching me for all these days and I didn't even know about it?"

"Yes," the dragon said emotionlessly. "I've been watching you."

Now officially creeped out, he glared at the dragon. "Then what's my name?"

"Merlin."

"And what's your name? Or whatever it is you dragons call yourselves."

"Arthur."

He suddenly felt surprised at how common his name sounded. "Arthur?" he asked, trying to make more sense of it. The dragon nodded, almost looking a bit prideful. "That's a rather ordinary sounding name."

"What did you expect?" he raised a perfectly arched golden brow. "Some fancy name that no one could pronounce?"

"…Maybe."

Arthur rolled his eyes, stepping closer towards the couch. Merlin stepped back again, finding himself now very close to another piece of furniture. Arthur only walked towards a chair nearby, fingering a guitar that had been left sitting there. It appeared to be an ordinary instrument, but if he looked closer, he could tell the wood had gold etched into it and diamonds along the back. Of course, only a dragon could have the finest of things.

The dragon sat down in the chair with fluid gracefulness, almost like a blur. "I'm not going to eat you," he stated. "If I was, I would have done it a while ago. I would have cooked you over a spit. Maybe I'd invite a few friends over as well."

He didn't know if he was being serious, or if he was joking, but he didn't intend to find out. "Good to know." Was all he said, trying to keep his distance from the man.

Arthur just strummed the strings, a dark, haunting chord coming out. "I bet you're surprised I know how to play, but we dragons do have a lot of free time and being immortal does give you a lot of time to discover to tricks," he turned his unblinking eyes towards Merlin. "Dance for me."

He flushed pink at the order, hands clenching at his sides. "Dance? Now?"

"Do you need to clean out your ears? I said dance for me."

He wet his lips, suddenly feeling parched. "Do I have to?" he asked, trying to think of a reason to back out of it. "I mean, I'm kind of tired."

Arthur stopped strumming the strings, eyes flashing again and glared over at him. "Dance, or I shall make you dance. Pick which one you prefer."

"You don't give a lot of choices," he mumbled, hoping the dragon didn't hear that. If he did, he didn't respond. Instead, he continued to strum the guitar strings. He sighed in defeat, deciding it was best to just do what the dragon wanted. It was either that, or be forced to. He still wasn't sure which one was better.

The chords were haunting, as if they were telling a sad story of a young couple, or whatever else anyone could imagine. Arthur had his eyes fixed on him the whole time, looking as unblinking as they always did. He spun in a circle, hands entwined above his head as he tried to think of movements that would work. If Arthur looked entertained, he didn't show it. He just looked passive, almost uninterested. But he could tell he wasn't because his eyes would flash every now and then with an emotion he couldn't place.

"You can stop now," Arthur stood up, setting the guitar back down and headed towards a table with a basket nearby. "I'm sure you're hungry; here."

He tossed him an apple and some bread, which he took gratefully. His stomach growled in response and Arthur smirked. "When you're done eating, you can dance again."

"What?" he asked in between mouthfuls. "But I just got done!"

"You lacked energy. I assumed it was because you've gone two days without food."

His stomach lurched and he found himself feeling sick. Two days without food? He'd been captive here for two days? "I was asleep the whole time?" he asked, now not feeling very hungry. "And you didn't even bother to wake me up?"

Arthur shrugged, obviously not caring. "You move a lot in your sleep," he picked up some gold from a small box nearby, fingering it delicately. "And sometimes you talk too. It made you look rather foolish."

"Gee, thanks."

"Are you done yet?"

He looked down at his lap, where his unfinished apple and bread lay. "Not yet," he glared up at his captor. "Why, in a hurry?"

"You know, I could kill you if I wanted to," Arthur glared at him, both their gazes meeting heatedly. "Maybe you should be grateful that I spared your life."

"Grateful?" he sputtered. "You kidnapped me! You took me away from my family and friends, and you expect me to be grateful? Do you even understand how that would make me, or anyone else in my position feel?"

From the look on Arthur's face, the answer was no. He rolled his eyes, taking another bite of the apple as Arthur just stared at him. He didn't look surprised from his outburst, but he did look nostalgic for some reason. "You remind me of her," he said after a moment of silence. "She was just as passionate as you."

"Who?"

"It doesn't matter," he brushed him off arrogantly. "Now hurry up."

He rolled his eyes at his snappiness, finishing off the bread and apple quick. He had to give the dragon some credit; he didn't feel more awake now. Arthur had picked up his guitar again, now strumming a livelier tune. He blinked, remembering it was one of the songs they'd played at the festival. As if reading his mind, Arthur turned his head to speak to him. "This is the song I saw you dancing to," he verified, just to clear things up. "Now dance for me."

Merlin only sighed softly, getting up to go over to the dragon and dance in the open space in front of him. He knew this song by heart, copying the movements that Freya had taught him when he first wanted to learn the dance. His mother would hum it to him when he was little as a lullaby, and he could hear her voice. He could only hope that she was alright, though there was no way of knowing if, or when, he would ever see her again.

His hips swayed to the beat, and he closed his eyes, not liking the feeling of Arthur watching him. The dragon's eyes were intense, so intense that he felt like he was burning a whole right through him. He cleared his throat a few times, wondering if the dragon would catch on and stop, but that didn't give him much luck. Arthur only continued to watch him.

Then, the strumming stopped.

He opened his eyes, finding the dragon was no longer in his seat, but right in front of him. He grabbed him by the front of his worn blue shirt, bringing their lips together in a rather hard manner. He yelped, trying to push him away but Arthur grabbed his wrists, holding them above his head firmly. "Don't fight," he commanded. "I'm doing this for your own good."

"What are you doing?" he continued to thrash, almost giving him a good kick to the shin. "Let me go! Now!"

*There is a rape scene. If you don't wish to read it, then look for the next bold words."

Arthur didn't listen to him, he just dragged him over to the bed and threw him on it. He didn't realize it, but even in human form, the dragon was incredibly strong. Within a matter of seconds, he ripped his shirt off, hands reaching towards his trousers. Merlin hissed, attempting furiously to remove Arthur's hand from his wrists. "Stop!" he pleaded. "You don't have to do this; I don't want this! Stop!"

Arthur didn't listen, he just dropped his hand towards his flaccid cock. He wanted to throw up, the dragon's hands unbearably hot against his skin. "No," he groaned, his body betraying him, feelings he didn't want rising up. "No, stop, please!"

He did manage to get one of his wrists free, almost smacking Arthur in the face with his right hand. Arthur managed to catch it right before it hit his face, hissing when his bracelet touched his skin.

"What do we have here?" he asked, examining the stone. "A dragon stone, huh? Well, that'll have to go."

He threw it across the room, continuing to touch him. Merlin shook his head, feeling bile rise up in his throat. "Don't!" he cried out. "No, no, no! Don't do this!"

Arthur just ignored him, his bright blue eyes flashing with lust. He only stood up momentarily to remove his own trousers. Merlin shut his eyes, wishing this would all go away; that Arthur would disappear and he was back home with his mother and uncle, hanging out with his friends. Anything would be better than this.

He was jerked out of his illusion when he entered him. He screamed, the sound raw and bloody. Arthur hissed in pleasure, his grip tightening on his wrists. He didn't even bother to prepare him, he just went on right ahead, thrusting in and out at a merciless pace. Merlin didn't even bother trying to stop screaming. He continued to fight against Arthur, tears of pain and sorrow streaming down his face.

*End*

It was over in less than a couple minutes, Arthur releasing inside of him and then pulling out, breathing deeply against him. Merlin just pulled away from him, scooting towards the edge of the bed and holding his bruised wrists. Arthur just sighed, wiping the sweat away from his face with a cloth. "You and I are now linked; body and soul," he began. "This states that you have been claimed by me and no other dragon can touch you," his eyes hardened with anger. "I should have done this to her before he came. But it doesn't matter now, you belong to me."

Merlin just blinked back the tears, glaring hatefully at his captor. "I will never forgive you for this," he growled. "Never."

Arthur just nodded. "Do as you like; I could have done much worse."

"Just leave me alone," Arthur then left, he didn't care where, but he was glad that he was gone. He curled up in a ball, letting the tears slip freely down his face as he began to sob.

Again, I apologize for this chapter. Arthur is being incredibly dark and OOC, but this leaves room for him to change his ways. Merlin will not be having any kind feelings towards Arthur for quite a while because of this. What Arthur did is inexcusable and he will face consequences for it. I assure you of this.