Disclaimer: I own the BBC Merlin Series 1 Boxset, and the plot for this story, but I do not own Merlin itself... Even though I dream each night that, one day, I will.
A/N: A/N: To whom it may all concern - which is all of you, but to be kind and make it sound much more professional, I'll start off my lecture like this. With that first sentence in mind, I shall begin and lt out my frustrations. Occasionally some of you, and I don't mean all of you, let alone any of you, I get reviews saying, and I'll use 'Wileret's' review as an example (Don't take it the wrong way either! It was a lovely review, besides from this annoying part) "Girl, I give you the highest mark because this ROCKs so much!" Now, if you look at the first word, you shall see this four letter word that reads 'girl', which funnily enough, happens to be exactly what I'm not. Is the message getting through now people? If so, then good, if not, then seriously! Did you people honeslty think everyone who wrote slash on fanfiction happened to be girls? *sigh* Anyway, I'm sorry that I didn't update sooner, but I've been really sick, and is currently suffering from really personal medical problems... and this may be the last time I get to update for the next month, as I'm going away to Amercia on January 5th - 24th. So I apologize for that in advance and wanring, just in case you think I've abadoned this fic. Anyway, read, enjoy, review, lots of love all round!
Bored was probably the best word to describe how Merlin felt right this very instant. After being cooped up in his bed all morning, he was progressively losing his grasp on sanity, to the point where he needed to get out and do something before he lost his mind completely.
Throwing on whatever clothes he could find, Merlin found his way downstairs to find something to entertain himself with.
After last night's events, Merlin had deduced that what had happened was just his self conscious's way of dealing with being punched up by Will and his gang. It was the only logical explanation, and that's what he was going to keep telling himself.
"And what do you think you're doing out of bed?" Hunith asked raising an eyebrow as Merlin sat down on the living room sofa.
"I'm losing my mind up there!" Merlin replied, rubbing his eyes with his hands. "If I have to spend one more minute in that room staring at the ceiling, I'm afraid I may just lose my mind and go on a psychological killing spree with a blunt sword."
Hunith gave a dry chuckle before walking over towards him, patting his arm sympathetically, "Keep telling yourself that, darling."
Rolling his eyes, Merlin leaned forward and grabbed the television remote and began flicking through the channels, eventually stopping once he found one of his favourite all time comedies, "Are You Being Served?"
It was a repeat, but Merlin didn't mind as the show always brought a smile to his face – not to mention hysterical giggle fits which usually took a solid ten minutes to calm down from.
'If a man rings up with a Scottish accent, you're the cleaner and you've never heard of me,' Mr. Humphreys warned his mother on the gent's readymade department telephone. 'No, I don't owe him any money... I don't owe him anything. What do you mean there's someone coming up the garden path in a kilt? Well, look, lock the door and hide in the cupboard. I'll phone you before I leave here. Whatever you do, don't open the door unless it's a young policeman carrying a rolled umbrella. And if I can borrow a helmet from the toy department, that'll be me.'
Once the episode finished, Merlin began flicking through the channels hopelessly for anything to watch but without much luck. Besides from the discovery channel discussing something about a planet phenomenon that only occurs once every one-hundred and eighty trillion years, and a documentary on fish paste, there was nothing else on.
Groaning with annoyance and frustration, Merlin turned the TV off and began picking at the seams of the couch – because really, there was nothing else to do.
Much to Merlin's relief, his boredom was cut short by someone knocking at the door.
"I brought you your homework," Morgana said with a pile of books in her hands.
"Oh Morgana, you shouldn't have," Merlin replied dryly, not bothering to hold back his sarcasm as he grabbed the books out of her hands and closing the door behind her.
"It's okay, I don't mind," she grinned before collapsing onto the couch in one swift and dramatic motion.
Rolling his eyes with as much enthusiasm as he could muster, Merlin sat down on the couch next to her and began picking at the seams once more before speaking.
"You didn't have to come down and check on me, you know?" Merlin said, glancing at the pile of books wondering how the hell he was going to manage to read through all of them in time.
"Don't be stupid, Merlin," Morgana snapped, gently bumping him in the side causing him to wince in pain slightly. "If you honestly believe I'm going to stand around waiting for my best friend to feel better, then you have another thing coming for you."
"Thanks Morgana," Merlin smiled briefly, then started rubbing at his side.
"How are you feeling anyway?" Morgana asked followed by a loud yawn, stretching on the couch in an unladylike manner.
Merlin couldn't help but raise a quizzical eyebrow at her question, "Besides from the excessive bruising, the swelling and the agonising pain I get every time I move?"
"If the pain's that bad then why don't you take some painkillers?" Morgana asked, examining her nails thoroughly.
"Believe me, I would. But we're out of anything that doesn't have codeine in it," Merlin complained. It was typical, just when he required some much needed pain relief, the damn codeine free painkillers that he took, every now and again, ran out.
"You and your allergies," Morgana replied, giggling o herself.
"I can't help it if I'm allergic to codeine!" Merlin retorted loudly, enough so that Hunith appeared from the laundry most likely, into the living room.
"Sweetie, you're allergic to everything," Hunith declared, a smirk forming across her face which eventually turned into a laughing fit where Morgana joined in gleefully, whilst Merlin sat there with his arms crossed.
"I am not," Merlin muttered under his breath.
"Liar," Morgana said, wiping away a tear that had formed in the corner of her eye. "Remember that time you told me that you were allergic to oranges-"
"Or that time when you were five years old and you told me you were allergic to your invisible hamster," Hunith continued, bending over the couch and gently tugging at Merlin's cheek between her index finger and thumb.
"No way!" Morgana exclaimed, making Merlin all of a sudden wish he was back in his room.
"Yes way, and then there was this other time-"
"Okay, I get the point!" Merlin cut in, praying that their tormenting him would stop right about now.
"Good," Hunith said, kissing Merlin on the forehead right before the doorbell rang once more. "Now, you two stay here while I go get that, and afterwards we can all have a nice cup of tea."
Once Hunith left the room to answer the door, Merlin grabbed one of the books that Morgana had so kindly brought over for him, and began skimming through the pages.
"I can't be bothered reading this," Merlin stated, throwing the book across the room in frustration.
All of a sudden Merlin could hear shouting coming from a male at the front door, followed by his mother whose voice equalled the males.
"...Now get out of my way madam," the voice demanded, and instantly Merlin found himself in the same room with two policemen, a male and female, with Hunith standing behind them clearly unimpressed and upset.
"Merlin Emrys?" one of the policemen addressed, stepping forward until he was standing directly in front of him.
"Yes..." Merlin answered, suddenly finding himself panicking and at a loss for breath.
"I'd like you to come with us down to the station, we have some questions we'd like to ask you," the policeman said, glancing at both Hunith and Morgana who were both staring in disbelief.
"What sort of questions," Morgana snarled, walking up so she was directly next to Merlin.
"That, miss, is none of your business," the male policeman snapped before walking over and grabbing Merlin tightly on the shoulder. "Now, if you'll be kind enough to follow us, our chief is waiting for you."
Before Merlin knew what was going on, each of the policemen gripped one of his shoulders and began directing him out of the house and towards their vehicle.
"I'm coming with you," Hunith said, grabbing her coat off the rack.
"You are to stay here, madam," the female policemen stated, literally shoving Merlin into the back segment of the car, suddenly making him feel very confined and claustrophobic, and very scared.
"But he's my son!" Hunith raised her voice and walked straight up to the window of the police car where Merlin was sitting.
"He may indeed be your son, but we have obligations, and right now we've been ordered to take your son, and only your son, directly to our chief," the male policeman said, hopping into the driver's seat and closing the door behind him.
Winding the window down, Merlin forced a smile onto his face as he reached out and gripped his mother's hand, while Morgana stood on the lawn fuming.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine, seriously," Merlin assured her with a comforting smile.
"We'll call you later and explain what's happening after our chief is through with your son," the female said, closing the door behind her as the male policeman turned the key on in the ignition, the engine roaring into life as he pressed his foot on the accelerator.
As the police car jolted forward, Merlin stared out the window towards Morgana and his mother as they walked towards the front door of the house. It was around about now that Merlin closed his eyes and tried to relax and tell himself that everything would be okay. Oh how wrong he was.
*
It was one thing to sit down at a table and be asked questions, but it was another thing entirely to be interrogated by Ealdor's man of authority, Uther.
Ever since Uther had taken up the occupation of police chief, Merlin had to admit Ealdor had become a much better place to live in for everyone. However, watching Uther keep the streets clean of drug traffickers, prostitutes and criminals was much more pleasant that being face-to-face with the man himself, locked inside a small interrogation room.
"You are pushing my patience, young man!" Uther snarled, pacing around the seat where Merlin sat anxiously, almost cringing at the sound of the chief's voice.
"But I've already told you everything that happened," Merlin replied in a soft whisper, too afraid to speak any louder.
"Is that so?" he mocked, folding his arms over his chest as he sat down on the table directly in front of Merlin, Uther's stale breath, filling the room, threatening to choke him. "I guess we'll just have to go over everything once more then, I suppose. And no funny business this time," Uther warned, penetrating Merlin with an invisible force, almost as if he was trying to look directly into his soul. "The beginning if you may."
Clearing his throat and starting to feel lightheaded, Merlin once again began explaining the events that occurred at the supermarket the day before. He should have known those bastards would make up some form of lie to Uther about what had happened to get their own back on Merlin, especially since Lancelot was Uther's nephew – Which of course, naturally, meant that whatever he said was true, and he could get his own way.
"...And then they ran off," Merlin finished, desperately wanting to leave the interrogation room.
"So what you're telling me," Uther clasped his hands together, "is that you did not provoke Lancelot, Will and Valiant, followed by physically attacking them, nor did you have anything to do with removing each of their clothes and hiding them?"
"Excuse me?" Merlin said awestruck, not believing what he'd just heard.
"You heard me, you little runt," Uther growled. "Lancelot and his friends told me everything that happened, how you attacked them out of nowhere and how that once they were on the ground you undressed them, causing them public embarrassment."
"I did no such thing!" Merlin yelled in disbelief. "They attacked me! I have the bruises to prove it," he quickly lifted up his shirt, revealing the multicoloured patterns of purple and yellowing bruises that covered his skin.
"They could have easily been made when you tried to take their clothes off and they struggled," Uther dismissed, ignoring the bruises completely, almost as if they weren't even there.
"But-"
"Don't you dare interrupt me!" Uther slammed his fist down upon the table, causing it to shake violently and Merlin to stop breathing for a second or two.
"But," Merlin pushed on once he regained his composure, "I didn't do anything! They attacked me, or are you too blind and stubborn to realise that?"
Merlin swallowed hard once he realised what he had done, and instantly regretted it, sinking further down into the metal chair.
"I will not tolerate being spoken to like this!" Uther grasped Merlin tightly around the wrist and stormed out of the interrogation room and towards the holding cells.
"Let me go, you're hurting me," Merlin cringed, feeling as if that his arm might drop off any moment now.
"Good," Uther answered, grabbing the key off his belt and opening the cell door, throwing Merlin inside and locking it. "Maybe this will give you some time to reflect on your actions, and maybe then you'll tell me what really happened. Only then will I determine your punishment," Uther gave Merlin an icy glare that froze him solid, his body going all ridged.
"Oh course, my lord," Merlin mocked, no longer caring what he said, because obviously no matter what he told Uther, there was nothing he could do to make him see the truth. "So I guess I'll just sit here then."
"That's the idea," Uther said before walking out of sight, leaving Merlin alone, cold and locked in a room with a barred window and door.
"Well this is just great," Merlin commented to no one in particular as he examined the cell, thinking of possible ways that he could escape. If only he had a spoon, maybe he could dig his way out! Although... that could possibly take a while, and by the sounds of thing, he would be out of here soon.
Sitting down on the small bed, Merlin buried his face in his hands, "No one ever listens to me."
"What makes you think that?" came a voice from beside him. Merlin jumped and turned his head in the direction of the voice only to come face to face with a blond, wearing chain mail, a red undershirt clearly visible beneath, and a sword secured around his waist with a belt.
"Bu-wh-how did you get there?" Merlin stammered, trying to remember if anyone else was in the cell before he entered.
"You really do ask the most stupid questions, Merlin," the blond rolled his hypnotic blue eyes, that Merlin found himself gazing into intensely, as they seemed to calm him.
"How do you know my name?" Merlin asked, standing up and walking to the opposite corner of the room, deducing that he was hallucinating. There was no way that anyone else had been in the cell when Uther had locked him inside.
"It's kind of a long story," the blond sighed, running his hand through his hair, hair that Merlin wanted to run his own fingers through for no apparent reason. "You don't recognise me?"
"Why? Should I?" Merlin queered, deciding that if this was, in fact, a hallucination, he might as well play along with it.
"Perfect, just perfect," the blond muttered under his breath as Merlin sat down right next to the other man.
"What's your name?" Merlin asked, subconsciously taking note of all his curvatures and defined muscles that were visible.
"Arthur," he replied with a groan, flinging himself around on the bed so he was stretching out, his legs sprung across Merlin's lap.
Minutes past, and neither of them spoke another word. However, occasionally Merlin would catch Arthur's gaze, almost as if the blond was examining him, trying to figure him out, but in the end, this only caused Merlin to blush.
Even Merlin had to admit, even on his insanity scale, this ranked close to the top. Who in their right mind would conjure up a handsome person like Arthur, whom he would never have a chance with in this lifetime or the next, in the middle of a cell?
As another minute passed, Arthur obviously became tired of waiting patiently as he jumped off the bed and began pacing hopelessly around the cell.
"Honestly! Usually I can never get you to shut up, and now I can't even get you to talk," Arthur complained.
"I'm sorry if I'm such a boring conversationalist," Merlin muttered as he stood up and tried to peer through the bars of the cell.
"Wow, that was a big word, even for you," Arthur said, with probably a touch more sarcasm than Merlin would have liked.
"Prat," Merlin retorted.
"Idiot," Arthur countered walking straight up to Merlin and planting a kiss on his lips. "But I love you anyway."
For a moment Merlin didn't know which way to turn; to deepen the kiss and lure Arthur over towards the bed, or start yelling for the guard. It felt so real, nothing like the dreams he'd had, but an actual kiss, which made this one bloody great figment of his imagination.
"Who... Who are you?" Merlin gulped as Arthur eventually pulled away, much to Merlin's confusion and frustration, and began tenderly running his fingers through his hair.
"I already told you, my name's-"
"I don't mean your name," Merlin cut in, suddenly wishing he never spoke up and just went along with his fantasy. "Who are you?"
"Complicated," was all Arthur said, leaning up against the cell wall.
"Well, I've got all the time in the world," he indicated to the cell. "Enlighten me," Merlin sighed and rested himself on the bed.
"What's going on in there?" a voice echoed from somewhere outside the cell. "Who are you talking to?"
"Crap," Arthur groaned, fumbling under his chain mail revealing a book. "Look after this; you're going to need it."
"What for?" Merlin asked, reluctantly taking the book. It looked old, almost ancient in fact. Merlin unlocked the two metal clasps that kept the pages together, on right hand side, and began flicking through it. The book was filled with strange drawings and words he had never heard of before.
"Just trust me," Arthur declared, and suddenly Merlin found himself nodding his head, wanting to trust his hallucination.
Merlin closed the book and clutched it tightly to his chest as Arthur leapt forward once more and framed Merlin's face in-between his hands before kissing him passionately. Merlin kept eyes shut tight and allowed Arthur's tongue to glide across his bottom lip, as a moan escaped his mouth.
And then suddenly it was over, the feeling was no longer there.
Opening his eyes, Merlin sighed and sat back down on the bed, while at the same time Uther appeared back outside the cell, examining the room.
"Who were you talking to?" Uther grumbled, looking over towards Merlin.
"I didn't know it was against the law to talk to myself," Merlin snapped back, causing Uther to roll his eyes and wander off out of sight.
Taking a deep breath Merlin laid flat on the bed and stared up at the mouldy granite ceiling, only then did Merlin realise that he was still holding the book Arthur had given him… but that wasn't possible! Arthur wasn't real... he couldn't be.
Feeling his body temperature rise, Merlin took his jumper off and quickly wrapped the book in the material. He then forced himself to forget about it until he could come up with a logical explanation about how it had come into his possession.
Unfortunately there was no logical explanation.
To be continued...
A/N: Sorry for the rant at the top, I got a bit carried away, but I wanted to make things crystal clear. Anyway, at last I can develop the plot! Yay! But I'm not sure when I'll update next, so in the meantime, I hope this is okay, reviews are loved.