Merlin Oneshots

What makes you so dangerous?

(Lancelot's alive, because we love Lancelot and Merlin deserves someone.)

The attack, while anticipated, was still unexpected. At least by the Knights. Merlin had told the King that it was a bad idea to go through the Valley of Fallen Kings, that no good ever came from traveling that route. But he never listens. Lancelot stayed close to Merlin, as he knew that when Merlin had a warning about something it should be taken seriously. Lancelot being edgy, made Gwaine and Percival anxious. Leon, Elyan, and Arthur seemed to be the only ones at ease with their path. It was supposed to be a simple hunt. Just a couple hours to get Arthur out of the castle and meetings for the day. The first arrow went through Merlin's arm, while several others hit the nearby trees and scared the horses. Merlin narrowly missed being thrown off his mount, using his magic to ease some of the beasts' distress. The Knights quickly scanned the area, readying for a fight, but it was a moot point. They had been surrounded by over 20 ruffians. Arthur put up a good fight, but him, along with the others, were worried more for Merlin. Merlin knew the arrow needed to come out, he'd felt the poison starting to work already and wasn't sure he'd be able to counteract it. Several of the attackers had been slain by the Knights, but when one fell, another just took their place. Before long, they were all on their knees, hands being bound in front of them. Well, all except Merlin. Merlin was on his knees, but sweat coated his brow, and the arrow still stuck through his arm.

"Arthur Pendragon. Nice to see you outside of your castle walls this fine day. It was either very brave or very foolish of you to come through the Valley." A man with yellow hair past his shoulders said, while picking at his nails with a dagger.

"Let my servant go and you can do what you want with me." Arthur said, or rather growled.

"Oh, no. I'm afraid I cannot do as you ask. You see, while you are valuable, he is more so. It may not seem like it, but the Lady Morgana has offered quite the sum for his capture and/or death. Though capture is more what she wants for the moment." The man turned to one of the others and with a nod of his head, he came forward with a vial of some kind. The Knights all tensed, and Lancelot was hit because he had nearly gotten to Merlin. This just caused the man to cock an eyebrow at him. His eyes were such a deep brown they were nearly black. Merlin couldn't think, he could barely keep his head upright. His magic was begging to be set loose, but he was doing what he could to keep it under control so that his friends wouldn't be hurt. The man who came forward, gripped the arrow on one side, broke it, then pulled it through the rest of the way. Merlin tried not to cry out, but a pained yell still escaped. Once the arrow was out, the man poured the vial's contents in Merlin's mouth, holding his face looking up, forcing him to swallow or choke. He swallowed and the trees started spinning. He fell on his back hearing his name shouted. He didn't pass out, but he couldn't focus. They had given him a powerful drug, not a sedative. His magic had already been working to cleanse the poison from his blood, but he couldn't focus to get it to cleanse this new drug. The yellow-haired man had come over to him and roughly pulled him up by his neckerchief. Merlin swayed a little on his feet, but then realized the man was centimeters from him. He was not just appraising Merlin with his eyes, he was smelling him. When the man leaned in close to Merlin's neck and inhaled, Merlin shivered involuntarily. The man grinned wickedly.

"All this just for you. What makes you so dangerous?" The man purred.

"You probably should have asked that of Morgana." Merlin said through gritted teeth. He knew he should keep his mouth shut, but he wasn't able to.

"Feisty, I see. Still some fight left in you. Perhaps I should beat the fight out of you." The man left go of Merlin's neckerchief only to place a hand around his neck, while bringing his dagger up to Merlin's face. Lancelot was struggling on the ground, but the sight of the dagger had renewed the strength of the others as they too surged forward. Merlin, still trying to get the forest to stop swirling around, started laughing. He couldn't help it. This whole situation was ridiculous. He'd been able to hide in Camelot for over 10 years, and now, this lunatic was going to force him to reveal his secret.

"Merlin." Lancelot said sternly. Merlin couldn't stop laughing, until the man closed his hand on Merlin's throat. Merlin caught a glimpse of Arthur being hit on the head by a large man. Merlin growled, refocusing on his tormentor.

"You shouldn't have done that." Merlin ground out. His magic lashed out then. He didn't have time to say any spells to direct it. Golden tendrils shot out from him connecting with all the remaining thugs. The ropes binding the Camelotians were all snapped. The leader still had his hands on Merlin's neck, but found himself frozen. Merlin backed away from him unsteadily. "Perhaps I should show you why Morgana thinks me dangerous." Merlin told him. Clouds gathered overhead and thunder boomed across the sky. The man blanched at the power coming off of his target. The man raised his dagger intent on landing it in Merlin's chest, but the blow never landed. Lancelot shouted his name and a bolt of lightning shot down on the man. Once the ashes settled, the storm dissipated and Merlin lost his hold on consciousness and collapsed. Someone caught him as the ground rushed up, though he wasn't sure who.

Sometime later, Merlin woke to a fire and star studded sky. His head ached like nothing he'd felt before. He touched his temple hoping to clear away some of the lingering dizziness. Lancelot smiled down at him.

"So. There are some people here with some questions Merlin." Lancelot told him. Merlin sat up and saw that the others were all sitting on the opposite side of the fire as him and Lancelot.

"Are you all ok?" Merlin asked.

"Fine. Everyone is fine, Merlin. Though there are a lot of questions." Lancelot told him.

"I imagine. Ugh. Whatever that was that they gave me, I really don't recommend it."

"Merlin." Arthur's voice was calm on the surface. Merlin felt uneasy in this new tone.

"Sire?" Merlin responded.

"You never did answer the man's question. What makes you so dangerous?"

"That is a long story, Sire. If you'll give me time, I'll explain all that I can. There was some grumbling, which Merlin had expected, but Lancelot grabbed his hand and squeezed.