Always Be With You - Merthur

Chapter 17

Arthur pov.

Arthur watched frozen as Merlin suddenly stumbled back into the room like he had been pushed, his hands grasping at his throat while he gasped for air. Arthur wanted to call out and run towards him, but stopped himself when he saw Morgause also entering the room and pushing Merlin against the wall on the right side of the room, the opposite side of him with a lot of force without even touching him. She wasn't even near him!

Of course it was Morgause. Arthur winced when Merlin's head slammed into the wall with a hard 'wham' and had to mentally hold himself back when he saw blood coming from the back of his head. She was way more powerful than he was. If he tried anything without a strategy, he'd probably make it worse. Morgause didn't say anything to Merlin, she just stood there, slowly choking him without a hint of emotion on her face.

Arthur squinted his eyes. She didn't even look like she was enjoying it. Now that he could sort of see her face, he saw that she actually looked bored! Like this was just something she did on a daily basis. It was a bit scary on how little emotion she acted. Arthur clenched his jaw, willing himself to think of something that could help him. She hadn't noticed him yet.

Maybe he could have a surprise attack and get her away from Merlin before she could do any more damage. There was a slim chance that he might just succeed, but Arthur would have to take it, Merlin needed him right now.

As quiet as he could manage, Arthur stood on his good leg and tested his bad one. It hurt, but he'd had worse. Way worse. This was just a simple cut, nothing life threatening. Careful not to give himself away, Arthur pulled his sword and snuck up from behind Morgause.

He swung the sharp edge of the blade forward, aiming for her heart because even though there was a saying that 'you shouldn't stab someone in the back', Arthur couldn't care less right now. It probably wouldn't even kill her anyway. Gaius had informed him that she was a high priestess and therefore immortal. That was just great. Right when he swung the sword at her, his body froze mid-air.

"what-?"

"Hello, Arthur."

Her voice sounded like ice. Cold and solid, nothing else.'Okay, maybe she did notice me.' Morgause then turned around, dropping Merlin to the ground like a rag doll and ignoring him completely, turning her attention towards him now. Arthur saw him slide down against the wall until he hit the floor and lay there motionless. A wave of worry and fear washed over him when he saw that Merlin didn't wake up.

He looked back up and tried to move, glaring at Morgause, throwing all of his hatered into the expression. "Did you really think I wouldn't know if there was someone else near me? I'm a high priestess." She stated coolly, not acknowledging that he was basically cursing her out silently with his facial expressions, or just not caring enough. Maybe she didn't see it. Arthur wouldn't even be surprised if she didn't understand something as simple as emotions.

She let him go without warning, causing him to fall forward, toppling to the ground. She took a step back and watched with interest as he went over to Merlin, crouched next to him to check if he was breathing. He let out a breath when he saw his chest slowly rising and falling, but just barely.

He tapped his cheek gently to try and wake him. "Merlin." He didn't react. In fact, he was completely unresponsive. "No, no, no, no, Merlin, wake up, come on..." He turned to Morgause, seething with rage. "Why did you do that?!" He yelled, jumping up. She looked at him with a mixture of interest and light confusion. There was no anger or anything else to be seen.

Her complete lack of emotion was really getting on his nerves, Arthur huffed and neared until he was almost looming over her. Morgause blinked at him and scoffed like he just asked an incredibly stupid question. "Why did I choke him? I don't know... I usually just kill my enemies instantly, but it's a little difficult with your boyfriend. Choking seemed like the best option. He won't put up that much resistance when I kill him later."