Merlin's magic (Oneshots) 1

NoFearMerlin

Summary:

My suggestion? Run.

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A patrol. An ambush. Knights vs Bandits. The King getting knocked out.

It was basic routine.
What wasn't was that Merlin got knocked out along with them. That usually happened behind the scenes. And yet, it somehow wasn't the first time either. Merlin suspected he had run out of first-times a long time ago.

...

Merlin opened his eyes to a numbing pain in his head and a loud groan in his ear. It took him a moment to realize that he himself had made that sound. It took him another moment to understand that the thing he was looking at was the ground of a prison cell. He was breathing the smell of wet straw and dirt.
Merlin debated for a second if it was worth standing up. Standing up usually meant work, regardless of where he was. It also meant, considering he was held prisoner, dealing with sorcerers, bandits or other no-name bastards. He groaned again and raised his head to meet the face that was looming right next to him.
Oh no, worse. He had to deal with Arthur.

"Merlin! Was about time you woke up!" Arthur couldn't hide the underlying worry and relief in his voice but Merlin was half certain he was the only one who picked up on it at this point.

"Actually, I think I'm still unconscious. Haven't had this good a rest in days." That was actually true. And really, really sad.

"Merlin!" Arthur didn't ever listen to Merlin, and so he pulled Merlin up by the collar like a very annoyed cat. "Don't be stupid! We need to find a way out of here."

Merlin yawned in his face.

Arthur growled at him and let go of him so Merlin could order his clothes by himself. "What's gotten into you? We're captives! Sorcerers, two of them with a small army at their side!"

Ah, right. Merlin was meant to be terrified. Instead, he looked around to keep an inventory of the other captives. He scratched the numb point on his head. Gwaine and Lancelot were with them. Both sitting on the ground. None of them were chained, which honestly, RUDE. They were awake, yet awfully quiet, as if terrified of their own words. The cell they were sitting in had one with metal bars barricaded windows. It looked like they were in some kind of cave though, because the window didn't lead out to see the sky, but into another cell. "Kind of beats the purpose of having a window," Merlin muttered to himself. Maybe it was their air circulation system? Other than that they were stuck in a room of four walls and one giant metal door. It was locked from the outside. Light flickered in from underneath the door. Fabulous.

"MERLIN!" Arthur fumed. "This is serious!"

Merlin gave him a look that would put Gaius' eyebrow to shame. "I am taking this seriously." He yawned again. "I'm just... adjusting."

"Adjusting."

"Yeah, you know?" Merlin flapped his arms around. "Figuring out we're prisonders, having little chance of getting out, getting used to the idea of inevitable torture and death, stuff like that." Merlin sat back down in a dryer part of the straw beneath his feet and leaned against the wall. "Doesn't look like we're getting out anytime soon."

Arthur stared at him. "Have you lost your mind? Aren't you worried?" To be fair, that WAS uncharacteristic for Merlin. Merlin always worried about many things. Always reasonable things, mind you.

"If I were, you'd yell at me to stay calm. I'm staying calm. You may proceed to figure a way out. But I assure you, that door looks rather sturdy. Even Percival couldn't break through, and he's not even here. So, relax. We'll figure out what they want in a minute. Can't be anything special though. I mean, they captured the King of Camelot. That means they either want to provoke a war with Camelot, want to directly kill you for the past crimes of your father or for revenge or something like that. I think it's rather safe to say they didn't capture you for ransom or information. Well... and you're still alive, so I suppose they have a plan. Probably. Let's hope they do, otherwise this is just a waste of my free time. Of which I have, as you should recall, none."