Nightmare from the past

Strange occurrences

At the banquet, Merlin is standing behind the King, a pitcher firmly placed in his hands. Ronald is standing a bit further, observing the servants. When the red haired man notices that Merlin is looking at him, he grins and winks. The secret warlock feels all the blood drain from his cheeks and a shiver runs down his spine. Memories of the past come flooding back with just that little gesture. His bully used to wink at him when he was up to something. He knew that, when this happened, he had to try and stay away from him. But most of the time, faith had other ideas, and he would run into the larger boy.

"Merlin!" Arthur suddenly shouts at him.
He quickly gets forward to refill the King's goblet, careful not to spill anything.
"Didn't you see me motioning? Or are you blind as well as dumb?"
"I'm sorry, sire." Merlin apologizes before stepping back.
Arthur arches a brow and shares a confused look with Leon, who's sitting on his right side. They had expected a witty retort from the servant but even the sarcastic tone to the word 'sire' was completely lost. The royal shrugs it off and tries to enjoy the banquet but he can't help himself to look back at his manservant a few times. The boy seems lost in his own thoughts and glances nervously towards Ronald.
'So that's what's bothering him.' the King thinks silently and he wonders if it was a good idea to hire the man. 'On the other hand, he did safe my life.'
Later that evening, Arthur sends Merlin away.
"Ronald can look after me this evening. Go and get some sleep, you look like you need it."
"But Arthur..."
"No Merlin. Do as I say. You should be happy that you're getting some time off."
"Yes, sire." the servant answers with a sigh and he bows before retreating to his chambers.
The King follows him with his eyes until he's out of sight. A feeling of regret forming in his stomach.

Merlin walks into the physicians chambers and goes straight to his bedroom.
"What's wrong, my boy?" Gaius asks.
"Nothing." the young boy replies without looking at his surrogate father. He goes up the steps towards his room and closes the door behind him. He lets himself fall on his bed and sighs. Although he would never admit it, being dismissed by Arthur like that did hurt. And it was all because of Ronald. The mere thought of the man sends shivers down his spine again. He curls himself up into a ball and lets darkness take over.

Merlin is running through the forest. He's already running pretty fast but he isn't fast enough. He can hear the footsteps behind him. The one who's chasing him is gaining in on him. He wills his feet to go faster but to no avail. His breathing is becoming labored and his side begins to sting. He looks behind him but realizes soon that he shouldn't have done that. He trips over a root and falls to the ground. His chaser is on him in a second, pinning him to the ground. Merlin squeals and tries to fight his attacker off, to no avail. His attacker is much stronger than him.
"I win!" Will shouts happily.
"It's not fair!" Merlin complains. "You're so much faster than I am."
"Not fair? Merlin if you use your magic, no one will be able to win from you."
"You know I can't. You know what they'll do to me if they ever find out."
"So, they're hurting you already, aren't they?"
"They will kill me if they know, Will."
Both boys become quiet and Will gets off his friend.
"Look what we have here!" a voice suddenly shouts.
Merlin and Will look up and quickly scramble to their feet.
"It's the little runt and his friend." another voice says. Five older boys are walking into the clearing, flexing their muscles as to intimidate the two younger boys.
The raven haired boy narrows his eyes at the biggest of the five, the one with red hair and dark green eyes. He's not going to show them that he's afraid, not this time. The boys get closer to them and Will tries to pull Merlin back but to no avail.
"Leave us alone, Ronald!" Merlin says. To his surprise he sounds much braver than he feels.
"What do you say!" the red haired teenager shouts angrily. He grabs the young boy by his collar and lifts him off the ground.
"Let him go!" Will shouts in an attempt to help his friend.
"As you wish." Ronald answers dryly and he drops the helpless boy to the ground. A loud 'crack' echoes through the forest, followed by an ear piercing scream.
"Merlin!" Will shouts and he kneels down by his friends side, only to be pulled back up again. Someone is forcing his arms on his back and is pulling him away from the raven haired boy.
"How dare you speak to me!" the red haired boy shouts while kicking at the boy on the ground.
"You are nothing but a worthless bastard!" he kicks when he says the word 'bastard' to give it a little more force. Merlin grits his teeth together. He's not going to scream again. He won't give them that satisfaction. He tries to curl in on himself in order to protect his ribs but someone kicks his back, making him unfold again. It's raining punches and kicks now but he doesn't know who's doing what to him. He can hear Will calling out to him and than suddenly he can hear his own voice. He shouts and screams to let them stop, until Ronald grabs him by his throat. He tries to fight off the tight grip and gasps for the much needed air but nothing works. He's slowly tumbling into the darkness but right before he closes his eyes he can hear other people calling out his name. Is that his mother he hears? Then, everything turns black.