Merthur - The King and His Guardian Angel

Chapter 27 - His Doom...?

When Elyan arrives back outside the castle the sun has already started to rise. His jog turns into a sprint as he dashes through the forest to the clearing where they had left their horses, knowing that time is not a luxury they have.

He finds four figures standing around the stallions, all muttering in hushed voices amongst themselves while sending quick glances around them. There's a nervous air around the group, a feeling of dread as they wait patiently for their friends and king.

Leon is the first to spot Elyan coming out of the trees. He smiles and raises a hand, about to wave in greeting when he realizes Arthur is not following behind the knight. His smile drops, expression turning grave as he walks over to the man to hand him a water skin. The others follow after him, regarding Elyan with curiosity as they each try to figure out what could have gone wrong.

Elyan takes a long drink before speaking, "Morgana has Arthur. I know where they are, but I can't get in. We need a plan," he says rapidly, hardly bothering to stop and take a breath between his words.

"Calm down," Lancelot says, "Tell us what happened first."

"We-"

"There's no need for that," Gwaine says suddenly with a snarl, his tone laced with anger, "Didn't you hear? Morgana has Arthur. That's all we need to know. I say we just go in there and break him out." He starts striding towards the castle, though he only makes it a few steps before Percival suddenly pulls him back.

"We can't barge in and attack. This is Morgana not some thugs in a tavern," he says.

Gwaine scoffs and shakes off the man's hold, but doesn't argue back.

Percival sighs, turning back to Elyan and gesturing for him to continue. The man recounts what happened between the time they last met and now. It's a quick explanation as nothing much had happened, but the more he talks the more impatient he grows. Who knows what could be happening to Arthur right now? And Merlin?

When he finally finishes the others are silent, all deep in thought as to their next course of action. Elyan takes another drink from the water skin, trying to come up with a plan himself. "Perhaps..." he begins, "there's another entrance somewhere. We could try and find it and sneak in from there."

"Wouldn't breaking down the door you found be quicker? Searching for another entrance that we don't know even exists will waste time," Gwaine says, clearly agitated as he's pacing along the grass.

Leon considers both ideas for a moment. He knows the others are looking at him for leadership now that Arthur's gone. He's the oldest and the one who has been by Arthur's side the longest. The choice is up to him and it can mean life or death for their king. After another few moments he makes his decision, "I think Gwaine is right on one thing. We don't have the luxury of taking our time. We need to get to Arthur and the fastest way there is through the entrance we already know of."

Gwaine smiles, happy that a decision has finally been made and starts to head towards the castle once more. "Then let's go."

------

Merlin reels back as the fire starts to circle around him. First, they're only small embers. Nothing dangerous. But in a heart beat the fire leaps up, growing in height until its as tall as a fully grown man. He tries to crawl away, but the flames seem to have a life of its own. The circle of fire begins to shrink around him, getting closer and closer until he can feel the heat against all parts of his body. He has to force himself into a sitting position despite the pain just to keep away from the flames, but he knows it'll catch him eventually. There's no way to escape the pyre this time it seems.