Was it Worth It?

5. Some Kind of Freak

Sorry about the pause in updating. Also Wattpad is not letting me reply to your comments, or maybe I'm not doing it right, but thank you all so much for leaving them. It really brightens my day, (I even laughed out loud at a few of them!) Anyways, continue on!

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When Merlin awoke the first thing he noticed was the feeling of shackles digging into the skin on his wrists, by the time he opened his eyes he already knew where he was. The men that took him weren't just regular bandits, they worked for Morgana. Now, he was sitting alone in one of the cells in her dungeon. Merlin tried to use magic to break free from his chains, but on closer inspection he realized that she had put him in the magic blocking kind. He groaned in frustration and rested his head on the wall.

He was about to give up on escaping when he remembered something. The last time he had been captured by Morgana he had managed to overpower the guards with his magic after they had unshackled him to transfer him somewhere else. Once he knocked them out he used his magic to replicate the key to these shackles, and from that day forward he kept it tied in the hood of his cloak. You never know when you might get captured by a vengeful, power obsessed witch. He saw his cloak resting on the ground a little more than arms length away from the bars of his cell. Merlin scooted over to the edge of the cell and used his legs to try to drag the cloak to a place that he could reach it.

After a couple failed attempts he managed to get it to the edge of the bars. He then reached up his hand inside of the hood and felt around for the key. He smiled giddily when felt the cool brass brush up against his fingers, he grasped the handle and pulled it out, breaking the string that was attaching it to the hood. He was about to unlock himself when he heard two pairs of heavy footsteps approaching the dungeons. Panicked, Merlin kicked his cloak away from him and rushed back over to the corner of the cell, concealing the key in his hands. As the door was opening Merlin was relaxing into the walls, pretending that he was there all along. The first man that walked in had well defined muscles and a ring of keys strapped to his waist. The second man was just as well built, but he only had a sword, indicating that he was just a foot soldier. The soldier smiled crookedly at him, revealing an incomplete set of yellowing teeth. Merlin masked his disgust, it must be some kind of requirement for bandits to have horrible teeth. He snickered at his thoughts, catching the mans attention.

"What's so funny, boy?" He demanded in a gruff voice.

Merlin smirked and answered coolly, "I was just thinking about how disgusting your teeth look." The man was enraged that a prisoner would have the nerve to talk to him like that. Without thinking he started to unsheathe his sword, but the guard grabbed his harm and stopped him.

"Lady Morgana wants him alive Gregor, do not let his words get to you." The man, Gregor, sneered at Merlin before letting go of his sword and walking away. The guard spared him one last glance before walking out behind Gregor. Merlin sighed and shrank back into the wall. He placed the key into the hole on his shackles and wiggled it around until he heard a click. Once he had them off he could feel the rush of magic flow through his entire being. He smiled in relief and healed the wound on his head. He got up and started walking to his cell door but something stopped him.

He knew that Arthur and the knights would end up being thrown in here, it was only a matter of time. Merlin silently cursed at himself and went to sit back down, keeping his hands behind his back pretending that they were in the shackles. Merlin couldn't let them rot down here, he knew what Morgana wanted and he knew he couldn't stand by and watch that happen. Yes, Arthur hated him and would never trust him again, but what about Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, hell maybe even Leon? He couldn't just sit by and let them suffer because he decide to run away. Merlin looked up through a small hole in the ceiling of his cell, according to the amount of light coming through it night would soon be upon him. Knowing Arthur, that would be when he would strike. Merlin decided that while he was waiting he might as well get in a few hours of sleep, that way he could be well rested when the Knights of Camelot needed saving.