Work Text:
Stuck in the Dark
"Oh you've woken up," Morgana's soft, deadly voice sounded close to him but he couldn't be quite sure.
He tried to speak and ended up making a faint gurgling sound.
"Oh no," Morgana spoke again, "don't try to speak. I've paralysed you. You won't be able to move, or speak … unless I let you."
Merlin let a small moan escape his throat and he heard Morgana laugh.
"What? Did you think I'd just lock you up now I know about your talents? You'd be gone in a moment. No. I'm not stupid."
Merlin resigned himself to the fact that she now knew. There was no going back from this point. He would just have to work out a way out of this and then tell Arthur first, before Morgana did …
"Who would have thought?" Morgana asked softly, "serving boy to the prince - a sorcerer. I suppose it all seems clear now. You were always the person in my way."
She kicked his hard in the side over his stab wound. He emitted a short high-pitched sound and his side erupted in pain.
Morgana laughed once again.
"You better get some sleep," she said, "it's almost night. I would bring you a light but then, I guess you won't be needing one."
It was only after her footsteps had receded and Merlin was once more alone, that he realised.
He was blind.
~~~
"Yes?" Arthur asked eventually noticing him.
"We have to return to Camelot, Arthur," Lancelot insisted, "it is night already and we do not have the supplies or provisions to go on."
"If we don't go on now-" Arthur began.
"We have no idea where she went Arthur," Lancelot interrupted, "they could be anywhere. I understand you're worried but we have to go back to Camelot."
Arthur slowed his horse, they had come out on a remote plain, the sun had set some time ago and even though the sky was still light, the trees around them seemed menacing and the countryside had become fiercer and wilder.
Arthur looked back at the other knights who had chosen to come with them. Some had lit torches and the light cast an eerie flickering glow over the group.
"We will return to Camelot," Arthur called eventually.
The group turned and headed back the way they had come.
Arthur was silent, thinking of his friend, trapped and alone with Morgana.
~~~
He had just given up, exhausted and in pain when suddenly, he felt a strange looseness come over his limbs and body and shakily he found he could move once more.
"Good morning. I thought it seemed a little cruel to keep you like this," Morgana's voice came once more, "after all, I thought we were friends."
"Before you tried to kill us all and betrayed everyone who has ever cared for you," Merlin rasped back. He felt Morgana kick at his side brutally and he yelled out in pain. Fire seemed to burn in his veins and the wound in his side seared.
"My knife was poisoned," Morgana said, "had Arthur taken the blow he would have been dead in moments. But your talents seem to be keeping you alive. I'm not sure for how much longer though."
He felt her hands under his armpits and as she lifted him he tried to stand. His legs gave way underneath him and pain shot once more through his body.
After stumbling and partly being dragged, Morgana dropped Merlin to the floor once more.
"The poison has affected your sight, so I'll have to describe what I can see for you," Morgana said.
Merlin rolled over in the direction her voice was coming from.
"There's lots of forest," Morgana said, "and there's a hill, not far away. On it is a castle, and a city. Camelot."
"Why so close?" Merlin asked.
"Well it's not as if I'm hiding. I want Arthur here now, I want to tear him apart piece by piece and then take the throne for myself. The rightful queen."
Merlin felt partially recovered and felt his strength returning. Under his breath he murmured a spell. The next second he was blinded by bright sunlight. He lifted a hand to cover his eyes and Morgana saw.
The next moment they both cast a spell. Through his faint vision he saw Morgana thrown backwards where she smashed against the opposite wall and crumpled. At the same time, he got a feeling similar to being whacked over the head with a frying pan.
The world he knew turned once more to darkness.
~~~
"Sire," he said, "I believe you should see this."
He had in his hand a rolled up scroll of parchment. Arthur held out his hand and Leon passed it to him. Unrolling it, Arthur's forehead creased.
"It's a map," he said. The map showed Camelot, the forest and a small castle not far away which had been inked in red ink.
"It was found in the hand of one of the soldiers at the west gate this morning," Leon reported gravely, "he and the other soldier he was on patrol with are both dead. Gaius confirmed they were killed by magic."
Arthur's hand tightened around the scroll. "Morgana," he murmured, then, louder, "ready the horses, we ride immediately."
"My lord," Lancelot said quietly as the other knights left, "you know she is only drawing you in because she wishes to kill you."
Arthur looked down and then tossed the scroll away.
"We have no choice," he replied.
~~~