To You I Pledge (BBC Merlin)

Chapter 3 - Friends

Arthur wanted to go back to Merlin, but he knew eyes would be watching him to see what was going on, so he let Gaius go back and he walked towards his room. He wasn't overly surprised to find Morgana sitting there waiting for him with Gwen by her side.

"Well?" Morgana asked, standing up as soon as he entered the room.

"He's alive," Arthur said, feeling exhausted by the whole thing and going to sit on the bed.

"And?" Morgana pushed, because that was what Morgana always did and Arthur found the annoyance he felt rather refreshing.

As least he could still manage that.

"And I don't know," Arthur replied and let a bit of his exasperation show; a bit of normality through the strain. "There is a room in the west tower, a room that shuts out magic; that's where Merlin is. He had been bound further with what Gaius called bindings; I have never seen them before, but they shut out magic completely. That is all I know."

"And his wound?" Gwen asked in a hesitant tone.

With everything else going on, Arthur had almost forgotten about that.

"Deep, but not dangerous, I believe," Arthur replied in a much less terse tone; it was impossible to be nasty to Gwen; "Gaius did not seem worried about that."

Gwen at least looked comforted by that.

Morgana walked over to him and sat down.

"What about your father?" she asked, clearly treading very lightly for a change.

"He is allowing Merlin's confinement for now," Arthur said, trying to sound sure of himself, "and I do not see why that should change."

He did not want to upset either of the women, but it was clear Morgana saw straight through him.

"But this is Uther we're talking about," she said blackly, "and Merlin is a sorcerer."

No one said anything for some time.

"I never suspected," Gwen finally broke the silence, "well not really. There was that time in Ealdor. It does rather explain some odd things though."

"Like friendly, hovering balls of light," Arthur commented and then realised both women were looking at him rather oddly.

"Are you going to explain that?" Morgana asked him, crossing her arms and giving him a look.

It would have been fun to refuse and frustrate her, but Arthur didn't really think that any of them were in the mood for childish games.

"When I went for the flower," he said with a shrug; "I didn't find my way out myself, a ball of blue light led the way. It felt familiar at the time and I think it must have been Merlin."

"But he was unconscious the entire time," Gwen pointed out.

"When has something like that ever stopped him getting his own way?" Arthur replied and for the first time since the feast managed to raise a smile.

He shook his head; it was still hard to believe the power he had felt coming from his manservant; his inept and slightly idiotic manservant at that. Of course, given what he knew now he was beginning to think maybe all of Camelot was soft in the head, not Merlin.

"He was magnificent today, wasn't he?" he heard Morgana say and it surprised him; Morgana was not usually taken with such fancy.

"I've never seen anything like it," Gwen admitted with a small nod; "or felt it; all the hairs on my arms stood up."

"I had no idea such things were possible," Morgana added and Arthur suspected she and Gwen gossiped like this quite a lot of the time since it felt like a habit, "I mean I've heard the stories, but to actually see it. There had to have been thousands of glass shards just hanging in the air."

"Pretty if they hadn't been for such a dark purpose," Gwen agreed and Arthur was not sure if they remembered he was there.

"Will we be allowed to visit him?" Morgana asked, suddenly snapping back to him so fast that Arthur had to let his thoughts catch up.

Uther had not forbidden it, but Arthur did not think it was likely to be a wise move.

"Better that you didn't try," he said, thinking it through; "we do not want to anger the king. The less he has to rage about the better."

Morgana looked as if she wanted to argue, but couldn't fault his logic.

"You're not going to let that stop you though, are you?" she pushed just a little.

"Of course not," was his vehement reply.

Until his father stood there and ordered him not to see Merlin nothing was going to prevent him.

"Good," Morgana decided with a firm nod, "then we will just have to give you things for him. We can't have him believing those of us out here have forgotten him."

When Morgana said things in such a tone it was pointless to argue, and in this case Arthur actually agreed.

"If you insist," he replied, since it was also not a good idea to give in too easily.