Balinor's Son

Hypocrite

The back of Merlin's head pounded. He opened his eyes only to have a surge of nausea force them closed again. He felt around with his hands and feet, trying to orientate himself. The floor was rough and uneven. Even though his hands had only moved across the surface once, it already felt like a layer of skin had been scraped away. As he shifted his weight, attempting to sit up, there was a chime of metal against the rough surface. His hands and feet felt heavy, something was holding them back. He rested his back against the wall and slowly opened his eyes. At first, there was only hazy darkness but as his eyes adjusted he noticed flickering torchlight leaking through the metal bars of a cell. He looked down at his hands and feet which were restricted by heavy manacles and chained to the opposite wall. A sudden shout startled the warlock.

"Tell the king the boy's awake!" Weighted footsteps faded down the corridor. 

"Hello?" Merlin groaned. There was no response. He found himself longing for Gaius, for Arthur, for Gwen... for his mother. Was she alright? He whimpered as his mind wandered, imagining all the horrific things Uther could be doing to her. "What have you done to my mother? Let her go, please, I'll- I'll do anything!"

"Anything you say?"

Merlin stiffened at the sound of the cold malicious voice. Bleary eyed, he peered through the bars, catching sight of the king's boots. He followed them up to where he could see the Pendragon's face but quickly looked away. The man was smiling, clearly taking pleasure in hearing the warlock beg.

"Tell me where your father is hiding and I'll let her go."

Merlin's eyes widened. "I don't know! I already said, I've never met him. I didn't even know who my father was until a few days ago! Please! I promise this is true."

"Liars can promise, boy. I suppose I'll have to go check on the wench myself-" The kings turned to leave.

"No!" Merlin couldn't hold his magic back any longer. His eyes flashed gold as he let it pour out of him, intending for it to strike Uther right through the heart but-

Merlin screamed as he experienced pain beyond what he ever could have imagined. He clutched his chest and fell to the ground, writhing as an invisible force tore through him. He took a few ragged, tapered breaths as he tried to steady himself. What was that? 

The familiar sound of Uther's laugh dripping will malice echoed through his cell.  "Well... I suppose we now know that those damned things still work." He smiled at Merlin. "You've said you don't know where Balinor is, boy. But I suggest you figure it out by the time I see you again." With a slight flourish of his crimson cape, he disappeared down the corridor. 

A few tears flowed silently down Merlin's cheeks as he sank into the corrosive floor. He cursed himself for crying, for showing weakness. What was he going to do? He couldn't let anything happen to his mother, he couldn't. But how could he convince Uther that he had no information about Balinor? What if he did convince Uther that he didn't know anything? What would he do with them then?

"Young warlock..."

Merlin looked around, searching for the source of the voice. "Kilgharrah?" 

"Yes, Merlin."

"Are you talking in my head?"

"In a way. Uther is keeping you very close to my cave. He hasn't used those cells since they were built at the start of the Great Purge. I heard you cry out..." Merlin could sense concern in his voice. 

"There's something wrong with my magic. When I tried to use it- it-"

"There's nothing wrong with your magic, young warlock."