Merlyn's Fate

Lancelot and Guinevere P3

Arthur made it to the castle at nightfall, a tired Leon in tow. They'd scouted the possible entrances, but they were all heavily guarded; neither of them particularly fancied getting so far only to die on the doorstep of their mission.

"We'll have to scale the walls." The Prince declared, eying the rough stone which stood between himself and Merlyn.

His knight's eyes wondered up the tall tower, his face scrunched up in reluctance. "Maybe there's another way in." he tried, but he didn't sound convinced.

"Why don't you go and knock on the front gate? I'm sure if you ask nicely, they'll give Merlyn and Gwen over to you." Arthur suggested sarcastically, rolling his eyes before moving from his position, concealed in the large bushes only a few steps from the castle wall, nearing the stone. He would get his servant back, or he would die trying.

∆

Merlyn watched Hengist's men stalk towards her, their swords raised, ignorant smirks twisting their features. She entertained a few of them in hand-to-hand combat, but quickly fought through their defences, slaughtering them where they stood. Most of the guards, however, she didn't bother to waste her time on, instead, reaching her hand out and, with a flash of brilliant gold, sent them flying, crushing their skulls against the wall, slashing them as she passed in case the wrong person saw the corpses. She must've been a sight, surrounded by piles of broken bodies, bathed in blood, a crimson lake forming at her feet. For a moment, she considered following Lancelot and Gwen, but she couldn't be sure that she'd given them enough time to escape. She needed Hengist's attention to be on the person killing his men; the longer she could hold them off, the more time her two friends could use to get as far away from the castle as possible. She had no delusions. Nobody was coming to rescue her; this could be her last stand, her magic against an army of brutes. Eventually, she made it out of the corridor, deciding that, perhaps if she could find Hengist, she could put an end to the bloodshed. Kicking open the door to what she supposed was his throne room, the cage sitting in the centre, she readied herself for what she expected to be an onslaught of armed guards, maybe even trained soldiers.

She wasn't quite expecting the stillness, the lack of resistance. Then, she saw why. There were two people tied inside the cage, both of them wide eyed in terror. Lancelot was the first to see her enter the room, his stare urging her to run, to leave them to die. But she stood, transfixed, unable to move.

"What the fuck are you two doing here?" she raised her eyebrow, realising that her mildly suicidal plan would no longer work. One wrong move, and the two lovebirds would be dead. She allowed herself a moment of surprise, that the two could be overpowered by Hengist's men, but put it down to sheer numbers before eying the tunnel that she'd seen a wilddeoren shuffle through, the one she'd immediately dismissed upon seeing its large fangs. Suddenly, it became her most viable route out of the castle.

"You thought they'd got away? No, you failed them." Hengist sneered, walking around the cage and towards her.

Merlyn let out a short chuckle. "Quite frankly, all they had to do was run through a tunnel whilst I dealt with the rest. I think they failed me." she sent Gwen an apologetic look, ensuring that she knew that this was an act, one that went undetected by the unsympathetic thugs surrounding her. One weary guard moved forwards, stretching out his hands for her sword. Begrudgingly, she handed it over, sighing dramatically as three others grabbed her by the arms and threw her into the cage, tying her down with thin rope.

Hengist smirked, striding behind his men and, once she was properly tied down, crouched in front of her, gripping her chin between his thumb and forefinger. He tilted it upwards so that she was forced to stare into his small, black eyes, defiance radiating off every fibre of her being.