The Emerald Thief - Merlin BBC [1]

Chapter 8: To The Rescue

The dark seems never-ending, but the dripping a continuous loop. The smell progressively gets worse as I lose sight to the darkness. I'll have to rely on my other senses. I place a light hand against Gwaine's back, so I don't lose the group if possible. His chainmail moves under my palm, giving me something to focus on. Light breathing echoes off the walls from our small group, our footsteps making a louder echo.

"This entrance was made in the time of the great purge", Arthur whispers. His words cause us to jump in fright of the sudden sound. "Only a few know of its existence. Olaf would have lost his head if he knew my Father had known of this route all these years."

The group falls silent again, the idea of talking seemingly out of place. The possibility of being caught is too risky.

I almost don't see the first flicker of light with Gwaine in front of me, but soon his silhouette becomes clear to my tender eyes. The light burns at my sight, Arthur disappearing first into the room ahead. I follow Merlin and Gwaine out of the horrid tunnel, eyes adjusting to see we are in the storerooms.

Sacks sit in piles throughout the small room, a small wooden door further in. Leon joins us as Arthur marches across to the wooden door, peering through a crack in the wood.

He unhooks the lock, pulling the door open as quietly as possible. Arthur's head disappears out the door, his hand coming up to signal us to follow. We all stick close together as we enter the first stone hallway. The stone archways seem too silent and lonely for a typical guarded castle.

We come to a halt, Arthur's hand raised as we approach a corner. The distant murmurs of guards echo. Arthur nods to Leon giving strange signals I've never seen before. Leon nods back, disappearing back down the hallway we had come.

Arthur then steps out into the hallway, the men letting out a few shouts but cutting short as there are loud thuds. Arthur motions for Gwaine, Merlin and myself to follow. As we round the corner, I see the two knocked out Knights on the floor. Leon leaps over them as he follows us down the next hallway. We continue, each hallway becoming more familiar as we venture further into Olaf's Castle. We come to yet another halt as the loud sound of warning bells fill our ears.

Gwaine peers over his shoulder. "Percival and Elyan."

"Yes, that means we don't have much time. Quickly!" Arthur orders, sprinting down the halls.

I follow close behind. The warning bells continue for quite a long time, their call luckily clearing most of the hallways for us to have a straight run to the hall. Olaf will have been summoned upon Percival and Elyan's sighting.

Unfortunately, we reach a troubled spot, three knights being on guard. Our group comes to an abrupt halt, all pressing ourselves up against the wall tightly as if it would conceal us from other eyes.

"I'll draw them off", Merlin whispers.

"No, Merlin, they'll outrun you!" Arthur hisses, "absolutely not."

"What's the worst they'll do?" Merlin questions, "arrest me? That won't matter when you destroy the stone anyway."

"And what if you get yourself killed?" Arthur presses.

"Who? Me?" Merlin questions, a cheeky smirk on his face. "I'll just have to outrun them then, won't I?" Before Arthur can get a firm grip on his servant, Merlin slips out into the hallway. "Oh! Good Evening gentlemen!" Merlin greets, bolting down another hallway.

The Three Knights let out shouts, hurrying after Merlin down the new hallway. We don't wait around to see how far they had gotten when we slip into the hallway toward the great hall. The adrenaline is now at an all-time high, a feeling I often get when stealing something for a client. It's strange to have it in different, yet still similar, circumstances.