Once Upon a Camelot Curse - Chapter Seven
He had run. Run as fast as he could away from Morgana’s tent, but Merlin was sure she had seen him. At first, he hadn’t believed his visions or all of the clues that led him to think that perhaps not everything was as it seemed. But Morgana’s magic and her exclamation of being back in Camelot…
It all made sense.
It had made everything click.
And somehow, Merlin knew he had to get them back before Morgana could strand them in whatever place she had dropped them.
First, however, it was the running and hiding he had to do.
There was no way he could go to the games booth to hide, it would probably be one of the first places she would look if she came after him. So Merlin had sought out one of the last spots that anyone would expect him to be.
The stables.
It was there that he stayed through the night, constantly watching to make sure Morgana wasn’t attempting to hunt him down. But once the sun began to break over the high fences, Merlin knew he would be safe for at least a few hours. He emerged from the stuffy barn smelling of horses and knowing his hair was every which way. Strange looks were thrown his way as he headed towards the game booths from those that were appearing to set up their own trades for the day’s faire.
They all acted as if nothing was wrong.
But Merlin had to figure out how to get things back to normal. Morgana had brought them here, and she was going to leave them all in an attempt to get back to Camelot. There was no way that Merlin could let that happen! But he wasn’t sure how to go about convincing everyone that what he said was true.
Gaius would believe him, right?
“Gaius!” Merlin called out, hoping to get the old man’s attention before Morgana and her guards could come barreling down on him. The booths were empty and for a moment, Merlin feared he was going to have to find someone else who was less likely to believe him, like Arthur or Leon. After a moment, though, Gaius appeared around a corner, carrying the box of stuffed frogs that Gwen normally set up.
The old man had a confused look on his face. “Merlin? There you are!” Gaius shook his head as he slipped behind the wooden counter and began placing frogs on their pedestals. “I was worried about you yesterday! Heard all about the incident at the jou--”
“No time, Gaius. You have to listen to me!” Merlin felt himself growing frantic and he forced his voice to lower so as not to attract unwanted attention. Who knew what was actually going on here? Morgana could easily be working with someone else, even if it didn’t seem that way last night. Anyone could be a spy for her. He leaned over the counter, hoping to convey just how serious the whole thing was. “Gaius, I hit my head last night.”
“Yes, yes, my boy. I know. I heard.” Gaius replied slowly, as if he was absolutely sure that Merlin was having more than the usual trouble comprehending more than a few sentences at a time.
Merlin shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. When I hit my head, I saw things. Us. Gwen. Arthur. All of us together. Arthur was a king and Gwen was his queen!”
“I was what?” Gwen came out from around the same corner that Gaius had appeared from, carrying a quiver filled with soft tipped arrows for the shooting range. She had an amused smirk on her lips, and it only grew wider as Merlin stuttered, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to explain.
“Listen. It felt real! And then I saw Morgana last night in her tent--”
“You were spying on Morgana?” Gwen questioned harshly, frowning at the idea that Merlin was some sort of peeping tom.
He groaned and shook his head again. “No! She was talking about a curse! That had sent us all here, away from our home in Camelot! And how she was going to strand us here! And then she did magic!” Merlin didn’t want to bring out the magic card quite yet, but he had no idea how else to explain it.
Unfortunately, it didn’t help. Gaius and Gwen looked at one another and both burst out laughing.
“Merlin, dear boy, I believe we should take you to the hospital tent again. You’re hallucinating.” Gaius set down the box of frogs and began moving towards Merlin with the intention of leading him away. He reached out a hand, but Merlin jumped way.
“No! Listen, it’s true! Watch!” He turned and stared at the box of frogs, willing it to tip over. None of those feelings from the previous day came, however, and all he felt was doubt. And frustration. And an urgent panic. Merlin allowed all of those feelings to overwhelm him and crash inside him until he felt the now familiar warm spark behind his eyes and the box jumped off of the ledge and spilled out the few frogs that were still inside out into the dirt.
Gwen jumped, but recovered quickly, giving a nervous laugh as she did so.
“Merlin, that doesn’t prove anything. The box was nearly empty and that was obviously a breeze that pushed it over.” She replied, although her tone suggested that she was attempting to reassure herself of that rather than argue with Merlin.
Merlin groaned, jumping back yet again as Gaius reached out to take hold of his arm. “I’m not going to the hospital tent! But you are coming with me. We’re going to find Arthur!” Merlin reached out and snatched Gwen’s wrist, yanking her forward and with him as he began stalking towards the stables, leaving Gaius behind.
“Merlin! Ow! You’re hurting me. This is insane!” Gwen shouted, gaining the attention of some of the tourists that had already began trickling into the faire grounds. But Merlin ignored them and her as he kept up his pace. He had to find Arthur. The idiot probably wouldn’t believe him, but it didn’t matter. The visions he had gotten of Arthur and Gwen together felt so utterly right that it was the only thing Merlin could think to do other than shouting himself hoarse from trying to explain what he knew was going on.
“You’ll believe me, even if I have to fix all of this myself!” For some odd reason, Merlin had a feeling that he was going to have to do that anyway. He had magic. Morgana had magic. But he knew that no one else did. From what Merlin remembered, Gaius could do some spells and knew the lore better than anyone. But Merlin was going to have to fix all of this.
He needed help, though.
“Arthur!” Merlin shouted when they reached the stables. He knew Arthur had to be here preparing for the day’s joust. Where else would the buffoon be? He pulled Gwen inside the shadowed barn, eyes searching for the familiar red of Arthur’s cloak. Even the other knights would be helpful right now.
“What, you clotpole? Stop scaring the horses!” A deep voice replied. The owner, Arthur, emerged from behind one of the wooden partitions, wiping his hands on a soiled rag.
“Arthur, you have to listen to me. This is important.” He felt out of breath, but Merlin forced himself to continue. He was, however, interrupted by Arthur.
“Easy, easy. You’re that bloke that interrupted my rather exciting duel yesterday, aren’t you? Monty… or something like that?” Arthur smirked before turning his gaze upon Gwen. “And who are you, my love?” His voice sounded creepy to Merlin, slimy almost and Merlin wasn’t sure this was going to work if Arthur wasn’t himself during this whole thing.
Merlin felt his grasp on Gwen slip as she pulled away from him. Her lip curled at Arthur’s obvious attempt at wooing her.
“Merlin. My name is Merlin. And we’re all in danger.” That certainly got Arthur’s attention as the star knight turned and quirked an eyebrow at Merlin. “Listen. Morgana is evil. She’s put a curse on all of us and made us forget what we used to be like! You are a king!”
The eyebrow got higher and Arthur let out a loud cackle. “Me? A king? I wish, Monty. I wanted that role, but they decided to go for a queen. Morgana, in fact, so I find it interesting that you think she’s evil considering she… you know… runs this place. Are you sure you didn’t hit your head harder than the medics think you did?”
Merlin sighed, tired of them suspecting that this was all because of a head injury. “I don’t have a head injury! You and Gwen are supposed to be king and queen of Camelot. Our Camelot. Not this place.”
“Oh, really?” Arthur’s smirk deepened as he flipped the rag over his shoulder and sauntered over to Gwen. “Well, if that’s what we’re supposed to be doing, I’m sure I could make you my queen.” He purred at her, attempting to slide his arms around her waist and lean in for a kiss.
Gwen wasn’t having any of it, however, and cried out in disgust, ripping away from Arthur’s grasp and stepping away from the both of them. “Forget it! That’s enough, Merlin. I’m not playing along with any more of your delusions. You need to go see the medic. Now.”
“No, Gwen. You have to listen.” Merlin didn’t care that no one was supposed to know he had magic. That Arthur, once he found out, would want to kill him on the spot. Gwen brushed the first instance off as Gaius had. As soon as he got them all back to Camelot, they would understand, surely. And if they didn’t?
He’d worry about that next.
“You know it’s true. You saw what I did with that box!” Merlin cried, growing desperate to shatter the disbelieving look on Gwen’s face. Arthur looked downright confused, the suave smirk gone from his face. But right now, it was all about Gwen. If Merlin could get her to understand and believe him, they had a chance to beat Morgana at her game. “You have to bel--”
“Merlin!” The sound of clinking chain mail and armor made all three of them turn. A group of soldiers clad in black and green approached the barn and blocked the doors. Merlin’s heart thudded in his chest.
Morgana’s men.
“We’re here to take you to the queen. She’d like to have a word with you.” One of the knights stepped forward. His face was unfamiliar for a moment, until Merlin realized it was Lancelot, someone who had been loyal to Arthur in Camelot. He had been the other figure in the tent last night as well. But he seemed fully intent on following Morgana’s orders.
“No thanks. I’m good here.” Merlin took a step back, further into the safety of the barn. If he could get out through the back exit, perhaps he could escape Morgana for just a little bit longer.
But Lancelot was having none of it. He gave a friendly shrug and held out a hand, as if he was going to guide Merlin out of the stables. “Come on, Merlin. It’s just a game she’s playing, remember? It’s not like we’re going to torture you or anything.”
Merlin’s stomach sank at the words. Lancelot thought he was joking, but Merlin knew that Morgana could easily do just that if she wanted to in this world. Everyone thought it was all an act for the tourists, and she could play it off that way, all the way up to putting him in the stocks forever, or letting him disappear. He took another step back.
“Alright then. Lads, follow your orders.” Lancelot commanded, waving his outstretched arm towards Merlin. His cohorts stormed forward, quickly overtaking Merlin despite his attempts to back away. Their strong grips tightened over Merlin’s arms and he couldn’t help wincing at the pressure as they pushed him back towards the entrance of the stables.
“Oi, now, wait a second! This isn’t funny.” Arthur moved to grab one of the guards by the shoulder, but was intercepted by Lancelot, who quickly moved between them. “It’s just an act. Let him go. You’re hurting him!” He shouted over Lancelot’s shoulder at the other guards.
Lancelot shook his head. “Sorry, Arthur. See the tourists? It’s a good act, to say the least. Gets them all excited. Nothing’s going to happen to him. Relax.”
“Don’t believe him, Arthur! He doesn’t know what he’s saying! Listen to me!” Merlin struggled against the guards, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to win in a battle of strength. They had their hands locked around his upper arms and were practically carrying him into the sunlight. He craned his neck to look at Gwen and Arthur. “Try and leave! Try and go through the gates! You’ll believe me then! You two can break the curse! You’re supposed to be together!”
It took more and more effort to call to them as the guards dragged him further and further away. They both looked confused as Lancelot followed his guards out of the barn and left Gwen and Arthur to stand alone in the darkness of the stables. His feet dragged through the gravel as they marched him up past all of the shops and food stalls and to Morgana’s tent.
However, instead of going inside, they passed it and continued on. Merlin frowned, sure that it was a mistake. Why would they bring him anywhere else? And where were they going to take them? Morgana’s tent was the most private place he could think of, considering she wouldn’t want more of a scene than was already being made. Tourists were pointing and whispering, and the other actors were laughing and shouting as they played their characters correctly.
The answer was quite obvious, however, when a large structure rose in front of them. It was shaped almost like a castle, but in that fake modern way that looked nothing like one. The whole place was a tour for guests to see what it was like to live in a castle, and more importantly, the dungeons were they could witness what a true torture chamber looked like.
Screaming wouldn’t be out of place there.
Merlin was shoved through the stone archway and down the smooth steps that led to the dungeon. It was still early in the day, so the castle wasn’t nearly as crowded as it would be in a few hours. The few voices inside bounced eerily off of the walls and covered up most of the sounds of their footsteps. Merlin’s heart thudded. Lancelot led the way down to the dungeon and through the main room that housed a majority of the larger torture equipment pieces. But instead of heading to any of the exhibit rooms, they veered down an empty hallway.
Lancelot reached out and opened a wooden door, letting it swing inside, revealing a darkened room with only a bit of candle light. The guards shoved at Merlin, who stumbled forward and went sprawling across the stone floor.
“Sorry, Merlin,” Lancelot said, before closing the door behind him and shutting Merlin into near darkness. It was only after the retreating footsteps faded that Merlin could finally concentrate on the room he was in.
And who was there with him.
“Hello, Merlin. So wonderful to see you again.” Morgana’s voice cut through the darkness as she emerged from the shadows, holding a candle next to her face. Her smile was vicious and her eyes glowed gold and Merlin was sent careening off of the floor and thudding into a far wall.
"Let's talk, shall we?"
It all made sense.
It had made everything click.
And somehow, Merlin knew he had to get them back before Morgana could strand them in whatever place she had dropped them.
First, however, it was the running and hiding he had to do.
There was no way he could go to the games booth to hide, it would probably be one of the first places she would look if she came after him. So Merlin had sought out one of the last spots that anyone would expect him to be.
The stables.
It was there that he stayed through the night, constantly watching to make sure Morgana wasn’t attempting to hunt him down. But once the sun began to break over the high fences, Merlin knew he would be safe for at least a few hours. He emerged from the stuffy barn smelling of horses and knowing his hair was every which way. Strange looks were thrown his way as he headed towards the game booths from those that were appearing to set up their own trades for the day’s faire.
They all acted as if nothing was wrong.
But Merlin had to figure out how to get things back to normal. Morgana had brought them here, and she was going to leave them all in an attempt to get back to Camelot. There was no way that Merlin could let that happen! But he wasn’t sure how to go about convincing everyone that what he said was true.
Gaius would believe him, right?
“Gaius!” Merlin called out, hoping to get the old man’s attention before Morgana and her guards could come barreling down on him. The booths were empty and for a moment, Merlin feared he was going to have to find someone else who was less likely to believe him, like Arthur or Leon. After a moment, though, Gaius appeared around a corner, carrying the box of stuffed frogs that Gwen normally set up.
The old man had a confused look on his face. “Merlin? There you are!” Gaius shook his head as he slipped behind the wooden counter and began placing frogs on their pedestals. “I was worried about you yesterday! Heard all about the incident at the jou--”
“No time, Gaius. You have to listen to me!” Merlin felt himself growing frantic and he forced his voice to lower so as not to attract unwanted attention. Who knew what was actually going on here? Morgana could easily be working with someone else, even if it didn’t seem that way last night. Anyone could be a spy for her. He leaned over the counter, hoping to convey just how serious the whole thing was. “Gaius, I hit my head last night.”
“Yes, yes, my boy. I know. I heard.” Gaius replied slowly, as if he was absolutely sure that Merlin was having more than the usual trouble comprehending more than a few sentences at a time.
Merlin shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. When I hit my head, I saw things. Us. Gwen. Arthur. All of us together. Arthur was a king and Gwen was his queen!”
“I was what?” Gwen came out from around the same corner that Gaius had appeared from, carrying a quiver filled with soft tipped arrows for the shooting range. She had an amused smirk on her lips, and it only grew wider as Merlin stuttered, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to explain.
“Listen. It felt real! And then I saw Morgana last night in her tent--”
“You were spying on Morgana?” Gwen questioned harshly, frowning at the idea that Merlin was some sort of peeping tom.
He groaned and shook his head again. “No! She was talking about a curse! That had sent us all here, away from our home in Camelot! And how she was going to strand us here! And then she did magic!” Merlin didn’t want to bring out the magic card quite yet, but he had no idea how else to explain it.
Unfortunately, it didn’t help. Gaius and Gwen looked at one another and both burst out laughing.
“Merlin, dear boy, I believe we should take you to the hospital tent again. You’re hallucinating.” Gaius set down the box of frogs and began moving towards Merlin with the intention of leading him away. He reached out a hand, but Merlin jumped way.
“No! Listen, it’s true! Watch!” He turned and stared at the box of frogs, willing it to tip over. None of those feelings from the previous day came, however, and all he felt was doubt. And frustration. And an urgent panic. Merlin allowed all of those feelings to overwhelm him and crash inside him until he felt the now familiar warm spark behind his eyes and the box jumped off of the ledge and spilled out the few frogs that were still inside out into the dirt.
Gwen jumped, but recovered quickly, giving a nervous laugh as she did so.
“Merlin, that doesn’t prove anything. The box was nearly empty and that was obviously a breeze that pushed it over.” She replied, although her tone suggested that she was attempting to reassure herself of that rather than argue with Merlin.
Merlin groaned, jumping back yet again as Gaius reached out to take hold of his arm. “I’m not going to the hospital tent! But you are coming with me. We’re going to find Arthur!” Merlin reached out and snatched Gwen’s wrist, yanking her forward and with him as he began stalking towards the stables, leaving Gaius behind.
“Merlin! Ow! You’re hurting me. This is insane!” Gwen shouted, gaining the attention of some of the tourists that had already began trickling into the faire grounds. But Merlin ignored them and her as he kept up his pace. He had to find Arthur. The idiot probably wouldn’t believe him, but it didn’t matter. The visions he had gotten of Arthur and Gwen together felt so utterly right that it was the only thing Merlin could think to do other than shouting himself hoarse from trying to explain what he knew was going on.
“You’ll believe me, even if I have to fix all of this myself!” For some odd reason, Merlin had a feeling that he was going to have to do that anyway. He had magic. Morgana had magic. But he knew that no one else did. From what Merlin remembered, Gaius could do some spells and knew the lore better than anyone. But Merlin was going to have to fix all of this.
He needed help, though.
“Arthur!” Merlin shouted when they reached the stables. He knew Arthur had to be here preparing for the day’s joust. Where else would the buffoon be? He pulled Gwen inside the shadowed barn, eyes searching for the familiar red of Arthur’s cloak. Even the other knights would be helpful right now.
“What, you clotpole? Stop scaring the horses!” A deep voice replied. The owner, Arthur, emerged from behind one of the wooden partitions, wiping his hands on a soiled rag.
“Arthur, you have to listen to me. This is important.” He felt out of breath, but Merlin forced himself to continue. He was, however, interrupted by Arthur.
“Easy, easy. You’re that bloke that interrupted my rather exciting duel yesterday, aren’t you? Monty… or something like that?” Arthur smirked before turning his gaze upon Gwen. “And who are you, my love?” His voice sounded creepy to Merlin, slimy almost and Merlin wasn’t sure this was going to work if Arthur wasn’t himself during this whole thing.
Merlin felt his grasp on Gwen slip as she pulled away from him. Her lip curled at Arthur’s obvious attempt at wooing her.
“Merlin. My name is Merlin. And we’re all in danger.” That certainly got Arthur’s attention as the star knight turned and quirked an eyebrow at Merlin. “Listen. Morgana is evil. She’s put a curse on all of us and made us forget what we used to be like! You are a king!”
The eyebrow got higher and Arthur let out a loud cackle. “Me? A king? I wish, Monty. I wanted that role, but they decided to go for a queen. Morgana, in fact, so I find it interesting that you think she’s evil considering she… you know… runs this place. Are you sure you didn’t hit your head harder than the medics think you did?”
Merlin sighed, tired of them suspecting that this was all because of a head injury. “I don’t have a head injury! You and Gwen are supposed to be king and queen of Camelot. Our Camelot. Not this place.”
“Oh, really?” Arthur’s smirk deepened as he flipped the rag over his shoulder and sauntered over to Gwen. “Well, if that’s what we’re supposed to be doing, I’m sure I could make you my queen.” He purred at her, attempting to slide his arms around her waist and lean in for a kiss.
Gwen wasn’t having any of it, however, and cried out in disgust, ripping away from Arthur’s grasp and stepping away from the both of them. “Forget it! That’s enough, Merlin. I’m not playing along with any more of your delusions. You need to go see the medic. Now.”
“No, Gwen. You have to listen.” Merlin didn’t care that no one was supposed to know he had magic. That Arthur, once he found out, would want to kill him on the spot. Gwen brushed the first instance off as Gaius had. As soon as he got them all back to Camelot, they would understand, surely. And if they didn’t?
He’d worry about that next.
“You know it’s true. You saw what I did with that box!” Merlin cried, growing desperate to shatter the disbelieving look on Gwen’s face. Arthur looked downright confused, the suave smirk gone from his face. But right now, it was all about Gwen. If Merlin could get her to understand and believe him, they had a chance to beat Morgana at her game. “You have to bel--”
“Merlin!” The sound of clinking chain mail and armor made all three of them turn. A group of soldiers clad in black and green approached the barn and blocked the doors. Merlin’s heart thudded in his chest.
Morgana’s men.
“We’re here to take you to the queen. She’d like to have a word with you.” One of the knights stepped forward. His face was unfamiliar for a moment, until Merlin realized it was Lancelot, someone who had been loyal to Arthur in Camelot. He had been the other figure in the tent last night as well. But he seemed fully intent on following Morgana’s orders.
“No thanks. I’m good here.” Merlin took a step back, further into the safety of the barn. If he could get out through the back exit, perhaps he could escape Morgana for just a little bit longer.
But Lancelot was having none of it. He gave a friendly shrug and held out a hand, as if he was going to guide Merlin out of the stables. “Come on, Merlin. It’s just a game she’s playing, remember? It’s not like we’re going to torture you or anything.”
Merlin’s stomach sank at the words. Lancelot thought he was joking, but Merlin knew that Morgana could easily do just that if she wanted to in this world. Everyone thought it was all an act for the tourists, and she could play it off that way, all the way up to putting him in the stocks forever, or letting him disappear. He took another step back.
“Alright then. Lads, follow your orders.” Lancelot commanded, waving his outstretched arm towards Merlin. His cohorts stormed forward, quickly overtaking Merlin despite his attempts to back away. Their strong grips tightened over Merlin’s arms and he couldn’t help wincing at the pressure as they pushed him back towards the entrance of the stables.
“Oi, now, wait a second! This isn’t funny.” Arthur moved to grab one of the guards by the shoulder, but was intercepted by Lancelot, who quickly moved between them. “It’s just an act. Let him go. You’re hurting him!” He shouted over Lancelot’s shoulder at the other guards.
Lancelot shook his head. “Sorry, Arthur. See the tourists? It’s a good act, to say the least. Gets them all excited. Nothing’s going to happen to him. Relax.”
“Don’t believe him, Arthur! He doesn’t know what he’s saying! Listen to me!” Merlin struggled against the guards, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to win in a battle of strength. They had their hands locked around his upper arms and were practically carrying him into the sunlight. He craned his neck to look at Gwen and Arthur. “Try and leave! Try and go through the gates! You’ll believe me then! You two can break the curse! You’re supposed to be together!”
It took more and more effort to call to them as the guards dragged him further and further away. They both looked confused as Lancelot followed his guards out of the barn and left Gwen and Arthur to stand alone in the darkness of the stables. His feet dragged through the gravel as they marched him up past all of the shops and food stalls and to Morgana’s tent.
However, instead of going inside, they passed it and continued on. Merlin frowned, sure that it was a mistake. Why would they bring him anywhere else? And where were they going to take them? Morgana’s tent was the most private place he could think of, considering she wouldn’t want more of a scene than was already being made. Tourists were pointing and whispering, and the other actors were laughing and shouting as they played their characters correctly.
The answer was quite obvious, however, when a large structure rose in front of them. It was shaped almost like a castle, but in that fake modern way that looked nothing like one. The whole place was a tour for guests to see what it was like to live in a castle, and more importantly, the dungeons were they could witness what a true torture chamber looked like.
Screaming wouldn’t be out of place there.
Merlin was shoved through the stone archway and down the smooth steps that led to the dungeon. It was still early in the day, so the castle wasn’t nearly as crowded as it would be in a few hours. The few voices inside bounced eerily off of the walls and covered up most of the sounds of their footsteps. Merlin’s heart thudded. Lancelot led the way down to the dungeon and through the main room that housed a majority of the larger torture equipment pieces. But instead of heading to any of the exhibit rooms, they veered down an empty hallway.
Lancelot reached out and opened a wooden door, letting it swing inside, revealing a darkened room with only a bit of candle light. The guards shoved at Merlin, who stumbled forward and went sprawling across the stone floor.
“Sorry, Merlin,” Lancelot said, before closing the door behind him and shutting Merlin into near darkness. It was only after the retreating footsteps faded that Merlin could finally concentrate on the room he was in.
And who was there with him.
“Hello, Merlin. So wonderful to see you again.” Morgana’s voice cut through the darkness as she emerged from the shadows, holding a candle next to her face. Her smile was vicious and her eyes glowed gold and Merlin was sent careening off of the floor and thudding into a far wall.
"Let's talk, shall we?"