Years of running from bandits and magical creatures seemed to have prepared Merlin for this moment as he once again ran for his life in the woods. But this wasn't just from any bandit that would taunt him for a moment before Merlin discarded them with his magic. No, this was far worse.

He looked behind him to see if he could catch a glimpse of his hunter. But he tripped over a tree root and fell on his broken arm. Merlin gasped as he tried to stand back up, cradling his arm in its poorly made sling.

He could hear leaves crunching and heavy footsteps rushing towards him. Merlin held in a yell as he forced himself to his feet and began running again, each step bringing pulsing pain to his left arm.

An arrow whizzed by him and landed in a tree. Merlin didn't turn around. He had to keep running. He couldn't stop now.

Another arrow flew through the air, but this time it connected with his right calf. Merlin yelled, dropping to the ground and falling on his broken arm again. "No, no, no, no…" Merlin whimpered as he began dragging himself, gathering the strength to stand again.

The footsteps were getting closer. Merlin didn't want to look behind. Instead, he looked at his leg and the arrow sticking out. He took a few deep breaths before grabbing the arrow and pulling as hard as he could. This time, he couldn't hold back the yells.

The wood of the arrow snapped, just as it was so close to being out of his leg. Merlin gasped and tried not to think of how blood he was losing. He tried to ignore the pain as he stood up again, but after taking one step, he collapsed.

A pair of familiar brown boots stood in front of Merlin. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, hoping it was just a bad dream. But when he opened them, they were still there. Merlin shook his head. "Please, don't do this…" Merlin craned his neck up to look at him. "Please, Arthur."

Arthur looked down at him with his cloudy eyes and ignored his pleas. Instead, he reached down and hefted Merlin up over his shoulder, not caring about any of his wounds, and began marching back to where they came from.

Merlin shut his eyes tightly and told himself that this was all just a very bad nightmare and he would wake up soon enough.