HI, first time writer so be nice,

but I welcome anything you have to say, even flames if you can just tell me why you say that.

I mean that, you can call me an idiot for all I care, IF you can tell me why.


Early morning sun shone through the trees and a crow called out its presence to the forest. The light and noise didn't disturb the four hunters as they stealthy formed up on a rocky outcropping, the blond teen in front.

*Snap*

The teens hand shot up and the others stopped where they were. After a second they moved off toward the sound.

*Snap*

Only a few silent paces later the sound came again and they instantly froze, walking next to a bush. The teen leader looked back at the two men with them and quickly flashed them a few hand signals. The men nodded to their younger leader and vanished off to the left, leaving him with the other teen in the back.

"Merlin," Arthur called softly, then jerked his head for Merlin to come closer.

"What is is?" Merlin asked as he came closer trying to get a look around the bush.

"I don't know," Arthur said glancing at Merlin. "We'll surround it. I want you to go in there and flush it out."

Merlin looked back at him as if he was crazy. "You want me to go in there? You just said you don't know what it is, it could be dangerous."

Arthur suddenly looked happy, shaking his head vigorously. "Let's hope so. Now go." he said with a pat that turned into a push.

Merlin stumbled forward from the push. Knowing that there isn't any good in heading back to Arthur now, he walked forward. The crow that he hadn't paid attention to before now seemed to mock him and his plight.

'I can hear the scary music now.' Merlin thought as he walked through the small gully. The snapping sound kept on coming from ahead of him. Mustering up his courage, he walked towards it.

*Snap*. Each branch that Merlin stepped on felt a little too loud and he paused looking around. The thing making the sound was just around a tiny grove, bending down Merlin grabbed up a stick near his feet. Stepping around the trees Merlin tensed. 'Please don't say this is how I die,' He thought as he came into view of the animal.

Merlins eyes widened as he saw the animal, if words could call it such. The unicorn was simply breath taking. Every thought left his head in a heartbeat. Merlin quickly dropped his staff and walked up cautious of startling him/her. As he approached the snapping sound came from his right, and he immediately looked around remembering the others.

"Go, Go, please go!" He quietly said. The unicorn's head bounced up and down but the beautiful beast didn't move. "They're going to kill you. Please go!" Merlin said, worry coloring his voice and beading on his face.

*SNAP*

Merlin's eyes snapped to the sound. Arthur was leaning against the base of a tree, his crossbow in hand.

"Arthur, no!" Merlin shouted at him. But as he shouted there was a short hiss-smack, and the unicorn fell to the ground. Merlin dropped to his knees next the unicorn, tears stinging his eyes.

"I'm sorry. Sorry" Merlin said brokenly.

He heard a noise close by, accompanied by Arthur's chuckle, "Unicorn."

'All hail king obvious.' Merlin would have thought if he wasn't shell shocked. Instead he looked at Arthur. "What have you done?"

"Don't be such a girl, Merlin." Arthur admonished. A quick shuffling sound later, the two other hunters arrived to ogle the unicorn. Merlin kept looking up and down between the unicorn and Arthur. He suddenly stiffened looking right at Arthur. After a second Arthur realized that Merlin wasn't looking at him but was instead looking at something behind him. "What are you looking at?" Arthur said glancing back. The forest was dark, but not so dark that anything important could hide. Glancing back, Arthur was about to ask a confused Merlin for answers When.

AAEEEEIIIIKKKKA!

The scream, or whatever it was sounded like swords and armor scratching on each other. Arthurs head once again swiveled toward the sound.

"What is that?" He said eyes narrowing.

Everyone looked at Arthur for answers but he looked just as lost they did. AAAHH, a scream, human, and male shouted out from the direction of the other noise.

"Come on," Arthur ordered as he ran off after the noise.

"Arthur we don't... get back... grr." Merlin said throwing a look at the others. "Why didn't you stop him?"

The others just shrugged. "He's the prince," one of them enlightened unhelpfully.

Merlin slapped his face, "I know but you should have stopped him. Now we need catch him."

They both nodded their head. One guard looked sheepish "I'll watch the unicorn"

"You're scared of the noise aren't you," taunted the other.

"Yes." The first said simply.

Merlin groaned, "Fine, come on." He laid the unicorns head down, "Sorry," he said one more time before he sprinted off after Arthur, the braver of the two following.

A few hundred meters later the sound of a battle reached them, causing the guard to clench his crossbow with a death grip.

"Arthur!" Merlin shouted, looking for his prince.

"Merlin." Arthur's hiss came from behind a stand of trees, the sounds of battle were getting louder. Jogging around the trees Merlin found Arthur leaning against a tree, a dirt road just visible past him.

"Arthur, what is it." Merlin said as he ran up.

"Quiet," Arthur said glancing around the trees. "I have no idea, but look at that."

Merlin glanced around the tree and his jaw dropped. A large wagon was stopped on the path, and littered around it were several rough looking men. All of them were dead but no two deaths were the same; one was stabbed, one was burned, one was apparently stung to death, and another was literally smashed to pieces. More men who weren't dead were gathered on the other side fighting someone he couldn't see.

"Halt in the name of the king!" Arthur shouted out to the fighters, sprinting toward the group. As he got close some of the crowd charged him thinking that they could overwhelm them. Arthur simply dogged the first and cut down the second. While he engaged the third the guardsman fought the first.

"Onstyrian, onbregdan" Merlin muttered and a loose piece of tack from the wagon tripped the fourth man charging them.

Arthur quickly dispatched his opponent and converged on the one his guard was fighting. Merlin ran up and threatened the fourth with his crossbow. "Don't even think of getting up," Merlin said trying but failing to sound intimidating.

"Let me go, I have a wife and family," the man whined piteously.

"No he doesn't."

The voice was so unexpected that Merlin's head shot towards it. Inside the wagon was at least fifteen little girls, almost completely identical in every way. Before Merlin could react the man on the ground tackled him, fighting for the crossbow. Merlin gasped and hung on to the bow with a death grip. The Man kept growling and punching at Merlin when he suddenly stiffened and fell off of him.

"Get up Merlin," Arthur groaned helping him up.

"Sorry," Merlin said his head hanging.

"What's that," Arthur gasped looking at the wagon.

"The girls are…"

"What girls? What's that?" Arthur said pointing at the remaining men.

Merlin glanced up in time to see one of the remaining three men go stiff and then fall over revealing a monster standing over at least five other bodies.

Merlin stared. The monster was tall, at least as tall as Arthur, but slim, and covered in some sort of iron and cloth weave, the 'head' was all metal with a single glowing red eye. As it swung to its left Merlin could see some kind of metal box with strange reflective rope attached to its back. Stabbing with its left arm it buried a thin sword like device in another man, and just as quickly stabbed with the right impaling the last man on a harpoon attached to its right wrist. Glancing over its shoulder the monster fixed them with its single eye, waiting for them to make a move.

Arthur growled, eyes narrowing, "For the love of Camelot!" He roared and charged it, swinging his sword up high.

"Stop!" came a little voice that darted out in between them.

Arthur and the monster both stumbled to a stop looking at the child, Arthur in surprise and the monster in… concern?

The little girl rounded on the young prince and stated boldly. "Leave big sister Eleanor alone."


July/8/15: I have gotten rid of a plot point and have updated the story


Any Ideas on what to do next are welcome.

PS I have a slight developmental condition that makes it hard for me to spell, so please take that into consideration.