Authors note: I've decided to carry this idea on (yay) because I found that once I'd started it was very difficult to stop :) This is still the first installment and first chapter, as it is going to start from this scene in the film.

Just so you know, this story is going to be the bane of my life until it's finished, and because I'm an idiot, I start it just as I'm about to go back to school and start my GCSE exams. Yes, yes I know I'm stupid. My point being, I will try my very, very hardest to update fairly regularly but I can't promise anything. If you stick with it through it all then you are amazing and deserve hugs and medals and Merlin series 5 all at once.

Thankyou for the amazing reviews on this too, you've no idea how much it motivates me into updating :L

'You really don't want to do that you know.'

The sudden voice startled him and his shaking hands lost grip on the piece of railing he clung to. With a yelp he felt himself slip and his feet slide into nothing. The cold air whipped his hair more violently and he was falling.

His heart jumped and sent a shock of pure terror through him, causing his limbs to flail and contract, desperately trying to come into contact with something, anything that could save his life.

He had planned this. He knew just how badly one's reflexes reacted in these situations, instantly releasing a fierce instinct of survival, no matter how made up the mind was about dismissing it. But yet now the moment had arrived, his previous hesitation was explained, and left the clear, harsh fact that he didn't want to do this. He really did not want to do this.

The realisation of just how freezing the water was going to be hit him rather prematurely, and it left only one thought in his mind. I don't want to die.

Suddenly, something caught Arthur's arm, sharply pulling him back up to the railing. The prince gasped and his reflexes caught up with him enough to reach out and grab onto the smooth metal frantically. In a panic, Arthur hauled himself back onto the ledge, his feet finding ground and taking it gratefully, his shaking arms wrapping themselves tight around the railing.

His breath seemed to return to him all at once and he felt sick with it. Inhaling great gulps at a time, he looked over at the far end of the platform, only to see someone, a boy, wearing a filthy, practically threadbare tunic and trousers that looked as though he'd been wearing them constantly for years, standing with his arm outstretched towards Arthur, his face shocked and mildly terrified, yet masked with hard concentration that the prince couldn't quite place.

Arthur clung to the side of the ship, still panting harshly, his heart pounding audibly in his ears.

The boy observed him for a second, before approaching him carefully, his hand reaching out slightly towards him. 'It's alright. You're okay now. Just.. come back onto the deck.'

Arthur shook his head and tried to move his leg onto the side of the rail so he could climb back over, but his muscles refused to cooperate and instead stayed cemented on the edge of the ship. Sharp vibrations of terror circulated through every inch of his body, the shock of his near-fall still throbbed painfully, controlling his every attempt at movement. He lifted his head again to the boy, his eyes silently pleading. Though pleading for what, he did not know.

Thankfully, the boy did, and striding over to close the gap between them, he gripped Arthur's arms, surprisingly firmly for someone of his size, and looked the prince straight in the eyes.

'I will not let you go, I promise.' He smiled a sort of shy smile, yet it conveyed a strong feeling of kindness to Arthur's still thumping heart. 'Trust me. I will not let you fall.'

Although fear still pulsated through him like no other sensation he had ever faced, the look on the boy's face gave Arthur a sense of quiet concentration, and his mind was all of a sudden clearer, less clouded. His muscles tried once again to move his legs, and this time they responded. They clambered up and and over the railing in a sudden panic and Arthur collapsed onto the other side, his back pressed firmly against the barrier, his head swimming with relief.

A moment passed, and the boy lowered his arm feverishly, glancing down at it as if slightly confused as to why it was there. Raising his head, his eyes lifted to meet Arthur's, and it made the prince's breath suddenly hitch once more, though for an entirely different reason.

His eyes were a startling blue, and yet they seemed to shimmer under the moonlight, making them appear almost golden for a moment, before it passed, and they were left drowning in mutual relief as well as a sparkle of easy amusement.

'Watch your step.'