Merlin watched from behind as Gwen and Arthur rode through the castle grounds. He signed deeply, taking in the cool, crisp air deep into his lungs.

"This is nice, isn't it? Just the two of us." Arthur said, smiling at her.

Gwen smiled back. "Well three of us." She turned back and looked at Merlin.

"Merlin?" Arthur said, looking back his trailing friend. Merlin doesn't count."

"I don't count. I'm not here. I'm not actually speaking right now." Merlin said sarcastically, forcing a smile.

The horses continued to walk, their steps leaving a small trail of dust behind them. Aren't you impressed that I remembered our anniversary?" Arthur said and urged his steed to match Gwen's pace."

"But you didn't remember. I reminded you over a month ago," she beamed.

"Yes…" Arthur said hesitantly. "But I remembered it was today…today."

Merlin shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Ah. Actually I did." Merlin interjected.

"Shut up Merlin" Arthur said, trying to hide his shame by striding ahead.

Gwen laughed and Merlin shrugged then joined in.

Approaching the clearing, Arthur smiled back at Gwen, his face beaming with joy.

Bang! The sound of the explosion echoed like thunder.

Gwen gasped as Arthur's horse reared, wide eyes white and frightening, and threw Arthur to the ground.

He landed with a sickening thud on his shoulder followed by a large snap. The wind knocked out of him, Arthur couldn't scream out in pain.

"Arthur!" Merlin cried out, as bandit charged at fallen king.

Regaining his breath, he quickly got stood up and grabbed his sword with his uninjured arm. A bandit plunged at him and Arthur swung his sword to the right, parrying the blow. He kicked his legs out from under him.

"Run!" Arthur yelled Gwen but she was frozen.

Merlin saw the other bandits approaching. Quickly Merlin got off his own horse and went over to hit Gwen's steed in the hindquarters. The horse staggered then bolted in the opposite directly, away from the bandit and back to Camelot.

Arthur could feel his left arm draining him. Another bandit swung at him. Arthur caught the blade with his own, then lowered his sword to waist level and lunged into bandit. The sword ran cleaning through the heavy cloth. The bandit screamed, dropped his blade and grappled with the sword in his abdomen. Arthur propped his foot against the bandit stomach and kicked, retrieving his sword.

Steps away from Arthur, Merlin was grabbed and tossed aside. Not wasting anytime, the bandit picks up Merlin's sword and plunged it down. Merlin shifted to the side, but he was not fast enough. The blade ripped through his shirt and drew a long, deep cut in his side. Blood spilled out, and pain tore through Merlin's body. He hardly saw what happened next.

Having defeated his attackers, Arthur glanced up to see Merlin injured on the ground.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled and ran toward him. He threw his sword at Merlin's attacker, watching it sail through the air and lodging itself deep into the bandit's throat.

Arthur knelt at Merlin's side and examines the wound, oblivious to the figure stepping out from the shadows behind, holding a weapon aimed at him. It was Morgana. Merlin didn't have time to warn Arthur. The arrow flew from the bow straight into Arthur.

Looking down, he saw the bloody tip of an arrow protruding from just beneath his collarbone. Dazedly Merlin looked at him. Arthur tried to speak but no words came out, only blood and gurgle. His eyes lost their sheen. Arthur tried to breath but was already choking on his own blood.

Slowly he collapsed to his knees, mere steps from where Merlin laid. He tried to crawl forward but his left arm was useless. Unable to support his weight, he collapsed to the dirt. He lay on his side, struggling and gasping for air but his lungs refused to fill. He felt the blood leaving his body.

Gripping his wound, Merlin embraced pain and stumbled to Arthur's side. He fell beside him, gently cradling Arthur's head on his lap. "Stay with me, please."

Arthur sputtered and his voice croaked out a whisper. "Give… this to Gwen." he said painfully and handed him the royal seal.

Arthur's eyes began to close. "No, I won't let you die. Camelot needs its king," he pleaded, shaking him gently back to consciousness. "I need you…" muttered under his breath.

His eyes closed once more.

"Arthur! No!" The king looked of death as Merlin put a hand on his neck and felt for a pulse. He was alive, but only barely.

Blood flowed through his fingers and dripped onto Arthur's tunic. Concerned for Arthur, Merlin had forgotten about his own injury. The blood loss made it hard to think and his vision began to fade.

As he lay motionless, Merlin tried his best to heal his friend. At first he tried to heal him with magic only to fail over and over at it. Finally giving up on doing that, he cautiously broke the tip of the arrow and grasped the remaining end with both hands. Tears streamed down his face as Arthur screamed out in agony as Merlin wrenched the arrow from him.

Merlin tried bandaging up with strip he'd torn from his shirt but it was no use. All strength left his body and he fell to his back. There was only one other who could help them now.

"O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes!" Merlin cried out to the skies and slipped from consciousness

Right now I don't think I will continue this but if i get enough inspiration from reviews, I might keep writing.

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