Disclaimer- We do not own Merlin.
A/N: This is our first fanfic together, so this is sort of a trial update. Any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. This is the first part of two, this story being called "The Once" and the second being called, "The Future". We were planning on updating every Sunday, but that is just a guess for now since we are both starting our final year of High School. But we need to see if this is any good so we probably won't update for now until we get five reviews, (we just want to make sure it's worth writing). Anyway, we hope you enjoy!
It's very hot out today.
It was a random thought to be going through his head, but Merlin was grateful for the simple observation. Thinking about anything else more relevant would be too painful at the moment. He was mindlessly walking through the dense woods in the direction that he hopped was Camelot. His boots and bottom half of his trousers were soaked through to the bone. Regardless of the weather now, the earth was still soggy from the down pour of rain that had happened yesterday.
Yesterday when Arth-
He stopped himself; he didn't want to think about such things. Things that were suddenly bringing stinging tears back to his already burning eyes. So he trudged on through the undergrowth of the thick forest, as he had been doing all day and all through the night before, the battle over his thoughts still raging in his mind. The good verses the evil, the random verses the painful. He liked the random thoughts much more of course, anyone would. They made him feel numb, and numb was good, he decided. So he'd think about random things for as long as he could. He'd think about how weird the shape of that tree was, how strange that Beatle looked, how good Gaius's soup would taste when he got back to Camelot, Gwen's kind smile-
Oh God, what will I tell Gwen?
And then one of the painful thoughts would interject, always at the most unexpected times. Just when he'd start to forget, it seemed like fate would remind him again. Then he'd stop himself, and make himself think of something random. Something numb. He had decided numb was good, after all.
I wonder if it will rain again?
So the cycle would repeat.
Merlin kept the cycle going, knowing that it was the only thing keeping him going. It took only another few hours before the white walls of the castle of Camelot came into view, towering above the trees. The closer he got to the cities gates the slower he walked. The realization that he hadn't slept nor eaten since yesterday morning mixed with the quickly growing dread of just entering through Camelot's walls made him fell sick. He felt his stomach cramp up from hungry and his vision swam in front of his eyes. This added with the growing headache and the fact that he had walked all day and night without any stops meant that it was no surprise that the moment Merlin made it through the cities gates, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he promptly fainted.
A/N: Tell us what you think! Review make us happy!