Wild Horses

Chapter 1~ Wild

A/N~ First off, I would like to apologize for all grammer mistakes, cause they are all my fault. I wrote this because I love horses and I love Merlin! I wanted to have some fun, make more Whump!Merlin and incorporate horses into this big old pot of Merlin whump! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :D And I hope to continue if people review.

WARNINGS: NO SLASH, friendship only. Merlin whump may be overboard, but I don't like super bloody messes. Involves a dead horse(sad, I know.) and severe injuries. Hope its not horrible. :C

Enjoy, and as always Review!

I hate hunts. Merlin thought to himself. And today was a particularly uncomfortable, hot, and humid day. The horses hated it. They pranced around, snorting. They didn't like the heat or the flies it attracted. One of the horses was startled by the flies and jerked away suddenly, nearly unseating his rider. The knight, Sir Gabriel, was a experianced horseman and kept the horse under control.

Arthur was riding a new horse, a white stallion, rightly named Etalon. He was wild, large, and extremely sensitive. It took Arthur 10 minutes just to calm the horse down so he could mount.

"Merlin, quit laughing and help!"Arthur ordered, red-face showing his frustration. Merlin tried to keep a straight face while he grabbed the cheekpiece of the bridle.

"Sire, perhaps we shoul-" Merlin began.

"Shut up, Merlin. I can do it on my own." Struggling to hold the beast steady, Merlin felt hurt by these words. He hated not being able to say anything intelligent. Arthur always complained about his stupidity, but he never gave him the chance to speak up when it counted. Etalon's nostrals flared and he stilled for just a moment. Arthur took the chance and slid his boot into the stirrup. He quickly pulled himself into the wide, comfortable saddle. "Come on, Merlin, mount up."

Merlin was happy to get away from the white horse's mouth. He could have easily bitten off anyones fingers if they came to close. He was much happier with his old mare. He called her Joli, thou her full name was Jolique. She was calm and patient, and was Merlin's best friend. Before Merlin got to know the other servants, he had few people to converse with while he was working. When Arthur told him to muck out his stables, he would often visit her stall to share his secrets with her. He was glad when Arthur said that he could use her whenever he needed.

"She is usesless now anyway and you need an easy horse."

"Why, she's just as good as the other horses. And I do not need an 'easy horse'."

"Merlin, we need young warhorses, not old mares. Knights get warhorses, incompetant servants get old mares. Get it?"

Why does he think I'm the stupid one? He can't even control his horse! Merlin grabbed the worn leather reins from the waiting attendant and mounted saying quietly, "Glad I have you, Joli."

"What was that?" The attendant asked, staring at Merlin with a confused look on his face.

"Nothing." He guided the animal right and eased her into a canter to catch up with Arthur and the other knights.

~TIMECUTTUCEMIT~

The Blackridge Forest lay just a few miles beyond Camelot's walls. It was filled with evergreens, popple, and beech trees. The leaves above them formed a sort of roof that blocked the sunrays. However, it caused the overall temperature to increase tenfold. Merlin's hair was damp with sweat and droplets rolled down the side of his face and in his eyes. He constantly wiped it away. He was so hot that he even removed his special scarf, his 13th birthday present. There was not a breath of wind.

Arthur was still in a foul mood. They only spent an hour hunting before the knights protested. It was just to hot. Grudgingly, the Prince called of the hunt and waited for Merlin to load up the gear that he spent so long unpacking. The horses were hot and bothered, the flies were bitting and they didn't like it. Etalon was particularly bothered by this and was pawing the ground. Merlin held tight to the bridle, but kept his feet far from the large hooves that threatened to crush his toes. Arthur mounted and Merlin let go of the animal. He ran over to his mare and mounted, happy that they were finally going to leave. Merlin took his place beside Arthur, waiting for him to move forward. But something was wrong, something was going terribly wrong.

In that last moment of peace, he saw movement, a doe running through the woods to his left. While he was watching the doe leap across a log, all hell broke loose.

Etalon screamed at the sudden movement and jerked away unexpectedly causing A

rthur to be unseated. His armor crashed and made his fall even more painful. The white stallion screamed and reared, stepping over. The next few moments were a blur to Merlin. All he remembered was seeing the powerful white legs crash over Joli's neck, and hearing a snap.

Holy shit! he thought, holding onto the saddle with one arm and covering his face with the other. The horse beneth him collapsed and the all fell together. He felt a pain on the side of his head and the side of his rib cage. Merlin was loosing his vision and the pain was overbearing, and his leg was caught under something heavy. It was broken, and the waves of pain came throbbing to his head with each heartbeat. He heard muffled voices, dim and unclear. He tried to escape the pain, but he couldn't move, and salty tears mingled with the sweat on his cheeks. All Merlin wanted to do was to stop the pain. Movement made his leg hurt even more, until finally he felt nothing. Sweet nothing.

A/N: My apologizes if this is a bit much, a little overwhump for me. There is some bad language and I am going to consider M for my rating if it gets to gross in later chapters. Let me know if it should be and if I should continue!

REVIEW PLEASE :D