A/N: This was originally supposed to be a fun little one-shot humor fic. I don't know what happened but it morphed into something completely different! There will probably be only one more chapter. Please let me know what you think! This is my first foray into writing Merlin fanfic and I appreciate all of your feedback!
Timeline: Sometime during Season 4.
Chapter 1
The sun was rising as Merlin walked through the town just outside the palace walls, his bag of herbs slung over his shoulder. A few of the hostlers who worked in the palace stables had recently come down with a flu that was keeping them from working. Gaius had run out of yarrow to help treat fevers had asked Merlin to fetch it for him. Yarrow was an easy plant to find – it grew by the roads and in the fields just outside the palace gate – and Gaius used it frequently. This time Merlin had collected almost twice the amount Gaius usually asked for in the hope that he wouldn't have to gather more for a little while.
As he walked, Merlin was mentally going through his list of chores for the day, and trying to figure out when he would fit in meals with all of the tasks Arthur had assigned him. While going through his mental checklist, he didn't hear the hoof beats behind him. Merlin was startled and nearly tripped trying to get out of the way as Lord Agravaine road past him with two men Merlin had never seen before.
Merlin looked curiously at the three men, wondering who Agravaine's companions could be. One of the men was clearly a servant and the other was an older teenage boy Merlin guessed to be a nobleman based off of his rich clothing and haughty expression. He didn't know of anyone that Arthur was expecting at Court but then again, Arthur didn't share all of the events of state with his manservant. Putting thoughts of the two unknown visitors out of his mind, for there was nothing he could about them at the moment, Merlin picked up his pace so that he could get the herbs to Gaius with enough time to eat breakfast before waking Arthur.
"Arthur was looking for you," Gaius informed him when Merlin walked into the workroom.
"The sun just rose!" Merlin protested. "What is Arthur doing out of bed?" Usually the king never rose until Merlin came to wake him unless something serious was happening or Arthur was ill. If that was the case, Merlin usually knew about it.
"I don't know." Gaius chuckled and took the bag of herbs from Merlin. "I just wouldn't keep him waiting much longer. He wasn't in a very good mood."
Merlin groaned and headed out the door. 'So much for breakfast,' he thought, making his way towards Arthur's chambers. When he entered, Merlin found Arthur at his desk reading over a roll of parchment.
"Good morning, Sire," he greeted with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. If Gaius thought Arthur was in a bad mood, Merlin didn't want to make it worse.
"Where have you been?" Arthur demanded, not looking up.
"I was gathering herbs for Gaius," Merlin replied. "To help treat the hostlers' flu."
"You were supposed to wake me," Arthur told him, looking up to see the surprise on Merlin's face.
"I left before dawn, I never wake you that early." Merlin thought back to the night before, trying to remember if Arthur had told him to wake him earlier than usual. He couldn't remember Arthur saying anything.
Arthur narrowed his eyes, trying to determine if Merlin lying or he was just being Merlin. Reminding himself that Merlin was a terrible liar; Arthur decided that his servant had forgotten. "I told you that I needed to be awake for an early assembly."
"Assemblies don't start until after breakfast," Merlin said, trying not to squirm. He did remember Arthur mentioning an assembly; he didn't remember that it was supposed to be early. Besides, Merlin thought he had gotten back in plenty of time even if it was supposed to be an early meeting.
"This assembly was an early assembly," Arthur repeated. "Rather than meeting Lord Eldren in the courtyard dressed for matters of state, Lord Agravaine, Lord Eldren, and Lord Eldren's servant found me lying in my bed dressed for nothing but a good night's rest!"
Merlin tried not to laugh. That explained Arthur's bad mood, or he thought it did until Arthur continued talking.
"To make matters worse," Arthur added, "I was informed that Agravaine saw you stumbling down the road on your way back to the palace. Now, you've already told me that you were collecting herbs for Gaius, and Gaius told me the same thing when I was looking for you, but if I hadn't known any better I would have thought you'd spent all night in the tavern! It's a good thing Agravaine doesn't know how often you frequent the place or he probably would have you in the stocks for public drunkenness."
'Gaius needs to find a new excuse,' Merlin thought darkly. "I'm sorry I didn't wake you. At least you're awake now!" he said brightly.
Arthur huffed a sigh. "It can't be helped." He got to his feet and waved his hand at Merlin. "Go down to the practice yard. Make sure everything is set up for moving target practice."
Merlin rubbed the back of his neck as he walked towards Arthur's room to gather clothes for washing. Arthur hadn't spent too much time forcing Merlin to run around with the large wood shield on his back as he and the other knights took turns shooting arrows but the strain of running with the wooden shield had still made Merlin's neck sore. Lord Eldren, son of Lord Ian of Kemborough turned out to be one of Arthur's prospective knights. The young lord had been teased rather mercilessly by the older knights about coming for his knight training at such an old age. Merlin would have had a little sympathy for the young man if he hadn't nearly shot Merlin in the foot. It seemed that the teenager needed the training if he was to be made a decent squire, let alone a knight.
When he reached the door, Merlin saw the older man who had been riding with Agravaine and Eldren earlier that morning. "May I help you?" Merlin asked frowning. He was the only one who had the key to Arthur's room so the man wouldn't be able to get in but Merlin wanted to know what he was doing outside of it turning the handle.
"Are you King Arthur's servant?" the man asked pleasantly, dropping his hands to his side.
"Yes," Merlin replied. He looked at the door. "Why were you trying to get in there?"
"Oh, I was looking for you!" The man flapped his hand as if to say trying to get into the room was an unimportant detail. He smiled at Merlin. "I was hoping you might be able to tell me where I should store my things. You see, I'm Julian, Lord Eldren's servant and I can't seem to find the servant's wing."
Merlin wasn't sure what to make of this but he understood that the palace was slightly confusing. "Well, anyone else should have been able to tell you."
"I know, I know," Julian answered, still smiling. "I was just hoping to run into you." He paused for a moment and looked slightly embarrassed. "You see, I need my Lord Eldren to be on the king's good side and I thought you might have some ideas. The poor boy's not going to impress him with his knightly skills."
Merlin laughed and shook his head. Lord Eldren had proved to be quite a terrible archer. Archery was something most noblemen learned how to do before they reached their tenth birthday. "I'm not the person to ask for advice on impressing Arthur."
"You must have some idea," Julian pressed, looking imploringly at Merlin.
Merlin felt sorry for the servant. He was clearly just trying to help his master make a good first impression. "I'm really not sure. Just make sure he's always on time for practice and that he works hard."
Julian nodded thoughtfully. "I will. Thank you!" He hurried off.
"Julian!" Merlin called but the other servant didn't seem to hear him. 'Oh well,' Merlin thought, 'He's heading in the right direction for the servant's quarters. He'll find his way.'
Merlin entered Gaius's workroom to find the old physician brewing another round of tea for the sick hostlers. "How are they?"
"Oh they'll be better in the next day or two," Gaius answered. He looked up as Merlin settled himself at the table, picking up a stale breakfast roll and taking a bite. "How was target practice?"
Merlin snorted. "There's a new knight." At Gaius's interested look Merlin added, "He's Lord Eldren of Kemborough. He's not very good."
Gaius chuckled. "Arthur will have him in shape soon enough. When did he arrive?"
"This morning," Merlin answered. "He rode in with Agravaine while I was bringing back the yarrow." Merlin knew Agravaine was not to be trusted but Merlin knew nothing of Eldren of Kemborough and hoped that he was truly in Camelot to learn to be a knight.
Gaius caught on to what Merlin was thinking. "Arthur likely told Agravaine last night to meet the young man this morning and guide him to the palace. Lord Ian of Kemborough was a friend of Uther's and has no love of magic. I can't imagine Kemborough has joined with Agravaine and Morgana."
Merlin smiled. He was relieved to hear Gaius's words. After seeing Julian trying to get into Arthur's chambers he had been worried that the servant was going to do something to hurt the king. "I'm sure you're right."
One week after Lord Eldren had come to Camelot, Merlin once again found himself in the practice yards. This time he wasn't target practice, instead he was there to clean the weapons and ensure the knights and squires had everything they needed for the day's practice duels. Gwen had come out to help him and had brought two pitchers of water for the knights in order to stay hydrated in the hot sun.
"Stop dropping your shield, Kemborough!" Arthur said exasperatedly, pointing his sword directly at Eldren's heart. "That's the third time you've dropped it." He shook his head as the young lord scrambled to do as his king told him.
"Sorry, my lord," Eldren muttered, settling his shield back on his arm and looking as if he'd like to be somewhere else.
"He's not very coordinated," Gwen observed to Merlin. "I wonder why his father sent him to be a knight."
Merlin shrugged. "I'm not sure." He winced as Arthur disarmed Eldren and lightly touched the young man's neck with his sword. "No wonder his servant asked me how Eldren could impress Arthur outside of the training yard."
"He did?" Gwen asked, looking amused. "What did you tell him?"
"That I have no idea," Merlin replied, grinning when Gwen just shook her head.
"Sire!" A guard was running towards the practice yard. Two other men followed the first, supporting a third man between them.
Arthur quickly met the guards. "What is it?"
"We were on patrol near the lake and heard voices. The next thing we knew, bandits were upon us." The first man gestured to their wounded friend. "Mal got hit by some sort of…well, I'm not sure."
"It was sorcery, Sire," said one of the men holding up the wounded Mal. "They had a sorcerer with them."
"Did you kill them?" Arthur asked, looking intently at his guardsmen.
"Some," the first man answered. "Others got away."
Arthur nodded. "See to his wounds." He turned back to his knights. "Ready yourselves, we're going to find these bandits before they hurt anyone else." He looked at Merlin. "Get the horses and be back immediately."
"I'll let Gaius know he has a new patient and that you probably won't be back for a while," Gwen said, hurrying ahead of the guards carrying their wounded friend.
Thanking Gwen, Merlin hurried to do as Arthur told him and returned quickly with both his horse and Arthur's saddled and ready. They left immediately, Arthur leading the group of knights. Lord Eldren had come as well, apparently uncertain as to whether or not he was supposed to be there.
Merlin stayed towards the back of the group wanting to ensure that if the sorcerer did appear, he could spot him and protect the soldiers from magical harm without their notice. Arthur was motioning for them to fan out and look for any sign of the bandits. Merlin followed Arthur, Lord Eldren close behind him. Merlin guessed that Lord Eldren didn't want to be far from the king just in case he had the chance to prove himself in a fight. The young lord certainly looked eager as well as a little nervous.
Arthur turned to look at the two who were following him and raised his eyebrow at his manservant. "Try not to get killed, Merlin. You seem to have forgotten a weapon."
Lord Eldren snorted as Merlin realized that he had indeed forgotten to attach a sword or other weapon to his belt but looked away when Arthur glared at him.
"You're not much better," Arthur informed the young lord. "Having a sword won't make much difference if you drop it."
Eldren glared at the back of Arthur's head as they continued.
Arthur held up his hand to tell them to stop. The sound of metal clanging against metal reached their ears and Arthur kicked his horse forward. They reached the fight in time to see Elyan and Gwaine running to the aid of Percival who was trying to protect a wounded Leon. Arthur swiftly dismounted and ran towards the fight, cutting down one of the bandits who ran at him.
Lord Eldren hurried after his king, his sword held high as he charged.
Merlin ignored the bandits, knowing that they would be busy with the knights. He took the time to look around for the sorcerer, thinking that he had to be close by. To the far left Merlin saw movement and noticed that the two bandits that Arthur was fighting seemed to be maneuvering the king in that direction. Looking at them, Merlin's eyes flashed gold and the bandit on Arthur's left tripped, allowing for Arthur to cut him down.
There were more bandits than they had expected and Merlin stayed on the edge of the battle, moving roots and branches when he didn't think anyone would notice and managing to make some of the bandits trip. He was trying to edge his way over to the cloaked figure that must be the sorcerer. It seemed odd that the sorcerer hadn't already tried to kill Arthur with magic but Merlin didn't try to ponder that out at the moment. His only guess was that there must be some kind of trap and Merlin decided he had to get to the sorcerer.
He edged his way around and was almost halfway to the cloaked figure when there was a shout and Lord Eldren was on the ground, his sword three feet away from him. Arthur turned to help the young man and Merlin forgot about trying to sneak up on the sorcerer as he saw the bandit about to stab Arthur in the back. "Arthur!" Merlin yelled.
The king turned just in time to block the bandit and ran the other man through with his sword. As soon as the bandit fell, Arthur noticed the cloaked person standing by the trees. "Sorcerer!" he called. "What do you want?"
The sorcerer turned and ran when Arthur called but the king was not to be deterred and quickly followed. Lord Eldren, a look of annoyance on his face, grabbed his sword and quickly chased after his king. Merlin ran out of the trees and towards where Eldren and Arthur had disappeared into the trees, however he didn't make it. The last thing he knew was a heavy blow to the back of his head and the world went dark.
"Merlin."
That was Sir Leon's voice, Merlin realized but he sounded so far away. He groaned, trying to reach him. Arthur was going to fight a sorcerer and he had no defense that could win against magic! Merlin had to warn Leon!
"Merlin, wake up."
Merlin groaned again and opened his eyes. He looked up to see Leon and Gwaine peering down at him with concern. "Don't look so worried, I'm fine." He pushed himself into a sitting position. "Where's Arthur?"
"He's fine," Gwaine answered. "He and Eldren went after the sorcerer but he escaped." He motioned to his left where a short distance away Arthur was helping Elyan wrap a bandage around a large gash on the side of his head. Now that he knew Merlin was all right Gwaine started to chuckle. "I don't know how you missed that man coming up behind you and knocking you over the head with a log."
Merlin rolled his eyes. "I suppose I should be grateful he didn't stab me in the back."
"Nah, I got to him before he could do too much damage." Gwaine grinned and offered Merlin a hand up. "Besides, it's dishonorable to stab a man in the back."
"They're bandits," Arthur said, joining the two of them. "They don't have any honor." He turned to Merlin. "How did you forget to bring a weapon? We were in the training yard, you could have grabbed something."
Merlin shrugged. He wasn't well trained for fights and while he typically had something to help defend himself with, Merlin usually relied on magic. "I wasn't thinking."
"Tell me something I don't know," Arthur replied, smiling slightly at Merlin. "Come on, we need to get back. I'm not sure what that sorcerer wanted and he didn't attack us, but there's nothing we can do until he comes back."
After helping Arthur get ready for bed, Merlin was on his way back to his room when he heard hushed voices. He recognized one of the voices as Agravaine's and while he knew the penalty would be severe if he was caught eavesdropping, Merlin had to know what was being said.
"How could you fail me?" Agravaine demanded. "It was easy, all you had to do was ensure Arthur followed and he would have been captured!"
"We couldn't find him," the other person answered and Merlin's stomach sank when he realized that it was Eldren. "Arthur refused to go the way I suggested so we never caught up."
"Stubborn pig," Agravaine muttered. He was so frustrated with his nephew for always foiling his plans.
"Don't worry, we'll get him next time," Eldren promised. There was a pause before Eldren asked, his voice a little shaky, "Are you going to tell her or…or do I have to?"
Agravaine made a disgusted sound. "She'll kill you," he said flatly. "I'll tell her. Stay here and don't do anything until I return. We need to figure out a different plan."
Merlin had heard enough. He hurried down the corridor, wanting to talk to Gaius. When he reached Gaius's workroom the old man was nowhere to be found. Merlin knew Agravaine would probably ride out to meet Morgana soon and Merlin wanted to follow him. He had a feeling the sorcerer was still out there and Merlin needed to know whom this person was. Rather than wait for Gaius to return, Merlin grabbed a quill and an old piece of parchment and scrawled a quick note for Gaius before hurrying from the room to ready his horse for another journey.