Hey there! :) This is my first Merlinfic so I hope it comes out ok! Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or any of the characters, Merlin belongs to the BBC

This is set at the beginning of season 4 but after the darkest hour parts 1 & 2

I hope you enjoy the first chapter!

The autumn sun shone lazily through the trees, casting shadows over the patrol beneath it. Five knights dressed in ornate red cloaks rode in formation, shooting retorts between each other, the man with the messy brown hair's laughter could be heard echoing through the forest.

"Oh come on, I swear none of you have heard this one" he called merrily to his comrades,

"Gwaine" a dark skinned man sighed wearily "I think we have heard enough of your tavern stories to last us all a lifetime", "I'll say" seconded a knight with curly ginger hair, a smile playing across his lightly stubbled face.

Gwaine feigned annoyance and huffed, glancing behind him "Merlins always happy to hear my stories" he chipped in, winking at the scrawny raven haired boy bringing up the rear of the patrol. Merlin grinned back "you hardly give me much choice" he retorted, causing a ripple of laughter to carry through the men in front of him.

"Merlin, you wound me old friend" Gwaine called back, dramatically placing a hand over his heart, a jester's smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. Suddenly the blonde knight at the front of the line ground to a halt, his leather clad hand shooting up in warning. The rest of the group followed suit, falling silent and gazing warily around them at the forest that suddenly seemed so foreboding.

"Arthur?" an extremely large knight with the arms removed from his chainmail questioned. The prince simply shook his head, eyes darting around the surrounding area, silently calculating. Merlin, the only member of the group not wearing red donned in his usual red tunic, blue neckerchief and brown jacket, glanced behind him, the hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle uneasily as the forest seemed to grown unnaturally quiet.

Painfully slow Arthur lowered his hand and turned his stony expression to face his men and servant, "dismount" he whispered glancing at each of them "and don't make a sound". The knights obeyed, all previous humour erased from their faces. Merlin followed suit, unable to shift the fear bubbling in his stomach as each of the knights unsheathed their weapons.

Then it happened. An almighty crash momentarily stunned the group and Merlin spun just as Percival's booming voice sounded over the commotion "WATCH OUT!" instinctively Merlin searched for Arthur, catching sight of him being hauled out of harm's way by Leon and Elyian just as the collosal trunk of a tree came hurtling down the hill side, rolling at an unimaginable speed. Merlin found his feet again and scurried out of the firing line, the trunk barrelled past, flattening everything in its path and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Merlin spun around, mentally counting the men sprawled on the path before breathing a sigh of relief that no one was missing. He hurried over to where Arthur was being pulled to his feet, brushing twigs from his hair and armour looking shaken.

"Sire, the horses" Leon said panting, climbing to his own feet. "They bolted at the noise, we've lost them". "There's no way that was natural" Gwaine said darkly, eyes scanning the surrounding area, "we need to move. Now" Arthur murmured, hand fisting on the hilt of his sword. However, for the second time that day the group were startled as an angry yell sounded and a wave of bandits came pouring towards them "I knew it, it was a distraction" Gwaine snarled swinging his sword menacingly "but how could mere men move a tree of that size?" Leon called to him, his own weapon poised and ready.

As if to answer his question one of the bandits spread a hand out, fingers wide and mouth moving impossibly fast, Merlin caught sight of him and his breath hitched in his throat as he watched the man's eyes blaze momentarily gold before he felt himself flying backwards as if an invisible hook had attached itself to the back of his jacket. He hit the ground hard, feeling the air whoosh from his lungs, he vaguely heard the sound of his fellow companions hitting the ground with grunts and thuds before hands were hauling him to his feet, dragging him by the arm.

"RUN!" Arthur yelled, towing a dazed Merlin behind him "they're sorcerers! Take cover". The group took off heading for the cover of the forest, the bandits were still hot on their trail as the party fled. "In here!" Percival called as he darted towards a path flanked by two large stone statues "we'll be able to lose them amongst these passages". Arthur nodded and the knights obediently followed, boots crashing through the undergrowth.

Merlin darted to follow his comrades and suddenly felt like he had run into a brick wall, he abruptly halted his arm slipping from Arthur's grip. He glanced up at the intimidating statues "No" he whispered, "Merlin what the hell are you doing" Arthur shouted, doubling back and grabbing his servant's arm and yanking "Arthur this is the valley of the fallen kings, we can't go in here" Merlin babbled, eyes wide and fearful trying in vain to pull his arm from the knights steely grip. "What the hell are you talking about?" Arthur yelled "Do you want to become bandit mincemeat? Come on Merlin" Arthur shoved the smaller man in front of him and pushed, forcing the servant to run.

Chapter 2 coming soon :)