A/N:
well here it is! The sequel! This isn't my best work but it'll have to do for a first chapter. This takes place after season four, so everything that had happened before that remains. The title has a meaning, and I know this goes by fast but, as u all know I'm terrible at adding detail. Anyway, hope you enjoy! AND PLSSS REVIEW!
btw I'm also posting another fic while I'm doing this one so I'm sorry if it takes longer to post chapters this time. Check it out if you don't mind merthur slash.
This is strictly a friendship fic btw. I still haven't decided if I want Gwen to be queen in this or Arthur to just be single. I'm sorry but I dislike Arwen a lot. Well, tell me what u think.
"Council meeting in season," Arthur declared. As soon as he was seated, the others willingly followed. "Sir Leon, reports."
The ever gallant knight stood up from his seat at the round table. All heads turned to him at the sound of a chair leg scraping against the hard wood floor. He took a swift look around the room at his comrades, searching for anyone that would give him reassurance for what he was about to say.
Unluckily, everyone's faces were set in stone.
Leon straightened his posture and cleared his throat before addressing his king
When he met Arthur's eyes he finally found what he had been looking for. His eyes were full of understanding and sorrow. Just like he, the king knew what he was going to report. They had just hoped it wouldn't have happened again but unfortunately, it had.
Arthur gave him a brief nod of encouragement.
"Sire," he acknowledged, "This morning, the patrol that scouted the north in the darkling woods did not come back on time."
Arthur seemed to be thinking for a moment, brows furrowed in deep concentration. Eventually he nodded, speaking with a tone that was underlined with worry.
"Sir Leon, I want you, Gwaine, Elyan, and Percival to venture out towards the north, see if you can find them."
Leon bowed, replying with a "yes sire," as three more sounds of scraping chairs filled the room.
The king watched as his best Knights filed out, waiting until the throne room doors shut behind them before proceeding.
Little did he notice someone slip out through the servants entryway.
"Next order of business."
Merlin ran through the halls ignoring the amusing glances he got from servants passing by. He took a few detours until he finally saw who he was looking for.
"Gwaine!" He called out.
At the sound of his name, the knight halted to a stop and waited until Merlin caught up.
"Guys." The rogue knight spoke out, drawing Percival, Elyan, and Leon's attention.
The Knights all turned around just as Merlin reached his friends.
"I'm coming with you," he said, a little out of breath.
Leon took a step forward.
"Did Arthur send you?"
Merlin stilled for a moment, the action caused Gwaine to grin. Guilt was written all over his face.
"No Leon, he snuck out."
Leon turned wide eyes on Merlin.
"You can not just leave the King unattended Merlin, what if he needs a drink?"
The warlock tried really hard not to laugh out loud, but ended up betraying himself in the end.
Gwaine's face became a bright red, and it wasn't long before he too burst out with a bark of laughter.
Elyan chuckled while Percival just smiled.
The only one who didn't find it funny was Leon.
"I don't see why that statement was so funny." Leon grumbled, "Serving the king is an honor, just being able to stand so close to him should be valued."
Merlin couldn't take it anymore.
The warlock fell to his knees, clutching his stomach as he tried to fit in gasps of breath during his laughter.
He was laughing so hard he could no longer make any noise.
"I-It hurts," he giggled, "my stomach h-hurts."
"What if he needs a drink!" Gwaine exclaimed before bending forward and laughing more. "An honor!"
Percival finally broke, his laughter was a low rumble, bellowing throughout the hallway. A couple servants stared at the spectacle while others simply pretended to ignore them.
Leon's face resembled a very ripe tomato. He angrily turned around and trudged away, leaving the other four men in his wake.
"C-come back!" Merlin managed to get out in between laughs. "We didn't mean it!" His smile faded when the Knight refused to stop. "Leon!"
The north trail was silent. Merlin saw no life other than the horses and their riders. There were no songs sung by the birds, no buzzing from the bees, or rustle of the wind. It was as if nature had gone into hiding.
It was a beautiful day. The sun was out and there was barely a trace of any clouds in the sky other than a few wisps of white here and there. The sun's rays shined down on the group, boring into their skin and heating up the chain metal which lay on most of their upper body. Sweat collected on their chests and at the smalls of their backs. Their long sleeves seemed to trap in the heat.
They had been riding for a few miles and there was still no sign of the morning patrol.
Merlin tried to quash the nervous feeling that had settled in the pit of his stomach but ultimately it couldn't be ignored. Something was wrong, and from the many years of instinctively knowing when something bad was about to happen he knew he was right. He needed to be on high alert the whole time.
He blocked out the sounds of Gwaine's endless prattle and the clatter of hoof beats. Instead he focused on breathing in the fresh air, spreading out his magic in all directions.
The magic sent chills up the spines of the Knights and made the hair on their bodies stand up on end, but without the knowledge of knowing when magic filled the air, they were completely oblivious.
Merlin tended to keep it that way.
Gwaine's talk about his tavern brawls immediately stopped, no doubt Merlin's magic put him on edge. In a way it was a good thing, the more people watching out for danger, the more prepared they'll be for an oncoming attack.
Merlin instinctively brought a hand to his chest when he felt a sudden tightness there. He clutched the fabric of his tunic as he held the reigns with one hand. Every step in the direction they were going was making Merlin wary.
"You okay Merlin?" Gwaine asked when he saw that his friend was looking a little green.
The warlocks gaze snapped up to meet Gwaine's. The suddenness of the question caught him off guard.
"Y-yeah." Merlin stuttered. He looked away and trained his eyes on the dirt path.
Gwaine shrugged, "if you say so." He replied, but Merlin could detect the uncertainty hidden in his voice.
They traveled on for a few more minutes, each absorbed in their own thoughts until someone broke the silence.
"Guys," Leon spoke, sounding urgent enough to capture the others attentions a split second later. "I see something."
Leon was in the lead, and had been guiding them this whole time through the woods. It was convenient for him to have noticed something first. He was also the first to descend down the slight hill on the path they were on. Soon it was Merlin's turn to go over the hill, what he was met with on the other side was something he dreaded to see. Something deep down he already knew had happened.
Over the course of the last two weeks, three patrols that had left the castle, didn't return. When Arthur sent out search parties to go look for them, they always ended up finding them... dead.
This patrol consisted of five Knights. Some he recognized from the round table, and others he didn't. As his horse trotted closer he became more aware of the tightness in his chest. There was no doubt in his mind that it was from this. Whoever had done this to these Knights used dark magic. He inspected the corpses of the five Knights and noticed that all five of them had not a single spot of blood on their bodies. However, their heads were turned at an odd angle. Someone had used dark magic to break their necks.
The other times were different, all three patrols that had went missing were found dead from battle wounds. But for some reason, this time they were killed by-
"Magic." Leon practically spat, unknowingly making Merlin wince.
"Woah," Elyan spoke from his place on the ground next to one of the deceased Knights. "Take a look at this."
Merlin swung off his horse in a very inelegant manner. He and the others walked over to where Elyan was crouched down looking at something under the Knights tunic.
When whatever Elyan had been looking at came into view, Merlin saw a letter engraved on the man's abdomen.
The letter 'R.'
"Search the others." Gwaine commanded immediately.
Merlin walked over to a nearby body and pulled up the Knights chain mail and tunic, revealing his pale skinned stomach. "I've got the letter 'E.'"
"I have 'Y'" Percival added.
Leon made a disgruntled noise before speaking. "There's an 'S' on Sir Bedivere."
"Mine has an 'M'" Gwaine lastly spoke.
They all kept quiet for a moment, trying to figure out what this meant.
"So," Elyan began, "we have 'M, R, E, Y, and S', what does that spell?"
"Mryes?" Gwaine piped up.
Elyan considered this for a moment before shaking his head. "No, I don't think so."
"Ermys?" Leon asked.
Elyan shrugged.
"Possibly..."
Gwaine started to get frustrated.
"Myser, Sryem, Emrys..."
Merlin took in a sharp breath when his Druid name was spoken.
"I'm not sure Gwaine, maybe," Elyan began, "but we should report this to Arthur first before trying to figure this stuff out by ourselves."
"A-agreed." Merlin croaked out.
"Then its settled," Leon replied, "we go back and tell Arthur to send more Knights out to collect the bodies and prepare them for a proper funeral. Let's head back before we become the next set of victims."
The only thing Merlin could think about on the ride back was that whoever was doing this, wanted him.
That night, as Merlin walked in to deliver the king his dinner, he found Arthur no where in sight in the dim lit room.
He frowned before shutting the door behind him with his foot. He walked forward and put the tray on the table.
"Where were you earlier today?"
Merlin gasped, jumping a little as a voice surprised him from behind.
He turned around to see Arthur leaning against the wall beside the door with his arms crossed. Regarding him warily.
Merlin gulped, deciding he shouldn't lie about something like this.
"I went out with the Knights to search for the morning patrol that went missing."
Arthur hummed. "I don't recall giving you an order to go with them. Could you believe my surprise when I turned around to beckon for my servant to fill up my goblet and found him not there. I had sworn he came in with me."
Merlin looked away, not able to meet his King's eyes.
"I'm sorry," he muttered.
Arthur shook his head. "Do not say your sorry when you don't actually mean it Merlin. I know you, and I know that you'd do it again if the same thing happened tomorrow."
Merlin didn't say anything because he knew what Arthur stated was the truth.
"See, your not even denying it!" Arthur gestured towards him with a wave of his hand. "You do realize you are not a knight right? You are a servant with no skills whatsoever ever in fighting. You can barely fight with a sword or throw a punch, how do you expect to defend yourself if someone comes to attack you? Huh? Run away and coward down behind a tree like you always do when bandits show up? Wait for the big guys to risk their lives for you while you do absolutely nothing? Tell me Merlin, why do you feel it's your obligation to come with us everywhere we go?"
The words stung each time Arthur spoke them. Even though what he said was completely false, it still hurt. Merlin can wield a sword better than most, he can throw a punch, and he does fight from behind a tree. He is anything but worthless. However, Arthur knows none of that, so how could he expect him to understand?
"I can help," Merlin replied.
"Help?" Arthur asked incredulously. "How Merlin? With what?" The king stepped forward and pushed Merlin slightly in the chest, making him stumble back a step. "Your puny arms?"
Up close Merlin could now smell the stench of alcohol coming from Arthur's breath. He was drunk.
"Arthur, your drunk, you don't know what your doing." Merlin quickly spoke.
"Im not drunk. Now, come on Merlin, fight me." Arthur drawled out.
"No." The warlock stubbornly replied.
Arthur responded by throwing a punch towards his face.
Merlin's instincts quickly kicked in.
He dodged the punch and swiftly grabbed Arthur's outstretched arm. He pulled the king forwards towards him and brought his knee up. He drove his knee into Arthur's stomach, emitting a grunt out of him. He released his hold on Arthur's arm, causing the king to crumple to the ground, gasping for breath.
"I said, no." Merlin spoke through clenched teeth before leaving a bewildered king on the floor.
Merlin stood out on the balcony, looking over the courtyard. Looking out over the place that had once been used for executions of magic users. Even though the rate of executions had died down close to none since Arthur became king, it was still illegal, and people still feared it.
Merlin heard the sound of footsteps coming from somewhere behind him. He didn't bother to turn around.
"Go away." Merlin mumbled, not in the mood for company.
The person behind him snorted.
"I came all this way to see you and all I get is a 'go away,' how nice of you Merlin."
Merlin's breath caught in his throat as he heard the familiar voice of the man he had once been so close with. A voice he never thought he'd hear again.
He shakily turned around and brought a hand over his mouth. He was still too stunned to say anything other than-
"Alex." He whispered.
The Prince grinned in response and closed the remaining distance between them. He pulled Merlin into a tight embrace.
Merlin wrapped his arms around the other in response, burying his face in the crook of his neck.
"It's been too long." He heard Alex mutter in his ear.
Merlin chuckled. "Indeed, my friend, indeed."