A/N Unfortunately I do NOT own any of the characters as they appear in the TV show Merlin. However, I do own Cerridwen, sort of, at least as she is portrayed here.
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Merlin followed Arthur's red clad figure in front of him, a small knife in his hand. The prince had dragged him out once more on one of his boring, glorifying hunting trips. Merlin himself couldn't understand how killing defenceless creatures could give the prince so much enjoyment and was glad they had been less frequent since Arthur had killed the unicorn a few months back. Unfortunately, monsters had been terrorising the outlying villages once more and it fell to Arthur to deal with the situation so Merlin was once again dragged into the adventure, which in the past had had a tendency to go wrong. He was sure that today would be no exception. The small party continued to wind its way deeper into the woods.
It was silent in this part, no birds chirped, no animals scuffling in the underbrush. Nothing. Merlin felt tense and on edge, and he wasn't the only one. Arthur held out his hand, stopping Merlin as he listened tensely to his surroundings.
Suddenly a high-pitched scream pierced the silence. Motioning his manservant forward, Arthur ran towards the sound. They halted, crouching behind a row of shrubs, on a small rise on the edge of a clearing. Below, a small group of men had surrounded a young girl.
She held a small knife out in front of her, spinning wildly from side to side in an effort to anticipate all attacks from any angle. The men taunted her, jabbing at her with their swords and laughing at her attempts to fight back.
Merlin was beginning to get stiff and shuffled a bit in an effort to get more comfortable. A twig snapped. 'Idiot' Arthur snarled.
One of the men, the ringleader, turned to look with piercing eyes at the spot where the young men were concealed.
'Who's there?' he yelled, 'Show ya face! We like to see the light go out of ya eyes when we skewer ya!'
The girl took this moment to lunge at the man nearest her, plunging the knife into his dirty body. The man growled in rage before collapsing to the forest floor. This brought the attention of the rest of her attackers back to their present torture subject. With cries of alarm and outrage, they began to stab viciously at the girl who barely avoided the worst of the blows.
It was time to act. Bring the crossbow to his shoulder Arthur sighted down the bolt, pulled the string back as far as it could go and loosed. One man fell, joining his fellow on the ground. The remaining two men looked up in surprise before two more bolts slammed their bodies into the ground.
Leaving their place of concealment Arthur and Merlin rushed down the hillside to where the girl had fallen, exhausted, to the forest floor.
'Are you alright?' Arthur asked, helping the young girl to her feet.
'Thankyou, yes. Do you make a habit of saving peoples lives?' she asked, smiling up at the two young men as she brushed the dirt from her light blue dress.
'Lately, yes.' replied Merlin, smiling back.
'What makes you ask that?' Arthur asked at the same time.
'Oh, stories, my prince. They reach even the lowliest ears, among which I do not count myself, of course.' the girl replied, 'I am forever grateful to you.'
'It was only my duty. How could I have stood back and watched as someone was robbed, even killed, by the scum that inhabit the forest.' Arthur replied.
Behind him, Merlin rolled his eyes. Cerridwen laughed.
'What is so amusing?' asked Arthur, affronted. He turned to glare at Merlin who quickly looked away. 'Go and make sure they're dead.' He said sharply to his manservant.
'Of course, Sire.' Merlin replied, going over to check the bodies.
Arthur returned his gaze to the young girl before him and was about to speak when she interrupted him, asking bluntly, 'Why did you kill those men?'
Arthur was momentarily dumbfounded by the question. After a few attempts to speak which came out as splutters he took a second or two to compose himself and asked, 'Would you rather I had let them live, so that they may harass another innocent person as they carry on their way?'
'Perhaps, perhaps not. Did you once stop to think they may have families who will miss them, mouths to feed, that they only turned to robbery as a last resort to keep their children form a slow death of starvation?' Cerridwen asked, her tone honey sweet. Before Arthur had a chance to reply she continued, saying, 'What makes you think I'm innocent? A young girl, alone in the forest, armed and able. It is unseemly at most, if not downright suspicious.' She gazed up at him questioningly, her pale green eyes, piercing his blue ones.
'You are having me on, aren't you?' Arthur asked, 'A girl on her own is not at all suspicious, and everyone should carry a blade for just such occasions in these dangerous times.' Despite his words, he looked unsure of himself.
Then Cerridwen smiled. It was if the sun had come out from behind a cloud and Arthur completely forgot his doubts. He smiled back, his eyes hazy as if under the influence of some unknown drug. Merlin, who had returned from his task, failed to notice the change in his master.
'My apologies, my lady, I don't know what came over me. If I may, your name?'
'Cerridwen, my prince.' the girl replied.
'Where do you live?' Arthur asked.
'On the other side of the forest, near Hemsworth. It was my brother who reported the sightings of the griffin a few months ago, you may remember.'
'Of course,' Arthur replied, 'Now, under normal circumstances I would offer to escort you home but as it is growing dark I shall instead take you to Camelot fro the night, you may return home in the morning.'
'Perfect.' Cerridwen answered as the two men and one woman headed back through the forest to the castle.
Neither the prince nor his manservant noticed as the men they thought dead stood, and faded into the forest. Somewhere a bird chirped in fear.
Cerridwen smiled.