I TOLD YOU I WOULD DO IT. But yeah I combined like two chapters and added a lot more shit in but it still doesn't seem very good. Hopefully that'll change as I keep going. AND I WILL THIS TIME I SWEAR ON THE RIVER STYX. Well that might be dangerous.

Drop a review as I sit here and drink hot chocolate, listen to unrequited love songs, read homestuck, and maybe write some more fan fiction. Ciao.

"Rise and shine, Sire!" Merlin shouted as he snatched the blanket away from King Arthur.

"Merlin!" the king groaned in protest. He reached for the blanket, grabbing at air. He scrunched his eyes tighter and curled into himself. He laid an arm across his head and tried to slap away his stupid manservant.

"Sire?" Merlin asked smugly, pushing the covers all the way to the foot of the mahogany frame. He grinned cheekily as he watched Arthur's pathetic attempt to go back to sleep and dodged his hand easily.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh! We're going out today. Remember?"

"No!"

"You told Gaius you would help him."

"With what?"

"He needs to restock on some herbs."

"Alright fine," the blonde relented, reluctantly forcing himself to sit up. He rubbed a large hand over his face, in a feeble attempt to wipe away the grogginess of his awakening.

"Open up!" Merlin chittered from off to the side.

"Why?" the king demanded, wiping the crusty remnants of a not-so-good night's rest. He had been attending to kingly orders until about four in the morning and was now being woken up at six.

"Open."

King Arthur opened his mouth to scold his manservant (not because Merlin told him to because he was the king around here) only to have muffin shoved into his mouth. "Merlin!" Arthur said as crumbs tumbled out of his mouth.

"We leave in ten!" Merlin shouted as he threw Arthur's blue shirt, slacks, and belt at him.

The king recoiled as the belt slapped his face and the shirt and pants ran down the contours of his face. They fell into his lap softly but kept his blank stare trained on the man with dark hair.

Merlin closed his eyes and gave his friend a smile that was wiped off as Arthur threw a pillow at his face. "How does it feel?" The king asked.

"Wonderful," Merlin answered sarcastically. He shook his head, and walked over to the King's bed. "Okay. Time to get up," he said as he tugged at Arthur's arm. After a few minutes, he was panting in exertion. "Wow, Sire. You're heavy." Arthur gave him a surprised, and cold expression. "No! I meant, well, uh, I meant—" Merlin stammered, but stopped talking when he got hit in the face with another pillow. "Okay. I suppose I deserved that one." Merlin should probably watch what he said seeing as the king had many more pillows in stock. Perks of being royal, he supposed.

"Merlin, you really need to learn when to shut up," Arthur said as he swung his legs over the bed. It felt a bit like going swimming; testing out the temperature of the cold floor before finally getting up and bearing with it.

"Yes, Sire. The horses are ready. So get dressed!"

"Don't tell me what to do," the King said as he walked behind the changing screen. "So. What kind of herbs does Gaius need?"

"Not quite sure. I have a list though. I'm pretty sure they're all relatively easy to find."

"It's just us?"

"No; Sir Leon will be accompanying us."

"Very well. I don't have to spend an entire day with a blubbering idiot, oh—I mean you, Merlin."

"Ha-ha, very funny, Sire." Merlin was over at the windows. "Sir Leon is already down by the horses so, maybe, you could speed it up a bit?" Arthur poked his head out from behind the screen. "Sire." The king smiled sarcastically and his head briefly disappeared. Then it was just his hand that Merlin could see before a belt slapped him in the face. He reeled back in surprise with a bored expression, as if he had been expecting that. Which he pretty much had.

When it fell, Merlin tilted his head and sighed. Then he mumbled—more to himself than to Arthur— "That king. I swear to God—"

"What's that I hear? I have plenty more to throw."

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Good." Arthur walked out from the changing screen. When he turned around to grab his armor from behind him, Merlin did a quick scan of the room. Then his eyes flashed gold and the king's trousers fell swiftly to the floor. Merlin chuckled.

Arthur, completely aware of the change in temperature, turned to face his manservant with a quizzical look and then peeked down to his legs. His eyebrows arched and his eyes widened. "Merlin!" he yelped as he frantically pulled up his pants.

"Sire! I'm all the way over here! I could not have done that!" Merlin said with a grin. Then he muttered softer, but still loud enough that Arthur could hear it if the king was really listening, "You just can't put your pants on correctly."

King Arthur shot Merlin a steely glare to which the servant responded with a shrug of the shoulders and a toothy grin. "Come on," Arthur grumbled as he walked out the door. Merlin happily followed with a smile upon his face.

In a matter of minutes, Merlin and Arthur were down by the horses in the courtyard with Sir Leon. They exchanged quick greetings and Merlin recounted the story concerning the king's pants as they all hopped on their horses.

"Really?" Sir Leon asked. Merlin nodded and let out a small chuckle. "Oh, Sire—"

"Let's just get these herbs for Gaius," King Arthur interrupted, riding off ahead.

"Of course, Sire," Merlin responded with a quick wink to Leon who smiled and rode off as well. The young warlock shook his head and followed.

The morning sun was rising over the horizon, and Merlin briefly appreciated the splash of colors across the sky as the three men rode into the chilly morning air. He shivered slightly and watched the trees pass by. He focused on little things around him—the feeling of his horse under him, the cloth of his scarf on his skin, the way he hopped up and down slightly as his steed galloped along the trail.

They stopped several times, using a small book Gaius had provided them to check and make sure they were collecting the right things and not the poisonous plants that grew in the forests.

They had only finished half of their list when they came to pass a small, almost hidden cave. Were they going any faster, they probably would have missed it completely. Maybe that should have been for the better.

Merlin cocked his head and then craned his neck towards the opening. "Wait," he said, bringing his horse to a slow stop. The steed shook as it steadied but Merlin was too focused on something else. "Did you hear that?"

Sir Leon and King Arthur both knit their eyebrows together in concentration as they listened intently for any sign of sound. And then they heard it: the weak, pitiful whimpers. The cries for help coming straight from the cave. Merlin hopped off his horse and steadied him with the reigns before peering down to try and get a better look. He bent his knees and cocked his head a little bit more to try and see, but had no luck. The cave was dark and dank and there was no light. He was just about to slide down the small dirt hills.

"Stay here. I'll investigate," Arthur said, stopping him.

"But, Sire—" Merlin tried.

"I'll be fine. You're just a little ways away." Merlin nodded reluctantly.

Arthur hopped off his horse and grabbed his sword from his sheath. Then he slid down the small hill to reach the cave. As he stood at the mouth, he leaned in and called out: "Hello? Is anyone in here? We're here to help!" But Arthur could not hear anything. He took a small step into the landform, and called out again to no response. He turned back around to face Merlin and Sir Leon and shrugged his shoulders.

Merlin closed his eyes and let out a small sigh, but when he opened them up he saw the light shine off of the dagger that was slowly making it's way to Arthur's chest. "Arthur, look out!" Merlin yelled.

The king whipped around just in time to dodge what would surely have been a fatal blow. The attacker threw down his knife and pulled out a long sword so that he and Arthur could battle on more even grounds. Leaves crunched underneath their feet, but Arthur, with the skills he had, seemed to have the upper hand. He seemed to be able to get more friction than the man that had burst out of the cave like a jackrabbit.

Merlin and Sir Leon slid off their horses and rushed to their king's aid. By now, more men had run out of the cave and were meeting them halfway. Merlin had grabbed another sword from Arthur's saddle and was ready for the attack. What he wasn't ready for was the man sneaking up behind him. He heard a sickening crunch that sounded louder than it really was and saw the man slower than it really was.

Merlin turned around and was met with a dagger to his abdomen.

Arthur hit the original attacker with the butt of his sword and he collapsed to the wet soil. The kind whirled around just in time to see Merlin fall to the ground on his back, holding his hand on his stomach. He switched his glance to Sir Leon to see that he was being overpowered and watched as one of the men used a hilt of a sword to knock out his trusty knight as he had done to the other man.

It all happened so fast that Arthur couldn't react fast enough to stop the blow to his head that quickly sent him spiraling into unconsciousness.

It's still hell short but I'll fix that in later chapters. So bear with me. Thanks, doves. Review, and follow, and favorite and whatever else you wanna do bc hell, why not. xoxo