Arthur set himself down on a moss-covered rock and stretched his legs out in front of him. His sword lay, discarded, on the other side of the valley. Arthur looked down at the large gash on his stomach and groaned, dropping his head to his hands.

'Sire?' Merlin crouched before him, worried.

'I'm fine.' Arthur lied. He hadn't even noticed the wound until he'd been dragged away from the scene of carnage that lay a few miles away. Arthur and his knights had been out on their weekly hunt, following a small group of deer they had come upon in a clearing. They were crouched behind a group of bushes, when out of nowhere and arrow had come flying from the left and struck Gwaine in the shoulder. The man fell to the ground with a cry, and as Arthur rushed to his aid, at least fourteen men had emerged from the shadows. Arthur couldn't be sure if any of his men had managed to escape, but he was defiant that he was going back to find out.

Pushing to his feet and knocking Merlin out of the way, Arthur hobbled to the nearest tree, pressing his hand firmly against the wound on his stomach to stop the bleeding.

'Arthur. What are you doing?' Merlin called out, getting to his feet.

'I need to find-' Arthur leaned against the tree as his legs threatened to give out, and Merlin was at his side in an instant, wrapping an arm around his waist. 'I have to find them, Merlin.' Merlin shook his head, and gently started leading Arthur back to the rock.

'Get off!' Arthur exclaimed, attempting to push away his manservant and wincing as a brand new shot of pain ran through his torso. His legs buckled, and before he knew it his face was connecting with the mud-covered ground. He squeezed his eyes shut, hearing nothing but the ringing in his ears and feeling nothing but pain. Beside him, Merlin lay on his stomach, frowning at his king.

'Arthur…' he said, irritation in his voice

'Shut up!' Arthur retorted, opening one eye and glaring at his useless servant. Merlin pushed himself onto his knees and crawled to Arthur's side, assisting the man in sitting himself up. Once again, Arthur swatted him away.

'I don't need you help!' he snapped. Merlin stared, open eyes, at the king, and folded his arms across his chest.

'You obviously do, sire. Have you seen your stomach lately?' Arthur scowled at the boy, his now muddy blonde hair falling in front of his eyes. Merlin took in the appearance of Arthur, chuckling as he noticed the patches of mud that covered his face and his chain mail.

'What is so funny?!' Arthur turned to look at his servant.

'You're a mess…' Merlin said, moving to a sitting position. Arthur looked at him, confused. 'The- you're covered in mud.' Merlin smiled, the smile he showed only to Arthur, who continued to stare at his servant, straight-faced.

'So are you.' He stated. Merlin's face fell, and he lifted a hand to swipe mud from his nose, forgetting that his hands were also covered and making it worse. Arthur watched him, the corners of his lips flickering upwards.

'You really are an idiot, Merlin.' He states, wiping his hands on his trousers.

'Most definitely.' Merlin looked at his muddy hands, frowning. Arthur looked around the small forest clearing, then glanced at Merlin, his face suddenly breaking into a grin as he caught his servant looking back at him. Arthur laughed a hearty laugh, trying to ignore the throbbing pain that ran through him. Merlin looked down at him.

'How are you feeling?'

'Just brilliant.' Arthur said, sarcastically, as he propped himself up on his elbows.

'We have to get back to Camelot, Gaius can help.'

'How, exactly, do you plan on getting there? We have no horses, and it's more than a day's walk.' Arthur looked back down at his stomach. 'And I can't exactly walk, now, can I?'

'Well, I-' Arthur's head snapped up. Somewhere ahead of them, a branch snapped and he was sure he could hear the rustling of leaves.

'Merlin…' Arthur struggled to sit himself up, and Merlin placed a hand firmly on his lower back.

'What? What is it?' he asks, concerned. Arthur does not reply, he sits still, gazing into the darkness of the trees. 'Arthur?' Arthur holds up a hand, and Merlin's mouth shuts immediately.

'Listen.'

Merlin sits up straighter and follows Arthur's gaze into the trees. He hears the faint tweeting of birds, and the call of an owl. Somewhere off to their left, a horse neighs. One of their own, perhaps? The horses had been left atop a steep ridge, one that the men had barely been able to climb down, but Merlin supposed they could have gotten free. Or maybe, someone had let them free. Behind them, Merlin heard the faint sound of whispering, and he turned his head to the side, trying to make out what words were being said. Arthur looked to his servant.

'Mer-'

'Shhhh.'

Merlin got to his feet and looked around him. The voices came from the east, and sounded no more than a few minutes away. He knelt next to Arthur and wrapped an arm around his waist. Gently lifting him to his feet and apologising when Arthur groaned in pain.

'We have to move.'

'Wh-why?' Arthur shut his eyes as Merlin moved him suddenly to the right.

'Someone's coming'

'What do you…. Who?'

'I don't know, Arthur, but we have to keep moving.' After a while of being dragged through the trees, Arthur smacked Merlin's hand from his waist and collapsed to the ground, his hand pressed to his stomach.

'Arthur?' Merlin exclaimed, worriedly, reaching a hand out.

'I'm… fine.' Arthur snapped. Merlin looked around him and headed towards the nearest tree, leaning against it and shutting his eyes for a moment. Arthur sat, trembling in pain, on the ground, his hair stuck to his forehead with mud and sweat. Not too far away, a knight was waking up, surrounded by the bodies of the man he used to call friends.