Note: I got this idea when I was waiting for my plane in San Francisco to board. Please give it a quick review? Also, I'm trying to decide whether or not to put it with the label of Merlin & Freya-Romance, or Merlin & Arthur-Friendship, Hurt/Comfort. So cast a vote if you want to help!

Chapter 1

"Will you be needing anything else, sire?" Merlin asked in a carefully controlled voice.

"No, that'll be all," Arthur said.

Merlin quickly bowed and scurried off at the word "all". Normally, he would've stayed around a little, tease Arthur, perhaps even get a sentencing to being put in the stocks overnight-but not today. Today he needed to get to his chambers as fast as he could.

-Earlier that Day-

"…and after you've done all of that, I need you to muck out my stables," Arthur said with an evil grin.

"Anything else?" Merlin asked thought gritted teeth.

It was a particularly sunny day. Normally that meant Arthur and he would go hunting, but instead Arthur had decided to spend the day with Gwen. It was easier for Arthur to do now as prince regent. Since his father was still recovering from Morgana's betrayal, Arthur found it easier to organize dates with Guinevere. Although Arthur would never be happy with his father's condition, Merlin couldn't help but notice a significant improvement in the other man's love life. Yet despite his plans for a lovely afternoon, Arthur wanted to make sure that Merlin didn't take advantage of his absence. So to make sure of this, he doubled Merlin's amount of chores.

"Noooooope. I think that just about covers it," Arthur smirked as he made his way out the door, "Have fun Merlin!"

...

Four hours later and Merlin was already looking a bit "worse for wear". His chores weren't even halfway completed, yet his shirt was stained with various substances. His hair was sticking out in all different directions as well, and he had bits of hay in it from the stables. He was just going to the lower town to fetch some more water for Arthur's dogs when he suddenly noticed three figures making their way to the gate. The horses-white and brown-looked familiar to Merlin. He stopped what he was doing to see who they were. His natural curiosity was heightening at-unfortunately-the same rate as the feeling of heaviness the newly filled bucket gave him.

They emerged into the sight of those within the walls slowly. It appeared to be that they were trying to be careful, Merlin noted, because one of their party was injured. It was the one in front on the white horse. He was about to go up and help them when suddenly time froze. He dropped his bucket, which landed with a loud THUD, accompanied by a splash which sloshed all over the stone floor and lower half of his pants. However, Merlin noticed none of this. Time was halted for an infinitesimal space of a moment. For there, sitting (well, more liked propped up) in front of Gwen was an unconscious person he thought he would never see again. Merlin's heartbeat was pounding in his ears, and his vision blurred became blurred around the edges. The only thing in focus was her.

She was dressed in a simple blue frock-the exact shade of Merlin's eyes, and of a certain lake's waters. Her eyes were closed, but Merlin knew the color of her dark chocolate brown orbs by heart. Her skin was lightly tanned, and her dark hair was damp as though she had recently been swimming and only just dried off. The most noticeable thing about her appearance, however, were the deep red gashes along her arms which were still profusely dripping with blood.

Then all of a sudden everything sped up at once, and Merlin rushed forward, tearing past anything which stood in his way. He arrived in front of the horses within seconds, and only dimly noticed Arthur and Gwen's presences.

"What's happened? What's going on?" Merlin shouted frantically at no one in particular. He vaguely recalled that he should probably be acting less concerned right now, so that no one became too suspicious of his affiliation with the mysterious woman, but his heart was currently over-ridding his brain.

"We found her lying in the woods as we strolled around," Arthur answer, "Guinevere insisted on getting her back to Camelot as soon as possible."

Arthur had a small, serious smile on his face as he stated this. He was aware of the gravity of the situation, but wanted to give as much credit as he could to Guinevere. The fact that she was willing to give up her day-off with him to see to the poor woman spoke volumes about her character, and he wanted to praise her for it.

Unfortunately for Arthur, however, Merlin misinterpreted his smile and started to round on him in a harsh tone, "Arthur! What's so funny? We have a-a woman-dying here! Why are you smiling?"

And with that, before Gwen could even register what was going on, Merlin gently, but firmly and quickly, lifted the girl off the horse. He flashed Gwen a quick look which clearly stated, 'I'll take it from here' before sprinting off towards the old physician's quarters, carrying the lovely stranger in his arms.

That left Arthur, still on his horse, wondering what on earth had just happened. One minute he and Gwen were having a lovely date, when they had found the girl. Then the next they were back to Camelot, putting their desires once again on hold to take care of another's more immediate needs. Then, out of nowhere, Merlin appeared and not only ran off with the injured person (and the reason his date was ruined), but also bit his head off! What was once a lovely day quickly became an irritating one. And, as if that wasn't enough, the weather was attempting to solidify his bad mood as rain clouds were beginning to form. It wasn't even lunchtime yet! Arthur began to run his fingers through his hair, when he felt Gwen's warm pressure on his wrist.

"Don't worry about it," she said gently, "Merlin's compassionate about everyone, but he doesn't have much-erm-tact when he goes about it sometimes. And I'm sure that he was just stressed over all of his chores today, which made it a little worse."

Arthur just gave her a brief look of incredulity before she added, "You know he didn't mean it."

He looked at her in wonder as they both dismounted and made their way to the stables. She never ceased to surprise him with how she always knew exactly what he needed to hear. He, on the other hand, was awful when it came to knowing what to say. And it saddened him a little to think that he could never support her in the same way as they walked off together.

...

Merlin made his way to Gaius' home in record time, bursting through the door to find the old man pouring over yet another tome of remedies.

"Merlin! What on earth-?" the reprimand dying on his lips as he saw the body in his arms.

He quickly cleared off his table, and made a place for her.

"What can I do Gaius? Do you need anything? Is there something you need-" Merlin's stream of worry was shut down by a piercing gaze.

"I need you to go back to Arthur and attend your duties," Gaius declared.

He knew that when Merlin was worked up like this, he was no help at all. And by the state of how concerned he was it was obvious to Gaius that this girl meant a lot to him. He briefly wondered how Merlin knew her, but now was not the time to ask. Thus, he decided to send the young warlock away, reasoning that Merlin would be more of a hindrance than a help to him on this particular case.

So grumbling all the way, Merlin made his way out the door to attend on Arthur for the rest of the day. He made sure to appear calm, and when probed by Arthur he denied knowing the girl. He decided to tell a half-truth, and claimed that he was irritable due to how much of a clotpole his master could really be.

-Present-

Merlin had to muster all of his willpower not to burst through the door as soon as he approached it. But he knew that if she was sleeping, he would be waking her up, and thus disrupting her healing process. So he gently pushed open the door with a slight creak instead. The sight which awaited him shocked Merlin more than anything else. The woman was nowhere in sight. It was only Gaius once more alone at his work table, but this time he was studying various potions.

"Gaius!" Merlin panicked, "Where is she?"

"Calm down Merlin," Gaius said, "She was on the mend and started to wake up when Gwen came by. She offered to let the girl recover down in her house in the lower town. She was frightened to wake up and find me, and she said that she felt slightly more at ease with her rescuer. So I consented, since Gwen knows how to take care of someone well."

Merlin started to calm down a little with this explanation. Although he wished that she was closer to him, he couldn't deny that Gwen would be a great caregiver. And she probably wouldn't be as worked up as Merlin was. Thus, she would probably be more of a help than he could be at the moment. Despite how much it pained him to admit it, he knew the truth behind his thoughts.

Now that he knew the immediate danger of death was avoided, Merlin wished to skulk off before Gaius could question him. Unfortunately for him, however, Gaius knew Merlin all too well and stopped him in his tracks.

"Merlin, don't think you can get away from me right now! Who was that girl? How do you know her? I only received a brief summary of how Gwen found and rescued her, but I know that can't be the whole truth. The entire time she was unconscious she kept muttering something. It took me a while to figure it out, but then I realized she was saying your name. Care to explain why?" Gaius inquired.

Merlin really didn't care to explain why. After all, how would he explain that the woman was his true love, who he thought was dead (or at the very least trapped in a lake), yet came back to Camelot with unexplained gashes on her arms? He was secretly thrilled to learn that he had uttered his name, but didn't want the physician to know. Their relationship was always private. At first it was because he had illegally helped her escape, but then it became just their secret with her death. He didn't want to share something so personal with anyone else, so he just avoided Gaius' gaze.

"Um, no not particularly," Merlin mumbled.

"Are you sure you have nothing to say for yourself?" Gaius asked once more, intensely gazing at Merlin.

"Yes," Merlin said, "Now if you don't mind, I have somewhere I-erm-have to be. Don't wait up-I'll probably be late."

And with that he was out the door quicker than lightening.

Gaius sighed-he knew better than to probe Merlin on what seemed to be a very intimate detail about the young man's private life (and he was more than entitled to have one). However, what he didn't tell Merlin was about the nature of her scratches. Merlin would probably find out soon enough on his own.

...

Arthur couldn't fall asleep. He kept tossing and turning before eventually giving up, and threw the covers off himself. He went to go get a goblet of water by the window in hopes of remedying his current sleeplessness. As he stood by the window he noticed a figure scurrying off in the direction of Gwen's house in the lower town.

His body suddenly became tense, and alert. Any last remnants of some sort of sleep vanished. He peered out his window and looked intently on the shifty looking figure as he knocked on Gwen's door. He looked familiar. His lanky figure was briefly illuminated by the moonlight before receding once more back into the shadows.

He knocked on Gwen's door, and the light from the hut cast a shadow over his figure. However, Arthur could tell from the way Gwen smiled that the man was no threat. That didn't help him relax, however, as feelings of jealously swiftly overtook his previous concern of Gwen's safety. 'Who was this man,' Arthur thought, 'Who thought they could just make late-night clandestine visits to his Guinevere?'

However, Arthur was shocked to realize, as Gwen welcomed the stranger into her home, that who he thought was a stranger wasn't really one at all. The man was Merlin. Merlin! It was he who quickly entered Gwen's humble abode, as she shut the door firmly behind him.

Arthur was very confused. 'Why would Merlin, of all people, be visiting Gwen in the middle of the night?' he thought. He had half a mind to go down there right now and demand answers, but just as he was putting on his shirt another thought stopped him. It was a gentler thought, but it was steadfast in its content, 'You know Merlin isn't a threat. He and Gwen were friends before you and she ever got together. If they wish to hang out together you shouldn't poke your nose in their business. They have every right to. Besides, if you go there out of jealousy Guinevere will probably be upset and think that you don't trust her-which you do.' Arthur didn't even have to question which part of himself brought up this second, more logical thought. It was the fraction of himself that had changed because of Guinevere. In fact, the voice in which he heard the stream of consciousness was her sweet tones. And just like that, Arthur relaxed. He knew that he could find out whatever was going on between them in the morning. So for now, he just went back to bed, puzzling over what the two people he trusted more than almost anyone in the world could possibly be discussing at this hour before finally drifting off to sleep.