A/N

Research

Carrots - introduced to Europe in the 8th - 10th centuries.

Chapter II

"Arthur? Is that you?"

Of course it's, me, idiot, who else could it be?

Merlin nearly cried.

Oh god, you're not going to get all horribly tearful on me, are you?

"No, no, I'm… I'm okay," he muttered, rubbing at his eyes nonchalantly and glaring at the floor. "…I'm not going mad, am I?"

No more than you already are.

"My mind hasn't invented you to cope with my utter and despairing loneliness on this arduous journey, has it?"

I should hope not. That'd be a rather dull existence. Besides, I shouldn't like to think your mind is capable of creating anything as brilliant as me.

Well, it certainly sounded like Arthur.

There was the faintest clunk of armour from outside his tent, and Merlin froze as Belvedere stuck his head in. "Oh – you alright? Heard you talking, thought you might be having a nightmare or something."

Merlin smiled that smile which always blatantly meant he was up to something but trying to hide it. "No, no, I'm fine, all fine here," he grinned inanely. If 'Arthur' had eyes, he would have rolled them. Belvedere, however, gave him a cheery smile in return and retreated from the woollen hangings.

Merlin let out a long, shuddering sigh, staring at his feet again. 'Arthur' seemed to have quietened, and he let it be that way, until he realised he was crying again. "I thought you'd died," he whispered, and he was shaking.

I'm sorry. I hoped you wouldn't believe them.

"I thought you'd died."

Then why were you riding off to some distant land on false hope?

"Exactly because of that," he whispered. "I had hope."

You'd do that for hope?

"I'd do that for you."

The landscape was broiling when they finally set off, the sun not far into the sky. "That was quite nice," Merlin said cheerily to Belvedere as the horses trotted off. "I got to have a bit of a lie-in. Normally I'm up before dawn, washing, darning, knitting – "

Multiple choruses of "You sound like his wife!" and you sound like my wife put him off for a moment, before his grin widened as the opportunity set itself in his mind and he let out a long, weary sigh.

"It's a hard life," he simpered, grinning to himself as he imagined Arthur's expression. "The hours are long, the pay goes to my mother, naturally, and as for the treatment…" Wearily, he shrugged his shoulders at Belvedere's sympathetic expression.

You're unbelievable.

"You must care for him very much," said Belvedere, and it threw Merlin because oh, oh, he didn't know how to answer that anymore…

He was very aware of Arthur sitting in the back of his head, waiting for a reply.

"Yes, I suppose I must," he whispered, and he wasn't sure if was the truth.

Merlin's head sunk under the water in a clean dive, powering through neatly and coolly as he splashed to the surface. Do you think I'm a ghost?

Merlin shook some of the water out of his hair, smoothing down his fringe. "A ghost?" he echoed, rolling back his shoulders.

Cursed forever to haunt useless servants.

"If you're a ghost, doesn't that mean you're dead?"

We don't actually know if I'm dead yet.

"You just told me you weren't."

Yes, well, I hardly have a full grasp of the situation here, do I?

Merlin sat in quiet thought for a moment. "So… we're down to what, three options? One, I'm totally stark raving mad."

We already knew that much.

He ignored him. "Two, you're dead and a ghost, and all this is hopeless."

There was silence for a moment. I'm not sure I like that option.

"Three," he said softly, "you've been put under some form of enchantment, possibly too strong to even hope to break, resulting in me having to go off on some ridiculous quest to the middle of nowhere on no real solid information, in the hands of a man I've known for two days and with my Prince's voice stuck in my head."

Now that, Arthur said, and Merlin could have sworn he was grinning, sounds like an adventure.

Belvedere sighed as he patted his horse's flank, watching Merlin standing in the lake talking quite amiably to himself. "Nice chap," he murmured, arm moving in slow strokes. "Totally bonkers, but a nice chap nonetheless."

"We'll set down here for the night," Belvedere said as a slightly less damp Merlin came back to camp, washed clothes bundled under his arm. He spread them on carefully positioned sticks above the fire, sitting down next to Belvedere and taking a hunk of sausage from him gratefully. "We're moving out of the King's official territory tomorrow." Merlin sipped carefully on some river water, nodding. "Meaning there'll probably be a lot more ducking and diving and lollygagging about."

Merlin smiled. "Lollygagging." He sat and stared into the fire. "You know, I don't think I've ever been this far away from home before." He sighed. "Camelot was something, but now…"

"You don't see Camelot as your home?"

If Arthur could feel, Merlin realised, he had the distinct impression he'd be…

Sad?

"No," he murmured. "I don't." He couldn't help but feel he was lying.

"Home is where the heart is, after all," Belvedere nodded, gesturing with half a carrot.

"Yes, I suppose it is," Merlin said, then realised he'd (yet again) responded without thinking and blushed ferociously.

Belvedere grinned. "So, after all that moaning earlier, what do you actually think about our dear Crown Prince?"

The dear Crown Prince who was being remarkably quiet at this moment in time, Merlin noticed.

"Come on," he coaxed. "You can tell me! It's just us two out here, after all."

But it wasn't.

That was the problem.

Merlin lay in his tent and listened to the sounds of the night.

He wasn't one for this, normally. Normally, he'd be so tired it wouldn't be funny. Normally, he'd be out like a light at the first chance. Normally, he'd be in his bed, in Camelot, and Arthur would be safe.

Tonight, however, Merlin had quite a lot on his mind. Literally.

I don't have to tuck you into bed or sing you a lullaby, do I?

"Shut up, Arthur," Merlin muttered, rolling on his side. It felt nice to be sleeping on the floor again. He missed the earthy smell, sometimes.

Arthur wasn't lying beside him this time, though…

I hope I can fall asleep. Staying here watching you sleep will actually drive me insane.

"Shut up, Arthur!" he hissed, shoving blankets over his head. "Some of us have bodies that need to function, you know?"

Silence descended once more, and Merlin lay in the dark and the cold until Arthur whispered again.Goodnight, Merlin.

Merlin smiled.

A/N

Next chapter - Monday 8th December.