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Thanks for reading, leave me a comment if you can, the recognizable characters are not mine, and I hope to see you in the next chapter.


What Merlin could remember, it hadn't been a very big cave. It was a tight fit for him, Gwaine, and Arthur, wouldn't have fit any of them had Percival come with like he had planned, and it had looked as if nobody human had inhabited it in years. It also happened to have some sort of magical trap set for any unsuspecting travelers. Probably set by whoever used to live here, but no doubt age or animals took away their home and this spell was an aftermath. It probably wasn't hard to reverse if Merlin could just see his surroundings.

If he would have sensed the magic beforehand, none of this would have happened, but he had still been a bit dazed when Gwaine and Arthur carried him into the cave. It was bound to happen, he had fallen off a horse, and his ankle still twinged a bit, so he couldn't entirely be held at fault for not being aware of the magical trap. It still didn't stop him from feeling a bit guilty.

From Arthur's yelling, Merlin wasn't the only one affected by the spell, and he had a feeling Gwaine hadn't gotten off curse free either.

He felt a rough, callused hand settle on his face again, startling him once more, and he whispered, "Gwaine?" The hand left his face as his own hand was grabbed and pulled forward, resting against a familiar head of hair, the head nodding once. "You can't talk can you?" Merlin asked carefully and the head shook slowly back and forth.

"What's wrong with him?!" Merlin heard Arthur shout and winced at his voice. Gwaine must have shot him a glare because Arthur loudly asked, "What?" It was quiet for a moment, save for the sound of their breathing, but finally Arthur stated, in a much quieter voice, "I can't help that I can't hear. What's wrong with Merlin?" It was quiet a second time, Merlin figuring Gwaine was writing messages in the dirt floor of the cave for Arthur's benefit, and again the young king's voice broke the silence. "No sight? You mean he can't see." Gwaine must have thrown him an incredulous look because the king said, "Don't look at me like that. I'm just clarifying."

Merlin jumped when he felt air brush past his face. "Is he…? Is Arthur waving a hand in front of my face?" Merlin asked slowly and he felt Gwaine's head nod underneath his hand. "Tell him to stop."

"He really can't see can he?" Arthur's hand stilled in its waving, and Merlin heard the king crouch down next to him. "It must have been sorcery. Maybe the cave has a curse on it or something. Do you think there's a way to reverse this?"

"I don't know," Merlin responded shrugging. "We need to get back to Camelot, see if Gaius can help us." It was easier said than done. They still had to worry about any stray Saxons running around and none of them were actually in fighting form. With the exception of Gwaine, but he could hardly call out a warning if someone were to sneak up on Merlin or Arthur.

"What'd he say?" Arthur asked curiously, no doubt glancing at Gwaine. He must have written in the dirt again because Arthur scoffed and said, "How Merlin? I can't hear a damn thing, and you're more useless than usual without the ability to see. The only upside is we don't have to hear Gwaine tell the same five stories over and over again." Merlin heard a thud and Arthur shout, "Ow! I am a king. You can't go around hitting me. I'll throw you in the stocks for that."

"Guys," Merlin called, swinging his arm around until it connected with a leg, hoping it was Arthur's. "We need to get out of here. I don't know where those Saxons are and…"

"Plan? What plan?" Arthur said suddenly, cutting the young warlock off, and Merlin suspected Gwaine was writing in the dirt again. "Since when have you ever had a plan?" Merlin couldn't help thinking this was going to be a long day.

Merlin

"That's a terrible plan," Arthur commented a few moments later, looking down at the words Gwaine had etched into the ground. Gwaine shot him a sharp look, waving his hand, obviously telling Arthur to talk quieter. Well excuse him, it wasn't his fault he could hear anything.

Gwaine wrote: It's the only one we've got.

"We could stay here," Arthur suggested glancing around the cave. "Wait until we're one-hundred percent sure they're gone." Merlin said something, his mouth moving, and Arthur tried really hard to read his lips, but he hadn't exactly needed the skill growing up, so he missed everything completely.

"What's he…" Gwaine beat Arthur to the punch, writing: He wants to know the plan.

"Right. I nearly forgot." Actually, Arthur hadn't forgotten anything. His loss of hearing he could handle, and knowing Gwaine couldn't talk was actually pretty funny to him, but he was worried about Merlin's sudden blindness. Merlin may be useless in some aspects (anything to do with fighting, being able to move a tray from one side of the room to another, walking in a straight line), but he was usually pretty good at spotting things other did not, Arthur including. He relied on his eyes, needed them almost as much as Arthur needed his ears.

In a way, Arthur was actually surprised Merlin was taking his sudden sightlessness this well. Had it been him, suddenly being unable to see, externally he'd keep a cool head, sure, but internally he'd be slightly panicked, wondering if the spell had a reverse or if he'd forever be left without the ability of sight. It was bad enough that's how he felt about his hearing.

Of course, who was to say Merlin wasn't feeling the same thing. Though the younger man had never been very good at hiding his emotions, and it surprised Arthur to see traces of guilt on his face above anything else. What did Merlin have to be guilty for? If anything, Arthur should be the guilty one. He had allowed his men, his friends, to get cursed. He should have known, should have acted accordingly, and now they could very well be in trouble; could very well be stuck like this forever.

The young king felt a hand on his shoulder, startling him, and he glanced down to see Gwaine giving him a worried look while Merlin's lips were saying, what Arthur could only assume, his name. "I'm alright," Arthur assured his knight and friend. "Just thinking." Merlin said something and Gwaine laughed, shaking his head. "Did you just insult my intelligence, Merlin?"

Merlin gave Arthur, or the wall over his shoulder, a sheepish grin and the king shook his head slowly back and forth. He muttered, "Idiot." He noticed the look cross Merlin's face, and Arthur recognized it immediately. "Don't call me a prat." The manservant flashed the king another look, this one clearly saying 'I didn't say anything.' "You were thinking it. I know you were

Gwaine waved his hands, getting Arthur's attention, and gestured towards the cave's entrance. He then pointed at his eyes, obviously telling Arthur he was going to check for any Saxons. Arthur still thought the plan was a bad idea, reminding him they should probably fill Merlin in before leaving, but nodded anyway. Gwaine nodded back and headed outside.

Waiting a beat, Arthur crossed the cave and took a seat next to Merlin. He nudged his friend with his foot and said, "We are going to take your advice and head back to Camelot. I won't tell you it's a good idea because this could very well go to hell, but if we make it back I'll… I'll give you an entire hour off."

Merlin's head turned towards Arthur's voice and his look clearly said 'Wow, Arthur, a whole hour. I will forever cherish your bout of generosity' It was a testament to how much time they spent together that Arthur clearly heard Merlin sardonically say each word, the sarcasm dripping from his lips, and he couldn't help the smirk that spread across his face.

Gwaine returned before Arthur could retort, gesturing for the king to get up. The younger man complied, a part of him in awe over the fact that he was actually taking orders from Gwaine of all people, and moved over to stand next to the knight in question. "Anything?" he asked the long haired knight and he shook his head. "Think we can make it?" Gwaine merely shrugged. "That's comforting," Arthur muttered under his breath.

"Okay," he continued turning to Merlin, "you're going to be my ears." The youngest man flashed a questioning look in Arthur's general direction just as Gwaine crossed the cave floor. He helped Merlin up, keeping a hold of him when his ankle threatened to give out, and helped him limp over to Arthur's side.

"Get on my back," Arthur stated crouching down. He noticed the uncertain look cross his friend's face and he sighed and repeated, "Get on my back. Come on, Merlin, we don't have all day."

With some help from Gwaine, after a long, inner battle that Arthur could clearly see on his friend's face, Merlin managed to get settled on the king's back, loosely wrapping his arms around his neck. "Okay, you be my ears," Arthur repeated slowly, gripping behind Merlin's knees to keep him from slipping, "and I'll be your eyes." Merlin flashed a thumbs up in front of Arthur's face, telling him he understood, and the threesome slowly walked out of the cave.

Merlin

Gwaine left the cave first, barely glancing back at Arthur and Merlin. He had a feeling, if he looked longer than a few seconds, he might start laughing and be unable to stop. He never thought he'd see the day that Arthur, King of Camelot, carried his manservant. In actuality, he figured it'd be the other way around, and had that ever occurred, Gwaine would have a few well-chosen words to share with the king of pratness. Merlin was his friend, and his job was servant not the king's personal mule.

As quietly as possible, hard to do when Arthur couldn't hear how loud he was being, they headed back towards their horses. Gwaine seriously doubted they were just waiting for them. Either they had been killed, something he hoped didn't happen (he was rather fond of his horse), or they had already headed back towards Camelot.

"You know," Merlin started in a quiet voice, "I just remembered. Weren't we lost?"

"What?" Arthur hissed, glancing back at Merlin, no doubt feeling the young servant's chest reverberate against his back as he spoke.

Gwaine shrugged, figuring they could easily run into somebody friendly. Between Arthur and Merlin, they could easily explain what happened and maybe this person, who was not going to shoot arrows at them or attack them with a sword, could point them in the right direction.

"Seriously, what did he just say?" Arthur questioned in a semi-loud whisper. "You know I…" A stick snapped, freezing Gwaine in his tracks, and he waved his hand to cut Arthur off, mid-sentence. He glanced around, recalling a few hours, remembering how a snapping stick was the exact reason they were in this mess.

He grabbed Arthur's arm, being careful not to knock Merlin off the king's back, and hurriedly ushered him towards a clump of bushes. They crouched down, Gwaine making sure he was behind Arthur, and the group watched as a Saxon slowly moved across the clearing, sword held loosely in his hand, his eyes darting around, looking for them.

He rested his hand on Merlin's back, feeling him still beneath his palm, while he and Arthur exchanged a quick look, both silently arguing over who was going to attack the Saxon. He was only one man, most likely left behind to make sure they really had gotten away, either man could easily kill him. But they had to worry about Merlin, who couldn't see and needed them more than they needed him right now, so one of them had to stay…

Something sharp and cool rested against the back of Gwaine's neck, sending him hurtling out of his head and back to reality. He heard a deep chuckle and a gruff voice say, "Looks like we have a couple lost puppies." Could this day really get any worse?