• Twenty Summers •
Written by Maddy de L'Aurore and Ardenne Morgan.
Chapter Two:
Something in the Forest
By Ardenne Morgan
Merlin was walking up and down the castle when he bumped into a woman walking towards him.
"Gwen!" He shouted excitedly when he realised who the woman was. "I've been searching the whole town for you," Merlin smiled sweetly.
Guinevere was strangely quiet, unlike her usual bubbly self. When she claimed illness was the reason for her recent disappearance, Merlin realised something was wrong. He had visited her house and he had not found her there. Quickly placing the dropped clothes back into her basket, Gwen tried to focus but her dark eyes were glazed over, as if she was lost in thought. She had almost filled her basket when Merlin saw the large bruise spreading across her outer wrist.
"Gwen, who did that to you?"
Guinevere had never been good at lying so when she stuttered and fell silent, Merlin was sure something was wrong. His instinctive response was confirmed when Gwen burst into tears, finally admitting everything that had happened in between sobs. She trusted Merlin and knew that she could count on him in these situations. Gwen trusted Arthur too, of course, but her fear of causing him harm made her reluctant to involve him. Merlin convinced her otherwise soon enough and eventually, she found herself riding out to castle of Fyrien where Arthur suspected Cenred and his men were holding Elyan.
The threesome became four when Morgana joined the trio after a great deal of insistence, much to Merlin's annoyance.
Hours passed before any exciting event took place. Morgana had insisted they rest for a while and Gwen had become dizzy with the heat so the girls had decided to bathe. Of course, it was only decent of Arthur and Merlin to excuse themselves from the general vicinity of the river so as to protect the girls' modesty. And that was how Merlin and Arthur ended up in an unknown part of the forest.
Although the sun was still scorching down upon them, the cool summer breeze seemed to balance out the heat. The atmosphere seemed to have a calming and relaxing sort of effect on the boys, despite their awaiting quest. It was especially effective on Arthur, whose usually alert state was clouded by the soothing environment. So it was very unlike him to miss the arrow that shot past his eyes with lightning speed, missing Merlin's hair by just inches.
At once Arthur, snapped to attention. Quick as lightning, he positioned his horse in front of Merlin's while drawing out his sword with a dangerous swish. Leaping down from the horse as silently as he could, Arthur motioned towards Merlin in a crouching position to do the same. Arthur had been caught by surprise when the arrow had shot past them and he was determined to not let that happen again.
"Stay low," he mouthed at Merlin while trying to get a better look at their attacker.
"Right," whispered Merlin and started following Arthur's advancing body.
"You idiot," whispered Arthur in the loudest possible whisper he could manage. "I just told you to stay where you are."
"I was just covering your back," Merlin blurted out as usual, always quick to defend any actions Arthur regarded as disobedience.
Without any warning, a second arrow had been shot past them with dangerous agility, narrowly missing Arthur's neck as he skilfully ducked at the sudden sign of movement. Arthur was just about to let out an inward sigh of relief at his good luck when he heard a sudden shout right behind him. Arthur's head jerked back to where he heard Merlin's cry of pain. A low groan escaped Merlin's lips as a sharp jolt of pain seared through his right arm and Merlin collapsed onto the grass.
Arthur's eyes widened in shock and a jolt of fear shot through his body as he noticed Merlin tightly clutching onto his right arm, blood pouring out from a not so minor injury. For a moment, everything around him stopped as he watched Merlin in disbelief. The mere thought of something happening to... no. No, he must not think that way. As a prince, he was trained from birth to be fearless and trust in himself and his men, no matter what the situation. Past battles had taught him to give his knights courage and to keep their faith intact, even if they were fighting a losing battle. Eventually, he himself would begin to believe that there was always hope of winning, no matter how slight the chances seemed. In fact, he had learnt that believing in himself and his knights had brought him victory on several occasions and he refused to believe otherwise now.
"I can fix this," he told himself nervously as he tried his best to keep calm. He tried to convince himself that he had handled situations like this many times before and he could certainly do it again.
However, what Arthur didn't realise was the fact that this was not a case of aiding just any mere knight or subject of Camelot whom he was required to protect out of sheer duty, but a matter of a manservant who had somehow grown to become quite special to him in the last few years. So when all of his thoughts were jumbled together in confusion from a mix of fear and anxiety, Arthur really could not understand why he was not able to think clearly and why he was not quite in control of the situation.
Another low groan escaped Merlin's lips, this time louder, snapping Arthur back into motion.
Arthur made a quick decision. It would be best to first counter attack rather than tend to Merlin's wound. He ensured Merlin was safely hidden, not wanting to make things worse for him. Arthur then left his crouching position and ran out into the open forest, holding his sword out in front of him. He knew it was foolish of him to not take cover, especially as he was unaware of the number of attackers he was facing.
But Arthur was furious.
Furious that he hadn't been able to protect Merlin from simple forest raiders, or who ever they were. Furious that he had always indirectly reassured Merlin of his safety under Arthur's protection, and furious at his sudden inability to speedily react to the dire situation. No, he simply could not bear the thought that he would be responsible for Merlin's pain.
"Come out then!" he shouted with all the strength he could muster as he swiftly ran towards the direction from which the arrow came.
"Fight like a man if you are one. Prove yourself!"
He was running even faster now.
"Don't just hide there like a coward," he finally bellowed after no one responded to his challenges.
Looking around wildly, Arthur searched for the insolent culprits that he would surely take care of. There was no sign of anyone in the vicinity. No footprints on the dusty pathway, no suspicious looking shadows near the trees, nothing to indicate any being's presence.
He glanced around sharply one last time before shouting out to the trees "This isn't the end!" turning back as his voice echoed loudly in the forest. Not wanting to waste any more time in which he could be tending to Merlin, Arthur hurried back furiously to where his manservant lay wounded.
As soon as he reached the spot, Arthur quickly bent over to observe the severity of the wound.
It wasn't good news.
Merlin was bleeding. And he was bleeding fast. The wound was deeper than Arthur had imagined, and now he was getting unusually panicky.
His hands became sweaty as he lifted Merlin's sleeves gingerly to relieve the arm from any form of contact with clothing. With somewhat shaky hands, Arthur tore off strips of his shirt and wrapped it tightly around Merlin's wounded arm to stop the bleeding while checking Merlin's reaction ever so often to see if he was hurting him in any way.
Meanwhile, prior to Arthur's arrival, Merlin's intense pain was causing hallucinations. He saw things he knew could not be real but the fear they caused certainly was. Arthur's sudden touch pulled Merlin back to reality and Merlin became aware of his surroundings. The throbbing in his arm had not faded at all, even though almost half an hour had passed since the arrow had grazed his flesh.
Arthur's presence somehow had a calming effect on him, keeping him conscious and distracting him from the unbearable, searing pain in his forearm.
"Keep down," said Arthur firmly when Merlin raised his head in an effort to examine the wound. Merlin opened his mouth to reply, but Arthur cut him off. "It's just better if you don't see the wound," he explained.
Merlin's unending curiosity was burning inside him as he wondered why Arthur wasn't allowing him to take a look at his own wound. Then he noticed the beads of sweat on Arthur's forehead. Was he hurt too? No, his physical strength indicated perfect health, but there was something else about him that was different. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.
What exactly was going on? Was it Arthur's stance? Maybe his behaviour? He checked for the sword but that too was secured tightly in his scabbard. Well, that wasn't unusual. Arthur and the sword were inseparable.
And then he saw it. Or rather, he felt it. Arthur's touch, it was firm, yet too gentle. He seemed to be tying the strips of clothing with the utmost care, as if Merlin was one of those precious, fragile, stones that were sewn onto Morgana's dresses. And his face, well, his face had an expression unlike anything Merlin had ever seen on him before, or had expected or even hoped to see. It was a soft look, a gentle look that almost made him appear as if he was concerned.
"Or maybe even worried?" Merlin wondered.
Yes, his bright blue eyes had definitely widened with worry when he had seen Merlin's wound.
"All done. Now, I'm going to help you onto my horse and I know it's going to be a little difficult in your state but I'll be right here so don't fret unnecessarily," interrupted Arthur's voice just as Merlin's thoughts were beginning to focus.
"Uh... Arthur, I think it would be easier to ride my own horse if we want to reach Gwen's brother before nightfall," began Merlin.
"I'll be the judge of what does or does not have to be done," came the firm reply. "But-" started Merlin as he was about to insist they get on with their journey.
"We're not going to Gwen's brother just yet," interjected Arthur, worriedly eyeing Merlin's increasingly pallid face. "I'm just getting us out of this clearing and into the deeper parts of the woods where we can remain hidden. That way, you can rest as long as you need."