Merlin's eyes shone gold as he searched magically for the source of the huge, looming tracks. They were almost like Kilgharrah's, but something was different. Maybe it was the toes…? Arthur cuffed him on the back of the head, making him lose his concentration. "Ow! What was that for?" Merlin exclaimed indignantly.
"Shh!" Arthur hissed. "We are hunting. Not going on a merry little herb-gathering trip for Gaius. Keep it down and stop staring at the ground so much! The animals are up here." Arthur gestured to the trees around them. Merlin rolled his eyes, carefully so the king wouldn't see, and looked around.
Maybe only Merlin could see the tracks.
No sooner did the idea occur to him than Arthur took off in pursuit of some poor helpless forest creature. Probably a deer. Merlin waited a beat, until the crashing sounds of Arthur running full tilt in his heavy armor through the underbrush had quieted. Then he followed. Merlin wanted to give Arthur time to kill the thing, so that he didn't have to watch. It was disgusting.
Five minutes or so after Arthur ran off, Merlin arrived with all of Arthur's hunting gear. "Where have you been?" Arthur asked. "I could have used one of those knives to slay the beast! Instead it got away!"
"Perhaps you should carry your things yourself, Sire," Merlin replied in his characteristically cheeky way.
Arthur smacked Merlin's shoulder, then announced, "Well, that was an entire day of tracking and hunting wasted. We should return to the castle."
Merlin simply nodded. He knew better than to argue. The two of them headed back to the heart of Camelot.
Sherlock strode down the street. It wasn't too different population-wise to modern Britain, but Sherlock was rather out of place. He could tell whose profession was whose, but the range was different. Instead of computer programmers and secretaries there were farmers and…more farmers. Peasants, servants, and of course the farmers and shepherds, milled about in the courtyard, and the more Sherlock walked the more he understood about the culture and professions of those people. Although, when he looked at them, the traits he had associated with things like long, unkempt beards no longer applied, since things like razors did not exactly exist yet, and if they did only the rich could afford them.
The Doctor trailed some distance behind Sherlock, curious about him. He had just been kidding around, showing someone the inside of the TARDIS. It had honestly not occurred to him that they might take an interest. Any of his friends would have known what it was, and any normal human would have been terrified. But clearly, Sherlock was not normal. The Doctor decided that he had allowed Sherlock on the TARDIS because something about his nature reminded the Doctor of…himself.
If anyone were a Timelord in disguise, then Sherlock definitely would be. The way he was going around, observing quietly and unobtrusively, absorbing all the new information about the new environment. It was unnoticeable to anyone who had never done the same thing, which was pretty much everyone but the Doctor and Sherlock.
Merlin and Arthur had just arrived back at the city gates when they heard a commotion.
"Oh," Arthur sighed. "It's Market Day." Market Day was when all the villagers and farmers tried to sell these little homemade trinkets and trifles and food to each other. Arthur detested having to walk through the crowds and have everyone asking him questions about his policies and laws.
Merlin, being a commoner, understood Market Day a bit better than Arthur, and suggested that they look for something to buy Gwen. Arthur brightened up a bit at that, so off they went, the king and his servant, in search of something for the lovely Queen Guinevere.
Arthur had stopped at a stand selling various scarves when Merlin spotted an oddly dressed man walking through the crowd. He looked very wealthy, but Merlin had been servant to the royal family for long enough that he knew most of the dignitaries in the five kingdoms, and that man was not one of them. Merlin slipped away from Arthur's side, just to see where the odd man was going. From the way he was dressed, all dark clothing and collar pulled up, Merlin thought he looked rather suspicious.
As Merlin weaved his way through the crowd, he nearly ran into another oddly dressed man who was following the first. "Sorry," Merlin mumbled. The other man just kept going. Now Merlin had two people to follow.
"Merlin?" Arthur called out. Merlin hadn't gotten far from the scarf stand, and Arthur was coming towards him, waving a blue one. Merlin tried to smile, but it came out as more of an annoyed grimace, so he gave up and looked around. Both men that Merlin had been following were gone. Disappeared into the crowd like leaves in the wind.
Arthur caught up and slammed a palm on Merlin's shoulder, jostling him. "What were you doing? And I bought this for Guinevere. Now let's go."
Merlin looked down at the scarf Arthur had. "It's lovely," he said without much feeling. Arthur patted him on the back, hard, then swept off to the castle. Merlin stared after him. He had a strange sensation, like something was there that shouldn't be. He shook it off and ran after Arthur, who was already out of sight.
This is sort of just filler, but I had to figure out a reason for the characters to meet. Also, I cannot write any more today, but I was almost done, so I basically wrapped it up and uploaded a day early. More updates on the way, ASAP! I hate leaving things unfinished as much as I'm sure you hate me not finishing them. Anyway. More soon, I promise!