Thanks for all the reviews.
Merlin is owned by the BBC and not me (breaks down crying)
Chapter – Merlin's JournalAfter an exhausting week of council meetings, hard training, annoying over-confident knights and surprising facts about his servant and secretly best friend Merlin, Arthur decided to go for a bit of a hunt to relive some built up stress and clear his head. He had refused any help from everyone, and decided to go by himself at four in the morning. The sun had already risen above the trees, the wildlife was awake, the forest teeming with life, by the time that Arthur had caught three rabbits and five nice sized pheasants and it wasn't even lunchtime. Looking for a nice place to sit and rest Arthur came across a beautiful lake with a stunning view of the White Mountains in the distant. Arthur stared at the way the golden sunlight reflected off the azure blue water, it felt calming but mysterious, it was creepy. But it was a nice place to have lunch and relax, so Arthur sat by the trunk of an oak and stated to skin a rabbit. After fetching firewood and lighting a fire, the rabbit on a split, Arthur laid down stretching his body on a warm, over-hanging rock by the water. Looking around him, he took in the peace and calm of the area, when he noticed a small brown book under the rock he was laying on. Pitting it up, he flicked though it, but not really taking in anything, shrugging he jumped down, threw the book in his bag and tended to his burning rabbit.
Mean while around the same time in Camelot…
"Oh no, where is it? Where in Avalon did I leave my frickin journal? Journal, where are you, come out you stinking book." Merlin called, running around his bedroom, tossing clothes and books onto the bed, flinging his wardrobe open and throwing stuff out of there, turning to his bed flipping the mattress finding nothing, turned to his desk and to find… nothing. Merlin tossed his hands in the air, "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" Then he went and started to rummage, toss, fling, flip and completely tear apart the Court Physician Gauis's chamber and workplace looking for the alluring journal. Merlin was tossing things out of a crate when Gaius came though the door, half an hour later. "What in the world? MERLIN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY CHAMBERS? Gaius yelled. Merlin startled.
"Gaius, do you know where I left my journal? Please! I've been trying to find it all morning, and it's no where" Merlin knelt on the floor, looking completely putout. Gaius put his bag down on the only space left tidy. "No!" He looked at the clearly depressed youth, "why don't you try retracing your steps from the last time you had it, it might turn up. Though that will be after you clean up this complete pigsty that you created." Gaius scorned glaring around the room. Merlin didn't say anything as he got off the floor and stated to put things back in their places, using magic. "MERLIN" Gaius yelled starting at the flying objects. "How many times have I said to not do that". Merlin smiled "well you didn't say to not to that time" and with Gaius throwing an ugly plant at him, Merlin fled the chambers to wreck havoc somewhere else. Looking out of the windows that lined the corridors he saw Arthur returning from his hunt, knowing that as soon as Arthur spots him, he wouldn't get away from his chores Merlin took a different path and a secret door to get out of the castle and towards the lake where he had laid Freya to rest.
"HEY! Arthur's back. Who wants to go and annoy him? Lancelot, Eylan" the knights turned to face Gwaine. "Why in the world do we want to do that?" asked a rather putout Lancelot. Gwaine shrugged "because he disappeared on us this morning, so now we have to appear and give him a hard time" "Fine what ever" everyone chorus at the same time, all thinking that Gwaine must be drunk again.
Arthur had just thrown his bag on the ground when Gwaine came bursting though his door, singing at the top of his voice. "Oh Princess, oh princess, where have you been? I've been looking for you princess, since the golden glow of the morning sun has woken me from my drunken sleeeeeepppp." Doing twirls and little skips til he was beside Arthur, wearing the biggest, mischievous grin his face could manage. "Sir Gwaine. What are you doing?" an irritated Arthur sighed, pushing Gwaine's arms off his shoulders.
"Annoying you." Gwaine grinned. Arthur sighed "Why?"
"Because you disappeared on us this morning and it's fun, I would have thought that was quite obvious, but then again you don't really have a brain." Gwaine grinned, and ran out of the room before Arthur realised what he had said.
"Don't have a brain. Say that to Merlin." Arthur shouted at Gwaine's retreating back. "Where is that moron anyway." Arthur sat on his bed taking out the book. Flicking though it trying to find out whom it belonged too. After a not finding a name, began trying to read it starting at the front, but for some reason the letter wasn't making any sense. After a while Arthur gave up trying to decipher it, threw the book beside him as he lay down. A knock sounded on his door, and Lancelot followed by the other Knights of the Round Table, entered.
"Good afternoon sire, how are you faring?" Lancelot asked in his polite manner. "Have you seen Merlin at all today?" Gwaine along with the others sat at the dining table that occupied one half of the room.
"No. I am starting to get really annoyed. Has he been missing all day?"
Lancelot nodded his head, Gwaine omitted a worried sigh and the other looked at each other with confused looks. "Gwaine went to check with Gaius but he wasn't in his chambers and neither was Merlin." Leon said. Arthur frowned "okay if Merlin isn't back in 2 hours we'll go looking for him. Agreed?" "Agreed!" every one in the room saying at the same time. After a couple of minutes of silence, Elyan spoke up. "Where did you go this morning, Arthur?" "Hmmm, oh I went for a solo hunt, which reminds me can any of you translate this? I found it by a rock next to a lake about 20 miles from here."
Throwing the book at Lancelot who flicked though it, shaking his head after trying to read the first page "it doesn't seem to be English or maybe I just can't read the handwriting, but the pictures sure are beautiful and well drawn." Tossing the book at Leon, who looked though the book with Elyan, and Percival looking over his shoulders. "I'll say the person this book belongs too must really like drawing." Elyan said in awe. Percival nodding in agreement. "What language is this written in?" Leon asked. Tossing it to Gwaine, who tossed though the book stopping to look at the pictures. "I don't know, but it sure isn't in English." Arthur muttered. " Yeah but these pictures are impressive. There is actually a portrait of all of us with Gwen and Gaius. As well as a unicorn, a dragon, a picture of birds eye view of the landscape, Camelot, various plants and places. I mean I have never seen this place. Have you?" Turning the book around so everyone else can see. The picture shown a clear drawing of a flower covered field with a backdrop of a small forest and mountains, a lake sitting in the middle covered in mist and ruins of a castle producing out of the middle of it all. It seemed to give an impression of a mysterious, but a powerful place. "Nope I have never seen a place like that." Arthur said glancing at it. The others all shook their heads. "But it sure as hell looks creepy." Elyan injected. "Hmmm yep" everyone else agreed. "Okay what about this one?" Gwaine said as he flips to another picture and showing it to the others. This one showed a place that appeared to be a cave of sorts, with crystals coving every inch of it and it seemed that the crystals were showing images of other places or people within themselves. Again the drawing gave the feeling of mystery and power but also of foreboding like the place had many secrets that it wouldn't easily depart with, without pain or a price. "Never seen anything like that either." Arthur spoke first, the others agreeing yet again. Flipping though the pages, Gwaine came across another unusual drawing. "Okay what do you'd make of this one?" Showing the picture to the others. It showed a type of forests scene with waterfalls flowing down into the glen, an enormous tree in the center, flowers everywhere and what appeared to be little people with butterfly wings dancing in the air around the tree. You could see the detail of the faces and the swirls of their clothing blowing in the breeze. The swirls of colour just made it look even more real. "Wow, that is beautiful. I almost feel like am there, watching." Elyan whispered, everyone nodding. "It's bloody eerie, how the artist could make these drawings seem so real." Gwaine said, as he put the book down on the table and poured himself some wine. "I wished I knew whose book it was." Arthur muttered walking over to pour himself a drink, when the door burst open making Arthur spill the wine everywhere including himself. "MERLIN, WHAT THE HELL?" Arthur shouted at the figure that appeared in the doorway.
Merlin looked like he had ran around the entire city and then some, he was puffing, his entire body whizzing and shaking. Merlin walked into the room appearing not to have heard Arthur or noticing anyone else. He started looking under the bed then in the bath area, disappearing into the anti- chamber where the others heard things being thrown about Lancelot nearly getting knocked out by a flying log as he went to investigate. As Merlin came stomping back in to the main room he started to search though Arthur's wardrobe, and laundry basket.
"Merlin, what are you searching for? Merlin?" Arthur placed his hands on Merlin's shoulders and made him face him. "What are you searching for?"
"My journal. I can't find it anywhere, it's not in my room or Gaius's and can't find it in the kitchens or the stables, I even went to the lake, but no stinking book." Merlin kneeled on the ground clearly in despair. Arthur looked at the others and then stared at the little brown book laying on the table. Walking over he picked it up. "Is it this?" Merlin looked up and saw his precious journal. He jumped up and grasped the book out of Arthur's hands and started hugging it. "Your safe. I was starting to think I had lost you at Kilgarrah's" he said cheerily. Arthur and the knights started laughing. Merlin finally noticing the rest, started to blush.
Everyone said at once "Merlin, you are such a girl!"
Sorry it had taken so long. I had writer's block, schoolwork, vacation (to nowhere special and had no Internet), illness, computer virus, writer's block and more schoolwork. In that order. Anyway still open to more ideas if you have any.
