Let me start off by saying thank you all for your support. I got so many kind words from you all and it meant a lot. I can't explain my gratitude. Thank you all so much. I know me and my family will get through this with time. I luckily have so much support from everyone, including you strangers. So thank you.
Moving on, I will start with the good news that my finals are over and I will have lots of time to write this summer once I get a job. Also my cousin just got married, so that's been mostly good. I've already started another story, though it will be a lot longer meaning it will take some time to finish, but it will get done. Once again thank you everyone and enjoy chapter four.
Chapter Four
Arthur woke up on the cold hard ground. He had been freezing the whole night, but didn't care. He had risen early again, having to force some of the knights awake. The knights that complained about the few hours of sleep and freezing cold were sent home immediately. Arthur didn't want anyone who didn't care about Merlin to find him. They set out deeper into the forest.
Merlin woke an hour after sunrise. He beat himself up for sleeping in. Possible help could have walked by and he wouldn't have known. He stopped beating himself up when he remembered that no one was looking for him, at least that was what his mindset was. Merlin tried swallowing but his mouth was too dry. He looked at his small pouch of water, he wouldn't last much longer without it. He shakily reached for it and poured a mouthful into his mouth. He swore he had never tasted water so good. Well almost never. There was the time when Arthur had killed the unicorn and brought drought and famine upon Camelot. It was very similar, but being in the now, he felt this thirst was a lot worse. He couldn't even keep drinking, he had to conserve. That alone definitely made it worse. He sighed and went back to what he had to do. He listened.
They shouted his name, searched for any signs of him beneath every rock and behind every tree. Still nothing turned up. Around noon Arthur called for a much needed break. They all gathered around for a meager lunch after skipping breakfast, still no one complained. Gwaine argued with Arthur for stopping at all, but Arthur insisted. They had come to a stop in a small clearing near some small white flowers while they rested and ate. Arthur pondered where Merlin could be.
Merlin was very very very bored. He had tried every magic trick he could think of the previous day and had run out of songs to sing. He was out of hope. It had been over two days since he had fallen down in this wretched cave. He was exhausted. Pain was continual and he hadn't slept well since he had been in Camelot. All that emotion made Merlin rather angry and bitter. Still the anger would pass and in it's place depression would fill.
Merlin knew he wouldn't last one more night.
Arthur and the knights finished their lunch, Gwaine, Leon, Elyan and Percival didn't eat much. They found themselves without much of an appetite. Arthur slowly moved to mount his horse once more when something caught his eye. He froze where he stood and just stared. His heart began beating faster and a smile lit up his face.
"Are you alright sire?" Percival asked thinking Arthur might have finally snapped.
Arthur ignored the knights strange looks and briskly made his way over to a large wall of rocks. He stopped right in front of it and looked up. He went up on his tip toes and grabbed what had caught his attention. He grinned as he had confirmed what he thought. It was Merlin's bag. He'd recognize it anywhere.
Merlin was near.
"Spread out, find Merlin. He has to be around here somewhere!" Arthur shouted excitedly.
Everybody started fumbling around, trying to follow his orders, new enthusiasm filling each of them. Then Arthur frowned.
"Stop!" he yelled. "Stop moving! Everybody STOP!" He shouted.
Everyone froze, some in rather strange positions, but no one stirred the air.
Arthur had heard something. Something faint, so faint he thought maybe he was just hearing things. He listened. Every ear listened to catch whatever sound Arthur had heard. Arthur waited a long moment before the noise came again. It was just an eerie sound. Didn't really sound like anything at all, but a distant echo. He smiled as he realized where Merlin was. Then frowned again as he realized where Merlin was. He suddenly hoped it really wasn't Merlin, and there was a possibility it wasn't. Whoever the voice belonged to was behind the boulders, boulders certainly too large to move. Arthur slowly started moving along the wall of stone to see if there was a break anywhere, when he noticed a strange thing.
The noise got louder when he moved in certain directions. The knights still frozen watched their king warily. Their king finally turned to them and looked annoyed.
"Don't just stand there, help me find a way into this thing," he said as he walked around, trying to see if there was another entrance in its side somewhere.
The knights slowly moved, trying to make as little noise as possible so they could also determine where an entrance might possibly be. Arthur slowly moved more and more to the side of the blocked entrance and found himself going uphill. Surprisingly the voice got louder even though he was moving farther away. When the ground leveled off again he made his way back towards the concealed cave. The voice became clearer. He could make out words!
"...body out there? Hello?" Came a voice. Arthur knew it was Merlin. He had found Merlin! He broke out in a wide smile as elation filled him. He had finally found Merlin!
"MERLIN!" He cried still trying to locate where the voice was originating from.
"Arthur?" Came a distant voice.
"Merlin! I'm coming!" Arthur called as he slowly moved forward.
"NO!" came Merlin's voice. Arthur was stunned for a moment and froze in place.
"Why not?" He asked exasperated. He had found Merlin, he thought the stupid idiot should be a little more grateful for all the trouble Arthur went to.
"It's dangerous! *muffled words* fall through too!"
Arthur was confused, but moved forward a little more cautiously. Then he saw the hole. Understanding came to him. Merlin had fallen through the weak ground, or was it a ceiling? Arthur shrugged to himself. He moved slowly, testing the ground before moving forward. Slowly he made his way to the hole and peered in. He didn't immediately see Merlin, but after searching for a second in the dark hole he located a shape he knew to be his friend.
"Merlin!" He called happily.
"Arthur!" Merlin cried back. "You came!"
"Of course I did you idiot," Arthur yelled. "Are you alright?"
A pause. "My leg's broken," Merlin started. Arthur frowned. He had been hoping the idiot had only just fallen in and not been able to get out. "I haven't had a lot of food or water down here and I think I've sprained my wrist," Merlin finished.
Arthur thought for a moment. "Don't worry Merlin. I'll get you out of there. Don't move," he said before realizing how stupid that had sounded as Merlin softly chuckled. Merlin couldn't go anywhere. Arthur rolled his eyes at himself and turned to find the knights.
Arthur ran into Percival, Elyan, Leon, Tristan, and Gwaine.
"I've found him!" he exclaimed happily. The knights smiled and cheered at the news. Gwaine immediately suggested the tavern. The rest of the knights immediately declined.
Once they calmed again, Arthur explained Merlin's condition and location and instructed them to throw down some food and water for him. Once the knights understood their task they went off to accomplish it. Arthur then turned to a few of the extra knights that had tagged along. He instructed them to return to Camelot and bring a long rope as well as Gaius. They left promptly and Arthur returned to the hole Merlin had fallen through. Things were going to be alright.
Merlin had heard some noises, but first passed it off as another passing animal. Then the noise persisted and he began to wonder... He tried calling out, but his dry throat wouldn't allow him at first. He drank the rest of his water and tried yelling again. He was just about to give up when he heard the unmistakable voice of a certain prat. Relief flooded him as he realized he was going to live. He was going to be alright. Arthur had come.
A few hours later the knights returned with Gaius and a long piece of rope. Gaius had been alarmed of course, but was glad Merlin had been found.
Arthur threw down the rope and Merlin tied it around his waist. The knights, with difficulty even for someone so skinny, hauled him gently to the surface doing what they could to keep Merlin's leg as still as possible. Arthur grimaced at the sight of Merlin's leg as Gaius carefully examined it. It was swollen to twice its size despite Merlin's attempts to keep it down. It was nearly black with all the bruises, but no bone broke the skin and Gaius said it was a clean break. Then came the worst part, made even worse by the long period of no treatment. Gaius had to fix the bone, which caused Merlin to scream out in great pain even through the rolled up strip of leather between his teeth and the potion Gaius had him take to help with the pain. Merlin passed out after that as Gaius expected. Arthur and most of the knights had cringed watching their friend in such pain. Gaius then applied a split to support the broken leg. He then wrapped it with a blanket to cushion it. After all that Gaius checked over the rest of Merlin, wrapped his sprained wrist and checked the rest of his body for any unknown injuries. Gaius said everything else was well to the relief of Arthur and the knights.
They had to wait for Merlin to wake up again after that. Once he did, Gaius gave him another potion to help with additional pain and they helped him onto a horse. They had to move slowly, painfully slowly, in order to keep Merlin from jostling too much. Once they had reached Camelot, Gwen had come rushing out and immediately fussed over Merlin. Gaius and Gwen both made sure that Merlin ate a little more before he went to sleep.
Only once Merlin's breathing had slowed as he fell into his deep sleep did Arthur finally relax. Gwen hugged Arthur gratefully.
"Thank goodness you found him," she said softly.
Arthur didn't speak. He just held her, finally glad that Merlin was safe.
I hope you all liked the reunion. I certainly enjoyed it. The next chapter is the last one, so enjoy it while you can. I will update soon.
