The Truth of False Accusations Chapter 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or any of its characters or dialogue. They belong to the BBC.
I don't believe it. Arthur might but I certainly don't. I mean, Merlin's cleverer than he looks, I'll grant you that, but he isn't evil. And besides, Morgana hasn't been quite herself since she returned. She's acting strangely, almost like she's got something to hide. Like a few days ago, when I came in to clean her chambers and she told me it wasn't necessary. She's never acted so strangely before! Anyway, if Merlin is a sorcerer, then he probably really was responsible for healing my father when that plague was going around Camelot. Either way, I owe it to him to stand up for him if need be, but for now I think it might be wiser to stay quiet. I should talk to Arthur about this. Maybe he'll know what to do.
'Arthur,' said Uther as his son strode into the throne room, 'I wasn't expecting you for another half hour.'
'Yes, well, I figured I may as well get an early start seeing as I obviously wasn't going to get any more sleep,' said Arthur.
'Well, I suppose there's no harm in that,' said Uther.
'What was it that you wanted to speak to me about, father?' asked Arthur.
'About your servant,' said Uther.
'Ah, yes, Charles, I feel that he-'
'No, I meant your previous servant,' said Uther, 'the one who turned out to be a sorcerer.'
'Oh', said Arthur flatly.
'To have two such dangerous sorcerers escape is an embarrassment to our name,' said Uther, 'they must be recaptured as soon as possible. I want you to take a few knights and search for them. You will leave this afternoon.'
'I, um.'
'Is there a problem?' asked Uther.
'No, no. Of course not', said Arthur. He bowed his head, then turned and left the room.
'How'd that go then Sire?' asked Chip with his unwavering air of cheerfulness.
'Saddle the horses,' said Arthur, 'we've got a lot of riding to do.'
For the first time a shadow crossed Chip's face.
'Um, yes of course, Sire,' said Chip, 'right away.' And with that he scurried off in the general direction of the stables.
Arthur breathed a sigh of relief when Chip was out of sight, then made off towards the training grounds where the knights would be in about half an hour; a time considered a reasonable hour of the morning.
When Sir Leon came down to the training grounds, he was more than a little surprised to see the prince already there. He was even more surprised to see him sitting with his back against a shield, apparently asleep.
'Sire?' said Leon, giving Arthur a gentle shake by the shoulder.
With a murmur, Arthur awoke from his slumber. 'Leon,' he said, 'what are you doing here?'
'Waiting for the other knights to arrive?' said Leon.
Arthur swore as he took in his surroundings, and quickly got to his feet.
'I take it you did not sleep well last night,' said Leon.
'Oh, I slept fine until morning,' said Arthur, 'what is bothering me is my new servant's sense of "morning".'
At that moment the other knights came outside and Arthur signalled for them to gather round.
'This afternoon,' said Arthur, 'I shall leave with a few of you to search for the two sorcerers that escaped from our dungeons the night before last. We have faced many greater challenges in the past, but we have expended many of our resources in the search for Lady Morgana. I realise that many of you are still exhausted after your return from that journey, so it is that I ask if any of you would be willing to accompany me when I set out.'
'I would be happy to accompany you', said Leon, and after he volunteered to go another two knights followed suit.
'I must warn you,' said Arthur, 'one of the sorcerers we are seeking', Arthur hesitated for a moment before continuing, 'is my former manservant; Merlin. Despite what you may know of him, he has shown himself to be an enemy of Camelot through his practice of sorcery. Do not let any memories of him distract you from our mission.'
The day passed in a blur for Arthur and it seemed only moments later that he was preparing to mount his horse to set out on the search for Merlin.
A yell attracted his attention, and as he turned to look, he saw Chip fall sideways off his horse as it bolted towards the gate. The guards were able to catch the horse before it got far, but Arthur could see that the creature was spooked. Not nearly as spooked as Chip was looking, but as Chip felt Arthur's gaze upon him he began to grin widely once again. With a smile he took the horse's reins from the guard and made a second attempt at mounting. This time he managed to stay on.
'Are you sure he'll be alright?' asked one of the knights.
Arthur didn't answer, instead giving his horse a gentle kick and leading the group out of Camelot.
Chip held up better than Arthur had expected, managing not to cause a complete disaster for a full three hours after setting out. By this point Arthur was even considering that perhaps nothing would go wrong. Well not yet, anyway. He was more worried about what would happen when they caught up with Merlin. He couldn't actually think of any way that could go right.
However, Chip's golden luck could not last, and all the knights heard was a whinny, then Chip's horse was galloping, with Chip still clinging tightly to the reins, straight forward; straight through the middle of the party of knights. Panicked by this turn of events, all of the other horses hurriedly got out of the way. Arthur's horse's chosen escape route took him directly into the path of three bushes and a spider's web.
By the time he calmed his horse down, he could no longer see Chip, or any of the knights.
Sir Leon was pretty sure that this was the way that the other knights had gone. He sincerely hoped he was mistaken.
Before him stood what seemed to be a border between two forests. The one he was in; light and calm, and the one in front of him; dark and foreboding.
Scolding himself for thinking in that manner, he encouraged his horse forward into the shade of the trees.
By the time he had ridden for an hour, he was thoroughly lost. He could not even honestly say which way he had come from, and that gave him little chance of figuring out where he was going. The only landmark he could see through the trees above him was a sheer cliff, and from what he could see the forest continued at its top.
His horse was still skittish from the confusion earlier, and the darkening skies were doing nothing to lighten its mood.
Suddenly, he could hear low breathing behind him, and as it drew closer he could feel the breath on the back of his neck. This was easily enough to set his horse off again. It ran forward with no apparent goal other than to escape whatever was behind him. He held on for dear life, but lost his grip when he was hit in the face by a low hanging branch. With a cry, he toppled to the ground.
Scrambling to his feet, Leon drew his sword from it's scabbard.
The creature was huge, black and reptilian. When it roared it showed a mouth full of needle sharp fangs. Leon lunged for it, making a small scratch in its armoured hide. It roared with irritation, and raked at Leon with an immense claw. The claw caught him on the arm, leaving a deep gash that bled profusely. He yelled out in pain. Why not, he reasoned, who could hear him out here?
Merlin was startled by the roar when it came. He scrambled to the edge of the cliff, looking over to see a knight in a red cape fighting against something. Due to its colour, or rather the lack there of, he could not tell what exactly what the creature was, only that it was massive.
He quickly got to his feet, but faltered when he reached the tree line. He could feel Arnold's gaze on his back. For a moment, Merlin wavered. That was when the yell came. A yell of pain and terror that he couldn't ignore.
It might be a knight down there just waiting for an opportunity to kill him. On the other hand, it could be Arthur. Swallowing his fear, he stepped into the shadows.
'Merlin', called Arnold.
'You said you wouldn't stop me', said Merlin.
'Oh, I'm not going to stop you,' said Arnold, 'I just wanted to tell you. When you want to find me; and believe me, you will want to find me; you know where I'll be.'
