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Never before had Arthur Pendragon felt a fury so strong, the overwhelming desire to rip the man standing mockingly in front of him into pieces with nothing more than his bare hands. He didn't need a sword to destroy this man, not after what he had done. But having been forced to his knees with his hands tied behind his back and a gag around his mouth, Arthur could do nothing but glare.
He had been on a ride with an old knight, one who had overseen his training as a boy. It was rare Arthur spent any time with Hector one-on-one these days, so when the old man had suggested a ride, the twenty year old had leapt on the chance. He knew that it was important for the knights to see that he always had time for them individually, that it would continue to earn him their respect and loyalty. Not to mention Morgana had been doing his head in and Arthur simply wanted to get away from the castle for a bit. It had been going so well. Arthur had finally began to relax, and it was only when he caught Hector's knowing smile did he realise that the old knight had seen what the pressure had been doing to Arthur. Coming up fast to his coming of age and therefore being officially made Crown Prince had been taking its toll on the young man, his overwhelming desire to prove himself to his father making him train and carry out duties every moment of the day. He hadn't had any time to himself for weeks, and for the first time in months, Arthur found himself smiling.
But then things had gone downhill from there. The ambush had come out of nowhere, and when an arrow pierced Arthur's horse, he knew they were in trouble. Hector had been fighting well, dispatching the bandits that had sprung upon them with a cool, detached manner that made him such a good knight. But he had turned at Arthur's cry of surprise when the prince's horse had dropped beneath him, throwing Arthur off and straight at the feet of the lead bandit. The prince had done what he could, immediately shifting his sword into a more ready grip and had managed to dispatch a few of their attackers himself.
Yet he had been at a disadvantage from the very beginning. As soon as he had rolled to a stop next to the bandit, a sharp kick had been delivered to his head. Whilst Arthur may have been fighting, it was with double vision and a stubborn cling to consciousness. After another man kneed him in the stomach, Arthur lost the fight against his own body and threw up everywhere, limbs trembling as he tried to get back into the fight.
"Leave him alone!" The prince didn't even realise that he had been surrounded until Hector's shout had him glance up in alarm. Almost feeling like he was drunk, Arthur swayed to the side in order to stop the hilt of a sword colliding with his already spinning head and attempted to stumble towards where he thought Hector was. But his double vision betrayed him and whilst he may have been heading towards the knight, he managed to crash into one of the bandits instead.
"Arthur. Follow my voice, Arthur." Seeing the prince's attempt to get to him, there was nothing in Hector's voice that gave away he was currently fighting three men at the same time. Seeing the movement, Arthur steadied his sword again and shook his head, determined to clear his vision. Just as things took on focus, something crashed into Arthur's throat, and the prince was immediately dropped to his knees, gasping and panted for breath as he tried to stop his mind from panicking. His sword was plucked from his hand and Arthur was vaguely aware of a hand fisting in his hair, yanking his head up.
"It's the prince! We've got the prince!" There was a stunned silence as the men processed what had happened, then cheers broke out among them. Arthur could do nothing but kneel there, wheezing for air as Hector was disarmed, a new fighting spirit breaking out among the bandits now that they realised how much their prize was worth. His head was spinning and drawing a breath was agony, yet Arthur somehow managed to focus his eyes on his old friend. Hector smiled reassuringly at the young prince, and Arthur felt his resolve flare back into life, causing him to struggle on the ground. Two men immediately moved in behind him, hard hands on his shoulders, keeping him down.
"How much is he worth?" The leader still had a grip on Arthur's hair, but he was looking at Hector. Arthur followed his gaze, confused by the look in the knight's eye. It was almost acceptance, as if he knew what was coming, but for the life of him, Arthur couldn't process what was happening.
"A lot. If he is unharmed." Hector responded slowly, even his voice in control. At the back of his mind, Arthur was beginning to realise what was going on, and he struggled violently against the men holding him down. A boot connected with his side, and whilst gasping for breath once more, Arthur was vaguely aware of his hands being pulled behind him, lashed together with a coarse rope before the hands resumed their position on his shoulders, pinning him down.
"And if the king knows we are serious?" Arthur's mind was going wild as Hector dropped his gaze and took a deep breath, looking sad as he did so. What was going on?
"Even more." He muttered softly, lifting his head once more and gazing at the man coldly. The leader nodded, and Arthur could just about see a dagger being drawn out of the corner of his eye.
"No!" His eyes wide and fearful, the prince suddenly realised what Hector had known all along. He yelled at his knight to fight back, to do something, but when he felt the cold edge of a blade against his own neck, he knew that the man would not do so. He would not risk the future King of Camelot, and Arthur could only watch in horror as the bandit approached his old friend. Almost thankful the man's body blocked out what happened, Arthur refused to let himself look away as Hector crumbled to the floor. He locked eyes with Arthur once more, smiled reassuringly... and fell still.
"No! You cowards, I'm going to kill you all!" Continuing to yell, Arthur struggled furiously, wrenching his head away as the men gagged him and pulled him to his feet. They had forced the prince to walk for a short while before setting up camp, leaving Arthur on his knees next to the leader. The rope binding his hands together was being held by the man, Arthur had nowhere to go. He could do nothing as the figures surrounding him began to discuss the best way that they could get a ransom message to Uther and tell him that they had Arthur.
His hands were twisting subtly behind his back, trying to find a way out of the ropes as he listened to the plans being discussed, wondering if he would hear anything that would work to his advantage. Arthur didn't realise the leader was not joining in the discussions, but was watching the prince closely. It was only when the man moved did Arthur jolt violently as the leader crouched down in front of him. Sliding a finger under the gag, he pulled it out of Arthur's mouth and pressed a wineskin to his lips instead.
"Drink. You'll need your strength."
Arthur obligingly took a sip and the man seemed to sag in relief. As he pulled the wineskin back, Arthur spat the contents back out at the bandit as hard as he could, eyes flashing dangerously. The whole camp seemed to fall silently as the leader slowly wiped his face, glaring at Arthur. The prince didn't seem to notice, breathing heavily through his nose and struggling furiously with the bonds around his wrists, already beginning to climb to his feet. If these men thought they could murder a knight of Camelot in front of its prince, then they were in for something new. Very slowly, the bandit's finger stroked down Arthur's cheek, but the prince refused to flinch, even when the gag was harshly shoved back into his mouth again, causing him to choke.
"New plan, lads. We're just going to keep him for ourselves, I'm sure we'll find a use for him." Arthur's eyes widened in a mixture of horror and anger, but a kick to the side caused any attempt at getting up to be rendered useless as he fell onto his side. With his hands still bound, there wasn't a lot he could do as the men surrounded him, all lashing out at the prince of Camelot. It wasn't every day one of the men responsible for them being outcasts in the first place was completely at their mercy with no one even knowing that he was missing.
They were wrong.
Arthur was curled on to his side in a desperate attempt to protect his stomach from the hard kicks that were driving into him when he heard a familiar noise. It was so faint, so quiet, that he couldn't be sure whether he had truly heard it or whether he had just received one too many blows to the head. But when one of the men fell back with a cry, a crossbow bolt lodged in his side, Arthur knew that he was not imagining it.
"Let him go." The voice was quiet and deadly, and Arthur found that he almost sobbed in relief. There was a flurry of activity going on around him as the bandits began to spread out to take on the new threat, but Arthur couldn't see what was happening from his disadvantage on the floor. He could hear the sounds of fighting going on all around him, and as one man fell to the floor directly in front of him, Arthur knew that his rescuer had the upper hand. After all, when prepared for battle, no one could truly defeat a Knight of Camelot, Hector had just been cornered. And if there was one thing Arthur was sure about, it was that Leon was not going to let anything else happen to him. The leader of the bandits, however, did not seem to realise that as he crouched down next to the fallen prince once more.
"You think you can escape with humiliating me in front of my own men just because you are some stuck-up prince?" Even if Arthur could answer, he wouldn't have done, but settled for just glaring at the man, trying to hide the flicker of fear he could feel running through him when the man once more drew a knife out. The sounds of the battle going on around him, the hoarse cries coming from the bandits as they fell one by one, seemed to be drowned out as the blade was placed against Arthur's neck.
"Let's see how your father copes without his precious heir." Arthur didn't even dare swallow, feeling the blade already pressing deep within his skin. He couldn't risk moving in the slightest, knowing that even a squirm could result in his death. But it was only then, as the knife was sunk even deeper into the vulnerable skin, did Arthur realise it had fallen silent. There were no more bandits yelling, no more attempts to fight back. There was no one left in order to fight back, and when the man in front of him suddenly froze, Arthur knew it was over.
The knife was dropped from his hand as the man slowly stood up. He turned slightly as he did so, letting Arthur see the cold steel of a sword in-between the man's shoulder blades and revealing for the first time Arthur's hero. He may have already known who it was, but that didn't stop sheer relief crashing over him at seeing Leon standing there, seemingly unharmed apart from a gash down his left arm. The man kept his sword on the bandit with unnerving precision as he echoed Arthur's actions and glanced down at the prince. Whilst he may have been unharmed, Arthur had not fared so well and the knight growled at the bruises he could already see forming and the blood almost trickling into Arthur's eyes from a cut on his forehead.
Leon's face completely darkened, and even Arthur was surprised by the change that had come over the man. He was left bound on the floor whilst the knight forced the bandit to move, clearly wanting him out of Arthur's eye line. The prince still winced when he heard a swish, a yell and a sickening thud. He knew the bandit wouldn't touch him again.
"Arthur? Look at me, Arthur, focus..." Suddenly, Leon was back in front of him again and Arthur realised that he hadn't even seen the man move. He let out a muffled sound and wrenched furiously on the ropes. He didn't know where this sudden desperation to be free came from, but Leon dropped to his knees in front of the prince, teasing out the gag and reaching behind him in order to free his hands. As soon as he felt the ropes go, Arthur leapt to his feet and rushed over to Hector, even though he knew it was too late for the man. With a shaking hand, he softly closed the man's eyes, grief making his head bow.
"How did this happen?" He yelled, feeling Leon come up behind him. Jumping to his feet, he spun around sharply, but the knight was expecting the outburst and just caught Arthur's flying fists gently. Arthur tried to pull away, tried to force the man to let go, but when Leon did no such thing, he eventually sagged slightly, feeling the world lurch alarmingly. There was a comforting arm around his shoulders, encouraging him to lean on Leon whilst he tried to stop his spinning vision.
"The others are on their way, they'll bring him home." The knight murmured softly, beginning to lead Arthur away from the scene. He knew the young man was not used to situations like this, that he wasn't quite sure how to react. Arthur may have done well in training, but he had never really been in a battle before, especially not one where he had lost and been forced to watch a friend die. Arthur stumbled a few steps, and then seemed to look around him properly.
"You killed them all." He muttered; his voice shocked and hollow as he took in the scene. He felt Leon tense against him and then the man gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"I promised that I would always want you back in Camelot. Bit hard to do if you go and get yourself kidnapped." Arthur couldn't suppress the smile at the knight's light-hearted tone. It was nothing to do with not taking the situation seriously or anything like that. He was simply trying to make Arthur feel better, and the prince appreciated it more than words could say as he let the man lead him from the clearing, guiding his shaky legs back towards Camelot.
He knew he would always be able to count on Leon to bring him home again.
MMM
The sun was shining brightly the next morning, and Arthur breathed in deeply, letting the fresh air flood his lungs. They had made it back to Camelot in almost record speed, passing the rest of the Knights heading out to the scene on the way. Arthur couldn't face them though, knowing one of their own had died to protect him. Leon seemed to know what was going through his head and after exchanging a few words, focused on getting Arthur back.
He had been practically dragged to Gaius', the old man immediately going off on a rant about Arthur always getting himself hurt. Hector wasn't mentioned, even though Arthur had definitely overheard Leon telling the physician roughly what had happened. But hearing Gaius fuss over him and cuff him lightly over the head when he tried to move away from the man's probing fingers made Arthur smile softly, and he hadn't even noticed that he had fallen asleep.
He had been lucky, once the cut on his forehead had been cleaned; most of the other injuries were hidden under his clothing and when some of the young nobles asked Arthur to join them out in the courtyard, the prince agreed. He could do with getting out, and now he was glad he had as he flicked a throwing knife into his hand.
"Don't stop!" He called to the servant he had managed to get to carry the target. He knew that Leon would disapprove if he saw what kind of training Arthur was taking part in, especially as he had always claimed that servants had to be treated just as well as the knights. But Arthur didn't care, he needed something to relieve the pain he could feel burning deep within him, and practicing his aim felt like a good way of doing it. At least that way, he could make sure no bandit ever managed to sneak up on him again.
"That's enough, my friend, you've had your fun."
Arthur froze from where he had been about to throw the final knife and slowly turned to face the newcomer. A young man, a few years younger than him by the looks of it. The blue eyes looking at him in disbelief and a hint of anger seemed familiar, the way his hair fell and his general stance. Arthur was sure he had seen him somewhere before.
"Do I know you?"
"I'm Merlin."
"Is it time to go home, Merlin?" Another voice was ringing through Arthur's head as the man spoke, a memory playing in his mind. He knew there was something familiar about him, something that Arthur felt like he could relate too. As the rest of the memory showed Arthur exactly who this stranger was, he couldn't help but smile softly. He somehow got the feeling that this lanky youth would be someone who would understand.
After all, Arthur wasn't the only one to have run away all those years ago.
"So I do know you." Taking a step towards him, Arthur could see by the slight confusion in his expression that he didn't have the same memory of the event as Arthur did. But there was still the same defiance in his eyes as all those years ago, the same expression that showed he neither knew nor cared who Arthur was, just what he was doing.
Little did he know that it was his words about Leon wanting him back that had caused a sullen ten-year old to finally begin to accept his place as prince of Camelot. Even before knowing about their destiny, Merlin had been setting it on the right path.