Guess by the name for this chapter what happens... With a funny moment at the end.

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Merlin scanned the forest ground for any sign of animal life, hoping that he could find something easy to catch. The game had started half an hour ago and he only had an hour and a half to go before he had to return to Camelot's gates with every dead animal that he had caught. Sun crawled through the trees; lighting up the forest and making the damp area seem a lot less unhappy. Merlin had deliberately come to an area that he knew. It had once been a secret area that no one had known about, until one day he, Arthur and the knights had come along hunting. Merlin had decided that Mixed Ball could not be a worse game and neither was sword fighting.

The worst, was hunting.

Merlin knew that he had the upper hand in this game, because he and Arthur hunted in the woods of Camelot all the time, and surprisingly enough, Merlin had come to learn some things about where to find which animal and a little bit about tracking them... A little bit. The young Warlock had never been the best at hunting, mainly because he did not have the heart to kill the animals, which he was going to have to do. Merlin sighed as he moved a bit closer in the direction he though he saw a dear go. He didn't like that fact that he was going to have to kill it, but if he wanted to win the game, he would have too. He jumped down off a log into a small clearing. The sun shone down nicely in this one particular area, and Merlin took a moment to bathe in the sun's warm glow. Merlin walked forward a bit more, so he was nearly in the middle of the clearing where there was the most sun.

Something caught Merlin's eye.

Merlin snapped round to where he saw something move. It was just was like a shadow, but it moved and it moved fast. He started for a moment, trying to see it again. Snap, went a branch somewhere from behind Merlin. He quickly turned round, trying to see the animal. Snap, snap, snap, went more branches from somewhere on Merlin's left. The young Warlock turned, trying to keep up with where the animal was. Whatever it was, it was circling him, circling him, before it makes its attack. Snap... Snap... Snap, snap, went twigs from Merlin's right. Violently, he turned desperately to stare into the darkness of the bush, seeking for any signs of what animal may be watching him.

Suddenly, a baby dear, burst out of the bushes and ran towards Merlin. It calmed its speed and stopped at Merlin's feet, sniffing his shoes, not afraid. Sighing relaxingly, Merlin kneeled down and stroked the baby calf's head. Despite the Games Of All, having to hunt and do other crazy tasks, Merlin suddenly felt as if everything around him had slowed down and stopped for him. Merlin stroked the calf under the chin, where its whole body sloped down into him. The dear wasn't scared of him at all. However, as Merlin stared into the calf's eyes, he knew that the calf wasn't just not scared of him...

It was dead...

The young Warlock dropped the animals head and it slumped towards the floor. A knife was half way into the back of the calf's head. Merlin jumped up and backed away, hand to his mouth.

"Seems you've found my kill," said a voice from the shadows. "And it seems I've found another," the stranger said, stepping out into the light. It was Maris. Fear suddenly gripped Merlin, as he knew the man wasn't afraid to kill.

Maris ran at Merlin, slamming into his body and forcing him backwards until Merlin's back collided with a tree. The thin tree rattled and shacked, causing leaves to tumble to the ground, dancing around the two men like butterflies. Maris then grabbed Merlin's collar and threw him to the floor face first. Merlin looked up and saw the calf's dead body, looking blurry because of Merlin's sight. Blood trickled down slowly out of Merlin's nose. Maris grabbed Merlin by his jacket and swung him up against the tree, about a foot off the ground.

"Listen here Worm, you stay out of my Grandmother's way and I might kill you quickly," said the beast of a man, pointing one short, fat finger at his bleeding nose.

"Maris means Song Bird, and you call me Worm. You're the predator and I'm the prey. You're the hunter and I'm the dear... You're the bird and I'm the worm," Merlin said, trying to think of a way out of this. The bird always eats the worm.

"Yah, you got it," he said, thrusting Merlin painfully up the tree higher. "And if you dare lay a finger of harm on my Grandmother, I will make your death the slowest and most painfullest death that there ever was, okay?" he said threateningly.

"Okay," Merlin said, nodding his head fiercely. Maris dropped him to the floor; his butt hit the solid ground with a hard thud. Merlin watched as Maris picked up the calf's lifeless body and slung it over his shoulder as if it was a rucksack.

Merlin sat there for a while, thinking about everything Maris had just said.

Merlin burst into Dennis's room without knocking. He had come straight from the hunting game with nothing, but didn't care one bit. He couldn't kill an animal like Arthur could. He was a farming boy, not a hunting one. Dennis looked up from his papers and studied Merlin.

"Arthur's right, you never knock."

"I want out in these games," demanded Merlin

"You look like you've run into a brick wall then rolled down a muddy hill," replied Dennis

"I don't want any more of this, banish me from Camelot for all I care."

"Did the hunting go well?"

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Take that as a no... No, I'm not listening to you."

"But you just answered my question so you must have!" Merlin said, throwing his arms in the air in frustration. "I. Want. Out!"

"You. Can't. Have. Out!" Dennis said, mocking Merlin. Merlin stared at him blankly.

"I want out, Dennis. I'm battered, I'm bruised and I'm tired. I just don't care for these... stupid games anymore, I hadn't from the beginning. I just don't understand why I have to be at the centre of it all just because I'm Arthur's servant. I mean, next you'll be telling me I have to sword fight as well," he said staring at Dennis, his deep blue eyes burrowing into him. Dennis sighed.

"Merlin, as Arthur's servant you've got a duty to Camelot and this comes into it. I know you're battered, I know you're bruised and I know you're tired. However, you've fought bravely by Arthur's side in... Far worse things - the dragon, the troll, the goblin, Morgana and being accused of magic numerous of times, just to name a few. You've survived all that, why not this?" Dennis said meaningfully. Merlin slightly and couldn't believe what he had just heard. The bravest servant, the maddest man (tying with many of the knights), the cheekiest monster (tying with Gwaine) and a woman magnet from heaven... had just said something wise. "And anyway, look at all the gifts we get as a pair," he said, nodding to a pile of bread, cheeses, fruit, flowers and many empty wine bottles. "Oh, and you do have to sword fight." Merlin went red.

"The women get an easier job!"

"Go be a woman then and go do their job then!" Dennis roared back.

"FINE!" Merlin shouted his reply before storming out of the room.

Merlin whisked faster and faster at the cream. He had been doing it for the past ten minutes and he couldn't feel his wrist any more. He wiped his brow and checked on the chicken quickly. Seeing it doing fine, he gave the cream to a maid and started on the strawberries... which he was meant to have started on around five minutes ago. He chopped them neatly, but quickly. He then carried them over to another maid to put them on a cake. He then dodged back to the chicken. Merlin took it out carefully and placed it on a kitchen surface. A maid rushed over and took it away. He then walked over to the cake again and started to help put the icing on it. Finishing his side of the cake, Merlin made his way over to another work surface in the kitchen to help Gwen cut up a bunch of herbs.

"Twenty minutes!" a voice boomed over the kitchen. The serving maids started to work faster. Merlin turned to Gwen.

"It take it back, you're games are harder and I'm not just saying that because I can't cook! I get battered and bruised and you're under an unbelievable amount of stress!" Merlin hissed at her as he tried not to cut his fingers with the sharp blade. Suddenly, the head chef slapped Merlin round the head.

"Less talking more cooking," she instructed fierily.

Merlin went straight back to work, deep in thought about what Maris had said... and swearing never to offer to help with the girl's games again.

Before you ask, we have met Maris's Grandmother, but I haven't said that she is his Grandmother, and Merlin hasn't met her either so knew nothing of what Maris was saying.

The action kicks off in the next chapter…

Review please!