Disclaimer – I do not own Merlin
Chapter 4 – To find our way back
A/N: BTW forget anything ever happened between Gwen and Arthur because it hasn't in this
Also again thank you so much for the reviews and alerts and everything else, it makes me want to write sooo much more
This was meant to be uploaded last night but FF was being silly and wouldn't let me!
Anyway... on with the story...
Merlin spun round and chased after Arthur who was swordless and running straight towards the archers. Before he could do anything, the prince had thrown himself onto one of the men, and was now punching him in the face, fists bare. Merlin was glad to see Arthur was his normal self, but as he watched; his friend was punched back in the stomach, making Merlin topple over backwards which caused several of the tents to come crashing down with a domino effect.
Scrambling clumsily back to his feet Merlin rushed over to where Arthur was fighting moments before to see the scene deserted. Panic rose in the pit of Merlin's stomach, he couldn't quite understand where the Prince had gone. Relief filed him as he realised that Arthur could not have been killed because Merlin would have felt it, but where had the Prince gone? And why had all the archers left?
Fear once again rose at the thought of Arthur being kidnapped and taken away again. It would mean Merlin had limited time to find him before his energy left him, yet at the moment he felt fine apart from the fact he was still slightly winded.
"I did well didn't I Merlin. See, they call the best fighter in Camelot for a reason you know!" Arthur grinned proudly to himself poking his head above the tent two rows away from Merlin, looking slightly dishevelled but otherwise unharmed.
Merlin sighed, relieved that Arthur was ok, and felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. "prat" he muttered under his breath. Merlin was going to say that Arthur killing all four men by himself was amazing, but he thought the prince's head was big enough without Merlin's help.
Suddenly realising where they were as more men began to emerge from the tents to see what all the noise was about, Arthur grabbed Merlin's wrist and began to run pulling his manservant with him. They did not stop until both were completely out of breath and completely lost.
Arthur closed the small gap between him and his manservant so he was standing next to Merlin looking out towards more trees in the direction they believed Camelot to be, until Arthur interrupted it a few minutes later "What happened when your magic knocked us all out?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but I believe it created a special bond between us which can't be broken. We need to get back to Camelot and see what Gaius says about this."
Another minute of silence followed, Arthur considering everything that had happened in the past few days, before Merlin asked "Aren't you mad at me for keeping my magic a secret from you?"
Again there was a pause while Arthur thought about his answer and how he truly felt about Merlin keeping a secret from him, he sighed and replied "No Merlin, I understand that you could not tell me because of my father, and this 'bond' or whatever it is has made me realise that you would never harm me, and that... you are more of a friend to me than anyone has ever been. I am not willing to lose that."
A sheepish grin fluttered across Merlin's face. He was glad of Arthur's acceptance and a reaction that Merlin could have only dreamt about. Lost in his own happiness, he only came back to his senses when Arthur let him go. Merlin's face shone a bright red when he realised that Arthur had just hugged him.
Although the look on Arthur's face was one of joy and wonder, his manservant could not help feeling slightly awkward at that interaction because even though he considered himself and the prince to be friends he did not expect Arthur to show his emotions so freely. Merlin decided that this was probably because of their new bond and chose to overlook this insignificant action.
After a few minutes standing side by side with Arthur beaming with happiness, they set off along the path back to the area in which they hoped their horses were still tethered. They walked in a comfortable silence, Merlin leaving Arthur to think over all that had happened in the past days, when the prince's interest got way too much for him.
"How have you been keeping this secret from everyone Merlin? You're my clumsy manservant, not a mighty sorcerer." Arthur questioned, curiosity seeping into his voice, stopping and turning to look at Merlin ready to listen.
"Well it was either that or I was burnt at the stake and to be perfectly honest I didn't really fancy that." Merlin continued to walk, Arthur bounding after him, eager to find out more. "I only use my magic when needed, normally to save your royal arse." A grin spread across Merlin's face as he remembered all the times he had saved Arthur's life. "It's my destiny to protect you and help you unite Albion, the Great Dragon told me on my first night at Camelot."
"Wait, wait, wait, The Great Dragon? The one I killed?" Arthur's eyes widened at the thought of Merlin actually talked to the dragon that had once attacked Camelot so savagely.
"Yes of course, he has helped me to save your life so many times. You should really thank him when we get back."
"Hang on, I killed that dragon months ago, you were with me you saw it!" Arthur reminded him, wondering how Merlin could not remember this.
"Oh, yeah, about that... he wasn't killed, I let him go because he promised never to attack Camelot again, I just told you that you killed him." Merlin admitted, adding "sorry" on at the end as an afterthought.
"And you just let me take the credit?" Arthur asked incredulously. "How did you control him anyway, you would have to be a dragon lord to..." He trailed off as it dawned on him that Merlin must be a dragon lord. "But that means... that means Balinor was your father? I'm so sorry"
Merlin looked to the floor, shuffling his feet. He didn't want to show Arthur the tears that had begun to well up in his eyes at the mention of his dad, but the prince must had sensed this through the bond because he stepped closer to Merlin and placed a hand on his chin, tilting his head up, smiling warmly.
Merlin wiped his eyes smiling back at Arthur, who patted Merlin on the back and they began to walk. Both the prince and his manservant feeling equally content knowing the truth, and definitely feeling fonder of each other than they did when they set out for the hunting trip.
They made their way back to their horses – who were thankfully still there – with Merlin explaining about this destiny and all of the times he had helped the prince.
They untied their horses and mounted them (thankfully Arthur did not ask Merlin to kneel for him this time) and Arthur lead the way back towards Camelot.
Since night time was fast approaching, the two men were eager to get home before the sun disappeared, not wanting to spend another night out of their beds. Arthur wasn't completely sure where he was going but had a rough idea of where Camelot was and was now quite sure that they were out of Cenrid's kingdom and back in Camelot's own.
When Merlin and Arthur were both sure they knew where they were going and that they would reach Camelot before nightfall they broke into a steady trot quickly reaching the edge of the forest, without anything bad happening (unless of course you counted Merlin's out of tune humming annoying Arthur half to death.)
They raced across the fields, entering the gates to Camelot as the sun was going down. Both men jumped off of their horses and gave them to a passing servant to settle them in their stables for the night and made their way into the castle.
Making the way to Gaius' rooms, they passed by Gwen, who Arthur stopped. "Tell my father we have arrived back safely and that I will speak with him tomorrow as I am tired and need sleep." Arthur ordered. "Oh and get me some food brought up to Gaius' rooms immediately."
"Of course sire." Gwen curtsied and scurried off, looking terrified, to carry out the princes orders, going first to the king (who was not pleased by her news and almost ended up putting her in the stocks) and then to the kitchens.
The prince and his manservant soon after arrived at Gaius room and upon knocking and getting no reply they entered to find his chambers deserted.
A/N: Hope you liked it :D R&R?