Disclaimer: I don't own BBC Merlin. Or the third season because it isn't out in Canada yet. Soon though...soon. The only thing I own are my original characters.
Warnings: Just T-rated violence and some adult themes. Nothing graphic though! Just suggestive as per the rating guidelines. If enough people think I should move it to M, I will, but I don't think it'll be a problem.
Thank you readers, favouriters, and alerters! And to Kitty O, DragonflyonBreak, Felicity P, irezel, sarajm, Hiding in the Shadow, fairy goatmother, godsdaughter77, Paralelsky, TeganL74, MamzelleHermy, and Drakan772 for the reviews!
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The sky above the forest was a brilliant yellow, the sunlight dancing for the last time before preparing to turn in for the evening. Merlin had to squint his eyes but he did not want to stop looking at the beautiful sky. But he had work to do so he sighed and rubbed his mud caked hands together. The dirt from the wood was ingrained in his skin, and looked like it was going to be there forever. But he carried on and grabbed the next chunk of wood from Eadric who was in front of him and then passed it to a woman named Beth behind him. They made a line from one woodpile to the cart to be taken back to Camelot and had been at it for four hours now. His arms were hurting but he could not deny that many hands made light work- they had made considerable progress on this woodpile.
Merlin extended one arm automatically to receive the next log, not really paying attention. "Oof!" He dropped the heavy chunk of wood. Eadric snickered, his black curls shaking around his head while Merlin hurried to pass it to Beth without changing pace. "You could have warned me," Merlin said dryly and this time gave his full attention to the burly knight who was using his left hand to grip the pieces of wood as his right arm was held in a sling. "I don't have huge hands like you do."
"Oh, my most humble apologies my lord," Eadric grinned. Taking advantage of a hold up further down the line to cuff Merlin lightly on the head. The servant rolled his eyes and peered past the plain clothed knight to view further up the line. They were just inside the forest, and the reaching trees stretched lazily beyond them. It smelled strongly of pine due to the freshly chopped wood; Camelot had needed more after some of the wood stores were burned by Redding three weeks ago. Merlin could see where the bush got thicker and shadow clung to the tightly spaced foliage and trees. He saw that many people up front were gazing into the forest and shifting uneasily.
"Come on! We're almost done mates! And lasses!" Someone called from behind Merlin causing him to jump. Then he gasped when he glimpsed a masked figure walk out from behind the trees. Beside him Eadric drew his sword with his left hand.
"Everyone back!" The knight ordered and strode forward. Merlin followed behind and muttered a warning to the knight upon seeing that the figure was not alone. The peasants quickly did as asked and stood in a circle with the younger ones in the middle. Merlin looked behind to see that they were being surrounded. The men advancing on the group were clearly a rag tag bunch but all had some sort of covering on their faces to hide their identities. Merlin had to wonder if these were men from the outlying villages, in need of wood. It was not the first time they had come to Camelot, but on those occasions weapons were not brought. Merlin glanced uneasily at the rusty swords and axes the men carried. The one in front stopped several feet from Eadric and his voice carried out strongly from behind the tattered scarf wound around his head.
"We don't want to hurt you folks but we will if we have to!" Merlin did not recognize his drawl which eliminated him as someone from an outlying village. So a bandit then. "Back away from that cart there and head back to Camelot." Eadric glanced sideways at Merlin with a dark expression, both knew that these bandits would not let them live, not when they could go back to Camelot and have knights sent after them. And they would never make it with the cart even if they took the work horse as well.
A buzz of sound enflamed the peasants from Camelot and one woman protested. "But we need this wood! People will freeze this winter if we don't have it!"
The leader gazed coldly at her, prompting the men around to shield her. "Then you'll freeze."
"Listen," Eadric barked, "if you go through with this plan of yours, the knights of Camelot will never let you get away."
The bandits laughed roughly and Merlin was disappointed to hear that not many sounded scared. He spun around slowly, counting fifteen men in all. They were outnumbered by five and Eadric had the only weapon.
But then Merlin didn't need a weapon.
"You really are lazy aren't you?" Merlin called airily. Eadric stiffened and shot him such a dark look Merlin almost felt bad for what he was about to do. But this was his chance to prove that he could look after himself, thank you very much.
The bandits bristled and tightened their grips on their weapons and the warlock carried on before they could attack. "I mean, you have a whole forest of trees here, and yet you try and steal ours." Merlin started to walk forward, taking heed of Eadric's, 'If you die, I'll kill you.'
The peasants murmured fearfully behind him, not understanding why the well mannered Merlin would provoke their foes.
"Do you know who you're talkin' to?"One of the men yelled. He was supported by many angry grunts, and several men took menacing steps forward.
"Sure I do," Merlin grinned, "a bunch of low lives playing dress up, who are so pathetic they can't even cut their own wood."
"I think we'll roast you nice and slow boy," the leader hissed and set forward to advance on Merlin who was now the closest to him. He was followed by five others.
"You won't be able to catch me. If the lot of you look as dumb and slow as you look," Merlin told him amiably. He could see the man's eyes bulge in anger and Merlin sprang forward into a run toward the trees just before he lunged. The dragonlord pumped his legs as fast as they would go and he sprinted to clear the two men converging for him. Merlin's eyes flashed gold and he slowed down time to narrowly duck a sword swing. Time resumed in a rushed flurry of sound and he burst past the thickening trees, his footfalls crashing loudly through the leaves. Fall colours blurred by him as he led the bandits away.
Merlin's breath was loud in his ears and he sent a quick glance behind him to count six pursuers. He grinned at the hot adrenaline burning through his veins giving him the strength to outrun the bigger men. He hoped that Eadric and the rest of the group would be able to get the upper hand now that the numbers were even- he knew that Eadric would make short work of at least a few even with using the wrong sword arm.
But Merlin had to get these six as far as possible from the group. He weaved past the trees, his hands springing off them to maintain balance. The outraged shouts were getting closer and Merlin glanced back to assess their distance. At once he went flying when his attention was caught by a flying axe soaring toward his head. He hit the ground hard, grazing his palms and knees but shot up again quickly when the axe thudded on the ground in front of him. Merlin put on a spurt of speed to turn widely, changing his plan upon seeing two dead birch trees. With a golden flare of his eyes Merlin hissed, "Forbærnen firgenholt!" The trees he rushed past groaned and splintered loudly, hurtling to the ground. The sound boomed through the forest and they hit the forest floor and shook the earth, nearly sending Merlin on his knees once more.
Merlin's throat and chest burned as his lungs heaved in air, getting ready to turn and take care of the remaining men. But his foot did not meet the ground as expected and instead plunged into a rabbit hole, twisting his ankle with a loud crack and sending him sprawling down. Merlin cried out and pushed off the ground again, only to put too much weight on his foot which caused him to collide with the forest floor again.
The bandits laughed cruelly as they surrounded him and Merlin noted that their number was two less. "We're going to skin you alive boy," one of them growled. The warlock spotted a thick branch lying next to him and managed to grab it in both hands as their leader rushed toward him. Merlin leapt to his knees and used the branch as a shield against the driving axe. With a whispered incantation, Merlin strengthened the wood so it wouldn't break and he took advantage of the man's surprise to take a strong swipe at his hands, sending the axe flying. Merlin then hit the bandit with the branch so forcefully he lost his balance and fell backwards.
The warlock was just about to try and get to his feet when a sword stabbed downwards through the fallen leader's heart. Merlin sat breathing heavily, supporting himself with his arms behind him, quickly taking in the bodies of the three other bandits. His blue eyes looked up to the man that saved him. Merlin first noticed that he had a messy head of red hair and then that he had earthy brown eyes inset on a pale face.
"Thank you," Merlin said, "I'm –"
"You are Merlin!" The man exclaimed surprised. Merlin frowned. "It is good to see that you are well." The man grinned and sheathed his sword before extending a hand to Merlin. The warlock gratefully took it but found his ankle throbbed viciously when he tried to put weight on it.
"Do I know you?" Merlin asked suspiciously, trying to hide a wince.
"My name is Pellias. It is an honour," Pellias said and shook his hand strongly.
Merlin's mouth dropped open, remembering Arthur telling him of the Escetian knight.
"The Pellias who helped Arthur into the-the fort?" Merlin had to make sure.
Pellias smiled and nodded. "I must say I am relieved to see you alive. But tell me, why were those bandits chasing you?"
Merlin became rigid and looked in the direction of where Eadric was, where he could hear no more screams. "They attacked us I have to– ah!" Merlin tried to run forward only to be caught by Pellias when his ankle gave out.
The knight's face turned grave and he whistled to the trees. "How many were there?"
Merlin blinked and stared in the direction Pellias was looking. He could see nothing through the trees. "Fifteen, but I managed to get six away. I hope the others are..." Merlin trailed off upon seeing the large dark bay horse trotting through the trees.
The horse stopped before Pellias and then looked toward the newcomer. He blinked when he saw Merlin, and gave a short whinny. The warlock remembered the horse whom he had called Oliver and could not help his heart from sinking. While he knew it wasn't the horse's fault, Merlin associated it with Driscoll- this was the horse who took him to the fort.
"This is Oliver," Pellias told him and patted the horse's neck. "Wouldn't answer to anything but actually. Here, get on and we'll ride to your friends."
If Merlin could have, he would have backed away, but Pellias firmly held him in place which did nothing for his trepidation. "No"
Merlin errantly thought that he couldn't remember actually calling the horse Oliver out loud. But he was too preoccupied with fighting down unwanted memories to give it much thought. Pellias gave him a perplexed look. "You can't walk, and your friends are in danger aren't they?" There was a frown in the former knight's tone.
Merlin swallowed and thought of Eadric and his arm, and Helen who never knew when to stop talking, and Niall who was still just a boy, and of all the others he had been working with for weeks. The warlock nodded and ruthlessly pushed away his fear. Merlin did not see his face pale or feel the subtle shake of his hands but Pellias noticed and chose not to comment on it. The red haired man climbed onto Oliver and held his hand out for Merlin to take. The young man did not hesitate and put his good foot in the stirrup, swinging his other leg over the saddle, coming to sit in front of the former knight. "Hang on," Pellias warned before he gained a speedy pace through the trees.
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Arthur found Lancelot patrolling the west gate with Cadmon. The prince walked alone through the gate, passing under the shadow of the wall and into the rosy gold light of the setting sun. Arthur could still hear the sounds of the city which gave him a small comfort. Lancelot saw him first and called a greeting quickly followed by Cadmon. They nodded their heads respectfully when they stopped in front of him but the glower remained on Arthur's face.
"Is something the matter Sire?" Cadmon asked first.
The prince glanced at the grey haired knight before looking back at Lancelot. "I need to speak with you."
Lancelot looked confused at his serious tone. "Of course. Arthur what is it?"
"About Merlin."
Both Lancelot and Cadmon stood straighter causing Arthur to narrow his eyes suspiciously at the older knight. "I want the truth."
"Surely you could ask Merlin then, Sire," Cadmon pointed out. The knight looked unruffled but Arthur was not fooled.
The prince gritted his teeth, not expecting anyone else besides Lancelot to know of Merlin's deeds. "Looks like it isn't just Lancelot I need answers from is it Cadmon?"
The green eyed knight frowned sternly and his stare told Arthur he was not impressed with his tone. "You know something about Merlin that I don't," Arthur said to Lancelot, "both of you do. The defeat of the immortal army was Merlin's doing wasn't it? He emptied the blood from the cup of life."
Both knights did not look surprised at his deductions, only resigned. "And you helped him."
Lancelot glanced at the ground before meeting Arthur's gaze firmly. "I could not with good conscience let him do it alone for that was his plan."
The prince's eyes flashed and he barely managed to keep still. "And you did not tell me. Why?" Arthur did not care that his voice was raised. "What did Merlin do?"
"He saved us all Sire," Lancelot said strongly. His dark eyes were shining and his brow was turned down in order to hide his worry.
"I realize that," Arthur spat, "you two went against an army by yourselves which you should have talked him out of. But you did not tell anyone and there has to be a reason why!"
Silence reigned and Arthur breathed in heavily, too incensed to try and speak without yelling. "Arthur," Cadmon started quietly, directing the prince's attention. "You know what is in his blood, and know just as much as he does about it." Arthur felt his fury cool at the prospect of gaining answers. He did not notice Lancelot staring at Cadmon curiously and not a little bit worried.
"I know not how he defeated the soldiers on the way to the cup but I strongly suspect it had to do with his powers. You know Merlin, he would not burden his friends with something like that. Especially if he did not understand it himself, if he feared it."
Arthur collected his thoughts and readied them, but first he looked to Lancelot. "How did you two go through the soldiers. You encountered them I expect."
Lancelot licked his lips but took hope in the fact that they were talking about two different things, one of which Arthur accepted. "We did Sire. But when Merlin was able to strike one with his sword, they just burst apart."
"What?"
"He could hardly believe it himself, I assure you," Lancelot said, not lying, but not telling the complete truth either- though Arthur was not to know that.
"A sword," Arthur asked warily.
"It was just a sword, Sire." Technically true.
"So he went and risked himself, not knowing if his dragonlord abilities would work? Again?" Arthur asked sharply. "He should have realized he could have told me," he added coldly. The knights knew him too well and heard the hurt in his voice.
"Arthur," Lancelot sighed, hiding the sudden gleam in his eyes, "It was awfully close to sorcery, he did not want to tell you so soon after..."
"But it wasn't! And he isn't evil, he's not Morg- he should have told me." Arthur cast his eyes at the nearby trees moodily and in doing so he missed Lancelot's brief smile. He opened his mouth again but faltered when a running figure burst out of the dark trees ahead of them.
Arthur recognized her as one of the girls helping with one of the wood piles. He immediately started toward her when the girl stumbled when she caught sight of him and cried out in relief. Arthur went faster upon noticing her stricken expression. Cadmon and Lancelot followed, all of them dismissing the conversation they had for now. The girl tripped and Arthur dashed to catch her, trying to steady her panicked form.
"There are bandits! At the wood pile, they're attacking!" She gasped and clung tight to Arthur's wrists. "Merlin ran off to lead some away and Sir Eadric is fighting but they have weapons and-"
"How many?" Arthur cut in, eyeing the forest. He swiftly pushed down the worry clawing at his gut.
"Fif- fifteen. But Merlin got six of- of them away, he got them angry!" She cried, "He was r-running, but they were catching up and I- I don't know if he's alright. He's alone, and- they have weapons!" She said between gasps.
"Helen right?" Arthur said between gritted teeth and she nodded frantically. "Go get help, everything will be alright." He gave her a gentle push toward the gates before running to the forest. He did not need to call Lancelot and Cadmon for them to follow. The stray branches tried to hamper their speed but the knights pushed on, only running faster when they heard the screams up ahead. "Come on!" Arthur urged his knights, worry and fear working as a boost. Fear for his people, for Eadric, and for Merlin.
The screaming stopped shortly before they reached the woodpile and Arthur feared the worst for a few horrible moments. His sky blue eyes assured them that none of the bodies on the ground were one of his, and then they centered on Eadric who was on his knees and clutching his arm to his chest. "Eadric!" Arthur and Cadmon shouted. The prince hurried to the knight, looking at everyone's relieved faces as they did- all of them had chunks of wood in their hands and some were bloody. Arthur leapt over the corpse in front of the knight and knelt beside Eadric who grinned painfully at him.
"You missed all the fun," he said while wincing. "Merlin, the idiot provoked some of them and ran that way." Eadric nodded his head to the north east. Arthur's eyes darkened and just before he was about to get up his head snapped up as the sound of a trotting horse filtered into his hearing. His hand kept Eadric in place on the ground and his other hand reached for his sword. But when he seen who it was riding on the horse that came into their sight, Arthur immediately sprang up. "Merlin!" The Prince hurried toward his friend and caught him just as he dismounted and fell over his ankle. Arthur gave a cursory glance over him and was pleased to find no injuries but was worried at the paleness of his skin.
"Hey Arthur," he greeted with a barely noticeable tremor in his voice. Arthur noticed that his hands were shaking slightly. He guided Merlin hastily behind him to view the other man who got off the horse and his mouth promptly dropped open in surprise.
"Pellias?" He gaped, "What are you doing here?"
"Hello Prince Arthur," he smiled and greeted. "I heard the news about Cenred's army and came as quickly as possible...Your friend certainly gets himself into trouble doesn't he?"
"Trouble follows him everywhere," Arthur said blandly and turned to Merlin who had a hand on his shoulder and using him for balance. "Are you alright Merlin?"
"Fine, other than my ankle," Merlin told him while scanning the faces of those standing. His face relaxed with relief upon realizing that everyone was still alive. But then he noticed Eadric and Arthur had to lead him over or let him fall on his face trying to get to the knight.
"It is good to see you back, you would have been a great pain to go after," the knight laughed gruffly.
"You're hurt." Merlin ignored him.
Eadric allowed Cadmon to pull him to his feet. "Well I may have punched someone and slowed my recovery."
"I'm sorry," Merlin said genuinely feeling guilty which caused Eadric to glower at him.
"Do you know how reckless your little stunt was?" He then turned to Arthur. "He purposely insulted fifteen men to their faces, I'm surprised more didn't run after him!"
"Yes, he's far too reckless for his own good," Arthur mimicked Lancelot's words from before and sent Merlin a glare.
"Oh please, like any of you are better," Merlin said to all who had disproving expressions on their faces.
"But we have something to back it up with, unlike you Merlin," Arthur taunted, well aware of the accuracy of that statement. But Merlin was still pale and Arthur knew his friend.
"No, you see, you may have muscle but you lack a brain. I have much superior wit than you do Sire," Merlin grinned and drew out the last word. "And can easily outsmart my enemies."
Pellias eyed Merlin and raised his eyebrow but said nothing nor did he have to.
"So I assume you breaking your ankle was all a part of your infallible plan? You just knew that Pellias was going to save you?"
"I never said it was broken," Merlin mumbled but did not deny the statement. He then frowned at Arthur and at Lancelot who was looking dubiously at him. "Of course. And I never said Pellias saved me...thank you by the way."
"It was my pleasure," Pellias inclined his head, mostly to hide his smile.
"Well he certainly has a knack for it," Eadric cut in, "Alright Pellias?"
The red haired man grinned and walked over to the burly knight. Arthur looked at Merlin suspiciously when the dragonlord stiffened and eyed the passing horse guardedly. "Sir Eadric." He offered his hand a little hesitantly and was unsurprised when the knight shook it vigorously. "Sir Cadmon," he then greeted the older knight.
"It is good to see you well," Cadmon said.
Pellias then turned to Lancelot who spoke first. "Pleased to meet you, I am Lancelot."
"Likewise. Pellias."
"Alright!" Merlin called out. "Now that that's all done, can we go now? I'd rather not use a prat sized walking stick."
Many of the peasants murmured to each other surprised at Merlin's blatant rudeness.
"Well unfortunately Merlin," Arthur began and slung his arm under Merlin's and around his back. "That's what you are going to get. Everyone back to Camelot!"
Lancelot and Cadmon walked in front, ahead of Arthur and Merlin. Pellias offered his horse to Merlin but Arthur declined saying the idiot would be walking on his own one foot. The peasants came after and Pellias and Eadric followed behind.
When they passed through the gates, Merlin switched from teasing Arthur to turning serious. "I'm in trouble aren't I?"
"You haven't a clue, you really don't," Arthur warned.
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I got a line from Lord of the Rings, the one where Eadric says to Merlin that he would have been a great pain to go after.
And yes the character Helen is named after HELEN. Are you still around? Is she still around? Does anyone know?
Forbærnen firgenholt- Burn mountain wood
Thanks for reading and please review if you enjoyed it :)
*Next time- Chapter5: Poison*