Please review/critique. Thanks.
Chapter Seven
A thick matting of mingled pine needles, broken twigs, dead and rotting leaves, and lichen muffled the prince's footsteps as he entered the forest. He listened to the night sounds needing to separate them in his mind from any sound the two men were making. He heard the rustling of some small animal, possibly a raccoon or possum, the screech of an owl, and somewhere far off, the mournful howl of a wolf. As he moved silently through the oak and pine, he reflected briefly on the irony of tracking friends instead of enemies. Finally, he heard a faint voice in the near distance - Merlin's - and he slowed, careful not to snap any fallen branches with his boots.
The warlock was concluding a recital of the previous day's misadventures. Lancelot was trying to read the inscription on the bracelet but it was too dark. "I could use your blue orb of light, Merlin." Arthur was startled. The blue orb -?
"We both know that's not going to happen," Merlin said, bitterly. "Oh, it's in Latin, so it wouldn't do you any good anyway. Er, you can't read Latin, can you?"
"No such luck."
"Gaius went to get it translated from Geoffrey this morning, but the royal prat dragged me out of bed and practically threw me on a horse." Arthur's eyes narrowed from where he stood concealed by several trees.
Little alarm bells had been going off for some time in the back of Lancelot's mind. "Merlin," he said, slowly, "what does Arthur think the bracelet is doing to you?"
The warlock groaned. He hadn't seen the danger coming from that direction. "He came to Gaius' chambers yesterday in some kind of strange mood. He asked me if the band was hurting me. I said no." There was a little silence between the two men. "Something was bothering him though."
"Is it doing anything else to you?" the knight asked.
"Well, yes, it's making me weaker."
"Maybe you should tell Arthur that."
"I think he already knows," Merlin replied. "He stood behind me when I got back on Orion earlier."
"I told you Arthur cares about you. I don't think he would ever hurt you."
Merlin answered with a shrug which the prince did not see in the darkness.
"Well, I've done my part," Lancelot said with a smile. "I disappeared for a while after you healed my broken arm."
"Don't think I didn't notice."
Broken arm? Arthur thought back, remembering. Lancelot had been injured when the lake monster had smashed into their little boat. Merlin had come after them by himself in the middle of the night. He must have healed Lance on the island. Arthur's hand moved of its own volition to his neck. He had been puzzled when the knife wound had healed in less than a day. He had laid down for a brief nap before dinner…. A small groan escaped him. Merlin had knocked his hand down later when he had tried to touch his neck. He must have healed it while he was sleeping.
"We need to get back before Arthur wakes up and finds you missing," Lancelot said.
"You've never tried to wake him up in the morning, have you?" Merlin said, with a snicker.
"He's not sleeping in his own bed in his father's castle," Lancelot replied. "That makes a big difference."
"I know."
Arthur eased back from cover and turned to retrace his steps as quietly as he could. He needed to be in bed 'asleep' before Merlin stepped around (on?) his bedding. Moments later, he nodded casually to Elyan still on sentry duty and noted with considerable satisfaction Gwaine snoring away. He glanced at the other figures sleeping peacefully but failed to notice Lord Torr watching him through slitted eyes.
Arthur had barely laid down when Merlin emerged from the woods alone. He picked his way slowly in Arthur's direction. Clumsy, this time from fatigue, Merlin tripped over Arthur's feet and fell to his hands and knees. Arthur sat up, giving his best impression of someone awakened from a deep sleep. "Merlin?" he mumbled, "what are you doing up?" He would have said more but he didn't trust himself not to bust out laughing.
"Sorry, Arthur. Nothing." Finding it too much of an effort to stand back up, Merlin crawled on his hands and knees over to his bedroll where he fell on his face.
Whatever the boy's shortcomings as a servant, Arthur reflected, he more than made up for it in entertainment value.
A few moments later, Lancelot slipped back into camp. Elyan was finding his stint at sentry duty unusually eventful.
Much earlier, at the castle
"Merlin! Geoffrey has translated the inscription for you." Gaius returned to his chambers in a good mood which soon dissipated. The physician climbed the few steps to the little room to find it empty. The blanket from the bed was strewn on the floor, along with Merlin's night clothes. It wasn't much of an effort to work out what had happened. Arthur.
The prince better keep him safe, Gaius thought grimly.
a/n: This chapter makes reference to two of my previous stories - "Mountain Pass" and "Black Opal."
