A/N: Alright, so you may have noticed that I changed the summary for this story. I was thinking about it a few days ago, and decided that the summary wasn't too much of a summary, so I decided to give you guys more of what a summary is. ^^

Sorry for the wait, again, but I hope you enjoy!


Chapter Seven

Arthur switched from his side to his back, from his back to his other side, and from his other side to his back once again. He opened his eyes in frustration and folded his hands over his chest, lacing his fingers together. He stared up at the branches roping across the star-infested night sky and couldn't help but think about Merlin; the clumsy oaf was exactly what was denying the prince his must-needed slumber. He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep since he settled down for the night almost two hours ago. His fire was still burning brightly, as he had occupied his open time by stoking it a couple of times already because of his restlessness. He was tempted to stoke the flames again at that moment, but decided that he needed to just sit for a moment and allow his mind to wander.

He wished that the last image of Merlin that he had been able to see had been the crooked grin that the prince often saw on the servant's face, instead of the worried look of uncertainty that the teenager had had before riding off with Oliver. Arthur had no idea if he would ever see his erratic friend again, and he wasn't comforted by the fact that that image of Merlin's face might have been the last he would have to remember the man by.

Arthur felt his eyes widen a little, and his breath caught in his throat. He had let the word 'friend' slip by in his mind all too easily, as if he referred to Merlin by that term on a day-to-day basis. He was so used to calling Merlin his manservant, both out loud and in his head, but as he thought about it, Merlin was more than merely his servant… and he had to get the idiot back.

With his mind set and his eyes refusing to close, Arthur was out of his bedroll and tying it back to the back of his saddle along with the rest of his supplies. He then smothered the crackling flames with some dirt, pounding it down with his foot before becoming satisfied. He hoisted himself back up onto his horse and, with two light kicks into her sides, they were walking through the trees again.

His bright blue eyes were kept wide as they darted back and forth, searching for any signs of a continuation of the trail he had found earlier. It was far too dark out for him to have even a hope of seeing any sort of foot or hoof prints in the ground, and he wasn't even sure if he was still going in the right direction that the trail had been leading in earlier. He had no idea if he was getting closer to Merlin or just walking further and further away from him. He figured he had no way of choosing a right or wrong way, and that the smartest thing to do was to just continue on in the direction he had been travelling in earlier, taking no turns whatsoever unless he had to.

He actually felt his eyelids beginning to droop after what he thought had been an hour, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to get very much rest with Merlin's predicament still on his mind. The boy didn't deserve to be in this kind of situation; usually it was Arthur who was in trouble and in need of help – he was the Prince of Camelot, for crying out loud! Merlin was just a… just a servant, to everyone other than Arthur, Gwen, Gaius, and Morgana.

A new wave of worry and regret washed through his very being as Morgana crossed his mind. Such an innocent soul with no ill intentions whatsoever… she didn't deserve to be in the situation that she was in at the moment either! Why couldn't Arthur have been there when Morgause had taken a hold of her? Why couldn't he have stopped her from casting some kind of knockout spell on Morgana? He was sure that's why the King's ward had been unconscious in the witch's arms when Arthur had come back to the Council Chamber. A pang of guilt hit him hard in the stomach as he remembered the vulnerability of Morgana's face as she lied helpless in Morgause's arms…

He shook his head, attempting to rid himself of the horrible memory. He would find both Merlin and Morgana and return them both safely to Camelot. Maybe not at the same time, but he would no matter what. He didn't know why they had been taken or where they were, but at least he knew by whom they were being held.

There was a sound to his right and he whipped his head to the side, stopping his horse. He perked his ears up and narrowed his eyes as he quietly slid out of his saddle, landing with a soft thud in the grass. He slid his sword out of the scabbard connected to his saddle and held it in a defensive position, making his way towards a nearby bush. He moved slowly and quietly, taking each step with caution, and when he approached the bush, he held his sword up so that it was right next to his cheek. He didn't move for a moment, as though he was waiting for something to happen, but suddenly he stabbed his blade into the bush, almost expecting to hear a cry of pain. When he heard nothing, he withdrew his sword from the leaves and moved closer. He peered around the bush and only let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding when there was nothing behind the shrub.

As unexpectedly as a sudden case of hiccups, a dagger came flying towards him from behind. It grazed his left arm before stabbing into the trunk of a nearby tree, catching the prince completely off guard. He spun around on his heel, holding his sword up, and was met by the sight of two large, muscular men, both with no shirts but baggy pants that tucked into loosely laced boots. Both men had a sword in their belt, which they proceeded to pull out for use when Arthur turned to face them, and frustrated scowls on their faces. As Arthur prepared himself to fight them, one of them (presumably the more enforcing one, as he was in front of the other) lifted their scowl into an amused smirk.

"Well lookie here, Garan, the prince has come to save his servant," the large man mocked, and his partner's lips twisted up into a smirk as well. "I wonder just how far he's willing to go to get that boy back…" the man continued as Arthur merely narrowed his eyes.

"Let's see now, then, shall we, Rhydian?" the second man responded, holding his sword up. Arthur's gaze flipped back and forth between the two, but he didn't move his sword at all yet. These kinds of situations required strategy, and strategy required some amount of patience and thought. He had already been presented with the information that these two men knew where Merlin was being held, since that's what they automatically thought Arthur was doing out in the middle of the forest, so he had to do something to make them lead the prince to his friend.

Without any warning whatsoever, both men lunged at the prince, their swords at the ready. Arthur somersaulted out of their way, not allowing his back to be to them for more than a fraction of a second, and already had a clear shot at the one called Garan's back. He raised his sword up just as both men turned towards him again, and launched the blade through the air with as much force as he possibly could. Neither of the men saw it coming, and Garan sure wasn't expecting it when the blade tore through his exposed flesh. Rhydian watched his comrade fall to the ground before his expression angered and he turned back to Arthur.

"You're going to pay for that, whelp," he threatened, raising his sword. Arthur, again, said nothing, and merely narrowed his eyes. He waited for Rhydian to begin charging at him to move at all, and when he did move, he did exactly as he had before; he somersaulted out of the way. Rhydian wasn't so dumb to face away from Arthur again this time, but Arthur wasn't so dumb to believe that the man would. So when Rhydian ran up to Arthur's exposed back and raised his sword, the prince rolled to the side just as his attacker brought his sword down, and jumped to his feet as the blade sliced into the ground. Arthur yanked the dagger that had been thrown at him earlier out of the tree trunk that he rolled next to on purpose and hurled it towards Rhydian, pulling his sword out of Garan's back as the smaller weapon penetrated Rhydian's upper left arm. The man grunted in pain, releasing the hilt of his sword, and didn't notice Arthur jump behind him as he pulled the dagger out of his flesh. He was caught off guard when both of his legs were kicked from behind, bringing him down to his knees.

"You will stay still," Arthur ordered, pressing his sword against the man's back. At first, Rhydian gritted his teeth and made to grab his sword, but when Arthur pressed his blade hard enough into his back to draw blood, the shirtless man held back. "Now get down on your stomach," Arthur commanded, his voice deep and demanding. Rhydian did as the prince told him, a low growl rising in his throat as his face pressed into the still soggy ground. Arthur moved to grab his sword, swiftly pulling it from the ground and holding it, too, to the man's back, before kneeling down with one knee on the man's back.

"Tell me where he is," he instructed darkly, "or I will kill you right now." As if to prove that he wasn't lying, Arthur pressed the blades just a little harder into Rhydian's flesh. The shirtless man grunted in discomfort as he moved his lips out of the grass.

"You don't want to know, boy," he growled, his lip twitching. "My master will tear you to shreds if you even attempt to sneak into our camp."

"So it's a camp," Arthur gathered. "And judging from the fact that you and your accomplice are out in these woods in the middle of the night, I'm guessing you were scouting the area." Rhydian growled again. "Which means your camp shouldn't be too far from here…" Arthur became suddenly silent, looking intently into the dark trees.

"My master is relentless, prince," Rhydian hissed, attempting to look up at Arthur. When the prince didn't answer or acknowledge the man's attempted shift, Rhydian decided that giving the prince the information he needed wouldn't be a bad thing anyway. His master always got his pay where it was due… the crown prince of Camelot wasn't going to change that anytime soon. "You will not be able to retrieve your servant, no matter how hard you try." Arthur remained silent. "But if you wish to get yourself killed, the camp is straight ahead in that direction," the man continued, gesturing with his head towards the very trees that Arthur's eyes had been locked on. "No matter if you know… you will not succeed."

A smirk found its way onto Arthur's face as he said quietly, "Thank you for your help." Rhydian snorted, waiting for the two swords' pressure on his back to disappear. He was completely caught off guard when both blades were shoved through his chest, stabbing into the ground beneath him. He gave a painful wheeze, and didn't draw in another breath. Arthur slid his bloodied blade out of the man's flesh, leaving the man's own sword sticking out of his back, and wiped it on the grass before sliding it into the sheath connected to his belt. He walked over to where his horse stood calmly, chewing at a branch of a tree, and tied the reins to one of the thicker branches. Once he was sure the knot was secure, he turned and walked past both of the fallen men and made his way into the trees.


"I was told by the prince himself that he was going out to meet the group of knights that had gone scouting, sire!" the frightened stable boy cried, tightening his grip on the King's arm, desperately trying to release the man's hold on his neck.

Uther was infuriated as he shook the boy. "Stop lying to me, boy! The knights returned earlier today without the prince with them! Where has he gone?"

Tears sprung in the stable boy's eyes as his attempts to draw in air became more and more difficult. His legs squirmed around in the air as Uther held him up by his throat, not caring at all about the boy's feeble attempts to breathe.

"Sire, please-"

"Do not beg for anything from me!" the King shouted, throwing the boy roughly against the wall of the stable. "Tell me where my son is this instant!" The stable boy cowered under the King's intense stare and didn't hold back the tears that flowed down his cheeks, and Uther screamed at him again. Just as he raised his sword above his head and as the stable boy yelped in fear, Gaius entered the stable and stopped the scene in front of him.

"My lord, what are you doing?" he asked, rushing over to the two of them. Uther didn't lower his sword as he looked over at the physician.

"This… boy will not tell me where Arthur has gone!" he yelled, and Gaius' eyes widened fractionally. He motioned for Uther to put his sword down, going to kneel by the traumatized young stable boy, but the King refused to do so. "My son is missing," he continued, "and this tyrant refuses to tell me the truth!"

"What if he doesn't know the truth, sire?" Gaius asked, looking up into the King's enraged blue eyes.

"He says that Arthur came to the stables for a horse this afternoon and told him that he was riding out to join the group of knights that went scouting yesterday," Uther explained, finally lowering his sword back to his side. "But this can not be the truth; those very knights returned to Camelot a few hours ago and said they hadn't seen the prince since yesterday before they left!"

"My lord, this is all just a big misunderstanding," Gaius tried to tell him. "I spoke with Arthur this afternoon and he told me that he was going out on a solo hunt. He had a bad day in training today and wanted to let off a little steam, that's all." Uther's wide eyes softened barely at Gaius' words.

"Then why is this boy telling me a different story?" he demanded. Gaius looked down into the frightened green eyes of the stable boy, tears still present in them, and then looked back up at Uther's face.

"I don't know," he said truthfully. "Perhaps he merely misheard the prince."

Uther stared down at the trembling stable boy for a short moment, and then sighed. "Very well," he said. "You have always been a trustworthy informant, Gaius." The physician nodded his head in the King's direction and then turned back to the stable boy.

"Go home now, young man," he told him quietly. "You are no longer needed here." With a few quick nods and bow towards the King, the stable boy got to his feet and hurried out of the stables. Gaius pushed himself back to his feet as well as Uther slid his sword into the scabbard at his side.

"You should not get so angry with boys at such a young age," Gaius advised him. "The poor boy was shaking more than was probably healthy for him."

"He lied to me," Uther stated, turning towards the exit.

"He did not know that he was lying," Gaius continued, walking at the King's side out into the cool night air. "He was told what he was by the prince. Arthur did seem a little worked up, perhaps he was speaking a bit too quickly when he told the boy what he did. And the look on your face probably made the boy too scared to remember coherently."

"I am the King and I will find out the answers I need in any way I possibly can," Uther said. Gaius sighed and decided to give up on that approach. The elder was just happy that he had been able to successfully cover for the prince while he was out searching for Gaius' ward, as well as save the young stable boy's life.

"Did Arthur tell you when he would be returning from his hunting trip?" Uther asked suddenly.

"Hm? Oh, he didn't give me any specific amount of time that he would be gone for. I don't think it should be any longer than a few days." I sure hope it's not any longer than that… the elderly man thought to himself.

"Very well," Uther said as they entered the courtyard. "It would have been nice if he had told me where he was going."

"Yes," Gaius agreed. "He's just a bit upset about having to give Merlin up for an indefinite amount of time."

"I can't imagine why. The boy is merely a servant."

"My lord, he and Arthur have grown quite close over the past year or so. Have you not noticed? Arthur has been willing to give his life for Merlin on numerous occasions."

"Again, I can't imagine why. I know how important the boy is to you, Gaius, but I don't know why he is to Arthur." With a confused shake of his head, Uther climbed the steps at the entrance of the castle and walked inside. Gaius sighed and looked up to the starry night sky, wishing beyond everything else that Arthur and Merlin would return soon.


A/N: I had a lot of fun writing Arthur's part of this chapter. I was worried that he may seem a bit OOC, but I guess that's up to the reader to decide for themself. ^^; Also, I thought it was about time to let ya'll know what was going on back in Camelot. I feel bad for what I did to that poor stable boy - Uther is a jerk, is he not? Fun to write, though, if I'm honest with myself. XD

Please leave me a nice little review! I love to hear what you guys have to say! :)

(( Claire ))