Hi! First off, thank you to everyone who has reviewed my story. I really like getting and reading the reviews And thank you to all those who followed and favored my story! It really means a lot to me And now, here's the new chapter.
-_-_-_-_-_-Now-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
As Sir Allan and Sir Thane finished their last preparations, the Queen approached Sir Gwaine, who was currently standing by his horse.
"Gaius will be here shortly, with the potion. He's just making sure he didn't forget anything." said Gwen. "Do you have everything you need?"
"Yes we do. We even have Hawky here." said Gwaine, as he lifted his left arm, with a hawk standing on it.
"You named the bird Hawky?" asked Gwen "Very creative."
"Why not Hawky? It's a good as name as any. Besides, she likes the name."
"If you say so." said Gwen "Gwaine?"
"Yes?"
"Tell Arthur I miss him, will you?"
"Of course, my Queen."
"And take care of Merlin, please, and of yourself."
"Everything will be all right, Gwen" said Gwaine, with a gentle tone. He hugged her, and Gwen found comfort in that hug.
"I hope you're right." she said, as they ended their hug.
"When have I not been right?"
"Do you really want me to answer that question?"
"Oh look, there's Gaius" said Gwaine suddenly.
Gwen smiled as she turned around to see the old man approaching them, with a brown bag in his hands.
"Is everything ready?" asked Gwen.
"Yes it is. The antidote is in here" said Gaius, as he took a small wooden box out of the bag. He opened the box, showing its insides to Gwen and Gwaine. A small bottle, filled with golden liquid was in the box.
"Keep it in this box to prevent it from breaking" said Gaius as he put the box back inside the bag. "I put other medicine in the bag as well, if you have any need of it."
As Gwaine began to secure the bag to his horse's saddle, the Queen walked over to Sir Allan and Sir Thane, leaving Gwaine alone with Gaius.
"Please be careful" started Gaius "I know you want to save Merlin, but you will help no one if you get yourselves captured or hurt."
"I know." said Gwaine, as he mounted his horse. "We'll be careful, don't worry."
"Not worrying is not an option at the moment, Sir Gwaine" said Gaius.
"Gaius" said Gwaine. Gaius took his eyes of the darkening horizon and looked at the young knight.
"I won't let Merlin down, I swear."
"Tell him…" said Gaius, his voice now quiet "Tell that stupid, reckless boy that I…" He stopped talking now, overwhelmed by all the emotions he was feeling. His eyes were filled with tears, and he was struggling to control himself, to not let his emotions get the better of him.
"I will." said Gwaine, looking sadly at the old man "We'll save Merlin, I promise."
Gaius just nodded his head, unable to say anything else at the moment. Gwaine called Sir Allan and Sir Thane. They mounted their horses, and started galloping across the courtyard. Gwaine exchanged one final look with Gwen and Gaius, before turning away, and galloping away on his horse. The old physician and the Queen were left alone in the lonely courtyard.
-_-_-_-_-_-_What happened before_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Two days had passed since the attack. Merlin was now in better condition. He could sit in his bed, and even walk around. He could not, however, overexert himself, as he found out the first time he got out of bed. He tried to reach a book on one of the higher shelves in his room, and as soon as he stretched a little too much, he felt a hot, burning pain in his wound. He fell to his knees, clutching his wound, powerless to make the pain go away. Fortunately, Percival had been there with him. He lifted Merlin up on his shoulders, and he headed towards the physicians' chambers. Ella gave him some of the potion they had been brewing, and the pain in Merlin's wound went away almost momentarily. After spending the rest of the day in bed, Ella allowed him to get up and move around, as long as he promised he would take it easy this time. Merlin promised, of course. And he promised because he was a smart and responsible person, and not because Arthur had been glaring at him ever since he had been brought into the physicians' chambers.
Arthur and the knights had interrogated all the prisoners. It hadn't been easy, but they got some information out of them. The prisoners didn't know all the details, but from what they could gather, a mysterious stranger had ordered the attack. They didn't know anything about the identity of the stranger. Only the leaders had ever met with him, or her. The stranger would always contact them via a messenger, and whenever the leaders showed up at the designated place of the meeting, the stranger was already there, waiting for them. Even though he had met with the stranger, the co-leader that was now a prisoner couldn't remember if the stranger was a men or a woman. This was odd, and Arthur thought that he was lying at first. But after much interrogation, it seemed clear that the co-leader honestly didn't know. The payment was always in emeralds, and even though Arthur found this strange, it seemed not one of the Society's members had ever questioned this. 'Whoever this mysterious stranger is' thought Arthur 'he, or she must be very rich.' Emeralds weren't cheap. And this person used them for payment? They must be very, very rich.
King Robin had consulted with his council, his books, and several noted wise men from the Kingdom. It all resulted in very little. No one had any idea who this person might be. No one knew what the golden text on the little velvet pouch meant. And the only thing King Robin found out about the emerald was that emeralds signified loyalty. 'Fantastic.' thought Arthur after Robin had told him about the gem's meaning 'He's not only rich and mysterious, but also poetic. Wonderful.'
Three days after the attack, Arthur and his party were ready to leave for Camelot. With medicine and food supplies ready, Arthur and Merlin said their goodbyes. After making sure they have everything with them, Camelot's finest started their journey, unaware of the dangers in front of them.
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Gwaine, Allan and Thaine were sitting around a campfire. After riding for a few hours they stopped to rest. It was dark now, and they were getting ready for sleep. Gwaine had volunteered to keep watch first. He couldn't fall asleep anyway, his mind on Merlin and Arthur. ''I hope you're all right" said Gwaine quietly. The silent crackling of the fire was the only answer Gwaine received. The silence around him did nothing to calm his nerves, and Gwaine continued his watch, wondering if all of this would end well.
-_-_-_-_-_-Now, near Arthur's campsite-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Harold was standing on a big rock, on a top of a small hill. He was watching the road from here, the trees protecting him from being seen. He was one of the younger knights in Arthur's party. He didn't know Arthur or Merlin much, but he respected both of them a lot. When Arthur assigned him to watch over the road, Harold was honored that the king had put so much faith in him. And so, when he saw a group of people heading down the road, he didn't hesitate to run back and warn the others.
-_-_-_-_-_-Now, at Arthur's campsite-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
After spending the better part of the night talking with Merlin and making plans with the knights, Arthur was now finally asleep. The night had been a peaceful one. No one had attacked them, and no one saw anything suspicious. Arthur even dared to hope that no one was going to attack. He was now sleeping, as his wounded friend watched over him. Merlin had been awake for a few hours. He had woken up suddenly, alert and with a feeling that something was wrong. But everything had been all right, and while that was good, Merlin couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen. He had told Leon and Percival about this, and they said they would check around. They had all agreed not to wake Arthur unless they found something, as they knew he desperately needed his rest. That was a few hours ago. It was morning now, and Merlin had finally managed to convince himself that it was just fear that had woken him up. He was now calm, as calm as he could be in the situation. And yet, as he closed his eyes to go back to sleep, he couldn't help but listen to the small voice in his head. The small voice, that for the last few hours, had been repeating that everything was about to go wrong.
-_-_-_-_-_-Now, near Arthur's campsite-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Harold ran. He had been running for ten minutes, and he was starting to get tired, but he couldn't stop. 'I have to warn them, they have to know.' he repeated to himself, as he kept running. He finally reached his destination, the second watch post, where another knight was keeping watch on another part of the road.
"What is it Harold?" said the other knight as he saw Harold approaching.
"Sir Kane, there are people… down the road…" Harold started saying, as he struggled to catch his breath.
"People?" asked Sir Kane "how many?"
"They were far away, and I couldn't really see them but I think there are around thirty, maybe more. I'm not certain that they are working with the ones that attacked us, Sir Kane, as they were still too far to tell."
"Nevertheless, it was a good thing you warned me" said Sir Kane "Go back Harold, and keep an eye on them. I'll go back to tell the others. I'll send Sir Robert to alert you of our plans. Now go!"
Both knights took off, running in the opposite directions.
-_-_-_-_-_-Now, at Arthur's campsite-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Arthur was still asleep. He was dreaming that he was back in Camelot, walking around in his castle. His arm was over Gwen's shoulder, and he was hugging her, as they both laughed, enjoying the wonderful afternoon. Everything was perfect, and Arthur turned to Gwen to tell her how much he loved her. But as he turned to face Gwen, he heard someone shouting behind him. Arthur turned around, shocked, not knowing who was shouting. He heard another cry, and this time Arthur recognized it: Merlin. Seconds later, he was awake. He jumped up, looking at his friend. Merlin was there, lying on the floor, twitching and turning, and crying out, his voice filled with pain and misery.