Chapter 10

The next morning it seemed that Arthur still wasn't prepared to forgive Merlin for letting the creature escape.

The first thing Arthur did after he watched the creature disappearing into the darkness, was to have a go at Merlin, but he found himself doing it in a harsh whisper, as if he was afraid that the creature might be listening in. The creature was obviously looking through their things for a reason, Arthur hoped it was just because it wanted something to eat. After calling Merlin a pathetic manservant in several different ways, (in which he would come to regret in a few days time) he ordered Merlin to stay awake for the rest of the night and make sure the thing didn't come back. Arthur was frustrated that they had overslept and therefore had wasted precious time, but they could go nowhere at night, and his head still ached a little. So he decided to go back to bed.

As soon as dawn broke the next day Arthur woke up and ordered Merlin to pack up their things, they would soon be on the move once more. They had a small amount of bread for breakfast, as Arthur decided to save the food, as much of it seemed to have gone missing. He didn't know if there would be anything safe to eat where they were going, if the forest was tainted with evil, the fruit probably was too. They then set out, making sure they left no trace of them behind. Arthur told Merlin that he would be looking after both the horses today. Merlin assumed that this was some sort of punishment, or maybe Arthur's bump on the head probably made him feel twice as lazy. But after that, Arthur refused to speak to Merlin; he simply strode ahead in complete silence.

Usually Merlin wouldn't mind walking along in silence, sometimes he preferred to be alone with his own thoughts, but today he was irritated. The night before last he had saved Arthur's life and almost killed himself in the process. And where was the thanks? Did Arthur truly have no idea what he might have been through? Merlin couldn't help thinking back to the night before, that terrible, unforgiving rain lashing at his face as he edged his way through the darkness, he had almost lost his footing, he had almost fell into the abyss below him… All that he went through, his heart still in his mouth, and Arthur hadn't even shown a little gratitude. A thank you once in a while would probably make Merlin's job a little easier, but it seemed today that he would be getting none.

The sun was out, but it was terribly cold. The rain from the night before had frozen on the rocks, making it incredibly slippery and dangerous. Merlin continuously lost his footing and found himself sliding back down the slope they had just climbed, or almost falling off the edge, a single tree branch was the only thing that prevented him from plummeting. And yet Arthur didn't seem to care, he didn't look worried at all, he didn't even turn back when Merlin cried with surprise as he found himself hanging off the edge of the cliff.

It was moments like this that Merlin felt like he really hated that Prince, but it was too late, he was stuck with him now.

To Merlin's relief, he could see the mountains coming to an end. He found himself climbing downwards more than up. They were no longer on such high ground, and he could see fields ahead of him trees, a forest.

For a moment Merlin thought what he could see was in fact the Dark Forest, but as they climbed a little higher his view improved, and he saw the actual Dark Forest.

There was no mistaking it, the Dark Forest began just on top of a hill. From where Merlin was standing the Dark Forest looked like nothing more than a cluster of trees. But the leaves of the trees were a dark green colour, so dark they were almost black and seemed to release a terrible sense of foreboding in his heart. The trees didn't really look like trees, more like a solid stone wall. Huge dark birds circled above, as if they were waiting for them.

Well, Merlin thought to himself as he found himself releasing a large breath he didn't even know he had been holding in. I can certainly see why the people called it the Dark Forest.

But there didn't seem to be any other people about, not even any other animals. They were alone.

"You can't just stand there all day Merlin," Arthur suddenly snapped, breaking Merlin out of his trance like state.

"Sorry," Merlin mumbled, he looked at Arthur, concerned by the fact he hadn't react in the same way when he had seen the forest. "You do know what you're doing don't you?"

"Of course I know what I'm doing!"

"I don't think you do."

"Then don't ask! You're the servant, I ask the questions. Just keep quiet, from now on, who knows what might be lurking around the corner that could hear your annoying little voice. For once in your life do as I say."

Arthur then turned and strolled down the mountain, Merlin quickly followed him. Soon he found himself no longer walking on hard, frozen rock but on tufts of grass and dirt. The horses continuously stopped to nibble on what they could, grateful for some fresh food. They continued to head down a steep, narrow valley, Merlin's feet still slipping on the rocks. He almost slid the rest of the way down, bumping into Arthur a few times, making him glare back at him, but Merlin just ignored him. Finally they reached the bottom of the valley and found themselves entering a clearing, Merlin looked back and saw the mountains looming up behind him. He was happy to be rid of them.

Now that they were no longer on higher ground, Merlin couldn't see the Dark Forest, instead all he could see was another forest ahead of them. This one looked slightly friendlier, well, as friendly looking as forests could get. It seemed less dense and the leaves of the trees were a light colour, Merlin decided he would prefer looking for mystical creatures there instead of any other forest. It seemed almost welcoming compared to the mountains and the Dark Forest.

To Merlin's dislike, Arthur ordered him to get back on his horse; they would be riding the rest of the way until they reached the forest, which of course meant full gallop, and Merlin was sure that his horse was glaring at him. For a moment he considered if he would prefer going over some more mountains, but before he could say anything Arthur was already on his horse and setting off.

Merlin was tired before they set out that day, as he had spent most of the night awake, so by the time they had gone over the fields and enter the forest, he felt absolutely exhausted.

"Can we just stop for a moment?" He asked, grateful that his horse had come to a steady halt, he really hated galloping now. They were in the centre of a small clearing, the trees of the forest surrounding them on all sides.

"Stop? Merlin we cannot stop, we have wasted enough time already, we need to get through this area and then head into the Dark Forest, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can get out and get back to Camelot."

Merlin was too tired to argue, instead he simply grumbled and took the opportunity of Arthur trying to work out the quickest route to the Dark Forest to get off his horse and sit down on the grass, before realising that the grass was still wet. Merlin jumped up with almost a yelp as he felt something cold spread across his trousers, but he was too late, there was already a wet patch on his trousers. For the first time in days, he heard Arthur laugh.

"Some things never change do they Merlin?"

"That's not funny!" Merlin snapped back.

"Oh you'll get over it Merlin, at least the grass is keeping you on your feet, I should get some of that, it will stop you from lazing around all day!"

But before Merlin could tell Arthur that he did not laze around all day, he was the actual one doing all the hard work, there was a strange rustling noise from behind him, as if something was running through the trees around them.

"What was that?" Merlin asked. Arthur didn't reply, perhaps he hadn't heard it.

At first Merlin just thought it was his imagination, but the noise continued, followed by the snapping of twigs. It definitely sounded like footsteps creeping, yet running at the same time through the forest. Merlin tried to follow the noise he had heard into the forest, he found himself wandering away from the clearing and into the trees, but he couldn't see anything.

Perhaps it was just the wind, he thought to himself, so turned and went back to the clearing.

To find that Arthur had disappeared.

Hmm, not such a good chapter this time, I feel I've rushed it a little bit. I promise the fic will get better, you'll just have to be patient for now. Never mind, Merlin's on tonight! (: Please review.