Arthur was stunned. Merlin just teleported out of the room. Merlin just used magic in front of everyone. He just...vanished. Off to only God knows where, and who knows when he'd be back. If he'd be back.
"WHAT THE BLAZES WAS THAT?!" yelled Gwaine as soon as he and the knights composed themselves. He looked even more rumpled than usual. The knights shouted and grunted in agreement, Sir Percival rubbing a nice sized bruise above his temple.
Arthur sighed and recanted the tale, beginning with what Gauis' book said about possible transformations all the way up to what had transpired in Arthur's chambers. He still couldn't believe that this had happened. Now Merlin was gone and they had no idea where he was. Even worse, they knew Merlin's "condition" was critical, and it could only get worse. Something had to be done.
"My Lord, should we send out search parties?" Sir Leon asked worriedly. He knew that in this state, Merlin was a threat to everyone around him, including himself. They couldn't have him rampaging across the kingdom, even if it wasn't his fault.
The King nodded. "Of course. But only Sir Leon, Sir Percival, Sir Gwaine, and myself shall pursue him. Right now, the last thing we need is him to be more upset, and a legion of knights is likely to do that. Our best bet is for us to calm him down and hopefully find out a way to end this curse." The Round Table knights nodded, obviously pleased for a chance to help their friend.
"But Sire!" protested one of the older knights, Sir Nathan Arthur believed. "You can't go out so unprotected! Who knows what that creature will do right now? And besides, cursed or not, he has magic, the very thing your father despised most. We should kill him before he gets too powerful."
Rage coursed through the young Pendragon, yet he managed to maintain his kingly demeanor and not strangle the knight then and there.
"His powers could be a result of the transformation. He cannot control it. And you saw him try to fight it off, but I believe someone is controlling him. And I would bet my life that whoever it is controlling Merlin is planning something much bigger than just to harm my manservant. They mean to take over Camelot. That is why you must remain here. Protect the citadel incase they decide to storm the castle by any means necessary. Whatever they are planning, Merlin is a key part to it. We must find him before it's too late."
The knight clearly wasn't satisfied, but it would do no good to argue with the King. And he did have a point. He nodded and rallied the rest of the knights. They needed to prepare for battle.
"Gwaine, Leon, Percival," called the King to his closest knights. "Meet me in the courtyard after you have gathered your things. We have a manservant to catch."
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I really liked writing from Arthur and the knights point of view. I hope it wasn't too OOC! REVIEW!