"Are you sure you're not lost?" Arthur asked, nudging his horse along behind Merlin's.
"I'm not lost," Merlin muttered, and looked intently into the forest. The path flowed away in front of him and he grinned.
"What are you going to do, glare it into appearing?" Arthur continued, apparently incapable of just sitting on his horse and being quiet.
"Something like that," Merlin said to himself, and then turned around to look at the King. "It's just over that hill." Followed by Arthur, Leon, and Gwaine, he went over the hill and down into the little valley on the other side, smiling a little crookedly as he saw the old sword buried in the stone.
"Merlin," Arthur said, and Merlin looked over at him. "That sword is in the stone." Merlin stared at him.
"It's a very powerful sword. It had to be put somewhere safe," he said, and Arthur just frowned at him and swung off his horse. He stomped over to the stone and stood there, hands planted on his hips, staring at the sword with his head tipped slightly to the side in thought.
"Well, it is certainly safe. No one could possibly remove that sword from the stone," he said, finally. Merlin shook his head.
"It's… well, it's… magic," Merlin said, and Arthur whirled on him.
"Clearly it's magic! It's stuck in a bloody stone!" he said, very clearly frustrated. Merlin blinked, looked momentarily confused, and then looked back over at the sword.
"The sword can only be drawn from the stone by the one worthy to wield it. It was forged in a dragon's breath, and is the only weapon capable of slaying such a beast," he explained, and all three knights turned and stared at him.
"Merlin, honestly, where do you come up with this nonsense?" Arthur finally asked. Merlin looked from disbelieving king to still-ticked-off best friend to… skeptical senior knight. Uh oh.
"It was in the book!" he said, waving a hand dismissively. Leon didn't look totally convinced, but Arthur rolled his eyes and Merlin glared at him.
"Well, if the Princess won't try the sword…" Gwaine laughed, and went to tug on the sword, to no effect. "Ah, well, not me, then. Here, Leon, you give it a go," he said, waving the tall knight over.
"Perhaps Arthur should try," he said, looking between Arthur and Merlin, who appeared to be having a staring contest.
"This is ridiculous. I cannot pull a sword from a stone. I refuse to look ridiculous."
"Arthur, I told you it was in a stone, and you came along anyway. Do you honestly think I'd bring you out here on a fool's errand?" Merlin asked shortly. "If there is anyone, anyone on this earth worthy to pull the sword from that stone, it's you." Arthur raised his eyebrows at this outburst.
"I'm flattered, Merlin, but—" Arthur started, but Merlin cut him off.
"No, Arthur. You have to try," he said. Arthur glared at him, but when Merlin didn't back down, he turned and went to the sword. He gave a half-hearted tug. When the sword didn't spring out into his hands, he looked at the other three men.
"You must be joking," he said, but he wasn't laughing.
"You didn't even try," Merlin said, stubbornly, while Leon walked around the stone as if he might find some clever little contraption that would free the sword. Arthur snorted and turned back to the sword. He took a solid hold of the grip with both hands, and planted his feet. Then he pulled on the sword as if he thought it might actually come free of the stone. To his astonishment, it slipped free a full hand's width. He looked over at his two knights and his manservant in shock, and stopped pulling the sword, which promptly stopped moving. Then he turned back to the stone and pulled again, this time not letting it startle him when the sword, with a screeching, obnoxious noise, pulled free from the stone. He stumbled back when it finally came free.
It was a simple sword, but the edge almost seemed to have its own glow, which he had to be imagining. It was perfectly balanced, made by a master's hand, and as the grip warmed in his hands, he was surprised that it seemed as familiar as any sword he'd ever owned, for all he was sure he'd never held it before. Grinning, he was sure, like a fool (and not really bothering to hide it), he turned and held the sword out for the other three to see. Leon and Gwaine looked impressed. Merlin, on the other hand, was grinning cheekily, and appeared to have no idea that he was looking at a very fine sword, magic or no. Arthur forced down a laugh. That was Merlin, alright. Wouldn't know the sharp end of a sword from the grip, much less a fine weapon from a bad one. As Merlin met his eyes, the cheeky grin very briefly faltered into something slightly more respectful, and he gave Arthur a nod. Merlin, the manservant who never bowed (not seriously, anyway, only in jest) had just done the closest thing to a bow Arthur had ever seen. He was slightly shocked, and blamed this shock for the nod he offered Merlin in return.
Then, of course, he had to ruin the moment. Holding the sword towards Merlin, he laughed and shook his head.
"You're really hopeless, Merlin. Utterly hopeless," he said, and clapped him on the shoulder as he walked past to take an extra scabbard from Leon.
"Does that mean we can go slay the dragon, now?" Merlin asked innocently, and ducked as Arthur whirled to chuck the sword belt he'd been wearing over to him.
"There is no 'we'. You will be slaying no dragons," Arthur said.
"But—"
"Shut up, Merlin," Arthur said, and swung back onto his horse.