Here it is, the penultimate chapter! Enjoy and don't forget to let me know what you think!
Before long, a roaring fire was chasing away the nightmares of the previous day. Sitting companionably side-by-side, Arthur and Tyson chatted quietly, keeping half an eye on Merlin at the same time. Tyson was confident that he was going to be fine, especially once they got him back to the court physician. Apparently, the strain of the casket on top of everything else had sent the warlock over the edge, his body shutting down as it tried to cope. Arthur didn't blame him if he was honest; he was quite looking forward to the welcoming pull of sleep himself.
"What will you do now?" he asked Tyson, curious as to what the ex-thief's plans were now his old lifestyle was left behind him and he was once more reunited with his son.
"I'm not sure," Tyson pondered, staring into the depths of the dancing flames, as if they were going to provide the answers that he so desperately wanted. "I'm not coming back with you to Camelot, that's for sure. But I think that you were already aware of that, weren't you?" At Arthur's nod, the man continued, hurting for what he had to say, but knowing deep down that it was the best thing for everyone, "You were right – Gaius is more of a father to Merlin that I could ever be. If I leave, he can begin to put this behind him, return to his normal life. Hunith made a wise decision sending him to Gaius. If I stay, I'm afraid what happened here will haunt him forever. I could never forgive myself if that was the case."
"How will you tell Merlin?" Arthur asked, prodding the fire with a stick. It wasn't that the fire really needed stoking, only that the prince was slightly uncomfortable about how deep the conversation was, especially considering that they were talking about his manservant.
"I'm not," Tyson stated quietly, his eyes now fixed on the sleeping figure on the other side of the fire. Arthur spared a sideways glance at the man and realised suddenly how old he was looking. His eyes were sad, yet his mouth was set in a way that Arthur knew only too well. It seemed that the father was just as stubborn as the son.
"Arthur, I have to go now, before he wakes up. You probably know this better than anyone, but when Merlin wants something, he will move heaven and earth to get it; the last few days have taught me that much about my boy. He will ask me to stay and I will not be able to deny him. It's better if I go now. And whatever you do, don't you try and stop me as well. I don't want to, but I will resort to using my power if it comes to it."
"Don't worry," Arthur told him, climbing to his feet and offering the man his hand. Pulling Tyson upright, the prince gripped his forearm as a sign of friendship, smiling softly when Tyson returned the gesture. "You're probably right about everything. I'll tell him, although I have no idea how."
Tyson smiled fondly at the prince. He barely knew the young man, but already was certain about what a fine king Arthur would someday make. And his son was going to help it all to happen.
"Look after him," he whispered.
At Arthur's nod, Tyson spun on his heel and disappeared swiftly. As he vanished into the forest, Arthur watched him go, feeling sorry for the man. This was the second time that he had to give up his family. Arthur may not have had a close relationship with Uther, but he could still imagine how much that had to hurt. He did not have long to reminisce, however, a soft moan bought his mind back to reality.
"Where are we? Arthur? What's going on?"
"Easy, Merlin," Arthur said, walking around the fire to see his friend sit up slowly, looking around him, confused. "We're safe. We're back at my camp and in a moment, we're going to get you back to Gaius before you do something girly like faint again."
"Where is he, Arthur?" Merlin asked quietly, seeing straight through Arthur's attempts to lighten the situation.
"Gone, Merlin, he's gone. He didn't know how to tell you, but he wants you to go back to the life you had, back with Gaius. I think that he wants you to forget all about this."
"No!" Merlin cried, jumping to his feet. Taking a moment to stop the world spinning sickeningly before him, Merlin took off into the forest. Arthur sighed in dismay; this hadn't gone as well as he had hoped. He could hear Merlin searching the forest for his father, calling Tyson's name over and over again. The prince could hear the hurt in his voice, knew that Merlin would not stop searching until he had found the man.
Striding after him into the trees, Arthur didn't have to search for long at all to discover his servant. Merlin was trying to fight his way through a particularly thick piece of hedgerow, determined to get through. Using his hunting instincts, Arthur was quite impressed that the boy had been able to pick up Tyson's trail at all; it was well hidden. Maybe he shouldn't have taught the warlock how to track quite so well. But then again, that day in the forest, when it had seemed like a good idea when Merlin had managed to get himself lost, Arthur had no idea that this would be the moment that he regretted showing his servant how to examine the forest for clues.
"Merlin, stop! He said that it was for the best, for everyone's sake if he left. Don't think for a moment that this wasn't hurting him too. For God's sake, Merlin, I said stop!" Grinding his teeth together in annoyance at the stubbornness of the servant, Arthur glanced away despairingly. Merlin was still battling with the undergrowth, his shoulders shaking slightly as the tears poured down his cheeks. He wanted to know his father, get to play the role that he had always been denied, be allowed to be a proper son. But he had left, without even saying goodbye.
His frustration levels rising as he realised that Merlin had no intention of stopping, despite his orders, Arthur strode forward. Mindful of the boy's injuries, the prince seized Merlin around the middle and bodily hauled him away from the undergrowth, ducking under the flailing arms as he tried to free himself.
"Let me go, Arthur! I have to go after him! Let me go!"
Shutting his ears to Merlin's struggles, Arthur dragged the servant back to the clearing. Pushing him towards the horse, Arthur ordered him onto it. He didn't want to have to be like this; he wanted to be able to comfort Merlin, tell him how sorry he was that it had come to this. But he knew that with the mood that the servant was in, words would simply go unheard. He had promised Tyson that he would look after the boy, that he would take him back to Gaius. Although Merlin was never to know this, Arthur was going to make sure that he kept this promise to Tyson, only praying that Merlin would forgive him in time.