Ahhh we are on the penultimate chapter!
The Knights
They managed to keep a good pace as they ran through the trees. Merlin felt so pumped at the moment that he thought that he would be able to run the speed all the way back to Camelot. His arms flayed around as they went down a hill.
He was quite impressed by the distance they had made. It would usually take him about a quarter of a day to reach the border between Camelot and Essetir but Merlin knew that it wasn't far and they had managed to keep this speed for about an hour now. Just the trip from Ealdor to Essetir took him easily two days. But then again Merlin was walking and wasn't such a rush.
It was incredible what the body could do when you needed it to. Merlin was sure that if he wasn't being chased, he would have stopped ages ago due to exhaustion or because he had tripped over his feet. There had been some close calls but he hadn't landed on his face yet.
He could tell that they all were starting to lag but the sight of red and gold gave him joy. Merlin sighed loudly.
"Oh Gwen, I am going to kiss you when I get back." He shouted with glee.
"You are not!" Both Arthur and Morgana shouted to it.
He turned to look at them. "It's a figure of speak. I had no idea how she was going to do it but I am glad they are there."
Arthur laughed as he saw them. "We aren't far."
"No we are not."
It spurred them all on.
Leon stood at the border and waited. The reason Uther had given them for being there had made no sense to him but he was duty bound to follow the orders of the king. When he had asked Gwen about it, she had spilt to him. She had mentioned that Arthur had sent her the note that told her that he was in Essetir and that Merlin had sent her a note for them to be on the border. He didn't question her. If Arthur, Morgana and Merlin were going to escape, they were sure to be followed.
The thing that Leon never understood was why no ransom had been sent to Camelot. He was sure that Uther would pay handsomely for both his son and ward. Leon was sure that the king had gone mad by their disappearance. The castle had seemed quieter as well. He hoped that them being back would make everything go back to some sort of normality.
"How much longer do we have to be here Leon? They obviously aren't going to be here. We have been tricked."
"Our orders were to wait for sunrise before we left. The stars have only just come out. We have a while yet my friend. Make yourself comfortable. It is going to be a long night."
Part of Leon had wondered if they had got out of Essetir. If they hadn't then he was sure they would hear of their deaths by the morn.
"Leon, look!"
Leon looked up to see three figures running through the forest. He smiled and laughed. But then it dropped when at least 20 horses came over the brow of the hill. They were too close for comfort and he was sure that they would catch up.
But they seemed to run even faster. Leon was impressed if they had ran the whole thing. It was easily a day's ride from here to Essetir. But Merlin was from here, maybe he knew a short cut.
He watched as Arthur overtake Merlin and make it over the border. Leon caught him as he couldn't stop.
"Thank you my friend." Arthur said, placing his hands on his shoulders.
"You're safe now." Leon said.
Arthur breathed a sigh of relief and placed his head on Leon's shoulder. "It is good to hear that."
"MERLIN!" He heard Morgana shout.
Arthur's head shot up and he turned to look at the scene behind him.
Merlin saw Arthur shoot past him. It didn't matter. They all wanted to get home. It would only be a matter of time before he joined him as well.
He lent back as he almost fell. He had no idea what he had tripped on but he was thankful that he hadn't fallen. It would be deadly now.
He could hear the horses behind him but he didn't want to look back to see how close they were. It may have spurred him on but Merlin thought that it would only scare him.
He could have been a metre from the border when Morgana shouted his name.
He stopped and looked behind him. He found some energy to run back to help her.
Morgana had lagged behind the boys most of the way. They weren't just stronger than her but they were probably fitter. She spent most of her day sitting around and while she carried very little weight, she could have easily gave up back in Ealdor.
She smiled widely when she saw the knights. Merlin had mentioned that he didn't know if they would be there or not but she was glad that they were.
The next thing she knew, she was hurtling to the floor. She rolled for a bit before stopping. A sharp pain shot through her ankle and she knew that wasn't the only place she had hurt. She dared to look behind her. The knight would close on her soon.
"MERLIN!" She screamed.
She watched him stop and turn around. She tried to get up but felt so tired that she struggled. She felt as weak as she was when she woke up from the poison.
Merlin lifted her up and placed her arm around his shoulder. "Do you think you could still walk?"
They took a step and she whimpered. "No." She cried.
He went in front of her and encouraged her on his back. She jumped on but by that point it was too late. Merlin went to move but was stopped by the sword pointing at him, hovering at his throat.
"End of the line." The knight said.
She held on to him tighter. She was now the one to stop their escape. She closed her eyes, preparing herself for what was to come.
Morgana only opened her eyes went she heard a thud. The knight in front of her was no longer on his horse and Merlin took the opportunity to run again.
"Come on." He shouted at Arthur and Leon, who had their swords locked.
They all ran over the border and watched as the knights came a metre from it and turned away.
Merlin managed to put Morgana down before he almost collapsed on the floor.
"We did it." He looked up and smiled at Morgana. "We did it. We escaped them."
She shared in his glee.
"Come on, let's get you home." Leon said.
"Home." Merlin repeated. "Home seems good right about now."
