The next day the rose before dawn, and after gathering their belongings, Arthur, Merlin, Gwaine, Elyan, Will, Gen, Lancelot, and their new additions, Percival, and Leon, all met with their horses in the ourtyard as the sun began to rise in the horizon and rain drizzled slowly around them.

Alfred watched them leave under a canpoy, not wanting to suffer Merlin's wrath by being impolite, and Racel watched from a window, ducking out of sight every time Gwaine looked aound for her. Arthur shook his head fondly at his friend: they were headed first to the tree house, where Merlin has potions in supply that could cure Gwaine of his love potion.

Arthur looked worriedly at his lover for the fiftieth time but saw Merlin was looking at his first, ctching him out, his face pallid but with strength in his eyes. Athur blushed and Merlin called "Ride out!" tot the gathred group of friends. They life Northumbria in the rain, heading into the forest.

The gang padded, their horses hooves full of mud, through the unwieldly yellow forest. The leaves had turned into Autumn and lay scattered on the earthy floor; a golden carpet that blanketed the sinister woodlands and dells of the forest. Leon and Percival had already intrigated well into the team, Leon through his surprisingly dark sense of humour and Percival through his gracious alto singing voice that boomed through the woods like a bell.

As they canntered, through the dapled sunlight, they fell unto a natural chat about their steads, which they were riding on. Merlin had been unable to contain his giggles of glee on the relevation that the giant Gypsy shire draft horse Percival road was called Patricia, and his humours chuckles had caught through everyone until Percival's ears blushed red and he'd stammered an explanation about naming her after his childhood sweetheart.

"Okay, then MER-lin" brayed Arthur with a wide smile "tell us the story of how Brambles got his name. I bet it's not a patch on what inspired Shadowdancer here." He bent down to fondle the beatufil fillys mane as he spoke, and she whinnied in appreciation. Ahead of them, Gwen twisted around in the saddle of Cheval, the Frankish horse, and grinned like a lynx.

"He's called Bramble!" her raised eyebrow sequealed in delighted mischief. Next to her even noble and handsome Lanelot was unable to resist a poorly surpressed smirk. He and Will and Gwaine were well acquainted with Merlin's ridiciously named piebald stud, his smokey brown fur and loud neigh were well known amongst the band of outlaws, as was his sweet engery which fitted Merlin like a shoe.

"It's cute! and he's a cutie patootie horse. He just loves blackberries. I had to call him Bramble" Merlin defended loudly scrubing his hand on his proud horses neck, then rolled his eyes and stuck his cheeky tongue out at his boyfriend and friends

"It's a good name for a horse" he protested without malace as the group skirmished onwards.

"This is Cheval- sort for Chevalier. It means horse lord. What about you Lancelot?" Gwen asked lancelot softly, as he rode next to her; tilting her head slightly in query.

"Eligius" he responded with a soft smile at the bay hourse "The patron saint of horses. I like to think he protects them from harm - they don't get into our fights and they don't deserve to come to harm from them"

"That's beautiful," she swooned. Gwaine snorted - horse like - behind her. "It is!" she insisted indignant. "I like it anyways." she finished throwing her soulmate a looking smile which he returned with radiant interest, his wavy locks twirling black and wavy in the sun.

"It's not a patch on my beauty" Gwaine bosted as he storked his palamino stallion.

"Oh we all know about Sixty!" chirped in Will. "Our Lancelot is very honourable. Not like Gwaine - Sixty is how many hearts he's said he's broken!" Will said to Leon, who they had learned has named his horse Dutch.

"How dare you!" Gwaine balked. "Those Sixty have been replaced in my burdened soul by the one, and the only, Rachel whom walks on moonlight and burns my poor vision like moonlight in the dark. She is the divinity and-"

"Yes, we all know about lobely Rachel" interrupted Merlin, both amused and concerned.

"My horses name is Rachel" Gwaine said sulkisly.

Suddenly, there was a noise in the trees. Arthur's eyelids crinkled in concern and the snap of a twig. He raised a hand, lovd in leather, to silence the travelling party. He glanced across at Merlin, his eyes speaking a thousand words silently. Merlin grimaced back and nodded, grimly. He saw a movement between the trees - around them: bandits.

Gwen let an audible gasp from her mouth and Lance whispered to her. "Fear not. I shall let no harm befall you. His dark ernest eyes glittered the reflection of the bandit's gleaming swords.

Elyan pulled his horse Firnenzy - named for the heroic horse of the legend - around to protect his sister also.

"You have my sword too, sis!" He reassured his sister. Gwen rolled her ees and glared at her brother.

"I'm your sister! Doofus!" She exclaimed. "You don't need to protect me. I taught you how to fight, or did you not tell your cool new friends that?" she joked gesturing at Leon and Percival, who were also pulling out swords.

Elyan opened his mouth to argue, but Gwaine's lilting accent cut in, bringing reason back.

"Guys! Bandits! Argue later maybe?" He suggested.

"Right." Gwen nodded firmly and swung her blade widely as the bandits emerged suddenly from the trees aroung them with a cry.

The bands fell on them in a melee. They were dressed in roughly torn black clothes, the black outfit of King Uther's royal guard of Camelot. Whether the men were soldiers whom had turned against there king or they had stolen their grab from a possee of Uther's men Merlin could not tell. But one thing was clear. These men were dangers.

The leader stood a head taller than Merlin - almost reaching Percival's height, but a bit shorter, with a scar that jagged its way down his cheek, framing one of his grey eyes that gleamed like cold steel. Merlin glanced across at Arthur, a flicker of fear for his soulmate skittering through his shoulders, but then a bandit was on his, a blood curdling scream jolting him intot he moment, and he swung his sword down to meet his with a crash that jarred his arm. All around him his friedns were battling for their live, the sounds of steel ringing out through the woods.

Will bounded forward broadly, swinging his pointed sword in a fierce arc towards the face of tha oncoming foes. They clashed together, a flashy cacophony of sound antil Will's blade found home and speared the bandit in the heart.

Beside him, Percival fought like a bear, muscles buldging and rippling in the wind and he lifted a blond outlow brandishing a sword off of his feet, as though he weighed less than a bunch of feathers, and threw him so he soared through the autumn air into the trunk of a tree; which knocked him unconcious.

Arthur swung his blade and the thug fell to the ground dead: he looked around him and saw, amost in slow motion, all his friends, fighting, Gwen bravely holding her own as she hit men with her sword, Merlin darting and stabbing with his preferred little daggers, Lancelot, despite his morals, protecting Elyan as th fought off their attackers back to back.

"Arthur look out!" he heard a voice cry and spun around; sword at the ready, but almost too late. He was face to face with a man with a blood splattered face, a dirty blade just inches from him, when out of nowhere Leon intervened and with a slash cut the bandit down. Around them the fighting died down witht the thugs either running away into the woods of lying on the ground around them.

"Thank you, My friend" Arthur saif smiling at the curly haired man in the breif respite. He turned his eyes into Merlin who was running towards him, eyes fixed on him and panic written on his face, as though he didn't realise the Arthur danger was in had passed.

"Arthur!" Merlin called running blindily towards his partner, paying no attention to the battle danger all around that raged like lightning in his desperation to get to Arthur. He was blind to the danger.

As he ran, Arthur saw movemnet behind him and, from the corner of his eye, a flish of metal.

"Merlin! Nooooooooooooooo!" cried Arthur as he saw the giant leader swing his massive sword at the socerer's head. Just then, Percival swooped in pulling Merlin behind his bulk and blocking the deadly blow with his braod shield before dealing a killing stroke of his own onto the head of the attacker.

Arthur pulled Merlin closed, half sobbing from his eyes in fear. He ran his desperate hands over Merlin's face and cheekbones: kissing them wildly.

"I'm okay baby" muttered Merlin reassuringly and raising his eyes to stare into Arthur's worried ocean blue ones.

"I know I know I was scared" Arthur replied breathly, mouth flitting into a small smile of relief.

"Well that was exciting!" Will called swirling his sword though the air and jabbing it in like a shadowboxer.

"Is everyone okay?" Gwen asked looking around the group. They were all exhausted and a bit dirty with the dust of the fight but noone was hurt worse than a bruise.

"My wound cannot be seen by the human eye; for it is mine heart and soul which has been torn-" Gwaine began, clutching his hand in a first to his chest over his heart.

"Gwaine!" everyone cried in unison and Gwaine scowled around at them at being cut off. Merlin and Arthur shared a grin as Arthur liked his hand into his and he pulled him to his feet.

"We need to get going if we'r going to cure him!" Merlin grumbled with a gesture, and everyone nodded and mounted there respectable horses.

"Cure who?" Gwaine asked around "Noone was injured"

"Don't you worry about it, just tell us about Princess Rachel" chimed in Lancelot, in his reassuring voice. Gwaine launched into a long monologe about her beauty as the pair fell to the back of the pack of travellers.

"Where are we going?" Leon asked pulling his horse, Dutch, alongside Shadowdancer and Brambles, and sharing a quizzically look with Percival, who shrugged.

"You'll see" replied Will with a smirk and giddied Vixen on.