Uther isn't covered here, but I'm working towards it. :) Also, I read in one of William Butler Yeats' works that fey are obsessed with milk, so I thought...why not? I hope you enjoy this chapter

...

Arthur's mind was racing a mile a minute. It was the most that Merlin had even mentioned about his "personal" or prior life, but Merlin did not elaborate. Instead, he changed the subject by pointing at a nearby field and remarking how the purple flowers were odd for that time of the year and that the melodies they were singing were also a little eerie.

Arthur decided that it was best to leave him alone.

But that did not keep the questions from racing through his mind.

Who was Freya? Was she another fae, like Merlin, or some girl who was madly in love with him (the idea) but unaware of his origins? Did she live in the same forest they had found Merlin in? If so, why hadn't she gone looking for him, or why hadn't they stumbled across her? If Merlin remembered this much about her, why hadn't he gone looking for her?

Where was she?

It explained Merlin's use of Freya in part of an exclamation.

But if Merlin loved her, why was he using her name as part of an expletive even as mild as it had been?

"Are you all right, sire?" Lancelot asked him, moving backward a little. "Are you upset about Gwen joining us? She can take care of herself."

"It isn't that."

Merlin's horse was taking a slight detour off the trail so he could inspect some fungus as they passed through a small forest, but this time, Arthur didn't stop him. He didn't want Merlin to hear him. "Have you ever heard Merlin mention a woman named Freya?"

Lancelot thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Maybe once or twice, but I don't remember any specific instances. Why?"

"Nothing. Forget I said anything. And don't mention it to Merlin."

Lancelot nodded.

It didn't make sense. Although Arthur could puzzle about it all he wanted, the answers to his questions were all hidden in the trap of Merlin's mind.

…

When Essetir became visible, smoke was on the horizon.

It boded ill for the land's inhabitants.

"We don't all need to go down," Arthur decided, shielding his eyes as he took in the sight. "Elyan, Percival, both of you scout out the area. See what the situation is. And don't get caught."

"Guess we'll have to do that some other time, then," Percival joked, wheeling his horse around.

"What are the rest of us going to do?" Merlin asked.

One added benefit of Gwen's presence was his improved mood. The last thing Arthur needed was a grumpy fairy burning down the grassland or turning their horses into spoiled brats.

"We're going to wait."

"That's all?" Merlin's voice was colored with surprise. "We're just going to sit here on our horses, out in the middle of nowhere, and wait for Elyan and Percival to come back?"

Arthur clenched his jaw. "Do you have a better idea, Merlin?"

Lancelot coughed. "Perhaps we should set up a campfire to prepare dinner?"

"I want to hear what Elyan and Percival come back with. We have no idea of the surrounding area or what we might run into."

"I'm starving." Gwaine rubbed his stomach. "I could eat a horse!"

Merlin let out a horrified squeak.

"He's only joking, Merlin," Gwen assured him. "We don't eat horses around here."

Merlin only looked slightly convinced. "If you say so…"

A few minutes of silence passed in which Merlin squirmed in his saddle. Even Gwen grew a little restless and began playing with her horse's mane.

Although Arthur would have preferred waiting in silence, Gwaine felt the need to make his presence known to the family of mice living in a nearby clump of grass. He stretched, groaning and cracking his back.

Although Arthur had heard worse from Merlin's bones, Gwen shot him a concerned look. But she didn't say anything.

"Well, if we're not doing anything," Merlin broke into Gwaine's cacophony, "I'm going to take a little walk. My rear is killing me."

"Merlin!" Gwen scolded.

"I'll join you!" Gwaine latched onto the idea. "It'd be nice to stretch my legs."

It would have been nice to get off his horse for a bit, but Arthur was determined to wait for Percival and Elyan. He refused to budge until they returned.

Merlin wrinkled his nose. "Gwaine, I like you. You're my friend. But you scare all of the animals away."

Gwaine turned both ways in the saddle. "What ruddy animals?"

"The animals."

"If there are animals, then why wasn't there any meat in the stew last night?"

Merlin huffed. "Well, you can't expect me to point them out to you when you can't even see them."

"I'll have you know that I have the best eyes in this group!" Gwaine boasted hotly.

"With or without the ale?" Merlin shot back.

"Should have gone with Elyan and Percival," Leon muttered.

"Merlin, go take your blasted walk," Arthur snapped. "You're going to wake the dead. Gwaine, leave him alone."

"All right." Merlin dismounted from his horse, nearly flipping himself over the steed's belly when he got tangled in the reigns. Gwen was forced to dismount herself in order to help him out.

"No hard feelings," Merlin told Gwaine on the way past as he stalked off.

Gwaine shot him a hurt look.

Arthur rolled his eyes. Comedians.

Merlin walked for a little bit and kept on going until he was a little dot against the grass.

"Should he be going that far?" Lancelot asked, shielding his eyes. "We have no idea who might be around."

"Merlin's fine. He has-"

Arthur almost said magic before remembering that Gwen was with them.

"He has what?" Gwen asked curiously.

"He has a-" Arthur's mind scrambled for a word to throw in the sentence. "He has a-"

"A good head on his shoulders," Lancelot finished smoothly. "He has a good head on his shoulders. He will turn around and run before he gets into trouble."

Gwen cast a doubtful glance in the direction Merlin had disappeared. "Are you sure? He isn't armed and...well, Merlin's a bit naive."

Oh, if only she knew.

"Don't worry," Arthur said. "Merlin's such a simpleton. No one would bother with him."

Gwen shot him a disappointed look.

Instantly, Arthur felt bad - but only slightly because Merlin had forgotten to give him his blasted socks back.

After ten more minutes of waiting, Elyan and Percival returned.

"The village is ruined," Elyan reported. "There were a few survivors who didn't move elsewhere. They gave us the name of the man who did this."

"Who is it?" Arthur doubted he would recognize the name, but it would be nice to know whom to demand to see whenever the time came.

"Someone named Kanan," Percival said.

"Where is Kanan now?" Arthur asked.

"He and his men moved further inland. They're a small group - about thirty or forty, but enough to make life miserable and cause considerable damage."

This was another aspect that did not make sense. Why would King Cenred hire knights of Camelot in order to fend off a group of barbarians? And why not more of them? Something was off about the whole affair, but Arthur couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"I suppose we're going to have to find Merlin and drag him back in here before we can get into any fights," Gwaine lamented wistfully. "Could have had my knuckles split by sundown."

"Merlin should have been back by now," Gwen fretted. "Do you think something happened to him?"

"Merlin?" Percival asked. "Where did he go?"

"The idiot decided he wanted to go on a walk." Out in the middle of nowhere in enemy territory.

"How about Gwaine and I go looking for him while the rest of you set up camp," Lancelot suggested.

Well, Arthur certainly wasn't going to waste any time dragging Merlin back from a field of flowers. "If you want to."

Gwen shot him another look.

She was confusing him. Arthur didn't know what he was doing wrong, but he wanted her to stop looking at him that way.

"Come on, Gwaine." Lancelot turned his horse in the direction Merlin had set off in.

Whistling through his teeth, Gwaine followed after Lancelot.

Gwen's lips were pursed in worry again, and Elyan looked as though he were about to break out into an argument of all the reasons Gwen should return to Camelot that instant.

Well, this wasn't awkward at all.

When Merlin returned, Arthur was going to kill him. Or, if that was a little drastic, make him spend a couple hours in the stocks appreciating tomatoes. According to Merlin, tomatoes were his fourth favorite fruit (after apples, strawberries, and blueberries), so he was sure to enjoy the experience.

Although Percival and Leon insisted they were able to take care of it, Gwen helped him and the knights not chasing after Merlin set up camp.

After an hour of anxious waiting (at least, on Gwen's part), Lancelot and Gwaine returned - without Merlin.

Arthur had a sinking feeling.

"Where is he?" he asked. "He was only gone twenty minutes. He couldn't have gotten very far."

Helplessly, Lancelot shrugged. "We don't know. There wasn't any sign of him. He didn't even leave tracks that we could follow."

"That's impossible!" Gwen exclaimed. "There's dirt everywhere between the grass. Surely he trampled some of it down. You've seen how he walks."

Like a drunk donkey.

"He couldn't just fly," Gwen insisted. "Do you think fae were involved?"

"No!" Alarm raced through Arthur. "Of course not! Why would fae be involved? That's ridiculous."

Gwen frowned. "No, it isn't."

The last thing she needed to do was start asking questions.

"There's a perfectly reasonable explanation, I'm sure," Lancelot assured her in a calmer tone as he moved to check the stew that Gwen and Arthur had forgotten about.

"Like what?" Gwen demanded. "We need to go out searching for him. If he is lost-"

"Then there's not much we can do to find him in the dark," Leon said carefully.

Gwen sucked in a short breath as though she were about to protest.

Goodness, she was almost as insistent as Morgana, if not equally.

On the spot, Arthur thought of a solution. "Besides, Merlin will be fine. He is from Essetir."

That caught everyone's attention.

"What?" Gwen turned to him. "I didn't know that."

During his conversation with Gaius after Merlin had drunk the poison for him, Gaius had mentioned that his younger sister was from Ealdor. It fit the situation perfectly. While Arthur was incapable of explaining the identical appearance between Merlin and Gaius's nephew, it was an excellent cover story. "Yes," he repeated more confidently. "Merlin was born in Ealdor."

"Huh," Gwaine marveled. "I could have sworn-"

Lancelot elbowed him.

"Oh. I didn't know that. I wonder why Merlin never told me." Gwen's frown was deepening.

"It's a sensitive subject. His mother died."

"Oh." Gwen put a hand to her mouth. "I see."

"Merlin probably went to visit someone," Lancelot concluded, "and since he knows his way around here better than any of us, there's nothing to worry about."

"All right," Gwen agreed. "Though...I hope he comes back."

"Don't worry, he will." And if he didn't, Arthur was going to skin the fae.

As soon as Gwen's back was turned, Gwaine gave everyone a thumbs up and a wink.

…

In the middle of the night, Merlin crept back into the campsite.

Arthur was waiting for him.

"Where in fae have you been?" he hissed, breaking into the normal chirps of the crickets.

"Ah!" Merlin jumped backwards, flailing his arms.

"Arthur! You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!"

"Where did you go?" Arthur persisted. He was furious with Merlin. Not only had he left them with no explanation besides the walk, but he had also gone about it in a suspicious way. Now, Gwen was worried.

"Around." Merlin waved a hand. "There's a big world out there, you know. I explored a bit of it."

"So I've heard." Arthur huffed. "If you're not going to tell me where you went, I would appreciate it if you just came out and said so instead of leaving everyone hanging."

"Arthur, I'm not going to tell you where I went."

"Was that so hard?"

Merlin rolled his eyes.

"If anyone asks, by the way, you're from Essetir. Ealdor. And your mother is dead."

"How considerate of you to inform me of that fact."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "I had to tell Gwen something. She was worried."

"Oh. I didn't mean to worry her."

Well, he should have thought about that before trapezing off.

"I know where we're supposed to go. I did some scouting out while I was gone," Merlin said.

"Oh?" Maybe something good had come out of Merlin's disappearance.

"Yes. I'll show you tomorrow." Merlin tilted his head to the side. "You didn't have to wait."

"Don't flatter yourself on your importance. Gwen made me." Well, she hadn't forced him to do anything (she was too respectful to command the king of Camelot), but the look on her face had driven him to do something besides sit around and twiddle his thumbs.

"I'll keep watch, then," Merlin volunteered. "I'm not going to sleep, anyway."

Although Arthur felt that there was some sort of catch since Merlin was never that generous or considerate of the amount of sleep Arthur received, he didn't voice it. Merlin's face was slightly drawn, and he was staring off at the campfire instead of looking at Arthur.

Something had happened wherever he had gone.

Arthur was burning with the desire to press for answers, but he had a feeling that Merlin would just shut down. And it would be a breach of what was proper. Merlin was a servant. He was a prince. It didn't matter to him what Merlin had done.

"All right," he agreed.

"Good night, Arthur."

"Are you feeling ill?"

"Get out of my sight, you prat."

…

They were welcomed into Ealdor with cheering and only a few suspicious eyes.

Arthur was glad of that. More often than not, villagers were suspicious of anyone who came claiming to be the prince of Camelot and demanded some sort of proof. They were immediately shown to the house of the village's leader, a man by the name of Brennan. His hair was red, his beard thick, and his muscles broad, but Arthur had yet to be impressed.

After all, why were they needed there in the first place?

"They come at all hours of the day," he told Arthur. "We don't know when. We have to keep watch."

"As you should." Since the room consisted of Brennan's kitchen and there were no papers with which to occupy himself, Arthur settled for crossing his arms. Brennan's wife was stirring a pot on the stove and soaking up every word of their conversation.

"We don't know how they slip past the guards, but they do. They maybe kill one or two men. Take what they want. Then, they disappear."

"No one goes after them?"

"No. They disappear."

"Like wraiths." Brennan's wife made a sign with her unoccupied hand. "Fae. Evil magic."

"I see…" Although Uther was a bit...dramatic, Arthur knew from experience that villagers were sometimes more inclined to blame magic and fae than their king was. "What, exactly, has led you to believe this?"

Brennan's wife took offense to his statement. She abandoned her pot of stew to stand by her husband's chair. "Why, what else could it be?"

"Well… the ruffians…" Arthur thought it would have been obvious.

"Ha!" Brennan's wife huffed. "It's not ruffians. It's fae. Mark my words. Magic is involved, and I hope you came prepared for them."

If she meant in the form of bringing his own fae to the battle, then yes. The only problems were that he didn't know if she had accidentally caught a sight of Merlin on his excursion or if Merlin would actually fight for anyone's cause because it would disturb the bunnies or something like that.

"We'll see."

That didn't earn him any positive points with her. She returned to her stove and resumed stirring her stew more aggressively.

Brennan winced and spread his palms wide as though to apologize, but Arthur was surprisingly used to having people (Merlin) criticize his opinions.

"I'm going to take a look around and see what I can glean."

Although Brennan stood to join him, his wife refused to show Arthur to the door.

Outside the small house, Leon was waiting for him.

"Well?" Arthur asked.

"The rest of the knights are helping the other men build up the village's defenses, but there's not much else we can do besides what they've already done," Leon informed him.

"What about holes?" Arthur asked. "Were there any holes or places that someone might have snuck in through?"

Leon shook his head. "None."

Under his breath, Arthur swore.

Brennan scratched the back of his head. "I'm not sure what else we can do."

Arthur wasn't sure what he was going to do, but saying that would paint a bad image of Camelot in front of Brennan.

"Your...manservant seems to get along well with the children," Brennan observed awkwardly to fill the awkward silence that arose between them as Arthur thought about what he was going to do.

"His mind is rather like theirs."

"Hey, Arthur!" Merlin poked his head out from behind a building.

Instead of answering, Arthur simply raised his eyebrows, but Merlin didn't seem interested in conversing once he had gotten Arthur's attention.

Well, that was too bad because Arthur needed to have a word with him. "Merlin, get over here, you lazy toad."

Merlin's head disappeared.

"Leon, get that idiot for me." He wasn't going to waste his time on chasing Merlin down. "Also, where's Guinevere?" He didn't want to lose her amid the hustle and bustle.

"I don't know." Leon trudged off after Merlin. As he left, a group of children ran up to Arthur and Brennan.

"Have you seen Merlin?" one of them asked.

"Not now," Brennan hissed. "He is a very important man."

At least someone recognized that.

So hide and seek was what Merlin was up to while he was on holiday. "Yes. He was between those two buildings."

The children scurried off.

While they waited for Merlin to be located, Brennan cleared his throat. "If you don't mind my asking, what are you going to do?"

At that moment, fighting the raiders off before they burned down the village was Arthur's best option, but Arthur couldn't silence a nagging voice in his mind.

Maybe fae weren't involved...but fae would explain a lot of inaccuracies.

Gwen's report of Uther acting haywire, forgetting about his own son and the knights of Camelot. Uther might have been neglectful as a parent, but even that was a bit ridiculous

"I'm going to talk with my men and come up with a plan," Arthur told him.

Brennan nodded. "Maybe the seven of you will be able to come up with more than we could."

That was Arthur's first idea.

…

Arthur insisted on a private room in order to confer with Merlin and the knights, but the rickety shack they were given felt as though it were covered in holes. Since Arthur didn't trust that no ears were pressed up against the wood, he kept his voice low as he interrogated Merlin.

"Have you felt any magic around, or were you too busy playing hide and seek?" he snapped.

"You may think I'm an idiot-"

"Oh, I don't think. I know."

"-I was actually making myself useful. I went everywhere. No one thinks twice of you if you're playing hide and seek."

Lancelot stifled a laugh by placing a gloved fist to his mouth.

"Someone is definitely around here," Merlin said. "Fae. Slightly powerful than your average blood but not much more powerful."

So Brennan's wife had been correct.

"By any chance, do you know who it is?" Elyan asked before dropping his voice to mutter, "Blast it. Shouldn't have let Gwen come."

Merlin shook his head.

"Is this someone you can fight?" Arthur asked. "Before anyone gets hurt."

"This crate is killing my backside," Gwaine complained.

"At least you have a crate," Percival muttered.

"No offense, but please shut up," Merlin told them politely. "I could. I know the other person is here. I could go looking for him or her."

"Didn't you do that yesterday?" Arthur wanted to know.

"No. I was busy."

Ha. If the situation weren't a bit more serious, Arthur would have laughed. "Busy? Doing what?"

"I…"

Merlin at a loss for words. This was a surprise.

Merlin crossed his arms. "It doesn't matter what I was doing, and I'm not going to tell you."

Uncomfortably, the knights shifted, exchanging glances with each other.

Abruptly, Gwaine sprang up from his crate. "Well, I'm going to go get a breath of fresh air."

Elyan also got to his feet. "I'm going to check on Gwen."

"Sit back down," Arthur ordered. "We are going to have this conversation."

"I'd rather not-"

"Shut up, Merlin."

Abruptly, Merlin stood up. "Fine. I'll shut up, your royal pratness. Good. Bye." He marched for the door and slammed it behind him.

Silence.

A few seconds later, the door opened much more gently, and Gwen peeked in. "Why is Merlin so upset?"

In frustration, Arthur dropped his head and ran his fingers over his head. "I don't know!" Ruddy fae were so insensitive! He had just been asking what Merlin had been doing the previous evening.

Gwen gave him the look.

The one that said she knew he was slightly a prat.

Oh, goodness, now Merlin's vocabulary was infecting his.

-No. He needed to focus on how to fix the situation at hand, not on Merlin's idiosyncrasies, and for that to happen, Merlin needed to come back so they could talk about it in a calmer manner.

"I see," Gwen said even though no one had explained anything. "I'll go find him."

Lancelot breathed out a sigh of relief.

While they waited, Arthur went over every piece of the city in his mind.

Something was happening with the fae. They didn't normally try to lure the prince of Camelot to villages in the middle of Essetir. A matter greater than he could understand was afoot, and he was going to find out what in fae it was.

As soon as Merlin returned.

BONUS SCENE:

"All right," Merlin announced, "B.E. - also known as Rider - has decided that she wants to write another fanfiction about us!"

Arthur looked up from his desk. "What? What's all this nonsense about someone named after a verb."

"Amusing for someone named after a creature he would like to kill."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Did you come in here for the sole purpose of bothering me, or is there actually a point?"

"Yes." Merlin picked up an apple from Arthur's fruit bowl.

Arthur snatched it back. "Tell me what it is or get out."

"Prat. Okay, so, I found an anonymous list of all of the things B.E. needs to write a fanfiction about us." Merlin pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "So, first, one of us needs to die."

"Pardon me?"

"Oh, sorry, that's under the if I feel like making people cry category. My bad. Uh…" Merlin moved further down the page. "So. We need to go on a hunting trip. Then, we need to be attacked by bandits. Having the knights there is optional. Someone - you or me, it doesn't matter - needs to be injured or tortued. Then, we have this magnanimous heart-to-heart conversation."

Arthur snorted. "About what? The amount of sausages on my plate every morning?"

Merlin laughed nervously. "Something like that. Then, we discover that we actually are good friends, and you order me to either clean your boots, muck out the stables, or polish your armor because you don't know any other chores besides those."

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "Maybe this fanfiction thing isn't such a bad idea, after all."

"Oh, and there's a note written at the bottom of this, but it's in fine print." Confused, Merlin held the paper close to his face. "At some point, Merlin reveals his magic to Arthur."

Silence dropped over the room.

"What?"

"You know what, I've got to muck out the stables!"

"Merlin! Get back here! What's this about magic?"

FIN.