Hi, hope you're having a good time.
I'm so sorry for the delay, but my mind was kinda blocked, and exams are getting closer so... yeah...
Btw I hadn't noticed Eira is the same name of that traitor girl from 5×12. (I actually searched through a lot of 'welsh names' websites and I was quite proud of my finding *sniff*). Stupid coincident.
Back to the story.
…..
"TAKE COVER" someone was shouting.
Arthur swore loudly as he ducked behind a pile of rocks.
Of course thing hadn't turned out the way they had expected, of course they had underestimated…well, everything. Of course they were ambushed when they had finally assumed the whole area was cleared. This kind of misfortune was becoming some sort of a normal thing. Merlin would've rolled his eyes and they could've laughed if he was there.
Oh Merlin!
He swore again, louder. Hunith would definitely not be pleased with his newfound swearing problem when they got home. But for now, it was the only thing that was keeping him from going insane from all the pressure.
Ten more soldiers down and they would return, he was not going to risk their lives for another single minute. Mission be damned, they were being slayed! But before returning to the back, he needed to find Merlin and Daegal. Thank goodness they had been separated from the rest of the unit, at least they were safer.
Or so he wished.
He wasn't even going to consider the possibility that they had been ambushed as well. No, Merlin was fine just as he was supposed to be, and they were both going to return, aching all over and moaning, but not with any serious injury that couldn't be healed with a good night's rest.
With more determination, he threw another grenade, not really looking where it landed. Gwaine hadn't missed even one shot, killing anyone he had aimed for, unlike Lancelot who _Arthur suspected_ was shooting with eyes closed. Other members of their little team were also shooting aimlessly like Lancelot, none of them as trained as their shoemaker-turned-sniper friend.
The enemy wasn't quite quiet though, bullets were flying over their heads and piercing any piece of flesh that was not well-hidden, arms, shoulders, heads…
They were all breathing hard, so many of them had fallen, the ground was burning and the air smelled of gunpowder. But thankfully, the shooting sounds had ceased, though Arthur didn't dare to rise his hopes, things hadn't turned out nicely the last time he had been optimistic.
The chaos finally ended. However, they didn't stand up instantly until seeing Gwaine's signal that assured them the area was actually clear, for the time being at least. Arthur called for anyone that had survived to give them instructions.
"David, go look for survivors, take Charley and Owen with you. The others, scan the way back, only .back. I don't want to stay in this hellhole for another damn minute. Mark, take a message to the other Army, inform them of the ambush, Lancelot and I will head for the northern part to investigate."
Of course, 'investigate' could be translated as 'go and see if Merlin and Daegal had found themselves in some sort of unexpected trouble'. As the unit dispersed, Lance joined him and they started heading north.
The two men as well as a few other soldiers who were supposed to secure their return, arrived at the spot they had last seen Merlin, all of them knew instantly that something was wrong.
"GAS, GAS, GAS" a soldier called Stephen shouted. Arthur paled as he remembered they hadn't brought any masks. Why? Because they hadn't suspected. Utter idiocy.
"HEAD BACK, HEAD BACK" Arthur frantically gestured towards the rest of the squad and threw himself on the ground, waiting for explosion sounds, but none came. After a few seconds he slowly rose his head, everywhere seemed quiet.
Turning to Stephen, the young solider stared back at him with panicked face "The smell, sir. It's mustard!" Arthur only nodded. The man had done nothing wrong, they were trained to be extra cautious when it came to weird smells, but it didn't change the fact that the frantic scream had given all of them a heart attack. "Well it seems that the explosions have been some time ago. It's still not safe though, take the rest and return, I will investigate this part alone"
Stephen and the rest nodded and headed back. Lancelot however, didn't even hesitate as he followed his lead.
"I told you to return!" the blonde hissed.
"You told Stephen to return, not me" was the answer.
"I told him to take the others and return, and you're included in 'the others' part".
"I'm not letting you run into some death zone alone. We are not even sure if the Germans have left, not to mention the gas" Lancelot didn't sound calm anymore. He sounded concerned and determined. Arthur sighed.
"Here" Lance said as he handed over a mask.
"Where did you get this from?" Arthur turned the mask in his hands, checking it.
"Found it in the field, the attack had been planned, they were fully equipped" he put on a second mask he was carrying "Now let's go"
Arthur nodded, saving a mental note to tell Uther about the soldier's resourcefulness, maybe he could get a promotion.
Covering their skin as much as they could, they followed the path Merlin and Daegal taken. It seemed to be the part where most explosives had been planted, no wonder the place was such a wreck!
The signs of gas explosion were obvious. The slight stinging sensation on their skin, and the fact that most bodies on the ground were too disfigured, as if they had been dissolved in some sort of acid.
The more they walked, the more nervous Arthur became. He tried not to think about the fact that the two people they were looking for had had no masks or protection when they had parted from them. The optimist part of his mind was telling him that they had probably returned to the tents but the nasty pessimist part reminded that if they had, they would've informed Arthur before anything else, considering the kind of person Merlin was.
He shushed the pessimist-but-logical part and continued walking, though his mind wasn't really focused on what he was doing.
Lancelot's sudden gasp brought him back to present, he turned with a questioning look only to see his friend frozen on his steps, hands trembling, face pale, and eyes focused on something on their left.
Later Arthur wished he hadn't followed his gaze, but that was exactly what he did.
He gasped too.
On the ground, leaning to the walls, was the battered body of someone they both knew well.
"D-Daegal…" words faded into whispers.
The blonde's legs didn't support him anymore and he fell hard on his knees, not even feeling the pain as the unkind soil scratched his skin. He slowly crawled to the body's side, eyes never leaving the boy's face.
There was something that gave him a false hope that the boy was still alive. Despite his battered body, his face was quite unscathed, like the boy was just sleeping. The vicious mustard hadn't quite affected the boy's face, despite being completely exposed and not wearing a mask. If it was not for the horrible gray color and blue lips, Arthur would've definitely assumed the boy was merely unconscious.
Shaking hands reached Daegal's neck and fingers pressed on his jugular, lingering there despite the silence, feeling the rough skin beneath. His numb mind wondered if it was simply a sign of the gas or the rough fabric of their uniform had a part.
"Arthur" Lancelot's voice was shaking. Arthur realized what he was doing. He slowly withdrew his hand but didn't move from the boy's side, silent sobs from behind could be heard.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry…
His mind and mouth were chanting, tears unconsciously falling and fogging the mask goggles.
Daegal had been his responsibility, his recruit, his friend, and he couldn't save him. He had thought the boy was be safe with Merl…
Oh God…
His hands began trembling, he stood up and darted his head around, looking and searching.
"Merlin? MERLIN!" he was shouting, not caring if some German would hear him, not noticing how Lancelot started shushing and hissing, he needed to shout.
Daegal and Merlin had been together, if the younger man was there, then the medic couldn't be so far. He knew his best friend, he knew he wouldn't have left the boy to save his own neck, it was not something Merlin would do. He felt just as responsible as Arthur himself when it came to their young companions, if not more, so there was absolutely no way he was far.
"MERLIN? ANSWER ME YOU LITTLE GIT!"
"Arthur stop shouting, you are giving us away" Lancelot was hissing and begging, tears dwelling in his eyes.
"No Lance, I need to find my stupid toad of a friend. MERLIN?" and he continued shouting. Lance grabbed his shoulders and shook him hard until Arthur was focused on him.
"Arthur, stop. He would've come to us if he had been conscious, and if he's not, he won't be able to answer to your yells. We need to look for him"
"Merlin is fine, he always is" he murmured, denying the possibility, but when his comrade started searching the corpses, he joined anyway.
He both prayed and dreaded to find Merlin among the bodies, between all the possible scenarios, he preferred the Merlin-suddenly-shows-up-out-of-nowhere-and-tells-them-he-had-hit-his-head-and-knocked-himself-out one, though he knew it was highly unlikely.
He's too fat, he's too short, he's a German soldier, he doesn't have black hair or big ears…
His mind was relived anytime he identified a not-Merlin soldier, but also a sense of fear and unease would grow in his heart. Merlin had to be somewhere, alive.
"Arthur…" Lancelot whispered.
"What? Did you find him?" hope bubbled in his heart, but his friend shook his head.
"This one was the last one"
Arthur frowned in confusion "You sure? Did you check all of them?"
"All of the 'whole' ones, yes"
"But it can't be, where is he then?"
Lancelot raised his head, eyes hauntingly bloodshot "Arthur…"
"What?" say it, I dare you.
"There had been an explosion, the one that k-"he swallowed hard "the one that killed Daegal, so many bodies were completely destroyed"
"SO?"
There was a moment of silence as they stared into each other's eyes, Lancelot's filled with despair and Arthur's filled with confusion, and maybe…fear.
"Maybe…" I dare you Lancelot "Maybe…" but he couldn't continue as a lump formed in his throat. He just dropped his head, looking defeated.
"Maybe WHAT?" the blonde was shouting again, but all answer his friend could give was a choked sob.
Realization of what Lancelot was trying to say hit and anger filled him. How could he have such treacherous thought?
"No Lance, you're wrong, search again, we have missed him"
"Arthur…"
"NO, GOD DAMNIT, HE'S ALIVE, DO YOU HEAR ME?"
But all his friend did was to sit there and cry like a girl while Arthur was doing something useful, couldn't he see that any passing minute they wasted would cost greatly for Merlin?
He searched and searched, throwing the corpses aside and checking every rotten figure, but nothing…
He didn't want to believe it, because it was impossible, Merlin couldn't have been mashed with a stupid explosion, he was alive, hiding somewhere, but where was he?
Arthur made a frustrated yelling sound when he finally accepted that Merlin wasn't among the corpses. Hands covered in blood and dirt, he turned to where his comrade was sitting, but he wasn't aiming for Lance. Instead, reached Daegal's battered body. He grabbed the collar of his fallen comrade's shirt in his fists "Where is Merlin Daegal? WHERE IS MY BROTHER?"
Lancelot grabbed his shoulders firmly from behind when he continued to shake the corpse.
"Arthur what the hell are you doing? Have you gone insane?" his voice was terribly shaking.
The blonde looked back at him, suddenly sobering, his hands let go of Daegal as if he had touched something hot. For some moments the only sound that could be heard was heavy breathing of the two soldiers, then Arthur stood up.
"We need to go back" his friend nodded "if Merlin is alive, he has probably returned"
"Of course he's alive" Arthur spat.
Their journey back to the tents was one of the most stressful trips in their lives. Being forced to stay bowed and quiet since they were the only ones from their army that were still in that area, they were the exact definition of 'exhausted' when they finally arrived at the camp.
Leon was there in a heartbeat. Relived to see them alive and uninjured after hearing the news of ambush from the others, he didn't notice the way Arthur failed to see him. So Lancelot started doing the speaking, informing the medic that they were fine.
"Who are they?" he asked, pointing at the new soldiers behind Leon, wearing the Red Cross sign on their uniforms.
"Ah them? They came a little after you left. They're here to take the injured to a field hospital away from the fire line. They've been acting on their own accord from the moment they have arrived _which is quite offensive_, and they've sent a group to investigate the area, but not far in the danger zone"
"So they just empty the infirmary, hah?"
"Yeah, more or less"
Lancelot nodded, then his eyes fell on Arthur who was still darting his head around, looking for a sign of a raven haired man.
"By the way, where are Merlin and Daegal?" Leon's question shocked the other two. The blonde's attention was finally drawn to the conversation and his companion paled.
"Hasn't he returned?" Arthur asked, voice shaking.
"What do you mean? Who?"
Lancelot took charge "We were separated, they were supposed to bring the injured, we found Daegal, he was-" but he couldn't continue, Leon gasped, looking between Lance's grim and Arthur's desperate expression.
They just stared at him, he opened his mouth but no voice came out, after a few seconds he finally broke the silence.
"No one has seen them after the attack!"
….
Do you have any guesses? Let me know in the reviews.
This turned out too dramatic, sorry about that. But I have to warn you things are gonna get even more dramatic, when we get to 'comfort' part.
Thanks for all the reviews and favs and follows. Keep 'em coming, pleeease :D
Dear CoolBeans100: Thanks, hope you like this one as well ;D
Dear mayastd: Killing Daegal broke my heart but he was the only option if someone was going to die (I actually considered killing Gwaine or Lance but that would be absurd). Be patient my friend, your patience shall be rewarded soon.
Dear Guest (Apr 21): Thanks for your support, sorry this chapter didn't quite answer any question *hides behind the laptop*.
And btw, mayastd was right, I did have huge typos in the prev chap but I corrected them. Please let me know if there are any other grammar/vocab mistakes that I have missed :D