With Gwen healed it was time to begin their journey back to Camelot. Arthur's attention was fixed on his wife, as it should be. Merlin couldn't help but smile when he saw the happy looks on his friends' faces as they gazed at each other.
"I owe you a great debt," Arthur said when he finally took his eyes off Gwen to look at Merlin.
"I'll add it to your tab," Merlin chuckled. "We should probably get going. Who knows when Morgana will come looking for us?"
"Right you are," Arthur said, and they all began walking back the way they'd come.
Their supplies had been lost when Morgana attacked. A sparse trip home was a small price to pay for saving Guinevere.
They made their way back through the rocky terrain in relative silence and found the horses right where they'd left them. After about an hour's ride on horseback, Arthur was the first to ask Merlin if there was anything to eat.
"The supplies are gone. Or did you not notice the lack of floating bags behind me?" Merlin replied.
"Wait! There's no food!" Arthur exclaimed. "Like at all." Merlin shook his head. "But it's almost a three day journey."
"Correct," Merlin replied easily.
"Well, can't you do something about it?" Arthur asked.
"Like what?" Merlin scoffed.
"Like using magic to get us something to eat," Arthur whined.
"Magic doesn't work like that," Merlin laughed. He had to admit seeing Arthur so distressed about the prospect of three days without bread was highly amusing.
"But I'm pretty sure you've magically filled water flasks before," Arthur countered, as if winning the argument would get him dinner.
"I can summon nearby water, but it has a very short range, and I have to be familiar with the water source," Merlin explained. "Or don't you remember when the unicorn's magic destroyed all the food and water in Camleot while I couldn't do a thing about it?"
"Oh right," Arthur grumbled. "Well, can't you summon food from Camelot then?"
"It's too far away," Merlin replied.
"What are we supposed to eat then?" Arthur exclaimed. If just the idea of going hungry was making him this cranky, Merlin hated to think what kind of travelling company he'd be by the time they got home.
Everyone else in this group knew what it felt like to go hungry and could probably make it the two and a half days without becoming a ball of rage. King Arthur did not fall into this category.
"Why don't we go into the woods and look for something to eat," Gwen suggested kindly. Merlin was grateful Gwen had been a blacksmith's daughter before her rise to royalty. If anyone could find something to feed the King it would be her, and Merlin really didn't want to deal with a hungry Arthur.
At once, Arthur's spirits returned. He started talking about all the types of animals they might find in this area that he could hunt.
"Though it will be rather tricky with only a sword," Arthur continued. "We really should have brought a bow."
"We could set traps," Gwen suggested. Arthur seemed much happier to go along with her suggestions than Merlin's, but Merlin didn't mind. It made things feel a little more normal when Arthur teased him, and Merlin didn't want to lose that part of their friendship.
Even if they did manage to catch something, Merlin knew he'd be cooking it. That is, unless Gwen offered to help. Somehow, Merlin doubted that. Maid Gwen might have, but Queen Gwen had trained herself out of such behaviours.
As Gwen and Arthur moved off towards the wood in the distance, they began to outstrip the group, and Merlin found himself alone with Mordred.
"I hope Arthur knows how lucky he is to have you at his side," Mordred said.
"I honestly don't know," Merlin replied. "But it doesn't matter, because that isn't why I do this."
"I know," Mordred replied. "Then and now you have the same reasons for your actions. I just wanted to say that that was some very impressive magic back there, Emrys."
"Thanks," Merlin said awkwardly.
He really didn't know how to talk to Mordred; the man put him on edge. To Merlin, it felt like at any minute something could switch inside Mordred, and suddenly he'd be running off to Morgana to betray and kill Arthur. But in reality, Mordred had never done anything to lose Merlin's trust, while Merlin had betrayed him countless times. It was a strange situation.
They walked in silence after that, following behind the foraging Queen. Between the mushrooms Gwen found and the boar Arthur killed, they ate pretty well that night.
With a full stomach, Arthur was much more like himself, which helped the group as a whole relax as they lay under the stars beside the fire.
Mordred and Gwen fell asleep first. Arthur got up as if to join his wife, but instead of turning the way Merlin had expected, the King came to sit across from him.
"These last few days, more than anything, have taught me that we made the right decision to return magic to the land," Arthur said in a small but confident voice. "Without your magic being out in the open, I would never have been able to save Guinevere."
"Even if you didn't know about my magic," Merlin replied. "I still would have done all in my power to heal her."
"But that would have been impossible," Arthur answered. "Since you needed me there to get her into the water."
"I mean, it would have been a lot more work," Merlin chuckled. "Aging spells take a massive amount of energy, and that healing spell was no picnic either. Whether I could have managed both at once I can't say, but that wouldn't have stopped me from trying."
"You know Merlin, I really don't know what I did to deserve a friend like you," Arthur began with a smile. "But I am more grateful for it everyday."
Merlin didn't know how to express what Arthur's words meant to him, so he just smiled.
"Now about this tab," Arthur began in a more teasing tone. "What chances do I have of ever paying it off?"
"Slim to none," Merlin laughed.
Arthur chuckled as well. "As I thought," he said, then bid Merlin goodnight and turned in the direction of his sleeping wife.
Less than five minutes later, Merlin heard Arthur snoring. Rather than sleep himself Merlin decided to stay up and keep watch over his friends.
Only a few hours into his watch, Gwen stirred. Merlin assumed she'd go right back to sleep, but instead she got up and came over to sit beside him.
"Have you gotten any sleep at all?" Gwen asked. Merlin just shrugged. "Let me take the next watch. You need rest."
"I don't mind," Merlin said, trying to sound sure, but his huge yawn just seconds later gave him away.
"Really Merlin, it's the least I can do," Gwen smiled at him. "You saved me. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."
"That's what friends are for," Merlin said, trying to brush off the compliment. He really wasn't used to getting the credit.
"What you've done goes way beyond what a friend would do," Gwen said. Then she turned to look down at her hands, her voice nervous. "I remember everything I did while I was under Morgana's spell. I told her who you were, and then I tried to kill you."
"It wasn't you," Merlin tried to assure her.
"Still, I remember doing it with my own hands," Gwen said. "And I just wanted to say I'm sorry. Your greatest enemy knows your secret because of me."
"With my magic being public, she would have found out eventually," Merlin smiled. "Don't worry about it."
Gwen smiled back which made Merlin feel a bit less awkward. If this continued, he'd have to learn how to take praise better than this.
"I think I'll take you up on your offer," Merlin said as he tried and failed to stifle a yawn. "I'm pretty tired."
"Sleep well," Gwen told him. "I'll wake you if the dragon comes back."
"You better," Merlin chuckled before laying down and closing his eyes.
Merlin woke to the bright sun streaming down on him, almost like it was midday, and he felt surprisingly rested.
"Why didn't you wake me?" Merlin said getting up quickly to try and make up for lost time.
"Gwen said you'd earned a good sleep, and I agreed with her," Arthur's voice came from behind. "You hungry?" Merlin turned around, and his mouth fell slightly open. They had a fire going, and he could smell something like roasting meat. Near the fire, on a bed of leaves, were a pile of berries. It seemed his friends hadn't been idle while he'd been sleeping half the day away.
"You found me breakfast?" Merlin asked, stunned.
"Since it seems you are incapable of creating something from nothing, yes, we had to get breakfast," Arthur said. His words almost seemed dismissive, but his tone was warm. Merlin felt like he was being teased and thanked at the same time.
"Don't just stare, dig in," Arthur said. "Honestly, you are such a cabbage head sometimes."
Merlin laughed a great deep laugh that lightened his soul. Then he headed straight for the food. It was all delicious. The berries burst open in his mouth, sweet and tart at the same time. Though they didn't have any seasonings for the meat, it was very fresh and perfectly cooked. Merlin felt sure that Gwen had been in charge of the cooking. The thought made him smile.
Packing up the leftovers for lunch later, they set their sights on home with full stomachs.
Merlin couldn't remember when he'd been happier. Even if he didn't have a clue how to express what their gratitude meant to him, he could feel its effects. Sure he'd done things before to save their lives and help them on their paths, but never so openly before. Always working from the shadows, always lying and sneaking around. He hadn't realized how much of a burden it had been.
When they arrived in Camelot, Arthur told the court that there had been an urgent personal matter he'd had to attend to - which was technically true - and had left it at that rather than directly lie to them. Loyal as they were, the knights didn't question their king.
The whole castle was too busy preparing for the arrival of their guest, Sarrum of Amata, to wonder what the King's strange personal business could have been. There was an energy of fast-paced preparation about the castle. Arthur in particular was getting more and more worried about the visit every day.
"I planned this before everything changed," Arthur said, in that voice he used when he wanted advice but didn't want to specifically say that he wanted advice. "Sarrum and my father were never friends, but they at least had a common enemy."
"And so do you and Sarrum," Merlin reminded him. "Morgana."
"Yes, but it always seemed to be that Sarrum cared about my father's fight against sorcery more than he cared about taking down one sorcerer." Arthur was pacing now, putting his nervous energy into his movements.
"You're worried that the legalization of magic will ruin your chances of peace with Sarrum," Merlin summed it up.
"Basically, yes," Arthur agreed. "Sarrum has always been more ruthless and cruel than my father. The fact that he agreed to peace talks at all is rather out of character for him."
"It could be he doesn't know about the change in laws," Merlin reminded his king. Arthur stopped pacing long enough to give Merlin a very dubious look. "Alright, fine, so that isn't likely. But still, he hasn't cancelled."
"He could be plotting something," Arthur suggested.
"If he is, then I'll stop him," Merlin said with a shrug. "Easy. So stop worrying."
"A king is always worrying," Arthur said.
"Yeah, and so is his servant," Merlin shot back. "The day I don't have to worry about you anymore will be a strange day indeed."
"Court Warlock," Arthur corrected him. "Not servant."
"Yeah, I know," Merlin said, squirming a little. "Just feels so odd. The thing I've been hiding my entire life, since before I could even walk, and now it's in my title."
"Well, get used to it," Arthur said. "'Cause I feel certain that Camelot is going to need your talents when Sarrum arrives."
This chapter is a bit filler-y but it just seemed wrong to jump from saving Gwen to back at Camelot so this ended up a very travelling transition like chapter. Hope you enjoyed it anyway :)
Sneak Peek Chapter 10
"The last time I met you, you were ten years old," Sarrum said in a very condescending voice. "Uther held a tournament in your honour."
"I fight my own tournaments now," Arthur said as politely as he could. Sometimes he really hated politics.
"Hmm," Sarrum replied, shrewd as if studying him. "If rumors are to be believed there are quite a few other things you do on your own now as well. Things your father wouldn't've approved of."
"I am not my father," Arthur said calmly.
"That is more than obvious," Sarrum replied. "See, your father and I had a common interest. An interest that it seems you do not share."
"I take it you are referring to Camelot's recent change in its attitude towards magic," Arthur replied.
"Actually I was referring to your total disregard for your father's twenty year struggle against magic by allowing it within your walls," Sarrum snapped.