Hello, I apologies for how long it's taken me to get this chapter out. A lot of things have happened but here's the chapter.
Merlin belongs to the BBC.
Chapter 6
Arthur hadn't failed to notice Merlin's foul mood since he made the suggestion. He knew that Merlin hated hunting and caught on that Merlin would be as loud and as clumsy as possible to create as much noise and alert the nearby animals so they would bolt. Arthur wasn't stupid after all, he had noticed some things when Merlin was around and that was how little he and the knights would catch when they brought his manservant. Then there were the times when the tree branches suddenly fell onto the bandits that were close to striking Arthur or another knight…or the bandit that just decided to drop their weapon. Arthur had thought about that for a long time and the coincidence couldn't be ignored, since Merlin had joined him they were often attacked more by bandits and the unexplainable luck had followed them.
Arthur rode in front with Merlin by his side, Leon was at the back of the ground with Mordred at the center and the other knights surrounding him. Lancelot was riding behind Merlin and looked eager to talk to him. Arthur didn't mind if Lancelot rode up beside Merlin but Lancelot would only move if Arthur gave him permission. They could all hear Gwaine telling multiple stories about his tales from the many taverns, many times had they all heard them before but when Arthur and Merlin weren't having their witty banter, Gwaine's stories were better than nothing. Silence only fell when Arthur held a hand up and the group stopped. They had arrived at the hunting grounds. Merlin glanced around before he realised where they were. They were close to the lake of Avalon, where he lay Freya to rest and she became the Lady of the Lake, maybe he could convince Arthur and the others to rest away from the lake? He didn't see any harm in trying.
"Arthur, I saw the perfect place to set up camp for the night and it's in…" he glanced around quickly before pointing in the opposite direction of the lake, "this way."
"Merlin, I say where we make camp but if you're that determined, take Mordred and scout around. If Mordred deems it an acceptable place then we'll camp there," Arthur turned to look at Merlin, his expression was playful but irritated at the same time. Mordred glanced up at the mention of his name before looking between Arthur and Merlin. Was Arthur giving him another chance to befriend the mighty Emrys?
"Of course, sire." Mordred looked towards Merlin and noticed how Merlin was looking back at him with an expression Mordred couldn't quite read.
"You just don't want to hunt with me, do you?" Merlin asked innocently to Arthur.
"Merlin, whenever I'm hunting with you the knights catch more than me. So I can assure you, it's nothing personal, okay?" Arthur smirked at Merlin. The warlock rolled his eyes and looked back at Mordred.
"If you get attacked by bandits while hunting then it just proves that you're the bad luck and I'm not."
"Merlin!" Arthur shook his head and looked away. He wouldn't admit that and assumed that Merlin was the reason they got attacked so often. "Mordred, protect him with your life. Don't let him give you the slip."
"The slip, my lord?" Mordred blinked confused.
"Yes, he'll try and find his way back to me so make sure he doesn't. The rest of you, pair up and good luck." The knights paired themselves up before they all went their separate ways to do some hunting. Merlin muttered something under his breath and within a few minutes Arthur was bothered by a pesky fly that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Mordred glanced towards Merlin once more and caught his impish smile. The fly was Merlin's fault.
Shackles of Destiny – Chapter 6
"You seem to be on edge here, Merlin," Mordred spoke after he and Merlin had finished grooming the horses, watering them and then feeding them. "I don't think it's the fact that they're all hunting either."
"I've noticed that you're trying to befriend me but I can't let my guard down around you," Merlin said quietly.
"Is this because of the prophecy that surrounds me?" Mordred asked him. They were alone with the horses so it was the safest time they could talk about destiny and prophecies without anyone listening in who shouldn't. Merlin's magic was swirling around the camp too as an extra layer of protection. Mordred had watched as Merlin let his magic go and as long as it behaved itself, they were fine. The warlock grew tense at the mention of the prophecy. Emrys wouldn't push someone away without a reason to. Everything in the forest stood still though, the breeze had dropped that swayed the trees, the birds had fallen silent and even the clouds had stopped moving in the sky. "It is…isn't it?"
Merlin wasn't sure how to answer that. Yes, it was because of that destiny that prevented Merlin from dropping his guard down and letting Mordred in. He still hadn't let Arthur past the walls he had built up to protect himself, to keep the lies that had become his life, to prevent the light from decloaking him. The walls he knew were safe…he couldn't let anyone slip past them to reach him. Mordred was trying his hardest to reach him not understanding that he was the reason Merlin kept enforcing them.
"There are times when I wish I never talked to Kilgharrah or heard of the prophecies. I fear that I've been swallowed by them and that some of my choices could have been avoided if I didn't know of the prophecies. If I didn't know the one around you then I wouldn't be treating you like I am…but I know what destiny has for you…and I'm scared it'll come true."
Mordred listened to what Merlin was saying. He too wondered what their relationship would have been like if neither of them were made aware of what destiny had planned. Would they have been friends? Would Mordred even be a knight of Camelot? Or would he still be with the druids? Those were questions that wouldn't ever be answered so he didn't feel like dwelling on them. If he had any chance of befriending Merlin then he would need to convince Merlin that he wasn't a threat to Arthur. It was easier said than done though…but he wouldn't give up! He was going to succeed in his personal quest!
"It isn't going to come true. I have no intention on betraying Arthur or turning to Morgana. I've made it my personal quest to befriend you even if it feels impossible. One day, I will prove myself to you and to Arthur. All I ask is that you give me the chance."
"You asked for the reason why I seem on edge?" Merlin asked as he changed the topic of the conversation. Mordred had noticed that Merlin changed the topic when he started to feel uncomfortable or refused to provide an answer to something. Mordred wanted to ask more but decided to let things slide for now. "I just have some mixed emotions here. Both happy and sad emotions dancing with each other and I'm not sure how to feel because of it. That's all."
Mordred tore his eyes from Merlin and looked at the environment around them. They weren't exactly on holy ground for magic or near a druid shrine. He couldn't see memories that Merlin had created here but from looking in Merlin's eyes he could see the mixed emotions. "Did you leave something precious here?" Mordred asked after taking in the scenery.
"You could say that…" Merlin smiled sadly. The smile never reached Merlin's ears, his eyes never gave off a glow that Lancelot said happened when Merlin was experiencing true happiness. Mordred wasn't sure if he should say what was currently on his mind, the invasion of Merlin's personal life never should be violated but Mordred felt the words leave his mouth before he could stop himself.
"What were they like?" Mordred immediately clamped his hand over his mouth to stop him from saying anything else. Merlin laughed slightly at that.
"I'd rather not talk about it. Just…what we have is special."
Mordred smiled before the sound of twigs snapping brought Mordred's hand to his sword. Mordred was ready for a fight before the person responsible for snapping the twig came to the camp. Mordred breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Elyan and Leon had returned with food. It wasn't long after that everyone had returned from their hunting trip, Gwaine being the loudest, Merlin gathered what they were going to have for dinner and started to skin the young deer.
"See Merlin, I didn't get into any trouble while you were here being defended by Mordred," Arthur bellowed with delight while Merlin simply rolled his eyes at Arthur.
"Maybe just this once they couldn't be bothered to attack."
Shackles of Destiny – Chapter 6
Night approached quickly, too quickly for Merlin's liking but there wasn't anything he could do about that. The knights were all here. All chatting to each other or playing games with each other before they all settled down to get some sleep. Merlin returned to the camp with the freshly cleaned pots and bowls from their stew. Arthur had complained yet again that the meal was too salty while none of the others had complained. After he finished putting the equipment away he was drawn to Gwaine and Lancelot and integrated himself into their conversation without any issues.
When Arthur announced that everyone should get some sleep, Lancelot was the only person who wasn't settling down, instead he was going to be taking watch over the camp. If anything happened during the night then the knight (or Merlin) on watch will alert and awake the others to fight who decided to try and attack them. The knights were allowed to sleep close to the fire while Merlin slept the furthest away from the fire, that was the rules but when it was him and the knights of the round table, they allowed Merlin to sleep closer to the fire. Gwaine didn't hesitate to pull Merlin's bedroll closer to the fire to prevent the younger man from freezing during the night.
Merlin lay awake though, listening to the activity of the forest that surrounded them. The gentle breeze of the forest, the nocturnal critters waking up to go hunting for food or just to travel. With Lancelot on guard, he allowed his magic to mingle with magic of the Earth below, letting the nature around him drink up his magic and to disperse it where it wanted to go.
Thank you…Emrys…
Merlin heard the whisper on the wind and smiled. Feeling like he had returned enough magic back to the Earth, he wrestled his magic back under his control and settled down to get some sleep so that when it came to his time to watch, he had enough sleep to continue the following morning.
"Good night Merlin," Lancelot whispered to Merlin before Merlin closed his eyes.
Shackles of Destiny – Chapter 6
"After scouting the area while hunting we discovered a lake, we can get ourselves all washed and clean before we return to Camelot."
"Excellent, we shall head there later and wash when my useless toad of a manservant decides to wake up."
"Were there that many plants around when we went to sleep?"
"Looks like Merlin is the king of the butterflies."
Merlin opened his eyes and was greeted by the flapping of a butterfly, its pale-yellow wings opened and closed before it took off into the air. As Merlin moved he watched as many more butterflies of different colours and variations took flight into the air. He heard laughter from behind and upon rolling over to see who was laughing he came face to face with the knights. Mordred was the only one absent but for once Merlin was thankful. As he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes he picked himself up and started to tend to the camp, getting the fire going so he could prepare their breakfast.
"You don't have to do that today, Mordred is already sorting it," Percival spoke to Merlin. "For once you can just relax."
"But…serving all of you is my job while we're out hunting. That's how it's always been?" Merlin looked around the camp. So that was where Mordred had gone to. Checking the traps to see if they had caught something for breakfast.
"And we've all noticed how overworked you are and we managed to persuade Arthur to let you lay in. Normally though you're awake as soon as the sun rises," Leon smiled towards Merlin as he explained.
"As soon as we've eaten and the horses have been fed and watered we'll be traveling towards the nearby lake and freshening up."
"The…lake…"
"Yes Merlin, the lake. Do keep up," Arthur gently punched Merlin's arm and shook his head.
"Prat…" Merlin muttered.
"I heard that!" Arthur responded immediately. Sometimes Merlin wondered if Arthur did actually hear him or if that was just a natural response now if he muttered something. Did Arthur always assume that Merlin insulted him? That was going to be something to test at a later date. He didn't fail to notice when Mordred returned and breakfast was finally started.
Shackles of Destiny – Chapter 6
When they arrived at the lake they tied their horses to the nearby trees. They had packed their camp away after breakfast (Merlin doing most of the work) and were chatting excitedly about what they were going to do at the lake. The knights were already removing their chainmail and stripping down to just their trousers. Gwaine stripped naked without any embarrassment while the other knights simple shook their heads at Gwaine. He would be the one to strip naked before sprinting towards the lake. The others were quick to follow Gwaine into the water. Merlin held back, he didn't feel like stripping to enjoy the lake. He could swim but this lake held too many memories.
"Come on Merlin, the water is fine!" Gwaine called, trying to lure Merlin into the water.
"I'd rather stay on dry land!" Merlin returned the call back to Gwaine.
"Suit yourself!" Gwaine rallied up a few of the knights and started to engage in swimming contests. Lancelot kept glancing back at Merlin to make sure that he was alright while Arthur's eyes remained on him. Merlin swore he could see the gears in Arthur's mind turning, his mind coming up with something Merlin was sure to dislike.
"They seem to be having fun, why don't you join in?" Merlin tensed as he heard her voice.
"Freya…" He whispered quietly.
"You're not shy, are you?" Freya asked in a teasing way. A smile grew on Merlin's face as he watched the knights playing in the water. "Merlin, the greatest warlock to walk the Earth…shy to be in the water? Doesn't seem right."
"I just don't have a reason to enter the water…"
"Oh? Is that all? Then how about I give you a reason~" Merlin's eyes widened as he looked across the water before his eyes fell on Freya. She smiled innocently at him from the water before waving at him. Merlin stood up and quickly untied his neckerchief and dropped it to the floor. Once off he sprinted towards the water and made his way through it. The knights stopped what they were doing and turned to see Merlin before noticing Freya.
"Merlin, you're supposed to strip down mate," Gwaine laughed as Merlin swam past him and into the arms of Freya. Everyone stopped as they watched the two meet. Freya wrapped her arms around Merlin as he did the same.
"You're going to catch a cold," Freya scolded Merlin before laughing.
"A cold is worth it if it means I get to be in your arms once more," Merlin laughed.
Arthur cleared his throat before looking at Merlin. "So, are you going to introduce us?"
The Sorrowful Deity - I don't think that's an unpopular opinion but that maybe because I like it too. Merlin and Lancelot's friendship is one of my favourite friendships...and then throw Gwaine into the mix and you've got a happy Merlin.
emrysmorgan - I'm happy to hear/read your review, I'm glad this story is one of your favourites. I'm just sorry it takes what is probably a month between updates.
PadrePedro - I'm glad you think so, I have some doubts but I think most people do with their works.
So, I decided to bring Freya back into the story and allow her to meet Merlin's group of knights. Let's face it, they're all just as loyal to Merlin as they are to Arthur. xD Thank you for reading and I'll be back with another chapter...probably next month if that's how things are going with the updates. I've just been hit by low motivation or too many plot cats from different fandoms at the same time...It's overwhelming at times along with personal life here too.
Until next time though, stay safe out there.