Arthur and Merlin crouched on the ground above a small ravine. Below them was a camp with several tents, a campfire, and a number of hardened men, wearing an assortment of weapons, swinging swords, drinking ale, and playing dice.
"So," whispered Merlin, "Bandits?"
"Horses," replied Arthur, concentrating on the men's movement patterns.
"Hmm, strangest looking horses I've ever seen," Merlin teased.
Arthur turned to him, annoyed. "Unless you want to walk all the way back to Camelot, we're going to need to – procure – a couple of horses."
"You mean steal. We're going to steal horses. Not very honorable for a knight of Camelot, is it?" Merlin looked amused, as if he had caught Arthur with his pants down.
"They're bandits!" Arthur whisper-shouted, "You know, you're very relaxed for someone with no sword, no armor, facing the possibility of fighting 20 armed men!"
"Them?" Merlin glanced at the bandits, "I'm not worried about them," he dismissed the danger with a shake of his head.
"Oh?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Do you know how many times I've saved you during fights using magic? Hmm? And that was when I had to hide it. Now that I can use magic openly, these guys don't stand a chance," Merlin bragged, sounding quite full of himself.
"Really?" his tone and expression were flat, perturbed at Merlin's insinuation that his magic was more capable of handling bandits than Arthur's skill with a sword. Slowly, a wry smile spread across his face, "Then I guess you won't mind securing the horses by yourself."
Merlin's smile faded. "Alone?"
Arthur gestured to the camp and nodded. Merlin swallowed.
"Alright, ok, fine," Merlin awkwardly stood up and steeled himself.
"Oh, and, Merlin," Arthur called quietly as Merlin started to descend the ridge, "no big displays of magic. I need to learn about the subtleties, right?"
Merlin balked at him. Arthur shooed him on.
With apprehension, Merlin slid down the ridge and hid behind a boulder. He looked back up at Arthur to check if the king would change his mind. Arthur just smiled at him and winked.
"Prat," Merlin muttered.
…
The horses were on the other side of the camp. Merlin needed to somehow distract the bandits, make his way through the ravine, untie the reins from the post, and walk away with two horses without being seen. And without the use of obvious magic. Surveying the camp, he quickly put together a plan.
"Flíe fǽgð," and his eyes flashed gold.
A mace on the ground began to float, then zoomed- smack! - into the back of the head of a burly man who had been sharpening a blade. Angry and rubbing his head, the bandit turned around, searching for the culprit, and found a suspect who was holding a club and laughing to his comrades. The injured bandit shouted, ran at the other, and punched him to the ground. Within minutes, the entire camp was brawling!
Merlin crouched low and darted behind the closest tent. Checking that no one was looking his way (and that no weapons were flying in his direction), he bolted behind the next tent, then the next, until finally he was behind the tent closest to the horses. He chanted another spell and two pairs of reins came undone from the post. He smiled smugly, his prize all but won. Just as Merlin emerged to grab the reins, a jolt of unimaginable pain crippled his side. He doubled over with a loud scream.
One of the bandits spotted him. "There! A thief!"
"Get 'im!" another shouted. All the men turned to Merlin, weapons raised.
"Shit," Arthur cursed, leaping up from his hiding place and scrambling down the ravine. He had been watching the escapades with amusement. It appeared Merlin would succeed without any trouble, until he saw Merlin fall, clutching his side, and the entire group of bandits train their weapons on him. Arthur would have to save Merlin now and wonder how Merlin had gotten hurt without being hit later.
"Stop!" Arthur jumped in front of Merlin, who was writhing on the ground, and brandished his sword in a defensive stance. The bandits hesitated, looked Arthur up and down, and laughed.
"You think you can take on all of us?" sneered a bandit in front.
"I command you, as your king, to stand down!" Arthur shifted from side to side, preparing for an attack.
"Our king?" the bandit sniggered, "Well, looky here boys, we're in the presence of royalty!" he bowed mockingly and the group roared with laughter.
"If you let us go, I promise you, you will be rewarded!" Arthur claimed, biding time to size up the group. He didn't like his odds.
"Rewarded, eh? With what, your knickers?" more uproarious laughter.
Arthur chanced a glimpse back at Merlin. He had stopped thrashing, but his breathing was rapid and a sheen of sweat coated his forehead.
The bandit moved to encircle Arthur, "Nice sword ya got there," he gestured to Excalibur, "I say we kill 'em both and take that sword as our reward!" the crowd bellowed in agreement and began closing in on Arthur and Merlin.
Arthur raised his sword, bracing for combat. All of a sudden, a guttural voice incoherently called out and a powerful force blew the entire group of bandits back into the air. Most of them landed hard on the ground, unconscious. The remaining few went wide-eyed with fear and scrambled away. Arthur turned to find Merlin, sitting up, his hand outstretched, with a dangerous look that only a week ago would have terrified Arthur. But now all he felt was concern as he rushed to Merlin's side.
"Merlin, are you ok? What happened?" Arthur draped Merlin's arm across his shoulders to help him stand.
"I-I don't know," Merlin's breathing returned to normal, "a pain in my side…it's gone now," he assured his friend. Merlin let go of Arthur, steadied himself, and grabbed a pair of reins.
Arthur monitored his friend carefully as Merlin mounted a horse, "Are you sure? Seemed like you took a hard blow."
"Yes, Arthur, I'm fine now," Merlin directed his horse toward Camelot, signaling Arthur to leave things be and join him.
Accepting that the matter was closed for now, Arthur mounted the other horse facing the ravine where many bandits still laid strewn across the ground.
"Well, it's a good thing you recovered from your non-injury when you did," Arthur pulled his horse around next to Merlin, "we were in a bit of a pickle back there."
"Oh, don't worry, I wouldn't let anything happen to you," Merlin chimed, his lighthearted attitude returning in full tilt.
"I'm sure," Arthur drolled, rolling his eyes. He could tell Merlin was going to be insufferable about saving his life with magic…again.
"I wouldn't," Merlin reaffirmed with a grin as they kicked their horses forward, "I'm quite attached to that sword."
…
The afternoon went by fairly uneventfully, the two men carrying on in congenial joking to pass the time. At one point, after Arthur offhandedly called him a girl, Merlin used his magic in a feigned attempt to teach Arthur about its subtleties by breaking Arthur's saddle, causing him to fall into a puddle of mud. When Merlin dismounted, fixed the saddle, and offered Arthur a helping hand in a gesture of peace, Arthur quickly enacted his revenge by pulling Merlin face first into the mud with him. Now dusk, they stopped at the top of a hill and surveyed the landscape below. The sun's golden rays lit the horizon, highlighting a familiar and welcome site: Camelot.
"It's but half a day's ride from here," said Arthur with joyous relief.
"Yeah," agreed Merlin. Arthur noted his friend didn't sound thrilled. In fact, Merlin sounded a little sad.
"I thought you'd be happy to finally return to Camelot," Arthur inquired.
"I am…" Merlin couldn't even convince himself.
Arthur gave his friend a worried look, "Come now, Merlin, something's troubling you. Out with it."
Merlin closed his eyes and sighed. Arthur watched him speak an incantation then look up at the grassy field just ahead of them, his eyes flashing gold. A kaleidoscope of beautiful butterflies fluttered from the high grasses into the air and gently formed the pattern of a flower before disappearing.
"These past few days-" Merlin sought how to explain, "I've waited so long to be able to tell you I have magic, Arthur, for you to accept me as I am. Now that time is here, I've been able to use magic openly…" Merlin's head drooped, "but it is still outlawed in Camelot, people are still afraid of it. Once we return, I'll have to go back to hiding, to pretending I'm just an ordinary servant."
Arthur hadn't realized how different Camelot was for Merlin. All the life-altering events of late had happened so far away, Arthur viewed Camelot as a return to normalcy. But for Merlin, not even their home was a haven from his heavy burdens.
Arthur positioned his horse next to Merlin's and clasped him on the shoulder.
"Not from me," he bent down to catch Merlin's eyes and draw him from his sad reverie, "You never have to hide your magic from me again," Arthur gave Merlin a sincere look, "I promise, together we will change the laws against magic."
Merlin sniffled and gave Arthur a conciliatory smile. Arthur patted him on the back.
"Besides," Arthur added pushing his horse onward, "no one thinks you're an ordinary servant."
Merlin urged his horse to follow, "Really?"
"Of course not," Arthur smirked, "You're a rubbish servant."
Merlin chuckled. "Yes, well, we'll see how you get along without my rubbish service during my two days off."
Arthur unexpectedly made no move to respond to Merlin's obvious goad.
"Arthur…" Merlin waited apprehensively for a confirmation. "I am still getting two days off, right?"
Arthur kicked his horse into a run, leaving Merlin to yell his name angrily behind him.