v.
Arthur woke the next morning with a cinch in his back and every muscle in his limbs aching. He sat up, rocking the hammock slightly, and rolled his shoulders. Then he turned and glanced around the cave. Merlin was leaning between the wall and the rock chair, asleep. Arthur got up slowly, still rubbing his sore arms, and walked over. He kicked Merlin's foot, and the fairy blinked awake.
"Shouldn't you be keeping watch?"
"Uh..." Merlin rubbed his head. Arthur was glad to see him in a muddled state for once, and he suppressed a superior smile. "No. No one can see this place, it's protected." Merlin looked up, noticing Arthur's skepticism. "Trust me." He pushed himself onto his feet and took Arthur's hand to begin digging his thumbs into the calloused skin of the king's palm. Arthur pulled back, anger twinging his eyebrows together.
"What are you doing?"
"Massage. You are sore, no?" Merlin eyed the hand that was still methodically rubbing his upper arm. Arthur dropped it to his side.
"I don't need your help, thanks." He turned and walked over to his pile of clothes, beginning to re-dress himself. "Bring me back home. Now."
"I told you, I don't know where it is. I can't fly there."
Arthur sighed. "Of course. Then bring me back to the battle field and I will walk from there."
"Don't you want to eat first?"
Arthur glanced at the 'soup' that was still left over from last night. "No thank you." He finished cinching his belt, then moved back over to Merlin. He held out his hands, closing his eyes. "Now take me there."
Merlin stood, watching the man for a few seconds, an amused half-smile playing on his lips. He looked so solemn... but more than a little silly. Why did he close his eyes? Just as he felt Arthur growing restless, he clasped his hands over the king's and dug his toes into the ground.
In another second, he was gripping Arthur's elbows to keep him upright, now standing several yards from the bloody path. "Here we are." He heaved the larger man to his feet and let go of him. "Show me the way."
"What?" Arthur ran his hand through his hair, trying to regain his senses through the nausea.
"Show me the way to this Camelot of yours."
"I assumed you..." he pressed a hand to his stomach, swallowing his sickness, "wouldn't want to come."
"I don't. Not really. But it may be helpful to know where this city is. Plus, I need to keep an eye on you, make sure you don't get too rambunctious."
"Rambunctious? I'm not a child."
"All the more damage you can do." Merlin gave Arthur's glare a pleasant smile, then gestured down the path. "Go on now." Arthur eyed him for a minute, then turned and started along the trail home.
The trees were just starting to thin, a sign that they were getting closer to farmland, when loud commands echoed against the grey sky. Arthur recognized the deep voice immediately as Leon, his Earl Constable. The distance still sounded a trek away, but if it was close enough to hear… they must have been up hours before dawn, gathering and preparing the troops to set out at exactly first light. Arthur picked up speed, sprinting the first leg before slowing to a jog as he approached where he estimated the troops would be. Sure enough, through the scattered trees marched two hundred men, perhaps more. Leon led them up front on his golden horse, and beside him, on a lively bay, rode Guinevere.
"Damned, Gwen," Arthur muttered. He should have known she would have come personally, despite the much more urgent need for her to remain with Camelot.
"Is that your wife?" He jumped at the voice right behind his head, forgetting Merlin was still with him. "She looks magnificent. I'd like to meet her."
"Well, you're about to. Just stay behind me." Arthur shoved Merlin's chest to better emphasize that point, then took a deep breath and set off at a jog again to meet the oncoming ranks along the path.
Leon halted his steed and the men as he saw the oncoming man, but Guinevere recognized him.
"Arthur!" she cried, swinging off her horse and sprinting to reach him. Winded as he was, he swept her into his arms and swung her around happily as she hugged herself to his shoulders. "Thank God! Oh thank God, you are here! I feared the worst when you didn't return and no messenger came. Where are the knights?" She looked around over his shoulder, her eyes falling to the grinning man standing several paces behind the king. "Who is this?"
Arthur held her at arms' length, his happiness to see her dropping like a stone. "They are all dead, Gwen. All of them." Her expression fell into bewildered horror, and he gripped her upper arm to keep her steady. "I know—I know, but it has been a long night for me. Please let us just return home, and I will explain it all over a good, hearty breakfast. This is a…" He looked over his shoulder at Merlin still standing there grinning like a fool. "This is someone who helped me. He'll be staying with us temporarily."
He took her back down the path with an arm around her waist and said the same to Leon. One of the cavalry knights dismounted, and he took his place on the horse. He gestured to Merlin. "If you don't know how to ride, you can ride behind me."
"No, thank you, I would rather walk." He brushed a hand down the horse's muzzle, eying the heavy armor along its back and sides. "Poor thing," he murmured. "It doesn't deserve such treatment."
Arthur bit back an angry sigh and ignored the look Leon and Gwen exchanged. He wouldn't address the man's bizarre thought process here, though he had been hoping he would have kept his tongue among so many others.
"Let's go!" he called, spinning the horse around, forcing Merlin to step back to avoid getting trampled. The troops parted to let him pass through them.
He sat at the long table with his counsel over a larger breakfast than he had eaten in months. Even in the great hall, the fireplace was left unlit because the warmth from the food and bodies was enough to heat the enormous room. Guinevere sat to his left, and to his right, where Gwaine had sat for years, the wooden chair was empty and silent. To the right of that sat Merlin, perched on his chair like an animal.
His presence alone had given the counsel pause, but his strange behaviors had them all eying each other uneasily. Though Arthur wasn't convinced it was only his behavior causing everyone discomfort. The outlandish aura Merlin carried about him like a cloud seemed more obvious here, in civilization with walls and furnishings. He did not have the presence of a human, though neither of an animal. It was a peculiar sense of somewhere between the two, almost archaic, like a person from before civilization had walked in and sat down to feast with them.
When Arthur had his fill of roast quail and meaty, salty soups, he sat straight in his chair and surveyed the people around him. Just that movement caused a hush to fall over the table, as his counsel watched and waited.
"Yesterday, we incurred a great loss." Arthur's voice rang across the table, expanding to fill the hall, and even Merlin looked up and started paying attention. "Fifty of the finest knights this kingdom had to offer are dead. But their deaths were not in vain. We have learned valuable information from what happened there last evening." He swallowed, looking over at his queen. She sat as straight and unmoving as him, meeting his gaze with solemn encouragement. "First, we have learned that King Gareth has done the unthinkable. He is using magic in this war. But I know one of the tricks up his sleeve now, and we can be better prepared next time." He slammed his fist onto the table to silence the murmurs that had kicked up at the word 'magic.' The men quieted at once. "The fight is not won on magic alone. Only the selfish and weak use such methods at a time like this. We have not lost, and we will continue fighting with the strength and valor I know us all to uphold."
He settled back down, clearing his throat. "Leon, I need you to assemble a group to recover the fallen soldiers. Hurth, contact the clergy and have them prepare. We must give the knights and their families proper services." The men rose from their seats, but Arthur lifted a hand to halt them. "And men… this is Merlin. I would not be here right now if it were not for him. He is to be treated as an honored guest whenever he is here and for however long he stays."
The counsel exchanged glances, then dipped their heads in acquiesce. Arthur waved at them to leave, and the ten stood and filed out of the hall.
Arthur looked to Merlin. "You haven't touched your plate. Is my food not to your liking?"
Merlin smiled. "I would not touch it in a million years." Outside of his vision, Arthur heard Gwen's sharp, surprised inhale. Merlin's gaze flicked from Guinevere back to the king, and he dipped his head, though the smirk across his face proved it was a mockery. "I would not touch it in a million years… Your Majesty."
Arthur surveyed the feast laid across the table thoughtfully. "You do not eat meat," he said. It wasn't a question, it was clear enough, and he thought he should have known beforehand. Merlin's smirk flickered, just for a moment, to a genuine smile.
"That would seem to be the case, yes."
"Very well. I will have a fruit platter brought to your room. A page will show you where it is." He waved a hand, and one of the servant boys from the corner of the room stepped forward, head bowed low.
Merlin eyed the boy with something bordering disgust. "I thought I would be staying with you."
"I have duties to attend to. Quite a few more than usual, in regards to the new… situation that has arisen. I will send for you later today. You may explore the castle at your leisure. Perhaps find a good spot to… land." Merlin blinked at him, before biting back a laugh that became an amused exhale. Arthur mirrored his smile, then stood and held out an arm for Guinevere. She took it and followed along beside him out of the hall, though she turned her head to watch Merlin as they walked, until he was out of sight.
"How on earth did you meet this man? What did you mean by that last sentence?" she asked as soon as they were alone in the hall.
Arthur sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "It's… a long story. And right now, I need to focus on other things. Can you find a fast messenger for me? I need to get a message to Lord William before nightfall. They need to be stealthy, too; I'm not sure what the situation over there is."