Three days had passed with no incident, and it was driving Merlin mad.

Arthur, the knights of the Round Table, and a couple of merchants by the family name Ellish followed him in the company setting upon Adema.

Arthur had been correct in his statements about safety. They'd passed a number of borders, and yet, no bandits or enemy kings-men had caused a quarrel to sabotage the quest. Part of Merlin was relieved, but the majority of his thoughts zeroed in on the silence lining the forests at nighttime and the persistent tremor in his hands. It was spreading steadily through his arms, and had acquired his knees as well, so that whenever they stopped for a break, he almost fell trying to dismount his horse.

The company in and of itself was cheerful and comfortable, which made Merlin stick out like a sore thumb. The Ellish's were husband and wife, both rather successful looking people if judged by their plump weight, the quality of their clothing, and the pouches of coin they carried. It appeared a merchant's life was not always a lousy one. The wife had a pleasant face like a loving grandmother while the man's face frowned with aggressive eyebrows that fully contradicted his kind disposition.

If it were any other time, Merlin might have gotten to know them, but whenever spoken to, Merlin gave short and somber replies in order to quickly resume his dark musings. The Ellish's learned not to pry the man.

If any of the knights besides Gwaine noticed, they kept the thought to themselves. Merlin was in a mood half the time because of his worry, and though they understood his incredible loyalty to the king, they didn't understand what role Merlin played in helping him.

Elyan, Gwaine, and Percival were at the back of the company whilst Arthur and Leon stayed upfront, keeping the merchants and Merlin safe, as they were the civilians. From this aspect, Gwaine had a bird's eye view of Merlin's frantic movements at any sharp noise, the bend in his crouched back exposing his lethargy, and the subtle shaking in his shoulders. He was well aware of the extent of anxiety Merlin suffered from anytime they were on a possibly dangerous quest, but on this occasion it was odd for him; Merlin didn't really believe in Gaius' fairytales, did he?

Perhaps, Gwaine thought, he could lighten Merlin's tone. And thus, out of ignorance, the prank was born.

Fifteen minutes swam along without much content. Merlin wouldn't move his gaze from the bobbing neck of his horse, and how her mane tousled lightly in the breeze. It was the most calming thing Merlin could keep focus on. Frey, he called her, as an honor to Freya herself. He'd grown attached to the beast over the many years in Camelot and found peace in her quiet, gentle company.

"Everyone, wait-" Elyan spoke suddenly. The company slowed their horses to a stop and joined in a ragged circle to face one another.

"What's the matter?" Arthur asked, looking longingly towards the east. Everyone was beginning to feel the ache and need for rest, and they could almost smell the wind of Adema before them.

"Gwaine," stated Perceval, "He's disappeared."

Realizing the vacancy, Merlin shot a hurried glance to Arthur, who looked bewildered himself.

"How the bloody hell did you lose Gwaine?" he asked.

"He was behind us one minute and then was gone the next; I don't know what's happened," Elyan explained, and Percival nodded in agreement. "It's like he vanished."

Now Merlin was on the point of panic, gripping the reins so tightly his knuckles blushed pink. Perhaps Morgana had emerged from her putrid dungeons and plotted an attack on them while they were not expecting any trouble, but then, there must be a traitor in the castle... Who could that possibly be? He'd seen no one of suspicion as of late-

A yelp erupted in the forest not so far away, and Merlin listened with heaving breath until his mind processed the voice: it was Gwaine.

Arthur and Leon began shouting out to Gwaine and pulling their horses in the direction of the sound, preparing to stampede to his location and assist the man. Elyan and Percival seemed in shock, which wasn't a normal sight for men usually stoic. Mr. Ellish motioned for his wife to back her horse up and began to use his steed as a shield in front of her.

And Merlin? His blood pumped so hard in his veins that he felt like he was about to burst. His chest felt like it was flying and made of air; all he could think to do was jump off of his horse and start running to Gwaine, so desperate to help the man while filled with impossible adrenaline.

That's when they heard the pounding tread of horse hooves and settled in wait, all to see Gwaine riding through the trees with a sloppy grin parting his lips and proud shoulders that bounced along with the horse's pace.

"I'm fine, no need to worry," Gwaine said coming in close to the company near Merlin, who was frozen on Frey, eyes bulging, unable to process what just happened. "I was just playing a little joke on Merlin here." He slapped a gruff hand to Merlin's shoulder and gave a friendly squeeze, with no reaction from the latter.

Percival and Elyan burst into rapid laughter and shared knowing looks with each other.

"Ah, you bastards," Leon said with a smirk that struggled against becoming a smile. "Don't do that again, Gwaine. If you had returned from behind, I'd have cut you down as a bandit!"

"I'd like to see you try," Gwaine taunted, retracting his arm from Merlin. The Ellish's were too shy in the presence of nobility to do more than gather in the circle once more and chuckle with grins of relief, the elder man wrapping a comforting arm around his wife.

Arthur did his best to look stern, even though the knights recognized the twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "Come on men, this is a serious quest. There's no time for romping about."

Elyan and Percival's laughter died off to barely contained snorts as they refocused on the king.

"And Gwaine?"

"Yes, Sire," Gwaine answered, being jocular through his monotonous, respectful response.

"If you run off again, go ahead and return to Camelot. We don't need shenanigans." Arthur's lips turned to a warmly smile despite his words.

"Aye, captain," Gwaine responded. That induced even more snickers from the other schemers, of course.

Merlin didn't say a word throughout this until the moment they continued onward; he retreated behind the Ellish's to where he could speak side-by-side with Gwaine.

"That really wasn't funny," he murmured, just loud enough that Gwaine could hear. "I thought something had gotten you."

"Take a load off, Merlin," Gwaine offered. He gestured to the scenery of the bright forest around them and said, "Nothing bad can come from this trip. In fact, we should be celebrating! It's not often we get cozy with a neighboring kingdom!"

Elyan, overhearing from behind, nodded his head in agreement where Merlin could see him. Merlin huffed.

Shuffling his horse forward so that he could speak privately, Merlin tried again to reprimand Gwaine.

"I'm serious, we need to stay together. There's something bad in Adema; I can almost feel it."

"Always the worry-wart," Percival popped up from behind. Both he and Gwaine grinned playfully at Merlin, who trampled forward in exasperation.

It was useless trying to get through to them. Might as well keep his mouth shut.

He was useless.

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Be sure to follow! I now have a total of nine chapters for this story, and its still not at its end! Sorry for the delay in uploading; I got bit by a brown recluse and then had a bad reaction to the steroids I was prescribed to heal the bite. Not very fun!

As always be sure to let me know what you thought of the chapter! I'll try to edit and upload the fourth within the next few days.