He was shaken awake the next morning by Elyan, who hauled him to his feet, handing him a chunk of bread. His stomach rumbled eagerly, and he immediately shoved a large bite into his mouth.

"We're off to hunt for other tributes this morning," announced Elyan grimly. "Arthur's orders. Gwen and I are headed west with Leon, and Percival. You're to head east with Morgana, Valiant, and Arthur. Gwaine is to stay here and guard the gate."

Merlin groaned, and Elyan grinned, clapping him on the back and offering him a mace. "Don't worry, mate. I'm sure you'll be just fine."

Seeing that he was awake, Gwen rushed over. Merlin looked her up and down, noticing that she was fully equipped, just like Elyan, with chainmail, a sword, and several daggers at her belt. She looked pale but determined, and Merlin knew how she felt. He had no desire to have anyone else's blood on his hands.

"Who gave you that?" he motioned to her garments.

"I did," replied a familiar voice, and Arthur stepped into the hall with the rest of the Careers at his side. Everyone turned expectantly toward him. Merlin noted with interest that Gwen was blushing furiously.

"We move out now," Arthur commanded, and they all crowded out of the keep and down the white marble steps. The cornucopia gleamed in the predawn glow and dried bloodstains marred the cobblestones, a constant reminder of the prior day's violence.

As the first rays of light shone over the battlements, the gates swung open silently open, and Arthur strode through without hesitation. The rest followed, splitting up on their separate paths. Gwen sent Merlin one, last sympathetic glance before turning and disappearing into the trees.

The morning was awkwardly quiet, and thankfully completely eventful, save for Arthur's growls of annoyance every time Merlin stepped on a twig or tripped on a root, which was quite often. Now the midday sun had risen over the treetops, and sweat dripped down their brows and drenched their clothing.

"We'll stop here for lunch," Arthur announced, stabbing his sword into the ground in frustration. Merlin made to plop himself wearily down on a log when a hand roughly grabbed his arm. "What do you think you're doing?" Arthur demanded. "After being absolutely useless this morning, you had better hope you're a decent cook."

The Careers sat down where Merlin had been, Morgana chatting flirtatiously with a surly Valiant and Arthur staring moodily into the distance. Merlin made his way over to the bags, grumbling under his breath as he pulled out several loaves of bread, apples, and goat cheese, making crude sandwiches.

"I'm done," he called, and Arthur and Morgana eagerly came over, the blonde's stomach rumbling loudly. Valiant, meanwhile, was acting strangely, gripping his shield in one hand and walking slowly over toward the group, a strange hissing filling the air. Morgana and Arthur, seemingly oblivious, grabbed their sandwiches from Merlin as Valiant grew ever closer, a dangerous gleam in his eyes and a smirk on his face.

Mind racing, Merlin did the only thing he could think of. "Hey Valiant, Here's your lunch!" Arthur and Morgana turned to face the boy as he grabbed his lunch angrily from Merlin, his smirk turning into a deep scowl. They all settled down to eat, Merlin watching Valiant carefully as he sat on a boulder and set his shield against. It could have been his imagination, but Merlin was pretty sure the boy leaned over and whispered something to his shield, a large slab of wood painted a garish yellow and adorned with a venomous looking serpent.

The afternoon was as uneventful as the morning, as Merlin kept a close eye on Valiant, walking in the back of the group. Merlin had no idea what he was up to, but by the death glares he kept receiving over the older boy's shoulder, it couldn't have boded well for any of them.

They reached the castle gates in the early evening, where Gwaine leaned against the cool stone, looking bored out of his mind. Arthur clapped him on the shoulder. "How were things on the home front?" he asked, grinning.

Gwaine moaned theatrically. "What do you think? I spent the ENTIRE day staring at TREES! Do you know what horrible conversationalists blades of grass are?"

"I take it that nothing happened then," Arthur laughed. "Tomorrow Merlin can take your place at the gates. Probably all he's useful for anyway. He probably scared away all the other tributes with his stomping around in the undergrowth."

Gwaine looked more serious. "So no luck then? That's what I figured, seeing as I didn't hear any canons."

Arthur nodded. "So that means that the others were unsuccessful as well. Tomorrow we travel further away from the castle."

Merlin's heart sank. How was he going to protect Arthur from Valiant if he was stranded at the castle? And what was Valiant up to?

A/N: so I hope you all enjoyed... I had a writing assessment at school yesterday, and I don't think I have ever written anything that bad in my life, so I wrote this to make sure I still know how. Let me know what you think of Valiant! :)