Chapter 3
Ellie sighed and picked up two plates of food. Merlin was late, again, so Arthur had asked Ellie to go and get him some food. Ellie walked up to the door and knocked, waiting for Arthur to open it. The door opened and she was surprised to see Gwen opening it.
"See you later Arthur." Gwen called back before letting Ellie with a smirk on her face. Ellie walked in frowning slightly. 'Gwen never calls him by his name, at least not to his face.' She pondered. 'Maybe, there is something going on between them after all.' She thought sadly.
Arthur looked up from his chair and smiled.
"Hey, Beth thanks for doing that for me." Arthur said as she placed his food down in front of him.
"Not a problem, my lord." She replied. Arthur frowned at her.
"My lord? You never call me my lord when we're alone." Arthur got up and walked around the table, leaving his food untouched. "What's wrong?" he asked in concern. Ellie looked up at him. "It's nothing." She said moving towards the door. Arthur grabbed her arm and she gasped jerking it away.
"What's wrong?" he asked pulling her sleeve up. He gasped as the bruise came into view. "Who did this?" he commanded.
"No one." Ellie said pleadingly. "I just bashed it…against a door." She lied. Arthur's eyes narrowed.
"You are a terrible liar." Arthur said loudly. The door slammed open and Merlin ran in panting. Ellie used this opportunity to pull away from Arthur.
"Enjoy your lunch My Lord." She said leaving quickly. Merlin looked after her.
"What was that all about?" He asked clueless. Arthur glared at him and threw his plate of food at the wall.
"Go tack up my horse. We're going hunting." He snapped angrily. Merlin nodded and left thinking that it would be best to let him cool down.
Lancelot grunted and fell to the ground holding his arm. The man he was fighting against laughed and walked over to him.
"Come on boy, surely you can do better than that?" the man taunted. Lancelot glared at him and picked up his sword. Lancelot's sword hit the other mans with a clang.
Merlin looked over to his left and stopped hearing two swords hitting each other.
"Arthur?" he called out. Arthur stopped and turned round.
"What is it Merlin?" he said exasperated then froze when he too heard the clanging sounds of a sword fight. Arthur pulled out his sword and told Merlin to stay where he was before going to investigate.
Merlin watched him go before following after him leaving the two horses alone. Merlin didn't see Arthur stop and bumped into him, making Arthur fall forward into the middle of the fight. The man and Lancelot froze when Arthur tumbled out of the bush.
"Prince Arthur?" Lancelot asked surprised. The mans face paled and backed away slowly. Arthur looked at Lancelot.
"Lancelot? What are you doing here? We heard fighting." He said and Merlin came out of the bushes smiling sheepishly. Lancelot nodded to him.
"I was fighting him…" Lancelot trailed off when he noticed that the man had gone. Arthur then noticed that Lancelot was bleeding.
"We should get you too Gaius, you need your wound looked at." Arthur commanded and they all walked back towards the horses.
Meanwhile, Katie was in Gaius's room looking at all the books.
"Wow, this place is a mess." She said to him when he came in. Gaius frowned.
"Yes, I'm afraid that would be Merlin's fault. He just does not know how to clean up after himself." Gaius moaned putting his equipment down.
"It's so good to have you back. You're a much better apprentice than Merlin." He complained. Katie giggled.
"I've missed you teaching me." She said sitting down on the chair.
Gaius opened the book on anatomy and began teaching Katie about the human heart, when the door slammed open and Merlin came running in with Arthur behind him, Lancelot draped over his shoulders.
"Merlin, what is going-? What is Lancelot doing here?" Gaius demanded. Merlin looked at him.
"He was in a fight, in the forest. We-" Arthur looked at him and raised an eyebrow before placing Lancelot onto the bed. "I mean Arthur, saved him, but he's been bleeding for ages." Merlin finished quickly. Gaius set to work and told the boys to remove Lancelot's shirt. Katie looked away blushing.
colin/FF_2084743_2 of 230/09/09
