Chapter Two
"I don't know what happened!" Bors lamented loudly his face in his hands.
"Look they will be here somewhere," Leon patted him on the shoulder before yanking the Knight back to his feet, he looked on sympathetically when Bors lifted his head and they could all see tears in his eyes.
"I had Merlin duty, he was my responsibility, he….he took a bad hit," Bors sniffed.
"Arthur is with him, he will protect him," Percival said firmly.
"They have to be around here somewhere!" Tristan growled slamming his sword into the ground in frustration.
"It's been nearly 15 hours," Gwaine gazed desperately into the forest as though hoping that he would see the two men appearing.
"It was such a bad hit," Bors groaned.
"Wait, what was that?" Leon grabbed his sword and was on his feet in seconds, peering through the trees. "I saw the flash of armor!"
"Arthur? Merlin?!" Lance shouted.
"Lance?"
"Arthur? Arthur!" The knights hurried through the trees towards their King were he was trudging wearily towards them. He was messy and dirty, covered in mud and what looked like blood. He was clearly exhausted, however, when he saw them he sped up.
"We need to organise a search party! I got cut off from Merlin! They have him!" He said desperately.
"What?"
"He was badly hurt, it could be fatal if he does not receive treatment soon!" Arthur blinked when Bors let out a sound like a wounded bull but shrugged it off.
"Sire, we need to get back to Camelot. I know that you want to find Merin now!" Leon spoke quickly over Arthur when he opened his mouth to clearly argue. "But we have been searching these woods none stop with no luck, we need to get back and get a larger party, summon the Knights,"
"I….yes you're right," Arthur sighed.
"The horses are this way," Elyan motioned to where they had been.
They all hurried over to the horses, all of them ignoring the moment when Arthur froze when he saw Merlin's horse Oria grazing next to his. His jaw locked and everything in him tensed, but he gently took her reigns and attached them to his own stallion's saddle before hopping up and galloping away. The Knights not much further behind him.
Arthur paced around his rooms angrily running his fingers through his hair as his mind spun. The image of Merlin lying there where he had left him propped up on those rocks, too pale, too limp, too weak, blue eyes staring at him, damned relief in his eyes that Arthur would be safe as the rocks fell between them.
He growled and slammed his fists onto his table, sweeping everything off before he took a few breaths and then made a decision.
"Arthur! I know you want Merlin back, we all do, but they have been searching out there and no one has found him!" Gwen argued with him as they hurried down the steps.
"I can't just sit here and leave him out there alone Gwen," Arthur looked at her honestly, all masks down, and allowed her to see what he knew she had always expected. Her warm brown eyes widened and she nodded.
"At least take someone with you, please, don't go alone," She asked softly.
"He won't be alone," Gwaine grinned as he trotted up to them, already kitted up.
"Wonderful you have condemned me to a day of mindless chatter," Arthur griped, but he shot Gwaine a grateful look.
"Good!" Gwen smiled. She captured his hand before he got onto his horse. "Bring him home, please Arthur,"
"I will, I promise," He nodded firmly before climbing into his saddle. As he looked around the courtyard before riding of, he was aware of a lot of eyes on him, more than normal, and all of them wearing hopeful expressions.
Shaking his head at the effect Merlin had on people he steered his horse around and urged him onward at speed out of the castle as Gwaine started listing all the reasons that he liked Merlin, honestly like Arthur needed to be told. Merlin managed to draw everyone in, everyone liked him and it fascinated Arthur watching people just fall in love with Merlin.
"...and he is so selfless and just does things for people without asking for anything back…" Gwaine was muttering next to him.
Arthur's mind was a million miles away though. They were getting toward the point that they would have to turn back around and head for Camelot soon and they had not found Merlin yet. He knew Gwaine was aware of this too, and his rambling had picked up even more.
Arthur could feel the frustration burning through his veins, that anger and panic building. He was aware of his own mental clock ticking away, they were now four hours passed the longest amount of time he and Merlin had been parted and not in the same area since they had met, and...and it was burning under his skin, the separation, the wrongness of it.
"What was that?" Arthur pulled his horse to a stop and jumped down, drawing his sword as he stared hard to the point he had just caught some movement in. He was aware that this could be another attack, but the hope that this could be Merlin performing one of his miraculous escapes filled him as he hurried closer.
"Merlin!" He felt as though he laughed slightly hysterically as Merlin scrambled out of a ditch, covered in mud and stumbling more than normal, but there and alive and ok…
He threw his sword into the ground and raced over, grabbing hold of Merlin and just hugging him as tightly as possible. Merlin stumbled slightly before holding on tightly back. "We thought we had lost you!" Arthur laughed squeezing him one last time before releasing him and stepping back to check him over.
"I'm ok," Merlin beamed at him.
"Come on, let us get home, there are lots of people that want to see you," Arthur grinned grabbing Merlin's arm and dragged him over to Gwaine and the horses.
"Merlin!" Gwaine jogged forward and yanked the young servant into his own hug, much to Arthur's annoyance as he had to let go of Merlin's arm.
"Right then! On the horse!" Arthur demanded once they had been hugging for quite long enough.
"Wait, you only brought two horses!" Merlin frowned a little.
"Shut up Merlin and get on the horse," Arthur rolled his eyes.
"Wait, are you going to be walking?" Merlin frowned a little when he was in place and looked down at Arthur.
"Of course not Merlin, I am King!" Arthur rolled his eyes and then climbed up behind him. "You badly need a bath,"
"Yes, thank you, Arthur," Merlin huffed rolling his eyes. "I am rather hungry as well, I don't suppose you thought to bring any food with you?"
"Ah….no, we can be back at the Castle soon though," Arthur said brightly, urging the horse on. He just wanted Merlin back behind his walls and safe.
"Do you think something is going on? Merlin seems a bit strange," Bors asked as he chewed on his dry bread and then took a sip of his hot water.
"He's...not quite himself," Lance nodded.
"Not as nice,"
"Gentle,"
"Kind,"
"Everyone is worried," Galahad sighed.
"I heard that he bit Gwen's head off an hour ago because she took Arthur his lunch. Even when they explained that they had been concerned about his injury, he was quite sharp with them and stormed off," Leon frowned concernedly.
"It's just not like him!" Geraint nodded concerned.
"What do you think those animals did to him?!" Bors growled before scratching as the stiff and itchy fabric of his tunic irritated him.
"I don't know, but I think we need to leave it to Arthur to speak to him," Lance sighed.
"We will take him down to the tavern tonight to give him THE RULES after the Knighting ceremony right?" Gwaine asked as he, Lamorak, Bedivere, Gaheris, and Leon made their way down the hallway to the ceremonial hall.
"Right," Leon nodded straightening his cloak.
The five of them froze when Gaius and Gwen suddenly burst around the corner with Merlin clearly unconscious and being dragged between them.
Without thinking the five of them spread out across the hall, blocking their access, their hands going to their sword hilts as they tried to work out what on the earth was going on.
"Erm…." Gaus looked between them.
"Why is Merlin unconscious?" Bedivere asked them sharply.
"We're erm...we are…." Gaius stammered.
"We're helping him, we promise!" Gwen looked between them.
"What is going on?" Gaheris frowned.
"Something…." Gaius looked between them for sighing. "Something happened to Merlin while he was away from us, we need to get him back to my chambers to help him,"
"Is this something to do with his change in personality since he came back?" Leon asked concerned.
"Yes, it is!" The two of them nodded relieved. Gaius grunted and tried to shift Merlin a little higher on his shoulder.
"Oh, here," Lamorak stepped forward and lifted Merlin from them.
"Can you help him?" Gwaine asked as they hurried down to Gaius' quarters.
"We think so yes," Gaius nodded.
"Good, we have all been concerned about him and about what is going on," Gaheris frowned looking at Merlin.
"You're not going to tell us what is going on?" Bedivere knew the answer even as he asked.
"No, best not. He will be right as rain soon," Gwen said cheerfully.
As soon as they reached Gaius' quarters and Merlin had been placed on the table they were ushered out and the door was slammed in their faces, bolted and locked. They stood there looking at each other confused before they turned to carry on making their way to the hall, a small silence between them.
"I am worried about what is going on, Merlin was acting quite strange in the armory earlier," Leon frowned.
"I trust Gwen and Gaius not to hurt him and to help him if they can," Gwaine said softly.
"But we should tell the others and make sure that they keep an eye on him as well," Lamorak nodded.
"Agreed,"
"Agreed!" The Knights all nodded before hurrying to make their way to the ceremony.
Percival, Elyan, and Bors all eyed each other, urging the other two on with desperation, feeling the impossible choice having to be made, and none of them being the one that wanted to make it.
The three of them gestured forward, desperation and fear written across their faces as they watched Merlin pull Arthur's sword from the bath water and the metal crumbled, the bath water that Arthur was about to get into.
The three of them motioned with more desperation toward Merlin who seemed so absorbed in what he was doing he hadn't realised the three Knights had snook in behind him after following him through the castle.
Suddenly Gwen swept passed them, grabbing a jug and cracked Merlin across the head with the jug. The three Knights all grimaced and covered their mouths as Gaius hurried passed and grabbed Merlin before he could hit the floor, quickly spinning him around and hiding him behind the post of Arthur's bed just as the King stepped out from behind his screen.
"Guinevere!" Arthur yelped finding the woman in his bedroom. "Gaius...Elyan….Percival...Bors. You're not Merlin," He frowned lifting the pillow he had grabbed higher as he looked around for the younger man.
"No, no we're not," Gwen smiled. "He had to go, there was a problem with the bath water, it is cold," She blurted out.
"Really? It looks ok," Arthur frowned stepping towards it.
"I don't think that you can have a bath today!" Gwen snapped panicked making the King jerk back.
"Right," He looked around the five of them staring back at him intently. "Good job I'm not very dirty then," he muttered.
"It's a very good job indeed," Gwen laughed awkwardly.
"Right then," Arthur nodded at them...and they all just stayed where they were staring right back. They couldn't move until Arthur was out of eyesight so that they could get Merlin out of there. "Ok," Arthur started side stepping back towards the screen until he could step fully behind it.
As soon as he did Percival hurried forward and scooped Merlin up racing for the door while Elyan and Bors grabbed the bath and heaved it out the room. They dumped it in a nearby unused bathroom before following Percival, Gwen, Gaius, and the unconscious Merlin down to Gaius' chambers.
When they arrived Percival was carefully lying Merlin down on the table, cupping his newly bashed head carefully as he lowered him down.
"What do you think you were doing! You could have seriously hurt him!" Bors growled storming toward the thin servant and fussing over him concerned.
"We were stopping him from killing the King, what the hell were you three doing just standing there?!" Gwen snapped.
"I…"
"Elyan!" She glared at her brother.
"None of us could bring ourselves to hurt him," Elyan groaned, shoulders drooping.
"You...oh for the love of...the lot of you are pathetic when it comes to Merlin! What if he had actually been trying to kill Arthur?" Gwen huffed putting her hands on her hips.
"That would never happen!" all three of them said firmly.
"It is some sort of magic, right?" Bors practically pleaded with them.
"Yes, it is, Morgana's. But don't worry we know what to do this time," Gaius assured them.
"Are you sure, we could help," Elyan frowned.
"It is fine, honestly," Gwen started ushering them out.
"But his head!" Bors whined.
"It will be fine, I didn't hit him that hard," Gwen rolled her eyes.
"But...he could have a concussion," Bors tried to dodge around her.
"In which case the Court Physician ca look after him," Gwen placed a delicate hand on his chest and shoved with deceptive strength.
"But…"
"OUT!" She snapped.
"Call us if Merlin needs us!" Bors cried out as the door was slammed in their faces, bolted and locked.
"For the love of…" They could hear Gwen's exasperated response before she retreated across the room.
"And so after rolling her eyes and glaring at me, Gwen confirmed that Merlin is ok again," Elyan nodded before taking a sip of his tankard.
"I can't believe that we missed all this," Galahad shook his head.
"I think we all agree though, this incident has called into serious question our actions," Leon sighed.
"And that we do in fact need to make some changes," Geraint nodded.
"Our duty is to Camelot and Arthur, and what is best for them," Tristan placed his hands firmly on the tavern table and met every Knight's eye.
"Our actions before have been faulty, and we do need to rectify that," Kay sighed.
"All agreed on the changes that we must implement?" Palamedes asked.
"Agreed," they all chorused.
THE RULES:
1) You always protect the King
2) You obeyed the rules
3) You conducted yourself with honour, chivalry and decorum.
4) The eyes of the kingdom were on them, they should always remember that
5) Arthur's training was hard, and demanding, but it would make them the best
6) They were above no one else
7) At all times make sure that Merlin is near King Arthur, he was much more pleasant with the Manservant in sight.
8) The way they spoke to each other did not mean that they hated each other.
9)Never, Ever try to hurt Merlin, do not make fun of him, do not laugh at him, do not in anyway physically or emotionally hurt Merlin. That was the swiftest way to find yourself in the furthest village of the kingdom shovelling dung - if you were lucky - no one could pin down who made sure you ended up there but you would find yourself there and for a very good reason on paper.
10) Merlin would follow them everywhere, into every situation, and he would do everything that he could to protect Arthur - which was why he had the respect of so many of the Knights.
11) It was their responsibility to protect Merlin. He never went into dangerous situations with armour, he was not a fighter at all, in fact he was quite clumsy and often ended up tripping and falling. Merlin was skinny and small and looked like a stiff wind would blow him over, and they must do everything that they can to protect him.
12) Arthur protected Merlin a lot of the time, but if Arthur was not by Merlin it was their DUTY to protect Merlin.
13) Repeat. Merlin MUST be protected.
14) Never ever question Merlin when you catch him sneaking around
15) If you have to speak to him when you catch him sneaking around, offer an excuse for him, he comes up with terrible ones.
16) If Merlin appears to be trying to kill King Arthur it is not what it seems, protect Merlin and find out what is going on, Gaius likely will be able to heal him.
As Bors cimbed into his bed that night that had no blankets, pillows, sheets or covers and tugged on another jumper to offset the cold that came from all the windows having been opened all day and no fire having been lit at all, he nodded contently to himself. They had acted accordly and he was rather pleased with the changes that they had made.