By the time Merlin reached the patch of trees, his steps were slow and heavy. His body ached all over and the cloths that had been applied over the cut on his stomach had started seeping blood, and he was sure it was the same for his back. Beneath the wrapping on his wrist he felt throbbing, and the injuries on his ribs sent stabbing pain throughout his body with every step he took.

The dry air had left Merlin parched and hungry, his vision becoming patchy before him. He found Arthur sitting under a tree by the small pond. Arthur jumped up and quickly ran over to aid Merlin's collapsing form. Merlin protested, however weakly, when Arthur picked him up gingerly and carried him to the side of the pond by the horses and supplies. He helped Merlin sit up against a tree and ensured he drank some water, staying silent and careful the whole time. Arthur made sure never to come in contact with Merlin's skin, inspecting his wounds gently and avoiding eye contact.

Merlin moaned internally, thinking about all they had just gone through, and how much had changed in such a short time. It was not meant to go like this, he was supposed to had gone with Blythe, given him what he wanted and left. He hadn't meant to drag Arthur down into all of this.

The world spun around Merlin, his head feeling thick and heavy. Worst of all, Arthur wasn't talking. Merlin pulled all his energy together and as Arthur reached down to inspect his bandaged arm, Merlin reach up and grasped his King's hand. The second their skin came in contact, Merlin was exposed to Arthur's mind. Arthur gasped, but it wasn't he who pulled away. Merlin's body jolted as he yanked his hand back and thrust his mind back where it belonged.

Arthur looked shocked, kneeling next to him looking from his hand to Merlin's face in confusion, but Merlin quickly turned away from Arthur, his face pinching in disgust. Through Arthur's eyes, he looked weak. He saw his broken body and sensed not only Arthur's pity, but also resentment.

"Merlin..." Arthur said, but that was all he said.

Merlin didn't turn to look at him, looking at the water instead. "Gaius will know a way to fix this." Merlin said, his voice hoarse. His words were steady enough, but his tone betrayed him. Blythe had said there was no way to reverse it, and Merlin believed him.

Arthur was silent for a moment next to him. "We will worry about that when we get back home." there was a slight pause, "I'd ask if you're okay, but I could feel..." another pause. Merlin turned to look at him. Arthur continued uncertainly. "I could feel that you aren't. Why did he do this?"

Merlin thought of telling him the truth. Arthur looked so genuinely confused. "He thought he was helping us." Merlin said, settling for half truths.

Arthur didn't look convinced, but he let it pass and helped Merlin take another drink from the water skin. "He didn't kill you." he said simply.

Merlin advert his eyes. "A small mercy." he said. Again, Arthur didn't push. Merlin thought of telling Arthur about Blythe, about the life he was forced to live. To protect himself, Blythe had to make people fear him, to get them to stay away. The dead and tales people brought back after meeting him made people fear the sorcerer enough that they didn't seek him out or try to hunt him down. Blythe had beat him as a substitute for the death he usually offered to those who broke his rules. Telling Arthur of the kindness Blythe had shown him would make the whole act of sending Merlin home broken redundant. If news of Blythe going easy on someone started to spread, people would think the sorcerer was softening and would try to kill him.

Blythe only needed people to see he was still a force not to be reckoned with. They didn't need to know that the sorcerer they were meant to fear had not only allowed Merlin to go through his punishment without feeling it, but to also been given the energy he needed to help him reach safety. So Merlin kept his mouth shut and let Arthur think Blythe had done this horrible thing to Merlin just for his own amusement. Just another thing Merlin now had to keep from Arthur.

"We should go." Merlin said. He attempted to get up, but ended up crying out in pain when he put his bad wrist down to try and push himself up. Black spots swam before his eyes and he felt himself slipping slowly into unconsciousness.

"Merlin?" called Arthur's worried voice from above him. Merlin waved off the concern and tried to get on his feet again. Arthur helped him, reaching over and grabbing Merlin by the armpits and helping him up slowly. It wasn't so much of helping, as it was Arthur picking Merlin up like a small child.

Arthur held on the him as Merlin fought off the dizziness and tried to gather enough strength to stand by himself. Arthur shook his head. "This isn't going to work. You can barely stand, there is no way you can ride a horse alone."

Merlin opened his mouth to protest, but instead a dizzy spell hit him and he found himself feeling nauseous. He motioned for Arthur to step aside and vomited right there. Wordlessly, Arthur handed him the water skin and Merlin washed his mouth out. He felt weak, but he knew they had to get to Camelot as soon as possible. When he voiced this to Arthur, the King protested. "We will make camp here for the night. On the morrow, we will leave and ride for Camelot."

It was only mid afternoon. Merlin shook his head. "We need to leave now. We don't know and understand what Blythe did to us. We need Gaius to help figure this out, and I need him to look at this." he said, gently touching his ribs. Merlin forced a smile, "Besides, Gwen will be worried. We said we would be home by tomorrow morning. We got some sleep earlier and we can ride through part of the night to make it back in time." he said.

Merlin knew that there wasn't anything truly to fear, Blythe had promised safety for both, but Arthur didn't know this and Merlin was desperate to get home. He had gained and given up more than he had hoped and intended to on this trip and wanted peace back in Camelot.

Arthur pondered this and nodded. "Fine, but you will ride with me."

Merlin gapped at him, but before he could speak, Arthur held up a hand. "You can barely stay conscious now. We need to ride at a somewhat quick speed and I don't want to worry about you slipping from your horse. I'd tie you down onto it, but as you pointed out, we don't know the extent of your rib injury and that will be more painful for you."

Merlin couldn't think of a way out of it, so he nodded. Arthur went to work moving all the supplies onto Merlin's horse to lighten the load for Arthur's horse, who would now be carrying two riders. Arthur refused to let Merlin help, until he reached out and brushed his fingers against Arthur's hand and pushed as much of the feeling of uselessness that was washing over him at Arthur. After that, Arthur set Merlin up by the pond and gave him the water skins to wash and refill.

Merlin did so without complaint, feeling better now that he had something to do. That small task took him as long as Arthur's many, he soon found out as he capped the last skin and turned to find Arthur finishing up. Merlin huffed in annoyance at the weakness he felt as Arthur took the skins from him and helped him to his feet.

Arthur aided Merlin into the saddle and wrapped a blanket around him. Next, he climbed on, careful not to jostle Merlin too much. Arthur had to lift Merlin up half onto his lap so that they both fit on the horse. Merlin squirmed at first, but Arthur cleared his throat loudly and he stopped, blushing at the proximity. He was glad that his back was to Arthur and that the man couldn't see his face, but the position brought back memories of this afternoon, also reminding Merlin that he was soar all over.

"Ready?" Arthur said, his arms reaching around him, guiding Merlin into an upright position and holding the reins.

Merlin looked back at Arthur and nodded.

They started off slow, but once Merlin got used to the pace they sped up. The horse's movements made him grit his teeth in pain, but Merlin didn't complain. He was eager to get home and forget this whole ordeal had happened. He wondered if things would ever go back to the way it was. It was hard to imagine they could. Arthur was married to Gwen, and had said he had been with men before. He had a way of letting out his sexual desires. Merlin on the other hand, did not. He had never felt pleasures such as the ones he had felt with Arthur. Even now, thinking back stirred a warm feeling deep within his stomach, a feeling he didn't want to push back. The feeling of Arthur's hands on him, in him. He shivered.

Arthur moved behind him. "Are you cold? Do you need anything?" he asked, but before Merlin could say anything, Arthur reached up to place his hand on Merlin's forehead to check his temperature. Merlin cried out, but it was too late. As bare skin made contact, their minds melted together and all was revealed.

Arthur moaned as Merlin's emotions and desires mixed into his mind. A transfer of feelings was exchanged, and Merlin was surprised to find that they weren't too different. Merlin was pulled inside one of Arthur's memories, almost as if he himself was living it. His hands, Arthur's hands, gripping on to thin, pale hips as he thrust himself in and out of the man beneath him, a man with dark hair gripping onto the base boards of a bed.

Everything faded, then a more recent memory appear. Maybe it wasn't even a memory, but looking through Arthur's eyes at that very moment. Merlin never found out, nor could he say he really cared to know. Through Arthur, he felt hot all over. The warm body pressed up against him and the rocking sensation of the horse, causing the man on top of him rub and grind down on top of him without meaning to. He was hard at the contact.

Merlin gasped and arched his back without thinking, getting so lost up in the moment and feeling. Merlin cried out, but the pain was replaced by Arthur's and his own combined lust. It was a feeling so intense that Merlin nearly came right then, but the contact was suddenly broken.

Merlin cried out in disappointment. He was panting heavily and could feel Arthur doing the same behind him. Now that he knew of it, Merlin was intensely aware of the bulge he felt pressing up against his thigh. The horse came to a stop and Arthur paused behind him, unsure of what to do.

"It's nothing," Merlin said weakly, their shared feeling of ecstasy fading. "let's keep going." he said. When Arthur said nothing, Merlin feared he had acted out of line. "Unless you need to stop..." Merlin added, and turned to peer up at Arthur's face, but found it to be blank.

After a couple seconds, the Arthur gave his horse a gentle kick and they started back up. Merlin's horse followed behind them, attached with a long rope to the saddle. It was silent for only a moment before Arthur spoke. "To what extent does this spell go?" he said, more to himself than to Merlin.

Merlin shrugged, then winced in pain. "I don't know," he said, "I've never come across such a spell before." Merlin said.

"Blythe promised his gift wouldn't harm us. But what does it do? What's it for?"

Merlin shook his head. "I don't know. And there would only be one way to find out the extent of this spell." Merlin said, wiggling his fingers.

Arthur lapsed into silence for several minutes. "We could try it now, we have a long ride ahead of us, it could help pass the time." he said.

Merlin was shocked that Arthur wanted anything to do with the spell. He even looked back to see if he was joking, only to find Arthur looking down at him, straight faced.

"We don't know what it will do," Merlin argued, "just a second ago we got lost in each other's thoughts and feelings. We might lose ourselves in the other's mind, then what would we do?"

"The horses know the way. We should know what we are dealing with, to be able to tell Gaius when we return."

Merlin wasn't happy with the idea. In his weakened state, he might let something slip that he would have normally wanted to keep a secret. But Arthur was insistent on this. Finally, finding no new arguments, he agreed.

Arthur slowed the horses to a trot, despite Merlin's protests. He gripped the reins with one hand and twined his fingers of the other hand with one of Merlin's hands. Merlin felt himself being pulled into Arthur's mind, a sensation that was different from reaching out to a sorcerer. It was foreign and different, putting Merlin on edge. But this time wasn't like the last. There wasn't any dominating memories or feelings to envelope his mind completely. Instead, there was curiosity and stray thoughts that weren't his own. He was kept in his own mind and surroundings, but with added flicks of Gwen's face and an outside concern for Merlin's well being.

These thoughts were Arthur's, Merlin came to realize. If he pushed into one thought or the other, maybe he could find out more or reach deeper into the thought. Instead, he decided to just sit back and watch as Arthur's sense of awe started to fog his mind. Experimentally, Merlin pushed a feeling of comfort and safety that he felt at that moment towards Arthur, who warmed at the sensation.

Earlier, Merlin's pain had been driven away by the lust he and Arthur had shared together. Just thinking about it made Merlin bite his lip and Arthur stir behind him again.

It's funny, came Arthur's voice in his mind, that we take a simple emotion and thought from the other and make it grow.

Merlin nodded. Let's not try it again just yet, he said.

Mmm, Arthur said, later then. He leaned down and buried his face in Merlin's neck, his rough, unshaven cheek rubbing against Merlin's skin. He exhaled a deep breath of warm air that sunk into Merlin's skin and hair, making him shiver. The connection between them became a little sharper.

Merlin blinked, as he realized their bond grew slightly within their mind. He reached up with his free hand and grabbed on to the hand Arthur was using to hold the reins. This time Arthur felt it as well. He slid their adjoining hands closer to Merlin, then slipped them under Merlin's shirt on his uninjured side.

Arthur must have felt the pleasure it brought the dark haired man, because he shivered with delight. He tilted his head up and kissed Merlin's neck slowly, right beneath his ear.

This isn't a good idea, Merlin said weakly. But he felt anything but, Arthur's thoughts filled his mind, ideas and hopes, past experiences, probably all without meaning to do so.

Arthur laughed. I felt the pleasure we created earlier, only with our minds. You nearly came undone with it. Merlin was glad Arthur couldn't see his face at that moment, because he was sure he was blushing up to his ears. All it would take is a couple thoughts, Arthur said. Merlin knew Arthur was getting caught up in his lust, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't feeling it as well.

Merlin bit his lip. What about Gwen? He felt a bit of uncertainty and anger rise at the question, but it was overridden by arousal and confliction.

You are right, he said finally, We shouldn't dishonored her further. It was a foolish thought, thank you Merlin. Arthur said. He sounded genuine, and the onrush of lust eased slightly.

Merlin realized just how tired he really was. He released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Gwen was his friend, and his Queen. Above all, she was Arthur's wife and Merlin didn't want to hurt her. Arthur straightened in the saddle, removing himself from Merlin's neck. In turn, Merlin dropped his hand from where it had been resting on the reins over Arthur's.

When Arthur tried to pull free of the hand he had started off by holding, Merlin gripped tighter. Please, Merlin said, looking back at Arthur who wore a curios expression, it makes me feel safe.

Arthur nodded and readjusted his grip. Alright, but try and sleep, he lust faded and a calm settled over them. The rocking of their bodies on the horse lulled Merlin slowly into unconsciousness, and as he faded off, he thought of things he had to do when he got back to Camelot. Firstly, he would take those days off that Arthur had promised him. He could feel Arthur chuckle at the thought. Merlin resolved speak to Gaius about this spell that had been cast upon them, if anything to simply learn more about it if it couldn't be removed entirely.

Merlin slipped off to sleep, but it was not a dreamless one. He dreamt of Blythe, standing above his body, bleeding and broken. He felt himself separate from it, and rose above the laying figure to see it slowly morph into Arthur's, twisted and screaming in pain. Merlin felt himself scream in anguish. This was not meant to happen, he had given so much to ensure the safety of his King. He lashed out at Blythe, casting spells without meaning to, and some that he did mean to do. He wanted to hurt Blythe for what he had done, but nothing ever touched the man. He only stood there, looking remorsefully at Merlin. Then, he snapped his fingers and Merlin slipped into nothingness, were he proceeded to sleep soundly.

AN. Can I just say thank you to every single one of you who have stuck with me this far? The support you've given me up to now is amazing, I can't believe how many of you have reviewed for every chapter, or for just one chapter. The follows, favorites and just the fact that you're looking at this now, thank you all so much!

It's not over yet, just wanted to get mushy for a moment. :')