Drabble for The Crystal Cave.
Penalty
Arthur never asked what became of them.
When he awoke, he simply cast one glance to Merlin, who sat staring broodingly into the dying fire. He grunted out what may have been his manservant's name, and then proceeded to stand up and say rather flippantly,
"What happened to the arrow in my back?"
Merlin tossed some halfhearted answer in the prince's general direction. It was quite typical of him, really, to offer a brief, "Wow. Ah…thanks," to his servant for evidently saving his life, but to entirely forget to ask exactly how he did it.
Not that Arthur would ever know, but it had taken Merlin less than a minute to effectively magic the three bodies of the dead bandits beneath a pile of nearby dirt.
I know what you're thinking—that it's a bit dark!Merlin for him to go and kill the guys, but they probably were aiming to fire at him next, so I see him as having no choice. And they hurt Arthur.