CHARLES CHUKU: Hahaha. ;)

Hannah Lynn McDonald: *Dances* Yay! Thank you!

MerlinMorgana1597: Yep, Captain Gwaine... ;)

The Great Dragon: Yup, 'twas Gwaine... *Grins* I'm not sure if Lancelot will make an appearance though, I'm sorry! Guess we'll see! And oooh, I'm glad you enjoyed The Finder as well... ;) 13 exclamation points I believe?

The king of Camelot looked up at the sky. It was dark and dotted with clouds. Stars shone brightly in clear spaces of navy blue. He breathed deeply, still not used to the salty smell of the ocean water. He looked around the dock at his knights, and their two knew aquaintences-Percival and Gwaine.

Arthur had heard that Gwaine knew how to sail... so at least one of them did. His ship was small enough to be sailed by seven, but large enough to hold fifty plus people... though it would be a rather uncomfortable fit. He huffed at the thought.

They were boarding the ship, following Gwaine's instructions as he told them what they were to do, and how to do their jobs properly. It wouldn't be easy, and they would likely mess up many times before they had everything down... but they didn't have time to find a "real" crew... they had to find Merlin and the others.

Gwaine's hand gripped a rope tightly, and he took several deep breaths, staring across the deck. He cracked a smile and tossed his head, the falling hair barely moving out of his eyes. "I always wanted a crew."

Arthur wasn't really in the joking mood, or he would have replied with a snarky comment. Instead, he only nodded and asked, "Have you ever thought about becoming a knight? Your skill with a sword is incredible."

"Knight? I don't stay in once place. Bit strange, 'Gwaine, the traveling knight from...No place in particular.'" he waved his arms in the air and bowed.

Arthur laughed half-heartedly, smiling without showing any teeth. He would've laughed, again, if there weren't so many missing. "All right-let me know if you change your mind someday?" he asked, clapping Gwaine on the shoulder. "So when do we leave?" Arthur asked.

"I always thought if you'd met one king, you'd met them all." Gwaine frowned in thought, "You seem to be proving me wrong." The ship's captain walked forward, going towards a short flight of stairs. "I'd normally say wait till morning, but why wait?" He wore a cocky grin. He put his hands on the wooden railing, and pushed down with his arms until his boots no longer touched the ground, then easily hopped onto the deck three steps down. He looked back at Arthur, "We have damsels in distress to save."

Arthur smiled-this time, a genuine smile. "All right. And Gwaine... thank you. I can never repay you enough for this. If there is ever anything you need-let me know."

Gwaine waved two fingers in the air, then turned to the small crew. He gave several short orders, his normally low voice barking them out strongly. He turned around, climbed the stairs, and went to the ship's wheel.

...Sir Louis jogged away from the group lifting the anchor, "Sire!" he panted out. "The sails - Need help with the sails?" he said it as a question.

Arthur flinched at the loud voice of Louis. He nodded. "Let's go-I'm sure we'll both need the help!" he called to Louis, making sure he would hear him. He had no idea what he was doing on a ship... but he remembered, he wasn't doing this for himself... but for other people who needed help.

*********MERLIN************

Merlin stood in front of the ship's railing, his arms crossed. He lost his balance, and his arms shot out to re-balance him, all happening as the ship lurched. He pinched his eyes shut, and pressed a fist against his mouth, the great Emrys groaned louder in complaint than he did washing Arthur's socks.

Kalian stood next to Merlin, looking out at the storm. It had come up quickly, and it was not a small one either. They'd done their best to take down the sails, so as not to be thrown about by the storm, then they'd locked the remaining sailors in the brig, where they themselves had been only hours before.

"Sea sick?" Kalian asked Merlin after hearing the young man's groaning.

"Yes," Merlin hissed, and half grimaced, half smiled, before rubbing one hand on the back of his neck. "Where do you think we're going?"

Kalian shrugged, "I don't know..." then grunted as he bumped against the wall of the ship. "But I really hope this infernal ship would just find a place to stop so I can get off," he grumbled, gripping the ship's sides to steady himself as they plowed through a large wave. He heard several people on deck fall over, calling out and groaning as they rolled, bumped into things, then stood up again.

Merlin agreed quietly. Another wave sent the young warlock falling forward, and his heart stopped for one terrifying moment. He yelped as he was tossed onto the wall, folded in half, the wooden rail pushing against his lower abdomen. He cursed, gangly arms struggling to get a hold and haul himself back up. "Blast it all..."

Kalian yanked Merlin backward, and both of them toppled onto the deck and rolled away from the side. They came to a stop as they bumped into Jillian.

"WatchIt YOU twO!" she exclaimed, voice cracking as she nearly toppled over on top of them.

"I'm begining to wonder if killing the captain and stealing the ship was quite a good idea after all!" Kalian called over the howling wind. "Where's Flynn... speaking of killing the captain."

"Sorry, sorry," Merlin apologized, and picked himself off of the floor of sorts.

As he started looking for Flynn, the ship jolted, and a creaking, grinding sound could be heard. Merlin was flung back down, and landed squarely on his back. He really couldn't catch a break, could he? His wrists pointed down and his fingers lightly brushed against the wood, and his boot's heels scrapped against the wet deck. He tilted his head, staring up at the cloudy and dark sky. With a loud huff, he sat upright, and stood back up once more.

Kalian scrambled along behind him, muttering complaints and threats against all ships. He grunted and fell, barely catching himself in time not to hit his face on the deck.

"What on earth was that?" he asked, frowning as he stood up. The ship wasn't moving anymore... at all. It creaked, shifted, but stuck.

"Iceberg?" Flynn's voice asked sarcastically as he walked up behind them, then glanced over the edge. "Or sand bar..." he mused, gripping the edge of the ship and shutting his eyes tightly for a moment.

Merlin ran his hands through his hair, before he walked towards Flynn, fingers gripping the lose threads on his sleeves. He peered over, then pressed his fingers roughly against the corners of his eyes. "What now?"

"Now?" Flynn asked, looking at Merlin. "We get everyone off the ship, and hope we're close enough to shore that we can swim... or we die." The statement was dark, but true. The ship would be destroyed, pulled apart, and ruined by the waves and the wind. Since it couldn't move to escape the elements, it would be torn apart by them.