Arthur braced himself for the impact as he watched Gwaine being flung like a ragdoll to the side. He watched almost helplessly as two of the bandits, one brandishing a dagger at his man-servant's throat, held him in place, one of them clamping a sticky and gnarled hand to Merlin's mouth, muffling his cries. And then they were running at the bandits, brandishing their swords.

Clanging and clacking, Arthur immediately got caught up with a rather small man in the group, whose sword looked incredibly cheap, as if it would snap in two at the slightest touch. Of course, he held his own, parrying and blocking every single one of Arthur's strikes with ease. The man's hair was oily, swinging in his face as he moved along with Arthur, predicting each move.

A loud cry and Arthur could see Percival running at the two men holding Merlin, his face entirely made of a newfound rage. He knew Percival was a friend of Merlin's, but even he was surprised by the ferocity with which he went at them. Merlin even looked scared, digging his heels into the dirt as the captors tried dragging him away before Percival ripped them to shreds.

"Let go of him!" Percival cried harshly, and Merlin froze in the bandit's hands. Before Percival had a chance t swing his sword, however, the bandits were gone, having disappeared in a puff of nast black smoke.

And so had Merlin.

The knights looked around, Elyan joining Percival as they ran back down the bed of the river, checking for any signs of life. Arthur doubted it. Sorcerers had a habit of cropping up and just…. poofing away whenever they wanted. It was too convenient for them to be able to do so.

"Wh-where did they go?!" Elyan asked, Leon scratching his beard thoughtfully.

"Isn't it obvious?" Percivall snapped, "They're gone!" A groan sounded, and Arthur crouched down at Gwaine's side as he shook his head, blinking back tears as he started to come to. Dirt and wet leaves stuck to his face, tangled in his shaggy brown hair. His armor had a slash in the front, but there was no blood, at least from what Arthur could see.

"M-Merlin….?" Gwaine stammered, his face ashen.

Where Merlin had been held only moments prior was now scorched, the leaves and ground streaked with long black marks radiating outwards like the rays of the sun. It was midday, the yellow orb in the sky hanging low above the green canopy of the trees. Slipping Gwaine's arm over his shoulder, Arthur hoisted him up, trudging back to the campsite.

"Gwaine, we need to get you to Gaius-" Arthur began, panting for breath. He was in good shape, he knew, but it had been a while since he was engaged in any sort of battle, magical or not.

"Oh, dear gods- Gaius-" Gwaine moaned, "We need to tell Gaius-!"

"What we need," Leon joined in on Gwaine's other side, "is to get you some medical attention."

"No. We need to find Merlin-"

"Gwaine."

"But Merlin-"

"Gwaine!" Leon snapped, and Gwaine glanced up at him, eyes clouded over as if he were meeting the man for the first time. "We should get packing." Arthur felt a pang of sadness as he watched Gwaine struggle to comprehend what exactly happened. His brown eyes roamed everywhere, squinting at Arthur's chainmail. His hair was plastered to his face with sweat, and Arthur thought he could see a thin line of blood by his cheek. A slight burn tickled the knights skin as the sun beat down on the heavy chainmail, and Arthur was more than happy to let Gwaine fall back on one of their bedrolls, taking a minute to catch his breath.

And then it hit him.

Merlin was gone.

Dread seeped through the prince's bones, limbs feeling heavy as he managed to sit up in the tent, watching as Gwaine let his eyes flutter shut. There was just no way…. no way that his servant was just gone like that. He could hear the others collecting their belongings from outside, gathering as much as they could before staking out the fire.

"Sire, we should go," Arthur was surprised to see Elyan peek his head into the tent, his sword clutched tightly in his fist.

"I know, Gwaine needs medical-" Arthur drone with a lazy roll of his eyes.

"I was gonna say we should go find Merlin, but I suppose helping the lazy drunk is a good idea too," Elyan shrugged as he smirked at the prince, "Percival and I've set everything up. Shall we get going?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow as Elyan ran out of the tent. Only five minutes ago (not even, really) had Merlin been taken. And yet they were already prepared to go find him? Arthur shook his head, moving to get up; there was no way his father would allow such a thing. After all, Merlin was a servant-

"To hell with what the king says, if that's what you're thinking," Gwaine groaned, sitting up himself, rubbing his head, "I mean, Merlin is everyone's friend. Shouldn't be that difficult to decide what to do."

Well, that was quick. Arthur emitted what sounded like a cross between a groan and an internal scream, rattling his bones to the very core. Scratching his head, he said, "Gwaine, what the hell are you doing?"

"What's it look like, Princess?" Gwaine teased, shrugging his armor on so it sat properly on his shoulder. Dents and gouges were in his breastplate, and a piece of his chainmail was ripped, but other than that he looked perfectly fine.

Astonishing, really, considering the blow to the head he just took.

"You can't be serious!" Arthur scoffed, reluctantly helping Gwaine to his feet as they ducked out of the tent and towards the horses. The look Gwaine sent him put chills through his spine. His eyes were cold, demanding if only for a moment. And just like that, they reverted back to their happy, glazed over look as Gwaine patting his back.

"I'm deadly serious, mate," Gwaine said cheerfully, "shall we go?"

Arthur begrudgingly followed his knights, fully aware of the world of pain his father was going t put him in when they got back.