A/N: I deleted the last sentence of the last chapter 'cause it doesn't fit anymore. A few low-grade curses this chapter, sorry. I've changed the rating to T for this chapter.
I also disclaim all the magical and non-magical beings of Camelot
Gaius had relented and given Arthur the approval necessary to lead the knights in search of the hydra. Arthur's ankle was mostly healed by morning anyway, but that didn't stop the old physician from grumbling about "impatient boys never heeding warnings". His ankle still hurt when he puts pressure on it, but the pain was minimal and there was no way Arthur was letting anyone else lead this hunt.
It took longer than originally planned to assemble the knights for the hunt due to complications with the preparation of the horses and a tavern celebration the night before. The latter left both Sir Leon and Sir Gwaine unable to join Arthur's search crew and forced him to find two substitutes at the last minute. Needless to say, their departure time exceeded their original plan of "at first light".
Arthur sighed at the relief of being able to finally rest his sore ankle in the stirrup of his saddle. He and seven knights were all exiting the castle gates on their horses with Arthur leading the way to where he best remembered the hydra to be. The sounds of the bustling people of Camelot grew fainter as the search party rode farther into the forest.
It should take not much more than half an hour to find the creature, or at least the burnt up area of forest Arthur found. The fact that such a monster dwelled so close to his people without anyone knowing of its presence scared Arthur more than he was willing to admit. He had walked into the hydra's grounds while hunting; he was barely two miles from the castle. How many other people had crossed paths with this beast and weren't lucky enough to return home? This was why the prince was on this hunt, to make sure none of his people ever encounter such a deadly creature.
Merlin POV
Camelot. Home of the House Pendragon, King Uther and his son Prince Arthur. Uther was a smart man, fair in situations non-pertaining to magic and quite possibly one of the best kings Camelot has found thus far. Once married to Ygraine Pendragon, the late Queen of Camelot, who died birthing her son Arthur. Many say the loss of his wife threw the King into a temporary madness, ordering the immediate execution of all holding magic, purging his kingdom of magic.
Few escaped the slaughter. Some, like Gaius, the court physician and Uther's trusted advisor, were spared if they promised to never use magic again. Few sorcerers escaped Uther's wrath and only with help; Merlin's father had help from Gaius but even then he had to spend a great deal of his adult life in hiding. One magical creature, Kilgarrah, was kept prisoner until he mysteriously escape almost fifteen years later.
Many of Camelot's inhabitants remember The Purge. Many of them remember watching the multiple executions every day in the square, less and less each day until people finally assumed it over.
Merlin was just a baby when it happened, and ever since he spent his life hiding. Even now, he hides from those who could hurt him; he hides in plain sight. Being thrown into the dungeons… that had scared him more than he was willing to admit. But he was free now, and still no one knew his secret.
Something was different in Camelot this morning. It was busier, more servants running around. There must be something happening later on.
Merlin walked up to the baker he often visits for breakfast and handed him a coin from Arthur's coin pouch. The baker gave him a smile and turned to put together Merlin's silent request.
"Do you know what's going on today, why everyone's running around?" One of the reasons Merlin prefers this baker is that he's always informed of the latest gossip and has no qualm with sharing his info with whomever he happens across.
"Didn't you hear?" the baker said, handing Merlin a half loaf of freshly baked bread "The prince found a monster in the forest. Him and some knights are gonna go kill it." He really shouldn't be surprised at the news, of course Arthur would go after the hydra. He thanked the baker, tossed him another coin and ran back out through the castle gates into the woods where he knows he'll soon see Arthur heading out after the hydra.
He took a bite of his breakfast as he found a good hiding spot to wait. No way is the future king of Ablion going to get himself killed on a stupid hunt.
Arthur POV
The only sounds that could be heard were the leaves and branches crunching under their horses' hooves. Arthur was leading his troop straight through the woods and so as to avoid having their horses trip over roots and vines, they had to keep to a fast walk. That and their original trot sent painful jolts up Arthur's still-healing ankle.
Arthur's group was outfitted in full armor, including a shield and sword sheathed at the horses' sides. Arthur did not know how to kill the hydra, his arrow didn't even pierce its skin, but anything can be killed. You just need to know how. Arthur pondered what the creature's weaknesses could be compared with what he knew of the weakness of other magical creatures.
He had heard a villager say once that some magical creatures could only be killed by magic. She had said "What happens when we come across one of those? There isn't a single magic creature left that would help us then, what with The Purge and all". She had been quickly shushed by the boy she was talking to when he recognized the prince. She had a valid point, but Arthur had no way of knowing if what she claimed was true. The creature impervious to anything non-magical could be a bedtime story, for all Arthur knew. He hoped it was.
Arthur's large crowd sent animals scattering away far before Arthur could spot them. Every once in a while you could hear the twigs snapping and leaves crunching under the foot of a semi-distant animal that thought the pack of horses to be a threat. It isn't uncommon to hear sounds of movement throughout a forest. Despite this, Arthur kept looking over his shoulder into the woods. Something was there, he knew it. Every so often there would be the soft sound of something moving though the forest. What stood out to him was that the noises, always sounding from Arthur's left, were following them. Realizing that all his looking around may have alerted the knights following him, he forced himself to keep his head facing forward. It was probably nothing, and he didn't want anyone to get nervous.
Arthur kept busy trying to calculate how much farther they would have to go, ignoring all the soft crunches and other sounds coming from his left, every little sound he must've missed before now reaching his ears. He was debating whether or not to investigate the noises and alert the knights when a particularly loud snap caused him to turn his head and stare into the trees directly to his left.
He almost laughed aloud when he saw a flash of shaggy black hair and pale skin dart back behind a tree. Merlin. What the hell did he think he was doing? An almost cautious "Your Highness?" caused the prince to shift his face out of the smile that had crept up on him unknowingly and turn to face he knight behind him.
"Is everything alright?" the knight asked again, worry lacing his words.
"Of course. We'll be at location I saw the beast soon" The knight didn't look entirely satisfied with his answer, but Arthur turned forward again anyways. They'd get there soon enough and hopefully Merlin would realize the danger of the situation and run off. He's good at that, getting away unseen.
It wasn't fifteen minutes later that they started to see the effects of the hydra's fire spewing. Arthur slowed the horses to a halt and quietly unmounted his horse. He motioned for the other knights to get off their horses quietly and he drew his sword and shield. If the hydra is still here, Arthur did not want to spook it. Once everyone had their feet on the ground and sword and shield in hand, the prince lead the group into the burnt area of the forest. The smell of burning fought to overpower the group as they were lead deeper and deeper into the overcooked wasteland, still brimming with charred trees. The prince's group made sure to step over the blackened branches littering the ground as their eyes scanned the scenery for anything fitting the description of "monster".
They didn't see the hydra immediately, but what they did see was a tremendous mass of scorched trees ripped from the ground they grew from and piled together to make what could be called a large shelter. Arthur led his seven knights over to the shelter, swords raised and ready for a fight. Adrenaline rushed though their systems like a dam had broken. Anticipation and panic battled for control of their bodies and they had to consciously stop themselves from running forward or backwards
One of the newer knights' eyes kept flickering back the way they came, back to safety. It was this same young knight who, while gazing at the safe-haven of the unburnt trees, accidentally stepped on a branch that the others had took care to avoid. It was not the crunch of the brittle branch that woke the hydra – no matter how loud it sounded in the shuffling silence of the dead portion of the forest. No, it was the resulting shout that came from the green knight. They should have never chosen such an inexperienced knight to go on such a dangerous mission as this. Damn that tavern party.
What happened afterwards happened too rapidly to be accurately retold. The creature suddenly emerged from its sanctuary of fell trees. Everyone subconsciously took a step back as they took in the monstrosity before them, most of them for the first time. Arthur recovered before anyone else, quickly ordering four of the guards to distract the creature while two attempted an attack on its left (quite literally) out of the line of fire. Arthur himself lead the last knight to an attack on the hydra's right, yelling at the four guards to beware of the hydra's fire.
Arthur discovered too late that a distraction wouldn't work on a creature with nine heads. He was betting on the hope that all nine heads shared a single consciousness, but no. Just as Arthur divided his forces, the hydra divided his. Three heads turned to each group. The middle head with the fire breath focused on the largest and farthest group, the attempt at a distraction.
The prince knew at that point that his initial plan was futile. Arthur slashed at the monster's body, a vain attempt to bring attention to himself and away from the other knights. He called to the only knight who would hear him – the one fighting beside him – and told him to run. Get as many knights as he could and retreat back to the castle, tell the king what was happening.
Arthur dug his blade deep into the shoulder of the beast (it appeared that only its armored stomach was impenetrable) to by time for the other knight to escape. It worked, but it put the attention of all three heads on him. He retrieved the sword from the monster's hide just in time to dodge the first set of snapping fangs. He leaped away from the second, but when the third came he had a plan. He ran forward, under the danger zone of its teeth and into a perfect position to slice off the creature's head.
Either all the other knights had fled (or died, Arthur refused to think) or the loss of a head was great enough for the creature's full attention. Arthur sprinted out of range of the monster's many sets of teeth to see all nine- eight of the hydra's heads glaring at him. The severed head (still with quite a bit of neck attached) was oozing black blood, the same as the stump of a neck that was currently thrashing about. The monster shrieked loud and high at the pain it must be feeling.
Then, from the black, bloody stump of what used to be the creature's ninth head grew two more long necks which bore two more heads. Arthur just stood and stared at what he thought to be his greatest attack on the monster turned into another advantage. He had made the creature more deadly than ever.
That fact was so startling to Arthur that he didn't realize what it meant to have all heads focused on him, not until the middle head opened its mouth and expelled its fire right at the spot Arthur was standing.
To be totally truthful, Arthur had completely forgotten about Merlin once he saw the hydra's hideout. He never spared Merlin a single thought until he was tackled to the ground, right next to the burst of flame.
Lying flat on his back, Arthur opened his eyes to see Merlin's face pressed into his chest and hidden from his view by an ebony mop of hair. That wasn't what caught Arthur's attention, though. The fire next to them had burnt out, finding no fuel among the already burnt branches and dirt floor. There was, however, a small fire burning its way on Merlin's back. Merlin must have been caught in the flames when trying to save Arthur. He sat up halfway and hastily attempted to pat out the flames working their way over Merlin's shoulder blades and wincing at Merlin's cries muffled by his chest and fingers clenched in pain on his shoulders. Arthur wondered if Merlin had passed out from the pain when the screaming stopped as Arthur quelled the last of the flames, leaving a badly scorched back.
Arthur returned his focus to the hydra still looming in the distance. He saw the middle head preparing to shoot more flames at them and so he did the only thing he could do. Arthur laid Merlin on his back and used his own body to shield Merlin from the coming attack. Arthur used his actual shield to protect both their heads and upper bodies, but he knew that would do little. That shield was made for blocking sword blows, for it was far too small to fully protect them from the flames.
Arthur squeezed his eyes shut and tried to prepare himself for the searing pain that was sure to come. He clenched his teeth and waited… but the attack didn't come. When Arthur opened his eyes, he could only see Merlin's face. His eyes were wide open and glowing gold. Arthur looked behind him and saw Merlin's arm lifted up, hand outstretched and palm facing the center of a downpour of fire around them. The fire seemed to split around them as if driven to do so by an invisible force.
Right when Arthur started to understand what was happening, the fire stopped and Merlin's arm fell limp. Arthur turned back just in time to see Merlin's eyes return to their original baby blue as they rolled back in his head. All the strength Merlin had before possessed now seeped out into empty air as the boy fell unconsciousness.
Arthur dropped his shield to grab Merlin, one arm under his armpits and the other grasped around his thighs, and dart away from the hydra and into the sanctuary of the woods.
A/N: *whimsycatcher on DeviantArt was awesome enough to let me use her picture titled "...I couldn't bear to lose you" for my story. It was actually her picture that made me form this chapter the way I did. If you want to see more of her pictures, go to whimsycatcher. deviantart (take out the spaces)
Thanks for reading (and again to Shadowdragon1317 for beta-ing), tell me what you like about the chapter (or what you dislike)!
