Arthur continued to dart deeper and deeper into the forest. Merlin's head jolted slightly against Arthur's collar at every footfall, but Arthur hardly noticed. The only thing occupying his mind at the moment was Run! with a background mantra ohshit-ohshit-ohshit. He continued running through the forest, dodging trees and making a special effort not to trip, until he eventually ran out of steam.
With his mind focused completely on defense, Arthur ducked behind the first tree large enough to hide himself and his unconscious accomplice. Arthur peeked his head out from behind the tree, and relief flooded through him when he saw the empty forest behind him. Arthur sat on the ground, up against the tree. He was lost, nothing new there, the inward Merlin taunted. But, there was one big difference between the last time Arthur faced the Hydra and now: the gangly man wasn't going to come save him this time.
Stupid man had to get himself bloody knocked senseless...
No, this time, it was Arthur who had to play the part of protector. He spotted a flat mossy boulder that was just big enough to lay Merlin on just a few feet away. Arthur laid his friend on him stomach so as not to agitate the injuries any further. He sat on the ground in front of the hard stone with a tired thunk.
Whilst setting him down, the palms of Merlin's hands caught Arthur's eye. There was nothing special about them; they were calloused and just as pale and spindly as the rest of him. No ordinary passerby, not even he, would be able to tell that they held so much power. They used magic.
Arthur's entire childhood, he had been told that magic was evil. He saw people burned at the stake and beheaded simply because they used this terrible power, and he remembered looking at some of the men and thinking that they deserved it. He also remembered the children. What could such an innocent child do to deserve the punishment they were dealt? Magic breeds evil, if they weren't taken care of immediately then the evil would fester and eventually cause harm to innocent people.
It is better and much less of a pain to take care of them now. Arthur remembers hearing his father say, after Arthur watched a boy slaughtered for "consulting" with his sorceress mother.
But then there's Merlin. Merlin doesn't have an evil bone in his body, Arthur's sure of it. Besides, hurting Merlin would not be painless. Merlin sacrificed his life to save him from the hydra, and Arthur just can't repay him by exposing his secret.
Arthur sat in silence for a few minutes, resting and trying to gauge where he might be in relation to Camelot when he realized that he wasn't really sitting in silence. Somewhere nearby, off to the left if his senses are correct, there was the calm sound of water gliding down a stream. Arthur turned his attention to Merlin, still unconscious, and his burns. He was no Gaius, but he knew that if wounds weren't properly cleaned, they could become infected.
Arthur stood up and carefully maneuvered Merlin off of the mossy boulder and onto Arthur's back. Merlin's arms were slung limply over Arthur's shoulders and his legs straddling Arthur's back. Arthur had to lean forward as he walked towards the sound of the stream so Merlin (who was not doing a very good job of holding on in his unconscious state) wouldn't fall backwards and hurt himself even more.
The sound of the river became increasingly louder until Arthur finally spotted it between the thick trunks of the forest's trees. Arthur laid his charge on his side on the damp ground along the bank of the river and set to removing his outer armor. It wouldn't be smart to step into a river wearing full metal armor, especially while dragging 125 pounds of dead weight.
A minute later, all the heavy metal pieces, along with his shoes, were in a pile on the ground resting on his red cape. Dressed in only his cloth shirt and trousers, Arthur back turned to check on Merlin. He was sort of crumpled on the ground, his mouth was slightly open and his legs were tangled. His back was facing away from Arthur and so the worst of the damage was hidden from sight but he could still make out residual bruising around his wrists from his stay in the dungeon. They had a sorcerer in their grasp and Arthur just let him free.
Arthur shook the thought out of his head. He already decided he wouldn't be turning Merlin in. The only reason magic was banned was because it is believed that the power made people dangerous – and that is often the case – but until he had proof Merlin was dangerous, the royal could just pretend he didn't see anything.
Arthur hooked his arms below Merlin's and carefully pulled him backwards into the river. Merlin's head lolled back against Arthur's shoulder limply and his feet dragged the ground but at least his burns might not become infected this way. The water wasn't rushing by too quickly but Arthur still made sure he had a good grip around Merlin's chest as he dragged him into the river; Merlin's back held a moderate distance away from Arthur's chest as to prevent further damage. The water reached barely above waist-deep so Arthur cautiously dipped Merlin's torso below the water line, carefully trying to keep his head above and resting on his arm.
All the dirt and grime that was previously covering Merlin's wound washed away in the clear stream. The trickling stream turned to a rainbow of browns and reds as they mixed with the cool, soggy riverbed. The deep red and black coloring of the injured skin made Arthur feel a little sick, but Arthur held hope that Gaius would treat and heal him. Merlin let out an unconscious groan, like the water was hurting him. Arthur sincerely hoped that was not the case.
Arthur studied the burn as he readjusted his hold on Merlin, trying to remember anything Gaius might have said that would be useful now. He usually uses herbs that could be found in the forest, but Arthur had no idea which ones or how to use them. He usually wraps injuries in some clean cloth or covering. From a broken leg to a sliced shoulder, there's always a bandage.
Arthur looked at the remnants of the blue shirt still hanging from Merlin's shoulders, floating in the stream. The fire almost burned the entire back of the shirt off. The shirt could work in a pinch, at least to keep anything else out of the wound. It may be a while until he got Merlin to Gaius.
Once all the dirt was clear from the wound, Arthur dragged Merlin back out of the river and laid him belly-down on the packed dirt, careful not to dirty the shirt even further before it could become a gauze. Arthur maneuvered him out of what used to be his tunic and tied the soaked cloth around his torso so it completely covered the burn.
Arthur looked around, trying to decide the best course of action. He had to do something, otherwise he'd drive himself to madness pacing and mumbling about how big of an idiot Merlin was. Not coming up with anything useful, Arthur started redressing in his armor.
Halfway through dressing, wearing a chest plate and one shoe, a groan made Arthur look back at his charge. Although Merlin was lying on his stomach, his head was facing Arthur. Arthur could see his eyelids flutter and his hands start to form a fist. After another groan, his head was tilting up and arms moving in towards his body. Arthur saw his eyes open lazily and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding to see his eyes reverted to their natural (is it?) blue.
"Mm... Arthur?" Merlin mumbled. He tried to get up, but hissed and laid back down when he regained feeling in his back. He squeezed his eyes shut and dug his fingertips into the hard dirt. The magician's grip made the riverbank mud slide between his fingers, caking them with sludge. The burn scorched his nerves as he moved, sending waves agony racing up his spine.
"Don't try to get up, you're hurt" Arthur said, crouching down next to Merlin. Merlin sent him a light glare.
"Yeah, I figured that out. Thanks." Merlin mumbled sarcastically as he again tried to sit up. Arthur rolled his eyes at Merlin's stubbornness, but Merlin did manage to get to a sitting position with minimal pain. Merlin looked down at his makeshift bandage, at Arthur, and back at the bandage. He attempted to look at the damage done on his back but Arthur stopped him with a "Don't" that came out quieter than the royal expected.
Quickly dropping the subject, Arthur asked if Merlin knew the way back to Camelot.
"If we head east, we should find Camelot before sunset" Merlin replied after looking back at the river. Arthur looked up at the sun, startled to see that midday had passed. This revelation prompted a second one; he hadn't eaten for several hours and was starving. Even rat sounded appetizing.
"Any idea where we could find some food?" Arthur asked, his stomach rolling and roaring. Merlin, hiding his laughter behind his ever present mask, stood up with surprisingly little difficulty for someone who was unconscious several minutes prior. Even the royal was impressed on how little such pain was bothering him.
"Just follow me, there are bound to be fruit trees along the stream."
A/N: So, how'd you like it? Fantastic? Stupendous? So-so? Two seconds, people, just say how the chapter was, if it needed anything or if there was a specific thing you liked about it. Thanks!
