Shameful peaks around corner... Hi guys, I'm back (a)

So sorry for the long wait, hopefully some HurtMerlin can make you happy with me again :D

Prompts still welcome! I promise to try and get updates more often.

A Broken Leg (part 1)

Merlin's eyes shot open; someone was grabbing him and dragging him away from the campsite. He tried to make a sound to alert Arthur, but the person behind him had clamped his hand over Merlin's mouth. He felt his magic rising up inside him, preparing to get himself free.

"Stop struggling, Merlin, and be quiet." A familiar voice spoke.

Merlin urged his magic back and stopped fighting his attacker, who was now releasing him from his grip.

"What the hell Arthur?" Then he saw the serious look on the Kings face. "What's happening?"

Arthur held a finger to his mouth to indicate Merlin should shut up and Merlin complied. Behind some fallen trees Arthur crouched down and Merlin did the same. Arthur suspiciously eyed something near the camp, but Merlin couldn't find anything out of place. He gave Arthur a questioning look, but Arthur did not respond in any way, he just kept focusing on something Merlin couldn't see. Cautious they waited until something happened.

Suddenly a loud explosion could be heard and their campsite lit up in such a bright light Merlin had to avert his eyes. Arthur pulled him behind the trees and gave him a warning look not to make any sound. Merlin's heart was beating in his chest. This was supposed to be a simple hunting trip, nothing to worry about. Now their campsite had exploded and he hadn't even seen it coming. He heard men walking around the campsite, where were the other knights? Lancelot, Gwaine, Percival, Elyan and even Sir Leon were nowhere to be seen. A loud thud howled him out of his thoughts as Arthur pulled him up.

"Run! Go!" the King yelled, the thud had been an arrow, which was now imbedded in the tree they had been hiding behind. And so they ran. Merlin heard Arthur behind him, but he also heard other people following them and he betted it weren't the knights of Camelot. Suddenly Merlin found himself at the edge of a deep abyss. He twirled around, but the bandits already had caught up with them.

Arthur opened his eyes. He sat up straight. It still was the middle of the night, what had woken him? He was about to turn over and sleep some more, when he noticed Sir Leon and Percival had woken up too. They silently stared at each other. Then it hit him. The smell. A pungent odor hung in the air and it didn't smell good. They had to leave their campsite quick; someone was trying to kill them! With hand signals he made clear what to do and as Sir Leon and Percival silently woke Gwaine and Lancelot, he crawled over to Merlin. Then he heard them, there were several people hiding around their camp. He had to get him and Merlin out of here and he had to do it quietly and quick.

He pulled Merlin up and clamped his hand over his servant's mouth. The boy startled awake and immediately started to struggle against Arthur.

"Stop struggling, Merlin, and be quiet." He quickly whispered, whilst letting him go.

Merlin turned around and indignantly eyed Arthur. "What the hell Arthur?" Arthur gave him a look, which he hoped would indicate Merlin was supposed to shut up. "What's happening?" So far his luck. He made a gesture to shut Merlin up and quietly walked towards a group of fallen trees. He hoped the bandits didn't see them there and he could still keep an eye on their campsite. Merlin crouched down beside him and together they watched. Merlin seemed confused, but now was not the time for Arthur to explain.

Suddenly a loud explosion was heard. Immediately Arthur pulled Merlin down next to him, he wasn't about to let him get hurt. He felt how Merlin tensed and he just hoped the bandits would take what they wanted and leave. This was supposed to be a simple trip, not some dangerous quest. He heard the release of an arrow and not a second later he felt the arrow bury itself in the tree he and Merlin were hiding behind. His warrior and protective instincts immediately kicked in as he pushed Merlin up. The boy had to get as far away from this as possible.

"Run! Go!" He yelled, after which he followed Merlin. They ran as fast away from the campsite as they could, but suddenly Arthur saw Merlin stop. When he saw why he silently cursed. Couldn't go anything to their advantage. He put himself in between of Merlin and the pursuing bandits, who slowly formed half a circle around the two of them. Arthur drew his sword, he wouldn't let them get past him to get to Merlin, his servant couldn't even hold a sword, let alone protect himself.

"Well, well, well, it seems we finally meet, Arthur Pendragon." One of the bandits stepped forward.

Arthur grabbed his sword tighter, these weren't just any bandits, they were after him and probably Camelot too. Before he could answer the bandits attacked, but before they could reach him their leader screamed.

"Stop! He's mine." He slowly advanced on Arthur, sword ready in his hand. Arthur repositioned himself in front of Merlin, an evil smile grew on the face of the bandit leader and suddenly he jumped forwards. Arthur raised his sword and suddenly found himself eye to eye with the man, only their swords in between them. He bend forwards and whispered in Arthur's ear.

"You seem very protective of that servant of yours. It would be such a shame if something bad happened to him, wouldn't it?" and before Arthur could properly process his words he got shoved back. He felt himself bumping into something and then he heard something he never wanted to hear; Merlin screamed.

The bandits slowly encircled them and Arthur stepped in front of him. Merlin sighed inwardly; Arthur really underestimated him sometimes, although it was nice to know he actually cared about his safety.

"Well, well, well, it seems we finally meet, Arthur Pendragon." He heard one of the bandits say. Great, this wasn't some stupid bunch of bandits; they actually knew whom they were dealing with and probably targeted Camelot as well. His magic was itching to protect Arthur as the bandits approached, but if he would do something now, Arthur would surely know. He just had to wait for the chaos of a fight and then he could jump in to help Arthur, but before the fight started it was put on hold.

"Stop! He's mine." Merlin grunted, really? Another personal attack on Arthur? He had to just use low profile magic and hopefully they would get out of this mess without too much trouble.

The bandit and Arthur's swords clashed and Merlin closely eyed them. The bandit was speaking to Arthur, but it was too quiet for Merlin to hear. He tried to focus and did a small pace forward, but before he knew it Arthur was pushed backwards. It went too fast for Merlin to step out of the way and they crashed into each other. The momentum caused Merlin to fall backwards and he threw his hands behind him to break his fall. His eyes widened when he didn't feel the ground, then he remembered the abyss and he screamed.

"Merlin!" He heard Arthur scream his name, but before he could fully register what was happening, he landed on the ground. Hearing Arthur calling his name again was the last thing he heard, before his world blacked out.

"Merlin! No!...You bastard!" Arthur pushed himself up and charged towards the bandit, but the other ones quickly approached him and pressed him to the ground. Their leader bended over him and looked him in the eyes, a big grin appearing on his face.

"Take him, but be gently, he is a royal after all." He said mockingly.

Arthur was hauled on his feet and his hands were bind together behind his back. The bandits put a rope around his neck and pulled at it to make him move. Struggling was useless; he'd only hurt himself more. Then it hit him full square what had happened, Merlin had fell 15 meters down and he didn't even know if his friend was still alive. He restarted his struggles, but the bandit leader wouldn't have any of it. With a hard punch in the face, Arthur was rendered unconscious.

"It's a dead end, Gwaine. They must have turn around here when they saw the abyss. Go look for new tracks." Sir Leon stated the facts monotone, but silently he was cursing. They had been looking for the King and Merlin for a long time now and he was starting to grow worried, they should have found each other already.

"Merlin! Oh god, guys come here." Sir Leon was startled out of his thoughts by a terrified scream from Lancelot who was standing near the edge of the abyss. Gwaine, immediately on high alert when he heard the worry in Lancelot's voice, was next to him in mere seconds. As he looked over the edge his heart stopped for a second. 15 meters down lay Merlin, unmoving, his leg in an odd angle.

Immediately he started to search for a route down. The only thing on his mind the image of Merlin falling down 15 meters and he didn't like it one bit. How the hell had this happened? Then his eyes landed on a less steep part of hill on the other side of the abyss, through there they could go down and help Merlin. If he wasn't dead already, but Gwaine immediately pushed that thought to the back of his mind. Merlin was not dead. Not if he had anything to say about it. Without a word he started to head towards the other side of the abyss and he heard the other knights following him.

Slowly Merlin came to his senses and it wasn't pleasant, everything seemed to hurt. He tried to open his eyes, but couldn't. He grunted and tried to move, but a sharp pain shot up his leg. Immediately he stopped his movement and gasped. What had happened? Why couldn't he open his eyes or move his leg?

"Merlin?" He heard someone say. The voice seemed familiar, but he couldn't concentrate enough to match it with a face or name. Instead he tried to answer, but it seemed like an impossible task.

"Guys, he's starting to wake!" He heard the same voice yell. So there were more people here.

"Merlin, I know everything hurts, but I need to ask: Do you know where Arthur is?" Another familiar voice spoke and Merlin tried with all his might to open his eyes. It worked, his vision was somewhat blurry, but at least he could make out 4 figures surrounding him. His eyes landed on a red and gold cloak and the memory hit him instantly. Arthur! The bandits! They fought. He…Oh god, he had fell down the abyss.

"Merlin! Merlin… calm down, just lie still, you're going to be all right. We're going to take you back to Camelot and Gaius can fix your leg, but for now we need to know where Arthur is." He recognized the voice now, Lancelot. He slowly breathed in and out. He tried to tell them about what happened, but the words still couldn't find their way out.

"Oke, Merlin, just keep calm, don't try to speak. I'm going to ask you questions and you can answer by nodding or shaking your head." Lancelot told him. Merlin nodded to indicate he had understood.

"Is Arthur somewhere nearby?" Merlin slowly started to shake his head, but then he stopped. He didn't know what had happened to Arthur. He didn't know what happened after he had fell. He remembered Arthur screaming his name. What if the bandits had taken him? That would be his fault, if Arthur hadn't got distracted because he fell…

"Merlin, breathe!" Lancelot once again tried to calm him down, but Merlin didn't acknowledge him this time.

"…Bandits…" he managed to croak out. Because of his panicking his leg hit a rock and another wave of pain shot up his leg. His vision started to blur out again, but he had to tell Lancelot and the other knights to go save Arthur.

"…You…save Arthur…I…" Merlin couldn't focus anymore and his vision totally went black. He only could hope the knights could save Arthur.