Percival was surprised to see Gwen run back to the picnic blanket with such ferocity, her beautiful brown eyes brimming with tears as she plopped herself down next to Arthur, resting her head on his shoulder. She used the prince's shirt as a hanky, blowing her nose loudly.

"Guinevere, what's wrong?" Arthur asked quietly, allowing her to bury her face momentarily in his shoulder.

"Sorry, Arthur, it's just…." she cast her eyes at the lake, and it clicked in Percival's mind.

Merlin.

"Did he do something to you?" Arthur was automatically defensive. Sure, Arthur and Merlin were friends- best friends, although the two would never admit it- but Arthur was a pain to deal with sometimes when it came to Guinevere. Percival remembered the long nights spent with him and the other knights at the tavern, and all he spoke of was how beautiful Guinevere was, how smart Guinevere was.

It was the same when he was drunk, courtesy of Gwaine providing mead.

But hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Or a man's heart broken. That much Percival knew. Scratching at his head, he asked, "Was it about the scar he had?" Percival hadn't liked looking at it, and he could tell the knights didn't either. To them, Merlin was a brother. Merlin was full of happiness and there was no shortage of smiles when you were with him. In fact, it was all you could ever do around him, smiling. It was infectious.

Gwen nodded, "Yeah. I asked him about it, and… Arthur, it's so sad."

Sad? Percival thought as he watched Gwen compose herself, wiped her eyes free of any tears that escaped. Sad didn't sound like Merlin. There was no way. Next to him, Gwaine cleared his throat, shaking his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes. Percival sometimes joined Elyan into teasing Gwaine to cut his hair, but there was no use, as Gwaine liked feeling the wind tug at the strands. It gave him a sense of confidence, and Percival wasn't about to take that away.

"So what's the story, love?" Gwaine grinned as Arthur rolled his eyes, Gwen hiccupping, placing a delicate hand to her throat. The sun, Percival thought, made her curls shine, rays of light dancing in the chocolate strands. He leaned forward with Gwaine, who had an expectant grin on his face.

"Freya," was all Gwen said, her eyes wide with confusion. The look reminded Percival of a lost dog, one he would wrap up in his arms and take home, to care for and feed. Her eyes searched her friends for answers, anything to stop the pain.

Was pain the right description for the look she was giving them, though?

Percival thought it looked more like pity.

"Who's Freya?" Gwaine broke through Percival's thoughts, "a pretty friend of yours?"

Gwen shrugged, "I never knew her. Merlin said they were in love, though."

This earned a chortle from Arthur, including a knee-slap. It rang throughout the meadow, rattling Percival's bones. Birds flew from their nests in a nearby tree, and Percival had to squint as they made a flying formation, blotting out the sun momentarily. Elyan and Leon only glared, Gwaine raising an eyebrow as Arthur' laughter faltered, "Oh, come on! Really?"

"Is it that hard to believe?" Leon asked, stroking his beard. It had gotten longer in the past few months, matching the curls of his hair. Percival never thought he would grow a beard himself; they seemed to get in the way of food, and looked particularly itchy.

"Frankly, yes!" Arthur retorted, "Merlin's my servant! When does he have time to be traipsing about with girls?"

"Arthur, you realize he does have a life outside of waiting on you hand and foot," was Leon's reply as he ate his food. Evidence of a beard being an annoyance was confirmed as a glop of mashed potato caught the curls on Leon's chin.

"Well, I suppose-"

"You suppose? What do you think when he's done working he just sits at home and does nothing until morning?" Leon joked. Shaking his head, Arthur tried to retaliate, "No. Obviously he has his life in Ealdor, it's just he never opens up to anyone here, so I just assumed-"

Percival realized that it was true. No matter how much the others shared, Merlin was always careful, hanging back as if held by some invisible thread. It didn't help that he was also clumsy with his words, syllables and vowels threatening to choke him as he tried to, say, talk his way out of training with the knights or helping Gaius make his usual rounds. And the boy seemed to always be tired. Maybe he slept for a good part of his day?

Gwen seemed to read his thoughts, saying, "You know, ever since that druid girl escaped in Camelot, Merlin was happy."

"What are you suggesting?" Arthur asked.

"Well, think about it," Gwen said, "Freya and Merlin were in love, and I remember talking to Merlin about love and what girls like-"

"Wait, was that why he had a dress in his hands? He was giving it to this Freya girl?"

"I suppose," Gwen shrugged, "he asked me if I liked it. It was pretty, but that isn't the point. That week, the druid girl had escaped, and then you fought the Bestat monster, remember?" Percival recalled the memory as if it were yesterday. He and the knights were frantically trying to avoid the beast, and Merlin had seemed as cautious as ever, if not more so. And then, when it came time for the feast, Merlin had disappeared.

"I remember," Percival found himself chiming in, "Merlin seemed down after that night."

"Aye," Gwaine agreed, "Whenever I was with him, we would visit the lake. Seems like his favorite place." Percival cast his glance back at the lake, at MErlin's small frame in the distance. Why would he keep going to the lake?

"So he took up swimming, that's great!" Arthur grinned, "About time he did something with himself-"

"Arthur, wait," Gwen's voice was clipped, "Do you remember what happened to Merlin that night?"

It took a few minutes, as Arthur pondered the thought, finally saying, "He got a scratch on his arm. Gaius said it would take about an hour to heal, something like that." Gwen cast her eyes down, playing with the hem of her sleeve. Arthur blinked, "Guinevere? What's that got to do with Merlin's scar? Certainly he got it after the battle- we all have scars-"

"Merlin said he was going to protect her, Arthur," Gwen's shoulders twitched, "He said he was with her every night when she was in Camelot." There was a beat, and she reluctantly added, "He said Freya understood him in a way we can't."

Arthur's face fell, although it wasn't in sadness, no. He was trying to make sense of the situation, trying to piece the story together. Percival could see the storm brewing in Arthur's blue eyes. None of it made sense.

"And there's more, Arthur," Gwen was whispering now, casting a worried glance at the river, where their friend sat washing dishes, "he said she was afraid of the dark. That she hated it. And it's also why your food was disappearing. He was giving it to her."

"I knew he was stealing my food!" Arthur snapped, pushing himself up as he yelled, "Merlin!"

"Arthur, no!" Gwen tried to pull him back down, tugging on his hand, "I really don't think-"

"You know, I'm sure he's gone for a nice swim instead of washing dishes," Arthur reasoned, "Why don't we join him?" Percival stole a peek at Gwen's scared expression. Obviously Arthur didn't understand the meaning of her words.

Neither did the other knights, as they whooped and hollered, upsetting the picnic blanket to run after the prince.

"Last one in owes me ale!" GWaine shouted, racing ahead. Percival reluctantly followed, and he could see Merlin's form growing bigger as they came closer, how he was stooped over his work, how he was most likely ignoring the knights with those large ears of his. Percival couldn't help but notice the small flinch as Gwaine and Arthur practically pushed each other in, a large splash managing to reach Merlin.

"Hey!" Merlin whined, "I'm trying to clean your dishes, thank you very much!"

"Like anything's ever stopped you before," Arthur laughed, his clothes pooling around his arms and torso as he swam to the shore. "Come on, take a break." Merlin scowled.

"That's all you complain I ever do," Merlin drawled, packing the dishes carefully into the basket, avoid the water altogether.

Percival wasn't sure where this dark, moody boy was coming from, but it looked as if he had snapped altogether at Arthur's next jibe:

"Oh, come on! Are you scared Freya might come out and see you? It's alright, we all know you're practically a twig."

The dishes shattered against the rocks as the basket slipped from Merlin's hands. Eyes brimming with a newfound fury, Merlin whirled to face Gwen, who had just reached the lakebed, standing by Percival's side. She touched the knight's arm lightly as she looked at Merlin, who looked prepared to blow steam out of his ears.

"I told you not to say anything," he said bitterly.

"I'm sorry, Merlin, I just thought-"

"Thought what? That Arthur would be all hunky-dory with everything?" Merlin's voice rose with each word, his face tinged pink, "That'd he suddenly care about anything other than his own prattish ways?"

Oi. This didn't seem good. Percival glanced down at Guinevere, her face plastered with guilt as she let Merlin blow off steam. He started pacing- a nervous habit Percival noticed after meeting Merlin the first day he was knighted. Merlin's hands didn't seemed to know what to do with themselves, fingers twitching as he clenched as unclenched his fists.

"Merlin!" Arthur ordered, "Don't yell at her. All she did was tell us who Freya was. Not a big deal." Merlin's eyes became saucers, bugging out of their sockets.

That didn't seem good, Percival decided. Not good at all.

"Not a big deal?! Arthur, you of all people should care!" Merlin spluttered, his hands shaking as he reached for his neckerchief, untying the piece of red cloth to twist it nervously in his hands. Merlin's shirt seemed rather large, as the cloth was damp, fabric stretching to hang loosely on his tiny frame. Percival wasn't at all sure he heard MErlin's next words correctly, though.

"What do you mean by that? I'm fairly certian the life of a servant would not be so intersting to me." Arthur let himself float beside Gwaine in the water, who was now floating lazily on his back, although Percival wasn't fooled. Gwaine was always on alert when it came to Merlin. The servant was, after all, Gwaine's only and best friend.

So when Merlin was upset, he made sure to listen, find clues as to the reason why he was so sad.

"Oh, well, that makes me feel so much better, since Gwen basically told you I was harboring a fugitive druid girl in Camelot!" Merlin cried sarcastically. Gwaine was no longer floating, and Percival could hear Gwen's small gasp.

"Oh, dear god…." she mumbled, a new batch of tears dotting the corners of her eyes.

"You were what!?" Arthur slammed a fist into the water, upsetting Gwaine's careful float. The knight flailed slightly as he tried gaining a good footing on the shore bed, his clothes clinging to his muscular frame like a second skin as he approached Merlin.

"Mate, I think you need to calm down-" he tried, reaching a hand out to Merlin, surprised when it was rebuked.

"I was helping Freya get out of Camelot," Merlin repeated, "it was only fair to her!"

"Fair?" Arthur was practically sneering, "Fair?! Merlin, she had magic! Magic is evil-!"

"Freya wasn't evil!" Merlin screamed, "She was kind and beautiful and she didn't want to kill those people! She hated it!" A silence bore down on the group as they watched Merlin struggle to regain his senses. Percival could see that this was too much for him. Merlin was shaking violently, his scarf having fallen from his grasp.

"Merlin-" Arthur warned, his voice dangerously low. Percival shivered. He knew that tone. That was the tone Arthur use when he was disappointed. Arthur used that tone when he was angry if a patrol went wrong. Arthur used that tone when he was prepared to strike down an enemy.

And now he was using that tone towards Merlin.

"She was cursed, Arthur," Merlin was crying now, "it wasn't her fault-"

It was then that Percival realized that the Bestat- the creature Merlin had been so cautious in helping defeat that night in the citadel- was Freya. The Bestat was Freya, and Merlin was in love with Freya. He felt himself pale, his stomach burning as his lunch threatened to come up for air.

Oh God.

Merlin could be so stupid sometimes. He knew that. But he didn't think the boy could be that stupid, to break Camelot law right under the prince's nose.

"But we never found a girl, we only found a beast-" Percival could see the wheels turning in Arthur's brain, clicking into place. "You mean to say that Freya was the druid girl, and that the druid girl turned into that monster-"

"She wasn't a monster, you prat!" Merlin clutched his arm, "I loved her!"

"No-" Arthur was drawing himself out of the water now, clothes dripping as he approached his servant. Well, his former servant, if Arthur managed to get past the whole thing.

Judging by how he lunged at the boy, though, Percival didn't think that would be any time soon. Percival handed Gwen t her brother as he jumped to help Gwaine reprimand the two, the bigger knight wrenching the prince's arms behind his back. Arthur's skin was cool against Percival's own. Merlin nearly tripped as Gwaine grabbed him by the shoulders, steering him to lean against a nearby tree.

"Sire, you need to calm down," Percival was curt as he spoke into Arthur's ear, the prince trying (and failing) to wrench himself free of his grasp, "Please, Sire."

"Arthur-" Gwen tried feebly to grab his flailing hands, help in any way, but to no avail. Arthur was livid, and it certainly showed. Percival saw the veins bulging in his neck, worried one might pop. Hopefully not an important one. It would be bad to have a dead prince on their hands, now would it? Especially in such a situation. Elyan had taken his sister and guided her over to Leon, who could only watch in confusion the two friends go at each other.

"Are you hiding her here, Merlin?" Arthur yelled, "Are you?!"

From what Percival could see (past Gwaine shielding the boy with his own body, pinning him down by his wrists), Merlin was shaking his head, failing to find the words to yell back. Gwaine was having a difficult time trying to get the kid to calm down, to stop crying. He even heard him trying to bribe him with ale, but knowing Gwaine, that was a promise he couldn't keep, as the man really did love his ale as much as his own mother.

"Arthur, yelling won't solve anything," Percival tried to speak again, his words sounding like crisp leaves. His arms were starting to hurt from holding Arthur back for so long, and he didn't really like having to do so.

"Where is she, Merlin?!" Arthur either didn't hear Percival, or was purposefully ignoring him, "Where?!"

"You ass!" Merlin shouted back, "She's dead!"