A/N: Okay, so despite all the research I did on The Holy Grail I decided to just go by ear, what I already know, and a lot of creative licence. Therefore, while this story is based upon everything that's happened so far in Merlin it is an AU world and the legends will be twisted and changed from those that you know.

WARNINGS:
-Pre-story character death! (I am so sorry for this, Gwen is really one of my favourite characters, but this story would never have worked if she was around. Plus, you know. DRAMA!)
-Language and Violence! (There won't be any extreme language or much swearing at all, but I try to keep my stories 'realistic', and that goes for violence, blood and gore as well)
-Unbeta'd! (The first three chapters are unBeta'd. TheImpossiblePen is my Beta for chapter 4 onwards)
-Drama! (Seriously, I'm completely crap at writing comedy, but fairly good at angst and drama (and fight scenes!) Gwaine would probably kill me for doing him an injustice)

DISCLAIMER: Credits for Merlin go to its respective writers, producers, actors and the BBC. It's set two years after Season 4 with only one plot change that will be described in this chapter.

And that's the longest A/N I'll ever write. I hate the things :( Apologies for the length, and yes this has been reuploaded for a third time.
now ON TO THE STORY!
(P.S this is a sort of prologue - the chapters to come will be much, much longer)

Chapter 1

Red cloaks billowed out impressively behind all but one of the riders as the small entourage left the gates of Camelot and headed into the surrounding woods. It was a common occurrence to see the unarmed manservant riding at the front of the knights, at their King's side, and none gave them a second glance except to wonder what quest they were setting out on this time.

Two years had passed since the citadel of Camelot had been overtaken by the cruel witch Morgana, the day King Arthur had pulled his sword from the stone, and the day that the King's love, Guinevere, had died by Morgana's hand. It had been a day of mourning as the hope had been drowned in the attack and the loss of the woman that should have been Queen. Arthur had spent several months on a decline having lost his hope in a future without his Queen, but a certain group of knights and one manservant had prised him from the depths of despair and set him on his path to becoming a great King once more.

Peace had begun to rein over the lands as more alliances were made with the surrounding kingdoms. King Arthur fast became known as one of the fairest, kindest, most loyal and merciful of any King Camelot had ever seen. All those that met him saw the strength of the fire in his eyes and his determination to protect every last one of his people and respected him for it.

At least, most of them did.

There were certain people, Morgana not being the last of which, that would have celebrated the day Arthur was struck down from his throne and Camelot's friendships with the other kingdoms not just severed, but destroyed. They would wish to throw the kingdom into a war that would devastate it beyond repair and break its reputation as one of the best kingdoms in all of Albion.

"So where are we off to this time?" Merlin asked cheerily as he rode beside his King, his friend. Despite being the King's loyal manservant and rarely leaving the man's side, Merlin wasn't completely all-knowing in what went through Arthur's head. Not to mention that the meeting concerning their current outing had been a private one that was only attended by the King and the royal court. Not even Merlin, Gaius or any of Arthur's knights had been allowed to enter the council chambers. None of them knew where they were headed.

Arthur remained quiet, however. Not entirely bothered by his master's silence, Merlin carried on speaking.

"I mean, not even Leon knows where we're going, and by now I can tell when he's lying. Is it another one of those 'I-can't-tell-you-because-I'd-be-forced-to-kill-you-if-I-did' things again? Because if it is, I totally understand, except, you know – I almost died last time we went on one of those. I'd appreciate you at least giving me a clue as to how dangerous this trip is going to be. You never even told any of us how long we're going to be away from Camelot. You're the King, Arthur, you shouldn't away from the city for too long. What if Morgana tries to take the throne again-" he cut across what Arthur was about to say to that with a quick shake of his head, "-Don't give me that look. She's still alive, I know she is. ...I can feel it." Merlin trailed off in thought, the atmosphere turning sombre at the loss of the manservant's smile from before.

Normally, Arthur would have laughed and brushed off the fact that Merlin had just spouted one of his 'sixth sense' warnings again, but if the past seven years had taught him anything, it was that Merlin's gut-feelings were as accurate as his own. Meaning they turned out right ninety-nine percent of the time, and the rest of the time they weren't entirely fruitless worries, either.

"It's not that I can't tell you," Arthur started at length, drawing Merlin's attention again and feeling the curiosity in those startlingly blue eyes. "But that I don't know exactly where we're going, either."

Word count: 686