'I'll go.'

Gwaine had been listening to the Knights for at least half an hour. He was bored. And somehow out of his mind with worry.

Merlin had disappeared.

He had last been seen the day before, by the guards - this was normal, but on Leon's horse?

And for some reason, Merlin had lied.

George Derrick, an old and trustworthy guard respected by most of Camelot peasant and nobleman alike had recognized Leon's horse and inquired as to why he was taking it. Merlin had replied that he was on an errand.

Gaius said that a townsman had given him a note from Merlin saying that he was going to visit a friend.

Gwaine was, to say the least, a little annoyed that one of the best people he knew had disappeared in suspicious circumstances and they were standing in the physicians quarters and talking about it.

'How many times do I have to tell you? Merlin has simply gone to visit an old friend.' Gaius told them tiredly, his exasperation and annoyance leaking in to his tone. 'There is absolutely no reason to send anyone after him.'

'If he's just gone to visit someone then why has he stolen my horse?' demanded Leon doubtfully.

Gwaine stuck his head around the door in to his friend's room. Merlin's few belongings were strewn across the room, his clothes hung haphazardly in the cupboard.

Merlin obviously hadn't planned this. Gwaine's worry increased tenfold.

Contrary to what some of the court believed, the Knight wasn't stupid. He had frequently noticed his friend's odd disappearances, not only because Merlin was hardly ever even in the tavern.

Sir Gwaine opened his mouth, but he was interrupted - Percival was obviously thinking along the same lines.

'Could he have been kidnapped?' the big Knight asked his comrades, beginning to pace up and down the small room.

The King's face lost all good humour. He had only been standing listening to the conversation until this moment, but now he took his hand from his chin and the room fell silent.

'You say he was acting strangely earlier?' he asked the assembled company. Gwen nodded silently. She had been passing through when Merlin had had his strange turn.

Arthur thought for a moment more, but only a moment. 'We leave immediately. Ready the horses.'

Gwaine nodded and stood up, glad to be finally moving in to action.

Gaius, however, had had enough.

'Sire! Merlin has not been kidnapped because I saw him making leaving preparations myself! I may be old, but I'm not yet senile.'

The Knights stopped, Arthur looked curiously at the physician. There was a long pause.

'Very well, one more day.'

As the Knights left Gaius's chambers, Arthur pulled Gwaine and Percival aside. 'Go after him. I can't spare all of you and Gaius is lying.' Before either could voice their confusion, he continued. 'I know that he would never intentionally harm Merlin. But we also know that he has some sort of trust in this Dragoon. Let's just hope that it hasn't been betrayed.'

Gwaine and Percival nodded, their faces set. With a grateful smile, Arthur clapped them on the back, and the two went to ready the horses.

They would find and protect their friend, whatever was going on.

Merlin didn't like forests.

Or at least he did, but not this one. There was something about it that left a slow, uneasy feeling in his stomach and his mouth dry; something that was almost intangibly wrong about the place, as light as it was.

Maybe it was the silence.

Or the uneven ground… like it had once been farmed, only to fall in to disarray.

Or the tingling feeling in his chest - that felt so strangely like…

Magic.

The landscape was odd - sudden drops and sharp inclines that might go down a mile, then stop suddenly and lurch back up. Merlin was just struggling back up the side of a particular hill when a voice rang out, making him drop his pack and spooking his horse.

'That's his elbow.' said the voice, and after a few moments fruitless focal searching he had pinpointed it's source. A girl of about seventeen was sitting at the top, attired very oddly in a homespun but very complicated looking hat.

'What do you mean, elbow?' asked Merlin, curiously. He had met many strange people in his life, but few had ever greeted him with talk of bodily appendages.

'I meant that this is his elbow.' she explained impatiently.

'This? What is this?'

She looked surprised. 'This, where I'm sitting? It's mud, I suppose. And very muddy it is too.'

Merlin looked at her in consternation before deciding to continue on his way. As he passed her, he thought he heard a laugh.

'Keep to the fight, Emrys, or keep far away. It's never a good idea to get under someone's skin.'

He whirled around at her voice, but she was already gone.

Gaius re-read his ward's note for the hundredth time, faintly appalled by his untidily scrawled handwriting. Merlin didn't do things like this. He didn't ride off to face some magical creature with no idea of what to do when he got there. He didn't leave without at least an inkling of what he needed. As much as Gaius hated to admit it, Merlin wasn't a completely reckless man.

For a moment he wondered again if Merlin had left Camelot of his own volition. But no, that was ridiculous - after all, Gaius had seen him ride out of the Town Gates through the window himself. He turned the note over and noticed something scrawled on the back.

DON'T EVEN MENTION THE TAVERN.

Gaius smiled; it was Merlin all right. But what could be important enough to make him act so drastically?

Hi everyone! First I'd like to say thank you for all the alerts and reviews, they mean a lot : )

Also, yes, I went there! An OC! I hate OCs! But, thankfully, this one is nothing like me (no self projection in to the story), and there will be NO OC-CANON PAIRINGS. No offence to you OC shippers, but I just don't really get it.

I'm not entirely happy with how this chapter turned out but I'm going to go ahead and post it for the sake of updating. Next one up soon!