Hi,
Chapter two, hope you enjoy :-)
Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own Merlin the BBC does.
Arthur groaned as he placed the young boy down next to the lake at which they had stopped; his arms were aching from carrying the boy for what he guessed was about four miles. After he had settled the boy down, leaning his sleeping form against a rock he stretched his arms high above his head, hearing and feeling all of the muscles in his back pop. He groaned again rubbing the back of his neck, fatigue seeped through his bones, surrounding him; fire, food, sleep; in that order.He thought to himself before setting off to collect wood.
When the young brunette began to whine in his sleep Arthur rushed to his side immediately touching his shoulder gently he whispered, "Hey, its okay." The boy's eyes opened slowly, but when they focused on the blonde they shot open in fright as he struggled to scramble away. He move away crouching down, not noticing his nakedness now that the prince's vibrant red cloak was missing. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." Arthur said, whispering the last part, the fact that the boy didn't trust him hurting more than he cared to let on. "I'm Arthur," He said "Crown prince of Camelot, and your called…" he trailed off hoping that the boy would take the hint. Suddenly noticing his nakedness and vulnerability, the boy blushed looking down at the ground, embarrassment flushing over him. Arthur noticing his predicament reached down and passed the cloak to the boy.
"I'm called Merlin." The boy whispered, wrapping the cloak around his shoulders, covering himself. Arthur smiled to himself, triumph littering his face as he heard Merlin speak.
"It's nice to meet you Merlin; I've made some food, if you'd like some I'll get it for you." Arthur waited for a response, frowning as Merlin only nodded, before looking away. Arthur walked over to the makeshift campfire and pulled both the sticks that were speared through bits of rabbit away from the flames. When he sat down again he moved a tiny bit closer to the boy, wanting to see how he'd react, as expected Merlin moved away form the price, bringing his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on them. "Here, with my cooking skills it will be dry and probably tough but it's all we'll get before we get back to Camelot… err… Merlin… here you go." Arthur wasn't sure why he was feeling so insecure, but he was and the stuttering was definitely new to him; actually a lot of the things he had been feeling towards Merlin had been new, and he wasn't sure yet whether it was a good thing or not.
Merlin gingerly took the rabbit from Arthur, refusing to make eye contact or acknowledge the man apart from a very small "Thank you."
They sat in uncomfortable silence for a while, both chewing quietly on their rabbit, mulling over the events of the day. "How long were you with Valiant?" Arthur said quietly, not entirely sure that he wanted to know the answer. Merlin frowned looking at the ground;why did this man, the prince of Camelot, care?
"Seven years." He said timidly, what if he hurts me like master did?Arthur looked up in disbelief, that barbarian hurt him for seven years?
"How old are you now Merlin?" seeing the uncertainty on the young boys face Arthur continued "Don't lie to me please Merlin, if you can handle seven years with that man I'm pretty sure I can handle one number." Merlin swallowed, fear clearly painted on his face, this can't possibly end well. He took a deep breath in before exhaling slowly.
"I'm nineteen sire."
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