Thank you so much once again! Apologies to anyone who got a response about six times, it seemed to be acting up a bit and I had no idea if they had sent or not!

Leon walked the horse slowly, mindful of the two unconscious boys on her back. He had absolutely no idea what was wrong with them, but knew that he couldn't stop for a closer examination until they were further away from the fight. He was only one man: he could not defend three people. Especially not when his duty dictated that he protected Arthur no matter the cost to anyone else, but his heart claimed that he had to look after the boy and the woman as well. Three defenceless people, all under his protection, and he had no idea what to do.

Petra stayed quiet as they walked along, and Leon got the distinct impression that she simply didn't know how to act around him. His cloak almost swamped her, yet she hugged it to herself as if worried he would suddenly snatch it back. She had said that she had been a slave along with Merlin, and judging by her dress and the fact she had a pretty face, Leon knew what kind of slavery she had been entered into.

But at least it told him something about why the boy had been out here. When he had last seen Merlin, he had been playing with Arthur, the two young children not needing to worry about anything when they knew the adults around them would take care of things. He knew that Arthur had grown since then, and it seemed Merlin had as well. Leon wondered whether the bandits had raided the village or whether Merlin had just been unlucky enough to be caught by them. He had no idea that the headstrong youth had tried to find them himself because he thought that they would have offered him a sense of freedom.

What Leon did know, however, that there was magic surrounding Merlin. He had seen what had happened when Arthur had touched him, although hadn't yet realised the full extent of what it had meant for the prince's blood to have mingled with the slave's. He somehow also knew that it was because of the magic that the two boys were unconscious. But considering the dried tear tracks on Merlin's face and the fact he was just as injured as Arthur meant Leon also knew that Merlin hadn't tried to hurt the prince. Whatever had happened with the magic, if it was even Merlin's to begin with, it hadn't been the child's fault. Leon didn't say anything about it to Petra, not being sure how she would take the news that the child had magic. She had either known all of this time and it was part of the reason behind her silence, or she had no idea. Leon couldn't risk her being scared by it and running off into the forest. He knew that knights could be no better than bandits when the thrill of the fight was running through their veins.

His musings only stopped when Merlin let out a soft cry, shifting slightly on the horse. His movement caused Arthur to shift as well, and Leon knew that there was no way he would be able to keep both boys balanced.

"This way." Despite not expecting Petra to answer, Leon felt that it was only polite to inform her of the change in direction before he suddenly did so. Guiding the horse off the main path, he came to a stop in a small clearing and tethered the animal to a low branch. Cursing at how muscular and therefore heavy Arthur now was, Leon awkwardly tipped his prince over his shoulder before lowering him to the floor. He didn't even want to think about how he was going to get him back up again. Merlin was far easier to get down, but Leon found that he was simply biting his lip as he stared down at them.

There were a few bruises and sores on Arthur, the location of most indicating they had been formed from where he had clearly been restrained. The straight bruises across his back made Leon grind his teeth together in fury as he recognised it for a whip mark, but apart from that, the prince seemed otherwise unharmed. The cuts he had sustained in the fight had stopped bleeding now, and Leon was sure that as long as he kept the wounds clean, there would be no complications.

Merlin, on the other hand, was a different story altogether. He was bruised as well, and Leon's experience told him that the deep cut on the boy's arm was not where a weapon had caught him in passing, but where someone had deliberately made that cut. But it wasn't the injuries that gave the knight cause for concern. It was the fact that Merlin looked far thinner than a boy his age should, and his pale complexion indicated that this was something that had been going on for a considerable length of time. Leon couldn't help but wonder whether it was anything to do with the mysterious magic that was the reason why the boy was unconscious, or whether the fight had just been too much for him to handle and his body had had enough. As if knowing that he was being thought about, Merlin groaned again, his face screwed up.

"Do you know this area? Do you know the nearest water source?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Just Leon will do fine. On the back of that horse there are two water pouches. Do you think that you can fill them up for me?" Leon tried his hardest to make sure that it didn't sound as if he was giving an order. If the woman had been a slave, he knew that it was going to take her some time before she began to trust him. But he also knew that he needed to get some fluid into Merlin and to make sure that their cuts were clean. As a Knight of Camelot, Leon knew that he had the right to have his orders followed. It wasn't a power he often exercised, and had been trying to instil the same idea into Arthur. A knight was stronger if he was able to do everything by himself rather than relying on others. Time and the situation were against him this time, however, and he knew that he had no choice.

"Of course, Si.- Leon." Petra almost curtseyed at him, then seemed to catch the look on his face and swiftly straightened up. Without another word, she swiftly fetched the water skins and hurried away. Leon just found himself hoping that she would come back again. As Arthur stirred this time, the knight sighed.

"What have you got yourself into, Sire? I told you to stay in the centre of the camp where it was safe. But no, you had to go to the outskirts, didn't you? You had to go and get yourself taken hostage." There was nothing but fondness in Leon's tone as he brushed Arthur's hair back from his forehead, watching as the teenager seemed to relax under his touch. His breathing was deep and steady, and whilst Leon would have preferred it if Arthur was awake, he was certain that there was nothing truly wrong with the boy. In a way, maybe it was good he was unconscious, for Leon knew Arthur too well. He knew that, given the chance, the prince would have run straight back into the fight. He would have done anything he could to try and prove himself to his father.

"L'n?" The knight jumped, suddenly realising that Arthur's eyes were open and he was gazing at the knight in the utmost confusion.

"Where are we? Where's Merlin? My father… they wanted to kill the king!" Arthur tried to sit up, but Leon only just got his hand onto the prince's shoulder in time to stop him from doing so. Even moving that far caused any colour Arthur had left to drain from his face and for him to let out a groan Leon knew too well.

"If you're going to be sick, let me know so I can move you away from Merlin." Arthur didn't answer, he just seemed to stare at something over Leon's shoulder for a long moment, weaving where he sat. Leon glanced around, but it came as no surprise that there was nothing there. What was more worrying was the way beads of sweat appeared on Arthur's forehead and his next groan almost seemed to be more of a whimper.

"Sire, what's wrong? Arthur!"

"Burns…" Arthur almost choked and Leon was moving before he knew what he was doing. One hand slid behind Arthur's head just as the teenager passed out and Leon carefully guided the young warrior back down to the ground. This time, he let his hand linger on Arthur's forehead and frowned in concern when he felt the temperature that had definitely not been there before.

"What's wrong with you?" Unable to stop himself, Leon turned his attention to Merlin and repeated the same process. Merlin didn't stir, but he was as cold as Arthur was hot. Bewildered, Leon moved them closer together in some attempt at balancing out their temperatures, but heard footsteps coming from behind him before he could do anything else. The prince's mystery illness had him more alert than he had ever been before and his sword was out almost before he finished turning. Petra let out a soft gasp, but Leon was just thankful that she didn't scream and therefore give away their position.

"Sorry." He muttered, flushing slightly at how he had over-reacted. The woman just smiled tightly at him and Leon realised she had probably been threatened with far worse than just a drawn sword during her time with the bandits. Petra simply handed him one of the water skins and bent down next to Merlin with the other.

For a long moment, Leon could only watch as she gently trickled some into his mouth, stroking his throat in order to encourage him to swallow before ripping a piece of her dress off. Soaking it in water, she then unwrapped the makeshift bandage Leon had tied around his arm earlier and carefully began to clean the wound below. It was only then that Leon realised she was humming under her breath as she did so, her movements calming. The knight couldn't help but think that this was not the first time she had been forced to look after Merlin when he hadn't been awake, and it just fuelled the man's anger at what hardships the child must have been put through.

Realising he was staring, Leon cleared his throat self-consciously and bent down next to Arthur. He knew that his movements weren't as soothing and that he was going about it in the way one treated the wounded after a battle, but it was all he knew. Arthur whimpered slightly as Leon cleaned a cut, and then cried out as the knight rolled him onto his stomach so he could get a better look at the whip marks across his back. As he pulled up Arthur's shirt, the prince cried out again, almost seeming to struggle against his mentor.

"Here." Petra had finished with Merlin, Leon's cloak lying over the boy. She moved over, gently taking Arthur by the shoulders. The slave navigated the pair until she was sitting cross legged on the floor, Arthur's head in her lap and her fingers stroking calmingly through his sweaty hair.

"If you are going to check him, now would be a good time." Leon could see the way Arthur was shaking, and knew that when the prince awoke properly, they were going to have to have a long discussion about what was truly going through his head in regards to what had just happened. But before he could do that, he first had to get the prince to wake up. Soaking a rag that he had torn off from his own shirt, Leon carefully wiped it over the inflamed skin. Arthur let out another cry, but Petra held him still, resuming her humming. After a few moments, Arthur completely relaxed against her and Leon knew that he would be able to continue his inspection without fear of hurting the young man.

"Thank you." When he was finally done, Leon fell back on his haunches and let out a long breath. That had been the hardest thing that he had ever done. Not because of the extent of Arthur's injuries – the majority were just superficial surface wounds. It was because this was the boy that Leon had sworn that he would always keep safe, that he would die for even more than his king. To have to be treating Arthur when he was hurt, upset and running a fever was one of Leon's worse nightmares.

"You care for him a great deal."

"You care for Merlin a great deal," Leon shot back, not being sure if the woman was trying to use his brotherly feelings towards Arthur against him or not. She simply smiled, glancing fondly over to where the warlock seemed to be resting far more peacefully than he had been before.

"He gave me a reason to keep fighting for all of this time. He needed me there for him, and so it gave me the strength to focus. Can you understand that, Sir Knight? What it means for a slave to have a reason to keep on living?"

"Yes, I think I can." Leon's voice was soft, but he was gazing steadily at Arthur as he spoke. He did know what it felt like to know someone was relying on you, whether they would admit it or not. He made to move into a more comfortable position when the horse suddenly snorted, pawing at the ground and tossing her head. Leon was on his feet, sword in his hand almost immediately.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Someone is coming. Do you know how to shoot? I would give you my dagger, only Arthur seems to have lost that."

"To defend Merlin I can." There was such a fierce note of protectiveness in Petra's voice that Leon didn't doubt her for a second. Placing his sword down, he grabbed his crossbow and loaded it for her, showing her how to aim and pull the string back to release. She watched in silence, but Leon knew that she had taken everything he had said in. The woman knelt next to Merlin, her body half covering Arthur as well as she braced herself, pointing the weapon in the direction that Leon had indicated the noise was coming from. Hoisting his sword back into his hand, the knight stood poised and ready.

He had failed Arthur once before by not being alert enough to protect him, he was not going to let that happen again. The only blessing was the noise was coming from the east, and he knew the camp lay to the west. But that wasn't enough to make Leon relax, he knew full well how many bandits were in this forest and how easily they could have overtaken them considering the speed Leon had been travelling at. Signalling to Petra to stay down, Leon found that he was carefully calculating what he could make out from the footsteps.

"Put the cloak over both of them, we can't let anyone know who Arthur is." Leon could see out of the corner of his eye that Petra did as he asked without hesitation. She clearly understood that this was not the time nor place to start arguing back, not when the boys' safety was at risk once again.

Without warning, he suddenly sprang forward. Grabbing hold of a man, he dragged him into the clearing, the tip of his sword resting at the base of the man's throat.

"Please! Please don't hurt us, we mean you no harm! We're just passing through. Please…" Leon pushed the man back a step, keeping him at arm's length as he kept the sword where it was. Now that he could get a proper look at the man, he was sure that he knew him from somewhere.

"We? Who else is there? Show yourself!" There was a commanding note in Leon's voice as he kept hold of the man. There was a rustling sound, then a drawn and haggard woman stumbled from the trees, exhaustion making her stumble. Leon found that his sword was lowering ever so slightly. To begin with, it was because they were clearly of no threat to either him, Petra or the boys. With a knight to protect them, no one was getting close to Arthur and Merlin.

But just as with the man, there was something about the woman that Leon recognised. She looked up towards him, at first only seeing his sword before her eyes began to focus on his face. As soon as they did so, however, she gasped.

"Sir Leon? Is that you?" Her gaze darted between Leon and the cloak, clearly recognising that he was hiding something underneath it. For a moment, Leon frowned, his grip on his sword just as tight. But as she brushed a lock of hair back from her face, he found his eyes widening.

"Hunith?!" The slightest hint of a smile tugged at her lips as she nodded. Tears stung at her eyes again, but Leon couldn't work out whether they were relief that they weren't about to be harmed, or something else. Something, he couldn't help but think, that resembled utter heartbreak.

"What are you doing out here?"

"You know these people?" Petra hadn't let the tension in the crossbow relax and Leon noted the way that she had shuffled closer to where Merlin was under the cloak. Suddenly, the look in Hunith's eye made perfect sense and Leon could have kicked himself for not having realised it sooner.

"They're friends. Petra… take the cloak off the boys."

"Are you sure?" Hunith's eyes had widened, and Leon knew that he wasn't mistaking the glimmer of hope that had suddenly flared to life in her eyes. She glanced between the knight and the cloak again, her breathing picking up slightly. Her hand stretched out to the side and her companion moved forward, grasping it tightly and offering her some sort of reassurance.

"Do it."

Petra didn't look convinced, but she did as she was told and began peeling back the cloak. Hunith was already moving forward before anything had been revealed, but when the very top of Merlin's head came into view, she let out a sob. Petra glanced at Leon, and he could see the protectiveness in her eyes. He nodded reassuringly, however, and she drew the rest of the cloak away with a flourish.

"Merlin!"

Any relief Leon had felt that no one had yet yelled was immediately shattered as Hunith nothing short of screamed her son's name. Her hand wrenched from the man's – Matthew, if Leon remembered correctly – and she stumbled forward. Leon saw what was happening even before it happened, and it meant that he was able to put his sword down and slide one arm around Hunith's waist as she stumbled in shock as she realised her son was unconscious and injured.

"Petra, it's alright."

"My boy, my baby boy." Hunith pulled herself free of Leon's grip, dropping to her knees next to Merlin and shakily brushing his hair back from his forehead. When Merlin did nothing but turn into the touch slightly, not opening his eyes, Hunith let out a sob. Before anyone could stop her, she had pulled Merlin into a sitting position, cradling her son against her chest and rocking him gently, tears dripping.

"What happened to him? Where was he?" Petra didn't seem to know what to do, and Leon couldn't blame her. It was clear that she had spent months looking after Merlin and trying to keep him safe, and then had a woman pull the boy away from her without an explanation. Leon walked slowly over, crouching down and checking Arthur's temperature as he did so.

"You can relax, Petra. Everything is going to be just fine. Hunith, this is Petra, she's been keeping Merlin safe. Petra, this is Hunith… Merlin's mother." The slave's mouth dropped opened in surprise and she almost made to scramble back a pace, not being sure how to react. Hunith's head shot up and she managed a watery smile at the young woman.

"I'm never going to be able to thank you enough. Where did you find him, Leon? We've been looking for six months, never to find a trace of him. I thought… I thought that I would never ever see him again. Is that… oh my, is that Prince Arthur?"

"Arthur's how we found him. Look, I'm not sure whether we can talk here, I think we are too close to their camp…"

"They won't coming looking for us."

"How can you be sure?" Leon frowned at the certainty in Petra's voice. "I have to keep the prince safe."

"If Jarta wanted Merlin back, then we would already be back there. If we've gone this far, the bandits are no more. Trust me, they wouldn't have let him come this far."

"Not let him? What did they do to him?" Petra glanced at Leon, before looking towards Hunith. The knight wasn't sure what she was about to say, but he had a feeling it was something to do with what he had seen, the colours and glow around the boys when Arthur had pushed the bandit aside. Something, his heart told him, was to do with magic. If Petra opened her mouth, he couldn't pretend not know. But at the same time, Leon knew that betraying Merlin would mean betraying Arthur, and that was something he was never going to do, no matter what he had to go through in order to protect them.

"Hunith… our master… He knew about Merlin's magic from the beginning." Hunith gasped out loud, looking towards Leon. He gave a small smile of reassurance, however, gesturing for Petra to continue. He had a feeling that if he said anything now, Hunith might end up passing out herself.

"He performed a ritual that bound Merlin's power to him. The boy had no control, everything was in Jarta's hands." Without realising what he was doing, Leon found that his hand had come to rest on Petra's shoulder. He too had heard Merlin crying out when he had been bound to that altar, he didn't even want to think about what it had felt like to her to have to watch it happen.

"That's why you haven't been able to find him, Jarta made sure that he concealed himself after other bandits began to show their interest." Hunith gave a small sob, burying her face in Merlin's hair and holding her son almost as close as she could get him. By the look on her face, Leon knew that she wouldn't be letting go any time soon. If what he had heard was true about the time span, he couldn't blame her either. He didn't know what he would do if Arthur had gone missing for six months, those few days were bad enough.

"But he was used as bait for the prince. Jarta found out, don't ask me how, he found out that Merlin had a connection with the young royal. He exploited that to trap Arthur, only it's been backfiring on him ever since. My last night with him, he was muttering something about destiny. And some of the men that came before, they wanted both of them. I think something links the two together."

"Healing him without meaning too." Hunith muttered, her mind clearly lost in a past event.

"What do you mean?"

"When they first met, Arthur was running a fever. Merlin acted without knowing what he was doing, he healed…I mean…he…"

"Hunith, I already know. Don't worry, I will do nothing to endanger your son."

"But the law…the king…"

"You don't live in Camelot's borders." Leon knew that he would only have one chance to explain to the tearful woman that Merlin was as safe now as he would ever be when it came to his magic. Arthur let out a small cry, shifting under the cloak and his knight rested his hand gently on the young man's head.

"Besides, I can't betray him even if I wanted to."

"What do you mean?" Petra's voice was sharp, and Leon had a feeling she knew precisely what Leon was talking about.

"Jarta tried to redo the ritual tonight, didn't he? I saw how Merlin was…" Breaking off, he glanced at Hunith. The woman had gone back to rocking her son, but Leon wasn't sure how much attention she was paying to her surroundings. He didn't want her to know how her child had been strapped down on an altar and cut deliberately.

"I saw how he was positioned, put it that way. Arthur was adamant that he was going to go back for him. He pushed who I assume is Jarta out of the way and he fell. There was this shield over them, explosions of magic taking place within. What? What is it?"

Petra had a hand covering her mouth and she shook her head slowly, tears in her own eyes as Leon had explained what had happened. The knight had a feeling she was just confirming his suspicions, but he needed to know for sure one way or the other.

"This is not good."

"Why? What's happening? What is wrong with my son?"

"Nothing. Only, well, I'm not sure that he has control now either…"

"What has been done to him?"

"Arthur took the place of the spell, didn't he?" Leon didn't even notice that his hand was softly stroking the teenager's hair, trying to remain calm about this. It was his duty as a knight to uphold the law and therefore make sure that anyone with magic was executed. Instead, he had a terrified boy who had just spent the last six months being abused for his powers on his hands. Not only that, but he didn't have control of his own magic.

The Prince of Camelot did.

Petra slowly nodded, and Hunith's eyes went wide. She looked at Arthur properly, as if only just realising quite who was lying next to her son despite her earlier words. Then fear filled eyes turned up to Leon. It was clear that she was asking him what Arthur was going to do. Would he have his young friend executed in order to make sure that he wasn't tainted with it himself? Or was he still young enough to see the innocence and beauty in magic despite what his father had taught him. It was true, Ealdor was not under Camelot's rule. That didn't mean Hunith hadn't been filled with dread each day that Merlin had accidently stumbled across the border and been captured and executed.

Leon, however, shrugged slightly. He wasn't sure himself what Arthur's reaction had been. The young man had been more and more eager to prove himself to his father over the last year, wanted to be seen as a good prince rather than a boy. Would he put his ever increasing duty above Merlin? But at the same time, Leon could still see the look in Arthur's eye when he had refused to run from the bandits because he wanted to go back for the younger boy.

"I think… I think Arthur will keep him safe. He refused to get to safety, he ran straight back into the middle of the camp in order to get to Merlin. Am I right in thinking that he already knew about the magic before I arrived?"

"That's what Jarta used to capture him."

"And yet Arthur still wanted to go back for him… Hunith, Merlin is safe from Arthur, I'm sure of it. If he was going to lash out, he would have done so by now and certainly wouldn't have tried to go back for someone that he would then betray. As for what happens now… is there a way to break the spell?"

"Merlin never found it, but his magic lashed out of its own accord at the end. Maybe it will do the same now?"

"Maybe." Leon could only watch as Hunith continued to rock her son, stroking the back of his head gently and murmuring soft words in his ear. Leon didn't know whether she was trying to wake him up or just trying to reassure him that he was safe. For all the knight knew, she simply wanted to be able to talk to her boy in a way that she hadn't been able to for months.

"Hunith, how far are we from your home?"

"An hour, maybe two. Why?"

"Do you think I can leave Arthur there whilst I make contact with the king?"

"What will you tell him?"

"That I did as ordered and extracted the prince to safety whilst he laid siege to the camp. But that rather than returning within the two days I was supposed to, I wanted to receive aid for Arthur and so will delay our return until he is ready." Leon just hoped that he would be able to deliver the same speech with such conviction when he was actually face to face with Uther Pendragon.

"Wouldn't the king want to make sure that his son his well and safe if he has been missing?"

"Uther isn't that kind of father. He is likely to send Gaius back with me though. I seem to remember that you know him from somewhere before? Is it okay if he comes?"

"I think he might be able to provide some of the answers we are looking for." Hunith murmured, sighing as she held Merlin close. For his part, Leon just told himself that he wasn't going to make the connection between Gaius and magic just yet, he wasn't sure he could handle it.