They had packed the vehicles, driven off and on arrival unloaded them in silence. Arthur spent the morning oddly touchy, rejecting anyone's attempts to talk. He had also engineered it so he was not in the same car as Uther. He had flinched away from him all morning, almost not wanting to acknowledge the vague, clearly tenuous, truce of last night. Uther watched him and realised the only way to handle Arthur was to retreat. It pained him to do it, but Arthur would come to him, when he was ready. Uther thought that it was almost a test, to see how far he would push.

He didn't push at all. The easiest thing seemed to be to leave Arthur alone, and he did so. Arthur gave him the odd glance, as if he was trying to work out Uther's reaction but if he caught his eye Arthur gave him a vague smile, if he didn't then he didn't even look at him. Arthur wasn't angry with Uther, he just wanted to work out what happened last night, their first civilised conversation seemed to have achieved something, and Arthur didn't want to mess about with it. Neither, it seemed, did Uther. So they ended up not talking, but clearly understanding each other.

The others in the group watched with bafflement, but little concern. Both Arthur and Uther seemed fine. Arthur stayed still as Lancelot helped to settle his backpack.

"How's that?" Lancelot asked.

"Fine," Arthur replied shrugging his shoulders a little to get comfortable. "It's doesn't even feel all that heavy."

"I'm sure you won't be saying that after five miles of walking," Percival said while hauling his own backpack onto his shoulders, making it look entirely effortless. Arthur frowned as he looked at the sword strapped to the side of the pack.

"Are you sure you'll need that?"

"As much as guns can be useful, there are a few creatures we know of that can only be killed by forged weapons, which means swords, daggers, spears; things like that," Lancelot said.

"Oh," Arthur said. His hand strayed to the gun that fit snugly into his belt. Lancelot rummaged in the back of the jeep and pulled out a dagger, the blade about twelve inches in length. He slid it, in it's scabbard, into the strap on the side of Arthur's backpack, tightening it up in such at way that made Arthur think that was the strap's very purpose.

"I don't honestly think you are proficient enough to carry a sword, but there are enough of us who are. If anything gets so close that you need to use the knife, it will be a dire circumstance."

"Cheery thought," Gwaine said brightly.

"I can look after Arthur as well," Merlin announced.

No one contested that comment, Arthur guessed it had to do with Merlin's powers, which were, as was becoming obvious, for the purpose of helping him. Although Merlin had his own part in what was going on, Arthur assumed, judging by the way Merlin behaved, it quite clearly seemed to revolve around himself.

"Separating is not an entirely good idea, although we might be conspicuous as a large group," Uther announced. He had spread a map out on the bonnet of one of the jeeps studying it carefully.

"We may see a few people," Leon said. "But I don't think they would question it too much."

"We could pretend to be a group of employees on a team building day," Gwaine suggested, frowning as everyone turned to look at him. "Or, not, as the case may be."

"I was planning to suggest," Uther said slowly, talking as if they were all idiots, "that we perhaps stay off the pathways. Enough of us are well trained that we will not get lost, and anything that comes at us, we may well not want other people around us."

"Do I really want to ask what might come at us?" Arthur asked. Uther glanced at him.

"Possibly not."

"Big scorpions?" Gwaine suggested.

"Not again thank you," Arthur said, then he frowned and looked around. "Wasn't that a bit co-incidental that I encountered three of them? They can't have just happened to have been there, surely?"

Merlin frowned. "Possibly not, the spell I used is a protection spell, but it hadn't fully formed. You were technically doused in magic, and it would be seeping from you. That could have simply drawn them in like a magnet."

"Thanks for that," Arthur said to him.

"It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't run off," Morgana informed him curtly.

"Nor would those blokes," Arthur added. Then he blinked and warily turned his head in Uther's direction. His father's eyes widened at the comment and then had slowly narrowed as he stared at Arthur. For his part Arthur felt the heat run up his face as he blushed. His father had known nothing about that, none of them had, only Gaius and Merlin knew for certain and would not have told anyone unless necessary. Gwaine could have easily made an educated guess.

"If we head west and then up through the ravine along the side there," Leon said, looking intently at the map and pointing to draw everyone's attention away from Arthur. "That will bring us out by the edge of the lake, it's quite a sheltered spot, we could make camp there if we want to stay overnight."

"Avoiding the trails means it will be harder going, let's start off. Do we have all the equipment?" Uther asked.

There came several murmured words of agreement and Lancelot carefully checked that the vehicle doors were locked. Merlin raised his hand and whispered something, his eyes glowing for a moment. Arthur frowned, fairly certain that he saw something ripple over the jeeps. Although he could probably assume that was nothing more than a trick of the light, he didn't actually think that was what he saw. Merlin grinned at him and headed off to catch up with Gwaine, who took Merlin's hand as he caught up with him. Arthur shrugged his pack a little and headed off, tensing but feeling unsurprised as Uther fell into step beside him. Arthur didn't dare look at him, out of the corner of his eye he realised Uther had the same idea, as he looked around, carefully examining the scenery.

"I'm not going to ask," Uther informed him.

"Okay," Arthur said uncertainly.

"I get the feeling it's something I don't want to know."

"All things considered, probably you don't. I'm fine though."

"You're always fine Arthur, you say that and then…"

"It's not a problem, I'm not going to be an idiot again."

"It's not that, not entirely. They didn't all see the information that we found as Monmouth's house. I saw some of the other medical records."

"It's fine. I'm not going to do that either."

"Can you blame me for feeling concerned?"

Arthur grimaced, feeling a little caught out. "No, I can't." He risked a glance in his father's direction. That appeared to be the end of the conversation as Uther eased his way further up the trail.

"Leon," he called to get the other's man's attention. Leon turned, having taken the lead, holding the map as he carefully negotiated his way through the forest. "We may want to avoid that ridge, east is usually the easiest way isn't it."

"Yes, but the recent rain might make that tricky going. There is another route, if we track up almost to the ridge and then turn at the cave."

Uther caught up, and the pair of them walked side by side, Leon folding the map to find the relevant section. Arthur watched them, feeling almost slightly put out by the fact his father wasn't pushing the issue.

"Are you all right?" Merlin asked released his hand from Gwaine's and falling into step with Arthur.

"I don't get him."

Merlin followed Arthur's gaze and looked at Uther.

"Which bit?" Merlin asked.

"So you don't either?" Arthur said.

"Not all the time," Merlin said. "He took me in when my mother died, but he didn't exactly fudge around the reason why. He knew I was important, but I know he cares about me. And he included Gwaine, who really does care about me and not just all this. I think Uther knew that he couldn't always give everything that I wanted, so he allowed Gwaine in, who wanted to do that. It wasn't just because he saw me as the guider of the Once and Future King. I think he also didn't want to invest himself. He was saving himself for you."

"I think I disappointed him a little."

"Maybe; but no one can live up to an ideal. Even your mother can't, however much you both want her to. It's easy though."

"What is?"

"For someone who is dead to live up to a perfect ideal. You forget all the horrible things that happened, you just consider all the times it was nice and they were what you wanted."

"There's something wrong with me then."

Merlin turned to look at him, stumbling over a tree root.

"Why?" he eventually asked, after Gwaine had taken one arm and Arthur grabbed the other to help Merlin stay upright. Arthur waited for Gwaine to go away again. He did so quite willingly, looking as if he knew he couldn't stop what was going on between them, but accepted that it had no baring on his relationship with Merlin. If nothing else, Arthur did not want a relationship, he certainly didn't want anything physical and Merlin had just been kind and open with him. Arthur tentative emotional feelers had started to search out and find that. Gwaine remaining undemanding helped as much as Merlin's kindness, so Arthur answered.

"All I remember, the clearest thing is that time, walking into the ward after one of the nurses had taken me out to get an ice cream. I wondered what the hell had happened to my mother. There was just this bald, skinny, thing, in her place. I knew it was her and I knew she loved me but I wondered, after she had died, why she had done it to me. I don't remember good things. Well..." Arthur paused and huffed. "I do remember them, but that is the one thing that mattered. That one bad reality check."

"And you're blaming it on him, Uther."

"No, I don't think I am. I can do this whole raging thing about how it's all his fault and that he drove her away and he was awful to her and so many other excuses. But that's not the reality is it?"

Arthur paused, looking down at his feet for a moment, well clad in the hiking boots that his father had bought. He had bought them because Arthur needed them. Even if Arthur rejected him as a father he would never stop providing. For everything.

"No, he loved your mother. He loved you, even though he had never laid eyes on you."

"He imagined what I was like though."

"Of course."

"I am so not what he expected."

"That does not mean he is disappointed in you. I think he likes you, he certainly respects you."

Arthur blinked, although he couldn't really argue with Merlin. Uther did seem to want to take his thoughts and feelings into consideration. Not only that he also appeared to listen to what Arthur said. It didn't really equate with the man that he had first met, in that cold, derelict building. Then again, Arthur knew what he had seemed like as he had been regarded by them, during those first few painful days. Arthur didn't even want to think how low he had seemed, yet he certainly had not given in to them, he grinned at the memory of whacking Gwaine around the head with a soap filled sock.

"What?" Merlin asked.

Arthur tried to stop grinning and shook his head. "Nothing. It's nothing."

Still Arthur grinned and Merlin looked at him in confusion. Arthur carried on walking, shifting the pack around so it settled better on his shoulders, and he thought that Percival would be right after a few miles. Arthur would hate his boots and his rucksack.

"How long will this take anyway?" Arthur asked.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

By mid-afternoon Arthur hated his boots and rucksack.

"I hate this, I hate everything," Arthur groaned. The skin on his shoulders hurt from the straps rubbing, his back ached from carrying the weight, his feet hurt in his new boots and his legs ached.

"Is it that bad?" Gwaine asked.

"I can probably find places that I didn't even know were there to complain about, and I've done weird shit with mine and other people's bodies."

"Like what?" Gwaine asked.

"This one guy really liked me kicking and kneeing him in the legs, and hour or so of that made me ache."

"Sir, we are not going to get to the lake today, maybe we should set up camp now, and get some rest," Leon said to Uther.

"In other words, shut up?" Arthur asked and got the satisfaction as Leon blushed. He glanced at Uther and then looked down.

"Sorry," Arthur said. "That was a bit rude."

"Yes, it was," Merlin said. "But Leon is right, we're not even close. Maybe making camp and getting there tomorrow is logical. If we are better rested then we are better equip to deal with what might come at us."

"You really think something might?" Arthur asked.

"You are the Once And Future King, you glow with magic, it will attract and detract."

"Nice," Arthur said.

"I need a good strong boundary Merlin," Uther said.

"I'm on it."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Why am I the Once and Future King?" Arthur said during a short pause in conversation. "It's a weird title."

"The legend states that at the battle of Camlann King Arthur was mortally wounded, after the battle he was taken to Avalon, where he was protected by the priestesses that lived there. All of them were strong in the ways of magic. From that it was predicted that Arthur would return. Hence the name," Morgana said.

"So, I'm not the Once part of it, I'm the Future."

"Yes," Morgana said. "It's been tried before and many of the stories state that Arthur's official enemies cannot exist without him."

"Like you?"

"Yes," Morgana said. "There are many tales about the alleged sister of Arthur. There is another sister as well apparently and so many merged relationships and names that it is hard to work out, for this time. But you read some of the stories and realise that they were not really enemies, they just didn't see things the same way."

"So we might not even need to fight, this might just be a need to control," Arthur said. "Possibly, hopefully, maybe not."

"We'll see," Uther said. "Considering the way things are in this time, I don't think we can expect anything gentle."

"I hardly think it was gentle in medieval times. I read all that information and it sounded rough," Arthur said. "Slogging around in armour all day and most people dying before they were forty."

"Very cheery," Gwaine said brightly. "They had probably lost most of their teeth by then, dying of... consumption or whatever it was they had in those days."

"And that apparently got linked with vampirism," Merlin said.

"What?!" Arthur asked.

"If one family member died and then other started to slowly decline it was assumed it was from the original person draining their life force. They used to think some really weird things."

"You just spend too much time looking up rubbish on the internet," Gwaine informed him, nudging his shoulder against Merlin's.

"What else is the internet for?" Merlin asked, all fake wide eyed innocence and a cheeky grin. Arthur smiled, watching them, but Gwaine never got to answer. They all turned at the sound of something shrieking in the woods. Arthur swallowed heavily and scanned the darkness beyond the campfire. He couldn't see anything, not even make out the trees from some angles. There was nothing but blackness.

"What was that?"

"A pheasant," Gwaine said. Arthur turned and glared at him.

"A pheasant?"

"A great big one," Gwaine informed him.

"It doesn't sound like a pheasant."

"Have you ever heard a pheasant before?" Gwaine asked him. Arthur frowned.

"Not really."

"Then how do you know it isn't a pheasant?"

"It sounded nothing like any sort of bird," Arthur said, he glanced at Uther, frowning at him. "Does it?"

"No, it does not," Uther said.

"So why say it's a pheasant?" Arthur demanded of Gwaine. Gwaine responded by drawing his sword from his pack and resting it against the log he sat on, propping it close by. Gwaine's eyes roamed over the dark woods.

"I'm not scared of pheasants."

"Oh," Arthur responded and grimaced as the noises happened again, louder, and busier.

"That sounded like three pheasants," Leon announced.

"At least," Gwaine agreed.

"I've got a boundary up, I'll know if anything passes it. I doubt they'll come near the fire anyway," Merlin announced.

"And what is they?" Arthur asked.

"Pheasants," Merlin said.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Merlin ended up being right, nothing came close to the camp, but the sounds echoed around them all night. Arthur managed to get some sleep, the group sleeping in rotation just in case. When Arthur's turn had come up he didn't feel surprised that Uther took watch with him. They didn't really bother to talk, aware of the people sleeping around them, but the silence felt comfortable enough. It occurred to Arthur he got on quite well with his father when they didn't talk to each other.

They hurried through breakfast and Arthur wandered away to relive himself. He peed into a bush and then froze as he felt a surge of warm air by his ankle. Every part of his body froze, except his urinary tract which merrily continued on it's way. Arthur turned his head and looked down at a pair of nostrils sniffing his foot. They belonged to a sleek dark head, from the top of which protruded a pair of curled horns.

Arthur's eyes widened, the trickle of urine slowing down as his bladder emptied. The nostrils diverted their attention to the puddle, flaring and as the beast exhaled it snorted, the sound low, almost turning into a growl. Very slowly Arthur backed up, sorting his groin and trousers as he did so. As much as he could cope with embarrassing situations he was not about to have the rest of them find him like that. The beast's head turned, the gaze locking onto him. It took another deep inhale, nose lowering to the ground as it followed his scent. Easing it's way through the bushes it parted the branches with thickset shoulders and a pair of large grey wings. The beast gave a snarl, revealing sharp teeth. Arthur grimaced, backing up slowly and debating his options.

Running was probably a very bad idea, he got the feeling it would give chase, and eyeing it carefully Arthur decided it would be quicker than him. It snarled again.

"Nice... thing... creature... whatever," Arthur said in a placating tone. Taking another step back he slowly moved his hand around to the small of his back, where he had, by sheer luck, a gun tucked in his belt. He eased it out, wincing as he was forced to tug and his elbow jerked. The sharp move caught the beast's eyes.

"Okay, it's fine..." Arthur said and then dived to the side. As he anticipated the beast jumped and hit the tree head first as Arthur dodged behind it. The thing roared in anger and Arthur raised the gun, sighting carefully, focusing on one of the creature's eyes. He didn't get a chance to fire as Merlin suddenly appeared and the beast turned on him. Arthur re-aimed trying to find something as vulnerable as the eye. Merlin didn't look frightened as he glowered at the snarling, hissing creature, instead he shouted at it. Arthur blinked as Merlin's voice deepened, speaking in a language that he couldn't follow. A moment later the creature lowered it's head and dropped onto it's rump, giving a low, docile huff. Arthur looked at it in surprise and then turned his gaze to Merlin, who eyed him smugly.

"Did you just tell that thing to sit?!"

"Among other things."

"What is it anyway?"

Merlin shrugged and grinned. "A pheasant."