Okay first off thank you all for reading and reviewing my story, it really makes my day to see emails saying that someone followed/favorited/reviewed my story. Now, here is a new chappie for y'alls, hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I finally kidnapped got one of the characters to do this for me!

Agravaine: Why me? I'm not even in your story!

Me: Because I said so. Now do it.

Agravaine: *sighs* Fine. Shadow does not own any of us. And thank goodness for that.

Me: Well that wasn't very nice. Anyway, onto the story!

Previously:

Merlin strapped the scabbard with his throwing knives over one shoulder and stealthily crept through the forest until he could throw his knives without alerting anyone. He chose a tree that looked sturdy, carved a target out with one of his knives, replacing it after, and took a few steps back. Then, with practiced ease, he pulled a knife out of his scabbard and threw it at the target, the rhythmic motion giving him the peace sleep would not.

Falcon set out for the Darkling Woods the next day. After a long night of preparations with only a few hours of sleep due to anticipation, he was ready to leave at dawn. According to the Lady Morgana and her sources in Camelot's castle, the King and his knights had set out the day before and would not be expected back for a fortnight, their hunting path taking them close to the borders of Camelot. By his estimation, Falcon would intercept the hunting party in about two days depending on how fast or slow the King and his company were going.

Falcon hadn't had anything against Camelot, he actually thought it was a fairly good place. But now, he just couldn't help but resent the king and his knights; they were the only thing standing in the way of his best and only friend. Sure Master Jackal seemed fond of him, but that was just because he was currently the best assassin they had. He missed his best friend, not the assassin Wolf, but the kind boy who had befriended him. He didn't know much about Merlin, just his name and what he was like. He would be about twenty by now, Falcon thought, trying to picture what he would look like. While he was Wolf, Merlin kept his hair longer so the ends were just below his shoulders. He would tie it back when he was on a job, but had insisted on keeping his hair unusually long.

Merlin was the only one to know his real name, just like he was the only one to know Merlin's. When first brought to the assassin's land, kids are told to not tell anyone their name, because once they are trained, they earn a new name based on the attributes they show after their first mission in the field. The assassins give you a new identity, they remake you until you forget who you ever were. Sometimes, late at night, he would whisper his real name, so he would not forget who he was. Who he really was. "Rian," he muttered, finding himself overwhelmed with memories of before he went with the assassins, "My name is not Falcon. It is Rian."

The next morning, Merlin snuck back into camp to see Mordred on the last watch.

"Where have you been Emrys? I didn't see you when Sir Leon woke me for last watch." Mordred's voice said in his mind.

"Just practicing a new magic trick Gaius taught me before we left. Sorry if I scared you." Merlin replied, going back to where his sleeping roll was set up and starting to pack it up. He was glad he had decided to hide the scabbard, lest the knight on watch ask why a simple peasant has such good knives, even if it was Merlin. He still didn't trust Mordred, but his magic wasn't warning him of any danger right now, so he decided to just keep up his guard around him. If his magic didn't warn him of a threat, his instincts sure would, being a former assassin did have it's perks.

Making breakfast for the knights wasn't easy considering that instead of sleeping he was training all night. He was being overwhelmed by memories both because of his dreams and because of the lake and to top if off he had to avoid being cornered by Arthur and Gwaine. Miraculously though, he was able to feed all the knights, grabbing a little for himself, pack up camp, and get all the horses watered and fed so they could get out of the clearing as quickly as possible.

"Goodness Merlin, if I didn't know any better I'd say that you were an efficient servant we had brought along so we could have good service instead of… whatever it is you do." Leon said jokingly, "Do you really want the trip to end so soon?"

"No, I was just hoping that the more tired you are the more noise we'll make so we can alert the animals and give them a head start." Merlin replied, his tone completely serious.

In reality, he was hoping that he could tire himself out enough to make his sleep so deep that he wouldn't dream at all. He had managed it many times before when he was an assassin, so he knew how tired he had to feel before he could sleep. Unfortunately, he hadn't needed to get to that level of exhaustion in years, so while he knew how it felt, he wasn't sure if he could stay awake long enough to work himself to that point. He was already feeling at though he would collapse, if not from lack of sleep from when his nightmares started, than from the soreness of his arms for throwing all night long. It had been a while since he had practiced for that long and while it felt good at the time part of him was already regretting it, specifically his arms. He would have liked to go into such a light sleep that he wouldn't dream, another skill he learned from the assassins, but he had to be at least mostly rested in order to sleep like that; and having had only about an hour of sleep each night when he first started having nightmares, about two weeks ago, that wasn't going to happen any time soon. He also couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched, but he chalked that up to the fact that his senses had been on overdrive since they left yesterday.

Leon could tell that there was something bothering the young manservant. He had hardly spoken all day, his movements seemed sluggish, almost painful when he moved his arms, and he was only going near Arthur and Gwaine when he had to, avoiding them like the plague any time else. Now that they were riding Leon could see that the boy was only moving his arms when he had to, and was rolling his shoulders like his back was bothering him. From their frowns, he could see that Arthur, Gwaine, and oddly Mordred had noticed as well. The three of them kept glancing at Merlin when they could afford to not pay attention to their horses. Merlin however seemed oblivious to being watched like that, although somehow at the same time he seemed jumpy, almost paranoid.

Although he didn't like to admit it, he had grown rather fond of the boy in the time that he was in Camelot. He still remembered the day that odd boy came into town; he had stood up to Arthur when he was being a bully, and upon learning of his status he didn't back down, merely adjusted his insults to fit his rank. Merlin had more bravery than most knights he knew, and that was saying something. Not many knights would drink poison for someone whom they had just met, especially if they didn't get along that well. At first Leon thought that his bravery was just pure stupidity but after spending so much time around him, he found that Merlin was not an idiot (no matter how much Arthur insisted he was), he was actually very smart, at times even wiser than a boy his age had any right to be. He had often wondered what it was that Merlin wasn't telling them about his life that made him so wise, but he wasn't about to ask. Merlin would tell them when he felt that the time was right, that he knew for certain. He could see the secrets eating at the boy from the inside out, and even though he didn't know what the secret was, he could still tell it was something big. Leon just shook his head and decided to speak with the boy after this trip was over, not to interrogate him like it looked like Arthur and Gwaine wanted to do, but to reassure him that the knights were his friends and they would listen to anything he had to say.

Thanks again for reading, please leave a comment for what you want to see next! Also, if you have an idea for a story that you want written, let me know. I may not work on it right away but rest assured it will be done sometime or another. Oh yeah, Forgot to put this in the top, but big thanks to my beta, Ladyliz2 for helping me out with my story! Please review?

-Shadowranger