This is dedicated to Wil1969 from The Heart of Camelot, who created the cover art for this 'compendium', as well as my 'Musings' collection, and also the stunning cover art for 'Said and Unsaid'. This is a tag to 4x02, and hopefully I've kept it close enough to canon to make it believeable as a missing scene from the episode. This is Leon's POV of the events in this episode, and there's some interaction with our favourite drinking buddy, Gwaine. Hope you enjoy!

I don't own Merlin, or any of the knights. Which kind of sucks, but there we are...

The mood was sombre as the group of men entered the ruins of an old fortress. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, the seriousness of the quest weighing on their minds. The subject hung heavily in the air, but none of the knights were eager to speak on the matter, perhaps under the impression that keeping their lips sealed would lessen the very real threat that they were all facing.

Leon had been keeping a watchful eye on Arthur for the entire duration of their journey; he'd known the Prince since childhood, and was perhaps the most familiar with the young royal out of all the knights in Camelot, and particularly amongst the small group that had undertaken this, their most perilous quest, to date.

The Knights of Camelot were large in number, and Leon was on friendly terms with them all, despite his somewhat elevated rank amongst them; and regardless of the longevity of his tenure as knight – and the familiarity with the knights of nobler ranks in the army – he admitted to an extra fondness for the slightly ramshackle group of men that he was currently riding with; men who, despite the lowly circumstances of their births, were some of the finest men that Leon had ever fought with. He'd long since decided that nobleness and courage were not predetermined by the social status a man had been born to; peasants were just as likely to perform astounding acts of bravery as the most high-born of men. The men surrounding him at the moment were proof of this, and it bothered Leon that such fiercely loyal – and good-hearted – men were so clearly struggling to deal with the recent events; not least because Leon fully empathised with their feelings of helplessness.

They'd all been nervous as they'd set out on this journey; they were toughened, seasoned warriors, but the Dorocha were things that could not be fought with strength, or the cold bite of steel, and all were fully aware of this fact. There'd been a strained atmosphere since they'd left the city of Camelot, lacking the usual revelry and banter than generally accompanied them when they travelled in such a small number.

They'd become good friends, this inner circle of Arthur's most trusted knights. The Prince treated them all as equals, and it had bred a closeness that really wasn't the norm when it came to a member of royalty and his soldiers. It was this closeness that allowed Leon to know his Prince perhaps better than even the King did.

It was also this closeness that made Leon understand better than most that, despite everyone being worried about Merlin, Arthur was clearly the most distressed by the events from two evenings before.

Leon closed his eyes and sighed; they'd all been avoiding the subject, but everyone was thinking the same thing; Arthur's long-serving manservant was dying, if not dead by now. The Dorocha spared no-one, least of all a commoner, whether he was servant to a prince or not.

The boy – for despite Merlin having passed his majority a year or two ago, Leon still thought of him as that innocent lad who had idiotically challenged the son of Uther all those years ago – had stunned everyone with his incredibly selfless act, and all were feeling the guilt from it. By rights, Merlin shouldn't have been there; he was a servant – a trusted and loyal servant, yes, but still only a servant – and servants generally didn't follow their masters on dangerous quests without so much as sword to aid them.

But Merlin wasn't an ordinary servant, and nobody even questioned it anymore when the boy joined the ranks of knights on their various outings. He was almost, in fact, an honorary knight, for while he perhaps lacked the sword skills and brawn usually found in Camelot's army, he'd always been fiercely loyal, and was braver than most people gave him credit for.

Actually, Merlin was a bit of an enigma to Leon; he was friendly enough around the experienced knight, and Leon was certainly fond of the boy, but Arthur's servant was a curious mixture of open honesty, and a slight reserve. There had been many times that Leon had caught a contemplative look on the boy's face, and there was no doubt in his mind that Merlin used his brain far more often then he let on.

And there was the steadying influence on Arthur, of course. Despite Merlin's almost legendary childlike character, it was perfectly clear to Leon that the boy had been a positive addition to Arthur's life. In fact, it was mostly because of Merlin that the tightly-knitted group of knights who were closest to the Prince were even knights at all, for none of his fellow companions were of noble birth. And Arthur's blossoming romance with Guinevere was probably down to Merlin as well, for the boy had befriended the Lady Morgana's personal servant long before Arthur had begun to pursue her.

"Leon, we'll set up the fire over there," said Arthur, pulling Leon from his thoughts. "The area is large and open, so we'll have a clear view of anything that may attack us during the night."

The knight looked to the area that Arthur pointed at, and nodded.

"Gather the others and prepare the area," continued the Prince. "I'll see to the horses."

"My lord, Elyan can see to the horses, you should stay with the group."

"I'll be fine. Besides, I'd like to get a clearer picture of the surrounding area; it will be dark soon, so now is as good a time as any, and I can see to the horses at the same time."

"Of course," Leon nodded, and watched with more than a little concern as the Prince walked away. He had no doubt that tending to the horses was merely an excuse. Arthur had already admitted his deep concern for his manservant; it was obvious that the man wanted some time for himself.

"Should I go with him?" asked Percival, who had been lingering close enough to hear Arthur's intentions.

"We'll give him a little time," replied Leon. "But no more than a half hour. Keep watch though, Percival; as soon as the light begins to fade, we will go after him."

The other knight nodded, and joined Elyan, who was busy with building the fire that was so essential for their survival. Leon turned slightly and scanned the area slowly, searching for the last member of their reduced group. Gwaine was leaning against a crumbling wall, gazing through a window broodingly. He had an apple in his hand – something that was a familiar sight with this particular knight – but the spherical fruit was still perfectly formed.

Leon debated whether he should leave the other man to his thoughts, but decided to go with his instinct, and approached the knight with strong steps, removing his gloves as he did so.

"Not hungry?" he asked.

Gwaine's eyes flickered towards him, and he shook his head.

"Not really."

"Lancelot will do all that he can, you know."

"I know."

Leon sighed, and joined the other man in his perusal of the scene outside. Arthur was visible in the distance, and even from their somewhat limited vantage point, he could see how worried the Prince was.

"If the worst happens, he's not going to take it well," said Leon unthinkingly.

"If the worst happens, I should think that we're all not going to take it well," said Gwaine, his frown deepening as he gave Leon a somewhat accusatory look.

"I'm fond of the boy, too, Gwaine," he said sincerely. "But Arthur will take it the worst. Merlin put himself at risk because of him; that's a hell of a burden to bear."

"He's always been ridiculously loyal, the stupid twit," said Gwaine, shaking his head. "I've never seen anyone as devoted as that boy is to Arthur; frankly, I think he's crazy, and I've told him so plenty of times. Arthur is a decent man – as Princes go – but Merlin takes his loyalty to extremes. Jumping straight into that thing... the stupid, crazy idiot."

Leon was tempted to scold the man for his almost disloyal words – it was no secret that Gwaine served Arthur with equal parts loyalty and ridicule – but Leon couldn't deny that Gwaine had been a welcome addition to the knights. He was perhaps a little too fond of ale, but he was always fit for battle, and his humour had added a much-needed levity to what could sometimes be a serious way of life. Looking at the man beside him, though, Leon was struck by the seriousness of his features, and he realised something that he had not picked up on before now; Gwaine would protect the Prince the same as any of the other knights, but he wasn't bound by the same motivation that the rest of them had.

"You stayed because of Merlin, didn't you?" he asked.

Gwaine raised an eyebrow.

"When you first came back," Leon clarified. "I don't doubt your good intentions, but you did it as much for Merlin as you did for Arthur, or even Camelot."

"Merlin's a friend," Gwaine shrugged.

Leon stared at him for a few moments.

"You're as loyal to Merlin as the boy is to Arthur, aren't you?"

"Given the same situation, I would jump in Merlin's place just as Merlin jumped in Arthur's place," he said swiftly. "If that's what you mean."

A few seconds of silence passed as Leon absorbed the words that somehow didn't surprise him.

"He's a funny boy," he remarked. "I don't think I could name a single person who doesn't like him, despite his general clumsiness, and his odd ways."

"Well, he's a likeable chap."

"Yes; yes, he is."

Gwaine rolled the apple in his hand several times, and took a bite out of it, chewing slowly as he sorted through his thoughts.

"The thing with Merlin, is that he sort of gets under your skin. You spend some time with him – a few tavern brawls, a dangerous quest or two – and you get used to his ways without even realising it. You expect the mishaps, you poke a little fun, and you get to know just what you need to do to get a rise out of him. And he takes it all in his stride; he never gets offended, and he never fights back. And he's actually wise under all that idiocy; he listens to what you say, and takes the time to really think before he answers you. So you end up trusting him."

Having never heard Gwaine talk so seriously before now, Leon was already a little taken aback, but the sincerity of the other man's words surprised him beyond measure. He leaned against the window opening and regarded the knight closely, for it appeared that Gwaine hadn't finished revealing his thoughts.

"He's like it with everyone, you know. He doesn't see princes or knights, peasants or servants; he sees people." He waved the apple around vaguely, his forefinger pointing towards Leon. "That's why everyone likes him. You can't help but like someone like that. He's a good lad... he's got a good heart."

Leon pondered the words for a moment or two, then nodded, smiling to himself a little. Everything Gwaine had said was perfectly true, and it actually saddened him that he'd never taken the time to get to know Merlin a little better.

"But the really big thing about Merlin, is that he's full of surprises," Gwaine continued, his eyes burning with what Leon could only describe as a fierce pride. "He'll laugh, and he'll joke; he'll poke fun at Arthur when it's needed, and he's not above a sly comment or two about the rest of us, either. Most people don't take him seriously; they see him as someone to laugh at, albeit a fond sort of laughter. But when it comes to it, he's probably braver than the lot of us put together. Put him in a sticky situation, and he's a scrapper. Tavern brawls, army of undead knights, it doesn't matter; he'll come out fighting like the rest of us. And he's proved that time and time again, long before he did what he did the other night."

"Gwen regards him very highly."

Both knights turned at the voice, and were surprised to see that Percival and Elyan were sitting by the newly made fire, and were close enough to have heard the conversation about their mutual friend.

"She's always telling me to keep an eye on him," said Elyan. "Said he's the best friend she's ever had, and that she worries for him whenever he's out with the knights."

"Lancelot values him highly, too" added Percival. "We spoke at length about the boy during our journey to help Arthur. I'd wondered who would cause Lancelot to drop everything at a moment's notice, and run off to what could have been his death."

"What did he say?" asked Leon curiously.

"That's the odd thing," replied the large knight. "He just said, 'It's Merlin'. Like that was explanation enough. I tried to get more out of him, but he just said that I would understand when I met the boy. It was as clear as day that he thought of him as a brother, though."

Gwaine snorted.

"Lancelot was right. It really is the perfect explanation. It's Merlin."

The mood lightened suddenly, and though they were all still worried, they were able to face the evening ahead with a little more hope. As Leon had said, if anyone could help Merlin, it was Lancelot; and there was no use worrying over it when they could do little to change the situation. They just had to trust that their fellow knight would get Merlin to safety.

Leon noted the dip of the sun in the sky, and gave Percival the nod to bring Arthur back inside. Gwaine strode over to Elyan and joined the younger knight on his makeshift bench, while Leon, after checking that Arthur was indeed following Percival back to the ruins, took a seat beside them.

Arthur was still very quiet when he returned, and gave only the barest of responses when Percival beckoned him to sit closer to the fire. The group was mostly silent, except for when Gwaine decided to ruffle everyone's feathers by removing his boots, and, smirking slightly, following his action by taking off his socks. Some of the banter that had been sorely missed on the journey so far made a return, and amongst the general moans and groans at the distinctly unsavoury smell of Gwaine's feet were a few smiles, and even a chuckle or two.

They all heard the noise, but it was Arthur who reacted first.

"Quiet," he said, his head turning towards the sound.

They all rose, their amusement instantly forgotten as they picked up their swords and readied themselves for a possible attack. It was hard to say who was most surprised when Lancelot walked calmly through the crumbling arch that served as an entrance to the room they were occupying.

"Lancelot?" said Arthur, sounding confused, hopeful, and worried all at once. "How's Merlin?"

"Bad news," replied the man, and it seemed to Leon that everyone present lost their breath for a moment. But then Lancelot quirked his lips, and added, "He's still alive."

There was a chorus of 'Merlins!' from everyone, as they each took in the astonishing sight of the man who had been near death the last time they'd seen him, and the boy was quickly met with hugs, handshakes, and pats to his back.

Arthur was strangely quiet, and waited for everyone to finish fussing before he greeted his friend, and Leon pulled the other knights away to give the Prince a chance to speak to the boy in relative privacy. Lancelot was smiling widely as he walked to the fire, his hands stretching out towards the warmth of the flames. While Percival, Gwaine and Elyan continued to chatter amongst themselves, Leon approached the fire.

"It's amazing," he said, surprise colouring his tone. "I thought he wouldn't survive. No-one survives the Dorocha."

"I'm as surprised as you are," replied Lancelot. "But who am I to question it? I'm just glad he's alive."

"But how? How did he survive, when no-one else has?"

Lancelot pulled his hands back from the fire, and sat down on the log that Leon had not long vacated. He stared at the flames for a few moments, then shrugged his shoulders.

"It's Merlin," he said simply.

And as Leon turned, watching as Arthur smiled at the boy and placed a brotherly arm around his shoulders, Leon couldn't help but shake his head, with a smile to match Lancelot's stretching his lips.

Percival had been right; there really was only one explanation that made sense when it came to this boy who had endeared himself to all who knew him.

It's Merlin.