Author's Note: Well, fancy seeing you again. Thanks for sticking around and thank you so much for all of the reviews, they really do make my day! So I would like to thank: Falling down the stairs, 1 :-), Ebonyice, and Notquitebezerk. Enjoy!

TTT

Chapter 2

The black stones of the castle stood out against the clear morning sky. The castle's towers were tall and sharp –like they were designed to impale an unsuspecting bird, looking for a place to land.

Merlin imagined Cenred standing in the courtyard and yelling up at an unfortunate servant clinging to the top of the tower, that he couldn't come down until the tower was sharp enough to meet his approval.

As Arthur, Merlin, and the knights rode up, Merlin whistled, "Wow," he said. "And to think I once thought Camelot was uninviting." He murmured to himself. Arthur shot him a puzzled look, and Merlin realized he had been overheard.

"Why is that?" Arthur asked.

"Why's what?" Merlin asked as innocently as he could, and for his troubles received an eye-roll.

"Why did you think Camelot was uninviting? I thought you came here, uh I mean there, to as you put it 'fit in'." Merlin thought of his first day in Camelot and shivered. That had been the first time he had ever seen someone die.

"No reason," he lied. Arthur snorted but said nothing, and Merlin thought he was off the hook for his slip-up until Arthur moved his horse right next to Merlin's and thwacked him over the head.

"Oww!" Merlin yelped. Arthur grinned.

"Now," he said in his most princely manner, "Stop avoiding the question and answer me. Or have you forgotten, I am Prince. I mean really Merlin, I shouldn't have to wring answers out of my own servants!"

"Why not when it's none of your business?" Merlin grumbled to himself.

"Hmm?" Arthur raised his eyebrows.

"Nothing, Sire." Merlin answered. Arthur waited. Merlin gave what sounded like a long suffering sigh.

"Well let's see… first there was that awful execution-"

"That was upholding the law of Camelot," Arthur interrupted. "That man was a known sorcerer, and a public execution was the only way to show that such acts will not be tolerated. He was a sorcerer Merlin, so there's no reason that should make Camelot uninviting." Merlin suppressed a wince.

"Of course, Sire." Merlin said dutifully, then hurried on. "Then I got thrown into prison because some prat-"

"Excuse me? Which one of us tried to punch the other in the face?" Arthur interrupted again. "Anyway I can't help it that you're an idiot." Merlin ignored him. He was just getting started.

"Then after a stinky, smelly night in prison –and may I mention you have a rat infestation - I got thrown into the stocks! And in these stocks they didn't just throw rotten tomatoes, Oh no, they had to throw potatoes. Potatoes! That on top of the mace fight, and getting beat up with a broom-" Merlin was cut off by a wave of the hand from Arthur. He had turned his horse around and was gathering the Knights around him. Merlin realized that the tree-line was now quite far behind them. They were about to enter the city.

"Okay, men," Arthur was saying, "As you all know we are on a mission from my father, and that alone means we must not fail. This is not the kind of mission we are used to- no bandits, or sorcerers, or man-eating monsters," The men chuckled quietly to themselves, "But that makes this mission no less important. We are not just on a mission from our King, but from all of Camelot. A mission for Camelot." Arthur said quietly.

"For them we must not fail." The Knights nodded their heads solemnly.

Merlin watched in amazement. How could someone be so prattish one minute, and so achingly inspiring the next?

"Now, when we enter the city, we must find out what Cenred is planning and report it to my father, no matter what. If things do not go according to plan and we get separated, remember, the mission does not stop. Sir Kay, I want you and Sir Allen to ask around, hit the streets, the people are bound to know something. Merlin and I will go to the tavern- there are plenty of drunk soldiers there who may spill a little information… If not we may have to employ more extreme measures, and sneak into the castle, but I'm sure it will not come to that. Now, for Camelot!"

"For Camelot!" The men cheered. Arthur turned his horse back around and started riding towards the gates. The Knights and Merlin followed. The gates to the lower city were open. But a soldier with a sword at his side and a spear in his hands stood to one side of the gate- to keep an eye out for suspicious people who might be an enemy to his King. Like them. Merlin gulped.

"Hey Arthur," he said quietly. "Maybe you should drop to the back of the line, and keep your head down. You know, just in case." Arthur gave him his best arrogant- no wait, supercilious- look.

"Don't be such a girl Merlin, with these clothes and all this horrible dirt on my face, that guard won't look twice at me." Arthur said confidently. Nevertheless, Merlin noticed Arthur discretely slipping behind everyone else and after a hesitant second, bowing his head. Merlin stared, and then suppressed a grin.

The arrogant prat had actually gotten over his pride and had listened to him! Merlin's sense of victory didn't last long though, for as they were about to ride through the gate, the guard lifted his spear and pointed it –much to Merlin's horror- straight at him.

"What is your business here?" The guard asked suspiciously. Merlin's throat went dry. "Uhh, our business here?" Merlin squeaked.

The guard looked down his nose at him –quite an impressive feat, considering he was below him. The guard was young, short and skinny, and had a mess of wavy blond hair on his head. Despite his stature the man had an aura of, well, the only thing Merlin could pin it as, was 'I'm so much better than you'-ness about him. Like a mini Arthur, Merlin thought with a smirk.

"Our business here?" Merlin stalled. "Well, that is really quite simple really. Quite simple." Merlin gave the guard his best idiotic grin.

"But uhh, it may take a very long time to explain. So, what I mean to say is, I really don't want to waste the time of a gentleman like yourself, because I know you have dangerous criminals, and desperate outlaws, and ferocious spies who are very, very scared – uhh, I mean scary, to catch." The spear was pressed to Merlin's chest.

"I think I can spare a moment." Mini Arthur said smoothly.

"Well, alright." Merlin said reluctantly, glancing at Arthur and the Knights. They stared back. No help there then.

"It's an extremely boring tale though, but if you insist-"

"Oh, I do," Mini Arthur responded, leaning lazily back against the castle wall.

"This sounds like quite a tale. And as you can see," He motioned at the sun, which had just risen. "I have practically all day, now go on."

"Well, uhh, we are, umm… well you see, we are here because we are… traders! Yes, traders."

"Traitors?" Mini Arthur asked, eyebrows raised, "My my, this is quite the tale. And quite the confession."

"WHAT?! No! Traders! 'ders', with a 'd' sound! You know, as in salesmen, merchants, upstanding citizens!"

"I see," the guard smirked, thumbing the point of his spear, "What a shame," he drawled.

"Now where is your merchandise? Oh, tra-ders?" This guy isn't buying this, Merlin thought, panic beginning to sink in.

"We don't have it with us," Merlin answered evenly, "We came here to buy, not sell." The guard nodded seriously. "That makes sense, so what is it you are here to buy?"

"Uh," Merlin thought quickly. "Pots! We're here to buy pots. The demand is very high on them right now." The guard shook his head condescendingly.

"Yes… Pots. So how long are you going keep this charade up? I am not an idiot, I know you are lying." Merlin's throat partly closed up with terror, as he glanced at Arthur. "Lying, I'm not lying! What are you talking about? I don't-"

"Merlin," Arthur interrupted calmly. "We've been caught," Arthur shrugged like he had just lost a card game –not, possibly their lives. "Now stop bumbling, and tell him the truth." The rest of Merlin's throat closed up.

"The truth!" Merlin squeaked. "Yes, Merlin" Arthur sounded as if he were talking to a small child. "Just admit it. Tell the man you are a gambler."

"A WHAT!" Merlin squeak was so high pitched he wasn't sure if Arthur had even heard him.

"You see," Arthur explained, "Merlin here got into a gamble with my sister. Which was quite stupid of him, really. But this is Merlin we are talking about, I guess we can't expect any better." Merlin opened his mouth to disagree, but Arthur went on.

"You see, my sister Mor- Morlane, talked Merlin into an arm wrestling match. The deal was that if Morlane won, Merlin would buy her two silk dresses, but if Merlin won, Morlane would buy him three pots. And like an idiot Merlin agreed to it." The guard shook his head in bemusement.

"Your sister beat him in an arm wrestling match." Mini Arthur said slowly.

"I was tired!" Merlin exclaimed indignantly, now playing along. The guard chuckled.

"Well, that's some sister." Arthur nodded in agreement. "She is. So you can see Merlin was quite embarrassed about this. I suppose you can understand his predicament."

The guard nodded in mock sympathy.

"Well, I've had a good day," the guard said stretching. "I think I can afford to let you four 'upstanding citizens' in." Merlin sighed in relief.

"Thank you." Arthur said stiffly. Without another word they rode into the city.

...

"Next time, Merlin, I do the talking," Arthur hissed under his breath.

"I thought Mini Arthur was going to impale me on the spot with his big, pointy stick!"

"Mini-what?" Arthur asked in disgust.

"Nothing Sire."

Arthur rolled his eyes. Now that they were within the city walls, the noise level had exponentially risen, and Arthur now found he had to speak louder than he would like.

"Ok men, split up. If you don't have any luck, meet us at the tavern. That's where all the drunk soldiers are going to be." Sir Kay and Sir Allen, nodded and rode off. Arthur gestured to Merlin.

"Come on, Merlin. We don't have all day!" Merlin followed, then said, "So, where exactly is this tavern we are supposed to find?" Arthur glanced behind him and answered, "I think I can conclude that the building with all the drunk idiots outside it and the big sign…"

Merlin grinned sheepishly. Merlin glanced around at his surroundings. The city was filled with houses crammed in spaces so tight, Merlin wasn't sure he could walk between them. People were laughing and talking in a roar of indiscernible voices.

Even on their horses- which in Camelot would give them straight passage even in the most crowded areas- it was hard to get through the unbreakable wave of people. And was it just Merlin's imagination, or was the crowd getting thicker?

Another rider on horseback rammed into Merlin. Yep, most definitely getting thicker. Merlin jumped as a fireball swirled into the air. The people cheered and clapped. At the center of the crowd outside the tavern, a man in a black cloak, with fire bouncing along his arms, was putting on a show.

The people whistled and little kids hopped up and down excitedly as another multi-colored fireball exploded in the sky. Merlin had to suppress a grin. That was what magic was supposed to be used for. It was a thing of beauty, not destruction. Merlin glanced nervously at Arthur to see how he was taking it. Not well. Arthur was as stiff as a board and bone white.

"Come on, Arthur," Merlin murmured quietly. Arthur's breathing was coming out in short puffs.

"That man is a sorcerer! A sorcerer Merlin!" Merlin's lips quirked.

"Really? Never would have guessed." Surprisingly Arthur didn't glare at him. That alone showed how upset he was.

"Why don't those people run him through?" Merlin glanced at the black cloaked figure. "Because I do believe that they are enjoying his show. Arthur magic is perfectly legal here." Arthur glanced at him in confusion.

"That doesn't make it any less wrong. How come you are taking this so well? That man is evil!" Merlin didn't look Arthur in the eye.

"Honestly Arthur I'm not taking this well, it's just, we have to focus on our mission. We can't bother with sorcerers right now. Now come on." Arthur sighed unevenly and nodded. With Merlin leading a disturbed Arthur, they left their horses and entered the tavern.

...

The tavern was dark, and hot. The smell of roasting meat assaulted their noses. The tavern was filled with big beefy soldiers, and they were all downright drunk.

Behind the bar was a large, fat, bald man, with sunken eyes and a big nose. The man had a conniving, greedy look in his eye. Merlin disliked him instantly.

"Let's get this over with, if we split up we'll get this done faster." Arthur whispered. "I'll go talk to those soldiers over there." Arthur pointed to his right. Merlin nodded in agreement.

"Okay, and I'll get the ones on the left." Arthur shook his head.

"No, I'll get those too." Merlin gave him a bewildered look.

"Then who am I supposed to talk to?"

Arthur grinned and shoved him towards the barkeeper. Merlin stumbled forward and hit the bar.

The barkeeper gave him a fake smile.

"What d'you want, lad?" he asked. Merlin gave him one of his biggest grins.

"Uh, hi." Merlin said. The barkeeper rolled his eyes and was about to walk away, when Merlin spoke again.

"W-wait!, sir, I would like to ask you some questions." The man looked annoyed.

"And what would they be?" He said. Merlin plopped himself onto a barstool.

"Well, I was just wondering why all these mercenaries are swarming into the kingdom? We're not about to go to war are we?" The bartender slammed a bottle onto the counter, and leaned close to Merlin's face.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said coldly. Merlin's grin wavered, then shot back to its normal size.

"Alright, thanks for the help." He turned away to walk back to Arthur, then changed his mind. Swiveling back around he plopped back into his stool.

"Are you absolutely sure?" he pressed. The bartender glared icily.

...

Arthur walked over to a table full of inebriated, wine guzzling, soup slurping, soldiers. Arthur shook his head in disgust, 'my men would never act this way', he thought. Arthur sat down and they stared at him.

"Morning." He said pleasantly. They nodded, and continued guzzling their wine.

"So, what's up with all these mercenaries?" Arthur asked conversationally. They stared at him blankly. It looked like, whatever they did know, they had forgotten.

An older man entered the tavern, and sat at a table across the room from Arthur. As he sat down Arthur caught his gaze, and the man stared at him intently. Arthur shivered, and turned back to the men.

"Who here wants another bottle of wine?" Arthur asked amiably. "'Cause it's on me." The men's faces broke into smiles and they clapped him on the back.

"Tha's a good man." One man slurred.

"A very good un." Echoed another.

"Understands the 'portance of a good drink!" said a third, and burped. As Arthur was paying for the drinks he looked over at Merlin to see how he was faring. Merlin seemed to be working his charms on the bartender whose face was red with rage. Arthur shook his head with a small smile. The older man made to walk up to the bartender, then stopped halfway there. The man turned and walked over to Arthur.

"I know you!" he said loudly.

...

Merlin dropped his conversation with the bartender and turned when he heard the man address Arthur.

"Really?" Merlin heard Arthur say calmly. Arthur looked comfortable and relaxed, but Merlin could see how tense he was.

"Yes, I do." The man said triumphantly, and Arthur stiffened.

"You're Prince Arthur of Camelot!" the noisy room suddenly went eerily quiet.

"No, I'm not." Arthur said, remaining calm. The man grinned.

"Nice try, boy. But I've seen you before." The man reached for his sword and Arthur jumped up, his stool falling backwards. Merlin looked to see if the drunk soldiers believed the old one. The rest of the men were standing up and reaching for their weapons. Apparently so. Arthur lifted his hands in a non-threatening way.

"Friends," he said reasonably, "I don't know what you are talking about but I can assure you I am not-" He was interrupted by a man charging him head on with an axe. Arthur dodged the swing, and grabbed him by the wrist, twisting his arm behind his back. The axe dropped to the floor with a *Thud.*.

"Well if we didn't know before," the bartender said wickedly, "we most certainly know now!"

...

Sir Allen could not believe the ignorance of these people. He and Sir Kay had asked almost everyone they had come in contact with if they had any idea why mercenaries were coming, and who they were meant to attack. Every time they got the same blank stare, and a hurried change of conversation.

What was going on? They were walking back to the tavern in defeat, and stopped when they heard angry voices from inside. A second later there was a clash of metal, a lot of yelling, and their prince shooting out of the tavern at a dead run. Arthur was followed by an angry mob of stumbling, drunk soldiers.

In the middle of the crowd was Merlin, obviously trying to protect his Prince, but nobody was paying him much attention. Sir Allen and Sir Kay jumped off their horses, drew their swords and took off at a run to defend their Prince.

...

Arthur dodged between the alleys hoping to lose his pursuers.

'Why? Why can't things ever go smoothly?' Arthur thought, as he sidestepped a flying wine bottle. Arthur ducked between two houses, and turned sharply to the left, hopefully in the direction of the gate. He was cut off by a group of men from the tavern. Luckily, only one of them seemed to have a sword. The rest were holding broken axes, clubs, or wine bottles. Arthur thought he even saw a broken chair leg.

Arthur skidded sharply, turned around, and took off in the other direction. More men stepped out in front of him. He was trapped.

The man with the sword smiled triumphantly, showing crooked yellow teeth.

"We've got you now, little prince!" The man said with a malevolent sneer. Arthur looked over his shoulder, and saw Merlin struggling to reach him through the crowd. Nobody seemed to realize he was with the prince.

The man charged, sword outstretched, followed by five men. Arthur reached for his sword. Suddenly the man slipped on a cord of rope Arthur hadn't seen a moment before. The man went sprawling. 'Well, that was a bit of luck.' Arthur thought, relieved. His relief didn't last long, however, for the groups on both sides charged him, wine bottles, broken axes, knives, and broken chair legs raised high.

Luckily, all the men were blind drunk. Arthur ducked a sloppily thrown punch, and retaliated with one of his own. A big beefy man stabbed at him with a knife, which Arthur knocked aside with a swipe of his sword. Three men grabbed him from behind, while a fourth swung a club the size of Merlin at him. Arthur threw his feet up, and kicked the man in the chest, then fell between the men's arms. He hit the ground and rolled evading a well-aimed kick.

He jumped up, backhanded a man in the nose and sprinted for the first opening he could find. In front of him he heard a *Clunk*, and upon rounding a corner he saw Sir Allen standing over an unconscious man, and upon further inspection Arthur realized it was the bartender.

Sir Allen had knocked him out with the hilt of his sword. Arthur winced. The bartender would be waking up with a serious migraine.

A few feet away, Sir Kay was engaging three more men. Arthur ran to his knight's aid. One man saw him coming and raised his knife in a very threatening-like way; however, the effect was ruined by the shaking of his hand.

Arthur looked at his face. He was young, about Merlin's age perhaps. He really didn't want to hurt or much less kill this man.

Arthur drew his sword meaningfully. The knife shook even more.

The man attacked. Arthur sidestepped his swing, and planted his foot, tripping the man up. The man jumped up and continued his assault. Arthur dodged once more, then upon further attack, slashed the man on the elbow.

The man staggered and clutched his arm. Arthur sighed, then gave him a pointed look. The man took the hint and ran.

Arthur turned around just in time to see Sir Allen knock another man unconscious with the hilt of his sword. 'Where did he learn that?' Arthur thought to himself, with a shake of his head. Sir Kay had chased off the third. Arthur looked around, where on Earth was Merlin? Arthur glanced at his men and sighed, hearing more shouting and a *clash*. "Come on men, we need to get out of here."

…

Merlin had seen the man with the sword charge Arthur, and with a flash of his eyes, had pulled the rope taut. Nobody seemed to realize he was even with Arthur. Merlin watched as his friend evaded the attacks, and took off down an alley. Some of the drunken soldiers shook their heads in disgust, and walked away. Probably back to their bottles.

However, about five or six remained, one of which being the man he'd tripped. The men climbed shakily to their feet, and began to follow after Arthur.

Merlin couldn't let them reach him. He glanced around at his surroundings, looking for anything to use. His eyes fell upon some huge wine-barrels. Perfect. His eyes flashed.

….

Arthur, leading his knights, ran back the way he had come in search of Merlin. They didn't have to go very far. Upon rounding the corner they skidded to a stop. Arthur's jaw dropped.

Merlin was standing in the alleyway amidst about six unconscious men. Wine was spilled everywhere. Arthur stared at Merlin in shock. Merlin turned his head, and gave Arthur his best idiotic grin.

"Merlin… what on Earth happened?" Arthur said stunned. Merlin shrugged, his grin widening, and said simply,

"They tripped." Arthur glanced at the unconscious men, and stared at Merlin disbelievingly.

Merlin pointed at the wine, "They were really drunk."

Merlin was saved from uncomfortable questions by the sound of pounding footsteps. Arthur glanced at Merlin, and Merlin knew they would be continuing this conversation later.

"Hide!" Arthur quickly hissed. They ducked into the nearest doorway, luckily it was empty. They heard the footsteps grow louder as men –obviously wearing metal boots- approached. One of the unconscious men groaned loudly. They heard a voice say,

"What happened here?" Merlin sucked in his breath as he recognized the voice of Mini Arthur.

"Captain!" The man with the sword stood up. 'Captain?' Merlin thought.

"It's the Prince- the Prince of Camelot! He's here! In the city! My men and I chased him, but he has escaped us."

The Captain seemed surprised.

"In which direction did he go?" he asked. The man looked around, trying to remember. "He ran that way, Sir." He pointed to his right. The Captain nodded, and said to the soldiers behind him,

"Find them. We may need them as hostages." The man with the sword was looking around confusedly.

"Yes, he ran that way. But I can't remember what happened after that. I do vaguely recall flying wine-barrels, and a falling roof-tile." He clutched his head, wincing. Mini Arthur smirked,

"Maybe you should go lie down." The man nodded, and hobbled off. The Captain was left alone in the alley. He shook his head and sighed. "How could I have been so stupid?" he murmured to himself. With a shake of his head he walked off in the direction of his men.

….

Merlin sighed in relief. That had been close. He had feared that Mini-Arthur-the-Captain would search the houses. Merlin turned his head towards Arthur, to see what he had made of the drunk's flying wine-barrel statement.

Hopefully, Arthur would just dismiss it as the man's drunkenness speaking. Arthur's face was unreadable. He was obviously thinking, Merlin just wished he knew what.

"We need to get of here," Sir Allen said nervously, looking over his shoulder.

"There's a back door." He pointed behind them. Arthur nodded his head.

"Alright, let's go." He said softly.

…..

They slipped quickly down the narrow alleyways, ducking and weaving, encountering no one. After a few minutes they saw the gate up ahead. It seemed empty and unguarded. That made Arthur more nervous than ever. Arthur had encountered battles before, many of them, and had risked his life countless times.

It wasn't that, that unnerved him. Everything that had happened in that alleyway with Merlin just didn't add up. Something seemed wrong. He was jerked out of his thoughts by Merlin clumsily stepping on his toe.

"Merlin!" Arthur hissed irritably. Merlin looked away sheepishly, "Sorry, Sire."

Arthur looked at the gate. It was probably a trap, meant to lure them out, but they didn't have a choice. Arthur was sure if they stayed there much longer they would be discovered. It wasn't just drunken men after them now, but well-trained, rested soldiers. Then there was that proud gate-guard turned Captain. No, Arthur certainly didn't want to encounter them. 'It's now or never.' He thought to himself.

"Arthur," Merlin said nervously, "Something about this doesn't feel right."

'You're telling me.' Arthur thought with a snort.

"Don't be a girl Merlin!" Arthur slapped him on the back. "We'll be fine. Now let's get moving." Arthur said to his knights, "Before Merlin's knees give us away."

"I'm afraid it's a bit too late for that." A voice behind them said calmly. They swirled around. Behind them The Captain was leaning leisurely against a wall, about ten soldiers surrounding him. The Captain grinned and gave Merlin a condescending look.

"Arm wrestling? Really?"

Merlin shrugged, then pointed at Arthur."His idea, not mine."

The Captain rolled his eyes, then said, "Get them!"

The soldiers stampeded towards them, weapons unsheathed. A sword went slashing towards Arthur's exposed neck. His sword flew up, blocked, then slashed back. Arthur's sword returned to guard position just in time to block an attack from another opponent. A couple of shingles fell off a roof, and knocked two of the soldiers out cold. But they were still dreadfully outnumbered, and Arthur could hear more soldiers coming. They would soon be surrounded.

"Retreat!" he shouted to his men. The Knights nodded in agreement, and started to back up. Arthur looked around and saw Merlin battling another soldier. He was doing surprising well. Nevertheless, sooner or later he was going to trip over himself and get skewered. Arthur went to his aid, and hastily finished off his opponent.

"Run, you idiot!" he shouted. Grabbing Merlin by the arm, he took off. They sprinted out the gates, only to be met by more soldiers waiting outside. Arthur desperately looked around for an opening. They were surrounded by about twenty soldiers. They skidded to a halt.

"What now?" asked Sir Allen. Arthur glanced at him and smiled,

"We are Knights of Camelot!" Arthur charged the men. The soldiers stared at him, then raised their weapons.

"Arthur!" Merlin yelled, and took off after him.

…..

Merlin could not believe how stupid Arthur could be sometimes, and to think Arthur called him the idiot. Arthur attacked. Merlin raised his sword and plunged in after him, the Knights on his heels. After subtly tripping and knocking out a few men, Merlin saw an opening in the soldiers' ranks. He looked at Arthur, who was taking on four men at once.

"Arthur! Over there!" Merlin nodded towards the opening.

"I thought I ordered you to run!" Arthur yelled, and blocked a wild swing.

"Run where?" Merlin shouted, "And since when did I start following your orders?"

Arthur disengaged from his opponents and once again grabbed Merlin by the arm, and said, "Since now."

They ran through the opening, the Knights following close behind. An arrow shot over Merlin's head, then another. They sprinted towards the trees. The soldiers, led by Mini Arthur, caught them when they reached the forest.

"Capture them, try not to kill them." Merlin heard the Captain say.

"Yes, sir." The men said. Three men started advancing upon Merlin. He backed up, and ran into a soldier behind him. The soldier threw an arm around his neck, and doubled Merlin's arm behind his back.

"Gotcha!" The soldier said triumphantly. Merlin struggled and jumped backward with all he had, causing them both to go tumbling over a log. The man's hold loosened, and Merlin scrambled away.

Five feet away, Arthur and the Captain were engaged in battle. Arthur seemed to be winning, until another soldier joined the fight, distracting Arthur long enough for the Captain to disarm him. Four more soldiers tackled Arthur, pinning him to the ground. "Sire!" Sir Allen yelled. Sir Kay rushed to Arthur's aid, stabbing one soldier in the back, while Sir Allen punched another. Arthur rolled, scrambling for his sword.

Behind Arthur, Merlin saw an archer pointing his bow straight at Arthur's back. The archer released the arrow.

Time slowed. Merlin didn't think –couldn't think, he must save Arthur. He ran and jumped in front of the arrow.

Time resumed.

Pain like he hadn't felt since he'd been blasted by Nimueh, seared through his shoulder. He screamed. His momentum carried him forward, and he rolled down a sharp hill into a ditch.

"Merlin!" he heard Arthur scream. The world went red, then black.