"Hunting..." complained Merlin, Arthur could hear him, even with how far ahead Arthur's horse had taken him. Merlin didn't seem to care either, he just continued on complaining. "I hate hunting...what is it with you and hunting?" Arthur laughed, ignoring Merlin's words, at least in the sense that he was not replying to them. "It's like you like killing things, who wants to kill things? A crazy person, that's who..."
"I would have to be crazy, to put up with you for so long," retorted Arthur, at last, and Merlin grumbled behind him, he smirked at this. They went deeper into the forest, the sun was up, very bright today, and even though Spring had sprung, today there was an odd bit of a nip in the air. But it wasn't too bad, nothing Arthur couldn't ignore. Merlin couldn't, though, as he complained about it before they had even left Camelot. Truthfully, though, Arthur just needed to get out of the Castle, he felt like he had been trapped there, and all Winter he had been. He needed to see trees and grass again, it does the body good. And what better way to enjoy it than with hunting? Arthur understood why Merlin didn't like hunting, he didn't like to kill something innocent, it was the same for the rat and the unicorn, and Arthur understood that, but the sport was still too fun to pass up. It was getting later in the day, however, they had been out since early that morning, and Arthur supposed they had better stop soon, to water the horses. "We could stop for lunch..." he commented, looking over his shoulder, back at Merlin, who was frowning...still.
There hadn't been much activity, at least none other than the three rabbits and two deer Arthur pretended not to see, so Merlin wouldn't make that face, like Arthur was cutting him down with a blade, personally. That being said, lunch did sound very nice to Arthur. He stopped, as they reached a small clearing with a lake, and he tied his horse to a tree, loose enough, so the animal could still get to the water, if he wanted to. Merlin did much the same, only instead of going over to the lake and looking out into it, like Arthur had, Merlin unpacked the blanket he brought and the food. Arthur came over and sat down now, looking Merlin over, as he plated meats for Arthur to eat. Arthur wanted to ask him, just how exactly did he think that meat got there, and how exactly he could eat it, if he was so against hunting, but then he noticed something on Merlin's wrist and got rather distracted.
"What's that?" he asked, before he thought better of it or not. He didn't know if Merlin wanted to talk about it, or if he had always had it and Arthur just hadn't noticed before now. Merlin looked confused at him, until Arthur narrowed his eyes at what he was talking about, and Merlin looked down too, at the black and brown bracelet around his wrist.
"Oh," said Merlin, as he handed a plate to Arthur. "Gwen gave it to me, for my birthday..."
"When was your birthday?" asked Arthur now, confused, because Merlin hadn't said anything about his birthday at all. And shouldn't Arthur have at least known this information?
"About a week ago..."
Arthur frowned. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't think you would really care?" offered Merlin, making a face, like Arthur were dumb, and then started to eat his own plate of different fruits and meats. Arthur stare at him, for a long moment, and he knew Merlin noticed, but he was trying not to. He failed, and looked back at Arthur, with confusion. "I never thought you would be the sort to celebrate birthdays...you know, with your Mum and all."
The slight anger and very high level of annoyance Arthur had felt at Merlin, for keeping such information from him, washed away almost at once. "I appreciate you thinking of me," he said, and when Merlin's eyebrows knitted and he stare at him, he thought he had better continue. "But I am not some girl...like you, I can handle a birthday, Merlin."
Merlin frowned now, and looked down. Clearly, once again, Arthur had said the wrong thing, but he just couldn't help that, a lot of the time. "I'll remember that next time..." he mumbled and continued eating.
Things were quiet now, and Arthur couldn't exactly stop looking at the bracelet, from Gwen...of course from Gwen. She was a kind girl, with a big heart, and Arthur couldn't help but feel like, most of the time, she was much closer to Merlin than he was. Which should be fine, that should be how it is meant to be, but Arthur didn't like the thought at all. In truth, Merlin was probably the closest thing Arthur had to a friend, the Knights were not really his friends, he was there to train them and tell them what to do. He was also there to tell Merlin what to do, but that never worked out anyway, and Merlin was the only one who truly treated him like he were a normal person, and Arthur liked that, even if he said he did not. He lied sometimes. But the thought that these thoughts, these things, were not returned, and of course they wouldn't be, Merlin had no reason to, it bothered Arthur. How could it not bother him...to think that the person whom he felt closest to, felt closer to someone else...
"Arthur..." said Merlin, and Arthur, who had not finished eating, and was staring off somewhere, maybe at the bracelet, maybe at some dirt, as Merlin had moved now, and he hadn't even noticed. Merlin came up to him, and leaned down, looking at him, in worry. "Why do you look like that...?"
"I was thinking," said Arthur, trying to sound offhanded. Merlin looked over his face, with disbelieving eyes, and then sighed.
"Well...that's never a good idea," he said, and the lightness of his words were forced, Arthur could tell. Arthur finished the rest of his food, without tasting it and without really being hungry anymore. He handed the plate to Merlin, to rinse it in the lake, and he took it and and went. Arthur continued to sit there, but had no idea what to say, or if he should say anything at all. Merlin turned back now, and he noticed Arthur's eyes on him, even though Arthur hadn't noticed his eyes on him, until this moment. Merlin smiled and went to say something, but then something behind Arthur caught his eye and they widened. "Wow..." he said, and took a step forward. "Look!"
Arthur whipped his head around at once, and just beyond the clearing, in a break in the trees, stood the biggest buck Arthur had ever seen in his life. He stood up at once, his heart no longer feeling so heavy. It was beautiful, it was glorious. It had huge antlers, the likes of which Arthur had never seen before, and would look very nice above Arthur's fireplace. The muscles on this creature were emergence, it would take more than one shot to kill him, Arthur was sure. Not to mention, the hindquarters were so thick and large...Arthur wanted him! He darted over to his horse and got his crossbow, but just as he did, the beast of a deer ran off, into the thick of the trees. Arthur went to follow.
"Don't kill him, Arthur!" said Merlin, as he followed. Arthur refused to listen this time. He had let the does live, the three rabbits as well, all for a man who didn't even tell him it had been his birthday. No, even if he knew Merlin had done it for the right reasons and he wasn't really mad at him for it, he was going after the deer anyway. He had to! He pushed through the brush, and he could hear Merlin behind him. There it was again, and Arthur swore openly, just from marveling at it, he was gorgeous. The deer looked up and saw, or maybe heard him, and ran off again. "Obviously, he's smarter than you..."
"Shut up, Merlin," retorted Arthur. He continued after it. "Look at it...it could feed all of Camelot for a year!"
"You could feed all of Camelot for a year...but we don't eat you."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "That, really...just doesn't make any sense," he retorted, and he knew what Merlin was trying to do, he was trying to distract him, so he lost focus. But Arthur refused to listen. He went forward, around a tree, that he thought the deer was behind, he had heard, the heavy sound of hooves, but as he did this...there was no deer to be found. "Where the hell has it gone?" Merlin smirked. Arthur looked up and glared at him. "This is your fault!"
"No it isn't!" retorted Merlin back, looking offended, but also quite amused. "Maybe you're just a bad hunter..."
"I'll hunt you next!" said Arthur, and Merlin made a face. Arthur looked up at him, with a raised eyebrow, daring Merlin to challenge him, and of course, Merlin did.
"I'm not very afraid...as you clearly have no idea what you're doing."
"Oh yeah...?" said Arthur, in a dark sort of voice, that better have told Merlin he was in trouble. It appeared to, as, suddenly, when Arthur took a step toward him, Merlin made a noise quite like a mouse being murdered, and turned around and ran off. Arthur gave him a three second head start, and then he chased after him. He had to admit, Merlin could run rather fast, they had reached all the way to where the horses were, before Arthur caught up close enough to grab Merlin, just by the jacket sleeve, and pull him. He yanked him back, and grabbed him by the middle, gently punching him in the side three or four times, all while Merlin made sounds like an angry cat. Which, sounded much like hissing. Arthur looked up, just to see where to toss Merlin, in the middle of his assault, and suddenly stopped, all together. He looked, and was very confused for a moment, as he did so There, by the tree where they tied up the horses, there was Merlin's horse, happily nibbling on grass, even while her rider was assaulted, but Arthur's horse...was no where to be seen. "Where the hell is my horse?"
Merlin, who was breathing heavily, stood up straight and looked around. "He couldn't have gotten loose, I checked his reins, before we started eating..."
"Someone has stolen my horse!" Arthur announced, loudly, and a bit out raged. Merlin look over at him, confused. But Arthur was angry now, how dare someone steal his horse. He walked forward and looked down a the wet dirt, there were clearly human foot prints, much too small to be either of theirs. "Come on," he said, over his shoulder, to Merlin, who still looked confused. "We're going to find my horse..."
"Arthur..." said Merlin, but he still followed, as they walked, once more, into the thick of trees. "It's a horse...it can go much faster than us...whoever stole him, must be long gone now..."
"I've rode that horse since I was a boy!" retorted Arthur, feeling very annoyed and almost kind of hurt. Merlin smiled at him now, even though Arthur pretended not to notice.
"Coming from the man who wants to kill things..."
"Shut up, not now!"
They walked for an hour, following the hove prints in the dirt below, and had yet to find the horse or the person who stole the horse. But Arthur wasn't going to give up so easily, he was mad about it. Yes, there were other horses, but why didn't they steal Merlin's horse, why was it his, in particular? It felt...strange, Arthur thought, and that's what made him press on. No on was around the horse though, how could anyone who stole him know he belonged to Arthur? It was just very strange. They had gone so far they began to go up an incline, to higher ground, which meant they were near the edge of the Camelot border, near Essetir, and the day was starting to fade, deeper, evening would be upon them sooner rather than later.
"We should go back, Arthur," said Merlin, from behind him, and Arthur knew he was right, but he didn't want to give up yet. "I know you loved your horse...I'm sorry, but-"
"Loved my horse?" retorted Arthur, because Merlin was being a bit thick, even if he was kind of right, Arthur would not admit that. "It's an animal, I am more angry they thought they could steal from the Prince..."
Just then, though, suddenly, there was a noise, a confusing noise, one that sounded like a person coughing and then also a horse neighing. Arthur turned around and held a hand up to Merlin to stop him, and put a finger to his lips, to tell him to be quiet. Merlin listened, stopping, and his lips formed into a thin line. Arthur walked through the tall bushes first, and he could feel Merlin following him. What he saw next made Arthur both happy and extremely angry, all at once. There was his horse, tied up, to a new tree, and climbing up a pathed hill, was a figure...a person, in a white cloak.
"YOU!" shouted Arthur, as he ran forward, and Merlin ran forward too, and looked over the horse, who must have been just fine, as Merlin didn't say anything. The cloaked person did not stop, they only began running. Arthur looked back at Merlin, and Merlin rolled his eyes. "They're clearly guilty, Merlin..."
Merlin silently agreed, giving the horse one more pat, before he followed Arthur up the start of the hill. Arthur raced up the hill, while Merlin followed, a lot slower behind him. Arthur got to the top first, and looked around to see no one there. He frowned and pulled out his sword, just in case they were ambushed. Merlin came up to him, just seconds later.
"Where the hell have they gone?" said Arthur, Merlin shrugged.
"They can't have gotten far," he commented, looking around. "Go that way, and there is a lake you can't cross." He pointed in one direction, behind Arthur somewhere, though Arthur wasn't really paying attention to him. His eyes were narrowed, looking around trying to see through trees, almost, to find this person. Suddenly Merlin gasped and Arthur turned around, to see the white cloak again. They were traveling in the direction Merlin had pointed. "What are they going that way for...?"
"I don't know...I don't care," said Arthur, and he made to run for it, toward where the person had gone, but Merlin grabbed him, by the arm. He paused and glared back. "Let me go!"
"Arthur...this feels like a trap," said Merlin, both seriously and with much worry in his eyes. Arthur shook his head, because he didn't care. "I know...I know how tempting revenge is, but...you have the horse, we can just go."
"It's not that, Merlin," said Arthur, and he didn't know what it was, exactly. "They clearly want us to follow them, or else they wouldn't let themselves be seen."
"That's my problem..."
"If you want to be a coward, be my guest. Go back and wait with the horses, I won't mind," Arthur told him, and this was an out, if he didn't want to follow fine, but Arthur was going to, he wasn't going to let them win, let them trick him. Merlin glared at him.
"You're stupid, Arthur, really..." Merlin said, plainly, and Arthur knew he should be mad at this, but he wasn't, he only grinned. Knowing Merlin had already made up his mind about what he was doing, Arthur turned and headed, once again, in the direction the white cloaked figure had gone.
Deeper and deeper they traveled, Arthur had not seen the figure in white again, not for awhile, but they still walked and Arthur hoped they went in the right direction. Merlin stayed very close to him, as they walked, maybe because he was afraid, or maybe he thought they would get lost from each other and have no idea how to get back. Arthur had never crossed this path before, so he supposed neither had Merlin.
"It's always something," Merlin was saying now, even though they hadn't spoken for more than an hour, instead, they had just walked. Arthur looked over at him, with forward eyebrows. Surely, he was going to start complaining, that's how it always started. "I've lived here for almost a year now, and there's always something going on. Either a feast, or a Knight event, or someone's trying to kill you, or use magic...it's always something, can't we ever just have a break?"
Arthur smirked, and shrugged his shoulders, honestly, Merlin had a point. "You would get bored."
"No, I would enjoy myself," retorted Merlin, and Arthur rolled his eyes at him. "You would get bored...and then come and bother me, as usual."
The smile that sported on Arthur's face now was not intentional, he didn't realize he was doing it, until Merlin looked over at him, as they started down an incline, and smiled, in much the same way, back. "Maybe you should have asked for that, for your birthday...made a wish for it."
Merlin let out a breathy sort of laugh. "I will...next year."
"So, what do you want then?" asked Arthur now, as the he noticed the dirt below their feet turn wet and a breeze much colder and harder than there was, closer to Camelot; They were reaching the water's edge, though still walked through deep trees. Arthur knew, once the trees gave way, they would be at the water. He wondered where the cloaked figure had gone now...Merlin, who he had asked the question to, looked over and knitted his eyebrows, in confusion. "For your birthday, now that I know...I have to give you something. What do you want?"
Merlin paused, in his steps, and stare at Arthur, for a moment. Arthur didn't stop, or look back at him, as he needed to keep his eyes peeled for any sign of the person. Merlin laughed. "You don't have to give me anything, I'm fine...I really don't need it."
"No, of course you do," said Arthur, or more like argued. "You can't expect me not to give you a gift...I know you don't like me, but I am not as bad as you may think."
"Don't like you...?"
Merlin's words were suddenly lost though, as the white figure reappeared, just ahead, coming out, from behind a tree. Arthur ran, but they were gone, dashing behind another tree, and disappeared, all together, as if it were never even there. Arthur was starting to think he understood a bit more about this person, they were a sorcerer...it had to be. Arthur frowned, troubled, even more so than before. He didn't want to face a sorcerer today. Suddenly, Merlin was in front of him, and he frowned too, placing a hand on Arthur's shoulder, and looking worried.
"Maybe we should go back," he said, and Arthur understood Merlin had realized much the same, and they surely were not prepared to deal with someone with magic, but Arthur had come this far, he needed to see this through.
"No, I won't," he replied and Merlin nodded, but didn't turn away quick enough to hide the pure fear in his eyes, and this made Arthur feel guilty, after all, it was he Merlin was following. "I'm not going to let this person hurt you, you know...I don't care who or what they are, you will be safe as long as I am there."
"I'm not worried about me," said Merlin. Arthur didn't know how to answer that, because if he was not worried about himself, then who was he worried about? Merlin, who feared everything, who hid behind trees, and let Arthur face down the Bandits, surely he wouldn't be worried about Arthur, would he? But the look he gave him now, the stare that came after he said this, as his dastardly eyes, and yes, they were dastardly, like deep pools of mystery, that Arthur couldn't figure out for the life of him. As they searched him, he remembered how Merlin had pleaded with him not to face the Questing Beast, Arthur hadn't listened then and he wouldn't listen now either, and he was sure, Merlin already knew that.
(A/N: I meant to update yesterday, but I didn't have time. Every night I only have a few hours to update and write each night. Updating takes about an hour, for me to really go through and fix anything I want to fix. So, I didn't have much time and chose to write the rest of the chapter I was working on instead of updating. Which that ended up making me cry, so yay for that. (The part of the story I was writing, not writing it, LOL, so look forward to crying!) Also, I wonder if any of you guys will figure out what's happening with the 'White Cloak Figure' thing, or who it might be? Spoiler alert, it is not Morgana, haha just saying. ;p I hope you enjoy this update and hopefully there will be another one tomorrow!)