Somewhere in medieval Britain
November, 506 AD
"Where are we going, anyway?" I asked Arthur, beside whom I was riding, when I suddenly realised that I have about zero information on our current quest. All I know is that Gaius found a way to defeat the ghost banshees.
"To the Isle of the Blessed," he responded, not looking at me as his gaze remained fixed on the path ahead.
My eyes widened and I shuddered as I remembered that that's where Merlin fought and killed the sorceress Nimueh when she tried to kill Arthur while I was in Texas.
"And then what?" I inquired. He only shrugged in response.
I narrowed my eyes at him. Obviously there's something more to this. I don't think he would've embarked on this mission without more information. He's keeping something from me, and I'm gonna find out what. But I didn't ask any more questions for the time being. He'd just avoid them or get annoyed. Instead, I got Dallas to trot ahead and I admired the setting sun that still peeked from behind the treetops while softly humming The Killers' 'Running Towards A Place' to myself.
Tonight will mark our second night outside after setting out from the castle for the second time since the attacks began. The mood among the team has been gloomy and silent, which has kept my heart in an unceasing state of agitation and my throat feeling like it might spew out my intestines at any minute. Only Dallas's warmth and steadiness below me kept me from freaking out.
Just as the sun was about to hide away completely for the night, we came across a big ruined castle nestled in between two rocky hills. Arthur decided that the place is as good as any to set up camp, so we galloped the rest of the way towards it.
We left the horses in a fenced off field, and then Arthur instructed us all to pair off and find as much wood as we could so that we could start a fire. Gwaine gently grabbed my arm and gestured for me to join him. I complied even when I really wanted to stick with the Prince. I doubt it's a good look for a knight to be clinging to him all the time, so I need to force myself to be a bit more independent.
Gwaine and I jogged towards a room on one side of the castle. I was pleasantly surprised to find a wooden table inside, and we shared a small grin before hurrying to try to take it apart.
A faint shrieking sound in the distance made me jump and a chill ran down my spine. "Shift, hurry," I told Gwaine. In a desperate attempt, he simply grabbed the table and threw it against a wall. That succeeded in breaking it. We gathered the pieces in our arms and rushed out of the room.
More shrieking came. I moved closer to Gwaine and gripped the back of his cape in search of comfort.
More shrieking caused me to gasp and my lungs began to get erratic. That sounded much closer!
"Come on," Gwaine whispered and he gently grabbed my hand before taking off running.
We had to leap over crumbled walls and dodge stone pillars as we searched for the rest of the team.
We finally found Arthur, Elyan, Percival and Leon on a patio. I was slightly relieved to find that they'd had the sense to light some torches, but then my lungs shrunk further when I noticed that Merlin and Lancelot were nowhere in sight.
The bunch of us huddled close together as the shrieking continued, gradually growing louder and more constant. Shapeless blurs blazed by the gaps in the walls.
My body trembled horribly as I clutched one of the torches in my hand. Haunted sites are much more fun when the danger isn't real.
At some point, the knights and Arthur formed a circle around me in a display of chivalry, or whatever, but it didn't make me feel much better. I can't relax in the slightest knowing that Merlin is missing.
The shrieking sounds were suddenly also coupled with indistinct male screams that sent shivers down my spine.
Percival moved me behind him when a blurred figure darted towards us. My eyes almost jumped out of their sockets as I watched Arthur move in front of it, waving his torch around. Fortunately, that worked to repel the thing long enough for us to escape the crippled chamber.
We finally came across Merlin and Lancelot in an open space just outside the castle. They had managed to start a small campfire and seemed unharmed.
I rushed to hug my best friend. "You scared the crap outta me, Merls," I mumbled against his chest. He simply squeezed me tighter and then released me after a few moments. I gave Lancelot a grateful nod and a small smile, knowing that he's always looking out for Merlin. He gave me a wink in response.
I pulled my Avengers blanket out of my duffel bag and wrapped myself in it, wanting the comfort that the childish item gives me, before I moved to Arthur's side. He quickly wrapped his arms around my body and held me firmly to his chest. I let out a sigh and closed my eyes for a few seconds, finally feeling a little better.
"You will be fine. I will not let anything hurt you," Arthur whispered and he kissed the top of my head. I tightened my grip on him.
It's not my own life I'm scared for.
The sound of heavy footsteps approaching caused me to open my eyes and I found Percival standing beside us with a grave look on his features that caused my stomach to turn upside down again. "It will not get us through the night," he pointed out to Arthur in a whisper while motioning towards the fire.
I felt my lungs freeze for a second.
"It will keep the area safe for a while," Arthur replied, not sounding too sure.
The night kept advancing and everything fell quiet for a while.
At some point we all shuffled to sit around the fire with our backs to it so we could keep our eyes on our surroundings.
I remained curled up next to Arthur, thoughts of wanting to show myself to be strong and independent long forgotten.
So much for being a badass Lady-Knight…
Merlin sat to my other side and we constantly shared frightened glances. This is the first time ever that we don't have his superpowers as an extra lifeline to protect us from the monsters, and the notion is almost paralysing. I can't imagine how he must be feeling…
"That is the last one," Gwaine announced as he threw one final log into the fire. A chill ran up my spine and I moved even closer to Arthur. "Maybe we should draw lots, see who gets some more."
"I will go," Arthur said decisively, causing me to freeze as my breath hitched.
"Me, too," I quickly added. There's no way I'm separating from him.
"No," he immediately protested.
"Yes, and you can't stop me," I retorted with a glare. I thought we were over this!
"I can go with him," Merlin proposed as he stood up while giving me a pointed look.
"Are you sure you are the right person?" Arthur questioned him with a quirked eyebrow.
"Well, since when have you known how to collect firewood?" my best friend shot back, causing me to smile a little while the knights chuckled in amusement.
"Cool, the original three. Let's do it," I said as I stood up as well. Arthur let out an obviously frustrated sigh, but argued no more as he stood up and slipped his hand into mine.
I held the torch while the two boys collected some logs off the ground just to the side of the castle's outer wall.
The autumn wind blew strongly and it made me paranoid that it would put out the fire, which only increased the anxiety I felt. However, that fear was nothing compared to what I felt when a banshee-ghost suddenly shot towards us while shrieking loudly. I gasped and I raised the torch to scare it off. It disappeared, but the fire was extinguished in the process, leaving us unprotected.
"Let us go!" Arthur called out as he grabbed my hand again and he ushered Merlin and I away from the scene as more shrieks followed and figures blurred by.
We found a passageway in the walls and the Prince gently shoved me inside before following suit, with my best friend behind him. The three of us ran through it without direction. We eventually came across a small room, lit only by a faint stroke of moonlight that came in through a small window towards the top. Merlin held the door open and we dashed inside before he closed it. The boys boarded it up using a table and then we walked further into the small chamber. The faint eerie noises continued outside while the cold weather gnawed at us, prompting us to huddle up in a corner like puppies hiding from a thunderstorm.
I shared my blanket with the two boys in an attempt to keep the three of us from freezing to death as the cold intensified. Arthur, especially, was breathing heavily and shivering very badly. Even more so than myself. Which made my heart begin to spin in circles. I didn't know what else to do but to hug him tightly in hopes that he might feel better. He moved me to sit sideways on his lap and held my torso firmly against his chest while resting his chin on my shoulder. I leaned my head against his.
"You know, Merlin, you are braver than I give you credit for," Arthur muttered while he peeked around the wall to look at the door.
"Really? Was that a compliment?" Merlin inquired with a small amused grin.
"Do not be stupid," Arthur shot back.
My best friend and I exchanged an entertained look while he chuckled. To my surprise, the Prince let out a faint laugh, too.
The sound of more shrieking in the distance soon dissipated the minuscule amount of light-heartedness that had attempted to grow in the cold dark room, and I was suddenly really worried that Arthur, of all people, might have a panic attack as his breathing grew more laboured.
"Artie…" I breathed out and rounded his neck with one arm, gently pulling him to rest his head on my shoulder again in a desperate attempt to help him somehow. He nuzzled into the crook of my neck and I moved my fingers to run them through his hair. He breathed out a shaky sigh and tightened his grip on my body.
Merlin and I shared a concerned glance.
Arthur lifted his head after a few moments and rested his chin on my shoulder once more. "All the things I have faced... I never worried about dying," he confessed in a whisper.
Well, that explains his terrible survival instincts.
"I do not think you should now," Merlin responded while giving him a soft look.
Arthur regarded my friend for a few moments. Then his lips curved upwards a little bit. "Sometimes you puzzle me."
"You never fathomed me out?" Merlin inquired.
"No," the Prince responded.
Well, that's good. It means that he has no idea that Merlin's hiding a big secret, right? I mean, it does really suck that neither he or I can ever be one-hundred-percent ourselves around him. Life would probably be much simpler and fun if we could tell Arthur the truth… But, y'know, we like our heads where they are…
"I always thought if things had been different, we would have been good friends," Merlin told Arthur after a few seconds of silence. I raised an eyebrow at him. They are great friends, even if neither will admit it!
"Yeah," Arthur said.
"That is if you had not been such an arrogant, pompous, dollop-head…" Merlin added.
Arthur surprisingly chuckled a little bit as he leaned back against the wall. Then his breathing got heavy again and he tightened his grip on me once more. I let my eyes scan his features and my heart turned upside down when I saw that his eyes were teary. But… his expression seemed nostalgic, I think, which is puzzling!
What isn't he telling us about the mission?!
"Hey, guys, c'mon. We'll bust these ghosts n' get home in time for supper," I piped in as my eyes darted between them. I noticed that Merlin also had a strange look in his eyes that I couldn't really make out.
"Yes," Merlin breathed out while averting his gaze, his smile fading. "Yes, we will. Together."
He knows something, too! I should've known! Of course Gaius shared whatever he found with him! The question is – why didn't they tell me? What's waiting for us at the creepy isle?
Whatever it is, they can't know that I'm onto them. This puzzle needs to be solved meticulously and inconspicuously, or they'll purposely throw me off the scent. They're obviously keeping it secret for a reason. Unfortunately for them, I'm a genius.
I was snapped out of my thoughts by Arthur kissing the side of my head and I forced a grin as I looked up at his handsome face.
"You don't know how many times I have saved your life," Merlin suddenly told Arthur. A bold move if you ask me.
Arthur let out a breathy chuckle. "If I ever become King, I will have you made court jester."
No one was allowed to comment because the shrieks returned and shook the door of the chamber, producing cracking noises. My bones froze over and I gulped as one of my hands shot to grab one of Arthur's in search of even more proximity.
The Prince started to almost hyperventilate again, which caused tears to pool in my eyes and a lump to form in my throat. There's nothing worse than seeing him in distress!
"They say the darkest hour is just before the dawn," he said in a strained whisper.
"Feels pretty dark right now," Merlin replied in the same manner.
"Well, it cannot be long, then," Arthur mumbled.
The shrieking intensified and the three of us peeked around the corner just in time to see a ghostly figure traverse the door as if it wasn't there. Of course they can do that!
Arthur gently pushed me off him and scrambled to his feet as I did the same. Merlin was quicker and he ran in front of us to face the creature with a fiery look in his eyes. My heart dropped to my stomach as I dashed to push him out of the way, but I couldn't possibly move fast enough. One second he was looking straight at the apparition, and the next he was flying across the room. His back hit the wall and then he fell to the ground unconscious.
"Merls!" I cried out in a gasp, feeling as if the air had been knocked out of my lungs.
The knights bursted into the room and Lancelot fended off the banshee-ghost thing with a torch.
I ran towards Merlin and dropped to the ground. With trembling hands, I pulled his head onto my lap. I realised that he was ice-cold again. Flicks of frost covered his hair, and his eyes were open, but dull and unresponsive. My lungs became constricted and my heart made itself a home in my throat.
"Please be okay please be okay please be okay," I mumbled while I searched his wrist for a pulse, but my own was so erratic that I couldn't be sure of what I was sensing on him.
Arthur and Lancelot were beside us in a second. "What happened?" the knight asked softly.
"He saved us," the Prince whispered.
Gwaine showed up with my blanket in his arms, which I'd dropped in the moment of crisis, and he placed it on top of my best friend.
Arthur sat down beside me and he pulled my body onto his lap while I still clung tightly to Merlin.
"Please, I can't lose you," I whispered to my best friend in between sobs. I can't tell if he's alive or not and it's making me lose the little sanity I have left!
Gwaine moved to Lancelot's side and the two tried to lift Merlin off me, so I tightened my hold on him.
"Trae – we have to get him somewhere warmer," Gwaine said softly. Right. I swallowed thickly and reluctantly let go, allowing the pair to lift my best friend.
Arthur promptly helped me to stand up. I fell against his chest when my trembling legs failed to hold my weight. He let out a shaky sigh and picked me up bridal-style before following the knights out of the room.
Sunrise found me sitting against the stone fire pit beside Arthur and with my best friend's head on my lap once more. The frost on his hair and skin had melted, which gives me a slim glimmer of hope that he might make it. Especially because I was finally able to find a pulse after my body calmed down a little. He remained unresponsive, however, and his breathing was very slow. It makes me wonder if I was in a similar state that time when I almost died from hypothermia.
We really are almost like Steve and Bucky, aye?
"We have to get him back to Gaius," Arthur said – addressing the knights, who were standing around.
"And abandon the quest?" Leon questioned.
"He saved my and Astra's lives," the Prince replied. "I will not let him die."
"Sire, if we do not get to the Isle of the Blessed, hundreds more will perish," Leon reminded him gravely.
"I'll take 'em back, you guys go on," I said in a weak tone while carefully eyeing Arthur for a reaction. He seemed troubled as he averted his gaze. "Please, Artie. He's… He's like my brother. I need him."
"I will go with them," Lancelot stepped in while giving me a reassuring nod. I let out a shaky sigh and attempted to smile in a silent show of gratefulness.
"Carrying a wounded man, it might take you two or three days to reach Camelot," Arthur warily pointed out.
"Not if we go through the Valley of the Fallen Kings," Lancelot proposed. "You cannot give up on the quest."
Arthur didn't seem very convinced with the plan as he dropped his gaze again and his hold on my waist tightened.
"Sire, he is right," Leon pressed.
Arthur finally relented with a heavy sigh. Lancelot hurried away to get Dallas, Falcon and Tolkien and Gwaine went after him to help.
The Prince tightened his grip on me even more and he pressed a kiss to the side of my head. "You know that I love you more than anything, do you not?" he whispered.
"I love you three-thousand, Artie," I replied in the same manner and reached up to kiss the side of his jaw before resting my head on his shoulder. He rested his head above mine. "Promise me you'll come home safe?" I pleaded.
"Everything will be all right, Astra," he responded. I turned my head to nuzzle into the crook of his neck and closed my eyes as I focused my brain on breathing him in, trying to enjoy the moments we have left together before we part ways for the time being.
Soon, Gwaine and Lancelot returned with the horses. Percival lifted off Merlin and got him on Falcon's back. I reluctantly left Arthur's warm side as I stood up. I helped the Prince to secure my best friend onto the saddle using a couple of lead-ropes.
I jolted when I noticed some movement in Merlin's eyes. That's good, right!?
"Merls," I gasped and placed a hand over his, giving it a gentle squeeze. His lips curved upwards a little bit and I felt a big wave of relief wash over me.
"This is my fault and I am sorry," Arthur told my friend.
"Take me with you, please," Merlin said in a raspy whisper.
My eyes widened and I quickly protested, "Merls, you're basically a popsicle!"
"You would die, Merlin," the Prince added.
"But you do not understand. Please, Arthur," Merlin pressed.
"Do you ever do as you are told?" Arthur inquired.
"I have to go with you."
"We're leaving, Merls," I said sternly. I never thought I'd see the day when I would have to address him in such a way! "I'll knock you out n' drag you home if I have to."
"We need to leave," Lancelot said as he and Tolkien appeared beside Falcon. I nodded at him and handed him the lead-rope that was attached to Falcon's bridle.
"I'll catch up in a sec," I assured him. He seemed satisfied with that and he nudged Tolkien onwards, getting Falcon to follow.
I turned to Arthur and jumped to hug him tightly. My heart twisted upside down as it felt tugged between the two people I love most. "I'll see you soon," I mumbled against his chest.
"Everything will be all right, my love," he echoed his words from earlier. Then he gently lifted my head off his chest and leaned down to kiss me. I lifted my arms to round his neck and pulled him closer, wanting to savour every nanosecond that our lips spent together. "I love you," he said when he pulled away, leaning his forehead against mine.
"I love you, too," I replied with a small grin. He gave a half smile and kissed me once more.
I finally gathered the strength to leave Arthur's side and reluctantly stepped back. I froze when I noticed the remaining knights standing nearby. Leon, Elyan and Percival were doing their best to avoid my gaze, while Gwaine simply smirked at me. Obviously, they watched our little moment. I shifted awkwardly.
"Um. Take care of him, yeah?" I requested. "And of each other," I quickly added, not wanting to seem like I only care about Arthur because I care a lot about all of them, too. Not in the same way, though, obviously.
"He is in good hands," Gwaine assured me. "You worry about getting Merlin home safely, sweetheart."
I gave him a mock salute and finally climbed onto Dallas.