Arthur was helpless to stop the dead weight that dragged him out of the saddle. Hands were flailing, trying to find purchase but it was no use. Merlin just had too much momentum. The decent was slow but deceptively unkind.

"What in the bloody hell was that?!" The Prince demanded, racing to his feet.

Shackled wrist rose to just above the knee. He turned a circle while stooped like an old man with a bad back. Nothing. They were alone.

"Idiot!" Arthur shouted finally realizing that the moron must have fallen ill.

Dropping out of his crouch, Arthur rushed to check for a pulse. The rhythmic beating was calm and steady. That was a good sign at least.

"Come on" the prince pleaded while tapping the side of Merlin's face, "I know you wanted a nap this is just dramatic."

'What would Gaius do?' The royal forced himself to think. He remembered a trick Gaius taught him to check if someone was actually unconscious. The trick was demonstrated when a thief in court "fainted" several times to reschedule his trail. It hadn't worked. He grabbed the deserter's arm above his head and dropped it. Smack. Hand to face. Not faking it then. The physician had calmly explained to the entire court that the man was quite the aspiring thespian. Then began the drawn out lecture, making sure the much younger Arthur had been listening and dug his knuckle into the man's sternum, causing him to squirm and "jolt awake". Arthur and Gaius had a good laugh over it the next time he found himself in the physician's chambers for his science lessons. Except Merlin hadn't moved.

"You really are a lazy fool aren't you?" The increasingly frustrated blond yelled.

Arthur tried to stand up but couldn't straighten at the waist again. This further enraged him. He wanted to kick something. He was mad at Merlin for collapsing on him, he was mad at Cenrid for patrolling the wrong land, he was mad at his father for ordering him on this stupid hunt, he was mostly mad at himself. He created this entire situation. He couldn't handle himself in court, he made the stupid decision to go hunting near the border alone, he chose a servant who was unsuited for the task, he chose to ignore Merlin when he said that he was unwell. He killed Peter, Bors and now he was killing Merlin by being relentless prick. The same Merlin who shared his plan for escape and pulled him out of the path of a sword. This situation needed righting.

The horses hadn't gotten too far. They seemed skittish about their upset cargo and circled at a distance, sticking together. Arthur grabbed both of unconscious man's arms and starts dragging him towards the horses. The movement caused them to scatter and regroup in the opposite direction, maintaining the distance. Essetir had the worst horses in the entire five kingdoms. They would be made into glue once they reached Camelot. He would have to free himself from the buffoon and approach in a more familiar manner. Hopefully this gave the uneasy animals time to calm down. For a brief moment, Arthur considered just abandoning Merlin. The trained military strategist in him, wanted to just cut his losses and the chains tying him to the criminal and flee. No, as annoying as the man was, he owed him his life and a favor. He wouldn't be free of him until that debt was repaid.

"I'm sorry," Arthur said for the fleeting idea of abandoning Merlin, "but you can be a right pain in the ass."

The peasant's empty expression made Arthur feel like a lunatic talking to himself. Even asleep, he managed to be annoying. The prince ignored the poignant silence and got to work.

Arthur had greatly underestimated how much work Merlin had sunk into the metal before he was captured. Together, deforming the chain link had been fairly quick but taxing. Now, it had been an incredibly lengthy endeavor. Not for the first time, he found himself collapsing from exhaustion. This time, he was finally free but he couldn't move quite yet. He laid near Merlin, not bothering to move away any further. The prince turned his head to watch his companion for signs of consciousness and unsurprisingly found none. Without getting up he reached over and gave Merlin an experimental slap. Still nothing. They should have searched for the key before escaping like Merlin suggested; it would have saved a lot of trouble.

"You don't have to be so smug" Arthur said to the lax face.

Arthur knew a stream to be nearby and set out in that direction with Merlin slumped over the one of the freshly wrangled horses. The finicky beasts were immediately tethered near the water. A vivid "I told you so" reverberated in the prince's head that sounded like a certain idiot as the animals drank buckets of water. He wasn't really sure what to do. Merlin needed water. Should he wait until the man woke up? Arthur wasn't sure he knew the technique to rehydrate an unconscious person without drowning them. What if Merlin wouldn't wake up until his thirst was quenched? What if his collapsed wasn't caused by dehydration at all? Arthur tried to think back on all the times he was in Gaius's chamber for lessons and a patient was rushed in. The old physician usually performed an exam to diagnose the problem. Arthur tried emulate his tutor and started checking the man for hidden injuries that might have contributed to the fainting, besides thirst. Based on the many complaints were lodged directly into the prince's ear, Arthur was fairly sure that he knew of every injury the deserter had. Although more injuries could have been sustained in the tumble off the flighty horse.

Merlin's face was so covered in dirt that it was hard to see the bruise mottled skin Arthur knew to be underneath but overall looked fine. The shirt was in a similar state. Stains and dirt saturated the garment making it impossible to tell if any of the marks had a bloodier origin. Arthur winced. Further bruising and minor scratches were revealed under the shirt on the abdomen. He felt a bit guilty for elbowing Merlin now. He hadn't hit the man hard, but he hadn't known if he had previously been abused by his captors before befriending them. Arthur gently pressed on each rib just like Gaius had taught him. Although the lessons back then had been about emergency first aid for himself. Gaius, of course jumped on the opportunity to rope the growing heir into becoming his assistant for a month. The whole ordeal amused Uther so he allowed it. No broken ribs. He frowned, no internal injury (probably) but something was wrong.

Merlin was rolled to check his back. Arthur's breath caught in his throat at the sight. There was a large, raised, knotted scar occupying Merlin's uppper back. His fingers wiped curiously at the filth covering the mark, trying to guess the source of such a thing. It wasn't just a scar, it was a brand. Merlin had been branded like livestock. Arthur grabbed the water and dumped it over the burn, trying to make sense of the symbol.

The burn mark was two overlapping mandorlas with a dot in the center, forming a flower or a sun? It was only just larger than his own hand and considering how lean Merlin was it took up a good portion of his back. It looked long healed and held none of the purpling of newer scars. Arthur thought 'slave army' was a moniker created by unhappy and mistreated soldiers. It seemed like the nickname was more descriptive than hyperbolic. Merlin really was an escaped slave. A seasoned one too. He shuddered at the thought. Camelot banned the practice long ago. Arthur had never seen that symbol before. Perhaps it was the crest of the company he belonged to in the military? Maybe it indicated his rank? It could mean nothing except to mark his status as a slave or conscript, as Merlin kept referring to himself. Arthur could say with certainty that Camelot had never branded conscripted soldiers. This warranted further investigation (as did everything about this damned hunting trip). One escaped slave isn't proof of anything. His father would want to know what his ally was up to. There was plenty of time to question Merlin later because Arthur was confident that the man just fainted, probably from exhaustion. Maybe dehydration and possibly a bit of malnutrition played a role too but he wasn't dying of infection or mortal wound. It seemed they would be here for a while, so he better set up camp. Arthur wanted to just throw the listless body on the horse and continue towards safety but Merlin had been right. They both needed food and rest, so did the horses.

Merlin woke up to fading daylight and pleasant warmth. There was a comfortable weight on top of him, like a blanket. Something was under him too. Merlin felt refreshed. Relatively refreshed. He was sure if his eyes slipped shut, he would immediately relapse into a deep, dreamless slumber. His state could now be described as pleasantly exhausted instead of desperately exhausted despite dry, sunken eyes. The sounds of the forest were soothing enough, as was the gurgling water and crackling of the nearby fire. Wait. Fire? Suddenly he realized that he didn't remember going to bed. Merlin let his eyes crack open and saw the prince staring at him.

"You don't have to pretend to be asleep, it's just me." Arthur said flatly.

"Ah" Merlin managed to cough out.

He winced at how dry his voice sounded. While stretching, Merlin was able to confirm that he was on his own bedroll. The prince was leaning against a tree, arms crossed, his own bedroll was used as a backrest. The horses were tied off and munching lazily on the greenery below them. Where were they? Merlin certainly didn't recognize the area. The warlock turned his head to further asses his surroundings when he was slapped in the face with a plump water skin, tossed courtesy of the prince.

"What was that for?!" Merlin spluttered, more dumbfounded than angry.

Arthur ignored the question and continued staring into the fire, "Just drink it."

"Don't have to be a prat about it" Merlin muttered, not wanting to actually get involved in whatever mood overtook the prince today.

Merlin drank the entire water skin. It flattened as he chugged, gasping for air between gulps with water spilling down his shirt. Arthur chose to ignore the appalling sight.

Merlin was still panting when he dropped the now floppy skin back down and asked the noble who still refused to look away from the low flames, "So, what happened?"

Arthur's head turned towards Merlin slowly, expression incredulous, "What do you mean, 'what happened?' You fainted like a girl and pulled us both off the horse. Then I haven't been able to wake you up for hours"

"Ooooooooh" Merlin said in realization. He remembered barely holding it together behind the prince on the horse. He must have fallen asleep just deep enough for the herbs he consumed the night before to literally drop him into a magically enhanced slumber. Oops. He thought the herbs would have worn off by then. That was rather embarrassing. Luckily no one would never know how badly he miscalculated. Oh well, he needed sleep any way. Merlin was far too practical to care how it came about. He couldn't say he felt much refreshed by the impromptu nap but he certainly didn't feel worse.

"I told you we needed to stop!" the escapee accused.

"Ow!" Merlin exclaimed after he was pelted in the face by a rock hard lump of bread. He hadn't even reacted until a second after it bounced off his face.

"Eat that." the prince ordered.

Merlin looked around for the edible ricochet, unbothered by the attack. It was hoisted victoriously in the air with an "ah-ha!"

Merlin lazily began ripping small chunks into his mouth. This was the kind of bread that most considered torture to serve without a goblet of something. He didn't mind though. Right then it tasted like ambrosia.

"Y'do care abou' me" Merlin teased half heartedly with a full mouth.

"We will be heading out soon and I can't have you fainting on me again." The royal was quick to explain.

"I guess we are still stuck together for now" Merlin said picking at his food.

"Idiot," Arthur called Merlin's attention to his raised wrist, jingling the chain, that connected nothing, across the fire, several arm lengths away.

"Wait, what?" The warlock looked down at his own wrist. The shackle was still in place, as were half of the links that once tied him to the rude, prattish noble.

"Quick on the uptake are you?" was asked wryly.

"I'm fully not rec- not full re- I'm tired" Merlin defended... and demonstrated.

They lapsed into another silence. The prince was no longer staring into the fire but glaring daggers at his companion instead. Merlin was too fatigued and invested in his bread to care much.

"You know," Arthur began, "for a moment it seemed like I wasn't going to have to cash in that favor I owe you."

"What favor" was asked absently, oblivious to the serious turn the conversation just took.

"What fav- What the hell is wrong with you?"

This peasant was infuriating. Arthur was trying to apologize for pushing him to the point of collapse and he couldn't even be bothered to listen. He suspected earlier that his guilt would lessen considerably once Merlin regained the ability to speak and the bumpkin seemed determined to prove him right for once.

"Sorry, got it, favor, yeah" Merlin dismissed waving the prince on.

Arthur only looked somewhat appeased, he was already regretting pursuing this.

"I'm sure I will regret this" he sighed, "but I promised that I would deliver a letter for you, so who is this friend I'm meant to find?"

Merlin hesitated, he didn't want to tell the Prince of Camelot anything. That deal was made with an inconsequential noble who probably hadn't inherited any real power yet besides his family name. He couldn't take the bargain now that he knows a member of the royal household would take personal interest in his affairs. Best to proceed cautiously and vaguely.

"His name is Gaius" was settled on.

"Gaius?" Arthur was unimpressed with the description. Gaius wasn't the most common name in the realm but there were still plenty of Gaiuses, it was a large kingdom. "Well that doesn't narrow it down at all. I'm going to need more than that."

"He's a physician in the citadel, last I heard" Merlin admitted.

Arthur was stunned. This Esseterian couldn't be talking about the same Gaius as his Gaius, could he? He would have to tread carefully.

"There are many physicians in Camelot, I don't know all of them. I need more information than that. What part of Camelot does he work in? Who employs him? What he looks like maybe?" Arthur asked as casually as he could muster, though the annoyance that colored his performance was very real.

"I'm not sure" Merlin admitted.

The prince abandoned his concocted easy demeaner for genuine disbelief, "So you're looking for a man that you claim is your friend but you know nothing absolutely about?"

"He's old?" was added sheepishly.

"He's old? That's it? Have you ever met this man?" the noble raged.

"Well, no" Merlin mumbled.

"Why are you looking for him then?!" burst out of Arthur.

Merlin wasn't sure what to say. He settled on a variation of the truth, "I am looking for my mother. Her and Gaius are friends. They used to keep in touch. I thought if anyone would know where she was, Gaius might."

If Gaius didn't know where his mother was or she was dead, Merlin planned to settle in Camelot and get to know his Uncle Gaius, his only remaining family and hopefully his mother would find her way back to her brother eventually (given Gaius wasn't dead either).

"I'm sorry to hear that."

As a child, Arthur used to make up stories that his mother wasn't dead. She had to abandon him to save him from a curse. The sorcerer placed a spell on her to prevent her from revealing who she really was and had to watch her son grow up from afar. The young Pendragon would search crowds for familiar faces. He had never seen his mother before, as she died during his birth but he imagined he would be able to recognize her instantly. Her face had always been so clear in his mind. It had been a game the whole time but the desperation to find her was real. It faded with time but never disappeared. Arthur still caught himself staring at busy markets for too long sometimes. He understood Merlin's pain.

Merlin nodded in thanks.

"When is the last time you saw her?" Arthur asked.

"It's been years, not since Cenrid's men came to our village looking for recruits."

"If she is still in your village I can send men to retrieve her. You saved my life yesterday and I owe you a debt." The offer was sincere.

"Thank you but there is no need. I remember you saved my life first. It would do no good anyway. Our village doesn't exist anymore. I went back. It's been abandoned, like everyone just packed up and left. Must have happened years ago. I'm guessing bandits or famine... Just consider us even, except the favor we bargained for." Merlin smirked.

"Alright" Arthur relented, letting the issue drop. Merlin hadn't needed much saving, he needed some brains but that was a different issue. Arthur thought would still probably be in custody if it wasn't for him and he almost killed the man. That was a different debt entirely.

"Dinner should be ready soon" Arthur said, wanting to get out of the emotional territory they had been circling, "You smell disgusting, please do everyone a favor and wash up"

"Dinner? Where?" Merlin said looking around the campsite.

"On the fire." Arthur said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh" Merlin said dumbly not moving, "I ate."

There was indeed a pot of something steaming away over some coals. It smelled good.

The prince scoffed, "One roll. I think you'll need to eat more than that to avoid collapsing again."

"Oh yeah, probably" Merlin agreed absently.

"So?" Arthur asked leading Merlin to... something.

"So?" Merlin repeated, hoping the answer would come to him. He had no idea what the man wanted.

"Go clean yourself up." The prince finally said.

"Right" Merlin said stumbling to his feet like a newborn foal.

"Merlin," Arthur called, "forgetting something?"

"No?" A frowned overtook the prince's face, Merlin had the blank look in his eyes again.

Arthur grabbed the bag beside him and launched it at Merlin. The bag slammed into his stomach before the dullard raised his hands to intercept it. Needless to say, it was not a successful catch.

Merlin picked it up puzzled, "Thanks?"

"There's a change of clothes in there"

Merlin smiled at him and his "thanks" was genuine this time, not questioning.

Arthur just nodded back, he considered it a gift to himself so he wouldn't have to smell those disgusting rags any more. Besides they were stolen along with the supplies. His own change of clothes had been reclaimed along with his pack. Merlin was welcome to have the scratchy cheap clothes, the prince certainly didn't want them.

"Merlin" Arthur shouted again with amusement, "Forgetting anything else?"

Merlin stopped his stumbling to turn towards the prince, "Ah, no?"

"You don't know where the stream is," Arthur explained, amused at Merlin's disheveled mental state.

"It's that way," Arthur said pointing in the opposite direction than Merlin had been ambling.

"Right," Merlin said without a hint of embarrassment and corrected his course.

Arthur watched him go for a second. His gait was shaky but his fake limp had all but vanished besides a trace.

Notes::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

This chapter was entirely rewritten. I had it completely different. I wasn't happy with the plot. I am still not very happy with it but I guess it is fine enough.

For anyone wondering, all conscripts in cenrid's army are branded. They have different ones depending on the what unit they are stuck with. All sorcerers in the army (minus some high born ones) have the same brand. It is two overlapping eyeballs that share a pupil. They are overlayed perpendicularly. I came up with it because the eyeballs flash gold when using magic. I thought about making all sorcerers have the brand in the center of their chests, hence the neckerchief. i decided not to do it that way because sorcerers are used as stealth units and spies. They have the perfect skillset for stealth and having a big mark on their chest seemed way too visible. Back seemed like a good compromise of functionality. It is easy access and highly visible without the shirt on but it'll be easily hidden with a shirt. If it was on the chest a poorly fitting shirt could reveal it. I made the design simple becuasue burns don't always heal nicely enough for small designs. I figure it is about function not making everyone look cool.

Thank to my roommate who is a medical doctor for teaching me about the sternum rub. That shit hurts. I tested it out, lightly on myself. Btw the sternum rub doesn't test if someone is awake. It wakes them up. kind of like smelling salts. At least that is how I interpreted what my roommate said.

Also Ealdor doesnt exist anymore. When i first came up with the idea of Consript Merlin. my first thought is what would he do with his freedom? He'd go home. I solved that issue by destroying ealdor lol. Actually when i originally started this story it started from the day merlin was taken and did a quick overview of his time until the day he met arthur. It was boring and unnecessary. So i kept it for myslef as a good basis on Merlin's history and why he does what he does but it will never be told as a long story, its too boring.

I was lowkey worried about the running gag with the horses sucking. I was worried that it would seem too repetitive. In my mind trained horses used in battles would never run from a fight. But i thought it was too funny not to have in the first chapter so in my mind, i thought that these horses are shitty at their jobs the whole time. So when i thought about what would happen if Merlin and Arthur fell off the horses it would proabbly freak them out? IDK i have never touched a horse. Im running off of chihuahua logic.