Arthur was sat at his desk, his mind wandered to all of the rumours about thieves that were circling around the kingdom. His priority was to protect the people of Camalot, but when he looked out of the window... he saw Merlin. The servant was walking around outside and Arthur instantly felt the need to protect the boy. He wrote down his orders and he called in his guards, if Merlin was going to be kept safe... then it was going to be done right.

Merlin walked into the palace and he walked to Guias's chambers "I swear that Gwaine's horse is almost as drunk as he is!" he exclaimed.

Guias looked up "Where is Arthur the knights?"

"Arthur's in his chambers and the Knights are at the Taven" Merlin answered.

"I need you to run some errands for me and then you need to collect some herbs for me" Guias said as he turned the page of one of his books.

Merlin sighed and he nodded "Alright".

Merlin picked up the medicines that he had to deliver, then he turned to walk out of the chambers. He walked out of the palace, he made his way around the village as he delivered all of the medicines.

Merlin was on his way to gather some herbs from the woods like Guias had asked, when he was stopped by Arthur and his knights.

"Hey, target is here!", Leon said.

"I didn't know we had practice!", Gwaine turned to Arthur.

"Neither did I", the prince eyed the warlock suspiciously.

Merlin rolled his eyes, "I'm heading out to get some things for Guias. I don't really have the time to gain anymore bruises."

Arthur felt bad, because Merlin might still have some bruises from the last training session. He knew that Merlin was bad when fighting with a sword.

The knights all laughed, "Errand boy by day, target practice by night".

Arthur snickered but he felt guilty, "Well... run along then, errand boy. Best be careful though... don't know when something will jump out and try to shoot you."

Merlin suppressed a growl and walked away, as the knights and Arthur laughed like maniacs.

Merlin walked through the forest for some time until he found what he needed. However every noise that he heard put him on edge. He crouched down and he started to pick some of the herbs, he put them in his sactual and then he straightened up to walk back to the village. He had his hands in his pockets as he walked and he let his eyes admire the beauty of the forest as the sun set. Arthur and the Knights had not bothered him, so he assumed that they had just been teasing him and that they were at the palace. However, Merlin heard a branch snap and he spun around but nothing was there.

"Alright guys, you've got me. You can come out now!" Merlin yelled, but nobody came into view. "Arthur? Gwaine? Leon? Where are you guys?" he called but nobody answered him. Merlin became nervous and he started to slowly back up towards the edge of the forest. "Elyan? Perci? Lancelot? I know that you're all messing with me!"

Nothing. No one answered and that scared Merlin.

"I'm going to go! See you tomorrow!" Merlin yelled to Arthur.

Merlin turned around and he started to speed walk out of the darkening forest. The sound of branches snapping and leaves crackling alerted him, he sped up his pace and he got into a run. He ran back the way he came, but he heard more twigs snapping and he spun around to look back. He could not see anything but he walked backwards. Merlin tripped on an emerging root of a tree and he turned around as he fell.

Merlin did not hit the ground, but when he opened his eyes he saw that his hands were on a man's firm chest. The spotless silver metal would surely need to be polished again that evening, the red cape was flying in the wind and Merlin felt the warm hands on his waist. Merlin looked up and he saw that he had fallen into Arthur, a lump formed in his throat and he gulped in oxygen.

Arthur felt a warmth go through his body as he held onto Merlin, just having his hands on the servant's waist made him feel complete. He never wanted to let go. He just gazed into Merlin's eyes and his heart began to race. Time seemed to stop and neither prince nor warlock wanted this moment to end.

Merlin and Arthur heard the sound of the knights laughing and the prince panicked. After a few seconds Merlin was quiet literally pushed to one side and he fell onto the hard ground. Arthur ran in a different direction to where the knights were coming from and he hid behind a tree. Merlin was confused and he looked around, he did to see Arthur but he saw the knights. The servant stood up and he patted himself down.

"Did you fall over, Merlin?" Gwaine asked.

Merlin chuckled "Yep. I got spooked and I ran" Merlin answered.

The knights laughed and so did Merlin, it was at this point that Arthur emerged from his hiding spot and they all walked back to the kingdom. The whole way back, Arthur kept sneaking quick glances at Merlin when no one was looking. What the prince did not know was that Merlin was steeling quick glances at him when nobody was watching.

Once they were back at the palace, Arthur gave merlin some jobs to do and then he ignored him for the whole night. Merlin was still slightly confused about what had happened between himself and Arthur, but he knew that what his her was telling him was right.

After completing all of his jobs, Merlin retired to his chambers and fell flat on his face once encountering his bed. With a loud sigh, Merlin fell asleep.

(Merlin's dream 'Merlin was walking through a forest as the sun set; the sky was painted with magnificent colours of pink and purple and the sound of the wind blowing through the wind whistled through the branches and leaves. He stopped an a clearing next to a stream and he laid down on the grass, there was a picnic laid out and then a figure emerged from behind the trees. Merlin smiled and the person laid down next to him "You found me?"

"Yes. I will always come to find you" Arthur smiled.

Merlin smiled and he leaned over he prince, their lips met and Arthur wrapped his arms around Merlin's waist. Everything was perfect until Uther appeared and stabbed a dagger into Merlin's back.')

Merlin jolted awake, he was sweating and he did not believing that he had dreamt of something that unreal. He collapsed again with an annoyed grunt and fell asleep, knowing that the next day would be nothing but a living hell for him. He had no clue how much his life was about to change.

Meanwhile, Arthur was lying wide awake in his bed and he was thinking about the events of the day. He could not stop thinking about how he had caught Merlin and that they had shared a moment. He looked towards the window and he smiled. It was only a matter of hours before he would get to see the ebony haired young man again.