Becoming Magic

Caerleon

Morning came early and Merlin grabbed all he thought he would need. He placed the chain mail and cape in his pack and headed to the kitchen to gather provisions. Between Merlin and the stable hands they managed to get all the horses lined up in the courtyard. There were 20 in all. Merlin was a little surprised at the numbers, but figured that meant Arthur was expecting a somewhat larger force. Merlin was also surprised that Aggravaine was coming along, but didn't say anything. He really disliked that man and the man clearly disliked Merlin. Most of the Round Table Knights were present, several others, and, of course, Arthur leading. Merlin rode at Arthur's side, like always. At least until the end of the first day. When they set up camp for the night, Merlin went about doing his normal tasks, setting out bedrolls, gathering firewood, and preparing a meal. Once everyone was fed, Merlin realized he hadn't kept enough for himself. Not the first time this has happened, wouldn't be the last. Once everyone was done he gathered the dishes and pots and took them to a nearby stream to wash them out. Of course anytime he was away from the main campsite, one of the Round Table shadowed him. Gathering firewood, it had been Elyan. Doing the dishes, it was now Percival. He didn't mind. He found Percival's presence comforting.

"Hey, Perce?" Merlin called.

"Yeah?"

"What happened at training yesterday? I heard Arthur shouting, but uh, wasn't sure what it was about." Merlin asked, trying for innocence. Percival chuckled.

"Not much. Arthur came out shouting about Gwaine needing to learn to keep his hands to himself and that corrupting impressionable youths was a dangerous game. He threatened to throw him in the stocks if he caught him again."

"Are you serious?" Merlin asked. Percival just smiled. "That arrogant...dollop-head!" He said frustrated.

"Oh, come on! He just wanted to embarrass him a bit. Didn't work though. All he did was wink at Arthur. Course then Arthur decided to spar with him and put him on the ground a few times. I think he's better now." Percival was looking at Merlin with a knowing grin.

"No. Nope. Don't look at me like that. It's not my fault." Merlin said. "He started it." He muttered under his breath. Which caused Percival to laugh even louder as the pair walked back to the camp.

The laughter got them a lot of attention as they walked back to their respective positions. Aggravaine glared daggers at Merlin, though no one seemed to notice. Arthur raised an eyebrow at Merlin who promptly put on a straight face and tried to hide his amusement. They gathered around the fire that night, the Round Table Knights all taking protective positions around Merlin, causing him to roll his eyes. They had taken the role of his protectors quite seriously. Arthur went over the plan for the next morning and what the intent was. They would ride out another hour and then Merlin would go on foot from there another few miles. Just far enough that Arthur knew would gain the attention of the bandits in the area. There was a dead end that Merlin would lead them to, where the rest of them would be waiting. Merlin wasn't sure how he felt about the plan, but figured he would be fine. He trusted Arthur and he knew he would never intentionally put him in harm's way. When they turned in for the night, Gwaine came over and nudged Merlin to take a quick walk. He got up and they only went a few paces out of sight so as not to draw too much attention that the two had wandered off together.

"You are really trying to rile Arthur, aren't you?" Merlin asked.

"Does him some good every now and then. Besides I wanted to check and see how you're feeling about tomorrow? Also, did you eat earlier? I didn't see you eat." Gwaine asked.

"I'll be fine. I plan to engage as little as possible leaving all the actual work to you trained and disciplined types." Merlin said brushing off the eating question.