The Crest of Ambrosius

Chapter 9

AN: Hey Guys! Sorry for the long wait. I got pretty busy with school last semester, then I've been trying to get a job, so I haven't had much time to write. I have a bit more freedom now, but I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out. As I've said before, this fic will not be abandoned, it just might take me a while to finish it, especially since I have to start applying to grad schools.Anywho, hope you enjoy!

The next morning, the party of ten set out from Camelot to find the Dreócræftan resistance. The journey began well enough, with excited talks of battle plans and exchange of jokes and stories. But by the third hour of riding, only Gwaine had not run out of things to say. It was more that the new knights had not yet heard his stories, giving him an excuse to repeat the ones that even Arthur could now recite word for word, but the king chose to ignore his knight's foolish tales and concentrated on staying on the right path, since they had finally crossed the border out of Camelot. After all, he had never been to Dreócræft, and was somewhat uncomfortable with the terrain's lack of familiarity. It was similar enough to Camelot, with a large forest, but he remained uneasy.

By the time the fourth hour rolled around and Gwaine began his sixth tavern story, Arthur couldn't take any more. Rolling his eyes at the drunkard's embellished tale of single-handedly fighting off wilddeoren and bandits, Arthur called for the men to stop.

"We'll rest here to water the horses and take a meal, then we will continue until it is too dark to ride."

The knights from both kingdoms nodded their obedience and moved to unpack provisions for their meal. Arthur turned to Merlin and dropped his voice.

"Go check the stream for the best place to take the horses. And keep an eye out. We don't know if anyone might have followed the Dreócræftans to Camelot."

Merlin nodded at Arthur and headed towards the stream to look for a clear area.

Looking around at the knights as they settled down to eat, Arthur couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. In fact, he'd been ignoring that same feeling since they left the woods surrounding Camelot, but now he wondered if he'd made a mistake in doing so. He surveyed the small clearing once more, but couldn't see or hear anything ominous that would indicate his feeling had any merit. Chalking it up to paranoia from being in unfamiliar territory, he shook himself and moved to join the other knights. But just as he sat down, he heard the distinctive snap of a twig.

Within seconds, all nine knights had drawn their weapons and jumped to their feet, turning to face whoever, or whatever, was lurking in the trees.

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As Merlin walked toward the stream, he couldn't help but revel in the feel of the familiar forest. Seven years had passed, but it was still much the same. It was always so much more vibrant around the equinox. Though the chill of autumn was beginning to make its presence known in the absence of the sun each night, it was pleasantly warm during the day, with cooling breezes chasing away any true heat. Bright sun filtered through the trees, the light dancing across the forest floor, and the Earth sung with the last vestiges of summer.

However, his reverie was broken as he remembered the purpose of this journey. He could not afford to daydream when he was so close to saving his kingdom. Merlin continued to the stream, where he quickly found an area suitable to the large number of horses they were travelling with, then he turned back to retrieve the animals. Hopefully he would be able to finish his chore quickly enough to have a normal meal for once.

As he walked back through the trees to the clearing where he left the horses, he tripped on a root, falling to the forest floor with a crash. Stumbling back to his feet, he was startled to see nine knights, swords at the ready, swing around and brandish their weapons at him. Merlin felt his magic surge to protect him, but he could tell he was in no danger. But wait, what was that...feeling niggling at the back of his mind? Something familiar...His thoughts were, however, interrupted by an outburst from his king.