Merlin FanFic

Frustration

Arthur and his knights were exhausted. They had been riding nonstop for two days and still hadn't been able to track the beast. Arthur refused to rest until they had found the beast and had gotten what they needed to save Merlin. Leon rode up beside Arthur and touched his arm.
"We need to rest sire." Leon was just as worried about Merlin as Arthur was, and he wanted desperately to find the beast, but he knew that the knights needed to rest to be in the best shape possible to take out the beast.
"We can't stop. We have to find the beast."
"And we will sire. But we need to have rest because if we don't, the beast will outsmart us and kill us all." Arthur looked at Leon and realized that he was right; they all needed to rest.
"Make camp." Arthur called out, and he could feel relief as he climbed down from his horse. He looked around, expecting to find Merlin starting to make the food, but then he was disheartened when he realized that he wasn't there. Arthur strode into the woods to help look for firewood and just hoped Merlin would hold out until he could get back with the antidote. He returned to the rest of the knights with firewood in his arms and began to bunk down for the night while a few kept guard. Arthur knew he would feel better once they searched for the beast again.

Morgana stroked Merlin's hand, feeling helpless. She had been by his side since Arthur left and couldn't bear to leave him. She looked over his pale body and wiped his forehead of the sweat that had formed there. The door opened, and Morgana looked up to see Gwaine enter. She gave him a small smile as he walked over to her. He rested a hand on her shoulder.
"How is he?" Gwaine asked, concerned. He was worried about Merlin as he thought of Merlin as his only friend, and Gwaine had grown up knowing not to have friends, so Merlin meant a lot to him.
"He's still the same. Thank you for asking Gwaine." Gwaine nodded and sat beside Morgana, and looked at her. He blinked and realized how stunning she was to him, and all he wanted to do was kiss her, but he knew that it was wrong as she was with Merlin and that she would never be interested in him. Gwaine looked at Morgana's face and felt himself soften at how graceful and caring she looked. He loved how her hair rested gracefully over her shoulders and shimmered in the light. Morgana seemed to feel his gaze. She looked at him and felt an electric spark inside her, and she knew she was attracted to him.

Morgana had never realized how handsome Gwaine was with his long hair pushed back. He had a slight beard, and that made him even more appealing as he looked so warrior-like and how he would be willing to protect. She knew that he was a true knight of Camelot. Morgana looked away, ashamed that she had thought those things, and continued nursing Merlin until Gaius returned. She knew she was happy with Merlin, and they had something magical. Merlin was the only one who could understand her; he was there for her when no one else was. She did the same thing in return to Merlin. She brushed a hand through his hair and kissed his forehead, hoping he would be okay. Gwaine watched as Morgana kissed Merlin's forehead and wished those delicate lips could kiss him. Gwaine felt ashamed and decided to leave before making a wrong move with Morgana. She watched Gwaine stand up and stretch and couldn't help but look at how fine his body was. She could tell through his shirt that he was well-toned, making her mouth water and make her want to touch him. Morgana shook her head, said goodbye to Gwaine, and admired him from behind as he left the room. Looking at Merlin, she felt like she was betraying him, but she knew deep down that she didn't love Merlin anymore, and she knew that had happened since they had returned to Camelot. Merlin had moved back to Camelot for her, and she was eternally grateful, but life wasn't the same anymore. She would always be second behind Arthur.  

Arthur woke with a start and looked around him. The knights were sleeping soundly around him; the woods were silent and dark, but Arthur couldn't shake the feeling that something was out there and was watching him. Arthur listened for a moment longer, there was still no sound so Arthur decided to try and get back to sleep but found that sleep would not come. He couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, and he didn't like it. He felt like his whole body was tense. Arthur sighed and threw back his blanket, putting on his armour and boots before getting up and heading towards the knight on guard. Percival looked surprised when he saw Arthur approach.
"Go and get some sleep. I will take this watch." Arthur murmured. Percival stood up, surprised, but didn't say anything. Percival knew that Arthur wasn't himself and that there was no point in arguing as Arthur would not take no for an answer. Percival touched Arthur's shoulder as he passed and hoped that Arthur would return to his old self once they had completed their quest. Arthur sat down at his post, glanced around the woodland, and found nothing. He also found that the feeling of being watched had disappeared too. Arthur let his mind wander while he was on guard and found himself thinking about Merlin and how many times Merlin had saved Arthur's life with magic, and he hadn't realized. Arthur began to think about all the times that Merlin had turned up from nowhere, and the danger seemed to disappear. He knew that he had Merlin to thank for that. Arthur vowed to himself that he would thank Merlin for all the times that had saved his life and to be not so hard on him. Arthur then began to think about how hard it was for Merlin to keep his magic a secret and all the challenges that he had faced. He then felt a hand touch his shoulder, and Arthur span around to attack but found that it was Elyan. Elyan raised his hands in surrender, and Arthur sighed.
"What is it Elyan?"
"We are ready to move out, sire." Arthur nodded and was grateful for the distraction from Merlin and his secret, back to tracking the beast. Arthur mounted his horse and began tracking the beast with the other knights. They hadn't been riding long when they had picked up a fresh trail. Arthur grew excited as they rushed forward, following the trail, which ended at a stream. Arthur looked up and down the stream to see if anything could point them in the right direction and felt annoyed when they found nothing. He was about to climb down from his horse when the horse began to move on its own accord across the stream. Arthur called to the horse to stop but the horse carried on through the stream. He looked back at the other knights, who seemed as confused as he was, but decided it would be best to follow the king's horse. Arthur decided to let the horse go where it wanted, and once the horse stopped, he could carry on the hunt.

 "Arthur." Morgana jumped at the sound and looked down at Merlin, hopeful that he had woken. However, she felt disappointment rush through her when she found that he was still unconscious.
"Guide him." Merlin spoke in a strained voice again, and Morgana looked at him in disbelief.
"Gwaine!" She yelled, and Gwaine came rushing in, wondering what was wrong.
"Get Gaius." She demanded. Gwaine nodded to her before rushing back out of the room to find Gaius. Gwaine searched the castle and finally found Gaius in the herb garden.
"Gaius!" Gaius turned and found that Gwaine was running over to him, panicked, and Gaius didn't like the sound of what he was going to say.
"What is Gwaine?" He demanded, dreading the answer.
"It's Merlin Gaius."