His Majesty and His Knights

Lancelot

Sixteen year old Merlin knelt down by the roots of a tree gathering mushrooms for Gaius. It had been nine years since he fled his kingdom and to be quite honest, he didn't remember much. He was practically raised by Hunith, whom he now referred to as "Mother." The birds were chirping and everything seemed peaceful.

But of course, when does that ever last?

Merlin was interrupted from his thoughts by a strange cawing. He looked behind him to see a strange creature charging towards him. Forgetting his basket, Merlin made an attempt to outrun the creature but tripped. He cursed his clumsy self as the creature prepared to eat him. He closed his eyes in anticipation.... but the pain never came. 

Instead, Merlin heard a battle cry as a man jumped in front of him, swinging a sword at the creature. Unfortunately, the sword broke and the man cried "run!" He grabbed Merlin by the arm and they ran to a log where they jumped over and hid behind it. Luckily, the creature flew away.

Panting, Merlin looked over the fallen tree. "It's gone," he said. "You saved my life. I'm Merlin." He stuck out his hand to shake.

The man's eyes widened. "Merlin! It's me! Lancelot!"

"Lancelot! I- I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Yeah, well we have quite a bit of catching up to do, my friend. But first, I think I'm going to-" Lancelot passed out, his hand falling limp to reveal a growing blood spot.

Merlin carried Lancelot all the way to Gaius' chambers and set him down on a bed already prepared for patients. Quickly, Gaius got to work cleaning the wound. "Hmm, the wound itself is superficial," Gaius said.  "The fever will pass. He should be fine by morning."

Sure enough, Lancelot was up and moving the next morning.

Lancelot looked out the window of Merlin's room while Merlin sat in a chair.

"How did you get here?" Merlin asked.

"After we left you nine years ago, Gwaine and I came across some bandits. They captured him and left me for dead. Lucky for me, some druids came and nursed me back to health. I spent the next few years looking for Gwaine... I never found him. A couple months ago, I went back to Ealdor to check up on you. It was my duty to protect you and it still is."

"Lancelot, I'm no longer a prince. I spent more of my life as a farm boy than as royalty."

"You're still a  prince, Merlin. Kingdom or no kingdom. Anyways, when I didn't see you there, I became worried. To my relief, Hunith told me that you were alive... in Camelot."

"Well, you see-"

"Merlin! What were you thinking, coming to Camelot! You're a warlock! A magical prince from a magical kingdom! Have you gone mad!"

"Possibly! But Lance, no one would even think to look for me here! Plus, I met the Great Dragon!"

"You met the Great Dragon?"

"Yeah! And apparently, Prince Arthur is the Once and Future King and it's my job to protect him, which makes me being his manservant pretty convenient."

"You're a manservant!"

"...Yes?"

"Merlin! You're a prince!"

"Not so loud, Lancelot! This is supposed to be a secret! Not even Gaius knows!"

"I know now, Merlin," said Gaius from the doorway. "But I can't help but wonder, how can one so clumsy be a prince?"

"Gaius!"

"He's not wrong, my friend."

"Lancelot!"