Merthur: A Short Adventure

Riding East

 Early in the morning, I grabbed my bag and gave Gaius a quick hug before rushing towards the castle. To my surprise, Arthur was already standing near the gates with two horses saddled up. "There you are, what a useless servant," he slung a bag over one of the saddles, "I had to get them ready all on my own!"

"I'm just surprised you can even do that." I mumbled while getting onto the horse behind Arthurs. "What exactly is our mission?" I realized I didn't have a clue where we were going.

Arthur threw a map towards me that had a circle around a tower, "A village nearby the tower of Lindier said that they've seen groups of smugglers going in and out of it during the night," he gestured towards a mountain in the east, "they lie just beyond that mountain."

A few hours passed while we rode in silence, talking occasionally. Arthurs head suddenly turned back towards me, "Did you hear that?" I shook my head and scanned the surrounding area. We were traveling through a large, empty field, what could've made a noise? A few moments passed before Arthur grabbed a pebble from his bag and threw it a few yards, a flock of crows emerging from the tall grass. Arthur jumped and his horse backed up a couple steps.

I heard a chuckle escape my mouth, "Were you just scared by birds?" Before Arthur could argue, there came a loud scream from the tree line in front of us. We sped up, racing towards the sound in case someone had been injured. Bursting through some bushes, I found a young woman sitting on a tree trunk and clutching her forearm.

She jumped back and scurried off when she saw me, I jumped off my horse and chased after her, "Miss! I'm not going to hurt you, please stop!"

Arthur rounded a corner and caught her by her wrist, "Are you alright?" Her eyes widened and she tried to escape his grasp, I approached her slowly, trying to get a look at her injury. From a distance it looked like she had been bitten by a large animal, possibly some sort of bear or wolf that lives in the forest.

"It's okay, I'm just going to examine the wound." The woman seemed to calm down a bit when we sat her down to treat the injury. "Arthur, stay with her for a moment, I'm going to go get some cloth and water from my bag." He nodded and leaned against a nearby tree.

Arthur POV

As soon as Merlin left, I found myself growing anxious. It was starting to become dark and he was walking around the forest by himself. That idiot wouldn't last if anything were to- before I could finish my train of thought, I heard a roar in the direction that Merlin had walked towards. "Stay here!" I shouted at the woman before running off to find Merlin. My blood ran cold as I heard faint screams from far into the darkness. Without the light from the campfire I had made for the hurt woman, I had no choice but to search in total darkness. "Merlin!!" I rushed towards, what I hoped to be, his direction.

The screams came to an abrupt stop and I screamed out again, "Merlin!!" This time I heard a quiet groan ahead of me. "Merlin?!" I stumbled around, searching for any signs of life in the moonlight.

"Arthur.." I heard Merlin calling my name weakly, he sounded closer. "Merlin? Where are you?" I called out again, hoping that he hadn't passed out yet.

"Help.." He seemed to be right next to me. I passed by a tree but stopped when I felt a tap on my ankle. "Merlin!" I kneeled next to him and gave him my hand to get up. "What happened? Can you walk?" He shook his head and I spotted dark red blood running down his neck and sides.

"This is going to hurt," I wrapped my arm under him and carried him in my arms, trying to be as careful as possible. He started to squirm in my arms, "Don't move, Merlin, you'll make it worse.. Idiot."

He gave a small laugh before groaning, "Idiot??"

"Yes, an idiot for going off without protection, without me." I scolded him, "How many times must I tell you to stay by my side?" I felt my face burning.

"Why.. Why did you come after me? Why didn't you wait until morning?" He argued, "You could've been hurt too."

"Because i'm your friend Merlin. I'll always keep you safe." I choked out as my heart raced. What has he done to me?