Breaking The Rules

Chapter 2: Hunting Trip

Arthur makes his way towards the Council Chambers. On the way, he approaches Gwen who is carrying a basket of sheets—presumably Morgana's. "Gwen," he nods his head as she smiles and blushes. "Sire." Arthur chuckles, shaking his head quickly. "You don't need to call me that." She looks down, smiling widely. They stand before each other in awkward silence for several moments, until Arthur finally speaks up. "So...how's Morgana? I've noticed she seems awful tired lately." She tenses up, nodding with an almost frightened smile. "Erm...she's good...I guess." Arthur cocks his head, squinting his eyes slightly. "Is something wrong?" She shakes her head vigorously. "No, no, of course not. Why would there be?" She hurries off without saying another word, leaving Arthur with a baffled smirk.

He nods to the guards and they open the tall wooden doors. He isn't surprised to see his father sitting in his usual spot, Morgana by his side as always. He clears his throat to make them aware of his presence, bowing lightly as Uther nods. "What is it, Arthur?" "Father. I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be gone for a while. Hunting trip." He nods, and Morgana lifts a cunning brow suspiciously. "So... you're going alone?" She smiles discreetly as Arthur immediately becomes taut, quickly hiding it with a smile and a nod. "Are you sure you wouldn't like some knights by your side?" Arthur smiles reassuringly. "No, father. I promise I'll be fine. I'll stay close." Morgana smirks and Arthur gives her an unhinged glare. Arthur looks back to his father, bowing lightly. "My lord." He turns around quickly, exiting the room and hearing the click-clack of high heels follow closely behind. Once he gets a safe distance from the guards, he spins around sharply, grabbing Morgana by her shoulders.

"What is it with you? You were giving me odd looks in the hall and now you're following me. What's going on?" She laughs with a bright smile plastered across her face. "Don't worry, Arthur. I was just trying to figure out what you were up to, but I guess it's obvious now that I think about it. I take it you're 'hunting trip' is just a day out with...you know who?" Arthur raises a carefully plucked brow. "Who?" She chuckles and shakes her head. "Gwen, silly!" He rolls his eyes with a relieved smile. "Unfortunately, no. I'm actually going on a hunting trip." She looks at Arthur with an interested frown. "By yourself?! You never do that." Arthur laughs quietly, sheepishly rubbing his neck. "No...I'm going to be teaching Merlin how to shoot since I can't...with my injured my arm." She smiles understandingly. "Ah, yes. The new Knight...Cardoc, is it?" "Caridoc, yes. It was an accident, yet a painful one." Morgana grins, nodding slowly. "Well, I guess I better leave you to your hunting, then." They smile genuinely to each other and say their goodbyes.

Arthur strolls out into the courtyard to find Merlin petting his horse, both of their horses ready to go. Arthur smiles, crossing his arms and watching him for a few moments. Suddenly he shakes his head, coming back to reality and walking over to Merlin as he smiles. "They're ready. Are you?" Arthur just nods quickly, Merlin walking to his own horse as Arthur attempts to mount his. He fails miserably, falling back onto the ground, his unusable arm making him quite useless. "Arthur!" Merlin shouts in panic, running over to him, letting out a quick breath once he realizes Arthur is okay.

"Clot pole," Merlin mutters under his breath as Arthur shoots him a fiery glare. "I heard that." He helps Arthur up, offering his hand as support for Arthur as he mounts his horse. They make eye contact for a bit too long as Arthur latches on to Merlin's hand, using it as support to lift himself up. As Arthur stares at him, a nervous sensation builds up in his stomach, like butterflies, but he thinks nothing of it. He finally lets go of Merlin's hand after a few moments and they exchange uncomfortable glances. Merlin mounts his horse easily, grinning happily to Arthur. "Lead the way, sire." Arthur smiles genuinely, shaking his horse's reins as Merlin does the same and their horses gallop out of the gates of Camelot.

They continue riding out until they reach the woods, still several miles from the designated hunting spots. "Hey," Merlin scoots up next to Arthur, "I'll race ya!" He aggressively shakes his reins and his horse shoots forward. Arthur does the same, desperately attempting to catch up. He manages to find his way to Merlin's side and they just ride in silence, feeling the rush of wind. They both smile genuinely and for some odd reason, enjoy the moment. Arthur doesn't get mad at the fact that Merlin said I told you so, or that he called Arthur a 'clot pole', he genuinely just enjoys his company.

As they approach the first of many designated hunting spots, they both slow down, preparing to stop and tie the horses. Merlin demounts his horse, ties him up, and pets its muzzle. Then he saunters over to Arthur, holding his hand out to help him get down. He holds it out so comfortably as if it's just any normal thing he does every day, even though he's never done it before. His face, when he looks at Arthur gets down from his horse, is something he only sees when no one else is around. He looks at Arthur like a friend, not a servant. Arthur secretly wishes he would look at him like that more often because truth be told he kind of likes it.

Arthur gets down and Merlin ties the horse to a nearby tree. Grabbing all the hunting supplies, the two of them start searching the area for animals. After a couple of minutes, Merlin gently taps Arthur's arm. "Over there," he whispers, pointing to a deer peacefully eating grass in the middle of the wide-open meadow. Arthur places his hand on Merlin's shoulder as he bends down, pushing Merlin down along with himself.

"Alright. Do you know how to hold this, or do I need to show you that too?" Merlin laughs and shakes his head. "I...actually don't. You've always been the one to hold the crossbow, while I've been the one to ruin your chances of actually getting something because of falling down, coughing or sneezing." They both giggle and Arthur sighs sarcastically. "Alright, fine. Pick up the crossbow." He does as Arthur says, and Arthur scoots closer to him to adjust his form. "Lift your elbows," he places his hands on Merlin's elbows to raise them up. "Also, spread them farther apart, it'll give you a stronger hold." He spreads Merlin's elbows apart with deft fingers while Merlin looks to him with a confident gleam twinkling in his eyes.

"Now, take an arrow," Merlin grabs one from beside him, "and when you mount it, put it on this string right here and push it back until it clicks with this front part here." Arthur guides him carefully as he mounts the arrow onto the bow. "There you go. Now...hold it up to your eye and match your line of sight with the deer." He holds it up to his eye, steadying himself and tightening his grip. "Okay...focus..." He squints and puts his fingers on the trigger. Arthur scoots closer so he can see where Merlin is looking.

"Fire," Arthur whispers into his ear excitedly as he presses his fingers into the trigger. The arrow shoots out, and with a perfect shot, the deer falls to the ground with a quiet thud. "Yes!" Both of them cheer simultaneously as Arthur grasps Merlin's shoulders, squeezing them lightly. They both immediately get up and run towards the deer. "It's definitely dead." Merlin nods in confirmation as he bends down to check if it's still breathing. "Nice work, Merlin." Arthur pats him on the back and Merlin looks up to him, smiling brightly. "Thank you." Arthur helps him up, and the two of them walk back to the horses as he grabs the bag that we brought to bring the animal back to Camelot. They work together to stuff the deer into the bag, and Merlin drags it back to the horses. He ties the bag to his horse, instantly coming to assist Arthur once he's done. "Hey," Arthur speaks up as he lifts his reins, "err—good job." Merlin just smiles with a bubbly nod, and with that, they're making their way back to Camelot.