The Lost Prince of Zilex | Merlin

The Lost Prince of Zilex

Merlin hated hunting.

The dirt, the heat, the senseless slaughter of innocent animals. He hated it. This specific hunting trip was supposed to last a bit over a week too and so they ventured for hours on a horse to find new hunting terrain.

Due to his discomfort for traveling too long, Merlin complained under his breath.

"Is there something wrong with you?" Arthur asked from his horse a bit ahead of Merlin.
"Yeah, I've been on a horse all day"
"Is your little bottom sore?"
"Yes. It's not as fat as yours"

The knights laughed already used to their banter, however, they didn't get involved. They knew the only one allowed to make fun of the king's weight was Merlin.

"I am not fat! Merlin!"
"Of course sire. Fighting fit, was it?"
"I could have you in the stocks for that!"
"Well, we're way too far from Camelot so I guess we'll have to wait".

They went on and on arguing and scaring away most of the game until Arthur noticed and he had a feeling Merlin had been doing it on purpose.
Eventually they found fresh deer tracks and went on.

"Arthur... where are we?" Asked Merlin looking around. He didn't fully recognize the forest but a tease of a memory was bothering him. Like he was so close to remembering but also so far.
"Are you afraid Merlin?" Mocked Arthur still focusing on the deer tracks.
"No. I just think we're lost again"
"I have to agree with Merlin on this, Sire. I don't recognize this area" said Lancelot looking at their surroundings.

"We must have ventured out of Camelot during the hunt" said Elyan not giving it much importance.
"After we find the deer we'll go back"

Merlin wanted to protest but suddenly they were surrounded by bandits. There were so many of them. "Bandits!" Yelled Leon to grab the king's attention.
The knights unsheathed their swords, however, Merlin knew they were too many of them. He tried to help doing subtle magic but they were too much.

Arthur had been fighting two bandits at once when another decided to sneak up behind him with an axe, fast. Merlin did the first thing that came to mind and got in between the bandit and Arthur. The axe made contact with his shoulder and a small burst of his magic made a heavy branch fall on the bandits. He stayed standing for a bit until he fell to his knees.

Just when he thought they would get captured, a knight patrol charged towards the bandits. The bandits were either fleeing or were dead on the floor.

Merlin got to see their purple capes before his sight started getting filled with black dots. He heard Arthur yell his name before the world turned dark.

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When Merlin came to he didn't recognize the ceiling. The bed he was in was also too confortable to be his yet too stiff to be Arthur's.
He tried to sit up but the pain that shot from his shoulder prevented him from moving. Everything came back to him: the hunting trip, the bandits, the foreign knights. He released a hiss catching the attention of the other person in the room. "Merlin!"
"Arthur? Where are we?"

"We're in Zilex. A kingdom I believed to be a myth until yesterday."
"The bandits"
"We were aided by the knights of Zilex and they let us stay since you were injured".

Merlin looked around the room and guessed it was a guest bedroom then looked back at Arthur. The king looked slightly panicked and like he hadn't slept properly. "I'm alright, love" Merlin told him while reaching for his hand which Arthur willingly held. "You could have died, Merlin". The warlock have him a small smile, "but I didn't". "Yes but you could have you self sacrificing idiot". Merlin gave a small chuckle before lifting one arm as if asking for a hug, "come here, Dollophead" Arthur complied and made sure not to touch the injured shoulder.