The Royal Scandal *Book Two*

Unlike Father, Unlike Son S2 E13

Saddled up and ready to leave, I sat on the back of Cinnamon, absent-mindedly stroking her mane, and staring at the exit in front of us. I couldn't believe that out of every single person in every kingdom that rested on this land that the one person we were meant to be trying to find was Merlin's father; I couldn't even comprehend what was going through his mind right now. I mean, I know mine was a complete idiot who never showed any affection, well, at least not to yours truly, but at least I had someone with the name of father. But Merlin... Merlin had no one. Actually, no. That wasn't true. He did have Gaius now but before then he had no one. When we went to Ealdor I don't remember there being any fatherly figures there.

"Chels? You ready to go?" Arthur asked, trotting over to me on his horse.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I forced a smile, my gaze wandering over to his injured shoulder.

"Hey," Arthur said, making me look up at him. "I am fine. Don't worry about me. It was just a little scratch."

"Arthur, you'd say that even if it were life-threatening. That means nothing to me, no offence," I told him.

"True," Arthur sighed. "But I mean it this time."

"Yeah, right," I muttered.

"What was that?" Arthur asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing," I shrugged innocently.

Looking around the courtyard, I smiled when I saw two familiar faces sitting on the steps to the castle. Aria and Leo, noticing my gaze, started to wave enthusiastically. I gave them a wave back just as Leon came out of the castle and said something to them.

"They're adorable, aren't they?" Merlin's voice said, making me turn to see him stroking Cinnamon's mane.

"Without a doubt," I smiled back.

"I have a gift for you," Merlin told me. He pulled my bow out from behind his back and handed it to me.

"Where did you find this?" I asked with wide eyes, taking the bow from him.

"I found it just before we found you and Aria the other day," Merlin answered. "Give me your hand."

Looking at him in confusion, I double-checked that no one was watching us before I gave him my hand. Watching in interest, I smiled when Merlin pulled out his scarf that had been on my bow and tied it around my wrist.

"When you two are done, do you wanna go?" Arthur asked, making us both look over to see him trotting back over to us after doing a lap of the courtyard.

"We were waiting for you," I retorted, as Merlin dropped my hand and climbed onto the back of his horse.

"Sure you were," Arthur muttered sarcastically.

Sending him a sarcastic smile, I gave Cinnamon a quick shake of the reins and started to trot off ahead of them and out of the gates. If the Dragonlord really was still in Cenred's kingdom, this was going to be not just a dangerous journey but also an incredibly long one.

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Along with the night came a storm of rain and thunder, beating down on us and making my cloak stick down to my skin. Thankfully we had arrived in the village of Engerd, the place where Balinor had been rumoured to be seen last. Hunting down a tavern to stay in for the night, we found a semi-secure dry place to leave our horses before we approached a tavern.

When we opened the door, the laughter that had been erupting from inside the room suddenly fell silent and all eyes were on us. Everyone in here was dressed in filthy attire and looked like they hadn't bathed in months. The stench that came from them was enough to confirm my theory.