Merthur: What is a Prince Without His Servant

-Chapter 5-

Arthur POV

By nightfall we had reached the Valley of the Fallen Kings, "We should set up camp a bit away from here, it's too dangerous in there."

Merlin nodded and we backtracked to find a good place for camp. Once we found a suitable clearing, Merlin dropped our bags on the ground. "Arthur," Merlin spoke as I sat down on a fallen branch, "it's still rainy, I don't think we'll be able to make a good fire." His expression looked grim. I could barely see him, the trees covered most of the light from the moon. Plus the rain had created a thin mist that rolled across the grass.

"It's alright, let's just.. stay close." I took a swig from my water pouch and passed it to him. Merlin glanced around our set up and sat next to me on the branch. I was tempted to lean my head on his shoulder, all this walking was starting to wear me down. I found myself staring at Merlin, he's so brave to follow me everywhere, no doubt he's beyond exhausted.

"I don't think Gwen really loves me." Merlin's head whipped around as I continued, "I know her heart belongs to Lancelot." Merlin's eyes were filled with compassion as he looked at me. "She's better off with him anyways. Safer."

"Arthur-" Merlin was cut off as we heard some footsteps in the distance.

"Get down," I whispered and we crouched behind a nearby tree. Some lights popped up in the distance, torches. We heard a multitude of men speaking, yelling, they were being quite loud.

Merlin's shaking hand was on my shoulder, "What do we do??" His eyes were wide and full of fear. He knew we had only packed to fight one person, not a whole pack of people.

"We should just stay out of sight until they pass." I tried to sound confident, even if I was just as scared as him. Merlin seemed to feel better after my response as his grip on my shoulder loosened. I gave his hand a pat before peeking around the tree again.

As we waited, I heard one of the men shout, "This sorcerer will earn us all the beer in Camelot boys!" Cheering ensued, they sounded close. Merlin's eyes stayed focused on our dim surroundings.

"The same sorcerer we are looking for?" It seemed Merlins small brain had to take a moment to process what the man had yelled.
"Yes, Merlin." I hissed back at him. The rain continued to pour down, we were drenched head to toe. Merlin had started to shiver again, this time I assumed it was from the cold and the soaked clothing. I held him closer to me, tossing my cloak over his shoulder, trying to keep him warm.

"What's that for?" Even though he questioned my actions, he scooted closer to me.

"Just be quiet." I shushed him as I felt my face burn against the raindrops.

Before long, Merlins breathing became slower and his head fell onto my chest. Even with the rain pouring down, he slept soundly. Hes slept in worse conditions anyways. The traders were long gone, most likely into the Valley, but I didn't want to move and wake Merlin.

Unlike yesterday, I wanted to stay awake and keep watch while Merlin slept, what a useless servant.. It's supposed to be the other way around. I shook my head but held my hand over Merlins head, hoping to let him dry a bit. All of a sudden, he started shaking again. His breathing became erratic and he grabbed at my arm, "Arthur! Ar.. Arthur.. please.."

His wording made my cheeks flare but my flustered state quickly shifted to being worried. His head was rolling back and forth while tears started to stream down his cheeks. "Merlin?" I gently shook his shoulder, "Merlin wake up!"

"H-huh?" He stirred, "What's wrong?" It took him a second to notice that he had been crying and that his heart was racing. "Ah.. sorry i've just been having nightmares recently, although I don't really remember them.." The look in his eyes was distant.

"You didn't tell me." I rubbed his shoulder and wiped his cheeks with my thumb, "try and get some more sleep. I'll wake you up if you start to freak out again." Merlin seemed shocked at my kindness but agreed and leaned his back against the tree to sleep.