Summary: After rescuing Gwaine the roguish man who had helped them in the tavern fight. Merlyn suddenly finds herself falling for him when she thought she'd never love again after Frey. And it seems the roughish man, Gwaine returns her feelings. Now...
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Chapter Nine, The Valley of the Fallen Kings
Merlyn could feel her heart beating erratically in her chest, and her breaths coming in short pants, as she ran through the woods with Arthur behind her. They were trying to escape the bandits that were on their tail. What was supposed to be a short trip has turned into a disaster. They had been separated from Sir Leon, Gwaine and the rest of the Knights and had no way of knowing whether any were hurt or if they were even alive. 'No! No, don't think that!' She mentally scolded herself. All she could do was try and keep herself and Arthur alive and try to lose the bandits. She would've used magic to get rid of them but Arthur wouldn't let her stop long enough to cast a spell let alone go on without her.
Since the whole issue with those thugs a few weeks ago Arthur, Sir Leon and Gwaine had been extremely overprotective and had barely let her leave their sights when they left Camelot. She stopped again allowing Arthur to overtake her when she saw the men were getting closer when she heard their yells becoming louder and closer. Just as her eyes started to turn gold as she faced the men Arthur shouted from behind her. "Come on Merlyn!" Arthur shouted, fear gripping him tightly when he saw she was going to sacrifice herself. Knowing he wasn't about to leave, she sighed and started running again. They ran through the underbrush, twigs whipping at their clothes and exposed skin but neither worried nor cared about that right now.
They ran until they came across a ravine they could hide in so they could catch their breath and think of a plan. They picked up the pace a little as they sped towards the ravine hoping they would leave the bandits behind and wouldn't know where they had gone. "Arthur! Get down!" She hissed, when she spotted he was peering over the top. "I'm just having a look." Arthur whispered. "I told you we'd outrun them." He said a moment later with a smirk on his face when he saw no one around. "Are you sure?" Merlyn asked, peering over the ledge. She had a feeling this was far from over.
"Why is it you never trust me, Merlyn?" Arthur asked, a slightly annoyed look on his face. A second later they heard yelling coming from just opposite them. It seems the bandits took another way around. "That's why Arthur. That's why!" Merlyn hissed. "Shut up Merlyn." Arthur grumbled, before they took off running again trying to escape their pursuers. They entered another rocky ravine only to pause for a moment as Arthur looked around them. "Come on this way." Arthur said, before he took off again. "Arthur, where are we going?" Merlyn shouted after him. "Trust me!" was all Arthur said. Merlyn sighed and followed him only to pause when she was suddenly struck with a powerful wave of magic.
