Part 3
“Who do you think you are, making a fool out of me? You have no right to be talking to the Prince like that. People have gotten locked up in the cells for worse things than that. You are quite lucky that we aren’t back behind those gates otherwise you would be locked up for two days, not one.”
“Are you even listening to me, Merlin? Of course you are not.”
“I didn’t mean any disrespect, Sir, but it was quite funny. Imagine…waiting for this huge, snarling beast just to come face to face with a bunny.”
It came as a surprise that Arthur started laughing at that. “I guess it is funny once you put it that way. Don’t ever do it again in front of the knights. Or I will lock you up in the cells once we get back.”
“Understood, Sir.”
“Very well then….get your hunting gear, Merlin. It is our turn to hunt for dinner.”
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They were coming upon the doe when Merlin took one wrong step and broke a twig in half, the sound echoing around the near empty forest, causing the doe to start running within the matter of an instant. Just his luck.
“Merlin!” Arthur quickly drew his bow the moment he heard the twig snap and let the arrow fly from it and hopefully hitting the doe. Not even bothering to see if his companion was following right behind him he took off at a run hoping that their dinner hadn’t gone far. This was their last chance to grab dinner. The sun was going down and once their light went out they would be stuck sitting around the fire eating berries and whatever the kitchen staff had packed them for emergencies.
Coming upon the doe laying on the ground, it was clear to both Merlin and Arthur that it wasn’t dead yet. It’s chest was rising and falling, it’s eyes not focusing on anything at all, the noise coming out of its throat made Merlin regret having to hunt such a beautiful creature like this. But, that is the circle of life after all.
“Are you….going to kill it, Arthur?”
“I have to, Merlin. We can’t go through the emergency food supply right away.”
Taking out his axe, he raised it above his head and without even thinking, Arthur brought it down and cut the doe’s head off. Now…it was truly dead.
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Merlin had cooked and cleaned up after every single one of them and had not liked it one bit. Oliver had given him attitude all night and he was sure that there was something majorly wrong with that knight. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something was telling him that this whole thing was all wrong. The name Oliver had never been passed around by the knights before and he seemed to have the workings of a new knight, something that confused Merlin. Arthur normally only brought the best out with him no matter where they went. And to his eyes, this Oliver guy was anything but the best.
Too bad he couldn’t say anything though because he would have went up to Arthur and told him what was on his mind. That obviously would never end well, no matter what topic it was about. His master liked to believe that he was right and no one could tell him different. Instead he was going to have to do a little sneaking around on his own. He made his excuses to Arthur telling him that he had to finish cleaning up around the fire so that no wild animals took what was left of their food. Obviously it wasn’t that big of a deal because they were trying to catch a gigantic beast after all, but he had to have come up with some type of excuse.
After he had cleaned up around the fire pit, throwing all of their food into a giant sheet, he tied the ends up and tossed it in their food supply tent. Glancing around, he saw no one in sight and disappeared into a bush that had enough room between the actual branches and the trunk of a tree for him to fit against. He knew in just a few minutes Oliver would be taking over for the night watch. All he had to do was wait.
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Merlin hadn’t noticed that he had fallen asleep until the snap of a twig nearby snapped him suddenly awake. When his eyes managed to focus in the direction the noise had came from, he saw nothing. He couldn’t help but shake his head at the fact that he was now hearing noises probably made by a bunny. His imagination was obviously playing tricks on him now that he was looking for this bloody beast that was killing the villagers. Why he even decided to stake out on his own without telling anyone was such a bad idea. Not only had he not caught this beast, but his legs had fallen asleep during the time he fell asleep crouching behind the bush.
With a sigh he stood up, catching himself against the tree that was behind him, swaying slightly on his tingly legs. He was such a dolt, as Arthur would say, and how he could be such of one was beyond anything he could think of. Maybe he was just hoping that the beast would strike them so he could just say that he had caught the thing stalking and killing everyone living in Camelot. Merlin could just picture them throwing him a celebration in his name, something he smiled about as he leaned against the tree feeling slowly returning to his legs.
Another twig snapped to his right and his eyes searched the darkness. Again, though, he saw nothing there and now he was wondering if maybe his ears were playing tricks on him. Unless….unless it was the beast toying with him. He had no idea what this beast was, what it liked to eat (obviously not the animals around the forest) or if it was a magical being or not. Usually the magical ones were a whole lot smarter than the regular ones.
Not moving, barely breathing, he watched in earnest as everything around him stayed still. He was actually afraid to move in case that he missed something. Or just in case another twig snapped and he had to pay attention to where it actually came from. One blink and this stakeout would be all over.
Merlin couldn’t stand like that all night though so he shook his head, giving a slight laugh as he moved away from the tree and came out from behind the bush, hearing more than one twig snap. His head whipped around to where the sound came from and just as he feared, the beast was standing right there, breathing heavily down his neck. He was actually afraid to move, not sure what to do with this thing so close to him. It took a while for his head to clear though and when it did, he mumbled something under his breath, closing his eyes tightly as he said a spell, one to hopefully freeze the beast where it was.
Opening his eyes, he found the beast glaring at him. Not sure if it worked, he took a step forward, then another, glad that the thing wasn’t moving. Glad, even, that his spell had worked. Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned around to face the beast, finally getting a good look at it. The beast in question was pure black, it made sense that the villagers couldn’t see it when it attacked until it was on you; it blended in so well to the night. It had wings, he wasn’t sure how long they were, but probably a very long span if he could tell anything just by glancing at it. And the body…well, it was a cross between a tiger, abear and a panther. No stripes, but the tail had to be pure tiger what with the fluffy part on the end of it.
“What are you?” He felt foolish asking the stupid beast what it was because it wasn’t like it could talk back to him. There was no way that it was going to open its mouth and tell him what exactly it was. Although looking into the beasts eyes made him feel like he was witnessing a case of déjà vu. Too bad he couldn’t put his finger on why he was feeling like that.
Walking around the thing that was quietly growling at him, he reached out to touch it, feeling the soft fur of its body, its wing fluttered just a bit, not much since it couldn’t move much at all. Since it did feel real and it wasn’t some part of his imagination after all, he was wondering if he should keep it there all night. But if he did that then Arthur and the rest of them would find out that he did magic and he really didn’t feel like dying right now. Let alone ever until he was old and gray and even then he had a doubt that he wouldn’t be dying then.
Taking his hand away from the beast, he took a step back to examine it, surprised that a beast like this existed. He was definitely chalking it up to magic. Nothing like this existed in real life, not that he knew of anyway.
Merlin was at a standstill when the thing growled once more at him. Did he or did he not keep it hanging there? “Do you think I should just keep you here?” It answered with a growl and he couldn’t help but chuckle, showing his pleasure to the beast, not being able to do anything but stay there frozen. “I know that you aren’t a beast like they all claim you are. You’re probably just a lad like I am, but you don’t want to show yourself. Why is that I wonder?”
The creature just stared at him, clearly upset at what Merlin had done to it. There was no way that he was going to be doing anything to let it down, he couldn’t. It had killed some of the villagers, something that he couldn’t let slide what-so-ever. If Arthur found out that he did it, if he wanted to do it, then he would get sent to get his head chopped off. No thanks, he liked his head right where it was.
Glancing back at the creature, he figured he could try to coax it to show its true form. There was absolutely no way that this beast was completely that - a beast. Just by looking at it he could tell there was some human quality to it. Maybe it was the way that the eyes blinked back at him with understanding or maybe it was just the eyes in general. They were green right down to the core and Merlin had the urge to whisper a quick spell so it would reveal itself. Too bad he wasn’t that advanced because he had no idea what type of spell that was. If one even existed anyway.
“Show your true form or I will leave you like this for the Prince of Camelot to find you in the morning,” he said, glaring at the beast now.
“Shut your trap, Wizard!”
The voice came from inside his head. That was interesting.
“So you speak?”
“Only to those with magical abilities such as my own. Now release me!”
“I can’t do that. You have been killing innocent people who just want to hunt or walk around outside those stifling walls. Either you reveal yourself or you will be killed.”
“Only those foolish enough will try to kill me. Mere mortals like those in the tents cannot stop me. There is nothing you can do, you can’t kill me. I can sense you are still new to the magic.”
Merlin was clearly confused as to how this beast was even knowing all of this. It wasn’t like other magical people gave off their own special aura. They were suppose to be able to blend in…. “What are you?”
“I am in no books…I am what people fear the most.”
“What does that bloody mean?”
“It means that I am not something of this world, nor am I not real.”
Merlin was having the worst case of déjà vu with this beast and he couldn’t figure out why he was feeling like he knew who this beast was. The voice inside of his head was more growl then anything so he wasn’t sure who it sounded like to him. “So you are telling me that someone conjured you here?”
The beast nodded its head, not needing to explain anymore.
“Who sent you here?”
“You know him. He arrived a fortnight ago.”
At first he wasn’t sure who it could have been, but then just like that…it hit him. “Oliver,” he whispered, now knowing why he hadn’t liked the knight to begin with.
The beast didn’t confirm the familiar name. Instead it went silent, not being able to do anything else in the magic bubble Merlin had entrapped it in. It watched as Merlin stood there looking as confused as can be as it dawned on him how he was going to have to kill him. Clearly the beast didn’t like that look because it meant the end of it and he would not stand for it. Unfortunately it wasn’t able to move out of the spot that it was rooted to in that moment.
“You need to release me from your magic hold, mortal!”
“I cannot let you go if you are going to do nothing but destroy lives.”
“The sun is coming up, mortal, I cannot harm anyone while the sun is high in the sky.”
Upon hearing that, Merlin perked up, knowing that he was going to be able to find the thing to destroy the beast. Unfortunately it was going to be a lot harder then he cared to admit.
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Merlin had let the beast go right before the sun rose just to be sute that the beast wasn’t going to harm anyone before slinking off to its bed. After the beast was far away from him and the knights, he walked to his tent and fell immediately asleep, knowing that pretty soon he was going to be woken up by Arthur and be called lazy. He could deal with it if it meant having saved them all from that beast…
…until tonight.
Of course, though, if the beast was easy enough to capture in a little magic force field then how much harder would it be to trap it in an actual trap? Merlin’s mind was off somewhere thinking how best to trap the beast when Arthur entered the tent, obviously upset that his manservant was laying around on his cot, the sun having risen minutes ago. “Merlin….I have been waiting for you. I need you to shine my armor straight away.”
Merlin blinked up at Arthur, clearly surprised to see his master standing there looking like he just rolled out of bed. He could have sworn that he had just laid down on the bed himself, preparing to go to sleep. It occurred to him then that maybe his mind had been thinking more about the beast than it should. “I will be right there, sir.”
Seeing that Arthur was satisfied with that answer, he lay there, looking up at the top of his tent for a few minutes more. Unfortunately though he was going to have to push himself up and trudge to Arthur’s tent to shine his armor for the morning hunt for the beast. He could tell that the men were cooking breakfast already for the smell was drifting into his tent. When his stomach rumbled, he got up off of his cot, got dressed and made his way to Arthur’s tent, expecting to come face to face with an angry Arthur for having been kept waiting. What he came face to face with though was Oliver heading out of the tent with a smug smile on his face.
Ducking into Arthur’s tent, he saw his Prince standing there with his back to the open flap. “Merlin….come in…”
“Don’t you want me to get you your breakfast, Sir?”
Arthur just shook his head, clearly upset. The only way Merlin could tell when Arthur was upset was when he just stood there and didn’t say anything. Not that his own master was the type of person to talk all the time, but he was usually happy to be shouting out orders left and right at anyone who walked his way. But the moment he became quiet was the moment he was scared to even be around him. And this was one of those times.
“Sit, Merlin.”
“Y-yes, Sir.”
Merlin sat down on the cot Arthur slept on, his eyes downcast as his master made his way over to him, getting ready for a lashing of the tongue that he was so used to. What came out though was a gentle hand on his shoulder and ‘tsking’ noise coming from his mouth.
“I don’t know how to tell you this, Merlin, but….Oliver has delivered some unsettling news.”
Blinking up at Arthur, he tilted his head to the side, clearly confused. If Arthur was as upset as he seemed to be then why was he being so calm and gentle with him? Something was definitely up.
“He came to me this morning, just a few minutes ago and wanted to tell me that he saw you sneaking away last night. Do you deny this, Merlin?” Watching as his servant shake his head, he barreled on. “He also said he has reason to believe that the beast we are hunting is of magic and that he could swear that you were the one who conjured it. Before you interrupt, he said he saw you having a conversation with the beast. All he could hear was growling out of it, but that you seemed to understand it. Now….if you have another explanation, tell me now…”
Merlin was shocked to say the least. So many reasons as to why he had been caught talking to the beast ran through his head, but nothing sounded plausible. He knew that he could tell Arthur that he had been talking to the beast, but only because someone had conjured the beast here and that it communicated only telepathically. Of course, that little detail made him sound crazy and he didn’t want to be considered a mad man who would surely hang for this. Either way he was going to get in trouble someway if he admitted that he had been talking to the beast.
“He is lying. I merely went out to the forest last night to relieve myself, I had to find a thicket of trees to do my business in. Sorry if what he saw messed with his head, but he must have been seeing things.”
There that should be a sufficient enough answer.
“So you deny that he saw you talking to this beast?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Something is not adding up, Merlin. Why would my trusted soldier lie to me about something like this? He knows we are here to take this beast down so the people of Camelot are safe. The whole of this mission is to protect the people behind that wall. They are depending on us to stop this beast. If you are the one who summoned this…this creature, tell me now and I promise the punishment will not be as harsh as one my father would give.”
“I did no such thing, Sir.” Merlin wanted to know why this was so much harder to get out of than it normally was. Something was just not adding up here with how Arthur was going on about Oliver being in the right and him being in the wrong. It took all of a few seconds to come to the conclusion that Arthur was under a spell of some sort.
“Very well, Merlin. Once we get back behind those walls…prepare to be hanged.” Definitely a spell them. Arthur would never sentence someone to death without more substantial evidence.
“But, Sir, Oliver is lying to you. I would never intentionally hurt someone. I love Camelot and the people in it. Do you really think that I am someone who would harm a kingdom such as this?”
Arthur blinked down at Merlin, wondering if maybe he was believing in his new knight just a little too much. But Merlin was always getting into trouble, he knew this as well as anyone so to believe Oliver was easy enough to do. Something was niggling his mind and now he wasn’t sure what to believe. All this thinking was making his head feel like it was going to burst.
“Enough! I need time to think this all through. Merlin, get to your duties….just know I will be watching you.”
“Are you even listening to me, Merlin? Of course you are not.”
“I didn’t mean any disrespect, Sir, but it was quite funny. Imagine…waiting for this huge, snarling beast just to come face to face with a bunny.”
It came as a surprise that Arthur started laughing at that. “I guess it is funny once you put it that way. Don’t ever do it again in front of the knights. Or I will lock you up in the cells once we get back.”
“Understood, Sir.”
“Very well then….get your hunting gear, Merlin. It is our turn to hunt for dinner.”
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They were coming upon the doe when Merlin took one wrong step and broke a twig in half, the sound echoing around the near empty forest, causing the doe to start running within the matter of an instant. Just his luck.
“Merlin!” Arthur quickly drew his bow the moment he heard the twig snap and let the arrow fly from it and hopefully hitting the doe. Not even bothering to see if his companion was following right behind him he took off at a run hoping that their dinner hadn’t gone far. This was their last chance to grab dinner. The sun was going down and once their light went out they would be stuck sitting around the fire eating berries and whatever the kitchen staff had packed them for emergencies.
Coming upon the doe laying on the ground, it was clear to both Merlin and Arthur that it wasn’t dead yet. It’s chest was rising and falling, it’s eyes not focusing on anything at all, the noise coming out of its throat made Merlin regret having to hunt such a beautiful creature like this. But, that is the circle of life after all.
“Are you….going to kill it, Arthur?”
“I have to, Merlin. We can’t go through the emergency food supply right away.”
Taking out his axe, he raised it above his head and without even thinking, Arthur brought it down and cut the doe’s head off. Now…it was truly dead.
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Merlin had cooked and cleaned up after every single one of them and had not liked it one bit. Oliver had given him attitude all night and he was sure that there was something majorly wrong with that knight. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something was telling him that this whole thing was all wrong. The name Oliver had never been passed around by the knights before and he seemed to have the workings of a new knight, something that confused Merlin. Arthur normally only brought the best out with him no matter where they went. And to his eyes, this Oliver guy was anything but the best.
Too bad he couldn’t say anything though because he would have went up to Arthur and told him what was on his mind. That obviously would never end well, no matter what topic it was about. His master liked to believe that he was right and no one could tell him different. Instead he was going to have to do a little sneaking around on his own. He made his excuses to Arthur telling him that he had to finish cleaning up around the fire so that no wild animals took what was left of their food. Obviously it wasn’t that big of a deal because they were trying to catch a gigantic beast after all, but he had to have come up with some type of excuse.
After he had cleaned up around the fire pit, throwing all of their food into a giant sheet, he tied the ends up and tossed it in their food supply tent. Glancing around, he saw no one in sight and disappeared into a bush that had enough room between the actual branches and the trunk of a tree for him to fit against. He knew in just a few minutes Oliver would be taking over for the night watch. All he had to do was wait.
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Merlin hadn’t noticed that he had fallen asleep until the snap of a twig nearby snapped him suddenly awake. When his eyes managed to focus in the direction the noise had came from, he saw nothing. He couldn’t help but shake his head at the fact that he was now hearing noises probably made by a bunny. His imagination was obviously playing tricks on him now that he was looking for this bloody beast that was killing the villagers. Why he even decided to stake out on his own without telling anyone was such a bad idea. Not only had he not caught this beast, but his legs had fallen asleep during the time he fell asleep crouching behind the bush.
With a sigh he stood up, catching himself against the tree that was behind him, swaying slightly on his tingly legs. He was such a dolt, as Arthur would say, and how he could be such of one was beyond anything he could think of. Maybe he was just hoping that the beast would strike them so he could just say that he had caught the thing stalking and killing everyone living in Camelot. Merlin could just picture them throwing him a celebration in his name, something he smiled about as he leaned against the tree feeling slowly returning to his legs.
Another twig snapped to his right and his eyes searched the darkness. Again, though, he saw nothing there and now he was wondering if maybe his ears were playing tricks on him. Unless….unless it was the beast toying with him. He had no idea what this beast was, what it liked to eat (obviously not the animals around the forest) or if it was a magical being or not. Usually the magical ones were a whole lot smarter than the regular ones.
Not moving, barely breathing, he watched in earnest as everything around him stayed still. He was actually afraid to move in case that he missed something. Or just in case another twig snapped and he had to pay attention to where it actually came from. One blink and this stakeout would be all over.
Merlin couldn’t stand like that all night though so he shook his head, giving a slight laugh as he moved away from the tree and came out from behind the bush, hearing more than one twig snap. His head whipped around to where the sound came from and just as he feared, the beast was standing right there, breathing heavily down his neck. He was actually afraid to move, not sure what to do with this thing so close to him. It took a while for his head to clear though and when it did, he mumbled something under his breath, closing his eyes tightly as he said a spell, one to hopefully freeze the beast where it was.
Opening his eyes, he found the beast glaring at him. Not sure if it worked, he took a step forward, then another, glad that the thing wasn’t moving. Glad, even, that his spell had worked. Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned around to face the beast, finally getting a good look at it. The beast in question was pure black, it made sense that the villagers couldn’t see it when it attacked until it was on you; it blended in so well to the night. It had wings, he wasn’t sure how long they were, but probably a very long span if he could tell anything just by glancing at it. And the body…well, it was a cross between a tiger, abear and a panther. No stripes, but the tail had to be pure tiger what with the fluffy part on the end of it.
“What are you?” He felt foolish asking the stupid beast what it was because it wasn’t like it could talk back to him. There was no way that it was going to open its mouth and tell him what exactly it was. Although looking into the beasts eyes made him feel like he was witnessing a case of déjà vu. Too bad he couldn’t put his finger on why he was feeling like that.
Walking around the thing that was quietly growling at him, he reached out to touch it, feeling the soft fur of its body, its wing fluttered just a bit, not much since it couldn’t move much at all. Since it did feel real and it wasn’t some part of his imagination after all, he was wondering if he should keep it there all night. But if he did that then Arthur and the rest of them would find out that he did magic and he really didn’t feel like dying right now. Let alone ever until he was old and gray and even then he had a doubt that he wouldn’t be dying then.
Taking his hand away from the beast, he took a step back to examine it, surprised that a beast like this existed. He was definitely chalking it up to magic. Nothing like this existed in real life, not that he knew of anyway.
Merlin was at a standstill when the thing growled once more at him. Did he or did he not keep it hanging there? “Do you think I should just keep you here?” It answered with a growl and he couldn’t help but chuckle, showing his pleasure to the beast, not being able to do anything but stay there frozen. “I know that you aren’t a beast like they all claim you are. You’re probably just a lad like I am, but you don’t want to show yourself. Why is that I wonder?”
The creature just stared at him, clearly upset at what Merlin had done to it. There was no way that he was going to be doing anything to let it down, he couldn’t. It had killed some of the villagers, something that he couldn’t let slide what-so-ever. If Arthur found out that he did it, if he wanted to do it, then he would get sent to get his head chopped off. No thanks, he liked his head right where it was.
Glancing back at the creature, he figured he could try to coax it to show its true form. There was absolutely no way that this beast was completely that - a beast. Just by looking at it he could tell there was some human quality to it. Maybe it was the way that the eyes blinked back at him with understanding or maybe it was just the eyes in general. They were green right down to the core and Merlin had the urge to whisper a quick spell so it would reveal itself. Too bad he wasn’t that advanced because he had no idea what type of spell that was. If one even existed anyway.
“Show your true form or I will leave you like this for the Prince of Camelot to find you in the morning,” he said, glaring at the beast now.
“Shut your trap, Wizard!”
The voice came from inside his head. That was interesting.
“So you speak?”
“Only to those with magical abilities such as my own. Now release me!”
“I can’t do that. You have been killing innocent people who just want to hunt or walk around outside those stifling walls. Either you reveal yourself or you will be killed.”
“Only those foolish enough will try to kill me. Mere mortals like those in the tents cannot stop me. There is nothing you can do, you can’t kill me. I can sense you are still new to the magic.”
Merlin was clearly confused as to how this beast was even knowing all of this. It wasn’t like other magical people gave off their own special aura. They were suppose to be able to blend in…. “What are you?”
“I am in no books…I am what people fear the most.”
“What does that bloody mean?”
“It means that I am not something of this world, nor am I not real.”
Merlin was having the worst case of déjà vu with this beast and he couldn’t figure out why he was feeling like he knew who this beast was. The voice inside of his head was more growl then anything so he wasn’t sure who it sounded like to him. “So you are telling me that someone conjured you here?”
The beast nodded its head, not needing to explain anymore.
“Who sent you here?”
“You know him. He arrived a fortnight ago.”
At first he wasn’t sure who it could have been, but then just like that…it hit him. “Oliver,” he whispered, now knowing why he hadn’t liked the knight to begin with.
The beast didn’t confirm the familiar name. Instead it went silent, not being able to do anything else in the magic bubble Merlin had entrapped it in. It watched as Merlin stood there looking as confused as can be as it dawned on him how he was going to have to kill him. Clearly the beast didn’t like that look because it meant the end of it and he would not stand for it. Unfortunately it wasn’t able to move out of the spot that it was rooted to in that moment.
“You need to release me from your magic hold, mortal!”
“I cannot let you go if you are going to do nothing but destroy lives.”
“The sun is coming up, mortal, I cannot harm anyone while the sun is high in the sky.”
Upon hearing that, Merlin perked up, knowing that he was going to be able to find the thing to destroy the beast. Unfortunately it was going to be a lot harder then he cared to admit.
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Merlin had let the beast go right before the sun rose just to be sute that the beast wasn’t going to harm anyone before slinking off to its bed. After the beast was far away from him and the knights, he walked to his tent and fell immediately asleep, knowing that pretty soon he was going to be woken up by Arthur and be called lazy. He could deal with it if it meant having saved them all from that beast…
…until tonight.
Of course, though, if the beast was easy enough to capture in a little magic force field then how much harder would it be to trap it in an actual trap? Merlin’s mind was off somewhere thinking how best to trap the beast when Arthur entered the tent, obviously upset that his manservant was laying around on his cot, the sun having risen minutes ago. “Merlin….I have been waiting for you. I need you to shine my armor straight away.”
Merlin blinked up at Arthur, clearly surprised to see his master standing there looking like he just rolled out of bed. He could have sworn that he had just laid down on the bed himself, preparing to go to sleep. It occurred to him then that maybe his mind had been thinking more about the beast than it should. “I will be right there, sir.”
Seeing that Arthur was satisfied with that answer, he lay there, looking up at the top of his tent for a few minutes more. Unfortunately though he was going to have to push himself up and trudge to Arthur’s tent to shine his armor for the morning hunt for the beast. He could tell that the men were cooking breakfast already for the smell was drifting into his tent. When his stomach rumbled, he got up off of his cot, got dressed and made his way to Arthur’s tent, expecting to come face to face with an angry Arthur for having been kept waiting. What he came face to face with though was Oliver heading out of the tent with a smug smile on his face.
Ducking into Arthur’s tent, he saw his Prince standing there with his back to the open flap. “Merlin….come in…”
“Don’t you want me to get you your breakfast, Sir?”
Arthur just shook his head, clearly upset. The only way Merlin could tell when Arthur was upset was when he just stood there and didn’t say anything. Not that his own master was the type of person to talk all the time, but he was usually happy to be shouting out orders left and right at anyone who walked his way. But the moment he became quiet was the moment he was scared to even be around him. And this was one of those times.
“Sit, Merlin.”
“Y-yes, Sir.”
Merlin sat down on the cot Arthur slept on, his eyes downcast as his master made his way over to him, getting ready for a lashing of the tongue that he was so used to. What came out though was a gentle hand on his shoulder and ‘tsking’ noise coming from his mouth.
“I don’t know how to tell you this, Merlin, but….Oliver has delivered some unsettling news.”
Blinking up at Arthur, he tilted his head to the side, clearly confused. If Arthur was as upset as he seemed to be then why was he being so calm and gentle with him? Something was definitely up.
“He came to me this morning, just a few minutes ago and wanted to tell me that he saw you sneaking away last night. Do you deny this, Merlin?” Watching as his servant shake his head, he barreled on. “He also said he has reason to believe that the beast we are hunting is of magic and that he could swear that you were the one who conjured it. Before you interrupt, he said he saw you having a conversation with the beast. All he could hear was growling out of it, but that you seemed to understand it. Now….if you have another explanation, tell me now…”
Merlin was shocked to say the least. So many reasons as to why he had been caught talking to the beast ran through his head, but nothing sounded plausible. He knew that he could tell Arthur that he had been talking to the beast, but only because someone had conjured the beast here and that it communicated only telepathically. Of course, that little detail made him sound crazy and he didn’t want to be considered a mad man who would surely hang for this. Either way he was going to get in trouble someway if he admitted that he had been talking to the beast.
“He is lying. I merely went out to the forest last night to relieve myself, I had to find a thicket of trees to do my business in. Sorry if what he saw messed with his head, but he must have been seeing things.”
There that should be a sufficient enough answer.
“So you deny that he saw you talking to this beast?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Something is not adding up, Merlin. Why would my trusted soldier lie to me about something like this? He knows we are here to take this beast down so the people of Camelot are safe. The whole of this mission is to protect the people behind that wall. They are depending on us to stop this beast. If you are the one who summoned this…this creature, tell me now and I promise the punishment will not be as harsh as one my father would give.”
“I did no such thing, Sir.” Merlin wanted to know why this was so much harder to get out of than it normally was. Something was just not adding up here with how Arthur was going on about Oliver being in the right and him being in the wrong. It took all of a few seconds to come to the conclusion that Arthur was under a spell of some sort.
“Very well, Merlin. Once we get back behind those walls…prepare to be hanged.” Definitely a spell them. Arthur would never sentence someone to death without more substantial evidence.
“But, Sir, Oliver is lying to you. I would never intentionally hurt someone. I love Camelot and the people in it. Do you really think that I am someone who would harm a kingdom such as this?”
Arthur blinked down at Merlin, wondering if maybe he was believing in his new knight just a little too much. But Merlin was always getting into trouble, he knew this as well as anyone so to believe Oliver was easy enough to do. Something was niggling his mind and now he wasn’t sure what to believe. All this thinking was making his head feel like it was going to burst.
“Enough! I need time to think this all through. Merlin, get to your duties….just know I will be watching you.”