Merlin/BtVs; Someday
Merlin picked his way tiredly through the undergrowth, cursing Arthur and anyone else who had ever thought that tracking little animals through the forest and shooting arrows at them was a good way to pass the time. They’d left the castle yesterday afternoon, and they’d left their horses at their camp when they had left this morning. That had been at least six hours ago and it was looking like they wouldn’t be getting back to the castle before tomorrow at least.
He looked around when Arthur stopped in front of him abruptly, motioning for him to stay still. Then he heard the sound that must have caught the prince’s attention. It sounded like two people arguing. Merlin wondered who else would be out there. They were well away from any castle patrol, they had left the only path hours ago, and he was pretty sure the nearest village was hours away. He followed Arthur as silently as he could and a few minutes later they came to the edge of a small clearing, where a young man and woman -quite a bit older than him and Arthur - stood, the girl binding a wound on the man’s arm. They were dressed strangely, but their weapons, at least, were somewhat familiar. The young man had a sword at his feet and a knife hilt sticking out of his pants, while the girl had a crossbow across her back.
“So in other words, you have no idea where we are?” the man asked, hissing in pain.
“Actually… I think we’re in the same spot,” the girl said, a little sheepishly.
The man looked around. “Wills, I know I only have the one eye, but I think I can say, with a high degree of certainty, that this is not Winchester.”
“Well we can’t have gone very far! It wasn’t a very powerful spell.”
Uh-oh, was all Merlin had time to think before Arthur was strolling into the clearing, sword drawn, for all that he was acting casually.
“Magic is outlawed in my father’s kingdom,” he said conversationally. Merlin noted that he did not connect himself with the law banning magic. “Witches and wizards are executed without trial.”
The red-headed woman’s “What, really?” was cut off by the strange one-eyed man who interjected.
“Well there are definitely no witches here. Or wizards. Nope, not here.”
Arthur just eyed them suspiciously. Merlin decided it was up to him to diffuse the tension. “Of course not,” he said reassuringly. “No witch or wizard would ever come to Camelot.” None with any sense, anyway, he thought wryly. “This is Prince Arthur, and I am Merlin.”
The strangers’ jaws both dropped. Merlin could see Arthur preen out of the corner of his eye at their obvious awe at meeting the Crown Prince.
“Merlin? Like the Merlin?” the girl squealed excited. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it!”
Both Merlin and Arthur stared at her in shock. Her grin faded in the stunned silence that followed. “Umm, I mean… Prince Arthur, huh? That’s pretty cool.” She looked at her friend anxiously. “Isn’t that cool, Xander?”
“Yes, very cool. Could you just,” he held up a finger. “Just give us a minute.” Arthur nodded in what Merlin was sure he thought of as a gracious manner. They moved to the other end of the clearing, but to Merlin’s special hearing, it was as if they had never moved away.
“Arthur and Merlin?” he hissed. “As in King Arthur of Camelot, and Merlin, the most powerful wizard of all time? I know I didn’t get top marks in history, but that’s not even the right millennium, Wills!”
Millennium? Did that mean… were they seriously from, what, the future? That was crazy. He cast a look back at Arthur, who was still watching the strangers, but was evidently unable to hear them. When he turned his attention back, the girl was speaking.
“Okay, I know what happened. This should get us back.” Then she began to speak a spell that Merlin didn’t recognize. Unfortunately, Arthur was still paying close attention.
“Halt!” he cried brandishing his sword. The girl sent a frightened glance in his direction, but carried on. As Arthur strode forward she shouted the final words and her and her companion disappeared in a flash of bright light.
When his vision cleared, Merlin could see that the clearing was empty, save for him and Arthur, who looked thoroughly disappointed at having been cheated out of a confrontation. “Well,” he started. “That was…”
“Anticlimatic?” Arthur supplied wryly.
“Something like that.”
“Who knows,” Arthur said, as they started in the direction of their camp, hunting apparently done for the day. “Maybe they’ll be back someday.”
Merlin looked back across the clearing. “Someday…” He turned back to Arthur, thinking that maybe there was something to this destiny nonsense after all.