Loyalty

"Has anyone seen Merlin around?" Gaius asked. "Arthur is looking for him"
"I haven't seen him Gaius" Gwen replied.
"Might be hiding" Gawain joked. "Arthur's been pushing that kid too hard."
Gaius just shook his head making a face. Gawain was too relaxed about things, Merlin had been gone for almost the whole day and Arthur was more than annoyed. After only sending his student out to retrieve some medical ingredients, Gaius was worried; Merlin was like a magnet for the weird and mysterious.
"Gaius! Where is Merlin?!" Arthur walked up, clearly unhappy.
"Did you check the tavern?" Gaius asked innocently.
"Yes! I did!" Arthur snapped.
"Well, I'm sure he'll be back sire" Gaius assured. "He is quite loyal..."
"I don't care if he's loyal!" Arthur shouted. "He's lazy!" the king let out an angry sigh and walked off. Gaius shook his head in disappointment at the way Merlin just disappeared.

Meanwhile, Merlin was just about to return to Camelot with his supplies when he heard a roar unlike anything he'd ever heard. It was like thunder, but continuous and he decided to check it out. He'd make up his time with extra labor for the king, as he always did.
"How wonderful; this magic..."
"Oh it's not magic my friend. It's so much more. But you're too incompetent to understand. That's ok. I have what I want and you have what you need"
"This will make me unbeatable. I could take.... we could take the whole kingdom of Camelot."
Merlin's eyes went wide. "No" He breathed. While hiding behind the foliage, he could see 2 men. One was in a black cloak of an unknown material that only went down to his waist. The other was the leader of a band of thieves that had plagued the surrounding villages. However, his band of misfits was missing. Before the 2 men was a black swirling hole suspended in the air, behind them, a herd of 12 or so horses. Merlin couldn't believe his eyes when men walked out of the hole. They were wearing the same strange garments as the stranger. Cloaks that only went to their waist made of material that looked like they were from another world. Merlin was about to high-tail it back to warn the king when he was called out by one of the men that came through the mysterious black hole. Merlin raced through the woods, leaving behind his supplies. The new band of 10 raced after him. He climbed onto the horse that he came with and tried to shake the band off his tail but they were on their own horses, keeping up with him all the while. It wasn't until the late afternoon that Merlin finally lost the band of the other-worldly men. However, he also got himself lost, with no real direction of where Camelot could be.
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Arthur took his anger out on the poor soul that held the shield. That poor soul just happened to be Sir Gawain. The knight grunted under the weight of the king's sword. "You have a strong arm" He strained to keep on his feet. "I'd give you advice but I don't think you want it" He gave a painful smile.
"Not really" Arthur said, still upset. He came down hard on the shield, knocking Gawain to the ground. The knight let his head fall in the dirt, not wanting to get up after 2 hours of sparring.
Arthur stood over his knight and finally smiled. "Beat you"
"Congratulations, sire" Gawain said sarcastically. Arthur helped him up and hit him on the back in a friendly manner.
"Let's go find Merlin"
Gawain snorted with laughter. Merlin was so going to get it, he might not be alive in the morning; or just barely. But everyone knew Arthur wouldn't really hurt Merlin. A good part of Arthur's annoyance was just teasing. They were close friends, even if Arthur loaded the chores on his servant and seemed to always think that Merlin was doing something wrong. As they headed back to the castle, they saw Gaius talking with Gwen. The old man looked considerably more worried than he
had before.
"Gaius," Gawain greeted.
The physician turned towards his king. "Sire, Merlin has not returned. You remember I sent him to retrieve some herbs; he should have been back within the hour."
Arthur looked rather surprised and he and Gawain exchanged a nod. "We'll find him" Arthur went to get ready after ordering Gawain to gather a few of the knights for a search party.
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"Where is that whistle blower?" The strange man asked.
"We lost him, but it won't be hard to find a rat." One man replied.
"We just have to lay out the cheese"
"I'm going to pretend that I can understand you." The band leader said. "Keep looking! If he warns that stupid King Arthur, we won't hold a candle to his..."
"You don't have a clue what those weapons do to man." The man in the hoodie said. "They can tear up a person and end them in one hit. Not even your best physicians can heal a wound like that"
The greedy leader smiled. "All of Camelot will bow to me after I take down it’s noble king" He exaggerated on the word noble. He hated Uther for tearing down his village, and was going to take revenge on Arthur for it. With the hooded 'sorcerer' he was able to tear a hole in time and bring back men with weapons from the 21st century. Mainly small fire arms like hand-held guns and such. But the men were advanced too. They all were street fighters and fought dirty. Nothing like anyone from this time could compete with.
"They're all about honor and loyalty" One man cursed the ways of the world they were now in. "I fight for personal gain. I get more out of it."
Merlin sunk down trying to think of a way to get them off his trail for good. He saw a low branch bent back by rock and smiled ever-so-slightly. Uttering a spell, he moved the rock and the branch whipped out, clawing 2 of the men across their legs. One of them screamed in surprise and his high pitched yelp made Merlin smile. The leader of the band took out his sword and the man in the hood simply put his hand gently on the blade so he wouldn’t cut himself. The leader lowered his weapon and tilted his head.
"I know these men seem strange" The hood said. "But they are the future. Come out, and we won't harm you. I will free you from this poor land and make you rich. You will see things far beyond your comprehension but I can teach you. I know the future"
Part of Merlin knew it was a bad idea to just walk out there but part of him was truly wondering if the man was telling the truth. Did he really know the future? Merlin stepped out of hiding but kept his guard up. "How do I know you're not lying?"
"You have great shoes to fill." The hood said. "A great destiny a head of you; one of the hardest too"
Merlin looked shocked. The Great Dragon had said a similar prophecy about Merlin's future.
"Pah, I always thought he was a myth" One of the others said only to be hit in the back of the head.
"Let me show you what you will become." the hood said. "And in return, you will keep us your little secret"
"Not if you're planning to attack Camelot, sorry" Merlin shrugged.
"Kill him" the leader ordered.
Merlin's eye glowed gold as he used his magic to throw 4 of his attackers into the trees. He didn't see the one behind him and was taken down by a blow to the head. He quickly recovered consciousness but couldn't stand. His feet had been bound, as well as his hands; he now surrounded by the 12 men.
"Make sure he never speaks of us" The hood snarled.
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Gawain called out Merlin's name. "Where is that kid?"
"We'll find him" Arthur said, then quietly to himself. "We have to" He wasn't about to lose his friend from some stupid kidnapping. He jerked around as he heard yelling in the distance. It was the harsh cry of someone in pain.
"That's Merlin!" Gawain shouted. The 4 knights and the king pushed their horses to full gallop and Arthur drew his sword.
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Merlin looked up at the face of the man in the hood. His eyes were filled with hatred. Merlin was so tired; so sore from the abuse of the band. He thought he was only imagining Arthur calling his name. But when he looked up he saw horses turning sharply around a cluster of trees. At the front, charging bravely into the band was the King of Camelot, coming to rescue his friend. Merlin couldn't keep conscious long enough to see the battle but he felt himself being untied and leaned against a tree.
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When Merlin awoke, he saw the face of Arthur close to his. The king's hand was on his shoulder. "Merlin, Merlin, Merlin"
"Are you alright?" Gawain was next to him and helped him up. Merlin grimaced against the pain and leaned against Arthur.
"Come on, Merlin. Let's get you home." Gawain said.
""You do know that you’re going in the stocks for slacking off for a day, right?" Arthur said with a smile.
Merlin scuffed in laughter. "I'll make sure tell Gaius that I won't..." He cringed as Arthur draped him over the horse.
"Stop talking, Merlin" Arthur said. "Save your strength"
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"Will he be ok?" Gwen asked.
"Merlin should be recovered in a few days." Gaius said and turned to Arthur.
"Take it easy on him ok?" Gwen said.
Arthur nodded at her and she went over to care for the young warlock.
"If I might say, sire" Gaius said. "That was a very loyal action you took for Merlin"
Arthur looked over where Merlin lay." Friends protect each other." He turned to leave. "I want him to polish my armor as soon as he's able. It's looking rather dull"
Gaius just smiled and shook his head.